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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Torrential rains and wind destroyed 1,000 makeshift homes in northeast Nigeria over the weekend, aggravating conditions for the thousands of people displaced by Boko Haram violence, the United Nations said. At least 4,300 people have been affected by violent storms that swept the state of Borno, the heart of the eight-year jihadist insurrection, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) after assessing conditions in 44 camps for displaced people in the state. “Rains are just beginning and they will last for 3 or 4 months,” Henry Kwenin, an emergency coordinator for the IOM told AFP. “The number one priority is to reinforce the shelters, to build adequate drainage systems, and safe places in camps where people can gather in case of violent storms,” he added. The storms came with powerful winds damaging precarious structures in Jere, Kaga, Konduga and Maiduguri, killing one person, said the IOM. “It began with a sandstorm which lasted for an hour ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Levinus Nwabughiogu ABUJA-Though the report of the three man Presidential Committee that investigated the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal and the Director-General, Nigerian Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ayo Oke is yet to be made public, both men still stand suspended, a Presidency source has said. Investigations by Vanguard Monday night revealed that the Chairman of the Committee, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who is incidentally acting on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari who, Sunday night, left Abuja for London to seek medical attention, would not take any soft discretionary measure that may exonerate Lawal and Oke. Findings also indicated that Osinbajo may have quietly submitted the report to President Buhari during their meeting the same night before his departure. It will be recalled that Lawal and Oke were suspended on April 19 following allegations of financial corruption. Specifically, Lawal was indicted in the N200...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (UTQEN) says it is against plans by the Lagos State Government to introduce multiple haulage charges on their services. Mr Aliu Mayungbe, the Acting National Chairman of the union, disclosed the position of the union at a media briefing in Lagos on Monday. He said that the state Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development recently attempted to impose haulage levies on trucks moving sands from dredging sites. Mayungbe described the plan as unlawful and a disincentive to businesses in the state. The union chairman said that his members had been paying the said charge to government regularly through the Ministry of Transportation. He said that attempts by the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development to use collection agents to collect the charges from truck drivers would amount to multiple charges. According to him, the union maintains a position of neutrality and refuse to be entangled in the p...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J *As Reddington unveils cardiology centre in Lagos  By Chioma Obinna The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has said that medical tourism is one of the major contributors to foreign exchange depletion in the country. Ehanire who spoke in Lagos at the inauguration of the Reddington Hospital Group’s cardiology Centre in Lagos also identified limited access, inequitable distribution of facilities, limitation of both material, financial and human resources for health, poor attitude to work, strikes and inter-professional discord, and limited affordability for the average citizen as challenges plaguing the health sector. Ehanire said by conservative estimates medical tourism cost Nigeria about $1 billion annually He said the phenomenon which many Nigerians have resorted to has left the poor in Nigeria to their fate or faith in God, and so-called native medicine. “The Federal Ministry of Health is furthering the revitalisation of nearly 10,000 pri...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Lagos – Some financial experts on Wednesday said the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had improved dollar liquidity in the foreign exchange market. The experts, who spoke at the Access Bank 2017 FX Seminar in Lagos, said accessibility to foreign exchange was no longer a challenge, but sustaining the ability to fund the market. They said that the opening of Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Window by the Central Bank had helped in building up confidence in the system, resulting in more offers than bids at the foreign exchange market. Mr Herbert Wigwe, the Managing Director of Access Bank, said that the Small and Medium Enterprises’ window through which participants had access to foreign exchange was an evidence of the CBN’s effort in ensuring availability. “Apart from the I&E window, the recently opened SMEs window, wherein the CBN has persistently sold forex to all market participants with varied needs, has further lent credence to the CBN’s...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J About 80 British troops on Tuesday arrived South Sudan to provide engineering and medical support to UN mission (UNMISS). UNMISS said the UK contingent, proudly wearing their distinctive blue UN berets, would provide military engineering taskforce to the Malakal and Bentiu protection of civilian sites, as well as a Level II Hospital at Bentiu. “Nearly 80 medics will arrive to staff a Level II Hospital in Bentiu, providing world class medical care for over 1,800 UNMISS military and civilian personnel,” the UN mission said in a statement issued in Juba. The Royal engineers will conduct tasks at the UN camps to improve accommodation, routes, security and drainage, as well as the construction of a jetty on the River Nile and a helicopter landing site. Alongside their UNMISS colleague, their efforts will make a contribution to protecting civilians and creating conditions to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid. “With almost 400 troops in total, this will be one...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The minister for transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that he is not corrupt and does not like money. Ameachi made the remark on Saturday in an interview with newsmen ( Channels). During the interview session, Amaechi was asked if he is corrupt, responding to her, see the video bellow: //storify.com/Adekunle2/i-am-not-corrupt-i-don-t-like-money-rotimi-amaechi/embed?border=false //storify.com/Adekunle2/i-am-not-corrupt-i-don-t-like-money-rotimi-amaechi.js?border=false [ View the story “I Am Not Corrupt, I don’t like money -Rotimi Amaechi -” on Storify ] The post Video: I am not corrupt, I don’t like money – Rotimi Amaechi appeared first on Vanguard News . Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2pxX6XD