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Customs gets FEC approval to acquire nine gunboats, 427 vehicles

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The Federal Executive Council has approved a total of N20,114,002871 to purchase various operational equipment for the Nigerian Customs Service including vehicles and gunboats.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual FEC meeting presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

She said a total of 427 operational vehicles worth N14.55 billion and nine gunboats amounting to N5,564,002,871 were approved.

She said, “The ministry also presented, on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service, a memo that was seeking for Council’s approval for the design, construction and supply of two NC36M patrol boats, in favour of Messrs of Boat Plus Limited, in the sum of N5,062,530,400, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a delivery period of 12 months and council approved our request.

“We also presented a memo, again on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service, for the approval of Council for the design, construction and supply of seven fast assault patrol boats and seven regular patrol boats, in favour of Messrs Siwa West Africa Limited, in the sum of N501,472,471.08, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a delivery period of eight weeks.

“The purpose of the purchase of these two types of petrol boats is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of operations of the Nigerian Customs Service in its bid to control smuggling and also ensure enhanced efficiency in all customs duty operations in the Marine Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service.

“We also presented, again on behalf of the Nigeria Customs Service, a request for Council’s approval and council approved the procurement of 427 operational vehicles for the Nigerian Customs Service operations in favour of various contractors in the combined sum of N14.55 billion, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a delivery period of four weeks.”

The minister that the council also approved the sum of N539,277, 673 for construction of the Federal Inland Revenue Service building at the Ilupeju Medium and Small Taxpayers’ office.

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, said Council approved a project for the extension of the University of Ibadan’s library at the sum of N532 million.

“The Minister of Education also presented a memo for the award of contract for the construction and furnishing of the extension of the library of the University of Ibadan. The memo, which was approved, is at the cost of N532,609,000 and with a completion period of 48 weeks.

“It was a memo that was very well received because of the need to actually extend the library facility in the University. For many years, the library of the University of Ibadan had needed real extension, given surge of the student population”, he said.

The Federal Executive Council has approved a total of N20,114,002871 to purchase various operational equipment for the Nigerian Customs Service including vehicles and gunboats.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual FEC meeting presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

She said a total of 427 operational vehicles worth N14.55 billion and nine gunboats amounting to N5,564,002,871 were approved.

She said, “The ministry also presented, on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service, a memo that was seeking for Council’s approval for the design, construction and supply of two NC36M patrol boats, in favour of Messrs of Boat Plus Limited, in the sum of N5,062,530,400, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a delivery period of 12 months and council approved our request.

“We also presented a memo, again on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service, for the approval of Council for the design, construction and supply of seven fast assault patrol boats and seven regular patrol boats, in favour of Messrs Siwa West Africa Limited, in the sum of N501,472,471.08, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a delivery period of eight weeks.

“The purpose of the purchase of these two types of petrol boats is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of operations of the Nigerian Customs Service in its bid to control smuggling and also ensure enhanced efficiency in all customs duty operations in the Marine Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service.

“We also presented, again on behalf of the Nigeria Customs Service, a request for Council’s approval and council approved the procurement of 427 operational vehicles for the Nigerian Customs Service operations in favour of various contractors in the combined sum of N14.55 billion, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT with a delivery period of four weeks.”

The minister that the council also approved the sum of N539,277, 673 for construction of the Federal Inland Revenue Service building at the Ilupeju Medium and Small Taxpayers’ office.

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, said Council approved a project for the extension of the University of Ibadan’s library at the sum of N532 million.

“The Minister of Education also presented a memo for the award of contract for the construction and furnishing of the extension of the library of the University of Ibadan. The memo, which was approved, is at the cost of N532,609,000 and with a completion period of 48 weeks.

“It was a memo that was very well received because of the need to actually extend the library facility in the University. For many years, the library of the University of Ibadan had needed real extension, given surge of the student population”, he said.

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We have added 625MW to national grid – Minister

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Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu

We have added 625MW to national grid – Minister

The Federal Government has announced the addition of 625MW of power to the national grid, increasing the grid’s wheeling capacity to 4800MW.

Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser, Strategic Communications to the Minister of Power said this in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

Mr  Bolaji quoted the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu as saying this at the inauguration of the 63 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA), 132/33 Kilo Volt (KV )mobile station at Ajah, Lagos and at the inuaguration of 60MWA, 132/33KV Power Transformer in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi.

According to the minister, the pivotal project is a testament to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu towards transforming the Power sector in the pursuit of reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure for a better Nigeria.

Mr Adelabu said that the mobile substation being inaugurated was a strategic deployment aimed at improving the transmission capacity constraints by over 1300mv across the nation.

He spoke on the significance of the project and other equipment undergoing installation under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).

Mr  Adelabu said that the mobile substations equally stands as a beacon of hope for businesses, household reliant on uninterrupted power supply, stopgap measure during maintenance and emergency.

He commended the collaborative efforts of the FGN Power Company, the German Government and Siemens Energy whose partnership has facilitated the production and installation of the substations.

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The minister also announced the remote inuaguration of a 60MVA power transformer at Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi.

“Together, these equipment will boost our transmission wheeling capacity by 123mw, thereby paving the way for enhanced electricity supply for all Nigerians”.

”I urgy all Nigerians to safeguard these vital installations against acts of vandalisation and sabotage,”he said.

Mr Adelabu noted that the success of governments initiatives hinges on collective responsibility.

He also called on the management of the Power Company and all stakeholders in the power sector to work with determination to ensure that the timelines set for projects delivery are achieved.

“Together, we will embark on a journey towards a brighter future for Nigeria, one powered by innovation, resilience and collective determination”, he said.

Earlier in his remarks, Kenny Anuwe, Managing Director of FGN Power Company said, ” as Nigeria continues its journey towards energy sufficiency and economic prosperity, initiatives like the PPI.

According to him, this underscores President Tinubu’s unwavering determination to deliver adequate electricity towards unlocking Nigeria’s full economic potentials.

Mr Anuwe assured of FGN Power Company’s commitment in driving progress and delivering tangible improvements in electricity access for all Nigerians in this transformative era in Nigeria’s power Sector.

Mr Tunji said that FGN Power was established by the Presidency as a special purpose vehicle (SPV), tasked with implementing the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) with Siemens serving as the technical partner.

We have added 625MW to national grid – Minister

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Nigerian pastor under fire over porn-addiction remedy

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Abel Damina

Nigerian pastor under fire over porn-addiction remedy

Popular Nigerian pastor and founder of Abel Damina Ministries International, Dr Abel Damina, has been knocked for his comment on the remedy to porn addiction.

Damina gave his submission while speaking on Comfort FM’s Righteous Invasion of Truth (RIOT) programme in Uyo in late February.

The clip of the sermon made the rounds on Thursday, where the pastor was asked how a person addicted to pornography could stop and get rid of it totally.

He advised such persons not to struggle to stop but should keep watching while listening to the word of God at the same time.

“Don’t struggle to stop watching the porn. Don’t struggle at all. Just keep watching the porn. As you are watching the porn, spend more time hearing the ‘word’. If you watch porn for one hour, spend three to four hours hearing the word of God.

“Take not. Go get all my teachings on Christ. Just keep learning and learning. After a while, you will find out that your appetite for porn is dying, and the appetite for the word of God is growing. Before you know it, when you see porn, you will be irritated.

“Word of God will kill that appetite completely and give you a healthy appetite. That’s what to do. Don’t try to stop. In fact, keep watching, but spend more time studying God’s word, and you will find out that before you know it, your desire for porn would be gone,” the pastor stated.

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However, this submission has been greeted by dissension, especially from conservative Christians on social media who believed that the pastor was encouraging people, mostly addicts, to sin.

A prominent pastor, Gideon Odoma of the Fortress Ministry, countered Damina’s submission while labelling pornography as a perversion.

“Christains have trivialise sexcapades. The things God call iniquities, we must never call it flexing,” he said.

The pastor, who had previously slammed Damina and Apostle Suleman for supporting the Old Testament over the New Testament, remarked that both of them have wrong teaching and their objective is to derail the Christians.

“The Damina and Suleman terms are wrong. It as if their only objective in life is to derail believers so they have a lot of time on their hands and they find different creative ways to say the same useless things — Your sin does not matter — they find all sorts of ways to discredit as it were,” he said.

Another prominent pastor, Chris Oyakhilome, while quoting Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 15, submitted that pornography is a sin that should be avoided completely.

He emphasised that God recognised nakedness as a feeling of shame because pornography is synonymous with prostitution as it draws from Greek’s linguistic corpus —pony—meaning prostitute.

“The indication is that once nakedness is being made public, it is a shame when you’re not a child. As far as God is concerned, that is a shame.

“It started from Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden apple. Their eyes were open and they found that they were naked and then covered themselves with leaves and hid from God. Christians desist from it. Those who believe in Jesus should not do it,” he stressed.

Aside from Oyakhilome and Odoma, some other Christians are lending their voice to fault Damina’s sermon.

One Rachael, who tweeted with the handle, @ab_seyi wrote, “I am fighting tears. Lord help this man, help his followers, help him not to die like this. This is sad.”

Sandra Okafor with the handle, @okaforsandra20 said, “Even the Bible said ‘flee from every appearance of evil’. You can’t want to stop doing something and still be doing it, expecting a miracle to happen because you’re reading the word of God. As one of the cessation steps for smokers, they’re advised to throw away and move away from their triggers, be it the cigarette boxes, lighters, smoking partners, and smoking environment, because you gradually become what you’re constantly exposed to. So this advice is biblically and also morally wrong.

“You’re supposed to throw away all triggers that make you want to watch porn and as you do your part, you ask the Holy Spirit to empower you and deliver you from its grip. It’s normal to stumble but thank God for the mercies of God that bring us back to Him.”

Nonetheless, while endorsing the contentious claim, Pastor Oge, the lead pastor of Circle Church, said he struggled with poor addiction in the early stage of his life, and despite seeing a therapist to stop the act, it continued.

Nigerian pastor under fire over porn-addiction remedy

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Sanwo-Olu appoints KWAM1’S daughter as aide

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Sanwo-Olu appoints KWAM1’S daughter as aide

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has appointed Basirat Damilola Marshall as the Senior Special Assistant on Tourism.

Damilola Marshall, the daughter of Fuji maestro, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall popularly known as KWAM1, disclosed this on her Instanstory on Instagram Thursday.

Her appointment has been attracting congratulatory messages from Nigerians.

In a recent viral video, KWAM1, during a performance at the coronation and birthday reception of Oba Sikirullah Apena on Thursday, thanked Sanwo-Olu for appointing his daughter into his cabinet.

The fuji singer noted that it was his daughter, Damilola, who asked him to publicly thank the governor for her appointment.

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She posted a flier with the logo of the Lagos State Government on her Instastory with, “Contraulations! Barrister Damilola Basirat Ayinde Marshall Esq on being appointed as SSA to the Governor of Lagos on Tourism.”

Congratulating her on the appointment, a Nigerian, Olanrewaju-Smart Wasiu, wrote, “Congratulations Barr. @damimarshall_ on your appointment as the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Tourism. This is a deserving recognition for your hard work and contributions to our party”, to which she responded by saying “Thank you, sir.”

Another person, Balogun Basia wrote, “Please, join me in congratulating my friend K1 and the entire family on the appointment of my daughter Barrister Basirat Damilola Marshall as the SSA to the governor of Lagos State on Tourism. Damilola, this shall be the beginning of many good things that will come your way and that of your siblings Insha Allah, Alaumoh Amin.”

Sanwo-Olu appoints KWAM1’S daughter as aide

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