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  • 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.

  • Army Director becomes president African Military Law Forum

    The Director Nigerian Army Legal Services, Maj.-Gen. Yusuf Shalangwa, has been elected President of the African Military Law Forum (AMLF), on Thursday in San Remo, Italy.

    Col. Sagir Musa, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    Musa said that Shalangwa was a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, African Bar Association, International Bar Association and the African Military Law Forum.

    According to Musa, Shalangwa is a seasoned military legal adviser and has attended several seminars, workshops and conferences on different aspects of military and civil laws, both in and outside Nigeria.

    “He has attended Law of Armed Conflict in Spiez, Switzerland and Legal Aspects of Counter-Terrorism at the Kofi Anan International Peace Keeping and Training Centre, Accra Ghana among others.

    “He is also the Chairman Armed Forces and Security Committee of the African Bar Association and has been a member Board of Directors/Governing Council of many Nigerian Army legal and corporate entities.

    “The AMLF is sponsored by the United States Africa Command, and is a veritable platform which gathers African military legal professionals together annually to discuss international best practices when advising militaries,” he said.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Group Urges Youths To Promote Peaceful Coexistence

    (FLOWERBUDNEWS)  Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC), an NGO, has called on youths across Africa to promote peaceful coexistence, instead of taking laws into their hands in the face of provocation.

    President of the group, Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Monday, condemned recurrent attacks on Nigerians and other nationals in South African.

    Nnam described the act as brutish and lawless; adding that such cruel actions by some disgruntled youths were capable of plunging Africa into chaos if not properly managed.

    “While we condemn xenophobia, we also call on Nigerian youths not to retaliate because it is not right to use lawlessness to address lawlessness,” he said.

    Nnam, who noted that dialogue should be embraced in tackling the crisis, however, expressed confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari, and other African leaders’ capabilities to handle the situation.

    According to him, Buhari is a man with a large heart and brotherly love for Africa, considering the position of Nigeria in the continent.

    Nnam urged Nigerians to continue to support the president, who he said was on top of the situation.

    He also called on South African youths to close ranks with foreigners in their country, saying that no amount of killings would bring solution to their fears.

    He explained that only hard work and focus were key to job security, and not killings; adding that unemployment and crime were global phenomena.

    Nnam said that only sincere collaboration between all stakeholders in Africa would rescue the continent from the doldrums of crime and unemployment.

    NAN reports that South Africans have killed many foreigners in the past few years in the name of xenophobia which has resulted to reprisal attacks in some parts of Africa. (NAN)

  • K1 De Ultimate debunks marrying socialite Aramide Adenle

    By

    Priscilla Osaje

    (FLOWERBUDNEWS)  Popular Fuji star, Wasiu Ayinde a.k.a K1 De Ultimate has debunked the claims of marrying one Nigerian socialite Aramide Adenle who has a daughter for him.

    The fuji star made this known in a statement released by his spokesperson Kunle Rasheed.

    The statement reads;

    “Our attention has been drawn to a story making the rounds that King of Fuji music, K1 De Ultimate had married a new wife.

    ” The peddlers of this story also stated that he already has a daughter with the same woman and recently spent 15 million naira to host a party for her.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state that marriage is a holy rite ordained by God.

    ‘A man of K1’s calibre and accomplishments cannot be one to enter into such union without the knowledge of his family and friends which indeed include top media practitioners.

    “We find it repulsive that K1’s name can be dragged into one fictional marriage story wiithout any attempt to confirm the veracity or otherwise of such story.

    “We wish to inform friends, family, fans and the general public that indeed K1 performed at the mentioned ceremony because he was contracted to play at the Ibadan party.

    “How that translated into his marriage ceremony is one that we are yet to understand.

    ” All K1 did at the event was to deliver a 100 percent A-class performance the K1 brand is known for and nothing more.

    “Indeed, the universal standard practice in journalism demands proper and adequate confirmation of stories before rushing to press,” it stated.

    The singer who reportedly has 38 children from different women also dispelled rumours of spending N15million to host a party for her.

    According to him, marriage is a holy rite ordained by God, adding that he cannot enter into such relationship without the knowledge of his family and friends which indeed include top media practitioners.

    He is Nigerian fuji musician introduced the genre to the sounds of keyboards, saxophones and guitars by making the genre a danceable tune that appeals to all age group irrespective of tribe and background .

    .Ayinde won several local musical competitions, in 1975 he became a member of Ayinde Barrister’s band the ‘Supreme Fuji Commanders ‘.

    In 1979, K1 De Ultimate released his first solo album titled ‘Abode Mecca’ and in 1984 his most successful album Talazo 84 was released.

    The artist has received a lot of music awards including FAME Musician of the Year, Best Fuji Artiste at the Nigerian Music Awards, Best African Artiste at the WOMAD Festival in Reading 1996 and The ‘Headies Hall Of Fame’ award in 2013.

    In 2001, he has been granted the title “Olu Omo” (golden child) by the king of Lagos, King Adeyinka Oyekan II.

    The King Wasiu has recorded over 50 Fuji albums including some international releases, his albums include: vivid Imagination, Ara-EdideIlekun, MedleyIjebu, MedleySun – SunCanada 98 Part 2, The UltimateFuji Collections Series Rhythm.

  • 29 Killed In Twin Attacks In Northern Burkina Faso

    (FLOWERBUD NEWS) More than 29 people were killed in twin militant attacks in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, local media reported Monday.

    Both attacks occurred in the northern Sanmatenga province.

    A van loaded with people and goods rode over a bomb on Sunday, resulting in the death of 15 civilians and the injury of six others.

    In the meantime, 14 people were killed around 50 kilometres away when militants ambushed bicycle riders carrying food products, said the report.

    The government has vowed to take steps to avoid the recurrence of such incidents, saying that military reinforcements have been deployed.

    Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been facing a series of terrorist attacks that caused over 500 deaths and 280,000 displaced people.

    On Aug. 19, 24 armed forces were killed in an attack on army detachment in Koutougou, Soum.

  • We can’t stop xenophobic attacks, S/African defence minister says

    Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa’s Defence Minister said on Monday that the attacks against foreigners in South Africa were planned by criminals and that government can’t prevent it.

    Mapisa-Nqakula who said this in an interview with eNCA, a local channel described South Africa as an angry nation and insisted that the government can’t prevent the ongoing violence.

    “The reality is that we have an angry nation. What’s happening can never be prevented by any government,” she said.

    According to her the death of two people during a clash in Johannesburg CBD on Sunday Sept. 8, could have been avoided but that it was well orchestrated by criminal elements.

    She however, said the xenophobic attacks were not politically motivated.

    “People are saying some heads of state decided not to attend WEF; we should be talking about why this whole thing is coinciding with the World Economic Forum,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

    She said: “People are saying it is xenophobic attacks but it is not the first time we have had them in the past; here, we have criminals that have read the situation and are aware that we have challenges right now.

    “We have talked on the issues of high rate of unemployment, of some foreign nationals who are not conducting themselves in an appropriate manner as we would expect, those breaking the bylaws of the country, and you now have criminal elements who have decided that we are going to use all of those things to find reasons to attack people.

    “It is unfortunate and should not happen. The reality is that we need to have a serious dialogue about what is happening and we must take responsibility. The reality is that we are an angry nation and we must talk about it.

    “Why are we an angry nation? Why are we so determined to collapse our project of nation building and social cohesion? We need to hold hands together between government and all state entities and the civil society and find solutions to what is happening,” Mapisa-Nqakula added.