By Rotimi Ijikanmi

The Federal Government says while oil prices are on the rise, Nigeria is not reaping the full benefits of the current windfall because of years of neglect of the oil industry.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the explanation at a media briefing on Monday in Abuja

He said while oil producing countries are today smiling to the bank as oil prices are on the rise Nigeria is not, because the previous administration failed to stimulate growth in the oil sector for many years.

The minister specifically fingered the 16-year rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which he said failed to put in place the Petroleum Industry Law.

Better late than never, they say. President Muhammadu Buhari last year signed into law the Petroleum Industry Bill, now the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

The PIA is envisaged to foster investment in the industry and delineate responsibilities to the various institutions.

This is a monumental achievement in the critical oil and gas sector, he said

The minister said with the PIA in place, new businesses were already springing up in the sector.

He also commended the Buhari administration for providing conducive environment for businesses to thrive in all sectors.

Under this administration, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has implemented over 150 reforms, moving Nigeria up 39 places on the World Bank Doing Business index since 2016.

Mr President also signed the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020) Nigerias most significant business legislation in three decades.

The result of this favourable business environment is the birth of new businesses such as the 2.5 billion U.S dollars Dangote Fertiliser Plant that will produce 3 million metric tonnes of Urea every year.

We also have the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery due to open later this year and the Lekki Deep Sea Port, one of the most modern sea ports in West Africa, he said.

Mohammed added that the conducive business environment created was responsible for the BUAs 3 million metric tonnes cement plant; and the 5,000 barrels per day Modular Refinery in Ibigwe, in Imo.

He disclosed that three more modular refineries would be commissioned before May 2023 in Edo and Bayelsa.

Source: NAN News

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Monday said no government had invested in driving an agricultural revolution like that of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

The Minister made the assertion at a media briefing in Abuja.

He said while the previous administration of the Peoples Democraic Party (PDP) frittered away the nations resources importing rice and other staples, the Buhari administration had been working progressively to ensure food security.

Today, rice production in Nigeria has increased to over 7.5 million metric tonnes annually, thanks to the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).

Before the programme, the average production in Nigeria between 1999 to 2015 was less than four metric tonnes annually.

Before this administration launched the ABP, there were only 15 standard rice mills in Nigeria, but as of today, we have over 50 Standard and integrated rice mills creating jobs and reducing unemployment, he said.

The minister said no fewer than 4.8 million smallholder farmers had so far been supported by the Anchor Borrowers Programme, across the country.

He said the support had resulted in increase in the production of 23 agricultural commodities, including maize, rice, oil palm, cocoa, cotton, cassava, tomato and livestock.

Asked why in spite of all the achievements recorded, Nigerians are still hungry and the price of the staples had remained high, the minister responded:

The impact of our agriculture revolution will soon be felt on dining tables across the country.

In this regard, we want to appeal to our farmers to be more patriotic by not allowing foreigners to buy their commodities at farm gates.

They should reciprocate the support being given to them by the Federal Government by slowing down on exports in order to increase the supply of local staples and also reduce prices.

Source: NAN News

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

The Federal Government has said that the increase in prices of some foodstuffs, petrol, diesel and other items is a global trend and not peculiar to any country.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who stated this at media briefing on Monday in Abuja, added that presenting the situation as a Nigerian problem was mischievous, disingenuous and a clear act of misinformation.

He said that the figures being bandied around by the opposition and a section of the press, comparing the prices of some foodstuffs, petrol, diesel, pre-2015 and presently, was a mischief.

This misuse of statistics is clear mischief. Those who bandy around these figures without putting them in context are being clever by half.

Lets take the price of foodstuffs and petrol. Google the price of foodstuffs in other countries, especially the UK and the US, and you will discover a steep rise. Ditto for the price of gas or petrol, he said.

The minister added that the crippling fuel shortage experienced across the country in recent times had started easing, as the measures put in place by the government are taking effect.

He reiterated that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari recorded massive achievements in all sectors, in spite of the challenges it faced.

Mohammed therefore admonished Nigerians to be wary of the lies and misinformation by the opposition.

Nigerians remain traumatised by their 16-year misrule, and will not return to Egypt by allowing the demolition gang back to office, he said.

Source: NAN News

By Ginika Okoye

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has lamented the high number of unclaimed dividends in the capital market.

A statement by the Commission in Abuja on Sunday, said Mr Lamido Yuguda, the Director-General of SEC, expressed the regret when Prof. Kabiru Bala,Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, visited him.

Yuguda appealed toinvestors to mandate their accounts for electronic payment to reduce the number of unclaimed dividends.

He noted thatmany investors had shares in the market which they had abandoned.

People have not come forward to claim their dividends and this has led to huge unclaimed dividends.

The Commission has been educating and enlightening the public on how they can get their dividends. People do not need to wait for the broker to send the dividend warrants through the registrars.

The dividends can be paid directly into their bank accounts through e-dividend payments, he said.

Yuguda said that SEC was currently carrying out some initiatives that would appeal to younger generations and attract them to the capital market.

Earlier, Bala described the visit as part of efforts by the university to connect with its alumni as done in most global universities. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The Managing Director of NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Mr Abubakar Kure, on Sunday, said the bank would continue to support businesses to fast track growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

Kure said this in Abuja on the sideline of a novelty football match to mark the third year anniversary of the strategic bank.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the bank will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to fast track the growth of SMEs across the country.

Kure said the novelty match was organised by the bank as part of activities to mark its third year anniversary and also to informally interact with members of staff.

This event is for us to informally meet, know ourselves better, network and also exercise with this novelty match, with the ultimate aim of improving our productivity, he said.

According to him, the bank will also continue to encourage physical exercise and sports for all staff members to boost their mental alertness.

Earlier, Mr Darlington Lawson, Executive Director of the bank said the event had helped strengthened the camaraderie among its personnel.

He described physical exercise as good for better health and productivity at work.

Mrs Joy Nkwor, Director, Human Resources of the Bank said the event was an opportunity for the women to show their physical fitness on the field of play.

NAN reports that Nkwor had captained the female team to beat the male team 3-2 in an interesting novelty football match.

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL MFB) was established in 2019 to stimulate the flow of affordable finance and investment in the agricultural value chain. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Abdullahi Adamu-led 79-member National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that emerged at Saturdays national convention of the party.

The presidents congratulatory message is contained in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, on Sunday in Abuja.

According to the president, the unity of members at the convention puts the party on a firmer footing for victory at the 2023 general elections.

The president returned to the convention ground at the Eagle Square on Sunday morning, along with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the Senate President to witness and celebrate the inauguration of the elected party executives.

He remarked that the smooth conduct of the election raised the prospect of a mouth-watering APC victory in 2023.

The APC convention hosted last weekend sets the scene for an APC victory in the presidential and general elections in 2023.

It was a victory over naysayers who believed the party was divided but were disappointed.

We believe that it was equally a victory for the president who ensured unity across all party positions.

It was victory for voters in Nigeria who can now be assured of a smooth succession to new leadership in 2023, Shehu stated.

He added that the president frowned at the peddling and promotion of fake news about divisions in the party in some sections of the media.

What the convention made clear was how the media has been peddling fake news of division when the hard reality of unity, cohesion, and indeed personal warmth between members of the partys leaders incoming and outgoing was evident for all to see.

Of course, the blame for this mind set ought to go to the opposition which in all these years had worked to divide the country, leading to all manner of separatist agitations.

But this is not the wish nor is it in the character of the citizens as was clear for everyone to see at the Eagle Square.

When their fake news of disunity was undone by the facts, some in the opposition could not help themselves but to take to newspapers and the airwaves to find another way to shore up their reputations.

That some of the APCs new leadership were once in the opposition was the new line to take to the media, somehow suggesting that those who have left one party should not hold positions in another.

Yet, do the scriptures not teach us of the virtue of sinners who repent and change their ways,? he stated.

Shehu stated also that the president said the stage was set for the APC primary elections later this year when the partys new flag bearers would emerge.

No doubt some will attempt to argue the impossible that an APC primary election is a source of division while an opposition primary election is a source of consensus.

But voters can see through such acrobatics and they know that when the contests for 2023 come, APC offers a track record of successes and leadership, while the opposition has only decades of failure and complicity, he added. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to share perspectives on engendering democratic governance in West Africa at a high-level dialogue on Monday in Abeokuta, Ogun.

The Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA), organisers of the event, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said it was in furtherance to ongoing efforts by leaders across West Africa to contain threats to democracy in the region.

The event, which holds at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, will be hosted by the former president himself.

Osinbajo will deliver the keynote address while other participants comprising leaders across West Africa and Obasanjo, Chairperson of CoDA board of directors, will make contributions physically and virtually.

The vice president will be speaking on the theme: Rising to the Challenge of Consolidating Democratic Governance.
CoDA attributed the recent development in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso as part of its reasons for convening the high-level dialogue.
It is this overarching concern that serves as the motivation for this high-level dialogue which is designed to bring together a group of West Africans to address a challenge which not only threatens a political regression in the sub-region but which might also threaten the viability of ECOWAS as a regional economic community.
The dialogue is a joint endeavour to find ways of redressing the discontents of West African democratisation and achieving a democratic reset in the sub-region, the statement said.
ECOWAS leaders had, at their meeting on March 25 in Accra, Ghana, deliberated on the political situations in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, and affirmed their commitment to democracy.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Mogbede

Chief David Kente, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Taraba, says there is no winner or loser in the contest for party executives in the just concluded National Convention of the APC.

Kente who is also a governorship aspirant in Taraba, said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday at the Abuja Eagle Square, venue of the APC convention.

He congratulated Sen. Abudullahi Adamu, the newly elected National Chairman of the party on his emergence and other members of the newly elected National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC.

For the APC family, the contest for party offices do not produce winners and losers, we are all winners because our primary interest is to strengthen and unite the party.

Let me on behalf of our great party congratulate those who have emerged as our national officers, you are all welcome on board, he said.

The Taraba business mogul commended the sportsmanship of other aspirants, especially those who stepped down to pave way for consensus candidates. in the interest of the party.

He urged APC members, especially from Taraba to remain committed, and be prepared to continue to work for the interest of the party in the state and the country.

He advised stakeholders of the party to ensure discipline within its fold and be guided against conduct that could bring it into disrepute.

We must be a party where internal discipline is supreme and a guiding anchor of our processes, we must eschew bickering and remain united in the pursuit of our goals.

As members of a great party, we must resist the temptation to allow inordinate ambition and what appears to be a growing obsession with the politics of succession.

Each and everyone of us, have an obligation to ensure that our party remained a party of values and fresh ideas, Kente stressed.

NAN reports that the APC national convention is the climax of a process that started with Ward, Local Government and State Congresses.

On the whole, 78 positions were contested for at the convention, including NWC and non NWC members.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Sani Zainab

Business owners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed concern over the current fuel scarcity and how its affecting prices and delivery of goods and services.

Hajia Adebayo Adenike, a market woman in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that prices of goods and services have gone up as a result of the scarcity over two months ago.

What we buy in the market has increased price since the beginning of the scarcity. Prices of Goods are multiplying day by dayespecially due to transport fares in addition to taking our children to school.

She also pleaded with the government to act fast so that everything would return to normal.

Michael Donald, a business owner, also said the fuel scarcity has affected the delivery of every commodity in the market.

Things are gettingworse; we manage to survive since we cant close our shop because of the scarcity, both customers and the business owners are complaining.

The cost of common things like sachet water have more than doubled and there seems to be no end to the situation, that is why we are calling on the federal government to quickly move in and save us, he said.

Mary Samuel, a store owner, said she now only saw her goods being delivered once in a while due to the scarcity, unlike before when requests were overwhelming.

Although consumers make so many requests, the supply mechanism is not there because we cant fuel our delivery vehicles and cant lay hands on dispatch riders who also seem over stretched, she said.

Meanwhile, as the situation continues, the government is giving assurances that the scarcity is being addressed while urging fuel buyers to avoid panic buying.

Many fueling stations in Abuja city and environs were seen dispensing petrol amidst long queues.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Franca Ofili

A gynecologist, Dr Prosper Igboeli, has attributed early menopause in young women to health issues and genetic reasons.

Igboeli said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He, however, advised young women who experienced early menopause to take a look at their genetic pool, health issues for the causes and possible remedy.

According to him, menopause occurs between 48 and 55 years.

Menopause is the transition period in a womans life when her ovaries stop producing eggs, her body produces less estrogen and progesterone, and menstruation becomes less frequent, eventually stopping altogether.

He noted that menopause was a state in womanhood when menstruation ceased, marking the end of the reproductive life of a woman.

It means that the ovaries stop making hormones and periods stop at a younger age, Igboeli said.

Igboeli explained that, premature menopause is the loss of the functions of the ovaries before the age of 40 and it is mostly caused by primary ovarian failure.

Due to certain health and genetic conditions, younger women have started experiencing menopause before their time.

In cases where the mother experiences menopause early, the daughter is likely to also experience it when she reaches the age when her mother experienced it, he said.

Igboeli disclosed that premature menopause could also be induced as a result of frequent treatments of certain diseases such as cancer.

The gynaecologist said that symptoms of menopause such as periods of feeling heat leading to excessive sweating, known as hot flashes, were common initial symptoms.

According to him, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly could help manage menopause symptoms.

He added that physical symptoms include sleep disturbances, feeling of anxiety, irritability, experiencing difficulty in concentrating and depression.

The woman may also experience wrinkling of the skin as well as sexual dysfunction, although these symptoms become brief after a while.

The gynaecologist said that hormone replacement therapy could be used for women who were experiencing severe cases of menopause.

He added that women who had gone through early menopause had the option of Assisted Reproductive Technique, a method used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partial means.

They are also hormones used in the therapy of early menopause known as dietary estrogens, he said.

Igboeli, therefore, advised women who were experiencing early menopause to help themselves by improving on their diet and not to despair.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News