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Tag: Nigeria News

Life harder under APC – Gov Emmanuel

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state has lamented the worsening economic condition of Nigerians under the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking yesterday in Uyo at the New Year Get-together ceremony of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ), the Governor said Nigerians fared better under the PDP than the APC government.

In fact, Emmanuel slammed those blaming the PDP for the country’s current predicament, adding that the high cost of food items, petrol, automobiles and the soaring exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar are indicators that all is not well with Nigerians under the APC government.

“Everywhere you go people keep saying the PDP spoiled the country. When PDP governed Nigeria how much was a bag of rice? When PDP was in power how much was Toyota Corrolla? When PDP handed over power how much was a litre of petrol? When PDP handed over government how much was the exchange rate? Was it not between 186 to 188?

“I am standing here firm and sure that Nigerians now know the difference and they are eagerly waiting for PDP in 2019.

“Nigerians did not know or value what they had until they lost it ( PDP ). Nigerians now appreciate us much now. We can zero in on that and make a lot of impact. We shouldn’t play the defeatist approach”, Governor Emmanuel said.

He said that one of the ways to dislodge the APC in 2019 both at the state and federal levels was for party members to obtain the permanent voters card.

To this end, he directed party stakeholders occupying government positions to sensitize and mobilize party members in their wards to register and obtain their PVCs which which they can remove the APC government.

The Governor also hinted that political and traditional positions in the state would strictly be determined by the principle of zoning, adding that zoning makes election cheaper and eases tension.

“My intention is to make election cheap for us through zoning. I am happy that all of us have adhered to the principle of zoning.

“These days I get calls from communities when they want to select their village heads and they tell me they are adopting zoning. It makes life very easy”, he argued.

January 23, 2018
Bwari crisis: Committee submits report on damages, victims

The ad hoc committee, set up to assess and collate data on damages incurred during the recent Bwari crisis, has submitted its report to the Chairman, Bwari Area Council, Mr Musa Dikko.

Dikko, while receiving the report on Tuesday in Bwari, Abuja, reiterated the council’s commitment to bring succour to the affected traders in the area.

According to him, the report would be used to attend to the welfare of the victims.

“This report is not an investigation report on what led to the crisis but a report on the number of persons, shops and owners of the shops affected both in and outside the market.

Read also: Bwari residents bemoan their condition after communal clash

“It is to give government an idea on how to go about assisting the victims.

“I assure you that the recommendation in this report would be put into consideration and implemented immediately.

Dikko noted that investigations on what led to the Christmas day crisis are still ongoing at the FCT level, adding that the FCT Minister has constituted a panel on the matter.

He, however, commended the committee for a job well done and for submitting the report on time.

Earlier, Mrs Evelyn Chukwu, Chairperson of the committee and Secretary of the council, said that the report included the number of persons, who were hospitalised but are out of the hospital and also the number of deaths recorded.

She added that the report also included the number of traders, whose shops were burnt in and around the market, including shops on the streets.

Chukwu noted that the data collated was in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Nigerian police and the Department of State Security (DSS ).

Recall that the Bwari, FCT town, was on Christmas day hijacked by suspected cultists, who burnt shops in the market and mounted bonfire and barricades to prevent vehicular movement.

The council, subsequently, set up an ad hoc committee to assess the number of people affected and damages with a view to bring succour to the victims.

NAN

January 23, 2018
Gov Ahmed calls for enforcement of ban on importation of poultry products

Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed has called for stronger enforcement of current ban on importation of poultry products into the country to protect the health of citizens and boost the nation’s economy.

Declaring open a seminar organised by the Poultry Association of Nigeria with the themed: “Impact of Smuggled Poultry Products on the Economy and Health of Nigerians” in Ilorin, Governor Ahmed emphasised that Nigeria has the local capacity to fill the supply gap that may be created by this ban on importation of frozen meat.

The governor who explained that poultry industry is still faced with challenges including but not limited to unfair competition from imported frozen meat, chicken and turkey, said “imported frozen meat is said to account for over $2.5 in foreign exchange and a loss of more than one million jobs opportunities annually”.

The net impact of this, according to Dr Ahmed, is the gradual emasculation of local businesses, resulting in unemployment and stunting growth.

Gov Ahmed insisted that smuggling of contraband items drains the national income, retards local businesses and often results in the demise of local industries, and in the long term have devastating effects on the health of consumers.

Earlier in his remarks, the President, Poultry Association Nigeria, Mr. Ezekiel Ibrahim, who attributed high cases of cancer and kidney diseases, particularly among the wealthy individuals, to the consumption of imported products, disclosed that an average of 1.3 metric tonnes of poultry products were smuggled into the country on annual basis between 2004 and 2017.

Mr. Ibrahim called on Kwara State Government to encourage whistleblowing policy among inhabitants of border communities to expose those smuggling poultry products.

In his paper presentation titled: State of Emergency: Job losses due to smuggling of poultry products in Nigeria, the immediate past National President of the association, Dr Ayoola Oduntan described poultry business as low hanging fruits with potential to creating high paying jobs.

January 23, 2018
Dalung inaugurates 33-man NYCN committee

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Solomon Dalung, has inaugurated a 33-man National Transition Committee of the National Youth Council of Nigeria ( NYCN ).

Dalung, who inauguratwd the committee in Abuja, said the committee should come up with modalities and action plan that would target the realisation of a successful elective congress within six months.

Dalung charged the committee to find lasting solutions to the crisis bedevilling the council, urging them to use the opportunity to harvest new executives with wealth of experience.

“You will agree with me that the NYCN leadership crisis was an ill wind that blows nobody any good. We are all losers and victims of the Council’s power tussle.

“The Nigerian youths has lost so much as crisis deprived them of quality representation nationally and internationally.”

Read also: How Sports Minister Dalung spurred Eagles to victory

The Minister noted that committee members would be culminated in an elective congress which would usher in a new leadership for the Youth Council, adding that the committee was a true reflection of interest groups , zones and was gender sensitive.

The Minister, however, warned all the members of the council against cresting the NYCN logo on their vehicles, stressing that anyone found guilty of this would be sanctioned.

He also directed youths above 35 years should only serve at the National Advisory Council level of the NYCN, stressing that henceforth, the council’s leadership will be within the age range of 33 to 35 years.

He called on youths to work hard with the interest of the nation at heart, while advising them to not let themselves be deceived by over ambitious politicians who do not mean well for the country.

Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the NYCN Mr Dickson Akoh, appealed to members seeking elective positions, who have been barred constitutionally from contesting due to the age limit enshrined in the constitution, to comply so as to enable the council move forward.

He also charged the newly inaugurated committee members to be committed in delivering on the mandate given to them, and hoped to inaugurate a substantive executive members of the council in the shortest period.

NAN

January 23, 2018
Buhari, Equatorial Guinea President meet in Aso Rock

*Equatorial Guinea President seeks dialogue as solution to African problems

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with Equatorial Guinea President, Theodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

At the end of the closed doors meeting, Equatorial Guinea President, advocated for dialogue as the solution to the myriad of crises plaguing various countries in West African sub-region.

Speaking with State House journalists, he said that he came to visit Buhari to know about the state of his health in view of the health crisis he went through for the better part of last year.

Stressing that the visit was also in line with a maxim that when a fellow person is down, it is the responsibility of persons around him to seek his wellbeing, he said that he was glad to see the President looking hail and healthy.

He also congratulated Buhari for giant strides in the fight against Boko Haram, which he said had caused a great havoc which had spread to some other West African countries including Chad and Cameroon.

According to him, through Buhari’s committed fight against Boko Haram, the insurgent group is almost eliminated but for pockets of attacks still being carried out by the insurgents.

“One of the salient issues in the meeting was that l congratulated our dear brother for the great fight against Boko Haram. We realised that Boko Haram had caused a great havoc that had been carried all over the sub-region including Chad and Cameroon. He is doing a great job. He’s almost eradicating the menace of Boko Haram apart from pockets of attacks here and there,” he said.

Mbasogo, who spoke in Spanish, aided by an interpreter, said the meeting also discussed security concerns in the neighbouring West African countries.

He said that he and Buhari considered the need to work together with a view to securing a common ground for development and cooperation to achieve desired goals.

The President who also narrated how his country had been a victim of varying security crises orchestrated by some terrorists from Chad and Sudan in collaboration with a group of deviants from France, disclosed that his decision to promptly reach out to Cameroon helped to put the situation under control.

Narrating how the country became a victim of the first coup d’etat in 2004, Mbasogo said through the cooperation of neighbouring countries, the coup plotters were apprehended and imprisoned for several years until the government opted to pardon and free them.

On the plan of West African leaders on the crisis which broke out in Southern Cameroon and resulted in the influx of refugees into Nigeria, Mbasogo said there is no country without its own peculiar crisis.

According to him, it only behoves on parties concerned to put heads together and embrace dialogue as the platform for solution to the crisis.

“Cameroon is a big nation whose crisis requires the concern of all forces. There is no nation without its own crisis. What is required is to seek solution through dialogue and use it to find a common axis. Those seeking refuge in other lands need to sit down together and find solution through dialogue. It is only through that, they can find solution to the crisis,” he said.

On the challenge of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, Mbasogo who said the pirates were destroying and sabotaging Nigeria’s development effort in the area, also advocated dialogue as solution to the crisis.

“On piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, the pirates are destroying and sabotaging the property of Nigeria. The government of Nigeria cannot develop the area. What is warming therefore is to expect the government of Nigeria to bring the parties to dialogue for a solution to the crisis.

“In Equatorial Guinea, we feel concerned. We all need to put our hands on deck to ensure that there is security in all regions. We have to develop our nations and we can only do so under peace and harmony,” he said.

January 23, 2018
We need change that will give hope to the youths – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday commended President Muhammadu Buhari over his achievements in fighting corruption and insurgency, but said there was need for real change to give hope to youths in the country.

Obasanjo stated this in a special statement issued in Abeokuta and made available to newsmen.

“I thought President Buhari would fight corruption and insurgency and he must be given some credit for his achievements so far in these two areas, although it is not yet uhuru.

The elder statesman, however, stressed the need for a united front in moving Nigeria to an enviable height.

He called for partnerships and increased collaborations among well meaning Nigerians to move the nation forward.

“We can collectively save ourselves from the position we find ourselves.

“It will not come through self-pity, fruitless complaint or protest, but through constructive and positive engagement and collective action for the good of our nation and us and our children and their children.

Read also: Obasanjo to Buhari: Halt 2019 re-election bid

“We need moral re-armament and engaging togetherness of people of like-minds and goodwill to come solidly together to lift Nigeria up,” he said.

He said Nigerians must be united, willing-ready and participate in process of progress and drastic change.

“We need “change’’ that will give hope and future to all our youths and dignity and full participation to all our women.

“Our youths should be empowered to deploy their ability to learn, innovate and work energetically at ideas and concepts in which they can make their own original inputs.

“Youths must be part of the action today and not relegated to leadership of tomorrow and change that will mean enhancement of living standard and progress for all.

“The development and modernisation of our country and society must be anchored and sustained on dynamic Nigerian culture, enduring values and an enchanting Nigerian dream.

“We must have abiding faith in our country and its role and place within the comity of nations.

“Today, Nigeria needs all hands on deck. All hands of men and women of goodwill must be on deck. We need all hands to move our country forward.”

NAN

January 23, 2018
NSE market indicators drop further by 1.16%

The Nigerian Stock Exchange ( NSE ) market indicators on Tuesday dropped further by 1.16 per cent due to market volatility caused by profit taking.

Market capitalisation shed N187 billion or 1.16 per cent to close at N15.902 trillion compared with N16.089 trillion on Monday.

The All-Share Index lost 522.68 points or 1.16 per cent to close at 44,389.85 against 44,912.53 achieved on Monday.

Mr Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd., attributed the development to profit taking embarked by some investors ahead of 2017 earnings season.

Omordion said some investors were taking adavantage of 18 per cent growth posted by the market in the past three weeks.

Mobil Oil recorded the highest loss, declining by N7 to close at N209 per share.

Read also: NSE, CBi award corporate governance rating to 33 companies, 435 directors

Dangote Cement trailed with a loss of N4 to close at N269, while Julius Berger was down by N1.60 to close N30.40 per share.

Guaranty Trust Bank shed N1.51 to close at N52, while Zenith International Bank dropped by 75k to close at N32 per share.

On the other hand, Seplat topped the gainers’ table, increasing by N9.99 to close at N685 per share.

Unilever followed with a gain of N2.21 to close at N46.41, while Nigerian Breweries gained N2 to close at N145 per share.

Presco appreciated by N1.31 to close at N70, while Nestle added N1.11 to close at N1,471.11 per share.

A breakdown of the activity chart showed that Skye Bank was the toast of investors trading 150.37 million shares worth N226.77 million.

FBN Holdings followed with an account of 104.17 million shares valued at N1.36 billion, while Wema Bank traded 64.09 million shares worth N87.36 million.

Diamond Bank sold 44.39 million shares valued at N144.80 million, while Transcorp exchanged 43.39 million shares worth N94.28 million.

In all, the volume of shares traded closed lower with an exchange of 737.86 million shares valued at N7.67 billion traded in 8,927 deals.

This was against the 4.44 billion shares worth N15.93 billion shares exchanged in 8,572 deals on Monday.

NAN

January 23, 2018
Atiku condemns burning of Falae’s farm

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the burning the farm belonging to a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae.

Falae’s oil palm farm, located on the outskirts of Akure, Ondo State, was burnt down on Sunday by suspected Fulani herdsmen

In a statement released by his media office in Abuja on Tuesday, Atiku said that arson is a punishable offence under the law and that when the crime is aimed at destroying a private investment, it adds the additional penalty of economic sabotage.

“It is a reprehensible act of economic sabotage to wilfully set ablaze any person’s property and investments.

“As a statesman who has worked tirelessly for this country, Chief Falae deserves a quiet and peaceful retirement and not this lot that has been characterised by kidnapping and other vices including this arson”, the statement added.

Atiku called on the police and other relevant security agencies in the country to launch an investigation into the crime and ensure that the culprits are brought to book to serve as deterrent.

January 23, 2018
Niger delta youths to Buhari: Extend amnesty programme

Youths from the Niger Delta region on Monday called on President Buhari to sustain the Presidential Amnesty Programme for ex-militants in the region.

The youths urged the president not to allow the gains recorded through the Programme to be truncated prematurely.

President Buhari, in his inaugural address in 2015, had said his government would begin the process of winding down the Programme for ex-militants in the region this year.

But the youths, under the Ijaw Youth Council, in a communique read by its Chairman, Comrade Ebizimor Preye, in Abuja, called on the Federal Government to rethink, and readdress its decision to phase out the Programme.

He said the council took the decision at the end of its emergency consultative meeting of Niger Delta youth groups and other stakeholders.

Preye said: “We, the undersigned representatives of Ijaw Youths and allied groups in the Niger Delta under the auspices and leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council, hereby call on the Federal Government to rescind, rethink, and readdress its position on the proposed premature phasing out of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“To sustain the vision of that laudable plan requires dedication, commitment, and adherence to the delicate milestones and indicators of progress of the amnesty programme, and any premature phasing out of the Programme would be as bad as not having done it at all.

“The amnesty Programme can be likened to a long awaited medical treatment regimen which if not completed in terms of recommended dosage, appropriate duration and clinical tracking, or which if prematurely and unwisely terminated can lead to a more dangerous relapse of the ailment to the affected part of the body with grave consequences to the entire system.

“While the amnesty Programme cannot last forever it is more of a journey than a destination, and should be handled accordingly without premature, Ill-thought or rigid terminal processes because healing is gradual especially when the wounds are deep and severe as with the Niger Delta.”

He urged the National Assembly to expedite action and pass into law the bill establishing the Presidential Amnesty Programme for rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-militants.

January 23, 2018
Not all Fulani people are criminals– APC chieftain

An elder statesman in Taraba, Alhaji Dahiru Umar, on Tuesday called on the media to stop portraying all Fulani people as criminals because of the activities of a few.

He said the media have the duty of investigating events and not being quick to jumping to conclusions and profiling of any ethnic group.

Umar, who is a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress in Taraba, disclosed this to newsmen in Jalingo.

Umar said violent crime was unacceptable to all ethnic groups.

He said the frequent portrayal of killer herdsmen as ‘Fulani’ by a section of Nigerian media was tacitly suggesting that all Fulani people are criminals.

“The frequent use of the term Fulani by the media to describe killer herdsmen is not only a stereotype but it defies responsible journalism.

Read also: Benue killings: We warned Buhari about looming crisis – Fulani leaders

“Of course, there are bad eggs among Fulani. Look, a criminal is a criminal irrespective of his tribe, but this negative profiling of our people, even before thorough investigation, is new to the principles of journalism,” he said.

On the State Open Grazing Prohibition law, Umar said that more enlightenment would allow all stakeholders to buy into it.

“The truth is ranching is the best alternative to grazing, but it has to be gradual, not this fire brigade approach of forcing people to ranch millions of cows within six months or thereabout.

“Intensive and continuous sensitisation should have been done. In the 1980’s, I remember, our people rejected fertilizer when it was introduced but accepted it after massive awareness campaign” he said.

Umar appealed to the state government to invest heavily in the establishment of ranch infrastructure across the state, saying that herdsmen would gradually copy the model from them.

NAN

January 23, 2018