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Herdsmen: We can no longer allow Yoruba to be killed as chickens-Gani Adam

Rebecca Akinremi
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Herdsmen: We can no longer allow Yoruba to be killed as chickens-Gani Adam

GANI Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland has expressed his displeasure on the security challenges the South West is facing, saying, he is ready to fight as Yoruba people are not to be killed like chickens by the herdsmen.

Gani said he has realised that there are some forces behind the herdsmen activities in the Southwest.

“We can no longer allow our people to be killed like chickens. We can’t keep quiet while Yoruba are being killed like fowls,” he said.

The Yoruba Generalissimo disclosed the information to journalists after a condolence visit to the 93-year-old Reuben Fasoranti who lost daughter last Friday to suspected herdsmen.

Fasoranti’s daughter, Olufunke Olakunri, was a 58-year-old mother with two girls. She had paid her father a visit in Akure, Ondo’s Capital but on her return journey to Lagos, she was killed between Kajola and Ore along Ondo-Ore road.

Outlining some forces responsible for the rampaging in the region, Gani mentioned “those who strike in the bush, those who issued statements to back them and those who are strategists and give instructions to those that strike” are all in business.

“How can ordinary Fulani herdsmen be holding AK 47? In our findings, the AK 47 rifle goes for about N1 million and with many bullets. So, we are looking beyond ordinary Fulani herdsmen,” he said.

He urged Yoruba people to stop “becoming a paper tiger”.

“Our problem in Yoruba land is that we do not prepare. We always react and when we tell our people to prepare, they employ a nonchalant attitude to it.”

He revealed that he had been meeting with stakeholders and various organisations to map out strategies that will complement efforts of the law enforcement agencies to protect Southwest.

“I can tell you authoritatively that we are meeting as a group and even as stakeholders to map out strategies that will help us to complement efforts of the law enforcement agencies. I have seen this signal. I have the information.

As he described it as a sensitive security situation, Gani said they operate within the ambits of the law. “That is one of the reasons we are being careful,” he added.

“We don’t want a situation we walk into their trap because we realize that this ugly incident is being coordinated beyond our own scene.”

Also, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, met with President Muhammadu Buhari over the issue of insecurity in the region, saying the challenge is real.

“In the remote and rural areas of the southwest, most of the bushes are now occupied by strange people. We, therefore, decided to work with the government to fish them out,” he said.

Ogunwusi called for more federal apparatus for defence. “We don’t want war and we want to work with the government to bring peace.”

Nigeria seals deal with largest trading partner, to supply 10 per cent crude oil needs

Amos ABBA
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Nigeria seals deal with largest trading partner, to supply 10 per cent crude oil needs

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to supply 10 per cent of India’s crude oil demand in the face of competing demand for crude oil from other countries.

The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Corporation, Mele Kyari, announced the country’s readiness to continue the supply of 10 per cent of India’s crude oil needs while speaking at the NNPC’s headquarters in Abuja  during a visit by the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur.

Kyari was confident of Nigeria’s support towards India’s energy security, with sustained efforts to strengthen the bilateral relations between both countries by agreeing to the clauses in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with regards to energy.

“We are ready to have a robust engagement with the Indian trade team to provide a win-win energy scenario between us,” he said.

“Every trade opportunity that is available will be fully explored.”

India has replaced the United States as Nigeria’s top energy importer.

SBM Intel, an organisation dedicated to the collection and analysis of information, hinted in its 2019 energy analysis that Nigeria’s government is without a clearly defined strategy in its relationship with its economic allies which would make the country an economic liability rather than an asset.

“Fifteen years ago, the United States, US, was a top destination for Nigeria’s crude oil exports until it developed its shale oil production, today they barely buy anything from Nigeria, and India has replaced the US as Nigeria’s top energy importer.

“The energy market is competitive, Nigeria sells its petroleum without a clear strategy to make its top suppliers dependent on its petroleum exports. India and China are currently Nigeria’s most important trading partners. India for exports and China for imports, and there is sufficient room for growth in these relationships,” the report noted.

The NNPC boss, stated that India was a strategic market and NNPC would ensure that the current volume of crude oil supply from Nigeria to the country is secured for the collective interest of both parties.

He also noted that there were lots of untapped investment opportunities in the nation’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas and expressed the willingness of the NNPC to aggressively improve LPG infrastructure and consumption across the country.

The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria thanked the management of the corporation for the recent renewal of the crude oil term contracts for three Indian companies and called for increment in the crude oil supply in view of the increasing energy needs of India.

Indian state-owned refiners tend to buy most of their crude on term contracts while their remaining requirements are sought via tenders.

However, the companies are Indian Oil Corporation, IOC,  Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd.

Thakur said India was ready to provide credit line mechanisms and expertise to help NNPC revamp its widespread infrastructure across the country.

“India is prepared to offer Nigeria, and particularly the NNPC, a credit line mechanism to help her in the areas of refinery maintenance, construction, security, surveillance and anything possible,” he said.

In three months, FG spent N610.2b to service domestic debts, says NBS

Amos ABBA
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In three months, FG spent N610.2b to service domestic debts, says NBS

 

The National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) says the Federal Government has spent a total of N610.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019 to service its domestic loans.

The NBC disclosed disclosed in its first quarterly report for 2019, which covers three months from January to March.

Nigeria’s domestic debts are currently pegged at N13.11 trillion in the first quarter of 2019, which was raised from the issuance of seven financial instruments.

This includes the Federal Government savings bonds with a total debt pool of N9.72 trillion, Federal Government savings bonds with N9.7 billion, Sukuk bond with N200 billion and Green bond with N10.69 billion.

Other instruments used by the Federal Government in raising its domestic debt were the Nigerian Treasury bills with N2.65 trillion, Nigerian Treasury bonds N150.98 billion and Promissory notes with N366.85 billion.

The report also revealed that the Federal Government had spent N120.91 billion on interest payments on the Nigerian Treasury bills.

A breakdown of the N120.91 billion shows that the sum of N74.14 billion was spent in January while February and March had N29.68 billion and N17.09 billion respectively.

For the Federal Government bonds, the report stated that N480.84 billion was spent servicing this debt component during the three months period.

A breakdown of the amount showed that N183.62 billion was spent in January, N125.65 billion in February while March had N171.57 billion.

Similarly, the report explained that for the Savings bond component, the sum of N347.91 million was spent on interest on this debt instrument. The interest was paid in this manner, N100.5 million in January, N92.51 million in February while March had N154.89 million.

SBM Intelligence, Nigeria’s leading geopolitical intelligence platform in its analysis in a recent report, advised the Federal Government against further borrowing without a commensurate investment in major infrastructures.

” The debt profile of Nigeria has doubled in the past four years and there is no apparent end in sight.
Meanwhile, there are no major infrastructure or economic investments to show for all the borrowed sums, meaning the debts will be that much harder to repay,” it stated in the report.

 

Poor public engagement, little oversight– Nigeria ranks low on budget transparency

Jennifer UGWA
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Poor public engagement, little oversight– Nigeria ranks low on budget transparency

THE International Budget Partnership (IBP) has ranked Nigeria low for lack of transparency and poor public engagement in the development and implementation of its national budget.

In the survey tagged Open Budget Index – the world’s only independent and comparative measure of budget transparency, the IBP scored Nigeria an abysmal 17 points out of 100 –substantially lower than the global average score of 42.

“Nigeria provided the public with scant budget information,” the IBP survey revealed.

It stated that Nigeria’s score of 13 out of 100 in public engagement, indicates that it provides few opportunities for the public to engage in the budget process. The mark is slightly higher than the global average score of 12.

The survey also assessed whether the Federal Government made eight key budget documents available to the public online in a timely manner and whether the documents present budget information in a comprehensive and useful way.

It equally showed that legislatures, supreme audit institutions, and independent fiscal institutions provided limited oversight during the budget cycle.

“At 56 out of 100, Nigeria aced the average global benchmark of 60, however, “This score reflects that the legislature provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and limited oversight during the implementation stage of the budget cycle,” the survey revealed.

Photo credit: International Budget Partnership

The research recommended that for Nigeria to improve its budget transparency, the government should publish a pre-budget statement, In-Year Reports, Citizens Budget online and in a timely manner.

It must aslo produce and publish a Mid-Year Review and increase the information provided in the Executive’s Budget proposal by providing more detail on expenditures and revenue

The IBP suggested an oversight upgrade which will include, holding legislative hearings on the formulation of the annual budget.

Doing this, it explained, members of the public or civil society organizations can testify adding that there must also be the establishment of formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution in formulating its audit program and to participate in relevant audit investigations.

Public participation as a factor towards social development the survey showed would increase if the Executive’s ensure that the budget proposal is provided to legislators at least two months before the start of the budget year.

It advocated for a creation of a legislative committee that will examine and publish reports on in-year budget implementation online while making provisions for the supreme audit institution to have adequate funding to perform its duties.

Finally, on the list of recommendation is the publication of reports of the independent fiscal institution on cost estimates of new policy proposals online.

 

Insecurity: Buhari calls for more collaborative efforts among Africa’s intelligence community

Jennifer UGWA
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Insecurity: Buhari calls for more collaborative efforts among Africa’s intelligence community

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari intelligence community in Africa must work to curb illicit financial flow in the continent as a measure to address security challenges facing Africa.

President Buhari spoke on Thursday at the opening session of the 16th Conference of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) which held in Abuja.

According to him, development and stability of the African continent had been sabotaged by illicit outflows estimated to be about $60 billion annually.

“Frankly, we may never know the true extent of the damage. Estimates, however, suggest that African countries lose over 60 billion US dollars annually due to illicit financial outflows, a staggering amount for a continent in dire need of development finance,” the president said.

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“Corroborating this figure, a United Nations Report on ‘llicit Financial Flows and the Problem of Net Resource Transfers from Africa: 1980-2009,’ observed that during the period 1980 to 2009 between $1.2 trillion and $1.4 trillion was taken out of Africa. This figure is half of the current Gross Domestic Products of all the countries of Africa,’’ he added.

Buhari noted that the theme for the conference, “Illicit Financial Outflows from Africa and its impact on National Security and Development,’’ was most timely, and urged stakeholders from the intelligence community of the 52 African countries to create a template of risk factors and actionable strategies.

He added that they should give priority to examining the links between crime and instability on the continent.

The president also challenged the conference to put measures in place that would ensure terrorists and criminals were denied access to financial systems.

“Criminals and their collaborators cheat the system through various practices, including trade mispricing, trade mis-invoicing, tax abuse and evasion, as well as money laundering. Several unfair commercial agreements and illegal resource extraction by multinational companies, in cahoots with their local collaborators, also create routes for illicit financial outflows.

“As partners in the fight against crime and insecurity, you know that terrorist networks, organized criminal syndicates of drugs, arms and human traffickers and sundry hostile non-state actors are actively undermining the security and stability of our countries,’’ he added.

He said firm and unwavering action will be required to bring threats under control, noting that “any evasion of rules and regulations in ways that aid corruption in its various manifestations, including illicit financial outflows, must be vigorously fought and defeated.’’

“My role as African Union’s Anti-Corruption Champion brought me closer to appreciating more the devastating impact of corruption and illicit financial outflows on our continent,” Buhari said.

 

 

WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo a global emergency

Rebecca Akinremi
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WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo a global emergency

 

THE World Health Organisation(WHO) has declared Ebola virus disease (EVD) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) after the virus keeps spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The decision was reached at the  4th meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the DRC held in Geneva, Switzerland.

“It is time for the world to take notice and redouble our efforts. We need to work together in solidarity with the DRC to end this outbreak and build a better health system” said Tedros Adhanom, WHO director-general.

Adhanom said extraordinary work has been done for almost a year under the most difficult circumstances.

“We all owe it to these responders –coming from not just WHO but also the government, partners and communities — to shoulder more of the burden,” he added.

Ebola outbreak was declared in Congo in August 2018 and the outbreak has killed over 1,600 people in the country.

There have been an increase in the rate of victims in 2019 with about 12 new cases  being reported every day.

The WHO decision was spurred after the disease was detected in Goma this week. Goma is home to two million people in Congo and on the border with Rwanda.

It is also recognised as the gateway to Congo and the rest of the world.

Last month, a case of Ebola was reported in Uganda where two people were confirmed dead.

WHO had called a meeting to decide if it deemed a global burden. But after the emergency meeting on June 14, WHO said the situation was not a public concern.

“It was the view of the Committee that the outbreak is a health emergency in DRC and the region but does not meet all the three criteria for a PHEIC under the IHR,” WHO had concluded in June.

But the conclusion was reversed on Wednesday when Adhanom announced that the outbreak has been classified as a level 3 – the most serious – emergency globally.

However, WHO  said the transport routes and the border of the communities affected should not be closed.

“It is essential to avoid the punitive economic consequences of travel and trade restrictions on affected communities,” it noted

“It is important that the world follows these recommendations. It is also crucial that states do not use the PHEIC as an excuse to impose trade or travel restrictions, which would have a negative impact on the response and on the lives and livelihoods of people in the region,” said Professor Robert Steffen, chair of the Emergency Committee.

 The WHO also complained that it has insufficient money to tackle the problem.

There is a vaccine for ebola but in Congo, not everybody is vaccinated.

APC approves suspension of national vice-chairman

'Kunle ADEBAJO
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APC approves suspension of national vice-chairman

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved the suspension of its national vice-chairman, Inuwa Abdulkadir.

Lanre Issa-Onilu, the party’s spokesperson, made the decision public through a press statement released on Thursday.

“The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has upheld the disciplinary actions of Magajin Gari ‘A’ Ward, Sokoto North Local Government, and the Party’s Sokoto State Executive Committee on the Party’s National Vice Chairman (North West), Inuwa Abdulkadir over anti-party activities,” Issa-Onilu said.

“The party organs in Sokoto State have earlier expelled Abdulkadir and passed on their recommendation to the NWC for ratification.”

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He said the resolution to uphold the decision of the state’s party organs was reached at a meeting of the NWC held on Thursday at the party’s national secretariat.

“Abdulkadir failed to utilise the opportunity to defend himself before the disciplinary committee set up by the NWC to look into the various petitions received against certain members of our party,” the spokesperson added.

“Following the suspension of Abdulkadir, the NWC will subsequently forward the decision of the Sokoto State organs to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) for further actions.”

Abdulkadir had earlier said in a letter to the party that it would be improper for him to appear before the disciplinary panel as he already instituted a court case against the APC “arising from some false and malicious allegations touching on” his integrity.

In a different letter, he had also accused Issa-Onilu of making defamatory statements against him during interviews with the press and he had given the spokesperson seven days to retract them and apologise publicly.

The suspended official had been accused of working against the interests of the party in the last gubernatorial election in Sokoto State, where Aminu Tambuwal, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), emerged the winner.

Nigerian Army loses colonel, five soldiers in fresh Boko Haram ambush

Amos ABBA
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Nigerian Army loses colonel, five soldiers in fresh Boko Haram ambush

AT least six soldiers including a colonel were killed in an ambush by suspected Boko Haram insurgents on Wednesday evening.

Multiple sources reported that the insurgents opened fire on the patrol vehicle carrying the soldiers in Jakana, close to the state capital Maiduguri, Borno State.

The insurgents were said to be those of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

They launched the attack on the soldiers of the 29 Task Force Brigade who were on their way to Maiduguri from Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe State. The attack took place at about 6:20 pm.

The remains of the colonel and five others were taken  to a Nigerian Army medical facility in Maiduguri.

After the ambush, the insurgents also attacked a military base just outside Jakana in seven trucks fitted with machine guns, engaging troop.

A reinforcement was sent from the 29 Task Force Brigade Headquarters in Benisheik to the outpost in Jakana.

The attack was however repelled by soldiers at the base, with the suspected Boko Haram fighters abandoning their weapons and one vehicle as they fled.

The Nigerian Army has not publicly announced the details of the attack.

In June, at least 28 soldiers were reportedly killed while the insurgents ransacked a military base in Gajiram, Nganzai local government area of Borno.

Boko Haram has been on a killing spree despite the Nigerian government’s efforts and claims that the war was in its last days.
Hundreds of soldiers have been killed since Boko Haram began focusing on military bases in July 2018, casualties that included at least six senior officers and commanders.

The Nigerian military has made inroads in curtailing the insurgent’s operations to three states which include Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. They’ve operated across Northern Nigeria including in the Federal capital, Abuja.

However, the Boko Haram group is still able to attack military and civilians in the three states where it currently operates.

Immigration officer, 14 others arrested in Lagos for alleged passport racketeering

YEKEEN Akinwale
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Immigration officer, 14 others arrested in Lagos for alleged passport racketeering

 

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has  arrested a Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) officer, Adebimpe Kehinde, an Immigration Assistant over alleged involvement in passport racketeering.

A statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by the acting Head of Media and Publicity, Tony Orilade said its Lagos Zonal office arrested Kehinde  alongside 14 other suspected passport racketeers on Thursday,  at the Immigration Service Passport office, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Their arrest, Orilade explained followed intelligence reports received by the Commission leading to series of surveillance about their alleged criminal activities.

The suspects are: Nnadika Timothy, Oyeyiga Samuel, Sunday Adekunle, Lola Kadoso, Adebayo Damilola, Adeola Oluwafikayomi Ajiboshin, Abubakri Adebayo.

Others are: Uka Precious Ifeanyi, Raph Emeka Ibuaku, Henry Onyebuchi, Christy Odey, Aba-Peter Ajuma Blessing,Ogunmefun Oluwanishola and Busayo Balogun.

The statement said the suspects allegedly conspired to extort money from unsuspecting members of the public applying for international passports.

Five laptops, mobile phones and several official documents were recovered from them by EFCC officials.

Otilade said the suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

To end tuberculosis, Nigeria needs stronger partnerships, domestic financing, community awareness

Rebecca Akinremi
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To end tuberculosis, Nigeria needs stronger partnerships, domestic financing, community awareness

AS NIGERIA ranks the highest with the tuberculosis burden in Africa and the sixth-highest globally, International Organisations and Stakeholders in Nigeria have called for strong partnerships to end tuberculosis in the country.

This was the prominent appeal made at the ongoing two-day National Tuberculosis Conference holding between July 17 and 18 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Giving the opening remarks, Lucica Ditiu who is the executive director of Stop TB Partnership in Geneva said tuberculosis is a huge problem in Nigeria. She said the tuberculosis problem is compounded as 75 per cent of people with the disease are left untreated in the country, thereby infecting others. Approximately, there are  418,000 Nigerians that come down with tuberculosis every year but only 118,000 cases are treated and diagnosed, leaving 300,000 which is 75 per cent of TB people untreated.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne disease which means, it is spread person-to-person through the air. When persons with the TB cough, sniff or spit, they propel germs to the air. If a person inhales only a few of these germs, such a person becomes infected. While anybody could be infected, the most at risk are those suffering from other conditions that impair the immune system such as HIV, and the tobacco users.

“Every single person that is not diagnosed or treated can infect between 10 to 15 other people every year,” said Ditiu. “So we realise that unless we curtail it, this we keep growing.”

Ditiu also called on the media to provide more information about tuberculosis to the general public. She said Nigeria needs to fight tuberculosis problem by working with every stakeholder, not only by the doctors and nurses.

“TB is not complicated, though not easy. Nigeria must act fast. Everyone needs to know there’s a TB problem in Nigeria and it is a big one. So, what do we do to our problems? We face them not avoiding them,” explained Ditiu.

Stephen Mule, Chairman of the African Parliament and Kenyan parliamentarian, said Nigeria should deliberately invest on tuberculosis. He said the resources for the fight against the infectious disease is usually funded by donors. Mule asked for “clear domestic financing”. It is estimated that Nigeria needs $310m, almost N112bn, to bridge the tuberculosis funding gap by 2030.

“Donor funds are drying up,” he said. Adding that Nigerians should talk to their legislators as they have a vital role to play in the budget. “We must ensure that new members of the Nigerian parliament make domestic plans to fund tuberculosis. He tasked the legislators also need to speak up about the disease in their districts and constituencies.

Gidado Mustapha, global director of challenge TB project, in his own part, said the only way to move forward in the fight against tuberculosis is by decentralising the method.

“Nigeria is supposed to address the burden from the local government areas and then to the state government,” he said. He called for community awareness of the disease. By involving the grassroots, the burden of the disease would be reduced in Nigeria, said Mustapha.

The symptoms for the disease include the chest pains, fever, night sweats, weight loss, weakness, and cough (at times with sputum and blood). If a person coughs persistently for two weeks, such a person need to be tested of tuberculosis.

The National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) earlier said in March during the world tuberculosis day that the disease kills not less than 18 Nigerians every hour.

Nigeria burden is on the increase even as it has claimed the 1st position among the countries with a high burden in Africa, as against the 2nd position recorded in 2017, according to the global TB reports. Also, Nigeria has moved from 7th position to the 6th highest in the world.

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