Thursday, March 23, 2023 Edition

President Muhammadu Buhari with Sec. BOT Alh. Sikiru Alabi-Macloy, Exec. Council Member Dr. Jibril Oyekan, and Barr. Surajudeen Adedeji as he receives in audience, Officials

the Juma’atul Muslimeen Council of Lagos, at the Presidential Villa, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: State House

Tinubu travels out for lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia

The President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu, has travelled out for lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia, as well to marshal out his transition programme, ahead of the May 29 inauguration.

Mr Tunde Rahman, his Media Aide said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, adding that

the President-elect left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos enroute to Europe on Tuesday night.

“The President-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London.

“Preparatory to going to Saudi

Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan fasting that begins Thursday.

“While away, the Presidentelect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme,”

Rahman said.

He cautioned media organisations against publishing

rumours, fake news and unsubstantiated claims, urging them to always seek clarifications from the Tinubu’s media office before publishing.

Rahman said the Presidentelect had directed that all his senior aides and campaign staff to go for a short rest. (NAN)

Polls: Observer groups hail INEC on C/Rivers elections

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

Acoalition of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Accredited Observer Groups, has described the Governorship and State Assembly Elections of 18th March 2023 in Cross River State, as transparent, free, fair and credible exercise.

The group, under the edges of the Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness, commended INEC for being unbiased in the conduct of the election.

A communiqué signed by Dr. Nwambu Gabriel, the Director General of the group, held that INEC complied significantly with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the extant laws in the conduct of the elections.

Dr Nwambu also commended the Police and other law enforcement agencies for their quick response to resolving emergencies and adhering to the rule of engagement.

He therefore, encourage those who lost in the

election to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship by congratulating the winners of the said election.

The statement reads;

‘We, as a coalition of INEC Accredited Observer Groups under the edges of the Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness, having observed the 18th March, 2023 elections in Cross River State hereby unanimously states as follows:

“That the Governorship and State Assembly elections of 18th March 2023 actually held across the 18 Local Government Areas of Cross River State.

“That we observed the distribution of the sensitive and non-sensitive election materials from the State Headquarters of INEC to the Local Government Areas and then to the RAC Centres for onward movement to various polling units of the state.

“That elections commenced between 8.30 am and 9.45am across the State with Ad hoc officials observed at about 7am setting up voting cubicles and

election materials.

“That there was an increased voter-apathy when compared to the Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

“That the BVAS performed optimally at 97% accuracy. A significant improvement when compared to the 25th February, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

“However, we observed 2 instances where the BVAS malfunctioned but supervising officers were quick to replace them as voting continued in good time.

“We observed that during collation in Obanliku LGA, some desperate politicians attempted to induce collation officers to alter already collated results.

“We observed that an adhoc staff, one Mrs Glory Effiom Essien who served in Bakassi LGA was shot by a suspected militant on the 19th of March, 2023. However, she is alive and responding to treatment.

“Hoodlums armed with guns and other dangerous material attacked Ogoja LGA INEC collation Centre with an intent

of disrupting the collation. Some ad-hoc staffs sustained injuries before the police brought the situation under control.

“Security operatives performed creditably well. The police which is the lead agency in charge of internal security and elections complied significantly with the rule of engagement and fundamental principles of election policing globally.

“We also observed that the Governorship candidate of the APC, Senator Prince Bassey Otu was declared winner of the election having scored the highest number of lawful votes and was declared winner and returned elected.

“Consequently, having analysed INECs logistics in the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, the performance of the BVAS, the IRev Viewing Portal, the uploading of the results from the Polling Unit level (that is the FORM EC8A Series), we can therefore say that this election in Cross River State was conducted consistent to the electoral guidelines,” it concluded.

Church of Christ Evangelical and life Intercessory Ministry, Pastor Yuhanna Buru,- (1st L) with the head of Almajiris in at Kano Road during the distribution by the Church of Christ Evangelical and life Intercessory Ministry, Sabon Tasha has doled out bags of food grains to over 1000 Needy Muslims ahead of the 30-day fasting for the month of Ramadan in kaduna on wednesday 22/3/23

Ibrahim bashir NAN

APC demands redeployment of Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State on Wednesday demanded for the immediate redeployment of the Kano State Resident Electoral Commissioner Amb Abdu Zango from the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had on Monday declared Yusuf as the winner of the election.

Announcing the result in Kano, the state Returning Officer, Prof. Doko Ibrahim, the ViceChancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said Yusuf

FIRS staff decries irregularities in promotion exercise

From Mika’il Tsoho

Astaff from Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), decried irregularities in staff promotional exercise by the management.

The complain was written in an open letter to honourable minister of finance Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, urging her to intervene and call the management to order.

Our reporter gathered that there were controversies surrounding the promotion exercise of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as staff accuse the management of allegedly violating human resources policies and processes, skewing vacancies, and causing career stagnation and demoralization.

The 2022/2023 promotion exercise, which was not conducted as scheduled, combined two years of eligibility into one period, and left many qualified candidates with limited vacancies.

polled 1,019,602 votes to emerge victorious.

He said that the flagbearer defeated his closest rival and incumbent Deputy governorof the state, Malam Yusuf Gawuna of the APC, who scored 892,705 votes.

But reacting to this on Wednesday while presenting a petition calling for the immediate redeployment of Amb Abdu Zango from Kano State and investigate circumstances behind the declaration of Abba Kabir Yusuf of NNPP as the winner of March 18 governorship election in the state.

The state Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, present a letter of petition to INEC office in Lano for delivery to it’s headquarters in Abuja Abbas, who was represented by the party’s Legal Adviser, Mr Abdul Adamu Fagge, insisted that the election should be declared inconclusive.

“ The REC manifestly affirmed the allegations of partisanship, favouritism and rigging against him when on 20th March, 2023 he connived with the Returning Officer to declare Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP as the winner

of the Governorship election instead of declaring the election inconclusive”,he said

He explained that the number of voters in the said polling units where election results were cancelled who have collected their permanent voters card (PVC) is 273,442 voters, which number is more than twice the margin of win between the two main contenders in the election which is just 128,897.

The REC and the Returning Officer thereby disenfranchised the 273,442 voters and acted contrary to the combined

provisions of Section 24, 51 of the Electoral Act, 2022, Article 62 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Election, 2022, and items 4.2.16, Note 32 at page 84 and item 6 of the table at page 93 of the Manual for Election Officials, 2022.

It is in view of the foregoing that we once again register our loss of confidence in the Kano REC and demand for his immediate redeployment in line with the dictates of the law, impartiality and respect for due process and the rule of law.

FCT: AMAC Chair promises to reconstruct Tungan Madaki bridge

By Usman Shuaibu

The Executive Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, has promised the residents to reconstruct Tungan Madaki collapsed bridge in the community.

Maikalangu, who made this pledge when he visited

the site of the collapsed bridge alongside some of his appointed politicians, saying that he would do everything possible to reconstruct the collapsed bridge. He told the community leaders as well as the youths that some of his political aides accompanied him to the site of the collapsed bridge in order to ascertain the correct assessment of the work to be carrying out there.

He then assured the people of the community that the work would soon begin at the site, noting that the collapsed bridge would cut-off many people to have access to the community.

Maikalangu, who responded to the questions from the community leaders and residents in Tungan Madaki, expressed with dismay that due to the incident of the collapsed bridge the farmers could no

Fr. Alia pledges to reset governance

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Benue State Governor-elect

Fr. Alia was declared winner of the Benue Governorship election

on Monday March 20th,2023 by the Independent Electoral Commission Commission (INEC), having scored majority of vote cast. He polled 473,933 votes to defeat his closest rival Titus Uba of the Peoples’ Democratic Party,PDP who gott 223,913.

Delivering his victory speech to newsmen shortly after he was declared Governor at his residence in Makurdi, he regretted that governance in the State has hit a historic low, stressing that his election is a mandate to reform and recalibrate governance in

Benue.

While dedicating the victory to all Benue people especially those who thirst for the dividends of democracy, Fr.Alia assured that by the victory, the liberation, the people have all yearned for is at hand.

longer transport their farm produce to the neighboring communities, as he said even the students from the FCT College of Education who resident in Tungan Madaki find it difficult to go to school.

Meanwhile, the community leaders and the entire residents of the community where delighted with the Chairman on the inspection tour to the site of the collapsed bridge.

The clergy man promised that his administration will clear the backlog of arrears of salaries, and pensions and gratuities, resettle IDPs to their ancestral homes, address persistent insecurity challenges and set the stage for a prosperous Benue.

Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has pledged to reset governance in the State.

TOUR OF THE PRESIDENTIAL WING- NEW STATE HOUSE MEDICAL CENTRE The SGF Boss Mustapha with Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of State Finance and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, State House Permanent Secretary Alh Tijjani Umar and State House Director of Maintenance, Builder Mr Joshua Apagu during tour of the Presidential Wing of the New State House Medical Centre due for Commissioning by President Buhari. PHOTO; State House

Buhari to resolve tussle over Obalande prayer ground in two weeks Gender Election

Watch calls for arrest, prosecution of electoral offenders

The Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF)’s Gender and Election Watch (GEW), Room, on Tuesday, called for the arrest and prosecution of electoral offenders in the just-concluded governorship and state assembly elections.

The GEW observer group, in a post-election press statement signed by Mufuliat Fijabi, the Chief Executive Officer of NWTF, also called on INEC to hold its partners in the planning and conduct of elections accountable for failure to deliver on their agreement.

“The incitement of violence, disruption of polls and burning of poll materials is unacceptable.

“GEW calls for more accountability, arrest, and prosecution of electoral offenders,” it said.

It also called on the security agencies to do more to maintain peace and protect the lives of all in an election process.

According to the group, hitch-free, peaceful, and successful election is a product of improved security operations management.

GEW said it reported low turnout of both men and women in the Saturday elections as most voters stayed away from the polling units because of the perceived atmosphere of insecurity.

“In some states, NWTF GEW observed that women turnout was lower compared to the already low turnout recorded in the last presidential election,” it said.

It, however, commended INEC on the level of preparedness and conduct of polls.

“There was significant improvement with regards to logistics and opening of polls,” GEW said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team, which deployed 350 accredited observers across seven states in the six geo-political zones, monitored the elections from gender perspective.

The states included Adamawa, Kano, Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Anambra and Kogi.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team, which deployeders across seven states in the six ge.(NAN)

By Egena Sunday 0de

President Muhammadu Buhari has said he will resolve the tussle over the ownership of Obalende Muslim Prayer Ground between the Lagos State Jama’atul Muslimeen (Muslim Community) and security agencies.

To this end, he has set up a committee under the leadership of the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari to advise him on the processes and all that needs to be done to do justice to all parties involved.

Speaking at the State House at a meeting with members of the Jama’atul Muslimeen on Wednesday, President Buhari said justice and fairness are principles very dear to him and

he will hold onto them as long as he lives.

“I have listened to the enlightening historical details you have read. You will get justice as far as this is concerned. I commend you for adopting a peaceful approach to seeking justice, without heating up the polity. The Chief of Staff will get back to you in two weeks,” he said.

In their presentation, the group said they had come to the President as a last resort, having explored several avenues to get justice to no avail. In their account as rendered by the leader of the delegation Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the organization, the Lagos State Muslim Community informed

the President that their ownership of the land dates back to 1931 when the Nigerian Government made an “Absolute Grant” of 3.11 acres of the land in question to serve as Muslim Prayer Ground at the new Hausa Settlement, Ikoyi Plains, Lagos, now known as Obalende.

This, they explained, was much earlier than the arrival in the area of their neighbours, the Dodan Barracks, that came after the collapse of the First Republic.

The Lagos Muslim Community further presented documents to show approval of the ownership of the land, signed by the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, under Obasanjo’s Military Administration, affirming their

ownership of the land.

They reported that “in the last few years, officials of the Department of State Services, DSS, at Dodan Barracks have been threatening to deny the Muslims access into the prayer ground because the Muslim Community was claiming ownership of it, apparently based on their erroneous understanding that the Prayer Ground belongs to Dodan Barracks.”

Other members of the committee set up by the President are the Minister of Defence, Works and Housing, the Chief of Army Staff, the Director General, Department of State Services and others recognised as stakeholders in the matter.

10th National Assembly: Bamidele calls for competent leadership

Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), on Wednesday said that religious and ethnic sentiments should be jettisoned in selecting the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.

Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District and also Chairman, Southern Senators’ Forum, said this when he spoke with newsmen in Abuja.

He said that as the inauguration of the members of

the 10th assembly draws closer; the criteria for the emergence of its principal officers should be based on competence and experience.

The lawmaker said, “These are the days that should be more important as we try to see those who could lead the 10th National Assembly rather than these issues being presented more as tribal or religious rights of individuals or communities than the country.”

He urged journalists not to

overheat the polity with their reportage of the issues that may emanate from the campaigns for the leadership positions.

“As lawmakers begin to tell the world of their individual ambitions or aspirations to be a part of the leadership of the Senate in the 10th assembly, you also have a role to play.

“This is in trying to help stabilise and in trying to help reposition the debate so that the real issues are not lost,” he said.

He commended the

parliamentary reporters on their unbiased reportage, saying that a better working environment would be ensured for them in the 10th assembly.

“You deserve to work under a better condition.

“From where you sit at the press centre to even the manner of appreciation that you get from the institution; we are convinced that there is a need for a better deal. By the grace of God that better deal will come.”(NAN)

L-R: Secretary, Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADSN), Abuja Branch, Alhaji Sanni Ayodele-Ishaq; Chairman of ADSN, Alhaji Kabir Olayiwola and the Chairman, Ramadan Planning Committee of the Society, Alhaji Ismail Hassan, during a news conference on ADSN Ramadan Annual Lecture and Special Prayer for the Nation, yesterday in Abuja.

By Egena Sunday Ode

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed as well as Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba have carried out what the Presidency, on wednesday, described as final inspection of the multi-billion naira VIP wing of the State House Medical Center facilitated by construction giant, Julius Berger within the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The inspection led by the Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar, Director of Maintenance, Joshua Apagu and other officials came barely 68 days to the end of the administration.

Specifically, Presidentt Muhammadu Buhari in November 2021 approved a site for the construction of the VIP wing of the State House clinic within the precinct of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Recall that the Presidency had vowed to inaugurate the state-of-theart clinic which will offer medicare for the country’s President, Vice President, visiting Heads of State and other high ranking officials of government before the end of the Buhari-led government.

Speaking to newsmen after inspecting the 13-bed edifice, Mustapha expressed satisfaction with the pace of work and the quality of equipment already fitted in the 5-star medical centre ahead of the official commissioning ceremony.

He said: “For me it’s a great sense of fulfilment that I am seeing within the period of two years this edifice standing today.

“Those of you that were part of the coverage of the COVID 19 pandemic, when it involves the entire nation in 2020. You will notice that we have inspected health facilities in and around Abuja, particularly the State House Clinic, in Asokoro. My impression coming out of that inspection, deepens my desire to see that we have a standard world class facility, which has basically produced this with a lot of satisfaction and great joy I’m seeing this standing today.

“So, this money is well spent, and it will be for the good and betterment of our country.

The SGF, however, declined to

Presidential Medical Centre to cater for ageing ex presidents coming

Says facility will cater for ageing former Presidents, govt officials

disclose how much the government has expended on the project.

Continuing, Mustapha explained that the facility will address the frequency of the country’s presidents traveling abroad to seek medical treatment.

His words: “it would to a large extent deal with it. This is a clinic, I believe that all procedures can be conducted here, if need be through modern sciences. Telemedicine now is very common, somebody can be sitting in his office in Germany, or in the US directing diagnosis and prescriptions, and also even procedures on a patient in this place.

“The other thing that this facility will do for us is that we receive visiting heads of state heads of government, peradventure there is an emergency, we need a facility that will provide the kind of care that is internationally acknowledged and recognized and a standard kind of care before even that particular head of state or government is evacuated out of the country. And

this facility provides for that.

“We have ageing former presidents, I believe that they will have access to this facility, the sitting President will have access to it, and other top government functionaries as may be prescribed by the administrative structure that will be put in place. I believe that this is money well spent.”

In her remarks, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning also expressed delight over the quality of work on the facility, adding that”we have supported this process in terms of making sure that the funding is provided on time.

“This is a project that has been delivered dead on time and on budget. So there has been no overrun and the facilities here are world class. We’re looking forward to the commissioning very soon and to put the facility to full use.”

Continuing, Ahmed expressed willingness to make herself available to be used as a guinea-pig in the 5-star

medical facility whenever the need arise.

“I have donated myself as one of the people that can be tried in this facility. On test runs, I’m willing to come and do a medical here to testify that anything you can see here is what you can see anywhere you go in the world.

The State House Permanent Secretary said the authorities were working assiduously including calibration and testing of the equipment as well as training of personnel before commissioning the project by the President.

“I think we we are putting everything that needs to be put in place, including the instrument and the equipment that have been calibrated and tested. And then there’s the training of personnel that is going on here. It’s absolutely important that it’s hands on, and that when the facility is commissioned by Mr. President, it is not going to stop working.

“So, I think it’s really important, we’re taking the time to do that. By the by the time that is done, the training is concluded, and the calibration and testing of equipment is also concluded and that is going to be also on time because what is sure is that Mr. President will commission this project very soon.

Finally, he has just approved that, before now in 2018, he had given approval that the State House Clinic, Medical Center then there in the other part of Asokoro that had challenges about equipment about aging, issues, resources, funding everything. It was scaleddown from Medical Center to a State House Medical Clinic.

Now he has approved with everything that has been improved in the other place and with this stateof- the -art facility, we can no longer operate this as a clinic. It is now State House Medical Center. He has just granted the approval. So thank you very much evening.

National Coordinator, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Emmanuel Onwubiko addressing the Press during a protest demanding Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release Enugu gubernatorial election results. Held, yesterday in Abuja.

Mahmud Isa

Atiku asks tribunal nullify Presidential election over irregularities

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

The Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to nullify the February 25, general election over alleged irregularities.

The petition before the tribunal sitting in Abuja, marked CA/PEPC/05/2023, mentioned Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Presidentelect Ahmed BolaTinubu and All Progressive Congress(APC).

The petitioners through their legal team led by Chief J.K. Gadzama SAN, however reproduced the results of the said election wherein INEC declared Tinubu to have polled 8,794,726 and Atiku polled 6,984,520.

They submitted that going by the results, INEC wrongly returned Tinubu as the winner of the

election.

Consequently, they are asking the tribunal to declare the said result as invalid.

They further submitted that on the face of the form EC8S(A),there are calculation errors as shown and contained in the report of the statisticians.

The petitioners said they will be relying the said result as declared by INEC.

In the ground one, the petitioners submitted that the election of Tinubu is invalid by reason of non compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act , 2022.

They added that INEC failed to electronically transmit the election results.

The petitioners argued that INEC failed to comply with the provisions of Section 66 of the Electoral Act which incorporated Section 134 of the Constitution of

the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 in wrongfully , unlawfully, illegality and unconstitutionally returning Tinubu.

The petitioners contended that the return of Tinubu as duly elected to the office of the president given the margin of lead and the Permanent Voters Card collected is undue wrongful.

In their ground two, the petitioners argued that the election of Tinubu is invalid by reason of corrupt practices .

They submitted that the election conducted by INEC is invalid by reason of corrupt practices.

They further added that the collation of election results in all the states of the Federation was manipulated by INEC through the deliberate suppression and discounting of the lawful votes of the petitioners while inflating the scores of Tinubu and APC.

They added that the

manipulation range from suppression of votes, manipulation of ballots and ballot boxes manipulation of BVAS machines , manipulation of accreditation and collation, manipulation of election material delivery and manipulation of election material reverse logistics and intimidation and harassment of voters .

Others highlighted by the petitioners are massive thumb printing of ballot papers , destruction of electoral materials, hijack of electoral materials , mutilations, cancellations and over writings on results sheets and inflation, deflation of scores , and wrong entries in result sheets .

In ground three, the petitioners argued that Tinubu is not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

The petitioners submitted that they lead evidence at the hearing to show that the result of the

election as announced by INEC and especially the votes allocated to Tinubu do not represent the lawful valid votes cast at the election.

In ground four , the petitioners contended that Tinubu was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election , not having constitutional threshold.

The petitioners however prayed the Tribunal to determine that Tinubu was not duly elected by a majority of votes cast in the election and there his declaration and return by INEC is unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional , null and void.

They pray the Court in the alternative to direct INEC to conduct a second election between Atiku and TInubu.

Also in the further alternative, the petitioners want the Tribunal to order that the election to the office of the President held on February 25 be nullified and a fresh election ordered.

Photo:

Ramadan: Ansar-ud-deen rolls out activities, pledges to feed 5,500 Muslims daily Academy urges FG to reevaluate, reorganise Nigeria’s university system

Global Scholarship Trust Academy has urged the Federal Government to re-evaluate and re-organise the university system in the country to make the institutions rank favourably among the world’s best.

The founder of the academy, Mr Adeniyi John made the call in Abuja during a Students’ Career Conference organised to educate and guide students in making future career choices.

“We are unbarring educational access for grassroots prosperity.

“We are in this environment to bring the young people together to tell them about their careers now and for the future.

“The educational curriculum needs to be reviewed because we are in the knowledge economy. What our children are learning can no longer sustain them after school.

“We need to rejig the system and bring in the right people to the right positions,’’ he said.

The founder of the academy also called for capacity building for university teachers and the funding of research in universities.

“We are doing our best to ensure that while still on campus our youth and students would become employable after they graduate.

“There is a need for capacity building for lecturers and teachers at all levels. You see our teachers moving to other countries to seek greener pastures.

“There is a need to fund research and establish research centres to support national development.

John said the conference was organised to expose the participants to the abundant scholarships available abroad.

“We have been able to interface with relevant government agencies such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, National Universities Commission, and the Federal Ministry of Education to improve the standard of education through the evaluation of our curriculum and ensuring that the quality assurance of our educational system is improved.

Speaking during the event, Victoria Nwaogu, Zonal Coordinator for Municipal Area Council, who represented the Director, Department of Mass Education, commended Global Scholarship Trust for the initiative.

Nwaogu said the conference was in line with the mandate and vision of mass education.

According to him, the FCT Department of Mass Education is involved in providing mass education for all with its Secondchance Education in the FCT.

Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria, on Wednesday, said it had concluded arrangements to distribute food items to 5,000 people and give free Ramadan breakfast to 5,500 Muslims daily for 30 days.

Chairman of Abuja branch of the society, Alhaji Mohammad Olayiwola, stated this at a news conference, with the theme: “Ramdan, Islam and Good Governance: the Role of Muslims”, held at the Ansar-uddeen mosque, Maitama, Abuja.

Olayiwola described

Ramadan period as a month of re-awakening of all Muslims to their roles and responsibilities as well as Islam’s perspective on good governance.

According to him, the month also reminds Muslims of equality of citizens before Allah.

“Since we all know that Allah blesses one more than the other, it behooves on us to share our prosperity with the less privilege in the society in order to reduce the social menace in the country.

“Our food bank will deal with the collection of raw food

items donated by the well-todo amongst us and distribute to 5,000 less-privileged to have good food in their respective houses daily.

“Also, we are going to organise Ramadan breakfast for 5,500 Muslims daily in our mosque in Maitama. We solicit public support in this direction to complement our own earmarked resources,” he said.

The chairman further stated that the society would organise its 28th Annual Ramadan lecture to be delivered by a renowned

Islamic scholar and Northern States Council Missioner of Ansar-ud-deen, Sheikh Muhideen Ajani-Bello.

According to him, Ajani-Bello will, after the lecture, lead national prayer to seek divine guidance for good governance, peace and tranquility in the democratic transition in the country.

“Similarly, we are going to organise daily Tafsir of Qur’an for the 30 days of the month of Ramadan, starting from March 30 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.,” he said. (NAN)

Stakeholders to provide solar mini-grid electricity to address pipeline vandalism

Stakeholders have expressed commitment to provide Solar Mini-Grid Electricity to some communities without electricity in the Niger Delta to tackle pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.

The Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), an NGO, Mr Dumnamene Fyneface said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that YEAC-Nigeria and YEAC-UK Ltd engaged NXT GRID Netherlands and its Nigeria subsidiary to develop the project.

According to him, the project will commence from Umuolu community, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of the state, and will be extended to other communities.

He said the commitment was part of measures to address pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft

and artisanal refinery pollution including soot in the state.

“The effort will reduce the use of illegally-refined petroleum products by communities which hitherto depended on the products, especially fuel for their generators and kerosene for their lanterns as energy sources.

“The project will also support the communities to power their homes since they do not have access to electricity.

“The project is expected to discourage oil theft, reduce fossil fuel extraction, fight environmental pollution and climate change while providing clean, renewable and affordable energy to households.

“Those other communities that are also hard-to-reach and have not had access to electricity for a long time will definitely benefit from the project being rolled out in phases” he said.

Fyneface said that the project would as well discourage those

youths that were engaged in illegal artisanal refineries and other unauthorised activities, because people would no longer patronise them.

He said that the development would provide job opportunities to the communities, thereby, giving them alternative livelihoods away from various environmental crimes.

“It will also provide the communities other business opportunities that the electricity can power through what we call `Productive Use,’ thus reducing environmental pollution.

“It will also help in the fight against climate change as the communities that are engaged in such illegal activities will have their minds disabused.”

Fyneface said that the Productive Use was a project meant to support the youth, women and persons with disabilities by providing grants,

soft and revolving loans to the community.

He said that the essence of the project was to assist the people by engaging them in various businesses using the renewable energy system.

According to him, the objective of the organisation is to reduce pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, artisanal refining and environmental pollution.

“The organisation tries to discourage families from patronising illegally refined petroleum products as energy sources to power their homes through generators, thereby, making artisanal refineries unattractive.

“We believe that if we can provide alternative livelihood opportunities for artisanal refiners, pipeline vandalism, artisanal refining and associated environmental pollution will automatically be reduced.”

(NAN)

L-R: Chief Wash, (UNESCO) Mrs Jane Bevan; representative of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Agnes Nkechi Aneke; Natural Resources and Environmentalist Specialist, Mr Oluseyi Fabiyi; National Professional Officer Science UNESCO,, Enang Moma and Director United Nations Information Center Nigeria, Mr Roland Kayanja during the presentation of reports to mark the 2023 world water day, held yesterday vin Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Adamawa guber: NCWS sues for peace, justice

The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has stressed the need for peace and justice to prevail over the governorship election in Adamawa State. The National President of NCWS, Hajiya Lami Adamu-Lau, made the call on Monday at a news briefing in Abuja. AdamuLau urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the Adamawa state governorship result and ensure that the will of the people prevailed. She said that the call became necessary to ease tension that was currently building in the state. ”We want the umpire to uphold the election guidelines and do everything possible to ensure that the result is not manipulated. “The people have spoken through their votes, it should be allowed to stand, ” she said. She said the council was monitoring the progress and know that the exercise was postponed to enable verification of the results from Fufore Local Government Area. “We want INEC to do the needful and release the result for peace to prevail in the state. “I urged INEC to ensure justice in collating the results before the declaration,” she said. Lami said that the Nigerian Women still had faith in INEC to do the needful and and ensure that justice prevailed. Also speaking, Mrs Pauline Tallen, Minister of Women Affairs, stressed the need to end all forms of injustices, violence against women and rape to the Nation’ s democracy. Tallen, represented by the Senior Special Assistant, Technical, Mrs. Jummai Idomije, said: ” We must get it right this time. ”

Enough is enough. Nigerian women believe in the capability of INEC to release a just result so that Nigerian women can have a voice in national development.” NAN reports that various women groups were in attendance to show solidarity to the APC Adamawa State governorship candidate, Sen. Aisha Binani. (NAN)

NUC accredits 7 courses in Salem University, Lokoja

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has fully accredited seven academic programmes of Salem University, Lokoja in Kogi, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Alewo Johnson-Akubo, has said.

The accredited Bachelor of Science (BSc) courses are: Computer Science, Information Technology, Geology, Microbiology, Biochemistry and MSc/MBA Business

Administration.

Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday in Lokoja, JohnsonAkubo said that with the development, all courses in the university were now fully accredited.

He said that the commission’s approval was contained in a letter dated March 9 and signed by Arc. S.S. Ikani, the Deputy Director (Programme Accreditation) for the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed.

The elated VC said that the approval letter came as cheering news to the students, staff and management which needed the accreditation to continue to operate as a full-fledged university.

“We give God the glory now that all our programmes in the seven colleges have been fully accredited by the NUC.

“In fact, with this accreditation, Salem University Lokoja can admit more students in the

2022/2023 academic year, for which admission is still open.

“With the kind of infrastructural development we have in Salem University, we now have what it takes to admit more students,” Johnson-Akubo said.

He expressed gratitude to the university Chancellor, Archbishop Sam Amaga, for his impressive and encouraging leadership qualities, which he said had driven the university to greater heights. (NAN)

Niger Gov. elect vows to partner Media

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

The Niger state Governor- elect, Umar Mohammed Bago has reiterated his commitment to partner with the media and welcome

its constructive criticism to ensure the development of the state.

Bago gave the assurance when the members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger state

council led by Comrade Yakubu Mustapha Bina paid a visit to congratulatory him.

He added that he needs the media support in executing policy trust.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman

of Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ, Niger state council, Comrade Yakubu Mustapha Bina said the Chapel is ready to partner with the new administration for the development of the state.

Adamawa title holder calls for Lamido Sanusi’s re-instatement as Emir of Kano

From Umar Dankano,Yola

Ahighly respected traditional tittle holder in Adamawa state, Barrister Mustapha Tahir ,who holds the traditional tittle of Dan Jarman Adamawa, has called for the reinstatement of the 18th Emier of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi back to his throne.

Dan Jarman Adamawa who recently paid congratulatory visit to the newly elected Governor of Kano State, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf, and the NNPP National leader Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, reiterated this call in an interview with journalists upon his arrival back to Yola Wednesday.

“I want to call on the newly

elected Governor of Kano State, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, to reinstate Sanusi Lamido Sanusi back to his throne. His removal was illigal and in gross violation of all due processes ,and in abuse of the culture and traditions of Kano people which need to be reversed as soon as the new Government comes into effect, “ the chief said.

He noted that this call has become imperative taking into consideration the fact that apart from the illigal processes used to forcefully remove the Emir, his removal was also in violation of the culture and tradition of the Kano people which need to be reversed.

According to him, Sanusi’s removal was politically motivated

and purely witch-hunting due to his principled stand on National issues which did not go down well with the powers that be, who are not comfortable with his bluntness hence the conspiracy to get him illigally removed at all cost and by all means which must not be allowed to stand.

Tahir further eulogised Sanusi’s leadership qualities and numerous contributions to the development of the society and humanity, describing him as a role model, a reformist, financial expert and a symbol of light to the entire Northern region who has paid his due by giving his all for humanity.

He further added that apart from positive changes and

radical transformation Kano has witnessed, especially in its socioeconomic life during his reign, his legacies and footprints in all the places he served especially during his tenure as CBN Governor speaks volumes on his leadership qualities, stressing that he is also a strong advocate of transparency, accountability and good governance.

He added that his call is premised on the fact that the court of law has already faulted the processes of his removal and ordered that his right should be fully restored, hence the need for government to obey court and restore his full right which should include the right to the thrown.

Members of the Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), led by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Owunbiko during a protest to INEC national headquarters over the delay in announcing Enugu state governorship election result , held yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Hoodlums suspected to be political thugs have set ablaze a state High Court in Owutu-Edda, Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi.

Mrs Oluchi Uduma, the Registrar of the court

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has commended the Arewa Community in Lagos, led by the Sarkin Hausawan Lagos - the Chairman Arewa Council of Chiefs Alhaji (Dr) Aminu Yaro Dogara, Sarkin Hausawan along with Sarkin Fulanin Lagos (Chairman, Fulani Council of Chiefs) Alhaji (Dr) Muhammad Abubakar Bambado during the Presidential and Governorship election.

This is even as the group averred that it is gratifying to note that the contribution of voters of the Arewa community in Lagos helped greatly in securing the victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the re-election of Governor Sanwo-Olu on which the Arewa Community helped to secure their victory voluntarily, without requesting a dime from them.

The National President of

Niger Gov. elect vows to partner Media

From Yakubu Mustapha Minna

The Niger state Governorelect, Umar Mohammed Bago has reiterated his commitment to partner with the media and welcome its constructive criticism to ensure the development of the state.

Bago gave the assurance when the members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger state council led by Comrade Yakubu Mustapha Bina paid a visit to congratulatory him.

He added that he needs the media support in executing policy trust.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ, Niger state council, Comrade Yakubu Mustapha Bina said the Chapel is ready to partner with the new administration for the development of the state.

Hoodlums set court ablaze in Ebonyi

confirmed the incident to newsmen in Owutu-Edda on Tuesday.

She said that the hoodlums

invaded the court on Tuesday and set the building ablaze.

Uduma explained that the court building, documents

and other valuables were completely burnt.

The Chairman of Afikpo South Local Government

Area, Mr Chima Nkama also confirmed the incident, adding that the matter was reported to the police. (NAN)

Polls: AYCF lauds Arewa Chiefs in Lagos

AYCF, Alhaji Shettima Yerima in a statement said, “in view of the current development of

Lagos State’s democratic space, the Arewa Community in Lagos, led by the Sarkin Hausawa

and Sarkin Fulani (Chairman, Fulani Council of Chiefs), has made valuable sacrifice

in the Presidential, National Assembly and governorship elections in Lagos State.

FEC okays N459b contracts for Transportation Ministry, NDLEA barracks

By Egena Sunday Ode

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved contract awards worth N459 billion to facilitate completion of projects in the Ministry of Transportation and construction of barracks for personnel of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Specifically, the contracts under the Transportation Ministry are meant for the Nigerian Ports Authority to construct and supply customized Fire Service search and rescue vans for extrication of accident victims at the cost of N510,934,600, and for the procurement of rollingstock operation and maintenance equipment for the Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail line at the cost of $984,722,392.

Briefing newsmen after the Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, explained: “The Federal Ministry of Transportation this afternoon, presented to memoranda to council on behalf of two of its agencies.

“The first agency was the Nigerian Ports Authority which sought to provide for the award of contract for the construction and supply of for customized Fire Service search and rescue vans for

extrication of accident victims.

“For Rivers Ports, Port Harcourt, Lagos Port complex, Tin Can Island Port and Marina headquarters, all in Lagos, Council considered the memorandum and approved the award of the contract as recommended.

“And reviewed by the Bureau of Public Procurement in the sum of N510,934,600 million inclusive of seven and a half percent VAT with a completion period of nine months in favor of Messrs All Works Commercial Company Limited.

“The second memorandum presented by the Ministry was on behalf of the ministry itself but for the ultimate management by the Nigerian Railway Cooperation.

“The memorandum sought council, consideration and approval for the award of contract for the procurement of rollingstock operation and maintenance equipment for Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail line that is currently under construction.

“The contract was awarded to Messers Motor Engine Nigeria Limited who are the contractors handling this particular projects in the sum of $984,722,302.05 inclusive of seven and a half percent verse with a completion period of four years.”

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, gave details on the contract award

approved for the construction of barracks for personnel of the NDLEA worth N5,157,265,770, stressing the need to provide them with security because of the threat they constantly face from drugs criminals.

Malami stated: “What was presented today by the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice was a council memo at the instance or the NDLEANational Drugs Law Enforcement Agency.

“As you are aware, there has been renewed and sustained onslaught against drug cartels and barons over time. Within the three quarters of 2023 about 18,940 arrests were affected by the NDLEA and indeed drugs the estimated value of which is over N40 billion where confiscated.

“Again, about 2,904 convictions were recorded.

“These successes recorded unfortunately, translated to unprecedented threats and attacks on personnel, officers, men and other ranks of the agency and then the need has arisen for the federal government to consider the possibility of taking security measures that will now provide the desired protection to the officers and men of the agency.

“So, with that in mind, what was presented before the Federal Executive Council today is a memo seeking approval for the award of contract for

the construction of barracks accommodation for personnel of the drug law enforcement agency.

“Accordingly, two contracts were awarded and the companies that were awarded the contract Whitchino Engineering Limited, was awarded the contract for the construction of accommodation for narcotics superintendents and narcotic assistant blocks, each consisting six numbers of three bedroom, semi detached flats, 12 flats, and five blocks each, consisting 16 number one bedroom terraces plots, 80 plots total 92 plots at the cost of N2,267,785,450. 83.

“And the second contract was awarded to JP Sigma Nigeria limited in the sum of N2,889,480,320.55 and they are to construct accommodation for narcotics superintendents and narcotics agents, two blocks each consistent six numbers, three bedroom, semi detached flats, 12 flats and 11 blocks, each consisting eight numbers two bedrooms, semi detached flats 89 flats total 12 plus 88 which makes 100 flats. So, the Council memo was taken. And it was accordingly approved by the Council.”

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, on his part, said his Ministry presented a memo on the revised 2022 National Agricultural Seed Policy.

Kogi guber: Group wants power shift to Western senatorial district

Apolitical pressure group, Kogi Youth Ambassadors (KYA) has called on registered political parties to pick their governorship candidates from the Western Senatorial District of the state to equity, fairness and justice.

The State Coordinator of the group, Mr Abdulrahman Adbdulsalam, made the call at a news conference on Tuesday in Lokoja.

Adbdulsalam said the state`s governorship position should be rotated to ensure equity, fairness and justice.

He noted that no state in Nigeria had multiethnic diversity like Kogi, adding that such unique endowment should not be taken for granted.

According to Abdulsalam, the Kogi East has ruled the state for over 16 years, while Kogi Central is currently in its eight years.

He said that it was therefore the turn of Kogi West to govern the state for equity, fairness and justice.

He, specifically appealed to Gov. Yahaya Bello to consider a candidate from Kogi West as his successor as a way of unifying the state.

”The Kogi youth ambassadors do not have any aspirant in mind by our agitation, but all we want is for power to shift to Kogi West for the sake of equity, fairness and justice.

”We want Gov. Yahaya Bello, to adopt a competent, reliable and credible candidate from Kogi West

as his successor.

”We are also appealing to opposition political parties to also chose credible candidates from Kogi West for the state governorship elected slated for November,” Abdulsalam said.

He said the group had put in place strategies for consultation, sensitisation and mobilisation to achieving its demand for the unity of Kogi.

He said the group had over 20,000 members with Permanent Voters` Cards (PVCs) across the 239 Wards in the state.

Abdulsalam assured that the group would be engaging in vigorous sensitisation and mobilisation to press home its demand.

Also speaking, the Zonal

Coordinator of the group, Mr Austin Alabi, said their desire was to ensure that equity, fairness and justice was maintained in Kogi.

”We advise the government of the day to consider a credible and reliable candidate, that has the interest of Kogi at heart and ready to develop the state to the next level just as Gov. Bello has done.

”The governor has done well in infrastructure and security, and we expect him to get a successor from Kogi West that can consolidate on his legacies and develop our state to the next level,” Alabi said.

He enjoined all registered political parties in the state to imbibe the idea by fielding candidates from the western senatorial district of Kogi.

(NAN)

By Christiana Ekpa

The Speaker of the House of Representatives

Femi Gbajabiamila has disclosed the Chairman of Heirs Holding, Tony Elumelu Worth celebrated internationally for his humanitarian services.

The Speaker While congratulating Elumelu on his 60th birthday, paid glowing tribute to Elumelu whom he described as humble despite his achievements

He said Elumelu, who is the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the chairman of Heirs Holdings and Trans Nigeria Corporation (Transcorp), is worthy of being celebrated due to his humanitarian services to Nigeria and Africa.

The Speaker who said Elumelu was his longstanding friend recalled how the he started from a humble beginning and grew in leaps and bounds over the years.

Tony Elumelu worth celebrating internationally for his humanitarian services - Gbajabiamila

He said Nigeria needs the likes of Elumelu, who has dedicated himself to philanthropic activities and changed the lives of many, saying at 60, Elumelu must be satisfied with his achievements.

He said “Tony Elumelu is one Nigerian that we all should celebrate. He has used his Godgiven resources to change the narrative in the lives of many of our compatriots. He has been an employer of labour who put smiles on the faces of an uncountable number of people.

“In fact, the entire African continent is blessed to have Tony. We have seen how he transcends Nigerian borders with his activities and positively affects the lives of other Africans.

“Despite what Tony has achieved, he remains humble, which is quite commendable. Nigerians should emulate Tony not just in his way of life but also in his service to humanity,”

Also, the Minority Caucus in the House describe Elumelu as an exceptionally patriotic Nigerian; a quintessence of the Nigerian resilient spirit, an undisputed trailblazer with astonishing insight and extraordinary capacity to achieve success even in the face of daunting challenges.

In a statement signed by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, the caucus said “Over the years, Tony Elumelu has distinguished himself as an exceptionally patriotic Nigerian;

a quintessence of the Nigerian resilient spirit; an undisputed trailblazer with astonishing insight and extraordinary capacity to achieve success even in the face of daunting challenges.

“Our Caucus and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians are proud of Tony Elumelu’s outstanding contributions towards the economic stability and development of our country especially in stimulating greater productivity in critical sectors of our national economy.

“As representatives of the people, our Caucus extols Tony Elumelu’s dedication in raising, mentoring and empowering thousands of young entrepreneurs across the 54

African countries through his Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) and other platforms, for which he has received numerous global recognitions including being named in Times list of 100 most influential people in the world.

“The Minority Caucus also acknowledges his untiring philanthropic activities with which he continues to touch humanity in many special ways.

“On this auspicious day, the Minority Caucus celebrates this great Nigerian and prays to God to continue to bless him with many more years in good health and greater insight in his service to our nation and humanity in general.”

Provide measures to curb repeated Train accidents -Reps tell NRC

BY Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives, has urged the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), to provide measures to curb repeated train accidents

Fr. Alia pledges to reset governance

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Benue State Governorelect Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has pledged to reset governance in the State.

Fr. Alia was declared winner of the Benue Governorship election on Monday March 20th,2023 by the Independent Electoral Commission Commission (INEC), having scored majority of vote cast.

He polled 473,933 votes to defeat his closest rival Titus Uba of the Peoples’ Democratic Party,PDP who gott 223,913.

Delivering his victory speech to newsmen shortly after he was declared Governor at his residence in Makurdi, he regretted that governance in the State has hit a historic low, stressing that his election is a mandate to reform and recalibrate governance in Benue.

While dedicating the victory to all Benue people especially those who thirst for the dividends of democracy, Fr.Alia assured that by the victory, the liberation, the people have all yearned for is at hand.

The clergy man promised that his administration will clear the backlog of arrears of salaries, and pensions and gratuities, resettle IDPs to their ancestral homes, address persistent insecurity challenges and set the stage for a prosperous Benue.

with other vehicles.

The House which on Tuesday, observed a minute silence in honour of the casualties of the various train mishaps in Nigeria,also directed the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau to investigate the causes of the various train incidences.

The resolution was fallout of a motion under matters of urgent public importance, sponsored by Hon. Unyime Idem, who noted the urgent need to curb the incessant loss of lives in train mishaps.

The lawmakers recalled that in January 2023, a train accident was reported in the Kubwa axis of Abuja,

Zamfara

which claimed the life of Selimota Suleiman, a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority, while on Thursday, March 9, 2023, a moving train rammed into a BRT bus in Lagos State, claiming about six lives and many others injured. He further recalled that on March 28, 2022, an Abuja - Kaduna train was attacked, and many Nigerians lost their lives while others were either injured or abducted, and

Governor-

elect assures rapid positive change

From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

Governor-elect Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare of Zamfara State has assured of immediate positive change of the entire face of the state with a view to fulfilling the dreams peoples have for their living in terms of providing adequate security and other most needed demands.

Dr. Dare made the declaration on Tuesday in Gusau during his maiden broadcast to the state, saying his first priority are security, education, health and agriculture as the sectors have been marked as the pivot of economic progress.

“We are all aware of the security situation our beloved state is facing, our farmers have been compelled to vacate their farmlands, the situation which rocked our good people across the fourteen local government councils of the state into abject poverty and hunger.

“After taking Oath of Office, my administration will strive to rescue and protect the integrity of our teeming people whose lives were devastated by the lingering insecurity and are currently stranded while wandering for survival in the state’ the Governor-elect has assured.

He further informed of his determination to address problems that hinder the education sector from meeting the required volume of global standardization, adding that, “Zamfara State has been left far behind in the national education ranking mirror”.

The Governor-elect thanked all the good people of the state for giving the mandate to run the affairs of the state to the next four years, assuring that he will run an opened door and all inclusive government with a view to move the state to the expected level.

also that a Warri - Itakpe train derailed in Kogi forest, leaving not less than 300 passengers stranded barely a month after about 20 passengers were abducted from a train station in Igueben, Edo State.

“In spite of these unfortunate trends, which are, as a result of the

carelessness of some individuals, no one has ever been held to account for the unfortunate loss of lives”, he lamented, adding that these unfortunate incidents are occurring very often because not much seems to be done to forestall the occurrence.

www.cbn.gov.ng

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ON BEHALF OF DMO OFFERS NIGERIAN TREASURY BILLS TENDER NOTICE

Notice is hereby given by the Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of DMO that the Federal Government of Nigeria Treasury Bills of 91, 182 and 364-day tenors amounting to ₦2,162,924,000; ₦3,343,241,000 and ₦139,963,295,000 respectively would be issued by Dutch auction on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

All Money Market Dealers should submit bids through the CBN S4 WEB INTERFACE between 8.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Each bid must be in multiple of N1,000 subject to a minimum of ₦50,001,000. Authorized Money Market Dealers can submit multiple bids. A bid may be for authorized Money Market Dealers own account, non–Money Market Dealers or interested members of the public. The result of the auction would be announced on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The Bank reserves the right to reject any bid.

Allotment letters would be issued for successful bids on Thursday, March 30, 2023, while payment for the successful bids should be made to your account with Central Bank of Nigeria not later than 11.00 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

The Bank reserves the right to vary the amount on offer in line with market realities prevailing as at the period of auction of the Nigerian Treasury Bills.

Boat operators, others congratulate Gov. Sanwo-Olu

The National Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria, (ATBOWATON ) has congratulated Gov. SanwoOlu of Lagos State for his reelection in Saturday’s polls..

Dr Gani Balogun, National President of ATBOWATON, congratulated the governor in a statement on Tuesday.

Balogun said he worked in partnership with Mr Tope Fajemirokun, Waterfront Boat Operators and Water Transporters Association (WABOTAN) to mobilise a coalition of trade operators and ferry services entrepreneurs to campaign for Sanwo-Olu.

He said the governor deserved to win based on his first term scorecard, adding that Lagos waterways transportation ecosystem would benefit from his dedication and passion.

” Both ATBOWATON and WABOTAN, are well pleased with Gov. Sanwo-Olu’s reelection.

” During the campaign, we took a position based on what he brought to the table, particularly in carrying us along in rebuilding and calibrating the entire ecosystem of the sector.

” Our associations are ready, really ready to mobilise and activate both the socio economic and security opportunities in water tourism and logistics.

” It is big business elsewhere and we shall work with the governor and LASWA leadership to open this frontier,” he said.

Also, Fajemirokun said that the two bodies would be available as bridge and plank to open more rural areas to boats and ferry services.

He prayed that the governor would empower the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) to facilitate full realisation of making waterways transportation a dream economy.

” We are comfortable with the leadership of LASWA which delivers professionally on the governor’s road map on water transportation.

” We are also willing to partner the governor in reaching out and finding solutions to challenges of full empowerment of operations.

” Particularly as verifiable contributors to state financial purse and the provision of skills acquisition opportunities and jobs in boat business,” he said. (NAN)

UNIDO, FG, Japan to implement project for job opportunities

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Federal Government of Nigeria and Japanese government have expressed commitment to implement a project to create job opportunities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is also aimed at protecting the environment.

The Regional Director of UNIDO, Nigeria, Mr Jean Bakole said this at a Stakeholders’ Awareness on Circular Economy Practices for Plastic Value Chains project in Abuja on Tuesday Bakole said that UNIDO would be providing necessary support to Nigeria to effectively implement multilateral environmental agreement, including adopting cleaner production policies and methodologies to create job opportunities.

He said that the effort would be achieved through the development and implementation of regulatory frameworks, strengthening national institutional capabilities for eco-balanced and promoting resources use

efficiency and green industries in manufacturing production.

According to him, it is on that context that the project is being developed to promote sustainable management technologies, identify new business models and accelerate capacity-building process.

“The project also creates awareness-raising on sustainable plastic value chains through circular economy approach in Nigeria.

“At the same time, this circular economy approach will contribute to protecting the environment from hazardous wastes and will help to generate decent jobs,” he said.

Bakole said that the meeting was focused on development of guidelines on plastic wastes management policy under UNIDO`s Project on “Promoting sustainable plastic value chains through circular economy practices.”

He said that plastics waste continues to be a major environmental and social problem in many countries.

According to him, to manage the problem has become a major

topic for innovators, policy makers, researchers, business owners and even specific sectors like the agricultural, marine and tourism sectors.

“Though plastics waste management is gradually beginning to gain prominence, the manufacturing and usage of new plastics is still at an exponential rate.”

He also said that the project implementation model promotes cooperation between the federal and state governments including the FCT, and the organised private sector with the technical support of UNIDO.

“In response to the environmental challenges in Nigeria, UNIDO’s ongoing formulation of the Programme for Country Partnerships (PCP) is making provision to focus on environment management component.

“Through this component, UNIDO will provide necessary support to Nigeria to effectively implement the project,” he said.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to ECOWAS,

Amb. Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, said the essence of the meeting was to discuss how to develop a guideline on the policy with various stakeholders.

Kazu Yoshi of the Embassy of Japan to Nigeria, said the partnership with UNIDO and Nigeria would strongly support in the implementation of the project, as it would create job opportunities in the country.

He said that the Japanese government was committed to collaborating with the Nigerian government and UNIDO, adding that the country had developed a recycling culture on how to manage waste effectively.

“The concern and challenges of Nigeria is our concern and our challenges as well, no single country or organisation can tackle the issue of waste management, accept when we work together.

“Therefore, it is important to have various stakeholders to work on this issue. So that this three years project which will be ending in 2025 can be effectively implemented to enable it achieve its goal,” he said.

NAN

L-R: Director of Programme, Connected Development(CODE), Lucy Agbaji; chief Executive, CODE, Hamza Lawal and Head, Media / Publicity CODE, Seun Durojaiye, at a Media briefing on the outcome of Gubernatorial and State Assembly

Elumelu congratulates Makinde, Sheriff, Bala Mohammed, others on election victory

By Christiana Ekpa

The Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Hon.

Ndudi Elumelu, on Tuesday, congratulated all the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Candidates who won during the just-concluded Governorship election.

Hon. Elumelu, in his congratulatory message statement made available to Nigerian Tribune, however, vowed that PDP Candidates, including Nasarawa, Ogun, and other States who were allegedly deprived of victory during the polls, will retrieve their

•Says PDP Candidates will retrieve their stolen mandate

mandates at the Court.

“On behalf of the Minority Caucus and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) family in the House of Representatives, I congratulate the Governorelect of Delta State, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, and others so far declared on the platform of the PDP for their victory at the election.

“I also congratulate Governors Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde of Bauchi and Oyo States, respectively, and governors-elect of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno and his Plateau State counterpart,

Caleb Mutfwang, for their success at the polls.

“From the results obtained directly from Polling Units across the country, we are optimistic about the victory of PDP Candidates in other States, as the nation awaits final declaration in Adamawa, Taraba, Rivers, Zamfara, Enugu, and other states.

“The victory being recorded by PDP Governorship candidates is a resounding reaffirmation that they are persons of proven integrity, capacity, competence, commitment to duty, and political will to ensure that

the aspiration of the people prevailed in governance.

“The PDP Caucus is deeply saddened by the manipulations in Nasarawa, Ogun, and other States where our Candidates were denied victory in the election but we remain confident that the stolen mandate will surely be retrieved at the Court.

“I, therefore, congratulate our already declared Governorselect as well those awaiting declaration by INEC and charge them to double their efforts to deliver democracy dividends to the people,” the Minority Leader said.

election in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imoowo

African parliamentarians ready for effective cooperation with Russia

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

African parliamentarians have been attending conferences with their Russian colleagues to deliberate important questions of common interest to both Russia and Africa over the years. But important issues discussed simply remain as mere archival documents and, most probably, many initiatives taken at those previous gatherings are forgotten.

On the eve of the Parliamentary Conference “Russia-Africa” organized in July, 2019, as part of the International Forum on the Development of Parliamentarism, the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin held a number of bilateral meetings with speakers of parliaments from Africa.

The international forum under the theme “Development of Parliamentarism” was held on July 1–3 (2019) on the initiative of the State Duma. The questions that were raised at the separate meetings included, inter-parliamentary cooperation, development of national economies, protection of sovereignty and citizens’ rights, peace and security, fighting terrorism, unemployment and poverty.

In all the meetings, Volodin reiterated that Russia has attached great importance to the development of inter-parliamentary diplomacy and would always appreciate to have regular interaction with their fellow African parliamentarians on a bilateral basis and to work out effective mechanisms for dealing with global challenges.

During the meeting with the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, Volodin noted that it was necessary for African parliamentarians to overcome modern challenges together.

“There are many challenges in the world, and it will be right to discuss them and seek for solutions to these issues together. This relates to the adoption of model laws, the harmonization of legislation in addressing issues of countering terrorism, drug trafficking,” said Volodin.

In his turn, the President of the National Assembly of Angola said that this was his first personal meeting with the Chairman of the State Duma. “This is the first meeting, but we hope there will be further meetings,” said Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos.

Dias dos Santos strongly believes that forum on “Development of Parliamentarism” and regular conferences on “Russia-Africa” could become a catalyst and conduit to address many pressing global and regional issues, and called international terrorism one of the key threats facing the world and the decision to counter it should be found together.

“The increase in the number of terrorist attacks took place because cultural and religious issues often divide people, the number of young people joining terrorist organizations is growing. It is necessary to seek solutions to these issues to ensure peaceful cultural and religious coexistence of nationals,” he stressed.

On Russia’s leading role for peace and security, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, Habib El Malki, at the bilateral meeting emphasized that he highly appreciates the role of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin in the international arena.

“We reaffirm the leading role of the Russian Federation headed by President Vladimir Putin in international affairs. Under his leadership, we are working to strengthen the protection of the principles of security and trying to ensure the rule of law throughout the world. All this makes us to share the principles of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation, which, as we should not forget, are the basis of the United Nations,” said Habib El Malki.

“The foreign policy of the Russian Federation is focused on the future. This confirms the interest in the African continent, we believe in a well-balanced and peaceful future,” stressed the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Ethiopia has been one of Russia’s key partners in Africa for more than 120 years. “Russia and Ethiopia have a long-standing relationship. We are very grateful for the assistance that Russia traditionally provides to Ethiopia,” the Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Tagesse Chaffo, said.

“We are united not only by political and diplomatic relations, but also by cultural ties. We are united by our common past – the great poet Alexander Pushkin. I always cross Pushkin Square on my way to work,” Tagesse Chaffo added in remarks with the Vyacheslav Volodin.

Zambia hopes that the conference on Russia – Africa will help Russia to develop relations with the entire African continent. The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zambia, Patrick Matibini, also stressed efforts in developing inter-parliamentary relations, and noted in general, as very influential and really promising.

Volodin and Matibini discussed the intensification of bilateral cooperation between Russia and Zambia, in particular, in areas of education, medicine, technology and agriculture.

Volodin expressed hope that the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zambia would visit Russia more often, “and this will be an impetus to the development of our bilateral relations, we have a great potential for developing relations, it is necessary plan joint development projects and useful programs and to implement them for mutual benefit.”

President of the National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo, Isidore Mvouba, during the meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the International Forum “Development of Parliamentarism” was truly successful.

Isidore Mvouba recalled that the President of the Republic of Congo gave a speech at a plenary meeting of the State Duma in May. “He spoke of the need to develop a multipolar world, because we now live in a world where there are many dangers,” said the President of the National Assembly of the Congo.

Speaker of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament of Somalia, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, said that many countries of the world produce weapons of mass destruction, and as a result, tension is consistently growing, but we believe that we can change the world and prevent war, redirect money and increase food production in order to keep our planet alive.

“I believe that there is the power of cooperation, the power of creation of regional or wider continental blocks. This will lead to a

new future, where there will be peace, as well as welfare, and we will fight poverty,” said the Speaker of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament of Somalia.

Faustin Boukoubi, Chairman of the National Assembly of the Gabonese Republic, noted that parliaments have enjoyed legitimacy because the deputies are people’s elected representatives, and it is important to preserve this legitimacy. It is important to take into account the interests of the people, “it is necessary that the population understands that their opinion is taken into account at the national level,” said Faustin Boukoubi.

“At the international level, the situation is almost the same,” he said. Intergovernmental organizations are not controlled by the population, “therefore, of course, we must strengthen the role of parliamentarians in such a way that decisions are made more reasonably,” said Faustin Boukoubi.

He also spoke in favor of preserving the sovereignty of each individual country, including in the era of digitalization.

On her part, Margaret Mensah-Williams, Chairwoman of the National Council of Namibia, called for work to harmonize and bring together the laws of various countries.

“We need to harmonize our laws. We may have different approaches, but we have more in common than differences. We have reason to learn the best practices from each other,” she said, and further called for the introduction of uniform trade rules for all countries and for avoiding the policy of trade barriers.

Mensah-Williams thanked President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities, stressing further that “Russia has always provided assistance to Namibia in the struggle for the independence.”

Namibia and Russia continue to maintain great bilateral relations, said the Chairwoman of the National Council, highlighting the technical assistance from Russia, as well as the fact that there are a huge number of doctors in their country who studied during the Soviet time and now in the Russian Federation.

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Egypt, Ali Abdel Aal Sayyed Ahmed, noted that the forum was being held at the time when economic, political and cultural conflicts are taking place in the world. “Parliaments, as representatives of nations, play a very important role in countering these conflicts and are at the forefront of combating these challenges,” he said and stressed that it is necessary to find solutions together to overcome these problems.

The development of parliamentarism can play an effective role in this, he said, and further explained that parliamentary platform is an important mechanism that can contribute to further in-depth discussion of the issues facing the whole world. He also urged to discuss the role of young people as the “main nerve of society” in the development of parliamentarism.

Aal Sayyed Ahmed unreservedly appreciated efforts made by the State Duma “for bringing participants together for a common purpose of deliberating on the widest range of topical issues, such as global security, global sustainable development, the fight against poverty and environmental problems. This is exactly what people need.”

Kestér Kenn Klomegâh is an Int’l Affairs Analyst.

African parents and their disposition towards mental health

By Abigael Adewale-King

Just as you can help prevent a child from falling sick, you can help prevent a child from having mental health problems.” “Mental fitness includes our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. It helps to establish how we cope with stress and adversity, handle success, connect to others and make choices.”

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?: Mental health can be defined as a state of psychological and emotional well-being. It includes how we think, feel, and behave, and encompasses all aspects of our life, from our relationships with others to our ability to cope with stress and challenges. Good mental health allows us to function well in our daily lives, while poor mental health can lead to difficulties in managing our emotions, behaviors, and relationships. Mental health problems can range from mild disorders like anxiety and depression to more severe conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It’s important to take care of our mental health as it’s an essential part of our overall well-being.

WHAT DO AFRICAN PARENTS THINK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH? Most Africans view mental disturbances as the result of an external attack on the person. Those who are suffering from mental illness are thought to be under a spell or bewitched. People talk about evil spirits when describing the condition of a mentally ill person.

In some African societies, mental illness is not always understood, and traditional beliefs may hold that it is caused by supernatural or spiritual forces. Consequently, some African parents may stigmatize mental illness and believe that it is a sign of weakness, lack of faith, or moral failing. They may feel ashamed or embarrassed to share their experiences with others or seek professional help. It is crucial to emphasize that mental health is an essential component of overall health and wellbeing, and addressing any challenges related to

mental health requires open communication, empathy, and support.

Parents fail to pay attention to the constant changes and signs of depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and phobias in their children. They’ve completely shut mental health out and only pay attention to physical well being, forgetting that when a person is not okay upstairs, it is difficult for them to function in their day to day life or even feel motivated at all.

An example of a very popularly overlooked mental illness is depression and anxiety. African parents will rather call you lazy and spoilt than try to find out why their child has been isolating themselves, eating less, talking less, losing weight, feeling unmotivated, feeling suicidal, e.t.c.

The first thing that comes out of an African parent’s mouth after you mention depression to them is “may God not let you see depression” or “let’s go to church.” To them, depression is a myth! It doesn’t exist. They fail to pay attention to the dangers of undiagnosed and uncured mental illnesses, unhealthy coping mechanisms, the dangers they pose to that child as a human being. So many children have refused to speak up about trauma, or mental illnesses because they are almost sure of the ignorant reply they would get. Some children have had to seek therapy on their own and resort to sharing their problems with strangers who are willing the help them professionally without the assistance or involvement of their parent, and that is already bad enough.

According to statistics, Around 11 people per 100,000 per year die by suicide in the African region, higher than the global average of nine per 100 000 people. This, I reckon is as a result of the lack of interest in mental health and well-being. It is really saddening to see how many youths we lose yearly to undiagnosed mental illnesses or improperly managed conditions which could have been avoided if their parents payed more attention or devices a calmer approach. It

shouldn’t be so.

Owolabi, a Resident Doctor at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). According to him, mental health of a child is as important as physical health, as it determines how a child behaves and acts throughout the journey of life.

“Just as you can help prevent a child from falling sick, you can help prevent a child from having mental health problems.” “Mental fitness includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It helps to establish how we cope with stress and adversity, handle success, connect to others and make choices.”

“Right from childhood, through adolescence and throughout adulthood, mental health is crucial,’’ he said.”

According to him, promoting a child’s mental health means helping a child feel secured, loved, to relate well with others and foster his growth at home and at school.

As parents, you have the responsibility to build the foundation of our children’s mental health to ensure they become mentally-healthy adults.

In conclusion, Of course the child might not have been born with an existing mental illness, but they might have developed along the line, children might have experienced certain trauma that they might not yet feel comfortable sharing, or there was a fault in their upbringing; probably they had emotionally unavailable parents, narcissistic parents, or their emotions were always overlooked whilst growing up. But as a parent, it is your duty to stand up and show care and concern, do whatever it takes to make sure your ward is physically and mentally sound.

Abigael Adewale-King writes in from Lagos state university.

Tinubu, 2023 election, ethnic politics and xenophobia

By Gozie Irogboli

The Yoruba man does not believe in sharing power; he believes in politics of exclusion and winner-takes-all. The Yoruba man is in unrepentantly clannish and culture-trapped. His loyalty is to the Yoruba Empire and the Yoruba culture and whoever is the custodian of it. The charade that is the Nigeria 2023 general election has come and gone but the unsavory effects will linger for a very long time and may alter irretrievably the conduct of future elections in Nigeria. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the people of Lagos took electoral malfeasance and violence to egregious level with the deployment of hooligans to disenfranchise voters. There were gory tales of arson, bloodletting and mayhem unleashed on the hapless citizens who heeded the patriotic call to perform their civic duties. It is worrisome and heartrending that during the March 18 Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections, hell was let loose as the area-boys and the motor park touts known as agberos in Lagos were mobilized and armed to attack Ndigbo to prevent them from exercising their franchise under the full glare of security officers in a country they call their own without any official reprimand and INEC went ahead to announce the said election result despite the widely reported cases of voters’ suppression.

Prior to the election, Nigerians saw, read and heard of the numerous incidences of attack on the Igbo people in Lagos; first from the area boys who harassed the Igbo who trooped out for their PVCs which was interpreted to mean a move against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who had emerged as the APC presidential candidate. Tinubu’s daughter, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo who was appointed by Tinubu as the Mamaloja of the Lagos markets took it upon herself to harass traders, closing different markets indiscriminately, coercing the traders to contribute and participate in Tinubu’s campaign rallies against their will. Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi was caught on tape insulting the Igbo calling them ingrates and Tinubu’s allies and stooges took turns to denigrate the Igbo all in a bid to intimidate and blackmail them to vote Tinubu. After the presidential election, hell was let loose again as Ndigbo were attacked in different parts of Lagos, markets were burnt down, goods and markets stalls destroyed, shops looted and property of Ndigbo worth billions of Naira at Ikate, Oshodi, Olodi Apapa and many other places destroyed without compensation. It was reported that in some locations, the Baale and the community heads spearheaded and supervised the attack on Ndigbo. The notorious leader of Lagos Motor Park touts, Musiliu Akinsanya alias M. C. Oluomo issued an open threat warning Ndigbo in Lagos not to come out to vote on the day of election except they are coming out to vote the APC.

From the onset, Tinubu left no one in doubt as to what his intention was, going into the election. He declared that it is his turn to rule and that he was prepared to fight dirty to make it happen and anyone that thinks otherwise should shut up. He was caught on tape instructing his people

thusly: “power is not served a la carte; fight for it at all costs, snatch it, grab it and run with it.” And shortly before the election Tinubu stoked the fire of xenophobia when he accused the Igbo this way: “these are people who left their villages, came into Lagos from childhood, 12 years of age. We accommodated and took care of them. Now they want to bite the fingers that fed them…” Does it therefore surprise anyone that there was no official statement from Tinubu’s camp condemning the xenophobic attack on the Igbo in Lagos during the election? Those who spoke notably Bayo Onanuga one of the Tinubu’s henchmen justified the actions, regaled in their pyrrhic victory, celebrated the criminality and failure of democracy and the triumph of hooliganism and brigandage in Lagos without any official reprimand. Yet, these are people that claimed to have fought for democracy; those who claim to be progressives and prodemocrats. Tufia kwa!

The ugly phenomenon of vote suppression started in Lagos when Tinubu was voted in as the governor of Lagos State in 1999 and ever since he has perfected and adopted the unorthodox method of using hoodlums to intimidate voters in areas considered the stronghold of his political opponents. This ugly criminal trend has continued unabatedly. Aside from the high incidences of extortion and exploitation, the experiences of Ndigbo in Lagos have been unbearably burdensome and asphyxiating since the Tinubu’s era began in 1999. In 2013, Governor Raji Fashola Tinubu’s protégé and successor authorized the arrest of some Igbo people in Lagos, kept them in sub-human conditions that claimed the lives of some of the victims and then dump them under the Upper Iweka Bridge in the wee hours of the morning in Onitsha Anambra State ostensibly in a bid to decongest Lagos. The victims were never compensated. They only received half-hearted apology from the erring governor. But some Yoruba as is characteristic of them to show blind solidarity tried to justify this heinous crime. In particular, Femi Fani-Kayode wrote a fallacious, ridiculous and ad nauseam essay attacking the Igbo in his futile bid to justify this illegality and a breach of the constitution. Also the Oba of Lagos contributed to the xenophobic tension when he declared in 2015 that Ndigbo would be drowned in the Lagos Lagoon if they failed to vote his preferred candidate in the 2015 gubernatorial election. And the xenophobic tension has been brewing unchecked reaching a crescendo in the just concluded gubernatorial election.

Clearly, all these are because of the skewed, adverse and ruinous political philosophy prevalent in the Yoruba Southwest Nigeria. The Yoruba man may pretend to be a progressive, a pro-democrat, a patriot, a nationalist or even a human rights activist but in reality he is not. When S. G. Ikoku of blessed memory said that the Yoruba man cannot rise above regional politics, he was speaking from a vantage position having worked closely with the Yoruba in his Action Group days. From Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, we learnt that politics to the Yoruba man is a do-or-die affair. And to Tinubu it is war that you have to win at all costs, fighting dirty,

Recurring fire outbreaks in our markets

By Abdu Abdullahi

The hazard of the past was that infernos had already erupted and decimated the brightness of the future. The echoing of the disasters that devastates the human heart is not a closed discussion, as the victims keep counting their losses with a broken heart so that all stakeholders must response to the call of a fire free market.

The sad and horrible occurrences alarmingly protruded several times. Like the volcanic eruptions, they left behind colossal damages affecting goods and properties. The victims were always rendered hopeless and miserable. Their future darkened and obstructed on a very large scale. Eventually, they tried to begin a new living, with a very minor set of optimism.

Indeed, incessant fire outbreaks in our markets have become a natural disaster that has consumed huge losses across the country. Only recently, the popular Singer Market in Kano was again razed down by ravaging fire, resulting in millions of naira loss, re-enacting the blazing flames of mass destructions. What efforts are we exerting to curb these recurrent devastations? Are we seeing fire as a disaster that is curable or incurable?

Between November 2020 and August 2021, over 50 fire outbreaks were recorded in different markets in Nigeria. One can imagine the enormous loss in terms of goods and properties and how this negatively impacted on the economy. In two years alone, market fire losses amounted to 41.54 billion naira across the country. This havoc was rising at a time when the country’s economic fortunes were dwindling.

A breakdown of the scenes of market flames reveals a very pathetic scenario. In Lagos alone, the famous Balogun Market recorded the incident of fire outbreak every year from 2015 to 2021. It persisted and became a domineering disaster phenomenon. In 2016, a fire that engulfed the Sabon Gari Market in Kano lasted for 12 hours, destroying over 4,000 shops, amounting to two trillion naira. The cause of the Inferno was attributed to an electrical fault. The victims were left to their fate and lived counting their humongous losses.

At the renowned Wadata Market in Markudi in 2019, goods valued at over one billion naira were destroyed, consuming 600 lockup shops. Also, in 2021, no fewer than six markets were gutted by

massive fire in Abuja.

It was a bad signal that even the nation’s capital could not be saved from the damages done by fire outbreaks in our markets.

The scenes of fire outbreaks in markets are horrific and sympathetic. The poor and devastated victims are sighted wearing a gloomy face that expresses deep shocks, sorrows and despairs. Their deplorable conditions are a strong manifestation of breaking away from a delightful past to an unhappy present. Their eyes speak the language of a great fear of the future. They are forced to carry the burden of their tremendous losses on their shoulders and rebuild another hope entirely. The reconstruction of another optimism, however, takes a great deal of mild pleasure in gigantic sadness.

Rebuilding this hope is magnificiently tasking in inspiration and painstaking in actualisation. The codes of this optimism cannot be quantified in terms of the danger of thinking of the future. The hazard of the past was that infernos had already erupted and decimated the brightness of the future. The echoing of the disasters that devastates the human heart is not a closed discussion, as the victims keep counting their losses with a broken heart so that all stakeholders must response to the call of a fire free market.

That most recorded fire outbreaks occured in the night unravels the secret of this natural doom. That the still night instigates and facilitates major infernos in our markets compels us to use power of ideas to conquer the power of fire. While the night is more governed by possibility of fire than the daytime, it is to our dismay that little preventable measures are strategized and executed. Whether in the night or day, fire outbreaks don’t just happen, they are caused by notably human factors and the same human factors can be harnessed to stop the rampage of burning fire. In other words, if fire possesses and controls destructions, we can possess the causes of fire and control them to save our markets of this lingering horror. The wanton and terrifying expression of fire is the mass destructions incurred and our only counter expression is to put fire occurrence under strict vigilance and secure our markets.

How these ugly incidences keep resurging showcases a firm laxity on the part of all stakeholders to take proactive measures to halt the growing danger. We have lived not to the expectations of averting the phenomenon of fire disasters in our markets. We have failed to ensure and enhance a fire free market environment, a prolific and active

using unorthodox method. Politics is a zero-sum game to the Yoruba man; a game of bitterness and rancor. It is about blind solidarity. Seyi Makinde and Ayo Fayose abandoned the party that made them because of the emergence of Tinubu and so did other PDP members in the Yoruba Southwest who worked underground for Tinubu.

The Yoruba man believes in micro-nationalism; his loyalty is first to Yoruba nation before anything. And he makes no secret about this tribal instinct that tends to make him show blind solidarity and most times becloud his sense of justice. To the Yoruba man a government is good if he is part of it otherwise it bad. I have said it openly that the Yoruba man is not significantly different from those he malign in the press. In fact politically, he is worse than any other Nigerian group in the country. The only different is that Nigerians have not told them the truth about who they really are. That is why they can grandstand on some national issues to distract the gullible public. Undoubtedly, the Yoruba man biggest tool has been the press and now that he is losing dominance in the media due to the emergence of the new media platforms, he has resorted to violence.

The Yoruba man does not believe in sharing power; he believes in politics of exclusion and winner-takes-all. The Yoruba man is in unrepentantly clannish and culture-trapped. His loyalty is to the Yoruba Empire and the Yoruba culture and whoever is the custodian of it. But over the years, the Yoruba in his bid to belie his true intention has pretended to be what he is not while he tries to obfuscate others through ethnic profiling using the negative Yoruba Press. The Yoruba man will nitpick, vilify and demonize others and but in truth, he is worse than those that he denigrates.

Thus, the worst mistake and the worst disservice Buhari and his people give to this country that is already battered and factionalized along ethnic and religious line is to subvert the will of the people and hand over power to an ethnic demagogue like Tinubu. Tinubu said it before that he does not believe in one Nigeria and he has not refuted that assertion. Nigerian has seen a foretaste of what Tinubu presidency will look like. Make no mistake about it, what is happening in Lagos will be replicated everywhere in the country if we are unfortunate to have Tinubu as president. Nigeria will see the metempsychosis of a full blown dictator in Tinubu if the electoral fraud of February 25, 2023 is not corrected. Tinubu is a desperate ethnic jingoist and a war monger. And it is extremely dangerous to have somebody like that in power at the national level. Tinubu might move the capital or key federal agencies back to Lagos in order to maintain his stranglehold on the nation. He and his cohorts will claim as they have always done spuriously that Abuja is built with revenue from Lagos. And it is delusional for anyone to think that given Tinubu’s background and antecedents that he can effectively manage a multicultural entity like Nigeria.

Gozie Irogboli, an economist, a novelist and a public policy analyst can be reached at (goziei@yahoo.com)

catalyst for Gross Domestic Product process.

When natural disasters are preventable or can be reduced to the barest minimum, our rapid economic development is rest assured. If we are not prepared for the next fire disasters by averting their reoccurrences, saving lives and properties, then we will end up playing with fire. Markets are institutions where the knowledge of buying and selling goods and services promotes national cohesion as Nigerians from all walks of life unite for a purpose such as in survival.

Authorities should liaise with relevant agencies, departments and groups to focus on remote causes of market infernos. An emergency declaration must be pronounced to save our markets from becoming the theater of destructions of goods. We ought to avert the sustainance and endurance of flames in our markets to boost our economy. Our markets should not be made to look very cheap to fire, easy to fire and common to flames as we have persistently witnessed.

The vulnerability of market fire incidence must be addressed by developing relevant working values, instruments, instructions that can check the menace of fire outbreaks. The trader’s future is a great asset which can only be guaranteed by having a secured business environment, contributing to the national economic growth. The economic power of the trader can no longer be the uncertainty of the safety of his or her commodities. The business risk should not be allowed to escalate through consistent market flames.

A task force for everting fire outbreaks should be constituted for each major market. It should be the creation of a strong law comprising of experts drawn from different disciplines which are related to dangers posed by market environment. It should be fully funded, empowered to enforce local edicts that regulate collective behavior to cultivate cardinal principles for effective market management. We should arm ourselves with the artelery of prevention to manage fire disasters in our markets. It is no longer a disaster when market fire is reoccurring, but it is a real disaster to lack the collaborative will to end market infernos. For the authorities in particular, markets are not just an avenue for revenue generation, but are also a place to guarantee safety by unfolding and executing the appropriate measures.

We must find safety for our markets so that markets can provide safety against fire outbreaks. Markets are not meant to be consumed by infernos, but are meant to serve the forces of supplies and demands.

Abdu Abdullahi is a Public Policy Analyst.

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has emphasised the need to invest in effective data and statistical systems on the continent.

ECA’s Director of the Africa Center for Statistics (ACS), Oliver Chinganya, made the declaration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.

Chinganya was speaking with the ECA’s communication team on the sidelines of the 55th session of the ECA.

He quoted current research as saying that Africa was set to miss most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if adequate action was not taken.

“Data is a public good, the new oil, the gold that Africa must invest in to support its development

“The mission of the Africa Centre for Statistics is to enable national statistical systems in Africa to

More investment in data, statistics needed in Africa – Expert

produce high-quality statistics, data and geospatial information.

“To inform sound and evidence decision-making in support of sustainable development, regional and national priorities.

“We need to invest in data and statistics to support Africa’s industrialisation agenda,” Chinganya said.

The director gave more insights into the role of data and statistical systems in the development of Africa, particularly in the achievement of SDGs.

According to him, data is the collection of information put into numbers. When you manipulate those numbers and create averages, they turn into statistics.

He described statistics as an “aggregation of a collection of numbers” and value-added data which could be interpreted for some use.

Chinganya said the state of data and statistics on the continent had improved compared to over 20 years ago when data was poor and nearly non-existent in some cases.

He noted that much more could be done to make data available, but overall, many countries were progressing well.

Chinganya, who said many countries were yet to conduct the 2020 census, explained that if not conducted, reporting of the SDGs and other development frameworks, including the national development plans, would be altered.

“A census is the count of all people residing within a territory. The purpose of that is to help countries plan for the people in that particular

territory.

“Some countries have not prioritised this. To date, 21 countries in Africa have not conducted their censuses, and most of them are unlikely to complete them before 2024,” he said.

Chinganya said for AfCTA to drive the transformational agenda on the continent, we must understand what each country was producing or trading in terms of items, volumes and comparative advantages.

“And for that to be possible, you need data,” he said. (NAN)

Free, fair election is collective responsibility —LANW

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) has said the task of accomplishing a free and fair election is a collective duty shared by the government, voters, observers, electoral bodies and all stakeholders.

The Acting Executive Director, LANW, Mrs. Hannatu Ahuwan, asserted this while presenting the Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly Elections observation report to the media in Kaduna yesterday.

According to her, the conduct of the electoral process as observed by LANW went smoothly with less hitches and irregularities and every stakeholder played their part in a manner that is commendable.

She added that this demonstrates a collective expression of interest in the protection and promotion of common democratic values by citizens and other stakeholders to ensure a peaceful, free and fair electoral process.

Mrs Hannatu Ahuwan, explained that LANW with support from Christian Aid is implementing the Improving Inclusive Participatory Governance Systems Project aimed at improving citizens’ participation in governance processes.

“As part of the activities towards encouraging civic responsibility and ensuring a transparent electoral process, LANW trained and supported election observers in 86 polling units across all wards in Jaba, Jema’a, Kaura and Zangon Kataf LGAs to observe the 2023 Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections that took place on March 18th, 2023’

The LANW Acting Executive Director, stressed that In the future, consider conducting all the elections in one day as against the current practice.

“ This is cost effective, will

reduce the untold hardship endured by voters during elections and also address the issue of low voter turnout for the Gubernatorial/State House of Assembly elections.

“To reduce the high number of invalid votes recorded in both elections, INEC, other government agencies responsible for voter education and the civil society, need to improve on

the sensitization drive towards educating the citizenry on how to vote rigging “ INEC and law enforcement agencies need to look into containing vote buying and voter

suppression at polling units by party agents.

“We look forward to improved performance in future elections, especially from the electoral bodies, especially INEC.”

Aviation minister to hold 10th stakeholders forum in Abuja

By Albert Akota

The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, says he will host an aviation stakeholders forum on Thursday, March 23, in Abuja.

This is contained in a statement yesterday by Mr James Odaudu, the Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Affairs.

Sirika said the move was in continuation of the established tradition of regular interactions with major players in the aviation industry in Nigeria since the inception of Muhammadu Buhari’s

administration.

“The idea of the regular meetings has been to ensure that all industry stakeholders are carried along, and make inputs in the development and implementation of programmes and policies for the success of the industry.

“This Ftakeholders’ Forum, the 10th of its kind, is therefore, an Interactive Session conceived to bring together all relevant industry players to brainstorm on the policies and programmes,” he said.

He said efforts had and would continue to move the nation’s

aviation industry forward and set it as one of the bests in the global aviation community.

He further said the forum would assist the Federal Ministry of Aviation and all its agencies to have direct contact with the very important stakeholders in and outside the industry.

He said the forum, which would be declared open by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, would bring together all relevant industry players within and outside the industry.

“These include: the Ministers of Finance, Budget and

National Planning, Labour and Employment, Health, Agriculture, Transportation and Environment.

“Also expected at the forum, aside the regular aviation sector players, are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation.

“Chairman, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Director-General, Budget Office, Presidential Committee on Salaries, and CEOs of Media Establishments are also expected,” he said.

L-R...Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Mr David Anyaele, Co-Conviner Situation room, Mr James Ugochukwu and Conviner Situation room Ms Ene Obi during the Second Statement on Gubernatorial and State Assembly Election in Abuja . Photo:. Justin Imo-owo

NNPP FCT senatorial candidate, Tijjani congratulates governor-elect, Abba Yusuf

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senatorial Candidate, Mubarak Ahmad Tijjanni has congratulated the party’s Kano State governorship candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf on his remarkable victory in the March 18, 2023 election.

He said it is sweet music in the ears of all lovers of democratic governance and the beginning of a new Nigeria.

The good people of Kano State have demonstrated that they want a better, greater and prosperous Nigeria by the mandate given to him in the gubernatorial election, adding that expectations are high for improved standards of living and progressive governance, which he said the governor elect is competent to provide in accordance with the party’s manifesto.

According to him, “I highly commend the party’s National Leader and Presidential Candidate, Senator (Engr.) Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for his exemplary leadership which motivated members and candidates to campaign vigorously for a new Nigeria. We are encouraged by his political profundity and acuity, and will build on it to make Nigeria a better society.

“Kano State has paved the way for more victories in States and constituencies across the nation where NNPP was shortchanged in the results declared and where the party’s logo was missing or a different logo superimposed in the ballot papers which confused voters.

“I am already at the FCT National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal to seek redress over the grossly manipulated FCT senatorial poll and called for its cancellation as it was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, and demand that a fresh election be conducted for all the political parties that participated in the massively flawed February 25, 2023 poll.

“I urge all NNPP members and supporters to remain dedicated, committed and hopeful as the party seeks to reclaim its stolen mandates.

“The journey to build a strong, virile, progressive, prosperous and equitable Nigeria has commenced with NNPP’s resounding victory in Kano State. Join us to make Nigeria great again.”

LP’s Alex Otti wins Abia gov election

By Christiana Ekpa

The Labour Party candidate, Alex Otti, has been declared the winner of the Abia State governorship election following the eventual declaration, on Wednesday, of the results of the controversial Obingwa Local Government

Area results.

With the conclusion of the collation of the outstanding results of the election, the Peoples Democratic Party scored 9,962 votes and while the Labour Party, 3,776 votes in the LGA. Consequently, the LP has won in 10 LGAs, the PDP in six LGAs, and the Young Peoples

Party in one LGA.

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Abia State, Chief Alex Otti, was, consequently declared the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Abia State.

Otti polled a total of 172,386 to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the PDP who scored

88,174.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Nnenna Oti, declared the LP candidate the winner at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Umuahia, the state capital, Wednesday afternoon after completing the suspended collation of results.

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) has said Governor Chukwuma Soludo did not interfere with the conduct of the March 18th House of Assembly Elections in the state.

ASATU national president, Barr. Titus Nnabuike Akpudo, who spoke in Awka, said the governor never bothered in any way to interfere with the process.

He said Governor Soludo allowed Ndi-Anambra the latitude to go out and exercise their franchise without fear and intimidation. He said the governor believes that the will of God will always prevail in all activities.

Akpudo noted that judging from the results released, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) retained 16 seats. Labour party according to him got 7 seats, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had 4 seats while the Young Progressives Party (YPP) clinched 3 seats in the incoming legislature, stressing that the entire process was peaceful and commendable, with an outcome of a balanced equation.

He said Soludo had stated severally that he is ready to work with anybody and everybody because it is the same road that everyone uses; the same taxes that citizens pay and that the issue of party affiliation or attachment will not stop him from developing the entire state.

The ASATU national president who expressed hope that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will continue to improve on the nation’s electoral process, pointed out that there were some hiccups during the House of Assembly elections ranging from failure in voter identification and a host of other technical hitches.

Akpudo, on behalf of ASATU, congratulated the legislatorselect on their victory, saying that it is only God that made them emerge victorious.

He said the issue is no longer who voted for them or who voted against them but their primary concerns should be to spread constituency projects equitably as these may serve as yardsticks for re-election.

He therefore charged members of the incoming legislature to make laws that will benefit and prosper the state, adding that when the state assembly is peaceful, then the entire state will be peaceful. He said the 8th legislature should endeavour to work as a team with the governor because if they don’t see eyeball to eyeball on issues of development, Anambra state will not prosper, stressing that the duty of the legislators is to make sure that the state prospers.

The ASATU national president maintained that rather than frustrate the efforts of the executive arm, members of the incoming legislature should be partners in progress in the Anambra project.

TOUR OF THE PRESIDENTIAL WING- NEW STATE HOUSE MEDICAL CENTRE The SGF Boss Mustapha with Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of State Finance and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, State House Permanent Secretary Alh Tijjani Umar and State House Director of Maintenance, Builder Mr Joshua Apagu during tour of the Presidential Wing of the New State House Medical Centre due for Commissioning by President Buhari. PHOTO; State House

Soludo didn’t interfere with House of Assembly elections - ASATU

I’m the most experienced – Barau Jibrin declares senate presidency ambition

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Barau Jibrin, Wednesday declared his ambition to contest for the position of the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.

IPAC commends INEC, voters for peaceful polls in Yobe

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and voters in Yobe State for the peaceful conduct of the general elections.

The council’s chairman in Yobe State, Comrade Bala Muhammad gave the commendation while speaking to newsmen in Damaturu on the general conduct of the national exercise.

According to IPAC, the conduct of all candidates and their supporters were very peaceful throughout the electioneering exercise in the state, with the security operatives carrying out their duties professionally.

“The Council commends the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for substantially adhering to the provisions of the law in conducting both the presidential and National Assembly elections, as well as the governorship and state assembly elections here in Yobe state,” he said.

He added that, it has become evident that the above factors gave INEC the support to organise free, fair, transparent and incontestable elections in every part of the state.

“There were no reports of intimidation, vote buying or any act inimical to the Electoral Act throughout the state. Yobe State is, therefore, a role model of clean elections in Nigeria,” the Council added.

As representatives of all political parties under the aegis of IPAC, Comrade Muhammad endorsed and approved the elections conducted in Yobe State.

Barau, representing Kano Central Senatorial District, promised to kick start his campaign in the coming weeks officially.

Speaking with journalists at the National Assembly, the senator stated that he is the most ranking and experienced among

those contesting the position with him.

He said: ”I intend to seek to be the President of the 10th Senate. I will formally declare and start my campaign in the next few days. The legislature is a distinct arm of government that doesn’t work based on sentiments but works

on your ability to get the job done.

“Remember that David Mark was a Christian, Ike Ekweremadu, his Deputy was a Christian, and Patricia Etteh, the Speaker was a Christian because they were the most ranking, experienced and that is the tradition, so do we relegate competence to other

sentiments.

“It is clear in the Senate Standing Rule that election for the Office of the Senate President shall be in accordance with most experience and ranking. And among those seeking to occupy that office, I have the highest ranking and experience.”

Presidential election: No healing without justice – Rhodes-Vivour tells Tinubu

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Gbadebo

Rhodes-Vivour has decried the violence unleashed by supporters of the Progressives Congress (APC) during the March 18 election.

Rhodes-Vivour noted that the actions of leaders of the ruling party could lead to genocide like what happened in Rwanda in 1994.

In a statement on Wednesday, Rhodes-Vivour said he visited the victims of Saturday’s “statebacked terrorism and violence

from Abule Ado to Surulere, Apapa to Ikeja.”

He disclosed he met with young men and women in pain due to bullets lodged in their body or deep cuts which have fractured their legs.

In response to the call by President-elect Bola Tinubu for healing, Rhodes-Vivour stressed that “healing cannot happen without justice.”

He accused the APC of unleashing “evil on Lagosians, with their fetish rites and curses during the day, and physical violence, yet want the peace of a graveyard.”

The Labour Party candidate

condemned the state of “agberocracy” where the government wants a one-party state and the disenfranchisement of a section of citizens.

Rhodes-Vivour accused the APC of stoking ethnic strife “for the ambition of one man and his cult,” and rubbished the credibility the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, built over the years.

“We saw our traditional institutions reduced to pawns, tools. Oro rites that are done at night were done during the day, invoking the spell that Senator Tinubu and his cult have used to keep Lagos bound.

“This was no election, it was violence on multiple levels, diabolically and physically. On this ambition, they sowed seeds that could potentially lead to outcome like the Rwandan genocide,” the statement added.

INEC declared Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu the winner of the contest after polling 762, 134 votes beating VivourRhodes who scored 312, 329 votes.

On Tuesday, Labour Party chairman in Lagos, Dayo Ekong announced the readiness of the party to challenge Sanwo-Olu’s re-election, saying the victory was temporary.

L-R: Director of Programme, Connected Development(CODE), Lucy Agbaji; chief Executive, CODE, Hamza Lawal and Head, Media / Publicity CODE, Seun Durojaiye, at a Media briefing on the outcome of Gubernatorial and State Assembly election in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Gov Umahi urges Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar to withdraw suits at tribunal

By Musa Baba Adamu

Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, on Wednesday urged the presidential candidates of Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party, respectively Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to accept defeat and withdraw their election petitions from the court.

He urged them to put forward the interest and unity of Nigeria and allow the Presidentelect, Bola Tinubu, to take over governance from President Muhammadu Buhari and move the nation forward.

He said: “I plead with Nigerians especially those who contested with them, our dear brother Peter Obi and the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, to embrace the pact of peace, and accept victory because nothing can be except God says so. Victory of Shetima and Asiwaju came from God and since they believe in God, they should, please, join hands with Asiwaju to rebuild the nation, Nigeria, and reunite our people.

“Let us not waste time in litigation. The work at hand is so much and it is time for the leaders of this country to come together and give back to the society, the children and the unborn children a future.”

Umahi also declared interest in contesting for the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly as he addressed newsmen at the new Government House, Centenary City, Abakaliki.

He said: “Let me also plead and request the leadership of APC and the President and Vice President-elect to please for the sake of equity, justice, and fairness, zone the Senate Presidency to South East and the Speaker for the House of Representatives to the North West. This is for inclusiveness, and this will assure Nigerians that we are on the path for a total reunion.

“I’m asking the Senate, National Assembly to set aside the rules so that we can get the best for the leadership of the Assembly.”

Urging the APC family to zone the Senate Presidency to the Southeast, Umahi said “I’m indicating interest.”

2023 elections show Ayu is politically irrelevant, I won’t leave PDP – Wike

By Musa Baba Adamu

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has described the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as irrelevant to the party.

Wike said the outcome of the 2023 general election indicated that Ayu has brought no political value to the party.

Speaking during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the governor vowed never to leave PDP for Ayu and his allies.

He noted that Ayu lost his polling unit, his ward and senatorial district in Benue State.

Wike noted that he ensured that PDP won all Senatorial districts in Rivers State.

According to Wike: “Rivers is PDP. The governorship and

national assembly members are PDP. Ayu lost his polling unit. I won three senatorial seats, 32 house of Assembly seats. He didn’t get anything.

“Babangida Aliyu did not win. So who is the betrayer? We won to make sure PDP exist. Of what relevance is he as national chairman? He couldn’t deliver his polling unit.

“Mention one state that PDP

did what Rivers State did, who loves PDP more? I am saying the NWC must do the right thing. I cannot leave this party. Ayu left and came back.”

Wike has been against Ayu occupying the seat of the PDP National Chairman.

The governor had called for Ayu’s removal following the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential candidate.

Abia: Gov Ikpeazu congratulates Alex Otti, makes promise

By Musa Baba Adamu

Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu has congratulated the Labor Party candidate, Alex Otti, for winning the governorship election in the state.

Ikpeazu in a statement issued and signed by his Chief press Secretary, said Otti has fought a long battle and deserves commendation for his staying power and resilience.

He said, “Since we have

come to the logical end of this battle, it is appropriate to congratulate the winner, Dr Alex Otti on his hard fought victory. In every battle, there will always be a winner and in the spirit of sportsmanship and love for our state, the Governor elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State”.

The governor also commended the PDP candidate, Okey Ahiwe, for

their doggedness and advised other candidates not to distract the Governor-elect with court cases.

”Let us break this negative trend of subjecting our Governors to endless litigation and allow them to concentrate on providing good governance”.

Ikpeazu also assured Alex Otti that he will put in place every necessary measure to ensure a seamless transition from his administration to his.

He, therefore, thanked the people of Abia State for voting in a very peaceful atmosphere and reminded them that peace remains very critical in the quest for sustainable development.

Ikpeazu, however, wished Alex Otti God’s blessings and guidance and assured the people of the State that he will continue to discharge his duties until he hands over to the Governor-elect on the 29th day of May, 2023.

NYSC officials with the beneficiaries of the NYSC Heàlth Initiative for Rural Dwellers, during the flag- off ceremony of the 2023 edition of the Initiative, yesterday at the Malaysia Garden Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Community, held yesterday in Apo, Abuja. Photo: NYSC

Nigeria now leading rice producer in Africa –Foundation

Syngenta Foundation For Sustainable Agriculture, SFSA, an Abuja-based NGO, says Nigeria is the leading rice producer in Africa with 70 per cent growth in production in the last decade.

Isaiah Gabriel, Country Programme Manager of SFSA, said this in an interview with the News in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Gabriel said the growth was largely due to increased demand for rice and government support for production.

He said the country had been a net importer of rice mainly due to insufficient production across the value chain, and lack of large-scale value addition.

“Milled rice production was an estimated five million metric tonnes in 2022, with a 10 per cent projected production increase by 2025.

“In the past decade, rice consumption increased by 4.7 per cent in the country, almost four times the global consumption growth.

“Due to the war in Ukraine, rice demand and consumption is expected to rise even more worldwide,” he said.

NAN reports that Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture is a non-profit organisation that focuses on supporting the productivity of small-scale farmers in developing countries around the world.

Its mission is to create value for resource-poor small farmers in developing countries, through innovation in sustainable agriculture and the activation of its value chains. NAN reports that Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture is a non-profit organisation that focuses on supporting the productivity of small-scale farmers in developing countries around the world.

Its mission is to create value for resource-poor small farmers in developing countries, through innovation in sustainable agriculture and the activation of its value chains.

CBN disbursed N12.65bn as agriculture intervention since January –Emefiele

Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has disbursed N12.65 billion to the Anchor Borrowers Programme, ABP, its flagship agriculture intervention scheme from January till date.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele said this on Tuesday in Abuja, when he read the communique issued at the end of the 290th meeting of the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, MPC.

According to Mr Emefiele, the

total sum that has been disbursed under the ABP since inception in 2015 is N1.09 trillion.

“Between January and February 2023, the bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three agricultural projects under the ABP.

“It brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.09 trillion to more than 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland,” Mr Emefiele said.

He said that the CBN had also disbursed huge sums as intervention to various other sectors of the economy.

“The CBN also released the sum of N23.70 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to eight new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

“Cumulative disbursements under the Real Sector Facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture,

97 services and 13 mining sector projects,” he said.

He said that the apex bank also released N3.01 billion under the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2) for capital and operational expenditure of electricity distribution companies, Discos.

He said that the facility was aimed at improving liquidity status of the Discos, and aiding their recovery of legacy debt.

“This brings the cumulative disbursement under the facility to N254.39 billion,” he said.

Airport Hotel assures customers of safety

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The Management of the Lagos Airport Hotel Limited has allayed the fears of customers after the fire incident in one of the layover rooms in its administrative section.

The hotel’s Acting General Manager, Mrs Folashade Awe, in a statement, assured customers of their safety, as the fire incident was far from the customers’ service blocks

According to her, no life was lost as it was quickly brought under control.

“Although the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained at the time of this report, it might likely be as a result of an electric spark,” Awe remarked.

The acting general manager claimed that the hotel operated on a high level of general safety and discipline “and wishes to

correct the impression that the whole hotel was on fire”.

She reiterated that only a tiny portion of the staff layover that was isolated from the hotel service rooms was affected and the incident did not in any way affect the hotel’s daily operations.

NiMet predicts 3-day sunshine, cloudiness

By Abubakar Yunusa ABUJA

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has predicted sunshine and cloudiness from Wednesday to Friday across the country.

NiMet’s weather outlook, released on Tuesday in Abuja, predicted cloudy atmosphere with intervals of sunshine over the northern region on Wednesday with slim prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Taraba and Adamawa states.

According to NiMet, later in the day, cloudy conditions are anticipated with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna and Borno states during the afternoon and evening period.

It forecast patches of clouds over the North Central region in the morning.

“Cloudy condition with chances of thunderstorms are anticipated over parts of Plateau, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, Federal Capital Territory and Kogi states in the afternoon and evening period.

“Cloudy conditions are expected with chances of thunderstorms over parts of Oyo and Ogun states in the morning.

“Later in the day, thunderstorms are anticipated

over parts of Edo, Enugu, Imo, Oyo, Ondo, Abia and Ogun states.

Morning thunderstorms are anticipated over Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers and Lagos states,” it said.

NiMet envisaged cloudy conditions with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta states in the afternoon and evening period.

The agency anticipated sunny atmosphere with patches of clouds on Thursday over the northern region with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Kaduna in the morning.

“Later in the day, thunderstorms are expected over parts of Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi and Kaduna states.

“Cloudy atmosphere with intervals of sunshine are expected over the North Central region in the morning with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi and Kwara states.

“Later in the day, cloudy conditions are anticipated with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory.

“Cloudy conditions are anticipated over the Inland of

the South in the morning with chances of thunderstorms over parts of Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Enugu states. Later in the day, thunderstorms are anticipated over most places.

“Morning thunderstorms are anticipated over parts of Akwa Ibom state. Cloudy conditions are anticipated over the coast with chances of thunderstorms over parts of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, River, Delta and Bayelsa states in the afternoon and evening.

According to NiMet, cloudy atmosphere is envisaged over the northern region with chances of thunderstorms over parts of Bauchi, Taraba and Adamawa states in the morning of Friday.

The agency predicted thunderstorms over parts of Borno, Taraba and Adamawa states later in the day.

“Cloudy condition is expected in the morning over the Central states with slim prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Niger, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory.

“There are prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, and the Federal Capital Territory in the afternoon and evening.

”Cloudy condition is anticipated over the Inland of the South in the morning with

LAPO MfB rewards customers

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

Lapo Microfinance Bank has rewarded its customers with cash prizes in its raffle draw promo.

During the live draw that took place at its head office in Lagos, Lapo said it organised the event to encourage savings culture among Nigerians.

At the promo, 170 winners got consolation prizes, and N500,000 was won by the star winner.

Speaking at the event, the Head, Corporate Planning

Afreximbank

By Abubakar Yunusa,ABUJA

Department, Lapo, Dorcas Thorpe said, it wanted the customers to bank with it.

She said, “For the customers, they would rather go to commercial banks to save and come to microfinance banks to collect loans. So we wanted to change the perception that we are not just for credit, but we are also a bank and offer different financial services.

“That is why we want to use the promo to push savings culture among our customers and the public in general.”

LAPO rewards 468

employees

According to her, savings build resilience for the low income earners to fall back on in terms of emergencies.

Thorpe added, “From the winners, we want people to know there is benefit in savings and we want people to know that Lapo is a brand that has been there for more than 30 years.

“The amount you save with us is yours and the benefit is yours.”

She said Lapo launched the savings promo in November

chances of thunderstorms over parts of Edo and Ogun state,” it said.

NiMet forecast prospects of thunderstorms over Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Abia and Ekiti states in the afternoon and evening.

The agency anticipated cloudy condition over the coastal cities in the morning with chances of thunderstorms over parts of Cross River, Bayelsa and Lagos states.

“Later in the day, thunderstorms are envisaged over parts of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.

“For areas where thunderstorms are expected, strong winds are likely to precede the rains and as such, trees, electric poles, unsecured objects and weak buildings may be blown away, so the public is advised to be cautious.

“High temperatures are observed over the country which could cause heat-stress. Public is advised to take necessary caution and coping strategies to reduce heat-stress,” it said.

According to NiMet, all Airline operators are advised to avail themselves of weather reports periodically from its office for effective planning on their operations.

Investors gain N10bn as market rebounds

The bearish run of the Nigerian Exchange Limited was halted on Tuesday as the market rebounded with N10bn gain for investors.

The equities market capitalisation appreciated by 0.03 per cent to N29.909tn, the same percentage as the All Share Index, which rose to 54, 906.65 from 54, 886.04 recorded on Monday.

A total volume of 127.744m shares worth N1.586bn was exchanged in 2,987 deals on Tuesday.

The market sentiments were flat as there were both 12 equities on the gainers’ and losers’ tables at the close of the day’s trading.

Leading the gainers’ table were Linkage Assurance, Wapic and Champion, which gained 9.76 per cent, 7.89 per cent and 4.26 per cent to close at N0.45, N0.41 and N4.90 respectively.

2022 to run for three months, and the promo encouraged the customers to open a Lapo Savings Express account, and save a minimum of N10,000 monthly for three months to be one of the luck winners.

Over the last couple of months, she said, 43,000 new accounts joined and there had been mobilisation of over N160m.

The star winner from a Yola branch, Sherifat Haruna, who sells foodstuff, plastic rubber and other delivery items, expressed her delight.

Atop the losers’ table was Ikeja Hotel with a 9.65 percentage loss to close trading at N1.03. Cadbury followed with a 5.83 per cent loss in its share value to close at N11.30 and UPL suffered a 4.76 per cent loss in its share price to close trading at N2.00.

On the Most Traded table of the NGX, the shares of Zenith Bank led with 11,964,640 shares worth N298.835m exchanged in 255 deals. This was followed by anotheOn the Most Traded table of the NGX, the shares of Zenith Bank led with 11,964,640 shares worth N298.835m exchanged in 255 deals. This was followed by anther fir financial organisation, GTCO, which had 10,472,370 million of its shares worth N 258.239m traded in 252.

Supports Fidelity Bank With $180m Credit To Finance Trade, Others

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the enhancement of the financing facility provided to Fidelity Bank plc, Nigeria under the Afreximbank Trade Facilitation Programme (AFTRAF).

The decision to increase Afreximbank’s support is consistent with the economic and commercial success of the financing facility, the first $125 million of which has been fully utilised by Fidelity Bank.

The expansion to $180 million was also bolstered by the continued strong financial performance of Fidelity Bank, Nigeria’s largest Tier 2 bank.

The augmented financing facility will allow Fidelity Bank to scale up and accelerate its activities and programmes in trade and related activities.

Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, commented said Afreximbank is keen to support a leading African bank that supports African

businesses and entrepreneurs.

He said, “Fidelity Bank has proven its ability to make smart use of this type of financing, with consequent benefits for the Nigerian economy. Afreximbank is keen to support a leading African bank that supports African businesses and entrepreneurs.”

Afriximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in

Africa.

A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.

The bank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA.

Nigerian Banks Insulated From Global Risks Of “Financial Contagion” -CBN

Following the new risks of financial contagion emerging from the scenario of failed banks in some Advanced Economies, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured that Banks in Nigeria are protected from such likely shocks.

CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele gave the assurance while briefing newsmen shortly after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank on Tuesday in Abuja.

Emefiele said, the MPC took time out to discuss the recent bank failures in the US and Switzerland, an event that occurred following the persistent interest rate hikes in the US, and how this has adversely impacted the broad portfolio of banks in the US.

He said, “members examined the possibility of shocks to the Nigerian banking system from these banks and concluded that the Nigerian banking system remains reasonably insulated from such likely contagion”.

He said, “the CBN has been able to achieve this through stringent micro and macroprudential guidelines that have ensured that individual banks and the banking industry in Nigeria have adequate buffers to ward-off global contagion”.

In addition to this, he said, “the MPC examined the possible impact of further policy rate hikes on the stability of the banking system and was convinced that further hikes would not adversely impact the stability of the banking system.

“The Committee, however, called on the Bank’s Management to strengthen its regulatory oversight on the banking system to ensure that the banking industry remain stable and resilient”.

MPC noted that whereas MPR was increased by 500 basis points in Nigeria, from 12.5 per cent in 2022 to 17.5 per cent in January 2023, the Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) in Nigeria shows that the Nigerian banking system remain resilient due largely the stringent prudential guidelines put in place by the CBN which has resulted in a strong build-up of not only the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) in Nigeria, but also the Liquidity Ratio and capital Adequacy Ratio.

In the light of these strong FSIs, MPC was comforted that its various decisions in increasing MPR have had moderate impact on inflation, given that the rate appears to have plateaued in Nigeria.

The Committee’s major considerations at this meeting, therefore, focused on arriving at key policy mechanisms to shield the economy from emerging shocks from the global economy, as well as sustain its focus on domestic price stability.

Headline inflation, in the view of members, remained high with increased expectations of price development, due to the perennial scarcity of PMS and ongoing discourse around the removal of fuel subsidy. With the prices of other energy products also rising, members stressed the importance of addressing price development.

The Committee also considered the continued impact of exchange rate pressure on domestic price levels and called for policies to attract both portfolio and foreign direct investment to Nigeria.

It maintained optimism that, the continued progress made with the RT200 FX programme, Naira-4-dollar and other policies targeted at attracting diaspora remittances, would continue to help improve accretion to the external reserves and improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

While output growth remains on a positive trajectory, Members called for increased monetary and fiscal coordination to support

the recovery in light of risks confronting the domestic economy. To this end, the Committee enjoined the fiscal authority to explore other avenues to improve non-oil revenue to reduce the fiscal deficit and public debt burden.

The MPC noted that while the continued rise in headline inflation remained a significant problem confronting the economy, other macroeconomic variables are moving in the right direction, despite observed headwinds.

The Committee’s debate at this meeting, therefore, was whether to continue its rate hike to further dampen the rising inflation trajectory or hold to observe emerging development and allow for the impact of the last five rate hikes to permeate the economy. Loosening, in the view of members, would gravely undermine the gains achieved so far.

The MPC observed the continued upward risk to price development around expectations on the removal of the PMS subsidy; rising prices of other energy sources; continuing exchange rate pressure; and uncertain climatic conditions. These in the view of members, provides a compelling argument for an upward adjustment of the policy rate, albeit, less aggressively.

The Committee, however, noted that the naira redesign and cash withdrawal limit policies have resulted in a sizeable reduction in Currency-Outside-Banks, indicating an expected improvement in the potency of monetary policy tools.

Members, however, remained aware of the ongoing challenges associated with the limits imposed on cash withdrawals in the face of frequent downtime in bank electronic transaction channels.

The Committee thus called on Other Depository Corporations, online payment platforms, and other stakeholders to ensure that the prevailing incidence of network failures is overcome in the immediate and short term. This would ensure that the Naira Redesign and Cash Withdrawal Limit Policies lead to an improved in-road of the CBN Cashless program and efficiency of the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.

Members, thus, resolved by a majority vote to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points. In Summary, ten (10) members voted to raise the MPR by 50 basis points, one

(1) member voted to raise the MPR by 25 basis points and one (1) member voted to hold the MPR.

All members voted to keep all other parameters constant.

The MPC, therefore, voted to:

I. Raise the MPR by 50 basis points to 18.0 per cent; II. Retain the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR; III. Retain the CRR at 32.5 per cent; and IV. Retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.

CBN said, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.10 per cent in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, it grew by 3.52 per cent (year-on-year), compared with 3.98 per cent in the corresponding period of 2021 and 2.25 per cent in the preceding quarter.

The economy maintained a positive growth trajectory for nine consecutive quarters, since exiting recession in 2020. The improved performance was driven largely by sustained growth in the services and agricultural sectors, a rebound in economic activities associated with economic recovery and continued intervention in growth enhancing sectors by the Bank. Staff projections showed that output growth recovery is expected to continue into 2023 and 2024.

The Committee, however, observed with concern, the marginal increase in headline inflation (year-on-year) in February 2023, to 21.91 per cent, from 21.82 per cent in January 2023, a 0.09 percentage point increase.

This increase was attributed largely to a minimal rise in the food component to 24.35 per cent in February 2023, from 24.32 per cent in January 2023, while the core component moderated to 18.84 per cent in February 2023, from 19.16 per cent in January 2023.

The shocks to the food component were driven by high cost of transportation of food items, lingering security challenges in major foodproducing areas and legacy infrastructural problems, which continue to hamper food supply logistics. Broad money supply (M3) grew by 13.14 per cent (annualized) in February 2023 (year-to-date), below the 2023 provisional annual benchmark of 17.18 per cent.

This was driven largely by the growth in Net Foreign Assets (NFA), which was attributed

to the increase in foreign asset holdings of the Central bank and decrease in foreign claims on Other Depository Corporations (ODCs).

Money market rates reflected the tight liquidity conditions in the banking system. Consequently, the monthly weighted average Open Buyback (OBB) and Inter-bank Call rates increased to 12.74 and 12.54 per cents in February 2023, from 10.14 and 10.35 per cent in January 2023, respectively.

The Committee noted the continued stability in the banking system, reflected by the performance of the Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs). The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 13.7 per cent, Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) ratio of 4.2 per cent and Liquidity Ratio (LR) of 43.1 per cent, as of February 2023.

The MPC observed the sustained improvement in the equities market in the review period, as the All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalization (MC) both increased to 54,915.39 and N29.92 trillion on March 17, 2023, from 51,251.06 and N27.92 trillion on December 30, 2022, respectively, indicating renewed investor confidence in the Nigerian financial market.

The Committee, however, noted the marginal decline in the level of gross external reserves to US$36.13 billion in February 2023, from US$36.4 billion in January 2023, a decrease of 0.7 per cent, reflecting the downtrend in crude oil prices, as global uncertainties persist.

The Committee reviewed the performance of the Bank’s various interventions aimed at stimulating production and productivity across the real sector. Between January and February 2023, the Bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three (3) agricultural projects under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), bringing the cumulative disbursement under the Programme to N1.09 trillion to over 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland across the country. The Bank also released the sum of N23.70 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to eight (8) new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

Cumulative disbursements under the Real Sector Facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion, disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture, 97 services and 13 mining sector projects.

Under the 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity (PPP).

The Bank also released N3.01 billion under the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2) for capital and operational expenditure of distribution companies (Discos) aimed at improving their liquidity status and aid their recovery of legacy debt. This brings the cumulative disbursement under the facility to N254.39 billion.

Outlook

The overall outlook for the full recovery of both the global and domestic economies, remained clouded by new and legacy downside risks.

Available data and forecasts for key macroeconomic variables for the Nigerian economy, suggest that the domestic economy will continue to recover for the rest of 2023 at a moderate pace, in light of evolving and persisting shocks to the economy.

The continued upward pressure on inflation, rising cost of debt and debt servicing, as well as deteriorating fiscal balances remain headwinds, which may undermine the smooth path to a faster recovery. Accordingly, the Nigerian economy is forecast to grow in 2023 by 3.03 per cent (CBN), 3.37 per cent (FGN) and 3.20 per cent (IMF).

“ Available data and forecasts for key macroeconomic variables for the Nigerian economy, suggest that the domestic economy will continue to recover for the rest of 2023 at a moderate pace, in light of evolving and persisting shocks to the economy

CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele

METRO

Water Day: FCTA commissions N11M Pyakasa Solar-powered water scheme

By Stanley Onyekwere

To commemorate the 2023 World Water Day themed “Accelerating Change”, the FCT Administration commissioned a multimillion Naira Solar powered water scheme situated at Pyakasa, one of the aboriginal communities off the Abuja Airport Road, in Abuja Metropolitan Area Council (AMAC).

It was gathered that the project estimated to had cost the FCTA between 10 to 11 to million Naira, is part of its interventions through FCT Rural Water Supply, and Sanitation Directorate (RUWASSA) aimed at improving accessibility to safe drinking water in rural communities.

Performing the official commissioning of the project yesterday, FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, expressed the commitment of the FCT Administration towards providing equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, while strengthening community-led approaches to total sanitation.

Aliy also encouraged stakeholders to join hands with the Administration to accelerate change in improving access to safe drinking water in the Territory.

Represented by the Mandate Secretary, Area Council Services Secretariat, Hon. Ibrahim Abubakar Dantsoho, the minister, revealed that the FCT Administration has constructed 188 hand pump borehole water supply schemes, 6 motorised solarpowered borehole water schemes and rehabilitated 30 rural water supply schemes, culminating in improving access to safe drinking water for about 50,000 citizens.

She, however used the occasion to reiterated that the World Water Day is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis of about 2.2 billion people living without access to safe drinking water, stressing that the 2023 World Water Day is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

While appreciating the partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, development partners such as UNICEF, USAID, WaterAid Nigeria, DFID, Japan International Cooperation Agency, she however pledged the readiness of the Administration in supporting and encouraging collaboration and partnership in the provision of safe drinking water in rural communities.

“Sustainability of both the private and public water sources is significant in the service delivery sector of the FCT.

“In this respect, I urge the good people of Abuja to embrace the clarion call for behavioural change

•Restates resolve towards equitable access to water

to safely manage and conserve the available water resources for the current and future generations”, she stressed.

Aliyu however, lamented that millions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centres, farms and industries are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation still need to be fulfilled, just as she called for an urgent need to accelerate change— to go beyond “business as usual.”

“The recent data (WASHNORM) shows that governments must work on an average of five times faster to meet the SDG 6 on time, but this is not a situation that any single actor or group can solve. Water affects everyone, so, we

need everyone to “be the change” and take action,” she added.

Similarly, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, who was represented by the Director of Administration and Finance, Mr. Abdulrasaq Leramoh, advocated for positive impacts in accessibility to safe drinking water in rural communities.

He also called on the benefiting communities to take ownership of the facilities and ensure their smooth operation, management and sustainability.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Executive Director FCT Rural Water Supply, and Sanitation Agency, Dr. Mohammed Ali DanHassan, identified water as an essential component of life that

is critical to the family unit, the community, local government, state and federal levels.

Dan-Hassan expressed the confidence that RUWASSA has reached about 60 percent of coverage of rural communities, adding that in the next one or two years, it would hit 90 to 95 percent coverage of water supply.

According to him, the FCTA spent between 10 to 11 to Million Naira on the Pyakasa water project.

“We are exploiting the ground water resource, because the pipe bone network has not reached those areas yet,” he added.

On his part, the S’apeyi of Garki, Dr. Usman Nga-Kupi, who commended the FCTA for the intervention in Pyakasa, stressed

the need to extend such to other communities within the Garki Chiefdom and beyond, for greater impact.

Not left out,Council Secretary for AMAC, Alh. Jafaru Gwagwa, who represented the AMAC Chairman Christopher Maikalangu, described the execution of the project as apt, as it will go a long to alleviate the plight of the people in the area, just as he urged RUWASSA to consider doing so in other parts of the Council and FCT at large.

Peoples Daily recalls that the commemoration of World Water Day (March 22) began in 1993, to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle water and sanitation crisis.

Durumi ‘Monkey’ village removed over security threat -Official

By Stanley Onyekwere

In continuation with its renewed city sanitation drive, the FCT Administration in collaboration with police and other relevant security agencies removed a notorious settlement known as ‘Monkey’ village, within Durumi, in Area 1, Abuja.

It was learnt that the notorious settlement situated behind the old Federal Secretariat was hitherto dominated by suspected criminals, who had taken shelter there, and unleashing their criminal activities on innocent persons in the area.

This, the FCT Director of Security Services, Mr. Adamu Gwary, who lamented the level of criminalities that were hitherto perpetrated in the village, noted that it was unacceptable, as all the offices, residents must be safe

and secured.

He said: “We all know the security implications of this type of shanties, where the Monkey village is harbouring criminals, and looking at the Calibre of offices, like Federal Secretariat, and you can see the proximity to these shanties and government cannot condone such illegalities and shanties and we have to ensure the government offices, residents, and other offices here are safe and secured”.

Similarly, Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, said the exercise is the continuation of the city sanitation that was ordered by the Minister of FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello a few months ago.

Galadima bemoaned the abuse of land use in the area, one of such is the conversion of the

road corridor to market, which according to him is unacceptable by the government and therefore must be removed.

He therefore urged all the owners of the land in that area to come and takeover their respective properties in order to stop the squatters from coming back.

Not left out, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, said the notion that the Monkey village cannot be removed is very wrong and that is why they have metamorphosed from shanties few months ago to full fledge house built with cement and mud, cement blocks, so the village and market therefore had to go.

Attah said, “I think it is just the belief of people that the Monkey village in Area 1 cannot be removed and they have

metamorphosed into full fledge house built with cement and blocks.

“The land actually belong to Nigerian Police and whatever they are planning for the future they haven’t started using it so the people moved in and they became so notorious and with criminal hideouts and today we all came in here as a team.

“On Monday, when we cleaned the other parts we discovered that people were packing their things into monkey village and we had to move in there and removed it. And the notorious monkey village is history.

“And FCDA would inform the Nigerian Police to take over their property. The FCDA has a legal backing and the Police are keen to take over the property”, he said.

Representative of the Honourable Minister of State FCT, Hon. Ibrahim Abubakar Dantsoho, performing the commissioning of the solar powered water scheme, at Pyakasa, in Abuja, yesterday.

A section of the Pyakasa solar powered water scheme.

Ukraine war: Zelensky visits front line near Bakhmut as Russia targets cities

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has returned to the front line near Bakhmut where fighting has raged for months.

The devastated city has long been a focal point of the war as Russian forces try to revive their military campaign in the east.

His visit came as Russian forces launched a series of strikes on Ukrainian cities.

At least eight people were killed near Kyiv and in Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine’s military said it shot down 16 drones, but another five got through.

Seven people died in an attack on student dormitories near the capital in Rzhyschiv. Then a rocket slammed into a block of flats in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, leaving one dead and 25 wounded. Local leaders said the number of victims could rise.

While President Zelensky condemned Russia’s “bestial” attacks on civilians, he also visited the eastern front line, where Ukrainian forces have held Russia at bay for more than seven months. He last visited the area in December.

Footage released by the President’s office showed him in an old industrial warehouse giving medals to battle-weary soldiers. “I am honoured to be here today,” he told

servicemen, “in the east of our country, in Donbas, and to award our heroes, to thank you, to shake your hands.”

UK military intelligence said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian counter-attack to the west of Bakhmut was likely to relieve pressure on the main supply route to the city, and that Russia’s attack on the city could be losing the “limited momentum” it had.

“Fighting continues around the town centre and the Ukrainian defence remains at risk from envelopment from the north and south,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Russian occupation officials in Crimea said that a drone attack on the port city of Sevastopol had been repelled, days after President Vladimir Putin visited the city.

Explosions were reported by residents, but the Russian-installed governor said three “objects” targeting the Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed and Russian warships were not damaged.

There was no comment from Ukraine’s military, which said earlier this week it had destroyed missiles destined for the fleet at a rail hub in Dzhankoi in northern Crimea.

Ukraine’s cities were hit by drones in the early hours of Wednesday and later by rockets.

Rescue services searched for survivors

after the upper floors of two student dormitories were hit in the city of Rzhyshchiv in Kyiv region. At least seven people were killed, including an ambulance driver, police said. Among the nine wounded was an 11-year-old boy.

Hours later, two missiles crashed into nine-storey blocks of flats in Zaporizhzhia,

setting two buildings on fire. Officials said one person died in hospital and another 25 people were wounded.

A number of flats were destroyed by the blasts and an air force spokesman indicated they might have been hit by Tornado-S rockets, which have a maximum range of 120km (75 miles).

Multiple injuries after ship tips over at Edinburgh dockyard

Thirty-three people have been injured after a ship tipped over at an Edinburgh dockyard.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said 21 people had been taken to hospital and 12 people were treated at the scene of the incident at Imperial Dock, Leith.

A major incident was declared after the research vessel Petrel became dislodged from its holding on a dry dock. People have been asked not to attend A&E at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI) unless it is an emergency.

Pictures posted on social media show the 3,000-tonne vessel, which is owned by the US Navy, leaning at a 45-degree angle.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said it was called to the incident at 08:30.

A spokesperson said 15 patients were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, four to Western General Hospital and two to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

Another 12 people were treated and discharged at the scene.

The service said it sent five ambulances, an air ambulance, three trauma teams, a special operations team, three paramedic response units and a patient transport vehicle to the scene.

The BBC understands that one person is in surgery in an operating theatre at ERI.

Jacquie Campbell, chief officer of acute services at NHS Lothian, said: “Given the expected pressure on the site, we urge people not to attend A&E at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh unless it’s an emergency.”

NHS Lothian has advised other people who require urgent care to contact their GP or call NHS 24.

Police Scotland urged the public to avoid the area to allow access for emergency services.

HM coastguard sent teams from Fisherrow, South Queensferry and Kinghorn to the scene as part of the multi-agency response.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had sent four fire engines and “a number of specialist resources”.

The Health and Safety Executive said it was aware of the incident and was making inquiries.

The Sailors’ Society said it was supporting people affected by the incident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this morning’s accident in Leith. Sadly many are seriously injured. We are supporting those we can.”

Cammy Day, the leader of City of Edinburgh Council, said he was “deeply concerned” to hear of the incident.

“My thoughts are with all those affected and wish them a full and speedy recovery,” he said.

“Our teams are supporting emergency services in whatever way they can. Please avoid the area to allow the response to continue.”Leith councillor Adam McVey described the incident as “terrifying” for those on board.

He said on Twitter: “Emergency services are responding to a major incident at Leith docks - a ship has been dislodged from its holding in strong winds.

“My thoughts are with those who’ve been injured & hope everyone recovers quickly. Please avoid area.”

A spokesperson from Forth Ports said

the incident happened at the facility of its tenant, Dales Marine Services.

They said: “We are providing Dales with any support we can today. We cannot comment any further as the incident response is being led by the emergency services.

“Our thoughts are with everyone involved in this incident.”

Dales Marine Services, which runs the dry dock, said it was liaising with the emergency services and could not comment any further.

A spokesperson said: “Our priority is to ensure those involved are supported.”

Leith dock, in the north east of Edinburgh, has a maritime history going back many centuries and is now home

home to the decommissioned Royal Yacht Britannia.

The privatised Forth Ports has the largest enclosed deep water port in Scotland and has been selected to develop one of Scotland’s first green freeports.

The 76m (250ft) ship has been owned by the United States Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center since October 2022, and operated by Oceaneering International.

The vessel was previously owned by the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. It was placed into long-term moorage in 2020 as a result of “operation challenges” during the Covid pandemic, and has not been used since.

Source;BBC

Petrel began to tip to one side at Imperial Dock

Ebola-like Marburg virus kills five people in Tanzania

Marburg virus has killed five people in Tanzania’s north-western Kagera region, the health ministry has said.

High fever is a common symptom of the deadly Ebola-like virus, often followed by bleeding and organ failure.

Tanzania’s health minister Ummy Mwalimu said the disease had been contained and she was confident it would not spread further.

Three people are being treated in hospital and authorities are tracing 161 contacts, Ms Mwalimu added.

Tanzania’s strategy to control the spread was praised by the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said: “The efforts by Tanzania’s health authorities to establish the cause of the disease is a clear indication of the determination to effectively respond to the outbreak.”

Dr Moeti said WHO is working with Tanzania’s government to “rapidly scale up control measures to halt the spread of the virus”.

The Marburg virus is a cousin of the equally deadly Ebola virus - part of the filovirus family - and it kills on average half

of those infected, the WHO says.

It is a severe, often fatal illness with symptoms including headache, fever, muscle pains, vomiting blood and bleeding.

No vaccines or anti-viral treatments have been approved to treat the virus, the WHO has said, but it adds that rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids has improved survival.

Recent Marburg infections and fatalities have been centred on the African continent, where hundreds of people have died from the virus in the past.

The virus was first identified in 1967, after 31 people were infected and died simultaneously in Germany and Serbia.

Since then, there have been outbreaks in Guinea, Uganda, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and South Africa, the WHO reports.

Equatorial Guinea reported its first outbreak last month. According to the WHO and local authorities, at least nine people have died.

Last July, two people in Ghana died from the virus and 98 contacts were quarantined. Two months later, the country declared the end of its outbreak.

In 2021, Guinea health officials confirmed West Africa’s first case of the

virus, while an outbreak in Angola in 2005 killed more than 300 people.

The Egyptian rousette fruit bat often harbours the virus, but African green

monkeys and pigs can also carry it.

Among humans, it spreads through bodily fluids and contact with contaminated bedding.

Malawi cannabis: Farmers’ high hopes fail to materialise

Malawian farmer Ethel Chilembwe has paid out hundreds of dollars, cleared six hectares of land and got ready for the training, but after two years of waiting she has not cultivated a single cannabis plant.

Malawi legalised cannabis farming for industrial and medicinal use in February 2020 hoping to take advantage of the booming global demand and move away from the reliance on tobacco as an export crop.

Ms Chilembwe, who has been farming tobacco in Kasungu in the west of the country for the last seven years, also scented an opportunity to replace her shrinking returns.

She was not the only one - hundreds of other farmers have also been left disappointed.

The United States Cannabis AssociationMalawi (USCA), a private Malawian company, has been one of those at the centre of this failure, yet it still hopes that things will work out.

As part of its vision for how the country could benefit from cannabis, the government wanted to involve as many small-scale farmers as possible who would source seeds from local private companies and then sell the harvest back to them.

But things did not work out as planned.

As part of a requirement to get a growers’ licence from the government, Ms Chilembwe joined hands with other tobacco farmers nearby and registered a co-operative group.

Having already paid $1,500 (£1,200) to acquire the licence, Ms Chilembwe says the group paid thousands more dollars to USCA for registration, seeds and training in 2021.

But she got neither the seeds nor the training.

“I think the problem lies with [USCA], who cannot deliver what they promised, and then the government itself which does not seem willing to help us

“This is why we are stuck,” the farmer tells the BBC.

The land where she hoped to set up greenhouses has remained bare, something

she says has led to a huge loss to her family.

Maquenda Chunga has a similar story.

“We have got a contract with [USCA] which they gave us a price of $80-$150 per kilogram,” he says.

Mr Chunga is a former politician who served as an MP for five years up to 2019 and supported the legalisation of cannabis in parliament.

The co-operative of 15 farmers which he leads managed to raise some $250,000 to set up greenhouses.

However, he says USCA only supplied a fraction of the expensive seeds paid for.

The initial harvest they managed to produce now lies in boxes inside a small store house with nowhere to go despite USCA also having committed itself to buy the harvested hemp.

“We had hope, [that] if we borrowed the money from the bank we knew that we would pay it back,” adds the disgruntled former parliamentarian.

He blames the government for not ensuring that USCA would live up to its promises.

USCA is one of the four private entities licensed by the government to produce cannabis in Malawi.

In order to acquire this licence, a company had to “have a warehouse, and ability to process either medicinal or industrial hemp”, says the Cannabis Regulatory Authority (CRA), in a statement issued to the BBC.

But USCA has neither a warehouse nor the processing facility.

The company has nearly 7,000 farmers on its register.

Its chief executive officer Paul Maulidi blames a fall out between the local owners of the company and foreign investors who allegedly pulled out of an investment deal.

The head of CRA says the money that was raised from the farmers was spent on running USCA’s office operations, and this left them with no funds to carry out their plans.

But Mr Maulidi still believes things can

work out. He only joined the company last year and insists he is there to make things right.

“There must be some people who can come in and say let’s do something about it to rectify the situation. I still feel farmers need to be helped,” Mr Maulidi says.

“We are engaging with the co-operatives who are coming here and we are telling them of our plans and how we can execute those plans.”

The CRA says it has asked the company to fulfil its contracts or refund the farmers.

Furthermore, it has given USCA a threemonth grace period after its licence had expired and says it will only renew it if farmers’ concerns are addressed.

The authority has asked USCA “to fulfil their agreement with farmer co-operatives or else they should pay back the money”, the regulator told the BBC in an email response.

But the problem is not just with USCA.

Out of the four companies operating in the cannabis industry in Malawi, only one still has a valid licence. The other two are yet to launch commercial operations according to

the regulator.

The government insists farmers will get help.

The farmers “should come forward and present their case through the CRA to us and we will show the direction as to how they can be assisted”, says Dixie Kampani, an assistant minister in the department of agriculture, but he did not elaborate on the plan.

There has however been one success.

Invegrow, a company owned by a mix of local and foreign investors, employs hundreds of people, and grows cannabis from the nursery to the flowering and harvesting stage.

This is in addition to having a processing factory on site in the capital, Lilongwe, where they produce cannabis oil for local sales and export as well as other by-products like animal feed.

But they are yet to sign up many farmers.

“We have been piloting with 100 farmers for production of seeds only for the past one year,” says Nebert Nyirenda, the company director.

Source;BBC

The destruction of roads and bridges has hampered relief efforts

Ethel Chilembwe wanted to move away from relying on tobacco farming

Asia&Middle-East

Israel’s settlers change West Bank landscape with hilltop outposts

One thing - perhaps the only thing - is beyond dispute. That this is a stunning landscape, particularly now, deep into spring.

The rocky hillsides of this central belt of the occupied West Bank are washed in green. The roads wind and dip. The views can extend, on clear days like these, eastwards all the way to the bare mountains that mark the Jordan Valley.

But this ancient hillscape is also changing. You can see how from Abu Khaled’s tumbledown farmhouse, a bumpy few minutes’ drive from the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya.

The 65-year-old says he has lived here for more than 50 years. On the ridge of hilltops around him, there’s now a string of Israeli settlements.

These are widely viewed as illegal under international law, and all but one of the communities now spread across the skyline have up to this point even been considered illegal under Israeli law, as unauthorised “outposts”.

And the settlers, says Abu Khaled, want more. They want him out of the way. He shows me some of the recent vandalism - windows smashed, solar panels ripped by rocks, vehicles battered.

“Every night,” he says, “I don’t sleep from seven in the evening until seven in the morning. Our kids - my grandchildren - they don’t sleep. They’re afraid the whole time.”

This is part of the patchwork of the West Bank which is supposed, at the moment, to be under the full control of the Israeli security forces. But the refrain from all the Palestinians we meet is that Israeli soldiers only protect the settlers, even those they can see are out to cause trouble.

And the Palestinian Authority, under President Mahmoud Abbas, is held in growing contempt. No-one outside an official position appears to have a good word for them.

Indeed, for the first time, an opinion survey run by the respected Ramallah-based pollster Khalid Shikaki has suggested that a slim majority of Palestinians think they would be better off without the PA offering the pretence of governance.

Even in relatively well-heeled Turmus Ayya, where, according to town councillor Nusseiba alNiswan, “80% of the residents have US citizenship”, people tell you that they think a third intifada - another major armed uprising - is inevitable.

Muhanad* is a 31-year-old who spent months in Israeli military prison as a teenager, picked up for rock-throwing. He said that he and all his friends were now ready to resort to arms.

“No-one protects us here. Every Palestinian who has a gun has a right to defend himself. And almost everyone does have a gun.”

But there are limits, Muhanad says. He would not support attacks on Israelis on the land controlled by Israel before the Middle East war of 1967. “But the settlers? They are our enemy.”

Yisrael Medad is one of the original settlers. He has lived in Shiloh, a few kilometres from Turmus Ayya, for more than 40 years.

He has a broad grin, an easy manner, and - at least in English - the drawn-out vowels of an accent bred in Queen’s, New York City. Shiloh is the size of a small town, with mature gardens, a supermarket and a bus service.

On a bench overlooking the great sweep of the valley, Yisrael, now in his mid-70s, says he absolutely disapproves of the violence of the “hilltop youth”. “It’s wrong, and it doesn’t help us,” he explains. But he has an important qualification.

“There is no such thing as Jewish violence, by itself,” he says. “If there was no Arab terror, if there were no Arab incursions, there wouldn’t be the response from the Jewsthe irresponsible, the illegal response of the Jews.”

He says he wishes those

youngsters would listen more to the older generation. “But, I have to say, if the world is going to champion the Palestinians on the back of all their terror, as some charities across Europe do, I think they can at least tolerate and understand acts of violence by a small number of Jewish youth.”

From our vantage point, Yisrael points out the line of outposts - the smaller, not officially sanctioned settlements - which form the “Shiloh bloc”, and which aim to bisect the West Bank west to east.

These outposts have the reputation for harbouring harder-line sentiment. They contain the younger, even more ideologically motivated settlers, who are willing to live, at least to begin with, in mobile homes, with few amenities.

Adei Ad may not be an official Israeli settlement. But it has put down roots over the last 25 years. More than 50 families now live there.

Rahel*, a mother of five, works as a local tour guide: the area is rich in biblical history. We speak on the terrace of the small guesthouse she rents to visitors. They come, she says, from all over Israel, and even from abroad.

She greets us with a plate of freshly baked chocolate brownies. Her chalet is a beguiling place, from the bedroom with its own jacuzzi, to the small garden with the views over the vineyards, olive groves and blueberry fields that the settlers have planted.

Rahel says life is “much nicer and easier” than it was when

she first arrived 18 years ago. Even before this latest Israeli government took power - a governing coalition which is the most nationalist and religious in Israel’s history - “this place has been starting to be legalised and developed,” she adds.

And she says the benefits have been felt even by those who want her community gone - the Palestinians in their villages further down the hillsides. “I think our Arab neighbours understand they have a better life,” she says. “They’ve got electricity and water and roads, which they didn’t have before.”

“Adei Ad” means “Forever and Ever” in Hebrew. A short drive north lies an outpost with an equally spiritual name, but one that perhaps speaks to its tougher character.

“Esh Kodesh”, which means “Holy Fire”, is where a willowy young man called Moshe Oref has lived for the past two and a half years. He came from Jerusalem. The attraction has been two-fold. His commitment, he says, to live in this part of the biblical Land of Israel. It is also, he concedes, a lot cheaper to live out here. “But I pay the price in security. I sleep with a gun under my pillow.”

Moshe ranges expansively, as he explains the right of the Jewish people to settle this land, drawing on the Bible, and - less predictably - Oscar Wilde.

He swats away the outside world’s consensus on the legal status of the West Bank as occupied territory: “It’s absurd.”

It’s wrong, he argues, to taint several hundred thousand settlers with the actions of “a few

dozen young men”. You wouldn’t judge the whole of Chicago, he says, because of a bunch of gang members.

And yet Moshe also gestures at the nearby Palestinian village of Jalud. “It doesn’t work to talk to the Arabs in a Western language. They have their own codes for how they behave. We are in the Middle East. We have to behave the same.”

A dented, white four-wheel drive has chugged to a halt next to us. Out clambers the man who runs security for Esh Kodesh and the surrounding outposts. Meir Ayash has a toothy grin and an M16 rifle slung over his shoulder. His job description is simple, he says. “We prevent terrorists getting in.”

As to the testimony and evidence of attacks on Palestinian communities, Meir insists: “We don’t have any problems with any particular Mohammed this or that. We respect everyone. We are all human beings and neighbours. We are decent and moral.”

There is a caveat. “But after the Arabs come and harass and burn and do bad things, people here can lose their patience and go and take revenge.”

Meir sees an upside, though. It comes in the form of the new Israeli government and some of the ultranationalist ministers who now have responsibility for administering and policing the West Bank.

“It will be better for the Palestinians,” he says, “when they see who’s governing this place. They will understand the boundaries. Things will be much clearer for both sides.”

Source: BBC

More than 140 settler outposts have been set up without Israeli government approval since the 1990s

Should India abolish its state governors?

Last week India’s Supreme Court fretted that the country’s governors could end up undermining democracy if their actions triggered the fall of a functioning state government.

The top court alluded to the governor of the western state of Maharashtra who called for a controversial confidence vote in the assembly last year, leading to the fall of the government there.

Uddhav Thackeray’s regional Shiv Sena was the largest party in the coalition ruling Maharashtra. But defecting rebels split the party and cobbled together a new alliance with Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules India. The state’s governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, then called for a vote of confidence, but Mr Thackeray resigned in June before the vote, “accepting” that his supporters had been reduced to a rump.

Hearing a clutch of petitions relating to the matter last week, India’s Chief Justice Dhananjaya Chandrachud said the trust vote had been “wrongly summoned” by the governor. “The governor cannot enter into any area by which his action would precipitate the fall of a government,” he said. “This is very, very serious for our democracy.”

That’s not all. In the southern states of Kerala and Telangana governments have blamed governors for refusing to sign bills into laws - the government in Telangana has gone to the Supreme Court, accusing the state governor Tamilisai Soundararajan of creating a “constitutional impasse”. A regional party runs Telangana, while Kerala is ruled by an alliance of left-wing parties. The governors in both states - and in Maharashtra - were appointed by the BJP, their political rival.

India’s governors, appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister, are constitutional heads of the state. Although they have a largely ceremonial role, they hold a mix of legislative, executive and discretionary powers. During political crises - when a state election, for example, is inconclusive - they can decide which party is best positioned to form a government. They can also withhold assent to bills passed by the legislature. To borrow from a cricketing analogy, the governor is expected to be an “umpire of

democracy”.

Except that India’s governors have long been blamed for being political partisans, doing the bidding of the ruling party at the centre, as the federal government in Delhi is commonly called.

Mukul Kesavan, a historian, has noted that the manner of their appointment and the uncertainty of their tenure make governors a “creature of the central government in politically charged circumstances rather

than a disinterested umpire”.

Governments in Delhi have traditionally dismissed governors appointed by their rivals, further politicising the office. A study which looked at the tenures of governors between 1950 and 2015 found that only a quarter had completed their full five-year term - and 37% had lasted less than a year in office.

Defying conventions, governors have often been appointed by the ruling party without consulting the elected state government. This had led to souring of relations between the federal and state governments.

For decades, governors have been seen by many to be meddling in the smooth functioning of elected state governments that were hostile to the party at the centre. BK Nehru, who governed half a dozen Indian states in a long career

Not surprisingly, party loyalists are preferred for the position, often as a reward for their services. A study by Professor Ashok Pankaj on India’s governors from 1950 to 2015 found that they were mainly politicians (52%) or retired bureaucrats (26%). Judges, lawyers, defence officials and academicians made up the rest. A fifth of all governors were former MPs or legislators.

That is why many believe the time has come to abolish the office of the governor. “This office is generally an abomination,” says Shekhar Gupta, editor of ThePrint. “If it disappeared one day, nothing will happen.”

It is possibly easier said than done. Mr Kesavan notes that if the “governors cannot be legislated out of existence, the next best move would be to shrink the office to fit them”. An exhaustive new study of India’s governors called Heads Held High: Salvaging State Governors for 21st Century India by scholars of The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy think-tank proposes reforming the office rather than getting rid of it.

The authors say appointing and removing governors should not remain the prerogative of the ruling party, and be done in a “more federal and co-operative” manner; and the governor’s written reasons for his actions should be made public, among other things. Handing over the responsibilities of the governor to the executive or to judges would risk politicising both, says Lalit Panda, a co-author of the book.

KV Viswanathan, a top lawyer, echoes a similar sentiment. He believes the “problem is not with the office of the governor, but some of the incumbents who come to the office”.

that ended in the 1980s, himself once described the position as a “burnt out superannuated member of the ruling party for whom a governorship was a kind of luxurious retirement”.

“Don’t abolish the office. Let sunlight in, record the reasons for a governor’s actions, make them public. Be more transparent when appointing them. And make sure they are not used as hatchet men.”

Source: BBC

For decades, governors have been seen by many to be meddling in the smooth functioning of elected state governments that were hostile to the party at the centre

“

The leader of the rebel-led coalition and the new chief minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde with the then governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari (right) last June

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is seen here with Narendra Modi, whose government appointed her

The governor of Punjab state Banwarilal Purohit (second from left) at an oath ceremony of the ministers in 2022

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Paris 2024: Yusuf confident Olympic Eagles will scale Guinea hurdle

By Albert Akota

Twenty-four hours before his wards are due to take on Guinea’s Olympic squad in a final qualifying fixture, first leg duel at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Head Coach Salisu Yusuf said his Nigeria U23 boys are very much up to the task of grabbing one of the tickets to this year’s Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Morocco.

“I am satisfied that we have been able to work hard these past days and are now set for action. The players know that reaching the Africa Cup of Nations presents them a tremendous opportunity to fight hard for a ticket to the Olympics, which is a global tournament.

“We have invited a number of players from overseas that we believe can help us stake a very strong claim to the ticket, and we will be aiming for a good win on Wednesday. The second

leg is on neutral ground, but we don’t want to entertain that in our minds. We have the objective of working assiduously to wrap up things in this first leg.”

Guinea’s U23 squad had their official training at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Saturday evening, hours before the Olympic Eagles took to the same pitch for their final workout ahead of the encounter.

Nigeria have won all the available medals in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, taking the gold in Atlanta, USA in 1996 and the silver medal in Beijing, China in 2008. Eight years later, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the squad led by John Mikel Obi won the bronze.

The return leg of the Nigeria/Guinea has been scheduled for the Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan starting from 7pm Morocco time (8pm Nigeria time) on

Tuesday, 28th March. For Wednesday’s encounter in Abuja, CAF has appointed Sabri Mohamed Fadul from Sudan as referee. His compatriots Abdelgabar

Mohamed Abdelgabar and Ahmed Subahi will serve as assistant referee 1 and assistant referee 2 respectively, while Ring Akech Malong from South

Sudan will work as fourth official.

Munkaila Nassam Adam from Ghana will be the match commissioner.

AFCON 2023 Race: Fans to pay N2,000 and N10,000 to watch Super Eagles take on Wild Dogs

Tickets for Friday’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Djurtus (Wild Dogs) of Guinea Bissau have been calibrated in price ranges of N2,000 and N10,000 for ordinary and VIP seats respectively.

The tickets are available at the secretariat of the NFF at the Package B of Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Old Parade Ground, NFF’s former office at Wuse Zone 7 and other designated places which details will be announced on broadcast stations nationwide.

Nigeria, on six maximum points from their previous two matches, take on Guinea Bissau in a top-of-the-table fixture that will largely determine the swing of the pool, with the Super Eagles favoured to pick all six

points and guarantee their passage to Cote d’Ivoire early next year.

As at 15:33 hours on Tuesday, there were 21 players in the Super Eagles’ John Wood Hotel abode in Abuja. Only forward Victor Osimhen, who was already in Lagos and waiting to board his flight to the nation’s capital, and Portugalbased defender Zaidu Sanusi, were still being expected.

Egyptian referee Mahmoud Elbana will be in the centre, with his compatriots Youssef Elbosaty, Sami Halhal and Ahmed El-Ghandour to function as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.

Prosper Harrison Addo from Ghana will be the match commissioner and his compatriot Kotey Alexander will be the referee assessor.

Olympic Eagle players

S P R T

FIFA President, Infantino, rains encomiums on late Ismaila Mabo

By Albert Akota

President of world footballgoverning body, FIFA Mr. Gianni Infantino has described the former Super Falcons’ Head Coach, Ismaila Mabo who died recently as “one of the best coaches of his generation.”

In a letter of condolence that he personally signed and addressed to President of NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa

Gusau on 20th March 2023, Infantino expressed, on behalf of the international football community, FIFA’s deepest sympathy to the NFF, family, friends and loved ones on the passing of the titan.

“I would like to express my sincerest and heartfelt condolences on the passing of the former women’s national team coach, Mabo Ismaila. Words seem inadequate to express the sadness we

feel for this loss. Former international player with regular appearances in the senior national team, he notably defended the colours of Mighty Jets FC in the late 1960s and 1970s.

“As a coach, Mabo Ismaila led the senior women national team, the Super Falcons, to the quarter finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1999, to two Olympic Football Tournaments in 2000 and 2004, as well as to the 1998 and

2000 women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles.

“Considered as one of the best coaches of his generation, inspiration to younger generations of coaches, having contributed to the growth of women’s football in the country and around the world, his legacy and achievements, and in particular his personality, his loyalty and his human qualities will not be forgotten and he will be truly missed.”

NFF explains situation in Super Eagles’ technical crew, says nobody was sacked

The Nigeria Football Federation has issued a statement decrying media reports that it sacked two members of the Super Eagles’ technical crew, Messrs Finidi George and Ike Shorounmu from the team.

The statement read: As part of cost-cutting measures instituted at the beginning of the new administration, we established a rotation policy among the assistant coaches, based on the high number, which was agreed with all of them. The last time that the team had a

programme, Mr. Finidi George was the person who travelled for the friendly match in Portugal. This rotation policy is only for matches. When there is a tournament, all of them will be with the team.

He knew at that time that the next trip would be that of Mr. Usman Abdallah. Abdallah is simply taking his turn to be in the camp for the program of Super Eagles Vs Djurtus of Guinea Bissau, and Mr. George will be around for the next program.

The other person who could have

been contending, Mr. Salisu Yusuf, has been sent to the U23 team. There was no victimization, sleight of hand or any disrespect meant to our illustrious exinternational players.

The case of goalkeepers’ trainer, Ike Shorounmu is somewhat peculiar, as the former Nigeria goalkeeper showed a clear lack of desire to be in camp for the matches against Guinea Bissau.

We do not want to go into any details because we have the utmost respect for all our ex-internationals, including Mr.

Shorounmu. It was only when we got the clear signal that he was unwilling to come, and the Head Coach was in a quandary, that he (Coach Peseiro) requested for the services of Olatunji Baruwa, who he had seen at work during the U20 AFCON in Egypt, to help do the work of training the goalkeepers.

We agree there are a number of challenges concerning contracts of coaches of National Teams that we need to speedily resolve. The NFF is working on these and the issues will soon be in the past.

Gianni Infantino

Discourse

A look at China’s democracy: How are people’s voices heard?

Xi Jinping

By Mr. HE Hong

Deliberating on a draft amendment to China’s Legislation Law during the National People’s Congress (NPC) session, Sheng Hong, an NPC deputy and Party chief of a residential community in Shanghai’s Hongqiao subdistrict, noticed that some suggestions put forward by her community’s residents had been included.

Last November, at the legislative outreach office set up in Hongqiao by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, a total of 45 suggestions regarding the draft amendment to the Legislation Law were collected through seminars and online opinion solicitation, and directly delivered to the commission, according to Sheng.

This offers a glimpse into how Chinese citizens’ voices are heard and how they are engaged in the country’s whole-process people’s democracy.

In 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a residential community’s civic center in Shanghai at a time when a consultation meeting on the draft law was being held. He told residents attending the meeting that China’s people’s democracy is a type of whole-process

democracy.

Legislation on doorstep

“The legislative outreach office acts as a direct link between ordinary people and China’s top legislature,” said Sheng.

The Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee has set up 32 legislative outreach offices, covering all provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland so that more people can take part in drafting, reviewing, debating and implementing national laws.

The top legislature’s move has also inspired standing committees of provincial and municipal people’s congresses to establish more than 5,500 legislative outreach offices of their own.

“China is on the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics, where all major legislative decisions are made after

going through procedures and democratic deliberations to make sure the decision-making is sound and democratic,” President Xi said.

Governance by public will

To evaluate whether a country’s political system is democratic and efficient or not, President Xi said one should observe whether all the people can manage state and social affairs, economic and cultural undertakings are in conformity with legal provisions, the public can express their requirements without hindrance, and all sectors can efficiently participate in the country’s political affairs. Ding Xiangyun, 87, lives in an old building in Shanghai. Her life has become much easier since an elevator was installed in her building last year.

In recent years, Shanghai authorities have been installing

elevators in old communities to help senior residents. Project details are announced in advance in each community. But not everyone necessarily supports it. Shanghai authorities came up with the “three-meeting” system to reach decisions in residential neighborhoods, which serves as an example of whole-process people’s democracy at the grassroots.

The meetings, focused on hearings, coordination and deliberation, gather neighborhood residents for discussions on issues related to community construction. The practice, promoted citywide, allows subdistrict authorities to make local decisions.

Close consultation

There is a consultation room in Hengbei Village of Yancheng City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, where people can discuss issues, such as improving

The meetings, focused on hearings, coordination and deliberation, gather neighborhood residents for discussions on issues related to community construction. The practice, promoted citywide, allows subdistrict authorities to make local decisions

the village’s living environment and making villagers richer by developing local industries, with local political advisors.

During the latest meeting of the village’s consultation council, village locals sat down with members of the city and district committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to discuss enriching rural cultural life.

In Yancheng, political advisors at all levels are mobilized to join 2,693 consultation councils like that of Hengbei. Each political advisor is expected to visit and contact at least 30 locals every year, participate in at least two consultations, and undertake one practical task for residents.

These are practices showing how CPPCC members perform their duties at the grassroots levels.

In his report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi vowed to give play to the CPPCC’s role as a specialized consultative body, and to see that it coordinates efforts to promote democracy and unity while making proposals on state affairs and building consensus.

Hong is an international observer based in Beijing.

LATEST SPORTS

Antonio Conte: Tottenham boss needs to be ‘more precise’, says midfielder PierreEmile Hojbjerg

National unity, prejudices, and the consequence of anger

Anger is a barren human emotion, vacant of logic, rhyme, and reason. It is the stuff of that uncritical, unthinking, and irrational section of the human interior. Anger does not follow thought, and thought does not follow anger.

Anger is the mitochondrion of the ‘’mobs’’. Sadly, this anger is misplaced, misdirected and mis-catalysed. The animus seems inspired by primordial schmaltz and not anything altruistic. Anger of which chief aim is to exact vengeance cannot change society but bring doom upon it.

Tottenham midfielder PierreEmile Hojbjerg has called on manager Antonio Conte to be “more precise” following the Italian’s rant on Saturday.

After Spurs gave up a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw at Southampton, Conte called his players “selfish” and criticised the club’s culture.

Reports suggest the 53-yearold, who has returned to Italy during the international break, will be sacked.

“I think we’ve all seen it [Conte’s comments],” said Hojbjerg.

“He gave a very honest and very open press conference. It is because he is not satisfied. You don’t do that if you’ve reached the quarter-final of the Champions League and if you’re in the semifinal of the FA Cup.

“It comes from the fact that, unfortunately, we did not get the results we as a team and club wanted. We are still where we want and need to be in the Premier League. But yes, it’s hard.

“I understand that if you want to be successful as a team, you need 11 men who are committed to a project and a culture.

“But I think he has to elaborate on how he feels before you as a player can start measuring and weighing.”

Conte criticises ownership and calls Spurs players ‘selfish’

Was Conte ‘spot on’ or is it P45 time?

Former midfielder Ryan Mason, currently a first-team coach under Conte, is reportedly set to be appointed on an interim basis if Conte is sacked.

I have been overwhelmed by concern over the heightened tension foisted on the nation partly by the declarations, imprudence, and miscues of two sides of the mob. There are always two sides to bigotry. Particularly concerning is the tension among Nigerians who have lived together in harmony for decades in Lagos state.

First, it is bad politics for anyone, particularly a non-native to make ‘’taking over Lagos’’ a refrain. ‘’We’ll take over Lagos’’ – is bad sloganeering. It is revolting, and naturally will provoke resistance. I believe the same resistance will be compelled if non-natives of Anambra, for instance, say they want to change the political order in the state.

The duelling mobs have been dutiful with divisive propaganda, which now appears to be pitting Nigerians against one another. Tired and enraging motifs like ‘’No man’s land’’ have been reintroduced into the public discourse. But Lagos, clearly, has aboriginal owners. It is the territorial heritage of the Yoruba.

This is distressing rhetoric, really. Lagos is a melting pot of cultures and people. It has been welcoming and accommodating of everyone. It is depressing that this lodestar among states is the subject of vicious barbs and back talks.

The real wealth of Lagos is its

diversity. It is essential that Nigerians cognise this fact and protect the peace and sanity of the state.

Second, it is important that Nigerians understand that the factotums of the brawling mobs do not represent any group. These are half-witted individuals who lack knowledge of history, direction, and constipated by anger. Let it be clear that they do not represent any ethnic group.

Third, it is dangerous and unacceptable to profile any Nigerian citizen for whatever reason. We are all Nigerians with mutually guaranteed rights under the constitution. We must make a departure from the old ways of reasoning and interrogating issues. There is a need for us to discard prejudices and put Nigeria’s unity and Nigerians first in whatever we say and do.

I was among the very few writers who spoke against the profiling of the Fulani when speaking out earned you excoriation and cancellation, and if you come from my part of the country, a death sentence. In fact, the detained leader of IPOB did a broadcast calling for my beheading.

The bottom line is, we must be sensitive to Nigeria’s unity, peace, and harmony.

“One Nigeria” is not vacant of meaning. It must mean something to us. We must imbibe it, and it should reflect in our thinking, in what we say and do. Is what we are saying promoting peace, unity, and facilitating the healing of all Nigerians or is it deepening strife and tension?

We must understand the intricacies of governance and diversity and should not in any way become vectors of the social media contagion or soundboard for the noise, hate and prejudices of that ungoverned space. Nigeria is in our hands. The healing we all seek and the unity we all seek begin with every word we say.

Fourth, Nigerians must be mindful of the sort of rhetoric they promote. We cannot build a country on mutual hostilities. Hate and prejudice are the thoroughfare to Rwanda. It is troubling that the injudiciousness of the sparring mobs has dissolved into ethnic recriminations.

What some of those battering one another on the amphitheatres of ethnicity may not know is that the Yoruba and the Igbo are of the same ethnic phylum. Renowned scholars and historians like Adiele Afigbo and Samuel Johnson established this kinship which

colonial politics of divide and conquer submerged.

As I wrote in ‘’Do the Igbo and Yoruba know they are sons of Oduduwa’’, the two groups have had established trade-links dating to the period before contact with the first Europeans. And they are known to share passion for industry; are convivial, accommodating and peace loving.

Also, there is no documented history of war between the Igbo and the Yoruba despite occupying the same “southern hemisphere”. In the precolonial times, wars among kingdoms and natives were common, but there is no recorded incident of battle between the clans and kingdoms of the two groups.

In language, they are both of the Kwa-group NigerCongo origin. The similarities between the Yoruba and the Igbo language are remarkable, if not uncanny, which point to an identical fount. We are too connected to be divided.

I condemn the violence, voter intimidation and harassment across the 31 states in the governorship elections. And I plead with all Nigerians to submit to peace and unity to build our nation and a brighter future for everyone.

By Fredrick Nwabufo, Nwabufo aka Mr OneNigeria is a media executive.

DAN GAYE DANGAYE

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In language, they are both of the Kwa-group Niger-Congo origin. The similarities between the Yoruba and the Igbo language are remarkable, if not uncanny, which point to an identical fount

INEC to conduct supplementary election in embattled Reps Leader’s Constituency Wahala dey!