Director
NiMet chief appointed permanent representative to WMO
Following his appointment as the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu, has been appointed the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the World Meteorological Organization, WMO. The appointment is in line with the provision of the General Regulations (Regulation 5a) of the World Meteorological Organization Basic Documents No. 1 (WMO – No 15) 2019 Edition which states that “Each member shall designate by written notification of the Secretary-General, a Permanent Representative who shall be the Director of the Meteorological or Hydrometeorological services to act on technical matters for the member between the sessions of congress. Subject to the approval of their respective government, Permanent Representative sho...
Minister: Rail transportation awakening giant to help run government
Nairaland Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, on Tuesday described the rail mode of transportation as the awakening giant that would run government. He made the disclosure at the virtual National African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Implementation Engagement Series for the Rail sub-sector of Transportation. Amaechi, who was represented by Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, a Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT), noted that the Federal Government had invested heavily on the rail sub-sector of transportation to help facilitate trade. “The rail sub-sector needs consistent opening for the country to further tap into the agreement that AfCFTA creates. “This is why government has embarked on many projects, developing the narrow gauges and establishing standa...
President Buhari appoints new DTCA, NIIA chiefs
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Ambassador Rabiu Dagari as Director-General of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA). The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, in a letter dated April 8, 2021, addressed to Dagari, said the appointment was for an initial period of four years with effect from March 16, 2021. Letter read: “The terms and condition of your appointment is as provided in the appointment of Chief Executives of Government Parastatals and Agencies in the Federal Public Services. “It Is hoped that your performance at the Interview/screening exercise as well as your experiences as a seasoned Diplomat/Administrator will be brought to bear in the discharge of your duties as the Director-General of the Directorate,” Aduda...
Kaduna governor appoints as new Emir for Kauru
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has approved the appointment of Alhaji Ya’u Shehu Usman, former Sarkin Fadan Kauru, as the new Emir of Kauru. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser on Media and Communication to el-Rufai, and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Kaduna. The statement said that Usman, who hails from the Wadai ruling house, succeeds the late emir, Alhaji Ja’afaru Abubakar, who died in January 2021. Usman, Chairman of the Kaduna State Fiscal Responsibility Commission, was born on 15 May, 1955 in Kauru and joined the Kaduna State Civil Service in 1977. The new traditional ruler retired in 2012 as Director, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI), Office of the Accountant General, Kaduna State. An accountant, Usman was a former ...
Official: Kaduna vaccinates 6,250 dogs against rabies
The Kaduna State Government has successfully vaccinated 6,250 dogs to curb the manace of rabies across the state. Dr Pakachi Zakariya, the Director, Veterinary and Livestock Services, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna on Friday. Zakariya said the vaccines were administered to dogs in the 23 Local Government Areas (LGA) “This was achieved by fixing outposts vaccination centres using our clinics and field officers across the state,’’ he said. Zakariya said that the vaccination became necessary due to the increasing number of unlicensed, unvaccinated dogs roaming the streets of Kaduna. ”The ration of dogs to humans is high in the state and many breeds are being introduced thereby adding to the dogs population. “In Nigeria, it has been reported that less than five per cent...
DPR revokes Addax Petroleum oil mining licences
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has revoked four Oil Mining Licences (OML) belonging to Addax Petroleum due to the non-development of the assets by the petroleum company. The affected assets are OML 123, 124, 126 and 137. Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, the Director/Chief Executive Officer, DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu, who disclosed this, said it was discovered that over 50 per cent of the assets had remained underdeveloped, which he said was resulting to loss of revenue to the federal government. According to him, “Addax refused to develop the assets and Addax were therefore not operating the assets.” The DPR boss pointed out that going by the country’s Petroleum Act, “the first reason for a revocation is when you discover that...
Imo attack: Inmates who voluntarily return to get amnesty – minister
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has urged all escaped inmates from Owerri Custodial Centre on Monday to voluntarily return to custody and be given amnesty against the possible consequences of escaping from lawful custody. The Minister, who disclosed this when he visited the Owerri Custodial Centre on Tuesday, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s stand to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice, adding that additional security would be provided for all custodial centres for the safety of personnel and inmates as well as the security of the facilities. In a statement by the ministry’s director of press, A.B. Lere-Adams, Aregbesola bemoaned the pattern of syndicated attacks on custodial centres in Nigeria, noting that full investigation would commence immediately to unrav...
Namibian president caught in new fishing corruption allegations
Informante The president of Namibia has been implicated in new allegations of corruption involving the country’s lucrative fishing industry by an investigation released by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Namibian newspaper. According to a lawyer who allegedly arranged the deal, President Hage Geingob instructed his close associates to embezzle millions of dollars from a state-run fishing enterprise in order to bribe electors at the 2017 congress of the ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) party, reports the new investigation released on Friday. The lawyer, who is not named by the OCCRP, claims that Hage Geingob – elected as President of Namibia in 2014 and re-elected in 2019 – allegedly asked James Hatuikulipi, then chairman of the sta...
CSOs: Bandit attacks a risk to food security in Nigeria
Bandit attacks heighten risks for acute food crisis in Nigeria, stakeholders from the civil society and the media have said. This is even as they vowed to unite against terror rather than do anything that could promote it. “In addition to displacement, insecurity has hampered agricultural activities and heightened the risk of acute food uncertainty in the country”, they said in a communique issued on Thursday after a meeting of civil society groups and media in the nation’s capital. But they insisted that the adoption of new approaches by the government will address the specific political, economic, and social challenges that encourage banditry and terrorism in the country. The communique co-signed by Gbenga Onayiga and Adamu Ladan, the Acting Chairman and the Executive Director of the Vis...
Coronavirus: Nigeria gets $15 million grant for safe school reopening
The Federal Ministry of Education says Nigeria has received 15 million dollars response grant from the Global Partnership on Education (GPE) for COVID-19 safe school reopening across the country. Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, Director, Basic and Secondary Education in the ministry, said this on Wednesday in Bauchi, at a Cluster Mobilisation and Sensitisation Meetings on COVID-19 Protocols, Surveillance and Safe School Reopening Readiness. Abdulkadir was represented on the occasion by Mr Achede Owoicho, Deputy Director, Basic and Secondary Education and the Focal person for the GPE. The workshop is initiated with the support of the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF). Abdulkadir noted that through the grants, UNICEF had sent WASH and ICT materials to 16 states for preparation of digit...
Another batch of 255 Nigerians stranded in Saudi Arabia arrive Abuja
Another batch of 255 Nigerians stranded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. This was disclosed by the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) via its official Twitter handle @nidcom_gov, adding that the returnees arrived via Saudi Air Flight SV3405 at about 1.00pm time Monday, 29th March. According to the commission, they will proceed on quarantine at the Federal Capital Territory Hajj Camp for 14 days in line with the reversed COVID-19 protocols by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. The Nigerian government has evacuated nearly 2,000 of its nationals from the Kingdom in the last three months even as more returnees are expected in subsequent days. In February, Nigerian government received a batch of 420 returnees from S...
Yiaga Africa demands effective monitoring, evaluation of coronavirus vaccination
A Civil Society Organisation, CSO, Yiaga Africa, on Monday, demanded effective monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccination and also strengthening the nation’s health sector. This was stated by the Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, while speaking on the need for the vaccination to be guided by certain principles that would bring about the inclusion of all citizens in the process. Mbamalu said: “The conversation is important to ensure that the whole process of vaccination is guided by certain principles and every aspect of society is catered for. In the implementation of vaccines in Nigeria, we need to deploy effective monitoring and evaluation systems that will help document how well we have done, document the learning, and how we can improve on the system. “Beyon...
