COVER
Eid-el-Fitr: Christians, Muslims Excite Buhari With Exchange of Gifts
… Secessionist Agitation a Wake-up Call- Sultan
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed delight that Eid festival will continue to bring peace, safety, security, brotherhood, and love amongst Muslims and Christians as witnessed during the fasting period.
The President, who expressed the feelings in a Sallah message issued by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja yesterday, noted that “it is noteworthy and delightful to see Christians breaking fast and in some instances, extending goodwill and gifts to Muslim faithful during Ramadan.
“This model also shone through with Muslim groups joining Christian festivities. These are practices that promote brotherhood and forgiveness,” he added.
Buhari, therefore, extended his best wishes to all Nigerians and Muslims across the globe as they mark the Eid-el-Fitr following the completion of a month of fasting.
“On this blessed occasion, I wish that the Eid festival brings with it peace, safety, security, brotherhood, and love amongst all.
“Unity and solidarity among all citizens, Muslims, and Christians are imperative especially at a time when our country is faced with multiple challenges which are surmountable only when we come together as one.
“It is important that we remember how we share, through our faiths, common bonds that should serve to unite us and not allow ourselves to succumb to those who seek to divide us, using our two great religions, for their own selfish advantages.
“We should jointly pray against the tragic incidents of kidnapping and banditry and the desperate quest for political power expressed through blackmail against the existence of our country as a united entity.
“We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities. I urge our political and religious leaders as well as traditional rulers to encourage our citizens to turn towards one another in love and compassion”, Buhari said.
The president also urged Nigerians to continue to observe all COVID-19 prevention measures and celebrate responsibly during the holidays.
…Take Secessionist Agitation as Wake-up Call, Sultan Tells FG
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged the Federal Government to take the agitation for secession in some parts of the country as a wake-up call.
He also urged the government to take appropriate measures to rekindle the spirit of patriotism in Nigerians, as part of efforts to tackle the challenges in the country.
Recall that there had been secessionist calls for state of Biafra in the South East, championed by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) and Movement for Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) as well as Oduduwa Republic by some Yoruba groups in the South West.
The JNI, in a statement signed by the Secretary General of JNI, Dr Khalid Aliyu, in Kaduna yesterday, noted that government needed to prevail on Nigerians to unite for the common good of all.
“We also call on the government in respect to the perceived calls for the fragmentation of Nigeria from different quarters, to take the trend as a wake-up call to improve and or rejig the security network.
“Tackle economic hardship and transparently address the seeming unemployment bug in order to reinvent the spirit of patriotism for an indivisible Nigeria”, the statement added.
It noted that in spite of economic hardship and pervasive insecurity, the fasting was observed well, adding that almost all mosques observed the night prayers.
The JNI, therefore, enjoined Muslims to sustain the virtuous acts learnt during the Ramadan and remain disciplined and God-fearing in all their undertakings.
It also reminded Muslims of the importance of giving out alms to the needy, including Zakatul fitr, given out before the Eid prayers.
“The alms should be given out from today to the needy before the commencement of the Eid prayer. This, if promptly done, will assist those who do not have the means for a meal during the forthcoming Sallah festivity within the Muslim Ummah,” JNI stated.
The JNI reminded Muslims to fast for six days in the month of Shawwal as recommended by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It also reminded those travelling for Sallah festivity to drive with caution and pray fervently, in view of the activities of kidnappers and other criminals.
“Nigerian Muslims are implored to reflect their minds on the good virtues of the month of Ramadan and keep to its teachings all through their lives, as the Lord of Ramadan, is still and shall remain The Lord of other months.
“We should also pray to Allah, the Ever Hearing and Exceedingly Merciful to ease for our leaders the difficult terrain and burden of governance.
“May He as well keep the Nigerian nation intact and restore back peace and security in our dear country. In another development, the Sultan, who is also the President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) advised Muslim faithful to be on the watch out for the crescent (moon) today.
He gave the order in a statement issued by the NSCIA Deputy Secretary-General, Prof. Salisu Shehu.
“If the crescent is actually sighted by informed persons on Tuesday night (yesterday) and His Eminence is so advised by the experts, he would address the press to declare Wednesday, May 12, as the first day of Shawwal (Eid day).
“If, however, the crescent is not sighted on Tuesday night, Thursday, May 13, automatically becomes the first of Shawwal, 1442 AH (Eid day),” he said.
The sighting of the moon of Shawwal marks the end of the Ramadan fasting period and ushers in the Eid-ul-fitri celebrations.
By David Torough, Abuja
Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has declared 281 inmates missing from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Maiduguri, Borno State.
NCoS said this followed an evacuation after the flood that engulfed the state capital.
A statement onby the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Mr Abubakar Umar yesterday in Abuja said seven other inmates had been recaptured.
Umar said that the service was in custody of the details of the missing inmates, including their biometrics.
“The flood brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial centre Maiduguri (MSCC) as well as the staff quarters in the city.
“Upon the evacuation of inmates by officers of the service with support from sister security agencies to a safe and secure facility, 281 inmates were observed to be missing.
“However, it is important to note that the service is in custody of their details, including their biometrics, which is being made available to the public.
“The service is working in synergy with other security agencies as both covert and overt deployments have been activated to look out for them.
“Presently, a total of seven (7) inmates have been recaptured and returned to custody, while efforts are on ground to track down the rest and bring them back to safe custody.“While this effort is on, the public is assured that the incident does not impede or affect public safety,” he said.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
After controversies, trucks from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) yesterday lifted petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
NNPCL revealed that Dangote Refinery sold the fuel at N898 per litre.
The national oil company began loading yesterday after moving about 300 trucks to the 650,000 capacity refinery Dangote Refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
Its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye was quoted as saying, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today [Sunday].
”“The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect.
“For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter.
”At least, over 70 trucks had loaded at the time of this report.
This marks an end to the month-long debate over the quality and sale of the Dangote petrol.
Speaking to newsmen at the refinery, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin described the commencement of the petrol lifting moment of pride to every Nigerian.
He said, “My President has been showing presentations that 52 years ago, we were trying to see how to solve the problem of PMS supply and the queues. Now, after 52 years, we have a solution.
“And the solution is local production of PMS and it is from a Nigerian oil company. And as EPC contractor, it was constructed by a Nigerian company.
“So, it’s a matter of pride that a Nigerian oil company, constructed by a Nigerian-owned company, is able to generate PMS from the local crude and daily will not only to meet the entire requirement of Nigeria, but can also have surplus to export. So, it is a time and moment of great pride to every Nigerian.”
Edwin said 44 percent of the PMS production from the Dangote refinery can meet the requirement of the entire country.
“If you look at the refinery as a whole, PMS alone, every day, 650,000 barrels of crude if we’re processing, we can generate more than 54 million litres of PMS.
“And, of course, the refinery has the capacity to produce various other products too. 44% of the production can meet the entire requirement of the country, 56% of the production has to be exported. “So, it is a huge refinery. So, it is not only going to be doing import substitution, but it is also going to make Forex generation through export revenue.
“The gantries are actually 86 and they can load 86 trucks at a go,” he said.
Last Friday, in Abuja, a member of the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Product and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji confirmed that the NNPCL remains the sole buyer of petrol from the Dangote refinery while willing off-takers are free to lift diesel and other products from the refinery.
According to Adedeji, the NNPCL would further distribute to other independent marketers after lifting from the refinery.
He said the nation’s oil company will commence the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery in naira from October 1.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a new directive to Payment Service Providers (PSPs), requiring them to comply with enhanced routing guidelines for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.This move is aimed at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria.
The directive issued on Wednesday aims at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria following CBN’s initiative to diversify the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) structure, which previously operated through a single aggregator. In a circular signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN Payments System Management Department, the apex bank mandates that all PoS transactions from merchant and agent locations—whether physical or electronic—must now be routed through any CBN-licensed PTSA.The directive is part of efforts to decentralize PoS transaction routing and address concerns over the centralization of such transactions under a single entity.In Aug. 2011, the CBN initially granted a PTSA license to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc to serve as the sole aggregator of PoS transactions.However, to promote competition and enhance service delivery, the CBN awarded a second PTSA license to Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) on April 19.This development aims to reduce the dependence on a single aggregator for the management of PoS transactions, promoting transparency and operational efficiency in Nigeria’s growing electronic payments landscape.
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