News Nigeria

Hope rises for 3,050mw Mambilla hydro project By Mahmud Jega, Theophilus Abbah & Simon Echewofun Sunday | Publish Date: Jun 20 2017 Hopes that the long delayed construction of the 3,050MW Mambilla hydropower project in Taraba State will resume soon were raised yesterday when a ‘No Objection’ certificate from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) landed on the desk of Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola.  The minister, who granted an exclusive interview to Daily Trust yesterday, said with the no objection certificate’s arrival, the ministry was ready to go forward and seek the Federal Executive Council’s [FEC] approval for the contract to be awarded. Fashola said, “It is good you mentioned Mambilla. The ‘No Objection’ for Mambilla just came into my office today [Monday]. It is still on my desk. These are all of the bureaucratic processes of getting things done in government.” Displaying the document he said, “This is the ‘No Objection’ for Mambilla. Now

Current national concern on Grazing Reserve (gr): A misunderstood pastoral development By Prof. Saka Nuru | Publish Date: Jun 4 2017 2:00AM From the inception of President Muhammad Buhari’s administration and with the escalating number of conflicts between arable crop farmers and pastoralists, a lot has been said and written by stakeholders and news media, giving a wrong impression that majority of Nigerians don’t know about pastoral system and what is even worse, they have very little idea about the federal government’s effort since the 1960’s to data, to resolve the conflicts. In actual fact, President Muhammad Buhari was Chairman for “Maiduguri Conference in Enhancing peaceful co-existence in Nigeria” organized by Centre for Peace, Research and Conflict Resolution of the National War College in 1998. It was round table session on pastoralist/farmers conflicts and on national borders security. Recommendations were made but were they implemented? Recent statements by concerned Nig