APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The warning by the Nigerian military against plans to sabotage the handover of power to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29 dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Punch reports that the military has again warned against plans to sabotage the handover of power to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29.
The high command said the armed forces were on standby and would ensure a smooth transition process scheduled to take place in 24 days.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami handed down the warning on Thursday as a former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, advised candidates challenging the outcomes of the last election to accept the court verdict.
Danmadami’s caution came a month after the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, vowed that the military would resist anything that would truncate democracy in the country.
In his admonition to the aggrieved candidates who have lodged petitions at the various election tribunals, Gowon urged them to respect the sanctity of the court and humbly accept its decision in the coming days.
The elder statesmen gave the advice in Abuja at the 15th edition of the PUNUKA Annual Lecture 2023 and symposium in honour of the late justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Chike Idigbe.
The ex-military leader while emphasising the need for a strong, independent and impartial judiciary counselled aggrieved politicians and the public to abide by the decisions of the court.
He said, “As we move forward as a nation, let us not forget the role that the judiciary plays in nation-building, especially the apex court, in carrying out its duty of questioning the veracity of the decisions of the lower court.
The newspaper says that the Flag Officer in Charge of the Eastern Naval Command, Rear Adm. Olusola Oluwagbire, has warned sea pirates operating in the waterways to steer clear or be ready to be smoked out by force.
Oluwagbire gave the warning during his maiden inspection of base and units of the Naval Command in NNS Jubilee at Ikot Abasi Local Government Area on Thursday.
“We are coming to smoke sea pirates out of the waterways, we will get them and we will roast them,” the FOC said while speaking with newsmen during the inspection.
The FOC also said that he is on ground to get all the units to know what is happening in his command.
He urged the commander to rejig the operations of the command, and ensure that the boats are out there as it should be for effective coverage of the waterways.
The FOC who urged the command to be more alert as they were always been doing, called on the public to give useful information to the command taht would be useful in apprehending the criminal elements in the society.
“There is one aspect of security that most people don’t understand, it is not only the security agency’s business but its everybody’s business.
“If you see something, share with the security agencies, so that it can help better the society. We are together, we will do it and make the waterways safe and better,” Oluwagbire said.
The Guardian reports that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Nigerian Government have signed an agreement with the federal government for the implementation of the FAO Country Programming Framework (CPF) to the tune of $99.5 million over five years.
The CPF 2023 -2027 document is targeted at realising four strategic priorities of the FAO – better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life.
The FAO Representative in Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Fred Kafeero, in his presentation during the agreement signing in Abuja, yesterday, said CPF is targeted at supporting Nigeria to achieve the country’s vision of development and change in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF.) which envisions that no one living in Nigeria would be left behind.
He said following the expiration of the 2018 to 2022 CPF, FAO in Nigeria commenced the process of consultation with relevant stakeholders at the federal level and selected state levels.
“The CPF is aligned with the national development policies and programmes in this country, it is aligned with our offer and support as the United Nations in Nigeria. It is also aligned with our FAO global strategic framework that emphasises the transformation of agri-food systems in countries.
“The CPF in this case also takes advantage of several cooperative initiatives that FAO has launched in the last few years. We are focusing on four pillars which we call the strategic pillars and they are best on the FAO global strategy to realise what is called the four betters,” he said.
The Assistant FAO Representative to Nigeria, (Programme), Abubakar Suleiman, said the project has four pillars, which include sustainable and inclusive agri-food systems for improved productivity, increasing the resilience of food and agriculture-based livelihood systems, healthy and nutritious diets as well as sustainable natural resource/climate management.
The newspaper says that electricity consumers face blackouts across the country as Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) insists it will disconnect electricity distribution companies (DisCos) that have failed in complying with payment schedules except they pay up.
It would be recalled that The Guardian earlier reported a 14-business day notice issued to the DisCos on the 21st of March, 2023 while a suspension order was issued on the 19th of April, 2023 on the issue.
The Executive Director, Market Operators, Eddy Eje, told our correspondent, yesterday, that based on the 60 days extension of the grace period, the market defaulters were expected to comply with the market rules provisions of the market rules concerning payment of their outstanding invoices.
The DisCos and generating companies (GenCos) listed among defaulters by the Market Operator, a unit of TCN, included Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Jos Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electric, Kano Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, APL Electric Company Aba and Ajaokuta Steel Company.
“It should be noted that other defaulters who are yet to be Suspended/Disconnected should cure their defaults within this sixty (60) days, at the expiration of this grace period, the Market Operator will resume sanctions in line with the Market Rules,” Eje said.
TCN further urged the erring DisCos to seize this opportunity to fix their defaults as they applaud the intervention of the Minister of Power.
Also, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has alerted its customers of an imminent disconnection of power supply to the company’s franchise area.
The announcement was made in a statement signed by the MD/CEO of the company, Kingsley Achife, which was made available to The Guardian.
The statement said Market Operator, a unit in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), was planning to disconnect its feeders from the national grid due to poor remittances.
GIK/APA