The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed contracts for engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and financing of 614 kilometre Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Stations.
According to the Corporation’s spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement today, Friday, said that the agreement which is 100 percent contractor-financing model was signed with a consortium of indigenous and Chinese companies.
“Under the terms of the contract, Lot 1, with a total length of 40-inch x 200km stretching from Ajaokuta to Abuja Terminal Gas Station (TGS), was awarded to the OilServe/Oando Consortium.
“Lot 3, which runs from Kaduna TGS to Kano TGS with a total length of 40inch x 221km, was awarded to the Brentex/China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau Consortium.
“It is envisaged that contract agreement for Lot 3 which covers 40inch x 193km, stretching from Abuja to Kaduna, will be executed in the weeks ahead.”
Ndu Ughamadu said that the AKK Project, a section of the Trans-Nigerian Gas Pipeline under the Gas Infrastructure Blueprint, is designed to enable industrialization of the Eastern and Northern parts of Nigeria.
He said that the project will enable connectivity between the East, West, and North, which are currently not in existence.
The spokesman said that that the AKK section had suffered setbacks due to scarce resources, hence, the adoption of the contractor-financing model.
“The two other pipelines, the OB3 and ELPs 2 in the Gas Master Plan Blueprint, are currently at various stages of completion and financed directly by the Federal Government.”
The process of the award of the contract for the AKK Project began in July 2013 with advertisements for tenders published by the NNPC in major national newspapers.
After a technical and commercial evaluation process, the Federal Executive Council, at its 46th meeting on Dec. 13, 2017, approved the contract valued at over $2.8 billion.
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has threatened that the state will drag President Mohammadu Buhari to court if he refuses to seek for a second term in 2019.
The governor, who spoke to news men in Abuja, said: “when he came to Kano, I told him that any time he decides not to contest we will take him to court. Kano state government will take him to court any time he decides not to contest. So we are waiting for him.”
He said that already all the governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have asked the President to continue, adding: “I am happy that it is not the president that said he wants to continue; it is the people that are saying continue but Mr. President has not made up his mind yet.”
Ganduje recalled a situation where presidents spent billions of Naira for the purpose of securing third term, even though it is the constitution, saying that it should not be a news for President Buhari to seek for constitutional second term.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said that he is one of the first Nigerians to suggest amnesty for repentant members of the Boko Haram insurgents but that he was called names then.
“I think I was one of the first people to raise the issue of amnesty about five years ago, I know how much we were vilified,” he said.
Bishop Kukah, who spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s Hard Copy in Abuja, the nation’s capital, said: “but I was pretty convinced about what I was saying that for me if you mention the word amnesty, Nigerians think it simply means shaking hands and telling everybody to go home.”
He commended President Buhari’s decision to offer amnesty to members of the outlawed group, which was announced on March 23 this year, stressing that amnesty, is the way to go as nor has ended with victory being declared.
“If Boko Haram has been perceived to be as so weakened as it is, we would not be talking about negotiation. So clearly, those with superior information and superior knowledge – which is what government is all about – know something that the rest of us don’t.”
President Buhari had said that while further efforts were ongoing to secure the release of every citizen abducted by the insurgents, government is ready to accept the unconditional laying down of arms by any member of the group who showed strong commitment in that regard.
PDP Chairman Uche Secondus and Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus dragged the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to court for defamation of character and asking for N1.5 Billion as damages.
The Minister had mentioned Prince Secondus in the list of those he claimed looted the nation’s treasury, alleging that he collected N200 million from the former National Security Adviser (NSA).
Secondus who said he never collected a dime from the former NSA through his lawyer Emeka Etiaba SAN, wrote to the Minister seeking the immediate retraction of the National Chairman’s name on the list, payment of N1.5 billion damages and public apology within 48 hours.
In the letter, the PDP boss said that if Lai Mohammad failed to meet the demand after 48 hours, he would proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to ventilate his right under the law.
Having failed to meet the demand, Prince Secondus today, Friday, the PDP chairmsn filed a suit at the Port Harcourt High Court, Rivers state, claiming among other things, that the court awards to him the sum of N1.5 billion being damages for humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication.
According to a statement from the PDP National Chairman’s Spokesperson, Ike Abonyi, Secondus, in the suit no/PHC/1013/2018, is also claiming that Lai Mohammad’s publication is defamatory and is asking the court to direct him to retract the said publication and apologize in writing.
He asked Lai Mohammed to publish the retraction and apology in all the social media, including but not limited to the Following newspapers, the Nation, Thisday, The Sun, Guardian and Punch as well as in The following television channels, NTA and Channels Televisions among others where the defamatory story was published.
Secondus is also asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publishing defamatory materials against him.
Joined in the suit are the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Attorney General of the Federation and the Vintage Press ltd, publishers of the Nation Newspapers.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai has approved the release of special promotion for 3,729 troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE who participated in Operation DEEP PUNCH II in Sambisa Forest. a statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Texas Chukwu today, Friday saisd that the mass promotion is in recognition of their valour and uncommon commitment to duty during the operation. A breakdown of the beneficiaries include 223 Staff Sergeants promoted to the rank of Warrant Officers, 511 Sergeants promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeants while 994 Corporals were promoted to the rank of Sergeants. Others are 1064 Lance Corporals promoted to the rank of Corporals while 932 Private soldiers were appointed Lance Corporals.
Facebook has been battered by allegations that its platform has helped fuel communal bloodshed in Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims.
Six Myanmar organizations, yesterday, Thursday, published an open letter criticizing an interview Zuckerberg gave with news site Vox this week where he cited examples of both Myanmar Buddhists and Muslims spreading “sensational” messages on Facebook Messenger that warned of imminent violence from the other community.
“That’s the kind of thing where I think it is clear that people were trying to use our tools in order to incite real harm. Now, in that case, our systems detect that that’s going on. We stop those messages from going through,” Facebook owner, Zuckerberg was quoted as saying.
In their letter, the six local tech and human rights organizations said that they were “surprised” to hear Zuckerberg “praise the effectiveness” of Facebook’s systems in Myanmar.
“It took over four days from when the messages started circulating for the escalation to reach you,” said the groups, who had flagged the content to Facebook.
“Far from being stopped, they spread in an unprecedented way, reaching country-wide and causing widespread fear and at least three violent incidents in the process.”
When reached for a comment on Friday, a Facebook spokesperson conceded the company was too slow in responding to reports about the incendiary messages.
“We should have been faster and are working hard to improve our technology and tools to detect and prevent abusive, hateful or false content,” the spokesperson said.
“We are sorry that Mark did not make clearer that it was the civil society groups in Myanmar who first reported these messages.”
Facebook has also added more Myanmar-language reviewers and is rolling out the ability to report content in the Messenger service, the spokesperson added.
In late January this year, Facebook removed the page of popular anti-Rohingya monk Wirathu. Last year it regulated the use of the word “kalar” which is considered derogatory against Muslims.
In their joint letter, the local groups said Facebook’s response to hate speech and vicious rumours in Myanmar has been “inadequate” for years, adding that their offers to help craft broader solutions have gone unanswered.
They urged the social media giant to add reporting mechanisms to the Messenger app, increase transparency, engage more with local stakeholders and draw on data and engineering teams to identify repeat offenders.
Facebook dwarfs all other social media platforms in Myanmar, where it has become the chief channel for communication among both the public and government ministries.
But it has come under fire for allegedly helping broadcast ethnic hatred in a fledgeling democracy still emerging from decades of repressive junta rule.
Scrutiny has intensified in the wake of a bloody military campaign against the Rohingya that erupted last August, expelling some 700,000 of the minority to Bangladesh.
In March, the UN’s special rapporteur to Myanmar Yanghee Lee said Facebook had morphed into a “beast” and had incited “a lot of violence and a lot of hatred against the Rohingya or other ethnic minorities”.
South Korea’s former president Park Geun-Hye has been sentenced to 24 year for demanding and receiving bribe worth $20 million from conglomerates, sharing secret state documents with Choi.
Park was convicted of receiving or demanding more than $20 million from conglomerates, sharing secret state documents with Choi, ordering officials to stop offering state subsidies to “blacklisted” artists critical of her policies, and firing officials who resisted her abuses of power.
The wide-ranging corruption scandal exposed shady links between big business and politics in South Korea, prompting massive street protests against Park last year.
But today, Friday, the ruling was greeted with dismay in streets outside the courtroom by several hundred flag-waving Park supporters.
The trial of the ex President which lasted more than 10 months ended with Park being found guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power.
Park’s successor described the sentencing as a “heartbreaking event” for both the nation and the ex-leader herself.
“The accused abused the power bestowed by the people — the true ruler of this country — to cause chaos in national administration,” said Judge Kim Se-Yoon.
“Despite all these crimes the accused denied all the charges against her, displayed no remorse and showed an incomprehensible attitude by blaming Choi and other … officials,” he said, referring to Park’s secret confidante and long-time friend Choi Soon-Sil.
Many protesters sat on the pavement in tears while others began a protest march.
“The rule of law in this country is dead today,” said Han Geun-Hyung, a 27-year-old Park supporter.
Park herself was not in court for Friday’s judgement which, in a rare move, was broadcast live on television. She had boycotted most sessions of the trial in protest at being held in custody.
She now has seven days in which to file an appeal.
Park becomes the third former South Korean leader to be convicted on criminal charges after leaving office, joining Chun Doo-Whan and Roh Tae-woo, who were both found guilty of treason and corruption in the 1990s.
Park’s presidential predecessor Lee Myung-bak is currently in custody as prosecutors investigate multiple corruption charges involving him and his relatives.
Judge Kim Se-Yoon said he had passed a tough sentence to “prevent such an unfortunate event from happening again”.
The presidential
Blue House said in a statement after the verdict: “Each person must have different feelings about former President Park Geun-Hye. But a bleak wind blew through the hearts of all of us today.
“It is a heartbreaking event for the nation as well as for the person’s life. A history that is not remembered is bound to be repeated. We will not forget today.”
Park, the daughter of dictator Park Chung-hee, lost both her parents to assassins. She took office in 2013 as a conservative icon who cast herself in the role ofthe daughter of the nation — incorruptible and beholden to none.
Less than four years later, she was impeached, stripped of all her powers and ousted from office on the back of months-long mass protests that brought millions onto the streets of Seoul and other cities.
The trigger was a snowballing graft scandal involving Park and Choi and accusations of graft, influence-peddling and taking bribes from corporate bigwigs in exchange for policy favours.
Much of the public anger was focused on Park’s relationship with Choi and accusations that she let her childhood friend — who held no formal position or security clearance — meddle in state affairs, including high-level appointments and editing official speeches.
Choi is the daughter of a shadowy religious figure who had served as a mentor to Park for decades until his death in 1994. She was tried separately and sentenced in February to 20 years in prison.
Condemned in the media for her “Rasputin-like” influence over Park, Choi was convicted of using her presidential ties to squeeze tens of millions of dollars out of major South Korean businesses, including Samsung — the world’s top smartphone maker — and retail giant Lotte.
Former leaders Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after each spent around two years in jail a privilege that may elude Park for many years, said Jeong Han-wool, an analyst at the Seoul Hankook Research think-tank.
“Park has denied all charges against her and expressed no remorse or atonement — legally as well as politically, for what’s probably the most shocking political scandal in our modern history.”
“Given her attitude and public anger over her scandal that remains raw, it will be difficult to create a political environment in favour of her release anytime soon.”
Park’s left-leaning successor, Moon Jae-in, came to power largely because of the public backlash against her and her conservative party, dimming hopes for a pardon under the current administration, he added.
There is some residual sympathy for Park among her core supporters, who have always seen her as a heroically tragic figure who devoted her life to the service of her country despite childhood tragedy.
The fact that she never married or had children was part of her appeal, given the nepotistic tendencies of many senior officials.
“I’m married to the Republic of Korea. I have no children. South Koreans are my family,” she once declared.
But for the vast majority of Koreans, she has now been permanently disowned and will go down in history not as the country’s first woman president but the first democratically-elected leader to be forced from office.
Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has appointed the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega as chairman of a Committee for the Establishment of Yusuf Maitama Sule Centre for the Advancement of Politics and Democratic Governance in the state.
In a statement, the State Commissioner of information, Malam Muhammad Garba said that the establishment of the Centre is a tribute to late Yusuf Maitama Sule’s immense contributions to the political and democratic development in the north and Nigeria in general.
The center will be utilized for research and scholarly discourse for the advancement of politics and democratic governance.
Members of the 15-man committee include Justice Mamman Nasir (Galadiman Katsina), Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, Prof. Mustapha Isa Ahmad (Vice Chancellor, Yusuf Maitama Sule University), Prof. Shehu Musa Alhaji (Vice Chancellor, Kano State University of Science and Technology), Prof. Sule Bello and Prof. Dahiru Yahaya.
Others are Engr. Mansur Ahmed, Tajuddeen Aminu Dantata, Arc. Ibrahim Haruna, Alhaji Muhtari Hassan, Alhaji Muhtari Maitama and representative of Kano Emirate Council while Office of the Secretary to the State Government is to provide the secretary for the committee.
Following the death in July last year, of Yusuf Maitama Sule, two time minister in Nigeria and former Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Governor Ganduje renamed the state-owned university, Yusuf Maitama Sule University and the street where his residence is located to Yusuf Maitama Sule Road in honour of the statesman.
Some protesting pregnant women at the premises of the hospital | Photo credit: Tribune
Pregnant women were said to shut down the Ondo state specialist hospital, Akure, to protest an alleged hike in medical bills.
The pregnant women who barricaded the gate of the state hospital alleged that there was an outrageous new medical bill at the hospital which is no longer bearable.
According to the expectant mothers, the hospital now charges N25,000 for delivery while Cesarean Session (CS) which was hitherto free now cost N50,000.
According to some of the pregnant women who spoke to newsmen, other unjustified charges ranging from N500 to N4000 are being collected by the hospital officials on the order of the state government.
The expectant mothers, numbering about one hundred, disrupted operations at Ante-natal section of the hospital.
Before now, pregnant women and their children who are below five years had enjoyed free medical services under the previous administration of Olusegun Mimiko.
The Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Ahmed Kuru has vowed to comprehensive review the corporation’s intervention in the nation’s transport sector in the forthcoming 6th annual Nigeria Transport Awards and Lecture.
He is expected to speak on the topic-‘AMCON’s Intervention in Transport and Allied Sector, the Achievements, Challenges, Prospects,’ in the lecture scheduled for April 26, 2018in Lagos State.
This is coming on the heels of the AMCON’s intervention and taken over of some companies in the transport and allied sector such as Arik Airline, Aero Contractors Limited and PAN Nigeria Limited among others.
Head of the Corporate Communications of AMCON, Mr. Jude Nwauzor said that the annual lecture will offer the corporation a platform to review its achievements and challenges in the transport sector as well as interact with industry stakeholders.
Meanwhile the Editor of transport day newspapers and organizers of the annual Lecture, Frank Kintum, has expressed happiness that AMCON boss will deliver this year’s lecture and that industry players are already looking forward to a very interactive session.
Last year’s lecture was delivered by the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside.
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The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed contracts for engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and financing of 614 kilometre Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Stations.
