Blog

Maritime
By Aisha Cole
Lagos, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) The Bayelsa State Government is to collaborate with SIFAX Group to develop the state’s aviation and maritime potential.

Ms Patience Abah, Director General, Bayelsa Investment Promotion Agency (BIPA) and Mr Godwin Konyefa, Managing Director, Bayelsa Properties & Investment Company made this known during a tour of SIFAX Group in Lagos.

A statement by the Public Affairs Manager of SIFAX, Mr Muyiwa Akande, on Saturday in Lagos, noted that the visitors toured subsidiaries like Skyway Aviation Handling Company Ltd. (SAHCOL); and Ports & Cargo Handling Services Ltd.

The delegation also visited SIFAX Off Dock Nigeria Ltd.; and SIFAX Haulage and Logistics Ltd.

In her remarks, Abah, said that the aim of the visit was to collaborate with SIFAX Group in developing the huge business potential in Balyelsa.

She said that officials of SAHCOL had earlier visited Bayelsa to inspect the new cargo airport.

“After the visit of SAHCOL team to Bayelsa, we were invited to take a first-hand tour of the facilities of the company.

“Before the cargo airport begins operations, we want to get things right. With our visit today, we are marveled at the excellent business operations of the company.

“We don’t just want to build any kind of warehouse or indulge in any shady operations of the airport. We want SIFAX Group to come with their technical expertise in the development of Bayelsa State,’’ she said.

On his part, Konyefa said he was impressed with the facilities and operations of SIFAX Group and commended the company for its level of investments and expertise, which would be beneficial to Bayelsa State.

“After a tour of SAHCOL, we found out that the right partner we have been looking for is SIFAX Group.

“They (SIFAX Group) have all it takes to develop the newly-built Bayelsa Airport.

“We also want to engage them in the development of the deep seaport located in Agge.

“The seaport with a natural draft of 13 metres is aimed at boosting the business activities of the state.

“After touring the facilities, we are challenged at the homegrown logistics solutions that SIFAX Group has in its arsenal.

“We are engaging the company in varied business options that will be mutually benefitting to both the government and the company,’’ he said.

In his response, Mr Ezekiel Ajewole, Executive Director and Senior Special Assistant to Dr Taiwo Afolabi, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, thanked the team for choosing SIFAX Group as a business partner in the development plan of the state.

He said that the company’s business model and vision were well aligned with that of the state and noted that the people of Bayelsa would be happy to have SIFAX Group on board.

The Executive Director, Finance, SIFAX Group, Mr Mike Owope, said that the group had the wherewithal to boost the development of Bayelsa with innovative business solutions tailored toward the development of the state. (NAN)
AIC/AJA
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Edited by Adeleye Ajayi

CSOs laud peaceful conduct of Osun guber poll
By Cecilia Ijuo
Election
Abuja, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) The Network of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (NCSON) has commended the electorate for conducting themselves peacefully in the ongoing governorship election in Osun State.
The National Coordinator of the group, Mr Kalu Victor, made the commendation in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
He said apart from minor conflicts recorded at some polling booths which were immediately brought under control, the election had so far been peaceful.
“We are waiting for the last minute of voting. So far, it has been peaceful, although we recorded some skirmishes in a few areas like in Ward 9, Polling Unit 3 and Polling Unit 4 in Ile Ife but normalcy was later returned,’’ he said.
The coordinator also commended the presence of security agents and the Independent National Electoral Commission for equally conducting themselves well, giving the electorate the confidence to turn out en mass to vote.
He said: “We must also give it to security agencies.
“Based on observations and recommendations from various stakeholders, especially observer groups that monitored previous elections, they have to a large extent improved in their conduct.
“If they continue to reduce any form of overzealousness then we will not have fears for subsequent elections.
“INEC has also improved on some of the flaws witnessed in Ekiti State election and other previous elections.’’
On vote buying, Victor said the level of vote buying recorded in Ekiti state was not witnessed in Osun state.
He said though vote buying was not evident at the polling units, they observed people handing gift items to electorate few kilometers away from polling units.
He commended INEC for taking up the campaign against vote buying as observed by stakeholders, adding that the campaign is having positive effect.
However, he called on the electorate and other stakeholders to continue to conduct themselves peacefully during collation and announcement of results. (NAN)
CJM/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Flood: NSCDC to collaborate with stakeholder to assist victims in Delta

Flood

By Eguonor Ighure

Asaba, Sept.22, 2018 (NAN) The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) in Delta has said that it will collaborate with stakeholders to assist flood disaster victims in the state.

Mrs Sam Ego, the State Commandant of the corps, said this at a news conference on Saturday in Asaba.

Ego who was represented by the Assistant Commandant, Mr Felix Egede, noted that NSCDC was one of the lead agencies in disaster management.

“Delta state is one of the four states that the Federal Government has declared state of emergency on as a result of the flood disaster.

“Therefore, the command has mobilised a quick intervention team which consists of professionals and well trained personnel in disaster management.

“We will be collaborating with NEMA, SEMA, Red cross, and other critical stakeholder to assist victims,” she said.

Ego said that the command would also assist in the area of search and rescue, evacuation, provision of health services and distribution of food items and other relief materials.

She added that the flood disaster was now a reality and appealed to the residents of the flood-prone areas in Delta to relocate to the camps already established by the state government.

She noted that government had already provided camps in Ogbo-Afor Primary School, along ICE Road, Asaba; Ewulu, in Aniocha South Local Government Area and Kwale Technical College, Ozoro Road, Kwale.

She listed the emergency numbers through which the stakeholders could be reached as 08039560961, 07037910072 and 08037200896 for SEMA, and also 08023920396 for the Red Cross. (NAN)

EGI/JAN/EMO

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Edited by Ejike Obeta

Ondo traditional rulers task Gov. Akeredolu on security, infrastructure
By Ayodeji Alabi
Security
Ikaramu Akoko (Ondo state), Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) Some traditional rulers in Ondo on Saturday called on Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to improve security and provide better road network across the state.
They made the appeal in a communiqué made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by Oba Raphael Oyedele, the Olu of Igbobini, and Secretary of the 130 Crowns Club.
In the communiqué, the traditional rulers said: “We request the government to see to the improvement of our roads and provide more security to some parts of the state where kidnapping is rampant.
`We also pray for the sustenance of the current peace being enjoyed in the state,’’ it said.
NAN reports that the request was among other issues deliberated upon at a meeting held by the monarchs at Ikaramu-Akoko, Akoko North West Local Government Area of the state.
They however applauded Akeredolu’s move at making the learning environment more conducive for students, pupils and teachers.
They appreciated the state government for being responsive to the yearnings of traditional rulers through interactive meetings with the governor.
The communiqué explained that “this noble Club is not political, not a trade union nor a pressure group.
“We stand as a bridge between the grassroots and the government, being the voice of the people and foot soldiers of government for the purpose of translating government’s activities to the people”.
Oba Olusegun Akinbola, the Aladeokun of Alade and President of the club, told NAN after the meeting that the present administration is doing well on some projects.
Akinbola listed the projects to include sinking of boreholes in some communities and renovation of public schools in the state.
Also, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, the Olu of Igbokoda and the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the association, said that they came together in view of the negative influences of western civilisation on Yoruba cultural values.
Odidiomo assured that the body would restore the dignity of Yoruba cultural heritage and provide opportunities to deliberate on ideas that would move their various communities forward. (NAN)
AYOD/JTJ/MST
Edited by Julius Toba Jegede/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Osun Polls: Centre seeks more attention for persons with disabilities
Disabilities
By Diana Omueza 08071461676
Abuja, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) Mr David Anyaele, Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has said that Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) deserve more attention while carrying out their electoral rights.

Anyaele made the observation in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.

He said that PWDs, especially the visually impaired persons, had been disenfranchised from the voting process.

He noted that the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had planned to use the Braille ballot guide to assist visually impaired voters during the osun governorship election.

“I have observed that the provision of Braille material is scarce in the field.

‘’Virtually all the polling units that I visited had no Braille material for visually impaired persons.

‘’The only thing that I observed to be available is the EC40A Forms, which is designed to take record of the number of ballot papers used; also Form EC 40C to record numbers of unused and damaged ballot papers,’’ he said.

Anyaele said that the Braille material was unavailable from observations made by officials from CCD.

He said that he had visited three local government areas and clearly observed that the Braille materials were not available.

The Executive Director said that most polling units and booths were not accessible to those on wheelchairs and there had been no provision of ramps to aid them.

‘’Access to the booths has been a challenge, because a lot of the booths have stairs, about three steps to climb.

‘’We saw polling units being sited across gutters, and on hilly areas that require the use of up to three or four stairs to access.

‘’In fact one of the polling units we saw, there is no way a PWD can access it, even if they are being assisted, because the steps to climb are not functioning and there are no ramps,’’ he lamented.

He said that the centre was really worried that access for PWD was not being catered for by INEC.

Anyaele decried that what CCD observed was that INEC was playing what he referred to as ‘’the touch and go approach’’ in addressing issues of inclusion of PWD in elections.

‘’This use of touch and go approach by INEC in this election is not acceptable, and it is important that INEC attention be drawn to this for the benefit of all PWDs,’’ he said.

INEC had said it would use the Braille ballot guide to assist visually impaired voters during the osun governorship election.

CCD is an organisation for persons with disabilities that is dedicated to educating, supporting and empowering persons with disabilities and their families to maximise their potential. (NAN)
DOM/IA

Mixed reactions trail Skye Bank’s licence revocation

Bank

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Lagos, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) Financial experts and shareholders on Saturday expressed mixed reactions over the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to revoke the licence of Skye Bank.

The stakeholders expressed their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, while reacting to the revocation of the licence of Skye Bank by the apex bank.

Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella of the Economics department, Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun commended the decision of the apex bank.

Tella said the CBN had helped Skye Bank shareholders by making the announcement at the close of banking hour for the week.

He said the announcement at the close of the week prevented an immediate run on the bank.

According to him, announcement of a buyer was also helpful and would prevent a run on the bank in the coming week.

“There is no time that can be regarded as good for this kind of action but action must be taken whenever it becomes inevitable.

“Such actions are capable of dousing tension that normally follows sudden closure of banks,” Tella said.

He said the shareholders had not really benefited from the bank because they had not received dividend on their investment for a long time.

The economist said in other climes where shareholders were active investors, they would have sold their shares to minimise losses.

“But in Nigeria, majority hold on to their shares even when it is apparent the business is sliding down,” Tella added.

He, however, said the impact on the economy and the banking sector in particular may not be serious, unless another bank ran into trouble within three to six months.

Malam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., the decision of the apex bank as a regulator could not be faulted.

Kurfi said the development should serve as a lesson to both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to put their house in order.

He noted that SEC and NSE should be more active going forward by ensuring suspension of trading on the shares of any bank taken over by CBN to avoid making mockery of the capital market.

He said Skye Bank shares traded on the exchange on Sept. 21 and made some gains only for the licence to be revoked the same day.

“CBN has been demonstrating several times that it has no regards for shareholders but only depositors and as at today the only loser in the bank are the shareholders,” Kurfi said.

He said the shareholders should learn from past experience by exiting any bank taken over by the CBN to avoid regrets.

Mr Uche Nworah, the General Manager, Anambra Broadcasting Service, Awka, said the mandate of the apex bank and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) was to safeguard depositors.

Nworah said the CBN must have seen a lot of things in the bank before deciding to revoke the licence to protect investors and depositors.

He, however, faulted the apex bank’s approach in terms of information management.

Nworah said the bank’s customers and depositors were the ones that alerted the workers of what was going on in Awka, Anambra State.

Mr Moses Igbrude, Publicity Secretary, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said the takeover of Skye Bank was a very sad and avoidable story.

Igbrude described the takeover as a total loss for all the bank’s minority shareholders.

He linked the bank’s failure to the acquisition of the former Afribank against the shareholders advice.

“The story started some few years ago when the former management decided to expand by acquiring former Afribank and later Mainstream Bank against the advice of some of us shareholders not to do so.

“They refused to listen to us when we told them that Mainstream Bank was cancerous and political exposed, that the intrigue that would follow the acquisition would consume the bank.

“While shareholders of Skye Bank have lost their investments, what happened to the management who took the decision and those professional consultants who did the due diligence reports that the management rely on to take decision?

“It is high time regulators address the issue fake consultants who parade themselves as professionals or else this will continue to happen,” Igbrude said.

Mr Boniface Okezie, National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said the CBN needed to explain its actions to Nigerians for better understanding.

Okezie said the apex bank needed to find a lasting solution to the banking sector crisis which was becoming an embarrassment not only to government but to the investing public.

He said the CBN should be held responsible for the development in Skye Bank because it granted the bank the approval to acquire Afribank.

Okezie said the investors should not be allowed to suffer again for the misdeeds and mistakes of the regulations.

He called on the Federal Government to investigate the incessant fall of banks in the country.

Okezie added that the past management and board of Skye Bank must be made to account of what led to the the bank’s misfortune. (NAN)

JNC/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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Elections
By Kelechi Ogunleye
Abuja, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) Mr Aboluwoye Akinwande, the State Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun State Command, on Saturday says the ongoing election in the state is so far peaceful.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Osun gubernatorial election got underway in the early hours of Saturday morning with a large turnout of voters who came out for the accreditation exercise.

Akinwande told NAN in an interview that the election was so far peaceful, adding that NSCDC officers were also on ground in all the polling units across the state to maintain peace.

“All the officers have been deployed to their various polling units, divisions and the state in general.

“They are already on ground and the election has started. While I was on patrol this morning, I saw a lot of people going to their various polling units and the polling units I passed through were very peaceful.

“There is no disturbance,’’ he said.

He, however, noted that there were certain pockets of challenges that had to do with the political status of most of the contestants.

“Let me start with APC; the APC candidate, who happens to be the former Chief of Staff of the state.

“The PDP candidate also happens to be a federal senator. The SDP contestant happens to be a former senator and a former deputy governor and he is still very active in politics.

“Also the ADP candidate happens to be a former Secretary to State Government of Osun State before he decamped to ADP.

“He has also been a grassroots politician from ACN to AD to even APC and now to ADP. So he is a grassroots man.

“So we have all these people contesting and when they are contesting, you will find out that there might be some pockets of challenges, ‘’he said.

Akinwande also noted that due to some of these challenges, some thugs had been arrested, while some have been charged to court.

According to him, these are some of the challenges we are having but thank God the challenges have been solved.

Akinwande, however, said that a huge number of NSCDC officers had been deployed to Osun to ensure peaceful conduct of the election.

“Aside from Osun, we have officers and men from Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Kwara and Kogi, who are actively involved in this gubernatorial election; so you could imagine the type of deployment.

“There are also deployments from the National headquarters. We have from the Directorate of Rescue Management, Peace and Conflict and Kennel.

“We have officers from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Squad, Chemical Biological Radioactive and Nuclear Explosives, among others.

“All these are just to tell you about the deployment and how active the NSCDC has been in ensuring a peaceful election in the state,’’ he said. (NAN)
KAYC/JAN/AJA
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Edited by Adeleye Ajayi

Skye Bank: CBN’s intervention will ensure depositors’ funds safety, says NDIC

Intervention

By Olawunmi Ashafa

Lagos, Sept.22, 2018 (NAN) The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), said the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by revoking the license of Skye Bank licence was to ensure the safety of depositors’ funds.

The corporation said this in a statement by the Head, Communications and Public Affairs Department, NDIC, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, on Saturday in Lagos.

It also urged depositors and customers of the defunct Skye Bank to continue to transact their businesses with Polaris Bank Ltd.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN on Sept. 21, announced the revocation of the operating license of Skye Bank due to the inability of its shareholders to recapitalise it since 2016.

NDIC explained that the capitalisation through Polaris Bank Ltd., with the injection of N786 billion was done by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

The corporation said the Bridge Bank model would allow the bank return to soundness and profitability to enable its subsequent sale to credible and financially sound third parties acquirers.

“Furthermore, the adoption of the Bridge Bank model for the resolution SKYE Bank Plc., guarantees that most of the employees of that bank will not lose their jobs.

“They will continue their employment with POLARIS Bank Ltd., under fresh contracts of employment,” NDIC said.

It assured depositors and customers of the defunct Skye Bank that their deposits were safe while encouraging them to continue to transact their normal banking business with POLARIS Bank Ltd.

“The NDIC, as Deposit Insurer, acted to ensure the continued safety of depositor’s funds in furtherance of the regulatory authorities resolve to proactively manage potential threats to financial system stability,” it said. (NAN)

AWA/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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FRSC releases recruitment screening time-table

Recruitment

By Kelechi Ogunleye

Abuja, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has released its nationwide recruitment screening time-table for applicants who applied for the corps’ recruitment into the different Cadres.

The Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, made the screening time-table available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the FRSC scheduled its screening and physical fitness assessment on recruitment for Sept. 24 to 29.

Kazeem said that the screening recruitment time-table cuts across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory with a total of 57 venues.

He said that the Federal Capital Territory, Kaduna, Lagos and Edo had two venues each.

“Enugu, Benue, Kano,Akwa-Ibom, Kwara, Anambra, Kogi, , Imo, Plateau, Delta, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun,Niger, Ondo, Nasarawa, Cross-River, Katsina, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Rivers, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa,Sokoto, Abia, Ogun, Borno, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Zamfara, Taraba and Yobe have one venue each,” he said.

Kazeem urged all successful applicants to read through the screening time-table carefully and note the venue and time for their screening exercise. (NAN)

KAYC/AMY

Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

Commendation
By Victor Adeoti
Osogbo, Sept. 22, 2018 (NAN) The Women Arise for Change Initiative, an election monitoring group has commended the large turnout of voters for Osun governorship election on Saturday.

President of the group, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, who gave the commendation while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ile-Ife, said the turnout of voters was impressive.

Okei-Odumakin lauded the readiness of the electorate to cast their votes, adding that the group deployed more than 100 observers for the election.

The rights activist commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the timely arrival of voting materials across the polling units.

Okei-Odumakin also commended the security agents for displaying high sense of professionalism in discharging their duties.

“Unlike what we experienced during the Ekiti governorship election, security agencies are very civil and polite in the discharge of their duties here in Osun and we want that to continue,’’ Okei-Odumakin said.

She also commended politicians for displaying high sense of good conduct so far in the election.

“So far so good. The election is going on smoothly without any report of ballot snatching or thuggery, ‘’ Okei-Odumakin said.

Also speaking, Mr Babatunde Olatunji, a member of the Osun House of Assembly, commended INEC for the timely arrival of ad hoc staff and voting materials at the polling units.

Olatunji (APC-Ife North) said: “Aside that the voters’ turnout was impressive, the process has been peaceful and electorate are excited to exercise their rights.

“The election materials arrived on time.

“I am optimistic that the election will be free, fair and devoid of any form of violence.’’ (NAN)
VE/KOLE/AJA
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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Adeleye Ajayi