NEWS
Fubara Assures Rivers of People-oriented Policies
From Alice Onukwugha, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has assured that his administration will continue to embark o policies that will better lots of people in the state.
Fubara gave the assurance while addressing members of the Organised Labour during a peaceful protest to Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, yesterday.
The governor who was represented by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Hon Chidi Amadi commended the Organised Labour for their peaceful disposition during the protest, stating that the demands of the workers would be channelled to the appropriate authorities.
He also stated that he will not take the mandate given to him by the people of Rivers State for granted.He pointed out that the Rivers State government was the first in the country to release free buses to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal, and urged the workers to be patient and supportive to the Rivers State Government to collectively address the challenges.
He said: “Difficult times require difficult decisions. At the state level, the governor has assured that he will do everything within his powers to ensure that the present challenges felt by not only the workers but the generality of the people are properly addressed.”
“Beyond the subsidy intervention buses, the Governor is talking with the Organised Labour and other stratas of the society to ensure that policies are put in place to address the challenges faced by the people.”
Earlier, Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Comrade Alex Agwanwor said the protest was to intimate the governor on the biting effects of the subsidy removal on workers and the masses.
The chairman while applauding the governor for being the first to roll out free subsidy intervention buses presented a six-point demand to the governor for actions, which Included; immediate implementation of the resolutions with congress jointly signed with government and TUC on the issues, and reversal of all anti-poor policies; especially the hike in the price of PMS, amongst others.
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)