Author: Isah Mukhtar

NAN-AE-2
Pigeon-pea
By Kudirat Ogunyemi
Abuja, May 4, 2017 (NAN) The National Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) says Nigeria has secured an offer from the Indian government to export pigeon pea, worth 100 billion U.S. dollars, to the country.

Mr Vincent Isegbe, Coordinating Director, NAQS, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

Isegbe said that the country would generate appreciable revenue from pigeon pea exports to India when the scheme was successfully executed.

He said NAQS and other Federal Government agencies made a submission to the Indian government on 25 categories of crop analyses, all of which were based on new innovations.

“One of our submissions was on Pigeon Pea Pest Risk Analysis, which was successfully done by a team of NAQS scientists.

“We did not invite any other specialist or researcher from outside the country for the submission and Nigeria was given an offer to export pigeon pea to India.

“If one commodity like pigeon pea can fetch Nigeria so much and Nigeria is able to make two to three supplies; the country can begin to reap the benefits of agricultural exports,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the pigeon pea is a perennial legume from the family, Fabaceae, and its seeds have become a common food grain in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The high protein content of pigeon pea seeds also makes the crop an excellent variety of livestock feed.

The green fodder of pigeon pea also has a protein content of 10 to 15 per cent; while its straw, husks and screenings can be used to provide roughage.

Isegbe said that the service had partnered with some states and All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) to meet the pigeon pea demand.

“We have started interacting with the governors of Kano and Kaduna states as well as AFAN and other relevant groups in order to meet the Indian government’s demand for pigeon pea.

‎

“Besides, NAQS will educate the partners on how to get genuine seeds with the help of the National Agricultural Seed Council to meet the demand.

“Officials of the NAQS will train some groups of people to serve as extension workers to the pigeon pea farmers in ‎clusters and teach them when to plant and nurture their crops until harvest.

“We encourage farmers to start with what they have now and government will support them later. When there are challenges, we will give them technical advices,’’ he said.

NAN recalls that NAQS recently received “The most Innovative Government Agency’’ award from Business Day Media Limited for its numerous achievements. (NAN)
ROK/JI/OOK
==========

Editing by Joseph Idika and Dayo Komolafe

NAN-H-119 P

ress

By Vivian Ihechu and Edwin Nwachukwu

Lagos, May 3, 2017 (NAN) Mr F. John Bray, United States Consul-General says the media has a duty to play in ensuring that government and political leaders are accountable to the people in a democratic government.

Bray, who spoke at an event to mark the 2017 World Press Freedom Day in Lagos on Wednesday, urged the press to scrutinise and expose any abuse of power by elected government officials.

The theme of this year’s Press Freedom Day is: “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies’’.

Bray said the role of the media as the watchdog of the society was necessary to ensure checks and balances and smooth running of every democracy.

“Unfortunately, not all governments accept such public attention.’’

According to Reporters without Borders, more than a third of the world’s people live in countries where there is no press freedom.

Bray said; “most of them are quasi democracies, with systemic deficiencies in the electoral process, or countries where there is no system of democracy at all’’.

“Working under such conditions, journalists risk everything to hold regimes accountable.’’

He said that the U.S strongly supports press freedom and believed that an unfettered press was essential for every democracy to thrive.

The U.S envoy said his country passed the Freedom of Information Act in July 1966, which became a law in 1967, adding that there had been several amendments to strengthen the law.

“More recently, on May 17, 2010 to be specific, former U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Freedom of the Press Act.

“It was named after the Wall Street reporter, Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan, four months after the September 11 attacks in the U.S.

“The U.S, however, understands that with more freedom comes more responsibility,’’ Bray said.

According to him, advances in technology and increased reliance on social media platforms as sources of information make the accuracy and objectivity of reporting crucial.

He, therefore, urged Journalists to check and double check facts before putting out a story, to ensure personal credibility and the reliability of their platforms.

“Be thorough in your research and strive to look for every side of a story before you hit the send button,” Bray said. (NAN)

VIV/ENN/EEM/EEE

===============

Edited by Emmanuel Mogbede/Ese E. Ekama

NAN-H-66

Roads

Lagos, May 3, 2017 (NAN) Residents of Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) on Wednesday urged the Lagos State Government to rehabilitate alternative routes used by motorists while the Abule-Egba flyover was under construction.

The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the alternative roads had become dilapidated and urged the state government not to abandon them after completing the flyover.

Mr Adewale Iyiola, a resident, said most of the alternative roads had become deplorable due to overuse, urging the Lagos government to fix them.

“At a point, motorists were using the Awori route to link Oja-Oba-Super route, linking Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway, but now both roads are no longer passable,” he said.

Mr Kazeem Adeyemo, a community leader in the area, said the alternative routes were in bad shape because the roads could not withstand the volume of traffic due to the road diversion.

“We know we cannot stop motorists from plying the routes, so we are asking the Lagos State Government not to abandon these routes when the flyover is completed,” said another resident, Mrs Bolu Oseni.

Another resident, Mrs Taiye Erewa, said motorists sometimes clashed with residents who had refused vehicles’ entry into their streets.

“We know that it is illegal to close street gates but who will fix these roads when the major route is re-opened.

“Some boys in the area often extort money from motorists, resulting in clashes.

“We do not want trouble as we don’t mean any arm; all we need is reconstruction of all alternative roads used during the construction of the flyover,” she said. (NAN)

BOM/WOJ

(Edited by Wale Ojetimi)

===============

NAN-DS–8

Arrest

Lokoja, May 2, 2017 ( NAN) The Police in Kogi have arrested a Youths Corps member, Aka-Jude Tersoo, for breaking into the ATM platform of the Lokoja branch of the Eco Bank Plc.

A statement issued on Tuesday in Lokoja by the state police command said that Tersoo was arrested at about 2:30 a.m. while breaking the ATM machine along with another suspect, Godwin Idih.

The statement which detailed achievements of the police command in March and April, said that Tersoo and Idih were caught in the act by a police patrol team on duty which promptly arrested them.

The incident happened on April 26.

The statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP William Aya, said items recovered from the suspects include a digger, axe and one iron pipe.

Others are: six ATM cards of different banks belonging to individuals.

The statement said that police also arrested one Abimaje Yakubu while attempting to collect N8.4 million with a cloned cheque across the counter of one of the commercial banks in Lokoja.

Police said that the suspect who hailed from Abocho, Dekina Local Government Area, had approached the bank with the aim of collecting the money from the account of one Mr Victor Edomwande, of FAVA Travels, Ikoyi, Lagos.

When contacted, the account owner denied issuing the cheque and the suspect was promptly held by the bank officials and later handed over to the police.

In another development, the police command said it had recovered eight vehicles believed to have been stolen from within and neighboring states by one Yakubu Mohammed who is now at large.

According to the statement, the vehicles were recovered from their buyers who live in different parts of the state.

The details of the recovered vehicles are: a Toyota Carina with registration number Kogi AJK 397 AA, a Toyota Camry, Lagos, no: EKY 47 AW, Toyota Corolla, with no: Benue AY 58 MKD, Toyota Ballon, with no: Benue, AU 503 MKD, Toyota Ballon, with no: Lagos GGE 850 BV , Toyota Carina, no: Kaduna 903 ZAR, Toyota Carina wagon, no: FCT KWL 47 AW and three other Toyota Camry and Carina cars without number plates.

Six persons believed to be buyers of the stolen vehicles have also been arrested by police, the statement said.

It said efforts were being made to track down Yakubu Mohammed, the main suspect.

Aya said that the command had also arrested Ibrahim Taiwo and Owolabi Kayode for crude oil theft in Kabba area.

He said that the two suspects were intercepted while trying to escape with 33,000 liters of crude oil suspected to have been siphoned into a truck from burst oil pipeline.

He said that the truck with registration number Lagos KTU 338 XK was impounded by the police while N195,000 cash was found on the suspects.

The Police Spokesman said said that 18 robbery suspects and two burglars were also arrested within the same period.

He said that the items recovered from the suspects include two AK47 rifles, one locally made pistol, charms, live and expended cartridges and 27 rounds of live ammunition.

Aya said that all the suspects would be charged to court very soon. ( NAN)
KKA/AMY/AMY
———

Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

NAN-F-32
Respite
By Prudence Arobani
New York, May 1, 2017 (NAN) Abdullahi Shuaibu, the Nigerian charged with a string of bank robberies in the U.S., two weeks ago, got some relief on Monday as prosecutors amended the charges against him.

Shuaibu was arrested on April 17 and accused by U.S. authorities of robbing four banks in Manhattan, New York.
When the matter came up for hearing, Shuaibu, who was present in the court, pleaded “not guilty”, through a member of his legal team, Tim Pruitt.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the case has been changed from ‘First Degree Robbery’ to ‘Attempted Robbery’ in the ‘Second Degree’ and ‘Robbery’ in the ‘Third Degree’.

Consequently, the case also moved from Class ‘B’ felony to  Class ‘D’ felony, which is a significant reduction in the charges against him.

NAN reports that with the significant reduction in the charges, Shuaibu’s  jail exposure has also been significantly reduced.

Pruitt, after taking the “not guilty” plea for Shuaibu, sought for an adjournment and the judge adjourned the matter until June 26.

Another member of the defence team, Olayinka Dansalami, told NAN that Shuaibu had a hope of even a lighter sentence and that his legal team was not resting on its efforts.

“With the class ‘B’ offence, Shuaibu could receive a jail sentence anywhere from five to 25 years in jail.

“But with the class ‘D” offence, he can get ‘conditional discharge  ‘time serve’ or ‘probation’ but the maximum sentence is five years in jail,” he said.

‘Time serve’ is a condition whereby an accused is sentenced to the time already served in detention.

‘Conditional discharge’ is where an accused is given another chance but warned to be of good behaviour for a period of  time,’’ Dansalami said.

He added: “The charge against him has also moved to ‘nonviolent charge’ from ‘violent charge’. We thank God for the reduction.

“We (defence attorneys) will continue to fight the case vigorously and aggressively despite the reduction of his jail exposure. Our goal is to spare our client of any time in jail.

“His bail condition has also been reduced.

“But we may be able to further reduce the bail if someone can come forth. So, overall, there is a change in circumstances and it is not as serious as before.

“Within the next few days, we will look at a lot of options that will help him.”

According to him, now that the severity of the charge has significantly reduced, it behoves the judge to temper justice with mercy.

“Before, when he was charged with ‘class B’ felony, the best a judge can do is to give him minimum sentence of five years on each of the two ‘B felony charges.

“But now the judge can do something because of the reduction of the charge. The judge has some latitude to lessen the sentence from conditional discharge or time served or probation up to five years.

“So to be clear, despite the fact that the charges have been reduced, our approach to the case remains the same.

“We are not taking anything for granted and we are committed to defend our client to the best of our abilities.’’
Dansalami said one of the best social workers in the State of New York, James Graves, had already been assigned as part of the team to help ascertain Shuaibu’s psychological wellbeing at the time the offence was allegedly committed.
(NAN)
APT/JCE
======

Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie

NAN-HE-19

Dredging

Lokoja, April 28, 2017 (NAN) The dredging of the River Niger from Ajaokuta to Onitsha was flagged off Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi at Ajaokuta in Friday.

The minister said that the maintenance dredging would enable the country reap the benefit of the N36 billion investment in the project.

He said that the dredging, apart from enhancing economic activities in the host communities, would also lead to increased social activities in the communities.

He said that the National Inland Water Ways (NIWA) would be empowered with qualified personnel to carry out the maintenance dredging of the 572-kilometre channel of the river.

“This is the best form of administration you can get that is being ingenious because we don’t have money to pay any contractor,” he said.

The minister directed the NIWA to include the cost of a bigger dredger in the organisation’s 2018 budget.

Amaechi described River Niger as very important and strategic channel that links the Northern region to the Southern region of the country.

He said that special allowances would be made for the NIWA workers handling the job in next year’s budget.

“It would have cost us billions to carry out this dredging. So, if we are saving that money, we should set aside some money that will encourage them to continue to do the work.

“I will like to reiterate that this government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari seeks to fulfil its campaign promises to make Nigeria a great Nation that will cater for the needs of its citizenry.

“In this regard, it is our hope to see full concession of the Onitsha River Port before the end of year,” he said.

The Minister also said that the completion of the Lokoja River port and supply of cargo handling equipment at Baro River Port were being given deserved attention.

The Managing Director of NIWA, Mr Boss Mustapha, said that the maintenance dredging on Ajaokuta-Onitsha channel had become necessary to enhance the conduct of businesses on the river.

He said that the NIWA possess the necessary manpower and technical knowhow to execute the project through direct labour.

Mustapha said that the decision would save the country from incurring huge expenses in the face of dwindling resources occasioned by economic recession. (NAN)
TY/KKA/IS

========

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

NAN-HE-13
Extension
By Biola Lawal
Abuja, April 28, 2017 (NAN) The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has extended manual registration of corporate bodies in Abuja and five states to May 15 to ensure a smooth transfer to complete online registration.

The states are Lagos, Rivers Enugu, Kano and Katsina states.

The commission had earlier announced in March that it would end manual registration of companies, business names and incorporated trustees in Abuja and the five states, with effect from April 28.

Godfrey Ike, CAC Head of Public Affairs, said in a statement in Abuja on Friday that “the extension has however, become necessary to allow for a seamless and smooth transfer of the commission’s enterprise and database servers to a Tier-Three Data Centre.’’

Ike said that the data centre “will guarantee uninterrupted availability of services at all times and make registrations cheaper, faster and more convenient’’. (NAN)
BL/OOK
======

NAN-H-96

Registration

Abuja, April 27, 2019 ( NAN) The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged eligible voters in Kogi, Plateau and Nasarawa States to participate effectively in the ongoing continuous voter registration to avoid disenfranchisement in 2019 elections.

INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Kogi, Plateau and Nasarawa, Alhaji Mohammed Haruna, made the call while flagging on the registration in Lokoja on Thursday.

He said the main objective of the exercise was to register new voters for the coming elections and also distribute the permanent voter cards to those who registered before but could not collect their cards.

Haruna said the registration was also to update the voters’ register to reflect transfers and deaths in accordance with section 10 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

According to him, during the exercise which last till 2019, the commission will also deal with lost or omitted permanent voter cards and test the cards, using smart card reader.

He, however, said that the commission will not tolerate registration by proxy while multiple registration will was prohibited.

The National Commissioner charged INEC staff in charge of the exercise to take it seriously, warning them against being used by unscrupulous politicians.

Haruna, who later monitored the excise in Bassa and Dekina local government areas, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of eligible voters.

He expressed the hope that the turn out will improve further as the exercise progresses, pleading with political parties, civil society organisations, religious leaders and traditional rulers to help in mobilizing Nigerians for the exercise.

He was accompanied on the tour by the Administrative Secretary of INEC in Kogi State, Mr Adison Mailafia and other top officials of the commission. In Jalingo, the commission said would not hesitate to prosecute anyone involved in multiple registrations.

Mr Habu Zarma, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Taraba, gave the warning at the flag on of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Jalingo.

He said the exercise was meant for those who had attained the age of 18 years after the last election and those who were 18 but were unable to register during the last exercise.

Zarma explained that those who changed state of residence and wanted to transfer their registration status to Taraba, can do so.

“They should fill a form to facilitate the transfer of their information to their current place of residence and would subsequently be issued Permanent Voter Card.

“The exercise is also meant for those who had problem with their previous registration and want to correct the anomalies.

“But if you already have a PVC and still want to register and you are caught, we will hand you over to security agencies for prosecution”, he said.

Mrs Glory Yakubu who registered on the first day of the exercise commended INEC for the smooth process, saying they were highly professional in their conduct.

She called on people especially women to come out and register to enable them to vote candidates of their choice in subsequent elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that few people turned out for registration on the first day in Jalingo. (NAN)

Reporters/IEA

Edited by Joseph Edeh/Idahosa Asowata

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Last numbers:

H-108

Sports-5

Foreign-31

AE-6

HG-

HE-26

DS-6

NAN-H-106

Meeting

By Emmanuel Mogbede

Abuja, April 26, 2017 (NAN)  Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have said that it was not compulsory for President Mohammadu Buhari to preside over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Gov. Nasir El- Rufai of Kaduna State made this known on Wednesday in Abuja, while addressing journalists on the outcome of the governors’ meeting with members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC).

He also said the constitution made provision for the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to preside over such meeting in the president`s absence.

El- Rufai, who was reacting to speculations that President Buhari could not attend the FEC meeting for the third consecutive time because he was ill, said the governors were not bothered by such speculations.

“We are not worried yet and have no reason to be worried, but we however, urge Nigerians to continue to pray for the president to be in good health.’’.

He said it was normal for the president to have medical challenge, considering the fact that he was over 70 years old.

“Even me that is 57 years old, I still go for medical check up,’’ El-Rufai said.

He, however, debunked insinuations that APC had internal crisis, stressing that the party was intact with a unified leadership structure, adding that contrary to speculations, its NWC was intact.

El-Rufia explained that the reason the party was presently constrained financially was because it did not rely  on public funds to operate like some parties in government.

According to him, the party is funded by private and cooperate donors who had been its sponsors before it came to power.

He further said the party`s leadership was willing to return to such donors to raise funds to ensure that it was operated as expected.

The governor said that the meeting discussed best incentives to reward loyal party members, in line with its constitution.

El-Rufai also said that the governors, at the meeting, pledged their loyalty to the party`s leadership and promised to meet with its NWC members monthly.

The move, El-Rufai said, became necessary to discuss ways of strengthening APC and move it forward.

He said a date would be picked for the party`s National Executive Council meeting at the governors next meeting with the NWC members.

The governor also said that the governors had committed to assist the Federal Government in delivering true dividends of democracy to the people.

Earlier, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the APC National Chairman, commended the governors for attending the meeting, in spite the short notice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 20 APC governed states were represented at the meeting, the second in the year. (NAN)

EEM/DUA

Edited by Dada Ahmed