By Leonard Okachie

A federal lawmaker, Rep. Sam Onuigbo, has advised communities in his constituency to accept Federal Governments projects cited in their areas as their own.

Onuigbo,representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in Abia, gave the advice on Tuesday during an inspection of some ongoing federal governments projects he attracted to the constituency.

He said it was important for the beneficiaries of such projects to have a change of attitude and maintain them because the projects belong to them.

The two-term lawmaker said the projects being inspected were executed to alleviate the peoples sufferings.

Onuigbo said: The communities have the responsibility to follow through in any project being executed by federal government because it is going to be for their use.

Whenever they are not satisfied with what is being done, they should point it out so that the contractor can be called to order.

Why do you think you see buildings that were built in the 19th Century in Europe and America?

It is because these buildings were being maintained. We can also do the same thing here.

Onuigbo inspected projects in the three local government areas that make up his constituency.

Although he expressed satisfaction with the quality of the job done, he advised the contractors to expedite action and also correct some of the errors identified.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the projects included theOloko Health Centre in Ikwuano Local Government Area awarded by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

Others were a three-classroom block at Umuajata Central School, Olokoro, and installation of a new transformer at Umuagu-Nglori, Afugiri in Umuahia South and North council areas, respectively.

A community leader in Oloko, Chief Uche Dike, thanked the federal government and lawmaker for the project cited in his community.

Dike expressed joy that the project had reached about 90 per cent completion and promised that the community would help to protect and maintain the facility. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Idowu Gabriel

NDLEA seized illicit drugs worth more than N60 billion in the last two months, its chairman, Retired Brig.-Gen Buba Marwa, has said.

Marwa made the disclosure on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti at a colloquium tagged: Walk Away from Drugs, a programme organised by Ekiti Ministry of Justice.

He described the menace of drug abuse in the country as worrisome.

In Nigeria today, there is no challenge that is more worrisome than drug abuse.

For instance, insurgency, kidnapping and banditryare seen as peculiar to certain parts of the country, but drug abuse has no boundary or respect for ethnicity or religion.

The menace is so worrisome that within the last two months, more than N60 billion worth of illicit drugs have been seized and perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.

If access to drugs is prevented, criminality can be reduced by 50 per cent, Marwa said.

He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to campaign against the use of illicit drugs.

The anti-drug agency boss suggested that parents should from now include drug certificate as part ofcriteria to give their daughters and sons hands inmarriage.

This will be the beginning in reducing drug usage and its prevailing economic effects on the nation, he said.

Declaring open the event, Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi restated the commitment of his administration at reducing drug abuse.

Fayemi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, urged participants to take the deliberation seriously and to evolve implementable plans to rid the society of the menace.

In his address of welcome, Ekiti States Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Fapounda, said that, the programme was organised because of alarming cases of drugs-induced criminality in the society.

In most cases prosecuted by the ministry, investigations showed crime perpetrators were under the influence of drugs, he said.

In attendance at the programme were representatives of traditional rulers, Ekiti State Commandant of the NDLEA, Mr Gaura Shedow, representatives of road transport workers, market women and youths, among others. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Group

By Monday Ijeh

A group, South East Support for N-Power, has urged beneficiaries of the N-Power and other Social Investment Programmes (SIPs) in the South East, to help propagate the positive impact of governments people-oriented policies.

The National Coordinator of the group, Mr Kamsi Uzodimma made the call in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

He urged youths in the region to take advantage of the batch C of the N-Power programme, adding that the programme had impacted positively on the lives of beneficiaries

Apart from the tens of thousands of the beneficiaries, we are also sensitising our youths and women on how to apply to be beneficiaries of batch C of the N-Power programme.

Beneficiaries of N-Power and other intervention programmes of the Federal Government are already coming out to tell their success stories.

This has continued to change the erroneous narratives about the neglect or marginalisation of the South East.

Apart from establishing their businesses, many of the beneficiaries are already employers of labour and if sustained, will continue to reduce unemployment level in the South East region, he said.

Uzodimma said the plan by the Federal Government to empower the vulnerable groups in the 95 Local Government Areas in the South East through skills acquisition and other empowerment initiatives was a welcomed development.

He said the plan was part of the ongoing SIPs of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The coordinator said the plan would reduce youth unemployment in the South East, adding that tailoring, carpentry, shoe making, trading, aquaculture and healthcare would be the areas of focus in the vocational training programme.

He said the approval of the skills acquisition programme by the Federal Government was part of efforts to reassure the South East that the region remained an integral part of Nigeria, founded on equity, justice and egalitarianism.

Uzodimma said the appointment of focal persons in the five states of the South East was an indication that the Federal Government was committed to making the program a huge success in the region.

Source: NAN News

By Victor Okoye

Enyimba International Football Club of Aba on Wednesday slumped to a 1-2 loss to South Africas Orlando Pirates in their CAF Confederation Cup Group A clash at the Orlando Stadium.

The hosts dominated the early exchanges to score a well-deserved goal, before the visitors grew into the game in the latter stages.

Deon Hotto gave Orlando Pirates the lead in the 27th minute after he was set up by Linda Mntambo.

Enyimba were awarded a penalty kick late in the first half after Siyabonga Mpontshane fouled Anayo Iwuala inside the penalty box.

Austine Oladapo made no mistake as he superbly tucked the ball into the net, sending goalkeeper Mpontshane the wrong way.

The Buccaneers were awarded a penalty kick of their own in the 76th minute after Gabadinho Mhango was upended in the penalty box.

Substitute Tshegofatso Mabasa however blasted his kick wide.

Mabasa made amends for his earlier miss when he nodded home the winning goal a minute from time.

Enyimba will next host Algerian club ES Setif in their next game on April 1 at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba.

The result meant Enyimba lost their leadership of the group to their South African hosts, who now have four points from two matches.

Enyimba are in second place with three points from two matches, ahead of Libya side Ahli Benghazi on goals scored.

The Libyan side had beaten Algerian side ES Setif 1-0 in the groups other match.

The Standings

Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts

Orlando Pirates 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 4

Enyimba Inter. 2 1 0 1 3 3 3

Ahli Benghazi 2 1 0 1 2 2 3

ES Setif 2 0 1 1 0 1 -1 1

(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By EricJames Ochigbo

The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate alleged sabotage responsible for frequent shutdown of Warri Refinery, towards addressing the problem.

The resolution was sequel to the adoption of a motion by Rep. Ben Igbakpa (PDP-Delta) at plenary on Wednesday.

Speaking, Igbakpa said that the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company was mandated to produce refined product from mainly local crude.

He explained that the three main sections of the production department which were reforming, crude distillation and catalytic cracking units have operated for the past years due to the efforts of its personnel.

According to him, the plants were operating at an output of around 115m3/hour which translates to about 68 per cent installed capacity.

The rep said that products from the refinery included, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or Petrol, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Kerosene (DPK), LPG or cooking gas, Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) for Ships and Industrial Fuel Carbon Black.

Therefinery has not operate optimally due to allegedly top management decisions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ground the plant for personal benefit from marketers importing products that can be produced in the refinery.

Theplant had severally shutdown due to haulage challenges, neglect in the evacuation of products, lack of functional or operational storage tanks and poor maintenance culture on the part of management which also constitutes another reason for the refinery non functionality.

Aware of the alleged plan to ground the plant from refining products by members of the top echelon of the Warri Refinery in collaboration with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) as well as diverting crude meant for refining.

Also awarethat when crude oil is delivered from Escravous tank farm for refining, the products are hoarded for about 14 days and thereafter diverted through the refinery jetty to interested buyers (or specific companies they have special interests in) who pay less.

The resultant effects of this perceived economic sabotage is that the plant is brought down because no crude to refine as it has been diverted, he said.

The house mandated its Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) to investigate the failure of the NNPC to address the haulage challenges.

The committee was also to look into the inadequate storage tanks affecting the Warri refinery and petrochemical company.

In his ruling, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Wase mandated the committee to investigate and report back in four weeks. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Temitope Ponle

Eleven African countries have validated the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement implementation strategies, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Mrs Vera Songwe, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, UNECA, said this in her opening statement at the 39th session of the Committee of Experts on Wednesday.

The experts meeting was also the sidelines of the commissions 53rd session.

Songwe listed the countries as Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cte dIvoire, Togo, Niger, Cameroon, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The executive secretary further stated that countries that were in the drafting phase of the agreement were Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Kenya, Namibia and Malawi.

She added that countries that were in the inception phase were Nigeria, Tunisia, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique and Eswatini.

She said that data was unavailable for the other countries.

The AfCFTA came into force Jan. 1 as at February, 54 of the 55 African Union Member States had signed on.

Also, the UNECA head said 25 countries had signed up to the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) with potential savings equal to 0.71 per cent of the 2019 Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the World Bank, the DSSI is an initiative by the bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urging the Group of 20 (G20) to help countries concentrate their resources on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of people.

The initiative took effect on May 1, 2020, and had delivered about 5 billion dollars in relief to more than 40 eligible countries.

In his remarks, Amb. Tesfaye Sabo, the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and UNECA, said Africa had made a robust effort under the leadership of the African Union, to grapple with this pandemic and to reduce its socio-economic impact.

Sabo said this was done by working with global partners and through mobilisation of the African people.

These efforts have produced commendable results, he added.

The permanent representative said the conference was timely and critical for understanding the complex socio-economic implications of the pandemic and to chart a way forward. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ayinde Olaide

The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Bauchi State, Mr Yusuf Abdullahi, on Wednesday said six people lost their lives while 54 sustained injuries in a road crash in the state.

Abdullahi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi that the accident involved traders traveling from Darazo town in Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State to Dakuku Market in Gombe state.

Abdullahi said that dangerous overtaking was the probable cause of the crash involving commercial Mercedes Benz truck with 72 male passengers.

It was a lone fatal accident which involved a Mercedes Benz truck with a plate number AA476MSA conveying 72 traders from Darazo LGA of Bauchi state to Dakuku Market in Gombe state.

Six people lost their lives on the spot while 54 sustained injuries. The name of the driver is one Alhaji Saidu Misau and the probable cause of the accident is dangerous overtaking.

The truck veered off the road and threw the people away. Some were hung on the truck. It took us hours to carry out the rescue operation, he said

The Sector Commander further explained that the injured victims had been taken to Darazo General Hospital for medical attention while the corpses of the deceased were deposited in the mortuary of the same hospital.

He cautioned all road users, especially drivers, to be wary of speeding and dangerous overtaking.

Abdullahi added that the corps would not relent in its determination to sensitise road users on safe driving and the need to comply with traffic rules and regulations. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Grace Alegba

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, on Tuesday expressed satisfaction at the progress being made on Federal roads and housing projects in Lagos.

Hussaini during a technical inspection of roads and housing projects in Lagos State said that the Federal Government was committed to Lagos infrastructure upgrade, renewal and maintenance.

The permanent secretary, who led a delegation of top engineers from Abuja and the South West on the tour, said the team had visited various sites across the nation, adding that, they were in Lagos to continue the inspection from where the Minister for Works and Housing had stopped.

He expressed satisfaction with the completion of work on top of the Third Mainland Bridge, as well as ongoing rehabilitation works on the abutment under the bridge.

He said that the Buhari regime would ensure constant attention on the Third Mainland Bridge to ensure up to date regular maintenance checks and repairs.

I am impressed with the pace of work on almost all the sites we visited, the Third Mainland Bridge is working fine, the first segment of the work has been done and they are working under.

And We shall continue to monitor and improve on the safety of the structural integrity of that facility because often times, the problem we have is about maintaining our existing facilities and infrastructure,he said.

Hussaini said that the headquarters of federal ministries were formerly in Lagos hence the need to inspect and maintain the buildings in Lagos State.

One of the policy imperatives of this administration is to set up the federal asset management department. It is always important for us to be looking at these facilities to maintain them and keep them in good shape,he said.

He said it cost a lot to maintain the buildings but it was quite unfortunate that government was constrained by funds which was impeding the maintenance efforts on some of the buildings.

He said that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing would continue to maintain the edifices, adding that, decision to sell or lease any of the properties would be a policy issue that only the federal government could make.

He explained that the Presidential Implementation Committee was currently handling the issue of the abandoned old Secretariat buildings in Ikoyi.

He said that the Federal Ministry of Housing Training School for artisans being rehabilitated in Onikan, would improve capacity in the construction industry and tackle youth unemployment.

Basically if you look at the technical cadre generally, the turn over of experienced and capable hands are high, therefore, they need to have a fresh system of restocking what we have lost.

Which is very important and that is why we are using the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to retrain our youths and to give them the skills so that they can serve as artisans to support the officers who are engineers and who work on projects on sites, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team began its inspection from the top of the Third Mainland Bridge and later inspected ongoing works underneath the bridge.

The team went into a closed door evaluation meeting before continuing its trip to the Federal Ministry of Housing Training School in Onikan.

They later visited ongoing road projects on Outer Marina and Bonny Camp on Lagos Island as well as ongoing shorelines protection projects in the Victoria Island axis. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Kingsley Okoye

Mr Haliru Nababa, the new Comptroller -General(CG), Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) on Wednesday, appeared before the Senate Committee on Interior for screening.

Speaking at the screening, Nababa called for improved funding for the service towards delivering its mandate.

He said there was an urgent need for improved funding for operations of the service, given its operational challenges.

Nababa said the service was in need of fund to organise workshops on capacity building for staff.

He listed the challenges of dilapidated structures, inadequate arms and ammunition, increasing urbanisation in some of the areas housing the service as challenges inherent in the NCS.

He said there was an urgent need to reconstruct the dilapidated structures which was partly responsible for recent jail breaks.

Sen. Abba Morro (PDP- Benue)and other members of the committee, commended the nominee for his steering performance in the past, having served in various capacities and locations in the service.

Sen. Betty Apiafi (PDP- Rivers) consequently moved a motion for the committee to approve the nomination of Nababa as CG of NCS.

The motion was seconded by Sen. Elisha Abbo (APC- Adamawa).

Sen. Kassim Shettima, Committee Chairman consequently asked the nominee to take a bow and leave.

He said his approval by the committee was hinged on his competence to deliver on the mandate of NCS.

He said the CG designate had the capacity, experience and exposures to catapult the service to greater heights, adding that the immediate CG had also done creditably well.

He said it was the responsibility of the committee to compliment the effort of the CG designate by giving him the support to confront the challenges facing the service.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the horrific attack on a convoy returning from a weekly market in Niger Republics Tillaberi region in which many citizens were killed.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Wednesday, Buhari extended his condolences to families of victims and all citizens of the neighbouring country.

The Nigerian leader denounced the heinous attack, declaring that Nigeria will continue to stand by all its neighbours in the fight against terrorism.

According to him, the mass killings underscore the enormous security challenges facing Niger Republic as they prepare to inaugurate their new President, Mohamed Bazoum, and indeed the entire sub-Saharan region.

He, therefore, stressed the need for the sub-region to work more closely to end the scourge of terror.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that armed men in South-Western Niger intercepted a convoy returning from a weekly market and attacked a nearby village in the Tillaberi region, which is near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso.

NAN reports that over 53 innocent traders were reported to have been killed by the gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram/ISWAP sect. (NAN)

Source: NAN News