Press zooms in on stern warning to Nigerians promoting crime, insurrection, others

The President’s stern warning to those promoting crime and insurrection in the country, saying that his administration will treat them in the language they understand and they will soon receive the shock of their lives dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.

The Guardian reports that amid the outbreak of violence and rising calls for secession from agitators in the South, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, issued a stern warning to those promoting crime and insurrection in the country, saying that his administration will treat them in the language they understand and they will soon receive the shock of their lives.

Speaking after he received a briefing from the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on series of attacks on facilities of the electoral body around the country, President Buhari said the Federal Government had given the perpetrators enough time and was now ready to act.

While noting that those misbehaving in certain parts of the country were obviously too young to know the travails and loss of lives that attended the Nigerian Civil War, he said: “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. We are going to be very hard sooner than later.

“I receive daily security reports on the attacks, and it is very clear that those behind them want this administration to fail. These attacks are totally unacceptable, and we will not allow those behind them to achieve their evil objectives,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.

The President said the Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police had been changed, “and we will demand security from them.

“Insecurity in Nigeria is now mentioned all over the world. All the people who want power, whoever they are, you wonder what they really want. Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of his live. We have given them enough time.”

The newspaper says that African countries will need about $15.7 billion to upgrade existing 36 refineries on the continent to produce petroleum products that will conform with a planned level of sulphur content.

African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) disclosed that the $15.7 billion estimate is about 50 per cent and final per refinery upgrades may need to be finalised when respective engineering, procurement and constructions are engaged.

The African Union and ARDA had planned an initiative called AFRI-6, which aimed at reducing Sulphur content in fuels to 10 parts per million (ppm) in the coming years.

Speaking yesterday at a workshop organised by ARDA on “Upgrading African Refineries to Produce Cleaner Fuels,” Executive Secretary of ARDA, Anibor Kragha revealed that North Africa with 17 refineries would require capital expenditure of $5.955 billion for upgrade.

West and Central Africa with 12 refineries would need $6.285 billion, while East and Southern Africa with seven refineries would need $3.415 billion. An investment professional at the African Finance Corporation, Ufuoma Adasen, noted that while access to long-term financing at competitive rates remained a challenge, phased project implementation could represent a way forward.

The Vanguard reports that the Federal Government has said that the security challenges facing the country are ephemeral and will not define the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the presentation of a documentary showcasing the achievements of Buhari’s administration.

“I want to state emphatically that while more attention has been given, especially in recent times to the security challenges facing our country, those challenges are fleeting and will not define the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Let me say that President Buhari’s legacy is assured, and will be defined by his massive achievements in office.

“The roads, rails, bridges, mass housing, port development, improvement in power supply and other massive infrastructural development will last for generations to come and will help propel economic growth and national development,’’ he said

The minister reiterated that never in the history of the country had any administration done so much with so little like Buhari’s government.

The Punch reports that the country’s external reserves lost $640m in May, falling to $34.24bn on May 28 from $34.88bn as of April 28.

Figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday revealed that the reserves had been fluctuating in recent weeks.

Speaking on the decline at the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said, “This reflects sales to the foreign exchange market and third-party payments. In March, the reserves lost $178m after dropping from $34.99bn as of March 1 to $34.82bn as of the end of March 31.

In February, the reserves dropped by $1.1bn, falling from $36.19bn as of February 1 to $35.09bn on February 26. The CBN, in its January economic report, said, “As a consequence of the lower foreign exchange receipts, the official external reserves declined.

“External reserves stood at $35.44bn at end-January 2021, a decrease of 2.8 per cent and 3.5 percent from $36.46bn in December 2020 and $36.73bn in January 2020.”

The Sun says that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has appointed Spectranet 4G LTE exclusive shops as locations for Nigerians to register for the National Identity Number (NIN).

Disclosing this in a chat with the media, the chief executive officer of Spectranet, Ajay Awasthi, said seven locations of Spectranet in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan have been granted approvals to conduct registration of NIN. The number of shop locations will be expanded further.

According to Ajay, the locations are already in operation, with added manpower to attend to the needs of anyone desirous of enrolling for the NIN:

“It is a service we are offering for both Spectranet customers and other members of the public that are yet to register for the NIN.

The service can be availed free of cost, in the comfort of Spectranet exclusive shops located at convenient distances from various localities in these four cities.

“We would urge our customers and their friends and family to get themselves enrolled for NIN in a hassle-free manner without the need to stand in long queues. I would further urge them to hurry up and not to keep this enrolment pending till June 30, 2021, the date fixed as the last date by the Federal Government,” he said.

GIK/APA

What's Hot

Press zooms in on stern warning to Nigerians promoting crime, insurrection, others

Related Posts