PEOPLES DAILY www.peoplesdailyng.com 2023: No Villa candidate, only APC candidate, says Presidency . . . putting the people firstThursday, August 25, 2022/ 27 Muharram 1444 AH @pmlonline peoplesdailyng 268 ghost workers found on payroll of Kogi High Court Despite crisis, Ayu says PDP will win 25 governorship seats FG begins implementation of At-Risk ProgrammeChildreninNiger Kaduna NIS boss promises to check illegal influx of aliens PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 >>PG 5 >>PG 5 >>PG 2 Vol. 40 No. 030 N200 UPDATE ON SCHOOL CHILDREN HELD CAPTIVE BETHEL BAPTIST HIGH SCHOOL, KUJAMA DAYS417 Muslim-Muslim ticket: Dogara, Babachir consult IBB, Abdulsalami in Minna Kebbi, Taraba got N9.1bn refunds for work on federal roads FEC okays N55bn contracts for N/E, Mushin -Oshodi roads N710m security surveillance for Abuja rail The commandant Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Mr. Olatunji Disu parading 11 suspected Edo state cultists and 12 kidnappers from, Plateau/Bauchi states, at the IRT headquarters, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud
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The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN), Mr Olawale Fasanya yesterday paid a visit to the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja11 in Abuja.
By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Nura Kangiwa has appealed to professional bodies in the tourism and hospitality industry to sanitize professional practicesregisteringby professionals in their folds and guard against the infiltration of quacks into the sector.
Muslim-Muslim ticket: Dogara, Babachir consults IBB, Abdusalam in Minna
He said the representatives of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other arms bearing security agencies witnessed the cerempony.“Over3,000 automatic and locally fabricated SALW were handed over to the Centre by the Commander, OPDS, Rear Adm. Aminu Hassan, who also represented DHQ at the hand-over ceremony.“The assorted weapons included, AK 47 rifles, FN rifles, Berretta rifles, G3 rifles, Pump Action rifles and various brands of pistols.“Others included Sub-Machine Guns (SMG) and General-Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG) as well as locally fabricated Single and Double-Barrel rifles, Pistols, SMGs and ammunition of various calibres,’’ he said.
Arms control centre takes possession of 3,000 recovered weapons in N/Delta
The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has taken possession of more than 3,000 different categories of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).
From Ahmad Muhammad, Bauchi
He said it was about time people discard the erroneous impression that to practice in tourism and hospitality fields is simple and easy without requiring formal training and thus, opened to all comers.Henoted that to practice in any of the professional arms of the industry, one does not only need formal training for a start, but there must be a continuous exercise to train and re-train so as to be adequately equipped with the requisite skills for competency and proficiency in professional conducts in line with best global practices.Hesaid NIHOTOUR is readily available to offer quality training services to all practicing and intending members of the public in all tourism and hospitalitySpeakingtrades.earlier, leader of the delegation and National President of NATOP, Ime Udo, said they were at the Institute to pay solidarity visit on the Director General with the view to exploring possible ways of synergy in the area of manpower training and capacity development of its members.
The immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon Yakubu Dogara and immediate past Secretary to the Government Babachir Lawal have met with former Heads of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubaakar over their rejection of the Muslim-Muslim ticket.A statement distributed to reporters in Bauchi yesterday by Turaki Hassan Adamu, Dogara’s media aide said “The dou, accompanied by a former Deputy Governor of Kogi state Simon Achuba met separately with Babangida and Abdulsalam. He said, “Although the meeting was held on Monday, the details just emerged. Sources close to the politicians said they were in Minna to felicitate with IBB on the occasion of his 81st birthday anniversary and also to consult with him on their stance on the APC Muslims-Muslim ticket.”They had recently convened a submit of APC Northern Christian Forum in Abuja where representatives and delegates from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory vehemently rejected the MuslimMuslim ticket of the APC.
Kangiwa made the call when he received the elected executive members of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP), led by the National President, Ime Udo on a courtesy visit at the headquarters Institute headquarters in Abuja recently.
The coordinator, who was represented by the South-South Zonal Coordinator for the centre, retired Maj.Gen. Martins Obot, said the takeover was in fulfilment of the centre’s core functions. He said that NCCSALW had the mandate of retrieving all recovered illicit SALW in the holdings of all arms bearing security agencies in the Accordingcountry. to him, the centre intends to aggregate all weapons and related material that have been mopped up from the society and manage the stockpile leading up to its destruction. He commended the troops and leadership of OPDS for their resilience and the huge successes recorded in curtailing criminal activities and recovery of numerous illicit weapons. The coordinator also thanked all stakeholders and law-abiding citizens especially those who have been helpful in providing actionable information leading to the successful arms recovery. He assured that the NCCSALW remained committed to its duties and focused on the delivery of its mandate of ensuring an illicit arms-free Nigeria. (NAN)
NIHOTOUR wants sanitization of professional practices
PAGE 2 PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 N EWS CONTENTS The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish. You can send your news and pictures pictures@peoplesdailyng.comadverts@peoplesdailyng.comto:contact@peoplesdailyng.com Phones for News: 0802443209908142929046 WE WANT TO FROMHEARYOU News 2-14 Op.Ed 12-13 Politics 15-17 Stock Watch 18 Business 19-20 Metro 21 World Analysis 22 Africa News 23 World News 24 Digest 25 Feature 26 Sports 30-31 Back Page 32 Page 8 AfDB receivesAdesinapresidentNigeriaGlobalBrandAward
Photo: SMEDAN
The National Coordinator of NCCSALW, retired Maj.-Gen. Abba Dikko, made this known in a statement by the centre’s Head of Strategic Communication, Air Commodore Ewejide Akintunde on Wednesday in Abuja. Dikko said SALW, ammunition and other arms related materials were recovered by the troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), and handed over to the centre on Monday in Port Harcourt.
Niger CP insecurityinrulerstraditionalseekssupportcurbing
Chairman of the probe panel, Justice Mohammed Etsu Umar, disclosed this while presenting the report of the staff verification committee to the Acting Chief Judge (CJ) Justice Josiah Joe Majebi at the judiciary headquarters in Lokoja midweek. According to Justice Umar, the recruitment malpractice has led to ‘astronomical’ increase in personnel emoluments, representing 40 percent increase in personnel cost.
“After a careful check of the names of newly employed staff from January 2021 to June 2022, the staff disposition list and payroll, it was discovered that some of the names on the payroll could not be found on the staff disposition list of the courts and otherTherefore,departments.itis an indication that though their names are on the pay roll but they do not have duty stations and do not work anywhere in the Inspectorate offices”, the report read in part. For a staff to be on pay roll without duty station, the committee recommends that such staff be terminated from the service.The Committee also recommends that, “henceforth, employment by the institution should be highly regulated to the needs of the judiciary establishment and based on budgetary provisions and availability of vacancies.”
While appreciating the committee members for a thorough job, kogi state Chief Judge, Justice Josiah Majebi, said the committee’s assignment would be a continuous one to fish out parasites feeding fat in the system giving assurance that he would implement the recommendations.“Iambeingguided by the three principles of showing love and being concerned with the problems and happiness of the people I lead, he said. The setting up of the state judiciary Staff verification committee followed the recommendation of the state high court council of Judges to that effect to check administrative malpractice.
268 ghost workers found on payroll of Kogi High Court
Benue security outfit apprehend 5 Amazoniansuspected fighters From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi Men of the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards have apprehended five Amazonian fighters believed to have a link with Boko Haram in Jato Aka, Kwande Local Government Area.The suspects are said to be aged between 25 and 42 years old.
From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja
From Yakubu Mustapha Minna
Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on Security, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba rtd who disclosed this to newsmen named the suspects as; Stanley Vincent, David Ajong, Ronado Njeke, Nelson Emmanuel Ngum and Tabel Samuel Obem. Colonel Hemba said the five fighters who are also believed to be fighting the Republic of Cameroon for many years were picked up at Jato Aka round about, near Dzoho Aondofa drinking joint. He disclosed that items suspected to be chemical weapons, military uniforms, charms and undisclosed number of ammunition were recovered from the suspects at their hideout at Agogo Hotel, Jato Aka, where they had stayed for about six months. The Security Adviser said one of the suspects, Stanley Vincent had disguised as a personnel of the Nigerian Army serving in Lagos at Ojo, Lagos State without any form of identity, a development that triggered suspicion against them.
From Adama John, Lokoja T
Col. Hemba who also linked criminal activities in Kwande Local Government such as armed robbery and kidnapping in the last six months to the suspects said they have been handed over to the Police Division in Adikpo.
Operatives of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) have arrested three persons in Mpape Old and New Markets in Abuja for selling books suspected to be pirated. The NCC Director of Operations, Mr. Obi Ezeilo who disclosed this at the NCC Headquarters, Abuja stated that the arrests were made during an antipiracy operation carried out by Copyright Inspectors, backed by officers of the Nigeria Police Force.The Director gave the names of the arrested book vendors as Mr. Chukwudi Okenwa, Mr. George Chimezie and Alhaji Saidu Abdullahi.Herevealed that two hundred and twenty-one (221) copies, including various titles with an estimated market value of about Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N450,000.00) were confiscated during the antipiracy operation.
3 suspected book pirates arrested in Abuja
PAGE 3 N EWS Ag News Editor, Tobias Lengnam PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
L- R Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola with the Canada High Commissioner to Nigeria James Christoff , during the envoy courtesy call to the Minister yesterday in Abuja.
Photo: Justin Imo-owo
he Staff Verification Committee set up by Acting chief Judge of Kogi state to probe the nominal roll of the state High Court has discovered 268 ghost workers on the payroll of the state High Court. The committee has also uncovered 706 illegally recruited staff for one and half years on the payroll of the state judiciary, just as it recommended the termination of same.
The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command CP Monday Bala has paid a courtesy visit to the Emir of Zazzau, Suleja, Malam Muhammad Awwal Ibrahim, in his palace in an effort to deepen community policing in the state. He further solicited for more support of the traditional institution in Suleja to ensure peace and crime free society. The CP appreciated the effort of the Emirate Council and people of Suleja for the support given to the Police in the area. The police boss equally applauded the effort of the State Government in ensuring that Policing the State is made easier through provision of logistics and otherResponding,needs. the royal father assured the CP of his continued support and cooperation as security is a collective responsibility.Healsourged the Police to harmonize stakeholders and guard against proliferation of vigilante services in Suleja to avoid clash of interest in the line of protection of life and property.
Mr. Ezeilo identified some of the impounded books as The Saint, by Tade Adegbindin; Understanding Mathematics, Books 1, 2, and 5; Macmillan Champion, Primary Book 6; King James Version and Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, belonging to Bible Society of Nigeria.Others included New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and New Concept English for Senior Secondary Schools, by Learn Africa; When the Past Came Calling, by Imaobong Nsehe; Black Out, by Christian Nwachukwu; and Echoes of My Voice, by Helen Uche Ibezim. Assuring of the Commission’s continued commitment to sanitising the book industry across the country; the Director indicated that investigation was ongoing towards the prosecution of the arrested suspects. He enjoined members of the public to support the national antipiracy campaign by reporting suspected pirates in their neighborhoods to the Commission for prompt action.
PAGE 4 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Ndeobi described the family unit as the nucleus of the society, which, therefore, should be in good stead to fulfill its obligations to children that God had blessed the home with. She decried the spike in divorce in the society, advising couples, especially young ones, to study the likes and dislikes of their spouses and work toward upholding sound principles that must not be toyed with.
...Claims party is in excellent mood
“We decided to first of all honour those men that have stood with their wives in spite of the women’s short comings and somehow bad characters.
Wike was equally taking the step to ensure his political survival after 2023“Wikeelection.is old and politically experienced and savvy enough to make his decisions. “He is entitled to take any necessary step or measure that will guarantee his political survival after 2023 ”There’selections.nobetter way to do it than forming a strategic alliance with Tinubu ahead of 2023 general elections.“There is nothing in PDP for Wike anymore. He has lost his bearing and goodwill in the party.
Despite the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, its National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu has declared that the party is determined to win nothing less than twenty-five governorship seats in the next year’s general elections. Ayu expressly said that the mood in the party is ‘excellent’.
2023: Support Group says Tinubu-Wike reported alliance good omen
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Wike had on Monday with some of his allies reportedly travelled to London to meet Tinubu for a critical meeting on their political future. The delegation reportedly comprised of some PDP governors and other major personalities in Wike’sNANcamp.reports that Wike had been engaged in crisis with his party after he couldn’t emerge as the running mate to PDP Presidential Candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. He was also said to have recently given the party some conditions for an amicable resolution of the crisis.(NAN)
The PDP governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Mr Isa Mohammed Ashiru, while answering questions from journalists at the venue of the consultative meeting, however denied any knowledge of crisis within the main opposition party in theAshiru,country.who doubles as the Chairman of PDP Governorship Candidates’ Forum, said, “We are here on a consultative meeting with our leaders on the way forward and we have extended discussions and views regarding the 2023 elections and we are home and dry. “We don’t have crisis in PDP. I don’t know where you got this information”, he said. On his part, the Governor of Bauchi State and PDP gubernatorial candidate for the 2023 general elections, Mr Bala Mohammed explained that the coming together of the governorship candidates was aimed as ensuring the party’s unity.According to him, “The candidates are coming together and uniting the party to discuss, even issues of reconciliation. So. It is a very democratic party”, he said.
“The way we are trying to curb domestic violence is to have a role model.
The PDP National Chairman and erstwhile Senate President spoke yesterday during a consultative meeting between members of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, and its governorship candidates across the Thecountry.PDP is also known to be battling with intra party crisis in some of its state chapters among which are Delta, Ebonyi and Ogun states.But Ayu maintained that PDP is determined to return about 25 states’ governors or more “as we used to have”. His words, “So we are happy that the members of the party are very determined that we don’t just win at the national level, State Houses of Assembly, National Assembly and state governorship, we want to return about 25 state governors or more as we used to have.“So the mood in the party is excellent”, he said. Ayu explained that the governorship candidates came to the headquarters of the party yesterday to express their concerns in their various states as well as briefed the national leadership on the efforts they are making in their various states to win the election. His words, “As you know, the elections. will be won in the states, not just at the national level. I am very happy with the progress that are made so far in various states and some of the little issues that we have clarified and it was an extremely useful meeting”.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event featured praises and worship in thanksgiving to God and reunited three about-to-break marriages that had earlier passed through the routine counselling.
Apolitical support group, Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023, says reported ongoing talks between the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu and Gov. of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, is a good omen for the party ahead of 2023 general elections. The Director-General of the group Barr. Realwan Okpanachi stated this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.Okpanachi who said that the Tinubu-Wike proposed alliance was a good omen for the APC, added that Wike’s step was justified.He said, “We can confirm to you authoritatively that Wike and his team met with Tinubu in London to discuss strategic alliance ahead of 2023 presidential election.“Both leaders appreciate the need to work together to ensure that Tinubu becomes the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023. “The question is, is Wike justified to take this particular step? The answer is capital yes. What do you expect from a governor that has given everything to sustain the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) only to be slighted compromised and embarrassed by the same party and its leaders/ officers?” Okpanachi further said that
Despite crisis, Ayu says PDP will win 25 governorship seats
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Mr Sunday Dare during a hybrid FEC Meeting held at the Council Chambers State House yesterday in Abuja.
R-L; Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Minister of State for FCT, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, Chief of Staff Prof Irahim Gambari and Minister of Sports and Development,Youth
PHOTO; State House
NGO violencecheckharmony,familywantsbonding,todomestic
According to her, God created the institution of marriage for societal sustainability and never envisaged crisis for it. “PWGW is created to tackle root causes of family breakage, marital violence and to bring succor to matured singles that are unloved by society and families.“Weemploy practical steps in restoring family values and to see that divorce cases are reduced.
“The political conspiracy against him in PDP is huge and unprecedented,” he said.
Pastor Chioma Ndeobi, Founder and President, Progressive Women of Goodwill (PWGW), an NGO, on Wednesday stressed the need for family bonding and harmony, to check domestic violence and divorce among couples. Ndeobi gave the admonition at the organisation’s quarterly family reform and counselling workshop, held at ikeja, Lagos, to rekindle peace and reunite broken homes.The Founder, whose NGO is inclined to peace in the family, said couples should show love to one another and avoid suspicious living, to check domestic violence in the family unit.
“They are still there for their wives, they didn’t throw them away or divorce them, or abuse them physically or emotionally, “It means that they have tolerance, which is key to harmony in the family.When we honour these men, other younger men can emulate them,” she said. The gospel preacher urged troubled homes to approach the NGO or others working for family harmony early for reform and reinstitution of bonds before crisis escalates.(NAN)
Kebbi, Taraba got N9.1bn refunds for work on feral roads
PAGE 5 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, disclosed that FEC also approved a contract worth N1.4b contract for the repair of cranes owned by the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
The presidency Wednesday said President Muhammadu Buhari would support only candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress and campaign for their victories in the 2023 general elections. This clarifications is coming against the background of insinuations that the President may not whole hartedly support some candidates of the party whose emergence was not supported by the Presidential Villa.In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the presidency explained that Buhari would not forget in a hurry, how he used the instrumentality of the APC to climb to power in 2015 and got reelected in 2019 and so would not turn his back on the party. Accordingly, it warned officials around the presidency to desist from loose talk and controversial statement in order not to hurt the party or give the opposition the weapon to attack the party. The statement read: "The Presidency wishes to put it on record, and at the same time, reassure faithful party members that President Muhammadu Buhari remains a “disciplined soldier” of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and will, in all the coming elections, support only those candidates fielded by the party and no other. "This is a warning to decamped party members and some others who are still in court against official candidates of the APC that they are on their own and nobody outside the party tent should link what they are doing to President Buhari."The President wishes to be quoted as saying that he is the “occupant of the high office of the President by the Grace of God who used the instrumentality of the APC to bring him to power with a historic verdict in 2015.” In 2019, he was returned with a bigger majority. For the first time, a non-PDP government came to power with a huge majority after 16 years of the Fourth Republic. His constant refrain is: “I will not betray or undermine my party by supporting candidates other than those of the APC.”
"He also directs officials in and around the Presidential Villa and all those engaging in loose talk to resist making controversial statements that eventually end up hurting the party and the government, thereby providing a weapon for the opposition to use against the administration, the party or its candidates in the coming elections."
L – R: Prof. Umar Garba ExecutiveGodwinHisCommission,CommunicationsEVC/CEO.Danbatta,NigerianNCC;Excellency,Obaseki,Governor of Edo State; Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Hon. Minister ExecutiveHopeHisandCommunicationsofDigitalEconomy;Excellency,Uzodinma,Governor of Imo State, at the Inaugural Meeting of the Complex,DigitalAugustonE-GovernmentEconomyCouncilPresidentialonDigitalandTuesday,22nd2022attheEconomyAbuja.
By Egena Sunday Ode The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday approved refunds of N6.7b and N2.47 billion to Kebbi and Taraba state governments respectively for road projects executed by the states on behalf of the federal government. Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola revealed this while briefing State House correspondents after the weekly FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “These were part of the public debts inherited by the current administration and it also cuts across party levels, as all the states that made submissions have now been settled,” Fashola said.
FEC also approved contracts for various sectors of the economy across the country, including N55 billion for the construction of roads in five North East states and the Oshodi/ Munshin/ Apapa roads in LagosFasholastate. said that FEC approved the N11.1 billion contract for the Mushin - Apapa - Oshodi road, to be executed on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. He submitted reports and recommendations of the Council Committee for refunds on interventions made by some States on Federal Roads to the council also.The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk, disclosed that FEC approved road construction contracts, across five states worth N43.4b for the North East Development Commission (NEDC).Shesaid, “They are in respect of road construction, reconstruction for five states of the North East region, namely Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe and Bauchi. For Borno, we have a 22.5-kilometre road that is to be reconstructed. The roads being reconstructed include the Ngon-Koshode and Sambisastate7.5N6,202,214,413.29road,forsumin54-kilometrecontractGombeGombe-AbbareconstructionN13,553,902,668.95withKongologo-KajariNgon-Dosmari-Zabamari-roadsthecontractsumofTheCouncilalsoapprovedtheof53KilometertoKriffyRoadinandBauchistateinthesumofN11,697,355,449.61.TheotherroadistheMutaiinGudalRoadYobestateswiththecontractofN12,199,182,845.70.“ThefourthoneistheoneAdamawaState,GarkidaithasacontractsumofinclusiveofVAT.GardaroadinAdamawaislocatedatthefringesoftheforest.
The crane, he said, is for emergency repairs, which he described as a “critical Crane for the operational capabilities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation “
2023: No Villa candidate, only APC candidate, Says Presidency
By Egena Sunday Ode
"This statement is not against any particular candidate. However, our stand is clear that only those candidates fielded by the All Progressives Candidates, APC will enjoy the support of the President and they are the ones he will campaign for. However, we welcome support for our candidates at all levels by other parties."The President says he will continue to support the party at all levels to enforce discipline, synchronization and coordination.
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mohammed Bello, also explained that the Council approved N781m contracts for security surveillance for the Abuja light rail tracks. Bello said the contracts were awarded to Messers Halali security guards limited and Messers Seaguard security and protective Company Limited. He narrated: “They are going to provide security to their entire 45 kilometres of track including 12 stations. And these security services are meant to protect the key infrastructure on the rail tracks, the signalling and communication equipment as well as the electrical system.“Halali security guard Limited is going to secure 27.4 kilometres of the track, covering eight stations at the cost of N407,214,000 over two years, while Seaguard securities are protective Company Limited is going to secure 18 kilometres of the rail tracks including four railway stations and that is at a cost of N310,979,250.”
• FEC okays N55bn contracts for N/E, Mushin -Oshodi roads • N710m security surveillance for Abuja rail
She pointed out that the roads are being taken into consideration and selected in conjunction with the State governments and other critical stakeholders, adding that “These roads are expected to stimulate our economic activities, enhance security and facilitate the freer movement of goods and people in these affected states within the zone”
“The sector had recorded tremendous achievements in NIMC which was established in 2007. ” We formally took over the supervision in October 2020, the data base we inherited was 32 million, but today it became over 87 million, within two “Weyears.increased the database with more than 45 million with more than 45 million,” he said. The Chairman of governing oard of NIMC, Prof. Usman El-Nafaty, who spoke on behalf of the newly appointed governing members promised to perform their functions optimally. (NAN)
Pantami charged the new appointees to be more responsible in the discharge of their duties and would not tolerate any form of insubordination by any of the three parastatals.
”We do hope you will continue to display maturity,”he said. Pantami said the responsibilities of the newly inaugurated governing board members were to oversight and oversee the activities of the parastatals as well cascade the national policies developed by the supervising ministry. ” You should try your best within the responsibilities that have been assigned to you by the various enabling Acts establishing this parastatals, other government policies and directives that may come up from time to time. ” More than 90 per cent of them appointed today were reappointed as a result of our recommendations, as well as due to their display of maturity in the way and manner they interact with the parastatals,” he said.
Jigawa SUBEB, PLANE moves to address poor learning Pantami inaugurates governing boards of 3 parastatals
The project tagged; ‘Innovative Strengthening of Small Holder Farmers Capabilities and Land Restoration Amid Covid-19’ is to be implemented in 21 Nigerian states for 10 years. Speaking at the training, Director Agric Services, Kaduna State Ministry of Agriculture, Alhaji Kasimu Ya’u said, the project targeted six value chains of; maize, rice, soya beans, ginger, fishery and poultry, is aimed at mitigating food crisis in Kaduna and Nigeria in general. He explained that the youths selected from the 23 local government areas of the state, will be given some package of what they have been trained upon after the “Thetraining.participants are 2,265 young farmers selected according to their local government and they are been given some training before this one that is in their local places where they belong to, so after that one there is a stepdown“Thetraining.program will last for 10 years. So, what we expect from these youths is that they should be self-employed and even employ other youths that are not opportune to be here.”
FG begins implementation of AtRisk Children Programme in Niger
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Patanm,i has inaugurated 44 members of the governing boards of three parastatals under the ministry. The parastatals include National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).“Wehave inaugurated 44 governing board members, 17 for NIMC with ex-officials members including those appointed by Mr President and others. “For NITDA, we have 19 including the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer who serves as the secretary and members of the board and NIPOST has 8 members .
From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna Kaduna State Government has trained 2,265 youths who are to benefit from the African Union Development Agency-sponsored post-Civil-19 agriculture program.
“It is important that the children have skills to help them brace up to the challenges of this high-tech era,” she said. In her remarks, Wife of the Governor of Niger, Dr Amina Bello, appreciated Buhari for the ARC-P initiative which birthed the partnership in addressing the plight of out-of-school children and vulnerable youth in the state. Bello expressed optimism that ARC-P would have a great impact in Niger as she projected that over 105 vulnerable children would benefit from the programme in the first two stages of implementation She decried the high-level of substance abuse by young people in Niger, expressing confidence that much of the problem would be addressed with the ARC-P strategicAhmedIntervention.Matane,Secretary to the Government of Niger State, was among top government officials who attended the opening of the two-day workshop. (NAN)
From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
L-R : Head of Political, Andrew Webb, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Mr. Temitope Fashedemi, Canadian High Commission, High Commissioner James Christoff , the Minister of Police Affairs, Dr. Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi; Head of Security, Thomas Francuz, and Senior Special Assistant (HM), Harande Mahe during the visit of the Canadian High Commission to Nigeria led by High Commissioner James Christoff to the Ministry Headquarters in Abuja..
The Federal Government says it is taking practical steps to address the problem of drug and substance abuse, among vulnerable young people using the instrumentality of its At-RiskChildren Programme (ARC-P). Mrs Maryam Uwais, Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Mrs Maryam Uwais, who is also the National Lead of ARC-P, disclosed this is a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. ARC-P is an initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration facilitated by the Office of the Vice President. Uwais, who spoke at the opening of a two-day Stakeholders’ Workshop to inaugurate the implementation of ARC-P in Niger, regretted the spate of substance abuse among young people across the country. She said that the Federal Government, working with the NDLEA, UNODC and other relevant stakeholders, was making the necessary Interventions to discourage the illicit and distressing habit and practice. Uwais said that with the support of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA), ARC-P had since created a national desk that was working with the state offices of the programme to sensitise young people on the many dangers of substance abuse. According to her, the programme is also putting in place support structures to assist and rehabilitate those who are already addicted.“Ishould mention that substance abuse is like the elephant in the room in efforts to tackle the vulnerabilities associated with youth.
PAGE 6 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Photo-: Justin Imo-owo
Kaduna govt trains agricpost-Covid-19youths2,265onprogram
“We find too many young people, including women indulging in this unacceptable behavior even in our rural communities.“Thosewho cannot afford the expensive heroine and cocaine quickly go for cheaper alternatives that are readily “Interestingly,available.inARC-P, we have a very senior, experienced and vibrant official from NDLEA who has been accompanying us to engage youths already using illicit drugs.”(This is) with a view to dissuading them from the unwholesome practice by providing them with viable alternatives in the form of skills acquisition to enable them become productive.’’Thepresidential aide, who made a presentation on the roadmap and objectives of ARC-P to the stakeholders in Niger, said the programme was anchored on sevenShepillars.saidthat the pillars were strategically designed to empower the beneficiaries with basic education and life skills that would help them productively engage and take ownership of their lives. “We are not looking at replacing what is happening in primary schools rather we are working with UBEC, using their Master Trainers on an intense curriculum that introduces basic literacy and numeracy to these children.“Itis important for those who have never been to school to connect with classroom activities so this ‘pre-induction’ interim course facilitates a basic appreciation of the critical elements for such children. “Again, let me emphasise that we are not trying to take away the Islamic education already being taught the children currently in Tsangaya schools because Islamic knowledge is critical to our faith, imbibing the foundational values for life.“We are only trying to ensure that they are empowered with the knowledge that would enable them to become more productive in a rapidly developed and highly competitive world.
Pantami said there had been some complaints from other ministries where board members had misunderstandings with the management, while completely neglecting their responsibilities. ” We must ensure that we should respect constitutional authority in whatever we do. and the boards have no power as regards to awarding contracts and Minister has no power when it comes to awarding contracts as an independent status. ” We are part of the board and the management and we are not part of the the tenders board,” he warned.“Tobefair to all of you. I am so much grateful in the way and manner you try to display maturity of yourself operate within the ambit of the laws and government policies and hope you improve in the second tenure,” Pantami said. He said the responsibilities of the Boards were already outlined in most of the laws establishing this institutions like NIPOST Acts of 1992, NITDA of 2007 and NIMC of 2007.
The Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), incollaboration with Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE), flagged -up the training of Master trainers in the state. Speaking at the flaggingoff of the training, the state commissioner for education Alhaji Lawan Yunusa Danzomo who was represented by the permanent secretary in ministry Hajiya Safiya Muhammad said, the training aimed at improving learning skills for pupils at primary one to three. She explained that, about 80 participants will be train as state master trainers, whom will stepdown the training to head teachers and teachers across 27 local government in the state. According to her, the training will be in a simple way for easy understanding to the participants and to boost their learning foundation skills at basic level. She then commended PLANE for partnering with Jigawa State in improving learning skills adding that Jigawa SUBEB will continue to collaborate with PLANE for better education at grassroots level.While making his remarks at the venue, the chairman Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Alhaji Muhammad Ayuba Hadeja called on participants to pay attention to learn the skills and expand it to other teachers at down level.
From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
KADCSDA projectsexecutiononstakeholderstrainssuccessfulof
Niger, NigeriarepresentKatsinain five nations African under 17 championshipBadminton
The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has called for the implementation of the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme (NDSP) to curb resurgence of militancy and guarantee lasting peace in the region.The Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Retired Col. Milland Dikio, described the NDSP as a proactive vehicle designed to keep youngsters between 12 to 18 years old away from armed struggle, militancy and other violent crimes. Dikio, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Nneotaobase Egbe, spoke when he visited the palace of HRM Felix Mujakperou, the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom in Delta. He said the Federal Government should consider the NDSP as a smart and cost effective measure to ensure uninterrupted development of the Niger Delta and to safeguard the future of its youngOnpeople.themotive of NDSP, Dikio said, “We want to create what we call the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme because the current programme is only focused on the rehabilitation of the 30,000 registered ex-agitators who responded to the declaration of amnesty.“However, it does not address the causative factors or motivations for successive generational waves of militancy in the region since the 1960’s. “So the question is, as we are drawing down on this amnesty, could we also keep an eye on the younger generation and give them a new orientation in response to the socio-economic issues in the region?“Yes; we can focus on ages 1218 because those who are 12 now will be 22 in 10 years, and those who are 18 now will be 28. This was the age bracket of most of the ex-militants.‘”Ifyouare treating an ailment, you must also take measures to prevent more from developing. The NDSP is designed to give our youngsters a better view of life in order to dry up the pipeline that leads to deviant behavior and militancy.”Dikio, who lauded the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom, who is also the Chairman, Delta State Traditional Rulers Council, solicited his support and other stakeholders from the region to actualise the plan.He also used the occasion to highlight the gains of the novel Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) scheme aimed at changing the current economic fortunes of people of the Niger Delta through those captured by the Presidential Amnesty Programme. He said, “The mantra has been about oil and gas but there are so many things that need attention such as palm produce and the development of the blue economy which are potentially capable of creating a more diversified Niger Delta“Eveneconomy.in our training programme, we are shifting minds. During the recent graduation of 349 delegates at Bradama International Steel Works in Ondo State, the overall best student said he is very happy that in seven months he already has a job as opposed to his mates who went to the university. There is a lot we can do to change the dynamics” he explained. The statement quoted Mujakperuo as saying in his remarks that Dikio had shown that something good could come out of the amnesty programme and commended him for his achievements so far. He urged him to forgive his detractors and critics and continue to silence them with his performance while drawing from his military career. He also called for more support for him from all stakeholders to stabilise the Niger Delta region. (NAN)
From Yakubu Mustapha Minna Four players from Niger and Kastina States are currently flying Nigeria’s flag at the six Nation African under 17 Badminton championship in Cameroon. The three days African zone 3 Championship is holding at Yaounde, the Cameroon capital and is featuring five African nations along with the host. The participating countries are; Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, DR.Congo and host Cameroon in the zone 3 of the Championship which started on TuesdayNigeria’s22nd.team is represented by two players each from Niger and Katsina State who qualified for the semi- finals of the championship.
PAGE 7 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Speaking on the state representatives, the Chairman of the Niger State Badminton Association, Hon Nma Kolo who is also the Special Adviser, politics and strategy to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello said the game of badminton is growing in leaps and bound in the State.He disclosed that the State decided to sponsor the two youthful players to represent Nigeria at the Championship to expose them to major international championship and prepare them for bigger championship.
Presidential Amnesty Programme wants commencement of N/Delta stabilisation programme
The commandant Intelligent Response Team (IRT), Mr. Olatunji Disu parading 11 suspected Edo state cultist and 12 kidnappers from, Plateau/Bauchi states, at the IRT headquarters, yesterday in Abuja.
Photo: Mahmud Isa
From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Kaduna State Community and Social Development Agency (KADCSDA) on Tuesday sensitized stakeholders on Community Driven Development (CDD) approach. Speaking during the sensitization, the Kaduna Acting Governor, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe said “this is in line with one of the Agency’s mandates which are to carry out public enlightenment and mobilization of communities, towards the successful execution of projects”. According to her, the mobilization of communities for direct participation in the provision of amenities has become pertinent.Sheadded that internationally, it is accepted that bottom to top approach to development strategies helps in inclusive governance and selection of projects most desired by the people they are meant for.
The new Comptroller of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Kaduna Command, Sani Liman Kila, has promised to strengthen collaboration with other security agencies in the state to checkmate the illegal influx of aliens into the state. Liman Kila tasked officers and men of the Immigration service with diligence, adding that the security threats and attacks were mostly carried out by nonNigerians.Headded that the control of persons entering and leaving the state is the responsibility of the service.
Kaduna NIS boss promises to check illegal influx of aliens
PAGE 8 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that AfDB has secured the largest ever general capital, from 93 billion dollars to 208 billion dollars since Adesina’s assumption of office in 2015. Also, the bank’s High-5 operational strategy has benefited 335 million Africans over the last six years. Adesina was also instrumental to the creation of the Africa Investment Forum, the continent’s premier investment marketplace. The forum has so far attracted 110 billion dollars in investment interests in Africa since its inception in 2018. In July, “Publish What you Fund”, a global campaign for aid and development transparency, ranked AfDB as one of the most transparent institutions in the world. AfDB moved up from fourth place in 2020 for its sovereign operations. Meanwhile, some of the dignitaries at the award were Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello, Ministers of Information and Culture Lai Muhammed, and Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare. Others were the Emir of Kontagora, Alh. Muhammadu Barau Mu’azu III, as well as representatives of government, the private sector and members of the Diplomatic Corps. (NAN)
Rector133matriculatetoPolytechnicAdamawa—
“We want a Nigeria where everyone irrespective of who you are, where you are, the language you speak, ethnicity can derive value from technology.
“NITDA has its own strategic document roadmap which harps on the need for digital inclusion to accommodate those selling even plantain on the streets.
From Umar Dankano,Yola T he Adamawa state Polytechnic Yola (SP) is set to matriculate one hundred and thirty three (133) undergraduate students to study various courses in the institution.Rectorof the Polytechnic, Dr. Muhammad Dahiru Toungo disclosed the development in Yola yesterday during an interview with journalists stressing that Saturday 27th August,2022 has been slated for ceremony where the college will be ushering in its newly enrolled students for 2021/2022 academic session.
the American Business Council (ABC) forum on Tuesday advocated for Nigeria’s total digitalisation by equipping its citizens with the requisite digital capabilities to bridge the digital divide concept in theTheycountry.gavethe advice at the 2nd ABC Economic Update with the theme: “Multi-Sectoral Impact of Emerging Technologies and Best Options for Their Adoption” in Lagos.Mrs Olayinka West, Professor, Information Systems, Lagos Business School, said the advice was important, especially seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many businesses and organisations to become technology dependent. According to her, Nigerian need not wait for another global external event to jolt them into accepting emerging and dynamically evolving technologies as a country. West said that to achieve technological inclusiveness, efforts must begin from the grassroot level and then work its way up, reaching the nooks and crannies of theShe,country.however, stressed the need to innovate by building data and technological products for the Nigeria of today and in view of the projected population increase by 2050 to reap the transformational benefits of digital technology. She explained this could be achieved by producing more multilingual technology products to accommodate the various rich language dynamics of the country. “We can harness our human resources to a digital Nigeria to reap the big macroeconomic benefits, which the country has to offer.“Tech can be a main source of foreign exchange as opposed to leaning on just oil for that. “There’s however the need to take technology education to the grassroots, ensure data affordability for small businesses and then invest in requisite infrastructure to address cyber insecurities.“Collectively, we can do more with technology for a more nourished ecosystem across all sectors of the Nigerian economy,” sheMrssaid.
Dr. Toungo who is bearly five months in the college announced that thirteen (13) courses (programs) have been successfully accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) recently while animal science and fisheries will also be fully accredited soon. He stated that his administration is poised in changing the fortunes of the college despite challenges facing it. He noted that the affiliation of the institution to University of Maiduguri was an added advantage for them to grow from strength to strength academically and Etechnologically.xpertsat
AfDB president Adesina receives Nigeria Global Brand Award
Oluwafunto Olasemo, Vice President, Financial Market, AFEX, noted that the country as an agrarian society had about five per cent as funding to the agricultural sector, and was without adequate data to drive agricultural information science. Olasemo stressed that investments in agriculture technology was crucial to enable the country generate more viable foreign exchange from exports of agricultural produces. She noted that the place of commodity as alternative assets for the country was crucial. “Government needs to channel the right policies to get to the grassroots to reap the benefits of
shared prosperity if data of the sector is properly documented,” sheMrsaid.Oluwabankole Falade, Chief Regulatory and Government Relations Officer, Flutterwave, said the company was committed to providing data privacy programme around General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) and localise same to the Nigerian context. He said the company would continue to mandatorily train staff on data safety and engage firms to audit and hack its systems to test its vulnerabilities and address them.“Customers also have a role to play and we ensure that they are educated on basic data security infrastructure to ensure that their informations are not compromised,” he Responding,said.Dr Falilat Jimoh, Digital Architect Manager, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said that the agency is determination to build a flourishing digital landscape to reap the benefits of technology. She noted the need for multisectoral collaboration for a seamless ecosystem to derive more values against drowning in the wave of of digital disruptions.
Mohammed Idris, the Chairman and Publisher of Blueprint Newspapers, lauded Adesina’s strides. He said, “Adesina received the award because of his pragmatic and purposeful leadership, and the string of successes he has recorded as a national and international figure.
Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the President, African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has been confered with the Nigeria Global Brand Award of the Year 2021. Adesina received the award in Abuja at the Annual Public Lectures and Impact Series/Awards organised by Blueprint Newspapers, a national daily Newspapers in Nigeria. The award was confered on him for his pragmatic and purposeful leadership among other qualities. Mr Lamin Barrow, African Development Bank’s DirectorGeneral for Nigeria Country Department received the award on behalf of Adesina. Barrow said the conferment of the award was a testimony of the transformation brought to the bank and Africa through the implementation of the bank’s High 5 priorities.
“This requires innovation to enable maximum participation at the grassroot level and also requires behavioural change and trust on the part of the people to drive the inclusiveness to success,” she said. (NAN)
Photo: Justin Imo-owo
“The innovative way he is working as the President of African Development Bank is worthy of our recognition.”
Director General National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Mustapha Habibu Ahmed ( 2right) presenting the plaque to Andero Johnson the Representative of Mr Obiwale Akinwumi who lost his live during the active Service while the Director human Resources management (L) and Search and Rescue Air Commodore Edward Adedokun witness, during the Celebrating NEMA Staff that lost their live, Suffered injured of Trauma in the Active Service, yesterday in Abuja.
Experts seek grassroots technological inclusiveness to bridge digital divide
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, congratulated Adesina and more than 30 other Nigerians who were recognised during the ceremony.“ I believe the award will spur the recipients to continue to enhance the productivity of their respective organisations. ‘I encourage them to do more for humanity,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the committee, which has 30 members drawn from relevant organisations, has the state Commandant of NDLEA, Mr Adamu Iro, as Secretary.(NAN)
”NAN reports that the committee would further advise government on resource mobilisation and public enlightenment campaigns on dangers of drug abuse and trafficking. It would also design parameters for the establishment of drug rehabilitation centres by government and the private sector.
Sokoto Govt. inaugurates committee on drug abuse, control
“Engr. Jaji expressed utmost appreciation to the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who also doubles as the Chairman of the Board, and other members of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire & Immigration Services Board for their salient roles in the upgrading of his Officers, says the elevation is of great significance to his administration being the first and coming early in his tenure.
A n Energy expert, Mr Imamudeen Talba, has called for the review and harmonisation of the renewable energy as well as energy efficiency policies in the country. Talba, who is also the Chairman, Steering Committee, Renewable Energy and Energy Sufficiency
“The CGF therefore congratulates all the newly promoted/advanced officers and urged them to put in their best to justify the promotion/ advancement.“Hetherefore directed Heads of Commands and Departments to decorate all Officers in their respective Commands and Departments.”
policiesenergyofhamonisationseeksrenewable
Having fulfilled the conditions for promotion and advancement, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire & Immigration Services Board (CCFIB) has approved the promotion and advancement of 2,382 Officers of the Service. This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by ACF Paul O. Abraham, National PRO of the Itservice.saidthe Controller General, Engr Jaji O. Abdulganiyu who announced this through an internal memo confirmed that 363 Officers were promoted while 2,019 were advanced both ranging from the rank of Assistant Superintendents of Fire I (ASF I) and Deputy Superintendent of Fire (DSF) respectively, in the 2022 promotion.
N EWS PAGE 9PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Fire Service promotes 2,382 officersExpert
”More worrisome is the involvement of married and single women in substance abuse, which is a negative trend that cannot be tolerated by any responsible society.”Substance abuse is one of the major causes of the socioeconomic problems our state and country are facing
He expressed optimism that the efforts of the NDLEA would soon greatly minimise the problems of drugs ravaging the country.
The” committee, headed by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ali Inname, will advise government on the setting up of War Against Drug Abuse clubs in all schools in the state, as well as community drug free clubs at ward levels. ”They are required to also advise on how to harmonize activities of such clubs towards the common goal of realizing a drug-free society.
L-R: The Director General, National Council for Civil Society Organisations Comrade Emmanuel Johnny, presenting award of recognition to the Executive National President, Road Transport Employers Association if Nigeria (RTEAN), Dr. Musa Muhammad Maitakobi, during the Civil Organisation delegation’s Visit to the union Headquaters , yesterday in Abuja. Photo; Justin Imo-owo
energyprovidingoptimallyassistondecisionsofbyenergyinonwasPower,RuralDirector,ofgovernmentawhattogether,therebutandtheretherenorenewableinstitutionssoofrespectgovernmentforthattheasomebodycoordinatedneedsolargoingtheirinstitution,youharmonisethem,fordoinguncoordinatedthereinstitutionsdriven“differentpoliciesNigeria.Energyand3-day(REEA-A),Associations-AlliancemadethecallataworkshopontheReviewHarmonisationofRenewableandEnergyPoliciesinTalbasaidthattherewereofmismatches,addingpolicieswerebeingbydifferentpeopleandandinthatcontext,isnosynergy.“Thepoliciesaresothateverybodyishisown,ifyouarelookingdata,youcanhardlyseebecausethereisnobodytothedatastorewherecangetit.“Everygovernmentwhenyoulookatbudget,youseeeverybodyaboutrenewableenergy.“Everybodygoingaboutproject,sothereisthetocometogethertohaveaframeworksothatwillbeidentifiedasleaderinthataspect,”hesaid.Talbasaidthatthattherewasneedtohaveaninstitutionwouldbeheldaccountablewhateverinvestmentthewasmakinginofrenewableenergy.Accordingtohim,thekindframeworkongroundwasdisintegratedasdifferentweregoingaboutenergyandtherewascoordination.“So,attheendoftheday,isnothingtoshow,becauseisnotargetorspecificgoalnothinghadbeenachieved,moneyhadbeenspent.“So,thealliancedecidedthatisaneedtobringeverybodysothatwecanidentifyweneedbecausewewehavecommongoal.“OurcommongoalisthatthemustbetterthelivesNigerians,”hesaid.Onhispart,MrAlliAbubakar,RenewableEnergyandPowerAccess,Ministryofsaidthattheworkshopputtogethertobrainstormwaystoharmoniseallpoliciestherenewableenergyandsufficiency.ThedirectorwasrepresentedMrEmeafuEbere,anofficialtheMinistryofPower.AbubakarsaidthatthereachedattheworkshoptheharmonisationwouldgovernmenttodeliveronthepromisesofcleanandefficienttoallNigerians.(NAN)
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the committee’s term of reference include identifying types of drugs commonly abused in the state, the supply source and taking measures to block access to all such ”Identifydrugs.all the illicit drug dealers with the view to arresting them with exhibits for prosecution and subsequent conviction. ”Identifying all the addicts in order to counsel and rehabilitate them.“Take proactive measures that are needed to curtail the sale, distribution and use of illicit drugs and non-conventional drugs within Sokoto and environs.
”Thesetoday.include the rising rate of crime and insecurity, ill health, lack of productivity in all sectors and poverty,” Tambuwal added. The governor said that the committee was established through collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes. Tambuwal commended retired Gen. Buba Marwa, the NDLEA Boss, for his relentless war against the drug cartels through daily arrests, seizures and convictions.
Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Wednesday inaugurated a committee to control the alarming rate of drug abuse in the Tambuwalstate.said controlling the circulation of illicit drugs and consumption was necessary in view of the increasing number of youths going into drugs in the state.
Tambuwal said that the committee included members from security agencies, traditional and religious leaders, drug regulatory agencies, educationists, state and local government officials and Non Governmental Organizations. He said that the state would also set up relevant bodies that would strategically enhance the implementation of the National Drug Control Master Plan.
By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), on Tuesday said that Nigeria exported over 4. 146 million metric tonnes of non-oil products, worth 2.593 billion dollars from January to June 2022. The Executive Director of NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, said this while presenting the first half year 2022 progress report to newsmen in Abuja.According to Yakusak, the figure represents 62.37 per cent increase as against 1.59 billion dollars for the first half year in 2021 and 2020 which stood at 981.442 million dollars, respectively.Hesaid,“in spite of the global economic recession that affected most businesses in 2021, the sector recorded a significant growth in non-oil export. “A total of 4,146,534 metric tonnes of product worth 2.593 billion dollars were exported between January and June 2022.
Photo: Mahmud Isa
the first half year of 2022, urea/ fertilizer recorded 32.49 per cent of total export. In the same vein, cocoa beans, sesame seed and aluminum ingots contributed 12.65, 7 and 5.07 per cents,Herespectively.addedthat572 companies participated in exporting the products in the period under review.“This is an indication that Nigerian businesses are gradually embracing the diversification campaign of the NEPC by venturing into nonoil exports,” he said. While explaining that there was no incidence of export rejections, Yakusak said that during the period under review, different Nigerian products were exported to 112 countries.According to him, some of these products were exported to the Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania regions and Africa. “Of these figures, Brazil, United States of America (USA) and India were the top three export destinations based on the value of imports.“Regrettably, of the top 10 export destinations of Nigerian products, none is an African country.“Only Benin and Niger Republic made it to the top 15,” he said. (NAN)
From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau The Retired Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces Foundation (REMENAFF) has established Zamfara State chapter with a view to drive all necessary assistance to doorsteps of both retired army and families of those who lost their lives during services to the nation. This was disclosed by the Zamfara State Coordinator ‘Retired Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces Foundation’ (REMENAFF), Mohammed Sani Mohammed in a press briefing in Gusau the state capital on Sunday. Mohammed, told Journalists that the association has established the new chapter in Zamfara to join other states of the federation including Abuja. He said it has the sole aim of ensuring welfare of the Nigerian army as well as ensuring quick release of entitlements for the retired ones.
Abubakar Yunusa Abuja Mafab company,telecommunicationLimited,Communicationsasaidithasbeenissued a five-months extension for its 5G network rollout by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).InDecember 2021, after 11 rounds of bidding that lasted for eight hours, Mafab and MTN Nigeria emerged as the two successful winners of the 3.5gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction for the deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria. The commission further confirmed that the two companies fully paid $273.6 million each for the 5G spectrum licence. In line with the conditions of the 5G licence, the licencees were expected to commence rollout of 5G services effective from August 24, But2022.in a recent statement, Mafab said it has been issued a five- month extension following the delays in receiving its unified operational license (USAL) and numbering plan, which did not happen until the end of July.
Retired ZamfarachapterestablishesAssociationArmyin
“The goal remains to launch before the 5-month extension period and we will be sharing more information in the near future.” The company said that the 5G network would offer Nigerians higher data speed, improved reliability and availability. It added that with 5G, Nigerians would be able to achieve more with broadband and increase the nation’s broadband penetration, quality of service and capabilities.
cardsinsurance500presentsKADCHMAhealthto
beneficiaries From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna The Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA) yesterday distributed 500 health insurance cards to beneficiaries in the state. The Director General of the Scheme, Abubakar Hassan said the beneficiaries were drawn from Kaduna South Federal Constituency, courtesy of the lawmaker representing the constituency at the Lower Chamber Muktar Morovia. Hassan said the lawmaker enrolled 500 beneficiaries from his Constituency.
“These figures were culled from the non-oil export performance reports of various pre-shipment inspection agents who are appointed by the Federal Government to determine the volume, value and destination of Nigerian non-oil export. “The analysis from returns of these pre-shipment inspection agents indicates that the JanuaryJune 2022, export performance was the highest half year non-oil export performance since 2018.” Yakusak said that over 200 different products, ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to raw agricultural products were reported to have been exported in the period under review.Hesaid that unlike what was applicable in the past, the trend of products exported from Nigeria was gradually shifting from its traditional agricultural exports to theothersstones33.35permanufacturedasfollowinggoods.semi-processed/manufactured“ThiscanbegleanedfromtheproductclassificationcontainedinthePIAsreportasproductsare36.28cent,rawagricultureproductpercent,whilepreciousare13.22percentand17.15percent,”hesaid.TheNEPCbosssaidthatoftop15exportedproductsin
Mafab: NCC granted us five-month extension on 5G rollout
Nigeria exports non-oil products worth $2.6bn first half of 2022 —NEPC
PAGE 10 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
“We are fully committed to bringing the benefits of 5G services to Nigerians and deploying a network that will drive economic development with increased broadband capabilities nationwide,” Musbahu Bashir, chairman, Mafab Communications Limited, was quoted as saying.
“I have no doubt that the service will help deliver improvements in the fields of education, business, smart cities and entertainment.
He advised the beneficiaries to make use of the cards by going to their selected health facilities to access health services and to also keep it safe. He said the scheme has decided to recognize the lawmaker with an award for his enrollment into the scheme. “ We are recognizing him for the good job he has done. “It is recognition that when you do something good people will motivate you. We gave this recognition to Hon Monrovia for believing in the scheme that the government has just put up. “ We are using this opportunity to get others”.
L-R: Deputy Executive secretary Administration, National Universities Commission, Chris Maiyaki, Deputy Head, Embassy of Spain Nigeria, Jean Jorres Reus, Portuguese Ambassador Riberio Da Silva Barros and. European Union Ambassador, Samuela Isopi EU Erasmus+ 2022 Pre-depature orientation for the awardees and study in Europe Fair, yesterday in Abuja.
Now, I’m not saying that there’s no room for neutrality. I’d be foolish to say that, especially as someone who has two degrees in communication and years of experience as both a field reporter and editor. However, based on the preceding paragraphs,, there is obviously more than one journalistic approach. I’m also of the opinion that honestly disclosing, rather than hiding one’s subjective values can produce a more honest and trustworthy form of Abovejournalism.all,no journalism – from the most stylistically ‘objective’ to the most brazenly opinionated (like David Hundeyin’s) – has any real value unless it is grounded in facts, evidence, and verifiable data. So, no, journalists do not always have to play nice and they shouldn’t be branded as unprofessional for not doing so. The Watergate Scandal wasn’t uncovered by taking kid gloves into the journalistic ring. Deoye Falade is a Public Affairs Analyst.
Take it easy T he Federal Government has threatened to penalize the BBC over a documentary made by its investigations programme Africa Eye about the so-called bandit warlords of Zamfara. Trust TV also has the threat dangling over its head. Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, alleged the documentary “The Bandit Leaders in Zamfara” glorifies the militants’ actions which have terrorized residents in the state over the years. He said the penalties against BBC would be set by the medium security prison in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), freeing hundreds of inmates. Last week, the government shut down its unity colleges in the FCT because of threatened attacks by terrorists. Their students were in the midst of graduation exams. The increasing attacks by bandits and terrorists are happening not because the government is lax in stopping them. For sure, the military and other security forces are doing their best. The problem simply is that the terrorists are embedded in the journalistsstoppingmaterials.termsbetterthatransomearnAlso,amongcollateralwithouttroopsmakingpopulation,ithardfortoattackincurringdamagecivilians.thebanditsmillionsfromdemandskeepthemsuppliedinofarmsandHowever,from reporting the terror is hardly the right way to stop the criminals. It is true, covering their violent actions gives them unsolicited publicity. But this also helps the government because it is an opportunity to see the faces and hear the voices of terror first hand. The military often complains that it is not getting intelligence from the population in which the terrorists and bandits live. But here is the intelligence offered free of charge. We urge the government to take it and allow journalists to do their legitimate job without let or hindrance.
While there may be a standard model for journalists to be impartial and this is now generally seen as good journalism, this ‘standard’ has also produced lots of atrocious journalism and some toxic habits that are weakening the profession.
governmenthappeningterroristsbanditsattacksincreasingbyandarenotbecausetheislaxinstoppingthem
PAGE 11PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 Letter to the Editor “To be reputable,a profitable, innovative products”servicesworldcompanyrelianttechnologicallyandmediaofferingclassand OUR VISIONOUR PEOPLEOUR MISSION “To be the market place of ideas and the leading player in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the truth, maintaining the highest professional and deliveringstandardsethicalwhilevalue to our stakeholders” Chief Operating OffiCer /editOr, Hameed m. Bello, PhD Manager, adMinistratiOn Hassan Hammanyaji hEAD, adVert Patrick UGama EDITORIAL
Journalists do not have to play nice
For Greenwald, the ‘impartiality’ formula of ‘here’s-what-both-sides-sayand-I-won’t-resolve-the-conflicts’ and an inability of journalists to openly take a definitive stand on what’s true, often rewards dishonesty on the part of political and corporate officials who know they can rely on ‘objective’ reporters to amplify their falsehoods without challenge In his words, “This suffocating constraint on how reporters are permitted to express themselves produces a selfneutering form of journalism that becomes as ineffectual as it is boring. Worst of all, this model rests on a false conceit. Human beings are not objectivitydriven machines. We all intrinsically perceive and process the world through subjective prisms. What is the value in pretending otherwise?”
theyAbuja,attacksLately,attacksseemingjitterylocalsdays,Nigerianswidelystoodthetheand“oftensaidstatement,ofjournalismofareDailyathecommunicatedsanctionsthedirectorpublicCommission.BroadcastingNationalItsaffairshastoldBBCthatwillbetocorporationandlocalnewspaper,Trust,iftheyfoundguiltybreachingthecodeconduct.InatheBBCAfricaEyedealswithcontroversialcomplexsubjects.”Italsosaidstorywasoverwhelminglyinpublicinterestandthatitbyitsjournalism.Thedocumentary,alreadydiscussedamongforthelastseveralhascomeatatimewhenarebecomingincreasinglyoverthegovernment’sinabilitytostopdaringbybanditsandterrorists.theyhavelauncheddeadlyandambushesrightinthecapitalcity.InJuly,attackedahighlyfortified
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Case in point: the ARISE TV exchange between Rufai Oseni and Tundun with Former Minister, Adebayo Shittu on the APC Muslim-Muslim Ticket and other internal drama within the party, Tundun: A lot of people would be buoyed by your confidence… Mr Adebayo Shittu: Why are you attacking my confidence? What is your problem with my confidence �� Tundun stood her ground and maintained that the word “Buoy’ isn’t negative. At a point, said, “Maybe we need a dictionary.”Voiceswent up a few notches but this exchange is all it took for people to say that the guys at Arise TV are unprofessional andIt’sbiased.funny because many people who say this do so without any actual understanding of what journalism ethics are. You can say that they put you off but to say they were unprofessional? Lol. I also noticed that many people think journalists have to be neutral. No, they don’t. What Nigerians qualify as bad journalism is any kind of journalistic conduct that offends their sensibilities and not whether it is based on truth. Essentially, journalists always have to playButnice.where has that gotten us? It’s gotten us to a point where in response to valid questions by journalists, Public Servants respond by asking, “Who is bankrolling you?” It’s gotten us to a point where people value faux-politeness over truth. It’s gotten us to a point where people no longer trust mainstream media. I mean, someone on Twitter reeled off names of a bunch of veterans/retired NTA newscasters as a pointer to the bygone good days of good journalism. Other than the fact that they’re newscasters who largely appeal to people based on their good diction and delivery, those people work for a state-owned broadcasting service. Is politely delivered news propaganda now the standard for good journalism?
The
American journalist, Glenn Greenwald’s is famous as the Guardian (UK) journalist who reported Edward Snowden’s revelations about the surveillance of citizens by America’s National Security Agency (NSA). In 2013, he left the Guardian and decided to join a new independent journalistic venture financed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. He’s moved on to other things from there, I’m not saying they have to be mean or insult guests but they do not owe public servants niceties when seeking truth and trying to hold them accountable. Why are we eager to label journalists as rude or unprofessional when they refuse to back down when engaging with an interviewee that becomes unnecessarily defensive or combative?
By Deoye Falade
Do people even know that there are different kinds of journalistic approaches? By the looks of it, no. And this is where I’d like to mention that there is such a thing as Adversarial Journalism and someone called Greenwald.American journalist, Glenn Greenwald’s is famous as the Guardian (UK) journalist who reported Edward Snowden’s revelations about the surveillance of citizens by America’s National Security Agency (NSA). In 2013, he left the Guardian and decided to join a new independent journalistic venture financed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. He’s moved on to other things from there, Why am I mentioning this guy? Well, Greenwald is an avid proponent of adversarial journalism. He believes it can hold “the most powerful factions accountable, fearlessly, and without regard to threats or repercussions from the government or corporate factions.”
For instance, the institution of Olupo-in-Council constitutes a veritable pillar of peace, amity, justice, progress and peaceful co-existence, and so His Royal Majesty, Kabiyesi Alaiyeluwa
Royal fathers deserve constitutional roles
As a moralist, Kabiyesi Oba Ismail Bolaji Yahaya Alebiosu, conscious of culture, is a custodian of tradition and values that guide and protect the sanctity of OlupoIn-Council and the Igbomina race to the admiration of all and sundry.
Opinion PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
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Aliu Akoshile is a Public Affairs Analyst.
Our impactful Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq should also be commended for the visit to Ajase-Ipo the following day Saturday, August 13, 2022, to see things for himself and charging the people to live in peace and harmony. This is very thoughtful andAsappreciated.peacereturns to Kara Cattle Market, Kabiyesi Oba Yahaya Bolaji Atoloye Alebiosu advised the people not to display their products, produce and goods near the highway. He admonished them to move into the market to avoid embarrassment, unfortunate incidence and disaster to the people and their products. The natural ruler banned the sale of alcohol and hard drugs at the Kara Market, assuring that defaulters will face the law squarely. Finally, he charged the people in the market to continue to embrace peace and live in harmony: “People must not take laws into their hands arbitrarily”, he admonished. It was a show of solidarity and ability to embrace peace in the face of daunting challenges, even in line with Kwara state’s appellation as “State of Harmony”. We, as a people, must be harmonious, peace-loving and united to move the state forward. On the whole, this journalist is impressed like many people have expressed satisfaction and commendation with the activities and performances of His Royal Majesty, Kabiyesi Alaiyeluwa Oba (Barrister) Ismail Bolaji Yahaya, Atoloye Alebiosu, Olupo of AjaseIpo on his resolution of conflict(s) in his domain.
The impact is no less serious in environmental waste as Nigeria produces 32 million tonnes of solid waste yearly with plastic waste constituting 2.5 million tonnes, and making the country one of the highest waste producers in Africa. Yet the challenges posed by some of the climate impacts pale into mild threats in the face of the existential danger inherent in Nigeria’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprint which is estimated at 126.9 million tonnes as at 2020. In fairness, Nigeria has always been in motion to keep pace with the global advocacy on climate change. As a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2004 and soon followed it up with a National Policy on Climate Change aimed at building an environmentally resilient society. The nation’s interest was further concretised in 2012 when it was admitted as a voluntary member of the UN Environment’s Climate and Clean Air Coalition saddled with the mandate to reduce climate pollutants in ten high-impact sectors of the global economy.
Oba (Barrister) Ismail Bolaji Yahaya, Atoloye Alebiosu, Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Chairman, Irepodun LG Traditional Council in Kwara state is a great asset whose wealth of experience and wisdom have brought peace and tranquility to his Hiskingdom.Royal Majesty Alebiosu, a first class monarch in Kwara state, works diligently for the preservation of the country’s unity and Irepodun LGA in particular. His recent prompt attention to the breach of peace at Kara Market in his domain on Friday, August 12, 2022, between a group of by-passers and Fulani herders confirmed that he has a personal stake in the security and peace of the country, his domain, and, Igbomina land of Kwara state. The Kara Market, along Ilorin/ Lokoja federal highway in Kwara state, is a Fulani settlement with people coming weekly on market days to buy and sell their farm produce, purchase of cattle, etc. Until on August 12, 2022, used to be peaceful co-existence among diverse ethnic groups in the area when an unfortunate incident that is supposed to be resolved snowballed into a clash that claimed four lives, disrupted socio-economic activities that threatened to undermine their age-long unity. It was an obviously avoidable man-made affliction on a community that is known for peacefulKabiyesico-existence.Alaiyeluwa Oba Ismail Bolaji Yahaya, Atoloye Alebiosu, Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, known for his tenacity, resilience, intelligence and comportment, did not waste time to engage security operatives at the state and locally to quell the breach of peace and restore normalcy to the market almost immediately.
Mr. Ayangbayi (JP), a journalist, writes from Ilorin, Kwara state.
Over the years, this issue has been on the front burner. For obvious reason, looking at the current security situation in the country, the time to emphasise on the relevance of assigning constitutional roles for traditional rulers is now. It has been observed by many stakeholders that, no matter the level of their training and expertise, security personnel cannot know a community more than the owners of the community or the chiefs of the area. Members of the community know everybody, including visitors. In other words, traditional rulers or royal fathers who are the rulers of kingdoms and communities are better informed and have more sociological knowledge that can enhance intelligence and security of theButsociety.inNigeria, the big challenge is the fact that traditional rulers have no legal power to contribute effectively in governance despite their experience and knowledge. It is a major constitutional issue that successive governments have not been able to address. Notably, traditional institutions have vital roles to play in fostering peace, progress and unity in the society. Their counsels, wisdom and the vast knowledge of their cultural and traditional society make them indispensable assets in resolving conflicts and restoring peace and order.
Buhari and Nigeria’s climate challenge Ahead
By Ayantunde Ayangbayi
“ It has been observed by many stakeholders that, no matter the level of their training and expertise, security personnel cannot know a community more than the owners of the community or the chiefs of the area.
For a country that is in dire need of industrialisation, irregular power supply is a major disincentive for manufacturers and other entrepreneurs currently at the receiving end of climate impacts.
COP27
To the royal father, peace is non-negotiable. “Peace is a major ingredient for socio-economic emancipation and stable political development of any society in the world. Peace must not elude my people in Ajase-Ipo and the entire Igbomina land”, Oba Atoloye Alebiosu emphasised. This writer believes that Oba (Barrister) Ismail Bolaji Yahaya, Olupo of Ajase-Ipo deserves applause for providing timely information to the state police command to resolve the fracas and inform appropriate authorities to bring the situation back to normalcy and for peace to reign.
By Aliu Akoshile Baring all odds, Africa is set to host the 27th edition of the now famous Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which debuted in Berlin, Germany, in 1992. The COP27, slated for Egyptian Sharmel Sheikh peninsula in November this year, marks the fifth time Africa will be hosting the climate summit having been hosted previously by Morocco (2001 and 2016), Kenya (2006), and South Africa (2011). According to a UNCTAD 2021 report, climate change constitutes an existential threat to the lives and indeed livelihoods of some 490 million people living in extreme poverty across Africa. As Africa’s big brother, Nigeria bears a chunk of the continent’s climate impacts in many areas. For instance, the country’s extensive coastline, stretching approximately up to 853km, has been receding over the years due to overlapping waves that swallow the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in southern region. With the sea level already projected to rise by about 65cm by the turn of the century, a further erosion of the shorelines will only deepen the environmental crisis the country must deal with. At another level, rivers are drying up while desertification is taking its devastating tolls across the arid zone of the far Northern region. Loss of biodiversity and fatal floods that ravaged farmlands and cities are other challenges confronting the world’s most populous black nation. Similarly, degradation of the tropical forests, depletion of floras and faunas due to illegal deforestation as well as criminal wood logging, have been on the increase. It must be noted however that the problem of deforestation in Nigeria is being exacerbated by the prohibitive cost of cooking gas and kerosene, and the virtual absence of alternative clean energy for use by the poor masses.The impact of climate change is also tellingly grim in the area of agriculture and the quest for food security in Nigeria. It is a cynical irony that a population of over 200 million people is being fed largely by rural peasant farmers using traditional hoes and cutlasses as major tools. By default, such farmers who are not agro-tech savvy can only cultivate crops that are subject to the vagaries of unstable climatic conditions. Of course when the rainfall is excessive, or the drought is extreme, farm produce harvest is abysmally poor, resulting in a disequilibrium between demand and supply, and causing galloping inflation on food prices.For a country that is in dire need of industrialisation, irregular power supply is a major disincentive for manufacturers and other entrepreneurs currently at the receiving end of climate impacts. And with barely 3,500 MW of electricity generation, factories and businesses that are embedded in Africa’s leading economy are weighed down by the quest for alternative energy sources. It is estimated that over 60 million Nigerians rely on generators powered by fossil fuel for 48.6 per cent of the electricity required in their homes and businesses, and at a huge cost of $14 billion yearly.
As the monarch matches on in royalty with dignity and grace, he represents the change in traditional institution; he beckons on success, even where and when success is rare. That is the fruit of learning and exposure. The peace advocate and custodian of tradition and culture is the traditional ruler for historical reference now and in future.May the days ahead bring greater height to His Royal Majesty, Kabiyesi Alaiyeluwa Oba (Barrister) Ismail Bolaji Yahaya, Atoloye Alebiosu, Olupo of Ajase-Ipo for all that his forefathers represented: love, affection willingness to rise beyond ethnic/religious tolerance, and, most importantly, service to mankind.
By Nasir Nasir Dambatta “Americans are fed up practically everywhere they spend money. Gas prices sit near record highs, food costs are surging, and housing is getting more expensive by the month. Lawmakers — particularly Republicans — have lambasted the Federal Reserve for allowing inflation to hit 41-year highs, arguing the central bank should’ve started raising interest rates much earlier”
The CBN Governor noted that the leaping inflation and its impact on growth has constituted such a grave concern globally currently that the MPC wasted no time in considering the options of holding or reducing the MPR during their meeting.Emefie maintainedd: “It (surging inflation) is a very serious matter that MPC members take very seriously, because what you find is that as inflation continues to trend aggressively higher, it would no doubt begin to adversely retard growth in any economy.
Also reacting, an economist, Dr. Muda Yusuf, described the MPC’s MPR hike as “unexpected, but not desirable,” maintaining that although the MPC’s decision was in accordance with the policy tightening trend by central banks across the world, it did not consider Nigeria’s domestic peculiarities.
“Like you all have noticed, globally since the beginning of the year, there has been heightened level of inflation. To the extent that today we see even in developed economies, the fact that even as a result of rising inflation, supply chain problems and the rest of them, even most of those developed economies are already facing a threat of recession,” Emefiele said. He cited the instance of the United States noting that with inflation in that advanced country growing from 2.5 per cent in 2020 to 9.1 per cent, according to latest data, the Federal Reserve has had to hike rates four times this year alone. The CBN Governor cited two African instances, saying, “In Egypt, they have increased their rates three times this year because in 2020, the inflation rate was 7.3 per cent and today it is 13.2 per cent. Ghana has increased rate three times this year; inflation (Ghana’s) has moved up from 7.8 per cent in 2020 to 29 almost 30 per cen today.” Emefiele observed that some of the world’s advanced economies, like the United States and the European Union (EU) have suffered monumental declines in their output.He cited the instance of the United States recording a negative output in the first quarter of 2022, expressing the fear that if the world’s biggest economy records a second decline in output in the second quarter of 2022, it would have plunged into recession, a development that could have grave impact on the global economy.
– INSIDER*
“And that is why, like you may have observed, most of the countries of the world, both developed and developing economies, have had to embark on very aggressive rate increases so as to dampen the effects of inflation.”
“It will spur upward review of existing lending rates, which will drive costs northward, intensify demand crunch, increase cost of manufacturing, exacerbate the intensity of idle capital assets and reduce capacity utilisation.”
Expectedly, analysts at CSL Research reacted to MPC’s rates hike, cautioning that a incessant rates hikes could stunt the country’s economic growth. They said in a statement: “With the current narrative on inflation, the committee (MPC) was of the view that neither holding nor loosening the policy parameters was an option, given the impact of the rising inflationary pressures, which may begin to erode the moderate gains achieved in improving consumer purchasing power.” They kicked: “We retain our view that a continuous hike in rate will likely constrain the country’s fragile growth while achieving very little in terms of combating inflation and attracting foreign inflows.”
Your blessing is in your hands
He reviewed efforts at tackling inflation in Nigeria, saying, “What we have done in our own attempt to pursue a policy of price stability that is conducive to growth, we have tried over the past couple of (MPC) meetings to leave rates the way they are, while at the same time, we have been pushing hard on how to improve on output growth.
Emefie said although members of MPC were aware that some analysts had not expected the committee to tighten at a second consecutive meeting due to the fact that the decision would raise cost of borrowing and impair manufacturing output, the committee would continue to tighten with any further surge in inflation. He noted: “The important thing is that as long as we see inflation at the level that can retard growth, it must be dealt with, while at the same, we are looking at how do we use developmental finance tools to push towards improved output growth. That is what we are doing, and at the same time I want to signal that the MPC is very determined that if inflation continues at this rate, particularly aggressively, we would continue to tighten.”
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at its meeting in Lagos, Tuesday, 2nd August, 2022, announced hiking the benchmark interest rate to 14 percent (MPR) in a deliberate effort at taming the growing inflation that is capable of stunting the country’s economicAlthoughgrowth.mindful of whatever impact the decision could have on the manufacturing sector, another critical determinant of economic growth, CBN felt it had to do so in the manner of chosing the lesser between two evils – weakening the manufacturing sector of the economy with high interests on loanable funds; and ignoring the spiralling inflation that gnaws fast at the country’s savings.
CBN and the imperative of taming inflation
BUSINESS
The CBN Governor assuaged public fears on about inflation, saying that the apex bank would continue to explore every feasible measures to moderate inflation, expressing the hope that food prices will drop during this year’s harvest season. He could not, however, promise that MPC will stop raising rates if inflation rages further. As expected, the CBN’s rates hike immediately incurred the wrath of the Manufacturers Association of NigeriaMAN’s(MAN)Director- General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in a statement, described the hike as antimanufacturing considering the serious challenges the manufacturing sector has already been trying to surmount.
“This is another level of increase in interest rates on loanable funds, which will no doubt upscale the intensity of the crowding out effect on the private sector businesses as firms have lesser access to funds in the credit market.
The MAN helmsman urged: “the MPC must, in future adjustments of MPR, take into consideration the trend of core inflation rather than basing decision on headline and food inflation.”
“The new MPR hike means that the cost of credit to the few beneficiaries of the bank credits and manufacturers that cannot access the CBN windows will increase, which will impact their operating costs, prices of their products and profit margins,” Dr. Yusuf observed, stating, “The equities market may be adversely impacted by the hike.”
PAGE 13 Comment PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
He expressed doubt on the efficacy of the rate on stemming inflation in Nigeria, considering the fact that “key drivers of Nigeria’s inflation are supply side variables, not demand driven,” recalling, “The previous hike in policy rate of 150 basis point in May did not have any significant impact on the inflation numbers. If anything, the general price level became even moreNotwithstandingelevated.” the doubts expressed by analysts, industry operators, considering the fact that most central banks across the world are applying their respective measures at taming inflation, readily approved the CBN’s interest rates hike to combat inflation that gnaws fast at the country’s savings. Dambatta, a veteran journalist, writes via editor@ politicstoday.ng*
Let me share a personal story. A couple of years ago, a young man named Sodeeq Abdulakeem Sulyman reached out to me via twitter to be his mentor after reading one of my articles. I felt honored, but was curious to know why he reached out to me, he said he has been reading my article and saw consistency in addition to the attitude and mindset I use to write, and that it appealed to his values. I gladly accepted the opportunity to add value into his life. It may interest you to know that this young man proved to be an exceptional being. It didn’t take long to make him the Chief Operating Officer of my company (GLOEMI). The interesting thing about this relationship is that we have worked on several projects, and we now work like a family. If this young man didn’t reach out to me via twitter, who knows if our paths wouldn’t have crossed. Do you see that your blessings are in your hands? You can apply the same strategy to win people.Most times, we look for people to give us work, connect us to a resourceful person or even mentor us. The mistake we make is we don’t take time to add value to our lives. When you add value to your life, it will be easier for people to locate and connect with you. Value can be academics, skill, information, networking, right attitude or understanding. Let’s take a case study of understanding. Henry Ukazu is a Public Policy Analyst.
“But, of course, with the aggressive acceleration of inflation rate in Nigeria, we decided in May, after almost about two and half years, to raise rates by 150 basis points.”The CBN Governor disclosed the growth of inflation over the last two years: “In 2020, Nigeria’s inflation was 12.13 per cent, today, the last data released a few days ago puts inflation at 18.6 per cent. MPC members feel that we cannot just hold rates, we cannot just continue to watch inflation grow the way it is rising; that something must be done to rein in inflation.
“We conducted a very serious analysis, looking at the various data that were presented to us at this meeting and we felt that there is a need to rein in inflation, not just because we want to look at what other economies are doing but also because we need to do a lot more work on inflation. And that is the reason MPC did not even take any look at whether to hold rates constant or to loosen.”
CBN, drawing lessons from global trends and experiences of advanced and developing economies, readily had to choose contending with weakening the manufacturing sector than allowing the growing and rippling impact of inflation to weaken the economy to the extent that even the manufacturing sector itself gets plunged into a worse crisis than if the MPR had not been raised. CBN believed that whatever discomfort the manufacturing sector would experience sequel to the decision is a ‘lesser evil’, and whatever crisis it would have on the economy could be much more manageable, than if inflation had been allowed to rampage across all sectors of the economy. While announcing the 14 percent interest rate hike at the post-MPC briefing, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, argued that the decision was aimed at taming inflation to ensure that it does not retard economic growth. He admitted that the MPC did not lose sight of the fact that the interest rates hike could impair manufacturing output, but it, it was also convinced that the impact of the growing inflation on the country’s savings and, thus, the entire economy is far graver and weightier than any impairment of the manufacturing output.
By Henry Ukazu One of the world’s favourite singers, Teddy Pendergrass, in one of his hit tracks, It’s so good loving somebody when somebody loves you back, posited that one of the best feelings in life is to have a requited love; to be loved by the person you love. The feeling is unimaginable by every standard. Without mincing words, there is an uncommon strength love gives us. When there is mutual love among couples, they are bound to attract unimaginable blessings. This article, however, is not about love per se, rather, love is used here to show how blessed we are when we have people who genuinely love us for who we are, despite our limitations. For instance, the love of a child by her mother is priceless. When we talk of blessings, most times we think the creator of the universe will come down from heaven and bless us, we fail to understand that human beings are the real blessings. Someone once jokingly said, if God wants to bless you, he sends a man/woman to bless you, but if the devil wants to destroy a man, he visits him with a woman. The morale of this story is that human beings can either make or mar you. You cannot underestimate the importance of having the right people in your life, especially if you are married, have a business, or working on a Sometimes,project. we think opportunities will come from heaven, but the truth is that the opportunity we seek is right in our hands. Sometimes, we think human beings will come through to us just because we are in need. The truth is that it is very rare to see people who can assist others without demanding anything in return. In most cases, people will only give you money when you have value, in terms of a product or service, to offerItthem.isimperative to note that one of the killers of opportunity is the poverty mentality. This is the major reason most people lose opportunities. These set of people think blessings, favours, opportunities and many more will come to them, they fail to understand that it doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, you will have to go out to search for the opportunities that is obviously searching for you.
“I’m proud to be associated with it. Thanks for this, it would go a long way man.
Deputy Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr Chris Maiyaki, said the event was a groundbreaking achievement as well as a proud moment for Nigeria as the second country with the most cut in a single year. He commended the EU for its tremendous support and contributions in generating, disseminating and expanding the frontiers of knowledge to develop NigerianMaiyakimanpower.saidthe commission, in conjunction with critical stakeholders, had recently embarked on some legacy projects including the much awaited guidelines on transnational education.Hesaid this would allow foreign investors and universities into the Nigerian university space through the establishment of four campuses in Nigeria. “They can also undertake partnerships with existing universities under six competitive models.They are franchise, the branch campus, the twinning and articulation and then the distance learning and or acquisition and merger.“We’re living in an age of knowledge, an age where education or human capital holds the key to our success and our opportunities.
”This includes enhancement of infrastructure in healthcare, energy, transportation, defence, and also the engineering and maintenance of communities. ” IoT technology allows organisations to monitor environmental conditions, physical health of employees and can help limit employees’ risks and exposure to prevent accidents from happening,” he said. Sodiya said businesses use a wide range of IoT devices, including smart security cameras, trackers for vehicles, ships and goods, as well as sensors that capture data about industrial
EU awards 200 Nigerian students postgraduate scholarship
“The programme is aimed at connecting and uniting young people across Europe and across the “Toglobe.build a new generation of words citizens, keen to work together for peace, for prosperity and for the common good. ”So, this year, we celebrate these achievements, but also to further boost our cooperation with Nigeria.“Oneducation, we have decided to combine the traditional predeparture orientation event with a study in Europe fair.
Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Benue State Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia has lamented that the 7 years of PDP government has taken the State 21 yearsFr.backward.Aliawho made the lamentation yesterday during an interface with the State Executive of the party at the Party Secretariat, Makurdi, also decried that all sectors of the state is in complete comatose. He noted that the economy of the state has descended to the lowest degree, promising that 2023 will usher in a new dawn in the fortune of the people. “It will be a year of renewal. It is going to be a year to harvest good and not for propaganda. I will put an end to politics of propaganda in the State”, he pledged.
The clergyman who received his letter of acknowledgement from the Independent National Electorate Commission, INEC, presented to him by the State Party Chairman Comrade Austin Agada, dedicated it to those who contested with him at the party primaries, even as he extended the Olive branch to all aggrieved members of the party to sheath their sword and join hands to actualize the goal of redeeming the State from shackles of underdevelopment.
No fewer than 200 Nigerians have been awarded postgraduate scholarships by the European Union (EU), to study in the best European universities under the Erasmus+ programme.EUAmbassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Samuela Isopi, said this at the send forth for the students on Wednesday in Abuja. The ambassador said that Nigeria was ranked second after Pakistan among the countries benefiting from the programme.
“We expect to receive today more than 2,000 visitors in just the first time we organised this fair in a few months, we promise we can meet to make it bigger in 2023,” sheThesaid.
Sodiya said the AI-based deep learning can also help in solving crimes, if captured on CCTV cameras. “Machine learning techniques can be used for colour conversion, regeneration, and comparison between two video backgrounds. ”This will help forensic teams to identify vehicles or objects during the post-incident investigation.”IoTsupports the development of smart nations and smart cities.
Computer Society (NCS) has urged the Federal Government to invest more in smart technologies to curb security challenges confronting the country. The President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja. He said the federal government and corporate organisations must invest in the deployment of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) devices, Internet of Things (IoTs) devices, Robotics, and Close Circuit Television (ccTV), among others.
Society urges FG to invest in security technologies to curb crimes
Benue: Alia blames PDP for underdevelopment
Media guru bags int’lachieverspeaceawards From Abubakar Yunusa
In his appreciation message, Anthony applauded the CEO, Mr Amafibe, saying he has really done well with the organisation taking it to an unimaginable height.
NAppreciate!”igeria
InternationalofAgencyCEOwasalocallyhisInternationalprestigiousAdaAseasonedentertainmentmediapersonality,AnthonyAbrahamhasbaggedthePeaceAchieversAwardsforcontributionstopeaceandinternationallyasmediapreneur.TheplagueoftheawardpresentedtohimbytheofPeaceAmbassadorWorldwide,organisersthePeaceAchieversAwards,Amb. Kingsley Amafibe yesterday.
PAGE 14 N EWS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Erasmus Plus scholarship is an initiative of the EU aimed at enhancing quality higher education through scholarships and academic cooperation between the union and the rest of the world. Isopi said there were an increasing number of Nigerian students, who received scholarships, compared to 2021. She said, ”in the last four years, there had been a quadrupling in terms of the number of Nigerians selected for Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Scholarships. ”The number increased in 2019 from 44 winners to 93 in 2020, 133 in 2021, and a record number of more than 200 were awarded this”Sheyear. said during their stay for the period, they would have the opportunity to visit up to six countries across Europe, saying that the potential of Nigeria was very high in the scholarship.
Photo: Justin Imo-owo
“Only education, particularly the type of quality education produced in some of the best academic traditions and good eras most universities can instigate rapid, social, economic, scientific and technological changes.”
He said the AI allows organisations and parastatals to make better decisions and improve core governmental processes by increasing both the speed and accuracy of strategic decision-making processes.
Director General National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA) Mustapha Habibu Ahmed ( 2right ) presenting the plaque to Danjuna Iliya the Representative of Mr John Iliya who lost his live during the active Service while the Director human Resources management (L) and Search and Rescue Air Commodore Edward Adedokun witness, during the Celebrating NEMA Staff that lost their live, suffered injured of Trauma in the Active Service , yesterday in Abuja .
“Someone who wants to bring an end to police brutality, an end to bad governance, and an end to poverty. I believe the candidate who, although not perfect, comes close to these ideals is Peter Obi. “This leads to compassion. Caring about your citizens, caring about people regardless of who they are or where they are from. Finally, with these two traits, you need intellect to deliver. Having knowledge and wisdom acquired, you are well equipped to tackle any of the challenges you may confront.“But let me add one more virtue and that is humility. Be humble. Understand your role and that is to serve the people. To help, assist, and make their lives easier. A presidential candidate or anyone for that matter that embodies such qualities will surely make an effective leader”, he said.
L-R; President Muhamamdu Buhari, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami SAN, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammed Mahmud Abubakar, Minister of Aviation, Sen Hadi Sirika and Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Aliyu Pantami during a hybrid FEC Meeting held at the Council Chambers State House yesterday in Abuja.
Peter Obi remains best for Nigeria against Atiku, Tinubu - ADP Chieftain, Emejuru Nakudu wins senatorialsouthJigawawestAPCticket
We underratedon’t PDP, APC but want to swing surprises in 2023 elections –NNPP
By Musa Baba Adamu Senator Sabo Muhammad Nakudu has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) Jigawa South West senatorial ticket in the party’s primary by-election. Senator Sabo Nakudu, representing Jigawa Southwest, was re-elected as the APC candidate after the death of Tijjani Ibrahim Gaya.The APC Jigawa’s central candidate for the 2023 general election, Tijjani Ibrahim Kiyawa died after a brief illness. Chairman primary election committee, Shehu Umar announced the result after compiling scores of the by-election conducted at the Aminu Kano Triangle in Dutse, Jigawa State capital. Senator Sabo Muhammad Nakudu had emerged the winner of the Jigawa South West APC Senatorial ticket with 375 votes. He said, “375 delegates were accredited and 375 votes were cast from the 75 wards of the seven local governments in the zone” “On behalf of the National working committee of our party, I hereby certify that Senator Sabo Muhammad Nakudu having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner of the Jigawa South West APC senatorial candidate for the 2023 general election”Inhis remarks, the APC Senatorial Candidate Sabo Nakudu appealed to all party members to join hands towards the success and victory of the APC during the generalSenatorelections.Nakudu was given the chance to contest after he lost his gubernatorial bid to the state Deputy Governor, Malam Umar Namadi in the governorship primary election.
The Speaker, Joseph Albasu Kunini read the names of the commissioner nominees as Lois Emmanuel, Illiya Agabi, Emmanuel Massa-Ibi, Shuaibu Yakubu Mailiki, Hassan Bappa, Saleh Sa’ad, Dr. David Ishaya Kassa and John Mboli. According to a communication from the state governor, the nominations are meant to fill the vacancies created with the resignation of some commissioners in their bid to contest for various elective positions in the last primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.The nominees who were mostly former members of the state House of Assembly or Commissioners were asked to take a bow and walk as there was no objections to their nominations. The House also confirmed the appointment of Caretaker Committee Chairmen, vice Chairmen and Councilors for the Sixteen Local Government Areas in theTheystate.are Victor Yakubu, Aminu Hassan, Bala Bako and Ammamzalla Joseph for Ardo Kola, Jalingo, Ibi and Kurmi local government areas respectively.
By Christiana Ekpa
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi AUnited States of America based Nigerian politician, Chris Emejuru, who is also a chieftain of Action Democratic Party (ADP), has said that despite ongoing political mudslinging between supporters of the major Presidential candidates, Labour Party (LP) standard bearer remains the best for Nigeria.
Fielding questions from journàlists via zoom, Emejuru, who was a staunch supporter of All Progressive Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 election, said the former Anambra Governor, Obi, fits perfectly into the class of leader Nigeria needs at the present time.
Taraba Assembly confirms Gov Ishiaku’s 16-man caretaker committee nominees
“NNPP is a party that is rooted in a national movement that will usher in a greater Nigeria. “We have now got our candidates at different levels, and we’re getting ready for the campaigning time soon for the elections.“Ofcourse, we’re not oblivious of the power of what PDP and APC can do. Our party is on course. We’re very strong. We are waxing stronger. We are concerned about the future of Nigeria and our democracy.” (NAN)
The Taraba State House of Assembly has confirmed the nomination of caretaker Chairmen for the sixteen local government councils of the state. Also confirmed are the Vice Chairmen and Councilors for the entire sixteen councils. Following the expiration of the council chairmen’s tenure, the state governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, it would be recalled, ordered them to hand over to the most senior civil servants in their councils.
The Rabiu Kwankwaso-led New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has said the party is not oblivious of the strength of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) but is building structures to swing surprises.
Others include Ali Iki for Donga, Micah Danbaba for Bali, Andrew Zanya for Zing, Dr. Abubakar Jugulde for Sardauna and Adi Daniel for Wukari local government areas. The other, as read by the Speaker are Nemuel Tuninfor Yorro, Abershi Musa for Ussa, Paul Garba Dogo for Gashaka, Biyi Manja Abershi for Takum, Daniel Zading for Lau, Dan Asali for Gassol, and Shehu Voks for KarimTheLamido.listalso included the vice Chairmen and over a hundred and sixty councilors for the various wards in the state. Kunini, who said the House was to proceed on recess till 3rd October, appreciated the members for their dedication and commitment to duty and urged them to use the recess to interact with their constituents so as to be able to serve them even better.
2023:
The National Chairman of the Party, Prof. Rufai Alkali, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos. Alkali said the NNPP as an alternative platform will spring surprises nationwide in the 2023 generalAccordingelections.tohim, the kind of leadership the NNPP would be bringing into Nigeria would be totally different from what the other political parties had offered and are “We’reoffering.outto reduce the drift and sharp edges of anger and bitterness in the country.
On this note, he enjoined Nigerians, as the country heads into a fresh round of general election, to remember that their choices today determine the future of their children and next generation.Hesaid “Remember who it is that has your interest at heart. Someone who has character. Someone who cares about creating a better life for you and your family. Someone who cares about every Nigerian citizen and wants to create more jobs and tackle“Doinsecurity.notbeswayed by political jingles and adverts. Vote your conscience. This is your future. This is your life. Make the right decision.”However, he differed with major view about the ideal age of a presidential candidate arguing that age of a presidential candidate does not matter as much as how competent such a personCitingis. the case of Nelson Mandela, the ADP Chieftain regretted that in Nigeria, the youth have been neglected for so long, especially in politics, hence the need to have a young president who brings energy, compassion, intellects and other leadership qualities. Meanwhile, he said on the issue of same faith ticket, candidates should be judged on merit, but emphasized that the next President of Nigeria should come from the South, saying “This is important as many Nigerians
PAGE 15PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Speaking on what an ideal Presidential candidate implies to him, Emejuru, who is also the Managing Partner for America at the Lowase Management Consulting, said such candidate must be ethical, imbued with common sense, and one who genuinely cares about the poor masses.“Myideal candidate is someone who is ethical, someone who has common sense, and someone who truly, genuinely cares about the masses. A candidate who doesn’t judge based on what part of the country you are from and whose interest is to unite and not divide.
PHOTO; State House
The Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Abia, Alex Otti has unveiled Ikechukwu Emetu as running mate.Otti made the presentation in Umuahia, the capital, where he also inaugurated his campaign council.A former House of Representatives member, Nnanna Ngwu will serve as the Chairman. Otti explained that he got attracted to Emetu because of his antecedent as a philanthropist. The business mogul said 38-year-old engineer Emetu satisfied his desire for a young citizen as his deputy. The LP flagbearer recalled that he promised Abia youths a sense of belonging in the political space.
Presidency: Tinubu biggest beneficiary of Obi’s ambition, not Obidients – Omokri
Otti said Emetu is known in his Ohafia Local Government Area for “community development service and humanitarian gestures”. “So in all, he fits squarely into the characteristic and quality of the kind of deputy that I yearned for”, NAN quoted him saying.
By Christiana Ekpa
Arewa group tables northern agenda before 2023 presidential candidatesinAPPemergesUkaegbunewChairmanAbia
Obidients. Peter won’t affect APC’s votes. The votes he will likely get are votes that would have naturally gone to PDP, including in the Southeast, some non-Yoruba Lagos votes, a chunk of Benue votes, and a few votes in peripheral states.
Aformer aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri says the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the biggest beneficiary of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s race.Omokri who disclosed this via his Facebook page, Wednesday said the votes Obi will likely get are votes that would have naturally gone to PDP.He said the Obedient has been blinded by uncontrollable emotion, adding that “Tinubu is a master tactician. He knows Peter Obi cannot win. And he knows that very, very little of Peter’s votes, if any at all, will come from him. He is aware that Peter is eating into the PDP’s votes”.Omokri wrote ” the biggest beneficiary of Peter Obi’s Presidential race is Tinubu, not
Otti expressed confidence that his team would ensure a robust and result-oriented campaign that would ensure victory in 2023. Emetu thanked the candidate for selecting him, assuring that he would mobilize his peers for the LP.“This opportunity is not only for me but for millions of Abia youths. You have made us to believe that the future truly belongs to the youth”, Emetu said. (NAN)
“Our desire for development and socio-economic change is to better the north and Nigeria; which outweighs our sociopolitical differences.
Abia 2023: LP’s Alex Otti selects 38-year-oĺd Emetu as running mate
The Abia State chapter of the Action Peoples Party (APP) has declared its readiness to take over the governance of the state, saying it will leave no stone unturned in making sure that it emerges victorious in the forthcoming 2023 general elections in the state. The party also affirmed a former Executive Chairman of the Umuahia North Local Government Area in Abia State, Chief Princewill Ukaegbu, as its new state chairman after the resignation of the acting state party chairman, Hon Sylvanus Nwaji, who is currently seeking for election for Ukwa East and Ukwa West Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives in 2023.This was disclosed in a release issued at the end of a brief meeting of the State Executive Council, Local Government chairmen and ward chairmen and the APP candidates for the 2023 general elections in Abia State at the party’s state secretariat in Umuahia, the state capital, on Tuesday.Speaking while handing over the mantle of leadership to Ukaegbu, Nwaji expressed his profound gratitude to the leader and Abia governorship candidate of the party, Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu for allowing him to serve meritoriously.Nwajialsothanked
“We are partisan with quality. We want someone with record and quality to be president and we are engaging with the presidential candidate.“Weare looking at issues based on the prosperity of the country. All of us whether from north and south, we are working for the interest of the country, “ Kyuka said adding that they are meeting other groups in the south are also meeting, adding that their interest is addressing insecurity”, he said.
other party leaders, thousands of members and teeming supporters across the state for the necessary support and maximum cooperation he enjoyed.Ukaegbu, who recently dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the APP, stated that his decision to join the new party was borne out of the qualifications, leadership experiences and youthfulness of Kalu.On his part, Kalu, also used the medium to officially announce an ex-House of Representatives aspirant from the state, Elder Mark Ugorji, as the Director General of his campaign organization.
“There is a lot of hysteria, which has blinded the eyes of the core Obidients. That uncontrollable emotion makes them blind to a lot of things. One of which is that the Yoruba have never voted for a nonYoruba when a Yoruba is in the
2023:
PAGE 16 POLITICS PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Photo: Mahmud Isa
Speaking at a press conference before the commencement of a 2-day conference, the forum coordinator/convener of the Arewa Agenda-2023, Senator Ahmad Abubakar MoAllahyidi, said there interest is to ensure the development of the north and that the region is not left behind in the scheme of things. “This we insist is not seeking compensation, but the right way towards inclusion and carrying everyone along. The forum will therefore be bringing together scholars, communitybased associations and leaders, traditional institutions, the creative industry, civil society groups, pressure groups, development practitioners, leaders of thought, policy makers, students, Women groups, Youth groups, interfaith groups from across the length and breadth of northern Nigeria to brainstorm in a two day conference that will culminate into the development of a northern Compendium that clearly articulates the thinking, the position and the demands of the north; which will serve as a guiding charter for pursuit of the interest of the region,” MoAllahyidi said. He said the compendium will serve as the regional road map that will continuously be built upon now and in years to come as the confluence of the northern ideas and a pivot for its development.
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi Apolitical pressure group, under the auspices of Arewa Agenda-2023 has begun mobilising the demands to be presented before the 2023 presidential candidates of various political parties, as conditions to earn northern support ahead of the next general election.
“Whoever becomes a president, will follow the compendium. We want to examine the challenges. Insecurity issue is national. Boko Haram kidnapping, oil bunkering. The current administration has been doing alot. Our team wants any incoming president to address the issue of insecurity since it is a national issue. Security of citizens and infrastructure is paramount,” AhmedAlsosaid.speaking, Prof Adamu Kyuka, said they are a group that seeks to engage the issues confronting Northern Nigeria.
By Musa Baba Adamu
race. It does not matter whether or not they like the person. “Another is that the Hausa and Fulani have only ever voted for a Muslim, whether he be from the North or South. You might raise the issue of Jonathan. I was one of the strategists behind President Jonathan’s 2011 victory and we lost in the North. What we were looking for was 25%, which we got in 2011, but could not get in 2015. In fact, we got less than 20% in Kano, Bauchi, and Yobe in 2011.
“Tinubu is a master tactician. He knows Peter Obi cannot win. And he knows that very, very little of Peter’s votes, if any at all, will come from him. He is aware that Peter is eating into the PDP’s votes. So, he will promote Obi’s candidacy through proxies. Because that is one of his paths to victory! All he would ask from his Southeast foot soldiers is that they should get him 25% of the votes in at least 2 Southeastern states. And he will get it in Imo and Ebonyi, by hook or crook.”
“Consequently, the Northern Agenda 2023, is an all-inclusive approach as prioritized in the aforementioned agenda. This will serve as a panacea for the development of the entire northern region”, the senator said. Also speaking, the former Director General (DG) of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Prof Danfulani Ahmed said they are inviting all the ethnic nationalities in Northern Nigeria to form the compendium.
L-R: PDP Gubernatorial Candidate of Sokoto State, Mallam Saidu Umar, Governor of Bauchi state, Senator Bala NationalMohammed,Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyocha Ayu and Kaduna State PDP Candidate,GubernatorialIsa Ashiru Kudan, during the PDP atCandidatesGovernorshipmeetingtheParty’s Secretariat, yesterday in Abuja.
Ekiti election: INEC has denied us access to materials again – Oni
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The Osun State Government has issued a stern warning to those beating the drum of violence and bloodshed in the state to desist or they would be made to dance to their evil rhythm. This followed recent assassinations of chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, and several violent attacks on party members and government officials, including the wife of the governor, Kafayat Oyetola.Thewife of the state governor, Kafayat Oyetola, was attacked on Friday in Owode-Ede town by hoodlums with many security personnel in her convoy injured while on Saturday night, Kazeem Alli, an APC chieftain and chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Apomu branch was abducted by unknown individuals.
Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the June 18, 2022, election in Ekiti State, Segun Oni, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is preventing his legal team from having access to inspect the election materials as ordered by the Election Tribunal sitting in AdoHeEkiti.raised the alarm in a press statement released by his campaign organisation on Monday evening and signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Jackson Adebayo. The organisation hinted that the Ekiti State office of INEC had on Monday denied the legal team access to the election materials, including the capturing machine used in the transmission of the results of the election, saying that INEC claimed all the materials are in its headquarters. Adebayo accused the electoral
By Musa Baba Adamu
Protect chargesLabourdemocracyNigeria’s–Partyjournalists
Ekiti roadsdilapidatedcriesAssemblytoFGover
“We, however, want to appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to call on INEC to release the materials demanded inspection as provided by law which the Ekiti State election petition tribunal has appropriately ordered.
The state government served the warning in a statement signed by Funke Egbemode, the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation after arising from its weekly Executive Council Meeting on Tuesday in Osogbo. While calling for calm among peace loving people of the state, the state government also revealed that it was aware of plans by the opposition to further unleash terror on government officials and members of the APC in the days ahead.The government also called on the citizens of the state not to allow themselves to be drawn out by those on an adventure of terror.
The Osun State Police Command has since made arrests in both incidents while a N15 million ransom has been demanded for the abductors of the NURTW chairman.
“We have intelligence reports that more of such attacks are being planned and targeted at government officials and chieftains of the ruling party in order to further heat up the polity of the State and, by extension, disrupt the peace of the State.
The statement noted that, “The government is very worried about the spate of politicallymotivated assassinations in Osun, a state that has enjoyed peace and tranquility in the last four years and has earned its rating as the nation’s safest place. “Sadly, innocent and peaceloving people are beginning to live in fear since the announcement of the results of the governorship election, because of a revival of the violent culture that the Peoples Democratic Party is known for.
The National Vice-Chairman of Labour Party, North Central zone, Shirsha Adi, has charged Nigerian journalists to protect the country’s democracy through accurate reportage. In a chat with journalists on the sidelines of the party’s Town Hall meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State, Adi, cautioned against sensational reporting and fake news.He advised journalists to ensure adequate protection of the nation’s democratic institutions. Adi, said the era of sensational reporting and fake news are over. He asserted that all hands must be on deck to project the country positively. The Labour party chieftain appealed to the leadership of the NUJ to do all that is humanly possible to send away quacks and fakeHejournalists.alsocalled on the youths to redouble their efforts to ensure the growth and development of the Chairmancountry.
Political assassinations: Osun govt talks tough, warns war drummers
PHOTO; State House By Christiana Ekpa
“We are still not comfortable with the claims by the Commission in Ado Ekiti that the materials are in the national headquarters as verifiable information has it that all the materials are in their store in Ado Ekiti office; so if that be the case why the deceit and delay if something is not under a coverup,” he said. The organisation, however, said that its legal team can’t be intimidated nor frustrated, adding that the commission should know that the issues go beyond Oni but things of concern to the generality of Ekiti people. But in a swift reaction, the Public Relations Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Ekiti State, Mrs. Rolake Odebunmi, confirmed and corroborated the earlier points raised by the organisation, saying that it’s only about 50% of the materials being requested for that are in the custody of the State INEC. She said that “part of the materials, like 50% are not in the custody of the Ekiti State INEC”. Speaking further, Odebunmi pointed out that the Commission in Ekiti State had told the organisation to check for the ones available in the state but they refused and said they don’t want it until they see the remaining materials.Sherevealed that the INEC office in Ekiti can only make available the materials in their custody.Shewent on to say that they have advised the organisation to write a letter to their headquarters in Abuja for the release of those materials so they can inspect them.Odebunmi, however, revealed that the Commission has fixed another meeting for next Monday so that the reply from their head office in Abuja will be given to enable them to take further action on it.
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
umpire of deliberately conniving with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to frustrate their efforts to retrieve the mandate it stole during the election. He asked why it has become the tradition of the Commission to transfer the materials used to conduct elections which are still being challenged at the tribunal to the headquarters, adding that the Commission is only playing to the gallery by these dangerous actions.“We are aware of the surreptitious romance between the APC and the Commission after it was discovered that the manipulation perpetrated to award victory to the APC candidate, Biodun Oyebanji has been fingered.
“The government in the saddle is a responsible and peaceful one, and has since not fought back because it doesn’t believe in heating up the polity of the State. It has simply minded its business and continued to deliver on its promises to citizens, which it is constitutionally bound to do till November 27.”
“Specifically, government officials and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress have been targeted in all of these attacks. More shocking was the ambush and violent attack launched on the First Lady in Owode-Ede, the hometown of Mr Ademola Adeleke, which left people on her convoy injured. Indeed, there is nothing to prove that the attack was not targeted at Governor Adegboyega Oyetola himself.
“The state is calling on both local and national security agencies, and especially the Inspector-General of Police, to rise to the occasion and ensure the safety of Osun citizens and especially protect government officials from the onslaught of the PDP and its terror allies.
Kwara State Chapter of the Labour Party, Mr Kunle Rotimi, urged the youths to shun thuggery and channel their energy to productive ventures.
The Ekiti State House of Assembly during its sitting on Monday has appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of the state by helping to fix the bad roads in the state. The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Funminiyi Afuye, made the passionate appeal while addressing the distinguished members of the Assembly at their sitting held Reactingtoday.toamatter of urgent public importance raised by the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan at plenary in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the Speaker observed that most motorists now plied the hinterland roads to access other neighboring states and these had led to the destruction of some roads constructed by the state government.Hementioned the Ado Ekiti to Ikere Ekiti to Akure road with the Ikere Ekiti axis in total in bad shape and called on the federal government to urgently direct its relevant agencies for adequate intervention.TheLeader of Business, Hon Aribisogan, had earlier called on the assembly to call on relevant agencies to fix the Ado- IluomobaIjesa Isu road. Hon Aribisogan, who represents Ikole Constituency I in the House, observed that motorists now suffer passing through the road, with some bad portion areas serving as haven for criminals.
L-R; Minister of Education, Mr Goodluck Nanah Opiah, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Aliyu Pantami and Minister of Environment Alhaji Mohammed H. Abdullahi during a hybrid FEC Meeting held at the Council Chambers State House yesterday in Abuja.
PAGE 17PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 POLITICS
PAGE 18 PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja Oil price rose above $100 a barrel amid talks of output tightening to support prices in the case of a potential Iranian crude deal and the prospect of a drop in U.S. inventories. On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration estimated a draw in oil inventories of 7.1 million barrels for the week to August 12 from 5.5 million barrels reported for the previous week. At 10.45 GMT+1, Brent crude futures, an international oil benchmark, went up by 1 percent to $101.2 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate oil futures rose by $0.98 to Abdulaziz$94.66.bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister and de facto leader of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), had hinted at the possibility of the group cutting supply to correct a recent oil price decline.Inhis comments on Monday, the Saudi minister said the paper and physical oil markets had becomeVandana“disconnected”.Hari,founder, Vanda Insights, an oil market analysis provider, said: “While Abdulaziz bin Salman’s comment may have achieved more than putting a floor under crude prices, we expect it to follow the law of diminishing returns unless it is followed up by more signals or action from OPEC+ to restrain output”. The soaring oil prices may not translate to bolstered export earnings for Nigeria as the country is producing below its OPEC quota of 1.826 million barrels per day. Last month, Nigeria’s crude oil production decreased to an average of 1.08 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.16 million the previous month. On Wednesday, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said the country can produce 2.1 million barrels. “We had the capacity to do 2.1 million. You can technically say that you have lost about 700,000 barrels of oil per day of production. But it doesn’t mean 700,000 bpd are stolen,” Kyari said. “What in reality happens is that when those stealing take place, we probably lose up to 200,000 bpd of direct losses to thieves. And beyond this, once you have this infraction getting to a level we cannot manage, in some instances, some of the pipeline losses get up to 80 percent to 90 percent loss at one point.”
“I listen to Chinyere Igwe yesterday talking about ingratitude. A man who had been retired politically. This is the man who spent only one term in the House of Representatives and came back home. The immediate past governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, chased him out of Port Harcourt and he ran to Abuja. He even contested on the platform of ACN then and lost woefully.“When we had mobilised GDI and had strengthened the party (Peoples Democratic Party), we brought him back and those of them whom he said he is speaking for now. None of them was foundation members of GDI. And His Excellency, the governor gave him a platform, first as a Commissioner and then to the National Assembly, even though he didn’t win the primary. And today, he is talking aboutLastingratitude.”week,Igwe said the government’s action had a political undertone.“Itispolitical victimisation. He is victimising us because we are aligning with Rt Hon Austin Okpara, a former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, for having a meeting with Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, the PDP presidential candidate,” he said .
“Anybody who allows his business premises to be used for illegal oil bunkering, that premises will be shut down. Whoever allows his hotel to harbour criminals bent on destabilising the state, we will deal with you according to the law,” he said. The chief of staff also warned Igwe to desist from “misleading” the public with claims that he was being politically victimised.
From Abubakar Yunusa N ed Nwoko, former lawmaker and businessman, has asked the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) to pay him $40 million as compensation for allegedly defaming his character. There has been controversy over consultancy fees amounting to $418 million from the Paris ClubNwoko,refund.who was one of the consultants, on Saturday, alleged that the consultancy fee owed by the states and local governments was $68 million and not $418 million as claimed by NGF. He said the original claims calculated based on agreed terms was in excess of $300 million, but his firm “offered a huge discount on the entitlement to accept the $68However,million”.NGF, in a statement signed by Abdulrazaque BelloBarkindo, the forum’s head of media and public affairs, said Nwoko told blatant lies and half truth while speaking to journalists. In a letter addressed to the NGF, Nwoko accused the NGF of lying about his status with the UK LawHeSociety.complained of a statement by Bello-Barkindo, wherein, he said, “It is curious that in the introduction of himself, Mr Ned Nwoko said nothing about his current status with the UK Law Society and the widely held belief that he was disbarred for fraudulent activities.” Nwoko through his lawyers said: “The above quoted statement is profoundly malicious and false as our client has never been disbarred from legal practice in the United Kingdom.” The lawyers to Ned Nwoko further said that the above quoted statement had lowered him before his business partners, friends, members of his constituency and well-wishers.Heaccused the forum of being on a quest to damage his reputation, cast him as a devious, manipulative, dishonest and fraudulent person of questionable character and attempted to abuse the minds of the public by its refusal to pay the consultancy fees.Attached to the letter were Nwoko’s practising certificates for the years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – the regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales.
Paris Club refund: Ned Nwoko Demands $40m
Oil price Tops $100 a Barrel On Possible OPEC+ Output Cuts
Compensation From NGF Over ‘Libellous Publication’ Participants at the EU Erasmus+ 2022 Pre-depature orientation for the awardees and study in Europe Fair, yesterday in Abuja.
Photo: Mahmud Isa
LawmakerFederalProsecuteVowsRiversBunkering’:‘OilGov’tTo T he Rivers state government says it will prosecute Chinyere Igwe, a federal lawmaker from the state, for alleged involvement in oil bunkering. Igwe, whose filing station was sealed for involvement in the illegal operations, represents Port Harcourt federal constituency 2. Speaking at a recent Permanent Voters Card (PVC) sensitisation event in Gokana LGA of Rivers State, Emeka Woke, chief of staff to Governor Nyesom Wike, said no amount of “blackmail” would discourage the state government from prosecuting the lawmaker.
From Abubakar Yunusa I n a clear demonstration of its industry leadership and consistency in providing superior financial returns, Zenith Bank Plc has announced its audited results for the halfyear ended 30 June 2022, recording an astounding doubledigit growth of 17% in gross earnings from N346 billion reported in H1 2021 to N405 billion in H1 2022. This is in spite of a very challenging macroeconomic environment.According to the bank’s audited half-year financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday, 23rd August 2022, this growth was underpinned by a 19% YoY growth in interest income from NGN204 billion to NGN242 billion and an 18% YoY growth in non-interest income from NGN127 billion to NGN149 billion. The growth in interest income was driven by the modest increase in the loan book and improved interest margins. The increase in non-interest income attests to the Group’s success in its income diversification strategy. Profit before tax (PBT) grew 11% year-on-year (YoY) from NGN117 billion to NGN130 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) also grew from NGN3.38 to NGN3.55 over the same 6-month period.The Group also recorded an 11% year-to-date (YtD) increase in total customer deposits to close the period at NGN7.15 trillion. The retail strategy of the Group continues to deliver outstanding results as retail deposits grew by 17% YtD from NGN1.82 trillion to NGN2.13 trillion. Retail activities also supported the growth recorded in fees on electronic products which grew by 45% YoY from NGN17 billion to NGN25Despitebillion.theelevated yield
“are often captured in the annual Appropriation Acts and Medium Term External Borrowing Plan.” She pointed out that although “it looks obvious, one of the things omitted in the analyses by experts is that new borrowing will automatically translate to higher debt stock and debt service levels.”
PAGE 19PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 BU$IN€SS
From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja Patience Oniha, the Debt Management Office (DMO)’s director-general, says Nigeria needs to earn more revenue and manage its debt profile more efficiently to reduce President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent taking of foreign loans. According to her, a strong and comparable revenue base will reduce the need for relatively large amounts of new borrowing, as Nigeria has witnessed and will also reduce the debt service to revenue ratio.“The World Bank’s World Economic Outlook for 2020 showed that Nigeria with a revenue to GDP ratio of 6.3 per cent was ranked at 194 out of 196 countries covered,’’ she told journalists on Wednesday. Ms Oniha urged the Nigerian media and other stakeholders to focus more on the urgent need to improve“Revenuerevenue.isthe way to go, and that is how countries develop and use borrowing to augment revenue shortfalls now and again. Nigeria has been running budget deficits for decades; it is about time to shift to a balanced budget and even surplus budgets,’’ she stressed. She charged the regime to address the recurrent issue of petroleum subsidy payment to reduce“Oneborrowings.issueto be addressed is the petrol subsidy, which has significantly increased annual budget deficits and ultimately increased the level of new borrowings and the public debt stock,” said the DMO boss. “There is a vital need to ramp up crude oil production and end crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism to meet oil revenue targets, especially in the light of rising crude oil prices.”MsOniha said such steps would create an avenue for efficient tax collection and a broader tax base. According to her, other structural issues such as insecurity, inflation, infrastructural deficit and foreign exchange shortages are adversely affecting the business environment.Regarding her agency’s role in the debt acquisition and management processes, she stated, “The DMO plays an advisory role to the government in relation to public debt, which covers new borrowing, debt negotiation and debt management strategy.” Ms Oniha added that Nigerians attacking the DMO over debt management did not understand the legislations and regulations governing borrowing and public debt.“It is strongly recommended that the public is familiar with the provisions in the DMO Establishment Act, 2003 and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007,” the DMO chief explained. “Public debt has grown over the last years as the government borrowed to meet major revenue shortfalls, increased spending on security and infrastructure, as well as funding on health due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
PHOTO; State House
The cost of debt servicing has been of concern recently as Mr Buhari’s regime spent more on debt servicing in the first four months of 2022 than the revenue it collected. The debt servicing bill increased by 109 per cent between December 2021 and March 2022, rising from N429 billion to N896 billion. According to data from the DMO, this amounts to N3.83 trillion in debt servicing payments in 15Itmonths.willbe insensitive to recommence Abuja-Kaduna train operations now. The federal government has stated that it cannot recommence the Abuja-Kaduna train services for now because it will be insensitive to the plight of families whose loved ones are still in captivity. The Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo told state house correspondents after the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the state house. The transport minister who was addressing questions on the suspension of the service following the March 2022 train attack, noted that the government is still investigating the right type of surveillance equipment to procure in order to effectively monitor the tracks along the Abuja Kaduna route, as well as concessioning it in a Public Private Partnership arrangement.Waryabout the huge cost involved, the Minister tentatively gives one month within which it will report back progress made in thisMeanwhilerespect. the Federal executive council approved 1.49 billion naira for the repair works to be carried out at the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
She noted that the levels of new borrowing to meet these needs
L-R; Minister of State for FCT Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu and SA Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina during a hybrid FEC Meeting held at the Council Chambers State House yesterday in Abuja.
Nigeria needs to earn more revenue to reduce Buhari’s borrowings: DMO
Zenith Bank announces N405 billion in half-year earnings
environment, the cost of funds increased only marginally from 1.3% in June 2021 to 1.4% in June 2022. The increase in the cost of funds was lower than the increase in yields on interest-generating assets, giving rise to an improved Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 7.1% from 6.4% in June 2021. Total assets rose to NGN10.12 trillion at the end of June 2022 from NGN9.45 trillion at the end of December 2021. Despite the headwinds imposed by the operating environment, the Group grew its risk assets as gross loans grew by 5% YtD, from NGN3.5 trillion to NGN3.7 trillion. This was achieved at a moderate NPL ratio of 4.4% (FYE 2021: 4.2%) and cost of risk of 1.4% (June 2021: 1.3%). Prudential ratios such as liquidity and capital adequacy also remained stable and well-above regulatory thresholds at 60.5% and 21.0% respectively. The Group is focused on advancing its digital banking strategy anchored on a strong technology base, and intends to consolidate on the gains achieved in prior years across all business segments. Combined with the Group’s industry leadership, we expect this to drive improved performance and deliver enhanced returns to stakeholders.
“The national council on infrastructure is to provide policy direction on infrastructure matters and drive the creation and sustenance of the expected synergy and linkages between the public and the private sector to enhance the implementation of the infrastructure master plan.”
Osinbajo said the $2.3 trillion estimated resource requirement for the national integrated infrastructure master plan implementation was too large to be provided from public resources alone.He said that a well-coordinated and strategic approach would be required to harness private resources to increase the stock of Nigeria’s infrastructure to the desired level by 2043.
Osinbajo said the technical working group would provide guidance to the council and advise on all Nigerindeliberatedevelopmentgovernment’sfundamentaltherapidrail,andcountry,infrastructurematters.infrastructure-relatedHesaidinspiteofthedeficitacrossthetherehadbeendeliberatemassiveinvestmentsinroad,andpowerinfrastructureforeconomicdevelopmentbypresentadministration.Accordingtohim,afeatureofthefederalplanfortherapidoftheeconomyisaandmassiveinvestmentinfrastructure.“TheyincludethesecondBridge,theLagos-Ibadan expressway, the Abuja-KadunaKano Road (funded through the presidential infrastructure development fund); the construction and upgrading of about 5,000 km of major road projects across the country through the Sukuk bond,” he said.
It was a celebration galore in Abuja yesterday as a bachelor who is preparing for his wedding won a Star Prize of a N5 million at the ongoing Dangote Cement Promotion.
PAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 BU$IN€SS
The federal government has set up a national council to facilitate the implementation of infrastructure projects across the country. The inauguration occurred in Abuja , according to a statement issued by Laolu Akande, spokesman to the vice-president. Speaking at the inauguration, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said the national council on infrastructure was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari. “For efficient and effective implementation of infrastructure projects, the national integrated infrastructure master plan (NIIMP) recommended the establishment of the national council on infrastructure and its technical working group (TWG),” the statement quoted him as saying.Osinbajo said collaboration between the federal government and the private sector would ensure effective coordination of infrastructure development across the Henation.added that such collaboration would also bridge the nation’s infrastructure gaps.
National Sales Director, Dangote Cement, Mrs. Funmi Sanni explained that Dangote Cement as a customer caring organization considered no amount as too much to splash on its customers because they are the reason for the existence of the organization.Representative of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Mr. Dauda Ahmadu Waja described the Dangote Cement Promotion as very transparent, adding that the commission was elated to see that consumers are satisfied. The exercise was also conducted under the watch of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission which was represented by Mrs. Ikwo Odiongenyi of the Licensing and Operation unit. The Season 3 promo is expected to produce 125 millionaires monthly with N1 billion in total to be won both cash and otherwise.
The Group Managing Director, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Olakunle Alake presented the star prize award to the winner Mr. Mamza Joshua Ayuba, amidst pomp and circumstance.The35-year-old overjoyed bachelor described the award as a dream comes true. "I was told that I was a lucky winner of Five Million Naira. I thought it was a joke. I did not believe that the Dangote Spell and Win Promo was real in the first place, so it came as a surprise. I could not speak for a moment,” he said. The construction supervisor disclosed that he bought close to 200 bags of Dangote cement when it happened."WhenI got the alphabet O, which eluded me after collecting the other alphabets to complete the spelling of 'D A N G O T E' I was elated. Honestly, I am happy right now and wish to become a distributor of Dangote cement as soon as possible" Mamza said. Aside from the Big Win, five others .were lucky winners of One Million Naira each while instant consolation prices, fridge, and television sets etc. were won during the Theevent.Regional Director, Sales, Dangote Cement Plc, George Bankole, described the ongoing “Bag of Goodies Season 3” National Consumer Promotion as a way of giving back to the consumers and retailers of the Dangote Group. He said the promo will help ginger the economy as more money is entering into the hands of consumers and businessmen through the prizes that are "Customersbeing. and distributors of the product, as well as other Nigerians, can be millionaires many times over. The promo, initiated by the President/CE, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote is all about changing the lives of Nigerians, especially with the current situation of economic challenges facing the Country,” he said.
According to him, the federal government’s national integrated infrastructure master plan (NIIMP) was developed to provide an integrated view of infrastructure development in Nigeria with clear linkages across key sectors and to identify enablers for successful implementation in line with the current economic realities.
L-R: Group Managing Director, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Olakunle Alake, Star Winner, Mr. Mamza Joshua Abba, and the Regional Director North Central, Mr. George Bankole at the presentation of prizes to winners in the ongoing Dangote Cement Promo in Abuja on Tuesday
Bachelor wins N5m in Dangote Cement promo
“Rail sector investments include the Lagos-Kano standard gauge lines, and the Warri-Itakpe rail.“In the energy sector, this administration has greenlit NLNG Train 7, invested in the AjaokutaKaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, and is on track to complete an incremental 4,000MW of generating assets such as Zungeru Hydro and Kashimbilla Hydro to complement systemic reforms and investments in the distribution and transmission segments of the electricity value chain.
“The administration is investing more than $2 billion in distribution and transmission through the Siemens presidential power initiative, the transmission, rehabilitation and expansion plan, the CBN-financed transmissiondistribution interface programme, and the recently approved $500 million World Bank DISREP programme for the distribution segment,” he said.
The Pan-Africa Cement manufacturer had weeks ago unveiled a Spell Dangote and become Millionaires in a season 3 of its Bag of Goodies National Consumer promo, in Lagos during which the Company announced that 500 consumers would win a million naira each, while another 100 would win N5million Naira within four months.
The vice president also highlighted the federal government’s N15 trillion Infrastructure Corporation (InfraCorp Nigeria) in 2021, the reviewed national integrated infrastructure master plan (2020-2043), and the national development plan 2021-2025.
FG sets up council to facilitate implementation of infrastructure projects
“The success of the NIIMP will depend, to a large extent, on the establishment of a strong implementation mechanism and framework that promotes performance and accountability.
From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja
“The NIIMP takes stock of existing infrastructure and specifically sets out the goal of raising Nigeria’s infrastructure stock to at least 70 percent by the year 2043,” he said.
“After eight months, we are back to Mpape because the criminals have returned to the crush rock area. We have gotten report that they are back, so we have to quickly come and clear them.“We are doing two things here, revisiting of sanitation exercise, freeing of the road, encroachment and curbing of criminal activities especially within the crush rock area.“The FCT Administration recently launched tourism roadmap, that means that the crush rock area is needed this will change the narrative of tourism, with this cleaning up criminals won’t disturbed people going to the tourist area.
“We have also knocked down criminals’ hideouts behind the banks’ area which is the commercial hub. This shows that we are winning in our fight against criminal elements in Mpape”
By Stanley Onyekwere There is a sigh of respite over the completion of Millennium Tower and Cultural Center Project in Abuja, the nation’s capital city, following the visit of the Nigeria/Indian Business Council to the project site.This was against the backdrop of reinvigorated efforts by the FCT Administration and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to woo investors to invest in Minister,Abuja.Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Muhammed, who led the delegation of Indian investors to the FCTA, called on the investors to look at the possibility of establishing a Film city within the Cultural Center. He said “I want to say that our efforts of wooing investors is yielding fruits because after the last visit, we had enquiries from some serious investors and this time around, I’m here with the members of the Nigeria India Business“TheCouncil.NIBC is made up of Nigerian businessmen and Indian businessmen and they’ve been here to look at where they can invest in area of power, infrastructure, medicine and of course, they also came with their investors from the creative sectors - from the film industry”. He noted that the investors have shown a lot of interest in the Nigerian creative industry and are looking closely at the establishment of film schools and studios very similar to what is obtained in Bollywood in the Cultural Center In the words of the Minister, “I think from what we’ve discussed, there is a lot of encouragement coming from them because one of the things that are unique here... they have shown interest in the studios and the films schools. “We will continue the conversation and see whether we can actually attract investors that will come and help us to finish this iconic edifice of the Millennium Tower and Cultural center”. On his part, the FCT Minister who was represented by the Executive Secretary, FCDA, Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, urged the investors to take a critical look at the project, which make up the cultural spine of Abuja with a view to opening the windows for more investment in the nation’s capital. Bello stressed that the Millennium Tower project was very dear to the FCT Administration and is optimistic that when completed it will not only open up the FCT and boost tourism and commercial activities, but would also yield a lot of financial benefits for investors.Speaking after a tour of the Millennium Tower a member of the delegation and Creative Producer in Bollywood India, Aasia Abbas expressed excitement at the benefits of investing in the FCT’s cultural edifice. She said, “We feel there is so much potential and it is definitely worth investing in. I see a big future for Nigerian film industry with so much content. Nigerian musicians are already world famous now and there are so many of these artists who are going to America and recording these songs. Why can’t they record it here? The talent is there, so all you need is a good studio.
PHOTO; State House
METRO PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 PAGE 21
Demolition: FCTA revisits Mpape for clean up, 8 Months after
“The idea is to harness the talent here and to keep it here and then to make it like global platform so that you can have Nigeria to stand on a global platform and you can have people and students from all over Africa coming here, studying, learning, developing and producing contents.
The Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the Minister of FCT, Ikharo Attah, said after eight months ago of pulling down shanties on the ever busy road, the illegal structures have resurfaced on the road corridors, which become haven for bad eggs in theAttaharea. explained that the administration had received complaints of illegal activities being experienced from Crush rock area down to the old market side on the road shoulder. He said the clean up will reinvigorate the city’s sanitation, fight against encroachment and curb reported cases of criminal activities.He noted that illegal operations in Mpape area which is adjacent bustling Maitama District in Abuja must be checked.
By Stanley Onyekwere
Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration yesterday rolled out bulldozers and removed structures on road road corridors in Mpape, a densely populated suburb of Abuja, barely eight months after it carried out massive demolition exercise there.
“People go to America, the New York Film Academy. Why shouldn’t they come to Abuja Film School”.Also present during the tour were the Nigerian High Commissioner to India Ambassador Ahmed Sule, the Director General Nigerian Film Corporation Dr Chidia Maduekwe, the Director General, National Gallery of Art, Mr Ebeten Ivara, the Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Malam Bashir MaiBornu and other senior officials of the FCTA and Federal Ministry of information and Culture.
Millennium Towers project: Respite as investors visit project R-L; MuhammaduPresident Buhari, Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN and SGF Mr Boss Mustapha during a hybrid FEC Meeting held at the Council Chambers State House yesterday in Abuja.
Source: BBC
Ms Dugina was a regular guest on Russian television news
•
In a statement released Sunday evening, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory said the officer involved in the incident is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.“Thecity of Mulberry and the Mulberry police department takes these investigations very seriously,” Ms Gregory said. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said on Sunday night on Twitter that the “incident in Crawford County will be investigated pursuant to the video evidence and the request of the prosecuting attorney”.
Darya Dugina: Ukraine killed Putin ally’s daughter, Russia says Marin:Sanna Finland PM's drugs videoafternegativetestparty
At one time the world's youngest head of government - a title currently held by Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic - Ms Marin makes no secret of partying, and has often been photographed at music festivals. Last year she apologised for going clubbing after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 case. Earlier this month, Ms Marin was dubbed the "coolest prime minister in the world" by German news outlet Bild.Who is Sanna Marin?
• In 2019, aged 34, Sanna Marin became the world's youngest prime minister after she was chosen by her party to succeed former leader Antti Rinne
Arkansas: Three officers suspended after video shows beating
One officer responds with an expletive while another orders her to get in her car. The person who posted the video online said her sister witnessed the altercation in the town of Mulberry. State police identified the man who was arrested as 27-year-old Randall Worcester. Mr Worcester was accused of making threats in a shop on Sunday morning. Police said that when officers confronted him, he pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, leading to the arrest seen in the video. The suspect was taken to hospital and faces terroristic threatening, resisting arrest and other assault charges, police said. On Sunday evening, Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said two county deputies will be suspended while Arkansas state police and his office carry out separate investigations into what happened.“Ihold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,” Mr Damante said.
• She comes from a modest background. Her parents split up when she was young, and in her early years her mother raised her alone In 2015, she spoke about the stigma she encountered when her mother was in a same-sex relationship After studying at the University of Tampere and serving in local government, she was elected to Finland's parliament in 2015, aged 29
Russia has accused Ukrainian special services of killing the daughter of one of Vladimir Putin’s allies in a car bombing near Moscow at the weekend. Journalist Darya Dugina, aged 29, died on Saturday when a vehicle she was driving exploded near Russia’s capital.Her prominent ultra-nationalist father, Alexander Dugin, said to be close to Mr Putin, may have been the intended target of the attack. Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the explosion. But Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday it had solved the case and said that Ukraine was directly responsible. The FSB told Russian media that a Ukrainian woman had moved to Russia in July alongside her young daughter - but that she was in fact a Ukrainian special services contractor. The woman, it said, rented an apartment in the same building as Ms Dugina for a month, preparing for the attack. In that time, she allegedly followed the journalist through Moscow in a Mini Cooper - for which she used three different licence plates. The suspect then escaped to Estonia after the explosion, the FSB said. An adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said the FSB’s version of events was “Russian propaganda” from “a fictional world”. The FSB later released video of the accused’s car entering Russia, security footage of her entering what is said to be Ms Dugina’s building, and leaving Russia.Ms Dugina and her father were attending a festival near Moscow on Saturday evening where Mr Dugin, a philosopher, gave a lecture. They had reportedly intended to leave in the same car, but changed their plans at the last Investigatorsminute. said explosives had been planted underneath the Toyota Land Cruiser Ms Dugina was driving. Video from the scene posted online appeared to show a shaken Mr Dugin watching emergency services attend the burning vehicle. A family friend, Konstantin Malofeev, published a statement on behalf of Mr Dugin which branded his daughter’s killing “a terrorist act by the Ukrainian Nazi regime”. He was referencing the unfounded yet oft-repeated claim by Russian leadership of a powerful Nazi presence inside Ukraine - one of the main reasons put forward for the invasion. “My daughter Darya Dugina was brutally murdered in front of me,” the statement on Telegram read. “She was a beautiful Orthodox woman, patriot, war reporter, an expert for central TV and “Wephilosopher.”onlyneed our victory. My daughter sacrificed her young woman’s life to its altar. So please, achieve it!” President Putin personally paid tribute to Ms Dugina in a statement from the Kremlin on Monday. and called her death “a vile, cruel crime”. Speculation rife in Russia On Monday morning, the Time Will Tell programme on Russian state TV paid tribute to Darya, a regular guest. “She died for the idea of the ‘Russian World,’” said presenter Olesya Losyeva. One studio guest suggested the response would be “holy fury” and the programme showed a photograph of mortar shells, apparently belonging to pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, one of which had “This is for Darya!” scrawled on the side. If Ms Dugina’s killing was meant to intimidate Russia, bellowed several of the guests, “it will have the opposite effect”.Analyst Yekaterina Shulman says the outpouring of anger amongst proKremlin commentators in response to the car bomb attack appears suspicious: “The reaction… was immediate. It looks as if they were waiting for something like this to happen.”
PAGE 22 international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.comworld news PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has tested negative for drugs, the government says, after she was seen dancing, singing and drinking at a recent party. Ms Marin, 36, agreed to take the test on Friday to allay concerns about her Shebehaviour.saysshe has never taken drugs and denies doing anything illegal at the party, but says she drank alcohol. A leaked video shows her partying with friends including a Finnish popstar.Agovernment statement (in Finnish) said "no drugs were found" in the test. It added that the prime minister had paid the costs of the test herself. Special adviser Iida Vallin, quoted by AFP news agency, said Ms Marin's urine sample had been tested for cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and opioids.Following the release of the videos, Ms Marin faced criticism from several politicians, with one opposition party leader demanding she take a drug test. At a news conference held last week, reporters questioned whether the prime minister, who has been in power since December 2019, would have been able to make snap governmental decisions if necessary. She defended herself, saying her ability to function was "really good", and said she had never used drugs, even as a teenager.
The video has been viewed millions of times on social media and sparked outrage. One Twitter user alluded to the case of George Floyd, a black man who was murdered in police custody in 2020, leading to worldwide protests. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter A woman who is not seen in the video can be heard saying: “Don’t beat him! He needs his medicine!”
Three Arkansas law enforcement officers have been suspended after a video emerged showing a suspect being pinned to the ground and repeatedly beaten. One of the officers repeatedly punches the man in the head and even bashes his head against the pavement. Another officer repeatedly knees the man in the back. Both are dressed in the uniform of the Crawford County Sheriff’s office. A police officer restrains the man on the ground while this takes place.As he is being beaten, the man covers his head with his hands and appears to be trying to roll up into a ball to protect himself.
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• Argues that he did not have the right to announce a result without the backing of the other commissioners • Alleges he was involved in the plan to “secure a fraudulent result” Says the plan was carried out with Mr Ruto’s knowledge but does not provide evidence to back this up Raises questions about the tallying process• Says there is evidence that the results from some polling stations were altered Argues that the voter turnout figure Raila Odinga, the losing presidential candidate in Kenya’s recent elections, has filed a legal challenge to the result, in which William Ruto was declared the winner. We’ve been looking into aspects of the legal case Mr Odinga has presented. Did the chief of the election commission act improperly?Akeypart of Raila Odinga’s case hinges on the role of the chair of the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wafula Chebukati.MrOdinga says he should not have announced William Ruto as the winner without the agreement of a majority of the commission, and thus “usurped” their role. We know that four of the seven commissioners did not support the announcement of the result. But there are different interpretations of Mr Chebukati’s powers. Some experts say that under the constitution, he alone is empowered to announce the outcome of the presidential poll, acting as the returning officer for that vote. They also point to the fact that he has a legal obligation to do so within seven days of the date of the election. Mr Chebukati announced the results on 15 August, six days after the vote. However, others argue that under Kenya’s election rules, Mr Chebukati can only announce what the commission itself has “tallied and verified”. Mr Odinga argues this did not happen because of the disagreement amongst the commission members. This is a point that the Supreme Court will have to resolve. Is Mr Odinga correct about voter turnout discrepancies?MrOdinga’s legal complaint also highlights what he says are inconsistencies in the official number of people who voted and the percentage given by the election officials for the overall turnout.Mr Chebukati had initially announced a turnout of 65.4%.
Supporters of Raila Odinga gathered outside the court ahead of the legal petition being filed
Defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga with his running mate, Martha Karua was manipulated to ensure that Mr Ruto crossed the 50%-plus-one-vote threshold to avoid a second-round run-off. Neither Mr Ruto nor Mr Chebukati have responded to the allegations.
The final official number of valid votes was 14.2m (and even if you add spoiled votes, you would get only around 14.3 million ballots cast), so Mr Odinga’s legal team is claiming that “the commission is unable to account for over 250,000 votes that were cast in the election excluding voters who voted manually.” Mr Odinga’s sums are correct. However, he’s using a figure (65.4%) that Mr Chebukati shortly afterwards corrected to 64.6% - a figure which much more accurately reflects the actual voter turnout.SoMr Odinga can argue that the election commissioner initially made a mistake, but this was quickly corrected by Mr Chebukati on the same day. The final official figure, once all the votes were tallied and verified, was 64.8% Were there discrepancies at the local level?
The seven judges at the Supreme Court will have 14 days to make a ruling. Crowds of Mr Odinga’s supporters sang and chanted outside the court in a suburb of the capital, Nairobi, as the presidential candidate arrived to deliver the document, along with dozens of boxes of evidence. His legal petition, one of nine handed over, described the alleged attempt to alter the final result as “premeditated, unlawful and criminal”.Italso:•Calls
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati “rogue”
An independent monitoring organisation said the commission’s final result was in line with its own However,projection.fourof the seven electoral commissioners refused to endorse the outcome, alleging that the way the final results were tallied was “opaque”.
A week ago, there were chaotic scenes at the national tallying centre moments before the final result of the 9 August poll was about to be read out. Some of Mr Odinga’s political allies stormed the stage and scuffles broke out. Two electoral commissioners were injured and four others left the compound to hold a press conference to denounce the outcome. Nevertheless, Mr Chebukati proceeded with the announcement and handed Mr Ruto the certificate confirming that he was the winner. The election commission head said he had defied threats to perform his duty of announcing results according to the will of the people, while Mr Ruto hailed him as a “hero”. Last week, Mr Ruto said he would respect the court process, which is part of the country’s electoral law. “I’m a democrat. I believe in the rule of law. I respect our institutions,” he told journalists.
On election day, voters were not just electing a new president. They were also voting for governors, senators, MPs, women’s representatives and members of county assemblies. Mr Odinga says there were unexplained discrepancies in the total number of votes cast for different positions in the same areas. For example, in Kirinyaga County in central Kenya, he says some 23,000 people more people voted for the president than for the governor, according to unverified media reports. In some areas, Odinga’s team claims the votes for the president were actually lower than than those for other posts, which they says “is a practically improbable scenario.”
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Mr Odinga says this turnout figure would mean 14.5m voters must have cast their ballots,
Speaking after handing the petition over to the Supreme Court, Mr Odinga said “corruption cartels” were undermining democracy, but did not specify who he meant. This was the fifth time that the 77 year old had run for president. Previously he had been the opposition candidate, but this time he was backed by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta. For the third time in a row he has gone to court to get an outcome overturned. In 2017, the veteran politician successfully challenged the result of that year’s presidential election, which he lost to Mr Kenyatta, and the Supreme Court ordered a re-run. The case highlighted logistical issues in the way the results were However,collated.in2013 his challenge was dismissed.Thistime the IEBC tried to make the results process as transparent as possible by publishing the polling station tallies as soon as they were available. The independent Elections Observation Group did its own tally and said its estimates were consistent with what the electoral commission published.
PAGE 23 N ews F rom A F ric A PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 based on the total number of registered voters.
Variations in the numbers of spoilt ballots might account for some of the difference. Also, prisoners are only allowed to vote for the president - and not for other positions. There may well turn out to be significant discrepancies, but at this stage it’s not possible to identify these with any certainty as not all the data is available from the election commission.
Kenya election: What’s the basis for Raila Odinga’s challenge?
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UN warns Guinea over human rights - AFP The UN has expressed “deep concern” about the state of human rights in Guinea after the country’s ruling junta dissolved an opposition group and clamped down on recent protests, the AFP news agency reports.
Raila Odinga, who came second in Kenya’s presidential election, has gone to court to challenge the result, describing it as “fraudulent”.Inascathing 70-page legal argument, he alleges there was a pre-planned effort to alter the Accordingoutcome. to the electoral commission, Mr Odinga took 48.8% of the vote, losing to William Ruto’s 50.5%.
Kenya election: Raila Odinga challenges William Ruto win in Supreme Court
UN Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet wrote a letter to Guinea’s leader, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, highlighting what she called large numbers of arrests of protesters as well as some of their deaths. Ms Bachelet wants Guinea’s government to investigate alleged violence at the hands of security forces during the protests, free those arrested and re-institute the opposition coalition called the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC).Dissolving the group “constitutes a major violation of freedom of association and public gathering,” the AFP news agency quotes Ms Bachelet as saying. Guinea saw a military takeover in September 2021, which led to Col Doumbouya taking over as head of Conservationstate. body welcomes fall in Africa rhino poaching A leading conservation body has welcomed a fall in rhino poaching in Africa, but says it remains a grave threat to their survival. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said that from a peak of one rhino in 20 being killed in 2015, the number being killed fell to about one in 50 last year - with covid-related lockdowns helping to limit poaching. It said anti-poaching policies must be kept up to protect populations of both black and white rhinos - particularly in South Africa, home to most of the continent’s rhinos. Source; BBC
The bodies of four women, two men and a child have been recovered from the rubble
Aman dubbed the “Robin Hood” of Delhi, who is alleged to have led a gang of 25 merry men, has been arrested in India. Wasim Akram and his outfit robbed wealthy homes, stealing cash and jewellery and giving some money to the poor, police in the capital said.
Pakistan’s police have charged the country’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, under anti-terror laws. Their investigation comes after he accused the police and judiciary of detaining and torturing a close aide.
Source: BBC
Iraq shrine collapse:
PEOPLES DAILY AUGUSTTHURSDAY,,25,2022 24 NEWS FROM ASIA
Seven bodies pulled from rubble after landslide
Mr Khan’s supporters gathered outside his house vowing to “take over” if he was arrested. However, he has now been granted pre-arrest bail until Thursday. Since being ousted from power in April, Mr Khan has been a vocal critic of the government and the country’s army.
Unlike the Disney version, Mr Akram and his band are alleged to have kept much of their gains for themselves. The force claimed Mr Akram, also known as Lambu (Lofty) committed 160 crimesincluding attempted murder and rape. Police said a special cell had been set up to catch the 27 year old, who they finally nabbed on Friday after four months of tailing him. They accused him of firing on them during a previous arrest attempt in June. They said he was carrying a pistol with three live cartridges in it when he was arrested.The “notorious absconding history sheeter” - an Indian English term meaning a habitual criminal - would frequently change his hideouts across several Indian states, the force said in a statement. It continued that because he gave to the poor, Akram received support from local communities who would tip him off about the movements of the police, allowing him to evade them for so long.
Imran Khan: Pakistan police charge ex-PM under terrorism act
‘Robin Hood’ of Delhi arrested amid claims of 160 crimes
Police announced the charges after the cricketer-turned-politician accused authorities of torturing his close aide, who is himself being detained under sedition charges. Officials accused Mr Khan of breaching the country’s anti-terrorism act for allegedly making threats against the state officials. Hundreds of the former prime minister’s supporters gathered outside his home in Islamabad after news of the investigation broke. Draped in the flags of Mr Khan’s party, they have camped out at the gate of his hilltop residence of Bani Gala, chanting and singing in support of the former leader. It is not known if he is at home, and he is yet to address the latest charge. Mr Khan’s political allies warned on Monday that arresting the ousted leader would be crossing a “red line”. “If Imran Khan is arrested... we will take over Islamabad,” tweeted a former minister in Mr Khan’s cabinet, Ali Amin Gandapur. Islamabad’s High Court approved the three-day protective bail, but directed him towards an anti-terrorism court saying it was the appropriate forum to address the issue. The case comes at a time of heightened tension between Pakistan’s government and Mr Khan, who was ousted from power in April in a no-confidence vote. Since then, the former leader has toured the country to deliver a series of fiery speeches calling for fresh elections and fiercely criticising both the government and the army. Despite his ousting, Imran Khan continues to count on the support of many Pakistani voters. Last month, his PTI party stunned rivals by taking control of a crucial provincial assembly in Punjab, defeating the PML-N party in what was expected to be an easy win for them.Many saw July’s by-election victory as a signal of Mr Khan’s continued popularity at the ballot box - and a foretaste of what could happen if the early elections that he is seeking were to be held. The charismatic politician was elected prime minister in 2018, but fell out with Pakistan’s powerful army towards the end of his tenure. After a series of defections, he lost his majority in parliament. Political win could lead to civil unrest The so-called Imran Khan versus the government fight is coming to a head. As tensions continue to rise, there are concerns within the coalition government that the terrorism charges against the former prime minister have the potential to not only create political instability but also to lead to civil unrest. Some within the government worry this is too high a price to pay. It’s one of a handful of times the new government has been divided over their stance on Mr Khan, government insiders have told the BBC. Since being ousted in April, the cricketer-turned-politician has been vocal in his criticism of the government as well as the military - accusing them of a political witch hunt.Here’s where the concern comes in, though: Mr Khan has a huge support basein the hundreds of thousands - and when you speak to his followers, they’ll tell you he is being persecuted, a victim of a corrupt system. There has been no proof of this political witch hunt, but that hasn’t stopped party loyalists from believing it.
R escuers looking for survivors after a Shia Muslim shrine in Iraq partially collapsed have found three more bodies, bringing the number of dead to seven. Four women and a child were among those killed when a landslide struck the Qattarat al-Imam Ali on Saturday, the General Civil Defence Directorate said. Another three children have been rescued and taken to hospital. An earth mound next to the shrine, 28km (17 miles) west of Karbala, is believed to have collapsed due to high humidity.“Themountain had been collecting water and, unfortunately, nobody had noticed,” said Daifallah Naim, a nurse with the Popular Mobilisation, a paramilitary force dominated by Shia militias.The landslide hit the roof of the Qattarat al-Imam Ali, which then collapsed on top of Shia pilgrims inside. “We are continuing the search for other victims,” civil defence spokesman Jawdat Abdelrahman told AFP news agency on Monday morning. Witnesses had reported that the body of another woman was still under the rubble, he added. On Sunday, President Barham Saleh praised the rescuers as heroes and expressed his condolences to the victims and their families. Influential Shia cleric Moqtada alSadr also offered his condolences, but he warned that there were “suspicions of corruption” surrounding the incident.Hecalled on the government to order an “immediate and serious investigation in order to reveal the truth so that corruption does not reach mosques and places of worship, as it has affected state institutions and ministries”, the state-owned Iraqi News Agency reported. The shrine contains a spring where Shia believe the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet Muhammad’s son-inlaw and cousin, and his army stopped to drink from while on their way to a battle in 657.
“It would be nice if we are able assist those who know what they need to do by giving them the right incentives and protecting the vulnerable against the consequences.” He said. Yahaya explained that the carbon trading would provide lot of environmental benefits to the country. In some countries, carbon emission trading has been known to be source of means of generating money for naturebased solutions to climate change, this believe, can be said to be the same for Nigeria in the nearest future.”
“These are the sectors in which emissions are actually shooting up instead of going down despite the improvement in technological innovations and advancement”. He said these are the areas that affect the ordinary Nigerians on daily basis.
The Minister of Environment Mohammed Abdullahi made the disclosure during a press briefing to commemorate world mosquitoes day recently in Abuja. He said collaboration with stakeholders include sub-nationals, development partners, relevant ministries, departments ,agencies, civil society and community leaders among others . The minister said said the strategies to be deployed would include integrated pest and vector management, as outlined in national environment sanitation policy,2005 .
The federal government said it focusing on sustainable programmme that will eliminate and reduce breeding avenues for mosquito disease vector which involves fostering collaboration with stakeholders.
Mohammed urged individuals, families and community members to imbibe preventative measures such as “keeping waste materials and junks away from village squares, huts and rooms”.Toguard against insects, he urged them to use wire mesh to reduce mosquito entry into living and bedroom and ensure regular cleaning and removal of waste materials.
The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi made the disclosure at the flag off Business meeting on Development of Emissions Trading Scheme in Abuja,recently. Abdullahi said the establishment of the trading scheme is in line with the legal framework provided in the Climate Change Act 2021 to help in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through a carbon market base approach to meet its Net Zero target. He said there is a need for collective investment in addressing climate change will provide immense dividends for global “Nigeriaeconomy.realises that its efforts on carbon management policy stands to gain from aligning our national emissions planning to international mechanisms such as Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). He further explained that the flagoff event signals the commencement of activities that would lead to the establishment of the Nigeria Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), sensitize the public.“And to ensure coordination with other relevant arms of government,development partners under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Environment with active collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Trade & Industries. The Minister explained that the ministry would provide coordination at all levels required to galvanize and entrench climate action for the country. “Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the possibilities of generating upwards of 250 metric tons of CO2E annually amounting to an estimated value in excess of 3 Billion USD”. He stated the Federal Ministry of Environment will explore all options that are driven by our domestic realities and yet in tune with global benchmarks and best practices to ensure the development of a scheme that adds value to the environment, trigger bankable and commercial transactions which will ultimately generate jobs. “It is important to note that this event will trigger the critical first steps towards defining roles and responsibilities to institutions and entities that will ensure the objectives of the National Emissions scheme is met which should essentially deliver on an effective mechanisms for successful carbon pricing for Nigeria We are not in a hurry but we are determined to do a 100 meters dash in this process.”Abdullahi stated . Similarly, The Director General, National Council on Climate Change, Salisu Dahiru said, that the event was to deliberate on the Emission Trading Scheme to understand how it fits into the framework that has been developed towards achieving the country’s Nationally Determine Contributions, NDC’s.“Ibelieve each and everyone of us has a role to play, the idea will be on complementing each other efforts to build a common and formidable platform that will help to ensure that all the commitments and declarations the President Muhammadu Buhari has made are implemented to the fullest. For us in the National Council we are going to provide an enabling environment for all the various players in the Climate Change discourse to come together and forge a common ground so that the implementation of various mitigation and adaptation strategies as contain in our NDC’s initiatives that are ongoing in the country would be implemented to the fullest.” Dr, Dahiru explained.Alsospeaking, UNDP Country’s Representative, Mohamed Yahaya, said that an emission trading scheme is potentially one of the most powerful tools to build an effective global response to climate change to meet the NDC’s commitments the Nigerian government has made to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate“Today,Change.inNigeria, we would need to take critical look at all sectors especially the transport, energy and the construction sectors.
PEOPLES DAILY AUGUSTTHURSDAY,,25,2022 25ENVIRONMENT
He said that the decision for Nigeria to establish the NEMC is indeed laudable on account of the importance the African Union attaches to it. The Minister, said: “The inauguration of the NEMC coming barely five days to the World Mosquito Day is testament to the fact that the killer Arthropod is the Centre of attraction as Case management of Malaria has proven too be less effective in the control of the hyper endemic disease. Meanwhile, he said control of the adult mosquito bite through the use of Insecticide-Treated (Mosquito) Nets is posting some gains, attaining the desired impact is not near and is unfortunately not too reliable Meanwhile,Thestrategy.
By Mashe Umaru Gwamna F ederal Government has launched Emissions Trading Scheme(ETS),that will provide policy recommendations that will guide National transition of a green economy.
Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire said that the Ministry would continue to strive towards a malariafree Nigeria, using a multi-pronged and multi-sectoral approach to drive down the prevalence of the malaria and other vector borneEhanirediseases.represented by National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination programmme of the ministry, Dr Perpetual Uhomoibhi said although Nigeria contributes to a quarter of global cases and deaths of malaria. “I am happy to note that with efforts put in place so far, we have been able to improve on our indicators, with the country achieving a reduction in malaria prevalence from 42% in 2010 to 23% in 2018 “. He said the National malaria programme has also carried out a stratification exercise which defined the intervention mixes that can be applied to specific locations across the country using granular data collated at the LGA and State levels in some cases.
“Our roles on integrated vector management as identified in the National Malaria Strategic plan 2014 to 2020 will be played expeditiously and as diligently as possible in order to deliver our mandate”.
He said Nigeria has the world’s highest malaria burden with a reported cases of 51million and 207,000 deaths representing nearly 30% of the total malaria burden in Africa.“It is also estimated that nearly 173million Nigerians are being infected. He noted that, ”the alarming situation brings along with economic consequences, absence from work by adults and school on the part of children. He said several efforts are being made internationally, nationally and locally to combat the malaria scourge.
He added that only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC) where he mandated it to ensure successful implementation of the Council’s programme that should translate into N2 trillion savings from the estimated economic burden of the disease by 2030.
By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Abdullahi, added that the Ministry is solidly behind the President in achieving the onerous target set for the NEMC which is quite achievable with the right implementation of strategies utilizing collaboration and partnership.
FG focuses on sustainable programme on eliminating mosquito disease vector
“They should endeavor to seek assistance of trained environmental health practitioners on the best way of handling mosquitos and other animals disease vectors generally”.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi
FG launches emission trading scheme to guide green economy
The military enforces a curfew virtually every night in the city, resulting in many of its restaurants, bars and clubs - once reputed to be the best in Cameroon - going out of business, not helped by the nowerratic electricity supply.
Bushfallers’ money has dried up and none of them now visit. Long-time resident Peter Shang, who once loved life in the city, says people now take one day at a time: “Life is a lottery. Too many things remind you about untimely death.
“Coffins that used to sell for a million CFA francs [about $1,500, £1,270] are out of commission because nobody can afford them. Most people can only afford coffins for 50,000 CFA francs,” says an attendee at a funeral parlour. The regular funerals for young men and boys are a brutal reminder of the conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions of NorthWest and South-West. In just five years, that conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, while forcing more than one million to flee to French-speaking areas and a further 80,000 to take refuge in next-door Nigeria. The war has its roots in grievances that date back to the end of colonialism, when Britishcontrolled territory was unified with French areas to create what is nowManyCameroon. English-speaking Cameroonians have felt marginalised ever since and have opposed what they see as attempts by the government - dominated by the French-speaking majorityto force them to give up their way of life, including their language, history and education and legal systems.Tensions boiled over in 2016 when tens of thousands of people in Bamenda and other Englishspeaking areas embarked on a series of protests against the use of French in their schools and courts, as well as the failure to publish government documents in English, even though it is an official language.Withthe government ordering the security forces to crackdown on the protests rather than entering into talks to resolve their grievances, young men took up arms the following year to demand the independent state of Ambazonia, as they call the two English-speaking regions. Now, military vehiclesincluding those with mounted machine-guns - constantly crisscrossResidentsBamenda.say soldiers raid homes, make arrests, burn markets and even display the bodies of their victims, including commanders of militias, at major intersections to warn residents against joining the separatist fighters. Government forces have also suffered heavy losses in the conflict, with the bodies of fallen soldiers removed from the military’s mortuary in the capital, Yaoundé, every Thursday and Friday. Widows wail in front of the long lines of coffins draped in the Cameroonian flag, before the soldiers are buried amid the pomp and ceremony that mark military funerals. Separatist fighters have also gained notoriety for atrocities against civilians, including beheadings and the torturing of women whom they denounce for “betraying the struggle”, calling them “black legs” - a term regularly bandied about now. They circulate videos of these atrocities to warn people of the punishment they face if they are suspected of colluding with the security forces.
Some nuns who I meet by a road in the city centre say they are waiting for a taxi to go to the Abangoh Orphanage. The war has seen an explosion in unwanted teenage pregnancies, they say - with girls who have been forced to flee their homes becoming victims of sexual violence and exploitation by both sides. One angrily says: “Rape as a weapon of war is despicable.”
And after a night of shooting, residents have to make several calls and listen out for traffic to check the situation is safe before venturing out. Even so, gunfire has become so common in Bamenda during the day that people no longer immediately flee at the sound.
“The constant frying of popcorn has driven everybody away,” says a waitress using a metaphor to describe the never-ending sound of gunfire. She says it has also prevented those who live abroad from coming home. Known as “bushfallers” - a Pidgin term for hunters (in this case seeking greener pastures) - those in the diaspora were responsible for Bamenda’s economic heartbeat, sending back money to invest in the once-mushrooming building trade and coming back at Christmas to share their largesse. But the authorities accused them of bankrolling the Anglophone rebellion. Visiting returnees soon found themselves arrested - some are now in the maximum security prisons of Yaoundé or Doualawhile others simply disappeared.
Once a thriving city in Cameroon, Bamenda has been ripped of its soul by the five-year war between English-speaking secessionists and the mainly French-speaking government.Bamenda is all but dead. Only the coffin trade is booming. Bodies are dumped regularly all over the city - in mortuaries, on streets and in rivers.Council workers pick them up and give them a pauper’s burial.
You talk to someone today and tomorrow they are gone.”
Cameroon’s Bamenda, where only the coffin trade is booming
For Marie Clair Bisu, there is a silver lining - she sees more of her husband, because he gets home before“Hecurfew.hasnow discovered his children. This is a man who used to come back late sometimes drunk and would just head to bed. Now he can play with the kids and check their books. This conflict has reunited us,” she says. “The only problem is that the gunshots always spoil our nights.”
Soldiers get a proper burial - unlike many people This woman says her child was shot by police Civilians often end up paying the highest price of the conflict “ With the government ordering the security forces to crackdown on the protests rather than entering into talks to resolve their grievances, young men took up arms the following year to demand the independent state of Ambazonia, as they call the two English-speaking regions.
“It is a blessing to be buried at all, let alone by family and friends,” says a cemetery worker as he comes to pick up 10 cheap coffins from a funeralDemandparlour.has dropped for the once-popular elaborately designed coffins - shaped like bibles, cars or beer bottles to reflect the lifestyle, interests or last wishes of the dead.
On Mondays, Bamenda becomes a “ghost town” with the roads empty and markets closed - part of a civil economic disobedience campaign dating back to before the armed struggle. These days, residents who dare ignore the lockdown order are either shot dead or see their shops go up in smoke.The military and police also disappear from the streets, so that they do not become soft targets for separatists fighters who have a strong presence in the city. The separatists even ordered the closure of all schools four years ago as part of their campaign. A few have bravely remain open, but children do not dare wear uniforms.
“What would we eat if we keep running? I have children to feed,” a vegetable seller says. “We simply dive for cover and get back to business when the gunshotsAnotherstop.”woman says her child has got so used to the sound of gunfire that she knows who is shooting.“Mydaughter is seven and she can tell whether the sounds are from machine guns of the army or the AK-47 rifles of ‘The Boys’,” she says, referring to the separatist fighters.
At every corner, there is evidence that the very fabric of this once-glitzy city, where piles of billowing rubbish now tumble, has been permeated by the stench and misery of what many here regard as an unnecessary war. Cameroon - still divided along colonial lines: Source: BBC
PEOPLES DAILY AUGUSTTHURSDAY,,25,2022 26 FEATURE
By Egena Sunday Ode P resident Muhammadu Buhari has condemned what he called “the unprovoked and cold-blooded murder of a Yobe State-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Goni Aisami, by a callous soldier he had offered a lift as confirmed by the ReactingPolice.”to the incident on Tuesday, President Buhari said that “this barbaric murder of a compassionate man by a soldier he had assisted had no place in our training as soldiers, and it negated the entire ethos of military life which is anchored on discipline and respect for the sanctity of innocent lives.” A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu quoted the President to have said that, “as the Commander-in- Chief, I am personally outraged by this criminal and wicked act by a law enforcement official trained to protect life. “By our training, we are guided by a code of conduct that frowns on this kind of reckless and criminal act. It is not in our character and training to put innocent citizens in harm’s way. Of course, the action of this soldier is an isolated incident involving an individual, but it is capable of staining the collective image of our military.”
“Each of the three tiers, the local government, the state government and the federal government has a sizeable budget at its disposal, allocated monthly precisely for dealing with these state-level natural emergencies, as well as federal agencies dedicated to doing the “Itsame.is not clear why some of the state governments in question are not already drawing upon those funds to tackle the current emergency, and the general population is misguidedly calling on the federal government to intervene in all situations. If those moneys are, for whatever reason, no longer available, the affected states and local councils must immediately contact the relevant authorities to explain what has happened with those funds.
“This incident is capable of making our fellow citizens to be fearful of assisting soldiers, thereby destroying the bond of trust between our military and the civilians.
By Egena Sunday Ode Abuja As many communities continue to reel under floods across the whole federation, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the situation is under continuous monitoring and the government at the center will keep sending teams to assess the situation with a view to rendering all necessary help. The President, however, extended heartfelt condolences on behalf of the nation to communities in towns and villages, many of whom have lost dear relatives, suffered extensive damage to property, and endured the destruction of crops and farm lands.According to a statement by the Presidency spokesman, Garba Shehu, While expressing his concerns over the hardships being faced by people due to this natural calamity, the President noted that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had written to each of the 36 states of the federation through the states’ respective Governors advising on the appropriate action to take in view of the gloomy forecasts of the rains this year.
“While not a national-level emergency, the ongoing flooding is an emergency nevertheless. Nigerian lives and property are at stake. We call on governors of those states that have swung into action and engaged the necessary gear to continue with their efforts, and those that have not, to immediately face their duties of managing the flooding within their jurisdictions – that is, the job that the President, Governors and council Chairmen have been elected to do.
PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 PAGE 27 NEWS
“I call on the military authorities to punish the perpetrators of this heinous crime without delay, and flush out other elements with such criminal tendencies,” President Buhari added. He condoled with Yobe State Government, people of the State and family of the victim of this tragedy, the statement added.
InuwaMuhammaduGovernorYahaya ( M) being decorated as fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Building, FNIOB by the President of the institute, Professor Yohanna Izam while the Gombe State Chapter Chairman of the institute, Bldr. Mahmood Yusuf and other officials assist, in yesterdayGombe
“Under the prevailing revenue allocation formula, 2.32 percent of derivation funds is set aside for ecology and disaster management.Ofthisamount, the 36 states and the FCT get 0.72 percent, the 774 local governments get 0.6 percent, adding to 1.32 percent, leaving a balance of one percent to the government of the federation.
Buhari condemns murder of Islamic cleric Sheikh Goni Aisami; calls on military leadership to flush out criminals
Flooding: No cause for alarm -Buhari
“The structure of the response mechanism on this issue is clear: the government at the center should step in to directly address national-level emergencies and that local government councils and the states are the first responders in all“Callssituations.for the federal government to respond to all outbreaks of natural disaster do not just display an understanding of Nigerian law.
“By the law of land, NEMA takes 20 percent of the amount allocated to the Federal Government. The North East Development Commission, NEDC collects 10 percent , the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, NALDA 10 percent, and the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, GGW 0.5 percent, leaving 0.55 of the one percent to the government at the center for ecological protection and disaster management.“ThePresident commends the few states that are up in front, doing a yeoman’s effort averting disasters and managing same where they occur. While he gives the nation assurances that the federal government will continue to work closely with the state governments to provide all possible assistance to overcome this challenge, the President expects at the same time it must be seen as a shared responsibility. The response to emergencies must stand on the three-legged“Flooding,structure.droughts out of season, wild weather patterns are now global experiences due to climate change. No one now denies its detrimental effects in all corners of the“Nigeria’splanet. efforts led by the President have been acclaimed in Africa and globally. Instead of making headline grabbing calls, politicians should take the trouble to find out from the Ministries and state governments what steps are being taken in the face of these challenges”, the statement read.
PAGE 28 PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
FAAC shares N954.085bn
NEWS
T he Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total sum of N954.085 billion July 2022 Federation Account Revenue to the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in Abuja today. The N954.085 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N776.918 billion and distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N177.167 billion. In July 2022, the total deductions for cost of collection was N47.254 billion and total deductions for transfers, savings and refunds was N255.762 billion. The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $470,599.54 The communiqué confirmed that from the total distributable revenue of N954.085 billion; the Federal Government received N406.610 billion, the State Governments received N281.342 billion and the Local Government Councils received N210.617 billion. The sum of N55.515 billion was shared to the relevant States as 13% derivationGrossrevenue.statutory revenue of N1,066.845 billion was received for the month of July 2022. This was higher than the sum of N1,012.065 billion received in the previous month by N54.780 billion. From the N776.918 billion distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N380.035 billion, the State Governments received N192.759 billion and the Local Government Councils received N148.609 billion. The sum of N55.515 billion was shared to the relevant States as 13% derivation revenue. In the month of July 2022, the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was N190.256 billion. This was lower than the N208.148 billion available in the month of June 2022 by N17.892 billion. From the N177.167 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N26.575 billion, the State Governments received N88.584 billion and the Local Government Councils received N62.008 billion. According to the Communiqué, in the month of July 2022, Companies Income Tax (CIT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Excise Duties and Oil and Gas Royalties recorded significant increases, while Import Duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) decreased considerably. July revenue to FG, states, LGCs
“Though the Embasy falsely claimed we started the visa application process late, this was was wrong as we’ve been on it since last year and the organisers told them so. “But is in the past right now. Our focus now is on the trip to Morocco in September, precisely on 16th September, 2022. “We’ve been issued with visas (handing over the passports stamped with Moroccan visas to yours sincerely to peruse). “It’s a welcome development, a big relief to the girls and their parents. It turned out a moment of jubilation in the camp when the visas were procured and I showed it to them.
“They hugged me and joyful emotion took over. We can’t thank God enough. He made it possible, whipping tears off the eyes of these wonderful kids. Truly, when one door closes, God opens another one”, the dark-skinned Licensed coach said. checks reveal that unlike the failed Dana Cup trip that had seen 18 players listed for the Invitational Tournament, 19 players would make the trip to the North African country, Morocco, next month. “It’s the players that would have participated in the Dana Cup”, Mmadu sounded.“Butthe only addition is the captain of the team who was not listed for the Denmark trip. So, now, 19 players will make the Morocco trip”. The team returned to base on Sunday from Lagos where they had opened a one week concentration camp at the Nigerian Institute for Sports, NIS, Lagos, ahead the botched Denmark trip. “The players are on a one week break immediately we returned home on Sunday. “They needed it to cool down their nerves after the trauma they have had to go through.“I’vebeen sleeping all day long and night too since we came back. “As you can see, I’ve not even made my hairs, the last time I did was in the first week of July before we embarked on the journey to Lagos. Honestly, it hasn’t been easy at all”.Mmadu would not want to recall the huge financial commitment she made in the failed Denmark trip. “Where do I start, is it from the daily expenses while we were in Lagos? “We spend about N9, 000 daily to cook for the team. Remember we were there for a month or more. And, of course, there are other sundry expenses given the fact that they are very young players, girls for that matter. You understand what I mean. “This is outside accommodation bill for the period. But in all, I really thank God for making it possible for us get this (Morocco trip) opportunity”.
I am weighing the options, even though I do not want to go into a competition where the rules are not known to me. As you are all aware, the guidelines for the elections are not yet out, so I don’t see the rush in declaring interest now.“Though, there are stakeholders who hold the school of thought that there is nothing wrong in declaring while waiting for the rules. In as much as I agree with that school of thought, at the same time, I will like to appeal and thank all for the sustained interest in urging me to contest. I will make my position known shortly. And I will make it very clear in a short while. “In the meantime, I thank you so much for all the messages. I was really overwhelmed. I never expected it. I didn’t know that people have been following all that I have been saying and doing. “But I don’t want to believe that I am the only one that can solve the problems. We need all of us to unite and appreciate all others who have shown interest to contest. They personally called and informed me. By the time I am ready, I will do the same. Thank you and God bless Nigeria football The Nigeria Football Federation on Thursday set up Electoral and Appeals Committees for the election slated to hold in Benin City, Edo State on September 30, 2022.Meanwhile, people and groups former include politicians, civil servants, diplomats, Nigerians in the diaspora and key figures in Corporate Nigeria who contend that the major challenges that have bedevilled Nigeria football over the years require a new direction through visionary leadership of the astute football administrator who is renowned as courageous, fearless, passionate and Gara-Gombesincere.has at different times been two-time chairman of Gombe United Football Club, member of Gombe State Sports Council Board, Secretary General of Nigeria Football Stakeholders Forum, Special Adviser on Sports Development to former Kano State governor, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and he is regarded as the youngest Match Commissioner ever in the history of Nigerian football after commissioning his first match at age 28 in Ibadan.Inaddition to being vice chairman to Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka’s committee on the development of the Blueprint for the establishment of the Premier League in Nigeria, set up by then sports minister Stephen Akiga, he was also among the three Nigerian representatives at the CAF Elective Congress in Egypt where Dr. Amos Adamu was elected as CAF Executive Committee member. At various times, he was consultant to both Julius Berger FC and Voice of Nigeria FC while his international pedigree also lately led him to being appointed as consultant to Avadas Football Club and Academy in Morocco.
Maureen Mmadu Morocco tour
By Amaechi Agbo Aformer Chairman of Gombe State Football Association, Alhaji Shuaibu Gara Gombe has disclosed why he is yet to declare interest to contest for the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF Presidential election.
NFF Election: Former Gombe FA Chairman, Gara Gombe set to declare for President
Kiddies set for
Sports PAGE 29DAILYPEOPLES sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
“I feel highly honoured and privileged for the calls, responses, messages both privately and openly including from people that I don’t even know, encouraging me to come into the race to contest the elections. No doubt, our football administration needs a total “However,overhaul.currently
Alhaji Shuaibu Gara Gombe Former Super Falcons midfielder and Assistant Coach, Maureen Mmadu’s kiddies club, MMKC, are to embark on a playing tour of Morocco next month. This comes as a huge relief to the young girls after the frustrating disappointment of not being able to participate in the concluded Dana Cup Invitational Tournament in Denmark last month on account of a last minute visa denial by the Danish Embasy despite meeting all visa application requirements.
It had been confirmed that already, the MMKC players and officials have granted all the entry documents by the Moroccan Embasy.“We’ve to give God all the glory that after we were denied visa by the Danish Embasy so we could not make the trip to Denmark for the Dana Cup, we are now traveling to Morocco for a playing tour”, Maureen Mmadu pleasantly disclosed to all.
The election into the NFF Executive Committee Board as well as President of the federation will hold on September 30, 2022And while several other individuals including ex Internationals have declared their intentions to contest for the position of president, the former Senior Special Adviser to Kano State Governor said he is buying his time and will take the right and appropriate decision when the situation is ripe.Speaking in a 4.12 minutes voice note he shared on social media on Friday, Alhaji Gara Gombe who is the consultant to Avadas Football Club and Academy in Morocco, noted that he would study the electoral situation and thanked stakeholders who have continued to mount pressure on him to declare for the “Distinguishedpositionstakeholders in Nigeria football affairs. I would like to transmit this short audio in response to stories and news from different sources and different stakeholders regarding whether or not I will be contesting the upcoming elections into the Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Association (Federation) particularly the office the president.
While the girls who had looked up to the Dana Cup to cut their international football teeth, were still brooding over the Denmark trip missed opportunity, a Ray of light flashed at the seeming dark end of the tunnel.
“To say the girls and their parents, not even me as a person, were disappointed by the Danish Embasy action, is an understatement.“Theorganisers of the Dana Cup were also disappointed that we couldn’t make the trip on account of the Embasy action.
Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Sunday Oliseh has officially called it quits with German Regionalliga team SV Straelen, having lost his fifth consecutive league game this season. Straelen lost 2-0 in their latest encounter with Fortuna Dusseldorf meaning Oliseh’s side had now scored just once in their five league games, while conceding seven goals.
The report suggested an expansion of the voting delegates at the NFF elective congress from forty four(44) to one hundred and eleven(111) and a slight increase in the number of Executive Committee members from fifteen (15) to sixteen(16), to accommodate a woman in line with FIFA’s thinking and new global practice.
Sunday Oliseh resigns as SV Straelen manager after 5 straight defeats
Frank Onyeka also featured in Brentford’s 2-0 defeat of Colchester as he was cautioned in his first start of the season. In Leicester’s penalty win against Stockport, Kelechi Iheanacho featured for the entire duration of the game while Joe Aribo also came in as a second half substitute in Southampton’s 3-0 defeat of Cambridge United. Maduka Okoye was in goal for Watford as they lost 2-0 at Vicarage Road to MK Dons. William Troost-Ekong also featured in the game. West Brom also lost 1-0 to Derby County with Semi Ajayi not listed for the Hawthorns in their second round Carabao Cup loss to the Rams.
“The NFF Congress(General Assembly) will have to make final decision on this,” Dare stated.
“We started the season with five defeats and are currently bottom of the table. In addition, the squad is standing. We will take the necessary time to find a suitable successor,” Wozle added. After two years without a club, following his 2018 departure from Fortuna Sittard, Oliseh stated in March 2020 that he had turned down “two jobs from Belgian clubs”, but that he waited for the right offer. In June 2022, he was appointed as the new head coach of Straelen. His two-months spell saw the club lose five opening league games to Fortuna Dusseldorf II, Duren, Kaan-Marienborn, RW Oberhausen and Schalke 04 II. The team’s major highlight under Oliseh was when they score three goals against Bundesliga 2 side, St. Pauli but lost 4-3 in the first round of the DFB Pokal.
The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare has said the final decision on this recommendation lies with the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) General Assembly.Oneof the key recommendations of the 10 Year Football Development Masterplan report is the expansion of the NFF General Assembly and Executive Committee.
Speaking on Tuesday at the State House, Aso Rock Villa, Abuja during the presentation of the Masterplan report to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister affirmed that only the NFF Congress can make the expansion a reality.
“The report called for the increase of the NFF elective congress voting delegates to 111 and the Executive Committee to 16.
PAGE 30 S P R T PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
On the overrall, Oliseh’s lost all six games this season including a 4-3 defeat to 10-man St. Pauli in the first round of the DFBThePokal.former Nigerian men’s national coach was said to have announced his resignation on Saturday via a phone call after a difficult two months. According to SV Straelen sporting website, following the 2-0 defeat Oliseh revealed his decision to president of Straelen, Hermann Tecklenburg. “Sunday obviously had the feeling that the team could no longer be reached,” said Straelen’s Sporting Director, Kevin Wolze who as at Sunday, took over the coaching duties of the team. “We have to accept this decision. It doesn’t make sense to try to persuade him to continue. Obviously things have changed in the meantime.
NFF General Assembly will decide on expansion of Congress, Executive Committee - Dare Sports Minister, Sunday Dare
Sunday Oliseh impressesDennis EvertonshinesmaintainsIwobidebut,ForestNottinghaminwith
S uper Eagles players were called to action in English League Cup fixtures on TuesdayEmmanuel Dennis made his first Nottingham Forest start on Tuesday as he debuted in a 3-0 victory against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup. Dennis assisted Ryan Yates’ goal in the 18th minute to make an impressive start to his career with the Reds. The former Watford star was substituted for his compatriot, Taiwo Awoniyi with 15 minutes to go and the former Union Berlin star played a hand in the third goal of the game. Both Nigerian stars had good displays as The Reds secured a place in the third round of the League Cup. Alex Iwobi was again in the mood as Everton defeated Fleetwood Town 1-0 courtesy of goal by Demarai Gray. Iwobi impressed in the game as he racked up superior numbers and grabbed the assist for the only goal of the game. The rejuvenated former Arsenal midfielder played four key passes in the game, won seven of the nine duels he attempted, completed three of his four dribbles, made a clearance and won three tackles.
“Mr President has called for fairness and equitable representation of stakeholders in our football administration and the Masterplan report also recommended the expansion of the constituents for the NFF elective congress and Executive Committee to make it meet new realities and needs.
By Amaechi Agbo
T wo days after they exited the ongoing 2022 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, Nigeria’s U-20 female football team, the Falconets, were on Tuesday stranded at Turkish airport and slept on bare floor and chairs The team was knocked out of the quarter finals of the World Cup by Netherlands on Sunday after a 2-0 victory.
The Super Eagles former media officer, Colin Udoh, who shared the photos on his social media pages said, “Nigeria’s Falconets have been traveling from Costa Rica since 6:30am on Monday. “They’re now in Istanbul on a 24-hour layover and sleeping on the airport chairs and floor, or wherever they can find.” However, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF has exonerated itself from any blame claiming the traveling arrangements were done by world football governing body, FIFA The federation in a press release side by its head 9f communication, Ademola Olajire explained that a number of factors, including the inability to secure transit visas for players and officials of the U20 Girls National Team, Falconets, at the Istanbul Airport, led to the team having to stay 24 hours at the airport in Turkey on their way from the FIFA U20 Women’s World“TheCup.NFF did not book the team’s tickets from Costa Rica; FIFA did. FIFA also did not envisage the hitches that saw the team delayed for more than three hours in Bogota, and another one hour in Panama. By the time the team got to Istanbul, the flight to Abuja had left. “Our officials pleaded for compassionate transit visas so as to take the players and officials to a hotel inside the town, but this was not possible as they were informed that Nigeria had been removed from the list of countries whose citizens were issued visa-on-arrival in Turkey. The airline then took the team to a sleeping area at the airport and gave them tickets to have meals every five hours. This situation has nothing to do with NFF, who had made arrangements to receive the team in Abuja before the complications in travel arrangements,”
“We are here to get the job done and we are ready to do that no matter the challenges the team is going through, we just have to put behind those challenges and face the task ahead.” The players all said in Elevenunison.players trained on Tuesday, one more player is due in camp today and the team is expected to have about six more training sessions before their first game on FridayTheevening.coaches, are working on the team’s tactics and game plan and will prone the fifteen man squad to twelve due to lack of funds. Mike Brown will not be available but Udofia, Alan Major and Ogoh Odaudu are in charge of the team. As at Tuesday evening, the Sports Ministry is yet to make funds available for the team and they’re yet to inform the Nigeria ambassador in Cote D’Ivoire about the national team’s presence in the Cocoa rich Nigeriacountry.meets, Cote D’Ivoire on Friday in their first Group E game before taking on Guinea on Saturday and they will close the fourth window with a tough outing against Angola on Sunday. Cote D’Ivoire leads Group E with 8 points, Cape Verde are second on the table with 7 points while Angola are third and Nigeria fourth with 6 points same with the Angolans. Uganda and Guinea completes the table.
D’Tigers vows to make Nigeria proud in FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers
...We
Nigeria’s Men’s basketball team D’Tigers, have promised to give their very best and make the nation proud in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, in the fourth window of the 2023 FIBA Africa World Cup Qualifiers. The team gave this reassuring words on Tuesday after their second training session at the Palais des Sports Treichville, Abidjan, despite the fact that all the needed financial and moral support from the Sports Ministry is not forth coming.
Falconets stranded in Turkey after World Cup exit are not responsible - NFF
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, explained. It would be recalled that the NFF had implored world-governing body, FIFA to intervene with the Embassy of Germany to issue the team transit visas before their departure from Nigeria, in order for the team to be able to travel through Germany. This did not happen. On the issue of body-wear, Sanusi said: “The players were handed three sets of green jerseys and two sets of white jerseys, several house-wear types and training jerseys. The players opted to wash only their jersey top (no other stuff) because when the first set of body-wear was sent to the laundry people at the hotel, it returned with some FIFA and NFF badges at the front and names at the back peeled by the machine.”
S P R T PAGE 31PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
“It’s an excellent opportunity for me,” Webb said. “I am very proud of what has been achieved during my tenure here (PRO) and I aim to have a similar impact with the PGMOL, using the elite referee development plan as a real driving force.”Mike Riley, who Mike Riley will step down as the PGMOL’s managing director and be replaced by a chief operating officer later this season, said: “Howard’s return is a major coup and this is a fantastic opportunity for Howard and the new leadership team to build on the strong foundations in place.”
Inflation, corruption, and banditry killing the economy
“ Expectedly, the bank’s mandate as provided for in the BOFIA Act 2020 (as amended) has price stability as one of its core responsibilities being an ingredient for sustainable growth.
Former Premier League referee, Howard Webb is returning to English football to become the chief refereeing officer of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited.Webb refereed 296 Premier League games from 2003 to 2014 and the World Cup and Champions League finals in 2010. He is currently general manager of the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) in the United States and Canada. Webb, 51, will leave that position at the end of his contract, with his PGMOL start date yet to be confirmed. He initially joined PRO as their manager of video assistant referee operations in 2017 before stepping into his current role in 2018. The Yorkshireman began his career in 1989, progressing through the Northern Counties and Football League to become a Select Group referee in 2003. He retired in 2014 to become technical director of PGMOL and a year later was appointed director of referees for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
G lobally, this is not the best of times for any economy, particularly Nigeria. The battle against COVID-19 pandemic had barely settled and economies began to struggle to shake off the impact when Russia invaded Ukraine, disrupting world composure. Since February 2022 the world supply chain has been disrupted and prices of goods and services have risen Nigeria’sastronomically.situation is even more complicated as it is challenged locally, and exogenously – insecurity has affected food production, and the Russian- Ukraine war has crippled the global food supply chain.The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hitherto reluctant, believing in the efficacy of its monetary tools has yielded to global reality and in two quick successions, after almost two and half years, jerked up the interest rate from 11.5 to 13 percent in May, and 14 percent in July. Even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the bank held on for years deploying policies to sustain the economy. Expectedly, the bank’s mandate as provided for in the BOFIA Act 2020 (as amended) has price stability as one of its core responsibilities being an ingredient for sustainable growth. It is also charged with the responsibility of achieving a stable financial system and an efficient payments system. Therefore, whenever there is inflation in the land, as it is currently, the CBN is always home to confront it. The CBN’s stance towards confronting inflation dates back to 2014 when its current governor, Godwin Emefiele, assumed office. Interest rate then was influenced by domestic liquidity conditions and global economic factors such as sharp drop in international crude oil prices, tapering of quantitative easing by the United States Federal Reserves Bank, and dwindling foreignHowever,reserves.global tensions, and economic recession of 2016, most importantly, provided Nigeria with some lessons and steps needed to be taken to improve the wealth base of the economy. Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Nigeria increased to 455.40 points in June 2022 from 447.20 points in May of 2022. CPI in Nigeria averaged 127.55 points from 1995 until 2022, reaching an all-time high of 455.40 points in June of2022. Consumer Price Index is an important economic metric that measures the average change in prices (inflation) paid by consumers over a period for goods and services. The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) posted 18.6 percent inflation rate for the month of June 2022 compared to 17.75 percent in the corresponding month 2021, and ever since inflation has taken flight up north. Prior to Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major distributor in world food supply chain, Nigeria had been battling galloping inflation mainly caused by internal insecurity – such as banditry, kidnapping, crude oil theft, and sabotage of oil pipelines etc., in addition to obvious structural defects, present, and past administrations in the country have failed to address. Unfortunately, Nigerians are blaming the CBN for the economic hardship being experienced in the land. Obvious fiscal deficit, and government inability to arrest insecurity and put in place structures to aid economic development are palpable reason why many felt the CBN’s interventions are defective. Inflation, from the ongoing, has apparently blighted the gains of measures taken by the CBN to bolster the Naira through various programmes and policies in key sectors aimed at diversifying the economy. Measures taken were also to open other sources of revenue to the However,country. the fate of the Naira, because of rising inflation has made borrowing become not only expensive but unattractive.
PEOPLES DAILY www.peoplesdailyng.com . . . putting the people first Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kaduna office: K6 Ahmadu Bello Way, opposite Kontagora road, Kaduna. Tel: +234 814 292 9046. Cell: +234 802 443 2099; 803 7007 759. e-mail: contact@peoplesdailyng.com; pmlnewseditor@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141 ADVERT: 0806 564 8620 NEWS: 0814 292 9046 KANO: 0803 587 5846 LAGOS: 08074420617 Taye Taiwo and Oduamadi LATEST SPORTS THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE DAN GAYE Over 1.2m under-5 children stunted in Katsina – Report - News Oh DANGAYEnooo!
PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 GuestOlawaleColumnistByFeranmi
The CBN at a time was also accused of biting more than it could chew by practically intervening in every sector of the economy, as nothing worthwhile was coming from the fiscal side to help the economy. Some Nigerians asked whether the Bank had ‘swallowed’ the fiscal authority as the CBN was the only government institution seen to be working in the economy. Many of the Bank’s intervention programmes – the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, MSMEDEF, NIRSAL, CIFI, AGSMEIS, PAIF, among others were not only deployed to put the economy on the path of growth but to create jobs that are stable and sustainable. The Bank at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic rallied the private sector on a rescue mission, code name CACOVID, and their intervention saved the economy from a second economic recession in five years. All these efforts were because of fiscal absence in the critical sector that were supposed to spur growth and create jobs. These elephants in the room seem to be blighting the Emefiele led-CBN achievements, particularly, the intractable insecurity in the country. The inability of the government to arrest the situation, and its economic implication has been colossal. Many companies have relocated while many have closed. Farmers can no longer farm as they have been chased away from their farmlands. This is despite the CBN’s interventions by making credit available to businesses and farmers. Critical stakeholders in the economy had expected the fiscal space to complement the CBN by dealing squarely with insecurity and providing basic infrastructure to grow the economy.Corruption, another big elephant in the room, is waxing unrestrained. The CBN policy of Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) has ensured free flow of credit to the private sector to enable them produce locally and increase capacity to fill the gap occasioned by the ban on certain items by the government. However, contraband goods are still finding their way into the country through the borders. Food inflation is snuffing breath out of Nigerians, and it was high time the government addressed these issues for the benefit and welfare of all. This is because Nigerians are indeed groaning. Feranmi writes from Kabba, Kogi state
Inflation has also engendered general increase in prices of items and other essential commodities making existence more challenging. These, and many more global happenings, may have prompted the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee at its last meeting to jerk up Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 100 basis points (from 13 –14 percent). Nigerians eagerly hope to see how effective the decision would be. My worries: why do the elites continually blame the monetary authority for the economic woes? I can recollect many of the CBN’s Governor admonitions to the government on insecurity, borrowings, fiscal discipline, and economic diversification.
Howard Webb returns to English Football after 7 retirementyears
