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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • U-23 Nations Cup: Nigeria to battle Zambia, South Africa

    Nigeria’s Under 23 side will face Zambia, South Africa and Cote d Ivoire in Group B of this year’s U-23 Nations Cup holding in Egypt.

    The draw for the championship was held yesterday in Alexandria with host country Egypt pitched against Mali, Cameroon and Ghana in Group A. The championship proper which will hold from November 8 and 22 will begin with opening match on the 8th between hosts Egypt and Mali at the Cairo international Stadium.

    The Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations is held every four years and showcases some of African football’s emerging talents while also acting as a qualifier for the Summer Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

    Read Also: 2019/2020: Quadiri, 17 others listed for CAF/FIFA competitions

    Former Egyptian forward Emad Meteab assisted CAF Director of Competitions, Samson Adamu to conduct the draw that divided the eight qualified teams into two groups of four teams each.

    Group A games will be played at Cairo international Stadium while Group B matches will be played at the Al Salam Stadium.

    The top three teams of the Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations will qualify to represent Africa at the Summer Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

    Nigeria has made three appearances in the tournament emerging as champions in the 2015 edition. Cameroon and Ghana are debutants of the championship.

  • Akinrinade advises Obasanjo on letter-writing

    Former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Alani Akinrinade has advised his former boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to adjust his style as a leader and statesman.

    He said the former president should desist from public letter-writing, in a bid to make a point, which is his fundamental right.

    Gen. Akinrinade, a hero of the civil war when Obasanjo was the Commander of the Third Marine Commando, said since his former boss has unfettered access to those in power, letter-writing may not be a good option.

    He also said whenever Obasanjo wrote his letters to the president, what came to his mind was how he handled similar matters when he was in the saddle.

    Acknowledging Obasanjo’s role in history, Akinrinade said statesmen should consult with those in power and offer constructive criticisms,  instead of going to the public.

    The former Army chief spoke with reporters in Lagos, ahead of his 80th birthday holding in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    Akinrinade said:”If I have an opportunity to advise him, I will say he should not write letters again. Each time he writes letter, the question I ask is: when he was there, how did he do it? He should not write letters again. He has access to them and he can give his advice, instead of writing.”

    The retired soldier lamented the pollution of the military by acts inimical to professionalism.

    He said there was no discipline in the Armed Forces,  adding that soldiers had been misused for businesses they were not trained for.

    Akinrinade urged Nigerias to stand for unity, saying that the country could be better.

    He, however, said the conditions for unity and harmony should not be ignored.

    Noting that Nigeria is a highly heterogeneous country, he said the basis for peaceful coexistence should be mutually worked out.

    Akinrinade frowned at the neglect of the 2014 National Conference report by the Buhari administration.

    He said it was curious that the administration that had ignored the report later set up an intra-party committee to discuss the possibility of true federalism.

    He said restructuring cannot be compromised again, stressing that it is the key to the resolution of the national question.

    Akinrinade, who assessed the 20 years of stable civil rule, said it could have been better.

    He said:”We have not found exactly the formula. My assessment is that we have done very poorly. We could do much better.”

  • Fed Govt to attach 104 unity colleges to govt hospitals

    The Federal Government on Wednesday said it had decided to attach the 104 unity schools in the country to government hospitals that are close to them.

    The government said where government hospitals are not very close, it would attach the college to private hospitals not more than 500 metres from the gate for rapid response.

    The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Mr. Sonny Echono, stated these during a briefing to celebrate this year’s World Teachers’ Day in Abuja.

    Echono said this would allow for quick response during outbreak of any epidemic or disease within the school.

    Read Also: No outbreak of epidemic in Queens College – Perm Sec

    He said: “We have taken some policy measures in the ministry that all our unity schools must be attached to government hospitals that are at close proximity. Where the government hospital is not very close, we will allow them to also be attached to private hospitals not more than 300 to 500 metres from the gate for rapid response.

    The permanent secretary also said some colleges, including Queen’s College, Lagos, would be provided with ambulances for rapid response.

    He said the government decided to employ more health personnel to assist the colleges in their clinics.

    Echono added: “Unfortunately, we have not reached the stage where we have doctors and the full complement of medical personnel in all our schools. But it is a big community. Going forward, we are looking towards that.

    “Right now, most schools are headed by nurses with community attendants. So, some times, that affects the response time and the ability to contain it immediately when they are overwhelmed by huge numbers.

    “We have also directed that from next year, all those who do not have ambulances will be provided with ambulances dedicated to attending immediately to health and similar cases. That is under implementation.

    “Many of them already have, but some, like Queen’s College, do not have. We are going to be assisting Queen’s College to acquire one in the next few days. We are also engaging a few more health personnel within the level of the ministry’s approval threshold to assist them in their clinics.”

  • 2019/2020: Quadiri, 17 others listed for CAF/FIFA competitions

    In a bid to have Nigerian Referees listed for the 2019/2020 CAF/ FIFA competitions, the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) has picked 24 FIFA-badged referees after its FIFA fitness test conducted in Abuja.

    Six centre referees, and eight assistants referees were selected for male, while three centre and threeassistants referees made it in the female category.

    Disclosing this in Abuja, the NRA President Tade Azeez said the exercise became necessary to ensure Nigerians are listed to handle matches in CAF/FIFA competitions.

    The male centre referees listed are Quadiri Adebimpe, Udoh Ferdinand, Basheer Salihu, Abdullahi Shaibu, Abdullahi Abubakar and Nurudeen Abubakar, while the Assistant Referees are Usman Isah, Usman Abdulmajid, Abel Baba, Igudia Efosa, Peter Ogwu, Digbori Tejiri and Samuel Pwadutakan.

    The female centre referees who scaled through are Foluso Ayayi, Hannah Elaigwu and Madu Patience Ndidi while Bpsede Momoh, Mimisen Iyorhe and Nkwocha Hulda were listed as assistant referees. He said that the referees listed were those who completed minimum of 10 and maximum of 12 laps.

  • Tribunal affirms Tambuwal’s victory

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Sokoto State on Wednesday in Abuja affirmed the election of Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

    The three-man tribunal dismissed the petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Ahmed Aliyu, for lacking in merit.

    Delivering judgment, tribunal Chairman Justice Abbas Bawale said the petitioners had failed to establish their claims to non- compliance with the Electoral Act and the issue of over voting.

    He said the evidence of the petitioners’ witnesses, especially witness number 10, amounted to hearsay which could not prove any of the allegations.

    Read Also: Wild Jubilation in Kano as Ganduje floors Abba at Tribunal

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Aliyu had gone to the tribunal seeking to upturn the victory of Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 governorship election.

    he poll, held on March 9, was declared inconclusive following cancellation of 75, 403 votes, which were higher than the 3, 413 votes margin between the leading candidates.

    A rerun was conducted on March 23, which led to the victory of Tambuwal, who won with a slim margin of 342 votes.

    Dissatisfied with the outcome, Aliyu approached the tribunal challenging the return of Tambuwal as the governor-elect, on the grounds that the election was marred by irregularities.

    Tambuwal and PDP had objected to the petition, which the tribunal unanimously dismissed, saying it disclosed substantial cause of action and was properly signed by the petitioners.

    In addition, the tribunal ruled that the petitioners duly paid the filling fees.

    It further held that the non-joinder of the running mate to the petitioners is not enough to render the petition incompetent.

    The Justice Bawale-led tribunal held that the application lacked merit and constituted a waste of judicial time.

  • Senate moves to check illegal mining

    The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to develop a legal framework to checkmate illegal artisanal mining across the country.

    This call followed a motion titled: “The need to check Illegal Mining Activities in the Country,” sponsored by Sen Ya’u Sahabi, representing Zamfara North, at plenary.

    The Senate further urged the Federal Government to clean up the areas affected by lead poisoning in Zamfara State, rehabilitate the victims and environmental degradation in the state.

    In his lead debate, Sen. Sahabi, noted that Nigeria is rich in over 40 types of minerals, with the solid minerals sector proving to be a potential source of economic development and diversification of the economy.

    He said the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the country dated back to 1902 with the production of tin, coal and considerable ton of gold yearly.

    He acknowledged that the objective of the National Policy on Solid Minerals is to ensure orderly development of mineral resources in the country.

    Read Also: Telecoms firms to battle Senate over 9 per cent tax bill

    He said the Senate is “saddened that over the years, illegal mining activities has continued to increase across the country, especially in Niger, Plateau, Zamfara, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo states respectively, where it thrives without check.”

    He lamented that illegal mining sites not only breed criminality, but also exacerbates terrorism and insurgency as witnessed in states where mining activities are being done, “especially, Zamfara State, where the state of insecurity could be traced to these illegal mining sites.”

    He said the  Senate is aware that an online platform reported in August, 2018, that over two million people depend on illegal mining for their livelihood in the country.

    He said illegal artisanal mining accounts for over 80 per cent of mining and “this is largely informal activity, without any revenue accruals to the government.”

    He expressed worry that due to illegal mining, “the solid mineral sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country dipped over time, showing that while Nigeria gets less from the sector, other African countries enjoy significant contribution from the sector to their GDP.

    For example, the sector contributes over 40per cent to the GDP of Botswana; and in Congo and South Africa, it is about 25per cent and 18per cent respectively.

    He insisted that despite derailing the attainment of the nation’s targeted GDP, the affected states, especially Zamfara is greatly short-changed economically.

    He further expressed concern that the “occupational health and environmental impact on the country is incalculable as witnessed in the tragic lead poisoning that claimed several lives in Zamfara State not too long ago.”

    Senator in the contributions bemoaned lack of a comprehensive legal framework for mining in the country and called for urgent action to redress the anomaly.

  • Three Ghanaians among suspects held for ‘illegal’ fishing

    The Central Naval Command (CNC) of the Nigerian Navy (NN) has nabbed three Ghanaians and 49 others for ‘illegal’ fishing activities on Brass River, Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    The suspects including four fishing trawlers were on Wednesday transferred to the Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (FDFA) for further investigations and prosecution.

    The Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base (FOB) FORMOSO, Capt. Suleiman Ibrahim, handed over the four vessels christened, Star Shrimpers 3, Cosmos 1, Trade Wind and ORC VII and the crew members to officials of FDFA in Brass.

    Ibrahim said the feat was an indication that the partnership involving the Navy, which is under the Federal Ministry of Defence, the FDFA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was yielding positive results.

    He recalled that a few days ago two vessels with crew members were also handed over for trespassing the restricted zones.

    He noted that the law stipulated clearly that fishing trawlers were not allowed to fish within the five nautical miles at the restricted zone.

    He said, “The Navy detected the illegal activities of these four fishing vessels with the use of maritime domain awareness equipment trawling within the five nautical miles restricted zones, and we thereafter deployed our operatives to intercept them.

    Read Also: 15 suspects paraded in Enugu

    “Precisely on the 24th of this month, we handed over two fishing trawlers for fishing within the 5 nautical miles restricted zone. The same scenario is happening again, four fishing trawlers were also arrested for the same offense and we tracked intercepted them.

    “I believe with this existing collaboration and partnership with other government agencies, we will be able to educate the companies more on the need to stay away from the restricted areas to avoid crisis with local fishermen”.

    Speaking on the development, the Assistant Director and Head of Monitoring Control and Surveillance, FDFA, Popoola Babatunde, said said his interactions with the suspects revealed that the impounded vessels, dropped within the non- trawling zones meant for canoe fishermen.

    He noted that if found culpable, the suspects and their firms would be punished accordingly.

    Captain of one of the vessels, Emilola Tebiti said their raider and GPRS while trawling showed they were not within the restricted areas.

  • Urbanisation, others driving Lafarge products

    Lafarge Africa on Wednesday said the demand for its materials and solutions are driven by global population growth, urbanisation, improved living standards and sustainable construction.

    It also said leveraging innovative expertise has helped to provide value-added products and  solutions in the building and construction industry in the country.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Michel Puchercos who spoke during the re-launch of Lafarge Africa’s  improved Elephant Supaset Cement in Lagos, said the demand for LafargeHolcim materials and solutions are driven by global population growth, urbanisation, improved living standards and sustainable construction. Around 75,000 people work for the company in around 80 countries.

    ‘The introduction of this improved formulation – Supaset is in line with the ‘Growth’ pillar of Lafarge Africa’s Strategy 2022 – Building for Growth – which aims to drive profitable growth and accelerate our performance in key areas. Providing such a product for our customers is in keeping with our commitment to excellence. This is a remarkable moment and great achievement that we all are proud of.

    turing sector. Our global presence and Research Centre in Lyon, France provides a unique opportunity for us to deliver in line with best practices and create innovative products and solutions that deliver more value to our customers.’

    ‘The new Supaset is a solution to the long yearnings of our customers, especially block makers who have lost investments as a result of cement products that do not guarantee the strength needed for construction of buildings and other strong high concrete construction works.” he said.

    Commercial Director of Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Gbenga Onimowo said the new product is in response to customer needs and in line with global industry standards.

    ‘We launched Supaset because we have a unique understanding of the needs of our customers and our end users. With our access to global best practices, innovative solutions from the LafargeHolcim group, we were able to identify and introduce Supaset to take the lead and provide real solutions in construction. We understand the huge losses that people have to deal with due to the lack of cement formulation that guarantees fast setting and superior quality.’ he said.

    “Supaset, just like the name rightly suggests, is a rapid-setting cement that enables blocks dry and set fast, while retaining its quality and ensuring no cracks and breakages thus making it the only cement with such capabilities in the market today. The desire to further secure and grow our market share within this segment took us back to the drawing board and the result is what we are experiencing today, the re-launch of an improved Supaset. Supaset has superior value, sets fast and enables the production of ready to use blocks within 24 hours.

    “This improved formulation has been tried, tested and is trusted by all our customers, including block makers. The brands unique value propositions of Supa strong, Supa quality & Supa Value guarantees that Supaset is the ideal choice for high strength concrete for advanced construction works. Lafarge Africa continues to lead in innovation and creativity, we are equally proud to present this newly improved product in horizontal cement bags, the first-of –its-kind in Nigeria.’’

    In addition to launching the new look bag and an improved product performance; Lafarge Africa is also rolling out a new Marketing Communications campaign across conventional and new media channels.

  • Customs collects N9.2b in one day from border closure

    The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), on Wednesday said the agency collected  N9.2billion in one day as a result of ongoing partial border closure exercise by the Federal Government.

    Answering questions from members of the joint National Assembly Committee on Finance, in Abuja, he said the agency now maintains an average revenue collection of between N5billion and N6billion daily.

    Ali was at the National Assembly on the invitation of the National Assembly joint committee on Finance presently considering the 2020 – 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) submitted to both chambers by President Muhammadu Buhari, last week.

    He said most cargoes that used to berth in Benin Republic and later smuggle their goods into the country are now using Nigerian ports.

    He said the agency’s revenue which had dropped has now increased as the a result of the closure.

    Ali said: “When we closed the border my fear was that our revenue is going to drop. To be honest our revenue kept increasing.

    “There was a day in September that we collected N9.2billion in one day. It has never happened before. This is after the closure of the border and since then, we have maintained an average of about N4.7billion and N5.8 billion on a daily basis which is far more than we used to collect.

    “What we have discovered is that most of those cargoes that used to go to Benin (Republic), shipped to Benin, continue and then discharged and smuggled into Nigeria, now that we have closed the border, they are forced to bring their goods to either Apapa or Tin Can Island and we have to collect duty on them.

    “If that would continue to us it is a welcome situation. As a matter of fact, to answer your question, our revenue has not reduced; it is increasing as a result of closing the border.”

    Ali also said there has been a significant reduction in the amount of fuel supposedly consumed daily in Nigeria since the exercise began.

    “About 10.2million litres of fuel has now been cut down from what we have been assuming to have been consuming. This 10.2million litres of fuel is always going across the border.

    “The issue here is that there is incentive because there is price differential. And that is why our people keep pushing this fuel. If you go to Ilaro today, the filling stations that are there…in Idiroko, there are over 50 to 60 filling stations in one place and they are close to the border.

    “And what we have discovered is that they bring in fuel in the afternoon and in the night they siphon it. They do that everyday and this is why we keep saying we are consuming so many litres of fuel everyday,” Ali said.

    Meanwhile, the National Assembly on Wednesday summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, to appear before its joint committee tomorrow by 9am tomorrow (today).

    This was sequel to the fact that despite having been invited by the Committee, the CBN governor neither sent a representative nor a letter to explain his absence.

    Babandede also did not heed the Committee’s invitation on Wednesday.

  • Ohanaeze youths to Customs: stop extorting traders

    The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has raised the alarm over the worsening cases of extortion of Igbo traders by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on highways in the country.

    Addressing journalists in Owerri, the Imo State capital, Wednesday, the president of the OYC, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka said the series of extortion of Igbo traders and businessmen in the country, especially in Lagos State, by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service had reached an alarming stage.

    According to him, the officials no longer hide “their inclination and pleasure in extorting money from Igbo traders doing legitimate business in Nigeria”.

    He said, “Verified complaints reaching the OYC has confirmed that customs officials have continued to request undue and illegal ‘customs duties and levies’ from Igbo importers as a condition to clear their goods. They also stop Igbo traders on the roads to extort from them. They employ the use of coercion, threats, closure of shops and seizure of goods worth billions of naira to unlawfully obtain money from their victims.

    Read Also: Ohanaeze youths warn Ihedioha over ‘arrest Okorocha order’

    “Recently, some of the officials from the custom office in Ikeja, without court order, stormed Igbo shops at Maryland, Coscharis, Ikorodu and other areas in Lagos and carted away their goods and locked their shops over products that have already been cleared by the same custom officials when it entered Nigerian borders.”

    Reacting to the allegations, the NCS spokesman, Joseph Attah, a deputy controller of Customs, admitted that there was an ongoing  clampdown on smuggled goods especially vehicles, but  denied that the action was targeted on any ethnic group in the country.

    “My brother, why are you bringing in ethnic sentiment to an official action? There is nothing tribal about it because whatever is going on in Lagos is going on in Kaduna, Kano, even Port Harcourt and other parts of the country. As I’m talking to you, I’m in Kaduna to sensitise the people on the ongoing partial border closure and some of the people there  were asking this same question. They are not Igbos. So, there is nothing tribal about it. Those people telling you this have to know that Igbos are not the only ones selling cars,” Attah told The Nation on the  telephone.

    Reminded of the allegation that appropriate duties have been paid on some of the seized vehicles, Attah said, appropriate actions would be taken after investigations.