Tag: Nigeria

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has recalled the 2002 Ikeja bomb explosion, describing it as a trying moment for the army, given the magnitude of the damage it caused.

The explosion, which happened on January 27, 2002, reportedly killed about 1,100 people with over 20,000 displaced.

Sanwo-Olu, however, noted that the tragic incident did not weaken the commitment of the Nigerian Army in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.

The governor spoke on Monday when he received the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, who was on a courtesy visit, at Lagos House, Marina.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the army has earned the citizens’ confidence and respect as a member of the nation’s armed forces., given its sense of commitment, dedication and patriotism.

He said: “We are grateful to the Army and its men for their dedication to the country at this difficult time in different parts of the country. You have continued to uphold the Constitution, maintain high integrity and stick to the best rules of engagement to protect the sovereignty of our country. The Army is well respected by the citizens, given the commitment, dedication and sense of patriotism in discharging its statutory roles.

“The 2002 Ikeja bomb explosion was a trying moment for the Army, given the magnitude of the damage. But the event never weakened the resolve of the military. The Army has continued to live up to their responsibilities provided by the constitution and the sacrifice paid by soldiers to keep the territorial integrity and peace of our country would not go unappreciated. Lagos State Government is committed to ensuring that the Army gets all the necessary support for your security operations.”

The governor also appealed for cooperation among military personnel in the ongoing enforcement across the state, including Okada ban enforcement, adding that the enforcement was geared towards bringing back sanity to Lagos.

“We have collective responsibility to keep Lagos safe for commercial activities. It is important to acknowledge the complementary effort of the 9 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in supporting our security architecture in Lagos, with OP Mesa operatives working with the police to ensure our safety. That synergy among all security agencies is all that is required to maintain security,” Sanwo-Olu added.

Lagbaja who was in Lagos for the clearance of Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) at the 9 Brigade Military Cantonment, Ikeja, informed the governor about the army’s activities to be conducted in the state.

The COAS noted that ahead of the festive season, the army has put together three security exercises to prevent any form of breaches, which will be launched on Tuesday.

He said: “The Nigerian Army has put together a ceremony to remove unexploded ordnance at the site of the 2002 Bomb Explosion in Ikeja cantonment. The objective is to make the area safe and securely remove unexploded ordnances to a safe location in Ajilete area of Ogun State.

“We are ushering in the last three months of the year when citizens travel across the country for festivities. We need to provide safe and secure passage for the people travelling. We have put together three security exercises to prevent any form of breaches and these will be flagged off on Tuesday in Lagos.”

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The newly listed Chapel Hill Denham Nigerian Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) is raising N26.8bn series 9 offer a few days after listing on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.

The NIDF said the series 9 offer is for 246,182,408 units (nominal value of N100 each) issued at N108.89 per unit for an aggregating offer value of N26.8 billion.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the NIDF said the fundraising is under the N200 billion Issuance Programme and is still open for subscription.

According to the NIDF, the offer was approved by the Securities & Exchange Commission and opened on September 19, 2023.

“The issuance represents the Fund’s ninth (9th) capital raise since inception in 2017 and the first since its Listing on NGX.

“The proceeds from the Offer will be applied towards infrastructure loans approved by the Fund Manager’s investment committee,” the NIDF said.

On October 5, NIDF’s 853,817,692 units were listed on the Main Board of NGX at N108.39 per share and will remit quarterly dividends to investors by paying out profits from investing in industries like power, transportation, healthcare and education.

With the listing, Chapel Hill’s NDIF became the first local currency-denominated infrastructure investment trust fund on its platform.

The NIDF is a N200 billion public infrastructure investment fund managed by Chapel Hill Denham.

The Chairman of NDIF, Phil Southwell during the fact behind the figures said the fund launched mid-2017 has generated 155 per cent returns.

“We have been fortunate enough not to have any non-performing loans (NPLs) and so it presents interesting risk returns for investors. In the UK market where I am originally from, 103 of the 350 stocks on the FTSE 350 are investment trusts and I look forward to being able to say the same thing about the NGX,” he said.

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… Assures Nigerians Of Steady Supply Of Petrol At Affordable Price

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, on Monday met with representative of oil marketers to resolve the challenges faced in the importation and smooth distribution of petroleum products in the country.

The meeting was held at the headquarters of the NMDPRA in Abuja.

It was attended by representatives from the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners among other stakeholders.

In recent weeks, oil marketers have been battling with various challenges ranging from scarcity of foreign exchange to import petroleum products, deplorable road conditions to distribute petroleum products across the country, non-functional state of the country’s refineries and refusal of banks to provide credit for oil and gas businesses.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the meeting, the NMDPRA Boss said the meeting was a fruitful one as issues surrounding the seamless distribution of petroleum products were discussed.

He said from the discussion, the oil marketers have pledged their support to the Federal Government in guaranteeing the availability of petroleum products to Nigerians at affordable prices.

He said, “We had very robust discussions and they (oil marketers) expressed their concerns and also areas where we can support both the marketers and transporters to ensure that there is flow of petrol products across the country.

“So, NNPC has assured of supply and also the marketers have expressed their concerns about the availability of foreign exchange in order to also import and sell at the price.

“We, as regulators can continue to say the market is open for everybody and all those who have applied for license, over 90 marketing companies have gotten. We have given them access to all the required support that they needed in order to ensure there is a constant supply of products in the country.”

When asked on the assistance being given on the issue of foreign exchange challenges faced by marketers, the NMDPRA boss explained that engagement is ongoing with the Central Bank of Nigeria in that direction.

Ahmed added, “We have been discussing with the government and if you must have observed that a lot of work going on within the CBN in terms of their internal restructuring which will make available the dollar as soon as everything stabilizes.

“We are also working towards improvement in crude oil production, which will bring more revenue into the country and then of course, boost our foreign reserves.

“These are all part of the factors that we are all working on towards stabilizing of the naira.”

The Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPC Limited, Mr Dapo Segun assured of the commitment of the national oil company to make petroleum products available for Nigerians.

He said, “NNPC will continue to shop for supply. And yes, we’ve had discussions with other industry players on the issues affecting the industry.

“We are looking at ways to resolve these issues. We, at NNPC will continue to make sure that supply is there and we will also support the industry.”

The Chairman of DAPPMAN, Mrs Winifred Akpani, told journalists that there is adequate supply of the products and there is no need for Nigerians to panic.

She said, “I think its a good opportunity that this meeting is holding today. We know there’s adequate supply of products. We have sufficient products in the country and we have sufficient products in our depot and most of us we have products in our stations.

“The government has promised to resolve some of the issues for us, bearing in mind that we just transited from regulated market to deregulated market.

“We expect some of these issues to come but the most important thing is the willingness of all of us as stakeholders to resolve the problem.

“We assure the entire country that there is sufficient product and we will do all within our means to make sure that people never suffer for paying a higher price.”

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One Suleiman Magaji, a suspected fraudster who had pleaded not guilty to court charges preferred against him by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.

Magaji was arraigned before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court on one-count charge bordering on criminal misappropriation to the tune of N11, 500, 000.00.

He was arraigned alongside Mohammed Idris over his involvement in the same fraud and charged on a one-count charge bordering on obtaining under false pretence to the tune of N1,000,000.00.

During his trial, Magaji had changed his initial “not guilty” plea to “guilty” before he was sentenced.

The charge against Magaji reads: “That you, Ibrahim Suleiman Magaji, on or about August 2021 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly misappropriated and converted for your own use the aggregate sum of N11,500,000.00, belonging to Umara Bukar under the guise that you will use the said money to purchase and supply 24 tons of Hibiscus flower (Zobo) to him and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Sections 308 and 309 of the Penal Code Law of Borno State (Cap. 102 Vol. 3 of 1994) respectively.”

On the other hand, Idris had pleaded not guilty to the charge against him. The charge reads: “That you, Mohammad Idris sometime in July, 2019 at Maiduguri Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud obtained the aggregate sum of N1, 000,000.00 (One Million Naira) from Nura Bello as purchase price for Mercury chemicals which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee fraud and Other Fraud related Offences Act, 2006.”

The two convicts began their journey to the Correctional Centre when they fraudulently collected a total sum of N12.5 million from their victims under false pretences.

When it became obvious to their victims that they had been duped, none of the convicts returned the funds to the victims.

Magaji was initially tried by EFCC counsels: Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, S.O Saka and F. Muhammad and presented three witnesses and tendered several documents as evidence.

His counsel, M. Ibrahim, however, prayed the court later to allow the defendant to change his plea.

Magaji pleaded guilty to the charge and Justice Fadawu thereafter convicted and sentenced him to one year imprisonment without an option of fine. The Judge further ordered the convict to pay the balance of N8m to his victim or serve three years jail term.

Prosecution counsel, S.K Saka, in the trial of Idris, presented five witnesses and tendered nine documents as evidence. Justice Fadawu, in his judgement, found him guilty, convicted and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment.

The court further ordered him to pay his victim the sum of N1m and in default, serve an additional three years.

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Big Brother Naija ‘All-Stars’ winner, Ilebaye Odiniya, has announced her intention to pay a tithe of N12 million to God from the N120 million she won from the reality TV show.

She made this known on Monday during an interview with Clout Africa’s ‘Getting Personal with Ex BBN All-Stars Housemate’ where she garnered attention and praise from fans and the public alike.

Ilebaye while responding to questions from fans said, “Well I’m not going to buy anything, the first thing I’m going to do is to give my tithe to God to thank Him for this grace he has given me. It’s a very good grace.”

She added that she won because she was destined to win this year.

“I won because I was destined to win this year. This is my time; this is my grace and my fans also added to my winning because they supported me. They loved me, they had sleepless nights voting for me, all day all night Baye tribe. So yes, and God. I played the game and I won.”

Tithing is a practice deeply rooted in many religious beliefs, where individuals pledge a portion of their earnings, typically one-tenth, to their religious institution or cause.

Tithing one-tenth of one’s income is found in Leviticus 27:30: “’A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.”

llebaye’s journey to stardom began when she first made an appearance in the ‘Level Up’ season of BBNaija in 202. After weeks of intense competition and public voting, she emerged as the winner of the ‘All Stars’ edition, securing the grand prize of N120 million.

The ‘GenZ Baddie’ chose to allocate a significant portion of the money won towards tithing.

Ilebaye’s decision to tithe has sparked reactions among fans, with some commending the reality TV star for her generosity and faith while others have suggested she should take it to Orphanage homes

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