Category: General News

THE Lagos State Government, yesterday, issued a 24 hour ultimatum to truck drivers along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, to vacate the road or face the consequences.

The state government also vowed to impound vehicles and prosecute any violator caught in the act after the expiration of the ultimatum.

The Head of Operations, Lagos State Special Committee on Apapa Gridlock, Mr Hassan Adekoya, who handed down the directive, said the committee recently, engaged stakehokders in series of meetings on the need to steer off Oshodi-Apapa Expressway as well as Apapa Road by Area B axis inward Nigeria Port Authority, NPA.

 

Adekoya said: “Our men are on ground, to ensure free flow of traffic, and i can assure you that our enforcement team shall restore sanity on Mile-2 tincan Road.

 

“We have called their union leaders to call their members to order within 24 hours after which we will launch enforcement exercise by towing any of the truck found obstructing free flow of traffic, particularly, along Mile-2, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

 

“We are committed to reducing the traffic incidence around Apapa axis according to the mandate given by Govermor Bababjide Sanwo-Olu.”

 

 

 

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has confirmed the clearance of about 60,000 passport backlog in four days out of over 200,000 pending passport applications.

This is consequent upon the directives given to the immigration service by the minister to ensure clearance of all pending passport applications within two weeks.

Tunji-Ojo made this known when the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to a statement by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Alao Babatunde, Tunji-Ojo said he would clean up the passport crisis in the country.

“When we came on board, the passport crisis was an embarrassment to the country and we said there is no way it can continue.

“As at this morning, I can tell you that about 60,000 passport backlogs have been cleared specifically, 59,906.

“On Sept. 6, when I gave the 2-week ultimatum, we had over 200,000 backlogs. However, we have recorded tremendous progress, and I still maintain my words, those backlogs must be cleared.”

The humanitarian affairs minister had earlier said that the visit was informed by the need for the two ministries to collaborate in reducing human trafficking.

The minister added that the collaboration would also include other related challenges such as the poor welfare for veterans, underemployment and poverty reduction.

Edu said that the interior ministry was in the best position to solve issues of human trafficking as it plays supervisory role on the Nigeria Immigration Service.

Responding, Tunji-Ojo said that the ministry welcomes such initiative as it was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.

He recalled that the President had directed ministers to see partnership as agent of his agenda, as such the interior ministry was fully prepared for any meaningful collaboration.

The minister assured Edu of his support, adding that her initiative was germain and commendable, especially at this crucial time in the history of the country.

“There is a lot of work to be done and we cannot work in silos as the President has directed.

“We are not just working on humanitarian endeavours such as human trafficking, NIS must help us change the story completely,” he added.

Tunji-Ojo assured that they would work together to find thoughtful and progressive solutions to human trafficking and other issues raised by the humanitarian affairs minister.

“We may only have to expand it to include the welfare of inmates in our correctional centres as they are Nigerians as well.

“Let’s see how they can benefit from your welfare packages. Of course, there is a lot we can achieve together,” he added.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, of Ondo state, has sacked the media aides attached to his deputy, Hon Lucky Ayedatiwa.

This is coming as Vanguard gathered that the fear of possible dissolution of the State Executive Council has gripped the commissioners and other members of the council.

 

Recall that while the governor was away in Germany on medical vacation, the EXCO became polarised.

 

Since the return of the governor last week, some members of the EXCO, have expressed fear that their days are numbered going by the body language of the governor.

 

Meanwhile, the sack of the aides to the deputy governor was coming ahead of the possible dissolution of the state executive Council.

 

The sack of the deputy governor’s aides was contained in a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, in Akure.

 

Akeredolu said the affected aides should submit all government properties in their possession to the acting Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor

 

The affected aides include Press Secretary to the Governor, Kenneth Odusola; Special Assistant to Governor (New Media) Okunniga Oladipupo; and Special Assistant to the Governor (Photography) Abayomi Samson Adefolalu.

The statement reads:”All media aides appointed by the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, and seconded to the office of the deputy Governor, have been relieved of their appointments.

They are to submit all government properties in their possession to the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor.

 

“Similarly, the Press Crew attached to the office of the deputy governor has been disbanded.

 

“Consequently, all members of the Press Crew are to report back to their various ministries and stations.

 

“Equally, the Ministry of Information and Orientation is directed to provide adequate coverage for the activities of the deputy governor office henceforth.

Findings by Vanguard showed that the aides were sacked following alleged insubordination and flagrance disregard to the appropriate authority.

 

A top government source said that one of the aides of the deputy governor allegedly abused the governor on his WhatsApp status and the screenshot was shown to the governor’s friends while he was away in Germany on a medical vacation

 

According to the source, another aide was said to have engaged in the planting of some stories against the governor.

 

Efforts to get the reaction of the deputy governor proved abortive as he was said to have travelled out of the state capital for an official assign

ment.

 

Engr Agoro Charges Government On Encouraging Research, Rather Than Giving Palliative

By Adewale Owoade

The Vice – President, Nigeria Society of Engineers in charge of Collaboration and Linkages, Engineer Ademola Agoro, has said government should encourage people that want to research into any area of life, rather than sharing palliative.

Engr Agoro stated this while speaking with National Association of Christian Journalists (NACJ), Oyo State Chapter in Ibadan.

He stated further that giving foods and cash as palliatives will not go far in alleviating the suffering of people, as fallout of fuel subsidy removal.

“The major problem we have in Nigeria is that we are not a manufacturing economy, everything we do in Nigeria we import , and the irony is that there is nothing you want in this world that is not resident in Nigeria.

“But Nigerians most of us the Engineers, researchers, scientists were not doing any research, so when government is talking about palliative if you give people food or money today that is the end.

“But if you encourage people that want to research into any area of life it covers for all citizens. You will put some standby money, there is a lot of money need to be going to research.

“The problem in Nigeria is that most of this fund is being siphoned, even, if you looked at Tetfund and any others funds, is not that Nigeria does not have these funds but is the utilisation

“We must make everything open, so that there would be some certain criteria, everything must be transparent, as long as the process is transparent people would come out of their shell.” Agoro said

Speaking on empowerment, Agoro said government should empower people in the area of Artificial Intelligence, AI, as the new trends of technology will prepare people for future challenges

Engr Agoro gave a clue on his plans to establish a vocational school for youths in his village, that will be offering programmes on Artificial Intelligence, AI, and that the training will be free, including accommodation.

By Ismail Abdulazeez

Sept 12, 2023

President Bola Tinubu has called for a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the recurring tragedy of fatal boat incidents across the nation.

This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Tinubu said government agencies would be held accountable for any regulatory or safety lapses, urging that comprehensive safety measures and enforcement must be carried out on boating activities in the country.

The president directed various government agencies, including law enforcement, maritime safety and transportation safety authorities to collaborate in identifying the causes of these unfortunate and preventable disasters.

Tinubu extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims who lost their lives in the recent boat mishaps in Mokwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger and Gurin village, in Fufore LGA of Adamawa.

He expressed solidarity with the governments and people of Niger and Adamawa as they mobilized emergency response teams and volunteers to provide assistance to victims of the incidents.

Tinubu wished those injured in the incidences a most speedy recovery, assuring the affected families and communities of government’s continued support in this trying period.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a boat conveying people to their farms in Njuwa Lake capsized and killed about 15 persons on Friday.

On Monday, another boat capsized in a river in Gurin of Fufore Local Government Area, Adamawa with many people on board.

Similarly, 26 bodies were recovered while 44 are still missing after a boat capsized in a river between the Jebba and Kainji dams in Mokwa Local Government of Niger on Sunday.

NAN

President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate payment of insurance entitlements owed to families of officers and soldiers who died while fighting to defend the nation.

 

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, made this known at the opening of the Combined Second and Third Quarters COAS Conference, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference is being attended by army field commanders and heads of insti.tutions and establishments.

Lagbaja said said that the welfare of troops and their families was of paramount importance and pledged to consolidate all existing welfare arrangements to enhance the well-being of troops and their families to keep them focused on their tasks.

 

“In addition to providing befitting living quarters for our personnel, we shall ensure the newly introduced ‘Affordable Home Ownership Option for All Soldiers Scheme’ designed to provide affordable and high-quality post-service homes for our soldiers work.

 

“We shall also ensure that our injured warriors get the best medical care and continue to support the widows and next-of-kin of our fallen heroes.”

 

Lagbaja appreciated President Tinubu for directing that all pending insurance payments owed to the families were paid without delay, and for his strategic guidance of the Armed Forces.

 

“On behalf of the officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army, I want to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty and pledge our total commitment to the defence of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

 

The COAS urged army personnel to continue to work with other security agencies to decisively deal with all security challenges facing the country.

 

He told the participants of his Command Philosophy, which was to “transform the Nigerian Army into a well-trained force, equipped and highly motivated force towards achieving constitutional responsibilities within a joint environment.

According to him, the philosophy would guide and drive the actions and engagements of the army in all operations within and outside the boundaries of Nigeria.

In his address, the Chief of Policy and Plans, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Ibrahim, said the conference was for the officers to brainstorm on the state of affairs of the Nigerian army and develop plans for future engagements.

 

Ibrahim said the conference was also an avenue for the COAS to physically convey his command philosophy to the field commanders and heads of institutions and establishments.

 

He said the kinetic operations of the army across various theaters of operations had continued to record unprecedented successes, just as the non-kinetic efforts had continued to yield desirable outcomes.

 

“We are encouraged not to be demoralised by the incident in Niger State, but intensify our efforts to make the adversaries to continuously pay for their sins until they disappear or surrender.

This conference is designed to provide us with a platform to reflect on achievements while appraising our operations and activities in the second and third quarters of this year in order to obtain plans that align with our overall goals.

 

“It will also provide us the unique opportunity to engage in honest discussions and insightful conversations and decisions that will guarantee more successes in our operations,” he said.

 

NAN reports that Lagbaja used the occasion to present new Toyota Hilux vehicle each to eight Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) from different army units and formations

The death toll from freak floods in eastern Libya is expected to soar dramatically, with 10,000 people reported missing, the Red Cross warned on Tuesday.

 

Officials in Libya have said at least 150 people were killed in the sudden flooding on Sunday afternoon after storm Daniel swept the Mediterranean, lashing Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.

But Tamer Ramadan of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the actual toll was likely to be many times higher.

Our teams on the ground are still doing their assessment (but) from what we see and from the news coming to us, the death toll is huge,” he told reporters in Geneva via video link from Tunis.

 

“It might reach to the thousands,” he said in English. “We don’t have a definite number right now.”

 

Independent sources had told the IFRC the number reported missing was “hitting 10,000 persons so far”.

 

“The humanitarian needs are much more beyond the abilities of the Libyan Red Crescent and even the abilities of the government,” Ramadan said.

 

“That’s why the government in the east has issued an international appeal for support,” he said, adding that IFRC was also preparing to launch an emergency appeal for funds towards the response.

 

‘Epic proportions’

World Health Organization spokeswoman Margaret Harris meanwhile described the situation in Libya as “a calamity of epic proportions”.

 

Experts have described storm Daniel — which killed at least 27 people when it struck parts of Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey in recent days — as “extreme in terms of the amount of water falling in a space of 24 hours”

In eastern Libya, the storm hit the coastal town of Jabal al-Akhdar especially hard, as well as Benghazi, where a curfew was declared and schools closed for several days.

 

The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) meanwhile described how “entire neighbourhoods” in Derna had disappeared and their inhabitants been “swept away by water, after two ageing dams collapsed making the situation catastrophic and out of control”.

 

Speaking on Libyan network Almasar, Oussama Hamad, prime minister of the east-based government, has reported “more than 2,000 dead and thousands missing” in the city of Derna alone.

 

Hamad’s government — which in war-battered Libya rivals a UN-brokered, internationally recognised transitional administration in Tripoli — has declared Derna a “disaster area”.

 

While no medical sources or emergency services have confirmed Hamad’s figures, Ramadan said it appeared “very likely that the number declared (by the eastern official) could be close to the correct number.

He said he hoped the IFRC would be able to provide a more precise toll of the disaster later on Tuesday.

 

The UN’s Organization for Migration meanwhile voiced concern about the impact the flooding may have had on the many already very vulnerable migrants in the country.

 

 

 

The total revenue generated from postal activities in 2022 dropped from N3.63 billion in 2021 to N3.01 billion in 2022, indicating a decline of about 17.05 per cent.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated in its Postal Service Data for 2022 released in Abuja on Tuesday.

The report said the total number of Post Offices and Postal Agencies declined by 19.43 per cent from 2,794 recorded in 2021 to 2,251 in 2022.

It stated that the total number of boxes installed in 2022 was 836,731, indicating a decline of 0.08 per cent from 837,428 recorded in 2021.

The report said the total number of PMBs available in 2022 was 20,775, indicating a decline of 8.44 per cent from 22,689 recorded in 2021.

The NBS said the total number of postal articles handled in 2022 increased by 102.05 per cent from 17.7 million recorded in 2021 to 35.7 million in 2022.

“Domestic mail handled was 15,669,072, while mail dispatched abroad was 543,893 and mail received from abroad and delivered in Nigeria was 19,463,153.”

The report indicated that Lagos State had the highest number of boxes installed in 2022 with 143,416, while Jigawa recorded the least with 1,800.

NAN

By Philip Yatai

Sept 12, 2023

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has released the list of some of the 135 roads inaugurated for rehabilitation and resurfacing in Wuse, Garki, Gwarimpa and Maitama Districts.

The Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, who inaugurated Phase I of the projects on Monday, gave the contractors six-month completion timeline.

The list of the streets for rehabilitation and resurfacing obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, showed that most of the projects would be executed in Wuse District.

In Wuse Zone 1, the streets to be rehabilitated include Daloa, Kayes, Umme, Bumbuna, Masana, Badundu, Oran, Sawhaj, Arusha Crescent, Sunyani, Bamako, Takorade, Dakar, Bulawayo, Soka, Darioa, Kaolack, Kigali, and Gonder Street.

In Zone II,  the streets are Kribi, Kumba, Touggourf, Kisumu, Gaborone, Faranah, Gabes, Lavumisa, Niami, Johannesbourg, Angola, Korhogo, Bechar, Senanga, Hargeysa and 2, Khartoum, and Damba Street.

In Zone 3, six streets would be rehabilitated or resurfaced namely Idimba, Port Loko, Ndele, Yele, Al-Fayyun, and Aswan.

The streets for rehabilitation in Zone 4 include Mandingou, Lubumbashi, Port Said, Mogadishu, Shinyanga, Sfax, Zinglunchor, Kitwe, Elminya Close, Sefadu, Meknes, Safi, Mbala, Gwelo, Melange, Savalou, Sheraton and Yar’adua Road.

A total of five roads would be rehabilitated in Zone 5 namely Doula Streets, Mombasa Street, Windhoek Street, Boffa street and Jessaoua Close.

In Zone six, the streets for rehabilitation are Cotonou, Yaounde, Makeni, Massenya, Annaba, Bukoma, Mobondo, Mbabani, Diovo, Berbera, Chiongola, Jima, Kinshahsha, Bouake, Rabat, Tanga, Timbuktu, Zinder, Rumbek, Zuwai, Beyia, and Tema.

Others are Diredawa Street, Kalemie, Asmara, Mbandaka, Macenata/Welkom, Harare, Tripoli, Maseru, Iringa, and Dodoma Streets.

For Zone 7, the streets include Lome, Harper, Huambo, Ndola, Sokode, Sirasso and Bambari Crescents, Masaka Close and Dalaba Street.

In Garki District, Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki II would be rehabilitated, while Strabag Road, Gwarimpa Life-Camp would also be rehabilitated.

In Maitama, the roads are N16 Road, Maitama Roundabout and N11/B4 (Ahmadu Bello Way/This Day Dome Junction) Maitama, Junction between Ring Road 1/Tafawa Balewa Way Area 3-Garki.

Others are House 14, 1 and 2, off Jere Street, behind Rita Lori Hotel.

Wike had explained during the inauguration that the projects were in line with the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Tinubu administration.

NAN