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We incurred losses of N50bn due to CBN naira policy – Southwest poultry farmers

Vincent Ufuoma
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We incurred losses of N50bn due to CBN naira policy – Southwest poultry farmers

POULTRY farmers in Nigeria’s Southwest have said they incurred losses of about N50 billion due to the disruption in their businesses caused by the recent naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to the chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in the zone, Gideon Oluleye, the losses were due to egg glut and perished poultry products during the implementation of the policy.

Oluleye, who spoke to newsmen in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, on Friday, April 28, expressed concern that about 25 million jobs in the poultry industry could be under threat if the government did not intervene to mitigate their challenges.

He stated that while farmers were not against the policy, the losses associated with its implementation before the Supreme Court judgment had almost destroyed the poultry industry.

Oluleye, appealing to the Federal government to quickly take action, highlighted the heavy losses that farmers suffered, with many farms collapsed or running at half capacity, and others in danger of shutting down.

He urged the government to mop up approximately 15 to 20 million crates of unsold eggs and chickens, and to use these products to feed internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps and all correctional facilities throughout the country.

He also suggested using unsold eggs in government hospitals, saying eggs aid in quick recovery and building up immunity of sick patients, just as he called for the resuscitation of the school feeding programme, which he said relies heavily on eggs and chicken meat.

Oluleye further requested that the government should intervene by subsidising major inputs in poultry farming, particularly maize, which sells for N240,000 a tonne, while a tonne of soya beans goes for N450,000.

He said, “Let me remind you that the negative impact the COVID-19 had on farmers and farms is yet to abate.

“Hardly had farmers recovered from this when the CBN brought another hardship on them through the policy of the naira redesign.

“As we speak now, between 15 and 20 million crates of eggs are in the economy looking for buyers.”

He emphasised the urgent need to rescue the poultry sector of the Nigerian economy, which generates approximately six per cent of the county’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Similarly, the Ogun state chairman of PAN, Idowu Asenuga, who also spoke with journalists, lamented that the sharp fall in the prices of poultry products in the Southwest alone resulted in N40 billion losses, while farmers incurred N10 billion losses from perishable products in their inventories.

Asenuga appealed to international grants and donor agencies, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank, and the Private Financial Advisory Network (PFAN), to support poultry farmers in Nigeria.

The naira redesign policy, which was the brainchild of the Muhammadu Buhari administration through the CBN, entailed the reconfiguration of the 200, 500 and 1,000 naira banknotes. The policy also involved the recalling of the old naira notes in those categories.

It was initiated last year with the intention to address high inflation and address vote buying, among others.

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However, its poor implantation by the CBN cost the Nigerian economy N10 trillion to N15 trillion of national productivity in the first quarter of 2023, according to the former director-general of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Yemi Kale.

The Supreme Court nullified the policy in February and extended the validity for the old currency circulation till December 31, 2023.

The apex court’s decision arose from a suit filed by the Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna state governments challenging the implementation of the policy.

 

New twist in Taraba APC crisis: Faction demands arrest of ex-chairman as new leadership emerges 

Beloved JOHN
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New twist in Taraba APC crisis: Faction demands arrest of ex-chairman as new leadership emerges 

SOME members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba state have called for the arrest of the party’s former chairman, Ibrahim El’Sudi, for alleged impersonation. 

A new set of party leadership has also emerged as the intra-party crisis rocking the state chapter of the APC deepens. 

The party is currently divided into two factions, with one loyal to the APC governorship candidate, a senator, Emmanuel Bwacha, and the other to David Sabo Kente, a governorship aspirant.

Addressing journalists at the state capital, Jalingo, on Friday, April 28, the acting chairman, James Ahmadu, criticised the expulsion of Kente and the senator-elect for Taraba South senatorial district, David Jimkuta, by the chairman. 

Ahmadu said, “We are responding to the purported expulsion of David Kente and our senator-elect for Taraba South Senatorial district, David Jimkuta, by the former state chairman, Ibrahim El’Sudi.

“I and members of my state executive, as well as members of the APC in Taraba state, received the pronouncement with rude shock and utmost disappointment.”

Ahmadu described the move as illegal, noting that El’Sudi ceased to be the state chairman of APC in February. 

About three weeks before the 2023 elections commenced in February, 38 members of the State Executive Committee had passed a vote of no confidence on El’Sudi as the party chairman and allegedly removed him from office. 

The aggrieved executive committee members said El-Sudi’s dismissal as the party chairman was due to his failure to discharge his responsibilities, negligence, and misconduct.

But the party’s other faction, the Bwachi loyalists, opposed the move, saying “perpetrators of this unholy idea are in deep romance” with people outside the party. El’sudi also said he remained the chairman of the APC in Taraba.

Last Tuesday, the crisis took a dramatic turn when El’Suldi announced the expulsion of Kente and  David over alleged anti-party activities, and recommended their expulsion from the party to the national secretariat.

Ahmadu told journalists in Jalingo that sanctioning two prominent party members was an act of desperation from “a man acting the script of his paymasters.”

He said El’Sudi had been removed as the party chairman and was no longer in the capacity to eject or expel anyone.

He noted that as the then deputy chairman and highest-ranking official of the state executive, he was unanimously and legally endorsed as the state acting chairman of the party.

“By the provision of the APC constitution, El’Sudi ceased to function as chairman since February 10 and has no legal right to suspend or expel any member from the party.

“We find his actions in this sad development as an act of desperation from a drowning man who is acting the script of his paymasters. We also call on the national leadership of our great party to expediently call him to order before he creates confusion in the party,” he said.

Backstory

The current crisis in Taraba APC has links to when Bwacha became its candidate in the 2023 gubernatorial election.

Bwacha, who had been elected in the senate to represent Taraba South in the National Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections, defected to the APC in February 2022. 

Bwacha’s nomination attracted controversy as aspirants who participated in the primary election alleged irregularities.

Kente, a leading aspirant, rejected the results and approached the judiciary for an annulment.

The Federal High Court in Jalingo removed Bwacha as the APC’s governorship candidate in September 2022. The court held that the party did not conduct a primary that produced Bwacha as a governorship candidate.

The Supreme Court also upheld the judgment, nullifying Bwacha’s candidature. 

APC conducted a rerun in February 2023 and Bwacha re-emerged as the winner, although Kente and four other aspirants boycotted the election.

Displeased, Kente filed a contempt suit against the APC, INEC and Bwacha. He said they violated the court’s orders by conducting a rerun because the apex court never ordered it.

After the rerun, Bwacha proceeded as the APC guber candidate. However, he lost the election to Agbu Kefas, the candidate of the PDP.

Sudan crisis: Nigerian students, others stranded at Egyptian border

Ijeoma OPARA
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Sudan crisis: Nigerian students, others stranded at Egyptian border

CHAIRMAN of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa has said about 7,000 people, including Nigerian students being evacuated from Sudan, are stranded at the Egyptian border.

According to a statement by the Commission’s Media, Public Relations and Protocol Officer, Gabriel Odu, on Friday, April 28, Dabiri-Erewa said the Nigerian Mission in Egypt was making efforts to secure the students’ entry into the country.

“Dabiri-Erewa said over 7,000 Nationals, including Nigerians, are not being allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival late yesterday evening.

“She added that The Nigerian mission in Egypt has been working tirelessly on this as the Egyptian authorities are insisting on visas by fellow Africans to transit back to their countries. She appealed to the Egyptian authorities to kindly allow the already traumatised travellers to transit to their final destinations in various countries in Africa,” the statement noted.

The students had left Khartoum, the Sudan capital, by road for Aswan, in Egypt, early on Wednesday, April 28.

During the journey to Aswan, a video circulated on social media in which students complained of being abandoned in the desert due to non-payment of fees to the bus operators by the Federal Government.

However, Dabiri-Erewa later confirmed that the issues were settled, and the students arrived at the Aswan border in Egypt on Thursday, April 27.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had confirmed that they would be airlifted from Aswan, Egypt, to Abuja, Nigeria.

The Sudan crisis had frustrated the Nigerian government’s efforts to airlift the stranded students directly from Khartoum.

Thousands of foreigners, including at least 10 000 Nigerian students and over five million Sudanese of Nigerian origin, were trapped in Sudan, following intense fighting between two rival forces in the country.

Ex-lawmaker arrested over alleged rape of teenager in Cross River

Ijeoma OPARA
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Ex-lawmaker arrested over alleged rape of teenager in Cross River

A FORMER member of the Cross River State House of Assembly Patrick Uguge has been taken into police custody over the alleged rape of a 19-year-old girl.

Principal Counsel at the Basic Right Counsel Initiative (BRCI) James Ibor confirmed to The ICIR that the ex-lawmaker was arrested on Thursday, April 27.

The teenager, said to be a relative of Uguge’s wife, reported the alleged rape to the BRCI. The unnamed teenager alleged that the incident occurred at a hotel in Ogoja on Friday, April 21.

Ibor said: “I can confirm that the survivor reported to us, and we are trying to stabilise her, we are providing psycho-social support to her, and we have notified the police to investigate the case. He was arrested yesterday (Thursday) night. I am aware that the police have commenced investigations, even though there is a lot of pressure on them which is capable of suffocating investigations.

“In fact, the Police Headquarters has become a tourist site, sort of. They’ve been swarming around the station and calling some of my staff to mount pressure on me.”

He also stressed the need for rape cases to be adequately prosecuted and called on the Commissioner of Police (CP) in the state, Sule Balarabe, to ensure the prosecution of the suspect.

“My only concern is that the pressure on the survivor and the investigators is actually unnecessary. I want to use this opportunity to urge the CP Balarabe, to bow out honourably by refusing to be intimidated or harassed by these political office holders who should be held to account,” he said.

The ICIR contacted the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Cross River State Police Command, Irene Ugbo, who also confirmed that Uguge had been arrested.

“I have confirmed the case. The man is with us, they are interrogating him now,” she said.

NESREA seals company over violation of environmental laws in Kano

Mustapha USMAN
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NESREA seals company over violation of environmental laws in Kano

THE National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has sealed a Kano-based company for violating environmental laws.

The company, Aspira Nigeria Limited located along Hadejia Road in Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state, was sealed by the North West Zonal Director, Mudaishir Raheem and his team on Friday, April 28, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

One of the offences alleged to to have been committed by the company is the disposal of waste and untreated effluents into the environment.

“Today, we have come to seal this company for not complying with some relevant environmental laws, such as the disposal of their waste and untreated effluents.

“We are expected to manage the environment and not to destroy it.

“If we must site a company, we are expected to follow and comply with relevant laws put in place to protect the integrity of the environment,” Raheem said.

According to Raheem, the company, Aspira, was issued compliance notice thrice but the facility owners failed to comply.

“We have issued compliance notice thrice; also, we issued two abatement notices as a warning, but the facility owners failed to comply and we have no option than to apply the law.”

The NESREA zonal director further explained that the company was expected to correct the anomalies before it can be unsealed.

Raheem said there was non-availability of a Functional Effluent Treatment Plant in the company and as such it discharged wastewater into the environment.

“Parameters such as pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Total Dissolved Solids, Turbidity, Appearance were not within NESREA Permissible Standards during the In-Situ Analysis of the Wastewater at the outlet of the Company,” he stressed.

The NESREA official noted that all the offences constituted a threat to the environment (water bodies, land, neighbouring communities).

He added that the enforcement (sealing) exercise was necessitated by the company’s non-compliance with the timeline on the Abatement Notice issued on April 19, 2023.

Anambra govt warns residents against flooding, heavy rainfall

Beloved JOHN
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Anambra govt warns residents against flooding, heavy rainfall

RESIDENTS of Anambra State have been warned against the impending flooding and intense rainfalls predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

The state government has advised that residents protect all their properties, especially household and essential belongings.

In a statement on Friday, April 28, the state Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, said residents should avoid constructing structures on water channels and clogging drainages.

He urged residents to clear the gutters and drainages in their vicinities and ensure that no one “disposes trash without moving to higher ground before the flood becomes neck deep”.

“Make concrete plans to secure your household properties and essential belongings as much as possible before the flood sets in.

“Plan to get your family and the aged, the sick, pregnant women, infants and children evacuated well on time to safety nets (Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps provided by the Anambra State Government (ANSG) to avoid preventable loss of lives. Timely evacuation is key.

“De-silting of water channels should be done continuously as a huge amount of silt is deposited in water channels after rainfall; people should stop constructing in water plains and across water channels,” the statement said.

Anambra is one of the states predicted to experience heavy flooding in 2023.

The 2023 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction and Annual Flood Outlook released by NiMet and a report by the Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency (NHSA) both predicted that there will be high rainfall and flooding across the country this year.

The report identified Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Edo, Gombe and Imo as states with a high risk of flooding.

Anambra State was among the states that battled massive flooding in 2022. Over 300 communities in six local government areas in the state were submerged for weeks.

According to NiMET’s 2023 prediction, the flood risk areas in Anambra include Ogbaru, Ayamelum, Anambra East, Anambra West, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Awka North, Idemili South, Ekwusigo and Ihiala LGAs.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has affirmed that the prediction is about a hundred per cent accurate.

The agency’s spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel said the predictions made in the reports are already beginning to play out, and advised that the states should act urgently.

“NiMET predicted an early onset of rain, and we have seen the early onset of rain. There would be flooding unless there are changes by God or any other factor. The forecast should be taken seriously, and those residing in prone areas should begin to relocate to high grounds.”

Court sends teenager to prison for raising fake fire alarm

Bankole ABE
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Court sends teenager to prison for raising fake fire alarm

A MAGISTRATE court in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos State, has sentenced a teenager, Solomon Uzuokwu, to one-month imprisonment for sending a fake fire alarm to firefighters.

Uzuokwu was found guilty of two charges, including disturbing the peace and calling a fake fire emergency.

Magistrate Bambo Odueke gave the ruling with an option of a fine and a month of community service campaign against fake calls within the state.

However, after entering a guilty plea, the defendant accepted the option of a fine.

A statement released on Friday, April 28, signed by the Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Agboola Ololade, on behalf of the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, noted that the decision was informed by the court’s recognition of the “honourable nature of the firefighting profession and the efficient service delivery of the Agency, both of which necessitated widespread support”.

Adeseye, head of the Lagos Fire and Rescue Service, also expressed her happiness at the prompt prosecution of the case as a warning to other misinformed residents who place fictitious calls and to misinform emergency personnel.

“Adeseye used the occasion to note the seeming reduction in false calls since the advent of the case and pledged to work with the culprit in using his community service as another medium to reach a large audience among other efforts championed by the Agency,” the statement added.

The Lagos State government arraigned Uzuokwu for offences relating to making hoax calls to fire emergency responders.

Ololade said the offence was punishable under the Lagos State Fire Service law and Command and Control Centre law 2013.

The 18 years old Solomon, according to the statement, allegedly called the emergency line of the Fire Service on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 5:35 pm from Harmony Estate in the Ajah area of the state and reported a fire emergency within the estate leading to the activation of emergency processes and eventual dispatch of the fire trucks from Lekki Phase II Fire Service station.

“On arrival, it was discovered that there was no fire incident in the estate. Because of the frequency of such calls in the past, the estate security helped in the investigation, which led to the arrest of the notorious false caller.”

Consequently, the culprit was arraigned at Ogba Magistrate on April 19, before his subsequent conviction.

Pulitzer Center offers fellowships to support AI accountability stories

Blessing OTOIBHI
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Pulitzer Center offers fellowships to support AI accountability stories

THE Pulitzer Center is inviting applications for its AI Accountability Fellowships.

The program seeks to support journalists working on AI (artificial intelligence) accountability stories that examine governments’ and corporations’ uses of predictive and surveillance technologies to guide decisions in policing, medicine, social welfare, criminal justice system, hiring, and more.

Interested journalists must apply for a reporting project they wish to pursue during their fellowship.

Enterprise and accountability projects that use a variety of approaches — from data analysis to records requests, and shoe-leather reporting — and delve into the real-world impact of algorithms on policy, individuals, and communities are preferred.

This year, the program seeks to support at least one project that examines the intersection of AI and conflict, war and peace.

The 10-month fellowships are remote, beginning in September, and continuing until July, 2024.

Journalists can be based anywhere.

Staff and freelance journalists can participate in a fellowship and receive up to US$20,000 to pursue a reporting project.

The deadline for the submission of the application is July 1, 2023. Interested applicants can apply here.

Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom offers shoot grant program

Blessing OTOIBHI
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Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom offers shoot grant program

THE Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom and photographer Sergey Ponomarev are accepting applications for the SHOOT grant program, created to support documentary photographers and videographers who were forced to leave their countries.

The organisers say they are interested in documentary photography and video projects about the war in Ukraine and its consequences, which are already underway, but the producers do not have enough resources to complete them.

Preference will be given to projects that present a fresh look and can potentially attract the attention of a worldwide audience.

The maximum grant amount is USD$7,000.

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The authors of winning projects will also receive mentorship support.

Documentary photographers and videographers living in exile can apply for this grant.

The deadline for the submission of the application is May 15, 2023. Interested applicants can apply here.

Nigerian woman faces trial after starving 3-year-old son to death

Oghenekevwe UCHECHUKWU
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Nigerian woman faces trial after starving 3-year-old son to death

A NIGERIAN woman, Olabisi Abubakar, 42, from Cardiff, is facing trial in the United Kingdom for two counts of manslaughter and child cruelty resulting in the death of her three-year-old son, Taiwo Abubakar.

Olabisi, a devout Pentecostal Christian with deep religious beliefs, allegedly starved her son to death when she made him join her in a fast during the coronavirus pandemic that struck in 2020.

According to the Mail Online, Olabisi who is an asylum seeker, claimed “she had locked herself away” during the crisis out of fear of contracting the virus and because of her immigration status.

The police were called to rescue the Nigerian after a friend reportedly raised concerns over her welfare, and had to forcefully gain entrance into her residence in the Cathays area on June 29, 2020.

Prosecutors told the Crown Court of Cardiff that Olabisi was discovered lying on a sofa bed next to her dead son, thin, malnourished and dehydrated.

During court proceedings, a pathologist made it known that Taiwo had died from malnutrition and dehydration.

The Police also informed the court that the woman had been detained in a hospital where she was receiving medical treatment for paranoid schizophrenia, a pattern of behavior where a person feels distrustful and suspicious of other people and acts accordingly.

Delusions, hallucinations, difficulty thinking clearly, withdrawal from family and friends and a significant decline in self-care are some of the symptoms that can involve paranoia.

Prosecutors established that she caused her young son to fast, depriving him of both food and water, due to fears of the coronavirus pandemic and personal pressures.

Olabisi, however, repeatedly denied the allegation, saying that children should not be made to fast until they turn 12.

She reportedly told the Police that she had fallen asleep on June 26, with the belief she was in heaven before she was brought back to life when they arrived in the company of her neighbour.

“Olabisi Abubakar said she couldn’t explain what happened to her. She was asleep on the bed and that is what she remembered last. She said she believed she was being punished by God,” the prosecuting lawyer Peter Donnison said.

The defence counsel told the court that it is not disputed that Olabisi, who was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to London in 2011, neglected her son but the issue was her state of mind at the time.

As Olabisi’s trial continues, the court will have to decide whether Olabisi may have been insane, which would make her not guilty of charges against her by reason of insanity.

If the court finds that she was mentally ill at the time, she could be freed and allowed to go home upon the conclusion of the case.

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