Day: June 11, 2023

Senate Presidency: I’m ready to kneel down, beg my colleagues for Akpabio/Barau says Shettima

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says he is ready to kneel down to beg the incoming senators to give Sen. Godswill Akpabio (APC-Akwa-Ibom) and Sen. Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano), opportunity to lead the 10th Senate.

Shettima said this at an interaction with senators across party lines held in Abuja.

“I’m ready to kneel down and beg my colleagues for the sake of the nation. This is for the survival of this nation.

“Here we are with a muslim president and a muslim vice-president in a multi ethnic, multi religious polity like ours.

“Number 1, 2. All of the same faith for God sake!!!.

“Under the current dispensation, the worst, the most incompetent Southern Christian is better than the most puritanical Northern Muslim for the Presidency of the Senate,” he said.

Shettima added:”Equity, justice and fairness demands that the number three citizen of this country should be christian.

“What binds us together supersedes whatever divides us. But most importantly, we should make deliberate efforts to take inclusivity in governance.

“This is a young nation where every community will like to have fair representation on the dinner table of their kinsmen.

“Politics is about perception, politics is about optics. I want to appeal to you, I want to appeal to your conscience.”

“The stability and inclusivity and togetherness of this nation supersedes the depth of our pockets, stability of our pockets.

“We are talking about the sustainability of the nation; the nation is in a crossroad”.

Also speaking, Sen. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) said that the stability group had 73 persons who had signed for the Akpabio/Barau ticket.

“We are working very hard to support you in your course for the stability of this country.

“We have committed ourselves to your administration alongside President Bola Tinubu to ensure the stability of the Nigeria.

“The last time we had a meeting with the lawmakers-elect across party lines, the president shook hands with each one of us and called us by our native names.

“This is one administration that will not only be people-oriented but close to the grassroot,” he said.

He added: “So far, the decisions that are coming out are those that will strengthen Nigeria.

“We’ll see Nigeria change before our very eyes and we’re committed to being a part of that change. We assure you not just of our loyalty but the stability of the parliament.”

Similarly, Jibrin said “I must begin by thanking His Excellency, the vice- president for his uncommon commitment.

“To the actualisation of all those that have been endorsed by the party to preside over the two chambers of the National Assembly.

“Your commitment is not to us as persons, it’s to the stability and peaceful coexistence of the people and indeed the progress of this nation.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

IFAD, FG commence wet season farming in Enugu

The International Fund for Agricultural Development -Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD-VCDP), has commenced wet season farming in Enugu and distributed inputs worth millions of Naira to 5,000 rural farmers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.

Some of the agric inputs distributed to farmers are NPK and Urea fertilizers, certified seed rice, cassava stem, sprayers, planters and selective and non-selective herbicides.

The beneficiaries of the programme are rural farmers from the five Council Areas of Aninri, Enugu East, Nkanu East, Isi Uzo and Udenu in Enugu State.

At the event, the National Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Dr Fatima Aliyu, said she was impressed with the performance being recorded by VCDP farmers in Enugu State.

Aliyu, represented by the Programme’s National Human Resources Advisory, Mr Gidado Bello, said Enugu VCDP was one of the best performing states of the nine states benefitting from the IFAD-VCDP.

He lauded the Enugu State IFAD-VCDP Programme Coordinator, Dr Edward Isiwu, and his team for their effective, committed and purposeful leadership as well as for delivering the inputs on time and ahead of other states.

“We are in Abuja and we know how states perform and I am impressed with the presence of government officials, traditional rulers and farmers in this event.

“We have to support farmers in the state to ensure food sufficiency and security,” Aliyu said.

In his remark, Chairman of the event, Dr Godwin Aboyi, said the event was a unique day for farmers in Enugu and lauded IFAD, the Federal Government and Dr Isiwu for living up to expectations by supplying farmers with inputs.

Earlier in a welcome address, Isiwu noted that IFAD, since inception in the state in 2020, had always kicked off wet season farming by given farmers agro inputs.

He explained that the benefitting farmers represent farmers’ organisations that runs as cooperatives, adding that their new groups would be supported in next two years.

“By 2025, we will wean them and by God’s grace, we will extend the programme to accommodate others farmers.

“As we are flagging the wet season planting today, we are going to give beneficiaries business plan we prepared as well as inputs,” Isiwu said.

He added that by December, the farmers would produce enough rice and garri for Enugu residents.

Speaking also, the governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said 10,000 farmers had been empowered with agro inputs since 2020.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

ACIOE restates commitment to transformative growth for African businesses

ACIOE Associates, Africa’s leading advisory services firm, has reaffirmed its commitment to inspiring and transforming African businesses via strategic and proven growth advisory solutions to spur economic development.

The Chief Executive Officer, ACIOE Associates, Mr Ekenem Isichei, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

Isichei said the business solutions cut across sectors such as government relations, investment strategy and other areas.

He stated that the advisory firm had nurtured invaluable partnerships designed to inspire transformative growth in Nigeria and within the continent.

Isichei said the organisation with its team of driven professionals, delivers clear and practical business solutions to ease doing business in Africa while creating mutually beneficial opportunity for growth and sustainable development.

He added that over the years, ACIOE has through project Digi Link – A digital transformation project in Edo State in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Isichei noted that the African Continent was filled with unharnessed opportunities which can effectively improve living standards for nations within the continent if properly harnessed and utilised.

This, he said, made it a key imperative for ACIOE to proffer strategic and pragmatic solutions to brands, entities, organisations and individuals who do business in Nigeria and across the continent so that they can build some sort of business agility and fluidity.

“ACIOE continues to champion digital inclusivity in Nigerian communities.

“Also, the organisation partnered Lagos State Government in the revitalisation of primary healthcare in the state in collaboration with the BMGF as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

“ACIOE’s team of experts and industry thought leaders provides clients with solutions in strategy, government relations, regulatory affairs, economic development, advocacy, investment facilitation, policy analysis and strategic intelligence on various sectors.

“It is based on this commitment that the London Stock Exchange recognised us as one of the companies to inspire Africa in 2019 which significantly speaks to what we do as an organisation that is continuously inspiring growth in Nigeria and across the continent,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Artist urges Tinubu to promote investment in art to generate employment

An Abuja-based abstract artist, Ms Ella Onyebe has called on President Bola Tinubu to promote investment in art, to support unemployment.

Onyebe made the call in a interview with newsmen on the sideline of her 7th solo art exhibition titled “Big Idea” on Saturday in Abuja.

Onyebe who majors in painting women and children with 12 years experience said, art, if promoted could generate jobs and forex for the country.

She said art brings out the creativity in young people, help them express their power of imagination while generating revenue.

“Through art, we tell our stories as Africans and we preserve our culture and identity as well,” she added.

Onyebe however said lack of support had killed the potential of a lot of artists.

“Sometimes we get the positive side of it, most times it’s the negative but we are hoping to get to meet the best people who love art who are ready to put art out there.

“Now that we have a new government, we are hoping they give us the best so that we can send art out tot ur world because we cannot just stay in a place, we need to keep going out,” she said.

Onyebe called on all lovers of art to join forces with the government to bring Nigerian art to its rightful place in the world.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria