Fear of food crisis is heightening in Nigeria following massive floods that are ravaging crop farms in many parts of the country.

Many farmlands were reportedly destroyed by floods in Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger, Rivers, C/Rivers, Sokoto, Bauchi and some parts of Kwara State.

Rice and maize farmlands were most affected and farmers fear this could further hike the prices of the staple food in the country.

A Daily Trust market survey showed that prices of food items are already going up in the market.

In Kano, a 100kg of maize now costs N20,000, N22,000 in Benue, N24, 000 in Abuja and as high as N25,000 in Lagos State.

The same size of maize sold between N9, 000 and N11, 000 last year across the country.

Also, 100kg of local rice now costs N55,000 in Kano, N58,000 in Abuja, while prices of beans range from N22,000 to N24, 000 per 100kg depending on the market and state.



– The warnings –

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) had warned that the current water level in the Middle Niger of the Niger Basin portends some level of concern for Nigeria as there could be a likelihood of river flooding in the states contiguous to River Niger.

The states, according to the Agency, are Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Rivers and Bayelsa.

The Director-General of the agency, Engr. Clement Onyeaso Nze said the country through Kebbi State might be flooded beginning from September 6

Reports from Kebbi had shown that several hectares of rice farms were washed away by flood and similar incidence was also reported in some parts of Zamfara, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kwara, Cross Rivers, Rivers and Niger states.

The incident is already a source of concern for stakeholders in the food sector as they are expressing fears that if the ugly trend continues, there might be food crisis in the country.

In Kebbi State, over 500,000 hectares of farmlands were reported to have been destroyed by flood.

The Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency, Sani Dododo, who announced the incident said rice farms accounted for about 450,000 of the hectares while the remaining 50,000 were for other crops.

The Governor of Edo State and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 19 governorship election, Godwin Obaseki, has appealed to electorates in the state to re-elect him for “continuity of his people-oriented programmes”.

Obaseki made the appeal at Ogwa, ward 1, in Esan West Local Government Area, when the PDP Edo governorship campaign council held its rally.

He said: “To whom much is given, much is expected.

“I am aware of your request in this community which includes more empowerment, and more appointments.

“I am ready to do my part.

“So, vote for me I work for you.

“This election is important, help me to help you.”

Earlier, Chairman of the PDP state campaign council, Chief Dan Orbih, urged the party’s supporters to come out en masse on September 19th to re-elect its candidate.

Orbih noted that a vote for Obaseki was a vote for progress.

“This election is very important.

“On election day don’t say ‘let me go to the farm first’ or any other place before going to your polling units to vote.

“Go straight to your polling units and vote for our governor, because this election is not about him, but about all of us,” Orbih said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the campaign train also went toward 2, Ujiogba. (NAN)

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said no candidate or aspirant for the 2023 general election in the party should count on President Muhammadu Buhari’s “cover” to win the election.

The ruling party said grassroots mobilisation and vigorous campaigns at the grassroots were key to ensuring that the APC retained power beyond 2023.

Tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari who was elected on the platform of the APC in 2015 and re-elected in the 2019 general elections would elapse in 2023, when another general election would be conducted.

Secretary of the APC National Caretaker Committee Senator John Udoedehe, who received a coalition of APC support groups, led by Mr Frank Ossai, at the APC National Secretariat on Wednesday in Abuja, said support groups were crucial in the build-up to the election. He said the party had resolved to reconcile aggrieved members nationwide in the effort to remain a big force to reckon with.

Udoedehe advised members of the support group to engage in grassroots politics to remain relevant as Buhari’s integrity would not serve as cover to anyone in 2023.

“In 2023, the personality of President Buhari will not be replicated. “So we need you and other support groups. We need to do something about it.

“Owing to your contributions to the party, we will integrate and reconcile aggrieved members to ensure that they are part of the party system,” he said.

Udoedehe added that the APC National Caretaker Committee headed by Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni would address the issues of lack of reward system in the party.

Earlier, Ossai, whose members were aggrieved over alleged non-inclusion in the APC activities, urged the party to reward members by first, engaging them in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo states governorship election campaigns.

Civil servants in Kaduna State have been directed to resume work on Monday, three months after the state government’s Quarantine Act and Kaduna State Public Health Law, which quarantined all residents on March 26.

Daily Trust reports that Governor Nasir El-Rufai had on June 9, while lifting the quarantine order and permitting a significant reopening of the state said public servants will be summoned back to work in phases to be announced by the Head of Service.

Following this, a circular issued by the office of the Head of Service has announced that different category of workers will work in different days of the week, from 9am to 3pm.

The circular which was signed by the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Officer, Ibrahim Jere stated that all Permanent Secretaries, Director General, Chief Executives of Agencies and Parastatals, as well as Directors will work from Mondays to Fridays. It however stated that officers on Grade Level 14 and above will work for three days, including Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while officers on Grade Level 7 to 13 will work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only.

The circular also restricted private office visits adding that staff officers will be assigned to identify their staffs at the entrance gates from 8:30am to 9:30am.

* Animals exposed to harsh weather

The first phase of the National Children’s Park and Zoo in Asokoro, Abuja, was inaugurated by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001 with many wild animals.

Twenty years after, the planned second phase that was intended to bring it to world standard has not only remained a failed hope, the existing one is begging for urgent attention. As you walk in through the only gate of the zoo, Aso Rock, the seat of power, stares at you.

Our reporter was received at the gate by the deputy director in charge of the zoo, Mr Aminu Muhammad Beli. We were shortly joined by the zoo’s veterinary doctor, Dr Badaru Abubakar. We all walked round the facility, which was devoid of other human presence. The animals enjoyed their solicitude, or so it seemed, until the donkey began to bray.

Daily Trust on Sunday was told that the park and zoo had seen better days, but the situation later changed, even as the COVID-19 pandemic made the situation worse for the facility, which was designed to be self-sufficient through revenue generated from access tickets. In spite of the seeming decay, it was still recording appreciable patronage from members of the public as it is the only of such facility in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Our first point through the well-manicured walkway was the Africa buffalo enclosure. There are only four of them, the youngest being two years old, the deputy director, Wildlife, Beli, told our correspondent. As the deputy director called “Romeo,” a huge beast reluctantly began to trudge closer, after a long stare at us. I thought I wasn’t welcome, but thankfully, the barrier gave us a measure of safety. The animals picked up the leaves thrown at them and chewed gleefully.

The next stop was the lions’ den. There are two of them, named Jimmy and Danjuma. They were part of the latest acquisitions of the zoo following a series of disappointment and complaints by visitors. A Hyena in its enclosure A Hyena in its enclosure The zoo, which had lost many species of animals in the past, such as giraffe, cheetahs, wildebeest, zebra, impala, among others, presently houses about 23 species, comprising of buffalos, lions, hyenas, crocodiles, monkeys, tortoises, snakes, ostriches, horses, donkeys, birds, kangaroos and antelopes.

Although the park does not have an arboretum, it has indigenous species of trees like mahogany, shea butter, locust beans, azalea trees, truculia Africana and many other native trees with economic values. The zoo, which is embodied with wildlife, natural lake and rock, is divided into two sections, where the animals are kept, and playgrounds for visitors, Beli told Daily Trust on Sunday.

The park, which is managed by a special committee under the State House, was mainly established to impart knowledge, aside connecting to nature. “Majority of our visitors are children. But at weekends we usually have other groups, where adults come to connect to nature because the park is out of the city, where people can come and relax,’’ he said.

While noting that before the COVID-19 lockdown, they used to have a lot of schools coming for educational visits, Beli also said that during festive periods they were always overwhelmed with visitors who came for picnics and to connect with nature.

Visitors often go around to see the different types of animals available in the zoo and are educated on why they should conserve plants and animals because they work together to balance the ecosystem. He said, “We educate them on reasons they should not destroy their environment for future generations, especially looking at the manner in which plants and animals are destroyed in the country, which has led to the extinction of many of them.’’

The Federal Government has said that it is investigating the flouting of COVID-19 protocol put in place at three domestic airports by VIPs, warning that if found guilty, they will either go to jail of two months and above, pay a fine or get both sanctions combined.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja at the 51st joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

Daily Trust reports that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, reportedly flouted COVID-19 protocol put in place at the domestic wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State.

Also, a former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, was alleged to have assaulted an official of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) on Saturday. FAAN had on Wednesday tweeted on its official Twitter handle that the ex-governor allegedly assaulted an airport official on Saturday 11th July 2020.

Yari, however denied the allegation, saying he followed all the COVID-19 preventive protocols set by FAAN. Sirika said if investigations revealed that the VIPs did not flout they protocol as alleged by FAAN, apology will be tenderer publicly to them. While saying that all airports in Nigeria open for domestic operations from 15th remains so, he said that government is however at liberty to open and close the airports depending upon so many other operation reasons.

The minister said that the ministry and agencies have received lots of inquiry regarding some alleged unruly passengers and that one of the agencies, FAAN in particular had tweeted and because of that he receive lots of questions.

He said, “So FAAN has escalated what has transpired, these alleged unruly passengers included the former Governor of Zamfara state. Abdulaziz Yari, whom I spoke to yesterday (Wednesday) at length; the current governor of Adamawa Ahmadu Fintiri. “Abdulaziz Yari was on Saturday in Kano. And that of Fintiri is in Port Harcourt and Chief Nduka Obaigbena also alleged here in Abuja.

“Now those are being investigated and if it is found that it was true we will do the needful and if it is found untrue, we would definitely apologize to this individuals.” According to him, going through the Nigeria civil aviation regulations, there is a definition of unruly passenger.

He said, “It goes to say in part 17, 97, 1: that any passenger who becomes unruly at the airport terminal building or on-board a particular aircraft commits an offence. So first is an offense.

“An unruly passenger, according to table two 9, (51) an unruly passenger behaviour requires the punishment of criminal referral for imprisonment for not less than two months so you can get ten years,” he said.

Byke60:
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The House of Representatives Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), on Wednesday, interrogated officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Auditor-General of the Federation over an alleged N82.5bn spent by the NNDC between January and May 2020.

The committee’s chairman, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (APC, Ondo), said the documents submitted by both the CBN and the Auditor-General of the Federation showed that the total amount spent by the NDDC from January to May 2020 was N81.5 billion.

He said the commission claimed to have spent N1.3bn on community relations, N122.9m on condolences, N83m on consultancy and N3.14bn on COVID-19, N486m Duty Travel Allowance, N790.9m as imprest, N1.956bn on Lassa Fever, N900m on Legal Service, N220m on maintenance, N85.6m on foreign travels, N1.121bn on public projects communication, N744m on security, N8.8bn on staffing-related payment. He said the NDDC also spent N248m on stakeholders’ engagement from February 18 to May 31, 2020.

The Auditor-General, Anthony Ayine and the representative of the Accountant-General, Sabo Mohammed, confirmed the N81.5bn transactions being investigated. Ayine said there should be punitive measures to discourage agencies violating the constitution.

The NDDC Interim Management Committee members were not present at the hearing, but wrote a letter to the investigative hearing committee informing it of an invitation to the Federal Executive Council meeting and requested to appear on Thursday.

Fahim Saleh, the CEO of GOKADA, an on-demand motor bike hailing company was found decapitated in his apartment at East Houston Street in Manhattan. Saleh was a Bangladesh-American who founded and invested in several transportation-related start-ups. GOKADA founder, Fahim Saleh, found decapitated in US residence

Apart from being the CEO of GOKADA, below are some key points you probably did not know about the late entrepreneur and investor.

Fahim Saleh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University. While in High school, Saleh was already an entrepreneur who founded an internet company called WizTeen, aimed at teenagers.

His first company while in High school generated over one million dollars in revenue. After college, he taught himself how to program and started KickBack apps, garnering over twenty million downloads.

In 2010, Saleh found TapFury, a comapny focused on creating entertainment apps such as PrankDial, a prank calling app.

Saleh saw an opportunity in his parents’ native company of Bangladesh, and went on to co-found the largest ride-hailing company, Pathao, valued at over $100 million.

He is also an active investor in emerging markets, investing first in Colombia’s largest motorcycle ride sharing company, Picap, recently valued at $15 million.

In 2017, he co-founded Gokada, an on-demand, motor bike hailing company in Lagos, Nigeria and took over as the CEO in April 2019.

In 2018, he launched the venture capital firm, Adventure Capital in New York. He is also a founder of Kickback apps, an entertainment focused app company.

Saleh was the founding manager of HackHouse, a “tech incubator/venture factory” based in Bangladesh.

The 33 year old’s estimated Net Worth is USD 150 million as of 2020