Blog

NAN-H-33
Trousers
By Nuhu Martha Asama
Jos, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) A Jos Chief Magistrates’ Court on Thursday sentenced a 22-year-old driver, Yasir Adamu, of School Line, Jos, to eight months imprisonment for stealing a pair of trousers.

The Magistrate, Mr Jovita Binjin, jailed Adamu after he pleaded pleaded guilty and begged for leniency.

Binjin, however, gave the convict an option to pay N5, 000 as fine.

He said that the sentence was meant to serve as a deterrent to those who might want to engage in similar acts.

The convict, in his plea, said “it is the devil that made me do it; all my clothes were torn and I did not have money to buy new ones.

“Have mercy on me, this is my first time; I will not do it again,” he pleaded.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Thomas Amuku, had told the court that Blessing Uchendu of Gada Biyu Market, Jos, reported the matter at the `A’ Division Police Station on Sept. 18.

Amuku said that Adamu went into the complainant’s shop and stole a pair of Jean trousers valued N5, 000.

The prosecutor said the accused was apprehended while he wore the Jeans and trying to leave the shop.

Amuku said that the offence contravened Section 287 of the Penal Code. (NAN)
ADY/FLP/OFN
Edited by Folorunso Poroye//Felix Nwadioha

NAN-S-2
League
By Bushrah Yusuf-Badmus
Ilorin, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) The League Management Company (LMC) has boosted the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) with the sum of N10 million for the competition’s second round to be successfully prosecuted.

The LMC made the disclosure in a statement on the website of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a number of clubs had ran foul of the NWFL regulations by failing to honour three matches and were subsequently thrown out of the league.

However, with the latest lifeline by the LMC, the NWFL will now be able to pay indemnities of match officials and take the responsibility off host teams.

The statement quoted the Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee of the NWFL, Babagana Kalli, as saying that the gesture was an exhibition of NFF’s promise to take the women’s league to a new level.

“We are happy for this lifeline from the LMC and this gesture has come as part of NFF’s promise to take the women’s league and the entire women football to a new level.

“We want to commend the NFF and the LMC for this, and I can assure you that the second round of the season will commence this weekend with all the teams that started it.

“We have rescheduled all the matches that were not played for one reason or the other, and the rescheduled games will be played midweek.

“The regular matches will come up during the weekends,’’ it quoted Kalli as saying.

It added that Ayo Abdulrahaman, Executive Secretary of the NWFL, had explained the reason for the expulsion of some clubs.

“Teams like Nasarawa Amazons, Tokas Queens and Capital City Doves (Premier League), and Cerezo Queens and State House Queens (Pro League) lost their slots for failing to honour three matches in the current season.

In letters conveying the decision of the Ad-hoc Committee of the NWFL and addressed to the NFF General Secretary, Abdulrahaman cited the provision of article 4.2 paragraphs 1 and 5 of the 2015/2016 Nigeria Women Football League rules.

“All the teams earlier expelled have now been restored to the league,’’ the statement said. (NAN)
BAY/ESAN/PDE
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(Edited by Modupe Esan and Controlled by Peter Ejiofor)

Cybercafé operators complain of low patronage due to smart phones

NAN-H-31
Cybercafé
By Happiness Obi/Abigail William
Abuja, Sept.  21, 2016(NAN) Cybercafé operators in Abuja have complained that since the advent of smart phones, the level of patronage has reduced drastically.

The operators told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday that the use of smart phones by majority of the populace had negatively affected patronage resulting to many closing shop.

A cybercafé operator, Mr Hector Ajero in Area 10 Shopping Complex, Abuja, told NAN that since smart phones entered the market “business is no longer the way it used to be’’.

He said that before the advent of smart phones, business was a lot better and interesting “unlike now that everyone has the facility to access the internet conveniently’’.

“Before, when there were no smart phones, business was a lot better, now business is really going down,’’ he said.

He said that what many customers now come to cybercafés to do was just to print and sometimes type documents.

“But we spend money to buy fuel to carry out these services because of poor electricity and this has been affecting our businesses negatively.

“These days people do their jobs with their phones, save it on their flash drives then come to print, unlike before when they come to do their entire internet work and printing here,’’ he said.

Mr Christian Okpara, another cybercafé operator said, “the business is really tough now as sales are no more like there were.’’

“People no longer come for our internet services, we recharge the internet just for recharging sake because people rarely come to browse.

“What we do more with our internet is online registration for JAMB, WAEC, Post-UTME and job recruitments and all these are seasonal,’’ he said.

For Mrs Faith Deke, another cybercafé operator, the competition between cybercafés was high now because people do their works on their phones.

She said that her challenge was the charging rate by telecommunications operators, adding that “the good thing is the rollover process that has been put in place to help internet users’’.

“There is a lot of competition; we are just trying to get by because most people do their work on their phones.

“Charging rates are high compared to before but the good thing now is that there is rollover unlike before when there was no such thing.

“Roll over is a process whereby the unfinished data balance is transferred to the next month when another data is purchased,” she said.

She therefore appealed to the government to put in more efforts in making sure that they improved on electricity, saying “that is one major tool for running our business’’.

“When there is constant supply of electricity, the business will move well,’’ she said.   (NAN)
HOB/AWA/COA/GY
================

Edited by Constance Athekame/Grace Yussuf

NAN-H-12
Sex
Story by Ajayi Toba
Ilorin, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) Dr Rotimi Amos of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) has advised parents to make it a duty to educate their girl child about sex early.

Amos gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Thursday.

He said exposing the girl child to early sex education would adequately prepare and equip the girl to deal with sex challenges when she grew up.

Rotimi said most parents felt shy to discuss sex education with their grown up daughter, not to talk of the girl child.

The expert urged parents, especially mothers, to always engage their girls in sex discussion so that they would not learn it from peer groups with negative consequences.

“There is no crime in mother teaching her daughter or discussing sex with her daughter. Making her to understand the implication of indulging in early sex is very important.

“Mother’s have a big role to play in this aspect, they should not wait for their daughters to learn from peers or schools where they can be misled,” he said.

Amos advised mothers to ensure that proper sex discussion was established with their daughters early in order to prevent them from becoming victims and to prevent sexual abuse.

According to him, earlier sex orientation for a girl is necessary as the social media has widened and exposed children of the current generation. (NAN)
LEX/TA
Edited/controlled by Tajudeen Atitebi

NLC accuses FG of evading talk on minimum wage

NAN-H-2
Wage

By Bukola Adewumi

Abuja, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday dismissed as misleading, speculations that talks between it and the Federal Government on new national minimum wage had collapsed.

Comrade Ayuba Wabba, President of the NLC said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, that the talks had not even started.

According to him, the government is foot dragging on the issue.

He said that the tripartite structure that should consider the modalities for the implementation had not been inaugurated.

“Uptil now, government is still dragging its feet on talks about the minimum wage; the tripartite structure has not been put in place.”

He said that the speculation that talk on minimum wage had collapsed was misleading, adding that the talk had not even started.

“The point we are making is that we have only agreed on the structure, but the structure has not been formed.

“We have agreed on the membership and the structure of the negotiating team which is going to be tripartite, so this is the point that we are now.

“But at the last meeting of the tripartite team which was held a day after the Sallah break, it was agreed that at the next meeting, all these issues will be sorted out.

“What happened was that government could not form a quorum at the last meeting of the palliative,” Wabba added.

According to him, apart from the Minister of Labour and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation that were at the meeting key ministries were absent.

“Legitimately, we have a demand that is still pending with them including that of minimum wage and the palliative; therefore at the next meeting, I am certain that we will give government notice.”

Asked if the government was reluctant in setting up a team for the implementation of the minimum wage, Wabba said he would not speak for the government.

“Well, I can`t speak on the side of the government, but we are committed in making our demand, it is left for them to tell Nigerians whether they are committed to it or not,” he said.

According to the NLC president, the union would pursue the issue of the minimum wage to its logical conclusion.

NAN reports that the composition of the tripartite committee was announced on May 26, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.

The Wabba faction of the NLC had put forward a demand of “N56, 000 as a realistic minimum wage,” while that of Joe Ajaero is asking for N90, 000 as minimum wage.

NAN reports that the government on its part has proposed N45, 000 as the new minimum wage.

The joint committee is meant to iron out the differences in the various submissions. (NAN)

BOL/ESAN/MZA
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(Edited by Abiodun Esan and Controlled by Maharazu Ahmed)

NAN-HE-11
Business
By Lucy Nwachukwu
Abuja, Sept. 22, 2016(NAN) The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has urged small scale producers to work in clusters to help them in sustaining their businesses.

Mr Wale Fasanya, Director of Enterprise Development Promotion in SMEDAN, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

“We are encouraging them to work in clusters because we are encouraging common facilities.

“For example, if you are a micro leather producer, another person is producing shoes sole and somebody else is making buckles, you cannot be master of all trades.

“So, if within the same value chain, when one sews the shoe, you give somebody to produce buckle, you will now jointly identify markets, when you do that, it will be easier for everyone.

“One, it will bring down cost even of raw materials, it will bring down the general cost of production and then, they will be able to identify markets jointly,’’ he said.

Fasanya said SMEDAN was also trying to devise ways of linking micro entrepreneurs to big businesses so that they could source from them.

He noted that SMEDAN was also working at ensuring government support to small business enterprises.

“We are already talking with the Bureau of Public Procurement to see that in their Act, a percentage is established for outsourcing from SMEs.

“This is such that if we are supplying anything to government, it should be produced by our SMEs or we will ensure that 60 to 70 per cent will be out sourced from SMEs.

“So, if government procurement is keyed towards them, it will help and we, through the business information centre and through business earnings can link them to markets.

“This is because what you are producing may be somebody else’s raw materials and you may not know and if we do all these, I am sure things will get better,’’ Fasanya said.

On the N220billion MSME Funds, he told NAN that the small business owners had been accessing it, though, they did not go to CBN to access it but the money is channelled through financial institutions.

He said that one of the problems of SMEs had been that most times, when they accessed government funding, they did not want to pay back.

“And in the CBN now, there is no more free money, if you are serious with your business and you access funds at single digit interest rate, you are supposed to pay back.

“CBN is going through banks, through financial institutions, and when the financial institutions access from CBN, they now lend to SMEs that will be forced to pay back,’’ Fasanya said. (NAN)
LCN/MO/PDE
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(Edited by Morayo Omolade and Controlled by Peter Ejiofor)

NAN-DS-1

Security

By Aminu Ahmed Garko

Sokoto Sept. 22, 2016 ( NAN) The Sokoto State Police Command on Thursday advised residents of the state to be security conscious, always.

The Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulkadir, gave the advice in an interview with  the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Sokoto .

Abdulkadir said that already various forms of security measures had being put in place to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the area.

” We have put in place security measures in and outside the metropolis that will enable the people to move about  and conduct their legitimate businesses without hindrance, ” he said.

The commissioner solicited for more support from the people of the state especially by giving the command intelligence reports that could assist it to arrest and prosecute criminals.( NAN)
AAG/AMY

Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

NAN-HE-1

Economy

By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko

Ibadan, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) Prof. Oyesoji Aremu, the Deputy Director (Academic), Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan (UI), has urged the National Economy Team, Chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, to be proactive.

Aremu, also a senior lecturer at the Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies, UI, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday.

He said that it was not all about having the economy team or not as many people had argued, but about the team doing the needful.

Aremu stressed the need for the country to have its home-grown economic policies that would improve the economy.

“The team should look inward and address issues such as importing foreign policies; we need Nigerian philosophy on economy and not that of other countries.

“We are being driven through importation a lot, that should not be, but we should start producing the things we need, let the importation be for basic things we can’t produce alone.

“By now, we shouldn’t be importing rice and flour while we have arable land where we can farm, the huge foreign exchange used for importation can be used for other things,” he said.

The don advised government to give incentives to farmers like soft loans to enable them produce food in commercial quantities.

He also stressed the need for the country to have storage facilities for foods.
“There should be national storage facility where the government can buy excess food produced by farmers, preserve and store them.

“And when there is recession, the government will go to the facility and release food to the market.

“The facility should also be in states, zonal levels and local governments; some families are already rationing foods in the country, we need to address it.

“We need more of food plantations and storage facilities to make them last for some years; these are the ways out.”

Aremu emphasised the need for the education sector to develop curricular that would be relevant to happenings in the society globally.

“Most of our curricular, right from the primary school level to the tertiary level, don’t address the global economy.

“You can imagine someone born in the 21st century still being taught the same things his or her forefathers learnt; we can’t improve that way, each institution should have a sustainable curricular.

“We should also have the right personnel to be able to imply the right curricular; there is also need to create enabling environment for the teachers to deliver. (NAN)
CC/MO/TA
Edited by Morayo Omolade/controlled by Tajudeen Atitebi

NAN-H-30

Imprisonment

Jos, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) A Jos Chief Magistrate’s Court on Thursday sentenced two women, Mrs Karkuzu Raymond, 50, and Mrs Stella Alechenu, 45, to 10 months imprisonment each for receiving stolen rice and beans.

The convicts, both of Jenta Adamu Street, Jos, were charged with receiving stolen property.

The magistrate, Mr Jovita Binjin, sentenced them after they pleaded guilty to the crime and begged for leniency.

In their plea, the convicts attributed their action to the harsh economic times.

“It is the current hardship that led us to it; we just wanted to provide for our families.

“Rice is very expensive now; we wanted to sell and make profit. It is the work of the devil, we will not do it again,” they pleaded.

After the plea, the magistrate sentenced them to 10 months each in prison, with an option of fine of N5, 000 each.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Sgt. Thomas Amuku, had told the court that one Agbat Luke, a security man attached to the Satelite Market, Jos, reported the matter at the `A’ Division Police Station on Sept. 8.

Amuku said that the accused received two bags of rice and a large quantity of beans suspected to have been stolen, from one Friday Doro and Friday Audu, whom had since been convicted for theft.

He said that the accused bought the bags of rice and the beans valued at N70, 000, from the thieves at the rate of N15, 000.

The prosecutor added that during police investigation, the accused confessed to have committed the crime.

He said that the offence contravened the provision of section 317 of the Penal Code. (NAN)

ADY/OPI/OPI

Edited by Olisa Ifeajika

NAN-H-11
Suicide
By Fatima Mohammed Lawal
Ilorin, Sept. 22, 2016 (NAN) Dr Adekola Aminu of the Department of Political Science and Conflict Resolutions, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, has appealed to Nigerians to shun suicide tendencies in spite of hard times.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ilorin, Aminu urged Nigerians not to give up hope of a better tomorrow.
He identified poverty and frustration as the main causes of suicide, regretting that some persons in difficult economic situations had considered suicide.
The don advised that suicide was not an option but optimism, hard work and patience.
He expressed the hope that Nigeria would soon be out of economic recession.
Aminu said that the World Health Organisation estimated that approximately one million people would die yearly from suicide.

According to the don, this represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds.
“The global suicide rate is 16 per 100,000 population and, on average, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world,” he said.
He said that 1.8 per cent of deaths worldwide resulted from suicide, adding that global suicide rate had increased by 60 per cent in the past 45 years.
‘’Suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged from 15 to 44 – male and female,” he noted.
Aminu added that mental disorders, particularly depression and substance abuse, were associated with more than 90 per cent of cases of suicide.
He said that suicide resulted from many complex sociocultural factors, and was more likely to occur during socioeconomic family and individual crisis.
According to him, some other causes of suicide are loss of a loved one, unemployment, sexual orientation, difficulty with developing identity, disassociation from community or other social/belief group.
“Too much of worry and depression could push people to commit suicide.
“This is because there are those who think they cannot make it in life due to past failure, disappointment or poverty,’’ he said.
Aminu implored the Federal Government to urgently revive the economy to reduce poverty, improve living standards and reduce suicide. (NAN)
FATY/DUA/IGO
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(Edited by Dada Ahmed and controlled by Ijeoma Popoola)