FG Declares Sept. 16 As National Identity Day

September 15, 2020

This illustration photo is credited to Economist UK

The Federal Government has declared Sept. 16 as National Identity Day and has supported the enrolment of Nigerians for Digital Identity (ID) across the country.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, said this in a statement signed by his spokesperson Mrs Uwa Suleiman on Tuesday, in Abuja.

Pantami reminded Nigerians of the importance of digital identity, adding that the ministry was developing the right policy environment to support enrolment for digital IDs in the country.

He said that the celebration of the National Identity Day would take place virtually, adding that digital IDs play critical roles in the development of digital economies, as they were often called the fabrics of the digital economies.

Pantami also stressed that the importance of a digital identity programme for the successful development of a digital economy cannot be overstated.

“The Sept. 16, has been declared as the National Identity Day. Following the approval of the federal government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria also formally adopted 16.9 as the National Identity Day.

“This year’s edition of the National Identity Day will take place virtually on the same date and will have the theme: Identity for Health, Sustainable Development and Growth.

“We will start by capturing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria and will also support the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other stakeholders to ensure that we make the process of obtaining digital identities swift and secure.

“One of the key objectives of pillar 6 (Soft Infrastructure) of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) is support for the accelerated implementation of a Digital Identity Programme,” he said.

He said that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa rightly noted that Digital Identity and the digital economy were not only linked, but reinforcing as digital ID was the basis for digital economy platforms.

He explained that digital identification can be an important catalyst for various development initiatives in the continent such as impacting on trade, governance, social protection, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilisation, as well as security and human rights.

As the world and Nigeria mark the International Identity Day and National Identity Day, accordingly, Pantami urged Nigerians to support the development the digital economy by embracing the use of digital identities.

He encouraged Nigerians to visit NIMC accredited centres for their digital identities.

That minister said that his ministry is committed to ensuring that Nigeria derives the benefits of a functional digital ID system and calls on all stakeholders to support the process.(NAN)

Nigeria Would Have Been In Economic Trouble Now If…President Buhari

Editorial staff

September 15, 2020

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria would have been in economic trouble now if it were not that his government encouraged the citizenry to go back to farm.

He said: “if we hadn’t gone back to the lands, we would have been in trouble by now. That is why we virtually stopped the importation of food thereby saving jobs and foreign exchange.”

The President, who spoke today, September 15, at a virtual meeting with members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, said that his government had to resort to agriculture for the purpose of, among others, reducing joblessness and poverty.

“For us to bounce back to productivity, especially in agriculture, the unemployed with many of them uneducated, had to be persuaded to go into agriculture.”

Buhari stressed the onerous challenges posed by the collapse of the oil market and the decision of government to abide by the reduced oil production quota allocated by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

“We have to accept that decision; otherwise they (Middle-East producers) can flood the market and make the product unviable. So we have cooperated with what we get.

“With oil, we are in a difficult situation. The politics of oil is that the less you produce, the less you earn.”

From Grass To Grace Civil Servant, Georgina, Writes Her Story In Autobiography

Editorial staff

September 15, 2020

Georgina Ehuriah-Arisa who rose from lowly position in the Civil Service in 1984 to become a Permanent Secretary, has put her life experiences into a book, titled: On Merit and scheduled to be officially launched on September 17.

The autobiography offers an insight into the Federal Civil Service – its very heart and soul, reforms, what it takes to climb, and survive the tortuous corporate ladder and how to expand one’s capabilities along the way to the top.

In On Merit, Ehuriah-Arisa writes about her early life, being a child living through the Civil War, its aftermath and the relationship and financial challenges she had to deal with.

“Writing a book that puts my life out there has required a special kind of courage, but it is my act of giving back to a system that gave me the privilege to serve and rewarded me for that service. I have always prided myself on the fact that the single most important factor that drives my actions is courage,” she said.

It was this courage that made her run into a burning building to retrieve important work documents that would otherwise have been destroyed during the fire that engulfed the Independence Building which housed the Ministry of Defence and Armed Services Headquarters in 1993.

“Georgina Ehuriah-Arisa, embodies all the qualities I have been urging both the male and female staff of the Federal Civil Service to embrace,” former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Engr. Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke (CFR) says of the author. “She made a lot of sacrifices to build herself up to meet the challenges that would crop up in modern Civil Service. She read for long hours, kept late nights, attacked all the tasks that appeared on her desks wherever tour of duty took her with all her might, and the result is the content of this book,” she added.

Ehuriah-Arisa is one of Nigeria’s most highly decorated Civil Servants, having received the National Honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award and the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award in addition to other institutional and ministerial awards.

The book launch which will be held in Abuja will be attended by past and current Civil Service stalwarts, journalists, and a cross-section of Nigerians from the academia and professional communities.

On Merit will be available in bookstores in Nigeria from 15th October, 2020.

EdoDecides: PDP, APC Candidates Sign Peace Accord (Photo)

September 15, 2020

Candidate of the PDP and Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki (R) and Candidate of the APC, Pastor Ize Iyamu hug each other as Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (2nd Left) and Bishop Mattew Kukah (L)applaud them after signing peace accord.

Source: INEC

Rumbles In Association Of Movie Producers End As Factional President Surrenders

Greenbarge Reporters

September 15, 2020

A factional president of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) in Nigeria, Mykel Parish Chukwuyerem Ajaere, has surrendered, bringing to an end the rumbles and crisis that had rocked the association for some time now.
This came as the founder of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), Ms Peace Anyiam-Osigwe emerged as the President of the association at the national elections conducted in Asaba, the Delta State capital, by the Association of Movie Producers Electoral Committee (AMPEC) on Saturday, August 29.
Anyiam-Osigwe had polled 167 votes to defeat Ajaere who received 3 votes. But Ajaere had, in concert with contestants for other positions who equally lost their elections, set up a parallel national executive committee (NEC).
They claimed in a series of media reports that a parallel election was also held in Lagos where Ajaere emerged as the President.
But after days of claims and counterclaims between the Anyiam-Osigwe-led NEC, which was declared from the outset as the validly-elected leadership by the AMPEC, Ajaere decided to withdraw his “presidency” of the AMP.
In a statement, Ajaere said: “I have decided to toe the path of honour and let the industry move on, for posterity sake. Whatever decisions I have made, nobody influenced it.”
He added that his decision was “done with the interest of members first” and wished the Peace Anyiam Osigwe-led executives the best in the pursuit of its mandate of providing leadership to the association.
With Ajaere’s withdrawal of his “presidency”, the curtains have been drawn on the recent drama that surrounded the elections of the AMP, thus opening a new vista for the AMP under the presidency of Anyiam-Osigwe.
But in a swift riposte AMPEC had issued a statement that it only recognised the Anyiam-Osigwe-led National Executive Committee and also called on other contestants who were not as lucky to support the new NEC.
Reacting to the Ajaere’s withdrawal, Anyiam-Osigwe expressed her acceptance of the good gesture, saying that she looked forward to working with everyone for a better association.
Industry watchers are excited by the development, saying that with the controversy surrounding the leadership of the association finally put to rest, Nigerian producers can now begin to look forward to the greater heights that was promised by Anyiam-Osigwe and her team.

438 Coronavirus Active Patients In Lagos Refuse To Show Up For Treatment – Commissioner

Editorial staff

September 15, 2020

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi has said that 438 active cases of coronavirus in Lagos communities have refused to turn up for treatment in the state’s COVID-19 care centres.

Abayomi, made this known today, September 15 through his Twitter account, @ProfAkinAbayomi, while giving the state’s COVID-19 update, said that 48 new coronavirus infections were confirmed out of a total of 915 COVID-19 tests conducted in the state.

According to him, the new cases brought the total number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Lagos to 18,531.

He added that the total number of tests conducted in the state since inception of the pandemic now stands at 92,206, adding: “2,407 of the confirmed cases have since been discharged from #COVID19 Care Centres following full recovery.

“Also, 15,422 of the confirmed cases monitored in communities by #COVID19 Lagos Response Team have either fully recovered or positively responding to treatments.”

The commissioner said that 59 of the cases are currently under isolation in public and private care centres.

Data by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa Region, shows that there are 1,338,996 confirmed coronavirus cases on the continent, with over one million recoveries and 32,354 deaths.

Collapse Of Kainji Dam May Be The Biggest Disaster In Africa – Presidency

Editorial staff

September 15, 2020

“Embankment collapse at Kainji Dam will probably be the biggest disaster to hit Africa since the turn of the century – destructive power of water.

“A dam break wave is very similar and destructive as a Tsunami wave but is not of seismic origin as a Tsunami.

“We are not sure any person would wish this type of disaster on his or her country or continent.”

These were contained in a statement today, September 15, by the Director General, Chief Executive Officer Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) in the Presidency, Engr. Chidi Izuwah Snr. He was reacting to what he called “very dangerous fake news circulating about Kainji Dam.”

Engr Chidi said that what is currently happening at Kainji is a well planned and professionally managed annual to periodic reservoir management practice of safe and controlled spilling of computed volumes of water through the Dam spillway for safety and other well designed and thought out operational reasons.

“We inform the public that Kainji Dam is safe and advice them to ignore the fake news.”

He said that as part of the Power Sector reforms, Kainji Hydropower Facilities are on concession to Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd, which has the responsibility of among others, of

safe custody of the entire dam structure and appurtenances.

He said that the ICRC, being the statutory agency responsible for pre and post contract regulation of PPPs and concessions, has continued regular technical and other compliance monitoring of the Kainji Concession.

“The ICRC wants to confirm that the integrity of Kainji Dam is intact and the facility is operating flawlessly and injecting lowest-cost power to the national grid.

“During our last compliance monitoring visit before the Covid19 era, all aspects of the Dam were inspected by us and where appropriate function tested. We thoroughly inspected the Dam Crest, Reservoir, Embankment Rip Rap, Dam Toe, Toe Drain, Piezometers, Spillway, Stilling Basin, Power House etc.”

The ICRC boss said that Kainji has one of the most sophisticated real-time inflow prediction and reservoir basin management systems.

“This computer-based system with feeder monitors on the upstream and downstream stretches is designed to ensure world-class hydraulics flow management for dam, upstream and downstream safety management.

“It is important to inform Nigerians what an embankment collapse means and its implications. Kainji Dam impounds over 16 billion litres of water. Embankment collapse means the dam structure is breached leading to loss of containment of the impounded water.

“Embankment collapse will result in what is called a dam break wave. Most empirical hydraulic models will show that everything probably some decent distance on both banks of the Niger from Kanji dam location to the sea will be washed away.”

He advised Nigerians to check the status of the PPP and concession projects on the ICRC disclosure portal via www.icrc.gov.ng or directly with the Commission.

In Landmark Move, SEC Recognises Cryptocurrencies, Sets To Regulate Them

Editorial staff

September 14, 2020

Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany – April 17, 2018: Many coins of various cryptocurrencies

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that it would henceforth regulate crypto-token or crypto-coin investments, while classifying them as securities.

In a statement posted on its website, SEC said that Section 13 of the Investment and Securities Act, 2007 bestowed powers on it as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market to regulate investments and securities business in the country.

“The position of the Commission is that virtual crypto assets are securities, unless proven otherwise. Thus, the burden of proving that the crypto assets proposed to be offered are not securities and therefore not under the jurisdiction of the SEC, is placed on the issuer or sponsor of the said assets.

“Issuers or sponsors are expected to satisfy the burden of proving that the virtual assets do not constitute securities by making an initial assessment filing. However, where the finding of the Commission is that the virtual assets are indeed securities (not structured to be exclusively offered through crowdfunding portals or other exempt methods), then the issuer or sponsor must register the digital assets,” the statement said.

The capital market regulator disclosed that the virtual asset registration process would adopt a two-pronged approach namely: an initial assessment filing to satisfy the burden of proof and a filing for registration, either made directly by the issuer or sponsor where the burden of proof is not satisfied.

“All Digital Assets Token Offering (DATOs), Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token ICOs and other Blockchain-based offers of digital assets within Nigeria or by Nigerian issuers or sponsors or foreign issuers targeting Nigerian investors, shall be subject to the regulation of the Commission.

“Existing digital assets offerings prior to the implementation of the Regulatory Guidelines will have three (3) months to either submit the initial assessment filing or documents for registration proper, as the case may be,” SEC said.

Those who qualify to be regulated include any person (individual or corporate) whose activities have to do with Blockchain-related and virtual digital asset services as well as issuers or sponsors of virtual digital assets.

Foreign issuers or sponsors will be recognised by SEC where a mutual agreement exists between Nigeria and the country of the foreign issuer or sponsor.

“A recognition status will also be accorded, where the country of the foreign issuer or sponsor is a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.”

Source: Ripples Nigeria.

I Didn’t Mean To Say Govt. Was Involved In Boko Haram Insurgence, Mailafiya Confesses

Editorial staff

September 14, 2020

Dr. Obadiah Mailafiya | Photo credit: Intervention.ng

The embattled former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obadiah Mailafia, has confessed that he didn’t mean to say that government officials are involved in promoting Boko Haram insurgence in the Northeast because he had no evidence.

He said that he has no evidence also to back his allegations that the government was culpable in the killing of Nigerians and that an unnamed Nigerian governor was a sponsor of bandits killing Nigerians.

Mailafia who spoke today, September 14, shortly after being quizzed for the third time by the Department of State Service (DSS), in Jos, the Plateau State capital, said: “I had a routine appearance with the Department State Security, Plateau State Command. I am very pleased that I was treated very professionally. There was no harassment or intimidation.

“Over a month ago when I gave a radio interview, based on what I heard. If I had my way there are few things I would say differently, but I spoke on the spur of the moments, and I believed that it was a matter of greater urgency to make a wake-up call to what is happening.

“I didn’t really mean to say that the government was part and parcel of the killings, I implied that they could do better because thousands are dying, innocent women and children, elderly and youths.

“But if I have my way I would have put it in better language, and I have no way of corroborating some of these things. I heard it and I couldn’t have followed them into their camps to confirm because I might not come back to tell the story, so that is the reality.”

On his earlier claim that his life being threatened, he said though he has no evidence, he believes his life is under threat.

“I have indicated that I have reason to believe that my life has been in danger. I have no conclusive proof but I get threat, I get calls. Where I was staying, on Thursday, I saw some strange people at the gate trying to break in. I jumped the fence and escaped because I don’t know who they are.”

Source: THISDAY.

Pentium Ministries, Canada, Launches One Billion Souls For Jesus Project

Editorial staff

September 14, 2020

Pentium Ministries, Canada, owned by Nigeria’s Apostle Ausbeth Ajagu, has launched a One Billion Souls For Jesus Project in Canada.

Representatives, mainly clergymen and women from Nigeria, Canada, South Africa, Belgium, India, USA, Jamaica and Israel, participated in the event.

Speaking at the occasion, Apostle Ajagu, who is Chief Servant of Pentium Ministries worldwide, referred to Mark.16:15 which admonished all and sundry to go into the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ which is targeted on reconciliation of man to God.

Ajagu and his team of pastors then prayed for the saving of One Billion Souls across the nations of the world, especially the youth.

He called for partnership and support of all well meaning persons in various nations towards the realization of the project.

Pentium Ministries is a non-denominational ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ that preaches endtime message Undiluted with affiliates and network virtually in all the nations of the world.

The event was a Holy Spirit communion service which witnessed prayers from numerous anointed men and women of God praying and dedicating the project to God.

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