The Federal Government has declared Friday 2nd and Monday 5th April, Public Holidays to mark this year’s Easter Celebration.
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola made the declaration .
He urged Christians to emulate the attributes of forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, humility, love, peace and patience, which were demonstrated by Jesus Christ.
He called on them to use the occasion of this year’s Easter Celebration to pray for the Peace, Unity, and Progress of our country.
Aregbesola in a statement signed by the Director of Press in the Ministry, Mohammed Manga, assured that the government would leave no stone unturned in dealing decisively with the spate of kidnapping, armed banditry and other crimes and criminality being perpetrated by enemies of Nigeria.
“Security is everybody’s business, I therefore encourage all Nigerians and foreigners resident in Nigeria, to display high level of patriotism at this critical time in the history of our country, to support the efforts of all security agencies in ensuring peace and security of lives and property of the citizenry,” he said.
The counter-rally, which is trending on Twitter as #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornYourPapaWell, is to protest against protesters of #OccupyLekkiTollGate.
The poster of counter-rally shared on social media showed that it is holding at the same venue and time as the one planned by the #OccupyLekkiTollGate protesters.
“Let us protect what the destroyers left behind while we rebuild Lagos. Join the ‘defend Lagos’ rally at the Lekki toll plaza,” a message on the poster read with pictures of destructed buildings and other facilities during the violence that followed the #EndSARS protest in the state.
One of the promoters of the #DefendLagos protest, Olusoga Owoeye @olusogaowoeye said, “Show your love for our Lagos. Get your friends and your neighbors to be there. Join the DefendLagos Rally at the Lekki toll plaza on the 13th of February. We will not cede our city to criminals and insurrectionists. Lagos is our pride.”
Another promoter, @salamhunters, said, “We will defend and protect our Lagos from looters and arsonists.”
“We say no to all retard and opportunists planning evil towards Lagos,” @Adetade6 added.
@Kazeem_AS lamented that he is yet to recover from the damages caused by the last protest.
“I must be there to defend Lagos. I was born in Lagos. Even though I am from Ondo State, I lived all my life in Lagos. I will never allow any miscreants to destroy Lagos again, never will it happen,” Olumide Akin @holumyne said.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said developments and happenings in the country at the moment do not show that Nigerians are preparing for the Kingdom of God.
This is just as it has been revealed how his intervention helped to preserve the tomb of the Founder of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, St Moses Orimolade, in Ojokoro area of Lagos during the construction of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
Obasanjo, who was the Guest of Honour during the dedication of the St Moses Orimolade Holy Land, the Cenotaph of C&S Founder, on Saturday, noted that most people were acting as if everything starts and ends on Earth.
“The situation we have in the country today does not show we are preparing for the kingdom of God but we have to be prepared.
“There is always a day of reckoning. Christianity was brought to us and many of our people made great contributions and they are unsung heroes now.
“Missionaries came but we have our own missionaries and leaders and Moses Orimolade was one of them.
“It is because of the church that you and I have the assurance of salvation. Our own church leaders who paid their own prize also helped in spreading the gospel and we pray their efforts are not in vain,” he said.
The Federal Government and the organised labour will reconvene on February 22 for the consideration of the reports of the bipartite technical committees on fuel price and electricity tariff .
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige , disclosed this while briefing journalists after a bipartite meeting between the FG and the organised labour at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa , Abuja .
Ngige said they received and adopted the report of the Technical Committee on Premium Motor Spirit Pricing Framework, while that of the Electricity Tariff Committee was expected in a week ’ s time .
He explained that the organised labour requested for some time to subject the report on PMS pricing to their organs for further investigation .
“ It is a technical report , so they needed further investigation of the report by their own technical research team. The Technical Committee on electricity tariff has not finished. We expect the report in a week’ s time . So , cogently , we are reconvening on 22 nd of this month to take both reports , ” Ngige noted .
The report of the Technical Committee on PMS Pricing was presented at the meeting by the Chairman of the Committee , Onochie Anyaoku , a former Executive Director , Refineries Operations and Petrol Pricing in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation .
Anyaoku explained that the committee at its meeting on December 16 developed guiding principles and a work schedule, distinct from the primary function of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency to develop a transparent methodology and a template that will serve as the guide on realistic PMS pump price and benchmark all pricing elements of the PMS pricing template with neighbouring countries .
He stated , “ Based on extensive review of the pricing framework and in line with the terms of reference of the committee, the following recommendations were proposed and adopted: “ PPPRA to convene periodic meetings with PPMC and other importers to ensure actual cost of supply reflective determination as an interim solution .
“ NLC , TUC , PENGASSON and NUPENG to witness the transparent determination at the periodic meeting .
“ PPPRA frequently monitor data of Rotterdam supply chain values . This should continue to form the basis of price determination until the West African basket is liquid and transparent enough to warrant its adoption in the pricing template.
The ongoing National Identification Number and Subscriber Identity Module integration exercise has been extended by eight weeks , the Federal Government announced .
It said the new deadline was now April 6 , 2021 .
Director , Public Affairs , Nigerian Communications Commission , Ikechukwu Adinde , who disclosed this in a WhatsApp message to news correspondent , said the extension was conveyed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy , Isa Pantami .
Pantami conveyed the message during the meeting of the Ministerial Taskforce on NIN – SIM registration which held on the 1 st of February , 2021 .
On December 15 , 2020 , the Federal Government declared that after December 30 , 2020 , all SIMs that were not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked .
It later extended the December 30 , 2020 deadline following widespread opposition against the earlier announcement and gave three weeks ’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30 , 2020 to January 19 , 2021 .
It also gave six weeks ’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30 , 2020 to February 9 , 2021 , but many organisations had called for further deadline extension or outright suspension of the NIN registration process .
The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ), has failed to summon a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council for the past 21 months despite the rising insecurity in the country.
Investigations by news correspondent indicated that the last time the council met was on May 23 , 2019 , when it confirmed the appointment of Abubakar Adamu as the substantive Inspector – General of Police at the Presidential Villa , Abuja .
The President had on January 15 , 2019 , appointed Adamu as acting IGP following the retirement of IGP Ibrahim Idris .
Adamu ’ s appointment was ratified in May by the council members , comprising the President who is the chairman , all state governors , Minister of Interior, Chairman of the Police Service Commission , and the Permanent Secretary of the commission .
Though Adamu is expected to leave the office today , having reached the mandatory retirement age , the silence from the Presidency and failure of the council to meet are giving confusing signals in the police .
News correspondent had earlier reported moves by Adamu to secure tenure extension to enable him to complete the ongoing reforms in the police .
The silence from the Presidency and the inability of the police council to meet and appoint Adamu ’ s successor is strengthening rumours that the President may have approved additional months in office for him .
Buhari had granted the privilege to the immediate past Commandant -General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Muhammadu Gana, the service chiefs who overstayed in office by five years and the Comptroller – General of Immigration , Muhammad Babandede .
Meanwhile , the President did not summon a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council to deliberate security challenge confronting the country.
Under the IG , the country recorded an increase in mass abductions , including the kidnapping of over 333 students of the Government Science School , Kankara , Katsina State , by suspected bandits ; rise in banditry and killings in Zamfara , Katsina , Niger and Kaduna states and the killings by hoodlums last October during the # EndSARS protests.
The inability of the security system to manage the security crises across the country led to the creation of the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun and the planned establishment of a security group by the South- East governors .
Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity , Femi Adesina , has given reasons why pigeons released by the president initially refused to fly during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day.
In an article on his Facebook Wall titled, ‘ Reflection from a wreath -laying ceremony , ’ Adesina described the pigeons ’ refused to fly as “a natural phenomenon ” .
He said , “ Now , something for those who twist my every word , turn it upside down, to generate hatred . Something for them to wail about . The release of the pigeons .
“ At every Armed Forces Remembrance Day, after the laying of the wreaths , the sitting President releases some pigeons , to symbolise peace in the land . Emblems of National harmony . It was not different last Friday.
“ The pigeons had been kept in a cage . For how long , I do not know . And when birds and some other roaming animals have been circumscribed for a while , they get accustomed to their new status as lawful captives . Therefore , when you offer them freedom , they first baulk, thinking it’ s too good to be true. It’ s a natural phenomenon .
“ President Buhari opened the cage that held the pigeons , about a score or so . One hesitated , then flew, followed by another. The others temporised a bit. And then , two , three minutes later , they all took to the sky . Nothing extraordinary in the development , you would think. ”
The president ’ s aide also faulted Nigerians for describing the refusal of the birds to fly as a “bad sign” , urging them to do something productive with their time .
He said , “But not to the idle and indolent , most of who populate the social media . It was time to major in something minor , cavil , find fault unnecessarily.
The Federal Government has ordered immediate closure of the headquarters of the National Identity Management Commission in Abuja.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy , Isa Pantami , who gave the order , also directed the NIMC to open 20 locations in the Federal Capital Territory in order to halt the crowds that gather at the commission ’ s headquarters daily in a bid to get their National Identity Numbers .
NIMC spokesman , Kayode Adegoke , announced the closure of the commission ’ s headquarters in a statement issued in Abuja .
He said 20 centres were reactivated within the FCT to make the process of NIN enrolment much easier for applicants effective Monday , January 18 , 2021 .
The commission advised members of the public , residents and visitors to the FCT wishing to enroll for NIN to use any of the 20 NIMC centres .
The Federal Government had ordered telecommunications companies to deactivate the telephone lines of subscribers who failed to link their Subscriber Identification Modules with valid NINs .
It gave subscribers with NINs till January 19 to link their NINs with their SIM cards, while subscribers without NINs have until February 9 to do so .
The doves, otherwise known as white pigeons , released by the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ) , at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony , refused to fly despite multiple attempts by the President thereby sparking a debate on social media .
The President had opened the birdcage at the National Arcade , picked up one of the doves, and thrown it into the air but the bird landed atop the cage and refused to fly.
Buhari , who was eager to let the white pigeons fly, opened the roof of the cage in a bid to send them all out but the birds remained adamant and decided to sit on top of the cage ’ s roof.
The President , who appeared tired of trying , soon left the birds and returned to his seat. Moments after the President had left , however , some of the birds flew.
The ritual of releasing doves is to commemorate the life of a departed loved one and is common at significant events like funerals or memorials . It also signifies peace .
Studies show that domesticated doves which are used to living in cages are not always keen on flying .
The Vatican stopped the ritual in 2014 when Pope Francis released two birds that would not fly out of the window of the papal apartment and required several attempts to get the birds to fly out over a crowd of spectators .
A similar incident occurred just the year prior at an event where Pope Benedict XVI released doves during a Holocaust remembrance event . The doves were attacked by a gull, with one dove being singled out and injured , according to Wikipedia .
In 2014 , the doves refused to fly when former President Goodluck Jonathan freed them. The Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry Enugu , Rev Fr . Ejike Mbaka , described the incident at the time as a sign that God had abandoned Jonathan .
The refusal of the birds to fly , however , sparked thousands of comments on social media .
The Minister of Works and Housing , Babatunde Fashola, says the Third Mainland Bridge would be reopened by February 15 .
He said this during the inspection of construction work on major roads and bridges in Lagos State .
He explained that after the reopening of the Third Mainland Bridge , work would begin on the Falomo Bridge.
The Third Mainland Bridge was partially shut on July 24 , 202 for another round of rehabilitation works expected to last for six months.
Fashola said , “ On the Third Mainland Bridge most of our work is almost done , we lost two weeks during the civil protest and our completion date earlier was towards the end of January , which has slipped .
“ We are hoping that by 15 th of February we should be done and the bridge should be opened to the public .
“ That is one of the reasons why I also came to see how far and when this bridge will be opened to the public because this is delaying our work on Falomo Bridge.
“ We have done some work on Falomo Bridge, we are going to have to close Falomo Bridge as soon as this is done so that we can also replace the expansion joints there.
“ All the other preliminary work has been done there, but we left it in order to reduce the inconvenience to commuters in and around Lagos .
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