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KDSG Security Update: Tuesday 22nd June 2021.  KDSG commends Police Operatives over foiled kidnap attempt in Igabi LGA  The Kaduna State Government has commended police operatives who thwarted armed bandits following an attempted kidnapping in Dankande, Igabi local government area on Monday.  The officers, while providing an escort detail to an expatriate late on Monday night, ran into an ambush laid by armed bandits around Dankande.  After a prolonged gun duel, the bandits were repelled, many carrying serious gunshot wounds as they fled into the forest. A subsequent search of the area yielded the lifeless body of one of the bandits, along with four AK-47 magazines, loaded with 120 rounds of live ammunition. A mobile phone was also recovered, and is now central to ongoing investigations.  Governor Nasir El-Rufai welcomed the report with satisfaction, and has conveyed his gratitude to the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muri and his team. The Governor reserved sp...

•Governor Approves Premium Insurance Cover on Passengers Using State-Owned Ferries •‘We Now Have Capacity to Move 710 Commuters per Trip’ - LAGFERRY MD   The growing interest in water transportation by residents of Lagos State has received an encouraging response from the State Government. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, expanded the capacity of the Lagos State Ferry Services (LAGFERRY) with the delivery of seven additional high-capacity speed boats to shore up the agency’s fleet for rapid transit on the waterways. The Governor flagged off the use of the new boats for commercial operations at an event held at the administrative yard of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Five Cowries Terminal in Falomo, Ikoyi. Also at the event, Sanwo-Olu launched the use of Cowry Card for passengers using water transportation to create a seamless payment scheme in line with the State’s multimodal transportation system. This integrates the LAGFERRY services to an automated payment...

  The General Manager of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA), Prince Ifalade Oyekan, has revealed that the Agency is set to conduct tests for eligible candidates to serve as Divisional Commanders and Local Government Corps Superintendents.  In a statement issued by his Office on Monday, Prince Oyekan said the new approach is in line with the drive towards transforming the Agency to meet the ideals of the present administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda, especially the sixth pillar which deals with security. He said the State Government is investing heavily on the safety as well as security of lives and property and, therefore, cannot allow such heavy investment to fritter away through incompetence, especially at the grassroots, which the primary area of focus for the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps. Oyekan said selecting Commanding Officers for the various Units of the LNSA, through a transparent process, will greatly improve the Agency’s capacity to deliver ...

… Says Commission Does Not Have Power To Deregister Political Parties The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has debunked a story published in the Punch Newspapers with the headline “LASIEC LISTS LOSERS OF APC LG PRIMARY AS WINNERS” on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, alleging that some winners of the Local Government Chairmen and Councillorship Primaries were surreptitiously replaced in the lists published by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission. A statement issued by the Head, Public Affairs Unit of the Commission, Mr. Tope Ojo, described the allegation as false, unfounded and fabricated, hence the need to set the records straight and educate members of the public. Reiterating that LASIEC is an impartial umpire in the electoral process, Ojo stated that there was a deliberate misrepresentation, misinformation or distortion of facts for political advantage in order to whip up sentiments. He pointed out that such misleading and untrue accusation may cast doubt on...

  Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed sadness over the sudden death of the Chairman of Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the State, Hon. Olufunmi Olatunji. The governor described the late council boss as an extremely loyal politician and an invaluable asset to the All Progressives Council (APC). He said the deceased lived a fulfilled life and impacted lives through selfless service to his family, people of Eti-Osa East LCDA, Lagos State and humanity at large. Governor Sanwo-Olu, in a condolence message issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, said Olatunji’s demise was a big loss to the council and the State. Olatunji, the chairman of Eti-Osa East LCDA and All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship candidate for the July 24 Local Government elections in Lagos State, died on Monday night after a brief illness. "The death of Hon. Olufunmi Olatunji is a painful and great loss to Lagos State. I am saddened by th...

  Twitter suspension: Reps engage Lai Mohammed  Members of the House of Representatives joint committee mandated to investigate the suspension of activities of Twitter in Nigeria by the Executive arm, on Tuesday, engaged the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, over the action. Following the decision of the Federal Government to suspend Twitter in Nigeria on June 4, the House resolved on June 8 to investigate the circumstances that led to the got decision. The House resolved among others, to seek clarification on the law the government relied upon suspending the operations of twitter. The standing committees mandated to carry out the assignment were the Committees on Communications, Justice, Information/Culture and National Security/Intelligence. During the investigative hearing held at the National Assembly on Tuesday, the lawmakers demanded to know why the executive arm decided to suspend twitter at a time when many Nigerian, especially the youth, depend...

… Gives Three Days Ultimatum For Removal Of Illegal Structures No fewer than 45 residential and commercial buildings on Omorinre Johnson Street and Hunponu Wusu Road, Off Admiralty Way, Lekki, were on Sunday sealed by the officials of Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, for illegal extension of development to canal setbacks along the axis. The issuance of contravention notices was carried out by a team comprising of the enforcement and demolition gangs of LASBCA and officials of the Nigeria Police Force, which was led by LASBCA General Manager, Arc. Gbolahan Oki. Speaking during the exercise, the General Manager said the buildings were sealed for contravening the physical planning regulations of the State, noting that the violators have the grace period of three days to remove all illegal construction. He said, “Most of the building setbacks on the axis have interlocking tiles erected across canals, which is against the physical planning regulations of Lagos State. The owners ...

  The Ogun State Government has extended its condolence to the families of those who lost their lives due to the fire incident that occurred in the early hours of today, around Ogere axis of the Lagos/Ibadan expressway, when a fully loaded fuel tanker collided with another truck during a heavy traffic along the highway. The Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele who led a government delegation to the scene of the incident, commended officials of fire service and road management agencies for responding promptly to the emergency, which helped in limiting the tragic loss of lives. Engr. Salako-Oyedele implored motorist to always obey traffic rules, promising that the State government would do its best to resolve the gridlock around the area. After taking brief on the happening from relevant agencies managing the situation, the Deputy Governor, thereby directed the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya to coordinate ...

 Presentation by the Honorable Minister of Information & Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed to the House Representatives Joint Committee on the Suspension of Twitter in Nigeria Notes on the lawful Ban on Twitter in Nigeria.     1. Public Interest takes precedent over individual interest   Section 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is to the effect that:   “45 (1) Nothing in Sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of this Constitution shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society: a. In the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health or; b. The purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other person”   The above provisions of Section 45 of the Constitution leave no one in doubt that the provisions of Section 39 of the Constitution on Freedom of Expression is not absolute. The right to free expression within the contemplation of Section 39 makes it a qualified right in light of the afor...

 Farouk Lawan sentenced to seven years in prison over $3m bribe June 22, 2021  By Bolanle Olabimtan A federal capital territory (FCT) high court sitting in Apo, Abuja, has sentenced Farouk Lawan, former chairman of the federal house of representatives ad-hoc committee on fuel subsidy, to seven years imprisonment over the $3 million bribery charges preferred against him by the federal government. Lawan was the chairman of the house of representatives ad hoc committee probing the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud in 2012. He was accused of demanding $3 million from Femi Otedola to remove Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited (Otedola’s company) from the list of oil companies allegedly involved in the fuel subsidy fraud in 2012. Lawan, who was arraigned on seven counts of bribery by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), was alleged to have collected $500,000 bribe from Otedola. The charge was later amended to three counts. Otedola, while giving evidence as the fifth...

 STRIKE ACTION: To Our Surprise, NASARAWA STATE Govt 'Doctored' The Agreement  “We agreed with the government that the last tranche of August 2016 salary arrears would be paid in June. “We also agreed that promotions would be implemented from August while the committee on minimum wage should resume discussion on the consequential adjustments for workers in level seven and above. “But to our surprise, the government doctored the agreement and included a clause that, whenever the federal allocation is less than N4 billion, the government would revert to old payment. “Meaning that any month the allocation is less than N4 billion the government would suspend the implementation of the promotion and pay workers in their old grade levels.” -Yusuf Iya, NLC Chairman

PRESS RELEASE President Buhari Approves FG's Team To Engage With Twitter Over Suspension President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the composition of the Federal Government's Team to engage with Twitter over the recent suspension of the operations of the microblogging and social networking service in Nigeria. The approval was announced in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who will chair the team. The Federal Government's team also comprises the Attorney General of the Federation and Honourable Minister of Justice, Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment as well as other relevant government agencies. Following the indefinite suspension of its operations in Nigeria, for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence, Twitter wrote to...

   President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja inaugurated National Steering Committee (NSC) of the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) to be chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, reiterating his commitment to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years, with a well-researched framework for implementation and funding. Speaking at the ceremony attended by the Vice President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, some governors and top government officials, President Buhari noted that the NPRGS had already proposed the establishment of a private equity fund, the Nigeria Investment and Growth Fund (NIG-Fund), to lead resource mobilization drive and also manage the resources in a sustainable manner. “This journey began in January, 2021 when I directed the Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Secretary to the Government of the Federation to collaboratively work together to articulate what that will l...

 My Husband Refuses To Help My Family Members After Paying ₦580K For My Bride Price, Nigerian Wife Cries Out A Nigerian Lady Identified as Elohor Okudu narrates how her husband has refused to help her own family members after paying almost N580k bride Price. The story was shared by a twitter user identified as @SmartAtuadi, the lady is seeking professional advice as the issue bothers her. She Wrote: “I got married 8months ago, my hubby earns 70k monthly while I am yet to get a job, during our wedding ceremony, hubby spent about 580k on the list given to him for the traditional wedding, I persuaded my parents to reduce the list but they said it is a must and a tradition.” “He was able to raise the money as I wasnt working and I couldn’t help financially. After marriage I suggested that he should be sending something monthly to my parents as he does send to his parents too, but to my surprise the reply he gave me was that he didn’t owe my parents anything that they have collected all...

Odion Ighalo gets new appointment from federal government. Odion Ighalo has been appointed as the ambassador of the National principals cup set to kick off in Nigeria. Mikel Obi was also recently appointed as youth ambassador to the federal government. Congratulations Odion Ighalo✔️

According to a new report, the 72-year-old Prince of Wales will not join Harry and Meghan Markle for Princess Diana's statue unveiling amid the royal family feud. Charles will conveniently be at his Scottish estate, Balmoral, when his son and daughter-in-law travel across the globe to pay tribute to Harry's late mother, reports The Sun.  “Charles has made it quite clear he will not be around … because he is going to Scotland,” a source told the outlet. “There is no planned meeting between the three of them,” they added.  When Harry and Meghan arrive to the UK ahead of the festivities on July 1, Charles will be more than 400 miles away.  Once he and his wife arrive in the country, they will reportedly be forced to quarantine for five days.  Harry and William will put on a united front for the sake of their mom's memory. "The boys will walk out together out of respect for their mom,” a source revealed to The Sun, adding the feuding brothers will give separate speeches ...

 “We are Using Agency Banking to Drive Entrepreneurship, Wealth Creation” – Ecobank   Ecobank Nigeria says its vision to use agency banking scheme to drive entrepreneurship, provide employment opportunities and supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is yielding fruits, as over 32,000 Nigerians including former employees and retirees have adopted the scheme to sustain their everyday living. According to the bank apart from helping to drive its financial inclusion strategy in Nigeria, the agents were empowered to create wealth and enjoy financial freedom.   Head of Agency Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Olanike Kolawole stated this while responding to media questions in Lagos. According to Kolawole the customer experience is very good as customers can do the simple deposit, payment and transfers in their own neighbourhoods rather than travel for hours to a bank branch.   “These are all parts of our efforts as a bank to help more Nigerians embrace entrepreneur...

  PRESIDENT BUHARI PLEDGES TO BEQUEATH A CITIZENS-LED POLICING SYSTEM TO THE NATION President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday pledged to bequeath ''a citizens-led policing system'' to the nation, declaring that his administration has demonstrated firm commitment towards changing the principle and strategy of policing in Nigeria.    The President addressed the passing out parade of 418 officers of the 3rd Regular Cadet Course at the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil-Kano, where he further explained his directive to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission on the upward review of police emoluments.   In his speech delivered by the Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, the President said a citizens-led policing system informed the approval for the adoption of Community Policing as the Internal Security Strategy of the country, as well as the approval of funds to support the implementation process.   On the revised salary and allowances for the Nigeria Polic...