The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Thursday said legalization of the consumption of cannabis will take Nigeria back to its dark days.
Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), the Chairman and Chief Executive of the agency, said this at an interactive session with heads of security agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and heads of government agencies in Jos, Plateau as he rejected the calls for Cannabis legalization.
Some Nigerians have been advocating for the legalisation of the drug for the health and economic purposes.
But Marwa said that legalising cannabis would truncate its ongoing fight against drug abuse, stressing that such a move would also take Nigeria back to its dark days.
He revealed that 10.6 Nigerians were currently consuming cannabis, adding that legalising it would further destroy the nation.
“NDLEA rejects absolutely the call for the legalisation of cannabis; it is a choice between earning money and the importance of life
“There is no research about the healing qualities of cannabis, but we all know on the other hand that it causes brain disorder, psychosis, it destroys the lungs and other key organs of the body.
” It definitely affects one’s behaviour as well.
“NDLEA will not accept that; we in NDLEA reject the move in totality,” he noted.
The NDLEA boss admonished security agencies and other stakeholders to support the agency in its bid to curb the tide of drug abuse in the nation.
The Minister of States for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, made the promise on Thursday while delivering his speech at the 6th National Council on Hydrocarbon held in Port Harcourt.
The minister, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources Nasir Gwazor, said he was deeply concerned about the soot, adding that his ministry will work with the federal ministry of environment to tackle the issue.
“My good people of Port Harcourt, the soot is unacceptable. It has made life hellish for residents.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources, therefore, realises this problem and we are going to continue to work with the Ministry of Environment to provide a lasting solution.”
On his part, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who was represented by his Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Doctor Peter Medee, appealed to Rivers people to avoid the temptation of stealing what belongs to them and in the process destroy oil installations.
He called on the people “to continue to support the efforts of the federal government to strengthen the production of crude oil as today the major chunk of revenue of this country that will drive the sustenance of the economy is from this sector.
“It is on that note that we call on you to avoid illegal practices and negative tendencies that will affect this noble provision that God has given to us”.
At the end of the summit, 38 memoranda from various groups and agencies were approved by the council for onward consideration and possible action.
Taraba state governor, Darius Ishaku on Thursday said all the governors in Nigeria are helpless in finding a solution to the insecurity challenges in their respective states.
He spoke while featuring as a guest on Channels Television programme ‘Politics Today’ monitored by DAILY INDEPENDENT
Some suspected Ambazonian soldiers from the Republic of Cameroon stormed Manga village in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State on Wednesday and killed 11 people including a traditional ruler.
Takum Local Government Area is a border community between Taraba State and the Republic of Cameroun.
Governor Ishaku who said he has complained severally to the military authorities to help secure the border added that all his plea for assistance were ignored until the latest killings.
“It is not only me that is helpless. All the governors in Nigeria are helpless. And that is why we are saying give us state police”.
“If I have state police, I would have ordered the police. All the governors are helpless, not only Darius Ishaku that is helpless; not only Taraba State that is helpless. Go and ask other governors and tell me any who has a solution to this. We have to depend on Federal might” he said.
The current world record-holder in the men’s 65kg weightlifting category, Paul Kehinde, aka Olumi Agberin, is dead. Kehinde was also a former world number 1 Para Powerlifter, Olympic Gold medallist and Commonwealth Games Champion. Kehinde died on Thursday after a brief illness.
He was 33 years old.
He was born in Epe, Lagos State.
His achievements include winning Silver at the 2011 World Championship, Gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and Gold at 2015 All African Games (setting an African record of 214 kg).
He also won Gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games (broke the world record twice with lifts of 218kg and 220kg), Gold at the Mexico World Championship with another world record lift of 220kg and another Gold at the 2018 FAZZA World Para-Powerlifting Championship with a record-breaking lift of 220kg.
He won Silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Australia and Gold at the 2018 African championship.
President Muhammadu Buhari says the Federal Government will allow the system to exhaust itself, and will, therefore, wait for pronouncements from state governments that set up panels to probe police brutality in the country.
The president spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while receiving in audience Mr Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State.
“So many state governments are involved, and have given different terms of reference to the probe panels,” spokesman, Femi Adesina quoted the president as saying.
“We at the Federal have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can’t impose ideas on them. Federal Government has to wait for the reaction of the states.”
On the recent removal of Nigeria from the watchlist of countries violating religious freedom, which Blinken said was “based on facts,” Buhari expressed the country’s appreciation, noting that there was freedom of worship in Nigeria, and no one is discriminated against on the basis of his or her faith.
The US diplomat’s visit comes on the heels of Nigeria’s removal from a US blacklist of nations that violate religious freedom. Photo: State House.
He said also said education is a priority in the country, “because when you educate a people, there are certain levels they will not fall below.”
The President equally appreciated the US for allowing Nigeria to procure military hardware to fight terrorism in the country, and for the training given to the Nigerian military.
“It’s helping us to stabilize the situation in the Northeast, and we’ve made a lot of progress since 2015,” he said. “We are doing a lot on security, and the people involved appreciate our efforts.”
On the development of democratic ethos, President Buhari said Nigeria has adopted the American model, “hook, line, and sinker, with its term limits. Those who have attempted to breach it were disappointed, if not disgraced. You are even lucky if you have two terms. Others try hard and don’t get it. The American model has been accepted by Nigerians as the best.”
Nigeria and her neighbors, the President noted, have been living with the impact of climate change for a while, which has seen Lake Chad shrink drastically from its original size, and affected the livelihood of about 30 million people in the Lake Chad Basin countries.
“That is why the youths defy the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean to attempt emigrating to Europe. Inter-basin water transfer is needed to keep the youths at home, and they can resume their lives of farming, fishing, and animal husbandry,” Buhari added.
Mr Blinken, who had held a virtual meeting with the Nigerian President earlier in the year, said jocularly that it was now good to see him “mask to mask, hoping that we will soon see face to face.”
He appreciated the contributions of President Buhari to the protection of the climate, particularly his presence and contributions at the recent COP26 climate conference held in Glasgow, Scotland.
Blinken said America and Nigeria have diverse challenges, but a common denominator is security, and hoped for better partnerships, “so that the bad guys won’t get the good guys.”
He described the report of the EndSARS probe panel as “democracy in action,” stressing that America equally had its own police brutality, and hoping that necessary reforms would be made.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a fresh N656.112 billion Bridge Financing Facility to the 36 States.
This was disclosed Thursday at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The vice president’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement issued after the meeting, said each state would receive N18.225 billion with a 30-year tenor, and a 2-year moratorium at an interest rate of 9%.
According to the presidency, this step was taken in a bid to help state governments meet financial obligations, especially the previous budget support facility due for repayment.
The Honourable Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, informed the Council that the Bridge Facility is now being processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The approved Bridge facility of N656.112 billion will be disbursed in six tranches over a period of six months to the States.
It would be recalled that on the 15th of July, 2021, the Council had received updates on the Budget Support Facility to States. At that meeting, the Finance Minister had informed the Council that the deductions from State Governments would commence soon as repayment for the previous bailout from the CBN.
Subsequently, the States sought further support leading to the idea of bridge financing.
Also at today’s NEC, the Executive Director/CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, informed the Council on the Status of the country’s COVID-19 Vaccine roll-out.
Dr Shuaib noted that Nigeria has received over 100 million doses of COVID–19 vaccines (from COVAX, African Union, other countries) which he said was sufficient to ramp up vaccination for about 50 per cent of the targeted population.
The total eligible population of Nigerians for the vaccine is over 111 million, he added.
“Given the availability of vaccines, we have started rolling out a plan to vaccinate 50 per cent of Nigerians, 18 years and above by January 31st, 2022,” the NPHCDA DG said, adding that there would be a scaling up of over 3,000 health facilities nationwide.
In his presentation to the Council on State performance report on COVID-19, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa said Nigerians must continue to maintain and sustain the COVID-19 response, especially as it enters the holiday period where there will be anticipated travels within and outside the country, as well as mass events to herald the holiday season.
Adetifa said the country should “maintain visibility of the outbreak by testing, continuing to encourage adherence to public health and social measures, encourage vaccination and address vaccine hesitancy.”
The DG, NCDC added that the Delta variant of the COVID-19 is still the dominant strain of concern in the country.
Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker of the house of representatives, has brokered a truce between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU and the government have been at loggerheads in the past months.
ASUU had, in a recent strike notice, issued a three-week ultimatum to the federal government to implement the agreement it reached with the union.
While meeting with representatives from both parties on Thursday, Gbajabiamila said strike cannot be the only “tool” used all the time.
Present at the meeting were Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance; Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, minister of state for education, as well as ASUU representatives.
Gbajabiamila also called on the government not to enter into agreements it cannot honour.
“It will be irresponsible of us, as leaders, to sit and watch things deteriorate,” he said.
“We have to be mindful of the unintended consequences of strike actions that can be far-reaching, knowing how important education is to the children and the future of our country.
“Whatever the issues, strikes cannot continue to be a perennial exercise; strikes cannot be the tool we use at all time but only when things finally break down.
“On the other hand, the government should also not go into agreements it cannot honour.
“While everybody has an equal share of the blame, how to resolve the issue is the most important and that is why we are here.”
At the meeting, the government representatives agreed to make available, within one week, N30 billion universities’ revitalisation fund.
It was also agreed that the federal government would sort out the N22 billion earned academic allowances component from the education sector budget.
The government also said it was not averse to the deployment of the proposed alternative payment platform, university transparency and accountability solution (UTAS), developed by ASUU.
It was also agreed that the renegotiation of the N1.3 trillion agreement reached in 2019 between the ASUU and the government would start in a week’s time.
National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), has berated Comrade Isah Abubakar and Comrade Mock Samuel Kure over what it calls unguarded utterance on the person of Senate Chief Whip, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu.
The embattled Comrade Isah Abubakar and Comrade Mock Samuel Kure had said that Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia State is unworthy to be President of Nigeria.
The duo who claim to be President and Media Director of the NYCN had cited Sen. Kalu’s prosecution by the EFCC as making him unqualified for the number one job in the country.
This follows Kalu’s Presidential posters sponsored by Arewa Youths and pasted all over Abuja, Umuahia, Kano, and Enugu.
Reacting to the development, NYCN says Isah Abubakar was impersonating the association to carry out a hatchet job for some desperate politicians afraid of the rising popularity of the Senate Chief Whip and African Pillar of Sports.
NYCN in a statement on Friday signed by its National Vice President, South East, Dr Chibuike Echem, while disassociating itself also warned Comrade Isah Abubakar and his allies from impersonating the association or face the wrath of the law.
According to the group, “NYCN should not be used by unscrupulous elements to score cheap political points. We are warning these hoodlums and political jobbers in the name of activists to desist from using the name of the association to defraud desperate politicians. We are not against Senator Orji Uzor Kalu. We are not against his aspirations and we don’t intend to. Orji Uzor Kalu is a known detrabilized Nigeria loved across all ethnic groups and regions. Insinuating that he cannot be president because of the prosecution he faced by the anti-graft agency only puts a pointer that his travails were well-targeted political persecution. Otherwise, if Kalu can’t, who else can? When you sit down and reflect on what and who Nigeria needs in 2023, please who is actually better than Orji Uzor Kalu? Absolutely nobody. We are urging those masquerading as NYCN to desist from using our name to defraud the public thereby hitting up the polity.
“It is on record that the said Isah Abubakar is a known political jobber defrauding unsuspecting politicians at the slightest opportunity. He is a well-known blackmailer who speaks for his stomach.
“Nigerians must know that Isah Abubakar is a tribal and religious bigot who does not know that Nigeria belongs to all. NYCN is a Nigerian project aimed at uniting the Nation. If Nigerians say Senator Kalu should become the President, who is NYCN to stop him?
“NYCN cannot be part of this hatchet job. We are committed to the tenets of democracy and would not support any form of name-calling, intimidation, and blackmailing. We disassociate our association from the ridiculous statement signed by Isah Abubakar and Comrade Mock Samuel Kure”
Nigeria and Premier League legend Austin Jay-Jay Okocha believes Liverpool can adapt to the situation of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane departures for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to take place between 9 January 2022 and 6 February 2022 across five cities in Cameroon.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in June and July 2021 but the CAF announced on 15 January 2020 that due to unfavorable climatic conditions during this period, the tournament would be postponed.
Liverpool will be hit hard throughout the duration of the Africa Cup of Nations as they will be missing two key players which are Mohamed Salah who is representing Egypt and Sadio Mane who is playing for Senegal.
Ahead of the tournament, Okocha shared his thoughts on the topic, stating that Liverpool must have prepared themselves as they have enough resources to deal with their absence.
“Well, I think you can always put that into consideration, but I think they have a big squad,” Okocha said.
“They have done their homework, putting Africa Nations Cup into consideration.
“And then South American Cups comes up in the summer, which deprives some players of their holidays.
“I think it’s all about how you manage your squad and whoever manages better in January, I think, stands a very good chance of winning the title.”
Former Governor of Abia state and Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has congratulated the Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor of Yobe state, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni on the occasion of his 54th birthday anniversary.
Describing the celebrant as humble, easy going and kind- hearted, Kalu called on the Governor to sustain his good works in all facets of life.
While acknowledging the contributions of the APC chairman to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, Kalu urged the celebrant not to relent in his efforts to reposition the APC.
In a goodwill message, the Chief Whip of the Senate joined the government and people of Yobe state in celebrating Governor Mai Mala Buni, who he described as a compassionate and selflessness politician.
He said, “on behalf of the good people of Abia North Senatorial District, I felicitate with the Caretaker Chairman of the APC and Governor of Yobe state, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni as he clocks 54.
“The APC Chairman is an accomplished Nigerian whose contributions to the social, economic and political development of Nigeria are commendable and worthy of emulation.
“The celebbrant having served meritoriously in various capacities in the private and public sectors has carved a niche for himself in all spheres of life.
“In steering the affairs of the APC, the celebrant has consistently deployed his capacity to build a robust party.
“The Governor deserves to be celebrated for his commitment to the growth and progress of Yobe state and Nigeria in general”.
Kalu while wishing the celebrant a joyous birthday celebration, prayed to Allah to strengthen the Governor in his pursuits.
The Abia State Government has announced the cancellation of the Monthly Environmental Sanitation Exercise earlier scheduled to hold on Saturday, December 20, 2025.
The announcement,...
