Africa Security Investigation News

By Omojo Jenefer

Youth And Civil Society Coalition For Development (YCSCD), Jigawa State Chapter has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider a youth leader who has contributed immensely to secure the victory of Bola Ahemed Tinubu in Jigawa State and other states in the country.

The youth leader, Comr. Abdurrashid Ali Zareku made this known in a press statement he signed on Monday and made available to Africa Security Investigation News.

The statement which reads in parts, “Considering the fact that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a grassroots and experienced politician whose political wings cover all components of the country and of course, a politician who knows the value of voters no matter the end contribution given to him, we the youth in Jigawa are craving for the youth’s minister seat yet to be occupied.
As the seat of the Nigerian Minister of Youth remains unoccupied, we urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the tremendous contribution of Jigawa Youths to his success at the poll during his Election.

“Jigawa State was able to maintain both Presidential and Gubernatorial seats for the APC during the elections, and that was not without the resolve and hard work of the youth in the state.
Hence, we see the need to have, from us, the Minister for Youth, preferably our own, the youth political commander who led us in the campaign and electioneering war to success in the person of Comrade Aminu Aminu, the National Coordinator Grassroot Mobilization for Asiwaju (GMA 2023), which is the only coordinating body that immediately after seeking the blessings of the current Minister of Defence, the then Governor of the State and Regional Coordinator Tinubu/Shettima of the 19 Northern States, sworn into Actions by Mobilizing, promising young, vibrant, energetic and talented youth to support and rally round Asiwaju and Shettima across the 19 Northern States until victory was achieved.

“This includes those young politicians who do not even support APC, these and many other efforts were made with the notice of all of the Security Agencies such as, Police, DSS, NCSCD, and the Immigration Service among others.
These security agencies are fully aware of Comrade Aminu Aminu’s tremendous contributions before, during and after the 2023 elections.

“Using his experience as the Former National President National Association of Jigawa State Students NAJISS 2004, the most popular NANS Presidential Aspirant in 2007/2008, Youths’ Leader and Coordinating Officer PDP Presidential Campaign Council Goodluck/Sambo 2015 under the leadership of Abdullahi Maibasira, acted as Secretary Jigawa State Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Directorate led by its Director, Senator Tony Nwonye.

“Additionally, During the 2023 election Campaign, Comrade Aminu Aminu worked under Four current ministers whom he believed would assist the Government in delivering excellent governance to Nigerians.

These ministers include;

1. H.E Muhammad Badaru
   Abubakar MON, Mni, Grand Patron (GMA 2023), Honorable Minister of Defence
2. Imaan Suleman Ibrahim (ICC Special Duties), Honorable Minister of State Police Affairs.
3. Barrister Bello Muhammad Goronyo (PCC Youth Mobilization Committee), Honorable Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation.
   Dr Mariya Muhammad, Honourable Minister of State FCT.

“He further Served in Seven (7) different Presidential Campaign Council Committees at the National, Zonal and State levels. Aminu did not lobby for any of the Committees to be coopted, rather he has been identified based on his hard work, commitment, resilience, dedication, honesty and transparency in political struggles.

“After he was convinced to support Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Aminu Aminu wrote a book entitled: “101 Fundamental Reasons for Supporting Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu” which was submitted to the Coordinator of the 19 Northern States Muhammad Badaru, the current Minister of Defence. Aminu worked with the hitherto Secretary of Data/Management Committee, APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC 2023), Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, Director General National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA and with the support of the first daughter of the President, Folashade, the former Governor of Jigawa State and the current Governor Malam Umar Namadi, Aminu Aminu with his team of Professionals and experienced former NANS Leaders at various capacity stormed every nook and cranny of Jigawa state and solicited for the supports of the people in the State for Tinubu/Shettima and Danmodi/Roller as President, Vice-President and Governor, Deputy Governor respectively in the 2023 general elections.

“After sinking his resources by providing a befitting Regional Office of the 19 Northern States in Dutse, the Capital of Jigawa state, which was commissioned for use by the current Jigawa Governor Malam Umar Namadi, Aminu went ahead and sponsored the training of over 5,000 Women in various fields trade such as make-up, cooking, tailoring among many others

“He also did the renovation of mosques, helped the needy etc.
Aminu further Sacrificed his cars for the campaign rallies within and outside the State.

“Your Excellency Sir, had you been aware of the calibre of the political environment Aminu was able to survive, and the risks he undertook, you would surely have encouraged this young man by rewarding his loyalty, steadfastness and massive political contributions to the overall success of the APC in Jigawa and beyond, with the Minister of Youth to fill the remaining ministerial vacancy.

“We urge President Tinubu to consider the young politician, Comrade Aminu Aminu, who hailed from Sara Town of Gwaram Local Government area, the most Populated Local government in Jigawa State the minister of youth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“This will no doubt, rekindle our hope and strengthen the belief we long held that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a grass-root politician.

“It will similarly serve as an energy booster to the Nigerian Youth, taking into cognizance, the unprecedented attachment of the gentleman (Comrade Aminu Aminu) to the Nigerian youth.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the newly appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has been advised to beam a searchlight on the activities of some of the top official of the Federal Capital Territory if they are still desirous in attracting Nigerians in Diaspora to invest in the country particularly in the Capital Territory.

This was the assertion of two aggrieved Nigerians, Otumba Olusegun Olarewanju, CEO platinum parking management, and Iliyasu Abdu, the MD/CEO Integrated Parking Managers who claimed to be the owners and initiators of the recently reintroduced Abuja Park and pay project but were unceremoniously pushed aside in the new arrangement by the Adesola Olusade led leadership of the Federal Capital Territory.

Our correspondent was reliably informed that the immediate past Minister had advised the Permanent Secretary when he was handing over to ensure that the two pioneer companies be given first right of refusal to avoid injustice before awarding the project in order not to exhibit the attitude of impunity thereby causing further anarchy.

But no sooner had the former minister handed over to the Permanent Secretary and his senior civil servant colleagues, they took advantage and was said to have quickly rushed to bring their proxies to snatch the idea and concepts of the original initiators who deserve first right of refusal.

Recall also that there is still a subsisting court judgment mandating FCTA to pay the damage as penalty for illegally truncating the two companies that suffered severe lost of fund due to the abrupt disengagement of the two companies.

Meanwhile, narrating their ordeal in the hands of these top FCTA officials they explained how they were brought back to the country by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, and how they put all the structure for the On- street parking management in place.

“At the onset of democracy in 1999, the then President Olusegun Obasanjor invited people in Diaspora when we tried to romance with his government. He said we should come back home, bring all our ideas, and come and invest in the country. This gingered us to come back home, and looking at the esthetics, the design, and the road network of Abuja, we came on board that we could do ‘On street Parking management’ on the streets of Abuja in other to generate revenue for the FCT and also to create massive employment for the teaming youths of Nigeria. And we also had it in mind that one day the influx of vehicular movement in Abuja city will be uncontrollable. So, in other to have a plan in place was what necessitated us coming up with ‘On street parking’ project in the street of Abuja.

“And we came with everything, we came with all our technical partners, we set it up, we did everything, and we tendered for the project. The FCT Minister later set up a technical committee to look into the proposal and here we are, we signed an agreement with them in 2010. When we started we put the entire infrastructure in place, all the street infrastructure we put in place, synergies or what have you. We did all the line marking in all the roads of Abuja. I and my PPMS went back abroad and brought technical partners to set up all these infrastructures. We engaged thousands of Nigerians. My company engaged over four hundred and fifty of direct and indirect labour to start the project, same with my friend. We brought state-of-the-art applications to manage the projects and start setting everything up, until one day we saw two companies that took over the street of Abuja saying the Minister said they should drive us away from the streets.

“And then these people took over the streets, and then mayhem started; chaos, and pandemonium on the streets of Abuja. This was what led to Justice Peter Afe to place a suspension on the project abi nitio, because people sued us to court, they sued one of the illegal operators in court. And when they suspended us they told FCT to go and get a proper traffic law to support the project,” Otumba Olarewanju said.

On what really is their demand from the Federal Capital Territory Authorities leadership, the second partner, Iliyasu said, “Our demand is that first and foremost our original spots, which mine was zone A should be given back to me while PPMS is their zone B. Our next demand is that our arbitration judiciary award should be paid because we have debtors on our neck, most of the money we used in rolling out; this is almost ten years now. The money has not been serviced, debtors are on our neck. So, we needed money to pay them, and the remaining one we can reinvest back on the street of Abuja.

“This is because as pioneers, and in the agreement we had with FCDA we have the right of first refusal. It’s in the agreement, and that agreement has been certified by a court of competent jurisdiction, so our agreement is valid and subsisting and anything contrary to that is against the law. And number two, the arbitrary award is a legal thing that nobody can wish away except the court of competent jurisdiction. Since they have gone to the High Court, the high court could not set it aside; the Court of Appeal court did not set it aside, and even the Supreme Court will not set it aside because arbitration has a time limit. If you cannot do anything within those ninety days that means it’s only God that can intervene,” he stated.

By Emmanuel Daudu

The safety of the Nigerian air space has received a boost as the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and the Nigerian airspace management agency (NAMA) in line with their inter-agency collaboration agenda today in Abuja entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement and renewed partnership to promote air safety.

According to the Senior Public Affairs Officer, Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Olakangudu Olayinka Yusuf, in a press release he signed on Tuesday and made available to Africa Security Investigation News, disclosed that the main purpose of the agreement was to consolidate the existing relationship between NSIB and NAMA on the exchange of information, and data sharing during occurrences, among others, that can help in the quality and timeliness of investigation of air mishaps in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO Annex 13 and 19 of the 1994 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Olakangudu said the MoU was the flexibility in all transactions with the mutual agreement of both agencies, upholding the values of cooperation, honesty, mutual respect, openness, and professionalism.

NSIB and NAMA while signing the deal noted that though the MoU is not legally binding, but the two agencies however agreed to perform their respective functions in a manner consistent with the values and principles of the agreement.

The signing of the agreement, which took place at the NSIB Abuja headquarters had the Bureau Director General, Engr. Akin Olateru signed on behalf of NSIB, while NAMA Managing Director/ CEO Engr. Odunowo Tayib Mohammed, put pen on paper for his Agency.

The NSIB recently signed a MoU with Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on cooperation during emergencies even as the agency has signed similar agreements with various agencies and institutions within and outside the country.
Said Olateru, “Collaboration remains the centre point of our drive towards enthroning safety in the aviation industry. We remain committed to promoting safety in the aviation industry to the point of attaining and maintaining zero accidents.”
He added: “We, however, cannot do it alone. That is why we have chosen the path of collaboration with agencies and institutions with similar objectives.”

He commended NAMA management for rising to the occasion by signing the agreement.

The people of Elele town in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State have benefitted from an intense medical program put together by the Medical Mission For Peace in conjunction with AMERICARES and Elele Health Association where In sum, a total of 1,709 patients were treated during the exercise.

The program, which was held recently at the Rotimi Amaechi Center for Empowerment (RACE) Elele, was basically targeted at providing free healthcare for residents of the area who are least likely to afford it. The medical team of Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists, Medical Laboratory Technicians, Medical Assistants, and crowd control personnel, treated different ailments including arthritis, diabetes, malaria, typhoid fever, high blood pressure, as well as bacterial infections.

The two-day program ran from 9 am to 6 pm each day. We treated 782 cases of Malaria and Typhoid, 253 cases with uncontrolled hypertension, 75 patients cases of obese, 10 had congestive heart failure, 12 had abnormal heart rhythm, 177 cases of diabetes, 214 had Arthritis, and 57 treated for abdominal ulcers.

At the pharmacy patients with chronic received medications. Every patient who was seen by the received an assortment of over-the-counter medications including analgesics and vitamin supplements. The people who showed up and registered had vital sign screening, diabetes, and hypertension counseling also various over-the-counter medications, including vitamin supplements, cough, cold
remedies, and analgesics. We recorded 703 patients with visual problems (as young as 6 months and as old as 90 years), and several patients in their twenties were treated for diabetes.

According to the team, “The youngest patient with glaucoma was 22 yrs old. We had an ‘autorefractor reading of ‘ unable to read’ because it exceeded the +/-10,00D limit. He was +10-00D in both eyes. We did not have any +10.00D glasses with us, but we did have +8.50D with a bifocal. We also had a child with severe left eyelid ptosis. We found she had a corneal ulcer for over a week, and we started her on a pulse dose of Vigamox (antibiotic drop). “

Sunglasses were a hit, especially the kids’ sunglasses because patients under 20 years of age were all dilated. Patients loved receiving a new pair of glasses and were very grateful. The patients’ faces radiated with palpable joy as each of them had the eyeglasses stuck on their faces, discovering a new world around them”, he said. While also identifying some challenges associated with the program, such as low workforce/volunteer pool, limited geographic area targeted, insufficient drugs, and short program duration, Dr. Nnamdi said, “We ran out of drugs and had to make purchases at retail in the open market. We also had to shut down and turn away patients due to the short duration. “

On his part, the founder, of Medical Vision for Peace, Dr. Ogu Emejuru, who is also the publisher, of medicalvisions.org expressed gratitude to AmeriCares for donating the medical supplies and drugs. He thanked CHIMATEMS LLC for their support in providing additional drugs for the exercise and lauded the efforts of all the healthcare volunteers from the community that gave up their time to improve community wellness.

He particularly expressed appreciation to Dr. Ike Nlerem, President of Elele Health Association, and Ms. Janet Obunwo, a prominent Nurse based in New York, for their contributions to the success of the program. Dr. Emejuru also donated 600 readers of myopic single-vision glasses and sunglasses for the program. Meanwhile, during the follow-up debriefing, Medical Visions for Peace and Elele Health Association pledged a yearly free medical mission for the people while also seeking support from members of the community.

Beneficiaries of the programme, which includes older adults and children, expressed happiness for the medical intervention.

By Emmanuel Daudu

The Nasarawa State government and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) are set to partner on a lithium processing policy that would ensure that Lithium mined in the State is processed locally instead of exporting it raw.

According to a press release signed by the NASENI, Director, Information, and Protocol and made available to Africa Security Investigation News on Monday, disclosed that the processing policy is in line with NASENI’s drive to encourage the processing of Strategic Solid Minerals and particularly to ensure that batteries are produced locally for both electric vehicles as well as other energy storage applications.

This was disclosed when the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule paid a courtesy visit to Dr. Bashir Gwandu, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja at the weekend. Nasarawa state is one of the states acknowledged to have potentially the largest deposits of lithium in Nigeria.

Recently NASENI has made headlines on its efforts to encourage investors and Nigerian lithium-off-takers from around the world to come and partner with it to process various combinations of lithium into batteries locally. This will include lithium processing from mineral crushing and extraction all the way to final products that can be used both locally and also export to other countries.

Some companies from China have already started visiting NASENI as a response to the call. Dr. Gwandu disclosed that NASENI will partner with other government agencies such as Rural Electricity Agency (REA), Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and other investing institutions on this effort.

He said he was pleased that the Nasarawa state governor is coming to collaborate with NASENI in this regard. A number of companies have indicated interested in investing in Nasarawa state to process lithium in various quantities ranging from 1,000-3,000 tonnes per day. So far, almost 6,000 tonnes per day are projected to be processed daily in Nasarawa alone.

On his part, Governor Sule said the companies have already indicated interest to process the 6,000 tonnes per day in Nasarawa state, adding that other states such as Kebbi, Kwara, etc., might also attract such kind of companies and investments, and there is need for proper coordination, and for all hands to be on deck to ensure that Nigeria takes its place by being recognized as one of the largest lithium producers in the world.

The Governor added that there is something happening that is akin to Gold Rush which he termed ‘Lithium Rush” happening in his state and this is because lithium price in the world market has jumped from $6,000 per metric tonnes to $78,000 per metric tonnes. “Nasarawa state has a large quantum of Lithium and hence the need to have a better working synergy with NASENI for purposeful exploration, extraction and processing.”

According to Engr. Sule, NASENI is him, considering the number of projects that are adding value to the economy of his state, urging that the NASENI Solar in Gora may be used as lithium processing and battery production plant considering its proximity to the raw materials and also the proximity to the NASENI Solid Minerals institute which is also located in Nasarawa town in the same state.

While promising to give the Agency necessary support, he called for more collaborations with the State as it plans a second economic summit that would be tagged “Lithium Rush Summit”.

The EVC stated that during recent visit to Nasarawa he had encouraged the Institute to allow the use of its machines by the local communities and small companies for efficient utilization and capacity building and for economic development.

The governor who stated that he heard that the Agency was planning on building an airport, urged it to utilise the State’s cargo airport for evacuation of its products.

While responding further to His Excellency Governor Sule, Dr. Gwandu disclosed that NASENI does not have any plan to build an airport but is working on establishing an MRO/ARO as part of our efforts to develop capacity for both maintenance and eventual aircrafts parts production to service aerospace industry which is likely to be sited in Abuja in view of its location and electricity supply.

He promised that NASENI will actively participate in any conference by the State with regard to lithium. He said NASENI Institutes have industrial machineries and other equipment and workforce that were readily available to lead Nigeria to industrialize and achieve a diversified economy but doing this requires huge funds outlay to fulfil the Agency’s mandate.

He requested the governor to be one of the ambassadors of NASENI in NGF. He said NGF holds key to the release of NASENI’s held up funds.

Moreover, he said the governors support is key to enabling the Agency carry out its works in the areas of science, technology and innovation (STI), geared towards the industrial development at the States.