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After ICIR investigation, FG renovates Bauchi Galambi Cattle Ranch as state government woos investors

Editorial
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After ICIR investigation, FG renovates Bauchi Galambi Cattle Ranch as state government woos investors

By Babaji Usman Babaji

Barely five months after The ICIR’s investigation on Bauchi’s Galambi Cattle Ranch taken over by illegal loggers, the federal government has renovated some of the abandoned structures in the ranch.

The investigation revealed how the ranch had thick vegetation and ample forest resources taken over by the loggers due to the Bauchi State government’s failure to sustain the ranch.

The ICIR’s visit to the ranch discovered that some abandoned structures were renovated by the National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA), while the state government is pushing to revive the ranch after decades of negligence.

The Bauchi State Commissioner for Agriculture, a professor, Simon Madugu Yalams said Galambi Cattle Ranch would receive an agricultural boost to generate more revenue and employment opportunities for the state.

Yalams stated this when he paid a familiarisation visit to the ranch, explaining that their recent trip to China with the governor, Bala Mohammed, was to invite investors to the agricultural sector to ensure food security and sufficiency in the state.

The commissioner indicated that NALDA would provide entrepreneurial skills to the teeming youth with employment in the communities around the ranch.

He said the state government is planning to build a benefiting abattoir where, after slaughtering animals, the meat would be processed and sold to people, thus benefiting the communities in the areas of dairy production, milk collection and small ruminant’ improvement.

He explained that the governor has provided all the requirements of the World Bank for the project to be implemented in the state.

The Commissioner also interacted with communities neighbouring the ranch, which include Jirr, Mararaban Liman Katagum, Galambi and Kusada, where the communities were sensitised on the upcoming livestock productivity and resilience support project.Earlier, Iliyasu Aliyu Gital, the special adviser to the state governor on agriculture and also oversight coordinator of the NALDA project in the state, said the governor has allocated some hectares of land from Galambi Cattle Ranch for NALDA to improve agriculture projection in the state. 

He said the agency has already renovated some buildings, provided four tractors and restored electricity with dedicated transformers in the ranch.  

Renovated structures in Bauchi Galambi Cattle Ranch
Renovated structures in Bauchi Galambi Cattle Ranch

Gital added that NALDA would also establish primary and secondary schools and an agricultural entrepreneur institute for farming skill acquisition in the state.

He corroborated that a demonstration farm, a mini earth dam, has also been constructed by the authority.

Mini Dam in Bauchi Galambi Cattle Ranch
Mini Dam in Bauchi Galambi Cattle Ranch

In her opening remark, the State coordinator of the project, Rose Idi, called on the communities in the areas to key into the project through their various value chain roles of improving livestock production, commercialization and conflict management.

How CBN can sustain Naira rebound, stability against the dollar-BDCs

Harrison EDEH
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How CBN can sustain Naira rebound, stability against the dollar-BDCs

THE bureau de change operators (BDCs), said the rebound and stability of the naira against the dollar during the week can be sustained by injecting liquidity into the retail end of the foreign exchange(FX) market.

The president of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, told The ICIR on Sunday, November 5, that the government needs to sustain the dollar inflow to the market, to cut off speculators influence in the market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has, during the week, began to clear the $7 billion estimated backlog of foreign exchange forward contracts – a move that is expected to bring relief to the naira, the business community and the economy at large.

The ICIR findings have shown that the naira continued its appreciation streak against the dollar, strengthening to N980/$ in the parallel market on Friday, November 3.

Gwadabe, who lauded the appreciation of the naira against the dollar, said, “it is important to inject liquidity into the critical retail end of the market where the spikes is more pervasive by leveraging on the BDCs pass-through effect of the exchange rate policy of the monetary authorities.

He stressed the need for continuous fiscal discipline by government officials to ensure transparency in governance as naira is weakened not by the demand for dollars but by the pressure of unearned income-grafted funds pursuing dollars.

He suggested further the need to ensure that demand measures to supply measures and legislation of local foreign currency instruments are prioritised to discourage the illegal behaviours of hoarding, speculation and currency substitution in the market.

“Diaspora remittances should be democratized and centralized for the licensed bureaux de change in the digitisation reforms of the apex bank to usher in price discovery, efficiency and transparency,” he said.

He said the naira rebound is the manifestation of measures of dollar liquidity injection and naira mopping through the instrumentality of interest rate hikes.

“It is a good development as it is a great risk to speculate, hoard and substitute naira for other currencies,” he said.

Israel-Hamas war: Palestinian president calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Ijeoma OPARA
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Israel-Hamas war: Palestinian president calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an immediate ceasefire following Israel’s sustained attack on Gaza.

During a meeting with the United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in West Bank on Sunday, November 5, Mahmoud disclosed that the ceasefire was necessary to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

“I have no words to describe the genocide and destruction suffered by our Palestinian people in Gaza at the hands of Israel’s war machine, with no regard for the principles of international law,” Mahmoud was quoted to have said.

The rising number of civilian deaths in the war has led to heightened calls for a ceasefire from other world leaders, including Jordan and Egypt, who have maintained that Israel’s month-long attack on Gaza, which has resulted in the death of nearly 9500 Palestinians, could not be justified as self-defence.

“We don’t accept that this is self-defence. It cannot be justified under any pretext and it will not bring Israel security, it will not bring the region peace,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said during a press conference on Saturday, November 4.

However, Blinken rejected the idea of a ceasefire during talks in Jordan, saying it would give room for Hamas to regroup and advocating for a humanitarian pause instead.

“A ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7. No nation, none of us would accept that … So it is important to reaffirm Israel’s right and its obligation to defend itself,” Blinken said.

More people are being killed in Israel’s attack on Gaza, including about 50 refugees who died during an air raid on the Al-Maghazi camp by the Israeli military late on Saturday.

Israel’s attack on Gaza began after Hamas carried out a surprise attack on October 7 during a major Jewish holiday, leaving about 250 Israelis dead and about 1,500 injured.

Head of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing Mohammed Deif said the attack was a reaction to Israel’s 16-year blockade of Gaza, raids inside West Bank cities over the past year, violence at Al Aqsa, increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinians and the growth of settlements.

Israel had retaliated in a bloody bombardment of Gaza, and almost 9,500 Palestinians have been killed as a result.

The country stopped all fuel, electricity, telecommunication, internet services, food and essential supplies into Gaza as part of its war strategies, despite warnings by humanitarian agencies that such moves would disrupt their activities.

The UN Human Rights Office described the attacks on refugees as “disproportionate” and a move likely to “amount to war crimes.”

Why we plan audit of petrol subsidy regime -Reps

Harrison EDEH
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Why we plan audit of petrol subsidy regime -Reps

THE House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources, says it plans to conduct a comprehensive audit of the subsidy regime of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to ensure energy security and transparency.

The Chairman of the committee, Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, said this at the committee’s inauguration in Abuja on November 3.

He said the committee’s legislative priorities included ensuring energy security, enhancing professionalism in the petroleum sector and driving economic transformation. Others, he said, included fostering accountability, institutional reforms, and focusing on revenue recovery and generation.

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‘‘The committee’s specific objective is to assist the Federal Government in recovering the 20 billion dollars in revenue lost in the sector.

He said the committee would also prioritise early remittance of federal revenues and the recovery of unremitted funds in the coming days.

Ugochinyere emphasised the importance of addressing the challenges faced by Nigerians due to the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

He said the committee also plans to probe the subsidy beneficiaries, scrutinise loan transactions and pre-export financing arrangements, and to review loans related to crude oil.

The lawmaker said the committee would examine the direct sales, direct purchase method, which he said involved using crude for importing refined petrol and other associated value chains.He said the committee would collaborate with other relevant committees in the upstream, mainstream, gas, and petroleum training fund sectors to achieve its objectives.

Recall, on Tuesday,October 31,the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (NEITI), informed the House of Representatives in a report that $74.3 billion was spent on subsidiee by successive government since 2011.

Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary of NEITI in the report said the agency also uncovered over $8.3bn unremitted revenue by some privately-owned oil companies and Federal Government-owned agencies, which was not paid into the Federation Account contrary to extant financial regulations.

Ugochinyere said, there is need to promote transparency and accountability in the sector to grow investors confidence, now the government has commenced gradual implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Ugochinyere said that the committee would also address the issue of NNPCL being the primary petrol importer, contrary to the PIA’s vision of diverse downstream operators.

He said the committee would address the challenges related to domestic crude supply for modular refineries and local refineries, which is a constitutional provision under the PIA.

‘’The committee will also ensure adequate supply of domestic crude to achieve energy security,’’ he said.

FG commences investigations as Minister of Power escapes death in plane crash

Ijeoma OPARA
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FG commences investigations as Minister of Power escapes death in plane crash

THE federal government has commenced an investigation into the crash of an aircraft conveying the Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, which occurred in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital on Friday, November 3.

The Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) James Odaudu, was quoted to have disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, November 4.

“On the accident involving an aircraft operated by Flint Aero at the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport Ibadan, please be informed that the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has commenced an investigation into the cause.

“Our investigators are on site, and further information will be provided as soon as possible,” he said.

The aircraft had taken off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Friday and crash-landed during an attempt to land at the Ibadan Airport.

It is unclear how many persons were aboard the jet. Calls and text messages to the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, have not yet been replied to at the time of filing this report.

However, no fatalities have been recorded as a result of the crash, according to a report.

In August, the NSIB commenced an investigation into the crash of an aircraft in Lagos, which occurred during a test flight.

Two passengers aboard the aircraft during the crash had sustained injuries, though there had been no fatalities at the time of the incident.

Heavy gunshots in Conakry, capital of Guinea

Bankole ABE
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Heavy gunshots in Conakry, capital of Guinea

THERE are concerns and palpable tension as heavy gunshots erupted in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, on the morning of Saturday, November 4.

Reports say as a result of the shootings, major access to the city centre has been blocked by armed men.

According to reports monitored, there are no clear causes for the ongoing shootings in the West African nation.

Guinea has been ruled by Mamady Doumbouya, a Colonel in the Army since September 2021.

He led a coup that ended eleven years of civilian government.

According to France24, the gunfire is in Kaloum, the political and administrative centre of the country.

Kaloum is located on a peninsula and houses the presidency and several top government and administrative offices, as well as the military headquarters and the main prison.

The trial of former leader Moussa Dadis Camara, a former leader of the country, has been held in Guinea’s capital city since September of last year, and this has caused recent waves of turmoil in Conakry.

According to DW, a few hours after the reported gunfight, Minister of Justice Charles Alphonse Wright told Radio Fim FM that several people, including Camara and other military personnel, had managed to escape from the prison.

Wright said Camara, the leader of the 2008 coup, was freed on Saturday after gunmen broke into the central jail in Conakry, Guinea.

In addition to Mali, Burkina Faso, and this year’s Niger and Gabon, Guinea is one of numerous nations that have witnessed coups since 2020.

Guinea has had autocratic governments since its October 1958 independence from France.


After ICIR report, FAAN suspends taxi operations

Ijeoma OPARA
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After ICIR report, FAAN suspends taxi operations

THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has suspended its taxi operations within the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).

This comes after The ICIR reported that since the introduction of FAAN’s e-hailing service, FAANTAXI, travellers in and out of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been confronted with terrible transport experiences while commercial drivers battle rougher business conditions.

The FAAN Deputy General Manager (DGM), Public Affairs, Ijeoma Nwosu-Igbo confirmed the suspension during a conversation with The ICIR on Saturday, October 28, saying the suspension was a result of several unresolved issues.

“There was a need to suspend their activities to sort out some issues because the airport environment is an orderly environment. We can’t allow the car hire people to cause confusion there

“They are internal issues, contractual issues; there are things that need to be sorted out, I can’t speak further than that, but we had reasons to close down that place because they were becoming too rowdy. You raised a lot of issues in the media, and there was a lot of wrangling. FAAN wants to straighten out those issues you people raised before the platform begins to function again,” she said.

FAANTAXI was first introduced at the Abuja airport in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with the intention of extending it to other international airports in Nigeria to improve the safety, security and comfort of travellers.

However, over a year after its introduction, there is no functioning online application for passengers to connect with drivers.

To book a ride via the platform, customers have to approach designated FAANTAXI desks at the airport to be manually paired with drivers, a process that contradicts the promise of seamless facilitation and has been described by both drivers and passengers as cumbersome.

Drivers also complained of excessive charges and glitches with the app, among other challenges.

Lagos cancels 50% discount on public transport

Nurudeen AKEWUSHOLA
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Lagos cancels 50% discount on public transport

THE Lagos state government has said it will scrap the 50 per cent discount on transport services and bring back the old rate on Sunday.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority  on Saturday, November 4, 2023. 

The statement informed commuters that the  50 per cent rebate in transport fare in the regulated transport system in Lagos ends on Sunday and starting from Monday, November 6, 2023, transport fare will return to the former rate.

The state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had in August announced a 50 per cent reduction in prices of public transport services including the Bus Rapid Transport, Standard routes, First and Last Mile, Rail and Ferry to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy earlier removed by President Bola Tinubu.

On February 8, Sanwo-Olu had made a similar move and announced  a 50 percent reduction in the prices of all state-owned transport services.

The governor had said the move is part of the palliatives being rolled out by the state government to cushion the effects of the petrol subsidy removal and the attendant hike in the prices of the commodity.

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However, Sanwo-Olu has put an end to the discount programme. In October, the state government said the rebate package saved commuters 1.9 billion naira in eight weeks on transport costs.

Recall that some state governors have introduced various initiatives to ease mobility amid hardship brought by subsidy removal. The ICIR reported that Yobe state governor, Mai Bala Buni promised to provide shuttle buses at affordable cost for students. The Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum also unveiled a new fleet of 70 buses for metro transport and to ease the movement of civil servants to their various places of work. 

Over 26 million Nigerians at risk of acute food crises, says UN

Kehinde OGUNYALE
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Over 26 million Nigerians at risk of acute food crises, says UN

AT least 26.5 million Nigerians residing in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,  are at risk of facing acute food crises between June and August 2024.

A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), of the United Nations in partnership with the World Food Programme and other agencies has disclosed.

The Cadre Harmonise (CH) report for October 2023 revealed that the aftermath effect of the removal of the fuel subsidy announced by President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29 has impacted several households within the country negatively.

The announcement, according to the report, came after the country had battled with challenges like the naira redesign policy which affected the country’s economy before it was suspended and the 2022 flooding in October-Novermber that displaced more than 1.4 million people from their homes including the destruction of agricultural products.

“Going into the lean season (June to August 2024) households may experience slight to moderate deterioration in food consumption which may plunge several states into the crisis phase. The unacceptable thresholds of food consumption may have resulted from a significant spike in staple food prices following increases in fuel prices, inflation and high cost of food production,” the report stated.

The ICIR has reported how rising food inflation impacts the prices of food. Also, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics put Nigeria’s inflation rate at 26.72 per cent making it the second-highest inflation record since 2003. 

The rising inflation has failed to tank, despite the federal government’s announcement of about 10 palliative schemes to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidies.

Conversely, available data showed the schemes have not been effective as the inflation rate has increased by 4.31 per cent consistently from 22.41 per cent reported in May 2023.

During the presentation of the report, the UN FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dominique Koffy, said the agency went to various states in Nigeria to identify populations at risk of food and nutrition insecurity.

He said, “Last week, we gathered in many states with the main goal of analysing all available data to identify populations at risk of food and nutrition insecurity in the country. As you all agree, CH analysis continues to produce reliable and widely acceptable evidence for planning food security and livelihood response targeting, and for prioritisation of development programmes.”

The report also said that there was a significant reduction in household stock to more than 60 per cent of households, with more than 35 per cent having no stocks in 2023 when compared to 2022 and the five-year average.

“The low levels of stocks resulted from the washed away of several hectares of matured ready-to-harvest cropped fields, particularly in states most affected by the 2023 flash floods (Kogi, Taraba, Plateau and Niger states).

“In crisis-affected states of Adamawa, Borno Niger, Zamfara, Kaduna Katsina, Sokoto and Yobe, including parts of Benue and Plateau states, limited production activities were reported. Although global markets stock supply appears to be stable, price increases have continued to limit food access across all analysed states,” the report stated.

Rivers crisis: Fubara apologises, assures residents of peace

Ijeoma OPARA
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Rivers crisis: Fubara apologises, assures residents of peace

GOVERNOR Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state, has issued an apology to the people of the state following the political crisis that has rocked the past few days.

In a statement issued on Saturday, November 4, Fubara described the incident as regrettable and thanked Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for weighing in on the fall-out between himself and his predecessor Nyesom Wike.

“I wish to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, his excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his fatherly intervention, which opened a series of communication channels to facilitate the timely resolution of the festering crises. I wish to also thank our elders who are currently intervening in the matter.

“Let me clearly state that my actions are aimed at restoring peace and stability in our state. I am a man of peace, and as governor, the advancement of our state is my primary concern. Consequently, no sacrifice is too much for me to make to achieve this objective,” the statement read.

Recall, there has been political tension in Rivers state following news of a rift between Fubara and his predecessor Nyesom Wike, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The tension was heightened earlier this week during a fire outbreak at the Rivers State House of Assembly on Sunday, October 29.

Fubara claimed that he was shot at by military officials in the state while on his way to assess the damage done to the House of Assembly as a result of the fire on Monday, October 30.

After the fire incident, impeachment actions were initiated against Fubara on Monday by some members of the House of Assembly believed to be loyal to Wike, and the Majority Leader Ehie Edison, known to be the governor’s ally, was removed.

He was also accused of masterminding the previous day’s fire as part of efforts to frustrate the impeachment process.

However, hours after his removal as Majority Leader, Edison was elected as the new Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Fubara has, however, assured Rivers residents of peace, adding that it is the collective responsibility of Himself and his predecessor to advance the progress of the people.

“On my part, I am always willing and ready to embrace the path to lasting peace and tranquillity with a commitment to consummating all efforts and initiatives by Mr President and other well-meaning Nigerians, including my brother governors and the elders.

“I assure the good people and youths of Rivers state, that peace will certainly prevail, and we shall continue to work together to advance the peace, security, progress and development of our state. As governor, I sincerely apologise to the good people of Rivers state for the regrettable anxieties of the last few days while thanking you all for your concerns and continued support, love, and prayers,” he concluded.

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