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Tag: Cross River

  • ‘Cross River praying for Buhari’s quick recovery’

    ‘Cross River praying for Buhari’s quick recovery’

    Cross River State people and the government have been praying for quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari so that he could return to the country to continue doing the work for which he was elected, Governor Ben Ayade said yesterday.

    In his Eid-el-Fitr message, Ayade congratulated the President and the Muslim Ummah, adding that the people were more encouraged by the message that underscored the celebration to pray for the President.

    He said: “As we celebrate the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, which is a commemoration of God’s word in the Holy Qur’an to Prophet Mohammed, we in Cross River join our teeming Muslim brothers and sisters in our fervent prayers for our President’s speedy recovery and a quick and safe return to continue the diligent and focused stewardship of the country.

    “We pray God imbue our dear President with the strength, wisdom and long life to accomplish his vision of making Nigeria a truly organic society.”

    Ayade said the 30 days of soul purification and spiritual engagement embarked on by Muslim faithful should spark a fire of tolerance, understanding and mutual respect among the citizenry in the country,  irrespective of tribe or religion.

    “As we come together after 30 days of sacrifice through fasting, to celebrate the Eid-il-fitr, let me use the occasion to call for a demonstration of love, peace, understanding and mutual respect for all that humanity represents.

    “It is important for every Muslim and non-Muslim alike, to seek the face of God in prayer and be the promoter of peace which the society needs at this challenging times we have found ourselves as a nation.

    “The moral lesson after the last 30 days is that we should emphasize issues that will strengthen us as a people and eschew hate and bigotry,” the statement read.

  • Cross River: Youths storm police station to free suspect, snatch rifle from policeman

    SOME youths from Oku Community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, allegedly stormed the divisional police station in the area at about 11pm on Thursday to release a suspect that was arrested by the police. The suspect, it was learnt, was one of their members.

    They also allegedly snatched a rifle from a policeman in the process. It was gathered that the arrest of the said suspect followed a lingering crisis in the Boki Oil Palm Estate where some aggrieved youths from one of the landlord communities of the estate refused to work with one Mr. Macthomy Agan, whom the state governor, Ben Ayade gave control of the estate.

    It was learnt that following the crisis, a number of youths from Oku, one of the landlord communities, were rounded up and brought to the state police command in Calabar for causing mayhem in the area. Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, said a team of officers from the intelligence unit of the command had been dispatched in search of a rifle that was snatched from one of his men. He said the perpetrators and those fomenting trouble in the area would be brought to book.

    Agan, who is a Special Adviser on Infrastructure to Ayade, said he was given the mandate to manage the estate by the state governor. “Some youths and elders from Oku and other communities who usually owned more than five plots in the estate are now aggrieved because the new policy of `one man one plot’ does not favour them anymore.

    “We are working hard to revive this estate and to generate more revenue for the state government.I have called all the youths and elders from the four landlord communities to support me in restoring peace in the estate but to no avail. “I thank God that the police and other security agencies are currently on the ground and doing their work in arresting all those causing violence here,’’ he said.

  • ‘Cross River’ll insure its assets, investments’

    ‘Cross River’ll insure its assets, investments’

    •Partners brokers

    CROSS  River State Governor Benedict Ayade has promised to insure the state’s investments and assets.

    Ayade made the pledge while declaring open the Chief Executive Officers Retreat of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Calabar at the weekend.

    The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tina Agbor, assured the NCRIB of the  government’s patronage in insuring its numerous assets and investments.

    The governor said the state   would partner the brokers to ensure the attainment of their asociation’s objectives.

    He said: “We fully understand the critical importance of insurance to all of our developmental goals and while creating the enabling environment for businesses and other forms of investment to thrive, we shall key in appropriately by taking up insurance policies to cover our investments across the state.

    “As decision makers and managers of critical sector of our national economy, I charge the Council to come up with strategies that will enhance policy consistency and sustainability in the insurance sub- sector as this is key to multi-sectoral development.”

    The governor urged the Council to come up with more proactive measures that would tackle the problems of insurance in the country.

    Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Alhaji Mohammed Kari, enjoined the Council to use the opportunity provided by the retreat to brainstorm on modalities to tackle the poor acceptance of insurance products among the Nigerians.

    According to him, NAICOM and NCRIB are partners in ensuring insurance penetration. He decried the attitude of Nigerians to insurance products, especially the six compulsory ones.

    The Commissioner, represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Technical, Sunday Thomas, urged insurance brokers to improve on service delivery to reduce the gap by creating more intermediaries.

    “The Commission would partner the Cross River State Government and other state governments to ensure the enforcement of compulsory insurances. NAICOM would also appreciate contributions on how to move the industry forward,” he said.

    President of the Council, Kayode Okunoren, said the choice of the retreat’s theme, ‘Possibilities, possibilities, possibilities’ was apt in view of the challenges facing the nation and its economy.

    Okunoren noted that the indices available revealed that the  economy was gradually coming out of recession.

    However, he stressed that the  state of the economy had been described as the most terrible in the last 25 years.

    ‘’The significant improvement in foreign exchange liquidity is an indication of serious commitment to national economic growth. Our take, therefore, is that the country must see the recent experience as a learning curve in our national economic management,’’ he added.

  • Cross River: Hoodlums vandalise APC secretariat

    Suspected political hoodlums yesterday vandalised the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Obudu Local Government Area, Cross River State, which was to serve as the venue for an awards/recognition ceremony and meeting for members of the party in the state.

    This was as the party was denied the use of the public civic centre and public centres for the meeting even after payment.

    A party stalwart said they had paid for the civic centre, but the manager of the place had called on the eve to the meeting to say that following “orders from above”, they could no longer give out the place to the APC and refunded the money.

    Efforts to get other venues after that also proved abortive as the operators also claimed they were directed not to release the venue to the party.

    Obudu, in the Northern Senatorial District of the state and about five hours drive away from Calabar, the state capital, is the local government area of the state governor, Prof Ben Ayade.

    After the party finally resorted to use its secretariat premises where it would set up canopies, unknown hoodlums attacked the place in the wee hours of Saturday, destroying the party’s banners and smashing the windows of the building.

    South-South National Vice Chairman of the APC, Ntufam Hilliard Eta, who was in Obudu for the event, said the party would not be deterred by the development.

  • Senate committee expresses reservation over proposed transportation university

    Senate committee expresses reservation over proposed transportation university

    The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts on Thursday in Abuja expressed reservation over the plan by the Chinese Government to establish a university of transportation  for Nigeria.

    The committee members made their position known during discussions on the omission of the Eastern rail corridor  in the 2016-2018 external borrowing  plan.

    Sen. Philip Gyunka, the Vice-Chairman of the committee, said instead of building new universities, the faculties of engineering in existing institutions could be upgraded to perform in various transport capacities.

    “Rather than establishing a new university, why not look at the competences that exist in our existing structures and build them up?,

    “We have enough universities already. It is better we look at quality and not quantity adding to the rate of unemployed graduates,“  Gyunka said.

    He said that the Maritime Academy, Oron, Cross River,  could  serve the same purpose for training Nigerians on special transport fields.

    Sen. Enyinaya Abaribe said instead of building a new university just to train Nigerians on rail maintenance, they could be sent abroad for training.

    He said that the Chinese Government could not be building a transport university free as they were not philanthropists.

    “Nigeria railways have been in existence for so many years and was run without building a new university, we want you to look at this matter again.

    “The reason that we have engineering departments and faculties in universities is so that if you have funding you can take them abroad. Why won’t you upgrade them?

    “Why must we set up another brand new university? It doesn’t in any way enhance people.

    “What is the Nigeria Railway Corporation doing?

    “We have good engineering students in Lagos, in Zaria that can be trained, the Chinese Government are not doing us any favour, the university cannot be free and they are not Father Christmas,“ Abaribe said.

    However, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, said that there was no issue if the committee  wanted the idea of the university of transportation  dropped.

    Amaechi said that the Chinese Government had agreed to build the university free to train Nigerians that would continue to run the rail lines.

    “You will agree with me that the quality of education is very low and we are not spending anything to establish this university.

    “It is the contractor and the Chinese Government that will establish this university.

    “They will import the teachers, who will teach and grow knowledge, the graduates of that school will become teachers.

    “This university is not a university for engineering alone, it is a university of transportation that will deal with railway transportation, aviation and maritime, we are looking at two universities, it will be a specialised university.“

    He said that the Chinese Government would train  Nigerians free before handing over the rail projects.

  • Recovered 4,555 national ID cards: INEC staff gave us – Witness

    Recovered 4,555 national ID cards: INEC staff gave us – Witness

    The police in Cross River on Monday arrested four suspected thieves for unlawful possession of 4,555 National Identity cards and 21 others who committed various offences, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, said.

    Inuwa, who made the development known when he addressed newsmen in Calabar on Tuesday, said the suspects were arrested by personnel of the Police Command in Cross on May 19.

    He said the suspected identity card thieves were arrested at a location on Eyo-Edem Street in Calabar following a tip-off.

    The commissioner explained that after a thorough search on the suspects, 4,555 National Identity cards bearing different names were found on them.

    Upon interrogation, the four suspects confessed that one Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff gave the cards to them. All the four suspects confessed to the crime and investigation is on-going in order to arrest the alleged INEC staff

    The commissioner said that the command also arrested three suspected armed robbers on May 2, shortly after they allegedly robbed Solomon Alfred of his N380,000 and three mobile phones.

    “On May 2, our men arrested three suspected armed robbers who had robbed Solomon Alfred of his N380,000 and his three mobile phones.

    “Also on May 13, our men arrested a student of the University of Calabar for being in possession of fake currencies.

    “During interrogation, the suspect claimed that a friend of his that resides at Uyo gave him the fake currencies.

    “Investigation is on-going to unravel the truth of the matter and arrest his accomplices to ascertain the source/distributor of these fake currencies,” he said.

    The police also arrested three suspected manufacturers of firearms on May 19, the commissioner said.

    He also said  the police recovered five locally made pistols; six locally made single barrel guns, one locally made single barrel long gun, among others.

    “During the period under review, the state police command has arrested 25 suspects for various offences.

    “We recovered five AK 47 rifles, seven magazines and 200 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, one battle axe, eight live cartridges, among others,” he said.

  • Police arrest four suspects with 4,555 National Identity cards

    Police arrest four suspects with 4,555 National Identity cards

    The police in Cross River on Monday arrested four suspected thieves for unlawful possession of 4,555 National Identity cards and 21 others who committed various offences, the Commissioner of Police,  Mr Hafiz Inuwa, said.

    Inuwa, who made the development known when he addressed  newsmen in Calabar on Tuesday, said the suspects were arrested by personnel of the Police Command in Cross on May 19.

    He said the suspected identity card thieves were arrested at a location on Eyo-Edem Street in Calabar following a tip-off.

    The commissioner explained that after a thorough search on the suspects, 4,555 National Identity cards bearing different names were found on them.

    “Upon interrogation, the four suspects confessed that one Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff gave the cards to them.

    “All the four suspects confessed to the crime and investigation is on-going in order to arrest the alleged INEC staff,” he said.

    The commissioner said that the command also arrested three suspected armed robbers on May 2, shortly after they allegedly robbed Solomon Alfred of his N380,000 and three mobile phones.

    “On May 2, our men arrested three suspected armed robbers who had robbed Solomon Alfred of his N380,000 and his three mobile phones.

    “Also on May 13, our men arrested a student of the University of Calabar for being in possession of fake currencies.

    “During interrogation, the suspect claimed that a friend of his that resides at Uyo gave him the fake currencies.

    “Investigation is on-going to unravel the truth of the matter and arrest his accomplices to ascertain the source/distributor of these fake currencies,” he said.

    The police also arrested three suspected manufacturers of firearms on May 19, the commissioner said.

    He also said  the police recovered five locally made pistols; six locally made single barrel guns, one locally made single barrel long gun, among others.

    “During the period under review, the state police command has arrested 25 suspects for various offences.

    “We recovered five AK 47 riffles, seven magazines and 200 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, one battle axe, eight live cartridges, among others,” he said.

  • Osinbajo commends SON on ease of doing business

    Osinbajo commends SON on ease of doing business

    The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has commended the efforts of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for promoting the Federal Government’s initiative on the “Ease of doing Business”.

    Osinbajo gave the commendation in a statement issued by Mr Bola Fashina, the Head of Public Relations of SON in Abuja on Saturday.

    The acting president spoke at the recent Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic held in Calabar on Friday.

    Osinbajo said: “I know this is a new SON ready to go, a business facilitator and not one that hinders business”.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari recently established the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PBEC.

    The aim is to review and address all encumbrances in the “Ease of Doing Business’’ which includes movement of people and goods in and out of the country, transparency in government, regulations, and registering business among others.

    Fashina said the Director-General of SON, Mr Osita Aboloma, who also spoke at the event, said the organisation was saddled with the responsibility of providing  relevant Nigerian Industrial standards as benchmark for quality of products and services offered in Nigeria.

    Aboloma, represented by Mr Don Pedro, the Coordinator of SON in Cross River, said that other mandates include the promotion of quality assurance, accurate testing and measurement regimes for trade and commerce to thrive in Nigeria.

    “Great emphasis is placed on the grooming of budding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, using the instrument of standardisation.

    “This is to support the industrialisation efforts of the government as well as promote consumer safety,’’ Aboloma said.

  • Navy needs $250m to refit NNS ARADU

    The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Ibok-Ette Ibas, says the Nigerian Navy needs 250 million dollars to refit its war ship, NNS ARADU, for maritime operations.

    Ibas, however, told journalists at the navy’s 61stanniversary celebrations in Lagos on Thursday that refitting NNS ARADU was not an option for now.

    “To refit NNS ARADU, the nation would need over 250 million dollars and that is not what the navy can afford for now.

    “We desire to have the ship at sea but as soon as the navy is properly funded, we should be able to refit that vessel and have it at sea,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NNS ARADU is one of the three ships in the world with capabilities for simultaneous anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

    The ship also has capability for electronic warfare and naval fire support.

    Ibas said that the Federal Government had provided a lot for the navy but the navy still needed more.

    “We all understand that the navy is an important service that protects the nation’s maritime resources and needs to be given special consideration.

    “A lot has been provided for the navy in a certain way so we have to work out other strategies to ensure that we are able to carry out our mandate,” he said.

    According to him, the nation has faced a lot of ups and downs following series of attacks on national security infrastructure in the last few years.

    “The consequences of which resulted to the drop in the nation’s revenue coming from oil but it was perfectly restored and we were able to contain the menace with the dedicated taskforce.

    “To that extent, we have been able to provide the needed security at sea and we were able to contain the menace of militants and keep them away.

    “This is in addition to the dialogue initiated by the Federal Government.

    “You are also conversant with the issue of piracy, which the navy has been able to contain with our credible presence at sea,” he said.

    Ibas added that in the last two years, the navy got some boats which were inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “This is in addition to various infrastructural logistics and welfare to the officers and men,” the CNS said.

    The CNS condemned the bloody clash between navy and police men in Cross River, stating that the incident was being probed to bring the perpetrators to book.

     

  • Gunmen abduct Hit Fm CEO in Calabar

    Gunmen abduct Hit Fm CEO in Calabar

    A former Commissioner for Information in Cross River, Mr Patrick Ugbe, has been abducted for by some unidentified gunmen.

    Ugbe, who is currently the Managing Director of Hit Fm 95.9, was said to have been kidnapped at about 8.20 p.m. on Thursday night at Ekpo Iso Street, Ikot Ansa, Calabar.

    An eye witness, Mr Ekpo Abasi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Ugbe was kidnapped by five unidentified gunmen who stormed the area in a Toyota Camry car.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident.
    “We are aware of the incident. The case has been reported to us.
    “We have dispatched our men and those from the Intelligence Department to hunt for the kidnappers and rescue the victim safely,’’ she said.

    Aside being Information Commissioner, Ugbe also served as Chief Press Secretary and Commissioner for Youth and Sports in the eight-year tenure of Sen. Liyel Imoke as governor of the state.