Britain has made it clear that it would not support any group that is agitating for the break-up of Nigeria as a country.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, who made this position known when he spoke in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, stressed that Britain is in support of the unity of Nigeria and the present Nigerian Government.
Mr. Arkwright, who was in Ilorin to pay a visit on the speaker of the state house of assembly, said that Nigeria is important to Britain and that it strongly believes in one Nigeria.
“We have nothing to do with any agitation aimed at the break-up of Nigeria. We strongly support the unity of Nigeria. We strongly support the Federal Government and that is the position the British government has held consistently.
“So, we have absolutely no interest in stirring up any agitation and anybody who claims that the British Government is involved in any way in any of that is completely wrong.”
”The rate at which girls are spending time on the social network is worrisome and this poses an imminent danger to our society.”
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, who spoke today, Sunday, in Sokoto, at the closing ceremony of the 6th National Edition of the Quranic Recitation Competition said: “there is a disturbing development where the attention of students is being diverted from their studies. This is through the use of various social media like Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, 2Go and Instagram, among others.”
Speaking specifically on the effect of social media to the girls, the Sultan said: “girls are the nerve centre of our moral and societal development and if they derail, the whole society will be in danger because they are our mothers and caregivers.”
The traditional called on girls to stop spending too much time on social media at the expense of other engagements that would add more values to their life.
He also advised parents to ensure that their daughters spend more time on meaningful things, like reciting the Holy Qur’an, saying: “doing so will make them better mothers and caregivers.”
The Sultan advised Muslims to desist from doing things capable of tarnishing the image of their religion even as he congratulated the winners of the competition ans donated N10, 000 to each of the 89 participants, while the overall winner, Husna Nura from Katsina State, got N100,000.
The Sultan promised to host the 7th edition of the competition in 2018.
Meanwhile, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state said at the occasion that the competition would encourage girls to memorise the whole sixty chapters of the Holy Qur’an.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Bashir Garba, governor Tambuwal announced a gift of Hajj seat to the overall winner of the competition in addition to N150, 000 and a deep freezer, among other gifts.
Other winners also went home with deep freezers and cash among other items.
Twenty-two states participated in the competition which was dedicated for non-Arabic Girls’ Secondary Schools. It was hosted by the Sokoto State Government.
The Vice Chairman, Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative, Alhaji Tijjani Tumsah has said that it may take a minimum of ten years for any appreciable progress to be made in rebuilding the North-East.
Tijjani Tumsah, who spoke at a Forum said that the challenges in the North-East are multi-sectoral and that rebuilding a better and safer North-East requires a specialized approach.
“The issues in the North East are long term. In my opinion, it would take a minimum of ten years before appreciable progress is made and people are able to return to normalcy. The three-year time frame given to the committee is in the first instance.
“We have engaged with the private sector on a variety of issues, including fundraising, the private sector has indicated a lot of interest to provide quite a bit of resource for the engagement.
“The physical nature of the intervention will begin to become more obvious before the year runs out. For now, we are set. We have the framework for intervention and strategy; we have all the partners on the same page and now there will be less acrimony and it would become obvious to the whole Nigerians.
“This plan which is the strategic framework for implementation for the recovery of the North-East is the Buhari Plan. The document synthesises all these studies and distills them into programmes that are implementable to the situation in the North-East,” Tumsah said.
Tumsah said that in less than a year, the committee has recorded a huge success in achieving its three “Rs’’ mandate of reconstruction, rehabilitation and rebuilding the North-East.
He explained that although a lot of people would recount the success of rebuilding the region in building physical structures it goes beyond that, as a lot is needed to be tackled before putting up structures.
The Vice Chairman said that to carry out its task effectively, the PCNI designed and adopted a strategic framework of action which is the “Buhari Plan’’, a blueprint to guide its intervention for success.
Tumsah said that the Buhari plan contains a holistic approach to addressing the root causes of the insurgency which afterwards could also be a global module for post conflict and economic recovery development.
He said that the Buhari plan is a five-year time framework which is divided into three components for immediate implementation which are: the short term (immediate), intermediate and long term.
He explained that the Buhari plan was further distilled with the immediate and intermediate components to be executed under its high impact programme.
Tumsah said that the areas of priority under the plan include: a boost in humanitarian assistance, improved health care, resumption and strengthening of agricultural production, education transformation by reconstructing schools, recruiting and training teachers.
He said that under the Buhari Plan, over 21,000 projects have been listed for implementation by MDAs, States Government, development partners, International and Local NGOs.
According to Tumsah, amidst scarce resources for the enormous task, the committee will judiciously use the scarce resources available to ensure a better and safer North-East.
PCNI was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on Oct. 26, 2016, with a three-year time frame to recover and rebuild a better and safer North-East.
He appointed Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.) to serve as Chairman of the Committee.
Members of the Committees include the National Emergency Management Agency, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI).
Others are the six North-East States, Office of the National Security Adviser, relevant MDAs and UN agencies, International Organisations and NGO, local NGOs, the Victims Support Fund (VSF) amongst others.
The government of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria has announced the move it is making to effect urban renewal projects in selected communities, including Jikwoyi, Dutse Alhaji, Gwagwalada and Kuje under a soft loan arrangement from African Development Bank (ADB) and UN-Habitat.
The Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) Engr. Umar Gambo Jibrin, who dropped this hint in a chat with newsmen, recently said that the FCT Administration has also concluded plan of complete viable ongoing projects in the City and shift emphasis to the development of the outskirts. T
Also, the Director of Satellite Town Development Department, (STDD), Arc Victoria Imande, said that the Administration had submitted proposals to African Development (ADB) and UN-Habitat on the projects, saying that prequalification conditions which include project identification, detailing of scope of work and identification of major problems have been met.
He said that under the arrangement, FCT would contribute $300 million syndicated loan by both institutions at an interest rate of between 1 to 1.5 percent and that the facility would be channelled to address the dearth of modern infrastructure among the poor communities.
According to Arc Imande, over one million people are projected to benefit from the life improvement projects, adding that some of the facilities that would be provided include water pipelines, electricity, roads, sewage and other basic utilities.
He said that the Administration is working with the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF), consultants to the international agencies, to ensure that due diligence is complied with in the procurement process.
NIAF, the Director revealed, is already working on the development of the concept note, environmental and social management framework and tentative scope of the project. [myad]
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) plc has emerged as leading global brand with its recent recognition as ‘Nigeria’s Best Bank and Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs’ during the 2017 Euromoney Awards.
The awards were held on Thursday, July 06, at the prestigious Tower of London.
The Euromoney Awards for Excellence, in its 26th year, covers more than 20 global product categories, best-in-class awards and the best Banks in over 100 countries around the world by recognizing institutions that have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and momentum in the markets they operate.
Euromoney Magazine’s Editor, Mr. Clive Horwood, who spoke at the award ceremony in London said: “Nigeria went through a difficult year, as low oil prices and capital flight continued to hurt the country’s economy.
“Many banks struggled as a result of this, but GTBank remained strong, recording significant and enviable financial and non-financial performance. According to him, the bank’s digital transformation drive has been very successful as it has enabled the bank to deepen financial inclusion across Africa with its array of tailor-made digital solutions that has made banking simpler and more accessible.”
Speaking on the award, Managing Director/CEO of GTBank, Segun Agbaje, said: “we are honored to win the Best Bank in Nigeria award a record eight times and to be recognized as Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs. These awards reflect our progress in building strong, value adding relationships with our customers whilst positioning the bank as the financial institution for Small and Medium Enterprises through our creation of free business platforms that are geared towards promoting enterprise in key economic sectors.
“We remain committed to maximizing shareholders’ value and delivering superior and sustainable return, guided by our founding values of hard work, discipline and integrity.”
In selecting its recipients, Euromoney combines quantitative and qualitative data to honor institutions that have brought the highest levels of service, innovation and expertise to their customers.
GTBank has consistently played a leading role in Africa’s banking industry. The GTBank brand is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation. [myad]
The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has attributed the Boko Haram insurgency and recent agitations in parts of Nigeria to people funding them using funds that were acquired in questionable ways.
Magu, who spoke at a town hall meeting with Civil Society groups in Kano State today, Friday, said that the fight against corruption is a fight for the survival of Nigeria.
The meeting was organized to develop new strategies which would make the fight against corruption more effective and also bridge the gap to reach out even to the grassroots.
The EFCC boss said: “I think corruption is the cause of all these agitations. Corrupt people are the ones behind most of these agitations and even the insurgency of the Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants are all fundamental causes of these things and you can trace it to corrupt practices. They are funded by looters who stole our money and are using the stolen money to divide our people.”
He advised Nigerians to be more united against ethnic, religious or political affiliations, stressing that “righteousness will continue to win over evil no matter how long”.
“We need journalists more than any other professionals in the fight against corruption. If we really want to fight corruption and if journalists really key into the fight, we would finish it in less than one year.”
Project-PUR team with students: From Left-Right: Torah Banks Ozichu, Dr Enesi, Ruka Fache, Tofiq Fache and Abdulrahman Salawu
Concerned Youths have risen to drum support for what they called ‘self-help grassroots sensitization project’ against the increasing cases of drug, sexual and social media abuse in Kogi state.
This is coming on the heel of the drug, sexual and social media abuses that have tarnished the image of Nigeria in the international arena.
The initiator of the project, Ruka Fache, said that the aim of the project is to sensitize and equip the young ones in the state with basic information and skills that would empower them in leading safe behaviour.
According to her, it would also help the youths to take responsibility for their own health, decisions, actions and inactions while igniting in them, passion for competing with their counterparts outside the state. She said that the campaign is code-named: Project Pause-Unlearn-Relearn (Project PUR).
The initiator, who is a graduate of Law, said that she was moved to initiate the project by her personal experience with youths in the state, many of who lack necessary information that would have exposed them to make informed decision against all odds.
Ruka narrated how her encounter with secondary school students exposed her to many challenges facing the young adults in the state.
“I had the opportunity to sit and converse with the young ones, which exposed me to how backward our young adults have been in terms of drive, passion, exposure and needed contemporary.
“I also noticed that most of these young ones who were developing biologically do not have full understanding of their bodies and the changes they were undergoing.
“A lot of child sexual abuse stories arise every day because they are being kept secret whereby the victims would not want to make it public.”
Members of Project-PUR flanked in a group picture with Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Dr Ado Ibrahim during a courtesy visit to his palace
This was even as the coordinator of the project, Abdulrahman salawu, said the project-PUR would go round the entire state.
He said that due to limited resources, the pilot phase of the project which started since July 3rd and ended today, July 7th was designed to cover five secondary schools from Kogi Central.
He assured that the scope would be extended to other schools in subsequent visits.
Abdulrahman was emphatic that the project-PUR had come to stay, stressing:: “so far, over 1,500 youths have been impacted within the five days of the sensitisation through direct contacts. More are expected to be impacted through indirect contacts.”
The coordinator expressed gratitude to various speakers who made themselves available throughout the first phase of the project to share their knowledge with youths, teachers and parents on various topics.
He advised parents and guardians in the communities visited to monitor their children closely, and take good care of them.
He urged them to promptly report any case of sexual abuse to police as the group had sought and obtained the support of security agents in the areas visited. [myad]
The Nigeria Senate has made it clear that its rejection of Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) “still stands.“
According to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sabi Abdullah, the Senate has already made its resolution, “and our resolutions are official statements. “And most times, based on how we communicate, we don’t go to press immediately because somebody has made a statement; we usually discuss issues.
“You know before we made that resolution, the issue was debated. It is not because the executive has said something, we will react to it. We discuss issues first.
“He was brought to us for confirmation, and on the basis of damning reports from the DSS, we rejected him twice. It is left for Nigerians to see and we have done our part.”
“We are expressing the opinion of the Senate, its stand and its position. We have given it a resolution. For now that is what subsists, and until we get a response, otherwise officially, we are not going back.”
The position of the Senate is coming against the background of the resolve by the Presidency to continue to work with Magu to stamp out endemic corruption in the country. [myad]
“Will any person in his right senses believe that the way out of our problems in Nigeria is separation? We have past that stage. We have many problems if we can talk about them and we must talk about them. We must find solution to them.”
These were the views of the former two-time President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo when he spoke today, Friday, at Effurun, Delta State. He was apparently alluding to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and other pro-Biafra agitators.
Obasanjo said that he is praying for a change of mentality by the Biafra agitators, adding that if he had a magic wand: “I would make one wish that God should change our mentality; I believe that is the problem of this country.”
He advised Nigerians not to be deceived by those calling for war, saying that such people had not witnessed one before.
While in Warri, Delta State for facility tour of Lee Engineering and Construction Company, Obasanjo lamented the agitation by certain elements in the country for the dismember, meant of Nigeria, stressing that those who advocating separation through violent means have not seen the effect of war.
“The answer to our problem is mind set. If we need restructuring at all, it is the restructuring of our mind set. How can anybody say the answer to our problem is separation? It is diversity that makes us great as a nation. The beauty of Nigeria Nigeria is in its diversity. The greatness of Nigeria is in our diversity. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria but a lot is wrong with Nigerians. What we need to do is to change.
The former president maintained that there was nothing wrong in people agitating for equity, justice and fairness in the distribution of the nation’s wealth adding however that “when we speak up that things are not good enough, we must be prepared to offer something better and not dismemberment.”
Obasanjo said that when we substitute injustice, inequity and marginalization with equity, justice and fairness Nigeria will make progress.
He called on the Federal Government to give the needed support for indigenous companies in the country to thrive.
“Nigerians who have visions like Chief Leemon Ikpea must be encouraged and supported to grow their businesses. This country of ours must be developed by ensuring that that we grow businesses and entrepreneurs who have visions like my brother and friend must be supported,” the ex-Nigerian leader said.
He lamented that Nigeria over the years have failed to harness her best human assets adding that “what we do wrong in Nigeria is that we do not make use of our assets”.
While encouraging the management of the company to continue to work to improve on the standard it has set over the years Obasanjo said it is only through commitment and dedication that Nigeria can make the needed economic progress.
The chief executive officer of Lee Engineering and Construction Company, Ikpea, described Obasanjo as a great patriot and nationalists who helped in laying the foundation for the development of local content in Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the inspection tour, Ikpea said he was inspired by some of the patriotic acts of Obasanjo in establishing Lee Engineering.
Citing Obasanjo’s Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) and the technical crash programme, Ikpea said “We are indeed inspired by some of these patriotic acts to venture into establishing a full production factory, dedicated to in-country manufacture of plants and equipment for the oil, gas and power sector”.
While seeking the support of the former president “in our national quest to meet with current global standards in technological advancement, and the drive to increase indigenous capacity utilization in the oil, gas and called industry,” Ikpea said such support will help indigenous companies excel and help contribution to the overall economic progress of the Nigeria.
Ikpea who is one of Nigeria’s indigenous fabricator in the oil and gas sector as well as a representative of major offshore technology companies in the world “The Local Content Act was a boost for those of us in the sector who are Nigerians but more still need to be done by the government to give indigenous companies in the oil and gas strength so that we can continue to support the government in boosting the Nigeria economy.
“What the government has done with the Local Content Act is to lay the foundation for Nigerians in the sector to build a stronger and better oil and gas industry but it still needs to do more so that we can have enough financial muscles to go into research and development of modern day offshore technologies in the country.” [myad]
Some citizens of Uganda have staged a mock funeral for President Yoweri Museveni in protest at a plan to remove the presidential age limit of 75 years.
The spokesperson, Samson Kasasira, said that the country’s police have arrested and detained three men, including two university students, parading a coffin in the south-western city of Mbarara.
Kasasira said the coffin was topped by a portrait of the president and carried the inscription: “Rest in peace Museveni.”
Kasasira said: “the men had gone ahead with the protest in spite of having been denied permission to stage it.”
He said that they would be charged with sedition.
The arrests followed reports that a faction of ruling party legislators want to change the constitution to remove the presidential age limit of 75 years, which would leave Museveni, 72, ineligible to run for the presidency in the next elections in 2021.
The ruling National Resistance Movement has almost 70 per cent of the seats in parliament.
Critics say Museveni, who has ruled the East African country since 1986, has become increasingly repressive of the freedom of speech.
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