TUNJI OLANIYI
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has said that as part of efforts to increase power supply, by the end of this year another 945 megawatts (MW) would be ready for supply from four power plants in the country. (more…)
Caution
Abuja, Oct 22, 2018 (NAN) Senator Rose Oko, a Senator representing Cross River North in the Senate on Monday cautioned women to guard utterances in the build up of campaign for 2019 elections.
Oko gave the warning in a paper presented at a conference organised by Nehemiah Apostolic Centre in Abuja.
She explained that women who were contesting for elective offices must play by the rule and base their campaigns on issues not by insulting opponents.
“Men may do that and get away with it but the the society does not expect that women engage in campaign of calumny.
“Women must be courageous, focus their campaigns on issue based and convey their messages in a more dignified manner” she said.
The Senator decried low participation of women in the politics of the country pointing out that citizens and democracy would benefit more when they were more women in elected offices and in other sectors.
She disclosed that there were only seven females which represents five per cent in the senate of 109 and 20 females in the House of Representatives, representing 5.6 per cent while the male counterpart had overwhelmingly 93 per cent.
According to her, available data shows that out of 1,534 elective positions available at national and state levels in 2015, women only occupied about 86 while the men had 1,449.
“The record is even more depressing at state level, no female Governor in the 36 states of the federation, the closest women have attained is the position of Deputy Governors, which we currently have six of them”
The Legislator attributed the challenges to lack of funds, patriarchy and cultural barrier as well as lack of adequate mechanisms for monitoring electoral outcomes and protecting women’s mandate.
Earlier, the Convener of the conference, Obi Pax-Harry said that the objective was to build capacity of women and the youth for national development.
Pax-Harry noted that every stakeholders must come together to promote good governance in the country.
According to her, her centre is open to collaboration with any organisations both government and non governmental in achieving the goals. (NAN)
A group of international and local bikers, under the auspices of Latin American Motorcycle Association (LAMA), is on a tour of Nigeria’s heritage sites.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed while officially welcoming the team on Monday in Abuja, assured the bikers of a wonderful time during their tour.
The minister noted that the quest to promote the cultural heritage of Nigeria to the outside world was yielding fruit.
“As you tour Nigeria under the `Rediscover Heritage Bikers tour of Nigeria’ and visit historical heritage sites, you beam a satellite on those sites for the world to see.
“Nigeria is truly a blessed Nation with world class heritage sites and we have also gone the extra mile to preserve them.
“You will see these heritage sites as you travel through our country which is rich culturally and diverse as a nation.
“After this tour, I urge you all to become Nigerian Heritage ambassadors by spreading news of the hidden treasures.’’
Sites to be visited by the bikers include museums, monuments and homes of National heroes, amongst others.
In his remarks, the Acting Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mr Abdulkarim Kadir assured the bikers of a peaceful and hospitable stay in the country.
According to Kadir, the group will tour 11 states of the Federation to highlight the heritage sites, cultural assets and museums as well as the Osun Oshogbo World Heritage site.
“The aim of the tour is to rediscover Nigeria and its very rich cultural heritage.’’
“This expedition is intended to project the various heritage sites in Nigeria in a bid to draw attention to them to attract tourists and visitors.’’
The bikers embarking on the road trip are drawn from Nigeria, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, Paraguay, Germany and Holland, amongst other countries.
President of the LAMA bikers, Mr Mario Nieves said that they were in the country “to explore the culture of Nigeria, learn about Nigeria and then tell the world about Nigeria’’.
“We believe it is more important to be human than different people from various races; at the end of the day, we are all one people.
“We are just a humble group of motorcyclists that decided to organise and create some type of impact in our society,’’ he said.
Nieves said his team had experienced the good manners and respectful nature of Nigerians, noting that they would share the good memories when they return to their respective countries. (NAN)
Oil prices dipped on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia pledged to play a “responsible role” in energy markets, although sentiment remained nervous in the run-up to U.S. sanctions against Iran’s crude exports that start next month.
Front-month Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $79.62 a barrel at 0427 GMT, down 21 cents, or 0.3 per cent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $69.26 a barrel, dropping 10 cents from their last settlement.
U.S. sanctions against Iran’s oil exports are due to kick off on Nov. 4.
Top crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia has pledged to keep markets supplied in spite its increasing isolation over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
There has been concern that just as markets tighten with the start of the U.S. sanctions against Iran, Saudi Arabia could cut crude supply in retaliation for potential sanctions against it over the Khashoggi killing.
Trying to dismiss such worries, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday that “there is no intention” for such action, and that Saudi Arabia would play a “constructive and responsible role” in world energy markets.
Peter Kiernan, lead energy analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Singapore, said a Saudi cutback would be self-defeating as “Saudi Arabia would… risk losing market share to other exporters while losing its reputation as a stable actor in the market.”
In spite this, Sukrit Vijayakar, director of energy consultancy Trifecta, said “markets are… weary of the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil sector,” estimating the sanctions “could impact up to 1.5 million barrels per day of supply.”
J.P. Morgan said it raised its 2019 Brent price forecast by a whopping $20.50 per barrel to $83.50 saying this “bullish argument is strongly driven by tighter supply due to Iranian sanctions and declining spare capacity”.
Not everyone is so bullish. Shipping brokerage East port said crude prices were “expected to decline in coming months, as rising production in the U.S. offsets increasing global demand”.
U.S. crude oil production C-OUT-T-EIA has climbed by almost a third since mid-2016 to around 11 million barrels per day, and rising drilling activity points to further increases.
Reflecting a cautious outlook, traders have been curbing their exposure to oil markets by shutting long positions in crude futures, with fund managers cutting their combined positions by a total of 187 million barrels in the last three weeks, according to exchange and regulatory data. (Reuters/NAN)
U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Tibor Nagy will travel to Nigeria from November 7 to 10, the U.S. Department of State has said.
The Department, in a statement, said would also travel to the United Kingdom, France, Togo, Guinea, and Mali from October 29 to November 7.
The statement said the trip of the U.S. envoy would focus on Africa-U.S. trade ties, youth empowerment, peace and security.
Nagy, during the trip, would also convey his country’s “unwavering commitment to Africa,” the department said.
“During his trip, Assistant Secretary Nagy will focus on promoting stronger trade and commercial ties between the United States and Africa, harnessing the potential of Africa’s youth, advancing peace and security through partnerships, and conveying the United States’ unwavering commitment to Africa.”
“Nagy, while in Nigeria, will have meetings with government officials, religious leaders, civil society organisations, and youth groups, among others, and will deliver a speech at Baze University on U.S.-Africa relations.
The statement read: “The final stop on the trip will be Abuja, Nigeria.
“Assistant Secretary Nagy will have meetings with government officials, members of the American business community, religious leaders, civil society organisations, youth groups, and he will deliver a speech at Baze University on U.S.-Africa relations”.
In the United Kingdom and France, the Assistant Secretary would conduct bilateral meetings with his British and French counterparts.
Nagy would then travel to Lomé, Togo on November 1, where he would meet with Togolese government officials, and lead a regional U.S. Chiefs of Mission Conference.
In Conakry, Guinea on November 2 to 4, the U.S. envoy would conduct bilateral meetings with Guinea government officials, host a business roundtable, and meet with alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).
In Bamako, Mali on October 4 to 7, Nagy would hold meetings with Malian government officials, host a trade and entrepreneurship roundtable, and meet with YALI alumni. (NAN)
Dr Amina Bello, Niger state governor’s wife, on Wednesday said no fewer than 206 women in the state have benefitted from Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) free treatment by her NGO, RAISE foundation, in three years.
The first lady made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen at the Kontagora General Hospital during the latest round of free surgery for 50 women with VVF.
She said: “we do a VVF camp every quarter, where we get women who have the problem and bring them here and do the surgery for free.
“So far we have done a total of 206 from the time we first started and we are hoping to add another 50 this time around.
“We don’t do this on our own as we are in collaboration with Sani Bello foundation and Mainstream Foundation,” she added
According to the governor’s wife, she along with other fistula surgeons from Kano and Katsina were involved in the surgery and rehabilitation process of patients which averagely costs N150, 000.
She advised women to seek the services of skilled birth attendants during child labour to eradicate the disease.
“It can be eradicated if every a woman who is pregnant and who is in labour has skilled people attending to her.
“Most of the people who have VVF had it because of obstructed or prolonged labour and in such a situation only skilled persons will know what to do,” she said.
Mrs Bello decried the increasing level of stigmatization of women suffering from VVF, adding that it was an impediment for lots of sufferers to come out to seek treatment.
“One of the biggest challenges we are having is that we are not able to access a lot of these women suffering from the ailment.
“Alot of them are hiding because of the stigma; so getting them to come out is really tough for us,” she said.
VVF is a hole that develops between the vagina and the bladder, which results in uncontrollable leaking of urine through the vagina.
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Monday told his colleagues who won the primaries to see their victory as a call for service and not meal tickets. (more…)
Asian shares slipped on Monday as worries over Sino-U.S. trade disputes, a possible slowdown in the Chinese economy and higher U.S. borrowing costs tempered optimism, despite a rebound in global equities.
Not helping the mood, oil prices jumped and Saudi Arabian shares tumbled on rising diplomatic tensions between Riyadh and the West.
The situation arose after the monarchy warned against threats to punish it over disappearance of a journalist.
Oil prices reversed their downtrend since early this month.
Brent crude futures ros to 81.82 dollars per barrel,
Investors were also bracing for a European Union summit meeting from Wednesday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.9 per cent.
MSCI’s broadest gauge of the world’s stock markets , was off 0.1 per cent after a sizable 3.87 per cent decline last week to a one-year nadir, and marking its biggest weekly fall since March.
The market shakeout has been blamed on a series of factors, including worries about the impact of a U.S.-China trade war, a spike in U.S. bond yields this week and caution ahead of earnings season.
Although selling appeared to have abated on Friday, partly after Chinese trade data showed strong growth in September, many investors remained cautious.
“Some people say markets drew comfort from China’s exports data.
” But to me it seems so obvious the numbers were inflated by front-loading ahead of the introduction of tariffs,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Fujito said the trade war is starting to take a toll on growth in China, noting that data released later on Friday showed auto sales in China posted the biggest drop in seven years.
Over the weekend China central bank governor Yi Gang said that he still sees plenty of room for adjustment in interest rates.
According to him, the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) needs adjustment too, as downside risks from trade tensions with the United States remain significant.
Rises in U.S. borrowing costs are also seen hurting weak borrowers, especially those in emerging markets.
Although the U.S. 10-year yield posted its first major fall in about two months last week, any signs of inflation could push them up again. The yield rose 1.5 basis points on Monday to 3.156 per cent.
Also starting to attract wider attention, Saudi Arabia doubled down on pressure from the West on the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened “severe punishment” if it turns out Khashoggi was killed in the consulate.
Saudi Arabia’s shares plunged as much as seven per cent on Sunday, and closed down 3.5 per cent at their lowest levels since early January.
Shares in Dubai, a regional economic hub, slid 1.5 per cent to a low last seen in January 2006.
The British pound shed 0.4 per cent in early Asian trade on Monday to 1.3096 dollars after negotiators from the European Union and the UK failed to clinch a Brexit deal ahead of the crucial summit.
The euro traded at 1.1593 dollars, down slightly after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies suffered their worst election result since 1950 on Sunday.
The dollar is pressured against the yen after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday that Washington wants to include provision to deter currency manipulation trade deals, including with Japan.
That raised worry among Japanese policy circles that Washington would have right to label as currency manipulation any future foreign exchange market interventions by Tokyo to keep sharp yen rises in check.
In early trade, the yen is little changed at 112.20 per dollar. (Reuters/NAN)