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Tag: Nigerian Newspaper

  • Ogun calls for cooperation among fish farmers

    Ogun calls for cooperation among fish farmers

    The Ogun State Government on Friday advised fish farmers to join in cluster farming and cooperate with the government in order to achieve its set objectives.

    It also advised them to embark on  programmes aimed at reducing importation of fish and fish products.

    Mr Adekunle Ajayi, Director of Fisheries Services, Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, gave the advice in Abeokuta.

    It was  at a lecture organised by the Catfish and Allied Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria ( CAFFAN ), Ogun State Chapter.

    The lecture is titled : “Actualising the Calculative Factors in Profitable Fish Farming”.

    Ajayi, while delivery his paper, said the cluster  farming among fish farmers would help to produce sufficient fish to feed the nation.

    He added that it would encourage  export in order to generate foreign exchange and generate employment.

    “Fish farmers coming together as one body will help move the fish production from the present level to an higher level.

    “It will also assist in identifying factors for  improvement and incukcate among them  the factors which will harnesss them for more profitable fish farming.

    “Stakeholders in fish farming should join groups like CAFFAN for them to utilise any opportunity being offered at both national and state levels, ” he said.

    Mr Rotimi Oloye, the National President (CAFFAN) , said the initiative behind the programme was to bring together all fish farmers in Ogun under a formal group called (CAFFANOGUN)

    “We are now one and united as a formal group, we have all gathered to recognise ourselves an indivisible groups of fish farmers.

    “The main reason for having CAFFAN  is to do better than what we have done, it is also a natural platform through which all fish farmers and government set goals will be achieved, ” he said.

    Oloye, however, implored all members to see the coming of the platform as the next stage for success and accomplishment.

    NAN reports that  the new executive members were inaugurated for the newly established CAFFANOGUN.

    Mr Sunday Izomo was elected the chaurman, Mr Omitogun Ganiu, (Vice-Chairman) , Mr Adewale Balogun, (General Secretary) , and Mr Laja Olowojeunjeje as Treasurer.

    Also, Mr Asafa Fisayo was elected the Financial Secretary, while Mr Michael Musowo is  the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of  CAFFANOGUN

    In a separate interview, the Chairman of  CAFFAN, Ogun Chapter, Mr Sunday Izomo, identified  high cost of feeds, fish pricing, and funding  as the major challenges facing most fish farmers.

    Izomo lamented that the consistent hike in the cost of fish feeds was affecting fish farmers and consumers.

    NAN

  • Nigeria responsible for collapse of our rice mills – Thailand

    Nigeria responsible for collapse of our rice mills – Thailand

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh says Thailand has accused Nigeria of being responsible for the collapse of its seven rice mills following the drastic fall in rice importation from the country.

    The minister made this known at a meeting of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative ( PFI ) and leadership of the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria ( FEPSAN ) held at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.

    The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Ogbeh said Thailand’s Ambassador to Nigeria made the “accusation’’ when he visited him in February.

    According to the minister, the ambassador lamented that the collapse of the rice mills has increased the unemployment rate in his country from 1.2 per cent to 4 per cent.

    “Just like two weeks ago, the Ambassador of Thailand came to my office and said to me that we have really dealt with them.

    “But I asked what did we do wrong and he said unemployment in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world, 1.2 per cent, it has gone up to four per cent because seven giant rice mills have shut down because Nigeria’s import has fallen by 95 per cent on rice alone.

    “So, Mr President we thank you for the support and we thank all the agencies and those of you in the private sector for your resilience,’’ he said.

    The minister, however, alerted the nation on what he described as alarming smuggling of fake fertilizer and rice along the western borders of the country.

    He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to take drastic measures to check the trend as all previous diplomatic measures had failed to address the menace.

    “But one last request Mr President, we have to take one strong measure against our neighbour to the West. The smuggling is really compromising our capacity on our result.

    “Too much rice, too much fake fertilizer is still coming across the borders into this country in spite of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we have with them they are not listening.

    “Maybe if the Federal Government take one tough action, they will come and renegotiate the terms because good neighbourliness means reciprocity.

    “We can’t be allowing them to survive at our own expense and I believe that we will do something about it,’’ he said.

    Ogbeh appealed to FEPSAN to adjust their blending formula using little more micro nutrients for some crops like cocoa, cashew, plantain, banana and others that would soon be revived by his ministry.

    The minister noted that the agricultural sector had created millions of jobs for Nigerians in the last two years.

    He said: “People may say what they like about jobs. Recently I heard that we lost four million jobs. Nobody has calculated the millions and millions of jobs created on the farms.

    “So, this programme as it grows can only make us stronger.

    “As soon as more dams and lakes are put in place, you begin to sell fertilizer all year round and not wait for the rainy season alone.”

    NAN

  • Peace Corps appeals to Buhari to reconsider assent to bill

    Peace Corps appeals to Buhari to reconsider assent to bill

    The Peace Corps of Nigeria ( PCN ) on Friday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider his decision of not assenting to the Peace Corps Bill passed by the National Assembly.

    The National Commandant, PCN, Mr Dickson Akoh, made the call at the Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja.

    “We want the President to assent to the bill, if not for any reason, but for the social and productive engagement of our teeming youths in line with his campaign promises.

    “The President’s withholding his assent to our bill notwithstanding, we will continue to have esteem confidence in Mr President’s leadership,’’ he said.

    Akoh said the bill was meant to give statutory backing to the organisation, with the core mandate of empowering the youths, facilitating peace, volunteerism and community service.

    He noted that the Nigerian Peace Corps Establishment Bill 2017 was not rejected by the president for its weakness but for the conceived pretexts.

    “In every ideal democracy and advance society, government should seek to explore all avenues to empower and socially engage the youth in order to reduce the social consequences of their idleness.

    “It is therefore, towards this aim that I wish to restate for the umpteenth time that similar organisations like the Peace Corps exist in several other countries of the world including the America, Canada, Bangladesh and so on,” Akoh said.

    The commandant said the function of the Nigerian Peace Corps as captured in the bill do not in any way conflict with the function of any existing security agency.

    “There was never a time in the history of our country that the need for peace has become fiercely urgent like now.

    “The role of the Peace Corps is clearly distinct from the conventional security and para-military organisations hence its placement under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development.

    “The powers conferred on the Nigerian Peace Corps in the bill do not also involve arms bearing, investigation, detention and persecution,’’ he said.

    Akoh explained that one of the principal objectives of the corps was the deployment to schools and colleges to promote peace sniff and sieve intelligence, saying this could had prevented the abduction of the Dapchi school girls in Yobe.

    NAN

  • Police arrest five over abatement, forgery in Sokoto

    Police arrest five over abatement, forgery in Sokoto

    The Police Command in Sokoto State has arrested five suspects for alleged abatement and forgery of the National Identity Card.

    The Spokesperson of the command, ASP Cordelia Nwewe, said this while presenting the suspects to newsmen in Sokoto on Friday.

    Nwewe said that two of the suspects were staff of a bank, while the other three were business centre operators.

    She said that based on information and intelligence report, operatives of the State Investigative Bureau (SIB) arrested five suspects in connection with the crime.

    “One Nasir Sifawa went to open a bank account in Sokoto, were he met the accounting officer, Mudassiru Taofeeq, who enquired from him about the National Identity Card.

    “In the process, the officer intimated his colleague at the bank, Perez Percy, who in turn demanded N4,000 and Sifawa’s details together with his passport photograph.

    “Eventually, a temporary slip of the National Identity Card was produced for Sifawa by the said bank officer and was used to open the account,” Nwewe said.

    She added that Sifawa innocently and ignorantly took the forged slip to the National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) office in Bodinga Local Government Area of the state.

    “This was with the aim of collecting the original National Identity Card, but when the NIMC staff collected the slip they discovered that it was a forged document.

    “As such, he alerted the NIMC head office in Sokoto who in turn informed the command about the incident and both suspects were cooperating with the Police in their investigation,” the Spokesperson added.

    In another development the command has also arrested five armed robbery suspects in the state.

    According to the police spokesperson, information about the suspects was reported at Gudu Police Division in Gudu Local Government Area.

    “That they blocked travelers from Niger republic coming to Sokoto on the road near Boto village in Gudu Local Government Area.

    “The hoodlums that were armed with guns and cutlasses robbed the travelers of the sum of N 289,720, four cell phones, some cloths and provisions,” she said.

    Nwewe added that a torch light used in the operation was recovered while efforts were being made to recover their firearms and arrest the remaining suspects who had fled to Niger republic.

    NAN

  • INEC announces rotational CVR to capture more voters in Kaduna

    INEC announces rotational CVR to capture more voters in Kaduna

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ), on Friday announced the rotation of its Continues Voter Registration ( CVR ) to capture more eligible voters in Kaduna State.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the commission’s Administrative Secretary in the state, Nick Dazang, and made available to our reporter on Friday in Kaduna.

    The statement said that the first batch of the rotation exercise would begin from Monday, March 5 to Friday, March 28, in the 23 local government areas of the state.

    It further explained that the first batch of the exercise would be conducted in two selected Wards/Registration Areas in each of the local governments, “while other areas would follow suite accordingly.“

    The statement noted that the arrangement would not in any way affect the ongoing CVR in the 23 INEC Local Government Area offices in the state.

    “The two exercises will go on simultaneously,” the statement added.

    The commission, therefore, urged eligible voters in the state to take advantage of the opportunity and obtain the voter card ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    NAN

  • Pay your dues promptly – Buhari tells ECOWAS member states

    Pay your dues promptly – Buhari tells ECOWAS member states

    President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Member States of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) to pay their annual contributions as and when due for the Commission to operate effectively.

    The President made the call when he received the new President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Jean Claude Brou at the State House, Abuja, on Friday

    He also maintained that the sub-regional body must run a leaner organisation by cutting costs and becoming more efficient so as to achieve its objectives.

    President Buhari said a lot of work had already been done toward cutting running costs, following the recommendation of a committee set up by the Commission on the reduction of the number of commissioners.

    “We must work toward limiting costs, keeping the number of statutory positions low and running the organisation more efficiently,” he said.

    While welcoming the new President of the ECOWAS Commission to Abuja, the President pledged the full support of the government of Nigeria in ensuring that his tenure was successful.

    “The task is enormous. The job is not easy, given the many challenges facing the sub-region, ranging from issues of security and that posed by the environment, including the shrinkage of the Lake Chad,’’ he noted.

    He, however, pledged the full commitment of Nigeria to work with other ECOWAS Member Countries toward finding lasting solution to the problems.

    In his remarks, Brou said he was at the Presidential Villa to inform Buhari that he had assumed office at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, and was fully prepared to address priority issues.

    According to him, such issues include the common currency, restructuring of the organisation and the pending issue of new memberships.

    He also presented a special message from the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara to Buhari and condoled him on the recent death of two members of his family members.

    NAN

  • NDLEA intercepts 404.9kg marijuana in FCT

    NDLEA intercepts 404.9kg marijuana in FCT

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ) says it has intercepted 404.9 kg of cannabis sativa, popularly known as marijuana, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Spokesman of the FCT Command of the agency, Mr Peter Adegbe, disclosed this to our reporter in Abuja on Friday.

    Adegbe also said seven suspects were arrested in connection with the contraband which, according to him, was seized between Feb. 11 and 15.

    He explained that 127.9 kg of the contraband was intercepted in Abuja, while 173kg and another 104kg was seized in two separate incidents at Abaji on its way to the nation’s capital.

    The NDLEA spokesman said the suspects had been charged to court, adding that the agency is determined to make the FCT a no-go area for drug peddlers.

    “These merchants of death are advised to give up the business or continue to experience losses and a date with jail,” he said.

    NAN

  • Lagos Assembly explains absence at constitutional review

    Lagos Assembly explains absence at constitutional review

    The Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday advanced reasons it did not participate in voting on constitution alteration bills in the ongoing constitution review by the National Assembly.

    The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Mr Olumuyiwa Jimoh, told our reporter in Lagos that late arrival of correspondence of the National Assembly was one of the reasons.

    Jimoh said: “The Speaker of the House,  Mr Mudashiru Obasa,  is out of the country for an educational Summit in Finland.

    “We are all aware that Finland has one of the best educational systems, but it doesn’t conduct examinations.

    “The Lagos House of Assembly is understudying how Finland is going about it to improve our own educational system.

    “Secondly, the correspondence from the National Assembly for the Constitution Amendment came in late,” he said.

    He said that the Assembly received the correspondence on Wednesday for the programme slated for Thursday.

    “When you have a meeting slated for Thursday in a place as far as Abuja,  and you are bringing in a correspondence to that effect on Wednesday, I think it is uncalled for.

    “These are the reasons, but as soon as the speaker is back, we will respond to the issue officially and appropriately,” he added.

    States Houses of Assembly under the auspices of the Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly on Thursday transmitted passed constitution alteration bills to the National Assembly in the ongoing Constitution Review exercise.

    Thirty-four of the 36 states of the federation voted on the 29 bills transmitted to them, but Lagos and Rivers states were absent.

    Of the 29 bills, 15 were passed, including the ‘Not Too YoungTo Run’ bill which seeks to reduce the ages of contestants for the office of the president, governor and National Assembly members.

    The bill to give independence to state Houses of Assembly was also passed, while the states rejected autonomy for local government.

    The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, Mr Abdulmumin Kamba, said that the rejection of devolution of powers by the National Assembly was condemned by the state Assemblies.

    NAN

  • LCCI holds forum to renegotiate concerns in Lagos Land Use Charge

    LCCI holds forum to renegotiate concerns in Lagos Land Use Charge

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI ), is set to hold a dialogue session that will renegotiate grey areas in the new Land Use Charge Law of Lagos State.

    This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mr Muda Yusuf, Director-General of LCCI on Friday in Lagos.

    Yusuf said that the session, scheduled for March 9, would examine the provisions of the recently-passed law viz-a-viz its implications for residents and businesses operating in Lagos State and its environs.

    “In continuance of its Public Policy Advocacy Initiative, it behoves the LCCI to provide a platform, such as this, to aggregate the views of stakeholders (both public and private) on the new Land Use Charge Law in Lagos, which has generated heated debates in the public space.

    “This platform will enable stakeholders in Real Estate, Construction and other related sectors to engage the Lagos State Government on the recently-passed Law and re-negotiate its grey areas,” he said.

    Yusuf added that seasoned Professionals, Leaders of Businesses in the Private Sector and top Public Sector Officials would be available to dialogue with participants at the event.

    Lagos State Government recently repealed its 2001 Land Use Charge Law, and replaced it with a new Land Use Charge Law, 2018.

    The State House of Assembly had passed the bill on Jan. 29, while the Governor signed the bill into law on Feb. 8.

    Based on this law, new rates were sent to residents and those that have received their bills claim that the land use charge was an increase of between 150 and 300 per cent over the 2017 rates.

    NAN

  • Police begins investigation into impersonation of Emir Sanusi

    Police begins investigation into impersonation of Emir Sanusi

    The Police in Kano have commenced an investigation into the alleged impersonation of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II by a 20-year-old man identified as Sultan Bello.

    DSP Magaji Majiya, the Police/Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, told our reporter in Kano on Friday that the suspect was arrested on Feb. 27, for operating an Instagram page impersonating the Emir.

    According to him, the young man was arrested following a written complaint by a woman over his suspicious activities, pretending to be the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II.
    He said the suspect had since confessed to have defrauded many innocent people by impersonating the traditional ruler.

    “The command is currently investigating and interrogating the suspect and he is cooperating with the police and as soon as the investigation is completed, he will be charged to court,’’ Majiya said.

    He added that Bello had admitted impersonating the Emir on social media and collecting over N3 million from unsuspecting persons, before he was arrested.

    The Police/PRO, however, warned youths to desist from indulging into fraudulent activities as anyone caught would be made to face the wrath of the law.

    NAN