President Goodluck Jonathan has said that his government has done well in turning around the deficit in the power sector and that he believes that Nigerians are pleased with his government. Speaking in an interview with Christiana Amanpour on CNN last ...
The Republic of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) office in Nigeria has awarded post-graduate scholarships to six Nigerian students to study in Korea. Mr Sang Jung, Chief Resident Representative at the agency’s office in Abuja, discl...
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has shut down the System 2B pipeline at Arepo village in Ogun for repairs, an official of the corporation said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the latest explosion, suspected to have been caused by vandals, happened in the early hours of Wednesday.
A top management official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who preferred anonymity, confirmed the shutdown of the network in Lagos.
He said that the corporation had suspended pumping of products from Atlas Cove through System 2B to allow for repairs of the vandalised pipeline.
The source said that maintenance and service management team of the corporation had to wait for the fire to die out subside before they embarked on the repairs.
He explained that engineers from the corporation and other stakeholders were waiting for fire to subside to access the level of damage.
``Pumping of petroleum products had been suspended at the early hours of the day when it was observed that the line has been vandalised again to allow for repairs.
``No causality was recorded in the acts but we are going to ensure prompt repairs of the line to commence pumping of product to the line,’’ the source said.
He said that the management of the corporation had resolved to install the vandalised pipeline in a vertical directional position to restrain vandals from getting access to the line.
While assuring prompt repairs of the line to commence pumping of products, he added that adequate product have been pumped to Mosimi before the system was vandalised, .
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, the South West Zonal Public Relations Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), also confirmed that there was no causality in the explosion.
Farinloye said that the line had been shut down to allow for repairs of the pipeline, adding that the remains of the product that was in the pipeline was the one burning.
``There is no causality, while all stakeholders are presently on ground to see the last of the fire before we embark on the repairs,'' Farinloye said.
NAN reports that this is the second time this year that the pipeline had been vandalised at Arepo.
Mr Jingdong Hua, Vice President, the International Finance Corporation(IFC), on Wednesday said that the corporation would issue a five-year naira denominated 50 million dollar (N7.86 billion) bond to boost the nation's bourse.
Hua, who stated this in Lagos during a visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said that the proceeds of the bond would be used for local private sector investments.
He said that the corporation first naira denominated bond would be tagged "Naija Bond" to represent the spirit of Nigerian people who are hardworking, confident and optimistic of the future.
Hua, who is also the corporation's Treasurer, added that the bond would offer domestic investors the opportunity to tap into the fixed income security.
He noted that the inclusion of the nation's bond into the JP Morgan's emerging market index was timely due to emergence of Nigeria as a choice of destination for investment.
The vice president, who disclosed that the Nigerian bond market had been functioning for decades , added that the corporation would float more issues in future.
Mr Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, the Country Manager, Nigeria Africa Department of IFC, said that the issue was a fall out of its five years business strategy.
Adegbie-Quaynor said that the corporation had been working with the regulatory authorities to ensure a right environment for the bond issuance.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday called on Nigerians to stand firm and defend the unity of the country.
Tambuwal made the call at the 10th Daily Trust Dialogue entitled: ``Nation Building: Challenges and Reality’’, organised by the Media Trust Limited in Abuja.
He said the country may be facing numerous challenges but if Nigerians would stand together in unity, we would succeed.
``This nation is facing a lot of challenges, but we do not face a hopeless situation. The future is bright even though the horizon appears cloudy.
``More than ever before, this is a time for us to stand together, to count our blessing and guard our hard fought unity.
``The random act of violence, which some critic call sign of a failing state, are in reality clear indications that we still have work to do. The challenges of nation building are huge in a place like Nigeria.
``The diversity of culture and character, the difference in religion and tradition, the clear gap in values and orientation and the dubious legacy of our colonial history, made the prospect down.
``But if we resolve to work together, we can push them all,’’ Tambuwal said.
He said that the job of nation building is not done with yet, adding: ``we must continue to tolerate each other knowing that we are as well to others as they appear to us’’.
In his remark, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, stressed the need for all to defend the nation’s democracy and encourage politicians, rather than criticising most of the time.
``I am convinced that this nation will succeed. We need people to fix things right, we can’t continue to call the names of our founding fathers. We must learn to encourage our politicians.
``We must defend this democracy not because it is perfect but because of our future. We should concentrate on the achievement and build on it,’’ Kukah said.
According to him, we must be conscious that we are leaders in our respective fields and it is the aggregate of our responsibility that builds the nation.
The Director, Africa Research and Development Agency, Dr Sule Bello, in his speech said that the problem of nation building in Africa was not solely about bad leadership but the influence of foreign powers.
He said nation building was a major way through which political entities were created and it was on the basis of the same principle governing the creations of nation states that international relationships were organised.
Bello said Pan African leaders were constantly being opposed by the west and ``what we have in return are agents of the west.
``Africa is not independent of other nations and we must fight to be independent. This fight must not be based on ethnic or religious difference,’’ he said.
Bello said Africans should clearly define unity in the interest of the continent and follow it to a logical conclusion.
However, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has also urged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of tolerance as the country celebrates Eid-El- Maulud, the birth of Prophet Muhammad.
This is contained in a message issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Tambuwal enjoined Nigerians to eschew bitterness and primordial sentiments in their dealings with one another.
He said Prophet Muhammad's life was an example in forthrightness, diligence, hard work, and commitment to set objectives.
According to him, when imbibed, these virtues can help propel any nation toward rapid growth and development.
He said that on this occasion of the celebration of Eid- El-Maulud, Nigerians should collectively reflect on how the prophet's life and ideals could help the country to overcome its present challenges.
Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, a Professor of Theatre Arts at the Nasarawa State University, said that the Nigerian film industry was not ideologically-driven.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that the sector was presently driven by private entrepreneurs who only saw the industry as an avenue to make quick money.
The professor said there was the need for the Federal Government to make deliberate policy that would encourage professionals to come into the sector.
According to him, the industry is presently driven by private entrepreneurs, who want to make a living without basic knowledge of theatre.
``I agree that the Nollywood industry is not a true identity of who we are. It is an evolutional process, first you must recognise the fact that the people in the industry are private entrepreneurs, who want to curve a niche for themselves.
``The present crop of producers of films in the Nollywood are yet to come to terms with an ideologically-driven home video industry. We need to re-school ourselves so that our films will be ideologically driven.
``In this case, we can be talking about how we can use it as a vehicle to sale our very best. But at the moment, we are still at the level of trying to compete with hunger and other items that Nigerians spend their money on,’’ he said.
He noted that ``until the professionals are on the driver’s seat, it will be difficult for us to begin to talk about an ideologically-driven film culture''.
Dandaura said that Nigerians were not adequately exposed to theatre performance and stressed the need for national orientation ``so that we can have ideology at the back of our minds as we produce our films.’’
President Goodluck Jonathan said today in far away Davos, Switzerland that the attractive rewards gotten as ransom for hostage taking and drugs trafficking was responsible for the increasing rate of terrorism in the African continent.
He also justified his decision to send Nigerian troops to Mali, saying it was based on the need to insulate Nigeria from the activities of the insurgents and save the sub region from terrorism.
Speaking on the theme "De-Risking Africa" as one of the panelists at an interactive session of the World Economic Forum taking palce in Davos, Jonathan said terrorism was also the outcome of the Libyan crises, noting that terrorists will always want to instigate crises because of the money they make out of it.
He, however, appealed that Africa needed the cooperation and support of the International community to deal with terrorism.
According to the president, the deployment of Nigerian troops to the Mali was to avoid the crisis in that country from spilling over into other West African countries, even as he warned that if the crisis was not properly handled, Africa stood at risks of being ravaged by terrorists who have the potentials of increasing investment risks in the continent.
He said, “One fundamental problem in Mali is the issue of governance and religious extremism. The terrorists aspect and issue of hostage taking for the purposes of ransom and drug traffickers happened because of the crisis in Libya and of course the terrorists will always want to instigate crisis because they make money out of it" adding that "if we do not contain the problem of Mali, definitely it will affect other African countries and that is why Nigeria had to move fast and we thank the government of France".
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Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, on Tuesday urged government at all levels to give priority to the funding of the education sector.
Tinubu stated this at the University of Ibadan while delivering a lecture entitled: `` Education and National Development in Nigeria: Imperative for Proper Funding.’’
She also called on education administrators to outline priorities and put an end to the culture of waste in the country.
’’I was saddened to witness during oversight function the fact that tertiary institutions do not commit much of their budget to research.
“The culture of waste in our academic budget should become a thing of the past.
''As individuals, corporate bodies or organisations, we can donate a book, provide scholarship, stimulate interest in research and reach out in kind or cash," she said.
She said Nigeria must strive to meet the minimum standard of 26 per cent of the national budget advocated by UNESCO toward achieving quality education.
Earlier, the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Olusegun Kolawole, said the lecture was organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the faculty.
He said the faculty, which was established in 1962, was saddled with the objective of producing highly qualified personnel for all levels of education in the country.
Kolawole lamented the decay in infrastructure, inadequate funds, overcrowded lecture rooms as well as inadequate office space for lecturers.
He said that the faculty could not possibly perform better than the level of funding available to the larger university.
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Enugu state Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime flanked by some members of the Governor's forum, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state (l) and their Rivers state counterpart, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi in London on Tuesday.
The Campaign for Democracy (CD), South-East region, has rated Governors Rochas Okorocha, Peter Obi and Sullivan Chime high in infrastructure and human capital development.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by CD in Onitsha , Anambra on Tuesday.
The statement was signed by Mr Uzor Uzor and Dr. Jerry Chukwuokolo, chairman and secretary of the group respectively.
The statement said within two years of Gov. Okorocha administration he had tarred close to 500 kilometres of roads, most of which were in the rural areas of the three senatorial zones of the state.
``Apart from road, the Okorocha's administration had erected monumental buildings and also erected a central gate-way in each of the senatorial districts of Imo.
``As well as the current building of the ultra-modern general hospitals in the 27 council areas of the state and running a functional free education system from the primary school level to tertiary institution in the state.
``However, apart from the recent N500 million given to security agencies as a motivational measure; the governor had not done so well in terms of security.
``Imo is still fraught with a lot of criminality and making the state unfavourable for investors,’’ it said.
CD said Anambra scored second in ranking in the zone; adding that Gov. Obi had tarred over 500 kilometres of roads within his six years in office.
``Obi renovated and revitalised secretariat complexes of 21 council areas of the state; built new civil servants’ secretariat headquarters, new teaching hospital, ultra-modern electronic library and built two stadia in Onitsha .
``Constructed over 50 bridges across communities in Anambra especially those at the grassroots; gave security agencies over 400 operational and equipped vehicles; and paid salaries, pension and entitlement of its workers promptly.
”But Obi had failed to provide water for the teeming population in Onitsha and its environs; non conduct of local council elections.
``No investment in job creation, which had led to high incidences of commercial motorcycle riding as well as high crime rate,’’ it said.
The statement also noted that Enugu State Government was another administration that had shown commitment to the development of its people.
``Gov. Chime embarked on massive development of urban areas and through this uplifted the status of Enugu from a colonial city to a modern mega city with first class amenities.
``The governor had also conducted local council election, which had eluded other states and restored grassroots political participation and economic development.
``However, chime had failed to provide social amenities to rural dwellers in the state, especially at the boundary communities between the state and its neighbouring states,’’ the release added.