The Nation Newspaper

Tag: N50m

  • Senator empowers 1,910 women with N50m

    The lawmaker representing Delta Central, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has empowered over 1,910 women members of All Progressives Congress (APC) with over N50 million for supporting him before, during and after his election.

    Addressing reporters at Ogele Primary School, Ughelli in Ughelli North Local Government of Delta State, Omo-Agege said what he was doing is unique, adding that what people and governments do is to empower with equipment, such as tricycles, motorbikes and others.

    “This I have also done, which makes this empowerment of cash unique.”

    The lawmaker said: “I believe so much in these people because without them, I wouldn’t have been where I am. If it was left for the political establishment of Delta State, Omo-Agege ought to have been dead by now. But these people were used by God to give me a new lease of political life. So, I don’t know how I can satisfy them. This is why I have to ensure it is a continuous exercise.

    “Some of these people may not have voted for me. I don’t even know some of them, but what is important is that they are Urhobo people and they need help. Hence you need not know or ask their political affiliations before you can help them. I will go to the market to do same for those who did not benefit earlier.

    “Today I have come to tell them, ‘thank you’, because they are the foot soldiers who brought victory and delivered me. This is why I feel it is important to come back and do this.

  • Heart Beats hits cinema October 13

    WITH a projection of making N50m at the box office, distributors of a new Nollywood film, Heart Beats are set to release the film in cinemas on October 13, 2017.

    Directed by Moses Eskor and produced by Favour Puskas, the film features some of Nollywood’s finest role interpreters: Ruth kadiri, Frederick Leonard, Sedater Saviour, Fajo and Becky Odungide.

    In ‘Heart Beats’, Mr. Michael (played by Frederick Leonard), a brutally heartless husband reduces his wife, Thelma (Ruth Kadiri) to nothing in an open show of violence; Rosslyn (Sedater Saviour), Thelma’s younger sister will always be that moral foil thickening each plot to its warm as Nancy (Favour Puskas) becomes handy as the deus ex machina.

    In the film, not only is the subjected matter of domestic violence and “home abuse” in sub-Saharan Africa done justice in such unprecedented manner, it also does good to wake up victims of the menace to speak out and seek help in time in such a way almost never told before.

    Based in California-USA, FAJO Productions, headed by Favour Puskas, is the production company for the film. They believe that the film will make huge box office success as Cinema Screens, Silverbird, FilmOne, Metro among others warm up to the screening of the film from October 13, 2017 across Nigeria.

    On the other hand, Eskor, the director of the film is popular for his previous efforts, including ‘Bridge of No Return’, ‘My Love My Fate’, ‘Broken Scepter’, ‘Banana Girl’, ‘German Husband’, ‘The Missing Princess’, ‘Iso Joeover’, ‘Asari’, ‘Landlord’.

  • Foundation empowers 24 with N50m

    Foundation empowers 24 with N50m

    Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano and the traditional ruler of Onitsha, Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, have said youth empowerment is a necessary factor for the growth of any economy.

    They spoke at Dolly-Hills Hotels in Onitsha during an award ceremony of INTAFACT Hero’s Foundation where 24 youths received N50 million with which to begin their own businesses.

    Achebe, who is the chairman of the foundation, said the programme was aimed at creating and developing business entrepreneurship in the youth.

    He further said the programme would reduce the rate of unemployment among the youth in the Southeast, adding that the foundation hopes to extend the gesture beyond the zone in future.

    The monarch said the programme had become an annual event to prevent the youth from taking to crimes, adding that arrangement for the 2017 edition was underway, while the process would begin early next year.

    For Governor Obiano, the programme was consistent with what his administration was doing in youth empowerment, where, according to him, over 600 youths had been empowered after their training at the agricultural school at Mgbakwu.

    He said the major component of his 2017 budget proposal was youth empowerment, adding that it was the best way to tackle the current economic recession in the country.

    Obiano further stated that his government was committing N20 billion on roads as the dry season had begun. He commended the monarch for such life-changing initiative.

    He also thanked the monarch for the empowerment of youths he initiated in his domain, which the governor described as keeping the youth away from crimes such as kidnapping and robbery.

    During the empowerment programme, 24 youths received the sum of N50 million, with the overall best, Mr. Obinwugo Charles going home with N5.5 million, while Miss Ngozi Areh, who came second received N3 million.

    Others received N3 million, N2 million, while some received between N500,000 and N600,000 respectively depending on their area of study.

    Mr. Obinwugo, who spoke on behalf of others, assured the foundation that they would not disappoint them, while urging other youths to engage themselves in productive ventures that will keep them away from all forms of criminal activities.

  • N50m for timber industry

    To further provide more job opportunities for its teeming youths as well as to increase its revenue, the Ogun State government has pledged to resuscitate the moribund Gateway Timber Industry Limited (GATIL).

    Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal made this known while defending the 2017 Budget of the ministry at the House of Assembly Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta the state capital

    Chief Lawal said GATIL; a state-owned sawmill was, in the past, known for processing timber into different specifications of finished products that were marketed across the Southwest geo-political Zone.

    Speaking on what would be required to revamp the ailing industry, the Commissioner said: “The sum of N50 million would be needed  to repair the CD6 machine, edger machine, circular sawing machine and  other necessary maintenance work.’’

    Lawal also revealed that the sum of N278, 000,000 had been budgeted for tree planting in 2017 while N10, 000,000 and N62.5 million had been earmarked for forest conservation and production of farm seedlings respectively.

  • Kidnappers demand N50m for abducted businessman

    An Aba businessman popularly known as Chief Okpotemba, a native of Item in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, is yet to be freed  after over one week of being abducted by unknown gunmen.

    Okpotemba is one of the biggest clearing agents in the commercial city.

    The Nation gathered that the gunmen stormed his office in the  evening of September 16 while he was about leaving.

    Sources close to the family told our reporter that the hoodlums, before whisking him away to an unknown destination, shot the philanthropist in the leg after he allegedly resisted them.

    It was learnt that the inability of the kidnappers to release the man in the past one week has traumatised his family who are worried about his health.

    The Nation also gathered that efforts made by the family to persuade the kidnappers to allow the victim speak with the family fell on deaf ears, even as the kidnappers kept assuring them that the man whose health is frail is fine.

    It was said that the abductors made an initial demand of N50 million ransom when they contacted the family.

    The family said they did not have the amount demanded by the kidnappers, The Nation learnt.

    Negotiations were ongoing at the time of filing this report.

    Some of the residents of Dear John Estate, off 7Up Road, Ogbor Hill where the victim lives described the man as kindhearted who has used his wealth to touch the lives of the downtrodden including widows and orphans, among others.

    A resident of the area who claimed to know the victim, described Okpotemba as a detribalized man who enjoys making people around him happy.

    The resident wondered what offence the businessman could have committed that caused the kidnappers to have held him in their custody this long despite his state of health.

    The source said, “The continued detention of Chief is causing more psychological trauma to the already traumatised family and we are urging the police and other security agencies in Aba and the state at large to ensure that the man regains his freedom and to also make sure that the perpetrators of the act were brought to book. Chief is a good man and has been using his wealth to affect people around him positively.

    “Are we talking about countless jobless and unemployed youths that he has helped to become landlords and living big in this city? We learnt that he single handedly sponsor the August Meeting of his town’s women. We learnt that Chief was shot in the leg before they took him and we are wondering the kind of treatment that the kidnappers should be giving to a man that they kidnapped. What we want is his immediate release.”

    When contacted, the Abia State Police Relation Officer, ASP Ogbonnaya Nta confirmed that the kidnapped businessman was still in the custody of the kidnappers and assured that the police were on top of the situation to ensure that the victim was reunited with his family members.

  • NGO spends over N50m on Abuja indigent patients

    Surgical Aid Foundation, a non-governmental orga-nisation (NGO), has spent over N50 million in the last four years to assist less privileged patients undergo Minimal Access Surgery (MAS) in Abuja.

    MAS uses tiny instruments, sometimes the one that is like a puncture needle to perform surgical operations with less bleeding and pain on patients. The patients go back home the same day after the surgery.

    The NGO had earlier dedicated one week to perform surgical operations on patients with various kinds of ailments including kidney stone.

    Speaking at a lecture on MAS organised by Surgical Aid Foundation in partnership with Kelena Hospital, an Abuja-based urologists, Undieh Kelena, disclosed that MAS is the current trend of performing surgical operations globally.

    The Foundation, according to him, is also partnering with the hospital to train young doctors on how to perform the minimal access surgery.

    “Basically, the purpose of the programme is to bring expensive, high tech surgical procedure to the general population who cannot afford this surgery. The NGO underwrites and pay some of the bills for them and those who have been waiting for a long time and could not have the money are able to benefit from the high-tech surgeries.

    “We also use the opportunity to show younger doctors who don’t have the experience in this area what the surgeries are all about and they can join us in the hospital to learn from what we are doing.

    “We are also trying to explain to Nigerians that some of the things they travel abroad to do may not be necessary because they are now available in the country,” he said.

    He also said the gesture will help curb medical tourism, which has been a huge source of capital flight.  ”The rich always travel to other countries of  the world to get what they want but there are some other people who actually need these surgeries and there is no any other method of treating them, but unfortunately, they cannot afford these surgeries, so we liaise with the Surgical Aid Foundation who can assist these patients to bring the surgeries down home to them and make them more affordable,” he said.

    Also speaking, a gynecologist at the Wuse General Hospital, Dr. Seyi Ashaolu, disclosed that the procedure is for everybody, but however, warned that patients must be carefully selected so as  to optimised the result one wants to get.

    He, however, warned women with pregnancy that is more than 14-16 weeks to tread with caution when undergoing minimal access surgery.

    “Pregnancy is not an absolute contra indication, but you must be careful. Any pregnancy that is more than 14 to 16 weeks are advised not to go in and why would not want to do minimal access surgery during pregnancy?

    “Sometimes some women have what is called ovarian cysts, that is partly what we can go ahead to do laparoscopy, however, in late pregnancy, we don’t advice laparoscopy.”

     

  • Academy’s N50m for training of technical students

    With the inauguration of the state-of-the-art Lagos Skipper Engineering Academy by Governor Babatunde Fashola at the Government Technical College, Ikotun last Wenesday, over N50 million will be expended yearly on the training of students of Electrical Installation and Maintenance Trade.

    Fashola, who expressed optimism that the academy would supply skilled technicians to man power installations, said: “This centre will become a model for electrical engineering and provide the human resources to power our state.  The products from this institution will be of great value to themselves and their communities.”

    The governor was conducted round the centre by the Special Adviser to Governor Fashola on Eko Project, Ms Ronke Azeez.

    Ms Azeez told The Nation that the academy has been equipped to world-class standard to improve the quality of tuition the students would receive.

    “The Lagos-Skipper Engineering Academy is a partnership between Skipper and the Lagos State government to improve the quality of the electrical and power trade courses or programmes in the Government Technical College, Ikotun.  There are many students who take this course.

    “However, over the years, we have not provided adequate facilities.  But with the support from the governor, we are now able to provide the state-of-the-art electrical and power engineering academy.  It is an academy that will help students to realise their potentials, improve their skills, knowledge and give them that wider opportunity to be able to work or go into further education or take up entrepreneurial skills,” she said.

    Ms Azeez said a train-the-trainers programme would commence in earnest for technical college teachers of the electrical installation course.

    Skippers’ Group President, Mr Jitender Sachdew, said the firm would invest up to N50 million yearly on training of teachers and students on exchange programme.

    He said by the time the students graduate from the centre, they would be sought after both locally and internationally.

    “When the agreement is done, we are going ahead to invest almost N50 million per annum – where we will bring the curriculum, the principal, the trainers to train the trainers. The capacity building is there, and we also have the best syllabus, which is internationally-valid.

    “Therefore, we expect that technocrats that will graduate from this institution will be internationally-recognised. Multinationals, or Nigerian firms that pick them will be among the first, not the last.  That is my whole dream,” he said.

    The centre boasts of an electrical machine room, electrical/installation, electrical/power system rooms all fitted with equipment, as well as two classrooms and a store that holds six-month supply of consumables.

    Yinka Adeosun, a student, is optimistic that the academy would add value to his training.

    “The facilities look nice. It will change how we learn.  We were told it will combine with our school work. So, maybe when we have practical, we will come here to learn more,” he said.

  • Couple sues NDLEA for N50m over alleged rights violation

    Couple sues NDLEA for N50m over alleged rights violation

    A couple, Mr Mathias and Fidelia Muomah, have urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to re-list their N50million suit against the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged rights violation.

    Justice Okon Abang struck out the case on April 16 “for want of diligent prosecution” because the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Emeka Opara, was not present during a hearing.

    Opara said he was absent that day because he was sick, and that he sent his junior to inform the court of his ill-health.

    He prayed that the case be re-listed so that it will be heard on merit, adding that previous adjournments were at the respondents’ instance.

    The Commander, NDLEA Joint Task Force, Lagos, Mr Sunday Zirangey, is the second respondent.

    The plaintiffs are claiming that NDLEA officials barged into their bedroom on December 6, 2012  about 5.30am and accosted Mrs Muomah while naked, in flagrant violation of their rights to the dignity of their persons.

    The couple is seeking a declaration that her arrest and confiscation of their vehicles on the suspicion that her younger brother, Nonso Okeke, is a drug dealer violates the 1999 Constitution and various articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

    They sought an order mandating NDLEA to tender a public apology to them to be published in a national newspaper, as well as an injunction restraining the agency from further detaining them or their vehicles.

    According to the plaintiffs, NDLEA claimed Okeke used Mouomah’s house to register a Toyota Corolla, which was used to convey someone to a hotel in Victoria Island where a meeting was held to discuss the supply of a drug called Ephedrine, a substance similar to cocaine.

    It was allegedly agreed at the meeting, which had NDLEA informants in attendance, that 25kg of Ephedrine and production machines would be supplied and that proceeds would be shared.

    In a bid to track down the suspects, the plaintiffs said NDLEA officials arrested Mrs Mouma, insisting that the couple must produce Okeke and the Toyota Corrolla, and ordered the wife to be reporting to the agency’s office every Wednesday.

    “Nonso Okeke whom the respondents claim they are looking for does not live in my house and I do not know where he is at the moment. He is a 39-year-old man and is not under my family’s control,” Mr Muomah said in a supporting affidavit.

    The couple said NDLEA operatives did not only embarrass the woman, but the presence of several officials in their red uniforms in the premises led to “terrible embarrassment” for the family.

    However, NDLEA said its officers did not “barge” into the couple’s room, did not meet her naked, and did not unduly detain her. Rather, it said its officers met Mr Muomah at the door and conducted themselves professionally during the search.

    “The respondents did not at anytime threaten to seize the applicants’ vehicles and did not label the applicants’ family ‘a drug family’ and never directed the second applicant to be reporting to NDLEA office every Wednesday.

    “The applicants knew where Mr Nonso Okeke is and are harbouring him contrary to the provisions of the NDLEA Act.

    “Neither the respondents nor its officers saw the nakedness of the second applicant as was alleged. It was the first applicant that led them into his room,” NDLEA said.

    Justice Abang adjourned till January 30 next year for ruling on the application to re-list the suit.

  • Employee sues BEDC, seeks N50m damages

    An employee of Benin Electricity Distribution Company(BEDC), a major player in the distribution sector of the power industry in Nigeria, has dragged the company before the Industrial Court sitting in Akure for negligence, asking for N50 million compensation.

    Mr Ayeni Oluwasola who suffered severe burns while on official assignment, leading to the amputation of his left arm, is seeking an order of the court for BEDC to pay him the money as compensation and or general damages for injury, disability, deformity/permanent incapacity resulting from the negligent acts of the company in switching on electrical power supply of April 4, 2014.

    The suit was filed by a Human Rights activist, Barrister Charles Titiloye on behalf of Oluwasola. The Claimant as a staff in the employment of the BEDC was fixing a fault on the power transmission line of the company at Ode Irele, Ondo state when the industrial accident occurred. Oluwasola who deposed to a 41- paragraph affidavit in support of his claim averred that as a contract staff of BEDC, he was directed to fix a fault on the 11kv transmission line at Irele, after the control room confirmed that power has been switched off to enable him carry out repairs on the shattered insulator strings.

    He further averred that after he had observed all safety measures and put on his helmet, safety gloves and boot, he started the repair work only for BEDC to negligently restore power supply without notifying him.

    He further stated that the power restoration resulted into severe burns in his left hand and head.

    His hand got burnt beyond repair and was later amputated at Ondo State Trauma Centre, Ondo where he has been hospitalised since April.

    He alleged that BEDC abandoned him in the hospital, refused to pay his salary since April and sacked him in the month of September.

    The plaintiff alleged that his sack was a premeditated act orchestrated to turn him to a street beggar when BEDC knew his left hand has been cut off during surgery in order to save his life.

    Oluwasola is praying the court to order BEDC to pay all his outstanding salary, medical bills and also pay compensation of N50 million to him.

    He noted that BEDC hurriedly sacked him on his sick bed to avoid paying compensation having permanently incapacitated him and caused him a lifetime disability.

    The Court has fixed the case for mention on November 6.

     

  • Old students lift alma mater with N50m projects

    Not less than N50 million worth of projects have been executed in the last three years by the Old Students Association of the Federal Government College, Sokoto for their alma mater, according to its Sokoto State chapter Chairman, Alhaji Hassan Maccido

    He spoke at a briefing.

    The projects include: rehabilitation of two lecture theatres, provision of a 250 KVA generator, rehabilitation of the school’s mosque, repairs of roads, installation of street lights and renovation of the multi-purpose hall (Davis Hall).

    Maccido, who is also Permanent Secretary of the Sokoto State Teachers Service Board, said plans were underway to rehabilitate the college’s sports complex with over N 20 million, while N10 million was set aside to give the school’s recreation centre a face-lift.

    “We had since opened a special projects account for the school and our members have been generously contributing money to the fund.

    “This is our own little way of complementing the efforts of the federal government in funding the college,” he stressed.