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BREAKING: UK Goes Hard on Nigerian Students Bringing Family Over
In keeping with media speculations, the United Kingdom (UK) has formally put legal measures in place to control the way foreign students, including Nigerians bring over family members as dependants.
Biztellers had reported that “Speculations are rife that exodus of foreign students to the United Kingdom (UK) is set to attract stringent regulations with only those enrolled for PHD likely to continue enjoying the privilege of bringing families over.”
The UK government, on Tuesday, as widely anticipated made her stand on the issue public by unveiling legal measures with which she hopes to take a firm grip and control the high influx of foreigners, migrating as dependents to students, reported to stand at over a million presently.
With the new legislation, it would no longer be tenable for international students to switch out of the student route and into work routes before the completion of the course of study, so as to guard against misuse of the visa system.
Biztellers gathered that “there will also be a review of the maintenance requirement for students and dependants in addition to a crackdown on “unscrupulous” education agents “who make use of inappropriate applications to sell immigration, not education”, according to Sky News.
The new regulations come into force by January 2024 so as to make room for students starting courses in the UK time to plan to adapt to the new realities.
Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, in a statement on Tuesday, pointed out that recent immigration figures had shown an “unexpected rise” in the number of dependants moving into the UK together with international students.
Braverman also noted that the increase was made after the government made clear her commitment to lower net migration.
The UK government is fully aware of the economic impact of international students, according to Braverman but would not be singularly focused on that “at the expense of our commitment to the public to lower overall migration”.
This position, Sky News further reports is why the government took pains to strike a balance between acting decisively on tackling net migration and protecting the economic benefits that students can bring to the UK.
The UK’s Home Office has taken to its official site to express optimism that the “New government restrictions to student visa routes will substantially cut net migration by restricting the ability for international students to bring family members on all but post-graduate research routes and banning people from using a student visa as a backdoor route to work in the UK.
It stated, “The ONS estimated that net migration was over 500,000 from June 2021 to June 2022. Although partly attributed to the rise in temporary factors, such as the UK’s Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes, last year almost half a million student visas were issued while the number of dependants of overseas students has increased by 750% since 2019, to 136,000 people.”
The Home Office also noted that this new rule is not at the expense of the government’s commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and provides the most benefit.
According to them, the proposal is aimed at allowing “the government to continue to meet its International Education Strategy commitments while making a tangible contribution to reducing net migration to sustainable levels. The government has also made clear that the terms of the graduate route remain unchanged.”
The Home Office also made it clear that “the proposals announced today do not detract from the success of the government’s International Education Strategy, including meeting the target to host 600,000 international higher education students studying in the UK each year by 2030, for two years running.”
Official statistics, which are due to be published this week, are expected to show that net migration has increased from 504,000 in the 12 months to June 2022 to more than 700,000 in the year to December, Sky News said.
According to data, foreign students brought 135,788 family members to Britain last year – nine times more than in 2019 while in 2022, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives.
The House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy has summoned several key Ministers to appear on Wednesday to account for over $2 billion in investments and grants allocated for renewable energy development in Nigeria since 2015.
Despite this significant funding, power supply across the country remains poor, prompting the committee to question the effectiveness of these investments.
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The ministers expected to attend include Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security; Uche Nnaji, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation; and Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
This investigative hearing, chaired by Afam Ogene, representative of the Ogbaru Federal Constituency in Anambra State, aims to uncover how these funds were utilized and why they have not led to measurable improvements in energy access.
The hearings, scheduled for November 5 and 6, stem from a June 6 mandate directing the Committee to investigate the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) involved in managing renewable energy investments, procurement, and grants.
However, on the first day of the hearing, the ministers opted to send representatives, a move that disappointed Ogene and the committee.
Expressing his frustration, Ogene reminded officials that the Constitution grants the National Assembly power to summon public officers for investigative hearings.
He cited Section 81(1) of the Constitution, which states, “Each House of the National Assembly shall have power by resolution published in its journal or in the official Gazette of the Government of the Federation to direct an investigation into any matter or thing with respect to which it has the power to make laws.”
The Chairman emphasized that this authority also includes oversight of “the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, Ministry or government department charged, or intended to be charged, with the duty of or responsibility for executing or administering monies appropriated or to be appropriated by the National Assembly.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Ogene invited the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning to deliver a presentation, only for Felix Okonkwo, a director in the ministry, to stand in on his behalf.
When questioned, Okonkwo admitted he was authorized to “take some responsibilities but not all,” prompting Ogene to insist that the minister appear in person on Wednesday.
“Tell your minister to appear before this committee on Wednesday. It is not meant to witch-hunt anybody. A situation where invitations are sent about three times to heads of MDAs and they would still not appear to make their presentations is not acceptable,” Ogene warned.
Similarly, when Suleiman Abubakar, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Science and Technology, tried to speak on behalf of his minister, Ogene instructed him to notify his principal to attend personally.
“You have no locus to stand in for the Minister. He should appear in person on Wednesday. We wrote to the Minister, not a directorate,” Ogene asserted.
Also summoned to the hearing on Wednesday are officials from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo.
In a final push on Election Day, Republican presidential contender, Donald Trump expressed confidence about reclaiming the White House, while reiterating his concerns about the security of electronic voting machines.
After casting his ballot in Florida, Trump told reporters, “I feel very confident.”
He added, “I believe we ran a great campaign,” referring to his race against Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
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While Trump voiced his confidence, he also underscored his willingness to accept defeat if the election was conducted fairly.
“If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it. So far, I think it’s been fair,” Trump said, though he added that his acceptance would hinge on perceived election integrity.
In particular, Trump has voiced concerns about electronic voting machines, suggesting they are less secure than paper ballots.
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, he remarked, “They spend all this money on machines… If they would use paper ballots, voter ID, proof of citizenship, and one-day voting, it would all be over by 10 o’clock in the evening. It’s crazy.”
Trump further commented on the potential for election unrest. When asked whether he would urge supporters to remain peaceful, he dismissed the question, asserting that his supporters are “not violent people.”
As voting concludes, Trump’s statements add to the polarized atmosphere of one of the most contentious U.S. elections in recent history, with the nation watching closely as results unfold.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday undertook visits to two states-Borno and Jigawa to commiserate with the governments and their people, following the devastating floods that ravaged Borno and the deadly petroleum tanker explosion in Jigawa that claimed nearly 200 lives, all of which happened while he was away from the country.
The former president lamented the damage, destruction, and losses of life that attended the worst floods in many decades in Borno State, ascribing the catastrophic incident to destructive weather due to climate change.
He recalled his days as the Military Governor of the North-Eastern state-now split into six states – when, as said, “ we engaged in prayers for rain. Now, we are having the irony of the state being overwhelmed by rain.”
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He commended the efforts of the state and federal governments in the joint efforts to restore normalcy in the lives of the people, saying that having sent a delegation to condole the situation while he was away, he still felt unsatisfied with the gesture, necessitating the urge to make the trip to see things and personally commiserate with the state.
The state governor, Pro Umara Babagana Zulum and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garba Al Amin El-Kanemi thanked the former president for the “historic visit,” saying that the state would never forget the president who had visited more than any other, and one “who has done so much and so well for Nigeria and Borno state in particular.
“Without the 85 megawatts captive power plant you built here, Maiduguri would have continued in darkness. You gave us the North East Development Commission, a military university, a federal polytechnic, and a college of education and ensured the gradual return of peace after years of Boko Haram terrorism,” stated the Governor.
In Dutse, the Jigawa state, the acting governor, Engineer Aminu Usman led the former president to the Rasheed Shekoni University Teaching Hospital where he saw the victims of the fire explosion still on admission.
Muhammadu Buhari joined in prayers for the repose of the 180 plus so far dead, from the fire, and the quick recovery of those who are still on admission in hospitals.
The acting governor thanked the former president for the visit and for the cash donation to the victims of the disaster.
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