Beneficiaries
Imo governor presents cheques to families of deceased soldiers
Gov. Hope Uzodinma has presented undisclosed amount of money in cheques to six families of deceased soldiers who lost their lives recently while on duty in Imo. Uzodinma presented the cheques on Thursday during condolence visits to the 34th Artillery Brigade, Obinze, the 211 Regiment of the Nigerian Airforce Base, Naze, and families of deceased soldiers. Speaking during the visits, the governor pledged continuous support and commitment to the families to boost their morale and bring lasting solution to the security crisis in the state. Uzodinma, while presenting the cheques to the families and next of kin of the fallen soldiers, prayed to God to grant them fortitude to bear the loss. Earlier, the Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Raymond Utsaha, expressed gratitude to Uzodinma for identifying ...
Nasarawa governor frees 36 prison inmates, donates N250,000 transport fare
The Nasarawa State Government has released 36 inmates in the state’s correctional centre to reduce overcrowding. The inmates, who are prisoners mostly awaiting trials and convicts, were released by State Governor Abdullahi Sule who visited the correctional facility in Lafia on Wednesday. The Lafia Correctional Centre is one of the six prisons in the state, located along Doma Road, Lafia City and is known to be overstretched presently with mostly awaiting trials inmates. Speaking while presiding over the release of the prisoners, Governor Sule said the move was to mark the June 12 Democracy Day. ‘I am glad to be here. By law, it is the responsibility on the part of leaders to forgive when it is time to forgive because God forgives us. When I looked at the faces of these inmates, I discovere...
Ekiti APC chieftain: 2022, 2023 elections‘ll be based on personality, not party affiliation
An All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain in Ekiti, Mr Demola Popoola, says that the 2022 and 2023 elections will be about personality rather political party affiliation. Popoola stated this in Oye-Ekiti while declaring his intention to contest the governorship primaries of the party in the state. “The next general elections will be based on who the candidate is and not his political party. “Contributions and capacity of aspirants will play a critical role in the polls, but I am determined to bring my wealth of experience to bear in governance of the state, if given the opportunity in 2022. “I will work through my plans to banish poverty from Ekiti through my deliberate and concerted efforts in creating jobs through industrialisation of the state,’’ he said. Popoola, who hails from Oye-...
Lagos begins plea bargain session for Kirikiri inmates
In an effort to decongest correctional centres, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice on Thursday held a plea bargain session for some inmates at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre. The plea bargain session was the first of its kind to be held at a correctional centre in Lagos State. Newsmen reports that the previous practice was for counsel to incarcerated inmates to write to the Attorney-General of the state to consider plea bargain agreements for their clients. A total of 27 inmates – 16 males and 11 females – were beneficiaries of Thursday’s plea bargain session. The Lagos State Attorney-General, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), the state Solicitor-General, Titilayo Shitta-Bey, and some of the ministry of justice staff kick-started the initiative. The state Directorate of Public Prosecuti...
VP Osinbajo: How grassroots planning helped our social investment programmes
One factor responsible for the impactful implementation of the Social Investment Programmes of the Buhari administration over the years is the realization that you can’t reach Nigerians if you don’t have a plan for the grassroots, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. This realization then influenced the structure designed for the SIP and is largely responsible for the successes of the programme (which is now regarded as one of the biggest social welfare schemes in the continent). Prof. Osinbajo stated this Sunday in Lagos at the inauguration of the Dash Me Store, an outfit of the Dash Me Foundation founded by the immediate past Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. The store is established to mobilize resources for onward distribution to vulnerable people in the society via grassr...
Presidency: One million Nigerians benefitting from survival fund
The Presidency yesterday said that over one million Nigerians have so far benefitted from the Survival Fund scheme under the Federal Government’s Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP). The Presidency said there are 500,000 beneficiaries from the MSMEs Payroll support track, 44,500 under the one-off General MSME Grant, and another 265,425 under the artisan support track, among others. Recall that payment to new beneficiaries of the Payroll Support track and the one-time General MSME Grant had commenced at the end of April. A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande, in Abuja last night explained that so far, under the ESP there are currently over one million beneficiaries nationwide from the various schemes...
Sustaining economic empowerment through financial inclusion, energy access
Financial inclusion and provision of sustainable energy is at a turning point in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria. With a population of over 200 million, about 50 per cent of the total population live in rural areas, and only 39 per cent of those living in rural communities have access to electricity. This is in addition to over 40 per cent of the entire population who are financially excluded or underserved. However, the proliferation of digital financial services in Nigeria – powered largely by growth in fin-tech companies – has catalysed an unparalleled increase in the current number of people with access to formal financial services, while further opening up opportunities to address power supply challenges across rural communities; a major feat instrumental towards achieving the broad...
World Bank to construct 13.16km Lagos farm roads
Lagos State Government says its World Bank-assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement, Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project will construct 13.16km Farm Access Roads (FARs) in four cluster areas. The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said this on Thursday during the activities to commemorate the second year of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration. Olusanya noted that the four farm cluster areas were Igbodu in Epe, Araga also in Epe, Erinkorodo in Ikorodu and Afowo in Badagry. She said the access roads when completed would ensure smooth movement to and fro the farms. Olusanya added that it would reduce losses encountered by egg farmers as a result of the bad road. The commissioner said it would also improve productivity of the concerned farmers....
NASU: Decision to reduce civil servants salaries ’provocative’
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) says plan by the Federal Government to slash salaries of Federal civil servants is “provocative’’. NASU made this known in a statement by its General Secretary, Mr Peters Adeyemi on Sunday in Abuja. It will be recalled that Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, had given the hint on May 4, at the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria, organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja. Ahmed said during the dialogue that the review of salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies were part of measures to reduce cost of governance. She said the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) had bee...
VP Osinbajo: Nigeria’s unity must not be compromised
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, on Thursday, insisted that the unity of the country should not be compromised in anyway. He said irrespective of the current challenges, Nigeria remained great nation with its diversity. Osinbajo urged Nigerians to harness the inherent benefits in the nation’s diversity to promote sustainable socio-economic growth and development, and cautioned those fanning the embers of discord to desist from it. The Vice President spoke during a courtesy call on the Obi of Owa Kingdom in Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Efeizomor II. He was in Delta to officially inaugurate and formally hand over the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Marshal Inspectorate Training School built by the state government in Owa-Alero community. “...
May Day: Governor Masari lists gains of Katsina workers
Apart from various housing schemes for civil servants in the area, Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, on Saturday listed various other programmes designed for workers. As part of measures to reduce accommodation problems of workers, Governor Masari said that government had entered into partnership with some private developers through public private partnership with a view to providing affordable houses to workers. The governor spoke in a message he sent at a symposium as part of activities marking the 2021 May Day celebrations in Katsina. According to him, ‘under the owner-occupier housing scheme, government has identified 503 of the state houses accommodating serving civil servants and those who retired and approved the sale of the houses to them at subsidised and affordable rates...
NOA urges all leaders to de-escalate tension, preach peace
File Photo Responding to the spike in violent crimes and insecurity across Nigeria, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has urged political, ethnic and religious leaders to take deliberate steps to de-escalate tensions and promote peace, unity and tolerance among the citizens. In a letter of appeal signed by the Director General of NOA, Dr Garba Abari, the agency said the present situation called for leaders across political, religious, traditional, professional and the social landscape to do all within their powers to arrest the situation to avoid further deterioration. The letter reads in part: ‘At these very challenging times, all the nation and its citizens need are deeper reflection and sobriety in what we do and say, as truly, the forces of disunity and national disintegration are ...
