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  • JUST IN: NAF dismisses report of terrorists attack at Kaduna base

    JUST IN: NAF dismisses report of terrorists attack at Kaduna base

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said its Base in Kaduna was never attacked by terrorists, contrary to the social media reports.

    In a statement, the Director Public Relations and Information Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the speculation was the handiwork of merchants of fake news.

    He said occupants of the Base are going about their normal businesses.

    According to the statement, “merchants of fake news are at it again. This time around, their focus is on the premier Nigerian Air Force Base at Kaduna, which they claimed came under terrorist attack in the early hours of today, 26 June 2021.

    “Members of the public should please disregard the news as it is entirely false. There was nothing of such as the inhabitants of the entire Base are going about their normal activities and duties without any threat whatsoever.”

  • Dikio’s strategies have promoted peace in Niger Delta, says JTF

    Dikio’s strategies have promoted peace in Niger Delta, says JTF

    By Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa

    The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe, has said that the strategies adopted by the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd),  has promoted peace in the Niger Delta region.

    Speaking on Friday evening when the amnesty boss paid him a courtesy visit in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Commander, JTF, Rear Admiral Aminu Hassan, attributed the calm in the Niger Delta to Dikio’s constant engagement with ex-agitators and his prompt payment of their monthly stipends.

    Describing the amnesty office as critical to the sustenance of the peace in the region, Hassan said Dikio was making the job of JTF easier by giving ex-agitators in the Niger Delta a sense of  belonging.

    Addressing  Dikio, he said: “Your area of assignment is of interest to us because whatever is happening there has a ripple effect on us. If there is peace in the work you are doing, we can feel the peace and we can also touch it and know there is peace. But if there is no peace we are the first line of defence for that. 

    “But we can see there is peace. We appreciate your good work. Some of us have been following all you have been doing in that area. Since you took over there have been two key strategies you adopted that I believe are the way to go. 

    “One is that you are always around the ex-agitators and that is a very good strategy. You are always with them. You hear from them and you talk with them. We are all human beings and all us need that sense of belonging and when we have it, it reduces tension and pressure. 

    “Second is the regular payment of stipends. It is another key area and I am encouraging you to always continue along that line. These two areas of continuous engagement and regular payment of stipends are very important and they are really solving a lot of problems”.

    Hassan also commended Dikio’s decision to begin the gradual empowerment of all ex-agitators, who were previously trained on skills but had remained jobless.

    He appealed to Dikio to take his vision on food security seriously and encouraged him to remain resolute in his decision to actualize the mandate of PAP for the region despite forseeable obstacles.

    Hassan described the Strategic Communication Committee set up by Dikio as PAP’s first line of defence saying the committee should be encouraged to actualize its terms of reference.

    Earlier Dikio explained that his visit was part of his Return to the Region Tour, a programme he initiated last year to integrate all critical stakeholders into his vision to actualize the original mandate of PAP.

    He said on assumption of office, he observed that the major reason while ex-agitators regularly trooped to the streets in protest was because of lack of payment of their allowances.

    Dikio said he made it a deliberate policy that the monthly stipends for the agitators must be paid on 25th of every month adding that despite the hiccups in June, the allowances were paid on 21st ahead of schedule.

    He told the JTF that the PAP reorganised the training approach to make ex-agitators successful entrepreneurs through the model of train, employ and mentor.

    Dikio disclosed that ex-agitators, who had already acquired skills would be constituted  into cooperatives and attached to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on three identified platforms of food security, maritime security and maritime transport.

    He said amnesty delegates after their meeting in Agadagba resolved to tame kidnapping and piracy on the waterways adding that PAP would seek areas of collaboration with the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) on maritime security.

    Dikio added that he was partnering with the Bayelsa State Government to revive the moribund 500 fish ponds in the state to be used as a training facility for ex-agitators on fish farming.

    He said: “We noted from the beginning that the major issue that led to their outpouring on the street is the lack of payment of their allowances. We have taken measures to ensure that their payment is received regularly and timely and we set for ourselves 25th of every month as their pay day.

    “This month we started payment on 21st. We paid ahead of schedules. The kind of training they received in the past was not adequate to prepare them for reintegration. So, we have decided to train, employ and mentor. We are around to check facilities where we can train, mentor them before they can own their businesses. 

    “We recognise that some of them have acquired some skills and we have decided to form them into cooperatives and match them with the appropriate SMEs. We have three platforms, food security, maritime security and maritime transport. 

    “We got a commitment from the leadership of the amnesty delegates after their meting in Agadagba. They issued a communique that they are prepared to help in taming kidnapping and sea piracy. Over the coming year we will be seeking avenues of collaboration with the office of the CNS. 

    “There is 500-pond fish farm in Bayelsa that is moribund. We are working with the government to activate the ponds to use them as training for our boys to increase the employment potential in the region”. 

  • Plateau APC Appeals Against Fake Primaries Results

    Plateau APC Appeals Against Fake Primaries Results

    Ugar Ukandi Odey, Jos

    The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Plateau State has warned against the circulation of fake list of purported winners of the congresses it held to elect its councillorship and chairmanship candidates in the forthcoming local government elections.

    In a release signed by the Party’s Caretaker Committee Secretary, Bashir Musa Sati, the APC calls on members of the Party to “disregard the fake list and avoid making statements that will promote the agenda of mischief makers”.

    Noting that the clarification has become necessary so that no member of the party is misled, the statement adds that “the APC management will use the appropriate channels of communication to announce the results of the Party primaries in due course”, and that all complaints and grievances shall be properly addressed.

  • PDP Out of Plateau LG Polls – PLASIEC

    PDP Out of Plateau LG Polls – PLASIEC

    Ugar Ukandi Odey, Jos

    The Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission has announced that the chances of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to participate in the forthcoming local councils’ polls in the State came to naught by 4pm last Friday as the party has failed to meet a High Court ruling directing it to put an elected executive committee in place to take charge of its affairs.

    Reacting to an outcry later by Peoples Democratic Party earlier accusing the PLASIEC of plotting against it by ranging unassailable hurdles on its way, PLASEC Commissioner, Comrade Patrick Mamgin said the PDP is responsible for its own frustrations, pointing out that the party exhibited a lot of lack of preparedness, including asking the PLASIEC to give nominations forms for free, and deliver same to the PDP State Secretariat along Yakubu Gowon Way, Jos.

    A Jos High Court, in Suit Number PLD/J304/2020, between Bitrus Kaze with twenty one others and the PDP and twenty others as defendants, ordered inter allia that “the 1st defendant (the PDP) to take all steps , actions to conduct election for the PDP executive committee members for Plateau State in accordance with the combined provisions of Section 223(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and Section 85(3) of the Electoral Act (2010), Article 49(1) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party and Paragraphs 5.2-5.5 of the guidelines for the conduct of ward, LGA, State, Zonal Congresses, and the National Convention of the Peoples democratic Party”.

    Although the PLASIEC was not a party in the suit, it said it is in receipt of petitions from the Bitrus Kaze group warning it not to entertain dealings with the PDP because it is a factional group, and doing so PLASIEC will be committing contempt of court.

    The PDP Caretaker Committee contains however that after dealing extensively with the PLASIEC, including inviting it to observe its party congresses in line with the guidelines for the local government elections, it is clear to it that “the electoral umpire has devised an agenda to unlawfully exclude the PDP from the forthcoming elections”.

    Dismissing PLASIEC’s reference to a court ruling and factions, the Caretaker Committee said its inauguration ended an era, and that the said Court other has no bearing with the local government elections or PLASIEC activites.

    In a release signed by Hon Patrick Ogbu as Secretary to the Caretaker Committee, the PDP shut the PLASIEC by noting that the “PLASIEC is not a party to the case that gave rise to the said Court order, and there is no order or injunction from any Court restraining PLASIEC from releasing nomination forms to candidates”.

  • Kano Residents Complying With Monthly Environmental Sanitation Programme-Daybreak News Investigation

    Kano Residents Complying With Monthly Environmental Sanitation Programme-Daybreak News Investigation

    By Jabiru Hassan, Kano.

    Kano residents especially living around metropolitan areas complies with the monthly routine environmental sanitation exercise in order to keep their environment clean at both domestic and marketing places, while the officials of the ministry of environment security agents and other stakeholders remained vigilant t ensure the success of the programme.

    Our correspondent who monitored today’s exercise 26/6/2023, at Ungogo, Fagge, Dala, Kumbotso and Gwale local government areas reported that motorists and other vehicle riders remained at home while some travellers were stopped at major entrances and junctions to ensure that there is no movement during the sanitation which lasted to 3 hours every month end.

    At Dawanau,Kwanar Madugu, Kwanar Ungogo, Miltara, Rijiyar Lemo and other junctions, travellers were prevented from passing into the city of kano so as to allow residents cleans their environments without being interrupted which is a law enacted by the state government to restricts movement during environmental sanitations.

    Daybreak gathered that the routine environmental sanitation exercise has helped greatly in controlling the issue of floodings during rainfall seasons and serves as a measures to ensuring the healthy environments especially in urban settlements where gutters and drainages needs excellent cleansing to allow the flow of excess water and other waste residues from every locations to places designed to be dumped.

    Speaking to our correspondent the kano state chairman of central working committee on self help groups, Alhaji Ibrahim Garba Aminu Kofar Na’isa commended the kano state government for keeping the state clean at both rural and urban areas especially when it rains, where he assured that self help groups in the state would continue to contribute and makes the state environmentally friendly.

  • Ministries, MDAs use consultants, BOT, PPP to steal money – EFCC Boss

    Ministries, MDAs use consultants, BOT, PPP to steal money – EFCC Boss

    Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed the tactics Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) use to steal money.

    Bawa spoke when the Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) Victor Muruako and his team visited the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.

    He said the commission will work with the FRC to block budget leakages and recover operating surpluses withheld by government parastatals.

    Bawa decried the antics of some agencies that consistently undercut government in terms of revenue remittance.

    The anti-corruption chief advised the FRC to focus on the activities of consultants used by MDAs “to siphon government funds”.

    “There are a lot of leakages. Pay a special attention to consultants; all these Build, Operate and Transfer, BOT; all these Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

    “There is a lot of corruption embodiments behind the scene deals”, he said.

    Bawa assured Muruako that the EFCC will help the FRC achieve its objective of securing Nigeria from all forms of economic and financial crimes.

    The chairman also promised training support to boost the professionalism of FRC staff.

    Bawa added that EFCC knows the importance of the fiscal commission and the amount of information at its disposal.

  • Kangiwa urges teachers to venture into tourism

    Kangiwa urges teachers to venture into tourism

    By Joyce Remi- Babayeju

    Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa has urged secondary school teachers  to venture into tourism as a career which is a multidimensional industry.

    Kangiwa who made the called at the opening ceremony of the second phase of ‘Train the Trainer’ program organized by the Institute for secondary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory, said tourism as a multifaceted skill enterprise offers lots of opportunities for those willing to delve into it as either entrepreneurs or career teachers and trainers in tourism subjects.

    Represented at the occasion by Dr. Taiwo Famogbiyele, Director Research and Development of the Institute, Kangiwa noted further that the tourism subsectors offer such entrepreneurial skills and business opportunities as Tour Guiding, Tour Operations, Travel Agency Operations, Cabin Crew, Gardens Operations, Events Management, Recreational Management Centres, Hospitality Management, Pastry and Cookery amongst a host of others, saying that one can also take up teaching career in the afore-mentioned tourism subsectors in both secondary and tertiary institutions as instructors and lecturers.

    He commended  the participants for choosing  the training within the Federal Capital Territory and  advised them to make judicious use of the knowledge and skills they will acquire to impact positively in improving the lots of the Nigerian Travel Tourism and Hospitality industry.

    Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Edwin Enenta, Head of Department of the Travel Tourism Department of the Institute called on the trainees to remain focused and resilient in their chosen career as teachers of tourism subject in the schools so as to adequately nurture a generation of tourism enthusiasts and professional practitioners for the Nigerian tourism industry.

    It would be recalled that the first phase of Train the Trainer program by the Institute began in September 2020 in its quest to advance the frontiers of tourism training and education in the country. 

    The hospitality agency initiated the teaching of tourism to teachers teaching tourism in secondary schools  to support and enhance their skills and competency.

    This initiative the agency said is  further justified by the inclusion of tourism into the secondary school curriculum and as a WAEC examination subject.

  • Gov Matawalle Approves Release Of ₦100m To WAEC

    Gov Matawalle Approves Release Of ₦100m To WAEC

    The Governor of Zamfara State, Hon. Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle Maradun, has approved the release of ₦100 million to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) as payment to enable students in the state write the 2021 examinations.

    Making the payment on Friday, the Governor expressed appreciation to the Honourable Minister of Education and WAEC for their understanding and concern towards education in the state despite the huge backlogs owed WAEC by the government as inherited from the past administration.

    Governor Matawalle said the ministry has supported the state by giving all the required considerations to the teeming candidates for WAEC including releasing their results, and also allowing them to sit for subsequent examinations.

    He said his administration will continue to meet its obligations as part of measures to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people, especially the young generation through the provision of sound education.

    Accordingly, the governor reiterated that education being the catalyst for achieving greatness will receive topmost priority in his administration.

    “The effort will certainly give peace of mind to many candidates and parents in the state”, he added.

  • CPC a party with global vision

    CPC a party with global vision

    By Guo Jiping, People’s Daily

    “All we do is to pursue happiness for the Chinese people, rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and the common good for the world.”

    That’s how Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, explains the original aspiration and mission of the Chinese communists, which also indicates that the centennial journey of the CPC is a glorious chapter that belongs to not only China, but also the world.

    The past 100 years since the founding of the CPC proved that the Party is always a constructor of world peace. From raising the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, to advocating a concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, China has always adhered to peaceful development. The country has promised to never seek hegemony, expansion, or a sphere of influence. Nor will it ever engage in an arms race.

    The past 100 years proved that the CPC is always a contributor to global development. Since its founding in 1949, especially in the past four decades of reform and opening up, China has opened its arms to embrace the world, providing more opportunities of market, investment and growth for the rest of the world in a bid to achieve common development. The country’s contribution to world economic growth has been standing at around 30 percent for years.

    The past 100 years proved that the CPC is always a protector of international order. On the basis of respecting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, China has worked to promote the reform of the global governance system, and enhanced cooperation on tackling climate change, cyber security and counter terrorism with concrete actions. The country announced to peak carbon dioxide emission before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, which means it will realize carbon neutrality from carbon peaking in the shortest time in global history.

    Studies indicate that the ratio of developed countries among all the countries in the world has never exceeded 20 percent since the industrialization began. In the second half of the 20th century, around 10 percent of the developed economies quit the developed list, and only five percent of the developing countries made it into the developed group. Many scholars hold that the modernization of the “third world” is a turbulent process in which fierce conflicts might happen.

    Under the leadership of the CPC, China’s modernization features distinctive characteristics. It is advancing for a huge population, and pursues common prosperity of all Chinese people, coordination between cultural and ethical progress and material progress, and harmony between man and nature. It also follows a path of peaceful development.

    The Chinese practice has created a miracle of rapid economic development and a miracle of long-term social stability, which is rarely seen in the world. It has tackled the “Tocqueville problem” that troubled Western historians, and explored a political governance model that is able to actively adapt to and guide changes, and always stay stable.

    Today, the CPC is leading 1.4 billion Chinese people to fully build a modern socialist China. Its significance lies not only in how many people China’s modernization covers, but also in that it proves there is more than one way leading to human modernization.

    China has shown the world that countries can have their own models of development using their own historical experiences, said former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

    From only around 50 members during the early days of its founding, to a party that boasts over 91 million members, the CPC has maintained its original aspiration despite the hardships it has experienced. Today, as China constantly expands its international influence, how to precisely and objectively perceive the CPC is becoming a practically significant topic. Many scholars have emphasized that the CPC has clear goals in every phase of its development, and adjusts its policies in accordance with the changes in domestic and international situations to satisfy the needs of the Chinese people. A report by John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University found that the Chinese people’s overall satisfaction toward the Chinese government under the leadership of the CPC exceeds 93 percent.

    History has never ceased its steps toward the future. The CPC will, as always, work hand in hand with all parties, to make newer and greater contributions to building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.

  • Road Users Groan Over The Abandoned Ganaja Roads In Kogi

    Road Users Groan Over The Abandoned Ganaja Roads In Kogi

    By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja

    Road users plying Lokoja via Ganaja village to the eastern flank of the State have expressed worries over the abandoned reconstruction of the 7km Ganaja Junction to Ganaja Village road on the outskirt of Lokoja metropolis.

    Motorists who described the Contractors as incompetent, and showing lackadaisical attitude, blamed the Federal Ministry of works for lack of thorough supervision .

    Our correspondent reported that Motorists on Wednesday spent several hours at the usual flood spot, ‘Ganaja Village’ when some trucks were stucked and traffic hold up re-surfaced after a heavy done pour.

    Both Motorists and motorcyclists plying the eastern flank of the state were subjected to a severe hardship as the only optional route via 500 Housing unit has been damaged by rain as a result of lack of maintenance.

    Recalled that the road works began sometimes last year, but have subjected residents and motorists to severe hardship due to deceptiveness and showing the highest level of incompetence by contractors who even secured the contract in the first place.

    According to some respondents, the delay and poor quality of work done so far, with the contractors employing manual process in such a highly Technical work has led to loss of hope as the quality of work from all indication cannot stand the test of time.

    Recalled that sometimes last year, residents and motorists suffered untold hardship when the major roads through Ganaja village was submerged by flooding, but instead of taking serious proactive measures through a competent contractors before the flood this year, the reverse is the case.

    For instance, Shitu Abdullahi living in 500 Unit said the seeming incompetence of the contractors handling the rehabilitation of the Lokoja — Ganaja road, calls for serious questioning whether the contractors were properly mobilised.

    He lamented why a-7km – road be shared amongst four contractors, yet work is very slow and poor quality displayed before it was finally abandoned, fingered the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for not ensuring quality and standard.

    Few weeks ago resident of the communities on the route had threatened to embark on a mass protest to demand revocation of the 7 kilometers road contract awarded to about four different contractors.

    It was gathered that on receipt of the threat letter from the Ganaja community, a suburb of Lokoja metropolis, the Federal Controller of Works in Kogi, Engr Jimoh Kajogbola, hurriedly convened a meeting of stakeholders where he urged the youths across the Communities to resist the temptation of embarking on protest over poor execution of road projects.

    The aggrieved residents had to sheath their swords owing to appeal by the Controller of Works and Housing, who promised an improvement.

    However, light has started reflecting at the end of the tunnel once again as Contractor handling the rehabilitation of ‘Gadumo’ portion on Friday, (25th June 2021) returned to site.

    This according to our correspondent is hope rising for motorists, other road users and residents living in the suburb community of Lokoja, the state capital, praying for the sustenance of the tempo.