Day: May 17, 2024

President Bola Tinubu has commended members of Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers Association (RANAO) for their sacrifices and parts they played in defending the territorial integrity of the country.

Tinubu gave the commendation at the 36th National Annual General Meeting of RANAO on Thursday in Abuja.

The meeting with the theme: ‘In Pursuit of the Aspirations of the Founding Fathers’ was organised by the Association.

The President, represented by the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, said members of RANAO and the veteran community answered the national call during the darkest period of the nation’s history.

‘I want to express, not only my administration’s appreciation, but indeed, the entire nation’s gratitude for the huge sacrifices the men and women of our Armed Forces, both serving and retired, have made and, are making to keep the country safe from the enemies both within and outside.

‘I am aware that having retired, the President and his members in RANAO are no longer on active d
uty.

‘However, I am equally aware that, as the saying goes, once a soldier, always a soldier.

‘For you members of the RANAO, it is on record that while in service, you toiled, sweated, and scarified as much as your younger and active-duty colleagues are doing currently.

‘Glancing through your matured faces seated before me, it is obvious that a good number of you were active participants in the Civil War that happened more than 50 years ago,’ Tinubu said.

The President tasked RANAO to provide leadership for the rest of the veterans community, adding that, members of RANAO had exhibited more measured approach in the pursuit of issues affecting them.

Earlier, the National President of RANAO, Retired Maj.-Gen. Abdulhafeez Adewuyi, said the association, planted as a seed about 37 years ago in Oyo State had experienced remarkable achievements.

According to Adewuyi, the meeting is also a forum where members take stock and map out strategies within the association

‘As a leading element of the veteran associat
ion in Nigeria, the National Annual General Meeting provides the association the opportunity to share experience and oneness among members.

‘It also gives opportunity to engage in healthy discussions on the various facets of national discuss with the view to structure contributions of veterans towards national development,’ he said

Adewuyi noted that the association was aware that Tinubu’s administration inherited a colossal governance burden, characterised by a fractured polity.

According to him, the evidence could be seen in the cleavages of ethnocentrism, sectionalism and religious extremism.

‘We identify with you in your conscious efforts to navigate the ship of Nigeria out of the tortuous sea of poverty and economy depression,’ Adewuyi said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that high points of the event was the investitures of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd) and Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd.)

Some other personalities were also given a
wards for their contributions to the progress of the association.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it plans to support Nigeria’s power sector with one billion dollars to boost electricity.

Dr Kevin Kariuki, Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth Complex, AfDB, said this on Thursday at the Eight Africa Energy MarketPlace (AEMP) Forum in Abuja.

The forum was organised by AfDB, Ministry of Power and the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF).

The theme of the forum titled ‘Towards Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future: Policy, Regulation and Investment – A Policy Dialogue for the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan (NIEP-SIP)’.

Kariuki said: ‘We will be shortly seeking board approval for a one billion dollars policy-based operation (PBO) with a significant energy component.

‘This is aimed at supporting the ongoing power sector reforms triggered by the new Electricity Act.

‘The timing of the AEMP and the proposed policy-based lending focused on the energy sector is, therefore, no
t coincidental.

‘We will finance the policy recommendations to actualise the expected outcomes from the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan.’

He said that good policies attracted sustainable investments, adding that enabling environment would maximise the value of ongoing investments, including the 256.2 million dollars Nigeria Transmission Expansion Project.

According to him, the project entailed the construction of 500 Kilometres (KM) of transmission lines and four substations with a capacity of over 1000 Mega Volt Ampree (MVA).

‘And the 200 million dollars Nigeria Electrification Project, which will build 150 mini-grids.

‘Moreover, we are financing a study for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to explore deployment of Battery Energy Storage Systems to enhance grid stability and facilitate greater uptake of renewable energy generation.

‘Nigeria is part of our flagship 20 billion dollars Desert to Power Initiative, which aims to generate 10,000 Megawatts (MW
) of solar power across 11 countries in the Sahel region to provide power to 250 million Africans.’

According to AfDB vice president, this portends great promise for increasing the proportion of renewable energy in Nigeria’s energy mix.

He said that through the multi-prong approach of supporting policy development, financing critical power sector infrastructure, and providing technical assistance and capacity building would be achieved.

‘We strongly believe that our partnership with the Federal Government will ensure a viable and sustainable power sector that will yield the desired result,’ he said.

On his part, the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, said the NIEP-SIP would serve as a guiding blueprint for Nigeria’s energy development.

He said that Section 3 (1) of the Electricity Act, 2023, mandated the Ministry of Power to draft and publish, in the Federal Government Gazette, the Nigerian Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan (NIEP-SIP).

Adelabu said the Act directed the
ministry to do this in consultation with relevant government authorities and other stakeholders within one year of the commencement.

According to him, the NIEP-SIP will serve as a guiding blueprint for Nigeria’s energy development, addressing areas such as rural electrification, public-private partnerships for universal electricity access.

‘Power-source specific policies, bulk power purchase, and management of local distribution in rural areas, among other pertinent aspects as directed by the Federal Government.

‘In alignment with this legal mandate, the ministry of power has initiated the development of the NIEP-SIP, as required by EA-2023, aiming to address industry challenges and capitalising on opportunities identified during a comprehensive two-day retreat in December.

‘I strongly believe and hope that through this collaboration, the Federal Government will leverage the opportunity provided by this AEMP to engage with stakeholders in the sector.’

The minister added that the collaboration would also
facilitate the realisation of the goals of the mandate of section Three of the Electricity Act, 2023.

Mr Lamin Barrow, Director-General, Nigeria Country Department, AfDB said that the event was timely, coming in the wake of the ongoing rollout of the 2023 Electricity Act.

Barrow said the event also provided a unique opportunity to contribute to the preparation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan (NIEP-SIP), in line with the requirements of the new Electricity Act.

‘As part of the AEMP, several technical sessions were held virtually that generated a raft of recommendations across key areas, including recapitalisation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

‘Reform of the National Wholesale Electricity Market, operationalisation of State-level electricity markets, accelerating Universal Access, promoting a Just Energy Transition, enhancing human capital and national content development.

‘We wish to commend the experts for their contributions at these
technical sessions and urge participants to share their insights and experience in the two-day sessions to inform the action place emanating from the Eight AEMP,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Lagos office, on Thursday unveiled digitalised documentaries of Nigerian heritage sites.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was unanimously carried out by NCMM, Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique (INFRA-Nigeria) and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

Speaking during the unveiling, at the National Museum, Onikan, Dr Babrabra Morovich, Director of INFRA-Nigeria, said that the digitised heritage sites cut across monuments and artefacts from Ibadan, Benin and Ile-Ife.

She said the challenges encountered in the course of the project had to do with disseminating the research work to all Nigerians, adding that this was the most important aspect of the project.

Morovich said the benefit of the project was directed at the public who had been provided with a platform for easy understanding of what heritage meant.

‘We collaborated with CDD on this project and we have worked on digitalising heritage sites and archiv
al materials in Ile-Ife, Ibadan and Benin, for the purpose of preserving them for the future,’ she said.

Also speaking, Dr Sa’eed Husaini, Acting Director, CDD, said the primary purpose of the project was to preserve materials that were potentially endangered and to disseminate those materials as well as render them accessible for all.

Husaini said the project was in six components and each currently had at least one website for the public to access information and archival materials that had been digitised and uploaded.

According to him, the public could now visit those sites and download their desired materials.

‘The findings and entire work done by various researchers and archeologists are extremely fascinating.

‘The project has run for two years now and we are now opportuned to engage with the materials provided to bring them to a new audience in a new generation, this is one that I cherish,’ he said.

One of those engaged in the project, David Afolayan, Chief Executive Officer of GIS Konsult Ltd., i
dentified emerging problems he came across in the course of executing the project.

Afolayan said climate change posed serious threat to most heritage sites across the nation, citing example of the town of a thousand gullies in Auchi, Edo, and series of floods at heritage sites within Ibadan.

He added that the analogue way of record-keeping had become obsolete and inadequate, making him embrace new technologies for the project.

Afolayan said in digitalising the religious architectural heritage of Ibadan and urban archeology mapping of the pavements of Ile-Ife, he had engaged the Geographic Information system (GIS) as the best technological platform.

According to him, GIS integrates computer hardwares, softwares and humanwares for collating, processing, analysing and displaying geographically referenced data to solve complex problems.

He said in the course of the project, he had trained no fewer than 100 researchers, students and stakeholders.

‘In the course of this, we have developed Ibadan religious her
itage map, Ifa pavement archeology map, digitalisation of Ibadan religious heritage and photogrammetry and video game applications of heritage sites in 3D models,’ he said.

Also, Femi Olanrewaju, an architect, noted that no fewer than 137 churches, I42 mosques and 127 shrines had been digitalised as well as two Egungun festivals, to provide resourceful materials for all.

This, he said, was to encourage promotion of religious tourism in Nigeria.

Mrs Nkechi Adedeji, Curator of the Lagos Museum, harped on the need for heritage conservators to be well informed in the area of heritage preservation, using the GIS.

She encouraged them to consistently come up with laudable ideas to protect the nation’s heritage resources for future generations.

Prof. Adisa Ogunfola of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), advised on building of a digital interpretation centre for all the urban archaeological heritages of Ile-Ife, in partnership with the National Museum, Ile-Ife.

He said the successful medieval Ile-Ife recapturing h
ad ensured future security for all.

‘With the project, we have been able to secure the captured medieval Ile-Ife for posterity against the possible blotting out of its traces by pending urbanisation,’ Ogunfola said. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Zhang Yi, the Chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, has reaffirmed China’s commitment to support Nigeria’s development through strategic partnerships, technology transfer, and infrastructure investments.

Zhang stated this on Thursday in Abuja at a Seminar on Promoting Harmony Through Mutual Learning organised by the Chinese Embassy in collaboration with China Alumni Association and the University of Abuja.

He highlighted the importance of collaboration between the two countries in key sectors such as energy, transportation, and telecommunications to drive economic growth and mutual opportunities.

He underlined the significance of embracing harmony as a fundamental driving force for national advancement and drew parallels between China’s path to economic success and the role of embracing diversity while emphasising harmony in China’s developmental journey.

Zhang said that harmony, as defined by the Longman Dictionary, referred to people living or working together without conflict or disc
ord.

He emphasised the significance of fostering harmony in various aspects of the society, ranging from individuals and nature, families, and society, to nations and civilizations, and in governance and development.

‘We believe that promoting harmony among different ethnic groups, ensuring political stability, and investing in infrastructure were vital steps required to unlock Nigeria’s full potential and foster sustainable development.

‘It is crucial to create a world characterised by peaceful human development through fostering friendships and cultural exchanges as bridges between China and Nigeria,’ Zhang said.

Professor Sheriff Ibrahim, the Head of the Political Science and International Relations of the University of Abuja, said that the seminar was held at a critical juncture for Nigeria, facing challenges like insecurity, economic difficulties, and social unrest.

Ibrahim, also the Director of Contemporary Africa-China Research in Nigeria, highlighted the significance of championing harmony as a b
eacon of hope and advancement for Nigeria.

‘For harmonious coexistence to thrive, it requires genuine political will and collaboration,’ Ibrahim said.

He also expressed optimism regarding the integration of harmony into Nigeria’s development agenda, foreseeing its potential to bridge divides, promote inclusivity, and pave the way for a brighter future.

Ibrahim called upon all stakeholders to collaborate toward a shared vision of prosperity and stability for the nation. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, says the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is committed to flushing out terrorists, bandits and other criminals from all parts of Nigeria.

Abubakar said this while addressing newsmen during the Juma’at Prayer in commemoration of the NAF 60th Anniversary Celebration, on Friday at the NAF Base Central Mosque Asokoro, Abuja.

He said the air force would continue to work in collaboration with other sister services and other security agencies to ensure the return peace and prosperity to all parts of the country.

According to him, the essence of the Juma’at prayer is, first, to thank the God Almighty for all the achievements of the NAF thus far and for the significant operational and other achievements in the recent past.

‘Secondly, to pray for His guidance, blessings and mercies in our efforts to continue to transform the Nigerian Air Force into an agile and resilient force that effectively meets the airpower demands of national security in all operational e
nvironments.

‘This is in tandem with our command philosophy.

‘The NAF has evolved over the years from a basic tactical air force in the 60s and 70s to an air force today that is capable of conducting strategic operations whenever required.

‘So we have every reason to celebrate and be happy as a service,’ he said.

The CAS thanked all Nigerians also for the cooperation, support and encouragement to the air force personnel.

He assured the airmen and air women that NAF had acquired a lot of platforms already with more coming into the system.

He also assured them that a lot of welfare packages were being provided, urging them to look forward to better days.

‘The Juma prayer we just witnessed is one of the activities designed to commemorate the very important milestone achievements.

‘There are several other activities also designed to mark this very important occasion, including an interdenominational service that will be conducted on Sunday.

‘We are also conducting medical outreaches and educational outre
aches to all parts of the country.

‘This will improve our civil military relations. We are also hosting the third African Air Forces Conference and exhibition and this is to also improve and enhance our international collaborations in the areas of defence and security.

‘We are also having parades and aerial displays amongst many other activities designed to commemorate this very important occasion,’ he said.

Sen. Bala Na’alla, former Senators representing, Kebbi South in the 9th Senate, commended NAF for operation successes so far recorded.

Na’alla urged them to sustain their loyalty to the country in spite of all the challenges and redirect their energy towards addressing all security challenges within the shortest possible time.

‘So far, they have done well with the little resources that they have and with their various interventions that we can see.

‘We are extremely happy and we remain grateful to all the airmen and women and the officers for their dedication in the discharge of their duties,’ he sa
id.

In his sermon, Group -Capt. Haruna Idris, Chief Imam and Deputy Director, Islamic Affairs, NAF, called for dedication and obedience on the part of all service personnel to ensure operational successes.

He said that the Almighty Allah had granted the NAF immensely with the human and material resources that must be harnessed effectively to achieve breakthroughs.

According to him, that have got sufficient training and sufficient assets in recent years, and have all the capacities that that will be able to overcome the security challenges.

‘So, we are reminding the entire citizens of this country, that we need to put ourselves in prayers so that God can give us the spirit to use available resources he has given us,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Fabric Professionals a Association of Nigeria (FPDA) says Nigeria should give more attention to the cleaning and hygiene industry to benefit from its over $165 billion global industry value.

Mr Enibikun Adebayo, FPDA Chairman, said this during a news conference ahead of the association’s Clean Show Africa Conference on Thursday in Lagos.

Adebayo said that Nigeria’s dry cleaning industry was valued at $8.4 million in 2019 and was projected to grow at 6.4 per cent year on year for the next ten years.

‘Even the statistics are now looking better than what they were before.

‘It is now left for us to reposition the industry to the world because nobody is paying attention to this lucrative industry and this is what we want to address with the conference,’ he said.

According to him, the association was launched in 2023 as a platform that educates its members to be better professionals, while stressing the need for collaboration in the cleaning and hygiene industry.

Adebayo said that the conference, which w
ould hold on May 28 to May 29 in Lagos, would expose no fewer than 25,000 dry cleaners to the opportunities in the cleaning and hygiene industry.

He said that the conference would also focus on women in the drycleaning business, maintaining that reports revealed that women are better managers of drycleaning businesses.

Also, Mrs Ruth Okunnuga, Managing Director, Wasche Paint Nigeria, said Nigeria’s drycleaning and laundry industry has not been given the necessary support and publicity it deserves.

Okunnuga said, ‘The industry has gone for so long without proper structure and it is not attracting investment as it should.

‘This is why we have put together this event to feature all industry experts and have pertinent discussions on how to create value that is needed to grow the industry.

‘We want to revolutionise the sector to make it attractive for investors and potential professional dry cleaners and stakeholders,’ she said.

She further said that the event provides a platform for better data collection c
ritical for proper planning to galvanise growth of the industry.

Similarly, Mr Joseph Oru, Managing Director, Zenith Exhibition, said FPDA would leverage on the conference to engage the federal government on establishing institutions that would train dry cleaners to become professionals in the industry.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria