Flowerbud News

Month: October 2023

  • President Buhari returns to Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja from New York where he participated in the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

    He aslo attended other official engagements on the sideline of the UNGA73 between Sept. 24 and Sept. 29.

    The theme for this year’s Session is: ‘Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies’.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presidential aircraft conveying the president, his wife, Aisha, and some members of his entourage took off from JFK International Airport on Saturday and landed at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on Sunday morning.

    The Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari and the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, were among government officials who welcomed the president at the airport.

    The highpoint of Buhari’s participation was his address on Tuesday to the General Assembly on the opening day of the General Debate.

    The president, in his presentation of Nigeria’s National Statement, sought global cooperation on security, anti-corruption, irregular migration, climate change, and UN reforms, among others.

    Buhari and his wife also attended a welcome reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his spouse for Heads of State and Government and their spouses.

    The president and his delegation attended the high-level ‘Mandela Peace Meeting on Global Peace’ in honour of the centenary birth of late South African President Nelson Mandela.

    The Nigerian delegation also participated in a high-level meeting on the ‘Fight against Tuberculosis’ organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    Nigeria currently ranks seventh amongst the high TB-burden countries globally, and second in Africa, where Mrs Buhari also delivered a statement.

    The Nigerian delegation attended a high-level meeting on financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit.

    Others are the ‘Second Annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum, high-level Meeting on Action for Peace-Keeping’; ‘Commemoration and Promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons’, high-level meeting on the ‘Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa’, and ‘Pathway to Localising a Global Agenda’.

    Also while in New York, Buhari had bilateral meetings with many African and world leaders including Bill Gates with a view to promoting national and African interests.

    Buhari also had interactive session with a selected group of Nigerian professionals based in the United States and Canada.

  • Nigeria advocates strong partnership, management of Lake Chad project resources

    Nigeria has stressed the need for strong partnership, effective monitoring and sound management of resources committed to the Lake Chad project.

    Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama stated this at a follow up meeting on the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad region on the sideline of the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York.

    The Acting Director, International Organisation Department, Mr Richards Adejola, represented the Minister at the meeting.

    The former informal meeting chaired by the Germany Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, had in attendance representatives of other co-hosts nations, which included Nigeria, Norway, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and UN

    The meeting discussed strategies for the implementation of the outcome document of the High Level Conference on the Lake Chad (OSLO 11) held in Berlin, Germany in September.

    The September international donor conference on the Lake Chad (Oslo 11) had pledged 2.52 billion dollars to help countries in the Lake Chad Basin address humanitarian crisis occasioned by Boko Haram insurgent.

    Germany’s foreign ministry said the aid would be disbursed “in the coming years” to Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, where the jihadist group launched frequent suicide bomb attacks from its bases in Lake Chad.

    The two-day conference, which was attended by more than 70 states, international organisations and non-governmental organisations, raised 672 million dollars in 2017.

    The Nigeria Minister thanked partners for their resilience and continued commitment to the cause of the Lake Chad region

    Foreign Minister of Chad, Hissein Taha, reiterated the need to anchor humanitarian assistance with future development needs.

    Taha advised on the over-arching need to address the main causes from the many challenges of the Lake Chad region.

    This he said, included the receding Lake Chad and ongoing efforts to curb the activities of Boko Haram insurgency in the area.

    Similar view were expressed by the Niger Foreign Minister, Kalla Ankourao, and the Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cameroon to the UN, Tommo Monthe.

    They expressed readiness to remain committed to the increasing partnership for the benefit of the  people and future development of the region. (NAN)

  • Labour suspends warning strike on new minimum wage

    The organised labour in the country comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC), has suspended its warning strike on a new minimum wage embarked upon on Sept. 26.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the organised labour had embarked on the strike after a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government for failing to come out with its own figure on the new minimum wage.

    The three labour unions had demanded N65,500 as new minimum wage for workers, while the private employers and some state governors were proposing N25,000.

    President of the NLC Ayuba Wabba said at a world news conference in Abuja on Sunday that the strike was suspended after government agreed to reconvene the tripartite committee’s meeting on the new minimum wage.

    Wabba said the meeting, scheduled to reconvene on Oct. 4, would enable the committee to conclude work on the minimum wage after the Federal Government must have given a figure on what it could afford for workers.

    “Indeed on Thursday morning, the strike action commenced and was observed across the country.

    “We similarly commend the members of the press for their vigorous and comprehensive reportage of the strike; we thank all Nigerians for their support.

    “We have received a firm and formal invitation to a reconvened meeting of the tripartite committee scheduled for Oct. 4 and Oct. 5, 2018.

    “We demand that this shall be the final session of the committee and that a final report will be submitted to Mr President immediately.

    “In order to avail the committee the necessary conducive environment to hold this crucial meeting and conclude its work, organised labour has after obtaining the mandate of their necessary organs, decided to suspend the strike with effect from today, Sunday Sept. 30, 2018,” Wabba said.

    He urged all unions and state councils to maintain a high level of mobilisation and readiness until the struggle for a reasonable minimum wage was achieved.

    Labour had earlier said that 21 states so far resolved to abide by whatever the tripartite committee agreed as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. (NAN)

  • Independence Day: Clergy calls for national reflection, repentance

    Independence Day: Clergy calls for national reflection, repentance

    Bishop of Okigwe South, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. David Onuoha said that the 58th anniversary of Nigeria should be used for sober reflection and repentance to move the Nation forward.

    Onuoha, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, enjoined Nigerians to praise the Almighty God for His grace, love and faithfulness which has sustained the nation.

    He said that the traditional Christian thanksgiving and Muslim Jummat services that were regular features of this event were obviously too cosmetic to attract God’s attention.

    “The unchecked wasting of innocent blood which has increased in frequency, the deep seated division along ethnic and religious lines, the growing level of impunity that is now a culture in our public life, the emergence of pseudo morality that evades and denies reality.

    “The nefarious effects of false spirituality occasioned by mercantile religion, the growing pain, suffering and hardship which Nigerians have had to bear on daily basis.

    “The present reality of some public officers appropriating the commonwealth of the people to themselves and their families without any twig of compunction are indicative of a mortal sickness.

    “Instead of the usual parades, parties and banquets that tend to encourage the status quo, our leaders, like the king of Nineveh, should lead Nigerians to seek the face of God through repentance and confession of our multitude of sins that it may be well with us,” he said.

    According to him, this step is necessary to heal the festering wounds that Nigerians are living with, and also bring us to the path of which the blessings of God are not withdrawn from us. (NAN)

  • Total trains 150 young entrepreneurs, doles out N30m starter-pack

    As part of its capacity building, Total says it has trained more than 150 youths in various skills this year with each of them given a starter-pack worth N200, 000.

    Mr Vincent Nnadi, the  Executive General Manager, Community Social Responsibility, Total Upstream Companies of Nigeria, said the beneficiaries were exposed to three months training both in Lagos and Abuja.

    He said the capacity building was part of the company’s initiative to transform the society by providing employment opportunities for  youths  and reducing poverty.

    According to him, the company’s community social responsibility is a a sustained commitment and an enduring culture of responsiveness to the needs of stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.

    Nnadi, who was represented by Dr Charles Ngeribara, the General Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd, said the organisation fully identified with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals numbers one and eight.

    “Through our capacity development initiatives, Total is empowering as many people as possible and actively supporting nation building efforts in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals numbers one and eight.

    The goals are `No Poverty,  Decent Work and Economic Growth”, and with Nigeria being home to the highest number of people living below the poverty line, this need has even become more urgent.

    “Total is determined to contribute to turning the tide against poverty in Nigeria.”

    Prof. Godwin Chukwu, the President, Toncia Consulting and Energy Services, the facilitator of the training, said youth employment and empowerment was a must for a brighter and better future for the country.

    According to him, after a close monitoring and follow-up, some of the trained youths have been invited for another training on business sustenance.

    “On the whole, were able to identify 52 of them — 25 in Lagos and 27 in Abuja also sponsored by Total.

    ‘“The essence is to see how these participants can become employers of labour, ” he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    One of the beneficiaries, Miss Gkwaza Christiana of KC Foods, who described the opportunity as unique, said she had been empowered to be financially independent and as an employer of labour.

    NAN reports that the young entrepreneurs were trained in paints production, inverter and solar systems production and installation, agriculture, web design and computer hardware installation.

    Others are catering, hospitality and crafts. (NAN)

  • Onitsha boils: Security operatives sack worshippers from church service

    … Faithful turn to prayer warriors, accuse govt of complicity

    The Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, Camp at Bishop Ajayi Crowther Primary school, Onitsha, Anambra State, is boiling as all manners of security operatives had in the early morning of Sunday, stormed the place, sacked the Anglican worshippers who came for the Sunday church service and locked the gate. (more…)

  • U.S. ambassador accuses China of ‘bullying’ with ‘propaganda ads’

    A week after an official Chinese newspaper ran a four-page ad in a U.S. daily touting the mutual benefits of U.S.-China trade, the U.S. ambassador to China accused Beijing of using the American press to spread propaganda.

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday referred to the China Daily’s paid supplement in the Des Moines Register, the state of Iowa’s biggest selling newspaper, after accusing China of seeking to meddle in the Nov. 6 U.S. congressional elections, a charge China denies.

    Trump’s accusation that Beijing was trying to meddle in U.S. elections marked what U.S. officials told Reuters was a new phase in an escalating campaign by Washington to put pressure on China.

    While it is normal for foreign governments to place advertisements to promote trade, Beijing and Washington are currently locked in an escalating trade war that has seen those level rounds of tariffs on each other’s imports.

    Chinese and U.S. experts have said that China’s retaliatory tariffs early in the trade war were designed to hit exporters in states such as Iowa that supported Trump’s Republican Party.

    Terry Branstad, the U.S. ambassador to China and the former longtime governor of Iowa, a major exporter of agricultural goods to China, said Beijing had hurt American workers, farmers and businesses.

    China, Branstad wrote in an opinion piece in Sunday’s Des Moines Register, “is now doubling down on that bullying by running propaganda ads in our own free press.”

    “In disseminating its propaganda, China’s government is availing itself of America’s cherished tradition of free speech and a free press by placing a paid advertisement in the Des Moines Register,” Branstad wrote.

    “In contrast, at the newsstand down the street here in Beijing, you will find limited dissenting voices.

    “You will not see any true reflection of the disparate opinions that the Chinese people may have on China’s troubling economic trajectory, given that media is under the firm thumb of the Chinese Communist Party,” he wrote.

    He added that one of China’s most prominent newspapers dodged the offer to publish his article, although he did not say which newspaper. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Parents complain of being harassed by schools

    ISLAMABAD: Parents have complained that their children are being harassed and even humiliated by the administration of private schools for paying their fees after the due date, arguing that such negative attitudes were affecting the mental health of their children.

    The complaints surfaced as parents had a heated debate with representatives of private school networks during a consultation meeting organised by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in Islamabad on Thursday over the high fees charged by private educational institutions.

    School fee hike: Large private schools made respondent as SC clubs petitions

    The meeting was chaired by NCHR Chairman Justice (retired) Ali Nawaz Chowhan. Parents said that if they tried to raise their voice against the management of private schools through any means, they were then targeted and threatened with the expulsion of their children.

    They further complained that they were often compelled to buy  books from the school at exorbitant prices, even if the same books were readily available in the open markets at comparatively lower prices.

    Kashif Ismail, a father of three children who all study at a private school in Lahore, told the human rights commission chief all three of his children had recently been harassed by the school’s administration after which the children had refused to go to school.

    “My only crime was that I raised my voice against the high fees [charged by the school] due to which my three children, aged six,10 and 12, were forced to spend an entire day in the school library and then made to stay there for an additional half an hour after the bell rang,” he cried, adding that this exercise continued for another seven days after which his children refused to go to the school and now no private school was admitting them.

    Another parent said that he had requested some private schools to give him some concession in fees for his daughter but he was asked
    to leave in an insulting way. Another parent complained that his child was humiliated in front of the entire class after a teacher asked the child to explain the delays in submitting school fees.

    Private school fees: Parents, students urge CJP to take note of exploitation

    “Due to such attitudes, our children are refusing to go to school, they feel insulted, embarrassed and are suffering from inferiority complexes,” the parents complained.

    The parents further complained about the approach of private schools, who now operate more like businesses rather than educational establishments who charge very high fees without providing quality education.

    In this regard, they pointed out that some private schools do not even have qualified staff who but are charging exorbitant sums. Similarly, private schools ask for a host of auxiliary charges such as laboratory fees, computer charges amongst other charges.

    Moreover, schools demand fees for extra circular activities but they lack grounds and activity areas to conduct these activities in. Schools who promote tree plantation campaigns do not even have a single tree in their school.

    “School administrations are like mannequins. If a parent raises any issue regarding fee hikes, they are unable to answer or do anything because the owners of these schools are mostly businessmen and they run them through a dummy administration,” said parents.

    Responding to the complaints, Private School Network Pakistan representatives explained that a small group of schools, who comprise only around five to six per cent of their members, have the
    business orientation parents were complaining of.

    “We must not forget all the other schools who are following the rules and regulations,” they said, adding, “We also condemn schools who violate the rules and challenge the state’s writ.”

    The private school network requested the NCHR to ask parents not to call them a mafia just because a few private schools were involved in such heinous crimes. After hearing both sides of the story, the NCHR chief asked private schools to submit detailed data about the schools who were violating the rules and who were in compliance.

    “Any school who creates a hurdle in the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution will not be spared,” the NCHR chairman said, as he summoned the private schools’ associations representatives along with the data on Monday for the next consultation.

    Parents were also asked to name those schools who were charging high fees in violation of of the rules.

    Culled from The Express Tribune

  • APC conducts peaceful Presidential Primaries in Edo

    By Igbaugba Ehigimetor

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo chapter, on Friday conducted a peaceful Presidential primaries across the State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as early as 7:30 a.m., voters started trooping into the venues  to participate in the primaries, while voting commenced at 11:30 a.m.

    Areas visited in the state capital like Oredo ward 7 and ward 11 showed  a large crowd of voters defied the heavy rain to exercise their franchise in the primaries.

    Speaking on the exercise, the State Secretary of the party, Mr Lawrence Okah, said  the massive turnout of electorate despite the rains, demonstrated the love the people have for the person of President Muhammadu Buhari and his leadership style.

    He said defying the rains was a demonstration of how they wanted Buhari to come back for second term.

    “You can see for yourself that the crowd was tremendous. We could not even finish counting.

    “As I speak in this ward 7, we have more than 1,147 persons voting for just one candidate, Buhari.

    “In spite of the rain, people came out. That is to show the support our president has. If this can happen in one ward, and we have 192 wards .

    “You  better imagine at the end of today, you will see a lot of people coming out to vote for Buhari. This is just a party matter.

    “It is raining yet people are coming out to vote. You can see for yourself. They have been here since 8:00 a.m. waiting for this day to come,” he said.

    NAN reports that security was tight in the centres visited as men of the Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were on ground to provide security. (NAN)