By Florence Onuegbu

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and the General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, have called on Nigerians to continuously work and pray for peace.

They made the call in Lagos on Sunday at the RCCG October thanksgiving service and special prayer for all state governors and deputy governors tagged Perfect Peace in the Land.

Sanwo-Olu, while addressing the congregation, urged the people to continue to pray for the leaders and for peace to reign in Nigeria.

He said that with peace in the land, it was believed that greater things were ahead.

Sanwo-Olu said the Greater Lagos agenda of his administration which had brought development of infrastructure across the state was on course and more of it would be delivered.

According to him, the thanksgiving service taking place on Sunday after the Independence Day anniversary is very important.

I think Pastor Adeboye has said it all. We need perfect peace in our country but for us to have that perfect peace, we also need to have peace from individuals.

It is the citizens that make the country. It is not just about a metaphorical country; it is the people on the ground that truly make a country.

We need to have that perfect peace on how we live our lives, mentally, physically, financially, morally and all of it, and it is only when that happens that it can affect the country.

Pastor Adeboye has also encouraged all of us that we need to continually pray for our leaders. People are made up of the kind of leaders they have. So, it is really a partnership to ensure that the citizens play their roles and leaders also play their roles, he said.

The governor said it was another clarion call for him that it might not be perfect, adding that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

And for us in Lagos, we are grateful because this is the most peaceful part of the country, he said.

Sanwo-Olu said that the peace existing in Lagos would not be taken for granted, hence, the reason for coming to the Church to thank God, to also appeal and pray to Him for that peace to continue to reign.

He assured the people of the state that his administration would continue to do its best in delivering dividends of democracy and infrastructural development for Lagos to remain home to all.

Lots of things are happening in our state; not just peace, there is infrastructural renewal every day.

Even while disruption is going on, let us be patient with the government because the commitment to make Lagos a lot bigger for each and everyone of us is on course and we all can see it.

For us in Lagos state is to continue to see the Greater Lagos in our lives. It is for us to pray that the peace and the infrastructural development that is taking place in our state will continue.

I know around you, you can see that there are some bits of disruption. If you get to Apapa Road Junction, Yaba and Ikeja, there are bits of disruption there because of the train we are doing and the bridges we are constructing, he said.

The governor further said that in Ikorodu, Epe and other places, there are some disruptions which was because the state government wanted some positive things to happen.

The Greater Lagos is on course. The Greater Lagos will not be retarded; it will not be stopped. Dont give up.

I want to assure you that greater things and bigger things are ahead of us. My prayer and my wish are that as I stand here as your governor today, Oct. 2, 2022, I will also stand here as your governor in October 2023, Sanwo-Olu said.

In his sermon, Adeboye took a Bible passage, 1 Corinthians 7:13 to14 and prayed for perfect peace in Nigeria as well as for every home.

The general overseer, who prayed that God would heal the land and intervene in various issues affecting the country negatively, urged the people to prepare to join him very soon for fasting and prayer for the nation

He called on Nigerians to pray for their rulers and stop criticism so that God would continue to guide them aright, if they wanted peace and to be able to overcome the storm.

He also prayed that all the enemies of Nigeria would be defeated so that the people would have peace and God that controls the storms would speak peace to the nation. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Source: NAN News

By Sarafina Christopher

The National Association of Charcoal Producers Dealers Exporters Association of Nigeria (NACPDEAN) has called on charcoal producers to engage in afforestation to curb deforestation in the country.

The call was made on Saturday in Minna during a Sensitisation between NACPDEAN and key stakeholders in Niger for collaboration and inauguration of its new executives.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was in collaboration with the Federal ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Environment and Forestry.

Mr Tunde Edu, President NACPDEAN, said that one of the reasons why the association exists is to regulate charcoal production and its core aim is to go into aggressive afforestation.

He said that although charcoal has come to stay as source of cooking energy, the government cannot allow falling of trees and destroying the environment as it will lead to deforestation and cause climate change.

The producers of charcoal engage in the falling down of trees and a lot of them are uneducated to know the consequences of what they are doing,

So the organization will fill in the gaps to ensure that we educate our producers on ways to fall trees especially those who fall economical trees, he said.

Edu added that the event aimed to create awareness and sensitise producers of charcoal concerning felling of economical trees.

I am aware that some people use the economical trees like Shea butter, mango, cashew and orange among others for charcoal production because they dont have awareness.

There is no education for this people to let them know that all these economical trees are there for the benefit of the community, state and nation at large.

So we will be giving out a lot of educational tips and awareness in all local languages to let people know that even if you want to go into charcoal production, there are some tress that cant be used.

Also in our afforestation programme, we have a design to be planting more of the indigenous trees of that state to ensure that what is fallen is replaced, he said.

He also added that the association would embark on botanical charcoal production that will not come from wood but from chaff, waste etc.

We are looking at diversifying going into industrial charcoal which is briquettes and we can use several materials for it.

We will also be engaging with Niger Government to ensure that ban on charcoal is lifted and regulated to put an end to illegal charcoal production and exportation.

We will also ensure that everyone engaged in charcoal production is licensed yearly in order to have traceability and know how it is produced, Edu said.

Mr Daniel Galadima, Commissioner of Environment and Forestry, represented by Mr Musa Sharif, Director, Forestry Service, expressed willingness to support the association with the necessary things for afforestation.

With the alarming rate of deforestation across the state, we are saddled with the responsibility of regulating it.

By the coming of this association, we are ready to give charcoal producers an enabling environment with the consciousness of commitment.

We are all talking of planting which requires commitment so we are ready to partner with NACPDEAN to see how we can operate under sustainability.

So we are ready to cooperate as long as the organisation is committed to afforestation and reforestation project as they indicated in their mandate, Sharif said.

Furthermore, Hon. Yusuf Mohammad, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, represented by Alh. Adamu Garba, Director Agric Service, while congratulating the new executive said that it was important to always reforestate for food safety.

I want to congratulate the association for the inauguration of new executives.

We at the ministry are usually not happy when trees are cut because it creates room for desertification with leads to calamity in the sense that there will be wind erosion, water erosion and no production of crops,

When there is no production of crops, there will be no food and when there is no food there is no nation.

We have decided to develop eight hundred thousand hectares of land for the planting of different trees especially economic trees with low hanging fruits for the benefit of our farmers, he said.

He also expressed his excitement about the charcoal production, saying it will boost economic growth and development on the basis that they will keep replacing all the trees they cut.

Also, Mr Kingsley Amadi. Secretary-General of the association appealed to the incoming executives to ensure that they carry out the mandate of the association without failure.

We need to venture into Afforestation which is simply planting of trees if we dont plant trees today, we will not be able to have trees for charcoal production in the future.

The Federal Government placed a ban on charcoal because of deforestation and the only way we can tackle this is by engaging in massive reforestation to ensure we replace the trees we cut.

I appeal to the incoming executives of the association that have been inaugurated today to execute its mandate to achieve the vision and mission of adequately contributing to the well-being of our national forest and environment,he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

SAF/JTJ

Edited by Julius Toba-Jegede

Source: NAN News

By Moses Omorogieva

The Police in Lagos State have begun investigation into the death of a 36-year-old man allegedly mauled by two German dogs in Lagos.

The Police Public Relations Officers (PPRO) of Lagos Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.

Hundeyin said that the younger brother of the victim reported the incident to the police at Abule-Egba area of Lagos.

The complainant alleged that on Tuesday at about 11.30 p.m., his elder brother was coming home and two German dogs came out from a church premises and bounced on him.

The man said the dogs gave his elder brother several bites all over his body. The police immediately visited the scene of incident by detectives led by the Divisional Crime Officer.

On arrival, the dogs were not seen. The victim was said to be rushed to Orile Agege General Hospital for treatment by the family.

On getting to the hospital, it was discovered that the victim has given up the ghost. Family forcefully removed the corpse for burial according to Muslim rite, he said.

The PPRO, therefore, advised members of the public to always cage and vaccinate their dogs.

You are liable for any damage caused by your pets, he warned. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Source: NAN News

By Tosin Kolade.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu has announced the introduction of river training to control recurrent flooding of rivers Niger and Benue towards, reducing disasters and humanitarian crises.

Adamu made the call when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja on Sunday.

He said the ministry through its Annual Flood Outlook 2022 had revealed severe flooding in many parts of the country, hence the need for Nigerians to take precautionary measures.

He said the river training would include; dredging, putting some structural elements like doing some dykes, embankments, reclaiming certain floodplains, among others.

We want to do a study on Rivers Niger and Benue, we want to do a master plan that will address some of these issues.

*One of the reasons is that there is huge sediment in the river, River Niger traverses the Sahara Desert.

It starts from the Futa-Jalon, runs through Mali in the Sahara Desert, so it brings a lot of sediments every year, and so its filling the river.

And so when an extraordinary high intensity flow comes in, you know if the capacity of the river bed cannot take it, it will spill over the banks and thats whats been happening.

So one of the things we were trying to do is the engineering solution to do that.

We have what we call river training, it involves dredging, it involves putting some structural elements, what we call groins and so on into the river.

It requires doing some dykes, embankments, requires reclaiming certain floodplains, even straightening some of the sharp bends on the rivers and so on and so forth, it is a huge, huge endeavor, he said.

He said the cost for the proposed river training was about 14 billion dollars saying it was beyond several administrations, and having a masterplan was a first step.

Adamu, while citing instances of efforts of developed countries like Hungary, at taming their rivers, said that Nigeria would pick experiences from them and adopt it effectively.

Even at that, you can reduce the effect but you cannot effectively say that you can eliminate flood and its effects, because nature behaves in a mysterious way, he said.

Speaking on Nigerias hosting of the World Toilet Summit in November, the minister said it was an opportunity to showcase the countrys efforts at scaling up sanitation and hygiene.

He said access to toilet was the cheapest medicine, saying it was an investment capable of reducing over 60 per cent of all health problems in the country. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola/Razak Owolabi

Source: NAN News

By Tosin Kolade

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu has pledged his commitment towards full passage of the National Water Resources bill into law.

Adamu, who made this call when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) interview forum in Abuja reiterated that the bill was for the overall benefit of all Nigerians.

He said it was saddening that antagonists of the bill went hysterical, giving it different colourations, saying that outright call for the bill to be thrown out was against water resources development.

Adamu said his ministry had debunked all arguments against the bill through routine continuous media rounds, saying the next step was to await another public hearing, if need be.

Some of the people that are vehemently opposing this bill are the ones that stand to benefit and the ones that are mostly protected.

For instance, in the riverine areas, if you dont have a law that protects the interstate waters, because 80 per cent of the fresh water of this country, they flow from north to south into the Atlantic.

If you dont have this kind of protection for the downstream end, what will happen?, he wondered.

Adamu said if states like Kebbi where River Niger comes in or Adamawa where River Benue flows in decided they wanted to control the water at their end, it would affect the downstream communities.

That is why since independence, our constitution has made it that the water that flows across inter-state or inter-regional boundaries as it were at that time, the responsibility for that should be vested by the Federal Government.

So there is nothing unusual about it, and this is what is obtained everywhere in the world, he said.

Adamu said Nigeria entered into a treaty with eight other countries in the early sixties to form the Niger Basin Authority, saying such partnership had seen the survival of Kainji and Jebba dams.

He urged all those with conflicting opinions to present them at the proposed public hearing, alleging that they were only determined to rubbish the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari.

You know, this bill went through so many things, including a review by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who is one of the leading legal experts, experts on environmental law and their opinion is that there is nothing wrong with this bill.

So, why tie it to politics when it should be tied to development. I think we should we should opt out of that cocoon for those that are opposed to the bill and please have an open mind about it and look at it, Adamu said.

We will continue to pursue this bill because its our responsibility as government and as the ministry and many experts were involved in this in the formulation of this bill for the past, close to 20 years, he said.

The minister said he would not allow the actions of critics to mock efforts to reposition the water resources sector, saying the bill was the major instrument to make it happen.

So, to the last day that I am Minister in this ministry, I will continue to pursue this bill to its logical conclusion, he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani/Razak Owolabi

Source: NAN News

By Salisu Sani-Idris

The Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria, a faith-based organisation, has urged Muslims women to participate in manufacturing and technological advancement to contribute their quota to national development.

Mrs Moriam Ejibunu, Abuja Branch Women Committee Chairperson, made the call on Saturday at its 25th Anniversary and Award Ceremony with the theme, Importance of Education and Self Development for Muslim Women.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 23 persons received various awards in recognition of their contributions to the development of the society and propagation of Islam.

The anniversary also featured the empowerment of 15 needy members of the women council.

Ejibunu urged women to champion the cause of societal advancement in all facets of human endeavour in line with the philosophy of the society.

She said that the Abuja branch had been in the vanguard of the promotion of Islam, moral and social advancement of its members and all Muslims since it was inaugurated in 1996.

The well-being of women is the well-being of the children, family, the country and the world at large.

In a bid to achieve effective and efficient operations and wider reach to our female members, the women council has tripartite groups under its umbrella.

These groups work assiduously with exemplary energy in rendering various services including cleaning the mosque, teaching of Quran and Hadiths, moral and financial support to members, Ejibunu said.

The guest lecturer, Dr Abdulfattah Adeyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Baynakum Centre, urged women to go beyond buying and selling to manufacturing and exportation, to boost the lots on women in the country.

Adeyemi urged Ansar-ud-deen and financial institutions to find ways of financing women to be producers of goods and services to guarantee food and financial security.

On his part, the Deputy National Chairman of the society, Dr Yusuf Ibrahim, said, the society had evolved since its formation in Jan. 1923.

The founding fathers of Ansar-ud-deen knew the importance of women and they put measures in place to make them productive for themselves, the family and the nation.

If the women are not good, they would not be able to produce good fruits, Ibrahim said.

Also, the Chairman of the occasion, Otunba Ewenla, urged the members of the society and Muslims across the country to sustain measures to better the lot of women.

Similarly, the Chairman, Abuja branch of the society, Alhaji Mohammed Olayiwola, said the society would not relent in doing the needful as stipulated by the Almighty Allah and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). (NAN) (www.nanews.ng)

Edited by Angela Okisor/Bashir Rabe Mani

Source: NAN News

By Nana Musa

Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, the National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has advised the Federal Government to hasten up full deregulation of the petroleum sector to further open up the market.

Suleiman gave the advice in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday, as the country marked the independence.

Suleiman said having full deregulation would help in making the sector more stable.

He commended the Federal Government, especially the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) limited and the Petroleum Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC) management and other stakeholders, for their constant support.

Suleiman assured Nigerians of IPMANs commitment to continuous adequate supply of petroleum products across the country.

Similarly, a Financial Consultant, Mr Henry Ewa, advised the Federal Government to ensure full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which was signed into law in 2021.

Ewa said that the key objective of the PIB was to overhaul and transform the Nigerian oil and gas industry because of its significant impact on Nigerias economy.

The PIB is to provide legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry and development of host communities, he said.

Ewa also reiterated the need for Nigeria to urgently diversify its economy from making fuel the major source of income.

The economy needs other sources of income. We need to look inwards.

The government should promote our agricultural sector, review our current policies, reduce the high tax rate, help in packing and exportation.

Make the environment favorable for foreign investors, tackle the insecurity in the country, I believe this will help, he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Chimezie Anaso

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed the death of one Ginikanwa Izuoba in the Enugu-Otu, Aguleri flood.

The Acting State Coordinator of the agency in Anambra, Mr Thickman Tanimu, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Saturday.

Tanimu said that Izuoba died, when his house collapsed due to the impact of the flood.

He also said that at least 651,053 persons in six local government areas of the state had so far been displaced by flooding.

Tanimu said that the agency had undertaken an assessment of flooding in different parts of the state.

He said that Ogbaru had the highest number of victims with 286,000 persons.

He said that Anambra West and East Local Government Areas (LGAs) followed with 237,000 and 103,000 victims, respectively.

He said that Awka North LGA had 10,345 victims, while Ayamelum had 9,240 flood cases with 5,468 displaced persons.

Tanimu said that NEMA, accompanied by officials of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) had visited Umueze-Anam, Mkpunando, Umunteze, Igbedo, Inoma Ifite-Ogwari in Anambra East and Anyamelum LGAs.

The assessment team observed that the flood has submerged houses, farmlands, schools, health centres, Police Stations and Churches and other critical infrastructure.

We did the assessment tour with a boat because the access roads to the communities have been submerged by flood water, he said.

Tanimu commended Anambra SEMA for taking some proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the disaster.

Some of the measures, he said, included the identification of 13 IDPs camps, recruitment of camp managers and support staff and activation ofhealth workers to work with people in the camps.

He listed the camps so far activated to include the Ifite-Ogwari and Igbakwu Health Centres.

Tanimu said: The assessment tour is the first step the Federal Government has to take.

We have reported our findings to the management of the agency and based on that, they can now deploy relief materials as appropriate.

He listed clothing, diapers, bedding, sanitary materials and food items, amongst others as part of the relief materials.

We once again advise villagers to move to the holding camps to avert further loss of lives, Tanimu said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sam Oditah

Source: NAN News

By Afusat Agunbiade

The Kwara Fire Service says it has recovered two corpses after a vehicle plunged into a river at Akerebiata area in Ilorin.

The Head of Media and Publicity of the service, Mr Hassan Adekunle, made this known in a statement on Saturday in Ilorin.

He said that the two human bodies and a Toyota Yaris car with registration number: APP544E, was recovered from a river opposite Olusola Saraki Abattoir in Ilorin.

Rumour had it that the incident occurred during the Friday night downpour when the casualties were struggling to drive through the bridge and suddenly got stuck by the flood which pushed them into the river.

In truth, the rescued work was like a joint operation. Because all the people in the neighbourhood gave their full support to the firemen throughout the operation, Adekunle said.

He, therefore, advised the general public to always avoid driving whenever there is a heavy downpour.

He added that the identities of the victims were yet to be known at the time of filling this report.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the heavy rain, which lasted for several hours, wrecked havoc in several parts of llorin metropolis. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by AbdulFatai Beki/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Source: NAN News

By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Anambra Command, said it rescued a 16-year old girl, suspected to be a victim of human trafficking at Mgbakwu in Awka North Local Government Area.

Mr Anthony Okafor, Public Relations Officer of NAPTIP in Anambra, said this to newsmen on Friday in Awka.

Okafor said that the agency achieved the feat in a joint operation carried out on Thursday with the state Ministry Of Women And Social Welfare and the Anambra Vigilante Group.

The victim identified as Chioma Obi, gave birth three days ago before her rescue in an uncompleted building at Mgbakwu, where she was harboured by a trafficking syndicate.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the syndicate was already hatching plans to sell the new born baby as they did with the two other children of the victim.

The girl, who said she hailed from Enugwu-Ukwu, appears to be mentally unstable and had over the years, been used by the gang operating from an uncompleted building at Mgbakwu.

She gives birth to babies which the gang sell on delivery, he said.

According to Okafor, the command is on the trail to apprehend the syndicate and rescue the already sold children of the victim.

He said the victim and her child were currently in protective custody, undergoing counselling and rehabilitation at a shelter provided by the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

Source: NAN News