All Posts in "Day: March 29, 2022"

Train Attack: Railway Mgt Shun Our Advice On Night Movement– Union

The National Union of Railway Men (NUR),says  the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) shunned  its advice to shelve night train service until.the security situation in the country improves.
Comrade Segun Esan, Secretary General, NUR conveyed this in a statement to journalists on Tuesday.
According to him,the unions had proposed to the management to stop night train service when the train was first attacked in the same axis in October 2021, but lamented that its advice  fell on the deaf ears of the  managers of the corporation.
He disclosed  that the union also advised the management to install Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, explosive detectors and other technology-based approaches on train, which was not observed by the railway management.
He said  the attack could happen on the train barely five months after the first one on the same Abuja -Kaduna passenger train, which happened around 8pm on Monday.
The statement added: “As a responsible union, we are completely touched and held in thrall that such a dastardly and unprovoked terrorist attack can befall the flagship and the essence of our operational existence as a Corporation for the second time in quick succession having tasted the gall of this terrorist attack on our passenger train in October 2021.
“We regret that there is no proof that all our observations expressed to the NRC management on improving the security and safety of the train service were taken especially our advice that night train service be stopped till security situation of the service is improved with on-train CCTV, explosives detectors and other technology-based approaches.”
Esan further appealed stated that the leadership of the union would make a specific pronouncement on the unfortunate incident soon, stressing that it was gathering information and processing same analytically with a view to arriving at rational convergence leading to making a definite official pronouncement.
He said  the President General of NUR and members of the Central Working Committee would visit the accident scene shortly for a first-hand assessment of the incident.
“However, our prayers and heartfelt concern are with some of our railway workers and other innocent commuting passengers who might have been tragically traumatized or sustained various degrees of wounds in the incident,” the statement added.
He assured that the union would not relent in its effort at making railway truly and practically safe for all.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in News 0
Terrorists Kill TUC’s scribe,Kwara Chairman 

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has lost its Secretary General, Comrade (Barr.) Musa-Lawal Ozigi, and Kwara State Chairman, Comrade Akin Akinsola.
They were among the people killed by terrorists in the Abuja-Kaduna train bombing that occurred yesterday around past 7:00pm,a statement from the president of the union,Comrade Quadri Olaleye said
He said:”They were on their way to Kaduna for an official assignment slated for today, Tuesday 29 March, 2022. Comrade Ozigi served in the capacity of General Secretary, Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA), an affiliate of TUC for almost two decades before he joined the Congress in 2012. Comrade Akinsola was a staff of Dangote Flour Mill under OLAM. They were both seasoned trade unionists”
He implored government at all levels to rise up to the occasion with a view to  stopping  the killing of innocent Nigerians.
He said:”The Congress condoles with the families and friends of our comrades and the good people of Kogi State for this irreparable loss. May God rest their soul”
admin by — March 29, 2022 in News 0
Oyo Harps On Improved Industrialization

The Oyo State government has vowed to put the resources into effective use in order to expand industrialization potentials for progress and development in the state.
Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Barr. Olasunkanmi Olaleye made this known while delivering his keynote address at the quarterly meeting with Oyo State Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OYCCIMA) and other organised private sectors in the state.
He explained that the purpose of the quarterly meeting is to encourage interaction among relevant stakeholders, interest groups and government with a view to ensuring a virile business environment conducive for productive investments in the State.
He disclosed  that the Ministry has put in place laudable programmes and projects targeted at revitalization of the state’s  economy which includes development of entrepreneurial skill among the youths and women and the proposed construction of Industrial Cluster within Akinyele Local Government, Ibadan in collaboration with Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) to expand the existing enabling environment in the State.
He added that the Ministry is ready  to celebrate with other African countries the “Africa Industrialization Day” on 20th November,this year.
He  admonished stakeholders and Federal agencies present to reach out to rural areas too by taking their programmes and activities to these communities that don’t put priority on social media but make use of the old analogue mode of communicating.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in Business 0
Erratic Power:Okeho Community Shuts IBEDC Branch Office 

The Indigenes of Okeho Community, Kajola Local Government, Area of Oyo State Tuesday  shuts Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, (IBEDC) branch office over alleged epileptic power supply.
Angry youths and other stakeholders in the community vent their anger against the erratic power supply amidst tight security.
One of the stakeholders who spoke on behalf of others under the anonymity disclosed that the officials of IBEDC in the community have been playing upon intelligence of indigenes and entire dwellers of the area.
According to him, the community had been in total blackout for the past eleven(11) days, justifying that they restored electricity yesterday and they started distributing bills immediately to the people.
He emphasized that the poor reactions of IBEDC officials towards stability of electricity in the community is condemnable.
He added that the  closure of the branch office would remain until further notice.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in Power 0
CBN Boosts Economic Recovery With N3tn Loans, Explains Involvement in InfraCo

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said on Monday that the bank in conjunction with other financial institutions granted over N3tn in intervention loans to aid economic recovery and job creation.
He  said the current focus of monetary policy was macroeconomic stability – “to build a strong, stable and resilient economy that is self-sustaining and able to weather unanticipated shocks.”
The CBN governor, represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu, spoke in a lecture titled, ‘The role of central banks in managing economic downturns’ that he delivered at the 40th anniversary/convocation lecture at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti.
He said, “Specifically, under the Anchor Borrowers Programme, we have disbursed N948bn to 4,478,381 smallholder farmers who cultivated 5.2million hectares of farmland across the country, thereby creating 12.5 million direct and indirect jobs.
“Under our Targeted Credit Facility, which was meant to help households and businesses that suffered significant losses during the pandemic, we have disbursed N368.79bn to 778,000 beneficiaries comprising 648,052 households and about 130,000 SMEs.
“We have also disbursed N1.452tn to 337 large real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, services, and mining under our Real Sector Support Facility. In healthcare, 122 major healthcare projects have been funded to the tune of N115.36bn.”
According to him,“So far, the CBN, working with the DMBs and participating financial institutions has granted over N3tn in intervention loans that have undoubtedly aided economic recovery and employment generation.”
Meanwhile,Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, has given further insight into the purpose and operations of the Infrastructure Company Limited (InfraCo) few months after the commencement of operations.
He spoke at the  32nd edition of the Finance Correspondents and Business Editors Seminar in Akure, Ondo State.
He stated: ‘‘To our conviction that the banking sector must pay attention to providing long-term finance for infrastructure development in the country, InfraCorp has been established by the Central Bank of Nigeria in partnership with African Finance Corporation and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. ‘‘InfraCorp would enable the use of mostly private capital to support infrastructure investment that will have a multiplier effect on growth across critical sectors.’’
Emefiele said the apex bank  has always been enthusiastic about InfraCo, Infrastructure Company Limited (InfraCo) citing that the strategic projects it would fund would speedily foster economic activities and inclusive growth.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in Banking&Finance 0
Buhari Celebrates Tinubu  At 70

President Muhammadu Buhari,has rejoiced  with National Leader of the party and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his 70th birthday, March 29, 2022.
Buhari in a statement conveying his birthday wishes, affirms the contributions of the party stalwart to the political, economic and social development of the country, setting a standard in leadership, governance and philanthropy.
The President through a statement by his media aide, Femi Adesina noted and salutes his courage, resilience, selflessness and nobility in always placing the welfare and unity of the nation above self, backed with vision of a greater Nigeria through investments in people, institutions and governments, without minding tribe or creed.
President Buhari joins family members, friends, business and political associates in celebrating the septuagenarian, who has diligently and progressively risen on the nation’s political ladder since 1992, fighting for democratic rule against many odds, angling for people-focused development and supporting visionary and purposeful leadership.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in News 0
Telecom Blackout Looms In Abuja Kogi, Nine Others

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has  expressed concern over  the closure  of telecommunications facilities in Kogi State on account of disputes arising from unusual taxes and levies demanded by the Kogi State Government through its Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS).
The group in a statement by Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman  and Gbolahan Awonuga Head, Operations, said the closure will ead to a total communications blackout in the entire Kogi State, parts of Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and possible impact on service availability in some parts of the following States: Nassarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger States. These, the association said, are states sharing borders with Kogi State.
The association said this situation arises as a number of critical telecommunications sites belonging to its members have been closed and sealed up by Kogi State Government in an attempt to increase its internally generated revenue IGR collection.
“This action followed an ex-parte court order obtained by the KIRS over unsubstantiated allegations that our members are in default of tax payments to the state government (which is not the truth) and access to these critical telecom sites has been denied.
“As result of these actions by the state government, our members are unable to refuel power generators in these sites, a situation which has led to outage of over 70 sites including hub sites across parts of Kogi State. Now, with likely impact on Nine States surrounding Kogi (namely:- Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger States. These are States sharing borders with Kogi State), and Abuja the FCT inclusive.
“We are very concerned that this indiscriminate action has the potential of further leading to a total telecommunications outage in Kogi State with neighboring states and parts of the Federal Capital Territory adversely impacted.
“To the best of our knowledge, our members have settled all statutory levies and taxes due to the Kogi State Government and have taken necessary steps to comply with local laws that govern business activities within Kogi State.
“These are charges described as; Annual Right of Way (ROW) renewal, Social Services contribution, Employee Economic Development Levy, mast site premises renewal and Fire service yearly renewal.
“Others are from the Kogi State Environmental Protection Board on; Payment of environmental levy, Failure to submit an environmental impact assessment report; Failure to register industry; Failure to submit environmental audit report every 2 years;  Storage of petroleum products and radioactive materials without written permission from KSEPB; Failure to comply with setbacks to roads, power lines and rivers/streams; and Dumping of toxic or hazardous substances or hazardous substances or harmful waste without KSEPB approval.”
The group expressed worries that the action by KIRS will jeopardize communication services provided by its members to security agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force, the Armed Forces in addition and to other emergency and social services in Kogi and other neighboring states, stressing that this will include affecting communication links to Bank automatic teller machines (ATM) across those states.
“The outage currently being experienced is already affecting the ability of our members to provide uninterrupted service delivery to Commercial Banks, Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other critical agencies of government in the aforementioned locations.
“It is pertinent to note that the office of the National Security Adviser to Mr. President has in the past communicated to the 36 state governments on the fact that telecommunications sites are Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). They are critical socio-economic and security infrastructure. The agency had strongly advised against sealing them as such actions would have negative implications on national security.
“State Governments were encouraged to explore other means of resolving tax related disputes rather than sealing telecommunications sites. It is therefore worrisome that the KIRS continue to ignore such advice.
“Our members have also made several overtures to Kogi State Internal Revenue Service KIRS in the past months in a bid to resolve the disputed issues amicably but the agency has remained adamant. Rather than resort to the Tax Arbitration Tribunal for intervention as is expected of a government agency, KIRS has resorted to subtle intimidation by getting the sites shutdown in a bid to coerce our members into accepting the illegal taxes and levies.
“As an industry, this situation is very worrisome and of great concern and we hereby call on His Excellency, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who is driving the Presidential Enable Business Council on Ease of doing business in Nigeria to prevail on the Kogi State Governor His Excellency, Yahaya Bello (a Presidential Aspirant) to reign in on the matter to prevent a total blackout in communications services in Kogi, FCT and other Nine States of the Federation which are now under threat due to what is happening to our network in Kogi State.”
admin by — March 29, 2022 in News 0
Don’t Displace Us, Apongbon Traders Beg Sanwo-Olu

The Iyaoloja General, Akpongbon/Ebute-Ero Marketers’ Association, Rukayat Olusola Balogun,has pleaded with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu not to displace the traders in the market.
She made the plea  on Monday when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu assessed  the burnt  Apongbon bridge and the market .
The traders,she said, have occupied the place for 50 years, adding that displacing them from the market means robbing them of their only means of livelihood.
Some of the embattled traders displayed placards with inscriptions such as: “We are not criminals, please help us,” “Don’t displace us, we are traders, “We add value to Nigerian economy,’ among others, the traders said: “This is an ECOWAS market where traders from other African countries buy and sell. “We are begging the Federal, Lagos State and the local governments to pity our condition and allow us to do our legitimate business here.
“There are about five markets operating from here.I don’t think there is anywhere in Lagos State that can accommodate all of us.”
Earlier in his remarks,Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu lamented that the traders have refused to take responsibility for public assets.
He added:“All the things that were happening on that bridge are totally unacceptable.Between the last two years and now, we’ve had eight fire incidents on our various bridges; the one approaching the International Airport, the one towards Mile 2 to the one going towards Apapa, we had an issue with one approaching from Alaka,” he added.
He warned the traders that the government cannot assure them of the safety of the bridge, their lives and property if they remain there.
“This is a clear testimony of how public assets should not be turned to. And so we’ve given seven days’ notice. And I want to reiterate, Wednesday is the deadline for everybody that has anything to have left there.
“We’re going to start excessive clearing of the place. It is after that, that we can even get all the structural engineers. This bridge was built by Julius Berger in 1974. So thankfully, they are still around us. So it’s only after then that they can even come and do the assessment.”
He assured that the state government will do its best to ensure that normalcy is restored as soon as possible.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in News 0
Malomo Promises To Professionalize Nigerian Printing Industry

President of the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON), Mr. Olugbemi Malomo,has promised  to intensify the campaign to ensure printing jobs are not taken out of Nigeria anymore
He said the printing industry would also be  professionalized with sustained campaign against quackery in the industry.
He disclosed these the institute’s 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos where the members of the institute elected 15 members into the CIPPON Council.
The association’s council reelected Malomo for the second term at the meeting,PremiumNews reports.
He stated that non-CIPPON members are not qualified for any printing job and the Executive will ensure this stand going forward.
He spoke on  his stewardship in his first tenure, saying the institute embarked on a campaign “Let Nigeria Printing Jobs Remain in Nigeria” and recorded remarkable progress.
He added  for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published advertisements in the dailies for qualified Nigerian printers to bid for the printing contracts, adding that INEC had also made membership of CIPPON part of the requirements to win the bids.
admin by — March 29, 2022 in Business 0
Abuja Disco Reorganizes, Appoints Fadeyibi As New CEO

Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) has appointed Mr Adeoye Fadeyibi as its new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
Fadeyibi, an astute manager with over 20 years executive management experience, succeeds Engr. Akinwumi Bada, who served as the company’s Interim Managing Director since last year and is now leaving to pursue other personal business aspirations.
Before AEDC, Fadeyibi was the Managing Director of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, (EKEDC) a Lagos based electricity utility company and is credited to have turned around the fortune of EKEDC by significantly reducing the company’s Aggregate, Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, expanding its revenue base and delivering innovation in several aspects of the business,a statement said.
He was also the pioneer Managing Director at Transcorp Power Ltd, Ughelli, Delta State where he ramped up the generating company’s performance from 164MW to 634MW in 25 months.
The statement also said Fadeyibi joined Transcorp Power from General Electric where he had held several strategic roles with oversight for Middle East and Africa.
A fellow of several professional bodies, Fadeyibi obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York, SUNY Buffalo, New York and the General Electric Power Systems University in Schenectady, New York, where he completed his training in turbine power systems and applied knowledge obtained towards developing the Global Turbines/Generator Field resources.
The power company also announced the appointment of Engr. Kassim Abdulahi Burkullu as its new Chief Technical Officer (CTO), replacing Mr. Oluwafemi Zacchaeus who had served as the Interim Chief Technical Officer.
Burkullu, a seasoned engineer and energy industry expert, brings over 25 years’ cognate experience spanning several sectors. He joined AEDC from Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) where he was Head, Corporate Technical Operations Services.
Speaking on the new appointments,the Chairman of the Board, AEDC, Mr. Victor Osadolor, said: “We are very delighted that both Fadeyibi and Burkullu are joining our company and bringing with them exceptional abilities and invaluable industry expertise. They will effectively complement the component of management team already in place.”
“These appointments are necessary steps in positioning AEDC towards efficiency in customer service delivery and ensuring the effectiveness of turn-around embarked upon by the new management of the company. We are convinced that with a combined industry experience of over five decades, the new executives are very capable of meeting the yearnings of millions of our customers who seek seamless power services,” Osadolor said.
Commenting on his appointment, Fadeyibi said, “I must commend the management of AEDC and the previous MD for the work done so far and for the confidence reposed in me to help achieve the goals of this great organisation. I have studied the strategic focus of this business and with the full support of the board, we are sure to meet and even surpass our expectations for this great company.”
admin by — March 29, 2022 in Power 0