Beta Nigerian News Blog

  By Ademola Ajayi Prof. Patrick Okedinachi Utomi, is an attention grabbing political economist who craves an altruistic reputation of himself. In the twilight of any dispensation and consequent to elections, voices like his, turn loud, with sensational solutions to Nigeria’s socio economic challenges. But Utomi never been a political interloper, at barely 27, was engaged by Vice President Ekwueme to work on policy documents. Since then, he’s remained an insider. So lucky, Utomi wound up that tour as Special Adviser during the Shagari Presidency that ended abruptly in 1983. Sadly, he refuses to acknowledge that 1983 also foreclosed his luck at being anything near nationalistic. Everything he’s touched from then on has ended distastefully sour and contentious. He yet feigns a holier than thou omniscience and embarrasses himself every single time he brags about his midastouch to transform the country into an enclave of abundance. In Utomi’s self-indulgence, he has sought to champion ...

  Nigerians have raised concerns about the impact of the continued sit-at-home by residents of the southeast on the education of children in the region. Residents observe sit-at-home on Mondays and whenever IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu is scheduled to appear in court, Although the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, called off the recurring Monday sit-at-home, warning those behind it to desist from its enforcement, commercial activities in Onitsha, Nnewi, Awka, and other cities in Anambra State remain grounded on Mondays. IPOB, however, noted that official days for the sit-at-home would be days when Nnamdi Kanu appears in court. According to  Dailypost , major businesses, including banks, motor parks, filling stations, markets, schools and roadside shops were shut, due to the order.  This development has been debated by Nigerians on social media who worry about the education of children in schools in the region. While some Nigerians condemned the IPOB’s order asking...

  The Nigerian troops have recorded several successes yesterday 21 Feb 2022 in the ongoing Operation Desert Sanity.  The 402 SF Brigade & 26 TF Brigade neutralized several terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle & Fadagwe in Borno State, weapons, hardwares, vehicles amongst others were recovered. 

 Vice President Yemi Osibanjo has said the current administration is desirous of making life comfortable for all Nigerians as the nation is going through a period of critical developmental transformation despite the current challenges. He spoke Monday at the inauguration ceremony of Senior Executive Course (SEC) 44, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos,the Plateau State capital.  Osinbajo, who was represented by Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, said the fact remained that much effort and resources had gone into the provision of security and improving the living conditions of all Nigerians. “Most of the efforts are targeted towards the vulnerable at the grass root level. They are also mostly the victims of our challenges as a nation. “The desire to achieve this goal informed the beaming of the search light in the direction of local governance in Nigeria, hence the choice of this year’s theme: Strengthening Local Governance...

  The Force Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Maj.-Gen. Abdul-Khalifah Ibrahim, has called for a focused and proactive partnership between the MNJTF and UK forces to defeat the menace of terrorism. Ibrahim said this at the medal presentation ceremony in honour of 12 Military Staff Officers (MSOs) from Chad, Nigeria and Niger, who completed their tour of duty in N’djamena, Chad. This is contained in a statement issued by the Chief of Military Public Information for MNJTF, Col. Muhammad Dole, on Sunday, in N’djamena, Chad. He said the officers’ performance had enabled MNJTF to execute various offensive and humanitarian operations in the course of achieving its mandates. Ibrahim added that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had been returning to their communities and engaging in different socio-economic activities, due to the improved situation in the region. According to him, in spite of the ongoing surrender of the terrorists to the troops, the force would cont...

 The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu has said that Nigeria will join other countries of the world to exploit atomic materials for more energy supply. The Minister made this known at the validation workshop of the draft revised national energy policy and its related master plan in Abuja at the beginning of the week. Onu said Nigeria is watching with keen interest, the research ongoing in many countries on nuclear fusion technology for energy use. In his words, “The progress made in this research may appear small, but it is very significant and important in energy generation. The countries involved in this research in nuclear fusion, are planning to achieve energy sufficiency in the future.” According to the minister, a national energy policy and master plan are imperative to guide energy development in a coordinated manner. He added that the policy is important as it is actively sought after by investors, development partners and scholars who intend ...

  No fewer than 1,226 names of forex defaulters have been published by commercial banks in compliance with the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).  The apex bank had directed banks to publish the names of individuals looking to trick the system to access foreign currencies.  The information that was made available on the websites of 10 commercial banks as of Friday, February 18, 2022, shows that UBA has the highest number, Tribune reports. Zenith Bank on its website listed 990 foreign exchange (FX) offenders, while Polaris Bank and Sterling Bank listed 40 and 53 respectively. Fidelity Bank reported 83, Access Bank on its website listed 29, First City Monument Bank had nine, Stanbic IBTC Bank reported 15, Standard Chartered Bank had four, United Bank for Africa had three, and Wema Bank has so far published one name. Sterling Bank also revealed that its customers cancelled their trip but failed to return the Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) sold to them despite r...

The United Kingdom has expressed its willingness to collaborate with Nigeria in tackling the  security challenges in the country, Channels  reports. The UK’s Minister for Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, Vicky Ford disclosed this during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama on Monday, in Abuja. Minister Ford said her country is willing to provide more training to men and officers of the Nigerian Police that will enhance their capacity to tackle the security challenges in Nigeria. This she added, will help improve community policing in Nigeria and curb the crime rate. She said this is in furtherance to the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue in London earlier this month during which both countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of military cooperation, counter-terrorism, civilian policing, protecting human rights, and recognising the important role of women in achieving sustainable peace. In addition to helping...

The Nigerian Army Headquarters has revealed that tr oops of 144 Battalion Madagali-Adamawa State have killed an unspecified number of Islamic State’s West Africa Province, ISWAP as well as Boko Haram insurgents at the Mandara mountains, Cameroon–Nigeria border. T he incident which occurred early hours of Monday led to the recovery of unexploded IEDs and other dangerous weapons. The post read, “Based on intelligence report, in the early of today Monday troops of 144 Battalion Madagali-Adamawa State in conjunction with Civilian JTF laid an ambush on withdrawing ISWAP/BHT after a superiority clash between the terror groups. “Scores of terrorists were neutralized at Mandara mountains. weapons, equipment and unexploded IED were recovered. ”

 The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it has intercepted large quantities (120 tons) of dangerous animal hides and skins popularly known as ponmo with seven merchants of the deadly product in Lagos. The Director General of the NAFDAC Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye warned the general public, particularly consumers of ponmo against the activities of some unscrupulous businessmen and traders who are selling industrial and chemical-laden animal hides as food. Adeyeye, in a statement by the Resident Media Consultant to NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, said the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement officials swiftly carried out intelligence gathering around certain locations where the alleged products were being warehoused and sold. The agency noted that the interception was in response to several complaints received from the public pertaining to alleged sale and distribution of imported hides and skins meant for use in leather industries and which had already be...

  Nigeria has started the disbursement of a N140 billion intervention facility by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to domesticate renewable energy technology and leapfrog mini-grid solutions to reduce the gap in the country’s access to electricity. While the Sustainable Development Goals aimed at universal access to electricity, access rate remained at 60 per cent in Nigeria. Although the situation is fair in the urban areas, less than 41 per cent of rural areas have access to electricity.  (Business Day)

Security agencies have begun the probe of companies and individuals allegedly involved in the importation of toxic fuel into the country, THISDAY investigation has revealed.  This is coming as many filling stations were still under lock and key in Abuja and Lagos yesterday while the few that were selling petrol had long queues, despite the desperate efforts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to bring the situation under control in the last one week. The importation and circulation of adulterated petrol had resulted in damage to vehicle engines across many parts of the country. It also affected the supply chain, causing long queues in Lagos and Abuja as filling stations shut down to clean up their tanks. The situation is considered in security circles to have far-reaching economic and security implications. THISDAY gathered that intelligence agencies invited companies involved in the scam, and they are presently undergoing interrogation. Presidency sources con...

National Inland waterways Authority (NIWA) has launched a Search and Rescue centre to prioritise safety of Lagos waterways users.   Sarat Braimah, Area Manager, NIWA, Lagos, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Saturday. Ms Braimah said that 17 officials of the marine department in the NIWA Lagos area office were trained and stationed at the facility to respond to emergencies. She said the officials were adequately manned and trained on how to activate, identify and direct safety ecology towards distressed crafts on water. The area manager said members of the Lagos search and rescue were trained on radio communication skills, to network with crafts and other national emergency agencies. She said the skills would enable them to do this as specified by International Maritime Organisation whenever a save our soul operational situation arises on water. (NAN)

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) said that plans have been concluded to create jobs, boost foreign exchange earnings and generate over N5bn through the Fisheries Coastal Terminal Concession project. The project which among others, targets a boost in exportation of fishes, will ensure the rehabilitation and upgrade of the terminal and operation of fishing trawlers. The plan was culminated with the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the rehabilitation of the Federal Fishery Coastal Terminal, Ebughu Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Proposed by and domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the brownfield project is to be carried out using the Finance, Rehabilitate, Operate, and Maintain PPP Model with Messrs Alfin Fisheries Limited as the Concessionaire. A statement from the ICRC said the move is part of the effort by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari towards economic diversification, food ...

 By Fredrick Nwabufo Killing, killing, killing in the name of Biafra! When did murder become typical of the Igbo stock? When did taking innocent lives become classic in Igbo land? In Igbo cosmology, murder, ‘Igbu oshu’ is a cardinal sin deserving of banishment. A murderer is banished from the community and the land is cleansed of the abomination. Have the Igbo settled for this governing abomination? Have the elders been functionally vasectomised? How can murder, anarchy, and fear reign in the land uncontested? Have we become a people given to bloodletting, beheading and cannibalism? Have we gone backwards in our evolution as a humane and cosmopolitan people to become savages? Why has this cumulus of evil persisted and remained hanging over an entire region? A region that was once prosperous, peaceful and bubbling on the growth index is now a slaughterhouse that investors are running away from. The south-east is being destroyed by the same people who claim to be fighting for the peo...

President Muhammadu Buhari has rallied the support of European leaders to stem what he described as the trend of unconstitutional leadership changes, rearing its head again on the African continent.  Buhari, who is attending the EU-AU summit in Brussels, Belgium, said they should project themselves as partners in promoting democracy and good governance by lending their weight behind measures being put in place by the African Union to check the ugly trend. He made this submission at the roundtable discussion on peace, security and governance at the ongoing 6th EU-AU Summit. Buhari also advocated the need to nip the root causes of extremism, conflicts and tensions in Africa at inception.  “Africa has continued to witness different waves of violent extremism, community-based conflicts and inter-ethnic tensions, notably in rural areas. For many decades, our continent has been deprived of political stability and socio-economic development due to terrorism and violent extremism. “Mo...

  President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the strictest punishments to be meted on ritual killers and those responsible for attacks on police officers and various stations across the country. The latest incidents of ritual killings and deadly attacks against on-duty policemen and ethnic minorities in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Zamfara, and Ogun States has caused some level of unease across the nation, Channels  report.  The President denounced the nefarious activities saying “I condemn these dastardly acts of violence and pray for the souls of the departed,” said the President, adding that the courts of the land must apply “the strictest of punishment under our laws to the perpetrators of these horrific crimes.” In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said incidents of ritual killings, hate crimes, and killing of law enforcement officers are aberrations. Expressing the sympathy of the nation to families of all the victims, Presiden...

  The federal government in collaboration with the European Union is intensifying campaign for a framework for specially made products from Nigeria so as to boost export earnings for the country. Speaking on Thursday at the national conference on creation of legal and institutional framework for Geographical Indications, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo commended the European Union for funding the Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Africa (AfriPi project). A Geographical Indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. The minister said the AfriPI project has gone a long way in supporting African companies, creators and inventors to generate value from their intellectual property. He said, “For many years, stakeholders from bo...