NEWS
Bayelsa Govt Recommits to Development
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Government has reiterated its commitment to working assiduously for the continued peace, stability and development of the state.
The Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo stated this at the weekend while speaking at a special dinner organized in honour of some stakeholders of Bayelsa West Senatorial District at his Lodge in Government House, Yenagoa.
Ewhrudjakpo noted that the Governor Douye Diri-led administration would remain focused on completing all ongoing projects and embark on new economically viable ones to achieve job and wealth creation.
He vowed that the administration would not allow anything including the ongoing legal action filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 11th November 2023 governorship election, Chief Timipre Sylva to distract its attention.
The deputy governor called on all well-meaning Bayelsans including opposition elements to join hands with the government in expanding the frontiers of development in the state, rather than embark on a wild goose chase.
Ewhrudjakpo, who expressed optimism that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate would be victorious at all levels of the legal battle, stressed that the 2023 governorship election was won and lost fair and square.
He thanked the people of the state across party lines for their show of love and support during the elections and the second term inauguration ceremony, describing it as unprecedented in the annals of the state.
According to the Deputy Governor, similar get-together ceremonies will be organized to appreciate PDP stakeholders in Bayelsa Central and East senatorial districts.
His words: “First, we all have to thank the Governor who has directed us to start this process. We are going to do this across the three senatorial districts as part of measures to thank you for the support you have always given to us and our party.
“Unfortunately, few of us decamped because they fell for the deception dummy our opponent sold to them. I pity them and I don’t know why they are always falling for his tricks.
“I hear he told his supporters that there was going to be a repeat of 2020. I don’t blame him because he doesn’t know that my boss and I are special species. He fails to understand that he doesn’t have the kind of grace we carry.
“What doesn’t happen anywhere continues to happen for us. Our swearing-in the other Wednesday was unprecedented. There won’t be any swearing-in like that again in this state just like there was none like it before.
“You all saw how colourful it was and the number of dignitaries that attended: Two presidents-Liberia and our own president represented by their vice. Secondly, two former presidents and over 11 serving governors across party lines.
NEWS
Customs Intercept Contraband Worth N510.92m in Two Conths
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)NEWS
APC Forum Decries Deplorable Condition of Federal Roads
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NANNEWS
Yuan Strengthens 7. 087 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)