₦airaland Forum

companies doing business in the State hire at least 10 per cent of their senior workers and 70 per cent of junior workers from among the indigenes of the State.

It is, however, unclear how the latest motion passed by the assembly would help in job creation in the state.

the frequent kidnapping of construction workers in the state may have been caused by “flagrant flouting of the extant laws and regulations applicable to (the) employment of indigenes by these companies.”

The bill was, however, not signed into law by the state governor, Udom Emmanuel.

Akwa Ibom lawmaker, Aniekan Uko, has said that the frequent kidnapping of construction workers in the state may have been caused by “flagrant flouting of the extant laws and regulations applicable to (the) employment of indigenes by these companies.”

Mr Uko, a Peoples Democratic Party member representing Ibesikpo Asutan State Constituency, made the remarks on Tuesday during plenary at the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly when he moved a motion on “the need to consider the employment of indigenous youths by companies operating in Akwa Ibom State”.

The assembly presided over by the speaker, Aniekan Bassey, upheld Mr Uko’s motion and directed companies in the state to “adhere strictly” to employment laws and regulations in the state.

The house also urged relevant ministries to monitor “the extent of employment of local persons by companies operating in the state”.

Mr Uko said the motion was in line with Nigeria’s local content law and similar laws.

He made reference to a bill which was passed by the assembly in 2018 which sought to compel companies in the state to hire Akwa Ibom indigenes. The bill was, however, not signed into law by the state governor, Udom Emmanuel.

“Recalls that the 6th Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, in consideration of the plight of host communities in the hands of companies operating in the State, passed into law, a bill which sought to ensure that companies doing business in the State hire at least 10 per cent of their senior workers and 70 per cent of junior workers from among the indigenes of the State.

“Further recalls that in the aforementioned bill, it was stated that where the quota for indigenes of the State was not filled on account of non-availability of qualified indigenes of the State, the company shall ensure that a reasonable effort was made within two years to supply such training locally or elsewhere to the indigenes of the State, in a joint venture Ministry in charge, so that after the training, the beneficiaries could be absorbed by the said company,” Mr Uko said.

Akwa Ibom is said to be among the states with the highest unemployment rates in Nigeria, despite being one of the richest in the country.

The state is home to Mobil Producing Nigeria, a subsidiary of the American oil giant, ExxonMobil, as well as several oil-related companies doing business in the state.

Several construction companies have moved into the state in the past 10 years because of road construction and urban renewal projects of the state government.

It is, however, unclear how the latest motion passed by the assembly would help in job creation in the state.

mrvitalis:
Even the 6 ton per hectares rice they produced what happened

“The National Livestock Transformation Plan is a private-sector arrangement with support from Brazil. The government is only providing an atmosphere to make it thrive. The project is meant for the people of Ondo State.”

By Dayo Johnson

‘We woke up to see NLTP signpost’

FOUR agrarian communities in Akoko, the Northern Senatorial Districts in Ondo State are on collision course with the state government for allegedly covertly ceding their land for RUGA without any consultation and their consent.

The state government had designated the communities for the establishment of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, NLTP.

Stakeholders in the communities are angered that they, including their traditional rulers, only woke up to see the signpost of NLTP at their doorstep by the state government without any prior knowledge or briefing by the government and its agencies.

Speculations were rife across the communities that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu wanted to use the programme in the Northern Senatorial District, where he hails from, to play his second term ambition card.

Leaders of the four communities namely Auga, lse, Ikakumo and Akunnu, AIKA, have not only threatened to drag the state government to the court of law for the forceful takeover but resist it with their blood.

The four communities met recently and reached an agreement to reject the project because they were kept in the dark by the government.

Vanguard gathered that the stakeholders have mandated their traditional rulers to meet with the government and convey their displeasure and rejection.

They kicked against the state government’s action insisting that no consultation was made before it was decided that their communities should be used for the project.

Speaking with Vanguard, a prominent leader in Akunnu, Alhaji Kazeem Idris, said: “We are not happy that we woke up to see a signpost at our doorstep saying the area had been earmarked for NLTP better known as RUGA. The government’s action is not only unfortunate but arrogant.

“The community was not consulted or carried along. Even the traditional rulers knew nothing.

“Government did this without regards to anybody. We are crop farmers. The government could have done better by assisting us with a functional cassava processing factory, cashew processing or even better still, motorable road to get our products to its consumers.

“We are amazed that the Ondo State Government could introduce this project into our life so covertly, it is a shame. None of the communities were pre-informed or regarded. They just woke up to a signpost at their doorstep.

“The land actually belongs to Odua Investments. We leased it to Odua Investments years ago for 99 years or so.”

You can’t negotiate our ancestral lands—Auga leader

Another leader from Auga, Oriowo Hakeem said: “We do not support a programme that is disguised as RUGA or one that we are not properly briefed about.

“We support everything agriculture. We are predominantly farmers, crop farmers not livestock. Must we be forced into what we don’t know anything about?

Teach us how to process our yam, garri and cashew. Give us the processing facilities. We don’t want to learn a new trade.

“It is important that all AIKA communities should rise up as a body to this development. There was no consultation. There is a fear that this will gradually turn to become a RUGA project. We reject this development, more so, the Federal Government I am aware has put a caveat to such programmes, indicating that where there are oppositions, the project would be moved to other states.

“Government cannot decide to allocate an area for livestock without discussing with the owners of the land. You would have to explain your programme to the indigenous people and decide with them on the best way to forge ahead. They shouldn’t just wake up and find a signpost at their doorstep. We are crop farmers and not livestock farmers. This development is suspicious.

“We have not benefited from the government in the last 20 years. We have no roads, no schools, no hospitals, health centers without doctors, no market, no single agro-processing industry, yet the only thing the government has thought about is to make us a dumping ground for cows, pigs and goats. We need motorable roads for agriculture. Are they going to move the cows on motorcycles to the abattoir? Why put the cart before the horse? Our fears are well-founded and Ondo State could have done better. You just don’t dump things on us without reaching out to us to at least notify us even if you will not seek our consent. This is a democracy, not a military regime. You cannot negotiate our ancestral lands without informing us.

“We will resist it with the last drop of our blood. We are not pawns in a chess game.

It’s RUGA in disguise—PDP

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, amongst other groups, have frowned at the programme insisting it was RUGA in disguise.

The South West PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Ayo Fadaka, said: “The idea that there must be a National Livestock Transformation Plan is not itself a bad one, it is indeed a concept that should have been implemented many decades back.

“It is sad enough that the issue of cattle and Fulani have become a sensitive matter in the nation since the inauguration of President Buhari as Commander in Chief since 2015.

“If the goal of the project is to create a ranch where indigenes can have active participation in animal husbandry, it is a welcome decision, but if the intent is to import some Fulani and their cattle to Ondo State, it is certainly not a welcome development.

“The Livestock project should be under the prerogative of the States and not a Federal project. Therefore, we demand that Livestock project must not under any guise be turned on the long run to a new Fulani Colony in Ondo State.”

It’s not RUGA—Ondo govt

However, in a swift reaction, the state government has allayed the fear of the people that the programme was RUGA in disguise.

The Senior Special Adviser SSA to the state governor on Agribusiness and Empowerment Akin Olotu, in his reaction, said: “The National livestock transformation plan is not RUGA. It is not about cattle only. It is not about beef only. It is about the holistic development of the sector.

“Ondo State is not doing RUGA. We are doing the upscaling of the entire links on the value- chain of the sector, using a PPP approach. Ours include Piggery, Dairy, Beef and goats etc. Who says Yoruba cannot go into the business? Who is saying Christians cannot go into it?

“Our agenda under the national livestock transformation plan involves goat as well. It involves a breeder station, where our livestock entrepreneurs will have access to sexed semen for artificial insemination and breeds of calves, goats, piglets that are of better quality.

“The National Livestock Transformation Plan, NLTP, is for us all. It is a business for us. It is not an ethnic issue. It is not about any religion. It is about our people, our economy, our future and our well being.”

Livestock transformation policy will boost economic growth ― Presidency(Opens in a new browser tab)

A top government functionary, who spoke with Vanguard in confidence, said: “A research carried out by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, revealed that 12,000 cows are slaughtered daily, with Lagos alone recording the highest of 6,000 cows, while the other south west states share the remaining 6,000.

“This is aside from the cows slaughtered for celebration activities, which of course might not be captured under the state records.

“With the huge daily capital flight that’s at stake here, it’s important that any responsive and responsible government would be interested in addressing the problem once and for all.

“That is exactly what the Ondo State government has done in this case. For those who do not know, the National Livestock Transformation Plan is not a RUGA settlement. It will be recalled that the idea of RUGA was rejected by the entire Southwest states. To put it more succinctly, the idea was buried in the southwest even before it took root.

“The National Livestock Transformation Plan is a private-sector arrangement with support from Brazil. The government is only providing an atmosphere to make it thrive. The project is meant for the people of Ondo State.”

He assured that the ministry would continue to support farmers with rice millers, yam, wheat, maize, etc,  to produce more to meet the nation’s demand.

The Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono, has stated that mechanized farming would boost agricultural production and create more jobs for Nigerian Youths.

The Minister made this disclosure during a town hall meeting with the All Farmers Associations of Nigeria (AFAN) and other relevant stakeholders, in Kano, over the weekend.

Alhaji Sabo Nanono noted that, the introduction of mechanized farming was necessary in order to shift from the traditional system of farming and embrace modern technology, enhance self-reliance and boost food production in the country.

 He appealed to Nigerians to support the present administration in its commitment to position the Agricultural Sector to attain economic growth and food security.

“We need to give the Government the necessary support and co-operation to enable it achieve success in terms of food security, job creation and increased Internally Generated Revenue “. Nanono reiterated

The Minister challenged the farmers to rise up to the challenge of meeting the expectation of government for the sector, being the backbone of the nation’s economy.

While still speaking, Nanono said  “Already, we are planning to establish service centers across the 774 Local Government Areas across Nigeria, where farmers can access improved seed and other farm inputs.

“With the setting of the service centers, equipment will be sourced and assembled in Nigeria to serve the rural and urban farmers. Federal Government is attracting these companies to set up their factories in Nigeria and when they do that, it will generate more jobs’’.

 He assured that the ministry would continue to support farmers with rice millers, yam, wheat, maize, etc,  to produce more to meet the nation’s demand.

In his welcome address, the Chairman, Kano State Chapter, AFAN, Alhaji Ahmed Mudi, said there was need for Government’s Interventions to scale up small scale processors and millers, towards making their work easier in all relevant commodities chains. Alhaji Mudi requested a capacity building Programme for processors and extension services agents in all the States of the Federation to take care of farmers and staff at the various levels.

Ezeaja Ikemefuna

For: Director, Information (FMARD)

jaxxy:
Does this include the nigers and Fulani herdsmen and wanderers up north? They are foreigners I want to believe?

1998 transhumance protocol:

i. Each country sets its entry and exit;
ii. Each defined state reception areas;
iii. Travel must take place along roads defined by the States;
iv. Border crossing should be done in days;
v. Finally, to cross borders ,the transhumant should be equipped with an international transhumance certificate (ITC). In this certificate the stockbreeder must declare all his animals, certifying their immunization and define its route. Source

“So that where for example transhumance certificates are to be used and endorsed by medical or immigration officials this is not the case; this has to change.

“We can no longer continue to tolerate the undocumented movement of persons that simply contribute to the escalation of our security challenges.

Yemi Osinbajo

Source

Registration procedure

According to the Migrant E-Registration document which Saturday Tribune obtained, “the following are the procedure for registration for migrants in Nigeria before January 2020: All migrants above the age of 18 must be captured on the Migrant E-Registration database before January 2020 or risk prosecution.

“This law applies to migrants who intend or have stayed in the country for more than 90 days. Only person enjoying diplomatic immunity or below the age of 18 or intends to stay for a period less than 90 days are exempted from the Migrant E-Registration guidelines.

“The registration is in two stages; Self Service Application, which is web-based and Desktop Registration which takes place at registration centers. We have Migrant Registration offices stationed nationwide for ease of access while the grace period lasts. Migrants are advised to get all necessary documents and walk into any Migrant Registration office in their state of residence to complete their registration. After registration, migrants will get an acknowledgement slip confirming their registration. For migrants in Lagos, they are to go to our registration office at Alagbon, close in Ikoyi.”

Required documents

On the documents that will be needed by migrants who intend to complete the Migrant E-Registration process, the migrant document explains that “We have three categories of migrants, those who come from countries in the West African sub-region, that is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); those who hail from other African countries that are not under ECOWAS; and migrants who are expatriate employees.

“For migrants from ECOWAS countries, the following documents are needed to complete the Migrant E-Registration exercise: Introduction letter for registration and acceptance of immigration responsibilities by Diaspora community association or the migrants’ landlord or employer; copy of travel document Data Page; and an ECOWAS residence card.

“For migrants from other African countries not under ECOWAS, the following documents will be needed: Introduction letter for registration and acceptance of immigration responsibilities by employer; copy of travel document data page; Evidence of registration with professional bodies (where applicable); copy of letter of employment; copy of letter of acceptance of employment; copy of quota approval (where applicable); and CERPAC (where applicable).

“For expatriate employees, the following documents will be required for registration: Introduction letter for registration and acceptance of immigration responsibilities by employer; copy of travel document data page; evidence of registration with professional bodies (where applicable); copy of letter of employment; copy of letter of acceptance of employment; copy of quota approval (where applicable); and CERPAC (where applicable).

“Other categories of migrants are students, self employed, spouse of a Nigerian and dependants. For students, documents needed for Migrant E-Registration are: Introduction letter for registration and acceptance of immigration responsibilities by school; copy of travel documents data page; copy of admission letter; copy of letter of acceptance of admission; and evidence of payment of school fees.

“For migrants who are self employed, documents like introduction letter for registration and acceptance of immigration responsibilities by Diaspora, association/landlord/owner of residence; copy of travel documents data page; evidence of business registration; and copy of business permit (where applicable).

“For migrants who are married to Nigerians, the following documents will be needed to complete their Migrant E-Registration: spouse’s consent letter requesting for special immigrant status and acceptance of immigration responsibilities; letter of consent from the wife of the Nigerian, stating willingness to stay with spouse in Nigeria; copy of Nigerian passport bio-data page of spouse; copy of passport bio-data page of spouse; copy of marriage certificate; copy of state of origin or local government identification certificate of the Nigerian spouse.

“For dependants: Copy of travel documents data page; copy of marriage certificate of spouse; and copy of dependants’ birth certificate (children).

“Failure to comply with the Migrant registration is contrary to Section 57 (5) of the Immigration Act 2015 and punishable under same section of the law.”

OdefaGirl:
I hope this information has really been spread across even to the rural dwellers? Am just learning of this now and the deadline is fast approaching.

klax:
Plz oga immigration you better behave or get sack and EFCC will be ask to go after you. Pls which illegal immigrants are you talking about Niger and Chad bar? You forgot they are part of those who came to vote for Buhari? You forgot Buhari biological father is from Niger? You forgot majority of those truck pushers, metal scrap hunters etc are from Niger?

ikwedim:
No Indian in Nigeria has a valid papers. They even call us fool.

HumorSexNmiLFs:


I.am planning to bring an Oyinbo Milf down here o. I hope this broom people are not targeting legitimate Lovers...

He is from Benin Republic and possesses not a single document to connect his movement to Nigeria and establish his identity. He was notified of the registration by his equally-anxious employers

Those who succeed in slipping back into Nigeria, Saturday Tribune was told by a senior government official, would be tracked and prosecuted before getting deported. No monetary fine or jail term is attached to the foreigners’ migration offences by the Act setting up the NIS.

Saturday Tribune, however, learnt that the NIS, which has a police unit attached to it for enforcement, will be banking on tip-offs to conduct raids on homes where most of the migrants from Benin Republic and Togo work as domestic servants.

On 12 July, 2019, the Federal Government flagged off the Migrant E-Registration exercise to ensure non-citizens living in the country are properly documented. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at the contending issues as the six-month deadline for compliance looms. Additional report is provided by SHOLA ADEKOLA.

FROM the morning of the 13th of January, 2020, the Federal Government is going to commence mass arrest of undocumented foreigners all over the country with Lagos expected to record the highest number of casualties, going by the high number of such affected persons seeking daily bread in the country’s most successful commercial state.

The six-month grace for the appropriate documentation given by the central government is going to terminate at the midnight of January 12 and Saturday Tribune was told by the supervising agency for the documentation that no extension grace was on the card.

Saturday Tribune was told by the top echelon of the service that while undocumented migrants above 18 years without evidence of proper documentation, having not participated in the ongoing registration, would be arrested after the grace period and promptly deported, Nigerians harbouring them or having them in their employment would be jailed seven years or made to pay a fine of N1 million.

Those who usually facilitate the “illegal” movement of young girls and boys from neighbouring countries into Nigeria for the purpose of linking them up with those in need of domestic servants in homes across the country, popularly known as “agents”, now stand the risk of a 10-year jail term or a fine of N1 million.

The practice of helping such migrants from countries like Benin Republic, Togo and Mali to come into Nigeria illegally and fixing them up for a fee is very popular in Lagos and Abuja, despite the campaign mounted against it by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP.

Speaking to Saturday Tribune on the procedure for the Migrant E-Registration exercise, spokesperson for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Sunday James, explained that any migrant not captured on the Migrant E-Registration database by the 12th of January, 2020 would be arrested and prosecuted.

“Migrants in every state of Nigeria, including Lagos, have till the 12th of January, 2020 to comply or we go after them. There is a document containing the entire procedure and we expect that all migrants would have completed their registration before the deadline,” James said.

Saturday Tribune is also in possession of the Migrant E-Registration document which gives a detailed procedure for registration of non-Nigerians living in the country with the Lagos centre located at Alagbon, close in Ikoyi.

Going constitutional to back up the planned punishment for the Nigerian accomplices, James pointed at Section 67 subsection (1) of the Immigration Act 2015 which provide that: “Any person who intentionally or knowingly, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or material benefit, enables a person who is not a national or permanent resident of a country to stay illegally in that country by means of a fraudulent identity document or any other illegal means; commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of seven years and a fine of not less than N1 million or both, and is in addition liable to refund to the smuggled person alimonies obtained from him/her in the cause of the commission of the offence.”

For those trading in the migrants through illegal employment, the sub-section (2) is for them. It stipulates that: “Any person who intentionally, in order to obtain a financial or material benefit from another person, engages in a fraudulent act or conducts purportedly for the purpose of procuring, facilitating or promoting the stay by that other person in a country of which he or she is not a national or a permanent resident, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of 10 years or a fine of not less than N1 million or both, and is in addition liable to refund to the smuggled migrant alimonies obtained from him in the cause of the commission of the offence.”

Panic in Lagos

Saturday Tribune first became aware of the looming deadline when a domestic servant in a household (name withheld) was frantically seeking information about the “card they said I need to come back to Lagos in the new year.” He is from Benin Republic and possesses not a single document to connect his movement to Nigeria and establish his identity. He was notified of the registration by his equally-anxious employers who obviously want him back next year, after the annual visit, thousands like him, go to the country of their birth during the yuletide in December to return, before now, unhindered, in the new year. Despite always being in the company of his fellow countrymen in his area of residence, it appears none of them heard about it until the news got to his employers.

Findings by Saturday Tribune showed that many residents in different parts of the state from neighbouring countries like Benin Republic, Togo, Mali, Niger and others are unaware of the ongoing registration as well as their employers who could be risking jail term welcoming them back after January 12, 2020.

That would be for those who ever get to make it back to Nigeria as the immigration service is said to have ensured that only those who are captured in the ongoing exercise would be allowed back to Nigeria either through the water or land borders, especially the latter, which are currently closed by the Nigerian government.

Those who succeed in slipping back into Nigeria, Saturday Tribune was told by a senior government official, would be tracked and prosecuted before getting deported. No monetary fine or jail term is attached to the foreigners’ migration offences by the Act setting up the NIS.

While those under 18 years may enjoy a temporary relief, they too become endangered in any part of the state once they stay beyond 90 days and NAPTIP could move in for their employers for alleged child abuse and child trafficking.

Tracking offenders

When the spokesperson was asked how the cumbersome procedure of tracking offenders and arresting them would be achieved since most of their targets would either be in homes as domestic servants (Cotonou maids and young boys manning home gates) or doing menial jobs like maiguard, okada riding (for Fulani young men from neighbouring countries), he asked Saturday Tribune to leave that aspect of intelligence gathering to the service. He also responded to the possibility of migrants giving fake information.

“The process for authentication of information given by a migrant is confidential and restricted to the NIS. How we authenticate or go about authentication is our trade secret and professional approach to doing our job, part of which is the Migrant e-registration exercise ongoing nationwide.

“NIS, by the six months presidential amnesty, is carrying out sensitisation, campaigns and domesticated approach through state and local governments, royal fathers, ward heads and presidents of the unions the migrants belong to as a citizen, all in an effort to justify government’s effort not to cow anyone but to persuade them to do what is right and following right process,” James said.

Saturday Tribune, however, learnt that the NIS, which has a police unit attached to it for enforcement, will be banking on tip-offs to conduct raids on homes where most of the migrants from Benin Republic and Togo work as domestic servants. There is also the likelihood of a stop-and-search, particularly for okada riders and young ladies suspected to be domestic servants but out on errands.

The registration is completely free, according to James, who noted that with the deadline looming, the turnout at the Lagos registration centre had been encouraging. He did not give figures.

Closed border, booming human business

Although James said enlightenment and advocacy had been done by the NIS, save for a young man from Benin Republic who claimed to have concluded his registration and given a card to serve as his identification and another in the process of commencing his, nearly all illegal migrants encountered by Saturday Tribune were clueless about the exercise.

It has also been discovered that more than 90 per cent of the undocumented migrants, particularly those working as maids and security in homes, who formed the majority of such migrants, came into the country illegally, possibly through a long-running arrangement between agents/scouts who recruit them in their countries and bring them en masse to Nigeria and security agencies, Customs and Immigration, manning the country’s land borders sharing boundaries with the affected countries like Benin Republic, Togo and Mali.

The security agents at the land border at Idi-Iroko, Ogun State and at other points allegedly have a sharing formula with the agents or madams (Nigerians who place them in homes and collect their salaries from their employers on a yearly basis) on each illegal migrant allowed into the country.

In August, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari shut all land borders to stem the tide of smuggling, though the policy has been discovered through real-time pieces of evidence to be ineffective in the core-Northern part of the country where Customs officials and policemen have been captured on video escorting smuggled rice into the country through the land border in Katsina, the home state of the president.

Despite the viral video evidence, no official statement was issued to address the alleged criminal act.

At the Sokoto State land borders too, around Ilela, motorcyclists were also captured on video moving hundreds of bags of the banned imported rice into the country. There was no definite official action on the discovery.

Smugglers too have been busy at the Idi-Iroko land border but they are always caught by the eagle-eyed men and officers of the Joint Task Force supervising the closure.

The effectiveness of the monitoring of the closure at the Idi-Iroko border is what is now giving the affected migrants sleepless nights, seeing that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the proverbial needle eye than for them to stroll across the border as usual when returning from “home” in January.

tstx:
Something is smelling

They argued that the commission lacks jurisdiction to conduct criminal investigation against Sanusi.

The Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi (II), has filed a fresh application against the Kano State Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission (KSACPCC) from investigating his financial dealings. The state High Court, presided over by Justice Suleiman Baba Na Mallam, had adjourned his sitting until January 19, 2020, for the hearing, in the civil suit filed by Muhammed Munnir Sanusi (Dan buran Kano), challenging the legality of the KSACPCC to investigate him of alleged criminal embezzlement against the emirate council.

When the case resumed for mention, counsel to the plaintiffs, Dr. Garba Usman (SAN), moved the motion to include Acting Secretary of the Emirate, Alhaji Abba Yusuf and Kano State Emirate Council as 4th and 5th plaintiffs in the suit and the motion was granted accordingly. Other plaintiffs in the suit are Muhd Munir Sanusi (Dan buran Kano) Mujtaba Abubakar Abba (Falakin Kano) and Muhd Sani Kwaru.

It would be recalled that the Chairman of Kano State Public Complaints and Anti- Corruption Commission, Muhiyi Magaji Rimin Gado,had commenced investigation of alleged criminal misappropriation of funds against the Emir, Emirate council and some of its staff. Before the commission completed its investigation, the plaintiffs approached the court through an ex-parte application urged the court to restrain the commission from conducting its investigation. They argued that the commission lacks jurisdiction to conduct criminal investigation against Sanusi.

The USDA figures, which are current as at mid-October 2019, shows a 14 per cent surge in exports.

The country more than doubled its importation of the brand to 567,000 as at October 10, 2019.

Wheat importation by Nigeria is defying the President Muhammadu Buhari regime’s trend of cutting down on import of food crops. 

Data released by the United States Department for Agriculture shows a 367,000 metric tonne increase in purchase of various wheat brands from the US. 

The country purchased 936,000mt of wheat as at October 2019, as against 569,000 bought at the same time last year.

Inversely, America’s economic rival China, has drastically reduced its import of wheat which is a strategic commodity for the US economy. 

The USDA figures, which are current as at mid-October 2019, shows a 14 per cent surge in exports. 

On all brands of wheat exported by the US highlighted by Thefencepost, imports from Nigeria dropped on only a grade called durum. 

The variant favoured by Nigerian importers is known as Hard Red Winter.

The country more than doubled its importation of the brand to 567,000 as at October 10, 2019. 

It was second in the purchase of HRW to US’s neighbour – Mexico. 

The next brand Nigerian importers preferred is Soft Red winter.

Again, its volume of import rose by 50 per cent to 142,000mt. 

Nigeria was once again second to Mexico. 

The other product favoured by Nigeria was Hard White wheat.

Nigeria’s interest in Hard White grew by nine per cent to 123,000mt. 

Its purchase of Durum however, decreased by 58 per cent to 28,000 as at Oct 11, 2019.

Besides the US, Nigeria also imports as much wheat as it exports its citizens to Canada. 

The country has since 2007 tried unsuccessfully to diversify away from the use of wheat in flour making to cassava where it has competitive advantage. 

The Buhari administration has been silent on the implementation of the High Quality Cassava Flour.

“The command calls on members of the public to desist from taking laws into their hands as it will not hesitate to deal decisively with any person or group of person that tries to sabotage the relative peace currently being enjoyed in the state.”

He said Sunday’s incident might have been a reprisal attack.

The Zamfara police command says 14 persons were killed by suspected bandits in Karaye village, Gummi local government area of the state on Sunday.

Muhammad Shehu, public relations officer of the command, disclosed this in a statement.

Shehu said 10 other persons sustained gunshot injuries while some houses were set ablaze in the attack.

This is the first major breach of the peace agreement between the state government and suspected bandits.

Shehu said on November 3, some members of a local vigilante group, known as Yan Sakai, attacked and killed nine people in Bardoki village, over the suspicion that they were bandits.

He said on receiving the report, the command arrested 11 members of the vigilantes suspected of actively participating in the killings.

He said Sunday’s incident might have been a reprisal attack.

He added that discreet investigation into the incident was ongoing and those would be prosecuted.

“The incident is being investigated by the state CID Gusau and all the suspects will be charged to court for prosecution in order to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.

“However, combined teams attached to Operation Puff Adder, men of Operation Hadarin-Daji and vigilantes led by the DPO Gummi mobilised to the scene and embarked on extensive bush combing with a view to trailing and arresting the perpetrators.

“Corpses and injured victims were conveyed to the General Hospital Gummi for autopsy and treatment.

“The command calls on members of the public to desist from taking laws into their hands as it will not hesitate to deal decisively with any person or group of person that tries to sabotage the relative peace currently being enjoyed in the state.”

Passengers using train to commute in Lagos metropolis have lamented continued suspension of train operations in and out of Lagos by management of Nigerian Railway Corporation to enable China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), realign the narrow gauge railway tracks and create space for laying new standard gauge railway lines within the Lagos metropolis

LEADERSHIP checks showed that the corporation has not yet resumed passenger and goods train service after the expiration of the six weeks period it earlier said the construction work would take.

Our correspondent observed that the existing narrow gauge railway lines are currently being relocated within the same railway corridor from Agbado to Ebute-Metta Junction prior to the commencement of civil work before laying the double standard gauge railway tracks.

It was reliably gathered that the realignment of the old narrow gauge tracks, soil preparations, and laying of new standard gauge railway tracks cannot be completed within the six weeks earlier announced by Lagos District Railway Manager, of the corporation, Engr Jerry Oche.

Although it could not be ascertained when passenger and goods train operations will resume, CCECC officials were seen pouring ballast stones underneath the standard gauge railway tracks already laid between Agbado in Ogun state and Iju in Lagos.

It is also noteworthy that the corporation has lost millions of Naira since the suspension of passenger and goods train service, just as workers of the corporation were seen loitering around the railway stations and headquarter of the corporation in Lagos and Ebute-Metta Junction.

Meanwhile some of the workers of the corporation who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that train operations within Lagos and its environ as well as Lagos to Kano passenger and goods train service can only commence by end of this year.

He stated that the workers and commuters residing at areas like Kajola, Agbado, Itoki Okposuru, and Ijoko are going through untold hardship in order to go to their various destinations daily due to suspension of train service and increase in cost of transport fares by commercial vehicle drivers.

To worsen the matters, he pointed out that the roads leading to the aforementioned towns and communities are in bad state of disrepair with little or no attention paid to road repair and maintenance by Ogun state government.

QuotaSystem:
Was Donald Trump being petty and emotional when he decided on building the wall against the will of democrats who opposed and constantly attack him?

When he refused to implement tighter gun control against the will of democrats and in favor of his beloved NRA that heavily supported his election and administration?

You see, politics is all about competing interests. It's a actually an ignorant, petty and emotional mind that thinks it's all about "internet jokes".

The eastern rail corridor connects Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta – passing through Aba, Umuahia, Uzuakoli, Enugu, Makurdi before terminating at Maiduguri in the north-eastern Borno State.

EagleNest:
Can government privatise the railway transport in form of franchise to consortiums or private business, that way we could be more business minded in running the railway rather the current politised approach.

QuotaSystem:
So you see Blue3k2, it isn't about backwards reasoning but backwards understanding of politics and diplomacy.

QuotaSystem:
He can powerfully influence it as Minister of Transport. Besides from the article the problem isn't building the railways, but rehabilitation & maintenance.

Unfortunately SEners have attacked, victimized and rejected the same hardworking Amaechi endlessly to the point that the man doesn't care anymore and has instead been seriously focused on delivering railways in every other part of the country.

I wonder the kind of railways expected from a "lizard" of Ubima.