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Tag: India

  • 2019 India Elections: Indians in Nigeria celebrate Narendra Modi’s victory

    Indians resident in Nigeria celebrate the incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s victory during the recently concluded elections in India.

    Mr Sanjay Srivastava, President, Overseas Friends of Bhartiya Janta Party (OFBJP), Nigeria chapter, said on Friday in Lagos that Modi’s re-election signalled that Indians would enjoy another five years of democratic and inclusive governance.

    The celebration was held on May 23, 2019 at Palmgrove Hall, Ilupeju, Lagos State.

    Srivastava said that Indians in Nigeria left their various jobs to celebrate Modi’s victory because the development meant that India’s problem of nepotism, corruption, religious bigotry would be further dealt with.

    He said India had experienced sporadic development since Modi’s assumption of office five years ago as remarkable development were recorded in the areas of banking, infrastructure development and industry expansion.

    “We are so excited because we know there would be continuity for those good jobs Modi had been doing in the past five years.

    “Since the announcement of the results, Indians have been congratulating one another through calls, text messages and other social media handles.

    “Modi’s victory means victory for all Indians and we are happy that all efforts channeled toward campaign for him were not wasted.

    “The celebration means that our love for Modi is so immense due to his selfless commitment to ensuring India is liberated from problems of corruption, nepotism, religious bigotry and more.

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    “I have never witnessed such happy euphoria among the Indian community over the results of general polls,” he said in a statement.

    Srivastava said the celebration was done in Indian traditional way while they engaged their indigenous conch, trumpets and other musical instruments to identify with their country.

    He gave the Indian community assurance that Modi would ensure that India regains it’s long lost glory and effect a bright and prosperous future for all Indians, while India becomes the envy of great nations.

    “Since Modi’s assumption of office five years ago, Indians have got greater recognition worldwide; he has taken India into the global map as a country which can play vital role in world economic growth.

    “We are quite confident that this will continue and we want to assure Modi that Indians worldwide are with him for him and by him.

    “OFBJP Nigeria appears to be at the forefront leading the Indian Diaspora to walk hand in hand with Mr Modi,” he said.

    According to him, the executives of OFBJP that were available during the celebration include Pravin Kumar, Kiran Gosavi,  Sabir Ali, Vikas Kane, Diwesh Mishra, Dheerendra Sign Chauhan, Anoop Droli, Sanjay Jha, Shanti Bhushan Singh, Robin Puri and  Nandkumar Chelloor.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 2019 Indian general election was held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 2019; the counting of votes took place on May 23 and the results were announced the same day having incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi as the winner.

    NAN

     

  • BREAKING: Nigerian footballer nabbed for drugs in India

     

    At a time when Nigerians are reportedly being executed in Saudi Arabia over drug deals, one would have thought that others seeking green pastures abroad will stay away from drugs to avoid fast lane to six feet.

    It however looks like the ugly story is far from ending as a former footballer of Nigerian descent has reportedly been nabbed in India for drug deals.

    The 40 year who has been identified simply as Ikenna was nabbed with 10 grams of crystal meth suspected to have been brought from Mumbai. This prompted a raid of his house located in Kardampuri in Jyoti Nagar area of India where 18 grams of cocaine was reportedly found. Ikenna who has been singing like a bird since his arrest by a team of policemen led by ACP Gokulpuri Anuj Kumar revealed that he is just the third man in the chain of distribution.

    The drug runs is not the only headache Ikenna has to contend with as he is equally accused of residing in the country without a visa after initially entering the country in 2013 a professional footballer. He equally revealed in the chat with police that the said football career hit the rocks with a bang forcing him to seek another source of income.

    Interestingly he was said to have been arrested on his way to a club where he had hoped to dispose of the drugs to waiting customers.

    Findings revealed that every month Ikenna would go to Mumbai and meet his source named Angel. He would then bring the contraband to Delhi.

    The group was primarily catering to college students in various Universities across Delhi-NCR. Ikenna would go to parties and music events and contact his customers. Cops said he would only give the drugs to his trusted customers.

    To further ensure their cover, the gang contacted customers through fake social media handles where they updated them about the fresh consignment. The teams are probing other members of the racket. Drug offences like in Saudi Arabia carry death penalty but could be said to be lighter in India especially for a first offender.

    According to Section 31A of the NDPS Act, death sentence is awarded to a drug trafficker who has been convicted once under the NDPS Act for “engaging in the production, manufacture, possession, transportation, import into India, export from India or trans-shipment, of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Nigeria, India to resuscitate over 500 skill centres

    The  Federal Government is seeking the collaboration of the Indian Government to boost Nigeria’s skill acquisition centres to enhance job creation across the country.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, who spoke when he received the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria,  Abhay Thakur, said the partnership would go a long way in resuscitating the over 500 skill acquisition centres across the country.

    Ngige said: “Over 5000 skill acquisition centres are scattered across the country and the resuscitation of these centres would assist the government create more employment and entrepreneurs in the country.”

    The Minister urged India to key into the local content capacity programme for mutual benefits – jobs for Nigerians and profits for Indians.

    He called for the revival of the labour capacity building programme, an exchange programme between Nigeria and India, which trained a lot of labour officers in Indian labour institutes, as part of technical assistance to Nigeria, which was stopped in 2013.

    Ngige urged the Indian Government to protect Nigerians working in India by providing labour protection and ease of doing business for Nigerians living in India.

    “Nigeria and India have a lot in common and a robust relationship that has spanned many years in the area of trade, education, labour, foreign Affairs and there is need to further strengthen the bilateral relationship” the Minister added.

    The Minister of State Labour and Employment, Professor Stephen Ocheni, solicited continued partnership, especially in consular issues.

    Earlier, Thakur commended the government for providing an enabling working environment for Indians to conduct their businesses.

    He said India looked forward to training Nigerians in the Indian labour institutes, as well as maximising the use of local content in running their businesses.

    The High Commissioner said the two countries have excellent relationship and that India was looking at the possibilities of having a direct flight from Nigeria to India.

  • It’s a new dawn for cricket in Nigeria, says NCF boss

    The feat achieved by the Nigeria’s U-19 cricket tea at the just concluded ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifiers in Namibia has been described as a new dawn for the sport in the country as the Sylvester Okpe-captained side became the first Nigeria team to qualify for a cricket World Cup.

    After emerging the overall winner at the six-nation qualifiers held in Namibia following their unbeaten run in the competition, Nigeria became the first team from the continental championship to join top playing cricket nations like Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan, Australia, India, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and host – South Africa as teams that had already booked their places at the global championship holding in 2020.

    An excited President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Professor Yahaha Ukwenya described the feat as a new dawn for the sport. “As a President, it is great and incredible and I cannot believe the boys have done this. We trained them to be true Nigerians, tough in character and spirit and not giving to anybody and to tell everybody that we are Africa’s largest nation and some of the toughest human beings from the continent are from Nigeria and they played that way. But we had no idea that they will get this far and by match by match, they fought and came out victorious,” Ukwenya said.

    For the coach of the team, Uthe Ogbimi, the feat did not come on a platter of gold. “It has been a long trek coming all the way from last year to qualify from the division two to division one and to come to division one and clear everybody is indeed so massive in our heart. We want to thank the federation for allowing us to go to Zimbabwe for a playing tour against strong opposition and it indeed lifted the game of the players. I think Nigeria should celebrate and corporate bodies should rally round the team to support us for the World Cup.”

    An elated Okpe said: “We had a little up and down in the game and we must thank God for the success here in Namibia. This qualification means a lot to me and it is the best moment in my life since I started playing cricket particularly to be part of the first Nigeria team to qualify for any cricket World Cup. We will go back to drawing to check our mistakes and correct it before the World Cup.”

  • ABCON alerts public over fake $100 bills import from India

    .Gets CBN, EFCC nod on campaign against fake currency

     

    The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria ( ABCON ) on Friday alerted the public over ongoing security investigation on $100 bills being imported from India into Nigeria.

    The ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, who disclosed the development to financial journalists after the group’s National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting in Lagos, said the $100 bill is majorly counterfeited because of huge profit margins that come with it.

    He said some of the fraudsters objectives is not only to make profit, but to undermine Nigeria chances for automatic membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after assessment of the country’s financial system scheduled for the first quarter of this year.

    The ABCON boss said the issue of fake dollar in circulation has been observed and reported at the relevant security agencies adding that the ABCON, has in the interest of the economy and Bureaux De Change (BDCs) businesses, secured Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) backing to begin nationwide campaign against fake currencies in the country.

    He said rising cases of fake currencies in circulation has led to huge losses to BDC operators and the economy.

    Gwadabe said that ABCON, is educating the public on how to identify fake dollar bills in order to protect the image of the country in the eyes of foreign investors.

    “It is part of our objectives which in enshrined on our constitution as an association to eliminate the incidences of fake currencies circulation thereby enhancing the image of the country and transparency in our operations,” he said.

    Gwadabe said the ABCON NEC has therefore released a guide to all BDCs on how to detect a fake dollar bill. He disclosed that there are seven dollar bills of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 and seven steps to authenticate them.

    “The weight of each bill is one gram, 2.61 inches wide and 6.14 inches length. It is 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent linen. Your finger can feel thickness and texture. Besides, the portrait watermark is partly overlapped by the Treasury seal, while the $100 bill is printed on the right side of the bill. The strip is thin, faint and runs vertically from top to bottom to the left of the watermark portrait. Also, the 3D security ribbon, also called the thread, is bright blue and vertical on the bill,” he said.

    Continuing, Gwadabe explained that the raised printing feels rough on right shoulder of Benjamin Franklin portrait while the colour shifting ink works under ultraviolet light.

    He added that the dollar bill undergoes micro printing, which is the production of recognizable patterns or characters in the bill at a scale that requires magnification to read with the naked eye. To the unaided eye, the text may appear as a solid line.

    He said that currency commonly exhibits the highest quality (smallest size) of microprint because it demands the highest level of counterfeiting deterrence.

    Gwadabe said the BDCs have over the years, remained a potent monetary policy tool for exchange rate stability and promoting transparent foreign exchange operations in the country.

    “The BDCs have helped the government in creating over 30,000 jobs, thereby reducing the unemployment rate in Nigeria. The BDCs have continued to make foreign exchange available to the critical retail end-users thereby deepening forex access in the country. This campaign against fake dollar is aimed at ensuring that forex users get value for their money,” he said.

    Continuing, Gwadabe said that BDCs have also been enhancing price discovery and transparency in the foreign exchange market.

    “The operations of BDCs have also raised the level of investors’ confidence and diaspora remittances in the country. The BDCs under my leadership will continue to operate within set regulations and highest level of transparency in forex dealings,” he stated.

  • Nigeria, India partner on energy security

    Nigeria and the Republic of India have pledged to work more closely to enhance energy security of both countries.

    The consensus came on the heels of a visit Tuesday in Abuja of the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, His Excellency, Abhay Thakur, to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, a release by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, has said.

    The release stated that Dr. Baru, who acknowledged the role of Indian companies in Nigeria, called on them to extend their presence to the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry to leverage on the enormous opportunities there.

    He assured the High Commissioner of NNPC’s commitment to further strengthen the existing relations between both countries in the energy sector.

    The GMD noted that with the refineries up for repairs, the corporation would need technical assistance from Indian companies.

    Speaking earlier, the Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency, Thakur, commended Nigeria for its support to India in the area of energy security, stressing that Nigeria had been contributing significantly to India’s energy needs.

    He said India was open to further strengthening its collaboration with Nigeria through regular dialogue and exchange of technical know-how.

    “Specifically, India is already sourcing almost 10% of its energy requirement from Nigeria and we look forward to further strengthening of this cooperation across various sources of energy, not only oil, but also in gas, solar energy and other renewable sources”, he said.

    He commended the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and the GMD on the successful hosting of the recently concluded Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) while assuring of his country’s continued support.

  • India rejects Trump’s ‘sermons’ on Afghanistan

    India’s ruling and opposition parties condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments this week mocking New Delhi’s role in Afghanistan, where the South Asian country has invested billions of dollars in economic projects and military training.

    The U.S. and India have drawn closer in recent years as they seek ways to counter-balance China’s spreading influence across Asia.

    But Trump’s apparent bid to undermine India’s developmental work in Afghanistan has annoyed not just politicians but also many ordinary Indians.

    Trump said on Wednesday he got along very well with Indian Prime Minister, Narenda Modi but that Modi was “constantly telling me he built a library in Afghanistan.”

    “You know what that is? That’s like five hours of what we spend in the White House.

    “And we are supposed to say, ‘oh, thank you for the library.’ I don’t know, who is using it in Afghanistan?” Trump queried.

    It was not immediately clear which library Trump was referring to, but both Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress were united in their criticism of the U.S. president.

    India has centuries-old ties with Afghanistan and both accuse common neighbour Pakistan of not doing enough to stop Islamist militants operating on their territory. Pakistan denies the charges.

    “May be Trump should know that while he is decrying every other help in Afghanistan, India has been building not only libraries, but roads, dams, schools and even parliament building.

    “We are building lives, for which the Afghan people thank us, no matter what others do or don’t,” Ram Madhav, a BJP General Secretary, said on Twitter.

    Congress said India did not “need sermons from the U.S on Afghanistan.”

    The U.S. has 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, with reports it may be set to withdraw more than 5,000, a sign Trump’s patience is thinning with America’s longest war.
Trump has already decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria.

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    Modi’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment. Reuters could not reach the White House outside regular business hours in the U.S.

    India is the biggest South Asian donor to Afghanistan, spending around 2 billion dollars on reconstruction and rehabilitation, according to the Indian embassy in Kabul.

    Over the past few years India has helped Afghanistan build roads, erect power transmission lines and construct a parliament building.
    Kabul has not yet responded to Trump’s comments.

    Afghanistan’s national security advisor, Hamdullah Mohib, is meeting his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval and other officials in New Delhi on Friday.

    “Trump mocked India, a key U.S. non-NATO partner that’s done major development work in Afghanistan, for building a library there,” Michael Kugelman, South Asia senior associate at the Washington-based Wilson Centre think-tank, said on Twitter.

  • INAC Expo: 27 countries, others showcase culture

    27 countries and states  were  in Abuja to display  their culture,  arts and crafts at the 11th edition of International Arts and Crafts (INAC) Expo.

    Among the participating countries were China, Hungary, Gambia, Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, Chad, India, Iran, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Sudan and many other countries.

    The impressive event was also an opportunity for many unemployed Nigerians to acquire free vocational training in arts and craft. The event  was declared open by the publisher of the Abuja-based Leadership newspapers, Mr. Sam Ndah-Isaiah. Also present at the opening ceremony were the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Aisha Abubakar; the Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji  Lai Mohammed, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Grace Gekpe; and a representative of the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris.

    Delivering a paper titled: Networking for Arts and Crafts to the World: Prospects and Challenges, the Chief Executive Officer of Le Look Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa,  called on Nigerians to embrace the nation’s art and craft industry as a commercial venture.

    She said African art and craft industry is currently enjoying huge international acceptability and has the prospects of not only alleviating poverty, but also creating jobs. Ezenwa said  at the time she started the production of Afrocentric crafts as beauty items, European designers were the order of the day in Nigeria. But this has changed with the current huge demand for African crafts.

    Her words: “At the time we started, the prospects were not there then, as our products were competing against famous and infamous international labels. Our women    and men were preoccupied in wearing European and Western outfits. Over time, as we approached a new millennium, things began to change. Afrobeat through Fela, Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and other famous musicians started making waves outside the Nigerian shores.

    “We, on our part, invested in research to understand how and what was accepted internationally. We embraced training; we attended fairs locally and internationally. We became visible and could no longer be ignored by our own Nigerians as the Made in Nigeria campaign became the order of the day.

    “Then came the boom-Made in Nigeria, Made in Africa, the ankara revolution that we had already keyed into a long time ago and waited for the opportunity.”

    Ezenwa said Nigeria has never had the opportunity that it is having currently to expand its arts and craft to all parts of the world.

    In his welcome address, the Director- General of the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, said even though the arts of craft expo  was in its 11th edition, he saw the need to drastically improve on the expo by not limiting it to the just Africa.

    He said:“This flagship programme of the NCAC was conceived in 2008 as a platform for craft men and women all over Africa and beyond to make contact, interact, showcase their arts and crafts products , exchange ideas and skills, network for investment partners.

    “I am delighted to note that this exposition has lived up to the expectation of bringing about regional integration, continental unity as well as unveiling the economic opportunities in the arts and crafts sector.”

    Runsewe said the decision to change the expo’s name from African Festival of Arts and Culture (AFAC) Expo to International Arts and Crafts (INAC) Expo was taken last year in view of the growing popularity and the need to reflect the global relevance and outlook of the programme. He said having consolidated itself as at the regional level, it became imperative to launch into the global arena so that Nigerian craft men could network with the world.

    Speaking on the expo and their participation, the head  of the Bangladesh  from their country’s embassy in  Nigeria, Mr. Yamin Khan, said:  “The main aim of our participation is that we don’t want to stagnate in a certain place. We want to expand our traditional craft. We want to expand our traditional craft to everywhere.”

    Asked if he was satisfied with the organization and level of participation at the expo, he said: “Of course, there are many booths here. We can share with each other. It is through this kind of programme that we can share with each other.  What we are having, they can pick from us and what we are not having, we can pick from them.  This is the way to go. This is the way to show your craft and your products. This way, it will help you to expand your business all over the world.”

    Some of the participating countries took time out to celebrate their day and showcase their culture. Among these countries was the People’s Republic of China which put up a beautiful show to the admiration and satisfaction of visitors and participants.

  • Three Civilians, Soldier killed in rebel attack

    Three civilians and a paramilitary Soldier were killed when Maoist Rebels blew up a vehicle in India’s Central State of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, as attacks increase ahead of polls in the region.

    The militants targeted a minibus that was carrying seven civilians and soldiers in the Dantewada district, a known rebel stronghold.

    The bus driver, its conductor and cleaner, as well as a soldier, were killed when the rebels detonated a landmine that tore through the vehicle, senior police official D Ravishankar told reporters.

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    The left-wing rebels have called for a boycott of the state legislative elections and have carried out three attacks by Oct. 25.

    The Maoist guerrillas, who reject parliamentary democracy, say their armed rebellion is to secure rights for the poor and marginalised.

    They operate in forest belts in several states across India.

    Chhattisgarh is one of the states worst affected by the Maoist insurgency, which has left more than 7,660 civilians, militants and security personnel dead since 2005, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

  • 22 Zika Virus cases in India, no deaths reported

    India has reported its third Zika virus outbreak in the Western State of Rajasthan since January 2017, where 22 people have tested positive and no death were reported Tuesday.

    “Till date, a total of 22 positive laboratory confirmed cases have been detected. A control room has been activated at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to undertake regular monitoring of the situation,’’ the Indian Health Ministry said in a statement.

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    A senior official said all the 22 cases are from state capital Jaipur. “Some of these victims are migrant workers from eastern states like Bihar. Fortunately, there have been no reports of any deaths till now,’’ he added.

    Our reporter gathered that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought a report on the Zika virus outbreak in Rajasthan.

    Zika virus disease is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes.

    Its symptoms include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and headache.

    The first outbreak of Zika was reported in India in January 2017 in the western state of Gujarat, while the second outbreak was reported in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in July 2017; both of them were contained.