The Nation Newspaper

Tag: News Agency of Nigeria

  • Lagos begins second round of immunization May 6

    Dr Olufemi Onanuga, Special Adviser to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos on Primary Health Care, says the state will begin the second round of the National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) on May 6.

    Onanuga said this in a statement signed by the State Ministry of Health, Director, Public Affairs, Mrs Adeola Salako on Thursday.

    He said that the exercise would be a four-day campaign against poliomyelitis.

    The special adviser said that all children under five years would be vaccinated against the disease with two drops of Oral Polio Vaccine.

    Onanuga said the vaccine would be administered, irrespective of the children’s immunisation status, in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas across the state.

    “Immunisation remains the most cost-effective and efficient child survival strategy for children who are the future of tomorrow.

    “This informed our unrelenting efforts in protecting our children from the vaccine-preventable killer diseases; it is free and safe,’’ he said.

    He said that poliomyelitis was a highly infectious viral disease which mostly affected children, with symptoms such as fever, tiredness, headache, nausea, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs.

    According to him, in some cases, it can lead to paralysis which most of the time is irreversible.

    “Polio is one of the vaccine preventable diseases with no known cure; children under the age of five are the most vulnerable, as the disease suddenly strikes and paralyses them for life.

    “According to World Health Organisation, among those paralysed, 5 to 10 per cent die when their breathing muscles become immobilised,’’ Onanuga said.

    The adviser urged all stakeholders to play a role in ensuring that children under five years are immunised at the PHCs free of charge to reduce the risk of death and disability from the vaccine preventable disease.

    “The vaccinators will move from house to house, visit schools, religious houses, venues of social events as well as other public places to ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first round of the NIPDs was held between March 25 and 28 and had targeted about 4.9 million children.

     

  • Experts to CBN : Publish forex allocations to banks

    Experts to CBN : Publish forex allocations to banks

    Some financial experts have commended the CBN for suspending some banks from the foreign exchange market due to some infractions.

    They advised the apex bank to henceforth publish foreign exchange allocations to banks weekly.

    The experts, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos on Thursday, called for effective supervision of the banks to check round tripping.

    NAN reports that the apex bank, had on Tuesday, suspended 12 banks from the market for denying small and medium enterprises access to foreign exchange under the new window for SMEs.

    Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, an Economic Lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, said the sanction on the banks was long overdue.

    Tella said that some commercial banks were not transparent in their foreign exchange operations, alleging that some were indulging in round tripping.

    The don decried the numbers of documentation the banks subjected customers to while accessing foreign exchange, but which many customers never got in the end.

    He said that some of the banks gave all manners of excuses for their inability to sell foreign exchange to customers.

    “The banks should reduce the amount of documentation required to buy foreign exchange.

    “The CBN should also publish foreign exchange allocations to individual banks for all to see,” Tella said.

    Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President of Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said that retail transactions for SMEs were more effective at the BDCs segment.

    Gwadabe said that the transparent and effective operations of BDCs and their nationwide reach had enabled genuine foreign exchange seekers to leverage them for their needs.

    NAN reports that the CBN opened a new foreign exchange window for SMEs about two weeks ago to enable them meet their foreign exchange needs to import items not exceeding 20, 000 dollars per quarter.

     

  • Man, arraigned for breaking into TV station in Lagos

    A 38-year-old man, Smith Adetona , who allegedly scaled the fence of Ebony Life Television Station at Ilupeju to steal,  was on Thursday hauled up before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.

    Adetona, who lives at Mushin area of Lagos, is facing a charge of intent to commit felony.

    He, however, denied the charge.

    According to the prosecutor, Sgt. Yomi Egunjobi, the accused committed the offence on April 20 at Ebony Life Television Station on Industrial Avenue, Ilupeju.

    The accused climbed the fence and broke into the premises at night to steal, he said.

    He told the court that the accused had on him at the time of arrest an iron rod and a hammer.

    Egunjobi said a police patrol team stationed at Ebony Life Television Station apprehended the accused.

    The offence contravened Section 404 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the offence carries a penalty of seven years imprisonment.

    The Magistrate, Mrs M.O. Osibajo, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

    The surety must be gainfully employed and also show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government, she said.

    She adjourned the case until May 11 for mention.

     

  • No chance for APC, others in Mushin LG polls  

    No chance for APC, others in Mushin LG polls  

    The Accord Party has urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as other political parties to forget about winning any seat in the forthcoming council poll in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

    The Lagos State Chairman of the party, Mr Gbenga Kool told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that Mushin people would not vote for any other party except Accord Party.

    NAN reports that the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has fixed July 22 for local government elections and July 29 for run-off if the need arises.

    Kool said Accord was the only party that meant well for the people in the grassroots, and the support it had enjoyed in the state, especially in Mushin, had been impressive.

    He said the performance of Mr Dauda Kako-Are, the representative of Mushin I Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, in the delivery of democracy dividends was another natural reason why Accord would win in the area.

    The Chairman said that the people in Mushin would vote for performance rather than people who would serve the interests of their godfathers.

    “You see, Mushin is for Accord Party; there is no question about that. The party is the only party that loves the people and is delivering things that meet the expectations of the people.

    “See what happened in the last House of Representatives election in Mushin. People voted for Kako-Are who challenged imposition and defected to Accord party.

    “The people did that because the man is an enigma who has touched their lives in many ways. The love for the party is growing by the day both in Mushin and other parts of Lagos state.

    “People are trooping into the party by the day and no one should be surprised if the party wins other local government areas in the election.

    “Accord is on the forward march; APC or any other party cannot stop it,” he said.

    The party chairman said Accord would contest all the councillorship and chairmanship seats in most of the local government areas of the state.

    He said that the primary elections of the party would hold on Saturday and candidates would emerge through acceptable democratic standards.

    Kool described the nomination fees levied by the LAISEC as unacceptable, saying it would shut out some parties.

    “The N100, 000 nomination fees for Chairmanship aspirants, N75, 000 for Vice-Chairmanship, and N50, 000 for councillorship by LASIEC is wrong.

    “What is the money for? Billions have already been voted for the elections and you are still charging these fees, saying it is for administrative purposes.

    “This is wrong. I think the case is already in court,” he said

     

  • Sango-Ota crash kills two, injures eight

    The FRSC has confirmed that two persons died while eight others sustained injuries in an accident along the Ilo-Awela Road at Sango-Ota in Ogun on Thursday.

    The Unit Commander of the FRSC in Ogun, Mr Adekunle Oguntoyinbo, made the confirmation while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the development in Sango-Ota.

    He said the accident, which he blamed on break failure, occurred at about 8.20 a.m.

    Oguntoyinbo said the incident involved two buses, one of which was a commercial bus.

    He said that the brake of the commercial bus failed and ramped into a bus at the tollgate, resulting to the death of two persons and injuring eight others.

    The unit commander said that the bodies of the dead had been deposited at the morgue of the Ota General Hospital in Sango-Ota, while the injured persons were also receiving treatment at the same hospital.

    Oguntoyinbo advised motorists to ensure that their vehicles were in good condition before putting it on highways.

     

  • Baby dumped inside refuse sack in Lagos

    A baby was found dead on Thursday inside a refuse sack at a dump site near a market in Alagbado, Lagos State.

    The dump site is near the African Independent Television (AIT) Road Market.

    A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who witnessed the incident reports that the dead baby rolled down from the sack as the sack was being dumped into a refuse vehicle.

    Refuse collectors saw the baby and raised an alarm.

    Market men and women gathered at the scene and ‘rained’ curses on the culprit.

    A policeman at the scene told NAN that an investigation would be carried out to find out the culprit.

    The policeman from the Alagbado Police Station pleaded anonymity.

    The dead baby has been deposited at a mortuary by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency.

    Mrs Omolara Farounbi, the market Iya-oloja (Market Leader), called on traders in the market to be more vigilant.

    She said that the perpetrator was able to carry out the act because the traders cleaned up the market and packed refuse for disposal on Friday.

    “It was convenient for the person to dump the baby in the sack overnight.

    “We have informed the police and called the Lagos State Emergency Maintenance Authority (LASEMA) about the incident,’’ she said.

     

     

  • Man in court for beating woman to a pulp

    A 38-year-old man, Alhaji Bukar, who allegedly assaulted a woman, Asiata Yahaya, by beating her to a pulp, on Thursday appeared before an Apapa Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

    Bukar, a resident of the Apapa area of Lagos, is standing trial on a two-count charge of threatening violence and assault.

    The prosecutor, Sgt. Olusegun Kokoye, told the court that the accused committed the offences on April 18 at Gaskiya Road, Ijora, Badia, Apapa, Lagos.

    Kokoye said that the accused assaulted the complainant by beating her to a pulp and also threatening to kill her.

    “The complainant said the fight started as a result of an argument which ensued between the duo.

    “The accused claimed that Yahaya was very rude to him.

    “Yahaya said all efforts made by passers-by to settle the dispute proved abortive; the accused just kept on beating her,” Kokoye said.

    The prosecutor said that the case was reported to the police and the accused was arrested.

    The offences, he said, contravened Sections 56 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 171 prescribes a three-year jail term for assault occasioning harm.

    The Magistrate, Mr Y.O Aro- Lambo, granted the accused bail in the sum N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

    The case was adjourned until May 9, for mention.

     

  • Adamawa: Fear of insecurity delays conduct of voters registration

    Mr Salihu Ya’u , the Adamawa Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), on Thursday, said the insecurity rumour pervading the Madagali Local Government Area of the state, delayed  the conduct of the Continuous Voters Registration exercise in the area.

    Ya’u in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Yola, on Thursday, said that he was impressed with the turnout of people and the smooth registration exercise in other parts of the state.

    “In Madagali Local Government Area, the Continuous Voters Registration exercise in Madagali Local Government Area of the state is put on hold because we are still accessing the security situation in the area.

    “You know what is happening there; there is the rumour of insecurity,” Ya’u said.

    He said that in spite of the security challenges, the commission had sent its officers to the area to conduct stakeholders’ meeting with security operatives and other relevant agencies to assess the situation.

    Ya’u said that the commission was not sure whether or not it could continue with the registration exercise in the area.

    The commissioner said that the registration exercise would be put on hold until when there was a security report that guaranteed the safety of the exercise in the area.

    He confirmed that the exercise was smoothly going on in all the remaining 20 Local Government Areas of the state.

  • Alleged $1m fraud: Ajudua’s lawyers stall arraignment

    The defense team of a one-time Lagos socialite and businessman, Fred Ajudua, on Thursday stalled his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding a German company of 1 million dollars at an Ikeja High Court.

    The lawyers lead by Mr Norrison Quakers (SAN), argued against Ajudua’s arraignment after Justice Josephine Oyefeso had ordered him into the dock for his plea.

    “My Lord, the business of the day as listed in your cause list is a ruling and not arraignment, the case of NDDC V Ecobank backs this argument.

    “Trial starts when the defendant is arraigned, we have not been served with the charge and other processes, I have also spoken to the defendant and he told me that he did not see the charge.

    “I will have to seek for a short adjournment to properly study the charge.

    “My client is in poor health and he has only one functional kidney which is deteriorating fast, he also needs time to seek medical attention,” Quakers told the court.

    Mr S. A. Atteh, Counsel to the EFCC, after hearing Quakers’ complaints of not seeing the charge, immediately served Quakers and his team with copies of the charge in the courtroom.

    “My Lord, it is only when the plea of the defendant is taken that he is properly before the court.”

    Quakers, upon receiving the charge, noted some irregularities which were in the charge which was that Ajudua was charged under the Penal Code and not the Criminal Law of Lagos State of 2011 which is currently used for criminal cases.

    Justice Oyefeso, acceding to Quakers’ request for an adjournment, fixed May 16 for the EFCC to file a formal application for arraignment.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EFCC had on Feb. 13 re-opened a charge filed against Ajudua in 2005.

    In the charge, the EFCC had claimed that Ajudua, an alleged serial fraudster, and one Joseph Ochunor, an accomplice, had sometime in 1993 defrauded one Ziad Abu Zalaf of Technical International Ltd., a company based in Germany of 1 million dollars.

    The fraud case had earlier been struck out by Justice Morenikeji Obadina in 2009 for want of diligent prosecution after Ajudua failed to make an appearance in court on 24 occasions.

    On March 13, Justice Josephine Oyefeso had adjourned for a ruling to determine if the case should be added to the court’s cause list for trial.

    Earlier during Thursday’s proceedings, Justice Oyefeso had in her ruling ordered that Ajudua should be arraigned by the anti-graft agency.

    “This case was assigned to this court in November 2016 when the defendant became available within the jurisdiction.

    “The prosecution applied that the matter be put on the cause list as the applicants were willing to prosecute the case diligently as witnesses are available to testify.

    “On Feb. 9 the defence had raised a preliminary objection challenging the powers of the court to try a case that is struck out since 2009, stating the application of the EFCC was an abuse of court processes.

    “When a case is struck out, it remains alive though in a comatose state, and it comes alive through the appropriate application to relist the case,” she said.

    Justice Oyefeso noted that there was a lacuna in the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos regarding what happens to a case when it is struck out.

    “Section 262 of the ACJL has come to the rescue in this instance by stating that the court shall adopt a procedure which will provide substantive justice.

    “The days of technicalities are long gone and the preliminary objection is unmeritorious and has failed and it is hereby dismissed.

    “The defendant should please go into the dock and his plea should be taken,” she ruled.

     

     

     

  • NGO empowers 40,000 HIV affected children

    The AIDS Preventive Initiative in Nigeria (APIN), on Thursday, said it had trained 40,000 children, who were either infected or affected by HIV and AIDS in Plateau.

    Mrs Chidinma Stevens, the Head of Community programmes, APIN, made this disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.

    Stevens said the children were empowered through their caregivers.

    “We empowered them through skills acquisition programmes and also granted them ‘start up grants’ to establish their business outlets,” she said.

    She said the number of the children was recorded to enable APIN assist them in their education and cushion the effects of stigmatization meted out to them in the society.

    “We provide care and support services to them to help them improve their lives and live positively,” she said.

    Stevens said some of the children had lost both parents due to AIDS infection, adding that APIN had also reviewed its mode of operation to make them self-reliant.

    “APIN has reviewed this arrangement because we expected these caregivers to be self-reliant after a given period;

    “So we established a village savings and loan scheme so that after empowerment, they can get funds to start their chosen businesses.

    “We presently give only technical assistance through Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

    “In the past, handouts were given to children for books, uniforms, food and other social services but we noticed that it only lasted for a period.

    “It also stigmatized the children because everyone knew that when they went to collect these items, they are either infected or affected,” she said.

    Stevens said empowering caregivers economically through income generating activities, training on positive parenting skills; village savings and loans schemes would ensure the sustainability of the programme.

    She said trainings for improved agricultural skills, better crop yield, poultry farming, and better market assessment services were provided for caregivers through CSOs while APIN could only play supervisory roles.