The Ogun State Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr Ahmed Umar, who made this known in an interview with NAN, in Ota, Ogun, implored drivers to change their attitudinal behaviours towards the use of roads to reduce crashes.
“So many ceremonies like birthday party, wedding and burial, among others, are fixed and those from abroad come home to felicitate with their loved ones, which sometimes increased the vehicular movement,” he said.
“Any misbehaviour by the drivers may result to disaster on the roads, so motorists need to exercise patience,” he urged.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, stated this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in Abuja.
”Ministry of Health has gotten the list of doctors who supposedly are to benefit from the Medical Residency Training Fund.
”Total submission of about 8000 names were gotten and the Ministry of Health is scrutinising them.
”We have done the first round of scrutinization and they will now compare what they have with the Post-Graduate Medical College and the Chief Medical Directors who submitted the names.
”We discovered that about 2000 names shouldn’t be there because they don’t have what is called Postgraduate Reference Numbers of National Postgraduate Medical College and (or) that of the West African Postgraduate Medical College.
“So, this is it and that is the only thing holding back the Residency Fund payment because it is there already for… incurred expenditure has been done by the Finance Minister and it’s in the Accountant-General’s office.,” he said.
”So, once they verify the authenticity of those they are submitting, the Accountant-General will pay.
”In 2020, the submitted names didn’t come through the appropriate source, which is the Postgraduate Medical College and payment was affected and it was discovered that about 588 persons, who were not resident doctors benefited from such money.
”They are now finding it difficult to make the full refund. But they have to refund that money. Some are refunding, but there is no full consideration of the account.
”That account has to be reconciled to enable the accountants to pay the next round of funding for 2021,” he said.
FRSC Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, in an interview with newsmen, said driving requires total concentration and road users should not take any risk on their lives.
He said it is illegal to make calls or receive same while driving, according to the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012.
Kazeem said, “It is illegal. Driving entails 100 per cent concentration so you cannot be distracted. It is there in the regulation.
“It is clear from the provisions of Reg 166 (1) that it is illegal to make phone call using EarPods earphone or whatever means.
“It is also clear that phone call is not restricted to telephone conversation between two or more people.
“Anything that will distract you while driving must be avoided. When we do public enlightenment, we even discourage drivers talking to passengers which could cause distraction.
“The law may not make it an offence but at the same time, it can distract you, even changing your cassette (while driving) can distract you and result to accident.”
The anti-graft agency said this in a post titled, ‘Lekki now hotbed of cybercrime – EFCC’, on its Facebook page.
Data released by the agency showed that 402 suspects were arrested in three months.
EFCC specifically identified Ajah, Badore, Victoria Garden City, Sangotedo and Oniru areas of Lekki as having many internet fraudsters in the state.
The data also showed that many of the arrested fraudsters were aged between 25-34 years.
“Lekki, the fast-developing upper-middle-class area of Lagos Metropolis, is emerging as the new hub of internet-related fraud.
“Data from the investigation activities of the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for the second quarter of 2021, indicates that Lekki District is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.
“Between April and June 2021, the Advance Fee Fraud and Cyber Crime Sections of the Command recorded a total of 402 internet-related fraud arrests. While the Advance Fee Fraud Section was responsible for 243 arrests, the Cyber Crime Section executed 18 sting operations which resulted in 159 arrests, from which 13 convictions have so far been recorded.
“Of the 159 suspects arrested by the Cyber Crime Section, 70 are from Lekki, comprising communities such as Ajah, Badore, Victoria Garden City, Sangotedo and Oniru.
“Ajah accounted for 24 suspects, while Oniru and Sangotedo had 14 and 13 suspects respectively. Badore had 8 suspects. Neighbouring Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic had 2 and one suspect each. Ikorodu and Alagbado on the Lagos Mainland make up the remainder.
“The suspects are mostly millennials, with 82 of them aged between 25-34 years, which speaks to the fact that most of the individuals arrested are either still in school, recent graduates or university drop outs,” it added
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, handed down the notice in reaction to speculations that the 11 power distribution companies have received approval to slightly increase electricity tariffs with effect from September 1.
The hint came from an August 25 notification to customers from the Eko Electricity Distribution Company titled, ‘Re: Tariff increase notification,’ purportedly signed by the General Manager, Loss Reduction, Olumide Anthony-Jerome.
It read, “This is to officially notify you that there will be an increase in electricity tariff with effect from September 1, 2021. This increase is as a result of the nationwide mandate to implement the Service Based Tariff approved by our regulators.
But reacting to the reports in a statement on Wednesday titled, ‘Notice on speculations on increase in electricity tarrifs,’ Wabba cautioned that the organised labour would not brook any tarrifs hike.
He stated, “We wish to draw your attention to the wave of speculation, especially as widely reported in the media that there are fresh plans to grant approval to Electricity Distribution Companies to hike electricity tariff.
“We write to remind the Honourable Minister that Organised Labour on September 28, 2020, through the Federal Government – Organised Labour Committee on Electricity Tariff agreed to freeze further increases in electricity tariff until the committee concludes its work and its report adopted by all the Principals in the Committee.
“It is in light of this that we dismiss the ongoing speculation on increase in electricity tariff as mere speculations.
“We, however, find it prudent to put you on notice that should government make true the swirling speculation by approving an increase in electricity tariff, Organised Labour would be left with no option than to deploy the industrial mechanisms granted in our laws for the defense of workers’ rights.”
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, announced this.
He said the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar has been redeployed to the Ministry of Agriculture while the Minister of State for Works, Abubakar Aliyu is to take over as Minister of Power.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Sal Island, Cape Verde.
“In the last few weeks, the country has been awash, especially from the broadcast media, with very incendiary rhetoric which has created a sort of panic in Nigeria.
“The incendiary rhetoric that comes from political, religious leaders and some opinion moulders have the capacity to set the country on fire.
“This is because the rhetoric is pitting one ethnic group and religion against the other and overheating the polity.
“Our serious counsel to stakeholders is that they should understand and remember that leadership comes with a lot of responsibilities, tone down the hateful rhetoric because they are harmful for the country
“They should remember that every war is preceded by these kind of mindless rhetoric, especially when it comes from otherwise responsible people who the people have the tendency to take seriously.
“We agree that there are challenges but the government is doing its best in addressing insecurity, banditry, insurrections and fixing the economy.
“What one expected from these leaders at this trying period is support and encouragement.
“It is, however, quite disturbing that they have thrown caution to the winds and it is no longer about leadership and maturity but about who can say something that can break this country.
“Certain words that we were afraid of using before such as genocide and ethnic cleansing, are now taking over the media waves.
“That is why it is important to call everybody to order to appeal to their sense of patriotism that they should understand that because there is a country called Nigeria, that is why they are leaders.
“If what they are praying for happens, they will no longer be leaders but servants in other countries.”
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have asked Nigerians to hold the Federal Government responsible for their next action on government’s failure to honour an agreement it signed with them.
ASUU spoke of a plan to hold an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) this week with its leaders and principal officials to decide its members’ next line of action.
The union said it will follow-up its NEC meeting with consultations with all its chapters should the government fail to implement its promises to his aggrieved lecturers.
ASUU’s latest threat followed the expiration of the August 31 deadline issued to the Federal Government to meet its demands.
ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke said: “ASUU never proposed a strike, we said if government does not meet all our demands by the end of August, the union will meet and consider the action to take.
“But the country should hold the government responsible for any action we take and that was what we said we didn’t mention embarking on strike.
“The ASUU president cannot just wake up one morning and pronounce we are going on strike not even the principal officers, we have to go through our branches.
“The ultimatum will end today so we will hold a meeting with our members to determine the way forward.”
The Federal Government procured the twelve new A-29 Super Tucano jets at a whopping $500 million, making it the highest single arms purchase in sub-Saharan Africa, the US Department of Defence has disclosed.
×× Six of the jets have been delivered and ‘secretly’ inducted into the Nigerian Air Force.
The remaining batch of six will be delivered by the end of the year.
Journalists were barred from covering the induction ceremony hosted by the Minister of Defence Major General Salihi Magashi (rtd) in Abuja.
The Commander, U.S Air Forces Europe-Africa Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian said the Super Tucanos were the impetus for the significant deepening of training and professional relationships.
He noted that “the Nigerian Air Force is one of our key partners that play a critical role in furthering regional security and stability.
“This ceremony symbolises the strength of our unique partnership and underscores the value of training and working together.”
According to him: “Nigeria purchased the A-29s through the Foreign Military Sales program, which follows the Department of Defense’s “Total Package Approach” model and includes spare parts for several years of operation, contract logistics support, munitions, and a multi-year construction project to improve Kainji Air Base infrastructure.
“The total sale is valued at almost $500 million, making it the largest FMS program in sub-Saharan Africa.”
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