CBN to provide amenities for displaced persons.

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it wants to provide basic infrastructural needs at Internally Displaced Persons camps

To this end, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele has requested the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA to furnish him with details of what the IDP camps need.

CBN Director of Projects and Planning, Mr Kabiru Nuhu Koko disclosed this while receiving a meritorious award from the Northern Youth Network, NYN in Abuja.

Koko said that NYN had specifically requested  the CBN to device a means of alleviating the suffering of the IDPs.

Koko, who is  the immediate past President of the Unity Schools Old Students Association, USOSA urged youths across the country to work together to sustain the unity of the country.

His words:
“This Nigeria is real, some people will tell you otherwise, please don’t listen to them. Some will say Nigeria is a mere geographical expression, some will l ask you why you’re promoting Nigeria, instead of promoting your village, please don’t listen to those negative comments. Nigerian communities  have a very long history of inter-group relations, and Nigerians have been interacting long before the coming of British colonialism."

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50,000 Borno IDPs set to return home in five councils

The government of Borno State, northeast Nigeria has declared that it has concluded plans to resettle 50,000 Internally Displaced Persons in their communities this February.

The state has 200,000 IDPs from 23 of its 27 local governments living in 22 camps in Maiduguri.

News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports the Executive Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Malam Satomi Ahmad as saying that; “we are returning IDPs from communities in five local governments to their homes in liberated areas.

“The communities are in Monguno, Gwoza, Askira-Uba, Mafa and Dikwa councils.”

He explained that government has procured foodstuff for IDPs returning from Gwoza, Mafa, Askira and Monguno among others.

“Government is buying food items for the IDPs because there was no farming in the last few years. They need food to survive when they return home.

“We plan to provide foodstuff to last them at least two months before they settle down to start economic activities,” he said.

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NiMet gets 7 days ultimatum to implement agreement with labour

The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE is threatening a showdown with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet over the non implementation of agreement reached between the two parties. 

The union issued the ultimatum in Abuja on Friday through a letter it submitted to the Director General of NiMet.

President of the union, Solomon Adelegan, said the ultimatum became necessary following the failure of the management of NiMet to respect and implement the agreement reached with the union in December last year.

He said that the issues in contention include ;
,”Commencement of full implementation of the recently approved Condition of Service/ Addendum for NiMet workers: Effective date of 2013 Promotion: Mandatory Training for would be Retirees: Staff Quarters occupied by officers who have retired from NiMet and Payment of 2015 Ex-Gratia.”

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Boko Haram sourcing bomb materials locally - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday called for vigilance among Nigerians, especially in the Northeast so as to help check the activities of insurgents.

He said that Boko Haram terrorists have been sourcing the materials for their Improvised Explosive Devices locally.

The president expressed his embarrassment over the renewed spate of suicide bombings in the Northeast.

He said that recent suicide attacks in Chibok market, Dolari Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) camp in Borno State and the Gombi market in Adamawa State represent the desperation of the insurgents to attract attention, having been roundly beaten by the military.

“Having lost the war, they are seeking ways and means to gradually find their way back into society. They are not returning to contribute but to cause more havoc. They are so desperate to embarrass the government and the people that they have no qualms attacking isolated communities and markets.

“I urge all citizens wherever they live to own the war against terror and to be part of the fight because it is the only way we can finish the remaining work that needs to be done to make our country safe again," he said.

Buhari extended his "condolences to all the people of Chibok, Gombi and Dolari who lost loved ones in the recent attacks and prayed that the Almighty God will comfort them and grant the injured persons quick recovery.”

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FG declares French language compulsory in Nigerian schools

The Federal Government has declared the French language compulsory for students across all levels of education in the country, following its decision to make French the second official language of Nigeria.

To this end, government is embarking on intensive training of French teachers at all levels.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwukah, announced the policy decision in Abuja on Saturday during a courtesy visit by the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gaver.

His words:
“French language is a matter of necessity. We have to because we have Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Benin Republic, Togo Guinea, and Ivory Coast surrounding us and so there is need for us to get more Nigerians to become proficient in French language.

“This is good for the continent; it is good for us as a nation. It is good for our brothers at the borders because it will enable us to communicate with them effectively."

Anwukah also appealed to the ambassador to assist Nigeria with more French teachers.

“We plead that you consider it a lot more expedient in helping us train our teachers in French both for the primary school level, secondary level and tertiary level.

“So far, we have demonstrated the enthusiasm to foster the teaching and learning of French in Nigerian schools which are the tertiary, basic and secondary levels and our main concern now is the training of sufficient number of French teachers within our school system,” he said.

The minister on the same day, flagged off the French Clinic Project at Federal Government Boys College Apo, Abuja.

He explained that the project was one of many expected to come up across the country.

“The ministry is geared towards establishing French clinics in 104 government colleges, and unity schools.

“We are keen and motivated by the need to actualise our dream of making French language our second language of business in Nigeria.

“The clinic is expected to improve the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills of students.

“It is expected that with these skills, our students will fare better in their examinations and in the world of worth."

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Dalori attack: How Boko Haram burnt children alive

A survivor of Saturday's Boko Haram attack on Dalori village, near Maiduguri, Borno State has described how the insurgents burnt children alive.

The eyewitness who said he survived the attack by hiding on a tree recounted the heart-rending cries of children burning to their death.

He told the Associated Press that the children could not be rescued because it was only on Sunday morning that soldiers arrived the village.

Other witnesses told stories of roads littered with charred human remains with visible bullet wounds.

Dalori village is one of the most affected communities in the last six years of Boko Haram insurgency.

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Dasukigate: My sons are innocent, Obanikoro cries out.

Former Minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro is crying blue murder over the mention of his two sons by the EFCC and Sahara Reporters as signatories to the infamous Sylvan McNamara account which was allegedly used to siphon N4.7b from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Obanikoro has challenged the anti graft agency and the online publication to publish the details of the alleged transaction and the signatories to the said account at the time of the transaction rather than malign his family with vague and distorted news.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Jonathan Eze on Saturday, Obanikoro
questioned the “wisdom and logic of bandying figures and associating same with his sons who are thorough bred professionals in their own rights.”

He reminded the EFCC and Sahara Reporters that the “court of law remains the judicial institution for trying cases and not whipping sentiments in order to give the dog a bad name and hang it.”

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