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Food Crisis: Federal Government Begins Sale Of 50kg Rice For N40,000

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On Monday, at the Presidential Villa, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, announced that the federal government is selling 50kg bags of rice for N40,000 each, a 50% reduction from the market price.

According to the minister, 20 trucks of rice have been allocated to each state in the federation and are being sold at designated centers.

However, the specific locations of these centers were not disclosed.

“The president has listened to the voices of all those who are planning this protest. And the message is that there is no need for it,” he said.

“Indeed, the president is already protesting on their behalf by doing those things that they want a government to do. For example, the effort that the government is making in ensuring that food is being made available.

“The last council meeting here at the briefing, we announced that a number of trucks, 20 precisely, had been given to the state governors for onward distribution to those who actually are in need of them to the poorest of the poor in society and those who are actually in need. Food being made available.

“But the government did not stop there, there is also rice that is being sold at about 50 percent of its cost, a bag of rice is being sold as we speak now.

“This rice has been taken to various centres across all the states of the federation and is being sold at N40,000. Centres have been created so that those who need this rice can go there and buy this rice at N40,000.

“In the first instance, about 10 trucks have been made available to each of these states and indeed this is just the beginning. I know that some of the comments you hear are that it is never enough.

“The government has not pretended that these supplies are indeed enough. But these are necessary first steps that are being made, and more of such interventions are being made in the interim.”

The minister said the prices of food will decline, adding that the federal government has made significant investments in agriculture.

“Of course, this is like I said an interim measure because there is so much investment that is going into the agricultural sector,” he said.

“And the rainy season is here. We expect that the prices of food items will come down as investments are also being made not just for the traditional agricultural produce but also for the irrigation activities in many of these states in the federation.

“So, we expect that as we move forward, prizes of food items and commodities will, of course, come down.”

Idris appealed to youths to shelve the planned nationwide protest, saying the federal government is working to address the challenges in the nation.

“There is also the provision that is being made for these young people. We are aware of the effort that is being made to ensure that about 3 million of them are being put into employment through the MTT programme,” he said.

“Of course, it is the democratic right of every Nigerian to engage in peaceful protests, and the government is not an opponent to that.

“But what the government is doing is to ensure that while there is this right for you to protest, your right will also end where someone else’s begins.

“Therefore, while you are thinking of protesting, the government is appealing to you to first shelve it because it has a great likelihood that this protest may be hijacked and may turn violent by unscrupulous elements, and Nigeria will not be good for it.

“Of course, we know that people are saying that there is no intention for violence in this, but our history has shown that there’s the possibility that this protest can be hijacked and could turn violent.

“It is an appeal again that the federal government is making to ensure that as the government is making an effort to satisfy the demands of Nigerians in several respects in health care, in agriculture, in the provision of infrastructure in ensuring that our youth, the young population, go to school and that they can also get employed when they finish and even before they do that.

“The social security system is being put out there so that no one is left behind.

“So, all this coming together, of course, it takes time for it to come full circle, but there is this, please; there is no need for this protest.”

BIG STORY

Popular Islamic Singer Ibraheem Labaeka Resigns As Kwara Governor’s Special Assistant

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  • Laments Collecting Salaries “For Doing Nothing”

 

Ibraheem Abdulhameed, popularly known as Labaeka, has formally resigned as Special Assistant, Artiste to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Abdulhameed’s resignation was confirmed in a letter dated September 12, 2023.

In the letter, he expressed frustration with his role, citing the lack of a clear schedule of duties and inadequate opportunities to fulfill his responsibilities.

“I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary for doing nothing,” he wrote, signalling his disappointment with the lack of clarity surrounding his position.

The letter reads, “I am writing this letter with all sense of humility and gratitude for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Special Assistant, Artiste, in your cabinet.

“Having served in this capacity for a period of 1 year and 7 months, I wish to respectfully tender my resignation.”

He continues, “Your Excellency, as you may recall, I was offered an appointment to serve as your Special Assistant, Artist, on 6th January 2023. I accepted the offer because I saw it as a call to service and an opportunity to showcase my talents.

“Regrettably, I have not been able to achieve any of these things. Aside from the fact that I don’t have a specific schedule of duty, circumstances have not availed me the opportunity to perform my responsibilities maximally.”

He added “since my appointment is based on public trust, I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary, for doing nothing”.

“As an Islamic cleric. it is against my beliefs, and I haven’t been at peace with myself. So, I want my salary to be stopped immediately,” he said.

“I am grateful for the confidence reposed in me, and I hope that one day, I will be able to fully utilize my talents for the development of our state.”

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King Charles III Receives President Tinubu At Buckingham Palace

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In a historic meeting, King Charles III welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Buckingham Palace in London on September 11.

The Royal Family announced the meeting on its verified X handle, @RoyalFamily, stating, “Yesterday, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited His Majesty at Buckingham Palace.”

This significant encounter marks a milestone in UK-Nigeria diplomatic relations, with the two leaders discussing matters of mutual interest and importance.

While specific details of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that key issues such as trade, security, and bilateral cooperation were addressed.

President Tinubu’s visit to Buckingham Palace underscores the strong ties between Nigeria and the UK, as both countries continue to foster a strong and lasting relationship.

According to another tweet on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, recalled that Wednesday’s meeting was the second between both leaders in the last one year.

“President Tinubu visits King Charles in London. They first met in Dubai last November, on the sideline of the COP 28 Climate Summit”, Onanuga said.

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BIG STORY

Husband Dismembers, Blends 38-Yr-Old Model With Blender In Switzerland

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Kristina Joksimovic, a 38-year-old former Miss Switzerland finalist, was allegedly strangled and dismembered by her 41-year-old husband.

According to reports, the husband used a jigsaw and garden shears to dismember Joksimovic, and then allegedly pureed her remains in a blender, as stated by the Daily Mail.

The couple, who married in 2017, resided in a spacious semi-detached house in an affluent area of Basel, and had two children together.

Kristina’s body was found in February in Binningen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Kristina had posted pictures of a ‘couple’s getaway’ on her Instagram account four weeks before her death.

Her husband, identified only by the pseudonym Thomas in local media, had his appeal for release from custody rejected on Thursday by the Federal Court in Lausanne after admitting to killing his wife.

An ongoing investigation has revealed ‘concrete indications of mental illness’ underlying the case.

Kristina’s husband is reported to have claimed he killed her in self-defence after she allegedly came at him with a knife, before later admitting he dismembered the former model.

Kristina’s body was found on the evening of February 13.

Investigators determined she had been strangled before dying.

The verdict states the suspect confessed to strangling his wife.

An autopsy concluded that the body was then dismembered in the laundry room with a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears.

Body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, ‘pureed’, and dissolved in a chemical solution, local outlet Blick reported.

A medical-forensic report also ‘contradicts his description of self-defence’, according to Swiss outlet FM1 Today.

Thomas, a Swiss national, was reportedly arrested a day after her remains were found.

Investigators have said Thomas, a businessman, displayed a ‘conspicuously high level of criminal energy’ in their assessment.

They cited a ‘lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife’, and his efforts to cover up her death, adding that the defendant exhibited ‘sadistic-sociopathic traits’.

The deceased won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant in 2003 and was a finalist in the 2008 Miss Switzerland competition.

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