All Posts in "Day: April 28, 2021"

Safety:LASG Trains 98,000 Commercial Drivers

Lagos Government issues fresh guidelines for public transport operationsNigeria — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News
The Lagos State Drivers Institute says it has trained 97,866 commercial drivers in the state in the last two years.
Rehabilitation centre was also set up for drivers during the period in view aimed at ensuring sanity on the highways,Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, Commissioner for Transportation, Lagos State said
Oladeinde spoke during the commemoration of the second year in office of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and explained  that the state government had injected lots of technical changes into the system in a bid to further enhance safety and security on the highway, stressing that the government would continue to improve on the present template.
He added that  the Ministry of Transportation had unveiled numerous schemes aimed at increasing safety and easing of congestion on the highways, mentioning the establishment of the Lagos State Drivers Institute, E-Hailing Regulations and Operations and Motor Vehicle Administration as among the initiatives set up by the government to tackle the menace.
Hev emphasized that the new schemes of the state government was not aimed at dislodging bus drivers on the highways, stressing that the government would re-orientate them and absorb them into the system.
He said: “It will be unfair to kick out Danfo drivers in our state and bring in another set of people to do their jobs. Rather, we intend to train, reform and re-orientate the current drivers. If you send them out, you are creating more unemployment and more crises for the state. One thing is clear, the Agberos (touts) you talked about don’t want to work in such an environment they work at present and I want to tell you that they want to be trained also,
“The bus reform scheme is supposed to reform the characters of the bus drivers and the touts in the society. We want to curb illicit behaviours by the Agberos in the society. In the last two years, we have trained about 97,866 commercial drivers.”
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Motoring 0
Extortion: Ogun Police  Fire  Officers 

Photo Of Police Officers Dismissed From Service For Extortion In Ogun
Ogun State Police Command, has sacked three police officers who extorted N150,000 from a student of the Lagos State University, LASU, Sheriff Adedigba through the Point of Purchase, PoS machine.
In a statement released by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the officers were tried through departmental orderly trial, found guilty and dismissed from the service.
The money was retrieved from the officers and handed over to the victims who was also part of the orderly trial to give evidence against the officers,he said.
He added that:”Having heard about the incident on social media, the Commissioner of Police, Edward Awolowo Ajogun, ordered the immediate arrest and detention of the officers involved in the dastardly act. The three policemen were quickly identified and apprehended. The money was recovered from them and returned to the victim.
“They were subsequently arranged for departmental orderly room trial on three count charge of Corrupt practices, Discreditable conduct and Disobedience to lawful order.
“They were found guilty of all the charges, and subsequently dismissed from the force to serve as deterrent to others in their shoes.
Adedigba was on his way from Ibadan to Abeokuta last Saturday when the officers later identified as Inspector Sunday John, Sgt Jimoh Asimiya and Sgt Solomon Adedapo, stopped his car and ordered him out of the car.
The cops allegedly forced the students to open his bank application where they allegedly demanded N250,000 from the balance of the N288, 000 seen on the phone.
The students reported that the officers had earlier demanded a sum of one million naira from him and that his identification as a students didn’t bother the officers.
He said:”I told them I am a LASU Student they told me to unlock my phone but I refused; they threatened to kill me if I didn’t cooperate with them. They brought out a shocker, so I obliged.The officers asked me how many bank accounts I had,” he continued, “I told them I had two, GT bank and Union bank.
So I opened my phone due to the threat from them and upon going through it, I was asked to pay the sum of N1,000,000 but I told them I didn’t have up to that amount.
“Later on, they asked me to open my bank app, where they saw a balance of N288,000 and told me they would collect N250,000 out of it even without telling me what I did wrong.I begged them that I needed the money for some things; they insisted on collecting N150,000.”
He disclosed  that the officers later took him to a PoS point where N150,000 was transfered with additional N3,000 as transfer charges.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Crime/Metro 0
Herdsmen Kill Seven  IDPs In Benue

Herdsmen attack IDPs camp, kill seven in Benue - Daily Post Nigeria
 Suspected Fulani herdsmen  have about seven Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Abagana IDP camp in Makurdi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The attack led to protests by  the youths and some displaced persons blocked the Lafia/Makurdi highway and insisted that troops posted to keep the peace should leave the state, since they  have not shown the capacity to do the job.
Governor Ortom later drove  to the area to appease the youths before they could open the road  nerves to traffic.
He said:”From what is happening, within the last two weeks we have lost more than 70 people within the Makurdi, Guma and Gwer-West LGAs alone in addition to what you are seeing here today.
“Many are in the hospital apart from the seven that died in the attack on the IDPs camp by these herdsmen militia.
“I want to say that we are being overstretched; our patience is being overstretched and our preaching on rule of law is being overstretched. You can see that the people are fed up. Mr. President must rise up.
“He is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the President of over 250 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. They voted him, we all voted him.
“Mr. President, you took an oath of office to secure the lives and property of the people. This is unacceptable, this cannot continue. Mr. President cannot continue to be aloof. Mr. President must rise up to address the nation himself not his aides.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Arewa 0
FG Targets 800,000 Jobs From Digital Switch Over Project

The Federal Government  says it aims to create no fewer than 800,000 jobs from its Digital Switch Over project it billed to roll out later this week.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced this in Abuja at an interactive session with Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation with the  13 Member Ministerial Task Force on DSO project.
He said that the manufacturing of set top boxes or decoders alone was capable of creating 50,000 jobs, while television production could create 200,000 jobs.
“Film Production can generate 350 to 400,000 jobs, distribution, which entails supplying the market with Set Top Boxes,TVs and Dongles for the internet, will require at least 100,000 wholesalers. Advertising can create a further 50,000 jobs.”
He explained  how the DSO will commence,saying: “We are kickstarting the new roll out in Lagos state on  April 29, while  Kano  on June 3, and Rivers  on July 8. We will then follow up with Yobe s on July 15 and Gombe  on Aug 12. To date, we have rolled out the DSO in five states and Abuja.”
He said the DSO had gone live in the Federal Capital Territory, Kwara, Kaduna  Enugu and Osun states.
He said the  ministry  considers the DSO  as one of its priority projects, given its potential to create jobs, bring governance closer to the people through better access to information, provide quality programming to Nigeria’s estimated 24 million television households, with high fidelity pictures and sound.
“Without mincing words, let me say straight away that for us, the DSO is about stimulating local content and empowering platform owners,” he said.
He disclosed that the ministry  had  taken some steps to create the enabling environment for the DSO to succeed, for local content to thrive, for indigenous producers to be more engaged and for the local advertising market to grow.
He also revealed that the federal government  had carried out an unprecedented reform of the broadcasting industry, given the nexus between the reforms and success of the DSO.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Labour/Human Resources 0
Our Renewed Agenda For Power Sector-Transcorp Power

Tony Elumelu and his disposition towards female bosses |
Transcorp Power Limited,a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria
has restated its resolve to deepening its presence in the nation’s power sector.
Tony Elumelu,the chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, who  disclosed at the 15th annual general meeting of the company in Abuja,said Transcorp Power has significantly addressed supply issues, to its benefits.
He said: “Our focus for 2021 is to increase our available capacity taking into consideration the limitations in the nation’s transmission infrastructure.
“To this end, three of our generating turbines which were strategically taken out of inventory for refurbishment during the year will be returned to operation in 2021. These turbines contribute about 300MW to our available capacity. This, together with the assured gas supply, provides a solid foundation for a strong performance in 2021.
“We plan to further consolidate on the existing benefits from our membership of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) by expanding our electricity sales across the West African regional market. We will equally continue our engagement with NBET and Federal Government in finding a practical solution to the legacy debt owed to Transcorp Power Limited”.
He clarified  N97 million impairment on the company’s  balance sheet, stressing that it was only a debt owed by the federal government to power companies.
He assured the shareholders that there had been lots of improvement in the repayment process and commended the government particularly the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for facilitating the debt repayment obligations to power firms.
He said, “I am sure it should be more now. It’s actually a debt owed by the federal government to power companies.
“But as I said, things are now improving. Let me recognise the efforts of government especially the CBN governor who had been extremely patriotic and involved in driving the improvements in the repayments in the power sector. We hope that progressively they’ll clear all of these.”
He said the pandemic significantly affected business performance, particularly within the hospitality segment and that despite these challenges, the company remained resolute in its plan to achieve its long-term growth agenda and deliver value to its shareholders.
He said, “We made significant progress in deepening our play in sectors in which we operate (power, hospitality and oil and gas) and in expanding into new businesses.
“The power sector is classified as essential service and as a result, Transcorp Power Limited and its staff were exempted from the restriction of movement associated with the lockdown announced both at the federal and state government levels. Accordingly, the operations of Transcorp Power Limited were not materially affected by the pandemic.
“As we slowly overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, we believe that excellent execution of our strategic initiatives is fundamental to our success as a company. This is also critical in insulating ourselves from future systemic challenges. In this light, we will pursue the agenda below in 2021.
Meanwhile,some  shareholders of the company have expressed optimism that the company’s share price will significantly appreciate and that they have elected to stand by the company.
 Sir Sunny Nwosu, expressed excitement  that the administrative expenses went down by N3.5 billion,adding that the  development  was  an indication of a good management strategy by the company.
He said, “We are happy with the company, people on the board are serious minded people who are ready to improve the lives of shareholders”.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Power 0
How Wema Bank Survived COVID-19 Disruptions-Mabawonku

WEMA Bank confirms two positive COVID-19 cases in two branches nationwide – Business Hilights
The Chief Finance Officer of  Wema  Bank Plc, Tunde Mabawonku, said his  bank weathered the disruptions of the 2020 financial year through a sharp focus on safe lending, keeping non-performing loans low and driving transaction income.
He explained that the bank remained resilient and had continued to grow its business in an efficient manner as it persisted in adapting its strategy to yield strong financial results despite the adverse economic situation.
He disclosed this in a statement on the bank’s audited results for the year ended December 31, 2020
It grows balance sheet to N1tn’  during the period
The bank disclosed that it recorded a year-on-year double-digit growth of 39.42 per cent in customer deposit (FY 2020; N804.87bn, FY 2019; N577.28bn).
It proposed a dividend of 4 kobo per share in FY 2020 (FY 2019: 4kobo), noting this was the third straight year of paying dividends.
The results showed that net loans closed at N360.08bn, a growth of 24.49 per cent (FY 2019; N289.24bn), as the bank said it continued to support its customers across multiple sectors of the economy.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Banking&Finance 0
NEITI Intensifies Moves  To Recover Unremitted N69bn

Buhari appoints Ogbonnaya Orji as NEITI Executive Secretary - P.M. News
Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, the  Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, has urged the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Idris Ahmed to resuscitate the Inter-Ministerial Task Team set up by the Federal Government to address remedial issues raised by NEITI’s audit of the oil and gas sector.
Dr. Orji made the call on Tuesday when the Accountant General of the Federation visited NEITI’s office in Abuja
He had in March revealed that statutory recoverable revenues amounting to N69.51 billion and $5.31 billion were still outstanding from oil and gas companies.
He disclosed that the IMTT chaired by the Accountant General of the Federation has not been active in the past five years.
He explained that the IMTT was established by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to ensure that issues raised by the oil and gas, and solid minerals audit reports are quickly addressed by government agencies involved.
According to him, “The visit by the AGF is most encouraging to us in view of what we plan to do going forward. We want to work with all the agencies that either take custody of government funds, warehouse or manage them because majority of these funds come from the extractive industry.
“The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation is the nation’s treasury house and the Accountant General of the Federation has enormous responsibility in that regard”, he added.
Dr. Orji noted that the inter agency task team “to us means everything. We regret that in the last five years it hasn’t been very active but with the AGF working with us that committee will come back to life.
“That team was put in place by the government to ensure inter-agency discussions and dialogue on these issues with a view of resolving those issues that we have raised”.
Earlier, he insisted that Nigeria does not have accurate measurement of the crude oil produced in the country despite the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, stating otherwise.
He however assured the Accountant General of the Federation that NEITI would work with DPR to adopt adequate technology to meter oil wellheads.
He also called for a common approach to cost measurement in the oil and gas sector to ensure that government was not shortchanged by operators in payment of taxes and levies.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Ahmed assured NEITI of the OAGF support for their work of looking into revenue that government should receive from the extractive industries and ensuring that the monies were paid.
He noted that the OAGF has a lot in common with NEITI in ensuring also that corruption in the system is checked.
He assured that the IMTT would be resuscitated, saying very soon “the result will begin to come”.
The IMTT comprises of the OAGF, NNPC, DPR, Mining Cadastre Office, Auditor General of the Federation, FIRS, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and Revenue Monilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
COVID-19  Resurgence Threatens  Oil  Demand Recovery – OPEC

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) | Business| Economy and finance news from a German perspective | DW | 01.04.2021
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said that resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries is posing a threat to economic and oil demand recovery, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said.
 It disclosed this at the 16th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting of the Declaration of Cooperation, which took place via teleconference on Tuesday.
The  organisation stated that participants highlighted the continuing recovery in the global economy, supported by unprecedented levels of monetary and fiscal support.
Participants  noted that the recovery was expected to pick up in the second half of the year, but observed that the resurgence of COVID-19 across the globe could hamper economic and oil demand recovery.
“The ministerial meeting emphasised, however, that COVID-19 cases are rising in a number of countries, despite the ongoing vaccination campaigns, and that the resurgence could hamper the economic and oil demand recovery,”OPEC said,adding the meeting also emphasised the ongoing positive contributions of the Declaration of Cooperation in supporting a rebalancing of the global oil market.
 The meeting  also reviewed the monthly report prepared by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, including the crude oil production data for March 2021.
Online Editor by — April 28, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0