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Youths to embrace farming as a means of employment – Commissioner

Kamila Bello
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The Lagos State Government has urged youths in the state to embrace farming as an important means of employment, saying young people are essential in transformation of the sector.

The Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr Olusegun Dawodu, said this during the celebration of the International Youth Day 2021 with the theme, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health,” in Ikeja.

He said, “Agriculture remains the dominant source of youth employment. The traditional mode of farming is seen by our youths to be associated with hard physical work, low wages and uncertainty, but youths are essential in the transformational change in the agricultural sector.

 “The Lagos state government under the leadership of Mr Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will continue to come up with programmes that will benefit youths in the agricultural sector. We’ll also work with stakeholders in facilitating youth accessibility to land and new technology to develop skills in transforming the agricultural sector.”

Similarly, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya said, “Our youths need to shift their mindsets regarding agriculture and take advantage of the job and wealth creation opportunities it offers, such as production, input supply, use of technology and marketing.”

READ ALSO: ‘Digital Farming Way Out Of Worsening Food Insecurity In Nigeria’

 

Zainab/Punch

Bauchi Flood destroys farms, houses, increases death toll

Kamila Bello
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Bauchi state flood has destroyed farms, houses and death toll has increased to 13, following five new recorded deaths in Jama’are Local Government Area.

According to an information gathered from an official of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Bauchi State, who declined identification, indicated that five people died in Jama’are, three in Gamawa, three in Ningi while one person each died in Toro and Darazo LGAs.

The SEMA official confirmed that the floods submerged over 1,600 houses. No fewer than 24 people sustained varying degree of injuries in the floods that have so far affected 18 LGAs of the state.

“Initially, it was reported that eight people died but now, we heard that five more people died in Jama’are.

“Two persons died initially, but we later recovered three corpses, making a total of five.”

He added that over 1,000 hectares of rice, maize, wheat and beans farmlands were destroyed adding that more than 1,000 houses were damaged.

READ ALSO:  Damaturu residents cry out as flood submerges 7 communities

 

Zainab/Punch

2023 Presidential election: I’m still consulting – Bauchi Governor

Zainab Sa'id
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Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, says he is still consulting with critical stakeholders on the call for him to contest the 2023 presidential election.

The governor stated this at the Government House, Bauchi, when he received a coalition of groups, including the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), National Union of Bauchi State Students (NUBASS), Bauchi State Traders and Artisans Association and Association of Achaba and Keke NAPEP, which visited him to present a letter of endorsement to contest the next presidential election in Nigeria.

Governor Mohammed informed his visitors that he embarked on consultations following his endorsement a few weeks ago by the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF).

The governor explained that he has already consulted Senators, Ministers and his party, the PDP. He urged the coalition and others to allow him three weeks to enable him to conclude his consultation with critical stakeholders and leaders across the country.

Also Read: PDP Governors strategize ahead of 2023 elections

According to him, the state PDP working committee had given him its approval, adding that though he was content with being a governor, he was ready to serve the country in any capacity.

He said after his rounds of consultations in PDP, he needs to further consult with traditional rulers and clerics before making a final pronouncement on his aspiration.

He gave assurances that if given the ticket and subsequently the mandate, he will bring an end to the scourge of insecurity bedevilling the country.

Mohammed, while assuring the coalition that he was ready to sacrifice his life for Nigerians, present and yet unborn, said he has the leadership experience to steer the ship of the Nigerian state.

He said it has become imperative for all well-meaning Nigerians to join the movement for salvaging Nigeria from the myriad of problems confronting it.

 

Zainab Sa’id

Damaturu residents cry out as flood submerges 7 communities

Kamila Bello
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Damaturu residents cry out as flood has submerged seven communities and its environs. This is the second time in this year’s rainy season that the communities were rocked by the devastation of the disaster.

Yobe state Commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Abubakar Garba Iliya, confirmed the incident on Thursday in Damaturu.

Some affected residents of Maisandari said the last time an effort was made to prevent the annual disaster was during the administration of late Senator Mamman Ali where the community’s biggest water channel was dredged.

The affected communities are Maisandari, Usmanti, Ngaurawa, Kasaisa, Abbari, YBC area and Nayinawa bypass.

Ibrahim Abdullahi, is another resident who said he has never seen such colossal damages done to the community by the flood in recent years appealed to relevant authorities in the state to deploy measures aimed at finding a lasting solution to the annual disaster.

The State Governor, Mai Mala Buni has directed his ministry as well as the State Emergency Management Agency, (SEMA), to immediately commence the process of assessments of damages to the communities.

“I also directed the State Emergency Management Agency to respond immediately, especially to communities that were seriously affected. Already, SEMA has reported to me that some locations have been identified in which resettlement will take place.”

The Commissioner noted that, “The Governor has also directed that, we should immediately provide the necessary palliatives to support the affected communities without delay.”

Dr. Iliya who commiserated with the affected victim’s, majority of whom are taking refuge within the neighborhood, assured them of timely support to cushion their hardships.

READ ALSO: South Sudan Flooding Affected Up to 90,000 Individuals – UN

 

 

Kamila/Dailypost

Algeria wildfires: Twenty-two suspected arsonists arrested

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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Algeria has arrested 22 people suspected of being behind the most devastating wildfires in the country’s history that killed 69 people.

Dozens of forest fires have hit mountainous areas in northern Algeria since Monday, mainly in Tizi Ouzou of the Kabylie region east of the capital, Algiers. “Some fires have been caused by high temperatures but criminal hands were behind most of them,” President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said in a live speech on state television.

“We have arrested 22 suspects, including 11 in Tizi Ouzou. Justice will perform its duty.” At least 28 soldiers were among the dead as the North African country deployed the army to help firefighters contain blazes that ravaged houses in forested areas.

“It’s a disaster. But our strength will not collapse,” Tebboune said, praising aid caravans from other provinces to provide affected regions with food, medicine and donations of other material.

“We must preserve national unity. I insist on national unity,” he added.

Two French water-dropping aeroplanes on Thursday joined the effort to tame the fires in the Kabylie region, one day after Algeria appealed to the European Union Civil Protection framework for help.

Tebboune said two other planes from Spain were expected on Friday and another from Switzerland on Saturday. He added that a “solidarity fund” will provide some financial aid to families affected by the fires, which have destroyed homes, olive groves and animals that provide livelihoods in the region.

Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane, who visited Tizi Ouzou on Thursday, the regional capital of Kabylie, said “for the moment, the most important is to extinguish [the fires] and above all, to take care of the population.”

Like southern Europe, North Africa has been sweltering under searing heat. Temperatures hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Tunisia, a record high for the country. The last previous high was 48.2C (119F) in 1968.

Algeria’s National Meteorological Office said extremely hot weather was forecast through Thursday in nearly a dozen regions, including around Tizi Ouzou. In some places, the temperature was expected to hit 47C (116.6 F.)

Climate scientists say there is little doubt climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is driving extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, which they say are likely to happen more frequently as earth warms.

Suzan O /AJZ

Wizkid features Justin Bieber on ‘Essence’ Remix

FELA OLAGUNJU
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Following Wizkid’s tweet, “Got something special for you guys tomorrow…” The Nigerian superstar features American singer Justin Bieber on ‘Essence’ remix.

The hit song, ‘Essence’ which currently sits at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 is set to jump to the the top of the charts with a certified hitmaker as a feature.

The song which also featured Nigerian Singer Tems has skyrocketed her music career, as she gains global recognition.

S.I

PDP seeks to remove Buni as Yobe Governor

Zainab Sa'id
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has instituted a suit for the removal of Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, and his deputy, Idi Barde Gubana from office.

The PDP, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/885/2021 field by Emeka Etiaba (SAN) at the Federal High Court in Abuja, is challenging the constitutionality of Mai Mala Buni who as a governor, accepted to serve as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in violation of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution.

The opposition party is praying the Federal High Court in Abuja to sack Buni and his deputy, Idi Barde Gubana, and install Ambassador Umar Iliya of the PDP as governor.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Umar Damagum and Baba Aji. Joined as defendants are: Buni, Gubana, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Relying on the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the governorship election in Ondo State, the PDP is contending that Buni violated Section 183 of the Constitution when he accepted to serve as the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee.

The party argued that Buni ceased to be the Yobe State governor from the time he started acting as Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC.

Also Read: Ondo Supreme Court ruling, not affecting APC Congresses- Party National Secretary

The plaintiffs, therefore, asked the court for an order directing the Yobe State Chief Judge or any other senior person next to the Chief Judge to immediately swear in Umar Iliya and Daguma Baba Abba Aji as Governor and Deputy Governor of Yobe State, being candidates of the party that came second in the 2019 governorship election.

Listed as defendants in the suit are Mai Mala Buni, Idi Barde Gubana, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The party further urged the court to declare that having regard to the clear provisions of section 187 (1) of the 1999 Constitution and the state of law, Idi Barde Gubana of the APC cannot lawfully occupy the office of the governor or deputy of Yobe upon cessation of the Buni occupation of the office of governor of Yobe State.

The PDP is seeking a declaration that the action of Mai Mala Buni as the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC, while he remains the governor of the state, is wrongful, null and void.

The party posed the following questions for the determination of the court: “Whether the first defendant (Buni) did not breach the clear provisions of section 183 of the 1999 Constitution when as the governor of Yobe, he accepted the third defendant (APC) appointment as its caretaker committee chairman and proceeded to occupy the office.

“Whether the first defendant (Buni), who is the governor of Yobe State and the Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC, has not ceased to hold the office of the Governor of Yobe, having regard to the provisions of section 183 of the 1999 Constitution.

“Having regard to the clear provisions of section 187(1) of the 1999 Constitution and the state of law, whether the second plaintiff (Baba Abba Aji), can lawfully occupy the office of the governor or deputy governor of Yobe upon the cessation of Governor Buni occupation of the office.”

 

Zainab Sa’id

Capital Market: Nigeria’s Securities & Exchange Commission to partner with RIMAN

Amaka Nliam
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Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) in its quest to make more products available in the capital market as well as deepen the market.

 

The Director-General of the SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda, stated this in a goodwill message at RIMAN’s 20th International Conference held virtually.

 

Yuguda disclosed that from the outbreak of the pandemic to the subsequent lock down, the Commission had worked with Capital Market Operators and other industry stakeholders to ensure that the market experiences minimal destruction.

“We have supported and acquired the emergence of various technological driven innovations around market operations and products some of which include Fintech, Digital Assets and Crowdfunding.

 

“…To support this, we developed a regulatory framework to galvanize these activities while focusing on managing the risk inherent in the products and activities in-line with our mandate of market development and investor protection. 

 

“In supporting this innovation, we hope to build a better market, attract more investors, and reduce the demographic of the average age that presently invest in our market.

 

“We also hope to include millions who were excluded from the capital market by making it easier for them to gain access.

 

“To achieve this, there is a need to collaborate with an organization such as yours and we hereby invite you to contribute in whatever way you can in building the Nigerian Capital Market. We invite you to do more in building the risk management capacity in the capital market, to conduct studies in risk capital market processes and products ad contribute your opinions and recommendations to our exposed rules,” he said.

 

He said that with increased membership the association has been more feasible in capacity building in the area of risk management and in organizing excellent events such as this adding that “since the SEC’s registration as institutional member of the association, the Commission has endured several benefits that cut across capacity building and the opportunity to share ideas. We will sustain this relationship and continue to contribute in any way we can to help the organization succeed and develop risk management practice in Nigeria”. 

 

He described the theme for this year’s conference, “Risk Management in a Digital Era” as apt, and could not have been discussed at a more appropriate time as the corona virus pandemic has increased the need for the use of technology in the corporate world assuring that as the regulator of a dynamic capital market the SEC would see this technological transformation as an opportunity to change the way it works and the way it performs its regulatory functions.

 

Yuguda, therefore, pledged the willingness of the Commission to partner with RIMAN in its activities towards developing risk management practice in Nigeria.

Elections: Vote counting commences in Zambia

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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0

 

Vote counting has now began after 12 hours of election voting in Zambia. The polling stations started closing at 6 pm (1600 GMT) and several voters prior to the vote counting complained about the slow pace of the voting in an election that is seen as a test of Zambia’s democracy.

President Edgar Lungu deployed more troops in parts of the country to quell election violence in the tightly contested polls pitting him against long-time rival Hakainde Hichilema and not to mention, the partial internet restriction.

Lungu said election-day violence had killed two people including the chairman of his party in North-Western province. In a statement, he said he had directed the army commander “to quickly re-enforce security in North-Western, some parts of Western, and Southern provinces where this unprecedented violence is taking place.

“I will not take kindly to these evil schemes,” he vowed. “How can you talk about free and fair elections when our opponents have taken this election as war?” he said.

The troop deployment was just a “distraction”, opposition United Party for National Development spokesman Anthony Bwalya told AFP. Sixteen candidates were vying for the top job, but the frontrunners are Lungu, 64, and business tycoon Hichilema, who are facing off at the polls for the third time and who between the two of them garnered almost 98 percent of the votes in the 2016 election.It is Hichilema’a sixth attempt at the presidency.

“We are confident that we will carry the day,” he said after voting at a secondary school in a leafy suburb of Lusaka. “People want change you can see it in their faces,” he told reporters.

Addressing opposition fears of fraud, Hichilema said Zambia’s next leader “must be determined by the voters, not the people who count the votes.” But by afternoon the internet was partially shut down in the capital Lusaka.

“Social media and messaging platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger are now restricted,” said global observatory NetBlocks.

Student Edward Musayani, 26, who had been queueing for four hours to vote in Chawama township, said he checked his phone in the early afternoon and found that WhatsApp and Facebook had been switched off.

“That’s quite unfortunate in a democratic dispensation like ours. People should have access to information to make informed decisions. You are shutting down the voice of people and this will impact… how people view the election,” he said.

The government had threatened to cut off internet access if people peddled “falsehoods that could destabilise” the election. After voting earlier Lungu exuded confidence that he would retain the job he has held for the past six years in the copper-rich southern African country.

“We are winning, I wouldn’t have been in the race if we were not winning,” Lungu said after voting in Chawama, a working class surburb.

The vote “is a test of democracy in Zambia, it is a test ultimately of how fair and freely (the voting takes place),” said political economist Trevor Simumba, adding that the “real test will be in the counting process.”

A flagging economy and rising living costs have eroded Lungu’s support base in recent years, surveys suggest. Lungu is accused of borrowing unsustainably, particularly from Chinese creditors, to finance a spree of infrastructure projects.

Under his administration, Zambia became the first African country to default on its sovereign debt since the coronavirus pandemic began, while inflation soared to more than 20 percent. Winding queues of hundreds of people formed before dawn outside polling stations throughout the day, pointing to high turnout. Lungu’s critics point to poverty and joblessness in the midst of glittering infrastructure.

Around seven million citizens were eligible to vote for a president, legislators and local government representatives. The winning candidate must acquire more than 50 percent of votes to avoid a second-round runoff. The official results were expected by Sunday.

Suzan O /AFP

Demolitions: Indigenes caution local chiefs against illegal land allocation

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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The indigenous people of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have cautioned their local Chiefs and other traditional against illegal allocations or selling of lands to residents within the nation’s capital and its environs.

The Secretary of the Garki Community, Mr Lazarus Nyaholo, gave the warning during a sensitisation campaign on the recent removal of illegal structures organised by FCTA in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

The Secretary, however, absolved local Chiefs and other traditional of illegally allocating lands to residents, insisting that most indigenous lands are being sold by individual landowners.

Nyaholo who blamed the conversion of their farmlands of the original inhabitants for the unprecedented growth of slums in the territory explained that the Indigenes have been forced to build make-shift shanties and other structures as alternative means of livelihood.

While calling on indigenes to think about the future of the city and their families and desist from selling lands, he said the development of the FCT is the benefit of all.

The Permanent Secretary of the FCT, Mr. Olusade Adesola, who said though the administration has no plans of paying any compensation on any illegal structures that were removed, promised the administration’s commitment to give a listening ear to those with genuine complaints.

Adesola who was represented at the event by the Director, Permanent Secretary’s Office, Mr. Udoh Samuel Atang, gave the assurance that the FCT Administration under the leadership of Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, will ensure that all those with genuine grievances and complaints are attended to speedily.

He, therefore, appealed to all those affected in one way or the other to remain calm and law-abiding.

While stressing that the clean-up exercises are not in any way targeted at any group, the Permanent Secretary said the move is part of measures to ensure that the development of the territory conforms with the provisions of the Abuja Master Plan.

According to him, “May I draw the attention of this important audience to the fundamental reasons that necessitated the relocation of the nation’s capital from Lagos to Abuja. Some of such include; unplanned urban layouts, indiscriminate construction of residential and commercial structures, among others.

“You will all agree with me that if not for constant and courageous operations in the enforcement of physical development in Abuja, the city would have become a major slum by now”.

He stated that the “FCT Administration will continue to operate within the ambit of all extant laws and regulations governing the physical planning and development of the Federal Capital Territory, and will respect the rights of citizens, particularly the Original Inhabitants.”

The Permanent Secretary further warned that no one has the power to allocate any parcel of land in the FCT, as the responsibility is vested only in the FCT Minister who performs such onerous tasks on behalf of the President.

“The FCT Administration seriously frowns at the ugly situation where unsuspecting citizens acquire land in the territory from unauthorised sources only to face unpleasant consequences thereafter. Thus, it is strongly advised that residents who wish to acquire land in the FCT should follow due process as laid down by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

“It is pertinent at this juncture to state that the FCT Administration will continue to operate within the ambit of all extant laws and regulations governing the physical planning and development of the Federal Capital Territory, and will respect the rights of citizens, particularly the Original Inhabitants”, he added.

Earlier, the Director FCT Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, Dr. Jummai Ahmadu, noted that shanties and illegal structures keep springing up in the FCC and satellite towns despite several sensitisation efforts and warnings to that effect.

She said the responsibility of preserving the aesthetic beauty of the FCT is a collective approach, including the FCT Administration which is taking bold steps at removing illegal structures and shanties.

Ahmadu however assured that the interest of original inhabitants is paramount to the FCT Administration and would not hesitate to compensate all those with genuine grievances and petitions.

The sensitisation campaign organised by the FCT Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement is aimed at sensitizing all those affected by the recent removal of illegal structures in the nation’s capital city.

 

Nnenna.O

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