NEWS
Residents Storm Maiduguri Rail Terminus to Protest NRC’s Removal of Coaches for Repairs
Hundreds of Maiduguri residents stormed the Maiduguri Railway Terminus on Sunday to protest the removal of train coaches from Maiduguri to Jos for repairs by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
The protesters carried placards asking the NRC not to move the coaches out of Maiduguri to any other state.
One of the protesters, Malam Adamu Ibrahim told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they suspected that government was trying to deny Borno of having a train service.
“At the peak of insurgency, the NRC came and took two of the coaches; now they are trying to take everything away. This is unacceptable,’’ he said.
Another protester, Malam Babakura Goni, said the removal of the coaches would deny Borno of critical infrastructure.
Goni noted that the intention of the NRC or the government was not properly understood, noting that there should be transparency in the exercise.
Yet another protester, Malam Babagana Chiroma, said: “this is an economic sabotage of our state. They want to go and renovate the coaches and put them into use in another state.’’
Chroma urged Borno government to intervene against the action of the NRC.
Addressing the protesters, Borno’s deputy governor, Malam Usman Kadafur, sued for patience, assuring that government was already addressing the issue.
He noted that the protesters were expressing their displeasure over the action of the NRC because there was insufficient sensitisation on its part.
The deputy governor enjoined the Federal Government to look into the possibility of rehabilitating the coaches in Maiduguri and not to take them outside Borno.
Kadafur assured the protesters that government would not allow the action to be undertaken without transparency.
“The Federal Government should look into the possibility of reviving the rail system to revamp our socio-economic activities.
“This rail terminus in Maiduguri has a history of enhancing trans-Sahara activities with neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
“This administration will not allow such action. We are representatives of the Federal Government in Borno.
“If the NRC wanted to engage in such activity, it ought to have informed the state government or even sensitise our people about the move.
“This government will engage with the Federal Government to ensure that things are done in the proper way and transparently,’’ Kadafur further assured.
A story had gone viral on various social media platforms on Saturday that some hoodlums were carting the coaches away in trucks.
Police stormed the train station in Maiduguri to foil the suspected theft and arrested some “suspects’’.
Managing Director of the NRC, Mr Fidet Okhiria, said in a statement issued by the NRC, however, that the people moving the coaches were doing so in official capacity.
Okhiria said the coaches were being moved to NRC’s Running Shed in Jos to be overhauled and put back on track. (NAN)
NEWS
Gunmen Attack Police Station, Kill 2 in Anambra
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)NEWS
IPPIS Data Base not Compromised, OAGF Assures Employees
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.NEWS
Again, Inflation Drops to 32.15% in August
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).