The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • ‘Adopt Fayemi’s anti-poverty, school dropout policies’

    Former Special Assistant (SA) to the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on AIDS, Loans and Debt Management, Adesola Adedayo Gold, has urged all Nigerian governors to adopt Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi’s anti-poverty policies.

    Adebayo listed the policies as free education, regular payment of workers’ salaries and pensions, to better the lives of the citizens.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain noted that placing a high premium on the two pivotal areas had changed the Ekiti economic landscape and brought new lease of life among the masses across the state.

    Addressing reporters at Osun Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area, God said Fayemi, within one year in office, had been able to change the wrong perception that Ekiti was not economically viable.

    The ex-SSA, who is also a former Executive Assistant in the office of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Osun State, noted that with Fayemi’s initiative and passion for education, it is now a criminal offence in Ekiti, with stringent punitive measures carrying many years of jail term, for parents to keep children of school age out of schools.

    “Under Ayodele Fayose-led government, pupils of public and private primary and secondary schools were paying taxes under the guise of development levy, which deprived many pupils from poor backgrounds of good education.

    Read Also: Aregbesola promises consolidation of policies, reforms

    “The economy of Ekiti was mainly built on the civil service structure. Before Governor Fayemi came on board, the Peoploes Democratic Party (PDP) government was owing between five and eight months of workers’ salaries. That of pensioners was nine months, which increased the poverty level and destroyed our economy.

    “With regular payment of salaries, the economy has changed for better. Investors have now seen Ekiti as a veritable avenue to invest their money as evidenced in the return of Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) and other global partners, like the British Department for International Affairs (DFID), to Ekiti.

    “Recent statistics showed that Ekiti has 100 per cent compliant with enrolment of children of school age, thereby making the state to rank first in Nigeria. This has further reignited our pride as the Fountain of Knowledge and gave us a good future as a state.”

    The former House of Representatives aspirant in Ekiti State praised the governor for expanding the state’s scholarship to benefit from secondary to PhD level.

    He noted that this would restore the Ekiti glory as the real education nerve-centre of the nation.

    On infrastructure, Gold said Fayemi was giving Ekiti a facelift with the completion of the Ekiti State Civic Centre and the revamping of Ero and Egbe dams to supply potable water to 14 local government areas.

    “The turnaround maintenance of the two dams has brought about the world bank partnership with Ekiti for the laying of 250 kilometres water pipes in Ado-Ekiti metropolis. Olorunda and Olorunsogo areas are major beneficiary of this policy.

    “Some intra-city roads in Ado-Ekiti have also been tarred like Ajibade-Okeila road to ease traffic flow in the capital city.

    “The fight against open defecation is also gathering momentum because Ekiti is ranked first in Nigeria. With the advent of Rural Water Supply Policy being engineered by Fayemi administration and provision of toilets in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ekiti will become open defecation-free in 2021. The pilot scheme in Ekiti West and Gbonyin local government areas confirmed this projection,” he said.

    Gold added that the state government’s sustained fights against female genital mutilation, gender-based violence, child trafficking and slavery have made Ekiti a pride and pacesetter to other states in the country.

  • Firm launches new POS machines for the unbank

    Click Power Enterprise Limited in partnership with a Chinese firm, SZFP Technology Limited has launched a new Smart and Mini  Point of Sales (POS) Terminal that is handy, pocket friendly and is easy to operate in unbank areas.

    The Co-Founder of Click Power Enterprise Limited, Patrick Amalaha announced it at the introduction of the product held recently in Lagos, said that the device is to be sold to mobile money operators such as banks and other bodies who uses point of sales services for their businesses.

    He said that we are also into agency banking which is part of our core business and we are partnering with GTBank and we hope to extend it to other banks.

    “We are working hard to build a seamless integrated platform with our agency banking with  the organizations  that we are partnering with” he said.

    He posited that the agency banking introduced by the Central  Bank of Nigeria is evolving and we want to support the initiative with the pocket friendly POS box that will ensure seamless financial transaction for both corporate organization and unbank areas.

    “We intend to reach the least banking areas, areas where they don’t have access to bank. These include market women, petty trader who wants to have access to financial services. Our agency is poised to give Nigerians financial access through this platform”, he said. .

    Amala added We have smaller devices that can be connected to your bank account. Banks will take care of the bank end and you do your business seamlessly. The uniqueness of this product is accessibility, carriability  and user friendly interface and easy integration.

    He noted that the POS work with individuals and institutions with a corporate account with the bank but click power can cover for individuals without a corporate account with its click power wallet housing with the bank and the bank will link it to their products.

    Also, in his words, the Business Development Manager of Click Power Enterprise limited, lkdnna Ezewaroke said that the partnering company SZFP that produces the products has predeigree and a track record of success.

    He said that the devices they are bringing and terminal application management system are very robust and its support the kind of business we want to do in that space.

    “Banking in Nigeria is evolving and we have gone the extra mile to make the agency banking more effective in its financial transaction”, he said.

    “We have working toward engaging 10,000 to 15, 000 merchants across the country and we will leverage our experience in the banking system”, he said.

    He added that the organization has put in place 24 hours non stop contact service where issue regarding merchants, card holders  and people on our platform can be address.

  • Oscar rejigs board for Nigerian film entries

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has reconstituted a 12-man committee of Nollywood stakeholders ahead of the 2020 Academy Awards, popularly called The Oscars.

    Comprising old and young Nollywood stakeholders, the newly constituted Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC) is headed by pioneer member, Chineze Anyaene as Chairman.

    Other members are: Mildred Okwo, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Ngozi Okafor, Charles Novia, Abba Makama, Bruce Ayonote, Ramsey Nouah, Chioma Ude, Shaibu Husseini, Adetokunbo ‘DJ Tee’ Odubawo and C. J Obasi.

    “We don’t take this for granted. We hope the committee fulfils its original mandate, which is to give a platform to credible Nigerian films to compete at the prestigious Academy Awards annually,” said NOSC Chairman Chineze Anyaene.

    “We couldn’t make any submissions in previous years due to unavailability of qualifying films, but things are looking hopeful… and we are actively working towards having an entry this year,” he added.

    Nigeria joined 82 other countries in contesting the Foreign Language diadem, now called ‘International Feature Film’ category, after an approval and subsequent inauguration of the NOSC in February 2014.

    But Nollywood could not present any film for the Oscars as the few submissions did not meet basic criteria.

    The International Feature Film of the Oscars gives opportunity to Nigerian filmmakers living in Nigeria and Diaspora for a shot at the foremost creative industry award scheme globally.

  • ‘How repentant Boko Haram members were resettled’

    Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Abayomi Olonisakin has explained how repentant Boko Haram members were resettled.

    The CDS, who spoke on military efforts to rid the nation of terrorism, described Operations Safe Corridor “as a global model in combating insurgency in the world”.

    He said the operation helped to de-radicalise, demobilise, rehabilitate and reintegrate repentant insurgents into the society.

    Olonisakin spoke on Thursday in Abuja when Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya visited him at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ).

    The CDS explained that the operation is a non-kinetic multi-national and multi-agency humanitarian operation conducted in accordance with extant international human rights and humanitarian laws.

    He added that it was a rare window to encourage willing and repentant Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast to surrender and shun violence.

    In a statement by the Acting Director of Defence Information, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the CDS said the essence of Operations Safe Corridor was “to demobilise, de-radicalise, rehabilitate and to reintegrate repentant insurgents into society”.

    He added: “I must say that this model has been replicated by many countries, and series of organisations and groups have come here to study that particular model, to know how we achieved it.”

    Read Also: Boko Haram, ISWAP fleeing to North, Central Africa, says Army

    Assuring the nation that the military was committed to performing its constitutional role of providing peaceful and enabling environment in the country, Olonisakin said: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) would continue to develop strategies to address challenges arising from its operations in the Northeast in order to wipe out the insurgents from our country.”

    The CDS hailed Yahaya and Gombe State residents for providing the facility that housed Operations Safe Corridor.

    He said aside kinetic operations, the AFN, as a matter of deliberate policy, carried out other initiatives, such as provision of social services to host communities in operational theatre.

    According to him, the AFN is not only trying to win the war but to also win the peace.

    Olonisaking assured Nigerians that the challenges associated with Operations Safe Corridor facility and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Gombe State would be addressed by appropriate superior authorities with a view to ensuring the sustenance of the de-radicalisation programme.

    Yahaya lauded the efforts of the AFN in tackling security challenges through robust engagements and initiatives that have yielded positive results, particularly in the Northeast.

    The governor noted that his state’s proximity to the theatre of Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states resulted in the influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the state.

    He said the displaced persons now reside permanently in the state, thereby resulting in infrastructure deficit.

    Yahaya urged Olonisakin to review the conditions for the use of facilities in Operations Safe Corridor in Kwami Local Government Area to enable the state government overcome some of its challenges.

    Then governor said the visit was meant to enable him rob minds with the CDS on how to improve security in the state.

    He expressed appreciation for Operations Safe Corridor initiative and the provision of social services to the host communities.

  • Boko Haram, ISWAP fleeing to North, Central Africa, says Army

    Boko Haram fighters are fleeing to neighbouring countries as well as North and Central African nations, following military bombardments of their strongholds in the Northeast, the Nigerian Army said yesterday.

    A statement by its spokesman Col Sagir Musa said the concerted efforts of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) had led to the death of scores of Boko Haram fighters have been killed and their remnants are in mass exodus to the border towns outside Nigeria.

    Musa said: “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that due to the combined onslaught on the identified hideouts of elements of the criminal elements of bandits and erstwhile Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters by our troops and the MNJTF, at the fringes of Lake Chad region, there is observed massive exodus of the criminals out of Lake Chad Tumbus to North and Central Africa sub-regions.

    “There are credible reports from very reliable sources indicating massive movements of the criminal groups out of the area towards Sudan and Central African Republic as a result of successful artillery and aerial bombardments of their settlements and as the heat of the onslaught is becoming unbearable.

    Read Also: Army bans NGO for ‘aiding Boko Haram’

    “This mass movement for their lives was necessitated, following the sustained air and artillery bombardments by the Nigerian Armed Forces and coalition forces of the MNJTF, which killed uncountable erstwhile Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters and destroyed their weapons and equipment.

    “The various national troops and the MNJTF are maintaining aggressive patrols and blocking positions against infiltration by the escaping criminals.

    “It is important to note that most of the Tumbus are located along the Quadrangular borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic and Nigeria. To further annihilate the fleeing terrorists, efforts are ongoing for continued shelling, bombardment and pursuits. Similarly, the countries in these sub-regions have also had been contacted through the MNJTF headquarters.”

  • Fed Govt moves to nail money launderers, terror financiers

    The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to meet global standards for combating money laundering and terrorists financing in the country.

    The move is expected to end financial crimes and other threats to internal security.

    Interior Minister Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola broken the news yesterday in his office in Abuja when the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Mr. Modibbo Tukur visited him.

    The minister promised to provide the leadership required to fight the crime so that requisite policy oversight is given to ensure that the ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) perform optimally to meet their obligations as members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing.

    Read Also: EFCC recovers N800m, arrest 280 suspects in Kano

    “I assure you of my commitment to ensure that appropriate strategies are put in place to meet the global standards for combating Money Laundering and Terrorists Financing,” Aregbesola said.

    A statement by the Director (Press and Public Relations) in the ministry, Mohammed Manga, said the minister explained that if terrorism financing was arrested in Nigeria, the confidence of foreign investors would be boosted and socio-economic activities would be boosted among Nigerians.

    He said terrorists financing was a major threat to internal security in the country.

    Aregbesola hailed the NFIU for its roles, with regards to coordinating national legal, regulatory and operational frameworks for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, threats to the integrity of the international financial system and maintenance of internal security in Nigeria.

    Tukur said his team was at the Interior Ministry in recognition of its importance as one of the three key ministries with strategic roles to combat the challenges of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation of arms.

    Hamman, who also said his team came to brief the minister on the forthcoming mutual evaluation exercise by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, identified other parties as the Federal Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Justice.

    He intimated Aregbesola with the proposed assessment of the ministry and 34 other Federal Government agencies by the global community under the auspices of Financial Action Task Force, billed for next month.

    The global task force is saddled with reviewing various countries of the world to see their compliance with their national legislations in the areas of criminalisation of crimes, money laundering and related crimes to ensure that a particular country’s system is not threatening itself to undermine peace and development across the globe.

  • NGO hails Fed Govt’s move to reform prison

    A non-governmental organisation, Anchor Heritage, has lauded the Federal Government for signing into law, the Nigerian Correctional Service Bill to reform the prison system.

    The new bill repealed the Nigeria Prisons Act and proclaimed the treatment of prisons as a correctional centers.

    Anchor Heritage President Bidemi Oladipupo said the government’s move aligned with the vision and plans of the group.

    “Our organisation has embarked on empowerment programmes across prisons in the Southwest and Northcentral, empowering over 400 inmates as part of our contributions to the prison reform process,” he said.

    He called on the Federal Government to partner the private sector in providing services for congested Nigerian prisons in line with global best practices.

    “We believe that empowered inmates will re-integrate easily into the society to become productive citizens,” he said.

  • SGF, Ribadu, others to reposition Adamawa APC

    The Northeast zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has inaugurated a 39-member Central Steering Committee to reposition the party in Adamawa State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that part of the committee’s assignment was also to reconcile the aggrieved aspirants and candidates for positions during the 2019 general election.

    The party, in a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Vice Chairman (Northeast), Alhhaji Mustapha Shaliu, said the committee was set up to develop a programme of action for its repositioning and strengthening.

    NAN recalls that the party had, since the last general election, been embroiled in crisis, leading to the victory of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls.

    Shaliu said the committee, headed by Abdulrahman Adamu, had the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as co-chairmen.

    Read Also: PDP urges INEC to warn Bello, APC against violence

    Other members of the committee, according to him, include the former governor, Mohammed Jibrilla (Bindow), ex-Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Dahiru Bobbo, Sen. Jonathan Zwingina and Sen. Ahmed Barata, among others.

    He said the committee was also charged with the task of proposing modalities that would ensure free and fair primaries ahead of the coming local government election and future elections.

    Shaliu said it was also expected to propose ways and means of raising funds for running the affairs of the party.

    “Its other tasks are to develop an effective media and public enlightenment programme for repositioning the party to its winning form.

    “To co-ordinate and support the election petitions by the party at tribunals and courts.

    “To carry out any other function as may be directed by the National Working Committee of the APC,” he said.

  • 70 Kaduna Imams get financial empowerment to fight corruption

    About 70 Imams in Kaduna State have been given financial empowerment training and linked with sources of funding for investment purposes.

    The training was designed to enable them have financial independence and position them to resist, preach and fight corruption.

    Speaking at the training in Kaduna organised by Al-Habibiyah Islamic Society, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the organisation, Yusuf Auwal, said the training workshop is aimed supporting government’s efforts in minimising or eradicating corruption in the society.

    He said: “We have been working with these selected scholars for over two years because we think that with an Islamic setting through the use of the scholars, we will be able to reach a larger number of people in a particular community that can support and sensitise Nigerians on the need to rise up against corruption.

    Read Also: Kaduna Imams tackle CAN Chair over kidnap of Christians

    “We are also integrating source of funding for investment purposes because we know some of the challenges the scholars face, especially the issue of corruption. This is why we are sensitising the scholars on how to be economically empowered so that they can step down the training to their followers.”

    Auwal said in the course of the training, the scholars will be linked with sources of funding through Jaiz Bank and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

    The Imam, Al-Habibiyah Islamic Society, Kaduna State branch, Misbahu Raji, hoped that the training would ensure self-sufficiency of Imams and their followers, saying it would tackle corruption.

    A resource person from Da’awa Institute of Nigeria (DIN), Ibrahim Khalil, said the challenge the country is facing is not immorality, adding: “The only thing we ought to focus on is exercising justice in the society.”

    He said if Nigerians are able to exercise justice, other vices will diminish.

    He appealed to the government to exercise and establish justice because it is the only panacea to a peaceful environment.

    The Manager,  SMEDAN, Kaduna office,  Badamasi Barau, said the agency is boasting the capacity of the scholars and giving them more information on how to adequately develop and sustain businesses.

  • INEC to officials: track election activities

    Ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stepped up training of its officials in tracking and intervention technics on election day.

    National Commissioner Mrs. Amina Zakari, at the opening of a two-day workshop of the Election Monitoring and Support System (EMSC), advised participants, including Electoral Officers (EOs), Assistant Electoral Officers (AEOs) and others from the national headquarters, Abuja, to track voting activities on election day.

    She noted that since its introduction and adaptation by INEC, the EMSC has engendered improved performance in the discharge of its electoral duties.

    Zakari hailed the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) for its commitment to the growth and improvement in Nigeria’s electoral process.

    The Senior Project Officer, ECES, Mr. Sylvestre Somo, highlighted some of the importance of the measures.

    Read Also: PDP urges INEC to warn Bello, APC against violence

    “The EMSC is an integrated structure of the Election Management System (EMS), Election Risk Management (ERM) and Electoral Operations and Support Centre (EOSC). The combination of the three electoral support systems is aimed at achieving a better and enhanced platform for planning and tracking the implementation of electoral activities with a wider view and a better control on election management.

    “One important thing the EMSC can assist us to achieve is the early identification of challenges to the election plan.”

    Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Prof. James Apam called for increase in the number of security personnel deployed for the November 16 governorship election.

    He said the duty of security operatives on election day is not limited to providing security for the electorate and election materials, but also to protect INEC officials.

    Apam said there were recorded cases where some ad-hoc workers, particularly corps members, were attacked, with some even dying.

    “As a result, there is need to increase the number of personnel, to prevent reoccurrence of such ugly incidents,” he said.