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Commonwealth Scribe urges experts to set goals to reverse climate change impact

NAN-AE-7
Solution
By Isaac Aregbesola
Abuja, Nov.1, 2016 (NAN) The Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has urged experts to develop a practical solution to reverse human impact of climate change.

A statement by Director Media and Public Relations, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, Barnie Choudhury, on Tuesday in Abuja, stated that Scotland made the call at a meeting held in Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

Choudhury reports that Scotland was speaking at a two-day brainstorming session where climate change experts were exploring practical and economically viable solutions to combat decades of harm to the environment.

“The Commonwealth Charter gives us a mandate to support and promote sustainable development which respects and protects the environment.

“I have tasked this group of leading biologists, ecologists, oceanographers and authorities on sustainability and regenerative development, to help me deliver this,” she said

Secretary-General Scotland told participants that it was the Commonwealth’s small and vulnerable states which were being hardest hit.

According to her, Kiribati and its 33 atolls in the Pacific could be submerged if global temperatures aren’t reduced putting 100,000 people at risk.

She said parts of Africa are also being affected, adding that Kenyan Government estimated that 2.5 million children might have been affected by the El Nino rains, in 2016.

Scotland noted that Namibia was one of the biggest and driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which has high climatic variability in the form of persistent droughts, unpredictable and variable rainfall patterns.

She stated that the London meeting took place ahead of COP22 in Marrakesh, Morocco, adding that delegates would provide a report for the Secretary-General to propose to Commonwealth states.

This, she said, would include ways we can respect, protect and regenerate the earth increase wealth creation, recommend a timeline action plan to cut carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses to safe levels.

“The aim is to offer countries tailored and funded climate action tool kits linked to the Secretariat’s pioneering Climate Finance Access Hub.

“The recurring mantra today was that climate change, while our greatest challenge, is our greatest opportunity.

“I believe reversing this existential threat to small and vulnerable states is possible, but only if the whole of the international community acts as one in developing practical solutions which work,” Scotland said.

The environmentalists, according to her, will help to layout plans for a ‘regenerative development lab’ next year. (NAN)
IAA/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide
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NAN-H-54
Hotel
By Taiye Baiyerohi and Idris Olukoya
Lagos, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) A Tourism Consultant, Mrs Aduke Gomez, has called on hoteliers to embrace the hotels classification by government, saying it would improve their services in the country.

Gomez gave the advice when she spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the closing of “AKWAABA Tourism Fair’’ on Tuesday in Lagos.

She said that because hoteliers shy away from hotels’ classification, they needed to be sensitised on the need for grading.

Gomez said that it would lead to the growth of hotel and hospitality businesses in the country if properly done.

She noted that hotels tended to benefit from the exercise as it served as an important marketing tool in local and international economies and demonstrated commitment to quality.

“Hotel classification provides assurance to local and international tourists that an establishment has been assessed and approved,’’ Gomez said.

Contributing, Mr Ayo Olowoporoku, the Group Managing Director of Hotel Support Group, also urged proprietors to embrace hotel classification.

Olowoporoku said the criteria sought for by the Hotel Licensing Authority were standards that obtained internationally, adding: “A customer must have access to the two sides of the bed in a standard hotel room.

“There must be a 24-hour reception service and the physically challenged should be considered in the course of equipping the hotel.

“There must be illumination commensurate with the rooms and the cuisine must cut across various ethnic groups,’’ he said.

On his part, Kushal Dutta, the Managing Director, Jumia Travels, urged hoteliers to digitalise the hospitality industry as it was obtainable in some developed countries.

“There are specific kinds of lighting in some hotels in Las Vegas which divulges some information as regards the hotel visited.

“These are artificial intelligence gadgets. There are also interactive walls in some hotels which tell a visitor what to do.

“The hospitality industry is moving to the digitisation era, we all need to follow suite,’’ Dutta said. (NAN)
PTB/SIO/PDE
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(Edited by Peter Ejiofor)

NAN-AE-67
Research
Calabar, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) Mr Ilem Owali, the Cross River Chairman, Association of Oil Palm Dealers, has called on the Federal and State Governments to increase the funding of the nation’s agricultural research institutes.

Owali made this call in Calabar on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He stressed the need for increased funding of the institutes, adding that the resource centres would serve as the answer to Nigeria’s quest for food sufficiency and export.

Owali said: “My worry is that the Federal Government is not funding agricultural research institutes in the country as it should be.

“I pray that government at both the state and federal levels should review the funding of the research centres to have more positive impacts on the nation’s agriculture sector,” he said.

He stated that the critical role of agricultural research institutes in food production could not be over-emphasised.

According to him, the institutes have the capacity to train farmers, raise nurseries, provide expertise and certified planting materials for farmers at the appropriate time.

Ilem, who is the former State Chairman, Commercial Agriculture Development Association (CADA), advised the personnel of research centres to live up to expectations, even with the little funding at their disposal.

He added that if the research institutes were well funded, Nigeria would achieve a milestone in agriculture.

Ilem regretted that Nigeria was still importing more than 1.7 tonnes of oil palm into the country yearly, saying that only Cross River could produce even close to that with adequate inputs from research institutes. (NAN)
BEN/MOL/YEMI

Edited by Mustapha Lamidi

Controlled by Yemi Idris-Aduloju

NAN-H-66

Development

By Azubuike Okeh

Port Harcourt, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers has restated his administration’s commitment to implementing projects that will further develop the state.

Wike made the commitment again at the 104th Quarterly General Meeting of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

He said his administration would not allow itself to be distracted by any form of blackmail and smear campaign by detractors.

“We have a duty to serve our people; we will remain committed to it no matter the antics of the opposition,’’ he said.

He stated that the state government is working closely with relevant stakeholders to sustain the wave of development projects in the state.

The governor reminded the traditional rulers that the traditional institution is the custodian of the traditional value system of the state.

He, therefore, urged them to stand out as beacon of hope for the society in the areas of justice, morals, and ethics.

“You are the heads of the communities and kingdoms that make up the state; you are crucial stakeholders in the governance of the state.

“The society looks up to you for moral guidance; the society needs to see you stand up in protection of the truth at all times,’’ he said. (NAN)

AZU/EAL/YEE Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi/Emmanuel Yashim

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60% of accidents in Ogun caused by articulated vehicles – FRSC
NAN-H-
Accidents
By Abiodun Lawal
Abeokuta, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says about 60 per cent of road crashes in Ogun are caused by drivers of articulated vehicles.
FRSC Sector Commander in Ogun, Clement Oladele, disclosed this when he visited the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abeokuta.
He added that most of the accidents that occurred on the highways were avoidable if the drivers shunned over-speeding.
According to him, some of the 10 most dangerous highways in the country are in Ogun, going by road accidents recorded in recent times.
He said that some of the highways in the state included Lagos/Ibadan, Lagos/Abeokuta, Abeokuta/Sagamu and Odeda/Ibadan roads.
The sector commander said that the number of road crashes recorded in Ogun rose from 32 in August to 47 in September this year.
Oladele expressed the FRSC’s commitment to address the root causes of high rate of road crashes in the state.
“We recognise that almost 60 per cent of these fatal crashes are caused by these articulated vehicles, so we want to get to the root, so that we can address it.
“The FRSC is beginning to remove abandoned vehicles; we have to ensure that there is no obstruction that can cause road crashes,’’ said the FRSC boss.
Oladele said that FRSC in Ogun had prepared a strategic document which would be driven by the people to reduce accidents and loss of lives on the highways.
According to him, the document would have the inputs of all stakeholders to devise means on how to make the roads safer.
On speed limiting device, the FRSC official said that majority of the drivers were yet to acquire the device introduced to check over-speeding and reduce road accidents.
“Between Oct. 1 and Oct 29, we have stopped 3,670 vehicles in the state and only 43 have the speed limiting device.
“We have encouraged transport unions to contact the vendors and be paying by instalment to enable them acquire the device.
“By Jan. 1, we are going to arrest any vehicle that does not have speed limiter,” he said.
Earlier, Alhaji Kunle Olayeni, the Chapel Chairman, assured of its readiness to collaborate with the FRSC in reducing accidents on the roads. (NAN)
LKA/DUA/WOJ
(Edited by Dada Ahmed / Wale Ojetimi)
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NAN-S-16
Scrabble
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Nov.1, 2016 (NAN) World Scrabble Winning Coach Anthony Ikolo has appealed to multinational to invest in the sports.

Ikolo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that the current African and World Scrabble Champions were celebrities that needed endorsement from the multinationals.

Nsikak Etim won the African Championship in 2014, while Wellington Jighere, won the World title in 2015.

These wins made Nigeria the best playing scrabble nation in the world.

Ikolo said he was using the occasion of his 44th birthday to appeal to multinationals, corporate bodies to invest in the sport.

“I am using this opportunity of my birthday to call on the multinational and other well meaning Nigerians to invest in scrabble.

“This is a wake up call for them to come and sponsor the game of scrabble in the country.

“Scrabble is not where you will spent billion, it is where you spent the least minimum of million and achieve a good target and make the youths to be responsible,’’ he said.

Ikolo said the major challenge facing the sport was lack of sponsorship.

According to him, if we were in a developed world, the fact that we won the world championship as a sporting federation is enough to move scrabble to the next level.

“Scrabble is an intellectual game, a mind and a mental game that has taken a lot of restive youths off the streets.

“Since government alone cannot develop sports the multinationals that are making money from Nigerians should invest in scrabble and give our youths a meaning live.

“Today we have a current African Champion and World Champion. These guys are celebrities, including me, the coach, that did the background work should have an endorsement.

“When I was elected in June 2014 as national coach, the first thing that came to my mind was to win the African Champion.

“This I did in grand style out of 10 available prizes we won the first nine, leaving the tenth one for South Africa who were our host.

“The moment we came back I know we were lacking in some areas that will hinder us from winning the world championship.

“At the end of 2014, I put up a proposal that will evolved a lot of hard work for top Scrabble players in the country just to put them in the best frame of mind.

“ This paid off and at the end of the day in 2015 precisely in November in Spain we won the world championship.

“The cumulative performance of the six players that make up the team put Nigeria in the Summit of World Scrabble,’’ he said.

Ikolo, however, thanked God for keeping him alive and healthy on his 44th birthday and for all his achievements.

He also thanked his wife for the spiritual and moral support and for her persistence in wishing him the very best. (NAN)
DE/OFN
Edited by Felix Nwadioha

NAN-AE-10
Agriculture
By Chidinma Agu
Lagos, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba of the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, in Ebonyi, has urged the Federal Government to ensure the sustenance of the diversification of export earnings through agriculture.

Nwajiuba, Vice-Chancellor of the University, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos that policy somersault and government’s inability to sustain good policies were among the country’s greatest problems.

“It is an irony that a nation richly-blessed with arable land still imports finished agricultural products.

“We produce and sell only raw agricultural materials at cheap rates and import the finished products at exorbitant rates.

“Just as we produce and sell crude oil at giveaway prices and import refined products at cutthroat prices. This is unacceptable.

“The diversification policy should be matched with production-orientation rather than import-dependence, by investing in the critical sectors of the economy like power and transportation, especially road and rail transportation,’’ he said.

Nwajiuba said that was the only way to get the nation back on track, using agriculture.

He said there was need for all tiers of government to continue investment in agriculture, and to re-orient Nigerian youths to see and take agriculture as alternative to the diminishing white-collar jobs.

According to him, these are the ways to go– to re-jig the nation’s ailing economy and jump-start massive development in terms of employment, food security and foreign exchange earnings.

The don said that massive investment in agriculture would also help to revive the manufacturing and real sectors of the economy. (NAN)

ACA/FLP/BOS
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Edited by Folorunso Poroye/dele bodunde

NAN-DS-5
Seizure
By Muhyideen Jimoh
Abuja, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) The National Drug Law enforcement Agency (NDLEA), FCT Command, seized over 2,000kg of cannabis sativa, cocaine and other illicit drugs in October.

The NDLEA, FCT Commander, Mrs Chinyere Obijuru, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a media briefing.

She said that the seizures were made possible by the agency’s intensified fight against drug trafficking in and around the FCT.

“The NDLEA under the leadership of Col. Mustapha Abdallah (rtd) remains committed to its mandate of eradicating drug- related crimes in the nation,’’ she said.

Mr Peter Adegbe, the command’s Public Relations Officer, who took journalists on an inspection of the seized drugs, said that most of the drugs were seized at Abaji, FCT.

He said that the agency seized 1,799kg of cannabis sativa concealed in a compartment of a truck on Oct. 27 at Abaji.

Adegbe said that the truck, heading for Yola from Edo, was intercepted in the FCT through the vigilance and professionalism of NDLEA officers on duty.

He said that the NDLEA also arrested a suspect with 76.2g of cocaine worth over two million naira on Abaji while the suspect was trying to smuggle the substance into the FCT.

The spokesperson said the agency equally arrested two men each with 49kg of cannabis sativa on the same route while trying to smuggle the banned drug into the FCT.

He said collaboration of NDLEA with other agencies had begun to yield fruits, with the Nigerian Army Brigade of Guards intercepting a Toyota Corolla Vehicle with 16 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 156.5kg on Oct. 31.

Adegbe added that the agency also seized cartons and bottles of cough syrups with codeine and tramadol during raids in FCT in October.

He said that the agency would continue to carry out anti-narcotics offensive in a bid to rid the FCT of drug trafficking and barons.

He called on FCT residents to be vigilant and report any drug activity in their neighbourhood to the nearest NDLEA office. (NAN)
MUYI/IGO
(Edited by Joseph Edeh/Ijeoma Popoola)

NAN-H-64
Administration
Ilorin, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) Ahead of the expiration of the tenure of local government chairmen in Kwara, Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed has vowed to sanitise local government administration in order to create a  self-sustaining system.

This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Ibadan by Dr Muideen Akorede, the governor`s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications.

The statement quoted the governor as giving the commitment in Ilorin at a meeting with the 2013-2016 local government councillors.

The councillors had visited the governor to appeal for the payment of their furniture allowance before the end of their tenure.

The governor said the current recession and the apparent inefficiency at the third tier of government had made it imperative to reform the management of councils.

He expressed the hope that the reform would ensure that councils pay workers` salaries and embark on development projects at the grassroots.

The governor noted that by the time elections would be held into the councils, the local governments would have been made solvent  through the ongoing IGR reforms and biometric verification of staff.

He assured them that once the government received the expected revenue inflows, the local government councils would pay the councillors their statutory entitlements due to them.

Ahmed said that the current financial challenges in the councils could not support the bulk payment of all outstanding payments, emphasising that government would work on payment by instalments.

The governor expressed concern over the salary arrears owed local council workers and political office holders, describing it as unfortunate.

Describing political office as time-bound call to service, Ahmed urged the outgoing councillors to key into the state government’s SME scheme.

He said this would enable them to continue to earn sustainable living after leaving office. (NAN)
AUO/MOL/OJO
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(Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Mufutau Ojo)

NAN-H-65
Schools
By Chinyere Nwachukwu
Lagos, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) The Federal Ministry of Education has directed principals of the 104 unity colleges to intensify efforts toward standing out as flagships in the nation’s education sector.

Mr Ben Goong, the Deputy Director (Media), disclosed the ministry’s directive in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

Goong said that the ministry had set targets for the principals to shore up academic performance in their respective colleges.

He said that the directive became necessary in view of the huge investments government was making on the colleges and the education sector in general in recent times.

“Henceforth, targets are being set for the unity colleges across the country.

“The targets will be in terms of each college’s performances in major external examinations, such as WASSCE (WAEC), SSCE (NECO), UTME (JAMB), NABTEB and other related examinations,’’ Goong said.

According to him, beginning from the 2016/2017 academic session, principals of unity schools whose students post outstanding performances in external examinations, will be rewarded.

“Those colleges whose students fail to live up to the desired expectation will equally be sanctioned,’’ Goong said.

He added that so far, the Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC), Yaba, had distinguished itself in various academic competitions within and outside the country.

The deputy director added that the FSTC had remained the flagship of unity colleges across the country.

According to Goong, the school has won several laurels in various competitions in recent times and posted spectacular performances in external examinations. (NAN)

CCN/AIB/JCE

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Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Chukwudi Ekezie