Ovia North East
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...
NiMet predicts hazy, sunny weather activities Monday to Wednesday
Facebook Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted hazy, sunny weather activities from Monday to Wednesday across the country. NiMet’s weather outlook released on Sunday predicted dust haze conditions over the northern region with a moderate visibility range of 2KM to 5KM throughout the forecast period on Monday. According to it, the North central region is expected to be in sunny and hazy condition throughout the forecast period. “The inland and coastal cities of the South are expected to be in partly cloudy to cloudy condition with slim prospects of thunderstorms over Rivers, Cross River, Eket and Bayelsa in the morning hours. “There are prospects of few thunderstorms over parts of Cross River, Ebonyi, Delta, Awka, Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Benin and Lagos state during the a...
Edo guber: APM vows to resist move by national body to arm-twist state chapter
Barely two weeks to the September 19 governorship election in Edo State, the leadership of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in the State has vowed to stand against what it described as an intended time bomb and seeds of calamity being sowed by certain elements at the national level of the party, which if unchecked it said is capable of derailing the country’s democracy as well as breed insecurity in Edo State. The party’s State leadership declared that the plans of the elements at the national secretariat of the party to interfere, derail and sabotage the workings of the State leadership of the party with a view to hoodwinking and hijacking the party for personal gains would be resisted. Party Chairman Dr Samson Falana Isibor, who gave the warning at a press conference in Benin City, att...
Nigeria records lowest daily virus cases in three months
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 221 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in the country. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday. Newsmen report that the 221 new cases was the lowest number of cases recorded in the country in about three months. It recalls that on Aug. 4, Nigeria reported 288 COVID-19 new cases and 290 one week later, while another low figure of 252 was recorded on Aug. 25. NCDC said that there were more persons who died of COVID-19 related complications in the country in the last 24 hours with the national death toll rising to 1,010. The NCDC said that the number of recovery crossed the 40,000 mark after 317 more people were treated and discharged from isolation centres across the country. The agenc...
Governor Obaseki: Comrade Oshiomhole deceived 14 Edo Assembly members-elect
Edo State Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, deceived the 12 members-elect of the state’s Assembly who refused to present themselves for inauguration and two others whose seats were declared vacant, denying their constituents representation. The governor said this in Adolor Ward 4, Ekiadolor, Ovia North East Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, during his reelection campaign rally. Obaseki said the affected members-elect in their selfish pursuits and obedience to their godfather, Oshiomhole, betrayed the confidence reposed in them by their constituents after the house was proclaimed on June 17, 2019. “The godfather is very deceptive; he de...
Edo marketers defy petrol price reduction
AHA Taxis Independent petroleum Marketers within Benin metropolis in Edo, have continued to dispense petrol at N125 per litre in deference to the recently announced pump price of N108 per litre. It would be recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday announced a reduction in the ex-depot price of petrol to N108 per litre This was the second time the NNPC has dropped the price of petrol after its first reduction on March 19, 2020, to N125. However, investigation shows that filling stations across Benin, the capital city of Edo, still maintained their old pump price of N125 per litre. Speaking in separate interviews on Saturday, motorists lamented that five days after the directive, all the filling stations, including the NNPC Mega station, had refused to ad...
Edo APC leaders vow to replace Governor Obaseki during primaries
Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state have vowed to replace the incumbent governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, during the primary election of the party, saying no amount of blackmail and intimidation would cow them into submission. In a statement issued Thursday in Abuja, the APC leaders said their views represent the several thousands of APC leaders, stakeholders and members In Edo State whose determination to replace Mr Godwin Obaseki in the forthcoming gubernatorial election is unwavering. Among those who signed the statement were a former Minister of State for Works, Engr Chris Ogiemwonyi, three former deputy governors, Dr Pius Odubu, Rev. Peter Obadan and Lucky Imasuen respectively. Others were Gen. Charles Airhiavbere Rtd, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Hon. Saturday U. Idehe...
Edo clears 111 suspected coronavirus cases, 380 contacts
The Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Patrick Okundia, has said the state is making steady progress in the management of coronavirus (COVID-19), noting that all active cases of COVID-19 are being managed at different isolations centres across the state and are responding well to treatment. Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Okundia said Edo has discharged ten persons who have tested negative twice to the virus and exited another 491 persons, comprising 111 persons of interest (POIs) and 380 line-listed contacts, who have completed the compulsory 14-day follow up and tested negative. The commissioner noted that from the onset of the outbreak, Edo State has recorded a total of 593 suspected cases of COVID-19 and 65 confirmed cases spread across nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) of t...
