| How was it to see a body of a civil defence officer on a grave that is not deep. | |
| The defunct body of a woman officer working for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) which has been on the wanted list for 18 months, has been found dead in a grave not deepened in Obi Local Government area of Benue State. | |
| Unforgettable person, Josephine Cynthia Inalegwu Onche, was working at the NSCDC office in Otukpo. | |
| Cynthia was Idoma, and was Otukpo for a long time, just missed when they were planning her wedding. | |
| Some of her workmen, who did not want to be named, said they were her family members who reported that they couldn't find her again when her marriage was less than nine days. | |
| What was said was she was going to the market to buy things as she was preparing for her marriage, but she did not return home since. | |
| One of the offices of the deceased said as they tried to locate him, they didn't see him until a okada man showed them where he was burried. | |
| The father of the family, Abdulrahman, told the family members that he was the one who wanted to marry their children and used them to do rotual for money. | |
| After the father of the man was arrested and security operatives arrested, the man later took them to the baba doing the ritual in Obi local government, before he made his way to South-West State. | |
| When police nabbed the husband and his herbalist at Otukpo, the family of the deceased person had assumed control of the body and called for a burial for him on June 1, 2021. | |
| Call, or answer a message sent to him on the incident. DSP Catherine Anene, spokesperson of the Benue police, was not acceptable. | |
| The spokesperson of NSCDC in the state, Asc Ejelikwu Micheal, was not greefully engaged when we met him, he said he would only speak when the time was right. | |
| But an insider said the news of the arrest of anybody they found had put sadness on the security peoples mind. | |
| In the review of the constitution: MURIC said sharia was introduced in the South West before Christianity entered. | |
| The Muslim Right Concern has asked the Penticostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) to stop opposeding Muslims, mind them business. | |
| The Director of the MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said this on Sunday. | |
| This warning was given to the PFN after the warning given to any group not to use the review of constitutions by the Senate to bring shariah law into south-west. | |
| PFN and other Christian joinbodi knew that shariah was in the south-west before christianity entered in 1842. | |
| They were practising shariah in Ede, during by the time of oba Abeeb Olagunju (Abbeb is a Muslim name) and that | |
| The shariah court in Ede was still working until 1913, in Agbeni in the town. | |
| He was taken to Agbongbon in 1914. | |
| Shariah was also used in Ramadan by the time of Oba Momodu Lamuye (Muhammad Lamuye), who died in 1906. | |
| Even as well, the nomba svevn Akirun of Ikirun, oba Aliyu Oyewole (whose died in 1912) took shariah to Ikirun in 1910. | |
| All these are examples that shariah has been, and has been spreading in Yorubaland, and to state that the christian people also knew that they were able to stop Shariah in Yorubaland, which they had comeimposed as a christian common law, Akintola said. | |
| He said the PFN and some other Christians together knew that islamic wakas had also grown in the south west, and they were scared for fear of what they believe might belong to him. | |
| He said the Christians know that Shariah is the right that Allah has given it to Muslims. | |
| But they have determined that they will not allow Muslims to use it, saying it is the new way of using. | |
| They had to mind war while fighting Muslims, arguing that war is a war between Muslims, and that there was nothing but war. | |
| They are utilizing both good and bad ways to achieve their goals. | |
| They have been calling on Nigerians to understand the mentality of the Christians here. | |
| The quick way to defend is to attack people, and that is the only way they can defend themselves. | |
| Profiting from the colonial machination of a century earlier, they wanted to steal all the benefits of colonial rule to them. | |
| It was also on the mind of Muslims to put in the place of colonial colonialism. | |
| The Review Constitution Committee has said that Nigerian people should write what they want in constitution. | |
| Each group should bring whatever is needed. | |
| Instead, the PFN should tell members what the christians want, this is what they think they should ask the christians to do. | |
| It was to be used to block Muslims from the south, but that would not work. | |
| He said that while the religious tolerance was on the south, it was a lie, and was used to put Yoruba people who are not Muslims in slavery. | |
| Muslims in the region are opening their eyes, and demanding freedom. | |
| We should stop by forceing us to wear Christian school uniforms, to go to christian school uniforms, and use christian law. | |
| We want shariah not to be cut to the people, but the shariah that will regulate Muslims marriage, inheritable husbandry and family affairs. | |
| does not concern Christians at all. | |
| We will use all the way not to cause a fight, but to follow law, to do the thing, he said. | |
| stakeholders in Edo have said Obaseki is party leader. | |
| While the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State has a crisis of who controls the party, members or members of Edo South of the party, it is said to be the state government, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu. | |
| Edo South PDP, in a communique issued at the end of the stakeholders meeting at the weekend in Benin city, said Godwin Obaseki is the leader of the party in the state. | |
| In communiques signed by the secretary, Wilson Evbuonwam, he said the party supported the harmonization and integration of new members into the executive committee of the party, which urged the state to develop welfare. | |
| police have nabbed someone believed to be an unspecified kidnapper in Abuja, including pistols and guns. | |
| The Police Command of FCT has arrested eight suspected kidnappers from Shenegu-Tunga Maje, Gwagwalada, Kabusa village and Durumi axis of Abuja. | |
| The spokesman of the commission, ASP Maryam Yusuf, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the names of the suspects were Yakubu Ahmadu, Ibrahim Mallam Musa, and Bello Haruna. | |
| She said the suspects were members of a syndicate that also linked into the kidnap attempts on the Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). | |
| Gwagwalada branch, Barrister David Aigbefoh. | |
| She said the suspects were arrested during a coordinated intelligence operation led by policemen from the commands anti-kidnapping squad at Shenegu mountain on the border of the FCT and Niger State. | |
| She said the suspects had been properly educated on the activities of their group. | |
| Yusuf later said he was arrested by one Nwite Jideofor who staged his kidnap from Durumi area, where the suspect confessed that he convicted with others who kidnapped him to collekt up to 5 million from his sister as ransom. | |
| She said some of the exhibits recovered from the suspects were three firearms, seven guns, seven cutlasses, one Honda Accord painted bleck, four mobile phones and other items. She added that the suspects had been working on how to arrest other members of the group that had run away. | |
| She said all the suspects would be charged to court after thoroughly investigated welwels, while warning residents of the FCT, especially parent and guardians to draw ears for their children not to commit crime. | |
| With Suarez strike, Atletico also won La Liga title. | |
| The goal scored by Luiz Suarez has allowed Athletico Mardrid to beat Real Valladolid 2-1 on Saturday, ensuring the team to have another remarkable La Liga victory. | |
| Suarez was crying for the begiing of the season seek of leaving Barcelona forced to leave Barcelona, but as the season ends, it will be his 21st goal of the season to Athleticoto win first league since 2014, this victory which was won ahead of Real Madrid. | |
| Athletico knew it would win the trophy regardless of how Madrid fared against Villareal at home. | |
| But not everyone was equally comfortable, as Valladolid took early lead. | |
| Real Madrid were also behind in the game, before Karim Benzema equalised in the 87th minute and Luka Modric scored a late winner in the 2-1 at Valdebebas, a move that had hacked Athletico for a long time, but had remained relatively short-lived to scatter the thing with just one goal. | |
| When the final whistle was blown, players were run into the field, red and white shirt covering Suarez, seeking to ensure that the title races that are even unpredictable ended. | |
| Suarez Zone | |
| It only passed one week late. | |
| coach Diego Simone said it was in the Suarez zone. | |
| and it was enough to prove it, as the Uruguayan scored the title in Athletico hand last weekend and then scored on the last day to write them names for the trophy. | |
| This is the second time in 17 years that another team apart from Barcelona or Real Madrid have won the league, Atleti has already won the other one under Simeone in 2014. | |
| Athletico started the game with a statement that they have been on the top table since December, and with two goals in the last eight minutes to beat Osasuna, | |
| But the task has not been easy for Athletico this season, with a 10 point lead in February and a point reduced to 2 in May, and they positioned themselves as number one in the table relying on Real Madrid and Barcelonas screamer. | |
| So it was no surprise person that while Valladolid was 19th in the table, they were still patching patches to do. | |
| A large turnout of Athletico fans had gathered at Valladolid Plaza Mayor to sing a song and several fans were also seen outside the stadium, where they were compelled from the premises of precaution. | |
| Gulaks killing has caused people to shout. | |
| Barr was killed earlier on sunday as he was taken to the scene. | |
| Ahmed Gullak, a former adviser to former presido Goodluck Jonathan on political matters, was roundly gunned at gunpoint. | |
| Gulak was shot dead at Obiangwu village on his way to the Sam Mbakwe airport in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State, for seeking entry to Abuja. | |
| The funeral paryer for the politician from Adamawa came yesterday evening at the national mosque in Abuja, after that he was burried in Gudu cemetary around 8pm. | |
| Police in Imo State say they have killed at least six of the suspects who killed the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman, after their fight. | |
| A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bala Elkana, said on 30 May, 2021, while receiving a call about the killing of Ahmed Gulak, special forces for policemen, including the Intellingence Response Team (IRT), Police Mobile Force (PMF), and tactical units from the command, they were sent to the scene at Obiangwu junction, Ngorokpala LGA of Imo State. | |
| The instructions given to the team are that they should arrest the perpetrators of the protest, and face justice. | |
| The claim that Gulak was stolen from him was made to happen yesterday. | |
| What the people were saying, especially the driver of the moto with which Gulak was in, who was taking it to the airport, had described the jaguda people, and the moto which they used to cart out the uproar. | |
| Toyota Camry, a 2005 model, silver-lined car, was said to have been used by the jaguda police, with sienna of 1998 model and golden color. | |
| Toyota Hilux painted white, and a Lexus 330, painted gold. | |
| (We did not put registration number, because of security matters) | |
| knowing the kind of people of the killer, and the motors they used to carry out the attack, they were later told the way the killer was going. | |
| With some lead, the team eventually established where the killers were. | |
| The suspects were arrested in Anoh-Mbaise local government area. | |
| It was as the jaguda police officers used totribute onions concealed in a trailer confisticated by them. | |
| Onions were full in the trailer that came from Northern Nigeria. | |
| When they saw the policemen, the members of the syndicate of fellow terrorists started shooting shots at the perpetrators. | |
| The war between a gallant and a ready to battle. | |
| The police officer also returned with a gun shot too. | |
| The six terrorists who followed did the killing, and four other members of the group suffered serious injury. | |
| Gulak has been attacked by three of the four motos. | |
| Three AK47 rifles, one pistol, five AK47 magazines with a 92 round round of live ammunition and criminal charm were kolekted from them. | |
| The terrorists were identified as members of IPOB and ESN banned. | |
| The driver of the bus, late Ahmed Gulak, and the victims survived have identified the decomposing body of the IPOB/ESN member as the attacker, and the vehicle they were attacking as the same motorcycle they used. | |
| In the face to face with the jaguda people, two armored personnel carriers belonging to police personnel were taken to gun scater, but they did not quite spoil finish. | |
| and a blue shirt were made after the after-the attacks showed Gulak woke up in his own blood, near the abandoned car. | |
| Gulak was the chairman of the Imo All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election that threw Hope Uzodinma as the primary candidate to represent the party. | |
| He was also said to be close to the governor, visiting the state welcoming. | |
| Why he was in Owerri | |
| Though Gulak has been visiting Owerriwels welwels since Uzodinma came on board, it was to attend a public hearing of a review of the last constitutional review in the city. | |
| As the committee had concluded its sitting, Gulak was saty back when other members of the committee left the city on Friday. | |
| A closer to Senator Orji Uzor kalu, who was also the chairman of the public hearing held in Owerri, said the deceased private of Kalu had been offered after the siddon spokes, but he refused to offer it. | |
| According to the source, the Kalu team left the city on the day of the public hearing, but Gulak stayed back, saying he had things to do in the city. | |
| We left Owerri the day after the hearing was over, and we asked him to join us in our private jet, because we believe we have enough security with us, the source said. | |
| But he said he had somethimg to do in the city. | |
| Nigerians have already knocked on FG, and other political parties concerning the killing. | |
| Nigerians on social media platforms also have lamented the governors government and police chiefs over the killing. | |
| A Facebook commentator who shared the story published by Daily Trust, Ifeanyi Maduako, said Gulak's death was bitter, and linked it with politics. | |
| The killing is bitter in my mouth. | |
| It appears that it is done with political willpower and the people involved should open their mouths. | |
| The killing will expose those behind the security challenges in Imo State. | |
| invited him, and why he would be killed northerner of Imo State. | |
| and I am afraid of what will happen to innocent Imo people in some days in the hands of security people in the north, he wrote. | |
| Another person who commented on the thread, Olurombi Micheal Omo, said as the police report proved that it was a political killing, it should be investigated thoroughly. | |
| It is also said that policemen also posed questions to nswer to. | |
| On his part, Comr Hassan Ahmad wrote that the soul of innocent people is more important than the scam that is called Unity in Nigeria. | |
| We will not accept this kind of illiteracy, enof is enof, we are a peacemaker. | |
| but the doe that is pushing us to meet the wall is seen to see that we cannot continue with the peace. | |
| I'm sending warning, we'll retaliate and it will be worst. | |
| Buhari you have failed us woefully, and we faced the Imo policemen to follow the criminals. | |
| Nasiru Inuwa also wrote that it was a wake-up call to the big people in the north, who started with innocent Fulani herders and now have turned to northern government officials, including prominent politicians. | |
| The secretary of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Emma Powerful, has in a statement that the IPOB was not linked to Gulaks murder, saying killing politicians was not the agenda of the joinbodi. | |
| IPOB has said it does not know anythimg about the killing. | |
| To begin with, how Gulak is taking threats to our mission that has warranted us to kill her. | |
| We have nothing with him, and we have not killed him. | |
| Pointing fingers at IPOB for this barbaric act is just to divert attention away from the real people doing it. | |
| The same way that terrorists in security uniforms take to the south east to commit atrocities, they will bring IPOB to crime, because they are looking to spoil our reputation. | |
| It was an opportunate find for a long time to commence another special military operation in the Eastern Region to take on more Biafra innocent people. | |
| Instead of allowing policemen to thoroughly investigate on the incident and the factors that caused it, they have faced IPOBs over non-compliance to crime. | |
| Do the IPOB have the information about the movement of the late Gulak to the airport road? | |
| The group called on securitymen to first investigate the host Gulak, Hope Uzordinma, and his political opponents to establish if involved. | |
| Gulak did not escape punishment. | |
| Presido, Muhammadu Buhari has said Gulaks and other issues in the country will not be scotted free. | |
| Presido, Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, expressed outrage and disgust over the heinous murder. | |
| The president, who however called the incident sad, said: I was repulsed by the gruesome murder of Gulak who was premeditated by evil gangs, which they claim to have detrmined to dabaru the peace, unity and teritorial integriti of our country. | |
| and warned that no one, or any joinbodi doing such despicable things would expect to be free. | |
| We must do all the efforts to see that people who do such dastardly and criminally act will face justice. | |
| Gulak killing is unacceptable, Akeredolu said. | |
| Governor of Ondo State, Olwarotimi Akeredolu, described the news of the killing as shocking and disturbing. | |
| In a statement signed by the Governor himself, he said this one was murdering too many, saying doing so was senseless and wicked. | |
| The people who do such a thing are the enemy of the country. | |
| The corner-corner way is to mislead, confuse and destroy. | |
| He had the unmistakable, despicable imprints of fifth columnists bent on what the country was on the path of conflagration. | |
| This criminal must not be allowed to succeed. | |
| We are using this medium to tell our brother, Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzordinma, that we are with him. | |
| We urge Governors and other Governors of South Eastern states to brace up, and confront the security challenges to take the final bloodbath for them. | |
| The enemy of the people is always the weapon of fear to create disaffection. | |
| The cowardice act was to instigate Nigerians to look inwards in front of each other, making northerners to face Igbo people living outside South-East. | |
| We must face the enemy of the people, to see that we are leaving power in them. | |
| This is no time to argue who sabis politically more. | |
| We should not allow bandits to spoil the legitimacy of this government at all levels. | |
| We are calling on all securitymen to go to the kolabo to see the criminals they sponsor, and those of terrorism. | |
| They must be severely punished. | |
| Finishing is mourning. | |
| The Governor of Adamawa State, Umara Ahmadu Fintiri, has said Gulak's death was quite shocking, as he is a former speaker of the Adamawa State. | |
| Governor Fintiri said the death was painful, as how wicked people become wicked. | |
| Governor Fintiri said Late Gulak was a witty, determined, and practical politician, which he said as he rose, was because of his hardwork. | |
| It is very unfortunate that the death has taken place from us. | |
| Hon Ahmed Gulak in a day-shy gruesome manner. | |
| Gulak is a lively politicin who follows everyones work and has always the interests of the country on his mind. | |
| Reminiscents of his interaction with the late Gulak, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri said he was a brother and mentor, and seek of a lawter, a human rights fighter. | |
| Madagali community is tragically lost. | |
| In a statement yesterday released by its Chief Press Secretary Hunwashi Wanisoukou, the governor said the country lost one of the strongest men fighting for human rights. | |
| We all remember how passionate he fought for the insurgents who had left their homes and their means were short-lived. | |
| ACF condemned the killing. | |
| The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned the killing of Gulak, saying it was a huge loss to our country. | |
| The ACF in a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, said it was sad to hear the killing of Gulak, described as a dynamic, dynamic and progressive politician who rose from the notrth. | |
| If you like it or you don't like it, that's your business. | |
| May God bless, and grant his family and state, Adamawa, the ability to bear the loss. | |
| The killing was part of the plan to repeat the coup that occurred in 1966 CNG. | |
| The coalition for Norther Groups (CNG) has described the killing of northern politician Ahmed Gulak, a former political adviser to former presido Goodluck Jonathan, as a strategic move, and all the attacks against police officers in the Southeast of Nigeria, to try to repeat the coup of 1966. | |
| The CNg in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the desertion of norther part of the country was a reason norther part of the country cannot live with southeast as one country, as they alleged that the violent way of the Indigenous People of Biafra, The eastern Security Network (ESN), and other Igbo societies they were funded, had confidence, by every part of the Igbo society, both those in their homeland and those in the countrys obodo oyinbo. | |
| Westhams hope of getting into top-four has spoilted with how they lost to Everton. | |
| Westhams hope to reach top-four has been dashed following a poor start against Everton hopeful to entain the European league on Sunday. | |
| The goal scored by Dominic Caivert-Lewin in the 24th minute of their game indicated that they were determined to win Westham who had made mouth-watering bid to score on that particular afternoon. | |
| The closest to equalize was when Vladmir Coufal received a ball from a bar and Jerron Bowenno couldn't hit it back to the post upon he was in the goal post front. | |
| People supporting Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have shown that he is still on his backs as he is being deployed as a presidential candidate in the coming elections. | |
| Osinbajo also said he did not indicate that he wanted to be president. | |
| Vice President Osinbajo said all the small talk about becoming president in the 2023 Presidential Election was a distraction. | |
| A secret story has been in town that Osinbajo eye is on Presidents post in the land. | |
| The Vice-president also said Vice-president had not declared his interest to be president in the statement on Monday. | |
| The Vice Presidents office has put their eye at a Website body. | |
| , which is called Nigerians to join a volunteer group to support Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, preparing for the 2023 Presidential elections. | |
| Details of the website and how to request full Whatsapp settings, plus the fact that Osinbajo has declared interest in the 2023 election. | |
| The vice president office does not have any connection with the group or the website that stands for it and the feeling is that the whole thin is a distraction that is absolutely unnecessary. | |
| Prof Osinbajo has not said he wants to be president in the 2023 elections, but he is focusing on working as the Vice President of the current administration to address critical issues in the country. | |
| We ask our people to stop all the problems, and face the challenges confronting us as a Nigerian people, to do more well for our people, and promote peace and prosperity in our land, the statement said. | |
| Ndidi and Iheanacho made Nigeria proud again at Leicester Citys Leicester City match when they took the countrys flag off their team won the FA Cup. | |
| NFF congratulates Ndidi Iheanacho for the FA Cup win at Leicester Citys | |
| President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) | |
| Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick, has sent a message to congratulate Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi and Forward Kelechi Iheanacho for their win at Leicester City against Chealsea which was highly hyped on Saturday night. | |
| FA Cup final in England. | |
| The two of them were both at the march for Wembley and were celebrated after the march with Nigerian flags as they joined the list of the other seven Nigerian players who have won the England Cup. | |
| I am very happy for Ndidi and Iheanacho. | |
| They worked tirelessly for Leicester City throughout the campaign and both them and their team deserved the honor. | |
| I have believed this win would work as high morale for them in the friendly march to play this summer and the FIFA World Cup to be launched in September. | |
| I am also happy with the Nigerian flag which two of them used to celebrate whenever they completed. | |
| that is awesome. | |
| Ndidi and Iheanacho were the second pair of people from Nigeria who celebrated the FA Cup won in England, coming a day after Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka won Portsmouth against Cardiff in 2008 | |
| Before that time, Daniel Amokachi had won the title for Everton in 1995; Celestine Babayaro also won the Blues in the year 2000, Kanu in Arsenal in 2002 and John Mikel Obi in Chelsea in 2007 | |
| After Kanu/Utaka win in 2008, John Mikel Obi again won the Blues title in Chelsea in 2009, 2010 and 2012, Alex Iwobi equalised in Arsernal in 2017, Victor Moses also joined them in 2018. | |
| When I was at the Federal Government College in Enugu in the early 70s, I was on a train to transport myself from Kaduna to Enugu. | |
| Djokovic warms up for Roland Garros with Belgrade title | |
| Novak Djokovic has completed his warm-up with success at Roland Garros when he beaten Slovakian Alex 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday in the final of the ATP Clay tournament in Belgrade. | |
| This is the second event in the city in over a month when fans came, not like the recent Serbia Open which happened in April when the stadium was closed. | |
| Djokovic said he had already lost to playing on the peoples front, a Belgrade semifinalist at the Serbia Open in 2011, he won the title. | |
| The herder-farmer kasala in Nigeria has become a reality TV item every day now. | |
| Towards Nigerias herder-farmer kasala: The Livestock reform Plan | |
| Nigerias federal and state governments are struggling to implement a National Livestock Transformation Plan to control cattle movement throughout the country turning to herder and farmers fight. | |
| Many states governors have endorsed him, but he is facing some challenges. | |
| Poor political leadership, perception about its purpose and budget constraints, COVID-19 pandemic, experts who are not authorised to do the work and insecurity evriwer, blocking the progress. | |
| If the plan is going to fail as in its other plans to modernise livestock management, the farmers and herders fight will increase. | |
| National Economic Council approved it in January 2019, the plan was to represent the efforts being made to understand the needs of people beyond to examine the inadequate livestock system. | |
| The essence of the strategy is to have control of where grazing occurs, in order to reduce the fight between herders and farmers. | |
| The movement hopes that after 10 years, herders going up and down mainly will have a mind to put their cattle in ranch and reserve for public grazin, where breeding farms and other mechanised livestock management will support the sectors produce. | |
| By the time of 2028, the authority had it in mind to have built up an estimated likes of 119 ranches in all states involved, to create about two million jobs in the livestock production, processing and marketing chain. | |
| President Muhammadu Buhari administration made the plan after a period of fighting herders and farmers, particilarly wen the fighting became much and he was affecting people in the ghetto in 2018. | |
| The Federal Government, in consultation with about 80 percent of the Transformation proposals submitted by the states involved, has taken the first step in implementing the plans, which includes technical support to help them state prepares for work, such as field surveys and site mapping. | |
| Many states have been reactivated graze reserves, opened offices and set up a steering committee to manage the plan. | |
| The authorities have been doing workshop and other work to teach people the benefits of livestock reform. | |
| But two years after the 10-year plan was done, they have not built any ranch and their obstacles have been enormous. | |
| The opposition, though it is mostly from the herders, though not necessarily from the Fulani people, is still among the farmers who do not want to make pastolists enjoy the benefits of the plan even as they spoil the reform effort. | |
| There has been a lot of distrust in the Middle belt, a place where fights between farmers and herders have become too much due to land, even though peaceful and fruitful efforts by the military since 2018. have reduced the blood shed. | |
| Shortage has been in the federal and state governments budgets, a small part because the economy has been sliding into the doldrums of the pandemic, and because the country has not had technical experts who know how to manage ranch and graze reserves. | |
| In many states, especially in the North-West, the way criminal gangs and armed groups grow up is eroding access to grazing reserves and making people seeking investment more than ever to do so. | |
| Without doing anything about it, this kasala and other ones could delay or spoil the plan, which will eventually make the country rendered helpless when the fight between farmers and herders is more serious than the previous fight, which could also turn into a fight between ethnic nationalities, regions and religions. | |
| To tackle this challenges, it will be important for the Federal and State authorities to partner with donors and investors. | |
| First, let Abuja and other states supporting it provide political leadership that is stronger than before, and increase their communication with the public so that it will not spoil peoples doubt and wrong understanding of the plan. | |
| This is commonly seen among pastoralists on their sides, who will ask for a change in their nomadic lifestlye with their nomadic peoples for centuries, with which they are still having serious doubt that the plan promised about pasture is a lie. | |
| But many farmers are afraid of losing their land to those producing livestock. | |
| Many people in the middle-belt and other states in the South are still suspecting the plans long-term goals, which they are seen as opportunities for herders and the Fulani people particularly. | |
| Speaking with support from Abuja and other partners, state governors will also need to find people who are experts, who know technical aspects of thins, especially those handling the ranch and grazing reserves, dairy production and meat processing. | |
| The federal and State governments could also increase their budgets for the plan, release the funds quickly and create financial transparency to ensure everyone is accounted for, working with donors and investors where necessary. | |
| It is also important to deal with insecurities in rural areas, curb impunity and rehabilitate communities adversely affected by the fight. | |
| Authorities have to consider the effects of weather change on herders from other countries might also benefit from the plan. | |
| While some of these steps take time, the people planning them should focus on how to bring results that can be seen in relatively short periods. | |
| less than two years from now, the country will hold general elections. | |
| If the plan survives the transition of government that will follow, political parties must bring proof that it has benefited (Change is certainly, as president Buhari and many state governors cannot compete again as they have served two term terms) | |
| By the time the primaries for elections are over the threshold for 2022, the backing plan should be able to show some of the ranch they built or the rehabilitated reserves, strong donors and their investors commitment and the first group of people who have been trained to be professional in Livestock mamagement. | |
| The solution to this problem is not easy but the plan is worth the effort. | |
| Not only is it imperfect, but it brings a chance, a chance to change Nigerias livestock system with a strategy that will address the needs of both herders and smallholder farmers. | |
| About 70 percent of Nigerians make money from Agriculture. | |
| To modernise the Livestock sector will boost the countrys prosperity and at the same time, it is a big way to solve one of Nigerias most dangerous problems. | |
| Before the 2023 elections, both federal and state authorities have to do more quickly so people can see what they are doing or else all their efforts to create such moments of opportunity will spoil. | |
| This is an executive summary of the report on the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) and how it has been fast-tracked by International Crisis Group. | |
| The kind of relationship I had with the king. | |
| Do you agree with that? | |
| They are also responsible for a very high proportions of food and crop production. | |
| Subsistence farmers are the smallholders that consume the majority of their farm output which is said to have been holed back to the point that they should not participate actively in commercially oriented agriculture by a variety of constraints. | |
| There is no energy for anyone that is not happy for me. | |
| I have it. | |
| This brings me to the conclusion that everyone is evil. | |
| The system has been characterised as complex,diverse and risk-prone. | |
| Their farms are usually small, under traditinal or informal tenure, and they are marginal risk-prone environments. | |
| Yields have also been low and farmers have lacked the capacity to increase yields. | |
| We spoke of life and prosperity on this day. | |
| way | |
| The emphasis is on agricultural productivity, production enhancement and commercialising farming as an enterprise. | |
| I know everyone. | |
| Akpos and his friend sit-down, he said. | |
| The yields of the smallholder farmers are profitable. | |
| you are here. | |
| These challenges have led to many smallholder farmers, especially farmers, to pursue lower-risk, lower-risk and lower-yielding agricultural activities. | |
| Are you a witch? | |
| I am on my road to sabo where I am going to buy food stamps. | |
| to call my father. | |
| As developing countries grow larger, richer, and more urban, the intensification of agricultural production will occur in rapidly changing agri-food value chains. | |
| “ | |
| This development is shifting the competitive advantages away from petty farmers. | |
| So, it is important that we find a solution to the problem. | |
| This will require an intergrated approach of methodologies. | |
| The loan sharks are in his neck. | |
| I was sent on an errand at where I was working. | |
| The water had flooded the entire farm. | |
| Farmers battled in 2020 | |
| For many farmers and other stakeholders in the agro-sector, the year 2020 will remain as one of the years the worse years in the history of Nigeria because it introduced new dynamics that millions of smallholder farmers would contend with. | |
| Many challenges have bedeviled the agricultural sector from the range of issues climate change-related, conflicts and the complications that have been exacerbate from the global COVID-19 pandemic, which brings come pain and heartbreak to farmers and agribusiness players. | |
| First, the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions happen at the time of dry season farmers are expected to harvest their crops and wet season farmers should begin cultivation. | |
| Many farmers cannot go to their farms while others have labourers to harvest their farms since mechanization is a huge challenge and harvest which is manual, is the problem. | |
| They have introduced movement restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus locked-down markets that have disrupted the rural economy. | |
| Many farmers cannot sell their produce that will enable them to buy seed and fertiliser, pay labourers/tractor services, etc. | |
| Despite the lifted lockdown in the agricultural sector, the prices of fertiliser have continued to rise, leaving many smallholders unable to afford it. | |
| In some places the price has also rose to N13,000 for a bag of Indorama and Notore Urea. | |
| The federal government NPK 15-15-15 was on the rise to N25,000 when the federal government NPK20-10-10 under the presidential fertiliser initiative, which is meant to be sold for farmers for N5000, was not available in many places and areas where the price hovered to N7,000 and was highest in some places. | |
| In farmers in Zamfara, Katsina, southern kaduna, some parts of Kebbi and sokoto states, bandits activities not only denied access to their farms but the men were also killed in their farms. | |
| They razed down many farming communities. | |
| They kidnapped people and demand ransom. | |
| Many people paid a large sum of money or surrendered large portions of their harvest to the bandits. | |
| Many villages in those states have become desolate. | |
| The agricultural sector witnessed one of the worst disasters when flood wipepped out 450,000 hectares of rice and maize fields estimated at over N3.5 billion in Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano states. | |
| Most of the farmers affected are yet to be compensated as their livelihoods have been destroyed. | |
| The flood has worsened since the 2012 disater that wrecked havoc across most of Nigeria's coastal and flood-prone areas, killing thousands and washing away farmlands. | |
| meanwhile, while the flood brings pain to farmers hearts up in the North, the drought confronts farmers in the south. | |
| For two months, farmers were not delighted but watched as their investments in crop fell away. | |
| Not disgusted. | |
| Another subsectors that the thing hit quite badly were poultry and feeds. | |
| The scarcity of maize at the beginning of the year has caused prices to increase. | |
| It also forced the poultry association of Nigeria to send save our soul appeals to the federal government for urgent atention. | |
| The federal government has responded to the appeal and released 5,000 metric tons of maize from the nations strategic reserve for farmers in addition to grant some of the big players licences to import about 222 metric tons of maize to enhance the shortfall in the feed industry. | |
| However, these are just a short-term solution because only three months after soyabean scarcity struck, the farmers were expressing their fear that by January 2021, the industry would shut down completely. | |
| The scarcity caused a serious feed crisis in the industry as prices reached a high record in its history as it rose from N2,600 in February to about N5,500 | |
| The poultry industry has lost an estimate of N7 million jobs with figures targeted to 10 million by January 2021 whereas the loss of investments conservatively estimated to be about N1.5 trillion. | |
| While the poultry farmers still struggle with the challenges bedeviling the sector, the crop farmers despite the daunting challenges with which the sector was confronted in the 2020 farming year, were able to bring buyers right up to their farms even before harvest to make bulk purchase arrangements. | |
| This is the first time the price of grains has come down in harvest time, raising fears for hunger and the call for the reopening of the border, which would allow influx for products smuggled through the countrys porous borders. | |
| The name of the lord is a strong tower. | |
| 3,000 youths will benefit from NALDA's farm estate in Ebonyi | |
| The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) has said that the agency would engage at least 3,000 youths in Ebonyi State for its proposed intergrated farm estate in the state. | |
| The intergrated farm estate will be completed and commissioned by October this year. | |
| The executive secretary of the agency, Prince Paul Ikonne, who announced this on Tuesday, said the proposed integrated farm estate would be established for 104 hectares of land donated by the state government. | |
| Prince Ikonne, who also visited Ebonyi State on a courtesy visit to the governor on Monday, Engr David Umahi, said the intergrated farm estate would be completed in October 2021. | |
| This is the mandate of Mr President, that we should reactivate abandoned farms and develop new ones for security. | |
| The Governor of Ebonyi State is eager. | |
| He wasted the total support of achieving his dreams. | |
| Therefore, Ebonyi State has committed to working with NALDA to engage the teeming youths into full agricultural productivity. | |
| It was evident that the governor had keyed into Mr Presidents agenda concerning achieving food security for the country. | |
| We are establishing an intergrated farm estate in Ebonyi State as we are doing it in other states. | |
| The scheme would engage Nigerians and draw their attention to agriculture. | |
| From Jude Owuamanam (Owerri), Lami Sadiq (Kaduna), Bola Ojuola (Akure), Abdullateef Salau, Muideen Olaniyi, Abbas Jimoh & Idowu Isamotu. | |
| New governor in Niger Republic has cast a terrorist eye on crime committed. | |
| Niger Republics new boss, Mohammed Bazoum, has put hand in the hands of terrorists whose barbaric acts were beyond limits after entering power on Friday in a country facing two jihadist insurgencies. | |
| Bazoum said the groups were killing many innocent people and by that, they said they were committing real war crimes. | |
| He said the leadership of the groups came from other countries, saying they were only attacking Niger for good reasons. | |
| He said no terrorist leader has any vex with the country. | |
| Bazoum, 61 years old, was elected in two rounds of primaries held in December and February. | |
| The 68-year-old Mahamadou Issoufou, a 68-year-old man, stepped down by his self-deamination after sowing two previous term terms in office. | |
| His inauguartion was the first time the elected leaders had given their mandate to each other in Nigers history for over 60 years of independence but the attacks from jihadists and some plans to do military action has spoiled the celebration. | |
| Niger is suffering from an insurgency closely conecting to Al-qaeda or Islami State (IS), which is headed west from Burkina Faso and Mali, and from nigeria as Boko haram enters from the southeast. | |
| It is more than 300 people killed in three attacks in the west since the year 2015. | |
| The most recent development was when 141 members of the Tuareg community on March 21, in Tahoua, a big desert inhabiting Mali. | |
| Bazoum said the effort of Niger Rebuplic under him as the presido will focus on Mali. | |
| He said the current situation in Mali had a direct impact on security in their own country. | |
| Insurgents linked to IS have their base in Menaka and Gao, in eastern and central Mali as Bazoum has said. | |
| He said fighting them would be very difficult as long as Mali as a country has no full charge over the region. | |
| In the early hours of Wednesday, after a gun duel erupted near the presidency in Niamey, the government said it had stopped the planned coup. | |
| He described the thing as an act of a coward and regressive treaty to democracy and state of the law. | |
| West Africa has suffered four warriors, the most recent of which happened in Februry 2010, and his successor, Presido Mamadou Tandja. | |
| Google said they could come from Australia. | |
| Google has threatened to oust the search engines in the country, as the country has been told to share gains with those publishing news. | |
| Australia wants to introduce the first of its kind by forcing Google, Facebook, and other tech companies to pay newsmen for their contents. | |
| But the firms in the US have resisted, warning that they could lose their service in the country. | |
| Oga Prime Minister in Australia, Scott Morrison, said the lamakers would not listen to any threats. | |
| Although Australia is not one of the big places where Google is taking marketed things, this proposed news code might be a global test of how governments will begin regulating large tech firms. | |
| This code in Australia will tie Google and Facebook, to negotiate with publishers over the worth of their news contents if they cannot come to an agreement at the beginning. | |
| The Managing Director of Google in Western Australia, Mel Silva told a senate chairman on Friday that the law would not work. | |
| She said if this version of the code is passed into law, Google will have no choice but to pack them and leave them in Australia. | |
| But lawmakers were attacking him, claiming that it was a blackmail and bully Google wanted to do in Australia to demand the reform. | |
| It will be everywhere in the world. | |
| Shet you go to every market, you'll leave? | |
| Do you want to stop the precedence? | |
| Silva replied that the code was a risk-tolerant operation in Australia. | |
| Morrison said his government was geared to make the law for progress through parliament this year. | |
| Let me state this clearly: Australia is making the rule of what you can do in Australia. | |
| It did that, as he disclosed this in a statement to newsmen on Friday. | |
| Why is Australia pushing for such a law? | |
| Google is the dominant search engine in Australia, and the government has described as an essential utility that does not really have any market competition. | |
| The government argument is that because the tech giant has customer base among newsmen, they should pay a good amount to the newsroom for journalism. | |
| In addition, they argued that the financial support was necessary or was embattled by the news industry because strong media is vital to democracy. | |
| According to the Government, print media in Australia has suffered a significant 75% reduction in money since 2005. | |
| And that is the thret that Google said that the removal of its entire seach engine would be toughest. | |
| The lawmakers said news accounted for 12.5% of the search results taken by Googles in Australia. | |
| Poultry farmers Demand for importing animal grade maize and soya meals. | |
| General Secretary of the South West Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Dr Olalekan Odunsi has called on government to facilitate the import of animal grade maize and soya meal. | |
| Odunsi said the importation of poultry businesses was to save the dairy business from collapse. | |
| He said the importation of feed grade maize would sustain the over 500 million layers, 100 million broilers, 1 million breeders and other classes of poultry until next harvest. | |
| He also urged governments to strictly refuse to export soya, seed and soya bean meals that have been processed. | |
| He urged governors in the region to intensify efforts in the production of maize as they do in the production of rice. | |
| Odunsi put mouth that maize farmers, soya bean farmers and the remaining farmers in Nigeria needed to come together to work. | |
| He said if government did not intervene, the scarcity and hish price of maize and soya would threaten another five million poultry jobs if nothing was done about it. | |
| Today, it is sold at 210,000/MT in most states in the South West, which is 240,000/MT. | |
| Because the two items are relatively important, the price of poultry feed is gradually increaising from N2750 to N3000 in April 2020 to N4850 to N5300 now. | |
| By December, most farmers could not sell their broilers because the cost of production is more than the ordinary Nigerian. | |
| Presently, eggs are more than the average person can buy, with the average price of around 1,300. | |
| and we really need government intervention to save the remaining ten million jobs in the poultry value chain of the economy. | |
| as he speaks. | |
| Reps suspended as support Buhari-led APC | |
| The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended the member of the House of Representatives representing Kazaure federal constituency in Jigawa State, Muhammad Gudaji Danbaffa for six months. | |
| In addition, they have formed a panel of seven members to probe the allegations of insurbordingation charged to the member with, including making recommendations within ten days. | |
| The committee was headed by Hamza Dand, who is Sanusi Kaaure's secretary. | |
| In the process of suspending the lawmaker, the chairman of the local government, claimed that as Gudaji was suspended, his constituents in Kazaure Yama ward started it, and the local government was also involved. | |
| Our correspondent reports that the lawmaker was suspended because he was accused of criticising the governor, saying the governor would change the candidate wanted in the chaimanship and councilorship primaries just voted. | |
| Serena and teenager Pigato crossed into Parma Wta. | |
| Serena Williams brushed aside the challenge of local teenager Lisa Pigato in the opening round of the WTA tournament in Parma on Monday. | |
| Williams, the highest ranked nomba in the world, beaten Pigato, who ranked 572 and made her WTA debut 6-3, 6-2, at the first meeting between the two of them. | |
| How North-Central govs can optimise open grazing ban from South APC chieftain | |
| As open grazing controversy has trended into the public domain, which Southern governors had hit it with a ban at their meeting in Asaba, the president, Farmers Empowerment Association of Nigeria (FEAN), plus Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) North-Central Forum in FCT, Honourable Obaje David, has examined how the North-Central governors can respond to the ban. | |
| Recently, the governors of Southern states met in Asaba, Delta State, and they banned open grazing to cuts farmers-herders crisis, including other forms of criminality. | |
| What is your take on the controversy this decision generated? | |
| Every human being has a right to action and opinions. | |
| But the most important factor is that once you take your own action, you know there is a consequence. | |
| You should consider the advantages and disadvantages. | |
| I am not one of those who will say good or bad. | |
| As a Nigerian, you have your right and your liberty to live in anywhere in the country with good faith and enjoy the freedom of association. | |
| On this basis, I will not tell you that is a good thing. | |
| But as a leader of North Central, I will say that is a good thing, especially in the North Central zone, considering the potential economic benefits for us and the nation. | |
| The ban is advantage to us. | |
| We need to tap into it and see how we can make it a real estate venture and make money from it. | |
| Luckily for us, we have a landmass that is enough to accommodate the herders, no matter the nomba that troops from the South into the North Central. | |
| What is your position about open grazing? | |
| I am not one of the people that supports open grazing. | |
| I now believe more in ranching because it is my business. | |
| I believe if we begin ranching, it will work out for us. | |
| Let the governors in North Central allow the national programme on ranching. | |
| This move might make Nortj Central the most trafficking market, where many people can buy cow and some agricultural products. | |
| It will eventually become a means of economic empowerment for the north central people. | |
| We have the land that southern states cannot have. | |
| See in Kogi, Niger, Kwara, among others. | |
| We could give the herder people their house and ranch to them for their own advantage. | |
| The challenges bedeviling the Fulani herders have not been because they refused to adopt ranching. | |
| The problem is that they have not really been educated on the advantages. | |
| They culture are nomadic. | |
| According to him, ranching is a problem of education. | |
| We can also adopt the method in Kenya, where almost all families have cows, but you cannot still see open grazing, as cows take on more thereby. | |
| That is what the southern governor is saying. | |
| The governors have not shown where they belong in this regard. | |
| They did not call for ranching or to urge the federal government to put mouth. | |
| What they are saying is that the herders have become a problem for us, and we should leave them. | |
| They also proposed that herders should apply for land, saying herding is a personal business. | |
| But have they asked people to apply for land like the herders? | |
| As one of the participants involved in youth empowerment, especially in agriculture and value chain, why some government policies do not really work, what exactly is the way out? | |
| Firstly, no other administration has been able to touch the lives of individuals like one of President Muhammadu Buhari, who you can sit back at your house without a wahala and apply for a facility and you will get it. | |
| There are also some credit facilities known as COVID-19 loans. | |
| Many Nigerians have been collecting the loan for a matter of thousands of naira from their homes and without sitting at offices. | |
| Also, with the expanding of some SMEs like the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the likes, there are also the opening of some SMEs like the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the likes. | |
| The challenge is that we have two sides, those who will believe you and those who do not. | |
| So, for those who do not believe in the administration of Buhari, there is no benefit. | |
| But for those of us who believe in Buhari, we are benefiting, and we thank god for it. | |
| Kidnappers kill driver, abduct 13 in Nasarawa | |
| Adamu Usman has been killed, and 13 others have been arrested near Shafa-Abakpa -Umaisha road on the Toto Local Government Council of Nasarawa State. | |
| Daily Trust learnt that he was three times shot in his abdomen and died around 9pm at the university of Abuja Teaching Hospital where he and another driver Atahiru Abukwo were treated together. | |
| Another driver who narrowly escaped the attack Ibrahim Saidu said at about 5pm on Thursday the incident happened, when several kidnappers with AK47 came from the bush to waylay four motos from Ugya village. | |
| According to him, the kidnappers waylayed the vehicle and shot a gun at a moto carrying people from Ugya to Abaji. | |
| He said the kidnappers were surrounding the vehicle after its drivers had lost control and drove into the bush. | |
| 13 passengers including a woman who was never too old in the bush were pointed to them by gunpoint. | |
| In fact, you were driving behind the four motos, and God Save me that I took someone in one of the villages. | |
| The Ohimegye of Opanda-Umaisha, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Usman Abdullahi, said some bandits remaining in the forest were responsible for kidnapping of travelers, resident and some farmers in the area. | |
| He said some bandits remained and were devising terror in the community, pleading with state and federal governments to collaborate to flush them out of patapata. | |
| When contacted, the spokesman of the Nasarawa State Police Command, ASP Ramhan Nansel, said he was yet to inform newsmen about the latest kidnap incident, he said he would follow the Divisional Police Officer of the Toto Local Government Area who spoke to newsmen. | |
| Man arrested in Lagos | |
| The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of one Victor Ebhomenyen for allegedly driving away on his way to Four Point Hotel, Oniru in Lagos State. | |
| Ebhomenyen also assault and severe injury sustained at ASP Erhator Sundays body at Four Point Hotel, Oniru, Lagos. | |
| This is contained in a statement issued by Lagos Police Command Spokesman CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi. | |
| He said the command ordered to set the record straught concerning. | |
| The incident, which was recorded in a viral video posted on the social media platform, went viral on Saturday April 17. | |
| He said two men were assaulted by ASP Erhator Sunday, an officer on duty, and they created a scene on the road at Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos State. | |
| Adejobi said the prime suspect, Victor, had entered the police net at the State Criminal Investigation Departments Panti, for investigation and prosecution as and when required. | |
| He said the command had made efforts to arrest the perpetrators of the act together with Etinosa. | |
| Gbajabiamila welcomes Ayade defect as PDP urges members to stay united | |
| The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has shown that he is happy that the Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, took the defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the party is open to everyone. | |
| Gbajabiamila in a statement on Thursday which his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, said Ayades actions had shown that APC is the party to beat in the country. | |
| The Speaker said the Cross River State governor has taken the decision and has shown good examples to the remaining them for. | |
| He said the ruling party remained open for all and called on Nigerians to join the APC to move the country forward. | |
| The Speaker said the APC would continue to be transparent and fair to all its members. | |
| Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a reacting statement to the defect defect that Ayade defected, urged members of the Cross River State to stay unite. | |
| In a statement by the partys spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party called on all critical stakeholders and teeming members of our party in Cross Rivers State to immediately pull together and ensure that all structures of our party in the state remain intact. | |
| The PDP wished Governor Ayade well in his new political waka as well as in his future endeavours. | |
| The forensic Bill to the National Assembly: It is relevant to the fight against corruption led by Buhari | |
| The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Wednesday 19th | |
| May 2021 at the House of Representatives and Tuesday 2nd | |
| March 2021 for the Senate made history when it became law, the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria Bill, 2021 (SB.615 and HB. | |
| 791), after a second time in the both Chambers (SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE). | |
| This act is a clear demonstration of the patriotism and direct response of the National Assembly, which was targeted, as well as strengthening and re-invigorating national frontiers in the fight against fraud, corruption and cybercrimes, which has entered our country well. | |
| Bypassing this bill, the 9th Assembly under the distinguished and able leadership of His Excellency, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, CON and Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiala has shown clearly that they have carried out legislative functions in the spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as it is enacted by amendment. | |
| And this also attests to the fact that the National Assembly has also waked to the performance of its complementary role with other arms of government in the fight against corruption. | |
| It was with happy mind and with deep sense of gratitude that I wrote this, which has been put together as a platform for us to let Nigerians and indeed the whole world know what the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria is all about and the unique concepts we are bringing on board in order to complement national efforts in its quest to rid the country of corruption, fraud and Cyber-Crimes and other related crimes. | |
| After the Senate had passed the Bill, with the view to operating as a bicameral Legislature, the House of Representatives was always ready and resilient, under the able leadership of His Excellency, Rt. | |
| The Hon. | |
| The speaker also followed their directive and passed the Bill on Wednesday 19th May, 2021. | |
| As you may have heard before, the Bill to establish the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (CIFIPN) is among the bills that have been voted NO to in the National Assembly. | |
| The sad thing is that the people who are supposed to put mouths in the fight against corrupt practices in Nigeria are now attacking the bill, they have turned to enemy in common ood. | |
| A good thing is a gudd thing, but without a substitute, it can be a very bad thing also. | |
| No matter how long it takes, good will always prevails over bad just as the light superiority over darknes is constant and unquestionable. | |
| , it is important that we can only see a smallfraction of what happened in the National Assembly. | |
| Interestingly, the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (Est) Bill 2021 (CIFIPN) was the 9th Senate first passed into law on the 2nd day of March, 2021 having done so far through the legislative processes of 1st Reading, 2nd Reading and eventual in the 3rd Reading on the 2nd March, 2021. | |
| It is very important for the public to know that (CIFIPN) is not just any noble body but a new one in Nigeria aimed at bridgeing the gaps that have been for so long in the forensics space. | |
| Today, the waka to have a standard body to regulate the practice of forensics in Nigeria is on the peak and the need to urge Nigerians to rise and challenge the few anti-governmental bodys that may intend to sabotage this step. | |
| This bill, which was passed by the National Assembly, clearly demonstrated that they are both patriotic and the need to strengthen national efforts against corruption, which has been staunchly blocked development in every aspect of our national lives. | |
| This beta step in legislation, taken by the two Chambers of the National Assembly, is historic and symbolic, because it happens at a time Nigeria is desperately needing legislation welweltry. | |
| that will give a better way to his anti-corruption drive as the spate of criminals and corrupt practices are gaining greater traction across the globe. | |
| As we know, crime has entered another level as science and technology improved the 21st century. | |
| Therefore, the bill was passed in good time and implemented at a good time, plus it clearly stated that we have a flexible and productive legislature that knows the realities of the world and was rediled to come up with legislation that would meets the needs of Nigerians. | |
| Let us also mention that the journey on which the bill was made to become law, started since the 8th National Assembly, where Distinguished Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan Ph.D, the current Senate President sponsored our bill while being senate Leader, because it was important to the anti corruption waka of this admiistration. | |
| For better understanding, when we introduced our bill in the two chambers of the two chambers of the 8th Assembly, we did public hearings which carried everyone along in the chamber. | |
| Thereafter, and on the basis that minority stakeholders opposed the bill, led by Institute of Chatered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the National Assembly passed the bill, with a view to its significance and role in the fight against corruption. | |
| Afterwards, the bill was forwarded to the president-elect, Joey Presido, for his input, but he did not seem to have been involved in the process before the 8th Assembly in June 2019. | |
| On this stregth, the bill was brought ablaze in the 9th National Assembly, by Distinguished Senator Abdullahi A. Yahaya, the current Leader of the Senate, in view of its historical position. | |
| We are pushed to clarify this clarification in order to clear the air on the cheap cheap propaganda that is being dispensed by those pursuing us to believe that the 8th Assembly has rejected our bill. | |
| Also, we must mention the fact that our bill has been mistaken with other bills similar to those introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives Chambers. | |
| These bills, after scrutizing them with close eye, we discovered that they just copied our intentions and the spirit of our bill. | |
| It should be recalled that none of the bills introduced in the 8th Assembly were not introduced, only ours. | |
| As such, we are the first to receive such bills as this (forensic). | |
| As we have seen, it is very urgent to establish such great Institute. | |
| The decision to establish the Institute was taken after a comparative look into how the institute operates in other jurisdictions and how it has helped crime detection, investigation and prosecution. | |
| This is part of instruction to know that our institute has been in operation since 2009. | |
| And over the years, And over the years, we have trained professionals to know forensic science technology, targeted at inculcating the requisite skills in the pragmatic areas of forensic investigation and management, as well as: | |
| Forensic analysis eliminates material misstatement, whether it is by error or fraud; voice recognition analysis; fingerprint/signature analysis; digital forensic and cybersecurity; crime scene investigation; global anti-corruption compliance and enforcement; litigation support, forensic investigation capacities, preparation of forensic reports, fraud risk management, corporate fraud analysis, fraud prevention, detection and investigation etc. | |
| You will follow me reasons that in the modern obodo world of today, the normal way of investigating crime is overturn, on the basis that we want to stop it has become an old-fashioned practice. | |
| As such, we should as a nation do something that is mean in this regard, it is paramount that we should keep up with global trends and new innovations, which are put on ground to combat corruption. | |
| This gives us the incentive to establish these Institutes with such objectives that are relevant to the anti-corruption agenda of this administration. | |
| It was time for me to speak about everythimg in the bill here. | |
| However, I want you to allow me to mention a few of the things the Bill will do, for the purpose of this petition, as it appears to be here: | |
| that we should establish a Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals in Nigeria, to develop and train professional in this specialised field, with systemic and professional examination and certification that will give better skills in the use of science and technology in fraud detection, investigation and detection; | |
| To provide training and training of individuals who are looking to become professional on how to use Forensic Science and Technology tools and techniques of investigating fraud in both public and private sectors of the economy, as they take on every sector; | |
| To promote high professional standards, ethics and etiquettes among the practises, in a bid to curb fraudul and corruption, and as well develop a mechanism for fraud prevention, as a proactive measure against corruption generally; | |
| To fill the huge vacuum that exists in our normal system of investigation that is overwhelming with the introduction of a unique operation of forensic science to help the country from expending its scarce foreign exchange to hire foreign expatriates to do forensic investigations in Nigeria; | |
| To develop comprehensive mechanisms and training programmes that cut across all the strata of our investigation architecture, involving professionals such as Lawyers, Criminologists, Security Experts, Judicial Officers, Court Registrars, and Economists. | |
| This will enhance effectiveness and efficient disposition of cases as they are taken globally; and | |
| To enhance the anti-fraud mechanism in Nigeria, through the provision of a legal framework for the professional development and discipline of forensic and investigative professionals in Nigeria, among others. | |
| From the foregoing, it is obvious that the role of this Institute is strategic and important. | |
| It is also important to mention that forensic science is a very wide field and involves many other fields, and it requires effective and efficient regulation to attain and sustain high level professionalism and ethical standards. | |
| The broad spectrum of the scope and focal points of the Institute, including but not limited to, but not only forensic toxicology; forensic investigation; forensic auditing; digital forensics and cybercrimes, forensic autopsy; forensic law; forensic accounting; forensic nursing; forensic pathology; forensic engineering; forensic psychology; forensic DNA analysis; forensic anthropology; forensic linguistics; forensic deontology; forensic dentistry; forensic archeology; forensic graphology, forensic entomology, etc. | |
| Accordingly, you would agree that our Institute has brought unique concepts into crime detection and investigation that follows international best practices. | |
| The concepts we are putting about our bill cover all senses of thingskin, due to narrow-mindedness and inordinate desire to monopolise a system, which has passed them jurisdiction and scope of operation. | |
| On a lighter note, I want to draw the attention of everyone to the funny scenarios that are playing out now and as a matter of fact, it should be a source of concern for all Nigerians. | |
| When introduced the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (ICAN) Bill in the 8th National Assembly, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), came out with anger to oppose the passage because according to them, it was unnecessary duplication of functions of the institute that the institute had been doing. | |
| However, with the introduction of our bill once again in this 9th National Assembly, and having seen the overwhelming and accelerated legislative support given by the two Chambers, ICAn has realized that forensic science is a unique field of practice, and as we speak, they have brought similar Bills to the House of Representatives, having failed wofully in attempts to restrict the passage of this our bill. | |
| One may ask, what has changed between now and the past in the field of forensic science, where ICAN has the view to banning any other Institute not regulating the practices of forensic science? | |
| Your answer is the same thing with my own. | |
| I am also interested in informing you that the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), also included this episode. | |
| which was initiated and being promoted by ANAN was also introduced by ICANs counterpart, which also introduced a bill in the House of Representatives in the same structure with the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Examiners of Nigeria Bill, which ANAN initiated and promoted it. | |
| I decided to state all the facts that Nigerians and even the international community should understand to the extent to which some people can say that they should be able to achieve those aims. | |
| However, this development did not disturb us at all, because we believe in the credibility and ability of the National Assembly and also the Presidency to do the right thing, not to enter manipulate in any way, with these unnecessary distractions, in no way should they should be allowed to make a mockery of doing whole thing. | |
| ICAN was the practical and antagonist of this bill and we are seeing the reason now. | |
| They engaged several bystanders into petition writing, even targeting the leadership of the Senate and sounding like a bleckmail. | |
| After failing in the Senate, the antagonists shifted their attention to the House of Representatives with the same bystanders as they were just writing many many publications. | |
| Again and again, they failed. | |
| Ordinarily according to legislative procedures, a bill passed by the Senate must be subjected to only limited concurrence by the House except for observation. | |
| But in the case of the CIFIPN Bill, the opposition lamented it until truth triumphed on the 19 day of May, 2021 when the House of Representatives passed the Bill establishment of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria for effective Regulation, Registration of Members and determination of the Standards of Knowledge and Skills that aspirant must have and Qualify to Practice as Forensic and Investigative Professionals; and in Related Matters (HB. 791) | |
| ICAN has registered their own Bill into the House of Representatives titled (REPEALING AND RE-ENACTMENT OF ICANS ACT) | |
| The new Bill brought by the ICAn contains full provisions for practising forensic, including the establishment of an ensuring forensic universities in Nigeria and without it, nobody can practice forensics in Nigeria, and those violators will be convicted for some years. | |
| This is strangely strange in a country with many oepn eye people. | |
| A thing I want to know is that Nigeria is not a Banana Republic. | |
| It does not matter the level of coruption there. | |
| We have been challenged as the House of Representatives passed this bill. | |
| It should be noted that the bill was not meant to curb presidential assent under the disguise that there had been similar legislation before. | |
| We are not going to accept being deceived by them and Nigerians and Nigerians. | |
| You will remember how ICAn took the open eye to the CIFIPN and in a pubication sponsored by the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria led by Engr.(Chief) | |
| Olumuyiwa Alade on 24 May 2019 made a lot of efforts to tell us that the law enabling ICAN to do forensics and to pass the CIFIPN Bill would be basically a duplicate law, but today ICAN is presenting a law that would enable it to include forensics in the new law. | |
| The question is, what has changed? | |
| The same law that ICAN had told the public that it contained forensics and seeks to re-enact it. | |
| While we do not oppose any group that proposes to include forensics in the law, our concern is that one body should not try to perpetuate itssef. | |
| ICAN and its cohorts have realised their inability to stop the passage of CIFIPN. | |
| So they wanted to have a union for themselves. | |
| Checks and balances are frowned, and they would not want to want to make another professional body to investigate their activities because they know what they are doing to the economy of this nation. | |
| How do they want to judge their own cases by themselves? | |
| This sounded a strange sight. | |
| On this note, we call on the National Assembly to beware of the views of this group, they should not talk from both sides of their mouth,make them komically expect to use it to cajole the National Assembly. | |
| Once again, we want to appreciate the commitment put by the 9th Assembly to ensure that the Bill is passed, Nigerians are aware that this administration is ready to combat corruption by evri means and will encourage legislation that is aimed at helping them achieve this goal. | |
| We are confident that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has not got hesitated to put his hand in the Bill as soon as it came on his table. | |
| Were calling on Nigerians to come and take part in the Forensic Profession. | |
| The profession is open to all professional people in different areas of the economy. | |
| The institute has training sections to guide and equip you. | |
| I want to sincerely thank all of you, and also reiterate that we are committed to stand with ethical standards in depth as we do it globally, by providing our professional services, including training that will give us new ways to take fight corruption and crime in money matters. | |
| and wished to appeal to stakeholders and better Nigerians to support this noble course and plead with all of us to make efforts in order to collectively overcome corruption, the numerous security challenges, all over the country and other crises following it. | |
| Dr (Mrs) Enape Victoria Ayishetu, PhD, Pro-Tep President, (CIFIPN), www.cifipn.org | |
| Air Peace has conducted a test flight with a new Aircraft, E195-E2 | |
| Air Peace has commenced flights for two new Embraer 195-E2 aircraft as preparations are being taken for the commencement of operations. | |
| Daily Trust reports that the two aircraft were the first set among the 13 brand new 195-E2 aircraft purchased by the airline to aid in the route expansion. | |
| A spokesperson of the airline, Stanley Olisa, told newsmen on Friday that one of the aircrafts empty from Lagos to Owerri, Abuja and Port Harcourt made it for defunct on Thursday. | |
| Olisa gave a hint that flights to other destinations would continue, adding that it would not take much before the planes would commence their schedule flights and they would offer better travel experiences to their customers. | |
| He said. | |
| The brands new E195-E2 aircraft which is the third to enter, said the reason they are expanding their fleets is the commitment to satisfy the air travel needs of Nigerians. | |
| Preparing an aircraft for a test flight is a regulatory requirement that must be met before the aircraft is brought into regular operations. | |
| It could be recalled that Air Peace also kollekted the two brand new ultra-mordern Embraer 195-E2 aircraft which contained 124 sits in January and March this year, with 11 more. | |
| Tela Maize harvest has the potential to give up to 8 tons in one hectare. | |
| On the following Tuesday, the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, invited relevant stakeholders, including journalists, to witness the third harvest of the Tela Maize Variety Confined Field Trials (CFT) under its Tela Maize Research Project funded by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) | |
| The name of the maize varieties TELA is derived from the Latin TUTELA which means protection. | |
| This type of maize also has protection against pests and draughts in its breeding. | |
| Professor Rabiu Adamu, the Principal Investigator, as well as other scientists who led journalists round the harvest, said the idea of the project was to produce maize varieties that are resistance-tolerant or protected against two major insect pests: stalk (stem) borers and Fall Army Worms, in addition to another protection against moderate draught. | |
| This is all about producing crops that are high yielding under stressed conditions; the stresses are Fall Army Warm and stem borers, which are major constraints to maize production. | |
| If not properly controlled, it can cause loss up to 80 percent, including drought if you do not manage rain shortage welwel, you may not have any yield. | |
| This is the third time this trial has been conducted, and this is the third time this is done. | |
| We did the first trial in March and during the rainy season, we did another from June to enter November. | |
| This is the third trial from November to enter April. | |
| This is what the present research is trying to showcase. | |
| Once the three CFT trials have been successful, people involved in researching the data needed to be tested and validated to demonstrate that what they recorded in their research stations was effective in the fields of different locations and ecological conditions as it will kick-start in the rainy season of 2021. | |
| By the time 2022 is over, if all these hybrids are working, Nigerian farmers will certainly expect to work with them. | |
| Dr Muhyideen Ayekunle, a maize breeder under this project, said from the two trials completed, the transgenic varieties recorded 17 percent advantage over the non-existence of BT despite having already infested welwels. | |
| We have infested the varieties we are putting on trial three times unlike the previous one to take a look at how the BT gene is effective in the maize product. | |
| With the outcome, researchers have said the yield increases to 17 percent. | |
| So then, we will analyze the data, prepare a document to get approval for environmental release. | |
| The dossier shall be submitted to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) for a review. | |
| Once they gave us the approval to this product, we can show face in the outside. | |
| and then we can have national performing trials. | |
| The Director General/CEO of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NBDA), Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, at the event, called on the scientists to continue to search for abiotic and biotic solutions to the challenges facing farmers in the country. | |
| We have tested some technologies capable of providing solutions to problems facing farmers, to take advantage of it and move forward, he said. | |
| Country Coordinator OFAB Nigeria, Dr Rose Maxwell Gidado, said the impact would be enormous. | |
| Farmers yield increases by 17 percent and you know that productivity and harvest are the koko of farming. | |
| Once you have committed to this, you will have plenty of harvest and profit. | |
| She said by the time this kind of maize was ready to enter farmers hands, it would increase their livelihoods, money, plus the prices of maize would fall down. | |
| Manchester United fought back to win Aston Villa title | |
| Manchester United were fighting back to take Aston Villa 3-1 for away in the Premier League on Sunday as Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani scored in the second half to put the celebration of Manchester Citys Citys 3-1 victory on hold. | |
| The result left United on 70 points from 34 games, 10 points behind City who played one game earlier and missed the chance to win the title on Saturday after Chelsea beat them in home 2-1 on Saturday. | |
| Villa were ahead in the 24th minute with a brilliant strike to enter the top corner from 15 metres after some weak denfending by the visitors, who trowayed balls in their own half several times. | |
| Fernandes equalised in the 52nd minute with penaty, sending the goalkeeper at Villa, Emiliano Martinez the wrong way with the spot-kick from his coolee take, following a rough challenge from Douglas Luiz who Paul Pogba trailed. | |
| Grenwood turned the match on his head four minutes later with a neat shot on the turn from the penalty area after he had shaken off the centre-back Tryone Mings. | |
| Edinson Cavani substitute secured a seal win for United with the goal which his head scored in the 87th minute. | |
| After the unconfirmed story in Daily Trust, NCC has banned sale and use of mobile phone boosters. | |
| The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has placed a ban on the sale and use of GSM network boosters (for mobile connectivity) especially by banks, residents, government agencies, among others to improve telecommunications services. | |
| The Commission gave the 14-day Pre-Enfircement Notice on Tuesday, signed by the Director Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Adinde. | |
| He said the warning would take effect from Tuesday and as it expires on the expiration of the deadline, NCC said it would begin taking action against those who do not follow instruction. | |
| This followed less than one month after Daily Trust reported on April 24, 2021 that businesses in Sabon Gari market in Kano plus other business areas said they were buying boosters to improve the reception of the bad telecommunication networks in their area. | |
| Some of the traders said the service was not good as telecommunication service providers are not doing much to improve service on the gains made in such a place. | |
| According to them, many traders and their customers are engaged in digital and online financial transactions (data-based cashless services) plus other telecommunication-based services and have poor call/data services. | |
| In this regard, NCC said it was only on duty to protect consumers, to ensure good quality of service and maintenance of technical standards of communication equipmant, and as it is in the provision of section 131 (1) of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003. | |
| Such action could lead to sanctions that would involve moneyplus/or prison terms, or the two (fines plus prison) as well as seizure of any equipment or other equipment used for illegal enhancement of network coverage. | |
| LG polls: protests over imposed candidates in APC | |
| Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State have protested against the partys adopting some consensus candidates in some local government areas ahead of the July 24 local government elections in the state. | |
| Top people of the party have announced that the party would adopt consensus candidates in some local government areas and conduct direct and indirect primary voting to enable candidates to take office in some. | |
| The protesters, when they arrived at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Ogun State, accused some leaders of the APC in Abeokuta South LGA of embezzling a candidate for the post Chaiman put for them. | |
| They were carrying placards which included We Say No To Money Bags. | |
| in Abeokuta South and | |
| Allowed Members of the party to pick who they want, and said preferred aspirants were Farouk Akintunde. | |
| One of the party leaders who led the protest, Balogun Ololade, said Gov dapo Abiodun should intervene in the matter to save democracy from jeopardy. | |
| DSS and secessionists in some regions | |
| As DSS has put ear to the groups and persons making statements and doing things that can provoke and distrupt the ethno-religious environment and threaten harmous co-existence of the majority common folk of the country, they started sounding like a person until they were forced out of where they were deceiving people. | |
| lingers a question about who or which persons and groups the security agents engage in and which groups they promptly vapourized in the heated rhetorical outbust of the nations prominent geo-ethnic agitators. | |
| Afenifere, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF). | |
| It becomes clear to all of us that this is the group of people that have continued to resort to inciting, unguarded and divisive statements and acts to set countries against themselves by taking the fire of tribal and religious discord, as the DSS charged in one of them warning. | |
| Interestingly, none of the major suspects in the exploitation of some fault lines to take cause of ethno-religious violence in some parts of the country can categorically distance themselves from the treacherous and subversive activities detected by security agents. | |
| They made the same conviction that the DSS knew the responsible persons, only to differ in the direction of pointing them accusing fingers. | |
| AS Afenifere said these people know the responsible persons for the acts, but could not touch them because of the connectivity they have, PANDEV further said. | |
| The DSS knew them and their satanic actions should be taken to deal with them. | |
| The NEF sounded to be convinced with if the people that were to push the country into deep crises and know them, should be treated according to the law. | |
| You dont have to be spooked to know what the DSS knows about these flag bearers of geo-ethnic politics in Nigeria or to understand why the DSS is widely known and insists on passing the buck outside their clique. | |
| The truth is that these champions of ethnic politics have no better solution to the problem facing Nigeria than to create a sectional enclave and chiefs lord over the remaining of the country as rulers, not leaders! | |
| They are desperate and unscrupulous in pursuing their inordinate ambitions that they are agitating absurdly and frequently to break Nigeria up. | |
| Ambition-powered mind games intoxicate their geographical consciousness to reduce all it takes to excising the territorial contours of their enclaves with the frenzied ease of cutting their portions of the remaining crumbs of the proverbial national cake. | |
| To put it simply, to break up or out of Nigeria as one ultimate political panacea or consolatory opportunity to achieve inordinate ambitions of individuals or groups that undermine the ambitions of majority wa-zo-biased Nigeria commoners restlessly in enduring peaceful coexistence, e easier to say than to do. | |
| All these groups are major blocks to the steady attainment of unity and live together in peace that Nigeria has laboured for since the flag of independence. | |
| For as long as they continue to parade the political terrain as ethnic champions, it is on so long that they will regard Nigeria as an entitlement at the ethnic stake of the population, to be claimed or seized, and if all fail, they should deconstructstructive it and disown it as a state that has failed. | |
| Whenever they meet, the agenda is not about making Nigeria for progress and development, unless the leadership is handed firmly, otherwise it is all about hecking and jotling around with barely concealed determination to deploy the notorious Nigerian Ph.d, pull-him-down syndrome against the incumbent non-indigene President. | |
| Whether it is ACF, Afenifere, Ohanaeze, PANDEV or Northern Elders Forum, its existence and activities will oppose the quest of Nigeria for unity, peace and development. | |
| Another indicment we cannot deny for these regional separatists because they are sel-styled political pressure groups that pretend to be representatives of various ethnic groups. | |
| From the membership, it is plain to see that it consists of ex-this. | |
| Ironically, this political deficiency gave them the ginger to come together and desperate to remain relevant in democratic system in which elected representatives run through registered political parties with legislative and executive institutions established with constitution to dispense good governance and dividends of democracy. | |
| Only nasty nuisance value has been preserved by the geo-ethnic groups in our democratic seat as they continue with mischief, sabotage, blackmail and subversion intending to make Nigeria ungovernable through threats, threats and attempts to attain if they have the chance to regain political relevance plus control. | |
| This is why a frequency meeting is now causing security alerts! | |
| With this kind of predator-politician dem who go around the perimeter of power with dubious intent and undermine the government they were elected just because they were not involved in the, beyond reasonable doubt, convergence of interests that linked them to overt activities and the covert criminality of kidnappers, insurgents, armed robbers, bandits and allied terrorists, combined to make Nigeria intoeligible. | |
| There are double dangers to describe the trying situation of the Buhari administration as they have to handle such nomba of formidable enemy that unleashes plenty assaults on national security at a time economic hardships are facing. | |
| To that extent, there can only be two groups of politicians: those who participate with positive minds in the democratic dispensation which is partner in moving the country forward against all odds and those who have negative minds that brings discord and disorder to the country. | |
| By what they are saying and doing, we all know them! | |
| At the end of the day, the majority of Nigerians are ordinary citizens who are conditioned to survive but cannot depend on their source of income. | |
| They struggle every day to make lives that follow them submission to the will of one God even as their faith is different. | |
| Nigeria is a fatherland that destiny has put them, and they remain loyal, they're following and praying, because they know that they don't have any other country to call them own, they're demostrating how citizenship can breed true patriotism. | |
| It is also known that Afenifere, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) have been using inciting, unguarded and divisive statements and activities to put citizens against one another in the quest to attain a political ambition of their leaders. | |
| The prayers remained for a poor man's mouth are: | |
| GOD IS Speaking, | |
| NIGERIA IS GOING BETTER! | |
| Manzo Reuben is youth leader in Lokoja | |
| 10 died as terrorist attempts to attack army formation | |
| Troops in the Nigerian Army, on Saturday, netralised not less than 10 Boko Haram terrorist members who were to board the attack troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Rann, headquarter of the Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State. | |
| This is coming when it is not more than 24 hours after the appointment of the Chief of Army Staff who was just appointed, Maj.-Gen. | |
| Farouk Yahaya enters as leader of the Nigerian Army | |
| The spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. | |
| Mohammed Yerima, in a statement available, explained that the terrorists, coming in a large number, used gun trucks placed on ground and attempted to infiltrate the main entrance to the town. | |
| Yerima said, the troops of high spirit were right on hand to counter the move and they surrendered with humiliating defeat to the terrorists who abandoned their evil mission and fled. | |
| The troops were chasing the runaway terrorists and making sure there was no threat to the city and its environs. | |
| Troops successfully destroyed one of their gun trucks successfully and many weapons were kolekted including one anti-aircraft gun, two machine guns and eight AK-47 rifles as they neutralised ten terrorists in the process. | |
| Daily Trust reports that Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Friday charged the new COAS to ensure that it builds on the legacy of late Attahiru as it will defeat the enemy of terror in Northesat and other regions of the country. | |
| Second U.S congresswoman test positive to COVID-19 after Capitol riots | |
| Pramila Jayapal, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, said she contacted the Coronavirus (COVID-19) after being locked in the same room with some Republican lawmakers who were not wearing masks during the controversy at the Capitol last week. | |
| I just completed a COVID-19 test which was positive after me was locked down in a secured room at the Capitol where many Republicans, not only were wicked not to wear mask but they mocked colleagues and staff who offered them mask recklessly, Jayapal said in a post on her official Twitter account. | |
| Earlier on Monday, U.S. Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman said she also contracted COVID-19 with possible exposure before the time of the lockdown in the Capitol on Jan. 6. | |
| Jayapal, a member of the Democratic Party, accused lawmakers from the Republicans for causing COVID-19 pandemic and called for a punishment order. | |
| Any member who refuses to wear a face mask shall be held accountable for putting our life in danger because he is a sefish and a idiot. | |
| I am calling on every member who refused to wear masks at the Capitol to fine them and the Sergeant of Arms shall remove them from the floor, she wrote in a post on Twitter. | |
| It is not clear if the two congresswomen were in the same room during the lockdown in the Capitol. | |
| Jayapal was not happy as U.S. Presido Donald Trump failed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and vowed to do everything in her power to remove him from office. | |
| Man 30 years over as he took assault woman in Edo | |
| The police arraigned one Gabriel Fidelis, 30 years before Ogbeson chief magistrates court in Benin for allegedly assaulting a woman identified as Rebecca Izevbigie. | |
| The man was accused on three charges of conspiracy, unlaful assault and malicious damage punishable under section 516, 355, and 451 of the criminal code. | |
| The prosecutor, Sgt. Kehinde Iyare told the court that the accused included others who had run away from committing the offence on April 11, at Estate Quarters, along Benin-Agbor Road, Benin City. | |
| She told the court further that the accuse, alongside others, had run away assaulted one Rebecca Izevbigie unlawfully by hitting and bitting her. | |
| She added that the accused also used iron rods to break her in leg. | |
| She further told the court that on March 31, 2021 the accused intentionally and maliciously spoiled wash hand basin owned by the complainant and the sum of N8,000 was reduced to N8,000. | |
| The accused pleaded not guilty as the counsel Mrs E. E. Idahosa applauded his bail and said he would not jump bail. | |
| Consequently, Chief Magistrate Mutairu Oare granted bail for the accused for the sum of N100,000 with one other as well. | |
| He said the person to stand with him must bring two recent passport photos of himself and that of the accused. | |
| He ordered the court to verift the information supplied and the whereabouts of the security concern, and adjourn the case to May 10 for hearing. | |
| Why National Assembly cannot impeach Buhari Senator in Oyo | |
| The Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District of Fatai Buhari has said the National Assembly has not seen a reason to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari. | |
| The senator disclosed this during a pay-off visit to a former govnor in Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, who said he had gone through a process to impeach a president. | |
| Senator Yusuf Abubakar (APC Taraba) and Cahir in the Senate committee on special duties said the withdrawal of President Buhari would not end insecurity in the country. | |
| People have been calling for President Buharis resignation or impeachment as the countrys insecurity persists. | |
| But Senator Buhari has urged the people wanting to break the country to abstain from creating problems that would not be easy to solve. | |
| It has a process of choosing an impeachable president. | |
| All that calls for impeachment of the president should be given a better reason of reaching for impeachement. | |
| We have not seen renewed spirits to impeach the president. | |
| If there is any need, we will table it, discuss it, and the two houses must come together. | |
| impeaching the president was not what one would just wake up one day and begin to speak. | |
| It has a procedure. | |
| Why would you want to cause problems plus confusion that you can't solve? | |
| was asked. | |
| On the security challenges the country is facing, the lawmaker said, We are no other country than Nigeria. | |
| Nigeria is our country and home. | |
| Lets try to do internal security. | |
| Let us play our part in governments. | |
| We should have local police to know all the places. | |
| No matter what the situation is, we know each other. | |
| In the early 80s, we were travelling for nine months. | |
| But at the level of insecurity that is now, there is something fundamentally missing. | |
| He said the 9th National Assembly had discussed security more than 59 times. | |
| It was discussed more than 30 times in the 8th Assembly, and this 9th Assembly also discussed it more than 50 times. | |
| Being vigilant, even if you have changed service chiefs severally, will still not solve the security challenges, the senator said. | |
| Ranchers have been supported as the CBN lifts restriction on forex imports | |
| The Commercial Ranchers Association of Nigeria (CODARAN) has shown support for the restrictions imposed on foreign exchange for dairy products. | |
| Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a circular for a past year now on companies restricted from foreign exchange to import milk and dairy products. | |
| But during a recent visit to the governor of the CBN recently, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the European Union (EU) had complied against Nigeria over the restriction. | |
| In a statement issued by Dianabasi Akpainyang, the CORAN said Nigeria has the potential to harvest dairy products that would provide jobs and create investment in local production of milk. | |
| The CBN governor is currently serving. | |
| Indeed, Nigeria has the potential to meet, sustain and sustain the dairy requirement. | |
| Akpainyang noted that the milk which grounded for collection and processing was not near that figure for now, but noted that since it is likely, it was necessary to lay everyone to the fire seek of urgent development in the local dairy sector. | |
| According to a report by the CBN, Nigeria spends $1.5 billion yearly importing dairy products, he said the figure would increase as demand for dairy products increased. | |
| He noted issues such as poor productivity of local cows, cow nutrition, animal disease management system, as they lack a well-organized system to tackle milk, as they lack finance, insecurity, poor infrastructure, insufficient extension services, inadequate processing and storage facilities, low investment in research and development and and and absence of modern technology that are the major challenges the sector is facing. | |
| However, he said the Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) programme currently running in the four states Adamawa, Kaduna, Kano and Plateau was tackling the problem. | |
| PDP frowns face as APC claims to have registered 2.5m in Lagos | |
| Uproar follows that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclosed that it has registered 2.5m members in Lagos for a nationwide and nationwide revalidation exercise. | |
| Chairman of the APC Registration Supervisory Committee in Lagos, Dr Muhammad Bashiru, in the closing of a recommendation letter to the supervisor said about 2.5 million have registered in the 20 local government areas in the state. | |
| But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leading opposition party, has described the figure as false and fake. | |
| The PDP said the APC had a habit of making figures to induce people to believe that they are popular. | |
| The PDP spokesman, Taofik Gani, in a chat with Daily Trust described the APC as a party described as a liars full of blood, saying the party had become less popular in the state. | |
| This is not the first time they are taking figurations that are not true. | |
| Even in the last election, the total nomination of votes by the APC was around 600,000. | |
| He said the claim they got 2.5 million was false and a fake. | |
| Our correspondent reports that APC candidate Babajide Sanwo-Olu won the governorship election in 2019 with 739,445 votes while President Muhammadu Buhari had 580,825 votes in the presidential election. | |
| The state chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Comrade Bayo Ogunleye, has described the claim by the APC s the mosthilarious lie of the century. | |
| But the spokesperson of the APC, Seye Oladejo told our correspondent that the party would prove its position in the local government election coming up on July 24. | |
| FG says Geographical Indication will promote diversification of economy | |
| The Federal Government has stressed that Geographical Indications (GIs) will help in promoting diversification of the economy and also support participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area. | |
| The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono said this during the capacity building workshop on GIs in the public sector/private sector policymakers in Nigeria in Abuja. | |
| Nanono represented by the Deputy Director of Irrigation and Crop Development, Hajia Sugra Mahmood, noted that the initiative, welwel, would support the preservation of the biodiversity of the country facing existential threats as a result of climate change and the attendant destruction of the environment. | |
| According to him, it can assist in commercializing the product of food culture and other cultures and enable actors in the value chain to benefit from commercialization, especially for women and youth in rural areas who are mainly involved in the production of the products. | |
| Therefore, this workshop was launched at a crucial moment when the administration was tirelessly working tirelessly to diversify the economy away from hydrocabons by other sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, mining tourism etc. | |
| Such initiatives will help to fast track the process for diversification of the economy and also support our participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area and also globally. | |
| It could also have a role to revive the economy in rural areas as we have seen in the case of some branded products such as Ofada rice, kilishi, Dudu Osun, etc. | |
| It will also make it the documwntation of our indigenous knowledge that is said to be sad as we are losing over time. | |
| The current administration is ready to partner with all stakeholders relevant both local and foreign in in bid to preserve the natural and bio-cultural endowment of the country and also exploit it to strengthen the resilience of the economy so as to provide a decent livelyhood for all Nigerians, as it stated. | |
| Earlier, the Minister of Satte Industry, Trade and Investment, Haija Mariam Katagum, in a welkom address said the workshop was designed to specifically train public sector and policymakers in Nigeria, with a view to examine how it will take possible to adopt Geographical Indication (Gis) legislation and policy into industrial property and agriculture landscape in Nigeria. | |
| She said: We cannot avoid that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is now in effect, which places responsibility on the parties making decisions to begin discussion about as they will update existing legislation concerning industrial property. | |
| President of Israel meets to find new govts | |
| President of Israel Reuven Rivlin has been preparing for a talk with top politics people on how to take form a government after caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not gree to do it after election matches were not conclusive. | |
| According to Rivlins office, talks with Naftali Bennett of the Yamina party and former opposition leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid (Future) party are scheduled for wednesday morning. | |
| The head of state also invited representatives of the other political parties represented in parliament to present positions on the progress of the process of assuming government. | |
| The deadline for Natanyahu, a right-winger to form a governing coalition, was last nited. | |
| This means that the camps of opponents to Netanyahu are facing a chance to end the era of the 71-year-old as a heaf in government. | |
| Whether they will succeed, however, remains open. | |
| New elections are still not out the question as Israel is still in a political crisis. | |
| Netanyahu would continue to serve as the head of the interim government as needed by time. | |
| He has been in office for 12 years continously and is the longest serving head of government in Israeli history. | |
| Despite being on trial for his corruption, he has rejected all the accusements beingdeviled him. | |
| Rilvin was expected to appoint Lapid as opposition leader to form the head of the government. | |
| It was his party was a political centre; at the end of matches, it had become the second-strongest force in the forth parliamentary election in two years. | |
| Rivlin could also give the mandate to the Knesset. | |
| In this case, each member of the parliament can try to find the support of 61 of the 120 members withing 21 days. | |
| Ganduje frees 123 prisoners in Eid-el-Fitri | |
| Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano has granted freedom to 123 prison inmates across the state. | |
| Ganduje who witnessed the release of inmates from Goron Dutse Prison on Thursday said the gesture was in the spirit of Eid-El Fitr celebration. | |
| He said this was how largely the offence was committed in addition to the fact that they had already shown signs of reformation when inmates were selected. | |
| The governor said he decided to show up at the prison to tell the inmates that the state government and the state know they exist and they are being seen as citizens of the state. | |
| Ganduje said the gesture is to to compliment the Federal Governments effort to further reduce the number of national prisons. | |
| He urged the former inmates to change their attitudes to life and called on them to pray for peace and stability in Nigeria. | |
| The governor also gifted ₦5,000 to each of the inmates free to take journey to their destination. | |
| Earlier, the Kano comptroller of prisons in Kano, Suleiman Suleiman, thanked the governor for freezing thousands of inmates since his office in office. | |
| Suleiman urged the inmates freed to abstain from crime to avoid coming back to prison. | |
| Ganduje also remanded homes too including children home in Kano as part of his salah celebration. | |
| Korda breaks through in Parma clay | |
| On the eve of Roland Garos, Sebastian Korda, a 20-year-old American scored a career breakthrough when he beat Italian Marco Cecchinato 6-2, 6-4, in Parma for a first title. | |
| Korea that was a son of the former world | |
| No 2 and Australian Open winner Petr Korda who had not entered the ATP tour finals before the event in Parma, have not won consecutive matches on clay. | |
| Cecchinato, who won all his three titles on clay, came from Brescia, 90 kilometres from Parma. | |
| The fans who were allowed to enter the event for the first time were able to support the local boy. | |
| Today I played a tough opponent and that was not easy, said Korda. | |
| I am still proud for myself. | |
| and how I handled it. | |
| Although his father is from Czech, Sebastian Korda, who was born in Florida decided to represent the US. | |
| The victory made it the first player from America to win a clay court tournament since Sam Querrey in Belgrade after 11 years. | |
| This is something in my dreams, Korda said, adding that he added that he had expected to win the title soon as he named an event in Florida in January. | |
| I was really certain that I would do it at Delray Beach, and it broke my heart awry. | |
| What they are not allowed to wear in public: Negating Nigeria's multiculturalism | |
| By Bashir Ibrahim Hassan | |
| Is it a pure coincidence that, while trouble is starting to smell in Kwara State recently, the solution has been found in the lower House of the National Assembly in the capital city of Abuja? | |
| The trouble in Ilorin is as the refuse of some Christian faith schools to allow Muslim students to wear hijab to school. | |
| The solution for this predicament is the debate on the issue of Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention) | |
| RDPP Bill, 2021, as ridicule Hijab Bill in a section of media in Nigeria. | |
| Both events sparked heated arguments and often emotional debates which, at the bottom of the box, threatened to negate multicultural identity and reality of Nigeria. | |
| The whole idea is in the hands of the proprietors of schools as they ban Muslim students who wear hijab and sympathisers who are reduced to what they are not required to wear in public. | |
| This is also a major concern of the RDPP Bill before the House of Representatives the humiliation and denial of opportunities. | |
| The most females in Nigeria are made to face because of their outfits in public. | |
| It is clear that the former clearly breached the fundamental human rights of Muslim students to express their faith without discrimination; even though the school might have defence or taking such positions. | |
| The latter trys to assert this right not only for Muslims but also for Christians wherever or whenever they are threatened with discrimination because of the fauth they show. | |
| To run through the arguments of the proprietor of Christian faith schools in Kwara, easy for one to understand the pragmatic appeal of the argument that Muslim children should go to other schools and universities if they do not want to conform. | |
| The problems that died arguments have many. | |
| First, to state that Muslim students should never go to another school unless they agree to the rules of the school on uniform do very little to promote inclusiveness, which is the bedrock of our multicultural and multi-religious society. | |
| Secondaly, the position asks a moral question: can we justify to base rulers in schools on the Christian majoritarian of the school? | |
| Then, the third, the argument ought to be ignored where it appears to have ignored the difficulties of changing a school for a child. | |
| This is a lot. | |
| Changing schools for children, people with education psychology will tell you that, it can interfere negatively with not just emotional but academic development too. | |
| Finally, the Christian faith school by its members risks what we call ghettorization by concentrating students with the same religious beliefs in particular schools. | |
| The social cost of such items in society is pleading. | |
| The Commissioner of Education, Kemi Adeosun, argue, while speaking with press, that the government is convinced that the policy to allow willing Muslim schoolgirls to wear their hijab in public schools will lead to sustainable peace and communal harmony built on mutual respect and understanding. | |
| For in a country guaranteeing freedom of religion, which signed the declaration of international Human Rights, the basic question to ask is: How justifiable is it to deny children in Nigeria access to school of choice on the basis of their religion? | |
| It is a great concern because Nigeria is a signatory to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR). | |
| The UDHR insists that all human beings are free and equal, that colour, creed or religion does not matter. | |
| It contained 30 Articles on rights and freedoms that included, among others, the right to life, free speech and privacy. | |
| It includes economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to have health and education. | |
| I found the article 18 and 26 of UDHR very relevant to the considerations and quoted them in full below: | |
| Everyone has the freedom to say or believe whatever they want, including beliefs that are theirs. | |
| We have the right to change our beliefs or religions at any time, and the right to practice our religion in public or private, alone or with others. | |
| Everyone should have a right to education. | |
| Primary schools should be free. | |
| We must continue our studies as far as we have the wish. | |
| In schools we should be seen to help us develop our talents and teach us how to respect everyones human rights. | |
| They also should be taught how to get on with other people whatever ethnicity, religion, or country they come from. | |
| Our parents have the right to choose a school to go. | |
| All these laws have been instrumented to give such Muslim women like Ilhan Omar the equality to sit in the House of Representatives in the US and she still wears Hijab without being molested or discriminated. | |
| Ilhan Abdullahi Omarna, a veteran American politician who served in the U.S. Representative for 5th congregation in Minnesota district since 2019. | |
| The bill was sponsored by the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, who represented Bida/Gbako/Katcha Federal Constituency in Niger State. | |
| Saidu Musa Abdullahi. | |
| The bill is to address discriminatory conducts, including prohibiting discriminatory attitudes towards religion when it concerns providing unconfirmed services and terms and conditions. | |
| It will stop qualifying and proffesional organisations, education institutions, people of employment, and other sectors from discriminating against persons, student or personnel based on their religion or the manifestation. | |
| When passed, the law will bury issues such as what we saw in Kwara for good. When passed, the law will bury issues such as what we saw in Kwara patapata. | |
| It will also address the behaviour of executives who are carrying them prejudice in public office and also allow them cover their sense of judgement. | |
| They welcome the law. | |
| After all, it was only to expand and expatiate the provisions contained in the Nigeria Constitution and in UDHR documents as we have said above. | |
| It follows line with similar laws across the country to tackle social wahala and cultural practices that are harmful to the law of Prohibit violence against people and disability law (VAPP). | |
| Avoiding any discrimination faceting people with disability, VAPP is facing domestic violence and other gender violence in the country. | |
| One by one, the people representing us in the legislative chamber have been using legal instruments to tackle all social challenges confronting our country. | |
| All these social roughnesses are addressed not to say there is no law in place before they are addressed, but they are aiming to bring it together and not allowing sighting to finish. | |
| While the road is still far away from the UDHR, and there is no instrument to enforce it, the RDPP Law and other laws that resemble it are grounded to warrant punishment to offenders. | |
| Contradicting the view of critics, as far as the RDPP Bill is concerned, there is no prove that the bill intends to put state of religion on any state that can domesticate the law. | |
| It does not go against Section 10 of the Constitution in Nigeria that supports the Government of the Federation or in any state to adopt any religion as State Religion. | |
| The argument was made to push the argument, because the bill calls for the general public to respect the right of Muslims who wear Hijab in public places, saying it is to only quench Islamaphobia. | |
| In the final analysis, it is going against our multicultural pretenses of denining any Nigerian be it male or female religious freedom. | |
| It is against equality and basic human rights as it is enshrined in constitutional documents in Nigeria and the legal document for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. | |
| Bill that would make such decimation on religion become criminal, like the RDPP bill would be a welkom nod. | |
| , writes from Abuja Bashir. | |
| Niger Issoufou has won N1.95bn leadership prize in Africa. | |
| It was announced that President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, was the winner of $5m (N1.905bn) in 2020. | |
| Ibrahims prize for African leadership | |
| Issoufou served two terms of five years each as president from 2011 to enter 2020. | |
| The former interior minister will leave office after he won the presidential election last month. | |
| The committee commissioned the prize praised the leadership of the Niger president after meeting the economy in the world's poorest economy. | |
| He said he caused the economy to grow, showed greater commitment to regional stability and the constitution, and championed democracy in Africa. | |
| Mr Issoufou is the nomination sixth person to kolekty the Ibrahim Prize. | |
| He had sent a tweet honouring everyone in Nigeria. | |
| I see this award as an incentive for Niger State to continue to thingk and act in a way that will promote democracy values and create a better government, not only in Niger alone, but in Africa and the world, he said. | |
| People who have previously won the prize include Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (2017), President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014), President Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde (2011), President Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008) and President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007). | |
| KEDCO has a taskforce enforcing collection, and checking who bypassed the meters. | |
| The Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has formed a taskforce to ensure electricity sufficiency. | |
| Ibrahim Sani Shawai, head of Corporate Communications, KEDCO, has given the taskforce power to ensure that all their owes are properly extorted, including the ones already being used to help KEDCO to consolidate on the numerous reforms to improve power supply. | |
| The taskforce will also be checking issues of bypass of metres, illegal connections, corruption of energy and other forms of sabotage. | |
| In this regard, anybody who suspects they are sabotage in any way will deal with them as the law says. | |
| We are appealing to our customers to open eye for all our intallations and to ensure they protect their meters welwels against vandals. | |
| We assure all our customers that our initiative to give them the meters we are aiming to quench estimated billing and to give them the opportunity to pay for what they are using is ongoing, the statement said. | |
| IBEDC gets powerline to retailers under power | |
| The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has taken a warning out against selling markets under high-tension wire to avoid badness. | |
| Chief Operating Officer (COO) Engr John Ayodele gave the charge against the backdrop of the increasing tradin activities within high-tension wires. | |
| Outside Oshogbo, the capital city of Osun State, mechanic shops, block industry, car wash shops, POS shops and smallsmall tradinties were common sightings we witnessed under high-tension wires along Power Line and Ring road. | |
| Engr Ayodele has appealed to residents to take safety precautions very important and advice those selling under high-tension wires to move to a safe place. | |
| He also urged residents not to call people who are not knowledgeable to repair lights and assured that a technical crew from IBEDC would be available to rectify any faults that may come. | |
| He caution that people who have a habit of harassing IBEDC staff when doing their duties as required by the law, said IBEDC would explore all available legal options to seek redress if they harassed any of its staff. | |
| He said, It is also important that children are also supervising other safety precautions, such as supervising childrem important, to avoid electrical accidents. | |
| 10 children just born are reportedly killed in fire incidents in Indias hospital. | |
| Seven new children were killed on Saturday in a massive fire at an hospital in western Idia, according to officials. | |
| There are 17 new children in the unit which had placed on sick children when the fire broke early Saturday at the Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra State. | |
| Seven new children died as smoke chocked, and three others were killed by fire burnt, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope told reporters. | |
| Nurses and ward staff rescued seven babies. | |
| The age of all the new children is from few days to three months, as Prashant Uike, health district official in Bhandara said. | |
| The government ordered the probe into the incident and to carry out safety audits in units that cared for new policies in the country. | |
| Initial reports indicate that the fire might have happened because of one of the short circuits in one of the incubators, Tope said. | |
| The staff said many black smoke filled the ward quickly, with the minister adding it. | |
| Legal requirements have been waiveved for post-mortem, and the children have been brought to their families, Tope said. | |
| The victims families will get a compensation of 500,000 rupees (about 6,814 dollars) for each family. | |
| Police pursue suspects of selling newspapers because of reported IPOB activities | |
| Police harass newsmen and journalists in Abia State | |
| Daily Trust reports that since weekend police from Aba Area Command have arrested persons selling newspapers and people who were reading concerning reports on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). | |
| Residents said fear was growing at Ama-Ogbonna Junction in the commercial city when they raided the place on Sunday. | |
| A resident said residents were run to safety, while policemen were shooting sporadically, when they were trying to arrest suspects of selling newspapers and people who were reading it. | |
| The newspapers carrying the story that contained the sit-at-home order given to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were accused of colluding with the sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). | |
| Dr. Elendu Ukoh, who lamented the incident, pleaded with the state government and Igbo leaders to call on the police authorities to call them people to stop causing chaos in the city. | |
| Their presence in the police environment made me wonder whether we want to export anything negatively to this country. | |
| How can one keep purchasing newspapers in Aba, in the Middle East and the rest of the world? | |
| If you stop people from not reading a hard copy of a newspaper, how can you still stop them from spreading the same story on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Telegram, among others? | |
| Which old police style is this? | |
| Gunmen were causing panic on Sunday as they made noise. | |
| The whole neighborhood was said to be chased by kidnappers. | |
| It was discovered that he had arrested a vendor and a number of readers, who gathered at his newspaper stand. | |
| How police go after newspaper sellers? | |
| What a problem-paper can social media has caused social media disruptions in time 20. | |
| This is not normal people,he said. | |
| Micheal Anorue, another resident, said almost all the people selling newspapers visited him during his recent visit to Aba. | |
| empty on Tuesday. | |
| He said, We heard on Saturday and Sunday that the new papers were carrying a story concerning the sit-at-home order to honour heroes in Biafra, and my question is, what was wrong with it? | |
| The early political leaders of the South East, Remini Femi, are reminding these reckless police officers that Biafra was bigger than IPOB, the better for them. | |
| Is it that the proscribed IPOB means that they have proscribed Biafra too? | |
| We are all of Biafra people. | |
| On the 30th of May, the World Igbo Congress (WIC) held a zoom conversation, which included remarks about heroes who fell in Biafra. | |
| Why did the police not go to Youtube, Zoom and other social media platforms to air the matter? | |
| All they did was to come on the street and begin making unnecessary trouble. | |
| I wished to warn this reckless police officers not to allow anything happening in Imo State to enter Aba, for its worst fate for everyone. | |
| The Abia State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, denied that the police were arresting individuals selling newspapers and people who were reading it. | |
| NAMA frowns face as air traffic controller lamented poor tools | |
| Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) in Nigeria on Sunday threw out concerning the lamented navigational equipment at most airports in the country. | |
| The ATCs under the auspices of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) say the situation is a threat to air safety. | |
| It was also revealed that the International Airport in Kaduna has a control tower which can assist aircraft to navigate without a problem. | |
| Yomi Agoro, President of NATCA or a chat with newsmen at the weekend, said the thing at the Kaduna airport was not a control tower that was used by other aviation personnel, but a control tower that was owned by only air traffic controllers. | |
| He also said that other airports in the country did not have the equipment necessary to proceed to navigate without a problem. | |
| He explained that some airports did not even have equipment that functioned. | |
| Even Kaduna has no control tower. | |
| What is used in the room is a watch room (for firefighters), and that is not for political purposes, and we have been calling on governments to do somethimg. | |
| Whenever there is a rainfall, the controllers will carry an umbrella to sit in the control tower, and accordingly, they have seed some of the control tower attached to the terminal building to FAAN while the one who stands alone is with NAMA, but we have spoken with both organisations. | |
| We all continue to follow the terrestial radio frequency fight, communication here and there. | |
| Calabar is there; there is no airport today which you can say is up to 80 per cent. | |
| NAMA has employed and trained 40 new controllers recently, but NATCA said the number was too low to meet the shortfall. | |
| However, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Capt Fola Akinkuotu, told Daily Trust that the claim was untrue. | |
| He said the federal government has put huge investments to improve navigational aids and to help safe flight operations. | |
| He said, It is mere politics. | |
| The government has spent relatively little not too long to improve aviation infrastructure. | |
| I am not just saying this because I am MD in NAMA. | |
| If you want to hear the true story, my suggestion is always to ask people on the street, ask people of NAMA, they will tell you, they have never seen anything like this under this administration. | |
| It is very painful to say this. | |
| There has never been any Category Three (CAT3), this government has put two on the ground, and there are still two coming up. | |
| Government spends N1.7bn on mobile control towers | |
| Also there is a revitalisation of the safe tower. | |
| We have restructstructstructuring the TRACON (Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria) system. | |
| Others should not be jealous of us. | |
| E-commerce in Nigeria: Legal framework, challenges and prospects | |
| E-commerce refers to the use of communication technology especially the internet to buy, sell and market goods and services to customers. | |
| The internet has brought fundamental shifts into economies that are relatively close to each other because of brier enters-border trade and investment, which distances far, time zones and languages and which national government regulation is different. | |
| E-commerce fosters direct access to markets that are not near and promotes globalisation and commercial activities, noting that it does not distinguish between domestic and foreign companies to the extent that it is not possible to know where the product from comes. | |
| E-commerce does not end up being exclusive to buying of products alone, it includes e-mail, plus other communication platforms, all the information or services that a company can offer customers on the net, from pre-purchasing information to after-purchasing services and support. | |
| The major significance of e commerce is in the fact that it encourages a system of traditionalism that is a single world system, which is accessed through electronic means to get goods and services from different parts of the world. | |
| Most of the statues on ground in Nigeria have been laid behind towards the development and growth of e-commerce in particular and the whole ICT. | |
| In Nigeria, several legal researches and studies have been conducted. | |
| In the study, it was gathered that the legal system in Nigeria is lacking behind in legislation that involves ICT and that the statutory law existing in the grounds was not adequate to address some of the legal issues affecting e-commerce. | |
| These issues include electronic evidence cybercrimes, security and data production, e-payment system and inevitably trans-border issues, among others. | |
| Therefore, there is need to bring out legal and regulatory measures that are proper to govern the regime in the coming regime. | |
| It has been several times said that in Nigeria, significant efforts to regulate e-commerce-related activities arestill at the stage of a Sraft Bill before the National Assembly. | |
| It is important to know that, even where this bill is passed into law, Nigeria may still face a new legal issue in this area that calls for legislative intervention. | |
| With the speed of the internets work on commercial transactions in Nigeria, especially in the banking and communication sectors of the economy, the best they can suggest are that the legal issues and problems with which e-commerce presently in the country should be addressed directly and decisively, in the interest of the teeming population of Nigerian customers. | |
| To achieve this, the National Assembly should pressure the National Assembly to pass bill concerning electronic commerce as top priority in order to enact them into law as quickly as possible. | |
| For a short time, our courts should take the giant step to interprete the traditional laws that are grounded in a liberal way to take the gaps in order to make the laws ammended to electronic transactions, particularly for the emerging trends of this information age. | |
| Indeed, they argued that legislation was not the only means through which electronic transactions and other documentation could be legal. | |
| The court can also adapt to recognise electronic transactions in the absence of legislation or a private contract. | |
| As a former Justice Bungham had said: the common law is in the hands of judges the same facility and facility as law merchants] to enable it to adapt to the needs of the general public, principles are not changed, but old rules applying the change and new rules become obsolete. | |
| We are hopeful that the government will adopt this activism by Nigerian judges in the judiciary, Supreme Court judges also involve, expexially in areas where our existing legislation is grossly inadequate, comprehensive or elaborate enough to address legal challenges in new technological advancements. | |
| This will set a better precedence to ensure that e-commerce consumers have protection, to bring investors and bring economic development plus stability into the country. | |
| The other issue of contracts in e-commerce is documentation and signatures. | |
| The provisions in section 4 of the statute of Fraud, 1677 or Lagos State Law Reform (Contract) Law and our various statutes on real property and landed instruments, all of which require for them to write certain contracts and execute them diligently. | |
| The question now is whether electronic sign-off constitutes a valid sign-off contract by email or by binding? | |
| Many of these issues are still not settled even in the UK although some decisions are still favouring towards interpreting electronic signatures. | |
| so marked in clear-cut emails that satisfy the tradional requirement of writing and due execution. | |
| E-commerce transaction is a transaction that does not involve paper-lined transaction through magnetic material like tapes or disks. | |
| This is a contradiction to the transaction in which the papers are used to authenticate are embodied in permanent form and typically expressed in words and figures using signature authentication. | |
| Such transactions cannot be hijacked without changing the face of the document. | |
| As it concerns signature, the provisions of this section 93 (2)(3), evidence Act 2011, electronic signatures relating to data messages will conveniently satisfy any requirement for signatures on hand signed as long as it is sufficient to identify an electronic record to the person. | |
| The provisions in article 7 of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) model law for e-commerce 1996 were equally tried on this issue. | |
| Thus, for the purpose of establishing proof of electronic signatures. | |
| The password, identification, user names etc can sufficie. | |
| Hence one can safely say electronic signature for purpose of execution is admissible in evidence provided that it is certified and incorporated into electronic communication during any e-transaction. | |
| Also, other legal challenges affecting e-commerce include the formation of contracts. | |
| The elements for better formation of contract include offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to enter into legal relation. | |
| The question is, at which point can an offer be made with regard to electronic business transactions or now to differentiate between invitations to treat and offering electronic transactions, at which point can we say that they made intentions to enter into legal relations? | |
| E-commerce requires confidence and trust that the satisfaction of transmitting orders or invoices is never a matter of fact and comes from whoever it appears to come from. | |
| There is a need to guarantee concerning levels of privacy/confidenciality in information matters. | |
| Lastly, the alarming rate of cybercrime in Nigeria, including a high level of illiterate. | |
| No doubt, electronic transaction is an aspect of commercial transactions in Nigeria and has come to stay this time. | |
| Let the government go beyond making laws, enabling them to activate the electronic platform for commercial interaction and delivery of government services. | |
| You can reach Abanikanda Happiness Wuraola via twitter | |
| Chad edges charts as Debys son president | |
| Chad has passed the charter that declares Mahamat Idris Deby as President, despite rumour in the social media that he is dead. | |
| Mahamat took over to replace his father, Idriss deby, who was killed this week. | |
| The charter stipulates that the 37-year-old, son of late war veterans, named transitional leader quick quick on Tuesday as head of the military council after his fathers death, would be seen doing the work of president of the republic and head of the armed forces. | |
| The charter revials the preceding constitution and will be implemented as the basic law of the republic, according to the spirits contained in it. | |
| The young Deby has also been named as the supreme head of the armed forces, he said. | |
| Debys son had overseeed the security of his father when he was head of the elite presidential guard and appeared along with his father often. | |
| The best they have ever known Mahamat Deby is as the top commander of the forces in Chad who helps United Nations peacekeeping mission in the restive north of neighbouring Mali. | |
| He signed a decree on Tuesday as he set out a military council consisting of 15 generals including his own and 14 others believed to be loyal to late president. | |
| The task given to the council was to move into free and democractic elections within 18 months. | |
| Mahamat Idris Deby is chairing the military transition council, the council of ministers, the counil of superior committees of national defence, as the charter stipulates. | |
| The new head of state will declare legislation adopted by the 69 members of the national transition council by Mahamat, who Mahamat means directly. | |
| The Transition Charter, which contains 95 Articles, also guarantees freedom of opinion, conscience and worship. | |
| transition government, which the new president will name the members. | |
| The charter reads that all members of army who were called to the transitional government have been freed from all military activities. | |
| Chad Law | |
| The leader, who had ruled with a strong hand for more than 30 years, was given to wounds he sustained when he visited a battlefield where Chad soldiers engaged the rebel group in the north, the military announced on Tuesday. | |
| Calling for calm, the army also announced a curfew at 6pm and closed the countrys borders, as it suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly. | |
| However, opposition politicians in Chad have rejected the appointment of President Idris deby's son to take over after his father died. | |
| Experts say under the law in Chad, the speaker of parliament should have assumed power after Debys death, not his son. | |
| What the constitution says is that if the president is dead, then the speaker of the parliament will take charge of the country for 40 days and so thereby put transition in place until the election, Hiba Morgan who reported from Al Jazeera and reported from the capital, Ndjamena said on ealy Tuesday. | |
| But the military announced that they had dissolved the legislative assembly and dissolved the constitution, so what they had done is that the constitution was replaced with their own set of rules. | |
| Chelsea points after a brawl with Leicester | |
| Chelsea face deduction of points from FA for the team as they failed to control their players, as Mirror reports. | |
| With seven years left, the team has proven its hot tempers to opponents seven times. | |
| The recent brawl in a match on Tuesday night Leicester marked the seven encounters Chelsea have with Premier League teams. | |
| The match between Chelsea and Leicester was marked by katakata between players of both teams. | |
| And having committed the same kind of offence in the past, the FA decided to punish Chelsea. | |
| Leicester also face charges for their role in the brawl which involved players and coaches as Ricardo Pereira took the challenge of Ben Chilwell. | |
| In 2016, Chelsea also charged for indiscipline which they felt compelled to warn them, after appealing against a 375,000 dollar fine for the part of a burst-up during a match against Tottenham. | |
| If it affects them, the point they are going to leave will affect their season very well as they enter the final campaign to secure spots in the top four. | |
| US Africom in Nigeria? Heck No! | |
| Overpaid, oversexed and over here. | |
| That was the resentful and contemptuous opinion many British people had of the thousands of American GIs who stationed in several military bases in Britain during the Second World War. | |
| The gum-chewing, brash, hard-drinking and womanising soldiers from America comedey frequently engaged in pub fights and knife fights which is dangerous and often generates a bad feeling among the locals. | |
| And this is the pattern of American soldiers behaving oversea from Okinawa in Japan, Stuttgart in Germany, Incirlik and Diyarbakir in Turkey and Pampanga in Philippines. | |
| That was why I was upset, like many Nigerians, that at a virtual meeting last week with the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Antony Blinken, was reported that president Buhari asked the United States to consider the move to relocate the African Command (Africom) of his military located in Stuttgart in the southern German city of presently Africa. | |
| We are hearing that with this call, President Buhari is making a way for Nigeria to host Africom. | |
| In the first place, it was a breach of protocol for President Buhari to do such meeting with the American Secretary of State. | |
| The meeting was supposed to be conducted by Blinken's Nigerian opposite number, Geoffrey Onyeama, who reported the incident and carried the detail to meet president later. | |
| Yes, America is a superpower and all, but protocol is a protocol and must be strictly followed in every circumstance. | |
| We understand Nigeria is facing an internal security challenge which surpasses the best efforts made by government and security establishment in the nation to tackle it. | |
| Terrorist insurgencies, kidnapping in the North East, farmers/herders clashes all over the country and as they target and kill security and law enforcement personnel and other Nigerians, plus the destruction of institutional buildings in the South East, are joined to be the cause of the epidemic of insecurity ravaging the country. | |
| But even at that time, the call for the hosting of Africom on Nigeria was difficult to justify when considering the various issues and implications of this move to Nigeria difficult to justify. | |
| Africom is one amng nine of such commands that the American military established to serve American strategic interests around the world. | |
| By their rule and way of operation, these commands, particularly the outside-Americans like the Africom, were not set up primarily to concern themselves with security and law enforcement issues in their area of coverage. | |
| They only do so when such issues affect the interests of America directly in the area and in such situation, they are not mandated to yield to modus operandi and share intelligence with the local security and law enforcement agencies. | |
| If Africom is set up in Nigeria for instance, it will be an island on its ownas it restricts access to Nigerians of all categories and establishing a jurisdiction withing the teritorial area of the base that will be virtually off limits to Nigerian security and law enforcement agancies. | |
| As has always happened with American military base outside the U.S., Africom will be a forward-looking operating base for disruptive intelligence operations and could be source for acts of sabotage and destabilisation against the host country. | |
| In this particular case of Africom, part of its original concept is to control as the strategic influence of Nigeria grows in West Africa and Africa as we have successful peace enforecement efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone and a good record of peace keeping around the world. | |
| The previous Africom initiative was the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) which the Clinton administration set up to counter the strategic interest of Nigeria in Africa. | |
| The Secretary of State for president Clinton, the dour-faced California attorney, Warren Christopher, was secretly visited by a number of African countries to sell the ideas. | |
| But because Nigeria is the target, he pointedly came out of his itinerary. | |
| Senegal, located not far from Liberia and Sierra Leone, was supposed to be the coordinating base of the ACRI and though it was seen as an initiative to facilitate assistance of America to African humanitarian issues, its secret protocols were mistaken for military and strategically targeted Nigeria. | |
| Due mainly to undisguised hostility to the idea from France, which was averse to seeing the Americans trying to butt into an area it considers its exclusive sphere of influence, the concept of the ACRI was reviewed. | |
| In this review, which drawn the expertise of americas Military, intelligence, political and academic personalities and institutions that the Americans attended to secret sessions, the Americans considered and realised the need to set up an AFrican command to add to the already existing commands that covers the other continents all over the world. | |
| Thus, following on the reccomendation of experts gathered, which eventually amalgamated all sides of political and security establishments in America, the Bush administration set Africom up with mandate not only to contain Nigeria but also to keep eye on the strategic penetration of Chinese players in Africa. | |
| The US Central Command (USCENTCOM), located in Florida, European Command (EUCOM), as it based in Stuttgart, Germany, is to Europe and Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), also based in Florida, is to Latin America and the Caribbean. | |
| The presence of French military has surrounded Nigeria already as they are in Niger, Cameroun, Chad and Benin. | |
| The Americans also have a drone base in Niger. | |
| adding Africom to the mix in Nigeria will amount to a complete capitulation of our strategic interests to both France and America. | |
| bearing in mind that our strategic interests plus profile for Africa does not always follow with the one in France and America, to host Africom in Nigeria would be the same thing as we should allow birds into the chicken cage. | |
| Nothing is in the insecurity challenges facing the country our armed forces cannot cope with. | |
| This is coming after the military forces that eventually secured Liberia and Sierra Leone against armed army of insurgents well-entrenched and organised in the country from a long logistical supply line thousands of miles; the army of Joshua Dogonyaro, Victor Malu and Maxwell Khobe, a few of the most gallant Nigerian soldiers who distinguished themselves in the operations. | |
| It is regretable that the Nigerian military, as it is now known, have fallen from high standards and are now struggling to cope with the activities of non-state actors internally. | |
| But ideologically and essentially, the military in Nigeria still carry the capacity and capability to defeat this threat to our nationl security threat if they have the correct leadership, doctrine and motivation. | |
| We need all the assistance and funding that the American people can give us if they want to give us. | |
| But as we have been held in the hands to host Africom with our circumstances in view of its antecedent and implicating to our strategic interests, in our soil. | |
| Despite challenges, Plateau targeted 7m metric tons of Irish potato. | |
| In Nigeria, Plateau State is a nomba that grows Irish potatoes for its produce in nine of the 17 local government areas of the state. | |
| The Potato Value Chain Support Project of the African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative has Plateau as a state that produces 90 per cent of the potato production in the country as countries like Chad, Ghana, Niger, Benin and other countries have large supply of potato from Nigeria. | |
| The huge potato production in Plateau State, according to PotatoPRO.com, a leading source of information on global potato industry, has made Nigeria the nomination fourth big country in sub-sahara Africa. | |
| However, farmers said that there was no good access road network and the cost of fertiliser and other farming inputs continued to be the major setback in the production of potatoes in the nations and exports. | |
| Other challenges to low yield and loss in harvest to the potato value chain include diseases like blight and bacterial wilts, infestation and poor seedlings. | |
| According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Plateau State is among the ten poorest states in Nigeria with the poverty rate of over 70%. | |
| However, the state has comparative advantages to boosting economic activities by improving the competitiveness of the potato commodity value chain. | |
| The Potato value Chain Support Project, Thomas Muopshin, said though the visibility of the Tuber crop is evident in nine local government areas in Plateau, Na Bokkos and Mangu LGAs are the hub of potato. | |
| Potatoes are produced more than any LGA across the country. | |
| However, Muopshin said adaptability research indicated that the remaining eight LGAs in the state also could plant potato, thereby ensuring that the remaining 17 LGAs in Plateau could produce cattle, especially in the dry season. | |
| However, the Association of Potato Farmers (APF) in the state, said that unless address the challenges facing the value chain, increased production and export of potato would continue to the national. | |
| Chairman of the APF in Plateau State, Lazarus Makut, in an interview with Daily Trust, said the inadequate small dams, especially in remote areas where potato cultivation is intensively affected, as bad roads plus high cost of farm input continued to affect potato output. | |
| He said the cost of mechanised farming that can increase production quickly was expensive as the majority of farmers are small scale producers unable to afford mechanization. | |
| Another farmer, Martha Mamgup, who grows potatoes in Ampang town in Mangu LGA, said low water supply during dry season affected potato farmers and harvest was low every year. | |
| This, she said, was because the majority of farmers search for locations of borehole to farms to access irrigation water for their farms. | |
| Martha also explained that the high cost of fertiliser prevented many farmers from improvincing quantities plus quality yield, adding that when fertiliser is not enough, it affects the crop output. | |
| The cost is also preventing many of us from expanding the business. | |
| So, getting fertiliser has not been easy for us. | |
| She said the construction of more dams plus a borehole for irrigation would lead to more production of potatoes. | |
| If the water supply is not enough for the crop, it will eventually die and that is why some farmers with the resources preferred to dig boreholes in Mangu for irrigation because, without him, season farming would be difficult, she said. | |
| Irish potato at a market in Jos. | |
| Production topped 7million metric tons after completing the lab. | |
| With potato production in Plateau State which jumped from 1,656,650 metric tons in 2017 to 2,359,890 metric tons in 2020, the establishment of Potato Value Chain Support Project and the construction of a tisue culture lab aimed at tripleng production to seven million metric tons by the time 2021 to 2021. | |
| The officer who Monitors and Evaluates State's Potato Value Chain Support Project in the state, Baleri Yakubu, told Daily Trust that the state was expected to commence production of six million metric tons of potato annually after completing the tissue culture lab at the end of 2021 but it was optimistic that production could go up to seven million metric tons annually. | |
| However, Yakubu said the state government should also tackle other challenges farmers are facing, especially the one of fertiliser as well as dam and road networks as they are expected to apply proper potato farming regulation to achieve expected targets. | |
| Our correspondent learnt that the tissue culture lab, intending to improve potato yield in the state by providing seeds that are resistant to pests and other diseases relating to potato, was expected to commence full operations in a few months. | |
| Yakubu said it is certain that the advent of the lab would improve income for farmers and revenue in the state government and also help food security in the country. | |
| A farmer in Plateau State, however, believes that the tissue, if fully equipped, will reduce the cost of treatment for the crop when it is infected by disease. | |
| It is also hoped that better quality seeds will be made available at affordable prices. | |
| FG has not returned £4.2m Ibori loot to Delta Accountant General | |
| The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) on Wednesday said the Federal Government has not returned the £4.2 million recovered from former governor James Ibori to the Delta Government. | |
| They are still waiting for the money after that the issues with him are resolved, before any further action is taken. | |
| For now, no money has returned to Delta State,as a statement from the office revealed, signed by the director of information, Press and Public Relations, Henshaw Ogubike. | |
| The statement said the issue of the £4.2million looted by Ibori was not quickly resolved. | |
| In a previous comment made by the Accountant General of the National Assembly that the loot had been returned to the Delta government of Delta, Henshaw Ogubike said: The Agf is only a general comment about money rcorverted as it relates to state governments. | |
| The three Super League strongholds do not agree with UEFA regulations. | |
| Super League three Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus insisted on Wednesday that they were remaining committed to modernising football despite UEFA threats of discipline. | |
| UEFA opened a formal disciplinary waka on Tuesday against the three clubs that refused to give up on the Super League project they had aborted. | |
| In a joint statement, Juventus in Italy and the two Spanish sides said they were remaining committed to modernising football through open dialogue with UEFA. | |
| FC Barcelona, Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF wished to express their absolute rejection of the insistent coercion that UEFA has been mentain towards the three institutions most relevant in the history of futbol, the statement said. | |
| This attitude constitutes a breach of the decision made by Courts of Justice, which have made a clear statement to warn UEFA to stop taking any action that may punish the clubs that found the super League when it is still on the legal matter. | |
| Therefore, while UEFAs disciplinary proceedings are incomprehensible and namely a direct attack against the rule of law that us, who are a citizen in the European Union, have built up with democracy, there is still a lack of respect toward the authority of the courts of justice. | |
| China has given to China over 140 million COVID-19 vaccines. | |
| China has administered 139.97 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of April 4, 2021, the National Health Commission (NHC) of the country said. | |
| China is working to ensure effective vaccination efforts in major areas and key sector industries as it basetes on the overall plan of the country, inoculating the eligible population as widely as possible and making progress in stages, as Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the NHCs Disease Prevention and Control Bureau. | |
| The country is already gathering resources to ensure inoculation in cities of larger and medium size cities, metropolis of large and medium sized cities, areas with high risk of infection, as well as priority given to key groups including employees in the public sector, students and faculty in college and universities, plus service staff in large supermarkets, according to Wu, adding that vaccination for other groups was also in progress. | |
| At present, Beijing, Shanghai and some other places in China have given senior citizens the vaccine, which is above the age of 60 and patients with chronic diseases COVID-19 vaccines, who are in good physical condition. | |
| He Qinghua, an official of the NHC, noted that the commission would advance the vaccination campaign with order of importance, following the priciple of informed consent, voluntary participation and free inoculation. | |
| The country coordinates regular prevention and control with its vaccination efforts, to ensure that the regular responsibility of local governments and vaccination efforts are fulfilled, and to advance the vaccination campaign in a manner that is more secured and orederly and forceful, he said. | |
| Besides, China has taken the step to include more people in vaccination campaigns to ensure their health, the official added. | |
| So far, China has approved COVID-19 vaccines produced by five enterprises for conditional marketing or emergency use. | |
| Phase III of three vaccines that have not been activated and a new adenovirus vaccine demonstrated that efficacy met the requirement of the National Medical Products Administration of China and the World Health Organization. | |
| Phase II trials for the recombinant protein subunit vaccine which is apprehended for emergency use have shown that the vaccine is safe and can cause strong immune response. | |
| All the COVID-19 vaccines adopted by China have gone through clinical studies that followed relevant standards, which had been approved by the national drug regulatory organization (NCB) and began to use after passing strict examination, Li Bin who is the deputy head of the NHC said. | |
| All vaccines should be monitored and temperature recordsd from time to time to ensure that they meet strict requirements on temperature environment and transportation. | |
| Health regulators in China have also enhanced efforts in the training of health worker, requiring them to obey operating instructions in order to guarantee the efficacy and safety of the vaccine, Li added. | |
| Why Banks are doing essay contests for their children | |
| Wema bank Plc is hosting a creative essay competition to test the creative writing ability of young children between the age of five to 12 years. | |
| The 2021 Royal Kiddies Essay Competition, which is tag Write and Win, is aimed at developing writing skills, promoting creativity, developing imagination capacity, rewarding creativity and driveing excellence in their learning process. | |
| Tens will emerge from the screening process which will be transparent, credible and thorough. | |
| The three essays below will be kolekted by Huawei tablets and Royal Kiddies branded T-shirts. | |
| The remaining seven participants selected will get N20,000 prepaid gift card each for school supplies and branded T-shirt. | |
| The essay competition will be open to children whose parents have opened, including funding the Royal Kiddies Account or wards, and entries will close on May 24, 2021. | |
| From Hushpuppi to Abidemi Rufai Sandy Tangâ | |
| Twelve months ago, Ramoni Abass (37 years) who was known as a hushpuppi in June 2020 in Dubai allegedly committed money laundering from business email compromise fraud and other scams targeting firms and a English premier league club. | |
| The total money made for him is said to be $435 million after defrauding 1,926,400 victims. | |
| A year later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also arrested Abidemi Rufai (they is called Sandy Tangâ), Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun in John F kennedy Airport, concerning criminal complaints that he scammed Washington State Employment Security Department of $350,000 (N144,375,000). | |
| The money made for the pandemic was designated as a relief money for the pandemic in Washington State for those who may have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. | |
| During the lockdown the fraud occurred and the investigation bureau began to track the alleged fraudster who is now making law in Nigeria Federal House of Representatives if he lost the Ijebu North/Ijebu East/Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency election to Adekoya Adesegun, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) person. | |
| They did the fraud by stealing the identity of more than 100 Washington residents as they were filling false claims with the Employment Security Department (ESD) for pandemic-related unemployment benefits. | |
| For each identity stolen, they created new e-mail accounts for each identity was stolen, and sought to identify the claims with different people to escape an automatic fraud detection system. | |
| After that, they paid over $288,000 to his bank accounts in America between March and August 2020. | |
| Cybercrime is a global threat to individuals, organisations and countries. | |
| Nigeria is losing more than $128 billion to cybercrimes every year. | |
| By the time 2021 is over, the world will have lost a total of $6 trillion. | |
| To date, there have been over 40 Nigerians orphaned or suspected by the FBI to complicity in fraudulent scams. | |
| The alleged unemployment benefits fraud alleged by Rufai would be under what I have called COVID-19 fraud in Nigeria. | |
| This is a scam that is exploiting loopholes occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic to scammers, governments and non-governmental organisations. | |
| During the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, cybercriminals made large scale frauds along the interventions from government and private sectors and scammed many and some of the schemes were in operation till date. | |
| Domino pizza fraud, federal government cash penalty fraud, N20, 000 Dangote relief fund fraud and promo sales fraud among others. | |
| While some of them are involved in cyber-criminalities outside Nigeria, some youngsters are doing it in Nigeria. | |
| The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is arresting them, trying and convincing them. | |
| To understand the cultures sustaining cyber-criminality can help a serious government to fight the crime. | |
| The family is the small world in the larger society. | |
| It is the place where normal human beings should be nutured in society. | |
| Apart from the fact that many families in Nigeria are in the dungeon of poverty and it is hard to take care of their children, some of the children have become breadwinners, as it is, is not legit. | |
| Ethical behaviour training in many houses is a challenge as the arrest of parents plus their children is linked to cyber-criminality. | |
| In some other places, yahoo boys mamas form association to celebrate their childrens success and justify the criminal act. | |
| In the religious seting, pastors, alfa and traditional leaders make home and benefit from yahoo-boyism. | |
| Moral teaching is brought into materialistic Pentecostalism. | |
| It had a viral video where some boys were spraying money while members of the female youth wing of the church were treated to record the act of shame. | |
| A Nigerian born in 1999 when Nigeria entered democracy was 21 years now. | |
| Sadly, they grow to appreciate truth as a way of life from politicians mouth (and in many cases from home) who deceive people to vote for them because they failed to fulfil the promises they made to them by compelling them to fulfill the promises they had fulfilled. | |
| Lying is also the foundation of the sociology of hushpuppism. | |
| Youths are being socialised daily in corruption by political officeholders. | |
| They can see how the system is giving desperate people soft landing (in public or private). | |
| She asked how many fraud and corruption allegations have been investigated and discharged with punishment when the accused is found guilty. | |
| The majority of cases ended with off-the-the-mic like as the Nigerian Delta Development Commission (NDDC) case ended up being a family affair. | |
| The youths are being taunted as they celebrate flamboyant lifestyles in dirty. | |
| It is seen how poor politcal aspirants become millionaires within months of their assumption of office. | |
| It is seen how traditional institutions have become cash and carry when giving chieftancy titles. | |
| Tertiary educational institutions, with few exceptions, award undeserving honours in exchange for money. | |
| All of those who mismanaged monetes have soft landing. | |
| Add to this list of cultures that nutture cybercrime is the lyrical glamour that some Nigerian musicians give cybercrime as they present cybercrime as work and game by everyone and say it is not crime. | |
| If a fraudulent person becomes legislator, will that law be made against the crime involving him? | |
| The process of nomination of party leaders for nomination to the highest bid must be reviewed if we are to stop importing problematic tokunbo things into our political system that has already lost moral consciousness. | |
| It is very unfortunate that the critical reasoning of party leaders is low when given money. | |
| They provide platforms for dubious characters to cover up and make society worse with their actions. | |
| Greed is also causing cyber-criminality. | |
| The FBI agent who incestised Rufai, Donald Voiret said greed was a powerful motivator. | |
| Unfortunately, the alleged greeds of this defendant are affecting all taxpayers. | |
| To move forward, we cannot continue to live in sin, expecting grace to abound. | |
| Nigeria should sanitise its anti-corruption system and put accoutability policies in place to track lifestyles with material accumulation. | |
| We must give youths in Nigeria hope by creating employment opportunities, reducing poverty, and review reward system. | |
| The EFCC needs to invest in technology and expose detectives to modern cybercrime investigation procedures. | |
| The commission needs to finish investigation before arresting suspects as FBI did before they arrested huspuppi and Abidemi Rufai Sandy Tang. | |
| Unless the culture that sustains cybercrimes in Nigeria is tackled with social social engineering, cyber-criminality will continue to spread. | |
| Dr Tade, a sociologist, wrote this piece at: dotad2003@yahoo.com | |
| DRC president Tshisekedi has assumed the chair of the African Union. | |
| President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, stepped down the chair of the African Union on Saturday. | |
| He took office on the first day in the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa. | |
| He is coming after president of South Africa Cyriel Ramaphosa as the rotating chair of the organization. | |
| The au will be aimed at addressing the degenerated impact of COVID-19 on the continent. | |
| union | |
| The official theme for the 2021 World Arts, Culture, and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want | |
| Despite countries and continent-wide control measures, the impact of COVID-19 has brought immense human, financial and soci-economic costs to Africans, Tshisekedi said. | |
| The crisis has however given us the opportunity to re-examine our socio-economic priorities and work towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth that will enable women and girls to contribute to our society for the fullest. | |
| We must rely on ourselves more and find collective solutions to our problems. | |
| Tshisekedi said the DRC during his time as head of the union was looking to elevate African voices. | |
| It will also focus on sustainable developments by and for Africa. | |
| We will work to ensure comprehensive well-being, peace and security, health care and a strong response against COVID-19, among food security. | |
| Agricultural transformation, education, gender equality, climate justice, for people and good to move freely, and freedom of speech and religion, as well as enhanced our common heritage: languages, and memorial sites of the history of our people in Africa, which will be centred on ousted agendas, the president added. | |
| New developments in Lagos PDP concerning LG polls | |
| A fresh issue has been gathered in Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) concerning the release of guidelines for the conduct of the local government elections coming up from the Chairman of the state, Engr Deji Doherty. | |
| nations Working Committee (SWC), which led to his suspension recently, has released the guidelines on Friday. | |
| It will be recalled that the State Independent National Electoral Commission (LASIEC) had released the timetable for the elections slated to take place on Saturday, July 24, 2021. | |
| Amidst internal strife in the State PDP, the chairman released the guidelines, which as we heard was not good in the eyes of most of the executive members who said they did not carry them very long. | |
| A member of the state executive said the chairman planned the timetable unilaterally and did not involve other executive members. | |
| It was further learnt that the other factions of the party oppose Doherty could counter the embattled Chairman over the guidelines. | |
| The executive member who spoke on condition of anonymity said the position of the member who was afraid of making public this week insisted that the executive had to sideline key members of the executive. | |
| How to survive in a pandemic By Dil Afrose Jahan. | |
| When news of death is everywhere, a new life brings hapines plus hope. | |
| On January 1, 2020, a new morning, two red lines changed my life. | |
| I have a belle and I am happy. | |
| Its start to a new year. | |
| It was the most remarkable year of my life. | |
| All of a sudden, evriting change. | |
| My daughter Roshomon Tara was born at the end of the first lockdown in Dhaka, Bangladesh; she is now nine months old. | |
| She was why I became mother in the middle of the global crisis. | |
| Not only hers were born, but also new me, mama tara, who spent the entire pregnancy in lockdown at home and born the children in emergency condition in the emergency. | |
| Tara once again saw the world through masks and isolation. | |
| Her grandmas are also fearful to touch her or come near her if they do not wear masks. | |
| If there is no pandemic, my journey to enter motherhood would have been different. | |
| This Mother's Day is so special as my children are now in front of my eyes, looking at me smiling. | |
| On my last mother's day, she was growing inside of me. | |
| The only thing that really changes, meanwhile, is the pandemic. | |
| I was 16 weeks-old when the pandemic happened, and the world was in lockdown. | |
| I am still struggling to survive the pandemic with my hormonal and physical changes. | |
| The 22 weeks are like war. | |
| My husband, Sina Hasan, was a musician, and all his concerts were cancelled at that time. | |
| I have been a freelance journalist since January 1, 2021. | |
| So we now depend on what I have saved already, and we spend all my savings. | |
| Our parents and two journalists associations came forward to help in the mainly. | |
| I was scared. | |
| Most of the time, it looks like I am dead. | |
| I was immediately adapted to a new life where we were browsing the net and delivering our goods or home-delivery. | |
| and I have to wait for a week to receive groceries from them. | |
| I also was afraid of sending the only family member living with me, my husband, to desert food storage. | |
| Therefore, I did not eat much. | |
| On the other hand, I couldn't go for my antenatal check-up as given me time. | |
| and I am not sure if my children are growing welfare or if there is development taking place timely. | |
| and I am sorry for my unborn child for bringing him into a world so different from what it is today. | |
| The tele-medication help me through some hard times in the last three months. | |
| I forget the face of my gynaecologist. | |
| I cannot imagine what she would take a look if she didn't wear PPE. | |
| I need information about risks, precautions, and how to get emergency medical help. | |
| There is a lot of information flowing around. | |
| Because of this information, my mother-in-law could only support me and not be seen to meet me when I was having a belle. | |
| Traditionally, experienced mothers and mostly older women in the family will help new mothers with their experiences and observations. | |
| I have also suffered from panic attacks because I have little or no information and understanding. | |
| So I am now able to share the experiences of mothers who gave birth at this time. | |
| I see social media as a lifeline. | |
| I had an exciting experience on social media when I was joining a group of over 100,000 women who have a belle and give their children breasts as they could support each other to survive the pandemic. | |
| Media groups across the Plateau have helped over 100,000 women and the mothers of 100,000 who belled and gave their children breasts while sharing experiences plus information during the lockdown. | |
| The group helped me to find heakth care fcility to take to the emergency care facility for emmergency ultrasound after heavy bleeding firs in the lockdown. | |
| Another group can also help to ease tension and deepening the depresion associated with childbirth. | |
| I was upset that I could not meet my parents, relatives, or friends to share the joy of welkom new members into the family. | |
| My daughter was born on August 25, 2020, at the same hospital, Azimpur Maternity, where I was born decades ago. | |
| And she met another child, four months old on December 31, 2020, when Tara and her father went to the rooftops with me to see the fireworks. | |
| Another fimily with two baby toddlers and my neighbour for the first time also visited me to speak byebye in 2020. | |
| Every day is a gift, especially to consider the recent statistics of increased Covid-19 cases. | |
| When news about death is full everywhere, the new life brings hapines and hope. | |
| For mothers, it was no different from that they won war while their children were born in the pandemic and left their mothers to care for the newborns alone, to confirm the safety-high-security safety of their children. | |
| Socially, emotionally, and physically, this period can challenge a person. | |
| Thanks to the light that is setting in the eyes of the baby dem. | |
| Thank you my children, my daughter, for who I am now a mama and a successful fighter who survived this pandemic. | |
| Dil Afrose Jahan has kolekted the National Geographic Society's Emergency Fund for Journalists. | |
| National Geographic Society supports this initiative. | |
| The national question, insecurity and the declaration in Asaba. | |
| By Segun Tomori | |
| Recently, governors of souther Nigeria met in Asaba and made some resolutions on the state of the nation, which is now known as Asaba declaration. | |
| The meeting was on the matter as insecurity in the country was worsening, agitations by some ethnic jingoists and the matter of murderous herdsmen menaced a nationwide attention. | |
| Indeed, the bi-partisan nature of the meetings nature plus the unanimity displayed by the 17 governors indicated that serious business meant serious business. | |
| Restructuring within the context of true federalism and the ban of open grazing constituted the koko of the declaration. | |
| Major light then was to bring state police, devolution of power, review revenue formulas to favour federating units plus the need for a national dialogue to discuss the nation question. | |
| While they should condemn the way governments take drag leg on financial autonomy in state legislature and judiciary and not necessarily follow the spirit of true federalism which they are calling for, planty in their resolutions is a tenet for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Gov. El=Rufai on true federalism recommendations. | |
| It would be expected that the leading light in the APC would take advantage of the bipartisan nature of the Asaba declaration, and the support of the major opposition parties to begin the process to address the issue. | |
| Instead, we saw attempts to take photos to the gallery and in some quarters, subtle censure of the governors. | |
| The El-Rufai committee has recommended devolution of power, resource control, state police, local government autonomy, plus review in revenue frmula in favour of federation unit among others. | |
| President Buhari has given support for local government, state legislature and judiciary autonomy since, as he backed amendments in the statutes and issued Executive Order 010. | |
| With the state of the nation now, in a state of security and economic instability, the two sectors should be given the untimate attention. | |
| Despite being rated as the country with the highest GDP in Africa, we have not made more efforts to translate it to improve standards of living or the majority of our countrys people. | |
| For instance, our annual budget hovered to $35 billion, which is very inadequate to cater for the need of 220 million Nigerians. | |
| South Africa, with about 58 million people, has a National budget hovered to $75bn in 2019 and her Social Protection Programme hit 17m of its populace. | |
| The Buhari administration, though it is newly made and commendable, is just dropped in the ocean and has not been adequate to make required impact. | |
| Its devolution of power and resources control is here. | |
| Solid minerals and natural resources don't have any businesses to stay more than one day in this Exclusive list. | |
| Almost all states in the country have natural resources they can sell to markets that can be explored to create wealth and generate the needed foreign exchange for the country. | |
| The present system where a state is allocated to Abuja to absorb federal allocations in the country breeds indolence, which does not follow the principle of true federalism. | |
| The El-Rufai committee also proposed that the revenue formula should be reviewed to favour states since they would add more responsibilities to them. | |
| With regards to the state police, it is undesratably feared that it might be abused by governors, but as Richie Nortondon said, To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around it. | |
| For too long, we have been sliding into fear of abuse of state police, we have turned a blind eye to the centralised Nigeria Police Force which has been overstretched and has become inefficient and monumental problems. | |
| State Police was an ideology that had come up a couple of years ago. | |
| We have to address our fears and overcome it. | |
| One of the challenges is to enact a legal instrument to establish the State Police Regulatory Commission (SPRC), along with constitutional amendments to authorise state police. | |
| It will have similar functions with the Federal Police Service Commission (PSC) but it will also have wider power to take exercise of appointive and regulatory functions. | |
| A ban on open grazing by the governors was not a new development, it was part of the fulcrum of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) approved by the National Executive Council (NEC) last year. | |
| The International Crisis Group (ICG) has put the NLTP as the most comprehensive effort made by Nigeria to date to overhaul the inefficient and grossly underperforming livestock system. | |
| At the core is it a strategy to curb migratory or open grazing and thus lower the risk of conflict between herders and farmers, therefore, beggars belief that some myopic, sef-acclaimed ethnic champions choose to lampoon the ban on pre-historic, nomadic open grazing. | |
| Let the federal and state governments move very fast to fully implement this new plan in order to avoid the farmers-herders clash that is now raging from time to time behind us. | |
| The convocation of National Dialogue, which is a major demand of the Asaba declaration, may not be necessary since there is no need since there is a report from the 2014 National Conference plus recommendations of the Gov. El-Rufai-led APC committee on True Federalism. | |
| The two reports are making far-reaching recommendations that the governors elected and legislators of the national assembly can agree on, rather than wasting resources already wasted on another jamboree. | |
| On the issue of separatist agitations, there should be modalities to bring into referendum as enshrined in the constitution. | |
| It is almost certain that a majority of Nigerians want to live together, without minding our differences. | |
| To accomplish this will take the sail away from the wind of divisive elemnets, which fances a fire of hate and discord. | |
| The Southern Governors have affirmed commitment to one United Nigeria on the basis of justice, fairness and equity, as must every patriotic Nigerian. | |
| Though we have challenges like every other country, we must listen to ourselves as US President Joe Bidden often said. | |
| Tomori lives in Abuja. | |
| Two police officers have been killed as IPOB members set ablaze at police stations. | |
| It is not more than 24 hours after the new commissioner of police appointed in Anambra, Christopher Adetokumbo Owolabi, resumed his mandate, when his jaguda elements attacked Obosi Police Station in Idemili North local government area of the state and killed two officers. | |
| The terrorists attacked the police station late on Wednesday, killing all the suspects arrested before their station was set ablaze. | |
| A member of the police station, who the scene was affected said that many jaguda elements came to the scene and attacked the police station around 11pm. | |
| The officers identified as Inspector James and Awalu. | |
| The source said the victims were killed in a filling station close to the police station. | |
| The source also said when other police officers on duty were observed the unusual movement of the unknown gunmen, they swiftly ran and the attacking suspects had time to burn the police station down. | |
| Meanwhile, the police in Anambra have confirmed the killing of two of them men. | |
| The Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the attack, said the state commissioner of police had dispatched a tactical team to assess the incident on the spot. | |
| The tactical team led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police | |
| The team also asked to try to identify and capture the perpetrators of the attack, he said. | |
| Ikenga, who added that the body of the two police officers had been placed in a nearby morgue, saying that investigation on the matter had begun. | |
| NEPC, Commonwealth collaborate on production of professional services export data | |
| The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Commonwealth Secretariat London will collaborate to produce reliable data on export for professional services in Nigeria. | |
| Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the National Consultative Committee for the International Trade-in-Services (NCCITS) held under the Commonwealth Secretariat London, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, said Nigeria has not had readily accessible and reliable data on trade-in-service. | |
| Awolowo said the initiative had been before to create awareness on the trade-in service sector of the economy, including as a National Strategy on Export of Professional Services in 2010. | |
| He said the Commonwealth has helped Nigeria to develop a road-map for the sector in 2016. | |
| The head of NEPC, however, said the current focus for collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat was on data/statistics collection and management. | |
| This, he said, is critical to our effort at export as this will fill the gaps in collecting or capturing data from relevant institutions in order to take generate, analyse and use statistical information on trade-in Services as it is globally. | |
| NITDA, firms to launch tech startup funds in July | |
| The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and a firm from the United States Mass Challenge has signed an agreement to financially support between 10 and 15 start-ups from July, to reach their full potential withing 12 months. | |
| Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said this on Tuesday during a virtual media stakeholder engagement with officials of MassChallenge. | |
| Abdullahi said the initiative was designed to identify and accelerate top start-ups based in Nigeria and grow their business to serve the Nigerian and global markets. | |
| The DG of NITDA who said the initiative would be launched in July added that it would improve tech innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. | |
| Starting an ecosystem that is vibrant is highly critical to the future of our country and vital to finding solutions to our various challenges. | |
| Innovation is a prominent way to create properity for all and lift countries from the loop of poverty. | |
| The CEO of MassChallenge, Siobhan Dullea, said the firm has supported over 2,900 start-up firms across the globe and that the firms have generated $3.6 billion revenue and created 86,000 jobs. | |
| Kidnappers murder two women in Abuja council | |
| Kidnappers have arrested two women, Christiana Isa Attah and Favor David, behind Anguwar Kpokpolobi community in Naharati, Abaji Area Council, FCT. | |
| The mother of the two victims, Mrs. Ruth Attah, a retired school teacher, told our reporter at her house at about midnight on Saturday the incident happened. | |
| She said she was still at sleep and the children were in the room when the kidnappers came into the house after jumping a fence that was not too high. | |
| She said a window was broken to entry into the living room where her children were sleepy and they were taken away with a gun in their possession. | |
| When the girls noticed that they were trying to break the window, they ran to my room to hide, but the kidnappers followed them to my room and they took all of us, she said. | |
| According to her, the kidnappers left her after a few metres from home when she was noticed that she couldn't move due to the old age. | |
| And then after we crossed the river, I couldn't move again, the other gang members told me, adding that I should go back home with my two children, she added. | |
| An anonymous resident, said the kidnappers did the operation for more than one hour before they were shooting up to scare people from them. | |
| He said no security man came here when the kidnappers were shooting in the air for more than one hour. | |
| Daily Trust learnt that until that very day, the woman and her children were always left alone at the neighbouring house and were often heading back home because they were afraid of kidnappers as their house is just few metres from the river. | |
| It was also gathered that the daughter of the woman, who is a class teacher in the area, is preparing for her wedding next month. | |
| The spokesperson of the police command in FCT, ASP Maryam Yusuf, did not respond to a call or reply to a text message sent to her fone to confirm the latest kidnap incident in the area. | |
| Why I ran for gov in Anambra Anglican priest | |
| An Anglican priest, Rev Godwin Okonkwo, has said he is raced for the November governorship election in Anambra state because he is seeking to bring the fear of God and knowledge of prudent use of resources to show on governance matters in the state. | |
| Okonkwo who spoke with Daily Trust on Wednesday shortly after he spoke with his supporters in Awka, the Anambra state capital, said the state was far behind in terms of good governance. | |
| The people therefor now have not commenced to manage the resources of Anambra State for the good of the Anambra people. | |
| I believe we can all do better than just managing the resources of the state. | |
| It is time now to move from a lukewarm attitude of leadership to better leadership. | |
| I am here in Apc to change the poor outings the party had in the state in the past years,he said. | |
| Barty beats Kvitova to take on last four matches with Badosa | |
| Ashleigh Barty will take on Paula Badosa in the semifinals of the Madrid Open after beating Petra Kvitova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday. | |
| World No.1 Barty is chasing her fourth singles title this year after she won in Stuttgart 10 days ago. | |
| In the last four she would face the woman who beat her away in the quarterfinal at Charleston in early April. | |
| On Wednesday, the Australians were left out as top against Nadal twice plus 2015, 2018 Madrid Open winner Kvitova. | |
| Wildcard Badosa became the first Spanish woman in the tournament for a 12-year to make the semi with her 6-4, 7-5 win over eighth seed Belinda Bencic. | |
| 22 mummies of Pharaoh are paraded in Egypt | |
| Twenty-two mummies of pharaoh wlk on the street of Cairo on saturday evening for a stunning royal procession from the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Fustat. | |
| It was the event that marked the launch of NMEC officially. | |
| Against the backdrop of fireworks, the mummies of 18 kings and four queens “ travelled in order of age on purpose-built gold-colored pharaonic chariots, equipped with an air-riding suspension system to absorb vibrations, and bearing the names of their occupants in Arabic, English, and hieroglyphics. | |
| Seqenenre Tao II, who ruled Upper Egypt around 1,600 BCE, led the parade, as Ramses ix, who ruled in the 12th century BCE brought up the rear. | |
| As it follows the strict international standards for the transport of artifacts, the royal remained in state-of-the-art sterile display cases to guarantee immaculate preservation. | |
| It included 60 motorcycles, 150 horses, and a pharaonic music ensemble headed by renowned Egyptian maestro Nader Abbassiconduct. | |
| The procession started with a 21-gun salute, circled the obelisk at the Tahrir Square closest, and then proceeded along the Nile to NMEC, where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi personally welcomed the mummies to their new permanent home in Fustat, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. | |
| The parade, which lasted for 40-minute lines, witnessed the participation of 12 Celebs all over Egypt, as 200+ global TV channels broadcasted it on. | |
| The pricelees artifacts will spend the next two weeks at the NMECs laboratory, where they would be prepared for installation in the Royal Mummies Hall, in the valley of the kings. | |
| The Royal Mummies Hall will be open to visitors on April 18, coinciding with World Heritage Day. | |
| To promote the launch, NMEC is offering a 50 percent discount on entry ticket price to the Central Exhibition Hall for visitors from April 4 to entries 17. | |
| In addition, representatives of local and international media organisations were given the opportunity to picture and video the artifacts inside the Central Exhibition Hall for free on April 4 and 5. | |
| Overlooking Ain Al Sirafor the heart of the historical city of Egypt, nearby Babylon Fortress, NMEC is one of the largestts and most important archeology museums in the world, and the first to last in the whole civilization in Egypt. | |
| Uproar at Kano prisons concerning illicit drugs | |
| Pandemonium was intercepted at Kano central prison in Kurmawa on Thursday evening over allegedly high-calibre drug. | |
| The uproar began when the wardens inside the prison were detected and siezed cannabis, allegedly brought in inmates on Thursday evening. | |
| When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Kano State, Musbahu Lawal Kofar Nasarawa, confirmed the matter, adding that the cannabis had been introduced into the centre by committees to find out how it got into the centre. | |
| He said, I brought cannabis to the prison and our operatives had deployed it, and they started shouting, saying, We should give them. | |
| We have set up committees already to find out how such illicit drugs got into the house; whether they put them inside the food brought to one of the prisoners or in conjunction with some of our operatives. | |
| The action has absolutely nothing to do with jailbreak, it is just uproar, we have already reinforced orders back in the custodial centre, he added. | |
| There is rumour that the prisoners are planning to break the jail to attempt to escape as they rejected the food given to them to fast break, on account that they received bug donations from philantropists. | |
| The spokesperson of the NCoS has debunked the rumour, described them as baseless. | |
| Daily Trust reports that the 100 years prison located at Kurmawa area, behind Palace of Emirs of the metropolis is the biggest custodial centre in the state. | |
| FG urges global action against terrorism, drug trafficking | |
| The federal government urges world leaders to strengthen international cooperation as part of effort to successfully fight terrorism and drugs trafficking, among other crimes. | |
| This is even as Nigeria expressed concern over the incident of bad financial flows from its developed economy to an economy already developed in the world. | |
| These are part of the position Nigeria presenting at the conference of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Vienna. | |
| The chairman/Chief Executive of the agency, Brig-Gen. Femi Babafemi, was also speaking as the chairman/Chief Executive of the agency, Brig-Gen. | |
| Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), who presented the position of Nigeria in item 6C and 7 of the meeting, said as a nation we are deepening cooperation and strengthening the processes of combating the financing of terrorism and prevention of terrorists in addition to benefiting from ransom payments, it is also important for them not to overlook trafficking of bad drugs. | |
| It is also necessary to keep an eye on and control illicit traffic, drugs that can affect your brain, often leading to violence. | |
| Nigeria also is worried that the link between terrorism and other forms of crime like corruption, bad flow of money, money laundering, has also grown, illicit trafficking in drugs, cybercrime, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, Marwa said. | |
| In a statement from Nigeria in item 6C on Wednesday, Marwa said as a nation renewing its desire to improve international cooperation to address every crime, Nigeria urged all states, once again, to make sincere efforts, to address the cause from the root, which include; poverty, economic deprivation, inequality, drug abuse, among other socio-economic factors. | |
| In the statement of the country on item 7 on Thursday, Marwa said, Nigeria notes with great concern the incidence of illicit financial flows, we pass through the financial system every year, from developing and developed analysis to developing and developed analysis. | |
| To take advice from these individuals, including financial institutions that act as enablers, state parties should ensure that illicit financial flow, when tracked, does not remain in the custody of financial institutions but should be transformed into escrow accounts preferably in development banks pending return to countries of origin. | |
| In this regard, we are calling for the implementation of the recommendation of the facti panel in support of access to renewable resources and the agenda 2030 for sustainable development. | |
| Timipre Sylva, Kurfi celebrates as Chelsea win Champions League title | |
| Two prominent persons in the former Governor of Bayelsa State and present Minister of State of Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Marlin Sylva and the Chairman of Katsina State Football Association, Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi are better celebrated on Saturday after Chelsea football club have won the Champions League title. | |
| In a final all English, former champions Chelsea shocked Man City 1-0 at the Estadio. | |
| did Dragao in Portohy to win their second trophy. | |
| Kai Havertz, one of the expensive additions from last summer, scored the goal which decided to put a third defeat in a row on Pep Guardiolas City. | |
| Moments after the match, the former governor tweeted I I supported Chelsea FC in the UCL trophy and I did not regret. | |
| Kurfi who watched proceedings in Abuja with Sylva said it created the perfect time to watch the match with the former Bayelsa State governor to support and celebrate with him after the match. | |
| I need to support him because I am an avid fan of Chelsea. | |
| I also believe that at the end there is no reason to celebrate. | |
| No one knows that His Excellency Timipre Sylva has a passiona in sports, especially football. | |
| On my path, as the Chairman of Katsina State Football Association, I am father to all supporters of clubs in my state. | |
| I am currently with Chelsea from where I was loaned to Katsina United. | |
| From United, I was loaned to Kufri Tigers, and presently, I am in every club where Kufri can say what he would like to play. | |
| Election in Uganda: President Museveni is gaining early lead, rivals say it is a fraud | |
| President Yoweri Museveni has taken early lead in the presidential election in Ugand, according to results which first came from the electoral commission on Friday morning. | |
| This is as his main rival has said he has proof that fraud has entered the election. | |
| With 29.4 per cent of votes from a ballot voted on Thursday, Museveni has won 1,852,263 votes, or 63.9 per cent as the main opposition candidate Bobi Wine scored 821,874 or 28.4 per cent, according to the commission, which took effect just after 11.00 a.m. (0800 GMT). | |
| Wine alleged fraud | |
| A singer and lawmaker, Wine, who has mobilised young Ugandans with calls for political change, told a news conference on Friday that he had video of proof that there was fraud in the vote, and that the vote would end in peace if he wanted. | |
| He had said this in a tweet earlier and expressed confidence that he would win despite fraud and violence. | |
| Museveni, who has led the country into East Africa with a combined 46 million people in 34 years, has not said anythimg again since noon. | |
| Internet blackout | |
| On Wednesday, the government ordered the blocking of internet at further notice, a day after the social media and messaging apps were banned. | |
| Wine and his supporters used Facebook to show live coverage of his campaigns and news conferences after he said many media outlets did not gree to host him. | |
| The election campaign has been spoiled with deadly crackdowns on opposition candidates and their supporters. | |
| The capital city of Uganda, Kampala, normally quiet on Friday, a public holiday after the vote on Thursday, with most shops closed. | |
| Soldiers patrolled with legs in rain in a suburb visited by Reuters. | |
| Commission head Simon Byabakama, assured the nation on live TV on Thursday evening after polls closed that results had entered the national tally centre despite the nationwide internet blackout. | |
| We do not use the local internet to transmit results, we use our own system, as he said, without giving details of the system. | |
| No wori, results will come, Byabakama said. | |
| New wave of pandemic hits more in Japans prefecture. | |
| Japan has continued to expand the present state of emergency to cover three more prefectures, the government said on Friday. | |
| This is following the widespread infections of the coronavirus in the country ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in summer. | |
| The prefecture in Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima are likely to get the measure from Sunday to the end of May, as Economic Revitalisation Minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, told newsmen. | |
| A panel of experts endorsed the proposal, while Nishimura, in charge of the coronavirus response by the government, voiced the concern. | |
| The northern island of Hokkaido reported a record of 712 new infections on Thursday as the western prefecture of Hiroshima also reported a record of 219 new cases on Wednesday. | |
| The infection, which was growing, forced Hiroshima and Okayama to cancel the torch relay which was supposed to happen next week on public roads. | |
| International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach, is expected to participate in the torch relay event in Hiroshima on May 17. | |
| However, organizers said they had postponed Bachs travel to Japan before the games. | |
| The postpone was as the government extended the state of emergency in Tokyo plus three other prefectures until the end of May, and added two more regions Aichi, Fukuoka in the measure. | |
| The governor declared the state of emergency in the four prefectures in April, requesting bars and restaurants to stop serving alchohol and refuse to offer karaoke service again. | |
| Experts have warned that variants that are more contagious could spread in quick successions, especially as the rolling coronavirus vaccine has been very slow since it was launched mid-February. | |
| Only one per cent of Japan's | |
| 125 million of people have been vaccinated fully. | |
| Farmers will benefit from mechanised farming in Jigawa | |
| The Malam Alu Agro Allied Company, a farm on the top of a 100-hectare of land in Faru village, along Maiduguri road, Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State, has been changing theception of mechanised farming in Nigeria, the GM of the Mansur Dau Aliyu said. | |
| The farm, which was established almost five years ago, as we gather, was in direct response to the call by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which urged Nigeria to return to agriculture as the main driver of the economy in the nation, rather than rely on oil as the source of revenue for the country. | |
| Each cattle has a nomba tag attached to it. | |
| Founder of the company, Farouk Adamu Aliyu, a former member of the House of Representatives keyed into it, the GGM added. | |
| We are doing greenhouse farming. | |
| We have 10,000 square-metres fully automated soil greenhouse, where we produce tomatoes. | |
| We also have two 250 square-metre greenhouses where we produce other greenhouse vegetable varieties, in addition to another 500 square-metre greenhouse, which we use as nursery. | |
| These greenhouses are all foreign-oriented, which we have installed to produce varieties of vegetable. | |
| tomatoes are only produced for the 10,000 square automated soils greenhouse gas; and we produce an average of 10 to 11 tons of tomatoes per week. | |
| We also have another 10,000 square-metre locally fabricated greenhouse. | |
| We also have livestock section, where we have over 300 herds of cattle, some camel, goat and sheep, as he said. | |
| Daily Trust further learnt that the farm also has a fishery unit, with about 50,000 fish in the pond. | |
| Similarly, a forty-ton per hour fertiliser blending plant installed in the early part of the year, from our sources, has reported to produce up to 300 loads of NPK fertiliser under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative. | |
| We have imported equipment to install 120,000 capacity of poultry system. | |
| We are hoping to produce between 3,000-4,000 crates of eggs in a day, said Mansur. | |
| He noted that the farm, which also has plants where dairy is produced, produces 2,000 litres of milk in a day, adding that they also have about 150-200 hectres of land elsewhere left for open field farming plus cultivation of rice and other crops. | |
| Masur said the major major players buying the tomato was premium customers, notably, a big big hotel in Abuja and Lagos, among others. | |
| He confirmed, however, that the main markets for the product were mainly in eastern part of the country such as Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri and Owerri. | |
| However, he admitted that aside from the small customers in Kano, they were not very much interested in tomatoes products in local markets for some reason. | |
| First is the fact that tomatoes produced in farming form is a special specie and the second is the fact that Jigawa is a major area of production of tomatoes. | |
| You know that tomato is a common product here, and that its prices are relatively low compared to the open market. | |
| So, essentially, people are not actually dying to look at our side, they are fell apprehensive with what we have because they believe it is cost. | |
| And when you have products that are available everywhere, its sure to be seen as cheapest. | |
| The fish are fed by a farm. | |
| Asked about the average lifespan of tomatoes product, he said, if you give the tomato every day, i mean all the nutrional supplements you take to feed it as it grows, if you give it all these things, the tomato may last up to three weeks after harvest. | |
| But even without him, it will last for a minimum of one week, not belong in refrigeration and not intempere and plenty heat. | |
| You can put it on the table where there is better ventilation. | |
| It can last on an average of 10 days, but if the nutrient is provided as required (evrient) it can last up to one month. | |
| We have experimented it, but then, it is not as you want. | |
| The farm is a source of employment for up to 200 inhabitants in the villages where it was cultivated. | |
| He also said the company had some individuals to train the youths in the area on information technology skills. | |
| He further said most of the equipment used in the farms are imported from Turkey, except the fertilizer-blending machine, which was imported from China. | |
| He said even the farming method was the same in Turkey, because they had a Turkish partner helping them to maintain the standard, but quickly he added that the company was conscious to allow Nigerians to run the tachnical aspect of its operations. | |
| Reacting on the effect of COVID-19 on the operation of the company, Mansur said, Malam Alu, as many other corporate entities in the country, suffered from the devastating effect of the virus. | |
| According to him, youths in Nigeria do not have excuses to remain unemployed with the opportunity provided by agriculture, noting that the people looking for white-collar jobs should adjust to the reality and go back to agriculture. | |
| He believes Nigeria has done what it was supposed to have done a long time ago, noting that if the country had taken this step, it would have cornered the present economic situation. | |
| 2023: Lawmakers urged to seek a better deal for Southern Kaduna | |
| The member representing Jaba Constituency in the State House of Assembly in Kaduna, Samson Monday Dikko, called on better people to come together and map out strategies to salvage Southern Kaduna Senatorial District and its people in 2023. | |
| Speaking after a meeting with stakeholders in Kagoro, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State at the weekend, Dikko, who is aspiring to be senator of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the people who should care for Southern Kaduna people have abandoned them. | |
| This is the time for the entire Southern Kaduna people to get it right. | |
| We need to transform our regions and improve security, education, health, agriculture, economy, employment and empowerment for the teeming youths, he added. | |
| The Director-General of the Campaign Organisation for Dikko, Timothy Chindo Kwassam, said the destiny of the people of Kaduna South Senatorial District would be on their hands if Dikko represented them in the Senate in 2023. | |
| For everythin's under the sun, there is a reason. | |
| Dikkos arrival at this critical period of time was not an ordinary coincidence, but a divine play from God to liberate the region from evrithing hindering it from growing and competing with other regions, Kwassam said. | |
| 3 African people, not Nigerians among, as City, Chelsea contest UEFA Champions League final | |
| No doubt football fans in Nigeria are eagerly awaiting the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League finals against two English clubs Manchester City and Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao, Porto in Portugal. | |
| With the fact that UEFA Champions League is one of the biggest football competitions only next to FIFA World Cup and the Olympic football event, level of expectation is on the increase as the giant in the English Premier League is set to fight for the the prestigious diadem. | |
| While Manchestre City have not won a Champions League title before, chelsea won the first and only title in 2012. | |
| Therefore, despite football pundits have tipted City who just won premiership number seven to win this night, Chelsea will enter into the contest with betta credentials. | |
| They are former Chelsea champions. | |
| However, as Thomas Tuchels technical team in Chelsea has not won Champions League, his opponent in Manchester Citys dugout, Pep Guardiola has twice won him. | |
| He won the title with Barcelona in 2009 and in 2010. | |
| Therefore, there are many expectations from the actors who will leave the field for eternity. | |
| Do Dragao in Porto and men to take charge of the technical area. | |
| Interestingly, even as both contestants have only three African players in Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City), Hakim Ziyech (Morococo, Chelsea) and Edourad Menday ( | |
| Senegal, Chelsea) the interest of Africa in the final has dropped. | |
| Here in Nigeria, where Chelsea and Manchester City enjoy a lot of followers from passionate football fans, expection has been palpable and has led to interest-driven realignment. | |
| Fans of the other clubsus who have left the other stages of the Champions League will re-align themselves with either Chelsea or Manchester City as their interests are more diverse. | |
| The consequence is that the final is one of the most controversial topics in sports at the moment and fans of the premiereship club have continued to predict as the finalresult could be. | |
| However, while everyone is expected to savour the football artistry displayed by most, some pundits who were astonishingly engaged in the final of the biggest football competition on earth are gradually reduced. | |
| If we look at history in the UEFA Champions League, only 24 African footballers have won the trophy with European clubs. | |
| Sadly, African football legends like Liberia's George Weah who was voted as the World Footballer of the Year in 1995, are sad. | |
| Rashidi Yekini of Nigeria, Mohamed Aboutrika of Egypt, Roger Mila of Cameroon, Jay-Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West and Victor Ikpeba of Nigeria, Rigobert Song of Cameroon and Hassam Hassan of Egypt didnt win the Champions League because they knew ball was short. | |
| Although Mo Salah (Egypt), Sadio Mane (Senegal), Joel Matip (Cameroon) and Naby Keita (Guinea) were in the final stage when Liverpool were won 6th UEFA Champions League title in 2019, the first African to win the trophy was Bruce Grobbelaar of Zimbabwe. | |
| He achieved the feat with Liverpool in 1984. | |
| It was Algerian legend Rabah Madjer who won it with FC Porto in 1987 and Abedi Pele (Ghana) in 1993 with Olympique Marseille to follow him, before Nigeria. | |
| A duo of George Findi and Nwankwo Kanu lifted it up with Ajax Amsterdam in 1995. | |
| It is also on record that Geremi Njitap of Cameroon was the first African to win the title twice in 2000 and 2002 with Spanish giants Real Madrid, Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon twice with Barcelona 2006, 2009 and 2010 with Inter Milan. | |
| Other Africans who have won the high-coveted trophy are Ibrahim Tanko (Ghana). | |
| Borussia Dortmund 1997, Samuel Kuffour (Ghana) Bayern Munich 2001, Benni McCarthy (South Africa) FC Porto 2004, Djimi Traore (Mali) | |
| (Cote dIvoire) | |
| Barcelona 2009 & 2011, Sully Muntari (Ghana) | |
| Inter Milan 2010 and McDonald Mariga (Kenya) 2010. | |
| John Mikel Obi (Nigeria), Michael Essien (Ghana), Salomon Kalou (Cote dIvoire), Didier Drogba (Cote dIvoire) who won him with Chelsea in 2012, and Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), with Real Madrid 2018 complete the list of Africans who have won the UEFA Champions League title. | |
| To come close to home, the last time Nigerian captains won the trophy was in 2012, when Mikel Obi was among the AFricans who lifted the trophy with Chelsea at the expense of Bayern Munich. | |
| Following that achievement by the former captain of Super Eagles, Nigeria also saw other talented players rise, such as Ahmed Musa, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi, William Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun, Ola Aina, Isaac Success, Chigozie Awaziem, Tyrone Ebuehi, Moses Simon and lately Victor Osimhen. | |
| But none of them have featured in the final of the biggest club competition in Europe. | |
| The reasons are not clear. | |
| Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United and Liverpool dominated the competition. | |
| Unfortunately, Nigerian players have failed to enter highly rated clubs in Europe. | |
| It is hoped that very soon the new generation of players will break the barrier and begin to play for clubs with potential to win the UEFA Champions League. | |
| If this one fails, then the football fans in Nigeria will continue to live with the agony of watching the finals of the UEFA Champions League football matches and tournaments without the presence of any Nigerian player. | |
| While Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the next Super Eagle player to rise to the top of the European club competition the way Georges, Nwankwo Kanu did it with Ajax in 1995 and Mikel Obi in 2012, a few hours remain for the 2021 English clubs final. | |
| In the end there will be victory for the Manchester clubs hunting for their first title over the primed Londeners in the second itle and the football league watched the most for the world, Premiership will be an ultimate winner. | |
| Eyimba has forced FC IfeanyiUbah to a 2-2 draw in the Oriental derby. | |
| Enyimba FC came from behind in secure a 2- draw deserved for their week 14 fixture against the oriental broda of FC IfeanyiUbah in the Aba international stadium, Aba. | |
| The dramatic derby saw Eyimba made three changes to the team who lost at Rivers United on Sunday. | |
| Sadiq Abubakar was returned after weeks of laying him off while Anthony Omaka and Victor Mbaoma entered the starting line up again. | |
| The first 28 minutes of the game were seen as both sides try to hit first but the visiting side drew first blood through Saidu Adamu who poke home from close range after Uche Onuoha was headed to Evans Ogbonda cross to meet him. | |
| As the away side have full control of the game, they have more confidence and that left the hosts to scramble to get back into the game as the first end of the match was then 1-0 in favour of the visitors. | |
| While restarting the second half, IfeanyiUbah continued to press for the second goal and also had the reward they deserved when Saidu Adamu had his brace after Awazie squared past over the line in the 61st minute. | |
| As the second goal stinged them to life, Eyimba started throwing everything for arsenal to get back into the game. | |
| Within the 78th minute, Reuben Balas presence paid off as Reuben Bala reduced the deficit in Eyimba in a lucky fashion. | |
| Sharp Uzoigwe kept out his initial header but the ball rolled back to him and ovrished the line. | |
| The goal is to give Ehimfa some hope as they continued to press for a plunty nomba to secure a point at least. | |
| and this was in the 90th minute through Imot Obot. | |
| Following this result, Eyimba has moved up to 5th position with 31 points from 17 games with two more outstanding matches. | |
| Meanwhile, FC IfeanyiUbah are still in the relegation zone with only 17 points from 19 games. | |
| Farmers are apprehensive as planting season begins with erratic rains | |
| As wet season begins on most part of the season, farmers have started with fears as rainfall is erratic and can threaten production. | |
| Heavy rainfall was observed in Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna and parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with many farmers having planted crops. | |
| In the 2019/2020 wet season, erratic rainfall in the north and mid-season draught in the south-west made farmers lose money due to crop failure. | |
| Musa Yohana and Halima Thomas, farmers of Doma and Lafia, Nasarawa State, said they have planted maize, groundnut and other crops like casava and yam but feared that they might get another horrible experience like the last season when they were forced to plant maize and groundnut twice. | |
| I lost my yam last year due to excessive heat and excessive rainfall. | |
| This year, we have been on the second week of May but no rain has been falling yet. | |
| and I have already planted 15 measures (about 20kg) of groundnut. | |
| If it continues like this one week, I may lose all the seeds, as Mr Yohana said. | |
| Like them, many farmers around the FCT have already planted too, but are growing increasingly afraid of crop failure as they experienced last year. | |
| In Benue State, our correspondent reports that farmers had commenced cultivation of land and cultivation of crops on the complainant rainfall. | |
| Some farmers who had prepared their farms earlier in the tear said they could not begin to plant until one week ago, while others had just commenced clearing land at the wake of the rainfall three times withing two weeks later. | |
| A farmer in Otukpo, Ada hyacinth, said the ground was still too strong to cultivate because the rainfall was short. | |
| Another farmer, Felix Tor, in Makurdi said he just planted melones and maize on the farm recently cleared despite a consistent rainfall. | |
| There are however expressed fears that the nature of the rainfall may affect the wellbeing of the crop. | |
| He praised the yield to perform better in the end. | |
| But Vitalis Tarnongu, we have already cleared his 1,000 hectares of farmland for the federal Ministry of Agriculture, in Makurdi (FUAM), saidas the rainfall this year would allow it to begin to plant maize towards the end of May. | |
| Tarnongu said a plant breeder in the University advised him to wait until May 20 to commence the planting of maize because the nature of the rainfall since the season suggests that possible rainfall could not fall for two weeks. | |
| The chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Aondongu Saaku, described farming as a business worth taking risks. | |
| Saaku said that farmers already seen as businessmen took the risks to many of their crops already because without such risks, they would not reap at the end of the day. | |
| Meanwhile, Dr Teryima Iorlamen, a seed system specialist with FUAM, said farmers could go ahead to planting root and tuber crops in line with the prediction of rainfall made this year by NIMET. | |
| Iorlamen said the expectation period for farmers to wait for rainfall patterns in Benue State, which Experts) are working with, indicated that rainfall patterns in the state would stabilise between April 18 and April 30, 2021. | |
| We can assure farmers now that rainfall has stabilised, according to prediction made by NIMET. | |
| Anything that is different for now will be a dry spell. | |
| I have advised farmers to check water logging capacity in their fields so that they can plant the crops they are supposed to plant. | |
| Rice likes plenty of water, but its time has not been enough to plant it. | |
| But farmers can also enter roots and tubers now, such as yam, cassava, maize and melon. | |
| We believe the rainfall has stabilised. | |
| Senate mourns late Army Chief, Ahmed Gulak | |
| The Senate, on Tueday, held a minute silence to honour the demise of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, who was killed with a strong eye on sunday in Owerri, Imo state capital. | |
| This followed a motion of the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the senate on the senate Constitution review Committee, Ovie Omo-Agege, on the floor of the Red Chamber. | |
| Omo-Agege was drawn attention of his colleagues to the killings of Gulak, who was hired to assist his committee on the amendment of the Nigerian peoples constitution. | |
| Gulak served as consultant to the committee and joined Owerri for the public hearing on the review of the 199 constitution. | |
| Though the programme had ended on Thursday, Gulak stayed behind and left on Sunday. | |
| He was killed at the airport in Owerri on his way to Abuja. | |
| Omo-Agege described Gulak as a Nigerian who is not doing any tribal activities but gives his best to the country. | |
| Also, on Tuesday, the Senate urged the federal government to immortalise the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru. | |
| The red chamber also observed a minute silence to honuor Lt. Gen. Attahiru, who died in a plane crash near Kaduna International Airport. | |
| This followed a point of order by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army matters, Senator Ali Ndume. | |
| NIN/profile code: NANS raises voice concerning thesenfranchisement of students by JAMB | |
| The Kaduna State Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Tuesday said that thousands of candidates would not take part in the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) this year. | |
| NANS chairman in the state, Axiz Huziafa Bello, in a statement yesterday in Kaduna expressed delight with the JAMB. | |
| Bello called for an extension of the electronic registration instead of asking the life of students to travel to the headquarters of JAMB in their states for manual registration. | |
| He noted that the news bulletin released on Monday with the title Issues surrounding the 2021 UTME registration: Option available for genuine candidates who made attempts but could not register, indicated that the management has failed to show sorry face for the hardship and agony facing the candidates. | |
| He appealed to prominent Nigerians to prevail on the management of JAMB to stop making thimgs for students in Nigeria as they try to gain higher education and develop themselves. | |
| He urged the examination body to extend the registration period and postpone the exam to do justice and fairness. |