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Buhari, Trump at White House: killings must end

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President Muhammadu Buhari got yesterday from United States President Donald Trump some commendation and a challenge – to stop killings in some parts of the country.

The killings are generally seen to have been sparked by herdsmen-farmers clashes, but they are now believed to be terrorism-related.

Buhari said he would work to end the killings. Trump said his administration was committed to fighting terrorism and human trafficking.

Buhari is the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to be received by the U.S. President nearly 15 months into his term.

The discussions between the two leaders centered on security challenges, including the nearly decade-long Boko Haram insurgency, trade and investment, procurement of military hardware and corruption.

The leaders however side stepped the alleged description of some African nations as “shithole countries.”

Trump said: “Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. I also know that the President (Buhari) has been able to cut that down very substantially. We talked about that, he is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.”

Trump added that this cut down on corruption in Nigeria will attract investors from the U.S. to Nigeria.

“We have a lot of people in this country that invest in Nigeria, so cutting down on that corruption element…is very important to us and the President (Buhari) will be able to do that,” he added.

He also recognised Nigeria’s effort in its fight against terrorism and promised to support the country in that regard.

“Nigeria is one of the first African nations to join the coalition to defeat ISIS and Nigerian forces are currently leading regional efforts to defeat ISIS in West Africa and doing very well. Nigeria is also leading Africa in the fight against Boko Haram.”

Trump also said the U.S. “would be investing substantially in Nigeria” if Nigeria could implement a “level-playing field that we asked for”.

The U.S. president also commended Buhari for the role he played in securing the release of the kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirls.

President Buhari promised to secure the release of the remaining Dapchi and Chibok girls from Boko Haram’s custody. He also said he would work to end the killings in the north-central states.

Speaking on the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, Trump said he was moved by inspiring stories of courage and resilience of two rescued girls he met personally. He said his administration was committed to combatting the impacts of terrorists and human trafficking.

“Here and all over the world, it’s a hotbed and we’re going to be stopping that,” said Mr. Trump. The president specifically cited persecution of Christians in the region as an area of concern.

“We’ve had very serious problems with Christians who are murdered, killed in Nigeria,” said Mr. Trump. He said we “can’t allow that to happen” but added that the two were working on the problem “very, very hard.”

“We have very much decimated ISIS,” said Mr. Trump. “But Boko Haram has been terrible,” he added.

We’re deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria, including the burning of churches and the killing and persecution of Christians. It’s a horrible story. We encourage Nigeria and the federal, state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and including Christians.”

Buhari said: “It’s going to take time and the action by United States in trying to see the end of ISIS has helped us a lot.”

Buhari called the invitation to the White House a great honor, adding that he was grateful to the U.S. for agreeing to supply fighter jets to Nigeria.  Trump said the two were working on a “big trade deal” for military equipment.

Trump urged Congress to close the “deadly immigration loopholes exploited by terrorists, traffickers and criminals”, citing the current US.-Mexico border as an example of “weak” border laws.

He called immigration laws in the U.S. “obsolete” and “pathetic”, saying “no country in the world has laws like we do”.

“They got to change and they got to change now for the safety of our country.”

The White House had hoped yesterday’s meeting would help shift those perceptions, at least slightly. The two leaders held talks in the Oval Office before moving to a working lunch and the joint news conference.

“We have many things that we do together, as you know, especially on terrorism, terrorism-related,” Trump said in the Oval Office before the meeting began. “It’s a hotbed, and we’re going to be stopping that.”

“We think that we are owed that,” Trump said.

Trump touted the recent sale of military aircraft to Nigeria meant to aid its bid to counter extremists, a move previous administrations refused, citing human rights concerns.

“Part of the problem is you weren’t allowed to buy helicopters in our country and now you are. I worked that out.

”They weren’t allowed to buy the helicopters in our country for various reasons. They weren’t good reasons. We make the best military equipment in the world. And our friends can now buy that equipment.”

On the shithoe countries’ comment, Trump said: ”You do have some countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in.” “We didn’t discuss it, because the President knows me, and he knows where I’m coming from and I appreciate that.”

President Buhari said: ”I’m very careful with what the press says about [people] other than myself. I’m not sure about the validity or whether that allegation against the president was true or not, the best thing for me is to keep quiet.”

President Trump described Nigeria as an “amazing country.” that he would like to visit

“Well, I would like very much to visit Nigeria. It is an amazing country. In certain ways, I hear from the standpoint of the beauty of a country — there’s no country more beautiful,” he said.

While fielding questions, Buhari said further on security, “Thank you Mr. President for inviting me. It’s a great honour, I am very greateful for it. Certainly, security is the main issue, we are very grateful to the United States for agreeing to give us the aircraft we asked and the spare parts.

‘We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military instructors that go into our institutions and train them, and go to the front in the North East to see how they are performing as a result of the training given to them.

‘The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have had first-hand experience of that and we are very grateful for it. The problem of the cattle rearers and herders in Nigeria is a very long historical thing.

“The Nigeria herdsmen never carried anything more than a stick and occasionally a machete to cut down foliage and give it to their animals.  These ones are carrying AK 47 so I don’t think people should underrate what happened in Libya. 43 years of Gadaffi, people were recruited from the Sahel, they were taught nothing other than shoot and kill.

“With the demise of Gadaffi, they moved to their countries and their regions and they carried away with them, the only experience they have and training —using weapons. And that is what is aggravating the situation.

“We are doing our best to ensure that we stop cross border and so on and to get the proliferation of small arms weapons in the region checked. But it is going to take time, and the action by the United States in trying to see the end of ISIS has help us a lot because Boko Haram in Nigeria at one time made a statement that they were loyal to ISIS.

“And now that ISIS has virtually gone with the help of the United States, we are very grateful for that and we are sure that we are stabilising the situation of security in Nigeria.” he said.

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Fidelity Bank Renovates Nasarawa PHC Clinic, Donates Water Facility

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Fidelity Bank Renovates Nasarawa PHC Clinic, Donates Water Facility

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has renovated the Primary Healthcare Clinic along the Workers Village in the Tudun Amba Community of Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The bank also provided water facilities to ameliorate issues of water scarcity being experienced in the community in recent times.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Divisional Head, Brand and Communication Plc, Fidelity Bank, Meksley Nwagboh, said the dignity of every human person is a shared responsibility. The bank decided to embark on the project as a means of improving the living condition of people in the community and as part of the bank’s social responsibility to its host community.

Expressing gratitude to the leadership of the community for giving the bank the opportunity to execute the project, Nwagboh said, “What we are doing today is not different from what we have been doing in communities, local governments and states across the country over the years. As a socially responsible organisation, we take it upon ourselves to impact our host communities positively through developmental initiatives such as these.

“On behalf of the management and staff of Fidelity Bank, I want to say thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to touch the lives of the people positively in this community and we remain committed to playing our part in helping individuals grow, thrive and prosper”.

On his part, the Honourable Commissioner of Health, Nasarawa State, Gaza Gwamna, while commending Fidelity Bank for the donation of a water facility and the renovation works at the Primary Healthcare Clinic, reiterated the state government’s commitment to continue to support commercial banks to boost the economy of the state.

The Commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, John Damina, further called on the Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to utilise the upgraded facility with care to encourage the bank and other private investors to continue to support the less-privileged people of the state.

“I want to use this opportunity to call on the management of the NAPHDA to ensure proper utilization of this facility for the good of the host community and beyond. This will go a long way in encouraging other private sector players to extend the same gesture to other communities in the state,” he said.

Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8.5 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.

The bank has won multiple local and international awards including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards; Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023; and Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.

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Exec Sec NCDMB, Felix Ogbe Bags Fellowship of Engineering Society

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Exec Sec NCDMB, Felix Ogbe Bags Fellowship of Engineering Society


AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe was on Wednesday inducted into the Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

The investiture was performed by the President/Chair-in-Council of the NSE, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE at a ceremony in Abuja.


In her remarks at the occasion, the President of NSE congratulated the 63 new inductees and urged them to uphold the values of their new position in their field of engineering.

She highlighted that engineers have been at the forefront of driving progress and development across various sectors of the economy, notably in the oil and gas industry.

She particularly lauded the Executive Secretary of NCDMB for his excellent leadership and expertise through the strategic development of local content and in-country value retention, which is a testament to his brilliance in the field of engineering.

She also applauded the strategic partnership between the NSE, the NCDMB and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.


Similarly, the chairman Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Engr. Kamila Maliki, FNSE, commended the new inductees for their resilience, dedication, and contribution to the field of engineering.

He added that it was not a small feat to be chosen for the investiture due to the rigorous and thorough nature of the selection process.


The Executive Secretary later was joined by the Managing Director of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Engr. Ziad Mouannes and Senator Patrick Ndubueze for the unveiling of the very first edition of the 2024 NSE Quarterly Magazine.


Some senior officials of the Board who accompanied the Executive Secretary to the event included the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Project Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, and the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq.


Before he was appointed the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Ogbe had nearly 30 years top -level career in the field of engineering in the employment of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), before retiring voluntarily to set up his private firm.


His last position at Chevron Nigeria was Construction Services Group Superintendent, and he oversaw 200 personnel, including Nigerian nationals and expatriates.

Other notable positions he held at the company included Offshore Projects Manager, Construction Manager (Lagos & Escravos -Warri), Construction Engineer (San Ramon) in California, United States of America.

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Nigeria’s Adekeye Emerges Chairperson, APPO Training Directors

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AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Nigeria’s Adekeye Emerges Chairperson, APPO Training Directors 

Nigeria’s Folashade Adekeye has emerged as the Chairperson, Forum of the Directors of Oil & Gas Training & Vocational Education Institutes of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO). Adekeye, who is the Director, NNPC Academy, took over from the former chairperson, Mr. Abdelkader Guenone, the Managing Director of the Algerian Petroleum Institute (API), during the second meeting of the Forum, in Abuja, at the weekend. 

L-R: Secretary General, African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim; Executive Vice President, Business Services NNPC Ltd (Representative of the GCEO NNPC), Mr. Inuwa Danladi; new Chairperson, Forum of the Directors of Oil & Gas Training & Vocational Education Institutes of APPO and Director NNPC Academy, Mrs. Folashade Adekeye and Managing Director, Algerian Petroleum Institute (API), Mr. Abdelkader Guenone, during the second meeting of the Forum, in Abuja, at the weekend

Adekeye, who heads the NNPC’s oil and gas training arm, brings into the role over 30 years of experience, and is expected to work with her colleagues from APPO Member Countries in order to foster more collaboration towards addressing the challenges of competences, skill gaps, infrastructure, and poor funding in the organization’s training institutions. 

Earlier in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the meeting, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Mele Kyari, represented by Inuwa Danladi, Executive Vice President (Business Services), emphasized the importance of a standardized educational and training approach to meet the changing demands of the oil and gas industry. 

L-R: Executive Vice President, Business Services NNPC Ltd (Representative of the GCEO NNPC), Mr. Inuwa Danladi exchange pleasantries with the Secretary General, African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, during the second meeting of the Forum of the Directors of Oil & Gas Training & Vocational Education Institutes of APPO, in Abuja, at the weekend.

Also in his keynote address, APPO’s Secretary General, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, charged the Member Countries to work towards further enhancing collaborative efforts to establish Oil & Gas Centres of Excellence across the African continent.

 Dr. Ibrahim, also from Nigeria, said having good knowledge of the Forum’s challenges would enable APPO Member Countries to make recommendations and provide solutions in areas such as Oil & Gas project funding, technology adoption, and the formation of Africa Energy Bank. 

He concluded that such collaboration by all member countries will guarantee Africa’s energy accessibility, affordability and sustainability, which overall, will strengthen her economies and bring prosperity to its citizens. 

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