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Buhari assents FCT Appropriation Amendment Act 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the Federal Capital Territory Appropriation (Amendment) Act 2018.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Sen. Ita Enang

“The Act amends the Federal Capital Territory Appropriation Act 2017 and extends the implementation period of the Federal Capital Appropriation Act 2017 from 31st December, 2017 to 31st March, 2018 or until the coming into force of the Federal Capital Territory Appropriation Act 2018, whichever is earlier.

“This Assent now extends the life of the F.C.T Appropriation Act and the Administration can now continue implementing projects and programmes in accordance with the 2017 Act assented to in December, 2017.” it stated

February 22, 2018
Carpenter jailed 16 months for N80,000 theft

An Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, has sentenced a carpenter Emeka Okonkwo to 16 months imprisonment for stealing phones and cash worth N80,000.

Magistrate P. A. Adekomaiya convicted Okonkwo following his plea of guilt to a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and receiving stolen properties.

Adekomaiya sentenced Okonkwo without an option of fine.

Okonkwo, 32, was arraigned by the police last November 7, alongside Isaac Ibrahim, 55.

Prosecuting Sergeant Peace Chukwudi said the defendants committed the alleged offences last November 5, at about 10pm, at Elf Bus Stop, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

She said they stole recharge cards valued at N50, 000 and a cash sum of N30, 000, belonging to the complainant, Mrs Ima Jack.

Read Also: Carpenter pleads guilty to raping 18-year-old daughter

According to her, the offences contravened sections 287, 329 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Okonkwo pleaded guilty.

Ibrahim denied the charge and was granted N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

Before Magistrate Adekomaiya passed judgment on Okonkwo on Thursday, Chukwudi reviewed the facts of the case.

She said that Okonkwo stole the recharge cards when he went to the complainant’s shop, a food vendor to buy food.

According to the prosecutor, Okonkwo gained access to the complainant’s bag where the recharge cards were kept and stole them with the said money.

She said: “Okonkwo sold the stolen items to the second accused, Ibrahim.”

Magistrate Adekomaiya adjourned till April 12, for the second defendant’s trial.

February 22, 2018
Missing rice: Obaseki petitions police

Edo State Government has petitioned the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Babatunde Kokumo, over comments by State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Chief Dan Orbih, that some bags of rice meant for Internally Displaced Persons were diverted.

It said Chief Orbih in a radio interview ‘falsely and maliciously stated that the Edo State Government was involved in a criminal conspiracy to divert 4,721 bags of rice released by the Federal Government for distribution to IDPs in the state’.

In the petition signed by Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Osarodion Ogie, the Edo Government stated that Chief Orbih further claimed that 300 bags of rice were diverted to a certain Senator in Ondo State.

According to the petition, “It is instructive to note that in making these allegations to the general public, Chief Orbih claimed that he had facts and records to back up these criminal allegations.

“The purpose of this complaints is to formally bring these weighty and unsubstantiated allegations to your attention and to request a thorough investigation with a view to establishing the veracity or otherwise of same.

“It is the contention of the Edo State Government that Chief Dan Orbih should be called upon to provide evidence of the serious crimes he has alleged to have been committed by the Edo State Government and to furnish your Command with facts, details and proof of the allegations he has made in the public domain.”

February 22, 2018
Hate speech: Don’t offer your platform for use, Minister warns Media

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has advised media houses in the country against offering their platforms for use to communicate hate speech.

Mohammed warned that if not check, hate speech could be the precursor of violence and genocide.

He made the call while declaring open a Workshop on Hate Speech titled “Hate Communication in Nigeria: Identifying its Roots and Remedies”

The workshop organized by the Nigeria Press Council in collaboration with Word and Image Ltd. was chaired by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Bayo Onanuga.

The minister noted that the fastest way to nip the dangers of hate speech in the bud was for journalists to out rightly turn its back to the trend.

Read Also: Sanusi worried over use of hate speech in social media

He said: “The fact that the media takes this issue seriously is very encouraging, because, in most cases, the media – wittingly or unwittingly – provides the platform for the dissemination of hate speech. But I can say here, unequivocally, that the Nigerian media understands the dangers of hate speech.

“I have always said that hate speech is not free speech. For example, while the Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of speech, it does not guarantee freedom of hate speech. That’s because hate speech could be the precursor of violence, of genocide!”

Citing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which left at least 800,000 people dead, the Minister said “hate speech, or what later became known as ‘Hate Media’, was a major catalyst of that genocide.”

This fact, he noted was confirmed by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda when it sentenced two Rwandan journalists to life in prison and a third to 35 years in jail for their roles in fuelling the genocide.

He therefore stressed, “The lesson here is that journalists must never offer their platforms for use to communicate hate speech. They must say NO to hate speech. That’s one of the fastest ways to nip the dangers of hate speech in the bud.

“This is why this workshop is very important. I have no doubt that with the quality of the resource persons who have been assembled for this workshop; it will achieve its purpose and also go a long way in stemming the tide of hate speech in our country. A multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious society like ours cannot afford to allow hate speech to thrive. A fledgling democracy like ours is too fragile to luxuriate in hate speech. We must all say NO to hate speech.”

February 22, 2018
DPR seals 33 filling stations in Ogun for over-pricing

The Operations Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Ogun Field Office, Mrs Muinat Bello-Zagi, on Thursday revealed that the agency has sealed 33 out of the 444 filling stations visited in the state in the last seven weeks.

Mrs Bello – Zagi added that the affected stations were sealed following the discovery that the owners were over – pricing, under – dispensing and hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

The DPR Operations Director made this known while briefing journalists after the agency had met with representatives of major and independent petroleum marketers in the state.

She said two of those sealed stations would be fined and barred from taking supply of PMS at the Depot for the time being for removing the seal placed on their stations.

According to her, the DPR had continued to carry out surveillance and monitoring of filling stations across the state, with 75 per cent of them dispensing petrol to motorists.

“In Ogun State, the DPR has been on surveillance and monitoring of the filling stations across the state.

Read Also: DPR sanctions seven stations

” We have been to Ogun Waterside, Mowe-Ibafo, Ipokia, Ado Odo- Ota, Abeokuta metropolis, Sagamu, Ijebu Ode among others.

“Between January and February 22, we have visited 444 filling stations across the state and we discovered 245 out of this number were dispensing the Premium Motor Spirit popularly as petrol to motorists.

“This shows about 75 per cent of the filling stations were dispensing products to motorists.

“However, also out of this number, 33 filling stations were sealed for either over-pricing, under- dispensing and hoarding. Two of the of them were located on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. These two filling stations, were sealed but their owners removed our seal, without recourse to us.

“We have asked the depots not to supply them products, they will definely pay fines for removing our seal,” he said.

She also said the DPR had started online monitoring of petroleum retail outlets in the state.

Bello-Zagi appealed to both major and independent marketers not to hoard petroleum products and warned the public against panic buying.

February 22, 2018
73,000 PVCs yet to be collected in Cross River—REC

Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC ) in Cross River, Dr Frankland Briyai, has said that 73,195 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have yet to be collected by their owners in the state since 2015.

Briyai said this on Thursday in Calabar when he hosted a meeting of heads of Federal Government establishments in Cross River, at the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He urged registered voters to collect their PVCs to enable them to vote in the 2019 elections.

The REC said that staff of federal establishments had huge roles to play in an electoral process in the state, especially as adhoc election officials and in rendering other services.

“I will, therefore, use this opportunity to solicit your full cooperation of election officials including the Federal Government staff not to compromise while carrying out their election duties.

“They should respect all the ground rules so that there can be outcomes that represent the will of the people.

“This is part of the commission’s objective for using unbiased officials like you to conduct the elections.

”We are all stakeholders. Let us help INEC in making our country proud, ‘’ he said.

The REC said that the commission had taken the sensitisation for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) to markets in Calabar and would visit other big markets in the three senatorial districts of the state.

Briyai said INEC was working toward achieving 100 per cent free, fair and credible elections in 2019 with the support and cooperation of allstakeholders.

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February 22, 2018
Osun releases N200m for payment of gratuities

The Osun Government says it has released N200 million to settle part of the outstanding gratuities due to he 2011/2012 retirees in the state.

Mr Sola Fasure, the media adviser to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, said this on Thursday in Osogbo in a statement released after the State Executive Council meeting.

Fasure said that the 2,006 retirees that were expected to benefit from the money would receive N100, 000 each on ‘first come, first served’ basis.

He listed the beneficiaries to include 801 high school teachers, 704 civil servants and 501 others from parastatal agencies.

Fasure said that the payment would commence on Feb. 26

He also said that all retirees from local governments, elementary schools and middle schools would have their entitlements settled in instalments from Feb. 26.

Read Also: Osun Assembly backs ‘Not Too Young To Run’ Bill

Fasure said that the state government also releasedN1 billion for the payment of 142 pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The governor’s aide said that among the beneficiaries were 100 high school teachers, 30 retirees from MDAs and 12 others from parastatal agencies.

He further said that the council had dispelled the rumour that the state government was collecting fees in public schools in the state.

According to him, government is only charging students and pupil’s maintenance levies in the new state-of-the-art elementary, middle and high schools in the state.

“Elementary school pupils are required to pay N2, 000; middle school pupils, N3, 000; and high school pupils N6, 000 maintenance levy every academic session.

“Nevertheless, a flat rate of N1, 500 education trust levy is required from every pupil in public and private schools in the state every academic session, “Fasure said.

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February 22, 2018
Trump defends comments on giving U.S. school teacher’s concealed guns

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday again lashed out at what he called “fake news” outlets, insisting that he never suggested arming teachers as a possible solution to school shootings.

“”I never said ‘give teachers guns’ like was stated on Fake News CNN and NBC.

“What I said was to look at the possibility of giving ‘concealed guns to gun adept teachers with military or special training experience – only the best,” Trump said in a Twitter message.

The president was referring to comments he made on Wednesday during a White House listening session with victims and survivors of school shootings, including last week’s attack in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead.

In a series of Twitter posts on Thursday, Trump argued that “Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this.

Read Also: The long, tortuous road to the impeachment of Donald Trump: a history lesson and a morality fable

Far more assets at much less cost than guards,” adding that “If a potential ‘sicko shooter’ knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will never attack that school.”

Trump invited victims of Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland to the White House, along with survivors and parents of children killed in the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and the 2012 Sandy Hook School massacre.

The president listened to a series of emotional stories and pleas during the 90-minute meeting and asked his guests to suggest solutions to the persistent problem of school shootings in the U.S.

Nearly 300 shootings have occurred at U.S. schools since 2013, an average of about one per week, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a U.S. gun control advocacy group.

The attack in Florida was the 18th incident involving guns at a U.S. school so far this year, and the eighth to result in injuries or deaths, according to a running tally provided on the group’s website.

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February 22, 2018
Ondo commends NURTW for promoting peace

The Ondo State Government on Thursday commended the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state for conducting its activities in a peaceful manner.

Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu gave the commendation in .Akure at an empowerment programme organised by the union’s leadership to commemorate the one year anniversary of the governor’s administration.

The News men reports that all registered female members of the union from the 18 local government areas of the state got N100,000 each under the union’s initiative.

Akeredolu expressed delight at the orderliness, discipline and peaceful conduct displayed by members of the union in the state since the inception of his administration.

Read Also: NURTW chief hails police for arrest of suspected killers

The governor also lauded the empowerment initiative, saying, “this union played a key role in maintaining peace in the state and boosting the economy through transportation.”

“Our women must use the cash well motorists should not be known for violence, we will continue to support the union in our way,” he added.

Earlier, Mr Jacob Adebo, the NURTW Chairman in the state, had thanked the governor for honouring the union by his visit.

Adebo noted that the motive for empowering women in the union was to key into the state government’s policy of empowerment

He pledged his administration would continue to encourage members who are interested in pursuing academic careers in order to boost the profile of the union.

“No chairman has ever empowered women in the union before now. We are doing this to help our women who, mostly, are politicians so they can help themselves in businesses of their choice.

“We also decided to print books to encourage our members to read and write in line with the governor’s passion for education,” he said.

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February 22, 2018
Akeredolu’s wife launches birth registration initiative

The wife of the Ondo State governor, Mrs Betty Akeredolu, has launched the Accelerated Birth Registration (ABR) programme in collaboration with the wives of traditional rulers in the 18 local government areas of the state.

Launching the initiative on Thursday in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore Local Government Area, Akeredolu said ABR would develop an active communal participation at the grassroots, alleviate the sufferings of the people and proffer effective solutions to the challenges in healthcare services and data management.

She said the programme would feature the direct involvement of wives of traditional rulers (Oloris) in the state to bring healthcare to women, children and people of the state.

Operating under the aegis of Olori Connection, she said “the programme would ensure that newly born babies are registered without unnecessary bureaucracy that had been created over the years.

“Olori Connection programme will enable children born in the particular community to be registered through the wives of traditional rulers in those communities.

Read Also: Mrs Akeredolu urges women to be involved in active politics

“We want to involve the Oloris who will cooperate with us and with the help of Akowe Abiye in the community, we will collect all the data and take them to the Oloris.

“The Oloris will in turn take them to National Population Commission to get the original birth certificates of the children and the records will be taken to the Local Government Areas to help to understand the intervention needed in any particular area from the government.’’

Akeredolu said the records put together will ensure the success of the maternal, child, adolescent, health and nutrition mandates of the government.

The Olowa of Igbara- Oke, Oba Adefarakanmi Agbede, lauded the efforts of Akeredolu, promising that the community would support the programme to ensure its success.

Agbede urged residents of the community to cooperate with concerned stakeholders in the implementation of the initiative.

NAN

February 22, 2018