₦airaland Forum

The Nigerian, Chelsea’s second longest-serving player behind John Terry, is yet to play a single minute under Antonio Conte and has hinted at a falling out with the new manager over his involvement at the Olympic Games.

Without Mikel, Conte has guided Chelsea to top of the Premier League table with the club currently enjoying a six-game winning streak without conceding a goal, but the 29-year-old has no regrets over his summer decision.

“I have never been a guy to make excuses, I never shy away from my responsibilities,” Mikel told BBC World Service Sport.

“Yes, people will say ‘he went to the Olympics’ and ‘he didn’t have a pre-season with the team’ and a new manager came in and was probably upset I went to the Olympics and thinks I don’t care about the team.

“I don’t want to make excuses. In the end of the day, I have to keep training hard and trying to change the manager’s mind. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/mikelill-quit-chelsea-in-january.html?m=1

more at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/photosladies-on-white-flaunt-their-50kg.html#more

Two men, Sunday Odanlumen (56) and Onyebuchi Onyelusi (26), were arraigned at the Apapa Magistrate Court yesterday by the police for alleged conspiracy and stealing one Volvo truck gear box valued at N300,000 belonging to NIPCO Plc.
The offence contravenes sections 285 and 361 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Gandy Nwokolo, informed the court that the stolen gear box had been disposed of by the accused.
The Magistrate, Mrs M.R Osho-Adebiyi granted the accused bail in the sum of N250,000.00 with two sureties in like sum. The case was adjourned to December 6, 2016 for mention.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/police-arrests-two-for-stealing-truck.html#more

I am thankful to be members of the University of Port Harcourt Alumni Association who paid a Thanksgiving Visit on me this evening.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/photosgoodluck-jonathan-appoint-as-new.html#more

The Low Power Wide Area technology will be launch in Nigeria by the end of 2018 and launch in South Africa next year.

Alpheus Mangale, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN, elaborated on the deployment strategy of NB-IoT, as the mobile operator and Huawei highlighted efficiencies that can result from utilisation of the technology which connects objects requiring a long battery life and located in hard to reach areas to the Internet through mobile connectivity.In Africa, around 60 million IoT devices are connected today. These connections are found across different industries including mining, financial services, automotive industry, connected homes and even government. The prediction by GSMA is that 450 million homes will be connected around the world by 2020. We conducted a number of pilot sites, along with Huawei, at our sites in Gauteng. We looked at smart metering, connected fridges … but our intention is to roll out this service in South Africa in 2017 where we can actually partner with utility companies in the country to look after the scarce resource of water by reducing leakages in the environment and that users don’t get overbilled. We also plan to do the deployment in Nigeria and Iran and then across all the other markets where we are present.”

Launches in SA and Nigeria will be followed by Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia throughout 2019. Mangale says use cases will include wildlife tracking, logistics and farming.

Michael Ma, President of Huawei Cloud Core product says Huawei and MTN will invest in building a connected Africa in order improve industry efficiency over the next few years through NB-IoT.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/mtn-huawei-to-deploy-nb-iot-in-nigeria.html?m=1

Residents of the Githurai 44 area in Nairobi, Kenya were left in shock after the bodies of a man and his wife were found hanging from ropes in their one-room apartment house.
Preliminary investigations by police reveals that 38-year-old Simon Maina may have killed his estranged wife Esther Muthoni,41, before taking his own life in what he may have planned to pass off as double suicide to the surprise of many.Shocked neighbours said even though the couple had been experiencing domestic problems, they did not expect their differences to end in deaths.
They described the early morning incident as ‘unexpected’ considering the couple had two young children.
Neighbours said they found the two bodies dangling by ropes tightly tied around their necks. The ropes had been fastened to the window grilles.
However, in a suicide note found in the house, the two said they should be buried together. The note also indicated the two wanted their parents to take care of their two children.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/kenyan-couple-end-domestic-squabble-by.html

With just one year and seven months into the four years term of the administration of President Muhammdu Buhari which will terminate in 2019, the Presidency has given sure indication that the President would seek a second term in office.Buhari Buhari Buhari
It also vehemently dismissed comments that it would be a lonely walk for the President, a development expected to serve as a punishment for perceived bad governance.

The refutation was a sharp reply to a statement credited a former member of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Alhaji Buba Galadima, that the people of Nigeria would abandon Buhari should he choose to seek re-election.

In a strong worded statement Monday night, the Presidency, through the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, stated that the “suggestions that the masses will desert President Buhari in 2019 was unfounded and utterly ridiculous.”

Shehu asserted: “Ordinary Nigerians are the backbone of his mandate and the only reason he ran for the office is to protect them against the rapacious merchants of corruption, who have held Nigeria back for decades. Galadima’s calculation and prediction are utterly confused and misleading.”

According to the presidential spokesman, “the masses are solidly behind Buhari because he is not stealing their money and their future.

‘’President’s enormous goodwill remains ever strong because the people are convinced the President is acting in their best interest, despite the temporary unintended consequences of reforms.”

Suggesting vendetta and strong animosity against the person and the government of Buhari, Shehu recalled that an age-long face-off between both Arewa leaders in their CPC days, revealing that it was the reason Buhari discarded the likes of Galadinma in the 2015 elections he ran and won.

He urged Galadima to retire to his constituency and stand an election if he still enjoyed the goodwill of his people.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is far from isolation. He enjoys a very strategic relationship with ordinary Nigerians. This relationship is as solid as the proverbial rock.

‘’If Buba Galadima thinks that because he has no role and no job in this government that means President is isolated, he is putting himself to ridicule.

“Galadima cannot speak for the masses as far as their steadfast loyalty to Buhari is concerned. While acknowledging that Galadima was entitled to advance his own political agenda, Malam Garba said Galadima didn’t have the right to decide for ordinary voters.

“Buba Galadima’s disagreement with President Buhari was based on principle. He explained that President Buhari is committed to level playing field and would not want anyone to link his name to injustice.”

“Galadima’s disagreement with Buhari started in 2011 when a group within the party, orchestrated an organizational mess by which the CPC embarked on the imposition and substitution of candidates for cash payments at the expense of those duly and democratically elected.

“Muhammadu Buhari was embarrassed by the incidents and complaints about the imposition and substitution of candidates, adding that he, as a democrat, would not suppress the will of the people to please selfish interests.

“Consequently he dispensed with the service, such as they are, of Buba Galadima; ran and won the 2015 Elections without them. Let Buba Galadima go to his constituency, stand for election and see what will happen to him”, Shehu stressed
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/buhari-to-run-for-second-term-in-2019.html?m=1

Governors of the six states in the South-Western geo-political zone have resolved to forge a common front at regional integration by jointly staving off external influences capable of stifling the region’s economic and social interests.programmes and projects capable of enhancing the human capital development of the region. This was one of the highlights of the meeting of the governors’ economic forum, hosted yesterday by the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at the Executive Council Chambers, in Ibadan. The governors mulled the need to introduce uniform tariffs on commodities, while agreeing on the need to seek areas of cooperation in agriculture, transportation, rail system, sports and other areas of common interest. Other governors at the meeting were Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State; Senator Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State; and Mr. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, while Secretary to Ondo State Government, Mr. Rotimi Adelola, represented the Governor Olusegun Mimiko. In his welcome address, Ajimobi said attendance of the governors signposted the high importance they paid to the common challenges besetting the zone, part of which, he said, was the difficulties in the prompt payment of workers’ salaries and pensions. Ajimobi said: “Your presence at this meeting is a clear testimony of the importance you all have attached to the common challenges confronting us as a people. Today our country is buffeted by economic and political challenges. “Several states are struggling to pay basic salaries with arrears running into several months; manufacturers struggling to access foreign exchange for raw materials are shutting down leading to mass redundancy of our people. “Unfortunately most of these people are resident in the South-West region, which is the industrial base of the country. We need to quickly explore escape routes from poverty through empowerment and equipping of our youths with requisite skills. A communiqué read at the end of the meeting by the governor of Ekiti State said that the forum reiterated the need to use regional integration to create economic relief for the people of the South-West in the face of the pervading economic recession. Fayose stressed that the conversation dwelt on pragmatic steps necessary to be taken to enhance the development of the region and to proffer the surest way to put food on the table of the common people. Regardless of their political differences, he said that the governors were more concerned about their relations by the force of history and geographical location, the unity of which, he said, the regions forebears fought for and defended. Fayose said: All states, including Ekiti, have subscribed to and agreed that regional integration is the best way forward. We must do everything humanly possible not to go back on our resolves. It is forward for the people and for the Yoruba race. “We agreed that the next meeting, which holds in the next two months, will be held in Ekiti State.” Earlier, the governor had told the forum to examine issues of common concern and learn from models that had worked for one state, with a view to replicating them for the common good of the people. Aregbesola pleaded with his colleagues to take advantage of the remaining period of their tenure by ensuring that they redouble their efforts to ensure the survival and prosperity of the people of the region. Governor Amosun also restated the need for the governors to shed political differences by walking in the footsteps of the region’s nationalists and torchbearers, stressing that the unity of the region would be its strength. On his part, Ambode reminded his colleagues that the touted prosperity of Lagos State could only be sustained by the prosperity of its neighbour states. He said he was committed to the improvement in the revenue base of the South-West such that a rail system would make it possible for people to work in Lagos State and live in Osogbo, the Osun State capital. The meeting’s communique In a 12-point communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the governors said, the leadership of the region agreed and resolved that deliberate, concerted and determined collaborative and cooperative regional-based actions should be carried out. They also said, “the interest of the Yoruba people should be in focus at all times, and all politics must be politics of development.” “That regional cooperation, synergy and economics of scale is important to move the region forward; that good intentions must be backed by sincerity of purpose; that the prosperity of any constituent part is negated if others are not.” The communique signed by the Director General of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, Mr. Dipo Famakinwa stated further, “that political
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/nothing-will-divide-us-south-west-govs.html?m=1

Niger Delta militants on Saturday vowed to blow up more oil facilities in the region if the Federal Government fail to drop the charges against a former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission declared Tompolo wanted in February over an alleged N45.9bn fraud and charged him to court in absentia.
The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Democratic Front, General Playboy, urged the Federal Government to leave Tompolo and any indigene from the oil-rich region alone.The militant leader, in an email, decried the raid of Gbaramatu Kingdom by soldiers, adding that soldiers never raided communities in the North in search of Boko Haram members.
He also said the government must apologise to Tompolo over the death of his (Tompolo) father.
He said, “You (Federal Government) are coming to Gbaramatu Kingdom in search of militants; how many communities in the North-East have you raided in search of Boko Haram?
“We have said it before now that we will not stop bombing until the Federal Government drops charges against Tompolo and any indigene of Niger Delta, and apologise to Tompolo over the death of his father, who soldiers have killed.
“Let me use this medium to warn the Federal Government that if anything should happen to former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, President Muhammadu (Buhari) will see our true colours.”
General Playboy also said there was a need for government to begin the clean-up of Ogoniland and other parts of the Niger Delta region before December 1, 2016.
“We urge that Ogoni cleansing should be handled by Niger Delta indigenous companies. It is painful that our Niger Delta states cannot pay salaries while Lagos State can pay. Why should Lagos State be richer than Delta State if not for the neglect?
“We are urging all Niger Delta governors to come together and let us fight because we need development in our land. All our states should have a tourist attraction like the Obudu cattle ranch,” the militant leader added.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has pledged to end attacks on oil facilities in the region, stressing that it would not watch criminals destroy the nation’s major assets.
The army disclosed that the need to provide security for the nation’s critical infrastructure in the Niger Delta region led to the creation of the 6 Division covering four states in the area; Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/militants-vow-to-attack-more-oil.html#more

The ongoing efforts by Federal Government to purchase weapons needed for the counter-terrorism operations and lift the restrictions placed on Nigeria by the United States (US) Leahy Law is beyond the current cordial relationship between Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Barrack Obama administrations, Concerns are mounting against the backdrop of the fact that Nigerian arms’ stockpile are depleting in the face of resurgent Boko Haram terrorist attacks and difficulties imposed by the US arms embargo.

But former Director of the State Security Service (DSS), Mr. Mike Ejiofor, in a chat with THISDAY yesterday on the issue, said lifting the sanctions requires more efforts than what the goodwill Nigeria currently enjoys from the Obama administration could solve.
Ejiofor called on the federal government to expedite action in this regard following the unpredictable nature of the US President-elect Mr. Donald Trump and recent report that the Leahy Law-based arms embargo could hamper the planned purchase of attack aircrafts from Brazil and other regions.

“Moreso, I don’t see President-elect Donald Trump working closely with Nigeria because of his isolationist policy of ‘America First’,” he said.

The Chief of Air Staff (CoAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, had disclosed that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plans to induct at least 10 attack aircraft into its arsenal last week in Abuja at the NAF’s operations seminar tagged ‘Developing Effective Air Power Responses to National Security Challenges in Nigeria’.Abubakar, who gave a breakdown of the expected aircraft to include four Mi-35m attack helicopters from Russia, three Super Tucano from the Brazil and three JF-17 Thunder from Pakistan, however, said the ongoing US arms embargo would not stop the countries in question, especially Brazilians from selling the A-29 Super Tucano fighter aircraft to Nigeria like it did to Israel in 2014.

He further assured that despite the arms embargo, the US has in recent times shown willingness to assist in the country’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts in the North-east.
“All I can tell you is that the US is supporting in the North-east, they are helping us with a lot of intelligence, so I don’t see any reason why we should have difficulties,” he insisted.

Nevertheless, Ejiofor has disclosed that the law was imposed on Nigeria during the time of late Gen. Sani Abacha, contrary to popular belief that it was during the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.The security expert however, noted that past administrations did not make any effort to lift the sanctions because Nigeria did not feel the impact on time.
According to him, Leahy Law only became prominent during Jonathan’s administration as a result of the emergent security situations and urgent need for arms for counter-terrorism operations.

He said: “From the reports we learnt that US arms embargo stood in the way of Brazil supplying attacks aircraft to Nigeria similar to what happened under the former President Goodluck Jonathan. People are talking as if this embargo started under President Jonathan; no, it was there even during the time of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“In fact, the Leahy Law was placed under the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha but subsequent governments did not make efforts to repeal the law. So there is nothing President Buhari or Obama can do until members of the Congress reverse the law or the embargo is lifted.”

According to Wikipedia, the Leahy Law or Leahy amendment, made in 1996, is a US human rights law that prohibits the US Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity. It is named after its principal sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
In addition to the arms embargo, Ejiofor listed the dire economic situation hampering funding, asymmetric nature of the conflicts and depleted arms stock as the major issues affecting the ongoing war against terror in the North-east of the country.In the same vein, he noted that factionalisation of Boko Haram and the quest for each group to announce its presence and relevance could account for the rise in terrorist activities since the release of the Chibok girls.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Apex Safety & Security Consultants Ltd, also warned against giving deadline in asymmetric warfare like the operations against Boko Haram.

He said, “One thing you must know is that the military and security institutions are not immune to the general economic situation in the country. So there is a general economic situation, which has also impacted on the security sector. Consequently, the weapons, arms and ammunition we have now in stock might be depleting with no replacement yet coupled with the existing arms embargo from the US.

“If you remember, this was what initially happened and hampered operations in the last administration and the reason why we had the success towards the end was the acquisition of some of the needed weapons from countries of the East.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/continuing-us-arms-embargo-beyond.html?m=1

The Nigerian Army said its newly-created 6 Division in Port Harcourt was established to organise and improve its internal security operations in four states of the Niger Delta.
Maj.-Gen. Kasimu Abdulkarim, the pioneer General Officer Commanding, of the Division , disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday in Port Harcourt.
Abdulkarim said the military had recorded success in the war against terror and was committed to combating emerging security threats in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
According to him, the Division will cover army 2 Brigade Akwa Ibom; 16 Brigade Bayelsa and 63 Brigade in Delta, respectively, with divisional headquarters in Port HarcourtThis arrangement will help to curtail activities of militants, banditry, inter-communal clashes, illegal bunkering, kidnapping, robberies, Niger Delta Avengers and pipeline vandalism prevalent in the area.
“Insecurity in these states negatively impacts on our national economy resulting from sabotage by criminal entities within the region.
“Everything must be done to protect and defend our fledgling democracy with focus to prevent insecurity in the area of our responsibility,” he said.
Abdulkarim said his mission was to structure and enhance the operational capability of the division and improve combat readiness of the troops.
He said the task included a review of existing intelligence architecture; accountability; inclusiveness; rule of law; troops discipline and respect for human rights.
The GOC said the division would work with the media and the public to promote civil-military relations with focus on improving intelligence gathering.
“Officers and soldiers of 6 Division must collectively evolve media management skills in the exploit of mass and social media’s growing power instead of fighting it.
“Our personnel must be honest, trustworthy and professional in their conduct to earn public confidence in our internal security operations,” he said.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/armywhy-we-created-new-division-in.html#more

Lagos State government will henceforth prosecute owners of event centres and other social centres in the state who fail to put in place safety measures among which is crowd control mechanism that will ensure safety of people attending events.

Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission LSSC, Hon. Akeem Dickson made this disclosure yesterday, at a media parley on “instituting appropriate safety events and entertainment industry” held at the conference room of the Ministry of Youth and Development, Alausa, Ikeja.

Dickson revealed that LSSC consultants had been mandated to carry out an audit of events, bars and other social centres in the state to intimate and educate owners of the ministry’s latest requirement.

Part of the enlightenment according to him; include the construction of more than one exit points which would prevent attendees from being trapped at during fire outbreak.

He threatened that any recalcitrant owners of event centre, night clubs or bars among other social centres would face the full wrath of the law as stipulated in the LSSC Act Laws of the Lagos State 2011.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/govt-threatens-to-shut-down-social.html?m=1

cucumber is selling now seriously…i think is because of the sharp….LOL
See more at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/cucumber-has-got-everybody-talking.html?m=1

Global Mobile Service provider, Globacom, says the new international direct dialling (IDD) packs which it launched recently would make calls to major destinations of the world much more affordable for subscribers on its platform.

A statement from the company said the New IDD Packs, regarded as the best deal in the country, allow Globacom subscribers to make calls from Nigeria to 30 major international destinations for as low as N6.60 per minute. With the new tariff structure, we have empowered our subscribers to call their friends, relations and business associates in 30 countries at more convenient and affordable rates,” Globacom said, adding that the new package was in line with its commitment to offer the best value to its customers.

According to Globacom, the 30 destinations covered by the new IDD packs include the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, India, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Israel and Australia.

Others are Bangladesh, Brunei, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, French Guiana, Guam, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico, Reunion Island, Romania and Singapore.

The New IDD Packs are designed to match different recharge denominations which include IDD 100, IDD 200, IDD 500 and IDD 1,000.

The IDD 100 gives subscribers 12 minutes of calls valid for three days, while IDD 200 gives 24 call minutes for seven days.

The IDD 500 bundle gives 60 minutes of calls for 14 days, while the fourth bundle, IDD 1000, avails users with 150 minutes of calls valid for 30 days.

“Whichever bundle the subscriber chooses, he is assured of good value for money. He will not only benefit from the reduced tariffs, which are the best in the market, but will also enjoy seamless connectivity and call clarity made possible by the Glo 1 international submarine cable,” Globacom explained
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/glo-launches-cheaper-calls-to-30.html?m=1

Lagos State Government, through the State Signage and Advertising Agency, LASAA, has launched the 2017 vehicle clearance stickers for mobile advertising, as part of efforts to improve its services.

While unveiling the new stickers at a brief ceremony at the Head Office, Ikeja, Wednesday, Managing Director of LASAA, Mr. Mobolaji Sanusi, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Engineer Abidemi Adeyemi, explained that the new stickers became necessary to ensure a simpler process in its interaction with its clients.

According Sanusi, his agency wanted an easier process of enforcement that would not be cumbersome as well as eliminate unnecessary waste of time on the field by its enforcement team.

He said, “This is because with the sticker pasted on the screen of a vehicle, our enforcement team would not need to flag down or stop a vehicle. So it helps our officers to easily know those who had complied.

“After several warning notices, defaulters will be fined according to stipulated law of the state.”

Sanusi, said the three stickers came in five categories, with each for a type of vehicle. “There is a sticker for cars, tricycles, buses, trucks. So if you pay for a truck, you will get a sticker meant for trucks. And a sticker meant for a car should not be used on a bus or truck.”
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/lagos-unveils-2017-mobile-stickers-for.html?m=1

Senator Mao Arukwe Ohuabunwa, is a politician, businessman and member of the 8th National Assembly representing Abia North on the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP. In this chat, Ohuabunwa, who was also in the 4th and 5th National Assembly representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives spoke on Nigeria’s current economic situation. He declared that the way out of the woods is for the president to listen to the people. He also recounted the tortuous hurdles he scaled to get to the Senate.
Nigeria is said to be in recession, what does it mean to the Senate?

First and foremost, we are Nigerians and we represent the people. We saw this coming, and as a Senate we invited the major stakeholders; the minister of finance who is saddled with the responsibility of managing our finance and economy so to speak. She said that it was a technical recession. We invited the minister of national planning and budget who told us all the efforts they were making. We also invited the CBN Governor and everybody gave us the impression that things would not get out of hand. However, while we were on recess, it was declared openly that the economy was in recession. Now, we can see the level of hunger, hardship and poverty. When we came back, we resolved that nothing would be discussed except the economy. On the first day of our resumption, the senate president’s address was on the economy. We decided to use the whole of that week to discuss the economy, following which we made some resolutions and mandated the senate president to hand deliver them to the president.

Matter of urgency

We decided to bypass the normal, bureaucratic process of passing resolutions, but to hand deliver it to the president to show the level of urgency attached to this issue of recession.

What actually were contained in your resolutions?

Our resolutions include, short term, long term and medium term activities that must take place as a matter of urgency. At least, money should be delivered into the system. Capital projects captured in the 2016 Appropriation Act should be funded. There should be immediate ways to diversify the economy. We should pump money in agriculture and other areas.

Depression is like going into a coma; and at that you have to go into and intensive care unit, where the survival rate is 50:50. We pray that we won’t get into that. For us as a Senate, it is a serious matter, and we are doing everything within our power especially from the legislative and representative point of view, to solve it. We have also decided to go into oversight. We are looking at the agencies now, whether they are working in tandem with the mandate of getting us out of recession.

But there was a proposal to sell national assets, which the Senate didn’t approve of, so how do we get out of this?

We do not believe that selling the nation’s assets is the right way to go; that is why we did not support it. We can commercialise, have Public-Private Partnerships in running national assets, but selling is not the answer.

If you remember, one of our resolutions is that the President should always talk to the people. In talking to the people, issues would be resolved. People need to know what the Executive’s plans are, at all times.
Full details at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/sen-ohuabunwait-is-time-for-ndigbo-to.html?m=1

She is really looking cute
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PRESIDENT and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has received a ‘Bridge Builder’s award conferred on him by a Non- Governmental Organisation, NGO, Love to the World Initiative Bridge Builders. The award ceremony is in recognition of Dangote’s “Avowed Pan-African Posture laced with his nationalistic approach, especially in sighting his industries and his employment policies”. The NGO said the richest man in Africa and business mogul bagged the award for distinguishing himself in the promotion of peaceful co-existence, poverty alleviation and hospitality across the nation and Africa at large. The CEO of Love Initiative, Josephine Anumbor, said the programme is aimed at mobilising every Nigerian to change from being selfish to becoming selfless and contribute to the progress of the nation. She said Dangote Industries Limited, DIL, is a good example as shown in its drive to curb unemployment and uplift Nigerians through its various brands and services. In a welcome address, the Director-General, National Orientation Agency, NOA, Garba Abari, said the star awardee deserves recognition, as he is known globally for giving succor to the less privileged. “His assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the North-East is exemplary”. He said bridge builders are role models that stand out in the society, adding that the Love Initiative is a component of government’s ‘Change begins with me’ and called on Nigerians to show love to enable the country tackle socio-political and economic challenges. Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, called on Nigerians to show love to one another, especially at this period of our nation’s fractured state. Represented by his brother, Mr. Dauda Gowon, the former head of state, who also received an award for his role in canvassing for peaceful co-existence in the nation, said peace, love and unity are non- negotiable as these will go a long way in resolving our problems and moving the nation forward. Other awardees include Dr. Maryam Abdullahi, for care and contribution towards peace building, especially amongst the womenfolk, Prof. Attahiru Jega for peaceful demeanour throughout the 2015 election, Mrs Oby Ezekwezili for sterling efforts towards championing the cause of the girl-child, Miss Shawantu Garba and Mrs Amina YaAliyu for care and contribution towards IDPs.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/dangote-bags-bridge-builders-award-for.html?m=1

Facebook on Wednesday said that it has bought facial recognition startup FacioMetrics, potentially using the technology for photo or video effects to better challenge rival Snapchat.“How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow people to express themselves in fun and creative ways,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an email reply to an AFP inquiry.

“We’re excited to welcome the FacioMetrics team who will help bring more fun effects to photos and videos and build even more engaging sharing experiences on Facebook.”Silicon Valley-based Facebook did not disclose financial terms of the deal to buy FacioMetrics, which was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

FacioMetrics was founded in 2015 and specialises in using artificial intelligence to give facial image analysis capabilities to applications that run on smartphones.

The technology has potential in a host of applications, including those focused on animation, measuring audience reactions, and virtual or augmented realities, FacioMetrics founder and chief executive Fernando De la Torre said in a release.

“We’re taking a big step forward by joining the team at Facebook, where we’ll be able to advance our work at an incredible scale, reaching people from across the globe,” De la Torre said.

Using FacioMetrics to let users of Facebook, or subsidiaries such as Instagram, have fun with photos or video could be a counter-move to those kinds of features offered in “filters” at vanishing message service Snapchat.

Parent company Snap estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day.

Since trying unsuccessfully to buy Southern California-based Snapchat several years ago, Facebook has turned to cloning popular features.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/facebook-buys-facial-recognition-tech.html?m=1

LECTURERS of the Lagos State University, LASU, on Wednesday complied with the one-week nationwide warning strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, just as the union’s chapter in the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Bauchi, on Wednesday joined other chapters to embark on the warning strike to press for their demands. ASUU chairman in LASU, Dr Isaac Oyewunmi told our correspondent in Lagos that academic activities in the university had been paralysed, noting that LASU lecturers’ compliance with the strike directive was total. He said that the chapter held a congress on Tuesday to discuss the strike, and that a notice was sent to its members and the university management on the commencement of the action. “There is no report of any infraction within the chapter; all members have complied as directed by the national body,” the chairman said. Miss Stella Nwachukwu, a student of the university’s Department of Microbiology, told NAN that the strike was unfortunate, adding that it would affect students. Nwachukwu urged the federal government to meet with ASUU leaders and honour the agreement it had with the union in 2009 to stop the strike. ASUU had declared the warning strike ‎on Tuesday to press home its demand for implementation of an agreement it reached with the federal government in 2009. Meanwhile, Mr Adamu Babayo, ASUU’s chairman in ATBU, told newsmen in Bauchi that the strike followed the decisions arrived at by the union’s National Executive Council, NEC, at its meeting on Saturday in Abuja. Babayo said part of the union’s grievances included the nonrevitalisation of the nation’s universities’ autonomy and shortfall in staff salaries; also the issues of staff primary schools and the non-implementation of the agreement it reached with the government in 2009 among their grievances. Others, according to him, are lack of registration of Universities Pension Company, NUPECO, and the non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances. He said the Federal Budget Office had in January slashed the salaries of its members by six percent, and that the union paid N1billion for registration of its new pension scheme as demanded by the government but was refused registration. Babayo added that the union had refused to join the contributory pension scheme following malpractices witnessed during the 2015 general elections, when money realised was allegedly used to fund election campaigns. He said the union was not comfortable with the current scheme because some of its members died in active service while their contributions disappeared, hence the delay in payment of allowances. The chairman also kicked against the bill on JAMB currently being debated at the National Assembly, saying “you cannot set rules for a body that you do not supervise. It is the right of the universities and not of JAMB to conduct post-JAMB screenings and other admission policies for candidates seeking provisional admissions.”
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/ASUU-warning-strike-lasu-atbu-join.html?m=1

With crude oil falling from the year high of $54 per barrel following tentative agreement to cut supply, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is in a final push to resolve differences hampering the move.
Oil is currently trading at $45 per barrel as uncertainties continue to trail the group’s resolve to implement the Algiers deal which saw Nigeria and Libyia exempted from production cuts due to supply challenges in their countries.
Vandalism by militant groups in the Niger Delta has limited Nigeria’s export to less than two million barrels daily in the past one year. Efforts by the Federal Government which included a meeting between leaders and youths from the region and President Muhammadu Buhari last week has also failed to end attacks on oil and gas facilities.
But with the OPEC ministers’ meeting in Vienna, Austra, just two weeks away, the cartel has embarked on a final diplomatic effort to secure a deal on oil cuts, with Qatar, Algeria and Venezuela leading the push to overcome the divide between the group’s biggest producers, according to a delegate familiar with the talks.
According to Bloomberg, behind-the-scenes diplomacy comes after bilateral meetings over the weekend failed to resolve the rifts. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran are still at odds over how to share output cuts, the person said.
Saudi Arabia, the group’s de-facto leader, is ready to cut production, but only if the effort is built around four pillars, said the delegate. All members must agree to collective action, pledge to share the burden of cuts equitably, and do so in a way that is transparent and has credibility with the market. The latter can be achieved by using OPEC estimates of how much each member pumps, rather than relying on the countries’ own estimates, the delegate said.
In practice, that means Saudi Arabia still thinks Iraq needs to cut output and Iran has to freeze production around current levels, the person said. Neither country has so far agreed to do that. As initially outlined in Algiers, Libya and Nigeria would be exempt from supply curbs.
Iran is considering a proposal to freeze its oil production near the level the country says it pumps (nearly 4 million barrels a day) rather than OPEC’s estimate of about 3.7 million, the delegate said. Iraq is mulling a cut, but only from the Oil Ministry’s own level of about 4.8 million barrels a day, not the 4.6 million barrels a day OPEC says it pumps, the person said.
Iraq has sought an exemption from joining any production cuts, arguing that its fight against Islamic State justifies special treatment. Iran has insisted it won’t accept any limits on its production until it has returned to the pre-sanctions level of about 4 million barrels a day.
“People are pretty pessimistic right now about a potential agreement,” BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Riyadh. “You see that in the price,” he said. If the talks fail, prices “will stay around the level we’re at.”
As OPEC nations work to secure a deal, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal led a delegation which includes the Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa for a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia starting Monday, state-run Algerian Press Service reported. Boutarfa plans to travel from there to Qatar, where several other OPEC ministers are scheduled to attend a gas forum on Nov. 17.
Full details at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/opec-battles-to-secure-production-cut.html?m=1

The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has advised state Houses of Assembly in the 36 states to adopt the recently amended Public Procurement Act and enact it in order to help local manufacturers in their respective states.

Saraki who was addressing the first set of beneficiaries of the Skill acquisition Training and Empowerment Programme (STEP) initiated by him to empower youths in his home state, Kwara, said the adoption of the new Procurement Act in the states will ensure that state government agencies will join their federal counterparts in putting money in the pockets of citizens while helping to encourage the development of private initiatives among fellow country men and women.Saraki called on the Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Alli Ahmed to take the message to his colleagues in other states on the need for legislators to focus on laws that can be enacted to help people out of the current economic recession.

“This is a challenging time for all of us and it requires ingenuity, creativity and thinking out of the box to come up with ideas that will put people to work, put money in their pockets, increase our gross domestic products, make our nation self reliant and increase revenue generation ability of governments.

“Those of us in government have the burden to do all all that are within our control to create opportunities for our people to excel, create conducive atmosphere for people to produce quality goods and services and ensure that they are patronised and encouraged. This is what the amended Public Procurement Act seeks to achieve and I want to see it replicated across the country,” he said.

The Senate President noted that he was always bothered about the consequence of young people who are capable but have no job and that the idea of STEP developed from the need to help as many youths as possible to contribute their quota to national economic development.

He said the beneficiaries of STEP will be groomed and trained to become employers of labour in the shortest possible period and this will have multiplier effect in the State.
He also said the programme will be run in such a manner that its success will encourage other political leaders to emulate the philosophy behind it and come out with better plans and strategies that will achieve similar objectives.

“I am looking forward to a situation where each of our senatorial districts in the country will have one or two items that it is producing on a massive scale and exporting across the world in such scale that you could say, this item is the wealth creating product in the area.
Full details at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/saraki-urges-state-assemblies-to-adopt.html?m=1

Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue says his administration will soon overcome the challenges of non-payment workers’ salaries in the state.

Ortom gave the assurance when he met with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastort Enoch Adeboye, who was in Makurdi on Sunday for a programme.

The governor, who has owed about five months workers’ salaries, said that God would provide to help for his government to settle the backlog of the salaries.

He said despite the economic crunch that had affected the smooth running of his administration, God has been faithful and would intervene through the servant of God.

The governor noted that the security challenges of the state had ended since the state was dedicated to God in May, 2016.

Ortom stressed the need for the people to serve God and obey Him, saying that is the only way to live in plenty and prosperity.

Quoting from the Bible in Job 36: 11-12, the governor assured the people that God is the only source of prosperity, pointing out that God has a hand in his election because he was faithful to Him.

He, therefore, pledged that his tenure as governor would continue to focus on glorification of God and service to the people.

Responding, Adeboye said that God encountered man for the first time and spoke to him in blessing, taking his Bible passage from the Book of Genesis 1:26-28,

He stated that God still encounters man even today as He did in the time of old, urging the people to draw closer to God so that He would bless them and establish them in dominion

According to him, a true christian can still prosper despite the economic situation of the nation, adding that the plan of God for His people is to prosper.

He also prayed for the people to encounter God in a new dimension that will catapult them into their blessings and dominions.

Adeboye further prayed to God to give Gov.. Ortom wisdom to govern Benue well, so that the people of the state can rejoice.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/gov-ortomnon-payment-of-workers.html?m=1

John Obi Mikel says Nigeria have to give everything to win today’s decisive 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria.
The Super Eagles began their campaign on a winning note against Zambia in Ndola, and victory against the Greens will boost their chances of qualifying for the global football showpiece in Russia.
According to the national team captain and Chelsea of England midfielder, the players are aware of the game’s importance and would do all it takes to ensure victory in GodswillAkpabio International Stadium.
“We all know what this match means, why we have to give everything.”
“Yes, we started the race well by winning in Zambia, but we have to approach this match even more seriously.
“The Algerians will come with determination and they will play hard, but we will play harder.
“The World Cup is the biggest stage; every player wants to be there. I am happy we have such a young and energetic team.
“ I played at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 but there are many of these players who have never been to the World Cup. They want to be there.
“Three points, that is what we will be playing for. We are committed and the visit of the Vice President Professor YemiOsinbajo to our training in Abuja has motivated us even more.”
Nigeria top Group B with three points, while the Algerians who were held to a 1-1 draw against Cameroon boast of one point with Zambia sitting at the base with no point.
As Iheanacho set to lead Eagles attack
Manchester City striker KelechiIheanacho looks set to lead Nigeria’s charge for goals against Algeria in a decisive World Cup qualifier today with Victor Moses and OghenekaroEtebo good to also start.

The 20-year-old Iheanacho has scored in the team’s last four matches and in Wednesday’s morning training he led attack while Watford ace Odion Ighalo, back in the squad after he missed last month’s game in Zambia, featured for the second team.

Ighalo has failed to deliver in a green-white-green shirt of Nigeria and he is currently struggling to score goals in his second season in the Premier League.
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Am proud of Mavins records
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Don jazzy
Salute to all mavin records fan's worldwide
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Hillary Clinton currently holds a 190-171 electoral vote leads over Donald Trump.
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Can education corruption stop like this
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Happy birthday
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Present Buhari writting quiz with student of Samuel Ogbemudia college shortly after commissioning the school as part of his visit to Edo State on 7Nov 2016
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