The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review says it has received proposals for the creation of 31 additional states to the existing 36 in Nigeria.

Chairman of the committee and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, made this announcement on Thursday during plenary while reading a letter from the committee’s clerk.

According to Kalu, the proposed states have six in the North Central, four in the North East, five in the North West, five in the South East, four in the South-South, and seven in the South West.

He listed the states being considered as Okun, Okura, and Confluence states from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa states from Benue; FCT State; Amana from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi; Savannah from Borno; and Muri from Taraba.

Others are New Kaduna and Gujarat states from Kaduna; Tiga and Ari from Kano; Kainji from Kebbi; Etiti, Orashi, Adada, Orlu, and Aba from the South East; Ogoja from Cross River; Warri from Delta; Ori and Obolo from Rivers; Torumbe from Ondo; Ibadan from Oyo; Lagoon from Lagos; Ijebu from Ogun; and Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo, Ogun, and Osun states.

The committee outlined the criteria required to initiate the state creation process, stating, “An act of the National Assembly for the purpose of creating a new state shall only be passed if it requires support by at least the third majority of members.

“The House of Representatives, the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Council in respect of the area are received by the National Assembly. Local Government Advocates for the creation of additional local government areas are only reminded that Section 8 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, applies to this process.”

Kenya Airways apologises to Nigeria for mistreating passenger

Kenya Airways has apologised to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over the mistreatment of Nigerian passenger Gloria Omisore and for issuing a misleading statement on the incident.

The apology came after the airline’s management and NCAA representatives met Tuesday in Abuja.

Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, revealed this in a post on his official X handle.

“Their team has apologised for the obfuscation of facts in their earlier statement. They also admitted that, phone call or not, it was the airline’s fault for failing to identify the issue before airlifting the passenger from Lagos,” Achimugu stated.

He pointed out that his job was to enforce the civil aviation authority’s rules while safeguarding all parties involved in aviation, including travellers and airlines.

According to Achimugu, he had insisted that Kenya Airways apologise publicly to the NCAA and the passenger. Since then, the airline has issued a revised statement that accurately depicts what actually happened in Nairobi.

James Nganga, the country manager for Kenya Airways; Eric Mukira, the station manager; and Ezenwa Ehumadu, the duty manager, were in attendance.

Before her journey, Omisore reportedly checked with Kenya Airways to see if she could travel on the Manchester-Paris-Nairobi-Lagos route incoming and the Lagos-Nairobi-Paris-Manchester route outbound, according to the NCAA.

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According to reports, she disclosed to the airline that she was a Nigerian who lacked a Schengen visa but had a British residency status. She was assured of her eligibility in spite of this.

“Based on this information, she purchased the ticket and successfully flew into Nigeria via Paris and Nairobi without incident,” Achimugu explained.

However, the airline failed to obtain a transit permit for the Paris leg and boarded her from Lagos on her return trip. Only in Nairobi was the oversight found.

After a 17-hour layover, Kenya Airways offered her a direct ticket to London at no additional cost, but she had to wait an extra 10 hours.

“Exhausted and unwell, the passenger requested accommodation and care, citing the airline’s error. When this was denied, an argument ensued between her and the airline staff,” Achimugu added.

Condemning Kenya Airlines over the incident, the NCAA said, ““I expressed deep disappointment over the unruly behaviour of the airline’s staff, particularly the disparaging remarks about the Nigerian government, insinuating that nothing would be done regardless of how Nigerians were treated,” Achimugu stated.

He said that, contrary to what the airline had previously stated, Omisore did not decline to take the other flight.

Her annoyance instead arose from the extended wait and the refusal of basic care, even after the airline acknowledged its mistakes.

Kenya Airways has been ordered to refund and compensate Omisore for the “avoidable humiliation and distress” she endured, which also threatened her job security.

Although the airline initially requested 72 hours to respond, the NCAA granted only 48 hours, stating, “Truth should not be that hard to publish, considering how swiftly the misleading statement was released.”

Kenya Airways apologises to Nigeria for mistreating passenger

Afe Babalola seeks increase in doctors’ salaries

Aare Afe Babalola, the founder and chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has called on the government to increase the salaries of medical doctors and ensure prompt payment, attributing poor remuneration to their emigration from Nigeria.

Babalola made this call on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti during the 7th induction and oath-taking ceremony of the 2024 graduating medical students of the institution.

The elder statesman bemoaned the poor remuneration paid to doctors in Nigeria, describing it as ridiculous and paltry.

His words, “The reason many Nigerian doctors and nurses leave this country immediately after completing their training is because the emoluments paid in naira are much less than what cleaners in hospitals overseas earn.

“Worse still, doctors in many states and government hospitals have not been paid for many months. I appeal to the government to increase the salaries of doctors and ensure prompt payment”.

The legal luminary also criticised the federal government for limiting TETFund beneficiaries to only public universities and not including private universities.

Babalola stated that a quality-driven private university, such as ABUAD, should not be denied access to the TETFund, and that this would also assist self-funded universities in providing higher-quality teaching, research, and community service.

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“I am not asking that the money should be given to private universities to develop structures but the functions of a university properly so-called according to the World Bank are quality teaching, research, and community service.

“It is common knowledge that our university is leading in community service and research into the use of African herbs for the production of herbal drugs. The question then is, why should the government deny private universities access to TETFund for research?” he added

Inducting the graduating medical students, the registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Professor Fatima Kyari, praised Afe Babalola for establishing quality facilities in the university to effectively equip the students.

The registrar expressed confidence in the transformative momentum aimed at upgrading the country’s healthcare sector, saying that the federal ministry of health is capable of improving the quality of the healthcare system.

Professor Kyari encouraged the entrants to roll up their sleeves and get back to work, emphasising that their contribution to mankind is essential in a country like Nigeria.

The guest lecturer, Professor IkeOluwapo Ajayi, exhorted the inductees to harness the core skills learnt at ABUAD to achieve in their jobs.

Ajayi also pushed them to use their high-quality university knowledge to achieve a competitive advantage in the medical field.

Meanwhile, 23 medical graduate students achieved distinctions, including Oluwatosin Motajo (7 distinctions), Bumiyo Ojogbane (5), and Benedict Orina (5), with all twenty-three exceptional students receiving N100,000 apiece.

Afe Babalola seeks increase in doctors’ salaries