The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • ‘Police promotions suspended until further notice’

    In the wake of the lingering face-off between the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Nigeria Police over the on-going recruitment of 10, 000 constables, the Commission has agreed that all police promotions will be suspended forthwith until further notice, The Nation gathered on Wednesday.

    A source in the Commission told The Nation that the decision came from a meeting of the Management with the Joint Trade Union Congress of the Commission on Tuesday over the recruitment imbroglio.

    According to the source, the Union had also demanded that the Commission should withdraw all delegated powers extended to the Inspector General of Police since it has been abused.

    It was learnt the meeting rose with a Management decision to endorse the demand and stand of the Union that the Commission must seek judicial interpretation of its constitutional mandate for Appointment, which has been at the centre of the dispute.

    Read Also: Police arraign Sowore’s ally Jalingo in court

    ”The offices of the Commission under lock and key in the wake of the warning strike by the Staff Union have been opened for normal official duties today Wednesday, 25thSeptember 2019, as the Management assured that it would leave nothing to chance in protecting the constitutional mandate of the Commission to appoint, promote and exercise disciplinary control over all personnel of the Nigeria Police Force except the Inspector General.

    ”Management also assured the staff union that all police officers found culpable in the ongoing dispute will be sanctioned appropriately as they are constitutionally under the disciplinary control of the Commission and cannot hide under any authority to flout the law.”

    “The Commission appealed for calm and patience it sought final resolution of this avoidable crisis in the recruitment of constables as directed by the President,” the source said.

    When contacted the Head, Press and Public Relations of the Commission, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, said he would get back to our reporter as he was yet to be briefed.

  • New automotive bill underway

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo has said a new automotive policy bill is underway.

    He spoke at the fifth edition of the Presidential Policy Dialogue organised by the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to the previous bill because it was not well received hence the need for a new bill.

    He said: “We are already working towards having a new bill. We have decided to start afresh and get it right this time. The last one was not done right; we will engage all stakeholders in the formulation process of the bill.

    “In the next couple of weeks, I will be visiting all the assembly plants and hold a meeting with the owners. They are the people that will implement whatever policy we come up with. The government is desirous to see to that cars can be gotten by citizens at affordable price; that is where we are at the moment.

    “Our role as a government is to set policy direction and ensure it is clear and consistent, as well as provide enabling environment for the private sector which is the engine room for growth of the economy.  Relevant government agencies are in continuous process of implementing initiatives and policies that address key areas of concern. We need to improve local patronage, the need to bridge the gap between the industry skills and innovation, the ease of doing business, access to finance for SMEs and the need to resolve multiple taxation among others.”

    President of the LCCI Babatunde Ruwase called for accountability on the multiple taxation levied on businesses, saying an increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from five to 7.5 per cent was only an additional pressure.

    He said: ”Nigerians have not been able to see value for money; we have been paying so much money but we are not seeing value. There are so many levies but no accountability of such levies. That is why the average Nigerian does not believe he should pay more. If we can see result, see what government is doing with the money, Nigerians would be ready to pay.

    “But the situation we have today is that there is a mistrust by Nigerians. We are not ready to pay more because the one we paid we can’t see what it was used for.”

    Managing Director of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) Hadiza Bala Usman said efforts are on to provide trade facilitation tools and other projects that would boost efficiency in the ports system.

  • School heads seek visa to China

    School principals billed to attend this year’s International Confederation of Principals in Shanghai, China, have urged the Chinese authorities to facilitate the issuance of visas to them.

    They said the delay was caused by the non-issuance of a verification certificate needed for visa application.

    The international bi-annual convention attracts the largest gathering of school principals.

    A delegate, who pleaded not to be named, said: “The Chinese organising committee has tried everything to enable us get visas.

    “The Chinese authorities have refused so far to grant the verification certificate which is necessary for us to be issued visas.

    “This development becomes particularly worrisome considering that quite a good number of principals from other countries have long received their visa.”

    The delegate said his counterparts from Ghana, for instance, have all been issued visas. He wondered why the case is different for Nigerian delegates.

    He said: “Apart from the fact that the event commences on October 20, principals in Nigeria have already committed a lot of money into the event.

    “Already, we have committed money on registration, we have spent a lot to purchase flight ticket, and have also spent quite a huge sum to book for accommodation and so on.

    “This explains why we are all jittery because if it eventually happens that we are not given visas, what then becomes of the huge sum of money we have all committed?

    “Do they just go down the drain like that? Will they return our money, or will the Chinese authorities compensate us?”

    The delegate said Nigerians who previously attended the conference were of good behaviour.

    “We have never for once been implicated in any kind of malfeasance, so why all these unmerited treatment?”

  • Court orders forfeiture of hotel belonging to civil servant

    Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has ordered the forfeiture of a hotel belonging to a civil servant to the Federal Government.

    Also forfeited is a landed property which comprised three bedroom flats, two wings of two bedroom flats and a room and parlour self-contain.

    Delivering judgement, Justice Sikiru Oyinloye said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

    He said the evidence presented before the court were strong and reliable.

    “The interim order of this honourable court was published in The Nation, while the court’s processes were served with the hearing notice to the defendant, but despite this, the defendant did not show up to explain why the properties should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.

    “The evidence of the EFCC was not controverted or challenged by the defendant or any interested parties to the suit. This honourable court is of the opinion that the defendant was fully informed about the proceedings. In view of the foregoing, this honourable court hereby orders that the properties be forfeited to the Federal Government,” Justice Oyinloye said.

    Read Also: Court grants N10m bail to ex-Petroleum Ministry director

    In a motion dated September 8, 2019, prosecuting counsel Nnemeka Omewa had urged the judge to grant EFCC’s prayers.

    Part of the prayers include “an order of this honourable court forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria an unregistered Toyota Camry 2008 model,  found, traced and recovered by the commission from the respondent which property is reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity.

    “An order of this honourable court forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria a gold coloured Parsche Cayanne vehicle found, traced and recovered by the commission from the respondent which property is reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity.”

    Relying on the motion and 13 exhibits attached, Justice Oyinloye also ordered that the cars recovered from the respondent be forfeited to the Federal Government.

  • How Ogun’ll remain top most investment destination, by Abiodun

    The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has said the state will remain the nation’s number one investors’ choice for long because his administration is consciously working to retain that status.

    According to him, the state with its rich human and natural endowment cannot be compared with any other state in terms of access to land and sea port as well as availability of arable land.

    Gov Abiodun stated this at the 34thAnnual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Abeokuta, where he encouraged foreign investors to come and take advantage of the one-stop arrangement created by the recently passed Ogun State Investment Promotion Law.

    “Our state remains the best place for investors to open business. Besides our natural geographical location as the gateway state to Nigeria, we share borders with four other states and we share international borders with Benin Republic, which is a window to the West African sub-region,” the governor said.

    He added that in addition to these natural factors, “our proximity to Lagos, the continent’s fifth largest economy, our administration is providing focused and qualitative governance and create the enabling environment for a public-private sector partnership, which we consider fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun”

    “So, we are very investor-friendly; we are putting reforms in place to ensure that we are even more investor-friendly. We are trying to ensure that we become number one in the ease of doing business in this country and it is incontrovertible that we house the largest number of industries in the country.”

    The governor, who was represented on the occasion by his deputy, Noimot Salako, said the AGM’s theme: “The manufacturing sector: An integral part of making Ogun State the industrial hub of Nigeria,” was apt as his administration was working with the private sector in all areas of development, especially, in employment generation, wealth creation, food security and poverty alleviation.

    Read Also: Abiodun: Development for the forgotten ones

    He noted that his administration “is committed to making Ogun State a truly Investors’ First Choice Destination not only in Nigeria, but in Sub-Sahara Africa,” adding that the geographical location of the state as the gateway to the country and its proximity to Lagos, the fifth largest economy in Africa, puts the state in a vantage position for this aspiration.

    As Ogun State continued to experience influx of companies, we have deliberately considered the interest of our investors the integral part of our master-plan. We have put in place measures as the foundation to drive key policies in our Public-Private Sector Partnership strategy, and we are already recording positive results.

    “We are consciously improving the state’s ranking on the local and global ease of doing business index so as to promote and encourage local and foreign direct investment in the state.”

    He added that his administration had also put in place mechanism for a transparent, accountable revenue collection system to halt multiple taxation, whilst increasing capital expenditure on infrastructural development of roads, energy and information technology.

    “Ogun State Investment Promotion Agency will be a one-stop-shop, which will help investors to settle down easily without having to go through multiple windows,” he said.

    The governor also used the meeting to inform the investors that government was working towards ensuring that the state of public infrastructure across the state was improved upon.

    He added that the present government was also committed to ensuring that the welfare of workers in the state was attended to and also improve the security of lives and property.

    Governor Abiodun promised to create industrial parks and to “strategically locate them in different parts of the state that will provide 24-hour uninterrupted electricity supply,” which he said would be of immense help to cottage industries in local communities.

  • Olowo: we’ll rebrand ‘Igogo’ festival

    The Olowo of Owo, Oba Gbadegesin Ogunoye, on Wednesday said that the town’s famous cultural festival, ‘Igogo,’ is to be rebranded and projected for global tourists’ attraction.

    The monarch disclosed this in his palace while receiving the management staff of Radio Nigeria’s Positive FM, Akure, in his palace at Owo.

    Oba Ogunoye said that he was working on putting the age-long festival on the global stage to promote Owo cultural heritage and drive the tourism potential of the ancient town.

    The Olowo said that more of the rich culture and traditions of Owo would be on display on December 14, during the presentation of staff Office and the celebration of 1000 years of Owo existence.

    He expressed satisfaction with the station’s professionalism in news reportage and information dissemination, which he said stood the broadcasting station out.

    Oba Gbadegesin, who pointed out that he was an ardent listener of Positive FM, promised to always partner with Radio Nigeria in the coverage of major activities of the town.

    The General Manager, Positive FM, Tunde Abiodun, hailed the revered monarch on his installation as the new Olowo of Owo.

    The general manager assured that radio station, as a grassroots news medium in Ondo State, remained committed to promoting major events in Owo Kingdom.

  • Dead cows: outbreak of epidemic likely, says NMA

    Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ondo State chapter, Dr. Wale Oke, on Wednesday warned that an epidemic outbreak looms in Ijare community, following the killing of over 36 cows by lightning recently.

    Oke said if appropriate steps were not taken to check the health and environmental consequences of the dead cows, the community risked the outbreak of diseases.

    The medical practitioner advised the community to immediately contact the veterinary department in the state for advice on measures to take to prevent any outbreak of an epidemic due to the incident.

    The NMA chairman said: “The community head should inform the appropriate agency in the state, which would decide on how the dead cows would be evacuated and buried appropriately.

    Read Also: Killing of python caused cows’ death on sacred hill, say indigenes

    “They should also disinfect the place and the town to prevent epidemic outbreak in the community as a result of decomposed bodies of the cows.”

    Recall that last Saturday lightning reportedly killed the 36 cows on the sacred Oke-Owa hill in Ijare, Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The herders abandoned their livestock and fled.

    The traditional ruler of the town, the Sapetu of Ijare, Wemimo Olaniran, had said it was a taboo to eat animals killed by lightning.

    He pointed out that spiritual rites would be performed to prevent spiritual consequences of the incident on the natives and residents of the town.

  • Reps urge Fed Govt to curtail Lassa fever outbreak

    The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that the outbreak is contained to reduce the fatality ratio in confirmed cases.

    The House also asked the government, through the Federal Ministry of Health, to create more awareness on the dangers of the fever and other communicable diseases to enable the populace adopt preventive measures to avoid contracting it.

    The lawmakers’ resolution stemmed from a motion sponsored by Robert Aondona Tyough (Benue) informing the House of the outbreak of Lassa fever in his state.

    The lawmaker described Lassa fever as “an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of two to 21 days’ duration that is transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of a rodent”.

    He explained that “person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures”.

    Tyough added: “Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin Republic, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, but probably exists in other West African countries as well.”

    Read Also: Govt tackles spread of monkey pox, Lassa fever, others

    He said that “on 21 January 2019, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) declared an outbreak of Lassa fever following an increase in the number of cases, a total of 213 confirmed cases were reported in sixteen States including Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe, Anambra, Kaduna, Kwara, FCT, Benue, Rivers, Nassarawa and Kogi across 40 Local Government Areas leading to the death of  41 people”.

    He said that “in the reporting week 26 between 24 – 30 June, 2019, two new confirmed cases were reported from the two States of Edo (1) and Benue (1) with one death from Benue state;

    “From 1 January to 30 June, 2019, a total of 2882 suspected cases have been reported from 22 states, of which 603 were confirmed positive, 17 probable and 2262 were negative”.

    He expressed concern that since the onset of the 2019 outbreak in the country, there have been 136 confirmed cases of deaths thereby putting the fatality ratio in confirmed cases to a high 22.6%;

    He informed the House that the Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Sunday Ongbabo had confirmed another round of outbreak of Lassa fever in the state with the death of a patient in Makurdi, the State Capital;

  • Buratai deplores importation of military hardware

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Buratai Tukur, has said the operational efficiency of the Army is hampered by its dependence on importation of military hardware and defence logistics.

    Tukur, who made the remark while showcasing locally manufactured military hardware during a Special Army Day celebration at the Abuja International Trade Fair ground, said the dependence on imported defence logistics to combat security challenges also drains the country’s foreign reserve.

    “There is urgent need to sustain the investment in research and development (R&D) on military hardware to reduce overdependence on importation of logistics to shore up and sustain the capabilities towards mitigating contemporary security challenges.

    “It is worthy to note that most of the requisite materials are imported, which not only drains our foreign reserve but impacts negatively on the operational efficiency of the Nigerian Army due to their lead time.

    “Today, we are all aware of the nature of security challenges facing our dear country and the resultant employment of the elements of national power by the Federal Government to contain them. The complex nature of the security environment has resulted in the deployment of the military virtually in all the 36 states of the federation.

    “It is, however, heart-warming that the military along with other security agencies have substantially restored law and order to the crisis affected areas.”

    Read Also: Don’t glorify terrorists, treat them as criminals, Buratai warns

    The successes of the Nigerian Army, in particular, are based on quality manpower development, capacity building, provision of adequate platforms and other essential materials to boost its operational capacity.”

    Buratai explained that in its resolve to check the trend, “the Nigeria Army, therefore, directed the Command Engineering Depot to collaborate with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in research and development and equally funded their innovative ideas to produce a number of products displayed today”.

    This, he said, “lays a solid foundation for future consolidation of local production of military hardware and it will reduce the overdependence on the importation of defence logistics”.

    He added: “The sustenance of local capacity for production of both lethal and non-lethal military hardware rests solidly on quality manpower. Consequently, the Nigerian Army has established Nigerian Army University in Biu and continually sponsored officers and soldiers on post-graduate studies on robotics and automobile and software engineering.”

    The special guest of honour and Minister of Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, lauded the ingenuity of Nigerian Army.

    He said the innovation showed that there is hope for the nation to achieve greatness.

  • NBC fines 20 stations in second quarter of 2019

    Twenty stations violated the nation’s broadcasting codes in the second quarter of 2019, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said.

    The stations were fined for breaching the provisions of the broadcasting code on hate speech.

    A breakdown of the offences, which were allegedly committed between April and June, according to NBC’s Director General Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, include breaching broadcasting code on hate speech, use of vulgar lyrics and obscene content.

    Kawu berated African Independent Television (AIT) for defying all actions to ensure compliance with the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

    Sections of the breached codes are: Section 1.16.1(f): The law of contempt, relating to matter pending before law court’s, and Section 5.1.12: News and current affairs programme shall be guided by the ethical standards of journalism.

    Kaduna Zone recorded the highest in obscenity, while Abuja Zone topped the chart in hate speech.

    In the area of unverified claims, the Ibadan Zone recorded the highest.

    On fines meted out to the errant stations, Abuja Zone recorded the highest with 47.17 per cent, Ibadan Zone came second with 15.09 per cent and Benin came third with 13.22 per cent while the lowest was Enugu Zone with 1.89 per cent.

    Forty-five stations were fined in the first quarter of the year for similar offences.

    Addressing reporters on the second quarter monitoring of broadcast stations’ profile, Kawu said: “Coming shortly after the National and State Elections in the first quarter of the year, the report indicates that though there is a drop in breaches related to hateful, abusive and inflammatory broadcast, which peaked during the elections, and for which as many as 45 stations were fined, the second quarter indicates that the trend has continued among certain stations, especially in political programmes.

    “Therefore, 20 stations were fined in the second quarter for breaching provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code on hate speech.

    “Other breaches were in the area of Obscene and Vulgar Lyrics – 10 stations were fined for infractions related to use of vulgar lyrics and obscene content. It is worth mentioning that the programme, Big Brother Naija (BBN4) was cautioned against unwholesome content on its broadcast.

    “Use of unsubstantiated and misleading claims by advertisers, especially trado-medic advertising, also dropped significantly from the last quarter, but a total of 30 stations were fined for infractions related to same.

    “Ten broadcast stations were fined for breaches related to station announcers turning themselves into advertisers, hypers and promoters of products.”

    On AIT, Kawu said: “Our monitoring activities indicate that some stations, especially AIT, are deliberately meddling in the cases before the election tribunal. It is trite knowledge that the media cannot comment on or discuss the details of any matter in court. The Broadcast Code in Section 1.16.1(f) requires all broadcasters to comply with the law of contempt relating to matters pending before the law courts.”