The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Suspected robbers kill man

    Suspected robbers kill man

     Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

     

    SUSPECTED robbers on Wednesday attacked a PoS operator and shot dead a young man, Tega, at Otovwodo community in Ughelli North Local Government  of Delta State.

    An eyewitness said the hoodlums arrived at the PoS shop and attempted to rob their victim, but they were resisted.

    The eyewitness said: “They shot at the PoS operator thrice, but the bullets couldn’t penetrate him. As they were escaping, they shot Tega in the head and one other person in the leg.”

    Effort to speak with police spokesman DSP Onome Onowakpoyeya was not successful, but a senior police officer attached to the Ughelli Area Command confirmed the incident.

     

  • Varsities after ASUU strike

    Varsities after ASUU strike

    Hardball

     

    AFTER nine months of ditching work, lecturers on the platform of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) suspended their strike last Wednesday, 23rd December. But it was not all-clear yet for industrial temper in the tertiary sector: the union warned its members would head back to the trenches without notice if government fails to meet its obligations under the new pact reached with them.

    Also, the sheathing of swords by the teachers’ union did not translate to immediate reopening of the long-shuttered schools. In his statement, ASUU National President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, said in view of the raging Covid-19 pandemic, the schedule for reopening of the schools lies with government which recently ordered partial lockdown measures to arrest the pandemic’s second wave. In effect, even with the call-off of the crippling ASUU strike, students must await a respite in the Covid-19 siege to get back to studies.

    ASUU had pulled the plugs on academic work in universities on 9th March, accusing the Federal Government of failing to honour a 2009 agreement and Memorandum of Understanding entered into with the union. In the 2009 deal, government agreed, among other things, to provide funds for revitalizing decaying infrastructure in public universities and set up visitation panels to ascertain the actual state of respective institution. Another major grouse of the union with government was over its implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which ASUU argued negated the autonomy of universities and proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) platform in the alternative.

    Well, it took nine months for government to come to fresh understanding with the teachers; it is thus highly important that this new deal does not fall through again to warrant fresh recourse to industrial hostility by the teachers, who are getting paid for all the months they were on strike whereas students have lost a whole academic session on their studies – time that can by no means be recovered.

    Students have always been the loser in ASUU strikes. If now it is being said their return to studies will await abatement of the new Covid-19 wave at ‘God knows when,’ Hardball says, ‘No!’ ‘No!’ Time having been wasted more than enough already, universities should devise mechanisms to get teachers to immediately begin teaching online. To be sure, the teaching should be closely monitored and evaluated to ensure maintenance of standards. Teachers got paid for the idle months, but a huge task that awaits them (if they haven’t thought of it) is jumpstarting for assiduous academic work the brains of students who had gone on to other ventures over nine months of academic idleness. But then, that is where they will earn their pay, and the earlier they get started the better.

     

     

  • Abiodun, Bello, Ayade, Ugwuanyi, Ikpeazu, Sule, Mohammed sign 2021 budgets into law

    Abiodun, Bello, Ayade, Ugwuanyi, Ikpeazu, Sule, Mohammed sign 2021 budgets into law

    Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta, Nsa Gill, Calabar, David Adenuga, Bauchi, Sunny Nwankwo, Umuahia and Linus Oota, Lafia

     

    SIX governors on Wednesday signed the 2021 budgets of their states into law to kick-start the January to December budget cycle across the states.

    This is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s new budget cycle, which will begin on Thursday.

    Ogun State

    Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun assented to the state’s 2021 Appropriation Bill of N338.6 billon, less than 24 hours after it was passed by the House of Assembly.

    The budget, tagged: Budget of Recovery and Sustainability, comprises Recurrent Expenditure of N162 billion (48 per cent of the total budget) and a Capital Expenditure of N177 billion (52 per cent).

    The House of Assembly, on Tuesday, slightly adjusted the recurrent and capital expenditures of 74 agencies, including the capital receipt.

    This followed the recommendations of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, led by Kunle Sobunkanla.

    House of Assembly Speaker Kunle Oluomo read the clause-by-clause of the budget during plenary and passed N146.529 billion for Recurrent Expenditure; N20.182 billion for Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges (CRFC), while N171.898 billion was allocated for Capital Expenditure.

    Highlights of the budget are: Infrastructure, N61 billion; Social Welfare and Well-being N93 billion (includes Health, Housing, Environment, Physical Planning, Women Affairs, etc); Education, N58 billion; Youth Empowerment, N6 billion; Agriculture, N15 billion and Enablers N106 billion, among others.

    Governor Abiodun assured the people that Ogun State would strive to recover from the challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic and forge ahead in the critical sectors of the economy as enunciated in the budget.

    Cross River State

    Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade also signed the state’s 2021 budget into law yesterday.

    Christened: Budget of Blush and Bliss, the 2021 budget has N281.9 billion, a sharp reduction from the previous budget sizes of over N1.01 trillion.

    At the signing ceremony at the State Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office in Calabar, Ayade said the budget made provisions for the establishment of a state polytechnic.

    It also has provisions for social welfare schemes, like grants and other financial benefits to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the people.

    The governor attributed the reduction of the budget size to his administration’s decision to cut the financial commitments of the state in key projects, such as the Bakassi Deep Seaport and the 275-kilometre superhighway to five per cent.

    The projects, he stressed, are to be built on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

    On the reason for the huge reduction, Ayade said: “We had explained this in the budget presentation that we are shifting from all the big dreams to the basic, primordial things of survival and ensuring that there is food on the table.”

    The governor said the 2021 budget was streamlined to meet the intended focus, hence the provision for only five per cent of the cost for such capital projects, like the 275-kilometre Superhighway, the Bakassi Deep Sea Port, Calas Vegas Island, among others.

    He said the state’s Privatisation Council, in partnership with KPMG, as their consultants, will select the best investors for the projects.

    Ayade expressed optimism that with the number of industries he has established, the state’s economy will get a huge boost in 2021.

    Bauchi State

    Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed also signed the state’s N213.9 billion budget into law yesterday.

    Mohammed presented the Appropriation Bill to the House of Assembly on December 15, 2020.

    It was tagged: Budget of Consolidation, and was unanimously passed by the lawmakers on Tuesday.

    The 2021 budget is N46.7 billion higher than that of 2020, which was N167.2 billion.

    Signing it into law yesterday at the Government House in Bauchi, Governor Mohammed said his administration was looking at the basic outcome of the budget to ensure that every sector is positively affected

    He expressed satisfaction that though there were little changes in the budget at the House of Assembly, he would have done so to expand the provision of projects and programmes across the local government areas as well as the villages and towns for equity and justice.

    The governor said Bauchi residents deserve better treatment, hence his administration’s decision to introduce Bauchi Urban Renewal project to upgrade the state capital.

    Mohammed said the state government will invest in agriculture, water supply, youth and women empowerment, adding that rural roads were being opened up by connecting the rural markets and the urban centres.

    Presenting the budget to the governor for assent, Speaker Abubakar Sulaiman said N93,197,307,655, or 44 per cent of the budget, would be set aside for Recurrent Expenditure.

    He added that N120,717,468,313, or 56 per cent, would be for Capital Expenditure.

    Sulaiman hailed the Assembly and committee members for their support and cooperation in passing the budget.

    Enugu State

    Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi yesterday signed the state’s 2021 Appropriation Bill of N169.8 billion into law.

    The House of Assembly had, on December 29, 2020, passed the Bill, following its presentation for consideration on December 9, 2020, by the governor.

    The sum of N101.1 billion, representing 60 per cent of the budget, was earmarked for Capital Expenditure, while N68.7 billion, representing 40 per cent, was for Recurrent spending.

    Ugwuanyi said the 2021 budget would be judiciously implemented in a way that the people would be the ultimate beneficiaries.

    The governor hailed the Assembly for considering and passing the budget within a record time.

    Ugwuanyi said that he was optimistic that 2021 would be better for the people.

    Deputy Speaker Uche Ugwu, who presented the budget for assent, said the Assembly engaged the state’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) constructively during the budget defence.

    Abia State

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu signed the 2021 budget, christened: Budget of Local Contents and Sustainable Development, into law yesterday.

    The Bill, which was passed by the House of Assembly during the Tuesday plenary, was presented to the governor by the Clerk of the House, Sir John Pedro Irokansi.

    The governor endorsed the N131,852,752,000.00 budget, which comprises N69 billion for Capital Expenditure and N62.8 billion for Recurrent Expenditure.

    Ikpeazu had presented the budget to the state House of Assembly on December 7, 2020.

    The budget, which is 21.12 per cent higher than 2020 Appropriation Bill, comprises N62,624,512,000.00 Recurrent Expenditure and N69,191,240,000 Capital Expenditure.

    The governor explained that the budget was inspired by the quest to reinvent the Abia spirit of industry and ingenuity and stimulate industrialisation through the establishment of cottage industries in the 17 local government areas of the state.

    Kogi State

    Also, Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello signed the 2021 budget of N130 billion into law.

    The governor assured the residents that the implementation of the budget would lead to maximum positive impact on their lives.

    The governor recalled that the state government won a grant of $5 million from the World Bank over the state’s 2020 budget performance for the doggedness of his administration in implementing the budget.

    Bello said the doors of the state was opened to individuals who were interested in doing business assuring the people that the coming year would be that of progress, prosperity and good health.

    The Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning,  Asiwaju Idris revealed that while the state performed maximally in the implementation of its 2020 appropriations, he was optimistic that it  would meet the targeted 85% implementation next year.

    Nasarawa State

    Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule also signed the 2021 budget into law yesterday.

    The House of Assembly passed the N115,722,814,343.31  budget, which is slightly higher than the N112,923,174,543 he presented to the Assembly.

    At the signing of the budget into law at the Government House in Lafia, Sule promised to focus on agriculture, education, health, security, economic empowerment and general infrastructure in 2021.

    “…I have no doubt that we will continue to work together more closely towards the realisation of our common goals and the execution of people-oriented programmes and policies geared towards the development of the state.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt mounts pressure on states for COVID-19 action

    Fed Govt mounts pressure on states for COVID-19 action

    •‘Reopen all laboratories, isolation centres’

    •NMA cautions against schools reopening

     Yusuf Alli, Abuja

     

    WORRIED by the lethargy in states in spite of the resurgence of Coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Government is mounting pressure on state governments to take concrete steps to curtail its spread.

    It is bothered about the poor approach of the states and inconsistency in reaction to the National Response Plan on COVID -19 as enumerated by the Presidential Task Force (PTF).

    Apart from partially closing down their isolation centres, some states have not reported any infections in many weeks, an indication of low or no testing at all.

    It was gathered that most of the nation’s 90 laboratories in the states are not working optimally.

    But, there is a ray of hope for the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, following the donation of 100 cylinders of medical oxygen daily by Abuja Steel Mills. It plans to do so for the next three months.. The action is a response to the cry of lack of oxygen to treat critically ill patients

    According to investigation by our correspondent, the National Response to COVID has suffered setback in many states due to poor attitude and collapse of facilities.

    Although the Federal Government gave about N1billion to each state, some states have not been forthcoming in the campaign against COVID -19

    A member of the PTF said on Wednesday: “We have all the policies in place, we have assisted the states, but the situation report has shown that many states are paying lip service to this National Response.

    “We discovered that in some states, the governors are leading those defying COVID-19 protocols, either for political gains or for personal ego.

    “PTF chairman, Boss Mustapha, has opened up communication with the governors, including virtual meetings, on how to improve the National Response to COVID-19. Even at that, we have a governor who does not believe that COVID-19 pandemic is real.

    “Our dilemma is that at the federal level, we can draft policies, issue guidelines and protocols, but the bulk of the job is at the state level. We are mounting pressure on governors to save lives and take the national response against this pandemic more serious.

    “For instance, most of the 90 laboratories are in the states, but the way we are now, not up to 40 laboratories are working optimally.”

    Another PTF member said: “Some governors do not appreciate that health is on the Concurrent List. They think the battle against COVID-19 is that of the Federal Government alone.

    “We are being drawn back in some states while a few ones had been consistent in the battle against COVID-19. We are crying out because of the second wave, which might surge in January.

    “Whatever is being done at the state level has international implications. Don’t forget that the World Bank’s Board of Directors gave $114.28 financing to help Nigeria  to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19, with a specific focus on state level responses. We got $100 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and $14.28 million grant from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility.

    “It won’t help our image to get this cash without commensurate action by benefitting states. Above all, the health of the citizenry is more important.”

    The SGF on Tuesday alluded to the challenges being faced with states by the PTF.

    Read Also: Searching for water to prevent COVID-19

    He also spoke on the expectations of the PTF from the states.

    Mustapha said: “Data shows that despite the resources already made available to sub-national entities, testing is very low across States in varying degrees. This is not helping our National Response

    “Indeed, some states have not reported any infections in several weeks. Reports received also point to the fact that laboratories recently established in the States are not working optimally. You will recall that we moved from two laboratories to about 90 (Public & Private) located in all states of the Federation. “Their inability to function optimally has resulted in unacceptable level of delay in receiving results and pressure on the National Reference Labs.

    ”For the next three months, the FCT will have enough oxygen for treatment. This is why we are also strict in enforcing protocols so that patients will not grow beyond the facilities. We have set up mobile courts to try those violating guidelines. The penalty can be as much as N20,000 fines,” an official said.

    Also on Wednesday, President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Innocent Ujah, asked the Federal Government not to open schools now because of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Ujah gave the warning at a webinar by the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond.

    He said: “When the government wanted to reopen the schools, I cautioned that if the schools must be reopened, there must be necessary preparation to prevent the children from contracting the virus. One parent wrote the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 that I don’t want people to go to school and that I was being wicked.

    “Now, we all know better; a lot of children who sat for the last WASSCE were infected. Today, some corps members have also been infected. These are some of the things that could have been prevented if sufficient precautions were taken before reopening the schools.”

    He added: “Social distancing, in my opinion, has failed. Recall that during the campaign for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, everyone was falling over each other.

    “If you go to the marketplaces, social distancing protocol is not being observed. In that case, are we prepared? I think we need to do a lot of sensitization.

  • New Year: PDP hails Nigerians for their resilience

    New Year: PDP hails Nigerians for their resilience

     Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended the Nigerian people for their resilience in the face of excruciating economic hardship and frightening security situation that characterized the whole of 2020.

    It also hailed their resolve to stand by one another in the face of what it described as total failure of governance under the All Progressives Congress  (APC) led administration.

    In a New Year message signed by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said the ruling party has portrayed itself as a vehicle for power grabbing and treasury looting.

    The party urged Nigerians to go into Year 2021 with a renewed zeal in spite of the harrowing experiences of Year 2020.

    The PDP blamed the ruling party for the large scale bloodletting and excruciating economic hardship that plagued the country in the preceding year.

    It accused the administration of abandoning Nigerians to a life of misery at the mercy of looters, bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and vandals; while President Muhammadu Buhari, in whose hands Nigerians entrusted their fate, “hides” inside the Presidential villa.

    The PDP said: ‘It is lamentable that the APC has been in romance with killers and marauders, after destroying all modalities set up by the PDP administration, which had pushed the terrorists to the fringes by 2015.

    “Sadly, today, terrorists have become so emboldened by the failures of the APC to the extent of seizing communities, beheading our compatriots and even kidnapping over 600 schoolboys in Mr. President’s home state, Katsina, at the time his security machinery took over the state, where he had gone to holiday while our nation drifts.

    “Like an act in a tragedy series, Nigerians watched hopelessly, as a people without a leader, while the President of Chad, Idris Derby, personally led his troops into the Nigerian soil to liberate communities and Nigerians soldiers held captive by terrorists.

    “On the economy front, our compatriots exhibited resilience and persevered in the face of worst economic strangulation occasioned by unbridled looting by the APC leaders and officials of the Buhari administration, resulting in the wrecking of our naira, closure of millions of businesses, frightening unemployment rate, agonizing poverty and infrastructural collapse.

    “The attendant pressure on families resulted in a surge in suicide cases, slavery missions, divorces and buckled social life. There is hardly a family in Nigeria, under Buhari’s watch that does not bear the deep gash of insecurity or economic tragedy brought by the APC.

    Read Also: I resisted pressure to abandon PDP for APC, says Wike

    “Our compatriots were also subjected to the worst form of hardship as officials of the APC and those of the Buhari administration pillaged COVID-19 funds, leaving Nigerians at the mercy of the adverse effect of the pandemic”.

    The main opposition party further stated that governance has become a tool of suppression  under the present administration.

    It noted that human right abuses became the new normal and that Nigerian youths who tried to raise the consciousness of government to the suffering in the land were viciously subdued, stressing that not a few were allegedly murdered by the agents of the APC.

    “The aforementioned callous experiences notwithstanding, our party holds that as we march into the New Year, there must be a change of narrative for our dear nation.

    “We therefore call on Nigerians, having become fed up with the APC and the Buhari administration, to strengthen their bond of unity in our collectively patriotic resolve to rescue our nation from the stranglehold of misrule.

    “The PDP prays for our nation and urges all hands to be on the deck to ensure a happy and more peaceful 2021”.

     

  • Saving fishing jetties, terminals from collapse

    Saving fishing jetties, terminals from collapse

    The Federal Government has big plans to increase its total fish production. Nigeria is producing only 1.1 Metric Tonnes (MT) of fish, while the demand for fish in the country is 3.6 MT. But pressure from a global network of illegal and unsustainable fishing activities – and the inability to reverse collapsing fishing infrastructure – is weighing heavily against projected catch volumes. Hence, the government faces tall order to reform and expand the fisheries sector with dilapidated fishing jetties and terminals across the place, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

     

    FRESH fish is a protein source Nigerians crave. It is widely available and local. But the infrastructure to support commercial fishing which produces fresh fish is under threat. The rapid decline in marine resources has prompted concerns not only over future supplies of seafood and the nation’s dried fish breakfast but also about the communities that depend on fish to survive. In its current National Development Plan, the Federal Government is also anticipating to increase fish production.

    At the moment, Nigeria is producing only 1.1 Metric Tonnes (MT) of fish, while the total demand for fish in the country is 3.6 MT.

    Therefore, the situation calls for aggressive investment in fisheries to boost the economy and encourage export adding that the country is leaving a deficit of about 2.5MT to be bridged by importation. For watchers, the government’s fishery production target will require the launch of a modern fish farming industry. Aside from this, modern fishing vessels are expected to play an important role in expanding wild capture marine fish production in future as most fishermen currently rely on traditional fishing methods.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Sabo Nanono said following federal government’s effort to encourage local production, Nigeria may stop fish importation in 2022. The minister spoke while receiving a delegation from the National Fish Association of Nigeria (NFAN) led by its National President, Gabriel Ogunsanya, in Abuja.

    But the Federal Government’s ambitious goals are running against mounting obstacles hampering the growth of the nation’ fisheries sector.

    For example, the World Bank reported that West Africa fisheries, including Nigeria  have been seriously impacted by illegal fishing estimated at $100 million across the region.

    The report said the era of bountiful fishing in Nigeria waters was in steep decline, following high levels of illegal fishing, often from foreign vessels, and declining fish stock, as well as a lack of management and infrastructure.

    In addition to illegal fishing, many West African countries, lack the necessary fishing port infrastructure to allow industrial-scale fishing vessels to land their catch. Indeed, in some areas in Nigeria, industrial fishing for local processing has nearly collapsed.

    Collaborating ting this, many experts have linked to the stunted growth of the fisheries sector to the absence of well-equipped fishing jetties and inadequate repair and maintenance services.

    For instance, there have been calls for the government to take over Ebughu and Ibaka terminals in Mbo Council in Akwa State. The two fishing terminals were in existence before the creation of Akwa Ibom State in 1987. But successive governments at the state and federal levels reportedly paid little or no attention to the facilities. A lecturer in the Fisheries Department, University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Dr Mfon Udoh called for the taking over and reactivation of Ebughu Fishing Terminal and construction of more jetties by the state government to serve as an encouragement to fish farmers to operate at an optimal level.

    He attributed the dearth of standard jetties and storage facilities for boats to berth and preservation of fish as the militating factors for the high cost of fish and crayfish in the state.

    The Federal Government has promised to resuscitate the Ebughu fishing terminal. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Penang, said the Ebughu fishing terminal has fish processing, ship maintenance and dry dockyard facilities, promising to relate with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to ensure that vessels which have goods for the South-East and the South-South are diverted to the port.

    The SSA decried a situation in which fishing vessels from Europe came into the territorial waters of Nigeria and fish for prawns and all kinds of marine life, take them back to Europe and other countries, process them and send them back to Nigeria.

    He promised to draw the attention of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to the area so that the issue would be resolved once and for all.

    It is not only in Akwa Ibom that there are problems at most fishing jetties. Across the country as fishers confront lack of facilities such as a shelter as well as taps and toilets, making working conditions tougher. Some of the jetty’s wooden planks are broken. Currently, there are no modern fishing jetties in Warri, Koko and Sapele. Fishermen have been struggling to make a living due to dilapidated fish landing jetties and fishermen’s sheds. The fishing jetties were built on the foundation of commercial fishing. Fishing fleets provided harvested seafood to sustain the facilities.

    So far, commercial fishing in the Niger Delta has faced with the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to keep fishers and residents of fishing areas safe from attacks.

    Nanono

    Also, oil spills on a 27,000 square-mile region of swamps, creeks and mangrove forests in the Niger Delta region has added to the challenges of the fishing communities.

    In Sapele, community members now do their fishing outside of the river and streams which have become polluted because of oil drilling and associated activities.

    Fishing boats lay abandoned after years of oil spills. Pollution has ravaged the delta’s marine ecology, with a rapid decline in catches of fish, shrimp, crayfish and other species of aquatic life.

    Experts expressed concerns over the absence of safer transport and services to some fishing islands and strengthening the nation’s management of its fisheries.

    A Professor of Fishery Biology at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Udeme Enin, said the economy needed new jetties to improve the livelihoods of the fishers and attract increased economic activity in fishing.

    He said jetties will facilitate the landing of marine products by fishers in the industry, by providing deeper berthing and more working area for the fishing fleet.

    According to him, jetties are economic drivers in the marine sector, by meeting the requirements for fish landings.

    Enin, a member, Pan-African Fish and Fisheries Association (PAFFA), called on the government to concession the existing fishing jetties in Akwa Ibom and River states to competent private operators to support the sustainable management of fisheries and improve post-harvest practices.

    The fisheries expert said the industry needed state-of-the-art modern fishing ports with onshore processing facilities for value addition, modern landing sites/jetties that would facilitate not only the reduction of post-harvest losses but also improve general hygiene and safety conditions, especially for small scale fishers.

    To remain competitive, he said the economy needs fishing jetties and terminals to operate efficiently while remaining responsive to challenges shaping the industry.

    According to him, the fishing sector has not been able to make significant strides as some gaps and loopholes were still holding the country back from becoming a model for best practices.

    Lingering challenges

    Fisheries in Nigeria are in trouble, as they are in the rest of West Africa. Scaling up fishing jetties capacities are is a challenge. Central to these efforts is the risks and opportunities involved in investing in fishing infrastructure, along with needs for and potential sources of finance.

    Many of the fish landing platforms where fishermen’s boats could land their fish catch were constructed many years. Some are not too hygiene for fish processing and have poor cold storage facility. In some cases, the conditions of the fishing jetties expose fishers to hazards.

    Enin said the government established good jetties for handling, sorting, selling of fish.

    According to him, the conditions for better handling of fish had had an absolute priority in the planning of such facilities.

    Like other government projects, he noted that they were in a state where users cannot boast of an unbroken cool chain, controlled temperature and optimal logistics.

    In a standard fish jetty, he explained that the fish is handled under controlled hygiene and temperature conditions – from the sea to the transport to the market.

    Reports said most of the fishing jetties were dire need of an upgrade. In some cases, the sorting bays, processing rooms are in poor shape to encourage more users.

    As in other countries, he said privatisation of the fishing terminals will ensure the infrastructure remained competitive in the port network.

    Former Dean, Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Martins Anetekhai, stressed that fishing and fisheries-related activities are important sources of employment and job opportunities could grow if important fisheries resources are developed.

    According to him, efforts to boost fisheries development are critical to help promote the development of sustainable fishing and provide the necessary infrastructure to increase the supply of fishery products across the country.

    He said increasing fisheries development programmes would to boost socio-economic development among coastal fishing communities through encouraging the adoption of modern fishing technology and innovation.

    The Treasurer, National Fish Association of Nigeria(NFAN), Chibunna Ubawuike, said the association is already working on establishing fish hardware which will include cold rooms, jetties and other facilities to ensure availability of healthy fish all year round in the country. He further pointed out that plans were underway to collaborate with government to ensure that the fish villages were built across the country to ensure availability. A lot of fishing communities have faced enormous challenges in rebuilding the infrastructure. Years of neglect have affected the health of jetties and landing ports, cold storage facilities, boat repair and maintenance facilities, processing factories and markets.

    Yet analysts said small-scale fishing sector in Nigeria has not reached its full potential. The industry, they emphasised need support through investment, regulation, and control of its vessels, and respect for international law.

    Transforming fisheries into a dynamic, high-growth sector, according to Lagos Commissioner for Agriculture Ms Abisola Olusanya, is essential for the country to speed up recovery, poverty reduction and inclusive growth.

    Ms Olusanya reaffirmed his government’s commitment to seeing a revitalised, thriving fishing industry. She said the vision is a food-secure and resilient Lagos with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk.

    Several projects are in the pipeline to help raise fisheries productivity, resiliency and access to markets of farmers and fisherfolk in selected domains and improve management of coastal fishery resources in selected coastal communities.

    She said the ministry was collaborating with several stakeholders to expand the fishing industry, as there are ‘big plans’ in store for the sector.

    She noted that collaborations would soon see the fishing industry coming more to the forefront in building the state’s economy.

  • We have leaders at all levels, says Obi

    We have leaders at all levels, says Obi

    Our Reporter

     

    FORMER Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has urged Nigerians to shun ethnic, tribal and religious sentiments in the search for competent leadership.

    He advised that Nigerians should instead focus on competence and credibility when electing leaders into public offices.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain noted that the country has continued to suffer under the burden of poor leadership.

    Addressing reporters on Wednesday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, Obi said it would be deceitful to tell Nigerians that the country was getting better.

    He said the underlying severe economic conditions in the country aggravated the negative economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation, leaving the country in a severe economic recession.

    Read Also: Lagos taxi cab operators, firm unveil mobile app

    The former governor regretted that the outgoing year 2020 has been very challenging for Nigeria, with the nation taking the centre stage and being on the global news for the wrong reasons.

    Obi said: “A recent World Bank report shows that unless some urgent measures are taken, Nigeria’s economy will shrink further, pushing over 11 million people into poverty.

    “If the 11 million people join the already existing 98 million Nigerians living in poverty, then well over 50 per cent of the country would have been in poverty, a very catastrophic situation for the nation. What is more worrisome is that the majority of these people living in poverty are youths in their productive ages.”

     

     

     

  • El-Rufai demolishes building housing Kaduna Sex Party venue

    El-Rufai demolishes building housing Kaduna Sex Party venue

     AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

    The building housing the venue of the botched Kaduna Sex Party has been demolished by the Governor El-Rufai led government of Kaduna State.

    Officials of the Kaduna State Urban Planing Development Agency (KASUPDA) carried out the demolition exercise on Thursday.

    Speaking on the development, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the agency, Nuhu Garba said that the building located at Sabon Tasha on the outskirts of Kaduna metropolis was demolished based on the laws guiding the agency.

    Read Also: El-Rufai sacks 23 Education Secretaries, GM SCDA

    His words: “The law has vested the agency the power to demolish any building that contravenes the rights of occupancy.

    “For instance, if a residential building is turned into something other than the purpose it was meant, the law gives us the power to demolish such property especially if it’s against the public interest.”

    “We were in Narayi too to carry out a similar assignment. We are currently demolishing another building that promotes illicit acts.”

    Some of the organizers of the party are already cooling their feet in the custody of the Kaduna State Police Command. While one of them, who confessed to initiating the party told journalists that, it was supposed to be a party among friends and not meant to go public.

     

  • Troops rescue 23 in Katsina

    Troops rescue 23 in Katsina

    Our Reporter

     

    TROOPS of Operation Hadarin Daji have rescued 23 kidnapped victims comprising 18 women and five children in Katsina State, the Defence Headquarters has said.

    The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement, said the rescue operation took place on Tuesday at Wurma Village in Kurfi Local Government Area of the state.

    Enenche said the troop also recovered 75 rustled livestock during the operation.

    He said troops in conjunction with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force swiftly mobilised to the location following credible information on the bandits’ activities in the village.

    According to him, the troops engaged the bandits who had kidnapped some locals and rustled some livestock from Kwayawa Village in Safana Local Government Area.

    “With superior firepower and support by Nigerian Air Force helicopter gunship, the armed bandits were forced to abandon the kidnapped victims.

    “Consequently, troops rescued 18 women and five children as well as recovered 75 rustled livestock.

    “During the encounter, troops also arrested one informant of the bandits named, Mohammed Saleh along with some arms and ammunition.

    “The rescued kidnapped victims have been successfully reunited with their families and the recovered livestock handed over to the owners.

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    “The arrested bandits’ informant has been handed over to appropriate prosecuting agency for further action,” he said.

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has said the Nigerian Army will sustain the tempo of the ongoing fight against insurgency in the North-East.

    Buratai gave the assurance yesterday when he visited the Emir of Biu, Alhaji Mustapha Umar Mustapha, in his palace.

    He said the visit was part of his operational visits to the theatre of Operation Lafiya Dole to encourage the troops.

    According to him, the Nigerian Army is very much alive to its responsibilities and will continue to do its best to end terrorism and other security challenges facing the country.

    While commiserating with the people of the emirate council over the recent attacks by insurgents on some communities, Buratai said that the military had taken appropriate steps to address the menace.

    He commended the emirate for its support to the troops and urged the people to sustain it.

    Responding, the Emir praised the COAS and the Nigerian Army for the numerous developmental projects being executed in the emirate.

    The Birma of Biu, Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu, who spoke on behalf of the emir, said the establishment of the army university in Biu had created lots of employment opportunities for the youth.

    The emir, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the emirate would continue to support the army in prayers.

    “We do appreciate your kind gesture to our society and we remain grateful to you and rest assured that we would continue to pray for you,” he said.

  • A military torn between Boko Haram and COVID-19

    A military torn between Boko Haram and COVID-19

    As Nigerians demand more actions from the Armed Forces to end the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other heinous crimes ravaging the country, it is fighting a major war for survival, writes OKODILI NDIDI

    With over 26 Generals and other Commanding officers down with the dreaded COVID-19 virus, the Nigerian is torn between the counter insurgency war and the Coronavirus pandemic. The virus claimed the General Officer Commanding 6 Division Major-General Johnson Olu Irefin. He is believed to have contracted the virus while attending the annual Chief of Army Staff’s Conference in Abuja. There are growing concerns about the fate of top military officers and others who attended the conference.

    The Defence Headquarters said adequate measures have been taken to halt further spread of the virus among the personnel of the Armed Forces, there are concerns about the number of active cases among military officers.

    Part of the measures taken, according to a statement by the Acting Director Army Public Relations Brigadier-General Sagir Musa, include the fumigation of the Defence Headquarters, massive testing of officers and enforcement of COVID-19 protocols in all military Formations and Units.

    The Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major-General John Enenche, while assuring that the outbreak of the virus in the Armed Forces would not derail ongoing military operations, said the military was adequately prepared to fight the pandemic.

    All officers who attended the conference were asked to self-isolate, but how far can this measure go to check further spread of the virus remains to be seen. The drivers, aides and other close acquaintances of these officers also stand a great of contracting the deadly virus and spreading same.

    The fact that the hierarchy of the military is currently encumbered by the Boko Haram insurgency and may not give the required attention to the fight against the pandemic is enough reason to worry.

    A paltry 417 officers have so far undergone the COVID-19 test after the outbreak of the virus at the conference.

    Will the virus weigh down the military? Will it slow down its operations? Will it defer ongoing operations and how much is it prepared for this health emergency?

    Army spokesman Musa said: “All officers and soldiers working at the Army Headquarters are being tested, while COVID-19 protocols are being strictly enforced across all units and formations of the NA,” adding that “the entire Army Headquarters complex “was thoroughly fumigated on Saturday 12 December 2020.”

    At the outbreak of the pandemic in March, the military played visible role in the country’s coordinated effort against the virus. It unveiled 17 isolation and treatment centres across the country.

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    The isolation and treatment centres include the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, 2 Division Hospital, Ibadan, Military Hospital, Port Harcourt Navy Reference Hospital, Calabar and the Military Hospital, Benin.

    Others were the 211 Regiment Group Medical Centre, Owerri, 82 Division Military Hospital, Enugu, 161 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Makurdi, 22 Brigade Medical Centre, Ilorin, 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, 465 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Kano and the 263 Nigerian Air Force Reference Hospital, Daura.

    Also listed were 119 Composite Group Medical Centre, Sokoto, 261 Nigerian Air Force Reference Hospital, Bauchi, 163 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Yola, 7 Division Military Hospital, Maiduguri and 27 Task Force Brigade Field Ambulance, Damaturu.

    According to Gen. Enenche, the donation of the centres confirms the level of preparedness of the Nigerian Military in support of the Federal Government of Nigeria towards tackling the COVID 19 pandemic.

    A committee headed by the Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Major General Leo Irabor, was also set up to interface with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government  managing the COVID 19 pandemic.

    “Further to this, a good number of Armed Forces of Nigerian medical personnel have been earmarked to be trained on the management of COVID 19 cases, which will done in liaison with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC),” Gen. Enenche told Defence Correspondents.

    He continued: “In the same vein, about 48 Disaster Response Units of the Armed Forces of Nigeria are on notice to move in conjunction with NEMA. These units will handle operations other than medicals that may arise in the course of this non-kinetic military operation”.

    The big question now is: Can this preparedness of the military come handy now that it is hit by the virus?