#NigPilot

[saynaija]

I will not tolerate illegal duties, COAS warns Commanders -NigPilot

I will not tolerate illegal duties, COAS warns Commanders -NigPilot

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, had warned commanders and their subordinates not to engage in any form of illegal duties as he will not tolerate such actions. He said that leadership is one which, officers cannot do without as they are Commanders at various levels they find themselves. Gen. Attahiru gave this warning during his maiden Operational visit to Headquarters 6…

[sageglobalresponse]

Air transport fares to drop following VAT removal – Nigpilot

Air transport fares may soon take a downward shoot as airlines are planning to reduce fares following the removal of 7.5 percent Value Added Tax, VAT.

It would be recalled that the suspension of VAT from airfares took effect from January 1 this year as part of incentives contained in the Finance Act 2020.

Airlines currently charge between N27,500 to N42,000 on the Lagos-Abuja route, while on the Lagos-Port Harcourt route, fares are going for between N42,000 and N80,000, and between N29,000 to N42,000 on the Lagos-Kano route.

Airline operators having acknowledged receiving the directive on VAT removal from the government, however, said they are waiting for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, to implement the directive before the low fares regime comes into operation.

While they have hinted that the possible reduction could take effect in the coming weeks, airlines have arguably enjoyed huge passenger traffic on return flights for the end of year festivities.

According to Kingsly Ezenwa, Spokesman of Dana Air, airlines are excited over the suspension of VAT, which he said should occasion a considerable reduction in airfares.

Another official of an airline added that a substantial reduction in airfares might not be realizable because even with the suspension of 7.5 percent VAT on fares, airlines were still grappling with the oscillating exchange rates as the airport authority moves to increase Passenger Service Charge, PSC.

In 2018, the federal government had suspended five percent charges on imported commercial aircraft and spare parts through an Executive Order, but the FIRS claimed to be unaware of such a directive, hence it was never implemented leaving airlines confused on the pronouncement.

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Don't force civil servants to take covid-19 vaccine, NLC tells FG -NigPilot

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has asked the federal government to persuade workers to take the COVID-19 vaccine, rather than force them. President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comr.Ayuba Wabba, disclosed this during a COVID-19 vaccination advisory for federal civil servants, Monday in Abuja. It could be recalled that on the 13th of October, 2021, the federal government announced that starting from the 1st of December, 2021, civil servants who do not show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 result will be barred from government offices. Speaking on the development, Wabba said he understands that some people prefer to maintain caution with vaccination, but said it would be “foolhardy” to place caution above scientific evidence. The NLC president encouraged civil servants to take the COVID-19 vaccine, noting that it has given the world a better chance of fighting the pandemic. “I understand some people prefer to view COVID-19 vaccination with caution. Yes, it is important to proceed on issues of public health with great caution. “Yet, it would be foolhardy to elevate caution above scientific evidence and facts from public health records. According to Wabba, "the truth is that despite being imperfect, the COVID-19 vaccine has given all of us a better chance of fighting the virus and staying alive. “I urge workers all over the world to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccines and keep themselves, their families and their colleagues at work safe and free from the morbid threats of the corona pandemic. “We urge the government and other employers of labour to make special arrangements for workers to access the vaccine at the workplace. “We urge that the tool of persuasion and conviction be used rather than force to get workers and the general populace to take the vaccine," he said. FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

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Gunmen attack Jos North community kill over 35 persons -NigPilot

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have attacked the Yelwa zangam community, behind the University of Jos, killing over 35 people. Eyewitnesses say the armed gunmen invaded the community at about 9 pm on Tuesday evening burning houses and shooting anyone on sight. It was gathered that the attackers had disabled the bridge leading to the Anaguta community preventing any access to help before launching their attacks. The eyewitness who does not want his name in print said several entire families were burnt alive in their homes while others who sustained injuries are being treated in the hospital. The Plateau State Police Command is to is yet to give details of the incident, as at the time of filing this report.   FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

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President Buhari should respect NASS resolution and reinstate our children back to NDA – Maradin Daura -NigPilot

The National Assembly gave its resolution in favor of the dismissed Cadets to be reinstated; what has been the response from the NDA and Ministry of Defence? Unfortunately, a resolution has been given by the National Assembly for almost seven months now and nothing has been done to implement it. My surprise is that this is a law-making institution, empowered by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it should be respected. The law said that when you are cheated, you should go to either the court or the National Assembly to make your complaints known so that you can get justice and that was what we did. We followed up on our case through the honorable members of the National Assembly. They went through the matter and found the NDA guilty of wrongly dismissing our children. If not because our children are well brought up, by now, only God knows what they would have become. You can imagine whereby you take your children through nursery schools, primary, military schools, and the NDA, and then because of hatred from somebody, they were dismissed after convocation and POP. After POP, my son was relegated, which is against the NDA 2018 handbook. How can a cadet be convocated by the Vice President of Nigeria and you allowed him to go for POP? Then you now called him, because he did a party to thank Allah for allowing him to graduate from the NDA. That was his offense. As a result, the Deputy Commandant, Air Vice Marshall Kaita, went against the 2018 handbook and relegated them. They were relegated to go back to school and do what? What were the findings of the National Assembly before they gave the resolution to favor the cadets? The National Assembly knew why my son and 52 other cadets were wrongly dismissed. They were not found guilty of anything incriminating in the case. The only reason the Commandant gave was that my son had ten entries, and the lawmakers asked him what he did for all the offenses. Hon. Kalu from Delta state read the 2018 handbook, the entries found against my son, fell on minor offenses according to the handbook, which was seven minor offenses. So, from the handbook, two offenses make one major offense, and when you put all the seven together, his offenses are three and a half entries, not ten entries. The point here is this: if Boko Haram can be forgiven and given amnesty, what about the innocent children that were not criminals in any way? You can imagine, from 2019 till today, I wrote a petition, but nothing happened to the petition. If the country is going according to the law, how can somebody, an outsider, write a petition against military officers, and nothing happened? My petition was with all the service chiefs, including this current Minister of Defence. If I was lying, they should have called me and asked. Even the National Assembly members asked them that when I wrote a petition what did the NDA do about it? They did not respond. That was why after they demised our children we said we are not going anywhere. I spoke to my lawyer and he advised us to take the matter to the National Assembly for them to protect our interests from the injustice done to our children. The National Assembly followed up the case from day one to the end, and they found out that 15 cadets out of 52 cadets that were dismissed, successfully convocated and passed out according to the NDA documents on the ground, that was why letters were written to the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by the National Assembly to notify him of their resolution so that the 15 cadets would be immediately reinstated. The document stated that the 15 cadets have successfully convocated, got their results, and successfully participated in the Oath Passing Out Parade. Also, during the hearing, the Commandant, Major General Sarham could not produce any evidence at the National Assembly that my son granted an interview that went against the Military Acts, which he is being accused of, rather, they only accused him verbally. But, the evidence at hand showed on video where my son was thanking Almighty Allah for the successful passing out from the NDA. After the resolution by the National Assembly, have you and other parents made attempts to reach out to the Minister of Defence and Chief of Defense Staff in respect to comply with the resolution?  We are citizens of Nigeria and we are following the rules and regulations of Nigeria. We respect the law that was why we went to the National Assembly. After the resolution was broadcast in all the National Television stations in Nigeria and Newspapers published it, the National Assembly wrote a letter to the Chief of Defense Staff, the Minister of Defense, and the SGF. We have the acknowledgment copies of the letters which we took to our lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He then wrote letters of a reminder after two months to the Chief of Defense Staff, the Minister of Defence, and the Chief of Army Staff and the late Chief of Army Staff was the only person that responded to the letter immediately. What did your son tell you was his offense before he and other cadets were dismissed? He said that after his convocation and POP, they called him that organized a party and granted an interview, so he was invited to the Adjutant office. From the Adjutant's office, he was taken straight to the cell and locked up for six days for an offense that he was not aware of, but was only told he conducted an interview, in which he said he appreciated God for the successful completion of NDA without any problem. However, in the court of law, no law says you should lock somebody for more than 24hours without trial. After that, the Deputy Commandant relegated him when he had already passed out, which violated the 2018 handbook that said that the Deputy Commandant has no right to relegate any cadets. But, in his case, he was not allowed to speak when he was invited to the Deputy Commandant's office, they just relegated him and sent him back to school, after he made 2.2 in his grade in NDA. However, it was later the new Commandant dismissed him along with the 52 other cadets without asking any questions. Since the resolution of the National Assembly to reinstate the dismissed cadets has not been implemented, what is your next action? We have channeled our case to the Federal High Court. We have filed a case against the Nigeria Military. But, we are going ahead of that because, if they ignore the National Assembly and the Federal High Court of Nigeria, we have sent some of our evidence to the international court of law through our contact, in case they ignore any resolution by the Federal High Court of Nigeria. If we do not get justice from the people who ignored the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we know our way to the International Court of Law, the international law which they must obey immediately when they pass their resolution. So, if we get justice again and they refuse to comply because we believe the Federal High Court will give us justice since we already have justice from the National Assembly. If they ignore the two justices we have, we will go there to file our complaints. We will not allow this injustice to go free against our children. The Commandant went to the National Assembly and said that our children filed out and not passed out. What is passing out and what is filing out? We have the video of the Commandant who passed out our children, when he said that the Army spent five years, Air force and the Navy spent four years in NDA, then they will proceed to Port Harcourt, while the Airforce will go to Airforce base in Kaduna. We also have the video of 2019, when the Commandant, Major General Oyebande, made this speech at the parade ground, and the CBC said that three Awards would be given to the best passing out cadets, which were the Army, Air force, and Navy. So, where did the former Commandant get the information that our children did not pass out, that they filed out?  You know that a cadet has ten entries and you allowed him to convocated in front of the vice president of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and you allowed them to go to the parade ground to participate in all the passing out activities. That is why God will grant us justice in favor of our children. What is your call on President Buhari in respect to the quest for reinstating the dismissed cadets? I totally believe that Buhari is a just person and that is why I am appealing to him to intervene in this matter. I also believe in our National Assembly, that was why we went to them. Since the honorable members of the National Assembly who are from different states of Nigeria judged the case, in which they set up a committee to investigate the matter after the petition committee was initially set up by the House. The committee was given the mandate to go round and ensure that proper investigation was done in regards to the allegation against the dismissed children. From the investigation conducted by the lawmakers, they discovered that the children were wrongly dismissed. So, we are appealing to President Buhari to urgently intervene in this matter. We do not want a situation whereby our children who are getting more matured on daily basis, make wrong decisions in the future. The President has lost sleep because of the insecurity situation in the country, so we must do what we can to avert more challenges in the future. If Boko Haram slaughtered innocent people can be forgiven by the same Military, which I believe the Minister is aware of, what is stopping them from reinstating our children who have not committed any criminal offense and have been given special Military training for good five and four years? In all the entries against the cadets, there was no place where any of the cadets were tried. What they did to the children was that they were in the parade ground, and they told them that they will have an interview with the Commandant the next day. But, the Military Act says that whatever you are applying to Army or cadet, it has to go through Battalion Adjutant, then CBC to Deputy Commandant, then Commandant Correction. All that protocol acts from the Military were not followed, they just told the children that they had an interview with the Commandant, Major General Sarham, the following day. When they met the Commandant the following morning, he came out with the other officers and they gave them papers and told them that they were dismissed. One funny thing they did was that when they dismissed them, they were handcuffed, paraded, and locked up in the cell for 36 hours without food and water, like ordinary criminals. We have the video where they were handcuffed and locked in the cell. What kind of country are we in? If President Buhari is aware of this, he will not allow this injustice to happen, because that was why we voted for this government. QUOTE The President has lost sleep because of the insecurity situation in the country, so we must do what we can to avert more challenges in the future.   FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

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Farouq Decries incessant kidnapping in Zamfara -NigPilot

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq has decried the rise in kidnapping in Zamfara state. In a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media to the minister Nneka lkem Anibeze, Farouq said the incidents have become a case of one too many while reacting to the latest attacks where students were kidnapped from the College of Agriculture in Bakura, Zamfara by armed men. “This news is saddening. Now, Zamfara has continued to hug major headlines for the wrong reasons. There is an urgent need to put a stop to this so that the people can go about their daily activities without fear of getting killed or kidnapped.” The Minister tasked the various security operatives to up their games in fighting criminals and stem the rising tide which has continued to put the state on the map for banditry. She commiserated with the parents and guardians of the affected students who were kidnapped, while urging them to remain calm as the security agents continue their investigation and rescue operation. “At this point in time, as parents and guardians, there is a need to exercise patience and allow the police and the Joint Military Task Force to do their job. I have full confidence in their ability to track and flush out these bandits whose stock-in-trade is kidnapping harmless citizens for ransom. She urged residents to stay vigilant while taking security as the number one priority. She appealed to community leaders, religious leaders, and the people to work closely with the security agents in identifying and flushing out bandits. “I appeal to our religious and community leaders to work closely with the people as well as liaise with the various security units to ensure that bandits do not find a breeding ground amongst them.” FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

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Humanitarian: flags off commencement of N-power batch C -NigPilot

As the Buhari led administration aim at eradicating poverty in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social development FMHDs have officially flagged off the commencement of N-power batch C stream 1, with a total of one million beneficiaries.

This was made known by the minister of FMHD, Sadiya Umar Farouq yesterday in Abuja According to her, a total number of 6million application was received but 1 million people has been selected to benefit from this scheme. "Based on this approval, the portal was again opened in June 2020, and over 6 million new applications were received. 1,000,000 beneficiaries will be mined from this as the NPower Batch C.

"The batch C is divided into 2 streams. Stream C1 for 510,000 beneficiaries and stream C2 for 490,000 beneficiaries. Under the Batch C1, a total of 450,000 have been selected to benefit under the graduate component, while 6ve been selected to benefit under the graduate component, while 60,000 beneficiaries will be non-graduate beneficiaries" she said. Farouq assured that the ministry is still committed to ensuring the strategic objectives of all the Social intervention programmes are achieved.

To also curb the communication challenges of the entire scheme, the ministry has created a more favourable platform. "To ensure that the challenges of communication are addressed, most particularly as it relates to limitations on information flow and internet access across the country and in a bid to provide accessibility to all target programme applicants and beneficiaries, the Ministry has concluded to provide access to information via a USSD code. "In line with the above, the USSD short code *45665# has been secured via integration to provide the required connectivity and technical support for the provision of information services to our beneficiaries," she added. According to her, the scheme has 3 core segments: N-Power Volunteer Corps which is the Graduate programme, N-Power Build, which is a Non-Graduate programme and N-Power Knowledge - Which is also a non-graduate programme but deliberately designed on ICT skills. It includes the N-Tech Hardware, N-Tech Software and the N-Creative training respectively. Farouq however welcomes partnership from other ministries, agencies just as the Minister of State, Industry and investment have assured that the ministry will partner with them. She also used the opportunity to thank the national assembly, relative stakeholders that have ensured that the scheme becomes a reality. "let me thank my colleagues for their support, the NASS members for appropriating funds to execute these programmes and also their oversight in ensuring the programmes are implemented as approved.

FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

[nigpilot]

Bloody weekend! -NigPilot

... As bandits storm Kaduna, Katsina states, kill 26 ... Residents say bandits numbering over 300, with sophisticated weapons involved ... Joint security operatives handling situation — Police spokesman ... Warns residents of affected areas to stop taking laws into their hands IT was a bloody weekend as Kaduna and Katsina States came under heavy attacks that led to the killing of 14 persons and 12 others in Kaduna and Katsina respectively. The incident took place in the Southern Kaduna area of Mado Village, Mabushi, in the Atyap Chiefdom of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State last Saturday night. It was gathered that some houses in the area were set ablaze during the late-night attack. Also, in a reprisal attack, a Fulani settlement in Kankada, Madakiya District in Bajju Chiefdom of the same LGA was reportedly burnt down the next day’s morning, being yesterday. Speaking on the incident, Halima Haruna, a female resident of Kankada, who was rescued and taken to the Zonkwa Divisional Police Station, told journalists that the attackers surrounded their community in the early hours of yesterday. The woman, who is the wife of the Ardo of Kankada, said she saw two corpses, a man and woman, on her way to find somewhere to hide. “We were forced to run and hide somewhere while some of our people ran to the bush for their safety. “We don’t know what happened to them as I am speaking with you now, we spent three hours before the security arrived and took us to the Police Station here in Zonkwa. Our houses were totally razed.” According to her, the attackers told them that they wanted to take revenge for what happened to them on Saturday night, somewhere around Samaru Kataf, which they knew nothing about. In the past one week, four villages in Atyap chiefdom have come under separate attacks, leading to the death of many residents, while many were injured and several houses burnt. Meanwhile, confirming the incidents to newsmen on Sunday, the spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Muhammed Jalige, said police operatives have been deployed to the attacked community. He called on the people of Zangon Kataf in particular and the people of southern Kaduna in general, to stop taking laws into their hands. In the Katsina incident, bandits who were said to number over 300 came at the late hours last Saturday in Duba community, Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State where the 12 persons were killed and wounded six others. The bandits were said to carry General Purpose Machine Guns, GPMGs, and Anti-Aircraft attacked the community at about 20:45 hours. In a telephone conversation, the State Police spokesman, SP Gambo Isah yesterday confirmed the ugly development. “Bandits had upon their arrival at the Duba community started shooting sporadically into the air, after which they looted numerous shops and rustled some domestic animals belonging to the residents. As a result of the attack, 12 people were killed while six injured.” Gambo Isah also stated that the joint Military, Police, and Air Force operation is on to contain the situation as the investigation is on towards arresting the perpetrators. A resident who spoke with our correspondent in Katsina said the victims’ funeral prayer has just been concluded as those who were wounded are taken to the hospital for medical attention. Batsari local government area shares boundaries with the dreaded Rugu Forest, and is one of the 10 frontlines LGAs in Katsina where armed bandits have been terrorizing the people. FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

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Akpabio lists achievements, says govt impacting lives positively through Niger Delta Ministry -NigPilot

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio has listed achievements gained by the ministry, reiterating that relentless efforts have been made by the Federal Government in impacting lives positively in the area of infrastructure development and social amenities' empowerment in the Niger Delta region. The minister echoed this during his presentation at the 19th session of the State House Briefing organized by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa yesterday in Abuja. “President Muhammadu Buhari is more interested in the grassroots development therefore he has shown keen interest in the activities of the Ministry, that is why the Ministry is determined to undertake laudable projects that will uplift the lives of the Niger Deltans,” he said. Akpabio recalled that the ministry which was created in 2008 to address the infrastructural deficit, environmental degradation and pollution, and other sultry issues confronting the oil-rich region has made efforts to live up to its mandate. The minister informed that the East-West road project which is a carriageway that spans a total of 338 km, containing over 41 bridges, had a historical debt of N11billion in 2019 owed to contractors which have been cleared by the ministry, adding that “this came from the magnanimity of Mr. President who approved the payment when he returned the project to the Ministry and thereafter we have had various sums of monies released to contractors who had gone back to site”. He stated that the Eleme-Onne Section was not included when the East-West road project was awarded because as at that time, it was in good shape and the two bridges were functional, adding that the ministry has released the sum of N2.5billion in August 2021 for a quick and emergency intervention due to the present deplorable condition of the section. He disclosed that N19.4billion of funds for the 2020 capital projects budget of the Ministry is being committed to the East-West road and N7.5billion has been paid, while additional funding of N35 billion will come from Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the project, noting that request for mobilization of special funding from SUKUK Issuance through the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning has also been made to Mr. President to ensure the completion of the road. “We are redesigning the entire area because of the defects we have noticed, that area would be 6 lanes, no longer 4 lanes, we are going to construct additional 2 bridges, 2 flyovers and a new flyover bridge at Akpajo intersection because of the heavy flow of traffic as the road links to the big fertilizer company at Indorama, Wotore , Onne Port Harcourt refining company, PPMC. I, therefore appeal to the Eleme people, Niger Deltans and Nigerians for their patience and support as we are working hard to salvage the situation,” he added. The Minister also assured the completion of Section 1-4 linking Warri to Oron through Kaima, Ahoada, Port Harcourt, Ogoni, and Eket Township, while Section 5 axis would be considered soon. Other projects embarked upon by the ministry cutting across the nine states of the region. They include 13 Inter-State road projects, 109 Intrastate road projects, 9 Jetty design projects that have been completed with 1 being constructed in Nembe, Bayelsa State to improve water transportation, Akpabio revealed. In the area of Social infrastructure, he informed that the ministry is implementing 43 different categories of electrification projects, construction of over 500 Housing Units which have been handed over to the beneficiaries, construction of 18 classroom blocks with 15 completed and 3 ongoings, 6 renovated, initiation of 16 Health centers with 9 completed, 7 ongoing and 3 other renovated. He added that the ministry has constructed 500 Boarding Capacity Skill Acquisition centers with varied specialization and are at various levels of completion in each of the 9 States of the region, while the center at Otuoke, Bayelsa State has been handed over to the Federal University Otuoke and the center at Agadagba-Obon, Ese-Odo LGA, Ondo State is about to be handed over to the Federal Polytechnic, Ile- Oluji, the centers at Ibeno, Akwa Ibom and Ohaji Egbema, Imo State are completed, he stressed. Furthermore, he revealed that the ministry has engaged the youths and women in various economic empowerment projects, human capital development training, and key stakeholders which have led to remarkable improvement in the peace, security, and stability in the Niger Delta region. He pointed out that the ministry has harmonized its action plan for effective coordination to encourage rapid socioeconomic development while its Strategic Implementation Work Plan, SIWP, approved by Federal Executive Council, FEC in March 2021 will result in joint accountability, elimination of project duplication, wastages of scarce resources as well as preventing abandonment of projects in the region. Akpabio mentioned that the ministry has also completed the NDDC Head office, as well as Forensic Audit exercise report as a date for the official presentation of the report is awaited, he revealed that International Oil Companies, IOCs were owing NDDC over $4billion unremitted funds and with the audit exercise of the Commission, such issues would be addressed, adding that the ministry will also ensure that the three percent allocated to Oil Producing Communities in the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA is used on executing tangible and developmental projects in the region. He stressed that despite inadequate funding that is a major challenge in the project implementation, the Ministry would endeavor to actualize its programs to improve the living standard of the people of the Niger Delta region.   FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

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Sanusi’s exposé on Buhari, APC, vindicates Us - PDP -NigPilot

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Wednesday said that the exposé by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, that the gains made by Nigeria in 35 years were wiped out in the last five years, vindicates its stance that President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, the administration has wrecked Nigeria. The PDP asserted in a state by the Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, that the declaration by Sanusi Lamido directly reflects the position of the majority of Nigerians across the country. Noting that the dire situation is now beyond politics, the PDP called on more stakeholders to speak out irrespective of ethnicity, creed, and political party affiliations, so as to save the nation from a total collapse. According to the party, the Buhari Presidency and the APC have in the last six years, only succeeded in destroying every sector of our national life with their manifest incompetence, unbridled corruption, treasury looting, impunity, exclusionist and restrictive economic policies that have brought our nation to her knees. "Nigerians can recall that the PDP handed over a robust economy, rated the largest hub in Africa and one of the fastest-growing in the world with Fitch B+ rating and Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) of $574 billion to President Buhari and the APC in May 2015. "Sadly, in the last six years, Buhari-led APC administration has reduced our productive sectors to complete wreckage with alarming 33.3 percent unemployment and 17.38% inflation rates; over 60 million hitherto flourishing businesses folded up and the naira crashing from N167 to a dollar in 2015 to N512 under the APC corrupt and directionless watch. "More depressing is that the corrupt APC administration has practically erased all the gained of the debt repayment achieved by the PDP, returned our nation to a beggar state, and mortgaged the sovereignty of our country with reckless borrowing and accumulated N33.107 trillion. "Life has become so unbearable in Nigeria under President Buhari and the APC, that more than 82.9 million Nigerians are no longer able to afford their daily meals and other necessities of life, with our nation now ranking as the poverty capital of the world and 98th out of 107 in Global Hunger Index. "Today, under the APC, a liter of fuel which sold for N87 under the PDP now sells for N165, a bag of rice which sold for N8,000 now sells for N30,000, a measure of garri and beans which sold for N150 and N250 now sells for N600 and N800 respectively; a measure of maize and guinea corn which sold for about N150 now sells for N400, a kilo of meat which sold for about N800 now sells for about N2,300 while a 12.5 kg of cooking gas which sold for N3,000 now sells for over N6,000, all thanks to the incompetence and corruption of the Buhari-led APC administration. The PDP further added that the compromises of the APC administration have led to the escalation of terrorist activities, banditry, kidnapping, killings, bloody agitations as well as other acts of violence that have turned our nation into a large funeral palour, with no hope in sight. "Indeed, this is not the way our nation should go. The PDP, therefore, urges more Nigerians to speak out to rescue our nation from this fast descent to a failed state." FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article