President Muhammadu Buhari and will be joining over 80 Heads of State to attend the24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP24.

The conference will be held in Katowice, Poland from December 2 14, 2018.

The conference isorganized by the Bonn-based UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC/ UN Climate Change) and is presided over by Poland.

The key objective of the meeting is to adopt the implementation guidelines of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Climate experts say the meeting is crucial because it ensures the true potential of the Paris Agreement can be unleashed, including ramping up climate action so that the central goal of the agreement can be achieved, namely to hold the global average temperature to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In 1992, countries joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were, by then, inevitable.

By 1995, countries launched negotiations to strengthen the global response to climate change, and, two years later, adopted the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed country Parties to emission reduction targets. The Protocols first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. The second commitment period began on 1 January 2013 and will end in 2020.

There are now 197 Parties to the Convention and 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

The 2015 Paris Agreement, adopted in Paris on 12 December 2015, marks the latest step in the evolution of the UN climate change regime and builds on the work undertaken under the Convention. The Paris Agreement charts a new course in the global effort to combat climate change.

Source: NAN

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Monday called on the Federal Government to put stringent measures in place to end gas flaring in the country.

Okowa made the call when Course 41 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, led by Major-Gen. Felix Edafioghor in Asaba came to his office on a courtesy visit.

He said that stopping gas flaring in Nigeria would not only curb environmental hazards, but create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and women.

If you go to where gas is flared, which is still very common, you will understand why we need to be more serious about taking decisions to stop the flaring.

Stopping gas flaring will be so much better for our people because the flared gas has already destroyed the environment, not just the natural habitat in terms of farming.

It has also polluted very badly the air that we breathe.

Only God knows the level of damage that it has caused and we believe that the laws must be implemented in such a manner that gas flaring is not just tied up to fines.

This is because, as long as gas flaring is tied to fines, the oil companies begin to realise that it may be cheaper or easier to pay the fines than to stop the flaring of gas.

Then, we obviously are not discouraging them, the governor said.

According to him, though certain actions has been taken to address the menace in the past, the law must be applied to ensure that gas flaring is not tied to payment of fines.

Okowa said that some of the oil companies displayed a nonchalant attitude to the effect of gas exploration activities on the environment.

I am aware that a lot has been done in the last few years, but there is a lot more that can be done because the gas that we flare can generate a lot of income for the oil companies if only it can be properly utilised.

So, we must stay on our laws and ensure that we do what is right and stop tying the issue of gas flaring to fines.

This is because continually tying gas flaring to fines is injurious to our people and our environment, he said.

The governor decried the negative impacts of the oil economy on the environment, saying that in the course of exploration, the environment had been greatly damaged.

This has also been worsened by the regularity of illegal bunkering activities that takes place in the state in which a lot of damage is done to our environment.

The damage constitute both agricultural and health hazard to the people, he said.

He commended the visiting team and said that its findings would be useful to the government and people of the state.

He said some of his administrations achievements were in the area of jobs creation, health insurance scheme and infrastructure development.

Earlier, Edafioghor had said that the team was in the state for an environmental study tour, in part fulfilment of its training programme requirement.

Source: NAN

By Florence Onuegbu

Blackberry Mobile Nigeria on Monday unveiled Blackberry KEY2 LE, an Android version of Blackberry smartphone in the Nigerian market.

The re-born icon Blackberry brand is being sponsored by Ngilex Mobile Ltd.

Speaking during the unveiling in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, Ngilex, Mr Kingsley Obaji, said that with the Blackberry KEY2 LE, the company was targeting 10 per cent market share in Nigeria by end of 2019.

Obaji said that Nigeria was 7th in the world in terms of cell phone usage; hence, the Nigerian smartphone market had to be taken seriously.

He said that Blackberry was ready for the competition in the market, as it had the best product that would enable it become the leader in the smartphone market in a couple of years.

According to him, Ngilex Mobile wants Blackberry phones to be organic, to be part of Nigerian smartphone business; hence, is looking at what the market demands.

Nigerian market demands the best. The market is large; the Nigerian users are smart and looking for better options.

We are looking at capturing some five per cent to 10 per cent market share within the next year and this requires a lot of efforts in marketing and outreach, he said.

The Ngilex boss said that the all-new Blackberry smartphones brought together iconic Blackberry features; with new experience that included dual-SIM, dual-rear camera, more intelligent keyboard, extended battery life and improved privacy controls.

He said that the Blackberry KEY2 LE ran the latest Android 8.1 Oreo operating system and provided access to millions of applications in the Google Play store.

Obaji said that Nigeria was the first country in Africa to receive and market the Blackberry KEY2 LE smartphone.

He said that the KEY2 LE came at a time when the Nigerian market was looking for a different smartphone option.

According to him, the company brings values of productivity, reliability and security to the next level.

Talking about productivity, the BlackBerry KEY2 LE has all the features you need to manage your work, travel, and personal life on the go.

This includes support for dual personal accounts and business ready software that makes it easier to manage all aspects of your business and personal life.

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE is the first BlackBerry with dual account management built in to enable you to separately manage both personal and professional social media profiles on apps like Facebook and Instagram.

All Blackberry devices we are bringing into Nigeria are dual SIM enable and will support dual WhatsApp and other apps that require unique numbers.

In Nigeria, most cell phone users are carrying multiple phones on multiple carriers. You can have these lines on a single device, while avoiding carrying the power bank that most users are used to here in Nigeria, he said.

Obaji said that the phone came with BlackBerry Hub, which brought all your messages into one consolidated place including emails, texts and messages from almost any social media account; including WhatsApp.

He said that for reliability, the phone had power to get one through the day with enhanced battery features.

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE features a powerful and efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and battery that can stay powered through a full day and often into a second day of use (22 hours of mixed usage).

With contextual battery reminder, the BlackBerry KEY2 LE will learn from your daily charging habits and calendar appointments to recommend when to charge.

This is to ensure you have the battery power to get through important meetings, trips, and events. Never get caught out again with suddenly needing to charge before going flat.

Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 enables up to 50 per cent charge in just 36 minutes. Turbo Charge your battery and get power fast, to do more, when you need it most.

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE includes enhanced security and built-in privacy features right from the start, he said.

The Vice President, Ngilex Mobile Ltd., Thomas Larson, said that the Blackberry KEY2 LE experience was different, compared with many smartphone options in the market.

Larson said that the phone combined the best of professional and personal use and the price could not be matched.

All our phones come with standard one-year warranty provided by McDorsey Services Company Ltd., he said.

Source: NAN

By Chinyere Joel- Nwokeoma

Guaranty Trust Bank and the Nigerian Breweries on Monday top the losers table at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports .

Nigerian Breweries recorded the highest loss to lead the losers table, dropping by N2.10 to close at N79.40 per share, whileGuaranty Trust Bank (GTB) trailed with a loss of 50k to close at N35.90.

Lafarge Africa was also down by 25k to close at N13.75 per share.

May and Baker shed 19k to N2.31, while United Bank for Africa depreciated by 15k to close at N7.65 per share.

Meanwhile, crucial indicators of the performance of the NSE opened the week on Monday with a loss of 0.31 per cent.

NAN reports that the All-Share Index dipped 98.98 points or 0.31 per cent to close at 31,579.72 compared with 31,678.70 on Friday.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation which opened at N11.565 trillion shed N36 billion or 0.31 per cent to close at N11.529 trillion, following losses by some highly capitalised stocks.

On the other hand, CAP led the gainers table growing by N2.75 to close at N31.95 per share.

GlaxosmithKline followed with a gain of N1.25 to close at N14.50, while PZ Cussons improved by N1.05 to close at N11.70 per share.

Flour Mills added 70k to close at N20.50, while Julius Berger increased by 50k to close at N21 per share.

The volume of shares traded closed lower, dropping by 53.15 per cent.

Investors bought and sold 104.87 million shares valued at N1.94 billion in 2,911 deals.

This was in contrast with a turnover of 223.84 million shares worth N2.64 billion achieved in 2,819 deals on Friday.

Unilever was the most active stock during the day, exchanging 20.38 million shares valued at N804.95 million.

Zenith Bank followed with an account of 14.48 million shares worth N347.44 million, while Interlink sold 9.54 million shares valued at N34.34 million.

FCMB Group traded 7.26 million shares worth N11.03 million, while Diamond Bank sold 5.89 million shares valued at N5.13 million. (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) wants President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address the lingering issue onthe new national minimum wage by immediately forwarding an executive bill to the National Assembly to legalise the recommendation of the tripartite Committee.

President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said Nigerian workers were running out of patience with the government over the delay and were getting more and more agitated.

The National Minimum wage tripartite committee put in place by the President to review the current N18.000 Minimum wage had two weeks ago presented its report to the president recommending N30,000 as the national minimum wage, but the Nigeria Governors Forum has said they cant pay the figure presented by the committee.

Speaking at the 2018 Harmattan School of the Congress in Abuja, Comrade Wabba said workers are running out of patience on the implementation of the new wage.

He described as unfortunate the position being taken by some Governors who are saying they cant pay the N30.000, but are spending billions of dollars in the name of security votes which they cant account for.

The NLC President dismissed claims that the implementation of the new national Minimum wage would lead to inflation in the country, adding that when salaries of political Office holders was increased by 800 percent in 2008, it did not cause inflation, and wander why just N30.000 for workers can cause inflation.

We dont know why the president has not transmitted an executive bill, the report of the tripartite committee to the National Assembly for an enactment into law, because Workers patience is running out.

We have maintained that any governor that said he cant pay the N30.000 should go to his state, gather workers and tell them they are spending billions of dollars in the name of security votes but once it comes to payment of N30.000 Minimum wage, they are saying workers are just 20 percent.

How can they say that because without workers which include health workers, police, army and others, most politicians cant sleep. Minimum wage is not a favour but a right of a worker because the law states that after 30 days, a labourer is worthy of his wage.

Source: NAN

By Taiye Agbaje

Rep Edward Pwajok, Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, says the motive behind the bill to declare June 12 as Democracy Day instead of the current May 29 has no political coloration.

The lawmaker, who represents Jos North/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau, made the clarification on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

NAN reports that a Bill for an Act to Amend the Public Holidays Act Cap p40, LFN, 2004 to delete item 5 of the schedule which declares, May 29 as Democracy Day, and substitute it with June 12 as Democracy Day on Nov. 22 scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, on June 6, directed that the nations Democracy Day would henceforth, hold on June 12 as against the current arrangement where the ceremony holds on May 29.

Pwajok, who sponsored the bill, said although President Buhari made a pronouncement on making June 12 Nigerias Democracy Day, it must have legislative backing to take effect.

He dispelled the insinuations that it was politically motivated with the intent of buying votes ahead 2019 general elections.

According to him, I am the sponsor of the bill; I am not even going to contest any election in 2019.

So which votes am I going to buy because I am the sponsor of the bill. It is not even President Buhari that brought the bill.

Left for President Buhari, maybe, he thought it was okay to make that pronouncement but looking at it as a legislator, we know that it needs a legislative backing.

Without legislation, it cannot work. We have to amend the existing law to accommodate it.

Even I that sponsored the bill, I am not a Yoruba man.

So I dont have any political benefit from sponsoring this bill. There are many other bills that I sponsored.

There is no pecuniary interest; there is no political motive behind it. This one is just purely on a national interest, he said.

Pwajok, who urged Nigerians to look at issues beyond the primordial sentiment, said it was disheartening that opposition parties would always read motives to issues.

So to me, this country is in need of this declaration. Look at how happy the members of family of late MKO Abiola were when they heard about that pronouncement.

I am not a member of Abiola family.

So the question is, when is the best time to declare June 12 as Democracy Day if you are afraid of insinuations, he said. NAN

Source: NAN

By Moses Omorogieva

The Lagos State Police Command said on Sunday that its men killed a suspected kidnapper and arrested another during exchange of gunfire with the syndicate.

The Lagos Police spokesman, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed the arrest in a statement, stressing that the incident happened at Agbowa area of Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos State.

Oti said the two suspects belong to a kidnapping syndicate terrorising some parts of the state, particularly Ikorodu area.

He stated that two other suspects escaped with bullet wounds after exchange of gunfire with the police.

According to him, the Anti-kidnapping Squad of the State Command, acted on the directive of the Commands Commissioner of Police, CP Edgal Imohimi, on Friday, at about 11 a.m.

He said that the command received two separate reports on Nov. 13 and Nov. 16 from one Suleiman Eniola Ajumobi and one Veronica Ewuru about the kidnapping of their daughter and husband respectively.

While Suleiman Eniola Ajumobi reported that his 7-year-old daughter was kidnapped from his house in his presence.

Veronica Ewuru stated that her husband, one DSP Patrick Ewuru, a police officer attached to Force Headquarters annex, Obalende, was kidnapped from their house in the night when the victim came out to check on the Power Generating Set that suddenly stopped working.

The kidnappers demanded for ransom of N25 million from Mr Suleiman and N10 million from the family of DSP Patrick Ewuru but later settled for N500, 000 for both families.

At this point, the CP directed operatives handling the matter to play along with the kidnappers in the interest of the victims, who were still in captivity, he said.

The spokesman said that as soon as the release of the two victims was secured, the kidnappers hideout at Agbowa was busted, where one Festus Abama was killed and Austin Ebimiyenwei surrendered.

Oti said that the arrested suspect confessed to the crime, while the victim had identified them as those who kidnapped them.

He said that concerted effort was being made to arrest those on the run, while the suspect already in police custody would be charged to court.

Source: NAN

By Sam Oditah

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Umuahia, the Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, has expressed concern over the call by IPOB on the South-East to boycott the 2019 general elections.

Ugorji expressed his concern in his sermon on the occasion of the Corpus Christi (the celebration of Christ the King) at the Mater Dei Cathedral, Umuahia on Sunday.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) has repeatedly issued statements, calling on the people of the zone not to participate in the general elections.

The group said the boycott would underscore the demand for a referendum over its agitation for Biafra and further press for the realisation of the Republic of Biafra

But Ugorji said that failure to vote during the 2019 polls would amount to abdication of ones right and civic responsibility.

He said: I heard that some persons are discouraging people from going to vote during the general elections.

It is your right and civic responsibility to vote during elections. Elections offer the citizenry the opportunity to elect good leaders who will provide good governance.

If you fail to vote, you have failed to exercise your civic responsibility as responsible citizens, thus paving the way for the emergence of bad and insensitive leaders.

Presently, we are still Nigerians. We do not have another country we can call our own.

So it is our right and civic responsibility to vote and chose those that will govern us at the federal, state and local government levels.

The cleric said that the period of the electioneering provided an opportunity for the present administrations at all levels to give account of their stewardship based on their campaign promises to the electorate.

He recalled that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari promised a three-point agenda that hinged on security, job creation and fight against corruption.

This is the time for the Federal Government to give account of its performance on each of the agenda, he said.

Ugorji further charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that votes would count in 2019, especially with its promise to use the card reader.

He also admonished the judiciary to resist financial inducement to subvert the wishes of the people, adding that it should make integrity and uprightness its watchword.

He said that the Catholic Church was non-partisan but encouraged its faithful to exercise their civic responsibility toward the election of credible leaders.

On the Corpus Christi, the cleric said that the event marked the end of the liturgical year in the Catholic Church and also helped to remind Christians about the end of time.

It reminds us about when Christ will come as king and incorruptible judge to judge the world and take his people to himself.

The bishop therefore urged Christians to emulate Jesus Christ by bearing authentic witnesses in all they did in their homes and larger society.

NAN reports that highlights of the celebration was a solemn procession of the faithful round the major streets of Umuahia, with parish priests in the diocese and bishop bearing Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday presided over a meeting of security chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of the ongoing efforts to engage military and intelligence community towards addressing Boko Haram insurgency.

Confirming this development in a tweet in Abuja on Sunday, the Presidents aide on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, said all the service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, Idris Ibrahim and the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi were part of the meeting.

All the Service Chiefs, IG of Police and DG of DSS were at the State House this morning. As President Buhari said (Saturday) yesterday, in the coming days, he will be engaging the Military and Intelligence Chiefs in extensive discussions on the next steps we shall be taking, Ahmad said in the tweet.

President Buhari had pledged on Saturday to ensure that the loopholes which led to the fatalities are blocked once and for all.

On 18 November, the Al Barnawi faction of Boko Haram attack the 157 Task Force Battalion based at Metele in northern part of Borno state, killing scores of Nigerian troops.

The military authorities are yet to give the specific number of casualties.

Buhari in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu in Abuja on Saturday, reiterated his administrations commitment to the security of military personnel and other citizens.

No responsible Commander-in-Chief would rest on his oars or fold his hands to allow terrorists to endanger the lives of military personnel and other citizens, Shehu quoted the president as saying.

Our loyal forces have proved their strength over the terrorists and we are ready to give them all the needed support, in terms of equipment and manpower, to succeed in ending the renewed threat.

In the coming days, I am engaging the military and Intelligence Chiefs in extensive discussions on the next steps we shall be taking.

The President noted that fighting terrorism had taken a global dimension which necessitated international collaboration among states facing similar security challenges.

He, therefore, reassured Nigerians of his continued commitment to their security and of his efforts to sustain the momentum in the previous significant successes recorded against the terrorists.

The president, however, advised Nigerians against making a political capital out of the national tragedy, stressing that members of the armed forces are one family, commonly committed to the security and safety of all Nigerians.

Source: NAN

Source: NAN