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Amaechi claims Nigeria is in dire need of drones, helicopters to tackle insecurity on rail track

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Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has said Monday’s terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna rail route would have been averted if there were drones and helicopters to carry out surveillance along the corridor.

This is even as the Minister said the Ministry of Transportation has made presentation to the federal government for the procurement of security equipment, regretting however that the Ministry was yet to get approval.

Amaechi stated these on Tuesday while leading top officials of the Ministry on an inspection of the scene of the incident.

Addressing newsmen, a visibly worried Amaechi said, “we need helicopters and drones. We are thinking about the possibility of employing natives until we get that equipment.

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“We have not been able to install security sensors because the procurement process is a bit difficult. It is typical of Nigerians.

“The process is tedious, the approval is also tedious. We have not been able to get the approval that will lead to the purchase of those items.

“If those items were here, drones alone will tell you that there are people around the rail tracks. There are equipment that picks sensors if you touch the track, but unfortunately, the process has not been able to get us that approval for us to import those items.

“The cameras in the train cannot pick what is happening outside. What you need is a camera that shows 100 metres away from the train. We have done all we need to do in the Ministry of Transportation and we have forwarded it to them for approval but we have not gotten approval.

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“The equipment we lost will cost about N3bn and we are about to place order for the ones in Lagos.”

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Amaechi warned of the dangers to come if security devices were not urgently procured to save lives on rail routes across the country.

“Even if they get us approval, it will take some months to acquire them from overseas, to install them. We need to do that to enable us see from Kaduna-Abuja, Itakpe-Warri, and from Lagos-Ibadan what is going on so that we don’t continue to lose lives because lives are important. If we had gotten the approval, we would have saved the N3billion and saved lives.”

While affirming the death of eight persons as a result of the attack, Amaechi said it is difficult to tell the number of missing persons, saying, “we don’t have all the figures of missing persons, kidnapped and those injured at the moment.

“The numbers we have is that there are eight casualties. There are 25 persons in the hospital and the total number of passengers are 398. So, we have to wait. The security agency, the Kaduna state government, and the Nigerian Railway Corporation are all trying to make contact with those on the manifest.

“There are few persons who are not on the manifest like the staff of the NRC, staff of the cleaning contractor. They are not on the manifest and we may not be able to completely account for them but for those on the manifest, calls are being made to reach them.”

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Coming short of asking citizens to understand the situation, the Minister added, “I am devastated and I honestly don’t know what to tell Nigerians anymore.”

Also speaking, Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Engr. Fidel Okhiria said
“it is a very sad and unfortunate situation we have at our hands. Right from time when these things started happening on the roads, the only succour our people had were the trains.”

He urged the people to help the NRC identify criminals bent on wrecking havoc on innocent Nigerians using rail transportation system as their preferred mode of transport.

Following Monday night’s attack on a Kaduna-bound train by terrorists which left about eight people dead, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC has suspended services on the Abuja-Kaduna train corridor till further notice.

In a post on its official Twitter handle, @official_NRC, the corporation noted: “Dear passengers, due to unforeseen circumstances, train operation along the Abuja-Kaduna route has been temporarily suspended. Further communication would be given in due course.”

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Religion

CASON celebrates 10 years of professionalising church administration (Photos)

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The Church Administration Society of Nigeria (CASON) recently marked its 10-year anniversary with a grand celebration in Lagos. The event took place on September 25, 2023, at the Pistis Hub in Maryland, Lagos.

The theme of the anniversary celebration was “Professionalising The Practice Of Church Administration In Nigeria.”

The event featured esteemed speakers such as Prof. Ademola Tayo, the President and Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, Pastor Yemi Davids, the Lead pastor of Global Impact Church, and Mrs. Funke Amobi, the Deputy Head of Operations at Stanbic Bank Plc.
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CASON was established on the principle of leaders joining hands to effectively manage the resources entrusted to them by God.

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Pastor Sam Adeyemi, who gave the keynote address at the inaugural conference in 2013, commended Pastor Seyi Oladimeji, the President of CASON, for his unwavering commitment to the vision of the society.

Pastor Adeyemi highlighted that CASON is addressing cultural defects in church administration and bridging the gap between raw resources and refinement.

“There is no much use for raw without refinement, and this is a gap CASON is bridging,” he said.

Prof. Tayo emphasized the importance of innovation and capacity-building within the church. He stated that the church cannot afford to remain stagnant and must strive to maintain order and accountability in its administration.

“The church that lacks order and accountability may put the church administration in disarray,” Prof. Tayo said, “A church that runs smoothly when the GO is not around is a church of the future.”

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Other speakers echoed Prof. Tayo’s sentiments and stressed the relevance and necessity of CASON in Christianity.

In his goodwill message, Bishop STV Adegbite emphasized that the society plays a vital role in the development and advancement of church administration.

The anniversary celebration was a momentous occasion, reflecting the growth and impact of the Church Administration Society of Nigeria over the past decade. As CASON continues its mission to professionalize church administration in Nigeria, it is expected to contribute significantly to the advancement of the church and its effective management of resources.

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Ghana is looking to supply Nigeria with its electricity needs following power grid shutdown

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LAGOS- With the goal of achieving “100% universal energy access” and maybe exporting electricity to its neighbor, Nigeria, Ghana has steadily been developing its power sector.

During his presentation in Lagos on the second day of the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit, Mr. Hanson Monney, the Head of the Generation and Transmission Unit at the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy, made this point, emphasizing that via effective policy development and implementation, Ghana has already attained an impressive 80% to 85% universal energy access inside its boundaries.

“So, we are working on all these things to make sure that the power system of Ghana continues to be as good as it is or even better, and then, maybe, we can be exporting more to our big brothers in Nigeria when the grid is finally settled,” Mr. Hanson Monney said

This declaration follows the second national power grid breakdown in Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s top oil producer, Nigeria which resulted in a total blackout of homes and businesses.

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In contrast, Ghana is aggressively pursuing a variety of energy sources, including grid electricity, mini-grids, and solar-dominated renewable energy, to attain “Universal access to energy by 2024” as instructed by the country’s President.

Monney agreed that the geographic limitations make it difficult to provide everyone in Ghana with access to electricity, particularly on isolated islands, riverbanks, or lakeside villages. In response to this, he stated,

“So, now, we are trying to scale our renewable energy access, and that is how we have planned in 2022 to scale up our renewable energy program,” he said.

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Financial sustainability is one of the biggest problems facing Ghana’s power sector, as the country struggles with growing debts and the purchase of surplus capacity.

“There is so much debt that the government has to shore up to make sure that the system is afloat because we have procured a lot of excess capacity, which comes with attendant costs. So, these financial challenges require some policy actions to eliminate legacy debts,” Mooney stated.

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Monney stressed the significance of lowering electricity prices, particularly for enterprises, since high electricity bills are a major issue in Ghana. “We saw that in Ghana historically. These industries have been subsidizing the residential sector, and it should be the other way around. Industries should remain viable so that businesses can thrive,” Mooney stated.

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Crime

EFCC declares Delta brothers wanted over alleged N330m fraud

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared two siblings from Delta State wanted for alleged fraud of N330 million.

This was contained in a statement issued by the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri, Delta State on Friday.

The anti-graft agency named 55-year-old Faith Onoja and 44-year-old Emmanuel Onoja, both from Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, as being declared wanted by the EFCC.

According to the commission, Faith’s last known address is “Close to Celestial Church, Ekrovie new layout, old Egini road, Orhuehorun, Delta State” while Emmanuel’s last known address is “No 6. Jasmison Street, NPDC/ND Western Estate, Warri, Delta State”.

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The statement urged that “anybody with useful information as to their whereabouts should contact the commission” in its offices nationwide.

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