By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Senate has urged nominees of the Governing Board of South East Development Commission (SEDC) not to betray the hope entrusted in them by President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians.

The lawmakers gave the charge during the Ad-Hoc Committee screening on regional development Commissions chaired by Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday.

The18-member nominee of SEDC was led by Dr. Emeka Wogu (chairman) and Mark C Okoye (MD/CEO).

Others are Ugochukwu H. Agballah, Okey Ezenwa, Chief Hyacinth Ikpor, Chidi Echeazu, Ifeanyi Agwu, Nasiru Usman, Hamma Adama, Ali Kumo, Edward David Onoja, Orure Kufre Inima, Daniel Akwari, Mrs. Joke Adebayo-Chukwuma, Stanley Ohajuruka (ED Finance), Chief Sylvester Okonkwo (ED Corporate Services), Toby Okechukwu (ED Projects ), Anthony Agbo (ED Commercial and Industrial Development) and Dr. Clifford Ogbede (ED Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development).

Shortly after the brief introduction by the nominees of the SEDC, Chairman of the committee, Kalu, re-echoed the warnings of his colleagues and told the nominees to prioritise the interest of the people.

“You are the face of this organisation and we don’t want anything that will bring the name of our president to disrepute. We will not tolerate anything that is against the interest of the people. The Senate committee will oversee you seriously.

“Don’t pay for a job that is not done. If you do, we won’t hesitate to report back to the President to sack you. Use the money for the development of the people. So far no member has objected to your clearance.

“Look at the trust these members have given to you, we want you to improve the relationship between you and the National Assembly. We are attending to you because of the budget process. If you don’t do it your Commissions will miss the budget process because the Senate will soon go on recess.”

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

There are indications of an imminent hike in the price of petrol as the loading costs of petrol and diesel at depots increased across Nigeria on Monday.

On Sunday, Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, increased to $79.76 per barrel.

Prominent depots, including Swift, Wosbab, Sahara, and Shellplux, also adjusted their petrol prices to between N950 and N960 per litre, compared to last week’s range of N907 to N912 per litre

Similarly, diesel prices witnessed a steep rise, with depots such as Matrix Warri and NIPCO increasing rates by N72 to N100 per litre.

Stockgap depot increased its loading depot price from N1,080 to N1,150, while Ibeto approved an increase from N1,050 to N1,150 per litre.

According to data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria on December 19, 2024, the landing cost of petrol stood at N887.51 per litre; however, the rise in the price of crude oil means the landing cost may go up in the coming days.

In the past weeks, the price of petrol has recorded a reduction.

Last year, Dangote Refinery and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) announced an ex-depot petrol price reduction.

This led to the retail product dropping to between N935 and N965 per litre from N1040 per litre.

Consequently, Nigerians currently buy petrol between N935 and N1,100 per litre nationwide.

A rise in petrol prices is likely to impact directly in the prices of goods and services that are already on the high side.

Daily Trust

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Commander-General, Kano State Hisbah Board, Aminu Daurawa, has lamented that no parent has approached the board or any state institution to claim the paternity of 250 children rescued from the streets.

In his recent video, the prominent Islamic Scholar narrated how Hisbah officers picked up no fewer than 230 children walking aimlessly in major streets of Kano metropolis.

He said majority of the picked children are not up to 15 years of age.

He noted that the children were born and brought up in public places like railway station, under flyover, markets and motor parks.

The Hisbah boss said: “Whoever saw what happened some weeks ago of the 230 children picked up all which are not up to 15 years.

“This is just the first instance. We have traced and understand that there are about 5000 of such children. We only catch the 230 children because that is the number the place we have to house them can only contain.

“The governor has made the necessary preparations before agreeing to pick up the children. We pick the children in different places such as railway lines, under bridges, markets and motor parks.

“Four of the children were confirmed dead due to heat, cold weather, sickness and other related illnesses. When we got to the location of where to pick the children around 1am- 3am which by that time every child was supposed to be at home with their parents.

“Before the operation we meet with the leadership of the places the children use to inform them of our intentions.

We also pick some in a football show house where they pay to watch football and who paid automatically has paid to have a place to sleep. Some are born and brought up in railway stations.”

In his response, a former presidential aide and chieftain of ruling All Provressive Congress(APC) Bashir Ahmad described the developments as heart breaking.

He said: “So I watched that deeply moving video of Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, where he narrated a heartbreaking story about the recent Hisbah operation in Kano, which rescued over 250 children from the streets who were abandoned by their parents.

“As Sheikh Daurawa mentioned, even though the children gathered in one place for some days, receiving medical treatment, but none of the parents have come forward to reclaim their children.

“We have to commend the Kano State Government for initiating such a commendable effort, and it is a hope that the initiative will serves as an eye-opener and create an avenue for such critical discussions on this menace.

“While it is true that the government alone cannot address all issues, but it has the power to rally the support of capable individuals and organisations to tackle this challenge collectively and put an end to it once and for all.”