By Raji Rasak

Nine senior military officers of the Nigerian Army on Friday graduated from the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) in Badagry, Lagos State, after completing a nine-month Executive Management Course.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the officers are: Maj.-Gen. Adekunle Shodunke, Maj.-Gen. Temitope Ademola, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Maikobi and Maj.- Gen. Lukuman Lawal.

Others are: Brig.-Gen. Dominic Udofa, Brig.-Gen. Ibiba Briggs, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim, Col. Gabriel Akpan and Col. Ayuba Da-walang.

The Director General of ASCON, Mrs Cecelia Gayya, while congratulating the graduands, said that the initiative was an eloquent testimony of the Nigerian Armys love for human capacity development and commitment to effective team work.

According to Gayya, Nigerian Armys approach to capacity development is unparalleled and one thing that should be emulated across the military and other public sector organisations.

We are all gathered here today to celebrate another milestone in the lives of the graduating class of 2021.

Graduation is about endings and beginnings, a celebration of achievement and commencement of a transition to a different chapter in our lives as productive and responsible adults.

This is the moment we have all been waiting and praying for, she said.

Gayya said that during the nine-month training programme, the officers conducted themselves with a high sense of responsibility and humility.

Report reaching me is to the effect that the participants exhibited a high sense of responsibility, humility and discipline throughout the duration of the course.

They conducted themselves with a high sense of responsibility expected of senior officers of their calibre.

ASCON is, therefore, always willing and ready to collaborate with the Nigerian Army in human capacity development, she said.

The DG also congratulated the graduands for successfully navigating the programme in the era of COVID-19 pandemic.

She also thanked the Management, Teaching and Administrative Staff of ASCON for their support and commitments to duty, adding that without them the programme would not have been successful.

Gayya maintained that the college had been pursuing its mandate with great zeal and tenacity in order to make a positive impact on the performance of its graduands in both public and private sectors of the economy.

In his remarks, Maj.-Gen. Adekunle Shodunke, who responded on behalf of the other graduands, said that their nine months of stay in the college was a memorable and interesting one.

Shodunke noted that the training programme had given them more exposure in the field of administration.

He said that the college had more experts in the field of administration and assured them that they would be good ambassadors of the college after their programme.

He also thanked the Nigerian Army for sponsoring them for the training programme at ASCON. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Edeki Igafe

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Thursday said that his administration would continue to provide critical infrastructure in the state.

Okowa made the promise during the inauguration of the dualised 3.09 kilometre Emore Road in Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South Local Government Area of the state.

He noted that his administration had constructed and rehabilitated several roads across the state since inception.

The governor saidhe would remain focused till the end of his administration to ensure dividends of democracy were delivered to the people.

We will continue to deliver on critical infrastructure as much as God permits and as long as our finances can carry us.

We have done several hundreds of roads since the inception of this administration. We are just picking few out for inauguration.

God has helped us to link our various communities and the internal roads within our townships.

We will continue to do what is bestfor us to do. Even though we have two years to finish, we will remain on track and ensure we work till the very last day of our administration, he said.

The governor thanked the Isoko people for their support and prayers.

I thank the people of Oleh and Isoko nation for the love they have shown to our administration in the past six years.

I thanked the royal fathers and the youth for providing the enabling environment. I assure you that the partnership between the government and the people remains real.

From here, we are moving to inuagurate the Emore Secondary School also in Oleh, Okowa added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that earlier,the governor had inaugurated the three kilometre Orherhe-Agbarho/Otokutu access road Phase 1 in Ughelli North Local Government Area.

Okowa was accompanied by his counterpart in Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel.

Speaking at the event, Udom described capital infrastructure such as roads as the real dividends of democracy.

This is the real dividends of democracy. What you put on ground for a common man to enjoy is the real dividends of democracy, he said.

The governor urged the people to continue to support Okowas administration.

In his remark, the President-General of Ohrehre Community, Mr Gilbert Omos, thanked the governor for the project.

Omos, however, appealed for the establishment of a secondary school in the community.

Source: NAN News

By Joshua Oladipo

Six persons narrowly escaped death on Dada Estate Road in Osogbo on Friday when two vehicles collided, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

The FRSC spokesperson in the state, Mrs Agnes Ogungbemi, in a statement said the incident occurred atabout 12.45 a.m.

Ogungbemi explained that the six passengers escaped when a Toyota Camry car with registration number AAB53AJ collided with a mini Suzuki bus (Korepo) with registration number SGB914XA.

Six passengers were involved in the accident leading to only two persons sustaining severeinjuries.

The accident occurred due to lack ofpatience by the drivers and also total disobedient to the Road Traffic Act, she said.

According to her, the two injuredpersons have been taken to the Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH) for treatment.

Ogungbemi appealed to motorists and other road users to abide by road safety regulations and shun anything capable of leading to loss of lives and property. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Rita Iliya

The 700MW Zungeru Hydro-Eletric power dam being constructed by the Federal Government will soon become operational, Gov. Abubakar Sani-Bello of Niger, has said.

This is contained in a statement by Mrs Mary-Noel Berje, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, in Minna on Friday.

Bello made this known when he visited the dam site in Zungeru in Wushishi Local Government Area of the state alongside other government officials.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe, Bello said the visit was to inspect the ongoing impoundment of one of the four turbines in December.

He said that the other three would be delivered in 2022.

This is a major milestone and to us in Niger state, it is worth celebrating, we do hope that when the project is delivered, it will improve electricity generation, improve economic activities and host of others, the governor said.

He said the impoundment was a sign that the project would be completed within the specified time but raised concerns over the refusal of communities to vacate part of the area even after being compensated.

These communities have been fully compensated, resettlement sites have been allocated to them, monies for construction given to them, I wonder what they are still doing there, he added.

Mr Babatunde Adewumi, Consultant De-Crown West Africa Company Ltd and Representative of the Federal Ministry of Power, commended the state government for educating the communities on the importance of the project.

Adewumi said that in spite of security threat in the state, no incident had been recorded in the site and lauded the federal and state governments for providing adequate security.

He said the divergence channel had been closed to allow the reservoir to begin harvesting the water needed for power generation in December and assured that the deadline for the project would be met.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports tat the hydroelectric facility being built with Chinese assistance on the upper and middle reaches of Kaduna River in the Niger State of Nigeria.

NAN reports that the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel of Nigeria is the owner and implementing authority of the project.

Estimated to cost 1.3 billion dollars, Zungeru is the biggest hydropower project under construction in Nigeria.

It is also one of the biggest power projects in Africa to avail preferential loan facility from the Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) of China.

Construction works on the power plant started in May 2013 and were expected to take 60 months for completion.

The Zungeru project is estimated to generate 2.64 billion kWh of electricity a year, which will meet close to 10 per cent of Nigerias total domestic energy needs.

Apart from electricity generation, the project also intends to provide flood control, irrigation, as well as water supply and fish breeding facilities.

The project was expected to provide employment opportunities to more than 2,000 people during the peak construction period.

The Zungeru hydroelectric project site is located on the Kaduna River near Zungelu in the Niger State, approximately 150km away from Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

The Igbo for President Solidarity Congress (IPSC) has advised Nigerians to be wary of some segments of the society seeking for the division of the country.

Those people asking Nigeria to be divided are people who move around with their international passports or privileged to know short exit from the country in the event of trouble outbreak, Dr Olukayode Oshiariyo, the president of the congress, said in a statement on Friday.

He said that the congress had a comprehensive report of the Nigerian civil war and it would never subscribe to or desire another civil war.

Those who are partakers in drumming and singing discordant tones to divide and liquidate the entity, are either nave of Nigerias historical trajectory or being self-repugnant because they claim to love their people more than country.

We cannot afford to shed more human blood than what the herdsmen, kidnappers and terrorists had already done to provoke God and man.

Nigeria was put together by God and no amount of mischief, manipulation, machination will hold against its survival as one united and indivisible most populous black nation.

But, if at a round-table we resolved to break, then we must move to sustain the will of God for Nigeria as a nation.

In this regard there will be referendum to enable each state eligible voters to determine republic they want to belong, and each republic will adopt a new constitution, he explained.

According to him, IPSC is a national initiative designed to rally mass support for a man or woman of South East extraction to become Nigerian president in 2023.

Oshiariyo noted that in upholding the core mandate of the congress, it held a meeting in Kaduna on April 19 and resolved to canvass for producing the president of the country from the south-eastern part of the country.

We observe that any political maneuvering or permutations that favour any zone other than South East Zone will affect Nigerias unity, peace and indivisibility.

We also suggest that the 1963 Republican Constitution and 2014 National Conference Report be visited, perused and merged to produce a new constitution, he said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

According to United Nations (UN) figures, 125 minors were among the refugees and migrants prevented from fleeing to Europe off the coast of Libya earlier.

A total of 114 were travelling unaccompanied by adults, the UN childrens agency UNICEF reported in Geneva on Friday.

Libyas coastguard took most of those picked up to controversial reception centres without enough water or medical care, UNICEF said, adding that violence and exploitation are rife there.

In total, more than 1,100 minors were in the centres, it said.

There are more than 65,000 underage refugees and migrants in the war-torn North African country, often under precarious conditions.

They were threatened with abuse and exploitation.

According to statistics from the UNs International Organisation for Migration (IOM), almost 500 people have already died in 2021 on the route across the central Mediterranean usually from Libya.

In the entire Mediterranean Sea, according to these figures, there were almost 600.

The rescue organisation Sea-Watch said on Thursday that it had rescued more than 40 people from distress at sea in the central Mediterranean.

The rescue ship Ocean Viking of the aid organisation SOS Mediterranee took 236 people on board on Tuesday, including more than 100 unaccompanied minors.

The organisations are looking for safe ports in Europe to bring those rescued ashore.

UNICEF called on Libya to release minors from reception centres and provide them with adequate care.

It appealed to Europeans to take in arrivals and step up search operations in the Mediterranean. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Under pressure from the Russian government, the U.S. embassy in Moscow was reducing the issuance of visas and other services largely to emergencies.

Consular work would be reduced by 75 per cent overall, the mission announced on Friday.

For example, visas for simple travel to the U.S will no longer be issued.

Routine services for U.S. citizens would also have to be reduced.

U.S. citizens whose visas for Russia are expiring have been asked to leave the country by June 15.

We regret that the actions of the Russian government have forced us to reduce our consular work force by 75 per cent, and will endeavor to offer to U.S. citizens as many services as possible, it said on its website.

The reason for this unprecedented move is a Russian government ban on future employment of staff that do not hold U.S. passports.

In Moscow, many foreign embassies hire Russian citizens to keep their costs down.

For many Russians, working in Western embassies is in turn attractive because they often earn much better there than on the Russian labour market.

The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, had justified the ban with a possible recruitment of Russian citizens for the secret services of other states.

The Czech embassy is also affected.

President, Vladimir Putin has also signed a decree to draw up a list of unfriendly states.

The Foreign Ministry intends to publish the list shortly.

The countries on the list face punitive measures.

The Russian Foreign Ministry had imposed the recruitment ban in response to new U.S. punitive measures.

In April, the U.S expelled 10 Russian diplomats and imposed sanctions as punishment for interference in 2020 presidential election and for hacker attacks.

Russia rejected the accusations and also expelled U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat move. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

The Directorate of Technical Aid Corps has dispatched 33 volunteers to Uganda and is set to deploy another 33 to Tanzania by next week, the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (DTAC) has said.

Acting-Director General of the Corps, Shehu Mohammed, said shortly before the departure in Abuja on Friday that the move was in response to humanitarian need to cushion the effects of the biting economic downturn resulting from COVID-19.

The volunteers, who are mainly university lecturers, were dispatched ceremoniously from the DTAC headquarters in a convoy of three luxury buses, enroute the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

They are to assist in boosting the education sector of their host country for the next two years.

The deployment is meant to strengthen the countrys educational system, as part of the grand masterplan of Nigeria for needy African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Let it be known that the volunteers sent to Uganda had earlier responded to an advertisement placed by the DTAC on the 22nd of March 2021, with respect to the need for lecturers to help boost the Ugandan education sector.

These are the successful applicants who scaled through the rigorous screening process by the corps and consequently shortlisted for the all-expense paid foreign mission to Uganda, which is the second of its kind by the Government of Nigeria.

The volunteers welfare and sundry bills will be footed by the Nigerian government throughout their 2-years expedition in the African nation, so as to enable them give their best to the government and people of Uganda, he said.

He added that another batch of 33 Technical Aid Volunteers is billed to depart for Tanzania by next week, making it the third foreign support by Nigeria in a space of four months since January 2021.

He disclosed that a similar dispatch had already been made to the Republic of Benin in January 2021, which was officially the first Federal Government-sponsored foreign mission in the year 2021.

Finally, in the words of Brad Henry, no matter where you stand politically even if youre unsure of what your political ideology is it is important to take part in the process of shaping our government.

This is, therefore, a clarion call for all well-meaning Nigerians to support laudable government initiatives as this, to encourage the government to do more in the face of dwindling economic fortunes. Most importantly, the government should increase funding for foreign policies of this nature, so as to harvest the huge potentials in the continental market. the director said.

Source: NAN News

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday announced the immediate removal of all directors of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. and FBN Holdings Plc over purported management changes at the bank.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emeifele said this in a statement titled The Purported Management Change at the First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.

Consequently, Emeifele announced the appointment of Mr Remi Babalola as the Chairman of FBN Holdings.

Other directors appointed by the apex bank were Dr Fatade Abiodun Oluwole,Kofo Dosekun
Remi Lasaki, Dr Alimi Abdulrasaq, Ahmed Modibbo ,Khalifa Imam and Sir Peter Aliogo.

Emefiele, however, retained Mr UK Eke as the holding companys Managing Director.

On the other hand, Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale was appointed as the Chairman of FirstBank.

The CBN returned Dr Sola Adeduntan as the banks Managing Director, Mr Gbenga Shobo as the Deputy Managing Director.

Mr Remi Oni and Abdullahi Ibrahim were announced as Executive Directors.

Other directors are Tokunbo Martins, Uche Nwokedi , Adekunle Sonola, Isioma Ogodazi, Ebenezer Olufowose and Ishaya Elijah B. Dodo.

He said themanagement of the CBN, in line with its powers under BOFIA 2020 approved and took the action following areview of the situation and in order to preserve stability of the bank to protect minority shareholders and depositors.

As you may be aware, FBN is one of the systemically important banks in the Nigerian banking sector given its historical significance, balance sheet size, large customer base and high level of interconnectedness with other financial service providers, amongst others.

By our last assessment, FBN has over 31million customers, with deposit base of N4.2 trillion, shareholders funds of N618 billion and NIBSS instant payment (NIP) processing capacity of 22 per cent of the industry.

To us at the CBN, not only is it imperative to protect the minority shareholders, that have no voice to air their views, also important, is the protection of the over 31million customers of the bank who see FBN as a safe haven for their hard-earned savings, he said.

Recall that the CBN had earlierqueried the Board of the First Bank of Nigeria Plc for removing Dr Adesola Adeduntan, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, without regulatory approval.

The query was contained in a letter dated April 28, 2021 signed by the CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mr Haruna Mustafa.

Mustafahadsaid that the action was taken without due consultations with the regulatory authorities, especially given the systemic importance of the commercial bank.

He noted that the tenure of Adeduntan has yet to expire.

The CBN was not made aware of any report from the board indicting the managing director of any wrongdoing or misconduct; there appears to be no apparent justification for the precipitate removal.

We are particularly concerned because the action is coming at a time the CBN has provided various regulatory forbearances and liquidity support to reposition the bank, which has enhanced its asset quality, capital adequacy and liquidity ratios amongst other prudential indicators.

It is also curious to observe that the sudden removal of the MD/CEO was done about eight months to the expiration of his second tenure which is due on Dec. 31, 2021, he added.

Mustafa noted that the removal of a sitting MD/CEO of a systemically important bank was not good.

The removal of a sitting MD/CEO of a systemically important bank that has been under regulatory forbearance for five to six years without prior consultation and justifiable basis has dire implications for the bank and also portends significant risks to the stability of the financial system.

In light of the foregoing, you are required to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against the board for hastily removing the MD/CEO and failing to give prior notice to the CBN before announcing the management change in the media.

In the meantime, you are directed to desist forthwith from making any further public/media comments on the matter. Your comprehensive response on the foregoing should reach the Director, Banking Supervision Department, on or before 5p.m. on April 29, 2021, hehadsaid.

NAN reports that First Bank had on Wednesday announced the appointment of Mr Gbenga Shobo as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Director.

It had said that the appointment was subject to all regulatory approvals.

It had also announced thatShobo was succeeding Adeduntan who, it said,would be leaving the bank in accordance with the banks term limit for its chief executive after successfully leading the bank since January 2016.

These decisions will take effect from today, April 28, 2021, it had said.

First bank had also appointed Mr Abdullahi Ibrahim as the Deputy Managing Director, while Mr Ini Ebong, Mr Segun Alebiosu, Mr Seyi Oyefeso and Mrs Bashirat Odunewu were also appointed as executive directors.

It had noted that the decisions were subject to all regulatory approvals. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Olatunde Ajayi

9mobile telecommunication company has announced the recommencement of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards activation at its Experiences Centres across Nigeria.

The operators move is the first by any Nigerian telecommunication company after the ban on activation of new SIM cards was lifted by the Federal Government last week.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Stjepan Udovicic, Chief Commercial Officer, 9mobile, said that restarting the activation of SIM cards was because it remained committed to the welfare of customers.

At 9mobile, our customers interest remains our priority. We know several people were affected when the ban was announced and they had been looking forward to its lifting.

So, we deemed it expedient to start immediately for our customers sakes, he said.

He added that 9mobile had been prepared for the recommencement of SIM cards activation and that customers only needed to visit its Experience Centre to do so.

He noted that SIM registration and activation services could also be accessed in 9mobile Experience Centres on the linkhttps://9mobile.com.ng/nin

As it stands now, we are the first telecommunication company to restart activating SIM cards in our Experience Centres, and that attests to our preparedness.

Customers only need to walk into our stores and we will activate their SIM cards.

Quality and efficiency are the gold standards of our operation, hence our decision, he said.

He maintained that the company continued to transform lives with its consistent innovation, rolling out solutions that enabled Nigerians to achieve their full potential since entering the Nigerian market.

9mobile recently enabled its customers to register effortlessly, physically and free of charge for their National Identification Numbers (NIN) and link them to their SIMs in its Experience Centres, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) recalls that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, had banned SIM cards activation in December 2020. (NAN)

Source: NAN News