6 Months Report: Rail Transport Revenue Rises 42% To N2.93trn

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October 31, 2022

Rail transport revenue grew year-on-year (YoY) by 42 percent to N2.93 trillion in the first six months of this year (6m’22) (January to June) from N2.07 trillion in the corresponding period of 2021.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Rail Transportation data for the second quarter of this year, Q2’22, showed that the N2.93 trillion revenue generated in the review period comprises N2.7 trillion generated from passengers, N157.76 million generated from goods and N107.64 million from other income receipts.

However, the data showed that revenue generated from passengers in Q2’22, fell YoY by 44.7 percent to N598.73 million from N1.08 trillion in Q2’21.

This was as a result of a 25.3 percent decline in rail transport passengers to 422,393 in Q2’22 from 565,385 passengers in Q2’21.

The NBS said: “The rail transportation statistics in Q1’22 revealed that 953,099 passengers travelled via train relative to 424,460 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2021, representing a growth rate of 124.54 percent .

“In addition, 32,139 tons of goods were transported in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 9,071 tons reported in Q1’21, showing a growth rate of 254.3 percent.

“In terms of revenue generation, N2.07 billion was received from passengers over the period, higher by 132.82 percent relative to N892.46 million in Q1’21.

“Similarly, N71.76 million was collected in Q1’22 as revenue from goods/cargos, compared to N18.89 million in Q1’21.

“Other receipts grew by 619.34 percent in the Q1’22, recorded at N57.92 million from N8.05 million in Q1’21.

“In Q2’22, passengers declined by 25.29 percent, reported at 422,393 relative to passengers in Q2’21 which stood at 565,385. “Revenue generated from passengers was N598.73 million, a decrease of 44.76 percent from N1.08 billion in the same period last year.

“Moreso, revenue generated from goods in Q2’22 amounted to N86 million, higher by 14.34 percent compared to N75.21 million reported in the Q2’21.

“Other income receipts stood at N49.72 million, an increase of 988.92 percent from the N4.56 million recorded in the same period of the preceding year.”

Bowen Varsity Produces 59 First Class, Honours Pres. Jonathan, Others

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 31, 2022

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The Vice Chancellor of Bowen University, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, said 59 students graduated with first class degrees and would be awarded at the convocation of the university on Saturday.

The vice chancellor, who said this at a press conference on Monday, revealed that 942 students would graduate with various classes of degrees at the convocation ceremony.

The university also said it would confer a doctorate degree in Public Administration on President Goodluck Jonathan for his peaceful disposition while in office.

Ogunwole said, “The hallmarks of this convocation is the conferment of Honorary Degrees (Honoris usa) on distinguished individuals.

“His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Public Administration.

“His Excellency, Dr. Jonathan is recognised as a humble public servant and politician that has made a positive impact on humanity through good governance.

“His mantra, “My ambition is not worth the blood of any single Nigerian’ has come to stand the test of time. This noble man graciously took the bow from office.

“Deacon Nebolisa Arah will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Entrepreneurship. He is an astute businessman, silent philanthropist, mentor to many, a lover of Jesus Christ and a consummate gentleman.

“Also, the late Rev. Dr. William Tolbert Jnr (Doctor of Business Administration), the 20th President of Liberia and the first African to serve as President of the Baptist World Alliance.

“Dr. Tolbert was an exceptional religious figure who had distinct moral and exemplary character in leadership. He was a peace lover and peace maker. During the Civil war, Dr. Tolbert made moves to broker peace.”

Ukraine War: Kyiv Locals Queue For Water

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Angel Gimalo

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October 31, 2022

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People in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv had to queue for water after Russian missiles struck key facilities across the country on Monday.

An evening update from the city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said 40% of consumers in Kyiv remained without water, and 270,000 homes had no power.

Thirteen people were injured in the attacks nationwide, Ukraine said.

Russia said the strikes were aimed at Ukraine’s military control and energy systems, and that all targets were hit.

But the Ukrainian military said it had shot down 45 out of 55 missiles that were launched.

For security reasons, the outside world is rarely shown the destruction of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure by Russian airstrikes.

Ukrainian officials say this is to avoid sharing information that could be used in future attacks, including locations hit – or potentially missed.

But the consequences of Monday’s strikes were everywhere to be seen. Rolling power cuts have been introduced in several regions.

Ukrainians in general have been urged to reduce what is already an “extremely frugal” electricity consumption, in the words of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In Kyiv, streetlights were turned off and trolleybuses replaced with conventional buses.

Long queues were seen across the city, as residents lined up to collect water from pumps after their own supplies were cut.

Mr Klitschko earlier said as many as 80% of Kyiv’s consumers had been left without water in their homes, and urged fellow residents of the capital to head out and stock up.

In a later update, he said many households had been reconnected.

In addition to the capital, other areas affected by the strikes included Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzia.

Overall, 18 facilities – most of them energy-generating – were hit in 10 regions, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

One of the missiles intercepted by Ukraine’s air defences landed in a border town in Moldova, causing damage to houses but no casualties, according to authorities in the neighbouring country.

Moldova later said a Russian embassy employee in Chisinau had been told to leave its territory – without specifying who the individual was.

UK’s Electric Vehicle Charging Sites To Open Welsh Seaside Resort

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Angel Gimalo

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October 31, 2022

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One of the UK’s biggest electric vehicle charging sites is set to open in a Welsh seaside resort.

It will provide 36 charging points at the West Kinmel Street Car Park, in Rhyl, near the town’s railway station.

Denbighshire council said it was due to open next month, making it the biggest in Wales.

One councillor said he hoped it would encourage more visitors to the area and provide charging points for residents.

“This charging hub will also support our important climate change work and be of clear benefit to nearby households who don’t have the capability for off-road charging facilities,” said Barry Mellor, lead member for environment and transport.

Exploring Farin Ruwa Waterfall, Nasarawa State

By

Angel Gimalo

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October 31, 2022

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Located between the boundary of Bokkos and Wamba local council, the Farin Ruwa waterfall is also about 120km away from Lafia and 30km away from Wamba.

Farin Ruwa is just as spectacular as Canada’s Niagara Falls and Zambia’s Victoria Falls.

This waterfall is such a sight to behold. Tourists and adventure seekers are welcome anytime. However, the best time to visit the waterfall is during the dry season. This is because the road leading to the falls is not friendly at all.

The road is covered by bushes. If you must go during the raining season, you need to be covered up if you are allergic to grasses touching your skin.

37,832 New PVCs Still Uncollected in Lagos, INEC Reveal

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 31, 2022

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said 37,832 of 60,370 newly printed Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for new registrants are still uncollected in Lagos State, six months after release.

INEC’s Public Affairs Officer in Lagos State, Adenike Oriowo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday that so many old PVCs were still awaiting their owners to collect them at the 20 Local Government Area offices of INEC in the state.

Oriowo, who expressed dissatisfaction with the poor turnout of many electorates to the collection of PVCs, urged them not to wait until the last-minute rush before the 2023 general elections.

She said that the statistics as of Oct. 21 showed that INEC in Lagos state had received 6,570,291 PVCs from the commission’s National Headquarters prior to the 2019 general elections.

“Old PVCs collected up till Oct. 21 was 5,644,239 while the total uncollected old PVCs at the same time was 926,052.

“The new PVCs received from INEC headquarters earlier this year were 60,370 while only 22,538 were collected as of Oct. 21.

“Total uncollected new PVCs as of Oct. 21, was 37,832,” Oriowo said.

She said that the overall total PVCs received from the INEC National headquarters now was 6,630,661.

While the overall total PVCs collected by their owners as of Oct. 21 was 5,666,777, the overall uncollected was 963,884.

INEC had fixed Feb. 25, 2023, for presidential and national assembly elections while March 11, 2023, was scheduled for governorship and state assembly elections.

Exploring Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica

By

Angel Gimalo

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October 31, 2022

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The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is known as the southernmost place on our planet, where the United States scientific research station at the South Pole is located.

Standing at an elevation of about 2,835 meters (9,301 feet) above sea level, it was built for the first time in November 1956 by the United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as Seabees, with the purpose of scientific researches of the polar regions of the Earth.

What once was the old station, nowadays is referred to as Old Pole, it was assembled from prefabricated components delivered to the South Pole by air and airdropped, and originally built on the surface, with covered wood-framed walkways connecting the buildings.

Unfortunately, due to the strong winds which were blowing snow which was accumulating at the structures, three years after its construction, it was already buried by almost 2 meters (6 feet) of snow.

This was one of the reasons for the station to be demolished in 1975, and replaced with a better one, known as the Dome.

The Dome facility was designed to house 18 science and support personnel during the winter and 33 during the austral summer, however, over the years, the facility’s infrastructure and technology have exceeded its design and operational life.

The Dome served as a station for the South Pole expeditions from 1975 until 2003, when it was discovered that during the winter of 1988, the foundation base ring beams were broken due to being over-stressed, which lead to dismantling the station in late 2009.

Since 2003, a new station which is adjacent to the Dome began hosting the scientists who were and still are living at the South Pole.

This new, elevated station includes a modular design, to accommodate an increasing station population, and an adjustable elevation, in order to prevent the station from being buried in snow.

The elevated Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, during the summer months has a population of about 150, where most of the personnel leave by the middle of February, and there is mostly support staff plus a few scientists, who keep the station functional through the six months of Antarctic night.

What the station is researching encompasses a number of sciences among which are glaciology, geophysics, meteorology, upper atmosphere physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and biomedical studies.

Still, getting there is really difficult as there are only certain countries which are sending scientists, nonetheless, there is only one sunrise and one sunset in the year and those who are able to see that are definitely mesmerized.

Deployment, Posting, Relocation Free- NYSC

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 31, 2022

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The National Youth Service Corps has said that all its services, including deployment, posting and relocation of Corps members are free and do not attract any fee.

The NYSC management, in a reaction to some adverts and notices in the social media requesting money for deployment, posting and relocation of Corps members, added that provision of kit items such as the NYSC uniforms among other services are also without any cost to Corps members.

In a statement signed by the Corps’ Director of Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, the NYSC warned members of the public and prospective Corps members not to patronize impostors whose intention is to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

The statement read, “The attention of the NYSC Management has been drawn to adverts and notices making rounds in the social media requesting for payments from the unsuspecting public regarding deployment, posting and relocation of Corps Members.

“(The) NYSC wishes to state categorically that all services including deployment, posting, relocation and provision of kit items like (the) NYSC uniforms among other services, to Corps Members while in camp are free and do not attract any fee.

“Management hereby warns Members of the public, especially Corps Members and Prospective Corps Members, to beware of impostors that may wish to defraud them in the name of NYSC services.

“Kindly visit all authentic NYSC Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Registration portal, website and telegraph) for up-to-date information on our activities and programme.

“The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Muhammad Kaku Fadah, wishes all Prospective Corps Members safe journey to their respective Orientation Camps as the Scheme commences the 2022 Batch ‘C’ Stream One Orientation Course.”

NANS Decries Recent Fuel Scarcity, Seeks Functional Refineries

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 31, 2022

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The National Association of Nigerian Students has decried the recent scarcity of fuel in some states of the Federation.

The student body, in a statement on Monday, asked the Federal Government to make the country’s refineries functional. It further bemoaned the hardship which the fuel crises had foisted on Nigerians amid skyrocketing costs of living.

In the statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, NANS said, “Once again, Nigeria has been gripped by acute fuel scarcity. For some days now, fuel stations across the length and breadth of the country are selling the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) between N190 and N210 per litre against the supposed official price of N167.

“Meanwhile, some fuel stations have intentionally closed down in order to give room for black market to thrive and force the citizens to buy at N350 and N400 per litre.

“In all these, the Department of Petroleum Resources, which is meant to be performing monitoring duties, is lost.”

NANS said pepper grinders, barbers, transporters (motorcyclists, tricyclists, motorists), saw milers were all counting their losses because there was a limit at which they could raise prices without undermining patronage.

“And, ordinarily, with the collapse of the naira against the dollar (N801 to $1), goods and commodities will skyrocket thereby taking its toll on the lives of the Nigerian people,” it added

“We understand that the first and the most obvious problem of the downstream sector is the desolate state of the country’s four refineries which this administration came out at a time with the claim that they had all been revived. Unfortunately, it was just an attempt to, once again, sell lie to the Nigerian people.

NANS said licensing private individuals to own refineries was not in the interest of the people.

“It is based on this that we are demanding that the Federal Government must make these refineries work again. Giving private interests licenses to own refineries is not in the interests of the Nigerian people as it will only compound the crisis in the oil industry because of the dominance of private interests in refining, storage and distribution of petroleum products.

“It has been said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is the most corrupt and useless government agency in the country, considering the report of the Natural Resource Governance Institute,” NANS alleged.

“We have read of how the NNPC accounts remains unaudited and how the agency spends billions of dollars earned revenue without recourse to due process. The corruption in the NNPC in connivance with oil racketeers is making mockery of Nigeria as one of the largest oil producers in the world.

“Just few weeks ago, a vessel conveying illegal fuel was seized by a private security firm of an ex-militant, Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo. Rather than make proper investigations on it and bring those behind it to book, the Nigerian military set the vessel ablaze. We see that as an attempt to cover-up. Also, we read of how a pipe illegally diverting fuel deep down the sea was unravelled few weeks ago, till this very moment, no arrest has been made. We can go on and on.

“As an association, we want to state emphatically that this is not the kind of change the Nigerian people signed up for; the country is now in a very chaotic situation,” it added.

The student body thereby sought, “An immediate reversal to the old price; no to deregulation; FG must make the refineries work again; and no to the tyranny of marketers.”

The reports that fuel scarcity has recently gripped different parts of Nigeria, forcing motorists to spend hours at filling stations while battling to get the product.

Liverpool’s long unbeaten home run ends in shock 2-1 defeat by Leeds

By

Emenike Agu

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October 31, 2022

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Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-1 loss to Leeds United after Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville’s 89th minute strike in their Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday that took the visitors out of the relegation zone.

The Reds’ first top-flight home defeat in 30 games follows last week’s loss at bottom side Nottingham Forest and further deepens the crisis around the struggling Merseyside club, who are ninth in the table on 16 points after 12 games.

The win takes Leeds up to 15th on 12 points.

Liverpool got off to another disastrous start after four minutes when Joe Gomez played a blind backpass to Alisson who had moved out of his goal and slipped, leaving a gaping space for Rodrigo to run in and tap the ball into the empty net.

Mohamed Salah levelled for Liverpool 10 minutes later when Andy Robertson crossed for the Egyptian international to hook a volley into the net from close range, igniting the Liverpool supporters as their team began the chase for a winner.

Leeds continued to threaten on the break, though, and Brenden Aaronson almost put them back in front a few minutes later, meeting Rasmus Kristensen’s cross from the right with a deft volley that cannoned off the crossbar.

Leeds French keeper Illan Meslier kept his side in the game almost single-handedly in the second half, pulling off a superb save from Darwin Nunez in a one-on-one after 67 minutes and then clawing away a shot from the same player 11 minutes later.

Meslier’s saves set the scene for Summerville to steal the three points with a last-gasp poacher’s finish.

On the eve of his 21st birthday, the forward snapped up a ball in the box from Patrick Bamford and quickly pulled the trigger, firing across Alisson into the net.

It was Leeds’ first away win of the season and a first league loss for Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk at Anfield since he signed for Liverpool in January 2018.

“It’s a huge moment for me and my family,” Summerville told Sky Sports. “Scoring at Anfield is a big moment for me. It went so quick … when you’re in the box, you have to think quickly. It just happened.”

Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp is in no doubt about what he expects of his under-performing side. “We have to fight and that is what we must do,” he said.