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  • How we plan to create 100m jobs, by VP

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has explained how President Muhammadu Buhari plans to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

    He said the Federal Government’s policies and programmes aimed at promoting financial inclusion remain key to the actualisation of the plan.

    Prof. Osinbajo spoke in Abuja at the opening of the Annual Conference of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

    In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, the Vice-President referred to the President’s June 12 speech where he stated that “we are working to lift Nigerians out of poverty and set them on the path to prosperity. We intend to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next 10 years”.

    Read Also: AfCFTA’ll open new vistas to banking sector, says Osinbajo

    Osinbajo said: “Financial inclusion, of course, is the key to realising so much of what we expect as an economy and the President promised in his June 12 speech to lift 100 million people out of poverty in 10 years. That is the commitment of the government of Nigeria.

    “We started that journey with our collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to deliver the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) programme, better known as TraderMoni and MarketMoni by providing microcredit to almost two million petty traders.

    “The Bank of Industry has now brought this huge bottom of the pyramid into the formal financial system and that has been recognised worldwide. “Recently, the programme won the African Development Bank (AfDB) prize for financial inclusion because of the work that was done with TraderMoni. This is a huge task.

    “Going forward, we now need to embark on financial training for all of those who have been brought into the net. As you know, when they’re given N10,000 and they pay back, they are given N15,000, N20,000, and it goes all the way.

    “But at that point they’re given their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), they’re formally included in the financial system; they’re formally included as formal traders. So, we are able to give them financial training and all that.”

    He added: “…For very long, that bottom of the pyramid has been completely excluded and yet informal trade is a significant part of trading that is going on in our country.

    “So, there’s a real need out there and we must devise the methods by which those at the bottom of the pyramid can be uplifted. We must look at how we can even resource the entire value chain. What we find is that the petty trader, who just has a trade, is usually selling little bits and pieces from many of the manufacturers or fast-moving products. We found that just by giving them credit, we can resource the whole value chain all the way up.”

  • Nigerian Navy hands over seven suspects to NSCDC

    The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Lagos command, has said another seven suspected Premuim Motor Spirit (PMS) illegal dealers have been handed to the command by the Nigerian Navy.

    The Spokesperson for NSCDC, Lagos command, Mrs Kehinde Bada-Okoli, who disclosed to newsmen on Wednesday, said the suspects are all male.

    Bada-Okoli, said some of the items recovered from the suspects includes 80 drums of 250 litres of PMS and 100 of 250 liter empty drums.

    Read Also: NSCDC parades suspected illegal oil dealers in Abia

    “Other items recovered included two 50 Horse Power (HP) outboard engines, one pumping machine and one 50 HP spare machine,” she said.

    She said the suspects would be handed over to the appropriate agency for further investigation and prosecution.

    The NSCDC spokesperson said that the corps would not rest on its oars in carrying out its mandate of protecting critical infrastructure as well as lives and property, towards ensuring a crime-free Lagos.

    She enjoined the populace to avail the Corps and other security agencies with necessary intelligence information to rid the state of all forms of crimes,” she said.

    NAN

  • Oba Oniru lived `life of significance’ – Osinbajo

    The Vice-President, Prof.  Yemi Osinbajo, said in Lagos on Wednesday that Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abiodun Oniru, lived a life of significance and contribution to the nation.

    Osinbajo spoke during a condolence visit to the family of the late monarch at his Victoria Island Palace.

    Oniru died on Monday after a brief illness.

    Aged 82, the traditional ruler is survived by wives and children, among whom are a former Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront, Adesegun Oniru, and an On-Air personality, Tolu Demuren, also known as Toolz.

    The vice-president said that the late Oniru’s guidance and counsel all the time was impactful.

    “I served in this state as Attorney-General and throughout that period, he was always there for us, always there to support us.

    Read Also: We’re not probing Osinbajo, N-SIP-EFCC

    “So, we are all deeply saddened about his departure and we have all lost a father, we have all lost a dear father.

    “We thank God that he lived a life of significance; he lived a life of serious contribution to our state and the nation.

    “So, on behalf of the Federal Government and President Muhammadu Buhari, I express sincere condolence to the Oniru family and to our state, Lagos State,’’ he said.

    Responding on behalf of the family, Adesegun thanked the vice-president for finding time to come to condole with the family.

    He recalled that while Osinbajo served as the Attorney General of Lagos State, he also served in that cabinet which had contributed a lot to the nation.

    Osinbajo had earlier signed the condolence registrar.

     

  • Presidency faults online reports criticizing Buhari’s response at UN climate summit

    The Presidency has faulted media reports criticising President Muhammadu Buhari’s participation at the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 on Monday.

    A statement by the President’s Media Office on Wednesday said the controversy that followed the summit was uncalled for.

    It reads “On Monday September 23, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari participated alongside other world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019.

    “Since then, we have seen conversations on Twitter doing what Twitter allows many people to spend a lot of their time on: getting things horribly wrong and/or focusing on the wrong things, while completely missing the real/meaningful/actual message.

    “And so, this is a backgrounder/explainer, focusing on Nigeria’s commitment to climate action, under the Buhari Administration.

    “The Climate Action Summit was convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to provide an opportunity for world leaders to, “come to New York on 23 September with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade, and to net zero emissions by 2050.”

    “The theme of President Buhari’s panel was, “Towards a Resilient Future” — with the rider: “Announcement of plans to mainstream climate risk in decision making.”

    “So, note that the goal of the panel was to elicit ‘announcements’ from the panelists on behalf of their respective countries: Fiji, Nigeria, Netherlands, the Bank of England, etc. In other words, panelists were billed to deliver remarks announcing their country/organisation plans to build a resilient, climate-sensitive future.

    Read Also: Buhari’s double shuffle

    ‘To address the theme of the event, President Buhari chose to deliver prepared remarks.

    “And the moderator’s question, was, in keeping with the theme: “President Buhari, Nigeria has a very young population; perhaps you might highlight what a pathway for a resilient future looks like?”

    “The President did exactly that, in his prepared remarks, over the next few minutes, highlighting what a “resilient future” will look like in Nigeria — by focusing on the administration’s policies (the ones already being implemented, like the Green Bonds, and the ones set for implementation, like the new tree-planting campaign, and the energy mix target).

    “His prepared remarks were wholly in alignment with the theme of the Panel event, and the question he was asked.

    “Keep in mind that as panels often work, the moderator’s question was meant to invite/usher him to take the stage, and share his remarks. As a panelist it was up to him to choose to respond ex tempore, or to go the ‘prepared remarks way.’

    ‘He chose the prepared remarks way. And most importantly, he touched on the issues re: mainstreaming climate action for the future and for the young people of Nigeria.

    “The only story here, for all serious minded people, is what he said, and what it means for the future and for the young people of Nigeria. His remarks read in parts:

    “I share the sentiment expressed by the Secretary-General that the world is on the verge of climate catastrophe. Undeniably, Climate Change is a human-induced phenomenon.

    “In the water sector, Nigeria will issue a Green Bond for irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation and water supply. We will strengthen solid and liquid waste management systems to attract more private sector investors.

    “We will mobilize Nigerian youths towards planting 25 million trees to enhance Nigeria’s carbon sink.

    “Specifically, Nigeria is progressively working to realize 30 percent energy efficiency and renewable energy mix by 2030.

    “Furthermore, the Federal Government has commenced the implementation of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme in Ogoniland, to recover the carbon sink potential of the mangrove ecosystem of the one thousand square kilometers (1,000 KM2) polluted site in the affected area.

    “Finally, permit me to add that the forty million citizens in the Lake Chad area expect this Summit to take into consideration their concerns. They anticipate that the outcomes of this meeting would include solutions to address the Climate Change impact in the Lake Chad area.”

    “We believe that the important things for young people of Nigeria to do now should be around holding the government to account on these ‘announcement’ and promises, and ensuring they are fulfilled and delivered in a timely manner.

    “One of the most exciting should be the tree-planting campaign. Ethiopia recently set a world record on that account — perhaps Nigeria’s young people might even be able to pressure the Government into scaling up the ambitions of our own planned tree-planting campaign.

    “Therefore the online hysteria is completely unnecessary.” it stated

     

     

     

     

     

  • One dies as Police, cultists clash in Delta

    A yet- to -be identified man has reportedly died in a gun duel between policemen and suspected cultists at Express Junction in Udu council area of Delta state.

    The incident occurred on Tuesday evening.

    It was gathered that Policemen from Ovwian/Aladja Division had gone to the area to put an end to a clash among rival cult groups.

    However, a suspected cultists from one of the groups allegedly opened fire on the team of uniformed security men, leading to an exchange of bullets.

    Read Also: Police arraign lawyer for threatening to kill Kashamu

    It was learnt that one of the suspects was gunned down by the Police while others fled the scene.

    Delta Commissioner of Police, Mr Adeyinka Adeleke, confirmed the development.

    He said: “Cultists clashed with Police and one was shot dead. The person is a cultist.”

    Udu council boss, Hon. Jite Brown, had only last week announced the imposition of a dusk to dawn curfew due to the incessant criminal activities threatening the peace and security in parts of the local government area.

  • FEC okays N310b for roads projects

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved three memos and a total of N310 billion for roads projects.

    The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

    He was with the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuba and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande.

    According to him, FEC approved N79.82 billion for Ibadan-Ilesa-Ife road, N200.176 billion for roads linking second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha, and N29.654 billion for phase 2 of Kano-Katsina highway.

    He said “The ministry of works and housing presented three memoranda and they were approved by the council: construction of Ibadan -Ilesa-Ife Dual Carriage Way, they are connected to Oyo and Osun State at the cost of N79.829 billion.

    “Secondly, for the link-road that connects the second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha. The Asaba link-road was awarded to Julius Berger and the Onitsha link-road was awarded to RCC at the total cost of N200.176 billion.

    “So this completes essentially the access road that will link the Bridge in the short time. You might recall that these roads were under-designed when the bridge was awarded.

    “So it is this administration that completed the design and we now awarded them so that you can have a bring that has link-roads. This was awarded initially under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the bridge in 2010 administration.

    Read Also; Buhari consoles VON DG over wife’s loss

    “The third approval was for phase two of the Kano-Katsina High Way from the point known as Gidan-Mutum Daya all the way to where Katsina Steel Rolling Mill is. This is a 78KM stretch approved at the sum of N29.654 billion.

    “That road is a 152KM road linking Kano and Katsina road from Kano. It was a single length Highway until it was awarded in 2013 by the previous administration in phase 1.

    “So we inherited it and we have continued to execute it. The award was to then expand the road into a dual carriage highway way. That means we are constructing the existing one and building another new one. It was awarded for the first 70KM plus for the phase 1 we we have now done is to complete the award to the same contractor so that there is a uniformity of construction.” he said

    Nwajuba disclosed that contracts amounting to N1.833 billion were approved for his ministry under Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

    The first, he said, is N915 million for construction of Faculty of Environment at the University of Abuja.

    He said the second contract is N918 million for construction of Faculty of Education in the same university.

    “The memorandum approved was in respect TETFUND intervention programme in respect of University of Abuja. A key component of that was the award of contract at the sum of N915 million for the construction of the faculty of environment.

    “Another was also approved for he sum of N918 million for the award to build the faculty of education. Those are the two components arising from the special intervention programme that was awarded then in 2017. So we have to act to give effect to them so that they can proceed the delivery.”

  • French Ligue1: Osimhen, Kalu score Simon plays for 90 minutes

    Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen was on target once again for his French Ligue 1 side Lille Wednesday night as they beat Strasbourg 2-0 at the  Stade Pierre-Mauro.

    The former Wolfsburg ace shot his club into the lead in the 43rd minute of the game to the delight of teeming club supporters.

    Teammate Remmy Loic increased the tally for the home side in the 64th minute after enjoying an assist from Osimhen thus handing Lille two goals and three points.  Osimhen who joined the side in July this year making a debut against Nantes and scoring a brace in that encounter, has now netted six goals with only six matches played in the new season.

    The 20 year old has been in super form since moving from Royal Charleroi Sporting Club of Belgium where he also netted 19 goals in 34 appearances.

    Osimhen was not the only Eagle that shone like a million stars on Wednesday.

    Compatriots Samuel Kalu was also on target in Boardeaux’s 3-1 win over Amiens SC even as  Moses Simon played full 90 minutes in Nantes loan goal victory over Rennes.

     

     

     

     

  • Gunmen abducts wife of Nigerian Railway MD

    A woman identified as Francisca Okhiria, the wife of the managing director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria was abducted by suspected gunmen in Benin, Edo State on Wednesday.

    The gunmen, who were in police uniform was said to have trailed her from the airport and kidnapped her on the way to her house.

    Our reporter learnt that the gunmen while escaping with the victim shot a soldier, who was standing by the road side.

    When contacted, the state’s Police spokesperson, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, said an Army Sergeant attached to the woman was also shot and has been taken to the military hospital for medical attention.

    DSP Nwabuzor said the woman was kidnapped at Irhirhi along NNPC filling station in Oredo local government. “It is confirmed that she was kidnapped and the police recovered the vehicle; a Land Cruiser Prado jeep when the incident took place.

    Read Also: Gunmen abduct businessman in Ekiti

    “The Army sergeant shot by the hoodlums was with her as a security personnel and eventually taken to the military hospital by the police. The gunmen came in a Toyota Camry,” he said.

    He noted that investigation into the incident has commenced.

    When our correspondent called the telephone number of the Managing Director yesterday evening, one of his aides picked the phone, saying his boss is not available.

    When asked to confirm the incident, the aide said: “We have no comment for now.”

     

     

     

  • Police exonerate reps member of rape allegation

    The Imo State Police Command on exonerated a member of the House of Representatives representing Ohaji/Egbema Oguta and Oru West Federal Constituency, Hon. Uju Kingsley Chima of the rape allegation levelled against him by one Mrs. Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu.

    The Command dismissed Kamalu’s allegations against Hon. Uju as false and baseless.

    It stated this in a statement signed by Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Orlando Ikeokwu, which was obtained by The Nation.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the command has been drawn to the news making the rounds in some media, dailies and other social platform in which one Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu claimed that she was raped by one Hon. Uju Kingsley Chima and as such claimed she was unlawfully arrested, tortured and detained.

    “The command wish to state that on 6/5/2019 the command received a report of a case of advanced fee fraud, conspiracy, child trafficking, forgery and threat to life against one Nkeiru Cynthia Kamalu ‘f’ 40 years of Plot 4, Ademola Close By Ire-Akari Estate, Ago, Lagos State.

    Read Also; ‘Lawmaker raped me, promised to give me N20m if my husband divorced me’

    “The command arrested two suspects namely -(1) Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu ’f’ and (ii) Emeka Muoneka ’m’. Both of the suspects made confessional statements as to the offence committed. For the purpose of clarity, the said Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu ’f’ called Hon. Kingsley Uju Chima claiming to be pregnant for him and as such blackmailed him into sending her various sums of money. She later claimed to have given birth to twins and one died of which she sent him picture of a baby boy.

    However, in the course of the investigation, the following were discovered.

    “That she was never in Canada as she claimed.

    “That she forged Canadian visa which she snapped and sent to Hon. Kingsley Uju Chima to trick him into sending money.

    “That Emeka Muoneka ‘m’ took her to Nnewi in Anambra State where she bought a three-day old baby boy at the sum of N1,800,000.

    “That she installed a software in her phone in which she used to call Hon. Kingsley Uju Chia, to ensure that a foreign number appears whenever she calls.

    “That both Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu and Emeka Muoneka led operatives to Nnewi, Anambra State where they bought a three-day old baby, for the purpose of deceiving Hon. Kingsley Uju Chima and blackmail him into sending money to her.

    In view of the above findings, the command said she was charged to court for the offence, adding that there was no time she was victimized, torturer detained.

    Read Also: One dies as Police, cultists clash in Delta

    The command therefore urged members of the public to discharge the allegations as “they are false and baseless.”

    On September 11, 2019, Kamalu, a businesswoman, filed a fundamental rights suit marked FHC/L/CS/1458/19 alleging “intimidation, mounting surveillance and or illegal oral invitation threat of life and annihilation of property,” against the lawmaker.

    She alleged that she was raped by Chima, on August 9, 2015, while she was married to a United States-based doctor.

    “I lodged the case first at New Owerri Police Station wherein he influenced it and I wrote a Petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Force State Quarters, Abuja. The petition was assigned to Zone 9 Police Command, Umuahia, Abia State.

    According to her, the police persuaded her to settle with the lawmaker and soon after, they resumed an incestuous relationship

    Mrs Kamalu claimed that afterwards, the lawmaker offered to pay her N20 million if she was divorced by her husband, Mr Gabriel Igbibi. Her husband subsequently left her and her new resumed relationship also failed, she said.

    She further alleged that the lawmaker caused her to be arrested in Lagos on 27th day of May, 2019 by SARS and that she was tortured and detained for seven days, after which she was arraigned on a fictitious N40 million theft charge.

  • Fire kills husband, wife, 2-year-old daughter in Kano

    Tragedy struck in the ancient city of Kano, on Wednesday, when unidentified arsonists, reportedly set ablaze a family of three, who were burnt to death.

    It was gathered that the arsonists were said to have locked up the gate of the house and went ahead to set the entire building ablaze.

    An eyewitness account indicated that the gory incident happened in the early hours of Wednesday at Gayawa quarters in Ungogo Local Government area of the State.

    Eye witnesses told reporters that all efforts by neighbours to break the doors to rescue the family failed as the fire raged through the night.

    Read Also: Police shut down O’Pay Kano office

    However, the spokesperson of Kano State Fire Service Sa’idu Ibrahim, said that they received a distress call on Wednesday at about 3:57 am by one Mudassir Abdullahi, who alerted them about the fire outbreak at Gayawa quarters.

    “Upon our arrival around 4:08 am, we broke the door of the house, and found out that three members of the family, the husband, 50 year old Aminu Bala, his wife, 30 year old Rukayya Aminu and their 2-year-old daughter, Aisha Aminu have suffered high degree of injuries.

    “Our men rushed them to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, where a doctor on duty certified them dead,” Ibrahim said.

    Also, the Police spokesperson in Kano DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who confirmed the incident, said that the Police Commissioner, Ahmed Iliyasu, directed for a discreet investigation to ascertain the cause of the dastardly act.