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Rivers Assembly: Jack-Rich appeals for calm

Mr Tein Jack-Rich, a former presidential aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for calm on the wake of Monday’s attack on the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Jack-Rich also called on the political gladiators in the state to sheath their swords and ensure that the crisis did not escalate to a stage that it could not be managed.

The House was set ablaze by suspected political thugs on Monday, following a threat by the lawmakers to commence impeachment proceedings against the Leader of the House, Edison Ehie, and Gov. Siminalayi Fubara.

”At the early hours of Oct. 30, 2023, I received multiple calls and reports of an immense attack and the desecration of Rivers State House of Assembly, being the beacon of democracy.

”It is important to understand that keeping the temple of our democracy is a sacred oath we all took as political actors, irrespective of class.

”Therefore, any tendency to attack the legislature or hijack is not for anyone’s security, rather a display of political weakness,” the CEO of Belema Oil Producing Limited, said.

According to him, when the legislature comes under attack anywhere in the world, democracy is threatened.

”We cannot afford to sacrifice the peace of the democratic journey on the alter of fear of dictatorship or authoritarianism.

”My appeal is peace, and for Rivers State to be allowed to key into President Bola Tinubu’s administration at the federal level in order to take advantage of its economic master plan,” he said.

According to him, this will enable the state to fix its economic policies to attract private capital development, in order to provide jobs for the youths who are currently struggling with massive unemployment.

”We cannot afford the crisis brewing to snowball into a more chaotic situation, which is capable of excerzabating huge economic hardship in Rivers State,” Jack-Rich noted.

The Rivers-born philanthropist therefore, called for calm.

”Let all those involved sheath their swords, in the interest of peace and development of our dear Rivers State,” he said.

According to Jack-Rich, the onus was now on all patriotic sons and daughters of the state to put on the garb or civility and deploy dialogue in order to resolve any differences.

Defence Minister Commends Triumphant Cadets

By Emmanuel Daudu

The Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Muhammed Matawalle MON, has commended the triumphant Cadets for winning many medals and trophies in the Sailing games held in China.

According to Henshaw Ogubike mnipr,
Director (Press and Public Relations), in a press release he signed today and made available to journalists disclosed that while commending the Cadets, Matawalle assured them of the Ministry’s support in future competition.

The Minister made the commendation and assurance for support when he received the Commandant of Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) and the Cadets for their outstanding performance in the sailing competition held in China in his office, in Ship House, Abuja.

Matawalle expressed his excitement for the trophies the cadets won, saying that their performance has put Nigeria on the international stage. He said: ” The trophy is not just for the Military but for the entire country.”

The Minister urged the cadets to win more trophies and promised to participate in their next sporting activities to motivate Nigerian teams.

Earlier, Maj Gen JO Ochai, the Commandant of Nigeria Defence Academy NDA said the trophies won by the Cadets will further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and China explaining that the sailing competition was the first of its kind.

According to him the Cadets made history when they emerged as the only international athletes who competed against their China counterparts at the maiden edition.

The Commandant said that the Cadets won several medals at the week- long competition due to their physical fitness and special Military capabilities.

The highlight of the event was the handing over of the trophies by the NDA Commandant to the Hon. Minister.

FG to launch road map agenda for Marine & Blue Economy Sector

By Emmanuel Daudu

The Federal Government has indicated that plans are in motion to launch a road map for the Marine and Blue Economy Sector, acknowledging that charting a policy agenda for the sector is critical to transforming the sector into the best in class, regionally and internationally.

According to a report by Gift Osima ( Chief Information Officer) & Desmond Adyo (Senior Information Officer), Signed by
Olujimi Oyetomi
D (Press & Public Relations), the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, stated this as a panel discussant at the 29th session of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), with the main theme: “Pathways to Sustainable Economic Transformation and Inclusion” acknowledged the timeliness of the summit noting and as well assuring that outcome of innovative ideas, deliberations and proffered suggestions will be considered with focus on developing Nigeria into a hub of maritime trade and ancillary services in Africa.

“Tonight’s session is the latest in our consultation with industry stakeholders, the maritime and the Blue Economy sector. We understand the critical role the maritime sector plays in enabling business in an import dependant economy, such as ours, it is imperative that we move more quickly towards improving the navigability of our waters, engage the draught of our ports, achieve 24 hours cargo clearance, and ensure adequate connectivity of our ports to hinterlands with efficient road and rail networks”, Oyetola pointed out.

“Challenges of the maritime sector are well known and documented, slow pace of legislative reforms and weak sector governance to infrastructure deficits, inefficient Port management, poor road network, multimodal facilities, the dominance of foreign shipping companies, non – competitiveness of our ports compared to our West African neighbours, port inefficiency and congestion and other malpractises.”

Projecting the Ministry’s directive in the next four years, the Minister stated that it is imperative that the Ministry having identified these inhibitors, works towards improving the navigability of our waters, engage the draught of our ports, achieve 24 hours cargo clearance, and ensure adequate connectivity of our ports to hinterlands with efficient road and rail network creation.We seek t Introduce new business models that can ultimately develop our capabilities and ensure the continual dredging of our inland waterways.

Speaking further, the Marine and Blue Economy Minister disclosed his resolve to get presidential endorsement of the use of scanners in port operations in the country. According to him, all over the world, seaports have gone digital, and digitalization is mainly used to drive efficiency and remove human contacts that are usually very slow and breed corruption.

“For Nigerian ports to take up it’s natural position as a maritime hub for countries in West and Central Africa, there must be an enforcement of strict digitalization of all Port operations in the country and an immediate rehabilitation of the Nigerian ports to bring about an upgrade of ports facilities and improvement to make room for our ports to become revolutionised and comparable with others in the adviced maritime nations”, Oyetola said.

In addition, he assured of plans to facilitate the evolution of private sector led maritime development zones for the core location of ancillary services,: such services, which he said are top on the government’s agenda.

“We are walking to streamline the number of government agencies operating at the ports, through the full implementation of the national single window initiative,” he add

Iyaloja Money scheme: Humanitarian Minister Begins Market Sensitization In FCT Community

….Reaches out to widows, poor and vulnerable in Ushafa, Other Villages

The genuine intention of President Bola Tinubu’s target to reach out to a minimum of fifty percent of poor and vulnerable individuals across Nigeria within the next twelve months has continued to gain momentum across the country.

Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Honourable Minister, MHAPA, on Friday disclosed that the effort to remove multi-dimensionally poor people out of poverty in Nigeria is being addressed through different programmes targeted at the Grassroot, in line with the president 8 point agenda.

Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, who is on the driver seat, saddled with the responsibility of renewing the hopes of Nigerias daily in their millions continue this stride in the federal capital territory communities.

Residents of Ushafa village in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and many other subrubs played host to the Minister Of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr Betta Edu,friday, as she engaged market women and petty traders ahead of the launch of the IYALOJA MONIE next month.

The program has the target of reaching out to at least 1.5 million Nigerians nationwide.

Excitement was, however, palpable in the air as the residents trooped out in their numbers to join the Minister, as she moved from one petty trader’s table to the other.

The Minister who left the opulence and glitz of Abuja city centre to reach out to the poor and vulnerable people in Ushafa was pleased with the opportunity to interact with those whom the interventions are meant for.

Newly christened “The Iyaloja Market Fund,” the non interest loan of N50,000 would be given to Phase 1 of market traders, selected from 109 markets across every Senetorial zone in Nigeria.

The process of sensitization and enrolment is ahead of the flag off next month.

Edu said President Tinubu truly means well for the country and had promised to remove Nigerians from multi-dimensional poverty and humanitarian crises. Presently, he is matching words with action.

She also used the occasion to deliver a message of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the residents on various social intervention programmes of President Tinubu’s administration, creating avenues for feedbacks where necessary.

Also, at a community engagement, attended by the community’s traditional rulers, youths, women, the aged, petty traders, and physically challenged persons, food, and nonfood items were distributed to poor and vulnerable households as part of her birthday celebrations.

She explained that the food and non-food items presented to them were in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu, which aims to reduce multi-dimensional poverty in Nigeria.

The Minister also used the visit to monitor the inclusion of older people in the community, who have been captured to be part of the ongoing Conditional Cash Transfer.
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Responding, Mabel Imeh Odiegwu, a tailor, Hassan Yakubu a petty trader, and Esther Isa, also a trader said they were taken aback by the presence of the Minister in the Community as such had never happened before there.

They expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the Renewed attention on the poor and vulnerable in the country, noting that with speed of implementation, a lot was going to change for the better in Nigeria.

We commend the minister who spent her birthday with us and educate us about the ‘Iyaloja monie’. “We are convinced that truly the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President is real and has touched us. “

Nigeria Defence Minister Visits Turkey On Bilateral Cooperation

By Emmanuel Daudu

In his drive to equip the Nigeria Armed Forces with high tech hardware and other Military equipments, the Honourable Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar CON mni, has paid a bilateral visit to Turkey to further discuss and explore how best Nigeria can partner with Turkey on the production of Military hardware and equipments.

According to Henshaw Ogubike mnipr, Director ( Press &PR), Badaru, accompanied by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Mashal Hassan Abubakar visited the Turkish Aerospace Industries in the capital city, Ankara to see things for himself.

He inspected various sections of the firm in charge of the manufacturing of modern military aircraft and other defence equipments.

Furthermore in the course of taking him round the facility, the CEO of the company, Engineer Temel Kotel informed the Minister that the industry was established in 1973 with the primary goal of manufacturing military aircraft, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

At the conclusion of the tour, the Hon Minister commended the company for its over five decades of successful ventures in the manufacturing of military facilities.

According to him , Nigeria would explore the possibility of partnering with Turkey in intelligence and information sharing for the mutual benefit of both countries in Defence cooperation.

We Must Rise And Stand Firm Against Those Who Threaten The Sovereign Integrity Of The Nigerian State -Arase

By Emmanuel Daudu

As Nigeria continues to battle organized crimes and other forms of criminalty, Dr. Solomon Arase, CFR, retired Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the Police Service Commission has called for renewed vigor and inclusiveness in the fight so as to achieve the required results.

Ikechukwu Ani
Head, Press and Public Relations, on Sunday, 28th October 2023 disclosed that
Dr. Arase noted that as a people we must rise and stand firm against those who threaten “the sovereign integrity of the Nigerian State” as according to him no security Agency can deliver on its mandate without the support of the people.

He spoke at the International Symposium on countering
organized crimes in Africa held in Abuja.

Dr. Arase who was represented by Bar. Brighten Saagwe, Director, Planning, Research and Statistics of the Commission declared that “our will, therefore must be strong because our faith lies in the indivisibility of Nigeria”

Dr. Arase said for the Security Agencies ” it has become not only a statutory mandate but a moral imperative to re-enact our old fighting force, re-strategise and redesign our tactics and promptly arrest and contain the growing insecurity challenge in our country”.

He said that on no account should “we shy away from whatever becomes necessary within the ambit of the law to provide the needed security for the citizens. He noted that terrorism or crime has no conscience and spares no one, whether rich, poor, educated or uneducated and therefore ” no matter what it takes, let us stand together and win this war against organized crime and terrorism “.

The PSC Chairman appealed that the supreme task for our generation ” is to give hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak and protection to the defenceless”.

He said organized crimes, no doubt, have negative effects on economic development of nation’s and the need to fight same need not to be over-emphasized “.

“Mankind must put an end to organised crime or organized crime will put an end to mankind” and on the ” keyboard of life, let us as a nation always keep a finger on the escape key to survive” he said.

He advised that in this war against organized crime, there should be more synergy between security agencies as well as prompt criminal intelligence-sharing. He also suggested that Government should adopt a mix of both kinetic and non-kinetic approach for effective and result oriented security management.

Dr. Arase promised that the Police Service Commission under his watch shall collaborate with other agencies of Government to fight organized crime in Nigeria.

The symposium with theme: Drug Crimes, Terrorism, Arms Trafficking, Marine Crimes, Environmental crime and auto theft was put together by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch and other partners.

Defence Ministry Develops Strategic Plan And Inaugurates Team To Drive FCSSIP 25

By Emmanuel Daudu

The Ministry of Defence has inaugurated Strategic Planning Team to drive the full realization of the digitalization of the Service and institutionalization of the Federal Civil Service Strategic Implementation Plan 2021-2025 (FCSSIP 25).

According to Henshaw Ogubike mnipr
Director (Press & Public Relations) in a press release he signed today, disclosed that while
Inaugurating the nine members committee drawn from the core departments of the Ministry on Thursday, 26th October 2023 at a retreat organized by the Ministry on the development of the Ministry of Defence Strategic Plan in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana mni said that Head of Service (HoS) Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, has directed the Ministry to develope its Strategic Plan that will help in achieving the Ministry’s peculiar mandate.

Accordingly, the Strategic Plan and Ministerial objective would further be cascaded from departments to individual staff members to draw job description, strategic objectives, key performance indicators, key result areas as well as performances contract and appraisal and review for optimal performance.

Dr. Kana who was represented by the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Suzan Ochida urged participants to contribute their best in developing the Strategic Plan for the Ministry.

According to a statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Ministry Mr Henshaw Ogubike mnipr, she said: “This retreat is therefore intended as a variable platform to harness contributions,trends, experiences, development that will culminate in the production of a policy document in line with world best practices that will stand the best of time in alliance with the vision, mission and mandate of Ministry of Defence.

In his opening remarks, the Director of Planning Research and Statistics, Olusa Dada, called on the participants to come out with sound discussions, contributions, innovative ideas that would galvanize the actualization of the Ministry Mandate in line with FCSSIP 25.

According to the Director, the Strategic Plan is a strategic innovation of the OHCSF aimed at breaking away from the old practices to a new paradigm of productive world- class Civil Service for accelerated national development.

The highlight of the retreat was goodwill messages given by various stakeholders and paper presentations geared towards a robust Strategic Plan for the Ministry.

In his goodwill message, the Chief of Defence Intelligence Agency called on holistic appraisal of the entire system pointing out that a sound strategic plan would be a good driver in achieving the mandate of the Ministry of Defence in the provision of security.

Represented by Real Admiral Julius Nwagu, he commended the Ministry saying that the retreat was timely as planning is germane to national development.

Also, the representative of OHCSF, Professor Ajayi Adeyemi, commended the Ministry for the inauguration and retreat.

The retreat, he said was timely as there is a paradigm shift to doing government business by productive world-class Civil Service.

He said: “The Defence sector strategic plan will effectively drive all the six Pillars of FCSSIP 25.

The retreat was well attended by Management and other Staff of the Ministry.

In one week troops neutralize 73 terrorists, arrests 182

By Emmanuel Daudu

Major General Edward Buba, Director Defence Media Operations has disclosed that the troops’ operations of the last one week, resulted in 73 neutralized terrorists with 182 of them arrested. “Troops also arrested 14 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 68 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied oil theft of the estimated sum of One billion ,two Hundred and Twelve Million Forty Six Thousand One Hundred and Forty Naira (N1, 212,046,140.00) only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 119 assorted weapons and 1,537 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: one GPMG, 3 PKT guns, 39 AK47 rifles, 5 locally fabricated rifles, one locally made double barrel gun, one barreta pistols, 4 locally made pistols, 5 RPG bombs, 5 pu,p action gus, one short gun, one hand grenade, 2 dane guns, one AK47 rifle loaded with 14 rounds of 7.62mm special, one locally made pistol loaded with live cartridges.

He made known this known in a Press Release On Ongoing Military Operations By The Armed Forces Of Nigeria As At 26 October 2023.

According to him,
One of the top priorities of the armed forces is to secure the country and protect citizens from harm caused by these terrorist and extremist across the country. Accordingly, the military is actively working to achieve this mandate.

“It is worthy of mention that the armed forces is in the lead in the ongoing country insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in the country. Significantly, these operations have killed or captured several terrorist, extremist leaders, their facilitators, key associates and numerous of their foot soldiers.

“Relatedly, the ongoing surgical operations recently embarked upon have thrown these evil elements into a state of complete disarray due to the precision of the operations. The terrorist and extremist alike are now perplexed and suffocated with little or no hiding place. It is now a question of sooner than later, before it would be too late for most of them.

“During the week and in collaboration with our foreign partners. The military conducted a surgical operation targeted at the residence of an ISWAP terrorist commander in Niger State. Several arrest and discoveries were made as a result of the operation. However, being an ongoing operation not much can be revealed at this stage. Nevertheless, one thing is certain, the operation is just one of several others to flush out the terrorist. The message is clear to all. You are either on the side of Nigerians and the armed forces, or against us in the fight against terrorist and extremist.

“Others are: 586 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, a bag containing 287 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 389 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 141 rounds of 7.62mm special (belted) ammo, 12 rounds of 9mm ammo, 113 rounds of live cartridges, 25 empty magazine, 13 vehicles, 3 motorcycles, 10 mobile phones, 2 HH radio, one boafeng radio and the sum of N3,308,700.00 amongst other items.

“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 15 dugout pits, 45 boats, 87 storage tanks, 128 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, 4 outboard engine and 63 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 962,500 litres of stolen crude oil, 35,420 litres of illegally refined AGO, 38,450 litres of DPK and 45,000 litres of PMS.

“The ongoing counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations have prevented these evil elements from accomplishing their strategic objectives. The military will continue to degrade their ability to carry out small scale attacks which are intended to create panic in localities”, he added.

FG caution public on fake portal of N-Power Renewed Hope Job Creation

By Emmanuel Daudu

The attention of the National Programme Manager of N-Power, Renewed Hope Job Creation, Dr Akindele Egbuwalo has been drawn to the news-making round on social media that Renewed Hope Job Creation has opened a portal for registration of new beneficiaries.

According to a statement signed by
Jamaluddeen Kabir, National Communications Manager, NSIPA, in a press release on Thursday, said, the public is urged to strongly disregard such information as it does not originate from the N-Power, Renewed Hope Job Creation office.

The N-Power, Renewed Hope Job Creation Management unequivocally disavows this misleading news, which seems designed to deceive the public.

The Renewed Hope Job Creation will properly inform the public through the official portal of the scheme when enrollment of new beneficiaries will commenc

Dr. Raymond Edoh Congratulates Adewale Adeniyi over CG Customs appointment

By Emmanuel Daudu

The United Nations Habitat Ambassador to Nigeria and Life member, International Chartered World Learned Society, ICWLS, has congratulated the newly appointment Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi over his appointment.

The congratulatory letter to Adewale Adeniyi he signed and made available to the media on Sunday by his media aide, Emmanuel Daudu disclosed that the United Nations Habitat Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Raymond Edoh have described the Tinubu led administrative decision to have appointed Adewale Adeniyi as the CG Nigeria Customs Service is in line with the choice of the Nigerian Youth.

While expressing optimism on the capacity of the new CG Customs, Raymond Edoh assured Nigerians of overwhelming outcomes within the scope of his incumbent in a short period of time
“I am writing to express my heartfelt congratulations on your recent appointment as the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service . This is a well-deserved achievement that reflects your dedication, competence, and commitment to public service. Your new role carries immense responsibility, and I have no doubt that you will excel in serving our community, upholding the values of transparency, integrity, and progress.

“Your appointment comes at a critical time, as our society faces numerous challenges that require strong leadership and innovative solutions. I have full confidence that your expertise and vision will contribute significantly to the betterment of our country and its citizens. With your experience and qualifications, I believe you will make a positive impact on the lives of many and help shape a brighter future for our nation.

“As the CG Customs, you have been entrusted with the task of making important decisions that will shape policies, improve governance, and address the needs of our diverse population. I am confident that you will approach these responsibilities with the utmost dedication and wisdom, always putting the welfare of the people at the forefront.

“Your appointment also represents an opportunity for positive change. I encourage you to foster an open dialogue with the public, actively engage with various stakeholders especially the youths and embrace collaboration to ensure that the decisions you make are inclusive, fair, and representative of the collective voice of our society.

‘You have always demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities, a deep understanding of the issues at hand, and a genuine desire to make a difference. These attributes will undoubtedly serve you well in your new role. I am excited to witness the positive impact you will have on our community and the progress we will achieve under your guidance.

“Once again, congratulations on your appointment as the CG Customs. Your dedication to public service is commendable, and I wish you every success in this significant endeavor. May your tenure be marked by accomplishments, growth, and the fulfillment of our nation’s aspirations”, the letter reads.

Earlier, he charged Nigerians especially the youths to be supportive to the new CG Customs pointing out that the Renewed Hope Agenda administration under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a new light which services as a light at the end of the tunnel that should be embraced in unity, love and passion for nationhood.