DANA Air

Dana Air says it will introduce additional flights between Abuja and Lagos and commenced Lagos to Owerri, Port Harcourt to Abuja beginning from Aug. 28.

Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, the airlines Manager, Media and Communications, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Sunday.

Ezenwa quoted the airlines Accountable Manager, Obi Mbanuzuo as saying the additional flights were due to the feedback from the guests and popular demand for flights at specific times.

The additional Lagos to Abuja flight will depart at 8am, 11.50am, 3.40pm and 5.30pm, while the Abuja to Lagos flight will depart at 9.55am, 1.50pm, 5.30pm and 7.25pm.

Lagos to Owerri will depart at 7.10am, while Owerri to Lagos will depart at 8.45am. Lagos to Port Harcourt will now be at 10.30am while Port Harcourt to Lagos will depart at 3.35pm.

Port Harcourt to Abuja daily flights will be at 12.05pm, and Abuja to Port Harcourt will depart at 1.45pm.

We are also delighted that our guests have embraced the safety measures we have in place for them, Mbanuzuo said.

Mbanuzuo said that for safe and ease of booking and reservation, guests should visit: www.flydanaair.com, download the DANA Air Mobile App on playstore or get social by sending a chat on WhatsApp (07051190363) for booking.

He reiterated that Dana Air was one of Nigerias leading airlines with 18 daily flights to major cities in Nigeria and a total of 9 aircraft in its fleet with a mix of Boeing 737s.

He said the airline is reputed for its innovative online products and services, unrivaled in-flight service and on-time performance.

Source: NAN News

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva

By Sunday Bassey

Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said the Federal Government had approved the establishment of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), oil and gas logistic Centre in Akwa Ibom.

Sylva gave the hints at a Gala night organised by the Akwa Ibom Government in honour of a delegation of Stakeholders in the oil and gas industry retreat in Uyo on Saturday.

He said the FG would partner the State Government to build a base and the base would be the first in Akwa Ibom.

He urged the governor to set up a team to work with the NNPC in drawing up modalities for the collaboration.

I have the full support of NNPC to announce to you that we are very interested to partner you to build a base here. It will be the first here.

It has also approved immediate establishment of an oil and gas logistics facility in the state, Sylva said.

He noted that the visit was a response to Gov. Udom Emmanuels efforts in maintaining peace and security in the state.

Few concerns were raised on the choice of Akwa Ibom for our retreat, but politics was not part of the consideration.

As we go back, work will start in ernest. Mr President has already helped by signing a free trade zone status for that area.

We went all the way to Ibaka, a very interesting and painstaking journey. Some people in my team were excited because it was a rare experience using the boats, the Minister said.

He said that the Federal Government again commended the governor for his efforts at maintaining peace and security in Akwa Ibom.

Sylva also announced approval for a partnership deal for the establishment of a petroleum depot by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.

On the 21 Storey Smart Building being executed by the Governor, he said the NNPC was already considering taking some aspects of the corporation for accommodation in the building.

He explained that President Buhari does not play politics with development, hence his initiatives in Akwa Ibom, despite being a PDP state, and urged for more support to him.

We request that you cooperate with the President so that the weight of governance on him would be lighter, Sylva explained.

Earlier, Gov. Emmanuel expresed appreciation for the planned NNPC oil and gas logistics centre for the state.

Emmanuel proposed that the groundbreaking be done in Sept. to mark the states 33rd anniversary.

He commended the delegation for the stress in going all the way to assess the site at Ibaka.

He also disclosed that President Buhari approved a 50,000 hectares oil and gas free trade zone in Akwa Ibom.

Emmanuel urged the minister to partner the state for the 540 megawatts Qua Iboe Power Plant project.

He further used the occasion to urge the relocation of multinational oil giants, ExxonMobil to its host state.

He added that his administration had built a lot including building a 21 storey intelligence building named Dakkada Towers and housing estates which could effectively serve the company and its workers.

I want the Honourable Minister to make just a statement and ExxonMobil will be here. They are not safer where they are than in Akwa Ibom. Akwa Ibom is peaceful.

We are ready to support the relocation. ExxonMobil is a very difficult corporate citizen but the Minister can give them directive to come here.

They process over 15 billion barrel from our shores and that alone should propel them.

They dont have such excellent production anywhere else in the world, Emmanuel said.

He also expressed his readiness to provide support ranging from land and electricity for an NNPC depot in the state.

Emmanuel faulted the NBS statistics of unemployment for the state and announced that a car assembly and manufacturing plant and other projects gearing up in the state would generate massive employment opportunities for the state.

Source: NAN News

By Suleiman Shehu

The Police Command in Oyo State says it has rearrested Sunday Shodipe, the alleged serial killer who escaped from detention at an Ibadan police station.

The spokesman of the Oyo State Police Command, Gbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the rearrest of Shodipe to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

The 19-year-old suspect, accused of killing no fewer than six people in Akinyele Local Govermment Area, was rearrested in the home of his grandmother in Ojoo area of Ibadan.

NAN reports that Shodipe is linked to the murder of Barakat Bello,18; Azeezat Shomuyiwa, 29 and three others in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state.

The police had on Thursday promised a reward of N500,000 to anyone who could provide tangible information leading to the rearrest of Shodipe.

Source: NAN News

Pupils

By Zubairu Idris

No fewer than 33,000 pupils in Primary 1 to Primary 3 have begun learning through radio and television programmes in Katsina State, under the Jolly Phonics project supported by the World Bank.

The Northern Programme Coordinator in the state, Mr Umar Bello, made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Katsina.

According to him, the state radio and television stations have been selected for the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the children would be taught how to pronounce the alphabet, as well as know how to read and write in English Language.

He said that 15 teachers had already been trained on the programme.

Bello said that each of the 15 teachers was expected to teach at least 10 other teachers, who would be Home Support Teachers.

He explained that the home support teachers would be visiting families, helping the children to learn, and even conducting micro teaching in some families for between five and 10 children.

Bello revealed that the aim of the programme was to teach as many pupils as possible in the state.

Owing to the outbreak of COVID-19, the universal learning solution comes out with this project with a view to reaching out to as many children as possible, he said.

He noted that the teachers would carry out an assessment after six weeks of the programme.

Bello, therefore, urged parents to support the project by cooperating with the home support teachers when they visit them so as to achieve the desired objective.

He also urged the home support teachers to dedicate themselves to the assignment with a view to achieving the set goal.

Source: NAN News

Sadiya Umar Farouk

By Rabiu Sani

The Federal Government says it has enrolled over 15 million persons in the National Social Register (NSR), to fast track implementation of the Social Investment Programme.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouk, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, stated this during the presentation of food items donated to Nigeria by the ECOWAS Commission, on Saturday in Kano.

Umar-Farouk said: It is worthy to state that at the onset of the pandemic, the National Social Register (NSR) contained data of over 2.6 million poor and vulnerable households, representing over 11 million individuals in the 34 States and the FCT.

With the accelerated registration and rapid expansion, the NSR has as at June 30, grown to 3.7 million, equivalent to 15.5 million individuals in the 36 states and FCT.

She said that the expanded register would facilitate distribution of the donated food items to the targeted population aimed at mitigating the risk of food insecurity in the country.

The minister noted that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the ministry in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, to carry out various interventions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the vulnerable and poor families.

Umar-Farouk disclosed that the ministry had so far distributed 70,000 tonnes of food palliative to the most vulnerable in the society.

She listed the beneficiaries to include refugees; Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs), older persons, trafficked victims, orphans, poor and other Persons of Concern.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development coordinates the humanitarian measures of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry has distributed over 70,000 metric tonnes of grains including; rice, maize, millet, sorghum, she said.

Umar-Farouk listed other palliatives distributed to the vulnerable populations to include payment of four months stipend to beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer; loans to traders and market women.

Other palliative include take-home food rations for households of children enrolled in the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme consisting of rice, beans, vegetable oil, palm oil, tomato paste, eggs and salt.

In a remark, Sangare Sekou, ECOWAS Commissioner of Agriculture, Water Resources and Environment, said the Commission donated 3,999 tones of food items to Nigeria for distribution to the vulnerable households.

Sekou said the gesture was part of interventions to mitigate the effect of COVID-19, enhance food security and address associated risks to sustainable development in the sub region.

Also speaking, Alhaji Baba Shehuri, the Minister of State Agriculture, said the ministry had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ECOWAS Commission, to boost food strategic reserve towards addressing challenges of food security in the country.

Shehuri added that the ministry had supplied 70,000 tonnes of food items to the Ministry of Humanitarians Affairs and 5,000 tonnes to the ECOWAS Commission from its strategic reserves.

While commending ECOWAS for the gesture, Shehuri reiterated commitment to partner with ECOWAS to enhance food security in the country.

Source: NAN News

INEC

By Nefishetu Yakubu

The European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday called on the youths in Edo to resist being used for election violence in the state.

Mr Isiaka Yahaya, the electoral administration expert, ECES made the call during a town hall meeting on Youths and Non-Violent Participation in the 2020 Edo Governorship election programme in Benin.

Yahaya said the initiative was to sensitise the youth on the need to take part in the electoral process to guarantee their future.

We are saying that the youths of Edo should not allow themselves to be used as thugs by politicians for their personal political gains.

They should not mortgage their future by allowing politicians to use them as agent for vote buying.

If you take statistics of past election violence, you discover that the youths themselves are mostly the victims, he said.

Yahaya urged the youths to ensure that their opinion reflected in the leadership of the state through their votes come Sept. 19.

According to him, ECES is a non profitable organisation, which delivers electoral assistance to Nigeria and other African countries.

He noted that the centre was committed to strengthening democratic process in Nigeria through the implementation of the EU-SDGN programme.

The Representative of INEC at the event, Mr Sunny Ezumah, Assitant Director, CSO INEC headquarters, Abuja, urged the youths to always put the interest of the state above the ambition of any politician.

It is time for the youths to say no to politicians who will want to lure them to violence during the election, he said.

Ezumah said the commission was committed to ensuring that youths were sensitised to be actively involved in the electoral process in the state.

Also speaking, Cynthia Mbamalu, the programme director of Yiaga Africa called on the people of Edo to come out enmasse to vote, adding that election could only be rigged when there was voters apathy.

Mr Emmanuel Ikubese, the INEC Youth Ambassador (IYA), who also spoke at the event, called on the youths to take advantage of the governorship election to elect the best candidate that would ensure youth development in the state. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

NSE

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday moved 158.62 million shares worth N1.75 billion exchanged in 3,194 deals.

This was in contrast with 179.55 million shares valued at N2.53 billion achieved in 3,055 deals on Thursday.

An analysis of the activity chart indicates that Zenith Bank was the toast of investors as it sold 19.08 million shares worth N321.99 million.

FBN Holdings followed with 17.89 million shares valued at N89.45 million, while GT Bank traded 16.15 million shares worth N408.79 million.

Nigerian Breweries accounted for 9.13 million shares valued at N327.44 million, while Chams sold 8.73 million shares worth N1.78 million.

However, the market capitalisation rebounded further by N9 billion or 0.07 per cent to close at N13.158 trillion against N13.149 trillion on Thursday.

Also, the All-Share Index which opened at 25,204.60 inched higher by 17.27 points or 0.07 per cent to close at 25,221.87.

Nigeria Breweries led the gainers table, gaining N1 to close at N36 per share.

International Breweries garnered 30k to close at N3.60, while Unilever improved by 20k to close at N13.95 per share.

Oando appreciated by 11k to close at N2.35, while University Press also gained 11k to close at N1.24 per share.

On the other hand, Okomu Oil topped the laggards chart with a loss of N1 to close at N79 per share.

Presco trailed with a loss of 50k to close at N51, while UACN lost 35k to close at N5.50 per share.

Guaranty Trust Bank shed 15k to close at N25.10, Dangote Sugar dipped 10k to close at N12.50 per share.

Source: NAN News

CIS, 5 others to float umbrella securities body

By Itohan Abara-Laserian

The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has gone into partnership with five frontline professional bodies to float an umbrella body known as the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment of Nigeria (CISI) for capital market growth.

Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, President, CIS, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

According to the statement, the G-6 coalition, whose other members are the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), the Financial Market Dealers Association of Nigeria (FMDA)and the Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN).

Others are the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers (AIPM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Amolegbe said that the launch of the CISI had become imperative to bring capital market professionals under a platform with common objectives.

He said that a CISI Bill being sponsored by the Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Mr Babangida Ibrahim, sought to replace the CIS Act 105 of 1992 that set up the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers.

As a demonstration of unity of purpose, the G-6 coalition are awaiting the passage into law soon.

By the MOU, the collaboration is not intended to impose legally enforceable obligations against the individual members and does not include financial or other commitment.

However, Parties shall be committed to using their best efforts to achieve collective goals.

The MOU also provides for establishment of a Governing Council of between 25 and 30 members, a stakeholders committee, technical committee, governance committee and transition arrangement for harmonization of all members certifications.

The Chief Executive Officer of the CISI does not have to be a member of the CISI, but membership of CISI may be an added advantage, he said.

Amolegbe commended the members for the foresight which would further globalise their professionalism, as the Bill had historical process and the MoU had strengthened the commitment of the members towards the same ideals.

Mrs Tope Omojokun, the President, Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Bill.

Omojokun said: We at FMAN identify with CISI Bill . All professionals operate with licenses and coming together shall promote standardisation.

We also urge the National Assembly to expedite action on passage of the Bill to enable the collaboration become effective.

Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu, ASHONs Chairman, according to the statement, was an observer at the MoU signing.

Prince Abimbola Olashore, President, Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers (AIPM) said that there was need for standardisation in the sector.

Olashore said: We share common goals and there is a need for standardisation to enhance our advocacy. The AIPM subscribes to the ideals of the proposed Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) in Nigeria.

Our collaboration will bring about rapid development of the entire financial system. Nigeria is in dire need of funds for infrastructure development.

Substantial part of the fund can be mobilised from the capital market. We implore the National Assembly to hasten the passage of the Bill in the overall interest of the economy, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana
(NUTAG), under the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), has sent a Save Our Soul (SOS), message to the federal Government requesting prompt salvation of their businesses and lives.

They are seeking the Federal Governments intervention in resolving issues bordering on closure of members shops by Ghanaian Authority.

NUTAG made the appeal on Friday in Abuja through a letter it conveyed to President Muhammadu Buhari, jointly signed by NANTS National President, Dr Ken Ukaoha, and NUTAG President, Chief Chukwuemeka Nnaji.

Nnaji recalled that since 2007, thousands of Nigerian citizens trading in Ghana had faced unending harassment, intimidation, general maltreatment and deprivation of economic rights by Ghanaian Government and Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).

He said from then, the Ghanaian government was either acting alone or jointly with GUTA or GUTA alone under the guise of enforcing local investment laws which prohibited petty trading in markets by foreigners to harass Nigerians

According to him, they have often caused grave loss of investments and untold hardship to NUTAG members by embarking on closure of shops belonging to them.

Most of our members have come to Ghana to establish businesses believing in good faith that they are permitted and protected by the ECOWAS laws to freely move and make a living.

But the Ghanaian government seems to believe otherwise and relying on a local investment law (the Ghana Investment Promotion Act 865), has suddenly made it a requirement for each Nigerian trader to bring into Ghana from outside a cash sum of One Million dollars or its equivalent in equity.

The Nigeria trader will pay before being allowed to start a business or to continue doing business in the retail sector in Ghana.

This requirement is beyond the means of the majority of Nigerian traders in Ghana.

Moreover, to many, it makes a nonsense of the supra-nationality of ECOWAS Treaty signed unto by the 15-Member States and which confers Community citizenship on every ECOWAS citizen irrespective of where they are located in the region, he said.

Nnaji said that the Ghanaian government had capitalised on the inability of Nigerian traders to comply with the million capital requirement to carry out frequent attacks on them including closure of shops belonging to mainly Nigerian nationals.

He said this had led to dire economic situation among the Nigerian traders most of whom were fully established in Ghana with their families, some of them even married to Ghanaian nationals.

He asserted that the Ghana authorities had insisted that petty trading was reserved by law solely for the locals.

The enforcement is mainly targeted at Nigerian Traders in Ghana while other foreigners are allowed to freely operate in the same area of trading prohibited for so called foreigners.

By this, it is very clear that the Ghanaian government is flagrantly discriminating
against the Nigerian nationals in its purported enforcement of the so-called
investment laws.

Nonetheless, Ghanaian citizens doing business in Nigeria are moving freely without any iota of molestation or intimidation, he noted.

Nnaji described as a false claim by their hosts that Nigerians were protected and that the exercise was not targeted at them, adding that political and diplomatic solution had thus far failed to solve the problem.

This is absolutely unacceptable. We came to Ghana with friendship. This hardship we have been placed under has been exacerbated in recent times by the severe disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Even traders who wish to forego their goods locked up in their shops and escape back to Nigeria from hardship and threat to their lives, are unable to do so as national borders remain closed, he said.

He urged the president to give urgent consideration to its appeal and promptly intervene to avert further suffering and in some cases, deaths of Nigerians.

This has become imperative and urgent so that we may not be pushed to a point where we defend ourselves and our investments with the last drop of our blood.

We are ready to be evacuated alive just like you have done to Nigerian citizens who have faced like traumatic treatment and xenophobic actions/tendencies in other countries of the world, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 updates by NCDC

four deaths were also recorded.

(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Hoping we can have additional tools like a vaccine, I think we can finish it in a shorter time than the 1918 flu, he told a news conference in Geneva, referring to the Spanish flu pandemic that claimed tens of millions of lives until 1920.

While the novel coronavirus can spread more easily because the world is far more interconnected than it was 100 years ago, modern technology has given humanity the tools to fight COVID-19 more effectively than the Spanish flu, Tedros said.

So we hope to finish this pandemic in less than two years, he said.

However, Tedros warned that even if we do have a vaccine, it wont end the pandemic on its own.

Countries must not simply bank on a future vaccine but must implement known effective health measures, while people must adjust their lives to curb infections, the UNhealth chief stressed.

COVID-19 is believed to have originated in China late last year.

Since then, more than 22 million cases and some 780,000 associated deaths have been reported around the world, according to the WHO.

Addressing more immediate concerns among parents in many countries where new school terms are starting, senior WHO scientist Maria Van Kerkhove said that the pandemic must be fought in the communities where children and teachers live.

If the novel coronavirus is spreading rapidly through communities, it can also enter schools, she said at the press briefing.

It is really critical that we bring outbreaks under control and transmission under control in areas where schools operate, Van Kerkhove said, in response to a question about whether WHO recommends reopening schools as cases increase in several European countries.

Schools do not only educate, but also play a vital role in feeding children and providing social interaction, said Van Kerkhove, WHOs chief COVID-19 scientist.

As mask requirements for young people differ by country, the WHO plans to issue guidance on face coverings for children in different age groups in the coming days.

WHOemergency operations chief Mike Ryan warned, however, that masks are just one of many tools to control the virus spread, and that they are not a substitute for social distancing or for a lower number of students in classes.

Van Kerkhove acknowledged that scientific knowledge is still limited about children and the transmission of the virus.

Studies are preliminary and few,she said.

What is known is that children of all ages can become infected, but they that they usually suffer only mild symptoms, she said. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

The UN health and childrens agencies say in a guidance document for decision makers that was published Friday evening.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF did not generally recommend children between ages six and 11 wear masks, but that they should be considered in areas with intense virus transmission or in special settings such as schools.

However, there are situations when masks can significantly interfere with the learning process and have a negative impact on critical school activities, said international experts who drafted the guidance.

Younger children should not be made to wear masks, mainly because they cannot put them on and off correctly by themselves, according to the document.

The expert group said children up to five years old would need to be under constant supervision if they did wear masks.

Children should also be listened to regarding their perceptions and any concerns about wearing a mask, they said.

Transparent visors offer less protection than fabric mouth and nose coverings, according to the guidance document.

According to data from around the world, only around one to seven per cent of all COVID-19 cases are children and youths below age 18.

There are conflicting studies about whether infected children carry less, more or the same amount of novel coronavirus compared to adults. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Philomina Attah

The Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, says that 55, 270 police officers have been promoted to different ranks in the past one year.

Dingyadi disclosed this in Abuja on Friday at a news conference to mark the one year anniversary of the ministry.

He said that the promotion of police officers to various ranks was among several achievements recorded since the ministry was created a year ago.

The Minister noted that 28,190 sergeants, 690 corporals and 26,390 inspectors were promoted.

Dingyadi said that the pension unit had also paid Group Personal Accident Insurance, Group Life Pension and other insurance claims to officers within the period under review.

In an effort to strengthen the internal security architecture in the country, the Federal Government re-established the Ministry of Police Affairs out of the Ministry of Interior a year ago.

The ministry is to, among others, initiate, formulate and implement policies and programmes relating to policing, which also include internal security as well as to provide supervision to the police force.

One of the main objectives of the ministry is to create a secured environment for everyone living in the country and make Nigeria safe and more secure for economic development and growth, Dingyadi said.

According to him, the ministry also embarked on capacity building programmes aimed at broadening the knowledge of officers in relation to their responsibilities.

He added that Community Policing implementation committees had been inaugurated in all the states, including the FCT and local government areas across the country.

The minister further stated that the ministry had also advertised 10,000 vacancies for recruitment for 2020/2021 in line with President Muhammadu Buharis approval for recruitment of 40,000 constables.

I represented the President recently at the commissioning of Police Mobile Force (PMF) Training College in Ende Hills, Nasarawa State.

The college has since commenced training of mobile police officers. This is the third of its kind in the country after the premier PMF training college at Gworza, Borno, the second at Ila-Orogun, Osun and another which is sited in Sokoto.

Our intention is to have PMF training schools in all the six geo-political zones to give effect to governments renewed vigour at deepening operations of the police in tackling all forms of crimes in the country, he added.

The minister added that the ministry was doing its best to work out strategies and contribute to the efforts toward positioning the Nigeria Police for the protection of lives and property.

Source: NAN News

Gunmen

By Suleiman Shehu

Tragedy struck on Friday evening as some unknown gunmen attacked the Ikolaba Police Station in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, leaving a police corporal on duty dead.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the gunmen shot sporadically into the station as they came into the premises.

The reason for the attack could, however, not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the incident.

He said investigation was ongoing to determine the cause of the attack.

We just got information that the station was attacked but I havent gotten the details of the officer allegedly killed.

We have deployed men to the area and as soon as details are available, we will get back to you, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Driving School Associations (DSA) have adopted resolutions towards promotion of quality drivers training and ensuring safety on Nigeria roads.

The Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi and representatives of DSA disclosed this resolutions in a statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer, ACM Bisi Kazeem, on Saturday in Abuja.

According to the statement, the associations that attended the meeting includes Nigeria Driving School Proprietors Association (NDSPA), Association of Driving Instructors of Nigeria (ADIN) and Driving School Association of Nigeria (DSAN).

The three associations were encouraged to close ranks by working as a team to forge a common front for the development of quality driver training and safety on the roads.

Interested Driving Schools shall put in place appropriate machinery for the training of motorcycle and tricycle riders.

Driving schools to be re-categorized based on their capacity for training of applicants for drivers licence including class A drivers licence.

Only driving schools that have the capacity to train motorcycle and tricycle riders and have been re-categorized as such shall be allowed to train and issue certificate to applicant for class A drivers licence, it stated.

The statement said that a technical Committee to be chaired by the DCM Training with two representatives from each of the three associations shall be set upto meet.

This it stated was to review the standards and criteria for Driving School Operations and allied matters with report to be submitted.

It also stated that representatives of the three associations shall form part of the State Committee for inspection of new driving schools for certification.

It stated the payment for generation of certificate shall be N500 only for motor vehicles and N200 only for motorcycles and tricycles

It also stated that the fee payable for renewal of instructors certificate shall be determined by the technical committee.

A Monitoring and Evaluation (MaE) unit shall be set up by the three associations in each state and FCT to monitor activities.

While the Corps shall carry out periodic audits to ensure that the activities of Driving Schools conform with set standards and legal requirements, it stated.

According to the agreement, DSAs are encouraged to promote articulated vehicle wings in their various member driving schools.

In the same vien, the statement said that to ensure funding, Driving Schools were encouraged to take advantage of Federal Government SMEs loans.

It stated that the Corps would only increase slot for driving schools that comply with the requirements and guidelines.

Source: NAN News

Gov.Godwin Obaseki of Edo State

By Deborah Coker

Gov. Godwin Obaseki has pledged his administrations plans to improve electricity supply in Irrua Community in Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.

Obaseki who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the states Sept. 19 governorship election, gave the pledge during a courtesy visit to the Ojirrua of Irrua and the Okaijesan of Esan land, HRH William Momodu II.

He said that electricity in the area would create jobs and ensure massive employment of youths in the area.

Our goal is to energise Irrua. But we are already in talks with the Transmission Company to upgrade, so we can bring more electricity to Irrua.

The implication is that we will be able to set up more industries and processing facilities.

This will create jobs and ensure massive employment of youths from the area.

He said his administration would continue to build infrastructure especially roads in the area.

We are committed to bringing rapid development to Esan land.

The governor commended the monarchs efforts at providing agricultural projects in the locality, noting governments willingness to expand on the agriculture concern.

He said, I commend your efforts towards ensuring the setting up of Agricultural projects in the community.

We want to expand and ensure we put more lands into consideration for agricultural purposes, and we are sure we will receive your blessings.

Earlier Momodu II prayed for the governors success in the election and wished him well in his campaign tour.

He noted that governance and leadership was not an easy task and advised the governor to continue to do his best. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Dbanj hails FGs Agro-Rangers initiative, as NSCDC honours him

By Emmanuel Afonne

Popular Nigerian artiste Daniel Oyebanjo, a.k.a Dbanj, has commended the Federal Government for its Agro-Rangers initiative undertaken by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Dbanj gave the commendation in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by his Corporate Manager, Mr Damien Okoroafor, following his decoration on Friday by the NSCDC Commandant-General,Abdullahi Mohammadu,as an Agro-Ranger.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the Agro-Rangers programme inaugurated in mid-2016 is expected to forestall attacks on farms, boost farmers confidence to work on their farms without fear and to enhance FGs food security plan.

Dbanj said he would dedicate his life and personal effort to put the country and the NSCDC on the global map and ensure that the insecurity challenges suffered by Nigerian farmers would be a thing of the past.

I find this initiative undertaken by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as a wonderful opportunity to serve my country.

Organisations or agencies such as the NSCDC need the support of the general public to do so effectively since they were established to protect Nigerian citizens.

Being myself a farmer of over 15 years, I very well understand the challenges suffered by farmers as incessant and re-occurring attacks stifle production and productivity, Dbanj said.

Earlier, NSCDC bossMohammadusaid the Agro-Rangers initiative was part of President Muhammadu Buharis strategy to protect lives and property of farmers, create jobs as well as guarantee food security in the country.

He urged Dbanj to always promote the initiative as government had concluded plans to employ young and agile people in the 36 states of the country and FCT as Agro-Rangers.

Nigeria has witnessed an escalation of deadly attacks in several years between farmers and herdsmen in Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Taraba and Niger States.

We expect that all hands should be on deck to make the initiative succeed andtackle head-on the insecurity crisis suffered by our farmers country wide.

It is expected that the initiative will also create jobs and further empower the youth to participate more actively in playing a role in the system,Mohammadusaid. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

CAC

President Muhammadu Buhari on Aug. 7 assented to the Companies and Allied Matters Bill, 2020.

This is the first reform of CAMA, one of the most important pieces of business legislation in Nigeria, since it was first introduced 30 years ago.

Changes that the revised Bill introduces include the following:

1. The revised Act allows single member/shareholder companies to be incorporated in Nigeria before now the minimum number of shareholders was two (2). Now one person can incorporate.

2. The new CAMA makes it easier and cheaper for small and medium-sized enterprises to register in Nigeria, by reducing filing fees.

3. The new CAMA makes Provisions for electronic filing, electronic share transfer and e-meetings for private companies. Certified True Copies of electronically-filed documents are now admissible in court; possessing equal validity with the original documents.

4. The new CAMA allows for the creation of limited liability partnerships (LLP) and limited partnerships (LP) which combine the tax benefits of a partnership with the greater liability protection of the owners of a private company.

5. The new CAMA enhances minority shareholder protection, by prohibiting a person from simultaneously holding the positions of Chairman and CEO of a private company.

6. With the new CAMA, procuring a common seal is no longer a mandatory requirement for companies, in line with international best practice. In other words, RIP, common seal

7. With the new CAMA, Company Secretary is now optional for private companies.

8. The new CAMA now requires the DISCLOSURE of persons with significant control/shareholding in companies, as well as the capacity of shareholding, and also nominees of interested persons, in a Register of Beneficial Owners, to enhance corporate accountability and transparency.

9. The new CAMA replaces authorised share capital with minimum share capital, to reduce the cost of incorporating companies.

10. The new CAMA expressly permits Remote general meetings for private companies. This is going to be super useful in the Age of COVID-19. Also, small companies (as defined by the Act) and single shareholder companies now exempted from the requirement of having to hold AGMs.

11. Under the revised CAMA Bill 2020, a person can no longer be a director in more than 5 public companies at a time.

12. The Revised CAMA Bill 2020 introduces Business Rescue provisions (Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA), Administration, etc) for Insolvent companies.

Source: NAN News

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

The No Alternative To Buhari Osinbajo 2019 (NATBO 2019), a campaign group says that President Muhammadu Buhari is the only Nigerian leader who has all it takes to fight the corruption plaguing the nation.

Mr Vincent Uba, National Coordinator NATBO 2019 said in a statement issued on Saturday that Buhari had demonstrated the capacity and political will in his fight against corruption.

According to the group, apart from the fact that Buhari has no corruption stain on him in spite of holding several juicy offices in the past, he has demonstrated doggedness in fighting the menace.

He noted that corruption was a menace that had eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society, causing the nation embarrassment at the international scene.

This shameful state of affairs has prompted Nigerians to be treated by other nationals as social pariahs. It has become so entrenched and complicated that fighting it seems like a near impossibility.

Leaders after leaders were afraid to deal with it, not only because of its complexities and the fear of it fighting back, but also because of getting in over their heads.

Some leaders came and paid lip service to it, while others came and decided to play to the gallery in the guise of fighting it.

So, it takes a leader with exceptional disciplined qualities. That is where President Muhammadu Buhari comes in and stands out as a dogged fighter of the corruption plague.

President Buhari is one of the very few politicians who have all the trappings of leadership qualities of being genuinely sincere about fighting corruption.

He is one leader devoid of any stains of corruption hanging on his neck, despite the fact that he had held sensitive positions in the country in time past, he said.

Uba recalled that the President had been a petroleum minister, a special task force chairman and also a Military Head of State, but did not abuse his office or enrich himself.

He said that the level of integrity demonstrated by Buhari was the reason he was elected in 2015 to fight corruption, noting that the President had taken to fighting it squarely.

Since the inception of his administration, the corruption fight has been doggedly pursued to the admiration of Nigerians and international communities.

Yes, the corruption fight has not been without obstacles and challenges, he said.

Uba said that the opposition in a bid to stifle the anti corruption campaign, had accused the president of selective fight and also abandoning other aspects of governance.

While Uba expressed worry that Nigerians seemed comfortable at celebrating corrupt individuals in the country, he alleged some officials in the anti-corruption agencies were also compromised.

Given the aforementioned variables, there is no way the president himself can recognise who is who in terms of being corrupt free because, he is not a spirit or God that possesses the third eye.

He needs the cooperation and collaboration of his lieutenants and partners in government, to carry on with this battle.

Despite the obstacles and challenges, President Buhari is very much on course in the fight against corruption. If any thing, he has to be applauded for the fact that there is no room for cover-up, no matter whose ox is gored.

There are no sacred cows, as exemplified by the on-going investigation of Mr Ibrahim Magu, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, who is an appointee of the president.

In the history of this country, this is the only time the anti-graft and other government agencies are being investigated in contrast to what obtained in the past, he said.

He pointed out that it was wrong to conclude that this administration was corrupt simply because corruption was being exposed in government agencies headed by his appointees.

With reference to the recent exposition in the Nigerir Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Uba said that it was the same people who had been accusing this administration of corruption that were now at the centre of the current scam.

He stressed that in spite of the fight, corruption was still very much in the society and would be unfair to expect the President to completely rid Nigeria of the menace.

Given its endemic nature, it will be uncharitable to expect that corruption will be completely eradicated during President Buharis administration.

What is expected is what we are already seeing happening now, exposing it, investigating and at the same time prosecuting the culprits as can be seen from the looted amount recovered so far.

What we also expect is for all and sundry to cooperate with and support the government and pray that President Buharis successor in 2023 will vigorously continue with the fight.

That way, time will definitely come when corruption will drastically go down, if not completely eradicated, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says synergy among the three arms of government including representatives of the legal profession will be a useful approach to the required reform of Nigerias administration of justice system.

Osinbajos spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja, said the vice president made the submission on Saturday at the virtual edition of the Wole Olanipekun and Co (WOC) Justice Summit.

The theme of the summit is Developing an Institutional Concept of Justice in Nigeria.

The event featured prominent speakers including the convener, Olanipekun, Prof. Fidelis Oditah, Mr Yemi Candide-Johnson, notable economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, a prominent lawyer from the UK, Brie Stevens-Hoare, among others.

Working together, the sub-nationals and the federal government and their judiciaries, we can make a fundamental change.

This is obviously a matter that we must take seriously and address, not just as professionals but we must involve all the arms of government.

Because of the kind of system that we run, the reform of the Justice System is many-sided; it cant be done by one segment; it cannot be done by the executive alone, it cannot be done by the judiciary alone, and it certainly cannot be done by the legislature alone.

There is a need for us to appreciate that it is a many-sided thing, complicated, and we have to simply look for ways to work together. I am seeing that critical mass of individuals in the legal profession, in the executive and also in the judiciary who are willing to reform.

We are working quite hard to see how we can all come together to make a real change.

Osinbajo said that the big question was also the relevance of Nigerias paradigms of justice to the major socio-economic circumstances that confronted it.

He said that the law was a social construct and made sense only within a social context.

To treat the law as something apart from society, or as a body of technical abstractions is to strip it of meaning and to alienate the legal order from the very people it is meant to serve.

Consequently, a definition of justice that focuses on the social and economic rights of the people is not only more meaningful, it is more just.

These rights include the right to food, shelter, employment, education and a reasonable national standard of living, care for the elderly, pensions, unemployment benefits and welfare for the physically challenged.

Osinbajo said that socio-economic rights even where wholly justiciable meant nothing unless there was a fiscal commitment to enforcement.

He said the opposition in Nigeria was prepared to abolish Nigerias social investment programme if it won, while the ruling partys understanding of the imperative of delivering social justice was the provision of a massive social safety net.

This was a fundamental feature of our manifesto.

So, our Social Investment Programme, which is the most ambitious welfare programme on the continent, and our effort to expand universal health insurance all aim at ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens are not abandoned to the vicissitudes of fate.

On the appointment of judges as an important area of reform in the system, Osinbajo said that judicial appointments should follow a merit-based system.

According to the vice president, stakeholders need to clearly look more carefully at how judges are selected.

There has to be an objective process of selecting judges; we cannot insist that the only way to become a judge is to be a (judicial) career person or move from the high court to the Court of Appeal, to the Supreme Court.

We must be able to bring in practicing lawyers, academics to be justices of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court; if it requires rewriting the rules, then let us rewrite the rules, he said.

In his contribution, the keynote speaker, Oditah said pertinent issues that required urgent reform in the administration of justice system included the reform of dispute resolution mechanisms.

He also listed the overhaul of the current system that focused more on technicalities rather than the substance of cases brought before the courts, among others.

Oditah regretted instances where appellate courts overturned decisions merely based on technicalities, without addressing the public interest implications.

He said that such judicial behavior was not desirable, should be avoided and possibly prevented as much as possible through the reforms.

The summit was moderated by Mr Bode Olanipekun, the Managing Partner of Wole Olanipekun Chambers.(NAN)

Source: NAN News