Gowon, Abdulsalam, Sultan Sa’ad, Onaiyekan Storm Abuja For Religious Summit On Tuesday

September 25, 2016

Former Nigeria military leaders; Generals Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalam Abubakar; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, Cardinal John Onaiyekan are expected to converge on Abuja, the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for a summit on inter-religious understanding among Muslim and Christian communities in Nigeria on Tuesday.
The Summit, organized by a Vienna, Austria based International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), is expected to run from Tuesday September 27 to 29, and will also be attended by traditional and religious leaders from various sections of the country.
The event, according to a statement today, Sunday by KAICIID’s Nigeria Country Expert, Joseph Atang, is aimed at creating “effective platforms towards promoting inter-religious understanding among Muslim and Christian communities in Nigeria.
The statement said that apart from creating a platform for exchange and engagement among Nigerian religious leaders, the Summit will also feature two intra-religious meetings prior to an inter-religious event offer religious leaders from Christian and Muslim communities throughout Nigeria, an opportunity intensive dialogue.
The Summit is coming on the heels of a parallel meeting aimed at fostering greater interaction between the intra-religious meetings.
KAICIID Director General Fahad Abualnasr, who is expected to open the conference said: “a group of selected representatives from each meeting already engaged in inter-religious meetings will also meet for one-day preparatory workshop to formulate aligned agendas, including objectives for both intra-religious meetings.”
Abualnasr expressed hope that the world’s only inter-governmental organization dedicated to promoting inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, will to produce a positive outcome for the country.
The statement said that KAICIID Senior Adviser, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a professor at the School of International Service at American University, will also attend the Summit, among other senior officials from the organization.
Abu-Nimer is renowned to have conducted inter-religious conflict resolution training and interfaith dialogue workshops in conflict areas around the world, including Chad, Egypt, Niger, Iraq, Palestine, Philippines (Mindanao), and Sri Lanka.
The statement described KAICIID as an inter-governmental organization that promotes dialogue to build peace in conflict areas and that it does this by enhancing understanding and cooperation between people of different cultures and followers of different religions.
The Centre was founded by Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain. The Holy See is the Founding Observer even as its Board of Directors is made up of prominent representatives from five major world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism). The Board has the responsibility of designing and supervising the Centre’s programs. [myad]

24-Year Old Miami Marlins Baseball Star Dies in Boat Mishap, Leaves Pregnant Wife Behind

Greenbarge Reporters

September 25, 2016

Jose Fernandez, 24, a pitcher for the Miami Marlins baseball team, has died in a boat crash five days after he shared a picture on Instagram which appears to show his girlfriend, Carla Mendoza was pregnant.
The message on the picture was caption reads: “I’m so glad you came into my life. I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together. #familyfirst.”
The US Coast Guard said that Fernandez was one of the three people killed in the crash today, Sunday, off Miami Beach, Florida.
A scheduled Marlins home game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday was consequent on his death, cancelled and the club said it was devastated by the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time”.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Todd Garofalo told local news station WSVN: “They found a boat that was up against the jetties. They did do an initial search and they found three victims – two on top of the water, one underneath the boat and they had unfortunately passed away.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the 32-foot vessel had a “severe impact” with large rocks that form part of the jetty.
The names of the other two individuals are being withheld until their relatives can be informed, the Coast Guard said.
Fernandez
Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, shared on Twitter a picture of he and Fernandez and wrote: “I had the opportunity to meet Jose Fernandez in 2014. Our prayers are with his family and the Miami Marlins.”
Boston Red Sox pitcher, David Price said: “Hands down one of my favourite guys to watch pitch! He brought nothing but intensity and passion.”
The Major League Baseball organization released a statement saying it was “stunned and devastated” by the news.
Fernandez was the club’s first-round draft pick in 2011 and was finishing up on his finest season in the major league, the Miami Herald reported.
He was born in Santa Clara in Cuba and attempted to defect to the US three times – once ending up in jail – before making it to Florida when he was 16. He made his debut for the Marlins in 2013. [myad]

Recession: African Development Bank President On Rescue Mission To Nigeria

Greenbarge Reporters

September 25, 2016

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, is expected to be in Nigeria from tomorrow, Monday to offer helping hands in turning the fortunes of the nation’s economy that has gone into recession. He is expected to spend three-day day to discuss how to stimulate the comatose economic.

According to the statement obtained from the bank’s official website today, Sunday, Adesina will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emiefele, to find quick ways of strengthening the economy and creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.

According to the statement, the AfDB President will meet government/policy-makers, the private sector and development partners to discuss the challenges facing Nigeria and highlight the AfDB’s commitment to further strengthen its partnership with Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Edo state election for next week, Godwin Obaseki has said that the present economic recession in the country is a lesson for Nigerians to think fast and secure a brighter future.

Obaseki, who spoke in Benin today, Sunday at a forum where some members of students union in tertiary institutions across the state endorsed him as their candidate for the state governorship election slated for Sept. 28 said: “to me, I will say the present economy crisis is a good omen for us. We need to think and act fast.

“Spending more than17 billion dollars on food importation yearly should not be for country such as Nigeria because we have the resources. We have the land and human resources that can produce same food we import, only if we can evolve policies that will make it for the youth to be effectively deployed to production.”

He said that the youth constituted the larger productive segment, insisting that policies that would engage the youth productively was necessary to fight crime and improve the economy. Obaseki said that he wanted to be the governor of the state to make the state better and improve the standard of living of the people.

“I am not in the race to acquire more wealth, because am already blessed. I want to be successful by translating what I have attained to those who need it. We are in a race against time, population is growing rapidly, but infrastructure is not growing in a corresponding way.

“There is need for us, as a state and people, to plan ahead before we are caught in the web. I want to be part of this plan, which account for the reason why am seeking to be governor of this state.” [myad]

3-Year Old Child Wanders Into Jungle, Sleeps There For 3 Days Unhurt

Greenbarge Reporters

September 25, 2016

A 3-year old baby whose name was given as Tserin Dopchut was said to have wandered into the remote part of Siberian forest, spent three nights in the forest and was recovered unhurt, with only one chocolate bar and a dry makeshift bed under a larch tree to keep him alive

Tserin Dopchut was said to have, on September 18, wandered into the woodland of Tuva Republic and disappeared after playing with dogs near his family home, according to The Siberian Times.
The young boy may have followed a puppy into the woodland despite being watched by his grandmother, according to reports.
“There are wolves and bears in the forest. The bears are now fattening for the winter. They can attack anything that moves. In addition, it is warm during the day, but at night there are even frosts,” regional emergencies chief, Ayas Saryglar, told the outlet.

“If we consider that the kid disappeared during the day, he was not properly dressed – only a shirt and shoes, no coat.”
The child, who wasn’t injured during the ordeal, was near the River Mynas, which is fast and cold, he added.
“If a small child fell in, it would be certain death,” he said.
More than 100 people searched for Tserin, but it was his uncle’s voice that he responded to.
“Once his uncle hugged him, the little boy asked if his toy car was okay. He said that he had some chocolate, which he ate during the first day,” regional head, Sholban Kara-Ool, said.
His hometown of 400 people will be throwing a party to celebrate his survival. [myad]

No Plan To Sell National Assets, Budget Minister, Udoma Assures

Greenbarge Reporters

September 25, 2016

The Minister of budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma has said that government has no plans to sell national assets as a panacea for the current economic recession ravaging the country. He assured that the government is working to diversify the country’s economy in the face of the recession.

Speaking to news men, Udoma frowned at the suggestion by some Nigerians like Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki that the government should sell-off capital intensive but dormant establishments in the country, Udoma said that government’s main strategy is to implement capital projects in the 2016 budget and source for funds to reflate the economy.

“Government appreciates that the down-turn in the economy has brought hardship to the people, but we are committed to redressing the situation.

“Our goal is to unlock the economic potentials of the non-oil and high-employment sectors, so as to achieve a sustainable inclusive growth that will ensure that the majority of Nigerians become more productive, thereby reducing poverty.

“Thus, we are deliberately working towards diversifying the Nigerian economy by ensuring that the non-oil sector drives the economy because this is the sector that contributes the most to GDP, and has more capacity to employ.”

The Minister said that the strategy is to reflate the economy through fiscal stimulus and strategic implementation of annual budgets, adding: “what this means is that we are geared to strategically spend our way out of recession. Unfortunately, we have not met all our planned expenditures for 2016 due to low revenue outturns.

“However, we have ensured that the resources that we release are targeted at priorities that will stimulate activities in the economy. We are also developing a more robust monitoring and evaluation framework to track performance.” [myad]

Gwarimpa Building Collapse An Indictment On The Entire System, Minister Admits

Greenbarge Reporters

September 25, 2016

Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has described the collapse of building in Gwarimpa, the Abuja suburb as an indictment on the entire system.
“The Gwarinpa building collapse though developed by a private person and wholly supervised by the Federal Housing Authority, it is an indictment of the entire system.”
The minister spoke at the weekend when he received in audience, the Managing Director of the Ahmadu Bello University Consultancy Services, Professor Suleiman Karwai in his office in Abuja.
The minister was of the view that building collapses are avoidable if strong institutional supervision of projects either publicly or privately owned are put in place.
He said that the FCT Administration would use the collapsed building in Gwarinpa, supervised by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), to correct so many things in the industry in the Territory.
“I’m sure you know that that building in Gwarimpa was not supervised by any of our agencies. It was basically handled by the FHA under very lose corporate governance issues because I saw their preliminary report and as you all know, that builder was directed to stop work in March this year. Unfortunately, they continued and because of the weakness in the system nobody stopped him.”
The Minister said that the FCT Development Control Department will soon embark on post development audit of completed houses in Abuja to ascertain that what was earlier approved was not changed after ward.
Muhammad Bello said that the FCT Administration would also embark on registration of all Material Testing Laboratories operating in the FCT that are individually or corporately owned. It would also step-up surveillance of their facilities for effective control.
Professor Suleiman Karwai had promised to continue to partner with the FCTA in the areas of training, exchange expertise in civil engineering and other infrastructural development know how. [myad]

Governor El-Rufai Flags Off $120 Million Potato Factory In Manchok, Kaduna

Greenbarge Reporters

September 24, 2016

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has flagged off the construction of a Potato Farm and Processing factory worth $120 million, in line with his administration’s economic diversification programme.

The factory, said to be the first of its kind in West Africa, is expected to be completed in the next 18 months. It is located at Manchok in Kaura Local Government Area of the state in northwest Nigeria.

The proposed factory is being constructed in partnership with Vicampro International, an agro-based company with branches in several countries.

At the ground breaking ceremony for the proposed factory today, Saturday, Governor El-Rufai said that the processing facility would earn foreign exchange and reduce over-dependence on oil.

He said that the state government is committed to promoting agricultural practices to fast track development, diversify the economy and boost Internally Generated Revenue.

The Governor appealed to the host community to support and cooperate with Vicampro, in order to pave way for the attainment of its mission.

He expressed the belief that the return of vibrant economic activities and the reduction of poverty among the populace would drive prosperity and reduce the divisions that became pronounced as the state’s economy entered dire straits from the late 1980s.

This was even as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, spoke on the issue of access to finance, which he said remained a major challenge of most investors, saying that the issue is being addressed to ensure that investors with viable ideas were given the necessary support.

The CBN Governor, who said the drop in oil prices had affected Nigeria’s economy drastically, suggested further diversification as the only alternative to overcome the economic crisis even as he assured the people that the CBN would collaborate with the Kaduna State government to translate the idea to reality for the benefit of all.

The Minister of State of Trade and Investment, Mrs. Aisha Abubakar, described the development as a giant stride towards moving the nation’s economy forward.

Giving the details of the project, the Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Gambo Hamza, explained that to successfully run the plant, the factory would need about 10,000 hectares of land for potato cultivation.

He said that upon completion, the factory would have the capacity to process 2,500 tonnes of potatoes daily and create at least 30,000 jobs.

In his remark, the Managing Director of Vicampro, Michael Agbogbo, said the company would produce French fries, Irish flakes and biscuits for local and international consumption. [myad]

NLC To Edo People: Don’t Return The State To Years Of Holocaust

Greenbarge Reporters

September 24, 2016

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned Edo people not to return the state to what it called ‘the years of holocaust.’

The state Chairman of the Congress, Emmanuel Ademokun vowed that NLC would mobilize members in support of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obaseki.

The NLC leadership spoke at an event organized in honour of Governor Adams Oshiomhole by the state chapter of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Benin.

The NLC leadership commended the Oshiomhole administration, which it said could not be matched by previous administrations, even as it listed some of the achievements of the incumbent governor to include the appointment of two permanent secretaries from the organised labour and increment of the minimum wage from N18,000 to N25,000.

According to the leadership of NLC, others are prompt payment of workers’ salaries, interventions in the payment of local government workers, employment of 900 Information Communications Technology staff into the civil service and the building of a twin Labour House.

“A comparative analysis of this government with others that existed since 1991, when Edo State was created, reveals that the entire past(administrations) could not achieve one-third of what the government of Oshiomhole has achieved since 2008.”

Meanwhile, governor Oshiomhole has declared September 27 and September 28 as public holidays for the conduct of the governorship election in the state. The rescheduled Edo State governorship election will hold on Wednesday, September 28.

The governor explained that the holidays was aimed at providing all eligible voters with the opportunity to relocate to their respective areas of registration.

He said that the work-free days would also allow the voters to exercise their constitutional rights. [myad]

Buhari Turns Back On Oil, Vows To Concentrate On Agric, Others

Greenbarge Reporters

September 24, 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari has given a strong indication of shifting emphasis from oil that had been the major revenue generating income to Nigeria now to agriculture, mining industrialization, infrastructure development and the creation of the enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment.
Buhari, who spoke to media men to round up his five-day activities at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71), in New York, the United States of America, acknowledged that “Nigeria as a developing country has been adversely affected by the global economic downturn.

“But we are undeterred and have embarked on a wide range of reforms in our efforts to diversify our economy. My government is shifting emphasis to mining, agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure development and the creation of the enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment.”

The President made a general review of all his major and side events during the visit to the New York, and highlighted the issues on which he sent a clear and direct message to world leaders.
“I highlighted the need for the international community to work together to liberate humanity from poverty, save our planet from the devastation of climate change and rid the world of terrorism for a more peaceful and prosperous future.
“I mentioned that the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) arising from Boko Haram terrorism is of particular concern to us. For this reason, we have taken concrete steps to address their humanitarian needs and to ensure that necessary conditions are established to enable the voluntary return of the displaced persons to their homes in safety and dignity.”
Buhari said that fighting corruption remains the prime importance of government, adding that the campaign is already yielding positive gains including significant stolen assets recoveries.
The President said that Nigeria was able to state its position clearly on Climate Change, development in developing countries, youth development, statehood for the Palestinians, and reform of the UN Security Council with Nigeria ready to serve on a reformed Council to “advance international peace and security.
President Buhari listed his meetings with world leaders and the benefits from some of the side events, such as the US-Africa Business Forum during which discussions focused on how top American business executives can collaborate with us to diversify our economy, which will in turn drive development, job creation and general business development in Nigeria.
He mentioned his meeting with top Nigerian professionals in the United States and the urgent need to reclaim the shrinking Lake Chad, even as he expressed delight that some countries notably the United Kingdom and United States pledged additional support in the tune of US $391 million humanitarian aid for the Lake Chad region.
President Buhari used the occasion of the media event to thank relevant United States authorities for efficient security and administrative arrangements and officials of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for demonstrating “that we still have capable officers in our Foreign and Civil Services.”
He commended the Nigerian officers for the “tireless effects in projecting a positive image to our country, even in difficult times.”
President Buhari did not forget members of the Nigerian media, as he thanked them for going through elaborate security checks and clearance procedures to follow his activities and hectic schedule in order to keep all our people at home well informed of his meetings and engagements. [myad]

4 People Traveling To Attend Tompolo Father’s Burial Feared Dead In Boat Mishap

Greenbarge Reporters

September 24, 2016

Four people, a man and three women, who were among the sympathizers traveling to attend the burial of late Thomas Ekpemupolo, father of Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) were said to have died in a boat mishap.

Two of the female victims were said to have come from Kurutie and Ogulaha communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom. The victims boarded the ill-fated speed boat at the Miller Waterside in Warri to attend the weeklong funeral which commenced yesterday, Friday

feared dead in Warri River on Friday in a boat mishap involving the funeral party to the burial of.

A community leader in Gbaramatu Kingdom, who requested anonymity, told journalists on Saturday in Warri: “we were already at the funeral celebrating Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo when we got news of the accident. Initially, we were told only two persons died, later we heard that the victims were four.

”The male victim, who was apparently from the northern part of the country, was on a mission to sell some wares at the funeral ground,” he said.

Mr. Ekpemupolo died on September 7 at Lily Clinic in Warri.

Meanwhile, the Delta State Police Command’s spokesperson, Celestina Kalu, has confirmed the incident and said that the number of casualties were yet to be ascertained.

“I was regretfully informed that AW-19 boat mounted with 115 horsepower Yamaha engine capsized at Warri River. My patrol team rescued 11 persons; searching and investigation is ongoing.

“For your information, there is no manifest to show the number of passengers in the boat.

“So the number of deaths is not certain yet, the bodies will float by tomorrow,” said the Delta police spokesperson.

Tompolo is a former militant leader in the area. He is wanted by law enforcement agents in Nigeria.

(NAN). [myad]

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