The Director-General redeemed his promise through a Director in the Lagos office of the NCC, Mr. Mathew Ojo, on Thursday, 13th January 2022 at the Head office of the MCSN, when he (Ojo) presented a white cane to Mr. Chudi Mountain, a musician, to aid his movements about in town.

It all started when MCSN invited Mr. Assein as a special guest at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held on December 15th, 2021 in Lagos.

He saw the visually impaired member of the Society during a contribution and instantly became interested in him as a man with a passion for the disabled, especially the visually impaired.

He promised to get him a white cane to aid his movement and the promise was fulfilled penultimate Thursday. He equally provided an instructor to teach Mr. Chudi Mountain how to use the white cane to move about.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, said in Abuja on Monday that the Federal Government had postponed the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum products till further notice.

Ahmed stated this at a meeting held at the National Assembly.

The meeting was convened at the instance of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.

It had in attendance the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the. NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, among others.

The Finance Minister said the Federal Government initially had the plans to remove subsidy on petroleum products from July this year.

She said that was the reason adequate provision was made in the 2022 national budget for subsidy payment till June.

She said, “Provision was made in the 2022 budget for subsidy payment from January till June. That suggested that from July, there would be no subsidy.

”The provision was made sequel to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act which indicated that all petroleum products would be deregulated.

“Sequel to the passage of the PIA, we went back to amend the fiscal framework to incorporate the subsidy removal.

“However, after the budget was passed, we had consultations with a number of stakeholders and it became clear that the timing was problematic.

“We discovered that practically, there is still heightened inflation and that the removal of subsidy would further worsen the situation and impose more difficulties on the citizenry.

“Mr. President (Muhammadu Buhari), does not want to do that. What we are now doing is to continue with the ongoing discussions and consultations in terms of putting in place a number of measures.

“One of these include the roll-out of the refining capacities of the existing refineries and the new ones which would reduce the amount of products that would be imported into the country.

“We, therefore, need to return to the National Assembly to now amend the budget and make additional provision for a subsidy from July 22 to whatever period that we agreed was suitable for the commencement of the total removal.’’

The Senate President therefore urged the organised labour unions in the country to shelve their proposed nationwide protests as it was no longer necessary.

The Kaduna State High Court, on Monday, convicted and sentenced a physically challenged who is serial fraudster, Gabriel Chimezie to seven years’ imprisonment on each of the four counts without the option of a fine.

The Kano Zonal Command of the Economic and Finacial Crimes Commission secured the conviction of Chimezie on a four-count charge of obtaining by false pretense

Justice M.T.M Aliyu of the Kaduna State High Court convicted Chimezie who had twice been convicted by the Kaduna State High Court on similar charges and is currently serving a term at the Correctional Centre.

He alongside two others, Stephen Olaika and Francis Chukwu (deceased) defrauded the complainant to the tune of N1, 475,000 on the pretext that they would award him a contract to supply Solar Halogen Indicator.

The convict and his accomplices were able to convince their victim with the false claim that they knew him from his time at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Upon arraignment, the convict pleaded not guilty thereby setting the stage for a full trial.

During the trial, prosecution counsel Musa Isah called four witnesses and tendered several documents that were admitted in evidence.

Convinced that the prosecution had proved its case, the court ordered that the sentence shall run concurrently.

The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Mr. James David Lalu has expressed deep condolences to the parents and family of Anifa Abubakar who was gruesomely murdered recently in Kano.

Five-year-old Miss Abubakar was kidnapped on the 2nd of December 2021 and later killed by his abductors.

Mr. Lalu made expressed his sadness recently while addressing Newsmen in Abuja on the relevance of ethical practices in society.

According to the Executive Secretary, the five-year-old, beautiful and promising, with a full life ahead of her, was kidnapped on the 2nd December 2021. The abductors had demanded six million Nigerian naira in exchange for her life

Lalu further seized the platform to urge Nigerians with disabilities, parents, and guardians to be wary of the calibre of schools they enroll their children into so as to forestall such occurrences in the future.

The ES also called on security agents to step up the fight against kidnapping and banditry in the country as a mark of honour to the souls of the victims of this arson.

He went further to applaud President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring kidnappers and their likes as terrorists who would be totally crushed.

In August 2020, President Mohammadu Buhari approved the composition of the Governing Council and appointment of the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities in line with the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019.

Since his assumption into office, Mr. James David Lalu had set out with a mind for far-reaching reform.

A man of strong convictions and fierce passions, shaped in no small part by his experiences in advocating and championing the Disability Inclusion Agenda back home in Jos, James Lalu has from the get-go, been resolute in his vision and plans for the wellbeing of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria.

His zeal, passion, and efforts had already attracted the interests of political giants in Plateau State and it was not so long before he was elevated from his immediate past position as Executive Chairman of the Plateau State Disability Rights Commission and appointed as the Pioneer Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities.

To be sure, Mr. Lalu has been able to align himself with the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and has sought to drive significant reform in the areas of improved access to Education, Healthcare and Sustainable Health  Insurance, Mass housing, the promotion of access to employment, Participation in the (Nigerian) Constitutional review, Development of Para-sports, Formulation of Disability curriculum, Facilitation of the conditional cash transfer and other government intervention Programmes such as Institutionalization of the National disability Summit, all for the benefit of Persons with Disabilities.

Expectedly, the ES’ open-door policy has exposed him overtly to the challenges that stare PWDs in the face; some of which are deeply rooted.

In order to alleviate the problems of housing, the ES had met with the Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority, Senator Gbenga Ashafa who promised to provide the needed assistance to the Commission in securing affordable homes for PWDs in any part of the country.

He has also engaged with the MD, Federal Mortgage Bank, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa to explore flexible funding options for a number of accessible housing units.

In furtherance to his resolve to ameliorate the housing challenges faced by PWDs, Lalu has engaged the FCT Minister who also promised to provide land for the construction of residential buildings for PWDs as well as befitting office space for the Commission.

To deepen the Inclusion efforts and ensure that the efforts to tackle discrimination against Persons With disabilities, gain credence, the Executive Secretary has most revelry partnered with the Nigeria Police on the Compliance and Enforcement of the law through the establishment of Special Disability Desk across all police formations throughout the country to ensure that cases of abuse against PWDs are efficiently handled.

There have also been sustained efforts in the areas of Institutionalizing the disability curriculum. This process commenced with the set-up of the drafting Committee composed of academics from diverse backgrounds with special skills in disability studies.

In the aftermath of their submissions, NCPWD identified and targeted 4 pilot Federal Universities to kick-start the process of offering studies around the developed disability curriculum within chosen faculties. This process has also been extended to the National Commission for Colleges of Education in order to expand the impact of the studies in all facets of institutional learning.

In the same vein of advancing inclusiveness and accessibility within the corridors of governance in Nigeria, the Commission has successfully pushed for the active Participation of PWDs in the constitution review process to ensure that PWDs can have their opinions heard and their perspectives captured within the Canons of legislation.

One immediate win here is the improved electoral process which has become cognisant of the needs of PWDs as per a recent stipulation by INEC that prioritises PWDs during voters registration.

Also recently in the creation of Data ecosystem by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the DG of the Commission issued a circular directing all coordinating officers of the Electronic Registration Centers (ERCs) to offer special services to Persons with Disabilities and other vulnerable Nigerians.

For improved learning among PWDs, the Executive Secretary, NCPWD Mr James David Lalu has further made provisions for scholarships to PWDs in higher institutions in the year 2022 budget.

Lalu in the company of the other members of the disability community celebrated World Albinism day where he gave charge to Persons with Albinism to take appropriate measures in preventing skin cancer which is a major nightmare to the Albinism community.

2021 witnessed a giant stride in the advancements of inclusion. There was procurement of assistive devices such as the braille translation machines which enables all blind PWDs especially lawyers to translate documents into readable materials and prove their ability in court rooms.

Considering the central position of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), the ES has pledged to provide the needed assistance for optimal functioning of the association.

He disclosed his plans while hosting the Executive members recently in the Commission headquarters in Abuja.

In the light of these tremendous achievements on ground within a year of the ES’ appointment, It is not farfetched to state that beyond his passion for Disability Inclusion, the ES has proven that he has the doggedness to get things done and stay relentless in advancing the course of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria.

And with the support of all PWDs and various stakeholders in the Disability community the Commission will not only accomplish its mandate but will rise to an enviable height in the spirit of our most fervent dreams and desire.

118 Storeys
2,227ft(678.9meters)

The world’s second-tallest building, Merdeka 118 has now rea

ched its maximum height and it’s a sight to behold, as pictures show.

Merdeka 118 topped out last month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the completion of the spire at its tip making the skyscraper a staggering 2,227ft (678.9m) tall.

The 118-story building, which is set to open later in 2022, has knocked the 2,073ft(632m) high Shanghai Tower in China off its perch as t

he world’s second-tallest tower.

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, however, is still No.1 at a whopping 2,717ft (828m) in height.