Month: October 2023

Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue, has called for the deployment of more troops and more army Forward Operating Bases in some parts of Benue to address the security challenges bedeviling the state.

Alia made the call when he paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He requested that the forward operating bases (FOBs) be established in Guma, Logo, Ukum and Kwande local government areas to help stem insecurity in the areas.

He said that the people of Benue were agrarian people with farming as their main stay, adding that most fertile parts of the Benue Valley had become inaccessible to farmers due to threats by bandits and violence from armed herders.

According to him, two to five or more people are killed every week as a result of violence from these gangs and groups, which in a few number of cases, the media do not capture.

“The 4O1 Special Forces Brigade is trying its best with its deployment mostly on the main roads while killings continue to take place in the hinterland.

“They are also hampered by insufficient manpower, the APCs and patrol vehicles.

“Sir, my prayer to you is for the forward operating bases to be established in Anyiin in Logo local local government area, Zaki-Biam in Ukum local Government Area and Udei and Gbajimba in Guma local government area.

“It should be established also at Naka in Gwer West local government area, Pontar in Konshisha local government area and Adikpo in Kwande local government areas.

“In the immediate term, while hoping that a full-fledged battalion can be established at Ugbema, our second prayer is for the 401 special force brigade and operation Whirl Stroke should be provided with additional manpower and patrol vehicles to improve their reach,” he said.

The governor said the state government was willing to provide the army with the needed shelters for the forward operating bases and some logistics.

He said that some local governments in Benue also share boundaries with the Cameroon, adding that the discovery of solid minerals in those areas was likely to exacerbate the security situation there.

According to him, it is therefore important that proactive steps be taken by establishing an infantry battalion to cover the general area.

Alia also pledged to ensure support and cooperation of the communities and locals to ensure an end to the challenges.

In his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Lagbaja, said he had been reviewing the situation in Benue and pledged to do what is best to restore peace to the Benue valley.

He promised to deploy more troops and combat enablers to 104 forward operating base (FOB), adding that the establishment of more FOBs is subject to budgetary provisions.

He assured the governor of the commitment of the army to ensure the return of peace to the state to enable farmers to return to their farms and boost the economy of the state and the nation at large.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Open African Foundation, an NGO, has called on the youth to imbibe good moral values and renewed hope, anchored on patriotism, equality and love to build a new Nigeria.

The Chairman of the foundation, Mr Tunji Aworinde, made the call during an annual conference and essay writing competition, held in Abuja.

The competition was organised for secondary school students in FCT as part of s catch- them-young initiative on Monday in Abuja.

Aworinde said the initiative was to invigorate the spirit of patriotism in the minds of the children and to encourage them to toe the path of integrity, love and hard work.

He added that it was also to ensure that the children shunned corruption, social vices and all forms of immoral behaviour retrogressive to Nigeria as a nation.

According to Tunji, moral and other good values have so much been eroded in the present day society, adding that people no longer call crime by its name.

He added that the youth now engage in all sorts of immoralities, inhaling illicit substances and contributing to the heights of insecurity in the country.

Aworinde, a United Kingdom-based Forensic Expert, admonished the students “to inculcate the right values that are anchored by love, with love, and for love, where everyone is more equal than they are now.

“If we must secure the future of the Nigerian society, there is the urgent need to locate and raise the young students who are often referred to as leaders of tomorrow with the values and principles of effective leadership.

“This is because our future lies on the shoulders of the young students in secondary and tertiary institutions.

“We need to build a new Nigeria that values the goodness of our hearts over the depth of our pockets.

“We need a Nigeria where wealth is not what is inherited by our children but the capacity to do well and stand up for our fellow brothers and sisters,” he said.

Aworinde encouraged them to imbibe hard work, commitment, integrity and love for a better Nigeria.

The Director-General of Nigeria Institute of Police Study, Abuja, Mr Olu Ogunsakin, said the conference was not only apt but very necessary, considering the level of moral decadence in the country.

Ogunsakin added that any life without good character was like a vehicle without tyre; “you can hardly succeed in life, so there’s need to inculcate into the young minds integrity, accountability and sense of responsibility’’.

He, however, charged parents to be of good example to their wards and teach them how to be responsible citizens.

“When the right values are inculcated into them at early stage, they will grow to become better people in the future and give back to the society,’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that high point of the event was the presentation of awards to students who took part in the essay competition.

The title of the easy was “The kind of Nigeria I want and what I would do if I was the Nigerian President’’.

Twelve secondary schools in FCT participated.

The event attracted officials from the Federal Ministry of Information and other relevant stakeholders.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says it will reward top MicroFinance Banks (MFBs) in loan recovery under the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) scheme.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said this during the Stakeholders Meeting/Signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on the implementation of the programme on Tuesday in Abuja.

The OLOP scheme is a bottom-top approach designed to promote Micro Small and Medium Enterprises development in communities by focusing on products distinctive to each locality where they have comparative advantage, and cultivating the same through value-addition into a national and global brand.

He said the aim of the meeting was to encourage MFBs and their representatives to take loan recovery seriously for economic growth and development.

Odii who acknowledged the importance of MFBs for the growth of small businesses urged the managers to embrace innovative ways of loan recovery.

”I want you all to go with this assignment. Look for innovative ways of collecting that money back, and in innovative ways, I don’t want you to harass the small businesses.

”But we will start tracking, the sooner we get results we will take it up and continue to develop on it.

”So monitor, and even evaluate the process and I am very certain that at the end of it all we will come back here smiling.

”I am going to promise you this, we are going to continue this dialogue; and I’m going to set up a reward system for the top performing banks,” he said.

The director-general commended some of the banks that were already performing well and urged others to take a queue from them.

He said: ”It is not enough to be partners if we cannot once in a while be frank about the situation on ground and we cannot achieve our purpose without everyone’s commitment.

”That is why I have given you that charge to please go and deliver your duties to the best of your abilities.

”And we will be visiting some of the states to see first hand how you are working.”

Speaking on behalf of other representatives, Mr Abdullahi Umar, Hamada MFB Kaduna, assured the director-general that they would continue to put in their best and ensure recovery of the loans.

“One of the major challenges is the mindset of the people, who think the loan is their share of the ”national cake,” Umar said.

He called for enhanced collaboration between SMEDAN and MFBs managers and meetings where all parties would deliberate on issues.

Umar also enjoined the agency to ameliorate the cost incurred by MFBs in loan recovery.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria