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Atiku announces plans for rail expansion, road construction, enlargement of Calabar port in Cross River

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Atiku announces plans for rail expansion, road construction, enlargement of Calabar port in Cross River

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) nominee for president, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to revive the Calabar port and promote economic expansion in Nigeria’s South-South.

Atiku presented his plans for the future of the region during a campaign event on Monday in Cross River State at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar. He pledged to build rail lines from Lagos to Port Harcourt via Calabar and to connect the state with the rest of the nation through improved road networks.

With these initiatives, Atiku wants to make Calabar a commercial hub and give the people of Cross River State prosperity.
“If you open up the Calabar port, it will generate a ton of business and provide the people of Cross River State with significant opportunities. Another thing you should know is that once the Calabar port is developed and operational, it will attract businesses and factories, which will benefit the citizens of Cross River State. This is just one example; there will be many more agricultural potentials. So just developing Calabar port alone will provide plenty of opportunities for the people of Cross River, and if you support the PDP for president and governor, we’ll work with your legislators and governors to put this policy, which is supported by research, into action.

Read Also: Police killed one as gunmen attack station in Anambra

The issue of infrastructure development, according to Atiku, “involves first and foremost the road networks linking you with neighboring states and second and foremost the proposed rail line from Lagos through Calabar to Port Harcourt.”

In a separate speech, Udom Emmanuel, the governor of Akwa-Ibom state and chairman of the PDP Campaign Council, gave the people of Cross River assurances about what Atiku would do if elected.

He declared, “Our color is PDP, our color is capacity, our color is human development, and our color is bringing prosperity, development, and then the eradication of poverty. I want to reassure you that Atiku Abubakar will have a very well-developed road network in terms of infrastructure.
Ben Ayade, the governor of Cross River state, and others who left the PDP are coming back, according to Senator Iyorcha Ayu, the party’s national chairman, who also spoke at the rally.

“You elected some of our best sons and daughters to the PDP; regrettably, some of them let you down. However, they will return home because the residents of Cross River State will not accompany them wherever they go.
“I want to beg of you that on the 25th of this month, vote for one person who will unify this country, who will wipe your tears, who will make sure that the economy of Nigeria comes back to be the first and best economy in the continent.
“The exchange rate for the Naira was N180 to the dollar when we left office in 2015. N800 is the current exchange rate between the naira and the dollar. You become poor as a result of that. We left behind a $9.6 billion foreign debt when we left. The APC has increased that debt to $97 billion in just seven years.

Read Also: Courts reject old naira notes, turn lawyers, litigants back

Because we spend all of the money we make on debt servicing, he continued, “In other words, each and every one of you standing here is a debtor, and it is having an impact on the economy of this country.”

Courts reject old naira notes, turn lawyers, litigants back

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Courts reject old naira notes, turn lawyers, litigants back

As lawyers and litigants were unable to file court documents using the old naira notes as payment on Monday, there was utter chaos at the high courts in Lagos State.

Banks were no longer accepting the old naira notes as legal tender, according to high court registries officials, who rejected them.

This new development adds a new wrinkle to the ongoing naira crisis the nation is currently experiencing.

Lawyers and litigants were urged to pay with new naira notes by account officers at the Lagos Island and Ikeja high court registries, who insisted on this after explaining that their attempts to pay old naira notes they had collected from court users into the government account had been rejected by banks.
Due to the fact that four different banks—FCMB, Polaris, UBA, and Fidelity—rejected the old money when it was taken to them with old notes collected from court users, a staff member at the Ikeja High Court registry said they received a directive from their boss to stop collecting old notes.

Read Also: NBC sanctions against using children for political advert

The court representative stated that going forward, litigants and attorneys must only bring the new naira notes.

One of the impacted attorneys, who spoke on the phone but asked that his name not be published, claimed that the Osborne Division of the Lagos High Court’s registry rejected the outdated notes and prevented him from completing his paperwork.
He bemoaned the fact that the Supreme Court’s directive to keep the old naira notes in circulation was being disregarded.

“Rejecting old notes would be disastrous for the country. Orders issued by the Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court, are being disregarded with impunity. It is clear that the CBN, and in particular CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, are prepared to impose anarchy on Nigeria by ordering banks to go against the ruling of the supreme court.

The CBN was prohibited from carrying out its plan to enforce its deadline of February 10 for the use of the old naira note by an interim order issued by the Supreme Court on February 8, 2023.
A seven-member court panel, chaired by John Okoro, issued the interim injunction in the midst of a severe shortage of the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.

The CBN unveiled the new notes in December of last year as part of its campaign against crimes such as counterfeiting, terrorism, and corruption.

Read Also: Coming soon is a database for crude oil transportation tariff

Due to shortages and escalating tension, Nigerians have had difficulty obtaining the new notes.

NNPP, APC leaders reject pre-election polls

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NNPP, APC leaders reject pre-election polls

Aliyu Waziri, a leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), has disregarded pre-election polls that put Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), in the lead in the election for president on February 25.

The former Anambra State governor was referred to by the chieftain as a “learner” who lacked the necessary structure to win the election while criticizing the results.

At a press conference for the public presentation and launch of the book “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: Builder of Leaders,” written by APC chieftain and political analyst Aliyu Butu, Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, he made this statement.

You may recall that a number of surveys conducted by national and international organizations showed that Obi was more popular than Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

Read Also: NBC sanctions against using children for political advert

Waziri, the co-chairman of the event’s organizing committee, responded by saying that while Obi is a good team player, he cannot win the election based on actualities in the country.

“Projections are just projections,” he said. Obi is a capable team player who is still developing. We are working around the clock to make sure Tinubu wins. Nearly all of the grassroots support—nearly 99 percent—comes from the roughly 21 governors who are on our side. What matters is our candidate’s background. Take a look at what he accomplished in Lagos. When he is elected president, he will undoubtedly continue what he did to make Lagos the biggest economy in West Africa.

The book’s author, Butu, commented and said that compared to the other candidates running for president, Tinubu was a better builder of men with better character.

He promised that the former governor of Lagos State would lead the nation better than his rivals, adding that “he will be sage, strong-willed, and effect the needed change in the country.”

“So many of us here and others holding various offices have received his (Tinubu’s) support. Even before Tinubu declared his intention to run for the top job, I began writing this book. He is a father figure and a mentor to us.

“I want to introduce Asiwaju to the entire world and demonstrate how he has developed leaders in Nigeria from various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Asiwaju has built a large network of allies, including the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, governors, and lawmakers.

“When military elites and political capitalists were frustrating Buhari, Tinubu helped him get through a difficult time and made sure he won the election. We will continue to support Asiwaju because I think he can change the situation.

Agbor Major, the NNPP’s spokesperson, claimed that the majority of polls provided inaccurate results in an effort to elevate particular candidates to the position of front-runner.

More concerning, he added, is the fact that the majority of media outlets have fallen for this joke, which has far-reaching implications for the legitimacy of the elections and the safety of the nation. One cannot hold the media responsible for publishing these false opinion polls, but they should be cautious not to celebrate these lies in their reporting.

These phony polls may be being conducted by the so-called groups in an effort to: “Conspire with some candidates to mislead the public and give unfair advantage to some preferred candidates.

“Deceive the undecided voters to divert their focus to a winning candidate who has received dubious praise. Discourage supporters of rival candidates in order to persuade them to back the falsely acclaimed front-runner.

Set up a crisis booby trap in case the candidate who was criminally promoted loses by claiming the election was rigged.
We must not quickly forget what happened in 2011, when the nation was plunged into an unavoidable crisis as a result of allegations of election rigging brought on by phony polls circulated prior to the vote.

The evil of fake pollsters and the laxity of authorities destroyed many lives and properties. Therefore, it is appropriate to urge all of these people who create phony public opinion polls to stop putting the nation into danger. We also urge security agencies to be aware of their duties and show more interest in the activities of the shady social media public opinion polls warriors.

Read Also: Northerners should reject Atiku at presidential election for opposing Sharia – Shettima

We cannot sit back and allow egotistical and dishonest people to worsen the tense situation we are currently experiencing in our beloved country by publishing phony opinion poll results, which are just as risky as publishing phony election results. They are a recipe for governmental crisis, anarchy, and political upheaval.

Northerners should reject Atiku at presidential election for opposing Sharia – Shettima

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Northerners should reject Atiku at presidential election for opposing Sharia – Shettima

Kashim Shettima, the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has explained why Northerners ought to reject Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Shettima advised Northerners to reject Atiku because he opposes the North’s Islamic legal system.

While conversing with APC supporters at the party’s local government conference in Daura, Katsina State, he made the call.

The vice presidential candidate for the APC urged Northern voters to vote against Mr. Abubakar on February 25 because he opposed Sharia.

Read Also: Police killed one as gunmen attack station in Anambra

Shettima claims that you should not refer to Atiku Abubakar as Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, but rather as Atiku Abubakar.

“Your person claims to be the sole opponent of Sharia in the North. Is that the person you?

Police killed one as gunmen attack station in Anambra

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Police killed one as gunmen attack station in Anambra

During an attack on the Ogidi Police Station in the state’s Idemili North Local Government Area, police in Anambra State killed one gunman.

DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, the public relations representative for the state police command, informed the media of this in a press release.

Police officers prevented an attack by armed men on the Ogidi Police Station today, Wednesday, February 13, 2023, at 2:15 a.m. They also demobilized one of the armed men and recovered many spent cartridges and 25 liters of PMS.

Read Also: Nigerians are frustrated by poor management of fuel and cash swap crises

He claimed that at around two in the morning, a large group of hoodlums who were thought to be planning to torch the police station arrived on cars and motorcycles.

They arrived in large groups, accompanied by an unmarked Toyota Hiace bus, a Toyota Hilux, and three motorcycles. They began shooting randomly and made an attempt to enter the Ogidi Police Station in Idemili North.

Police officers on duty put up a fierce fight against them, and as a result of the operatives’ superior gunfire, the hoodlums fled the scene while one of the armed men was neutralized, he continued.

Ikenga stated that no casualties were reported on the side of the police and that the police facility is unharmed.

More information about their search for the perpetrators will be revealed later, he continued, noting that tactical teams of the command have been deployed and the operation is still ongoing.

In Anambra State, there has recently been a resurgence of attacks by unidentified individuals on police facilities and personnel.

Ihiala’s police station was recently attacked, and other areas like Obosi have also been hit.

The most recent incident involved the murder of three police officers from the Delta State Police Command who were in Abia State on official business.

Read Also: NBC sanctions against using children for political advert

Three of the four men in the car were killed when the men were stopped in Ihiala.

Terrorist: APC chieftain reacts as Abuja pastor storms church with AK-47 rifle

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Terrorist: APC chieftain reacts as Abuja pastor storms church with AK-47 rifle

Adamu Garba, a senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), responded to the viral images of an Abuja pastor who on Sunday mounted the altar of his church while carrying an AK-47 rifle.
It was previously reported that Pastor Uche Aigbe, the presiding pastor of the House on the Rock chapter in Abuja, created a stir yesterday when he showed up in the church brandishing a gun.

It was learned that the incident took place during the church’s second service, which frequently draws a sizable congregation from throughout the Federal Capital Territory.

Read Also: New naira: Confusion deepens as CBN deadline ends today

Adamu Garba expressed his reaction to the development—which elicited conflicting opinions—via his Twitter account and questioned the cleric’s motivations.

Pastor Aigbe’s action was characterized by the former presidential candidate as “terrorism on the alter,” and he urged security agencies to act quickly.
Violence at the altar! You ponder his motivations beyond committing pure acts of terrorism. Security organizations must move quickly, the APC leader tweeted.

Some Are Trying To Find My Problem
In the meantime, Pastor Aigbe reportedly claimed that some people are looking for his trouble and that he has come prepared for them after assuming the pulpit on Sunday and unsettling his congregation.

Read Also: Nigerians are frustrated by poor management of fuel and cash swap crises

“Some individuals are searching for my problems. “Today, there are some pastors with gifts of divination who go about ripping people off,” I said when I arrived here. This is why we should defend ourselves by carrying our “guns.” The cleric reportedly said, “I will especially be coming very soon for some of you sleeping in the church,” as he attempted to open his Bible to start his sermon.

As he continued to preach on “Guarding your hearts from false teachers” and “faith without work is dead,” it was reported that his response made the entire crowd laugh.

Coming soon is a database for crude oil transportation tariff

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Coming soon is a database for crude oil transportation tariff

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has unveiled plans to gather accurate and trustworthy information necessary to choose the best tariff methodology for the country’s bulk storage and transportation of crude oil.

This information was disclosed at the 2022 Petroleum Liquid Inventory Reconciliation Exercise in Lagos by Engr. Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Commission, crude oil and gas exporting companies, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the NMDPRA participated in the exercise.

Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage, Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), spoke on behalf of Ahmed, who stated that the expanded data ecosystem will include volumes of petroleum liquids evacuated via pipelines, barges, and trucks.

This was stated in a statement released yesterday by Apollo Kimchi, General Manager of Corporate Communications.
A data system on terminal receipt volumes, terminal stock records, crude oil inventory records by company and terminal, and quantities delivered to and received into refineries were also mentioned in the statement.

quantity of exports evacuated to other midstream storage facilities, volume of export permits, and actual export volume by company and terminal.

According to the NMDPRA Boss, the reconciliation exercise was planned to create and authenticate a common database of midstream statistics pertaining to crude oil, condensates, natural gas, and its derivatives.

“The reconciled data will serve as the foundation for the administration of petroleum liquid supply license and serve as a guide for the evaluation of licenses, authorisations, and approvals issued in the midstream sector relating to petroleum transportation, storage, and exports,” he said.

The dataset will be useful for NEITI audit, OPEC questionnaire, and Joint Oil Data Initiative, so this reconciliation will be advantageous to our stakeholders. Additionally, it will help the National Assembly with its oversight duties.

The Federal Ministry of Finance and security agencies can both use it to monitor the repatriation of export proceeds and the payment of royalties by crude oil and natural gas exporters.

Ahmed reaffirmed that the Authority, as the custodian of the petroleum products data bank, would keep up its efforts to ensure the provision of trustworthy information for all domestic petroleum operations.

According to the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA), the NMDPRA is required to regularly reconcile information on crude oil terminal receipts, exports, refinery delivery, oil and gas transportation, and other statistics that are relevant to the industry.

Federation because this directly affects the payment of royalties.

Shehu Sani criticizes Ganduje for closing store due to the use of outdated Naira notes

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Shehu Sani criticizes Ganduje for closing store due to the use of outdated Naira notes

Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker in Nigeria, responded to the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, closing down a shopping center because he wouldn’t accept old Naira notes.

Sani argued that the penalty was too severe.

On Sunday, he posted the claim using his verified Twitter account.

Recall that the WellCare shopping center had been shut down by the Kano Consumer Protection Council (KCPC) at Ganduje’s request because it would not accept old Naira notes.

In defiance of a directive from the State government to continue accepting them, WellCare supermarket allegedly refused to accept old naira notes from customers, according to KCPC.

The council also declared that the supermarket would face legal action.

Sani, on the other hand, has called the treatment given to the supermarket repressive.

He tweeted, “Kano State shutting down a Mall because old Naira notes were rejected is repressive.

NBC sanctions against using children for political advert

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NBC sanctions against using children for political advert

All parties involved have been urged by the National Broadcasting Commission to stop utilizing children’s images in political advertising.

Balarabe Ilelah, the director general of NBC, made the announcement in Abuja during a gathering of stakeholders.

Ilelah, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, criticized politicians who use children in their political commercials and broadcasters that air them in violation of Section 7.7.1(d) of the code. In order to develop a comprehensive policy direction, he asked them to evaluate broadcasters’ performance in the area of children’s programming objectively.

He also expressed concern on how children’s local contents had not been receiving the required attention by sponsors, producers and the  broadcasters.

He said, “Instead of developing local content, some broadcasters still rely on foreign children’s content, particularly cartoons which often are laced with themes of  violence and immorality. “NBC is deeply concerned about how some provisions under Chapter Four of the NBC code are being ignored or deliberately violated by broadcast outfits.

“Let me refer you to Section 4.2.2 (k) which requires broadcasters to devote at least 10 per cent of their total airtime to children programmes.

 

CSOs protest and demand that the EFCC chief be fired

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CSOs protest and demand that the EFCC chief be fired

On Saturday, more than 100 anti-corruption civil society organizations and their supporters demonstrated in Lagos to support their demand that Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, be fired for allegedly continuing to disobey court orders.

On Friday, the groups’ leaders started what they called a “week-long protest against the politicization of the EFCC, disobedience of court orders, and infringement on Nigerians’ human rights.” They claimed that many CSOs were invited to join the cause after the first press conference, which was held in Lagos.

The CSOs marched through Ikeja, Lagos, screaming protest songs and pleading with President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) to fire Bawa as they went through Ikeja City Mall and the Oregun Junction.

They noted that they were aware of the persistent pressure on and intimidation of the Nigerian media to underplay the dissatisfaction of the anti-corruption CSOs with Bawa, stressing that no amount of intimidation would make them give up their collective struggle against corruption and leaders undermining the struggle.

A spokesperson for the Transparency and Accountability Group, Ayodeji Ologun, who spoke on behalf of the CSOs, said the Coalition of Anti-corruption Organisations could not stay aloof while the country’s legal system was being bastardised by the “selfish interests of a few”, insisting that, if Bawa was bent on playing politics, he should get a membership card from any of the political parties.

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