Traders
Rivers governor orders closure of Creek road, Bonny-Bille Jetty
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has reaffirmed the closure of Creek road in Port Harcourt to vehicular and human traffic beginning from midnight (Monday) to January 9, 2021. Governor Wike has also barred boat operators from using the Bonny -Bille Jetty during the same period. He stated this during inspection of the multi-million naira ultra modern Bonny-Bille jetty on yesterday. Governor Wike bemoaned the conversion of the dualised Creek road to market by traders and the filthiness of the Bonny-Bille jetty that is due for commissioning this Saturday. The governor while addressing residents of the Bonny-Bille waterfront, explained that the State government would from Monday midnight, close Creek road and temporarily shutdown the jetty for a thorough sanitation of the area. Governor Wike...
Ever-present Boko Haram threat casts shadow in Niger
Seven years after the first Boko Haram attacks in southeastern Niger, people in the city of Diffa, dare not even speak the group’s name. Residents live in a state of siege, frightened and struggling with the economic impact of the Islamist threat. For fear of reprisals, people speak of “insecurity”, of the “problems” or the “current situation”. The fear is well-founded, according to one security source who says Boko Haram sympathisers in the city pass on information to the group. Among the poorest countries in the world, Niger, which is holding presidential elections on Sunday, faces jihadist groups from the Sahel in the west and Boko Haram in the east. “I don’t have 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros) in my pocket. I have been unemployed for four years,” says Abdou Maman, 46, who has two wives a...
Bandits kill PDP chieftain, kidnap three daughters in Niger
A chieftain of the Peoples Democractic Party in Kampala ward of Bosso Local Government Area of Niger state, Alhaji Ahmodu Mohammed, has been killed by bandits. Ahmodu’s three daughters were also kidnapped by the bandits. An eyewitness told newsmen that the murder of Alhaji Mohammed, a successful farmer, took place Thursday after the bandits had paid two previous visits to his community. The armed men were said to have previously attacked traders at the popular Beji market. Thursday’s raid by the bandits who numbered about 15 and carried dangerous weapons took place around 2.00am, it was learnt. A family source told newsmen that: “This is the third time that the bandits are attacking the man. They have been coming before but they couldn’t succeed because the man is very powerful”. “He was s...
Lai Mohammed: My only regret as minister
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said his only regret as a minister is that some Nigerians have failed to appreciate that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is doing so much with little resources. Mr Mohammed stated this at a Special Forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said with dwindling resources, no government in the history of Nigeria has implemented programmes alleviating poverty among women and vulnerable groups as well as created jobs for the youth as the Buhari administration had done. The minister said his regret was that some Nigerians have failed to appreciate the efforts of the government but keep celebrating negative developments. “My regret in this government is that Nigerians have failed to appreciate that the ...
Angry mob set three armed robbers ablaze in Delta
Three suspected armed robbers were set ablaze by an angry mob early Tuesday morning, along Okumagba Avenue in the Warri South council area of Delta state. Newsmen learnt that two of the suspects were burnt at Emebiren Junction, close to the popular Robinson Plaza, while the other one was lynched at Eburu Junction. According to reports, the hoodlums were members of a gang, whose numbers could not be ascertained. A witness who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that they started the robbery operation from about 1 am in an unknown vehicle. A chemist, a fish farm, and a household, all within the Okumagba Avenue axis, were said to have been attacked by the hoodlums, who carted away an undisclosed amount of money and mobile phones. Other onlookers claimed they attempted to rob some female t...
AU welcomes Nigeria ahead of AfCFTA kick-off
The African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Albert Muchanga, said in Addis Ababa on Friday that instruments signifying Nigeria’s entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be received at the commission’s headquarters shortly ahead of next year’s kick-off of trading. Speaking during the AfCFTA Business Forum 2020 to discuss the status of preparations to launch the continental trading, Muchanga said the launch of trading will facilitate the growth of African enterprise and enhance the capacity of industries producing goods to a wider population. Nigeria, which signed the AfCFTA agreement in 2019, officially ratified the agreement on 12 November. The instruments of ratification are expected to be received at the AU on Saturday, 5 December, the deadline for the...
Naira weakens to lowest in three years
The Naira yesterday weakened to the lowest in over three years in the parallel market due to increased demand for dollars amid foreign-currency shortages. The local currency depreciated to N495 to a dollar yesterday, lowest since February 23, 2017, widening the gap with the official rate of N379.5 to over 30 per cent. The currency traded in the interbank market at 389.74 as of 4:54p.m. in Lagos. Agency reports quoted traders as alleging a groundswell of diversion of dollars, a development which heightened scarcity of the green back in the parallel market this week. There is a diversion of inflows away from official channels to the parallel market due to the gap in rates, Murega Mungai, trading desk manager for Aza Finance said in a note Thursday. The market spread has created arbitrage opp...
Traders burn 10-year-old boy for ‘stealing’ food
A 10-year-old boy, Ifeanyi, was on Saturday thrown into a fire for allegedly stealing a small measure of uncooked rice in a market at Inikiri Benard village, Effium community, in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Newsmen gathered that the lad’s mother was late, while his father was mentally-challenged. A community source said, “The boy was thrown into a fire by two traders who accused him of stealing rice from a shop at the market to cook for himself and his father.” The Chairman of Human Rights Defenders, Ebonyi State chapter, Mr Sam Nweke, condemned the inhuman act meted out to the kid. He said, “HURIDE got a call from one Mr George Etamesor, on the grave abuse of this poor boy. This was because he was caught trying to steal some rice in their village market. They tied h...
Nigerian traders in Ghana attempting suicide over maltreatment
Some Nigerian traders in Ghana are considering suicide as option, following rising cases of frustrations, biting hunger and sad feelings of grave abandonment occasioned by the recent actions taken by Ghanaian government against the traders, Progressives Ambassadors of Nigeria has said. Many shops belonging to Nigerian traders were shut in Ghana following a $1m levy imposed on them by the government of the West African country. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Nigeria’s Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently visited the country with a view to resolving all the issues. But Daily Trust gathered that the Ghanaian government has not heeded the pleas of the Vice President and the Speaker. Speaking on the latest development on Monday in a statement, the PAN Director of...
Nigerians dying quietly from toxic preservatives in foods – scientists
Food processors and sellers across Nigeria are using toxic chemicals to improve the look of many food items, including cassava flour, beans and fish, scientists have said. The experts explained that with the practice, millions of people are subjected to the risk of experiencing kidney problems and cancer. They claim that weak government testing capacities and informal food supply chains leave traders and fishermen with little oversight and offer almost no protection to unwary consumers. Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships), University of Ibadan, Professor Adenike Adeyemo, stated that many of the toxic chemicals are added as preservatives but are not safe for human consumption. Adeyemo, a professor of Aquatic Epidemiology and Toxicology, declared that the...
Edo court orders driver, two traders to cut grass for three days
A Mobile Court in Uselu, Egor Local Government Area of Edo, on Saturday, sentenced two traders and a driver to community service for displaying wares and parking vehicle in unauthorised places. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Mutairu Oare, handed down sentence after they had pleaded guilty. Oare directed the convicts to cut grass at the unused Government House gate on Golf Road, GRA, Benin, for one hour for three days. He, however, gave the traders, Francis Nwatu and Emmanuel Lele, an option of N3,000 fine each and the driver, Monday Imaduvbanyi, an option of N10,000 fine. The chief magistrate ordered that the vehicle be impounded until the driver served the sentence. He directed that the correctional centre in Benin should supervise the convicts to serve out their punishment if they failed to pa...
Nigeria begs to traders not to hike prices
The Federal Government has appealed to traders not to hike prices of food items and transportation as the country battles to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism, made the appeal at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 daily news briefing on Thursday in Abuja. He said it was necessary that market women and men understood the enormity of the time regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that there is a need to show compassion to all Nigerians by not hiking prices of foodstuff and services. The minister said that this period was a time to give back to society while calling on Nigerians not to take the opportunity of COVID-19 to further oppress other Nigerians. “This is a time people are giving back to s...
