2023 census: NPC assures Nigerians of server, data safety

Yahaya, who reaffirmed the commitment of the commission to a credible and acceptable census, said that its server was not hacked.

The public affairs department boss described as false and misleading, the information on hacking of the commission’s server.

“We wish to assure the public that the security of the data for the 2023 Population and Housing Census is absolutely guaranteed.

“The commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population,” he said.

Yahaya explained that the Commission’s Chairman, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra’s visit to the United Nations was to attend the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development was to the benefit of the country.

He said the chairman also presented Nigeria’s statement on ‘Population and Development’ at the global event and has since returned to the country ahead of preparations for the first digital Census in Nigeria.

“Over the years, it has been the standard practice for the Chairman of the Commission to attend the annual event on Population and Development in line with the mandate of NPC as the coordinating agency on population matters in Nigeria.

“Consequently, the public is advised to disregard the false statement trending online about the hacking of the commission’s server and the subsequent travel of the NPC Chairman to restore the purported hacked server,” he said. He assured of the commission’s determination to continue to update the populace on developments regarding the 2023 Population and Housing Census as events unfold. Yahaya solicited for Nigerians’ support to ensure a secure and successful 2023 Census exercise.

NAN

NNPCL Board Chair: Arewa youth urges FG to obey court Judgment

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria, to consider giving effect to the judgment of the Federal High Court that reinstated Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume as nonexecutive chairman of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), The Director, Media and Publicity, Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups. Comrade Aminu Abbas asserted this during press conference held in Kaduna.

The Group while reacting to a statement credited to the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups wherein they faulted the Federal High Court judgment that restored Senator Ifeanyi Araraume as the non-Executive Chairman of (NNPCL), said obeying the judgment of the court was a better and more preferred option, in the circumstance.

It added that appealing the judgment should be treated as a distant alternative option, noting that the judiciary is an independent arm of government that operates on the principles of fairness, justice, and the rule of law, saying the judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo was based on the facts presented before the court and the relevant laws that govern the matter.

The Group stressed that it is not appropriate for the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups or any other group or groups, person or persons to accuse the court of usurping the duties of the Office of the President or to suggest that the judgment was an affront to the powers of President Muhammadu Buhari. Such statements are not only unfounded, but also inappropriate

They maintained that, appealing the judgment would only dilate the matter and keep it on the front burner such that it would restrain the international oil companies (IOCs) from investing their total commitment in the country’s oil sector that has virtually been rendered tentative and unstable by the court action.

“After All, Senator Godwin Ifeanyi Araraume was a director on the board of NNPCL before he was simultaneously appointed as the non-executive chairman, thus enjoying the privilege of having his name in the company’s records with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

“Araraume remains a part of the NNPCL family in the face of the law. All issues settled in his favour in the judgment can be quietly revisited and resolved in ways that there will be no losers at the end of the day.

“This is the best way to go about quick restoration of the Board of the NNPCL to normalcy. The government cannot pretend not to know that all is not well with the NNPCL, especially now with the specific order nullifying all the decisions and resolutions taken by the Board in the absence of Senator Araraume from January 17, 2022 when he was removed as nonexecutive chairman of the Board.

“We understand that Araraume is a committed member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. We also understand that he was an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a federal commissioner at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), where he represented the Southeast zone from 2016-2018, a position he held after he passed rigorous security checks by the Police and the Department of State

Services.

“He underwent security checks by the Department of State Security Service and the Nigerian Police Force, which cleared him for the appointment.

“People who have served our country deserve all the support they need. Our youth should shield themselves from being used as pawns in the power tussle that lacks legitimacy.

We, therefore, wish to call on President Buhari to clear all hurdles so that Senator Araraume can resume office, and summon board meetings to possibly ratify resolutions that were taken while he was in court, seeking redress.

“We wish to equally call on those in the NNPCL Board sponsoring different groups to discount the orders and judgment of the court to desist from doing so, as we won’t fold our arms and watch the Judiciary being intimidated from doing its work.

“We wish to also call on those who are aggrieved by the ruling of the Federal High Court to take advantage of the Appeal and Supreme Courts to ventilate their disagreement with the judgment and stop this unnecessary