NEWS
Umahi Canvasses Compulsory One Year Training for Nigerian Engineers

By Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, has advocated for one year compulsory training for all Nigerian engineers to avert collapse of projects and to checkmate quackery in the profession.
Umahi made this known while addressing the leadership of Nigeria Society of Engineers when they visited him at t the new Government House Centenary City, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
The governor said that only engineers can fix the country’s numerous challenges, adding that there should be institutionalization of a compulsory one-year training course for young Engineers to build the capacity of future Engineers in the Country.
“For me the development of any State, the development of any Nation starts with Engineers and ends with Engineers, even if it is medicine, if you do not have the medical equipment manufactured by the Engineers you will not move and any serious State that wants to start must start with Engineers.
“The training of Engineers are quite different, an Engineer is trained not to look at money. As an Engineer when you start looking for money the Engineering Profession will leave you and you will be so exposed.
“We don’t really have control of our Engineers, even concrete finishers or what they call menacing in some States answer Engineers. Buildings are being erected without the stamp of the Engineers. People are practicing without the mandate of the Council and this shouldn’t be”
“I don’t know what is making us not to have the same kind of retraining as the Lawyers. How many of the Engineers that are trained in the Universities know what is grade 25 concrete? This Nation can never develop unless the Nigeria Society of Engineers and Council for the Regulation of Engineers rise to the challenges we are facing today. Today the cost of projects is the highest all over the world and it is dangerous.
“We can say no to quacks, you cannot practice if you are not an Engineer, if you do that without proper registration, the person has to be in jail because of the law we will have to work together to enact,” he noted.
Earlier in a remark, the National President of Nigeria Society of Engineers, Alhaji Babagana Mohammed commended Governor David Umahi for the infrastructural achievements in the State.
Babagana, noted that the Nation requires the transformation ingenuity of Governor Umahi to address its peculiar challenges, prayed for the sustenance of the legacy projects of Governor Umahi after 2023.
“If every Nigeria Governor or Leader should think in that perspective, I think we will have a story to tell shortly, the world will come down to where we are and people will take lessons from us,” he said.
NEWS
Man Docked over Alleged Stealing of Excavator Worth N25 Million

A 33-year old man, Alaba Oladepo, was on Tuesday, arraigned before an Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court, over alleged stealing of a Caterpillar excavator valued N25 million.Oladepo, whose address was not given, is being charged with conspiracy and stealing, to which he pleaded not guilty.
The Prosecutor, Insp Sikiru Opaleye, told the court that the defendant committed the offence in Nov. 2024, at the Moniya area of Ibadan. Opaleye said that Oladepo stole a D8 Caterpillar excavator valued N25 million, belonging to Olumide Bamidele.The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 383 and 390(9) of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State, 2000.The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olabisi Ogunkanmi, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N10 million, with two sureties in like sum.Ogunkanmi said that one of the sureties must be a landed property owner, and that the other must be a blood relation of the defendant.She adjourned the matter to Sept. 2, for hearing.(NAN)NEWS
Zelensky Wants Pressure on Russia after New Wave of Air Attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for more international pressure to be placed on Moscow following another night of heavy Russian air attacks on the Ukrainian capital.“Today is one of the largest attacks on Kiev. Odesa, Dnipro region, and Chernihiv region were also targeted,’’ he wrote on the X platform.
These airstrikes had drowned out all efforts by the U. S. and other countries to achieve peace, he said.Zelensky called on the U.S., Europe “and others around the world who called for an end to the war’’ to take action.The response to such Russian attacks must not be silence, he said.There were fires in the capital with a number of buildings destroyed, and there were several injuries, he said.The port city of Odessa was also hit hard, with two people killed and at least 10 others were injured after a drone strike, Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Telegram.The Ukrainian Air Force says Russia attacked its neighbour with 315 drones and drone dummies, two North Korean ballistic missiles and five cruise missiles.It said that 284 targets were destroyed, including all missiles and cruise missiles.In the Russian border region of Belgorod, a woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.There were also reports of injuries.The Russian Defence Ministry reported that 102 Ukrainian drones were shot down over several Russian territories and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.The information provided by the warring parties cannot be independently verified.According to Russian media reports, one of the targets was a drone factory near the city of Yelabuga in the republic of Tatarstan.Russia’s aviation authority placed temporary restrictions on take-offs and landings at 13 airports during Monday night and Tuesday morning, including the airports of Moscow and St. Petersburg. (dpa/NAN)NEWS
Reconciliation Between Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, a Great Relief – APC

A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in South Africa, Mr Bola Babarinde, has described the reconciliation between President Bola Tinubu and Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as a great relief.Babarinde made the remark in a statement made available on Tuesday in Lagos.
Tinubu had declared that he has forgiven Sanwo-Olu, saying the rift between them is now resolved. According to report, Tinubu made the comment during a closed-door meeting with members of the Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) in Lagos on Saturday. Babarinde, who is the General Secretary of Renewed Hope Global, described the reconciliation as a beacon of hope for the party.He noted that the news of the rift caused concern, while the speculations, criticisms and calls for punishment of an “innocent friend was deeply troubling.”“Thankfully, the recent reconciliation between President Tinubu and Governor Sanwo-Olu offers great relief.“It is a positive sign not just for Lagos, but for Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.“Peace in Lagos means stability for the entire nation. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Asiwaju of Yorubaland, has once again demonstrated wisdom, forgiveness and political maturity.“He will not regret reuniting with a loyal son like Governor Sanwo-Olu, who worked tirelessly to support him during the 2023 elections, even amidst unexpected setbacks in Lagos,” he said.Babarinde noted that he was proud of Sanwo-Olu’s leadership and accomplishments, as a friend and former school mate.According to him, Sanwo-Olu is a humble, principled, and progressive-minded individual and I can confidently vouch for his character.“If there were missteps, they were certainly not deliberate or intended to hurt Asiwaju Tinubu, and some accusations may have been fabricated by political enemies.“I have been supporting Sanwo-Olu from outside the country until a few years ago when the governor invited me to return and contribute to his administration.“While I wasn’t part of his government formally, I supported him from outside and I remain proud of his leadership.“We pray that peace and cooperation will continue between the executive and legislative arms in Lagos.“May the state retain its place as Nigeria’s number one economy and a source of pride for Africa,” the APC chieftain said. (NAN)