The Lumine News

Category: National News

  • Golden Eaglets Begs Ayade To Redeem Pledged House Gifts

    Golden Eaglets Begs Ayade To Redeem Pledged House Gifts

    Culled From The Nationonline

    Seven years after, the FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning Golden Eaglets’ squad of 2013 has yet make a clarion call to Governor Ben Ayade to redeem the Cross River State’s pledge of a house gift to players and officials of the team.

    A feat that made Governor Ayade’s predecessor, Senator Liyel Imoke, during the State’s banquet for the team at Government House in Calabar on Saturday 15th November 2013, announced the house gifts to the 21 players and 10 officials, adding the houses would be located in the State’s new housing estate in Akpabuyo Local Government Area.

    “Frankly, it’s unbelievable that we are yet to be given these houses almost 10 years after we won the FIFA U-17 World Cup and celebrated by everybody.

    “In fact, we were most impressed when Senator Imoke said in the presence of the then Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi; former NFF President Alhaji Aminu Maigari and members of his cabinet, that he preferred house gifts as a lasting legacy than monetary rewards; but it’s unfortunate that after all these years, we are still waiting for the houses to be delivered to the players and officials.”

    Speaking in the same vein, the 2013 World Cup-winning captain, Musa Muhammed said he was tired of explaining to the players time and time again that the houses were yet to be given: “I don’t think a day has passed without one or two of the players asking me about our houses in Calabar but I want to use this opportunity to beg our father, Governor Ayade, for the house gifts for both the players and officials.”

  • Jubilation As NYSC Members To Be Enrolled Into NHIS

    Jubilation As NYSC Members To Be Enrolled Into NHIS

    Nigerian President, Muhamaddu Buhari has approved the enrolment of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the National Health Insurance Scheme.

    This was disclosed by the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, during a media parley today, November 9, 2020.

    His words “I wish to use this opportunity to again express our gratitude to the security agencies and other stakeholders for their support. Furthermore, the scheme has concluded arrangement with the NHIS for the enrolment of corps members into the NHIS in line with a presidential directive. We have also expended huge resources on critical health needs of corps members, including footing of medical bills.”

  • National Boundary Commission Inaugurates Joint Technical Team And flags off A Verification Exercise On Benue – Cross River Boundaries.

    National Boundary Commission Inaugurates Joint Technical Team And flags off A Verification Exercise On Benue – Cross River Boundaries.

    By Richard Abu

    The National Boundary Commission (NBC), today 8th November, 2020, inaugurated a Joint Field Technical Team and flagged-off the Field Verification Exercise on the Benue – Cross River inter-state boundaries in Sankwala, Obanliku LGA.

    The exercise comes on the heels of the resolution of the joint meeting of officials of the two states with the National Boundary Commission, held on the 9th of October 2020 in Abuja.

    The Joint Technical Committee Committee inaugurated include: the Surveyor General of the Federation, the Surveyor General of Cross River and Benue States, the Deputy Governors of Cross River and Benue states, representatives of the affected local government areas of the two states amongst others.

    Declaring the exercise open, the Director General of NBC, Surveyor Adamu Adaji stated that the boundary between the two states was only for administrative purposes and not to stop the interaction between the two states. He further sued for cooperation from indigenes of the two states to achieve a successful verification exercise.

    On his part, the Deputy Governor of Cross River State who also doubles as the Chairman of the State Border Committee, his Excellency Prof. Ivara Esu, welcomed the NBC DG and other delegates and his Benue counterpart to the event, stressed the importance of the exercise and reemphasized that the exercise is to demarcate the boundary and not to create a barrier between the two states.

    In his words “the boundary between Cross River and Benue is not as complex as we have in other states as pillars are already in place; this exercise is to verify those already existing pillars and plant new ones where they don’t exist”

    Similarly, the Deputy Governor of Bunue State/Chairman of Benue State Border Committee, Engr. Benson Abounu thanked the people of the two states for their peaceful coexistence over the years stating that despite the reoccurring skirmishes, his people and that of Cross River State share culture, inter-marry and trade together peacefully.

    He further sued for peace and cooperation from the people especially Youth of the two states during the exercise.

    In their separate remarks, the traditional rulers of Vandeikya and Obanliku Local Governments thanked the Federal, Cross River and Benue States governments for putting heads together to see to a lasting solution to boundary issues between the two states.

    The traditional rulers further assured the technical team of their people’s utmost cooperation during and after the exercise.

    The occasion was also graced by the Chairmen of the affected local governments in Cross River State including Hon. Eraye Ewhe of Obudu, Evan. Margaret Inde of Obanliku, Dr. Joe Owan of Bekwarra, Barr. Fabian Ogbeche of Yala and their counterparts from Vandeikya, Kwande, Konshisha and Oju local governments of Benue State.

    Also in attendance were the representative of the Surveyor General of the Federation, Surveyor Generals of the two States, the Hon. Commissioner for Education Cross River, Dr. Godwin Amanke, the DG Bordercom Cross River State, Mr. Noel Ugbong, the Hon. Commissioner of Boundaries Benue state, Royal fathers from the affected local government areas amongst others.

    The exercise is expected run through the 22nd of November, 2020 along the boundary flashpoints between the two states.

  • TETFUND Completes Inspection Of The Institute Of Management and Technology, Ugep

    TETFUND Completes Inspection Of The Institute Of Management and Technology, Ugep

    By Admin

    The Tertiary Education Fund TETFUND, responsible for funding of tertiary institutions in Nigeria has completed the inspection of the state owned Institute of Management and Technology, Ugep in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State.

    This however comes on the heels of the enlistment of the institute as a beneficiary institution, facilitated by the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee in TETFUND, Sen. Prof. Sandy Onor.

    Speaking after the three day rigorous inspection, the leader of the delegation, Mallam Yahaya applauded the level of infrastructural development of the institution and pledged the reflection of the various concerns raised by all stakeholders during the inspection visit.

    The delegation was led by the Registrar of the institution, Dr. Emmanuel Yarie and the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Elvis Okon Jnr. on a courtesy visit to the palace of the Obol Lopon of Ugep, Obol Ofem Ubangha Eteng and the Chairman of Yakurr Local Government Council, Hon. Ofem Ebri Obeten.

    The duo of the Obol of Ugep and the Chairman of Yakurr local government Council, thanked the team for undertaking the inspection of the state owned Institute of Management and Technology located in their land and requested that the intervention in the institution commence in earnest.

    Recall that since inception of the institution in December, 2012, this is the first time that the Institute of Management and Technology will get any intervention from TETFUND.

    When contacted, the senator representing Cross River Central senatorial district and Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on TETFUND, Sen. Prof. Sandy Onor, expressed satisfaction with the efficacy of his people oriented representation at the red chambers, which has yielded this result of inspection and the subsequent intervention by TETFUND.

    The lawmaker maintained that he will stop at nothing to ensure that Cross River State gets all its entitlements, due and quota from TETFUND.

  • NITDA To Make Cross River State An IT Hub

    NITDA To Make Cross River State An IT Hub

    By Admin

    The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi has promised to make Calabar, Cross River State one of the Regional IT Hubs the Agency is set to establish across the Country.

    The DG, who is a Massachusetts trained tech expert disclosed this on the 13th of October 2020 when the Director General, Cross River State Border Communities Development Commission (BORDERCOMM), Mr. Noel Ugbong led a delegation of his team to NITDA Headquarters, Abuja.

    Mr. Ugbong facilitated the DG, NITDA who is barely one year in office and extended the Governor’s goodwill message as well as commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing this young, vibrant and tech savvy business-minded youth as Director General of the Country’s IT regulatory Agency.

    Mr. Noel Ugbong praised the Agency for the post-graduate Scholarship program and noted that “It is only NITDA Scholarship that gives equal value to all the States which is very commendable”

    The BORDERCOMM Director General commended the Agency for the Smart Agriculture programme and requested the DG to extend the Programme to Cross River State especially now that the State is one the leading States in the Green Revolution.

    Mr. Noel Ugbong used the opportunity and appealed to the Agency to equip the Skills Acquisition Centres recently handed over to Cross River State border Communities by the Border Communities Development Agency Abuja.

    He posited that if NITDA provides the centres with IT equipment and technical support, it will go a long way to create wealth, IT solutions and control migration. He further briefed the Agency of the steps Cross River State has taken geared towards advancing IT solutions and expertise which NITDA can leverage on.
    Amongst which is the Tinapa Knowledge Centre and available optic fibre across the length of the state.

    Mr. Noel Ugbong appealed to NITDA to provide Internet support to Obudu Mountain Resort which is Nigeria’s number one Tourism Flagship.

    Responding, the enigmatic DG of NITDA assured the DG, BORDERCOM that his Agency was on the verge of creating regional IT Hubs across the Country. He stressed that Calabar has the enabling facility for easy takeoff, the Agency will Consider making it a regional hub. He promised to extend the smart Agriculture programme to Cross River State after the pilot program in Jigawa State.

    The Deputy Director IT Infrastructure Solutions, Dr. Muhammed Saidu thanked the BORDERCOMM team for the visit and commended the Governor of Cross River State for the tax exemption in the State.

  • President Buhari Addresses #EndSars Protesters Across The Country

    President Buhari Addresses #EndSars Protesters Across The Country

    President Buhari address #EndSars protesters across the council

  • BREAKING: IGP Scraps SARS Nationwide

    BREAKING: IGP Scraps SARS Nationwide

    Culled From Punch

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has announced the dissolution of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

    He said the operatives will be redeployed to other police formations and commands.

    Adamu announced this in a live broadcast on Sunday afternoon.

    The announcement came after days of online and offline protests against the brutality and extra-judicial killings by SARS operatives nationwide.

    At the briefing, the IGP said, “The Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force otherwise known as SARS is hereby dissolved in all the 36 State Police Commands and the Federal Capital Territory.”

  • Ayade Calls On Enumerators To Do Thorough Work In The National Business Sample Census As Data Collected Will Form The Basis For Intervention

    Ayade Calls On Enumerators To Do Thorough Work In The National Business Sample Census As Data Collected Will Form The Basis For Intervention

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    The Cross River State Governor, Sen. Ben Ayade has called on the enumerators for the conduct of National Census of Commercial and Industrial Businesses (NCCIB) in Nigeria to undertake a thorough, detailed and comprehensive job, considering the significance of the data, which is to determine intervention by both World Bank and International Organizations.

    Ayade made the call while he declared open a three day training of 64 data collectors/enumerators to be deployed to the 18 local government areas of the state.

    The Governor was represented in the event by the Commissioner for Industries, Mr. Peter Egba, and held that “I want to use this opportunity to call on the enumerators undergoing this training to be more committed now than ever to ensure a thorough and detailed data collection during this exercise as the data collected from this survey will form the basis for intervention by both the World Bank and International Organizations.

    “This survey will not have come at a better time than now considering the number of industries this administration is building.
    It will provide both the government and private sector as well as farmers the opportunity to identify raw materials for a particular industry. The Feed Mill Industry for instance, necessarily follows that one should know that the need for the cultivation of yellow maize and soya beans is very necessary, since they will be off takers”

    Delivering the keynote address, the South South Zonal Controller of National Bureau of Statistics, Mr. Oboh Ismaila, noted that the exercise is going on simultaneously in all the 36 states of the federation including FCT. This exercise provides us the opportunity to right the wrongs currently going on in Nigeria.

    He revealed that this exercise was last held in Nigeria in 1997/1998.

    “Left for the federal government alone, this exercise will not hold, but the World Bank has facilitated this process.

    “Keynote address is to make appeal, I hereby appeal to cross river state government to take ownership of the process by providing the security needed by the enumerators to undertake a thorough and comprehensive job” he added.

    He called on the Commissioner, Local Government Affairs to step up and get the Local Government Chairmen on board to drive the process.

    He however charged the enumerators to brace up to the challenges associated with the tedious nature of the assignment. All the 18 LGAs, villages have been segmented and must be covered.

    Earlier, the Statistician General of the State, Dr. Josephat Ogar, stated that “policies are developed from challenges, we have gaps that will enable us to identify these challenges.
    We are gather here to train you to collect data that will enable us address these challenges. This exercise is to last for 50 days, kindly consider making yourself available to enter the nooks and crannies of the state to get data that will form the fulcrum of our developmental agenda.

    “Industries, Businesses and Enterprises in the state should support the census or Enterprise survey by making information available to the Enumerators that would come around to interview them.

    “This is so because Enterprises would be the first beneficiaries of the data which would inform interventions around Enterprise development and assistance.
    The exercise is not for taxation but purely for development planning and intervention”

    On his part, the state Acting Director of National Orientation Agency, Mr. Ogban Ammissine Usetu, noted that “since independence, Nigeria has struggled to tap properly and positively her human and material potentials to kick start and establish a very strong and sustainable industrial base, this can only happen when we put in place a strong, verifiable national and state records, statistics and sustainable supervision as I implore this programme to achieve.

    “The National and State Bureau of Statistics are to be commended for coming together to put records straight by the conduct of National Census of Commercial and Industrial Businesses. It will be very much advisable to give ample considerations by looking the direction of the micro, small and medium scale enterprises, as these are the bedrock of industrial growth in the economy”

    The National Census of Commercial and Industrial Businesses in Nigeria is organized by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with World Bank under the Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project (FGIP).

    The objectives of the census is to determine the growth of businesses, both formal and informal in Nigeria, to assist in the development of a national directory of commercial and business establishments as well as provide the country with comprehensive and detailed information about the structure of the economy.

    The training is to last between 6th – 8th October, 2020 while field work is to commence from 12th October – 3rd December, 2020.

  • Obudu Local Government Chairman Calls On National Boundary Commission To Use The 1914 Lord Lugard Boundary Line For Proper Demarcation

    Obudu Local Government Chairman Calls On National Boundary Commission To Use The 1914 Lord Lugard Boundary Line For Proper Demarcation

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    The Chairman of Obudu Local Government Council, Hon. Boniface Ewhe has called on the National Boundary Commission NBC, to use the 1914 boundary line and bacon to properly demarcate the boundary between Benue and Cross River states to curb the incessant communal disputes between the two states.

    Hon. Ewhe made the call during the stakeholders meeting with the Cross River State Boundary Committee today, October 2nd in Government House, Calabar, in preparation for an enlarged meeting with the National Boundary Commission NBC, in Abuja.

    The Chairman named the communities affected by the lingering communal skirmishes with the Benue counterparts to include; Abonkib, Igwo, Ukwortung, Mgbenege and Ukpirinyi.

    The Chairman expressed disenchantment over the rate of destruction suffered by his people owing to the Federal Government’s inability to join the coordinates of the boundary line where beacons were not planted, Which makes it easy for the Benue counterparts to trespass and cause havoc. He however commended the steadfastness and resolve of his people to maintain law and order, while they await the intervention of the National Boundary Commission.

    The Chairman used the opportunity to commend the Chairman of the National Boundary Commission NBC, for his resolve to find lasting solution to the interstate incessant communal clashes, and charged the commission to give the demarcation exercise the urgency it deserves to avert further breakdown of law and order.

    The Council boss however commended the painstaking efforts of Sir Lord Lugard for the great job done which makes it very easy for the National Boundary Commission NBC.

    The Chairman recalled previous efforts made by the commission to resolve the boundary challenges which has always been stalled due to some reasons that have never been disclosed to the people who are at the receiving end of the tunnel, with resultant effects on lost of lives and properties Worth millions of naira. He further called NBC to swing into action expeditiously.

    Mr. Ewhe reiterates the commitment of the people of Obudu Local Government Area to maintain peace and order and called on the Cross River State government to give NBC the support it deserves to ensure that the boundary line and beacons are planted now that the National Boundary Commission NBC, is set to bring lasting solution to the affected local government areas.

    The Chairman paid special commendation to the Deputy of Cross River State who doubles as the Chairman of the State Boundary Commission, Prof. Ivara Esu who is also billed to lead the delegation to meet with the National Boundary Commission NBC, in Abuja for his dogged disposition and resilience in the pursuit of a lasting boundary between Cross River and neighbouring states and maintained that he is more decisive and resolute now than ever to pursue the demarcation exercise in Obudu to a logical conclusion.

  • UN Food And Agriculture Organization Partners C’River To Build MDAs Capacity On Agrotech

    UN Food And Agriculture Organization Partners C’River To Build MDAs Capacity On Agrotech

    By Admin

    The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO) and Cross River State Government have agreed to partner on some Agricultural and ICT training for staff of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the State.

    The partnership was the outcome of the meeting by the Commissioner, Ministry of International Development Cooperation, MIDC and the Lead Advisor to the Governor on Green Money, Amb. Nkoyo Toyo with the UN FAO Rep, Mr Suffyan Koroma at the UN Country Office in Abuja.

    The Programme which will be coordinated by the Ministry of International Development Cooperation (MIDC) will build capacity of staff of some key clusters of the state on agrotechnology and info-business in line with the Cross River State Government efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

    Speaking during a follow up visit to the UN team to broker the Partnership arrangement, the Commissioner for International Development Cooperation, Dr Inyang Asibong, averred that the State Government’s Core Policy under Ayade’s administration is on Modern Agricultural Production, Distribution and it’s value chain markets as well Industrialization.

    Asibong explained that the state has keyed into the Federal Government’s initiative on Food security and Agricultural revolution to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and maintained that building the capacity of key MDAs and investing in innovative technology will guarantee food sufficiency not only to Cross River but Nigeria in general.

    “I thank the Technical Team for partnering with Cross River which is one of the three States in Nigeria to benefit from the UN capacity building on modern ICT with Kano and Lagos as two other beneficiaries” she added.

    Speaking earlier during the visit, the UNFAO technical team leader, Mr Dare Olurunmole who is also a project Desk Officer at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the visit was to identify the ICT needs of the Agricultural lines of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs). The beneficial MDAS include Ministry of Agriculture, FADAMA, SPC, SBS, ADP among others with MIDC as coordinating ministry.

    Mr Olorunmole thanked the Cross River State Government as one of the leading states setting the standard in achieving better quality of Agricultural Produce ,with adequate available data in support of the Sustainable development Goals.