Headlines

France bans Nigerian students, others from bringing families

Published

1 year ago

December 22, 2023

France bans Nigerian students, others from bringing families

The French parliament has passed a law restraining Nigerian students and others from bringing their families to the country.

According to a report by the BBC on Thursday, the law was backed by both President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party and Deputy of the French National Assembly, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.

A previous draft was rejected by parliament last week when the National Rally, as well as the left, voted against it. In response, the government redrafted the bill, making some of its provisions tougher.

The new toughening immigration policy makes it more difficult for migrants to bring family members to France and delays their access to welfare benefits.

It also bans detaining minors in detention centres while leaders of a third of French regions said they would not comply with certain measures in the law.

A controversial provision discriminates between citizens and migrants, even those living in the country legally, in determining eligibility for benefits.

The tougher version appealed to right-wing parties, who backed it on Monday.

Ms Le Pen welcomed the amended bill, calling it an “ideological victory” for the far-right.

“This is our bill,” said Eric Ciotti, the leader of the right-wing Republican party. He called it “firm and courageous”.

But left-wingers said Mr Macron was enabling the far-right. “History will remember those who betrayed their convictions,” Socialist party leader Olivier Faure said.

32 of France’s 101 departments, including Paris, said they would refuse to implement the provisions of the law on benefits for non-citizens.

The French vote came hours before an EU agreement to reform the asylum system across the bloc’s 27 member states.

The new pact, agreed by EU governments and European Parliament members, includes creating border detention centres and enabling the quicker deportation of rejected asylum seekers.

Hailed as a landmark agreement by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the new system allows asylum seekers to be relocated from southern member states, which have the highest numbers of arrivals, to other countries.

It still has to be formally approved by the Parliament and member states.

The new French legislation exposed divisions within the governing alliance.

27 MPs voted against while 32 abstained – almost a quarter of pro-Macron MPs.

Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau, who was a member of the Communist Party in his youth, stepped down in protest at the immigration law.

“Some measures in the bill make me very uncomfortable,” said Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of the lower house of parliament and a member of Mr Macron’s party.

The bill would have passed if Ms Le Pen’s party had abstained, though not if it had voted against it. The government pointed to the size of its majority to argue that it did not depend on National Rally votes.

Speaking after the vote, the prime minister accepted some measures in the law might not be constitutional.

France bans Nigerian students, others from bringing families

Headlines

Kano inaugurates 14-member committee to review education policies

Published

3 days ago

January 16, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

The Kano State Government has inaugurated a 14-member committee tasked with reviewing existing education policies in the state.

Inaugurating the committee on Thursday in Kano, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Ali Makoda, said that the committee was constituted by the Kano State Executive Council to assess the state’s education policies.

“This committee was originally scheduled to be inaugurated by the governor, but due to prior engagements, he has delegated the responsibility to me so that we can begin our work immediately,” Makoda stated.

The Commissioner outlined the committee’s terms of reference, which include reviewing the four existing education policies in the state to assess whether they align with the cultural and religious beliefs of the people.

“Evaluating the feasibility of implementing the policies, and making recommendations to strengthen the state’s education system.”

He noted that the four policies to be reviewed include the Kano State Girls’ Education Policy, Kano State Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, Kano State Non-State School Policy, and Kano State Teacher Development Policy.

Makoda announced that the committee has been given three weeks to submit its report, and urged the members to leverage their expertise to produce recommendations that would enhance the state’s education sector.

In his response, the committee chairman, Malam Abdullahi Dutse, assured the commissioner of the committee’s commitment to work collaboratively to meet the expectations placed on them.

“Considering the diverse expertise of the committee members, I believe the government has selected individuals with the right skills to address the challenges facing education in the state. We will work diligently to provide the necessary report,” he said.

The committee’s members include Malam Abdullahi Dutse (Chairman), Prof Abdallah Uba -Adamu, Habibu Dan Almajiri, Alhaji Danlami Garba, Kano State Commissioner for Women, Children, and Disabled Affairs Hajiya Amina Abdullahi, and Isa Ahmad.

Other members are Prof Tijjani Naniya, Malam Kabiru Hanga, Munzali Mustapha, Prof Auwal Halliru Arzai, and Dr Bashir Aliyu -Umar.

The remaining include the representatives of the Emirate Council and Civil Society Organizations, and Ibrahim Bawa, Director of Archives and Publications, who will serve as Secretary of the committee.

Headlines

U.S commends Nigeria over Galactica funds repatriation efforts

Published

3 days ago

January 16, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

The U.S. Deputy-Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, has extolled Nigeria’s partnership in the successful repatriation of funds linked to forfeited luxury real estate and Galactica Star Superyacht. (more…)

Headlines

Tinubu congratulates Nigerian scientists, engineers on making Biden’s honour list

Published

3 days ago

January 16, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

Tinubu commiserates with Rashidi Ladoja over wife’s death

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated six Nigerians named by President Joe Biden among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.

This recognition, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

This year’s awardees, announced by Biden on Jan. 14, are employed or funded by 14 participating United States government agencies, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

The Nigerian honourees include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; and Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University.

Others are: Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University;

The rest are: Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Case Western Reserve University.

Tinubu commended the awardees for their achievements in science, technology and engineering.

He noted that recognising the talents of the awardees underscored Nigerians’ vast potential to excel both at home and on the global stage.

Tinubu looked forward to the honourees sharing their multidisciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria’s development efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda. (more…)