UK Hikes Visa Fees Effective Soon

UK hikes visa fees effective soon. The UK Home Office has jerked up the prices of visa applications in different categories, raising study visa fees for main applicants and their dependants from £490 to £524.

The Home Office Immigration, according to its website, revised the visa fees on March 19, stating that a six-month visit visa will cost £127 from £115 while two-year visa will go for £475 up from £432 and 10-year visa will be issued at £1059, which formerly cost £963.

Transit visa for direct airside has been adjusted to £39 from £35 while that of direct landside visit visa was reviewed to £70 from £64. The reviewed fees are effective April 9.

The UK has become a sort of academic hub for many Nigerians seeking to further their studies and escape the nation’s economic crisis.

UK Hikes Visa Fees

But the number of these Nigerian education enthusiasts who wish to travel to the UK has  declined sharply in 2024 after the government implemented a policy barring international students from bringing their family members. The rule, does not, however, apply to postgraduate research students.

The policy, according to a March 2024 report by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, led to the drastic drop in study visa applications as Nigerians, Indians and other nationalities sought admissions in other countries for further to studies.

Tinubu Reveals How He Nearly Quit 2023 Presidential Race

Tinubu reveals how he nearly quit 2023 presidential race. Mr Tinubu thanked the guests for their presence, payers and contributions to the country’s development.

President Bola Tinubu has said nearly quit the 2023 presidential race. Mr Tinubu stated this at a special Iftar held in his honour at the Presidential Villa on Saturday.

Mr Tinubu thanked guests for their presence, prayers, and contributions to the nation’s development, and appreciated Nigerians for their outpouring of goodwill and prayers as he marked his 73rd birthday.

Reflecting on his political journey, Mr Tinubu recounted a moment of doubt during the 2023 election campaign when he contemplated withdrawing from the race after an encounter with a close relative.

He said, “Those close to me know that the odds were against me. During the campaigns, one of them came to my living room around 3:30 a.m. and said he needed just N50,000 to buy foodstuff for our uncle.

“He told me, ‘The currency is gone because of you. People are jumping over bank counters because there is no cash. Our uncle, a wealthy man, doesn’t even have N10,000 in cash.

What are you running for? I told him, ‘I am running for President, not for you and our uncle.’ I gave him the N50,000. As he walked out, he turned to me and said, ‘I don’t think you will make it.’ I replied, ‘I will make it,’” said Tinubu.

Mr Tinubu stated that his uncle later called to confirm receiving the money but admitted that he had only given the messenger N10,000 and kept the rest.

“I was amazed. At that moment, I almost dropped the idea of running for President. But thanks to Aminu Masari and all of you who encouraged me. When I came to Abuja, Masari told me, ‘I am the chairman of the North-West Group; don’t look back’,” he said.

Mr Tinubu noted that he assumed office during a time of economic uncertainty and had to make immediate, difficult decisions, including removing the fuel subsidy.

“On the day of my inauguration, I had to decide on something not originally in my speech, and that was the fuel subsidy removal,” he said.

Noting that Nigeria had reached a point of no return on the issue, the President said: “The hallmark of a great leader is the ability to make the right decision at the right time.

“That was the day I declared that the subsidy was gone. The following day, I was hounded and thoroughly abused in the media. But I stood firm, knowing it was the right thing to do for our nation’s future.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima lauded the President’s sacrifices, stating that history would remember him as the leader who took on the nation’s most complex challenges.

“Thanks to his boldness, future presidents of Nigeria will not have to wrestle with the same ghosts that haunted past administrations, including fraud-ridden fuel subsidies, an unstable forex market, and the suppression of local government autonomy.

“These were the thorny issues that many before him sidestepped. But Asiwaju did not sidestep history; he came to rewrite it. And in rewriting it, Asiwaju has taken the bullets that many before him simply lacked the courage to face.

Tinubu Reveals How

“But that is the thing about true leadership: it is not for those who seek comfort. It is for those who understand that the path to national greatness is lined with difficult choices,” he said.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, praised Mr Tinubu’s ability to forgive and his relentless passion for national development.
Mr Akpabio described the President as a leader who thinks outside the box and as the ‘most audacious president’ in the country’s history.

He said that under Mr Tinubu’s watch, governors were getting more allocation.
“If I were a governor under your administration, I would have been a ‘supernatural governor’ and not an uncommon governor,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, described Mr Tinubu as a leader who has broken barriers and uplifted future Nigerian politicians.
He noted that the Mr Tinubu had taken a backseat to raising leaders for decades.

“Today, he is at the forefront because Nigeria needs him. In 2019, despite not being from his region, he supported me in my most difficult political moment.

Nigeria needs leaders who rise above tribal considerations, and he has demonstrated that,” he said.
Also, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, commended Mr Tinubu’s decisive leadership at a time when Nigeria needed stability.

“Only a leader with deep conviction and love for the country could have taken the bold and yet necessary decisions that averted national collapse and now restoring hope and confidence across the federation,” he said.

Commenting, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, shared his personal experience of being appointed by Mr Tinubu despite his past activism.

He said, “Before my appointment, I had never met the President. But after my confirmation, he told me, ‘I have looked at your records and activism, and I am giving you an opportunity to serve.”

The minister recounted a recent meeting at the World Bank, where a senior official described Mr Tinubu as the best reformist leader in Africa today.

Mr Tinubu’s childhood friend, Prof. Shaffideen Amuwo, reminisced about their early years and how divine providence led him to the presidency.

He stated, “Our relationship did not just start in Chicago; we played soccer together as children. While I chose the library, my brother chose politics because he loved to speak.

Today, Allah has shown His greatness by guiding him to lead Nigeria. The city of Chicago, founded by a Black man, has educated the man who now leads the most populous Black nation on earth.

I pray that Allah continues to hold his hand and guide him as he works to save our country.”

DASAC: 240 Students Graduates As DAKKADA Skills Center Holds Convocation

DASAC: 240 students graduates as DAKKADA skills center holds convocation. The Dakkada Skills Aquisition center (DASAC) is set to graduate a total of 240 students at her first convocation ceremony after successfully completing training.

The 240 trainees who have met the standard grades for the award of the school’s certificates with University of Lagos’ endorsement by way of accreditation will be graduating at her maiden edition. They will also be awarded the National Trade Test 2 or 3 certification, depending on the choice of course or grade of pass.

The institution is also in talks with the City & Guild of London, Nigeria Institute of Engineers, Nigeria Institute of Engineers, National Institute for Technology Engineers, etc for accreditation in line with its vision and mission statement.

Initially known as Government Technical College, Ikot Ada Idem, DASAC was established in 1976 by the World Bank and the then Cross River State Government under the instrumentality of the post-Nigerian Civil War Reconstruction Initiative, to provide technical and vocational training aimed at developing human capital capacity in skills, vocational and technical education.

The college also designed and produced many facilities for cottage industries in the State. The technologists and technicians from the college had made the institution and the State proud by winning laurels in national and international competitions.

Some of the graduates had also established functional business enterprises employing many people.

DAKKADA

This institution is conceptualized to offer a redefining model in the Skills, Vocational and Technical education sector, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, equipment, curriculum and Faculty, that would deliver contemporary cutting-edge knowledge transfer to Akwa Ibomites, Nigerians and Africans from commencement of its academic programmes soon.

The ship of DASAC’s academic ambition set sail on September 9th, 2024 with the flag-off of 4 out of the 8 technical fac