Month: July 2023

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of

Nigeria (MACBAN), has called on the Federal Government to look into the activities of the “Operation Rainbow” a security outfit owned by the Plateau government.

Its National President, Alhaji Baba Othman-Ngelzarma, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

He alleged that the outfit had attacked some pastoralists in the state.

According to him, a recent report by the military on the killing of some members of the police constabulary and the capture of weapons justifies why the outfit’s activities should be checked.

The association claimed that there had been an upsurge of violence since the 2023 elections were conducted.

It further claimed that communities in Mangu, Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Governments had come under attacks “partly as a result of political differences”.

It said that many pastoralists had been displaced and left to fend for themselves

with colossal damage to their economic activities and means of livelihood.

The statement noted that the pastoralists were Nigerians and indigenes of

Plateau and deserved to be protected as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Federal Government has called on the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), to ensure prompt remittance of revenues to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Mr Zacchaeus Adedeji, Special Adviser on Revenue to President Bola Tinubu, made the call during a visit to the Chairman, FRC, Mr Victor Muruako, on Saturday in Abuja.

Adedeji said that the call was in line with President Tinubu’s quest to improve the revenue generation architecture of the country.

He said that the current administration was determined to ensure that all revenues of the Federal Government were properly articulated and remitted timely into the CRF.

He stressed the need for inter-agency co-operation amongst all government-owned enterprises, to ensure optimal results in revenue remittance.

The special adviser said that the Tinubu-led administration would continue to take proactive measures in ensuring that basic revenue framework of the government was adequately secured.

In his response, Muruako said that the Commission had over the years developed a culture of blocking all leakages of revenue due to the Federal Government.

While congratulating Adedeji on his appointment, the chairman assured him of the full co-operation and maximum support of staff and management of the FRC.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government had in 2022 directed the FRC to ensure 100 per cent remittance of revenue generated by fully funded agencies, departments, and commissions into the CRF.

Muruako told NAN, on the sideline of the visit, that the Commission was doing its best, noting however, that task was not easy.

He said that although the commission has recorded significant improvements in compliance to the directive, much still needs to be done to improve.

“We were able to improve the nation’s independent revenue as a commission, but it was not easy getting agencies and government-owned enterprises to remit all revenues due to the government.

“In line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, MDAs are expected to ordinarily remit their internal and independent revenues to the CRF.

“However, we are in a situation where some of the MDAs are not complying and we have to keep urging them,” he said.

He commended the Senate Committee of Finance and House of Representative Committee on Finance, for assisting the commission to improve the remittance of revenue generation to the CRF.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Members of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) 35 Regular Course on Saturday, honoured their course mate and the immediate past Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, for his outstanding performance as air chief.

The President, 35 RC Foundation, retired Air Commodore Emmanuel Golit, extolled the virtues of the former air chief at a reception dunner, organised by members of the 35RC foundation in Abuja.

Golit said Amao who is the Patron of 35RC foundation was also the last man standing of the course in the military in recent time.

He said Amao served the air force in different strategic levels such as Air Component Commander, Operation Lafia Dole, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Tactical Air Command and Chief of Training and Operations at NAF Headquarters.

Golit said the former air chief also served as Commandant, Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, among others, adding that the exposures and experiences garnered in those appointments, contributed immensely to his outstanding performance as the 21st CAS.

“Upon his assumption of office, the Operational, Logistics, Administrative and other key specialised areas of the Nigerian Air Force, witnessed improved consolidation of the previous visions of his predecessors.

“It is equally heartwarming to re-echo the many successes recorded by Amao, some of which were the purchase and induction of new Aircraft types, Drones and other equipment for the NAF by the Federal Government.

“The NAF under the able, focused and highly professional leadership of Air Marshal Amao witnessed renewed vigour from personnel.

“Additionally, certain issues like inter- service rivalry which hitherto hampered harmonious operational collaboration and effectiveness were resolved in synergy became a thing of the past.

“Resultantly, NAF Pilots engaged in fighting Counter-Terrorism operations and other security challenges attended to ground forces at the press of a button,” he said.

Golit said there was improved mission focused intelligence gathering during Amao’s stewardship of the NAF.

According to him, this helped in targeting enclaves and strongholds of terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements located in various parts of the country.

He added that one of his last operation as CAS was the attack on terrorists who were gathering somewhere at the Mambila area.

Golit said those were the kind of strikes recorded regularly by the NAF during his tenure as CAS.

He further said that the NAF received several weapons ordered before his appointment and he made very good use of them just as he invested in training and retraining of more fighter pilots to boost their total number for effective and efficient air power delivery.

“He also invested massively in the training of many technicians for the maintenance of platforms in the NAF.

“Aside these, Air Marshal Amao concentrated on Research and Development, among other several achievements too many to mention.

“In terms of infrastructural development, he improved significantly on what his predecessors, earlier did, laying emphasis on Barrack renovations and establishment of Units to meet NAF operational gaps.

“It is therefore heartwarming to report that most NAF personnel who spoke about Air Marshal Amao’s leadership of the NAF praised his welfare oriented and compassionate pedigree.

“This essential attribute boosted the morale of all NAF personnel.

“A similar report is shared by many NAF veterans across board whose medical bills and welfare issues were attended to with utmost compassion and empathy.

“Accordingly, we the members of 35 RC foundation and our spouses are very pleased to celebrate Air Marshal Amao for a highly successful tour of duty in the Nigerian Air Force spanning 40 years and as the 21st CAS,” he added.

Responding, the ex-air chief thanked the association for organising the grand reception dinner in his honour to celebrate his retirement from the service of the NAF.

Amao said the gesture speaks to the strong bond of friendship that existed among the members of the course since their days in NDA between 1984 and 1986.

He said they had been supportive to one another, adding that they had lost a few of their colleagues, including the former Chief of Army Staff, late Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

“I am grateful that the Foundation has been reaching out to the families that our late colleagues left behind. I’m equally enthralled by the fact that the 35th Regular Course, known as the Friends of the Needy and Super Foundation, has been growing in leaps and bounds.

“The Foundation has touched so many lives and given support to the needy in our society. It is perhaps part of the foundation’s efforts at touching lives that this grand reception has been put together in my honour,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that both senior and junior officers who worked with the former CAS, took turn to pour glowing encomium on him and prayed for him as well.

Among them is the Senator representing Plateau South in the 10th Assembly, Sen. Napoleon Bali, a retired Air Vice Marshal and member of 35 RC, who urged him to deploy his wealth of experience to promote politics.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A 22-year-old woman at Hochfeld in the Okahandja district was arrested for attempted murder on Saturday after she reportedly hanged her 11-month baby boy with the straps of a ‘baby carrier’ inside her house.

Namibian Police Force Community Affairs Commander for Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha told Nampa on Sunday that the incident occurred at 09h00, at the Uitkomst Government Resettlement Farm.

“The suspect is charged for attempted murder read with the provision of the Domestic Violence Act no. 4 of 2004,” said Mbeha.

It is alleged that the suspect attempted to kill her son by hanging him from the roof of a shack after she locked herself with her baby inside it.

The elder brother of the baby boy outside the house heard and reportedly broke the door open to remove the baby from the roof where he found him hanging, said Mbeha.

The baby is receiving medical attention at a hospital in Okahandja and the suspect is expected to appear in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Police investigations continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

A task team will as of Monday visit regional and local authority councils to assess the cause of the huge debts owed to NamWater and Nampower.

The team will also visit the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) as part of the assessment.

This follows a cabinet directive to the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) and that of Finance and Public Enterprises to commission a comprehensive assessment in order to facilitate a permanent and sustainable solution that takes into account the negative impact of the huge debts owed by regional and local authority councils to the two national corporations on their financial and operational performance.

According to an internal memo of the MURD on Friday, seen by Nampa, the exercise will examine and profile the extent of existing accumulated debts owed by the councils to the two national utility corporations; the root causes of debt accumulation; the ability of local authorities to settle their existing debts; and the ability of local authorities to work out practical arrangements to settle existing debts and avoid future debt accumulation.

It further read that the task team to be led by the MURD is made up of other officials/representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Public Enterprises, Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Mines and Energy as well as the Electricity Control Board (ECB), and Nored.

The assessment tour will be divided into two groups, with the first starting on 17 July in the //Karas region and ending on 18 August in the Erongo region.

The second group will begin on July 17 in the Hardap Region and end on 13 August in the Otjozondjupa Region, it stated.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Three male suspected cattle rustlers were on Saturday night arrested after they were found with alleged fresh carcasses of cattle in their vehicle at a police mobile roadblock outside Okahandja.

Namibian Police Force (NamPol) head of community affairs in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha on Sunday said two of the suspects are aged 32, and the other is 37 years.

According to Mbeha, their grey pickup vehicle was stopped at a secretly set up police mobile roadblock on the Okahandja-Windhoek B1 road, and three freshly slaughtered cattle carcasses valued at N.dollars 42 000 were found in it.

“The cattle slaughtered, are suspected to be from the areas of Otavi, Otjiwarongo or Okahandja and we now call on all farmers in those districts missing cattle to contact the Okahandja Police Station in order to assist us with their identification,” she said.

Police investigations continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency