…..Describes development as historic and a confirmation of Buhari’s love for Niger Delta
…..Commends NPA MD for breaking a jinx, proving herself an astute administrator.

As countries of the world continue to battle the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic which emergence has halted economies and economic activities of nations, the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari is taking very proactive and informed steps towards ensuring that the pandemic does not shatter the economy of Nigeria, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has said.

Eze, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP), made this observation in a statement made available to media houses in the South-South region of Nigeria. He congratulated Mohammadu Buhari’s presidency for achieving yet another milestone in the development and expansion of ports to boost economic activities through a robust system of international trade.

President Buhari has executed this major feat through the leadership and foresight of the Hon. Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, whose commitment to service delivery is yielding tremendous results in all spheres of the economy and national life.

“All wise leaders know that as you fight the deadly pandemic, you also keep an eye on the economy and any opportunity that can happen despite the crisis, because after rain comes sunshine”. The party chief submitted.

Chief Eze said, through the efforts of the President Buhari-led Federal Government and the initiative of the amiable, workaholic, and competent Minister of Transportation, Rivers State, has made history as the first Maersk lines service has berthed in Onne directly from China coupled with the feat of the Calabar Port in Cross Rivers State taking delivery of four shiploads of PMS to help in decongesting Lagos, first in 30 years. This calls for celebration, events that past administrations couldn’t achieve.

Throwing more light on this historical feat, Eze recalled that the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) received the First Maersk’s direct service container ship from Far East at the Onne Port in Rivers State. The vessel, a gearless 4,800 24-feet Equivalent Unit (TEU) capacity carrier, sailed into Onne Port with Maersk Line flagship under its FEW3 service, thereby becoming the first Maersk vessel to call at Onne Port without first calling at any Lagos port.

Eze further quoted the WACT’s Commercial Manager, Noah Sheriff as saying “It is important to note that this new service will call WACT Onne weekly, coupled with the benefit of a short transit time for cargo coming from Far East. This is a product many customers have been asking, and we at WACT shall ensure that we turn these vessels around quickly,”

This feat calls for celebration as this is one of the largest vessels that ever called directly at Onne without calling at Lagos.

Eze maintained that WACT, which has become the preferred container terminal outside the Lagos area, was fast gaining reputation as the gateway to eastern Nigeria and the alternative to the ports in Lagos.

Eze further highlighted that there was excitement among stakeholders at the Calabar Port Complex following the recent delivery of four shiploads of premium motor spirit, otherwise known as petrol, to the port. The successful berthing of the four vessels a feat that have never happened in the past thirty years followed some new initiatives put in place by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to revive the ports in eastern Nigeria and also boost trade in that axis.

The move according to Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Managing Director, Mrs Hadiza Bala-Usman is to decongest the two ports in Lagos, the Lagos Ports Complex and the Tin-Can Island Ports.

Both ports have over the years been over-stretched beyond capacity, a development that got the two biggest cargo ports massively congested while those in the east, including Calabar were grossly under-utilised, thus giving rise to the need for some reforms.

Eze reiterated that by this revolution, the NPA MD, Hadiza Bala-Usman has proven herself as an astute Administrator who is ready to change the face of ports management in Nigeria.

The Party Chief emphasised that the milestone became possible after a N3 Billion investment in mobile habour cranes was made to upgrade the port. Maersk had announced that containers from China to Niger/Delta and South-East will now go directly to Onne.

Commenting on the benefits of these initiatives, Chief Eze said the development will revive the port and create jobs for the teeming unemployed Niger/Delta and South-East youths. He added that it will boost economic activities and improve the economies of Rivers, Cross River States and other Niger/Delta and South/East states, considering the huge opportunity it presents.

Consequently, Chief Eze tasked Nigerians to continue to support the APC-led Federal Government under the headship of Mohammadu Buhari, as the Transportation Minister, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, continues to break new grounds and discover fresh opportunities to strengthen the nation’s economy for the good of all.

This has shown that if Nigerians rally round their leadership, the solidarity will bring about bigger investments and economic prosperity for the good of all. It also shows that this son of the South-South and South-East needs more support to do more for the region. Love him or hate him, he is the one now in a key economic sector and must be supported to get the most for his people.

Describing the Minister as a seasoned administrator with a mastery in timely service delivery for public good, the party chief encouraged Amaechi to remain committed as his custom is, to the service of the nation and all of humanity.

The Global Economic Policy Initiative, GEPIn, an economic policy advocacy group has commended the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, (NIRSAL), and its Managing Director, Aliyu Abdulhameed, for its significant contributions to President Buhari’s diversification agenda through its facilitation of financing for the agricultural sector and for playing a key role in achieving the food sufficiency Nigeria currently enjoys, even during the pandemic.

GEPIn through a statement signed by its President, Bernard Okri, commended Abdulhameed for the focused leadership that has produced these positive results.

According to Okri: “Since its inception in 2013, NIRSAL was always projected to be the game-changer in agriculture financing. Its mandate – which includes financial underwriting for loans in the agricultural sector – was not just a necessity but a critical move if Nigeria was going to retune its priorities from a monotonic, oil driven economy. What we have seen so far is the impressive implementation of this mandate that has brought confidence, hope and a long-needed trigger to our agriculture sector.

“Under the leadership of Aliyu Abdulhammed since 2016, NIRSAL especially through the facilitation of finance and investment from the private sector into the different segments of the Agricultural Value Chain, as well as the instrumentality of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, created millions of jobs in the agricultural sector directly and indirectly.” GEPIn stated.

The group stated that the financial stimulus in the agricultural sector facilitated through NIRSAL was impressive.

“NIRSAL has so far facilitated over 122.7 Billion Naira into financing of the agriculture sector from various sources. Along with other sources of exceptional financing from the Central Bank and other sources, the financial stimulus has not only woken a sleeping giant, it has jacked it up to productivity – obvious from the significant improvements we have seen of the GDP contributions from the agricultural sector.

It also commended the significant capacity building efforts of NIRSAL in the sector as well as the recently launched innovative Agro Geo-Cooperatives model.

“NIRSAL has also succeeded in providing the much desired technical assistance to the agricultural value chain in the country. The company has developed different sustainable models to fix broken agricultural value chains in the country, top of which is the game changing Agro Geo-Cooperative (AGC) model of organizing, structuring, risk-managing, financing and controlling smallholder-based primary production agriculture, it has also provided training on good agronomic practices to over 700,000 farmers and 374 extension workers, and in addition, trained over 1,538 staff of financial institutions in agricultural financing and risk management. Through NIRSAL’s Insurance pillar, innovative index-based agricultural insurance products have been developed, adopted by 9 private insurance companies and used by almost 200,000 farmers to date.

The GEPIn stated that NIRSAL was critical to the diversification of Nigeria’s economy through agriculture.

It urged Aliyu Abdulhameed, its MD to remain focused in the delivery of his mandate, cautioning him to disregard the distractions of detractors.

“Mr. Abdulhameed has earned for himself a laudable record. He must keep his eyes on the target. There would be the voices of those who would try to bring him down; he must ensure not to be swayed or moved by them. His task is far more important than the barks of attack dogs.”

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has expressed his excitement that Governors Abdulrahman and Obiano have positioned their States to embrace the Digital Economy. The governors did this by crashing the Right of Way Charges from N5,500 per linear metre to N1 per kilometre of fibre in Kwara State and from N 600 per linear metre to N0 in Anambra State.

In a press release signec by the Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Femi Adeluyi, he said that in making the pronouncement, the Executive Governor of Kwara State noted that the reduction was “designed to deepen digital penetration in Kwara State, improve the state’s ease of doing business ratings, and ease people’s access to the Internet and other digital communication, especially the remote parts of the state”.

“The statement by Anambra State government noted that “the removal of the Right of Way charges by Anambra State is the first step to a digital economy that welcomes key stakeholders, investors, innovators, educators, and businesses to The Light of the Nation. It is also aligned with the resolution of the Nigerian Governors’ forum of January 2020 and the launching of the National Broadband Plan by Mr. President in March 2020.”

“The actions of Governors Abdulrahman and Obiano in crashing the Right of Way charges are indeed timely and truly commendable. They align with the resolution of the meeting between the Honourable Minister and the State Governors under the auspices of the Governors’ Forum on the 22nd of January 2020 to address the lingering issue of Right of Way (RoW) charges in a bid to deepen broadband penetration in the country and promote a Digital Economy for a Digital Nigeria.

“Implementing this resolution will go a long way in supporting the execution of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) which was launched by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on the 19th of March 2020.

“An increase in broadband access will have a positive impact on the economy of the various States as well as the entire country. One of the key benefits is the rapid growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) of any country that increases its broadband penetration. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the importance of broadband in supporting economies around the world.

“Dr Pantami congratulates and commends the Executive Governors of Kwara and Anambra States for making this important decision. The Honourable Minister would again like to use this opportunity to encourage all other Executive Governors to emulate this action in order to accelerate broadband penetration across the country, the statement concluded.

The take-off of the multi million naira Bobi Grazing Reserve in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State is by the corner. This is as the foliage is growing to an advanced stage.

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, who paid an assessment visit to the reserve to ascertain the level of work reached on the 30, 000 hectares of land being developed for livestock and dairy production, said government with full support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is committed to project actualization.

He disclosed that the state government has already drawn lots of investors into the project including Chi Vita, Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria, a Dutch firm that is working on 10, 000 hectares, while collaborations are ongoing with developed countries that are advanced in livestock and dairy production such as Hungary, Brazil, Netherlands, India, Pakistan.

The grazing reserve which is coming in the wake of incessant Farmers/Herders clashes that have become threat to life and property in the country, is expected to help change the narrative and provide conducive environment for both Farmers and Herders to flourish in their cultivation and livestock activities respectively when it finally takes off.

Governor Sani Bello, who expressed satisfaction with the level of work being carried out, assured of government’s continued support towards the actualization of the project by providing necessary security to safeguard the reserve for optimal benefit and bring about improved economy in the local government area, the State and the country at large.

While going round the facility, the Governor observed different kinds of imported animal pasture were being cultivated and new proteinous feed with high yield are planted on over 300 hectares of land.

The Consultant handling the development of the reserve and Emir of Muri, Taraba State, Alhaji Abbas Tafida said that an advanced system of feed harvest mechanism would be adopted to avoid wastages, adding that 2000 breeds of BokoIo cattle are to be imported.

Alhaji Tafida added that any cattle coming into the reserve will undergo a rigorous medical checkup, subjecting them to quarantine and vaccination to avoid any outbreak of disease amongst the cattle.

He said 200 hectares of super napia, and 100 hectares for super grains have been planted while assuring the governor that in few weeks the reserve will be wearing a new look.

The Consultant told the governor that, as part of security measures and practice adopted to safeguard such types of farm, they have reached an agreement to provide Perimeter fence for the entire reserve but that they need government to serve as a guarantor in assisting them secure loans for the fencing project.

He explained that the fence will have four gates, observation towers while surveillance cameras with the capacity to capture any object from a distance of two kilometres are to be mounted.

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has called for elimination of the factors that led to annulment of the June 12, 1993 election if Nigeria must be taken seriously among nations practising democracy.

He said the celebration of June 12 would remain a ruse or mere jamboree if the issues that led to it were not addressed.

Senator Diri made the call at a Special Thanksgiving Service commemorating June 12 at the King of Glory Chapel, Government House in Yenagoa.

Represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the governor said almost 27 years after the rape on a smooth democratic process, the country was still wallowing in injustice, abuse of human rights, election thuggery, nepotism and total disregard to the rule of law.

The governor was quoted by his Acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, as saying that the historic day of June 12 is yet to translate into good governance and unity of the country.

To this end, Senator Diri re-emphasised his administration’s drive to run an inclusive government and called on his opposers to accept the olive branch he has magnanimously extended to them.

He said as Bayelsans, they should join hands with his Prosperity Administration to move the state forward rather than assist the enemies to further oppress and work against its development.

His words: “The things that led us to June 12 are still very much around. The injustices, discrimination, segregation, nepotism, bribery and corruption, oppression and repression and where some people are taking undue advantage over others are still going on in this country and we are celebrating June 12. It is my opinion and that of the Bayelsa State Government that we must make deliberate efforts to reduce or if possible completely eliminate the factors that led to June 12.

“On our part as a government, we have taken steps to ensure that we eliminate those things. That is why concerted efforts are being made to bring those who offended us, people who have done us things that are unprintable, the present government has opened its arms to extend the olive branch from the very day of its inauguration.

“We want to use the opportunity of this June 12 celebration to enjoin all Bayelsans wherever they are to think of how they will make Bayelsa great. This is the time for all Bayelsans, politicians and non-politicians, religious and non-religious and everybody to come and join hands with the Prosperity Administration.”

The governor said his administration would fulfil its infrastructure promises to Bayelsans, which is evident in the clearing of the roundabout at the Edepie/Etegwe axis to pave the way for the expansion of the lanes and the completion of the outer ring road as well as pursue its agricultural programmes to bring the dividends of democracy to people of the state.

Earlier in a sermon titled “Learning to work with God,” Rev Godspower Asingba enjoined the governor and his team to depend on God in everything they do.

According to Rev Asingba, relying on one’s wisdom and the opinions of men without hearing from God while making decisions would lead to failure.

He called on the people to hold God fast and not allow the pressure of men to push them into terminating their destinies on earth.

The thanksgiving service, which featured special prayers for the state and the country, had wife of the governor, Mrs Gloria Diri, Secretary to the State Government, Dr Konbowei Benson, Deputy Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Michael Ogbere, Head of Service, Mrs Biobelemoye Charles-Onyeama and other top government officials in attendance.

.…..Says is a great Asset to President Buhari’s administration Agricultural Policy.

A CSO known as the Citizens Communication and Advocacy Centre (CCAC) has thrown her support behind Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, Managing Director of Nigerian Incentive -based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and condemned in strong term the negative narrative publications in various National Newspapers and some online news platforms by some vested interests who are very bitter for losing out in their criminal franchise of fleecing the country of Billions of Naira in Foreign Exchange, in the name of Food and other Agricultural Products importation due the Revolutionary Agricultural Policy of Government, ably Facilitated by NIRSAL under the able Leadership of Mr.Aliyu Abdulhameed with oversight from CBN.

CCAC has equally condemned the desperation of this entities, in their despicable attempt to using disgruntled Workers of NIRSAL to spread Falsehood and compromised vital official Secrets and information.

This is unacceptable and no decent Corporate organizations worth it name, with sound Corporate Governance would allowed such shenanigans.

In a press release on Sunday, 8th June, 2020 signed by its Executive Director , Lord Charles Ibiang, he said that the mountains of allegations of corruption to the tune of 75 billion; the 5.4 billion Wheat Project in Jigawa; 4.2 billion Personnel Cost including various sundry allegations like running a nepotistic and clannish enterprise are not only wicked, but preposterous, baseless and reinforced Ignorance taken too Far, because the way NIRSAL structured it’s operation is difficult for such monumental and bogus amount to be stolen by an Individual no matter his position and Authority.

It will be recalled that NIRSAL was launched in 2011 and Incorporated 2013 by CBN and set up as a Rubust, Innovative and holistic USD 500 millions dollars Public-Private Initiative to catalyse the Flows of Finance and Investments in Fixed Agricultural Value Chain.

Infact it was given impetus and properly establish by President Muhammadu Buhari 2015.

Acording to its establishing Laws, the CBN is the Head of the Board of NIRSAL and Quarterly Board Meeting is structured for it effective Operational and Administrative Management.

How can an individual steal 75 billion in such a very structured Organizations with all the enabling Corporate Governance mechanism? The CSO wondered.

The CCAC Executive Director said the NIRSAL, under Mr.Aliyu, has grown from a small organization of less than 7 people to now one of the best corporate entity in Nigeria, that has given real time interpretation of President Buhari Agricultural Policy by Faciliting a 100billion in Finance and Investments in the Agricultural Value Chain from it inception.

This is unprecedented in Nigeria history and deserved Commendation from Every Nigerias instead of spurious allegations. NIRSAL has performed credibly well.

Lord Charles Ibiang used the opportunity to call on CBN not to be blackmailed into eemoval of Mr.Aliyu, exposing NIRSAL to Political scheming of instability and Leadership turnover.

He also admonish and call on Media & Civil Society Organizations that serve as Citizen’s Protectors to always carry out extensive study of issues concerning a State of affairs before commenting, so as not to misinform the Citizens by destroying the Reputation of Professionals who want to help by serving as Public Officers.

“Let us join hands and support an achiever to succeed and reformed the Nigerian Agricultural Sector value Chain characterizes by its primitive and opaque nature, the statement concluded.

On the 27th of February 2020, Nigeria confirmed its first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). One hundred days after, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 11,844 confirmed cases and 333 deaths. Additionally, 3,696 people have been treated and discharged successfully. The COVID19 pandemic has affected over 100 countries across the world. Over 6 million people have been affected, and the number of deaths has exceeded 300,000 as at the 6th of June 2020.

As Nigeria’s Public Health Institute, NCDC continues to work alongside other agencies under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Health, in leading the public health response to the outbreak. In addition, the agency has played a key role in the multi-sectoral response, within the Presidential Task

Force on COVID-19 (PTF-COVID-19), established by President Muhammadu Buhari.

One hundred days after the first case, we remember all Nigerians who have passed away from the disease. We commiserate with their families and friends who have had to deal with the difficulty of losing loved ones at this time.

To ensure a well-coordinated emergency response, NCDC activated a Level 3 Emergency Operations

Centre (EOC) on the 27th of February 2020. Prior to this, the National EOC was in alert mode; monitoring the spread in other countries, carrying out risk assessments and strengthening Nigeria’s preparedness.

During this time, NCDC developed technical guidelines, response plans and trained health workers across the country. The National EOC includes representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health, other sister agencies and partners.

Prior to the confirmation of the first case, NCDC supported four laboratories within its molecular laboratory network to activate testing for COVID-19. Since then, the number of laboratories has increased to 30, with a combined minimum capacity of 10,000 tests daily. The goal is to expand to at least 10 more laboratories by the end of June, leveraging on Gene-Xpert capacity for Tuberculosis diagnosis.

The safety of health workers has been at the forefront of Nigeria’s response strategy to COVID-19. Since the first case was confirmed, NCDC has supported the training of 13,000 health workers in infection prevention and control (IPC) as well as case management. In collaboration with the Departments of

Hospital Services and Food and Drugs of the Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC has also ensured that health workers are provided with the required personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of health workers’ infection.

As part of its mandate, NCDC has provided support to all states in Nigeria. Over the last three years, in preparedness for major outbreaks, the agency supported the establishment of State Public Health Emergency Operations Centres in 23 of the 30 states in Nigeria, without polio or public health EOCs.

These EOCs have served as the coordination hub at state level since the first case was confirmed in

Nigeria. The NCDC has deployed its highest number of rapid response teams – with 37 teams across 34 states and the FCT. The extent of this response has been supported by the deployment of additional surge teams from the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (NFELTP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC). NCDC continues to support every State with medical supplies, transportation of samples, training of health workers, risk communications and other response activities.

The NCDC launched the #TakeResponsibility campaign which has formed the cornerstone of public health messaging. This is done by leveraging on social media, mainstream media and other avenues to encourage Nigerians to take responsibility for protecting themselves and loved ones and preventing the spread of COVID-19. Over 150 jingles currently air on radio and television, reaching communities across the country. With the support of Nigeria’s telecommunication companies, over 100 million text messages have been sent out since February 2020 reminding Nigerians about measures that can be taken to protect themselves from COVID-19. The NCDC continues to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, as well as the National Orientation Agency to educate Nigerians on how to protect themselves.

A key strength of Nigeria’s response has been the strong collaboration among Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, as well as with partners. As part of the global and regional response, NCDC has received guidance and support from WHO, Africa Centres for Disease Control and the West African Health Organisation.

The response to the pandemic has not been without challenges – global competition for access to reagents and medical supplies limited the initial testing capacity of the molecular laboratories. Today, the Presidential Task Force paid a visit to the National Reference Laboratory in Gaduwa, Abuja, in recognition of the role the apex laboratory is playing in response to the pandemic. Strengthening laboratory capacity nationwide and increasing access to testing is a major priority for Nigeria’s response, in the coming months. The NCDC continues to work with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research,

Medical Laboratory and Science Council of Nigeria and other partners to carry out laboratory related research and validation, as Nigeria scales up its testing capacity.

Since the first confirmed case was reported one hundred days ago, several health workers have been at the forefront. We remain grateful to State Task Forces, Emergency Operations Centres, Rapid Response Teams, laboratory scientists and all health workers who continue to work very hard for national health security.

The NCDC remains committed to working under the supervision of our parent Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Health, and in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies through the PTF, to scale up Nigeria’s response. Our strategy is to ensure more people are tested, contacts are traced early to prevent further spread and confirmed cases are treated.

In the absence of a vaccine, Nigeria and the rest of the world must depend on public health, social measures and supportive management of confirmed cases. We urge all Nigerians to take individual and collective responsibility by adhering to public health advice such as;

• Frequent hand hygiene through hand washing or use of alcohol-based sanitiser.
• Use of face mask in public places
• Observing physical distancing of at least two metres