NEWS
Army To Tackle Insecurity With Adaptive, Innovative Measures
Operatives of the Nigerian Army have been directed to be adaptive and innovative in discharging their duties of safeguarding lives and property.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, issued the directive to field commanders and troops the opening ceremony of the Chief of Army Staff Conference on Monday.
He ordered them to ensure that the adversaries of Nigeria were brought to their knees.
He observed that Nigeria had become more volatile and complex, which makes it imperatives for the commanders to be innovative.
Consequently, Lt Gen Lagbaja implored his men to restore peace and stability in areas experiencing security challenges across Nigeria.
According to Lt Gen Lagbaja, Nigeria is currently facing security challenges, including banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping among others. These challenges have resulted in the deaths and abductions of many citizens.
He noted that both troops and commanders must remain committed to their constitutional mandates.
He said, “It is imperative to reiterate that our primary focus remains the preservation of our nation’s territorial integrity, safeguarding the lives and properties of loyal citizens, and upholding the principles of justice and equity.
“As leaders of our Army, we must create that awareness across the force that the season we are in is more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous than before. We must, therefore, continue to be adaptive, ingenious, innovative, and ready to take up more non-traditional military responsibilities if we must help our dear country survive the time we are in.
“I charge field commanders across various theatres of operations, including our gallant troops, to remain committed to bringing the nation’s adversaries to their knees and restoring sanity in troubled areas across the country.”
As part of this, Lt Gen Lagbaja urged the troops and commanders to enhance their intelligence gathering and respect human rights while going about their duties.
“We must continue to strengthen our operational capabilities, enhance intelligence gathering, foster inter-agency cooperation and prioritise the welfare of our personnel. Our commitment to professionalism, discipline, and respect for human rights must remain firm and obvious to all,” he added.
Lt Gen Lagbaja noted that the troops, apart from securing the country, had been contributing to global peace.
He said, “Only recently, with the approval of Mr President and Commander-in-Chief, the second company of the Nigerian contingent in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei was inducted on April 5, 2024.
“This effort is geared towards upholding our commitment to maintaining global peace and security, particularly within the African Continent.
“Similarly, the Nigerian Army has extended its support to peacekeeping missions in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau by deploying troops and allocating resources.
“This deployment underscores our steadfast commitment to providing capable peacekeepers as part of our contributions to global peace and security.”
The Army Chief also said he has directed the Managing Director of Post-Service Housing Development Limited to set aside five percent of the Affordable Home Ownership Option for All Soldiers Scheme in each estate for allocation to these wounded and disabled soldiers.
He noted that the programme aimed at alleviating the hardship soldiers face in securing personal accommodation for post-service life.
According to Lt Gen Lagbaja, the Nigerian Army will cover all the housing expenses at 100 per cent for the soldiers.
“As a way of making the scheme inclusive and showing our sensitivity to the plight of soldiers with operational-related disabilities, I have directed the Managing Director of Post-Service Housing Development Limited to set aside five per cent of the AHOOAS Scheme in each estate for allocation to this category of soldiers.
“Additionally, the Nigerian Army will cover all the housing expenses at 100 per cent for the soldiers,” he said.
The Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Charles Odii, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, other regulators, experts, stakeholders from the financial services and ICT sectors, small business owners among others have confirmed their attendance at the SUPERNEWS Nigeria SMEs Forum 2024 scheduled for Thursday, June 13th 2024 at Radisson Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos.
The conference with the theme, ‘Bringing SMEs into the Financial Services Network via Fintech’ would be declared open by the SMEDAN DG, Mr. Charles Odii, while the EVC of NCC will chair the event.
A renowned economist and financial expert, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, the MD/CEO Biodun Adedipe & Associate Ltd., will deliver the keynote speech at the conference, which would dig into issues faced by SMEs in running their day-to-day businesses in Nigeria.
The conference will also feature a panel session which would be handled by erudite scholars, including the Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Yeye Modupe Dada; Managing Director/CEO, Sunu Assurances Plc, Mr. Sam Ogbodu, Managing Director/CEO of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mr. Kasimu Garba Kurfi and Head, Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co., Mr. Ayokunle Olubunmi.
The Special Guests of Honour for the conference include the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii; Acting Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama and the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin.
The Publisher of SUPERNEWS Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi in a statement in Lagos said the choice of the theme of the Conference was borne out of the quest to improve the business climate for SMEs in Nigeria by leveraging on technology in terms of accessing financial services.
She said it’s unfortunate that SMEs that form the bedrock of every economy are plagued by a lot of challenges, especially inadequate access to finance. Indeed, reports have shown that the challenge of SMEs in accessing funds could be traced to inadequate access to financial institutions and education, skills, experience of owners/managers, high interest rates, gender discrimination, among others.
It therefore becomes imperative to leverage on technology to ensure their sustainability, productivity and profitability.
The conference, she said, will, among others, examine the key challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria and provide practical solutions to help overcome them.
It will equally explore the benefits of fintech for small businesses, including how it can help them overcome financial challenges and drive growth through technology-driven solutions.
She equally emphasised that the confab is a learning opportunity designed to enhance awareness, deepen understanding of the participants on how SMEs can grow and sustain their businesses by embracing various financial services options including banking, capital market, pension and insurance.
The Osun State Government has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police and other stakeholders in Nigeria to urgently summon a former PDP stalwart in Osun State, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun for questioning over his recent incendiary comments on the person and personality of the Governor of Osun State, Senator Dr Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke and the entire Adeleke family of Ede, Osun State.
This was contained in a statement issued in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi.
According to the statement, the Government viewed with gross concern and outright dismay, the careless and unguarded utterances made by Alh. Shuaib Oyedokun wherein he advised Gov Adeleke not to, by any means, contest for a second term governorship in Osun State, if he doesn’t want an act of murder to be carried out and be hanged on the Governor and the highly respected Adeleke family of Ede where the Governor hails from.
The statement noted that during a live Yoruba radio programme on Rave F.M, Osogbo, tagged *Oro Oselu*, on Monday, the 20th of May, 2024, Alhaji.Oyedokun threw cautions to the wind in many of his politically uncultured and morally unguarded remarks while on the programme.
The OSG viewed such comments as not only inciting but the highest form of desperation from Alh Oyedokun and the entire Osun APC to which he defected to recently.
Against the backdrop of further interpreting his utterances throughout the duration of the Yoruba programme as a dangerous security development in Osun State, for which Alimi in the statement called for an immediate summon and eventual questioning of Oyedokun, by the law enforcement agencies to explain why the right of Gov Adeleke to contest for a second term should warrant shedding of innocent blood and hanging it on the neck of the governor and his family.
The security agencies need to unravel what plots or scheming bordering on criminality Pa Oyedokun is privy to or hatching alone or in partnership with his new party. This is necessary to forestall maturing of a hideous agenda capable of plunging Osun into crisis ahead of 2026 polls, the statement further reiterated.
The statement reads in part as follows: “As a Government, we view Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun’s utterances throughout the duration of the
*Oro Oselu* radio programme of Monday, 20th of May,2024 as totally incongruous, callous, dirty, unwarranted and nauseating to say the least.
“Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun’s comments,were not just within the boundaries of exercising his fundamental human rights of freedom of speech, they are at best morally awkward, debasing and a threat cum invitation for mayhem.
“Conclusively, as a Government, we are of the view that,whatever happens, bordering on the security of lives and property of the people of Osun State, before, during and after the coming Governorship election or any other election in our dear state, the likes of Oyedokun and APC members should be held accountable.”
Retired police officers under the contributory pension scheme have taken to the streets of Abuja to protest several months of unpaid pensions.
Coming from various state chapters, they voiced their frustration over the hardships they face due to PENCOM’s failure to pay their entitlements.
The retirees are calling on the Federal Government to exempt them from the contributory pension scheme.
In a video shared on social media platform X on Tuesday, the retirees were seen holding placards and chanting, “All we are saying, give us our right.”
See video below:
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