Flowerbud News

Author: Lara Olaniyi

  • No life lost in collapsed building in Enugu –Police

    The Police Command in Enugu State has said that no life was lost in the collapsed three storey building under construction in Enugu metropolis.

    The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said this in a statement in Enugu on Friday.

    Amaraizu said that the incident took place on Wednesday around Monarch Avenue axis of Independence Layout in Enugu metropolis.

    “From preliminary investigations, it is clear that no life was lost in the incident and no other property was lost rather than the collapsed building under construction.

    “The members of the public should discountenance any other information to the contrary on the incident being circulated in the social media,’’ he said.

    According to him, the cause of the incident is yet to be established.

    “Investigation on the incident is still on as the Command plans to get to the bottom of the matter,’’ he said.

    However, an eyewitness, Mr Clifford Eze, said that the collapsed might be due to use of sub-standard building materials and engineers to execute the project.

    Eze, who is one of the residents of the area, said that the block work for the uncompleted building had already been completed and was at the verge of being roofed.

  • FG directs NCC to block 9.2m sim cards

    The Federal Government has directed telecommunication operators, through the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) to block about 9.2 million sim cards without proper registration.

    The directive followed the submission of the short-term performance by the NCC as directed by the Minister of Communications Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

    Recall that Pantami had directed all Agencies and Parastatals under his purview to submit their baseline short-term performance targets report.

    Based on the directive, the NCC submitted its report in which it stated the figures of improperly registered SIM cards in use around the country.

    The Commission in its report disclosed that an estimated nine million two hundred thousand (9.2M) SIM cards did not comply with the proper procedures of SIM registration.

    To ensure maximum compliance, Dr Pantami directed NCC to ensure all mobile network operators block all SIM cards that do not meet proper registration standards until users comply with proper re-registration procedures.

    The security implication of this irregularity is too grave to ignore and the Federal Ministry of Communications will not tolerate any actions or inaction that will compromise the nation’s security.

  • Global Fund: FG to stop diversion of malaria drugs

    he Federal Government says it will engage law enforcement agencies against parties whose actions or inactions lead to diversion of anti-malaria drugs (ACT) supplied to Nigeria by Global Fund.
    Dr Evelyln Ngige, the Director Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, disclosed this at the 62nd National Council of Health Meeting on Friday in Asaba.
    Ngige said the Global Fund financed the procurement and distribution of 16,290,250 ACTs to health facilities in the 13 states in 2018
    “However, only 8,189,226 malaria cases (presumed and confirmed) were reported as treated with ACTs across the 13 states for the same year.
    “These numbers highlight an apparent discrepancy between the service and consumption; this is of serious concern not only for the Federal Ministry of Health but also for our donors, the Global Fund.
    “Having implemented the grant thus far and following examination of grant report for 2018; it became clear that not all malaria commodities distributed to health facilities in the states could be accounted for particularly ACT,’’ she said.
    She said in some places some of these commodities have been found in private pharmaceutical companies, some were on the street even though they are labelled `not for sale’.
    “We don’t know how these commodities that were officially delivered to the states are found on private vendors and Global Fund is aware of it; this put Nigeria in a very bad light,’’ she said.
    Ngige said tax payers in those countries contributed to help Nigeria “yet we are selling commodities that are for people who cannot afford ‘’ so that we can reduce out of pocket expenses towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
    She therefore appealed to States to investigate the matter further so as to identify the parties whose action or inaction led to the observed discrepancies between the ACT distributed to health facilities and reported number of malaria cases treated.
    She said strict sanctions should be applied to all found culpable, stressing that accountability systems should be put in place to ensure that the most vulnerable population in states continues to benefit from the support from the Global Fund.
    The director warned that if much was not done by the state governments, the federal ministry of health would engage law enforcement agents to save the face of the country from further embarrassment.
    She added that global fund was very upset over the issues and the organisation was lamenting over the little achievements in the fight against malaria.
    The director said the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing organisation established by the United Nations in 2002.
    She added that Global Fund aimed to attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
    According to her, Global Fund has contributed over one billion US dollars to malaria since inception of its support to Nigeria in 2004.
    “Global Fund malaria grant 2018-2020 currently being implemented in Nigeria are focused at supporting 13 States which include Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Taraba and Yobe.
    “These states are accounting for 42 per cent of malaria burden in Nigeria,’’ she said.

  • How Public, private partnerships drive agricultural devt

    Dr Adetunji Oredipe, Task Leader of the World Bank Assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity, Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) Project says there are potentials embedded in public and private partnerships to drive agricultural development.

    Oredipe said this during the Lagos State Agricultural Stakeholders Engagement, held in Lagos.

    He said that the World Bank APPEALS project was invited to fine-tune and make suggestions that would help the state agricultural policies and strategies in the next four years.

    “Today, we are discussing the agricultural strategy of Lagos State Government going forward in the next four years and in doing that, there are a number of elements that should come together.

    “From the basic projects and policies that will be driven by the ministry, we also know that there are externally financed projects that will support such initiative, such as the APPEALS and FADAMA.

    “We have been invited to be part of that discussion to give suggestions to fine-tune the state agricultural policy and more importantly to contribute from the point of somebody who has been supervising some of these interventions.

    “We need to see that these interventions dovetail and add value to the overall objective that is being pursued in the sector,’’ he said.

    Oredipe said that the Lagos State APPEALS had featured in many initiatives by the Federal Government, adding that the state had played a major role in FADAMA and other interventions.

    According to him, Lagos is a place that has the market for agriculture and other items that are needed in the sector because it has the population, sea, rail and land advantages.

    “We look at Lagos not only to serve as a critical state in the APPEALS project but as a state that will help us in the downstream side of what we have been doing.

    “You know that the project is looking at the livestock sector, specifically poultry and rice where Lagos is doing a lot while partnering with other states,“ he said.

    A former Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Yakub Bashorun said that government could not work alone but there was need for a round-table to deliberate on development and way forward.

    Bashorun said: “The Chinese saying that goes, nobody has a monopoly of wisdom, I think, is what is driving the state government to invite stakeholders to rub minds and develop a blueprint that they can now implement.

    “On their own, they can’t sit at the ministry and think of what they feel are the farmers’ and stakeholders’ problems. The stakeholders are from the various sectors along the value chain of the agricultural business.

    “They know where the shoe pinches and they will be able to tell government, this is where you need to pay attention, this is where you de-emphasise and this is how and when you do it.

    “At this kind of forum, we identify partners that you can work with to deliver on the idea of the state governor to make Lagos a 21st century economy,’’ he said.

    Bashorun said there were things government could do but there were things the private sector, which is where the business aspect come to play must do by themselves with the government supporting and providing enabling environment.

    “However, there are areas that require public and private partnerships with multilateral organizations like the World Bank, FAO among others and APPEALS falls into this category to provide critical support to meet farmers’ needs, especially at the lowest ebb of production.

    “Not big time farmers, but those struggling, and that needs a bit of assistance to cross the threshold of profitability and wealth creation,’’ he said.

    He expressed hope that the road to providing a better Lagos for everyone by the Governor Sanwo-Olu-led administration would be successful.

    The State Commissioner of Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal had earlier said that it had become necessary to engage stakeholders positively in the quest to improve productivity.

    Lawal said that the growing population was propelling the need to achieve a potential percentage of food sufficiency in the state.

    “With the growing population and the challenge of meeting food sufficiency, the state government is working hard to ensure that we produce potential percentage of what we consume.

    “The government wants agriculture to feature prominently in the fourth pillar of the six agenda of the government to make Lagos a 21st century economy,’’ the commissioner said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stakeholder’s engagement was to draw a four-year roadmap for the agricultural sector of the state.

    Stakeholders from all the value chains in agriculture were present to discuss and suggest way forward to develop the sector.

  • Hong Kong government warns against foreign interference in crisis

    Hong Kong’s Government on Monday warned foreign governments not to interfere in the city’s “internal affairs,” following weekend protests that called for U.S. support in the three-month-old crisis.

    In a statement, the government also condemned “the illegal behaviour of the radical protesters’’ after violent clashes overnight between some protesters and police.

    The continued protests in the Asian financial hub came despite the city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, last week formally withdrawing the controversial extradition bill that had triggered the crisis.

    The bill would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China.

    Since protests began on June 9, they have escalated into mass anti-government demonstrations with demands including calls for electoral reform.

    Protesters have said they will continue to demonstrate until their demands are met.

    On Sunday, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents marched to the U.S. consulate to deliver a petition asking the U.S. Congress to sign a bill containing punitive measures for officials found to have suppressed “basic freedoms”.

    Later in the day, police fired tear gas and non-lethal bullets at anti-government protesters as demonstrations escalated across the city.

  • FIBA World Cup: Spain brush aside Serbia, Argentina thump Poland

    Spain secured their fifth successive win of the World Cup with an impressive 81-69 defeat of Serbia and Argentina matched them with a 91-65 rout of Poland on Sunday.

    All four sides had booked their quarter-final spots with a match to spare and the results mean that Spain will face Poland and Serbia lock horns with Argentina for places in the semi-finals.

    France play Australia today for top spot in their pool with both teams already through to the last eight.

    Also today, holders the United States meet Brazil and the Czech Republic play Greece with all four sides in that group still in contention to reach the knockout rounds.

    Serbia, who won their opening four games by an average margin of 41 points, looked set to continue the streak after racing into a 20-11 lead late in the first quarter.

    An energetic Spanish roster then ground Serbia’s offence to a halt and hit a barrage of three-pointers at the other end to carve out a 42-37 advantage at halftime.

    Serbia’s Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic was ejected early in the second half for a double technical foul after loud dissent and Spain capitalised on his absence as their lead soared to 63-42.

    A late Serbian fightback fell short as a smaller but more agile Spanish team kept collecting offensive rebounds and restricted their rivals to three successful shots from three-point range from 19 attempts.

    “The Spaniards rocked us with their tough defence and ripped our game plan to shreds,” Serbia captain Miroslav Raduljica told the Balkan nation’s RTS television.

    “Their scouts did a great job and we couldn’t find a way to turn things around.”

    Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica added: “It was an exceptionally poor performance and we need to regroup quickly.”

    Livewire playmaker Ricky Rubio led Spain with 19 points, forward Victor Claver added 14 and centre Marc Gasol chipped in with 11, cancelling out a valiant solo effort by Serbia guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

    The Argentines ripped into Poland with a flurry of fast breaks and clinical long-range shooting as forward Marcos Delia nailed 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter.

    Their 39-year old forward Luis Scola again rolled back the years as he finished with a game-high 21 points, while Delia scored 12 and Nicolas Brussino added 10.

  • Euro 2020 Qualifiers: Spain beat Faroe Islands 4-0 for sixth straight win

    Spain homed in on Euro 2020 by easing past the Faroe Islands 4-0 on Sunday for a sixth straight qualifying win.

    The match featured two goals each from Rodrigo and Paco Alcacer and moved Spain further clear at the top of Group F.

    Sergio Ramos equalled Iker Casillas’ record of 167 appearances for Spain on an emotional night at Sporting Gijon’s El Molinon stadium, which paid tribute to the late Spain and Sporting forward Quini before kick off.

    A minute’s silence was also held in memory of former Spain coach Luis Enrique’s daughter Xana, who passed away last month.

    There followed a straightforward win that took Spain on to a maximum 18 points after six games and leaves them seven ahead of second-placed Sweden, who drew 1-1 at home to Norway.

    Romania beat Malta 1-0 with a goal from George Puscas to leapfrog Norway into third place on 10 points.

    Valencia striker Rodrigo tapped into an empty net to put Spain in front in the 13th minute despite being in an offside position when he received a pass from Mikel Oyarzabal.

    But with video technology not in use in the qualifying phases, the goal stood.

    Rodrigo doubled Spain’s lead in the 50th minute on coach Robert Moreno’s home debut by cutting in from the right wing and firing a left-footed shot towards goal which took a heavy deflection off a visiting defender on its way into the net.

    Alcacer then entrenched his reputation as a highly productive substitute by further stretching Spain’s advantage with simple strikes in the 89th minute and deep in stoppage-time.

    Midfielder Thiago Alcantara said the team had not played as well as they would have liked due to the visitors’ negative tactics.

    “It was very tough at first, you expect a team like them to close you down and sit back and that’s what happened and we struggled to break them down,” he said.

    “They had three players marking one of ours although once we got the first goal it was slightly easier. We still weren’t completely comfortable but we’re happy with the result.”

    With the top two sides in each group guaranteed a place at Euro 2020, Spain need only to win two of their remaining four games to qualify for the tournament, but Thiago said his side were determined to win every match.

    “We are focused on getting all the points, it doesn’t matter to us when we qualify, we want every point, from the first to the last,” he added.

  • BBNaija (S4): Omashola wins Veto power

    Omashola Oburoh has won this week’s veto power of chance in the ongoing BBNaija season four.

    With this card, he gets to save and replace himself if he is put up for eviction.

    Omashola can also decide to another housemate with the privilege and put himself up for eviction.  He clinched the card on Sunday night, shortly after Venita’s eviction.

    The challenge, which was the fastest so far in the game, saw Omashola win 100 Bet9ja coins and the save and replace privilege that comes with the position.

    The challenge was a simple one of unlocking a padlock from one steel wire mesh and placing the unlocked padlock on a stool next to the table of keys.

    There were 33 padlocks locked on the steel wire mesh with their keys placed randomly on the table.

    All the Housemates were asked to do was pick one and open a padlock. The Game did not go long as expected as Omashola unlocked a padlock in record time.

    Although Omashola was the first to unlock his padlock, he was closely followed by Mercy and Ike.

    The Icy pair have been doing quite well in house games recently. They both competed fiercely to jointly win the current Head of House title.

    Following his win, an excited Omashola, who escaped eviction on Sunday, shouted, “I get another week in the House.”

  • Oil rises as Saudi signals OPEC cuts to continue under new minister

    Oil rose on Monday on expectations that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, will continue to support output cuts by OPEC and other producers to prop up prices under new Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

    Prices climbed for a fourth day and were also supported by comments from the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister that OPEC and its allies are committed to balancing the crude market.

    Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 was up 61 cents, or 1 per cent, at 62.15 dollars a barrel by 0649 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up 65 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at 57.17 dollars a barrel.

    Salman, a long-time member of the Saudi delegation to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, was named minister on Sunday, replacing Khalid al-Falih.

    He is the son of Saudi King Salman.

    It is the first time the energy portfolio has been handed to a member of the royal family.

    He helped to negotiate the current global agreement on supply cuts between OPEC and non-OPEC countries including Russia, a group known as OPEC+.

    A Saudi official said on Sunday there would be no shift in Saudi and OPEC policy.

    “The change at the top doesn’t necessarily mean a shift in policy as much as it’s being viewed as a move to improve relations within OPEC and with non-OPEC producers in the wake of the latest Russian compliance fissures,” said Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at Axi Trader.

    Russia’s oil output in August exceeded its quota under the OPEC+ agreements.

    UAE Energy and Industry Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Sunday that members of OPEC and non-OPEC producers were “committed” to achieving oil market balance.

    Trade and geopolitical tensions are affecting the market more than demand and supply, Mazrouei said, but he was quick to rule out hasty steps influenced by the trade war between the United States and China.

    “The fear of slower (oil) demand is only going to happen if that tension is escalating and I am personally hopeful that is not the case,” Mazrouei told Reuters on Sunday.

    Prices on Monday were also supported by a rise in oil imports in China in August,with  shipments to the world’s biggest importer up three per cent from July and nearly 10 per cent higher in the first eight months of 2019 from a year earlier.

    In the United States, drilling companies cut the number of operating oil rigs for a third week in a row last week.