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  • Pastor dies of Ebola after praying for sick person

    First Ebola death in Goma DR Congo

    It was a matter of fear and anxiety as the first Ebola patient in Goma, the largest city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) died days after he got infected with the deadly virus.

    DRC’s health ministry said the Pastor got infected after visiting Butembo, one of the epicentres of the epidemic, before taking a bus to Goma.

    The pastor had preached at seven churches during his visit to Butembo, a town 300km to the north of Goma, and reportedly laid his hands on worshippers, including people who were ill.

    Speaking at an Ebola response meeting, North Kivu province’s Governor Carly Nzanzu said the City’s first Ebola patient died while being driven from Goma to a clinic in Butembo on Monday to receive treatment.

    “Unfortunately, I can confirm that the patient died,” Nzanzu said. “He died during transfer by road.”

    Health officials have already identified 60 people who had come into contact with the pastor after he became sick, half of them have already been vaccinated.

    Read also: WHO declares Congo’s Ebola outbreak international emergency

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  • Loan to Deposit Ratio: expert says directive will curb inflation

    Lagos, July 18, 2019 (NAN) An Economist, Mr Rasheed Yusuf, says the country’s inflation figure will drop to single digit if the CBN implements its directive to commercial banks to maintain a minimum Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) of 60 per cent.

    Yusuf, the Chief Executive Officer of Trust Yield Securities in Lagos, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.

    He said the directive, whose implementation will begin in October, would curb inflation and boost productivity in the real sector.

    Yusuf was reacting to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which dropped to 11.22 per cent (year-on-year) in June from 11.40 per cent in May.

    According to him, the apex bank should implement the sanctions if any bank flouts the new mandatory loan to deposit ratio because its enforcement would transform domestic businesses for the better.

    NAN reports that the CBN had threatened to sanction banks with cash reserve penalty should they defaulted.

    Yusuf also urged the CBN to sustain the multiple windows for accessing foreign exchange to aid businesses.

    He said these interventions would ensure the survival of businesses regardless of those sabotaging the economy by dumping imported goods in the country.

    The economist said that the recent CBN policy to support the creative industry would also check imported inflation.

    “The CBN N500 million with nine per cent interest rate bailout to the sector will boost domestic production in the creative sector.

    “This is because a sizeable percentage of foreign exchange is being used for the importation of clothing, software and making of movies,” he said.  (NAN)

  • Senate confirms 4 nominees as NCC commissioners

    Abuja, July 18, 2019 (NAN) The Senate has confirmed four nominees for appointment as Commissioners in the board of the National Communication Commission (NCC).

    The nominees are: Mr Uba Maska, Executive Commissioner (North West) who was reappointed, Aliyu Abubakar, Non-Executive Commissioner (North East), Prof Millionaire Abowei, Non-Exexutive Commissioner (South South) and Abdulazeez Mohammed, Non-Executive Commissioner (North Central).

    The News Agency Agency (NAN) recalls that President Mohammadu Buhari on July 10, sent a letter to the Senate, requesting for confirmation of the nominees.

    As part of the confirmation process on Thursday, the Senate Leader, Sen. Abubakar Yahaya, moved the motion for the constitution of the Senate into committee of a whole.

    The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, subsequently put the report of the ad-hoc committee on the confirmation headed by Sen. Teslim Folarin (APC Oyo) to voice vote.

    All the four nominees were expressly cleared for their appointments and were congratulated by Lawan.

    NAN also recalls that one of the nominees cleared on Thursday had been rejected by the 8th Assembly in November 16, 2018.

    The nominee, Aliyu Abubakar, was dropped then over what the previous Senate called “vague Curriculum Vitae. ” (NAN)

  • My administration has spent N200bn on road construction -Ajimobi

     The Oyo Sate government has committed over N200billion to road construction and rehabilitation under the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration, across rural and urban centres of the state. (more…)

  • 13 killed as Boko Haram invades Borno villages, IDP Camp

    13 killed as Boko Haram invades Borno villages, IDP Camp

    At least 13 persons were killed while many others missing when Boko Haram insurgents attacked Kofa general areas of Konduga local government area and Dalori 2 IDP camp on Wednesday night, residents said.

    At the Dalori 2 IDP) camp, one person was killed in the attack, while not less than 40 makeshift tents in the camp were burnt down byinsurgent s.

    An inmate of the attacked camp, Bukar Kashim, said an old man shot and killed by invaders after over powering the security.

    He said: ” We thought it was normal shooting but it turned out to be Boko Haram, everyone was in disarray, they entered after the  security and Civilian JTF were overpowered; one person killed and about 40 tents were burnt.”

    ” The government needs to rise up to the ocassion and protect us, it has shown that we are not safe anymore; We are begging President Buhari to protect us, many of our people are yet to return, we don’t know their fate.”Bukar lamented.

    Also in Bulabbrin village, nine people were killed, while several others were missing.

    A resident if the village, who lost three if his childfen, Usman Modu, burst into tears, saying: “I lost three of my children in the attack. I call on government to do something before the insurgents wipe out our family and relations”.

    “They were fully armed, each of them had two guns and shooting sporadically, I ran into bush; I left my family; when I came this morning, three of my children were burnt.  In this village, we lost nine persons.  Apart from our vilage, they also killed four others in our neighbouring village, Kofa and adjoiining villages were burnt down”, Modu said.

    Confirming the incident, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in a statement by its Zonal Coordinator, , Alhaji Bashir Garga,said:  “Six people  from Kofa village were killed as a result of suspected Boko Haram terrorists that attacked four villages  in outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    He said: “The attack occurred on Wednesday night at about 8pm. Kofa, Mallumti, Ngomari, Gozari, villages which are close to Dalori IDP camp were affected.  Many villagers fled to the Dalori IDP camp for safety which led to an attack on the camp vicinity which claimed the lives of two iIDPs making a total of eight  people dead.”

    “The terrorists gained access to the area through a bush path behind the villages and came in four vehicles and some motorcycles.  They ransacked the market in front of the IDP camp”, Gargs added.

    He said:  “Villagers who ran into the bush for safety have returned to their homes while the Borno State Fire Service has contained the inferno. The injured have been treated in the camp clinic while serious cases were evacuated to hospitals in Maiduguri. An assessment team is on site to provide relief assistance to those affected”.

  • Rape: Senate directs law review for stiffer penalties

    Rape: Senate directs law review for stiffer penalties

    By Kingsley Okoye

    The Senate on Tuesday passed some resolutions to review relevant laws that will provide for stiffer sanctions for perpetrators of rape in the country.

    The decision of the senate followed a motion of urgent public importance, sponsored by Sen. Rose Oko (PDP-Cross River North), titled “Rising incidence of rape of minors”.

    The senate also directed its committees on Judiciary, Police Affairs, Women Affairs and Social Development, when reconstituted, to interface with relevant stakeholders to strategise on implementation of all legislations and policies aimed at protecting minors from rapists and other forms of violence.

    The senate also directed the committees to review relevant legislations with a view to providing stiffer penalties against sexual abuse of minors in the country.

    It further urged the Police and other law enforcement agencies to conduct mandatory training for officers in dealing with rape cases and young victims of abuse.

    It also urged the Judiciary to establish national sentencing framework for child sexual abuse cases and judicial officers, to impose stiffer penalties on perpetrators of all forms of abuses against minors.

    The lawmakers further urged state governments to domesticate and implement the Child Rights Act and Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, to curb the issues of sexual abuse of minors.

    Furthermore, it urged the general public to continue to act as watchdogs to curb child sexual abuse and other forms of violent abuse.

    Oko, who brought the motion through Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate Rule, said the rising incidences of rape of infants and minors in parts of the country are worrisome.

    She said that six out of every 10 Nigerians were being raped on daily basis.

    The lawmaker noted the shocking rape story of a six-month old baby in Kano and other cases of students being raped by their teachers and lecturers in the nation’s institutions were issues of concern to the parliament.

    She lamented that law enforcement agencies had not lived up to their responsibilities in checking the increasing wave of rape in the country.

    She therefore called on the senate to evolve ways of providing stiffer measures to serve as deterrent to rapists.

    Contributing, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu (APC-Lagos Central) also described rape of minors as extreme wickedness and called for imposition of death sentence on offenders.

    The Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege (APC-Delta Central), in his contribution, noted that the country had sufficient laws on rape but lacked the will power to enforce such laws.

    He therefore called on the Red Chamber to review the existing laws.

    Sen. Chukwuka Utazi (PDP-Enugu North) also observed that not much was being done on sex education in the nation’s public and private schools for the purpose of educating the children on steps to take when they felt prey to rapists, urging for inclusion of sex education in the education curriculum.

    Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani (PDP-Enugu East) said that rape victims would suffer stigma by society and rejection by spouse.

    He urged hospital authorities to have rape counselling unit to handle the victims.

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  • Kyari vows to reposition NNPC

    Newly appointed NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari

    By Okon Okon

    The newly appointed Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr Mele Kyari has pledged to reposition the corporation.

    Kyari said he would make the NNPC to be a  global company of excellence to portray the good image of the company.

    He  made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja when he paid a courtesy visit on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)  Mr Boss Mustapha in his office.

    Accompanied by his predecessor, Mr Maikanti Baru, Kyari expressed gratitude to God for the reappointment of Mustapha as SGF.

    According to him, we are here on a courtesy visit to the SGF, and also for the outgoing GMD to formally hand me over to him.

    He said he would continue with the good works executed by his predecessor to take the company to the next level.

    “We will reposition and we will make NNPC a  global company of excellence.

    “As part of the leadership of the company before now, there are good works that my predecessor has done during his tenure and we will continue from there, ” he said.

    The new NNPC boss also assured that the country’ s refineries would be revamped to ensure that  incessant fuel scarcity was curtailed.

    “We will sustain and build on the progress we met on ground and also to ensure that we align completely with the vision of Mr President to ensure that there is peace in the Niger Delta region.

    “To also ensure that petroleum supply is sustained in such a way that Nigerians do not cry any more over fuel issues in the country, ” he said.

    Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, who was also on a courtesy visit to the SGF, emphasised on the need for harmonious relationship across all arms of governments to reposition the country.

    According to Gbajabiamila, my  visit to SGF is  to come and congratulate him on his reoppointment, deliberate on issues affecting the government.

    He said: “We are going to have a good executive/ legislative working relationship in the next four years.

    ” So what we are trying to do here is to have a good working relationship in both arms of government

    “What we discussed today was basically issues that affect government, relationship between the two arms of government, areas were we need to block loopholes, areas were we need to develop, ” he said.

    This, he explained is all about good governance which would affect Nigerians positively.

    In his response, Mustapha assured them of good working relationship in order to have a stable government in the next four years.

    According to the SGF, in all the interactions I have had with the outgoing GMD of NNPC, the transition process in itself attest to the fact that we will have stability in the  NNPC industry.

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  • Lamidi Adeosun now Lt. Gen. in new Army promotion

    Lamidi Adeosun now Lt. Gen. in new Army promotion

    By Sumaila Ogbaje

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the accelerated promotion of two Generals and a Subaltern of the Nigerian Army as reward for their gallantry and exemplary leadership.

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

    Musa said the officers were granted promotion for their extra-ordinary feats, courage, exemplary leadership, loyalty, uncommon commitment and valour in the counter insurgency operation in the Northeastern part of the country.

    He explained that the two senior officers were Maj.-Gen. L.O Adeosun, the Chief of Training and Operations at Army Headquarters, who has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

    The second officer is Brig.-Gen. A.B Biu, General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander, Sector 2 Operation LAFIYA DOLE Maiduguri, promoted to the rank of Major General.

    “Also promoted to the rank of Captain is Lieutenant A.J Danjibrin of 211 Demonstration Battalion, Bauchi.

    “The Federal Government has continued to demonstrate total and unflinching support to the Armed Forces in the bid to effectively contain the security situation in the country, especially activities of terrorists in the Northeast.

    “In particular, the government has shown commitment to recognising excellence, dedication and commitment on the part of personnel of the Nigerian Army.

    “It is in this wise that President Buhari gave his approval.

    “Buhari has conveyed his personal congratulations to the promoted officers and charged them to continue to be shining examples to their colleagues.

    “Similarly, the Chief of Army Staff Lieut.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on behalf of officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army, felicitates with the newly promoted officers and extends his best wishes to them in all their future endeavours,” he said

  • Peace Corps, a critical security need – Gombe Gov.

    Peace Corps, a critical security need – Gombe Gov.

    Gombe state governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has said the Peace Corps organization should be allowed to assist the existing agencies in restoring peace and security in Nigeria.

    Governor Inuwa said the state of Nigeria’s security calls for all hands to be on deck, especially in the areas of intelligence gathering and neighbourhood watch, adding that, “it is not about having guns everywhere”.

    The governor was speaking in Gombe, the state capital on Tuesday, while receiving the National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), Amb. (Dr.) Dickson Akoh.

    Akoh was in Gombe with other national officials of the Corps for a North East zonal meeting, in continuation of the reformation agenda of the Corps.

    Speaking through his Chief of Staff, Muhammad Kabir Usman, in an event well attended by commandants of the 6 north eastern states and officials of the state ministries in Gombe; Governor Inuwa also called on President Muhammad Buhari to give speedy assent to the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill reintroduced at the National Assembly last week.

    “Everybody has come to the conclusion that we are on a timed bomb. If we fail to take care of our youths, we are failing to take care of our future. Therefore, no reasonable government will neglect such an important segment of the society.

    “We have come a long time in Nigeria that peace is eluding us, there are too many crises in Nigeria, we need peace and the right people who can bring this peace are the Peace Corps Patriots.

    “No society can develop without peace. Our approach to security issues in Nigeria calls for a review. To secure the nation, to secure our local communities, is not about having guns everywhere; it is about having people with the right frame of minds and right attitude with a peaceful mind.

    “So long the people are not peaceful in their minds, so long our local neighborhood are not in peace, Nigeria can never be in peace.

    “Therefore, the core mandate of the Peace Corps is very relevant at this state of our national development.

    “I call on the President of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammad Buhari, to exercise speed in ensuring that the Bill establishing the Nigerian Peace Corps is being signed into law.

    “Nigeria is ours, to bring development, to bring peace, is not a sole responsibility of a particular person or a particular group; our security agencies, considering their numbers, they are not enough. At the current situation, the total number of our security agencies in Nigeria, the personnel, are not up to 2 million, and we are over 200 million. So, divide the 2 million by 200 million citizens, it’s a ridiculous percentage.

    “And therefore, the task of securing this nation must not be left in the hand of traditional security agencies alone, everybody must come in to contribute. And your contributions as citizens, as a group, is very important, especially at this level of our development”, the governor said.

    Pending the President’s assent to the Bill, governor Inuwa urged various state governors and local government areas to key into the activities of the Corps with the view to assisting the organization where necessary.

    He said, “for young people to decide that we are doing this voluntarily, we are using our time, we are using our money to bring peace to this nation, I think you need a great encouragement. It is only a Patriot that can do that.

    “My prayer is that, the Bill should be signed into law, so that you now become lawful and maybe certain funding should come your way, so you will be able to discharge your core mandate peacefully and in an orderly and efficient manner.

    “There is no way you can operate efficiently and effectively without funding, no matter how you want to do the job, it’s not possible.

    “Not only the federal government, all the states and local governments should look into your issue and see how they can come to your assistant so that you can continue to render this your vital role to the society”.

    While pledging total support of the Gombe state government, Alhaji Inuwa assured that, “the government is articulating a good policy to ensure that the youth of Gombe state are well catered for”.

    Earlier, the head of the Corps, Akoh, indicated the intention of the organization to establish its north eastern zonal headquarters in Gombe, in line with the newly established offices of the Deputy National Commandants (DNCs) to man each of the 6 geopolitical zones.

    A piece of land for the construction of the zonal office is to be provided by the Gombe state governor.

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