The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Christmas celebration

  • Xmas: Price of children wears soars in Benin

    Ahead of the Yuletide season, prices of children wears is sky rocketing in Benin, Edo. The report said that apart from the increase in prices of children clothes, many women now buy fairly used clothes also known as `gbogbo’ or second hand clothes at bend down boutiques.

    A visit to some children shops at Ekiosa, Oba, Uselu and Egor markets on Thursday showed that majority of people now buy more of the gbogbo clothes that were not expensive.

    Mrs Alice Ehigiator, who sells children clothes, attributed the high cost to the upcoming Christmas celebration.
    She said a trouser and shirt for a baby boy which used to be N6,000 in 2017 now sells for N8,500.

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    Madam Cecilia Urewu, another trader in child wears, said majority of cloth sellers no longer buy new clothes because of the high cost.
    According to her, the prevailing market situation and the Yuletide season are also factors that contributed to the increase.

    “This year, I could not buy clothes for my children so I decided to buy `gbogbo’ which will last for long and more durable.
    “At the moment, everything is expensive, not only clothes,’’ she said.

    A customer, Ms Tina Lacoja, attributed the non-availability of customers in the market to the fact that clothes were too expensive.
    According to Tina, majority of customers no longer buy new clothes, because when they think of the cost they tend to go for a first grade gbogbo.
    She noted that the price of children wears would increase more in December due to the Christmas celebration.

    NAN

  • Customers beseech banks, ATMs, markets in Aba, Umuahia

    Customers beseech banks, ATMs, markets in Aba, Umuahia

    Customers of various commercial and financial institutions in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State on Friday trooped out in their numbers to perform one commercial transaction or the other.

    Our reporter who visited various banks in Aba and Umuahia, the state capital on Friday reports that a lot of people came to their banks to pay in and to also make withdrawals ahead of the Christmas celebration and Monday and Tuesday’s public holiday announced by the federal government.

    Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in Aba, Umuahia and their environs also witnessed huge queue as many who could not enter into the bank waited for several hours before they could succeed as those who could not wait for their turn to reach left angrily to return at night or early hours of Saturday when the crowd would have gone down.

    Some of the customers including Mr. Ginikanwa Chiawolamoke told our reporter that he was at the bank to carry business transaction which he was supposed to perform on Monday.

    According to Chiawolamoke, “I came to pay money into the account of my customer who will deliver goods to me by next week. So, in order to avoid disappointment from him, I decided to pay in the money today because banks will not be working on Monday and Tuesday and this is the season of the kind of business that I am doing. If I didn’t pay in the money today, another person will do that and the goods will be supplied to the person”.

    A staff of one of the commercial banks along Aba-Owerri road, Aba said that they are used to the rush and stated that they were doing all they could to ensure that their customers leave the bank satisfactorily.

    She added that efforts have equally been concluded to ensure that there would be cash in their ATMs for customers to withdraw.

  • Obaseki tasks Nigerians on love at Xmas Carol Concert 

    Obaseki tasks Nigerians on love at Xmas Carol Concert 

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has called on Nigerians to uphold virtues of peace, share good tidings and express love among themselves during the Christmas celebration.

    The governor said this at the maiden edition of the Governor’s Carol Concert held at Government House, in Benin City, on Wednesday night.

    Obaseki said the concert would be held annually in the life of his administration, adding that there was so much to be thankful to God for in 2017 and expressed optimism that 2018 would be a fruitful year.

    Present at the concert were the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Rev. Felix Omobude, the Edo State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Bishop Oyonnude Kure; Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, (UNIBEN), Prof. Friday Orumwense and other government functionaries.

    Earlier in the day, the wife of the governor, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, organised a Christmas party for less-privileged children in the state.

    Mrs Obaseki said the society can only be a better place when people learn to show love to one another, especially to the less-privileged.

    The First Lady said she was inspired to organise the party because she plans to bring the less- privileged children to the same social pedestal with their privileged counterparts.

    She said, though this is coming during the Christmas period, showing love and kindness especially, to the less privileged should not be restricted to a particular season of the year.

    The kids, numbering over 350, were randomly selected from schools in three local government areas within Benin City metropolis.

    The party featured dance competition, gift presentation and many more.

    Also present at the event were wives of the Deputy Governor, Maryam Shuaibu and other top government functionaries.

  • Blackout mars Christmas celebration in Lagos

    Blackout mars Christmas celebration in Lagos

    Scores of Lagos residents celebrated the Christmas in darkness, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    NAN’s visits to Mile 12, Ketu, Ojota, Maryland, Palm Grove, Onikpanu, Bariga, Lagos Island, Oshodi/Isolo, Apapa, Munshi, Iyana Oworo neighbourhoods of Lagos showed that the areas had been experiencing a blackout since December 25.

    Some of the residents decried the failure of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to supply stable electricity under the privatised arrangement.

    Mr Ayo Adeyinka, a resident of Mushin, said the privatisation of the power sector had not been beneficial despite government’s efforts to make things work.

    “We have never seen it like this before. There was light on Dec. 24, although it was on and off till 7am on Christmas Day.

    “Since that time, till this morning, we have not seen light in any part of this area,” he said.

    A resident of Ketu, Mr Sunday Olarewaju, noted that the PHCN management had not explained the reason for blackout.

    “We do not know if PHCN workers are on strike or not. In our usual way, we have checked the transformers but there is no sign that a major fault was responsible for the blackout,” he said.

    Olarewaju said the residents’ representatives were planning to go to the nearest PHCN office to demand an explanation.

    Mr Adeloju Shokoya, a resident of Lagos Island, regretted that he and his family had a “harrowing experience celebrating Christmas without electricity.”

    He added: “If there is light, you will not meet most of us outside; we would have been somewhere else watching movies or football matches.

    “I have been on generator since Christmas Day with the hope that the PHCN would restore electricity. Till this morning, we have not seen the normal flash of light they give us sometimes.”

    Another Lagos Island resident Adetola Williams said the people would continue to enjoy themselves, whether there was light or not.

    Williams said: “PHCN or no PHCN, man must enjoy himself. We were outside yesterday, drinking; we used generators to power our musical sets to enjoy ourselves.

    “From the look of things, we may do the same again today because I don’t understand this PHCN problem anymore.

    “You know, they do what they like. But they cannot spoil our enjoyment and merriment.”

    When NAN visited some PHCN district offices in Ketu, Lagos Island and Fadeyi, security men were on duty.

    However, NAN gathered from the security men that the workers were not on strike.

    They were not certain if a major fault was responsible for the blackout.