By Florence Onuegbu

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday said the state government would partner with the Czech Republic on technology, agriculture, transportation and health among others.

Sanwo-Olu said this during a courtesy visit by the Ambassador of Czech Republic to Nigeria, Mr Marek Skolil, and the Deputy Head of Mission, Mrs Hana Trousilova, at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

He said that the government would partner Czech Republic on business opportunities that would lead to the growth and development of the state.

According to him, Lagos State Government will create an economy where foreign partners will feel safe and secure with their investment and also enjoy ease of doing business in the state.

We want to create an economy where foreign partners will not only feel safe and secure in Lagos but will also enjoy ease of doing their business.

Whatever we need to do to make your business safe and secure, we will do it. If you also want us to help you reach out to other neighbouring states in term of partnership, we will do it.

We are open for business and we are open to more engagements from your side. Lagos and Czech Republic will look at areas of businesses we can carry out together as sub-national. The market is here and Lagos is open for business, he said.

Earlier, the Ambassador of Czech Republic to Nigeria, Mr Marek Skolil, said that he came to Lagos with his delegation to discuss business opportunities with business community in the state.

Skolil said that his visit was also to make plans to replace his countrys embassy, which used to be in Lagos.

He said that Czechoslovakia had good relationship with Nigeria and they enjoyed cooperation with the country in the areas of science and development, technology, agriculture mechanisation, energy and security. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, South Africa (ONSA), has prayed the countrys court to ensure that justice is served and quick too in the case of its slain 38-year-old member.

Mr Mendis Uzodimma, a youth entrepreneur in South Africa, was murdered in cold blood by a South African family gang in his shop in Rosettenville, Southern Johannesburg.

The Igbo association, an arm of the Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA), via a statement issued by its Deputy Secretary-General, Mr Tochukwu Ngwoke, on Wednesday said that it would not let up the prosecution.

The statement was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Ngwoke said that Ohanaeze received the news of Uzodimmas gruesome murder on May 13, and urged the authorities to ensure that justice was served to serve as deterrent to others who might want to indulge in similar act.

He prayed the court to ensure quick dispensation of justice to console the family of the deceased.

On May 13, 2021, the leadership of ONSA received a distress call from our people (Igbo people) in Rosettenville, Southern Johannesburg, informing us about the gruesome murder of a young, energetic and vibrant Igbo son, Mr Mendis Uzodimma.

The deceased, a 38-year-old young man, owned a phone shop on Main Street, Rosettenville and hailed from Ohaji Egbema in Imo, Ngwoke said.

Ngwoke stated that ONSA under the leadership of Mr Sunny-Wenike Douglas, had on May 14, stormed Booysens Magistrate Court where the murder suspects were arraigned and waiting to be granted bail.

He said that the congregation of ONSA in court was to show solidarity for its kinsman and ensure that nothing untoward was done by the court to free the murder suspects.

We want to make sure that the slain Uzodimma gets justice.

A witness who spoke to us at the court premises said Mendis was stabbed severally by a South African woman and her husband from Zimbabwe whose daughter sold a phone to Uzodimma.

Apparently, the daughter of the woman, who is alleged to be an online porn artist, sold her phone to our brother who in turn sold it to another person who saw the porn movies where the girl featured and started circulating them.

When the girl got it, she thought it was the person she sold the phone to who circulated it not knowing that he was not the one as he had sold off the phone.

So, it was out of fury that the lady, her mother and her mothers husband stormed Mendiss shop.

Without hearing from him the mother started stabbing him until he slumped and died, Ngwoke said, quoting the witness.

He added that they were there on that day for a peaceful protest outside the court premises demanding that the deceased must get justice.

He noted that besides the show of solidarity the organisation wanted to make sure that Nigerians did not take the law into their hands or act in any manner that might contravene the countrys law.

Ngwoke said that already two witnesses had testified to ensure that justice was served.

The statement said that Douglas thanked the Nigerian community for coming out en masse to show solidarity.

However, he urged them to restrain themselves from doing anything capable of jeopardising or truncating the ongoing investigation.

He equally implored them to shun any act of violence and criminality of any sort, go about their normal business and continue to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

The statement added that ONSA leadership was on top of the case and would continue to monitor the situation closely as well as not hesitate to report developments to their forum as it unfolded.

The statement also quoted the President of NUSA, Mr Adetola Olubajo, as condemning the killing and assuring to work with Ohanaeze until justice was served. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Chiazam George

Residents of Gwagwalada in the FCT, Abuja have expressed joy over the gradual completion of construction of a section of Abuja-Gwagwalada-Lokoja road, which was a nightmare to them and other road users.

The residents expressed their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Tuesday.

The expressway is the major road that links the Eastern and Southern States with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other Northern States.

NAN reports that the two lanes of the Abuja-Gwagwalada-Lokoja Expressway were merged into one lane to pave way for the construction of the one kilometre portion of the road in Gwagwalada town.

Motorists, commuters and residents of Gwagwalada have groaned in pains over the traffic gridlock on the road emanated due to the construction activity.

NAN reports that the construction of the road, which starts from the popular SDP Junction and terminates at Sidi -Ali Plaza, Gwagwalada, is being undertaken by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company.

Mr Thomson Emmanuel, a resident of Bassa in Gwagwalada, said that the road construction had caused lots of problems including robbery cases and accidents, where many sustained injuries and others lost their lives.

The road construction has led to the death of many and there have been robbery cases. I am grateful that the road construction is coming to an end as the road has been tarred, he said.

Another resident, Mrs Onyebuchi Franca, who is a teacher, said since the road construction began she trekked from her residence in Dagiri to a long-distance before taking a bike to her school.

According to her, the gridlock that occurs makes it difficult for motorbikes to ply on the road and for this, she rather treks than stay in the traffic jam.

I am happy that the road construction will be completed soon so that everyone can go back to the normal way of life, she said.

Mrs Chinwe Eze, a resident of Dagiri, said that she trekked from her house to her store that was located close to SDP Junction as the road was being constructed.

She said that she did not have any other option than to trek because of the gridlock that could last two hours coupled with the high cost of transportation.

Similarly, Mr Prince Cyrus, a store owner in Gwagwalada, said that it had been very stressful for him but its getting better as the road had been tarred.

He further stated that the gridlock had helped some hawkers made profits as motorists spent at least two hours in traffic.

He also thanked the security agencies for their efforts in ensuring that motorists were properly directed and coordinated.

Speaking with a representative of the construction company, Mr Daniel Simon, stated that the road would be completed before the end of May.

The road is at its finishing point and will be completed and opened in two weeks.

We have been asked to speed up the construction because of the gridlock that happens regularly on the road.

So this is not 100 per cent completion as some many things have not been done such as the construction of drainages and provision road demarcations, he said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N805.7 million for the purchase equipment to enhance security at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters, Abuja.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, briefed State House correspondents after a virtual FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

You will recall that from 2011 upwards, there have been various attacks on Federal Government institutions and even multilateral institutions just like UN headquarters building.

Consequent upon those attacks in 2011, 2014, 2018, the Federal Government set up what is called Vulnerability Assessment Committee to see how we can better protect ministries, departments and agencies.

It is line with that, the EFCC today presented to council, a memo seeking approval for the procurement of four sets of automatic and static anti crash system with automatic scanners and other accessories.

He gave other items as 900 linear metres fence intrusion detection system, human screening equipment, four work flow metal detectors, two hand-held metal scanners, one luggage scanner and three hand-held explosive trace detectors.

All at a value of N805.7 million inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with the completion period of 12 weeks.

Mohammed said that the second memo which the president presented to council for approval was for the procurement of 16 vehicles for the use of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).

You know we have 16 members of the FCSC, the chairman and 15 commissioners representing the states and they normally embark on extensive advocacy visits and routine oversight functions to ministries, departments and agencies across the country.

So, they asked for a replacement of the old unserviceable vehicles and council duly approved they purchase one Toyota land cruiser, V8, and 15 Toyota Rush all at a total of N336 million, he said.

He added that the Federal Government was concerned about labour unrest in Kaduna and was working towards amicable resolution of the issues with little loss to productivity and property.

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has advised Army public relations officers to be more proactive and responsive to information and public relations management and practices.

Attahiru gave the advice at the opening of a capacity building/training workshop for public relations officers of the Nigerian Army facilitated by Centre for Crisis Communication on Wednesday in Abuja.

The COAS, represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Maj.-Gen. Ben Ahanotu, said that the workshop, with the theme; Repositioning the Nigerian Army Public Relations Towards Addressing Contemporary Communication Challenges, was timely.

He said that in view of the continuous emergencies and flashpoints across the country, the Nigerian Army, as the linchpin in internal security operations, required effective crisis communication strategy.

Attahiru said that the duty of the military is to neutralise the threats that terrorists, bandits, militants and sundry violent elements posed to peace and stability of the country by ensuring that the adversaries are separated from the population.

He stated that the fight ought to cover the physical, psychological and information domains to be able to achieve a holistic result.

As you all know, the battle field for us in the war against terror and other internal security operations which we are engage is not just in the trenches.

Even more ferocious is the battle in the media where the attritional war of narrative is daily raging.

Bear it in your minds, therefore, that there are elements in the society whose mission is to attack the credibility and professionalism of our institution and operations using the media.

To sustain the necessary momentum of security operations, public relations officers must strive to salvage the credibility of our operations from those who are bent on discrediting our efforts at every stage.

It is our responsibility to counter those who unduly punch holes in our operations and malign our personnel through all kinds of accusations and allegations aimed at diminishing the integrity of officers or the military authorities in military operations, he said.

The army chief expressed concern that the counter-terrorism campaign of the military had been a victim of misconceptions and falsehood that were disseminated and effectively sustained in the public domain through the instrumentality of the media.

He said that there was need to brace up for the antics of those intent on undue fault finding, blame trading and negative story slanting to distract armys mission.

According to him, the Nigerian Army must remain conscious of these responsibilities which must be inspired, driven and built on the fundamentals of good reputation that creates goodwill, respectability and acceptability.

Attahiru stressed that maintaining credibility and respectability with different groups, institutions and personalities for good corporate image was the hallmark of the spokesperson.

He also urged the officers to be conscious of the good reputation needed to create or generate goodwill and acceptability.

He added that personal reputation and integrity, as well as the Nigerian armys image or reputation were both important, urging that delicate balance must be maintained at all times in the discharge of their responsibilities.

The Director Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, said that the workshop was in keeping with Attahirus vision to have a Nigerian army that is repositioned to professionally defeat all adversaries in a joint environment.

Yerima said that the training workshop was aimed at the harnessing the capacity of the participants to surmount the challenges of communicating the activities and operations of the Nigerian Army as public relations officers.

He urged the participants to pay rapt attention to the training, adding that the COAS expected that a more positive reflection of the training would be seen in the participants through their actions.

Executive Secretary, Centre for Crisis Communication, retired Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, said that the Nigerian Army had continued to play a pivotal role towards eliminating the security challenges confronting the nation towards enhancing peace and stability.

Anas said that the event would provide the participants opportunity for frank and robust discussion on contemporary communication challenges facing the Nigerian Army in particular and other security agencies in general.

He said that the centre believed that security matters and issues should not be politicised, adding that some individuals and groups in the country had regularly engaged in castigating the security agencies.

Anas, however, called on leaders at all levels and the public to rally behind the security agencies and encourage them to eradicate most of the current security challenges bedeviling the country.

According to him, the workshop was packaged towards enhancing the capacity of the officers in key areas of contemporary communication challenges, public relations and media management.

Source: NAN News

The New Zealand government has invested 1.4 billion NZ dollars ( billion) in its COVID-19 vaccination programme to ensure free vaccination for everyone.

COVID-19 Response Minister, Chris Hipkins, said on Wednesday.

The government confirmed, for the first time, the amount of money it has allocated over two years for vaccines and the vaccination programme, Hipkins said.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is key to securing our economic recovery, he said.

The minister added that effective and ongoing vaccination of the community will unlock economic opportunities and allow the country to safely reopen borders over time.

Our health response has been strong and successful so far, but were taking nothing for granted.

Setting aside 1.4 billion NZ dollars for vaccines and infrastructure means New Zealand is well-placed to meet our COVID-19 challenges head-on.

New Zealand has secured sufficient doses to vaccinate everyone in the country for free and to also support the Pacific neighbours.

Additional vaccines deemed safe and effective can be deferred for later use and further donated to support the regional recovery, he said. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Eleven villagers have died in southern Cambodias Kandal province after consuming locally-made rice wine discovered to have contained a high level of methanol, officials said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in Ta Skor village in Lvea Em districts Sarika Keo commune.

The victims drank adulterated rice wine at a funeral of their neighbour on May 10, said Kuoy Bunthoeun, Chief of Kandal Provincial Health Department.

They had died subsequently after consuming the wine, he told Xinhua over the telephone.

The adulterated wines samples had been taken for lab testing at the National Institute of Public Health in Phnom Penh and the results, on Monday, showed that the wine contained high levels of methanol.

The high concentration of methanol in the wine was far in excess of the legal limit of 0.15 per cent, he said.

Bunthoeun added that the department had sought cooperation from local authorities to close all rice wine distilleries and stalls in the district to prevent more deaths.

The authorities have already seized the rice wine from some 20 stalls in the district and advised all vendors to stop selling it temporarily, Lvea Em district chief Kan Sokkay said.

Sokkay added that all rice wine distilleries have also been temporarily shut down.

Rice wine is popular in Cambodias rural areas due to its cheap price.

In November, methanol-laced rice wine also left seven people dead in the central Kampong Chhnang province. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

India on Wednesday recorded 4,529 COVID-19 deaths, making it the highest single-day spike of fatalities anywhere in the world since the beginning of the pandemic, official data showed.

The South Asian country set the grim global record by breaching the previous highest figure of 4,475 in the U.S. on Jan.12, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The health ministry said India saw 267,334 new infections in the past 24 hours, taking its overall caseload to 25.5 million in its latest bulletin. Saying altogether a total of 283,248 people had died of the disease.

India, battling a second deadly wave of the pandemic, had also registered the worlds highest daily tally of 414,188 cases on May 7.

Although the cases had declined since then, the government had warned that only 1.8 per cent of the countrys over 1.3 billion population population contracted the virus so far.

In spite of the high number of cases reported so far, we have been able to contain the spread to fewer than 2 per cent of the population.

We cannot let our guard down, hence continued focus on containment is critical, senior health ministry official Lav Agarwal told reporters.

After the exponential surge in cases overwhelmed hospitals in cities and towns, case numbers were rising rapidly in rural regions where health facilities were ill-equipped as COVID-19 tests were unavailable.

Indias inoculation drive has been floundering and in spite of being a global hub for vaccine manufacturing, only 3 per cent of its population were fully vaccinated. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

A new vaccination study conducted by Thailands Chulalongkorn University has found that Chinas Sinovac vaccine has extremely high efficacy in boosting immune responses against COVID-19, the media reports on Wednesday.

The study run by the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology of the Faculty of Medicine at the university showed that 99.49 per cent of the recipients had developed antibody responses four weeks after their second shots, the Bangkok Post said, quoting the study results.

Three weeks after the first shot, around 66 per cent of the recipients had developed immune responses, the report added.

The number of antibodies against the Coronavirus were measured with Roche Elecsys Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay, a qualitative detection of total antibodies developed against the virus in peoples blood samples before and after the vaccination period, said the research group.

Electrochemiluminescence or electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) is a kind of luminescence produced during electrochemical reactions in solutions.

The tests were conducted before injections, three weeks after the first shot and four weeks after the second injection. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Olayinka Olawale

The Commissioner for Agriculture in Lagos State, Abisola Olusanya, says the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), on Tuesday commenced a two-day all-inclusive training for 20 youths and women in various value chain.

Olusanyamade this known at the opening ceremony of the training at Oko Oba in Lagos, saying that it was to link the participants up to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)s agribusiness credit facilities.

Olusanya, represented byMrs Aramide Gansallo,Director, Agribusinesss in the ministry, said that the two-day training was first in the series for participants.

She said the training would also enable participants to have access to a single digit loan from the CBNs Agribusiness Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS).

She said that if eventually accessed, participants should judiciously utilise the funds on the intended purposes, either on an existing agribusiness or a new start-up.

The commissioner also called on the trainees to focus more on marketing of their products, which would in turn ensure profitability and subsequent sustainability of their agribusiness.

One of the major outcomes of this training will be to ensure that trainees of the Ministry of Agriculture Entrepreneurship Development Institute boost their businesses by helping them facilitate loan through the AGSMEIS.

The aim of EDI is to provide a platform for youths and women as well as other SMEs, especially those in agriculture value chain, to have access to credit facilities, she said.

In his remarks, Mr Dapo Olakulehin, General Manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), commended the Agribusiness Department for successfully organising the training for intending beneficiaries in spite of challenges.

Olakulehin urged participants to embrace the opportunity with all seriousness to learn and get the best out of the training.

The general manager said that 60 per cent of the participants had been trained by LASCODA and practicing the Coconut-Shell based Arts and Crafts.

He said LASCODA fully funded the Coconut-Shell based Arts and Crafts, adding that the practitioners were the first trainees of the agribusiness department. (NAN)

Source: NAN News