Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa

By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Nigerian Army says it is fully in support of the ongoing efforts of Borno State government to relocate and resettle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state back to their ancestral homes.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Musa described the effort of Gov. Babagana Zulum aimed at resettling the IDPs as commendable and right step in the desired direction.

He said that the Nigerian army being a patriotic and key agency in the war against terrorism in the North East would ensure the actualisation of the governors desire.

According to him, the Army hereby declares its unflinching commitment to the relocation of the IDPs to their original abodes.

Musa also disclosed that the Theatre Command had been directed to do all it takes to ensure the successful and seamless relocation of the affected people in the state.

According to him, the relocation of these law abiding Nigerians to their towns, villages and homes at this stage of the war against insurgency is highly strategic and a decisive political decision.

He said that it was required to actualize both the political and military objectives of the war towards the ultimate end of restoring peace and stability to Borno and NE region.

The NA commiserates with the Borno State Governor, families of all the fallen heroes (military, police and civilian victims) as a result of the dastardly act of ambush by BHT group along Monguno Kross Kauwa Road.

The NA wishes to once again commend His Excellency Governor Zulum and Borno State Government for this important step and to reassure the nation of its determination and commitment to the successful prosecution of the war on terror in Nigeria.

The NA urges other stakeholders in this endeavour to join hands and redouble their efforts towards restoring peace to our dear fatherland Nigeria, he said.

Source: NAN News

Sports very essential in wealth creation Nnawugo

By Ikechukwu Iweajunwa

The Special Adviser to Gov. Hope Uzodinma on Diaspora Affairs (Europe), Mr Aloysius Nnawugo, has described sport as a potential tool for wealth creation.

Nnawugo said this on Tuesday in Owerri, when he held an interactive session with members of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Imo chapter.

He therefore underscored the need for government at all levels to pay priority attention to sports development in order to create wealth for the nation.

He said that sports had been fully harnessed in developed nations of the world to create wealth and expressed the need for such feat to be replicated in Imo.

The governors aide said that funding and development of sports should not be left in the hands of government alone.

He therefore appealed to groups, corporate bodies and wealthy individuals to assist government to develop sports in the state.

He said his office would liaise with sports managers and educators in America and Europe to contribute in harnessing the potential of Imo youths with abundant talents in sports.

Nnawugo promised to organise a town hall meeting for Imo indigenes in London, where athletes from the state would be invited and wooed to come home and invest their experience in the state.

He said that the governor was poised to transform the sports sector, with emphasis on grassroots sports.

He gave assurance that the state government would partner SWAN to realise its objective in sports.

In a remark, the state Chairman of SWAN, Evarest Ezihe, advised Nnawugo to leverage the opportunities offered by his office to develop sports in Imo.

Ezihe also urged Nnawugo to ensure that Imo athletes in diaspora were encouraged to invest their wealth of experience in the state.

He promised that SWAN would continue to play a leading role in sports coverage in Imo.
He assured Nnawugo that SWAN would continue to provide adequate coverage to his policies and programmes for sports development. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Gov. Samuel Ortom

By Emmanuel Antswen

Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue on Tuesday swore in his Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Kenneth Achabo.

Achabo replaces Mr Jerome Shimbe who died on Sept. 14. He was aged 64.

Ortom, in a speech at the ceremony, said that Achabo was appointed on merit, after considering the need for the fair sharing of political appointments.

We considered Atabo the best for the job in the spirit of fair play. His wealth of experience and sound character also gave him a huge advantage, Ortom said.

He urged the adviser to always do the right thing, pointing out that the bureau for local government and chieftaincy affairs was a very sensitive one.

The governor warned his appointees against corrupt tendencies, declaring that the menace was a monster that must be collectively eliminated.

He cautioned government appointees against neglecting people in their constituencies.

We must imbibe the spirit of sharing the little we have with them. We must keep everyone close, he said.

Achabo, in his remarks, promised to do the right thing always, so as to make the governor proud. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Scene of a road accident

By Abiodun Lawal

The Ogun Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said 217 people died in 547 road traffic crashes from January to August in Ogun.

Mr Ahmed Umar, the state Sector Commander, said this during the flag off of the last quarter of the year Ember months campaign in the state on Tuesday in Abeokuta.

Umar explained that the command rescued over 1,338 persons in different motor traffic accidents during the period under review.

According to the sector commander, some of the busiest roads in the country were within the territory of the state.

He said that the high traffic on Lagos -Sagamu, Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Ajebandele and other expressways in the state made the state prone to high record of crashes and injuries.

Umar added that the enforcement of traffic regulations and public enlightenment against excessive speed, overloading, route violation, use of worn out tyres and other offences were aimed at preventing crashes.

Economic and social activities increase during Ember months, these activities make the roads busier and more prone to crashes and gridlock.

FRSCs Ember months operation is therefore aimed at minimising crashes and gridlocks along major corridors in the country, he said.

The sector commander said that the command would continue to engage leadership of various transport unions to ensure compliance with traffic regulations and COVID -19 protocols.

The FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer in-charge of Lagos and Ogun, Mr Imoh Etuk, advised drivers to always obey traffic rules and regulations in order to avoid crashes.

Etuk appealed to drivers to avoid the consumption of alcohol and hard drugs before embarking on any journey.

In his goodwill message, Gov. Dapo Abiodun, said that the state government would do all it could to improve road transportation in the state.

Abiodun, represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Security, Mr Olusola Zubair, commended FRSC for its efforts in managing traffic on the state highways. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

THealthcare Care Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme (HSRDIS).

The information is contained in the apex banks official website,.

The bank stated that the intervention was to help strengthen public healthcare systems with innovative financing of research and development in new and improved drugs, vaccines and diagnostics of infectious diseases in Nigeria.

It said, specifically HSRDIS is designed to trigger intense national Research and Development activities to develop a Nigerian vaccine, drugs and herbal medicines/medical devices against the spread of COVID-19 and any other communicable or non-communicable diseases.

This will be done through the provision of grants to biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies, institutions, researchers, and research institutes.

The grants will support research and development of drugs, herbal medicines/medical devices and vaccines for the control, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, it said.

It added that the scheme was designed to boost domestication of critical drugs and vaccines to ensure their sustainable domestic supply and reduce their bulk manufacturing cost in Nigeria.

According to CBN, the overall objective is to reduce Nigerias dependence on other countries for those critical drugs and vaccines.

It stated that the scheme would be funded from the development component of CBNs Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF).

The scheme provided for a maximum of N50 million grant earmarked for research activities and a maximum of N500 million grant for development and manufacturing.

Disbursement under the scheme shall be made to beneficiaries in tranches subject to approved milestones achieved.

A Body of Experts (BoE) shall be responsible for the review and evaluation of submitted research proposals, it added.

NAN reports that the broad objectives of scheme include: providing grants for R

UNICEF

By Esenvosa Izah

The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) says it has received crucial supplies of test kits to support the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

The UNICEF Country Representative, Mr Peter Hawkins, made this known in a statement on Tuesday following a delivery of 115,800 COVID-19 test kits by IHS Nigeria, the Nigerian subsidiary of IHS Towers.

Hawkins said: Testing remains the mainstay of the response led by the Presidential Task Force and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the first step toward diagnosing the infection.

Tests enable health officials to understand the COVID-19 status of an individual and link that person to care, support and treatment while contributing to the protection of families and communities.

The UNICEF representative commended IHS Towers for its commitment to the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria.

According to him, the company has shown great generosity in supporting governments agenda through partnering with UNICEF.

UNICEF is delighted to receive this huge contribution from IHS Towers, the benefit of which will reach many more children and their families.

This recent support of essential tests makes IHS Towers the biggest private sector donor for UNICEF Nigerias emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Also, the Director-General, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said testing remained a core strategy of Nigerias response to COVID-19.

Ihekweazu said it was critical for understanding the burden of the disease on the population and targeting response activities accordingly.

The primary goal of the Nigerian Government is to control the spread of this disease.

This donation from IHS Nigeria, through UNICEF, will contribute to the national stockpile of test kits managed by NCDC, and support efforts of the growing network of accredited laboratories across the country for the testing of COVID-19.

We are grateful for the continued support from UNICEF, IHS Towers and other partners, the director-general said.

In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer, IHS, Nigeria, Mr Mohamad Darwish, said the company was glad to have played an important role in supporting government and communities where it operates to provide crucial tools needed to fight the pandemic.

Darwish said: We understand this virus is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

But we are confident that with our support, and that of our other private sector colleagues, we are helping to manage and mitigate the impact of the virus in our country. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Stock Exchange Market building Lagos

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma/Rukayat Moisemhe

Ahead of Nigerias diamond jubilee independence anniversary on Oct. 1, capital market
experts and organised private sector players have been reflecting on the gains and pains in the nations economy.

Market experts in particular have identified some achievements and challenges of the market and pointed the way forward.

In the same way, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says Nigerias move from an agrarian economy to one heavily reliant on oil and gas reflected the nations mounting economic imbalance since independence.

Experts, therefore, reviewed the nations capital market performance over the years in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, saying that the market has evolved as a major factor in the Nigerian economy.

Uche Uwaleke, a professor of Capital Market, told NAN that the market evolved from a very tepid beginning to become a major factor in the economy.

He said there is no denying the fact that the capital market has evolved from a very tepid beginning to one that is a major factor in the Nigerian economy, compared to other sectors of the economy.

Fortuitously, the Nigerian capital market as we know it today actually got the breath of life in 1960, the same year as the countrys independence, following the incorporation of the Lagos Stock Exchange in 1960.

This is without prejudice to some capital market activities carried out by the colonial government prior to independence.

With just 19 securities listed for trading in 1961, the flagship Exchange in Nigeria now boasts of over 200 securities.

Uwaleke added that the nations capital market had expanded product offerings beyond equities and bonds, noting that
market infrastructure had been modernised with five other exchanges, including those trading commodities.

According to him, market regulation has improved significantly following the establishment of the Securities and Exchange
Commission in 1980 and the enactment of the Investment and Securities Act as amended in 2007.

Both the regulators and the exchange are implementing a number of confidence-building measures such as the direct cash
settlement system, electronic transactions, corporate governance scorecard for listed companies and whistleblowing system,
among others introduced in the capital market.

The expert, however, noted that in spite of these accomplishments, the capital market was still being faced with a number of challenges.

He said that the introduction of e-dividend had yet to reduce the huge unclaimed dividends as expected in the market.

Uwaleke, also the President of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, said that relative to the size of the economy, the total market
capitalisation was still small and affecting the contributions of the market to the Nigerian economy.

He said that a relatively small number of companies were listed on all the exchanges with listing concentrated in a few sectors.

He noted that corporate firms do not have significant presence in the bonds market dominated by the Federal Government and the number of individuals or retail investors is quite low.

It goes without saying that a major challenge faced by the capital market over the years has been the dearth of infrastructure and poor ease of doing business in the country generally.

Government can complement these efforts by providing fiscal incentives to issuers and other market participants.

Scaling up financial literacy efforts will go a long way in increasing the rate of retail investors participation and the size of the mutual funds industry.

Mr David Adonri, the Executive Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities Ltd., said that investors confidence was an important factor that propelled capital market investment.

Adonri told NAN that Nigerias capital market was still shallow with market capitalisation of 35 billion dollars, seven per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while it was over 50 per cent in many other countries.

He said Nigerias capital market is still shallow. Her market capitalisation of 35 billion dollars is just seven per cent of GDP, whereas it is over 50 per cent in many other countries.

This is because several companies that occupy the commanding heights of Nigerias economy are yet to list their stocks in the capital market.

He explained that macroeconomic instability and the economy were major disincentives to investment.

Adonri said that non-inflationary macroeconomic growth and foreign exchange rate stability were panaceas for capital market development.

According to him, government privatisation exercises have largely not been done through the capital market.

He added that for the market to thrive and meet expectations, the Nigerian economy must be restructured to make production its centre-piece.

Producers are the ones who require long term capital funds.

Capital market is the main avenue for seeking allocative efficiency of economic resources, while full deregulation of the economy will give it more impetus to excel.

Henceforth, all privatisations need to be through the capital market; it is unwise to borrow externally to finance infrastructure.

Local borrowing, through the capital market, is the ideal option, Adonri said.

To Malam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director of APT Securities and Funds Ltd., government policies brought most of the development and progress recorded in the capital market.

Kurfi said that many companies listed in the market because of past government policies and decrees.

He, however, lamented that impediments to ease of doing business such as multiple taxes by federal and state governments, the lack of infrastructure and insecurity were affecting market growth and development.

He, therefore, called for harmonisation of taxes by both federal and state government to enhance ease of doing business in the country.

Dr Muda Yusuf, the Director-General, LCCI, told NAN that the transformation in the nations economy underscored the weak productivity level of the non-oil sector in the past six decades.

Noting that the 91 per cent contribution of the non-oil sector to aggregate economic output, Yusuf expressed concerns that the oil sector, with its nine per cent contribution, accounted for over 60 per cent of the nations fiscal revenues.

Yusuf said it is unfortunate that 60 years after political independence, the countrys economic fate is still significantly shaped by trends in international oil prices.

This has continued to see the economy becoming unstable at the slightest emergence of shocks in the global energy market.

Commenting on the nations current democratic environment, the LCCI boss said the two decades of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria had earned the country enormous goodwill as one of the few stable democracies in Africa.

He, however, noted that the core values and ideals of democracy could still be better in areas of transparency, accountability in public and financial management, rule of law, as well as the practice of true federalism.

The LCCI recognises that Nigerias democracy is still work in progress.

However, as in many advanced democracies, it is crucial to recognise the importance of these democratic ideals in order to sustain our democracy and ensure the advancement of the common good for all citizens.

The director-general said that the nations economic performance measured by the growth of the GDP was unimpressive in the last six decades.

According to World Bank data, we note that the Nigerian economy reported annual contraction 13 times (1966, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2016) between 1960 and 2019.

It remains a major worry for us that the economy is still structurally defective, given its excessive dependence on the oil and gas sector, and this creates serious vulnerability risks.

It is rather unfortunate that successive governments failed to utilise proceeds from oil exports during periods of high oil prices to develop and strengthen the capacity of the non-oil sector.

Even before the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease, the economy was confronted with myriad of challenges, including spiralling inflation, portfolio investment outflows with attendant impacts on external reserves and exchange rate among others, he said.

Yusuf pointed out that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, which was very profound, had propelled the fiscal authorities to take bold steps on age-long policy reforms for medium to long-term macroeconomic stability.

Notable in this regard includes the economic liberalisation in the downstream segment of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, as well as the power sector.

While these reforms might have led to some form of hardship in the short-run in terms of the rising prices of goods and services, we believe these evelopments are for the good of every Nigerian.

The reforms will help to free resources for investment in critical sectors of the economy.

The transformation in the telecommunications sector stands out as the most successful reform story in the history of the Nigerian economy.

Yusuf pointed out that the financial services sector had been significantly transformed since independence through the maximisation of new technologies
to improve the quality of service delivery.

The sophistication of the industry compares with our counterparts in developed African economies like South Africa and Egypt.

However, the financial intermediation role of the Nigerian banking system is still unsatisfactory.

Due to the risks in the macroeconomic and business environment, banks prefer investing their resources in risk-free government securities
instead of extending credit to critical sectors of the economy.

This has constrained the impact of the sector on the economy from a systemic perspective, Yusuf added. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

NAICOM

By Ginika Okoye

Mr Ekerete Gam-Ikon, an insurance expert, has appealed to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to issue micro insurance licences to more companies to reposition the sector.

Gam-Ikon said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday while speaking on Nigeria at 60.

He noted that issuing licence to micro insurance companies would help them to take care of the insurance needs of the downtrodden.

The expert, who regretted that most insurers were not paying claims to individuals, said micro-insurance would create an avenue for companies to settle individual claims.

If you look at what insurance has done for the corporate companies, then you can only imagine what insurance will be doing for individuals if it was right on course.

Right on course in the sense that a number of insurance companies are paying claims to corporate companies but are not paying to individuals.

More companies that have applied for micro-insurance licences need to be given the licences by NAICOM so that they can take care of individuals.

The micro insurance is to address the insurance needs of the people at the bottom of the pyramid; so, you can have insurance policies that will not cost more than N1,000 to N10, 000.

You can also have property that is not valued at more than N2 million so it will be affordable for those level of people, he said.

Analysing the sector since inception, he said that insurance seemed to have dominated before now as a lot of industrialists were interested in the sector, making it more driven as part of business.

The expert said that the sector started declining when the first law of recapitalisation came to be in the 90s.

According to him, the issue of recapitalisation in 2007 really exposed a lot of companies, and that is why the number of insurance companies reduced.

Even beyond that, we are still struggling with issues because the real capital has not really been brought to the industry and left in the industry.

So, the industry has been running on what I will call low capital, low capacity and inability to attract the kind of clientele that will sustain it, he said.

Gam-Ikon advised the government and insurance sector to develop products that would align with the needs of individuals.

Mr Rasaaq Salami, NAICOMs Head, Commissioner for Insurance Directorate, said the commission was alive to its responsibility as far as the issue of settlement of claims to the insured was concerned.

Salami said the commission had always applied the provisions of the law cautiously, adding that penalties were spelt out in the law for any claims payment defaulter.

NAICOM tries to adhere to the provisions of the law; the commission is not silent on this.

When we receive complaints of non-payment of claims, the commission always attends to it.

These are the things we do to ensure that the customer does not suffer unnecessarily, he said.

The management of NAICOM had recently published a public notice on the registration of a new re-insurance company known as FBS Reinsurance Limited. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

BBNaija: Okowa congratulates Dorathy, Neo

By Enebeli Alex Anayo

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Monday congratulated Dorathy Bachor and Neo Akpofure, both from the state, who were among the five finalists at the just concluded BBNaija reality TV Show.

In a series of tweets on his handle @IAOkowa, the Governor said that the state was indeed proud of the duo whom he described as ambassadors of Delta State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bachor was Runner-Up in the competition while Akpofure was one of the five finalists.

All of us here in Delta State are extremely proud of Dorathy and Neo, who reached the finals of the last competition.

Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa (@IAOkowa)

In his tweet, Okowa reaffirmed that the government would continue to support talented Deltans to achieve their dreams and aspirations.

He said that the 24-year-old Bachor displayed leadership traits that distinguished her as a model for young persons in Delta and beyond.

I am not surprised that she became the last woman standing out of 10 women among 20 housemates in the competition.

Her exemplary conduct in the Big Brother house was good and she did not bring any embarrassment to the state.

As a state, we are very delighted that our daughter, Dorathy Bachor, emerged the Runner Up in the just-concluded BBNaija competition.

We are glad that she and Neo related very well with the other housemates and survived all the evictions and avoided controversies in the house.

They have portrayed the Delta character of being well behaved and worthy ambassadors of the state, the governor stated.

He thanked the people of Delta and Nigerians for making their votes count for Bachor and Akpofure.

Okowa advised them to continue to conduct themselves responsibly at all times and wished them well in their other endeavours.

Source: NAN News

Sanwo-Olu and Akeredolu

By Aderemi Bamgbose/Ayodeji Alabi

Ahead of the Oct. 10 governorship election in Ondo State, Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has drummed support for Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on his re-election bid.

Sanwo-Olu who is also the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for Ondo State, said that the sterling performance of Akeredolu in the state was evident.

He made the assertion in Okitipupa, Okitipupa Local Government Area (LGA) of the state during the campaign tour of Akeredolu to seek the blessings of traditional rulers of the area ahead of the poll.

Sanwo-Olu also said that the Ikale people were good people as the Ikale indigenes in Lagos state supported Akeredolu governorship bid, and urged them to repeat the same feat for the governor.

I witnessed all the developments in the state because Akeredolu has been working day and night to ensure things get better; if you dont believe him, you should believe in his works.

His sterling performance is not negotiable and deserves re-election; go and tell the people that you have seen a deliverer who will take Ondo state to higher height, Samwo-Olu said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the traditional rulers in Ikale land had earlier endorsed the re-election bid of Akeredolu, and said that he had performed creditably well since his assumption of office.

Oba Gbadebo Bajowa, the Rebuja of Osooro land, who spoke on behalf of all the traditional rulers, commended the governor for keeping most of his election promises.

He said the re-naming of the state owned university, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) after their illustrious son, late Olusegun Agagu, pleased them.

Bajowa said that the construction of the Ore flyover which was the first in the state and the Ondo State Industrial hub in Ore brought employment opportunities for the teeming youths.

You will succeed in your second term bid because you have made us happy and all traditional rulers are behind you; we support and endorse you, Oba Bajowa said.

Also, Oba Babatunde Faduyile, the Abodi of Ikale land, urged Akeredolu to continue with his good works if re-elected.

Faduyile said he had no doubt that his good works would speak for him at the poll and prayed that God would support him to win the election.

Responding, Akeredolu said that he would not be commending himself for all he had done, but that his works were there to speak for him.

He appealed to Ondo residents to vote for APC en masse, saying that the economy of the state would boom as there were several plans to turn it around.

We have sealed the agreement to reconnect the southern part to the national grid from the Omotosho power plant and soon the darkness witnessed here will be over.

The seaport project in Ilaje LGA, exploration of bitumen, rejuvenation of the Okitipupa Palm Oil Company and other plans that will boom the state economy are in the pipeline, he said.

NAN reports that Akeredolus running mate, Lucky Ayedatiwa, traditional rulers, government functionaries, APC stalwarts as well as party faithful and supporters graced the occasion. (NAN)

Source: NAN News