National
No directive was given for workers to change salary accounts – AGF
The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein, has said that no directive was issued to workers to change their salary accounts.
Madein gave the clarification in a statement by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).
She was reacting to a viral news that workers had been asked to change a particular financial institutions registered on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform as their salary accounts.
The AGF said that the IPPIS office gives utmost priority to the welbeing of workers, and will not issue any directive that will mislead, misguide, or cause them unnecessary panic.
She said that whenever there was an application for change of salary account, it was always a personal decision of the worker concerned.
“The IPPIS Office has not issued any general directive to this effect as there is no reason to do so,” she said. .
She tasked financial institutions to implement necessary strategies to boost customers’ confidence and guarantee efficient fulfilment of their obligations to persons whose salaries are domiciled with them.
According to her, there are agencies that are statutorily mandated to determine the health and viability of financial institutions.
She expressed optimism that those agencies were up to their tasks.
She advised workers that may have genuine reasons to change their salary accounts on the IPPIS platform to follow the official procedures.(NAN)
A total of 92 visually impaired candidates participated in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) at the Kano centre.
Prof. Muhammad Yahuza-Bello, JAMB Coordinator for the Kano centre, made the announcement while monitoring the exercise on Monday.
The examination took place at the School of Continuing Education, Bayero University Kano (BUK), under the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) initiative for candidates with special needs.
Yahuza-Bello, a former vice-chancellor of BUK, explained that the 92 candidates were drawn from Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna States.
He added that among the candidates, two had Down syndrome, while two others had autism.
The candidates, both male and female, were provided with specialized gadgets such as typewriters, braille machines, slates, styluses, and paper to facilitate their participation in the exams.
The coordinator also said over 500 candidates with special needs-ranging from visual impairments and albinism to Down syndrome and autism-had registered to take the exam at 11 centres across the country.
He said, unlike regular Computer-Based Testing (CBT) centres where candidates interact with screens and keyboards, special needs candidates benefit from adaptive materials to eliminate barriers to education.
Since its introduction in 2017, JEOG has seen positive results, with an increasing number of special needs candidates gaining admission into tertiary institutions.
Yahuza-Bello pointed out that while approximately 25% of regular candidates gain admission, over 33% of special needs candidates are successful in securing placements.
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National
Court Approves Federal Government’s Request to Protect Witness Identities in Nnamdi Kanu Trial
A federal high court in Abuja has authorized the federal government’s request to keep the identities of witnesses in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu confidential.
Kanu, who leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been held by the Department of State Services (DSS) since 2021 on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony.
On Tuesday, prosecution attorney Adegboyega Awomolo informed the court that he had submitted an ex parte application on April 10 to safeguard the identities of the witnesses. He requested that the court provide screens and masks to ensure their anonymity.
“The purpose of this request is to ensure the safety and security of state officers who will serve as witnesses,” he stated.
Kanu Agabi, the defendant’s counsel, did not contest the application.
The trial is underway, with the first witness, a DSS operative, already called to testify.
Kanu was re-arraigned on March 21 before Judge James Omotosho of the federal high court in Abuja.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Aisha Achimugu.
The managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Felak Concept Group was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Achimugu was taken in around 5am on Tuesday after arriving in Nigeria from London.
More to follow…