The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) management board says it has started the electronic loading of trucks in the petroleum downstream sector. Mr Goddy Nnadi, General Manager, Corporate Services, PEF, made this known in an interview with the News Agen...
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Prisons Services, Mr Zakari Ibrahim, said on Friday that 20 prisoners escaped from Sagamu prison on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the authorities of Ogun Prison Command had declined comments on the incident when the report filtered out.
But speaking with newsmen at Sagamu prison, Ibrahim described the incident as ``unfortunate and embarrassing.''
“I am here because of the issue of escape and I came personally to see what has happened and to ensure that things are done right.
“My visit is also to ensure that any staff found culpable face the full wrath of the law; we have set up a committee that will give us full report of what happened. What I can tell for now is that we have 20 inmates who had escaped and we have re-arrested four of them.
“I have addressed the staff and I have told them that their commitment must be full and total; those who want to embarrass us should just leave. If investigation into the matter reveals that the incident was as a result of negligence of some of our staff, they will be dismissed and punished accordingly.
“Some of them (staff) will also be prosecuted and may even change uniforms,” he said.
NAN gathered that the fleeing inmates broke the prison’s fence and injured some prison officials in the process of escaping. (NAN)
The Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Center, Jaji has concluded arrangement to deploy 800 personnel to Darfur, Sudan. The personnel, drafted from the 323 Battalion, Akure, under the 2 Div. of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, had undergone a four -week pre-deployment training at the centre.
Speaking at the graduation of the officers, the Commandant, Maj.-Gen. John Zaruwa said the training was part of the Army's effort to inject quality in the troops deployed on UN peacekeeping missions to various part of the world. ``With great sense of pride, we are marking the end of another pre-deployment training as troops of NIBATT 39 are about to be inducted into the African Union/ United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur, Sudan.
``It is very vital for peacekeepers to be highly trained professionals capable of confronting the complex and multidimensional challenges of contemporary peace keeping environment.”
Zaruwa said the personnel had received adequate training to ensure effective performance in peace support operations within the Sudan environment. He urged the personnel, who comprised of 753 soldiers and 44 officers to display high standard in their conduct.
In his remarks, the General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Ibadan, Maj.-Gen. Muhammed Abubakar, urged the Army personnel to be disciplined and restrain from any act capable of tarnishing the image of the country. “You must not involve yourselve in the trafficking of illicit substances especially alcohol and drugs as it is very offensive to the cultural values of the Darfur people.
“I must also remind you of the UN zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and i am confident that you would live above board.”
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubabar, has approved the promotion of 1,944 junior police officers to their next rank. A statement issued by Mr Frank Mba, the Deputy Public Relations Officer, on Friday said that all the promotions were w...
Nigerian-born Collins Nweke, was on Friday in London sworn in as Councillor of West- Flanders Constituency in Belgium, reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Nweke, a member of the Belgian Green Party, was re-elected last year having made history in 2006 when he became the first non-Belgian born politician to win an elective position in West-Flanders.
With his re-election, Nweke's mandate includes issues bordering on the economy, social policy, international development and minority priority. ``The last several years were a learning curve where some important results were equally achieved.
`` I will continue to have my eyes on the ball as far as social policy is concerned, but with an expanded portfolio that includes the economy and international development.
``Small and medium enterprises are the engine of the local economy and a business-friendly environment will not only keep existing businesses in good shape but will attract new investments and create jobs. A number of good initiatives are ongoing and obviously these would be continued and enhanced. It will also make sense to re-evaluate some economic activities that are liabilities to the local economy,” He told NAN's Western Europe Correspondent.
Nweke, who spoke on international development, said the challenges of global meltdown were insurmountable. ``I think that the relationship between the western economies and the emerging ones has for too long being based on the wrong premise.
He said that partnership, rather than charity, should be the bedspring on which the larger part of the relationship rests. ``The economies of the west are showing signs of saturation, while there are huge developmental potential in the emerging economies. So let’s build a relationship of mutual benefits.”
Nweke, 46, years, migrated to Belgium in 1993; he is currently the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora (NIDO) Europe. (NAN)
The Kano State Government said it earmarked more than N100 million for the wedding of another batch of 1,000 divorcees and widows scheduled for January. The Director-General of the state Hisbah Board, Alhaji Abba Sufi, disclosed this in an interview wi...
The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order in Borno said on Thursday that it repelled an attack by unknown gunmen in Marte Local Government Area of the state.
JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, said in a statement in Maiduguri that the attack was targeted at the 21 Brigade, Nigerian Army troops in the area. ``This is to confirm that at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, gunmen attacked the 21 Brigade troops’ location in Marte. In the process, one soldier and one police man lost their lives,’’ Musa said.
He, however, said that five of the attackers were killed in the shootout. Musa said that several items, including two AK 47 rifles and a locally made double barrel gun, were recovered. ``Others are three loaded magazines with 35 rounds of ammunition,'' Musa said.
Some prominent lawyers in Lagos on Friday expressed mixed views about the planned purchase of 30 aircraft by the Federal Government to assist domestic airline operators.
General Manager, Corporate Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr Yakubu Dati, gave a hint about government’s plan in Benin on Wednesday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dati had said that the aircraft would be distributed to domestic airline operators, a departure from the old practice where they were given money from the Aviation Intervention Fund to shore their businesses.
Lawyers who spoke on the development included Prof. Itse Sagay and the Chairman of the Ikeja branch of the NBA, Mr Onyekachi Ubani. Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a human rights group, also shared his views on the development.
Sagay, in his reaction, said that the purchase of the planes would enhance safety in air travel in Nigeria. He said: ``what they are doing about the aviation sector is okay and it will enhance safety, comfort and regularity of air transport. ``That is good, but that doesn't mean that the railways and roads should be neglected. ``There is no question that little or no attention is being given to our roads and railways.’’
In his reaction, Ubani said there was an urgent need to make the nation's airspace safer and the purchase of the planes was in the right direction. ``I think it will be a very good thing if we have functional airlines. ``Buying new planes, however, would not guarantee total safety of our airspace if the regulatory agencies fail to do their jobs,’’ he said.
The NBA chairman also noted that there must be a corresponding commitment by the government to transform the roads and rail lines across the country. He said: ``Work should be done on the railway and all federal roads to ensure smooth transportation for Nigerians. ``The fact remains that only a little percentage of Nigerians can afford to travel by air and so the government needs to fix the roads and make them safer.’’
Mumuni, on his part, faulted the planned purchase of the planes arguing that it was a contradiction of the government's privatisation policy. He said that the government should use the money to provide infrastructure that would be of benefit to majority of Nigerians.
He argued: ``the reason we travel by air most of the time is because our roads are not good and the trains are not working. ``There are other things that will have better impact on the lives of Nigerians instead of using our collective resources to finance private businesses.’’
The Government of Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday announced an upward review of the prices of petrol and cooking gas.
By the announcement made in Abidjan, the pump price of petrol which was 774 CFA Francs (1.50 dollars) has risen to 792 CFA francs (1.80 dollars ). For cooking gas, the old price for 6kg was 1,800 CFA francs (3.80 dollars) but now it is 2,000 CFA francs (four dollars), while 12kg of gas, formerly 4,000 CFA (eight dollars) is now 5,200 CFA Francs (10.50 dollars). Also, 28kg e of gas formerly sold at 9, 000 CFA francs (18 dollars) increased to 18,525 CFA (37 dollars).
Meanwhile, transporters immediately reacted to the price increases and raised fares. The Director of Energy in Cote d'Ivoire, Diaby Ibrahim, however, appealed to transporters not to raise fares since the increase was minimal. Ibrahim called for understanding, saying the government could no longer sustain the subsidy on petrol and gas.
A taxi driver, Moussa Kamakaro, said the fares would go up as the passengers had always insisted on "arrangements" before the increase. "We hardly use the meters on our taxis because customers always insist on reduced arrangements so we hardly make any money. "Now the gap has been closed and we have to reflect it in order to survive," he said.
Kamakaro said he was lucky that he filled his car tank a day before the review. Another taxi driver, Issa Coulibaly, said the increase would affect food prices. "It is a policy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We know they made the recommendations since October last year," Coulibaly said. The French West Africa country was thrown into mourning on New Year Day following the death of 62 people in a stampede at a stadium.
The government thereafter declared a three-day mourning period from Wednesday.
Sector Commander of the FRSC in Niger State, David Usman, said on Friday in Minna that the command recorded 428 road traffic crashes which resulted in 248 deaths in the state last year. Usman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that ``we had 428 cras...
The NPA said in Lagos on Friday that 83 ships would berth at the Lagos Ports between Jan. 4 and Jan. 28. It said in its daily publication, “The Shipping Position” that the ships would sail into the ports with cargoes like bulk wheat, steel ...
Talk therapy may be a helpful supplemental treatment for people with depression who have not responded to medication, a new study from the United Kingdom suggests. Researchers found that people with depression who had not improved despite taking antide...
Our stomachs are surely one of the most troublesome parts of our bodies - at any point, an estimated nine million Britons are suffering from tummy ache, bloating, wind and cramps. Meanwhile, between 12 to 15 per cent of the population is constipated, a...
The ability to use words as a toddler may affect the way a child manages anger later in life, a new study suggests. Children with good language skills at age 2 expressed less anger during frustrating situations at age 4 than did those 4-year-olds with ...
Men have a better chance of having children if they have semen teeming with strong-swimmers. Now fertility experts say they have found a good indicator of what makes sperm good movers in the first place.A study from Brown University in Rhode Island, fo...