Blog

NAN-HE-25

Recession

By Aminu Ahmed Garko

Sokoto, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) The Sokoto State Government on Wednesday said that the current economic recession was affecting the execution of its ongoing capital projects.

Alhaji Dahiru Abbas, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Transport, made the remark at a ministerial news conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre, Sokoto.

He said, however, that as soon as the financial situation improved, the government would ensure the completion of all the projects.

The official said that in spite of the financial constraints, the government had embarked on construction of some roads in the Sokoto metropolis.

Such projects include Mango Road linking the NNPC mega station to Mabera; Keystone Bank Road and Sokoto Furniture Road.

Abbas said the government had also embarked on the rehabilitation of Government Secondary School, Tureta; Nagarta College, Sokoto, and Government Secondary School, Balle, in Gudu Local Government Area of the state .

He said the Ministry of Works and Housing would continue to ensure proper supervision of all ongoing projects in the state, to ensure qualitative and durable projects.

The permanent secretary called for more working understanding among the various contractors handling government projects.

Abbas urged residents to continue to support the government, to ensure good governance. (NAN)
AAG/FLP/IA

Edited by Folorunso Poroye/Idris Abdulrahman

Education, good environment bedrock for national survival – Kwara Commissioner
NAN-AE-8
Survival
By Usman Aliyu
Ilorin, Sept 21, 2016 (NAN) The Kwara Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Mr Taiwo Joseph, has identified education and good environment as bedrock for any nation that wants to survive.
Joseph made this assertion on Wednesday in Ilorin while receiving 2016 Integrity Stewardship Award from the Centre for Save and Serve Humanity Organisation.
According to him, lack of education by the youth will make them vulnerable to social vices.
He noted that Boko Haram insurgency and militancy in the country were products of lack of education.
The commissioner also described the environment as necessity for socio-economic development of a nation.
He, therefore, expressed delight over the award presentation, saying it was a challenge to him to do more.
“My achievement in the ministry is about what I brought from the private sector; diligent and commitment to work is our watchword.
“We believe in a philosophy that there is no second chance for every opportunity, hence the need to handle any post of responsibility with diligence and hardworking,” he said.
He said he was delighted with the age group that made up the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), saying he was rest assured that the future of the country was secured.
Earlier in his address, Mr Oyibo Abraham, the Executive Director of the NGO, said that the commissioner was selected based on his style of ethical and operational leadership.
He said the organisation was determined and sincerely committed to the ideal of democracy, good governance and servant leadership concept.
According to him, the group has members across the country working against corruption and bad practice that are inimical to the existence of people. (NAN)
AUO/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide
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NAN-S-16

Medals
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) Dilichukwu Onyedimma, FCT’s Acting Director of Sports, on Wednesday said she was optimistic that Team FCT would win at least five medals at the 2016 National Youth Games (NYG).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Games is scheduled to hold in Ilorin, Kwara from Thursday to Sept. 30.

Onyedimma told NAN in Abuja that the FCT contingent has the capacity to win five medals from the eight sports it would be participating in.

She said the Games would be an opportunity for the FCT to expose its young athletes and build them for future engagements.

“Our target for the Games is to expose our youths, test their abilities and talent.

“We have the abilities to win medals in all the eight sports we are participating in, but probably we will win in five of the eight,’’ the Acting Director of Sports said.

NAN reports that Team FCT is participating in tennis, badminton, taekwondo, athletics, wrestling, chess, karate and cricket.

Onyedimma said the FCT contingent to the Games would depart Abuja on Thursday with 80 members, consisting of 50 athletes and 30 officials.

She commended the FCT Minister Muhammad Bello and the FCTA Permanent Secretary for ensuring the participation of the team.

NAN reports that the second edition of the Games will be declared opened by the Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, on Friday.(NAN)

(Edited by Adeboye Ajayi and Controlled by Olawale Alabi)

NAN-AE-11
Warning
By Victor Adeoti
Osogbo, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) Mr Akinloye Ajibola, the Chairman of Osun House of Assembly Committee on Environment, has warned residents of the state against dumping refuse in waterways.

Ajibola gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo on Wednesday.

He said the flood, which ravaged Osogbo metropolis on Sept. 13 and destroyed properties, was painful and disturbing to the state government.

Ajibola said indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways could make the intervention of the government in the area of flood control impossible.

He said rather than dump refuse indiscriminately, residents should be patronising registered waste collectors.

The lawmaker said the huge amount of money government had invested in dredging of waterways would be wasted if residents failed to obey environmental laws.

“I want to appeal to our people to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways.

“Dumping of refuse in waterways is not only criminal, it is selfish and against the environmental laws,” Ajibola said.

He said government would not hesitate to deal with anyone caught contravening the environmental laws in the state.

Ajibola also urged the state Ministry of Environment to always ensure proper dredging of the waterways as well as sustain public enlightenment on waste disposal.

NAN reports that the  flood incident wreaked havoc in some part of the state, with properties worth millions of naira destroyed. (NAN)
VE/ORO/OJO
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(Edited by Razak Owolabi and controlled by Mufutau Ojo)

NAN-ELS-6

Shops

By Collins Yakubu-hammer/Sharon Obi

Abuja, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) Mrs Dayo Keshi, the Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) said the lock up of shops at the Arts Village on Wednesday by officials of the council was in good faith.

Keshi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja

that owners of the shops had refused to pay their rents after being reminded so many times.

NAN reports that officials of the council were seen in the company of armed security personnel locking up shops at the village.

“They are on site doing official business; a tenant is expected to pay rent; but when he or she refuses to pay, then the law has to take its course.

“We need to pay the security and maintain the area; that is why some people’s shops are locked while some shops are open,’’ Keshi said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kanayo Chukwumezie, the President of African Arts and Cultural Heritage Association (AACHA) who is also a shop owner told NAN that the issue was beyond rent payment.

According to him, members of the association who have shops at the village are demonstrating against the action of the council, describing it as illegal.

“They came with police to force people to pay into an illegal account that is not approved by government; we cannot pay monies into a private and illegal account.

“NCAC and Social Development Secretariat (SDS) under the FCT are fighting for the ownership of the Arts and Craft Village.

“SDC has been the original owners with the government approved account which we have been paying into.

“But when NCAC came up and said that the village is their own; we wrote them that they should give us a Treasury Single Account (TSA) approved by the Federal Government to pay the money into.

“They refused and said that we must go to their office and pay the money; when we said no, they now brought police to lock up our shops,’’ Chukwumezie said.

The AACHA president emphasised that the council charges were not static because they come with different names in form of taxes.

“Sometime ago, they called it rent and the next time, they said it was service charge; so we don’t even know what we are paying; they are trying to extort money from our people.’’

According to him, SDS originally allocated the village to them, but NCAC are now claiming ownership.

However, “SDS said they have not been instructed to hand over.’’

He reiterated that payment of monies into private accounts was illegal and called on NCAC and SDS to resolve the issue of ownership and who the shop owners should be answerable to.

Malam Shaibu Mohammed, one of the shop owners said that the NCAC locked up some shops and allowed others to operate

“The reasons why some shops are locked and few are opened is that; NCAC came in 2010 and 2011, and forcefully ejected some shop owners and gave the shops to their own people.

“SDS in 2007, during the time of Malam Nasir El-Rufai, shops were allocated to most of us; that allocation has not been revoked.

“NCAC came in 2011 and said the Certificate of Occupancy belonged to them; now we are at a crossroad.

“SDS and NCAC should sit down and iron out the matter and give us a direction to follow,’’ Mohammed said.

Mr Yusuf Omoniyi, a member of the Society of Nigerian Artists told NAN that the reason their own shops were not locked was because the association had an agreement with the council.

Another shop owner who spoke to NAN under condition of anonymity said that the council came around to verify their payment receipts.

“They claimed ownership of the village, and those who have not paid to them had their shops locked and those who paid were allowed to open their shops for business.

“However, those who have their receipts but were not available also have their shops locked until they were able to make them available.

“Before NCAC came today,  they were here some weeks back to inform us that they will come around and instructed every shop owner to have their receipts ready,’’ the source said. (NAN)

SOO/CMY/EEE

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Edited by Ese E. Ekama

NAN-H-83
Goods
By Aminu Garko
Sokoto, Sept. 21, 2016 ( NAN) The Sokoto State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) impounded goods worth N300 million in the last eight months.

The Area Controller, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, Alhaji Sani Madugu, disclosed this in Sokoto on Wednesday while displaying the items before newsmen.

He said that 50 vehicles, 5,000 bags of rice, 4,900 kegs of vegetable oil, clothes and spaghetti, among others, were seized.

Madugu said that the command was collaborating with the Nigeria Police in Kebbi,Sokoto and Zamfara States as well as the border communities to prevent smuggling activities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  reports that the controller solicited the support of the mass media in sensitising the public on the negative effects of smuggling on the nation’s economy. (NAN)
AAG/AJA
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(Controlled by Adeleye Ajayi)

FCT gets Land Use, Allocation Committee

NAN-H-84
Committee
By Kabir Muhammad
Abuja, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) FCT Minister Muhammad Bello says he has constituted the FCT Land Use and Allocation Committee (LUAC) in line with the provisions of the Land Use Act 1978.

Bello made this known while receiving the Commandant of the National Defence College (NDC), Rear Admiral Sunday Alade, who paid him a working visit on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to him, the 12-member Land Use and Allocation Committee is to be chaired by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye.

He said that the committee was expected to identify land available for possible allocation within the territory and process requests.

The committee is  also expected to advise the minister on matters connected with the management of land, resettlement of persons affected by the revocation of rights of occupancy, he said.

Furthermore, he said that the committee would also determine land disputes and the amount of compensation payable for improvement on land.

Bello said that the committee would ensure equity, transparency and due process in all land allocation in the territory.

He identified members of the committee to include the General Counsel/Secretary, Legal Services Secretariat; Secretary, Area Council Services Secretariat and Director of Engineering Services.

Also in the committee are Directors Resettlement & Compensation; Urban & Regional Planning; Survey & Mapping as well as Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS).

Others are the Special Assistants to the Minister and the Permanent Secretary and the Director of Land Administration, who would also serve as the Secretary to the committee.

Bello, however, said that all new land allocations would be tied to development of infrastructure such as power, access roads, telecommunication ducts as well as sewer lines, to reduce considerably the time between allocation and actual development.

The minister promised to assist the NDC to establish a secondary school at its NDC Barrack in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council, but said that it would be funded by the college.

He directed the Department of Urban and Regional Planning to identify a suitable plot within the vicinity of the barrack, in conformity with the Land Use and the Abuja Master Plan.

Earlier, the NDC Commandant, described the college as the highest military institution in the country  training officers from the rank of Colonel and above, top civil servants, the para-military as well as officers from friendly countries.

Alade said that the college currently had 135 participants including 13 countries participating, with a mix of military and civilian population. (NAN)

KM/NKO/NKO

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(Edited by Nkechi Okoronkwo)

UNICEF certifies 1,310 communities as open defecation free in Katsina State
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Communities
Katsina, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) Over 1,310 communities in Katsina State have been certified as Open Defecation Free (ODF) following the successes recorded by the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water supply in Nigeria (SHAWN) project supported by the UNICEF.

Speaking during certificate presentation ceremony on Wednesday in Katsina, Gov. Aminu Masari urged the communities to continue to imbibe the culture of using the pit latrines and toilets.

He noted that open defecation causes diseases like cholera, diarrhoea as well as other water and environment related diseases.

“Air can easily spread diseases from the area where people practice open defecation. It also contaminates our water by polluting the underground water sources in our environment,’’ he said.

Masari urged traditional leaders to intensify efforts toward curtailing the ugly practice of open defecation in their domain.

Also speaking, the UNICEF Chief Field Officer, Madam Padmavathi Yedla, said that UNICEF and Katsina Government had spent N1billion on water and sanitation project in the state.

She said that N600 million was spent on the provision of water and sanitation facilities to the communities, while the remaining N400million was expanded on campaign for social change.

Yedla said that open defecation free status would assist in improving lives of children and women in those communities.

She urged people to educate their families on the principle of using toilet facilities.

“Each one of us has responsibility of ensuring survival of our children, using the sanitation facilities will assist to reduce mortality rate of children and women.

“We should also ensure that the children go to school,’’ she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 1,310 communities were from the 11 local governments participating in SHAWN project in the state.

They included: Fasakri, Sandamu, Musawa, Bakori, Dustin-ma, Ingawa, Mai’adua, Batsari, Safana, Batagarawa and Kaita. (NAN)
ZI/SUD/FAT/AFA
(Edited by Fatima Sule/Felix Ajide
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NAN-H-82
Bills
By Chinyere Omeire
Lagos, Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) Two men, Inimfor Edet and Henry Etim, who allegedly lodged in a hotel and refused to pay the N151, 000 accumulated bills, were on Wednesday arraigned in Lagos.

Edet, 35 and Etim, 39, are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and refusal to pay bills before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court.

Edet resides in Abuja while Etim lives at Block 19, Flat 6, Okonu Estate, Lekki, Lagos.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Adeleye Oluwafemi, told the court that the accused committed the offences between Sept. 15 and 20, at Figlo Hotel, at No. 38, T. F Kuboye Road, Oniru, Lekki, Lagos.

Oluwafemi said the accused accumulated the bill and refused to pay the hotel manager, saying that they had no money left with them.

The offences contravened Sections 313 (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs F. M. Dalley, granted the accused bail in the sum of N20, 000 each with two sureties each in like sum.

She said the sureties should show evidence of three years tax payment to ‎Lagos State Government.

Dalley adjourned the case to Oct. 13 for mention. (NAN)
OCC/EOB/AJA
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(Edited by Edith Bolokor and controlled by Adeleye Ajayi)

NAN-HE-22
Rate

By Lucy Nwachukwu
Abuja. Sept. 21, 2016 (NAN) An economist, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, has condemned the decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in the country to retain existing monetary interest rates in spite of present condition of the economy.
Uwaleke, who is the Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nassarawa State University, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the resolution was anti-economic development.
According to him, the unanimous decision by MPC members to retain the monetary tightening stance seemed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is opposed to tackling inflationary pressure and exchange rate volatility.
He said the decision was at the expense of helping to take the economy out of recession, adding that it was taken in spite of calls by well-informed Nigerians for a gradual shift to “an accommodative policy’’.
“It is more disturbing when one notes the seeming contradiction in government’s desires to spend.
“This is judging from the fiscal stimulus packages in the 2016 budget, and the apex bank’s inclination to squeeze an economy already bleeding in all sectors.
“That the MPC chose to tow a path different from that of the government exemplified by the Finance Minister’s preference for reduced policy rates is testimony to the fact.

“The fact which is that monetary and fiscal policies in Nigeria are not on the same page, and the earlier the two are harmonised, the better for the economy,’’ Uwaleke said.

He said that the MPC would have reduced the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to bring down the cost of capital for business.

“ Business growth will help the economy out of recession.

“And, I consider economic downturn a bigger challenge than inflation and exchange rate stability which seem to be primary concern of CBN,’’ he said.(NAN)

LCN/GOM/OPI

Edited by Mmaduakolam Gregory and Controlled by Olisa Ifeajika