The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • INEC, EiE, others to screen political film, ‘4th Republic’ in universities

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE) have partnered with the producers of political thriller, ‘4th Republic’ to screen the movie in communities and universities across Nigeria.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the movie features Nollywood heavyweights Kate Henshaw, Eyinna Nwigwe, Bimbo Manuel, Linda Ejiofor, Yakubu Mohammed and Sani Mu’azu.

    The screening partnership also includes the Junior Chambers International (JCI) and National Orientation Agency (NOA).

    Produced by Griot Studios Ltd and Amateur Heads Productions, ‘4th Republic’ follows Kate Henshaw’s character (Mabel King) as she races to become Nigeria’s first female governor but is caught up around a heavily marred election.

    Directed by Ishaya Bako, said that the objective of the film was to raise awareness and stir conversation on the Nigerian political and electoral terrain.

    It explores the dynamics of politics in Nigeria, the necessity of a better political class, the presence or lack of women in politics and the importance of a fair and incorruptible judiciary.

    NAN reports that the film was screened in Bayelsa state on Tuesday as a follow up to the Lokoja screening on Sept. 16 with political stakeholders present.

    Both screenings were organized ahead of the Nov. 16 gubernatorial elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

    Speaking at a screening of the film, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, Director of Voter Education at INEC said, “We believe that voter education should be done through as many media as possible.

    “This is art, and Nollywood is one of the frontiers that we think can reach millions of Nigerians”

    Also, Mrs Ruth Ogun, Director of Public Enlightenment and Mass Mobilisation at NOA added that the film will help citizens know that election violence has no gain.

    Read Also: PDP urges INEC to warn Bello, APC against violence

    She said, “The movie describes to us, vividly the issues that arises during elections. With this film, it is shown that there is no gain going the violent way.

    “This is a very good tool and platform in getting the message across. For us, it is a partnership for positive development.”

    Director of the film, Bako said, “I think it is interesting that the film has gotten such strong and positive responses in each of the screenings we have had.

    “I am grateful that all the hard work from the cast and crew is paying off in this way with such support and collaboration.

    “From our fantastic funders, the MacArthur Foundation and OSIWA to a progressive indigenous IT firm, Softcom and their visionary CEO Yomi Adedeji and now government agencies and civil society actors.

    “These planned screenings show the power of film to bring people together and also stir conversation about some of the more important issues that affect us in society today.”

    NAN reports that the partnership with the producers, INEC, JCI and EiE Nigeria will see the film shown in about 18 universities, across the six geo-political zones in the country.

  • World leaders set to speak at UN, with Trump in focus

    World leaders will begin the annual days of speeches at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s address expected to draw much of the focus.

    Trump is speaking amid worsening tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

    While the U.S. president has not ruled out meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, who will address the assembly on Wednesday, the chance of that happening seems unlikely.

    Tensions have been rising between the two nations ever since Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers, in spite of no sign then of violations by Iran.

    The agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

    Trump has since been imposing tough sanctions on Iran, seeking to cripple the country’s economy and force the country to change its foreign policy.

    There have been concerns in recent months that the countries could go to war, most recently after an attack on a Saudi Arabian oil field, which is largely being blamed on Tehran.

    Read Also: Trump names Robert O’Brien as new national security adviser

    Iran rejects responsibility. Trump says he is showing restraint, for now, and is not launching strikes.

    Also addressing the UN on Tuesday will be Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among others.

    The General Debate section comes a day after the UN held a major summit on climate change.

    Trump will hold a series of bilateral meetings during the day, including with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Iraqi President Barham Salih.

  • Eights newborns die in fire at Algerian hospital

    Eight newborns died in a huge fire that broke out at the maternity unit of an Algerian hospital on Tuesday, the civil defence authority said.

    The fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday at the hospital in Oued Souf, an area 700 kilometres South-East of the capital Algiers, according to the authority.

    Read Also: Two medical doctors in trouble over death of pregnant woman

    The babies died of burns or smoke inhalation, it said, adding that 11 other infants and 65 people, including 37 women, were rescued.

    In 2018, a huge fire ripped through the same hospital, causing damage to large parts of it.

  • BBNaija: Seyi becomes Head of House again

    Seyi Awolowo has become the Head of house in the ongoing BBNaija season four.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this Seyi’s third Head of House win since the show started on June 30.

    He clinched the title after winning the fiercely contested challenge on Monday, securing a spot in the final week.

    The Challenge which was in two rounds, saw all the Housemates vying for the coveted position of HoH, but only one person could clinch it.

    The first round of the challenge involved the Housemates walking continuously across the Arena from the starting line to the finish line and back again until they heard the buzzer to stop.

    This exercise lasted for seven minutes before the buzzer went off. In the end, Elozonam, Seyi, Cindy Tacha and Omashola qualified for the next round.

    Read Also; BBNaija: Fake nominations put Cindy, Diane, Frodd and Mercy up for eviction

    The Housemates had a minute to complete the next challenge. They had to count the chin-chin into a bucket and write out the total number of the Chin-Chin in the bucket.

    NAN reports that the Housemate with the number closest to the total was awarded the title Head of House.

    Seyi said the total of the Chin-Chin in the bucket was 4,750 while the actual number was 3090 making him the one with the closest correct estimate

    Apart from immunity, Seyi was given 250 Bet9ja coins, bonus coins for his Team and the Head of House Bedroom privileges which he refused to share with anyone.

  • Two medical doctors in trouble over death of pregnant woman

    Two doctors with Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, have appeared before the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria Tribunal, to answer charges of gross professional negligence.

    The doctors, Iyiola Adewale and Adigba Onodjohwoyovwe, are accused of gross professional negligence which led to the death of a patient in their care.

    The prosecuting counsel, Mr Nasiru Aliyu, told the tribunal on Monday in Asaba that the defendants while on duty on March 7, 2017, negligently handled one of their patients, a pregnant woman, Mrs Rita Uchebuego, now late.

    According to the prosecutor, they allegedly failed to attend to her as appropriate for the management of her condition.

    Aliyu said the offence is punishable under section 16 of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act.

    Read Also: Seven dismissed soldiers held for robbery

    However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Chairman of the tribunal, Prof. Abba Hassan, adjourned the case till Sept. 24, for address.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tribunal was established for trial of offences under the medical and dental practitioners act.

    This is the tribunal’s third session in 2019, and had already convicted some doctors during its second session for professional misconduct.

  • Tecno offers varsity scholarship to students

    Africa’s preferred smartphone brand Tecno, has offered scholarships to university students in Nigeria.

    The technology firm extended the gesture to the students during the ACADAFEST, a concert put together by ScholarX and iManage, organisations, celebrities and members of the public to sponsor 20 deserving students through university.

    Tecno Nigeria, PR and Strategic Partnership Manager Jesse Oguntimehin, who spoke on the gesture, said  Tecno is sponsoring three of the 20 students for the duration of their university education to the tune of N400,000 each per student.

    Read Also: Tecno Mobile sponsors BMW AutoFest

    “At Tecno, we have carried out various social activities such as our Give the Nigerian Child A Future initiative- where we visited selected schools around the country to empower bright students, awarding them scholarships for their academic excellence. We also provided pupils within these schools educational materials to ease their learning journey. There was also the annual Light Up Your Dream competition where we rewarded two young Nigerian Entrepreneurs with N1million each to grow their businesses,” he said.

    He said this year, in line with its determination to impact positively on its consumers, Tecno  decided to collaborate with the oraganisers for the maiden edition of the ACADAFEST where it awarded three Nigerian students scholarships reiterating the commitment to the development of the Nigerian society.

  • Calabar seaport: Reps summon Customs, NIMASA, Navy, others’ chiefs

    The ad-hoc committee set up by the House of Representative to determine why Eastern Ports are not put to maximal use has invited the heads of some key security agencies operating in Calabar seaport to appear before it in Abuja on Wednesday, September 26.

    The Committee chairman, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub gave the order during the sitting of the ad-hoc committee at the conference room of Calabar Seaport, Nigeria Port Authority, Calabar at the weekend.

    He directed the clerk of the committee to immediately invite the Comptroller-General of Customs, Immigration, NIMASA, the Chief of Naval Staff and the Inspector General of Police to appear before the committee following questionable operations of illegal jetties within the Calabar port channel area, an act adjudged to be a huge economic sabotage to the country.

    Read Also: ‘Olokola Deep Seaport ‘ll earn $9b annually, create 1m jobs’

    The committee who was received in NPA Calabar by the Port Manager of Calabar Seaport Mrs. Marie Asien, in a meeting with stakeholders, frowned at the reports of the free operations of illegal jetties within the port area and further directed that “within one month, the security agencies responsible should ensure that no illegal jetty will be seen or reported as operating in Calabar Port area. We want to have the reports after one month in writing, address to the House of Representatives.

    “This committee came out on this national assignment. It is an ad-hoc committee formed by the House of Representative to investigate and find out why our Eastern Ports are not being used maximally. We stated from Lagos port to Warri port to Port Hart court Port, Onne Port and today we are in Calabar port.”

    He commended Calabar Port Manager for being frank in her briefing. “She has reduced most of our work. Most of the ports we visited, we had to struggle before they will open up to tell us certain essential things,” he said.

    However, the committee advised that NPA should increase the 10per cent rebate given to ships coming to Calabar port and ensure that the rebate is for all ships coming to the port, without any categorisation.

    “If the rebate can also be increased, that will be good. Our target is to see that Calabar Port is fully functional,” he said.

    The committee was also briefed about the myriads of problems hampering operations and functionality of Calabar seaport.

  • $9.6b verdict: P&ID offers to negotiate with Fed Govt

    • Nigeria to pursue case ‘to logical conclusion’
    • Delegation to allay investors’ fears

    Owners of Irish firm, Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID), which got a $9.6billion judgment against Nigeria, have made offers for settlement.

    The offers came after a Federal High Court in Abuja wound up the firm and its Nigerian affiliate following their guilty plea to fraud and money laundering.

    The Federal Government received five negotiation offers from individuals close to the firm, it was learnt on Monday.

    One of those interested in negotiation is Adam Quinn, son of P&ID’s owner, the late Michael Quinn.

    Already, the government has initiated moves to get him repatriated to Nigeria to face trial.

    The government has, however, put the offers on hold pending the outcome of the case before a United Kingdom court on Thursday.

    Red Also: Fed Govt, states sign MoU on SDGs

    Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN), Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu; and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu yesterday spent hours briefing foreign lawyers on forensic investigation of the controversial gas project.

    It was learnt that the team met with major UK media organisation to explain Nigeria’s position on the matter.

    The delegation is expected to hold a crucial session with investors tomorrow to allay fears of likely collapse of the nation’s economy as a result of the judgment.

    A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “Ahead of the legal battle on Thursday against P&ID, the Federal Government has received five offers from some individuals acting on behalf of the Irish firm for negotiation.

    “One of those seeking peaceful resolution of the row is Adam Quinn, who is a son to the late owner of P&ID. For security reasons, we want to keep other names under wraps.

    “The government has, however, decided to put these offers in abeyance, pending the outcome of Thursday’s sitting. We are not opposed to talks or negotiation, but, given a similar circumstance in the past, the government is a bit circumspect about any offer from the representatives/ associates of P&ID and other arbiters.

    “We want to pursue this case to its logical conclusion before we give any other option a thought.”

    Investigation confirmed that Malami, Adamu and Magu have spent quality time with the foreign lawyers engaged by the Federal Government.

    Another source added: “These three leaders on the delegation, who were saddled with the investigation of the gas contract awarded to P&ID, had considerable discussion with the offshore lawyers on their findings.

    “The report of the EFCC was presented to the foreign lawyers to underscore the fact that the gas contract was a scam. All the procedures, suspects’ statements, relevant documents and court judgments were made available to the offshore lawyers to strengthen Nigeria’s case.

    “We are building our case on the fraudulent contract, non-execution of any job and how the arbitration panel was misled into the award of the $9.6billion damages against the Federal Government.

    “We want the UK court to grant Nigeria’s request for a stay of execution of the judgment.”

    An official said: “Members of the delegation had audience with Reuters, AP, Financial Times, and other agencies. On Tuesday (today), the team will meet with BBC team to set the records straight that P&ID was just being smart in securing the $9.6billion award.

    “The impression out there in the international community was as if the nation defaulted or reneged on a contract when the entire process was invalid.

    “Part of the mandate of the delegation is to change the narrative that Nigeria violated contract terms with P&ID.”

    It was learnt that the delegation will hold a business session with investors in the UK on Wednesday.

    Malami confirmed some of the findings of The Nation on the activities of the delegation in London.

    He said: “It is simply that we met with our local and international legal teams in the High Commission office in London.

    “We took briefings from the teams in Nigeria and UK for the purpose of developing strategies targeted at setting aside the award.”

  • SON equips steel manufacturers for global competitiveness

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has equipped local steel producers for the global market.

    It said it is spearheading the harmonisation of standards within Africa and the West African sub-region, urging Nigerian steel producers to not only take advantage of the biggest market in Africa, but also the world over.

    Its Director-General, Osita Aboloma, at an emergency meeting with steel producers, said the meeting was basically to prepare operators of the organised steel sector on the need to adhere to quality for their goods to be acceptable within Nigeria and at the global market.

    Read Also: ‘Manufacturers urged on local raw materials’

    “If you adhere to standards in Nigeria, your goods will be accepted anywhere in the world because of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Nigeria has signed. Almost all the African countries that have subscribed to the agreement will use the harmonised standards to achieve seamless trade activities and for breaking technical barriers to trade,” he said.

    According to him, the steel sector is one of the most formidable sectors where the nation has the competitive and comparative advantage to earn lots of foreign exchange, while also creating wealth and job opportunities.

    Speaking on the raids the agency embarked on to ensure sanity in the steel sector, he said they were part of its conformity assessment activities to make sure goods are produced to meet global best practices.

  • DisCos blame TCN for interruptions despite $1.6b

    Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have flayed the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) over its obsolete and collapse system that has caused inefficiencies and 5,311 interface disruptions in one DisCo in the first 18 days of this month.

    The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), which represents 10 DisCos, except Yola DisCo said despite $1.6 billion multilateral funding of TCN, its equipment have caused over 100 electricity grid collapses since privatisation in 2013, and nine collapses this year.

    In a statement by ANED Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Chief Sunday Oduntan, explained that it was responding to a recent TCN report that the DisCos misrepresented crucial power evacuation and distribution data.

    Read Also: DisCos to FG: Respect electricity contracts

    Presenting the facts, ANED said it owes obligation to the 10 DisCos who have invested about $1.4 billion in the networks, insisting that the DisCos had not rejected energy load as TCN claimed in its publication.

    ANED also accused TCN of falsifying data that conflicts the data presented to DisCos by the National Control Centre (NCC) which is under TCN and coordinate power allocation to DisCos.

    While TCN headquarter data published on September 20th, 2019, showed that 13,963megawatts (Mw) was delivered to DisCos between August 22nd and 24th of 2019, the NCC data actually showed it was 19,173Mw. ANED said indicated a conflicting difference of 5,208Mw data within the same company.

    “It raises questions as to the veracity and accuracy of TCN’s response, in terms of the energy that it delivered to the DisCos. How could TCN’s supposed sent-out or delivered energy exceed that recorded by its control centre, the singular source for such information,” ANED said.

    While urging TCN to focus on improving its network, the DisCos said except for February 1, 2016, when TCN wheeled 4,557Mw, it has never wheeled sufficient energy to meet the DisCo energy off-take assumptions specified under Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2015.

    ANED said the $1.6 billion Federal Government-guaranteed and multilateral funds and grants that TCN has got is unavailable to the privatised Generation Companies (GenCos) and DisCos.

    Despite TCN saying it is implementing its Transmission Rehabilitation Expansion Programme (TREP) with the $1.6billion, “the reality is otherwise.

    The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) continues to deal with, largely, a TCN that finds it difficult to move away from a PHCN-legacy of uncleared equipment containers, analogue-based and informal communications systems and frequent explosions and burnings of transmission sub-stations and transformers.”

    The DisCos said such substation fire recently put Agbor and Asaba towns of Delta State; and Oye, Ekiti State in blackout.

    “Over 100 partial and total system collapse recorded since privatisation and nine total system collapses so far this year; multiple transmission interface deficiencies with 5,311 TCN interface interruptions in one DisCo franchise area, from September 1 – 18, 2019.”

    Citing Siemens: Electrification Roadmap for Nigeria report of May 7, 2019, Oduntan said: “Today, power distribution by the DisCos to end-customers is limited by power infeed from TCN.

    “Rather than eliminate all of the bottlenecks of the transmission grid, TCN, vociferously and continuously, continues to crow about its computer simulated increase in capacity, ignoring the fact that it, currently, only averages a daily 3,700Mw of wheeled or transmitted energy to the DisCos, out of its tested transmission capacity of 5,500 Mw.”

    It also noted that TCN’s constant drumbeat of the need to re-capitalise the DisCos distracts from the fact that any such re-capitalisation cannot occur in an environment that lacks the following – respect for, or sanctity of contract; regulatory and policy certainty and consistency; ability of the sector operators to recover their costs of doing business; and an alignment of technical and commercial considerations.