NEWS
Bauchi Gov Tells Muslims to Imbibe Spirit of Forgiveness, Humility
From Mohammed Muktar Umar, Bauchi
As Nigerian Muslim faithful celebrate this year’s Eid-el Kabir festival, they have been urged to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness, humility and respect for one another.
This was contained in the goodwill message by Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, to Muslim faithful in the state to mark the 2021 Eid-el Kabir festival, adding that they We should also use the occasion to strengthen existing interpersonal relationships and create new ones.
He called on the faithful to emulate Prophet Ibrahim’s submission to the will of Allah when he answered the divine call to sacrifice his only son, Prophet Isma’il, declaring that, that was the highest spiritual sacrifice ever made in observance of divine injunction.
“As we all know, the Eid-el-Kabir is celebrated annually in commemoration of the great sacrifice and total submission of Prophet Abraham (AS) to the will of Allah when he answered the Divine call to sacrifice his only son, Prophet Isma’il.
“This indeed is the highest spiritual sacrifice that has ever been made in observance of divine injunction. It is therefore worthy of emulation, especially by the Muslim Umma.
“The occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir should be used to reflect on how we have fared morally and spiritually during the last one year so as to take corrective measures where necessary, for us to be amongst the believers who will enjoy the mercies of Allah (SWT) in the hereafter,” Governor Mohammed stated.
The governor stated that as commanded by the Holy Qur’an, Muslims should give in charity out of what Allah bestowed on them, adding that they should, however, do so moderately and also pray for peace in the state
“The religion of Islam propagates total submission to the will of Allah (SWT) and peaceful co-existence amongst the Muslim Ummah and with adherents of other faiths.
“The Holy Qur’an has also commanded all Muslims to give something (in charity) out of the treasure which Allah has bestowed on them. This should be done without consideration for religious, ethnic or political differences.
“We should also use the Eid-el Kabir occasion to strengthen the existing interpersonal relationships and create new ones. There is also the need for us to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness, humility and respect for one another.
“We should pray for the prevailing peace in the State to be sustained and for adequate rainfall for us to have a bumper harvest during this farming season.”
Governor Mohammed reiterated his administration’s commitment to continue to serve the people of state with a view to taking the state to greater heights.
He stated that his administration was making its modest efforts to infrastructural development, education, health, youth empowerment and agriculture, assuring that, “we will continue to pursue developmental projects which have direct bearings on the lives of our people.”
The governor further stated that his administration was not unmindful of the economic hardship being experienced by the generality of the people, which he submitted was a global problem which had its origin in the COVID-19 pandemic since last year.
“I want to appeal to you to bear with the situation which is temporary. As responsive government, we will continue to render palliative measures with a view to cushioning the effects of the hardship.
“I will, however, appeal to you to make some sacrifices to ensure that we overcome the hardship. As the Covid-19 pandemic is still very much around, we should continue to observe the non-pharmaceutical protocols of using face masks, social distancing and washing our hands as prescribed by health experts,” he admonished.
The Police Command in Anambra says gunmen have burnt its station in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area, killing two officers.SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, announced this in a statement issued in Awka on Monday.He said that the gunmen attacked the police facility with improvised explosives, shooting sporadically, which caused a fire to burn part of the station.
He said further that during the attack, two police operatives on duty were killed when they attempted to resist the gunmen. Ikenga stated that the bodies of the deceased policemen had been recovered and taken to the morgue.He also noted that joint security forces, including the police, army and navy, among others, had recovered five unexploded improvised explosives.Ikenga noted that the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Nnaghe Itam, had visited the scene for assessment.He said that Itam called on anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to come forward, assuring then that such information would be treated confidential.(NAN)
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to maintain and operate a secure and efficient personnel and payroll system.In a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Bawa Mokwa on Monday, the OAGF maintained that the Integrated Personal and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) database has not been compromised, assuring that employees personal data on the IPPIS database is safe and secured.
The OAGF, which manages the IPPIS and other financial management initiatives of the Federal Government, said it is already implementing its ICT Security Policy that aims to ensure that its digital assets are secured in line with global best practices. The Office explained that no data is saved on its website, adding that the IPPIS uses the website to only share information and not for any transaction. “The IPPIS is not using the OAGF website for any transaction. The website is actually the medium to share information. Neither payroll nor payment is made through the website, therefore, no data is contained in the website”, it said. The OAGF stated that the IPPIS validation portal that was recently developed for updates of employees information was deployed for a period and after the exercise was over, the data were pulled out and the site shut down permanently.According to the statement, “the IPPIS Validation Portal was deployed on a secure platform. A secured database and application were purchased from the popular HELIX-FONS.”The Office acknowledged that the IPPIS is of utmost importance to Nigerian workers, thus it became imperative to assuage the fears of any loss or breach of employees personal data in the IPPIS database. The OAGF noted that the IPPIS has put in place necessary mechanism to resolve any problem that may arise in its operations and advised workers that observe anomalies in their salaries to follow the official procedures inorder to get such issues resolved.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 32.15 percent in August, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report
The report released on Monday said the inflation eased the second time in 2024 after a 19 month increase that peaked at 34.19 percent in June.
“Looking at the movement, the August 2024 headline inflation
rate showed a decrease of 1.
It however, said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (25.80%).
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in August 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.
e, August 2023).Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22%, which was 0.06% lower than the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.28%).
” This means that in August 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the
average price level in July 2024.”
The report added that food inflation rate in August 2024 was 37.52 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18% points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (29.34%).
It said the rise in food inflation
on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of; “Bread, Maize Grains, Guinea Corn, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Irish Potatoes, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, etc (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Palm Oil, Vegetable, etc (Oil & Fats Class) and
Ovaltine, Milo, Lipton, etc (Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class).”
But on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.37 percent, a 0.10% decrease compared to the rate recorded in July 2024 (2.47 percent).
“The fall can be attributed to the decline in the rate of increase in the average prices of Tobacco, Tea, Coco, Coffee, Groundnut Oil, Milk, Yam, Irish Potatoes, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, Palm Oil, Vegetable etc.”
It added that the average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending August 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 36.99 percent, which was 11.98 percent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in August 2023 (25.01 percent).
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