By Victor Adeoti

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun have commended the Jennifer Etuh Foundation (JEF) for donating a hospital and skill acquisition centre to Ifewara community in Osun.

The duo gave the commendation on Wednesday during the inauguration of the hospital built by the foundation in memory of the late Mrs Jennifer Ramatu Etuh, wife of the Chairman of JEF, Mr Thomas Etuh.

The establishment of the hospital is part of the vision of late Mrs Jennifer Etuh to provide accessible and affordable world-class healthcare services to women and children in rural communities.

In his remarks, Adeboye thanked Etuh for siting the hospital in his hometown, adding that the late Jennifer Etuh was one of his “spiritual daughters”.

The cleric who noted that the late Jennifer and her husband were very dear to him, said that in spite of his intercession while she was sick, “the Lord decided to call her home”.

Adeboye called for prayers for the family of the Etuhs, admonishing people to contribute their quota to improving the society and helping the people around them.

Also speaking, Adeleke appreciated the foundation for building the health facility in the state.

He said that his government would continue to prioritise the welfare of the people of the state.

The governor said his administration had provided free medical care to over 25,000 residents of the state under the “Imole Free Sugical and Medical Outreach.

In his remarks, Etuh said his wife gave clear instructions on what should be done with her investments following her health challenges, before her demise.

He said the late wife’s instruction gave birth to the medical centre.

“Before her demise, considering what she was going through, Jennifer gave clear instructions on what was to be done with her investments and this was to ensure others do not experience what she unfortunately passed through.

“It was the burden she carried before her demise that gave birth to the blessing, now known as the Jennifer Etuh Foundation (JEF).

“By the special grace of God, we are here today inaugurating a new hospital in the home town of her spiritual parents, Pastor and Mrs Enoch and Folu Adeboye,” he said.

Etuh noted that two similar medical centres on the instruction of his late wife, had been built and inaugurated in Odu (Kogi State) and Kagoro (Kaduna State).

He said the foundation intended to build two more hospitals.

Etuh disclosed that the foundation would soon inaugurate another hospital in Gombe State. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Emmanuel Afonne/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Reporters

Some residents of Abuja and its environs have expressed fear over the looming flood as a result of poor environmental and sanitation practices.

The residents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that rainy seasons had been a difficult period for them as floods always submerge their belongings.

Mr Jacob Idris, a resident of Nyanya, said that the community had been battling with flood every rainy season even after clearing the drainages around them.

He said ”until the bridge and the road are reconstructed and a bigger ring is fixed; they may not get out of the problem.

‘’We don’t have the financial strength to construct a bigger bridge and a better road that’s why we are appealing to the government to come to our aid.

‘’We have lost millions of naira worth of goods and property to flood in this area and we are afraid that if nothing is done this year, property or even lives may be lost to flood.

‘’We have started seeing signs that it will rain heavily this year, since the first rain had caused serious flooding’’ he said.

Mrs Amaka Ukachukwu, a resident of Mararaba, Nasarawa State, said to prevent a recurrence of flood this year, the public needed to be sensitised to desist from dumping refuse on water channels.

‘’We need to sensitise residents to the danger of dumping refuse on waterways and major channels.

‘’Now that the rains are coming, we appeal to the government to be prepared and assist us on time.

‘’Some of us are poor, we should be relocated to camps as usual, so we are calling for early preparation in case such occurrences happened,’’ she said.

Mr Abdullahi Sanwo, a resident of Ado, Nasarawa State appealed to residents to avoid blocking waterways with refuse.

He said that a simple environment friendly rule of cleaning the waterways should be adhered to.

‘’We do not want to witness flooding this year in our community; we are educating our people on the need to keep the drainages free of refuse.

‘’Aside that, we use the media houses to educate the public to clear their drainages and to cut the weeds on the waterways,’’ he said.

Mrs Josephine Paul, a resident of Mpape, a suburb of Abuja, said that a committee has been constituted in her area to monitor residents to ensure proper disposal of waste .

Paul said that “waste bins are provided by the government, so residents are been monitored to ensure the proper use of the waste bins

‘’We had an agreement to contribute the sum of N100, 000 to hire labourers that will assist in clearing the drains and the weeds around our premises,” he said.

Mr Isaac Dogo, a resident of Garki advised residents against blocking of drains, adding that nature would fight back and the result is flood.

‘’I urged the government to take precaution against the impending doom,’’ he said

He appealed to the government to take a lasting solution to address the issue of flooding in the country in general.

NAN reports that the Director-General of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Prof. Mansur Matazu, says that rainfall is predicted to be earlier than the long-term average in most parts of the country.

NAN also reports that in 2023, although NiMet forecast had predicted a largely normal rainfall pattern, it also indicated a high possibility of flash floods in some states.

Matazu said there was likely to be elevated dry spell in some states of the north with potential adverse impact on planted crops.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Edeh

Malam Mele Kyari, Group CEO, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited with other stakeholders at the inspection of ongoing construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Station project site in Kogi.

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says it has so far spent over 1.1 billion dollars on the ongoing construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Station project from its cash-flow.

The NNPC Limited GCEO, Malam Mele Kyari said this on Monday while touring some of its project sites in Kogi, with newsmen and other stakeholders.

Kyari was accompanied by some top officials of the NNPC Limited and Oilserv Limited, (Pipelines and Facilities), the contractor of the project.

Kyari said the company would continue to fund the massive project which it was delivering in phases and has been active even though it did not have third party finance for the project.

“So far, NNPC Ltd has funded over 1.1billion dollars on the project and to date none of the project activities is abandoned as reported and we reassure all stakeholders that we have a line of sight to project delivery on schedule.

“NNPC Limited remains highly committed towards the delivery of strategic National infrastructure projects through responsive project delivery, active collaboration with government security agencies and communities as well as deployment of technology for delivering the project.

“This is is one of the most massive projects of proportion value to our country for economic growth. It is a must-deliver project and we have continued to fund in spite of not having third party finance support, we will deliver this project.

“We do not owe a dollar to our contractors, there are over 30 sites that are active today in this project, we are very hopeful and optimistic to deliver this project,” he assured.

The GCEO decried the fact that due to insecurity, it had lost some site workers thereby expressed sadness over thier demise and consoled their families whom he said the company shared in their grief.

He said 70 per cent of the welding work had been completed adding that once welding was completed, it could actually flow gas through the pipeline.

He said on completion the pipeline would deliver two billon cubic feet of gas, powering industries, powering power plants and creating gas based industries.

He said the entire welding work would be completed by the third quarter of 2023 then it would actually energise the pipeline.

Kyari further said that the gas pipeline was projected to support power plants with a total of 3,645 Mega Watts, adding that it would soon begin constrution of Abuja- Kaduna power plants in ernest.

Earlier, Mr Steve Nnorom, Project Manager, Oilserv Ltd explained that there were three schematic of the pipeline and station installations which included Brovo, Chalie and Alpha spread segment, that showed progress of the project.

He said they were currently doing full auto welding, completed 73 per cent of its mainland welding works and had done 222 kilo metres remaining 27 kilo metres of welding work to complete.

“We are crossing rivers, railway, existing pipelines. We have other sites where various work activities are ongoing, our target is that concurrently all works will be going on at different spread,” he said

Nnorom, while noting that the project has been active and fully financed said that it has purely 100 per cent Nigerian workers. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

By Ikenna Osuoha

The National Population Commission (NPC) has reassured the public of the safety of its server and data as they prepare for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Dr Isiaka Yahaya, Director, Public Affairs Department (PAD) said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a staff of the Commission and Comptroller of Chanchaga LGA, Niger State, Mr Sanusi Maigida had earlier claimed that the NPC server was hacked.

Maigida had cited this development as the reason for the postponement of the LGA-level training of the Supervisors and Enumerators for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Yahaya, who reaffirmed the commitment of the commission to a credible and acceptable census, said that its server was not hacked.

The public affairs department boss described as false and misleading, the information on hacking of the commission’s server.

“We wish to assure the public that the security of the data for the
2023 Population and Housing Census is absolutely guaranteed.

“The commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population,” he said.

Yahaya explained that the Commission’s Chairman, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra’s visit to the United Nations was to attend the 56^th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development was to the benefit of the country.

He said the chairman also presented Nigeria’s statement on ‘Population and Development’ at the global event and has since returned to the country ahead of preparations for the first digital Census in Nigeria.

“Over the years, it has been the standard practice for the Chairman of the Commission to attend the annual event on Population and Development in line with the mandate of NPC as the coordinating agency on population matters in Nigeria.

“Consequently, the public is advised to disregard the false statement trending online about the hacking of the commission’s server and the subsequent travel of the NPC Chairman to restore the purported hacked server,” he said.

He assured of the commission’s determination to continue to update the populace on developments regarding the 2023 Population and Housing Census as events unfold.

Yahaya solicited for Nigerians’ support to ensure a secure and successful 2023 Census exercise. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Uche Anunne

By Okeoghene Akubuike

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has said that the approval of the concessioning of its two projects by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) would attract N180 billion revenue to Nigeria.

A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Ifeanyi Nwoko, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC), said the projects included the Cassava Bio-mass and Bio-ethanol Value Chain and National Fire Detection And Alarm System (NAFDAS).

Nwoko said the concessioning was to create wealth, reduce poverty, improve food security and nutrition, provide jobs and renewable energy, and reduce carbon footprint.

“While the NAFDAS project will generate a total of N75 billion in the 15-year concession period, the cassava bio-ethanol value chain will generate a total revenue of N105 billion within the five-year concession period.

“The cassava bio-ethanol value chain, which will be done on a pilot phase, aims to build a Bio-technology Industrial Park on a 20-hectare plot across 20 universities, academia and research and development institutes.

“In the pilot phase, 5,000 special hybrid cassava (TME 419) stems will be planted per hectare, (totalling) 100,000 stems for the 20 hectares,” he said.

In addition, he said the project would supply organic fertiliser, boosters, conditioners, pre and post-emergent herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and knapsack sprayers.

“The project also seeks to double cassava production from the current 62 million tons to an output of no fewer than 120 million tons.

“With improved tropical agro-ecology, bio-technology, intense mechanisation, and effective partnership resource mobilisation, Nigeria can double output to 120 million metric tons in five years,” he said.

Nwoko said the key goal of the cassava-bioethanol pilot project was to demonstrate the efficacy of a private sector-led approach in promoting investment in renewable biomass and creating wealth.

“Also in providing jobs, reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition, providing renewable energy and reducing carbon footprint,” he said.

Nwoko said the project was proposed to be financed with a grant from the Federal Government and Concessionaire investment totalling N11.9 billion.

The ICRC spokesman said the revenue stream presented by the project includes sales of cassava stem, cassava flour, garri, starch, and Bio-ethanol.

“Total revenue for the five-year concession period is N105,610,000,000,” he said.

He said that the NAFDAS project would provide fire mitigation hardwares, softwares, and equipments that would be linked to a cloud network.

Nwoko said the project would be supervised by the Federal Fire Service through a private entity.

“Through the use of this technology, call, and response time in fire incidents will be automated thus drastically reducing avoidable incidents,” he said.

Nwoko said more lives and properties would be saved, and generally ensure efficient fire prevention, detection and management.

“This means that smoke alarms and other fire detection hardware will be linked to a server which will alert the system when the user is in distress without them having to call for help,” he said.

He said the project would begin in seven states on pilot basis, before rolling it out to all states across the country.

Nwoko said the total cost of the project was N3.5 billion, while the government targets to generate N75 billion within 15 years of the concession.

“Share of revenue to the government was projected as 40 per cent of subscription revenue totaling N17,262,850,871, an average of N1,150,856,724 over the 15 years proposed concession period.”

He added that the revenue stream included margin on installations and annual subscription fee from users.

Nwoko said both projects would be executed under the regulatory guidance of ICRC with the revenue shared between government and the concessionaire at a ratio decided in the concession agreement. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Maharazu Ahmed

By Justina Auta

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying antipiracy drive and enforcing stiffer penalties for copyrights infringement and abuse of all literary works in the country.

Dr John Asein, the Director-General, NCC, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja in commemoration of the World Book and Copyright Day, celebrated every April 23.

Asien, while lamenting over the cases of piracy in the country, added that the new Copyright Act 2022, will improve author’s rights and address the challenges of digital transmission and online exploitation of works.

“To guarantee adequate return on intellectual and financial investment in all creative sectors, the Commission is intensifying its proactive enforcement initiatives as well as enhancing the collective management of rights.

“Working with various stakeholders and relevant agencies, the Commission has commenced a series of public education and enlightenment campaigns as a prelude to the full scale national antipiracy drive.

“With the stiffer penalties available in the new Act for criminal infractions, the public is therefore advised to desist from all forms of copyright infringements and abuses,” he said.

He also called on authors and other stakeholders to join the commission in telling the copyright story and drawing attention to the ills of piracy and other copyright abuses.

He stressed the need to recognise linguistic diversity and the importance of preserving, promoting and encouraging the use of indigenous languages in literature and other creative works in line with 2023 theme, “Indigenous Languages!”

” Together, let us, in our literature, music, performances and movies explore alternative languages and give voice to indigenous communities,” he said.

He explained further that with the over 600 indigenous languages in the country, Nigeria has a lot to offer to the world through its indigenous languages and the associated knowledge.

The NCC boss said they had consulted with relevant stakeholders to formulate the needed Regulations and Guidelines for the implementation of the provisions of the Act on the protection of expressions of folklore. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Mateen Badru

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Triumphant Foundation, on Sunday in Lagos empowered 100 people  with new skills and supported them with grants.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries included women, widows and youths, who were trained  in tie and dye, making of pastries, soap, air fresheners and cement.

The participants were part of a three-day skills acquisition programme organised by the NGO.

The Founder, Mr Patrick Tinka, commended the turnout of participants and said there was hope for the future of the country, seeing that people were still interested in personal development.

He urged the participants to take advantage of the skills they had acquired as it was a rare opportunity that should be cherished.

“In the past, we had embarked on skills  acquisition but never had we made it this elaborate by delving into empowerment.

“The reason for this is because in the last five to six months, a lot of transformational events occurred in the country.

“Events like the Naira redesign, cash crunch and fuel hike, among others, of which widows and orphans were mostly affected.

“Who cared for them, who checked up on them, who saw the need to alleviate their sufferings? These are the questions that come to mind.

“If they are empowered, if they are given an opportunity to fend for themselves and their immediate families, life would be easier, crimes will reduce tremendously and poverty will be at its barest minimum.

“Nigeria is blessed with rich resources and our human capital is one of them, that is why you are here today,” he said.

He urged the participants to take the trainings very seriously and remain focused on the goals and the reasons for the training.

Tinka said the training was free but charged the participants to approach it as though it was being paid for.

He advised the participants never to look down on themselves but to only forge ahead as this was the only way they could achieve their goals.

“Never think that you are not enough to be self reliant or to be great in life, push and you will win.

“I hope and pray that this will be the beginning of greater things to come,” he said.

A participant, Mrs Grace Taiwo, a widow, expressed appreciation for having the opportunity to take part in the skills acquisition programme.

She commended the organisers and prayed for continuity to enable other people benefit from the initiative.

Another participant, Onaolapo Oladoja, said it was a special day for him, having been opportuned to participate in the peogramme as a form of enlightenment.

“This has enlightened me in some aspects of life and opened the eyes of many youths like me to see that there is need for hard work.

“There is also need for creativity and the need to do something great, especially with our talents, to make our country better,” he said.

He further commended the organisers for a job well done, adding that he was overwhelmed with the love and hospitality shown by the organisers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 10 participants who showed more commitment and passion, were given a token of N10,000 as start-up capital.

Meanwhile, mechanisms were put in place to monitor and ensure that the monetary assistance was channeled to the purpose for which it was given. (NAN)

Edited by Wandoo Sombo/Idris Abdulrahman