Ibrahim said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 2020 batch A pre-orientation meeting of management with Area Coordinators, State Coordinators, camp directors, camp commandants and collaborating agencies.

He said that the coordinators would be held responsibly in the event of the death of any corps member during the exercise.

“The warning is for all the state coordinator to take his or her job seriously, they should not have lackadaisical attitude towards our corps members.

“We want to also let them know that the scheme places more emphasis toward the corps members because they are the future leaders of this country.

“The state coordinators must be up and doing to ensure that the welfare and security of corps members are paramount to them,’’ he said.

Ibrahim said that the 2020 Batch A orientation programme was scheduled to hold in all the orientation camps nationwide from March 10 to March 30.

He commended the collaborating agencies and camp officials on their commitment and teamwork which led to the successes recorded during the 2019 Batch B orientation courses and previous exercise.

Ibrahim said that the meeting was to enable the scheme to evaluate the previous orientation courses, brainstorm and evolve strategies for the success of the forthcoming exercise.

He said the meeting would unveil policies and operational guidelines for implementation in all the orientation camps nationwide.

Ibrahim urged all camp officials to work hard and imbibe team spirit so as to ensure a hitch-free exercise.

“Their experiences during the orientation course play a pivotal role in the overall success of the service year,’’ he said.

Ibrahim said the meeting would tackle issues, such as orientation camp facilities, corps members’ security, management intervention, corps welfare and corps members’ dress code.

He said that the tailors operating in the camps should be warned to observe prescribed limits while adjusting the uniform for corps members or risk being decamped.

According to him, the meeting must pay special attention to the welfare of corps members and camp officials.

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The NCAA’s General Manager in charge of Public Affairs, Mr Sam Adurogboye, confirmed the development in a statement he issued in Lagos.

Adurogboye said that the NCAA found the airline’s aircraft airworthy after it had carried out a thorough technical audit of its fleet.

He said that the regulatory agency had also through the audit ensured that the airline was in compliance with extant Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs).

He added that the technical audit was not limited to recent incidents, adding that the airline’s operational, technical and safety performances in the last 12 months were also scrutinised.

The general manager said that the audit was to also mitigate the reccurrence of future incident.

The statement said, “On July 23, at about 10.28 a.m., an Air Peace B737-300 aircraft with Registration Marks 5N- BQO had an incident on landing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

“The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) is currently carrying out an indepth investigation into the incident to determine the immediate and remote causes responsible for this particular incident.

“This investigation is required by International Standards stipulated in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13, while NCAA awaits the conclusion and report of the AIB.”

He assured the flying public that all aircraft on the fleet of the NCAA’s authorised Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holders operating in Nigeria were airworthy.

He said that the NCAA would continue to ensure only airworthy aircraft were permitted to operate in Nigeria’s airspace.

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According to figures released by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 14 persons have so far died in the collapsed three-storey building in Delimi community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau.

President Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said he was greatly shocked by the unfortunate loss of lives and wished those injured quick recovery.

“I feel your pains at this difficult moment and my prayers, thoughts and empathy are with you as you struggle to overcome the shock of this misfortune.”

He prayed to God to comfort everyone affected by the sad incident, and urged stakeholders in the building industry to find a lasting solution to the frequent incidents of building collapse across the country.

”There is the urgent need to address the issue of enforcing safety standards in our buildings in order to forestall future tragedies,” he said.

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Francesca Uriri, Head of Communications, Uber West Africa, told our reporter in Lagos on Sunday that confirming the identity of the drivers was necessary to avoid contracting the services of people of questionable character.

She said not all those who claimed to be Uber drivers actually work with the company.

“It has come to the notice of the company that some drivers commit crime, claiming to be Uber drivers.

“There is a database where drivers on Uber app are listed and all drivers who claim to work with Uber can actually be verified from that database.

“Uber values the safety of riders and driver-partners before, during and after every trip; this is why Uber continually improves their safety features worldwide.

“On the driver’s side, driver-partners and their vehicles are pre-screened before being enlisted, thereby empowering riders with the knowledge that they are being transported in quality and vetted vehicles by responsible drivers.

“All drivers must undergo a screening process before they can use the Uber app as well as register with the required vehicle and personal documentation,’’ she said.

Uriri said Uber was committed to ensuring that riders are safe while on the road hence the need to put in place safety features.

She explained:“These safety features include Incident Response Team (IRT) which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond immediately to any reported incident or accident globally.

“Uber also has a team of former law enforcement professionals who are working closely with the local Police to support any investigation.

“Also, GPS tracking of every trip, giving people the ability to be able to share their trip information in real-time with loved ones is available.

“Share My Trip for Riders and Drivers, a safety feature which allows riders and drivers to share their whereabouts and trip status with friends and family is also a safety feature of Uber’s.”

It was reported that the Uber transportation Network Company, which was founded in March 2009, has its headquarters in San Francisco, U.S.

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The governor, represented by Mr Kenneth Kobani, Secretary to the State Government made the remark at the swearing-in ceremony of the 2018 Batch ‘A’ corps members in Nonwa-Gbam, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers.

He stated that his administration would spare no resources in ensuring that the security of the corps members all through their service year was guaranteed.

According to Wike, the government will continue to support the NYSC scheme towards making the corps members self-employed at end of the one year national service.

“I have followed with interest, the NYSC programmes, especially the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) scheme.

“I also commend the NYSC management for partnering with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to develop the capacity of corps members through the introduction of the Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP).

“This unique partnership is not only timely and sustainable, but equally remarkable,” he said.

The Governor added the partnership would serve as a catalyst for the corps members to become entrepreneurs and positively turn around the fortunes of Nigeria’s dwindling economy.

He however, urged corps members to shun cultism, religious intolerance, political violence and any form of anti-social behaviour.

Mr Sunday Aroni, State Coordinator, NYSC Rivers, said that 2,770 corps members deployed to the state had reported and registered, out of which 1,362 were males while 1,388 were females.

He thanked Gov. Wike for his support and fatherly disposition to the scheme.

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It was gathered that the drill was an annual exercise carried out by the bank to ensure safety of life and property.

Our correspondent learnt the exercise involved emergency evacuation of staff and customers to ensure that the safety measures put in place by the banks were functioning properly.

A senior officer of the bank, who preferred anonymity told our correspondent that “it is an internal affair; it is a fire drill that we usually have all the time.

“It is carried out by the bank to ensure all the safety measures we have put in place are working so that no life or property will be lost in case of any fire incident.

“We also try to ensure that people respond to the alarm by evacuating the premises immediately so that if there is any problem, nobody will be a casualty”.

The officer said the bank had provided several exit points for free passage of people in case of crises.

The officer also assured customers not to panic in case of any crises as their monies were kept in a strong fire-proof safe.

Earlier, there were speculations by some customers that the bank was on fire, which made some of them to panic about the safety of their money in the bank.

A customer, Mr Hassan Ibrahim, told our correspondent that he was just about entering the bank when he saw people running out, and the first thing that came to his mind was the safety of his money.

Ibrahim said“ I am a civil servant, who will be retiring from service any moment from now, and I almost collapsed when I heard fire.

“Thank God it was a false alarm and there is no problem; I am also very impressed with the bank in the way it is ensuring safety in the premises”.

Another customer, Mrs Ada Okeh, said the bank should ensure more exit points to allow free passage of people in case of crises in the bank.

Okeh said the place was really choked when people were trying to leave the bank after the fire alarm went off.

She said, “I am happy for the measure the bank is putting in place and thank God there were no casualty in the process of running out of the bank to safety”.

Our correspondent observed that more than 60 people, comprising staff and customers of the bank watched the exercise.

Also, some security officers from the Federal Fire Service were present to observe the exercise.

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Safety, liquidity and returns are major considerations for pension funds operators before investing pension funds, the Executive Secretary, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mrs. Susan Oranye, said.

Executive Secretary, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Ms. Susan Oranye

Oranye, while speaking on the reasons why operators are reluctant to inject much pension funds in the capital market, noted that Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) take their role as fiduciaries of other people’s savings extremely seriously which was why they are guided by the ‘Trifecta’(safety, liquidity, then returns).

Private equity, he said, offers higher returns but higher risks too, stressing that the operators are not averse to investing in equities; but that they will only do such investments through safe instruments or vehicles.

“We must see that there is a very clear path of getting invested capital back, plus a fair return. Our mantra has always been safety first, followed by liquidity and return. Remember that retirees will be paid with cash, not brick or mortar,” she stated.

She pointed out that, “There is need for some kind of credit enhancement to make the investments more attractive. This could come by way of partial or full guarantee of say, the Federal Government of Nigeria. The current PenCom guidelines have widened the playing field by allowing for investment in many alternative asset classes, including Private Equity, infrastructure bonds/funds, mortgage backed securities etc, so there is a diversified range of assets we can invest in.”

Oranye posited that the challenge to investment of funds is the quality of the available proposals, adding that the operators emphasises safety and liquidity over return.

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