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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021
News CONTENTS News 2-14 Op.Ed
12-13
Politics 15-17 Stock Watch Business Metro
18 19-20 21
World Analysis 22 Africa News
23
World News
24
NGE condemns proposed media bills before NASS, calls them draconian ...Says media not political enemy of FG By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
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he Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has said that the media industry is not a political opponent or enemy of the Federal Government. The NGE pointed out that many of the political elite’s attacks on the media are habitually not envisioned to win an argument on the values, journalistic or legal; but designed to bully media organizations. The Guild, which is the umbrella of all editors in Nigeria, said these in a statement signed by Mustapha Isah (President) and Iyobosa Uwugiaren (General Secretary) on Tuesday in Abuja. The Guild was reacting to what it described as ‘’draconian provisions’’ in the two Bills - to amend the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act that are currently before the National Assembly, which the sponsors said were aimed at moderating the ‘’recklessness’’ of the media. The NGE categorically declared that the Bills are actually meant to criminalize journalism practice in the country.
The Guild said that the ‘’oxygen of democracy’’: the media, will be strangulated if the bills are passed in their present forms. The NGE therefore called on the National Assembly to remove those obnoxious provisions in the two bills that make it look as if they are meant to strangulate, instead of regulate the media. According to the statement, “At a time there is a popular ongoing global conversation about the need for a #NewDealForJournalism’’ - for immediate and sustained action from, and collaboration between governments and other influential actors to improve the policy, funding, and enabling environment for independent professional journalism, we see the proposed legislations as unhelpful. ’While we are not opposed to an Act that will promote media stakeholders-driven regulatory council, the many draconian provisions in the Hon. Odebunmi Olusegun’s sponsored bills are actually aimed at criminalising media practice in Nigeria. While the intention of the sponsor of the bills is suspicious, the bills negate all known features of media regulatory bodies in the world’’,
....Wants them expunged
the Guild stated. For example, the Guild said while the NPC Act. CAP N128, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1992, created by the military dictatorship, gives the Council Board full responsibility to administer the council, the proposed Act restricts the council board to ‘’advisory capacity on a part-time basis without direct interference in the day to day administration of the council’’, and gives the Executive Secretary all the power” The Guild added, ‘’While the proposed NPC Act says the Board shall consist of one representative each from the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ); Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE); Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN); Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON); Ministry of Information; two Representatives of the general public, one of whom shall be a legal practitioner and a woman and Executive Secretary of the council, who shall serve as the secretary to the Board, the board is a mere advisory body. ‘’The Bill also says that the Chairman of the Board shall be appointed by the President on the
R-L,: Director General, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alh. Abbas Idriss, Permanent Secretary FCTA, Mr.Olusade Adesola, Director General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Engr. Clement Onyeaso Nze and the Deputy Director, Forecasting, Response and Mitigation FEMA, Lady Florence Wenegieme, during the FEMA 2021 flood outlook and review of FCT emergency Preparedness and response plan, held yesterday in Abuja.
Delta SSG tasks civil servants on cleanliness Page 10 Digest
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Feature 26 Sports 30-31 Back Page
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recommendation of the Minister in charge of Information. And that all other members of the Board shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation by the Minister of Information. The intension of this kind of Council is suspicious”, the Guild said. The body of editors is of the view that the professional body doesn’t need the approval of the Minister of Information to establish and disseminate a National Press Code and standards to guide the conduct of print media, related media houses and media practitioners and approves penalties and fines against violation of the press code, as provided for in the Bill. Continuing, it said, ‘’The Guild is not aware of any media regulatory council in the world, which says that media regulatory council shall establish a National Press and Ethical Code of Conduct for media houses and media practitioners, which shall come into effect and be disseminated after approval by the Minister of Information, and that the code shall be binding on every media houses and journalists.”
Photo: Justin Imo- owo
Kangiwa calls on teachers to take career in tourism By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
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he Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR),Nura Kangiwa has called on teachers in secondary schools to take up career in tourism. Kangiwa said tourism is a multidimensional industry and multidisciplinary in subject. He made the call at the opening
ceremony of the second phase of ‘Train the Trainer’ program organized by the Institute for secondary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory yesterday in Abuja . He said tourism as a multifaceted skill enterprise offers lots of opportunities for those willing to delve into it as either entrepreneurs or career teachers and trainers in tourism subjects. The Director General who was
represented by Director Research and Development of the Institute, Dr. Taiwo Famogbiyele, noted that, the tourism subsectors offer such entrepreneurial skills and business opportunities as Tour Guiding, Tour Operations, Travel Agency Operations, Cabin Crew, Gardens Operations. Other are Events Management, Recreational Management Centres, Hospitality Management, Pastry and Cookery amongst others.
He emphasized that one can also take up teaching career in the afore-mentioned tourism subsectors in both secondary and tertiary institutions as instructors and lecturers. Meanwhile, Head of Department of the Travel Tourism Department of the Institute, Edwin Enenta, called on the trainees to remain focused and resilient in their chosen career as teachers of tourism subject in the schools.
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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021
News
Pilot phase of Pan African payment, settlement system begins- Sec.-Gen.
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he African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat says pilot phase of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is ongoing in six West African countries to facilitate AfCFTA’s implementation. The AfCFTA Secretary-General, Mr Wamkele Mene, disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja while on official tour to Nigeria. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PAPSS is a centralised payment and settlement market infrastructure for processing, clearing and settling of intra-African trade and commerce payments. Adopted in July 2019 by the African Union Heads of State as the payment and settlement system to support the implementation of the AfCFTA, PAPSS is expected to create new financial flows and successfully facilitate trade and other economic activities among African countries. Afreximbank is the operator and the main Settlement Agent for PAPSS. The Bank will provide settlement guarantee on the payment system as well as overdraft facilities to all settlement agents. NAN recalls that Interim Governing Council of PAPSS had in December 2020, in Cairo met on step towards operationalisation of the payment system which was developed by African ExportImport Bank (Afreximbank), under the auspices of AfCFTA Secretariat and AU. Mene said that the system which would be ready at the end of 2021 was the first major step taken in addressing some challenges related to the cost of currency convertability under AfCFTA implementation. “We have started a piloting phase of the Pan-African payment and settlement platform of six countries in West Africa who have switched on to the platform. “Transactions are already happening within these six countries that are at an advanced stage of the pilot project. “So, the platform will make a significant contribution and our estimate is that it will reduce the cost of transactions by five billion dollars annually, being the aggregate amount that is spent on currency convertibility,” he said. Mene further explained that Africa has 42 currencies and the cost of the currency convertibility was actually a constraint to intra Africa Trade. This, he said was making us to feel inefficient and our trade unnecessarily expensive, thereby adding to the cost of doing business especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). “When the system is fully up and running, you will be able to transact with somebody in Kenya in Naira and they will receive Kenya shillings and Afreximbank will be the correspondent facility. (NAN)
Ag. News Editor, Tobias Lengnam
Andy Uba threatens lawsuit over bank staff protest at residence By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja
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enator Andy Uba, has threatened lawsuit against Heritage Bank over trending video of protesting of the bank at the entrance of his residence. The governorship aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra state, Senator Uba said the actions of the bank staff have exposed him to ridicule, shame and embarrassment. About three days ago, some staff of the bank, while on a loan
recovery drive protested at the gate ofbtge senator, asking him to come to the bank and repay his loan. The protest by the bank staff trended and went viral on the social media In a letter dated June 23, 2021 and signed by his lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji, SAN, Uba asked the bank to tender unreserved apology in five national dailies and N5billion damages. Mr Raji said, ‘’Despite your veiled denial, the deliberateness of your staffs’ action is founded and the intent, to wit: - bring our client to publicobrobrium shame
ridicule scorn etc. is glaring for all to see. ‘’This is more so, as you deliberately picked the rather inauspicious period immediately preceding the forthcoming gubernatorial primary election of the All Progressives Congress [APC] for Anambra State slated for the 26th of June 2021, wherein our client is the leading candidate to clinch his Party’s ticket, to stage this smear campaign against him. ‘’Surely, the damage occasioned to our client by your calculated but ill-advised action is unquantifiable. However, our
client will be assuaged if a public apology, unreserved, is tendered by you and published in at least 5 [five] national daily newspapers within a day of receipt of this letter and payment [Five Billion Naira] in damages. ‘’If not, we have our client’s further instructions to seek redress against you in a court of law for the same. Kindly be advised. ‘’We do hope that you will take benefit of the olive branch offered in this letter; the gamble, otherwise, is yours to suffer’’, he said.
N Medical personnel attending to one of the survivors of an accident at Total Garden roundabout, who were taken to the University College Hospital, Ibadan on Wednesday (23/6/2021).
We spent N35bn on payment of pensions, gratuities -Oyetola
From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
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he Oyo State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has disclosed that his administration had spent about N35billion on payment of pensions and gratuities of retired workers in the state since 2018.
This was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Ismail Omipidan and made available to media in Kaduna yesterday. The statement stated that the administration has consistently released N509 million on a monthly basis to cater for pensioners under the Old Pension Scheme,
not leaving out those on the Contributory Pension Scheme. Oyetola reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to continuously uplift the standard of living of all categories of workers by taking their welfare as a topmost priority. This is even as the governor presented bond certificates to some retirees in the State.
NYSC deworms 156 pupils, gives food items to elderly
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he National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) through its Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD) has dewormed 156 pupils as part of its medical outreach in Lofan, Barkin-Ladi Local Government in Plateau. The NYSC-HIRD which started its one-week free medical outreach nationwide on Monday had also donated food items, toiletries, clothing, and money to the elderly in the community. The Plateau state coordinator of the scheme, Ms Caroline Embu, presided over the deworming on Wednesday in Lofan. Embu said that the aim of the
medical outreach is to reach out to the indigent rural dwellers with basic healthcare. She described the medical outreach, which started on Monday with diagnosis, treatment and referrals, as 90 per cent successful. Embu said that the deworming of the pupils of LEA Gossi and Primary School, Lofan, was to ensure that the children were also healthy. She also said that the donation of food items, toiletries, clothing, and money to the elderly in the community was geared toward supporting them. The Gwom Rwey of Fan, Mr
Dashwei Chungwom, commended the NYSC for its gesture of bringing healthcare to those living in the rural areas. He said that the outreach would further strengthen the existing relationship between the community and the NYSC. Similarly, the Monitoring Officer, Community Development Service (CDS), NYSC headquarters, Mrs Blessing Iruma, commended the medical outreach. She said that the turnout was impressive and that the people were excited and eager to benefit from the medical outreach. Some pupils who spoke with
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) expressed joy, saying they could not remember when last they dewormed. The pupils thanked the NYSC for the free-medical outreach saying the act would enable them stay healthy without their parents paying for the services. Similarly, one of the elderly beneficiaries of the donations, Mrs Naomi Audu, thanked the NYSC for their gesture. NAN reports that no fewer than 700 persons had benefitted from the free-medical outreach that included health talks and sensitisation, diagnosis for hypertension, hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV/AIDS. (NAN)