Sapphire86:
He is stepping up to his responsibilities.... If supporting her is the cost of peace he has to pay, then so be it... Unlike some people Sha

You make sense my brother. Only stupid people would blame Davido for helping the mother of his daughter. The truth is “ the mother of your daughter is part of your family even in divorce” She would make life horrible for Davido and Chioma if she is not treated sensibly. I am just talking with experience, fear WOMAN.

MetaPhysical:
If he is allowed to resign as the CJN he can remain in practice as a lawyer until retirement and his entitlement kicks in. If his resignation is rejected he can opt for early retirement but if that is also rejected then he is in deep trouble. An indictment will de-bar and de-robe him, his entitlement is canceled and he could be sentenced to prison.

Its important that SS Governors lead a team to Buhari to concede Onnoghen's error and plead for mercy on him.

It's important to send strong signal with this Chief Justice to others in our several courts that they are not above the law. When Jonathan sacked Justice Salami, No team of SW Governors met with the Federal Govt at that time. So, let's not set a tribal precedence here. All the money he embezzled does not benefit any of Niger Delta people but only him and his family. Let him face the wrath of the law.

Abiodunspectre:


7th most admired brand in the world and you think you " Bashir Nairaland" can lecture them on marketing. Go take your pills.

As a matter of fact, I can lecture them because I'm not a braindead Nigerian and I don't settle for less. You may wish to know we are in the marketing and customer relationship era, and companies no matter how highly ranked or admired can be questioned. Techno is not in the same rank as Google, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft where Nigerians are showing great expertise.

First, If you don't understand my point of view, just ask for further clarifications and stop bringing your ignorance out here. I see why they say Nigerian graduates are not employable. I didn't question the quality of Techno's products or business model to warrant your comparison of Nairaland and Techno. I only revealed my opinion on the position of the (Chinese marketing staff of Techno during the promotion.

Secondly, The pull it down syndrome of people like you is the reason why Nigeria is backward. What does Nairaland get to do with my comment? I feel we should be honoured in our land, not just as a host but customers. I don't want to brag about my credentials but I know my rights.

Abiodunspectre:
Dance group entertaining the guest.

Cc lalasticlala

With all due respect to this product promotion and marketing campaign, I just don't understand the arrogance of this overacted Chinese doing business in Nigeria. Look at him pocketed with grimed face while the Nigerians looked so luck to take a picture with him. I'm an educated man and a specialist in marketing, you don't promote your products in a foreign market outside your home like you're the king, the customers of that country (target market) are the kings. In Dubai, this low-level employee Chinese will not even be able to stand by the local Emirati partners for product promotion except he's the country marketing director.

I do understand we are a poor country but that's not the reason we should be treated with disdain in our country. Actually, ignoring a huge segment of such market because they're poor is marketing myopia and the reason their business is successful is that the market is substantial and profitable.

Just my poor observation.

TonyeBarcanista:
By TonyeBarcanista

I have observed the lobbying and politics surrounding the race for National Assembly presiding officers and I think it is incumbent on me to air my opinion on why NASS members-elect, Peoples Democratic Party and Nigerians should resist Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila for the positions of Senate President and Speaker of House of Representative respectively.

1. Gbajabiamila Candidacy Is Against Equitable Distribution of Offices:
Having produced the Vice President of Nigeria, it becomes natural that another geopolitical zone in the country produce the number 4 citizen as it has been the tradition since 1999.

It may be recalled that at the return of the fourth republic, the Southwest produced the President, the Northeast had the Vice President, the Southeast had the Senate President and the Northwest produced Speaker of House of Representative and this arrangement lasted until 2007. Same tradition of equitable distribution was upheld in 2007-2011 when the Northwest produced the President, the Southsouth had the Vice President, the North central had Senate President while the Southwest had the Speaker through Patricia Etteh and Dimeji Bankole respectively. The arrangement was bound to be maintained until Aminu Tambuwal with support from the opposition as at then disrupted the arrangement, gifted the northwest 2 out of the 4 top offices and denied the Southwest and the entire south the position of Speaker. It however was restored in 2015 with NW (President), SW (VP), NC (Senate President) and NE (Speaker)

If those people in Bourdillon road that are fronting Femi Gbajabiamila candidacy were fair to the South and the nation, they would have presented someone from the Southeast or Southsouth for the position instead of another person from Southwest. The excuse that both zones didn't give APC ranking members or House members aren't tenable this time around.

Gbaja's candidacy is simply anti-south agenda by some sectional elements in Lagos. It is also anti-Nigeria agenda as it seeks to reward a particular zone with 2 out of the top for offices in the country leaving other 5 zones to scramble for 2 offices.

2. Gbajabiamila Candidacy Is Anti-Southwest:

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has Lagos has his political base and he's more loyal to Lagos than his native Ogun state. Femi Gbajabiamila is also of Lagos state and his puppeteers want to make him speaker, meanwhile, there are other APC Rep members in Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states but they ignored them and narrowed it to Femi so as to serve their own selfish interest. These same people refused to support Hon Lasun the outgoing Deputy Speaker even though he's Yoruba all through his four years tenure simply because he wasn't their anointed. It clearly shows that contrary to what Femi sponsors would want the people of southwest to believe, they are pushing Femi to represent them not the zone.

3. Northcentral Or Dogara Should Get Speakership:
Personally, I believe equity demands that the position of Senate President or Speaker should go to a Rep member from either the Southeast or Southsouth zone, but since this may not be feasible due to political realities, I think the PDP, NASS members-elect and Nigerians should support a credible and independent person from the North central for the position, or if by slim chance Yakubu Dogara stand a chance, he should be supported. As stated above, it will be unpatriotic and evil to reward Southwest the position of Speaker when they have the office of Vice President while zones like Northcentral, Southeast and southsouth are left with nothing.

4. PDP Can Stop Ahmad Lawan SP Bid:

With forty three Senators-elect already, PDP need at least thirteen aggrieved APC Senators-elect to defeat Ahmad Lawan, the unpopular anointed of the APC for the Senate President seat. Already aggrieved APC Senators-elect like Uzor Kalu of Abia, Ali Ndume of Borno and Danjuma Goje of Gombe and their supporters have vowed to challenge for the seat in June and with the traditional secret ballot system of voting. I have no doubt that PDP would either produce someone among them as Senate President or endorse one of the aggrieved as PDP adopted candidate. I will see how Lawan will emerge Senate President or whether Adams Oshiomole will be able to rig him in.

5. We Did It In 2015, We Can Do It Again

About four years ago, specifically, June 7, 2015, I, alongside loyalists of PDP, openly called on PDP leaders and NASS members-elect to counter the anointing of Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila by voting for Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon Yakubu Dogara for the positions of Senate President and Speaker of House of Representative respectively! We triumphed against all odd. (Ref: https://www.nairaland.com/2362944/open-campaign-adoption-sen-saraki).


May God Bless Us and Bless Nigeria

TonyeBarcanista writes from Abuja and can be reached at TonyeBarcanista@gmail.com

Two largest states, Kano and[b] Lagos have 24 seats each[/b] in the House of Representatives, Kaduna State has 16 seats; Katsina has 15; Oyo has 14; Rivers has 13; Bauchi has 12; Anambra, Benue, Jigawa and Sokoto states have 11 seats each; Akwa-Ibom, Borno, Delta, Imo and Niger states have 10 seats each; Edo, Kogi, Ogun, Ondo and Osun states have 9 seats each; Abia, Adamawa, Cross River, Enugu, Kebbi and Plateau states have 8 seats each; Zamfara has 7; Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Kwara, Taraba and Yobe states have 6 seats each; Nasarawa and Bayelsa have 5 seats each; FCT Abuja has 2 seats. Read more: https://www.legit.ng/1152799. Total= 360 members


South west has 71 members of house of rep and I don't know which of the Yoruba rep will vote against Gbajabiamila irrespective of their parties.

Angrymode:
This pic is the one that touched me the most especially when I think of today's slaying dress codes

Beautiful

Look, I actually like South West as opposition than been in control at the centre. They perform better as a block and hold the federal government accountable. Check back from 1999, when they're not at the centre they become yardstick to measure development and motivated Akpabio of Akwa Ibom to be a poster man for PDP then. Southwest does better in shifting debate of federalism, getting landmark national judgements and equitable sharing of resources than any of the Southern counterparts. I want more of that debate. for instance, Lagos generates 50% of the revenue from taxes but get less. There was a new report of non-oil revenue that shows more revenue was generated from resources (limestone) in Ogun state. Southern states seemed to be revenue generating states with small shares while the Northern feeding and taking the lion shares.

able20:

Danfo analysis

Youngman from Holland, I'm not talking to your kinds.

Sheyone:
If APC appeals this judgement they will still lose.

Never. APC will win this case. The tribunal just sets PDP candidate up to waste more money at Appeal and supreme courts to fail because INEC as umpire has constitutional rights to conduct and cancel elections where it deems or infractions are identified. No courts in Nigeria can void that right.

computergeek:
I'm not trying to bring them down or denigrate them, but I just feel Muslims like to act as if they're being mistreated. I understand that they take their religion as a culture, but then again they should stop forcing their nuggets on other people, because some of us take our religions very seriously too but we know when to cut back.

A government school is not a religious school. It won't kill anyone if the girls drop their hijabs for a few hours of school. Schools don't allow Catholic kids to wear Chaplets and medals and finger Rosaries. Schools don't allow girls from other Christian denominations to cover their hair or wear Church vests to school, so why should Muslim girls be permitted to wear hijabs to government schools? Everyone should try to be more tolerant, more flexible and less over-zealous.

I'm a Muslim but against anything that has to do with forcing an agenda or doctrine on any Muslims or non-muslims, Therefore I don't believe you have to force any human to do your bidding or believe same way like you. I can only persuade and if my persuasion aligned with your values and accept, good for you. This issue of hijab is non-issue.

Case study- We are biting more than we can shew in this case and creating an unnecessary problem for ourselves and our society. There is nothing wrong in wearing the small female cover we called Hijab and it is different from the veil or full cover. Let's accommodate each other, let's see and understand the differences between us and harness it for the good of our people. We have the same problem nationally between all our major tribes namely Ibos, Yorubas and Hausa/Fulani, there's no mono-ethnic or religion in the world but they learn to cohabit together, understanding their differences . They love the benefits the diversity brings. I'm a Yoruba-man and a Muslim. I had my secondary education in Methodist school daily singing songs of praise which I enjoyed and my Imam father never complained or protested against it due to his tolerance. My father has bible and Quran in our home and, he used to study both for knowledge, agree with the bible as a book from GOD. Today, we are so hate-full based on where we come from, our religious diversity and how we look. We are less accommodating and it might lead to a bigger problem. Religion wasn't a problem in the southwest until we allowed from another tribe the importation of new generational Christian doctrines, opening churches like grocery shops everywhere in the southwest, we cohabit before without rancor.

Before you cursed or abused me, I'm from a mixed home. My mom was from a Christian family and my father was from a traditionalist. We are four in my family, two are Christians and two are Muslims. There is an agenda to destroy the Yoruba internally by external hands, they labored hard to differential the Lagosians from mainland Yoruba, they looked to separate us at the micro level but all to no avail, Now they one to use religion. We need to go back as Yoruba to our foundation of tolerance and peaceful tradition of cohabiting to emphasize why we are unique. My love for the Yoruba Race/ Tribes is unshakeable no matter your tribe, your religion or political inclination. But, understanding we have differences in our ways or methods of worshipping is key to our success just like we understand we have traditionalists whom idols are at the core of their faith.

Nigerian broke guys. Why poor people wants sex . Nigerians are poor countries with big desires and plenty children. She makes me laugh like Bendel

Gisters:
A video is currently going viral on the internet and it shows a beautiful young lady explaining with serious conviction, the reason why she dates only married men.

On the video, she is heard saying ;



Video below ;

BY GISTMORE - http://gistmore.com/slay-queen-reveals-dates-married-men

What was the population of entire Ghana and the Ashanti tribe even today compared to the Yoruba?

Ozibe:


Op I will respond to this falsehood in another thread later. It is good to say good things about Yoruba but please, saying things that don't add up and worse listing them as number 2 on what basis? Where are the Ashanti's of Ghana.. Please make sure u are well researched on this topic cos, I will come and dismantle allbur lies. Later when I'm less busy. Stay tuned.

I don't like all about Trump but his policies on immigration is spot on. No country in the world, I repeat no country will allowed illegal immigrants to come into their countries and enjoy full benefits of citizenship. Even, our Nigerian nationals are also found of this attitude, if your wife is pregnant the next thing is organise visiting visa to have baby in USA just to claim citizenship. It is not fair and not just. It's like allowing NIgeriens and Malians come to Nigeria to have babies and claim citizenship. Let them come in legally as residents or have their babies in US and go back to your country after the delivery of the baby. Nonsense.

9jvirgin:
President Trump plans to sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on U.S. soil, he said yesterday in an exclusive interview for "Axios on HBO," a new four-part documentary news series debuting on HBO this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Why it matters: This would be the most dramatic move yet in Trump's hardline immigration campaign, this time targeting "anchor babies" and "chain migration." And it will set off another stand-off with the courts, as Trump’s power to do this through executive action is debatable to say the least.

Trump told "Axios on HBO" that he has run the idea of ending birthright citizenship by his counsel and plans to proceed with the highly controversial move, which certainly will face legal challenges.

"It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don't," Trump said, declaring he can do it by executive order.

When told that's very much in dispute, Trump replied: "You can definitely do it with an Act of Congress. But now they're saying I can do it just with an executive order."

"We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States ... with all of those benefits," Trump continued. "It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And it has to end." "It's in the process. It'll happen ... with an executive order."

The president expressed surprise that "Axios on HBO" knew about his secret plan: "I didn't think anybody knew that but me. I thought I was the only one. "

Behind the scenes: "Axios on HBO" had been working for weeks on a story on Trump’s plans for birthright citizenship, based on conversations with several sources, including one close to the White House Counsel’s office.

The legal challenges would force the courts to decide on a constitutional debate over the 14th Amendment, which says:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Be smart: Few immigration and constitutional scholars believe it is within the president's power to change birthright citizenship, former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services chief counsel Lynden Melmed tells Axios.

But some conservatives have argued that the 14th Amendment was only intended to provide citizenship to children born in the U.S. to lawful permanent residents — not to unauthorized immigrants or those on temporary visas. John Eastman, a constitutional scholar and director of Chapman University's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, told "Axios on HBO" that the Constitution has been misapplied over the past 40 or so years. 

He says the line "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" originally referred to people with full, political allegiance to the U.S. — green card holders and citizens.

Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration, recently took up this argument in the Washington Post.

Anton said that Trump could, via executive order, "specify to federal agencies that the children of noncitizens are not citizens" simply because they were born on U.S. soil. (It’s not yet clear whether Trump will take this maximalist argument, though his previous rhetoric suggests there’s a good chance.)

But others — such as Judge James C. Ho, who was appointed by Trump to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in New Orleans — say the line in the amendment refers to the legal obligation to follow U.S. laws, which applies to all foreign visitors (except diplomats) and immigrants. 

He has written that changing how the 14th Amendment is applied would be "unconstitutional."

https://www.africansinus.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=379

[quote author=olril17 post=72116617]
thank God you spoke for your self and maybe your family.

it's only an idiott who saw the suffering of eight years in osun that will ask us to vote only apc and not consider pdp.
developments in SW?
pls tell me one FG project in osun state where all fg roads are appalling, or is our state not part of SW?
or sw starts and end on Lagos -Ibadan express road?
or is Fulani herdsmen not killing our people too in okeogun?
are we better off in SW economically than 5 years ago?

pls I speak for myself,speak for yourself too and stop lumping all SW as being supportive of mumudu the failure.[/quote

Then, my message is not for you. Those who understand my message got it. You can vote your PDP and have all the good life you desire just like their 16yrs in power. I'm a grown man and know what am talking about. APC is not perfect but we have been thru this path before for 16yrs. I don't have party but have interest.

gbolah1:
Fellow southwestern, after carefully observation on the politics going on within the country presently. It will be a good n better option for all the southwest to cast there vote for APC and PMB/PYO comes 2019 presidential election. If we look at the current power broker presently, southwest leaders are holding major position in the current administration compare to jonathan era. Which is affecting the development of the region positively now.
Align with Atiku/Obi in 2019 may slow down the current development benefit the region is enjoy now.
We must all think deep before we conclude on whom to cast our vote for.
APC government as some lapses but they are not as bad as people on social medial proclaim them.
Let the southwestern think deep before we make a wrong decision so that we willnt start shouting marginalised again.

You're very right. The best option for us (the South-westerners) is to vote APC and its candidates. We have been in opposition for so long and we were denied so many things in 16yrs of PDP rule. Now, that we have few semblances of development in our region, those who have been with PDP for 16yrs watched us in southwest agonized for Federal projects which never come but are now ready to distrust the ongoing projects from completion. They called us Fulani slaves but are so happily ready to be another Fulani slaves now- Hypocrisy. People choose to be nationalistic when it favors them and be tribalistic when they are losing, as a result, I have come to realize that, politics is all about interest. I'm a Yoruba man and you can tag me a tribalist, It's your problem. We need to complete all the ongoing projects in our region so we need continuity for another 4yrs, especially when we have representatives at the top now. I said 4 more years of Buhari/ Osinbajo not 16yrs of PDP, (a fraction of PDP 16yrs) Then we can articulate.

Note- Politics is a game of interest. They will stop all the ongoing Southwest projects If PDP gets to power and Southeast will also agitate for projects in their region and we will become a tradeoff.


Thank you.

Bustincole:
APC is taking almost 20 yrs to build Lagos



How long does it take to build d whole DUbai


Imagin City lookin like a fiction movie pix


SMH

Don't forget Dubai was a plain desert land that's constructed newly by futuristic Government with less bureaucracy while Lagos has been this old city under military regimes with less adherence to strict urban planning policy. Before the advent democracy, Lagos has been wrecked and bastardised with building structures that will take years to correct. I remember once a well connected woman who built an hotel on a sewage layout and government did nothing to correct it even when the whole neighbourhood protested against the build on the canal. We are our own enemy. It's a cycle, you can see the wealthy moving from VI to Lekki and Atlantic city however, it's used to be Ikeja for the wealthy. When the land is exhausted, they will come back to buy the disgruntled and un-organized city just like most cities in US.

[color=#990000][quote author=alBHAGDADI post=68020593]Nice one FFK. I hereby dub you a Crusader.

The Arabic inscription on the Nigeria Army coat of arms is Nasrunminallah. It means ''Victory Comes From God Alone''. Checking closely, you will notice that the word we get as the English word for God in the translation is Allah. Lying Muslims will also tell you that Allah means God or is the Arabic equivalent of the English word God. This is a big lie which I will prove below.

In the Islamic Shahada, which is the words you swear when you want to become a Muslim, which most of you are aware of cos that's what this forum makes you swear before you comment on an Islamic thread, we find the word for God which clearly isn't Allah. Look Below.

The Shahada: There is no god but Allah

In Arabic: La ilaha illallah




I would not have bother to respond to your assertion because it's a straw man and an informal fallacy, but I want to respond because we are all students of knowledge anyway and we learn everyday. While I believe every nation should maintain proudly their identity and language is a very vital part of culture, I also believe we should be truthful when we are making argument or do a vital research before we make claim. I'm a Yoruba-man, muslim and currently working and living in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The transliteration of your quoted statement about the meaning of Arabic[/b]: La ilaha illallah as The Shahada[/b]: There is no god but Allah is correct but your definition or explanation of the statement is wrong. As muslims, who truly believe and accept the shahada, what it means is that " No worshiping or associating of any idols (tree, mountain, sun,moon,sango, obatala, ogun) beside Allah (GOD). Hence the G in Ilaha (god) ( is always written with a small letter "g". The statement also means total faith in GOD without what is called shirk in islam (means associating or worshipping another diety beside GOD). It's a claim to uphold the of oneness and purity of GOD. That the moon is not a saviour, not a creator, not a provider ,not a sustainer, not a keeper and not a forgiver, and that all that attributes mentioned and more are of GOD. That GOD alone is worthy of our worship, our gratitudes. He created all mankind, all visible and invisible, all touchable and un-touchable are created by Allah(only one GOD as evidence in the Bible). In the west we I come from people used to name their newborn Omibunmi or sangobunmi (that this baby was granted by diety) not GOD. While I believe religion should not take away our culture (dressing, food, language, respect for elderly people, merciful to the young ones, respect the sanctity of marriage, maintaining good relationship with all your family and break bread together), I also believe there is no reason to worship idols who cannot render any help or save us from any calamity.

[b][/b]Governors in the South-West Zone, under the aegis of Western Nigeria Governors’ Forum, met on Wednesday in Lagos and resolved to embark on a Rice Accelerated Programme for Integrated Development (Western RAPID) to further consolidate actions on food security and job creation in the region.The governors agreed to commit portions of land to the Lagos State Government to farm and promote rice cultivation and production in the region.Their decisions were contained in a communique issued after the quarterly meeting which had the theme – ‘Consolidating the Legacy of Regional Integration’, and read by Mr Oluseye Oyeleye, the newly appointed substantive Director-General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission. The leaders resolved that DAWN Commission, representatives and agriculture commissioners from each state, should hold a technical session with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and develop a state by state roadmap in four weeks before a Regional Agriculture Summit.
They agreed that the Summit be held in Ibadan in May.However, during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding MoU on Land Allocation between the western states and Lagos, the Ogun state government said it would not sign until some issues between the two states were resolved. The state’s Deputy Governor, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga, who represented Gov Ibikunle Amosun, said the Lagos State government abandoned the 1000 hectares of land given to it for its rice production project.

”Also the Lagos state government defaulted in the remittances of the taxes of over 23 percent of its workers who reside in Ogun state. ”The Rice Accelerated Program for Integrated Development is a laudable project that we support in total but we will sign the MoU when these concerns are resolved, ” she said. Reacting, Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode said the idea behind the MoU on land allocation was to expand the agricultural output of the state’s rice mill. Ambode said that the state required 32000 hectares for paddy cultivation and in the interest of integration, the project would be beneficial to all the states in the South West. According to him, Lagos state will be like ‘off-takers’ to the paddies while the other state will use their people and farmers to cultivate the land thereby creating employment and wealth in those states and the region. ”Four other states have actually agreed to sign the MoU. But what happened with Ogun state is that there are some minor issues that were outstanding before.

”They could not sign today, but you can also hear them say they are committed to signing when those issues are resolved. So, four have signed remaining one state. ”The ultimate goal is that all the western states would sign and be able to feed into the rice mill that Lagos state is locating in Imota area of Ikorodu, ” he said. The governors also agreed that Lagos State be formally admitted as a member of the O’dua Investment Group. A shareholding agreement was also signed between the O’dua Investment Group and the state government.

They also agreed that the states of the region as a bloc would be monitoring the process for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Concession into a world-class infrastructure. The governors agreed that DAWN Commission should work on reviving Regional Inter-School Football Competition. They also directed the Commission to conduct a study on the successes in education recorded in Ekiti State for peer learning and adoption among the other states. The host governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, earlier in his opening remarks, said there was the need for collaboration in tackling social and economic challenges facing the people. He said that the need to ensure food security in states in the west was critical to Nigeria and across the world. ”The whole essence of food security of Western Nigeria is thus focused on our states maximizing their comparative advantages to guarantee increased food, jobs creation and the welfare of our people. ”I believe strongly that it is in the collective rather than individual action that a greater solution to commonly shared problems can be found.

”Today, we stand on the threshold of history. Our business in government is mainly to provide jobs and security for our people. Our aim is to seek the collective welfare of our people, ” he said. The meeting was attended by Governors Abiola Ajimobi‎ (Oyo), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti), Ibikunle Amosun represented by his deputy, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and the host, Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos).














Read more https://independent.ng/south-west-governors-resolve-to-embark-on-rice-accelerated-program/

"I want UAE Government services to be delivered to the public through mobile phones"

HH. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.


“The Government of the future works 24/7 and 365 days a year,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. “It is as hospitable as hotels, fast in delivering and strong in its procedures”.
He said the aim was for government to reach people instead of them having to reach it.
“Through their smartphones we can make their lives easier,” he tweeted.
“The Government of the future is innovative and adaptive. It improves the quality of life and helps people achieve their happiness.”
In tweeted that government officials had been told that if they failed to deliver mobile services, they would be given a “farewell ceremony”.
He stressed the need for creativity, as a creative government was a developed one that “moves forward”, “breaks routine”, and can “always be number one”.
The aim of m-government, he said, was to provide information to people at anytime and anywhere.
He noted that the UAE had the best telecommunications infrastructure in the world, with about 14 million active mobile phone – an average of two per person.
“Today we want to move government information and service centers to every phone and every mobile device in the hands of users, which will allow them to place their government request from their phone wherever they are and without waiting,” he said.
“A successful government is one that goes to the people and does not wait for them to come to it.”


Black leaders keep joking with good leadership and development as if they are doing their people a favor. I can't fathom if they think. I cry for Africa.

Rise of the Aramcons
Behind the veil of Saudi Aramco

The biggest oil company has a good story to tell—if it can disentangle its image from that of the kingdom


Print edition | Business
Sep 21st 2017 | DHAHRAN





IF SAUDI ARAMCO is a state within a state in Saudi Arabia, then the blandly named Oil Supply Planning and Scheduling (OSPAS) is its deep state. To enter it, you pass tight security at Aramco’s suburban-style headquarters in Dhahran, in the east of the kingdom. The transition is eye-opening. Suddenly, English is the common tongue even among Saudi “Aramcons”, as its workers are known. Female employees, their faces uncovered, lead meetings of male colleagues. The crisp banter is common to engineers everywhere. A toilet break is called a “pressure-relief” exercise.

Deep within, OSPAS is even further removed from the kingdom outside. The few executives with clearance to enter call it the “nerve centre” of the world’s largest oil company. Using 100,000 sensors and data points on wells, pipelines, plants and terminals, it directs every drop of oil and cubic foot of gas that comes out of the kingdom (10% of the world’s oil supply), monitors it on giant screens as it heads to ports and power stations, and tracks oil tankers as they load. Well managers in the desert outback wait daily for OSPAS to tell them what to do. “It’s not just pretty graphics,” an executive says, purring appreciatively over the 70-metre web of data flashing on the wall.


Because Aramco has all its “upstream” oil-and-gas operations in one country, it says it can justify investing big sums—and a lot of computer capacity—on such technology, because it helps cut costs. “ExxonMobil operates in 40-plus countries. It just can’t do that,” the executive adds, before apologising lest he appear to bad-mouth a client and partner, one of Aramco’s American founding former shareholders.

Such comparisons will become more pertinent as Aramco opens itself up for an initial public offering (IPO). Until recently it was just as cloistered from outside scrutiny as the kingdom itself, giving it more of a mystique than a good reputation. This week it invited The Economist for a visit. It only partially lifted its veil; its finances remain off-limits to everyone except the government, its only shareholder. Affable executives dodge almost every attempt to wheedle out useful ways of comparing the firm with its listed peers (it has no peers, they dissemble).

But despite the hermeticism, Aramco has a good tale to tell. Even as its rivals have retrenched owing to low prices, it has stuck to long-term plans, investing heavily in technology, training and the future of oil. Its long-term approach may help explain one mystery. For decades, Saudi Arabia’s declared oil reserves have confounded the industry; since 1989 they have remained suspiciously constant at around 260bn barrels—a dozen times those of Aramco’s nearest listed rival (see chart). As if to rub it in, Aramco says the kingdom has a whopping 400bn further barrels of resources that could one day become reserves.

These reserves are under audit ahead of the IPO, and executives are loth to discuss the process. However, they argue that whereas other companies have to go far to find new reserves, Aramco can keep them constant simply by better stewardship of its existing fields. Amin Nasser, the chief executive, says the company’s recovery rates—the share of oil recouped from what is available in a field—average about 50%, but rise as high as 70%, compared with a global average of about 33%. It does this by maintaining the pressure of its wells over the long term through gas re-injection and other means. Raising recovery rates on average to 70% would add 80bn barrels to reserves, an executive says. That is four times ExxonMobil’s latest total.

Unlike big listed companies, which scrapped growth plans when the price of oil slumped in 2014-16, Aramco has also been able to keep on investing because of its low costs, Mr Nasser says. Increasing natural-gas output is now the main focus, but it has also raised oil production in some areas. This is visible at the vast Shaybah field in Saudi Arabia’s blisteringly hot Empty Quarter, where Aramco last year upped oil output by 250,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 1m b/d, inaugurated a facility to process natural-gas liquids (pictured on previous page) and laid 650km of new pipelines across a mountain range of red sand dunes. (Aramco also set out to repopulate the surrounding desert with oryx, gazelle and ostrich hunted almost to extinction. They are now reproducing, although the first ostrich eggs to fertilise sadly cooked in the heat.)

Its second focus is technology. Whereas some of its peers admit that they squandered the chance to invest in big data during the oil boom before 2014, Aramco has no such regrets. Last year it inaugurated its home-grown “TeraPowers” technology, which uses 1trn pixel-like computational cells to simulate the flow of hydrocarbons through 500m years of geological time, enabling it to model oilfields in granular detail. From Dhahran it can remotely direct drilling of horizontal wells in Shaybah, steering a drill-bit through miles of rock to within a few feet of its target. (Royal Dutch Shell recently boasted of using similar remote-drilling technology in Argentina.) To train young employees in understanding the subsurface, Aramco has a 3D virtual-reality “cave” in Dhahran, which shows the filigree of wells 1,500 metres below the surface of Shaybah, as if from a submarine.

Third, as Saudi Arabia’s most attractive employer, Aramco has less difficulty than its Western peers in attracting millennial recruits (born between around 1980 and 1996) who are turning away from the oil and gas industry. It has kept up spending on international scholarships during the slump. It plans to raise the share of women in the workforce from 25% to 40%. Its chief engineer and head of human resources are both female. Saudi labour laws still apply, however: female Aramcons may not stay overnight at an oilfield.

Aramcons pride themselves on a Westernised culture handed down from their American forefathers before nationalisation in 1980. This makes them confident they can handle the listing. “From the way [Aramco] was built, from the beginning I would say it was ready for an IPO,” Mr Nasser says. The main change, he adds, will be issuing quarterly results.

But that underplays the challenges ahead. For one thing, Aramco is not master of its destiny. The future of the IPO, such as the decision on where and when to list, is in the hands of the government shareholder, represented by Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince. Domestic political tension and external frictions with Qatar risk delaying the IPO until 2019—and further muddying the waters.

The potential valuation is also contentious. MBS, as the crown prince is known, has said he believes Aramco is worth $2trn, though many analysts think that is over-ambitious. To improve its chances, the kingdom is leaning toward a listing on the New York Stock Exchange rather than in London, because America has deeper pools of capital. However, that would expose Aramco to legal risks it would prefer to avoid. In order to bring in Chinese investors, the kingdom is also considering issuing some shares in Hong Kong.

However strong Aramco may be upstream, its lower-margin refining and petrochemicals divisions will drag down the valuation. Aramco has some intriguing plans to mitigate this, hoping in the next few years to build a plant with new technology to turn crude oil directly into petrochemicals—in essence, leap-frogging refineries. But this is untested.

In sum, the IPO is more for the kingdom’s benefit than Aramco’s. It could have drawbacks—exposing the firm to investors with short time horizons or to activists hostile to fossil fuels. But the Aramcons appear determined to make the most of it. Executives argue that oil’s future is bright, even if electric cars and cleaner fuels emerge. Low costs mean there is no danger Saudi oil will become a “sunset industry”, says Mohammed al-Qahtani, head of its upstream division. A listing will make Aramco “the envy of the rest of the world”.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Behind the veil"

Send me your UAE mobile number

portleader12:
@Bashir75

Thanks for your reply. No I don't have insurance and I can manage, I need the best hospital, Money is not a concern

Do you have medical insurance card acceptable here? I live here with my family and I can help or recommend to you a lot of hospital you will like.

portleader12:
Hello Everyone,

My wifes delivery is due next month, Currently we are in UAE, Can anyone help me out in suggesting the best hospital in UAE, Dubai?

Abbeyme:
I just wanna know what development is happening at the Oworonsoki end of the TMB

LAGOS MOVES TO TRANSFORM OWORONSHOKI TO TRANSPORT, ENTERTAINMENT HUB
The Lagos State Government on Monday outlined plans to transform the blighted areas of Oworonshoki Waterfront into one of the biggest transportation, tourism and entertainment hubs in Nigeria.

Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Engr. Ade Akinsanya in a statement, said that the project will improve the aesthetics and security of the environment, while attracting investments in water transportation and boosting socio-economic activities in the axis, with the provision of shopping malls and related infrastructures.

According to the Commissioner, the proposed entertainment and mega ferry terminal site, already under reclamation, would divert a lot of human and vehicular traffic gridlocks away from the Lagos Island and take advantage of the central location and accessibility of the proposed Oworonshoki terminal to the Apapa Port, Ikeja Airport and other parts of the State.

“Youths and residents will enjoy quality sports, recreational, entertainment and emergency response facilities at the terminal.

“Commuters transiting through the terminal will not only enjoy state-of the arts infrastructure, they will also be able to park and ride and park and cruise from the state-of-the-art jetty, thus reducing the carbon emission level and travel time within the city,” Akinsanya said.

He expressed optimism that the reclaimed 29.6 hectares site of the project, which would involve revetment work to protect the jetty area, would also eliminate illegal dredging activities in the area.

Explaining that the project will be in three phases, Akinsanya said that it was also part of efforts by the State Government to revitalise and augment inter-modal system of water, rail and road transportation and housing development, just as he revealed that the Epe, Badagry and Mile 2 waterfronts have also been earmarked in the Master Plan for similar regeneration.

He said that Phase One, which is the ongoing reclamation of the 29.5 hectares of the project site by Messrs Fountain Construction Company (FCC), would be completed by November 2017.

The Commissioner further said, “Consolidation and settlement of the reclaimed land for six to nine months, will be followed by Phase Two, which will involve provision of shoreline protection and reconstruction of 2.8km Ariyo Street as an alternative road, that will run under the 3rd Mainland Bridge along with other infrastructures within nine months and to be completed by June 2018”.

“The third Phase which will be both State financed and Public-Private Sector (PPP) financed, will involve the construction of the Mega Jetty and Bus Terminal, complete with entertainment and Tourism facilities (Multiple Boutique, Hotels, Museums/Art Galleries, Sport and recreational facilities as well as a 1000 capacity car park, based on the design master plan of the area.”

Akinsanya said that on completion, Lagosians would be able to embark on travel from Oworonshoki either via water using the Jetty Terminal or via Ultra-Modern Buses departing from the New Bus Terminal

VisaOfficer:


Why in the world would you use your incorrect passport for your children's U.S. passports and two non-immigrant visa applications when you knew the data to be wrong? Of course this is an issue. You should have a clear, reasonable, and compelling reason for the discrepancy. The consular officer will make a determination at your interview which may include a lifetime ban from entering the United States.

Regards,
VO

Dear VO,

I felt so sad with myself reading your comment on my inquiry. I had to, because the Nigerian Immigration officer told me to continue to use it and that it would be corrected when expired and totally misled by the immigration officer. I'm here with my family and I have to provide my family information to process my kids US passport when it was requisite. Because I'm a student at Abu Dhabi University; hence I don't have all the time to go to Abuja when I visit Nigeria with my family in Lagos. He told me afterward it's difficult and Only immigration office in Abuja can make the correction then. I was naive and confused with confusing misinformation from the immigration officers in Lagos. My date of birth was mistakenly computed to be 14-08-1965, instead of 14-08-1975. And my place of birth was computed Ifo, instead of Sagamu.
Please, what can I do to correct this anomaly having found myself in this dilemma?

Dear Visa Officer,

I'm grateful for how you shed lights on U.S visa immigration issues and your guidance on procedures. That's why American is the greatest country on earth. I'm a Nigerian based in Abu Dhabi (UAE) with my wife (US Citizen) and our two kids (US Citizens through birth ). She just filed for me a spouse visa, having applied twice for Visitor's visa and denied. We had our traditional marriage in Sagamu Nigeria, my hometown 4yrs ago. I have an error in my passport, precisely my date of birth and place of birth which I have corrected on my last visit, in 2016; however, I have used the old passport details to applied for the process of my children's US passport and twice I applied for non-immigration visa here in Abu Dhabi. Could that be an issue when I'm call for the interview for the spouse visa?

In anticipation of your quick response, I say Thank you.

Dear Visa Officer,

I'm grateful for how you shed lights on U.S visa immigration issues and your guidance on procedures. That's why American is the greatest country on earth. I'm a Nigerian based in Abu Dhabi (UAE) with my wife (US Citizen) and our two kids (US Citizens through birth ). She just filed for me a spouse visa, having applied twice for Visitor's visa and denied. We had our traditional marriage in Sagamu Nigeria, my hometown 4yrs ago. I have an error in my passport, precisely my date of birth and place of birth which I have corrected on my last visit, in 2016; however, I have used the old passport details to applied for the process of my children's US passport and twice I applied for non-immigration visa here in Abu Dhabi. Could that be an issue when I'm call for the interview for the spouse visa?

In anticipation of your quick response, I say Thank you.

Two mistakes leave German woman in Abu Dhabi jail with $180,000 debt.


The first was to trust the Nigerian "businessman" who absconded with $180,000 that she was convicted of stealing. The second was to employ a "lawyer" who turned out to be a conman.

As reported in The National last week, Mohamad Al Kawadri is one of a group of impostors posing as lawyers who tout for business outside court buildings and dupe unwary clients into paying for their services.


Six legitimate law firms have filed cases against him and one is demanding Dh2 million in compensation.

Mr Al Kawadri, from Syria, claims to represent "all the foreign embassies", and he told Mrs Scholz he worked for the German embassy. In fact, he is not licensed to practise law in the UAE.

In the case of the Syrian businessman, Mr Hakawati, the "lawyer" tried to persuade Mrs Scholz to sign a legally binding "debt acknowledgement", which no competent legal representative would have done and which contributed to her conviction.


The German embassy has already raised the alarm over Mr Al Kawadri’s activities. In an email to Mr Hakawati, they said: "Mrs Scholz was legally represented by Mr Mohamad Ziad Naim Al Kawadri, who made false declarations in her name. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE, as well as all diplomatic missions accredited in the UAE, are informed about his fraud."

Related
Two mistakes leave German woman in Abu Dhabi jail with $180,000 debt
Cyber crime will only get worse in time
A token nod at online security
Cyberattacks in the UAE: The threat to your wallet
Topics: Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI // A woman caught up in a sophisticated cyber fraud fears she may spend the rest of her life in jail for a crime she insists she did not commit.

Brigitte Scholz, 60, a German expatriate, was sentenced at Al Ain Criminal Court in February 2014 to three months in prison for stealing $180,000, more than Dh660,000, from Zakwan El Hakawati, a Syrian businessman.

Judicial authorities say she must remain in jail until she repays the money. Since Mrs Scholz has no financial resources and no access to funds, she will never be able to do so.


"She is the victim here," said her friend Ingvild Moritsch, who is campaigning for Mrs Scholz’s release. "She can’t pay this money back because she doesn’t have it."

Mrs Scholz has lived in the UAE since 2012, when she set up a small trading company. She was introduced to a Nigerian who claimed to be an "international businessman". It was then that her problems began.

"They became close friends and he asked her if he could use her bank account because he was expecting a large money transfer but didn’t have the time to open a UAE bank account. Brigitte, being naive, gave him her account number," Ms  M said.


In due course, the sum of $180,000 was deposited in Mrs Scholz’s account. As agreed, she withdrew the money and gave it to her Nigerian "friend". She never saw him again.

Meanwhile, Mr Hakawati, the Syrian businessman, and his brother, who is also his business partner, were negotiating with a company in South Korea over an order for merchandise worth $180,000.

Unknown to them, computer hackers in Nigeria had accessed Mr Hakawati’s email account and found details of the business deal. Posing as the Korean company, they emailed Mr Hxxxxx asking him to make the $180,000 payment into a UAE bank account – and gave him Mrs Scholz’s account number.


The merchandise, of course, never arrived, because the Korean company had never been paid. When Mr Hakawati realised he was the victim of cyber crime, he alerted the police. They traced the money to Mrs Scholz’s account, and arrested her. She has been in Al Ain prison ever since. In addition to a jail sentence, she was ordered to be deported if she is ever released, and there is also a travel ban in place, at Mr Hakawati’s request.


If she had been convicted before 2008, Mrs Scholz would have spent no more than three years in prison. However, a special judiciary committee set up to review cases of debtors with both a travel ban and deportation changed this system because it was subject to abuse.

"Many con artists used to calculate that it was a good deal for them – steal millions of dirhams and spend only three years in jail," a legal consultant said. "They got out of prison millionaires. This committee put a stop to that. It can decide that a person is to remain in prison as long as they see fit,"


Debtor such as Mrs Scholz have three options, the consultant said. "Ask for clemency, ask that the travel ban be lifted by convincing the claimant to pardon them, or prove without a doubt that they cannot repay the money."

Ultimately it is up to the committee to decide how long a debtor spends in jail, he said. "The aim is not to incarcerate, which costs the Government Dh500 a day. The aim is to stop fraud and secure the rights of the victim. The Government will not arrest a debtor who proves that they cannot repay the amount."

This post is debatable just like any other article with evidence.

If the post is about the most lucrative or most productive cities, then Lagos is No 1,because of all aforementioned facts in your post. I'm from Lagos

to let you know; however, the second time I visited Abuja was in August of 2015. The airport in Abuja looked like a ranch with poor facilities, the

runway was like war turf of Mogadishu, only one-way access to terminals, boarding area was small and poorly manage. I can't imagine that airport

is the gateway to the nation's capital. Lagos is much better. an average and much improve airport facilities and most profitable airport to all airlines,

you can ask emirates airline even in this period of recession , British airways and other local and foreign airlines have stopped flying to and from

Abuja,but still flying Lagos. Ask why Dangote and other multi-national prefer Lagos for business. There are so many estates in Lagos, far more than

Abuja and more are coming up like the Eko Atlantic City. I will want more infrastructures in Abuja befitting a capital of any country. If I'm to

choose between Abuja and Lagos for business and holiday destination, I will forever choose Lagos. I'm currently working on a research in my

university about major cities around the world, and the indexes that determine the productive cities. I was really disappointed with facilities in Abuja.

" What the people want to see are the following: a drastic reduction in the size and budget of our over-bloated governments; a sustained war against poverty; protection of lives and properties; creating a less rancorous atmosphere for businesses to thrive; special concessions and incentives to employers of labour; a stable currency; upgrading our educational system and making the schools’ curriculum more relevant to our communities and society in general; provision of social infrastructure, particularly power, good roads, hospitals and potable water; and so on."


He deliberately left Corruption out of his solutions or alternatives. I truly believe Buhari and, all Governors need to show leadership by reducing the cost of running governments. It's not fair for them to continue to live their lavish lives, and except the led to tightened their belts for austerity or recession. We need transparency and accountability from the top downward; henceforth, make budgetary data more open. We need to know how much is spent on everything; otherwise, your government is also corrupt.