Nation
THE STATES
Borno
The Federal Government said recently that it had put in
place adequate security for all Nigerians before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.
Alhaji Mohammed Wakil, the Minister of State for Power, said this in Maduguri at a town hall meeting with different socio-cultural groups who were in support of the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.
This is contained in a statement issued in Maiduguri by Mr Olawale Rasheed, the Special Assistant to Wakil on Media.
It said the minister called on Nigerians living in different parts of the country to remain in their respective places and cast their votes toward the victory of President Jonathan, rather than flee to their home states.
Ekiti
Farmers in Ikole-Ekiti and its environs, have expressed
concern with the indiscriminate logging that is fast degrading forest and destroying their tree crops in the area.
A cross section of the farmers expressed this concern in an interview with newsmen in Ikole-Ekiti, recently.
The farmers said the illegal activities of some timber contractors, who cut down trees indiscriminately in the area, were becoming worrisome.
They urged the Forestry Department in the state to step up efforts to curb the menace, so as to reduce the level of deforestation and save tree crops from total destruction.
A cocoa farmer, Mr Ezekiel Ojo, decried increase in the number of timber contractors indulging in the felling of trees with impunity in the area.
Ojo warned that cocoa, Kola, palm trees and other cash crops in the area might soon go into extinction, if urgent steps were not taken to address the situation.
FCT
The Nigerian Navy last Tuesday disclosed that the country
lost an estimate of N 433 billion annually to crude oil theft due to poor law enforcement presence on the water ways.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, made the disclosure while defending the 2015 Budget Proposal in Abuja.
Jibrin, who was represented by the Chief of Logistics, Rear Admiral Peter Agba, credited the statistics to recent revelation made by the Chatham House, London.
He said the statistics did not include the amount of oil suspected to have been stolen from export pipelines, cost of oil spillage cleanup, loss of income to fishing communities and environmental degradation.
“The Nigerian Navy is constitutionally tasked with the protection of our maritime assets and recently the Chatham House revealed that Nigerian crude oil is being stolen at an industrial scale.
“It conservatively estimates that about 100,000 barrel per day, valued at N1.18 billion is stolen daily due to poor law enforcement presence, which is translated to N433.62 billion annually,” he said.
Kaduna
Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Alhaji Umar
Usman-Shehu, said the success of the forthcoming elections depended on the level at which politicians would abide by the law.
He stated this while addressing newsmen shortly after the signing of peace accord by candidates of some political parties in Kaduna North Senatorial District at Sabongari.
Usman-Shehu, “we expect to conduct peaceful elections and this can only be achieved if politicians conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of the land.
“We are here to sign a peace accord following similar ones held in Abuja and Kaduna.
“All Police Area Commands are directed to have this kind of gathering for politicians to sign peace accord,” he said.
He said that the police would not spare anybody who contravened the treaty, stressing, “Anybody who goes contrary to it will definitely be arrested and charged to court.
“Nobody is too big to be arrested if he goes contrary to the law; I assure you that there is no body that is untouchable in the state.
“The only person exempted by the law is the governor and his deputy; beside that, nobody is untouchable according to the Constitution,” the police boss said.
Kogi
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, last Tuesday,
said the Federal Government was currently constructing special secondary schools for girls in 27 states.
Jonathan, who spoke at the PDP Women rally in Lokoja, said the project was a fulfillment of part of President Goodluck Jonathan’s social contract with Nigerian women.
She said Jonathan, who is a friend of the women, believed in the capabilities of Nigerian women hence the implementation of the 35 per cent affirmative action.
The First Lady said Jonathan’s administration had created various opportunities for women to contribute their quota to nation building.
She urged the women of Kogi to ensure that they collected their Personal Voter Cards (PVCs) to enable them vote for Jonathan at the Presidential election in March 28.
Governor Idris Wada lauded the First Lady for inspiring and creating awareness among Nigerian women.
Lagos
The PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State, Mr Jimi
Agbaje, recently promised to build a pedestrian bridge for use by traders in the Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market in the state.
Our correspondent reports that the PDP candidate made the pledge when he took his campaign to markets in Ladipo, Idi-Oro, Oshodi and Ikeja.
A crowd of admirers, including commercial motorcyclists and traders from Mushin and Oshodi converged at the Matori area and blocked the nearby Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
Addressing the crowd of traders at the Ladipo rally, Agbaje also promised to improve sanitation in the market and improve the welfare of the traders.
He said that he would build a pedestrian bridge at the Toyota Bus Stop as well as establish a system for overnight waste management.
Nasarawa
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has urged Nigerians to vote
only leaders of proven integrity in the interest of peace and rapid development in Nigeria.
Adamu, (APC-Nasarawa West) also appealed to his people to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before closing date.
He made call during his campaign tour to Udeni Magaji community in Udege development area of the Nasarawa State.
Adamu said the importance of PVCs in any election cannot be overemphasised, hence the need for all registered voters to collect their PVCs in order to exercise their franchise.
“I am here to solicit for your support and votes to enable me and other APC candidates of our great party to win during the forthcoming March 28 and April 11 elections in order to ensure continuity in the provision of more dividend of democracy.
Niger
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives
Party (APC) in Niger State have signed a peace pact at the Police Area Command headquarters in Bida.
The event was attended by the PDP and the APC House of Assembly candidates from the zone.
The members representing Lavun and Gbako Local Government Areas in the house, Mr Jacob Majin-Gana and Mohammed Alkali, were present.
The exercise was observed by CSP Umar Ango, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) ‘A’ Division, Bida, who represented the Area Commander, ACP Micheal Gbenga.
Others are DPO of Mokwa, Lavun, Edati, Gbako, Katcha, Doko and ‘B’ divisions, Bida, and all heads of other sister security agencies in the area.
Gbenga, who addressed the politicians, warned youths against any act that would breach the existing peace in the area before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.
Plateau
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Plateau
Statehas pledged to build two modern staff quarters in two selected Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Pankshin Local Government.
It says another five selected PHCs in the council will be well equipped to serve the people of the council better.
Mr Peter Nyam-Gai, Plateau MDGs’ Project Coordinator, said this yesterday during inauguration of a free medical outreach at Nyelleng town in Pankshin.
“MDG has chosen two medical centres here in Pankshin, where in the next two weeks, we shall start building a modern staff quarters, twin quarters, each with a solar power in the centres.
Sokoto
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has declared that
the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) will continue to rule Nigeria for the next 60 years.
Jonathan, represented by the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina, spoke at the party’s women rally in Sokoto recently.
She said that Nigerian women had got their fare share and attention in Jonathan’s administration by holding about 50 per cent of the posts. “The president has fulfilled all the promises he has made to Nigerian women in 2011 and he will do more if re-elected,” she said.
The first lady also said that the president had 13 women in his cabinet, and had empowered women in a myriad of ways.
She further said that the president was also working tirelessly to curb the menace of insurgency.
“We have also picked five PHCs in Pankshin which will be supplied with all the necessary Medical equipment,” he said.
Nyam-Gai said, “We will continue to ensure that the little resources we have will be deployed to help the people, especially the rural dwellers.”
Chairman, House Committee on Works, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, Enugu State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Goddy Madueke and others, at the inauguration of the rehabilitated Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Section Three, from Enugu To Lokpanta in Enugu State, yesterday.
The Executive Director, Sahara Group, Kola Adesina, has called on various stakeholders to promote energy access in Africa, as lack of energy costs Nigeria and other African countries over $110billion annually.
He also urged the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the need to galvanise the interest and support of various stakeholders to promote equitable global trade relations and energy access in Africa where almost 600 million live without electricity.
Adesina, who spoke on ‘Redirecting the World Trade Organisation’ at the virtual 2021 Horasis Global Meeting, said deploying multilateral engagements would help circumvent the status quo that has made global trade relations “somewhat lopsided.”
Horasis is one of the foremost annual meetings of the world’s leading decision-makers from business, government, and civil society.
Speaking on access to power in Africa, Adesina said the WTO should explore collaborating with the various stakeholders to accelerate the pace of technology needed to make alternative power cheaper and more accessible to the consumers.
Africa is home to 17 per cent of the world’s population, but accounts for just 4 per cent of global power supply investment.
On a per capita basis, power supply investment in Africa ranks among the lowest in the world and lack of energy costs the continent over $110billion annually.
“The Environmental Impact Analysis of conventional power sources should be the focal point of conversations with African presidents as well as key political and business leaders to ensure their support and agree to a collective and sustainable solution template.
“The WTO must ensure that multilateralism guides its decision-making. The countries of the world are not all on the same pedestal, there should be consideration for the poor countries.
“The WTO should create a system where countries come together to create a united front to handle the issues the world is facing,” he said.
Adesina explained that multilateral strategies would create “elastic solutions” that can be adapted with respect to the unique challenges and opportunities across global trade blocs.
He argued that while sustainability should be the ultimate driver of development, concessions need to be in place to effectively manage the current challenges of less developed continents.
He stated, “Africa still suffers from the twin challenge of access versus affordability of electricity. We all need each other to solve the global challenges we face as individual countries and the world.
“A strong commitment is needed to maintain open and free trade; to keep open borders and to help the poorest countries, particularly least developed countries, survive the economic shock created by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The Horasis session noted that with protectionism gaining steam globally, the WTO would need to reinforce its influence on stabilizing global trade negotiations.
Experts expect that the WTO, under the leadership of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would spearhead effective reforms that would make the organization play a strategic role in promoting equity and transparency in the quest for global sustainable development.
The Management of the University of Ilorin says the institution is interacting with the Association of Landlords within its communities to ensure the protection of students.
Dean, Student Affairs, Unilorin, Prof. Lanre Ajibade, at a news conference in Ilorin yesterday assured that no stone would be left unturned toward ensuring safety of students.
According to Ajibade, the University has been engaging in consistent interactions with the landlord association of the communities to ensure students who live in the area enjoy the best treatment possible.
He said that although no fresh and returning student of the University was set to resume the 2021/2022 academic session, many live off campus, particularly within Tanke and the neighbouring communities,
He recalled the recent murder of a female student of the University and said management had been working vigorously with security agencies to ensure perpetrators of the heinous act were prosecuted.
The dean noted that the University was working assiduously with all the security agencies and other stakeholders within and outside the institution to ensure the safety of the community.
The University’s Chief Security Officer, Mr Abdulwasiu Oyewo, also said that his personnel were working day and night to provide maximum security in the area.
Oyewo said that the security officers were in constant patrol of the environment, adding that vehicles with tinted glasses and without registration number would not be allowed on campus.
Also, Officer-in-Charge of the Intelligence Unit in the University’s Security Division, Mr Ali Na’Allah, said that the unit would continue to engage in discreet information gathering on campus.
A 22-year-old unemployed man, Akinwunmi Rotimi, yesterday appeared in a Magistrates’ Court in Ota, Ogun for allegedly stealing two iPhones, an Hp Laptop and other valuables.
The police charged Rotimi, whose address was not provided, with two counts of burglary and stealing.
The Prosecution Counsel, Cynthia Ejezie, told the court that the defendant also stole N240,000.
Ejezie said that the defendant committed the offence on April 3 at about 4 a.m.at No.6 Ayoola Adeyinka, off Tetiku road, Owode-Ijako, Ota.
He said that the defendant broke into the house of the complainant, Mrs Adeleye Anike.
She said that the police from the Sango-Ota Police Station, tracked one of the phones to the defendant.
The offence, the prosecutor said, contravened the provisions of sections 383 (1) and 412 of the Criminal Code Vol.11, Laws of Ogun, 2006.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The counsel to the defendant, Mr Ambrose Aisedion, prayed the court to grant the defendant bail in the most liberal terms.
Magistrate Shotunde Shotayo admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N250, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
Shotayo ordered that the sureties reside within the court’s jurisdiction and be gainfully employed with two-year tax payment to Ogun Government.
The case was adjourned until June 17 for a definite hearing.
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