Military Plans To Close Markets Aiding Boko Haram Operations In Borno, Yobe

Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman

The Nigerian Army has announced plans to close designated markets in Yobe and Borno where traders have been found to be aiding Boko Haram terrorists with logistic supplies.

The acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, did not name the markets.

Usman said the planned closure was part of measures to contain attempts by some unscrupulous elements to sabotage recent gains recorded by the military in the North-East.

According to the spokesman, any breach of the order will be dealt with accordingly.

He appealed to residents of the affected areas to support the new measures, stressing that they were aimed at permanently ending the insurgency.

Col. Usman said that some unscrupulous elements have been engaged in all manners of illegal commercial activities in markets such as trading and smuggling, especially during late hours; all aimed at sustaining terrorism and insurgency.

He said the Nigerian military and indeed the Nigerian Army is highly concerned with these unpatriotic acts .

Usman said the military was making efforts to consolidate on the gains recently recorded in the war against terrorists in the North-East.

Usman also announced the arrest of two Nigerian Army Explosive Device personnel at Yola park with different kinds of ammunition and military hardware.

He said the soldiers were arrested on Sunday with the unathorised military items to unknown destinations.

“The items include smoke grenade, over 2,000 live rounds of special ammunition, 50 live rounds NATO ammunition, five magazines of AK47 rifles, two browning machine gun live rounds of ammunition,” he added.

Usman said in spite of the setbacks, the military had recently recorded successes in its determination to flush out the elements.

Usman said troops in different operations in the North-East killed many of the terrorists, rescued hundreds of persons held hostage and recovered several arms.

He said several hideouts of the insurgents in remote villages in Borno and Yobe had been destroyed in the operations carried out by troops under the `Operation Lafiya Dole.

With NTA

MOURINHO TELLS FRIENDS MAN UNITED JOB IS HIS

Jose Mourinho has told friends and associates that he will replace Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager at the end of the season, according to reports in several British newspapers on Wednesday.

The Daily Mail, Daily Star, Daily Mirror and Daily Telegraph all quoted an unnamed source close to the 53-year-old Portuguese as saying his installation at Old Trafford was a “done deal”.

The former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto coach was sacked by Chelsea in December but said in an interview last week that he would soon be back in management, preferably in England.

Van Gaal, who has another year left on his contract after this season, has had to deal with constant speculation about his position after United made a stuttering start to the season.

The Dutchman said on Sunday he thought reports of negotiations between United and Mourinho were an invention of the media.

Breaking News: Landmine Kills 3 Soldiers In Mali

Malian officials say three soldiers have been killed after their vehicle hit a landmine in the central region of Mopti.

Two others were wounded and have been taken to a hospital.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But Al-Qaeda-linked militants have been fighting the Army in northern Mali for years, Channel News reported.

The incident happened in Mondoro, next to the border with Burkina Faso

In January 2013, France, the former colonial power in the country, intervened to stop their advance south to the capital.

But attacks across the country have increased recently, including a shooting at a hotel in the capital, Bamako, that left 22 people dead in November.

Permanent Secretary Explains State House Medical Centre Budget

The Permanent Secretary of the State House, Mr Jalal Arabi, has reacted to criticisms that the 3.219 billion naira budget for the State House Medical Center is over bloated.

Mr Arabi appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs and the House Committee on Special Duties, to defend the 2016 budget appropriation to the state house, Channel News reported.

Having given a breakdown of some of the key areas of the budget before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs, the amount allocated to the medical centre attracted most criticism. The same questions he faced at the House of Representatives Committee on Special Duties.

The Permanent Secretary explained that the State House, among others, extends to Marina and the Dordan Barracks in Lagos and most of the infrastructure in the places are calling for attention and need to be made to function optimally, hence the need for increase in budgetary allocation to the State House.

He said that the improvement of the medical center will propel it to serve as a center of excellence and reduce medical tourism.

He added that the medical center does not charge fees for its services and hence does not generate revenue for itself.

The committees are expected to take their findings to the Senate and House of Reps hoping that the budget will be passed.

Stamp duty, Nigeria’s new goldmine — NIPOST

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) said yesterday that implementation of the stamp duty policy would become a huge revenue base for the country. 

On January 19, the Federal Government announced that a stamp duty of N50 would be imposed on bank customers for money received into their accounts via electronic transfers, cash and cheque.

The CBN explained that the policy was part of efforts by the Federal Government to boost its revenue base in the non-oil sector. The Corporate Affairs Manager of the Lagos Island Territory of NIPOST, Mrs Valerie Ekeogu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the stamp duty would give government extra income to build infrastructure. 

Ekeogu said that income generated from the stamp duty policy would help in the effort to re-position NIPOST. “The funds will stabilise NIPOST as an organisation that is over 100 years and has, hitherto, not been well funded. The stamp duty fund will resuscitate NIPOST and reposition it in boosting the economy of the country,” she said. 

The manager said the injection of whatever percentage the government would give to NIPOST would go a long way to revitalizing and propelling the company to greater heights. She added that the fund would also re-awaken NIPOST to serve its customers better. 

According to the manager, the fund will give succour to the more than 10,000 people working in NIPOST and motivate them to work harder. She noted that offering stamp services was the sole responsibility of the NIPOST, adding that the NIPOST had been discharging the function for many years. Ekeogu urged Nigerians to support the policy, stressing that the benefits of the policy to the public and government could not be over-emphasised.

With Vanguard