Blog

Pipeline
By Tukur Muntari
Kano, Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN)The Kano State Government says it has provided land for the construction of a mega gas pipeline from Ajaokuta to Kano.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, said this on Wednesday in Kano while receiving a delegation from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

He said the state government had also provided land for the construction of 135 megawatts hydro power project initiated by the state government as part of efforts to boost socio-economic activities in the state.

Alhaji said that the power project, when completed, would enable the state to compete with other states like Lagos and Ogun in terms of economic development.

He said that Kano State would continue to provide the necessary support and logistics for the successful execution of the two projects.

The Chairman of Kano State Land Use Allocation Committe, Alhaji Ibrahim Dan’azumi, said that the 614 Kilometer gas pipeline project, the first of its kind in the country, would boost the economy of the state, especially the industrial sector.

He commended the NNPC and other development partners for their contributions and commitment toward the actualisation of the two projects in the state.

A representative of NNPC, Alhaji Muhammad Sani SoronDinki, said preparation had been completed for the commencement of the two projects.

He commended Kano State Government for its support and cooperation toward the realisation of the two projects, which he said, would go a long way in boosting economic activities in the state. (NAN)

MTM/TA

Edited by Tajudeen Atitebi

Amaechi
By Taiye Elebiyo-Edeni
Abuja, Sept.12, 2018(NAN)The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said on Wednesday that  the Muhammadu Buhari administration has done so much in all aspects of the economy, beyond  the transportation sector.

Amaechi said  this in Abuja during an interactive session with the media on the ministry’s achievement.

He said the Buhari-led administration has achieved a lot in security, road, fight against corruption, agriculture and transportation. And he said Buhari is tackling  killings associated with herdsmen.

Amaechi said Nigerians will enjoy 24 hours of  power supply if President Muhammadu Buhari is given a second chance.

“There is an improvement in power. We have moved from 3000megawatt to 7000 but we are distributing 5000 because some of the Infrastructures are not in good state but we are slowly fixing them.

“The expectation is that it should be 24 hours power supply but there will still be a gap but if you give us a second term, that gap will be closed.

“In terms of corruption; this economy was a rent economy. Public money was spent anyhow and it was an economy that was not worked hard for. That is why you see politicians today very rich and one year after leaving government, they are poor.

“They are like that because they don’t know how to manage the money. When Buhari came, he said we could not  continue to spend anyhow. Buhari has not said people should not steal.

“But when you steal, there is a consequence for stealing. I  don’t want to say it has stopped completely but it has reduced. So if you say Buhari has not done anything on corruption, you are being most unfair.”

According to him, 2015 budget was six percent capital but we are doing 20 percent capital now, 80 percent recurrent.

Amaechi said that in the next two to three years, government will get up to 30 percent capital,  if we  reduce the recurrent expenditure and deal with wastages.

“It is also unfair if Nigerians think the ministry of works is not working. The road to Bonny was abandoned after Obasanjo left government, the road was below N39bn but it is now N120bn that the Federal government wants to do it.

“So, Buhari government is dealing with corruption, building roads, the worst roads in Nigeria used to be between Uyo and Calabar but it has been awarded.

“The road to Enugu too that people are complaining about:  contractors are working on the roads already. The work may be slow but they are working. Also the Ilorin-Jebba road has been awarded.(NAN)
TY/

Wage

By Chinyere Bassey
Lagos, Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN) Labour leaders in Nigeria, on Wednesday cautioned the Federal Government to stop foot dragging on the New Minimum Wage and allow the tripartite committee conclude its job to avoid industrial crisis.

The labour leaders, who are members of the Minimum Wage Committee at a joint news conference addressed in Lagos, gave the federal government 14 days to ensure that the committee conclude its work or be ready to face industrial action.

Mr Ayuba Wabba , Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, said that the committee was not pleased with the comments alleged to have been made by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige.

According to him, Ngige had last week allegedly said that the committee should adjourn indefinitely to enable him do further consultations with the government.

”We view his supposed pronouncement with great concern, suspicion and outrage.

“This new antic certainly is not acceptable to Nigerian workers, who had expected a New National Minimum Wage since 2016, “he said.

The NLC president said that in the course of the meeting, the committee members had time to consult and received memoranda and inputs from 21 state governments, specialized Agencies of the Federal Government, the Organized Private Sector, Organised Labour and the general public.

Mr Joe Ajaero, President of the United Labour Congress, (ULC) said that issues concerning the minimum wage has been concluded and that the committee was expecting government representative to pronounce their own figure.

Ajaero, however, refused to give a likely figure that could be approved as minimum wage and also did not give a clear answer on whether government was sincere on paying the new wage.

He said that the call for a new minimum wage became necessary because it was already overdue, and in view of the increasing cost of goods and services.

The news conference was attended by top labour leaders from NLC, TUC and ULC ( NAN)
CHIN/KOLE/MZA

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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Maharazu Ahmed

PVCs

By David Adeoye

Ibadan, Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN) About 156 days to the 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Oyo state, has set up a call-centre to contact registered persons to go and collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Ibadan, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Mutiu Agboke, said the centre which was established recently to reach out to unclaimed PVC owners, had recorded improvement in the cards collection.

Agboke said that 659, 011 unclaimed PVCs were still in the custody of the commission in the state in spite of the fact that distribution of the cards commenced in April, 2017.

According to him, the commission has distributed 97,734 PVCs, comprising 47,351 old PVCs distributed from 2015 registration and 50,383 new PVCs distributed for 2017 exercise.

The REC disclosed that 538,704 people were registered in the state in the just-suspended Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

He stated that the figure comprised 274, 202 males and 264,502 females, adding that PVCs of those that registered in the first quarter of 2018 would be ready for collection soon.

He said that collection of unclaimed PVCs would continue until one week to the general elections.

Agboke disclosed that only 47 registered political parties out of 91 had offices in the state and that it was expected that the 47 parties would participate in the state’s elections.

He admonished parents and guardians to discourage their children and wards from being used as thugs during the campaigns and elections. (NAN)

DAK/OPI

Africa needs structured finance for effective financial trade – Afreximbank

By Lucy Nwachukwu
Abuja, Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN) The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) says Africa needs structured finance for effective financial trade to overcome uncertainty and economic difficulty to boost trade in the continent.

The bank’s President, Mr Benedict Oramah, made this known in a statement signed by the Head of Media, Afreximbank, Mr Obi Emekekwue, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Orama said that expertise in financial trade was in short supply in Africa, adding that `it is now commonly accepted that structured finance is an effective tool for financing trade in the context of uncertainty and economic difficulty.’’

He said in view of this, the bank had developed two flagship courses namely, ‘Fundamentals of Structured Trade Finance’ and ‘Advanced Structured Trade Finance,’ which it offers in alternate years for bankers.

“The event has also become an important platform for African bankers and other trade finance practitioners to meet and network, thereby making a major contribution in boosting African trade,’’ he said.

Oramah said that the seminar would equip African financial institutions, bankers, regulatory agencies and corporate and legal firms with skills for dealing with the challenges of financing transactions under heightened global economic uncertainty.

He said that the seminar would also focus on the Fundamentals of Structured Trade Finance.

He expressed optimism that participants at the end of the seminar would acquire the skills and capacity to properly identify risks in typical trade finance transactions.

The bank president said the participants were expected to also be able to structure bankable trade and trade-related project finance deals of varying levels of complexity.

The statement disclosed that the bank would organise a Structured Trade Finance Seminar to equip stakeholders with skills to identify and solve finance challenges.

The annual seminar organised by Afreximbank will  be hosted in Casablanca, Morocco from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9.

The 2018 seminar and workshop is being organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Morocco, will be the 18^th in the series. (NAN)
LCN/AOM/GY
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Edited by Abdullahi Mohammed/Grace Yussuf

Road

By Kingsley Okoye
Abuja, Sept 12, 2018 (NAN) Residents of Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in the territory to open up the Area C road to ease traffic.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that the road was closed following the bomb blast at the Nyanya motor park in 2014.

They also called on authorities of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to salvage the deplorable state of roads in Nyanya for easy flow of traffic.

In separate interviews with NAN on Wednesday, the residents said the call became necessary given the hardship motorists and other road users plying the roads had been subjected to.

They said since the Area C roads was blocked, they found it difficult to reach their homes with ease as they had to content with potholes.

Many motorists in the area expressed concern that they had been compelled to drive on the bad roads for about 30 minutes to 40 minutes instead of five minutes.

Mr Olufemi Peter, a resident of area B which forms part of the community, described the experiences of commuters on the road network of Nyanya as stressful and pathetic.

He said: “Government should come to our aid, let them open the road, let the road be accessible, let people have access to the road. Area C road is the only good road that is good in Nyanya, yet it is blocked.

“We are in a democracy but you see, the police should not block the road.

“The only accessible road which is supposed to link people of Gbagalape, area B and C to the main road is being blocked by the 21 PMF.

“Government should help us open this road.`.

According to him, the terrible nature of other access roads in the community had been a source of concern for commuters and residents.

“People who have small cars, especially Honda, always experience breakdown of their cars on these bad roads and when it rains, the roads , apart from the closed Area C road, become impassable.

“We don’t know what government is doing about this; it is affecting business and movement of commuters.

Mr Babatunde Ahmed, a civil servant and resident in the community who claimed to have been in the area for 30 years, also expressed concern on the poor state of roads in Nyanya.

“These roads have be very bad, sometimes around 2014, government came to repair some of them, but it was not up to three months we started experiencing pot holes.“

He accused some residents for being responsible for the deplorable nature of the roads by indiscriminately dumping of refuse in drainage thereby breeding instances for flooding.

“Some of the residents did not also help the matter, when there is little rain they will bring the waste from their houses and dump them in the drainage, thereby blocking the drainage.

“For the past four years, we have not enjoyed the Area B road. Because of its deplorable nature, I will describe it as the worst road in this environment.

“I also call on the authorities of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to put measures in place to prevent residents from blocking the drainage.

Ahmed noted that the closure of Area C road had been creaed hardship for residents of the area “because that is the only good access road to the main road leading to city centre.“

“But since it has been blocked there is no other good road, my request is that if government can open it, it will ease the traffic.

Mr Goodluk Chinonso,  a commercial motorcycle operator said the closure of the Area C road and the dilapidated state of other roads in the community remained a major problem to the people.

“It is a major challenge that everybody is facing, particularly this area B and C in Nyanya.

“It has become a very big problem and the development is affecting our work negatively.

“The bad roads prevent people, particularly the motorists from going to work as early they wish, their cars are damaged on a daily basis due to ubiquitous potholes.

Every day, we visit mechanics for the repairs of  our vehicles due wear and tear, consequent upon the deplorable condition we use our cars to ply.

“The good road everybody should be using has been blocked despite the directive from police authorities that all roads should be opened.

The Police Mobile Force formation in Nyanya, known as 21PMF, however, said it blocked the access road citing security reason.

The insurgents had on April 14 2014 detonated bomb at Nyanya Motor Park that led many deaths and property worth millions of naira destroyed.

Meanwhile, when NAN correspondent visited the 21 PMF base office on Friday, to speak with Commander on the blocked road, he was said to have gone on national assignment on tour of states.

Reacting to the deplorable roads in Nyanya and its environs, Head of Works of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Mr Alhassan Dakwoyi, told NAN that repair works on the roads would be captured in the 2019 budget. (NAN)

KC/DUA

Edited by Dada Ahmed

NAWOJ mourns death of Lalong’s media Aide

Mourning

By Martha Agas

Jos, Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN) The Plateau Chapter of Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has described the demise of Mr Emmanuel Nanle, the Director of Press Affairs to Gov. Simon Lalong, as “shocking”.

Mrs Jennifer Yerima, its chairperson, expressed the condolence in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Jos, saying that his demise had created vacuum in the administration of the state.

She said that the deceased was an open minded person who performed his duties with high sense of professionalism.

Yerima said the late media aide had supported NAWOJ in great measures, hence he would be missed by all its members.

“He created an enabling environment for us to discharge our duties diligently as media practitioners.

“We pray God to comfort his family; we have indeed lost a rare gem not only in the media realm, but in Plateau and beyond,” she said.

Mrs Tongnaan Bawa, the National Secretary of NAWOJ Zone D, said the late director showed great concern to issues that affected journalists in the state.

“He ensured journalists were not harassed when discharging their duties and have access to the information they needed for their reports.

“He contributed immensely to the success of our National Executive Council meeting hosted by Plateau in February this year. He had been lobbying since two years ago for the state to host it.

Bawa lauded the deceased’s commitment to the realisation of Plateau’s tourism potential and mineral resources which received the needed publicity by investors both locally and internationally.

NAN reports that Emmanuel Nanle was appointed as director of press affairs in 2015 and served in that capacity till his demise.

Nanle died on Tuesday after a brief illness in an Indian hospital. (NAN)

MAA/AZA/TÁ

Edited by Polycarp Auta/Tajudeen Atitebi

Governorship
By Bolaji Buhari
Lagos,Sept.12, 2018 (NAN)The Lagos State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday said it had not adopted any governorship aspirant as its candidate for the 2019 elections.

The Chairman of the chapter’s Elders’ Forum, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He was reacting to media reports that the chapter had adopted an aspirant, Mr Jide Sanwoolu, the incumbent Managing Director of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC), as its gubernatorial candidate.

NAN reports that Mr James Odumbaku, the immediate past Vice-Chairman of the party in the state and an ally of Chief Bola Tinubu, was reported to have claimed in a video on Tuesday that Sanwoolu had been adopted as the incoming governor.

Odumbaku, who was with Sanwoolu and other chieftains at a meeting in the video, said all the 57 council chairmen had endorsed the LSPDC boss as candidate, claiming the adoption was at the instance of Asiwaju Tinubu.

NAN reports that Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, had on Monday, declared his intention to run for another term.

A former Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, had also declared his aspiration for the number one seat in the state.

Olusi described the purported adoption of Sanwoolu to puncture the second term bid of Ambode as mere speculation.

He said the party could not have resolved to hold a primary when it had adopted an aspirant.

“All these things are speculations. They are not true, How can we plan to hold a primary to elect our candidates and then adopt somebody?

“If we are still going to hold our primary, why then should we adopt, or does the adoption cancel the primary? No.

“This is the political season, all interesting things happen, but I can tell you most of the things that have been reported on the matter are mere speculations and not facts. Nobody has directed any adoption,” he said.

Olusi, while referring to the video,said it was normal for individuals or groups to back or endorse aspirants ahead of any election.

He, however,  said such endorsements should not be taken to be the position of the party.

Olusi said the determination of who would become the gubernatorial candidate of the party would only be done at the primary.

He described the APC as a democratic party, saying all aspirants would be allowed a level-playing field.

On the feasibility of holding a direct primary at the chapter in view of the large numbers of party members, Olusi said there was no cause for alarm.

He said the right preparations were being done, expressing optimism that everything would go well during the exercise.

Olusi said he would not comment on the controversies emanating from adopting different modes of primary in some APC state chapters.

“Honestly, I do not want to comment on that. However, we are a growing democracy and we learn everyday,’’ he said (NAN)
BHB/AAB/TÁ
Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Tajudeen Atitebi

Dangote Cement, Nestle lead losers’ chart on NSE

Shares

By Lilian Okoro

Lagos Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN) Key equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday sustained days of losses with Dangote Cement dropping N13 to close at N210 per share.

Nestle followed with N6 to close at N1,479 while Stanbic and Nigerian Breweries dropped N4 each to close at N41 and N84 per share respectively.

Also, CCNN declined by N3.05 to close at N27.85 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation shed N422 billion or 3.55 per cent to close lower at N11.789 trillion against N12.211 trillion posted on Tuesday.

Also, the All-Share Index, which opened at 33,499.00 lost 1,206.21 points or 3.60 per cent to close at 32,292.79 amid price losses.

On a positive note, Seplat led the gainers’ table during the day, gaining N3.70 to close at N606.70 per share.

Forte Oil came second with a gain of 80k to close at N18.90, while GTBank appreciated by 10k to close at N32.60 per share.

UCAP also lost 6k to close at N2.80, while Law union decreased by 5K to close at 60k per share.

The volume of shares increased by 63.87 per cent with an exchange of 246.906 million shares worth N6.93 billion transacted by investors in 3,912 deals.

This was in contrast with 150.671 million shares worth N1.59 billion, exchanged in 3,678 deals on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Access Bank emerged the investor’s delight, exchanging 46.154 million shares valued N122.41 million in 157 deals.

FBN Holdings traded 22.604 million shares valued N1.67 billion in 300 deals, while Transcorp followed with an account of 19.67 million shares worth N897.18 million in 140 deals.

Dangote Cement sold 18.70 million shares valued N279.11million in 59 deals, while Zenith Bank trailed with an account of 16.95 million shares worth N388.71 million in 401 deals. (NAN)
LUC/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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