By Chimezie Anaso

A yet to be identified woman has been killed by a hit-and-run driver in Awka, Anambra State.

The accident occurred on Sunday at about 11:05 p.m. at Regina Caeli Junction on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

Mr Andrew Kumapayi, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra, said the woman died on the spot.

Kumapayi said the corpse had been deposited at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital morgue, Awka.

The sector commander reiterated the call for pedestrians to be careful on the road, especially during festive periods, because of increased vehicular movement.

My advice to road users especially pedestrians during this season is to be extra careful when crossing the road.

They should endeavour to use the pedestrian bridge provided for them if any, and if there is none, they should look left, right and left again to make sure that the road is free before crossing.

Let them wear reflective clothes when walking in the night so that they can be seen by oncoming vehicles, he said.

Source: NAN

By Rabiu Sani

The Borno State Government said it had donated patrol vehicles to members of Cameroonian vigilante to enhance the fight against insurgents in border communities of the state.

Mr Isa Gusau, the Special Adviser on Public Relation and Media Strategy to Gov. Babagana Zulum, made the disclosure in a statement on Monday in Maiduguri.

Gusau dismissed reports indicating that the vehicles donated by the state government to 150 members of the Cameroonian vigilante violated Nigerias sovereignty and military protocols.

He explained that representatives of the government presented vehicles to the Cameroonian vigilante in concert with the Headquarters, 5 Brigade Nigerian Army Cell of the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Damasak, Mobbar Local Government Area of the state.

Gusau noted that Zulum was a member of the Lake Chad Basin Governors Forum established with support of the Federal Government and UN Security Council Committee on counter terrorism.

He added that the gesture was in line with the forum spirit to enhance cooperation on cross border security among member states.

Gusau said: Gov. Zulum operational arrangements with the 150 Cameroonian vigilante happened with full involvement of the Nigerian Armys component in the MNJTF currently fighting Boko Haram in eight regions affected by the insurgents attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republics.

The Cameroonian vigilantes are operating in parts of northern Borno located in the shores of the Lake Chad, and they are operating under the coordination and command of the Nigerian Army Cell of the MNJTF.

One of the key benefits of having these vigilantes is the latitude to generate and pass on intelligence from border communities in Cameroon and to also pursue insurgents who occasionally flee from Nigerian territories to border communities in Cameroon where Nigerian troops may be constrained to engage them.

The main objective of the Lake Chad Basin Governors Forum is to ease cross border cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the affected countries. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Victor Okoye

Enyimba International Football Club of Aba on Sunday went down to a 2-0 defeat against Moroccan side, Hassania Agadir in their CAF Confederation Cup Group D clash at the Stade Al Inbiate.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Karim El Berkaoui opened scoring for the home team in the 14th minute, while Senegalese forward Malick Cisse added the second five minutes later.

Enyimba battled hard to get back into the game but were unable to breach the hosts defence.

In the other Group D game, San Pedro of Cote d lvoire were held to a 0-0 at home by Algerian club, Paradou A.C.

The Aba-based club side will host San Pedro at the Enyimba International Stadium on Dec. 8 in a Match day two encounter.

Rangers International FC of Enugu also lost 1-3 at home to Pyramid FC of Egypt. (NAN)

Source: NAN

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho wants to take the club led by England striker Harry Kane to the next level by winning trophies and said he would love to stay in the job for at least as long as his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino.

The much-travelled 56-year-old Portuguese was appointed as Spurs head coach on Wednesday the day after Pochettino, who spent 5-1/2 years in charge of the north London club, was sacked with his team struggling in 14th place in the Premier League.

However, the Argentine fan-favourite failed to deliver any silverware despite having a squad full of internationals and that is something Mourinho is determined to change as he prepares for the trip to West Ham United on Saturday.

Asked if he had to keep hold of Kane to bring success to Tottenham he told a group of reporters at the clubs training ground: When you try to buy Kane its an impossible mission. Hes one of the best strikers in the world.

You just need his team England or Tottenham to go with him to the next level. Whats the next level? Titles.

I think he needs to win with us, with England, he needs to win something to highlight the quality that he has as a player, the goals he scores, what he brings to the team.

Kane, 26, has bagged 131 goals in 189 Premier League games for Spurs and has netted 32 in 45 matches for England.

With the squad we have, with the quality of the structure of the club, we can have the same ambitions as clubs potentially bigger than us, added Mourinho. I dont want my players to fear anything. We go for everything against everyone.

The Portuguese coach usually never stays too long in one job and only in his first spell at Chelsea did he reach a fourth season, though he was sacked in September 2007 after six games.

However, he said he wanted to remain at Spurs for longer than that and would like to be there until hes at least 61.

I would love to stay for many years. I say many years but I know realistically how football is, but I would like to do a Mauricio (Pochettino), 5-1/2 years, it would be amazing. Maybe (this is) the last job (in England).

Source: NAN

By Olawale Alabi
The Abuja-based chapter of Egbe Ogbomoso Ajisegiri, a socio-cultural group, has urged Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, not to relent in carving a niche for himself.

The group pointed out that it was noteworthy that the Minister has hit the ground running in his assignment as expected, saying this was not unexpected in view of his pedigree.

The group gave the charge at a reception held in Abuja on Friday night for Dare and several other Ogbomoso indigenes in the executive and legislative arms of government.

While we wish you great success during your tenure, just as we thank President Muhammadu Buhari and the others who found you worthy, we must also tell you to see your appointment as a public trust.

Given your pedigree and background, we know you will discharge your duties creditably, but we can only tell you not to relent.

Already, you have been doing well, with recent positive developments in both the countrys youth and sports sectors, but you can still do more, the Chairman of the group, Olayiwola Akangbe, said.

He said Dare should not fail to stand out as a valiant, pointing out that Ogbomoso is a land of valiants which has produced the likes of late Ladoke Akintola.

Ogbomoso is a land of several valiants, both late and living, such as Ibrahim Taiwo, Shittu Alao, Benjamin Adekunle, Akintola, Bayo Alao-Akala and Oladipo Popoola.

We have produced several distinguished Nigerians, and you need to sustain the credibility Ogbomoso people are known for by leaving a mark in the area of youth and sports development, Akangbe added.

While urging Dare to continue with efforts aimed at empowering Nigerian youths nationwide, whom he said were presently in dire need, Akangbe however appealed to the Federal Government on infrastructure.

Even though we commend government on the ongoing reconstruction work on the Ilorin-Ibadan road, we will however remind government that the Ogbomoso axis of the road deserves even greater attention, as well as an urgent urban renewal programme for Ogbomoso metropolis, he said.

Speaking also, Mr Bolaji Adigun, who represented former Oyo State Gov. Alao-Akala at the occasion, said Dares appointment was an opportunity for them to take Ogbomoso to greater heights.

This is the time for us, and I mean all of those in government and from Ogbomoso, to take Ogbomoso to where is is supposed to be. It is a task we must all get down to now, he said.

While saying the opening prayers at the event, Amos Adamu, a former Director-General of the defunct National Sports Commission (NSC), prayed for Gods wisdom for Dare to deliver.

He noted that the Minister would also be needing the support of all Nigerians in view of the huge task ahead of him.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that others honoured at the occasion by the Egbe Ogbomoso Ajisegiri include Olubode Oke, Abdulfatai Buhari, Samson Adegoke, Williams Adeleye and Olusegun Adekunle.

Egbe Ogbomoso Ajisegiri, which was formed in 1985, is an affiliate of Ogbomoso Parapo Worldwide.

Source: NAN

The U.S. has raised its travel advisory for Burkina Faso to level 4, advising citizens not to travel to the country due to terrorism, crime, and kidnapping.

In an advisory, the State Department said it had ordered all family members of U.S. government employees not of age to leave the West African country and said it had authorised the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. staff and family members.

Terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Burkina Faso. Terrorists may conduct attacks anywhere with little or no warning, the State Department said.

It added that the U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens throughout most of the country.

Targets could include hotels, restaurants, police stations, customs offices, areas at or near mining sites, places of worship, military posts, and schools.

Kidnapping and hostage taking is a threat throughout the country.

On May 10, a hostage rescue operation freed four international hostages that had been kidnapped in Burkina Faso and in neighboring Benin.

Burkina Faso has maintained a state of emergency in the entire East and Sahel regions, the provinces of Kossi and Sourou in the Boucle de Mouhoun region.

Other restricted areas are the province of Kenedougou in the Hauts Bassins region, the province of Loroum in the North region, and the province of Koulpelogo in the Center-East region.

Burkina Faso is among the worlds 10 poorest nations, according to the United Nations.

It joins warring countries such as Somalia and Syria in the level 4 category.

Venezuela and Bolivia were also added to the list this year.

Source: NAN

Police in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has reported that a woman identified as Halima Juma, was arrested with 23 ATM cards allegedly tucked inside her private parts.

According to k24TV the 23-year-old was suspected of stealing money from bank users after illegally obtaining their ATM cards.

She was arrested on Tuesday at a bank ATM gallery in Mbagala area of Dar es Salaam when a bank official saw her use different ATM cards of the same bank to withdraw money from ATMs.

After being busted, Halima, a resident of Chalinze, tried to escape, but she was cornered by the banks security guards, who handed her over to police, the medium reported.

A body search conducted on her yielded 23 ATM cards that had been hidden in her private parts.

The cards were of nine different banks, including Equity, Diamond Trust Bank, CFC Stanbic, NBC, CRDB (the countrys leading bank), NMB, Amana, Posta and ACB.

Source: NAN

By Felicia Imohimi

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has frowned against the rate at which the national donkey herd is being decimated.

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja by its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the group expressed its support for the Under the Skin campaign by the Donkey Sanctuary.

Suleiman commended the Donkey Sanctuary, a UK based International NGO and the Nigeria Now Magazine, for launching a global campaign on Thursday.

The campaign is tagged Under the Skin: the impact of the global trade in donkey skins in West Africa.

He said the campaign was aimed at rescuing the estranged donkey population and protect the vulnerable donkey-reliant communities.

Suleiman stated that transforming the lives of donkeys in Nigeria, and the people depending on them in particular, for their livelihood should be a matter of urgency.

The current demand for donkey skin by the Chinese Ejiao manufacturers has greatly endangered the global donkey population and is taking a huge toll on the economy of northern Nigerian communities.

It is regrettable that donkeys from northern Nigeria are traded or stolen in large numbers as the demand for their skins, driven by the production of ejiao, a traditional Chinese remedy increases.

The CNG has resolved to identify with the Donkey Sanctuarys vision for a world where donkeys live free from suffering and their contribution to humanity fully valued, Suleiman stated.

He complained that the donkey, which has served a vast northern Nigerian population in agriculture, industry and transportation, was now threatened by an inhumane skin trade that risks its extinction with an attendant rise in poverty level on the deprived communities.

According to him, the first move of the group is to domesticate the donkey sanctuary campaign across all the states and remote communities of northern Nigeria, which is affected most by the deplorable donkey skin trade.

We have begun the process of rendering under the skin global report into native languages for easier understanding by the Northern Nigerian locals.

We shall then set up local community units, first in six identified most vulnerable states of Yobe, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi to sensitise the locals and block the trade routes as well as sales channels.

We also plan to immediately set up an operations office in Kaduna and to draw up a comprehensive framework for awareness and advocacy activities, networking and training on the welfare of donkeys and the people, whose lives they touch, he said.

The CNG, he said, would also extend its awareness creation and advocacy through lobbying governments and media relationus to press for appropriate legislative backing. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Ebere Agozie

The Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists (NGIJ) says the defeat of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by All Progressives Congress (APC) inthe Nov.16 governorship elections in Bayelsa has further confirmed its findings prior to the polls.

NGIJ made this knownin a statement issued on Tuesday by the Public Relations Officer of the Guild, Adeyemi Obadimu.

Obadimu said that the highest number of respondents to the guilds questionnaire on assessment of the Seriake Dickson administration in Bayelsa state hinted that they would vote for the APC during the governorship election.

4,140 out of 9,322 respondents representing 44.4 per cent indicated their readiness to vote APC during the Bayelsa Governance Assessment tour in September 2019.

We administered 10,000 questionnaire during our governance assessment tour to Bayelsa in fulfilling the guilds mandate of rooting for the truth and 9,322 respondents returned their questionnaire.

According to Obadimu, one of the questions in the questionnaire was: Which party do you think will win the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State?

The 4,140 respondents tipped APC which is currently the main opposition party in Bayelsa to win the Nov. 16, 2019 governorship election while 3,972 respondents 42.6 per cent felt the ruling Peoples Democratic party (PDP) would win.

Another 1,210 was rooting for other political parties participating in the poll.

Therefore, the result of the Bayelsa governorship election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Nov. 17, 2019 confirmed NGIJ findings in Bayelsa, he added.

Recall that INEC declared APC governorship candidate, Mr David Lyon, who polled 352,552 votes representing 68.3 per cent of 516,371 total valid votes winner while the PDP candidate garnered 143,172 votes representing 27.2 per cent.

He, however, said that the overall findings of the guilds assessment of Gov. Dicksons administration through inferences from the questionnaire and interactions with different stakeholders revealed that PDP government improved on education, health and security.

The stakeholders added that power supply and rural development were still suffering due to lack of attention from the state government.

The guild, however, advised all political office holders to focus more on people-oriented programmes and projects and be transparent in discharging their responsibilities.

It also noted that transparency and trustworthiness were the key components of leadership that engendered trust between the government and the governed.

Obadimu emphasised that leaders who failed to fulfil their electoral promises quickly lost loyalty and support of their followers, urging politicians to remember always that power belonged to the people. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Solomon Asowata

The Federal Government says it will rehabilitate the Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna Refineries to achieve local production of 360,000 MTPA of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 2023.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, made the disclosure at Nigeria LPG Summit 2019 in Lagos on Wednesday.

The summit, jointly organised by the Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) and LPG Summit , based in Singapore has the theme, LPG: Harmonising Development and Growth in Nigeria and Africa.

The minister, who was represented by his Technical Adviser on Gas Business and Policy Implementation, Mr Justice Derefaka, said the move was part of the National Gas Policy of the government.

Sylva said the government was desirous of deepening LPG penetration in the country, noting that only about five per cent of its population were currently using LPG as energy source.

He said other plans by the government include upgrading the Lagos-Apapa LPG Plant from 4,000MT to 8,000MT storage and increasing LPG allocation to the domestic market from Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) to reduce butane/propane exports.

According to him, the government also aims to diversify supply sources with 110,160MTPA from Nigerian Petroleum Development Companys Oredo facility expected to come on stream by first quarter of 2020.

By our 2018 record, gas utilisation is being deepened by increasing LPG penetration. LPG consumption increased by about 16 per year on year.

A total of 364 LPG plants licences and approvals were issued in 2018. This is expected to give about 15 per cent rise in the nations LPG consumption based on storage capacity.

We need to deliver the much-needed energy for development and growth.

We need to explore ways and means to scale through the Nigeria energy hurdle and put in place strategic measures to address the downside issues, challenges, gaps and aggressively pursue the upside opportunities, he said.

Sylva, while lauding NLPGA for creating a platform for stakeholders to interact, noted that the government would continue to provide the enabling environment for both local and foreign investments in the sector to thrive.

Also, Mr Tony Attah, Managing Director, Nigeria LNG Ltd., said the company was committed to deepening the penetration of cooking gas to support environmental and human protection through the use of cleaner energy.

Attah, represented by Mr Abdulkadir Ahmed, Managing Director, NLNG Shipping Management Ltd (NSML), said the NLNG would continue to ensure product availability, accessibly and affordability.

He said: The company has recently began to explore the possibility of delivering LNG in addition to the LPG to the domestic market in line with the Federal Governments aspirations on gas-based industrialisation in Nigeria

With product availability and accessibility, we expect that more people will be employed in the value chain from the off takers to the major distributors and eventually retail outlets that get the products into the nooks and crannies of the nation.

Ultimately, more and more Nigerians will begin to appreciate the value that cooking gas has over other unhealthy cooking fuels and they will embrace the commodity.

On his part, Mr Michael Kelly, Deputy Managing Director, World LPG Association (WLPGA), said the organisation would support the efforts of the government to increase gas utilisation in Nigeria.

Kelly said that Nigeria was one of the 20 countries where 2.3 billion people lacked access to modern fuels.

He added that this could be addressed with the right policies and regulatory framework and cooperation between government and private investors. (NAN)

Source: NAN