By Justina Auta

A Youths Group, under the auspices of Nigerian Youths Movement for Tinubu (NYMT), on Tuesday urged the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Bola Tinubu to join the 2023 presidential race.

Alhaji Mukhtar Mukhtar, Director General, NYMT, while addressing the media in Abuja said the legacies and ideologies of Tinubu clearly portrayed him as a National Leader, who was a rallying point for progressives in the country.

Mukhtar, represented by the groups North West coordinator, Malam Mustapha Abdrahman,, called on the two-time governor of Lagos state to use his experience in fostering unity, peace and progress in the country and contest for the position of president in 2023 general election.

Over the years, Tinubu has been a vanguard of true federalism and national integration even as he pays attention to the development of our dear nation.

He is a pacesetter, a mentor, nation builder, a unifier and de-tribalised politician, he said.

According to him, if Tinubu join the presidential race it will enable him consolidate what President Muhammadu Buhari has done and is still doing in the country.

Asiwaju possess undeniable passion for Nigeria. He is consummate democrat and a progressive to a core.

A political phenomenon, an astute administrator and successful businessman who has within his political sojourn become the political colossal in Nigeria.

It is in our quest for the progress of Nigeria as a nation that we have called on an outstanding personality in person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to vie for the position of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he said.

Also, Sen. Abu Ibrahim, who represented Katsina South in the 8th National Assembly extolled the qualities of Tinubu and his contributions towards the growth of APC.

Ibrahim, represented by his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed-Ibrahim said Nigerian youths will support the National Leader of the APC if he decide to contest for presidency in the next general election.

He, therefore, stressed the need for Nigerians to unite and support credible representatives to lead the country.

Also, General Secretary, NYMT, Mr Olugbenga Pius, said that the group was made up of various representatives of youths associations who were after the peace and progress of the country, hence will mobilise Nigerians to support Tinubu, if he decide to join the race.

We the leaders of various youth groups and volunteers pledge to ramp up efforts to fully implement strategies and Platforms for Actions, should Tinubu decide to run for presidency in 2023 general elections, he said.

Source: NAN News

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been given the final approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for its demutualisation exercise.

The NSE said in a statement on Wednesday obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) In Lagos that the demutualisation process had been completed with these final approvals.

NAN reports that under thedemutualisation plan, a new non-operating holding company, the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) has been created.

The Group will have three operating subsidiaries: Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX Limited), the operating exchange; NGX Regulation Limited (NGX REGCO), the independent regulation company and NGX Real Estate Limited (NGX RELCO).

The statement said all the entities had been duly registered at the CAC.

Commenting on the development, the NSE Council President, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo, commended SEC for approving the demutualisatiom plan.

Ogunbanjo said:Successful demutualisation was one of my fundamental objectives when I assumed the presidency of the Exchange.

The SECs decision today to approve the NSEs demutualisation plans brings this aspiration to a successful conclusion in a process that included the passage of the Demutualisation Act through the National Assembly.

We are elated that this milestone has been achieved as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the commencement of trading at the Exchange and now look forward to the future public listing of its shares on NGX Limited.

On behalf of the NSE, I would like to warmly thank all those that have worked assiduously to achieve this watershed event on our journey to make the NSE a multifaceted exchange that extends across various markets and geographical regions.

Also speaking, Mr Oscar Onyema,the new Group Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group Plc, said: The Nigerian capital markets should play a role commensurate with Nigerias status as Africas largest economy.

Onyema said the new group would become the premier exchange hub for Nigerian businesses and for Africa.

At the Nigerian Stock Exchange, we have a vision that the new group will become the premier exchange hub for Nigerian businesses and for the African economy.

We are implementing a series of measures toward this goal, demutualisation being a critical milestone. The completion of demutualisation is a truly significant moment, and we welcome the new possibilities that have opened up for us today, he added.

NAN reports that the approvals by the SEC and CAC signify that the NSE can now activate its transition plan to a new operational structure and holding company.

The extensive Transition Plan, taking the Group and its subsidiaries through to full Operational Launch, covers legal and practical changes to enable the functioning of the new corporate structure, with no loss of service and a seamless transition for market participants.

The Transition Plan will also see the inauguration of boards for each of the new entities and relocation of staff to their respective functions within the operating subsidiaries.

It would also see to the operationalisation of business plans and budgets, technology systems transfer and the requisite agreements between the entities.

The approvals will also enable the shares of NGX Group Plc, which have been registered with the SEC, to be allotted to the membership pursuant to the court approved Scheme of Arrangement.

Ahead of its listing on NGX Ltd., the shares of NGX Group Plc will be available for bilateral trades to be executed in line with extant rules and regulations of the Nigerian capital market.

Otunba Ogunbanjo will serve as the inaugural Chairman of NGX Group Plcs Board of Directors. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The CBN says it has disbursed over N85 billion to no fewer than 80 projects, under its Healthcare Credit Support scheme, the banks Director of Development Finance, Mr Yila Yusuf, has announced

In an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, in Abuja,Yusuf said that the projects cut across medical, pharmaceutical, herbal and other related products, and a funeral home.

He spoke against the backdrop of the apex banks award of N253.54 million Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme (HSRDIS) grants to five researchers on Tuesday.

In the healthcare credit support scheme, we have disbursed over N85 billion to more than 80 projects, mainly to reposition and enhance capacity of hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. We even financed a funeral home, he said.

He said under the HSRDIS, an empanelled body of experts, chaired by Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), received over 200 research entries, evaluated 68 and picked the best five entries for the grants.

He added that more grants would be awarded, as entries continued to be evaluated, while the grants were being disbursed on a milestone basis, rather than as a bullet payment.

Mr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor, has restated the apex banks commitment to support the growth of Nigerias health sector, while assuring that more grants will be awarded based on the recommendations of the Body of Experts, Yusuf said.

He urged corporate organisations to support researchand development for the overall good of Nigeria.

NAN reports that the CBN approved N100 billion credit support scheme for the healthcare sector in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Chinese President, Xi Jinping has called for the countrys military to be constantly ready in the face of instabilities and uncertainties, state media reported on Wednesday.

The entire armed forces must always be ready to respond to all kinds of complex and difficult situations, Xi was cited as saying at a Tuesday meeting with the military delegation to the National Peoples Congress (NPC), Chinas annual parliamentary session.

The development of the military must focus on combat readiness, Xi said, as reported by state news agency Xinhua.

Xi said that the new five-year plan from 2021 to 2025 provides a good starting point for strengthening national defence and the military.

At the end of its one-week meeting on Thursday, the NPC will approve a draft laying out the course being set as well as a hefty 6.8 per-cent increase in military spending for this year.

Xi said the plan was to step up building high-calibre strategic deterrence and that the Peoples Liberation Army must resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

The Chinese leader, who is also the chief of the Communist Party and chairman of the military commission, said military developments must be driven by innovation and there must be further efforts to make science and technology independent.

He also said defence-related innovation needs a significant boost.

The modernisation and expansion of the Chinese military comes against the backdrop of growing tensions with the United States and Taiwan, incidents on its border with India and disputes over islands in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

This is contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abba Anwar in Kano.

The governor spoke when he led a delegation of legislators, business, traditional and civic leaders to pay a courtesy visit to the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, in Abuja.

He lamented that the continued closure of the airport was causing hardship to international travelers from the Northern part of the country , as the action was severely impacting on ease of doing business in Kano.

The closure of MAKIA has impacted negatively on the business environment in Kano, which is the commercial nerve center of Northern Nigeria and even some West African Countries.

We appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for the completion of the International wing of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport because it will further facilitate commercial activities, and we fervently appeal for the resumption of international flight operations at the airport, he explained.

The governor expressed concern over the effect of the continued suspension of international flights to and from the airport by passengers and service providers.

According to him, the Kano State government has put in place all that was necessary to make the state healthy for flights, including mobilisation of the populace for the COVID-19 vaccinations.

On his part, the minister assured that his ministry was favorably disposed to re-opening the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for international flight operations, lamenting that the continued suspension of international flights to and from the airport was causing the ministry and its agencies huge revenue loss.

It does not make economic sense for the government to spend so much money, as it has done in the airport, and just decide to leave it dormant, with the attendant degeneration on infrastructure, staff redundancy, revenue losses and hardship to travellers, amongst others, he said.

He, however, told the delegation that the decision to suspend international flights to and from the airport, like the ones in Enugu and Port Harcourt, was for health and security reasons.

The Minister acknowledged the hardship faced by passengers and service providers patronizing the airport, promising that everything that was necessary for the resumption of international flight operations at the airport would be fast-tracked to ensure that it resumes soon.

He, however, challenged Kano indigenes to create activities that would make the airport more viable through increased passenger traffic.

Source: NAN News

By Naomi Sharang

A civil society organisation, Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), has called for the passage of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill, to make for the eradication of all of barriers against women in the country.

CTA Executive Director Faith Nwadishi stated this at an event on Tuesday in Abuja.

She said that the passage of the bill into law by the National Assembly was important to give women equal opportunities to actively participate in politics.

We strongly call on the National Assembly to expeditiously pass the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill into law.

This is long overdue. In passing this law, the National Assembly should not see it as a token to women and girls but should ensure that the basic rights of women and girls are protected, she said.

Nwadishi called for the full implementation of the Nigerian gender policy and the 35 per cent affirmation.

Again, this is not a favour to women but a right that is sacrosanct and the right thing to do.

The lopsided policies trample upon the opportunities to rise to the apex of their professions.

No woman has ever been appointed a Service Chief or the Inspector-General of Police, or to head the DSS and other paramilitary agencies.

The extractive industry is another sector where women are so marginalised and, therefore, make less impact as they are systematically shut out of the extractive resources, she said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Abdullahi Shugaba

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Area Command in Katsina, says it intercepted smuggled goods worth N79million between February and March 2021.

Mr Adewale Aremu, the state Area Controller of Customs (ACC), disclosed this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Katsina on Wednesday.

Aremu said the seized goods included 470 bags of 50kg rice concealed in different compartments of a fuel tanker.

Others include 367 bales of second hand cloths worth over N30million; used Honda Accord salon car worth over N8million as well as 166 jerry cans of vegetable oil valued at N1.8 million.

Also confiscated are 321 cartons of foreign spaghetti; 97 cartons of couscous; 110 cartons of macaroni; 65 cartons of milky creamer; 14 cartons of clinical plaster and 187 bags of sugar, he said.

Aremu said the tanker with registration number KWL 427 TH has a duty value of N13.5million.

The trailer used for conveying the second hand cloths is valued at N12.1million, he said.

Aremu reiterated that the NCS will not relent in its efforts to track down smugglers in the country, pointing out that the practice was detrimental to the economy of Nigeria. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

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By Olayinka Owolewa

Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin will on Thursday sign a three-year deal with sportswear manufacturers Umbro.

Speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Ilorin, the Chairman of a 14-man Launching Committee, Lanre Alege, said the deal was worth about N22 million.

He said Umbro would provide 1,000 replica jerseys as part of the deal, while the company would also provide kits for the teams players and officials.

Umbro will provide both home and away jersies and other kits for the duration of the deal, Alege said.

He explained that the deal which would be signedat the Kwara Stadium Complex in Ilorin wassubject to a yearly renewal.

Earlier, the Consultant to the Committee and CEO of Kazolink Sports International, Tunde Kazeem, had applauded the impressive run of Kwara United in the ongoing Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ikenna Uwadileke

The Fertiliser Producers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) has signed a second phase of agreement with Moroccos state-owned phosphate and fertiliser group, OCP.

A statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by FEPSAN President, Mr Thomas Etuh, said that the agreement would sustain the gains recorded in agricultural productivity.

Etuh said that the agreement was signed by Gov. Muhammed Abubakar of Jigawa who is the Chairman, Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) and Mr Mustafa Terrab, Chairman of OCP.

He stated that the agreement was in line with President Muhammadu Buharis commitment to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production.

Etuh said the agreement, which took the existing one signed in Dec. 2016 a step higher, would deepen the cooperation between the two organisations in technical support for blending operations.

He said that it would also deepen cooperation in agronomic assistance for enhanced fertiliser application and agricultural productivity.

The agreement aims to enhance earlier arrangement that has enabled Nigerian farmers access high-quality fertiliser at affordable prices.

It will also improve the agriculture industry by increasing the volume of raw material supplied to Nigerian blenders under the aegis of FEPSAN.

This new agreement will further include the provision of technical support by the OCP to the Nigerian fertiliser producers, especially given the expected increased appetite of the market for locally blended NPK fertilisers.

Unlike the initial agreement signed in 2016 and structured for a three-year life span, the new agreement shall be on a continuous basis.

The first phase of the agreement was signed during King Mohammed VIs visit to Nigeria and was pivotal to the commencement of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative that started with eight blending plants in 2016.

Today, that number has increased to 42 accredited plants in different parts of the country, Etuh said.

He said that the first phase of the agreement helped to strengthen the private sector to stand on its own during the initial three-year period and would now give way to a new private sector-led initiative.

Etuh commended President Buhari for his initiative to revive moribund fertiliser blending plants in Nigeria for the benefit of Nigerian farmers and the national economy.

He also commended OCP Morocco for its support to Nigerias agricultural policy initiatives.

According to Etuh, the new agreement highlights the importance of cooperation among African countries towards the growth and development of the continent.

The FEPSAN president was optimistic that the new agreement would enable Nigerian blenders of NPK fertilizer to have access to improved supply of di-ammonium sulphate chemicals, critical for NPK fertiliser production.

He emphasised that with new blenders coming on stream, the country would be on the path of improved fertiliser market.

Etuh expressed belief that Nigerian farmers and players in the agricultural value chain would soon begin to reap the benefits of the agreement in job creation and improved gross domestic product for the country. (NAN)

Source: NAN News