President Muhammadu Buhari

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with front line energy expert, Da Yohanna Dalyop, who turns 70 on Nov. 3, 2020.

The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Monday, commended Dalyops efforts in research, construction and distribution of alternative energy sources to households and institutions in Nigeria.

While joining family members, friends and professional colleagues in celebrating the milestone with the engineer, Buhari noted with delight that Dalyop dedicated most of his life finding solution to the challenge of energy in the country.

He also lauded Dalyop, the Chief Executive Officer of Wedotebary Nig. Ltd, for inventing the Kyaratt laser-based solar garden power generation technology and working diligently to fill the gap in many homes by deploying his knowledge, experience and resources.

The president affirmed that his efforts in complementing the government to provide power would always be appreciated, urging more focus on cheap and accessible alternatives, especially in rural communities.

He also appreciated Dalyops loyalty and commitment to the government, and prayed for longer life and good health for the inventor and energy entrepreneur.

Source: NAN News

By Lizzy Okoji

The Victims Support Fund (VSF) is to intensify efforts to scale up support for victims of terrorism, insurgency and vulnerable in Nigeria.

Retired Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, Chairman of VSF made this known in a statement by Mr Alkasim Abdulkadir, the outgoing spokesperson of the fund on Monday in Abuja.

Danjuma said that the review panel will recommend procedures and actions that will further strengthen effective service delivery of the Fund.

He thanked the outgoing members of the board for their diligent service to the nation after serving for two terms, acknowledging the sacrifices and risks they took in discharging their duties.

The VSF Chairman further acknowledged the great contributions of the board members who sacrificed their time to travel through hard-to-reach and high security risk areas at times it was extremely dangerous to do so.

Danjuma also used the occasion to commend the outgoing Executive Director, Prof. Sunday Ochoche, for his commitment and courage in the discharge of his duties, wishing him well in his future endeavors.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that VSF was first setup in 2014, under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 to scale up support for victims of terrorism.

The VSF has impacted the lives of displaced persons in areas of health, education, foster care for orphaned children, agriculture, womens economic empowerment as well as the reconstruction of destroyed public infrastructure.

The fund was also set up to work towards the restoration of civil authority in the North East.

NAN reports that members of the Review Panel includes: retired Brig.- Gen. Jones Arogbofa as Chairman, Amb. Usman Baraya, and Maj.- Gen Sule Labaran with Amb. John Gana serving to serve as Secretary of the Panel.

Source: NAN News

By Muhammad Adam

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has warned Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPG) retail outlets against cylinder to cylinder gas refilling and decanting because of the associated risks.

Mr Sadeq Ibrahim, Operations Controller, Yola DPR Office, gave the warning at a one-day sensitisation meeting with gas retailers in the state held on Monday in Yola.

Ibrahim said that the warning became necessary to prevent fire disasters as well as protect lives and property of the people.

He said that the department would no longer tolerate the dangerous cylinder to cylinder gas refilling businessfor the safety of the people and also for those handling the business.

LPG cylinder to cylinder re-bottling, refilling and decanting is prohibited by Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The transfillingof the resources are not allowedand is against the DPRregulations and requirements because the business ishighly hazardous and a threat to lives and property of the people.

According to Ibrahim, the department has recorded many fire outbreak accidents across the country as a result of poor handling and unsafe cylinder to cylinder gas refilling process.

He advised the retailers to go and address how to improve their businesses as the department had no intent to push them out of the business.

He said that among the roles of the gas retailers as stated in the DPR regulations was to sell a full gas cylinder, either through cylinder exchange or a new one.

Ibrahim advised the gas retailers to put safety measures in their shops and also register with the DPR.

All gas retailers in the state are advised to provide protection safety facilities to their workers and the shop.

Also, the retailers outlets are advised to register with the DPR to obtain approved licence, Ibrahim said.

In his remarks, Mr Emmanuel Ogbodo, Chairman, LPG Retailers Outlets Association, Adamawa, thanked the department for organising the sensitisation meeting for their members.

Ogbodo said that the sensitisation was an eye opener to the members and that the association would look at the request of the DPR and deliberate on it.

Source: NAN News

Mrs Julie Okah-Donli NAPTIP D-G

By Bukola Adetoye

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has commenced a two-day intensive coaching for members of States Taskforce on Human Trafficking.

The Director-General (DG) of NAPTIP , Miss Julie Okah-Donli, in her welcome address at the training in Lagos on Monday, described the establishment of the taskforce as a giant feat, in spite of the post COVID-19 challenges.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that beneficiaries of the training are drawn from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states.

The agency in conjunction with some state governments, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and other partners had inaugurated the taskforce in 14 states between 2019 and August 2020.

Plans are in progress to inaugurate the taskforce in the remaining states in Nigeria, Okah-Donli said.

She explained that the taskforce was a strategic instrument that NAPTIP adopted to harness counter-trafficking efforts at the sub-national level.

The agency realised it is pivotal to create synergies in the fight against human trafficking in the country and it became a reality.

So this capacity building is very dear to us in NAPTIP because of the need to equip stakeholders with the necessary skills to curtail incidences of human trafficking at the grassroots level, the DG said.

She stressed that the challenges of human trafficking and irregular migration were quite enormous, adding that new initiatives must be developed to ensure sustained successes against this twin monsters.

Okah-Donli stressed that the fight against human trafficking required both government and citizens collaboration.

It is worthy of note that human trafficking can be difficult to detect due to its clandestine nature which aids victims to remain hidden in plain sight.

We need counter-trafficking actors to understand the various methods of traffickers, who use technology and other tools to perpetrate the crime, she said.

Okah-Donli charged trainees on commitment to duty, as the country was counting on their professionalism and patriotism to achieve NAPTIPs vision of ensuring a human trafficking-free nation.

The IOM representative, Ms Ruth Mbugua, in her opening speech, said the organisation had repatriated more than 19,000 Nigerians from different countries.

Mbugua said the victims consisted of 58 per cent females and 42 per cent males.

The IOM collaborates with governments, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), intelligence units, among others, and travels far for rescue operations, she said.

Source: NAN News

By Abiodun Lawal

The Ogun Police Command says it has arrested five suspected members of a dreaded cult group for allegedly unleashing terror on the people of Ifo town in the early hours of Sunday.

The Spokesman of the command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday.

Oyeyemi, who said that the suspected cultists, whose age ranged between 18 and 22, were apprehended following a distressed call received by the Divisional Police Officer in Ifo, Adeniyi Adekunle, that members of the cult group were on rampage around Ifo market.

He said that the suspected cultists were attacking people with dangerous weapons and dispossessing them of their valuables.

Upon the distress call, the DPO, Ifo division, Adeniyi Adekunle, quickly mobilised his men and moved to the scene.

On getting there, they met a 25-year-old man, who was later identified simply as Sunday, in the pool of his own blood as a result of several injuries inflicted on his body.

The policemen chased the suspects and got five of them arrested within the area. The victim was, thereafter, taken to the General Hospital in Ifo, where he was confirmed dead.

Also injured was one Muhammed, a trailer driver and one Olalekan Alade, who was also dispossessed of his phone by the hoodlums, while five other different phones snatched from different people were recovered from them, he said.

The police spokesman stated that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Edward Ajogun, had ordered the transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.

He said that Ajogun had also directed that the fleeing members of the gang be chased, apprehended and brought to book within the shortest possible time.

Oyeyemi warned those, who were still thinking that the police had abandoned their duty as a result of the recent EndSARS protest, to have a rethink.

According to him, the command is determined more than ever before to wage war against crime and criminality in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

Source: NAN News

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister of Science and Technology has reiterated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buharis administration in implementing the five-point demand of the EndSARS protesters.

Onu gave the assurance in Abakaliki on Sunday during a sympathy visit to Miss Favour Imoha, a 300-level medical student of the Ebonyi State University (EBSU), who was hit on the head by stray bullet during the protest in Abakaliki.

The minister said that the Executive Order Five was aimed at industrialising the nation and appealed to the youths to cooperate with the administration to succeed in its strive to create more jobs for the citizenry.

He said that Buhari was working hard to bequeath a new Nigeria that the younger generation would be proud of.

The onetime governor of old Abia state urged the youths to take advantage of the N75 billion victims survival fund and other federal governments economic intervention programmes to empower themselves.

The future is for our young people and if we dont give them the best, what will happen in the future when they govern the country?

The message to our youths is that your voice has been heard at the highest level and that all your demands as contained in the 5-point demands have been accepted and are being implemented, Onu said.

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation on Sunday in Abakaliki said that violence was inimical to national growth and development.

He however, cautioned youths against indulging in violent agitations and urged them to use dialogue as a means to achieving their demands.

The minister, who regretted the magnitude of destruction of critical assets and property of private citizens by angry youths in the wake of the #Endsars protests, advised youths to adopt dialogue in resolving grievances.

The minister prayed for speedy recovery of the victim and others who sustained different degrees of injuries during the violent protests in the state and for peaceful repose of those who lost their lives.

Onu commended medical doctors at the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital for working hard to save the lives of the victim and others who were brought to the hospital following injuries they sustained during the unrest.

He said: We will like to use this opportunity to say to those who carried out the Endsars protest in a violent manner that, that is not a proper way to go.

Violence is inimical to our national growth and development.

Violence cannot help us as a nation because if we start destroying our national assets particularly when we know that we need a lot of infrastructure; no foreign investors will come and help us accelerate the process of industrialisation.

Industrialisation will help us create more jobs for our young people, create wealth for the old and young and this cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of violence.

Once you have violence, it introduces tension and people can no longer feel secured both for their lives and for their investments.

Meanwhile, Dr Godwin Imoha, victims father commended the minister for coming to the familys aid.

Source: NAN News

Tambuwal assigns portfolios to 3 new commissioners

By Muhammad Bello

Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, has assigned portfolios to the three newly appointed commissioners and members of the state Executive Council.

Malam Muhammad Bello, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the governor said this in a statement on Sunday in Sokoto.

Bello said that Malam Mainasara Ahmad was posted to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, while Malam Abubakar Maikudi will take charge in the Ministry of Solid Minerals.

He said that Malam Bashir Gorau was posted the Ministry of Sports and Youths Development, while the former commissioner in the ministry has been redeployed to the Ministry of Land and Housing.

Tambuwal had on Oct. 28, swore-in the three new appointees as commissioners and members of the State Executive Council.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

By Grace Alegba and Florence Onuegbu

The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Sunday inuagurated the reconstruction and upgrading of the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway, saying that the project will revolutionize trade and commerce in the state.

At the launch of the project at Eleko, Sanwo-Olu said government knew the importance of the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway which houses the Lekki Free Trade Zone and thriving estates businesses.

He said transportation and traffic Management were the pillar of his administrations THEMES Agenda aimed at bringing economic prosperity to stakeholders on the axis and commerce to the state.

THEMES represent Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos a 21Century state; Security and Governance.

He said the road, when completed, will complement the new network of roads in Epe and ease transportation and connectivity to improved socio-economic activities in the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Corridor.

He said road will connect the Regional Road under construction as well as the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, naming the 10 communities that will benefit from the project as Eleko, Onose, Alatishe, Aiyeteju, Ajaganabe, Oko Orisan, Ilasan, Lekki Village, and Epe.

Sanwo-Olu said since efforts by successive administrations could not solve the problem of quick road degeneration and lack of proper drainage on the highway, his administration is taking measures to solve the perennial problem.

He said when completed, the expressway would have a three-lane dual carriageway, reinforced concrete road pavement with dedicated lane in each direction for trucks and a rigid pavement to accommodate the envisaged axle loading.

He listed other features as a rail path for future introduction of rail transport on the corridor as well as weigh bridges to check axle load on the highway.

He said the project, to be done through direct labour to save cost, would be done in two phases.

According to him, , the first is expected to begin immediately to cover 18.75 kilometres from Eleko Junction to Epe-T-Junction.

He added that the second phase, expected to commence in 2021, would cover 26.7 kilometres from Abraham Adesanya Roundabout to Eleko Junction.

He said government would adopt the best construction methods, using rigid pavement to make the road strong and durable adding that the was expected to last over 40 years.

The scope of work will encompass an upgrade in both capacity and pavement structure, the provision of reinforced concrete drains, culverts and median barriers, the relocation of public utilities and provision of reinforced concrete rigid pavement with road marking.

Also, installation of weigh bridges on each side of the road, preservation of a rail line corridor within the 50-metre Right of Way, the provision of transverse and longitudinal service ducts and the provision of a crushed stone base course among others, he said.

The governor said the project would create jobs and appealled to youths and residents in the area to take ownership of the project.

Sanwo-Olu said his administration will not be deterred in its pursuit to deliver quality infrastructure to Lagos residents in spite of economic challenges sparked by COVID-19 pandemic and recent unrests in the state.

With our shared vision and resources at our disposal, it is time to redouble our efforts while looking to the future with confidence as we rebuild Lagos State together, he said.

He advised the contractor handling the project, Cranburge Construction, to speed up construction and meet 20-month delivery date.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs Aramide Adeyoye, had said investment in critical infrastructure is important to the Sanwo-Olu government.

She added that the APC would follow a laid-down master plan for massive infrastructure regeneration and renewal in the state which it will not deviate from to make Lagos better.

The Permanent Secretary in the State ministry of Works, Mr Olujimi Hotonu, lawmakers representing the area and traditional rulers in attendance also commended the project, saying it comes with numerous advantages. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Aubameyang shines in Arsenal defeat of Manchester United

Arsenal ended their five-year wait for a Premier League away win against Manchester United with a second-half Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty giving them a 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Gunners had not enjoyed such a win in 29 games since their victory at Manchester in January 2015.

The result leaves United still without a win at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season and it was a disappointing performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaers side.

It was disappointing after their impressive display in the 5-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek.

The decisive moment came when Paul Pogba stood on Hector Bellerins foot inside the area and Aubameyang kept his cool to convert the spot-kick.

United did hit the post through a deflected shot from substitute Donny van de Beek late in the game.

Solskjaers 100th game as manager ended in a defeat which leaves them in 15th place with just seven points from six games.

Arsenal move up to eighth place on 12 points. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

National Christian Centre, Abuja

By Salisu Sani-Idris

Christian leaders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed commitment to the promotion and sustenance of peace in the territory.

Mr Anthony Ogunleye, Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said that the leaders made the pledge during a meeting with the minister.

The meeting, chaired by the minister, was attended by the Chairman of the FCT chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Samson Jonah.

Also in attendance were the State House Chaplain, Pastor Seyi Malomo, and heads of the various Christian denominations in the FCT.

The statement quoted the Christian leaders as noting that the FCT had always been a home to all Nigerians with residents free to practice their faith without hindrance.

They declared that nothing should be allowed to overturn the situation.

It quoted them as pledging to explore the power of the pulpit to encourage their members to maintain peaceful co-existence with followers of other faiths in the FCT.

The Christian leaders also condemned the wanton destruction of property which occurred in the wake of the ENDSARS protests, urging everyone to maintain the peace since government had acceded to their demands.

They also commended the FCT Administration for the proactive steps that ensured that the violence did not degenerate into ethno-religious crises, and applauded the minister for the on-the-spot assessment visits to affected areas.

The statement quoted the minister as informing the leaders of the Presidential Panel of Inquiry on the disbanded SARS and urging them to submit complaints to it.

On the issue of community policing, the statement said the religious leaders were informed that 2,500 special constabularies had been recruited.

The meeting also called for an early resolution of the ongoing ASUU strike so that students could go back to school, and also urged government to create employment opportunities for the youths to minimise indolence. (NAN)

Source: NAN News