Tag Archives: Drive

I Will Only Drive Nigerian Made Cars– Minister

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The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, on Monday declared that as soon as the Federal Government starts implementing the budget, he will only ride in cars manufactured in Nigeria.

He also stated that all 17 agencies under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology will be directed to patronise Nigerian made cars, adding that the move was to promote the use of locally produced goods.

Onu, who disclosed this while hosting a delegation from Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited at the headquarters of the ministry in Abuja, further noted that vehicles manufactured in Nigeria had 60 per cent local content.

He said, “Through Innoson we can now see vehicles that are manufactured in Nigeria with 60 per cent local input. This is a great feat and we will corporate and collaborate with you and will lead the very urgent need in Nigeria to patronise Nigerian made goods. The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology will do it by example.

“We are just waiting for the budget to be out. But I will like to make this known to our country that as soon as the budget is out, the minister of science and technology will only drive in cars made in Nigeria and this include vehicles in the Ministry of Science and Technology. Also, all our 17 agencies will be directed to patronise made in Nigeria vehicles.

“We believe that leadership by example is the best form of leadership and this ministry will carry this beyond here. This will ensure that we find value in the things that we produce. There is no other way that Nigeria can become a great nation except when we as Nigerians patronise goods made in Nigeria.”

He assured the delegation that the government would support local manufacturers by clearing the challenges faced by operators in the manufacturing sector, adding that this would create wealth for Nigeria.

Credit: Punch

Food Shortages Drive People In N’East To IDP Camps

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People uprooted by Boko Haram violence in the northeast are leaving host families and moving to camps for the displaced as food becomes increasingly scarce, the European Commission’s humanitarian arm (ECHO) said Wednesday.

Seven million people do not have enough food to eat and almost one-third of them need urgent food aid, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Nine in 10 of Nigeria’s 2.2 million internally displaced people are living with host families in the northeast rather than in camps, amid food shortages that are raising tension in many households, said Thomas Dehermann-Roy, head of ECHO’s Central Africa office.

“It is easier to host your neighbours, friends and family when everything is fine, but when food becomes scarce, tensions are raised,” he said. Around two-thirds of people uprooted by conflict and four in five host families in northeast Nigeria said food was their most pressing and unfulfilled need, according to ECHO.

“Some people are moving to camps as the living situation with host families becomes too harsh – it is a worrying trend and sign of a deteriorating situation,” Dehermann-Roy added.

A regional offensive by Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroun last year drove Boko Haram from much of the territory it held in north eastern Nigeria, undermining its six-year campaign to carve out an Islamic caliphate.
But the militants have since struck back with suicide bombings and hit and run attacks on civilians, threatening livelihoods and hindering aid agencies’ efforts to deliver food.

The amount of land being used to grow food has dropped by almost 70 per cent over the past year as the violence has disrupted farming and driven people off their land, OCHA said.

Credit: Thisday

John Kerry Lauds Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Drive

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The United State Secretary of State, John Kerry, has given President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign a pass mark in faraway Davos, Switzerland, at the ongoing World Economic Forum.

Mr Kerry in his speech at the forum, made reference to President Buhari’s fight against corruption in Nigeria and how individuals kept money meant for arms deal.

In his words: “It has been reported that over 50 people including government officials stole over $9 billion in Nigeria”.

He added that money that was meant for arms to fight the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, was kept by Generals in the most populous black nation in the world.

He emphasized that “today, corruption has grown at an alarming pace which threatens global growth, global stability and indeed the global future”.

“Obviously, corruption is not a new problem.

“Every nation has faced it in one time or another in its development.

“America’s own founding fathers knew the threat of corruption all too well, warning of the dangers that it posed to democratic governance.

“But today, corruption has grown at an alarming pace and threatens global growth, global stability and indeed global future.

“When Nigeria’s President, Buhari, took office last spring, he inherited a military that was under-paid, underfed and unable to protect the Nigerian people from Boko Haram.

“One reason is that military budget was finding its way into the pockets of the generals. And just this week, we saw reports that more than 50 people in Nigeria, including former government officials, stole nine billion dollars from the treasury,” he told the gathering.

Credit: ChannelTV