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Navy’s newest offshore survey vessel begins homeward voyage to Nigeria
The Nigerian Navy (NN), says its newest offshore survey vessel, NNS LANA, has began her homeward journey to the country. This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Suleman Dahun. He, however, said the ship will visit ports in Lisbon, Las Palmas, Banjul and Tema-Ghana, before heading to Nigeria on May 17. According to Dahun, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, had addressed the ship’s company. The CNS noted that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives. Gambo acknowledged that the homebound voyage of NNS LANA was another milestone in the NN’s fleet recapitalisation efforts. He added that the induction of N...
Analysts: Printing currency could hurt economy
Analysts have expressed concerns over a recent claim that the federal government resorted to printing money to augment the monthly allocation to the three tiers of government, warning that it could heighten inflationary pressure with dire consequences for the country’s exchange rate and economy. The analysts, in separate interviews with newsmen, warned that a sustained policy of printing the currency, if not well managed, would hurt the economy. The concern came on the heels of recent revelation by Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, that due to the dwindling revenue in the face of declining oil revenue arising from the growing sources of alternative sustainable energy, the federal government had to print money to augment the amount available for sharing by the federal, state and lo...
Bayelsa: We won’t retrench workforce amid dwindling revenues – official
The Bayelsa state government has assured civil servants in the state that it had no plans to downsize the workforce, amidst dwindling revenue. The government said on Thursday that although it was contending with an unwieldy wage bill, it would seek alternative sources of revenue to shore up its finances. The Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai, gave the assurance at the transparency briefing for the months of January and February 2021, in Yenagoa, the state capital. Newsmen report that under the state’s Bayelsa Transparency Law, it had become mandatory for the government to make public its income and expenditures on a monthly basis. Ebibai, said the state government received N6.8 billion for February, 2021, as net receipts from the Federation Account, after first line deductions, as a...
DPR: Market forces should determine gas prices
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has advocated that market forces should be allowed to determine gas prices to guarantee the security of supply and demand of the commodity. Mr Sarki Auwalu, the Chief Executive Officer, DPR, disclosed this while presenting keynote address at the pre-summit conference on “Decade of gas’, in Abuja, on Monday. Auwalu said that the right and market-based pricing of gas was critical, as it would assure producers of returns on their investments. He also outlined five critical levers for gas development, especially as Nigeria moves to leverage its abundant gas resources for national growth, diversification of the economy and to use gas as the fuel for economic transformation. According to him, the levers include availability, accessibility, a...
Court declares SEC sanctions against Oando management null, void
Wikipedia Oando shareholders in the persons of Alhaji Yakubu Gumel; Alhaji Kabiru Tambari, suing for himself and on behalf of the Sokoto Zone Shareholders Association; Tunde Badmus, suing for himself and for the benefits of Pacesetters Shareholders Association, bagged yet another win at the Federal High Court (FHC) Kano, in a suit filed against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for overreaching its powers. Justice A. Lewis Allagoa presiding over the ruling dismissed the regulators preliminary objection and granted all the reliefs sought by the Oando Shareholders. The FHC Kano dismissed SEC’s objection on the basis that the shareholders’ claims fall under their rights as shareholders according to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and is therefore not a capital markets i...
AMAC chief signs over N10 billion appropriation bill into law
AMAC Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Chairman, Abdullahi Candido, has signed the Council’s 2021 appropriation bill of over N10 billion to law. He said the legislators have in consideration of some important issues and reviewed the budget upward. Candido made this known at the AMAC Secretariat in Abuja while signing the bill into law. He, however, assured residents within the council area that the budget will give priority attention to existing projects, while also taking care of other things. Candido also appealed to Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to release shares of the internally generated revenue due to the Area Councils. He hinted that, the councils were democratically elected by the people, therefore it must be accorded all constitutional rights. According to him...
UN official highlights values of water in fighting coronavirus pandemic
Water has many values that are just not priced, Sasha Koo-Oshima, the Deputy Director, Land and Water Division, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), told Xinhua ahead of the World Water Day on March 29. The official highlighted that with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a large part of the world population still lacks access to handwashing facilities at home. “This is the first line of defence against this virus and the value of water is very evident in this progression. “The first thing we realised is handwashing. Many countries just don’t have clean water to even just wash hands,” she said. The UN on Monday warned that more than two billion people do not have direct access to water, the “blue gold” which is essential in defeating the pandemic. In its World Water Development Re...
Katsina approves 5,000 hectares of land for ranching
The Katsina State Government has approved 5,000 hectares of arable farmland for ranching as part of efforts to curb the herders and farmers’ clashes in farming villages and communities across the state. Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who disclosed this during the 46th annual conference of the Nigerian Society for Animal Production held at the Federal University Dutsin-ma (FUDMA), Katsina, said ranching system will enable the children of herders to have qualitative education. He said that the only solution to the herdsmen and farmers crisis bedevilling some parts of the country is the establishment of ranches in the states, hence the provision of the 5,000 hectares of land. Masari, represented by his Special Adviser on Livestock and Grazing Reserve, Dr. Lawal Bagiwa, explained that apart from...
Benue governor says no more amnesty, negotiation with criminals
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, says his administration will no longer negotiate with or grant amnesty to criminals under any guise in the state. Ortom stated this on Saturday in Anyiin, Logo Local Government Area of the state at the burial of Mr Terkura Suswam, the slain elder brother of former governor, Sen. Gabriel Suswam. Newsmen reports that Suswam was killed along with his aide, Mr Solomon Utanor on March 2, close to his residence in Anyiin. The governor condemned the crime rate in Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala, reiterating his determination to end all forms of criminalities in the state. “There is no more amnesty, no more negotiation with them, (criminals) except they come back like the prodigal son and plead for forgiveness,’’ he said. According to the governor, the State Security ...
Activist asks court to compel Kano, others to refund VAT generated from alcohol
An Abuja-based activist, Sesugh Akume, has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in the nation’s capital, asking it to compel states that outlawed the sale of alcohol to refund the sums received through Value Added Tax imposed on alcoholic beverages. About 12 states practise Sharia law in Nigeria. They are Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Zamfara and Niger. Based on Sharia law, some of the states prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and usually hold public events where bottles of alcoholic drinks are destroyed while gambling is also illegal. However, all the states receive VAT collected from alcoholic beverages sold in other states that permit the sale of the product. In an originating motion brought pursuant to Section 1(3), 4(5), 162(3), (4...
ASUSS lauds Nigerian government over recognition as legal trade union
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) has commended the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity for granting recognition to the trade union in spite of an alleged deregistration plot against it by a rival union. ASUSS also saluted the Supreme Court of Nigeria for proving the judiciary as the last hope of the common man by upholding its appeal in a judgment delivered on January 15, where it held that ASUSS’ registration did not contravene the trade union statutes. This was contained in a statement entitled “A Woeful Cry; Agony Of A Loser” signed by ASUSS National Secretary Sola Adigun and made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday . Adigun, who doubles as the ASUSS Chairman in Ekiti, upbraided the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) for m...
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...
