Officials said separate incidents of lightening killed at least 27 people and injured over two dozens of others in different areas of Pakistans southern Sindh province during the last 24 hours, local media reported Friday morning.

Saeed Ghani, the provincial government spoke man said that local authorities declared an emergency and rushed rescuers to the Thar Desert in the province of Sindh after the overnight tragedy.

He added that several dozen people including women and children were being treated at the hospitals.

They sustained injuries caused by lightning and falling structures dueto the rain.

Aslam Chandio, the local rescue official said that three districts including Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur were hit by heavy rains from Thursday evening that continued into Friday.

Anwar Kazimi the spokesperson for Edhi charity that works in the region equally added that the death toll might increase as information were pouring in from remote villages still inaccessible for rescuers.

Flash floods, land erosion, cloudbursts, droughts and smog resulting in low air quality have been on the rise in Pakistan in recent years.

Climate expert Chaudhry Qamar Zaman also said that sandwiched between highly industrialized China and India, Pakistan would have to bear the brunt of the global warming.

Zaman added that both the state and people will have to realise the gravity of the problem and act swiftly.(dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN

By Jacinta Nwachukwu

The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), says it is partnering with Rochas Foundation to establish formal school system within IDPs camps across the country by January 2020.

The Federal Commissioner, NCFRMI, Sen. Basheeru Mohammed disclosed this when Rochas Foundation, led by the founder, Sen. Rochas Okorocha paid him courtesy visit in Abuja on Thursday.

Mohammed said the aim was to reduce the number of out-of-school children among IDPs across the country.

According to him, one of the challenges that Nigeria is facing is providing durable solutions to over 2.3 million internally displaced persons.

We also have about 1,000 formal and informal IDPs camps spread across the country, in the North-east alone, we have 289 camps and 18 in the FCT.

As a commission we have scale up interventions in the provision of back to school kits to IDPs children in different camps.

The Commission has the mandate to coordinate all the humanitarian responses involving Nigerians, which include the refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons as well as the returnees and stateless persons.

Our focus as the coordinating body for the aforementioned entities is to provide lasting solutions to all through the effective utilization of data, research and planning, so that proper resettlement and reintegration of victims into the system will be achieved, he said.

He also commended Okorocha for his support to Nigerian Children more especially for making education accessible to every Nigerian child.

In his response, Okorocha said that his foundation has the mandate to provide succour to the less privileged, especially the vulnerable children in the society through free and quality education.

He noted that IDPs camps were not a comfortable place as children were exposed to so many challenges.

So, we are here to partner with the commission to see how we can make life better for these children; we are aware of the fact that government is making a lot of efforts toward addressing this ugly situation.

But in spite of the effort of the government there are still a lot of challenges, especially in the education sector, so we are here to work out modalities together to address the ugly situation, he said.

According to him, Rochas Foundation has been in the forefront of campaign for free education for the vulnerable.

We believe that education must be made free so that the children of the poor can go to school, he said.

Okorocha, therefore, encouraged good and privileged Nigerians to assist in ensuring that out-of-school children go back to school.

He said that the Foundation will build a temporary structure in the IDPs camps to encourage learning and teaching in camps, saying that every child counts irrespective of the background.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Rochas Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation, is founded by Rochas Okorocha, a former governor and senator representing Imo West senatorial district at the 9th Nigerian Senate.

The Foundation as a charity organisation has a number of special schools across the country and gives scholarship to the less privileged children in the society.(NAN)

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

Mrs Busola Dakolo, wife of Nigerian singer Timi Dakolo, has vowed to take her rape case against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, founder Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), to the Appeal Court following decision of an FCT High Court to declare it statute barred.

The decision came after the Court sitting in Bwari, ruled on Thursday that the matter was filed out of time because the events that crystallized to form the cause of action took place 16 years ago.

The Court presided over by Justice A.O Musa, also ruled that the claimant, Mrs Dakolo, had only six years within which to seek redress in court in line with the statute of limitation.

According to Musa, the matter amounted to injustice, and an abuse of judicial process as the case was empty and purely sentimental, adding that the case was aimed more at cruelty than obtaining justice.

The court also awarded costs of N1million against Busola Dakolo and held that the fine should have been 10 times more because the courts time was wasted.

Mrs Dakolo who is also a celebrity photographer had accused Fatoyinbo of raping her when she was 17 years.

Fatoyinbo, however, denied the allegations stressing that he had never raped anyone before, not even as an unbeliever.

He eventually filed an objection and an affidavit at the court stating that Busolas statements were concocted to embarrass, scandalise and ridicule Fatoyinbo.

Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi, lawyer to Busola Dakolo, in a statement issued on Thursday stated that the High Court had not exonerated Fatoyinbo from the alleged rape.

While we acknowledge the time of the Court, we know in accordance with the Nigerian Judicial system that the Courts decision is not final as it is glaringly contestable.

For all intent and purposes and having seen several sponsored misleading reports in the media, we are duty bound to state that the court has not and did not exonerate Mr Biodun Fatoyinbo.

As it stands, the substance of the matter has not received any judicial attention.

Mr Biodun Fatoyinbo, through his lawyers, has only argued that the court should not allow the matter to proceed to trial because it is an event that occurred long ago and hence out of time.

We shall therefore in this circumstance approach a superior court to intervene for a better appreciation, and take a more expansive view of the suit considering that the subject matter is one that is novel in our clime, Olajengbesi said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Ikenna Uwadileke

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on Monday urged companies operating in the country to file in their annual returns as provided by the law or risk being de-listed from its register.

Mr Moses Adaguusu, Head Public Affairs, CAC, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the call became necessary in view of the need to keep the commission abreast of such companies that were still in operation or otherwise.

An annual return is a mandatory requirement every enterprise or incorporated trustees must file annually by delivering to CAC a return in the prescribed form containing specified matters related to the organisation in accordance with Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

A very vital importance is that filing of the annual return by a company helps to simply keep the commission abreast that such company is still actively in operation and still engaging in business activities or otherwise, Adaguusi said.

While emphasising that the Enforcement and Monitoring Department of the Commission would intensify efforts to ensure compliance, Adaguusi, however, urged companies to embrace voluntary compliance.

According to him, although, we go out on enforcement, we are not going like task force because the economy is difficult.

We want companies to embrace voluntary compliance so that there wont be penalties.

Penalties run into millions of naira and that is enough to close a company, he said.

Adaguusu expressed concern that rather than comply with filing annual returns to the CAC, some companies seek for waiver on penalties.

According to him, in extreme cases, the commission considers waivers on penalty.

He also pointed out that companies need to be up to date with CAC to enable them get registered with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

Adaguusu said, companies that execute contracts would have difficulties being paid if they are not registered with the BPP.

Companies that want to do business must be on the Bureau of Public Procurement and before you are registered with BPP you must be up to date with CAC.

This is another window that is encouraging companies to come and update with CAC, Adaguusu said.

He, however, pointed out that the process of delisting companies from CACs register for failure to file annual returns is an ongoing process.

It takes a process and it is ongoing.

In 2008, 10 companies were deregistered and in 2016, 38 companies were also deregistered; so, it is a continuous process and there will be no need to leave companies that are not complying on the register, Adaguusi said.

He emphasised that the task before the Monitoring and Enforcement Department was to ensure that companies do not only file their annual returns but stay away from sharp practices.

For instance we will go from door to door to ensure that companies maintain the original names they used for registration.

Also, the department will ensure that companies display their registration numbers in all their correspondence as well as indicate the list of directors.

A company with a reputation will give people who want to do business with them a breath.

On the contrary, where the directors are not know, people will be skeptical to do business with them, Adaguusi said.

He further said that CAC would sustain efforts aimed at ensuring that the process of registering companies was devoid of hitches.

Adaguusu said that the upgrade of the Company Registration Portal (CRP) is to enhance the incorporation process.

The Company Registration Portal is the software that drives the operations of the commission.

The commissions spokesman added that the move to upgrade the software was geared toward ensuring improved efficiency, provision of greater customer experience and ease of doing business.(NAN)

Source: NAN

Oman said on Monday that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied oil producers could extend a deal to limit crude supply but may not consider deepening cuts.

Omans energy minister Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhy said this while speaking with reporters at an energy conference in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

This is coming as the United Arab Emirates said it was not worried about long-term growth in oil demand.

OPEC and it allies led by Russia, have since January implemented an agreement to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day until March 2020 in an attempt to boost prices.

They meet in December to review production policy.

Extension probably, (deeper) cuts I think unlikely unless things happen in the next couple of weeks, the energy minister of non-OPEC Oman,

He said that oil demand was improving as trade tensions soften and that Oman was satisfied with current oil prices, which fell more than one per cent on Monday amid concerns over the prospects of a trade deal between the U.S. and China.

All indications show things are getting better, the fear of recession, the signs of agreement between the U.S. and China are positive, Rumhy said.

Suhail al-Mazrouei, energy minister of the UAE, the third largest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, told the conference that oil demand growth was reasonable.

Dharmendra Pradhan, oil minister of India, the worlds third-largest importer of crude said that geopolitical tensions in the Gulf were causing anxiety among oil consumers following attacks on Saudi Arabian oil plants that temporarily halved the output of the worlds top oil exporter.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia blamed common foe Iran, an OPEC member, for the Sept. 14 assault on the oil facilities as well as for more limited strikes on Saudi energy assets and tankers in Gulf waters earlier this year.

Tehran has denied the charges.

Tensions with Iran have risen to new highs since May 2018, when the U.S. withdrew from an international nuclear pact with Tehran and reimposed sanctions on its oil exports.

The Omani oil minister, whose country maintains ties with Tehran, said it cost less to engage with Iran than to build up crude stocks for emergencies.

The way forward is dialogue Sitting with Iran is something we have been campaigning for a long time and hope it will happen, Rumhy said during a panel discussion when asked about the possibility of Gulf countries holding talks with Iran.

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo who warned about under-investment in the global oil industry, however, said that the pace had picked up from 2014-2016 when prices slumped.

What weve seen in 2017/18 is only a marginal uptick in investments Investors in the industry should be for the long term, not fly in, fly out, he said.

In its 2019 World Oil Outlook, OPEC said it would supply a diminishing amount of oil in the next five years as output of U.S. shale and other rival sources expanded, despite a growing appetite for energy fed by global economic expansion.

Rising climate activism in the West and widening use of alternative fuels are putting the strength of long-term oil demand under more scrutiny.

The greener forms of energy will have a higher pace of growth but conventional oil and gas will also grow.

Gas will grow more as there is demand for cleaner forms, Mazrouei said. (Reuters/NAN)

Source: NAN

By Mustapha Sumaila

Nigerian Young Farmers Network (NYFN) has urged government at all levels to support youth in businesses to grow the economy following the recent borders closure.

Mr Promise Amahah, the national coordinator made the appeal in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

NYFN is a network that brings together young people in Nigeria to engage actively in the Agribusiness value chain and value added services, to bring about shared prosperity and sociology-economic growth such as food security and wealth creation.

He explained that there must be a deliberate effort by the government to increase the participation of young Nigerians in farming business through soft loans to boost economy of the country.

He said strategic youth engagement was best option for the country because of its huge population of young people.

The coordinator added that local production was a sure path, but enabling environment must be created by the government and other major stakeholders.

Amahah enjoined the government to do everything possible to fix the power sector to ensure stable power supply across the country to gurantee economic prosperity.

He said attention must also be given to develop critical infrastructures to facilitate production.

He enjoined the government to also engage in alternative energy to fast-track the power stability.

The coordinator commended President Muhammadu Buhari for taking such bold step to address the border issues, saying it was long overdue. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

Sen. Rochas Okorocha, the former Governor of Imo and Chairman Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, on Monday congratulated Muslims across the country on the occasion of this years Eid-el-Maulud celebrations.

Okorocha urged Muslims to draw lessons and edifying virtues from the life of Prophet Muhammad by being ambassadors of peace and progress.

There are key lessons to be learnt from the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. He was a symbol of peace and unity.

As we celebrate him, we must display the same qualities that he lived for and taught throughout his life, the former governor said in a statement released by his media aide, Mr Ahmed Mustapha,

He also urged Muslim faithful to use this period to pray for Nigeria, while fostering the ethos of peace and togetherness.

He said current situation in the country and in the world at large had made it imperative for Muslims and adherents of other religions to live in love, peace and harmony with one another.

The senator noted that Islamic clerics had the responsibility to use their exalted positions to preach peace, love and oneness. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Igbo Youth Assembly (IYA) Worldwide has felicitated with Alhaji Mamman Daura, Nephew and close confidant of President Muhammadu Buhari, on his 80th birthday.

A statement signed on Monday by Mr Ifeanyi Nwaudunna, President General, IYA, and Mr Casmir Irekamba, Secretary General stated that Daura deserved to be celebrated for the sacrifices he made towards the countrys development especially in manufacturing and journalism.

The statement also quoted the IYC leaders as also celebrating Daura who clocked 80 on Saturday, for his commitment to nation building in Aluminum, textile and other establishments.

We join the Daura Emirates, well-wishers and other Nigerians in celebrating an amiable elder statesman, role model, bridge builder, an exemplary father and a good family man as he turns 80.

He is a man of great intellect and a stabilising force to the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

We appeal to the Octogenarian and elder statesman to support youth participation in governance to ensure some leadership roles and positions are given to them to enable them contribute their quota to nation building and development.

As he continues to uphold national unity and honour, we pray God Almighty will continually keep him in good health and grant him many more years to serve God and humanity here on earth, the statement quoted the IYA leaders as saying.

Meanwhile, the IYA has also congratulated Muslims in the country as they celebrate this years Eid-el-Maulud.

The group enjoined Muslims to imbibe the teachings and edifying virtues of the Prophet Mohammed anchored on peaceful coexistence.

It called on them to work for peace that would promote growth and development of all parts of the country.

Leaders in the three geopolitical zones should encourage youth development initiatives that would promote good governance and youth empowerment.

The county needs leaders with enviable records that can mentor our millions of youths seeking political direction with good heart to serve, the IYA leaders stated. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed deep sorrow at the passage of his ally and friend, a man he usually called the indomitable Tam David-West.

The Presidents condolence message was conveyed in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Monday.

President Buhari said of the academic, author of many books and social critic: He had an indomitable spirit, stood resolutely by whatever he believed in, and was in a class of his own.

He commiserated with the David-Wests family, the people of Buguma, Kalabari Kingdom of Rivers State, the academia, and all those who loved the forthright Tam David-West.

The President prayed that God would rest the soul of the committed nationalist, urging all those who believed in the ideals he espoused to approximate same for the betterment of Nigeria and humanity in general.

Tam Tamunoemi Solaris served as Commissioner of Education in the old Rivers State, Minister of Petroleum and Energy under the Muhammadu Buhari military regime, and Minister of Mines, Power and Steel under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida regime.

Source: NAN

By Ahmed Ubandoma

The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has challenged parents to take charge of their families by ensuring good moral upbringing of children so as to minimise crime in the society.

Mrs Buhari gave the counsel on Monday when she hosted a special prayer session for the nation at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The prayer session had the theme: The importance of supplication for the nations guidance.

The First Lady said that the lack of moral upbringing of children and the total collapse of family values was largely responsible for the social crises facing Nigeria.

Today, many of the nations woes are usually attributed to collapse of family values which are primarily in the custody of parents because they are responsible for love, care and mutual respect.

A family that is loved, cared for, and provided for stands a better chance of transferring these attributes horizontally across the society and vertically to the next generation to avoid cases like corruption, drug abuse, internet theft, kidnapping, robbery, among others.

I, therefore, call on the heads of families to wake up to their responsibilities by providing enabling environment for our children to tackle the multitude of societal ills that are manifesting on daily basis, she said.

She expressed the need for Nigerians to always seek for divine intervention in the affairs of their country.

It is important that at regular intervals, we, as a nation, should remember our purpose in life, which is to worship our creator and open our communication with God Almighty.

We need to do much better in terms of the welfare of our family, especially as government is increasingly providing outlets, enabling environment and platforms that can be tapped into.

The economy of the nation is being diversified into agriculture and other non-oil sectors; there are various welfare programmes and loan schemes that can be accessed by citizens to improve their lives, she said.

The First Lady urged the participants to emulate the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad in promoting peace, tolerance, love and harmony among people of different faiths in the country.

She stressed the need for Nigerians to always seek Gods intervention to address some of the socio-economic and security challenges facing the country.

The prayer session was attended by renowned Islamic scholars.

Source: NAN