NEWS
Train Attack: NRC Commiserates with Passengers, Appeals to Media on False Information
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has commiserated with passengers on board its AK9 train of March 28 that was attacked by terrorists. In a statement, Mr Fidet Okhiria, NRC’s Managing Director, expressed regret at the lives lost due to the attack, while praying for the quick recovery of injured persons.
”The NRC deeply commiserates with all the passengers on board the NRC Ak9 train of March 28, their relatives and friends, the Government and people of Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory as well as the entire nation.
”In particular, we regret the death of eight of our passengers and security personnel attached to the train service, as well as the injury suffered by scores of our passengers, not mentioning the trauma caused them and crew by the armed attack.
”We also earnestly pray for the speedy recovery of injured passengers, while praying that God grants the families of the bereaved, the fortitude to bear the loss,” Okhiria said.The NRC boss, however, implored members of the press, social media sites, and the general public to desist from spreading false information at this delicate time. He said: ”Our attention has, however, been drawn to the misleading and insensitive information circulating on social media with respect to the number of passengers on the train.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, please note that the Abuja-Kaduna service is run on a fully automated e-ticket system with entry and exit turnstiles that validate every passenger on board our trains.
“Ticket checkers also validate the tickets of every passenger via electronic validators linked to the central system to verify the integrity of our manifest.
“About 398 passengers purchased tickets to travel on the NRC AK9 service, but 362 passengers actually boarded the AK9 service.
“The entire seat capacity of the train in question is 840 passengers; therefore, the figure of 970 being circulated cannot be correct. “The AK9 service is the last service out of Abuja on a Monday evening and is usually at less than half capacity. Passengers on board the AK9 service on Monday have confirmed that the train was certainly not run at full capacity. “The NRC is continuing its efforts to reach out to the passengers using the comprehensive manifest in order to obtain valid information about their present condition,” Okhiria stated. (NAN)
NEWS
Police Detain Man over Alleged Murder of Business Partner in Yobe
The Police Command in Yobe, says it has detained a man, Yunus Isa, in connection with alleged murder of his business partner, Lawan Adamu.
This is contained in a statement by the Spokesman of the command, DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, in Damaturu on Thursday.
Report says that Adamu’s body was found on Sept.
15, with deep throat cut and stab wounds at Nayinawa area of Damaturu.Abdulkarim said credible intelligence led to the arrest of a prime suspect in the case, Isa, at Shago Tara near Nayinawa.
“Investigation revealed that Lawan Adamu was his employer and business partner in the engine oil trade.
“He (the suspect) borrowed N500,000 from Adamu last year with a profit-sharing agreement.
“However, when he failed to meet the agreement terms, the deceased demanded repayment.
“Isa callously murdered Adamu to avoid repaying the debt, killing him in cold blood,” he said.
The spokesman noted that the swift resolution of the case demonstrated the command’s commitment towards ensuring justice and public safety.
He said the suspect would soon be charged to court. (NAN)
NEWS
Maiduguri Flood: Over N12b Support Generated for Victims
Borno Government says it has realized over N12b cash and material donations for victims of Alau Dam flood disaster in Maiduguri.
Abdurrahman Bundi, the Senior Special Adviser on New Media to Borno Governor, gave the update on the donations for the Maiduguri Relief Fund on Thursday in Maiduguri.
Bundi said the donations came from corporate entities, state governments, State and National Assembly members, individuals, and Non-Governmental Organisations.
List of donors showed that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) donated N3b and food stuff, Aliko Dangote N2b, Aminu Dantata N1.5b, and Mohammed Indimi N1b.
Other donors were Borno LGAs; N1.
2b, Oluremi Tinubu; N500m, Bauchi and Niger states; N250m each while the people of Southern Borno donated N200m.Dahiru Mangal, Atiku Abubakar, Rep. Mukhtar Betara, Ali Modu Sheriff, House of Representatives, Abdulsalam Kachala, and JAIZ Bank states comprising Kebbi, Yobe, Kano, Taraba, katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara gave N100 each.
The Director General of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Buba Marwa and Matrix Energy donated 10 trucks of fertiliser and foodstuff worth over N120m each.
Those who gave N50m include Adamawa state, Mr Peter Obi, Rabiu kwakwanso, Ahmed Lawan, Mohammad Maifata, Ibrahim Umar, Mohammad Imam, Ali Dalori, Bauchi APC chapter, Sen. Tahir Monguno, and Sen. Kaka Kaka Shehu and I8th Engineering Company, while the State Assembly donated N60m.
The Nasarawa Government also presented six trucks of rice, spaghetti and sugar.
Many other people donated between N1m and N30m respectively. (NAN)
NEWS
Jigawa Reviews mid-year Performance of MDAs
The Performance Delivery and Coordination Unit (PDCU), says it has concluded mid-year performance review of Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs), to enhance good governance in the state.
The PDCU being supervised by the office of Gov. Umar Namadi, conducted a three-day retreat on the review mid-year performance of the MDAs.
This is contained in a statement by Hashim Hashim, the unit’s Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Facilitator, in Dutse on Thursday.
He said the unit interfaced with representatives of the MDAs to verify submitted data on the progress recorded against set targets in the performance bond earlier signed in January.
According to him, the workshop is pivotal in streamlining government achievements into one single scorecard and finalising the mid-year performance reports for the attention of the governor.
The statement quoted the PDCU Coordinator, Adamu Muhammad, who doubles as Public Private Secretary to the governor, as stressing the importance of the exercise in driving the manifested 12-Point Agenda of the governor.
Muhammad was quoted as emphasising the need for the members of the unit to scrutinise and fine tune all the submitted evidence for accuracy, relevance and completeness.
The coordinator lauded the FCDO-PERL programme for the support to the state government in actualising the PDCU and supporting the review process.
“The PDCU comprises of professional technocrats selected based on merit and specialisation to support the delivery of the Governor’s 12-Point Agenda”. (NAN)