The Emir of Muri, Alhaji Abbas Njidda Tafida, has asked his subjects to confront kidnappers and bandits instead of running away from them.
He made this known when members of his community paid him Eid-El-Fitr homage on Thursday, saying, the criminals elements terrorising innocent residents are few compared to the larger members of the society.
He challenged his people to be courageous and secure their communities.
According to him, “When they kill any member of your community, retaliate and kill them and not run away to allow them kill and abduct your people.
“The larger society must resist attacks by kidnappers and bandits by confronting them when ever they come attacking.”
The Emir also advised that walls should be built around villages and towns for protection as was done in the ancient days.
The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu said President Muhammadu Buhari must consider the demand for a national dialogue and the establishment of state police.
Recall that two days ago, governors of 17 Southern States converged on Asaba, Delta State capital, where they made some resolutions and demands from the Federal government.
They had demanded a ban on open grazing in the south and urged the president to convene a national dialogue summit, among others.
In an interview on ARISE TV, Akeredolu justified the demands of the governors, saying some of their counterparts in the north are in support of their position.
He said it is highly unlikely that the presidency will ignore the governors because of their numbers.
According to him; “Getting a presidential buy-in might be some cause for concern, but 17 governors from the south. I believe that whatever we have said should be given some weight, it must be something that has to be considered. That means the presidency will look at it and consider it. The number is large. It is more or less like half of us.
“I know that if we had called our brothers in the Middle Belt, they would have signed up to this. I even know that there are some of our brothers even in the north that would have signed up to this communique, who also believe that the time has come for us to have dialogue.
“I know Mr President. It has to be considered. It must be considered. Because the number of governors involved are not one you can just push aside. When you talk about this dialogue, it is a matter of serious concern to us. It is not a parlour gossip. It is a matter that came from serious, in-depth discussion of governors”, he said
A former Chief of Defence Staff, Joshua Dogonyaro has died at the age of 80.
Joseph, the first son of the deceased, mdae this to newsmen on Thursday.
Saying, “Daddy has been sick for some time until yesterday when he had a stroke and we rushed him to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for medical attention.
“Unfortunately, early this morning (Thursday), around 3.00am precisely, he breathed his last.
“His death comes as a rude shock to us as a family. We are going to miss his love and warm as a grandfather, father, brother, uncle and supporter,” he said.
Joseph said the family was trying to cope with the shock of the general’s demise and would discuss the funeral arrangements soon.
He described his father as “a General who was so faithful and loyal to the nation, Nigeria.”
“He was a general who had no bias mind as a detribalised Nigerian. He served this nation faithful and identified with all Nigerians and Africa as a continent.
“We and Nigerians are going to miss him having served humanity in this country and Africa as a whole, ” Joseph said.
According to him, the corpse of the general has since been deposited at the JUTH mortuary.
Dogonyaro, a soldier and an administrator, was born on Sept. 12, 1940 in Vom, Plateau State, though a native of Taroh in Langtang North Local Government Area.
He had his early education at Boys’ Secondary School, Gindiri, and there after was enlisted in the Nigerian Army, 1964.
He was commissioned Second-Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps, 1967; Officer Commanding, 1 Recce Squadron, NA, 1967-69; Quartermaster General, I Infantry Division (Main), N, 1969-70.
The late general became Chief Instructor and Adjutant, Rece Training School, NA, 1970 to 1972; Commanding Officer, I Recce Regiment, NA., 1972 to 1976.
He was appointed Principal Staff Officer, Headquarters, Nigerian Army Armoured Corp, 1976 to 1977; Commanding Officer, 24 Armoured Brigade, NA., 1977-79.
Between 1984 and 1985, he was made the Task Force Commanding Officer, 203 Armoured Battalion on the Peace-keeping Force in Chad; Director of Manning (Army), Army Headquarters, ‘A’ Branch, N.A and Director of Armoury, 1985.
He was also the General Officer Commanding 3 Armoured Division, N.A, Jos, 1985 to 1987; mm: Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), 1985; General Officer Commanding 2nd Mechanised Division, N.A, Ibadan, 1987;promoted Major-General, 1988; Promoted Lt. General; former ECOMOG Commander; retired in 1993;
Dogonyaro also attended the National Institute for Policy and Suategic Studies, Kuru, Jos and obtained National Institute (mni) in addition to the Staff College (Psc) and Forces Service Star (FSS).
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has assured residents of the nation’s capital of continuous safety of lives and properties.
While adding that, we will continue, in collaboration with the various security agencies, to put measures in place to safeguard the lives and properties of all residents of the FCT.
The Minister gave this assurance in his Eid-El-Fitr message to residents of the nation’s capita which was made available to newsmen in Abuja by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Anthony Ogunleye.
According to him; “As we celebrate the Eid festivities, we should please do so from the safety and comfort of our homes. Please note that despite the seemingly low cases of positives and fatalities recorded in recent weeks, COVID-19 is still with us and remains a deadly disease.
“The possibility of a third wave is very real and we should therefore continue to observe the non-pharmaceutical intervention protocols of facial coverings, physical distancing and hand washing”,he stated.
He also urged them to stand firm and resolute against divisive and unpatriotic elements in our society who do not wish us well as a nation and as a people to continue to care for each other irrespective of ethnic or religious differences.
Bello further stated that, the Federal Capital Territory was built on a foundation of national unity with the strong conviction of our founding fathers that it is only when we stay together and work together, with a single purpose, that we can truly reach our potentials as a great nation.
He added that , remain vigilant and be security conscious at all times. Report to the security agencies all suspicious movements and characters in our communities and be more discerning with information that you imbibe or share especially from the social media.
He, however, felicitate with all residents of the Federal Capital Territory, especially the Muslim Ummah on the celebration of Eid-El-Fitr.
Saying, “Most importantly, I congratulate us all on the successful completion of 30 days of Ramadan which involved fasting, prayers and charity.
“It is therefore an opportunity to thank Almighty Allah for the successful completion of this religious obligation and pray that our supplications to Him will be favourably received.
“It was indeed gratifying to witness residents of the FCT reaching out to the less privileged members of the society regardless of ethnicity or religion in the spirit of oneness and caring for one another.
“I urge you to continue to practice the lessons learnt during Ramadan in order to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and unity”, he further stated.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu has said that the continuous detention of Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, aka Baba Ijesha, is based on legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in the state Ministry of Justice.
He added that, the actor would not be released until the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria called off its nationwide strike and the courts resumed so that he could be arraigned.
Odumosu said these in reaction to Wednesday’s protest by Omiyinka’s colleague, Yomi Fabiyi, and others, who demonstrated at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, to demand his release on bail.
He said based on the legal advice, a prima facie case had been established against Omiyinka, adding that the thespian’s continued detention was based on the DPP’s advice.
According to him , “When they got the SCIID today (Wednesday), they were advised by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the SCIID, and he told them that we have done our work and sought legal advice from the Ministry of Justice and the advice was that we should still keep him in our custody.
“When we concluded our investigation, we forwarded our report to the ministry for legal advice. The ministry advised us through the Office of the Public Defender. The legal advice was that there was a prima facie case established against him and some sections of the law were quoted in the advice. So, the advice was that he should still remain in our custody and to be charged for that.”
Odumosu said the ministry might review its position concerning Omiyinka’s detention if the JUSUN strike continues indefinitely, adding that a new arrangement had been made in the state for courts to sit three times a week.
The CP said, “Regarding the JUSUN strike, they agreed to be working for three days and striking for two days. They will go on strike on Monday and Tuesday, while the courts will sit on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“It was our hope that they would work on Wednesday, but coincidentally, Wednesday and Thursday are public holidays. But if the courts continue to remain shut, the Ministry of Justice may further review the report. But right now, we are relying on the advice of the ministry.”
Omiyinka has been in detention since he was arrested for alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, who is in the care of a comedienne, Adekola Adekoya, aka Princess.
During the demonstration on Wednesday, the protesters demanded that Omiyinka should be released on bail.
Fabiyi, who led the demonstration, said he was not in support of the allegations levelled against Omiyinka, but noted that what he was clamouring for was for his fundamental human rights to be respected.
He also condemned re-traumatising the victim in a bid to gather evidence, explaining that such a measure would have negative implications on society
Addressing the protesters, DCP Adegoke Fayoade, who is in charge of the SCIID, stated that the ongoing strike by judiciary workers had impeded Baba Ijesha’s arraignment.
“Baba Ijesha’s case, as we are aware, has gone to the DPP. And the DPP has advised us on what to do. What we are waiting for is for the courts to resume; as soon as the courts resume, we will arraign him,” he said.
World Bank has said that remittances by Nigerians in the Diaspora declined by 27.7 per cent in 2020.
A report by the World Bank titled ‘Defying predictions, remittance flows remain strong during COVID-19 crisis’ said Nigeria contributed 40 per cent of the remittances into Sub-Saharan Africa.
It put remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa at $42bn. Forty per cent contribution of Nigeria to this means that remittances to Nigeria was $16.8bn in 2020.
A decline of 27.7 per cent also put remittances into the country in 2019 at $21.45bn.
The report said remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa declined by an estimated 12.5 per cent due to a decline in the remittances to Nigeria that contributes the largest amount in the region.
Nigeria has been having foreign exchange crisis resulting from decline in earnings from crude oil sale.
Diaspora remittances is the second major source of foreign exchange for the country. Drying forex remittances recently pushed the Central Bank of Nigeria to offer an incentive of N5 for every dollar remitted through official channels.
Differing exchange rates often push Nigerians in the diaspora to explore alternative ways of remitting money into the country so that they can enjoy higher value.
The report stated that the decline in flows to Sub-Saharan Africa was almost entirely due to a 27.7 per cent decline in remittance flows to Nigeria.
Excluding flows to Nigeria, it stated, remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa increased by 2.3 per cent, demonstrating resilience.
Part of the report stated that , “Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa declined by an estimated 12.5 per cent in 2020 to $42bn.
“The decline was almost entirely due to a 27.7 per cent decline in remittance flows to Nigeria, which alone accounted for over 40 per cent of remittance flows to the region.
“Excluding Nigeria, remittance flows to Sub-Saharan African increased by 2.3 per cent.
“Remittance growth was reported in Zambia (37 per cent), Mozambique (16 per cent), Kenya (nine per cent) and Ghana (five per cent).”
The report said in 2021, remittance flows to the region were projected to rise by 2.6 per cent, supported by improving prospects for growth in high-income countries.
Data on remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa were sparse and of uneven quality, with some countries still using the outdated fourth IMF balance of payments manual, rather than the sixth, while several other countries did not report data at all, it stated.
The World Bank said that high-frequency phone surveys in some countries reported decreases in remittances for a large percentage of households even while recorded remittances reported by official sources report increased in flows.
The shift from informal to formal channels due to the closure of borders explained in part the increase in the volume of remittances recorded by central banks, it stated.
On the remittance costs for Sub-Saharan Africa, the report said it remained the most expensive region to send money to, where sending $200 costs an average of 8.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“Within the region, which experiences high intra-regional migration, it is expensive to send money from South Africa to Botswana (19.6 per cent), Zimbabwe (14 per cent), and to Malawi (16 per cent),” it stated.
The report said the relatively strong performance of remittance flows during the COVID-19 crisis had also highlighted the importance of timely availability of data.
Given its growing significance as a source of external financing for low and middle-income countries, there was a need for better collection of data on remittances in terms of frequency, timely reporting, and granularity by corridor and channel.
It stated that the lead author of the report on migration and remittances and head of KNOMAD, Dilip Ratha, said, “The resilience of remittance flows is remarkable. Remittances are helping to meet families’ increased need for livelihood support.
“They can no longer be treated as small change. The World Bank has been monitoring migration and remittance flows for nearly two decades, and we are working with governments and partners to produce timely data and make remittance flows even more productive.”
Despite COVID-19, remittance flows remained resilient in 2020, registering a smaller decline than previously projected.
Officially, recorded remittance flows to low and middle-income countries reached $540bn in 2020, just 1.6 per cent below the 2019 total of $548bn, according to the latest migration and development brief, the World Bank stated.
…Says Funding Gap Of TB In Nigeria Stands At 70 Per cent
Health experts are lobbying for an advocated for an increase in domestic funding for Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria in order to reduce its burden in the country.
They also reduced that the funding gap of TB in Nigeria currently stands at 70 per cent and Nigeria remains one out of the 30 countries globally with the highest burden of TB.
Experts gave this revelation in Abuja at a virtual advocacy workshop on Drug-Resistance TB (DR-TB) organised by the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), in collaboration with the Stop TB Partnership Nigeria and the Treatment Action Group (TAG) New York.
The National Coordinator, NTBLCP, Chukwuma Anyaike, stated that the funding gap of TB in Nigeria currently stands at 70 per cent.
While adding that, the country can only boast of 30 per cent funding out of which 23 per cent is from international donors and other partners.
He also stressed that ; “We need support, especially financial support to be able to breach this gap and eradicate the disease.”
According to him;”Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that is caused by a bacterium (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that often affects the lungs.
“Nigeria remains one of the 30 countries globally with the highest burden of TB. She ranks first in Africa with the number of undetected cases.
“Although TB is one of the vaccine-preventable diseases which is also curable, statistics from the WHO show that every year, around 245,000 Nigerians die from TB, and about 590,000 new cases occur (of these, around 140,000 are also HIV-positive)”, he said.
Anyaike further stated that; “Data released by ‘Stop TB Partnership’ in March shows that global treatment and diagnosis of TB cases witnessed a drastic decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected millions of people worldwide.
“The report also indicates that disruptions in services caused by the pandemic have led to further setbacks in progress already made against the disease.
“Nigeria has only treated 11 per cent of people with drug resistant TB, leaving a gap of 89 per cent.
“He said data show that one case of TB that is left untreated can infect 10 to 15 people in a year depending on the environmental position of such a person.
“We have 440,000 new cases of TB in Nigeria and the highest number of cases we notified was in 2020. If compared with our estimation, you will find out we have above 300,000 cases still missing,” he explained.
He further stated that between 2010 and 2020, 13,407 DR-TB cases have been notified while 9,337 have been placed on treatment.
Anyaike said awareness of TB is still very low as only 27 per cent of Nigerians know about the disease.
While adding that, worthy of note is the gap between diagnosis and enrollment of DR-TB cases which has been largely due to a myriad of factors.
“One of which is the lack of demand for the diagnostic services due to lack of awareness of Tuberculosis amongst the population, stigma, and ignorance of the people in the community about the disease,” he stated.
He,however, noted that the NTBLCP through the support and collaboration of partners and donor agencies has taken laudable steps in reducing the prevalence of the disease through ensuring Universal Health Coverage for DR-TB patients.
“Nigeria adopted the Gene Xpert technology in 2013 for rapid diagnosis of DR-TB with the capacity to diagnose a case within 100 minutes.
He said, “Currently, 403 of these Gene Xpert machines have been procured and deployed across the country to ensure accessibility to rapid molecular diagnosis of presumptive DR-TB”.
Earlier in his remarks , the Executive Secretary of StopTB Partnership, Mayowa Joel, said there are ongoing efforts to eradicate drug-resistant TB which is still high in the country.
He said the dialogue aims to get new recommendations to improve TB case finding and treatments for drug.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested former Lagos East Council Vice Chairman, Asekun Kehinde Sakiru, for drug trafficking.
This was contained in a statement on Wednesday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi and available to newsmen in Abuja, saying, Sakiru has been on the agency’s wanted list since December 2020 “in connection to a case involving one Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim who was arrested with 6.45kg of cocaine”.
Sakiru, was said to have been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, at about 9:40pm on May 7.
He was said to have trying to board a Virgin Atlantic airline flight to London, United Kingdom.
The statement reads as follows; “At the point of his arrest, Asekun was caught with a kilogramme of cocaine concealed in five pairs of palm slippers packed inside his suitcase,” the statement read.
“During preliminary investigation, it was gathered that the London-based baron is a seasoned politician.
“He was at different times between 2004 and 2014 the vice chairman of Lagos Island East LCDA. He had also contested and lost elections for house of representatives in 2007 and Lagos state house of assembly in 2015.
“Although he claims to be an international businessman who deals in automobiles, investigation is yet to confirm that to be the source of his acquired wealth.
“In the course of tracking him, the sum of N131million was seized from his account, and another N14 million also blocked in the account of one of his traffickers, Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim, bringing the total sum so far recovered from him to N145 million.”
While commending the officers and men of the MMIA command, Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, said the agency is committed to ridding the country of drug traffickers.
“This arrest is yet another message and red alert to those still in this criminal trade, whether as barons or traffickers, that they will soon enter the dragnet of the Agency, daily being spread across the country, if they fail to back out especially now that we are moving all out for the barons and the big cartels while we continue to rein in the traffickers,” he said.
As of March 2011, Asekun a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the time was appointed to coordinate security for the LCDA elections in Lagos.
National Electricity Grid collapsed on Wednesday, dropping power generation to about 260 Megawatts (MW) and causing nationwide outage.
According to real-time power grid records by the Independent System Operations (ISO) section of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), none of the over 20 generation Companies (GenCos) produced energy as of 1pm due to the system collapse while it was not immediately clear what caused the power grid disturbance.
As of Tuesday, the peak power generation was 4,757MW while the lowest generation was 3,976MW. While 101,605 megawatts hour (MWH) energy was generated, consumers through the 11 Distribution Companies (DisCos) utilised 99,955MWH.
However, by Wednesday afternoon, checks indicated that only five of the 11 DisCos had slight energy allocation while the six others had no energy to supply to their customers across the states.
Their energy load expectations also dropped from over 4,000MW previously to 260MW by 1:00pm on Wednesday.
For instance, Abuja DisCo which had anticipated 458.927MW for Wednesday had it cut to 50MW by 1pm as efforts were ongoing to revive the national grid.
Eko DisCo had 70MW, Benin and Ikeja DisCos had 50MW respectively and Ibadan DisCo got 40MW.
Some DisCos also informed their customers about the outage which would be felt especially during the public holiday.
A statement by Kaduna Electric by the Head, Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, hinted the collapse occurred at 11:01 am on Wednesday.
“Dear esteemed customers, we regret to inform you that the power outage currently being experienced across our franchise – Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states – is as a result of the collapse of the national grid.
“The collapse occurred at about 11:01 am this morning. Power supply shall be restored across our franchise as soon as the grid is restored by the TCN team,” it stated.
The TCN team was observed to be working on restoring the grid, according to the ISO online monitor.
President Muhammadu Buhari has advised Nigerians that they should be weary of forces of division and avoid their antics by all means.
He gave this advice in his message to Nigerians on the Eid Al Fitr celebrations.
According to him in a statement by his media aide Garba Shehu, which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja stated that Nigerians should rather promote virtues that unite us rather than cause division among the two major religious faiths.
The message reads in parts; “On this blessed occasion, I wish that the Eid festival brings with it peace, safety, security, brotherhood and love amongst all.
“Unity and solidarity among all citizens, Muslims and Christians are imperative especially at a time when our country is faced with multiple challenges which are surmountable only when we come together as one.
“It is important that we remember how we share, through our faiths, common bonds that should serve to unite us and not allow ourselves to succumb to those who seek to divide us, using our two great religions, for their own selfish advantages.
“We should jointly pray against the tragic incidents of kidnapping and banditry and the desperate quest for political power expressed through blackmail against the existence of our country as a united entity.
“We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities. I urge our political and religious leaders as well as traditional rulers to encourage our citizens to turn towards one another in love and compassion.”
President also stated that , it is noteworthy and delightful to see Christians breaking fast and in some instances, extending goodwill and gifts to Muslim faithfuls during the Ramadan. “This model also shone through with Muslim groups joining Christian festivities. These are practices that promote brotherhood and forgiveness,” he says.
Buhari also urges Nigerians to continue to observe all COVID-19 prevention measures and celebrate responsibly during the holidays.
