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  • Fire destroys Unity FM Abakiliki production studio

    Fire destroys Unity FM Abakiliki production studio

     

    By Uchenna Ugwu
    A fire outbreak on Monday destroyed the production studio of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria’s Unity FM, Abakiliki in Ebonyi, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The General Manager of the station, Mr Rex Eze, who spoke to NAN on the development, said the fire started at the production studio and burnt it completely.

    Eze said the fire was caused by an electrical fault, noting that workers were in the studio when the fire broke out.

    He said that various items, including computers, laptops, furniture and electrical appliances were damaged by the fire.

    “There was a bang shortly after our engineers changed from public power line to the generator.

    “I thanked God that the fire did not affect the transmitter, the live studio and my office,” Eze said.

    The Head of the Ebonyi State Fire Service, Mr Raphael Ibiam, who also confirmed the incident, described the fire outbreak as sad.

    He said, however, that firemen were able to put off the fire before it could cause more damage.

  • Buhari mourns Lady Janet Okwaraji, mother of late Super Eagles star

    Buhari mourns Lady Janet Okwaraji, mother of late Super Eagles star

    Ismaila Chafe

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of late Lady Janet Okwaraji, mother of Late footballer, Sam Okwaraji.

    Mrs Okwaraji, was a teacher and school proprietress, who passed on at 83, leaving lasting memory of kindness, love and charity as a devout Christian.

    The President’s condolence message was conveyed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Monday.

    The President believed Lady Okwaraji, whose son, Samuel, died in August 1989 while playing for the Super Eagles in a World Cup qualifier, would always be remembered for the sacrifices of the family for the nation.

    President Buhari affirmed that the matriarch of the Okwaraji family, like her son, defined simplicity, loyalty and patriotism in many ways as she remained steadfast, believing in Nigeria, despite the vicissitude of life.

    According to the president, as a mother, who lost her son in an unexpected situation, Lady Janet deserved to be acknowledged for her resilience and nobility, despite the odds.

    President Buhari prayed that the almighty God would grant her soul eternal rest, and comfort her loved ones.

  • APC displays 6 Edo governorship aspirants’ credentials for screening

    APC displays 6 Edo governorship aspirants’ credentials for screening

    Deji Abdulwahab
    The National Working Committee (NWC), of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has displayed the credentials of all six Edo governorship aspirants participating in the party’s primaries slated for June 22, for screening.

    APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said this on Monday shortly after pasting of aspirants’ credentials at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.

    Issa-Onilu said that the party’s leadership pasted the candidates’ credentials to ensure transparency and that the party could learn and correct its past mistakes and experience.

    “You will recall what happened in Bayelsa, we thought we did the best we should, but it turned out that we did not do enough.

    “So the best thing we have to do now is to go beyond ourselves to the things that may not be known to us.

    “We have put it out here for anybody who has information to help the screening committee,” the party’s spokesman said.

    According to him, APC NWC is also taking official steps to verify some of these documents to be sure that it does the right thing.

    “By mere putting it on the board here, making it transparent, putting it before the public, it does mean that people who know them very well: school mates, aquintances, friends and even enemies, could come up with whatever they have.

    “We are expecting help from whatever angle it could come from.

    “All we are interested in is that we ensure transparency and comply with our own constitution, the electoral act and the Constitution of this country.

    “We want to give everybody a fair chance and to be seen to have done our best,” he said.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the six aspirants include incumbent Gov. Godwin Obaseki, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Dr Pius Odubu, Mr Chris Ogiemwonyi, Mr Osaro Obazee and Mr Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.

  • Corruption Allegation: Lagos Assembly passes vote of confidence in Speaker Obasa

    Corruption Allegation: Lagos Assembly passes vote of confidence in Speaker Obasa

    Adekunle Williams

    The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday passed a vote of confidence in the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, after clearing him of all corruption allegations levelled against him by an online medium.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House unanimously passed the vote of confidence through a voice vote conducted by the Majority Leader, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, who acted as the speaker during the plenary.

    NAN reports that this followed the presentation of the report of a nine-member fact-finding ad hoc committee which was headed by Mr Victor Akande (Ojo Constituency 1) during plenary.

    NAN reports that the ad hoc committee was set up to investigate all the corruption allegations levelled against the speaker, bothering on operating 64 bank accounts with different names.

    The online medium had alleged that the speaker unilaterally approved expenditure for programmes and activities in the house, and spent N258 million to print invitation cards for the inauguration of the 9th assembly.

    The online medium alleged that the speaker received N80 million as estacode while his wife was collecting N10 million from the House on a monthly basis.

    The online medium also alleged that the House purchased 11 Toyota Hiace buses for the house as well as 80 cars for the lawmakers within a year without following due process.

    The speaker on Saturday appeared before state assembly panel of inquiry on the corruption allegations.

    Obasa told the panel that the allegations were untrue and that it was the handiwork of his enemies.

    Akande, in presenting report of the fact-finding committee during the plenary, said all the allegations made against Obasa were frivolous, adding that the speaker followed due process in all its purchases.

    The lawmaker stated that the House was concerned about the damaging allegations against the speaker.

    Akande said the committee had recommended that the Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, should begin the process of investigating the leakage of some documents of the house to the media and bring the erring staffers to book.

    He said: “We also recommend that the activities of the house should be digitalised for proper record keeping and monitoring.

    “It was then suggested by the committee that a vote of confidence should be passed on the speaker of the house,” he said.

    Akande said that the banks invited during the investigation, including Ecobank, Wema, Polaris and Zenith, denied allegations that Obasa had multiple accounts with them with the same BVN and different names.

    The lawmaker stated that the committee found that the speaker had only one account with Ecobank, which he opened in 2007, but that the account was dormant and that the BVN quoted for Ecobank was not correct.

    He said: “The speaker did not have multiple accounts with Ecobank, the BVN ascribed to Wema Bank does not belong to him and the companies attributed to him in Wema Bank is not correct.

    “Out of the 14 accounts attributed to him for Zenith Bank, only six belong to him and only two are active.

    “The companies ascribed to him in Zenith Bank does not belong to him. The Deputy Speaker did not attend any trip in Dubai as against the reports of SaharaReporters.

    “The ad hoc committee also discovered that the purchase of vehicles for the lawmakers were ratified by the Fund Management Committee (FMC) of the House in both the 8th and 9th assemblies.

    “We also revealed that the purchase of Toyota Prado and Land Cruiser cars for members were approved by the FMC and the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA).

    “The purchase of operational vehicles for members of the 9th Assembly was approved by the FMC members.”

    Akande said the purchase of 36 Toyota Prado and six Toyota Land Cruisers were budgeted for and approved by the PPA, adding that the allegation of spending N64 Million for social media influencers was not true.

    He said the speaker made the USA trip and only eight Hiace Buses were purchased for committee work and staff.

    Akande said contrary to the claim that N258 million was spent for printing invitation cards for the inauguration for 9th assembly, only N61 million was spent for the event and N1.1 for invitation cards.

    According to him, the facility management company in the House does not belong to the speaker while the alleged N10 million paid to the speaker wife is not true.

    Mr Setonji David (Badagry II) thereafter moved a motion for the adoption of the recommendation of the committee, which was supported by Mr Temitope Adewale (Ifako Ijaiye II).

    NAN reports that the ad hoc committee had conducted the investigation into the allegations against the speaker on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

    Members of the committee are Mr Yinka Ogundimu (Agege II), Mr Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa II), Mr Lukmon Olumoh (Ajeromi Ifelodun I) and Mr Ajani Owolabi (Lagos Mainland I).

    Others are Mrs Mojisola Alli-Macaulay (Amuwo Odofin I), Mr Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu I) and Mr Akeem Shokunle (Oshodi/Isolo I).

  • COVID-19 funds: Reps C’ttee threatens AGF with warrant of arrest

    COVID-19 funds: Reps C’ttee threatens AGF with warrant of arrest

    EricJames Ochigbo

    The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account (PAC) has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) Mr Ahmed Idris.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Wole Oke (PDP-Osun), issued the threat over the failure of the AGF to appear before the committee to defend the amount spent on COVID-19 pandemic response before an investigative hearing.

    The investigative hearing, which sat on Monday in Abuja, was on funds so far spent on the pandemic.

    Oke said that if the accountant-general failed to appear on June 15, the committee would invoke the relevant sections of the Constitution for his arrest.

    “The accountant general should not disrespect the parliament; he should stop disrespecting the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The best the President can do for him is to appoint him as chief accountant; he must appear here on June 15 or we shall do the needful, we shall issue a warrant of arrest on him.

    “We have asked him many times to appear and defend financial issues arising from the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation but he is running away,’’ he said.

    Earlier, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, told the committee that the centre had so far received N5.620 billion in two tranches.

    He said that out of the total amount, N620 million was earlier released to the centre to enable adequate preparedness the moment COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

    Ihekweazu explained that the sum of five billion naira was later released for the actual response after the first case was recorded in the country.

    The director-general told the lawmakers that the centre had so far spent a total of N1.2 billion in response to contain the pandemic.

    “We have spent N380 million on procurement of medical and laboratory supplies, we spent N250 million on deployment of rapid response team across the country and N192 million on emergency procurement of medical equipment.

    “We have spent N142 million on the engagement of ad hoc staff, N101 million on surveillance and response activities, N41 million on various repairs and reconstruction works and N34 million on training.

    “We have spent N22 million on supporting the supply chains, N6 million on risks communication and out of that, a total of N41 million was paid as tax in areas where tax is necessary,’’ he said.

    The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Musyapha Suleiman, told the lawmakers that a total of N500 million was earmarked for the ministry but only N250 million had been released.

    Suleiman said that of the amount released, the sum of N164 million had been spent on the accommodation and feeding of returnees.

    Contrary to claims on social media, Suleiman said that the returnees were not bearing the cost of their hotel accommodation and feeding.

    The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mr Abdulazeez Abdullahi, said that after the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 was set up, N48 billion was approved for the ministry.

    He explained that the amount was for the provision of infrastructures across the country and that another N21 billion was to cater for operations.

    The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said it was yet to receive any COVID-19 fund.

    The Committee adjourned the hearing to June 15, and demanded all relevant documents and details of expenditures.

  • Buhari nominates Dongban-Mensem as President Court of Appeal

    Buhari nominates Dongban-Mensem as President Court of Appeal

    Ismaila Chafe
    President Muhammadu Buhari, in-line with his constitutional responsibility has sent the nomination of Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, Acting President, Court of Appeal to the Senate for confirmation as President, Court of Appeal.

    The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

    “Justice Dongban-Mensem is a serving Justice of the Court of Appeal and was recommended, as is the practice, by the National Judicial Council for the nomination by the President,’’ the statement added.

    Buhari had earlier on May 29 approved the extension of the appointment of Dongban-Mensem as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal (PCA).

    The extension takes effect from June 3 for a further period of three months.

  • NSE market indices resume week with 0.93% gain

    NSE market indices resume week with 0.93% gain

    Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

    The nation’s bourse re-opened trading for the week on Monday on a positive trend, growing by 0.93 per cent due to price appreciation in high capitalised stocks.

    Specifically, the All-Share Index inched higher by 233.66 points to close at 25,249.96, against 25,016.30 on Friday.

    Similarly, the market capitalisation rose by N122 billion to close at N13.171  trillion, compared with 13.049 trillion achieved on Friday.

    The uptrend was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are; MTN Nigeria, BUA Cement, Nigerian Breweries, UACN and Vitafoam.

    Analysts at Afrinvest Limited expect a mixed performance for the week as the market presents opportunities for bargain hunting and profit taking.

    Market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, closed positive with 31 gainers and 11 decliners.

    A breakdown of the price movement table indicates that Wapic Insurance led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms, gaining 10 per cent, to close at 33k per share.

    Fidson followed with 9.80 per cent to close at N3.25, while Associated Bus Company rose by 9.76 per cent to close at 45k per share.

    Neimeth grew by 9.60 per cent, to close at N1.94, while Consolidated Hallmark appreciated by 9.52 per cent to close at 46k per share.

    Conversely, Japaul Oil dominated the decliners’ chart in percentage terms, dropping 10 per cent, to close at 27k per share.

    Cornerstone Assurance trailed with 9.09 per cent to close at 50k, while Chams declined by 7.41 per cent to close at 25k per share.

    Transcorp lost 5.19 per cent to close at 73k, while Courteville Business Solutions shed 4.76 per cent to close at 20k per share.

    The total volume of shares traded increased by 7.46 per cent with an exchange of 230.49 million shares valued at N2.17 billion in 4,621 deals.

    This was in contrast with 214.49 million shares worth N2.51 billion transacted in 4,342 deals on Friday.

    Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings topped the activity chart with 34.50 million shares valued at N188.35 million.

    Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 22.88 million shares worth N550.14 million, while Japaul Oil accounted for 21.21 million shares valued at N6.37 million.

    United Bank for Africa traded 19.54 million shares worth N131.95 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 19.27 million shares valued at N327.06 million.

  • Cargo evacuation by rail will help decongest port —- NSC Director

    Cargo evacuation by rail will help decongest port —- NSC Director

    Chiazo Ogbolu
    Nigerian Shippers’ Council(NSC) on Monday said it would be supervising the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of cargo evacuation between the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and the APM Terminal.

    Mrs Ifeoma Ezedinma, Director, Regulatory Services, NSC made this known at the resumed evacuation of cargoes by rail in Lagos.

    She said that to ensure that things move smoothly, the NRC and the APM Terminal would have to adhere to the SOP.

    “There are many challenges in the port right now due to the shutdown which has resulted to congestion, but with this reintroduction of evacuation by rail, we believe it will go a long way in the port decongestion.

    “The rail evacuation will reduce cost, the economy of demand and supply will also come to play as it will give room for our exports which are languishing on the road to gain access to the port,” she said.

    Mr Jerry Oche, Railway District Manager, NRC, Lagos said that the new agreement for the evacuation of cargoes would work because of the SOP was binding on everyone and shippers council was standing as the supervisor.

    “We have been on this for quite sometime, but the difference today is that we are starting with an SOP; in the past, all we were doing was that everyone was doing his or her own thing.

    “Now we have an SOP binding on everyone and we have a shippers council as a supervisor; yes, we have done it in the past and I tell you this will work because this is different,” he said.

    The district manager said that a train was made up of 19 wagons and each of the wagons could take 40ft or 20ft containers.

    According to him, if they are doing 40ft it means 19 trucks off the road and if it is 20ft, that would take 38 trucks off the road.

    Oche said that APMT had urged them to do four trips but they were starting with two.

    ”We want to start small and increase, but we believe we can do more than four trips,” he said.

    Oche said that adopting the standard gauge would improve their operation, and when the standard gauge comes, the SOP would be on auto pilot, a seamless operation driving itself.

    The External Affairs Manager, APM terminals, Daniel Odibe, said the new SOP would help bridge communication gap that they had experienced with NRC in the past.

    “This is an important milestone being achieved here, and it is something we have always asked for, an SOP for receiving trains into the terminal and servicing them.

    “It will definitely help in planning, bridge communication gap that we have experienced with NRC in the past and lead to more efficient operation with more cargo being handled through the rail tracks,” he said.

    Odibe commended the Shippers’ Council for bringing together the NRC and APM terminals to bridge that communication gap.

    “Right now, we have an SOP that will enable us receive the right containers coming to APMT without any hindrance and also enable us service the trains within the agreed timelines.

    “We do not envisage more challenges with the commencement of the SOP and it will also create a platform for us to meet, review the past and seek ways to improve.

    “What we proposed was for four trains in a day within every 12 hours but NRC advised we start with two and scale up as we go, assuring us that the process would be sustained,” he said.

    Odiba said that their intention when they constructed the rail line in 2013 and connected it to the national line was to provide alternate mode of evacuation of cargoes to customers.

    He said that the day’s event would increase the number of containers evacuated through the rail line, as it was coming at the best time, when the bridge was closed for repairs.

  • Oil prices rise on OPEC+ cuts, record China imports

    Oil prices rise on OPEC+ cuts, record China imports

    Oil climbed on Monday after major producers agreed to extend a deal on record output cuts to the end of July and as China’s crude imports hit an all-time high in May.

    Brent crude was up 51 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $42.81 per barrel, by 0628 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 32 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $39.87 a barrel.

    Both hit their highest since March 6 earlier in the session, at $43.41 and $40.44, respectively.

    Brent has nearly doubled since the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, agreed in April to cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis.

    On Saturday, OPEC+ agreed to extend the deal to withdraw almost 10 per cent of global supplies from the market by a third month to end-July.

    Following the extension, top exporter Saudi Arabia hiked its monthly crude prices for July.

    But Howie Lee, Economist at Singapore bank OCBC, noted that the latest deal had fallen short of market hopes for a three-month extension of output cuts.

    He said both benchmarks would require stronger bullish factors to propel prices back to where they were before March 6, when they crashed after OPEC and Russia initially failed to reach an agreement on supply cuts.

    “It’s a big gap there; you need a strong conviction to go from $43 to pre-crash levels,’’ Lee said, referring to Brent being above $50 before the March crash.

    Low prices have drawn Chinese buyers to boost imports.

    Purchases by the world’s largest crude importer rose to an all-time high of 11.3 million bpd in May.

    The OPEC+ move to extend cuts to July is, however, expected to lead to a supply deficit by October, aiding prices in the longer run, OCBC’s Lee added.

    Market participants are now eyeing compliance among OPEC members such as Iraq and Nigeria, which exceeded production quotas in May and June, for trading cues, analysts said.

    Libya’s supply could also rise soon as two major oilfields have reopened after months of a blockade that shut off most of the country’s production.

    “The potential return of Libyan output could also cause considerable challenges for the OPEC leadership,’’ said Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

    Even as oil prices recovered, they are still well below the costs of most U.S. shale producers, leading to shutdowns, layoffs and cost-cutting in the world’s largest producer.

    The number of operating U.S. oil and natural gas rigs fell to a record low for a fifth week in a row in the week to June 5, according to data from Baker Hughes Co.

    Nearly 30 per cent of the U.S. offshore oil output was also shut on Friday as tropical storm Cristobal entered the Gulf of Mexico.

    The storm weakened to a tropical depression on Monday morning.

    Higher oil prices could invite the reinstatement of supply, notably the U.S. shale, that was planned to be shut-in in June and July, BNP Paribas’ Harry Tchilingurian said.

    “OPEC+ faces a Catch-22 situation,’’ he said.

    “The resumption of output … may moderate the pace of rebalancing of the oil market.’’

  • Sokoto: Palliatives beneficiaries laud FG

    Sokoto: Palliatives beneficiaries laud FG

    Muhammad Nasir Bello

    Beneficiaries of the Federal Government Coronavirus (COVID-19) palliatives in Sokoto State have lauded the government for the gesture.

    The beneficiaries gave  the commendation during the distribution of  the items on Monday at Goronyo, Achida and Gandi Districts of Goronyo, Wurno and Rabah local government areas of the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that  Sokoto state government on May 23, began the distribution of the federal government’s palliatives to alleviate the harsh economic realities occasioned by the  COVID-19 pandemic.

    Dr Ali Inname, Commissioner for Health and Chairman, Sokoto State Taskforce on COVID-19, said  the palliatives were received through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development.

    According to Inname, the gesture is to alleviate the harsh economic realities occasioned by measures imposed to curtail the spread of Coronavirus pandemic in the country.

    He said the state government had chosen the state Zakkat and Endowment Commission to undertake the distribution of the items, which included,  1, 800 50kg bags of rice and 600  25 litres of vegetable oil.

    Malam Alasan Wakili, one of the beneficiaries in Goronyo district, described the gesture as a welcome development that would ease their hardship.

    “The assistance will surely aid our daily need and ease the current hardship we encounter as  part of the global Coronavirus pandemic effect.

    “We thank the federal government for remembering us and the Sokoto state government for extending the gesture to us,” he said.

    Also speaking,  Hansatu Goronyo commended the government for the gesture and appealed for the continuation of such support to ease the hardship being encountered by the poor in the society.

    Other beneficiaries who spoke to newsmen were Musa Danburam, Bala Achida, Rabi’a Gandi, Jamila Bello and Tagero Tsamiya, who commended the federal government for the gesture, appealed for more from wealthy persons in the state.

    The State Zakkat and Endowment Commission Chairman,  Malam Muhammad Maidoki, commended the federal and the state governments for the gesture and promised to ensure equitable distribution of the palliative.

    Maidoki represented by the Commission’s Director of Administration, Malam Ibrahim Jeli, urged the beneficiaries to judiciously utilise the items to better their living standards.