Mamman Sale

By Constance Imasuen

The Ministry of Power is to collaborate with the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) to improve power generation, transmission and distribution in the country.

Minister of Power, Mr Sale Mamman, made this known when he received the National Executive Members of the NSE in his office.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Aaron Artimas, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister,

Mamman called on Nigerian engineers to make innovations or designs for various engineering activities as a way of establishing their own standard.

Nigeria cannot continue to rely on foreign designs because the countrys engineers have not established their own, he said.

The minister lamed efficient transmission and distribution of electricity in the country on obsolete equipment.

Earlier, the President of the NSE, Mr Babagana Mohammed said that in view of the lingering epileptic power supply in the country, the society has constituted an Ad Hoc committee.

Mohammed said that the committee would carry outa holistic study and assessment of the problems associated with generation, transmission and distribution of power in Nigeria.

He saidthat the initiative was meant to compliment the efforts of government to truthfully revitalize the energy sector.

Mohammed said that the NSE and the ministry of power have a collective duty and responsibility to provide lasting solutions to power supply problem in Nigeria.

He said that the society has offered five years scholarships to some secondary school students.

The News Agency of Nigeria NAN reports that t. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

A city in western China finished testing 4.7 million people for coronavirus in four days after workers at a factory tested positive, state media reported on Wednesday.

Kashgar, in the far-western Xinjiang region, had tested its entire population by Tuesday after a coronavirus cluster emerged last week, according to the Peoples Daily.

A total of 183 people in Shufu County, part of Kashgar, tested positive, while the other tests came back negative, local authorities said.

Of those who tested positive, 161 patients were asymptomatic, and 22 had developed symptoms.

The coronavirus cluster was connected to the citysSancun Factory, the deputy director of the regional health commission said.

Most flights atKashgars airport were cancelled over the weekend, according to Chinese news portal Headline Daily.

Chinas National Health Commission had dispatched a working group to the region to lead the response, state media Xinhua reported.

Earlier this month, the entire population of the eastern city of Qingdao was tested for coronavirus after a dozen cases emerged at a hospital.

Similarly, the central city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, tested its entire population in May.

China reported 42 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, including the 22 in Kashgar and 20 imported from abroad.

The country has largely contained the virus outbreak through population tracking, widespread testing and entry bans.(dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

India Flag

Indias first major elections during the coronavirus pandemic began on Wednesday in the eastern state of Bihar, with social distancing and temperature checks outside election booths.

Voters will elect the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly in three phases, with results to be declared on Nov.10.

Holding safe elections has been a challenge for Indias Election Commission as the virus continues to spread.

The country had recorded nearly 8 million Covid-19 cases and more than 120,000 deaths.

Most voters were seen wearing masks and officials provided gloves as they cast their ballot.

Bihar has an electoral roll of more than 72 million voters, which is more than the population of France or Britain, and the last elections in 2015 saw a turnout of around 58 per cent.

More than 60 countries around the world have been postponing local and national elections, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

The Election Commission has limited groups campaigning door to door to three people and asked district administrations to ensure social distancing and limit crowds at campaign rallies.

But days into the staggered elections, most rules were flouted with candidates competing to pull the biggest crowd and raising fears of a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Three times chief minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) is seeking re-election at the head of an alliance that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.

Its main rival is another alliance of the regional Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Indian National Congress and two left parties.(dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

#EndSARS protesters

By Patricia Amogu

Leading Right Group (LRG), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has joined well meaning Nigerians and friends of the nation calling for peace amongst youths while urging them to embrace truce.

The organisation also told them to suspend the #ENDPOLICEBRUTALITY# protests and reach a point of understanding with the government.

The President of the NGO, Mr Uyeh Akadakhaene, made this call in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

It was issued by his Secretary, Dr Iyore Idemudia, on Tuesday in Abuja urging the Nigerian youth to do so for the sake of prosterity and overall well-being of the nation.

While LRG recognises the right of the Nigerian youth as it is inherent in a democracy such as ours, to peaceful protest, it believes firmly that the voice of the youth has been heard loud and clear.

The ball is now undoubtedly in the court of the authorities at both Federal and states levels to address the legitimate concerns raised by Nigerians.

In the same vein, LRG is deeply saddened by the tragic turn of events which saw otherwise peaceful protests degenerate into a scuffle that resulted in avoidable loss of lives, livelihoods and property.

LRG mourns the dead and is in shared grief with the bereaved; May the Almighty God comfort them and heal our land. he said.

Akadakhaene commended the setting up of the various Judicial Panels of Inquiry by state governments for this purpose and called for quick dispensation of justice.

LRG is persuaded sufficiently to believe that the spontaneous and simultaneous protests that swept across the length and breadth of the country and beyond were, for all intents and purposes, a convenient outlet for expression of accumulated frustration and anger by the young people of Nigeria.

They rightly feel that, over the years, their fatherland has neither treated them justly nor fairly.

For the avoidance of doubt, LRG condemns in the strongest terms possible the killings, by security operatives, of innocent youths whose only offense was that they asked for Police reform and, by implication, a better society.

He said that LRG was strongly advocating the implementation of the recommendations to be submitted by the various Judicial Panels across the nation.

He stated that this was in order to bury the culture of slow or non implementation of recommendations of Panels and Committees over the years and with a view to kick starting a new approach to governance and policy implementation.

According to the organisation, this will boost the confidence of the youth in the sincerity of government.

LRG wishes to recommend family dialogue between the authorities and the youth to satisfactorily resolve all issues pertaining to the protests and their tragic aftermath.

The Group is willing and ready to play a facilitator and partner role in the search for a lasting solution, he said.

He appealed to the authorities to collaborate with the youth and do all within their means to earn the trust of Nigerians.

NAN reports that the LRG is a group of patriotic young professionals at the vanguard of resetting leadership standards for Nigeria.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

The President of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Wednesday announced he was self-isolating after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Ghalibaf hoped he could nevertheless continue working in quarantine, the 58-year-old politician wrote onTwitter.

Ghalibaf, who has been leading Irans parliament since May, had been travelling a lot in recent weeks despite experts advice not to do so.

President HassanRowhani, on the other hand, has been adhering to the strict coronavirus regulations and did not attend most meetings in person, a decision that was criticised by Ghalibafs supporters.

Iran has introduced renewed lockdowns in several large cities due to spiking infection numbers. Half of civil servants inTehran have been ordered to work from home.

More than 580,000 people have contracted the coronavirus inIran, with 33,000 fatalities related to the infection, according to the Health Ministry.(dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Long queues resurface at petrol stations in parts of Abuja

By Edith Ike-Eboh

Roadside sellers ( Black marketers) of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol are making brisk business as queues persist in few filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), Abuja.

A visit round the city by a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday revealed that most filling stations did not open for business.

NAN observed that long queues were witnessed in most NNPC stations that were dispensing.

Along the Kubwa express way, a litre of petrol officially sold between N158 and N162 was sold by the road side sellers for N250 to N300.

One of the sellers who identified himself as Musa, told NAN, I bought this fuel yesterday from the filling station; I have sold 10 litres for N3,000.

Madam, if you want to buy I can sell N2,500, last price, he said.

However, Conoil, MRS, Rainoil, Mobil, Dan oil, AA Rano and Shema petrol stations along Kubwa express way did not open for business.

Recall that the NNPC had cautioned motorists against panic buying of the commodity, assuring of normalcy in the supply of petroleum products.

Dr Kennie Obateru, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division said that the long queues currently being experienced was due to the curfew imposed in some states over the #EndSARS protests.

He said that the curfew affected the free movement of vehicles for the supply of products, but assured of normalcy in a couple of days.

The disruptions and curtailment of free flow of vehicular movement occasioned by the #EndSARS protests, the attendant curfews, restrictions and vandalism affect the supply.

Normalcy is expected to return to petroleum products supply chain in the next couple of days.

There is no need for panic buying, be rest assured that supply will soon return to the entire country, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

NAN Logo

By Nicholas Dechi/Emmanuel Antswen

The Benue State Government on Wednesday described the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as one of the most reliable news organisations in the world.

The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Gov. Samuel Ortom, Mr Terver Akase, stated this during an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Makurdi.

Akase, therefore, urged the agency to work hard to sustain its quality and credibility.

He said that the agency had over the decades, proven to be one of the most reliable news organisations not only in Nigeria and Africa but in the entire world.

Let me start by commending NAN for the wonderful job that the agency has been doing over the decades.

NAN has proven to be one of the reliable news organisations, not just in Nigeria, Africa, but across the world. You will find NAN correspondents in other African countries and the news come in real time.

NAN is known for very deep investigative reports. It is known for making reports that keep both the government or private sector on their toes, that is development journalism and NAN has done this over the years and has done so reliably, so, this must be commended,he said

The chief press secretary further said that the agency was one of the few standouts in the country in terms of wide reach and its rich in contents.

Your organisation is one of the few standouts in terms of wide reach and rich contents. If you take ten newspapers in Nigeria you will find NAN stories in at least five and that is a big plus for you.

So, you have to sustain this, when a product goes up to the zenith what is required by owners of that product is to sustain it there. So, NAN cannot afford to drop its quality and credibility. Keep doing what you are doing and the Benue State Government appreciates you, he said.

Commenting on child molestation in the state, especially in rural areas, the CPS said the trend was not peculiar to the state alone but a national concern.

This is one challenge that is staring everyone in the face, be it federal, state or local government area,.

Issues of molestation, kidnapping and banditry in general are everyones concern and must be taken seriously.

Molestation is a monster that should bother all of us and not just government, he said.

He said that the Ortom led administration had enacted a law against kidnapping and cultism and said itwas part of the solution to the problem.

This is an ongoing discussion because it is happening across the country not only in Benue. It is not a peculiar problem to Benue.

I suspect that COVID-19 did not do us well. People stayed at home for long periods. This is my personal observation.

People staying at home for long periods can cause a lot of problem because when people are idle they do all manner of things.

They say an idle mind is the devils workshop. So, children too were staying at home and the increasing cases could be as a result of that.

But government is not resting on its oars. It is engaging stakeholders and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to go on intensive awareness creation.

The State Ministry of Information is taking the lead to enlighten our people on the need to speak out when they are molested.

Parents too need to talk to their children on how they can suspect when an uncle or guardian tries or attempts to molest them.

Also, they should not keep quiet when they are molested. When grown-ups make advances to them, they should not keep quiet, they should speak out as well as tell their parents.

That way it will help in reducing the number of cases of child molestation and even kidnapping, he said.

Akase also advised parents to watch over their children to know their whereabouts at any point in time and enjoined them to always talk to their children to be aware of their environment.

If you are sending your child to go and buy something be sure of his or her safety. This way we will be helping to reduce incidences of child molestation.

Security agencies are not enough, therefore, they cannot be everywhere, so, we must be our own security. Everyone is involved in this enterprise, he said.

Source: NAN News

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Priscilla Osaje

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the digitisation of the National Film and Video Censor Board (NFVCB), library for sustainable preservation of Nigerias audiovisual heritage.

Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director of NFVCBmade this known on Tuesday in Abuja, in commemoration of the 2020 World Audiovisual Heritage Day(WAHD).

The theme of this years celebration is Your Window to the World.

He said that the president gave the approval through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The world day is an opportunity to redouble our efforts in the preservation of our common audiovisual wealth,which forms an essential part of our shared history.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) raised concerns over lossof documents and the need to preserve our value and culture, documentation of sound and new development in the history of Africa.

This year, as we mark the World audiovisual Day, fortunately for Nigeria and the present administration, efforts are being made for all the ministries, agencies to digitalise their materials and documents.

The NFVCB hasover 30,000 videos and other documents to be digitalised.

We will take advantage of this opportunity to preserveour good culture, moral, understanding and create memories for our young people.

They need to understand past events, in order to shape their present and forge ahead with the future. he added.

Thomas reiterated the agencys capacity to ensure that all materials, videos are digitalised in the first quarter of 2021.

We have identified 60 Icons who have contributed in shaping Nigerias film industry.

We also have approval to document Nigerias60th anniversary in honour of these legends and Icons in the forthcoming first NFVCB award in 2021, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is celebrated every year on Oct. 27.

NAN also reports that the commemorative day was chosen by UNESCO in 2005 to raise awareness of the significance and preservation risks of recorded recorded sound and audiovisual documents (films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes).

Source: NAN News

NURTW

By Lucy Ogalue
The Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has appealed to EndSARS protesters to discontinue the protests in view of the destruction to life and properties trailing them.

Prof. Tajudeen Baruwa, its National President, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that the protests, which commenced peacefully, had been hijacked by hoodlums, causing harm to citizens.

The nationwide EndSARS protests have taken a very dangerous dimension.

The protests, which were intended to be peaceful, have been hijacked by hoodlums resulting in the killing of innocent citizens, looting and wanton destruction of properties and national assets.

I appeal to the protesters to kindly discontinue the protests as the situation has now turned into a looting spree.

The NURTW has already directed state chairmen and members across the country to work with relevant stakeholders to prevail on the protesters to channel their grievances to the appropriate quarters.

The youths should not allow themselves to be used for violence; they should equally desist from burning Police Stations and killing security personnel.

We commiserate with families of those who lost loved ones to the protest and pray to God to give them the fortitude to bear their losses.

Baruwa appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to address the demands of the youth, and equally urged the youths to take the president by his word and end all forms of violence in the name of EndSARS protests.

We must all be conscious of the fact that the national assets being destroyed are our collective property and it will take enormous resources to replace them, he said.

The NURTW boss lauded the ongoing reforms in the Nigeria Police Force, saying that the measure would keep the security personnel in tune with democratic tenets and current realities.

Source: NAN News

Nigerias Senate under Ahmed Lawan

By Naomi Sharang

The Senate Committee on Interior has excused the Federal Fire Service (FFS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) from the ongoing 2021 budget defence exercise owing to the current spate of violence in some parts of the country.

According to the panel, the decision is to allow the security agencies to attend to the current security challenges.

The development followed a motion by a member of the committee, Sen. George Sekibo (PDP-Rivers) during the defence.

He said that there should be no need to keep any of the security agencies at the National Assembly for too long at this time when their attentions are required on the streets.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Kashim Shettima, accepted the prayer and consequently asked the security agencies to lay their budget estimates and leave for their duty posts.

Meanwhile, speaking in an interview with newsmen, Shettima confirmed the receipt of the proposed 2021 budgets of both FFS and NSCDC.

He said that the panel would subject the documents to scrutiny and that even though there was the need for questions, he did not think it was appropriate to keep the security chiefs more than necessary.

Two paramilitary organisations, the Federal Fire Service and the NSCDC submitted their budgets for 2021 for scrutiny to the Senate Committee on Interior.

We have received their submissions and we will subject their submissions to microscopic scrutiny and when the need arises we will call them back to shed more light.

But in the light of the ongoing challenges and issues of the pandemic, we felt compelled not to dissipate their useful time and energy answering a lot of questions from us.

But right now, some of their organisations are under attack, some of their offices were burnt down.

How do you expect us to hold them to ransom here. There are no compelling issues to hold them longer than necessary, Shettima said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News