17102019 - FG cuts travels, estacodes for ministers, other officials

10 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
PRESENTATION — Governor Kayode Fayemi (4th left)with the elderly beneficiaries at the re-launching
of the Social Security for Elderly Citizens of the state in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.
N45BN BUS PURCHASE: We acted on
Ambode’s exco approval — Lagos A-G
By Ebun Sessou
LAGOS — THE Lagos
State Accountant-General,
Mrs. Shukrat Umar,
has disclosed that the State
Treasury Office acted on the
Akinwunmi Ambode’s exco's
approval in the N45
billion bus purchase.
She said this before the
House committee probing
the activities of the last administration
led by Ambode.
Her claim was contrary to
the allegation by the former
Commissioner for Economic
Planning and Budget,
Mr. Olusegun Banjo who
also appeared before the
House Committee, on Tuesday,
that Mr. Ambode indeed
signed the purchase
of the 820 mass transit buses
worth N45 billion without
proper approval.
Umar said: “The State
Treasury Office acted on
Exco’s approval. The buses
were in line with Exco’s
approval. I would not know
whether the Paris Refund
Club was discussed or
not.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos
State House of Assembly
has threatened to issue the
warrant of arrest against
the former governor for failing
to appear before the
House committee probing
the activities of the last administration.
Addressing a
plenary session after the
committee submitted its reports,
the Speaker, Mr.
Mudashiru Obasa, said the
House would proceed to
invite the former governor
through a newspaper publication
or face warrant of
arrest if he fails to appear
again before the House to
defend the controversial
purchase of 820 mass transit
buses worth N45bn.
Also absent were the immediate
past Commissioner
for Finance, Mr. Akinyemi
Ashade and a former
Commissioner for Special
Duties, Oladejo Seye.
NAFDAC to shut bakeries over illegal, unhygienic practices
By Chioma Obinna,
Chinelo Azike & Olaide
Jejelola
LAGOS—THE National
Agency for Food and
Drug Administration and
Control, NAFDAC, yesterday,
threatened a nationwide
clampdown on producers
of bread and other
confectioneries over what it
described as ‘illegal and
unhygienic’ practices
against food safety standards.
The Agency noted that
despite the ban on the use
of potassium bromate in
baking, many Nigerian
bakers have continued the
nefarious act at the detriment
of the health of Nigerians.
Similarly, the agency
also issued a three-week
ultimatum to bakers to comply
with its guidelines or
risk being shut down.
The Director-General of
NAFDAC, Professor Christianah
Adeyeye, who handed
down the warning in
Lagos, announced that the
agency has begun an
awareness seminar across
the six geopolitical zones of
the country as a build-up
to the nationwide clampdown
exercise.
The Director-General,
who spoke at a One-Day
workshop for Bread Producers
on Bread Quality and
Safety Standards, said surveillance
activities revealed
a lack of commitment by
most bakers to good hygiene
practices.
Represented by the Director,
Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, Mr. Sherif
Olagunju, the NAFDAC
boss said most of the bakeries
are infested with rats.
Adeyeye said: “We know
how dangerous these rats
can be. Again, some of
them now put few tablets of
potassium bromate in their
pockets even when you
come for an inspection you
will not find them because
they hide them in their
homes and come with few
tablets in their pockets. This
has necessitated the need
for the agency to collaborate
with good hygiene practices
through frequent workshops
and grassroots sensitisation
activities. The illegal
use of dough improvers
like potassium bromate,
Access Bank hits over N1bn
in digital lending daily
By Nkiruka Nnorom
L Bank’s AGOS—ACCESS
expanded digital
lending portfolio, which
gives Nigerians quick and
24/7 access to funds for
emergencies without any
collateral, has hit N1 billion
daily in loan value.
Executive Director, Retail
Banking, Access Bank Plc,
Victor Etuokwu, said: “We
are at the forefront of digital
lending across the continent.
This is a deliberate
choice we made when we
introduced the first USSD
based digital lending product
in Nigeria based on our
deep understanding of our
operating environment. In
a potential carcinogen in
bread has been of food safety
concern.
Urging bakers to understand
the safety standards
and adhere to them, she
said: “Bread quality intervention
strategy will ensure
that all bread producing facilities
would produce safe
bread for the Nigeria populace
because the effective
protection of over 167 million
Nigeria public against
cancer requires a preventive
management approach.”
Also, she said: “Another
thing we discovered is, if
somebody is going to make
like four or five batches of
bread, he may decide to add
potassium bromate to like
two or three batches and
when supplying he will
mix them up."
the past two years, we have
disbursed over N3.5 million
loans to individuals. We
acknowledge it is no mean
feat when compared to
where the market is coming
from, but this is still a
scratch in the overall potential
of this market.
“This year alone, we have
disbursed over N45 billion
in over two million disbursements
to individuals
and have recently witnessed
a spike in our volumes
hitting N1billion daily.
This achievement and
our focus on retail lending
reiterate our commitment to
democratize access to financial
services leveraging digital
technology.”
Jim Ovia’s school acquires
AIS property in Lagos
By Adesina Wahab
LAGOS—THE James
Hope College, Agbor in
Delta State, owned by the
founder of Zenith Bank,
Mr. Jim Ovia, yesterday,
acquired the Lagos
property of American
International School, AIS,
for an undisclosed amount.
The signing ceremony of
the deal took place in Lagos
where Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu, promised that
his administration would
always support the
facilitation of business deals
that would improve the
economy of the state.
Speaking on why James
Hope College decided to
establish a branch of the
school in Lagos, Ovia noted
that whatever resonates
with the people of Lagos is
always accepted
nationwide.
He said: “If you are in
Lagos, you are taking care
of at least 50 percent of the
population of Nigeria one
way or the other. The
population is there and
whatever resonates with the
people here is regarded as
being accepted all over the
country.
”Also, within the six years
that we have run James
Hope College in Agbor, we
have made a great impact
that I want us to replicate
across the country. I have a
deep passion for education
and if you come to my office,
the two prominent logos
you would see are those of
Zenith Bank and James
Hope College.
”Education is the main
key. Our first set of
graduating students got
100 percent in the last
WAEC. Moreover, I believe
in giving back to society
Ex-judge, firm, drag NAFDAC
to court over banned chemical
By Innocent Anaba
L AGOS—JUSTICE
Olamide Oloyede, a
retired judge in Osun State
and Virtues Unlimited
Restorative Justice
Initiative, VURJI, have
dragged the National
Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and
Control, NAFDAC and
eight others before a
Federal High Court sitting
in Lagos, over alleged
importation of a banned
chemical, methyl bromide
into the country.
Other defendants in the
suit are: National
Environmental Standards
and Regulations
Enforcement Agency,
Nigeria Customs Service,
Federal Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Environment,
the Ministry of Agriculture
and the Ministry of
Justice.
Justice Oloyede, who
retired from the Osun State
judiciary and VURJI are
asking the court to compel
the defendants to
investigate, identify and
destroy any methyl
bromide, an odorless,
and the Jim Ovia
Foundation gave not less
than 40 percent of our
students’ scholarships.
”By the grace of God,
when the Lagos school
starts by September next
year, at least 40 percent of
the students will be given
scholarships as well.”
Sanwo-Olu lauds Ovia
In his remarks, Governor
Sanwo-Olu said Ovia had
been a supporter of his
administration.
He said Lagos has over
1,057 primary schools and
over 657 secondary schools
and that the state
government would soon
begin a mass renovation of
the schools, starting with
about 300.
”In the light of the above,
I am calling on other
public-spirited individuals
like Mr. Ovia to support our
efforts at repositioning
education in the state,” he
said.
Also, the former Vice-
Chancellor of the University
of Lagos, UNILAG, Prof.
Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe,
commended the vision of
Ovia in setting up the
school and his Foundation
through which he assists
the needy.
The representative of the
American Ambassador to
Nigeria, Ms. Carol Cox,
expressed the hope that the
agreement would be the
beginning of a fruitful
relationship between the
Embassy and James Hope
Schools.
The Principal of James
Hope School, Mr. Abraham
Swart, said the about N9
billion so far committed to
the school by Ovia was
already yielding fruits.
(See photos on page 14)
colorless gas used to control
pests in agriculture which
has a serious negative effect
on humans and the
environment.
They also urged the court
to declare that the alleged
importation of the banned
chemical substance into
Nigeria by a Lagos-based
company, Toon
Consolidated Company
Limited according to the
license issued by the
Nigeria Agricultural
Quarantine Services,
NAQS and without the
permission of NAFDAC is
unlawful and illegal.
In an affidavit in support
of the suit deposed to by the
retired judge, she claimed
that the agro-chemical had
been banned in Nigeria
because it was dangerous
to human health and
caused environmental
hazards by depleting the
ozone layer.
The VURJI coordinator
also averred that methyl
bromide, when used as a
fumigant and pesticide,
exposes humans to severe
injuries, including lung
damage because it is
highly toxic.