By Aisha Cole

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) announced in Lagos on Tuesday that rail services would be suspended from Saturday, Feb. 25 to Monday, Feb. 27.

NRC’s spokesman, Mr Mahmood Yakubu, stated that the suspension was to enable Nigerians to exercise their franchise at the presidential and National Assembly elections of Feb. 25.

Train services to be put on hold are Abuja-Kaduna, Warri- Itakpe, Lagos-Ibadan, and Iddo, Lagos-Ijoko interstate mass transit service.

Yakubu stated that normal train services would resume from Tuesday, Feb. 28. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Alli Hakeem

By Bridget Ikyado

Rev Yakubu Pam, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), has said that the Naira Redesign/Cashless Policy of the Federal Government was targeted at tackling corruption and insecurity in the country.

Pam told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that the policy was neither aimed at individuals or to cause hardship for Nigerians.

Pam said that all Nigerians should rally round President Muhammadu Buhari as he stands his grounds to deliver a Nigeria free from insecurity and corruption as promised during his campaigns.

“This is the moment we need to rally round the President; we need to encourage him. Everybody has witnessed in the past few weeks how he has stood his ground on the new naira note to tackle corruption, especially among the elite. We should encourage him.

“Knowing that we are passing through a transition period where power will move from one government to another, the current administration must have witnessed a lot and want to deliver solutions to so many challenges, especially insecurity and corruption, that have been bedeviling the country,’’ he said.

The executive secretary called on Nigerians to be patient with the challenges accompanying the policy, saying that the CBN was doing everything possible to cushion the pains.

According to him, there is no new policy that will not come with its challenges.

“The challenges are to be expected. We must endure some of these challenges so as to prepare for a better future.”

Pam charged religious and traditional leaders to engage citizens in their jurisdiction on the gains of the policy to prevent them from being misled by mischief makers. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

By Bridget Ikyado

The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) says its policies on enhancing Nigeria’s image and pilgrimage has earned the country visas on arrival to Jordan.

Pam made this known during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the state of the nation on Monday in Abuja.

According to him, the NCPC has made sure it built a good relationship not only with stakeholders within the country but with the host countries outside Nigeria.

“At this moment, we have good relationship with Jordan; we have visas on arrival, it is only Nigerians who go there get visas on arrival now.

“It took this commission a very good policy to build bilateral relationship with our host countries outside; we can beat our chest today that we opened the road for Nigerians to have visas on arrival to Jordan,” he said.

Another policy Pam said the commission initiated to enhance the pilgrims exercise was building integrity for acceptability by partners involved.

“We are glad that immediately I came into office, first and foremost, we tried to build on an integrity for acceptability for our partners and our host countries, who we all know are Israel and Jordan and others.

“Making sure that we have fished out people running away, staying in those lands illegally, which is called abscondment.

“And that is one policy we made sure we built to ensure people do not use the opportunity for pilgrimage to mar the image of Nigeria.

“And that is really working; that is why our host countries are inviting us to come for more pilgrim exercises knowing that we have built a very good image for the country,” he added. (NAN) (www.nananews.ng)

Edited by Grace Yussuf

By Salisu Sani-Idris

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has cautioned security personnel against violating traffic rules in the nation’s capital.

The Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, issued the warning at the inauguration of an intensive traffic enforcement on Airport Road, on Monday in Abuja.

Shuaibu declared that henceforth, anybody that was driving against the traffic would not only be instructed to go back, but would be arrested and the vehicle impounded.

The coordinator also warned uniformed personnel to desist from violating traffic as the enforcement against such nefarious act was not a respecter of rank.

He stated that no vehicle was allowed to park or ply on undesignated areas along the airport road and no passenger should stand and flag a vehicle to pick him or her except in an area designated for such.

Shuaibu, who explained that the exercise was aimed at restoring sanity along airport road, said the exercise would be sustained with the sensitisation of the public and engagement with the transport operators along the busy road.

He said: ”There are enough lay-bays along the road, sufficient to serve the public, but what is lacking is discipline, in order to make our environment decent.

” We engaged the stakeholders, which are transport operators along this road. We called them and we have all agreed that this assignment is important, in order to make sure that sanity is restored.

” Whatever image you see on Abuja Airport road is the image of Nigeria. If the traffic along the road is free, Nigeria’s traffic is free; and if the road is clean, Nigeria is clean.

” So, we must make sure that it is clean and free always, in order to have a very good image of our country. ”

The coordinator said that Airport road was the one that conveys traffic from the North and South along Kaduna-Lokoja expressway.

Shuaibu added: ”Therefore, it has multiple roles. That’s why the traffic along this road is heavy.

“We are aware that most of these violations are committed by people in uniform. So, no matter your rank, enforcement against the violation is not a respecter of rank.

“We will make sure that we show example. If you are a man in uniform, show an example to the people that are not in uniform. So, anybody, no matter how highly placed, must respect our regulations.

” Henceforth, anybody that is making the Airport road unsafe and unclean, is going to be arrested.

“From now on, this exercise is going to be continuous, the officers in charge of this enforcement, we count on you. We need your support, in order to make it work.”

On his part, Deputy National President, Road Transport Employers Union, Mr Abubakar Sadiq, who described the exercise as a welcome development, said they were ready to cooperate in any form, to make sure that it was successful. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Benson Iziama/Bashir Rabe Mani

By Salisu Sani-Idris

Worried by the recurring incidents of fire outbreaks in filling stations, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has directed all filling stations to observe safety regulations or face sanctions.

Alhaji Abbas Idriss, Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), made the disclosure during an emergency stakeholders meeting held on Wednesday in Abuja.

Idriss, represented by the agency’s Director, Forecasting Response Mitigation, Mrs Florence Wenegieme, said the minister ordered that any filling station that recorded a fire outbreak would be sanctioned.

The D-G said that no responsible government would fold its arms and allow loss of lives and property to be the order of the day.

Idriss said: “Sadly, while we recorded many successes in the aspect of flood management in the Federal Capital, the incidence of fire outbreaks especially in filling stations suddenly became a recurring issue of concern.

“This concern required extraordinary measures by all emergency stakeholders to tackle.

“This worrisome issue, as our findings reveal, is largely attributed to violations of safety regulations in loading, transportation and off-loading of petroleum products and other volatile substances.

“Also, there is a seeming lack of adequate knowledge of basic safety rules, absence of functional firefighting equipment and trained safety officers in most of our filling stations.”

Similarly, Idriss said that discharging petroleum products while the premises were already filled with vehicles and other customers awaiting was a very dangerous development.

He also frowned at the activities of black markers in and around the vicinities of the filling stations and highways.

Idriss added their activities were dangerous developments that needed to be addressed by all stakeholders to avoid catastrophic outcomes in the near future.

He added: “It is important at this juncture to inform stakeholders that our discussion today will be centred on such measures that could avert further escalation of fire outbreak within and outside the city of the territory.

“The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Nimet), on Jan. 24, released its seasonal climate prediction which has implications on various sectors of our economy particularly, on agriculture, transportation, water, disaster management and other critical sectors.

“Therefore, we will also use this platform to review our performance in managing flood, fire, building collapse and other emergency incidents in the nation’s capital.

“This is necessary in order to further strengthen those areas where we delivered well and also improve on others where there were lapses.”

Earlier, Mr Justin Uwazuruonye, Head, Abuja Operations Office, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), reiterated the determination of the agency to mitigate and reduce the risk of disaster in Abuja and the nation at large.

He said: “NEMA is a national body that coordinates management in the country and our sister agencies at the state levels and the FCT are the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) and FEMA.

“We are happy with FEMA because it always carries all the stakeholders along. We are also encouraging all stakeholders to ensure synergy among them.”

The New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stakeholders emergency meeting was attended by the representatives of the Nigerian Navy, Federal Capital Development Authority, Nimet, and other critical agencies in disaster management. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru/Bashir Rabe Mani

By Salisu Sani-Idris

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCOH), says screening of airlines for the 2023 Hajj operation will commence in the first week of March.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, said this at an interactive session with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

Hassan said that the aim of the interactive session with the media was to foster a deeper understanding with media professionals.

He said that the commission was working assiduously to ensure that the 2023 Hajj operation was conducted smoothly to enable the Nigerian pilgrims to perform an acceptable hajj rite.

Hassan said: ” You are aware that 95,000 seats have been given to the NAHCON and I must also tell you that we have gone to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for our first Pre-Hajj visit in order to familiarise and screen service providers.

” We have already allocated hajj slots to the 36 states of the Federation, the Federal Capital Territory and the Armed Forces.

”We are in the process of doing so many other things after which we will have another media interface.

” We intend to start screening the airline by the first week of March. I can assure you that this year’s hajj will be hitch free.

”This year the coast is very clear by God’s grace.”

In his goodwill message, NAHCON’s Commissioner of Operation, Alhaji Abdullahi Magaji-Hardawa, said that the commission was determined to satisfy the expectations of the Nigerian pilgrims for this year’s hajj.

He said that the leadership of the commission was always open to suggestions and prepared to answer questions from the media as credible partners of the commission. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/ Bashir Rabe Mani

By Grace Alegba

The Directorate of Professional Women, Independent Campaign Council (ICC) of the APC Presidential Candidate Committee, Lagos State, on Friday urged technocrats to lead the campaign against voter apathy in the general elections.

They made the call at a hybrid Interactive Session with the Executive Governor of Lagos State with the theme: “The Relevance of Professionals in Deepening Democratic Values: Lagos State as a Case Study”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu was later represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Tayo Ayinde, on the zoom with 50 professional associations in attendance.

Sanwo-Olu commended the ICC for efforts towards success of electioneering process and promised continual collaboration with the private sector towards infrastructure development and maintenance in the state.

The governor also promised enabling environment for businesses to thrive in Lagos.

He appealed for more support and gave assurance that his administration would not disappoint or relent in making Lagos rise.

Sanwo-Olu gave instances of the track record of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Director, TinubuShettima/Sanwo-OluHamzat, ICC, Dr Atinuke Owolabi, announced that a communique from the meeting would be sent to Gov. Sanwo-Olu.

Earlier, while making her opening speech, Owolabi, an award winning engineer, urged professionals to join in deepening democratic values by performing their civic responsibilities and educating others on the need to vote.

“To ensure that one man one vote is properly enshrined, we must all participate as much as possible and there must be transparency and accountability.

“As professionals in different fields, we should take up the responsibility of performing our civic right and get rid of voter apathy. When this is done, we would all be reckoned with,” she said.

She said that professionals must come together and get involved in making contributions for good government policies and implementation.

Owolabi wondered if professionals were carried along in the Naira swap.

She challenged the experts to take the lead in rebuilding Nigeria, to stop mass migration of youths for a better nation.

“If we all run out of this country, who will build Nigeria? The professionals are the ones to build this country,” she said.

She said professionals were close to both the government and the grassroots and could serve as a bridge for interpreting policies to the masses.

Owolabi said that the ICC’s goal was to sensitise the electorate in order to avoid void votes among the ballots cast for APC in all the elections.

Mrs Monsurah Alagbe, Lagos Chapter Chairman, Association of Professional Women Engineers, said the strength of any group lies in its unity, as such technocrats must unite for good governance.

Mr Paul Owolabi, Chairman, Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, urged technocrats in the public sector to always carry their colleagues in the private sector along in decision making for robust policies in the nation.

Mrs Olufunmilayo Ogunsi a retired principal called for continuity in the interactive programme of experts beyond elections and said inclusion of young people should be a priority.

She joined other experts to call for mentorship for youths to close the gap between the people at the grassroots and the elites.

Lagos Chapter Chairman, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Mr Ayuba Akere called for inclusion of professional bodies in all decisions of government to eliminate quackery and help to deliver quality service to the citizenry.

Mrs Omowunmi Ogunbambi, deputy director, ICC urged professionals to take the lead in the forthcoming election while other speakers raised issues across sectors requiring both government and technocrats interventions.

Edited by Oluwole Sogunle

By Salisu Sani-Idris

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved operational licenses for 67 new broadcast outfits, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), said on Thursday in Abuja.

NBC Director-General Balarabe Ilelah disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the scorecard of the commission.

“President Buhari has approved hundreds of broadcast licenses; it is a demonstration of his intrinsic democratic values,” Ilelah stated.

According to him, a total of 473 broadcast licenses were granted under Buhari’s administration.

“The breakdown of the licenses approved by Buhari showed that 210 were granted in 2018, 159 in 2021, 37 in 2022, while 67 have so far been granted in 2023.

“This gesture has shown that Buhari is actually a democrat and media-friendly; he is a leader who upholds media freedom and pluralism.

“It is important to note that we currently have 740 functional broadcast stations in Nigeria. The number is expected to grow with the anticipatory approval of additional licenses by the President soon.”

The NBC boss said that Buhari had continued to grant total independence from any political interference for the NBC in the exercise of its regulatory functions, particularly with respect to issuance and withdrawal of broadcasting licenses.

This, according to him, has helped to reduce violations by broadcasters as was the case in the past.

Ilelah called on broadcasters to continue to cooperate with the commission by abiding with the provisions guiding broadcast operations in Nigeria.

He also disclosed that the commission was acquiring some state-of-the-art broadcast monitoring equipment.

“The acquisition of the equipment is in progress; when they all arrive, the commission will get to have Ultra-Modern Artificial Intelligence-driven Central Monitoring Infrastructure,” he said.

On the forthcoming general elections, Ilelah revealed that the commission had deployed all the technical and operational facilities for nationwide monitoring.

According to him, in order to ensure quality broadcast, no locality in Nigeria where a broadcast station exists will be left unmonitored.

He said that a Central Monitoring Committee had been constituted to provide rapid response to unethical broadcasting and violations on election days.

The NBC boss appealed to licensees yet to pay their outstanding debts to settle the dues immediately. (NAN)

Edited by Ephraims Sheyin