Social Reporters News Service, published by IOE Publishers - CAC/BN/3400383

News from source The recent bloodshed and killings witnessed in Plateau and Taraba States are being sponsored by local and foreign collaborators, so says Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff. Buratai who revealed that much while addressing the media on the commencement of the Nigerian Army Day Celebration in Maiduguri averred that the blood-letting is being induced both internally and externally. He said; “So many forces are against Nigeria. The target is (to destroy) the corporate existence of Nigeria as a country. “The blame game along ethnic and religious fault lines is not the solution. Nigerians must unite to solve this serious challenge.” Continuing, the COAS said, “The Nigerian Army is not sleeping. We are continuously exploiting all the linkages and leads towards addressing the security challenges. “We shall get to the roots of the entire crisis militarily. “Therefore, we must be tolerant of one another and give peace a chance. Let us also remember that no na

News from source Compile by Isaac Eranga *PRESS RELEASE* *Removal of illegal structures not targeted at any individual or group – Edo Govt*  The Edo State government is removing illegal structures, billboards, posters, pictures because they run foul of the development imperatives of the state which is captured under the Environmental Sustainability thrust of the state’s Six Thematic Pillars. It is disruptive of anybody to place structures without due approval from relevant government agencies, upsetting development plans for public utilities and other social amenities. Government has a well-thought-out plan for the state and no one is allowed to arbitrarily erect structures contrary to government’s vision. This decision is not targeted at any individual or group. The structures, billboards and posters being removed do not only deface public space, they also are not approved by relevant regulatory agencies. Crusoe Osagie, _Special Adviser, Media and Communication Strategy_ _E

Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with the office of the Wife of the Governor of Edo State and Hallmark Initiative hosted Edo Children on Saturday June 16, 2018 to an educative and engaging program marking the date in Edo State. The theme for this year's celebration: _*"Leave no Child Behind for Africa's Development"*_ Speaking at the event, Her Excellency, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki ably represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Magdalene Ohenhen said that the importance of the day shouldn't be lost in the euphoria of celebration rather, it should serve as a reminder of the importance of education as the medium of knowledge and enlightenment particularly in a world that is today fixated on the accumulation of wealth at any cost". She said while the realities of economic hardship in the world today may well justify the drive for wealth, history has shown that an uneducated population is

By: Desmond Agbama, CPS to Oba of Benin Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as part of activities to mark his official visit to Edo State paid a courtesy visit to His Royal Majesty, Ewuare II, Oba of Benin in his Palace. Some traditional groups including the Emehe, Isikhuen and Ewuwuagba were on ground to entertain the Omo N’Oba and his guests. The Vice President was accompanied by Governor, Godwin Obaseki, his deputy, Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, the former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Secretary to Edo State Government, Barr. Osarodion Ogie, APC Leaders and civil commissioners. The visit of the Vice President later went into close door. His Royal Majesty also received the Muslims community in Benin City led by the Chief Imam Alhaji Edosomwan, who informed the Oba of Benin that they were in the Palace as usual to pray having successfully completed their Ramadan fasting.  Alhaji Edosomwan said it was traditional for them to come to the Palace to celebrate with t

SRNS - News from the source By Isaac Eranga, Benin Youths in Edo State have passed votes of confidence on Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for their efforts in setting up the South-South Innovation Hub and Edo Innovates, the two facilities launched recently at the Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), in Benin City, as a platform for youths to get trained and proffer digital solutions to everyday problem. Recall that the Vice President during his two-day visit to the state, launched the South-South Innovation Hub and performed groundbreaking of the 1800-Emotan Gardens project. A number of the youths at the launch expressed appreciation to the governor and the Vice President for setting up the hub, noting that it was gratifying to know that youths in the state would now have equal opportunity as their colleagues elsewhere to get trained and be engaged in a vibrant digital ecosystem that is supported by the state and federal government. Mr.

By Isaac Isaac Eranga, Benin The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has attributed the impressive delivery of the Edo-Azura 450mw Independent Power Project (IPP) as a testimony of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s posture in creating an enabling environment for private businesses. The Vice President, who said this during a visit on Friday to the Azura-Edo IPP, near Benin City, said the project demonstrates the capacity of Nigerian engineers as well as Nigerian enterprise. He said the plant has greatly increased the capacity of Nigeria to generate power, noting, “with the 450mw from this plant and the quality of this particular plant, I think we are on to a very good thing. I think with the capacity to increase generation from here, I think this is very positive.” “All that we need to do is to create the environment for businesses to thrive. As you know, this is a privately-owned plant and a private initiative but with the active support of the government. This is

By Isaac Eranga Super Eagles of Nigeria will get 50,000 USD (N18m) for every unreplied goal scored at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, oil giants Aiteo have revealed. Aiteo who are the official partner of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) made the disclosure on Thursday. According to the Executive Vice Chairman of Aiteo Global Group, Benedict Peters in a statement, the Energy company has now signed a N2.5 billion (about USD 7 million) sponsorship agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation {NFF}, to cater for the salaries of all national team coaches for a period of five years. “Aiteo has signed a N2.5 billion (about USD 7 million) sponsorship agreement with NFF in the bid to cater for the salaries of all national team coaches for a period of five years and to further demonstrate that we are solidly behind the Nigeria Football Federation in their quest for football development in the country.” He said, “Football is a phenomenon in Nigeria. We can see and feel its power

By Isaac Eranga, Benin The World Health Organisation (WHO) has charged youths to support the growth and development of the health system and save lives by donating blood regularly. The organisation, in a statement on Wednesday to commemorate the 2018 "World Blood Donor Day", said that donation of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year. WHO said that this also helps patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer with a higher quality of life while also supporting complex medical and surgical procedures. It said that individuals who voluntarily donate blood regularly play an essential life-saving role in maternal and child care, and during emergency response to man-made and natural disasters. The organisation said that although voluntary blood donors were essential for all these to happen, their number remained low in many countries, leaving blood services with the challenge of making sufficient blood available. “A blood service that

By Isaac Eranga Nigerian music legend, Ras Kimono is dead. He died on Sunday 10th June aged 60. Ras Kimono who was known for hit songs like ‘We no want’ and ‘“Rum-Bar Stylée” was said to have concluded plans to travel to the United States last night, and he complained of feeling funny. According to reports, the legendary raggae artist was rushed to a hospital in Ikeja, where he was later taken to Lagoon Hospital on the Island where he died.

No fewer than 62 persons have lost their lives while several others were injured in various auto crashes across Ogun state between January and March this year. The Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) disclosed this on Sunday ,adding that 173 crashes were recorded in the state during the period and that 190 persons sustained injuries in the incidents. The TRACE Public Relations Officer, Babatunde Akinbiyi who released the statistics on behalf of the agency ,noted that 27 persons died in each of the months of January and February while eight persons lost their lives in March. “Out of these 62 persons that died in various road crashes, 54 were male while eight were female,” he said. The TRACE spokesperson said that a great percentage of the accidents were due to usage of cell phones while driving, brake failure, overspeeding, wrongful overtaking and tyre burst. He enjoined motorists to drive cautiously, obey traffic regulations and follow instructions from TRACE pat

The National Logistics Committee on Distribution of Relief Materials has donated relief items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) being accommodated in Edo State. Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Azarema Abdulkadir, disclosed this when he led members of the committee on a courtesy visit to Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki at Government House, Benin City. Noting that the donation marks the fifth round of distribution of relief materials to the IDPs in the state, he said the relief materials include; “10,653 bags of 50kg of rice; 33 cartons of 400mg tin of tomato paste; 1,232 cartons of 70mg of tomato paste; 210 pieces of five litre gallons of vegetable oil and 40 pieces of two litre bottles of vegetable oil.” Other items are: “5,822 small cartons of Lucozade boost drinks; 993 cartons of Eva soap; 4 cartons of liquid soap; 11 cartons of tablet soap; 329 bales of second-hand clothes and 2,159 pieces of shoes.” Abdulkadir expressed appreciation to state government and

By Isaac Eranga According to Dr. Michael Fuller, an Anglican priest with a background in organic chemistry, cited in  www.thinkingfaith.org , modern studies of the relationship between theology and science are now nearly half a century old, and may be dated back to a seminal work by Ian Barbour, Issues in Science and Religion, first published in 1966. Further pioneering work according to him, was done in the 1980s and 90s by people like John Polkinghorne, Arthur Peacocke and Paul Davies; and this topic has lately been something of a boom area in universities in Europe and America. His advice to begin our exploration of this territory with some very simple questions: What is religion? What is science? How can they interact?, is quite helpful. "Words like ‘science’ and ‘religion’ are bandied about an awful lot, and can mean a variety of different things depending on how different people use them. ‘Religion’, in particular, is a notoriously difficult term to pin down, to the extent

By Akpomejero Friday, Benin Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), said Nigeria can only move forward when youths who are often regarded as future leaders purged themselves of all manners of corrupt practices, see and report same to the authorities saddled with the responsibility for proper sanctioning rather than doing nothing. Advocacy and Legal Officer, CISLAC, Bathsheba Tagwai made the assertion on a one-day sensitization in tertiary institutions held in Benin City. She said the fight against corruption must be seen as one for all and not for a selected individual in the society  adding that in achieving a corrupt free society, the youths must be educated on the adverse effects of corruption in the country. "This is a sensitization targeted at the young people especially youths in the tertiary institutions and the NYSC. So the main aim of this sensitization is to educate, enlighten and engage the youths in the fight against corruption. "We want to be ab

News from the source BY OJO IBILOYE In 1980s, Nigeria had 8 assembly plants with a combined annual production capacity of 168,500 Automobiles, but in 1990s, the utilization of assembly plants dropped to approximately 10% – 20%. In 2005, the Government privatized its stake in Volkswagen of Nigeria and Peugeot Nigeria Limited. Opening up the Automobile industry in Nigeria to private investors creates room for acceleration and revitalization of the sector. Since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015, enhancing production capacity of indigenous Automobile and Construction industries have become a priority. By providing an enabling environment for vehicle assembling and manufacturing, companies such as Innoson Vechile Manufacturing Company, Nissan Nigeria and BYD motors have been able to expand capacity and provide skills development for Nigerians. The focus of the present government is to ensure the survival and growth of the Nigerian Automobile and Const

News from the source The people of Offa local government area of Kwara state, on Monday said that they did not agree that the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had anything to do with the armed robbery attack that occurred in the community recently. SOCIAL REPORTERS NEWS SERVICE reports that a coalition of Kwara youths under the aegis of Kwara Agenda, asked the federal government and the Nigeria Police to stop politicising the Offa robbery incident. Also, elders of Ajikobi Central Ward in the Ilorin West local government area of the state, where Saraki hails from said that they received with shock the invitation of the Senate President by the police in respect of the unfortunate Offa armed robbery attack. See pictures below: High Chief Bayo Akinola, who addressed newsmen in Offa on behalf of Olofa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, said that the community had left “what has happened to God, but we don’t want the innocent to be punished. We want police to go after

News from the source Edo State Coordinator of the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP), Amb. Isaac Eranga, has called on youths to make good use of the youth friendly reproductive health services helpline newly launched by the State chapter of IYAFP. Speaking after the launch in Benin City, Amb. Eranga said the helpline became necessary as most of the primary health care centres that provide reproductive health services are not youth friendly. He said that most youths are ashamed to access the same facility being accessed by the older ones for fear of stigmatization. He reiterated that the helplines would help in providing accurate and current information that would help youths access reproductive health services. He also advised youth and teenagers to send questions relating to reproductive health to designated helplines for speedy response. The helplines according to him are: Whatsapp-Youth ReproHealth Helpline- +2348059233001, Twitter- @IyafpEdo Facebo