Blog

NAN-H-45
Curfew
Kafanchan (Kaduna State) Oct.18, 2016 (NAN) Schools and business premises have remained closed in Kafanchan, Kaduna state, despite relaxation of the 24 hours curfew imposed on the town.

The authority of Jema’a LGA of Kaduna State, on Sunday relaxed the 24-hour curfew imposed on Kafanchan to curtail the killings and destruction of properties in Godogodo area of the town.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored the situation on Tuesday, reports that schools, business premises including banks were still under lock and key.

Some residents of the town, who commented on the situation, attributed the continued closure of schools and business premises to communication gap with the authority of the local council.

Mr Silas Aluwong, a parent resident in Garaje area, said he was turned back by the school authority when he went to drop his children at the school.

“The staff asked us to go back home as he had not received directive on lifting of the curfew,” he said.

Mr Emeka James, who owns provision store on Kafanchan/Kagoro road, told NAN that he had not received news on the reduction of the curfew hours.

He said that shops would remain closed until the tension subsidy.

“We have not heard anything from the government on when to open our shops; but common sense demands that one should be vigilant,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, several residents of Kafanchan have expressed concern over the closure of banks in the town.

They say the closure had prevented them from withdrawing cash from either bank halls or Automatic Teller Machines (ATM).

Mrs Alice David, a civil servant, appealed to the management of banks to be considerate and allow them withdraw money from ATMs.

“There is so much suffering; some people do not have food to eat let alone meet other needs,” she said. (NAN)

MGK/AEA/AEA
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Edited by Archibong Asuquo

NAN-HE-11

Empowerment

By Desmond Ejibas

Port Harcourt, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), says it has donated N25 million to 50 youths in Ogoni, Rivers, to enable them to start businesses.

This is conveyed by Mr Joe Obari, spokesman for the company in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Obari said the beneficiaries graduated from its LiveWire Nigeria programme designed for youths in host communities.

Obari said that out of 60 youths who received training in business planning, management and pitching, 50 got to the final stage.

“The 50 youths who scaled through received start-up funds to enable them start businesses of their choice.

“Similarly, six youths who benefited from the programme’s 2015 edition received The Young Business Leaders award for outstanding run of their businesses”, he said.

The spokesman said the beneficiaries were picked from Gokana, Tai, Eleme and Khana local government areas of Rivers State. (NAN)

DES/DE/IEA
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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Idahosa Asowata

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Godogodo attack: Police deploys two more mobile police units

NAN-DS-2

Attack

By Mohammad Tijjani

Kaduna, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) The Kaduna State Police Command, on Tuesday said it had deployed two additional units of mobile police personnel to restore peace in Godogodo.

The command’s Public Relation Officer, ASP Aliyu Usman told the News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] in Kaduna that the personnel were mandated to hunt down perpetrators of the crisis.

Usman said policemen were also deployed to Kafanchan and environs to forestall any reprisal attack.

He said that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Sanusi Lemu had undertaken an assessment tour of the area.

“The CP also accompanied the Kaduna State Deputy Governor to pay condolence visits to relatives of the deceased and the Chiefdom.”

He said that the visit was part of efforts to boost the morale of police personnel deployed to enhance security of lives and property.

Usman said the Area Commander, Kafanchan, ACP John Yusuf, has initiated dialogue with various stakeholders involved in the conflict, to find lasting solution to the crisis.

“The dialogue session is intended to serve as alternative means of resolving the problem,“ the police spokesman said.

NAN reports that the 24-four hour curfew imposed on Oct 16 in the area had been relaxed.

The crisis, which has been on for over a month, had led to the death of several people and destruction of properties in Godogodo chiefdom, Jema’a Local Government Area of the state.(NAN)

TJ/MZA

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Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

NAN-H-12
Resettlement
Damaturu, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) Hajiya Halimatu Amshi, the Chairperson, Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) in Yobe, says her association has empowered 55 Internally-Displaced widows.

Amshi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Damaturu that this followed Boko Haram’s insurgency in Gujba Local Government Area of the state.

She said the association trained the widows in poultry farming, animal husbandry, production of soap, cream and detergents, tailoring, local  seasonings known as Daddawa and milling of groundnut oil.

The chairperson said the 55 widows constituted the second batch of those trained by the association, adding that the association had earlier in the year trained 100 others.

According to the chairperson, 21 widows with passion for groundnut oil production received a bag of groundnut each and 12 sewing machines were distributed to 12 beneficiaries.

She said that nine others got N20,000 each for petty trading and catering services in their villages.

“Others were provided with livestock to engage in animal fattening, sale of  bean cake and moi-moi as well as production of  local seasonings production,’’ Amshi said.

She said the association offered 100 orphans scholarship for their basic education in both Damaturu and Fika.

“We have rehabilitated three boreholes in Buni Yadi and constructed two hand pumps in the liberated communities to ease water scarcity as the people return home,’’  Amshi said.

The chairperson commended Media Trust Ltd. for funding the programmes of the association.

She appealed to other organisations to lend similar support toward the resettlement and rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced persons willing to return to their communities. (NAN)
MM/OSA/AJA
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(Edited by Shittu Obassa/Adeleye Ajayi)

FG releases 2 hybrid yams, 7 other crop varieties

NAN-AE-4
Hybrid
By Suleiman Shehu
Ibadan, Oct. 18 2016 (NAN) The Federal Government has approved the registration and release of nine hybrid crops varieties developed by scientists for Nigerian farmers to boost agricultural production in the country.

Dr Sunday Aladele, Registrar, National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday and made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

NACGRAB is a parastatal under Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

He said the release of the crops was announced by the chairman, National Varieties Release Committee (NVRC), Chief Awoyemi Oladosu at the 24th NVRC meeting held at NACGRAB.

He listed the nine successful varieties as two hybrid white yam (UMUDr/020) and (UMUDr/021), two maize hybrids (SAMMAZ 49) and (SAMMAZ 51), and one maize variety (SAMMAZ 52).

Others were two cowpea varieties (FUAMPEA 1 and FUAMPEA 2), one amaranthus or leaf vegetable hybrid (NHAMAR 1) and one okra hybrid (NHOKRA 1).

According to him, the yam varieties were developed by National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan.

“The maize varieties were developed by Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria and IITA while the cowpeas were from Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, IAR, and IITA.

“The two vegetable varieties, amaranthus and okra were from National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan,” he said.

The registrar thanked the Minister of Science and Technology for facilitating the funding for the meeting.

Aladele also thanked the West Africa Agricultural Programme for the financial support received so far.

The Registrar announced that 166 crop varieties from Nigeria had been entered into ECOWAS catalogue.

They included 59 maize, 18 sorghum, 14 rice, five pearl millet, 18 cowpea, three groundnut, 24 cassava, 19 yam, three potato and three tomato varieties.

Also, Prof. Olusoji Olufajo, chairman Technical Sub Committee (Crops) said the committee had adopted the recommendation of the ad-hoc committee set up by NVRC on funding.

He said the committee recommended that anybody submitting publicly bred material should be charged N50,000 and privately bred material should be charged N200,000 application fees for registration per crop variety/hybrid.

According to him, 24th NVRC meeting held at NACGRAB was attended by crop scientists, breeders, seed companies and agriculture experts from all over the country. (NAN)
SYS/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajjde
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NJC’s inability to fight corruption has eroded public confidence judiciary -Civil society

NAN-H-44
Judiciary
By Kingsley Okoye
Abuja, Oct.17, 2016 (NAN) The Civil Society Network Against Corruption  (CSNAC) has said that the failure of the  National Judicial Council (NJC)  to purge the nation’s judicial system of corrupt practices has eroded public confidence in the sector.

Olanrewaju Suraju, the Chairman of CSNAC,  a non-governmental organisation, stated this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Suraju said that the nature of sanctions on some erring judges had cast serious doubt on the commitment of  the Council to restore public confidence in the  judiciary.

He said the slow pace and in some cases deliberate refusal of the NJC to investigate and sanction judges accused of corruption and other acts of professional misconduct had encouraged corruption in the judiciary.

The CSNAC chairman said NJC’s claim that it was committed to the anti-graft fight by government in the face of “frivolous injunctions” by judges was false.

“In several other cases, judges involved in the trial of corruption cases as well as the appellate courts have granted stay of proceedings to stall the prosecution of corrupt people in the society.”

He said that apart from the case of Justice  Mohammed Yunusa, who was recently recommended for retirement by the Council, no other judge had been sanctioned by the NJC for frustrating the fight against corruption.

Suraju said the Council did not act in Yunusa’s case until CSNAC compiled seven cases where he allegedly restrained EFCC, ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police and Attorney General Federal from prosecuting some people accused of diverting billions of naira.

He said the claim of NJC that it dealt with allegations of misconduct against judicial officers had  compelled CSNAC to ask why NJC had not investigated alleged judicial corruption against some judges.

He said the petitions yet to be investigated, were those against Justice Babatunde Adejumo, President, National Industrial Court for granting ex parte orders against two state governments filed by Edo and Oyo governments.

The other case was against the President of the Court of Appeal for alleged failure to hear and determine the appeal filed by the EFCC in 2008 at the Court of Appeal against the judgment of Justice Ibrahim Buba in the Odili case.

He said Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, the incumbent President of Nigerian Bar Association prosecuted the case on behalf of the EFCC.

The others were; Justice Uwani Abba-Aji of the Court of Appeal, Justices Ibrahim Auta, and Hyeladzira Nganjiwa of Federal High Court.

He said the cases cited above were among several others alleging corruption and misconduct on the part of some members of the NJC and other  judges who were said to be untouchable in the judiciary.

This, he said, led to the DSS sting operation to end impunity in the Nigerian judiciary.

He said that CSNAC was of firm opinion that corruption and impunity in the judiciary posed serious danger to the nation.

He called on the Council to join the calls to rid the judiciary of bad eggs in the interest of justice, democracy and good governance by investigating the petitions without any further delay. (NAN)
KC/OFN
Edited by Felix Nwadioha

NAN-H-13

IATA

By Solomon Asowata

Lagos, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected that air travellers would rise from 3.8 billion in 2016 to 7.2 billion in 2035.

IATA’s Director General, Mr Alexandre de Juniac, made the projection while speaking at the World Passenger Symposium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

A copy of his speech was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

De Juniac said IATA had laid out a transformative vision for air travel that would enable aviation to successfully accommodate a near doubling in demand for air travel over the next two decades.

“My dream journey through the airport would offer security processes that are both effective and convenient, constant communication that makes me aware of changes to my journey or opportunities nearby, and a more efficient way of identifying myself to the airline, security staff and border management,” he said.

According to him, the road map to turn this dream into reality is being developed through IATA’s Simplifying the Business (StB) programme.

De Juniac said the StB looks over the passenger experience from an end-to-end perspective across all processes, from shopping for travel, to the airport experience, to arriving at the destination, with a special focus on transformation.

He called on air transport stakeholders to work together and embrace speed and innovation to meet the challenges of growth and rising passenger expectations.

“How do we move these concepts forward? The answer is in partnerships. Even as we implement today’s great ideas, we need to be looking for the next innovation that will make air travel even more compelling to the potential traveller.

“And we should be prepared to face a future where the cycle of innovation is continuously accelerating,” the IATA boss said.

De Juniac warned, however, that no matter how much or how quickly we innovate our processes, there was no getting around the need to be both smart and quick in growing airport and airspace capacity.

He cited rising congestion, particularly in Europe, noting that fast growing areas including the Gulf region and China also face airspace capacity issues.

De Juniac said: “I fear that we may be headed for an infrastructure crisis that will impact air travellers.

“Inadequate infrastructure negatively impacts the passenger experience in the form of flight delays, longer routes and inefficient schedules.

“Then, there is the cost to economies of lost business opportunities, employment and social development.

“Remember aviation is a critical catalyst for economic and social development, supporting 63 million jobs and some $2.7 trillion in economic impact.”

He further cited the recent historic agreement among member states of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to enable aviation to grow sustainably as an example of what can be achieved by working together.

“Where we have common interests, we can produce results. With ICAO, the industry worked with governments to achieve the world’s first agreement to offset the environmental impact generated by the growth of an entire industrial sector.

“Along with our investments in more efficient technologies, infrastructure and operations, we will ensure that aviation grows sustainably as we prepare to meet our long-term commitment to cut net emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2050,” De Juniac said. (NAN)

ASO/EAL/SOA

Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi/Oluwole Sogunle
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NAN-S-1

Cost

By Victor Okoye

Tokyo, Oct., 18, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) The International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Tuesday said that it felt the costs for the 2020 Tokyo Games looked “very high.”

The IOC said it would work with organisers to cut down the cost of hosting, adding however that athletes must come first when considering how to rein in spending.

The comments came at a meeting between Tokyo Governor, Yuriko Koike and IOC President Thomas Bach.

Bach proposed forming a working group comprising Tokyo, the central government, 2020 organisers and the IOC to find ways to avoid wasteful spending.

Koike, who took office in August, ordered a review of Olympic expenses that last month recommended changing three venues in an effort to rein in costs projected to hit 3 trillion yen (29 billion dollars).

This figure is some four times the initial estimates made when Tokyo won the right to host the Games.

“That’s certainly a figure that seems very large to us,” IOC Vice President, John Coates told reporters after the meeting, saying that he was confident those figures could be reduced.

One of the proposed venue changes would mean moving rowing and canoe/kayak sprint events some 400 km (250 miles) north of Tokyo to use existing facilities rather than building new ones in the capital.

The IOC, the 2020 Organising Committee and International Rowing federation favour the original plan to keep the venue in Tokyo.

Koike also last week told Reuters this was the last chance to take steps to rein in soaring costs.

Bach did not comment directly on the proposed venue changes but emphasised that the experience of the athletes should be the priority in planning for the Games.

“The athletes are the heart and soul of the Olympic Games and we have to respect them”, Bach said.

“If they fail to reach an agreement on the Tokyo site, known as the Sea Forest Waterway, the IOC would even consider hosting the events in the South Korean city of Chungju”, Japanese media reports said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Chungju was where rowing events were held for the 2014 Asian Games.

Reforms known as “Agenda 2020”, carried out under Bach with the aim of making the Olympics more sustainable, allow hosts to use facilities in other cities or even countries if it makes financial and practical sense.

Koike said she was still reviewing the proposed venue changes and would make a decision by the end of the month, after which she suggested holding the first meeting of the four-party working group.

Tokyo’s original bid pledged to keep most venues within 8 km of the athlete’s village in downtown Tokyo, but several have already been moved.

Cycling will take place in Shizuoka prefecture, about 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo.

Tokyo organisers have been grappling with a series of setbacks.
They were forced to scrap an initial design for the centerpiece National Stadium, site of the opening and closing ceremonies, because it was too expensive.

They also had to redesign the logo for the Games following accusations of plagiarism. (Reuters/NAN)

VO/AAB/IEA
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Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Idahosa Asowata

NAN-H-14
Chibok Girls
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, on Tuesday applauded the Federal Government over the release of 21 Chibok School Girls abducted by Boko Haram sect in 2014.
In a statement by its General Secretary, Dr Stephen Fagbemi, the church also commended security agencies for their efforts in the successful release of the girls.
While congratulating the parents of the girls, the church commiserated with all those who lost their children or relations owing to the dastardly acts of the insurgents.
It urged the government to continue in its efforts to ensure the safe release of the remaining captives in no distant time.
According to the church, it is only natural to expect the parents and families concerned to be anxious and continually disturbed by the continuing captivity of their children.
“This is the feeling of people up and down the country.
“We urge all to continue to pray for guidance for our security outfits and the government for success and safe return of the girls and also for economic recovery for our country at this time.
“We wish our country and its leadership God’s grace, wisdom and guidance at this particular time in its history,” the church said.
The church said it received with delight, relief and optimism news of the released girls at a time when hope was almost lost about whether the girls would return again.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the girls have reunited with their parents while the government had promised to continue with negotiation for the release of others. (NAN)
OYS/ENN/WOJ
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu / Wale Ojetimi)

NAN-H-41

Judge

By Mabel Patience Yakubu

Abuja, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) Justice Adeniyi Ademola, the judge in the case against the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has withdrawn from the cases.

Ademola, one of seven judges arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on allegations of corruption, claimed that he was being harassed and intimidated by the service.

He cited allegations of corruption by DSS against him, which is prosecuting Dasuki’s case, as the reason for his action.

The judge claimed that he was being harassed and intimidated for granting bail to Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of Radio Biafra. (NAN)

PMY/JCE
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Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie