A passenger jet carrying 45 people crash-landed in South Sudan’s north-western city of Wau on Monday, leaving at least 14 people injured, government and airport officials said.
“The weather is not good. Visibility was not good up to now and (the plane) was landing from the east to west then it just crashed (off) the runway. The pilot I think was not seeing the runway well,” said Paul Charles, an engineer at Wau airport.
Images circulating on social media showed thick black smoke billowing from the aircraft, which was completely burned out except for the tail, clearly bearing the insignia of local carrier South Supreme Airlines.
“Right now we have the ambulance which has just come out from the airport and we have received 14 patients being rushed to hospital in stable condition,” said State Information Minister Bona Gaudensio.
It was not clear if the rest of the passengers were alive or dead.
“There were 40 passengers and five crew (on board) that is all. I don’t have any information,” said Gabriel Ngang, the manager of South Supreme Airlines.
He said the plane had taken off from the capital Juba.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation says it will generate about 4,000 megawatts of power in the next 10 years to boost power supply in the country.
The Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Mr Saidu Mohammed, in a statement by NNPC Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, on Monday said the corporation would achieve this by building independent power plants over the next three to 10 years.
He said that the power plants, which would be built with Joint Venture Companies, international power companies and Nigerian investors, would be structured after the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas business model.
“Power generation is a big business. As at today, NNPC has interests in two power plants, one in Okpai, Delta State and the other in Afam, Rivers State.
“Both were built by joint ventures with Nigerian Agip Oil Company and Shell Petroleum Development Company.
“These two power plants collectively generate up to 1,000 megawatts and they are the most reliable and cheapest source of power to the national grid in Nigeria today.”
Mohammed said in order to make up the 4,000 megawatts, plans were underway to build Okpai Phase 2, Obite and Agura power plants to boost power generation in the country.
He said that the corporation had commenced the extension of its major gas pipeline infrastructure on Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano axis and other robust networks to connect various parts of the country.
“The main base-loads to justify such infrastructure are power plants that would consume the gas and for that, we are planning to build about 2,000 to 3,100 megawatts, combined in these three cities.
“The partnership will involve players who will bring in their various capacities as operators, builders of power plants and as investors.
“NNPC will also bring its strength of being a dominant player in the Nigerian gas value chain,” he said.
He said NNPC had developed capabilities in processing, transportation and marketing of gas for export and domestic utilisation, adding that the nation’s gas resources could change Nigerian economy for the better.
“If you generate enough power, the multiplier effect will revive most of the moribund industries across the country.
“NNPC intends to capture 50 percent of the gas market by growing the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company from the 500 million standard cubic feet/day of gas that it is today to about 3-4 billion standard cubic feet/day in the next 10 years,’’ he said.
A hospital with medical equipment worth about $2.15m which was seized from a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.), has been handed over to the Nigerian Air Force, The PUNCH has learnt.
The hospital, St. Solomon Hospital, which is located on Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, is said to have state-of-the-art equipment including a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine which costs well over $1m.
A reliable source at the EFCC told our correspondent that the EFCC could not manage the property and therefore decided to hand it over to the Nigerian Air Force medical unit.
He said, “The hospital has very expensive equipment including an MRI machine which is very rare. However, we could not manage the hospital so we handed it over to the air force pending the outcome of Amosu’s trial. It is assumed that the money used in buying the hospital was stolen from the air force.”
Other properties seized from Amosu included a house on Adeyemo Alakija Street, GRA Ikeja worth N250m; a duplex at House 11, Peace Court Estate, GRA Ikeja worth N110m; a N40m property located at NAF Harmony Estate, Asokoro base; a five-bedroomed house at Valley NAF Estate, Port Harcourt, worth N33m and a N95m house on Umaru Dikko Street, Jabi.
The Federal Government has also commenced moves to seize Amosu’s house at 50 Tenterden Grove, NW41TH, London worth about £2m.
Amosu as well as a former Chief of Accounts and Budgeting in NAF, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun (retd.); and a former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore Olugbenga Gbadebo (retd.), are currently standing trial before a Federal High Court for allegedly stealing N22.8bn from the coffers of the Nigerian Air Force between 2014 and 2015.
The commission has seized 33 properties they allegedly bought with stolen funds.
Documents made available to our correspondent showed that besides the hospital, the EFCC had seized plazas, schools, mansions, farms and a quarry from Amosun, Adigun and Gbadebo.
While almost N2.835bn cash has been recovered from Amosu alone, Gbadebo has returned N190m. Adigun’s wife, returned some money as well.
The document further stated that properties recovered from Adigun were worth N9.6bn.
Calculations by our correspondent showed that the cash and assets which the air force men might forfeit permanently, add up to about N15bn which is more than three quarters of what they allegedly stole.
They have, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
African megastar Patoranking who recently announced his most anticipated European tour uncovers the official visuals for the remix of his infectious record “Daniella Whine” taken from his GOE Album. Featuring Jamaican dancehall superstars Elephant Man and Konshens, this song is the perfect fusion of the Afro-dancehall genres. Watch the video and enjoy as Patoranking who has undoubtedly solidified himself as one of Africa’s most in demand artists in the Caribbean and let it take you from the streets and beaches of Jamaica to local restaurants and bars, while the music travels from your ears through your body as you bust a whine. Directed by Sesan.
Straight outta his latest album, The Playmaker, Phyno enlists the expertise of the music machos, 2Baba and Flavour, to bring you the visuals to "Okpeke" which is the 9th track off the album. Enjoy as each person brings their own uniqueness to the video to make it one amazing masterpiece. Directed by Clarence Peters.
LONDON — The Queen has officially signed the Brexit bill into law, paving the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 and initiate Britain's formal exit from the European Union.
Queen Elizabeth II gave the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill its royal assent shortly before 11:00 a.m. (GMT) on Thursday, meaning that May now has the legal authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty at a time of her choosing.
May has promised to deliver a speech in the Commons to announce when she has invoked Article 50 — but is yet to confirm whether there will be advanced notice of this taking place.
The prime minister intends to officially notify the European Union that the United Kingdom is leaving the 28-nation by the end of March. Monday, March 27, is the most likely date for notification, according to multiple reports.
May told MPs this week that invoking Article 50 will be a "defining moment" in Britain's history.
The Brexit bill was passed by both houses of parliament late on Monday evening after peers in the House of Lords gave up on an uphill effort to add two amendments to it before becoming legislation.
One amendment sought to guarantee the residence rights of EU citizens living in Britain, while the other wanted parliament to be given a "meaningful vote" on the terms of Brexit at the end of the two-year Article 50 negotiations.
Dangote Group orders compressors and turbines from MAN Diesel & Turbo for a refinery to be erected in Nigeria.
With a double-digit million dollar order volume, Germany-based MAN Diesel & Turbo will deliver two compressor trains to Nigerian Dangote Oil Refining Company, to be employed in the company’s refinery in the capital of Lagos.
Dangote Corporation is currently building Africa’s largest refinery in the Lekki Free Trade Zone of Lagos, investing a total of around 12 billion US dollar. “This one we are building will satisfy 100% of the fuel needs of Nigeria,” so Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of the Dangote Group. The new building should enable the country of Nigeria as Africa’s biggest crude oil producer to also raise its processing capacities, finally getting more independent from imported fuels.
Wayne Jones, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Sales Officer of MAN Diesel & Turbo: “This is a milestone project and will have a huge impact on the economy of not only Nigeria but the whole of the West African region. We are very proud to be a part of this project and gladly offer our equipment and technological expertise in order to help to make the Dangote refinery not only Africa’s biggest but also one of the most efficient operations on the continent.”
Sohail A. Khan, Managing Director of MAN Diesel & Turbo in Nigeria: “This refinery new building is underlining the long-term growth perspective Nigeria and the region of West Africa have. We are here to serve customers with highperformance technology for the oil and gas industry, process industry or the ever-rising need for efficient power generation.”
The highly efficient machinery trains from MAN Diesel & Turbo each consist of an axial compressor driven by a steam turbine with about 30 MW power. Delivered with a comprehensive auxiliary package, they will come into operation for the refinery process of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC), thereby supporting the production of fuel.
MAN Diesel & Turbo convinced here with proven and reliable technology, together with its extensive expertise in the refinery sector. The order also comprises erection and commissioning of the machinery trains, being developed and build at the company’s Turbomachinery technology site in Germany. Delivery will take place in the course of 2018, while commissioning of the whole refinery is planned for the year 2019.
Beside Nigeria as the largest national economy, MAN Diesel & Turbo holds subsidiaries also in other countries on the African continent. With 250 employees across various sales and service sites, regional workshops and a pool of field service engineers, the company serves customers that are mainly active in the oil and gas industry, the power generation business or the process industry. The company’s history in Africa dates back to the 1950s, when the first engines for power generation were delivered to the countries of Mali and Senegal.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it has arrested a former Special Adviser to Dan Abia, erstwhile Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for alleged corruption.
The agency said on Tuesday that its operatives arrested George Turnah, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in connection with alleged possession of funds running into N2 billion, suspected to be funds siphoned from the NDDC while serving there as an Adviser.
It said Mr. Turnah is widely believed to be a godson of former President Goodluck Jonathan, and that he served in the NDDC between 2012 and 2015.
“Preliminary investigations by the EFCC threw up deposits made in his personal and company bank accounts in excess of N2billion. A search conducted in his houses in Port Harcourt and Yenogoa, yielded useful documents,” the commission said in a statement signed by spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren.
The statement said Mr. Turnah had made useful statements to the EFCC and would be arraigned as soon as investigations are concluded.
Tragedy struck at the National Assembly on Monday as a senior staff of the Management, Mr. Mohammed Shuaibu, slumped and died in the premises.
The cause of death remained unknown as of the time of filing this report.
Mohammed, who was the Clerk to the House of Representatives Committee on Agricultural Production Services, died after he complained of experiencing some discomfort.
Findings indicated that the deceased drove himself to to work on Monday, ahead of a scheduled meeting of the committee.
However, while he was in the office preparing for the meeting, he reportedly complained of the discomfort and slumped almost immediately.
He was promptly rushed to the National Assembly Clinic for medical attention, but doctors confirmed him dead on arrival at the clinic.
He was about 55 years old.
One source stated, “We are all in shock. He returned from Zaria (Kaduna State) yesterday (Sunday).
“He drove himself to work this morning and was looking healthy. His sudden death is a big shock to us.”
The Director of Information and Publications at the National Assembly, Mr. Dibal Ishaku, confirmed the incident, when The PUNCH sought his comments.
“Yes, our colleague has died. We don’t know what happened.
“The body has been taken back to Zaria”, Ishaku told The PUNCH.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Mohammed Monguno, also confirmed the death of his clerk.
Monguno mourned his exit, saying that his dedication to duty would be missed.
“He was a hard working officer, who was deployed in the committee about one year ago,” Monguno added.
At eight every morning, hundreds of farmers throng Birni Sala, an upland farming area along Gubin Ka (River Ka), in Jega town of Kebbi State. At about the same time, thousands more head to their farms in other Kebbi communities like Argungu, Bagudo, Augie, Kangiwa, Kalgo, and Yauri.
Although farming has always been a popular profession in Kebbi, it was, until recently, not considered a lucrative vocation, especially among educated folks.
All that changed in 2016.
In late 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the pilot phase of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), spurring thousands to debut as rice growers on at least one hectare of land each. Even for existing farmers, pre-ABP, the programme, despite its downside, helped improve operations.
One of the debutants, Umaru Salihu, is a level nine health worker in the state civil service where he earns about N34,000 monthly. “Month to month,” Mr. Salihu said, “I was suffering. Before the end of the month, I would have finished my salary and be waiting for the next one.”
Encouraged by Umaru Alhassan, the Chairman of Jega Rice Farmers’ Association to enlist for ABP, Mr. Salihu got one hectare of land at Zariyar Kala-Kala in Bagudo to grow rice. Now, he has 10-hectare farmland, five of which he currently cultivates. He started with one hectare in the beginning of 2016 when he became an ABP beneficiary.
“Now, I have confidence. I have hope. I can support my family very well and buy what I want,” he said, but quickly added, “Not that I am very rich; but whether they (government) pay or not, I don’t care. Wetin concern me? I have hope!”
Mr. Salihu’s story is not unique. It offers a window into the experiences of many others who only depended on meagre salaries from poor employment or were unemployed.
“Apart from civil servants, many of our youth involved in thuggery and drug abuse, or those doing petty jobs in Lagos or Abuja, are on the farm now since the (Anchor) Borrowers’ Programme was introduced,” said Mr. Alhassan, speaking at the family compound he shares with a former electoral chief, Attahiru Jega, after the day’s toil.
The ABP?
Days of investigation by PREMIUM TIMES across farms in Kebbi State show that through the ABP, Nigeria, under the leadership of Mr. Buhari is making a silent but fast-paced, revolutionary march towards self-reliance in rice production, the most popular staple food in the country.
In an official statement that followed the launch of the ABP in November 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria, which coordinates the programme, “set aside N40 billion from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund for farmers at a single-digit interest rate of 9 per cent.”
The ABP mainly targets small-holder subsistence farmers with a view to helping them scale their businesses to commercial level. It also targets millers with the aim of increasing their capacity utilisation.
At the launch, Mr. Buhari disclosed that Nigeria was spending not less than one trillion naira on the importation of food items that could have been produced locally, a situation the CBN said was contributing “greatly to the depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves, especially in the face of low oil revenue resulting from falling oil prices.”
The Central Bank said it had decided to shift from merely concentrating on price, monetary, and financial system stability to acting as a financial catalyst in specific sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture, in an effort to create jobs on a mass scale; improve local food production; and conserve scarce foreign reserves through the ABP.
The implementation of the programme involves the CBN, the Bank of Agriculture, the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, state governments, integrated millers and farmers.
THE POLICY
Enrolment in ABP is two-way. Unlike Mr. Salihu who is engaged under the public sector arrangement, Usman Mayaki works with Labana Rice, a Kebbi-based rice mill involved in the programme alongside Humza, another mill in Kano State.
In Kebbi State, there are 73,941 beneficiaries cultivating 77,583 hectares, according to a document the Central Bank released to PREMIUM TIMES.
But in separate interviews, the Kebbi Deputy Governor, Samaila Yombe; the Commissioner of Agriculture, Garba Dadinga, and the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mohammed Lawal, claimed there are 78,000 beneficiaries in the state.
About 70,000 of these were enrolled under the public sector arm of the programme, with the remaining eight thousand in the private sector level –Labana and Humza.
In terms of local government distribution, there are 21 local government areas in Kebbi State, with each having between 3,000 and 6,000 ABP beneficiaries under the public sector arrangement.
Officials and farmers say beneficiaries were offered loans to cultivate one hectare each. With documents from the CBN showing there are more hectares than beneficiaries, it appears some farmers got support for more than one hectare each.
The General Manager of Labana Rice, Abdullahi Zuru, however said no farmer under the private sector arm got assistance for more than one hectare.
By December 2016, the CBN had disbursed N11.7 billion (N11,722,565,400) in the state to both the government and the private sector arms, the bank’s document released to PREMIUM TIMES revealed.
“About N11 billion was disbursed,” the state agriculture commissioner, Mr. Dadinga, said.
For those in the government category, the CBN disbursed the loans through the Bank of Agriculture, and deposit money banks in the case of the private sector, with each beneficiary compulsorily presenting bank verification number.
“The state came in at the point of BVN (registration),” Mr. Dadinga said.
He explained that the state government provided manpower to ensure all beneficiaries went through the registration in all the local government areas.
But the state government played a bigger role than just helping farmers have BVNs.
Apart from helping in the recovery of the loans and supervising the grouping of the beneficiaries into cooperative associations registered under its Ministry of Commerce, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Lawal, said the state helped verified the farmlands.
This is to ensure the loan was not diverted to other purposes than rice farming, the permanent secretary said. He said the government officials went to each beneficiary’s farm as part of the identification process.
Mr. Lawal’s claim however appears not to have applied in all places.
In Augie, Aliyu Shehe, who heads a group of beneficiaries, said “they (government) didn’t verify any farm; they gave assistance without seeing farms.”
The remark by Mr. Shehe, an elderly seasoned rice farmer, was corroborated by various farmers, including a university lecturer cum farmer, who asked not to be named, but spoke at Masamatu, Argungu; as well as Hafiz Sanusi and Mallam Kashibu at Kwallaga, also in Argungu.
In the beginning, the beneficiaries believed they would get N210,000 to cultivate one hectare each. This was not disputed by officials of the state in separate interviews. Mr. Zuru, the Labana General Manager, and farmers engaged by his company under the private ABP also confirmed this.
While the private farmers got cash and equipment totalling N210,000 each, those in the public arrangement did not and felt short-changed.
Some of the farmers under the government arrangement said they were disappointed by the manner of disbursement and final sum of the loan. They were paid in two batches: N49,000 and then N38,000 in cash, plus pumping machine for irrigation and inputs such as fertilizer, seeds, herbicide and urea. All these total between N156,000 and N160,000 according to a template provided by the government.
“Yes, they came,” Mr. Salihu, the health worker turned farmer, said, confirming the permanent secretary’s claim for his area. He has his farm in Bagudo.
For the out-growers under the private sector arrangement, the CBN gave money to the millers’ bankers which in turn credited the farmers, having been asked to open accounts with the companies’ bankers.
For both categories, extension workers provided training, farmers and officials said.
To ensure adequate insurance, the NAIC was brought in, the CBN spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor, said.
However, PREMIUM TIMES did not see any evidence of NAIC’s role and Kebbi officials did not mention the insurance agency at all. Rather, farmers who experienced downturn or could not use the loans during last year’s dry season farming have had their tenure extended in order to reinvest and be able to repay.
The state government, in an effort led by the deputy governor, Mr. Yombe, is now helping to rally farmers to pay back the loans to the CBN through the BOA.
“We are recovering about four million naira weekly,” Mr. Yombe said.
ON THE FARMS…COMPLAINTS, ALLEGATIONS
Scores of farmers confirmed this to PREMIUM TIMES.
Not just that they got below what they expected, the assistance came after they had started dry season farming last year.
Apart from receiving less than the N210,000 they expected, the university lecturer at Masamatu, like many of the old farmers found the seeds and the pumping machine needless because they had these materials of their own before.
Mr. Alhassan in Jega and Mr. Sanusi in Argungu made that point in separate interviews.
“Nobody is using their seed,” said the university lecturer, backing Mr. Shehe’s point. “We didn’t collect the seeds because we have ours.”
Further, the farmers alleged the list of beneficiaries was padded, with state government officials adding names of friends, family members and political cronies who diverted the loans for other purposes.
“I submitted 1,700 names, but at the end of the day 3,200 were given,” said Mr. Alhassan, who is the chairman of rice farmers in Jega. “They are neither farmers nor intending farmers. We even protested.”
Even Mr. Salihu asked the government to understand there are “paper farmers” and real farmers.
“The allegation of diversion is a crazy assumption,” said Mr. Dadinga, the commissioner. “The CBN did not release any money to the government but to the farmers through the BOA.”
“I have asked anybody to show me one person who benefited but didn’t use the money for the purpose. If money was diverted, there would not have been rice as we now have it and that would have been exposed now that we are recovering the loan.”
The CBN released for each farmer about N156,000-N160,000 through the BOA, he said, adding that the remaining was held by the apex bank.
The CBN, according to its spokesperson, never promised N210,000 in the first place and insisted that the allegation of withholding funds was unfounded. The apex bank said what was given to each farmer was what was provided.
Mr. Dadinga admitted though that the loans did not reach farmers on time. He blamed this on the process of BVN registration, which involved transporting farmers in remote areas to centres across the LGAs where there was network.
“All (of) that hindered the disbursement of fund to farmers,” the official said.
He also explained the government’s decision to buy the equipment for the farmers instead of giving them the total sum in cash.
“Many of them would not buy the inputs or the equipment needed,” said Mr. Dadinga said.
The CBN, BOA, NAIC and the state government hired the suppliers of the input and equipment, he said.
BOOM!
Mr. Salihu hired three hands to work on his Zariyar Kala-Kala, Bagudo farm.
“I give each of the three N15,000 monthly,” he said.
So, despite the constraints, ABP meant an opener of a new lease of life for him and other new farmers, especially those from the no-job-at all background. They became employed directly, and were able to create opportunities for more persons to be engaged.
It is also the same for the older farmers.
So, through ABP, Nigeria may have produced hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the rice production value chain.
“Considering the direct beneficiaries, those who bag rice, load bags in trucks, mechanics who repair pumping machines, petrol stations, food sellers, millers who hire new staff etc., more than 700 thousand jobs (were) created along that cycle,” said Mr. Dadinga, corroborating the permanent secretary’s claims.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Zuru, the boss of Labana with two plants of combined capacity to process 16 tonnes per hour, said his firm was not reaching 35 per cent capacity utilisation before the ABP, even while sourcing rice paddies from outside Kebbi State.
“Now, we are close to full capacity utilization,” he enthused.
Mr. Zuru further explained that enormous market has been created for millers and merchants to purchase paddies with the increased cultivation of 500,000-hectare Kebbi FADAMA land along River Niger and River Rima.
Almost all farmers interviewed across Kebbi said ABP helped them significantly improve their livelihoods – though they had complaints. None of them was asked to refund the loan at the end of last year’s dry season for which they got the loan originally.
Instead, they have extended the tenure, with recovery just underway. They were able to use the loans for last year’s wet season, since they complained they had already commenced operation for the dry season before the assistance arrived.
Kebbi produced over one million tonnes of rice last year, officials of the CBN and the state said.
However, not all rice farmers in the state are ABP beneficiaries.
With the bumper harvest recorded last year, millers and rice merchants, including those based outside Kebbi, have seen a veritable market in the state. The demand for rice is rising, thus pushing more people to the farm to satisfy the demand.
“I sell to merchants from Zuru,” said Mr. Salihu. “They will call me on phone to ask if I have rice.”
There is no worry about sale, farmers said. They have multiple options: sell to millers, directly to consumers, merchants or the state government which in turn sell to millers.
Mr. Zuru disclosed that Labana Rice doubled the number of its out-growers from 3,500 it had when ABP started. The figure is separate from “more people we have employed directly because we have more rice paddies, and our capacity utilization has significantly improved.”
The rice farmers barely know the hardship being experienced by others around the country as the economy sank into recession. The farmer produces about 100 bags from his one hectare farm. With a bag selling for N10,000-12,000 at the market, he is making over one million naira. The farmers said they spend less than N200,000 within the about five-month cycle of growing rice.
CBN told PREMIUM TIMES the programme has been extended to 16 states after Kebbi.
If the Kebbi success is replicated in other places, it is possible for Nigeria to locally satisfy her rice demand in three or four years; and through that process, conserve foreign exchange and create thousands of jobs.
Importantly, replicating the Kebbi success will also help take millions of poor Nigerians out of poverty, and make thousands of farmers millionaires.
“Come to Kebbi, you will get land to grow rice and become a millionaire quickly,” Mr. Salihu invited PREMIUM TIMES’ reporter as they both exited the farm.
