He said Nigerians were at the moment going through tough times; therefore, private organisations, particularly agro and food processing companies, should think about people’s survival and sustainability above profitability at this crucial period in Nigeria.

Governor Sanwo-Olu spoke during a courtesy visit by the senior management team of Olam Agric Nigeria, led by its Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Anil Nasir, at Lagos House, Marina, on Thursday.

Sanwo-Olu, who stressed the need for food security and support from every well-meaning individuals and organisations, said his administration had done a lot through several intervention programmes to cushion the effects of economic hardship on the residents of Lagos State, adding that he would do more to continue to provide succour for the people.

He said, “Agro and food processing is a critical industry because food security and food systems are as critical as people trying to safeguard either medical security or even sovereign security in times of war. There is no better security these days than food.

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“Today, being the first day of August, you can see agitation in some streets in Nigeria as a result of hunger. You (Olam Agric) are in a strategic position, and you have that structure and that capacity. At a difficult time like this, it shouldn’t be only the government reducing costs and providing avenues for people to buy things at a reduced price.

“You must be able to tell your shareholders that you have been in this environment for such a long time, and today it should not be about profit-making. Let us go into this market and just cover our costs and let us pass on. Let the people feel the critical support.

“I want you to take this message back. The private sector needs to know that there are times when it does not have to be about value to the shareholders because of food security and the logistics nightmare that is happening everywhere due to the economic challenge. We are all joint stakeholders, and we need to slow down on shareholder returns. We need to be alive today to be able to make a profit tomorrow.”

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director/CEO of Olam Agric Nigeria, Mr. Anil Nasir, commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for his leadership in Lagos State in the last five years, especially in the areas of security and making the state safe for foreign and local investments.

He sought more partnerships with the Lagos State government in the agriculture and food sectors, saying his company was ready to invest more in the state.

Governor Sanwo-Olu on Thursday also received the District Governor of Lions Club International District 404B2 Nigeria, Lion Tolulope Ayodeji Senbanjo, as well as the District Governor of Rotary International District 9112, Rotarian Olufemi Adenekan, and District Governor of Rotary International District 9111, Rotarian Oluwole Kukoyi, who paid him courtesy visits at Lagos House, Marina, respectively.

Speaking during the two courtesy visits, Governor Sanwo-Olu commended Lions Club International and Rotary International for their humanitarian services in key sectors of the state, particularly in the provision of infrastructure in the areas of health, education, and transportation, among others.

He said administration will continue to partner with Rotary International and Lions Club International for humanitarian services to make life comfortable for Lagos residents in line with the THEMES+ developmental agenda, which aligns with the core values of the humanitarian groups.

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Two villages were attacked in Kebbi and five in Sokoto State.

Those displaced sought refuge in Jarkuka Village, Arewa local government area of Kebbi.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed-BK, said the affected villages were on the borders of the two states.

“We are in this village on behalf of His Excellency, Gov. Nasir Idris, to distribute relief materials to displaced victims of bandits’ attacks.

“The governor, upon receiving the news of the attack around this axis of border villages between Kebbi and Sokoto states, swung into action.

“We have a situation where thousands of displaced persons from the attacked areas trooped into this village and other surrounding villages for safety,” Ahmed-BK said.

He said the “relief materials include thousands of bags of millet, rice and beans as well as mats, detergents, buckets, and seasoning among others, as emergency measures to ameliorate the suffering of these people.”

Ahmed-BK said though the victims were largely from Sokoto State, “as government of the people, by the people and for the people, the governor directed that all the affected victims be treated equally.”

The commissioner said that they were in the village to ensure equitable distribution of the relief materials.

“We want to reach out to as many people as possible as it is not possible to satisfy all.

“I want people to understand that this is just the beginning; the governor sent us as an emergency team to offer relief to the victims.

“So, we will now go back with the report of what we’ve seen. The situation is so pathetic, we have quite a number of displaced women and children.

“We will go back, write a report to the governor and we anticipate more relief will come their way In-sha-Allah,” he said.

On his part, the Commissioner, Humanitarian Affairs and Empowerment, Alhaji Muhammad Hamidu-Jarkuka, appreciated the people of Jarkuka Village who despite the present economic scourge, accommodated the victims.

The commissioner said the ministry was established to give succour to the people and had centres located at strategic places across the state.

Both the Chairman, Arewa local government area, Alhaji Sani Aliyu-Kulita and the the traditional ruler of the area, Alhaji Yakubu Maiyaki-Tsamiya, appreciated the governor for the prompt intervention.

A pregnant woman from one of the villages gave birth in the bush while running for safety.

Source: NAN

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Its spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

She quoted the ICPC chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, as promising in his opening remarks that the exercise would be transparent as much as possible.

Owasanoye commended the auctioneers for their cooperation and assured them that the commission would not renege on its pledge to ensure a fair and transparent process.

The ICPC boss, who was represented by Dr  Louis  Mandama, a board member, noted that the exercise was the first for 2023 and promised that the second exercise would hold in the second half of the year.

He stated that the mode of allocation of assets in the current stage would be different as there would be no batching of assets.

He gave assurance that the auctioneers would be allowed to go and take a look at the assets while working with the technical team in order to evaluate them.

The ICPC boss went further to say that complaints received from the five bidders after the broadcast of results on the commission’s website had been addressed.

At the commencement of the exercise, the bids submitted were sorted, marked and observed closely as the opening of the bids revealed the number of property bid for and its cost which were certified by the auctioneers.

The representatives of Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, Alhaji Bello Nasir, and the representative of the Civil Society Organisations, CSO, Mr Paul Odokara, expressed satisfaction with the exercise.

They commended the transparent nature of the exercise hoping that its outcome would certainly meet the criteria set for the bidding.

They also advised other agencies to take a cue from ICPC, and charged the auctioneers on the need to adhere to instructions for easy identification of their bids to avoid any disqualification.

The exercise, which was held at the commission’s headquarters, had 25 auctioneers in attendance.

Source: NAN

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Five men, including a dismissed palace guard appeared before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Zaria, Kaduna State, over alleged adultery and criminal conspiracy on January 11.

The offences contravened Sections 59 and 368 of the Kaduna State Penal Code, 2017.

The defendants included Ismaila Abubakar; Hussaini Abubakar; Kabiru Shuaibu; Nafiu Kabiru and Ibrahim Abdullahi.

Testifying as a prosecution witness at the resumed hearing of the case in Zaria, Mikail said he was the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, for the case.

Mikail added that he was on duty on January 9 when Malam Kabiru Ibrahim reported the incident at the Zaria City Divisional Police Headquarters.

According to him, the complainant, Kabiru Ibrahim, reported that one Maryam Jela (female) from Bakori local government area of Katsina State, went to Zazzau Emirate Council to seek assistance from the Emir.

“In the process of seeing the Emir, she met Ismail Abubakar (the first defendant) who promised to assist her see the Emir, where he deceived her and lured her to his friends at Gwargwaje, Zaria.

“From there he criminally conspired with his friends at Gwargwaje, namely Hussaini Kabiru; Shuaibu Abubakar; Nafiu Kabiru and Ibrahim Abdullahi, and had canal knowledge of her (Maryam Jela),’’ Mikail said.

He added that the fifth defendant, Ibrahim Abdullahi, borrowed the key of the room where he used to keep his generator to the co-defendants (1st to 4th Defendants) where they perpetrated the alleged crime.

Mikail said as the IPO, he visited the scene of the crime where he only saw a mat and generator in the room.

He however said his finding revealed that the fifth defendant, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who lent the key of the room did not know the intent of the other defendants when they collected the key from him.

The prosecuting counsel, Insp. Mannir Nasir, applied to tender statements of the defendants as evidence before the court.

Mr Mohammed Rabiu, counsel for the second, third and fourth defendants, and Mr Kabir Hashim, counsel for the fifth defendant, did not oppose the application by the prosecution.

However, under cross examination by Rabiu, Mikail said that he relied on the complaint before the police by Malam Kabiru Ibrahim and wasn’t around when the alleged crime happened.

He added that when he visited the scene of the crime he did not see the victim with the defendants, but the defendant admitted the commission of the crime and it was in their statements.

The prosecuting counsel, Nasir, thereafter applied for the court to discharge the witness and close their case.

The presiding magistrate, Mr Abubakar Lamid, discharged the witness.

Earlier, the counsels made oral applications for the bail of the defendants, which was vehemently opposed by the prosecution.

In his ruling, Mr Abubakar Lamido, said that he was satisfied that prosecution had established a prima-facie case against the 2nd to 4th defendants and discharged the 5th defendant, whom he described as a victim of circumstances.

Lamido adjourned the matter until February 14, for the summary trial of the 1st defendant and defense by the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants.

Source: NAN

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Magu made the assertion on Sunday in Abuja at an award ceremony organised in his honour by Northern Female Students Association.

“I am a victim of corruption fighting back; but I am happy that recent events are revealing the truth to Nigerians,’’ he said.

Magu who was represented by his son, Mr Mohammad-Saeed Ibrahim-Magu, thanked the association for conferring on him the award of “Achiever Par Excellence’’ and said that he was happy to receive the award.

Ms Aisha Nasir, spokesperson of the association, which comprises female students of universities in the northern parts of Nigeria, explained that Magu was unanimously chosen for the award for his dedication to national service.

READ ALSO: BREAKING:  EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, suspended

“The anti-corruption fight in Nigeria is a binding moral duty that requires seeing beyond political affiliations or preferences.

“Love him or hate him, Ibrahim Magu took the anti-corruption fight to uncharted levels where many people thought could never be attained.

“Magu attracted continental and global commendations for tackling what had been described as the leading factor hindering growth and development of African nations and economies,’’ Nasir said.

The award came on the heels of the October 4 judgment of the FCT High Court delivered by Justice Yusuf Halilu.

Justice Halilu exonerated Magu of a claim that Pastor Emmanuel Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, and his wife, Deborah laundered N573 million for the former EFCC boss.

The money was said to have been used by the cleric to buy a property for Magu in Dubai.

The judgment was delivered on the suit marked FCT/HC/CV2541/2020 filed by Omale, his wife and the church against the church’s bank.

During the investigation of Magu by the retired Justice Isa Salami-led presidential investigation panel, it was claimed that an investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, revealed that Magu paid N573million into Omale’s church’s account.

Justice Halilu noted in his judgement, however, that the evidence before his court showed that Omale’s bank admitted error in its report to the NFIU, of entries in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry’s account.

The judge further held that the bank claimed that the purported N573 million was wrongly reflected as credit entry into the church’s account by its reporting system, which it recently upgraded.

Justice Halilu noted that the bank admitted the error, which occasioned incalculable damage to the reputation of Pastor Omale, his wife and their church within and outside the country.

He also awarded the sum of N540.5 million as cost to Omale against the bank for the falsely generated weekly report of a “suspicious’’ credit inflow of N573.2 million.

Magu was suspended as acting chairman of the EFCC in 2020.

Source: NAN

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