A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
Frank Momoh, the President of FROT Group, has once again reiterated his determination to change the face of football in Edo State.
Mr Momoh made the promise during the 2016 Football Awards Nite held in Benin City last week. Momoh who was bestowed with the Outstanding Football Personality of the Year Award, says the award will trigger him to to more for football development in the state.
" I am happy to be recognised and decorated with this award by the Edo State FA. This award will spur me to do more for football in the state.
" I think we all need to go to the grassroots to fish out the raw talents if we must return Edo State to the hub of sports in Nigeria. I grew up in Benin City and I call still recall the number of football competitions we used to have in those days.
" The Principal Cup was one of them, and I am happy to inform all gathered here tonight that the Principal Cup will back to State next year.
"We will be working closely with Edo FA in this project. The Football Association deserves all the support because the present Board led by Frank Ilaboya has shown commitment and determination to bring the missing elements in football administration back."
An elated Frank Ilaboya was quick to appreciate Mr Momoh for this. " Once again, on behalf of Edo FA board, I want to thank Frank Momoh for coming to support us in our activities. Remember his company, the FROT Group, single handedly sponsored our Federation Cup & the newly introduced Champion of Champion tournament for teams in the South South Zone this year.
"With the Principal Cup coming on board next year, our dream of bringing the vibes to Edo StateFootball is becoming a reality."
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu has debunked media reports that another 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in 2014 have been released.
He made this disclosure via his Twitter handle, @GarShehu.
Although, the Presidential spokesman said, the DSS took the 21 Girls already secured to Yola, Adamawa State on their way home to celebrate the Christmas with their families.
His tweets below:
Today, the DSS took the 21 Girls already secured to Yola, Adamawa State on their way home to celebrate the Christmas with their families.
The Ford Ranger was crowned the 2016 Pick-up of the Year by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), reinforcing its status as a segment-defining model in the highly competitive light commercial vehicle sector. The Ranger beat the Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200 pickup for the coveted award.
The award, which was accepted by the marketing team of Coscharis Motors, the sole authorised Ford dealer in Nigeria,at the prestigious NAJA annual auto awards, held at the Eko Hotel & Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, was well attended by key stakeholders in the Nigerian automobile industry.
Responding to the award from South Africa where they popped champaign for the victory, Rob Johnston, Regional Manager Sales and Marketing, Ford Customer Services Division for Sub Saharan Africa said. "We're delighted that the Ford Ranger won this coveted Pick-up of the Year title, which recognised its impressive range of technologies, bold design and outstanding capabilities,".
"The Ranger is the key model driving Ford's expansion across the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and despite facing stiff competition from the likes of the new Toyota Hilux, its 'Built Ford Tough' qualities clearly position it as a cut above the rest," Johnston stated.
Ford is represented in Nigeria by Coscharis Motors, with its president, Dr Cosmas Maduka, being honoured as Automotive Personality of the Year. "Congratulations to Dr Maduka for the award, which acknowledges his important contribution to the domestic motor industry," Johnston added.
A full line-up of Ford Rangers is sold in Nigeria, including the Single Cab commercial models, the versatile Super Cab (or RAP Cab) versions with the additional rear-hinged doors, and the extensive range of practical Double Cab derivatives which includes the XL,XLT, Limited and range-topping Wildtrak derivatives.
Rangers sold in Nigeria are imported from Ford's Silverton Assembly Plant in South Africa, either as fully-built up units, or as semi-knocked down (SKD) kits for selected double cab models which are assembled locally by Coscharis Motors. This initiative is aimed at bolstering the industrialisation and development of the automotive industry in West Africa.
In conjunction with the three Quick Lane Tyre and Auto Centres opened in Nigeria since 2013, it reinforces the commitment of Ford and Coscharis Motors to expanding its presence in the region by offering a competitive range of vehicles, backed up by improved aftersales service and support, along with greater parts availability.
The Chairmen, Joint Senate and House of Representatives committees on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa and Hon. Aminu Isa, have stated that oversight functions being carried out by the Legislature should not be interpreted as witch hunt. The duo stated this during a working visit of the joint committees to the headquarters of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in Lagos.
According to Ashafa, "The joint Senate/House committee on Land Transport is conscious of its enormous responsibilities as provided for in the extant Senate/House standing orders, which covers the ministry, departments, agencies including annual budgets and oversights of the MDAs.
Ashafa who congratulated the Managing Director of NRC on the recent confirmation of his appointment, said "The committee is aware of the numerous challenges of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and is determined, with the support of the Senate/House leadership, to take necessary legislative actions to address the aspect of the challenges requiring our interventions.
"Hence, the need for this oversight visit, to enable us review how the finance of the corporation has been managed so far in the current budget cycle in order to note what augmentations need to be made in the 2017 budget cycle".
The Sultan of Sokoto's recent visit to Enugu State where he went to felicitate with Enugu Rangers as champions of the 2015/2016 NPFL season has been described by a section of the media and some commentators as a bridge-building one. But then, is it really?
In as much as the visit is commendable, the Sultan himself putrefied his own oil when he said that the reason why Ndigbo are killed whenever there is a crisis in the north is "because they are the industrious ones found in everywhere and in every village but nobody plans or sends people to kill the Igbos".
Apart from being ridiculous, it is insulting to the sensibilities of the Igbo and horrifying to upright members of the society that the reason why a people are usually targeted for mass murder is because of their industry and number. They are not killed because they are bad neighbours; they are not killed because they are trouble makers, they are not killed because they are law breakers; they are killed just because they are industrious and large in number!
This statement by His Royal Highness, Alhaji Mohammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, is a confirmation of what we have always known: that the Igbo are hated for nothing but jealousy and that most crises in the northern part of Nigeria have been instigated not because of anything serious but as an alibi for a systematic extermination of the Igbo people.
Little wonder then the Igbo are targets of northern Islamic extremists when there is a crisis between Israel and Palestine in far away Middle East. When some Danes draw a cartoon of Prophet Muhammed in far away Denmark, Ndigbo in Kano, Kaduna and Niger would have to pay for it with their blood. When there is a furore about Nigeria hosting an international beauty contest in Abuja or Lagos, the Igbo in Zamfara and Yobe would have to be killed and their sources of livelihood destroyed for the message to be passed that such contest is Haram to some people.
When the US bomb Iraq, the Igbo in Adamawa are bombed by northern elements in return. When there is a sharp disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is the Igbo in Bauchi that pay for it. When the Sunnis and the Shi'as have issues with each other in Kaduna or other places, it is a recipe for Igbo sons and daughters to be beheaded in those places even when they are neither Shiites nor Sunnis.
The Igbo people are not only killed by these northern Islamists simply because they can be found 'everywhere' according to the Sultan, in most cases, even when they disappear from the theatre of war and go into hiding even in custody of the police, they are desperately but carefully sought after and killed. This has been the lot of Ndigbo especially in the north over a long period of time.
The authorities usually hold no one responsible for these dastardly acts, no one is arrested, no one is prosecuted. Even if thousands of Ndigbo are victims of issues they are not in any way connected with, no action is taken against the perpetrators. Media outrage follows, police look away, northern traditional rulers keep mute, Ndigbo bury their dead, and then they return to continue their businesses without bitterness, without vindictiveness or vengeance in mind, not even anywhere in the South East would there be reprisals. The sun rises (in the east) and sets (in the west), yet, the vicious cycle continues in the north.
In as much as one would want to commend the Sultan for his initiative, it would have been better if he had insisted that all those who killed Madam Bridget Agbahime, an Igbo indigene, in Kano, be prosecuted. After all, the Sultan who is also the leader of all Muslims in Nigeria said during that visit that justice is panacea for peaceful coexistence. If that is the case, what did he say about the manner the case against the alleged murderers of Madam Bridget was withdrawn and the suspects let go just like that despite the hue and cry that followed that macabre murder of a harmless septuagenarian, despite the promise by the police, state and federal governments to ensure the killers face the law?
The Sultan's visit would have made more sense if he had visited Kano and insist that those killers be brought to book as panacea for peace. But no, he goes to beg the victims of his people's murderous activities to accept their fate as the one that naturally befalls an industrious people with large populations. It is quite ridiculous!
Like the Sultan rightly observed, it is the continued absence of justice that has caused the unending agitations in the South East which is growing louder by the day and have started receiving the attention of the international community to the consternation of antagonists of the agitations.
Unless the Sultan, his co-traditional and religious leaders, state and federal government officials of northern origin stop carrying about as if they own Nigeria and relent from skewing justice and development against those they perceive as their subordinates, such visits of the emir would only remain a journey of monumental hypocrisy designed to make vigilant and courageous Igbo sons and daughters let down their guard while terrorist herdsmen from the Sultan's enclave run riots even in the south east unchallenged while they kidnap and kill even colleague-traditional rulers in the Delta.
The governors may have laughed with him and that is because he went to felicitate with Rangers International of Enugu. That we understand. When the Sultan is serious about justice and peace, we will know. For now, the bridge he went to Enugu to build remains of paper quality blown away by the wind as soon as he started the work.
Jude Ndukwe wrote from Abuja via jrndukwe@yahoo.co.uk
There are two vital things under the sun that man is never satisfied with. These two vital things have a great similarity and also great disparity; they are similar because both are resources which humans cannot live effectively without them and the more you utilize both wisely the more rewarding your life becomes.
However, they also have contrasting qualities in the sense that the intangible one is irreplaceable and unrepeatable which suggest that if lost is gone forever; there is no remedy in getting it back. While the other that is tangible can be replaced if it is lost and can even be multiplied.
These two vital resources are interrelated with each other; you trade one for the other. In fact the better you are at trading on the intangible resource the greater the tangible resource is increased. Show me how you spend money and I'll show you how you spend your time and I can predict the direction of your life. These two vital things are time which is an intangible resource and money which is a tangible resource. Until you budget your time and money life becomes like a roller coaster; always in motion but never making progress.
Down in history human beings have overvalued money and devalued people. When you overvalue money above people your mindset will be saturated with greed, selfishness and pride; this demeaning qualities will choke the seed of enduring success and render it dead. Remember, enduring success which is living a life that your usefulness outlives you; is having more of what money can buy and all of the things money cannot buy.
While the other kind of "success" which is temporal is having more of what money can buy and none or few of the things that money cannot buy. John Hagee reveals, "Money can buy you a palace of breathtaking splendour, but money cannot buy you a home filled with love and respect from the people who live there. Money can buy the finest physicians in an hour of sickness, but money cannot buy the God-given gift of health. Money can buy you a bed of solid gold, but money cannot buy you one minute of rest or inner peace. Money will attract legions of people to you, but money cannot buy you the treasure of one true friend. Money can buy you books, but money cannot buy you brains. Money will buy you food, but money cannot buy a healthy appetite. Money can buy a crucifix around your neck, but money cannot buy a savior in your heart."
Poverty consciousness and fear of poverty which is a destructive state of mind gives birth to envy, greed and selfishness. However, the prosperous man is one who has an abundance mentality climbing high on the ladder of the maturity continuum births generosity, benevolence and the nobler and finer virtues. Humanity is yelling; I want more money! I want more time! But their "wants" are never gratified; they seem to never get enough. All humans have been allocated 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. However, the extent to which you are able to utilize time effectively determines the quantity of money you get and the quality of life you live.
To get started; the foremost responsibility of humans is self discovery. Your learning capacity determines your earning capacity. To learn effectively, you need to explore your talent; discover your purpose and concentrate in the area of your gifting. The more value you put into your work in terms of quantity of time and quality of service the higher will be your earning capacity; the more of yourself you put into your work the greater will be your earning capacity.
Your earning capacity does not determine your financial freedom but rather financial intelligence which has it foundation on self mastery or self control. Irrespective of how much you earn if you throw your money around; spend it impulsively; living beyond your means; utilizing your money to ruin your health and character; your money becomes a snare to you trapping you in bondage of wretchedness. Therefore, you need to think long term; sacrificing today's pleasure for tomorrow's happiness and freedom. Never live to impress people or compare yourself with another but rather develop the habit of saving part of your income consistently for investment opportunity; invest your money in the area you understand and believe in; allocate money to improve yourself; in terms of knowledge and skill; allocate money for charity purposes. Personally, I also practice tithing –giving a tenth of every income that I earn to the church that I attend and I also recommend you to do the same if you are of the Christian Faith. Borrowing money leaves you a victim in the debris of poverty; borrowing for investment purposes is acceptable given that you have made a wise choice.
It has been estimated how the average person spends a typical life span of seventy years. For many, reaching the age of seventy they probably will spend twenty-three years sleeping, sixteen years working, eight years watching television, six years eating, six years travelling, four and a half years on leisure activities, four years being sick, and two years getting dressed. The average person spends six months of his or her life on spiritual activities. If you sum up the numbers the result will be seventy years-and then life on earth is over.
Time is synonymous with life; Life is measured with time. Time is your most precious resource; it is your most valuable asset. Time is irreplaceable and unrepeatable. Life is an opportunity of time allocated to us with a purpose to discover and fulfill; Life is a domain assigned to us with a specific time-frame in which to make our contribution in the world and leave it better than we met it. Therefore, we do not have any time to lose but rather we have all the time allocated to us to use. Our desire should be for Life to use us up before we are taken up.
However, in order to make the preceding statement a reality we need to invest our time rather than spend it. The end product of an invested time is a fulfilled and a rewarding life; the end product of time spent is a life of regret that cannot be remedied. The value you attach to time will be the corresponding value that you will command in life. The Universal Law of value states: "Do not waste your time on thoughts, people, or actions which are not worthy. Do not waste your thoughts on ideas that are not worthy. Do not waste your energies on activities which are not worthy. Do not waste your money on that which is not worthy". Every aspect of the Law of value revolves around time; thoughts, actions and substance. The use of your money will determine the use of your time.
Jesus reveals, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" It is wise to ask yourself, "What is the best use of my money right now, in terms of my goals, vision, and purpose". Maximizing time is more about life management rather than time management. Life management is removing the clutter from your life and focusing only on things that really matter to the fulfillment of your destiny and thereby scheduling your time pursue and accomplish goals that moves you closer to the fulfillment of your destiny. Therefore, before time can be managed effectively life management must be in place. *In the light of this time management is not getting more things done rather time management is getting those things done that matter to the fulfillment of the purpose for your life.
What is important to you now and what will be important to you in the long term? What are talents; gifts and abilities and how can you use all these to serve the world? What are you passionate about to contribute to the elevation of humanity? What legacy do you want to leave behind? Remember the legacy that will stand the test of time is what you leave in people rather than for people motivated by unconditional love for humanity. When you answer these questions with utmost sincerity and pure motive then you can effectively budget and maximize your time. You must not only plan your time you must also work your plan which demands self-discipline. Give your goals or schedules daily and hourly timeframe and follow through as planned. Remember, procrastination is a failure virus that subtly invades life wrecking it with the pain of regret. The right time to do anything is NOW! Never let other people run your life by letting them determine how you will spend your time. Run with your own agenda according to your life's calling rather than fitting your life into someone else's agenda for you.
Without vision or purpose for your life, time has no meaning. A successful life is built on a plan or blueprint every other thing revolves around it. At every given moment ask yourself, "What is the best use of my time right now, taking into consideration my goals, vision, and purpose?" At most, eight hours should be allotted to sleep for a sound health and effective body. About eight to ten hours is utilized for work. Then we have about eight hours left which could be called "free time". Here's the catch, the use to which you put the free time into spells the difference between success and failure in life. In fact, free time could be termed either an "opportunity time" or "misfortune time". Many people are desperate for their circumstance to change, however, during their free time they engage in aimless socializing, prolonged viewing of television, idling gossiping, plain laziness, associating with people going nowhere who feed each other's destructive habits like drinking, smoking etc. Free time is an opportunity to invest in you and others; acquiring additional education or knowledge, rendering of service and creating goodwill. Work should be fun and fun should be work. Truly successful people love their work; they engage in a work that taps into their passion.
However, if you are engaged in a job that you do not like; that does not tap into your passion then take a clue from Henry Ford. Henry Ford began as a Detroit powerhouse worker at a salary of $11 a week working 10 hours a day. But he had a vision of manufacturing cars, so he utilized his free time each evening for three years to create the first Ford car. Wow! His free time was indeed an opportunity time. Therefore, guard your time for out of it determines the quality of your life.
David Foster counsels, "Wasting time worrying about things you can't control is like flushing money down a toilet. Wasting time fretting over the past diminishes what your life could be right now or at the very least what it may yet become. Wasting time regretting the sins you've already confessed shows you're not serious about being forgiven or you're not confident that God is faithful enough to forgive when asked. Wasting time worrying about the people you think are thinking about you is feeling a false sense of self-importance. Wasting time trying to get even is like drinking poison and hoping the other person gets sick. Wasting time thinking about giving somebody a piece of your mind is a childish misuse of your brainpower.
Wasting your time is wasting your life. It is sin to waste your life worrying and fretting over stuff you can't control or may never happen. It is childish to waste another day being mad, getting angry, getting even, engaging in gossip, placing the blame or shaming yourself. You don't have enough time to engage in trying to please everyone or throwing it away by living from one crisis to the next.
Contrary to what you've been told, you can't save time or make time. You can invest it in something noble and needed, thereby multiplying its value. Wasting time is wasting life, and we have gotten too good at both".
Let every time you spend add value to your life and the life of another person.
When you budget your time and money what you have will be enough.
Arriving at New York City Hall in downtown Manhattan, the 2017 Kia Niro officially received a Guinness World Record® title for the lowest fuel consumption driving across the USA from coast to coast (hybrid car). The new record-setting mark is an incredible 76.6 mpg.
"We're extremely pleased with the Niro's record-breaking performance," said Orth Hedrick, vice president, product planning Kia Motors America. "We set out to build a vehicle that offers real-world utility, great looks and fantastic mileage, and setting the Guinness World Record® title confirms our achievement."
The Niro EX was driven by Wayne Gerdes of Carlsbad, California, and co-driver Robert Winger of Williamsburg, Virginia, 3,715.4 miles from Los Angeles City Hall to New York City Hall using only 48.5 gallons or 4.1 tanks of gas. The vehicle was not altered in any way for the attempt.
Kia Niro enters Guinness book for fuel efficiency
The Niro, an Urban Crossover Hybrid Vehicle, is the first dedicated Kia hybrid and was conceived to bridge the gap between outstanding fuel economy and compact crossover usefulness. In addition to its athletic and attractive design, the Niro's long list of features includes: a specially-designed, innovative hybrid system to provide a more dynamic and engaging driving experience; a spacious cabin with lots of room for five occupants and their gear; a full array of advanced driver assistance features — available Autonomous Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Change Assist and Lane Departure Warning; and advanced telematics and entertainment equipment — UVO3 with Apple CarPlay™, Android Auto™ and a 7-inch touch screen and available Smart Cruise Control, navigation and a Harman Kardon® premium audio system.
The all-new 2017 Niro is set to arrive in Kia U.S. retailers in the first quarter of next year and will be available in five trim levels: FE, LX, EX, Touring and in a limited-quantity Launch Edition. The FE is EPA rated to achieve 52 mpg highway/49 mpg city/50 mpg combined, while the LX reaches 51/46/49 mpg and the Touring at 46/40/43 mpg.
Another 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in 2014 have been released.
The girls were brought to Yola International Airport in Yola, Adamawa State capital around 3pm on Thursday.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu has debunked media reports that another 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in 2014 have been released.
The Nigerian Army troops rescued over 1,880 civilians from a Boko Haram redoubt in the restive northeast in the past week and arrested hundreds of insurgents, a military commander said on Wednesday.
The Sambisa forest, covering about 1,300 square kilometres (500 square miles), is a stronghold of the notorious jihadist group, who kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in 2014.
“During our operations in the period 14-21 December 2016, a total of 1,880 civilians were rescued from Boko Haram enclaves,” Major-general Leo Irabor said in a statement after a news conference in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Wednesday.
Irabor added: “564 Boko Haram terrorists were arrested while 19 others surrendered to our troops. Also, seven suspected kidnappers and 37 foreigners were equally arrested.”
He said several Boko Haram fighters were killed and a cache of arms and ammunitions was discovered in the operation, part of a military campaign launched last year to clear the area of the jihadists.
Hundreds of civilians, including women and children, have also been freed in neighbouring Cameroon, said Irabor. Eight jihadist suspects were subsequently identified among them and taken into custody.
Boko Haram seeks to impose a hardline Islamic legal system in Nigeria’s mainly-Muslim north.
It has been blamed for the deaths of at least 20,000 people since 2009. The rebellion has also displaced some 2.6 million people, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the region.
The United Nations has warned that the affected region faces the “largest crisis in Africa”.
The UN estimates that 14 million people will need outside help next year because of the ongoing violence, particularly in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, the country’s jihadist heartland.
Since early 2015, Nigerian military with the support of a regional force, have recaptured a swathe of territory from the insurgents.
But sporadic attacks on civilian soft targets have continued in the volatile region, including the use of female suicide bombers.
On December 9, two female suicide bombers killed 45 people and wounded 33 others when they detonated their explosives in a crowded market in Madagali, which has been previously targeted.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the blasts bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
Britain on Thursday announced the discovery of a highly contagious strain of bird flu in a wild duck found dead in Wales, warning poultry keepers to remain vigilant as Christmas approaches.
The same H5N8 strain was detected last week at a turkey farm in Lincolnshire in eastern England but the government said there was no suggestion the disease had spread from that farm to the duck.
“As this is a wild bird, it highlights the importance for poultry keepers to follow our clear advice on biosecurity,” the government’s chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said in a statement.
Gibbens said the risk to public health was “very low”.
The H5N8 strain can spread quickly in affected farms and can lead to the culling of thousands of birds.
The strain has been detected in 13 other European countries including France and Germany since October.
Hungary is the country that has had the highest number of outbreaks in that time, with 201 instances reported on farms and four in wild birds.
Zakata & Sadaqat Foundation has doled out over N102million worth of items to Muslims across the South West with some non-Muslims going away with N50,000 cash each to become self-reliant and improve their various businesses.
Elizabeth Chukwu and Gladys Amuta (non-Muslims) were among 0ver 700 Muslims who benefited from this gesture in Lagos state alone while another 20,800 Muslims benefited from other parts of the country.
Gifts itmes raging from Deep Freezers, Grinding Machines, Motocycles, Keke Marwa, Lap tops, to cash gifts were doled out to empower needy Muslims and improve the businesses of other qualified Muslisms and non-Muslims.
Zakat is a form of alms-giving to the poor and needy treated as a religious tax and/or religious obligation in Islam, which is the third pillar of Islam.
Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Director of the foundation, Prince Sulayman Olagunju urged beneficiaries to make good use of the gifts and become zakat givers.
"As usual this year disbursement started with immediate attention given to health issues that cannot be delayed. We have supported surgeries, kidney treatment, hearing problems, eyes problems and a whole lot of other illnesses. The total sum of N16,713,372:00 was spent to take care of the medical needs of various applicants. Thereafter, the sum of N7,350,000:00 was disbursed to 20 finalists of our youth empowerment scheme tagged Business Plan Competition.
Prince Olagunju disclosed that the total sum of N20,724,405:00 was distributed in Abuja, Edo, Kwara, Ogun, Osun and Oyo states. He added that the sum of N68,771, 218:00 was being disbursed to the different beneficiaries in Lagos State. Of this figure, Olagunju stated the empowerment and medical support got the larger shares of this year zakat.
Olagunju explained that the foundation did more in the area of economic empowerment and medical support and have been able to engage many unemployed youth by providing them with tools and cash to setup their own petty businesses as well as restoring hope to those who have various illnesses.
"At the same time, we have helped put shelter on the heads of many people and relieved many of their debt burdens. We have provided three major communities with boreholes water and equally supported a general Hospital with Generator to power its theater for operations.
The chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Mununi Alao also appealed to the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the items and cash allocated to them, concentrate on their investments with a view of turning them to givers of Zakat in no distant time. "Do not see these gesture as a manna from heaven, but amana (trust) that must be utilised wisely to turn around your economic life."
The former Executive Director of the foundation, Sheikh Shuaib Abdullah also praised the Zakat team for the wonderful work done within a short period, adding that the foundation has been making Muslims to internalised the aspect of Zakat in the scripture and to better humanity. Sheikh Abdullah who painted a picture of crude culture of some Muslims on issues of zakaat and offerings advised them to step up their level of taqwa (fear of Allah) and show compassion to fellow human beings.
By Ben Agande Abuja – The Department of State services has accused the governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike of recruiting youths in the federal capital Territory to create mayhem in the city that would have led to the break down of law and order.
In a statement in Abuja Thursday the spokesman of the service Tony Opuoyo said the service had arrested some of the recruited youths while the ring leader who it said was a personal aide of the president of the Senate was on the run.
The statement reads: Nyesom Wike
“The Department of State Services (DSS) wishes to inform the general public that it has uncovered a sinister plot by the Rivers State Governor Nyesom WIKE to disrupt machinery of governance in strategic Federal Government agencies by provoking a violent breach of peace in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, today, 22nd December, 2016 and beyond especially at this yuletide season.
“To achieve this, the Governor had secured the services of one IKENGA Imo UGOCHINYERE, a Personal Aide to the a senator, to mobilize some hoodlums to execute their plan.
“The aim of the plot is to cause mayhem, a complete breakdown of law and order and cast the security agencies and the Federal Government in bad light. It is also intended to divert public and international attention from the ongoing Police investigation into the unwholesome role played by the Governor and some of his cronies in the violence that trailed the re-run election in Rivers State which resulted in the gruesome murder of civilians including the beheading of DSP Mohammed ALKALI and some of his colleagues as well as the brutalization of INEC staff who failed to do the bidding of the Governor.
President Muhammadu Buhari has requested state governors to settle outstanding salaries and entitlements of their workers with at least 25 per cent of refunds to them from excess deductions for external debt service.
Malam Garba Shehu, the president's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, stated this in a statement he issued in Abuja on Thursday.
President Buhari recently approved N552.74 billion to be paid in batches to all the states that are owed.
Thirty three of the affected states are, however, expected to receive 25 per cent of their approved sums in the first instance before this week runs out.
The refunds arose following the claims by them that they had been overcharged in deductions for external debt service between 1995 and 2002.
President Buhari
The statement quoted President Buhari as saying that "the issue of workers benefits, particularly salary and pensions must not be allowed to continue as a national problem and should be tackled with all the urgency that can be summoned.''
The statement recalled that when the president assumed office last year, he declared an emergency over unpaid salaries, following the discovery that 27 out of the country's 36 states had fallen behind in the payments to their workers, in some cases for up to a year.
"Following this, a bailout loan was issued to the states twice with a first batch of about N300 billion given to them in 2015 in the form of soft loans.
"The administration also got the Debt Management Office, DMO to restructure their commercial loans of over N660 billion and extended the life span of the loans.
"Because this did not succeed in pulling many of the states out of distress, the Federal Government this year gave out a further N90 billion to 22 states as yet another bailout loans under very stringent conditions.
"President Buhari has expressed the opinion all the time that the payment of salaries and pensions must be given priority to save both serving and retired workers and their families from distress,'' the statement maintained.
By – Kingsley Omonobi – Abuja. The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has approved Saturday December 31, 2016 as the commencement date for the training of various cadres of applicants who were adjudged successful at the recently concluded 2016 recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Police Force at designated Training Schools nationwide.
Recall that the recruitment exercise was jointly conducted by the Police Service Commission (PSC), the Federal Character Commission (FCC) and the Nigeria Police Force in compliance with presidential directives.
According to a statement by DCP Don Awunah, Force Public Relations Officer, "Sixteen (16) Police Training Institutions across the country have been set aside for the training exercise.
"Cadet Assistant Superintendents of Police are to report at the Police Staff College Jos, while Cadet Inspectors will train at the Police College, Ikeja.
"The Recruit Constables are to report at various Police Colleges and Training Schools in various sub-zones, designated for various states.
"These include police training facilities in Lagos, Ibadan, Iperu, Orji River and Maiduguri among others. Police training institutions in Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ilorin and Minna will also be used for the training exercise. Makurdi, Nonwa-Tai, Benin and Calabar make up the list of centres to be deployed for the training.
"Applicants for the 2016 recruitment exercise are to check the national dailies, beginning from Saturday 24, December, 2016 for the publication of the comprehensive list of successful candidates.
"Successful candidates are enjoined to report to their designated training centres along with the original copies of their certificates and credentials, as well as training kits as specified.
"State governments, local governments, religious leaders, traditional rulers, community leaders, NGOs, CSOs and members of the public who have genuine and reliable objection or information to the character, conduct or personality traits of those selected should submit such objections or information in writing to the Inspector General of Police through the Commissioner of Police of the state Command of the selected candidate within three weeks of this publication."
Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari has requested state governors to settle outstanding salaries and entitlements of their workers with at least 25 per cent of refunds to them from excess deductions for external debt service.
Malam Garba Shehu, the president's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, stated this in a statement he issued in Abuja on Thursday.
President Buhari recently approved N552.74 billion to be paid in batches to all the states that are owed.
Thirty three of the affected states are, however, expected to receive 25 per cent of their approved sums in the first instance before this week runs out.
The refunds arose following the claims by them that they had been overcharged in deductions for external debt service between 1995 and 2002.
The statement quoted President Buhari as saying that "the issue of workers benefits, particularly salary and pensions must not be allowed to continue as a national problem and should be tackled with all the urgency that can be summoned.''Buhari
The statement recalled that when the president assumed office last year, he declared an emergency over unpaid salaries, following the discovery that 27 out of the country's 36 states had fallen behind in the payments to their workers, in some cases for up to a year.
"Following this, a bailout loan was issued to the states twice with a first batch of about N300 billion given to them in 2015 in the form of soft loans.
"The administration also got the Debt Management Office, DMO to restructure their commercial loans of over N660 billion and extended the life span of the loans.
"Because this did not succeed in pulling many of the states out of distress, the Federal Government this year gave out a further N90 billion to 22 states as yet another bailout loans under very stringent conditions.
"President Buhari has expressed the opinion all the time that the payment of salaries and pensions must be given priority to save both serving and retired workers and their families from distress,'' the statement maintained.
Abuja – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (NSCDC) on Thursday in Kano arraigned one Joshua Dan-Daura alleged to be an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for job racketeering.
Dan-Daura, who is said to be a Deputy Suprintendent in the NSCDC, appeared before Justice Dije Aboki of the state High Court on a one-count charge of obtaining by false pretense.
The accused is alleged to have obtained N145,000 from one Yahaya Musa under the guise of securing a job for him in the corps. He denied the charge.
According to the prosecutor, Dan-Daura committed the alleged offence sometime in March, 2013 contrary to section 320 of the Penal Code and punishable under section 322 of the same Law.
Prosecution counsel, Musa Isah, asked the court for a trial date after the accused had pleaded not guilty.
However, the defence counsel moved an application praying the court to admit his client to bail pending the determination of the case.
Justice Aboki granted the accused person bail in the sum of N500,000 with one surety who shall be a resident of Kano with a landed property within the court's jurisdiction.
The case was adjourned to Jan. 25, 2017 for commencement of trial.
The All Progressives Congress Party, APC, member, Augustine Onyekachi Wokocha, who was accused of involving in the killing of DSP Mohammed Alkali and his orderly in the recently conducted December 10 re-run election in Rivers state has denied ever involving in the dastardly act.
Wokocha who debunked the allegation in a statement he made available to newsmen on Thursday said that he has and always remains a law abiding citizen and politician who can never engage in acts that would soil his integrity.
"Before now I have served in various capacities first as a member of Rivers State House of Assembly and later as Commissioner for Power for nearly eight years. During my years as a parliamentarian and public officer, I have never been associated with politics of violence and I call on any concerned member of the public either in the state or outside to check the records."
"Since we decided to join APC in 2013, there has been several attacks on my person and my community by those who have other political persuasions. In their desperation to prove their supremacy, they recruited boys who allegedly committed several murders of many APC members including Chief C. Adube and six members of his household, Chief G. Ahiaidu, Mr. Clever Orukwowu (APC LGA Youth Leader), Franklin Obi (APC Ward 4 Chairman), his pregnant wife and teenage son, Nwachukwu Levi Orekegba from my community (Okposi) among so many others and made my Local Area (ONELGA) ungovernable for us."
"Many homes that were burnt are still deserted till date. Many of my kinsmen who fled for fear of these evil men are still living as refugees in other parts of the state or outside."
"At the last count we had lost more than two hundred party members. Today the same people who are disturbing the peace in the community and who were alleged to have masterminded some of the high profile killings are now enjoying amnesty from the PDP led state government. The story I have told is in public domain for anyone to verify."
"It is therefore condemnable that these same characters extended their dastardly acts to the law enforcement agents who came to maintain peace during the December 10th legislative re-run elections. What I find most shocking, however, in this sad, most regrettable and ignoble act and situation, is the determination of the leadership of the mischief makers to ensure that this ‘one killing too many’ on the 10th of December 2016, of our dear lawmen be credited to my person."
"Let me say without equivocation that there is no iota of truth in this fabricated allegation. On the said election day, I was one person who conducted myself peacefully throughout the exercise against all provocation. I urge the law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate this allegation to ensure that the truth is laid bare."
I have chosen the path of rectitude from birth, in defense of my responsible pedigree. Those who have chosen the path of crime and infamy must have the courage to stand and own up to their acts. Cowardice is a horrible vice to add to vicious criminality."
"This campaign of calumny has failed like those before it."
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA – Senior legal practitioners in the court, Thursday, expressed divergent views over moves by the Federal Government to extradite and re-open criminal case against convicted former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori.
Whereas some of them insisted that such action would amount to “double jeopardy”, others disagreed, saying he was convicted under a foreign law.
Among those that urged FG to shelve the idea included a constitutional lawyer and human rights activists, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
He said: “The federal government cannot, should not and must not extradite, re-arrest and prosecute Ibori again, if the extradition, fresh arrest and prosecution are based on the same facts,events and circumstances as those under which he was earlier convicted in the UK and for which he has served his prison sentence.
Ibori after his release from prison in the United Kingdom.
“In law, that will amount to ‘double jeopardy’ which is not only antithetical to decency and our criminal justice system, but also tantamount to a blatant violation of section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution which unambiguously provides that “no person who shows that he has been tried by any court of competent jurisdiction or Tribunal for a criminal offence and either convicted or acquitted shall again be tried for that offence or for a criminal offence having the ingredients as that offence save upon the order of a superior court”.
Following the uncovering and seizure of several bags of the much dreaded plastic rice by the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), yesterday, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, Thursday, disclosed that Preliminary test results reveal there is no evidence backing claims that there were plastic rice in Lagos.
Recall that the Customs Area Comptroller (CAC), Federal Operations Unit, Zone 'A', Ikeja; Comptroller Haruna Mamudu said the unit seized no fewer than 102 bags of the plastic rice at a warehouse in Ikeja, Lagos.
Mamudu said, bags of plastic which has been packaged for sale during the yuletide were to be evacuated before operatives of the swooped on the managers of the warehouse.
According to Mamudu, the imported rice, which was branded as 'best tomato', had no manufacture, expiry date and NAFDAC registration number.
In a tweet via his Twitter handle, the Minister said
I have just been briefed by DG @NafdacAgency on Plastic Rice reports. Preliminary test results reveal there is no evidence backing claims /1 pic.twitter.com/Ezgo018fnj
A news story published in the Vanguard newspaper on December 21, 2016, "Political maneuverings: Buhari extends Gen Olonisakin's tenure by one year" has set the record for the absurd in the ongoing onslaught on common sense in Nigeria.
The story took a neutral development, around a decision taken in the interest of the nation, and turned it into a circus. It sought to whip up division where non should exist.
For the news story, which read more like an opinion piece as opposed to factual reporting, it was "political manoeuvrings" that made President Muhammadu Buhari to ask the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin to stay on for an additional one year.
This perception tallies perfectly with the pro-militant and insurgent supporting pieces that have been the staples of the Vanguard stable – a media platform that makes no efforts to hide its ethno-regional leanings while claiming to be a national publication.
The only redeeming feature in the concocted perspective pushed by the report was the acceptance that President Buhari acted within the law in asking the perfect gentleman that General Olonisakin's is to stay on for another year.
It does not matter that the legality of the act was tucked away somewhere in the story while it made so much out of ethnicity.
Had this decision been illegal the militants for which the publication acts as a mouthpiece would have had a sidebar running beside the story.
Discerning would have made the average writer, who is not executing an imperial order of his employers, to address the real issues behind the extension of General Olanisakin's tenure. Such objectivity would have acknowledged the giant steps made in decimating Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East of the country where troops at this very instance are chasing the terrorists into the desert.
It would highlight how the military services, under the CDS, have successfully contained separatists and militants that had hoped to cash in on the Boko Haram insurgency as a cover for entrenching their own brand of terrorism.
To then infer that the CDS' appointment was extended to ensure that "the two most powerful positions in the Military, that of the CDS and that of the Chief of Army Staff, remain in the core north" is bunkum and exposes to commit the kind of mischief that should not me attempted in a multicultural society like Nigeria.
The laziest form of research, querying Google.com, would have led to the profile on http://defenceinfo.mil.ng/ that clearly states that "General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin was born on the 2 Dec 61 in Kaduna, but hails from Gboyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State."
Except the Vanguard has somehow succeeded in enforcing "state of birth" over the current "state of origin" one would be hard pressed to come to terms with how the concept of a CDS from the north was arrived at.
The faux pas of designating General Olonisakin as a "northerner" is likely the result of the way he has integrated with and carried along Nigerians of all ethnicity and creed to the extent that he can be considered to be from any of the 36 states and the FCT. This is a plus for the general and a testament to the fact that he is not an ethnic jingoistic both in his personal life and the performance of his duties. It will also explain why he was able to gain the trust of the officers under his command.
A second possibility is that of sheer mischief as earlier mentioned.
The militants in the Niger-Delta have not been able to unleash against the nation on a scale they had advertised and the opportunistic bombing of oil installations, while it might have impacted revenue, has not crippled the nation on the scale desired by saboteurs.
Flying the kite that the tenure of a CDS from the north has been extended to keep the position in that geo-political region would provoke anger against the north in the other geo-political zones and deal a damaging blow to the incumbent government that has vowed to keep the country one.
Only that they got the ethnic extraction of the CDS wrong. It is also wrong to think the incumbent government will pander to political correctness to shirk its responsibility of taking the right decisions for the country.
Furthermore, the story strongly underscores the need to make more efforts in preventing the politicisation of the military, the same way it must not be ethnic or subservient to religion.
This is of course a further possibility of what the report was out to achieve – politicise the military to a point of dysfunctionality.
The beneficiaries of such compromise of the military can best be imagine against the backdrop of those that stand to gain if the military can no longer safeguard the integrity of Nigeria because of ethno-political divisions within it.
It is therefore important, while condemning the irresponsible insinuations in the news report, to ask the publication to repent and desist from further attempting such sabotage.
It should find a balance between running pro-militant propaganda and stoking the embers of division in the country on one hand and engaging in responsible journalism on the other.
On his part, General Olonisakin must see the one year extension of his tenure as a challenge to wipe out the last of the insurgent in the north-east while cleaning up the mess made by militants and separatists in the south-south and south-east in addition to conclusively confronting other breaches to Nigeria's security.
Such success will go a long way to convince the population to disregard the kind of hatea filled ethnic politics that trouble makers want for the nation.
I received the news of the passage of Deji with a heavy heart. I have known him for more than two decades as our paths crossed now and then professionally, politically and socially and we became friends.
But we got really close after the disputed 2007 governorship election which I contested in the State of Osun.
He was a strong member of the legal team that brilliantly prosecuted my legendary case at the election petition tribunal in Osogbo, the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, the retrial at the second tribunal and again at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan where the final judgement returned our gubernatorial mandate after 42 months of a titanic legal struggle.
Deji
Deji was a hero of that titanic legal battle. He gave his all in diligence, devotion, dedication, commitment and zeal. He never missed a single sitting throughout the entire length of the hearing in Osogbo and Ibadan roundabout.
It was therefore distressing to learn of his indisposition for some time and the ultimate translation of such an extraordinary personality as the cold hands of death snatched him.
Barrister Deji Sasegbon was a good man who excelled in his chosen profession, in his community and the society at large.
He was an epitome of Omoluabi, the quintessential Yoruba person in hard work, charity, honour, integrity, courage and chivalry. He was a generous spirit.
Deji established himself in his profession as the archetypal lawman – an advocate, a defender, a crusader, a constitutionalist, a stickler to procedure and the rule of lawand an eminent legal scholar.
His weekly law publications will constitute an unperishable legacy to the legal profession in Nigeria and anywhere they will be cited in the world.
As painful as the loss of Deji is to all of us, we are consoled by the fact of his exemplary life and sterling character."Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you", says Shannon L. Alder.
As I grieve at his untimely passage, I pray for succour and relief for his doting and dedicated wife and loving children. May he wake up to joyful activities in his new station.
(@GarShehu) 
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