The Emir of Daura, Dr Faruk Umar, has suspended activities marking the end of the Ramadan fast in the emirate council over security.
The royal father ,however, directed district heads in the council to join the people in their domains to pray for peace in Nigeria.
Among the affected activities is the procession (Durbar) to the Emir’s Palace on Sallah Day. The Emir has also directed that no district head should visit him on that day.
The directive was contained in a circular dated May 6, 2021, and addressed to the district heads in the emirate.
The circular was signed by Danejin Daura, Alhaji Abdulmimini Sahihu.
It reads in parts, “The Emir instructed me to inform you that, due to the insecurity in the country, kidnappings for ransom and other threats to national stability, the usual Sallah Durbar will not hold this Eid-el-Fitr.”
“Instead, the focus will be on performing special prayers on the Sallah day as soon as the Eid prayers are performed.”
The circular further said the royal father had instructed the district heads to conduct the Eid prayers with people in their domain and offer special prayers for lasting peace in the country immediately after the Eid prayer.
You are by this notice to inform all the imams to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari (Bayajida II) and other leaders for protection from all evils of the enemies of progress of this country, its stability and its corporate existence,” the circular added.
The spokesman for Daura Emirate council, Usman Ibrahim also confirmed the development.
There are indications that the powers of the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be whittled down in the new constitution proposed by the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) of the party.
The draft copy of the constitution, which is subject to ratification of the National Convention slated for next month, also provides for inauguration of an Advisory Council in replacement of the Board of Trustees (BOT).
The council will serve as the conscience of the party.
APC Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) on March 2, 2021 inaugurated an 8-man CRC under the Chairmanship of Professor Tahir Mamman (SAN) to review the Constitution of the party to accommodate the new dynamics of managing a ruling party.
The Odigie Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) in 2017 set up the Muniz Banire- Committee that carried out similar exercise but never implemented the Committee’s report.
Checks on the committee showed it has since completed its assignment.
Its report is billed for presentation to the Caretaker Committee immediately after the Ramadan holiday.
Highlights of the yet-to-be submitted report of the Tahir Mamman committee showed the committee expressly watered down Article 14.1 of the party’s constitution (April 2014 as amended) which enunciates the powers of the National Chairman.
Though details of the powers of the office of National Chairman were not made available, a source in the CRC said the decision was “to check the overbearing tendencies exhibited by previous holders of the office.
‘’The Committee proposed that the powers of the National Chairman be curtailed.”
A new Advisory Council will be inaugurated by the National Working Committee (NWC) after the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
This council will replace the Board of Trustees (BOT) as provided for in Article 12:2 of the party’s constitution (April 2014 as amended)
It was also gathered the review committee did not tamper with the controversial mode of conducting primary elections of the party in Article 20 of the party’s Constitution.
The Constitution prescribes the procedure for the nomination and emergence of party candidates for any elective office which can either be by direct or indirect primary elections or through consensus.
Article 20(iii) says that “nomination of candidates for: (a). Local Government House Council/Area Council Chairman, (b). State House if Assembly; (c). House of Representatives, (d). Senate, (e). Governor, (f). President shall be through direct or indirect primary elections to be conducted at the appropriate level.’
‘’Article 20(ii) (a) also gives room for the emergence of candidates through consensus with a proviso that “a vote of yes or no should be called to ensure that it was not an imposition which could breach discontent and crisis.”
A new Directorate is to be created for women and youth to bring the number of Directorates to seven from the existing Directorates of Organisation, Publicity, Administration, Finance, Research, Planning and Strategy as well as Directorate of Social Welfare.
Under the new draft, more powers are accorded the zonal officers of the party.
Unlike what obtains now that crisis and issues arising from state chapters of the party are directed to the National Working Committee (NWC), under the new document, the Zonal Working Committee (ZWC) is to attend to such cases.
Failure of the ZWC to resolve such cases may be referred to the National Working Committee (NWC).
To arrive at the draft, the Constitution Review Committee conducted town hall meetings in the six geo-political zones of the country, held a 5-day retreat in Lagos, received 95 memorandums and consulted widely with critical stakeholders in the party.
The Committee also considered the Banire Review Committee report and met with Chief Segun Osoba, who chaired the Committee that drafted the current constitution.
Divers late Saturday night recovered the bodies of 31 people killed in a boat accident in Niger state.
They also rescued another 65 people from the accident scene In Tijana, Munya council area of Niger, but seven people remain missing.
Recall that a boat conveying about 100 people including women and children capsized midway at about 6:00 pm on Saturday when the villagers were returning from a local market in Zumba in Shiroro local government area of the state.
The Sarkin Kasuwan (Head of the Market) Zumba, Adamu Ahmed, confirmed to Daily Trust the recovery of 30 bodies since search-and-rescue operations began Saturday night.
He explained that the local divers are still intensifying search for more bodies even as he said that lack of support in the area of logistics from any quarter is slowing their search operation.
The boat which is said to be six months old capsized in heavy windstorm in a rain on Saturday evening.
Among the victims were some returnees who had earlier fled their homes with their children due to bandit attacks.
Adamu said, “Some of the victims were going back to the village to go and get some food items and return back to Zumba where they are taking refuge as a result of bandits activities in the affected communities.”
The victims were from about seven communities, all in Munya local government where armed bandits have intensified their attacks on the people.
The Director-General, State Emergency Management Agency, Ahmed Inga, when contacted on the issue said the actual number of people that were on board the capsized were about 100.
He said 28 bodies have been recovered, 65 people rescued while search for the remaining seven is ongoing.
Panic gripped residents of commercial city of Onitsha Anambra Statea following the fall of a truck loaded with live bullets in the area.
The Mercedes Benz 911 truck, which fell along Awka road in the city in the early hours of Sunday, had the cartons of the bullets spill into the drainage when it skidded off the road.
The contents made early morning worshippers to raise the alarm, which attracted the presence of heavy security men who cordoned off the arena
An eyewitness, who does not want to be mentioned said the security situation had put everyone on the alert.
It was gathered the truck was moving the goods out of Onitsha to a yet-to-be identified location when the driver lost control and skidded off the road, making it fall into a ditch
Another source said the truck fell around 5am when the driver and his conductor, after sustaining minor injuries, tried to evacuate and conceal the contents.
But they could not do much before daybreak when some police operatives arrived the accident scene only to discover the truck was laden with a consignment of live bullets,” a source said.
However, Anambra Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed there was a lone accident at the spot.
On the cartons of bullets allegedly being conveyed by the truck, he said he had not been properly briefed on the situation.
He assured investigation had commenced into the matter, promising to get back to the reporter.
But a Senior Police Officer, who spoke in confidence, confirmed the incident.
He added the driver of the vehicle had been arrested and the lorry impounded, adding the conductor escaped.
‘We are going to get to the root of the matter. The conductor is equally being trailed. It’s a very difficult times for everybody and people have to be careful,” he said
The Abuja Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) nabbed an online drug trafficking hideout in Abuja, arresting five members of the criminal group in the process.
This was contained in an official statement by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that the raid by the NDLEA Abuja Command between Friday and Saturday led to the arrest of the culprits who were specialized in selling drugged cakes, cookies, brownies and other substances through social media platforms.
The arrested drug dealers include Queen Nvene, Collins Ozoemena, Samson Peter, Chika Nvene, and Habila Musa.
“The group specialises in clandestine production of drug based cookies, brownies and other edibles; markets and sells some online, through their Twitter and Instagram handles,” the statement partly read.
The group carry out their operations in different parts of the Federal Capital, using dispatch riders to distribute their drugs.
“Supplies of brownies and cookies were delivered and received from different SK Express dispatch riders at various times by narcotic operatives before the final sting operation”, the statement revealed
According to the Commander, FCT Command of the Agency, Mohammed Malami Sokoto, follow up raids of their various locations in Gudu, Kubwa, Lokogoma, Apo and Damangazo all in Abuja, led to the seizure of some illicit substances.
Substances seized from the group include 55 pieces of drugged cookies and brownies; 1.3 kilogrammes of skunk used as ingredient for making cookies, 0.9 grammes of ecstasy, popularly called molley, 300 grammes of skunk, and 200 grammes of Loud.
In another development, operatives of the Ondo state Command of the Agency have intercepted and seized 60kilogrammes of cannabis, leading to the arrest of a 29-year-old Emmanuel Utaji was arrested at the location on Matado street, Akure, Akure South local government area.
In similar development, the Rivers state command on Saturday nabbed a drug dealer and suspected armed robber, Sanusi Abdullahi, recovering 15.8 kilogrammes of skunk and 16 sim cards from him.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the FCT, Ondo and Rivers Commands of the Agency for their operational feats.
He stated on Sunday, “I’m particularly impressed with the speed with which the officers of our FCT Command disrupted the online drug trafficking cartel that has been ravaging the nation’s capital for over three years and I must commend them and their counterparts in Ondo and Rivers for their recent feats.”
The Senate Committee on Finance has revealed that about N2 trillion revenue may have been trapped with Ministries, Deartments and Agencies of government or spent on frivolous expenditures.
The committee, which was Chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola, is probing revenue remittances by over 700 MDAs between 2014-2020 and payment of 1% Stamp Duty on all contract awards by the MDAs within the same period.
Speaking over the weekend when the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, alongside other officials appeared before the committee, Adeola said the panel’s weeks-long investigation revealed that many agencies committed all manner of illegalities relating to the expenditure of government funds that should rightly be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
He hinted that, most of the MDAs abused the concept of operating surpluses to shortchange the government as well as relying on ministerial circulars over and above the Constitution and FRA 2007 as passed by the National Assembly. He also lampooned the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation for not being firm on collecting the operational surplus hanging in those agencies.
According to him; “The reconciliation done so far by the Office of Accountant General of the Federation is in excess of over a trillion naira going to like N2tRn thereabout and these monies are still hanging in the hand of these agencies.
“We’ve asked Office of Accountant General that what are they doing to get the money into the government coffer. We discovered that they’re giving them a payment notice without necessarily following up this process.
“We’ve noticed that the so-called 80% of operational surplus we’re referenced to, many of these agencies proved frivolous expenditure and they’ve taken advantage of the current system and refuse to remit this amount as at when due.”
While responding, the minister, however, acknowledged that in recent times, there had be noticeable increase in revenue from agencies directed paid into the CRF.
She said the executive was scrutinizing the application of the template of calculating and deducting operating surpluses by agencies of government to ensure that the right amount were paid to the government.
The National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN), Arc Kabir Ibrahim, has warned that the current high level of insecurity plaguing the country will lead to food shortage in 2021.
Ibrahim in a statement entitled “The Nexus between Insecurity and Food Security: AFAN Experience,” he lamented that every part of the country is currently grappling with its own form of insecurity.
He noted that the most vulnerable segment of the society bearing the brunt of the insecurity is the small holder farmers (SHFs), who are the engine room of food production in Nigeria.
According to him, “The aggregate food production by the SHFs is the bedrock on which the food system rests in Nigeria, therefore extreme care should be taken to offer them the necessary protection to continue the assiduous work to feed the nearly 200 million mouths in Nigeria today.
“The farmers cannot readily access their farms in the North East, North West and a good part of the North Central which constitute the food basket of the country, so it is absolutely necessary to secure the farmlands and the farmers who work on the land.
“The incidents of burning of police stations in the South East, the farmer/herder conflicts in the South West and the kidnappings and general insecurity in the South South portend food shortage in the whole nation in 2021 and this therefore calls for concerted effort from all and sundry, government most of all.
“For Nigeria to avoid the impending fragility and national catastrophe’, the insecurity situation occasioned by Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping and the IPOB menace has to be tackled decisively.
He continued; “The Armed forces are clearly overstretched in this fight going by the spread of the insecurity all over the country.
“It is now everybody’s responsibility to make the country livable by securing the nooks and crannies of the nation through improvisations and even disruptive innovation where needed!”
Commenting on the recent release of Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency(NIHSA), Ibrahim advised that farmers should be educated on the best methods to adopt to mitigate the effect of flooding in the food system.
“The effect of flooding during the 2020 farming season going by the experience of Kebbi, Jigawa and Anambra States could be very threatening to the food system so a deliberate effort should be put in place to mitigate a reoccurrence as predicted by NIMET and the Directorate of hydrological Services of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
“Farmers should be incentivised to do three cropping seasons in most of the flood prone areas to make up for the shortfall sprouting from the perennial flooding.
“The resettlement of farmers and providing them with good inputs and finance will go along way to improve food production in order to be able to mitigate food insecurity,” he explained.
Speaking on the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) initiative in the implementation of Anchors Borrowers Programme (ABP), he advised that “ABP should be properly and carefully managed by making sure that the real farmers are supported instead of the rumors making the rounds that some fraudulent people are round tripping the so-called surplus produce to make it look like the APB is succeeding.
According to him, “Given the level of the CBN investment in agriculture and the availability of food in Nigeria is clearly far less than the investment so far, especially,judging from the skyrocketing food prices across the whole nation,” he counseled that the national food system should be coordinated as an emergency to avert imminent collapse and crushing fragility.
“It is necessary to take due cognisance of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security but we must note that food insecurity is a more devastating factor to our survival!
“New managers of the food system are desired to make Nigeria food sufficient now,” he said.
Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister of State, has expressed deep sadness over the death of a Muslim scholar, educationist and a seasoned administrator, Sheikh Alh. Muhammadu Alkali, the Sarkin Malaman Masaurautan Fika and Yobe’s Chief Imam.
She also extends her deepest condolences to the immediate family, Government of Yobe State, Fika Emirate Council and the people of Fika Emirate over the demise of the Islamic cleric.
Aliyu, in a statement signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja by her SA Media, Mr Austine Elemue described Late Sheikh Muhammadu Alkali, described as a revered scholar of Islām who never relent in his effort towards Da’awah works, also noted his immense contributions in the establishment of Government schools through the defunct Universal Primary Education (UPE) Scheme, in Plateau province, Gwoza, Madagali, Mandara, Biu, Chibok and beyond.
The minister in her condolence message said she was saddened over the death of the Muslim scholar, educationist, super permanent secretary and a seasoned administrator, noting that the vacuum his death has created would be hard to fill.
“The Late Sheikh Muhammadu Alkali, was a true scholar who served his students and the people of Fika Emirate with love and distinction.
“My deepest sympathies to the Government and people of Yobe State, Fika Emirate Council and the people of Fika Emirate, for this great loss. May ALLAH put him in a special place from where he will be watching us, the people who loved and cherished him. They say there is nothing so kindly as kindness, and nothing so royal as truth. These are the very few qualities of the Late Sheikh.
“I take solace therefore in the belief that death can never take a good man away from the hearts of the people he inspired, the legacy remains and continue throughout generations. He was a great cleric and father to many,” the message reads in parts.
The Minister therefore, pray that the Almighty ALLAH grants him Aljanna Firdaus and the family, the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
Almost Two months into the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination exercise in the nation’s capital , some medical experts have decried the apathy towards the exercise, that has resulted in low coverage of eligible persons especially in the rural areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the experts, this foretell dangers to the well-being of the entire population of the nation’s capital, in the wake of the prevailing devastating effects of the pandemic to the society.
Saying, available statistics as at May 6, 2021, revealed that a total of 96,559 have been successfully been vaccinated during the first round of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise which is expected to end this Friday, May 14.
Speaking to this, the Programme Officer, Immunization Services in FCT, Mrs. Salome Tor, however, described as unfortunate that there is so much apathy towards the COVID-19 vaccination especially among rural dwellers in the FCT.
Tor spoke while giving the FCT COVID-19 vaccine accountability profile at a one-day media orientation workshop on the exercise, organised by the FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board, in Abuja.
According to her, “As at May 5, 2021, there is 104,700 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at the FCT cold store, as balance of the 123,700 received for the exercise in Abuja.
” The exercise has been ongoing for about two months now, no death have been recorded, but only 47 mild and 2 severe (those with rashes) reactions were recorded.
“We have a minimum of three health workers in each team, they have all been distributed into the six area council, all the government hospitals in the FCT are selected location for this vaccination.
“We also have temporary fixed post team; these are special teams who visit various organisations or special location. We urge people to go and vaccinate before the exercise closes,” she stated.
According to the programme officer of the vaccination programme, those eligible for the vaccine are 18 years old and above in the Territory.
Also, the Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Healthcare, Dr. Iwot Ndaeyo, cautioned that deliberately avoiding vaccination posed imminent dangers to everyone in the nation’s capital.
Ndaeyo noted that FCT Administration is working toward making sure that 80 per cent of people in a community gets vaccinated to have immunity over the virus.
According to him , “We need at least seven out of 10 people to be vaccinated to be able to withstand the SARS 2 virus of COVID-19.
“I consider that as a deliberate hazard that will become hazardous to the community, so we advice that people shouldn’t put themselves in that position, they should go ahead and take the vaccine.
“We started this vaccination in FCT on March 15, the country at large started it on March 5, we have not seen anybody with serious complains about the vaccine in FCT.
“Why are people waiting, they should go ahead and take this vaccine in the health facility within the 62 wards of the FCT, the vaccine is safe.”
Similarly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Consultant to FCT healthcare board, Abdulrasheed Jimoh, stressed the need for the media to help develop attitudinal change in the mind of the public about COVID-19 and the vaccine.
He, therefore, urged members of the public to do away with myths and lies about COVID-19 vaccine.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has begun a nationwide sensitization campaign on product registration and value addition for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise operators across the country.
thye Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye reiterated the critical role MSMEs play in the nation’s economy. while speaking at a one-day sensitization campaign on MSMEs registration and product value addition organized by the Agency in collaboration with Yobe State government in Damaturu.
Adeyeye who was represented by the NAFDAC Zonal Director, North-East, Dr Bukar Usman mni, said that the Federal Government had identified MSMEs as very critical to the economy of the nation.
She said; ‘’Therefore, the Agency, whose mandate is to register some of these products, decided to embark on sensitization across the country’’, Prof Adeyeye was quoted as saying in a statement signed by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola on Sunday in Abuja.
‘’NAFDAC considers Yobe State as an excellent partner in executing our mandate in the state, which is why we are here to sensitize and educate these entrepreneurs on the basic tips, clues and easiest way to register their products, so that they can add value to commodities, especially agricultural commodities, without compromising quality and safety of the products,’’ she said.
Adeyeye further explained that value addition entailed transforming or converting raw materials into finished or semi-finished products, while maintaining product quality, adding that at the end of the sensitization the Agency hoped to increase the number of people engaged in adding value to their products by registering their products with NAFDAC in order to safeguard the health of the public.
The NAFDAC DG maintained that this would have a multiplier effect on the individual families, on the economy of the communities and also the state as a whole by improving its internally generated revenue IGR.
Adeyeye urged over 700 participating micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs, and scores of groups at the event to always deal with the agency directly in getting their products registered, as opposed to going through various consultants and middlemen.
She explained that consultants and middlemen have been the reason for the increasing problems and high cost of registration, faced by the MSMEs in easily getting their products registered.
“Part of the problem we have had in the past regarding high registration costs is due to interactions of MSMEs with consultants hence, we urge them to deal directly with the agency,” Adeyeye said.
In his remarks, Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni described the sensitization as part of the recovery process from the destructive activities of Boko Haram in the state.
Buni said the state government partnered the Agency so as to extend the reach of locally produced goods to market both within and outside the country.
