Articles by New Telegraph,Onyekachi Eze

World

UK, Canada, Australia Launch Campaign Against Visa Fraud

…Violators Liable To 10 Years Travel Ban The United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Australia have announced the launch of a coordinated international campaign to combat visa fraud and protect people from exploitation by fraudulent immigration facilitators. The #FightingVisaFraud campaign was launched as part of activities marking the International Fraud Awareness Week (16-22 November) and represents an unprecedented level of cooperation between the three countries to tackle a shared global threat that costs victims millions of pounds annually and puts vulnerable people at risk of exploitation, financial ruin and legal consequences. In a statement jointly issued by the Diplomatic Missions of the three countries, they said Visa fraud and illegal immigration facilitation have reached alarming levels globally, with criminal networks using increasingly sophisticated tactics to deceive prospective visa applicants. “Victims are often promised guaranteed visas, jobs without proper qualifications, or expedited processing in exchange for exorbitant fees. The reality is financial loss, visa refusals, travel bans and, in the worst cases, trafficking and exploitation. “Our countries have identified common patterns of visa fraud affecting their immigration systems. This coordinated campaign demonstrates the three countries’ commitment to protecting legitimate visa applicants while maintaining the integrity of their immigration systems and secure borders,” the statement read. British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, said visa fraud destroys dreams and devastates families. “Criminal facilitators prey on people’s legitimate aspirations for a better life, stealing their money and putting them at risk of serious harm. Through this joint campaign with our international partners, we are sending a clear message: use only official channels, verify all advice, and report suspicious activity. The UK welcomes legitimate visa applications through proper routes – but those who attempt fraud face serious consequences, including 10-year travel bans,” Montgomery said. Similarly, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Pasquale Salvaggio, has also condemned visa fraud and its consequences. “Canada is committed to working with our international partners to combat visa fraud and protect people from exploitation. This campaign reflects our shared values and determination to maintain fair, secure immigration systems while supporting those who seek to travel, study or work through legitimate pathways,” he said. New Telegraph gathered that the immigration authorities of the three countries will work closely with law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute visa fraud and illegal facilitation. They warned that people who attempt to obtain a visa through fraudulent means face serious consequences, including visa application refusal, travel bans of up to 10 years, financial loss with no recourse, criminal charges in some jurisdictions, and exploitation and trafficking risks.

Politics

Danger Looms As PDP Factions Prepare To Take Control Of Party Secretariat

The peace of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) may be disturbed as the two contending factions for the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have prepared to hold a meeting at the party’s National Secretariat on Tuesday, November 18. The group loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, in a notice signed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, said it will hold its factional Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings at the National Secretariat. The National Chairman of the PDP, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, after a meeting with the FCT Commissioner of Police, said the newly inaugurated National Working Committee (NWC) will hold its inaugural meeting, also at the party’s National Secretariat. “At this meeting, we have invited all our stakeholders and founding fathers. We’ve invited all our governors and members of the National Assembly. We’ve invited members of the Board of Trustees, our state chairmen, and other critical stakeholders. “And so, as law-abiding people, we’ve come here to tell the police that we are having our meeting tomorrow. “This will be the inaugural meeting since we left Ibadan after our election at our National Elective Convention,” Turaki said in an interview with journalists. PDP National Secretariat had been locked since November 3, following the suspension and counter-suspension by the now dissolved National Working Committee (NWC) members. The party at its National Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, last weekend, suspended Wike, Anyanwu, who is National Secretary in the dissolved NWC, the factional National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, factional BoT Chairman, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, former National Organising Secretary Capt Umar Bature (retd), former National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN and his deputy Okechukwu Osuoha, among others. Anyanwu admitted that he order that the secretariat should be locked because they got information that a group led by the former National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, was planning to attack the secretariat. “And for that reason, as the custodian of the office, as the secretary, I asked everybody to stay away. Let us find a lasting solution to make the place safer for our people to do their job,” Anyanwu said. That was before the party’s elective National Convention, where new officers of the party were elected. Turaki said Wike and others are no longer PDP members. According to him, in the management of a political party, the National Convention is the highest decision-making organ of the party. “The decision taken in a National Convention overrides every other decision that has been taken by any organ of a party. “Our National Convention has taken a decision to expel these elements from the party,” he said, adding that Wike and members of his group are no longer members of PDP. “And so, we have reported the moves they are making to the police, because we don’t want any situation where there will be a breach of peace. “As leaders, more than any other person, we want peace to be sustained. “This democracy that our leaders, our forefathers, have sacrificed their lives to bring about to this level, we shall be ready also to give our own lives to sustain this democracy,” he assured. Turaki stated as the National Chairman, he would be leading from the front, and assured that the party would hold its inaugural meeting at Wadata Plaza, the PDP National Secretariat, “and anybody that is sitting there without our consent and permission is an interloper. “We have not sought the assistance of the police or any other security agencies to lock up our offices. “Now, we are going there, we’ll have the offices opened, we’ll get in there, and then begin to perform the functions for which we’ve been elected. “I have assured the Commissioner of Police of the FCT that while we will ensure that no breach of the peace, of course, we will go there prepared to defend ourselves and our integrity as Nigerians because the Nigerian constitution has given us the right to defend our persons, our lives, our properties. So, that is what we are prepared to do. “And let me reiterate again for avoidance of doubt, to defend our party, to defend this nascent democracy, we are prepared to lay down our lives. “We will go there to move into our headquarters, to conduct our official functions, and if anybody tries to prevent us, then we pray for them.”

Politics

PDP BoT Disclaims Purported C’ttee Report

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has disowned the purported report of the six-man reconciliation committee being circulated by the group loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The Wike group had, at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, said the reconciliation committee headed by Ambassador Hassan Adamu, recommended the postponement of the National Convention and the setting up of an all-inclusive caretaker committee. But BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, in a statement on Friday night, “categorically dissociates and distances” the board from the purported report. Wabara stated that the content of the said report does not represent the official position of the board. “Having not been considered or adopted by the BoT, it cannot in any form or guise whatsoever be regarded as the position of the BoT,” he said. Wabara, who is the former President of the Senate, said the BoT endorsed the conduct of the PDP elective National Convention “as scheduled on Saturday, 15th to Sunday, 16th November, 2025 in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, for the purpose of electing a new set of leaders to pilot the affairs of the party in the next four years.” He based the position of the board on the Supreme Court judgement, “which reaffirmed the supremacy of a political party in the conduct of its internal affairs.” The BoT Chairman stated that the board rejects any suggestion for a caretaker committee for the party. “Such an idea cannot be contemplated as the board and, of course, the PDP, have irreversibly decided for an elective National Convention which is within the scope of the internal affairs of the party to which the courts have no jurisdiction,” he added.