News

FG Unveils 60 Projects In Edo

Published

1 year ago

April 25, 2023

Editor

The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, has said that about 60 Federal Government projects are sited in Edo State under the Economic Sustainability Plan.

The minister stated this while commissioning some completed projects and inspecting others in the Edo-North Senatorial District of Edo on Tuesday.

Some of the projects completed and inaugurated by the minister include 1.5km Mogbe-Edegbe Road, 4.5km Agenebode-Unedeger Road, 2.5km Ekiwosor-Ivikhue Road, Imukena Road, Installation of 500 KVA transformer in Agenebode, an open stalls market and solar street lights.

The minister also inspected the construction of 31km Uzanu-Ajaokuta Road in Kogi, 21.5 km Uzanu-Okpekpe Road, 6km Ogeneda-Ugochi Road, 10km Egbegeri-Ate and Somorika Roads.

Others are Uzanu mini market, Uzanu divisional police station, Uzanu mini stadium, Uzanu internal Roads and the construction of an 80-bed seater with two theatres and doctors’ quarters of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Uzanu Annex of the state

The minister said the inauguration of the projects in the rural area is due to the 60 per cent post-harvest loss by farmers and to reduce multidimensional poverty in rural areas.

According to him, the policies of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), are geared towards reducing drastically the multidimensionally poor Nigerians spanning over 130 million.

He said, “From the last count, including what we have in 2023, I think we have about 60 projects in Edo and I am glad that you have seen some yourself.

“We have seen some write up on social media where they said the president has done nothing in Edo by those who have done nothing but sign MOUs.

“But, seeing as they say is believing, We have not been making a lot of noise because we are empty vessels.

“The president has done very well for Edo State. You saw a bridge today at Uzanu and we have a modern bridge we facilitated in the economic sustainability plan,” Agba said.

Agba explained that the massive construction of roads in the rural communities under the National Roads Reduction Policy was to link rural areas together to transport their farm produce to neighbouring communities for economic benefits.

The minister, however, allayed the fear of abandoning any of the ongoing projects as they have been captured in the 2023 budget which the incoming administration of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu would continue under his renewed hope agenda.

Some community leaders, Mr. Peter Okpnokhe, Simon Ogie, and Julius Enakhena commended President Buhari and the minister for attracting such laudable projects to the senatorial district.

They, however, appealed for the speedy completion of the other projects in the senatorial districts.

News

The New Masquerade’ Actress, Ovularia Is Dead

Published

42 mins ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

Veteran actress, Madam Elizabeth Evoeme, who starred as Ovularia in the 80s TV sitcom ‘The New Masquerade’, is dead.

Born on December 1, 1942, Ovularia’s demise was confirmed by a family member who stated that she died surrounded by loved ones.

According to the statement, the actress died in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

The statement read, “Friends, fans, colleagues, the family of the legendary actress, Elizabeth Lizzy ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme, would like to notify the public, all those who loved her and her work in ‘The new Masquerade,’ of her passing.

“Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme will be dearly missed and was extremely loved by her family and also by you, her fans.

“We thank you all for your support and for respecting our privacy at this time. God bless you all and may our dear Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme rest in perfect peace, now and always.”

However, details of her death were not revealed.

Ovularia’s daughter, Justina Ngozi Evoeme, based in London, described her mother’s death as painful and shocking, stating, “I need to get my head around what has happened.”

Her death comes four and a half years after she was rumoured to have died on November 5, 2019.

The rumour was disputed by Chika Okpala, known for his portrayal of Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwaogbe, also known as 4.30 in the sitcom.

News

Father Of 12 Found Dead Inside Brothel In Bayelsa

Published

2 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

A lifeless body of a man, said to be a father of 12 children has been found in a brothel at Tombia-Amossoma road axis of Yenagoa, Bayelsa.

According to the residents of the area, the deceased is a 40-year-old man from Delta, though his name was not known as at the time of filling the report.

The deceased was said to be suffering from partial stroke, before engaging in a sex rump that led to his unfortunate demise.

They said he was one of the customers of the commercial sex workers, who left home around 8 am on Tuesday to meet a prostitute, but was later found dead in the quarters.

It was gathered that the lifeless body was found naked in the apartment while all the commercial sex workers had deserted the said apartment.

At the time of visiting the scene, people living around the area were trying to get the identity of the deceased to contact the relative to evacuate the corpse for burial.

It was gathered that security operatives had previously raided the brothel and earmarked it as a red-light zone.

The Commander of Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) in Bayelsa State, Mr Tolumobofa Akpoebibo Jonathan, told Nigerian Tribune at the scene that the deceased is a 40-year-old father of 12 from Delta state.

Police spokesperson in Bayelsa, ASP Musa Muhammed, told Nigerian Tribune that he was trying to reach out to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area to get accurate information about what happened while promising to get back on the cause of the incident.
Tribune online

News

BDC Operators Arrested As Naira Sells 1,416/$

Published

4 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

Operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday reportedly arrested some Bureau De Change operators at the popular Wuse Zone 4 market on Tuesday.

This came as traders also said some BDC operators resisted the arrest during a sting operation.

The operatives had embarked on routine raids to sanitise the market of street traders and eliminate arbitrary trading.

But this move was resisted on Tuesday leading to gunshots and damage to the operative’s vehicles, two currency traders who witnessed the incident confirmed to The PUNCH.

One of the traders who asked not to be named for fear of retribution said the traders simply acted out of frustration as the arrests were becoming too rampant and just to extort money from them.

He said, “EFCC guys came to raid and make an arrest on Monday and they came today (Tuesday) but today’s operation was too strong.

“This is the issue we are facing. Yesterday (Monday) they arrested traders but they were attacked back today and gunshots were fired because our people tried to resist the arrest. They were provoked and frustrated. They even broke the glasses of the EFCC vehicles today and that means people are getting tired and desperate.”

Another trader who confirmed the incident warned that a continued raid by the anti-corruption body might lead to killings.

The trader who also pleaded anonymity said, “If this thing continues like this, that means they would kill people because if they try to arrest next time, nobody would agree and another person would gather together so that nobody would be taken.

“That was happened today. People are now turning because all they do after arrest is to collect money from us. Nothing else is done. They are frustrating use.’

The EFCC had resumed raiding in a bid to stabilise the naira.

Penultimate week, the commission arrested over 35 suspected currency speculators for alleged foreign exchange fraud.

Last week, it also paraded over 20 BDC operators arrested in the capital city.

Despite these efforts, the naira has continued on a free fall.

On the rates, the operators said they bought the dollar at N1,400 and sold at N1,425 per dollar leaving a profit margin of N25.

It also indicated an N5 drop from the N1,430 it sold on Monday.

A trader, Malam Yahu, complained of the market fluctuation, adding that it was now difficult to project what the rates would trade at.

He said, “Right now the market is just fluctuating, the naira is not stable at all and that’s why we are even sceptical about buying now. We can’t even predict how the market will trade.

“For instance, after today’s arrest, I didn’t buy or make sales to avoid a loss. I bought it earlier today at N1,400 and sold it at N1,425.

“We have also noticed that once the prices go up, there will be scarcity because they would expect the naira to drop further but if it’s at a loss, they would then rush to sell it off.”

At the official market, data obtained from the FMDQ exchange securities revealed that the currency depreciated to N1,416/$ from N1,354/$ recorded at the foreign exchange market on Monday.

The new rate indicated that the naira dropped by 4.4 per cent or N62, raising concerns about rapid fluctuations.

The intraday high increased to N1,445 on Tuesday from N1,441/$1 recorded on Monday. The intraday low also depreciated to N1,301/$1 as against N1,285/$1 it traded on Monday.

The volume of dollars supplied by willing buyers and willing sellers however increased to $160.77m from $84.3m on Monday.

The former rate was the lowest point in approximately ten weeks when daily turnover was $66.4 million, which occurred on February 19, 2024.
PUNCH