The Nation Newspaper

Tag: The Director-General

  • Gunmen abduct campaign organisation DG of APC House of Reps. candidate

    Unknown gunmen on Tuesday abducted Mr Monday Aighobahi, the Director General (DG) of the campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ovia Federal Constituency of Edo, Mr Dennis Idahosa.

    Idahosa, former council Chairman of the area, said the abducted DG of his campaign organisation was at Ofosu, Ogbogui Ward to canvass for votes.

    He said the director general was kidnapped shortly after a campaign rally at Ofosu.

    “I was at the rally at Ofosu with him and left shortly after for other places in continuation of my campaign.

    “He was left behind to sort some things out after which he was to join us at another campaign location afterwards,” he narrated.

    Read also: No prepaid metres, no payment, Mushin residents tell EKEDC

    Idahosa alleged that the abduction was politically motivated as Aighobahi has a stronghold of the ward.

    “Politically, Aighobahi has a stronghold of the ward and my opponent knows this. I am not out to see bloodshed; so I will urge all to go about the electioneering in a very peaceful way.

    “While urging the abductors to release their captives unconditionally, I appeal to my supporters and the people of Ovia to remain calm,” he said.

    Idahosa, however, said he remained resolute in his quest to win the seat for the Ovia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

    Contacted, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosun, said he had yet to be briefed on the incident, but promised to verify from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Okada. (NAN)

  • Giginya stadium agog as Buhari campaigns in Sokoto

    SOKOTO, seat of the caliphate is already agog and set to receive the All Progressives Congress(APC) Presidential campaign train.

    Shop owners and other petty traders have locked their places of businesses to attend the rally.

    It is all the way to the airport songs and ovation for the presidential candidate by youths, women and children.

    ” Sai Baba, Sai Mai gaskiya ” kept renting the air from all directions in the caliphate”

    However, hundreds of thousand supporters and well-wishers had since the early hours of Wednesday made their way to the Sultan Abubakar III International airport to witness the arrival of the party’s presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Accordingly, the Ginginya township stadium Sokoto venue of the rally is fast taking shape with yet a mammoth crowd of supporters trooping in their large numbers into the venue.

    Read Also: 2019: Buhari resumes nationwide campaign as he arrives Sokoto

    First on arrival to the venue for the all-important rally are, the National Leader and Jagaban Borgu,.Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Director General, Presidential campaign Council, Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibueke Ameachi, the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau among other party officials.

    Meanwhile, the venue is strategically given tight security with the visible presence of stern-looking military men, the police, NCSDC personnel, FRSC, Immigration among other relevant organs controlling the inflow of crowd that is fast overwhelmingly growing beyond the stadium capacity.

  • 2nd Niger Bridge will be a reality — Osinbajo

    2nd Niger Bridge will be a reality — Osinbajo

    The Federal Government has re-stated its resolve to complete work on the  second Niger Bridge as well as other federal projects in the South-East zone.

    The Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo gave the assurance during a funeral mass for late Mrs Roseline Akabueze, the mother of Mr Ben Akabueze, the Director-General, Budget Office, Abuja at St Gabriel Catholic Church, Ifitedunu, Anambra State.

    Osinbajo explained that the FG under President Mohammadu Buhari was committed to completing every federal project in the South East especially the second Niger Bridge.

    According to him, “President Buhari went to China to negotiate with them about the second Niger Bridge and East-West road.

    He said that everything have also been put in place to ensure the completion of Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

    Osinbajo urged the National Assembly to consider and accommodate all the federal projects during their deliberations.

    He re-stated that one of the cardinal principles of Buhari administration was fairness, which according to him has offered every political zone the opportunity to benefit from  his government.

    Also speaking, Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra recalled that Ifitedunu Community had benefited immensely from his administration, especially in the area of appointments.

    Obiano urged the people to apply for the second phase of his N20 million community “Choose your Project” initiative, which is  geared toward developing every community simultaneously as well as empowering the youths.

    Dignitaries present include the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Minister for Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udo Udoma.

  • FG should establish cotton corporation- Textile Manufacturers

    A call has gone out to the Federal Government to establish a cotton corporation in the country in order to boost production of the commodity and revitalise the textile industry.

    The President of The Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), Mrs Grace Adereti, made the call while addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.

    Adereti said the creation of the corporation would ease textile manufacturer’s access to raw materials for production.

    “When we contacted the farmers, they said that they are not ready to supply to us at the price negotiated by the ginners.

    “We discovered that the farmers base their price on what they will generate from exporting the cotton.

    “If we accede to the price, our output will become uncompetitive considering the infrastructural deficit in the country, which affects the cost of production.

    “We are in a fix. Some factories have suspended production because they do not have cotton for production.

    “In the past, there was a market board and government had control over the price of cotton.

    “We want the government to intervene in this matter and save manufacturers.

    “We have the machinery and the workforce and we are ready to produce, but we are hindered by the present situation,” she said.

    The Director-General of the association, Mr Hamma Kwajaffa, also alleged that rivalry among government agencies contributed to the challenges hindering the growth of the textile industry.

    “The former Minister of Agric initiated the creation of the cotton corporation, but he had a rivalry with the Minister of Trade that said establishing the corporation falls within his domain.

    “That was how the whole matter was stalled at the Federal Executive Council.

    “The absence of regulation makes everyone to fix prices that they want across the value chain.

    “If you go to Chad, you cannot just buy cotton. It is regulated by their government.

    “We will prefer that local usage of cotton is given preference before export,” Kwajaffa said.

    He said the corporation would create shared prosperity while stimulating the growth of the agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy.

    A former President of the association, Sen. Walid Jibrin, said the non-regulation of pricing and grading of cotton as was obtainable in the past had created quality and scarcity challenges in the textile sector.

    According to him, creating a cotton corporation will improve the quality, quantity, marketing and competitiveness of players across the entire value chain.

    He urged the government to make pragmatic policies that would reinstate the industry’s status as the largest creator of jobs.

  • Buhari, AGF to court: Dismiss suit challenging arrest of judges

    Buhari, AGF to court: Dismiss suit challenging arrest of judges

    President Muhamadu Buhari, the Director General, Department of State Service (DSS), Lawal Daura and others have faulted a suit challenging the recent arrest of some judges by the DSS.

    The suit by a lawyer, Olukayode Ogungbeje, seeks to among others to restrain the Federal Government from taking further steps in connection with corruption allegations raised against the judges.

    Other defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/809/16 are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the National Judicial Institute (NJC)

    In their notices of preliminary objection and counter affidavits to the suit, the defendants queried the competence of the suit and prayed the court to dismiss it for lacking in merit.

    Of the six defendants, the IGP and the NJC have not reacted to the case.

    In a joint preliminary objection by President Buhari and the AGF, filed by their lawyer, Chiesonu Okpoko, they argued that the plaintiff, who claimed to have filed the suit on behalf of the affected judges, lacked locus standi (legal right) to approach the court.

    They argued that there was no dispute between the plaintiff and the defendants to warrant his filing the suit.

    The President and the AGF added that “the applicant’s suit as constituted and conceived is a mere academic exercise and raises hypothetical issues”.

    They also argued that before the plaintiff could invoke the judicial powers of the court as enshrined in section 6(6) (b) of the 1999 constitution, he must show how his civil rights and obligations were affected or would be affected by the act complained of.

    In the notice of objection, the DSS and its DG asked the court to strike out suit for lack of jurisdiction.

    They argued that, “the applicant in this matter has no locus standi to institute this suit; and

    “That this court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine this matter as the applicant in this suit lacks the legal capacity to institute the matter.”

    It a counter-affidavit filed with their objection, the DSS and its DG argued that should the court proceed to restrain then from further taking steps against the arrested judges, it would be tantamount to preventing the agency from performing its statutory duties.

    The counter-affidavit deposed to by a litigation officer at DSS, S. Azer, stated in part, “That granting this application is tantamount to preventing the respondents in this matter from exercising their statutory responsibilities.”

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja has adjourned hearing of all applications and the substantive suit to December 14.

  • N12b is required to complete Lagos airport road- ICRC

    N12b is required to complete Lagos airport road- ICRC

    Mr Aminu Diko, the Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has said that N12 billion would be required to complete the Lagos Airport road rehabilitation project, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by ICRC Head of Communications, Mrs Deborah Okafor, said Diko made the call when he led a management team on a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.

    Diko also said that a private investor had indicated interest in expanding the facility into eight-lane road with flyovers and that the procurement process was ongoing, after which construction would begin.

    He also called on the ministry to speed up work on the concession of Nigeria’s four busiest airports – Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

    Diko advised on the setting up of a Project Delivery Team and a Steering Committee to be chaired by the minister.

    “Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are complex and take time to consummate and so there is need to kick-start the process by quickly establishing the project team that would see to the engagement of a transaction adviser to manage the development and procurement stages.

    “This should go hand in hand with the convening of extensive stakeholders’ consultations to ensure the success of the project in view of resistance to the planned concessions by aviation unions.”

    Sirika, in his response, said that government did not have the required funds to revamp the country’s infrastructure, and so the ministry would continue to encourage private sector intervention in service provision in the aviation industry.

    He said that with a population of over 170 million and a 38 per cent return on investment, Nigeria ranked among the best locations to do business.

    Sirika said that the trend around the world was to use other people’s money for infrastructure development.

    He said there were plans by the ministry to promote the development of cargo airports to be co-located with existing ones and which would be maintained by the private sector.

    Sirika said that talks were ongoing with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd, the concessionaire of the Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal 2, with a view to resolving all pending issues.

  • Over 1,900 killed in Philippines war on drugs – Police

    Over 1,900 killed in Philippines war on drugs – Police

    Philippines National Police Chief on Tuesday said that 1,900 people had been killed in a violent campaign against drugs in the country since President Rodrigo Duterte came to office seven weeks ago.

    The Director-General, Ronald dela-Rosa, told a Senate hearing that there was no declared policy to kill drug users and pushers, adding that about 1,100 deaths were still being investigated.

    “We are not butchers, the rest of the dead were people killed in police anti-narcotics operations.

    “This has a chilling effect,” said Senator Frank Drilon after the police chief’s deposition.

    “We are all concerned about the number of deaths, by any language this is alarming,” dela-Rosa said.

    Duterte, nicknamed “the Punisher”, was voted to power promising to wipe out drugs and warning traffickers they risked death if they did not mend their ways.

    The inquiry is being conducted by a staunch critic of the president, Senator Leila de Lima, who has summoned top police and anti-narcotics officials to explain the “unprecedented” rise in the body count and reports of vigilante killings.

    “Duterte has warned legislators not to interfere with his campaign saying that they could be killed if they blocked efforts aimed at improving the country.

    “Nearly 700,000 drug users and drug peddlers have turned themselves in to escape the crackdown.

    “He said there was a decrease in overall crime, although murders and homicides had increased,’’ dela-Rosa said.

    Outside the senate building, some supporters cheered dela-Rosa for leading the war against drugs, chanting his nickname, “Bato, Bato”.

    Some carried placards reading: “we are with you Bato in the fight against drugs”.

    The U.S, a close ally of the Philippines, said overnight it was “deeply concerned” by the reports of the killings and the State Department urged Duterte’s government to abide by human rights norms.

    New York-based Human Rights Watch said the U.S. and EU members “should make it clear to Duterte that inciting such violence was unacceptable and will reap potentially severe diplomatic and economic costs

    “Otherwise, it’s hard to envision when these killings will end,” it said.

    The number of those killed provided by dela Rosa at the Senate hearing was higher than the 1,800 he gave at the hearing on Monday.