By Bukola Adewumi
Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN), FCT chapter has expressed concern over increase in prices of baking materials, saying it will cripple business.

Some members of the association spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The association said that if nothing was done to urgently arrest the high cost, it would cripple bread business and others associated with baking

Mr Ishaq Abdulkareem, Chairman AMBCN said since the outbreak of COVID-19, prices of goods and services had been increasing.

Abdulkareem said prices of major commodities used in bread production such as sugar, flour, margarine, milk, vegetable oil among others have increased significantly.

The increase in the prices of these commodities had gone up from 30 per cent to over 100 per cent within a short period.

There was also increase in electricity tariffs and taxes which also contributed to the problem of bakery industry in Nigeria, he said

According to Abdulkareem, if the trend continues, there will be serious problems in the bakery industry

He called on the Federal Government to look into the issue and save the multi million dollar industry from collapse as bread is a staple food.

Mr Nura Musa, the public relations officer of the association said there was need for the government and other stakeholders in the sector to work together to find a lasting solution.

Musa said if nothing was done urgently; it could affect some other small bakeries trying to find their feet in the business.

Some of our members have closed down their businesses because of the daily increase in prices of raw materials and the continuous multiple taxation from government agencies, he said.

Mrs Yemisi Birch of Bon Bread company also appealed to the government and various stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the incessant increase in prices of raw materials.

Birch said increment in the price of baking materials would not augur well for the business, adding that such increase had become a yearly routine.

She said that a lot of bakers and sellers might soon be out of business because of their inability to cope with the incessant increase in prices of bread. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Mogbede

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum meeting held in Ibadan, was a waste of time, with no substance.

Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, National Secretary APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Going by the communique issued by the PDP Governors Forum at the end of its meeting on Monday, it is unfortunate that the PDP governors chose to engage in misplaced name calling and abuses, he said.

According to Akpanudoedehe, the PDP also failed to seize a golden opportunity provided by the meeting to offer meaningful and patriotic contributions on the state of the nation.

He said it was disappointing that the supposed PDP governors consultative meeting turned out to be a political jamboree and its outcome a waste of time, with no substance.

He stressed that the efforts and records of President Muhammadu Buharis government on revamping the economy and devolution of powers was visible and unmatched.

He added that the administrations efforts at upgrading the countrys security architecture, governance and electoral reforms, addressing perennial farmers and herders clashes, and public sector reforms were also visible.

Akpanudoedeherecalled that President Buhari on May 20, 2020 signed an executive order on the implementation of financial autonomy of state legislature and Judiciary, which was rejected by the PDP governors.

He assured Nigerians that the Buhari-led government would continue to identify and partner with patriotic and well meaning individuals and interests in its determined efforts to make the country better while addressing its challenges.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ariwodola Idowu

Gov. Kayode Fayemi has constituted a nine- member Committee to harmonise the views of the government and people of Ekiti on the review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

This is contained in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday by Mr Yinka Oyebode, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor.

The setting up of the committee, he said, is in furtherance to the May 7 announcement by the Deputy Senate President,Ovie Omo-Agegeon the plan to begin the review, as part of efforts aimed at ensuring the participation of Nigerians in the proposed alteration of some of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The governor tasked members to ensure that they deliver practicable proposals suggested by the government and people of Ekiti.

He said the committee is to be Chaired by the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda.

Other members are; Adeoye Aribasoye and Tajudeen Akingbolu, Members of the, Ekiti State House of Assembly.

Others are Alhaji Jinadu Ayodele, Commissioner Regional Development and Special Duties, Adeyemi Adewunmi, Chairman Nigerian Bar Association Ado-Ekiti Branch and Catherine Oduluyi, Chairperson, Young Lawyers Forum, Ikere-Ekiti Branch.

Others are Prof Kunle Ajayi of the Ekiti State University and Rita Ilevbare of the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence Management Committee while Ayo Daramola, Senior Special Assistant on Legal Matters to the governor.would serve as secretary to the Committee.

According to him, the committee is expected to participate actively at the Zonal and National meetings of the National Assembly on Constitutional Review. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ikenna Uwadileke
Dangote Cement Plc has restated commitment to meet the demand gap and ensure the availability of cement products across the country.

The Group Chief Sales and Marketing Director of Dangote Cement, Mr Rabiu Umar, said this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Umar said that the renewed commitment became necessary in view of the need to meet the current surge in the demand for cement products in Nigeria.

While noting that Nigeria had moved from importing cement to becoming an exporter of the product, Umar explained that the demand for cement rose globally as a fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.

Nigeria is no exception as a combination of monetary policy changes and low returns from the capital market has resulted in a significant increase in construction activity.

We got into COVID-19 last year and immediately after that there is a surge in demand and this is not particular to Nigeria alone. A couple of countries across the world are also experiencing the same; Mexico, South East Asia among others, Umar said.

He emphasised that Dangote Cement was aggressively building up more capacity as it recently invested in a new line that had been completed in Obajana Plant.

According to Umar, the line is waiting for the power plant for it to commence operation.

He said, we have a new plant in Okpella in Edo state that is also going to start operation very soon.

For the last couple of years one of our plants in Gboko, Benue state has not worked; we have re-started the plant all in a bid to make sure that there is enough production.

We have also increased the capacity of our Obajana plant and very soon, I am sure the market will be flooded with enough products.

You also need to note that other operators are also increasing their capacity. In every business, what drives the price is the demand and supply.

As a business we have not increased our price up until this point. So, what has happened in price increment in the cement products are forces of demand and supply.

He said though the company has direct control over its ex-factory prices, it cannot control the ultimate price of cement when it gets to the market.

Umar advised that it would be important to distinguish Dangotes ex-factory prices from prices at which retailers sell cement in the market.

He pointed out that the company was trying to make sure that it increased the supply of the product in the market and noted that the company would bring in 2,000 new trucks to ease distribution bottlenecks.

We are buying these trucks and putting them out there to make sure that the distribution is also taken care of.

This new development will lead to additional thousands of direct jobs in the country; apart from both direct and indirect jobs the plants will also create.

Globally, by the time we are done, we believe that the additional capacity we will put on the market compared to what we have in the market today is probably the size of each of our competitors in terms of the additional volume that we will put in the market.

And we believe that should help to manage the tension in the country as far as the situation with the skyrocketing prices of cement are concerned, Umar said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Polycarp Auta

The Police Command in Plateau has warned youth in the state to desist from taking laws into their hands.

ASP Ubah Ogaba, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, gave the warning in a statement he issued on Monday in Jos.

According to Ogaba, anyone caught doing so will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the warning followed a mob action against a Lebanese national who allegedly abused some minors in the Abattoir community of Jos South Local Government Area.

The PPRO, who said the matter was being investigated by the police, called for restraint on the part of the youth.

On May 13, a woman, Mrs. Iboro Samuel, resident at Giring, Abattoir area of Jos reported at the our station in the area that her 14-year-old daughter was sexually molested by a Lebanese national, Kfouri Sleiman, 61, residing at B/55/12 Giring Road Abattoir.

The said Lebanese was promptly arrested and brought to the police station. In the course of preliminary investigation, the victim denied that she was molested by the suspect.

However, as the news of the arrest of the suspect spread within the locality, seven other alleged victims of the same suspect, girls between ages 12 and 16 years old, came forward to narrate heir encounters with the suspect on various occasions and how they were allegedly molested by him.

Ogaba said some youths in the area subsequently took laws into their hands by storming the residence of the suspect that of his neighbour, another Lebanese named Elias Karka.

Huge damages were done at both houses and some valuables, which total value is not yet known, stolen by the mob.

The Commissioner of Police wishes to use this medium to warn against the use of self-help by the public and to appeal that any infractions of the law should be promptly reported to the police authority, he warned.

The PPRO asssured the people that police command would not treat such matters with levity, if promptly reported. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

by Oluwabukola Akanni

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Oyo State has intercepted Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

The NDLEA Commander, Mrs Josephine Obi, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ibadan.

We also arrested a delivery man who was in possession of a birthday cake infused with 1.2kg of Cannabis Sativa.

The continuous attempt by illicit drug traffickers to outwit anti-drug agency through evil creativity is increasing at an alarming rate in different states of the country.

The emergence of clandestine production of drugged cookies or cakes among the youths is at an alarming rate as this was uncovered by some state commands of the NDLEA formations in the country.

The cookies or cakes were baked with Arizona weed, a highly psychoactive variant of the marijuana family, rohypnol and alcohol among other ingredients such as yeast, butter, flour, sugar, milk and chocolates.

The product is already in supermarkets, clubs and schools, making children the most vulnerable.

The state commander said that illicit drug traffickers were getting more creative to beat NDLEAs operational dragnet.

Obi identified public disregard and lack of awareness of the awful consequences of drug abuse as reasons for the unrestricted access to illicit drugs and psychotropic substances among the youths.

The way people have been disregarding the drug problem and epidemic in our society has made youths to embrace it even more.

It is not surprising that the youths keep on finding new ways and means to use and trafficked hard drugs.

Everyone should be extra vigilant. There is nothing these young people cannot adulterate with hard drugs, and they offer these to their mates without their knowing, she said.

She appealed to the residents of the state to support NDLEA in the war against drug trafficking, abuse and addiction in order to stem the tide of drug use epidemic in the state.

As NDLEA battles to get illicit drug dealers, all hands have to be on deck to stop the menace of drug abuse in the state.

Some years back no one would have thought things would degenerate to this level.

The command will leave no stone unturned to get to the manufacturer of these illicit drug infused cookies and cakes.

We are also going to scale up our drug abuse sensitisation exercises even on the new means of disturbing these illicit and psychotropic drugs, she said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Joy Mbachi

Gov. Willie Obiano has imposed a 7 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on Omor and Anaku communities in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state.

This is contained in a statement issued by Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, Secretary to the State Government.

The state government said the curfew is untill further notice.

The curfew begins on Monday. Residents of the two communities should obey the order as security personnel are on strict orders to enforce the curfew directives.

The government has lifted the curfew imposed on Igbariam, Aguleri, Umueri, Nteje, Awkuzu and Umunya communities on April 26, following the return of normalcy in the areas, the government said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Sunday, a violent clash broke out between residents of Anaku and Omor Communities.

The police says three persons have been confirmed dead in a clash between Omor and Anaku communities in Anyamelum Local Government Area of the state.

DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, Police Public Relations Officer in Anambra, told NAN in Awka on Sunday that normalcy has since been restored in the area.

Ikenga said that Mr Chris Owolabi, Commissioner of Police in the state, personally led a team of operatives to quell the crisis between the neighbouring communities.

He said that the command is still gathering information on the extent of damage while assuring that efforts were on to avoid deterioration of the situation and ensure lasting peace.

Normalcy has been restored in the area and our men are still on ground to ensure safety of life and property. So far, we have recovered three bodies which have been deposited at the morgue. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

Governors of the 36 states of Nigeria are to meet on May 19, to address matters arising from a variety of challenges facing the country.

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) disclosed this in a statement issued by the Head, Media and Public Affairs of its Secretariat, Mr Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo in Abuja on Monday.

Bello-Barkindo said the governors at their 30th teleconference meeting scheduled to start by 2pm, would discuss issues such as ongoing conversation over the contentious Executive Order 10 and the third wave of COVID-19

He said the meeting would be the seventh this year and would also discuss an update of the States, Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, (SFTAS) report among other things.

The meeting will cover lessons for states and actions for governors on sustainability as well as the adoption of SaaS E-procurement.

Bello-Barkindo added that the governors PTF Committee, headed by Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta would brief the forum on health matters arising from the coming of the third wave of COVID-19.

Furthermore, there will be a presentation from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sabo Nanono about the 2nd Phase of Farmers Enumeration.

There will also be another presentation by the Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprises, Mr Alexander Okoh on unlocking liquidity through sale/optimisation of state-owned redundant/sub-optimal assets.

He added that the NGF Director General , Mr Asishana Okauru would also give feedback on the series of Executive Order 10 meetings with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige.

This, according to him, is about the ongoing industrial action by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria.

Source: NAN News

By Philip Yatai

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University Chapter, has directed its members to join the ongoing warning strike by public sector workers in Kaduna State.

The ASUU Chairperson, Dr Peter Adamu gave the directive in a circular to the members of the union, issued in Kaduna on Monday.

Adamu said: I am directed by the National Secretariat of our great union through the Zonal office Kano, for members to join the warning strike.

Members should remember that ASUU is an affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the principal officers of ASUU were part of the NLC National Executive Council that took the decision on the strike action.

Also, members that violate the strike action must note that the union will not be there for them when the wrath of the governor falls on them.

We must unite for a just cause because injury to one is injury to all.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NLC National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said at the five-day strike action that it would run its full course unless the state government attended to the workers grievances.

Some of the grievances included the recent sack of 7,000 local government workers and refusal of the state government to settle the entitlements of about 50, 000 it disengaged from service from 2017 to date.

Government activities in the state were completely paralised on the first day of the strike on Monday, with banks, schools, hospitals, water, electricity, rail and air services shut. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

A man died after being attacked by a shark at a beach in Australias eastern state of New South Wales (NSW) on Tuesday, the states ambulance service said.

NSW Ambulance said at 11:30 a.m (0130 GMT) that paramedics were responding to reports that a man was bitten by a shark at Tancurry Beach, also known as Nine Mile Beach, some 300 kilometres north of Sydney.

In spite of the best efforts of paramedics and bystanders at the scene, the man could not be resuscitated, the ambulance service tweeted about an hour later.

According to local media reports, the man in his 50s, went into cardiac arrest after being bitten on his right upper thigh while surfing.

He was treated at the scene after going into cardiac arrest.

Fatal shark attacks in Australian waters increased eightfold in 2020, making it the deadliest year on record since 1934.

In 2020, Australia tallied eight deadly shark attacks, according to Taronga Zoos Shark Attack File the countrys leading source of shark attack data.

For about 50 years, there has been on average one fatal shark attack per year, and in 2019 there were none. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News