Category: General News

As the global community celebrates the 2018 World Photo Day on Sunday, Photojournalists Association of Nigeria (PJAN), Abuja Chapter, has underscored the important contribution of photography to national development.

To this end, the Chairman of the association, Mr Yomi Fayese, has urged state governments to emulate the Federal Government by appointing qualified photographers to high positions in their various governments.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, Fayese lauded the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for promoting the development of photography as a trade and profession.

Fayese noted that for a long time in Nigeria’s development previous military and civilian governments never appointed any photographer to a high position before this administration.

“Since the 1960s, neither the Federal nor state governments appointed a photographer in his professional capacity to the position of Personal Assistant to the President.

“I give kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for appointing Sunday Aghaeze, Bayo Omoboriowo and others, as Personal Assistants on Photography and Documentation in the Presidency.

“I challenge state governors to emulate the Federal Government by appointing qualified photographers to high positions.

“We have over 5,000 professional photographers plying their trade in Nigeria and there is no reason why some of them cannot get government appointments and National Awards they qualify for.

“Many of our photographers are highly educated and experienced to merit government appointments but previous administrations had always looked the other way when Nigerians are to be given appointments.”

Similarly, Zacchaeus Tidzalla, Blueprint Newspaper’s State House Photographer, extolled the contributions of photographers to national development, saying: “Photographs speak volumes.

“A photographer can vividly portray what a written story of more than 1,000 words cannot do.

“Many of us were born after Nigeria’s independence in 1960. It is the photographs of pre-independent Nigeria and the hand-over of the colonial masters to the Nigerian elite that give us an idea of what things looked like then.

“About two years ago, a Nigerian photojournalist captured vividly how some soldiers were brutalising a civilian on the street of Nyanya in Abuja; the photograph was published by a Nigerian newspaper and government reacted swiftly.

“That single photograph drew the attention of the public and the government to a wrongful act of some men in uniform; and has led to the establishment of military-civil relations by the army.

“Photographers, through their work, have been able to document facts and realities about some ills in the society”, Tidzalla told NAN.

In a separate interview with NAN, Femi Adebesin-Kuti, Photo Editor of the Guardian Newspaper, said that Nigerian photographers compare favourably with their foreign counterparts in the areas of reporting sports, oil and gas, tourism and corporate world, among others.

Adebesin-Kuti urged Nigerian photographers to improve on the practice of photography from where notable photographers such as Peter Obe, Sam Olusegun and Sunmi Smart-Cole left it.

Also speaking with NAN, Olayinka Akintunde, Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media and Communications noted that photojournalism had helped to enhance and re-define journalism through the use of photographs in reporting of news in print, electronic and online media.

“Photojournalism has opened up new avenues for gathering news from small, self-published newsletters, to the online blog.

“These new avenues mean an increased market and an accelerated pace for the transmission of news through photographic images,” Akintunde said.

NAN reports that World Photography Day is observed worldwide on Aug. 19 every year to inspire understanding of the importance of photography.

On this occasion, millions of people capture capture different ideas and share their world with others and try bringing more happiness through photography.

The day inspires many photographers around the world to disseminate their idea of a single picture with their single purpose, yet motivating multiple minds to think different.

1. This day witnessess a global gallery of images being captured by different people with different skills and levels of knowledge across the world. (NAN)

housing and construction expert, Mr Abdulfatai Efty,  has urged the FCT Development Control to evolve a realistic and practical system to properly monitor construction sites and enforce building codes.

Efty, a board member of the Chicago Association of Realtors, U.S., made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

NAN reports that a four-storey building located at Jabi, Abuja collapsed at about 1.30 p.m on Friday, Aug. 17 killing one person and injured six others.

He called for a well structured and regulated industry where licensed professionals as practitioners were very critical to the development of the nation.

He said that situations where artisans were left to supervise building construction sites at the expense of professional builders all in the name of saving cost should be stopped.

“Until we appreciate the importance of professionalizing and regulating the various sector of our real estate industry and stop our desire for cheap labour and cutting corners, we have a lot of work on our hands.

“A lack of proper building codes and site supervision is just calling for nothing but a continued re-occurrence of building collapse and lost of innocent lives.

“Nigeria has what it takes to achieve all these and more but the biggest missing link is the political will. When are we as a nation going to learn a lesson?

NAN gathered  that the four-storey building had been there for over 15 years before  construction work began on the site only three months ago.

Efty, however, called for strict adherence towards the implementation of the national building codes in the country.

He asked, “Who gave the approval for the continuation of construction on a building that has been abandoned for 15 years?

“Abuja Development Control must evolve a realistic and practical system where all construction sites are properly monitored and building codes enforced.

“Until people start going to jail, this penny wise pound foolish attitude will not stop” he added.

Also, a University Lecturer and Building Expert, Dr Ibrahim Inuwa urged the government to carry out comprehensive assessment on the collapsed building to forestall future reoccurrence.

Inuwa, Senior Lecturer, Department of Quantity Surveying, Abubakar Tafawa Bello University, Bauchi, added that most time the cause could be due to quackery or unethical professional practice. (NAN)

The Lagos State Government has said that the Third Mainland Bridge will be temporarily shut down for from midnight of August 23 to midnight of August 26, 2018 for Investigative Maintenance Test to be carried out.

The State’s Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ade Akinsanya,in a statement on Sunday appealed for the cooperation, support and understanding of all motorists and residents during the closure.

He said the decision for the four-day closure was reached after consultations with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

The four-day closure, according to Akinsanya, will enable the contractors assess the true state of the bridge after which works would commence by the end of the year or early in 2019.

He said that the Federal Government had earlier announced plans to shut the bridge in July, but postponed it in order to have wider consultation with the state government and other relevant stakeholders to avert gridlock.

Akinsanya said: “The 3rd Mainland Bridge which was opened about 30 years ago by the then military government has had haphazard maintenance and repairs in the past which the present Federal Government is committed to correct by carrying out proper and continuous maintenance and repairs on it.”

The commissioner said that all traffic management agencies had been mandated to ensure smooth
flow of traffic on all alternative routes across the metropolis to ensure free flow of traffic. (NAN)

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says a total of 509,668,433 transactions valued at N32.90 trillion was recorded in the banking sector during the second quarter.

The NBS stated this in its “Selected Banking Sector Data: Sectorial Breakdown of Credit, ePayment Channels and Staff Strength (Q2 2018)’’ report released in Abuja.

According to the report, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions dominated the volume of transactions recorded.

It said 217,417,961 volume of ATM transactions valued at N1.603 billion was recorded in the period under reveal.

“In terms of credit to private sector, the total value of credit allocated by the banks stood at N15.34 trillion as at the second quarter.

“Oil and Gas and Manufacturing sectors got credit allocation of N3.45  trillion and N2.02 trillion respectively to record the highest credit allocation as at the period under review.

“As at the second quarter, the total number of banks staff increased by 13.67per cent, from 89,608 in first quarter to 101,861,” the report stated. (NAN)

Niger state government has released N77 million to Soject Nigeria Limited, for immediate completion of collapsed Dangana bridge in Lapai Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Zakari Abubakar, disclosed this to newsmen when the state Deputy governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso inspected the bridge on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that the bridge collapsed in 2017 and an alternative diversion created got flooded during a heavy rain on Thursday night leaving communters including vehicles conveying for burial the corpse of the late mother of Mr Jonathan Vatsa, Former Commissioner of Information stranded.

Zakari said that already the state government had made payment to the contractor, adding that the sum of N77 million was released  to enable the contractor complete the construction of the bridge.

Ketso said that the reconstruction of the bridge was part of the state government intervention to fix the collapsed bridge to ease vehicular movement.

He directed the contractor to create a temporary diversion for motorists and appealed to communters to exercise patience, adding that measures have been taken to hasten the construction work.

” We want to appeal to the road users to be patient as we are doing everything possible to fix the bridge to reduce the hardship being experienced by our people plying the road.

“Though the road is a federal road, we cannot just seat and watch our people going through hardships that is why we are intervening before the federal government assistance comes, ” he said

Meanwhile, Mr Milad Jarbanda, Contractor, Soject Nigeria Limited, said that the contract for the reconstruction of the bridge was awarded to the company at the cost N470 million.

He gave assurance that the construction of bridge would be completed within the next few weeks.

Malam Kabiru Umaru, a motorist who spoke to NAN, expressed dissatisfaction with the quick intervention of the state government over the rehabilitation of the bridge that collapsed on January 2017.

“I am a regular user of this road, because I convey passengers from Lapai to Munye, a boarder town between Niger and Kogi, This bridge collapsed since last year and yet the reconstruction is at slow phase.

“This is the only closer route to Kogi and most of the drivers prefer the route. We are calling on the state government to as a matter of urgency to intervene to reduce our hardship,”he said. (NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the government and people of Ghana over the passing of former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in the early hours of Aug. 18.

A statement issued by Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Saturday, said Buhari had earlier called President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana from London, to register his condolence.

President Buhari said all Nigerians and ECOWAS member countries share in the deep loss, considering the strategic influence of the former scribe in global affairs and his vision for repositioning the West Coast and Africa.

The President acknowledged that Annan was the first UN staff to lead the organisation, he was also a co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize with the UN.

He noted that Annan’s humility, nobility and love for humanity set him apart for global greatness, achieving recognition and commendation for the reform of the UN’s bureaucracy and multiple interventions to bring peace to the world.

President Buhari said Annan’s origin and home will always be traced to Ghana, but his exceptional leadership roles, humanitarian spirit and contributions to global peace and development will remain indelible in the history of the entire world.

He particularly lauded his efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa as well as the launch of the UN Global Compact.

The President also sent condolences to the wife of the diplomat, Nane Maria Annan and his family members, staff of the UN and the global organisations he was heading, like The Elders, which was founded by Nelson Mandela.

President Buhari prayed that the almighty God would comfort his family and all his loved ones.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Annan, who was born on April 8, 1938, was a Ghanaian diplomat, who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN, from January 1997 to December 2006.

He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organisation,

Born in Kumasi, Annan went on to study Economics at Macalester College, U.S, International Relations from the Graduate Institute, Geneva and Management at MIT, also in the U.S.

Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organisation’s Geneva office.

He went on to work in several capacities at the UN Headquarters including serving as the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping between March 1992 and December 1996.

He was appointed the Secretary-General on Dec. 13, 1996 by the Security Council, and later confirmed by the General Assembly, making him the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself.

He was re-elected for a second term in 2001, and was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1, 2007. (NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja after 10 working days holiday in London.

The presidential plane conveying Buhari and few of his aides landed at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 6.38p.m.

Buhari was received at the airport by Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, Service Chiefs and the Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari.

Others at the airport to welcome the president included cabinet ministers, the acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and members of the presidential media team.
The return of the president has put to rest the social media report that he had extended his vacation in London.

Buhari on Aug. 3 commenced 10 working days holiday and transmitted a letter to the President of the Senate and the Speaker, House of Representatives to that effect in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

While the president was in London, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo acted in his stead in line with the constitution. (NAN)

The Depot Nigerian Army says it will conduct an outdoor range classification exercise for 77 Regular Recruits Intake from Monday, Aug. 20 to Saturday, Sept. 1.

A statement by Lt. Adekunle Akinyele, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria disclosed this on Saturday.

Akinyele advised residents of the area to keep-off the area of the exercise.

He said: “The exercise is scheduled to take place at its shooting range located at Kabama and Tohu Villages off Zaria-Kano Expressway from Monday, 20 August to Saturday, 1 September 2018.

“The exercises will involve firing of live ammunition using small arms.

“The authority has put in place safety measures and precautions to ensure a safe and hitch free exercise.

“However, residents of the affected communities are advised to stay away from the range general area within the scheduled period.”

Akinyele advised residents of Kabama and Tohu villages not to panic on seeing movement of troops and hearing the sound of gunshot as it was a routine exercise for Recruits on Training in Depot Nigerian Army.(NAN)