Federal Fire Service promotes 616 officers
Promotion
By Kelechi Ogunleye
Abuja, Sept. 12, 2018 (NAN) The Federal Fire Service (FFS) said it had elevated 616 of its officers to various levels in the recent promotion released by the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prison Service Board (CDFIPB).
The service disclosed this in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Miss Ugo Huan, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Huan said that 275 of the officers were elevated from the position of Assistant Superintendent Fire (ASF II) to ASF I.
She said 341 of the Fire Inspectors (FI) were elevated to the position of Senior Inspector Fire (SIF).
She said that the promotion was based on an advanced examination conducted earlier, and that some were promoted based on conversion.
Addressing the officers, the Controller General (CG) of the service, Joseph Anebi, said that their promotion meant additional responsibilities.
Anebi congratulated the newly-promoted officers and encouraged them to be committed to their duties as the promotion came with more responsibilities.
The spokesperson said that the newly-elevated officers would soon be decorated at the Federal Fire Service Headquarters. (NAN)
KAYC/COO/AMY
Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abdullahi Yusuf
Abuja, Sept.12, 2018 (NAN) A medical practitioner, Dr Adesina Olubiyi, has advised retirees to adopt healthy life style and do periodic medical check-up to live long enough to enjoy their retirement benefits.
Olubiyi gave the advice while speaking at the Stanbic-IBTC Pre-retirement Forum in Abuja.
According to him, the retirees, by age are prone to various ailments, occasioned by the types of their life style, hence, the need for them to watch the type of food they eat.
He called on this segment of population in the country to consume much of food that contained fibre to guard against ailments such as diabetics, stroke, and hypertension.
Olubiyi mentioned some of the foods to include plant-based such as wheat, unpolished rice, fruits, garden eggs, carbohydrates, carrots, cucumber and other vegetables, as well as engage in moderate aerobic exercise.
“We should not just eat anything that comes our away, especially at this stage of our life, but take into consideration their health benefits to our body,“ he said.
He, however, warned the retirees to check their health status from a medical doctor before embarking on any exercise to ensure safety of their health.
“Averagely in a day, you should take 10,000 steps and avoid being sedentary, consume less of salt and develop interest in checking your Blood Pressure (BP).“
According to him, some of the ailments that afflict the aged do not show any signs or symptoms; therefore conscious efforts should be geared toward avoiding them through eating the right foods.
He also called on the retirees to avoid alcohol, smoking and other factors that could predispose them to obesity and destruction to their pancreas, among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the occasion was held to intimate the retirees with retirement issues and what steps they should take to avoid delays in the payment of their entitlements, among others.(NAN)
Exchange
Leicester (UK), Sept. 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) England’s players did not hold back from criticising each other at halftime following a bad start to Tuesday’s friendly against Switzerland.
And defender Danny Rose believes the exchange helped them improve and seal a 1-0 victory.
England, who made nine changes to the starting line-up for the clash, allowed Switzerland to control the match in the first period.
But they returned much sharper to secure the win through forward Marcus Rashford’s 54th minute strike.
“We could have been two or three-nil down at halftime,” Tottenham Hotspur’s Rose told BBC Radio 5 live.
“It’s great we can all shout at each other and tell each other to improve like we did.”
Manager Gareth Southgate said he encouraged dialogue between his players but added that he had to step in during the break to keep things calm in the dressing room.
“The players certainly had a lot to say to each other when they first got into the dressing room.
“It was important then that we solved a couple of the problems they were facing and kept things calm,” Southgate said.
“We expect and encourage it because they’re intelligent footballers and it’s important they have a view.”
England, who avoided a fourth straight defeat, return to action with UEFA Nations League matches against World Cup finalists Croatia and former champions Spain next month. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/MO/AFA
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Monrovia, Sept. 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Liberia President and former World Footballer of the Year George Weah made a surprise return to international competition in Monrovia on Tuesday, playing in a 2-1 loss to Nigeria.
The match came up a few weeks short of his 52nd birthday and Liberia had arranged the friendly to retire the number 14 jersey made famous by Weah.
However, fans were in for a shock when, 16 years after his last international appearance, the striker led the national team onto the pitch wearing it instead.
Media reports said Weah, who led the attack and showed glimpses of the class that made him a household name around the world.
He received a standing ovation from fans when he was substituted on 79 minutes.
Goals from Henry Onyekuru and Simeon Nwankwo helped Nigeria to a 2-0 lead before the hosts pulled one back through a Kpah Sherman penalty late in the game.
Weah enjoyed a career in Europe spanning nearly a decade and a half that saw him play for Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in France, AC Milan in Italy.
He also played for English sides Manchester City and Chelsea.
Weah was named the 1995 World Footballer of the Year; he also won the Ballon d’Or in the same year and remains the only African to win either award.
Weah’s popularity from his playing career saw him secure a landslide run-off win last December in Liberia’s presidential elections. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/MO/AFA
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Agency decries low interest by poor LGAs in accessing developmental grants in Plateau
Development
By Blessing Odega
Jos, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) Plateau State Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA) has decried the low interest of communities identified by the World Bank as the poorest in accessing development grants.
Mrs Felicity Gurumyen, the General Manager of the Agency disclosed this on Tuesday in Jos during an interactive workshop organised for the media and Civil Society Organisations.
Gurumyen said that the primary objective of the agency is to increase access to an improved social economy for communities considered to be the poorest in the 11 local governments in the state.
According to her, the agency receives funding from the World Bank and gives out the highest intervention amount of N10 million and a minimum of one million naira to communities whose expression of interest are approved by the World Bank and the Agency.
She said that each community that received the grant was expected to pay 10 per cent of the amount requested for upfront, either in cash or kind (labour and building materials), to encourage ownership of the project by the community.
Gurumyen, however, expressed regret that only one community had indicated interest and benefited from the N250 million grant approved for 2018.
She said that if the approved fund was not utilised, it would be returned at the end of the year.
The general manager identified areas of intervention to include education, health, provision of potable water, environment and sanitation, rural electrification.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 11 local governments considered to be the poorest of the poor are Riyom, Barkin-Ladi, Wase, Qua’pan, Langtang North, Jos East, Mikang, Shendam, Bokkos, Panshink and Tunkus. (NAN)
UBO/NKO
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Edited by Nkechi Okoronkwo
Nigeria Customs 110 world rating abysmal, regrettable — Association
Customs
By Uchenna Eletuo
Lagos, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) The recent world rating that placed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at number 110 has continued to generate uncomplimentary reactions from maritime stakeholders.
The rating was based on administrative efficiency and border management aimed at trade facilitation and national security.
Mr Increase Uche, President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos that NCS global rating was regrettable.
“When you come the ports to do your cargo clearing, the service seems to be confused with what to do in order to transact clearing jobs.
“Regrettably, ratings such as this, to a large extent determines the calculations of trading partners to a country as the shipping world will factor in all the pros and cons to maximise profit.
“The NCS Act that is still in use at the ports was enacted in 1958; there is need to amend it in line with current global trend.
“Most of the reforms that the service brings on board such as Nigeria Customs Service System (NICSS 11), an automation platform meant to ease transaction at the ports are not working.
“Port users are daily suffering for no cause of theirs while the shipping companies are ripping us off with demurrage,” Uche said.
Meanwhile, the Apapa NCS Area Customs Comptroller Abubakar Bashir has urged shippers to make proper declaration of their cargo during documentation.
According to him, compliance with such regulation will fast-track ports transactions and reduce cargo dwell time.
The customs chief decried constant system breakdown in the port and promised stakeholders that the issue would be improved upon. (NAN)
EUC/AOM/NKO
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(Edited by Abdullahi Mohammed/Nkechi Okoronkwo
73rd UNGA: Nigeria to focus on Security, UN reform
Conference
By Isaac Aregbesola
Abuja, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has said that security will top Nigeria’s agenda at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled to hold from Sept.18 to Oct. 1 in New York.
Onyeama said this on Tuesday in Abuja at a news conference on the 73rd UNGA, adding that Nigeria would also canvass for the president of the 74th UNGA in 2019.
The theme for the 73rd UNGA is ‘Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”.
He said that the issue of corruption would also take centre stage as President Muhammadu Buhari would Nigeria’s delegation to the conference.
According to him, Buhari, who is the African Union Champion of anti-corruption for the year 2018, will organise a meeting of African Heads of State on the issue of winning the fight against corruption.
The minister said that other issues expected to be discussed included eradication of extreme poverty, maintenance of international peace and security, human rights issues, humanitarian activities, tackling climate change and promoting environmental sustainability
He said UNGA, being the biggest global meeting of heads of States, presented a real and important opportunity for Nigeria to engage with other countries of the world to further the nation’s interest.
Onyeama said that in all Nigeria’s engagements during the 73rd UNGA, the nation would push for making the UN body relevant Nigeria and for it to respond to the nation’s priorities and needs.
He said that Buhari’s address during the General Assembly would offer him the opportunity to assert Nigeria’s position on the global stage and put forward the nation’s ideas and vision.
The minister further said that Nigeria would push for the presidency of the 74th United Nations General Assembly, to enable a Nigerian to occupy the position.
He said that Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Amb. Tijjani Bande, was being proposed for the President of the UNGA next year.
“So, part of what we will be doing in New York is that we will be canvassing for his appointment next year as the President of the United Nations General Assembly,” Onyeama said.
Onyeama recalled that the last Nigerian who held the position was the late Maj.-Gen. Joseph Garba from 1989 to 1990.
He also said that Nigeria would also join other African countries to push for reforms in the global organisation, whereby Nigeria could become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.(NAN)
IAA/NKO
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By Chukwuekemak Opara
Abakaliki, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi on Tuesday signed into law a bill empowering the state-owned security outfit to arrest ballot box snatchers during elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the law, entitled “Law 009 0f 2018”, was among the six laws presented to Umahi by the state’s House of Assembly for his assent.
Five of them were executive bills, while one was a private-member bill.
Speaking after signing the bill, the governor said that the law was important for the overall security of lives and property in the state.
“The law empowers members of the security outfit to demobilise and arrest thugs, who usually disrupt elections by snatching ballot boxes,” he said.
He added that those arrested should be handed over to security agencies for further investigation and prosecution.
The governor said that the neighbourhood security watch would help to strengthen the security apparatus in the state.
“One will not understand this statement unless the bad people visit such person but we pray it does not happen to any citizen of the state no matter his party affiliation,” he said.
Umahi also spoke on the propriety of the Law on internally generated revenue, entitled “Law 011”, saying that it would help to boost the revenue profile of the state.
“When we say that our people should not pay tax, everyone will start jubilating and commending my administration but we are digging our graves.
“This is because no investor will like to come in without seeing the revenue index of the state,” the governor said.
He noted that his interest was to ensure that only taxable adults were made to pay tax.
“A lot of us are not paying tax and I believe strongly that this law will help to check tax evasion and also bring to book fake tax collectors, destroying the image of the state,” he said.
He urged prospective members of the revenue board to understand that the law provided outright imprisonment without an option of fine for any of them found guilty of defrauding the state.
Umahi urged members of the State Executive Council to study the new laws and make them available for the citizenry to improve on governance in the state.
Also, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Francis Nwifuru, said that the members painstakingly considered the bills before passing them in order to ensure that they served the peoples’ interest.
Nwifuru, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Chief Obasi Odefa, said the neighbourhood watch was designed to complement the work of security agencies in the state.
He said that the reduction in crime following the establishment of the neighbourhood watch made it imperative to give the outfit legal backing.
“This is to ensure that their activities become lawful so that the members will operate without fear of being arrested, intimidated or imprisoned for doing legitimate work,” he said.
He described the law on IGR as quite expedient, given the poor revenue profile of the state which, he said, currently stood at less than N28 million monthly.
Also, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, said that the six laws would bring positive improvement in all sectors of the state and ensure better life for its people. (NAN)
RCO/USO/PDE
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(Edited by Sam Oditah/Peter Ejiofor)
From Right: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth & Sport, Olushola Adeshola, Paul Obaunus, General Manager, Messrs Greenfield, Minister of Youth & Sport, Solomon Dalung, FCT Permanent Secretary, Christian Ohaa and Director of Research, Ministry of Youth & Sport, MRS Hawa Kulu Akinyemi
NSF: 10,000 athletes, officials to participate
Festival
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) No fewer than 10,000 athletes and officials will participate in the 2018 National Sports Festival (NSF), which begins in Abuja from Dec 6 to Dec. 16.
The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Dalung said that the NSF since inception in 1973, had been organised without a visible sponsor, this he said informed the agreement with Messrs Greenfield.
According to him, Messrs Greenfield would work with the ministry to re-brand, repackage, market and deliver five editors of the NSF.
“This agreement will subsist for the next ten years. To this end, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) known as ‘National Sports Festival Marketing and Management Company’ has been set up to drive the process.
“One of the fallout of this agreement is the number of sports to feature at the 19th NSF has been increased to 37 from 25.
“It is expected that the festival will have a landmark athletes and officials participation of over 10,000,” he said.
Dalung said this was to give more Nigerians opportunity to be part of the fiesta and have a sense of belonging.
Unveiling the permanent logo and the Mascot for NSF as part of the re-branding and repackaging process, Dalung said this would serve as the identity of the festival.
Dalung disclosed that a registration portal on the festival would be opened on Monday, Sept. 17, to enable all participants register online for the festival.
He listed programmes line up ahead of the festival to include: Abuja NSF Pre Festival Roadshow and Concert on Sept. 15 while the London concert/carnival holds on Sept. 28.
Other activities are, Atlanta concert/carnival, Sept. 30. Lagos and Abuja concert/Carnival, Oct. 1, Nationwide NSF Roadshows/Storms, Oct. 2 to Oct. 28.
Dalung said that the movement of Torch of Unity, fashioned after the Olympics Torch and Commonwealth Baton would be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Bulgari on Oct. 1.
Also speaking, the FCT Minister, Malam Mohammed Bello, said schools in the territory had been programmed to accommodate the festival.
Bello, who was represented by Permanent Secretary, FCT, Christian Ohaa, said schools in the FCT would close by the first week of December.(NAN)
French Embassy organises Seminar to address farmers/herders conflicts
Seminar
By Maharazu Ahmed
Kaduna, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) The French Embassy in Nigeria is organising a seminar on pastoralism in Nigeria, to explore and proffer solutions to recurring conflicts between pastoralists and farmers.
The embassy made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday.
It indicated that the event coming up on Sept. 18, at Alliance Française Kaduna, is being organised in collaboration with the Pastoral Reserve (PARE).
“The subject of pastoralism and agriculture is without question a sensitive and important one in Nigeria today.
“ In order to identify the root causes and solve problems raised by the clash of these two important economic activities, it becomes necessary to understand the way each one works within the society.’’
It added that the seminar will comprise a lecture to be delivered by Dr. Adam Higazi, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Amsterdam, to be followed by a discussion session.
“A knowledge gap in the study of pastoralism in Nigeria has already been identified, thus the aim of the lecture is to explore the knowledge that is currently available on the subject, specifically in the areas of ethnography, Scientific, and policy.
It said that the lecture will also focus on the varieties of Fulani pastoralism and unveil recent research findings from fieldwork carried out within nomadic and semi-nomadic Fulani communities in different states of central and northern Nigeria in August and September 2018.
“The seminar that will follow aims to build on the lecture and encourage discussion on the ways that the knowledge base can be grown and updated in the three areas mentioned above.
“This will in turn help to improve policy making targeted at pastoralism.
“An output will then be put forward following the event either in the form of a policy paper or a summary with recommendations.’’(NAN)
