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- Bobrisky and Anita Joseph to feature in a new movie
- Solidstar returns with a latest hit single titled 'Wena'
- How to win over a difficult mother-in-law and other female family members
- Teaser trailer for ‘Joker’ Released ahead of October 14 by Warner Bros
- #FvukYouChallenge Cover: Victoria Kimani shades Ycee and Tiwa Savage on her cover of Kizz Daniel's Fuck You Music
- 2 Officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has been implicated in the fatal shooting of Kolade Johnson
- Certificates of Return: Why we boycotted exercise in Kano – PDP
- Anambra Senatorial poll: Returning Officer has no case to answer- Court
- Nigeria's classifieds marketplace boosts presence with OLX deal
- Airbus connected Experience brings IoT into the aircraft cabin
- Yodiwo partnership to transform smart retail sector in Africa
- Merkel congratulates Buhari on re-election
- ‘There will be no Nigeria without restructuring’
- Lagos poll: Agbaje and illusion of hope
- Buhari lost in Ondo due to anti-party activities, says Olanusi
- Shema: Katsina High Court bows to Appeal Court Ruling
- NYSC DG threatens to withdraw Bayelsa corps members
- ‘Do Good’ actor, Oliver dies in car crash
- Adelabu, APC challenge Makinde’s victory
- Shell pays Fed Govt, agencies $6.397b
- Police name men who ‘killed soccer fan’
- Court: Adeleke unfit to run for Osun governor
- Osinbajo: what to expect from Buhari’s second term
- New 'Avengers: Endgame' trailer released ahead of April 26th release date by Marvel studio
- N1trn projects: ICPC to probe Senators, Reps
| Bobrisky and Anita Joseph to feature in a new movie Posted: 04 Apr 2019 12:30 AM PDT
Bobrisky will feature with Anita Joseph in a Nollywood movie before the end of the year. The transgender will be acting in a movie with her friend, Anita Joseph, for the first time. Bobrisky hinted about the new movie in her recent Instagram post on Wednesday, April 3, 2019. Currently, in Enugu, Bobrisky hinted that she will be caught up in the coal city for some days shooting some scenes.  Bobrisky has a cordial relationship with leading actresses that include Tonto Dikeh, Anita Joseph and Toyin Abraham. In 2015, Bobrisky was featured in Tayo Sobola's movie, 'Ojuloge Obirin.' In March 2019, Bobrisky was featured in 'Skin,'a 90 minutes long documentary on colourism produced by Beverly Naya and directed by Daniel Etim Effiong. In This Story: #Bobrisky #AnitaJoseph #Feature #New #Movie Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Solidstar returns with a latest hit single titled 'Wena' Posted: 04 Apr 2019 12:00 AM PDT
The song which was produced by KukBeat gives an overview of how talented Solidstar is. A close listen to 'Wena' will give the South African vibes in the beats and sound. Solidstar has always been a hitmaker and we think this song will gradually gain those numbers in the coming weeks. In This Story: #Solidstar #latest #hit #single #Wena Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| How to win over a difficult mother-in-law and other female family members Posted: 03 Apr 2019 11:30 PM PDT
The stat above may have been provided from a different social terrain, but its import is just as relevant around here, maybe even more. Mothers-in-law in this part of the world have over time become famed for being meddlesome, disruptive, overbearing and trying to exert too much influence on the marriages of their sons. It goes without saying that while the above stat certainly has its merits, there are mothers-in-law who are nothing like the profile painted above. Regardless, there have been far too many stories and so many wives have experienced tension with their spouse's mums [and sometimes, husband's female siblings] for this to be an issue to scoff at.
Respect To be honest, many of the rules on how to win your partner's mother over can be pegged under an important canopy word and that is 'respect'. In this context, the word is not limited to just its primary meaning which is synonymous with honour and being humble in your relationship with the older woman. Respect here is to be extended to cover concepts such as being accommodating, accepting and understanding. As much as is reasonable, you want to accord the mother of your husband the reverence she deserves for the older connection she has with your man, and also because many times, men usually have special ties with their mothers. You need to respect that. There's no need to make a mockery of that bond by trying to set up the man to pick between you and your mother-in-law. Sometimes, this is usually unavoidable, but be fair enough to ensure that this is not as a result of your disrespect or some other devious shenanigan. The role of your man in making sure this works While some mothers-in-law are just darlings that make life heaven on earth for you and pretty much know their place, some are obviously not. And it is on the premise that there are six of these disruptive ones out of every 10 that this piece is being written. So in realization of the fact that some mothers-in-law are going to be difficult for just no just cause, it is important to talk about creating a support-system for yourself in your man. You need to know where your man stands on the possible conflicts that may happen between his mum and his woman. This is actually one of the awkward but necessary conversations to have with your man before marriage. You need to gauge his level of understanding of this potential power tussle and what his stance is on how best to handle the situation. Ask him questions that show the limit of involvement allowed by his folks. It makes sense to specifically limit the question to his mother and gauge whether you are on the same page on the subject. On the chance that you are already married without having the conversation and every of your mother-in-law fears actually materialize, you would still need to have a conversation with your man. You need to let him know that he has your back and that he is on your side. When his mum is one who tries to meddle too much and tries to disturb the balance of power in your marriage, your man is in the best position to talk about it. So channel your worries to him and let him do the right thing by having that conversation with his folks. Even it means involving his dad or some other senior figure that the woman listens to, heeding your worries and protecting you and the marriage from this particular disruptive, external influence is his responsibility. Every woman deserves a man who takes this as serious as they should. In This Story: #win #over #Difficult #MotherInLaw #female #family #members Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Teaser trailer for ‘Joker’ Released ahead of October 14 by Warner Bros Posted: 03 Apr 2019 11:00 PM PDT The first trailer of the film directed by Todd Phillips has Joaquin Phoenix playing the lead role of Arthur Fleck known as the Joker. In the 2 minutes, 24 seconds long teaser trailer, Fleck is on a mission to try and make the world laugh, and then, through a series of traumatic events, he finally became deranged and legendary the Joker. Fleck's life into the world of Joker unfolds after a series of beatings, ridicule, loss, and some creepy dances with his mother. The audience is left in the dark as to what Fleck is capable of. The Joker is the legendary Batman villain in Gotham city. In This Story: #Teaser #trailer #Joker #Released #October14 #WarnerBros Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:30 PM PDT
Kenyan act Victoria Kimani is the latest artist to jump on the trend, shading Ycee and Tiwa Savage in the process. Victoria Kimani dropped her #FvckYouChallenge video on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, and it already has quite a lot of people talking. According to her, Ycee's lyrics in his hit song 'Juice' were actually her's and as for Tiwa Savage even though she didn't mention her name, the line 'Grandma African bad girl' references a line from her hit song 'Malo' with Wizkid.  It didn't end there, she made mention of the time she was blocked from performing at a show by whoever she was talking about. Well we think this challenge is getting a bit controversial and tense. Listen below Let's pray it doesn't get all messy at the end of the day.
In This Story: #FvukYouChallenge #Cover #VictoriaKimani #shades #Ycee #TiwaSavage #KizzDaniel Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:00 PM PDT
Merely seconds later when he glanced back to steal a second look at the stranger's hair, Ayobami witnessed as he was being forcefully dragged into a yellow commercial bus, popularly called danfo, by a team of men who he later discovered to be police officers. With the bus parked squarely in the middle of the road with a trail of other cars behind it, the purple-haired man struggled relentlessly against the officers but was soon subdued and thrown into the back of the bus, the first victim of what soon became a full-blown raid. Three armed officers alighted from the bus and started picking young men off the street, the bus following slowly behind, with what appeared to be a random selection. A young man who had witnessed the first arrest had sought refuge inside a residential building that was just by the side of the road, but the officers must have sighted him first because they went into the building without reservations and dragged him out with another person that appeared to be a friend to become unwilling occupants of the yellow bus. When the dust settled, the officers picked up five young men, and it soon became clear that their only immediately obvious crime was their choice of hairstyle. The plain-clothed police officers that picked them up, Ayobami soon learned, were men of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) of the Lagos State Police Command, a unit that was created to combat the unique problem of cultism in Nigeria's economic capital. The modus operandi of the unit has, in recent time, left a lot to be desired as officers appear to have taken it upon themselves to act as the Fashion Police while jeopardising the civil liberties of everyday Nigerians, with youths being their prime targets. The officers are notorious for punishing and tagging as cultists people with curly hair, dreadlocks, coloured hair, or any manner of alterations to natural hair, as dictated by the whims of the officers. Young Nigerians sporting tattoos and others dressed in peculiar fashion are no exceptions, too. A basket of bad apples For nearly two years, there has been a concerted effort by a great portion of Nigerians, especially on social media, to pressure the government into scrapping the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for a series of well-publicised misconducts. The birth of the #EndSARS campaign was as a result of the public's outrage at the impunity of the Police unit that had several allegations of misconducts levelled against it including harassment, extortion, assault and extra-judicial killing. SARS' notoriety has grown so great in the country that when news filtered on social media that police officers irresponsibly shot and killed Kolade Johnson, a 36-year-old father of one, in Lagos on Sunday, March 31, many wrongly pointed accusing fingers at SARS.  However, the latest example of Police barbarity in Nigeria was committed by officers of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) of the Lagos State Police Command. SACS officers had arrived at the Mangoro area of Lagos on Sunday to conduct another indiscriminate raid when they attempted to arrest a certain Ismail Folorunsho, a well-known man in the neighbourhood who appeared to have been targeted simply because he was sporting dreadlocks. The scene of the attempted arrest was close to a viewing centre where Johnson had been with his friends watching the English Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs, a game that started at 4:30pm. Many in the neighbourhood, including Johnson, had gathered around the team to assure them that Folorunsho was innocent of whatever he was being targeted for when gunshots rang in the air to disperse the crowd. Johnson was the only victim of those gunshots as he died minutes after he was pierced by a bullet. Deji Omoloja, an eyewitness, told Premium Times that he had been picked up at Ikeja Under Bridge by the same SACS team, for sporting curly hair, just before they arrived in Mangoro where Johnson was eventually killed. According to him, the infamous danfo already housed eight victims, all young, male and sporting either curly hair or dreadlocks, when he was picked up and driven to Mangoro. Johnson's fatal shooting and, more importantly, the events that led up to it has now beamed a stark spotlight on the years of improper conducts committed by SACS officers who, like their SARS counterparts, appear to prosecute the nation's laws based on their personal whims and wield their power to torture, extort, and, in Johnson's case, sometimes kill innocent Nigerians. SACS' reign of terror in Lagos Michael (not real name) told Pulse that he was randomly picked up by the Gbagada division of SACS on Thursday, March 28, and labelled a cultist strictly for his hairstyle. He claimed he was slapped for initially resisting arrest and reported that another young man, a student, was sprayed with teargas in his eyes for resisting even more stubbornly. "A guy whose wife just gave birth through caesarean section and went to buy food for her was arrested. No reason," he tweeted shortly upon his release six hours after his indiscriminate arrest. When Michael called a friend to come down to the Gbagada station to bail him out of detention, he was also detained after it was discovered that he was sporting a punk hairstyle. "When he got there they were trying to aggravate the situation by saying that my hairstyle gave me off. He was wearing a cap so they asked him to take it off. Next thing they saw his hair and were like, 'Ah you sef be cultist'. They asked him to pull his shirt off and detained him," he said. Both were only released after Michael called another friend to bail them out. They paid N10,000 "with a lot of begging" to regain their freedom, something that's quite a common story for the, mostly, young men who have been unfortunate to come in contact with SACS officers. Leye S.O and his brother, nicknamed Hylarious, were waiting to board a bus home around 8pm at Alapere Bus Stop on Monday, March 25, when a SACS officer started dragging his brother, a drummer, towards that dreaded danfo bus, with many other youths getting ushered into it by other officers. "My brother was slapped just because he asked the policeman of his offence. I tried to intervene but the other officers told me frankly they would shoot if I didn't move back," he told Pulse. He could not reach his brother until 11:20pm when the detainee was finally allowed to make a phone call, usually one you're only reasonably expected to make to someone that could pay for your freedom. "I stepped into the police station to see some terrifying faces of some policemen sitting very close to the gate. Then this man on white T-shirt and big tummy came to me with a machete in his hand," he recounted with horror. The man on white T-shirt and big tummy who was brandishing the machete, and eventually collected 10,000 from Leye to secure his brother's release, is Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan. In a statement released by the Police on Tuesday, April 2, Olalekan and Sergeant Godwin Orji were named as the primary suspects in the fatal shooting of Kolade Johnson. The Police disclosed that the two men have been subjected to internal disciplinary procedures and may be prosecuted in conventional court if implicated by investigation. Olalekan, it turns out, is quite well-known for coordinating the racket of picking up young people at random through illegal profiling and holding them for ransom until they can pay their way to freedom. Since he was unmasked on Tuesday, many, including Leye, have taken to social media to accuse him of extorting them or someone they know. One of the most striking complaints made was by a certain Oluwasegun Haziz on Twitter (@hazizsegun), who raised alarm over how one of his work colleagues was arrested, because of his hairstyle, by Gbagada's anti-cultism unit in Sabo, Yaba on Thursday, March 21. In a series of tweets posted on March 22, Haziz claimed the head of Gbagada's anti-cultism unit, popularly known as Omo Eko, made him pay the sum of N5,000 for the release of his colleague after initially demanding for the sum of N50,000. Even though he attached a picture of the officer and tagged the official Twitter account of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU), a unit responsible for resolving complaints against police officers in Nigeria, his complaint was never acknowledged on Twitter. While efforts to reach Haziz to comment on if a complaint was officially filed were futile, Leye positively identified the man in his Twitter complaint, referred to as Omo Eko, to be the same Inspector Olalekan who's now suspected to have been the one that pulled the trigger that took Johnson's life. Stanley (not real name), another victim of SACS extortion who wishes to be anonymous, also positively identified Sergeant Orji as one of the officers that assaulted and arrested him for no just cause at Zibet Bus Stop, Ajah on Saturday, March 23. Unlike others, Stanley wasn't arrested due to his hairstyle or non-existent tattoos, he was targeted for 'irresponsibly' holding a red cup while seeing a female friend off at a party. "I was tasered a couple of times like I stole. I was bruised and violated like a common thief. They said I'm an irresponsible person," he told Pulse. To regain his freedom for no discernible crime for which he was arrested and driven to Langbasa Police Station, he said his friend paid the officers the sum of N10,000, "which they used to drink local brandy in my very presence". Officers are well-known to sometimes get intoxicated on the job, a violation of service rules. Michael told Pulse that SACS officers were smoking weed, a banned substance popularly called Indian hemp, in the Gbagada station compound while he was detained. Curiously, the compound, according to Michael and two others that spoke to Pulse, is where SACS mostly conducts its business as it has turned it into a revolving door of young men who are brought in, not entered into the system because of their bogus arrests, and then made to pay to regain their freedom. Those who can't pay their way out are sometimes paraded before the media as suspected cultists who are then charged to court and sometimes languish in Nigeria's abhorrent prison system. The institutional dysfunction of SACS The largely unchecked menace of SACS officers like Olalekan and Orji is one that has run for years without gaining national spotlight like it has after the unfortunate shooting of Kolade Johnson, and this is fueled largely by the belief that Lagos has a widespread cultism problem. Former Lagos Police Commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, bizarrely claimed that six in 10 youths in the state are involved in cultism. "I asked one of my officers to do in-depth research or investigation on the reasons for increase in cultism among the young ones and it was revealed that six out of 10 children are into cultism," he said during a town hall meeting with some residents of Surulere in June 2018.  Blowing the spectre of the problem out of proportion appears to be a fuel for the scandalous tactics employed by officers of the anti-cultism unit who have turned their job into a means to enrich themselves while extorting and maiming Nigerians. Even though Lagos Police spokesperson, Bala Elkana, condemned the way SACS officers profile young Nigerians, he still claimed that authorities have established a connection between cultism and people who sport dreadlocks or have tattoos drawn on their bodies. While speaking to BBC Pidgin on Tuesday, he maintained that tattoos and dreadlocks are "strange to our culture", despite their presence in the African culture for centuries. The institutional problem with SACS has manifested itself several times over the past couple of years without the amount of attention that the unit is now getting from the Nigerian public. In September 2017, Edgal removed Adejobi Akinade as the Officer-in-Charge of the unit over alleged corruption and replaced him with Godwin Agbegbe who was later removed in June 2018 over allegations of unprofessional conducts and corruption. He was replaced by Akaninyene Etuk. In January 2019, officers of the unit invaded the premises of Lakers County, a popular night club in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, and seized valuables worth millions of naira from customers and staff. Narrating what happened during the raid, the club's Chief Executive Officer, Oladimeji Ogunfolaju, said, "I have 40 CCTV cameras that record everything happening here, and it was through the recorded footage that I saw the whole drama that the officers acted out. "It showed the way they assaulted my workers and customers; how one of them broke into my bar to steal almost N1 million in sales proceeds; how they took my drinks and drank them while they were operating; how they broke my tables and collected customers' valuables like chains and mobile phones; everything was recorded. "I can't imagine police officers using axes to beat customers, including pregnant women. I learnt that one of the pregnant women, who was there during the operation, lost her pregnancy." Then-Lagos Police spokesperson, Chike Oti, said the officers were there to arrest a known cultist at the club but retreated after they were violently resisted by his gang members. Two days later, 13 of the 19 SACS officers who conducted the raid were arrested for unprofessional conduct and Edgal ordered the withdrawal of Etuk to the command's headquarters to enable investigators determine his role in the raid. Not much has been heard about the case since then. A Police source, who wished to not be named, disclosed to Pulse on Tuesday that the raid of was legitimate because the club was truly harbouring a wanted cultist, but the conduct of the officers soiled what could have been a big score for the unit. With the widespread knowledge of how SACS operates, it's incredibly challenging to believe such a claim when the rules are unclear on how they routinely arrive at reasonable grounds for suspicion. A lack of trust in the system is why many of those who have fallen victims of SACS officers have failed to file official complaints. When quizzed on why he didn't file a complaint against the officers that indiscriminately arrested his brother and extorted him, Leye replied, "I want no trouble. I would rather have a chat with a mad man than policemen. They are terrible people, trust me. I just moved on and took them to God in prayer." Johnson's shooting has led to a resurgence of the campaign to scrap SARS, renamed Federal SARS (FSARS) as part of the government's haphazard reform efforts, but has also given room for calls to totally revamp the Police Force. Senate President Bukola Saraki revealed on Monday that a report on the Police Reform Bill 2018 will be laid before the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday, April 9. While it is hoped that this would improve the operational conduct of the Force in quite a few ways if passed, the human problem remains, and if it's not SARS, it's SACS, or whichever unit is so empowered. The tragic killing of Kolade Johnson is one that has, unfortunately but luckily, resulted in important conversations about how to put a definitive end to the impunity of the 'bad eggs' in the Force. However, question marks remain on whether Kolade Johnson will be the last victim of this heinous campaign of oppression visited on the Nigerian public, or if another one is just around the corner. In This Story: #Inspector #OgunyemiOlalekan #Sergeant #GodwinOrji #Implicated #Fatal #shooting #KoladeJohnson Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| Certificates of Return: Why we boycotted exercise in Kano – PDP Posted: 03 Apr 2019 11:00 AM PDT  The People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State says its 13 state assembly members-elect boycotted INEC's issuance of certificate of return due to security reasons. A statement by Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, PDP's Spokesperson for 2019 Campaign Management Team in Kano State made this known in Kano on Wednesday. Dawakin-Tofa said the party asked its members to boycott the exercise because the Sani Abacha Indoor Sports Hall, which was the venue of the ceremony, was not conducive due to serious security reasons. "We have a serious concern over the selection of venue for issuance of certificate of return to our State Assembly Members elect. "There should be a neutral ground for the exercise, PDP members are not safe in the venue selected which is indoor stadium of Kofar Mata Sports Complex," Dawakin-Tofa said. According to him, the party had before now written to the commission requesting for a change of venue to maintain neutrality as it happened in 2011 and 2015. He said following the refusal of the commission to change the venue, the party had no option than to ask its members to boycott the exercise. In This Story:#SanusiBatureDawakin-Tofa #SaniAbacha #KofarMataSports SharingIs Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Anambra Senatorial poll: Returning Officer has no case to answer- Court Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:42 AM PDT  The Federal High Court sitting in Awka has vindicated Prof Meshach Umenweke, the Returning Officer for Anambra South Senatorial zone in the just concluded 2019 general election from any wrong doing during the poll. Umenweke had declared Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, winner of the election but one of the losers took him as second respondent, INEC as first respondent and Ifeanyi Ubah as 3rd respondent to court for investigation and prosecution for false declaration of result. Delivering the judgement, the presiding Judge, Justice IB Gafai said Umenweke has no case to answer and at best would serve as principal prosecution witness in the matter. He held that the court was not dealing with a criminal trial, but to satisfy itself on whether there was a prima facie ground to proceed to investigate the allegations of the Applicant or not. He said, "What I can however safely say categorically here, with all humility, arising from the facts is that the 2nd Respondent Prof Umenweke, in fairness, may at best be a principal prosecution witness on the combined facts, for he it is who knows who and who it was and there may be many that committed the alleged threats and intimidations on him, if at all". The judge argued that the duty to investigate and prosecute lies with the 1st respondent, INEC and not the Nigerian Police force or any other investigative body as it seems to be erroneously contended by the respondents that they have not been investigated by the Police. The court further asked the 1st respondent to "within 14 days from day of the judgment to conduct or cause investigation into the criminal allegations of the applicant. "Prosecute, if the investigation result so warrants, the 3rd respondent and any other persons implicated in its investigation." Chief Chris Uba had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof MN Umenweke and Chief Ifeanyi Ubah for prosecution over alleged declaring of inconclusive election result. Uba sought for an order of Mandamus compelling the 1st Respondent, INEC to undertake the prosecution of 3rd respondent and cohorts involved in disorderly conduct that took place in Nnewi North LGA that led to announcement of inconclusive election to elect Senator representing Anambra South. Ifeanyi Ubah was announced winner of that election eventually but Chris Uba went to court contesting that. But the court never ordered the investigation of the returning officer as was erroneously reported in the dailies. In This Story:#INEC #ChrisUba #Umenweke #IfeanyiUbah #IBGafai Sharing Is Caring.Share This Story  | ||||
| Nigeria's classifieds marketplace boosts presence with OLX deal Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:27 AM PDT  Jiji, Nigeria's classifieds marketplace has reached an agreement with OLX to redirect OLX users in Nigeria to Jiji and to acquire OLX businesses in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The transaction is supported by one of Jiji's principal investors, Digital Spring Ventures. The deal enables OLX users in these countries to benefit from Jiji's products and services that have been ranked number one by Nigerian Android users for shopping. Jiji has over six million unique active users, and 50,000 professional sellers listing over one million items in a rapidly growing market of 200m people. "We extend the warmest welcome to OLX's users to Jiji and look forward to transforming the online retail experience in Africa as the region continues to transform itself economically and technologically. Jiji aims to provide its customers with the safest, most secure and enjoyable online shopping experience possible," said Anton Volyansky, CEO and co-founder of Jiji. The potential upside for early movers in this market is considerable given 90 percent of traffic is on the mobile web and rapidly shifting to apps at a time when internet penetration is high and growing. OLX's reach combined with Jiji's own proprietary search and delivery algorithms, will create a more streamlined experience for consumers. Vladimir Mnogoletniy, Board Director and co-founder of Jiji said, "This partnership is pivotal to Jiji's future business model and success, as it paves the way for building the continent's largest Africa-based classified business serving a market with a combined population of over 300 million in some of the world's fastest-growing economies. We continue to act as a long-term investor in Africa and are excited by the exceptional opportunities, this young and dynamic continent has to offer. In the next 2-3 years we aim to be one of the top 10 classifieds businesses in the world by traffic." Sjoerd Nikkelen, General Manager of OLX in Africa, Middle East and Asia said, "We are proud of our achievements in Africa, and the sustainable businesses we have built in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. We continually evaluate our portfolio of classifieds businesses to ensure a disciplined approach to how and where we allocate capital and management time. With our focus on accelerating the growth of other markets, now is an opportune time to sell our interests in these markets. We are pleased that Jiji will continue to provide the exceptional quality of products and services that the customers in these countries have come to know and enjoy from OLX." Zhanibek Sydykov, Partner at Digital Spring Ventures, commented: We are pleased to be able to assist our partners at Jiji with this transaction, and hold a strong conviction that the combination of Jiji and OLX businesses will create a formidable presence in the African e-commerce market. This transaction further advances the consumer reach of one of the star portfolio companies in our current fund, which is focused on partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs to deploy capital in the internet and technology sectors in some of the world's most exciting emerging markets. Following the closing of the transaction (expected once regulatory approvals have been obtained), all users of OLX Nigeria, OLX Ghana, OLX Kenya, OLX Tanzania, and OLX Uganda's sell-and-buy classifieds websites will be redirected to Jiji. The Jiji team will strive to make the transfer seamless and to provide a high-quality user experience across all geographies. In This Story:#OLX #SjoerdNikkelen #VladimirMnogoletniy #Jiji #ZhanibekSydykov Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Airbus connected Experience brings IoT into the aircraft cabin Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:05 AM PDT
Up to now, this has been a concept study, which is 'coming to life' following cooperation agreements signed with three best-in-class partners: gategroup, Stelia Aerospace and Recaro Aircraft Seating – with more to join. The platform will link in real-time interconnected core cabin components, including the galleys, meal trolleys, seats, overhead bins and other cabin elements. As well as allowing data exchange throughout the cabin for the crew, it is also planned that consolidated information could also be uploaded to the Skywise cloud for subsequent trend analytics. The connected cabin will provide airlines, flight crews and passengers with significant benefits. For flight crews, it means that they can access an integrated platform which keeps pre-flight and real-time data in one place, while passengers will receive a more personalized travel experience. For airlines the platform would allow them to use the aggregated cabin equipment usage trends (of the connected elements) to perform predictive maintenance analytics over their entire fleet – thus improving the overall cabin service reliability, quality and performance on board all their aircraft. The platform will also allow wireless streaming to passengers and will enable airlines to host third-party applications for movies. "As airlines drive to improve operational efficiencies and reliability, they can now look to the Connected Experience, offered by Airbus together with our industrial partners, to link different elements of the cabin, seats, galleys and trolleys into one central data system," said Soeren Scholz, Airbus' SVP Cabin & Cargo Programme. He adds that this seamless inter-connectivity within the cabin will also be of tremendous benefit to passengers who will be able to enjoy individually tailored, personalised and high-quality inflight service. The Connected galley will enable passengers to pre-order from a dedicated prediction of preferred food & beverage for passengers – which also reduces waste and increases passenger satisfaction. It will also enable cabin crew to benefit from full transparency of inventory management for efficient operations, as well as facilitating remote passenger communication to deliver quick and personalised passenger service based on individual preferences. The Connected Seat will provide passengers with personalised seat position settings as well as remote ordering of preferred beverage or meal via personal devices. And onto their IFE screens passengers will be able to receive customised content including movies of interest or relevant advertisement for topics they are interested in – such as recommendations for concerts they would enjoy at their destination. Not only will a 'smart' bin, or Connected Bin, indicate free space to place passengers' luggage faster, but it could also enable space management so that passengers can book the space for the bags in advance. As an aircraft manufacturer, the market has clearly expressed interest in having Airbus in the 'driving-seat' to develop an IoT platform integrating the data within the cabin. This platform is designed to be linefit and retrofit and will be available on our A320 family first, before extending to other Airbus programmes. Not only is this platform fully compatible with Airbus' Open Software Platform (OSP) currently offered as a service, but the connected experience will also be 'Skywise Ready' for future data analytics – allowing predictive maintenance. In This Story:#OpenSoftwarePlatform #SoerenScholz #SteliaAerospace #Airbus Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Yodiwo partnership to transform smart retail sector in Africa Posted: 03 Apr 2019 09:52 AM PDT  Yodiwo South Africa has formed a partnership with Cold Tech Marketing which will transform the retail sector in South Africa with intelligent IoT platform capabilities, analytics, and machine learning algorithms at a price point versus response time that's effective for the local market. Through the partnership, Cold Tech Marketing will roll out Yodigram image recognition software to its more than 2.5 million customers in over 19 African countries and Yodigram will deliver in-store SKU image recognition capabilities. "The image recognition solution we were using prior to our agreement with Yodiwo South Africa was too rigid for the needs of the local market," says Lesley Lawrence, Development Director and co-founder of Cold Tech Marketing. "We needed a practical and powerful solution that would allow us to not only scale our African operations but deliver high-end capabilities to our customers." The result of the agreement between Yodiwo and Cod Tech Marketing allows long-term integration into IoT platforms and reporting systems such as Salesforce Automation tool. "We are trying to add value to our customers and want to be flexible in our approach, something that Yodigram was able to address," says Lawrence. "With Yodiwo, we have created a solution that is built on our shared understanding and expertise and that completely harnesses the synergies between our organisations. Yodiwo SA has been able to provide exactly what we need and willing to accommodate our unique requirements." Cold Tech Marketing has an impressive footprint across East and West Africa with operations continuing to expand as it moves into new markets and territories. The solution allows for the company to cement its offering within its markets while enhancing its intelligence services and IoT capabilities. "The partnership is very exciting for both organisations. It combines the innovative features of Yodigram for planogram compliance and inventory management with Cold Tech's deep knowledge of the African retail market. After the successful launch of Yodigram in Europe, and with the help of Yodiwo SA and expertise of Cold Tech, we will modernise and digitally transform the daily store operation in Africa," says Rodney Taylor, CEO of Yodiwo SA. In This Story:#YodiwaSouthAfrica #ColdTechMarketing #LesleyLawrence#RodneyTaylor #Yodigram Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Merkel congratulates Buhari on re-election Posted: 03 Apr 2019 07:14 AM PDT
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called President Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on the resounding victory in the February 23 presidential election in Nigeria. Chancellor Merkel pledged to continue co-operation with Nigeria on peace and security, while promoting investment and trade for sustainable economic development. President Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, thanked the German Chancellor for her spirited efforts in combating irregular migration on the continent. He also lauded the policy of assisting immigrants in need. In This Story:#AngelaMerkel #MuhammaduBuhari #FemiAdesina#Re-Election Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| ‘There will be no Nigeria without restructuring’ Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:27 AM PDT
Obong Victor Attah, 80, has always been passionate about politics. He was governor of Akwa Ibom State from May 1999 to May 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Afterwards, the architect-turned politician ran for the 2007 presidential nomination of the party, but later withdrew. Since then, he has been playing the role of an elder statesman, particularly in Akwa Ibom politics. Attah spoke to some reporters in Lagos about what the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari portends for Nigeria, the governorship election in Akwa Ibom State and other issues. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI was there. What is the significance of President Muhammadu Buhari's victory? Throughout his first tenure, nobody can say that he was truly a party man in the conventional sense. Because of this, there were rumblings within his party. Some very big wigs were said to be considering leaving the party. In fact, some even thought that, by the time we get to the elections, the party would suffer an implosion. As it happened, that was averted. In his second coming, it is my conviction that he is going to pay even less attention to the party. With some serving governors being suspended from the party by the NWC for anti-party activities; with the earlier schisms that had gone to spawn new parties or swell the ranks of the PDP; with the evident shift in the support calculus, it is clear to me that, in the no–distant future, we will be singing its dirge. APC is going to be scattered – dead. If Atiku had won, it is possible that he would have atikulated this country to the next level – to borrow from the slogan of both parties. But, I also had the fear that, if Atiku wins and the PDP gets back in the saddle, this country would be plunged into an orgy of intolerable excesses. With what has happened now, it is obvious that the fortunes of the PDP are also most likely going to change. It took Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, to provide that focus. Given his age and history of past attempts, this surely was for him a last ditch. With him off the scene, PDP is completely rudderless and with no anchor. It is safe to say therefore, that PDP too, which had also splintered in the past, will soon be scattered – dead. There was yet a third group – the military bloc. They did not hide their support for Atiku and the PDP. They openly showed their hand and have been spanked. Their influence therefore, is bound to wane. It is my prediction that from now on, we are going to witness less and less of those pilgrimages to Abeokuta and Minna. With this loss of influence, it is also safe to say that the military oligarchy is dead. Buhari's victory is the death knell to these power blocs. It has started the process of dismembering these menacing Behemoths, pulling out their fangs, blunting their claws and neutralising their sting. Buhari's victory has returned power to the common man. Positions negotiated in Abuja and Lagos over the heads of the people can no longer be guaranteed. His victory has therefore given Nigeria a long-delayed but much needed opportunity for a new life; an opportunity to chart a new course. That is why for me his victory represents not only the triumph of the common man, but indeed also a great blessing for Nigeria. An opportunity has now been created for fresh hands, an opportunity for a new leadership, to take over. Nigeria can now look forward to a new birth. The phoenix can now rise out of the ashes and attain its destined glory. What should be the agenda of the administration in the second term? First and foremost, Buhari must put a stop to all and every agitation to split up this country and there is only one way to achieve this. He must see to it that we re-enact and reinstate the terms and conditions of the agreement that caused all the various peoples of this country, at independence, to agree to come together and form one country – federalism. Anything short of this is to court a disaster of unimaginable magnitude. The popular word today that describes this is restructuring. My prediction is that unless this is done, by the end of his tenure in the next four years, there may not be a country called Nigeria as we know it today. The second item on my agenda for the Buhari government is power. We must work relentlessly to see that in the shortest possible time every hamlet, every corner of this country enjoys twenty four hours constant supply of electric power. In today's world, it is not a luxury but an absolute necessity. Third on my agenda is the fight against corruption. The fact still remains that if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us. This time the fight must be total and unsparing. Next, President Buhari must put a stop to all the killings, whether by herdsmen, or Libyan mercenaries, marauders, cattle rustlers or whoever. Already human life has been degraded enough and if the killings continue and farmers stop going to their farms, all the gains made so far towards food security by this administration will come to naught and we will again be faced with a major disastrous phenomenon. The final item on my agenda is the release of Leah Sharibu and the total annihilation of Boko Haram. How can the above agenda be realised? Given where we are now, there is a need for us to define the way forward. For me the way forward lies in a new beginning with a complete change of ethos and orientation. To achieve this I suggest the immediate formation of two national movements. The just concluded elections have done a lot to return power to the people and they have demonstrated that Nigerians want power to be held by people with integrity to which we should also add capability. Nigerians are completely fed up with people who seek power and positions just for the tyranny of controlling the treasury for themselves, their masters their investors and contractors rather than for the development of the real stakeholders – the people. I have no doubt that there abounds within our population of nearly two hundred million people, a sufficient number of quality people to whom the leadership of this nation can be trusted. So, the first movement, which I have suggested must be nationwide and not under the aegis of any political party, must be to search out the Moghalus of this nation. There must be quite a few of them. We must search for them, find them, groom them, assess them so that in less than the four years of this tenure, there will be no doubt in anybody's mind as to who the people would want to be their next president. I should caution that this exercise, imperative as it is, would amount to an indulgence in extreme futility unless we also firmly re-establish the country. The next movement which must also be nationwide and not sponsored by any political party must therefore be the movement to restructure this country in a painless, equitably manner. If Buhari fails to restructure, where do you see Nigeria? Why do you call it pessimistic, because I don't see a Nigeria without restructuring? I repeat, there can be no Nigeria without restructuring. What is going to happen is that the agitation for breaking up is going to get more violent, more virulent and the country will scatter. Certainly, Buhari would not allow that to happen. Even if his disposition today may not be one that says I am coming to restructure, when he knows that that's what has to be done, so that there is a Nigeria for him to govern and handover to the next President, he will see the need to restructure. Must restructuring happen in the next four years? It doesn't have to be in the next four years. But, it must begin now by laying the groundwork and he must show clear and sincere evident that we are moving towards restructuring. This is because the processes or the way to do restructuring equitably would entail a lot of negotiation to agree on how to do it. Do you know how long it took us to agree to form a federation at independence; some said we were ready, others said we were not ready. Restructuring is not going to be different. It is not going to be overnight, but we must agree that restructuring is what we must do, so that there can be a Nigeria. Have you the elders ever thought of taking a letter to President Buhari, explaining your position? Yes, an effort was made. I was interim chairman of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and we sent a 16-point agenda to President Buhari. Our focus was essentially the Niger Delta, but on national level restructuring. The larger focus of Ohanaeze, the Igbos, is restructuring; Afenifere also restructuring. So, we had this southern leaders forum, which was joined by the Middle Belt and at the end of the day by some personalities from the North, such as Ango Abdullahi and Junaid Mohammed. I don't know if they represented groups such as the Arewa Consultative Forum or not. So, we wanted this country restructured, but sadly we committed a blunder; the same mistake that the military bloc made. We identified ourselves with a candidate. So, we were seen like a political party. For me, that was where we derailed. If had just said, Atiku if you win you must restructure, Buhari if you win you must restructure and so on. In other words, focusing only on restructuring, we would have been in a better position today. That is why I said there must be a new national movement dedicated to restructuring and not by any particular candidate. When the idea of a Christian governor came up in Lagos, the proponents of that idea did not ally themselves with any particular party or candidate. But at the end of the day, the two major parties chose Christian candidates. How can this idea of a movement or third force be realised? The first step is to accept the concept; once we accept the concept a way out would be found… Don't forget the basic principle is to make sure that Nigeria remains together as a country. It is my conviction that unless we restructure, there would be no Nigeria. During the campaign you did not speak on the politics of Akwa Ibom… Maybe you weren't paying attention. In October of last year, I addressed a press conference where I said I believed Nsima Ekere of the APC has 80 per cent chances of winning the 2019 governorship election. But with Akpabio jumping out of the PDP to go and join Nsima Ekere's camp, I think he is going to destroy the chances of that young man winning the election. I was very graphic and I don't want to repeat some of the things I said. Akpabio was an uncommon governor who has suffered an uncommon defeat and rejection by the common people of Akwa Ibom State. The unfortunate thing however was that the rejection affected Nsima Ekere and the APC. I'm trying to say that Udom won entirely by default, but at one time nobody really gave credit to Udom for anything. But, after Jonah jumped out of the boat and the boat was sailing smoothly, people started to appreciate what Udom has done , because they looked at Udom from a different light. Don't mind what anybody would tell you about Mike Igini, Udom won the election cleanly. If I must say, I believe that Igini is one of the finest INEC commissioners in this country. Did Udom win because of Akpabio? Yes! What is Akpabio's baggage? You are the problem – the press – because you like to make people into what they are not. If from the beginning you listened and you were thorough, you will not have encouraged Akpabio to continue the way he was going. But you turned him into something else, to the extent that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said it is not possible for Akpabio to lose. This is because he believed what you were writing about Akpabio. Source:(TheNations) In This Story:#ObongVictorAttah #GodswillAkpabio #EmmanuelUdom #AkwaIbomState Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Lagos poll: Agbaje and illusion of hope Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:16 AM PDT
At the outset, there was a glimmer of hope that the Lagos State governorship flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Jimi Agbaje, will put up a better performance against his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, because of the crack that was noticed within the ranks of the ruling party in the state. But, at the end of the day, the pharmacist-turned politician could not measure up to his performance in 2015. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines why the PDP candidate lost. THE Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, disappointed his admirers once again, by failing to replicate his performance in 2015 when he gave Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, a run for his money. In 2015, he polled 659,788 votes, while his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Ambode, scored 811,994 votes to emerge winner of the contest; a difference of 152,206 votes. But, in 2019, the fortunes of the PDP candidate worsened. He secured a meagre 206,141 votes, while Sanwo-Olu scored 739,445 votes. The 2019 election result showed that Agbaje needed 533,304 votes to level up with the winner. There are reasons for the dismal performance. Analysts say the politician is in the twilight of his political career and may not be relevant by 2023. Looking very closely at what transpired during the primary and the election, it was apparent that Agbaje did not enjoy the support of the party leadership. Speculations were rife during the campaign that the candidate was not enjoying the support of party leaders. The leadership had to address a press conference to disabuse the minds of Lagosians on the matter. Apparently, all the promises made by the PDP during the conference were never fufilled. Agbaje was virtually the only one moving from one place to the other, soliciting support from Lagosians. Party sources said it was not a surprise that Agbaje's campaign did not resonate with the people. They said as long as the Lagos PDP leadership did not support him, it would be difficult to record any major breakthrough. The sources maintained that the PDP flag bearer was aware of the reluctance of the party's leadership to support his efforts to become governor. Thus, after the election, Agbaje distanced himself from the party, to protest against the attitude of the PDP bigwigs in the state who did not hide the fact that they were not favourably disposed to his bid to become governor. The recent clarification by Agbaje that he is still a member of the party suggests that, indeed, all is not well with the PDP in Lagos. Agbaje added that nobody can force him out of the PDP. He went further to imply that the attitude of some chieftains of the party ridiculed the party during the campaign. Analysts believe that the disharmony will remain with the Lagos PDP for a long time, except something urgent is dome. They recalled that a similar situation that many forced notable PDP chieftains to abandon the platform prior to the election to where they believe their aspirations would be met. In their view, Agbaje is merely bidding his time. One of the sources maintained that as long as there is no peace within the platform the pharmacist-turned politician would take the next door to the place he would find political succour. Observers say the PDP candidate may not put himself forward again in 2023, when he would turn 66, because his energy may have waned. Agbaje has become a serial contestant. In 2007, he contested on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), but he lost to Babatunde Fashola of the defunct Action Congress (AD). In 2014, Agbaje defected to the PDP, where he contested for the governorship seat in 2015. He lost the 2015 election to Governor Ambode. In the latest contest where he polled 206,141 votes, against Sanwo-Olu's 739,445 votes, the PDP candidate showed that there was nothing personal but the quest to serve the people. Propelled with the good intention to serve, the latest political sojourn by the politician would afford him an opportunity to x-ray the pros and cons of the efforts made so far. There is need for him to reflect deeply, if he can actually win Lagos on the platform of an opposition party in the future. Observers were not surprised that Agbaje lost the election. They said while the APC candidate was all over the place, campaigning from door-to-door, the PDP candidate did not bother to campaign. Speaking to reporters after the election, the PDP candidate alluded to the fact that party bigwigs frustrated his efforts in Lagos. He said: "It was an open secret that a few party leaders took a position not to support my candidature after my victory at the primary election. Their song was vote for Atiku in the presidential election and forget about Agbaje in the governorship." It would have been a surprise if Agbaje won the election. Political pundits say the effort of the PDP candidate alone was not enough to earn him victory at the polls. They opined that the Lagos PDP internal crisis management lacked dexterity and they had no hope of overcoming the problem. This was the reason many party chieftains called it quit with the party. There have been accusations and counter-accusations of financial mismanagement by the party hierarchy. Since the party lost power at the centre, many eyes have been scrutinising its dwindling resources. Though the APC had its internal division after the primary, it was swift in resolving the issues that confronted the party. From the way the APC campaigned for the election, there is no doubt it spoke with one voice as far as the governorship was concerned. In the case of the PDP, Agbaje was almost running a one-man show. Notable leaders of the party hardly attended his campaigns during the electioneering. Analysts say Agbaje ran a one-man show. This, they explained, was not good enough for a party that wanted victory. They expressed worries that the PDP did not live up to the expectation of those who wanted power to change hands. They said the speed at which the PDP candidate accepted defeat heightened speculation that the politician was up to some pecuniary gains. Speaking on the unfolding development, Southwest PDP Vice Chairman, Eddy Olafeso, said Agbaje has the political wisdom to decide for himself the next line of action. Olafeso said he wishes the politician the best in every step taken to impact on humanity. He said: "The question what next for Agbaje should be directed at him. What I can tell you as a chairman of the party in the Southwest is that after this election we will be putting heads together to move our party forward. "We will re-energise and strengthen the party in terms of human resources and commitment. I can always hope for the best; I know that Jimi is gentle man that knows what he is doing. So, I wish him the best in life. "On the election in the Southwest, we were bullied, invaded, violently chased away from the polling centres. If you look at the number of registered voters, compared to those that voted, it was obvious that our supporters were scared away by thugs loyal to the ruling party. We thank God where we won and lost; we will continue take a closer look at where we got it right or wrongly." Olafeso said the PDP would have performed better than it did, but for the poor performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the anti-PDP activities by the security agents. The party was confined to a tight corner. He said: "The long and short of it is that INEC performance is still a far cry in the hope for free, fair and credible elections. I am disappointed with the state of preparedness of INEC and the involvement of security forces in some of these elections. Why many of them did very well is that some were non-partisan, while some wore the garb of partisanship, abusing and violating people during the election. "We lost about three young men in Ondo State, precisely in Ore, due to the lousiness of the security forces. Be that as it may, it is a long walk for Nigerians to freedom. This is not the expectation of Nigerians when it comes to general elections. "Let me use this opportunity to celebrate governor-elect of Oyo State, Oluseyi Makinde, for his resounding victory at the election. I wish our party the best. We are going give the people of Oyo State dividends of democracy after May 29. "What is the offence of the PDP? It is the people behind the name and many of them have left for the APC. Those who remain are the courageous; they are willing to work for the betterment of our country. We are proud of our name and its accomplishments; we are not ashamed of it at all. I am not an apostle of those who are clamouring for a change of name. Are we not winning up to 15 or 16 states even with the PDP name?" Lagos PDP Publicity Secretary Taofiq Gani said it was not just about Agbaje, but what the party will give to the people of Lagos. He promised that the party will not distance itself from the wellbeing of Lagosians. He added that the ruling party should be prepared to deliver on its campaign promises to Lagos, noting that it could not afford to remain quiet, if its programme falls below expectation. Gani said: "Our first plan toward 2023 is build very strong, virile and constructive opposition and that is why in our acceptance statement we have counseled the governor-elect to come with competent hands irrespective of the political parties or affiliation. "He should not be distracted by the urge to go after Governor Ambode. He is a governor of circumstance and should just leave it at that. If he wanted to go after him, he will be fighting himself. Lagosians will not allow this; we are going to be on standby to give constructive criticism. We have solution which will endear the masses to us. We have no doubt that we can win; the result was very close, but somehow out of our own mistakes. We will not let that re-occur in 2023. "We promise Lagosians that whatever we say they should take us on our honour and we will be ready to join hands together with well-meaning Lagosians to make the state work." But, observers says it is too early to say whether the politician will drop his political ambition to concentrate on his pharmaceutical business. Sources say the politician places high premium on his business. The sources maintained that Lagos State government is one of his major clients, adding that the politician may not want to disrupt the chain business. They maintained that as long as the pharmaceutical transaction exists, he would tread softly to remain in business. Though Agbaje had refuted the accusation that he neither collects contract from the state or Federal Governments, many still believe that as a businessman there was nothing wrong with that. In This Story:#LagosPoll #JimiAgbaje #TaofiqGani #PDP#OluseyiMakinde #INEC Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Buhari lost in Ondo due to anti-party activities, says Olanusi Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:12 AM PDT
Stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state regarded as 'estranged' member on Wednesday met in Akure, the Ondo state capital under the leadership of the former deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Olanusi. At a well-attended meeting, the runner-up of the APC 2016 primary election, Segun Abraham was in attendance with other stakeholders including the lawmaker representing Akure North/South federal constituency, Afe Olowookere, pioneer APC chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, Chiefs Felix Ayegbusi, M.A Akeju, Adewale Omojuwa and Gboyega Adedipe. Others were Pius Omolola, Mrs Yetunde Ogundipe, Mrs Kehinde Adeniran, Kunle Eko-Davies, Omo'ba Abayomi Adesanya, Gani Muhammed and other party elders from across the state. Olanusi, who is a member, APC Board of Trustees (BOT) of mandated each representative from the 18 local government areas to appraise the last Presidential/National Assembly in their respective areas,in which their major complaints were anti-party activities and lack of funds to mobilise voters. The former deputy governor decried the level of anti-party activities of some members of the party in the state which according to him caused the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari in the state with some Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates in the state. Olanusi said prior to the election, the group had adequately alerted the national leadership of the party on the alleged compromise of the party leadership in the state. He alleged that the APC leadership worked against the party because their anointed candidates failed to clinch the party tickets for the National Assembly elections. Olanusi alleged that leadership of the party in the state directed many APC supporters especially top government officials to mobilise for the candidates of the opposition Action Alliance (AA). He however enthused that If Buhari had won the presidential election in Ondo state, the 'anti-APC forces' would have claimed the credit despite working against the party in the state. The BoT member said" We had envisaged this problem in Ondo state, and that is why we cried to the National leadership of the party on the anti-party activities of some leaders of the party before the election. "But they failed to listen to us, and didn't recognise our voice then, for me, I am for the growth and unity of the party. We shall progress, we will not allow those enemies of the party who have no fear of God and respect for elders to come back and rule us again. The APC former chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, noted that funds disbursed to Ondo state by National leadership of the party for 2019 general elections were diverted. Kekemeke, insisted that APC leadership in the state financed the AA in the state, urging its national leadership to intervene on the affairs of the party in the state ahead of next year governorship election. The 2016 runner-up, Abraham who came to the state for the first time after the controversial primary election said his 'stolen mandate' was retrievable. According to him," I am not desperate to become governor, but my interest is to salvage the state from inept governance and move it to the desired level for future sake". Abraham said since his case was still pending in court, he would not comment, but however appreciated the leaders of concerned APC group in the state and their numerous supporters for their steadfastness and love for him. He predicted victory at the end of the day, urging them to remain resolute and resilient for the development of the sunshine state. In This Story:#AliOlanusi #MuhammaduBuhari #IsaacKekemeke #FelixAyegbusi #AdewaleOmojuwa #YetundeOgundipe Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Shema: Katsina High Court bows to Appeal Court Ruling Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:03 AM PDT  The Federal High Court sitting in Katsina and presided over by Justice Hadiza Shagari on Wednesday ruled she would comply with the Court of Appeal's ruling which directed the court to decide on whether or not it has jurisdiction to entertain the alleged money laundering charges brought against former Governor Ibrahim Shema at the high court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The Nation recalled that EFCC had dragged Shema before the high court, slamming him with 26 count charges, all bordering on alleged laundering of over five billion naira belonging to the state SURE -P while in office. Shema's counsel had equally challenged the competence of the court to entertain the case, since similar issue was subject to litigation before the Katsina State High Court & the Federal High Court, Abuja respectively. Justice Babagana Ashigar who was previously presiding at the high court, deferred ruling on the competence of the court to entertain the case until all issues concerning it( the case) were first entertained. Shema, through his counsel, subsequently approached the Appeal court in Kaduna to determine whether the high court has jurisdiction to entertain the case, in the first instance. The Appeal Court, in its ruling, directed the high court to determine whether it has jurisdiction to entertain the case. At the resumed sitting,the lead counsel for the EFCC, Dr. Joseph Olatoke told the high court that the commission was ready to continue with Shema's trial. He also told the court that a prosecution witness was already in court in readiness for the continuation of the case. Shema's lead counsel, Chief Sebastine Hon drew the attention of the court to the ruling of the Court of Appeal which he said, was delivered in February that it(the High Court) must first determine whether it has jurisdiction to entertain the matter. Chief Hon told the court that he had a certified true copy of the Appeal court ruling, to further drive home his argument. He said "Your lordship, the court of Appeal has directed that this court should rule on our observation, according to section 287 of the Constitution.Your lordship should please abide by that order.We have a certified true copy of the court's judgment." Dr. Olatoke however told the high court that it could still continue with the trial, declaring "The court cannot make ruling on an application filed before a judge who has been transferred. If the defence is interested in the application, they ought to have moved an application before your lordship who has taken over as the new judge." Chief Hon told the court that he was ready to move the new application on the jurisdiction of the court, adding "we are ready now to move an application." Dr. Olatoke however explained to the court that even if the application was moved, the prosecution would still need time to file counter affidavit on that application. Justice Shagari consequently directed Shema's counsel to file the application, assuring that she was ready to entertain it as directed by the Appeal court. She adjourned sitting to May 28, 2019 during which she would commence hearing and entertain all issues concerning the new application. In This Story:#EFCC #SebastineHon #JosephOlatoke #SURE-P #HadizaShagari #BabaganaAshigar #Shema Sharing Is Caring.Share This Story  | ||||
| NYSC DG threatens to withdraw Bayelsa corps members Posted: 03 Apr 2019 04:56 AM PDT  Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Maj.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure has threatened to withdraw corps members from Bayelsa State if their security is not guaranteed. Gen. Kazaure spoke when he visited the Orientation camp in Kaiama, Kolokumo/Opokuma Local Government Area, as part of his tour of the 2019 Batch 'A' Orientation Camps. He also visited Governor Seriake Dickson at the Government House in Yenagoa. The DG, who lamented the death of two corps members – Popoola Oluwatobi Olamide and Gorge Onokpoma, with a third, Anthony Gbenga Dada, seriously injured – urged the Dickson and the security agencies to provide adequate security for youths corps members. He said: "I have come to see the 2019 Batch 'A' corps members in the camp, and to assess some facilities in the camp, but our major concern here is the safety of this young people. "I am very concerned about the incident that happened last two weeks – where two corps members were killed. We are working with other security agencies to ensure their safety during their primary assignments. "Governor Seriake Dickson should do the needful about security of corps members. These young ones are national assets on national assignment, and if nothing is done by the state, we will withdraw corps members from serving in Bayelsa State." Gen. Kazaure thanked Dickson for supporting NYSC in building a befitting permanent orientation camp, and the upward review of corps members' allowances. Dickson commiserated with the NYSC family over the death the corps members. He described the incident as a cult-related activity. He, however, urged the DG not to consider withdrawing corps members from the state as investigations has begun towards arresting and prosecuting the culprits. The governor also urged Gen. Kazaure to complement the state's efforts in arresting persons who manhandled corps members during the elections. He said: "I want you to take a tough position whenever and anywhere your corps members who are posted on electoral assignment are manhandled and held hostage. We feel very bad about this so I need you to take a tough line on all politicians who behave like criminals. You can help to make a case because security knows no partisan divide and boundary. "I have instructed a team to avail all necessary support to the families of the corps members, and to underscore our seriousness, a dedicated line has been created for corps members to connect directly to the security centre in times of crisis where a quick response team will get to them in about three minutes." Governor Dickson also added that the government has approved a 100 per cent upward review of corps members' allowance, starting in March. In This Story:#SuleimanKazaure #NYSC #PopoolaOluwatobiOlamide #GorgeOnokpoma #AnthonyGbengaDada #SeriakeDickson Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| ‘Do Good’ actor, Oliver dies in car crash Posted: 03 Apr 2019 04:51 AM PDT  Nollywood actor, LinChung Oliver, a.k.a. Silvanus in `Do Good' has passed away after a car crash on his way to Lagos after attending his mother's burial in his hometown. Basorge Tariah, the producer and star actor in the sitcom `Do Good', took to his instagram to announce the death. He said: "My Heart is so so heavy right now. I am in a dark and painful place. Tragedy is a euphemism. We just lost SILVANUS of DO GOOD. "My dear brother was returning from the burial of his mother when death added my friend to his mean account. RIP. These tears won't stop flowing. "Am so speechless and so sad. You were such a lovely soul. You smile, you play and never complained. "You leave a vacuum that most of the world cannot fill. I will miss you so much, it burns my heart. Sleep! Sleep great and awesome Talent. Sleep." Oliver is widely referred to as LinChung and Sylvanus for his role in Basorge Tariah Jnr produced series, 'Do Good'. He once worked at Star FM on a radio programme alongside a few other comedians. Oliver's death is coming days after that of Abe Ishola Monsurat Olabisi aka Bisket. His death made it the eighth in Nollywood since January 2019. Bisket died almost three months after the death of Gbenga Akintunde aka Burger, who died at the age of 47 on Jan. 4. On Jan. 4 Adewale Olarenwaju, aka Ishow Larry died while Funmilayo Ogunsola aka Ijewuru died on Feb. 4. On Feb. 27, the death of another actor, Rotimi Alfred Popoola was announced by the Ogun state chapter of the Theatre Arts and Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria. Tony Anyasodor's death makes it the fifth in Nollywood since January 2019. On Tuesday, March 12, the death of 'Behind the Clouds' producer, Paul Emema, was announced by one of his colleagues. In This Story:#AdewaleOlarenwaju ||#LinChungOliver#AdeIsholaMonsuratOlbsis #GbengaAkintunde #BasorgeTariah Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Adelabu, APC challenge Makinde’s victory Posted: 03 Apr 2019 04:25 AM PDT
Adelabu is praying the tribunal to overturn Makinde's victory. He filed the suit alongside his party, whose state chairman, Chief Akin Oke, had after the result of the election, said the APC was considering approaching the election tribunal to upturn Makinde's triumph. Makinde was on March 10 declared the winner of the governorship election by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, having polled 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu, who scored 357,982 votes. The results indicated that Makinde defeated Adelabu with 157,639 votes. Oke said: "I want to repeat what I said concerning the outcome of the last governorship election. First, I want to greet all the people who genuinely voted for us. But where there is a genuine case of fraud, of course why not go to court? "Do you want us to continue to support fraud? I repeat we will go to court once there are enough grounds to do so." Yesterday, the APC made real its threat as it was listed as the second petitioner. The petition has Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first respondent. Makinde and PDP are second and third respondents. But, in a reaction, the state secretary of PDP, Mr. Wasiu Adeleke, said there was no cause for alarm because it was glaring from the results across the five geopolitical zones that "Engr. Seyi Makinde won overwhelmingly and polled the highest number of votes and was subsequently declared as winner". In This Story:#SeyiMakinde #AdebayoAdelabu3AkinOke #OluwatoyinOgunndipe #INEC #WasiuAdeleke Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Shell pays Fed Govt, agencies $6.397b Posted: 03 Apr 2019 04:21 AM PDT
Over $6.397 billion was paid to the Federal Government and its agencies in 2018 by Shell exploration and production companies in Nigeria, The Nation has learnt. In the group are Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo). The payment represents a 48 per cent increase overpayments ($4.322 billion) by the companies. The facts formed part of the four documents released yesterday by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Dutch Shell, Ben Van Beurden, to signal the firm's renewed commitment to greater transparency. The documents are "Shell Sustainability Report"; "Industry Associations Climate Review"; "Nigeria Briefing Notes"; and "Payments to Government". "Shell must remain at the forefront of the drive for greater corporate transparency. We will continue to be more open about what we do and why we do it," said van Beurden, adding: "We want to help people better understand Shell's performance, values and principles. These reports outline our approach and activities in the crucial areas of sustainability and our relationships with industry associations and governments." In the breakdown of the 2018 payments, the Shell companies paid $3.776 billion to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation as production entitlement while $1.286 billion was paid in taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Another $1.253 billion went to the Department of Petroleum Resources for royalties and fees, while $81.5 million was remitted to the Niger Delta Development Commission. SPDC Managing Director and Country Shell Companies in Nigeria chair Osagie Okunbor, described the reports as a further testament to Shell's efforts to increase transparency around activities that are important to investors, governments and civil society. "We are irrevocably committed to transparency just as we are to business integrity part of our core values and central tenets of the Business Principles that govern the way we do business," Okunbo said. The Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes detail the activities of the Shell Companies in Nigeria for 2018. These include production, environmental performance, social investment, economic contributions, gas initiatives, deepwater operations, security and Nigerian content development. The Industry Associations Climate Review assesses for the first time Shell's alignment with 19 key industry associations on climate-related policy. The report also details new governance principles to improve how Shell manages its memberships of industry associations on climate-related topics. The 22nd edition of the Shell Sustainability Report outlines Shell's approach to sustainability and covers its social, safety and environmental performance in 2018. It sets out how Shell is playing a role in the transition to a lower-carbon world and its contribution to society, which includes helping to achieve universal access to cleaner, affordable energy. In addition, Shell published its 2018 Payments to Governments Report covering 34 countries where it has extractive activities. Sourc:(TheNation) In This Story:#OsagieOkunbor #Shell #SNEPCo #NigerDelta #SPDC Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story:  | ||||
| Police name men who ‘killed soccer fan’ Posted: 03 Apr 2019 04:06 AM PDT
They are Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sergeant Godwin Orji. A statement by Lagos State Command spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the officers, who are of the Anti-cultism Unit, are now in detention. The statement said Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu led some of his men to visit the bereaved family yesterday. On Muazu's entourage were the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) Ayuba Elkanah, Mohammed Ali and Yetunde Longe, who are in charge of Administration, Operation and the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID). Muazu assured the family that justice would be done and prayed for the repose of Johnson's soul. He said the arrested officers had been subjected to internal disciplinary measures. Receiving the police chief in their home at 1, Beco Street, Onipetesi, the family head, Alhaji Remi Lukman, hailed him for the ''bold step'' taken to expose those behind the shooting. According to eyewitnesses, a police team, which stormed Olu Aboderin Street, Onipetesi on Sunday to arrest a suspected cultist, shot sporadically into the air after apprehending their target. The late Johnson, who was then watching the Liverpool versus Tottenham match, was said to have been hit by a stray bullet. In This Story:#KoladeJohnson #AyubaElkanah #MohammedAli #YetundeLonge #ZubairuMuazu #SCIID #OgunyemiOlalekan #GodwinOrji #RemiLukman Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Court: Adeleke unfit to run for Osun governor Posted: 03 Apr 2019 04:00 AM PDT
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, Abuja yesterday voided the participation of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Osun State. Justice Othman Musa, in a judgment, annulled Adeleke's nomination as candidate of the PDP on the grounds that he offended Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The section states that candidates for governor must be educated up to secondary school level. Justice Musa said while the court's findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record showing that he (Adeleke) actually graduated. The judge said Adeleke's name was no longer seen in the school's register from 1980. Justice Musa noted that the result Adeleke attached to the Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State. The judgment was on a suit filed by Wahab Adekunle Raheem and Adam Omosalewa Habeeb. The plaintiffs had accused Adeleke of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for the office of governor. They contented, among others, that Adeleke's claim that he sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 could not be true because Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced then. The plaintiffs argued that what was in existence then was the West African School Certificate Examination. They urged the court to, among others, disqualify Adeleke from participating in the governorship election on the grounds that he did not possess the required educational qualification. At the preliminary stages in the case, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in response to a September 11, 2018, ex-parte order by the court, provided evidence that Adeleke sat for its May/June 1981 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. In its affidavit sworn to by Henry Sunday Adewunmi Osindeinde, a Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, WAEC, said Adeleke sat for the May/June 1981 examination at Ede Muslim High School, Yidi Road, Ede, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149. WAEC attached a copy of the results of all 122 candidates who sat for the May/June 1981 in Ede Muslim High School. In the attached results, Adeleke is listed as number 149. He sat for only English Language in which he scored F9. He was said not to have sat for Literature in English, Islamic Knowledge, Geography, Economics, Mathematics and Biology. Osindeinde said in the affidavit: "By virtue of my position as Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, I have read the enrolled order of this court (specifically orders iv, v and vi) dated 11th September, 2018 directing and compelling the WAEC to depose to an affidavit confirming or denying the said orders contained in the said enrolled order and referred to in this paragraph and I wish to state as follows: "The said candidate named in this suit known as Adeleke Ademola, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149, indeed sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 conducted by the council at Ede Muslim High School situate at P. O. Box 6 Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun. "The copy of the result listing referred to by the court order as the ledger containing the results of all the candidates (001 – 221) who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in the said school is hereby certified, attached and marked: Exhibit WA1." The plaintiff's lawyer, Bankole Akomolafe hailed the court's decision. Adeleke's counsel Nathaniel Oke (SAN) faulted the judgement. He said the judge erred in law by going out of his way to source for evidence to arrive at his "unjust conclusion". The lawyer said the court was wrong when it ignored WAEC's evidence that Adeleke was educated up to secondary school as required by law. Oke said his client was qualified for the election and met the constitutional requirement, having been educated to secondary school level. He said a High Court in Osun State had, in an earlier judgment, confirmed that Adeleke was qualified, having attended a secondary school. Oke said he drew the court's attention to the fact that the case was statute barred in view of the fourth alteration to the Constitution, because as a pre-election matter it was filed outside the stipulated 14 days, but "the judge said my argument was an attempt to arrest his judgment". "He went ahead to read the judgment. He went on: "They said he (Adeleke) did not attend secondary school. They (the plaintiffs) were the one who asked that officials of WAEC be subpoenaed to produce his result. And officials of WAEC tendered his result in court. What else do they want to prove that he was educated to secondary school level as required by the Constitution?" The lawyer said the issue had been settled by an earlier judgment of a High Court of Osun State, which held that Adeleke was qualified to stand election, having been educated up to secondary school level. "We have asked the judge to make the certified true copy of the judgment available to us on time, because we are appealing the judgment," Oke said. In This Story:#INEC #WAEC #AdelekeAdemola #WahabAdekunleRaheem #NatthanielOke #BankoleAkomolafe #OthmanMusa Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| Osinbajo: what to expect from Buhari’s second term Posted: 03 Apr 2019 03:50 AM PDT
I suspect that the choice of the subject of this lecture: 'Nigeria Rising…The Path to Prosperity' was informed by the curiosity of the university about what to expect from the Buhari administration in the next four years. I will speak to this in several parts. Perhaps I may begin by affirming the belief of the Buhari Administration that Nigeria's prosperity means a decent existence for all. Second, that prosperity so defined will be attained if we are able to address the issues of extreme poverty, productivity, corruption, the rule of law and the deficiencies in the quality of Human Resources caused by poor education and healthcare ) . This last point is possibly the most fundamental. How to ensure that we maximise the potential of the abundant Human Resources that we have. This implies that we must have a robust enough healthcare system that ensures that the average person is in good health, an educational system that guarantees education capable of preparing children for the opportunities and challenges of a knowledge economy, a thriving private sector-led economy supported by a business-friendly environment , a system of wealth creation options and safety nets capable of taking millions out of poverty and providing for those who cannot work. The wealth creation options must include access to cheap credit for smallholder farmers, traders and artisans. The safety nets include government created job schemes for the unemployed and cash transfers for the poorest and most vulnerable. In planning the path to prosperity we also took into account the age-old weaknesses of the Nigerian economy , and the illusion of prosperity that frequently distorts our understanding of the actual fragility of our economy. First is the focus on GDP growth figures, without a clear understanding of the underlying dynamic. 60% of GDP growth is dependent on oil revenues. How? While the oil sector contributes between 8-12percent, the non-oil sector contributed between 88-92 percent of GDP. However, between 50-53percent of the non-oil sector is also dependent on the fortunes of the oil sector. This means the economy rested on a tripod where two of the three legs were dependent on highly volatile oil prices and production. This shaky economic structure enabled Nigeria to keep growing as long as revenue from oil and foreign reserves were high enough and of course we celebrated this fragile growth structure. By the very nature of extractive industries high oil revenues does not mean more jobs or better human development indices. Jobs are only created where there is value added. A thriving petrochemical industry would of course have created jobs directly from the oil and gas industry . The economy had also been running a consumption growth model which is only advantageous if consumption is been met by domestic production of goods and services. However our structure was based on consumption of large portions of imports. As long as there was plenty of oil based foreign exchange in the reserves to import and fuel consumption our economy kept growing in GDP terms but few jobs were being created and more people were going into poverty. The majority of the affluent in this economic are the professionals, financial services contractors and others able to plug into the rent seeking opportunities that are created when the biggest business is government owned. The productive sector, the real manufacturers, the value adding businesses are relatively few. The main source of the income coming to this class of individuals is oil revenue. When oil revenues fall, not only does GDP growth fall but this most affluent but unproductive sector suffers. Also in understanding the problems of the Nigerian economy, the place of corruption, especially grand corruption is crucial . The same oil earnings meant to develop infrastructure, fund education and healthcare end up in private pockets. The feeding frenzy is worse in times of high earnings from oil. A combination of theft of public revenues and the consequent failure to invest in infrastructure as well as a largely rentier or rent seeking business class is what accounts for Nigeria's economic quagmire. The other problem is that of extreme poverty. A problem that for reasons already adduced increases even where oil earnings are high. It was clear to us that we needed to devise an economic plan that prioritise:
So,how far have we gone and what is the next level? We believe that creating an environment for productivity investment in hard and soft infrastructure is crucial. Soft infrastructure covers the whole gamut of the regulatory environment for business. For hard infrastructure we have focused on economically strategic roads, rail, power and ports accross the country. Roads and rail linking important commercial centres are prioritised. As of today in two budget cycles despite earning over 60% less than the previous government we have invested 2.7trillion on capital the highest in the country. We have recently commissioned the Lagos Abeokuta Ibadan end of the new standard gauge Lagos Kano Rail. The rail originates from the Apapa port which means that cargo will be moved by rail from the Apapa port, this will significantly ameliorate the congestion of that port. To expand port facilities generally we are currently dredging the Warri Port. In Lagos work is going on in the private sector led Lekki Port and the Badagry Port has also attracted significant foreign capital and interest. In Abuja after almost fifteen years we have completed and commissioned the Abuja light rail project starting from the airport to the city Centre. Similarly we completed and commissioned the Abuja Kaduna Railway. The Itakpe Warri Railway has also been completed linking the iron ore deposits to the Warri port. Here in the southwest of Nigeria, work is ongoing on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Otta-Abeokuta Expressway, the Ikorodu-Sagamu Road, and the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Road. The contract for the Lagos-Badagry Expressway has been awarded and work has already begun. On Power, we have moved generation from 4000 to 8100 MW. But the effect of this increase in generation has not translated significantly to better service to the consumer. This is mainly due to distribution challenges. Over 2000 MW of power is not taken up by the discos for distribution to consumers largely because of problems they experience in collection of Tarrif , but one of the reasons for this is the fact that the discos have not invested significantly in metering. We have now embarked on a major metering Initiative The Metering Assets Programme which involves private metering Assets providers ,. In addition the Federal government has in the past eighteen months taken on the deficiencies in transmission head on through the TCN and the NDPHC we are completing transmission projects all around the country. But the more important strategy is to decentralize power production. So we have adopted an off grid programme. Which means that we are encouraging private investors to collaborate with government to build IPPs and supply power to willing buyers. This was made possible by what is called an eligible customer declaration by the Ministry of power works and Housing. By this collaboration we have been providing power, especially Solar Power to economic clusters such as markets across the country including , Ariaria market in Aba, 31993 shops , Sabongari market in Kano 13,598 shops, Sura market in Lagos 1047. Isikan 493, NEPA 256, Gbagi 8778, UMBC 2178, a total of 81691shops servicing 320000 SMEs.In Lagos we recently commissioned the Sura market solar project, the businesses there now have 24 hour power. From printers, commercial tailors to small chop businesses, everyone is employing more and making more profit. The next level is to ensure completion of the major infrastructure projects. The main drawback is funding. We have established an infrastructure fund.
If we stick to our agenda in the next two years we will see the most significant improvements, in our power sector in history. Industrial Infrastructure is a major component of our economic transformation plan. Project MINE Made in Nigeria for Export is the major plank of our industrial policy. The idea is to build Special Economic Zones which accommodate industries for local manufacture of goods for which Nigeria has a comparative advantage. These include cotton, garments, leatherware etc. The Nigerian EZ investment company, a public private partnership company is the delivery vehicle for the project. The objectives are to boost manufacturing share of GDP to 20% and make Nigeria the leading regional manufacturing hub for Sub-Saharan Africa, create 1.5 million new jobs in manufacturing, generate $30bn in non-oil export earnings annually, improve the utilization of Nigeria's resources and comparative advantage and whilst creating strong domestic value chains and create local models of global best practice in industrial infrastructure and enabling business environment. Already work has begun in three locations. The Enyimba Economic City in Aba covering over 9500 hectares outside Aba in Abia State. Master planning, feasibility studies and detailed design have been completed for phase 1. Three international anchor tenants have been secured for phase 1. The city will be served by an existing IPP for power and will create 625000 jobs when fully built. There is also the Lekki Model Industrial Park in partnership with the Lagos State Government. It is set on 1000 hectares in the NE cluster of Lekki Free Zone. It has already attracted world class anchor tenants for textile and garments, agri-processing and light industrial manufacturing including the no 1 Chinese and No 9 global textile and garment group. The proximity to petrochemical feedstock from the Dangote refinery for,synthetic textile and garment manufacturing makes the park irresistible for investors. The third project in its early stages is the Funtua Cotton Cluster in Katsina State. Funtua has the largest aggregation of cotton ginneries in Nigeria. "The cluster will aggregate cotton from 800,000 farmers in Northern Nigeria and become the largest integrated cotton ginning, spinning and weaving complex in Sub Saharan Africa. It will re-establish the cotton value chain from seed cotton to finished fabric and provide feedstock for domestic and export oriented garment manufacturing"( Okey Enelamah) We believe that the future for job creation and efficient and profitable businesses lies in innovation and technology. We have partnered with local and international tech companies and innovators, in the building of tech hubs, and promoting innovation. Our aim is to completely democratise access to innovation and cyber commerce and create jobs. We have established hubs in collaboration with the WB and LBS..the climate change innovation hub . In Yola, the North East Humanitarian Hub. We have also in collaboration with Cicvic Hub promoted technology and innovation in universities with the Students innovation challenge in the six geopolitical zones, and technology hubs in three. Our technology agenda is premised on our new educational curriculum which emphasizes STEAM. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. We are currently developing that curriculum with the support of global players like MIT, Cisco, IBM and Oracle, a nationwide curriculum that incorporates 21st century STEAM thinking: coding, design skills, digital arts, robotics, machine learning, and so on. The curriculum will cover primary to secondary education. The Arts component of that vision is extremely important to us. Visual arts, dance, music, film and theatre, comedy, literature – these and many more are fields in which Nigeria is has proved to the world that it is full of talent and originality and ambition. At the highest levels of the government in Abuja, we are creating opportunities to engage with artists to better understand how we can, as a government, support you to succeed. We believe that like technology entertainment and the arts require active support, especially in the development of policies as we engage uncharted territory in the coming years. Consequently the President directed that we establish a technology and creativity advisory group, to work on and formulate policies in these very dynamic spaces. We have had about three meetings so far. Assembly Plants At the top of the mechanisation chain are six assembly plants to be activated and spread across the six geo-political zones. The assembly plants will undertake the assembly of tractors and processing equipment as well as light manufacturing of parts which will be sent out to the Service Centers closer to the farmers across the length and breadth of Nigeria. The first assembly plant, among a total of six (6) to operate, to assemble tractors and implements, will be located in Bauchi State in an already existing facility owned by a private operator. It is projected that almost 5,000 tractors will be assembled in Nigeria every year. Service Centres There will be a total of 780 Service Centers spread across all the Local Government Areas in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory. Primarily, the Service Centre will offer a technological package consisting of machinery and equipment services (agricultural mechanisation- e.g. rental of tractors), quality inputs (improved seeds varieties, fertilisers and pesticides), technical assistance and training for small holder farmers in order to ensure consistent results of productivity and quality of agriculture produce. The Service Centre will also perform an important market function of being able to aggregate primary produce for processing and haulage to markets. This establishes a means for monetisation and loan repayment based on a percentage of its own agricultural production. 109 of these Service Centers will be located in the 109 senatorial districts in Nigeria and classified as " Process Service Center". Process Service Centers will, in addition to the already mentioned services, have processors which serve as a throughput with which value can be added to agricultural produce brought in by local farmers. Service Centers will be based on the comparative and complementary advantage each location has and also along value chain lines. The value chain will cover Grains & Cereal, Livestock, Poultry, Fruits, Roots & Tubers, Horticulture and other areas. Young technicians, from The N-Power Agro Programme will join the technical staff of the Service Centres to provide agricultural extension services and production planning, carried out jointly with small holder producers and geared towards market demand. Impact Through the implementation of the Green Imperative, 5 million people will be impacted, 100,000 technical personnel will be trained, and 4,848 tractors will be assembled each year, resulting in the ultimate injection of $12 Billion into the local economy over 10 years. Additionally, it will increase production and productivity, leading to a reduction in food prices and the cost of living, a drop in food imports, as well as improved food security while boosting exports significantly. The Green Imperative is the next level for Nigerian Agriculture. The third is the Social investment Programme . The SIP is the largest and most ambitious social protection programme in the history of Nigeria. We provided N500b for it in both 2016 and 2017. But total spend on the programme is closer to 250 billion from both budgets. The programme has four components. The Npower programme our graduate employment scheme is the largest post-tertiary jobs project in Africa. 500,000 graduates have been recruited as teachers, agricultural extension workers, and as public health officials. Each of these volunteers is provided with an electronic tablet containing relevant training materials including some with which they are trained to provide the required services on an on-going basis. The device also empowers them to participate in the digital economy as data collectors and analysts. Under the scheme we are giving microcredits to 2 million petty traders across the country. The scheme enables them to draw further credit if they are able to pay back within six months. The credit schemes also achieve major By giving them credit to replenish and increase their inventories, we give them a stronger chance, to earn more, while they also service the value chain that they are a part of. But more importantly, we bring them into the formal sector, where they have access to government and private credit . GEEP has led to one of the most successful financial inclusion outcomes, the opening of 349,000 new bank accounts/wallets for beneficiaries and intending beneficiaries. Nigeria took the decision to embark on a School Feeding Programme as an important part of our Human Capital development agenda, by tackling the broader issues of eradication of poverty, food and nutrition security, increasing school enrollment. The At a cost of $0.19 per child per day we are able to provide a balanced meal for every one of the children. 9,300,892 million pupils in 49,837 public primary schools in 26 states across Nigeria benefit daily. The programme employs 95,422 cooks, and over 100,000 small holder farmers linked to the program supplying locally sourced ingredients. This translates to 594 cattle, 138,000 chickens, 6.8 million eggs, 83 metric tons of fish that are procured, prepared, and distributed each week. As you can imagine, the quantity of starch, and vegetables required for this program on a weekly basis is equally impressive. Dietary energy and nutrients with established links to cognition- carbohydrates, protein, fat, iron and iodine as well as minerals with public health importance–are targeted by the NHGSF. The program aims to provide 50% of the Recommended Nutrient Intake targets for protein and prioritised micronutrients (iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, folate and vitamin C and 30% of energy because of the high burden of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria. There is also a deworming programme attached to the school Feeding programme. By the end of the year the number of new States joining will increase, the NHGSFP is set to become the largest school feeding programme in Africa. Conclusion We restored medium term planning with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which served as a useful lodestone in improving macroeconomic performance, boosting the real sector of the economy and building infrastructure. The decline in growth which started at the end of 2014 has been reversed, inflation has stabilised at about 11% over the past six months and our current account was in surplus at about 1.3% of GDP last year. Our foreign reserves can cover at least 9 months of import of goods and services and despite understandable concerns, our debt burden is only about 22% of the size of our economy which is one of the lowest ratios in the world. We have very clear objectives. Clear plans. As you know the problem of our country is not the planning…or in designing great projects. It is in the actual implementation. We are fortunate that Muhammadu Buhari is not an orator…he is a doer. In This Story:#YemiOsinbajo #MuhammaduBuhari #Unilag #NHGSFP #GEEP #Oracle Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  | ||||
| New 'Avengers: Endgame' trailer released ahead of April 26th release date by Marvel studio Posted: 03 Apr 2019 03:42 AM PDT
Ahead of the April 26th, 2019 official release in cinemas, Marvel Studio has released another trailer for 'Avengers: Endgame.' Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, the less than two minutes trailer will keep lovers of the Marvel comics glued to their seats as their super heroes all gear up to after one common enemy. The new Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Benedict Wong, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland and Anthony Mackie. In This Story: #New #AvengersEndgame #Trailer #April26th #ReleaseDate #Marvel #studio Sharing is caring. Share this story  | ||||
| N1trn projects: ICPC to probe Senators, Reps Posted: 03 Apr 2019 03:40 AM PDT  The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) yesterday said senators and members of the House of Representatives who failed to execute constituency projects will be prosecuted. Also, all companies engaged for the failed or abandoned projects will face trial. But the commission, however, opposed to plea bargain by corrupt elements because the nation's laws allow it. Over N1trillion has been released by the Federal Government for constituency projects since 1999. The funds include the N200 billion by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2017. More than 2,345 senators and representatives have benefitted from constituency projects since 1999. About 37 per cent to 40 per cent of the projects have either been completed or ongoing in the last 20 years. Many senators and representatives were found to have diverted the funds, using their personal companies. Some abandoned the projects. Of the 2,516 projects tracked by BudgIT Nigeria between 2015 and 2017, 918 were not done, 395 are ongoing and 214 cannot be located. The Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, yesterday said the anti-graft commission had demanded a list of all constituency projects and presented budgets to make senators and representatives account for the funds they got. Owasanoye, who spoke at the launch of Constituency Projects Tracking Group (CPTG), said ICPC will also publish the names of those behind the project failures. The tracking will cover outgoing senators and Representatives in the 8th National Assembly. He said ICPC was collaborating with the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) to evaluate whether or not the projects executed were commensurate with the budgetary allocations. The ICPC chairman said: "We are mindful of the fact that this is a Herculean task as constituency projects dot the entire landscape but we will overcome the challenges one way or another. "Where contractors and or politically-exposed persons have diverted funds for projects, we will pursue them to either complete the projects as initiated, return the funds or face prosecution. "Affected companies and their directors will also be prosecuted. We also hope to publish the names of those behind the project failures for possible social sanctions in their communities." Owasanoye regretted that constituency projects had been turned into avenues of corruption. He added: "Constituency projects are intended for developmental projects, such as provision of water, rural electrification, rural clinics, schools, community centres and bursary for indigent students. "In the light of annual budgetary allocations to constituency projects and based on actual releases by the government, it is firmly believed that the impact of constituency projects on the lives of ordinary Nigerians ought to be more visible. "Regrettably, available statistics from open sources paint a bleak picture of the level of performance or delivery of constituency projects. "Over the years, constituency projects have become enmeshed in controversy among non-state actors, the promoters of the projects and the communities that are supposed to benefit from the projects. "The concern is that in Nigeria, rather than address the needs of constituents; many constituency projects have become avenues of corruption." Owasanoye gave some three-year statistics which revealed how senators and Representatives have paid lip service to constituency projects. He said: "The level of implementation of constituency projects in 16 focus states for 2015 is revealing. Out of 436 constituency projects for the year that were tracked, 145 were completed, 77 ongoing while 211 were not executed at all. "For 2016, out of a total of 852 constituency projects in 20 states in the 2016 Budget that were tracked, 350 were completed, 118 were ongoing, 41 locations not specified in the budget and 343 not done or performed. "In 2017, a total of 1,228 constituency projects in the budget were tracked for performance as at June 2018. Out of these, 478 were completed, 173 in an unspecified location, 200 ongoing, 13 abandoned and 364 not started. The level of performance of constituency projects is therefore disputable." The ICPC chairman unfolded plans to collaborate with the media and Civil Society Organisations to fight corruption. But he warned against reckless whistleblowing and declared that the commission will deal with anyone who misleads it. He said: "We hope to have a robust relationship with the media and civil society. Not just in Constituency Project Monitoring and role of CSOs and media as partners in giving credible intelligence and evidence of corruption rather than generalised accusations or allegations of wrongdoing but specifics that help to make investigation seamless. "We also want to caution CSOs to avoid misleading ICPC with intelligence that have no foundation in the name of whistleblowing. We have had one or two experiences of reckless and irresponsible allegations of wrongdoing against prominent citizens provided by CSOs. "But for the cautious approach of the commission, the outcomes would have been embarrassing. We want to say loud and clear that there will be dire consequences in accordance with the law for anyone that misleads the commission." In This Story:#MuhammaduBuhari #BolajiOwasanoye #ICPC #CSOs #NIQS Sharing Is Caring. Share This Story  |
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