Connect with us

News

Reps Call For More Collaboration Between Nigeria And Netherlands

Published

on

By Gloria Ikibah
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu has called for more collaboration and partnership between Nigeria and Netherlands to address some challenges in the country such as conflicts and food insecurity to foster economic growth and development.
Kalu made the call when the Ambassador of Netherlands to Nigeria, Mr. Wouter Plomp, paid him a courtesy visit at the National Assembly in Abuja.
The DS noted that the Netherlands stands as a significant source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria, particularly in oil and gas, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors.
He further commended Netherlands for their investments in Nigeria and contributions towards reducing insecurity.
According to him, the Netherlands’ support for peacebuilding initiatives in Nigeria, especially in addressing conflicts in regions like the North East, reflects both nations’ shared commitment to promoting stability and security.
Kalu harped on the importance of food security, saying that it’s a sustainable approach towards having peace and security.
The Deputy Speaker made reference to his initiative known as the ‘Peace in the South East Project’ which has agriculture and food security as one of its pillars, recalling that it recently launched ‘food for peace’ aimed at providing food for the people.
Speaking on other areas for further collaborations, Kalu stated that there’s a significant potential for partnership in the value chain for processing and packaging of dairy products.
He opined that Nigeria, having the fifth largest cattle herd in Africa, collaboration with Netherlands in processing dairy products beyond what is currently being done at the moment can foster economic growth.
He added that the parliament is looking forward to engaging in more productive dialogue that further strengthens bilateral relationship.
The Deputy Speaker said, “Your presence here at the People’s House stands as a testament to the deep-rooted historical ties and enduring friendship that bind our two nations. The parliament is aware of your presence in the country and the impact that you’re making. Take it back to the kingdom that the parliament of Nigeria is aware of the contribution you’re making to nation building. In 2022, bilateral trade between Nigeria and the Netherlands reached 7.7 billion Euros, with Nigeria enjoying a trade surplus of 5.2 billion Euros. Our trade relations continue to thrive.
“The Netherlands’ support for peacebuilding initiatives in Nigeria, especially in addressing conflicts in regions like the North East, is commendable. Specifically, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has provided crucial support to those affected by the Boko Haram insurgency for the past seven years. Let me also mention food system, if we secure lives and properties and we don’t secure food , lives and properties will be lost. We secure lives and food , that’s a sustainable approach towards having peace and security. I initiated a project known as Peace in the South East Project and one of the areas we want to solve as a non kinetic strategy towards solving the problems of insecurity in that area is food. Under its 8 pillars we have what we call “food for peace”. We have the short term and long term plans.
“I want to thank the Dutch Embassy to Nigeria for the crucial role it is playing in supporting the HortiNigeria program, which is transforming vegetable value chains in several key Nigerian states, including Kano, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo. We recognize the Netherlands’ strides in precision agriculture and its expertise in milk processing and other dairy products. Given Nigeria’s substantial livestock population and high demand for milk, there exists significant potential for partnership in value chain creation and processing. Nigeria’s total annual demand for milk stands at 1.45 billion liters, yet more than 90% of our milk comes from cattle in low-input, low-yielding pastoral systems. With Nigeria having the fifth-largest cattle herd in Africa, collaboration in milk processing and dairy products can help meet this demand and foster economic growth.”
Earlier, the Ambassador, Wouter Plomp told the Deputy Speaker that the Netherlands is very much interested in deepening cooperation in agriculture and other sectors, aimed at promoting these sectors, strengthening bilateral relations and mutual dialogue.
He informed the Deputy Speaker of a memorandum of understanding signed a fortnight ago with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on having bilateral consultations every year.
Plomp assured the parliament of more national coverage with their seed programme so as to not only promote the agri business but also the business in agricultural commodities for young people.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

News

Bandits attack Katsina LG chair, kill police escort

Published

on

Suspected bandits attacked the residence of the Chairman of the Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, on Tuesday evening, killing a police officer.

The hoodlums shot the officer, identified as Shamsudeen Lawal, who was later confirmed dead at the nearby hospital where he was taken for medical treatment.

Speaking to our correspondent, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Sadiq, said Lawal was shot and rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead.

“Yes the incident happened yesterday [Tuesday] but our men were mobilised to the scene as the officer was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead.

Advertisement

“We arrested three suspects in connection with the attack and further development will be communicated to you as the investigation is ongoing,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, it was not clear if there were injured victims, but The PUNCH gathered that security operatives thwarted attempts by the bandits to break into the residence.

An eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity said the chairman and his family were in the house at the time of the attack.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Cyberstalking: Court decides Sowore’s bail today

Published

on

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned to Thursday for its ruling on the bail application filed by a former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, who is facing 17 counts of cybercrime charges.

Until the court rules on the bail application, Sowore will remain in police custody.

Justice Musa Liman decided after hearing arguments from Sowore’s counsel, Marshal Abubakar, and the prosecution counsel for the Nigerian Police Force, Udey Jonathan.

Sowore had pleaded not guilty to all 17 counts when it was read to him earlier in the day.

Advertisement

In the charge, the activist was accused of using his verified X handle account, ‘Omoyele Sowore,’ to post a tweet against the Inspector General of Police, calling him “illegal IGP Kayode Egbetokun.”

The police alleged that the statement was false and intended to incite a breakdown of law and order.

Justice Liman, who had initially stood down the matter in the morning, scheduled the bail application ruling for 3 pm.

At the resumed hearing, Sowore’s counsel, Abubakar, prayed to the court to grant the defendant bail in the most liberal terms.

Advertisement

“We have a motion on notice filed today, January 29, 2025,” Abubakar stated.

“I ask you, my noble lord, to release the applicant on bail in the most liberal terms possible, pending the hearing and determination of the trial.

“The applicant has also filed a 16-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Sunday Agabi, and we rely on the arguments within. We urge your lordship to grant our application,” he added.

Abubakar further argued that the court had a duty to grant bail at its discretion, regardless of the strength of the opposing arguments of the complainant.

Advertisement

The prosecution counsel, Udey Jonathan, opposed the application, urging the court to deny Sowore bail.

“My lord, a counter-affidavit deposed by one Friday Ameh, a police intelligence officer, has been filed against the bail application,” Udey said.

“We seek reliance on all paragraphs of our counter-affidavit and have filed a written address in support, dated January 29, 2025.

“We adopt the written address as our oral submission against the bail application and urge the honourable court to dismiss it,” he added.

Advertisement

The prosecution counsel further stated that “Bail cannot be handed out like candies; it should not be granted in vacuo. While bail is at the court’s discretion, it is not a state of grace.

“If the court decides to grant bail, it should impose stringent terms to ensure the defendant’s appearance for trial, including the submission of his international passport.”

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Liman adjourned the matter to 1 pm on Thursday for the ruling.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Gani Adams fumes as Sultan backs Sharia courts in S’West

Published

on

The Sultan of Sokoto-led Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has thrown its weight behind the push to establish Sharia courts in South-West states.

In a statement on Wednesday titled, “Live and Let Live!” signed by its Deputy National Legal Adviser, Haroun Muhammed, the NSCIA decried what it described as the “high spate of intolerance and disregard for the rights of Muslims, especially in the Southern part of the country.”

The council argued that contrary to the assertion of South-West governors, Sharia courts are backed by the Nigerian Constitution.

The intervention by the NSCIA comes on the back of festering controversies over the creation of Sharia courts or panels in South-West State.

Advertisement

On Tuesday, the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, issued a stern statement rejecting the formation of a Sharia Court in his state.

Abiodun said Sharia courts are not recognised in Ogun State’s legal framework and Nigeria’s constitution and warned the brains behind the Sharia court to halt the formation.

Abiodun’s statement came about a week after his counterpart in Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, kicked against the establishment of a Sharia panel in Ekiti.

Earlier in December last year, an announcement by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria to inaugurate a Sharia court in the Oyo town of Oyo State generated controversy, leading to its indefinite suspension.

Advertisement

Addressing the issue, the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, said, “About the establishment of Sharia court in Oyo town, people may try, but for us, I swore to uphold our laws and the Constitution of Nigeria.”

However, the Sultan-led NSCIA, on Wednesday, called on governors and traditional rulers in the South-West to protect and preserve the constitutional rights of Muslims in their respective domains.

The NSCIA described as “unnecessary and unwarranted” the resistance to the establishment of Shariah panel in the South-West, noting that the Sharia Arbitration Panel was a voluntary platform designed solely for the resolution of civil and marital disputes among consenting Muslims.

Muhammed said, “The NSCIA strongly supports the establishment of Independent Shariah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti and Oyo States for the purpose so intended, especially where the Muslims in the states have been denied their constitutional right to a Shariah Court of Appeal in all the states of southwestern Nigeria.

Advertisement

“The council cannot find any legal justification for the unnecessary alarm and unwarranted resistance. All the states in the North have Shariah Courts and some, in addition, have Customary Courts.

“The most recent of this is the development emanating from Ekiti state where the effort of the Muslim community to set up an Independent Shariah (Arbitration) Panel was met with unwarranted resistance and objections from both political and traditional quarters.

“This is coming barely a few weeks after the announcement of the inauguration of a Shariah panel in Oyo State generated unnecessary anxiety thereby leading to its indefinite postponement.

“This and other cases, such as the denial of the rights of female students to wear the Hijab despite a Supreme Court judgment, are nothing but calculated attempts to prevent Muslims in the region from practising their faith.”

Advertisement

The council maintained that the setting up of the panel was legitimate, mentioning that the Arbitration and the Shariah Court of Appeal, just like the Customary Court of Appeal (which all of them have) are provided for in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (see section 275), “confirming the legality of both initiatives. “

“The Independent Arbitration Panel, which is a voluntary platform designed solely for the resolution of civil and marital disputes among consenting Muslims was to fill the inexplicable vacuum created by the failure of the political elite in South-Western Nigeria to establish Shariah Courts, as allowed by the Nigerian Constitution, in South-Western States, despite the huge population of Muslims in the region,” the statement further read.

The NSCIA advised against acts of intolerance for Muslims in the South-West, such as the opposition to the inauguration of a Sharia panel in Oyo and Ekiti States, and the denial of the rights of female students to wear the Hijab despite a Supreme Court judgment.

“The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs under the

Advertisement

leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, is particularly disturbed about the high spate of intolerance and disregard for the rights of Muslims, especially in the southern part of the country.

“The council calls on the governors and traditional authorities in the southern part of the country, particularly the South-West, to ensure that the constitutional rights of Muslims in their respective domains are preserved and protected. While others are allowed to live, Muslims should also be let live,” the statement read.

‘Sharia Court not new in Ogun’

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Sharia Arbitration Committee in Ogun State, Mallam Yusuf Oloyede, has clarified that the panel was inaugurated in 2018 and had been sitting at the Egba Central Mosque, Kobiti, Abeokuta, to handle disputes among Muslims.

Advertisement

Oloyede made this disclosure in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, following public reactions to a flier circulating on social media announcing the inauguration of the committee.

According to him, the flier created a false impression that the panel was newly established, whereas it had been operating for over six years.

Oloyede emphasised that the committee does not function as a court but serves as an arbitration panel for Muslims who voluntarily seek resolution of their disputes in line with Qur’anic and Hadith principles.

“What we have is not a court per se but an arbitration committee that has been in existence since 2018. It is for arbitration of issues for Muslims who want such issues heard and resolved according to the Quran and Hadith,” he stated.

Advertisement

He further explained that the panel comprises jurists drawn from different regions of the state, including Yewa, Ijebu, Egba, and Remo, and holds its sittings at Egba Central Mosque.

On whether the committee would discontinue its sessions or review its operations following the Ogun State Government’s recent warning, Oloyede said the matter would be deliberated upon internally.

“We wouldn’t know how the state government’s statement is applicable to us because we are not running a court but an arbitration committee,” he said.

He added that the panel would meet soon to discuss the latest developments and determine the next course of action.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News