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(FLOWERBUDNEWS) The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has challenged parents to take charge of their families by ensuring good moral upbringing of children so as to minimise crime in the society.

Mrs Buhari gave the counsel on Monday when she hosted a special prayer session for the nation at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The prayer session had the theme: ”The importance of supplication for the nation’s guidance”.

The First Lady said that the lack of moral upbringing of children and the total collapse of family values was largely responsible for the social crises facing Nigeria.

”Today, many of the nation’s woes are usually attributed to collapse of family values which are primarily in the custody of parents because they are responsible for love, care and mutual respect.

“A family that is loved, cared for, and provided for stands a better chance of transferring these attributes horizontally across the society and vertically to the next generation to avoid cases like corruption, drug abuse, internet theft, kidnapping, robbery, among others.

“I, therefore, call on the heads of families to wake up to their responsibilities by providing enabling environment for our children to tackle the multitude of societal ills that are manifesting on daily basis,” she said.

She expressed the need for Nigerians to always seek for divine intervention in the affairs of their country.

“It is important that at regular intervals, we, as a nation, should remember our purpose in life, which is to worship our creator and open our communication with God Almighty.

“We need to do much better in terms of the welfare of our family, especially as government is increasingly providing outlets, enabling environment and platforms that can be tapped into.

“The economy of the nation is being diversified into agriculture and other non-oil sectors; there are various welfare programmes and loan schemes that can be accessed by citizens to improve their lives,” she said.

The First Lady urged the participants to emulate the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad in promoting peace, tolerance, love and harmony among people of different faiths in the country.

She stressed the need for Nigerians to always seek God’s intervention to address some of the socio-economic and security challenges facing the country.

The prayer session was attended by renowned Islamic scholars.

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday reserved judgment in the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Great Ogboru against the election of Ifeanyi Okowa as Governor of Delta.

A five-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Uzo Ndukwe-Anyanwu, reserved judgment to a date that would be communicated to parties shortly after all counsel adopted and argued their brief of argument in the appeal.

Respondents in the appeal are Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ogboru and his party, APC are seeking to upturn the decision of the Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which returned Okowa for a second term as governor of Delta State.

INEC had declared Okowa and PDP winner of the March 9 governorship election in Delta State, haven garnered majority of the lawful votes cast in the election.

But the appellants in a 37 grounds of appeal filed by their counsel, Nicholson Ichekor, asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the entire judgment of the tribunal on the grounds that the tribunal erred in law when it dismissed their appeal for lacking in merit.

The three man panel of the governorship election panel led by Justice Suleiman Belgore, had in September dismissed Ogboru and APC’s petition against the return of Governor Okowa on grounds that the petitioners failed to prove the cases of irregularities and malpractices claimed in their petition.

However in the appeal against the the decision of the tribunal, Ogboru and APC argued that the lower court erred in law when it relied on the issue of over voting instead of allocation of votes as canvassed in their petition to dismiss their petition.

The appellants in urging the court to nullify okowa’s election claimed that in some polling units, the total number of votes cast at the election exceeded the total number of voters who were accredited to vote, adding that there was non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act in relation to accreditation of voters.

However, in response to the appeal, Okowa and the PDP urged the Court of Appeal to dismiss Ogboru and APC’s appeal for being incompetent and unmeritorious.

In their brief of argument by Mr Damien Dodo ,SAN and Mr Akinlolu Kehinde , SAN for Okowa and PDP respectively, the respondents submitted that the appellants failed to prove their allegations of over voting and non compliance with the Electoral Act.

The respondents claimed that they have led cogent, credible and reliable evidence to show that they won the governorship election held on March 9 in Delta.

They submitted that the appellants on the other hand failed to prove how their claims of over voting and non compliance substantially affected the results of the election.

In adopting his brief of arguments, PDP’s lawyer, Kehinde SAN, faulted the claim of the appellants which they said was based on the smart card reader report.

“Regardless of the fact that the total number of accredited voters recorded on the smart card reader report is less than the total number of votes cast on the election day, the appellants have failed to prove their allegations of over-voting.

“The reliance of the appellants on the smart card reader report is fatal to their case and this Honourable Court is humbly urged to so hold and resolve this issue in favour of the 2nd respondent” Kehinde submitted.

In addition, the senior lawyer argued that appellants’ case at the tribunal was one of over-voting and noncompliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act on accreditation.

PDP further claimed that appellants failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and noncompliance with the Electoral Act polling unit by polling unit.

“The appellants failed to prove that the allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act substantially affected the result of the election”.

In an attempt to prove their case, the appellants called a total of twenty (20) witnesses and tendered a total of 4, 523 documents in evidence during the trial.

In defence of the petition, the 1st respondent called seven witnesses and tendered 94 Exhibits, while the 2nd respondent called three witnesses and tendered six Exhibits.

The 3rd respondent did not call any witness, but tendered two Exhibits.

But the tribunal in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the petition for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

According to the panel, the petitioners failed to prove any of the grounds upon which the petition was brought against Governor Okowa.

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, on Monday said the state government had concluded plans to open up about 100, 000 hectares of new land for oil palm investors in the state.

Obaseki made this known during the 2019 Alaghodaro Youth Summit held in Benin to mark his third year in office.

He said: “From next month, we will make available 100,000 hectares of new land for oil palm production to investors.

“Indonesia earns more from oil palm production than crude oil. We are going to make Edo the palm oil hub of Nigeria.

“If we are to be able to cultivate 100,000 hectares of oil palm, we will need a minimum of two or three people to cultivate one hectare of oil palm.

“We will have created about 300,000 jobs from oil palm production alone,” Obaseki said.

The governor said that his administration was mapping out the state’s economy and looking at the future through its 30-year development plan to know what to spend money on.

“Our Ossiomo independent power supply would soon be available in the state.

“I cannot guarantee that you will have it in your homes, but I can assure you that you will have it to power the street lights, production centres, offices and business centres in the state,” he said.

Obaseki disclosed that he had created 157,000 jobs in the last three years.

According to him, 45,000 jobs were created through job tracking for organisations, 23,000 through Edo Innovation Programme, 1,300 through food and agriculture, and 16,000 through Edo Production Centre.

The governor added that 12,000 other jobs were created through the National Social Investment Programme, 10,000 through the ministry of wealth creation, and 32,000 from indirect jobs.

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday reserved judgment in three separate appeals challenging the victory of Emeka Ihedioha in the March 9 governorship election in Imo State.

The five member panel presided over by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, announced that judgment in the three appeals would be delivered on a date to be communicated to parties, after parties in the various appeals adopted their written addresses as brief of argument in the appeals.

The appeals were filed against the judgment of the Imo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld the election of Ihedioha.

It includes that of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and his governorship candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume; Action Alliance (AA) and his governorship candidate, Uche Nwosu and that of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma.

The appellants are asking the appellate court to void the election of Ihedioha on grounds that he did not obtain the constitutional one quarter of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 27 local government areas of the state, in line with Section 179 of the Constitution.

In their various submissions by their counsel, the appellants are asking the court to set aside the decision of the tribunal and declare them winner of the March 9 governorship election.

Also in the alternative order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election into the office of Governor of Imo State.

The three-member panel of the tribunal had in a unanimous decison delivered on Sept. 21, held that Ihedioha was lawfully declared winner of the governorship election by INEC.

The panel chaired by Justice Malami Dongondaji, had in the judgment dismissed Ararume, Nwosu and Uzodinma’s petitions for lacking in merit on the grounds that they failed to prove allegations made in their petitions.

They claimed that Ihedioha did not obtain the constitutional one quarter of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 27 local government areas of the state, in line with the provisions of the law.

The petitioners also alleged substantially of non compliance with the Electoral Act and Guidelines, including other irregularities.

The tribunal in its judgment held that the case of the petitioners was unmeritorious because they failed to call relevant witnesses and that evidence of witnesses called were based on hearsay.

The tribunal in addition rejected documents tendered by the petitioners in support of their claims on the grounds that those who led evidence in the documents were not the makers of the documents.

In his appeal, Ararume urged the appellate court to upturn the decision of the tribunal on the grounds that the lower court erred in law when it arrived at the decision that his case and that of his party lacked merit and accordingly dismissed it.

The appeal which was predicated on 22 grounds was argued by his lead lawyer, Mr Awa Kalu, SAN, while that of Nwosu and AA, was argued by Mr Niyi Akintola SAN, and that of Uzodinma and APC, was argued by Mr Damian Dodo ,SAN.

They all urged the panel to allow the appeal and grant all the reliefs sought by the appellants.

However, lead counsel to Emeka Ihedioha and Peoples Democratic Party, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu , SAN and Mr K.C.O. Njemanze ,SAN respectively urged the court to dismiss the appeals for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

The respondents submitted that the appeal of the AA and Nwosu in particular constitute a waste of the precious time.

They argued that the Supreme Court in a judgment delivered on October 22, had already struck out the name of Uche Nwosu as candidate of the AA in the March 9 governorship election in Imo State.

The respondents also claimed that the appeal of Nwosu lacked merit going by a recent judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the candidacy of Nwosu in the governorship election.

Justice Omoyele after taken submissions of counsel in the matter announced that judgment will be delivered in a date that will be communicated to parties.

(FLOWERBUD NEWS) Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has verified 11,363 Parastatal Pensioners
under the Defined Benefit Scheme in the North Central region of the country. The exercise
began on Monday, October 21, 2019 and was successfully concluded on Saturday, November 2,

1. There were four (4) Centres located at Ultimate Multipurpose Hall, New Yidi Road, Ilorin,
   Posh Garden Marquee, Plot 12 Eastern Bye Pass (Beside Hausa Block Industry), Minna, Kafas
   Multipurpose Hall, No 193, Okene/Kabba Lokongoma Phase II, Lokoja and Usiju World Limited,
   Plot 731, Apollo Crescent GRA, Jos.
   The exercise witnessed a large turnout of Pensioners including a first-Class Emir of Yashikiri,
   Barunten LGA, Kwara State among others. The exercise produced a total of 11,363 (Eleven
   thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-Five) verified Parastatal Pensioners during the 2-week
   exercise. The breakdown of the numbers verified shows Ilorin Centre had the highest number
   of 3,453 followed by Lokoja Centre with 3,269 pensioners. Jos Centre had 2,895 and Minna
   Centre had 1,746.
   In line with PTAD’s tradition, the pensioners were treated with respect and empathy. The
   exercise was conducted in a conducive environment where Pensioners were provided with
   lunch and medical facility to take care of any emergencies.

The Senate Committee Chairman on Establishment and Public Service, Sen. Ibrahim Shekarau
was at Lokoja centre to monitor the exercise. He said he was satisfied with the verification
processes and promised the support of the NASS to the Directorate.
The Executive Secretary, Dr. Chioma N. Ejikeme who was on ground at various verification
Centres while the exercise lasted, appreciated members of the National Assembly for their love
for the senior citizens and support for PTAD towards improving the welfare of pensioners. She
also thanked the staff for their commitment and the pensioners for their cooperation. She
assured that the upcoming verification exercise in Abuja will include all the feedback received
during the North Central verification exercise.
The next phase of the verification exercise is scheduled to hold in Abuja from Monday,
November 18, 2019. Pensioners who missed the exercise in their zone should take the
opportunity of Abuja verification exercise to be verified. Pensioners do not need to be anxious
about being verified as the Directorate has the capacity to verify all pensioners who present
themselves for the verification within the period slated for the exercise.
Abuja Verification Exercise is scheduled to hold between November 18 – 23, 2019 at the
following Centres: H & C Event Centre, Behind Zoological Garden, Garki Area 1, Holy Trinity
Event Centre, 36 Aguyi irosi Street, Maitama, and NAOWA Event Centre, Mambilla Barracks,
Asokoro, Abuja.
The exercise is strictly for Parastatal Pensioners and does not include Customs, Immigration,
Prisons, Civil Service, Police pensioner and others that had already been verified by PTAD.

An entrepreneur, Mr Muideen Ibrahim, says locally-produced pencils will save the country over $2.4 billion (N734.4 billion) if encouraged and supported by the Federal Government with enabling policies.

Ibrahim, the Chief Executive Officer, BAMIB Resources and Investment Company Ltd., made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.

Ibrahim said it was important for government to discourage importation of goods and services that could be produced in the country.

The manufacturer called on government to support indigenous pencil companies to prevent importation of the product.

According to him, if we are supported and encouraged, it will save government about $2.4 billion on importation of pencils annually.

“There are a lot of multiplier effects we shall give the country.

“Some of which are backward integration of our major raw materials and basic components, massive employment opportunities and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.

“Also strategic investments in other regions and Foreign Direct Investments, amongst others, ‘’ he said.

Ibrahim said there was need for the government to increase the tariffs on imported pencils or place a technical ban on its importation to encourage indigenous pencil manufacturers.

He said this had worked in the rice sector and other allied products.

He said as a result of this, a lot of people were into rice production at the moment and the country was getting better for rice production.

Ibrahim urged the government to do something urgently for the local pencil manufacturers as they were suffering.

He implored the government to enforce the Executive Order 3 and Executive Order 5 respectively to the letter for effective patronage of local products.

He said: “Unfortunately, government is still paying lip service to this very good and apt Executive Orders. There must be a committee that will drive these orders and make them work.

“Not only that, the government must `walk the talk’ on Ease of Doing Business. This is one of the ways to help local manufacturers.

“Aside from that, there must be aggressive promotions on patriotism, among others.

“I wonder what is happening to the National Orientation Agency. That agency used to be very vibrant in those days.

“Call the manufacturers to a round table discussion and the government must as a matter of fact implement their decisions. The bane of our challenge in this country is implementation of policies.’’

The entrepreneur said BAMIB’s production capacity currently stood in excess of 450 million pencils per annum.

He said there was room for expansion, saying that it was a function of demand and supply.

He said the company had not broken even and could not even meet its obligations as and when due because of many challenges that were militating against it.

Ibrahim said the challenges were surmountable if government intervened to ensure sustainability.

“The challenges confronting us are so numerous, some of which are unhealthy rivalry and stiff competition by low quality pencils from some foreign countries.

“They use price mechanism to push us out of the market and we cannot sell below our cost price. We are operating in a harsh environment and thereby making our production cost high.

“Multiple taxation is another big challenge and ports congestion. There are so many agencies at the various ports. Technology can be deployed to the ports for efficiency and effectiveness,’’ the entrepreneur said.

According to him, government should increase the tariffs on imported pencils so that local manufacturers can survive.

“Government should implore the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give pencil manufacturers at least N500 billion Special lntervention Fund at low digit interest rate.

“Government should give us import waivers on the importation of basic components, raw materials and machines, ‘’ he said.

Ibrahim also appealed to government to come up with favourable policies for pencil manufacturers as it was done for agriculture, cement and automobile sectors.

He urged government to also grant pencil manufacturers incentives that could make them survive.

He commended the Bank of Industry (BOI) for always supporting manufacturers, saying that more still needed to be done.

The entrepreneur urged other financial institutions to assist local manufacturers.

Ibrahim urged government to create infrastructure facilities such as good roads and power, saying that many manufacturers used generating sets due to the erratic power supply.

According to him, this makes locally-produced goods more expensive than the imported ones.

NAN

The revenue was generated from import duty, levy, excise duty and other fees.