Customs confiscates contraband worth N164.8m in Kebbi

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kebbi Area Command has seized contraband worth N164.8 million in the state. Dr Ben Oramalugo, the Area Controller of NCS in the state, said this at a press conference on the achievements of the command on Saturday in Birnin Kebbi. He said, “We directed our officers to intensify surveillance in all the nooks and crannies of the state, having had credible intelligence on the impending activities of smugglers. “The following items were, therefore, seized during the period; 371 parcels of cannabis sativa, otherwise called Indian hemp, intercepted at Kawara water side, in Suru Local Government Area. “We also seized 98 packs of diazepam,10 sacks of snuff, 1,080 pieces of donkey skin, 37 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 300 litres of PMS, 16 bales of secondhand clothing and used Toyota Corolla as means of conveyance, among others.” The area comptroller pegged the duty paid value of the seized items at N164.8 million. On illegal drugs, he said the command had handed over cannabis sativa and hard drugs worth N94.8 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). “The seizure of such drugs is in line with the vow we made and our determination to rid the state of drug inflow and all items capable of causing harm to Nigerians,” he said. Alhaji Sulaiman Usman, the NDLEA Commander who received the drugs, thanked the NCS for its efforts in curtailing the menace of illegal importation of drugs and anti-smuggling activities in the state. “This is in line with the untiring effort and drive of our Chief Executive Officer/Chairman of NDLEA, Buba Marwa, in combatting the menace of drug abuse and smuggling in the country,” he said. He also condoled the command over the killing of two of its personnel on Aug. 24, by suspected bandits. Also, Alhaji Abdul-Razak Bashir, the state Commandant of Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service, who received the seized donkey skin, lauded the customs for their sustained fight against smuggling of endangered species. 

NiMet predicts 3-day cloudiness, sunshine from Saturday

*Thunderstorms to occur in parts of Kebbi, Adamawa, Taraba The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudiness and sunshine from Saturday to Monday across the nation. NiMet`s weather outlook released at the weekend in Abuja, forecasts cloudy skies on Saturday with intervals of sunshine over the northern region with chances of early morning thunderstorms over parts of Kebbi, Adamawa, and Taraba. According to it, isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, and Gombe later in the day. “Cloudy atmosphere is anticipated over the North Central region with chances of morning rains over parts of Kogi, Benue, the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Nasarawa. “Later in the day, intermittent rains and thunderstorms are envisaged over parts of Plateau, the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Kwara, Benue, and Kogi. “Cloudy atmosphere is expected over the inland states of the South and its coastal states in the morning with chances of intermittent rains over parts of Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and Ebonyi states, “ it said. It envisaged intermittent rains over parts of Lagos, Ekiti, Edo, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, and Delta later in the day. The agency predicted a cloudy atmosphere on Sunday with intervals of sunshine over the northern region with prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. It anticipated thunderstorms over parts of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, and Katsina States later in the day. NiMet predicted a cloudy atmosphere over the North Central region with prospects of rains and thunderstorms over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kwara in the morning hours. “Progressing into the day, intermittent rains are envisaged over parts of Benue, the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Kwara, and Nasarawa. “Cloudy atmosphere should prevail over the South, both its inland states and the coastal cities, with prospects of rains over parts of Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Lagos, Delta, and Edo in the morning hours. “Later in the day, intermittent rains are anticipated over parts of Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Abia, Imo, Ekiti, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers,“ it said. NiMet forecast cloudy skies on Monday with sunshine intervals over the northern region during the morning hours. According to it, thunderstorms are anticipated over Katsina, Kano, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Kebbi later in the day. The agency envisaged a cloudy atmosphere over the North Central region in the morning hours with prospects of early morning rains over parts of Benue, Nasarawa state and the Federal Capital Territory. “Later in the day, thunderstorms with intermittent rains and thunderstorms are expected over Kwara, Niger, Benue, Kogi, Plateau states and the Federal Capital Territory. “Cloudy skies are anticipated over the coastal states and parts of the inland states of the South in the morning hours. Later in the day, intermittent rains are expected over the entire inland and coastal states of the South,“ it said. The agency advised all airline operators to avail themselves of weather reports and alerts periodically from NiMet for effective planning of their operations. According to it, moderate to heavy rainfall could lead to flash floods. The public is advised to take necessary caution, and avoid driving and walking through flood waters. NiMet urged disaster risk managers, agencies, and individuals to be proactive to avert the loss of lives and properties during the rainy season. 

Development Bank builds capacity of 1,000 MSMEs

In continuation of its capacity development training programmes for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has organised a one-day training for over 1,000 small businesses across six states in the North-East and North-West. The MSMEs were spread across Gombe, Maiduguri, Adamawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi states.  The capacity training programme, which was conducted in each of the locations, had facilitators with experts in business management for small and medium-scale enterprises.  A statement from DBN stated that the training focused on optimisation and development of skills, aimed at further strengthening the capacity of the beneficiaries to scale up their businesses.  It also said the key objective of the training programme across locations, was to help the owners of the businesses develop their capacity and gain better knowledge of how they could access the DBN funding through the participating financial intermediaries (PFI). The Managing Director/CEO, Development Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, commended the facilitators for bringing their expertise and experience to bear and expressed the optimism that the training would have a lasting impact on the participants and their businesses.   He affirmed that the training was in line with the Bank’s unwavering commitment to strengthening the capacity of MSMEs in the country so that they can continue to contribute more to the economic growth and development of the country.  Okpanachi said: “The strategic role of MSMEs as enablers of socio-economic development cannot be over-emphasised. A larger percentage of businesses in Nigeria are in the informal sector dominated by MSMEs. The MSMEs sector is a significant pillar of Nigerian economic growth; they make up 97 percent of businesses, generate six million jobs and contribute 50 per cent of the national GDP. “Small businesses are value-creators and they create wealth for individuals. At DBN, we are passionately committed to seeing MSMEs increase their capacity for growth and expansion, and being more sustainable so that together, we can continue to build a stronger economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.” The Development Bank of Nigeria through its numerous capacity training platforms has enriched the knowledge and capacity of MSMEs owners in the country through regular highly-enriching training initiatives and retooling, thereby positioning them for sustainable growth and expansion.   One of the platforms is the annual DBN Entrepreneurship Training Programme (DBNETP) currently in its 5th Cycle and has benefitted over 2000 MSMEs across Nigeria who have been trained digitally and physically, leveraging partnerships and the DBN Learning Management System (LMS).