President Muhammadu Buhari has sent the list of ministerial nominees to the Senate.
Senate President Ahmed Lawan on Tuesday read the list noting that the screening of the nominees will commence tomorrow.
Some of the names on the list include
Babatunde Raji Fashola
Godswill Akpabio
Chris Ngige
Festus Keyamo
Ogbonnaya Onu
Niyi Adebayo
Geoffrey Onyeama
Sharon Ikaezor
Lai Mohammed
Gbemisola Saraki
Rauf Aregbesola – Osun State
Rotimi Amaechi – Rivers State
Sunday Dare – Oyo State
More to follow…
Nigeria and electricity giant, Siemens, have signed a power deal that will lead to the production of 25,000 megawatts of electricity by 2025.
President Muhammadu Buhari gave the indication at the Presidential Villa on Monday during a meeting with the Siemens’s Global Chief Executive Officer, Mr Joe Kaeser.
He asked Siemens, the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the regulator to work hard to achieve 7,000mw and 11,000MW of reliable power supply by 2021 and 2023 in the first and second phases of the deal, respectively.
By 2025 when the contract will lapse, a total of 25,000MW is expected to have been met.
The deal came out of the August 31, 2018 meeting between the Nigerian President and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Abuja.
Buhari said on Monday, “We all know how critical electricity is to the development of any community or indeed any nation. “And in Nigeria, while we are blessed to have significant natural gas, hydro and solar resources for power generation, we are still on the journey to achieving reliable, affordable and quality electricity supply necessary for economic growth, industrialisation and poverty alleviation.
“There have been many attempts at solving the electricity problem in our country. Previous governments have explored state-funded solutions through the ill-prepared National Independent Power Projects. They also explored the installation of large emergency power projects. There was also the partial privatisation of the power generation and distribution sectors.
“These various interventions to solving the electricity problem have yielded an imbalance between the amount of power generated and the amount available for consumers. Despite over 13,000MW of power generation capacity, only an average of 4,000MW reliably reaches consumers. Now, we have an excellent opportunity to address this challenge.”
The President recalled that his administration’s priority was to stabilise the power generation and gas supply sectors through the Payment Assurance Facility, which led to a peak power supply of 5,222MW.
He, however, lamented that the transmission and distribution systems had remained major constraints.
He said, “This is why I directed my team to ask Siemens and our Nigerian stakeholders to first focus on fixing the transmission and distribution infrastructure, especially around economic centres where jobs are created.
While it was evident that more (work) needed to be done to upgrade the sub-transmission and distribution system, our government was initially reluctant to intervene as the distribution sector is already privatised.
“I am therefore very pleased with the positive feedback from private sector owners of the distribution companies, who have all endorsed government’s intervention to engage Siemens on this end-to-end plan to modernise the electricity grid.”
The President also said, “Our goal is simply to deliver electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes. My challenge to Siemens, our partner investors in the distribution companies, the TCN and the electricity regulator is to work hard to achieve 7,000MW of reliable power supply by 2021 and 11,000mw by 2023 – in phases one and two, respectively.
“After these transmission and distribution system bottlenecks have been fixed, we will seek in the third and final phase to drive generation capacity and overall grid capacity to 25,000MW.”
On his part, Kaeser recalled that a Letter of Agreement on the Nigerian Electrification Road map was submitted to the Nigerian President in November, 2018.
He explained that the road map would deliver 7,000MW in the first phase, and in the second phase, up to 11,000MW.
He said, “That will significantly enhance the country’s power supply and gets the country to the next industrial phase. We believe we will all very much benefit together, the people of Nigeria and of course Siemens as a company.
“I am very honoured that we were able to sign this road map today in the presence of the President and our partners. I will personally make sure that this will be a big success for Nigeria, Siemens and our partners in the country.”
A Deputy Commissioner of Police, Usman Umar, in charge of Operations at the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, was reportedly shot dead after a protest by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, known as Shi’ites, in Abuja on Monday turned violent.
One of our correspondents learnt that two of the protesters were killed, while a member of the National Youth Service Corps reporting for Channels TV was hit by a stray bullet as many more were injured during alleged exchange of fire between the sect and security forces.
The reporter, Precious Owolabi, was rushed to the National Hospital, Garki, where he later died on Monday evening.
The protest, which started from NITEL Junction at Wuse 2, was aimed at forcing the Federal Government to free their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, who has been in detention since December 2015.
Umar was reportedly shot as he tried to pacify the protesters who went on the rampage.
The protesters also destroyed vehicles.
One of our correspondents, who was at Force Headquarters, saw officers mourning Umar, who they described as a very kind man.
A police Inspector said, “The DCP was a very good man. We were at the mosque on Friday when he saw one Inspector looking haggard. The man told him how he had not been paid for over 14 months because he was unable to complete his IPPIS (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information).
“On hearing that, DCP Umar hugged him and immediately made calls to the officer in charge of the platform and budget office. Today, the Inspector has been directed to come to the IPPIS office for enrollment on the platform. His death is so shocking.”
The Force said they had arrested 54 suspects in connection with the incidents.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, confirmed Umar’s killing, claiming he was killed by the Shi’ite protesters.
In a statement, Mba, who said over 3,000 Shi’ites took part in the protest, added that two Assistant Superintendents of Police were injured. He also confirmed that the Channels TV reporter initially sustained serious injuries.
The sect, a few weeks ago, invaded the National Assembly where they reportedly attacked the security officials on duty. Two of the sect members were said to have been shot in their legs.
They also burnt three cars and vandalised other property during the incident.
Mba said, “Another violent protest by members of the El-Zazakky group involving over 3000 of its followers took place today (Monday) at about 12.30pm within the Central Business District, Abuja.
“The heavily armed protesters, defying all sense of decency, violently attacked innocent citizens and police (carrying out their duties). During the process, the DCP, FCT Command, Usman Umar, was shot and fatally injured by the protesters.
“The officer, who was immediately rushed to hospital died moments later while receiving treatment. Also, two ASPs and a Channels TV reporter sustained serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment.”
The police added that the protesters burnt a National Emergency Management Agency Response Post close to the Federal Secretariat and two vehicles.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it recorded a trade surplus of N6.33 billion for the month of May, 13 percent higher than the N5.60 billion surplus made in April.
The corporation disclosed this in its Monthly and Operations report (MFOR) released on Sunday in Abuja
It attributed the rise to the increase in gas and power output and surplus recorded by the corporation’s downstream entities like NNPC Retail, Petroleum Products Marketing Company(PPMC), Nigerian Pipelines Security Company(NPSC) and Duke Oil.
The report further indicated that within the period, the NNPC recorded a total of 580.32 million dollars in the export sale of crude oil and gas which is 23.39 percent higher than the previous month’s figure.
“Out of this number, crude oil export sales contributed 458.59 million dollars which translates to 79.02 percent of the entire dollar transactions compared with 342.11 million dollars contributed in the month of May,” it said
It also showed that between May 2018 and May 2019, crude oil and gas worth 5.97 billion dollars were exported.
On the downstream, the report noted that for the corporation to ensure uninterrupted supply and effective distribution of petrol across the country, a total of 2.06 billion litres of petrol translating to 66.49mn liters/day were supplied for the month of May.
It noted that beyond supply, the corporation continued to monitor the daily stock of petrol to achieve smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue across the nation.
“Within the period, a total of 60 pipeline points were vandalized which represents a 52 percent decrease from the 125 points vandalized in April.
“The Atlas Cove-Mosimi and Ibadan-Ilorin pipelines accounted for 38 percent and 23 percent respectively and other locations accounted for the remaining 39 percent of the total breaks,” the report said.
The report attributed the improvement to the spirited efforts by NNPC in collaboration with the local communities and other stakeholders to continuously strive to reduce and eventually eliminate this menace.
The May 2019 NNPC MFOR is the 46th in the series, designed to provide greater transparency and remove the perception of opacity associated with the operations of the national oil company, News Agency of Nigeria reports.
A police report has cleared the mystery surrounding a baby’s missing ear at the Victory Children’s Hospital, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The report, which was sighted by PUNCH on Sunday, exonerated the hospital and its workers from blame.
The parents of the baby had in 2015, when the incident happened, accused the hospital management and staff of chopping off their child’s ear for ritual purposes.
This resulted in a series of arrests of the hospital staffs.
But the report by the office of the Inspector-General of Police stated that rats actually ate the baby’s ear at the hospital.
The report read in part, “This deals with a case of alleged mutilation of a newborn baby girl’s ear reported to the Inspector-General of Police by Mr. Solomon Igwe against Dr. Oliver Umeh, the owner, and staff of the Victory Children’s Hospital, Onitsha.
“On July 30, 2015, around 7.30am, Solomon Igwe, upon unwrapping the corpse, discovered that the right ear of the baby had been severed from the body.
“He reported to the Central Police Station, Onitsha, where he accused Dr. Oliver Umeh as being responsible for the missing ear.
“While the investigation was ongoing, Dr. Oliver Nnamdi felt dissatisfied with the police arrest and detention, and from one level of investigation to another as he was neither at the hospital during the admission/treatment and the death of the said baby hence, he petitioned the Inspector-General of Police.
“The said petition was subsequently forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, Homicide Section, for harmonization and consolidation. While the investigation was ongoing, the parents made a demand for the sum of N10m for Dr. Oliver Umeh to be vindicated, but he sensed a foul play and an attempt to extort and blackmail him using the then investigating team.
“Consequently, he wrote a counter-petition to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, urging the transfer of the case to Abuja for an unbiased investigation.
“In the course of the investigation, statements of parties to the case were recorded and the scene of the crime was visited. Detectives also viewed the corpse of the deceased baby. An autopsy was conducted on the remains of the deceased baby, but the parents contested the outcome.”
The report added that police investigation revealed that the parents capitalized on the discovered severed ear and became suspicious of the cause of death.
It further stated that both the first and second post-mortem examinations conducted on the insistence of the father of the deceased baby revealed that the ear was apparently removed by rodents, hence the serrated edges of the defect left behind. Histology also shows that the defect arose after death.
The Presidency has said that there is no security collapse in the country.
It said that the administration of Muhammadu Buhari disagrees with the prevailing assumption that Nigerians are no longer safe in their country.
This assertion was made by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Shehu, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics said, “we are in total disagreement with the assumptions of collapse of security in the country.”
He argued that the Government was on top of the security situation in the country and added that calm had been restored to the North Central and Niger Delta.
Shehu said that “security challenges had existed before the present administration came to office,” stressing that the Buhari-led administration met its own challenges and were dealing with them as decisive as they could.
According to the Presidential Adviser, his principal was open to new ideas.
He further stated that “the President doesn’t think he knows it all and as such, will be willing to consider options.”
Beijing Guoan are ready to make Real Madrid winger, Gareth Bale the highest-paid player in Chinese football history, by offering him a route out of Real Madrid, the UK Telegraph reports.
Real manager Zinedine Zidane has revealed the club are working on Bale’s departure, which he expects to happen in day.
His comments prompted the Welshman’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, to call Zidane “a disgrace”.
Barnett also suggested there could be a surprise in terms of where Bale goes next and it is understood Beijing Guoan have already expressed their interest in taking the 30-year-old.
Guaon are not the only club interested in Bale, but they are one of the few who want to to match or even increase his £600,000-a-week Real wages.
It is believed they are willing to pay the Welshman an eye-watering £1million per week.
Estimated to be among the wealthiest clubs in China, Guaon have previously proved their ability to spend big, by signing striker Cedric Bakambu from Villarreal for over £35 million.
The Kano State Police Command said it has arrested a 57-year-old man, Tijjani Yahaya, for allegedly stabbing his 20-year-old brother, Aminu Mohammad, to death.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, in Kano on Sunday.
He said that the incident occurred at Annandin Islamic School, Kofar Ruwa, Dala Local Government Area of Kano state on July 19, at about 9:00 p.m.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that Yahaya and the victim had a misunderstanding and, in the process, Yaya stabbed him on his chest with a sharp knife.
“The suspect was arrested and the knife was recovered,” the PPRO stated.
Haruna said the victim was rushed to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano, where he died while receiving treatment.
The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Ahmed Iliyasu, ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department for discreet investigation, NAN reports.
With the surge of insecurity currently being experienced in the country, the National Assembly has disclosed that efforts were in the top gear at bringing an end to the scourge of kidnappings and banditry.
The National Assembly delegation comprising members of the House of Representatives and senators stated this in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Sunday during a condolence visit to the National Leader of the Pan Yoruba Socio-political organization, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
Recall that on July 12, Pa Fasoranti lost his 58-year-old daughter, Mrs. Funke Olakunri.
Mrs. Olakunri was gruesomely murdered by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen on the Benin-Sagamu expressway while on her way to Lagos from Akure in her Land Cruiser SUV after visiting her 93-old-year father.
The Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, who led the delegation of the National Assembly Akure residence of Pa Fasoranti, condemned the killing of the daughter of the nonagenarian, stating that “We are fighting a war that has no frontiers. We are fighting those we don’t know their location but with our conscious efforts we would find solutions to it.”
Describing the death of the daughter of the Afenifere Leader as painful and tragic, Boroffice stated that members of the National Assembly are concerned and saddened about the insecurity challenges in the country.
He added that the Senate and the House of Representatives would continue to raise motions that will assist the executive at putting a permanent end to the menace.
“Senate condemned what happened and commiserates with Pa Fasoranti. National Assembly will work hand in hand with the executive to find lasting solutions to insecurity.
“We are concerned about what is happening. We believe that action has to be taken to stop the nefarious activities of these people.
“Something has to be done very urgently. We have all have roles to play because we are part of the government. The killings cannot continue. All Nigerians have roles to play.
“We believe that action has to be taken to stop the nefarious activities of these people.
While faulting the call that herdsmen should relocate from the Southern part of the country, the Senate Deputy Leader maintained that the Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of movement.
Meanwhile, the body of Mrs. Olakunri will be committed to mother earth on Monday, 22 July at Saint David’s Anglican Cathedral Church cemetery, Ijomu, Akure, Ondo State after a funeral service at the church.
Human Rights group ‘Amnesty International, Nigeria’, has condemned the police invasion of singer Timi Dakolo’s Lagos residence, over his wife, Busola’s rape allegation against Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) founder Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo.
Concourse News had reported that The Nigeria Police invited Popular Nigerian singer, Timi Dakolo for questioning over a case of criminal conspiracy and falsehood.
In the letter signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kolo Yusuf, Timi Dakolo is expected to report for questioning on the 23rd of July,
Reacting to the incident on twitter, Amnesty International, Nigeria, said intimidating victims of sexual abuse using the police was a new law in the country’s spate of impunity.
“Attempts to intimidate and harass Timi and Busola Dakolo by the Nigeria Police has shown a disturbing pattern of how authorities respond to allegations of sexual abuse.
“In February, armed SARS officers arrested Maryam Awaisu of #ArewaMeToo in Kaduna and dragged her to Abuja, at the instance of a person widely accused of rape and sexual abuse.
“For too long, Nigerian women have been facing various kinds of sexual violence that seldom receive proper attention from the country’s law enforcement agencies.
“It is unacceptable that women seeking justice end up intimidated by Nigeria Police.
“It is unacceptable that women seeking justice for sexual abuse are subjected to arrest and intimidation, by a unit of police whose remit is armed robbery. We fear that these actions may prevent victims of sexual violence from pursuing justice.
“In the face of rising sexual abuse of women and girls across Nigeria; for how long will women be continuously subjected to intimidation and forced silence in the face of injustice? When will the injustice end?
“This pattern of Nigeria Police dispatching anti-robbery squads to pick up victims of sexual abuse who refused to be silent is unacceptable,” the group said.
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