07082020 - 20 killed, houses burnt in fresh S-Kaduna attacks

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38—Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020 By Theodore Opara Stallion, Bajaj alliance’ll empower Nigerians M ANAGING Director of Stallion Auto Keke Limited, Mr. Manish Rohtagi has said that the alliance between Stallion Group, a leading conglomerate in the country and Bajaj Auto will go a long way in empowering Nigerians. Rohtagi who announced the partnership in Lagos said: “Bajaj Auto is a world leader in the intra-city vehicle space. Loved in 70 countries, the brand stands for integrity, dedication, resourcefulness and determination to succeed and empower. With similar brand ethos, we believe that this alliance will go a long way in empowering Nigerians to be self-reliant and improve the interest of the stakeholders, be it employees, dealers, distributors, vendors, mechanics, unions, logistic operators or bankers”. He described Bajaj as a dominant tricycle brand across the globe with over 70 per cent market share in countries like India, Argentina, Columbia and other Asian and Latin American countries adding that Nigeria will be part of Bajaj success story, adding: “I forsee Bajaj has potentials for growth in the Nigerian market and become a market leader in a matter of time.” Part of the plans to make the Bajaj brand a market leader in the country according to the managing director is to use the Stallion Group after sales backing to ensure that customers get the best n this respect. He said: “The after sales and spare part availability has been the backbone of the Stallion Group brand like Honda, Hyundai, Nissan Changan, Asok Layland, KYC, Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. To us, service is one of the core strengths and the investment in the state of the art sales and service facilities to support the typical requirement justifies the commitment towards our customers.” He explained that the company has well established processes which are laid down by Bajaj Auto based on requirements, adding that they have a dedicated network of service and spare parts which will be handed by highly trained engineers and technicians as highest level of craftsmanship is what is exhibited by the team. Speaking on the estimated number of threewheels in the country, Rophtagi said: “Due the lack of formal accredited market information entity, its difficult to estimate the actual market size. But based on the data for importation, it should be around 150,000 per year. There are about 400,000 tricycles (Keke) on Nigerian roads and there is potential of two million tricycles in the country. "The 3W market in Nigeria has high potential for growth as it serves two fundamental needs, one that of intra-city commute in the lack of available options for public transport and employment generation. The mode of commute is fuel efficient and least polluting in comparison to any Tokunbo public carrier. With government’s support, Bajaj can also provide LPG and CNG options in the future. Stallion can bring it into the country. We are confident that, with the help of policy makers, we can make public transportation more affordable and cleaner. "Even if we estimate around 10 Keke per 1000 Nigerians, there is a potential to have 200,000 tricycles on the roads that can provide affordable transportation to this country. The policy makers should focus on greener transportation system." On the qulities of Bajaj products, he said: “Bajaj Keke is known for its durability, speed and manuverability. We have actively sought customer feedback to drive innovation and product and service improvement. " Stallion Auto Keke Ltd. staff celebrating the arrival of a new Bajaj tricycle at the plant L-R: Managing Director of Massilia Motors/Country Delegate of CFAO Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Pelletier; Head of Marketing & Communication of Massilia Motors, Ms Funmi Abiola; Event Host, Bolanle Olukanni; General Manager, Sales, of Massilia Motors, Mr. Tunji Itiola and Marketing Officer, Massilia Motors, Mr. Hakeem Sanusi during the virtual launch of the 2020 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (spotted behind) in Lagos. Luxury bus owners petition IGP, SGF over extortion on highways By Nwabueze Okonkwo economic sabotage, L dismantle all road blocks on UXURY bus owners, highways and in its stead, under the umbrella of deploy police motorised Association of Luxury Bus surveillance vehicles to Owners of Nigeria, ALBON, counter criminals and have petitioned the Inspectorinsurgency as according to General of Police, IGP, them, in all the check points, Mohammed Adamu and the any driver who refused to offer Chairman of Presidential bribe to the police would have Taskforce on COVID-19/ his legs and hands tied with Secretary to the Government rope inside his vehicle, while of the Federation, SGF, Boss his passengers would be Mustapha, complaining discharged and his vehicle bitterly against what they impounded. termed excessive extortion by They also appealed to the security agencies at road authorities concerned to blocks on highways. immediately withdraw and They alleged that apart replace with new officials, all from extorting between the staff and personnel of the N2,000, N5,000 and security agencies who N10,000 from each vehicle, monitored the compliance of depending on its category in COVID-19 inter-state each of about 25 checks lockdown at the peak of the points mounted by the total lockdown. security agencies from Port In separate petitions to Harcourt to Kano, the check Adamu and Mustapha dated points also prolong the July 13, 2020 and made journey from the Southern available to newsmen in part of the country to the Onitsha, Anambra state, North. yesterday, ALBON frowned They, therefore, appealed that the security agencies, to the authorities to as a particularly the police matter of urgency, revise this capitalised on the brisk LAND Rover has confirmed the new Range Rover Sport SVR Carbon Edition will be available in sub-Sahara Africa toward the end of 2020. The special edition joins the latest Range Rover Sport line-up, providing a stealthy take on the highperformance flagship with extensive Carbon Fibre detailing. Visible Carbon Fibre elements include the exposed centre section of the Carbon Fibre bonnet with integrated cooling vents, the front bumper insert surrounds, main grille and vent surrounds, mirror covers and tailgate finisher. There are extended trim businesses they engaged in during the inter-state lockdown and continued with their extortion tendencies, not minding the fact that the inter-state lockdown has been lifted by the Federal Government. The petition entitled: “SOS: Excessive extortions by security agencies at road blocks cripple commercial vehicle transportation in the face of COVID-19 pandemic”, further noted that the association complied with the presidential taskforce and CDC’s health protocols for commercial vehicles in parks, terminals, loading bays and on inter-state routes. The petitions were jointly signed by Chief Joseph Ejiofor of the God’s Time Motors Limited, Chairman ALBON National Taskforce; Uchenna Akuegbu of the Uchenna Motors Limited, Chairman, ALBON Taskforce, Anambra state; Alhaji Haruna Babanyara, ALBON Chairman, Sokoto Central Motor park, Sokoto; Malam Yusuf Mohammed Chairman Jabutu Luxury Park, Yola, Adamawa state and Malam Yusuf Garba, Acting ALBON Taskforce Chairman, New Road Park, Tudunwada, Sabon Gari, Kano. The petitioners recalled that the extortions started during the period of the interstate lockdown when the unorganised motor transporters capitalised on it in collusion with some unscrupulous security agents at the borders as a brisk business by offering huge amount of monies as bribes in order to pass the borders freely without observing the COVID-19 rules and protocols. They noted that ALBON complied with all the protocols such as fumigation and sanitization of vehicles, deployment of passengers’ manifest for contact tracing, observance of basic hygene procedure such as washing of hands, provision of sanitizers and use of infrared thermometers to check temperature. Fastest Range Rover Sport SVR carbon edition confirmed for sub-Sahara Africa finishers on the SVRbranded steering wheel and a Carbon Fibre Engine Cover. In addition, the SVR Carbon Edition features Exclusive Illuminated SVR Carbon Edition treadplates. Distinctive 22-inch five splitspoke lightweight alloy wheels finished in Gloss Black complete the SVR Carbon Edition specification. Bodycoloured detailing at the rear and an SVR badge in place of the Land Rover oval also help to identify the SVR. Superior performance: The Range Rover Sport SVR is the fastest, most powerful and dynamic Land Rover ever produced. Designed, engineered and developed by Special Vehicle Operations, the luxury performance SUV is hand-finished in Coventry, UK. Under the bonnet, the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine – the most powerful in Land Rover’s history – produces 423kW and 700Nm. That’s enough to Range Rover Sport SVR Carbon Edition power the Range Rover Sport SVR from 0-100km/ h in 4.5 seconds and to a top speed of 283km/h. Coupled with bespoke enhancements to the chassis, the SVR delivers more dynamic handling without compromising traditional Range Rover comfort or allterrain capability.
FRIDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 7, 2020 — 39 Abia to partner NALDA on Back -to-Farm programme By Gabriel Ewepu THE Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, moves to partner with National Agricultural Land Development Agency, NALDA, on Federal Government’s Back- To-Farm programme. The Governor disclosed when he received delegation of NALDA, led by the Executive Secretary, Prince Paul Ikonne, on a working visit to the State. He also disclosed that his administration had embarked on building cottage industries in the 17 Local Government Areas of the State, which according to him, the main objective behind his efforts on agribusiness development is basically to position Abia State as a major food processing hub in the South East. He also maintained that his administration is working hard to ensure that the youth are engaged in meaningful agribusinesses, which had made his administration to come up with two cardinal objectives of job creation and provision of raw materials. He also promised to collaborate with NALDA in critical areas that would ensure value addition in galvanizing the agricultural sector of the State. According to the Governor, Abia State remains willing to partner with NALDA, especially to make the state owned Ogwe Golden Chicken in Ukwa West Local Government Area become functional and productive. However, he lamented challenge of gully erosion that has negatively impacted agriculture and other activities in the State, which demands urgent intervention from the Federal Government to tackle the devastating menace. Earlier, the Executive Secretary, NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, said the mandate of agency was to ensure availability of food, as it had rolled out two schemes, namely Back to Farm and National Young Farmers Scheme, which Abia had been selected among the pilot states. Stakeholders commend CBN’s forex restriction for maize importation REACTIONS to the recent directives by the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), banning importers of maize from accessing forex from the apex bank, have not abated. Though, the CBN noted that the ban was necessitated to protect local production of maize, stimulate rapid economic recovery, safeguard rural livelihoods and increase job creation, which is the continuation of the policy of President Muhammadu Buhari to drive the country towards food sufficiency. The Programme Director of the Lagos Business School Agribusiness programme, Dr Ikechukwu Kelikume, said that the recent directive could reverse the gains of CBN’s other interventions in agriculture. He stated that the policy could further compound the woes of poultry farmers given that maize, which constitutes over 50 per cent of poultry feed content is currently very scarce, and where available, is very expensive, even as the price keeps rising. But the Vice President Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NABG, Emmanuel Ijewere, said "if we want Nigeria to be self-sufficient in something as basic as maize, which can grow in all the 36 States of Nigeria, the only way you can do it is to cause the inconvenience for us to start doing things for ourselves by growing what we eat, unless we are able to do that we certainly as a nation will continue to be an importdepended nation. “Nigeria can produce three times her requirement . I will thank the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for this, but they should deliberately work hand-in-hand with the private sector who is indeed the one that would do the production of the maize. “It is a good thing and I will salute their courage . Nigeria can do it. We were told before that we are not capable of producing enough rice, and now we have more than enough rice. Now we want to produce enough maize and I believe that it is possible, beautiful idea, I support the idea and it is in best interest of Nigeria. “But it is not an idea that will now start somewhere and along the line somebody will now be giving secret licenses to people to begin to import from United States or somewhere else. “The Nigerian Customs Service should enforce the ban of maize the way it was done to rice on the land and sea borders, and the Ministry not giving shady licenses to people, we will survive. “We have the capacity and the various farmers are prepared to do it provided there is a demand. The definite demand in terms of this is the kind of maize we want and this is how we want it, and the farmer will go for it. “We have the ability, we are capable and we have people provided there is this deliberate attempt to create consciousness Nigeria will get there. “The other danger here is that if we don’t do it now with the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, that is coming up other nations will do it and Nigeria will become a dumping ground. It is the biggest market in Africa before you know it all maize farmers in Africa will be looking up to Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer, Agrecourse Integrated Service Limited, Ayoola Oluga, said, “The decision by the Federal Government will certainly engender the local production of maize. Companies that imported maize previously may experience a slowdown in their operations in the short term, due to a shortage of raw materials. “However, as local production of maize is boosted, things will begin to stabilize. “Companies like Flour Mills, Nestle, and Olam will likely commence or expand their contract farming, in order to meet up with the quantity required for their production process.” The Media Consultant of Santuscom Agro Hub, Ebriku John Friday, said, “It is a welcome development by the CBN to ban importation of maize. We support it because we believe it has been long overdue. We have enough farmers and existing farms that produce maize locally to meet our demand. “Even though the price will go up our farmers deserve it because farming is business and we cannot be enriching other farmers outside the country and ours are living in poverty. Let our local industries and businesses that make use of maize patronize them. “Maize remains all year round crop that is cultivated Osun inaugurates farm project, seeks more partnership with private organisation By Shina Abubakar OSUN State Government has inaugurated an agricultural business project owned by a private firm with capacity to engage 1000 youths in productive activities in the state. Inaugurating the project at Wasinmi in Irewole Local Government Area of the state, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Adedayo Adewole, said the agricultural mega wave city is the first of its kind in the state and could provide job for over 1000 youths in the state. The agricultural mega wave city project which was owned by FarmKonnect Agricultural across the length and breadth of the country, and the demand is also there, and we can mobilize and motivate our farmers with the needed support to achieve high tonnage. “The government and CBN also should support our farmers to grow more of the commodity and ensure there is that access to funding for backward integration. “Let their capacity be built and the necessary technical support be provided to boost their productivity. We can do it and also export. Members of the Maize Growers Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (MAGPAMAN), commended the apex bank for stopping maize importation to business was located on 507 hectares of land and would majorly involved in food processing. Adewole said the project which was initiated three years ago would provide alternative food processing plant in the region with capacity to take care of the country’s agricultural byproducts. “Farm konnect has actualized its dream which started over 3 years ago. Today, having FarmKonnect in Osun is also a dream come true. It Agricultural facilities could help develop agriculture in the South west and in most other parts of Nigeria. boost local production The National President of the association, Dr Edwin Uche, said that the move by the apex bank to ban the importation of maize into the country was long overdue. Uche said that the move would increase local production, stimulate rapid economic recovery by supporting smallholder farmers and safeguard rural livelihoods in the country. “It will assist local farmers to get reasonable pricing for their efforts because we have the capacity to grow maize in this country instead of importing the commodity,” Uche added. Miss Chima Udochi, a maize farmer said that the move demonstrated the Federal Government’s determination to return agriculture as the mainstay of the country’s economy. “We the farmers have been expecting this ban on maize importation simply because when the right environment is created and the right support is given; farmers in Nigeria can grow sufficient maize for industrial use, local consumption and also for export,” she said. Mr Alexander Okpanachi, the Chairman of the association in Kogi, commended the Federal Government for supporting maize farmers via the CBN Anchor Programme. Borrowers “Agriculture is one of the major potentials sector for job creation for both skill and unskilled labour. Osun is open to supporting any investors in Agriculture so that the State can create better future for its youths because Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has always prioritise agriculture and it is key in his main agenda for the state”, he said. While commending Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for supporting agricultural projects in the state, the founder of FarmKonnect Ltd, Mr Azeez Oluwole , said the objective of the project was to contribute to nation’s food.
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