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
Two suspected armed bandits were on Wednesday arrested while one was killed during a gun duel with operatives of the Enugu State Police Command, police spokesperson, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, has said.
A statement from Amaraizu in Enugu said that the hoodlums had allegedly operated on Edinburgh Road, Ogui New Layout and Rangers Avenue, Independence Layout. He said that the two hoodlums were arrested during a manhunt mounted by the police, adding that several arms were recovered.
"The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, has applauded his operatives on their effort leading to the arrest of two of the hoodlums and another dead making it three. "The hoodlums had operated around Edinburgh/Ogui New Layout axis which led to the death of one person.
"The operatives confronted them head-on, ensuring that the hoodlums did not have a free day. Man-hunt for other members of the gang is still on," Amaraizu said.
Meanwhile, sporadic gun shots were later heard around Independence Avenue close to the Government House. The area was cordoned off by the police as people ran away in different directions.
Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara on Wednesday vowed that all those implicated in the killing of eight persons in Talata Mafara, Zamfara, would be exposed and prosecuted. The governor made the vow on Wednesday in Abuja while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said that though no arrest had been made, security officials had intensified investigation into the incident with a view to apprehending all those involved in the religious unrest. He said: “as at the time I left Zamfara, no arrest yet, immediately the incident happened, the school authority shut down the school.
“The police and the DSS are carrying out their investigations and soon there will be arrests. “The government will not take this lightly; people should not take laws into their hands. “If you say the punishment for who abuses the Prophet should be killed and you now killed innocent people.
“By the way, there is a government in place, there are laws and there are courts where Islamic laws are practised in Zamfara. “So, why should someone take laws into his hands? “So, definitely all the culprits will be brought to book.''
Yari, who condemned the religious unrest, dismissed social media reports that Christians were killed, saying that seven out of the eight persons that lost their lives during the incident were Muslims.
The Kano State House of Assembly on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of all Kwankwasiyya inscriptions from public buildings in Kano metropolis and other local government areas of the state.
The directive followed a motion by Alhaji Baffa Babba-Dan-Agundi, member representing Kano Municipal Constituency and Chairman, House Committee on Education. The motion was unanimously adopted by all the 40 members of the State Assembly.
The House urged the 44 local government councils to comply with the order within one month. The House directed that the Kwankwasiyya inscriptions, linked to former Gov. Rabiu Kwakwanso, be replaced with the names of prominent citizens of the state.
Meanwhile, the development had heightened suspicion that the animosity between Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje and his predecessor had taken a new dimension.
The House had also on Wednesday screened a commissioner nominee, Hajiya Yardada Maikano-Bichi, whose name was submitted on Monday.
The wrangling within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi state assumed a worrisome dimension on Wednesday when two groups clashed at its National Secretariat, Abuja.
A group of members of the party from the state had arrived at the secretariat, protesting the handling of affairs by the governor, Mohammed Abubakar. Leader of the group, Galadima Abba, said to be youth leader in the state, said that the governor had failed in his duties.
Amid chantings against the governor, Abba said that the group was at the secretariat to draw attention of the party to its imminent collapse in the state due to poor handling of affairs by the governor. ”Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, has failed; he cannot pay salary of workers and is unable to pay pensioners.
”Most of his appointments are to PDP members while the APC appointees are been removed; we are calling on the national leadership to act fast by intervening in order to save Bauchi state from this debacle,?” he said. However, in a turn of events, some of the anti-governor protesters suddenly changed stance and started chanting slogans in his favour.
?Umar Saleh, a leader who emerged among the “changed'' protesters, said “the governor has done nothing wrong. Those that want to remove him have something to hide. ”He is doing well and we support him. Allegations that he is owing workers their salaries for months is untrue and complaints about unending verification is to totally rid the state of ghost workers,” he said.
At that point, the atmosphere became charged and the groups engaged themselves in altercations and fisticuffs, almost leading to a free-for-all. The situation was, however, checked by security men and party staff at the secretariat, and all the members went into a closed-door meeting for about four hours.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Chairman of the party in the state, Mr Uba Nana, said ”APC is one and united in Bauchi state. ”We are working day-in, day-out to deliver our promises to the electorate. We are addressed as one united party so that anyone who voted for APC will have no cause to regret.”
Nana said that as a family, even when arguments arose, it should be settled amicably through dialogue. He argued that conflicts must arise in any normal setting, saying, ”whether it’s a civil or international war, nothing can be achieved on the battle field unless by dialogue.
”Many states cannot sustain themselves through internally generated revenue; Bauchi is one of those. We only depend on Federation Account. ”Salaries are still being paid in full in Bauchi; no salary cut like other states. The situation we found ourselves is the bunch of problems we inherited from the previous administration.
”Even if there is a problem, this is something we should sit down and address as one family. ”The governor should be commended not condemned; verification is necessary, only the real staff will be paid.” Nana also said that APC was not in a fight with anybody and had not disrespected the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, who is an indigene of the state and member of the party, in any way.
On whether the governor would stand another election, he said, ”what is before us is not the question of 2019. ”What is before us is how do to deliver successfully to the electorate. Go to Bauchi and see what is happening, only time will tell.” It would be recalled that Dogara recently led a delegation of top government functionaries and party members from the state, including the Minister of Education, Prof. Adamu Adamu, to the party national secretariat to report Gov. Abubakar?.
They accused the governor of mismanaging the bailout funds given to the state, alleging that he did not pay staff salaries.
KANO-THE Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi, Wednesday, urged the Federal Government to emulate Lagos State that had shown how the economy can develop without relying on a commodity to avoid the pitfalls of last administration.
Sanusi II
The Emir, who spoke during a lecture he delivered at the second day of the 15th Joint Planning Board, JPB, and National Council on Development Planning organised by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning in collaboration with Kano State government, said the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration needs to free itself from voodoo economists at the corridor of power.
He noted that his relief lies on Lagos that had demonstrated a positive role in the way forward for others to emulate. He said: "As it stands today, Lagos' role on the economic future of Nigeria is critical than what people think of the Niger Delta region.
"We are spending 30 to 40 percent of every Naira we earn servicing debt. "The new borrowings were simply recycled into much higher recurrent expenditure. The GDP was growing largely due to consumers items."
He said Federal Govern-ment can learn from Lagos policies formulation that boost business and attract investors, adding that the Lagos example can bail the country out of its economic woes. He described as unwholesome a situation where somebody pull through a connection and rake in billions of naira without commiserate effort.
He said: "With my background in the banking sector, and now a royal father, I can sit in my garden and make billions through forex market without sweat. "This is how most of those you called billionaires made their money."
Niger state government has allocated about 30,000 hectares of land in Bobi community, Mariga Local Government Area as grazing reserve for herders.
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State
Governor Abubakar Bello disclosed this during a meeting with the national leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) in Minna.
Bello also promised to open up additional grazing reserves in designated locations across the state, in the ongoing effort to end farmers/herders clash in the state.
He said the Bobi grazing reserve is enough to accommodate half of the cattle in the state.
He said facilities such as veterinary clinic, water and adequate feeds will be provided at the Bobi grazing reserve.
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the September 10, 2016 governorship election in Edo state, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has reached a pact to build roads and other amenities for communities of Iyekogba, Oredo local government area of Edo State, if he becomes governor.
Ize-Iyamu
The pact commits Pastor Ize-Iyemu to execute the projects in the document if voted governor.
The communities of about 53 villages had vowed only to support the governorship candidate who would be willing to enter into a formal agreement with them on the provision of amenities and other infrastructures.
At a meeting with traditional rulers and youth groups, the candidate was presented with a list of projects contained in a document he would be required to execute on assumption of office.
The list contained roads, schools and the appointment of indigenes into influential positions into his government.
The governorship candidate went ahead to sign the document, saying he had no problems doing.
Chairman of the traditional council of the area, Anthony Osayemwenre, said the communities had resolved that their support for any candidate would be dependent on his going into a signed agreement with them.
He lamented that in spite of their size and contributions to the determination of the electoral process, Iyekogba communities had always lacked government impact by way of provision of necessary infrastructure.
He said this time, their demands had been spelt out clearly and would become a reference point when the candidate was elected governor.
Ize-Iyamu said he was impressed by the initiative of the communities and he had no difficulty signing because all the requests were in consonance with his development drive and that of his party.
He used the occasion to introduce his written manifesto titled the Simple Agenda which articulates how he intends to achieve his development goals.
Ize-Iyamu, called the attention of the members of the communities to a page in the Agenda where he mentioned the construction of the roads in Iyekogba to link Ekewan Communities in Ovia North East Local Government Area.
He said beyond the facilities requested, he desired to bring industrialization to Iyekogba so as to enhance the economy of the place as well as create jobs for members of the communities.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday in Abuja said it has started planning for 2017 budget just as it has approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategic Paper (FSP) for 2017 to 2019.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo-Udoma, made this known while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He revealed that there was extensive consultation with stakeholders, including state governors and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) before the document was presented to FEC for the approval.
According to him, it is on the basis of the approved MTEF that the 2017, 2018 and 2019 budgets will be fashioned. Udo-Udoma said “today, the Federal Executive Council approved Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for 2017 to 2019, that is, the MTEF and the FSP for the next three years.
“As you know, the Fiscal Responsibility Act requires the executive to prepare the MTEF and send it to the National Assembly for consideration. “And it is on the basis of the MTEF that the next budget will be fashioned.
“So, in short, we have started the process of preparing the 2017 budget. “Before the MTEF was presented to FEC for consideration, there was extensive consultation with the private sector, governors and NGOs.”
According to him, the government intends to intensify efforts in pursuing manpower0driven economy in the 2017-2019 MTEF. He maintained that with the MTEF, government intended to pursue gender sensitive, pro-poor and inclusive social intervention schemes similar to the 2016 social intervention programmes.
He said “we intend to intensify effort to diversify the economy, we intend to go on with the implementation of ongoing reforms in public finance, we intend to enhance the environment for ease of business so as to generate private sector and private investment.
“We also intend to continue to pursue gender sensitive, pro-poor and inclusive social intervention schemes similar to what we did in 2016, our social intervention programmes are going to be sustained.” He noted that the Federal Government had fixed 42.5 dollars per barrel and 2.2 million barrel per day production of crude oil as assumptions for the 2017 budget.
“Let me share with you some of the key parameters and assumptions which will be underpinning the 2017-2019 MTEF. “Oil price benchmark: We intend to use 42.50 dollars as reference price in 2017. We are projecting 45 dollars in 2018 and 50 dollars in 2019.
“So, we are keeping to the very conservative in terms of the reference price of crude oil, even though we are expecting it to go higher than this. But, we are keeping to an extremely conservative price scenario. “In terms of oil production, we are keeping to the same level of this year for 2017 and that is 2.2 million barrels per day.
“For 2018, 2.3 million barrels per day; and for 2019, 2.4 million barrels per day. “In terms of growth rate, we are targeting three per cent growth rate in 2017 and 4.26 per cent growth rate in 2018 and a 4.04 per cent growth rate in 2019.
The minister explained that the 2019 rate was slightly lower than 2018 because 2019 would be an election year. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, also disclosed that FEC had ratified the World Trade Organisation's Trade Facilitation Agreement.
According to him, the agreement seeks to reduce the cost of doing business among members of the WTO He said “Council also approved the ratification of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation agreement. “This is an agreement approved by all members of WTO in the ministerial conference that was held in 2013.
“What that agreement seeks to do is basically to lower the cost of trade generally for everybody. `There was clear understanding that everybody benefits from lowering the cost of doing trade, it is particularly beneficial to developing countries that want to be able to access the international market. “Nigeria was one of the countries that approved the agreement then, and we have been going through the process to ratify the agreement so that it would come into effect.
“The idea is that the agreement will come into effect when it is ratified by two thirds of all the countries that approved it originally; we think that will happen sometimes this year.''
Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers said his administration has ensured that the people of the state enjoyed good governance and development.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Electronic Media to the governor, Simeon Nwakaudu, and made available to newsmen in Abuja.
Wike said this while addressing the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 9 at the Institute of Security Service (ISS), Abuja, on Wednesday.
He also said that his administration had revived the state judiciary and made it more functional and independent.
The governor stated that the State House of Assembly also enjoyed independence, while the state civil service had been revived by his administration.
He called for reforms of relevant Federal and State institutions to ensure that they contributed to the development of the country.
By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor Stock market sentiment Wednesday came against all the banks indicted by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over Treasury Single Account, TSA, infractions forcing a total loss of N8.1 billion on their investors, as the share prices shed weight.
The affected banks are United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), First Bank of Nigeria, Diamond Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
The other banks involved in the sanction, Heritage Bank and Keystone Bank, are not in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
CBN had barred the affected banks from dealing in foreign exchange transactions until they regularize their positions with the apex bank in respect of TSA obligations on the account of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, forex receipts.
Consequently, investors reacted to this development by offloading the shares causing some degree of mark-down in the stock prices.
The loss momentum was led by stocks of Diamond Bank and UBA which lost about N2.5 billion each, but while Diamond's share value dropped by a huge 8.9 per cent that of UBA dropped by 1.5 per cent.
They were followed by FCMB which dropped by 5.0 per cent translating into a financial loss of N1.19 billion to the shareholders.
Shareholders lost N863 million, N350 million, N326 million and N289 million in Sterling Bank, Skye Bank, First Bank and Fidelity Bank respectively.
Stock market dealers believed the adverse sentiments were buoyed by perceived dependency of the banks on foreign exchange transactions for a huge portion of their earnings, and reasoned that the CBN action would translate into erosion of the banks' profits and returns to the investors in their stocks.
Meanwhile more of the affected banks have reacted to the alleged withholding of foreign exchange inflows from NNPC, for which they were sanctioned.
The Ebonyi Government has threatened to seal some banks operating in the state owing it debt amounting to N4 billion if they failed to pay back after seven days. The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Sen. Emmanuel Onwe, who made the threat on Wednesday in Abakaliki, said that the managers of the affected banks were taking the government for granted.
He warned that the premises of the affected banks would be sealed in accordance with the revenue law of the state, adding that there would be no compromise. “The affected banks are still retaining excess charges, excess deductions, withholding taxes, excess interest charges, non-remittance of Pay As Your Earn (PAYE) taxes," he said.
Onwe announced that the state Executive Council had approved N100 million to pay the fees of Ebonyi state students studying abroad on scholarship. “The exco also approved N43 million for students studying marine engineering abroad; government will also pay the scholarship of its students studying within the country," he said.
The commissioner said that the executive reviewed the state of uncompleted contracts across the state and expressed frustration with the lackadaisical attitude of some contractors handling government projects. “The government has made several efforts to move the contractors to site, but most of them did not comply; government may have to review their contracts.
“The government views the contractor's attitude as hostile which we will not ignore; the contractors are given seven days to mobilise to their various sites. “Contractor who claim the government is owing them should come for negotiations,'' he said,
Onwe clarified that the determination of the government to deal with contractors who refused to mobilize to site does not in any way mean probe of the past administration in the state.
The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, said the dismissed 2,000 Immigration recruits must pass through screening before being reabsorbed into the Service. Babandede said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja following the continued protest by the 2,000 dismissed illegal recruits.
The 2,000 Immigration recruits have been protesting the directive by the NIS that they must past through background checks/screening before employment. The Immigration boss said that the background checks? which include: security clearance, drug test, certificate verification and the ‘age on rank’ policy must be strictly adhered to.
Babandede? ?said the service would continue with the planned screening scheduled to hold from on Aug. 29 to Sept. 4 at the NIS headquarters. “Failure to submit oneself for screening would be regarded as withdrawal of interest in the recruitment exercise,” he said.
He said that there was no ulterior motive attached to the screening exercise and assured that those cleared would be reabsorbed. The comptroller-general, who maintained that the 2,000 recruits were not screened before they were recruited in 2015, noted that “we can’t give a riffle to a drug addict, he will kill people''.
He said those who were protesting against the screening exercise were those who “are drug addicts, brandishing fake certificates” and are “too old to be employed into the Service”. He assured that no one would be victimised, stressing that government had made financial provision to capture their salaries.
The 2,000 recruits were employed into the Service by a Presidential Committee in February 2015 after the ill-fated recruitment in March, 2014 where some applicants died and many others sustained injuries, but were dismissed later in the year.
Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue, has announced N5 million reward for anybody with useful information that would aid the security agencies arrest his former amnesty boss, Terwase Akwaza.
Mr Bem Meladu, the acting Secretary to the State Government (SSG), made the announcement on Wednesday in Makurdi while addressing newsmen at the end of the state security meeting.
He said that the reward was to facilitate the arrest of Akwaza, who is on the run from police arrest. Akwaza, a beneficiary of the state amnesty programme, had been declared wanted by the police for his alleged involvement in kidnapping, armed robbery and assassinations.
The Police in Benue said they wanted Akwaza, popularly called Gana, for his alleged involvement in the killing of Ortom’s security aide, Mr Denen Igbana and rustling of over 3,000 cattle in the state.
Meladu said that the Security Council had also directed the CP to re-open the case of the Catholic priest in the state who was kidnapped and assassinated. He said the order became imperative to unearth the mystery surrounding the assassination of the priest.
The Buhari-led Federal Government has approved the appointment of Dr Ezekiel Oseni as acting Managing Director of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND).
The information is contained in a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Isa-Dutse stated that “Oseni's appointment which takes immediate effect is made under a management agreement between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Industry (BoI).''
The permanent secretary noted that Oseni was until his appointment, a General Manager and Chief Risk Manager at the BoI.
Isa-Dutse said Oseni had the mandate among others to reposition the organisation and to ensure that all outstanding indebtedness were cleared.
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi, on Wednesday attributed the current economic recession in the country to inability of the past administrations to diversify the economy.
He made the remark while delivering a lecture at the ongoing 15th meetings of the Joint Planning Board and National Council on Development Planning in Kano.
He said there was urgent need for the country to return to the drawing board and expand the economy through wise investment for the economic growth and development of the country.
"If we do not expand the economy through wise investment, we can end up in classical Malthusian situation.
"If this government continues to behave the way the past government behaved, we will end up where Jonathan ended."
He said in a situation where one sits down with a telephone call to make one billion Naira without investing a single Kobo, that system is wrong and unsustainable.
He lamented that in spite of the past experiences we had on our socio-economic challenges, the country was still making the same mistakes as we cannot process tomato paste. "In a situation where we cannot process tomato. Tomato paste is being imported from China. It is sad."he said. The title of the paper is: Nigeria In search of new growth model.
South Africa’s Finance Minister said Wednesday he would not appear before police as part of their probe into a spy unit formed while he was the country’s top tax man.
Pravin Gordhan who was commissioner of South African Revenue Service (SARS) from 1999 to 2009 has faced allegations that the “rogue spy unit” spied on politicians, including the current President Jacob Zuma.Pravin Gordhan
On Tuesday elite police investigators known as the Hawks summoned Gordhan and other former SARS officials to present themselves for questioning over the unit.
Gordhan said in a statement he had been advised that the was “under no obligation” to present himself to the police.
He acknowledged the existence of the unit, insisting that it was a legal body and its operations were in line with tax and customs rules.
“I therefore, do not intend to present myself for a warning statement for many considerations, both legal and given my other commitments,” he said in a statement.
“I have a job to do in a difficult economic environment and serve South Africa as best I can. Let me do my job.”
Investigators had earlier this year sent Gordhan a list of 27 questions to answer regarding the unit.
Gordhan said in a statement that if any of the members of the so called spy unit had engaged in “unlawful activities then they did do without my knowledge or consent.”
The news of the investigation into Gordhan has been widely criticised by opposition parties and economists, with some describing it as a political witch hunt.
The elite Hawks police unit has gained a reputation for being used to fight political battles. Gordhan is known for his tough talk against wasteful expenditure, something which has put him at odds with some top government officials.
A widely respected technocrat, Gordhan was finance minister from 2009 to 2014 before he was shifted to the cooperative governance portfolio.
In December 2015, he was recalled to the crucial finance ministry after the firing of the then minister Desmond van Rooyen.
News of the investigation has also hit the markets, with the rand falling 1.5 percent to 13.21 against the dollar.
A 26-year-old unemployed, Toheeb Adetunji, who allegedly stole a laptop valued at N120, 000, was on Wednesday docked in Lagos.
The accused, whose address is unknown, is facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and escape from lawful custody at an Ojo Magistrates' Court. The prosecutor, Insp. Uche Simon, told the court that the accused, with others still at large, committed the offences at 1: 00 p.m., on July 28, at Festac Town, Lagos.
Simon alleged that the accused stole the laptop from one Abiola Ogundokun.
“Adetunji stole the laptop from the complainant who was about entering a commercial bus “Ogundokun raised an alarm and the accused was caught by passers-by and handed over to the police while the others escaped,'' he said.
The prosecutor also alleged that the accused had on Aug. 1, at Amuwo Odofin Police Station, escaped from lawful custody. He said the offences contravened Sections 106, 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused could bag a three-year jail term if convicted. Adetunji, however, pleaded not guilty. The Magistrate, Mr Titus Abolarinwa, granted the accused N150, 000 bail with two sureties in like sum.
Abolarinwa said that one of the sureties must be a blood relation of the accused, and should be gainfully employed with evidence of three years tax payment in the state. The magistrate adjourned the case till Oct. 24 for further hearing.
A welding gas explosion in Damaturu on Wednesday killed one person and caused panic, making people to scamper for safety.
Lt. George Okupe, the Army spokesman in the state, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“It was an accidental explosion from a welding tank when a welder was working on a pipe for a soldier.
“The welder died instantly while the soldier and one other civilian sustained injuries and are responding to treatment at the Specialists Hospital Damaturu,'' Okupe said.
The Army spokesman said the situation had been brought under control but that investigation was ongoing.
He urged the people not to panic but to go about their normal businesses.
Okupe solicited the support and cooperation of the people, saying “the fight against insurgency is still on and requires collective responsibility''.
NAN reports that normalcy has since returned to the town as people go about their normal activities.
CALEB AYANSINA ABUJA - CHRISTIAN Elders, under the auspices of the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF), Wednesday, disagreed with the Sultan of Sokoto, Shah 'ad Abubakar, 111, that Nigeria is a multi-religious state that could not be islamised.
The Chairman of NCEF, Solomon Asemota, SAN, insisted that Nigeria is factually an Islamic state contrary to the position of the 1999 constitution section 10 that "the Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State religion".
Asemota in a statement signed and made available to Vanguard in Abuja alleged that 'secret and civilised jihad' is being practised in the country by some Muslim leaders, who are in the position of authority.
Sultan was quoted in the report to have said that "It is not possible to Islamize Nigeria. If God had wanted, he would have created all Christians or all Muslims. We are not secular but a multi-religious state because the people are so religious. We must respect one another and understand the tenets of the two religions."
But NCEF said going by the statement, Nigeria had accepted Christianity and Islam as the State religions as against the spirit of the constitution.
Mr Sunday Alhassan, President, National Union of Postal and Telecommunication (NUPTE), on Wednesday said the proposed Communication Service Tax (CST) would amount to double taxation. Alhassan told newsmen in Lagos that the bill was anti-workers and if allowed to sail through, would lead to loss of jobs.
The Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, had proposed the imposition of Communication Service Tax (CST). The bill, if passed into law, means that nine per cent tax would be charged on all phone calls, SMS, MMS and data package.
Alhassan said that workers were against the passage of the bill because labour was not invited for the public hearing on it and did not make any contribution. “The proposed bill will lead to drop in calls which will affect the revenue of communication companies.
“If the tax on calls is increased, workers can lose their jobs due to drops in money generated by the companies,'' Alhassan said. He said that it would be unfair to allow the people to pay such tax when workers in a country were still earning N18,000 national minimum wage.
The unionist said that the bill was not realistic now because workers' take-home pay could no longer take them home.
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
As the Super Eagles come together next month for the Africa Cup of Nations tie against Tanzania, Chief coach Salisu Yusuf is yet to sign a contract with the Nigeria Football Federation. Salisu-Yusuf
This is against the background of revelations that the team's technical adviser Gernor Rohr will earn $47,000(about N18m) a month after he agreed terms with the NFF. Yusuf who led an all star Nigeria Professional football League team to a tour of Spain is yet to negotiate contract terms with the NFF as top officials were not readily available.
Before his appointment as the country's chief coach, the 54-year-old Yusuf was assistant coach and then caretaker coach of the national team. He was on a salary of N2million a month before his latest appointment.
An NFF official disclosed: "Salisu Yusuf was to have discussed and agreed on his own contract after he led the NPFL All-Stars on a playing tour of Spain recently, but all the top officials who would have attended to him were overseas on official assignments.
"He does not know what is on the table for him as no one has discussed the contract with him. "It is now hoped he will seal his own contract at least before the AFCON qualifier against Tanzania in Uyo next month."
The banks, whose suspension would remain in force until they remit all the funds to the TSA includes:
United Bank for Africa (UBA) -$530m;
First Bank of Nigeria (FBN)- $469m;
Diamond Bank Plc-$287m;
Sterling Bank Plc-$269m;
Sky Bank Plc -$221m;
Fidelity Bank -$209m;
Keystone Bank- $139;
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) -$125m;
and Heritage Bank-$85m, totaling .
It will be recalled that CBN had couple of months ago, released the highlights of the much awaitedflexible foreign exchange market policy, which according to report, followed the investigation revealed.
The highlights, which are key notes and agreements reached by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), were released on Wednesday, weeks after the Monetary Policy Committee announced the introduction of the policy.
After itsmeeting of May 24, the CBN said the policy would allow the bank retain a small portion of foreign exchange for critical transactions.
However, going by the calculation, Vanguard investigation, revealed that the erring banks had in its records Zennith Bank (Undisclosed amount), which was later removed from the list of barred banks.
Barely two weeks after Nigeria recorded two fresh cases of Polio in Borno State, the World Health Organisation, WHO, on Tuesday, disclosed that there were urgent health problems that could lead to an outbreak of infectious diseases in 15 local government Areas formerly held by Boko Haram insurgents.
Bama IDP Camp: Children at Bama IDP Camp in Maiduguri during Minister's Tour of Bama . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.
It said some of the problems include acute malnutrition, measles, environmental health challenges among others.
WHO, in a statement, noted that its estimated mortality rates in some of the areas were four times higher than emergency thresholds.
According to WHO, the rate of severe malnutrition is estimated to be 14 percent and one of the local government areas, where two polio cases were reported, was still inaccessible-ble to health workers.
Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Peter Salama, said: "Measles cases have also been reported in the area, further complicating a challenging humanitarian environment.
"The immediate goal of WHO and its partners is to urgently reduce the rates of death and disease by rapidly scaling up life-saving health services. The working environment in the affected areas is extremely challenging."
PORT HARCOURT – Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Borno state, Hon Kaka Shehu Lawan has accused former governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Modu Sherif of being responsible for the growth of the dreaded Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, saying he should be arrested and prosecuted.Alimodu-Sheriff
Lawan who spoke Tuesday at one of the sessions at the ongoing annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Port Harcourt said arrest of Sherif over his alleged role in the emergence of Boko Haram will assuage the feelings of millions that have been dislocated by the terrorist actions of the dreaded Islamic group in one way or the other. ,
The Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Hon Lawan alleged that Sherif who was a former governor of Borno state for two terms allegedly encouraged spread of the Islamic terrorist group.
A Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor, Luka Ubangari, was last Tuesday, allegedly killed by hoodlums suspected to be herdsmen at Unguwan Anjo, near Godogodo, in Jema'a Local Government area of Kaduna state.
The incident occurred two days after the visit of Governor Nasir el-Rufai following the killings and burning of some villages.
A man who spoke on the killings on condition of anonymity, said: "We were happy that the Governor (el-Rufai) visited and assured us of improved security and that the killers would be found and punished.
"To our shock, Pastor Luka Ubangari was ambushed, shot and killed as he was riding his motorcycle after an evangelical visit to Golkofa. He was killed by those who are out to remove us from our ancestral lands."
Lingering violence caused by herdsmen in the state reportedly continued in the areas, Godogodo and Sanga Districts, both in Jema'a and Sanga Local Governments areas up until last Tuesday.
El-Rufai, who was in some of the affected villages of Gada Biyu, Anjo and Godogodo in Jema'a Local Government, and in Unguwan Mada, in Sanga Local Government, last Tuesday, condemned the killings of natives and the arson, promising to improve security and bring the culprits to justice.
Later, for the first time in Kaduna State, the governor held the State Security Council meeting in Kafanchan, the commercial hub of Southern Kaduna.
On the killings in Ningon, Mr. Nuhu Tukura, the President of Ningon Community Development Association, NCDA, said: "At 8:45p.m., Sunday night, Mr. Gambo Sule, 38, married with five children and Mr. Benjamin Auta, 35, also married with two children, were killed by unknown herdsmen."
In 2014, Ningon was razed with scores killed after an invasion by alleged herdsmen.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday pledged that the anti-corruption crusade in the country would be deepened and institutionalized to last beyond the life of the current administration.
Mr Femi Adesina, the president's Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity, said in a statement that Buhari made the pledge when he received U. S. Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry, at the State House, Abuja.
PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI (R) AND THE U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MR JOHN KERRY DURING KERRY'S VISIT TO THE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA IN ABUJA.
The president stated that his administration was laying down administrative and financial instructions in the public service that must be obeyed.
“We will insist on the standards we’re establishing.
“We are laying down administrative and financial instructions in the public service that must be obeyed. Any breach will no longer be acceptable.
“We will re-train our staff so that they understand the new orientation, and those who foul of these rules will be prosecuted, no matter who is involved.
“But, we will be fair, just and act according to the rule of law.
“Anyone perceived corrupt is innocent till we can prove it. We will work very hard to establish documentation for successful prosecution, and those in positions of trust will sit up,'' he said.
Buhari appreciated the intervention of the U.S before the 2015 polls, demanding free and fair elections in Nigeria, saying, “America did not do it because of what it stands to benefit from us.
“You did it for the Nigerian people. It tells so much what the U.S stands for in the world”.
On Boko Haram insurgency, he thanked the U.S. for its “hard and soft military help''.
“The training and intelligence that we could not muster ourselves, we received.
“The training has made Boko Haram less of a threat to Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, while the military hardware has given our troops added confidence,'' he said.
The president said that though militancy in the Niger Delta had impacted negatively on the economy and affected positive intentions of international and local investors, government had showed restraint to use of real force.
On the economy, he assured that the focus of his administration was on the diversification “having learnt our lessons from years of over dependence on oil''.
In his remarks, Kerry commended the courage of Buhari in fighting corruption.
“We applaud what you are doing. Corruption creates a ready-made playing field for recruiting extremists.
“You inherited a big problem, and we will support you in any way we can. We will work with you very closely.
“We don’t want to interfere, but will offer opportunities as you require,” Kerry said.
He pledged his government's determination to assist Nigeria in tackling the humanitarian challenges in the North-East, adding that U.S. would get Britain, France, and others “to augment the support.''
“Nigeria is priority for us. We won’t miss the opportunity to work together, because you are making significant progress,'' he said.
By AbdulSalam Muhammad KANO – In a dramatic turn of events, the Kano police Command Tuesday evening withdrew it’s personnel barely 15 hours after siege. *Kwankwaso
Police authority in Kano are keeping sealed lips over the soft stand effort to speak with the police Commissioner, Rabiu Yusuf proved abortive .
However, Vanguard learned that the withdrawal of the police officers was sequel to complaint allegedly lodged to higher authorities by the sitting MP.
As at 6.00pm that Vanguard visited the Lugard road residence of the former Governor, it was empty devoid of bustle and hustle associated with multi-million naira Guest House.
Shortly after the withdrawal, handful of Kwankwaasiyya faithful rushed to occupy the building to celebrate their freedom.
The link roads to Kwnankwaso’s Lugard residence that were initially cordoned off have been open to free flow of traffic.
The seal up of Kwankwaso’s residence according to the police was done to “prevent illegal assembly”
By Bashir Adefaka PrimateElijah Babatunde Ayodele, Spiritual Leader of INRI Spiritual and Evangelical Church, Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, appears set to make possible his promised mobilization of 30,000 prophets to pray for Nigeria as he storms Port Harcourt this Thursday August 25, 2016 with a crusade he tagged, "The Power of the Word," meaning in local language of the location state "Ike no na okwu Chineke." In this interview he tells Vanguard that crusade will be contact point to bring prince to Niger Delta even as he spoke other issues bothering how PDP is far on its path to extinction and rest. Excerpts:
You are known for saying you are sad whenever your negative prophecy comes to past. How do you feel with Nigerian Dream Team not lifting the Olympic trophy, which you had talked about?
Primate Ayodele
Well the thing is that, I don't talk negative because there is nothing that is called negative prophecy. Prophecy is warning against a looming danger and if you are able to guard against the danger after the warning, good for you. Now, what I want to say is that this government will agree that there is corruption in all sectors of the country. Let Solomon Dalung be removed and Amaju Pinnick must be sent on suspension with immediate effect because now they have disgraced the football federation of Nigeria.
I warned Pinnick ahead of time and I sent him a letter for Nigeria not to lose and now, look at what has happened wasting our money even at a time that government is even talking about economic problem in the country. People like Fani Amun, Taiwo Ogunjobi, let them come on board. These are the people who have what it takes to take Nigeria to a greater height talking of sports in Nigeria, not Dalung, not Pinnick. State of emergency should be declared immediately in the sports sector because football unites and brings us together. If you want to capture Nigerians to understanding you, then use football to do so. If Dalung and Pinnick are not removed now as minister and NFF boss respectively, our football will collapse. They are not competent to be there.
You also talked about state of the economy that Nigerian oil would dry in some years coming.?
(Cuts in) It was since 2012 that it was revealed that Nigerian government would diversify the economy and that the oil of the country would dry in ten years time. I said although some states would be lucky to have oil but that it would not be as booming as expected. Some people would query, what is he talking about? But people who could read things knew what I was talking about and we have had millions of such people telling us to keep it up. We are national prophets because in Nigeria today we have national prophets and we have pastors. Prophet is different from pastor. Pastors cannot see except that they use their Bible to make some prophecies. A prophet will come out and speak the mind of God and say this is what the Lord says.
Solutions Buhari can proffer to economic problems
Now, we are still going to have trouble in our economy and I have five solutions that God has revealed to me and I will release two. Solution number one, except Buhari change his economic team and take right and bold step to reorganize NNPC. It is not even agriculture that will give us money because there is something that will give us money which has not been worked upon. All of this, God has revealed. When Egypt wanted to go into recession in the Bible, God revealed to Pharaoh what he should do before he now went to look for somebody to interpret it. That is all I will say at the moment, otherwise, dollar will rise to N600 to one dollar. Number two there is a wrong in the CBN, Central Bank of Nigeria, which the government has to correct. If they follow these ideas, you will see what is going to happen. Nigeria can still borrow and if we borrow we are in trouble. Despite all the money they say we are collecting, it will still not be enough. What will solve the problem is prayer merged with solution steps because prayer alone without solution steps can't get us anywhere. So, it is time the government should listen to prophet because prophet is part of security intelligence because he will tell you the exact thing that is going to come up. Let get the mind of God and ask, what do we really do? That is the way to go.
You said President would defeat Boko Haram but that after Boko Haram another terrorist group would spring up which would be worse than Boko Haram. With Niger Delta Avengers now tagged economic terrorists, are we in it already?
In 2013, I said if Jonathan left the throne that Boko Haram would subside but that new militants would spring up in the Niger Delta. I have it your paper, I have it everywhere. I ask myself questions about the NSA, National Security Adviser and other security agencies, what have they been doing? They read newspapers their own is to follow it and when there is time for questioning they question. Now, the worse deadly avengers are still coming and mind you, terrorism is not yet over in Nigeria. That is the reason the President must now quickly dialogue with the main avengers. And don't forget, a terrorist group is coming from Iran to cause problem for Nigeria. Government should work ahead of it because I am saying as the Lord has revealed it to me.
You said something about the two major political parties. What is the message?
APC must be very careful so that they would not crack. The people that want to crack APC are already within the party. They are in the party to cause trouble for it and I am telling you, Buhari second term will be very dicey. APC must do a proper cleansing of their fold so that they will not break into two factions and that is why before they do their convention they must be watchful.
PDP issue is in two ways. If they want to get out of their present problem, let them go and change their logo. And the only person that take PDP to wherever they want to go is Bode Olajumoke. I don't care what anybody say about me on this and I don't know Bode Olajumoke. If you put anybody else, PDP will die completely like the AD of those days. And if the PDP governors are not careful they will lose their seats to APC. I can see another party coming from APC, another party coming from PDP that will register a new party that will contest against APC in 2019. There will be Northern agenda that will cause the crack in APC. That is where the problem will start. And don't forget the CPC agenda.
What about ACN agenda in APC?
Heem, I have not seen anything about that.
What about Ghana which you spoke about?
John Dramani Mahmah, before he became President of Ghana, was just like Joyce Hilda Banda of Malawi. I was in Malawi for three days for a crusade planned for 10,000 people ended up having over 13,000 people present and God told me that Joyce Banda would become the President of Malawi. I told her, Banda, the Lord told me that you will become President of Malawi. Hearing that, she ran inside the house in surprise. I have evidence to show that I was the first person that told Joyce Banda that she would become President of Malawi, which she truly became in 2012 before she died in 2014. Now, as for President Mahmah of Ghana, despite all odds, he will still retain his seat in next election for the second term but his second term will be faced with a lot of challenges.
You are storming Port Harcourt this week for a crusade. What for?
The crusade is a contact point to bring peace to the Niger Delta. At the forthcoming election in Rivers State we don't bloodshed, we want peace. We are not inviting everybody. We are inviting only those that that are interested and believe in the Mighty God's ministration and the words of prophets to come. We are not talking about Church at the crusade, whatever your denomination, what is important is bring peace to the Niger Delta. We are saying that in Port Harcourt and the entire Niger Delta, there will be peace and no more bombing.
ALTHOUGH old Anambra, as a state, was created in 1976 from the then East Central State by General Murtala Mohammed, the current geographical area known as Anambra State was created on August 27, 1991 by the General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida military regime. The state retained the name 'Anambra' but lost the somewhat developed Enugu capital city to Enugu State. Awka became its new capital.
Tortuous beginning Thus, Anambra otherwise known as "The Light of The Nation" began its journey into statehood as a rural state.
Anambra is rich in natural gas, crude oil, bauxite, ceramics and almost 100 percent arable soil but most of its natural resources for a long time remained largely untapped. With the avalanche of human and natural resources, Anambra began on a promising note but not without hitches.
Obiano acknowledging cheers from his supporters at a recent function in the state
In the early days of the state, someone driving along the Enugu-Onitsha Express-way could pass Awka, the state capital and enter Enugu State without knowing he had exited Anambra State. Apart from the rusty Awka temporary site of the then Anambra State University of Science and Technology, ASUTECH, there were little or no landmark developments. There was no stadium or a good event centre. There were few tarred roads. The state was full of wealthy and prominent individuals but poor as a corporate entity.
Transformation into a viable state However, 25 years after, Anambra has emerged from the status of a rural state to one of the 10 best states in the country. Apart from the Onitsha fly-over, three other fly-over highways have been built in the last two years. Many health institutions have been built. Now, Anambra is among the few viable states in Nigeria coping with the debilitating economic downturn in terms of internally generated revenue. In this league are Lagos State with N268.22bn IGR in 2015, Riivers State (N82.10bn), Delta State (N40.80bn), Ogun State (N34.59bn), Edo state (N19.11bn), Enugu (N18.08bn), Oyo (N15.66 bn), Anambra (N14.793bn), Akwa Ibom (N14.791bn) and Kano (N13.611bn).
Anambra has the lowest poverty rate in the country and in the last 10 years has been among the top five states in terms of number of students taking school certificate and university entry examinations.
Foundation layers Navy Captain Joseph Abulu, the first military administrator, nursed the baby state for five months at the beginning. He, it was, who, renamed ASUTECH as Nnamdi Azikiwe University before it was made a federal institution. He handed over to the first civilian governor, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, who was in the saddle between January 1992 to November 1993 when the late General Sani Abacha took over the rulership of the country and aborted the fledgling Third Republic. Thereafter, a number of military administrators were in the saddle, namely, Dabo Aliyu, Mike Attah, Rufai and Emmanuel Ukaegbu, who handed over to Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju on May 29, 1999 at the dawn of the Fourth Republic when civil rule returned.
Stunted growth However, the state's growth remained stunted on account of neglect and bad governance, worsened by the menace of godfatherism, which en-snarled and shackled the Mbadinuju administration.
Freedom at last Anambra started seeing a ray of light at the end of the dark tunnel during the Dr Chris Ngige three-year administration. First, he had to disentangle himself from the murderous hold of godfathers, who held the state at the economic jugular. But it was not easy. In the political melee, Ngige became the first governor to be abducted in Nigeria after he failed to honour agreements with his godfathers, who catapulted him to power.
The scenario made observers to wonder how a state that produced the likes of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme Chief Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, Chief Nwafor Orizu, Dim Chukwue, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, Professor Chinua Achebe, Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Professor Humphrey Nwobu Nwosu, Professor Kenneth Dike, Professor Ben Enwonwu, Dr. Pius Okigbo, Chief Jerome Udoji, Professor Dora Akunyili, Cardinal Francis Arinze, Cyprian Ekwensi, Philip Emeagwali, Prof Chike Obi, Chief Osita Osadebe and Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo among others, could descend so low in terms of governance and development.
The tide was to change. After Ngige ditched his godfathers, he channelled the humongous funds that would have been used to 'service' godfathers to developmental projects especially roads, which opened up many parts of the state especially in Anambra Central.
When Ngige's election was annulled in 2006, Mr Peter Obi, who took over from him, continued all the projects started by Ngige and concluded them. He also embarked on numerous projects of his own on roads, healthcare, education, industrialisation; provision of social amenities and empowerment of the citizenry.
He paid the backlog of salaries and pension arrears owed workers and pensioners in the state. By the time he was leaving office in 2014, Obi had made Anambra oil producing state, attracted a host of industries to the state, created positive outlook for the state's finances and saved a lot of money, which he handed over to his successor, Chief Willie Obiano.
To address the problems arising from rapid urbanisation Governor Obi, with the assistance of the UN-HABITAT produced a 20-year structural plan (2009-2028) for three major cities in the state, Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka Capital Territory to restore urban planning and guide their growth into the future.
The plans contain policies and proposals for land use, city beautification, road infrastructure, industrial development, housing, waste disposal, water supply, health and educational facilities to turn the cities in Anambra into successful urban areas to generate employment, wealth and provide high living standards for residents.
Obiano's rapid approach Like his two immediate predecessors, Chief Obiano is also in a hurry to take Anambra to the next level. In two years, he has built massively on the foundation laid by his predecessors. Over the last two decades the rural/urban exodus has caused a shift, making Anambra a highly urbanized state With 62 per cent of Anambra population living in urban areas, Obiano continued with measures to meet the attendant socio-economic and environmental needs of the state.. In October 2015, he signed a memorandum of understanding with Galway modular housing company, Affordable Building Concepts International for 10,000 housing units in the State.
Arguably, Anambra has the best intra-city and intra-town road networks in the country.
On assumption of office, Governor Obiano made agriculture his main trust; about two months into the life of his administration, he launched the Agricultural Revolution in Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area. The action has made Anambra State to become an exporter of farm produce to Europe.
The state has also flooded the market with a wholly indigenous brand of rice known as Anambra Rice which is competing favourably with other brands in the market.
So far, the state government has attracted $150m from Coscharis Farms Project in Anaku, $50m from NOVTEC Farms Ltd in Ndikelionwu, $160m from Joseph Agro Ltd rice project in Omor, $220m from Ekcel Farms tomato production farm in Omasi and $50m from the Songhai/Delfarms integrated organic farm project in Igbariam. There are also Grains & Silos with $40m investment in storage facilities, Lynden Farms with the $61m poultry farm in Igbariam and Tricity Integrated Farms with $11.4m ultra-modern abattoir in Awka.
Among others, Governor Obiano said his objective is to have a fully developed Oil and Gas sector by 2018 in Anambra State and he intends to achieve this through three broad areas of intervention - policy formulation and infrastructure development, private sector participation and community re-orientation.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, on Tuesday, said the aggressive repositioning of the broadcast stations in the State was part of his administration's strategy aimed at empowering the media outfits to compare favorably with the best in the world, pledging that the State would soon celebrate the birth of new broadcast machinery.
Gov. Ambode
Governor Ambode, who spoke while declaring open the 65th General Assembly of the Broadcast Organisations of Nigeria (BON) held in Lagos, said his passion for the information platforms was very high, a development he said accounted for the massive investment aimed re-energizing the broadcast stations in the State.
He said: "As an administration, we are committed to re-energizing, re-positioning and re-engineering our broadcast stations by strengthening their operations with the provision of cutting-edge technology that will stand them out amongst their peers around the world.
"I must confess here that as a Governor, my passion for the information platforms is very high. This is because of my belief that the media and information machinery are the windows through which the world sees us and vice-versa," Governor Ambode said.
The Governor, who was represented by the State's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said in recent times, his administration provided the radio stations in the State with new transmitters and studios, while Lagos Television is currently undergoing a holistic overhauling of its non-digital equipment, adding that the station had just taken delivery of six stream box avenirs that would enable it improve on electronic news gathering abilities, while a new HD Outside Broadcast Van would soon be delivered in the coming days.
"During my first anniversary broadcast, I made a commitment to turn around the three stations. I want to assure you that we are on course. As we hope to invite our friends from all over Nigeria to celebrate the birth of a new broadcast machinery in Lagos State.
"Lagos State Government is committed through our broadcast stations to deliver first class service to the people of the State as exemplified through the various projects being executed by this administration among which are road projects, the 'Light Up Lagos' Project and series of others.
"We are also committed to promoting the broadcast industry to an enviable height in the coming years. Our dream Media City project will be a one-stop media empire to be located in the heart of Ikeja that will be the pride of all," the Governor said.
Governor Ambode, who also commended BON for its various initiatives, said he was delighted to be identified with the ideals of the broadcast industry which represents the bridge between the people and their elected representatives.
Earlier, in his remarks, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the broadcast media has a critical role to play in helping government to quell insurgency and militancy in some parts of the country, a development he said was part of reasons why government was putting so much efforts and resources in achieving a more developed broadcast industry as evident in the efforts toward the digital broadcasting switch over.
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Ayotunde Adesugba, also charged the media to be at the vanguard of fighting all aspects of corruption at all levels by visibly setting agenda to fight graft, indiscipline and nepotism, among others.
Senate Leader, Sen. Ali Ndume, has called on agitators of restructuring of the Nigeria to be cautious in their demand.
Ndume made the call while addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said that what was required to reposition the economy was good governance at all levels of government and not restructuring as being clamoured.
Mohammed Ndume
He said that finding solutions to the enormous challenges ravaging the country, including economic hardship and security should be the focus and not restructuring.
“Whatever it is, my own position on the clamour for restructuring is that since we are in the era of democracy, the people should be allowed to decide and not individuals.
“Nobody should claim monopoly of interest of the people from his or her area by sitting down with few others and calling other zones, saying that Nigeria should restructure; no, I don’t support that.
“I support collective decision by Nigerians. We came together collectively not by force, not by insult, but by negotiation.
“Even our colonial masters wanted to carve out a country called Nigeria and out of three basic regions, north, western and eastern regions, there were series of conferences that led to that.
“As at 1957 or 1958 when Nigeria was ready and even our colonial masters were ready to grant us our independence, the north said it was not ready then.
“This made both the Western and Eastern regions that didn’t want to go their separate ways at that time to wait till 1960 for independence for Nigeria.
“In fact, in 1979, the Secretary to the State Government of Borno State was a Yoruba man and the Chief Justice of Borno State was an Igbo man.
“They were living in harmony with people of their host communities without calling for restructuring,'' he said.
On economic situation in the country, Ndume said that drop in price of oil at the international market and vandalism of oil pipelines by aggrieved militants in the Niger Delta had plunged the nation into hardship.
He, however, assured that with gradual rise in the price of oil in the international market and resolve of the militants to give peace a chance in their area, the hardship would become a thing of the past.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari was not to be blamed for the hardship, noting that none of his critics had been able to proffer solutions to the problems confronting the country.
“I am one of the strong supporters of the president because I know that the person of President Muhammadu Buhari has very good intentions for this country.
“ He didn’t come to power in other to make anything for himself but to fix Nigeria and move Nigeria forward.
“The first three priorities of the government are securing the nation, fighting corruption and putting in place needed infrastructure for genuine development.
“Now the issue of people suffering, especially in terms of the cost of living is well known and no leadership can pretend that it doesn’t know this.
“But the question now is, is the solution there and is deliberately being refused? The answer is `no'.
“We are a mono-product economy, the price of our dependent source of income which is oil, went down from above 100 dollars to below 30 dollars at one point and it is now gradually trying to recover.
“That is our major source of income and even when the price was recovering a little, the issue of Niger Delta Avengers cropped up.
“Pipelines were blown up and production went down from 2.2 million barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day or even less,'' he said.
Ndume called on Nigerians not to lose hope in the present government, assuring that things would turn around for better soon.
Some operators of travel agencies in the Federal Capital Territory have decried the infiltration of untrained personnel in the sector.
The operators, who spoke in separate interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the trend was detrimental to the wellbeing of the business.
According to them, the sector is a specialised field that requires in-depth training.
*Airport
They expressed worry that travels and tours business had becme an all comers affair, because there were no government policy in place to protect it from infiltration.
Mr Eneji Eneji, the Manager, Voyage Travels and Tours, said in every business, there were set goals, adding that when handled by unprofessional, it would be impossible to achieve.
“When there is no training, it is difficult for an untrained person to understand the fundamentals of how to do the job, so it jeopardises these goals.
“When you do your job well, clients are satisfied and there is every tendency for them to come back and possibly get you some referrals.
“Your employees can also contribute to the success of your company when they are trained to perform their jobs according to industry standards,'' Eneji said
Mrs Carol Agborma, the owner of Safe Haven Travels and Tours Ltd, also corroborated what Eneji said.
“Some people just open an office and say they are running travels and tours.
“You cannot close them, but they are spoiling business for the genuine agents.
“Even though there are registered members of travels and tours, these untrained ones still find their way into the business,'' Agborma said.
According to her, the travels and tours business has its peculiar ups and down season, but infiltration is a very difficult battle to win.
Mr Joseph Idoko, the Manager of Bievenue Travels, said the case of untrained operators had been a battle that is yet to be won by the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA).
“NANTA has deployed every system to see if they can stop the operation of fake agents, but to no avail.
“We were advised by the association to always put NANTA logo on our neon sign, but it has not stopped the fraudulent practices of these unscrupulous elements.
“Because many clients don't know the difference between a registered agent and an unregistered one until there is a problem in the transaction.
“They are really giving us problems, spoiling businesses for us,'' Idoko said
NAN reports that other operators interviewed also corroborated what the other speakers had said.
The operators urged clients to look out for NANTA logo before patronising any travel agent.
“Untrained travel agents cannot produce high-quality products; they also lack adequate knowledge and skills to provide satisfactory customer service.'' (NAN)
Nigeria's Central Bank has barred nine commercial banks from all foreign exchange transactions and operations.
CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele
The banks were barred for hiding some $2.12 billion belonging to the nation's oil corporation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and failed to remit the funds into the Treasury Single Account .
A top Central Bank source confirmed to Channels Television on Tuesday, that President Muhammadu Buhari had been briefed on the matter and the sanctions to be imposed on the defaulting banks.
The nine banks comprise of three tier-one lenders and another six tier-two deposit money banks.
All the banks remain barred from foreign exchange operations until they fully remit the NNPC funds into government coffers via the Treasury Single Account, the apex bank said.
The Treasury Single Account of the government was established in August 2015, with the government saying it would help check leakages in the system.
The apex bank's decision to bar the banks comes two months after it released the highlights of the much awaited flexible foreign exchange market policy.
The highlights, which are key notes and agreements reached by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), were released on Wednesday, weeks after the Monetary Policy Committee announced the introduction of the policy.
After its meeting of May 24, the CBN said the policy would allow the bank retain a small portion of foreign exchange for critical transactions.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated its readiness to conclude the suspended Federal and State Constituency re-run elections in Rivers in October.
This was contained in INEC's daily bulletin issued on Monday in Abuja.
The bulletin quoted INEC National Commissioner in charge of Electoral Operations, Hajiya Amina Zakari, as expressing the Commission's resolve when she addressed stakeholders in Port Harcourt.
INEC boss, Mahmood Yakubu
Zakari, however, said that INEC needed the cooperation of stakeholders, especially members of the political class, to conclude the elections.
Zakari said INEC remained a non-partisan body that was only interested in strengthening Nigeria's democracy by providing political parties and contestants a level playing field.
She said that the Commission was worried that some parts of the Rivers State had no representation at the National and State Assemblies.
Zakari said that necessitated the convening of the forum to discuss issues emanating from the conduct of the May 19 re-run elections which were suspended as a result of violence.
She said that the "cooling off" period was allowed by the Commission to re-strategize on how to return to the affected areas to conclude the elections.
The commissioner said that the March 19 re-run elections were suspended at various stages of post-collation, pre-collation and during collation, due to the prevailing violence then.
She said that the elections could not be concluded because of security reasons and the non-compliance of the political class with the peace resolution signed by them on July 21.
Zakari said that in spite of the efforts of mediators, the conditions earlier set as pre requisite for the conduct of the elections by the Commission were not met in Rivers State.
She said that the elections in Imo and Kano States were conducted because they satisfied INEC's conditions.
The bulletin also quoted, the INEC National Commissioner supervising the South-South Zone, Dr Mohammed Lecky, as saying that INEC “is ready to conclude the re-run elections once the security situation improved".
Lecky appealed to politicians to ensure that the atmosphere was conducive for the elections to be concluded.
It also quoted the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Mr Francis Odesanya as informing all of the readiness of the security agencies to provide a level playing field for the re-run elections.
Odesanya also promised to ensure adequate security during the elections.
A Federal High Court presided over by His Lordship, Honourable Justice A. M. Liman has stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from declaring the result for the suspended re-run election in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Felix-Obuah
Ruling in a suit brought by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State and another, the Judge also restrained INEC from announcing any results in the Local Government Area of the State which election was subsequently suspended by INEC.
He further restrained INEC from announcing any results or figures howsoever generated or compiled purporting to be result of the re-run election for any or all of Khana, Bonny, Gokana, Andoni, Eleme and Tai Local Government Areas of Rivers State or any part of the re-run election scheduled for March 19, 2016 which election was subsequently suspended or postponed.
Consequently, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the state has commended the ruling, stressing that “despite certain cases of misgivings orchestrated by some anti-democratic elements posing as politicians against our judicial system by trying to corrupt some of our eminent and respected jurists, the Nigerian Judiciary still remains the best bet to safeguard the nation's democracy.”
Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the PDP, Bro Felix Obuah, while reacting to the ruling in a statement said the order of the Court presided over by Honourable Justice A. M. Liman further restraining INEC from announcing any results or figures however generated or compiled purporting to be the result of the re-run election for any or all of Khana, Bonny, Gokana, Andoni, Eleme and Tai Local Government Area of the State or any part of the re-run election scheduled for March 19 which election was suspended or postponed is most welcome and shows that Nigeria's democracy is on course with the like of respectable and fearless jurist, Honourable Justice Liman of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt.
But for the rare species of judicial officers of the calibre of Honourable Justice A. M. Liman, Bro Obuah noted, both the judiciary, the third arm of government and the fundamental rights of Nigerians would have been messed up and consigned into the trash tray of political history by notable political desperadoes that have taken the centre stage of the nation's politics.
"It's for this reason that we thank God for the judiciary and still keep hope alive that our democracy must survive despite attempts to muzzle it. We also hope that INEC will conscientiously respect the Court order and act as an unbiased umpire it ought to be", the State PDP boss declared.
It would be recalled that the PDP had headed for the court in suit No.PHC/CS/523/2016 prompted by what it called secret moves by INEC to have the suspended re-run election in Tai LGA reviewed by a committee which it believed was not in good faith, demanding that it (INEC) be restrained from going ahead with the alleged plot.
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, on Tuesday assured Nigerians that they would surmount the nation’s current economic challenges.
Primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria, Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh
Okoh gave the assurance at the retirement service organised for the Most Rev. Adebayo Akinde, Archbishop of Lagos Mainland, held at the Cathedral Church of St Jude, Ebute Meta, Lagos.
“Nigerians should be patient with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
“I believe that God Almighty, with our prayers, will turn around the situation of this country,'' he said.
Okoh later told newsmen on the sidelines of the event that Akinde's retirement was in line with the rules and regulations of the church.
He said that Akinde had made tremendous impact and was leaving where he served better than he met it.
“He was a pioneer bishop of the cathedral during which he executed many projects, organised and led many souls to Christ.
“This place is definitely better than it was before, so we believe that he has left his footprints in the sand of time; we wish him good health and God's grace,” he said.
Okoh said Akinde would still be serving the church, but not in active capacity.
“He has clocked the mandatory age of 70 and by our constitution, he has to retire and a new bishop will take over.
“The church has arranged it this way for the purpose of refreshing people and the leadership so that nobody gets so weakened that he cannot carry on.
“It is good that after retirement, he will be able to enjoy the rest of his life without struggling,'' he said.
Akinde, while speaking to newsmen shortly after the service, said he was overwhelmed, adding that he would still be teaching the Bible, counselling and evangelising the word of God.
“I am going to continue serving my God; it's just that I can't continue along the ecclesiastical order. I will give myself for the expansion of God's Kingdom,'' he said.
Akinde also urged his successor to hold on to God without wavering, be prayerful and always obey the heavenly voice.
“He should hold on to God firmly, he must be prayerful, he must learn to listen to God and ask for the grace to be obedient to God.
“God is the owner of the church; He has an agenda for his church, and any church leader that wants to succeed must run on God's agenda,'' he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akinde was the Diocesan Bishop of Lagos Mainland for 10 years.
He was also the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) for four years until his retirement.
Former Head of State, retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon on Tuesday in Abuja lauded the efforts and determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to rid the country of corruption. Gowon made the commendation while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
He identified corruption as one of the main challenges facing the country. According to him, president Buhari deserves the support of all Nigerians to enable him transform the country to an enviable position.
“These are some of the issues we talked about, one appreciates his efforts and determination to rid the country of corruption, which is one of the problems that held the country down and has created serious setbacks to the country, both nationally and internationally.
“And then of course the current situation about the Chibok girls and the efforts the government is making to rescue them.'' He said the government needed to get credible information about the whereabouts of the abducted schoolgirls and also those that would assist the government in securing their release.
“I believe that the government is certainly determined to ensure that these girls are brought back home safely as soon as possible.
“To achieve that, certain credibility must be established of our sources on information on their location, but as at yet, no one knows where these girls are, and all these information that you have been getting, I don’t know their sources.
“But, all efforts at engaging the international media and sources are necessary so that this matter can be resolved once and for all,'' he added.
Gowon also saluted the Federal Government's efforts towards achieving peace in the Niger Delta region, hoping that normalcy would soon be restored in the areas.
“So, very soon, with the efforts the government is making to get things back to normal, making contacts with the Avengers and other aggrieved militants in the Niger Delta, who are creating havoc there, we hope that all will be well soon.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday said the Mambila Plateau in Taraba had the potential of becoming the hub of tea production in Africa. Obasanjo was speaking in Jalingo when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Darius Ishaku of the state.
He expressed determination to promote the tea production potential of the state using his connections and experience. " The Taraba tea factory is a symbol of national greatness. The tea potential of this state can attract global demand and earn the nation foreign exchange," he said.
Obasanjo noted that beside tea, the state also had potentials in cattle rearing, poultry, power generation, among others. " The livestock potential of this state surpasses any kind of cattle rearing known in this country.
" likewise in poultry which of course is in commercial quantity. " The Mambilla Hydro-Power Project, if completed, has the capacity to generate more than half of our power demand in this country. " Therefore, Taraba is indeed a blessing to this country," Obasanjo said.
There are over 50,000 hectares of land suitable for tea production on the Mambilla Plateau. The former president also denied media reports that he and few others brought President Buhari to power. He said such reports were baseless, untrue and calculated attempts to smear him.
Obasanjo said President Buhari was overwhelmingly voted by many Nigerians. " No single individual or group can claim that glory," he said.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.
Recall that three years ago, precisely on August 24, 2013, the first ever international passenger flight to Enugu operated by the Ethiopian Airlines landed at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.
See photos below:
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines. Photos by Louis AmokeGovernor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, led other eminent dignitaries of the state to the ceremony marking the landing of the first international cargo aircraft at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines.
By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor Sokoto – The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said that the world lost a whopping $2.6 trillion annually to corrupt practices and called for a concerted effort to stem the tide for the interest of humanity.
The U.S top scribe made the revelation during a visit to the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'ad Abubakar III, in his palace in Sokoto on Tuesday.United States Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks with the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar during his visit to his palace in Sokoto, on August 23, 2016. Kerry, who is on a three-nation tour is in Nigeria to discuss counterterrorism efforts, the Nigerian economy, the fight against corruption, and human rights issues. / AFP PHOTO
He said the money being lost to corruption across the world was enough to provide decent livelihood for people.
Kerry said: "This is money that can be used to improve the living standard and provide decent livelihoods for them. "Corruption is not only a crime, but very dangerous and it must be tamed," he said.
But he showered praises on President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts in fighting corruption in Nigeria, describing corrupt elements anywhere in the world as crooks.
Kerry said he was satisfied that Buhari understood the evil of graft in his country and was working assiduously to stem the tide, describing Nigeria as a regional leader in the fight against corruption.
He said Nigeria is also a role model in the ongoing global efforts to fight corruption and and acknowledged measures being taken by the Buhari administration to entrench morality, transparency, honesty and good governance in the country Kerry particularly lauded Nigeria's efforts at recovering stolen funds, saying that there was need for all government institutions, including the military, other security agencies and the judiciary, to support the anti-corruption drive.
He assured Nigerian that the U.S. was fully committed to fighting corruption and entrenching good governance globally. Apparently taking a swipe at those angling for the split of the country, Kerry said, "One of Nigeria's strength is diversity of culture and religious tolerance.
"The former leaders of the defunct Sokoto Caliphate and others like the late Sir Ahmadu Bello had stood by the virtues of peace, unity and tolerance," he said.
The U.S top diplomat took a swipe at the Boko Haram insurgents, saying that the group had no other agenda than destruction of lives and property.
According to him, "Boko Haram boasts no agenda more than to burn schools. "They also kill and maim people, especially teachers, and it is the opposite of any religion."
He said the U.S. was deeply committed to working with partners like Nigeria to build counter-terrorism capacities, disclosing that his government had worked out counter-terrorism strategies that would be implemented globally.
The envoy commended the sultan for his relentless efforts at entrenching peace and unity in Nigeria and beyond. He lauded the plan by the sultanate council to establish an all-women university, saying that girls, women, children and other vulnerable groups "must be educated, given jobs and opportunities to explore their potential''.
In his remarks, the Sultan commended Mr. Kerry for the visit and his inspiring speech" and said that the gesture would encourage them to redouble efforts for a stronger, united and prosperous Nigeria.
