Author: admin
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Gowon commissions NYSC Ultra-Modern ICT Building in Abuja
Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (middle); Chairman, National Governing Board of NYSC, Amb. Fatima Bala-Abubakar (right); Director General, NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Yusha’u (left), inspecting SAED Exhibition during the commissioning of NYSC Ultra-Modern ICT Building in Abuja on Wednesday. Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (right), inspecting SAED Exhibition during the commissioning of NYSC Ultra-Modern ICT Building in Abuja on Wednesday. With him are: Director General, NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Yusha’u (left) and others. -
FG insists African aviation varsity will begin September
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, maintained that academic activities of the proposed African Aviation and Aerospace University will commence in September 2023.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, disclosed this while signing the MoU with Nile University, on behalf of the Federal Government.
Nigerian Anchor reports that this is the second time the Federal Government would be making the announcement.
Last year, Sirika had announced that the African Aviation and Aerospace University will commence registration for the 2022/2023 academic session on September 26 to November 18, 2022.
Sirika, while signing the MoU in Abuja, said the university will help address the research and development gaps in the aviation sector, adding that it will begin academic activities offering BSc courses in Aviation Business and Meteorology.
He also mentioned that the university has hired its management staff and created an academic brief while noting that there are plans to privatise the university in the future for greater effectiveness.
“The university ought to have happened a long time ago because it is part of our roadmap in 2016 that was approved by the president and this is just to go straight into research and development in civil aviation and aerospace and of course environmental sciences.
“This university has received attention all over the world. The first of its kind in Africa and by the grace of God, it would be one of the top universities in the world. I’m also very sure that we may even go into aviation medicine in the near future.
“It is dedicated to those core mandates of aerospace aviation and environmental sciences. It is intended to attend to the huge demands we have in this sub-region of ours and indeed continentally especially as Africa is looking to unite, integrate and become one entity in all fields and human endeavours.
“I’m happy to say that the academic brief has been developed, the management staff have been employed and of course, it will be governed by the Federal Government but will be owned and operated by the private sector through PPP arrangement.
“I’m sure in the long run, it will end up being truly private sector but the government needs to ground it fully to ensure that the take-off does not suffer any hitch.
“The university will run both physical and online courses. These days, universities are turning virtual and we will begin with the B.Sc. Aviation Business and B.Sc. Meteorology and of course, continue to grow. Also, not too far from now, we will be getting approval from NUC to commence Master of Science in Aviation Management.
“Nile will provide support for the undergraduate programme for the first two years and it is expected that more research and collaboration will be established between the AAAN and NUN,” he said.
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REAN, Odyssey Energy sign $100m equipment financing deal
The Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) and Odyssey Energy Solutions, an end-to-end distributed energy technology platform, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make solar equipment procurement easier, cheaper and efficient for solar companies operating in Nigeria.
The deal will enable REAN members to benefit from $100 million for equipment finance with very favourable terms.
The benefits derived from the deal include a small down payment and a 60-day window for the solar companies to pay up the balance once the equipment has arrived in Nigeria.
REAN, with support from the German-Nigerian Hydrogen Office and the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), organised an Energy Access Roadshow programme with the theme, ‘Driving Energy Transition through Renewable Energy’.
As one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, Nigeria has a significant demand for renewable energy solutions. However, many solar companies face significant challenges when it comes to sourcing equipment and materials, including long lead times, high costs, and lack of access to quality products.
The partnership between Odyssey Energy Solutions and REAN aims to address these challenges by streamlining the procurement process and providing better access to high-quality solar products for REAN members.
Under the agreement, Odyssey Energy Solutions and REAN will streamline equipment procurement for REAN members by helping them access financing, better payment terms and supply chain support.
The epoch event which also held virtually brought together key players in the renewable energy sector in Nigeria to discuss the latest trends, opportunities, and challenges facing the industry.
“We are delighted to be partnering with REAN to help improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of solar equipment procurement in Nigeria.
“Our combined expertise and resources will enable us to provide better solutions to solar companies in Nigeria, helping them to grow their businesses and contribute to the development of a sustainable energy future for the country,” the VP of Procurement Solutions at Odyssey, Justin Tinsey, said.
REAN President, Ayo Ademilua, also expressed his enthusiasm for the agreement.
“REAN is committed to supporting the growth and development of the renewable energy sector in Nigeria, and this partnership with Odyssey Energy Solutions is an important step in that direction. We look forward to working together to provide better access to quality solar products and solutions for our members,” he said.
Nigerian Anchor reports that REAN is an independent, non-profit industry association founded by stakeholders within Nigeria’s Renewable Energy (RE) sector.
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3 dead as mob lynch bike snatchers in Abuja
Operators of bike riders popularly called ‘Okada’ on Tuesday night lynched two bike snatchers who stabbed a rider to death in Jikwoyi, a suburb in Abuja.
Nigerian Anchor learnt from some residents that the incident happened between 9pm and 10pm at the Jikwoyi Extension III (popularly called Dagbadna) area of the community.
The Okada rider was said to be carrying the two men from Phase II Junction to an area of the Jikwoyi Extension III, where there is a mission hospital called Cornelian Hospital.
When they got to the area, which is usually lonely, the two men told the okada rider to stop them.
It was at that point that they began to struggle with him, in an attempt to snatch his bike from him.
When they could not forcefully overpower him to snatch the okada from him, they opted to stab him severally to weaken him.
Having succeeded in taking the bike from him, they left him bleeding on the ground, and drove away.
Luckily for the badly wounded okada rider, some of his colleagues found him, and he narrated what happened to him, before they rushed him to a nearby hospital.
His colleagues went to the Mai Angwa Vigilante to report the incident, and the vigilante group quickly went after the thieves.
After combing the bush for about 30 minutes, they found them, with the okada, and arrested them.
The badly stabbed okada rider, however, died in the hospital, after some minutes.
The sad news infuriated the other okada riders, who stormed the Mai Angwa Vigilante post, overpowered the vigilante group, dragged out the thieves, and beat them to death.
Nigerian Anchor’s efforts to get the Mai Angwa speak on the matter was abortive, as he was not in his home office.
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Customs intercepts tramadol worth N1.8bn in Lagos airport
The Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized 23 packages of tramadol with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) worth N1.8 billion between January and March.
The Customs Area Comptroller, Mohammed Yusuf, at a news conference in Lagos on Wednesday, said that the pharmaceutical products were imported from India and Pakistan.
Yusuf listed the seized items to include 22 packets of tramadol (225mg) and 12 packets of tramadol (120mg) tablets.
According to Yusuf, the above seizures were recorded based on intelligence-driven operations within the airport.
He added that the tramadol tablets in their custody had been scheduled for handing over to the Commander of Narcotics, Murtala Muhammed Airport Command of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
“In the spirit of inter-departmental cooperation, this will further strengthen our collaboration in safeguarding our youths from the use of harmful substances which can endanger their lives and the environment.
“We shall intensify more efforts in making our communities a safer place for all of us to live,” he said.
On export, and for the period under review, he said that the command recorded exportation of goods worth N100.93 billion from the country.
“These exported goods include non-commercial and commercial foods with a total weight of 653 tonnes and Free On Board (FOB) value of N4.81 billion.
“The command is working hard to promote export businesses to boost forex earnings for the country,” he said.
The customs boss noted that the command generated a total sum of N21.4 billion as revenue in the period under review.
“It is pertinent to note that in the corresponding period of 2022, the command generated N17.5 billion which shows a progressive difference in the sum of N3.8 billion, depicting a 21.97 percent increase.
“It is worthy to note that the revenue activities of the command comprise importation and exportation of legitimate goods, goods under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).
He pointed out that in the area of stakeholder engagement, the command had maintained an open-door policy and had resolved a lot of issues of common interest with concerned stakeholders.
He appreciated esteemed partners in the clearance value chain for their unwavering support and also encourage them to always brace up for emerging challenges as they work together to move the nation forward.
“We appreciate the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hammed Ali (Rtd), and his management team for the necessary support to discharge their duties and officers and men of the command for their dedication and commitment to discharging their responsibilities,” he said.
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Obi must unbiasedly resolve Labour Party crisis- Apapa
*Denies receiving N500m from Tinubu
The factional National Chairman of the crisis-ridden Labour Party, Alhaji Basiru Lamidi Apapa, has asked the Presidential Candidate of the party in the last election, Mr Peter Gregory Obi to objectively intervene and resolve the heating crisis.
The embattled Apapa also denied the allegation of receiving the sum of N500 million from the All Progressive Congress to unsettle the party.
In a media briefing after his attack at the Presidential Election Petition Court on Wednesday, Apapa demanded that Obi must be unbiased in order to get the disputed chairmanship tussle resolved.
He insisted that what happened at the Presidential court in which fracas broke out in the presence of Peter Obi, was disgraceful and a test to Obi’s leadership quality.
Apapa said that the leadership crisis would have been put behind them if the presidential candidate had respected the order of the Federal Capital Territory High Court which ordered Julius Abure and three others from parading themselves as National Officers of the party over their indictment for forgery and Perjury.
Tracing the genesis of the leadership crisis, Apapa said that immediately after the order of court was served on the party, he was unanimously selected in acting capacity as the National Chairman of the party.
Further in his speech, he said that it was wrong of Obi to accord respect to Abure in-spite of the order of the court and as a presidential candidate seeking Justice from the same court of law.
On the alleged receipt of 500 million Naira from external forces to destabilize the party, Apapa vehemently denied receiving any money or being influenced by anybody or any group to work against the party.
He also said that it was wrong of Peter Obi to have claimed not to know him, adding that he worked closely with and even travelled on the same flight with Peter Obi throughout his Presidential electioneering campaign.
He therefore, appealed to Obi to be open-minded, neutral, and objective so as to be able to resolve the crisis.
Also speaking at the briefing the deputy National Chairman of the Party in the North Mike Ayuba Auta denied that the all Progressive Congress was behind the crisis adding that the allegation was baseless and unfounded.
Auta apologized to Nigerians who he said gave Labour Party over 6 million votes during the last presidential election, adding that that should not be discouraged by the current leadership crisis and assured that the dispute will soon be resolved.
Meanwhile, the Court has adjourned till Friday, May 19, the pre-hearing of the petition filed by Peter Obi against the President-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The court, led by Justice Haruna Tsamani, fixed the date, following the failure of parties to agree on documents, among other reasons.
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FG condemns attack on US consulate staff in Anambra
The Federal Government of Nigeria has condemned the attack on the motorcade of staff of United States (US) Consulate in Nigeria by gunmen in Ogabru Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra which left four people dead.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack in a statement by the ministry’s Spokesperson, Francisca Omayuli, on Wednesday in Abuja.
The government commiserated with the families of the deceased, assuring them that an investigation had already begun with a view to identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to book.
“The Federal Government received with dismay the sad news of the attack on the convoy of the staffers of the U.S. Consulate on May 16, 2023 in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
“The unfortunate incident, which led to the death of two policemen and two staff of the consulate, is condemnable and most regrettable.
“While the investigation to fish out the culprits and bring them to book is ongoing the federal government extends its sympathy and condolences to the families of the deceased as well as to the United States Consulate and Mission in Nigeria over the unfortunate incident.
“The Federal Government remains undaunted by this sad development and reiterates its commitment to the continued fight against all forms of crime and criminality in the country.”
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Presidential Tribunal adjourns Obi, LP’s petition until Friday
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), has further adjourned pre-hearing in the petitions filed by Mr. Peter Obi and his Labour Party until Friday.
The panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned after parties submitted on their meeting promised on May 10 on exchange processes and responses and harmonization.
After listening to the submissions, Tsammani, said the petitioners would state their position documents and tender documents.
“The petition is further adjourned until May 19 (Friday).
Following the agreement by all the parties in the petition on May 10, the court adjourned until today (Wednesday).
Obi and the LP filed petitions marked CA/PEPC/03/2023.
The respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Sen.Bola Tinubu and Sen. Kashim Shettima and All Progressives Congress (APC).
Counsel for the petitioners, Dr Levi Uzoukwu, SAN drew the attention of the court that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to produce the documents asked for.
He argued that INEC provided less than 30 percent in Rivers and Sokoto states.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN pledged to hasten the proceedings.
He claimed that the petitioners refused to attend the meeting of the parties agreed on at the last sitting on May 10.
He said that he called the petitioners’ lead counsel to ask why their team was not at the meeting and he said they were not aware.
Mahmoud alleged that the petitioners walked out of the meeting on Tuesday.
Counsel to Sen. Bola Tinubu and Sen. Kashim Shettima, Wole Olanipakun (SAN) similarly said that after the agreement on May 10 by all parties, the 2nd and 3rd respondents set up a team.
He said the team was led by Ogwu Onoja, SAN and A.A. Malik, SAN, and others.
Olanipakun said he put a call across to the petitioners’ lead counsel asking how they would proceed in court today.
He added that the petitioners failed to respond to their documents filed, saying they needed up to Friday to respond.
The APC counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, aligned with the accounts of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents’ counsel.
He said there should not be a mistake of subpoena at this stage, it is whatever document produced that should be brought to the table.
He further said that the petitioners should look at the fundamental cause which is the refusal to pay the necessary fee as required by the law
He added that the court officials were present when the petitioners walked out, adding, Victor Umoh, SAN and others represented the team for the 4th respondent.
He said the effect of the report was that all true certified documents will not be objected to.
Responding, the petitioners’ counsel, Uzoukwu told the court that he was concerned over the language of his colleagues.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu had declared Tinubu winner of the Feb. 25 presidential election after securing majority of votes cast at the poll.
He said Tinubu met the constitutional benchmark of scoring 25% in two-thirds of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Disagreeing with the outcome of the result, Obi and his party, LP filed a petition challenging the victory.
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Plateau signs agreement with SON to boost enterprises
The Plateau government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to boost the activities of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state.
The MoU was signed on Wednesday in Jos by the Director-General of the Plateau State Microfinance Development Development Agency (PLASMIDA), Mr. Bomkam Wuyep, for the state government.
Also, the Director-General of SON, Malam Farouk Salim, who was represented by Mr Sale Babaji, the North Central regional manager, signed on behalf of Salim.
Wuyep said that the signing of the MoU with SON would enable the MSMEs in the state to take advantage of the services of SON which would enhance the production of the quality of locally produced goods making them of standard and competitive in the international markets.
Wuyep also said that the signing of the MoU would enable the MSMEs in the state to enjoy discounted registration with the SON.
According to him, the certification the MSMEs get from SON will also enable them to access certain funding.
The director-general of SON said the signing of the MOU would help the MSMEs in the state to grow and ensure that their products are standardized in line with international standards.
According to him, the MoU would also enable the MSMEs at the grassroots to benefit from the packages of SON
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My flirty husband runs after anything in skirt – Woman tells Court
A 44- year-old woman, Oluwatoyin Falade, on Wednesday prayed to an Orile Agege Customary Court to dissolve her 11-year-old marriage on grounds of infidelity on the part of her husband, Segun.
The petitioner, who lives at 23, Tunde Davids Close, Agege, Lagos has two children for Segun, ages, eight and 11.
“My husband is a flirt, he runs after anything in skirt.
”I had two girls before I married him and those girls are 15 and 18. They stay with me and I don’t trust my husband because he chases everything in skirt.
“My husband changes women anyhow and he doesn’t respect me. If the court doesn’t dissolve the union, I will run away with my kids,” she burst to tears.
Oluwatoyin said that people mock her in the neighborhood because of her husband’s infidelity.
” I am fed up, Segun cannot change, chasing after women and ladies has become the order of the day for him,” she said.
She alleged that he doesn’t take care of her and the children.
In his response, Segun, 46, a Lagos State Judiciary worker, admitted to infidelity.
“I will not lie, I bring in different women to the house but I am ready to change. I have been begging her to please forgive me,” he said.
He said he takes care of the children and his wife.
“My Lord, you can see that my wife is robust and fresh. It is obvious that she is not suffering.
“I bought her a phone recently and I pay the children’s school fees,” he said.
Segun said that he was not ready for the dissolution and promised to make things right if given another chance.
The Court’s President, Mr Adewale Adegoke, told both parties to be at peace with each other.
Adegoke adjourned the case until May 30 for alternative dispute resolution mechanism.