ICRC boss, Michael Ohiani

By Okeoghene Akubuike

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has said that the approval of the concessioning of its two projects by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) would attract N180 billion revenue to Nigeria.

A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Ifeanyi Nwoko, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC), said the projects included the Cassava Bio-mass and Bio-ethanol Value Chain and National Fire Detection And Alarm System (NAFDAS).

Nwoko said the concessioning was to create wealth, reduce poverty, improve food security and nutrition, provide jobs and renewable energy, and reduce carbon footprint.

While the NAFDAS project will generate a total of N75 billion in the 15-year concession period, the cassava bio-ethanol value chain will generate a total revenue of N105 billion within the five-year concession period.

The cassava bio-ethanol value chain, which will be done on a pilot phase, aims to build a Bio-technology Industrial Park on a 20-hectare plot across 20 universities, academia and research and development institutes.

In the pilot phase, 5,000 special hybrid cassava (TME 419) stems will be planted per hectare, (totalling) 100,000 stems for the 20 hectares, he said.

In addition, he said the project would supply organic fertiliser, boosters, conditioners, pre and post-emergent herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and knapsack sprayers.

The project also seeks to double cassava production from the current 62 million tons to an output of no fewer than 120 million tons.

With improved tropical agro-ecology, bio-technology, intense mechanisation, and effective partnership resource mobilisation, Nigeria can double output to 120 million metric tons in five years, he said.

Nwoko said the key goal of the cassava-bioethanol pilot project was to demonstrate the efficacy of a private sector-led approach in promoting investment in renewable biomass and creating wealth.

Also in providing jobs, reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition, providing renewable energy and reducing carbon footprint, he said.

Nwoko said the project was proposed to be financed with a grant from the Federal Government and Concessionaire investment totalling N11.9 billion.

The ICRC spokesman said the revenue stream presented by the project includes sales of cassava stem, cassava flour, garri, starch, and Bio-ethanol.

Total revenue for the five-year concession period is N105,610,000,000, he said.

He said that the NAFDAS project would provide fire mitigation hardwares, softwares, and equipments that would be linked to a cloud network.

Nwoko said the project would be supervised by the Federal Fire Service through a private entity.

Through the use of this technology, call, and response time in fire incidents will be automated thus drastically reducing avoidable incidents, he said.

Nwoko said more lives and properties would be saved, and generally ensure efficient fire prevention, detection and management.

This means that smoke alarms and other fire detection hardware will be linked to a server which will alert the system when the user is in distress without them having to call for help, he said.

He said the project would begin in seven states on pilot basis, before rolling it out to all states across the country.

Nwoko said the total cost of the project was N3.5 billion, while the government targets to generate N75 billion within 15 years of the concession.

Share of revenue to the government was projected as 40 per cent of subscription revenue totaling N17,262,850,871, an average of N1,150,856,724 over the 15 years proposed concession period.

He added that the revenue stream included margin on installations and annual subscription fee from users.

Nwoko said both projects would be executed under the regulatory guidance of ICRC with the revenue shared between government and the concessionaire at a ratio decided in the concession agreement. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Maharazu Ahmed

Source: NAN News

By Ikenna Osuoha

The National Population Commission (NPC) has reassured the public of the safety of its server and data as they prepare for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Dr Isiaka Yahaya, Director, Public Affairs Department (PAD) said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a staff of the Commission and Comptroller of Chanchaga LGA, Niger State, Mr Sanusi Maigida had earlier claimed that the NPC server was hacked.

Maigida had cited this development as the reason for the postponement of the LGA-level training of the Supervisors and Enumerators for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Yahaya, who reaffirmed the commitment of the commission to a credible and acceptable census, said that its server was not hacked.

The public affairs department boss described as false and misleading, the information on hacking of the commissions server.

We wish to assure the public that the security of the data for the
2023 Population and Housing Census is absolutely guaranteed.

The commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population, he said.

Yahaya explained that the Commissions Chairman, Alhaji Nasir Kwarras visit to the United Nations was to attend the 56Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development was to the benefit of the country.

He said the chairman also presented Nigerias statement on Population and Development at the global event and has since returned to the country ahead of preparations for thefirst digital Census in Nigeria.

Over the years, it has been the standard practice for the Chairman of the Commission to attend the annual event on Population and Development in line with the mandate of NPC as the coordinating agency on population matters in Nigeria.

Consequently, the public is advised to disregard the false statement trending online about the hacking of the commissions server and the subsequent travel of the NPC Chairman to restore the purported hacked server, he said.

He assured of the commissions determination to continue to update the populace on developments regarding the 2023 Population and Housing Census as events unfold.

Yahaya solicited for Nigerians support to ensure a secure and successful 2023 Census exercise. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Uche Anunne

Source: NAN News

By Okeoghene Akubuike

There were 222.6 million telephone subscribers in Nigeria as at end of 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

The 2022 figure showed an increase of 27.1 million subscribers over the 195.5 million subscribers recorded at the end of 2021.

The NBS stated the figures in its Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State, Porting and Tariff Information report for the last quarter of 2022, released in Abuja on Monday.

The report showed that the figure for the last quarter of 2022 represented a 13.87 per cent rise in voice subscriptions on a year-on-year basis.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the report showed growth stood at 4.89 per cent.

The NBS also recorded a total of 154.9 million active internet subscribers at the end of 2022 compared to 142 million recoded at the end of 2021.

This represents a 9.07 per cent increase in active internet subscriptions year-on-year, while on a quarter-on-quarter basis, internet subscription grew by 1.35 per cent, it stated.

On state-by-state analysis, the report showed that Lagos State had the highest number of active telephone users in 2022 at 26.5 million, followed by Ogun with 13 million users.

Kano State came third with 12.4 million telephone users.

The report showed that Bayelsa had the least number of telephone users at 1.6 million subscribers, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.9 million users and two million users, respectively.

It also showed that Lagos State had the highest number of internet users at 18.7 million subscribers, followed by Ogun with 9.2 million subscribers and Kano State with 8.5 million subscribers.

On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least number of 1.1 million internet users, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.3 million and 1.5 million subscribers, respectively, it stated.

The NBS report showed that majority of telephone users in Nigeria in 2022 were MTN subscribers. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Alli Hakeem

Source: NAN News

President, Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), Mrs Salamatu Yahaya, with some wives of soldiers during interaction with Nigerian Army Soldiers Wives Association (NASWA) in Abuja on Monday (24/4/23)

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The President, Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), Mrs Salamatu Yahaya, on Monday interacted with wives of soldiers under the aegis of the Nigerian Army Soldiers Wives Association (NASWA) to mark the Eid-el-fitri celebration.

Mrs Yahaya said the occasion had provided the opportunity to have interaction with the women, to identify areas of intervention and support them.

She said the meeting was convened in the spirit of Easter and Sallah seasons to be able to eat and interact together.

Wife of the army chief said that NAOWA had continued to support and empower barracks women and youths with skills and starter packs to make them to be self-reliant.

I know some of you have one or two things that you want me to hear. The one we can help you, we will help and the one we can take your complaint forward, we will.

So we are going to eat, we are going to enjoy ourselves and we are going to talk to ourselves, she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the soldiers wives raised a number of requests and issues that bothered on their wellbeing, accommodation and welfare.

In her response, Mrs Yahaya promised that NAOWA would continue to do its best in the area of empowerment of women and youths.

She urged them to continue to instill high level of discipline in their children to be able to become better citizens. (NAN) ()

Edited by Benson Iziama/Idris Abdulrahman

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Source: NAN News

Justice Now Coalition, an NGO, has called on the Federal Government to obey the court judgement on the case of wrongful removal of Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume as non-executive Chairman of the board of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Tony Erha, the group said compliance with the court order would impress on Nigerians the culture of rule of law.

Erha added that it would also save the federal government from engaging in unending legal tussles, which may give wrong signals to foreign investors in the oil and gas sector.

The Federal Government should take the window of opportunity provided by the Federal High Court judgment to the issue once and for all.

Afterall, Senator Godwin Ifeanyi Araraume was a director in the board of NNPCL before he was simultaneously appointed as the non-executive chairman, thus enjoying the privilege of having his name in the companys records with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

Araraume remains a part of the NNPCL family in the face of the law. All issues settled in his favour in the judgment can be quietly revisited and resolved in ways that there will be no losers at the end of the day.

He said that the court judgements has opened a window of foreclosing the long legal battle that would emanate from several appeals as well as reduce public attention.

Araraume is a committed member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. We also understand that he was an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a federal commissioner at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), where he represented the Southeast zone from 2016-2018, a position he held after he passed rigorous security checks by the Police and the Department of State Services.

That being the case, we believe that this issue can be resolved in-house in the interest of his party, government and the nation, so that the NNPCL can be surefooted forthwith in its operations and dealings with the IOCs, whose confidence the new national energy company must enjoy, more than ever before, to thrive.

He said that the legal option taken by Araraume was a good precedence that would solidify the judicial system and give confidence to judicial pronouncements in the country.

Erha added that all parties involved should not see it as a personal clash as was being insinuated in some quarters.

Besides, some groups had also erroneously claimed that by reinstating Araraume, the Court had usurped the powers of President Muhammadu Buhari to hire and fire.

A claim that is clearly not in tandem with the due process of removing a member of the Board of the NNPCL as circumscribed by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and other extant laws.(NAN)

DD/Website

By Ruth Oketunde

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has restated its commitment towards evacuating stranded Nigerians in Sudan.

The Director-General of the agency, Mr Mustapha Ahmed stated this in a statement issued by the Head of its Press Unit, Mr Manzo Ezekiel on Saturday in Abuja.

NEMA, he said, has set up a committee which was already working on all possible options of ensuring the safe return of Nigerians from the conflict-ridden Sudan, especially students in its various universities.

He said the committee comprised of professional emergency responders, search and rescue experts, who would constantly evaluate the situation and recommend the safest approach for the evacuation.

It has become necessary to inform the public that NEMA is in constant communication with all relevant partners including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and security agencies.

While seeking for an appropriate window of opportunity to evacuate all stranded Nigerians back home in a safe and dignified manner.

The current emergency situation in Sudan is very complex with fighting between waring factions going on and all airports and land boarders closed, he said.

He assured Nigerians that NEMA was working assiduously with all its partners, and is constantly compiling updated information on the situation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports thatclashes erupted amid an apparent power struggle between the two main factions of Sudans military regime.

The Sudanese armed forces are broadly loyal to Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the countrys de facto ruler, while the para militaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a collection of militia, follow the former warlord Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

The power struggle has its roots in the years before a 2019 uprising that ousted the dictatorial ruler Omar Al-Bashir,who built up formidable security forces that he deliberately set against one another.

When an effort to transition to a democratic civilian-led government faltered after Bashirs fall, an eventual showdown appeared inevitable, with diplomats in Khartoum warning in early 2022 that they feared such an outbreak of violence.

In recent weeks, tensions have risen further.

The UN said no fewer than 180 people have been killed and another 1,800 injured in three days of fighting between the rival factions in Sudan. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Martha Agas/Sadiya Hamza

Source: NAN News

Executive Director of the school, Mr Roland Ediawe and others at the inauguration of ESPOLY Business and Innovation School

By Alex Enebeli

The newly inaugurated ESPOLY Business and Innovation School by the Enugu State Polytechnic will become innovation and Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub for Nigerians, says the Executive Director of the school, Mr Roland Ediawe.

ESPOLY, located at the former Enugu State University of Science and Technology AC building, is focusing on entrepreneurship development, ICT training and Vocational and Technical Studies for students.

Ediawe disclosed this during the official inauguration of the school on Friday in Enugu.

He said they would partner with India and European countries on ICT, stressing that India became what they were today because of the expertise in ICT.

Ediawe added they would also organise a bootcamp for secondary school students that would expose them early enough to technology.

According to him, the school is based on Public Private Partnership between Enugu State Polytechnic and a firm, Preziko Investment Limited, to create a training hub in Enugu for Nigerians.

The idea of the initiative is that the world is moving towards technological driving and we also discovered the skill needs for modern business are lacking among the graduates, artisans and informal sector.

This school is developed to bridge that gap, train the existing business owners on how best to manage their businesses, leveraging on modern technology and prepare graduates on challenges of modern day employment market, Ediawe said.

The executive director added that the school would begin its academic activities in May with selected courses.

Earlier, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Rev. Fr. Nnamdi Nwankwo, said polytechnic was supposed to be for skilled and technical workers and as such, every polytechnic ought have business schools.

He said the school was very essential for the existence of their polytechnic which was directly built on skill acquisition.

With this, Enugu State will have all the skill acquisition for the development of the state.

Mr Ediawe brought the idea and we accepted it with memorandum of understanding in partnership with the school.

We will issue them certificate while the school will provide the skill, the rector said.

He added that the graduates of the school would bear the certificate of Enugu State Polytechnic, while our partner will impact them with the required knowledge.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

Source: NAN News

By Bridget Ikyado

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other eminent Nigerians have showered encomium on Rev Dr Stephen Baba-Panya the President Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA)

They described him as a man with unique and uncommon qualities which he had used to better the society.

They spoke during the 60th anniversary thanksgiving service of the ECWA President who is also the Vice President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the celebration also marked his 30th marriage anniversary and 26years in Ministry.

Osinbajo described the celebrator as a true servant of God ,nation builder and a friend to the down trodden

Osinbajo who was represented by the Villa Chaplain Rev Seyi Malomo, said the ECWA Presidents promotion in life was worthy to emulate.

It is with special honour I facilitate you and your family and the church on these unique celebrations.

For your humble nature and lover of Christ, your elevations in life has not caused you to build higher walls but longer dinning tables, and it is worth emulating, he said.

The vice president prayed God to grant him long life and favour in all the great works he has been doing through the church for humanity and Nigeria.

Also, Mr Joseph Daramola, the Secretary General of CAN, who represented the association described him as a man of goodwill.

He is calm, cool calculated, a gentle man,he is not a pushover in religious affairs

His love for welfare of people and humanity cannot be underestimated,

He has carefully carved his good name in serving God and Humanity; in the religious affairs of the country and world wide, his traits i will ask us Nigerians to emulate.

Rev William Okoye ,Founder and General Overseer of All Christians Fellowship Mission, Abuja Nigeria thanked Rev Panya -Baba for his show of kindness ,unity and love in the Christiandom, describing him as a man of peace.

He commended him for keeping to Gods words as God will keep to his words too.

Okoye encouraged him never to give up, in spite of challenges in winning more souls to Christ.

Also in his speech,the Esu Karu, in Nasarawa State, Pharm Luka Panya Baba also thanked God for giving him a such a wonderful brother .

He commended the ECWA President for enhancing religious activities in the family and community.

He is a younger brother, religious leader and friend, he is a visionary, prayerful, dependable leader,I pray God keeps him in his vine yard .

A U.S.- based clergy Rev Timothy Cowin, prayed the Grace of God never to departed from him as he remained in Christ too.
Cowin described the president as a child of Grace,he encouraged him not to look back in serving God but be focused

On his part, the celebrator, Rev Panya-Baba, said all he could say was thank the Lord, as only His Grace had kept him.

He said serving and knowing God, recognising Him as your dependable source, donations to charity, care for the downtrodden and the less privileges where his happiest activities in life.

Earlier in a sermon, Rev Silas Yako, who spoke on the topic the secret of thanksgiving urged Christians never to neglect thanking God for every thing He has one.

According to him thanksgiving means forgetting not and appreciating what God has done.

He said God in turn multiplies each time any thanksgiving is done.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Source: NAN News

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari says democracy has a bright future in Nigeria.

Fielding questions from newsmen after Fridays Eid-el-Fitr prayers in Abuja, the president said his conviction was based on Nigerians disposition to defend democracy against all threats.

Nigerians appreciate the stability of democracy.

The outcome of the 2023 elections in which more than 10 governors failed to make it to the Senate sent a message that Nigerians know the power of their votes and how to use them.

Nigerians cherish democracy. They have shown their love for it and will defend it against real or perceived threats.

They will continue to vote one way or the other depending on their preferences, President Buhari said.

He assured that the May 29 handover date to a new administration remained sacrosanct.

God willing, nothing will stop the handover, he assured.

On his plans after leaving office, the president said he felt fulfilled that God had made it possible for him to serve two terms of four years each and looked forward to an orderly handover.

I thank God for what He has done for me personally and for what He has enabled us to achieve.

I am looking forward to returning to my town; to be as far away as I can from Abuja so that the in-coming president will have the time and the space to take decisions without my distracting him. (NAN) ()

Edited by Alli Hakeem

Source: NAN News

Edited by Oluwole Sogunle

Source: NAN News