Authority of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through it Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat has entered into partnership with Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMET), to sensitise Abuja farmers on 2022 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) to improve agricultural production.

The Mandate Secretary, Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCTA, Malam Abubakar Ibrahim, revealed this in Abuja Nigeria’s capital during an enlightenment and sensitization programme organised to sensitize the farmers in Gwagwalada Area council of the FCTA.

The Secretary said the objective was to educate farmers, with specific attention to selected crops and animals grown, as captured in the forecast.

According to him, the sensitisation is part of activities to improve productivity in the agricultural sector.

Ibrahim said that if farmers understood the weather forecast it would help them know the right crops to plant at the appropriate time during rainy season.

He added that being aware of real-time weather conditions like air and dew temperature, precipitation, humidity was the best way to protect crops and secure a high and healthy yields.

While stating that the initiative was important because farmers would be educated on all farming aspects, in terms of weather prediction and what type of crop to be planted during rainy season, Ibrahim said this would help to increase food production.

“This sensitisation will go a long way in improving our production in FCT, so that in the near feature we can take care of the entire country.

“So, the farmers especially leaders of the six area councils should take the programme serious.

“We have tried to ensure that the information will be simplified such that they are clearly understood by farmers and made easily accessible to them,” he said.

Earlier, the Director-General NiMet, Prof. Mansur Matazu, said the downscaling of the SCP was developed to serve the needs of decision-makers, who require local climate prediction for impact assessment.

Matazu, represented by Prof. Charles Anosike, said SCP, being one of the NIMET flagship products, was invaluable tool that had helped farmers to improve their yields.

He said it had also served as an advisory tool for many stakeholders at the Federal, State and Local Governments level.

Also, the Director FCT Agriculture Services, Mrs Ihekandu Francisca, said weather forecast was key to optimum agriculture production and productivity in crop, livestock, fisheries productions and production of forestry resources.

Trains operated by the national rail network were halted across the Netherlands Sunday by what the operator called a technical problem.

Erik Kroeze, a spokesman for railway operator NS, said the problem was in a planning software system.

He said there were no indications it was caused by a cyberattack.

NS said trains would be halted until 5 p.m. while it sought to fix the problem.

“We are working hard on recovery, but unfortunately it is not yet possible to say how long this situation will last,” NS said in a statement on its website.

Regional trains run by other operators were still running, NS said.

Tiddis is a former Roman city that today is in ruins, located in the vicinity of the city of Constantine, within the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.

In the past Tiddis was known also as Castellum Tidditanorum, and it was dependent on the capital city of the Berber Kingdom of Numidia, Cirta, whereas today Tiddis is one really authentic Roman site that makes the Gorge of the Khreneg quite interesting.

Rarely visited today, the ruined city clings in terraces to the side of an ochre mountain, and it is considered to be one of the most beautiful ancient cities one can find in the North African country.

The site is partially excavated, and it is set upon the southern slopes of the mountain on an upper plateau, which made it a strong site, very easy to defend from invaders, but also it had a fertile plain and a zone of hills where the agriculture was booming, not just then, but also today.

The fascinating ruins of the city are great for exploring the Roman way of life, since it can be seen a water system that was designed to provide both, hot and cold water, and with no rivers nearby, it seems that the rain water was the major water source of the city with nearly every building having cisterns designed to gather and store water.

Another feature are the thermal baths which were most likely built by M. Cocceius Anicius Faustus in the middle of 3rd century, and interesting is that further up the hill from the ruins there is an area of ground that is continually damp and has high temperatures.

Contrasting with the pagan worship, there have also been discoveries of evidence of Christianity.

In addition, on the slopes of the mountain one can see also many houses and the remains of the original rampart of the castellum, however, the most important family from the city was Lollii, who are entombed in their circular mausoleum that can be seen a couple of kilometers to the north.

There are also plenty of paved streets, a wonderful arch, many cisterns and a minute forum, which were excavated between 1941 and 1969, however, still a lot of work needs to be done, so that the City of Tiddis would once again see in full the bright light of the day.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Yusuf Maina Bukar as the Director General of National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), an agency under the Federal Ministry of Environment.

He succeeds Dr. Bukar Hassan, who took over from Mr Goni Ahmed in November 2018. Hassan before his appointment held different positions from Head of Biological Sciences, University of Maiduguri, and various positions in the Federal Ministry of Environment.

Ahmed had been the D-G since the inception of the agency.

Dr. Yusuf is a Ph D holder in “The Impact of the Emerging Climate Change Risks on Sustainable Urban Growth” from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom; Master of Science Degree in “Advanced Sustainability of the Built Environment” from the University of Dundee, UK; and Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Dr. Yusuf, who has expertise in Climate Change Adaption and Sustainable Development, is a member of Nigerian Environmental Society.

His appointment is for a four-year term and takes effect from Monday, April 4, 2022.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to apologise to passengers and other airport users that witnessed a temporary power outage at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 2315hours yesterday, April 1, 2022.

The outage, which was as a result of yesterday’s rain, that came with very fierce
winds and storms,a natural occurrence affected one of our feeders, and consequently resulted in the temporary disruption of power supply at the D wing of the airport.

However, our engineers quickly discovered the fault, and liaised with the Ejigbo duty/area control office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and together resolved the problem. Normalcy has since been restored at the affected area.

FAAN…. Committed to our core values of Safety, Security and Comfort. FAAN,
committed to our core values…….. Safety; Security; Comfort.

Faithful A. Hope-Ivbaze (Mrs.)
Ag. General Manager, Corporate Affairs