By Yunus Yusuf

The Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal two (MMA2), has returned a bag containing N2.35 million and other vital documents to Uyo-bound passenger, Mr George Etuk.

The Head, Corporate Communications of MMA2, operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), Mr Ayotunde Osowe, confirmed the incident in a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday.

Osowe explained that the incident, according to BASL AVSEC Manager, Mr Olatubosun Okeowo, occurred at about 5:15hrs when the passenger who just returned from the United States of America was at the terminal to link up with an Uyo-bound airline.

According to him, the passenger was at the Ibom Airline Check-In-Counter alongside other intending passengers and along the line he got carried away and lost concentration on his bag.

The MMA2 official said during the CCTV investigation by BASL AVSEC Team, it was discovered that the bag was accidentally picked up by a fellow passenger.

During our CCTV investigation, it was discovered that the bag belonged to Mr George Etuk, which was accidentally picked up by another intending passenger with the same airline.

They were not aware at all. But after the flight was delayed, and the passengers had to find means to relax ahead of the rescheduled time, the anomaly came to the fore.

The other passenger who took the baggage unknowingly, too, had disappeared. On receiving the prompt message, our AVSEC Team immediately took action to unravel what went wrong.

With the aid of the CCTV, we were able to identify what happened and my duty Supervisor and his team quickly went after the Man who picked the bag.

The man was intercepted at the Drop Off Zone area when he was about leaving for a nearby hotel to relax since the flight was rescheduled for 2200hrs, he said.

Osowe said the bag was then retrieved and handed over to the owner who confirmed that the bag content was intact in the presence of the AVSEC duty supervisor with his team, the police and the airline representative.

He said the highly elated Etuk, who could not hide his gratitude, expressed appreciation for a thorough job and the professional manner with which the investigation was carried out.

The official said their quick intervention was commendable because it saved the day. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Nathan Nwakamma

A middle-aged woman at Okaka area of Yenagoa on Wednesday morning stabbed a 14-year-old boy to death.

Confirming the incident, police spokesman in Bayelsa, SP Asinim Butswat, said the police had to rescue the assailant from residents who mobbed her after the act.

The suspect, one Arugu Chidinma Benedicta, stabbed one Joseph Thomas, 14, with a knife; the victim was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre where he eventually died.

The suspect was mobbed before the arrival of the police. She was, however, rescued by the police and she is receiving treatment at FMC, Butswat said.

NAN gathered that the deceased, Thomas, was until his death a JSS1 student of Government Science and Technical College, Okaka.

According to a resident who witnessed the alleged crime, the tragic incident occurred at about 7.45a.m. as the boy was preparing for school.

The deceased was reportedly stabbed on the upper part of his shoulder and chest by the middle-aged woman..

Although the motive behind the attack could not be immediately ascertained, the source told NAN that the suspect had been involved in a lingering feud with the deceaseds grandmother.

When the suspect, armed with a knife, went to the residence of her target, the unsuspecting boy walked into the knife wielding woman, who repeatedly stabbed him on his shoulder and chest, said the source. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Aderogba George

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested four persons including a Federal civil servant in connection with allegation of sales and buying of babies.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of the agency, Mrs Stella Nezan on Tuesday in Abuja.

Nezan gave the names of the suspects as Mrs Wilson Erurom, a Federal civil servant, Mr Marksoo Uzer, a middle age man who is also an employee of First Fertility Hospital, Makurdi, Benue, Albert Motemi and Gabriel Gav respectively.

She stated that the suspects were all arrested in Makurdi through combined efforts of operatives of NAPTIP and the Department of State Services (DSS).

The NAPTIP spokesperson stated that during interrogation of the suspects, the prospective buyers said she contacted one of the suspects after listening to an advertorial on one of the broadcast stations in Yenagoa.

Nezan said that buyer narrated that her link had boasted in the advert of assisting people to get children either through in-planting, in -vitro fertilisation or outright adoption.

According to the NAPTIP spokesperson, the prospective buyers informed her link that she preferred outright adoption of an infant and subsequently paid the sum of N500, 000 for the purpose.

She said the woman narrated that after the safe delivery of the baby in question, she was called by her link to come to Makurdi to pick the baby, but only to be told later that the surrogate mother had changed her mind.

Nezan said that when the buyer was making her move to return to Bayelsa the following day, she was arrested by men of the DSS and handed over to NAPTIP.

According to the NAPTIP spokesperson, investigation revealed that Mr Marksoo Uzer was the mastermind of the illegal syndicate.

She said that Uzer had also promised an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) a baby after collecting the sum of N950, 000 and later reneged on the agreement.

Nezan said that after completion of investigation, the suspects would be arraigned before a court.

Reacting to the development, Director General of NAPTIP, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, appreciated the inter-agency collaboration existing between NAPTIP and the DSS.

She advised Nigerians to always ensure that due process was followed when confronted with issues of child adoption, promising that the case would be thoroughly investigated and charged to court. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, says the Nigerian Armed Forces is committed to deepen defence collaboration with Tanzania towards addressing security challenges facing both countries.

Irabor stated this during the visit of participants of the ninth intake 2020/2021 of the Tanzanian National Defence College (TNDC) to the Defence Headquarters on Tuesday in Abuja, according to a statement by Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu.

The CDS who was represented by the Director of Policy, DHQ, Maj.-Gen. Mainasara Masanawa, said there was need for Nigeria and Tanzania armed forces to strengthen the existing defence collaboration.

He said both militaries needed to cooperate in the area of knowledge sharing and modalities to address diverse security challenges and promote peace and security in Africa.

He said that participants of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Nigeria had always paid visit to Tanzania as part of their regional tour.

Earlier, leader of the TNDC delegation, Brig.-Gen. Marianus Mhagama, expressed appreciation to leadership of the Nigerian military for facilitating their trip to the country even in the critical period of global pandemic

He also thanked the Nigerian military for the cordial and warm reception accorded him and his team.

Mhagama, also the Senior Directing Staff of the TNDC, disclosed that Tanzania had over the years maintained harmonious relationship with Nigeria.

He commended the Nigerian military for participating in several peace support operations and the stabilisation of democracy in some African nations.

The TNDC leader said Nigeria, Ghana and the Republic of Congo were chosen for the tour because of their geographical locations as strategic neighbours.

He said the five-day study tour had exposed them to the history, politics, defence capabilities, foreign diplomacies as well as economic and social cultural behaviour of the people.

He disclosed that two officers from the Nigerian military were among the foreign participants and advocated for more slots for personnel of Tanzania military in the National Defence College Nigeria. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the sudden and tragic death of President Idriss Deby of Chad on the front line, fighting against rebel soldiers.

Reacting to the incident in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Tuesday, Buhari said:

Im deeply shocked and devastated by the sudden death of Idriss Deby on the battle front to defend the sovereignty of his country.

The late Deby had played a very active role in our regional joint collaboration in the military campaign against the Boko Haram terrorists.

He described the late Chadian leader as a friend of Nigeria who had enthusiastically lent his hand in our efforts to defeat the murderous Boko Haram terrorists that have posed grave security challenges not only for Nigeria, but also our African neighbours, particularly Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

According to him, the death of Deby will surely create a big vacuum in the efforts to jointly confront the Boko Haram terrorists and the Islamic State West Africa Province.

While condoling with the people of Chad and their new leader, the Nigerian leader called for greater collaboration to defeat the terrorists.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday joined Muslim faithful in the State House mosque for the Ramadan Tafsir (explanation of the Quran).

The president, who was accompanied by personal aides, was attending the Tafsir for the first time in two years, following the closure of the Mosque throughout the Ramadan last year due to the restrictions in public gatherings put in place by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

The PTF has been renamed Presidential Steering Committee (PSC).

In a sermon before the commencement of the exercise, the Chief Imam of the Villa, Sheikh Abdulwahid Sulaiman, lamented that groups and individuals had been spreading concocted and senseless stories regarding COVID-19, misleading a large number of people.

He called the epidemic a trial from the Almighty, as well as a leveller and equalizer of humanity.

The Chief Imam urged Nigerians to continue to observe the regulations put in place by the relevant authorities to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

It would be recalled that the president returned from a two-week trip to the United Kingdom on Thursday. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Sylvester Thompson

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, says forming a Joint Committee between Nigeria and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea will enhance Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) between both countries.

The minister said this when Amb. Jon Tong, Ambassador of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to Nigeria, paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Abuja.

He noted that with the joint committee, the bilateral relationship between the two countries would further be strengthened.

Onu said that Nigeria was working hard to ensure that the economy would no longer be dependent on commodities but on knowledge, driven by innovation.

Accordingly, he said this will enable the nation to tap into its vast resources by deploying science, technology and innovation to convert the resources into products and services.

He said the application of STI would help strengthen the nations economy and the fight against poverty

President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to making sure that we dont have poor people in Nigeria in the future, he said.

He hinted that Nigeria was working hard to achieve this feat and that in no distant time many Nigerians would be moved out of poverty.

According to him, this will drastically reduce the level of poverty and will help Nigeria attain what China has achieved by eliminating poverty which is the ultimate goal of our nation.

Earlier, the Ambassador while noting that Nigeria remained a giant in Africa, commended the country for its self reliant efforts. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Chiazo Ogbolu

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operations Unit, Zone A has intercepted hemp, drums of carbide (explosives) and other items with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N3.1 billion naira.

The Acting Controller, Deputy Comptroller Usman Yahaya, in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday, said the seizures were made from Feb. 9 till date.

According to him, 80 means of conveyance (Vehicles used in the conveyance of seized goods) were seized, pointing to the fact that smugglers are unrelenting and adamant at complying with the extant laws on international trade.

It is important to note that importation of items such as foreign frozen poultry products, secondhand clothing, spaghetti, toothpicks, used vehicles and rice across land borders, and many more, remains banned.

Within the period under review, the unit recorded the following seizures: 20,538 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 3,106 cartons of frozen poultry product, 1,488 kegs of PMS at 25 litres each, 1,035 bales of secondhand clothing.

Others are 77 cartons of tin tomatoes, 2,843.6 kg of Indian Hemp, 877 bundles of printed wax/textile materials, 29 different brands of used vehicles, 2,969 cartons of Eva soap, 42 drums of carbide (explosives) 549 cartons of Tramadol and 12 units of used motorcycles with DPV of N 3.1 billion, he said.

Yahaya said that in the area of interventions regarding Demand Notices arising from under-payments, the unit realised N242,251,506.00 during the period under review.

He said that Section 158 of Customs and Excise Management Act CAP C45 LFN 2004 as amended, had given them powers to patrol and search everywhere without restrictions.

The controller said that Section 147 of the same CEMA empowered them to enter into any premises without search warrant, provided there was credible information on prohibited items deposited therein for the customs to strike.

The power to seize and prosecute offenders is also embedded in Sections 46 and 47 respectively. It is instructive to know that offenders are liable to prosecution without option of fine.

A total of nine suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures. Two out of the nine have been charged to court while the other seven are on administrative bail, he said.

He urged everyone to be worried about smuggling because it begot unemployment, drug addiction, criminality, proliferation of light and small arms, substandard goods and so on.

You can imagine what will happen if 42 drums of Carbide (explosives) had entered wrong hands.

We need your continuous cooperation by providing credible information to continue to hold sway in the fight against smuggling, he said (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, has expressed concern over decrease in the volume of trade between Nigeria and South Korea.

The minister stated this while receiving the South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chae, who was on a courtesy visit to his office, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He noted that the volume of trade between the two countries went down from five million dollars in 2018 to 1.3 million dollars in 2019.

Adebayo, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Ifedayo Sayo, noted that Nigeria and South Korea shared strong economic and investment ties with over 20 Korean companies presently operating in the country.

According to him, some of the companies include Samsung and Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The minister stressed the need for South Korean embassy, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his ministry to work closely towards improving the volume of trade between the two countries.

He specifically called on Korean investors to take advantage of the countrys involvement in African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to invest in Nigeria to enhance access to the large market in the African continent.

Adebayo also encouraged South Korean investors to invest in the new special economic zones established by the ministry in the six geo-political zones and the existing free trade zones in Calabar, Lekki and Kano, among others, to boost investment.

He listed the efforts already made by the Federal Government to attract foreign investment to the country to include establishment of a one-stop investment centre to provide a 48-hour delivery to prospective investors.

Others were ports upgrading, streamlining of agencies operating at the ports; banking reforms initiative to support real sector and establishment of special economic zones in pursuit of Nigerias industrialisation agenda.

In his remarks, Young-Chae, promised to deepen the trade relations between the two countries, promising support for government programmes and policies. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Lydia Ngwakwe

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged commercial banks to

ave the advice at the Zenith Banks 2021 Export Seminar on Tuesday in Lagos.

Emefiele called on the commercial banks to support them by providing trade facilities to those with strong potential for growth.

He said that the CBN had taken considerable steps to improve the productive capacity of businesses, which would enable them take advantage of export opportunities in Africa.

Our intervention programmes in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, are helping to enable businesses expand their scales of production, which is meeting growing domestic demand for goods, but also providing goods for the export market.

In addition, we have set up a N500 billion non-oil export stimulation facility with the Nigerian Export Import Bank. This initiative will also help to enable greater exports of processed agriculture commodities into other markets in Africa and in the global market, Emefiele said.

According to him, improving the business environment in Nigeria is also vital if we are to harness the gains from the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

He also said the apex bank through its Trade Monitoring System (TRMS) portal was helping to reduce the time it would take to complete the export documentation process.

Emefiele said that faster turnaround time could help to reduce delivery time for goods destined for exports and enable businesses expand their output.

He said: Today, businesses can complete their NXP applications on the TRMS portal in 30 minutes relative to two years ago, where it can take as much as two weeks to complete the process.

The CBN governor said the apex bank was working with stakeholders to reposition the Nigerian Commodity Exchange to support greater trade for operators particularly in the area of manufacturing, ICT, agriculture and financial services.

He said that once the exchange become fully operational in the second half of the year, international buyers of raw and processed agricultural commodities would be able to enter into forward contracts with domestic suppliers on the exchange.

The CBN governor believed that these forward contracts would help to support improved productivity for farmers and agro-processors.

Emefiele added that it would help to improve access to credit for these entities using the forward contracts as collateral.

Supporting greater trade within Africa will also require the presence of a viable payment settlement system, he said.

Emefiele said in this regard, that the CBN was working with key stakeholders in the African continent, particularly the Afrexim Bank to improve the underlying payment infrastructure to support greater intra-regional trade, through the Pan African Payments and Settlement System.

He said the initiative would enable payments in our local currency for goods in other African countries and vice versa, without the need for a third-party currency.

Emefiele added that the initiative would help to reduce the cost of cross border trade, improve convertibility of the naira and increase trade opportunities for Nigerian businesses in Africa.

Smuggling of goods produced in non-African countries into Nigeria and abuse of rules of origin have often resulted in significant job losses and displacements of workers in key sectors of our economy such as agriculture and manufacturing.

It is vital that we work with the governing body of the AfCFTA in addressing these concerns, as it has profound implications on unemployment and security in Nigeria, he said.

He advised existing exporters to endeavour to repatriate their export proceeds as required by the law, stressing that exporters would have unfettered access to their export proceeds.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar was dedicated to expanding intra-regional trade and improving Nigerias non-oil export. (NAN).

Source: NAN News

By Okon Okon

The National Coordinator SERVICOM,Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, says the essence of governance can only be realised when effective and improved service is delivered to the people.

Akajemeli said this at a 2-day SERVICOM training of desk officers on Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative tagged, Charter Development/Review Workshop for OGP Pilots MDAs on Tuesday in Abuja.

SERVICOM is The Service Compact with all Nigerians

She said that the workshop objective was to strengthen SERVICOM efforts towards improvement in service delivery processes in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Akajemeli said the workshop also aimed at improving service delivery to citizens.

OGP came as a global coalition of reformers from government and civil society, working to make government more transparent, participatory/accountable by truly serving and empowering citizens.

Seven pilot ministries were carefully selected to kick-start the OGP initiative, this includes Ministry of Education, Transport, Agricultural and Rural Areas, Health, Power, Works and Housing and Aviation.

The essence of governance can only be realised when service truly served the people and so one singular tool that can bring about this improvement is the service charter, she said

According to her, part of what has been identified is that some of the organisations have not written proper service charters.

And, that is why we are here to train, to fill the gaps, identify training gaps to update our knowledge, to begin to get it done right.

And, that is what makes the difference between us developing nations and the developed nations, she said.

Akajemeli said that OGP was an initiative that presented a platform for co-creation, partnership and collaboration between governments (State Actors), Civil Society Organisations and the private sector (Non-State Actors), in achieving the OGP developmental process.

Mrs Obialunanma Nnaobi, one of the participants, at the training said that proper handling of public service delivery was critical to improving lives and livelihood.

According to her, proper handling of service delivery can help to achieve SERVICOM set goals.

OGP will be useful for agencies to proactively reach out to each other, aligning plans, processes and frameworks while carrying the public along, she said.

Also speaking, Mr Adamu Bashir, a Non-State Actor Co-Chairman, expressed appreciation to the management team of SERVICOM for its tremendous services to the nation.

Bashir tasked the participants at the workshop on the usage of the acquired knowledge at the end of the exercise to improve services to the nation and the citizenry.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that OGP is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and sub-national governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies, to strengthen governance across the globe, Nigeria inclusive.

NAN also reports that the workshop attracted participants from CSOs, non-state actors and SERVICOM Desk Officers from the selected MDAs. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

Transparency Advocacy for Development Initiative (TADI), a Civil Society Organisation, on Tuesday, cautioned against the attacks on the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami.

It said that they were capable of disrupting efforts by the ministry toward achieving a safe national data bank for the country.

The Executive Director of TADI, Mr Yomi David, said this in a statement issued in Abuja.

He described the allegationagainst the minister as a campaign of calumny aimed at tarnishing his image.

David recalled that there were unproved allegations from foreign intelligence report alleging that Pantami had supported Al Qaeda, Taliban terrorist groups, hence Boko-Haram.

We in TADI have related closely with the Minister even when he served in various government agencies which he headed and performed creditably well in the interest of peace, safety and development of Nigeria.

We find it worthy to march in solidarity and beseech the intelligence group to disassociate itself from relics of chauvinism.

These distractions are aimed at delaying our nations smooth progress to having accurate data, he said.

He said further that Pantami is a national asset and a target on him might have emanated from criminal elements both at home or in the Diaspora.

The allegations emanated from the collaboration of criminal elements affected by the ongoing compulsory linking of National Identification Number to Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards to mobile networks.

David noted that they were plans to frustrate his dexterous attempts and programmes to institutionalise a safe data bank aimed at addressing security challenges of our country with accurate database.

He added that the minister had initiated pragmatic and proactive measures toward curbing the trends of digital malfunctioning and insecure census system.

David also called on the international community to disregard such campaign of calumny aimed at tarnishing the image of the Minister.

He warned the actors to desist from such malicious attacks onthe minister in the nations interest.

Source: NAN News

By Joan Nwagwu

The Federal Governments meeting with the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), has been postponed.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said this while addressing newsmen after members of the unions staged a workout from the meeting, slated for 3:00 p.m., on Tuesday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the meeting between the Federal Government and the unions was called at the instance of the minister, following the industrial action embarked upon by the unions.

Ngige said the meeting was suspended to enable the Federal Governments negotiating team harmonise all issues from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reached at separate meetings with stakeholders.

There is no point rushing to have a meeting that will be fruitless.

The Judiciary, the governors forum, and even the Presidency are involved in this negotiation because the meeting held yesterday was at the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

The arising documents are not yet properly harmonised. It will therefore not be fruitful to hold a negotiation where people speak from irreconcilable positions.

It would not help us and it would not help the unions either.

The reason is to ensure that the agreement reached at the end of our meeting here is put into action, with timeline for implementation.

So if we do not have a paper that is ready to go, then there will be no point for the talk shop, Ngige explained.

He, however, noted that members of the unions were impatient even when they were properly informed that he would not take long, he would round up the meeting he was having with the government team.

The minister listed members of the government team to include the Solicitor General of the Federation, Mr Dayo Apata, the Director General of Nigerian Governors Forum, Asishana-Bayo Okauru and the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Sen. Ita Enang.

He, however, said the meeting would continue at a date to be announced soon.

It is better done properly so that the governors can implement whatever agreement we enter into.

The governors hold the ace because they are sovereign in their respective states, though they are sub-nationals, they run the government of those states, he said.

The minister added that the Federal Government believed in autonomy, but utmost patriotism and tact had to be exercised in solving the issues in contention.

Today, fund management committees have been proposed and there is also executive Order 10. This means there is a problem and we must be very careful not to create more problems instead of solving them, he said.

Speaking with newsmen, JUSUN National Public Relations Officer, Mrs Koin Selepreye, said it was wrong for the minister to keep the workers for that long , when the invitation sent to them clearly stated that the meeting was for 3:00 p.m.

Selepreye said the union would always be available for meetings , but would not take it when the time fixed for such meetings was not respected.

Also, the National President of PASAN, Mr Mohammed Usman, described the treatment meted out to members of the union as unfair.

Usman said the workers respected time and would not accept being kept for a meeting which should be taken seriously, considering the importance of the issues at hand.

NAN reports that in spite of efforts by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Peter Yarfa and Enang to prevail on the unions to return for the meeting, they, however, declined. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Unity Bank Plc on Tuesday announced an asset base of N492.02 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2020.

The bank in its audited result released by the Nigerian Exchange Ltd., said its total assets rose by 67.90 per cent when compared with N293.05 billion achieved in the comparative period of 2019.

The banks customer deposit portfolio grew by 34.4 per cent to N356.62 billion, up from N257.69 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2019.

The bank posted gross earnings of N42.71 billion compared with N44.59 billion recorded in the comparative period of 2019.

Profit after tax stood at N2.09 billion, while profit before tax closed at N2.22 billion during the year under review.

Its net operating income rose to N25.46 billion from N23.21 billion in the corresponding period of 2019, representing a 9.71 per cent increase.

This is even as the net interest income recorded a significant jump, as it rose by 7.60 per cent to N17.75 billion from N16.49 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

The banks gross loans portfolio increased by 92.9 per cent to N206.2 billion in the review period, from N106.9 billion in 2019.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mrs Tomi Somefun, said the results showed the resilience during times of uncertainties and ability to focus on key balance sheet items to maintain growth trajectory.

Consequently, for the year under review, the opportunities to create more quality assets for the business, thought to have sustainable impact, informed part of choices made.

And we have seen some encouraging market uptake in this regard, apart from the benefits to the enterprise bottom-line that have also started trickling in.

The bank deployed new products and augmentation supported by omni-channel, USSD promotions and other channels to enhance service delivery efficiency, drive income generation capacities and enhance steady balance sheet growth, Somefun said.

She said the bank would latch on targeted strategies to deploy significant investment in technology in order to ride the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, the bank will focus on achieving major efficiency gains, deepening its retail footprints and penetrating identified cluster market segments, to tap into various youth markets.

The bank is also looking to consolidate the gains from its core business areas and niche in the agribusiness sector. The bank has solidly financed over one million farmers over the past three years.

These farmers cut across several primary crop production such as rice, maize, cotton, wheat, sorghum, etc coupled with their rich value chains.

We hope to continue to expand on this as we play our part in driving the countrys quest for self-sufficiency in food production, she added.

Similarly, Mr Usman Abdulqadir, Unity Bank, Executive Director, said the bank would change the narrative in the agriculture sector by focusing on younger farmers.

Abdulqadir said the bank would focus on younger farmers below 40 years with better knowledge of technology and best practices to boost yields.

He said the bank wanted to make the younger generation interested in agriculture, noting that 65 per cent of the nations population was within 18 and 35 years. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Abiodun Esan

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it plans to resume nationwide Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) on April 28 to allow eligible voters register, ahead of 2023 poll.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kwara, Malam Garba Attahiru-Madami made this known when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ilorin.

He said those eligible to register as voters were Nigerians who attained the age of 18 and have not been registered before.

Attahiru-Madami said others included registered voters who wished to transfer their voting units to other locations, as well as voters whose Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) were damaged.

He said that voters who had their names wrongly spelt would be eligible to register to correct the error.

The CVR will close at the end of third quarter of 2022, Attahiru-Madami said.

The REC said as a build up to 2023 general elections, INEC would embark on field work in the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state to assess the polling units.

He said the action was with the view expanding polling points to polling units to make them accessible to the people.

Attahiru-Madami said INEC was determined to address the problem of voter apathy by making polling units accessible to voters.

He said that since 1999 general elections, Nigeria has only recorded 35 per cent of voters participation, adding that Ghana recorded over 55 per cent in its last election.

According to him, INEC is ready to remove hindrances that bring apathy so as to record appreciable percentage of voters during election.

He listed such hindrances to include voters traveling long distance to polling units, inaccessible polling units, communal disputes and population growth.

Attahiru-Madami said Nigerias voters population has increased from 53 million in 1999 to 85 million in 2019 while polling units remained at 119, 973 since 1996.

Over the years, INEC has faced several challenges with regard to polling units as a result of population growth, expansion of towns and villages, demographic shift and growth of new settlements, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Mustapha Sumaila

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has generated N466.1 billion revenue in the first quarter of 2021.

The statistics obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from the office of the Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr Joseph Attah on Tuesday, showed that the revenue was generated from January to March.

The data indicated that the NCS realised the highest revenue in March with N169.4 billion followed by January with N157.6 billion while the sum of N138.9 billion was generated in February.

The document showed that customs realised the highest revenue of N216.9 billion within the period under review from import duty.

According to the statistics, the import duty is followed by customs VAT which is N105.2 billion and non-federation accounts levies of about N55.5 billion.

The document showed that N50.8 billion was generated from federation account levies while N34.5 billion was gotten from excise duty as well as N2.8 billion from fees.

Similarly, the statistics revealed that within the period under review, the service made a seizure of different contraband goods valued at N1,996,145,258.

The document indicated that the customs confiscated 37,206 bags of imported rice from January to March. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Leonard Okachie

The Abia Police Command has confirmed Mondays attack on the Uzuakoli Divisional Police Station in Bende Local Government Area.

SP Godfrey Ogbonna, the Spokesman of the command told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia that the incident happened at about 3 am.

He said that no life was lost and that operatives at the command repelled the assailants and stopped them from gaining access to the armoury.

They used dynamite and rocket launcher to burn down the building, including private and official vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles parked on the premises, he said.

Ogbonna said that the command had commenced investigation into the attack. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Abujah Racheal

No fewer than 905 million COVID-19 shots have been administered worldwide, according to Our World in Data (OWID).

The OWID

It added there was already a stark gap between vaccination programmes in different countries, with some yet to report a single dose.

Some countries do not provide data for the number of people who have been partially or fully vaccinated.

A vaccinated person refers to someone who has received at least one dose of a vaccine, and a fully vaccinated person has received all required doses of a vaccine, it said.

According to it, while vaccine doses remain relatively scarce globally, most countries have focused their early vaccination efforts on priority groups like the clinically vulnerable; people in their 60s, 70s and older; and front-line workers, like doctors and nurses.

It stated that there was also a striking divide between continents. Africa had the slowest vaccination rate of any continent, with some countries yet to start mass vaccination campaigns.

Less wealthy countries are relying on a vaccine-sharing arrangement called Covax, which aims to provide two billion doses by the end of the year.

83 per cent of shots that have gone into arms worldwide have been administered in high- and upper-middle-income countries.

Only 0.2 per cent of doses have been administered in low-income countries,
It stated.

It also stated that some countries may have started to administer doses, but have not yet reported data.

It noted that countries with no reported vaccinations either have not started a widespread vaccination campaign or were not regularly reporting data on the number of doses administered.

Doses administered are plotted on a log scale. Most of the vaccines currently in use require two doses for a patient to be fully vaccinated.

In February the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorised a one-shot vaccine by pharmaceutical giant, Johnson

By Mercy Omoike

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), has called for increased funding to cashew farmers to improve productivity of the crop.

The groups Secretary-General, Mr Sotonye Anga made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

According to him, cashew has high potential of profitability but the major challenge is the access to funds for startups, expansion processing and exports.

Cashew farming and processing is a lucrative business in Nigeria. It has been on even before Independence. It dates back to 1958.

For over five decades, cashew has turned out to be relevant in revenue generation, reduction of unemployment and a major contributor to Economic diversification.

Like every business, cashew has a lot of challenges. Across the cashew value chain, the major challenge is the access to finance.

Access to finance affects every aspect and the cashew business from farming to harvesting, processing and exports.

To commence cashew cultivation, you need long term financing. Short term loans cannot help the cashew farmer.

We also have the challenge of accessing funds, a lot of people that go into cashew business or want to extend their farms do not have access to finance.

We also need to address the high interest rates for cashew as it has to be single digit, Anga said.

The expert noted that the planting of cashew trees in Nigeria was originally to curb erosion owing to its complex root system.

According to him, cashew trade has expanded so much in recent times that it is being referred to as the Green Gold of agriculture in the country.

When cashew business started, it was primarily to checkmate erosion in the country. It was an answer for erosion because of its extensive root system. Its root system goes deep into the soil and compacts it.

Cashew tree becomes your first plan of defense against erosion. Curbing erosion was the major problem cashew came to solve.

Initially, we only consumed cashew as a fruit and we discarded the nuts. Finally, we got to understand that we could sell the nuts, hence the beginning of cashew nuts exports.

As the business became lucrative, more people started coming into the business, hence, its popularity as green gold of agriculture.

Anga also listed the benefits of cashew as he encouraged constant consumption of its nuts.

Cashew is low in sugar and rich in fibre, the fat in cashew is healthy and heart friendly. It contains copper and magnesium and is beneficial to human health.

According to him, people prefer cashew nuts to other nuts because of its benefits. It is the preferred nut, the expert said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By George Odok
University of Calabar (UNICAL) and the Cross River Ministry of International Development Cooperation are to collaborate in the areas of capacity building and partnership with relevant international partners and agencies.

Prof. Florence Obi, Unical Vice Chancellor, during a courtesy call on the Commissioner, Dr Inyang Asibong on Tuesday, said that the Ministry represents the state before international partners and donor agencies.

Obi stated that in view of the Ministrys partnership with international organisations and agencies, it was important for the University to collaborate with them and create a synergy for development.

According to her, the University has the needed manpower who can develop the capacity of staff of the ministry in the areas of report writing, budget presentation, research, project evaluation among others.

She told the Commissioner that the University has capable hands who were also handling international water projects.

The VC said that aside awarding certificates, the University was ready to partner with other vital sectors of the economy in critical areas of development.

We are here to seek a partnership with your ministry in the area of capacity building and to key into all your programmes so that the University can also benefit in the area of critical infrastructural development.

The Ministry of International Development Cooperation is the face of Cross River because of its sensitivity and collaboration with international organisations, development partners and agencies.

We want to enhance the relationship between the gown and the town; such relationship will yield fruitful result that will also affect the people of the state, she said.

The VC commended the Commissioner for all the grants and facilities that she has attracted to the state through the Ministry, adding that her choice to head the Ministry was timely.

Responding, Asibong congratulated Obi for her historic appointment as the first female VC of Unical, adding that her achievements in office within four months have been phenomenal.

She assured the VC that the Ministry would collaborate with the University in driving the needed development for the institution.

She outlined several projects that can be carried out in the university to include micro projects, cooperative ventures and farming.

She urged the university to nominate an institutional coordinator that would work with the Ministry and to also specify areas of partnership.

She said that would result in the raising of a Memorandum of Understanding between both parties.(NAN)

Source: NAN News