NIS increases passport production capacity – Babandede

The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammad Babandede, says the service has increased its production capacity to beat the May 31 deadline set to clear backlog of passport applications.

Babandede announced this while briefing newsmen on the NIS passport reforms and recruitment exercise on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the passport production centres across the country were working round the clock to clear the backlogs before the commencement of the new passport regime on June 1.

NIS boss also gave assurance that the service had enough booklet, adding that a total of 23,903 passports were currently awaiting collection by the applicants.

According to him, more than 35,000 passports had been produced in the last few days, with about 22,840 collected, 23,903 not collected and 28 damaged.

He, however, urged all applicants to be on alert as text messages were being sent to their registered phone numbers, adding that those that had turned off their Do not Disturb button on their phones to reactivate.

Babandede assured applicants that the more than 100,000 pending applications would be attended to before the deadline of May 31.

“The major challenge we have now is not booklet but production capacity and we have added two production lines to Ikoyi and Ibadan centres,” he said.

He also said that all passport collection centres would be opened from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily for applicants.

He warned that the any officer involved in passports racketeering would be dealt with going forward, adding that the erring officers were partly responsible for the uncollected passports.

On recruitment, NIS boss said that the current recruitment exercise was the best ever in immigration and assured all applicants of transparency and fairness.

He said that the exercise was being carried out in the six geopolitical zones of the country to take 4,000 applicants out of 6,005 applicants invited.

He added that the service had been fair by ensuring federal character principle.

Want to last longer in bed? Here are the best home remedies to get rid of premature ejaculation

While there is no set time for how long a man should ‘last’ in the bed, porn movies have certainly set the wrong precedent. So, in sharp contrast to the hot and heavy session in porn movies which seem to go on for ages, the average man lasts about 6 to 11 minutes on the bed.

It can be frustrating and even embarrassing, but it’s a common issue for men. Between 30% to 40% have it at some time in their life. So, keep in mind -- it’s not something to worry about if it happens only occasionally.

Premature Ejaculation Causes and Risk Factors

The cause is not really known. But your brain chemistry could be at least partly the reason. Men who have low levels of the chemical serotonin in their brains tend to take a shorter time to ejaculate.

Emotional factors can play a role:

• Stress

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Guilt

• Relationship problems

• Lack of confidence or poor body image

• Concern over your sexual performance.

Some physical conditions may also cause PE, including:

• Unusual hormone levels

• Irregular levels of neurotransmitters (an imbalance of the chemicals in your brain that pass messages or impulses to the rest of your body)

• Inflammation or an infection in your prostate or urethra (the tube that runs from your bladder and sends pee out of body)

• Genetic traits you inherit from your parents

Sometimes PE can be a problem for men with erectile dysfunction (ED). That’s when the penis doesn’t remain firm enough for sex. Men who are worried they could lose their erection may develop a pattern of rushing to ejaculate. It can be a hard habit to break.

Treating the erectile dysfunction may make the premature ejaculation go away. There are many medication options.  

Premature Ejaculation Diagnosis

Your doctor probably will start by asking if you’ve always had the problem or if it’s a new thing. They may ask about your sex life or your relationships. You’ll probably get a physical exam, too.

If your doctor thinks emotional issues are causing your PE, they may refer you to a mental health professional who works with people who have trouble with sex. If a physical problem is causing it, they might recommend that you see a doctor called a urologist, who specializes in conditions that affect your urinary system.

Premature Ejaculation Treatments and Home Remedies

Ninety-five percent of men are helped by behavioral techniques that help control ejaculation.

Stop and start: You or your partner stimulate your penis until you feel like you’re going to have an orgasm. Stop the arousal for about 30 seconds or until the feeling passes. Start the stimulation again and repeat three or four more times before you ejaculate.

The Squeeze:It works the same way as the start and stop method. But, when you feel like you’re reaching orgasm, you or your partner squeezes the head of your penis until you lose the erection. Repeat this a few times before ejaculating.

Some men find that if they think of something else during sex they can last longer.

If those don’t work for you, you can try a few other things:

Strengthen your muscles: Weak pelvic floor muscles sometimes contribute to PE. Kegel exercises may help strengthen them. Find the right muscles to tighten by stopping your urine in midstream. Hold them tight for 3 seconds and then release them for 3 seconds. Do this 10 times, at least three times a day.

Wear a condom:It may desensitize you enough so you can last longer.

Get busy before you “get busy”: Some men find that masturbating a few hours before sex helps them stay in control during intercourse.

Seek counseling:A psychologist or psychiatrist can help you work through problems like depression, anxiety, or stress that may be contributing to your PE.

If none of these help enough, your doctor may talk with you about medication. While there aren’t any drugs specifically approved to treat PE, medicines used to treat other things may help in some cases. This is called an off-label use.

These include:

Antidepressants: A side effect of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is delayed orgasm. But these medications also have side effects that include nausea and drowsiness. They also can throw a wet blanket on your desire to have sex. So, it’s possible you’re trading one problem for another. You and your doctor will decide what’s right for you.

Tramadol: This is a pain reliever that can delay ejaculation. It may be prescribed if antidepressants don’t help. This medicine is addictive, so it may not be an option for you.

Anesthetic creams or sprays:You put these on the head of your penis to make it less sensitive. Leave it on for about 30 minutes. It must be washed off before sex so you don’t lose your erection or cause loss of sensation for your partner. 

Medications for erectile dysfunction: These drugs may also help  men maintain an erection. They include sildenafil citrate (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil HCI (Levitra). 

Premature Ejaculation Complications

If your relationship is affected by PE, talking about the problem is an important first step. A relationship counselor or sex therapist may be able to help.

Premature ejaculation may also make it hard to start a family because the sperm may not reach an egg to fertilize it or depression related to PE might affect your sex drive or performance. A fertility specialist can talk with you and your partner about some other options.

Photos: Lagos State Govt seals Chinese company over death of 17-year-old worker

 

The Lagos State Government has sealed the Mingy Trading Company Limited, located at No 11, Ila Orangun Street, Ijegun-Egba, Satellite Town, for violating the State’s safety rules that led to the death of a teenage worker.

It was reported that 17-year-old Babatunde Abdulrahmon died after he was sucked into a mixing machine on the day he resumed work at the factory. 

 

 

Speaking during the sealing of the company on Thursday, May 27, the Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, affirmed the commitment of the State Government to ensure the safety of lives and property of its citizens.

Narrating the event that led to the death of AbdulRahmon, the Director-General disclosed that the fatality occurred due to violation of safety precautionary measures. He said the teenage worker was employed and immediately exposed to a mechanical and electrical manufacturing equipment without training and personal protective equipment. In the process of operating the equipment, he lost his life.

"There was also very clear evidence of poor housekeeping, lack of safety signage, poor factory layout for emergency management, very poor recruitment process with no documented training records, poorly installed electric cables and poor record keeping." he stated.

"On no account should any company employ an underage person to operate a mixer or grinding machine without proper training and use of personal protective equipment”.

He reiterated the importance of having a tested electrical wiring system, appropriate safety signage, good housekeeping and a clean environment devoid of infractions and hazards to lives of workers.

Imploring organizations to value lives above monetary gains and adopt best practices, the Director-General maintained that a culture of safety first should be an individual and collective responsibility.

Mojola declared zero tolerance for safety violations and warned that punitive measures will be taken against organisations found culpable with an assurance that extant safety Laws will be applied.

He urged members of the public to report incidents and infractions regularly to the Lagos State Safety Commission in the bid to have a safer Lagos for the citizens. 

Repentant bandits surrender 203 firearms to Zamfara govt – Commissioner

The Zamfara Government has said that repentant bandits have surrendered 203 sophisticated firearms, under the state government peace accord.

The Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Garba Dauran, made this known to newsmen in Gusau.

 Mr Dauran also said that 2,566 live ammunition, 64 magazines, two handcuffs and 887 locally fabricated Dane guns were also surrendered by the bandits.

He said called for cooperation from community leaders and citizens to check the activities of bandits.

On Feb. 7, the Zamfara government in an attempt to quell banditry in the state initiated the peace accord.

The policy is another amnesty initiative for repentant bandits in the state.

The state government first announced the initiative in July, 2020, to encourage bandits terrorising rural areas to lay down their arms.

Governor Bello Matawalle said some bandits who willingly submitted their guns have been resettled in Gusau.

Photos: Femi Fani-Kayode finds love again

Former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has found lone, again.

His new woman is Miss Ezenwa Chika Nerita who was crowned as Queen of Aso International 2019/2020.

This comes a few months after he parted ways with the mother of his four sons, Precious Chikwendu.

Nerita was also present two days ago at the birthday celebration of his triplets.

Breaking: New Chief of Army Staff replaces late Attahiru

 

President Mohammadu Buharu has appointed Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.

Major General Yahaya replaces late Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru who died in a plane crash last Friday, a press statement by the acting Director Defence Infrmation Brig. General Onyema Nwachukwu has revealed on Thursday.

The statement further read, “Prior to his appointment Major General Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter terrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East code named Operation HADIN KAI.

Bakers to increase prices of bread again by 30%

The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) has asked its members to increase the prices of bread and other items by 30 percent due to the rise of economic inflation across the country.

The association’s stakeholders explained that the sudden increase in bread prices is due to the high cost of production and commodities such as sugar, yeast, and flour.

The directive was part of the resolution reached during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association held in Abuja.

National President of AMBCN, Masur Umar, acknowledged that there will be a 30 percent increase in the prices of bread in the coming days.

“After considering the impact of the skyrocketed prices of baking ingredients/materials, for the survival of our noble business, which is presently bleeding, the association came to the conclusion to adjust our prices by 30 percent,” the statement reads.

Christians, Hausa/Fulani agree to split Kaduna into two states

Residents of southern and northern parts of Kaduna State, yesterday, agreed to split, if it is the only thing that can guarantee peace.

While Christians dominate the southern part, the Hausa and Fulani dominate the northern part. Speaking during the presentation and defence of their memos at the Senate Ad-hoc Committee and the House of Representatives Special Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution at the State House, Kawo, both sides that had been torn by incessant communal and religious clashes for decades, said creating new states from the present Kaduna State would go a long way in curbing the bloody violence that seem to defy every solution.

The President of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Jonathan Asake, who defended the memo of Southern Kaduna people, said: “The wish of Southern Kaduna is to have a brand new constitution, not an amended one. But in the absence of that, we are here to make our inputs as a people who have suffered suppression and oppression for a long time.

 “Southern Kaduna is made up of 67 ethnic nationalities spread in 13 of the state’s 23 local councils. It has a landmass of 26,000km2 with an estimated population of 5.1 million. We are endowed with an educated population and with abundant natural resources. Our land size is greater than that of Kano State, which has 44 local councils.”

According to him, the people want the amendment of Section 8 of the Constitution, which makes it almost impossible for the creation of a new state.

“We have been demanding a state of our own for over 30 years and Gurara State was among the 18 states proposed in the 2014 Confab report. We demand the creation of Gurara State after the amendment. This will help in solving the incessant conflicts between our people and the other divide,” he said.

The northern group, under the aegis of Kaduna Development Elders Initiatives, also submitted a memo signed by the senators representing Kaduna North and Central as well as all the Reps and House of Assembly members from the Kaduna North.

Defending the memo, Abdulkadir Ahmed said: “We are canvassing for the creation of New Kaduna State and we want the constitution amended to make this possible.”

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaiya from Kano State, who represented the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, in his opening remarks, assured all that each of the memos would be well looked into and submitted to the National Assembly for further action. Many groups and individuals also submitted memos as the sitting continues till Friday.

Open Grazing Is “Unislamic” — Masari

Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has added his voice to the current debate over the ban on open grazing in the southern part of the country.

Masari, who spoke during a media chat in his office on Tuesday as part of the events marking the second year of the second term in office said open grazing is “unislamic”.

The governor underscored the need to provide necessary infrastructure that would prevent herders from moving from one location to the other in search of water and fodder.

“Why should herders from Katsina move? It is essential for two things: water and fodder. If we provide it, then why should they move? This roaming about for us is unislamic and is not the best. And it is part of the problem we are having today. I don’t support that we should continue with the way open grazing is,” he said.

Masari said he was in total support of the devolution of powers from the federal government to the state, stressing that that ultimately means restructuring.

The governor said the federal government should have a benchmark and people should not operate beyond that benchmark, adding that while Lagos State generates over N400bn, Katsina State is just generating N2bn.

“So, I expect that if we devolve properly or restructure, I expect even the Governor of Kano to earn more than myself. So, my councillor should earn reflective of the economy of my state. So, this issue people are talking of devolution, we heard it before in the first republic. We have been too centralised. I don’t think anybody still needs that we should allow that forever,” Masari said. 

154 Feared Dead In Kebbi Boat Mishap

It was learnt that a heavily loaded boat heading to a village in Niger State from Kebbi in North-West capsized....

A total of 154 persons are still missing following Wednesday’s boat mishap in Kebbi State, relevant authorities said Wednesday.

It was learnt that a heavily loaded boat heading to a village in Niger State from Kebbi in North-West capsized.

There are fears that many of the victims would not be removed from the river alive considering the low pace of rescue efforts occasioned by poor equipment.

The incident occurred in Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi State at about 10am.

Apart from the people onboard, the wooden boat was said to be carrying bags of sand for gold miners, motorcycles and other equipment as the locals were heading for a local market.

Sources said that while authorities were using out-dated equipment to bring out those trapped under the water, many local divers were using crude methods to search for the missing passengers including men, women and children.

The Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in Yauri, Kebbi State, Mr Yusuf Birma, confirmed the incident adding that it was caused by overloading and weak boat.

He said that four people had been confirmed dead, 20 rescued alive while 156 people are still missing and that rescue operation was still ongoing.

“The boat is carrying 180 passengers with 30 Bajaj motorcycles. The victims were going to a market in Malele in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State from Kebbi and the incident happened just a few hours into their trip.

“We are still rescuing the victims and the mishap occurred as a result of overloading. The boat does not have the capacity to carry 180 passengers.156 people are still missing and they are believed to be underwater,” he said.

Rickety boats responsible 

Speaking further on the cause of the mishap, Birma said that most of the boats being used by locals across riverine states were old.

He said in the latest incident, the overloaded and old boat hit a log while sailing.

“The boat involved is a wooden boat which is old and very weak but these people will not listen when we speak to them to reduce the number of passengers they carry,” he said.

The chairman of Ngaski LGA, Abdullahi Buhari Warra, described the accident as fatal and pitiful.

He said five people including two women, two men and a girl have been buried.

According to him, those in the boat included artisanal gold miners, traders and some Nigerien nationals. He said more corpses were expected to be recovered today.

“As I am speaking to you now, there are many people in the river who are yet to be rescued…there is no hope of getting them alive,” he told one of our correspondents.

In fact, many people have died and nobody can precisely know their number.

“We are able to rescue only 22 people who have been rushed to the Warra General Hospital for medical attention.

“In fact, we went to the main river in Wara town where there were people crying when they came out of the water. Someone who came out of the boat said there were many small children who drowned because there was no one to rescue them.

“Someone people from Zamfara State told me that there were eight members of the same family and they all drowned,” he said.

He, however, said it was not the fault of the Kebbi authorities for overloading the ship and accused the people of refusing to wear life jackets.

“We are currently providing seven boats to the navy and other rescue workers to search for corpses and some survivors,” he said.

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency also confirmed the incident adding that it didn’t happen in their state.

It’s devastating – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari last night described the incident as devastating.

President Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, condoled the families of those affected by the tragedy.

The President extended his gratitude to all those involved in the rescue efforts and wished those injured from the accident quick recovery as the efforts to recover more survivors continued.

First responders evacuating dead bodies after a boat capsized yesterday in Kebbi

Recurrent mishaps

Daily Trust recalled that early this month, 30 people drowned when an overloaded boat capsized in central Niger State.

The boat ferrying local traders split into two after hitting a log during a storm as they were returning from a local market, according to emergency officials.

The incident happened in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

The Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Ahmed Inga, said the occupants of the boat were 100 passengers coming from Tija village of Munya Local Government Area of the state.

He said 65 people survived, 28 corpses recovered by local divers while seven people are still missing.