Blog

Adamawa Govt. to hold anti-corruption summit
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Summit

by Muhammad Adama

Yola, Sept. 13, 2016 (NAN) Gov. Jubrilla Bindow of Adamawa says his administration has concluded plans to hold Anti-Corruption Summit in the state.

Bindow, who made this known when he spoke with newsmen in Yola on Tuesday, said the conference was to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft crusade.

“The development is to support President Buhari’s crusade to extend and reach grassroots level.” Bindow said.

He said that though, he did not probe the past administrations that ruled the state, but that he was solely behind the APC’s anti-corruption crusade.

Bindow said that his administration had demonstrated transparency in the management of state resources as well as discourages greed among public servants and government officials.

He said that his administration would continue to work in harmony with the media, while advising them to always seek clarification before publishing their stories.

He commended the media for preaching peace, and appealed to them to promote the good development strides in the state.

Earlier, Mr Umar Yusuf, who spoke on behalf of journalists, commended the governor for being media-friendly.

Yusuf also applauded the governor for his giant stride achievement in the state, describing it as unprecedented.
NAN reports that the interactive session was part of the activity marking the Eid-el-Kabir (NAN)
MK/AMA/JAN/OFN

Edited by Joan Nwagwu//Felix Nwadioha)

Fistula centre disqualifies 15 contractors over bidding inadequacies

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Fistula

By Chukwuemeka Opara

Abakaliki, Sept.13, 2016 (NAN) The National Obstetrics Fistula Centre (NOFIC), Abakaliki, has disqualified 15 contractors who bid for various jobs at the centre.

Dr Sunday Adeoye, Chief Medical Director of the centre, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki.

Adeoye said that the disqualification was because the contractors fell short of the centre’s contract execution standards, non-submission of current tax clearance certificates, among others.

“We are dissapointed that out of about 22 contractors who bided for various jobs at the centre, only seven met the procurement standard.

“Most of them failed to submit their current tax clearance certificates which is one of the main requirement for bidding selection.

“Most of them also failed to attach relevant documents, including court affidavits of various claims, in their applications,” he said.

He Said that the contractors were directed to submit their tax clearance certificates from 2013 to 2015, but most of them failed to adhere to the directive.

“Most of them submitted only one year tax clearance certificate while others failed to submit their 2015 PENCOM certificates.

“We cannot accept inadequate bidding requirements as we showed the unsuccessful bidders areas they fell short of required standard,” he said.

He noted that the submission of court affidavits to back claims was a new regulation by the Federal Government to check the submission of non-genuine documents.

“This centre believes in due process and that is why we thoroughly screen contract bidding to ensure compliance with set standards,” he said. (NAN)

RCO/OFN

(Edited by Felix Nwadioha)

South Africa not in ‘recession territory’: Gordhan

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Economy
Jo’’burg. Sept. 13, 2016 Reuters/NAN)  South Africa’s economy is not in “recession territory” and there is a more than 50 per cent chance ratings agencies will not downgrade it to “junk” status this year, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday.

Reports say agency rate has identified a lower growth rate.

Treasury also plans to stick to its deficit and debt targets set-out in a budget delivered in February, Gordhan told business leaders in Johannesburg.

“We will retain and sustain our fiscal credibility notwithstanding lower growth, which will put pressure on the revenue and the expenditure side,” Gordhan said. (Reuters/ NAN)

Edited by Julius Enehikhuere
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Sanctions
Seoul, Sept. 13, 2016 (Xinhua/NAN) Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the U.S. agreed on Tuesday to seek the strongest possible sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its recent nuclear test.

Sung Kim, special representative for DPRK Policy of the U.S. Department of State, arrived in Seoul on Monday afternoon after holding talks with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo.

The U.S. official met with his South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at Seoul’s foreign ministry, to discuss how to address the DPRK’s fifth nuclear test that was conducted on Sept. 9.

Kim said at a joint press conference that the two allies agreed to pursue the strongest possible sanctions and pressure on the DPRK by pressuring Pyongyang in an omni-directional way through UN Security Council measures, unilateral sanctions and international pressure.

Meanwhile, the U.S. official said Washington will make best efforts to take strong actions as rapidly as possible through the United Nations, noting that the U.S., South Korea and Japan will consider additional measures toward the DPRK separately.

He said that if Pyongyang is really ready to talk about denuclearisation, it can be discussed through six-party talks, but the U.S. diplomat noted that the DPRK showed no interest in dialogue as it conducted unprecedented provocations.

The six-way talks, which involve DPRK, South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan, have been halted since late 2008.

The DPRK announced on Sept. 9 that it had successfully conducted an explosion test of nuclear warhead that can be mounted on ballistic missiles.

Seoul’s military estimated the fifth test was the most powerful as it produced an explosive yield of 10 kilotons, stronger than 6 kilotons generated during the fourth nuclear detonation in January. (Xinhua/ NAN)

Edited by Julius Enehikhuere
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Agodi garden, Shoprite witness large turnout of fun seekers in Ibadan

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Sallah

By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko

Ibadan, Sept. 13, 2016 (NAN) The Agodi garden and Shoprite, Ibadan, witnessed large turnout of fun seekers on Monday and Tuesday who trooped out to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir in spite of the economy recession.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that both old and young, including suckling babies, were seen at the centres eating, drinking, and having fun.

In spite of the N500 gate fee at the Agodi garden and N300 paid by children to access the playground at Shoprite, many parents still brought a number of children to celebrate.

A father, Mohammed Sani, told NAN that his family strived to celebrate in their own little way in spite of the economy situation.

“Witnessing another Sallah alone is worth celebrating and thanking God, even though we may not slaughter ram now, but we will sometime; we know that God’s time is the best.

“We believe the government is aware of the economic situation and trust God that something will be done soon,” Sani said.

Similarly, a mother, Mrs Olabisi Ali, said it was not easy for them to celebrate in such a time but that they had to in order to appreciate the children.

“We just had to make ourselves happy regardless of the economic situation; our being alive alone to witness another Sallah makes us joyful,” Ali said.

Also, Mr Hassan Onabule, said he was still happy to celebrate in spite of the fact that he was not able to kill any ram.

“Really, is very tough and hard for us, no money, fuel, frequent hike in the prices of foodstuffs, I could not slaughter any ram but at least am still celebrating with my family.

“Only God can deliver us with the situation of things in the country now, we can’t kill ourselves but have to take things the way we see it,” Onabule said.

NAN also reports that some people were also cited in some other fun outlets, clubs in Ibadan metropolis. (NAN)

CC/OFN

(Edited by Felix Nwadioha)

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Recession

Oro (Kwara), Sept. 13, 2016 (NAN) Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday identified  Nigeria’s over-dependence on oil as responsible for the present economic recession the nation was passing through.

Mohammed made the assertion at a news briefing in his residence in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area in Kwara.

He said that the prevailing economic situation was not about trading blames, pointing out that “those who understand knew that this recession was bound to happen in such circumstance”.

He said that the crash in global price of oil exposed the country’s defective economic policy, with oil accounting for over 60 per cent of the nation’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP).

The minister stated that the situation was further compounded by inadequate reserve to cushion the effect of oil “misfortunes’’ on the country.

“We have a very defective economic structure, which depended largely on a single platform of crude and fuel.

“Crude oil accounts for between eight and 12 per cent of our GDP and another 53 per cent of the GDP which we call non-oil, unfortunately also depend on the same oil.

“When the price of oil now crashes in the international market, definitely you are bound to have this kind of shock in the economy,” he said.

He decried the citizens’ preference for imported goods to local products, saying that substantial amount of the country’s foreign exchange earnings was being expended on importation of goods and services.

Mohammed also blamed past administrations’ inability to achieve massive investment on infrastructure to assist manufacturing industries and boost agriculture production for part of current probelm.

According to him, such inadequacies are responsible for the socio-economic imbalance being experienced in the country today.

The minister, who acknowledged that there was growth in the nation’s economy between 2010 and 2014, however, said the growth was only fueled by consumption.

“The growth was not fuelled by production or fuelled by investment, and that explains why it was short lived,” he said.

He said that the present administration’s efforts to correct past anomalies could not be felt immediately because the rots in the system were too enormous for short term remedies.

Mohammed disclosed that the administration inherited a whooping debt of N67 billion on fertilizer procurement alone.

He listed part of the administrations palliative reforms to include massive investment in infrastructure and agriculture production.

“People say we should not talk about what happened yesterday but it is pertinent to learn, understand and move away from past mistakes.

“In the whole of 2014 the government then, expended about N18 billion on roads, but spent N35 billion on travels.

“This year alone, we have spent N70 billion on roads.

“People say why are these steps not being felt immediately; it is because the last government refused to pay contractors between 2012 and 2015 even when crude was selling at 100 dollars per barrel.

“Out of the N70 billion being owed Julius Berger, we have paid N14 billion.

“If government was not owing Julius Berger in the past and we paid N14 billion to them, you would have seen them busy on the roads,” he said.

He said that “Change Starts with Me” initiative launched by the Federal Government on Tuesday was to instill discipline and the needed change of attitude on both the leaders and the led.

According to the minister, such remained the basic foundation and the driving force for actualising socio-economic transformation for the country.

“Nigerians have to change their attitude from the past; it is not only about the leaders but also the followers.

“This is the only way we can achieve our desired progress, growth and development,” he said. (NAN)

ISHO/OPI/OPI

Turkey formally asks U.S. to arrest alleged coup mastermind 

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Request

Istanbul, Sept. 13, 2016 (dpa/NAN) Turkey’s Justice Ministry has formally requested the U.S. to provisionally arrest Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of masterminding failed July 15 coup.

Turkish government-run Anadolu News Agency, which reported this on Tuesday, recalled that Turkey had requested Gulen’s extradition and had been pressuring the U.S. to detain him.

Gulen has lived in the U.S. since 1999.

Washington had said that it wanted to see concrete proof that the cleric was involved in the putsch.

The suspected coup planner was a one-time ally of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but the two fell out in recent years.

Turkey has been suspending and firing alleged sympathizers of Gulen from the civil service.

It has also been arresting people in the private sector, though the purges appear to be extending far beyond those who might have been involved in the coup attempt. (dpa/NAN)

IAA/OPI

(Edited by Isaac Aregbesola and Olisa Ifeajika)

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Bomber

Seoul, Sept 13, 2016 (dpa/NAN) The U.S. on Tuesday flew two nuclear-capable long-range bombers over South Korea in a show of military strength in response to North Korea’s most recent nuclear test, U.S Forces Korea (USFK) said.

The supersonic B-1 bombers, which were deployed from the U.S. Andersen Air Base on the Pacific island of Guam, made a low level flight through South Korean airspace.

The bombers were accompanied by US and South Korean fighter jets, a USFK spokesman said.

“Today’s demonstration provides just one example of the full range of military capabilities in the deep resources of this strong alliance to provide and strengthen extended deterrence,” USFK Commander- General, Vincent Brooks, said.

“The Alliance military forces remain ready to meet mutual defence obligations against threats to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region,” Brooks added.

South Korean intelligence officials reportedly said Monday that North Korea was ready to conduct another nuclear test, days after Pyongyang carried out its fifth and possibly most powerful test to date.

“North Korea’s nuclear test is a dangerous escalation and poses an unacceptable threat,” Brooks said.

The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea’s latest nuclear test, which was carried out in defiance of UN resolutions, and vowed to take “further significant measures”. (dpa/NAN)

IAA/OPI

(Edited by Isaac Aregbesola/Olisa Ifeajika)

NAN-H-12
Economy
By Mohammed Mamman
Damaturu, Sept. 13, 2016 (NAN) The National Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Maimala Buni, has assured Nigerians that the nation’s economic challenges will soon be over.

He spoke in Damaturu in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, saying that decisive steps in government’s fiscal measures were potent to get the country out of the economic recession.

He said the government was considering series of measures to create a vibrant economy that would provide robust employment opportunities, create wealth and improve the lives of the citizenry.

“The Nigerian economy had been in recession for a long time before President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration came on board.

“Many scholars and experts saw this coming and predicted same but, for the large scale looting, the effects are now manifesting.

“Nigerians should appreciate the painstaking measures of the APC’s administration in pushing the economy to survive the turbulent economic storm,’’ Maimala said.

He also said the APC government had efficiently checked corruption in governance, saying corruption had been grossly degraded.

“We have now recorded increased transparency and accountability in government business in Nigeria which has earned the country confidence in governance.

“This regime has also improved revenue generation and remittance, especially in the non-oil sectors of the economy; this will no doubt contribute to national economic growth and development,’’ he said.(NAN)
MM/KAY
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(Edited by Kayode Olaitan)

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Schools

Maiduguri, Sept. 13, 2016 (NAN) The Borno State Government had awarded a N1.6 billion contract for the construction of nine mega primary schools in the state, as part of efforts to overhaul its educational system.

Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that the gesture was also aimed at providing access to education for over 49, 000 children orphaned by the Boko Haram crisis in the state.

“We have awarded contracts for the construction of nine mega primary schools across the state.

“We are also building a mega school in Maiduguri deliberately for the children orphaned by the Boko Haram crisis,” he said.

Shettima said that the schools would have accommodation, kitchen and sporting facilities.

He explained that the action was part of government post insurgency plan to safeguard the future of children orphaned by the outbreak of the insurgency.

“It is gratifying to note that peace has started returning to  this part of the world.

“But as we win the war against Boko Haram insurgents,  we are yet to commence the bigger war of trying to meet the aspiration of about 49,000 children orphaned by the crisis in Maiduguri alone,” Shettima said.

He lamented that thousands of women had became widows after losing their husbands to the crisis which erupted in 2009.

Shettima said that there was no yet a concrete data on the number of children orphaned or women who lost their husbands in the crisis.

“Nobody can give the exact number of people affected or women who lost their bread winners, but there are thousands of them.

“It is in our own self interest as a people to let these people have hope by educating the orphans and empowering the widows and make them have stake in the 21^st Century,” he said.

Shettima pointed out that government must ensure the future of the orphans and the widows for posterity sake.

“If we fail to secure their future, they will turn to monsters that will hunt us in the nearest future.

“Along this line, we are determined to invest in the education of the children and that is why we are building the schools,” he said.

Shettima said that his administration was determined to rebuild the state in the nearest future.

“Believe me, we are determined to change the face of Borno by the grace of Allah in the nearest future.

“We have been in the limelight for the wrong reasons,” he said.

Shettima also said that government had striven hard to ensure the welfare of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in spite of its limited resources.

“We have never down played the challenges facing us, especially, in the IDP camps.

“But lots of issues and politics are involved,” he said.

Shettima lamented that some politicians were using the security situation in the state to score political gains.

He said that government would not abandon its responsibility of providing welfare for the people in spite of the economic problem.

“The very existence of government has to do with security of the people and the contentment of the masses.

“Believe me, we are trying to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people in spite of the economic problem,” Shettima said.(NAN)
ABI/YMU/PAD

Controlled by Peter Dada

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