Nigerian Navy

By Modupe Oremule

Twelve Nigerian Navy Ships, two helicopters and elements of Special Boat Service (SBS) are to participate in this year Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) annual sea inspection, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The ships include NNS OKPBANA, NNS PROSPERITY, NNS NGURU, NNS EKULU, NNS KARADUWA, NNS ANDONI, NNS DORINA, NNS OSUN, NNS BOMADI, NNS OSE, TUG DOLPHIN RIMA, TUG DOLPHIN MIRA.

This years edition codenamed Exercise STILL WATERS is scheduled for Dec. 14 to Dec. 18.

Vice Adm. Ibok-Ette Ibas, the CNS, who was represented by Rear Adm. Kamalrudeen Lawal, Chief of Naval Safety and Standard, flagged off the ceremony onboard NNS OKPBANA at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island.

The CNS said that the exercise was to enhance the security of the nations maritime domain and sustain the desired level of competency of the Nigerian Navy (NN).

It is aimed at assessing the operational state and readiness of the NN fleets with focus on anti-piracy, anti-crude oil theft and anti-smuggling operations among others, he said.

The fleet will conduct Anti-piracy operation, Protection of oil and gas facilities, Fleet manoeuvres, Communication, Vessel, Board Search and Seizure, Search and Rescue among others.

Ibas said that there had been remarkable progress in the fight against all forms of criminalities, saying that the sustenance of the gains were critical to national security due to the dynamic threats.

This exercise is conceived to enhance the proficiency of NN personnel in the discharge of their constitutional roles.

This is in line with the CNS mission to develop a naval force that is well trained, organised and highly motivated to discharge its constitutional roles professionally and efficiently for the defence of Nigeria in ensuring her economic prosperity, he said.

The CNS, however, thanked the President for providing the necessary support and reassured members of the public that the NN remained committed in providing a conducive maritime environment.

Rear Adm. Oladele Daji, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command in his welcome address, said that the Command was delighted to be selected to host this years edition.

He said he was optimistic that the exercise would give additional impetus to the NN maritime combat experiences to ensure its relevance in the defence of the country.

Daji said that the WNC was grateful to the CNS for his leadership, logistics and support given in the execution of the exercise.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Dont underpay workers at construction sites, developer urges colleagues

Workers

By Grace Alegba

The Founder/CEO of Destiny Crest Building Engineering Ltd, Mr Kehinde Hammed, has urged developers not to underpay workers at construction sites to avoid exposing them to temptation.

Hammed, a developer and Realtor, made the call on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of an award presentation to him by a group.

NAN reports that the 28-year-old CEO was presented the Gold role model award by the Nigeria Youth Advocacy for Good Governance Initiative (NYAGGI).

He decried poor staff welfare and attributed it to corruption which he said contributed to use of substandard materials and building collapse in the country.

I will advise developers to encourage their staff who supervise work on site by paying them the right salary.

If the welfare of workers on site is guaranteed, they would not compromise standards, but if you underpay, they know how to survive on site, he said.

Hammed narrated his experience where his site engineers reported vendors who tried to cut corners to compromise quality, noting that his staff reported because they earned the right wages.

The CEO, who also owns Mustard Fortune Global Investment Ltd, a real estate and investment company, also advised developers to shun clients who encourage shoddy jobs in order to pay less for construction services.

Speaking on the recent hike on cement prices, the young CEO appealed to the Federal Government to find lasting solutions to inflation and exchange rates.

He said that a sound economic policy was important to address challenges confronting Nigeria, which is blessed with enormous natural resources and human capital.

Hammed appealed to the Federal Government to support local manufacturing of construction materials and make policies to make Nigerians patronise the products.

Earlier, while receiving the award, Hammed commended NYAGGI for identifying and promoting talent to encourage hard work among youths.

He advised youths to stay focused on their goals to succeed.

Narrating his personal experience, Hammed said he worked briefly in a bank before taking to his private business and had two firms.

He said he was about to float another and had almost 200 staff.

The Coordinator of NYAGGI, Mr Akeem Abiodun, while presenting the award, described Hammed as an icon making the nations youth proud.

Source: NAN News

By Folasade Akpan

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have closed a 520 million dollars facility to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

They announced this in a joint statement issued by both organisations in Cairo, Egypt on Monday, adding that it was the first to be covered by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).

According to it, NEXIs proactive support for the facility was agreed on the basis of Afreximbank being a strategic partner, participation from Japanese investors and the deal contributing to the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It added that MUFG was the sole mandated lead arranger, bookrunner, agent and NEXI coordinator on the transaction.

It also said that the facility fully aligned with Afreximbanks strategic priorities in the area of intra and extra African trade and investment, export manufacturing and industrialisation.

These objectives find common ground with NEXIs objectives of supporting sustainable African growth and development in line with the Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) objectives.

Afreximbank will use the proceeds toward its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA) which was launched in March 2020 to help African sovereigns, commercial banks and corporates to weather the impact of the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement added that the facility would support the banks interventions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would also be used to finance trade and trade related investments which contributes to the sustainable development of the socioeconomic, health, manufacturing, environmental, agriculture and agri-related sectors across the 51 African member states of Afreximbank.

Working together with NEXI and Afreximbank, MUFG was able to access under-utilised Japanese liquidity, resulting in an extremely successful outcome of distribution to Japanese investors, many of which were new investors for Afreximbank.

This follows in the footsteps of two Samurai loans for Afreximbank in 2017 and 2019, including the largest ever Samurai loan for an African issuer.

Christopher Marks, Head of Emerging Markets, MUFG, said that the facility marked a watershed moment for African institutions looking to tap the Japanese investor pool.

It goes without saying that we are delighted to have once again,partnered with Afreximbank, who are not only leading the way in terms of bringing in new investment and growth opportunities to Africa, but also providing vital support to the region in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Amr Kamel, Afreximbanks Executive Vice President for Business Development and Corporate Banking,said that the successful implementation of the facility was a testimony to the great collaboration and innovative approach adopted by MUFG, NEXI and Afreximbank.

He said it also demonstrated the power of using public resources to leverage private financing for development.

We expect strong and sustainable development outcomes by effective implementation of this facility, including employment creation, increased economic activities and increase in tax revenues for fiscally strained governments, amongst other outcomes, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Exxon Mobil says will lower greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2025

Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp said on Monday it planned to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years, an official said.

Pete Trelenberg, the ExxonMobil Director of Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change, said this during a news conference on Monday.

The company added that as investors and climate change campaigners ratchet up the pressure for action to limit global warming.

The move comes after the Church Commissioners for England on Thursday joined growing investor campaigns to demand changes at Exxon, and backed calls for a board refresh and the development of a strategy for the U.S. oil companys transition to cleaner fuels.

Exxon on Monday said it would reduce the intensity of operated upstream greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent to 20 per cent by 2025, compared to 2016 levels.

The reduction would be supported by a 40 per cent to 50 per cent decrease in methane intensity and a 35 per cent to 45 per cent decrease in flaring intensity across Exxons global operations.

And also with routine natural gas flaring eliminated in a decade, the company said.

Since the 2015 Paris climate accord set a goal of keeping global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, pressure from investors has increased and some of Exxons peers have agreed more ambitious targets.

We certainly recognise the direction of travel that Paris sets out and the ambitions for society to get to net zero as early as possible before the end of the century, said Trelenberg.

What we have tried to do is to develop specific actionable plans that we can hold our organisation accountable to drive continuous improvement in emissions.

Further goals would be set as the 2025 targets are met, Trelenberg said.

Some of Exxons rivals this year have set longer term climate goals, including targets by Royal Dutch Shell and BP Plc to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

U.S. producer Occidental Petroleum Corp in November set a 2040 target.

Last week, Engine No. 1, a 250 million dollars California-based firm, called for expanded spending and pay cuts at Exxon, a board shake-up and shift to cleaner fuels.

Its views were supported at least in part by California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) and hedge fund D.E. Shaw, which has 50 billion dollars under management.

Source: NAN News

Ebonyi Gov. Dave Umahi

By Chukwuemeka Opara

Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi on Monday said he did not give N3 million to placate notorious cult groups allegedly terrorising residents of the state.

Umahi said this when the 13 Local Government Area Chairmen, Coordinators of Development Centres, with their Management Committee members, among other political appointees, paid him a solidarity visit at the Government House, Abakiliki.

He dismissed the report in the social media that he gave the money to the groups through his security aide.

He said that contrary to the report, he had ordered a manhunt for members of the groups.

How can a warrior such as me bribe cultists, to do what with the money?

The duty of political leaders and the citizens is to give me the names of the cultists because I will give them a bad Christmas celebration.

I am searching for them whether they are in government or not because the matter is that of terrorism and would be handled at Abuja, the governor said.

He urged the political leaders to discontinue with their plan to recall some members of the state House of Assembly and National Assembly, who stayed back in Peoples Democratic Party after his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

We would allow the people who did not defect to the APC with us to exist in peace and you should not victimise them.

You should not close the door behind them because they will come back but ensure that you enjoy your palliative in their presence to make them salivate, Umahi said.

He thanked them for their solidarity and sharing his political ideology, saying that the dividends of the defection had yet to be felt.

When we started this struggle in 2014, we were not up to five per cent of the mammoth crowd we are witnessing presently.

You then imagine what will happen presently that we have the grassroots, structures at the state and national levels.

Several personalities higher than myself have defected without noise, so one wonders why this particular defection is generating so much noise, Umahi said.

He directed that each civil servant and political office holder in the state be given two bags of five-kilogramme of rice and N10,000 for the Christmas celebration.

He ordered the council chairmen to source funds to carry out the directive.

Source: NAN News

NGO calls for integration of mental health into primary healthcare services

By Angela Atabo

The Mandate Health Empowerment Initiative, an NGO, has called on the Federal Government to facilitate more access to mental health care for Nigerians at the primary healthcare level.

Mr Ameh Zion, Founder of the NGO and Convener, Africa Mental Health Reforms Network, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

Zion said that this had become imperative, as studies had shown the existence of a huge treatment gap for severe mental disorders in the country.

According to him, more attention is being given to the physical health sector than the mental health, not only by the government but also, by international organisations.

It will be better if Nigerians can access mental health care, even down to the primary health centres, which are operating at the grassroots.

We also want international organisations in Nigeria to add mental health to their activities, given its critical nature in the optimal functioning of an individual, not notwithstanding his/her field of endeavour.

As an individual, one needs to be mentally healthy to function optimally at any given time.

We hope to see some notable changes, especially as it relates to care and service delivery, to persons with mental illness in Nigeria and other developing countries, he said.

Although Zion said that depression was a significant public health problem, he, however, added that the statistics of mental health across Nigeria was not attainable due to low funding.

He said that many people were going through depression as a mental illness, adding that this could be traced to so many challenges.

Zion said that people with terminal illness were also susceptible to depression and mental illness.

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic had also impacted negatively on the mental health of the people through the fear of contacting the virus, losing family members or losing ones job as a result of the pandemic.

The NGO founder said that depression in Nigeria was more common than people had thought, stressing that the burden was more on women than their male counterparts.

He noted that according to the World Health Orgainsation (WHO), the burden of depression was 50 percent higher on females than males.

In Africa, about 5.9 percent of females suffer depression compared with 4.9 percent among males.

Studies in Nigeria have it that females are at significant risk of depression due to factors like low socio-economic status and violence from intimate partner, among others, he said.

Source: NAN News

AfDB President, 3 others win academy fellowship award

By Temitope Ponle

The Academy of Public Health has awarded the President, African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and three other persons as winners of its 2020 Distinguished Fellowship Award.

In a statement from AfDB in Abuja on Monday, the other recipients were World Health Organisation (WHO)s Tedros Ghebreyesus, Leith Greenslade of JustActions, and Winnie Byanyima of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

The academy, a principal body of the West African Institute of Public Health, stated that the recipients were nominated by young public health professionals across Africa.

They were nominated for their demonstrated leadership in working to ensure equity, better health and wellbeing for all.

A statement from the academy said the four have been recognised for their style of transformative leadership which inspires emerging young leaders in public health to strive to make a difference in their work.

Dr Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank was particularly recognised for his action leadership in quickly moving the AfDB to provide the financial bulwark to the African Union as well as some of its member states to help curb Africas COVID-19 pandemic.

He was also noted for engendering thought leadership through the AfDB to shape actions in the COVID and post COVID era for Africas economies and health systems, the academy stated.

I am greatly honoured to be selected to receive the Distinguished Fellowship of the West African Academy of Public Health together with Dr Tedros, Winnie Byanyima and Leith Greenslade!

Africa and the rest of the world will overcome this pandemic against all odds,Adesina said.

Ghebreyesus won for leading the WHO to provide an equity-focused COVID-19 response that leaves no one behind.

This included his approaches towards eliminating vaccine nationalism in the wake of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Greenslade was recognised for leading a global awareness on childhood pneumonia, leveraging on public-private and philanthropic partnerships.

Also, Byanyima was chosen for her unwavering work to ensure that HIV/AIDS key populations impacted by COVID-19 are not forgotten.

The academy stated that a ceremony to honour the recipients would be held in 2021, adding that the recipients were being notified of their recognition and date for a virtual investiture.

The Distinguished Fellowship Award is the highest fellowship rank in the Roll of Fellows of the academy, leading the Roll of Fellows for their exceptional leadership and service to humanity, according to the institution.

The fellows are awarded for making a difference in the lives of people and inspiring young leaders to also excel in their public health work, the academy stated.

Source: NAN News

NBS produces over 120 reports in spite of COVID-19 disruptions

By Folasade Akpan

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has produced over 120 different statistical reports with over 1000 indicators in 2020 in spite of COVID-19 disruptions.

Mr Yemi Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation, disclosed this on Monday in Akwanga, Nasarawa state at the annual meeting of the National Consultative Committee on Statistics (NCCS).

Kale added that the organisation logged over 800,000 visits to its website and recorded over 170,000 downloads for the published reports.

According to him, it was a testament that there was increasing demand and appetite for data and the NBS was capable of meeting the demands in spite of the prevailing circumstances.

He also said that the bureau initiated and deployed the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) device which was adopted to conduct important surveys.

The device was used to conduct the Labour Force Survey (LFS) under COVID-19 for the second quarter of 2020 and the various Nigeria Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS).

Kale, however, said that the statisticial system was compounded by restricted vehicular movements and limited face to face communication.

It also calls on us to be more adaptable, innovative and enterprising and more willing to explore beyond our comfort zones.

More specifically, tackling these challenges require a better understanding of the emerging data ecosystem, the role of the statistical system in this changing data ecosystem as well as the need to have a robust and responsive system.

This brings us to the need for continued investment in data and statistical production by the relevant stakeholders to ensure that our statistical institutions remain relevant, responsive and effective.

According to Kale, in cases of public emergencies, the temptation to implement large scale interventions in a hurry, with little attention to data and statistics is always present.

Mr Kabiru Nakaura, Chairman, NBS Board, said it was important for states to fund their statistics offices and motivate the workers appropriately.

This, he said, was the only way states could have the right data needed for growth.

Mr Babale Amani, Director-General, Kano state Bureau of Statistics, said capacity building was important for the states to produce data needed for growth.

He, however, appealed to the NBS to help build capacity in data production at the state level in areas such as Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

This, he said, would enable states come up with the relevant data needed for their economic growth.

The NCCS is an important component of the coordination mechanisms stipulated in the Statistics Act, 2007, with the mandate to review the statistical programmes that have been carried out throughout the year.

It will also receive updates from members of the National Statistical System (NSS) and harmonise the statistical programmes of the NSS.

Source: NAN News

U.S. Attorney General William Barr resigns

U.S. Attorney General William Barr is resigning from the top cabinet position with effect from Dec. 23, confirming the resignation rumours.

Barr did not give reasons for the decision in his two-page resignation letter posted by President Donald Trump on Twitter on Monday evening.

Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!

As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family, Trump said in the tweet.

The president named Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, whom he described as an outstanding person, as Barrs successor in acting capacity.

Barrs resignation came as the Electoral College formally confirmed Joe Bidens presidential election victory.

Trump had yet to concede defeat and is challenging the election results for alleged widespread voter fraud, but his efforts to overturn the outcome had been unsuccessful in court.

In the letter, the outgoing attorney general thanked the president for the opportunity to serve in his administration and the American people.

He said he was proud to have contributed to the many successes and unprecedented achievements delivered by Trump for the American people.

Your record is all the more historic becauseyou accomplished it in the face of relentless, implacable resistance.

Few could have weathered these attacks, much less forge ahead with a positive programme for the country, he wrote.

Barr went ahead to outline the presidents achievements in areas such as economy, immigration, border security, Middle East and protection of competition in the tech sector, among others.

As discussed, I will spend the next week wrapping up a few remaining matters important to the Administration and Depart on Dec. 23, he said.

Trump recently began to criticise the Department of Justice for missing in action on the voter fraud probe launched by Barr in November.

On Dec. 1, Barr told the Associated Press that the investigation had found no evidence of widespread fraud in the Nov. 3 elections as alleged by the president.

To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election, he said in the interview.

The declaration did not go down well with Trump who accused Barr of having done nothing because he had not looked hard enough.

He declined to say whether or not he still had confidence in the attorney general, and simply said: Ask me in a couple of weeks from now.

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 updates by NCDC

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 201 new infections of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

The NCDC made this known via its verified website on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has conducted about 848,194 tests since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced.

The public health agency said that no death linked to the viruscaused by the novel coronavirus was recorded in the country in the last 24 hours.

It noted that the new infections brought the countrys totals to 73,374 confirmed cases of the disease caused by the virus and 1,197 deaths.

The NCDC said 224 COVID-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from isolation centers across the country in the last 24 hours, raising the number of successfully recovered patients to 66,314.

Our discharges today include 123 community recoveries in Lagos State, managed in line with the guidelines, it said.

It stated that the newly registered COVID-19 cases were reported across 11 states.

Kaduna State reported the highest number of cases with 74, while Lagos State confirmed 53 cases and Kastina State had 40 cases as Rivers reported 11 cases.

Amongother states with new infections were Plateau 9, Kwara 6, Bauchi 2, Ogun 2, Taraba 2, Edo -1 and Sokoto 1.

It said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at Level 3 had continued to coordinate the national response activities.

Meanwhile, the agency has warned against a possible community transmission of the virus with the expected mass return of Nigerians from across the globe to celebrate the festive season at home.

COVID-19 confirmed cases continue to increase in what appears to be a second wave of the pandemic, which led to a lockdown earlier in the year, it said.

The health agency lamented the non-compliance to all the COVID -19 protocols.

It advised that this was not the time for Nigerians to relax their guard, noting that the erroneous belief that COVID-19 had been conquered and was no more in Nigeria should be discarded.

The NCDC said the fact that people did not feel at risk anymore and did not comply with COVID-19 procedures was worrisome.

The public health agency noted that physical distancing, hand hygiene and wearing of face masks still remained the best preventive tools against contracting the pandemic.

It said: The publicity on COVID-19 has been declining, but we need the media to continue to report the pandemic so that Nigerians will know it is still with us.

People do not feel at risk and do not comply with COVID-19 protocols anymore and it is worrisome.

Despite the ongoing efforts to produce vaccines, mask wearing, hand washing and physical distancing still remain the three best tools to fight COVID-19 and it is very important to go for testing to prevent the spread.

At individual level, we must protect ourselves, support one another and follow advice provided by NCDC, Ministry of Health and WHO.

It is not the time to relax and we must stay at home, if there is no need to travel.

We are encouraging all sectors to take leadership and design their own guidelines to stem the spread of COVID-19, it explained.

NAN recalls that from Dec. 6 to Dec. 12, the countrys COVID-19 infections witnessed another significant increase with registered 3,817 new cases, the highest the country had recorded in an over four months.

Source: NAN News