By Emmanuel Afonne
Global smartphone giant OPPO has introduced two new sets of smart phones Reno 5 and Reno 5F, in its bid to provide a customized smart service to consumers in Nigeria, and to form an all-inclusive technology ecosystem.

Speaking at the virtual unveiling, the Public Relation (PR) Manager, OPPO Nigeria, Mr Joseph Adeola, said the phones would ensure Nigerians have access to the world without stress.

Adeola said that the phones were created with special features and technologies for people to keep evolving and to close the gap in the entertainment world and photography.

He said that the phones have a multi-cooling system attached to the steel plates up to the lower cover structure, and also heat pipes to lower temperature.

We are motivated to create better products for the people to keep evolving; recently, we announced our 3 N X strategy to accelerate our technology innovation.

The 3 refers to Three Technology Development Projects, namely the underline hardware, software and services technologies.

These technologies will become the technical foundation for OPPOs long-term development which helps it produce the best intelligence hardware products and bring an integrated smart life to users while also providing a customized smart service to consumers worldwide.

The N refers to several essential capabilities that we have long been working on including connectivity, artificial intelligence, security and privacy.

As for the X, it stands for OPPOs capability to build differentiated technology which currently includes video and imaging technologies as well as vogue flash technology, Adeola said.

He noted that the phones have the AI highlight video, AI mixed portrait, dual view video, 50watt flash charge and smart air control which made them unique in the world of smart phones.

Marketing Manager, OPPO Nigeria, Nengi Akinola, said the new phones would enable Nigerians express themselves through video and images and not only by voice.

She said the Reno 5 series was designed to bring colour and life to the world around it users effortlessly, irrespective of the time of day.

OPPO users have automatically become photographers to capture life as it happens because of the high sensitivity of its camera, as it has incorporated highly artistic aesthetic concepts into the designs of its products.

Since Reno 2 innovation, we have been improving our leading camera technology into creating unprecedented video performance, and with Reno 5, we have raised the bar higher than ever, enabling anyone to take professional quality videos and photos with ease.

The Reno5 series smartphones are designed for trend seekers looking for powerful, yet durable devices that boast of a mix of fun, new video features that enable them to capture memories and moments from more than one perspective.

It comes with 64MP Main Camera, 8MPUltra Wide angle camera, 2MP Macro camera and a 2MP Mono Lens.

These cameras become an unwatchable Force working together in spite of their individual performances, Akinola said.

She added that the new smart phones were the industrys first and arguably best imagined technology in the market for superior portrait performance with AI Mixed portrait.

Source: NAN News

By Ibrahim Kado

The Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) has trained no fewer than 600 of its members drawn from Adamawa and Taraba, for effective community policing.

Speaking at a one-day capacity building workshop on Saturday in Yola for the two states, Faruk Maiyama, PCRC National Chairman, tasked members to actively participate in the activities of the committee.

He said that the objectives of the training were to improve the capacity of members to understand their roles in assisting the police to combat crimes and criminality in the society.

He saluted the courage of Nigeria Police for establishing the community policing and considering PCRC to be part of enhancing security of the country.

He urged the participants to justify the confidence reposed in them towards achieving the objectives of community policing in their respective communities, state and the country.

Amb. Wada Sadiq, PCRC National Vice Chairman, North East,called members to work hard by providing useful information to police.

He expressed the need to take away political, religion and tribal sentiments towards addressing security problems.

In his remarks, Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, said that the workshop was timely and important toward improving security in the state and the country at large.

Fintiri, who was represented by Malam Suleiman Usman, Permanent Secretary on Security Matters, expressed the need for PCRC membership to be extended to the grassroots.

He assured the PCRC of his support in ensuring security of lives and property in the state.

Mrs Francisca Nbaya, a participant, commended the PCRC and the resource persons for building
their capacity.

According to her, the training will help her to contribute positively in combating crimes unlike before.

Ambrose Abdullahi, another participant, described the workshop as excellent, saying it had increased their knowledge with regards to PCRC and community policing.

According to him, they will now continue to work hard by feeding police with useful information that will help to address the problem of insecurity in their respective communities. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Philip Dzeremo

Gov. Samuel Ortom said his convoy was attacked on Saturday while leaving his farm on Makurdi-Gboko Road.

Ortom, who appeared ruffled while speaking to journalists on Saturday at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, said armed militia men, numbering about 15, advanced quickly towards his convoy with sophisticated weapons but were repelled by his security details.

He said the men, dressed in black, had trailed his convoy from the farm.

Ortom said he had to run for dear life while his security details engaged the bandits who escaped into the nearby bushes.

I will continue to fight for the truth, equity and justice. Nobody can intimidate me, those after my life will continue to fail as they failed today, he said.

He said that he would send a petition on attack to The Presidency, to ensure that criminal elements were flushed out of the state.

He also called on the Federal Government to act swiftly by deploying troops to arrest armed militia gangs hiding in the forests between Makurdi and Abinsi to allow peace and tranquility to reign. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Nigerias revenue challenges and the imperative of government borrowings

By Kadiri Abdulrahman of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Nigerias external debt is considered to be the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa and has already been rescheduled several times. In spite of this rescheduling and refinancing by creditors who were either members of the Paris Club (governments), London Club (banks) or independent creditors, arrears of this debt kept accumulating over time.

Records show that Nigerias external debt remained low until the middle of the 1970s. It was 1.5 billion dollars in 1970 and 2.5 billion dollars in 1975. The situation began to get out of control around 1977 when an outstanding growth rate in the countrys debt became manifest.

The outstanding debt reached 7.5 billion dollars in 1979 and 8.9 billion dollars by 1980.

This was due to excess borrowing from international agencies and countries at non-concessional interest rate as a result of the decline in oil earnings, and the emergence of high trade arrears due to inability of the country to either produce or foot the bills of importation of needed goods and services.

By 2005, the nations debt had ballooned to about 30 billion dollars, mostly borrowed from the Paris Club of creditors. Nigeria and the creditors club then went into series of negotiations on a mutually acceptable relief on the 30 billion dollars debt with the Paris Club.

In October 2005, Nigeria and the Paris Club announced a final agreement for debt relief worth 18 billion dollars. The creditors had cancelled 18 billion dollars, and Nigeria repaid 12 billion dollars. Most of the 18 billion dollars was registered as aid.

The deal was completed in April 2006, when Nigeria made its final payment and its books were cleared of any Paris Club debt.

Some Nigerians opined at the time, that it was not profitable to pay such huge amounts of Foreign Exchange in one fell swoop just to enjoy debt relief.

They argued that the funds could have been used to improve infrastructure and create enabling environment to attract viable foreign investments for economic growth.

The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, however went ahead with the payment and exited the country from the huge debt burden of the Paris Club.

The relief turned out to be temporary as, by June 2015, the countrys debt had again jumped to 63.8 billion dollars, representing the countrys highest debt profile since 2007.

By September 2020, the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that the countrys total public debt stock stood at 84.574 billion dollars.

DMO is the government agency established to centrally coordinate the management of national debts.

It explained that the Debt Stock was made up of the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government, the 36 State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory.

A breakdown of the public debt stock showed that 37.82 per cent was external, while the balance of 62.18 per cent was domestic.

The DMO clarified that after Nigeria exited recession in 2017, the level of new borrowing at the Federal Level as shown in the Annual Appropriation Acts, had been declining.

The office described it as part of the governments measures to moderate the rate of growth in the public debt stock in order to ensure debt sustainability.

Some Nigerians, however, recently raised concerns that the countrys dependence on debt to fund annual budgets had become alarming.

There were concerns that the nature of the loans agreement, particularly with China, was capable of compromising the countrys sovereignty. In recent times the country has consistently looked towards China for loans to bridge huge infrastructure deficits.

In May 2020, the House of Representatives mandated some of its committees to investigate all China-Nigeria loan agreements, to ascertain the viability of the facilities, then regularise and renegotiate them when necessary.

Of particular interest was a sovereign guarantee clause in the agreements. The controversial narrative was that the clause could see Nigeria sign away its sovereignty in the event of a payment default.

However, Nigerias transportation minister, Rotimi Amaechi, explained that the purpose of the clause was to allow China pursue paths, including arbitration, to settle possible disputes over payments.

They are saying; if you are not able to pay, do not stop us from taking back those items that will help us recover our funds.

And it is a standard clause, whether its with America you signed it or with Britain or any country, because they want to know that they can recover their money, Amaechi said.

According to the DMO, as at March 2020, the total Borrowing by Nigeria from China was 3.121 billion dollars, accounting for 11.2 per cent of the external debt stock of 27.67 billion dollars. This has shown that China is not really a major source of funding for the Nigerian government.

Some stakeholders, however, condemn the seeming, perpetual dependence on loans by the government to fund infrastructure as well as budget deficits.

An economist, Mr Tope Fasua, advised the Federal Government to improve on the budgeting system to check deficit financing and make the annual budgets more impactful.

Fasua said that though borrowing had become imperative due to prevailing circumstances, especially with the advent of COVID-19, such borrowings should be judiciously utilised to improve infrastructure that can grow the economy.

Unfortunately, we have found ourselves in a difficult scenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic and falling crude oil prices and we just have to go borrowing like most other countries in the world.

Government should ensure that our borrowings are effectively utilised for optimum economic impact, he said.

However, with the countrys National debt in relation to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 35.51 per cent, some analysts opine that the debt situation is still within reasonable limits.

According a study conducted by the World Bank, a debt to GDP ratio that exceeds 77 per cent for an extended period of time may result in an adverse impact on economic growth.

This implies that the Nigerian debt situation is not really alarming when compared to the countrys GDP.

Mr Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer of the National Economic Summit Group (NESG), said that, though Nigerias debt to GDP ratio could be considered low, the revenue that went into debt servicing was still on the high side.

Jaiyeola opined that expending 25 per cent to 30 per cent of national revenue on debt servicing, as presently done by the Nigerian government, was not sustainable.

He urged the Federal Government to adopt tough but necessary policy choices in order to improve on its revenue and reduce its dependence on foreign and local loans to fund budget deficit.

We should all be worried about the rising debt profile of the country.

Some people say that the debt to GDP ratio is still low. It could be low, but servicing debt is still a challenge, he said.

He suggested a drastic cut in running cost of governance, reduction in recurrent expenditure, as well as removal of subsidies in electricity and petroleum products, as a way of reducing the debt burden.

President Muhammadu Buhari, however, justified government borrowing to finance infrastructure, asserting that his government took loans in the interest of the country to solve the glaring shortfall in infrastructure.

Speaking at a virtual meeting with members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) in Abuja last June, Buhari said that the country must fix its roads to save lives from road accidents.

We have so many challenges with infrastructure. We just have to take loans to do roads, rail and power, so that investors will find us attractive and come here to put their money, he said.

He regretted that the failure to provide the infrastructure for effective transportation deprived the country of its well-deserved status as the West African hub for air cargo transportation and trans-shipment of goods.

Recently, the DMO announced Federal Governments approval of a new Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) for the period 2020-2023.

DMO explained that the MTDS was a policy document that provided a guide to the borrowing activities of government in the medium-term, which is usually four years.

It explained that the new MTDS adequately reflected the current economic realities and the projected trends, adding that its preparation involved the consideration of alternative funding strategies available to the government.

It seeks to meet its financing needs, taking into consideration the cost of borrowing and the associated risks, while ensuring debt sustainability in the medium to long-term, the DMO explained.

*****If used please credit the writer and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a message of condolence to the government and people of Kwara on the passing away of Alhaji Usman Ndalolo, Waziri Patigi.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, revealed this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

In the message, the president stated that the late Ndalolo, a retired orthopaedic technician and community leader, who died at the age of 83, was a visionary statesman with impeccable integrity and dedication,

According to him, Ndalolo will be remembered for his sagacity and exemplary selfless service to the people of Nigeria.

The president extended sympathies to the bereaved wife, Hajiya Amina Ndalolo, a former Minister of State, Health, family members and the government and people of Kwara.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

A Chinese-funded iron-ore project in Sierra Leone on Saturday announced the commencement of its full-scale operation.

The New Tonkolili Iron-Ore Project, which is invested and operated by Kingho Investment Company Limited (Kingho), a Chinese-owned private company, started operation in September 2020.

The Chinese companys Chief Executive Officer Zhao Ting said the project covered an area of 408 square kilometers (40,800 hectares) with a resource capacity of 13.7 billion tons.

According to him, the project is also equipped with a complete railway and port logistics transportation system.

Zhao said the project would boost the iron and steel industries both in Sierra Leone and China.

On Jan. 29, the first shipment of iron-ore from the project set sail for China. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Peter Amine

Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has said that he hates hearing about abandoned projects and would strive to complete all projects he initiated and some inherited ones before leaving office.

Lalong stated this on Saturday while interacting with journalists after a media tour of ongoing projects in the state.

The governor said that he sees it a waste when an administration leaves uncompleted projects and succeeding administrations abandon the projects in the name of politics.

In our vision we said that if projects initiated by the previous administration are viable and is going to be useful to the people, we will continue and complete the project.

Today we are using the new government house, I didnt start the project but I completed it and the people of Plateau are using it.

We have so far completed some abandoned projects and we are going to complete more of them because I hate hearing about abandoned projects, he emphasized.

On his legacy projects that were mainly in health and education sectors, Lalong assured that he would complete the 46 projects.

The governor said that due to paucity of funds, the scope of the legacy projects was scaled down from N50 to N30 billion to enable the state government complete them.

We went to the capital market, got the money needed to complete the projects and we told the contractor that he must finish the projects in time.

We realize that the contractor is slow and we have issued him a notice of termination and you will see what will happen in the next three months, he assured.

Lalong also assured journalists that the contractor handling the remodelling of NUJ Secretariat Jos would return to site before the end of March to complete the project.

Mr Dan Manjang, Commissioner for Information and Communication, said that the initiative to conduct journalists round ongoing projects was to enable them see and assess what government was doing in the area of infrastructure development.

Manjang thanked journalists for the support given to the state government so far.

Mr Paul Jatau, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Plateau Council commended the state government for the initiative, stating that the tour afforded journalists the opportunity to see things for themselves.

Jatau however, called on government official to avail journalists with valuable information whenever they come calling to avoid speculation. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ifeanyi Olannye

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Saturday congratulated his Enugu State counterpart, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as he clocked 57 years.

Okowas felicitation was conveyed in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba.

He commended Ugwuanyi for his sterling contributions to the growth and development of Enugu State.

The governor commended Ugwuanyis vision of creating fair and equal opportunities for citizens to make a living, create wealth, educate their children, and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment.

He congratulated Ugwuanyi for his visionary and pragmatic governance, which had seen over 680 kilometres of roads constructed largely in the rural areas of the state.

Okowa said that it was heartwarming to note that the governor had through hard work, discipline and a masterfully conceived vision won the admiration and respect of Enugu State people and the nation.

Your focus and commitment to the growth and development of your state, especially rural communities, have been greatly acknowledged.

I must thank the peace-loving people of Enugu State for their cooperation with you in the nearly six years of your administration.

On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I heartily rejoice with a man of peace, a seasoned administrator and my brother governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as he turns 57 years.

It is our prayer that God will continue to protect you and grant you good health to render more services to your state and mankind, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Nathan Nwakamma

Bilabiri community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa has called on the military Joint Task Force (JTF) to flush out criminals from its fold.

In a letter dated March 21, the community appealed to the Joint Task Force deployed to protect oil facilities in the Niger Delta to deploy its surveillance boats to the area to fish out miscreants.

The letter was signed by Chief Peter Pinne, Amananawei (Paramount Ruler) in Bilabiri 1 and Chief Minna Fun, Amananawei of Bilabiri 2.

Other signatories are Mr David Bazigha, Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairman, Bilabiri 1 and Mr Esau Joshua, CDC Chairman Bilabiri 2.

The letter stated that the community leadership had resolved to rid the area of pirates, militants, oil thieves and kidnappers who brought the name of the area to disrepute.

It added that the development was an expression of the people of Bilabiri to support governments efforts at maintaining a peaceful atmosphere for legitimate economic activities.

The community leaders noted that the entire settlement comprising youths, women and elders was unanimous in its resolve to stamp out criminality and pledged its support to aid the JTF to achieve its mandate.

The letter noted that miscreants burnt down the palace of the monarch, engaged in kidnappings and other criminal activities that undermined the security of the oil-rich community.

The Bilabiri community hosts oil production facilities operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company and Chevron Nigeria Ltd.

The leaders noted in the letter that miscreants in the community had rebuffed internal efforts to check their nefarious activities through established traditional mechanisms.

It is an established norm that the king and other authorities as listed above are the custodians of tradition, law and order in conjunction with the established security apparatus of the Nigerian state.

When the governed are showing no sign of obeisance or refusing to subject themselves to constituted authorities, a higher force or authority will have to be invited to quell the inferno before it degenerates to an uncontrollable fiasco.

In event of collapse or total breakdown of law and order within our community, the leaders are always the ones to account for it.

It is on the strength of these that we invite you to come to our aid and end the criminal behaviours of some of our boys who have become bigger than the kingdom, the letter stated. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ikenna Uwadileke

The Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) has warned against the consumption of meat roasted with tyres, saying that tyres contain cancer-causing substances.

Deputy Registrar of the Council, Dr Fadipe Oladotun, gave the warning in Abuja on Sunday when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Oladotun, who decried the continued use of tyres to roast meat in abattoirs, said that the warning became imperative in view of its growing health and environmental hazards.

He said that the trend was growing because a lot of people were ignorant about the health consequences.

The more we eat those meats roasted with tyres, the more we are prone to health risks.

There are alternative and healthy ways of de-skinning meat rather than using tyres. Burning tyres contaminate the meat, degrade the environment and pollutes the atmosphere, Oladotun said.

He said that the council would intensify efforts to sensitise people to understand the dangers inherent in consuming meats roasted with tyres.

When you burn tyres, they release bad fume that pollutes the air. And when you use tyres to roast meat, they deposit substances on the meat that cause cancer when consumed. It is a slow killer.

Slow killer in the sense that it is when you take it in small quantities and it accumulates and then it becomes an issue, he said.

Oladotun expressed the Councils determination to prosecute those who engage in the practice.

The regulation of practices at abattoirs is what the Council will engage in soon.

We all need to join hands to stop this menace. I am giving a very strong warning to all the offenders that they should watch out because very soon the hands of the law will catch up with them.

The Council is carrying out awareness to give them enough time instead of aggressively arresting people, Oladotun said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News