Blog

NAN-DS-2

Security

By Ajibola Olabiyi

Osogbo, Nov. 22, 2016 (NAN) Mr Ajibola Owolabi, the Executive Director of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Advocacy for Peace & Harmony, has said that the recruitment of security personnel should not be based on age only but also on integrity.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Osogbo that the rising spate of insurgency in Nigeria demands a shift of focus and called for other considerations.

According to Owolabi, age limit as the basic criterion for recruitment into security services has deprived the country of some brave and dedicated personnel who will contribute immensely to the security of the nation.

He said, since Nigeria is presently confronted with serious security challenges, it is imperative for the government to change its modus operandi in recruitment guidelines.

“No logical rationale can be advanced for the age-limit criterion except the need to reduce number of applicants through that means.

“The security situation in Nigeria of today requires total diversification of our strategies including the pattern of recruitment into the security agencies.

“In my own view, what is most important as a criterion for recruitment into security agencies is the antecedent and the security history of applicants to know those who have criminal intents.

“Unfortunately, many of the security agencies are not probing into the security history of applicants before they employ them, and unwittingly engage criminals to go after criminals.

“Also, security chiefs must take the issue of welfare of the officers seriously for the purposes of boosting their morale and spur them to swift response to crime at all times,’’ he said.

He called on the people in the volatile areas of the North East to brace up and cooperate with security agencies in the area of local intelligence gathering.

Owolabi said the role of the local communities in intelligence gathering towards the fight against terrorism can never be over-emphasised.

He extolled the security agencies for their patriotic services and the level of commitment they have displayed thus far. (NAN)

DOO/ECN/IS

===========

Edited by Emmanuel Nwoye/Ismail Abdulaziz

NAN-HG-1

Diabetes

By Maureen Ojinaka-Nwanosike

Enugu, Nov. 22, 2016 (NAN) A medical expert, Dr Ugwu Ejiofor, has revealed that regular exercise and proper meal planning remains the key to managing diabetes.

Ejiofor, who is an Endocrinologist at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, (ESUTH), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday that constant exercise was important for people’s overall well being.

He said that when one engaged in exercise, the cells become more sensitive and help insulin to work more effectively in the system.

“When you exercise your body, your cells become more sensitive to insulin so it can work more efficiently. Your cells also remove glucose from your blood stream,’’ he said.

The expert advised people to engage in a 40 to 45 minutes exercise daily for at least five days in a week.

He urged patients with diabetes to try as much as possible to eat more of natural food and avoid processed and fatty food.

“Avoid lots of refined and processed food with little or no fibre and go for natural food that our fathers and our fore-fathers used to eat.

“Also, avoid food that contains more of cholesterol, we advise that people should shy away from highly processed food. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables; if you do all these, it will go a long way to reduce diabetes.’’ (NAN)

OJI/DUA/IS
Edited by Dada Ahmed/Ismail Abdulaziz
===============

NAN-H-1
ICAO
By Adekunle Williams and Solomon Asowata
Lagos, Nov. 22, 2016 (NAN) Nigerian-born Dr Benard Aliu has been re-elected by acclamation for a second three-year term as President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aliu secured the vote at the council’s meeting which took place in Montreal, Canada on Monday night.

In his acceptance speech, Aliu said that over the past three years, ICAO had been working tirelessly to promote the importance of civil aviation to socio-economic development.

He added that the global aviation regulatory body had given priority to national and regional investment and development planning.

Aliu said:“We have also made great strides in securing the assistance and capacity building our Member States need most, under the ICAO No Country Left Behind initiative.

“We will now look forward to its next interaction which will be more focused on aviation infrastructure development.

“The ICAO Council has played a key leadership role in this process, and its guidance will now be needed more than ever to assure the fast-tracked development of the new ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP), endorsed at the 39th Assembly.

“This is to make ICAO’s audit processes more efficient and effective, to ensure ICAO fully optimises its extensive audit and other data, to refine all of our programmes and priorities.

“And importantly, to help ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) become fully operational by 2020.”

He emphasised on the need for ICAO to offer guidance to States on the operational, regulatory, training and capacity building requirements in support of its Aviation system Block Upgrades (ASBUs), both nationally and regionally.

According to him, this will fast track the ongoing pursuit of the objectives and targets under ICAO’s Global Plans for Safety and Air Navigation, the GASP and the GANP.

Aliu stressed that he would use his renewed mandate to drive further progress on the regulatory requirements for cybersecurity preparedness, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) and commercial space flights.

He added that focus would also be on the development and operationalisation of an Emergency Response Policy for ICAO, amongst a wide-range of further objectives for ICAO and 21st century air transport.

Reacting to Aliu’s re-election, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, expressed the gratitude of the Nigerian government for the support he had enjoyed over the past years.

Sirika said Aliu’s re-election was a mark of recognition for his hard work and commitment to the ideals of ICAO and aspirations of the Member-nations.

According to him, it is a welcome development set to further boost Nigeria’s rising profile within the international community, especially in the aviation industry.

He said the development would also make it difficult for the Nigerian government to relent in its commitment to reform the nation’s aviation industry, as the focus of the world constantly be on it to also provide leadership amongst nations.

NAN reports that Aliu first assumed the office of ICAO Council President on Jan.1, 2014, having been elected by acclamation by the ICAO Council following the completion of the mandate of the previous President, Mr Roberto González.

Prior to this, he served as the Representative of Nigeria on the ICAO Council from Jan.1, 2005 to Dec. 31, 2013. (NAN)
WAC/ASO/PIO/PIO
===============
(Edited by Idonije Obakhedo)

NAN-H-86

Arrest

By Moses Omorogieva

Lagos, Nov. 21, 2016 (NAN) Police in Lagos State have arrested a 49-year-old football, Coach Frank Darlington, for allegedly having carnal knowledge of his young players.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, confirmed this on Monday while briefing newsmen on some of the command’s successes recorded within two weeks.

Owoseni said the coach allegedly lured the young players to his house under the guise of seeking their assistance in some house chores.

He said the suspect was arrested on Thursday in Agege area, when two among several of his victims he had molested, reported their experience to their parents.

The suspect confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the news briefing.

He said: ““I always get fascinated to the boys whenever I remember my wife, because it is not easy staying alone without a woman.

““I always make love to these boys through the front and their anus because whenever I feel sexual urge, I would lure them to assist me with some house chores.

““It is not every time I sleep with some of the boys; sometimes I do romance them just to relieve myself of my feelings for my wife.

““I don’t force the boys to make love with them, after I have pondered on my lifestyle I decided to put a stop to what I am doing.

“”I have been making love to some of these boys over a year now but during this period I have lost count of numbers of the boys,” “ he said.

One of the victims, who also spoke with NAN on condition of anonymity, said that the coach had slept with him  five times.

““The very first time he made love to me was when I went to assist him to fetch water.

““ I was about to leave his house when he ordered me to lie on his bed that we are about to do some exercise.

““To my surprise, he asked me to undress; before I knew what was happening, he had climbed on me and then turned me around and made straight for my anus with his manhood.

““After that incident, he threatened to kill me if I report to anybody about what transpired between us.

““I joined the Super Warrior Football Club, Agege, Lagos, in February 2015 in order to be a great footballer, but after noticing the person of the coach, I stopped going for training,“” he said. (NAN)

MIO/MOL/YAZ
=========
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Yusuf Zango
=====================

NAN-HE-23
Power
Ikot Ekpene (Akwa Ibom) Nov. 21, 2016 (NAN) Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday, inaugurated a 330KV power switching station in Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom.

The minister, at Ikot Inyang village in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, said
that the switch on of the station would boost electricity supply in the country.

He said that the station was expected to evacuate electricity from power plants in Alaoji, Afam, Calabar and Ikot Abasi and route same to Ugwuaji in Enugu up to Jos.

Fashola said that the development would solve the problem of stranded power as the generating plants would have their power evacuated for use.

The minister added that the project was bedevilled with challenges but for the intervention of the National Assembly, which resolved the contending issues for the completion of the project.

The Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr Chiedu Ugbo, who was at the inauguration, said contract for the project was awarded in 2006.

Ugbo said that the project was delayed due to challenges and lauded the stakeholders for the commitment toward completing the project.

He noted that the new management of NDPHC was committed to ensuring improved power generation, saying that the switching of the station on would mark the end of epileptic power supply.

He expressed gratitude to Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and his predecessor, Sen. Godswill Akpabio and the host community for providing conducive environment for the completion of the project.

In her speech, Princess Maryam Akanmode, the contractor handling the project, said the 330 KV station had 12 inter-connectivity lines to evacuate power from the four plants to the national grid.

Akanmode, who is the Managing Director of Carlark International Limited, lauded the Federal Government and stakeholders for assisting in the completion of the project.

The Akwa Ibom Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, said the event marked significant turning point in the march toward new dawn in both power infrastructural renaissance and industrial revolution.

Represented by his Deputy, Mr Moses Ekpo , the governor said that the Ibom Power Plant  had approval for upgrade to 685 megawatts from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory  Commission.

He said that the state was generating 191 megawatts from the Power Plant in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of the state.

Emmanuel disclosed that the state government  had equally partnered a private investor for the take-off of the N90 billion Uquo Gas Plant at Esit Eket.

He said that gas plant was projected to supply 131 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the National Independent Power Plant (NIPP) in Calabar, as well as the Ibom Power Plant. (NAN)
BB/HA
======
Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

NAN-S-7
Golf
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, Nov. 21, 2016 (NAN) Nigeria’s number one golfer, Andrew Odoh on Monday won the inaugural Nigeria Masters.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the inaugural Nigeria Masters, which teed off at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja on Nov. 17, would end on Nov. 28.

A field of 57 players started the tournament, which is being played over 72 holes in a stroke play format.

Odoh had the best round of the day shooting 1 under par 71 and catapulted up the leader board from third position at the end of the fourth and final round.

NAN recalls that Ghana’s Vincent Torgah and his Nigerian counterpart Kabiru Haruna had earlier tied on the first position after three rounds with a total of 220 scores.

Odoh and Gboyega Oyebanji were tied on third position with a total score of 221 at the end of the third round.

However, Odo ensured that he had the last laugh after posting 76, 71, 74 and 71 for a total score of 292.

This is the third event won by the Nigerian player since the launch of the West Africa Golf Tour in Nigeria.

Ghana’s Torgah with 81, 72, 67 and 74 with a total score of 294 finished in the second position.

Nigeria’s Haruna, Oyebanji and Mike Ubi with a total score of 297 were tied on third position.

NAN also reports that other West African countries that participated in the tournament include Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon.

Here is the full list of the top 20 players of the inaugural 2016 Nigeria Masters golf tournament.

Andrew Odoh – 76,71,74,71=292

Vincent Torgah – 81,72,67,74=294

Kabiru Haruna – 73,72,75,77=297

Gboyega Oyebanji – 72,77,72,76=297

Mike Ubi – 75,77,71,74=297

Daniel Pam – 72,75,76,76=299

Elisha Markus – 78,76,71,74=299

Liman Yahaya – 79,71,76,74=300

Nlarep Issah – 74,73,80,74=301

Desire Ebela – 74,72,82,74=302

Gift Willy – 76,75,77,74=302

Kingsley Okparaku -73,78,73,79=303

Chukwudi Okoro – 75,74,78,76=303

Emeka Obi – 74,75,75,80=304

Nfon Pristty Nji – 77,74,88,75=304

Francis Onuh – 74,74,78,80=306

Sunday Olapade – 76,77,77,76=306

Mark Joseph – 78,76,72,82=308

Francis Epe – 79,76,76,77=308

Tobias Chidiebere- 76,81,77,74=308 (NAN)
VO/DE/HA
==========
Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

NAN-HE-22
Economy

By Donald Ugwu
Abuja, Nov. 21, 2016 (NAN) The Economic Management Team of the Presidency said on Monday that it was too early for the Federal Government’s policy interventions to begin to fully impact on economic activities.

The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, said this while reacting to the just released National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on the economy.

A release issued by the Vice Presidential Spokesman, Mr Laolu Akande, in Abuja, said the Economic Management Team acknowledged the veracity of the report.

“The third quarter results just released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the Nigerian economy is still in recession.

“Growth in Gross Domestic Product fell by -2.24 per cent in the third quarter as compared to the decline of -2.07 per cent experienced in the second quarter,’’ the report noted.

Dipeolu, however, said the slight deterioration in national economic performance was due largely to the continued poor performance of the oil and gas sector.

According to him, the sector performed at -22.01 per cent in the third quarter as compared to -17.48 per cent in the second quarter of 2016.

“The immediate cause of this, as is now generally recognised, is the steep decline in oil and gas production in the third quarter of 2016 due to acts of vandalism and sabotage of oil export facilities.

“Remote causes include the continued outsized influence of the oil and gas sector on the rest of the economy as typified by its contribution to government revenue and foreign exchange earnings,’’ he said.

He said the sector had continued to be important drivers of economic activity.

He added that due to time lags, it is still too early for policy interventions of the Federal Government to begin to impact fully on economic activity.

The economic adviser noted, however, that some ‘green shoots’ of economic recovery are beginning to emerge.

“To start with, on-going consultations to bring lasting peace to the Niger Delta have enabled an increase in oil and gas production which if sustained at current prices will bring a measure of relief to the economy.

“Other key sectors of the economy showed encouraging signs of improvement.

“The growth in the non-oil economy although still weak at 0.03 per cent showed a return to positive territory after two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

“This was partly due to the continued good performance of agriculture and the solid minerals, two sectors prioritised by the Federal Government.

“Agriculture grew by 4.54 per cent in the quarter under consideration of which growth in crop production, at nearly five per cent, was at its highest since the first quarter of 2014.

“Growth in the solid mineral sector averaged about seven per cent,’’ he said.

He noted that the financial sector rebound quite strongly in the period under review growing by 2.85 per cent from a negative growth of -13.24 per cent in the second quarter.

He added that the recently approved first tranche of $600m to be borrowed from the African Development Bank would also provide some relief in budgetary terms and supplement capital inflows.

Accordingly, Dipeolu observed that there was a slight uptick of capital inflows into the economy in the third quarter of 2016 with the overall capital inflows increased by 74.84 per cent over the second quarter.

He said the performance of the manufacturing sector continued to be of concern given its key role in value addition and job creation in the economy.

He said it was expected that the sector would soon experience a sustained improvement in its contribution to the national economy.

He said the growth would happen following greater local sourcing of raw materials, expected improvements in infrastructure, especially power and reductions in the cost of doing business.

Dipeolu said while inflation remained high at 18.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis it had begun to level out on a month-on-month basis and should enable the deployment of more policy tools to support growth and employment.

“Indeed, growth of headline inflation slowed down appreciably from 13.8 per cent in May to as low as 1.7 per cent in September.

“The year to date growth is about -1.58 per cent and is set to improve given some of the points mentioned earlier especially regarding agriculture, oil and gas, and power supply.’’

He noted that there was reduction in the rate of contraction of household and government consumption expenditure.

According to Dipeolu, household consumption expenditure fell -3.25 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 as compared to -6 per cent recorded in the second quarter.

The economic adviser added that the ratio of investment to GDP also showed a notable improvement rising by 7.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2016.

“The Strategic Implementation Plan for the implementation of the 2016 Budget of Change prioritised capital expenditures for power, roads and rail as well as social investments.

“In addition to creating jobs and promoting social inclusion, these expenditures will also provide a stimulus by putting money in the hands of people.

“The usual economic activity that takes place in the Yuletide season will also likely have a positive impact on the wholesale and retail trade sector,’’ he added.

Dipeolu said that an Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), to be adopted before the end of the year, would lend further momentum to on-going efforts to revitalise and reposition the economy. (NAN)
DCU/YEE

Edited by Emmanuel Yashim
=====================

DPR to ensure compliance to health, safety issues in Oil industry
NAN-HE-22
Industry
By Yunus Yusuf

Lagos, Nov. 21, 2016 (NAN) The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Monday said it would find solutions to problems militating against compliance to Health, Safety and Environment issues in the nation’s Oil and Gas industry.

Mrs Sibeudu Onyebuchi, Deputy Director, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Division, DPR told newsmen in Lagos during the agency’s HSE pre-conference briefing, that the agency would assemble stakeholders to develop answers to the problems.

Onyebuchi said that the 17th International HSE Biennial Conference slated for Nov. 28 to Nov. 30, has as its theme “Integrated Security Approach, New Strategies and The Way To Go in The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.’’

She said that conference would promote HSE awareness amongst stakeholders in the industry, and bring together  experts from within and outside the country to share new ideas and experiences on the issues.

Onyebuchi, who is also the Chairman, Conference Management Planning Committee, said that the event would provide  platform for professionals to share experiences on health and safety issues arising from exploration and production.

She said that stakeholders would also share values on downstream and other related activities in the oil and gas sector.

According to her, the aim is to promote and entrench a safe and environmentally sustainable oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

“The conference had recorded series of successes over the years which include Development of the Environmental Guidelines and Standard for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN).

“Others are the enactment of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act, and creation of job opportunities in the various establishments,’’ she said.

Onyebuchi disclosed that Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, would deliver the key note address, adding that over 36 technical papers would be presented during the 3-day conference.

According to her, over 3,000 participants and exhibitors from within and outside the country are expected at the event. (NAN)
YO/FF/MZA
==========

Edited by Fela Fashoro/Maharazu Ahmed