From Ene Asuquo, Calabar

As the renewed hope initiatives continue it outreach to the vulnerable Nigerians, the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the President of Nigeria has said that 250 elderly Nigerians in each state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, would be given N200, 000 each from the 17th December.

The disclosure was made by Hajiya Nana Kashim Shettima, Wife of the Vice President, who represented the First Lady yesterday during the renewed hope initiative social investment program in Calabar.

In her address, the First Lady reiterated the willingness of the administration to continue to touch the lives of vulnerable Nigerians through their various intervention programs.

“As we continue to touch the lives of vulnerable Nigerians through our various intervention programs, we have come here to support families with assorted food items as we have done in some states.”

She stated that the food distribution program started in the Federal Capital Territory and that they have so far covered Kanu, Nasarawa, Benue and Ekiti States and said they were moving to Gombe for similar food program intervention.

Mrs. Tinubu advised beneficiaries to make judicious use of the food items for their families urging them not to divert the items.

She stressed that the food outreach program under the renewed hope social investment scheme is in consonant with the objectives of President Bola Tinubu renewed hope agenda, focusing on sustainable food provisions for all Nigerians.

In her remarks, the wife of Cross River State Governor, Mrs. Eyoanwan Bassey Otu commended the President’s wife for his efforts and dedication to empowering and uplifting lives through her impactful initiatives.

She said the people of Cross River State appreciate the gesture of love and generosity which according to her aligns with the shared vision of building a more inclusive and supportive society, through touching lives and changing destinies.

From Ene Asuquo, Calabar

 Operation Whirlwind Zone C, Nigeria Customs Service NCS, has said that they have impounded 466,000 litres of petroleum product valued at N380m in the  last seven months.in cross river state

The leadership of the Operation through the National Coordinator, Compt.

“Statistically, since its inception till date, a total number of 466,000 liters of PMS values at approximately ₦380 Million has been seized,” he disclosed.

He said “This has maintained local fuel supplies while also addressing Economic Sabotage linked to fuel smuggling.

The NCS stressed that the effort has contributed immensely to stabilized fuel prices across the nation, ensuring that allocated Petroleum products reach their designated destinations.

Recalled that Operation Whirlwind is initiative of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) BA Adeniyi Mfr Psc(+) in collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Nigeria Midstream Downstream, Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) inaugurated in May 2024 to  combate  fuel smuggling.

Giving an insight of Operation Whirlwind, Ejibuno stated that Operation Whirlwind Zone C has in the last one month made a seizure of 6,200 liters of PMS.

He said that the operation spanned through the entire South- South region stressing that despite the bad terrain and flooding  which posed enormous challenges to the region, the unit  was still performing its  mandate effectively.

The NCS emphasized that this effort has contributed immensely to stabilized fuel prices across the country and ensuring that allocated Petroleum products reach their designated destinations.

“In line with the three Mandate of the CGC, which is Consolidation, Collaboration and Innovation, We want to thank other agencies and Critical stakeholders that have assisted the unit to perform their duty optimally since a tree can’t form a forest,” he maintained.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The National Grid has again collapsed on Wednesday, bringing it to eleven times it would collapse this year 2024.

It would be recalled that, within one week in October, the  national grid went  down three times with its attendant blackouts, sparking reactions from Nigerians.

A tweet via the official handle of Nigeria’s National Grid confirmed that the grid collapsed at about 2:09 pm on Wednesday.

“The major grid setback has occurred and the restoration is to commence,” the handler wrote.

This collapse makes it 12 times this year that the grid has collapsed.

 The development was also confirmed in a statement by Jos Disco to its customers.

The utility company, however, said the grid collapsed around 1: 33 PM today, leading to the loss of power supply to its feeders.

“We hope to restore normal power supply to our esteemed customers as soon as the grid supply is restored back to normalcy,” Head Corporate Communications, Jos Disco,  Dr Friday Elijah told its customers.

Part of the statement reads: “The current outage being experienced within our franchise States is a result of loss of power supply from the national grid. The loss of power supply from the national grid occurred this afternoon at about 13.33 hours of today, Wednesday, 11th December 2024, hence the loss of power supply on all our feeders.

“We hope to restore normal power supply to our esteemed customers as soon as the grid supply is restored back to normalcy.”

Meanwhile, the Abuja Disco in a statement disclosed, “Dear Valued Customers. We wish to inform you that a system disturbance occurred on the national grid at 1:32 pm today causing a power outage across our franchise areas.

“While gradual restoration of power supply has commenced, be assured that we are coordinating closely with relevant stakeholders to restore power fully as soon as the grid is stabilised”, Dr. Adakole stated.