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Police boss warns state SARS against extortion, misconduct

The Commissioner of Police, Kwara Command, Mr Lawan Ado, has warned officers and operatives of the state Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) against misconduct or risk dismissal.

Ado gave the warning while addressing journalists on the outcome of his meeting with the officers at the Police Headquarters, Ilorin on Thursday.

He said the warning was consequent upon different misconducts attributed to the outfit in recent times, adding that the development had brought some disrepute to the image of the command.

According to Ado, the allegations which include extortion, checking of telephone sets of citizens, laptops and labelling every young man seen in a car as yahoo boy, should stop forthwith.

He also said drunkenness, especially while on duty, is an offence stressing that he would not hesitate to wield the big stick on any officer whose actions or inaction would drag the name of the police in the mud.

Ado reiterated the directive of Inspector- General of Police banning road blocks on the high ways and stressed that any police officer caught in such act would be severely dealt with.

“They should be assured of our support and protection of the police authority at all times, and we will do everything within our power to make their work easy.

“They have to be civil in all their dealings with the members of the public because the officers are not in any way different from other policemen.

“As such, they must at all times abide by their rules of engagement and dress code and must neatly turn out as they are not immune against sanctions,

“‘They have to be reminded that a male police searching a female suspect is a misnomer.

‘’Searching of telephone set belonging to accosted citizens by SARS operatives, escorting suspects to the ATM machine to collect money, or forcing suspect to make electronic money transfer is robbery.

”Any officer arrested doing any of the above will be dismissed and charged to court,” Ado said.

He, however, advised the people in state to continue to support the team and volunteer information to enable the police discharge their responsibility adequately.

NAN

October 26, 2017
LASPEC urges NAICOM, PenCom to eliminate hindrances to insurance

The Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) has urged the National Insurance Commission ( NAICOM ) and National Pension Commission (PenCom) to eliminate practices militating against the growth of the industry.

Director-General of LASPEC, Mrs Folashade Onanuga made the call at the ongoing Insurance and Pension Conference organised by National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) in Lagos on Thursday.

She said that eliminating the challenges would bring sanity to the industry and attract more Nigerians into the insurance net.

The D-G said the theme of the conference: Legislation of Pensions and Insurance, Intrigues, Interest, Governance and the People’ would enable experts suggest solutions to enhance the sectors’ contributions to economic growth.

According to her, annuity providers need to know how to do legitimate business while marketing a product and not behaving like fraudsters.

“Some insurance agents now stand by the roadside as if they are waiting for a prey, unfortunately, there are too many frauds in the system.

“The competition between life insurers and Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) needed to be healthier otherwise the ultimate consumers will lose confidence in them.

“Such competition contravene the transparency the 2004 Pension Reform Act (PRA) advocated for as human thinking will suggest that the fighting is to gain market share.

“This means the product is more to the benefit of the operator more than consumers,’’ she said.

The LASPEC boss expressed dismay that some life insurance companies invited retirees to programme using the name LASPEC.

“Sometimes, agents will pose as relatives of retirees to programmes to exit discussion between retirees and PFAs,’’ she said.

The Commissioner for Insurance (CFI), Alhaji Mohammed Kari, said that the commission had widened its regulatory and supervisory roles on insurance entities.

Kari, represented by Mr Pius Popoola, the Head of Authorisation and Policy, said the roles were aimed at building the confidence of policy holders.

The commissioner said the roles would also eradicate abominable ethics and promote the safety and soundness of the insurance industry.

He said that the commission would work closely with the industry and other stakeholders, especially co-regulators in the financial services sector.

“This would promote a healthy insurance industry within the existing legislation,’’ he said

NAN

October 26, 2017
MKO Abiola int’l airport in Osun to gulp N69bn

The proposed M. K. O Abiola International Airport in Ido-Osun, Osun, will cost N69 billion under a concession arrangement with an indigenous company, AWOL International, an official has said.

Mr Niyi Ogundiran, the Director of Public Building in Osun State Ministry of Works, gave the figure at a meeting with members of the state Assembly in Osogbo on Thursday.

Ogundiran said that the concession arrangement would last for 30 years before permanent transfer of ownership to the state government.

He said that the contract was first awarded on Oct. 14, 2012, at the cost of N 4.5 billion, noting that the project was to be completed within eight months by the government and not under concession arrangement.

Ogundiran said that the contract was later reviewed to gulp N11 billion to be able to accommodate more features.

He said the state government had spent N3.6 billion on the project before the concession arrangement, adding that the N3.6 billion would be deducted from the N69 billion contract sum.

Mr Nurudeen Adeagbo, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said that the concession arrangement would be to the advantage of the state.

He expressed the hope that the company would deliver a perfect job.

In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Adegboye Akintunde, urged all those in charge of the project to ensure its success.

Akintunde said that Osun people were watching with keen interest to know the outcome of the arrangement.

Mr Tunde, the Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, Co-operatives and Industries, said that the airport project was a huge investment and must be handled carefully.

Olatunji said that, if well executed, the project would facilitate economic development of the state.

NAN

October 26, 2017
Al-Makura appoints new Press Secretary

Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has appointed Musa Elayo as his new Press Secretary, according to a statement by Mohammed Abdullahi, Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

The statement issued on Thursday in Lafia said that Elayo replaced Ahmed Tukur who is to now serve as Personal Assistant to the governor.

Elayo until his appointment was the Head of Media to Nasarawa United Football Club.

According to the statement, others appointed as Personal Assistants to the governor include Mohammed Mainoma, Idris Ojoko, Bamayi Abimiku and Ebu Cecilia.

The appointments take immediate effect.

NAN

October 26, 2017
Nasarawa commences census of own houses

The Nasarawa State Government on Thursday, commenced two-week census of its houses across the state, Mohammed Wada, Commissioner for Works and Transports has disclosed.

Wada made the disclosure on Thursday in an interview in Lafia.

He said the exercise became necessary because the state government discovered that over the years, most occupants of such houses stayed in them illegally.

The commissioner said due to the monetization police, government does not longer provide accommodation for civil servants.’

“All GRAs, Six-man and Eight-Man Quarters, Low Cost, in Akwanga, KeffI, Lafia, Nasarawa and other local government areas are occupied by retired civil servants.

“We are taking the census of all government houses to ascertain their occupants, their status and legality of allocation,” he said.

The commissioner also said the state government was losing a lot of revenue due to the presence of illegal occupants of the houses who also failed to pay rent.

He said the occupants were required to present their allocation papers during the exercise, warning that failure to do that would make them to vacate the houses.

According to him, in the event that a lawful occupant is discovered to be defaulting in paying rent to the state government rent, he or she will be made to pay all outstanding rent.

He also said that lawful occupants of such structures would be asked to renovate their houses while vacant houses at the end of the exercise would reallocate to interested persons.

NAN

October 26, 2017
Netherlands-based Omidiji eyes call up to Super Falcons

Sophia Omidiji, a Netherlands-based soccer player, says her dream is to play for Nigeria’s senior female team, the Super Falcons.

Omidiji said this on Thursday in Abuja that she was optimistic that her abilities would earn her a place in the national team.

20-year-old Omijidi was born in Las Vegas. United States and was adopted as an infant by a Nigerian father, who hails from Ogun.

The player was earlier invited to the camp of Nigeria’s U-20 side Falconets ahead of a 2016 World Cup qualifier against Democratic Republic of Congo.

She plays for Dutch’s topflight side S. B. V Excelsior in Rotterdam.

The forward had earlier played for KAA Gent in the Belgium Division I, where she scored 18 goals with 12 assists in 20 games.

According to her, it is always a privilege and honour to represent one’s fatherland.

“It has always been my dream to be able to contribute my quota and bring joy to our people in the form of lifting the World Cup with the Super Falcons. Then I will be fulfilled.

“I also think my abilities will give me a good chance in the team and playing for Excelsior is an opportunity to learn from great coaches in Eredivisie league, the highest league in the Netherlands,” she said.

The player said she was currently studying as well as playing football.

“In January, I will be obtaining an Associate degree. This is to show others that you can be a professional and get a degree.

“I believe in myself, trust my abilities and know that by God’s Grace I will accomplish my goals.

“I have a strong team behind me; my family and my managers Temple Management Company (TMC), so I just focus on developing myself,” she added.

TMC is a full-service creative talent and event management company incorporated in Nigeria and operating in the Entertainment, Sports, Media and Art sectors.

NAN

October 26, 2017
Koeman blames failed Giroud move, tough fixtures for sacking

Former Everton manager, Ronald Koeman says the club’s failure to sign Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, combined with their tough fixture list to start the season, led to him being fired.

Koeman was sacked on Monday after Everton’s 5-2 loss to Arsenal dropped them into the Premier League relegation zone.

The side have struggled to score this year, netting just seven goals in nine league games, and Koeman said allowing top scorer Lukaku to leave for Manchester United without signing a replacement proved costly.

“I had Olivier Giroud in the building,’’ Koeman told Dutch magazine VI.

”He would have fitted perfectly but, at the very last moment, he decided that he’d rather live in London and stay at Arsenal.

“That was really hard to swallow … Lukaku was so important for us, not just because of his goals.

“If things were not going well in a game, if we could not play the way we were used to, there was always the option to use the long ball towards him.”

Everton faced Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in their opening nine league games.

And Koeman, who spent heavily in the summer to overhaul the squad, said he knew it would be tough going when the fixture list came out.

“I looked at it and saw that five of our first nine games would be against clubs from last season’s top six…,” Koeman added.

“I said to myself, ‘Phew! That is not going to be an easy run, in particular with a Europa League run at the same time; and, most of all, because I had lost my striker Lukaku.”

Giroud was not the only striking target Everton missed out on, midfielder Nikola Vlasic told Dutch outlet 24sata.

The club had hoped to sign former Chelsea striker Diego Costa and had reserved a shirt number for the Spaniard.

“Number 27 was free, I wanted 8, but Ross Barkley wears it, while the club was keeping 19 for Diego Costa,” Vlasic said.

Assistant coach David Unsworth was named Everton’s interim manager and his first league match in charge will be a trip to Leicester City on Sunday.

NAN

October 26, 2017
Zamfara has spent over N57bn on Federal roads – Nalado

The Zamfara Government on Thursday said it had spent N57.3 billion on the reconstruction of 600 Kilometers of roads belonging to the Federal Government in the state.

The state Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Mu’azu Nalado, told newsmen in Gusau shortly after the Senate Committee on Works, led by Sen. Kabiru Gaya, visited the state for an oversight function.

Nalado said that the committee during the visit inspected some of the roads reconstructed by the Zamfara state government.

He said the state government had already submitted the reports containing all the names, locations and total length of the roads and money spent on each.

According to the commissioner, there are still areas of contention over the ownership of some of the roads reconstructed by the state.

He told the committee that the Federal Ministry of Works had indicated that any road not gazetted and without route number would not be considered as federal government road.

“But we at the state government level have considered all the reconstructed roads as federal government roads because they are all federal government roads.

“We have already presented this issue to the senate committee and they promised to look into the matter and resolve it amicably,’’ the commissioner said.

Nalado said the state government had also spent about N200 million for emergency repairs of washed away sections of Gusau-Sokoto and Kaura-Shinkafi-Sabonbirni Highways owned by the federal government.

He said the state government had spent N20 billion for the construction of various state owned roads, saying some were completed while others were ongoing.

“When the present administration in the state under the leadership of Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari came into power in 2011, almost all the roads in the state both federal and state government owned were dilapidated.

“Therefore, we have no option than to embark on road construction to address one of the major problems affecting our people,” he said.

The commissioner listed the reconstructed federal roads as Sokoto-border-Dakitakwas-Kebbi border, Dakitakwas-Mayanchi junction, Gusau-Kasuwar Daji and Kauran Namoda-Gidan Jaja roads.

He said that the other road was the Wanke-Keta-Danjibga- Bilbis-Kucheri, inaugurated by President Muhammad Buhari in 2016.

“We also have Talata-Mafara-Rini-Faru-Jambako-Gora-Boko-Lambar Book road which was completed in 2013 and also inaugurated by President Muhammad Buhari when he was a presidential candidate.”

NAN

October 26, 2017
Court dissolves 16-year-old marriage between clerics

An Ado-Ekiti Customary Court, ‎on Thursday, dissolved a 16-year-old marriage between Mr Emmanuel Jegede and his wife, Olubunmi, both clergymen.

The marriage was dissolved on the grounds of threat to life, provocation, stubbornness, lies and adultery.

The petitioner, Mr Emmanuel Jegede, 41, a clergyman, resident at Irewumi quarters, opposite Bawa Estate, Ado-Ekiti, told the court that the respondent was arrogant, lazy, stubborn and unsupportive.

He explained that the respondent, who gave birth to three children for him, was not willing to work to assist him in taking care of the children’s welfare.

Emmanuel said that she was the only one responsible for the family upkeep including the education of the children.

The petitioner, therefore, pleaded with the court to separate them and award the custody of his three children to him for proper care.

The parties have since January, 2016, stopped living together, as the petitioner had remarried ‎a new wife.

The respondent, Mrs Olubunmi Jegede, 39, a prophetess, trader and resident at No 31, Ifesowapo q‎uarters, off Nova road, Ado-Ekiti, denied all the allegations leveled against her.

She alleged that the petitioner was an adulterous man and that in 2008 alone, he committed adultery with five women in their church.

The respondent added that she even caught more women with the petitioner in their parish.

The mother of three children told the court that for two years, the petitioner abandoned her and the children.

She said the petitioner preferred to drink beer to stupor and smoke cigarette instead of taking good care of her and the children.

Olubunmi said she was responsible for the school fees of their second child, Elizabeth, 6, since 2015 to date.

She consented to the decision of the petitioner that the court should dissolve their marriage.

The respondent, however prayed the court to award the custody of her three children to her for proper care.

The president of the court, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, observed that the marriage had broken down irretrievably and consequently dissolved the marriage.

She awarded ‎the custody of the three children to the respondent for proper care.

Akomolede ruled that the petitioner would be paying N2, 500 as feeding allowance on each of the three children, beginning on or before Nov. 30 through the court registry.

She further ruled that the petitioner would be responsible for the education of the children at all levels.

However, the court granted the petitioner, unrestricted access to his children between the hours of 8a.m. and 6p.m.

NAN

October 26, 2017
President Buhari presides over FEC

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday presided over the meeting of Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the Presidential Villa, Abuja

The meeting which was shifted from Wednesday, Oct. 25 to Oct. 26, started at about 11 a.m.

It is being attended by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Habiba Lawal, and cabinet ministers.

Gathered that the 2018 budget might be the sole agenda to be deliberated upon at the meeting.

NAN

October 26, 2017