2023: Tinubu’s Presidency Will Usher In New Era Of Hope, Afenifere’s Verdict

October 31, 2022

Pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has concluded that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will provide the best opportunity to produce a government of that will usher in a new Era of hope, peace, security, harmony, gainful employment for the multitude, economic development, social and political stability.

The leader of the group, Pa Reuben Famuyide Fasorati, who led other leaders from all parts of Yorubaland to a crucial meeting with Asiwaju yesterday, October 30 in Akure, capital of Ondo State, said that the conclusion was made having taken cognizance of his (Tinubu’s) commendable antecedents as Lagos State Governor and his demonstrated ability in building physical and human capital.

“The Yoruba Leaders, at today’s meeting, are in no doubt that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria offers the best opportunity to produce a government of that will usher in a new Era of hope, peace, security, harmony, gainful employment for the multitude, economic development, social and political stability.”

The Yoruba nation affirmed that Nigeria as a country must be established on the basis of democracy, true federalism and social justice and that Democracy is the most civilised method of governance because it is based on the fundamental human rights of every citizen to determine how he or she wants to be governed.

“We support the decision of all qualified citizens to exercise their fundamental rights of seeking offices provided by the federal Constitution.

“We were also assured us of his commitment to the promotion of true federalism that will give states more control over their affairs.”

Afenifere wished Asiwaju Tinubu success in the pursuit of his vision even as it called on other presidential candidates to utilise similar opportunities to articulate their vision.

The meeting with Asiwaju was attended by Yoruba Leaders from Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Lagos, Kogi and Kwara States.

The meeting was fully briefed about the aspiration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to contest for the Presidency of Nigeria in the forthcoming Elections in February 2023. He even presented his Manifesto to Baba, the Asiwaju of Yorubaland.

He shared with us his vision of a greater and more prosperous Nigeria where democratic rights, rule of law, justice and fairness will reign supreme. He also gave assurance on steps to be taken to ensure safety and security of Nigerians and their properties.

I Am Going To Form Government Of Youth And Women, Not For Old People – Peter Obi

Greenbarge Reporters

October 31, 2022

“The government we are going to form will be the government of youth and women. It will no longer be government of old people. Governance is not a retirement home. It is not old people’s home.

“I will form a government that is energetic. You can see the two of us, we are ready for the job. We know your problems.”

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi made these points when he officially flagged off his presidential campaign in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital at the weekend.

He said: “we are young, we are like you. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and I are ready for the job. We are not going to give excuses, we are not going to start telling you what we saw when we enter.

“Two of us are young, two of us are educated, two of us can stand, we are not worried.

“Go and start campaigning for us for your future. Don’t listen to these people who are sharing money. The money they are giving you is your money, it is your money [that] they have stolen.

“Go and tell your parents, these people have stolen your money, that is why you are hungry, that is why you don’t have a job.

“We are saying we will give you back your future. You will be proud of Nigeria.”

Soldiers Capture ISWAP Commander, Killed Many In Attempt To Free Leaders In Niger

Greenbarge Reporters

October 31, 2022

Nigerian soldiers have beaten suspected members of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), by capturing one of their commanders who led his group to free their leaders being detained in a concentration camp located in New Bussa, Niger State.

Information had it that the terrorists came in the same fashion as the Kuje, FCT, prison invasion where almost all the detained terrorists were released in a night attack.

Information further said that this time around, soldiers got the wind of the movement of the terrorists and laid ambush for them.
“Though the incident happened in the night, the troops had been anticipating such daring moves and have been on high alert.

“They just came into our trap. While at least seven dead bodies of the terrorists were counted this morning, the troops succeeded in arresting one of their commanders who led the fighters.
“NAF aircraft were also timely in supporting the ground troops from Wawa Military cantonment in Borgu local government area of Niger state, hence the success in decimating the terrorists,” a military source narrated.
Source: PRNigeria.

After COVID19, Terror Attack: Abuja Mass Rail Transit To Resume Service Soon

Greenbarge Reporters

October 31, 2022

The Abuja Mass Rail Transit will soon resume operation after the widespread effect of COVID19 and terror attack on Abuja-Kaduna train.

The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, today, October 30, held a strategic meeting with senior officials of the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) at the Operation Control Center (OCC) of the rail system in Idu, Abuja, in preparation for the resumption of operation.

The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Olusade Adesola, who spoke during the visit, said that the administration is reviewing the project to determine what actions to be taken within the shortest possible time, to restore the operation of the Rail Transit system.

“The FCT Administration has made substantial investment in this project with the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria. You will recall that the project was test run shortly after it was commissioned and thereafter, the advent of the COVID19 pandemic resulted in a forced closure and suspension of the operations.

“COVID19 is over and we are desirous to resume operations. But there are certain issues that were not intended that had arisen, which will require attention.

“This is the purpose of coming here to look at the project in its entirety and to know actions to be taken within the shortest possible time, in order to restore the operation of the Abuja Mass Rail Transit system.

“A lot of high-powered decisions were reached, which we will give effect to as directed by the Minister. We will look forward to a quick resumption of the operation of the train system.”

Olusade said that in preparation for the resumption of operations, measures have been put in place to ensure the security of the entire length of the light rail system in addition to the security that will be provided on board by other government agencies.

“So, for the security of Abuja Rail Mass Transit, it is guaranteed. When we resume operations, everybody can travel in it safely.”

Yes, I Killed My Husband Because I’m Tired Of Marriage, Borno Housewife Confesses

Editorial staff

October 30, 2022

“Anytime I wake up with the fact that I am married, it pisses me off. At some point, I had to run to my parent to demand an end to the marriage but they always sent me back, asking me to be patient.

“Not that he doesn’t treat me well; we are also not quarrelling. We are two in the household, I am his second wife and I have been married to him since 2021. But I just hate when any man comes near me.”

These are the confessions of a 25-year-old housewife, Fatima Abubakar, who has been arrested by the police for allegedly killing her husband, Goni Abbah with poison in Borno State.

The State Commissioner Of Police, Abdu Umar, who disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri, said that the suspect was arrested on 19 October, by men of the Command at Anguwan Doki.

Commissioner Umar said that the victim, who was the Chief Imam of the area, returned from the mosque when the suspect, who was the second wife, allegedly mixed poison in his food.

He explained that as soon as Goni started eating, his condition deteriorated.

According to him, the victim was immediately rushed to the State Specialist Hospital where he was given emergency medical attention, but unfortunately, he later died when they returned home.

The commissioner of Police immediately deployed men from the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to arrest the suspect after the incident was reported by the family of the victim at the GRA Police Station.

He noted that on the arrival of the police, they witnessed large numbers of aggrieved youths in the neighbourhood who stormed the home of the victim with the intention to lynch the suspect but the police were able to bring the situation under control.

He added that the suspect, in her statement, confessed to the alleged crime, saying that she bought the poison from Monday Market when she already made up her mind to kill him.

He said that the case had been registered as a culpable homicide before the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions before she would be charged in court.

The suspect, Fatima who was paraded at the command, told NAN that she killed her husband because she was tired of the marriage.

“I don’t really know what is wrong with me. Even now that I am speaking to you, I don’t really feel that I was the one who killed him,” she said as she broke down in tears.

“At some point, two months after I gave birth to my child, I ran away and slept in an uncompleted building for about two weeks. I later returned to my husband’s house.

“I never wanted the marriage. Goni was my second husband; I got separated from my first husband because I hate marriage.

“At some point, two months after I gave birth to my child, I ran away and slept in an uncompleted building for about two weeks. I later returned to my husband’s house.

“Not that he doesn’t treat me well, we are also not quarrelling. We are two in the household, I am his second wife and I have been married to him since 2021. But I just hate when any man comes near me.

“I don’t really know what is wrong with me. Even now that I am speaking to you, I don’t really feel that I was the one who killed him,” she said as she broke down in tears.

Source: NAN.

Nigeria’s Telecoms Development Now Reference Point For Other African Nations – Gambia

Editorial staff

October 30, 2022

The Gambian Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ousman Bah, has admitted that the giant strides Nigeria has made in telecom regulation have made the country a reference point for other African countries.

Ousman Bah, who led a Gambian delegation, including industry regulators, at the weekend, on a courtesy visit to the management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja, said that the visit was prompted by the success, which Nigeria has witnessed in the sector, and the need for The Gambia to follow the same path of success.

He said that it is for this reason that the West African nation has completed arrangements to establish an independent regulatory commission for its telecommunications industry like the NCC of Nigeria.

“The current industry statistics is proof that Nigeria is achieving her goals of digitisation of its economy.”

He sought the Commission’s advisory support and strategic collaboration to accelerate economic growth and improve efficiency in both countries and strengthen all sectors across the African continent.

Director of Legal and Regulatory Services at NCC, Josephine Amuwa, who received the delegation on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, highlighted the impact of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.

She said that the NCA 2003 empowers the Commission to effectively carry out its regulatory mandate, one of which is to create an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry, as well as provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.

Amuwa spoke about the Commission’s role in ensuring that the mandate of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), is accomplished, and that has led to implementation of various programmes to the benefit of Nigerians.

“The USPF was also established by the NCA 2003 to ensure that services are extended into the rural communities to ensure that telecoms services are available in unserved and underserved areas, even in the urban areas, to meet government objectives.”

Amuwa also cited the consultative and collaborative approach to telecom regulation as one of the factors for Commission’s successes.

“The Commission adopts a participatory rule-making process where key players in the industry are invited to a public hearing for further deliberations to ensure that the stakeholders’ views are considered in establishing these regulatory guidelines.”

Amuwa encouraged the delegation to visit the Commission’s website to study published regulatory guidelines on all necessary matters. She explained that the guidelines give full effect to the provisions and administration of the NCA 2003.

Realnews Magazine Holds Lecture On “Drug Abuse Among Youths, Implication For Economy”

Editorial staff

October 30, 2022

Management of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, publishers of Realnews Magazine Online, has scheduled an Anniversary Lecture to focus on “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Elections.”

The lecture, 10^th in its series, according to a statement by the Publisher/Editor of the Realnews Magazine and Publications Ltd, Maureen Chigbo, will hold at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, November 17.

Maureen Chigbo said that chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, has accepted to deliver the lecture on the chosen topic as special Guest Speaker.

Marwa, who is former Governor of Lagos State, and a national and international security expert, is a force to reckon with in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria and Africa.

Maureen Chigbo said that the lecture will be chaired by the Group Managing Director of Futureview Financial Services Limited, Mrs. Elizabeth Ngozi Ebi, adding that she will also moderate the panel session.

She described Realnews as a general interest magazine, which is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism.

“We have expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges.

“We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities.

“We do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, our objective is to use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an unbiased report which will actually influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better.”

The Anniversary Lecture Series, according to Maureen Chibgo, was established to celebrate the best minds in the society and to tap from them for the purpose of enriching the discourse in the nation’s development.

Buhari Summons Emergency Security Meeting, As Security Alerts Throw Abuja Into Confusion

Editorial staff

October 30, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an emergency security meeting with security chiefs in the nation’s capital, Abuja, tomorrow, October 31.

This is coming against the backdrop of the confusion caused by series of security alerts issued a couple of days ago, by the Embassies of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Recall that as a result of the security alerts, many big shops and other private and public institutions have closed shops in the last three days.

A statement today, October 30, by a Presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu said that President Buhari and the security chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police, the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Department of State Service and other service chiefs, will review and strengthen security network in the country.

Garba Shehu said that because of the urgency and importance of the meeting, the President has postponed the commissioning of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) new Technology and Innovation Complex, to a date to be announced later.

The President, according to the spokesman, will, at the security meeting, receive briefs from the security chiefs, and interject on areas that need more attention.

Dangote Sugar Smiles To Bank With N36.27 Billion Profit In 9 Months

Editorial staff

October 30, 2022

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc has announced a Profit Before Tax (PBT), of N36.27 billion for a duration of nine months that ended on September 30 this year.

The Group Managing Director, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Ravindra Singhvi, who disclosed this today, October 30, in Lagos, said that the company’s PBT rose by N13.17 billion compared to N23.10 billion posted in the corresponding period in 2022.

Singhvi added that Profit After Tax PAT, rose from N15.51 billion to N24.83 billion, while revenue went up from N195.50 billion to N288.32 billion. He attributed the positive results for the period to key trade interventions introduced during the year and positive market responses. He recalled that the company recorded a PBT of N29.73 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2022 while PAT hit N20.24 billion in that period.

“Our impressive performance in the period demonstrates our resilience in the face of prevalent challenges, which rightly reflected in strong top-line growth as seen in the financial results,” he said. Singhvi said that Dangote Sugar Refinery had continued to implement its sugar backward integration projects plans and enhance its out growers scheme to support the economic growth of the immediate communities. He said the company’s aim was to develop a robust out grower scheme with no fewer than 5,000 out growers when the projects have fully taken off. This, he explained, was in addition to the achievement of other targets of its ‘Sugar for Nigeria Project’ plan. The key focus of the sugar refinery is achievement of the Dangote Sugar Backward Integration Projects targets and putting Nigeria on the path of sugar self-sufficiency and the world sugar map.

“Employees health and safety as well as that of its partners remains a top priority at the company’s operations at the Apapa Refinery, its Sugar Backward Integration Operations in Numan, Adamawa and Tunga, Nasarawa. All processes are in compliance with stipulated health and safety protocols,” he said. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Dangote Sugar Refinery is Nigeria’s largest producer of household and commercial sugar with 1.44M MT refining capacity. The company refines raw sugar imported from Brazil to white, Vitamin A fortified refined granulated white sugar suitable for household and industrial uses.

Senate Raises Eyebrow Over N2.2 Billion Justice Ministry Can’t Accounting For

Editorial staff

October 30, 2022

Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has raised eyebrow over the N2.2 billion expenditure collected by the Federal Ministry of Justice, between 2017- 2021 from the Service Wide Votes (SWV) that remains unaccounted for.

The Senator Matthew Urhoghide-led Senate Committee on Public Accounts is currently investigating over 200 agencies that benefited from Service Wide Votes, between 2017-2021 which is about N5 trillion.

A Service Wide Vote (SWV) which is also known as the Consolidated Revenue Fund Charge is more or less the country’s contingency fund in the annual budget.

Investigation revealed that the Service Wide Votes (SWV) collected by the Ministry of Justice was not subjected to the scrutiny of the Office of Auditor General of the Federation and was not also privy to the Senate Standing Committee mandated to oversight the agency.

At the investigative hearing, members of the Committee on Public Account were surprised when the line item in the money collected from the Service Wide Votes in 2019 for Capital project was put as “Critical Needs,” according to the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE), produced by the office of Accountant General of the Federation.

Members of the Committee were disturbed about the N650 million earn which was marked for the “Critical Needs’ in the line item under Capital expenditure.

Surprisingly, in the record of the Ministry, there was nothing that revealed that N650 million was received, but the AIEs from the Office of Accountant General of the Federation revealed that N650 million was released for the Ministry for ‘Critical need’ for Capital expenditure in 2019.

In addition, N955 million via AIEs was released to the.Ministry from SWV in 2017, but the record made available by the Ministry showed N549 million which showed a difference of N406 missing .

In 2018, the Ministry claimed to have received N492 million, but the releases from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, showed that N591 million was released which showed that N99 million is yet to be accounted for.

In 2019, the record from the Accountant General Office showed that the Ministry collected N650 million under Capital project with line item of ‘Critical need’, the Ministry failed to produce record that backed up the N650 million.

In the 2020, the record showed that the Ministry collected N62 million for recurrent, just as in 2021, N1.4 billion was released from the Office of Accountant General through AIEs for recurrent expenditure, but the, Ministry claimed to have received N400 million.

The Ministry was unable to present the letters of request and approval for the money collected from Service Wide Votes.

On her part, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry , Mrs. B.E Jeddy said that the Ministry will search for the relevant documents and present to the Committee on November 10.

The Chairman of the Committee, speaking during the hearing, said that the fund was not audited by the Auditor General, because they are not budgetary provision.

According to her, it was not audited by the Auditor General at all because there are no budgetary provision.

The Permanent Secretary assured the committee to engage relevant departments that benefited from the fund and feed the committee back.

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