Category: General

Embattled Pastor of the I Reign Christian Ministry, Daniel Oluwafeyiropo, charged with rape of his assistant and one other lady, closed his defence on Friday in Lagos.

Oluwafeyiropo is facing trial on a two-count charge bordering on raping two ladies, at an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court..

The defendant was alleged to have had sexual intercourse with the ladies against their wishes, at his Lekki residence, Lagos, State

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bishop opened defence on Tuesday and denied the charges.

The defendant told the court that the alleged survivors conspired against him to accuse him of the offences.

During cross-examination by state counsel, Mr Babajide Boye, on Friday, the defendant reiterated that he believed that the alleged survivors conspired against him.

He also denied giving N100,000 to one of the alleged survivors for medical treatment.

Boye asked him if his position as a pastor and someone who people approached for counselling made him to manipulate them.

The defendant said: “I am not a manipulator. Three ladies turned against me but one of them later apologised to me.

“I am not a powerful man but I am a pastor, and I do not use power to counsel people.

“You get trained to counsel and you use wisdom and the leading of the spirit.”

The defendant also denied tampering with WhatsApp messages between him and one of the alleged survivors.

Defence counsel, Mr Olukunle Oyewole, thereafter informed the court that the defendant would be closing his case.

Justice Rahman Oshodi admitted some extrajudicial statements from the defence counsel in evidence and marked them Exhibits E1 to E7.

Oshodi adjourned the case until Dec. 20 for adoption of final written address by defence and prosecution counsel.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited and the Jigawa Government have enhanced collaboration to boost digital inclusion and infrastructural development in Nigeria.

The Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa said this when he paid a courtesy visit to GBB head office on Friday in Abuja.

Speaking to journalists after a tour of the GBB facility, the governor said the state would continue to enhance collaboration with the agency to ensure e-governance, improved revenue generation and Information Technology development in the state.

“Well, you see, there are so many areas we need to collaborate as I said, we have started this, so it is not something new to us.

“We have so many plans that we will want to do, that will help us to improve governance, that will help us to improve our revenue, also to use ICT to improve the livelihood of our people.

“So we have so many areas that we need to collaborate, and we have those areas in detail. Let me assure them they are ready to collaborate with us and ensure we achieve it,” the governor said.

On his part, the Managing Director of GBB, Prof. Muhammad Abubakar, said the cardinal role of the agency was to build formidable digital infrastructures and connectivity for the government.

Abubakar said that GBB was committed to ensuring digital inclusion in Jigawa and 36 states across the federation.

He said GBB pledged to key into Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani’s agenda to train three million Nigerians on digital inclusion in four years.

“We discussed the kind of service we can render to bring about good governance, enhance revenue generation and digital inclusion in Jigawa state, and we intend to cover the 36 federation.

“We are an infrastructure company of the government, So, our major value proposition is to provide connectivity. We are ready to key into the honourable ministers’ aspiration for the industry,”he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Tijjani, unveiled his strategic blueprint for the industry in early October and disclosed plans to train three million technical talents nationwide in four years.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Chartered Institute of Social Work Practitioners of Nigeria (C-ISOWN) , has solicited Federal Government`s support on training and retraining of practitioners to maintain minimum standard and uniform practice.

Dr Iyeme Efem, Immediate Past President of the institute made the call when a delegation from C-ISOWN visited the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on Friday in Abuja.

He said the visit was to pledge their support and readiness to work collaboratively with the minister to achieve the ministry’s mandate.

Efem appealed to the minister to support it in building capacities of social workers and support the professionalisation of the practice.

“We see this as the panacea to building a strong social work practice in Nigeria and in Africa at large,”he said.

He expressed the institute’s readiness to support the ministry’s programmes to professionalise social work practice and increase the army of professional social workers.

According to him, such collaboration would address the myriad of social ills affecting the country.

He said that the institute provides opportunities for intending social workers, to gain practical field experience through internships or participating in various activities and projects.

According to him, the projects can either be offered by the institute or in partnership with government agencies and international organisations.

Efem said “the organisation has been implementing the USAID/Fistula Projects in Nigeria since 2007.

He said the partnership had provided the project the avenue to introduce various social work skills building opportunities for Nigeria.

“The current USAID/MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics (MSSFPO), implemented by EngenderHealth provided the institute with a new strategy of rehabilitation and reintegration.

“This strategy fits perfectly with the activities of the ministry. So, we have been very excited to work as partners with the project and the ministry to expand the capacity building of social workers.

“One of the main components is the development of the counseling protocol for implementing rehabilitation and reintegration.

“Another is the development of a compendium of skills building centers in the implementation states.

“We believe that this will be very useful for developing the next generation of social workers who will anchor most of the rehabilitation of women with fistula and social issues,” he said.

He appealed to the minister to sponsor the relevant officers in the ministry, to participate in the special membership and induction programme for senior officers in service to be properly registered.

He informed the minister of the institute upcoming international conference scheduled for Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

The minister, Dr Betta Edu assured them of the ministry’s collaboration with the institute to move the issues of humanitarian affairs forward in the country.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Federal Government has solicited the release of 50 hectares of land by state governments to enable it actualise its Renewed Cities Agenda in housing delivery for citizens.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, made this call when the Governor of Taraba, Dr Agbu Kefas, paid him a courtesy visit on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the present administration’s plan to deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda for housing needed the support of states in the provision of land.

Dangiwa said that under the first phase of the project, government planned to build 34,500 houses nationwide using FMBN, FHA and Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to achieve this.

He said that decent, quality and affordable housing for all Nigerians was a major priority of the government, adding that the ministry was working with the National Population Commission (NPC) to establish the actual housing deficit.

“Our findings in house estimates show that for us to meet the housing needs of Nigerians, we need to build about 550,000 new homes per annum over the next ten years.

“That is the massive size of our housing challenge. At the average cost of N8 million this will require about N4.4 trillion per annum.

“Records show that over the past decades, the Federal Agencies, and the Ministry of Housing combined produce less than 15,000 housing units per year.

“A key reason for this is, of course, the big elephant in the room: inadequate access to finance.

“While this is true, I also believe that we have not been innovative enough in finding solutions to meet the challenge in a bold and audacious manner,” he said.

Dangiwa said the good news, however, was that President Bola Tinubu was a proven game-changer who had demonstrated this in all of his policy announcements.

“So, as we acknowledge the challenge before us, we are not frightened by it. Rather, we see it as a golden opportunity to make a difference in the history of affordable housing in our country.

“Already, we have written letters to be sent to all the state governors seeking about 50 hectares of land for renewed hope cities.

“I’m sure that your Excellency will be kind and gracious enough to honour our request,” he said.

Earlier, the governor said that he had come to pay a solidarity visit and pledged his support to the minister to move the ministry forward.

Kefas said the minister was not alien to Taraba, adding that “it is a good place to invest.”

He, therefore, called for collaboration with the ministry in infrastructure development, especially in housing development.

“One of the things I want to bring to your notice is that you have a property in Jalingo and it has been there empty and nobody has occupied it and we do not want it to waste.

“So, we are requesting that we want to take over that property so that we will able to provide accommodation for our civil servants.

“Also, we are available to offer you any land in Taraba to be able to build anything that will benefit our people.

“We are also aware that the ministry has made provision to build a new Federal Secretariat in Taraba state.

“We are very happy about that initiative and we want to assure you that we are ready to give you our support whenever you are ready,” Kefas said.

He, therefore, urged the minister to ensure that the secretariat was built to accommodate all the state ministries.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu has approved the confirmation of the appointment of Adewale Adeniyi as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Mr Willie Bassey, Director Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.

According to the statement, the President tasks Adeniyi to bring his wealth of experience to bear on his new assignment.

“The appointment takes effect from Oct. 19 and his tenure is in accordance with the extant provisions of the Public Service Rules (PSR).”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

OMUTHIYA: Oshikoto Governor, Penda ya Ndakolo officially launched the PstBet Oshikoto Region Governor’s Cup at Omuthiya on Friday.

The games officially commence on Saturday and conclude on Sunday at the Omuthiya stadium.

Speaking at the launch, Ya Ndakolo stated that the aim is to bring young people from all the 11 constituencies together through sports, and compete in football, netball, volleyball and athletics. According to Ya Ndakolo, sport is one of the most cross-cutting tools for development and peace, as it unites youth, showcases talent, and has the power to heal old wounds and instil hope.

“The Oshikoto PstBet Governor’s Cup will help develop the intellectual ability and physical aptitude of our youth, as well as assist in talent discovery, which may enable some of the youth to pursue a career in sports,” he said. He added that sport provides a platform for many of their youth to escape the temptations of drugs and crime they encounter in their daily lives in their towns and constituencies.

Ya Ndakolo also stated that despite being a rural region with limited sports infrastructure, the region has produced its own stars, like Frank Kayere and Helalia Johannes. He then called on the regional leadership to explore the best ways to expand the Governor’s Cup and ensure that they introduce other sporting codes for more youth to participate. He stressed that tournaments like these would contribute to producing the next generation of legends.

Speaking at the same event, PstBet marketing team spokesperson, Abner Neputa stated that they are committed to social responsibility. Therefore, PstBet is providing N.dollars 210 000 for the next three years to support the hosting of the tournament for youth development.

“Sport has the potential for economic opportunities, job creation, and having people selling their products at this event will surely bring them income,” he said.

Neputa further mentioned that there are many young people in Oshikoto whose dreams and aspirations are to become the best football players, netball players, athletes, or volleyball players. They cannot realise these dreams unless they have corporate sponsors like PstBet and Government support.

Source: NAMPA