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The Ekiti Progressives Youths (EPY) has demanded an explanation from the Minister of Solid Minerals Development and ex-Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi over his alleged contribution of N1billion campaign fund of the Ondo State Governor-elect, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).
Rising from its meeting in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, the EPY said in a communique signed by its President and Secretary, Mr Samuel Adekunle and Comrade Roland Adewale that it was alarmed that Dr Fayemi, who left Ekiti State in debt could donate N1 billion to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship election campaign in Ondo State.
Fayemi
The youths said “it was strange that Fayemi could donate N1.5 billion to the APC presidential election campaign and another N1 billion to governorship election campaign within two years when youths, who are members of his party are wallowing in abject poverty.”
They said it was wicked for Fayemi to have used fund looted from Ekiti State to purchase appointment as Secretary to the Government of Ondo State for his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi.
The EPY noted that “the N1 billion allegedly wasted in Ondo State by Fayemi would have empowered 10,000 youths in Ekiti State at N100, 000 each and that would have gone a long way to alleviate the sufferings of the youths, especially those in the APC.
“Ekiti youths should recall also that Fayemi allegedly donated N1.5 billion to the campaign fund of President Muhammadu Buhari, which many believed qualified him for the ministerial appointment that he got.
“It should also be recalled that two out of the four trailers of rice and other food items donated to the Ekiti State APC by Dangote Foundation, were diverted to Ondo State and handed to Akeredolu by Fayemi's wife.
“Now, Fayemi has used another N1 billion to buy SSG appointment for his wife in Ondo State. This is the height of wickedness and we, the youths of Ekiti State are waiting for Fayemi to declare his ambition to contest the 2018 governorship election.”
ABUJA- Defence Headquarters has asked Nigerians not to panic over reports of possible infiltration of Boko Haram terrorists in some areas outside North East, saying the sects have not only been completely decimated but also confined to Sambisa Forest pending when they will be completely eliminated.
It also said contrary to insinuations that the military operations in the South East, tagged: “Operation Python Dance” was a threat to the peace and security of the area, it was merely a training platform for personnel in the zone.
Speaking to select journalists in Abuja, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, Director, Information of the Defence Headquarters, however, said in the course of the exercise, the personnel can respond to normalize peace if there were threats to security.
Abubakar, who said contrary to recent fears expressed by the Kano State governor about possible imminent infiltration of his state by Boko Haram terrorists, insisted that the terrorists have been defeated, saying a handful of them were restricted to their enclave in Sambisa Forest.
“The military has done what is termed as containment action and movements against the Boko Haram, and its ability to attack. What the Boko Haram now do is normal segmented flash attacks."
“Only a few members of the sect on bikes now parade isolated areas to attack. I am glad to say that in any of our operations that we have conducted, we freed the captives of the terrorists in each of these operations in the North East too, “he said.
Abubakar added:”Equally important is the free movement now of commercial vehicles. People can now do their businesses and without fear.The economic aspect of the areas has also bounced back."
"However, we are always on the watch as terrorists are never tired. They have ways of disguising and carrying out isolated ambushes and attacks."
“We understand all their antics and their modus operandi. On the issue of IEDs planted on the roads to impede the movements of the troops is also under consideration and we have made progress on that. We have procured relevant platforms to contain that."
“By and large, the operations there have significantly reached a good level and we will soon eliminate all of them as we have restricted them to the enclave of Sambisa and if you have been following, this Christmas will witness the launching of the last batch of operations."
“There could be a connectivity. Where the Boko Haram are being disturbed, generally they have to seek a leeway by way of movement and find new places. So, the possibility cannot be ruled out."
“But what the military are saying is that their movement would be extremely hard. I do not see them progressing beyond the North East.”
Speaking on the Operation Python Dance, he cautioned against politicizing the matter.
“We do not have to politicize the issue of security. Whatever the military does is with all sincerity and purpose. It is nationalistic and we do not conduct just operations targeting any group."
“For example, in the North Central, we did an operation. All these operations are ways of training. The whole military job is about training and it is why you do this that you have trained men."
“The Navy also had Eagle Eye. They are aimed to train personnel to test their capabilities, strengths and others."
“In the course of trainings, there could be some identified security threatened areas and which definitely must draw the attention of the military, but that is an addendum to what we want to achieve."
“There is a need to come out with proactive measures that will checkmate the activities of kidnappers, robbers, herdsmen, farmers' clash and others. This is what we are trying to achieve in the region."
“It is not to threaten or harass anyone. The operations are command exercises. The insinuations are wrong. The essence of the training is to remind officers what is expected of them.”
But he said the exercise was not without reasons, saying the country’s borders were so porous to necessitate such training.
“You see, geographically, there is no smoke without fire. Why I say so is that we have borders that are lacking in some certain levels of security presence. We have porous borders. We have smuggling in of small arms, medium arms, trans-border crimes and so on. Armed robberies, profligacy and others. "
“All these accumulate from issues having to do with porous borders. The borders are still porous, and we have to realise that some of the members of the insurgence countries would come from these countries, especially with the fall of government in these countries which necessitate the fallen regime to relocate with their arms and ammunition."
“So, we agree that some of these terrorists are from outside Nigeria. Porous borders are a challenge it is natural and that is why we come up with the multinational task force, we have had some many operations in the area and they have been successful.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says its portfolio which comprises of 55 projects are being implemented in Nigeria, amounting to 5.2 billion dollars to support inclusive growth and development.
AfDB Nigeria Country Director, Dr Ousmane Dore disclosed this at the closing of the three-day 11th African Economic Conference 2016 with the theme, "Feed Africa: Towards agro-allied industrialisation for inclusive growth.''
The conference was organised by the AfDB, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Dore said that Nigeria was selected to host the conference, adding that the bank had been promoting agro-allied industrialisation and value chain agriculture in the country.
"Fifty five projects of the bank amounting to 5.2 billion dollars comprising of our portfolio today in Nigeria out of these, 13 per cent used portfolio is in agriculture .
"What is more important is the approach the bank has used in this country toward agriculture to look at agriculture from programme perspective to value chain- staple crop processing zone.
"We have set up the processing zone in this country to promote agriculture from farming all the way to market,'' he said.
The official said that the Agriculture Transformation Support programme was the main programme that the bank had in Nigeria.
He said that the programme which cost 150 million dollars implemented in four states of crop processing zones would be extended to other states.
"This programme is being extended by 200 million dollars on coming years to try to set up this processing zone across the country.
"Also, we have Enable Youth Programme in Agriculture, it is meant to get youths to set up their own agriculture businesses. The programme will cost 300 million dollars to roll out.''
He said that the continent needed to use agriculture as an avenue to accelerate its transformation and development.
"All hands must be on desk as we place agriculture at the centre of agriculture transformation.
"The debate that has taken place from this meeting is that agriculture must take its place as the mainstay of African growth and transformation.
"It was established that agriculture must be moved from a sector that have a potential to bring out its full potential.
"The sector should transform itself from agro-allied and this must be the key concept to take away,'' the official said.
In addition, he said that the continent should learn from countries which had used agriculture to transform their economies from poverty to achieve income growth.
He gave example of Korea which used its main endowment of agriculture to transform its economy from feeding people to create small manufacturing- agro-allied industries.
According to him, this led the country to generate enough income and now it has moved into high technology.
He told the stakeholders to think beyond the conference to achieve the outcome of the meeting.
"There is massive uncultivated arable land in Africa so why not use the opportunity to use this potential to move toward transformation once sought by African leaders.
"Development must be underpinned by some industrialisation strategies.
"We do recall the way many Africa countries rolled out industrialisation policies in the 60s and 70s, what is clearly being understood today by development specialists.
"The specialist said that unless the countries move towards well designed policies, well thought industrialisation policies, they are going to be stuck.
"They are going to be stuck, in a situation where they depend on the same commodity export and therefore subjected to problem of international price movement,'' the official said.
Dore, however, expressed optimism that the conference had raised awareness on the need to put in the centre of Africa development, the issue of industrialisation.
The League Management Company (LMC) has approved the Kwara Stadium Complex in Ilorin for the hosting of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matches for the 2016/2017 season.
A representative of the LMC, Bode Oyewole who inspected facilities at the stadium on Wednesday in Ilorin, told newsmen that he was satisfied with what was on ground.
"If what we have seen is anything to go by, I have no hesitation but to say the stadium is fit to host any match of any magnitude.
kwara-united-
"All the facilities necessary for a football match have been checked and they are okay. The changing room is as important as the match officials' room, the sickbay is as important as the pitch.
"But, there are some (facilities) which needs upliftment and I have spoken with the appropriate authorities for them to be upgraded," Oyewole said.
He added that football was fast developing in Nigeria but that one would be doing the country injustice in comparing the country's stadiums to what are seen in Europe.
Newly-promoted side Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) FC of Ilorin will be playing in the NPFL in the 2016/2017 season.
By Levinus Nwabughiogu ABUJA- Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that the biting economic situation in the country may have been responsible for the nonpayment of Super Falcons’ allowances.
It will be recalled that Falcons who were victorious in the just concluded Africa Women Cup of Nations champions by beating Cameroon to win the trophy on Saturday have not been paid.
To this end, they refused to vacate their hotel in Abuja on Tuesday.
It was reported however that the players were offered N50,000 each but they rejected it; demanding for all their outstanding allowances.
An inquiry into the matter by the State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC on Wednesday revealed the Ministry of Youth and Sport was handling the matter.
Lai Mohammed when asked whether the matter came up at the meeting said this:
“The Minister of Youth and Sports raised the issue today at the council and it is being looked into.
“Over time, it has become tradition to reward victorious athletes or sports persons but I think this is caused by the biting economic situation.
“The Minister of Youth and Sports is handling the matter. It was reported under other matters today at the council.” Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
…laments poor treatment of Super Falcons, other sport ambassadors
Speaking at plenary today, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce representing Bayelsa East lamented the maltreatment of the Super Falcons who did the nation proud by conquering Africa on Saturday.
Recall that members of the team have refused to go back to their base except all allowances owed them is paid.
According to Senator Bruce, “We are a nation that builds stadiums but play no matches in them, we are a nation that spends a quarter of a billion dollars to buy equipments for NTA for the All Africa Games, but after the event, we don’t use the equipment. It seems like when it comes to awarding contracts to build facilities we are experts at them.
“I remember telling president Obasanjo at the time, there was no need to build the stadium at Abuja, that the All Africa Games could have been held in Lagos like they did in 1972. Now the stadium is built, when El-Rufai was FCT Minister, he went to take it over, he asked how much does it take to maintain, they told him JB was charging two billion naira every year just for maintenance, he said “please I don’t want it anymore.”
Ben Bruce
“The problem we have right now is this, we care about structures, we don’t care about people and this applies to every government since 1960. It is a disgrace what is happening to our girls, it is a disgrace what happens to our football players, our boxers, our tennis players, swimmers and all athletes representing Nigeria. We must take a position, we either care about human beings or we care about bricks and mortar, we either care about people or we care about giving out contracts, the talent for Nigeria to be great is the people we have in this country, but the government of Nigeria do not care about human beings, they only care about giving out contracts.
“Now we have won the competition, something as simple as paying wages to our young ladies who are the heroes of our time is not being paid because there are no contracts to be awarded. The entire sports division must be overhauled and only people with intelligence, committment, passion and a drive to make Nigeria great should be appointed to the ministry of sports and government should understand that this is serious business.
“Everytime I see a kid selling paper on the street running, you see an area-boy but I see a 100m world champion because that is how they are made. All the kids in America who are now heroes all came from the ghetto. Nobody in this chamber, none of our children will be world champion because they are too rich. Only the children of the poor will go into sports. The children of the rich will go into science and technology, they will not go into sports. So what we have done is deprive the child of the poor a chance to make a living and to be successful and this is very important.
“Whether you are Dick Tiger, Hogan Bassey, any world champion we have ever had, they have never been children of the rich. The children of the poor are the ones who we are depriving a chance to make a living and be successful. I urge all my noisy colleagues to please support this motion and get the government to paid the allowances of these beautiful children so that we can be great again.”
ABUJA: Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abdullahi Muhammadu Gana, has said if the corps is to effectively discharge its mandate and meet up with new security demands, it would have to recruit 100, 000 Nigerians.
Gana spoke Wednesday at the NSCDC Academy in Abuja shortly after decorating 10 newly promoted officers to the rank of Assistant Commandant Generals (ACG).
He said a bigger workforce has become necessary in order to meet up with the request for its personnel running into several thousands from several ministries departments and agencies of government.
He said;”We are facing more and more challenges on daily basis. Just some months ago, we had a meeting with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals where the Minister said that they would be requiring a 5000-man squad in line with government’s decision to diversify the economy."
“The minister, Dr Kayode Fayemi, had during the meeting insisted that my men must be trained and retrained to understand the modus operandi of the sector especially on the identification of solid minerals very well. Today, we have set up a Solid Minerals unit in the corps."
“After that, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, also approached us to request for a 3000-man squad to help in checking the activities of the Fulani herdsmen and manning the 5000 ranches the ministry intend to establish in the country. He later demanded for an additional 3000 men."
“We have also held meeting with the Minister of Defence, who requested that we prepare and deploy about 3, 300 of our men to the North East where the military have dislodged the Boko Haram insurgents to secure the civilians."
“The same thing with the MD of the Nigeria Railway Corporation who has also requested the deployment of 3000 men to their 22 installations across the country since the sector has been classified among the critical infrastructure of government."
“The same request came from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and essentially from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) requesting the deployment of our men to secure the dams in the country following the threat from Boko Haram to poison the source of our drinking water."
“The newly promoted ACGs must understand that these are the challenges facing them. We want them to take charge of the railway command; it is a very big task. We have made request to the government that for us to meet up with these requirements, we will need to beef up our personnel and we are looking at the possibility of recruiting 100,000 workforce,” he noted.
Abuja – Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment has called for speedy pass of the Occupational and Health Bill before the National Assembly.
Ngige said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a two-day National Awareness and Sensitisation Workshop on Occupational, Safety and Health (OSH) for major industries and government agencies in Nigeria.
The workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in partnership with Global Network Monitoring and Development Initiative, its theme is: "Emergency Preparedness and Response for Workplace System Resilience''.
The minister was represented by Dr Ifeoma Anyawutaku, Director, Occupational, Safety and Health in the ministry.
Ngige said that it was imperative to create awareness on risks faced in various places of work and ways of tackling the challenges.
"The Occupational Safety and Health Bill in the Legislature, still awaiting passage, is the key to effective OSH communication.
"We believed the current Legislature will pass the bill and other labour bill that are pending before the end of its tenure. The Nigerian workers will be better for it. ''he said.
He said that the ministry of labour and employment was committed to domesticating the International Labour Organsition's Convention C.187 on Promotional Framework on Occupational Safety and Health in Nigeria.
According to him, the ministry is determined to boosting the occupational safety and health in the administrative services and offices beyond the regularly covered industrial working environment.
"This will enhance the performance of the National Occupational Safety and Health Management System to boost the occupational safety and health preventative culture in the world of work.
"This workshop is expected to add value to your knowledge on the various occupational safety and health policies and programmes, ''he said.
Also, Mr Mohammed Haruna, Executive Director, Global Network Monitoring and Development said the workshop was crucial to advocate for safe workplace in various organisation in the country.
Haruna said that Nigeria lacked emergency preparedness and responses to health and safety issues in the country.
"How prepare are we, if there is an emergency in our homes, workplace, among others.
"We need to be prepared at all time, we are always rushing into issues and we end up making half hazard arrangement in tackling problems.
"So, it is very important that this awareness is created to educate people about occupational health and safety because accident does not only happen in the industries but could be anywhere.''
A participant, Mr Quintus Azogu, Asst. Controller General, Policy, Regulatory Department in the Federal Fire Service commended the organisers for the programme.
Azogu said that programme was timely as there had been a lot of fire out breaks in the country due to the dry season.
He said at it was important for Nigerians to be careful and prepared for any unfortunate occurrence that may occur.
Police authorities in Abuja, yesterday, smashed a syndicate that specialised in robbing bank customers by swindling them of their Automatic Teller Machine, ATM, cards and pins, with the leader saying they got their 'business' idea from reading newspapers.
The suspects and cards found in their possession.
Vanguard gathered that the suspects, who were identified as David Wuese, Chika Okenyi, Omotayo Bamidele and Akura Godwin, were apprehended following complaints from members of the public to the Inspector General Police, Ibrahim Idris, who deployed his operatives at the Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, to trail and arrest the suspects.
Sources at Force Headquarters disclosed that members of the syndicate were trailed to hideouts in Enugu, Benue and Nassarawa states, where they were arrested and over 70 ATM cards recovered from them.
A source said the suspects confessed during interrogations that they normally steal the ATM cards and pins while pretending to assist customers solve issues at ATM points.
Confessions
When Vanguard interviewed the suspects, the leader of the syndicate Wuese, aged 27, disclosed that the syndicate was formed in Makurdi, Benue State, and they carried out their activities across several states in the country.
Wuese said: "We read about something similar to our operation in the newspapers, but modified it. Some of the ATM cards found in our possession were all invalid and that was what we were using to steal from our victims.
"We don't operate in one state. After stealing a card, we will check the balance and if the money is below N20,000, we don't touch it. But if the amount in the account is huge, we withdraw money by phones, which we would resell at cheaper prices.
"Sometimes, we take the ATMs to night clubs and hotels where we pay with cards. In our last operation, we bought three Samsung Galaxy Edge for N245,000 each and we sold them for N215,000.
"We also bought three Blackberry Passport for N130,000 each and sold them for N90,000. We also got two Infinix phones for N82,000 and it was sold for N60,000.
"I can't recall the number of operations we have carried out, but we normally share all the money we have made equally.
"I have bought a Toyota Camry with my own share of our loot. I don't know what my friends have done with their own share."
ABUJA- THE Senate, Wednesday, said it was set to screen the Acting Chairman of the Economic amd Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Ibrahim Magu Thursday.
Disclosing this yesterday, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who presided over the plenary session said that the chamber would screen Magu today.
It would be recalled that President Buhari had in June this year, forwarded a request for Magu's confirmation to the Senate, but the matter had not featured on the Senate’s agenda since then.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, had in July, 2016 read the letter from president Muhammadu Buhari appointing Magu as chairman of the EFCC.
Since then, nothing tangible was seen from the side of the Senate on the confirmation.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu urged Senators to turn up for the legislative exercise which would be done by the committee of the house.
Magu might however have serious questions to answer as quite a number of the senators who had governed as state governors have one issue or the other with the agency.
Magu became acting chairman of the commission in November, 2015 after the expiration of the tenure of his predecessor, Ibrahim Lamorde.
By Emman Ovuakporie and Johnbosco Agbakwuru ABUJA – THE House of Representatives Wednesday reversed its earlier decision prohibiting the suspended former House Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin from having access to the National Assembly Complex.
The reversal was contained in a resolution passed to him appear before the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to respond to the petition on the alleged ownership of foreign accounts in Barclays Bank, United Kingdom.
Recall that the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) had on Monday submitted a petition to the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, House Committee on Public Petitions, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau as well as office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to prosecute the lawmaker.
Over 150 Turkish officers, some responsible for training others, were recalled or retired from NATO high command in the wake of a July coup attempt, US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti told reporters on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The top NATO commander said he lost 50 per cent of 300 Turkish officers in the alliance's so-called Allied Command Operations in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
"You lose a good deal of experience, so we are seeing a bit of degradation," Scaparrotti said, speaking on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the military alliance headquarters in Brussels.
Turkey's government declared a state of emergency following the failed military coup and launched a crackdown on alleged supporters of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds responsible for the putsch.
Scaparrotti said he was in contact with Turkey's head of armed forces, General Hulusi Akar, on a nearly weekly basis, and that Akar has been "very direct in his commitment to NATO" and to refilling positions with the right officers as quickly as possible.
About half of the empty positions had been restaffed, Scaparrotti added.
The U.S. general said he had no suspicions that any of the officers were involved with planning the coup and that he was concerned for the officers and their families.
Last month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Turkish soldiers working in the military alliance have sought asylum in other countries in the wake of the Turkish government's crackdown on the military and civil servants following the coup.
Popular Nigerian musical icon, award winning musician Dare Art Alade, will be hosting the unveiling of GS4 brand of cars made by China's leading automaker GAC motors at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island Lagos on Monday.
This is as Stephanie Linus, Kunle Afolayan and a host of other have indicated their interest to grace the premiere unveiling of the GS4 cars.
Also for the event of a delegation from China led by the General Manager of GAC Motors will be making their first visit to Nigeria.
Speaking about the vehicle, Chief Diana Chen, Chairman of CIG Motors and Chief host of the event and the first Chinese woman to receive a Chieftaincy title in Nigeria, said applying sustainable and eco-friendly technologies in vehicle production and automotive decoration is one of our primary goals. All cars manufactured by GAC Motor follow the highest standards and use only the best quality and environmental friendly materials.”
No doubt this is a choice car for Nigerians and it has been said continuously in the automotive industry in Nigeria that the launch of the GS4 car is set to create a revolution in Nigeria's automobile Industry.
The GS4 brand has scored many firsts. GS4 scored 80.68 points in the C-ECAP assessment and became the first SUV vehicle model to receive the gold medal.
This best-selling model has just made its debut to Lagos, Nigeria where it is currently been assembled. It has optimal fuel efficiency with a combined fuel consumption of 6.3 L/100 km (37.3 MPG) and only 36dB in idling noise to provide undisturbed driving space for car owners.
The Unveiling is expected to be an event of pomp and pageantry as select stakeholders of Nigeria's automobile industry, captains of industry, celebrities, political leaders and heads of corporate organisations have confirmed attendance.
Some of the celebrities who will be gracing this occasion are Stephanie Linus, who received a car from GAC Motors for carting away the Best Overall Movie In Africa Award at the AMVCA Awards 2016 and the award winning Movie Director, Kunle Afolayan.
Dr Boboye Oyeyemi ,Corps Marshal ,Federal Road Safety Commission(FRSC),on Wednesday said 770 road traffic crashes involving 4,365 tankers and trailers had killed 1,048 people from January to November 2016.
Speaking at the Interactive session with stakeholders in road transport sector in Abuja, Oyeyemi said 4,365 people were also injured during the period of review.
According to him, crashes involving tankers and trailers had been on the increase since 2014 as 1,862 people were killed while 1,285 deaths were recorded in 2015.
"On comparative notes, it was observed that while there was 31.9 per cent reduction in road traffic crashes between 2014 and 2015, 38.6 per cent was recorded between January and November this year.
"While the rates of tankers and trailers’ involvement were 15.5 per cent and 0.14 per cent respectively within the period.
" The summary of crashes involving tankers, trailers and trucks from week one to 48 2016 show 14,984 people were involved in a total of 7934 crashes.
"Among these, tankers recorded over 252 crashes; trailers 518; and trucks 1,276, while other vehicles accounted for 10884, bringing the number of crashes vehicles to 12,959 killing 1,748 and leaving 6,365 injured,'' he said.
Oyeyemi said that the FRSC would continue to put measures in place to address the challenges and had initiated a new partnership with relevant stakeholders in road safety to curb them.
He urged tanker owners to put in place safety valve to avoid spillage of content of tankers in case of crashes.
Oyeyemi said to regulate safe practice for effective and safe delivery of liquid hydrocarbon in Nigeria, FRSC had initiated a safe-to-load programme and deployed 168 personnel to 43 tank farms in Nigeria.
He said within one year, 103,201 vehicles had been inspected to determine their level of compliance with the minimum safety standard and 78,121 met the standard, while 25,080 failed.
The corps marshal said to ensure safer road environment especially during the festive periods, the corps mapped out strategies to address traffic challenges by deploying personnel to identified black-spots.
He said 38 critical corridors had been identified for special patrol with the aim of reducing road traffic crashes,fatalities and prompt removal of obstructions.
He urged all Nigerians and stakeholders to join the campaign to "crash the crash'' in the festive season.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal, represented by Mr Mohammed Tahir,Director Parastatals SGF, said the federal government was working to eliminate road bumps from the highways.
This, Lawal said, would help in curbing crashes, adding that there was need to train and retrain drivers so as to avoid mistakes that could lead to accidents on the highways.
He called for need for the installation of speed cameras to be installed on the roads to spot out recalcitrant drivers.
Responding, Mr Salimonu Oladiti, the National Chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, (PTD/NUPENG), appealed to FRSC to compel tanker drivers to install safety valves on their vehicles.
Oladiti said this would help in averting deaths that resulted in spillage of tankers contents in accident scenes.
He said the major challenges faced by tanker drivers were speed bumps and road blocks on the highways because too much application of brakes by tankers led to break failure and appealed that such should be checked.
Mr Najeem Yasin, the President of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW),reiterated the union's commitment to collaborating and supporting the FRSC to curb crashes especially in the festive seasons.
Yasin said the union would play its part to ensure an accident-free festive season.
The Naira appears helpless in the face of efforts by the CBN and stakeholders in the forex market in fast -tracking its recovery, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The Nigerian currency exchanged at N485 to a dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday in Lagos, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N600 and N510, respectively.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira closed at N399 to a dollar, CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N606 and N512, respectively.
Trading at the interbank market saw the Naira closed at N305.50 to a dollar.
Naira-Dollar
Traders at the market said that the shortage of the green back was impacting negatively on the performance of the Naira.
As the yuletide approaches, it is becoming clear that navigating the Naira to an upward trajectory involves concerted efforts by well meaning Nigerians.
It is undisputable that the Nigerian currency is fighting many battles that require patriotism on the part of the business community to win.
It will be recalled that Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) last week identified currency hoarding and speculation as monsters challenging the very existence of the Naira.
Remittances from Nigerians living abroad, which is put at 21 billion dollars, which was hitherto assisting in the defence of the nation's currency from total destruction, has now reduced drastically.
The Naira stirs everyone in the face to salvage it from its attackers.
Some suspected armed robbers have written some Lagos residents urging them to prepare to pay season's dues to them on a date not mentioned.
Residents of Joseph Harrison Estate, Yaba area of Lagos State got the letter from the bandits on Wednesday notifying them of their impending attack to collect their "dues" for the festive season.
NAN gathered that the letter was placed on the vehicle of one of the residents and was discovered in the morning when he was about to wash his car.
"We are coming this week to collect our dues and to visit you tenants and landlords of Joseph Harrison Street in the week. If you like go and bring police or soldiers, we are coming to perform our duties.
"If you cooperate, we will not kill, but if you fail to cooperate, blood will flow," the letter said.
NAN check at the estate on Tuesday revealed that sterner security measures have been put in place to protect lives and properties in the community.
Mr Bolanle Akinyemi, Chairman, Community Development Association said the estate had enjoyed some peace for a long while as it was protected by guards and the police from Sabo Police Post.
"We are also mindful of the slum that surrounds us and we have been conscious of suspected criminals," he said.
"No one has received such letter before, but there was a case in 2013 when a company in the estate was robbed," he said.
The chairman said they have reported the threat to Sabo Police Division and more guards have been engaged at the estate.
Concerned residents urged the commissioner of police, Fatai Owoseni to deploy more men to patrol the estate regularly.
By Rotimi Ojomoyela Ado-Ekiti – The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has berated Governor Ayodele Fayose for wearing military camouflage to the House of Assembly on Tuesday to present his 2017 budget proposal.
The party said such attitude represents conduct unbecoming of his high position in a constitutional democracy.
The party also frowned at the governor’s contempt for separation of powers as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, noting that arrogating the powers of the parliament to himself is a brazen trampling on the law, urging the National Assembly to save Nigerian Constitution from the governor’s executive lawlessness and recklessness.
Fayose had on Tuesday stormed the House of Assembly in a military camouflage to present budget estimate for the 2017 Appropriation. At the occasion, he said he was the Speaker of the House of Assembly while the substantive Speaker Kola Oluwawole was acting Speaker on the seat representing him.
The APC in a statement in Ado-Ekiti by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said Fayose’s conduct was an affront on the constitution and a brazen conduct suggesting that democracy was dead in Ekiti State.
“We have always insisted that Fayose is a law unto himself and a threat to democracy in Nigeria, showing contempt for the law and would do anything to undermine the integrity of the supremacy of the constitution.
“As a man who has constituted himself as the law, Fayose has demonstrated several times that he has no respect for the nation’s constitutional democracy and the rule of law. “He sacked the House of Assembly for six months and ran 19 APC members out of the town with thugs and used seven PDP members to impeach APC Speaker in the House of Assembly of 26 members after he led thugs to invade the court to beat a judge and tore court records in the Chief Judge’s office.
“Fayose keeps his own army in the Government House that he regularly unleashes on his opponents, including using same armed thugs to prevent EFCC from doing its job when the governor stormed Access Bank with thugs to shield Mrs Fani-Kayode from EFCC scrutiny on her husband’s frozen account.
“Wearing army camouflage to the parliament to present the budget has confirmed our earlier claim that Fayose has army uniforms stocked at home with which he unleashed terror on the opposition during the Presidential and National Assembly elections,” he explained.
Describing Fayose’s mode of dressing as a collective insult and embarrassment to Ekiti people, Olatunbosun said the governor’s conduct was an affront to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces and officers and men of the armed forces as the only official and institution allowed to wear such uniform.
“The President of the federation is allowed to wear army uniform to perform certain official functions while the officers and men of the force can also wear it, and so by wearing army uniform to perform an official duty in the parliament, Fayose is challenging the authority of the President who is the only Head of Government allowed by law to wear army uniform.
“Fayose may be running a mercenary ring and planning something sinister as we had earlier raised alarm. It is time for the security agencies to take Fayose’s security breach seriously,” Olatunbosun said.
He added: “Since Ekiti State House of Assembly members are Fayose’s captives who cannot question his illegal conduct, we wish to ask the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff if they granted Fayose permission to sew, keep and wear army uniform.
“We also call on the National Assembly to take parliamentary notice at Ekiti House of Assembly as a parliament that has collapsed and is irretrievably comatose and so needs intervention to save democracy and Nigerian law from those who have no respect for constitutional democracy and governance.
“Democracy is on life support in Ekiti State from the reckless desecration of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and so it is time the very bastion of democracy, the National Assembly, came to the aid of the nation’s constitution being held by the throat by Fayose who has unabashed contempt for constitutional order.”
United States president-elect Donald Trump has been named Person of the Year by Time magazine.
The business tycoon-turned-politician defied the polls to win the US 2016 presidential election and is seen by many as a divisive standard bearer for right-wing anti-establishment movements across the globe.
"It's hard to measure the scale of his disruption," a statement released on Times magazine's website reads, describing its choice as "for better or worse."
Time magazine's Person of the Year edition for 2016 has a photo of Donald Trump from behind, sitting in an upholstered armchair and looking over his shoulder towards the reader, with the title "President of the Divided States of America."
Time editor Nancy Gibbs tells NBC News that his selection was "one of the more straight forward" choices that the magazine has made.
"It comes after the political novice scored a surprise victory in the November 8 elections.
"When have we ever seen a single individual who has so defied expectations, broken the rules, violated norms, beaten not one but two political parties on the way to winning an election that he entered with 100-to-1 odds against him?" she asked.
"I don't think that we have ever seen one person operating in such an unconventional way have an impact on the events of the year quite like this."
Time magazine on Wednesday named Donald Trump its “Person of the Year” for 2016 for his stunning upset election victory that rewrote the rules of politics, delivering him to the helm of a divided America.
The president-elect dialed into NBC television’s Today show, welcoming the accolade as a “very, very great honor,” denying he was responsible for divisions and praising outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama.
The real estate tycoon, who has never previously held elected office and shocked the political establishment by defeating his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, is featured on Time’s cover described as “Donald Trump: President of the Divided States of America.”
The magazine said its person of the year, a tradition that began in 1927, “had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.”
“So which is it this year: better or worse?” editor-in-chief Nancy Gibbs wrote. “The challenge for Donald Trump is how profoundly the country disagrees about the answer.”
She said 2016 had been the year of his rise and 2017 would be the year of his rule, after he is sworn into office on January 20.
“Like all newly elected leaders, he has a chance to fulfill promises and defy expectations,” said Gibbs.
Trump
Trump won the title, she added, for “reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair and that truth is only as powerful as the trust in those who speak it, for empowering a hidden electorate by mainstreaming its furies and live-streaming its fears, and for framing tomorrow’s political culture by demolishing yesterday’s.”
In the past Time has showed its editorial teeth by naming sinister figures — Adolf Hitler in 1938 and Joseph Stalin both in 1939 and 1942.
The president-elect told NBC’s Today show that he thought the sub-heading on the front cover about a divided America was “snarky” and denied that it was his fault.
“I’m not president yet so I didn’t do anything to divide,” he said, despite having inflamed the country by campaign rhetoric disparaging women, illegal immigrants and Muslims among others.
– Takes Obama’s advice –
For years he criticized Obama and was instrumental in the so-called “birther” movement that questioned whether the first black president was born in the United States.
“I will say this: I’ve now gotten to know President Obama, I really like him,” Trump told NBC on Wednesday. “I can’t speak for him, but we have a really good chemistry together. We talked,” he said.
“He loves the country, he wants to do right by the country and for the country and I will tell you, we obviously very much disagree on certain policies and certain things, but I really like him,” he added.
The billionaire even said that he discussed some of his possible appointments with the outgoing Democratic president.
“I take his recommendations very seriously and there are some people that I will be appointing and in one case have appointed where he thought very highly of that person,” Trump said.
Clinton, the former secretary of state who became the closest in history to becoming America’s first female commander in chief, was named the runner-up, with computer hackers in third place.
The former first lady won the popular vote with around 2.7 million more votes than Trump, but the Republican won the crucial Electoral College by 306 to 232.
Trump campaigned hard on a promise of bringing back jobs with the old manufacturing heartland hard hit by companies fleeing overseas and taking jobs to cheaper labor markets in China or Mexico.
Trump told Time in an interview that he asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to build in the United States “a great plant, your biggest and your best, even if it’s only a foot by a foot bigger than some place in China.”
He also addressed representing working class Americans despite his lavish wealth, living in a luxurious Manhattan penthouse.
“I’m sitting in an apartment the likes of which nobody’s ever seen. And yet I represent the workers of the world. And they love me and I love them,” he told the magazine.
“I think people aspire to do things. And they aspire to watch people. I don’t think they want to see the president carrying his luggage out of Air Force One. And that’s pretty much the way it is,” he said.
By Henry Umoru ABUJA- SENATE President Bukola Saraki said yesterday that the long awaited Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) would be passed by the Senate before the of January.
According to him, if Nigeria as a country must achieve the change, the most compelling would be the consideration of t existing petroleum legal, regulatory and institutional structures which he described as out-dated.
Declaring open a 3-day public hearing on PIGB, organized by Senate Joint committees on Petroleum (Upstream), Petroleum (Downstream) and Gas, Saraki who noted that the passage of the bill would open a new vista in the oil and gas industry, said, “Let me reassure all stakeholders of our commitment to ensure the passage of this bill. It is my hope that before the end of this session, that we will have that can be laid before us before we go on recess. And hopefully by the time we come back in January, we should be able to pass this bill.
"The petroleum industry remains the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Oil and gas have been, and will likely remain for the foreseeable future, Nigeria's most important non-renewable energy source. The industry contributes over 90% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.”
The Senate President who lamented that the non-passage of the bill for almost sixteen years has negatively Nigeria as a country, said: "This all-important sector of the economy has for too long performed below efficiency indexes, with government and investors alike losing significant edge in the oil and gas investment trends. The case for change cannot be more compelling considering that existing petroleum legal, regulatory and institutional structures are out-dated.
“It is unacceptable that till date, we still import over 90% of needed petroleum products (petrol and chemicals), we flare substantial gas produced, we have damaged our eco-systems and polluted our communities and cannot supply adequate electricity to our homes and industries.
“This situation has undermined our citizens' standard of living, life expectancy, our national energy security and has resulted to other unforeseen fall-outs like: labour unrest; fuel queues; high cost of delivery of products; high cost of delivery of overall services in the overall economy; and unquantifiable wastage of national productivity as a result.
“The state of the industry globally today, has heightened and made it imperative that either we comprehensively reform our local industry to have a chance to keep it alive or become extinct. The oil and gas industry is yearning for good governance,competitiveness, transparency, indigenous participation and accountability.”
On what the passage of the bill seeks to achieve, the Senate President said that it will "Create efficient and effective governing institutions with clear and separate roles for the petroleum industry, establish a framework for the creation of commercially oriented and profit driven petroleum entities that ensures value addition and internationalization of the petroleum industry and promote transparency in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria and create a conducive business environment for petroleum industry operations.
“Let me reassure all stakeholders that this is just the beginning. We will also tackle the issues of downstream, gas and the environment. We are poised and resolved that we will deal with all issues related to the industry, albeit in tranches. This will ensure thoroughness and effectiveness. As a nation we cannot afford any further delay in our effort to reform our oil and gas industry.
“The journey begins now and I assure you that we will guarantee that all of these bills are passed in record time. I wish you all very fruitful deliberations.”
Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Tayo Alaosoadura, said: "The PIB as we all know, has been lingering as it were in the corridors of the National Assembly for a little over a decade.
“However, the Eight Senate has made the PIGB as one of the key landmarks to revamp the economy and make petroleum industry more efficient. If we must get out of the present recession the country is witnessing and get the economy on the steady path of growth, the petroleum industry must be made efficient and more profit-oriented.
“The call also by the Senate president in rolling out the agenda for the 8th Senate made it abundantly clear that the passage of the PIGB will be one of the landmark successes of the Eight Senate.”
During the 3-day public hearing, critical stakeholders like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, PENGASSAN, NUPENA, BPE, others made presentation while other key players in the oil sector like the International Oil Companies (IOCs), Host Communities, among others are expected to make presentations.
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