By Monday Ajogun

Edo governor Godwin Obaseki says he has so far created 157,000 jobs out of the 200,000 he promised the state.

Obaseki made the disclosure in his speech at the 2019 Alaghodaro Youth Summit in Benin on Monday.

I have done what many politicians will not do; during my campaign, I promised to create a minimum 200,000 jobs within my first term, through the Edo Skills Development Agency (Edojobs).

Politicians wont give themselves such targets in case they dont meet it.

If government gives the youths the needed support, you will see that 200,000 jobs will be a piece of cake.

Today, I am glad and happy that at the last count, we have created 157,000 jobs in Edo, he said.

The governor said that facts about the jobs were available for anyone to verify.

It is not just me saying it; you can find this in a publication Business Day.

They undertook an independent evaluation and told me that the skills development agency was able to create 45, 000 through job tracking.

From the records, 3,500 jobs were created through jobs matching and placement, 23,000 jobs through Edo Innovation Jobs, 1,300 jobs from Edo food and agricculture cluster, and 15,000 jobs from Edo Production Centre.

We have also created 12,000 jobs from the National Social Investment Programme, 10,000 from the Ministry of Wealth Creation, and 32,000 indirect jobs. The data is all there and you can verify them, he said.

The governor said that his administration was out to change the narrative and mindset that education was all about certificate.

The introduction of Edojobs was to help the youth to retrace their direction in life, he said.

Obaseki assured the people that government was keen on improving their standards of living, adding that human development had remained the focus because that was key to growth and prosperity.

Source: NAN

By Segun Giwa

A member representing Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency, Mr Tajudeen Adefisoye has condemned the setting ablaze of the secretariat of the Social Democratic Party in Lokoja, Kogi State Capital, by suspected political thugs.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Oluyemi Fasipe on Monday in Akure, Adefisoye condemned the incessant attacks on SDP Secretariat and its members in Kogi.

He said that barely five days to the governorship election in the state in the early hours of Monday, unknown hoodlums set the SDP secretariat in Lokoja on fire.

The lawmaker, who is the only SDP member in the National Assembly, rued the culture of political intolerance and do or die brand of politics being practised in Kogi State and said this should be condemned by every right-thinking Nigerian.

This attack on our party secretariat and members of the party in Lokoja is condemnable and those in charge of the states security architecture must get to the root of it.

This same secretariat was attacked on Sunday and its doors and windows were shattered, while campaign materials, posters and banners were also destroyed.

It is most unfortunate that the failure of security agents to act was what emboldened the political thugs to set the whole secretariat ablaze early on Monday morning.

We are only preparing for an election and not a war. Those trying to create an atmosphere of war in the run-up to the Nov. 16 governorship election in Kogi State should be reined in as a matter of urgency, he said.

Meanwhile, Adefisoye urged all the supporters of SDP gubernatorial candidate in Kogi State, Mrs Natasha Akpoti to remain law-abiding and not to contemplate avenging the attacks so far launched on the party by sponsored political thugs.

Source: NAN

The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mabushi, Abuja in collaboration with Jiadnis Consultancy Services Limited is inviting applications from new entrants, artisans and craftsmen in the Building industry for core skills training program in Lagos and Abuja.

Applications are invited for:

Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Anchorship Skills Training Program for Artisans and Craftsmen

Description

• The training package is aimed at giving the participants the knowledge and approaches needed to ensure effective delivery of their Trades relevant to the Building Industry.

Scope of Training
A total of 240 participants will be trained in 2 Locations for 4 weeks (Lagos and Abuja) for the following Trades:

• Painting and POP Design
• Plumbing
• Carpentry/Furniture/Woodwork
• Masonry/Concreting
• Tiling and sub-divided into 2 segments:
  • Course 1 For New Entrants
  • Course 2 For Craftsmen and Artisans

Certification

• Professional Certificates will be issued to participants atter relevant evaluations.

Eligibility Requirements and Entry Qualifications
Interested Participants are to submit copies of their Identity Card alongside their certificates:

Course 1 Minimum of:

• Secondary School Modern III Certificate
• Trade Test III.
• WAEC S.75 Certificate
• JSS III Certificate

Course 2 Minimum of:

• WAEC Technical Certificate
• C&G Certificate Part 1 or intermediate
• Craft Training School Certificate
• Trade Test I and II.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates are to submit 2 hard copies of their credentials in sealed envelope clearly marked as “Course 1” or “Course 2” and addressed to:
The Principal,
Building Crafts Training School,
Harvey Road,
Yaba, Lagos State.
Or
The Principal,
Architectural Technicians and Building Crafts Training School,
Kuje, Abuja.

Furthermore, the reverse of each sealed envelope should have the name, address, phone number and email of the Participant.

General Information

• Applicants cannot apply for more than one course

• All submission costs will be borne by the participants

• Documents submitted after the deadline will be returned unopened

• All shortlisted candidates will be contacted at a later date for details of Training.

Application Deadline: 2:00 pm, 18th October, 2019.

Students, who are wishing to apply for a study fund inSouth African, may apply for the Orange Tulip programme which is offers by the University Medical Centre of the University of Groningen.

This study program is open for qualified candidates in its research Masters Molecular Medicine and Innovative Treatment, and Clinical andPsychosocialEpidemiology.

Course Level:Masters Program

Award:100% (full tuition fee)

Access Mode:Online

Number of Awards:Varies

Nationality:Non-EU students

The award can be taken intheNetherlands

Eligibility

Eligible Countries:Non-EU students applications are particularly welcome.

Acceptable Course or Subjects:The sponsorship will be awarded in Molecular Medicine and Innovative Treatment, Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology, Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology track Health Systems and Prevention Masters degree subjects offered by the university.

Admissible Criteria: Non-EU students are eligible to apply for this application program.

How to Apply:If you wish to participate, candidates need to fulfill the Orange Tulip ScholarshipApplication Form.

• Admission Requirements:When you are ready to prepare your application, you will need to submit the Bachelors degree, TOEFL 92 (iBT), IELTS 6.5.
• Language Requirements: In order to be eligible applicants must be able to speak and understand English to a level sufficient to function in a research role.

Benefits:At the university, students will receive a 100% full tuition fee through this application program.

Application Deadline: 1 March 2020

Source: Scholarships And Aid

If you would like to apply for postgraduate study in South Africa you may wish to consider thePostgraduateFunding Opportunities at Nelson Mandela University for the academic year 2020-2021.

Whether applicants are fromSouth Africa, other parts of Africa or overseas, and also in any discipline is eligible to apply for this funded education.

Course Level:Postgraduate Honors, Masters or Doctoral degree

Award:Varying from R 1,500 to R700,000

Access Mode:Online

Number of Awards:Varies

Nationality:Domestic and International Students

The award can be taken inSouth Africa

Eligibility

Eligible Countries:Domestic and International Students are particularly welcome.

Acceptable Course or Subjects:The studentships are available for Postgraduate Honors,MastersorDoctoraldegree candidates into the various programs offered by the university.

Admissible Criteria: The grant is available to applicants who are from South Africa, other parts of Africa or abroad and also wish to obtain a postgraduate Honors, Masters or Doctorate degree in any discipline.

How to Apply:To take advantage of this program, aspirants must have to apply foradmissionto this university. After taking admission applicants have to meet the generalentry requirementsof the university and apply for bursary/scholarship opportunities.

• Admission Requirements:When you are ready to prepare your application, you will need to check out theadmission requirements page.
• Supporting Documents:For external bursary/applications, an official academic record (on Nelson Mandela University letterhead) must be attached. Should any qualification have been obtained at another university, the relevant academic records must accompany the application form.
• Language Requirements: Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University.

Benefits:The Nelson Mandela University provides a varying award amount from R 1,500 to R700,000.

Application Deadline:Open for 2020-2021

Source: Scholarships And Aid

The aim of this Merit Award (PMA) is to assist graduates to complete Honors,MastersorPhDdegrees by research or by a combination of course work and research on both a full-time and part-time or Block release basis.

Course Level:Undergraduate, Postgraduate Honors, Masters degree

Award:Tuition fees

Access Mode:Online

Number of Awards:Varies

Nationality:South Africa citizens

The award can be taken inSouth Africa

Eligibility Criteria:

Eligible Countries:South Africa citizens are particularly welcome.

Acceptable Course or Subjects:The studentships are available for Undergraduate, Postgraduate Honors, and Masters degree candidates into the various programs offered by the university.

Admissible Criteria: The grant is available to applicants who are from South Africa and who wish to obtain an Undergraduate, Postgraduate Honors, and Masters degree in any discipline.

Method of Application: To take advantage of this program, aspirants must have to apply foradmissionto this university. After taking admission applicants must fulfill theapplication form.

• Admission Requirements:When you are ready to prepare your application, you will need to check out theadmission requirements page.
• Supporting Documents:for the opportunity applications, applicants need to provide certified copies of academic transcripts and degree certificates, certified Key to grades in percentages.
• Language Requirements: The candidate should have a very good command of the English language. Therefore, the application should be written in English.

Benefits:The University of Witwatersrand is providing tuition fees to a maximum of R51 200 will be awarded to students who qualify. This award is based purely on academic merit.

Scholarship Application Deadline:30th of April 2020

Source: Scholarships And Aid

The Edith Cowan University is now accepting applications for Executive Deans Master of Business Scholarship. The award is open for international students for the academic year 2019-2020.

The program provides an opportunity to re-organize the way higher education is delivered in a specific and inspiring campus environment.

Course Level: MBA

Award: 20% reduction in tuition fees

Access Mode: Online

Number of Awards: Not known

Nationality: International

The award can be taken inAustralia

Eligibility

• Eligible Countries: International students (except New Zealand) are eligible to apply for the opportunity .
• Acceptable Course or Subjects: MBA degree coursework in any subject offered by the university.
• Admissible Criteria: To be eligible, the candidates must meet all the followingcriteria:
• Be an International student, not an Australian Citizen, Australian Permanent Resident, or New Zealand Citizen.
• Not be in receipt of a government award or industry sponsorship.
• Be issued an offer to study the Masters of Business Administration course.

How to Apply:If university approves your ECU course application youll automatically be assessed for this application by our Admissions Office. No separate application is required. Candidates invited to apply through any one ofECUs Authorised Agents. They can also apply online viatheECU Online Application Portal. Please note that if youre a citizen of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh or Nigeria you must apply through an ECU Authorised Agent.

• Supporting Documents:Not given
• Admission Requirements:The minimum requirements include a Bachelors degree or equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional (work) experience. You will also need to meet Course Specificrequirements.
• Language Requirement:Applicants will need to demonstrate your English competency to enter any of our courses. Minimum English competencyrequirementscan change, depending on the course youre interested in, and whether its an undergraduate or postgraduate course.

The scholarship offers a 20 percent reduction in tuition fees for the duration of the course at ECU.

Application Deadline: July 31, 2020

Source: Scholarships And Aid

By Temitope Ponle

The House of Representatives has directed its Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to investigate unclaimed share dividends in the capital market, valued at over N126.03 billion.

This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Rep. Babangida Ibrahim at the plenary, on Wednesday.

The motion was tagged Need to Investigate the Rising Value of Unclaimed Dividends, Unremitted Withholding Tax on Dividends and their Attendant Effects on the Nations Economy.

Ibrahim said unclaimed dividends had continued to increase over the years, thus increasing the unremitted withholding tax on dividends in the country.

The lawmaker said that the value of unclaimed dividends rose from N5.1 billion to N103.1 billion between 2002 and Nov. 2016, compared with the value of N2.09 billion in 1999.

He added that the value of unclaimed dividends as of March 2019 stood at N126.03 billion, almost three years after the 8th Houses intervention.

The House is aware of the mechanisms put in place to address the issue of rising value of unclaimed dividends.

These include adoption of electronic dividend payment method, dematerialisation of share certificates, acceptance of dividend warrants in both savings and current accounts.

Others were the need for consolidation of accounts by the Central Securities Clearing System and Registrars and the need to resuscitate publication of names of owners of unclaimed dividends by companies, all of which had been applied with no significant positive outcome, he said.

Ibrahim listed the implications of large value of unclaimed dividends on the economic development of Nigeria to include adverse investors confidence, decrease in availability of long-term capital for economic development and the likely volatility in the regulation of the capital market.

The House, therefore, mandated the committee to investigate the rising value of unclaimed dividends and unremitted withholding tax on dividend and their attendant effects on the nations economy.

It directed the committee to report back within six weeks for further legislative action. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Ariwodola Idowu

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti has hailed Wednesdays Appeal Court judgment which upheld the Tribunal verdict that sacked Sen. Dayo Adeyeye of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in favour of Mrs Abiodun Olujimi.

This is just as the ruling All Progressive Congress, (APC) in its reaction rejected the judgment, describing it as a rape on the mandate freely given by Ekiti electorate to the APC Senator.

The PDP made the commendation in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday by its Publicity Secretary in the State, Mr Jackson Adebayo.

Adebayo commended the judiciary for upholding the victory of the partys candidate, Sen. Abiodun Olujimi, representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, in the Feb. 23 election.

He said that the judgment of both the lower tribunal and the Appeal court in Kaduna did not come to the party as a surprise

The PDP spokesman said that this was because the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not reflect the true votes cast in the first instance.

He therefore hailed the judiciary for righting the wrong appropriately by declaring Sen. Olujimi of PDP as the authentic winner of the National Assembly election.

We congratulate all members of our party in the state and particularly congratulate Sen. Biodun Olujimi for her courage to fight the battle to a victorious, logical conclusion, Adebayo said.

He urged all the leaders as well as members of the party to see the victory as an act of God; hence the need to cooperate to move the party forward.

We want to assure all our members that with the victory of Sen. Olujimi there is a great future for the Party. What we just need is to walk in unison towards subsequent elections in the State, Adebayo said

However, the ruling APC in Ekiti state, in a statement rejected the Court of Appeal judgment which sacked the spokesman of the Senate, Dayo Adeyeye.

The APC in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr Sam Oluwalana, said the verdict did not reflect the wishes of people of the Ekiti South Senatorial District.

The judgment, delivered earlier today can best be described as a travesty of Justice and robbing Peter to pay Paul, he declared.

According to Oluwalana, the short period spent by Sen Adeyeye at the red chamber was indelible and remarkable for the people of Ekiti South and the state in general.

Oluwalana, who is also the Senior Special Assistant, Media, Party Matters to the state governor, stated that Adeyeye exhibited exemplary traits while in the upper chambers.

We commend Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who was highly-revered by his colleagues in the upper chambers, for the exemplary leadership, which he exhibited within the short period he spent in the Senate

We are proud of his achievements during the period, as he was able to manage information outflow without any scandal in the Senate, he said.

The PDP spokesman appealed to the people to go about their normal businesses rather than taking the laws into their hand over the judgment.

Oluwalana also counselled the people not to be discouraged by the court judgment.

He said they should rather continue to support the APC in the state in its quest to turn around the mismanaged economy of the state by immediate past regime.

Meanwhile, residents of Omuo Ekiti, headquarters of Ekiti East Local Government Area, have been celebrating the victory of Olujimi, an indigene of the town.

Many of the residents abandoned party affiliatio and trooped to the streets to celebrate Olujimis final victory.

Some residents said the fact that their town had now succeeded in producing Femi Bamisile of APC as a member of the House of Representatives, and also produced a PDP Senator in Abiodun Olujimi, though from different parties, ordinarily called for celebration.(NAN)

Source: NAN

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to fire up supporters with a Brexit rallying cry on Wednesday after the first day of his election campaign was marred by a ministerial resignation, a gaffe about a deadly tower blaze and a doctored video advert.

Johnson has called a snap Dec. 12 election in a bid to break the Brexit deadlock that he says has paralyzed Britain for more than three years and had started to undermine confidence in the worlds fifth-largest economy.

But just an hour after Johnson met with Queen Elizabeth to formally begin the campaign, Johnsons minister for Wales, Alun Cairns, resigned after being accused of lying about his knowledge about an aide who allegedly sabotaged a rape trial.

At the start of the campaign, Johnsons Conservatives enjoy a lead over the opposition Labour Party of between 7 and 17 percentage points, though pollsters warn that their models are wilting beside the Brexit furnace.

Johnson held a rally in Birmingham, casting the election as the most important in a generation and setting out the campaign message he will take across the country.

Lets get Brexit done, my friends, and get on with our project of sensible, moderate, but tax-cutting one-nation Conservatism, he said to loud cheers from party supporters waving banners promoting health, education and policing reforms.

Johnson said Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn hated wealth and was thus like Soviet leader Josef Stalin who sent millions to their deaths in labour camps. Corbyn said such remarks were nonsense that the super-rich came up with to avoid paying more tax.

Earlier, Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly spent the morning defending distributing a doctored video clip of a rival Labour politician instead of touting Johnsons election campaign launch.

Another prominent Conservative, Jacob Rees-Mogg, apologized on Tuesday after he suggested that victims of the 2017 blaze at Londons Grenfell Tower should have used common sense to ignore firefighters instructions to stay in the burning building.

Johnson, 55, hopes he will win a big enough majority in parliament to get the Brexit deal he agreed with Brussels last month ratified and lead Britain out of the European Union in January.

He said the alternative was an unstable coalition led by Corbyn that would bring a horror show year in 2020 of fresh referendums on EU membership and Scottish independence.

Johnson painted Labours Corbyn as a socialist wrecker determined to usher in yet more political crisis.

They pretend that their hatred is directed only at certain billionaires and they point their fingers at individuals with a relish and a vindictiveness not seen since Stalin persecuted the kulaks, Johnson wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. They would destroy the very basis of this countrys prosperity.

Millions of people were executed under Stalin and many more perished from abuse and disease in a vast network of prison camps, known as the Gulags. Relatively affluent farmers, known as kulaks, were among the groups targeted.

Corbyn, speaking at a campaign event in the English town of Telford, said Labour would deliver real change and share power and wealth with people who dont have friends in high places.

He also cautioned against believing the consensus view that Johnson was assured of victory, citing the 2017 election when Johnsons predecessor, Theresa May, bet on calling a snap election when also far ahead in the polls but lost her majority.

In the 2017 election, there were queues of experts lining up at the beginning of the campaign to write off the Labour Party, and what happened then? Corbyn said.

Source: NAN

By Doris Esa
The Federal Government has declared Monday as Public Holiday to mark the 2019 Eid-ul-Mawlud in commemoration of the birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Mr Mohammed Manga, Director Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Interior, announced this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, congratulated the Muslim faithful on the occasion and enjoined them to live within the virtues and teachings of the Prophet.

He said imbibing the Prophets virtues of love, courage and perseverance would guarantee peace and security in the country.

Aregbesola expressed confidence that the challenges confronting Nigeria at the moment would soon be over; and therefore called on Nigerians to remain focused and determined.

He gave the assurance that with the immense potentials the country is endowed with; coupled with its human and natural resources, Nigeria will sooner than later join the league of developed nations.

With love, commitment, self-sacrifice, patience and patriotism, we will certainly, build a greater Nigeria, Aregbesola said.

The Minister restated Governments desire to ensure a peaceful and secure environment for all Nigerians.

Source: NAN

By Edith Ike-Eboh

Prof. Wunmi Iledare, former President Nigerian Association for Energy Economists (NAEE), says Nigeria will not recover its lost revenue with the signing into law the Amended Deep Offshore Act.

Iledare disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, on Tuesday

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in London, signed the amended act.

The Amended Deep Offshore Act, among other things, gives effect to certain fiscal incentives to the oil and gas companies operating in the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin areas under production.

They share contracts between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or other companies holding oil prospecting licenses or oil mining lease, and various petroleum exploration and production companies.

The former NAEE president said that though signing into law the Act was symbolic, it was coming a little late as the country had lost so much in the past years.

Certainly, the signing of the Bill is symbolic; but there is not much you can do to recover the lost ground.

If the Act had been amended in 2004, the direct benefits accrued would have been more than just the symbolism, he added.

Iledare said that if the president had signed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), into law in 2018, the industry would have been better off now.

The immediate benefit to the nation if the president had signed the PIGB in 2018 would have been much more than the Act the president signed on Monday.

Nonetheless, you can look at it from the viewpoint that the Executive and National Assembly are in sync to do something together with respect to reforming the oil sector.

This symbolism though, you cannot take away from the President and his team he added.

Also commenting, Mr Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, Chairman of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), said that with the Act, all Product Sharing Contracts (PSC), would attract royalty based on combination of water depth and oil price.

Before this Act, we had zero royalties from Agbami, Akpo, Bonga and Erha, our biggest producers.

Now 10 per cent flat royalties on these prolific producers, based on water depth and 2.5 per cent royalties based on todays oil price at 58 dollars, will be paid.

Yes, the Government will get more money from the existing oil assets in the short term 2020/21.

Thereafter production decline without new investment will hit Nigeria. They need to understand that the impact is that, new investments are the negative consequences, he added. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Yunus Yusuf

Marketers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), under the aegis of Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), have raised alarm over indiscriminate hike in the price of the product by 75 per cent in the last two weeks.

Executive Secretary of the association, Mr Bassey Essien, raised the alarm on the arbitrary increase in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.

He said within a five-day period, the price of a 20 metric tonnes of LPG which sold for N3.15 million, suddenly increased to N3.5 million and N3.9 million.

A few hours thereafter, the price moved to N4.2 million despite the fact that same product has been in the storage of these terminals when price was even N3.5 million, so why the sudden upsurge, he said.

He said the price hike would ultimately dovetail into high prices to the consumers who unfortunately are also caught up in the web of price hikes.

At this time of the year in the past, price hikes used to be attributable to winter season, increased demand for heating energy and international price index.

This we have consistently questioned why a product in abundance in our country should become such a victim of any slightest issue occurring internationally.

Efforts to extract the cause of the sudden and hourly price increase from the terminals have not been met with any positive response.

At one of the terminals, there was an outright denial of any price increase; however, price of LPG has been moved from N3.9 million to N4.2 million. A representative of the company insisted rather that the company had no stock.

But when asked to explain the sudden price increase to N4.2 million when company had no stock, he was evasive, he said.

Essien said it became necessary to react to the current price hike of cooking gas in spite of the efforts of the government and stakeholders to deepen the usage of LPG in the country.

The association is hereby disassociating itself and members from the antics of the current price hike and therefore maintaining that the price increase is not the handiwork of marketers, but rather that of the terminal owners, importers and the NLNG.

Marketers are equally bemoaning the situation as the development has adversely affected business planning.

If the trend is not halted immediately, the price of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas may soon sell for over N6,000 and well out of the purchasing power of the average consumer.

This brings to questioning when the issue of product availability will ever be holistically addressed. We cannot deepen the use of LPG if availability of the product is not guaranteed, he said.

Essien said there was urgent need to reverse the price hike.

He, however, called on the NLNG to flood the market with cooking gas since they had the capacity to do so and increase the frequency with which the vessels deliver LPG from Bonny to the terminals, particularly in the Lagos axis.

He said NLNG should supply LPG to other coastal terminals outside Lagos to reduce the inherent pressure on the terminals in the Southwest.

Essien also said vessels of smaller capacities should be deployed to access the coastal terminals if product availability must be achieved.

He urged LPG importers to free the PPMC depot in Lagos for the delivery of NLNG product allocation.

He said NALPGAM had embarked on the campaign of creating awareness and education of the populace particularly in the rural communities on the safe handling of LPG as the most efficient cooking energy.

According to him, this is in the quest to achieve further deepening of LPG usage in the country.

In the campaign, the association had given out over 7,000 cylinders with burners to lucky beneficiaries in Lagos, Edo, Oyo and Akwa Ibom states, while still mapping out to do same in other states.

We thus urge the government and NLNG to urgently increase the quantity of LPG earmarked for domestic consumption as the present allocation cannot sustain demand.

NLNG should also work out a more robust delivery logistics so that there will be no supply lacuna. Many terminals are now operational aside those in Lagos and to reduce the pressure on Lagos, the wear and tear of the roads and traffic gridlock in Apapa.

NLNG should extend their supply logistics to reach terminals in Rivers, Delta, Edo and Cross River states consistently and timely with LPG if the supply situation must improve.

We cannot suffer in the face of abundance of a product we are blessed with in Nigeria. If the situation does not abet, we will soon face imminent LPG scarcity, Essien said.

Essien said some marketers who had paid down for LPG when the price was N3.45 million in a particular terminal but were awaiting loading, were being intimidated with refund of their money.

Except they agree to pay the difference in the new price despite having tied down their funds without loading their trucks, he said.

One of the LPG terminal operators, who preferred anoymity, told NAN that the increase was as a result of Federal Government circular to commence VAT on imported LPG.

The source said that importing LPG is more expensive because NLNG only supply domestic market with 350,000 metric tonnes as against one million metric tonnes market demand.

According to him, NLNG cannot meet domestic demand and there is need to import LPG to cushion the gap, adding that the governments taxing of import has led to the increase in price.

Domestic gas is not taxed and it can meet domestic demand. We hope that government will find way to address the issues before it goes out of hand. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country has captured one of the four wives of the slain leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, just days after it captured the elder sister, Rasmiya Awad.

Erdogan made the announcement while delivering a speech in the capital of Ankara, in which he also criticised the United States for making a fuss over the killing of Baghdadi.

The United States said Baghdadi killed himself in a tunnel. They started a communication campaign about this, Erdogan said Wednesday. But, I am announcing it here for the first time: We captured his wife and didnt make a fuss like them. Similarly, we also captured his sister and brother-in-law in Syria.

Erdogan gave no other details. He did not say when or how the woman was captured or identify her by name.

The IS leader blew himself up during an Oct. 26 raid by U.S. special forces on his heavily fortified safe house in the Syrian province of Idlib.

Erdogans announcement comes just days after Turkish forces captured al-Baghdadis elder sister, identified as Rasmiya Awad, in the town of Azaz, in Aleppo province in northwestern Syria.

The area is part of the region administered by Turkey after it carried out military incursions to chase away IS militants and Kurdish fighters, starting in 2016. Allied Syrian groups manage the area known as the Euphrates Shield zone.

Awad was with her husband, daughter-in-law and five children when she was detained. A Turkish official said the 65-year-old sister is suspected of being affiliated with the extremist group and called her capture an intelligence gold mine. Authorities had posted a picture of the sister.

It was not immediately clear if Awads capture led to intelligence that allowed for the detention of the wife.

One of al-Baghdadis wives is an Iraqi known by the name of Nour, the daughter of one of his aides, Abu Abdullah al-Zubaie. She was identified by name by al-Baghdadis brother-in-law in a recent interview with al-Arabiya TV. The brother-in-law, Mohamad Ali Sajit, who is in Iraqi custody, said al-Baghdadi had four wives when he last met him, sometime last summer.

Also, one of al-Baghdadis ex-wives was arrested in Lebanon in 2014, and was freed a year later in a prisoner swap with al-Qaida. The Iraqi ex-wife, Saja al-Dulaimi, had fled from al-Baghdadi in 2009 while pregnant with his daughter. At one point, al-Baghdadi was also believed to have married to a German teenager in 2015 but she was reported to have fled a year later.

The raid that killed al-Baghdadi was a major blow to his extremist group, which has lost territories it held in Syria and Iraq in a series of military defeats by the U.S-led coalition and Syrian and Iraqi allies.

Al-Baghdadis aide, a Saudi, was killed hours after the raid, also in northwestern Syria, in a U.S. strike. The group named a successor to al-Baghdadi days later, but little is known about him or how the groups structure has been affected by the successive blows.

Up and until his death, al-Baghdadi had moved from place to place in eastern Syria amid a tightening U.S.-led campaign against his group as IS-held territory fell bit by bit.

He ended up in Idlib, in northwestern Syria, an area controlled by a rival, al-Qaida-linked militant group. It was not clear if any of his wives were with him at the time of the raid, during which two of his children were killed.

Source: NAN

By Kingsley Okoye

The Senate on Thursday mandated its Committee on Water Resources to investigate delay in non completion of Kagara Dam and one million gallon water treatment plant in Niger state.

The mandate, followed adoption of a motion at plenary on the urgent need for the Federal Government to complete Kagara dam and one million gallon water treatment plant in Niger State.

The motion has Sen. Mohammed Sani (APC Niger) as sponsor and 19 senators as co-sponsors.
Presenting the motion, Sani revealed that Kagara dam was first conceived and awarded by Niger Government to Kano-based Company, WRECA in 1992.

He said the sole purpose of the project was to provide portable water and irrigation needs to Kagara people and its environs to cover approximately 1,000 hectares of land.

He said because of its importance, the project was taken over by the Federal Government and awarded to Biwater Shellaber Nigeria Limited in December 1992 at the cost of N199 million .

Sani said the contract had suffered so many neglects and abandonments because of lack of substantial fund which necessitated its renegotiation in 2001.

He said the project was renegotiated at the cost N2.219 billion.

He said that in spite of the completion of work at 68 per cent, in 2006, the contractor had to stop work again because of non release of substantial fund.

He said, given the delay and eventual inflationary cost of materials, the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, the supervising Agency, issued a revised estimated cost of N5.5billion to complete the project in 2010.

Disturbed that if the projects continue to be operated in a stop and go manner the dream of our people for portable water and economic empowerment through irrigation farming will remain a mirage, he said.

He said if urgent action was not taken the purpose of taking over the project by the Federal Government in December 1992, subsequent budgetary allocation and work done would have been a waste.

Contributing to the motion, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi (APC-Niger), who seconded the motion said provision of water was synonymous to life.

He said there was the need to complete the project given its importance to the growth and development of the people.

However, Sen. Uche Ekwunife (PDP-Anambra) in her contribution decried the high level of abandoned projects in the country.

We are talking about another abandoned project; this project was awarded in 1992 and was taken over by the Federal Government because of its importance.

After 27 years we are still talking of how to complete the project.

Mr President, this is a policy summersault, it is about successive governments not attending to the projects started by their predecessors, she said.

According to her, she will propose a bill for establishment of a Project Monitoring Agency, which will be an independent agency in charge of all the ongoing projects.

She said it would be the duty of the agency to hand over and ensure that successive governments complete laudable projects started by their predecessors.

Also contributing, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, (APC-Jigawa) said the motion designed to provide 1,000 hectares of land would impact the economy of the region.

He said the motion was timely, especially when the Ministry of Water Resource had completed some projects in the last four years.

He said dams were very expensive to construct, noting that the issue of non completion of Kagara dam was not different from so many uncompleted dams.

According to him, a certain dam had been under construction for 40 years.

Other senators who lent support to the motion included, Sen. Ibrahim Oloriebe (APC-Kwara), and Sen. Christopher Ekpenyong (PDP-Akwa Ibom)

The senate in its resolution also urged the Federal Government to consider the socio-economic importance of the project to the life of the people.

It said there was the need for the government to consider the extent of work done on the dam and see to the completion of the project without further delay.

In his remark President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, said it was important for the legislature to always keep under scrutiny projects of this kind.

He said the senate, via its committee, would follow up its resolution and urge the committee to keep the senate informed on the project.

The senate also considered the second reading of a bill for the establishment of a Federal Polytechnic, Orgun, Delta, to provide full time courses in technology, applied sciences, management and other fields.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege.
It also considered the presentation and first reading of 11 bills.

The bills included Older Persons Rights and Privileges Bill 2019, sponsored by Sen. Ezenwa Francis (APC-Imo); Corporate Social Responsibility Bill 2019, sponsored by Sen. Kwari Abdul (APC-Kaduna).

Also included was Power and Petroleum Safety Institute Oraifite Establishment Bill 2019, sponsored by Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP-Anambra) among others. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Solomon Asowata

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Thursday said the temporary closure of Nigerias land borders by the Federal Government was both good and bad for the economy.

Mr Gabriel Idahosa, Vice President and Chairman, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Idahosa said that the closure had, however, not affected the participation of West African countries in the ongoing 2019 Lagos International Trade Fair at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos.

NAN reports that no fewer than 2, 000 exhibitors from Nigeria, China, Japan, Ghana, India, European Union, Indonesia, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Ethiopia are participating in the fair.

Idahosa said: The view of LCCI is that the border closure is good and bad.
Good in the sense that it has forced us to address certain fundamental issues in our economy.

We spend a lot of foreign currency to import petroleum products which are taken across the border, while we keep draining our foreign exchange to import the petroleum products.

It has shown clearly from the volume of products we have now that this has been going on.

On the other hand, it has also shown that our capacities to produce some of our products like rice and fishes are actually there, and if we continue to grow these capacities then, we can become truly self-sufficient.

According to him, in the ongoing trade fair, there is Benue Rice selling at 16, 500 for 50kg, while another rice from some other states are selling for between 16, 000 and 18,000.

Lots of people coming in for the trade fair have been buying rice here for that amounts and more states are bringing rice.

So, what the closure has done is to encourage our local producers to invest on increasing their production, he said.

The LCCI vice president said that with time, the rice farmers would get it right through acquiring equipment that would improve the quality of their products.

We have to put up with the poor quality for some time, but it is clear from our own members who are rice farmers that they are now energised by this opportunity, he said.

Idahosa said that the closure had also compelled a lot of small and medium scale businesses to formalise and be properly documented by governments from all the affected countries, including Nigeria.

He noted that on the flip side, the border closure had brought temporary suffering and loss of millions of dollars by some businesses within and outside Nigeria.

People are paying higher for the local products at the moment.

Also, some distributors of the foreign products are suffering loss of business because they had invested in becoming distributors from those countries.

Their warehouses are currently empty because they have not got local suppliers to replace their foreign partners.

The temporary hardship in terms of volume of trade is felt by both sides.

Some companies in Ghana claimed they have lost up to two million dollars during the short period before the processes were put in place to resume exportation between both countries.

Similarly, some Nigerian companies exporting to these countries have lost some monies, but gradually, those losses are being mitigated, Idahosa said.

On the trade fair, he said that LCCI was able to secure special waivers from the Federal Government for exhibitors from Ghana and Benin Republic.

Idahosa said the exhibitors provided documents to show that they were coming for the fair and were allowed to bring their goods in through the land border. (NAN)

Source: NAN

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