By Nathan Nwakamma

The Okordia-Rumekpe 14-inch crude truckline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has discharged some 213 barrels of crude oil into Ikarama community in Bayelsa.

SPDCs Media Relations Manager, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, confirmed the leakage and said that probe into the incident had been concluded.

A Joint Investigative Visits (JIV) report obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the incident on Thursday confirmed that the incident occured on April 7, while the investigation was concluded on April 12.

JIV is a statutory probe into the cause of any recorded spill incident involving the oil firm, regulators, host communities and state ministries of environment.

The JIV report concluded that the spill was an operational mishap traced to equipment failure which impacted nearby palm trees and fish ponds.

It recommended remediation of the site.

The report indicated that an estimated 1.34 hectares of land was polluted by the leakage which followed a rupture on the pipeline.

According to the report, out of the 213 barrels of SPDCs bonny light crude stream leak, some 110 barrels are recoverable from the ongoing recovery exercise at the site, leaving an estimated spilled volume at 109.12 barrels.

The JIV report, which anticipated that oil recovery would be concluded before the end of April, also recommended replacement of sections of the pipeline to restore its integrity.

Source: NAN News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday condemned the violent killing of Chads President Idriss Deby.

Ramaphosas condemnation is contained in a statement released by the Presidency.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has received with sadness the disturbing news of the death of His Excellency Marshal Idriss Deby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad.

President Ramaphosa has furthermore expressed the concern of the South African government at developments in the Republic of Chad involving armed groups Chad were worrying, the presidency said.

Ramaphosa called for an end to violence in the Central African country, saying an immediate cessation of violence is necessary to bring peace and stability to the Republic of Chad as part of ending conflict on the continent.

We condemn in the strongest terms the violence that has claimed so many lives, including that of President Deby.

We call for calm and a cessation of fighting, read the statement from the South African presidency. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Sudan and France have reiterated the importance of working to achieve stability and security in Chad to consolidate the pillars of stability in the West African sub-region.

Chairman of Sudans Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said this when he received the French envoy to Sudan Jean-Michel Dumond in Khartoum, according to the council in a statement.

The meeting reviewed the situation in Chad, and the possibility of coordination and common understanding between the two countries for security and stability in Chad and the region generally, Dumond was quoted by the statement as saying.

He also said French President Emmanuel Macron would visit Chads capital NDjamena for the funeral of the late President Idriss Deby.

Macrons visit to Chad would be an opportunity to meet with leaders and heads of state in the region, said Dumond.

On Tuesday, the Chadian army announced that President Idriss Deby died from injuries he received last weekend on the frontline of a fight against rebels.

Battles have been raging for days in Chads western province of Kanem between the government forces and armed rebels, killing hundreds of people.

Meanwhile, the French envoy said he also reviewed with Al-Burhan the arrangements for the Paris Conference for supporting Sudan, initiated by Macron and scheduled for May 17.

My mission here is to prepare for the conference that the French president will organise on May 17 in support of the democratic transition in Sudan, said Dumond following the meeting.

He noted that the conference would mark Sudans reintegration into the international community, encourage the return of investors, bankers and businessmen to Sudan and prepare for the launch of Sudans debt relief process. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is launching a new initiative which aims to halt transmission of malaria in 25 more countries by 2025.

The initiative is to be launched on World Malaria Day on April 25.

Thailand, South Africa and Saudi Arabia are among the countries the WHO aimed to make malaria-free.

The 25 countries would receive specialised support and technical guidance to help eradicate the disease.

Countries in South-East Asias Greater Mekong region have already made great strides: the number of cases in the region comprised of Cambodia, China (Yunnan Province), Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam fell by 97 per cent between 2000 and 2020, the WHO said in a statement.

But the Coronavirus crisis has emerged as a serious challenge to malaria responses worldwide. More than one year into the pandemic, substantial disruptions to health services persist across the globe, WHO said.

In many countries, lockdowns and restrictions on the movement of people and goods led to delays in the delivery of insecticide-treated mosquito nets or indoor insecticide spraying campaigns. Malaria diagnosis and treatment services were also interrupted.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.

Globally, 39 countries and territories have been recognised as malaria-free by the WHO. Eleven countries have been certified malaria-free in the last 20 years.

In 2019, there were an estimated 229 million cases of malaria worldwide. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 409,000 in 2019, according to the WHO. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Ikuru Lizzy

Six political parties in Andoni local government area that participated in the recently concluded council polls have lauded the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mr Erastus Awortu.

The Accord Party, African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Allied Peoples Movement, Social Democratic Party and Zenith Labour Party described the victory as the peoples wish.

Chairmanship candidates of the various political parties made their positions known at a joint press conference on Thursday in Port Harcourt.

The parties also reaffirmed their confidence in the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC), adding that the election was transparent and fair.

For us political stakeholders in Andoni and candidates in the contest, we can clearly state that the election was not lost but won because PDPs victory is our collective victory. We will support the new administration in its positive vision for the people.

Indeed, Erastus Awortu is the man for the job

Awortu, won the recent council poll with a total of 107,658 votes as against the Labour Party candidate who had the second highest votes of 4,702.

Receiving his certificate of return from RISIEC, the chairman-elect said that the certificate was a testimonial to the high level success recorded during the election.

I am impressed with RISIEC for their competence during the election.

I am also impressed with my constituent for creating an enabling atmosphere for the electoral body to conduct a credible process and I assure on my commitment to repositioning the area for growth.

We look forward to addressing our collective concerns bothering on security, infrastructure and poverty in the area, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuella Anokam

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) says the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) roadmap designed for the nations sugar industry has the capacity to tackle unemployment and socio-economic issues bedevilling the country.

Mr Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Secretary of the NSDC said this while on a familiarisation visit to sugar refineries in Lagos State.

Adedeji, in a statement by Malam Ahmed Waziri, Deputy Director, Public Affairs, NSDC, on Wednesday in Abuja described the BIP roadmap as a major component of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).

He linked violent crimes and insecurity to rising joblessness amongst the youths.

He noted that that the sugar sector as presently structured could provide direct and indirect jobs for millions of skilled and unskilled Nigerian workers.

The sugar sector is a goldmine that holds numerous potential and opportunities for Nigeria and Nigerians.

It is a sector that has provided direct and indirect jobs for thousands of our citizens across disciplines and professions.

We are all concerned about the need to provide job opportunities for our people, especially our youths.

Unemployment is a major contributor to the various social crises facing us today as a country.

This is why President Muhammadu Buharis administration is committed to revamping the sugar industry to enable it to absorb citizens and contribute meaningful to the economy and the country in general, he said.

Adedeji, who assured investors in the sector of governments support, in terms of policy and technical assistance, said Nigeria had done well in the refining of raw sugar.

He called for concerted efforts toward full implementation of the Backward Integration Programme for the sugar industry which was crucial to Nigerias quest to attain self-sufficiency in sugar production.

The federal government is serious and determined to realise its objectives as far as the sugar sector is concerned. We hope to be the largest exporter of sugar in Africa in the nearest future.

To achieve this lofty goal, we must all roll up our sleeves and accord priority to our backward integration programme which is the bedrock of our mission as an agency of government.

Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria said it would soon begin to restrict access to foreign exchange to producers of some commodities in the country, including sugar.

This is clearly an indication that government cannot continue to expend its scarce forex on things that we have all it takes to produce locally.

Let us take this as a challenge and work toward ensuring that the BIP policy succeeds for the benefit of our dear country, he said.

The NSDC boss restated that it must take actions that would make Nigeria a net exporter of sugar thereby saving scarce forex for other purposes.

Let us integrate all that we are doing to a workable and implementable agenda for the smooth operation of the sector, he added.

The familiarisation visit by the new Executive Secretary of NSDC to sugar refineries in Lagos is to enable him to assess the level of compliance with regard to the implementation of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan.

This is especially as it pertains to the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) undertaken by the trio of Dangote Sugar Refinery, BUA Sugar Refinery and Golden Sugar. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Olajide Idowu

The Osun Police Command on Thursday said it rescued a 25-year-old female student of the Osun College of Health Technology, Ilesa, who was abducted on Tuesday.

In a statement by SP Yemisi Opalola, the Osun Police Spokesperson, the victim, Rukayat Bayonle, was abducted on April, 20, at about 2.30 a.m, at Olomilagbala Area, Ilesa, Osun.

Upon a distress call that the victim was abducted, the Osun Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, drafted a combined team of police Tactical Unit, JTF and other security outfits on a rescue mission of the abducted girl.

The abductors numbering about five, invaded the quarters of the student and took her to the bush.

The security operatives on an unrelenting rescue operation of the victim, followed suit in the bush to do a thorough combing.

At about 5.25 a.m of the same day, within the space of 3 hours, the Police and local security men rescued the kidnapped victim unhurt.

The Commissioner of Police, hereby, urged members of the public to be vigilant, support, co-operate and collaborate with the Police in the fight against all forms of criminalities, the statement read in part. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 35 new recoveries from the COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 154,441.

The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

The agency said that the recoveries were registered from isolation centers across the country in the last 24 hours.

It said that since the beginning of the pandemic it had continued to sustain testing as an effective public health response to detect, isolate and treat cases of COVID-19.

The public health agency said that in an effort to slow the infection in the country and for it to be effective, Nigerians must play their part as citizens to support efforts by the Federal and State government.

If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, get tested. If it is a loved one, encourage him or her to get tested.

There is no shame in getting tested and seeking treatment

We must continue to take responsibility by using a mask in public, maintaining physical distance from others, frequent handwashing and other measures that have been, it advised.

The NCDC also recorded additional 65 new COVID-19 cases and zero fatality in the last 24 hours.

It stated that this was the ninth consecutive day the country recorded no deaths from the virus that had infected over 144 million people globally and led to over three million deaths.

The Public health agency said that the new cases were reported across 11 states of the Federation Lagos, 41 new cases; Kaduna 6, Kano 3, Rivers 3 Plateau 3, Akwa Ibom 2, Imo 2, Oyo 2, Edo 1, Bauchi 1 and Osun 1.

NCDC said since the beginning of the pandemic, the country had recorded 164,488 COVID-19 cases, while 2,061 people had died from it.

It said that the country had also tested 1,870, 915 people since the first COVID-19 cases was announced on Feb. 27, 2020.

It added that a multi-sectoral National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, has continued to coordinate the national response activities in the country.

The NCDC noted that as at April 21, the countrys active case stood at 7,956.

Meanwhile, the NCDC said that the Federal Government could not regulate the cost for COVID-19 test in private laboratories.

As the countrys response to COVID-19, the public health laboratories will continue to provide testing free-of-charge for public health needs, it said.

The agency said the Federal Government had also insisted on a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), test for international passengers, to prevent overwhelming the nations health infrastructure.

So please bear with us, its a small price to pay for the future and the health of the country and its people and we encourage you to keep carrying out departure test.

All travelers arriving in Nigeria must have tested negative for COVID-19 by PCR in country of departure pre-boarding.

The PCR test must be done within 96 hours before departure and preferably within 72 hours, it said.

NCDC noted that passengers were required to remain in self-isolation on arrival and carry out a COVID-19 test in a designated private laboratory seven days after arrival.

This entire process must be registered on the Nigeria International Travel Portal- www.nitp.ncdc.gov.ng, it said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that passengers have expressed their frustration on accessing the portal, costs of the test on arrival and other challenges.

Taking to Twitter, some passengers said they have been unable to complete payment online and therefore unable to board their aircraft. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Olukayode Babalola

The Nasarawa chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has called for the revival of school sports competition in the state.

This is contained in a communique drafted by its members, Eche Amos, Smah George and Esther Akaa, after the associations monthly congress, held on Wednesday, in Lafia.

According to the communique, the SWAN congress called for the revival of school sports across the state for talent discovery and to boost students academic performance.

The congress congratulated Team Nasarawa for their outstanding performance at the recently concluded Edo 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF), where they won 22 medals.

The congress also commended the Governor of Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule, for his unfettered support for sports and youth development, urging him to sustain the tempo.

We also salute the various sporting initiatives of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, headed by the Commissioner, Othman Bala-Adam, in raising athletes for national and international podium appearance, it said.

The congress then condemned the robbery attack on one of the buses of Team Nasarawa at Akeleku village, near Lafia, while returning from the NSF in Edo.

We use this opportunity to salute the bravery of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps escort personnel and driver for saving the lives of the contingents, read the communique.

The congress, however, appealed to the state government to increase security checkpoints on the Lafia-Makurdi expressway to curb the incessant robbery cases along the route.

To usher in a new leadership for the association, the congress set up a three-man committee to conduct the state chapters election within the next two weeks. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Suleiman Shehu

The leadership of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) in Oyo State say the strike continues, until their demands are met.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on April 6, JUSUN Judiciary workers, under the aegis of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike demanding an enforcement of constitutional provisions and court judgments granting financial autonomy to the judiciary at both the state and federal levels.

JUSUN and PASAN, made this known during a peaceful protest jointly organised on Thursday in Ibadan to further press their demands and carrying placards with various inscriptions.

The Oyo State JUSUN Chairman, Kayode Martins said the financial autonomy being requested for would enable the judiciary to function effectively without any interference from the executive arm.

Martins said the autonomy would ensure checks and balances among the arms of government and democracy would have its strong hold in Nigeria.

What we are asking for does not only affect the Judiciary and legislative arms but affect the whole society.

If anything goes wrong, you run to the Judiciary being the last hope of the common man.

If the judiciary does not have autonomy, it will be difficult to change the wrongs in the society and as well challenge some policies of the executive, Martins said.

He called on the state governors to uphold the constitution and do the right thing by granting their autonomy.

In his address, the Oyo State PASAN Chairman, Mr Yemi Alade, said the association wants the agreement reached with the governors to be documented.

Alade said that the strike would continue until their demands on financial autonomy are met.

Not until those agreement are met and documented, the strike will continue. What we are fighting for is fundamental and constitutional, Alade said.

The Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, Mrs Delayo Orieku, said what the legislature and judiciary are fighting for are their constitutional rights.

Orieku said the NBA are solidly behind them and called on the governors to obey the constitution and grant their demands.

NAN reports that a verdict of the Federal High Court in Nigerias capital, Abuja, had in January 2014, held that financial autonomy for the judiciary is a constitutional provision that must be complied with by the executive branch of government.

NAN reports that on May 23, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Executive Order to grant financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary across the 36 states of the country.

The order also mandates the accountant-general of the federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.

The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the Executive Order No. 10 of 2020, made it mandatory that all states of the federation should include the allocations of both the legislature and the judiciary in the first-line charge of their budgets.

According to the AGF, a Presidential Implementation Committee was constituted to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in compliance with section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended).

NAN reports that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) said they will start implementing financial autonomy for the judiciary latest by May ending, a pledge that indicates that an end to the ongoing strike that has crippled the nations judiciary may be in sight.

The governors also called on striking members of the JUSUN to call off their two weeks old strike.

The chairman of the NGF, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, gave this assurance in an interview with journalists after meeting with stakeholders from the state judiciary and legislature at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He said the modalities for the implementation were worked out at the meeting held at the Presidential Villa.

According to him, the meeting, chaired by the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Ibrahim Gambari, was attended by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, the representatives of the judiciary, the representatives of the Conference of Speakers, and House of Representatives.

The first line charge status, which is being respected by the federal government in respect of the federal judiciary, entitles the state judiciaries to get funds due to them directly from the federation account.

The governors rushed to court in 2020 to challenge an executive order signed by President Buhari for the enforcement of the first line charge status of both the state judiciary and legislature.

They argued that executive order which directs the accountant-general of the federation to deduct funds meant for the state judiciaries and legislatures in the federation account and pay it to them was unconstitutional. (NAN)

Source: NAN News