environment
NIOB, PSN, 28 others seek more roles for Nigerian professionals
Pool Photo Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) as well as 28 other bodies under the umbrella of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) have called for more patronage of indigenous professionals. Speaking during the Board Meeting of the Association, president of APBN, Surveyor Akin Oyegbola said it has been proven that Nigerian professionals can hold their own anywhere in the world. The NIOB which is the professional body for Builders in Nigeria as part of its roles act as body which the Government or other official or unofficial authorities or organisations in Nigeria can seek advice, assistance or the expression of views on any subjects of concern or interest, to the Building profession in Nigeria. Oyegbola also said the APBN wi...
NGA chief: Nigeria’s gas reserve can sustain West African market
Nigeria has abundant gas resources which, if harnessed, will meet the energy demand of over 350 million people and the industrial needs in the West African sub-region. According to the newly inaugurated president of the Nigeria Gas Association (NGA), Ed Ubong, “Nigeria, which ranks as the 9th largest gas reserve in the world and clearly the largest in West Africa, needs to develop this resource base and connect the existing local supply and demand with physical and virtual pipeline infrastructure, while also exploring closer integration of roads, seaports and rail infrastructure.” Speaking, at the just concluded NGA’s 12th International Conference and Industry Awards in Lagos last week, Ubong who is also the managing director, Shell Nigeria Gas Limited, however, advocated an improved inves...
NPHCDA boss: Nigerian government ‘took more measures’ to secure right coronavirus vaccine
The executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, says the federal government took more measures than many countries to ensure the selection of the right COVID-19 vaccine for Nigerians. Shuaib said this on Friday at the launch of COVID-19 vaccination programme, held at the National Hospital in Abuja. He said even though there were concerns about the delay in getting the vaccine, it was more important to get the doses suitable for the country. “We’ve said it before now, that it is not how fast, but how well. It is not how fast we get the vaccines here, but making sure that we get the right vaccines for our environment; getting the right vaccines that are suitable for our cold-chain infrastructure,” he said. “We took all of the measures th...
Osun governor seeks government-citizens parley on security
Osun State governor Adegboyega Oyetola has urged the citizens to rally support for the government to protect the state against any form of security challenge. This was made known today while the Special Adviser to the Governor on civic engagement, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, visited Isale – Agbe community in continuation of the community engagement tour organized by the government. Speaking on behalf of the Governor, Oyintiloye reiterated that the only way by which insecurity could be defeated is through collective efforts of all communities in the state. “It’s generally believed that insecurity has become a topical issue in the national discourse, hence the need to pursue it as a common cause and work towards a society that is free of threat and violence. “As we are all aware, Osun remains on...
Okomu Oil Palm wants central bank to review anchor borrowers programme
Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc. wants a review of CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) to accommodate more farmers and to shore up the nation’s foreign earnings from agriculture. The ABP is targeted at smallholder farmers engaged in the production of rice, maize, wheat and cash crops like oil palm, cocoa and rubber, among others. Speaking with newsmen on Monday in Benin, Okomu Oil’s Managing Director, Dr Graham Hefer, noted that cash crop farmers were yet to fully benefit from the programme. He said food crop farmers had an edge because they could cultivate, harvest, sell and repay their loans within the specified one year period. “It is easy for farmers engaged in annual crops to meet their targets. “This doesn’t happen with cash crops because in the first three years of oil palm production...
Ex-DSS director: Some bandits are former Boko Haram militants
A former assistant director in the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, says some bandits are former members of the Boko Haram insurgent group. Speaking when he featured on an Arise TV programme on Saturday, Amachree said he learnt this from the confession of some bandits. He added that unlike the Niger Delta militants protesting pollution of their areas, bandits do not deserve amnesty as they are “faceless criminals”. “From investigations, we have even discovered that some of them were Boko Haram fighters,” he said. “Some of them have confessed to having fought with Boko Haram. And now, you have these people infiltrating, collecting money for ransoms, raping women and sending them back to Boko Haram. “Anybody who is comparing them to militants in the Niger Delta, I want to...
Nigerian government announces additional economic zones for agric, textile
The federal government has approved the expansion of the existing Free Trade Zones (FTZs), as well as the activation of existing ones to respond to the demands of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Managing Director, Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, who disclosed this Wednesday, further identified the new economic zones to include Funtua FTZ Katsina for textile and cotton, Lagos FTZ for medical, as well as Kwara for agriculture. Speaking while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), led by Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu in his office, Adesugba said the move seeks to boost the industrialisation agenda of the present admi...
Abducted NTA reporter regains freedom
Chidiebere Onyia, a reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), who was abducted on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by gunmen, has regained her freedom. The nursing mother was said to have been released by her abductors in the early hours of Sunday. Newsmen reports that Mrs Onyia was abducted on Tuesday evening at Woji while driving home after work. The police spokesperson in the state, Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed Mrs Onyia’s release in a statement on Sunday, described her release as a “Valentine gift to her family.” “The Rivers Police Command is pleased to announce the unconditional release of Chidiebere Onyia, a reporter with NTA Port Harcourt, who was kidnapped last week. “Her release was made possible due to the intense pressure mounted by the command as directed by ...
Cross River government demolishes over 200 illegal structures at Calabar market
The Cross River State Governnent on Sunday demolished over 200 illegal structures at the popular Ika Ika Oqua Market (Marian Market) along Marian road, Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of the state. Vanguard learned that most of the illegal structures owned by some traders not only obstruct vehicular movement but also constitutes huge nuisance because drainages have been blocked making the environment unhygienic. Speaking with newsmen on Sunday at the Ika Ika Oqua Market, the Commisioner for Environment, Hon Nfon Bassey, said the general clean up exercise was to make the market clean, hygienically excellent and safe as compared to markets of it’s kind. His words: “We are just doing a general clean up around the Ika Ika Oqua market. As you can see people have come to build shantie...
Nigerian Navy destroys 15 militant camps in Akwa Ibom, Rivers
Getty Images The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Jubilee, in Ikot Abasi local government area of Akwa Ibom state, said it has destroyed 15 militants camps within its area of jurisdiction in Akwa Ibom and some parts of Rivers state. The Commander, NNS Jubilee, Commodore Abdulmajid Ibrahim, who disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday at the base in Ikot Abasi local government area, Akwa Ibom state said the militant camps were discovered and destroyed during its anti-piracy and anti-sea robbery operations. He stated that the destruction of the militants’ camps by the Nigerian Navy was made possible through the raid of some of the 1,800 creeks within its jurisdiction, adding that the joint patrol operations of the Navy and Nigeria Police have resulted in relative peace and security in the area as well a...
INEC intensifies consultation on new polling units
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has intensified consultations with stakeholders on the creation of new Polling Units (Pus), across the country. The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, who held a meeting with the media in Abuja, yesterday, said that existing 119, 973 PUs, created 25 years ago had become grossly inadequate, leading to crisis situations during elections. He said, “Nigeria has a critical problem of voter access to Polling Units. The country currently has 119,973 Polling Units established a quarter of a Century ago in 1996 by the defunct National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON). At that time, the voter population was projected at 50 million. “The voters’ register increased to 84,004,084 by 2019. We envisage that by the next General Election in 2...
Senator Saraki: Former governor committed to PDP victory in 2023
Former President of the Senate and Chairman, National Committee on Reconciliation and Strategy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bukola Saraki, has said that former governors under the platform of the party are committed to the victory of the PDP in the 2023 general elections. Saraki also said that although the PDP doesn’t make noise about who is joining the party, but many, even those, who left the party are coming back to join the PDP. Addressing newsmen shortly after meeting with the former governors in Abuja, Saraki said, “yesterday we met with one of our former Presidents. Today we are consulting with our former governors who are key stakeholders and leaders in their states. “There is no way we can talk about consultations and unity of the party without consulting them. We have b...