—Award, a challenge to do more, says Danbatta

The National Association of State Assembly Legislators (NASAL) has honoured the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta with a National Service Excellence Award for his transformational leadership in deepening access to telecommunications services across state constituencies of Nigeria in the last five years. 

The Award is coming few months after the President renewed Danbatta’s mandate as the country’s chief telecoms regulator for another term of five years. 

Director General of NASAL, Hon. Uchechukwu Chukwuma, who led a five-member delegation to the Commission to present the award in Abuja recently, said “the award from NASAL not only underscores the remarkable leadership role by Danbatta in deepening the development and growth of the telecoms sector at the grassroots but also demonstrates the pivotal role of the EVC as a change agent, a catalyst for national development and a great Nigerian patriot.”

He said in the last five years, NASAL, as the body of state lawmakers in the country, has consistently monitored the activities of the Danbatta-led NCC and observed notable improvements in telecoms services across state constituencies in Nigeria.

“Danbatta’s efforts have manifested in enhanced access to the Internet by our people, which has given them the opportunity to participate and ventilate their views constructively. As you know, citizens’ participation in political activities is one of the attributes of an ideal democracy and Prof. Danbatta has helped to promote this ideal,” Chukwuma said.

The NASAL’s award to Danbatta is justified by the statistics from the Commission which showed that when Danbatta came on board five years ago, 217 access gap clusters were identified in the country, with 40 million Nigerians excluded from access to telecoms services. Five years after, however, the access gaps have reduced to 114 clusters with additional 15 million Nigerians now connected.

While receiving the award on behalf of the EVC, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, who appreciated NASAL for the recognition, said the award was both an encouragement and a challenge to the EVC and his team to do more.

“It is heartwarming that NASAL has found our EVC and CEO deserving of this award. The award is an acknowledgement that his accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. We at the NCC, value this gesture, which writes the history of Professor Danbatta’s achievements in a very distinctive and enduring way,” Adinde said.

Adinde amplified the justifications adduced by NASAL for recognising Danbatta, by citing various indicators that measure the performance of the telecom sector, which clearly show that the sector has been growing over the years and more impressively, in the last five years of Danbatta’s leadership.

“From the recent industry statistics and other relevant macro indicators, the telecoms sector, under Danbatta, has recorded positive growth in terms of active voice subscriptions, internet subscriptions, teledensity, broadband penetration and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said. 

While noting that the last five years of Danbatta has witnessed a number of policy initiatives that have spurred industry growth and improved service delivery, Adinde restated the EVC’s commitment to ensuring that the Commission maintains its reputation as a foremost communications regulatory organisation. 

The Government of Ekiti State will open schools in the state to other classes as from September 21, 2020. The order for reopening is as follows:

▪️Students in SSS II, JSS III and Primary 6 are to resume on September 21, 2020.

▪️Students in SSS I, JSS II and Primary 5 and 4 are to resume from September 28, 2020;

▪️ While students in JSS I and Primary 1-3 are to resume on October 19, 2020.

▪️ Pupils in Kindergarten and Nursery Schools are expected to resume on November 2, 2020 when more assurances of safety for their age bracket would have been established.

▪️ Tertiary institutions of learning in Ekiti may begin to reopen as from October 2, 2020 but this is subject to their level of readiness and compliance with the established protocols. They are to liaise with the Ekiti COVID-19 Task Force for guidance on the appropriate measures to be put in place before reopening.

RELIGIOUS SERVICES

▪️ Worship centres can now hold two services on Friday, Saturday or Sunday as the case may be but mid-week activities and night vigils remain suspended for now. Other protocols and regulations concerning worship centres reopening still subsist.

SOCIAL EVENTS

▪️ Owners of halls and event centres may now be allowed to rent out their facilities but under no condition should such a facility contain more than 50% of its normal capacity. This is to allow for social distancing. Events centres are expected to observe all protocols prescribed for religious centres and to obtain certificate of readiness before opening.

ASSURES THAT JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu this evening, visited Umuokpo Village, Obingwa LGA to commiserate with the family of Late Onyedikachi Nwogu who was allegedly shot dead at close range by an Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps right in front of his compound three days ago, 8th September 2020.

The Governor who arrived the village along the Aba Ikot Ekpene Highway around 5.30pm, straight from the Owerri airport walked into the compound of the deceased to see his wife, aged mother and children. There was also a mammoth crowd of the people of the Community. It was a very emotional atmosphere as the wife and mother as well as other relatives of the deceased wept and wailed.

Governor Ikpeazu who was met on arrival by the Transition Committee Chairman of Obingwa LGA, Hon. Nnaji Kingsley expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the young man who was killed for no justifiable reason and assured that the killer officer will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Information available from the members of the Community has it that the Civil Defence Officer, Inspector Robinson Otobong Abel attached to the Akwa Ibom State Command of the Corps was escorting an expartriate and insisted on driving through the compound of the deceased on account of the bad state of the Federal road. The deceased resisted the attempt to drive through his compound, whereupon the officer allegedly shot him at close range, killing him instantly.

The Governor commended the community members for resisting the temptation of lynching the officer.

He assured the wife of the deceased and his aged mother that his administration will not abandon them, especially the little children, whom he assured will be seen through school.

He asked the Obingwa LGA Chairman to bring the widow of the deceased, the mother and his brother to see him tomorrow for further discussions.

On his way out of the compound , the State Commissioner of Police, Mrs Janet Agbede met the Governor and thanked him for the visit, assuring that the killer officer who is in custody will be prosecuted.

Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

The need to secure the state is very important and that is what Governor Ifeanyi Okowa did when he pledged that the Delta State Government will continue to partner with the military and other security agencies to guarantee the safety of lives and property in both the state and the South-South region.

Governor Okowa said this during a courtesy visit from Major General Olubunmi Irefin, the new General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 6th Division, Nigerian Army, Port-Harcourt, came on a courtesy visit at the Government House, Asaba.

“The partnership between the state and security agencies has helped to guarantee the safety and security of lives and property and has also made Delta an investor-friendly destination,” Governor Okowa said.

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

…As CP Cautions Residents Against Buying Fairly Used Phones From Questionable Sources

Two suspected online scammers in the habit of advertising expensive mobile phones at cheaper prices on jiji.com and luring their buyers to places where they fraudulently dispossess them of their money in exchange for fake mobile phones were on Wednesday arrested by the Lagos State Police Command.

The suspects, Chukwu – Emeka Ogbona (45) and Olabode Kehinde (34), both mobile phone technicians at the Computer Village, Ikeja were arrested at Olowu Street, Ikeja in separate incidents.

The duo, who are members of same syndicate advertised Iphone X, a phone valued at N240,000 for N155,000 to lure buyers into their nets.

The suspects, along with other gang members lure the buyers to locations around Olowu Street and Computer Village, Ikeja, where they fraudulently collect money from the buyers after showing them the real phone but within a twinkle of an eye substitute it with fake Iphone X. The suspects thereafter flee the scene leaving their victims stranded.

The suspects also disclosed that apart from advertising on jiji.com, they also fraudulently sell fake mobile phones on the streets of Computer Village to unsuspecting buyers as well as return fake or paper money to their victims after collecting the real money from them.

According to one of the suspects, Chukwu Emeka Ogbona, the leader of the gang is “Ibrahim. He advertised on jiji.com and supply us with the real Iphone X and the fake Iphone X. The real Iphone X is N240,000 while the fake is an android phone made to look like an Iphone X. It is N30,000.

“The Iphone X was advertised for N155,000. The buyer negotiated for N120,000. Knowing what I want to sell to him, I encouraged him to meet me at Olowu after changing meeting locations twice to ensure that we were not being baited by the police.

“I showed him the real Iphone X for him to confirm it while the fake was in my back pocket. I took the real back from him again for us to settle our bargain. Meanwhile, I had arranged with other gang members to come around and distract the attention of the buyer so as to create room for me to swap the real Iphone X with the fake version.

“This I did and we shared the victim’s N120,000. Unknown to me the police baited and arrested me the third day of the fraud”.

He continued: ” Times are hard. I stopped doing it before. I need money to feed my family. That is why I came back into it. We are many doing it. We call it street hustling. I wont go back to it if released.”

The second suspect, Olabode Kehinde was arrested by the Decoy Team of #RRS for collecting N100,000 and an Iphone 6S from one Obinna, who he lured to Computer Village after agreeing to swap them for a Iphone X but ended up fraudulently giving him a fake Iphone X.

He also confessed to be a member of the same syndicate. He added that they are many on the streets of Computer Village.

Commenting on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu advised Lagosians to be wary of suspected fraudsters masquerading as phone dealers with view to exploiting them of their hard earned money, adding that they should ensure they obtain receipt with traceable addresses for mobile phones they are buying.

He warned Lagosians to stop buying fairly used phones whose sources they don’t know.

Lagos Monitoring Team

The Lagos State Government has announced dates for the resumption of Public and Private Schools after the closure that resulted from the global COVID-19 pandemic a few months ago.

According to a statement issued, today, by the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, the Ministry is adopting a phased approach to the reopening of public schools in Lagos State in order to enable them to meet COVID-19 physical distance rules and safety protocols.

She explained that the present set of JS3 and SS2 students in public schools in the State are to resume classes from Monday, 21st of September, 2020, so as to allow JS3 students who are already in an exit-class to revise and prepare adequately for their forthcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) organised by the Lagos State Examination Board and scheduled to hold between Tuesday, 6th October and Monday, 12th October 2020.

The Commissioner added that the resumption will also afford the present SS2 students the opportunity to prepare effectively for their transition to SS3, as the scheduled dates and venues for their Entrance Examination into Lagos State Model Colleges will soon be announced by the State Examination Board.

Assuring parents that announcements relating to the resumption of other classes will be made as soon as the government is certain of safety, Adefisayo disclosed that the students belonging to the yet-to-resume classes in public schools will continue their lessons on the various distance learning platforms created by the State Government.

Regarding the resumption of Private Primary and Secondary Schools in the State, the Commissioner said they are permitted to resume from Monday, 21st of September, 2020, noting, however, that the State Government strongly implores school owners to institute all necessary safety protocols as well as resume in phases similar to the plans for public schools.

“Phased opening includes strategies for staggered resumption in the mornings, classes on alternate days during the week and teaching through various distance learning methods. Schools must also comply with safety protocols and hygiene guidelines as instructed by the State Government, through the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), which will also continue to monitor and evaluate Schools’ preparedness”, Adefisayo said.

She emphasised that pre-primary classes in both public and private schools will remain closed until further announcements are made and reiterated that the pandemic still exists, urging all stakeholders to prioritise the safety of the children, teachers and parents as well as the whole community.

LASG

ForAGreaterLagos