COVER
Rising Insecurity Disturbing, Ungodly, Says Tinubu
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By Laide Akinboade & Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has condemned the recent spate of kidnappings and bandit attacks, describing them as disturbing, ungodly and sinister.
Speaking when he received a delegation of Jam’iyyatu Ansaridden, an Islamic movement at the State House, in Abuja on Tuesday, President Tinubu said while security agencies are acting with dispatch to immediately tackle the challenge, all required resources, policies and plans will be rolled out soon for the massive education of Nigerian youths.
The president said education is the antidote to the troubles agitating the nation, adding, “There is no weapon against poverty that is as potent as learning.
“I can assure you that we are here to change the life of our people. We are here to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity.
“We are dedicated to building a lasting peace with a focus on the comprehensive education of our children. We will get our teachers and their owners involved in an education process that will be relevant to the future of this country. It is important. Knowledge brought me here with your prayers and your support. Without knowledge, there is nothing to generate hope for mankind,” President Tinubu said.
The president also emphasized that it was important to promote updated knowledge through existing islamic learning institutions for youths in Northern Nigeria to speed up development in the region, in Nigeria, and throughout Africa.
“Please embark on special prayers. Embark on proper education for our youths. Kidnapping and banditry are not the way of God. Shedding each other’s blood is bad. And there can be no development without peace. It is only in the area of peace that we can eliminate poverty. We must work for peace in order for our economy to grow better,” the President concluded.
In his remarks, the Jam’iyyatu Ansaridden leader, Sheikh Muhammad Lamine Niass encouraged the President to continue implementing his reform initiatives while affirming that his movement, which is reputed for its promotion of peace and tolerance, would continue to pray for Nigeria’s peaceful development.
Worried by the spate of banditry in Abuja, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, assured residents of Abuja of safety, urging them not to panic.
According to the minister, he and other security agencies were not sleeping over security challenges in the territory.
Wike spoke before an emergency closed-door meeting with heads of security agencies in the FCT, as well as chairmen of the six area councils.
There has been a public outcry over the death of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, who was kidnapped along with 22 others in the Bwari Area of the FCT, and 13-year-old Folasade Ariyo, who was kidnapped alongside with 11 others.
Among them were three of her siblings and their mother at the Sagwari Estate Layout, in Dutse-Alhaji Area of Abuja.
Following the killing of Ariyo and two others, the kidnappers had proceeded to demand N700 million in ransom for the rest of the victims after initially demanding N60 million, leading the father of the late Ariyo, Mr Oladosu Ariyo, to solicit help from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
While addressing the press, Wike said himself and the area council chairmen would join hands to proffer solution to the security challenges in FCT, noting that they owed a duty to make sure Abuja was safe.
“All of us are aware of the security situation in the Federal Capital Territory, particularly Bwari and some other areas that have witnessed security challenges.
“Our concern is that for the Federal Capital Territory that has virtually every Nigerian, we owe a duty to make sure that this place is safe, to do all we can, and we assure Nigerians who reside here, and that there is no need for panic.
“We are taking every step to make sure that those challenges are things that we must have to resolve.
“So, this meeting is practically to look into such challenges and see how we are able to resolve the problems.
“And that is why we invited all the council chairmen, because they also have a responsibility in their various area councils.
“For the press, it is just for you to know that we are not sleeping, security agencies are also not sleeping.
“We will provide every support that they require in order to allay the fears of the citizens.
“This time around, we will not be happy where area council chairmen abdicate their responsibilities and travel out.
“We have got reports that council chairmen travel anytime, and then if anything happens, of course, they will not call anybody’s name, they will call the FCT Minister.
“We cannot fold our hands, we have invited them to a meeting this afternoon to see how we can resolve the problem,” the Minister said.
Contrary to the FCT minister’s assurance, former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar has said kidnappers and other criminal elements are having the freedom to visit houses and hotels in and around FCT, kidnapping citizens without resistance.
According to Atiku, this is because of the failure of the Federal Government to fulfil its constitutional obligations of protecting lives and property of the citizens.
Reacting to the state of kidnappings and killings in the last couple of days in and around the FCT on his X, formerly Twitter account @AtikuA on Tuesday, Atiku said it is imperative that the authorities address the dire security situation urgently to regain the trust of Nigerians.
He noted that the worsening poverty and hunger in the country is escalating kidnapping and insecurity, particularly in Abuja.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate in the Feb. 2023 General Elections said, “The escalating violence and lawlessness in our nation deeply distresses me as bandits and kidnappers continue their reign of terror unchecked.
“Our youths and innocent citizens are being murdered daily. Just last Saturday, we lost Nabeeha to her captors.
“Yesterday [Monday], the tragedy deepened with the murder of more victims, including Folorunsho Ariyo, a 13-year-old student.
“Folorunsho was one of the 10 people kidnapped from Sagwari Estate Layout in Dutse, Bwari Area Council of the FCT, on Jan. 7th, 2024.”Nabeeha, her father, alongside sisters were abducted in the Bwari Area Council of the FCT on Tuesday night (Jan. 9, 2025) but was killed a few days later by the abductors when the family could not meet the deadline to pay the ransom the kidnappers demanded.
The president met with service chiefs and other heads of security agencies at the State House, Abuja last night.
The meeting was attended by: the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and heads of some other security outfits.
Although there was no official briefing on the meeting, it was believed it would review the recent security situation in the country, propose ways of taming rising free reign of criminals, including kidnappers and bandits.
COVER
BOI Restates Commitment to Local Manufacturing, Job Creation
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Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr Olasupo Olusi has reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting local manufacturing in Nigeria.Olusi said this when he visited the GU Ebeco facility and inspected ongoing projects at the Nisa Medical and Zeberced Group at the Idu Industrial Layout, Abuja yesterday.
He expressed delight at the progress made so far at the various facilities while commending the chief executives of the organisations, urging them to do more. During the visit to the GU Ebeco, the BOI boss emphasised the importance of job creation and the need for their products to proudly bear the “Made in Nigeria” label.Olusi praised GU Ebeco’s progress over the past seven years, applauding its expansion into a national enterprise with over 1,500 employees and several facilities across the country.“I am very happy with the fact that BOI has supported this enterprise for the last seven years. It is wonderful to see that it has grown.“It employs 1,500 staff, and operates a national distribution system. We are proud of the significant role GU Ebeco is playing in the Nigerian manufacturing landscape,” he said.The BOI boss also commended the loan repayment performance of the company saying it had taken multiple facilities from the BOI. He encouraged other young entrepreneurs to stay focused, while assuring them of BOI’s commitment to supporting them and Nigeria’s industrialisation efforts.Responding Mr Ebere Uzozie, Managing Director of GU Ebeco, expressed his appreciation for the continued support from the BOI.“We are grateful for the Bank of Industry’s backing. Their loans have helped us expand and create lasting change. We now have 34 facilities, and we are debt-free.” We are optimistic the visit will mark a new chapter for the company, and will ensure further growth and partnerships that will contribute to Nigeria’s industrial future,” Uzozie said.at the Zeberced Group, its Managing Director, Mr Aydin Kurt, said that Nigeria had lots of potential and could be the future of the world.While acknowledging the country’s potential in industrialisation, he emphasised the importance of producing locally in Nigeria rather than relying on imports.Kurt also appealed for more collaboration with the BOI to promote industrialisation, create jobs and help grow the economy.“I cannot do it alone. we have to come together and create a synergy to attract different investors to come and also invest in this country.“This is our vision we have a lot to share with you, and thank you once again for visiting our corporations,” he said.Responding, the BOI managing director said that the bank was keen on infrastructure and committed to supporting industrious infrastructure.“This project is very important to us and a critical objective for the county and, in that spirit, we have decided that we will continue to support the proliferation of industrial parts across the nation.Why yours is so unique is because it has a plan for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which is very important.“We have a mandate to support that particular segment of our economy because they are the ones that champion job creation and most of the growth of the economy is attributed to them,” Olusi said.The BOI boss thanked Zeberced Group for the opportunity while commending the groups’ vision, energy and optimism to carry the project forward.“We look forward to our partnership. Like I said, we all want to be parts and parcel of this project, we have already given you some money to implement it, and we will see how we can do more.“As you expand we will support, but you have to also show us the job creation numbers, and make sure your goods are branded made in Nigeria,” he said.The News Agency of Nigeria reports that GU Ebeco is a furniture company while Zeberced is a construction company. NANCOVER
FRSC Unveils App to Mitigate Road Crashes Impact
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By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has unveiled an app to boost efficiency and mitigate the impact of road accidents in the country.Speaking at the event yesterday in Abuja, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume explained that the app was designed to digitalize FRSC operations for effective traffic management.
The SGF who described the current rate of accidents as a great concern to the present administration, urged the FRSC management to involve stakeholders in the implementation of the app to monitor motorists and curb the excesses of FRSC officers and personnel. The Chairman, House Committee on Road Safety, Abiodun Adeshida said the National Assembly was ready to review the 2007 Federal Road Safety Corps Act for more efficient service delivery.The Kenyan Ambassador to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina said African countries have a lot to learn from the FRSC’s experience in addressing the high rate of road crashes across the continent.According to the him, Africans must come together and provide homegrown solutions to address road safety challenges.In his welcome remarks, the Corps Marshal FRSC, Shehu Mohammed stated that the innovation was part of efforts to align with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration on the use of the new technology to strengthen the commitment of road users and enhancing road safety operations.Mohammed said the corps would embark on aggressive sensitization in all motor parks and town hall meetings for stakeholders to key into the new technology.The Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama expressed confidence that the new technology would bring sanity to Nigerian roads.Dr Bulama commended FRSC management for the new operational initiative and pledged FRCN’s continued support to every program to reduce death and enhance economic activities in the country.The Acting President, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Isa Ore said leaders in the transport sector would contribute to the success of the application in saving lives on the highway.Other stakeholders in the transport sector promised to support FRSC in enforcing traffic laws and protect lives and property on Nigerian roads.COVER
Lokpobiri Meets Shettima, Denies Involvement in Petrol Price Hike
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By David Torough, Abuja
Minister of State (Oil) Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri yesterday denied that the Federal Government is responsible for the Tuesday increase in the price of petrol, saying it is a function of deregulation.The latest hike in the price of petrol has pushed up transport fares by over 50 percent in major cities across Nigeria.
The increase implemented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) Retail Management ranges from N855 to N897 per litre, depending on the location from the previous N568-N617. Independent marketers have adjusted their prices to between N930 and N1,200 per litre of petrol.The minister denied FG’s involvement while addressing State House correspondents after a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima in Abuja.Shettima had summoned Lokpobiri along with the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Mele Kyari and the National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu over the recent hike in the price of petrol.Lokpobiri said, “This sector is deregulated. And we believe that with the availability of products, the price will find its level.“What is important is that the product is available in the country. Between now and weekend, there will be availability of the product across the length and breadth of the country.“We believe that by the time there is availability of the product across the country, the price itself will stabilise.”Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said regulatory efforts were geared toward stabilising supply of petrol in the country, which he said would impact positively on stability of price.Okuoha said, “The objective of the regulator is to ensure that there’s increased operating hours from all loading depots; vessels are being cleared promptly and extended hours where safety can permit truck outs as well.“More importantly also is the reinforcement of the support being given to local refinancing, because with increased production there will be higher supply, which will stabilise the price.”Despite making its product available, the Federal Government has not started lifting petrol from the Dangote Refinery.Yesterday, Dangote Group refuted the claim in the media that NNPCL is currently lifting petrol from its refinery and selling at N897 per litre.A statement signed by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina said the company has not yet finalised any contract with NNPCL.The statement entitled, “NNPC yet to lift our petrol” reads, “Our attention has been drawn to a headline “NNPC lifts Dangote Petrol, sells at N897 per litre” published in the BusinessDay Newspapers of Wednesday, 4 September 2024.“We would like to state that NNPCL has not commenced lifting of refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery.“Therefore, the issue of fixing the price of petrol lifted from our refinery does not arise, as we are yet to finalize our contract with NNPCL.“The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector, hence we cannot determine, fix, or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities.“We urge the public to disregard the headline as it is misleading and does not represent the true position in this matter.“We are guaranteeing Nigerians of exceptionally high quality petroleum products that will be readily available all over the country.”