The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria News

  • Help inmates pay fines to decongest prisons – controller urges

    Help inmates pay fines to decongest prisons – controller urges

    Lagos State Controller of Prisons, Mr Tunde Ladipo, on Sunday called on well-meaning individuals and groups to assist inmates in paying fines imposed on them to decongest prisons.

    Ladipo made the appeal in an interview in Lagos.

    He said that a number of inmates were still in prison for inability to pay fines.

    Ladipo urged that prison congestion should be the concern of all stakeholders in the interest of the society.

    The controller appealed to stakeholders to come together and fashion out more ways to reduce congestion in the country’s prisons.

    He said that the command was holding meetings with the Lagos State Judiciary and some other stakeholders to ensure speedy trial of inmates,” Ladipo said.

    He said that the Federal Government was concerned about prison congestion and was making efforts to address it.

    According to the controller, the recently launched plea bargain option will also help to decongest prisons.

    “We are having meetings with stakeholders, for example, Lagos State Judiciary, because it is of utmost concern,’’ Ladipo said.

    He advised officers and men of the Nigeria Prisons Service to be God-fearing and dedicated.

    “They have to be focused; they need to have the fear of God because our work is service to humanity,” he said.

    NAN

  • NSIA warns farmers against late purchase of fertiliser

    NSIA warns farmers against late purchase of fertiliser

    The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority ( NSIA ), has advised farmers to buy fertiliser early for the 2018 farming season to ease the problems of logistics in the production and distribution of the commodity.

    Mr Uche Orji, the Managing Director of the NSIA made this call in an interview in Abuja.

    According to him, his agency, which manages the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, is collaborating with the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria ( FEPSAN ) to make fertiliser distribution less cumbersome henceforth.

    “We are dealing with it in twofold; we want to start planning early and to start getting our products on time.

    “We encourage farmers to start buying their fertiliser early because the challenge we have is that most people end up buying fertiliser in June and July.

    “So there are bottleneck issues with production because the blending plants cannot double their capacity overnight.

    “We went through a phase where people were not buying fertiliser and suddenly, everybody wants to buy at the same time and to address this, farmers should buy early so that we can blend through the year, if possible,” Orji said.

    The NSIA chief said that efforts were being made to increase the number of blending plants to shorten the distance and the risk taken by drivers while transporting the product to a far distance.

    He said that 15 out of the 32 blending plants in the country had been revived under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) and that there would be more of this by March 2018.

    Orji said: “Another way we are addressing the challenges is to increase the number of the blending plants participating in the programme.

    “At the 2017 programme, the only blending plant to participate in the PFI in the North East is in Bauchi, so the work that is being done now with FEPSAN is to include some blending plants in Adamawa and some other parts of the North East.

    “This is where it pains because if you have to pick up products from Bauchi and transport it to parts of Borno, it is a long distance, and this adds to the cost of the products being supplied to some of these farmers.

    “We have heard reports of people having the prices above the threshold but the reality is that when you begin to travel far distances, the only way out is to ensure there are more and more blending plants.

    “FEPSAN is doing a fantastic job with the state governors, so you are going to see more blending plants added to the programme by next year”.

    Orji also pleaded with the state governors, who were yet to key into the PFI to do so in order to ease the challenges facing farmers in their states.

    He noted that the late purchase of the product, which characterised the 2017 work-plan, was unhealthy for the sustenance of the programme.

    NAN

  • Edo deploying tactful measures to tackle security challenges – Obaseki

    Edo deploying tactful measures to tackle security challenges – Obaseki

    …Urges indigenes, residents to be calm, vigilant and measured in their utterances.

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has assured citizens and residents of the state that the state government is deploying resources tactfully to arrest the recent spike in security challenges in parts of the state.

    The Governor also expressed deep sympathy with the family of the late Prof. Paul Otasowie who unfortunately lost is life in one of the attacks in the recent spike in violent crimes in the state.

    While expressing his solidarity with the families of Andy Ehanire and Osayomore Joseph who were both abducted recently, he called on indigenes and residents of the state be measured while making statements about the cases, in order not to jeopardise the efforts being made by the government to ensure their safe return to their families.

    In a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Osarodion Ogie, Obaseki appealed for calm among Edo people and residents, and urged them not to resort to extreme measures that could endanger the lives of those being held.

    “The State Government is working quietly and tactfully behind the scene to restore normalcy in the state and return the abducted to their families unharmed,” Obaseki said.

    The governor emphasised that: “There is absolutely no need for anyone or group to resort to misguided statements, extreme measures, self help or brute struggle. What is required in the circumstance is tact.”

    He stressed that the state government was committed to ensuring that those held are released in good health condition to the waiting arms of their families.

  • Annulment of N500m educational grant stirs fury in Delta

    Annulment of N500m educational grant stirs fury in Delta

    Controversy is trailing Delta State Government’s decision last week to scrap the ‘First Class Scholarship Scheme’, initiated by former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

    The programme, which targeted 100 brilliant indigent students annually, is worth N5million per student, and affords first class graduate beneficiaries opportunities to continue their educational pursuits up to doctorate level in any course and country of their choice.

    But the present administration, citing paucity of fund, suspended the programme, prompting Olorogun Jaro Egbo, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress ( APC ), and other critics to call out the government. Egbo particularly  slammed the decision, and advised Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to sack his “5,321” aides to fund it.

    A terse letter dated September 27 from the Delta State Bursary and Scholarship Board, said the government’s decision to scrap the programme was due to “financial downturn in the state.”

    The board’s Executive Secretary, Elijah Ologe, signed the letter titled ‘To whom it may concern’, and read in part: “due to the economic situation bedeviling the state, the scheme is hereby suspended.”

    Ologe said that although the board was aware that most of the beneficiaries “solely rely on the scholarship to pay their tuitions and other fees”, government had to scrap it because the state could no longer fund it.

    The announcement has however received stern backlash from beneficiaries and the opposition in the state, with respondent accusing the governor of misplaced priorities and lack of vision.

    “Okowa stopped payment of scholarship; diverts money (instead) to the payment of 5,321 SA’s. Smart government indeed,” Egbo stated sarcastically in reference to Governor Okowa’s ‘SMART Agenda’.

    Mr Toju Gedu of the Committee of Itsekiri Social Media Advocate regretted the development, stressing, “This was another laudable programme by the Dr. E. Uduaghan administration; I have two friends who are doctorate degree holders now.”

  • PDP chairmanship: Why I support Bode George – Adewale

    PDP chairmanship: Why I support Bode George – Adewale

    A former factional Chairman of PDP in Lagos State, Mr Segun Adewale, has said that he is supporting Chief Olabode George for the chairmanship seat of the party in spite of their political disagreements.

    Adewale told reporters in Lagos on Sunday that supporting George, a former PDP National Vice-Chairman (South-West) for the exalted party position was the right thing to do politically.

    He said that though he had some issues with George in the state chapter of the party, he would still support him for the position.

    “I am supporting Bode George to be the next chairman of the party despite our differences.

    “The disagreements I have with him are local disagreements and not national. My support goes for his national aspiration.

    “My support is based on his promise that he would not interfere in the affairs of the party at the state level, which was the major cause of the friction.

    “Moreover, Bode George is a chieftain from Lagos,” he said.

    George and Adewale had been at loggerheads over the former’s support for another factional chairman, Mr Moshood Salvador, in the state.

    Salvador had, before the resolution of the party ‘s leadership tussle by the Supreme Court, aligned with Chief Ahmed Makarfi, National Caretaker Chairman of the party, while Adewale supported Sen. Ali -Modu Sheriff.

    Adewale has, however, pledged support for Makarfi following his affirmation as PDP National Chairman by the Supreme Court on July 12.

    He had said that the ruling did not affect his leadership of the party in Lagos State.

    His insistence to stay at the state’s secretariat deepened his friction with George who said Salvador was the authentic chairman based on the ruling.

    The national leadership of the party later directed Adewale to surrender the keys to the secretariat to George. He has complied with the directive.

    Owing to the leadership crisis, the party announced the dissolution of the state executive committee at a non- elective congress in Port Harcourt and replaced it with a caretaker committee.

    In spite of these, Adewale was present at George’s declaration for the party’s chairmanship position on Friday in Lagos.

    PDP congress to elect new national executives will hold on Dec. 9.

    NAN

  • ICRC okays NOUN ’s N150m multi-functional center deal

    ICRC okays NOUN ’s N150m multi-functional center deal

    The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission ( ICRC ) has approved the National Open University ( NOUN ) proposal to build and operate a N150 million multi-functional center using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

    The acting Director-General of ICRC, Mr Chidi Izuwah made this known on Sunday in Abuja as he officially handed over an Outline Business Certificate, which gave NOUN the go ahead to look for private investors.

    Izuwah also urged Federal Government universities to embrace PPP as the solution to bridging infrastructure deficit in the education sector.

    “One of the biggest problems universities have is student accommodation and the best way to provide student accommodation around the world is to partner with the private sector.

    “We are working with a committee of Vice Chancellors to develop a framework to allow them partner with the private sector in this regard.

    “When you go to many universities and you see where our future leaders stay it will make you very sad.

    “So we want to bring in the private sector to provide affordable housing for our students and recover their money over a period of time,” he said.

    Izuwah said also that PPP arrangements would improve the education system and improve the future of Nigerians.

    Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Abdalla Adamu said that the proposed multi-functional center, would be situated at the University’s Headquarters.

    He said it would comprise food courts, ICT centers, supermarkets, banking services among others.

    “The cost estimate of the projects is about N150 million. We are looking at a situation where a private investor will build the complex, operate for a couple of years and then transfer it to the university.

    “At the end of the day, it’s a win win for both parties,” he said.

    NAN

  • Ghana gas depot blast kills six – Fire service

    Ghana gas depot blast kills six – Fire service

    No fewer than six people have reportedly died while 35 others injured, following intense burns from an explosion at a natural gas depot in Ghana.

    The country’s fire service spokesman, Billy Anaglate, made this disclosure in Accra during the inferno on Sunday.

    The explosion, which occurred on Saturday evening at the state-owned GOIL liquefied natural gas station, sent a giant fireball into the sky above the eastern part of Accra.

    Report said the development frightened residents to flee their homes in large numbers, even as many others were also evacuated.

    Ghana, a relatively new oil and gas producer, has suffered several recent accidents including an explosion in 2015 that killed scores of people.

    Several onlookers at the scene of the explosion, expressed anger that the government had not done enough to prevent another fatal accident.

  • Monkey pox: C/River strengthens surveillance in border communities

    Monkey pox: C/River strengthens surveillance in border communities

    Cross River Government on Sunday said it had strengthened its surveillance team in border communities and all the local governments of the state as Monkey pox outbreak hits some states in South-South.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Inyang Asibong, disclosed this in an interview in Calabar.

    “Cross River is not far from other states in the South-South that have witnessed the outbreak, we are working round the clock to prevent the disease in the state.

    “As soon as we heard about the outbreak, we took extra precautions. Already, we have a team set up for infection, disease preparedness and control.

    “We are always on alert and in constant surveillance of any disease outbreak. We have held several meetings with the state epidemiologists because we believe that prevention is better than cure.

    “Currently, we are carrying out sensitisation and advocacy campaigns in communities through community leaders, town announcers and the media,’’ she said.

    Asibong said that the state had also taken proactive measures by dispatching its epidemiological team to strategic areas in the state.

    She described Monkey pox as a rare viral disease transmitted to humans from animals, adding that the first case was noticed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970.

    According to her, infection of the disease results from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids and muscular injury of infected animals.

    She said that the incubation period ranged five to 21 days.

    According to her, the first five days known as `invasion period’, is characterised by fever, intense headache, swelling of the lymph back pain and others.

    The commissioner also described as false, some online reports alleging that a case of monkey pox had been detected in Okuni Village in Ikom Local Government Area of the state.

    The commissioner also said that security personnel on border areas across the state had been sensitised about the disease.

    She said that an infected person who contacts the disease usually notices symptoms similar to chicken pox and it normally starts from the face, palms and to the sole of the feet.

    “We have informed security personnel to look out for these symptoms and alert us accordingly.

    “The state government is very responsive to cases of disease outbreak and we pray that the recent outbreak of Monkey Pox will not get to Cross River.’’

    NAN

  • Adeneye urges campus editors on developmental journalism

    Adeneye urges campus editors on developmental journalism

    Chief Dayo Adeneye, who was represented by Mr. Waheed Adeshina disclosed this during the convention of the National Association of Nigerian Campus Editors, NANCE at National Union of Journalists, NUJ Secretariat Hall, Oke Ilewo, Ile-Iweroyin, Abeokuta, Ogun State on Saturday, 7th of October 2017.

    He urged campus editors to work hard in their various institutions in order to represents all students with their pen.

    “Pen is indeed mightier than sword, you can make difference from school. Many of the mainstream media persons we have today started from school.”

    “Make sure you make impact with your pen. Don’t just criticise, recommend solution, the schools authorities need people like you and when they begin to make use of your recommendation, you have done impact journalism”, he said.

    Also at the event, Odunayo Adams, the head of gossip desk at Naij.com who delivered the keynote on the topic: “Open Source Journalism and New Media” said that the social media platforms are enough tools for new media.

    “With social media platforms, you can get all your sources. The things needed for you as a journalist is to fact check. Don’t just use your social media platforms for uploading of pictures”, she advised.

    Also, as the tenure of Lukmon Fasasi, from Obafemi Awolowo University ended on Saturday, NANCE, the umbrella body of campus editors across the country held transition process which ushered new executives with Omole Isaac from Obafemi Awolowo University, as the new President, Tomori Uriel from University of Ilorin emerged the Vice President, Jonathan Oladimeji from Ogun State Institute of Technology emerged as the General Secretary, Adejumo Kabir also from Obafemi Awolowo University was elected as the Public Relations Officer, Aladelusi Oluwatosin from Federal School of Statistics emerged Regional Head, Hamid Fatteh also from Federal School of Statistics became the Financial Secretary and Atoyosoye Abigail from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic emerged as Treasurer.

    However, Mr Bakene Nurain, the Public Relations Officer of Tai Solarin University of Education admonished the new executives to work towards making the association better.

    “I congratulate the new executives and I urge them to leave the association better than they met it next year by the time they as giving account of stewardship next.”

  • Russia 2018: Kick off  World Cup preparations – Amiesimaka

    Russia 2018: Kick off  World Cup preparations – Amiesimaka

    Adokiye Amiesimaka, a member of the 1980 African Cup of Nations winning squad, on Sunday urged Nigeria’s football authorities to kick off preparations for the 2018 Russia World Cup.

    The former left winger gave the advice in an interview in Lagos.

    He said that the youthfulness of the players played an important role coupled with their  dedication.

    These, he said, remained the driving force of the team and should be  sustained during the World Cup.

    “I congratulate the team for qualifying for the World Cup, they worked hard for it and the result is evidence of the effort put into it;  they have the energy and they utilised it well.

    “We now need to pay attention to the next line of action, which will also depend on the teams that will qualify for the tournament;  we know them and we should start studying them.

    “We need to study and understand their strength  and weaknesses, that’s important, you need to assess the strength of your opponents  so you can strategise to neutralise them.

    “Then you can capitalise on their weaknesses, so I think that’s the most important thing that should be done,’’ he said

    Some of the countries that have qualified for the FIFA 2018 World Cup are Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, England, Germany, Russia and Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico and Brazil.

    The former Enugu Rangers Football Club player further emphasised that Nigerian teams had always underestimated the need to study their opponents in international competition.

    “What has been  happening in the past more often than not is that we do not bother to look at the teams of our opponents, that’s a big mistake.

    “We shouldn’t wait for the World Cup itself to start before looking at those issues, you do that over a period of time  before the competition starts.

    “That will give you a better idea of what to expect, if you know the psychology  of a team, then you are in a better position to know how you are going to play against them,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that the 2018 Russia World Cup is scheduled to hold between  June 14  and  July 15 in Moscow.

    Amiesimaka, a former Chairman of Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt,  also urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to organise regular top-grade friendly matches before the  World Cup.

    “What they need to do, if it can be arranged,  whatever opportunity we have to put them together for friendly matches should be utilised so they can play together often.

    “With that, we can strategise better and the players themselves will understand one another better.

    “If we can do that I’m sure we will have an exciting performance at the World Cup in 2018,’’ he said.

    A 73rd minute goal from Alex Iwobi  ensured  Super Eagles appearance at the 2018 World Cup.

    NAN