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Food Scarcity: Grains allegedly yet to be released to Nigerians two weeks after President Tinubu’s directive

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Grains are reportedly yet to be released to Nigerians two weeks after President Bola Tinubu gave the directive to the ministry of agriculture.

 

Recall that two weeks ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to release 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet and other commodities from the national strategic reserve to Nigerians for free.

 

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, last Wednesday at a press conference in Abuja, said grains would be distributed free to poor Nigerians. He further disclosed that the grains would be released to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for onward distribution to Nigerians because the agency has the poverty index of the country.

 

Daily Trust however reported that the grains are yet to be made available for distribution as of yesterday, February 21. In Kano, grains had not been released to the state. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Food Security, Hajiya Aisha Muhammad Idris, said the state was ready to distribute food items as soon as they were released.

 

The grains are also yet to get to Kwara state. NEMA’s head of operations for Kwara and Niger states, Zainab Saidu, said;

“NEMA is not in possession of any grains yet. If there were, they would have contacted us at the zonal office and delivered straight to us. But there is nothing like that yet. I have not heard from my headquarters on the issue and I believe they (federal government) have not released anything yet.”

 

Kwara SEMA chairman, Moshood Magaji, also said:

 

“We have not received any message on the issue and my office is not handling anything like distribution. I do not know of any distribution from the federal government.”

 

Taraba is also yet to receive the grains and it was also learnt that there were no grains at the NEMA office in the state when the publication’s correspondent visited.

The situation was the same in Gombe and Ogun states. Reports from Niger, Oyo, Cross River, Benue, Bauchi, Yobe, Kogi, and Nasarawa states also indicated that the federal government had not released food items to them yet.

 

An official at the ministry of agriculture who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the delay to data authentication. He said this was to avoid the mistakes made during the previous distribution of palliatives.

 

The source said;

 

“The ministry has been holding several inter-agency meetings at various levels to make sure the grains reach the intended impoverished people rather than falling into the wrong hands.”

 

The source also said the grains were in silos located in different parts of the country. He added that the logistics and security modalities had to be properly worked out to have a hitch-free distribution exercise across the country.

Another source told the publication that despite claims by government officials, there is not enough grain reserve in the country. The source said it is better for the government to tell the citizens the truth instead of making promises that would not be fulfilled.

 

Another source said importation of grains remains the only option for now to address food shortages in the interim and advised government at all levels to provide security and incentives for farmers ahead of the next cropping season.

 

Findings revealed that Nigeria has 33 silos with a total capacity of 1.3 million metric tons for its Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) system. However, about 19 of these silos were concessioned to the private sector for a number of years.

 

The ministry has not given details of what is available in the national strategic grains reserve silos, describing it as a national security issue.

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Politics

Court remands suspect over alleged assassination attempt on Lokpobiri

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January 21, 2025

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Yenagoa—A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has ordered the remand of a 35-year-old man, Susaine Morgan, over an alleged assassination attempt on the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on new year day.

The suspect is also facing charges of unlawful possession of two assault rifles (AK-47).
He was reportedly apprehended at the minister’s residence in Ekeremor town, Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The remand warrant, issued by the state Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu, and filed by Police Prosecutor, Stella Jerry-Friday, was approved to allow the suspect’s detention for 30 days at Okaka prison.

This is to enable the investigating team of the police to track and arrest six others now at large.
The charge sheet read: “The defendant was arrested on January 1, 2025, at Senator Lokpobiri’s residence for conspiring with others to commit armed robbery, attempted kidnapping, and for being in possession of two AK-47 rifles.”

The police prosecutor explained that the request for suspect remand was necessary due to the limited power of the police to detain the suspect without a court order.

“The suspect’s detention will prevent interference with the ongoing investigation, especially as six other suspects remain at large,” a police source said.

According to security report, seven of the suspects gained access into the residence of the minister by mingling with the crowd of visitors who came to pay homage.

But information got to the military personnel stationed at the residence of the presence of armed persons among the visitors.

“Due to the large crowd, the soldiers could not open fire but ordered everyone to lie down. It was only the arrested suspect, who was with the bag conveying the weapon, that got arrested. Others mingled with the crowd and escaped,” the source stated.

The other suspects reportedly fired shots as they fled the community, attacked a filling station and carted away N400,000.

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42 Executive Orders By Trump On the First Day

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January 21, 2025

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Here is the list of all 42 Executive Orders, Memoranda, and Proclamations Signed by President Donald Trump

1.Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border

2.Designating Mexican Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

3.Reinstating the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy
4.Ending Birthright Citizenship for Children of Illegal Immigrants

5.Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism

6.Eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs in Federal Agencies

7.Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement

8.Declaring a National Energy Emergency

9.Reversing Electric Vehicle Mandates

10.Implementing ‘Schedule F’ for Federal Employees

11.Relocating U.S. Space Command Headquarters to Alabama

12.Pardoning Individuals Convicted in Relation to January 6 Events

13.Halting Federal Funding for Abortion Services

14.Suspending Security Clearances for Officials Linked to Hunter Biden Scandal

15.Establishing a Federal Bitcoin Reserve

16.Releasing Classified Documents on JFK, RFK, and MLK Assassinations

17.Reversing AI Regulation Policies

18.Imposing Tariffs on Imports from China, Mexico, and Canada

19.Reinstating the Ban on Transgender Military Service

20.Prohibiting Transgender Women from Participating in Women’s Sports

21.Halting Government Offshore Wind Leases

22.Renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America

23.Reverting Mount Denali to Mount McKinley

24.Freezing Federal Workforce Hiring

25.Easing Regulations on Oil and Gas Production

26.Pausing Congress’ TikTok Ban to Seek a U.S. Buyer

27.Reversing Biden-Era Immigration Policies

28.Pulling Out of the World Health
organisations

29.Eliminating Federal Funding for DEI Programs

30.Establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

31.Reinstating the ‘Muslim Ban

32.Ending Birthright Citizenship

33.Reforming the Criminal Justice System

34.Banning Critical Race Theory in Federal Agencies

35.Demanding Increased NATO Contributions

36.Confronting China on Trade Practices

37.Ending the War in Ukraine

38.Supporting Law Enforcement

39.Promoting School Choice

40.Restricting Refugee Admissions

41.Increasing Federal Focus on Fentanyl Trafficking

42.Launching a National Infrastructure Plan.

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Politics

“Stranger things have happened,” Trump on Mexican cartels

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10 hours ago

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January 21, 2025

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US President Donald Trump (Image: X@WhiteHouse) © Provided by Asian News International (ANI)
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Washington DC [US], January 21 (ANI): USPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday while signing executive orders at his Oval Office said that he may think about ordering US special forces into Mexico to take out cartels.

“Could happen, stranger things have happened,” Trump said.

Trump took executive action on the names of USlandmarks – including renaming Denali and the Gulf of Mexico – a move that his White House said will “honour American greatness,” CNN reported.

Trump’s executive action to immediately end the use of an app that facilitated the legal entry of migrants to the United States left many waiting at the Mexico–US border in disillusion and feeling defeated.

Trump said his foreign policy, was simple- to keep the US safe.

“My priority on Foreign Policy is going to be, to keep America safe. Very simple,” he said.

A statement by Trump’s office said, “The privilege of United States citizenship is a priceless and profound gift,” expounding on his stance on border issue.

The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the statement said.

Among the categories of individuals born in the US and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, as per a statement. (ANI)

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info

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