The Nation Newspaper

Tag: priority

  • Nda-Isaiah: my priority is to unite Nigeria

    Nda-Isaiah: my priority is to unite Nigeria

    Founder of the LEADERSHIP Group and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah has said he is in the race to unite the country.

    Nda-Isaiah spoke in his Abuja home at the weekend while hosting members of a think-tank group, called the Broom Initiative.

    He said he played a leading role in uniting the parties that formed the APC because he believed Nigeria was better together, adding that only a strong united platform could dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) next year.

    Nda-Isaiah lamented the insecurity in the country and the government’s inability to curb it.

    He said: “The first thing I intend to do as president is to unite Nigeria because Nigeria is so divided that it is not yet a nation. We are still a country of disparity and a quarrelsome people, who quarrel over whether someone is a Christian or a Muslim.

    “Unfortunately, our country has come to this state. I always ask my friends in the PDP: ‘Is this the Nigeria you want to leave behind for your children?’ Most of them just keep quiet. There are certain things that are beyond politics.”

    Nda-Isaiah urged the group to put all aspirants on the spot, adding that this was a time to be clear about the way forward.

    The leader of the delegation, Alhaji Saidu Malami, who stood in for the group’s Chairman, Yusuf Tuggar, said their visit was to interact with the aspirant

    Malami said the group was responsible for reconciliatory initiatives in the APC in order to foster unity among members.

    He said: “We have been consistent in policy contribution within the leadership of the party. This evening, you are third in our programme of visiting presidential aspirants. Our objective is very simple. It is to highlight the fact that for us to appreciate the precarious situation we are in, we have to understand that the bigger objective of rescuing Nigeria is bigger than all of us.”

  • Ezekwesili: Chibok girls should be our primary priority

    Ezekwesili: Chibok girls should be our primary priority

    Protesters of the #BringBackOurGirls have said the rescue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls should be the nation’s primary responsibility and not secondary.

    They urged the media not to allow the rescue become a secondary priority of the Federal Government and Nigerians.

    The protesters said this might lead to forgetting the girls.

    The group said 140 days after the abduction of the schoolgirls, it had moved beyond creating awareness to knowing if anything was being done.

    The former Education Minister and leader of the protesters Dr Oby Ezekwesilli said the group wished to capture the power of the press to sustain the need to rescue the girls.

    She noted that instead of the government criticising the advocacy and seeing the protesters as enemies, it should see them as an advantage to the growth of the country because citizens were uniting for the growth of the country and an end to terrorism.

    She said: “The media must advocate to avoid the girls becoming a secondary priority for the government or the society.

    “One hundred and forty days after the abduction of our daughters, we have moved beyond trying to create an awareness of their abduction to knowing if anything is being done. We wish to capture the power of the press to sustain the fight of the Chibok girls.

    “Right now, we have passed the point of the general briefs where the person briefing does not even understand the terminologies involved. The media need to be more sophisticated in their interactions with the government on the state of terrorism in the country.

  • Growing the top-line is our priority, says Honeywell Flour Mills

    The main objective of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc’s growth strategy is to ensure healthy growth in its sales as it seeks to create headroom for profit margins in a cost-push and tough environment.

    Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr Lanre Jaiyeola, in a review of the operations of the company, said the double-digit growth recorded in sales in the immediate past year ended March 31, 2014 showed the commitment of the company to deliver on its top priority.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Honeywell Flour Mills for the year ended March 31, 2014 showed that sales rose by 21 per cent to N55.08 billion as against N46 billion recorded in the previous year. Profit after tax also rose by 18 per cent from N2.8 billion to N3.5 billion, which translated to similar increase in earnings per share from 35.86 kobo to 42.26 kobo.

    Jaiyeola said the results reflected the company’s increased output capacity and aggressive push to meet rising demand across its product categories.

    According to him, despite the challenge of input cost pressures caused by increase in wheat prices, Honeywell Flour Mills was still able to achieve a 32 per cent increase in gross profit from the N8 billion to N10.4 billion due to deft management of raw material sourcing and efficient control of production cost.

    He noted that the sheer challenge of operating in the Nigerian business environment was evident in the rising profile of Honeywell Flour Mill’s operating expenses as it incurred costs to deepen its trade, marketing and sales activities to further develop hitherto under-served sectors of the Nigerian market.

    “Growing the top line is our number one priority, even as large industry capacity remains a constant threat.  We are committed to the  development of higher margin products and from our results, you can see that investments in brand equity are beginning to yield fruits as sales of our value added products like semolina, wheat meal and noodles contributed more to our portfolio mix than in the past. This is a trend that we plan to sustain and even grow as we embark on a new phase in our corporate existence”, Jaiyeola said.

    He noted that Honeywell Flour Mills is currently at advanced stages in the development of a new pasta plant and an integrated animal feed mill in Sagamu, Ogun State, two projects that are expected to be completed in 2016.

    Jaiyeola said the expansion would create thousands of jobs and support several agriculture value chains in Nigeria by focusing on local raw material inputs.

    Operating from two locations, Apapa and Ikeja, in Lagos, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc. is one of the largest food-focused companies in Nigeria and is a member company of the Honeywell Group. Its products include branded food products like Honeywell Pasta, Honeywell Noodles, Honeywell Wheat Meal and Honeywell Semolina.

    The fiscal year ended with a transition in the leadership of the company; the pioneer chief executive officer, Mr Folaranmi Odunayo, retired after 17 years of service and was succeeded by Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola. Prior to his appointment, Jaiyeola had garnered 20 years experience in the company, working across strategic departments at both managerial and executive management levels.

  • My priority, by Aregbesola

    My priority, by Aregbesola

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said the transformation of Osun State remains his priority.

    He spoke when rendering accounts of his stewardship at  a programme organised by the All Christian Leaders and Ministers Forum (ACLMF) at the auditorium of the Olorunda Local Government Secretariat, Osogbo.

    The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, said his administration was determined to transform the state into a mega city.

    He said since assumption of office, he had brought transformation to governance and gave democracy a meaning.

    The ACLMF National President, Dr. Sam Ogedengbe, said it was the practice of the group to give candidates the opportunity to tell the electorate about their manifestos and to allow them render their accounts of stewardship.

    He urged the electorate to vote for a credible candidate on August 9.

    The State Chairman of the ACLMF, Apostle Samson Opadotun, praised Aregbesola for rendering his stewardship to the Christian group despite being a Muslim.

    The event was attended by the ACLMF chairmen in the 30 local governments and Christian leaders.

  • Cleric to Fed Govt: make security a priority

    The founder of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has urged the Federal Government to make security its priority.

    Primate Ayodele spoke during the presentation of the 2014/2015 prediction booklet at his church in Lagos.

    He said the country would not break up next year.

    Primate Ayodele said: “I foresee a political revolution that will happen in the nearest future in this country. The solution to Nigerian problems is at hand only if the government will listen to divine messages.”

    He said if security was not given the utmost attention, another terrorist deadlier than the Boko Haram would surface.

    “There is hope if we follow instructions and do what God wants us to do as a nation.”

    The General Overseer said nothing tangible would come out of the on-going National Conference in Abuja.

    He advised the leaders and governors of the All Peoples Congress (APC) to work hard and  pray fervently for them to retain Edo and Oyo states.

  • Orubebe: welfare my priority

    Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godsday Orubebe has said he would make citizens’ welfare his priority, if elected.

    He said the Urban Renewal Act, which he introduced as Special Adviser to former Governor James Ibori, would be reviewed because some key sections of the bill were expunged by the House of Assembly before its passage.

    Orubebe, who is seeking to succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, told the Ovie of Abraka, Akpomeyoma Majaroh Ojeta II,  that cities like Abraka, would benefit from the programme.

    The monarch described the former minister as a  reliable, courageous and experienced man.

    He thanked Orubebe for his contributions to the development of the region, particularly the building of the East/ West road.

    The former minister urged Deltans to look beyond where a candidate hails from and focus on the quality of service he can provide.

    He declared his brand of politicking as one where love, tolerance and understanding would engender a synergy of ‘Deltans working together’.

  • Infrastructure a priority in Rivers

    Infrastructure a priority in Rivers

    Roads to mop up traffic gridlock.

    TherE is a lift in infrastructure in Rivers State. Schools are wearing a bold new look, unrecognisable from what used to be.

    Yet, Governor Chibuike Amaechi says his administration still prioritises infrastructure and that the plan to transform the state is still on course.

    To help realise this vision, Amaechi has engaged GIBB, a renowned construction firm with its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Amaechi who spoke in Port Harcourt, recalled the poor state of infrastructure he met in 2007 when he assumed office. That is why his administration “is engaging a world-class firm like GIBB to deliver world-class projects,” he said.

    The governor spoke through the Administrator of Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, Mrs Aleruchi Cookey-Gam at a dinner organised by the construction giant to showcase the multi-disciplinary and mega-projects it has been executing across many African countries.

    One of the projects executed by GIBB in Rivers is the monorail.

    Amaechi added that six years down the road, he is happy that his vision is on track.

    While admitting that Port Harcourt is still facing traffic congestion, the governor said that parts of the state capital are “locked up because we did not plan for the future”.

    There is a way out. GIBB has advised that “one of the things that will unlock the city of Port Harcourt is to run a road from Woji River to Elelenwo to take away traffic from Aba Road.”

    To unlock the Diobu axis of the metropolis, he said that a road would be built to link the old city of Port Harcourt to the new city and this road would connect Eagle Island, Ada George Road, Obiri Ikwerre and join Port Harcourt International Airport.

    The governor also said that he is passionate about unlocking these roads to save people from “heart attack” occasioned by traffic congestion.

    While expressing the hope that GIBB would be able to deliver the first phase of the new city of Port Harcourt, the governor also commended the company for wanting to partner with Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt in skills development but urged it to also consider “partnering with government in project delivery and building capacity of the people.”

    On the mono-rail, a project his government started during his first tenure and which is now being handled by GIBB, the governor said that it “is real, the first of its kind in Nigeria.”

    He added that it is one of the visionary goals of his administration.

    The Chief Executive Officer of GIBB, Mr Richard Vries gave an insight into the company which he said was established in 1923 while the South African office opened in 1956.

    Vries also said that his company which opened its Nigerian office in 2008 is independently rated as a market leader in consulting engineering and it is in operation in many countries of Africa.

    The GIBB boss who described Nigeria as “one of the 10 fastest growing economies of the world”, also used the opportunity to disclose the kind of projects they would be executing in the state, one of which is to partner with RSUST on skills development.

    He stressed that “investment in infrastructure will lead to employment and eradication of poverty.”

  • ‘Give priority to agriculture’

    The Federal Government has been urged to give priority to agriculture to ensure food security and reduce dependence on oil.

    The advice was given by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Adura Farms Settlement in Ogun State, Chief Lawrence Olusesan Bankole. Going on memory lane, he said the old Western Region survived on cocoa, to prosecute its major infrastructural and educational programmes.

    Bankole said given the right atmosphere, agriculture will engage most of our youths actively and increase the country’s Gross National Product and “reduce our dependence on oil”.

  • She is 18 years old with no O’level so I don’t know why marriage is her priority

    I am a guy of 23 years old and in my third year in the university. My girl of 18 years old jilted me. I called her on the phone to confirm from her if she would still make it on a date that I fixed with her, but to my surprise, she told me that her husband’s people will be coming to their family house to ask for her hand in marriage. I was flabbergasted because she didn’t even give me the sign of her marriage the last time I met her, the worst is that she has changed her line. I only contact her with her sister’s number. She promised me that she will see me on 27th of last month, but she didn’t keep her promise.

    She is 18 years old with no O’level so I don’t know why marriage is her priority. I’m Gaza by name.

    Dear Gaza, why is her life your own priority? I don’t seem to get why the fact that she’s getting married is bothering you. If she were to be available for you to play with and dump later, I’m sure you wouldn’t be bothered. Her parents are involved in her marriage plans and to me that is fine. At 18, she’s ripe enough for marriage. She can go back to school and get her degree and doctorate at the appropriate time in her husband’s house. If you wanted to marry her, I’m sure she wouldn’t have slipped by your hands. I support young girls getting married and going to school from their husbands’ houses. I’m tired of seeing the troubles old maidens go through in the name of getting Mr. Right.

  • Falae: Proposed amnesty for Boko Haram is misplaced priority

    Falae: Proposed amnesty for Boko Haram is misplaced priority

    A former presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae, yesterday described the proposed amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect by the Federal Government as a misplaced priority.

    Falae, who spoke with reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital, said granting amnesty to people whose identities remain unknown is ludicrous.

    He explained that the whole idea would be irrational if the beneficiaries of the planned amnesty have not shown any sign of remorse to end hostilities.

    Falae, a former Finance Minister and Secretary to the Government of the Federatio(SGF), urged Northern leaders promoting amnesty for members of the sect to state reasons for the proposition.

    According to him: “Amnesty is granted to people who have shown remorse. In fact, we don’t know people the Northern monarchs are asking the federal government to grant amnesty.

    “What are the grievances of the members of the Boko Haram sect? Until we know their grievances, we don’t know whether it has been addressed? We don’t know if granting amnesty will finally put an end to the violence.

    “I have no problem granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram but the amnesty must be able to bring about the desired peace in the Northern part of the country. In the present situation, it will be a misplaced priority,” Falae said.