The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Edo

  • Obaseki streamlines policies, initiatives on open data

    The Edo State Government has commenced capacity building for Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA) to provide investors with a seamless access to government data to further improve the ease of doing business in the state.

    Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Investment Promotion, Mr. Kelvin Uwaibi, said the initiative is part of the state government’s vision to improve the ease of doing business by providing a one-stop portal for investors to access government information relating to their investment.

    He said Edo will host the Nigeria Investment Certification Programme for State (NICPS) on Tuesday, January 29, to galvanise stakeholders in various MDAs to respond effectively to enquires on investment.

    In a chat with journalists, Uwaibi  noted that the stakeholders’ meeting between the MDAs and the Investment Promotion Office will focus on certification to ensure that civil servants are able to respond to enquiries from local and foreign investors, and get them to invest in the state.

    According to him, “For example, what are the opportunities available in the state? We want civil servants to be able to sell the state in a structured manner to investors and show that we are ready for investment. They should also show that we have opportunities in terms of buildings and sites that the investors can also leverage on in the state,” he added.

    Uwaibi said the process of providing investors with access to data on their investments “started few months ago with the MDAs. We want the MDAs to be able to provide answers to investors’ enquiries accurately when they are approached and there should be that synergy between the Investment Promotion Office and the MDAs so that there is no miscommunication in terms of what we as a state are offering to investors.”

    He added that the state is building a data bank, “which would also fit into the open data portal that the Governor has agreed to develop, and will be open to investors to access data relating to investment opportunities in the state.”

     

  • One die, others injure in Edo tanker explosion

    One person has been confirmed dead while two others were injured in a fire incident caused by explosion from a tanker carrying diesel.

    The dead victim was the yet- to- be identified driver of the tanker.

    He was said to be trapped and engulfed inside the tanker before help could reach him.

    The fire was said to have occurred along the Benin-Lagos road at about 5am when the tanker fell and spilled its contents while attempting to avoid a collision with a Mercedes Benz wagon car loaded with bags of rice driving against traffic.

    Prompt arrival of Fire Service men from different stations help to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.

    Read Also: Abule-Egba pipeline explosion, hell of our own making

    The accident caused heavy traffic congestion and increased transport fare as commuters were made to pay N150 instead of N100 from New Benin area to Ugbowo.

    Edo Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, who was at the scene of the accident, said drivers should always obey traffic rules.

    “From what I have been told here, somebody was driving against traffic and that is what has resulted to this accident.

    “We should maintain our lanes and the immediate thing we have to do here now, is to first evacuate and check the essence of damage and the government will take it from there.

    “But I think we need a lot of public enlightenment programmes to educate our commuters on how to obey traffic rules and also stop moving against traffic because that is what I was told caused this accident”, he said.

    Chairman of Egor Local Government Area, Ms. Eghe Ogbemudia said she arrived the scene at about 5:30am

    “The fire service from the different locations have really helped us.

    “I just want to use this opportunity to advise our road users mostly our drivers to stop driving on one-way because that is what caused this accident.

    “Somebody was driving in the opposite direction when this truck was coming and the truck man lost control, that is what the eye witnesses said,” she said.

    Assistant Corp Commandant of the Federal Road Safety Corp, (FRSC) Sabina Musa, said the tanker wanted to avoid a head-on collusion but lost control as he tried to swerve.

    “And if you see the direction of the vehicle, you will know that a lot of things are wrong with both drivers and this accident could be avoided but it has happened, the driver of the vehicle was trapped.

    “The number of persons involved in the accident are three, all male adults. Two were taken to the hospital but one is dead. The one that is trapped inside the tanker vehicle,” she said.

  • Breaking: Tanker explosion kills many in Edo

    About 13 vehicles were on Friday morning burnt while many persons razed to death in a fire resulting from a tanker explosion in front of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).

    The fuel laden tanker was said to have exploded after a collision with a truck and a commercial bus.

    Men of the Edo State Fire Service were said to have arrived the scene to out the fire.

    Sources said the fire started at about 5:30am and was still burning as at press time.

    More details later…..

  • NAMA inuagurates landing equipment

    THE Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA)  has inaugurated the Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Benin Airport in the Edo State capital.

    Speaking at a meeting with workers at the agency’s headquarters annex in Ikeja,  Lagos, NAMA’s Managing Director Capt. Fola Akinkuotu said this was in fulfilment of a   pledge by the agency to upgrade navigational infrastructure in strategic airports across the country to boost socio-economic activities in such areas.

    Akinkuotu announced that the agency has equally inaugurated the ILS at Port Harcourt Airport, damaged by an aircraft last year. He said that the flight inauguration, handled by Omni-Blue Aviation Limited indicated that the new landing equipment were operating at optimal capacity.

    He hinted that installation of CAT II ILS would start soon at Maiduguri, Jos and Minna airports.

    Capt. Akinkuotu informed the workers that in line with management’s objective to maintain a healthy and productive workforce, the agency had concluded plans to enroll NAMA into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the next two months.

    He assured them that the contentious issue of review of Condition of Service (COS) was being treated and would soon be concluded by the government.

    The NAMA boss expressed gratitude to management and workkers of the agency for their  support and cooperation in tha past two years.

  • Police hunt for couples who bought sisters stolen from Edo

    Men of the Edo State Police Command have launched manhunt for the couples who bought two sisters stolen from Utese village in Ovia North East local government area.

    The police have deployed its men to Enugu State and Portharcourt in search of the couples.

    Both sisters aged four and six and identified as Christabel and Amanda were reportedly sold to the different couples for N500,000 each.

    They were stolen by two girls, Rose and Mary, who rented an apartment in their resident at Utese village.

    Their mother left them in the care of the two girls while she went to the stream to get water.

    Police sources said Mary has since been arrested but the whereabout of Rose is unknown.

    It was learnt that the sisters were first sold to a woman identified as Joy in Agbor.

    Joy was arrested in Onitsha and she confessed to have sold the children to one Ruth Eze, a 58-year old woman based in Onitsha.

    The police source said Ruth sold one of the children to somebody living at Ogwashi-Uku while the other was sold to a couple at a Catholic Church in Enugu State through one Mrs. Favour Uju.

    A police team that visited Ogwashi-Uku discovered that the women that bought one of the sisters has died but had already sold the girl to a couple in Portharcourt.

    It was also learnt that police investigators have taken the suspects to some Catholic churches in Enugu but the suspects could not identify who they sold the girl to.

    Parents of the stolen siblings have parted ways since the incident happened last year.

    A family source said they were confused as to how the police would recover the sisters.

    Father of the children, Spark Omokpia, said he would do anything to ensure his children returned to him.

  • Obaseki celebrates with Godwin Abbe at 70

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has led other members of the state’s Executive Council to felicitate with Maj. Gen. Godwin Osagie Abbe (Rtd.) as he celebrates his 70th birthday.

    In a sermon titled ‘The Grace of God’ drawn from the Bible book, 1st Corinthians 15:10, delivered at the thanksgiving service to mark the birthday, at the United Baptist Mission in Benin City, Primate of the United Baptist Mission of Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Dr. Osama Usuanlele described the retired Army General as a man that has been guided by God’s grace throughout his life.

    The Primate added that Maj. Gen. Abbe is full of human kindness and has not misused power to oppress the downtrodden, noting, “He is dependable, a good and selfless man who touches lives. He loves God and has done so much for the body of Christ. I urge you to continue in the Lord as you celebrate 70 years today, may God add more years to your age to enable you to do more for humanity.”

    Read Also: PDP accuses Obaseki of defrauding farmers in Edo

    Rt. Rev. Usuanlele commended governor Obaseki for finding time out of his busy schedule to felicitate with the celebrant. He extolled the leadership style of Obaseki who he described as a servant governor.

    He noted that the governor has used power with purpose and has continued to impact on the lives of Edo people through various developmental projects that have impacted positively on the people and contributed to the development of the state.

    Abbe, who was enlisted into the Nigerian Army in 1967, was military governor of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. He served as Minister of Interior and Defence and Chairman of the Amnesty Planning Committee under the late President Umaru Yar’adua Administration.

  • Obaseki inaugurates Advisory Committee for Health Improvement Programme

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has inaugurated the Edo Healthcare Improvement Programme (HIP) Advisory and Steering Committee, charging members to ensure sustainability of the programme.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the committee at Government House in Benin City, the state capital, the governor said, “Our emphasis is on the sustainability of the programme because we want to have a healthcare system that goes on forever within the limits of financial, social and environmental resources.”

    He charged members of the Advisory and Steering Committee to come up with modalities on how the challenges confronting the state’s health sector could be tackled, drawing from their professional expertise.

    “We have so many issues to deal with in our healthcare system, which include the payment for healthcare services, data gathering mechanism, getting Universal Health Coverage and health regulations,” he noted.

    He said the Edo HIP Programme should be structured in such a way that would allow for diversity and flexibility to accommodate all persons irrespective of status, level of income and location.

    Read Also: Obaseki celebrates with Godwin Abbe at 70

    He also charged the committee to come up with modalities to get people to key into the programme and improve access to qualitative healthcare.

    “Healthcare is not cheap because medical equipment is expensive. So, if we need quality healthcare service, we have to get people to pay for it.”

    The Edo HIP Advisory and Steering Committee is made up of three sub-committees, namely; Primary Health Care Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. Julie Erhabor; the Secondary Health Care Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. Patrick Okundia, and the Health Financing Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr Alex Okoh.

    Responding on behalf of the Edo-HIP Advisory and Steering Committee members, Dr. Erhabor thanked the governor for the opportunity given them to serve.

    She also assured of the committee members’ commitment to live up to the confidence reposed in them.

  • ADP begins ward-to-ward campaigns in Edo

    The Action Democratic Party ( ADP ) is to kick start its ward-to-ward campaigns across the three Senatorial Districts of Edo on Monday.

    The party’s candidate for the Edo-South Senatorial district, Mr Ese Owie, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Benin on Wednesday.

    Owie, who said that the ADP was poised to win all the available elective positions in the state during the impending general elections, stressed that the people have shown a readiness to change the existing order.

    According to him, “The people of Edo State now have a renewed determination to do away with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives’ Congress (APC).

    “They have now come to see a better choice in our party, the ADP, a party that has come to change their fortunes for the better.’’

    The ADP candidate noted that the essence of the ward-to-ward campaigns was to take the message of hope to the people in their neighbourhoods throughout the state.

    Read Also: 2019: ADP denies endorsing Edo APC candidates

    “While I, as the party’s Senatorial candidate will be touring all the 77 wards in Edo-South with the message, similar activities will be taken across all the entire 192 wards of the state.

    “Starting from Monday and for the next two weeks, I will going round the nooks and crannies of the 77 wards of Edo-South.

    “The message is clear, and other political parties know it, that the ADP is the party to beat come February,’’ he stressed.

    The ADP is one of the 91 registered political parties in the country.

    INEC announced on Monday that there were 84, 004, 084 voters registered to vote in the 2019 general elections.

  • Edo seeks probe of shooting on New Year’s day

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has urged  Commissioner of Police Johnson Kokumo to investigate the shooting at Ring Road, Benin, the state capital on New Year’s Day.

    In a statement, issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr Crusoe Osagie, the governor said anyone found culpable would be brought to book.

    Read also: How persons with special needs can enjoy museum

    Obaseki demanded for a clear report on what transpired and the condition under which the reported shooting took place.

    He said the administration placed high priority on security of life and property with the huge investment in the state’s security architecture and trust fund.

    “Unconfirmed reports trending on some news platforms claim the incident at Ring Road happened during the frenzied celebration of the cross-over to the New Year.

    “It is alleged a life was lost, but we are yet to get details of the incident from the Police and other security agencies,” he said.

  • Three die in Edo multiple accident

    Three persons have been confirmed dead in a multiple accident that occurred at Ewu hill along the Benin-Auchi-Abuja high way.
    The accident was said  to have occurred when a truck driver lost control and rammed into other vehicles.
    Witnesses said three persons died on the spot while 10 others sustained injuries.
    Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Anthony Okon, who confirmed the accident said it involved four trucks, three cars and one bus.
    He attributed cause of  the accident to break failure and loss of control
    “It was a multiple accident, 28 people were involved, three died, 10 injured while others remain unhurt.”
    Okon stated that officials of FRSC were at the scene of the accident on time to carry out rescue operation and ensure that the obstructions were cleared off the road.
    “The problem is that, that place needs to be dualized. Construction work is going on there, but at snail speed. If it is not dualized, it will continue to happen, just like what happened at Gwagwalada-Abaji-Lokoja in those days.”