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
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru ABUJA – THE Presidency Monday replied former President Goodluck Jonathan on his claims that his administration handed over to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government a robust economy, saying what the present government met was a battered, mismanaged and corrupt economy.President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd)
The presidency also alleges that the Jonathan presided over a government that was the most monumental and tragic economic mismanagement recorded in our national history.
Former President Jonathan had at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, non elective convention at the Eagle Square Abuja, Saturday was quoted to have said that corruption in Nigeria is worse under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari against the claims by the current government that corruption was at its peak while he ( Jonathan) was in government.
Jonathan according to reports said that his government had better economic policies than the current government of President Buhari and that his government put in place structures that reduced corruption to its barest minimum and as well left behind a robust economy for the Buhari administration in 2015.
But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in a statement he entitled, "Your Excellency Dr Jonathan, this is the economy you left behind, in case you have forgotten.", said under the previous administration, there was a boom in the oil sector with the oil prices as high as US$ 120 and relative peace in the Niger Delta.
The statement read, "With due respects to the former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, these are the facts about the economy you left behind, in case you have forgotten.
"I hope this will help to erase the wrong statement credited to you at your party, the PDP Convention at the Eagle Square last weekend that you handed to President Buhari a robustly healthy economy.
"To the same extent, this should also help to erase yet another false statement by Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the Caretaker Chairman of the party, to the effect that under the previous administration there was money but now things are very hard.
"Let me start by reasserting an obvious statement, which is that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was handed an economy ravaged by years of mismanagement and corruption.
"It is understandable that Dr Jonathon kept his comments short, because a cursory look at any sector clearly indicated that he and his Government presided over the most monumental and tragic economic mismanagement recorded in our national history.
"The oil sector boomed under his tenure, with oil prices as high as US$ 120 and peace in the Nigeria Delta. Nigeria earned unprecedented dollar revenues. Sadly,that is where the story turns sour. There is nothing to show for the revenues earned, no major capital project was completed, neither power generation, road development, rail or agriculture benefitted from the windfall earnings.
"Rather the administration presided over the diversion of oil revenues on a such a massive scale, that even without the protection now accorded to Whistle blowers, the then Central Bank Governor blew not only a whistle but a trumpet. He was hurriedly shown the door.
"Meanwhile, the acquisition by public officers and their cohorts of private jets, luxury yachts and the accumulation of expensive property portfolios world-wide continued unabated. Indeed the President once celebrated having the largest number of private jets, whilst our youth languished without jobs, our fields stood idle and our factories began the lay off of workers.
"Government simply reticulated oil revenue through personal spending by corrupt leaders, wasteful expenses and salaries. This was done rather than investing in what would grow the economy. Economies grow due to capital investment in assets like seaports, airports, power plants, railways, roads and housing. Nigeria can not record a single major infrastructural project in the last 10 years. In short the money was mismanaged.
"Such was the looting that even the goose that was laying the golden egg was being systematically starved. The direct contractual costs of oil produced, in the form of cash calls, remained unpaid. The incoming, President Buhari's welcome from the oil majors included demand for US$6Bn owed by Nigeria for oil that had already been sold or stolen."
Continuing, Shehu said, "At the inception of the current administration, 21 States were unable to meet their salary bills and the spectre of workers arrears had commenced. The PDP solution was the raid the Ecological Fund and selectively grants N2Bn each to the PDP States.
"It was only aggressive borrowing by the Ministry of Finance under Dr Okonjo- Iweala that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economic wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills is a questionable one, particularly as those paid would have included over 45,000 that have subsequently been removed by the Buhari led administration as ghost workers.
"It also included the lavish costs of chartering private jets, first class travel and other wasteful acts that have been eliminated under this administration.
"To compound the problem the government was borrowing heavily and owed contractors, and international oil companies. When this government took over we had accumulated debt back to the level it was before the Paris Club Debt Forgiveness.
"All these factors were building up to Nigeria heading for a major crisis if the price of oil fell. Nigeria did not have fiscal buffers to withstand an oil shock.
"The oil shock should and could have been foreseen. When Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS crisis started, it was clear that the United States of America wanted to cut off funds to terror groups by crashing the price of oil. When America granted permission for exploration of oil on land (Shale) the warning signs were evident, but these were ignored by Nigeria's economic managers.
"Such was the looting that even the goose that was laying the golden egg was being systematically starved. The direct contractual costs of oil produced, in the form of cash calls, remained unpaid. The incoming President Buhari's welcome from the oil majors included demand for US$6Bn owed by Nigeria for oil that had already been sold or stolen.
"At the inception of the Buhari administration, 21 States were unable to meet their salary bills and the spectre of workers arrears had commenced. The PDP solution was to raid the Ecological Fund and selectively grant N2Bn each to the PDP States.
"It was only aggressive borrowing by the Ministry of Finance that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economic wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills is a questionable one, particularly as those paid would have included over 45,000 that have subsequently been removed by the Buhari led administration as ghost workers.
"It also included the lavish costs of chartering private jets, first class travel and other wasteful acts that have been eliminated under this administration.
"In summary Nigeria earned a lot of money when oil prices were high but there is nothing to show for it. Now oil prices have fallen we are suffering."
Asking rhetorically what the previous administration could have done differently, he said, "They could have begun doing the very things that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is doing so painfully now.
"Fight corruption; sanitise the huge salary bill by eliminating payroll fraud, reduce wasteful expenses like First Class Travel and Private jets and encourage State Governments to reform their spending and build savings or investments."
Others he said included, "Increase spending on capital projects especially on infrastructure needed to make Nigerian businesses competitive and create jobs, block the leakages that allowed government revenues to be siphoned into private hands and focus on key sectors ( apart from oil) that can create jobs and or generate revenue such as Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Manufacturing.
"If these things had been done when the oil price was as high as US$120 per barrel, Nigeria would not be in the current predicament.
"We would not be suffering now if we had no cash reserves but we had power, or a rail system, or good roads, or good housing. But we don't have money and we don't have the projects either.
"Now that the oil has fallen below those levels, it is very difficult to do what is needed but they must be done to save Nigeria. There is no other way if we want to be honest.
"If PDP were still in power they would have continued deceiving people, by borrowing to fund stealing and wastage and the problem would have simply been postponed for future generations to face.
"One of former President Jonathon's specific boasts is that dollar under him was N180 compared to today. With such a line of argument it is clear why we are where we are. With oil prices as high as $120 the average inflow of dollars each month was high, making it easy to support cheap dollars.
"However with oil price plummeting as low as $28, the fundamental laws of supply and demand dictated that the currency would need to adjust, since oil was the sole export. It is instructive to note that virtually every major oil exporter has witnessed currency adjustments with the fall in oil price.
"The Buhari administration has taken a long term strategic view of supporting a stable naira on both the supply and demand sides. President Buhari has driven Import substitution to reduce demand for dollars to buy things we can produce thereby creating thousands of rural jobs in rice and other staples.
"In addition, there is a credible plan to diversity our revenue sources away from oil, with focus on export crops as well as solid minerals, with the release of US$100M fund to develop solid mineral extraction.
"President Muhammdu Buhari has a positive and prosperous vision for Nigeria. A nation in which the natural talent and hard work of the people is being supported by an enabling environment of infrastructural development and policy reforms that will develop a firm future for our nation.
"Nigerians are looking forward and the PDP's lurking in the economic rear view mirror only underscores the resolve of Nigerians, that as far as the economy is concerned it is '’never again.”
Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday in Abuja announced that the Peoples Democratic Party had returned from limbo and would reclaim power in 2019.
Jonathan asserted this in his address at the party's a special national convention read the full speech
It is my honour and privilege to address you on this auspicious occasion of the non-elective convention of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). former Preident Goodluck Jonathan State during the Non-Elective National Convention of the Peoples’ Democratic Party at the Eagle Square, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 2. Let me start by paying tributes to the founding fathers of our great party and all others who had laboured so hard over these past months to restore peace and tranquillity in our party. The PDP like every successful human organization has gone through a momentous time in the last one and half years.
3. As a party that heralded Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999, the PDP had become so accustomed to success in its 16 years in power that the first time our fortunes changed at the polls, it was obvious that the party would suffer the aftershocks of the loss. It was in deed a most trying period for us as a political party.
4. However, it is not an experience that is peculiar to us. This is because all over the world, any party that loses election at the centre as we did will, first of all, struggle to hold together, before regaining its composure to effectively present the strong voice of the opposition, and resume the contestation to return to office.
5. But we thank God that the worst is over for our party. It is to his grace that we were able to emerge from this unsavoury experience, from which some political parties in other emerging democracies hardly recover, to become even stronger, within a short period of time.
6. The PDP is in deed back to reclaim its prime position as the party to lead Nigeria to greatness. As a human institution, we cannot claim perfection, but obviously as a political party, our accomplishments as at 2015, far outweigh our shortfalls.
7. Our giant developmental strides are there for all Nigerians to see. There is ample evidence to demonstrate that PDP has indeed proved to be a party of vision and accomplishments.
8. As I said when I addressed our members in April during the stakeholders' forum which I convened; the 2011, 2015 general elections and other polls conducted by our administration were accepted globally to have met the international standards for free, fair and transparent elections. There is no gainsaying the fact that our disposition in freely handing over power to the opposition, after the 2015 polls, helped to deepen our democracy and project our country as one of the world's stable democracies.
9. This wouldn't have been possible if our Government did not reform the electoral and political process, by giving the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the autonomy it requires, to enable it to conduct free and fair elections.
10. On the economic front, we provided focused leadership, through institutional and sectoral reforms which impacted positively on the fundamentals for growth, especially in the last four years of our time in power. The effect was that we tamed inflation at a single digit, maintained price stability, grew the economy to become the largest in Africa with a GDP of over half a trillion US dollars, and the number one foreign direct investment destination on the continent.
11. I learnt that some people said that if PDP had remained in power beyond 2015, the economy would have performed worse. This couldn't have been the case, because we had a sound economic team in place, managing the economy. Let us not forget that the great floods of 2012 was a major calamity that damaged homes and farmlands on the plains of River Niger and Benue. But despite the devastating effect of this natural disaster, there was no food shortages or arbitrary increase in prices, because of what we were able to accomplish with our Agriculture Transformation Agenda, which considerably boosted food production.
12. If we say that we rekindled hope in our people and regained international goodwill, it is because we pursued a number of policies and programmes that were not only richly rewarding for our people, but were also being copied by many countries across the globe, a few of which I will mention here.
13. We can all recall that our agricultural transformation agenda rapidly transformed key agricultural value chains, boosted local production, and created a new generation of young commercial farmers and agriculture entrepreneurs we proudly identified as Nagropreneurs. One very remarkable achievements of the reform we introduced was that it ended decades of fertiliser sector corruption through electronic wallet system. Since then, its success has continued to resonate outside our shores. The programme is not only being scaled up by the African Development Bank but is already being replicated in close to 20 African countries.
14. In fact, three days ago, my attention was drawn to The Guardian newspaper publication about a contract that has just been awarded to a Nigerian IT solutions firm, Cellulant, to export the e-wallet system which we conceived, to Afghanistan. This is in deed, a good development for our country.
15. I understand that the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock in Afghanistan, which contracted them in their bid to establish a market-based input distribution technology, might have been inspired by our own experience, in successfully deploying the e-wallet technology to increase food production.
16. In the same vein, Our Youth Enterprises with Innovation (YouWin) designed to turn thousands of youths into entrepreneurs and employers of labour, has been endorsed by the World Bank for replication in other developing countries.
17. The ECOWAS Commission has since expressed interest in partnering with Nigeria with a view to establishing an automotive policy for the subregion, in line with our administration's auto industry development policy, which led to the establishment of many vehicle assembly plants, including indigenous companies.
18. Our approach to fighting corruption may not have plugged all the leaks in the system; in fact, no nation has ever been successful in eradicating the cankerworm of corruption.
19. But we went about it in a sustainable and measurable manner, by, among other measures, creating institutional tools like bank verification number (BVN), the treasury single account (TSA) designed to block leakages, as well as the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS), which eliminated tens of thousands of ghost workers, during our time.
20. I have just pointed out these few programmes, out of our other numerous great achievements in such sectors as roads infrastructure, rail services, communications, public financial management and social services, for you to know that our records, as members of Nigeria's biggest party, still speak for us and we should be proud of them.
21. We should always celebrate the fact that the PDP introduced key policies that improved governance, enhanced welfare, boosted and stabilized the economy of our great country, and above all, gave our people hope.
22. In closing, I wish to remind all of us that as politicians, we are bound to have differences. It is important we manage our differences responsibly, with an eye on the divine role of the PDP to lead Nigeria to greatness. Let us rededicate ourselves to playing by the rules.
23. Let us all ensure that the PDP is renewed in vigour to deliver on its divine responsibility to Nigerians. Let us forget the grievances of the past, and look to the future with confidence and optimism.
24. While I congratulate all delegates to this convention, I urge you to go back to your respective constituencies to promote the ideals of our great party. Let it be known that our party has been born anew, committed to the best ideals of democracy.
25. Let it be known, in all nooks and crannies of our country, that the PDP is back to claim its rightful place in the affairs of the nation. As we have always done, we are ready to return Nigeria to the path of unity, peace and prosperity.
26. I congratulate the Caretaker Committee, our relentless Governors, the Board of Trustees, National Assembly caucuses, former Governors, the ex Ministers' Forum, our teeming youths and women for your steadfastness and dogged contributions to the sustenance of this great party.
27. My appreciation also goes to all PDP members and supporters, both at home and in the Diaspora.
28. I thank the Convention Planning Committee for putting this August event together. I also congratulate all delegates for the successful trip to the convention.
29. Finally, I wish you all successful deliberations at this convention. May God return you all back home safely.
The coalition of democracy and good governance groups, '#Resume or Resign' and 'Our Mumu don do,' have described as, lies from the pit of hell, an allegation in some section of the media claiming that the current governor of Gombe state, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, the immediate past governor of Ondo state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and other politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are the ones sponsoring the sit-out rally demanding that President Muhammadu Buhari who has been in London since May 7 returns back to Nigeria to resume his presidential duties or that he resigns if incapacitated by ill health.
A pro-Buhari group, Coalition for Truth and Justice, CFTAJ, had on Sunday, alleged that the current rally by the groups calling for Buhari's resumption or resignation were being sponsored by the aforementioned governors in the tune of three hundred million Naira (N300m).
The National Coordinator of CFTAJ, Charles Timothy, at press conference in Abuja, called on security agencies to place them “under passive watch”, because the protests were being sponsored to destabilise the country.
'Resume or Resign' and 'Our Mumu don do,' leaders, Deji Adeyanju & Charly Boy
He said, “It is true that the installment death of the corruption industry is compelling Nigerians to live within their means, which some have interpreted as hardship in the land. Nigerians should therefore task these protesters to inquire from their sponsors if the N300 million paid to celebrity activists – Deji (Adeyanju), John Danfulani and Charles Oputa aka Charlie Boy couldn’t have been better deployed to ameliorate the condition of those facing economic hardship.
“We therefore want to issue firm warnings. Because we know these protesters are mere fodders, tools in the hands of those that paid them to take to the streets, our warning is not directed at the protesters but at their sponsors. We therefore warn Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko who are the brain behind the protest against the ailing President.
But in a statement signed by Charles Oputa (Leader, #ResumeOrResign Movement) for 'Our Mumu Don Do Movement' and Deji Adeyanju (Co-Convener, #ResumeOrResign Movement) for 'Concerned Nigerians,' the anti-Buhari protesters said their movement was never and will never be sponsored by anybody especially because it is in line with the provisions of the constitution.
"We have seen the lies and false assertions of a pro government group called Coalition for truth and Justice alleging that the Concerned Nigerians and the Our Mumu don do movement are being sponsored by Former Governor of Ondo state Dr Olusegun Mimiko and Governor of Gombe state Ibrahim Dankwambo.
"The allegations are not just lies but are ridiculous and even embarrassing to those making the allegations. We understand that this is the handwork of detractors that are against our honest agitations for the Resumption or Resignation of President Buhari.
"Concerned Nigerians and Our Mumu don do Movement are not being sponsored by anybody or government figure and will remain unsponsored. Our activities are in line with the provisions of the constitution and we will continue to carry out our daily sit out activities and not be intimidated.
"Furthermore, we will no longer respond to any prevalent distractions or consequent allegations by this administration but we will remain focus in demanding for the President to either Resume or Resign."
The groups also reiterated their stand that President Buhari must resume or resign. They said they will take their rallies for the demand for Buhari's resumption or resignation to several cities across Nigeria.
"Wednesday August 16th, 2017 will mark 100 days since President Muhammadu Buhari travelled to an undisclosed hospital in the United Kingdom to treat a yet to be disclosed illness. During this period President Buhari has rarely been seen in public and has not communicated with the Nigerian people in a language that a majority of the people can understand. "A few days ago the Presidency released images and video footage of the President receiving some of his aides. However, Nigerians were informed that his medical sojourn to the United Kingdom will continue a while longer as his doctors have not given him clearance to return to the country and resume the execution of his duties as President.
"In view of the above, we will hold peaceful processions in several cities across Nigeria and the world at large to press home our demands that President Buhari either returns to the country soon or resigns from office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."
However, the pro-Buhari group maintained that the anti-Buhari rallies were sponsored by politicians who are power players in PDP.
The group's National Coordinator, Charles Timothy, called also said that those calling for Buhari's resumption are rather victims of their sponsors 'alleged clandestine motives and urged them to instead, join other Nigerians and pray for the President's quick recovery.
He said, “Both Dankwambo and Mimiko are entitled to throw away their humanity on the altar of ambition but they must be aware that whatever position they are desperate to attain is not worth plunging the country into crisis over. They are free to spend their money any way they want but financing urchins, riffraff and celebrity activists but truly patriotic Nigerians will not sit by and watch them plunge the country into trouble.
“We urge the law enforcement agencies to place these men under passive watch same as their foot soldiers on the streets to ensure that there is no unexpected breakdown of law and order. This does not in any way suggest that the right of Nigerians to lawful assembly should be abridged, what we are saying is that criminal elements should not be encouraged to use President Buhari’s medical vacation as a cover to wreak havoc on the streets.
“Nigeria is again at crossroads as those that are desperate to collapse the country are again at work. They have tried all manners of gimmicks in the past and woefully failed to compromise the integrity of Nigeria. Some of them have sponsored terrorism or militancy, depending on the region, and failed to use these to bring Nigeria down. They have now resorted to street protests under the guise that they are demanding President Muhammadu Buhari to cut short his medical vacation and resume duties.
“For those who have not noticed, we want to point out that these protesters are not new. They had held similar protests in the past under different names and with multiple excuses. What they have simply done this time is to rebrand their name into #ourmumudondo and add a few more desperate celebrity activists to their ranks; their driving ideology for causing chaos has not changed one bit.
“It is most unfortunate that these motely crowd of desperate people equated themselves with patriotic citizens that followed due process in staging a march to express their feeling about the performance of government. The patriotic citizens conducted themselves in orderly manner and cooperated with law enforcement to ensure their march was not hijacked. Same cannot be said for the #ourmumudondo protesters, whose thugs were confrontational against law enforcement agents from the start.
“To Nigerians, our position remains to renew the invitation to pray for the recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari and for return of peace with prosperity to the country. We appeal to citizens not to buy into the campaign of negativity being financed by the likes of Dankwambo and Mimiko.
“It is tragic that these protesters are victims of their own puppet masters, who are exploiting their joblessness to further personal political interests. We expect that people should, even when they are unemployed, interrogate the long-term plan of those asking them to take to the streets and cause mayhem. When protests degenerate into unruliness it is natural that the peace has to be maintained so these protesters were quite unawares that they were guinea pigs in their paymasters’ poltical experiment.
“Another thing that these protesters are unaware of was that their sponsors have equally mobilized thugs to join the so-called protests for the sole aim of fomenting trouble. The strategy is for these thugs to deliberately clash with law enforcement and then cause widespread violence, arson and looting that will eventually result in a breakdown of law and order. Even more worrisome is the specific request from these sponsors that the thugs must ensure there is loss of life from the protest so that they can claim that security agencies and by implication the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is killing protesters."
The Niger House of Assembly on Monday pledged to enact laws that would ensure an environment conducive to woo investors to the state.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, made the pledge in Minna during the 2017 Niger State Investment Summit which had as its theme: "Impact Investing for Advancing Agricultural Economy and Innovation."
Marafa said there were enormous investment opportunities in Niger, adding that it was time to transform "our resources and knowledge to positive action".
"The investment opportunities in our state are enormous as we account for 10 per cent of Nigeria's land mass.
"We are committed to passing legislation that would allow investors harness our huge potentials for maximum growth and development of the state.
"This summit could not have come at a better time as the state government strives to uplift the living standard of its populace," he added.
He said the assembly would play its part in driving the investment promotion strategy of the state, noting that it was close to passing a bill to set up an investment agency in the state.
Also, the Commissioner of Investment, Commerce and Industry, Mrs Ramatu Yar'adua, said Niger had the potentials to become a top investment destination in the country. She said this year's summit focused on agricultural business, given that the sector was key to moving the country out of recession.
Newsmen report that the aim of the summit, which attracted economic experts, manufacturers, industrialists as well as some state governors and ministers, is to position the state as an investment hub.
Rafael Nadal was assured a return to world number one for the first time since July of 2014 on Monday when 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer withdrew from this week’s ATP Cincinnati Masters tournament.
Federer-Nadal
Third-ranked Federer said he injured his back in Montreal, where he lost in the final to Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
Federer, this year’s Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, was the only player who could have denied world number two Nadal the top spot in next Monday’s rankings.
The 31-year-old Spaniard, who won his 15th Grand Slam title at this year’s French Open, will overtake Britain’s top-ranked Andy Murray, who withdrew from Montreal and Cincinnati with a hip injury.
Federer, a seven-time champion on the Cincinnati hardcourts, could yet move into the world number one spot, but his next chance will come at the US Open, the year’s final Grand Slam event that begins August 28 in New York.
“I am very sorry to pull out of the Western and Southern Open as I always enjoy playing,” Federer said. “Cincinnati has some of the best fans in the world and I am sorry I will miss them.
“Unfortunately, I tweaked my back in Montreal and I need to rest this week.”
Nadal, who has spent 141 total weeks in the top spot, became world number one for the first time in August 2008 after a semi-final run at Cincinnati.
For Federer to have taken the top spot at Cincinnati, he would have had to at least reach the semi-finals. Had Federer reached the final, Nadal would have had to win the title to stop the Swiss star from becoming number one.
Federer will be replaced in the men’s draw by Italian lucky loser Thomas Fabbiano, the world number 85 who will enjoy a first-round bye and face either Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman or Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the second round.
The Niger-Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria (NDPHC) says it has embarked on construction of 120 transmission stations and sub -stations and 10 critical generation projects to support power generation and supply in the country.
The Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr Chiedu Ugbo, said this in an interview with newsmen in Kano on Monday.
He said that the company was also involved in the construction of distribution lines to increase distribution of electricity to the rural communities.
"We have projects on going; we have 10 power generation projects; we have completed eight of the projects and two is on the verge of completion when commissioned, it will be transferred to the grid."
According to him, among the 10 critical generation plants, two of the projects, Olorosogun project in Ogun and Geregu in Kogi, are not located in the Niger-Delta region.
He listed the other generation projects in the Niger Delta to include projects those in Calabar, Abia, Omaku in Rivers and Bayelsa.
Others are Sapele in Delta, Benin and Omotosho projects in Ondo State.
Ugbo said the company had also completed a distribution line for Ibadan DisCo to consolidate the supply of electricity to communities in its franchise area.
"The Maboro project is a line we did from Okaro substation; it is a 33kv line and every community along that line will tap in to it; so it is for Ibadan DisCo.
"We provided the line and the communities have not had light over the years; Ibadan DisCo is gradually connecting the people ."
He urged DisCos to energise and make use of the distribution projects provided for them.
This, he said, would deter vandals from destroying the completed projects.
The Mamanging Director said that the company was getting adequate support and funding from the Federal Government to execute its projects.
He, however, decried the spate of vandalism on some of its on-going projects in the country.
"Government is giving us all the support; vandalism is the major challenge; the line we are doing from Ikotu Ekpene to Afam has been vandalised; so it is a challenge. But we are beefing up security in that area."
He said NDPHC was expending huge amount of money to repair and restore some of the installations destroyed by vandals.
" We are spending up to N50 million to N70 million on changing and repairing projects that were vandalised.
"It is a huge loss, but we have to do it because Nigerians must have light and that is the mandate that the President gave us.”
Rio de Janeiro drug gangsters gave a famous statue of Michael Jackson a scary new prop in a photo circulating on Brazilian social media: an assault rifle.
Michael Jackson
Police said Monday that the picture, in which the military style semi-automatic is slung around the King of Pop’s neck, was taken “by criminals.”
“The suspects have been identified and an operation is underway to arrest them,” police said in a statement.
The picture, taken in daylight, showed off drug traffickers’ brazen control over many areas of Rio’s favelas at a time of steadily growing violent crime.
The statue was inaugurated in 2010 in Santa Marta favela, a year after Jackson’s death.
With arms outstretched and fists clenched, the statue commemorated Jackson’s 1996 filming of the video “They Don’t Care About Us” in Santa Marta. At the time, the favela was a violent slum but by 2010 it had become a symbol of a new police policy known as “pacification” that ousted traffickers and brought in tourists.
In the wake of the 2016 Rio Olympics, control over the favelas has again begun to slip away from the police and into the hands of well-armed drug gangs.
A cross section of people belonging to pro-Buhari groups, on Monday, said that President Muhammadu Buhari has not violated any section of the constitution due to his prolonged medical vacation in London.
The groups said this during a solidarity walk in support of President Buhari at the Unity Fountain, Abuja.
It would be recalled that an anti-Buhari group had called for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari, due to his ailment.
Mr Abubakar Waiya, the Secretary General, Conference of Patriotic Nigerians, said that the support was imperative as Mr President has not violated any section of the constitution.
"It is unfortunate that some people with questionable characters, people that are not supposed to talk, they are coming to talk on our behalf.
"Today, we are saying that they are not representing us and we are here to say, as Nigerians we believed in President Buhari.
"Therefore, we believed that they are all political jobbers and they are not speaking our minds and they are not representing the entire Nigeria.
"We are also here to tell the whole world that Buhari we voted for, that we will stand by him," he said.
He called on Nigerians to pray for the quick recuperation of Mr President and also to support the fight against corruption.
Ms Maryam Shettima, National Coordinator, "I StandWithBuhari'', said the rally was to reiterate their support for President Buhari.
"The president is the man of the people and he has capacity to rebuild the nation no matter his health condition, he has done a good work and has shown seriousness and fairness,'' she said.
According to Shettima, President Buhari has not violated any section of the constitution because he rightfully handed over power, as specified in the constitution to his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
"So, we will stand with him, even though everyone is entitled to his own opinion,'' she added.
Mr Adamu Kagarko, APC's Media Agent from Kaduna, said that the walk was organised by a group of concerned citizens of Nigeria who supported the president and wished him good health.
Kagarko called on Nigerians to show concern and understanding to President Buhari's health condition, saying that he was trusted to lead the nation.
He added that the rally was also to send message to the anti-Buhari's group to reconsider their stand, and change their mind.
Newsmen report that the protest carried placards with various inscriptions like, "Buhari we stand with you totally, "We must fight corruption or corruption will fight you back.
Others are, "We demand for good governance not cheap popularity and insensitivity, "PMB we love you, get well soon,'' among others.
Hundreds of All Progressives Congress (APC) members converged on the Bishop Aggey Sports Centre in Mushin, Lagos on Monday where one of the party chieftains, Dr Muiz Banire, was expected to appear before a Ward disciplinary committee.
Newsmen report that the crowd, however, waited in vain to see Banire, as he failed to show up before the committee.
Ward C, Alafia/Adeoyo in Ilasamaja, in a letter dated July 10 and which was circulated Aug. 10, had asked Banire to meet the committee at the venue on Monday.
The ward, in the letter signed by Badru Olaide, the ward secretary. said Banire should come and answer questions and allegations against him by some party members.
The Ward had invited interested members of the public to the event and urged guests to be seated by 9.45 a.m.
After a long wait with no word from Banire or a representative at the venue on Monday, the four-man committee headed by Mr Bolaji Abbas, decided to kick-start the proceeding.
The secretary of the committee, Alhaji Laide Badru, told the gathering that Banire was duly served invitation to appear and that the committee got proof that the invitation was received.
"We sent the invitation to him by DHL and we got a receipt, which is proof that he got our invitation.
"Also we published the invitation in major newspapers as well as other prominent platforms. So we are sure he is aware,'' he said.
Dr Wunmi Bewaji, a former member of the House of Representatives and counsel to the committee, assured that the committee would be fair, even in Banire's absence.
"We will be fair even though we cannot force anybody to appear before the committee. We will be fair,'' he said.
Mr Olukayode Tolu, one of the two members who had petitioned against Banire, said during the hearing said his action had become inevitable.
He said though he co-wrote the petitions that led to the setting up of the committee, all members of the ward supported his action.
Tolu said members of Banire's ward were tired of his activities in the state and the party, hence the petition.
"The ward is the most important component of the structure of any party. Yes, you can be at the National level, but the ward is the most important.
"Banire has not attended any meeting at the ward for the past two years and he has not paid any dues.
"Also, his activities shortly before the last council election in the state, smacked of anti-party,'' he alleged.
Tolu said that Banire was not bigger than the party and should be disciplined.
"On behalf of all APC members in Mushin Ward C, I pray the committee to suspend him from the party for 10 years and that he should never be allowed to hold any post in the party again,'' he said.
A large number of people at the gathering rose in support of the prayer even as the second petitioner, Mr Ayodele Adebayo, endorsed everything Tolu had said.
Bewaji struggling to control anti-Banire chants that had rent the air, said the committee would deliberate on the issue and come up with a recommendation.
He said the committee would do a thorough job based on the facts on ground.
Bewaji said the committee would do its work without let or hindrance and that the recommendation would be out soon.
NAN reports that the party in the ward had a few weeks ago announced the suspension of Banire over the same allegations.
The National Working Committee of the party, however, nullified the suspension, saying the ward executive committee lacked the power to suspend a national officer.
Banire, who is the party's National Legal Adviser, had also described his suspension as `laughable,' saying it was aimed at stopping him from insisting on internal democracy in the state chapter.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift broke down in tears Monday during the closing arguments in her civil trial alleging that a former radio DJ groped her before a 2013 concert.
Taylor Swift
The singer turned away from the public gallery to wipe her eyes as Gabriel McFarland, the lawyer for David Mueller, questioned whether his client would have any reason to assault the star.
“I don’t know what kind of person grabs or gropes a music superstar, but it’s not that guy,” McFarland told the federal court in Denver.
He repeatedly said the singer was wrong in her assertion that Mueller had stuck his hand under her skirt and “grabbed her bare ass cheek” during a meet-and-greet before Swift’s gig at the Pepsi Center.
The singer’s mother, Andrea Swift, had tears in her eyes during the session as she handed her daughter tissues.
Swift alleges that Mueller fondled her buttocks during a pre-gig photo opportunity. Her aides complained to the DJ’s radio station at the time and he lost his job.
Mueller launched a $3 million lawsuit against Swift for loss of earnings, arguing it was her allegations that had got him sacked, while the popstar counter-sued for sexual assault.
US District Judge William Martinez scaled back the case on Friday, ruling that there was no evidence for Mueller to be entitled to damages from Swift personally.
Martinez said, however, it was possible a jury could award Mueller damages for Swift’s staff interfering with his employment contract with Denver station KYGO.
The six woman, two-man jury must decide if Swift’s mother and radio consultant Frank Bell are liable for damages by pressuring the station to fire him.
If the jury finds in Mueller’s favor, damages will be limited to the amount he was owed in the remaining 18 months of his two-year contract.
Also pending is Taylor Swift’s claim that Mueller’s actions constituted sexual assault and battery. She is seeking a nominal $1 in damages.
US officials announced Monday the arrest of a man who sought to detonate a bomb in Oklahoma City reminiscent of the deadly 1995 bombing by anti-government extremist Timothy McVeigh in the same city.
Jerry Varnell
Jerry Varnell, 23, was arrested Saturday after attempting to trigger what he thought was an ammonium nitrate fertilizer bomb — like McVeigh’s — outside a BancFirst branch in the center of the city, according to a criminal complaint filed in Oklahoma district court.
Varnell told an undercover FBI agent and a cooperating source he wanted to attack the government, with his initial target the Federal Reserve in Washington, eight blocks from the White House.
He also considered attacking data centers of Facebook and the Internal Revenue Service before settling on the bank in Oklahoma City, 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of his home in Sayre, Oklahoma.
“I think I’m going to go with what the okc bomber used,” Varnell allegedly told the FBI’s source in an encrypted message.
“What happened in Oklahoma City was not an attack on America, it was retaliation,” he later said. “The time for revolution is now.”
McVeigh killed 168 people when he exploded a fertilizer bomb outside a federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. McVeigh was arrested soon afterward, imprisoned and in 2001 executed for the crime.
Varnell’s arrest was announced two days after white supremacist and extreme-right anti-government groups clashed with opponents in Charlottesville, Virginia. One woman killed when an extremist rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protestors, and two police officers died in a helicopter crash.
Varnell told investigators he supported the far-right “III%ers” anti-government movement and wanted to form his own armed militia.
But he told the undercover agent that, unlike McVeigh, he did not want to kill a lot of people with his bombing, but to “cripple the government,” according to the complaint.
Varnell also told the agent he wanted a way to communicate his message about the bombing to prevent other groups like Islamic State from claiming responsibility.
According to the complaint, Varnell and the FBI agent built the bomb in a van, with “inert” materials including blasting caps and dynamite that were all supplied by the agent.
The inert bomb was parked outside the bank and Varnell was immediately arrested early Saturday morning after he tried to used a cellphone to set it off.
The Osun State Investment Company Limited, OSICOL, has said that, Essence Table water, one of its signature products, is now one of the leading brands in the array of similar products in the south western part of Nigeria.
This was revealed during a briefing of the company's activities over the weekend.
The company which is an investment agency of the State Government of Osun, revealed that medical expert now recommends Essence Table water for use in hospitals because of mercury free value that has distinguished it in market.
According to OSICOL General Manager, Mrs Amade H.I, what differentiates Essence Water from other brands is its purity nature made from well researched materials. She noted that Essence Table water applied for Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and acquired it within six month.
Speaking on the achievements of OSICOL, Amade stated that the company’s balance sheet has recorded significant improvement from a fortune of about N300m in 2011 when the Aregbesola government came on board to N2.6b in 2017.
Her words "In line of producing healthy water, most water company failed to avoid the presence of mercury in their processed water. Mercury, an element which naturally is found in air, water and soil can cause serious damage to the body when exposed to even a little of the substance.
"When exposed to mercury, the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs, kidney and even the skin might be affected. Mercury also exists in various forms (metallic, inorganic and organic) and these forms determine the extent of health hazard on people exposed to it."
She said the product is available across the country at affordable rates urging the people to choose Essence Water as it is helpful in safeguarding their health.
"Osun State Investment Company Limited has however ensured that not just the people of the state enjoy healthy living, by making sure that there is active distribution of the products within all state of the Federation to ensure that revenue is generated for the state of Osun."
Aside OSICOL Water, the company has nearly completed the biggest gas station in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, delved into real estate with properties in Lagos and Abuja, the federal capital territory coupled with about 526 hectares of land in cultivating cocoa in Ibokun.
The Osun State Investment Company Limited has also won several awards and recognition in commemoration of its excellence in being one of the leading Investment platforms in the south western part of the country.
OSICOL has embarked on diverse business ventures as part of efforts to boost the state’s internally generated revenue drive, create wealth and sustain its economic self-reliance.
The company which was established in 1991 has various business interests, among them, are manufacturing, bulk purchasing, training and consultancy, sales and distribution, real estate, agriculture among others.
The Federal Government remained committed to winning the war against insurgency, the Minister of Defence, Malam Muneer Dan-Ali, has assured.
The Minister gave the assurance on Monday in Kano while briefing newsmen.
He said the military was determined to overcome security challenges confronting the nation, especially in the North-East where the Boko Haram terrorist group had renewed suicide bombings.
He said that in its efforts to end the spate of bombings in the town, the military had undertaken search of residential houses in Maiduguri Township to fish out the hideouts of the insurgents.
He said that the security agencies were collaborating with each other to tackle the security challenges facing the nation.
The minister said he was in Kano to commission the Kano/Jigawa zonal office of the military health services.
According to him, the commissioning of the office will go a long way to address the health needs of serving military men and retirees.
The Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Babatunde Fowler says with the introduction of Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), no Nigerian can evade tax payment.
Fowler said this at the 138th Quarterly Meeting of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) on Monday in Abuja.
The theme of the meeting was "Administering Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) – 2017 in Nigeria: The role of stakeholders.''
Fowler, also the Chairman of JTB said every Nigerian would be held accountable with the introduction of the new scheme.
He said that the so called "untouchable citizens'' were willing to pay tax without forcing them under the scheme.
According to him, the board has received positive response so far on the scheme.
To improve tax compliance, the Federal Government said tax offenders stand to enjoy 29 per cent waiver on overdue taxes if they take advantage of VAIDS.
The VAIDS programme is aimed at reducing tax payers' liability and creates more awareness on the statutory function of every working citizen to pay tax.
The scheme which started July 1, offers a window for those who, before now, have not complied with extant tax regulations to remedy their positions by providing them limited amnesty to enable voluntary declaration and payment of liabilities.
Fowler said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) adopted between the FIRS and State Internal Revenue Service including that of VAIDS had been working very well.
"From the point of FIRS, all the money generated is shared between the three tiers of government; the collaboration between states and FIRS is improving.
"` I hope the collaboration will continue to get better,'' he said.
Fowler said that the JTB meeting had improved the collaboration between private and public sector.
He said the meeting would focus on the review of VAIDS and actions that would be taken after the implementation of the scheme.
"I will also want to thank the stakeholders for all the activities and the Acting President who is in the fore front of the tax drive.''
The meeting witnessed the handing over of the outgoing Executive Secretary and Incoming one.
The new Executive Secretary, Mr Oseni Elamah pledged to serve the body and to take it to a greater height.
"I pledge to serve you as a body and to also support each of you individually in your various capacities toward the realisation of Joint Tax Board in creating a tax friendly environment.
"I will also support you in fulfilling your mandate to optimise revenue for the various tiers of government,'' Elamah said.
Elamah is the immediate past Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Service.
Also speaking, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, the outgoing Executive Secretary of JTB urged the new official to take the board to greater height.
Abubakar, who served for seven years called on the members of the board to support Elamah to enable him succeed.
No fewer than 90 participants from JTB, FIRS, State Internal Revenue Service and representatives of Nigeria Governor's Forum attended the meeting.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday urged commercial banks to lower their interest rates to enable farmers access loans for improved agricultural production.
Obasanjo made the call at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Niger State Investment Summit held at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi Conference Centre, Minna.
According to him, doing agriculture and charging the rate of interest in double digit is to promote failure.
"The interest rate of banks in Nigeria is one of the obstacles that are affecting our farmers.
"They are not able to pay banks after taking loans and at the same time still able to run their agriculture business successfully,'' he said.
Newsmen report that the summit's theme: ''Advancing Agricultural Economy through Innovation and Truly Niger,'' was organised to attract investors in various fields to boost the state economy.
The summit attracted experts, industrialists, manufacturers as well as governors across the country.
The former Nigeria leader described agriculture as 'a renewable business' that could create jobs and catapult the nation to economic prosperity.
He said paucity of funds and high interest rates were part of factors responsible for the under-development of the nation's agricultural sector.
The former president, however, advised the Niger Government to take advantage of the arable land to attract investors to embark on commercial farming in the state.
He urged the state government to create employment and market through agriculture because of its proximity to Abuja.
"A state cannot develop in isolation, you have to work with other states and take advantage of economy of scale and identify areas that are profitable; then utilise them,'' he added.
He called on the Federal Government to develop infrastructures in the state to enable farmers transport their farm produce to urban centres.
Similarly, a former Head of State, Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalami, expressed optimism that agriculture was taking a centre stage in the nation's drive to diversify the economy.
He urged commercial banks to lower their interest rates for farmers to obtain money for their agricultural activities.
According to him, the interest rate in Nigeria is 18 to 25 per cent, while for farmers it is nine per cent and 2.5 per cent in some other countries.
"If we want to make progress as a country, we need to look into our interest rate to make it easier for our farmers to access loans,'' he said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has received a petition for the recall of Mr. Abubakar Kuki, a member representing Bebeji Constituency, in the Kano State House of Assembly, from his constituency.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, Prince Adedeji Soyebi, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), disclosed that the petition was received on Aug. 11.
He said in accordance with the INEC guidelines for recall, the commission had formally acknowledged the receipt of the petition to the petitioners' representatives.
Soyebi added that it has also written to inform the affected member, Kuki, of the presentation of the petition.
"A timetable and schedule of activities pursuant to the petition will be issued shortly,'' it added.
It would be recalled that INEC also on June 24, received a petition to recall Sen. Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West, in the Senate.
The commission in line with it guidelines issued the timetable for the recall but was latter suspended on July 13, in compliance with a court order issued on July 6, pending the outcome of the court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had received a petition for the recall of Mr Abubakar Kuki, a member of Kano State House of Assembly.
Mr Adedeji Soyebi, National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission, made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Soyebi said that the petition emanated from the lawmaker's constituents in Bebeji area, which he represented, adding that the document was received on Friday.
He stated that in accordance with INEC guidelines for recall, the commission had formally acknowledged receipt of the petition to the petitioners' representatives.
He added that the commission had also written to inform the affected lawmaker about the petition.
"A timetable and schedule of activities pursuant to the petition will be issued shortly,'' Soyebi said.
On June 24, INEC also received a petition demanding the recall Sen. Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the Senate.
The commission, in line with it guidelines, issued the timetable for the recall but suspended action on it following a court order secured by Melaye on July 13, stopping it from proceeding with the process.
However, INEC has approached the court to vacate the injunction to enable it to continue with the process.
No fewer than 1,119 delegates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) will take part in the party's primary election to produce its gubernatorial candidate for the Nov.18 election in Anambra.
Chairman of the party, Dr Victor Oye, made this known at a news conference in Awka on Monday and said that the primaries would hold on Tuesday in Awka.
Oye said the delegates were made up of 150 statutory and 969 elected from the 326 wards in the state.
He said that the election would be in the mode of 'yes or no' as only Gov. Willie Obiano purchased the form and met all the criteria.
He said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police and other agencies had been informed and would be part of the process.
Oye said that there was no controversy over the leadership of the party as he remained the authentic chairman with the full legitimacy to produce APGA's candidate for the election.
He blamed the media for fanning the embers of discord in the party, charging them to stick to the ethics of the profession by observing the principles.
"I have never been embattled; my seat has never been vacant or in contention.
"This matter would have been over long ago if the media played their role nobly," he said.
By Dirisu Yakubu ABUJA-A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek the face of God for what he termed the party's 'ineptitude and incompetence.'
Fani-Kayode, a member of the Forum of former PDP Ministers stated this while reacting to the call by some APC members that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan should apologize to Nigerians for providing a fertile ground for corruption to thrive while he held sway as President.
Femi Fani-Kayode
Dr. Jonathan had at the Eagles Square, venue of the party's Special Non-Elective Convention on Saturday praised the PDP for handing over a robust economy to the APC in 2015 amongst others; a statement that incurred the wrath of President Muhammadu Buhari loyalists such as Chief Osita Okechukwu, Director General, Voice of Nigeria (VON) who urged the former President to apologize to Nigerians instead.
But in the words of Fani-Kayode, there was nothing wrong with Jonathan's speech, describing same as the bitter truth. "Jonathan's speech at the PDP Convention was outstanding and inspiring. He spoke the bitter truth. APC are (sic) a party of poverty and shame.
"The APC should stop criticizing it and they should sit down, shut up and ask God for forgiveness for their ineptitude and incompetence," he wrote on his personal Twitter Handle @realFFK, yesterday.
On Okechukwu's allegation that Jonathan did little in the fight against corruption, the ex-Minister said Osita needs help and a 'banana.'
"The ugly little monkey (referring to Okechukwu) at VON who said that Jonathan unplugged the holes for corruption needs to have his head examined. Give him a banana," he added.
Meanwhile, a PDP chieftain and former national officer of the party has collaborated the report of a national daily (not Vanguard) that former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is holding secret talks with the party in a bid to stage a return.
In a chat with this medium, the chieftain who pleaded anonymity said the Reconciliation Committee of the party co-chaired by Nyesom Wike and Ibrahim Dankwambo, Governors of Rivers and Gombe State respectively have reached out to many aggrieved members of the PDP who left at one time or the other to return to the party "where they truly belong."
Asked if the committee has also reached out to the Turakin Adamawa, our source said there's no doubt that has happened because the PDP is willing to welcome home all defectors.
"That committee (Reconciliation) is already working but I am not the one to speak for it. If you ask me if they have contacted the former Vice President, my answer will be yes because you heard when our National Chairman tasked the committee to fling open the door for the return of defectors," he said.
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
Events marking the 2017 edition of the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, WSICE Project, ended recently in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The weeklong programme commenced with the arrival on July 12, of the 83 finalists in the annual WSICE Secondary School Essay competition, who were made to write an essay on the topic: 'Intolerance; The Burden of our Moral and National Conscience'.
Graced by the Nobel Laureate himself, who welcomed the finalists from 17 states, the students were mentored on the importance of TOLERANCE in human relationships, especially in the area of nation building.
The Essay writing competition took place on July 13, and at the end, head of the jury Dr. Razinat Mohammed (an English Language lecturer with the University of Maiduguri announced Hawkins-Ogelle Emmanuel of Jomeg College, Umuahia, Abia State as coming tops; Nwanga Solomon of St. Charles Secondary
School, Nigercem, Ebonyi came 2nd while Aboloko Erica of Breakthrough Academy, Ogun State took the 3rd position. The 1st place winner was given a scholarship worth N100000 while the 2nd and 3rd place winners received N75000 and N50000 respectively.
As part of the WSICE 2017, there was a performance of one of Soyinka's classic drama, 'Death and The King's Horseman' at the JF Ade Ajayi Hall (formerly UNILAG Auditorium) as directed by Bisi Adigun, Founder/Artistic Director of Ireland-based Arambe Productions. The production featured popular performers such as Tunji Sotiminrin, Wale Obadeyi, Bukky Ogunnote and Tunde Onikoyi among others.
After the highly emotional result announcement and presentation of prizes and certificates, the students were taken on a tour of Prof. Soyinka's country home, otherwise called the Ijegba Forest Residence in Idi Aba. They were received by the former head of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan and an associate of Soyinka, Dr. Tunde Awosanmi, who also mentored them on the essence of the chosen life and lifestyle of the Nobel Laureate. He enjoined them to emulate the good, focused and disciplined life of Soyinka, and imbibe the spirit of humanism that defined his life and career.
Awosanmi presented each of the 83 students with CD recording of Mandeland, a collection of poems by renowned poets selected from around the world in tribute to the legendary political activist/prisoner and former South African president, Nelson Mandela, but which were voiced by Soyinka himself.
From the Ijegba Forest, the students were then taken on a tour of the famous Olumo Rock in Abeokuta.
The creative workshop for the targeted 1000 Ogun State had students learning how to make accessories and book covers with Ankara fabrics and also print making using oil paint and glass. They also had workshops on storytelling, dance and acting. The students were very excited and eager to learn and at the end of the day came up with very beautiful crafts and print drawings.
The events came to a climatic end with the staging of the dance-drama "Obi at'Orogbo' by the youthful-members of Footprints of David as devised by Seun Awobajo at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta.
The Federal Government has granted 'Pioneer Status' to the Creative Industry in a landmark move aimed at transforming the industry to a creative economy and creating jobs.
In a statement issued in Abuja on recently, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the decision to grant the industry 'Pioneer Status' is in fulfillment of the promise made by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, represented by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, at the opening of the Creative Industry Financing Conference in Lagos 17-18 July 2017.
The 'Pioneer Status' is granted to companies making investments in qualifying industries and products as tax holiday from the payment of corporate income tax and withholding tax on dividend from pioneer profits for an initial period of three years, extendable for one or two additional years.
The 'Pioneer Status' for the Creative Industry covers music production, publishing and distribution (including online digital distribution); Photography; Production and post-production of digital content for motion pictures, videos, television programs, commercials, distribution and exhibition (digital movies, animation, videos, TV programs and commercials); Publishing of books (copyrighted books) and development and Publishing of ready-made software (operating systems, software applications and computer games).
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has inaugurated the Anti-Piracy Committee, charged with working out the modalities to tackle the piracy of creative works in the country.
Lai Mohammed
The inauguration followed last week's visit to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, by the Minister to solicit the support of the Police in the fight against piracy.
Members of the committee include the Director General, National Film and Videoa Censorship Board, Mr. Adedayo Thomas; The Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji; Deputies Inspector General of Police in Charge of Criminal Investigation Department, Hyacinth Maidugu, and that of Operations Joshak Habila; President, Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPAN), Abdullahi Maikano Usman; Ms. Tundun Aderibigbe of the House of Tara and Mr. Tonye Princewell, a movie producer.
While inaugurating the Committee, the Minister said the time has come for a decisive action against piracy in the country. "This is the first meeting between the police and the major stakeholders in the Ministry of Information and Culture as well as the Creative Industry (on piracy). This meeting is evidence that this is not just mere talk, but action,'' he said.
Alhaji Mohammed tasked the committee to devise a pragmatic approach that will ensure a regular and sustained enforcement, with a view to putting an end to the menace of piracy.
He said if piracy is not tamed now, it will become a monster that will destroy the Creative Industry.
Reading Dr. Grant Onokurefe Akata's Corporate Governance: An emerging economy perspective published 2017 by University Press Plc., is almost like attending the Harvard Business School. What is corporate governance? Akata, citing Heyden (2010) says it is the "thinking, discussing, and decision-making…about the future of a business…about how the power and resources of the organization are harnessed and deployed in the process of value creation for stakeholders, while respecting the legal obligations of the nation or broadly the environment where the business operates."
Good corporate governance is to the economy of a country, what blood is to the human body. A state fails or succeeds depending on the corporate culture of companies that operate in that state. This becomes truer when the broader issues of leadership are linked to this theme of corporate governance as the author has done. Grant Akata's book, rich in local content, couldn't have been published at a better time in Nigeria than now when the country is grappling with the problem of corruption, both in the public and private sector. As the author wrote in the preface, it is a book "written to provide a simple but clear discourse on the entire spectrum of corporate governance theory and practice in Nigeria."
This exquisitely made 329-page book is divided into sixteen chapters. The first chapter gave the definition and conceptual clarifications of corporate governance, while chapter 2 and 3 treat the theories of corporate governance and corporate governance practice in emerging economies respectively. Other chapters deal with board of directors, board of committees, company directors: legal duties and liabilities, stakeholders and markets.
From chapter 8-16 the author takes the reader on the Internal workings of the board and measuring corporate governance, risk management and corporate governance, the role of audit in corporate governance, ethics in corporate governance, corporate governance in other sectors, leadership in corporate governance, global concern for corporate governance: curbing corruption, accountability and reporting, and the future of corporate governance.
Discussing the need for effective corporate governance in organizations, the author writes on page 3: "If the rules and regulations of an organisation are duly complied with, such an organization will deliver much more consistently over a long tenure on the goals for which it was conceived and established." This is a point that needs to be stressed in every discussion about corporate governance. The key phrase here is "if the rules and regulations are duly complied with…." The problem is not in the making of the rules and codes but in the obeying of the rules. People always find ways of circumventing the rules.
When the author wrote on page 4 that "governance as a concept… should be independent from management…" the question that comes to mind is: who exercises governance? Grant provides the answer on page 5 where he discussed corporate governance versus corporate management, saying the two are two sides of the same coin. "While corporate governance focuses on the 'processes, structures and relationships through which the board of directors oversees what the executives do, corporate management is focused on defining and achieving the objectives of the company as approved by the board of directors." So from here, we learn that corporate governance is the duty of the board of directors.
The relevance of corporate governance in Nigeria
This section reveals that in writing this book, Dr. Grant Onokurefe Akata has his country, Nigeria, in mind, and the reader, after reading this part, cannot but be convinced that if we adopt the ideas he made available to us in this book, soon, we would sing a song of victory.
Dr. Akata did not try to be nice by hiding our problems. After acknowledging Nigeria's huge potentials for future rapid economic and industrial growth, Grant, like a surgeon, went straight to the ailing organ of Nigeria's economy with his surgical blade: "In spite of IMF's projected annual economic growth rate put at about 7% (already sliding to negative) and its strategic geo-political position in the African continent, facts of terrorism, religious bigotry and unduly expensive democracy, the nation's economy and its practices, including corporate governance lie prostrate…Nigeria's governance process is an area where it needs support…"
In chapter 3, after ex-raying corporate governance practices in emerging economies, Dr. Akata on page 47, locates where Nigeria's corporate governance practice fits in the continuum.
Theories of corporate governance
This chapter will be most useful to scholars of business and economics, though it should also be of interest to all practically oriented readers, given the fact that practice has its base in theory. The theories of corporate governance discussed here are stewardship theory, the agency theory, the stakeholders' theory, and the transaction theory. This illuminating chapter closes with discussion on "working with stakeholders".
The chapter on board of directors is lucid, which dovetails into a valuable analysis of why boards fail. From there the author goes on to the related issue of board committees of which the risk management committee is one. However, risk management is discussed broadly in chapter 9 under "risk management and corporate governance".
Among the discourses on the chapter dealing with company directors: legal duties and liabilities, are the appointment of directors and their conditions of service; the principal responsibilities of the Chairman (described as the Chief Governance Officer); the CEO and the company secretary, amongst others.
Nigeria resurfaces in chapter 14 under the theme, Global concern for corporate governance: curbing corruption. After looking at other climes in relation to this issue, the author broaches a question on page 283: "how has Nigeria faired?" and then submits that "neither the globe nor emerging countries like Nigeria has achieved any appreciable measure of success. The human being with technology is becoming increasingly more sophisticated in contravention of laws, regulations and codes. The inherent human nature to cut corners and seek advantage willfully at the expense of others has made the regime of legislations unable to keep pace with devices which beat decent conduct and probity."
But that statement does not translate to admittance of hopelessness, for the author provides corruption prevention guiding principles on page 287.
It would be ridiculous to think that all the wisdom deposited in this 329-page compendium on corporate governance would be captured in a newspaper review of the book. Corporate Governance: An emerging economy perspective is a collectors' item for those who know the eternal value of good books. Whenever I run into such books in bookshops, I buy many copies: one for my bookshelf, one for my vault, and the rest as priced gifts to loved ones who know the value of good books. I urge you to do same with this particular book. It's simply a treasure.
Owerri – Four occupants of a two storey building on Fire Service/Mbaise Road died after the building collapsed at the early hour on Sunday.
Five other occupants of the building were, however, rescued but they sustained various degrees of injuries.
The Coordinator of Owerri Operations, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Evans Ugoh, who confirmed the casualties to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said rescues operation was ongoing.
"We have been able to rescue five people while four have been confirmed dead, but we are still on to see if there are others trapped in the building," he said. Okochukwu Nnadi, an eyewitness and tricycle operator, said the incident happened around 4 a.m on Sunday.
"I came out very early to convey early morning worshipers to church before the collapse happened.
"I was the one who rushed to the police station near the house to alert them on the incident. "I was shocked to see four people already dead when they were brought out of the place," he said.
Gov.Rochas Okorocha, who later visited the scene said, "This is very sad." "I will take drastic measures to checkmate sub-standard buildings in this state, regardless of who is involved," he said.
Okorocha assured that the state government would take care of the medical bills of the victims recuperating in the hospital.(NAN)
South African Caster Semenya, dogged by gender accusations since shooting to fame in 2009, won a third world title in the women’s 800m on Sunday.
South Africa’s Caster Semenya wins the final of the women’s 800m athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London on August 13, 2017. / AFP PHOTO
Semenya, the defending Olympic champion and also world champion in 2009 and 2011, timed 1min 55.16sec, the fastest time of the year so far.
Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba, the Olympic silver medallist, finished second in 1:55.92, with American Ajee Wilson taking bronze (1:56.65).
By Jimitota Onoyume The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, OGFZA, and the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, are committed to working together for improved service delivery to clients in the nation's free trade zones, authorities of both agencies of government have said.
Addressing a joint stakeholders' forum of the two agencies in Onne, Rivers State, organised to fine-tune a pathway to better service delivery in the free zones, the Managing Director of OGFZA, Mr. Umana Umana and the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), said their agencies were united by the collective objective of delivering best-in-class services to investors in the free zones in line with the Ease of Doing Business policy of the Federal Government.
Umana added: "This conference is jointly hosted by the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority and the Nigeria Customs Service to underscore the fact that the Ease of Doing Business initiative is a national policy under one government, by which fact all relevant agencies of government are to work together in implementing the policy to deliver efficient services to the investor.
"That is both the letter and spirit of the policy, whose urgency has been reinforced by the Executive Orders issued by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo."
In his remarks, Col. Ali, Comptroller-General of Customs, declared that the service was committed to working with OGFZA for the good of the nation.
"We recognise the need to work with you in our match towards evolving an efficient and responsive service," he added.
He explained that full engagement with all stakeholders in the oil and gas trade is a requirement for success of the industry.
By Emma Amaize WARR I- Spokesperson of the group, Jomo Gbomo, in a statement, said: "Our decision to abandon PANDEF stems from the commercial and political motives of the leaders and most of the members, who now see the platform as a means to bounce back financially and politically."
"It is also as a result of the lie told by Chief Clark to State House correspondents after the PANDEF volte-face meeting with the Acting President on Thursday, August 3, 2017, where he said that MEND was part of the parley when the group was not represented.
"MEND has also lost confidence in the effete leadership of Chief Edwin Clark and HRH, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, who like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, still crave for power, wealth and pleasure to the detriment of developing the younger generation in leadership," the militant group said.
Its words: "It is annoying working with pretenders who conspired to keep silent when Goodluck Jonathan wasted the opportunity of the region and were part of the conspiracy to suppress the voice of Henry Okah and MEND."
"Today, the East West road they have suddenly realised that is in need of urgent repairs is a shameful deathtrap, which passes alongside oil wells and sits on top of huge gas reserves.
"PANDEF is demanding for the road to be completed, but during the six wasted years, these same members used the dilapidated road, lost loved ones there and said nothing, engaging instead on worthless pleasures, with the Abuja residence of Chief Clark as the rallying point.
"Chief Clark, who had direct access to his 'son', Goodluck Jonathan did not advice the former President to address the root issues and develop the region. Many sons and daughters, who enriched themselves, including the current PANDEF leaders, have no single viable industry built in the Niger Delta to show for it.
"The assets they have acquired are now forfeited to the region or the EFCC. Those ill-gotten assets cleverly hidden from the EFCC that we discover will be attacked and burnt to the ground," it added.
MEND asserted: "The Niger Delta is today blessed with private, State, and Federal University presence; including a Maritime Academy in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, which was established in the early 80s. One begins to wonder if the desperation and insistence of another similar university as a top priority by PANDEF is not just a ploy to cover-up an established financial crime."
The group stated: "MEND will in the interim align with the new Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, under Barrister Oweilaemi and will continue disdaining the old impostors claiming to be IYC,"
"We will also cooperate with the Niger Delta People’s Congress, NDPC, and genuine militants desiring change such as the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, which have shown consistency in doing away with the old order," it said.
Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday identified the right investment in sports as the necessary impetus that can bring about good performance of Nigerian athletes in sporting competitions, saying that it was time for the country to focus in such direction. Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left), with Nigeria table Tennis player, Aruna Quadri (left); representative of Sport Minister & Director, Federation & Elite Athlete Department, Mrs. Tayo Oreweme (2nd right) and President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Engr. Ishaku Tikon (right) during the Seamaster ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, on Sunday, August 13, 2017.
Governor Ambode, who made the reamrks while speaking to journalists at the end of the Seamaster ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open held at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, tagged Lagos 2017, said government and all the necessary stakeholders must now invest more in sports to take the country to its rightful place in the world of sports.
He expressed excitement at the successful hosting of the tournament which attracted Table Tennis stars from 22 countries, saying that the development was gratifying and in line with his vision to use sports as a catalyst for growth and development of the economy.
He said: "We are very happy to have hosted this competition. This is the fourth edition and you can see that this year’s competition has actually attracted more people and then more countries. The idea is to use sports as a catalyst for the growth and development of the economy.
"It is also a catalyst for tourism and it is my strong believe that we must continue to support sports as a means of allowing us to develop the mental capabilities of younger ones and Lagos State is ready to do that."
When asked whether he was disappointed that no Nigerian qualified for the finals of the competition, Governor Ambode said on the contrary, he was not disappointed but that the development called for greater investment in sports in the country.
"I am not disappointed at all about that. It's called Nigerian open and so it's open to everybody and again we had Nigerians in the semifinal. So, we need to do more work and then more coaching and also develop sports. Government has to support sports thoroughly if you want to see Nigerians in the finals.
"I mean you can see the level of skill-set that the Egyptians displayed here and if we say we are giant of Africa, we have to prove it in all ramifications. So, my believe is that government has to spend more time and money in developing sports in this country," Governor Ambode said.
Speaking on plans for the competition next year, the Governor promised to increase the price money and also the number of participating countries, saying that as the destination for sports in Africa, Lagos must lead the way in promoting sporting tournaments.
"For me, I am going to scale up the price money to attract more people to come for this competition. So next year, you will see more price money and then more countries participating in the competition. Lagos is the destination for sports in Africa and that is the only way we have to go," the Governor said.
The overall winner of the competition, Assar Omar from Egypt, went home with $5,000, while the first runner up, Gandhi Sarthak from India went home with $2,300.
"He came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it, saying, 'if you only knew today what is needed for peace!”
–Jesus Christ, Luke: 19 vs. 41 & 42B
ACCORDING to some Christian leaders Jesus wept because, being God himself, he knew that the fickle minded Jews of Jerusalem who were shouting "Hosanna!" as he entered the city would almost immediately make a full 360 degree turn in conspiracy with the religious elite and cry "Crucify Him!"
For me, I believe Jesus wept because, as a great moral teacher, he may have calculated from what he observed about the hot headedness of his people, that if they did not slow down, the Romans would end up inflicting a dire fate on them.
He warned and they did not listen and around 70AD the Romans sacked the city.
The same issues that may have prompted the tears of the Saviour then, namely religion and politics, are still very much at play today; only that this time they may have far reaching consequences not only for Jerusalem but for the entire world.
As write these words, Israelis and Palestinians, both of them cousins and today living in the same land over which our Lord wept, are slaughtering each other again, the reason being religion mixed with politics.
The cause of the latest conflict is the decision of the Israeli government to set up metal detectors, after gunmen smuggled weapons inside the al-Aqsa mosque complex and used them to kill two Israeli police officers in the streets of Eastern Jerusalem.
Some people believe the final war between the forces of evil and good will be fought in Jerusalem. Others believe the crisis there may one day engulf the entire world. Yet, both parties are unyielding and continue to lay claim to the city prompting the question of whether there will ever be peace in that region?
In 1947, the United Nations voted on a partition plan to divide what was then British-Mandate Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. Under the plan, Jerusalem and Bethlehem were designated corpus separatum, and placed under international rule, because of the city's importance to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Israel accepted this plan but Arab leaders rejected it. When Israel declared independence the following year, Arab leaders declared war on them. Israeli forces fought their way to a 78 percent control of the territory.
Years later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited Abraham's biblical connection to Hebron as one reason his government wanted to maintain a Jewish presence in the predominantly Muslim West Bank city. In response, Palestinians began to promote the notion that the Palestinians are the modern-day successors to the Canaanites, who lived there, long before Abraham's appearance.
Some say Israel's stand is predicated on the ancient Jewish connection to Jerusalem and that for over three thousand years; Judaism has made Jerusalem a holy city and has remained steadfast to it. That in addition to countless other rituals that the Jews pray in its direction, mentions its name constantly in prayers, closes the Passover service with the longing statement "Next year in Jerusalem," and recall the city in the blessing at the end of each meal.
They add that throughout Bible times Jerusalem was the only capital of a Jewish state, and is the only city with a Jewish majority during the whole of the past century. A mayor of Jerusalem was quoted as saying the city represents "the purist expression of all that Jews prayed for, dreamed of, cried for, and died for in the two thousand years since the destruction of the Second Temple."
They say the same cannot be said of the Islamic world where Jerusalem is not a place to which they pray, not once mentioned by name in their prayers, and is connected to any mundane events in their narrative nor did it ever serve as capital of a sovereign Muslim state?
They say Jerusalem appears in the Jewish Bible 669 times, Christian Bible, 154 times but zero time in the Qur'an.
They say although history tells us that in its early stage, Islam adopted the Judaic practice of facing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during prayer as its first qibla (direction of prayer), this did not last long due to Jewish rejection of the new religion around 624AD. They say the Qur'an at 2:142-52 later explained why in the following words;
The Fools among the people will say: "What has turned them [the Muslims] from the qibla to which they were always used?" "We appointed the qibla that to which you was used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels [on Islam]'.
That Mecca became the direction of prayer from then on that the Qur'an added;
'Even if you were to bring all the signs to the people of the Book [i.e., Jews], they would not follow your qibla.'
They say Tabari, an early Muslim commentator on the Qur'an noted that, "and the Jews were glad." for this change.
They say after this incident, no significant Islamic connection to the city was mentioned again until the rule of the Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty in 661-750AD.
Of all the various powers that controlled the city throughout her history, the Umayyad, had more influence on the city. They constructed a number of religious edifices, palaces, and roads. The Israeli scholar Izhak Hasson explained that, the "Umayyad regime was interested in ascribing an Islamic aura to its stronghold and centre" as well as to assert Islam's presence in its competition with Christianity. They built Islam's first grand structure, the Dome of the Rock, right on the spot of the Jewish Temple, in 688-91AD. Their actions according to experts were partly inspired by a passage in Qur'an 17:1 describing the Prophet's Night Journey to heaven (isra'):
'Glory to He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the furthest mosque.' But Daniel Pipe, a scholar in religious matters, in his essay on the subject noted that; 'When this passage was first revealed in about 621AD,…"furthest mosque" was a turn of phrase, not a place. Some early Muslims understood it as metaphorical…place in heaven…and Palestine would seem an unlikely location, for many reasons… being that elsewhere in the Qur'an (30:1) Palestine is called "the closest land" (adna al-ard)…and had not yet been conquered by the Muslims and contained not a single mosque…'
In 715AD, the Umayyad built a second mosque in Jerusalem, again on the Temple Mount, and called this one the Furthest Mosque (al-masjid al-aqsa, Al-Aqsa Mosque). Many experts believe this marked the point where the city was given a role in the Islamic narrative.
Palestinian historian A. L. Tibawi explained in his work that by building the mosque, the Umayyad, "gave reality to the figurative name used in the Koran." That Jerusalem came to be seen as the site of the Last Judgment, after they cast aside the non-religious Roman name for the city, Aelia Capitolina and replaced it with Jewish Al-Quds (The Holy) or Bayt al-Maqdis (The Temple). They say the Umayyad sponsored a form of literature praising the "virtues of Jerusalem," some of them equating the city with Mecca. There was even an effort to move the pilgrimage (hajj) from Mecca to Jerusalem.
They argue that the construction of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque, the rituals instituted by the Umayyad on the Temple Mount and the dissemination of Islamic-oriented Traditions regarding the sanctity of the site, all pointed to the political motives which underlay the glorification of Jerusalem among the Umayyad.
Jerusalem fell into near-obscurity after the demise of the Umayyad. The dome over the rock even collapsed in 1016AD.
When the Crusaders took the city in 1099AD, initially this did not arouse Muslim response that much. The calls to Jihad inside the city then even got no response at the time. But by now, there were already hadiths that stressed the virtues of Jerusalem. New ones were written to inspire the Muslim world to Jihad to retake the city, even though not a single volume appeared in the period between 1100 and 50AD.
In 1187AD, Saladin took the city and wrote to his Crusaders opponent that the city "is to us as it is to you. It is even more important to us." Thereafter, a great building and restoration programme quickly followed. It was during Saladin that the Dome of the Rock came to be seen as the exact place where the prophet ascended to heaven (mi'raj) on his Night Journey, the very rock from which Jesus was thought to have ascended to heaven. It is worthy of note that one of Saladin's grandsons al-Kamil, during his own rule, offered to trade Jerusalem to the Europeans if they would leave Egypt, but they turned him down, but he became successful with German Emperor Friedrich II in 1229AD.
In 1244AD, troops from Asia, the Ayyibids took the city again after it had exchanged hands back and forth, and this time it remained safely under Muslim rule for nearly seven centuries.
The psychology at work in those times according to experts is that, the Ayyibids felt that if Christians could travel from distant Europe to make Jerusalem their capital, it must be important thus accounting for why the city became the third most holy city of Islam (thalith al-masajid).
The Mamluk under whose rule the city witnessed decline, came between 1250-1516AD. Then the Ottoman 1516-1917AD, got off on an excellent start when Süleyman the Magnificent rebuilt the city walls in 1537-41AD and lavished money on it. However, taxes soon sent the city reverting back to her state of decline, so much so that, an historian reported that even the standards dropped so low that even the preacher at Al-Aqsa Mosque spoke a low standard of literary Arabic.
Britain recognised the minimal Muslim interest in Jerusalem during World War I. In negotiations with Sharif Husayn of Mecca in 1915-16AD, London decided not to include Jerusalem in territories to be assigned to the Arabs because, as the chief British negotiator, Henry McMahon, put it, "there was no place of sufficient importance further south" of Damascus "to which the Arabs attached vital importance."
Israeli scholar Hava Lazarus-Yafeh noted that, Jerusalem "became the focus of religious and political Arab activity only at the beginning of last century." She ascribes the change mainly to "the renewed Jewish activity in the city and Judaism's claims on the Western Wailing Wall."
The Jordanian era saw a decline in the city's status and an insulting religious standing where, mosques lacked sufficient funds, where Jordanian radio broadcast the Friday prayers not from Al-Aqsa Mosque but from mosques in Amman.
It was the Israeli era that brought the neglect to an abrupt end after June 1967 war. Almost immediately the city quickly became the single most emotional issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The conflicts have not ended till this day.
Ibrahim Hooper, an American based Muslim speaks of how "the Muslim attachment to Jerusalem does not begin with the prophet Muhammad, it begins with the prophets Abraham, David, Solomon and Jesus, who are also prophets in Islam."
Some say if this is so, doesn't the fact that for a time Muslims directed prayers toward Jerusalem and upon revelation uniquely rejected the city and turned towards Mecca a sign that God had rejected the city for them?
Others wonder if Jerusalem, considered third in line in Islam, will ever be more than a secondary city for Muslims? They say considering the similarity between both religions in principle, Jerusalem should be to Jews what Mecca is to Muslims? That the Qur'an itself at 2:145, recognised that Muslims have one qibla and "the people of the Book [Jews]" another one that this should support their argument.
I believe Jews and Palestinians are one people. Jews pray thrice to Jerusalem, Muslims five times daily to Mecca. Muslims see Mecca as the navel of the world, just as Jews see Jerusalem. Whereas Jews believe Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac in Jerusalem, Muslims believe it was Ishmael, and that it was in Mecca. The Ka'ba in Mecca has similar functions for Muslims as the Temple in Jerusalem for Jew. Worshipers take off their shoes and go barefoot in both their places of worship. Jews don't eat pig, Muslim don't eat pig. Jews fast in Yom Kippur and the Muslims fast in Ramadan and so on.
Time to set aside the almost nonexistent differences, find a common ground and live together, that tiny piece of land should cease to be reason for all the strife and bloodshed, and neither side should be denied access to their holy sites.
Finally, a constructive breakthrough that requires an outside-the-box approach in that region is urgently necessary to put an end to the bloodshed and maybe save the rest of the world from the crisis that may emanate from there.
Albert Afeso Akanbi is a Novelist, Researcher and Humanitarian. He lives in Abuja, FCT.
SKILLFUL traditional dancer, Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, narrowly danced out of impeachment three days ago. His nimble political feet enabled him by a slim 21-vote difference to continue his performance in office. He has been in office since 2009 and has two years left, but the unrelenting opposition went for an eighth attempt to remove him.
National Assembly Speaker, Baleka Mbete had ruffled the African political scene with an announcement that the latest Parliamentary vote would be secret, which meant that parliamentarians would vote true to their conscience and not necessarily along party lines.
After submitting to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, one million signatures demanding Zuma's ouster, the parliamentary opposition posted 177 votes, but not enough to surpass the 198 parliamentarians who voted for Zuma. With nine abstentions, it was clear that some lawmakers of Zuma's ANC, voted for his ouster or were indifferent.
To Police Minister, Fikile Mbalula, this was clearly an attempt to seize the popular mandate given to Zuma: "We were inside (parliament), they said they're going to topple the President. But with your support, we have defeated them inside. There are those who have been asking (us to vote with) our conscience. We've got political conscience to keep the ANC in power forever, and that is political conscience …"
Clearly, there will be more attempts to unseat Zuma, so the question is, will Zuma just sit and wait to be removed or move to ensure he survives until his tenure expires? In any case, what do you do with a parliament that is proving so relentless? Zuma might need to learn how his colleague, President Muhammed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania handled the Senate of his country that refused to cooperate with him in his bid for an unconstitutional Third Term.
Aziz, a former Chairman of the African Union had been a leader in the August 2005 coup that removed President Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya. Three years later, he unseated President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and in July 2009 was elected President. He survived a gun shot on 13 October 2012. Until today, it remains unclear if this was an accident or assassination attempt.
His maximum two terms expire in two years, but the Aziz insist he has to continue in office beyond 2019. For this, he needs to change the constitution. But the Senate which is the Upper Chamber did not cooperate. So he sold the Senate to the public as a parasitic, useless and costly Chamber which does not deserve a place in governance. He therefore demanded it be abolished. In March, 2017, the Lower House by a wide 121 – 19 margin, voted to abolish the Senate. President Aziz then invited the government- controlled Senate to abolish itself. But 33 of the 56 Distinguished Senators voted against the Senate committing suicide. So Aziz on Saturday, August 5, 2017, held a referendum to kill of the Senate. This was done with a 53.73 percent voter turnout 85 percent of who returned a 'Yes' verdict. Although the opposition parties characterised the referendum as an "electoral farce which has given way to open-air fraud," Aziz has had his way.
The primary lesson President Aziz has taught Africa is that the best way to meet the challenge of opposition, is to abolish it; the best way to treat a Senate that will not cooperate, is to eliminate it.
Aziz is following in the footsteps of President Macky Sall, the Geologist who in 2012, caused a seismic shift in the political calculus of Senegal when he abolished the Senate. He had been a political godson of his predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade whom he served as Prime Minister for three years before becoming the President of the National Assembly. But he revolted against his master and replaced him as President in April 2012. However, he felt that merely defeating Wade at the polls without smashing his power base would be dangerous. So he immediately worked for the abolition of the Senate dominated by Wade supporters. He had an ingenuous excuse; that the abolition will save Senegal $15 million! Money he said could be used to tackle the 2012 floods in the country.
Unlike their Mauritanian counterparts, the Senators in Rwanda have nothing to fear as they are ready allies of President Paul Kagame who like Aziz, is gunning for an unconstitutional Third Term. In reality, the Rwandan Senate virtually does not exist. It is a tiny assemblage of 26 persons with 14 of them appointed. President Kagame directly appoints 8, four are appointed by the Forum of Political Parties while two are appointed by university staff. The remaining 12 are elected from the local level while any former President can apply to the Supreme Court to enlist him as a Senator. This provision might actually be a fallback position for Kagame as his six predecessors except Pasteur Bizimungu, are dead. The latter who was President from 1994, resigned in 2000 over appointment of the cabinet, and Kagame took over.
Bizimungu tried to stand up politically by establishing his own Democratic Renewal Party which was quickly banned. When he persisted on running the party, he was jailed for fifteen years in 2004 for running the party and endangering national security.
Kagame has succeeded not just in bagging the power to run for a Third Term, but in fact to run for three extra terms of five years each. So by the referendum which gave a 98 percent endorsement, he can remain in office until 2032 or a total of 42 years in power.
The National Assembly in Nigeria must have been very lucky to escape 'impeachment' by an imperial President who fought to change the constitution and bag a Third Term. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried all he could to extend his tenure beyond the constitutional limits, but the parliament frustrated him. The Assembly leadership even accused him of bribing members. Perhaps, Obasanjo failed because he merely employed arm twisting methods, some persuasion and political lobbying. He might have succeeded if he had tried the Aziz method; dissolve his opponents and continue in office. Who knows, rather than depart ten years ago, he might still have been in power.
Almost at every turn and curve, Africa has adventurers in power who believe that their countries cannot survive without them. As I wrote in the heady days of the Abacha regime; the grave is full of such messiahs.
The only goal of the game through a spot kick in the 90th minute after Aremu lost the ball in the box and committed a foul in a bid to win it back.
Head Coach Salisu Yusuf now has the task of rallying his boys together and making sure they score at least two unreplied goals to qualify for the championship billed to hold in Kenya when both teams square up for the return leg next Saturday, 19th August in Kano or Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has congratulated President Uhuru Kenyatta on his re-election as President of the Republic of Kenya.
Mr Laolu Akande, the acting President's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said the congratulatory message was contained in a letter signed by the Acting President and addressed to the Kenyan leader.
Kenyatta's electoral victory was formally announced by the country's electoral commission on Friday amid allegations of voting fraud by his rival, Raila Odinga.
Osinbajo, however, noted that President Kenyatta's re-election was a clear testimony to his selfless service to Kenya and the giant strides he took to transform the country in the last few years.
He said: "I have the honour on behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to congratulate you on your successful re-election as the President of the Republic of Kenya.
"Permit me, therefore, to use this momentous occasion to reiterate Nigeria's support and cooperation with Kenya in our collective determination to advance the development of Africa and its people.''
The acting President also congratulated and extended his best wishes to the people of Kenya on the successful conclusion of the Aug. 8 general elections in the country.
He wished President Kenyatta "a very successful new term in office.''
The official figures released by the Kenya's electoral commission indicated that Kenyatta secured 54.27 per cent to defeat Odinga who scored 44.74 per cent of the ballots cast.
The senior special assistant to Gov. Obiano on social media, Mr. Ifeanyi Aniagoh, Sunday, said that the alleged Assemblies of God church attack in Onitsha is nothing but a falsified report.
Obiano
He said that nothing like that happened except an attack on policemen along Oguta road in Onitsha.
In his words, "No Church Attack in Onitsha… Please Ignore the Rumour! The Onitsha incidence has nothing to do with church attack as confirmed by the Anambra Police Public Relations Officer, Princess Nkiru Nwode.
"She said the attack was on policemen who were on foot patrol along Oguta Road Onitsha.
"According to her, the attackers were hoodlums who disquised themselves as masquerades to dispossess innocent citizens of their belongings and in the process killed a police man and injured some others.
"Recall that in an effort to ensure safer society, the government of Anambra State recently launched Motorbike Brigade in addition to several other Security Units that maintain regular patrol of our communities.
“May the soul of deceased officer who died in active duty find eternal peace,"he finally said.
By Festus Ahon & Ochuko Akuopha ASABA—DELTA State Police Command has promised to investigate and address cases of harassment of journalists carrying out their legitimate duties by some Police officers in the state.
Giving the assurance when executive members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Delta State Council, paid him a courtesy visit, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zanna Ibrahim, said the Command has zero tolerance for impunity, harassment and corruption, reiterating the need for men and officers of the Command to respect the human rights of others.
Police
He said: "Anybody that harasses any journalist wants to create problems for me and I cannot be friendly with any policeman who does that.
"Get me the inventory of such cases so that we can address them. If there is anything subsequently, let me know."
Enjoining journalists to key into the Federal Government's whistle-blowing policy, he advised them against sensational reportage.
Earlier, Chairman of NUJ Delta State Council, Mr. Michael Ikeogwu, who was represented by the Vice Chairman, Mr. Patrick Ochei, said the visit was to strengthen collaboration with the Command on ways to correct societal ills.
Kylian Mbappe watched on from the bench as Radamel Falcao struck a hat-trick in champions Monaco’s 4-1 victory away to Dijon in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Monaco’s Colombian forward Radamel Falcao celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Dijon FCO and AS Monaco, on August 13, 2017 at Gaston Gerard stadium in Dijon, northern France. / AFP PHOTO
Jemerson also scored in a comprehensive victory for the principality side that made it two wins from two after they started the campaign by beating Toulouse 3-2 last weekend.
It was also their 14th consecutive league win, equalling the record set by Bordeaux in 2009.
They join Lyon, Marseille and Saint-Etienne on maximum points before Paris Saint-Germain — with Neymar poised to make his debut — visit Guingamp later (1900 GMT).
But it was the absence of Mbappe that will likely prove the biggest talking point of Monaco’s trip to Burgundy.
The 18-year-old France forward was one of the stars of Monaco’s title triumph and run to the Champions League semi-finals last season.
However, he is said to be determined to leave the principality before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month, with Real Madrid keen but PSG his preferred destination. His club want 180 million euros ($213 million, £164 million) if they are to sell.
Mbappe was in the Monaco squad at the Stade Gaston Gerard but did not make it off the bench as coach Leonardo Jardim gave a debut to 21-year-old winger Adama Diakhaby, a 10 million-euro signing from Rennes.
Without Mbappe, Monaco went ahead inside three minutes as Kamil Glik headed down a corner and Falcao helped the ball towards goal, with goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet getting a touch but unable to stop it from crossing the line.
Brazil centre-back Jemerson then produced a remarkable overhead-kick finish from another corner to double Monaco’s lead and Diakhaby fed Falcao for a shot that took a slight deflection on its way in to make it 3-0 in the 37th minute.
Wesley Said pulled one back for Dijon before the break but Colombian star Falcao headed home another corner shortly after the restart to complete a fine victory for the away side.
– Chaotic defeat for Lille –
Earlier, Marcelo Bielsa suffered his first loss as coach of Lille, three different players going in goal in a chaotic 3-0 defeat away to newly-promoted Strasbourg.
On a miserable day for Bielsa and his side, Lille lost Brazilian recruit Thiago Mendes and full-back Kevin Malcuit to injury in the first 18 minutes at the Stade de la Meinau.
Bielsa then opted to make another substitution before the interval, so when goalkeeper Mike Maignan was shown a straight red card just after the hour mark for throwing the ball at Benjamin Corgnet, Lille were in trouble.
Unable to send on substitute goalkeeper Herve Koffi, Lille were instead forced to hand the gloves to striker Nicolas De Preville.
He promptly denied Idriss Saadi when the Strasbourg player found himself clean through, but the home side had been on top throughout and they got the breakthrough they deserved in the 74th minute through Jonas Martin.
De Preville had had enough of his stint in goal and he opted to give the gloves to captain Ibrahim Amadou for the closing stages.
He was beaten twice in the last 10 minutes, first from a Dimitri Lienard penalty and then from Jeremy Grimm’s long-range strike as Strasbourg won a top-flight game for the first time in more than nine years.
“I can’t approve of it but I understand it,” said Bielsa of the sending-off.
“But for me it wasn’t the turning point. Our opponents deserved their advantage, regardless of the fact we had to play without our goalkeeper for the last half-hour.”
By Gabriel Enogholase BENIN—A group, Midwest Movement, has threatened to declare Bendel Republic if the leadership of the country fails to play its constitutional role and entrench true federalism.
The group said the proposed Bendel Republic is made up of Edo and Delta states and comprise 12 tribes that include Akoko-Edo, Esan, Benin, Etsako, Owan, Anionma, Ika, Ndokwa, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri.
The movement warned that should government continue to play the ostrich with the current agitations for restructuring, the Midwest region will resist all attempts to annex, attach or conscript it as part or any part of its near or far neighbours.
The group said: "If the federation of Nigeria fails to hold under the weight of government's inability to play its constitutional role and because of the reckless actions of ethnic jingoists, the Midwest territorial area shall employ, embrace and adopt every available international instrument, conventions and protocols to take its destiny in its hands as a territory to be called Bendel Republic or any name or appellation our people so choose to adopt."
Dr. Don Obaseki, Convener of the movement, in an eight-point demand in Benin, the Edo State capital yesterday, said the group was deeply concerned about the situation in the country, adding that "the federation of Nigeria is in dire crisis due to injustice, marginali-sation and flagrant violation of the terms agreed upon by its founding fathers."
…lists demands
The group demanded, among others, "that government and representatives of the people in parliament to consciously heed the voices of reason on the call for a re-federalisation of the country, using all available constitutional means, while factoring the interests and aspirations of all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria;
"That government and its officials refrain from and resist the temptation of casting all those calling for peaceful resolution of the current political impasse as mere appointment seekers;
"Government should, as a matter of urgency, broaden its consultation and engagement with stakeholders of all ethnic nationalities, with a view to working out modalities to ease the current avoidable tension in the country."
By Azu Ishiekwene A BOOK with the title of this article published 33 years ago by British investigative journalist, David Yallop, made the Catholic Church very, very uncomfortable.
Yallop said in the book that Pope John Paul I, who lasted only 33 days as pope, did not die a natural death.
He said the Pope, who was not the preferred choice, was murdered by vested interests in the Vatican because he was poised to rid the Church of its hypocrisy, hubris and corruption, a claim that the Church denounced as trash.
Trash or not, the Church in Rome and elsewhere has had to examine itself in light of many existential threats, after centuries of complicity in and ambivalence over some of the worst atrocities in the world. And believe it or not, money is at the root of it.
In response to increasing financial pressures, the Church is bending to new social trends and becoming quite creative at expanding its membership base.
The Message And The Messenger
The point in Yallop's book is that beyond the façade of piety, religion is a deadly game of power, influence and survival of the fittest.
And it's all in God's name.
As the country mourns the outrageous killings at St. Philip's Catholic Church Ozubulu last Sunday, the public is left to contemplate the tragic irony that Aloysius Ikegwuonu the obvious target, might also have been killed in the Church he donated to the community in God's name.
His father and 12 or 18 other worshipers, depending on whose account you believe, were not so lucky. They were killed at morning Mass, innocent victims of what appears to be a gang war over money or God-knows-what between Aloysius and some "unknown" persons abroad.
The Crime Scene
It seems inappropriate to get past the dead, the wounded and the grieving to talk about how this tragedy came to happen in the first place. But who knows how many lives may be saved in future by shining the light on the church, the scene of the crime?
Aloysius was not a stranger to the place. The fellow, who had already been made a "high chief" at 36, is obviously one of the princes of a contemporary Igbo obsession, "osina nwata buru ogaranya," literally meaning "one who became wealthy from childhood."
Aloysius, famously celebrated as "Ebubechukwu Ozubulu" (God's glory in Ozubulu), also built two other churches, in God's name, to mark his piety. His charity is a validation of his status and he has also been nicknamed "bishop", to show for it. He has made it, as we say.
At what price?
Several accounts after the incident indicate that the clergy and laymen in Ozubulu knew Aloysius quite well. You cannot be "God's glory" shining through hefty donations and dodgy philanthropy and not be known.
International Businessman
Beyond accepting the keys of the new church building and blessing Aloysius and his crowd at a special Sunday thanksgiving, did the parish priest or anyone in the Diocese bother to find out exactly what he does for a living?
Or was it just enough that he had performed charity in the name of God?
One of his spokespersons said he is an "international businessman" based in South Africa, with thriving businesses in real estate and also an importer and exporter of spare parts.
The spokesperson did not name any of Aloysius's companies or subsidiaries or the city in South Africa where this international businessman lives. And just like the parishioners, none of the journalists at the press conference asked him. Not one.
But Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, appears to know Aloysius a bit. It was the governor who shared the narrative about drugs, dodgy businesses and imported gang warfare.
Interestingly, just like the parishioners Obiano said nothing about Aloysius when the same fellow lined Awka with life-size billboards of the governor and himself announcing the official commissioning of roads he built to mark his 36th birthday in May.
Did the governor know then what he knows now?
What Did Obiano Know?
The logic appeared to be that helping God and helping Obiano's politics could go hand in hand. Now, the scale has fallen from the governor's eyes and I wonder if after what he said publicly about Aloysius he is thinking he should have acted differently at least three months ago.
It happens all the time, talebearers conning people and doing havoc in God's name. Chukwudi Onuwamadike, otherwise called Evans the kidnap kingpin, is another recent example.
He was a nice guy, minding his business, making hefty donations in church and paying his tithes, before he was found out. It was not the church or his neighbours that found him out; it was his greed.
No Sacred Place
I'm not suggesting for one moment that the church should take over the job of the police. But if the clergy loses its seasoning as a moral agent and becomes just another trading post, then it would be liable to the laws and vagaries of trading posts, including levies, taxes and tighter regulation.
Ozubulu happened because criminals in business and politics no longer see a distinction between a place of worship and any other place. They are, in fact, under the notion that places of worship are compromised and have, therefore, become either extensions of their domains or legitimate targets of their senseless retribution.
I've been watching politicians dramatise their regret over Ozubulu and swear that the culprits would be brought to justice. They do this all the time, knowing full well that it means nothing. But since Obiano, in whose backyard this crime was committed has said it would be different this time, let us wait and see.
One thing is clear: No serious investigation of this crime would be complete without following the money trail through its dodgy errands of charity in the community, church and wherever else the trail may lead.
Ozubulu could not have been in God's name.
Ishiekwene is the MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine and board member of the Paris-based Global Editors Network
The New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) says it will invest 15 million dollars through a partnership with a Turkish firm to reactivate the collapsed Kaduna Textile company.
The Group Managing Director, Dr. Ahmed Musa, said this to newsmen shortly after a closed-door meeting with the Turkish business delegation at the NNDC's head office in Kaduna.
The delegation had earlier inspected the site of the firm and the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, both at the Kakuri Industrial Layout in Kaduna.
The GMD said the NNDC and the Turkish firm, Sur International Textile, would invest the amount in revitalising the Kaduna Textile.
According to the proposal, the Turkish firm will provide 35 per cent of the amount, the Federal Government 45 per cent and KTL will give 20 per cent of the funds.
Musa said in a short term, the KTL would produce uniform needs for the Nigerian Armed Forces as well as the Police and other paramilitary agencies in the country, and across the West Africa subregion.
He said revamping the KTL would boost the economy of Kaduna state and create employment opportunities to the unemployed youths within and outside the state.
"We held a private meeting with a team of delegation from Turkey.
" They want to invest in Kaduna Textile and turn it around.
" In summary, they want to start producing military and paramilitary uniforms for members of the Nigerian Armed Forces," Musa said.
According to him, the project is a big and laudable one that will boost the economy of Kaduna State by increasing its revenue drive and create massive employment.
" We have been able to attract investors into the state," he added.
The NNDC's Executive Director, Investments, Alhaji Abdullahi Ali-Gombe, said the agreement would revamp the collapsed Textile firm, owned by the 19 Northern States.
Besides boosting the ailing economy, Ali-Gombe explained that when operational, the firm would essentially go into production of military and paramilitary garments.
" Ali-Gombe, who is also the Chairman, Restructuring Committee of the KTL, said "we can not say tentatively when this will take off. We are hoping very soon.
The Kaduna Textile Limited, established in 1957, operated a large integrated textile mill, producing various kinds of garments.
The company, currently in a state of comatose, started operation in November 1957, spinning country's cotton and later in January 1958, went into full production of unbleached grey bafts.
In 1961, it began the production of finished garments.
The firm was financed by the Northern Nigeria regional Marketing Board and the region's development corporation and was managed by an expatriate firm, David Whitehead & Sons.
It was closed down in 2000 following various financial crises and inadequate power supply.
