By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

The Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) has announced a profit after tax of N6.93 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2020.

The company in a statement said the profit after tax was 41.43 per cent higher when compared with N4.90 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2019.

Also, profit before tax rose by 22.35 per cent to N7.39 billion from N6.04 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2019.

Its total income stood at N12.09 billion from N9.21 billion in 2019, indicating an increase of 31.3 per cent.

The group total income grew by 31.27 per cent to N12.09 billion against N9.21 billion recorded in the comparative period of 2019.

The companys investment income increased by 61.39 per cent to N7.44 billion in contrast with N4.61 billion in 2019 financial year.

The companys operating expenses inched higher by 46.13 per cent to N4.72 billion from N3.23 billion in 2019, partly reflecting investments in technology and human capital.

The board also recommended a dividend of N5.85 billion, translating to N1.17, representing a growth of 36 per cent against 86k dividend per share paid in 2019.

Commenting on the groups performance, Mr Oscar Onyema, the Chairman, Board of Directors of CSCS, said that the company defied the unprecedented challenges that characterised 2020 financial year.

It is exciting to report these stellar results. Defying the unprecedented challenges that characterised 2020 financial year.

CSCS emerged stronger, delivering outstanding growth in top and bottom-lines, and executing far-reaching initiatives that would sustainably strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the business, Onyema said.

He said that the board of directors and management were upbeat about the value accretive prospects of CSCS with a profit growth of over 41 per cent.

We are enthusiastic that the progress made thus far in repositioning the business to efficiently play a more active and leading role in deepening the Nigerian capital market will be sustained.

With continuous investments in new technologies, talent, and work environment, we are optimistic on the productivity of CSCS going forward,he said.

Also, commenting on performance, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri, CSCS Chief Executive Officer, said that the result reinforced its commitment to delivering superior value to our shareholders, irrespective of the odds.

These impressive results reflect our enhanced collaboration with different stakeholders and their unflinching support and loyalty to CSCS, as the core infrastructure for the Nigerian capital market.

Hence, my colleagues and I are excited to dedicate this performance to our esteemed participants, regulator and the board of directors, whose support kept us stronger through the pandemic.

We would continue to invest in our collective objective of deepening the capital market and broader financial system, even as we seek new and efficient ways of enhancing our partnerships for mutual prosperity.

Having laid a solid foundation over the past three years, we are more than ever optimistic on the prospect of our business, especially as we diversify the business for enhanced resilience against macro and market volatilities.

We will sustain our disciplined cost efficiency culture, in our commitment to delivering sustainable value to shareholders over the long term.

We are excited at the 39 per cent cost-to-income ratio, despite the impact of exchange rate volatilities and rising headline inflation on our cost base, Jalo-Waziri said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ibironke Ariyo

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has urged its personnel to sustain the interface with states and local governments to ensure regular and timely upload of vehicle information for enhanced national security.

The FRSC Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, made the call at the 2021 National Vehicle Identification Scheme (NVIS) training for desk officers, on Monday in Abuja.

Oyeyemi said that the national average upload had been remained steady, hence the need to strive to continually improve on the efforts, in line with the increase in vehicular registration.

He said that a consistent and sustained data upload would also provide more support and guidance on the mode of patrol operations to be adopted by field commands at different times.

Oyeyemi also said that the theme of the workshop, Effective NVIS Data Capturing and Vehicle Security, was targeted at building the corps capacity for improved data management.

This, he said, was in line with Goal 2 of 2021 corps corporate strategic goals, which focused on improving personnel capacity and competencies in road safety management.

According to him, the workshop is designed to highlight the need for precaution and due diligence in processing and handling of data, in order to achieve the required accuracy.

NVIS is a component of National Uniform Licensing Scheme (NULS), which is a unified system and mainly designed to automate the processes involved in the production of plate numbers, vehicle registration and verification.

It was launched in the country on Jan. 16, 1993 with the introduction of the retro-reflective number plates and the adoption of alpha-numeric system.

The scheme is meant to correct the haphazard motor vehicle registration process that existed before the establishment of FRSC.

However, states and the FCT adopted different modes of licensing drivers and registration of vehicles, with glaring disparities that negated efficiency.

So far, the data generated is being relied on as support for investigative activities of the National Bureau of Statistics and other governmental and non-governmental institutions, he said.

According to him, since inception, more than 500 stolen vehicles have been recovered by security agencies through the support of the platform which provides real time information and access to vehicle details required by security agencies.

Oyeyemi said that management would continue to initiate policies that would guide the corps operations and help resolve emerging challenges.

He said that management had also put modalities in place to procure and deploy mobile capturing equipment to ensure effective capturing of tricycles and motorcycles nationwide, in the NVIS.

The FRSC boss assured the personnel that management would continue to provide all the support required to make the corps tasks easy and engender positive results. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Afonne

No fewer than eight repentant Niger Delta militants and kidnappers undergoing rehabilitation in the Omega Power Ministries (OPM) rehabilitation centre, are now pastors in the church, General Overseer, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, has said.

Chinyere, who is the founder of the church disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

The General Overseer said that the repentant militants/kidnappers turned over a new leaf after a divine encounter through evangelism organised for some of them in their various camps.

I preached to them and many of them hearkened to salvation call and gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

Before I embarked on this move, I bought some estates to relocate them.

Initially when I preached to them, because I could not relocate them out of their place, it was easy for them to go back to their old ways.

So, I decided that the best way to approach them is to change their environment and that became the first step of their healing process, he said.

He said that he took them to the estate, got them baptized and began to teach them the words of God form complete liberation from crime.

These kidnappers have wives and children, so what we did was to put their children in the free school operated by the church and at the same time established businesses for their wives.

We started teaching them different skills and by the grace of God, after they acquired the skills, some said they wanted to be pastors.

And, currently we have eight of them that are full time pastors in OPM branches.

Others are into different skills like carpentry, pipeline wielding, scaffolding, mechanic and so on, Chinyere said.

According to him, about 10,000 youths have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society under the OPM rehabilitation programme for youths especially for repentant militants and commercial sex workers.

The OPM General Overseer said that some of the repentant militants had been gainfully employed in different oil companies in the country, while some got jobs abroad.

The Nigerian Police have been cooperating with us; some of these youths have been in crime for many years and they were not caught, but they came with their arms to surrender.

The police decided not to go after them since they surrendered willingly as long as they dont go back to crime again; there is somebody that submitted three AK-47 riffles.

We took them to police headquarters in Rivers, located at Moscow Road and they took their biometrics, pictures and fingerprints as well as record of guns submitted and the crimes they committed.

With this, the police have their full data in case they go back to crime. However, I know they wont go back to crime, he added.

The cleric also said that the programme had recorded 95 per cent success as the repentant militants and kidnappers had not returned to crime since they surrendered.

Chinyere further said that efforts were on to ensure that children of the less privileged, who were not in school, get the desired education through the churchs 15 free schools located in Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, Akwa Ibom, and Lagos states.

My target is to have this rehabilitation centres in every state of the federation to help people who roam about, because the school is free, he said.

Mr Justine Obodo, one of the repented militants from Emohua Local Government Area, who spoke on behalf of others told NAN that they had been in the rehabilitation camp since 2019.

I am from Egbeda in Emohua Local Government Area. We have been in OPM rehabilitation centre since 2019, and as sons of Ikwere, we have changed from our bad lives.

We never knew we will be alive to see today and we are not greater than those that have died in battle with army, police and navy.

Today we are living by the grace of God because the bible said that whoever the son of God has set free, he is free indeed.

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins for us to have repentance. The day we denounced, we came with our irons (guns) and submitted them.

Go to Ikwere land now, there is peace because we were the ones causing problem there before, but today, we have changed.

We plead with our communities to give us a second chance. We need freedom and we will champion peace in our communities, Obodo said.

He gave assurance that the rehabilitated militants would work with other stakeholders to persuade other militants and youths not to take to crime again in their communities.

We have been eating three times a day and our wives now have businesses and our children have been enrolled in the OPM free schools, he added. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Europes football ruling body UEFA is set to approve sweeping Champions League reforms on Monday and has issued a stern warning to clubs .

Sources told dpa that clubs from England, Italy and Spain were part of the latest plan, and news reports spoke of a league comprising 20 teams which could start in 2022.

Reports named Premier League clubs Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea as part of it.

Others include Italys Juventus and Milan clubs AC and Inter, and the Spanish trio of FC Barcelona, Real and Atletico Madrid.

Fifteen or 16 of the 20 clubs in all are to be permanent members, while the remaining four or five are to qualify for the event.

According to the New York Times, the League would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the participating teams, which are already the richest clubs in the sport.

2019/2020 Champions League title-holders Bayern Munich and runners-up Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are said not to be among the clubs who have not signed up or expressed interest.

In a statement, UEFA and football leagues and federations from England, Italy and Spain spoke of a cynical project.

It is a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever.

As previously announced by FIFA and the six Federations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level.

Their players could also be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.

We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who have refused to sign up to this.

The Premier League said it condemns any proposal that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid.

The FA also condemned the plans and German Football League chief Christian Seifert said his body rejects any kind of European Super League concept.

It was said it would irreparably damage the national leagues as the basis of European professional football.

The latest development comes on the eve of a UEFA executive committee meeting.

The meeting, apart from finalising the host cities for the summers Euro tournament, is also to approve a Champions League reform from 2024 onwards.

The powerful European Club Association (ECA) and UEFAs club competitions committee were reportedly in agreement Friday about the reform.

Under this, the elite event is to be increased from 32 to 36 teams and each team plays 10 instead of six group games in what is known as the Swiss model.

Two of the additional four clubs are to be controversially picked via historic results not through qualification via domestic action.

The large number of additional matches is a threat to domestic competitions and fan groups have also voiced their dissent.

An even bigger outcry is expected if a Super League becomes reality.

The reports said European officials were discussing counter-measures which could include banning Super League clubs from next seasons Champions League.

We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening.

Football is based on open competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way, the UEFA statement said.

We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a project if it were to be announced.

This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.

Source: NAN News

By Ariwodola Idowu

The Police have confirmed the arrest of 10 suspects over alleged complicity in a rival cult clash in Ikere Ekiti, Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti.

ASP Sunday Abutu, the Police Public Relations Officer, who confirmed the incident to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, said the clash occurred on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday.

I can confirm to you that 10 suspects have been arrested in connection with the bloody cult clash. The clash was caused by rivalry and show of strength, he said.

The police spokesperson also confirmed that six persons lost their lives in the clash, adding that their corpses have been deposited in the morgue.

We have begun serious operations there by combined forces of the men of the Nigeria Police Force, NigerianArmy, Amotekun Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

Those arrested are in our custody and by the time we conclude our investigations, they will be charged to court accordingly.

NAN reports that the police have deployed more officers and had also increased surveillance on the town by conducting stop and search on vehicles and individuals coming in and out of the town. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ismail Abdulaziz
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc has declared its commitment to the Backward Integration Policy (BIP) of the Federal Government to reverse the trend and make Nigeria self-sufficient in sugar production.

Mr John Beverley, General Manager of the Dangote Sugar BIP, disclosed this when members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly visited its site in Tunga, Awe Local Government Area.

The Dangote Group is the biggest private sector investor in the BIP of the Federal Government, which is aimed at gradually halting the importation of sugar into the country.

It would be recalled that in 2017 the Dangote Industries Limited signed a landmark 700 million dollars Memorandum of Understanding with the Nasarawa State Government.

Beverly said that the factory would have the capacity to crush 12,000 tons cane per day (tcd) with a 90MW power generated for both the company and host communities use.

He disclosed also that 500km of roads would be constructed to ease transportation within the vicinity.

He solicited the support of the lawmakers in controlling the menace of land encroachment by settlers and itinerant farmers.

Beverley said the company has been carrying out Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in the communities.

He pointed out that so far the company has constructed boreholes, schools, Clinic and awarded scholarships.

He added that the companys investments in sugar would revolutionalise the economy of the state and uplift the standard of living of its people.

He assured the lawmakers that by the time the company fully completes the in Nasarawa and Adamawa under the BIP, the nation would be saved of more than half of the forex expended on sugar imports annually.

The state lawmakers, who were obviously excited at the sugar projects, commended the Dangote Group for the choice of the state for the project.

They also applauded it for the accelerated pace of execution of the project in spite of occasional delays arising from communal disagreements.

Mr Ibrahim Abdullah, Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, said that the 500 million dollars so far expended on the project in the state is not only a blessing to Nigeria but the pride of Africa.

The Speaker and his team, who were conducted round the companys 78,000 hectares, commended the Chairman of the Company, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for the project.

The Speaker said he was taken aback by the huge nature of the investment, noting that it would not only open up opportunities in the state but in Africa as a whole.

The Speaker said the lawmakers were ready to support the company towards the realisation of the sugar project through relevant legislations.

According to him, the news that the project will create about 150,000 jobs is a welcome one, more so that the project site is once a forest harbouring criminal.

Also, the General Manager, Government and Stakeholders Relations, Mr Bello Dan-Musa, said the President of Dangote Group is passionate about lifting Nigerias economy through strategic investment and job creation.

He added that the huge project does not only fit into the BIP and National Sugar Master Plan, but also the diversification agenda of the government.

The integrated sugar complex to be located in Tunga comprises of an initial 60,000ha sugar plantation and two sugar factories with capacity to produce 430,000tpa of refined white sugar representing about 30 per cent of the countrys consumption.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ahmed Kaigama
Weeds and rodents have taken over the premises of Steyr (Nigeria) Ltd, Bauchi, one of the four Automobile Assembly Plants established in the country about 40 years ago.

A Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who visited the premises of the company, also observes that the road leading to the factory is now being used for drying of farm produce.

Mr Ibrahim Buba, a staff of the Marketing Department of the company, told NAN that the factory, which used to assemble trucks, tractors and buses at its inception, had become moribund long ago.

Buba said the problems of the company started after its privatization by the Federal Government, which led to transfer of ownership to private individuals.

According to him, staff union and management of the factory are in court over assets and liability, including staff entitlement, among other things.

Another employee of the company who spoke on condition of anonymity, also told NAN that the company stopped production since year 2007.

The source told NAN that he had been a staff since 1980, revealing with nostalgia that during the rosy years, Steyr Motors assembled 5,000 tractors, 2,000 trucks and 2,000 buses per annum, for the Nigerian market.

The source said the government withdrew its shares in the company during the military era, and later sold it to individuals who failed to sustain production.

He explained that as at the year 2007, the company had over 2,000 employees, adding that they had spent over six years now without salary.

Nobody sacked us and no one saved us. We have spent over six years without salary; in fact, three years ago, we had to resort to litigation; we have taken them to court, he said.

Some staff of the company, who also did not want to be mentioned, said the company could still be revived if the government took over the plant and invited capable expatriates to manage it.

Efforts by NAN to secure comments of prominent private stakeholders of the company proved abortive as those in Bauchi declined comment.

Several visits by NAN to the office of Bauchi state Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Mrs Maryam Begel, did not yield results as she was said to be on official assignment somewhere.

An official of the ministry told NAN that the commissioner is the only person authorised to speak on policy and government-related matters, unless she authorised someone else to speak on her behalf. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal

Kwara Government on Sunday said its health insurance scheme is getting a grant support of ,000 from the Jiddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

Dr Olubunmi Winter, the Executive Secretary of the agency, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin.

He said the IsDB is supporting the enrolment of 4,500 more indigents to the scheme that is delivering free medical care covering many ailments and surgeries.

Winter stated that the impressive support and the goodwill Kwara is receiving revolve around governments own initial investments in the scheme.

She added that about 10,000 more indigents would soon be added on state sponsorship.

The IsDB grant is another laudable feat since the Governor launched the scheme in September last year. We are hoping for more of these partnerships and interventions, even as we continue with the implementation of the scheme towards achieving universal health coverage in our state.

Once again, we commend the Governor for his continued support and efforts in ensuring that the people of Kwara State have access to quality and affordable healthcare services, she said.

Winter described the initiative as a huge success on account of the governors support, adding that people in the formal and informal sectors have started keying into the programme, including the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

She also disclosed that beneficiaries of the indigent component of the scheme are spread across the three senatorial districts of Kwara.

Winter also quoted a statement from PharmAccess Foundation as saying that the grant of ,950 will be made available over an 18-month period to support the efforts of Kwara State Health Insurance Agency.

This is through a strategic partnership between PharmAccess Foundation and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to increase access to basic healthcare services in Kwara.

The grant from IsDB Engage and Transform Fund will be used to finance the annual premiums for 4,500 indigent enrollees and support the quality improvement of 25 healthcare providers for a period of 18 months.

The state government had on its own paid the premiums for 10,000 indigents to the scheme that was officially launched last September.

In February 2021, the huge investments by the state attracted federal governments support that has seen the free enrolment of additional 21,000 indigents to the scheme, she said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Awayi Kuje

Rev. Fr. Lawrence Soja-Anyembugu, the Parish Priest in Charge of St. Johns Catholic Church, Awe, Nasarawa State, has admonished women to inculcate good moral values in their children for societal development.

Soja-Anyembugu gave the task on Sunday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in commemoration of Mothering Sunday.

According to the cleric, if mothers inculcate good moral values in their children, it will not only promote peace in their families but would also ensure speedy development in the country.

The role of mothers to societal development cannot be over emphasised, they are the ones that build up their families in collaboration with their husbands.

It is in view of this that I want to call on mothers to inculcate good moral values in their children for societal development. So that their children can be good future leaders.

Women should be good to their children, their husbands and the society at large.

Mothers should also treat their children and other peoples children well, he advised.

The priest urged women and other Nigerians to always pray for Gods intervention in overcoming their challenges.

Soja-Anyembugu also urged women to respect their husbands in their interest and for the overall development of the country.

He urged women and other Nigerians to live a life worthy of emulation for development to thrive.

Let women and other Nigerians continue to live holy lives in order to inherit the kingdom of God, he said.

The cleric also urged Nigerians to live in peace, be law abiding respect constituted authorities and tolerate one another irrespective of their affiliations.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ijeoma Okigbo

Over 150 children from Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps participated in the UNESCO 2021 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

UNESCO, who collaborated with Tony International Gymnastics (TIG) club, Abuja. engaged children in gymnastics, basketball, tennis and badminton, on Saturday.

Kevin Wilima, a staff of UNESCO, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the fourth edition of the event was aimed at using sports to heal and build confidence in the kids.

Sports is a great instrument for building resilience, confidence and healing, that is why we decided to reach out to the less privileged in our society.

To make it even better, we decided to explore the use of traditional games like ten ten, voom voom and suwe, which the children are familiar with before we moved on to other foreign sports.

Sports is a language where everyone communicates and it is pivotal for improving self-esteem, sustaining peace and for recreation Wilima added.

Wilima also said that the annual event was limited to few participants due to COVID-19.

We usually have more kids than what you see here, but due to COVID-19, we had to reduce the number of children here, he said.

On his part, Anthony Asuquo, coach of TIG club, said he was hopeful that events like this would be frequent to put smiles on the faces of the IDPs.

You can see how happy the children are and how willing they are to do sports and get involved. Children are the future and it would be our undoing we dont nurture them properly, Asuquo added.

Asuquo, who is Nigerias first certified International gymnastics coach, also said the children were drawn from the Wasa and Orozo IDP camps.

The coach called on the government and private sponsors to help better the lives of the less privileged, especially through sports.

NAN reports that the event was expected to hold on April 6, the annual International Day of Sports and Development for Peace but was postponed, due to the commencement of the National Sports Festival in Benin. (NAN)

Source: NAN News