NEWS
Why I’m Supporting Gov. Alia – Gemade
Ex- National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Barnabas Gemade, said he has several reasons to support Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue to succeed.
Gemade disclosed this on Wednesday in Katsina-Ala while addressing the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters during Alia’s thank you tour accross the state.
Gemade, who joined the APC in 2014, contested the 2023 governorship ticket alongside the governor and many others.
NAN further recalled that after the primaries, he contested the outcome of the exercise up to the Supreme Court, calling for the cancellation of the exercise over alleged non compliance with electoral guidelines.
The former senator however, resolved his differences with the governor much later and has since thrown his weight behind him.
Speaking in Katsina-Ala, Gemade said the coming of Gov. Alia was truly a divine intervention.
“The priest is a representative of God on earth, for that reason, if a priest has been assigned a responsibility he does not need a godfather. A priest that represents God here on earth has no business with another human being calling himself a godfather.
“Father Alia can only have a father not a godfather, and I will be very happy as a bonafide son of the state and an experienced man at politics with all that it takes to be a father to anybody, I am very proud to be the father of Rev. Fr. Alia and that is all he needs,” he said.
He also described Alia as a humble and God-fearing priest who is working hard to turn around the fortune of the state.
“I used to know how people call me “Nomiyange” (a shining sun), that was when I shine, but truly, Rev. Fr. Alia came out with his sun which shines more and stronger than mine.
“So I decided to retreat to make sure I support him to do things that God Almighty has asked him to do, that will bring development to Benue and he is already doing those things.
“I have only one thing to tell you the people of Sankera. There is nothing more than unity, it is one of the greatest things you must do in this state. Each time I have an opportunity to talk, I say this and you must embrace unity and support the Alia’s administration to succeed,” Gemade said. (NAN)
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)