₦airaland Forum

Good morning! Here are 10 things you need to know this morning:

1. A member of the House of Representatives, Raphael Igbokwe, has dragged the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Minister of Communication Technology, Adebayo Shittu to the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking for determination as to whether the defendants had power under the laws of the land to reduce the fine imposed on MTN. Also joined in the suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/448/2016, are the Nigerian Communications Commission, and MTN Communications Limited.

2. The Finance ministry has said that the monthly disbursement of the N90bn conditional loan facility to state governments announced by the Federal Government on June 14 will stop as soon as the monthly allocation from the Federation Account hit N500bn. This was disclosed by the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi.
3. Niger-Delta Sea Commandos, NDSC, a militant group, in the Niger Delta, yesterday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop his alleged fake plea to militants in the region to cease bombing of oil and gas facilities and commence dialogue with stakeholders to avert looming disaster. Spokesperson of the group, acclaimed Major Osama Blatter, in a statement, said the group was running out of patience.

4. There are reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized 29 properties from the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; a former Chief of Accounts and Budgeting in NAF, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun (retd.) and a former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore Olugbenga Gbadebo (retd.). According to the reports, while about 11 properties were seized from Amosu, 12 were seized from Adigun and six from Gbadebo.

5. President Muhammad Buhari, Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have been dragged to the Federal High Court, Asaba, Delta State, over allegation of attempting to Islamize the country. Buhari Also joined as defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Malami and the National Assembly. They were dragged to court by Dr. Nwankwo Nwaezeigwe, who is suing for himself and on behalf of members of Nigerian Civil War and Genocide Research Network.

6. Ahead of today’s arraignment of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, over alleged forgery of Senate Standing Rules, a traditional ruler in Enugu State, His Royal Highness, Igwe Dr. Hafford Agana, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of chasing shadows. The monarch said instead of concentrating on the various ‎problems facing the country, the President was engaging in witch-hunt. He said the murder attempt on the life of Ekweremadu on November 17, 2015, and the silence of the presidency over the matter lent further credence to the fact that there was a grand plot to remove the Senator at all costs.
7.The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. Babachir David Lawal has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari is empowered by the constitution to nominate ambassadors anyway he deems fit, stating that the action of the lawmakers who have now suspended deliberation on the nominee was unnecessary. He said such action was inimical to the country’s economy.

8. The umbrella body for the natives of the southern part of Kaduna state, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, SOKAPU, yesterday warned that its current generation and the next will resist the creation of Cattle Grazing Reserves on its land, stressing that no inch of its land will be given out for such. The National President of SOKAPU, Barr. Solomon Musa said in a statement that the creation of grazing reserves in Southern Kaduna amounts to rewarding herdsmen with the lands of the over 4, 000 natives of the enclave believed to have been killed by herdsmen since 2011.

9. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, and the Association of African Writers on Human and Peoples Rights, AFRIRIGHTS, on Sunday linked the online publication concerning the ownership of offshore property by the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Tukur Buratai to an earlier alarm they raised of a well-coordinated plot by some forces opposed to the counter-terrorism efforts in the North-East to launch a smear campaign in the media against the Army Chief. The groups accused disgruntled erstwhile top member of staff of the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, under the immediate past dispensation of masterminding a well-oiled subterranean smear campaign against the person of the COAS.

10. As workers in Kogi State are set to commence strike action against the government over non payment of salary today, the State Government has asked them to sheathe their swords as it has already commenced payment of salary. It further viewed as sabotage the decision to embark on an industrial action even after government commenced payment of arrears two weeks ago, stressing that 48 MDAs out of the total 55 MDAs have been paid, while 7 MDAs are yet to be paid because the correct grade levels of the workers are being verified.

See Pics @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/nigerian-newspapers-10-things-you-need.html

Delta State Chief Judge, Justice Marshal Umukoro has decried the astronomical increase of the number of youths in prison custody, and Remand Hone in the State, noting that it was the resultant effect of decline in moral values in the Society.

The Chief Judge who rounded off the First Quarter of visit to Federal Prison formations in the State at Ogwashi-Uku Prison at the weekend, disclosed that he was shocked to find out that of the 2770 warrants of those awaiting trial examined in the five prison formations and one Remand Hone in the State, 80 percent were inmates who are in the demographic category between 17years old and 32, lamenting that it potent great danger to the future career of our children.

Justice Umukoro states “if you look at the demographic category of the inmates, they are age between 17 and 32 years old, and that is a critical time in every person’s life to pursue a career”.

He observed that if parents take proper care of their children, many of them would be removed from the streets, adding that the consequence of abandoning children was that they fall back to the other side of society where the in-thing is crime, warning.

Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/delta-judge-decries-high-number-of.html

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union will have a negative impact on the bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK, currently valued at six billion pounds and projected to reach about 20 billion pounds by 2020.

This is according to the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

ACCI President, Tony Ejinkeonye, who stated this yesterday in Abuja, noted that trade agreements contracted under the umbrella of the European Union would also have be renegotiated.

Britain voted in a historic referendum last Thursday to leave the EU.

He said, “The markets anticipate that Brexit may be bad for the economy, and so investors are likely to move their money out of the UK.

“Now that the referendum has taken place, the first practical impact of Brexit is that the pound and Euro is already falling against the dollar on the foreign exchange markets, which is encouraging for the Naira,” he said.

Ejikeonye noted, however, that Brexit will create anxiety for Nigeria’s policy makers.

According to him, this is due to the slide in global markets at this time that Nigeria is trying to revive the economy which is at the edge of a recession.

“Besides, data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the UK was Nigeria’s largest source of foreign investment in 2015. Thus, a decelerating British economy could impact a drop in investment, trade, and also remittances from the Nigerian Diaspora who sent home over $20 billion in 2015. In addition, reduced trade and investment from Britain may not necessarily be taken up by the rest of the EU,” he added.

The ACCI president further pointed out that a shrinking UK economy would definitely have a significant impact on aid programmes to Nigeria, especially DFID programmes, which has been a burning political issue in the UK.

Nigerian capital market analysts have however said that Britain’s decision to leave the EU would not have a significant impact on the stock market.

According to them, given that foreign portfolio inflows (FPI) into naira assets had waned significantly in the last 18 months, they did not expect an immediate negative impact on the equities market.

“In fact, the surge in equity market turnover seen in recent times has been driven largely by domestic investors,” one observer said.

Stock market for last week showed that bullish sentiments were sustained following the full implementation of the new flexible exchange rate policy as active interbank FX trading kicked off last Monday. Although investors sold off last Monday, the buying interest was renewed on Tuesday and sustained for the remaining part of the week except for Friday when profit-taking ensued as the news of Brexit victory hit the market.

Consequently, the All Share Index rose by 4.79 per cent week-on-week to close at 30,649.66 points, while market capitalisation further increased by N481.65 billion to close at N10.53 trillion, significantly extending the Year-to-Date gain to 7.01 per cent.

Analysts attributed the growth to the introduction of the new forex policy which saw the local unit settling at N281.00 per $1.00 as CBN cleared pent-up demand on Monday.

Market breadth remained positive, with 40 gainers versus 31 losers. Total volume traded climbed by 10.58 per cent to 2.39 billion shares, worth N26.38 billion and traded in 28,072 deals, compared to the 2.16 billion shares, valued at N20.39 billion that exchanged hands in 24,369 deals previous week.

Analysts at Afrinvest said, “We expect the market to regain uptrend next week as investors shake off the outcome of the Brexit referendum while keeping their eyes on second quarter 2016 earnings scorecards.”

Cordros, on its part, said, “We expect the profit-taking which ensued in the bourse on Friday to continue next week, with the bulls resurfacing midweek and dominating the market through the remaining part of the week.”

According to analysts at Heritage Capital Market Ltd, although the market fundamental remains intact locally, traders are yet to fully analyse possible effect of Brexit from the European Union.

“Although predicting possible impact of Brexit is more an uphill task, since history has no comparable records of such exit, we are of the opinion that most African currencies will be strengthened on the back of Brexit. In other words, we foresee the development impacting Nigeria economy positively.

read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/brexit-threatens-6bn-nigeria-uk-trade.html

David Cameron has resigned as Prime Minister of Britain in an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street.

His resignation followed a landmark referendum that saw the country voting to leave the European Union.

Mr. Cameron voice broke as he announced the cabinet would meet on Monday to draw up a time-table for his exit as leader of the world fifth largest economy.

A new prime minister is expected to be elected in October.

A majority of British voters (51.7 percent) followed the call of Pro-Leave campaigners who had described the vote as an independence from the European Union oppression and bureaucracy that has resulted in mass migration into the island country.

While England voted overwhelmingly for Brexit, Scotland and Northern Ireland backed the Remain camp.

With Over 72.2 percent voters’ turnout (last general election in the country has 66.1 percent turnout), many pro-Leave campaigners, led by leader of far-right UKIP party, Nigel Farage and former mayor of London Boris Johnson, are already seeing the referendum as a rejection of the leadership of Mr. Cameron, who campaigned vigorously for Britain to remain in the EU.

Despite a strong showing for the Pro-remain campaign in London and Scotland, majority of British cities voted to quit the EU.
Mr Cameron’s Tory party rival, Boris Johnson, who hasn’t hidden his desire to become PM is seen by many as a possible successor.

“I think the Boris Johnson momentum will be unstoppable,” Steven Fielding, a professor of political history at the University of Nottingham told the Washington Post.

“Cameron will try to find a dignified exit. But it’s not clear how long the backbenchers will give him to do that.”

Mr. Farage, who already admitted that the Pro-remain were going to win the referendum, recanted and claimed victory for the historic decision.

“We have got our country back,” he tweeted. “Thanks to all of you.”

Let June 23rd go down in history as our Independence Day,” he shouted with arms held high to his supporters.

Although Mr Farage is claiming this as a personal victory, many political analysts see the possibility of his anti-immigration far-right party occupying No 10 Downing Street as far-fetched.

Gisela Stuart, Vote leave campaigner and Labour MP, addressed Manchester Town Hall this morning.

She says, “We have just taken control. 33 million people went to the ballot box and made a democratic decision. They reflected on our 40 year history and by a majority they have decided to leave.

“I think that is democracy at work.”

Pound crashes to three-decade low

The news of the Britain exit from the EU caused immediate backlash to the country’s economy as the sterling crashed to 9 per cent against the dollar – its lowest value since 1985.

Financial analysts also fear more debilitating consequences of the decision on the world’s fifth largest economy in the coming days.

“People will be waking up this morning to turmoil in the markets and the pound crashing, and fearing the emergency budget the Chancellor threatened to hike their taxes and cut public services, said shadow chancellor, John McDonnell.

“The Government must now take steps to stabilise the economy, and to protect jobs, pensions and wages. Labour will not allow any instability to be paid for by the working people of this country,” he added.
Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/david-cameron-resigns-as-british-prime.html

Rivers-born music star, Duncan Wene Mighty Okechukwu, popularly called Duncan Mighty on Wednesday claimed he had a successful meeting with the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA.

Wene Mighty who is currently serving as the Coalition of South-South Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture Youth/Brand Ambassador, made the claim via a post on his Instagram page on Wednesday.

He added that because of this meeting he had with the militants, he is proud of his job.

The musician shared a photo on his Instagram page and wrote “With MA Squaddie.

“Proud of my Job.. Successful meeting with the Niger Delta Avengers. It is only peace that can bring about sustainable development in our region #nigerdeltayouthpresident #southsouthbrandambassador”

See more photos @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/i-had-successful-meeting-with-niger.html

The Federal Government, last night declared the warning strike called by the medical workers as ill-advised, adding that it is committed to the full implementation of the Trade Dispute Act.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said in a statement that negotiation was already ongoing with the unions over their demands, pointing out that embarking on strike when negotiation is ongoing, is illegal.

The statement said: “The attention of the Federal Government has been drawn to the activities of a group of trade unions operating as an unregistered Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) under the Federal Ministry of Health, which has declared a seven-day warning strike effective today, June 22nd, 2016.
“The Federal Government wishes to state unambiguously that the so called warning strike is ill-advised and in bad faith more so as the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has since waded into the matter and is in fact, in negotiation with the Ministry of Health and the affected Health unions.

“We wish to add that we are fully committed to the implementation of the Trade Dispute Act, hence, the overriding need for these unions to ask their members to return to work immediately as negotiation continues next week, Thursday, June 29, 2016 as agreed at the last joint conciliatory meeting of June 21, 2016.”

“It is important to add at this juncture that there is nothing like ‘warning strike’ as strike is strike and must follow all procedures as clearly stipulated in the labour laws. Seven days of illegal absence from work is tantamount to abandonment of work and we therefore appeal to the members of these unions to attend to their duties in the various hospitals and health establishments through the country.”

Read More @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/federal-government-declares-warning.html

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is set to go after the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Feyisetan Fayose.

Mrs Fayose is being accused of receiving the sum of N100m, an amount which emanated from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, through an account which she jointly operates with her husband.

The anti-graft agency claimed the said sum was was paid into the Zenith Bank account of Spotless Investment Limited, a company owned by the First Lady and her husband, on June 17, 2014, less than a week to the June 21 governorship election in the state, Punch reports.
It quoted the commission as saying that the money was paid into the company’s account with bank teller number 0540997 by an associate of the governor, Abiodun Agbele.

An insider from the agency who spoke with the newspaper said, “N100m was paid into the Spotless Investment Limited account with number 1010170969 at Zenith Bank. The two signatories are Fayose, with Bank Verification Number 22338867502, and his wife, Helen Olayemi, with BVN 22298990256.”

“The account has since been frozen by the anti-graft agency.

“As a sitting governor, Fayose cannot be prosecuted or arrested because he enjoys immunity.
“His wife, however, has no immunity.”

It was earlier reported that the former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro allegedly flew the sum of N1,219,490,000 into Akure Airport on June 12, 2014, ahead of the June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State.

The money was alleged to be part of the N4.7bn, which was paid into the Diamond Bank account of Sylvan McNamara by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/dasukigate-efcc-to-invite-fayoses-wife.html

Despite recent spate of attacks on oil production facilities in the Niger Delta region, which resulted in the disruption in crude oil exports, the federal and the 36 states governments, along with the 774 local government counterparts, shared increased allocations from the Federation Account for May 2016.

At the end of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting on Wednesday, the three tiers of government distributed a total of N305.128 billion as net allocation for the month.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said at the end of the meeting that the allocation was higher by N23.63 billion than about N281.5 billion shared by the three tiers of government for the month of April.

Mrs. Adeosun said distributable statutory revenue, consisting oil mineral, taxes, customs and excise revenues for the month of about N237.47 billion was higher than about N213.82 billion earned in April.

“Crude oil production and exports dropped by about 2.3 million barrels in February, 2016 due to the Force Majeure declared by the multi-national oil companies at Forcados crude exporting terminal, shut-ins and shut-down of pipelines at other terminal for repairs and maintenance,” the minister said.

Force Majeure is a notice by a party in a contract that dues to unforeseen circumstances or developments it may not be able to meet scheduled obligations to his customers.

The minister explained that as a result of the disruption, the federation export revenue declined by about $57.88 million (about N11.52 billion), although average crude oil price increased from $29.02 per barrel in January to $32.26 in February.

She said companies’ income tax recorded a marginal increase, even as the time for companies to file their annual returns was yet to fall due.

Besides, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation refunded N6.33 billion to the FAAC, as another tranche of the N450 billion debt to the three tiers of government as unremitted revenues.

There was an exchange gain of about N2.55 billion proposed for distribution, while value added tax generated during the month totaled N65.12 billion.

Federal Inland Revenue Service received N2.98 billion, being four per cent cost of collection, while Nigerian Customs Service got N2.35 billion, being 7 per cent cost of collection, and Department of Petroleum Resources went home with N1.22 billion, representing 4 per cent cost of collection.

Details of the allocations showed that the federal government took a share of N122.83 billion, while states got N57.23 billion and local governments collected N44.12 billion. About N16.74 billion was distributed among oil producing states as 13 per cent derivation from oil and gas.

The balance in the excess crude oil revenue account remained at $2.261 billion with no additional fund deposited and nothing withdrawn.

Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/nigerian-govt-states-share-more-money.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his administration will soon put smiles on their faces by rehabilitating the economy and creating more jobs.
The President said this in his address delivered at the swearing-in ceremony of the 2016 Batch ‘A’ stream II at the National Youth Service Corps permanent orientation camp, Ede in Osun State on Wednesday.
The address was read by the state Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori.
He said the collapse of industries had worsened the unemployment rate because millions of unemployed youths were now struggling to get very limited government jobs.
Buhari, who lamented the poor state of the economy inherited by his administration, said he was bent on recovering the nation’s stolen wealth and used them to rebuild the economy.
He said, “The collapse of industries and the eventual overbearing pressure to grab public jobs has put the nation in a sorry economic state of unemployment. Thousands of graduates from the higher institutions of learning get frustrated daily, as they search for non-existing jobs.
“That is why this administration is anxious to recover illicit wealth to channel them into enduring economic rehabilitation. Very soon, the gloomy situation would be reversed to put smiles on the faces of young people.”
The President advised the youths to shun kidnapping, drug peddling and other criminal activities which could jeopardise their future.
The Coordinator of the NYSC in Osun State, Mrs. Regina Iluebbey, said the scheme had adjusted its cooking arrangements to cater for Muslim corpers, during the Ramadan.
She said the scheme would start preparing saur and Iftar for Muslim corps members for them to participate in the Ramadan.
She said, “The camp kitchen would double its efforts in ensuring that the corps members participating in the ongoing Ramadan are served at saur (midnight) and Iftar (evening) time throughout their stay in camp.”
She added that the NYSC reduced the usual 21 days orientation camp to 17 days due to the large number of students who graduate annually, adding that the cut in days was important in order to cover the salient orientation camp exercises.
Iluebbey added that the camp registered 1,416 male corps members and 799 female corpers from the 36 of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory.
Also, the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, on Wednesday said there was no wisdom in scrapping the NYSC since the primary objective of the programme was still relevant in the nation.
Bello, who said that the NYSC was still relevant as a vehicle for national unity, asked the Federal Government to reinvigorate the scheme rather than scrap it.
The governor said this at the formal opening ceremony of the 2016 Batch ‘A’ (Stream Two) orientation course and swearing-in ceremony of 2,001 corps members deployed in the state.
The governor, however, said in the NYSC implementation processes, “we need to be more innovative and we need to reinvigorate the programme by giving the youths the opportunity to learn higher ideals and prepare them for the reality of life after death.”
Earlier, the NYSC Niger State Coordinator, Mrs. Bolade Loto, said that a total of 2,001 corps members were registered in the Stream B, adding that they had so far exhibited high level of discipline, commitment and loyalty since they arrived the camp.
In Owerri, the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, advised corps members posted to the state to ensure active participation in the empowerment programme so as to enable them to stand on their own as entrepreneurs instead of job seekers after the completion of their service year.
Okorocha gave the advice while declaring open, the 2016 Batch “A” (Stream 11) 1,800 corps members posted to the state after the State Chief Judge, Justice Paschal Nnadi represented by Justice Kenneth O. Ojiako of the state judiciary administered the oath on the corpers.
He said, “The NYSC orientation programme provides a veritable platform for you to be trained mentally and physically and this is done to enable you to face the rigours and challenges of the service year as well as the post-service year.”
Okorocha, who was represented by his deputy, Prince Eze Madumere, restated his determination to make the NYSC Permanent Orientation camp at Eziama Obaire, the best in the country.
He also announced the immediate restoration of regular supply of water, electricity and functional vehicles in the orientation camp for the comfort of the corps members and enhancement of the operation of the NYSC officials in the state.
The state Coordinator of the NYSC, Mr. Fasanu Isaac, had earlier commended Okorocha for his sustained support to the scheme as well as his resolution to make the orientation camp second to none in the country.

Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/well-soon-put-smile-on-nigerians-faces.html

The police at the Ikoyi Division Lagos, Western Nigeria have arrested the operational manager of Ecobank of Nigeria, Ejigbo branch, Akhanenu Ikechukwu, 41, for allegedly withdrawing N14,014.157 from the account of two customers of the bank without authority
The police also accused him of sharing the money with his partner in crime, Nduka Stephen,36.
The suspects were arrested following a complaint by the management of Ecobank.
After the investigation by Sergeant Ijatuyi Tope and his team, the suspects were arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos on Monday on a four-count charge of felony to wit fraud, forgery and stealing.
Police prosecutor, Inspector Igonbo Emby informed the court in charge No F/34/20/2016 that the accused persons committed the alleged offence between September and November 2015 during working hours.
Emby told the Court that the first accused used his position as the operational Manager of EcoBank, Ejigbo branch to fraudulently withdrew N10m from Account No. 2741128259 belonging to a customer of the bank, Rabiu Oladimeji Lawal, and N4m from another account with forged documents and transferred the money into his accomplice’s account from where they allegedly withdrew the money and shared it.
He said nemesis caught up with the first accused when the management of Ecobank audited their account book and discovered the fraud.
Emby said the offences are punishable under sections 409, 361(B), 285(7) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the allegations and Magistrate P.A. Adekomaiya admitted them to bail in the sum of N3m each with two sureties each in like sum.
Adekomaiya adjourned the case till 11 July 2016 for the mention, while the defendants were taken to Ikoyi Prison, Lagos pending when they will fulfil their bail conditions.

read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/ecobank-manager-sent-to-prison-over.html

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday said parts of the $12.9 billion dividends it received from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Ltd on behalf of the federation but which it did not remit over a period of eight years was not missing but reinvested into other gas projects.

The corporation also said the balance of the dividend has been moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that it was no longer housing the money in line with the federal government's directive on the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

NNPC stated these in Abuja when the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) convened a stakeholders' dialogue on the 2013 audit report of activities in Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

It said that it took and ploughed back parts of the dividends to new trains that were built by the NLNG.

It equally listed the BrassLNG and OlokolaLNG projects, as well as other gas projects it did not mention, as other beneficiaries from the dividend. The BrassLNG and OlokolaLNG projects have however remained on the ground.

NNPC explained that the reinvestment in NLNG was part of its equity share of the cost of such expansion in its trains. The NLNG currently has six trains which produce 22 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG.

Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/nnpc-how-missing-us129-billion-was-spent.html

Subscribers of mobile network providers in the country are brazenly ripped off on a daily basis with no protection from the relevant regulatory bodies Adedayo Adejobi writes

Aunty Matilda is getting on in years but remains fiercely independent; she lives on a fixed income but in the same home she’s had for half-a-century. Sadly, many members of her family have passed away and those who are alive are dispersed around the country. Making matters worse, she is having a harder time making sense of her never-ending stream of bills, especially her mobile phone bills.

This reporter regularly visits Aunty Matilda to keep her company and to help her pay her bills. When I arrived one morning recently, she was in a state. She had attempted to place a long-distance call through her mobile network provider but found that her service had been summarily stopped. If this had been the first time that this had occurred, I would have assumed it was a technical screw-up and accepted it as an inconvenience. Unfortunately, this was the umpteenth time the service had been arbitrarily stopped and a distraught Aunty Matilda said, “Enough, already,” and ended service with the mobile network provider.
If you live in Nigeria, there is a good chance you’ve been overwhelmed by your drop calls, hidden charges, undelivered text messages that are billed countless times and internet -wireless plan. Simply using a device essential to your daily life, you are daily ripped off! Nigerians have lost count of the many ways they daily get ripped off.
One common expectation of any consumer is to get his or her money worth for services paid for. However, when it comes to Nigeria, no matter how much demand consumers make, they are still likely to be given less value for their hard-earned money.

Fredrick Kunle Adegboye, another subscriber, laments thus: “You do not have to be a subscriber to know how poor they are with their services. I never subscribed to Facebook on my phone as I only use my phone to call and send text messages, but my mobile network provider has been charging me 25 naira every week since last year, 2015, for service I did not apply for or use! If the phone of every person you try to reach is not switched off, then all the people you are calling are busy on their phones.

“If there is no network congestion, then the call you are paying for will cut off anytime the conversation is getting interesting. If the internet dungle, wi-fi or modem you purchased will not take forever to open a page, then it will disconnect the moment you see something that you really want to read or look at. If the little rains will not disrupt your internet service, it will surely make it excessively slow. If the credit (units) on your phone is not being stolen when you have not used them, then you are a lucky Nigerian.”

Amaka Eze a subscriber to one of the mobile network providers in an anger-laden voice said, “it gets really frustrating when I am trying to make very important phone calls and I am told I have no credit to make a call when my balance says otherwise. If I do not have to wait till my battery dies before I get to speak to a customer service agent, he or she will intentionally cut the phone call when I begin to tell them my problem and figure they cannot help.”

According to Bimbo Amusan, an aggrieved subscriber, “sometimes when I load my phone, my call credit goes away without subscribing to the purported tariff plan that sweeps away my call units. All their tariff packages are so fraudulent. I am daily ripped off. How cruel can they be?”
Local and foreign telecommunications companies operating in the country take comfort in having millions of customers locked into unfriendly plans. The government at federal level as a regulator has taken a break from doing much of anything to mull over this.

Nigeria’s current economy and, by extension, political crisis is a tale of the return of corporate trusts. It involves not only the financial institutions deemed too-big-to-fail, but the health-insurance combine, the energy conglomerates and the duopoly of telecommunications and cable-entertainment companies that dominate the Nigerian economy. Each is engaged in the systematic plunder of the Nigerian consumer, providing less service at increasingly inflated prices. All done under the blind eyes of federal regulators that are not doing their job.

Nothing offers a better insight into the ongoing telecom rip-off and the complicity of the regulatory bodies that have ostensible oversight over the telecom industry than a careful consideration of a hypothetical telephone bill, Aunty Matilda’s bill. For there is no better way to conceal a theft than to make it so transparently visible that no one sees it.

Conventional telecom bills from all the network providers can be a “stand alone” local bill, long distance, Internet, broadband or a combination of these as a package of services. Each is a minefield of hidden fees, questionable surcharges and dubious taxes all designed to enrich the telecom’s bottom line without requiring any meaningful improvement in customer service.

The old arguments in defence of high data charges in Nigeria cannot be justified. Telecommunication companies in Nigeria have mature 3G networks and have rolled out 4G (LTE) networks targeting areas of high population density initially. All over the world, technology costs have continued to fall. Backhaul, core and international bandwidth costs have continued to fall, but on the flipside the costs keep skyrocketing in Nigeria

In the days of NITEL, local service used to be a “bundled” service before emergence of mobile telecom companies in 2007 which came with unlimited local phone calling, unlimited directory assistance, package of free calls, call waiting, caller ID and call forwarding, data bundle and international roaming charges amongst a retinue of other anomalies, thus allowing the consumer pay a whopping skyrocketing 51 per cent in specific hidden charges.
Adding insult to injury, these charges are taxed over 33 per cent covering both federal and state taxes.
For the Aunty Matilda and countless millions of Nigerians who still use such service, they are being systematically ripped off.

Making matters more confusing, there are more than 30 different active plans with fees ranging from N500 toN20,000.00 per month.
Nigerian telecommunications companies are increasingly promoting “packages” that benefit heavy users, but “low volume” customers like Aunty Matilda pay a lot more.
A major problem is the basic confusion in the offering between the advertised price and the billed fee sent to customers that can be 15-40 per cent higher.

Telecom regulation suffers the same fate as did the banks under the watch-less eye of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). No regulator has jurisdiction over fraudulent phone bills. No regulator has actually examined all the charges on the phone bills. Hiding behind the claim that industry deregulation has taken place recently, regulators readily allow market competition fix everything to the detriment of the suffering average Nigerians.
For Nigerians, one of the most frustrating aspects of mobile devices is paying for data that’s not used one month and then paying an exorbitant amount for going over the plan allowance the next month.

Pundits say this situation is likely to only get worse as further industry consolidation takes place with networks introducing Broadband plan, thus raising customer telecommunications rates in five different ways namely, the service tax on all long distance and local call rates, Broadband tax.
The telecom fibre optics upgrade which the providers undergo and pass the cost to consumers, the rip off is one of the great scams perpetrated against the Nigerian people.

The billions so far charged Nigerian telecom customers for these upgrades were based on promises to enhance Internet connectivity at offices, schools, libraries and hospitals. Sadly, little of this promise has taken place. All that telecom customers can count on is seeing their bills steadily rise.

In theory, the NCC is supposed to make sure that the Telcos, who are leaseholders on the public spectrum, actually serve the public interest. In reality, the agency has been letting the telephone industry rip off Nigerians for almost a decade under the laughable theory that there’s actually real competition in the market.

The telephone wireless industry is particularly uncompetitive and consumer unfriendly, allowed by regulators to do horrible things to customers to switch carriers. The NCC clearly needs to rouse itself and crack down on a whole host of abusive practices, strengthen policies that safeguard competition.
Aunty Matilda at the age of 60, she is a victim of consumer rip off and wants justice. It is a call we should all embrace as we contest the tyranny of the telecommunication companies in Nigeria.




Read @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/who-will-save-telecom-subscribers.html

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has threatened to sink oil tankers and review its policy of refraining from killing people even as the militant group paved the way for peace talks with Nigeria’s government.


read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/nda-threatens-to-sink-tankers.html

Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has promised that he will not disappoint Abians, stressing that he will commence massive rehabilitation of rural roads in the second year of his administration.

The Governor said this in Ohafia and Isiukwuato during a town-hall meeting for Abia North Senatorial District, where he also promised to commence the construction of the Ohafia-Udumeze Golf Course and Event Centre.

“I’ve come to you as the owners of the mandate I am holding in trust, to report back to you what we’ve done in the first one year, as your steward, and also unveil our plans and things we want to do as we have entered the second year.

“As your Governor, let me reassure you that I will never disappoint you. I will not fail you. Despite the economic downturn in the country, we have not relented on the promises we made to you, when we came to you, asking for your votes.

“We promised to address the issue of road infrastructure, so far we have completed and commissioned 32 roads across the state. And work is still ongoing on 30 roads across Abia. Let me say it here again that our roads have minimum lifespan of 10 years, that’s why we are using the cement technology on most of our roads.

“We are interested in the economy of Abia, that’s why we are doing more roads in Aba, because Aba will drive the economy of our state. But in this second year we shall focus on rural roads. The idea is to ensure that what we produce in our farms in our villages and communities can be transported easily to the cities.”

Governor Ikpeazu, while responding to a question, called on Abia youths to acquire relevant a skills, and also get involved in agriculture.

“Let me use this opportunity to appeal and call on youths of Abia to go and learn handiwork. This is the time to develop skills. As you read for your certificates, also develop a skill.

“Think of agriculture, it’s the way to go. Let us go back to agriculture. I’m going back to farming, so I invite you to join me.”

Responding to the issue of attacks by herdsmen and grazing reserves the Governor said: “Abia has taken a position on the issue of grazing reserves for herdsmen. Our position is- we are looking for lands for farming, and land to build our houses, so we do not have lands to donate for grazing reserves for herdsmen.”

Speaking in his closing remarks, the Secretary of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, commended the governor and charged him to continue with his good works in the state.

read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/i-will-never-disappoint-you-ikpeazu.html

Elders and traditional rul­ers of Bayelsa East Sena­torial District of Bayelsa State have said that the permanent solution to end sea piracy, kidnapping and new militancy in the region is the take-off of the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas Project (Brass LNG).

The elders, made up of two local government councils of Brass and Nembe, said although the local and state governments have done much in the area of providing employment, initi­ating security and peace along the waterways and creeks of the state and the region, the delay in the takeoff of the Brass LNG project has left many youths jobless, restive and involved in the renewed violence in the re­gion.

The Concerned Bayelsa El­ders, in a statement issued yes­terday in Yenagoa and signed by Chief Newton Ayibatare, said though a position paper have been sent to the Chairman of the Brass Local Government, Hon. Bello Bina and the State Gov­ernor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, the takeoff of the Brass LNG will employ over 16,000 restive youths and improve revenue to the local councils, state and fed­eral governments.

According to the Elders, “We have watched with keen interest the recent development in the oil and gas sector and the renewed violence along the creeks includ­ing militancy in the region.We condemn the series of attacks on pipelines and the people of the state by sea pirates,militabts in Bayelsa state. We commend the state and federal governments for actions taken so far.While we agree that there should be dialogue,the need to engage the youths with gainful employment is critical.”

“In Bayelsa State, the need to speed up the takeoff of the Brass LNG is critical to support any form of dialogue between new militants and the Federal Gov­ernment. We are aware that the Brass local council chairman, Bello Bina has tried to provide enabling enviroment for secu­rity and peace in the host com­munities. The Federal Govern­ment should prevail on Brass LNG to commence work and absorb over 16,000 youths in the council, state and federal gov­ernments.”

The people of the area have condemned and called on the members of the renegade mili­tant groups to embrace dialogue and the youths of Bayelsa to de­sist from sea piracy and kidnap­ping adding that the practical solution to restiveness in Bay­elsa and other Niger Delta states is economic empowerment and engagement and would encour­age the Federal Government to ensure the takeoff of the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas Project located in the state

http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/brass-liquefied-natural-gas-project.html

A 36-year-old Nigerian has been sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking.
The Moshi High Court ruled Friday that Joachim Ike was guilty of possessing and trafficking in narcotic drugs.
He was arrested on May 11, 2013, at the Kilimanjaro International Airport with 6,969.38 grams (nearly 7kgs) of heroin with a street value of over Sh300 million.
In his ruling, Judge Benedict Mingwa, told the court the evidence produced by the prosecution was beyond reasonable doubt.
“The evidence produced by the prosecution, along with the testimony provided during this case clearly shows that the accused person committed the offence,” said Judge Mingwa.
A plea by defence lawyer Philip Njau for the judge to allow Ike to serve his jail term in Nigeria was turned down.

read more@http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/36-year-old-nigerian-sentenced-to-life.html

Husband and Wife Publicly Disgraced After They Were Caught Stealing Inside Supermarket The couple pictured above were publicly disgraced when the attendants of a supermarket in Nairobi, Kenya caught them stealing some items from the store.
They were reportedly forced by the attendants to stand at the most conspicuous part of the market and colourfully announce their crime. The things they stole were displayed at their feet. See photo below:
SEE MORE @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/flash-husband-and-wife-caught-stealing.html

The Federal Government on Thursday explained why non-citizens of Nigeria were still allowed to graze their cattle across the country despite the fact that it had been established that many herdsmen who were involved in clashes in Nigerian villages were not Nigerians.

According to the government, the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol has given the right of free movement to citizens of member countries, adding that the law as similar to the fundamental right to freedom of movement in the Nigerian constitution.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes in Abuja.

He said, “The Nigerian constitution has given every citizen the fundamental right to freedom of movement in search of legitimate businesses; transhumance pastoralism is seen along these lines.

“For pastoralists from neighbouring West African countries, access to grazing rights in other countries in the ECOWAS zone including Nigeria, are guaranteed by the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol of 1998 and ECOWAS Protocol of Free Movement of Goods and Persons in West Africa.”

Ogbeh stated that the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herders to move across borders in search of pasture upon fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Protocol.

“So it is not strange to see a Malian, Burkinabe or Nigerien pastoralist grazing his cows, sheep or goats in Nigeria or a Nigerian pastoralist grazing his livestock in Benin, Togo or Ghana and by extension, transhumance pastoralists from other neighbouring countries,” he added.

The minister noted that pastoralists who provide bulk of livestock and dairy products consumed locally, employ mobility as a production strategy.

He, however, regretted that the movement of animals within and across agro-ecological zones had precipitated resource use competition that had resulted in high incidence of conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists across the country.

On ways to mitigate the conflict between the groups and promote commercial livestock production, the minister stated that grazing reserves and stock routes’ development and utilisation had been stepped up in recent years.

“The grazing reserves are to settle transhumance pastoralists and reduce/eliminate crop farmer-pastoralist conflicts,” he said.

read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/why-we-cant-stop-non-nigerian-herdsmen.html

The ban by the European Union (EU) on importation of dried beans from Nigeria has been extended by three years, an official said on Thursday.

Vincent Isegbe, Coordinating Director of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, told reporters the ban was extended by the EU because Nigeria was unable to provide substantial guarantees that adequate official control systems have been put in place to ensure compliance with food law requirements.

Dried beans from Nigeria were reported to have contained high level of pesticides considered to be dangerous to human health, causing the EU to slam an export suspension measure on it in June last year.

Isegbe noted the extension came when the Nigerian government and its relevant agencies were working to ensure that the deadline given by the EU to lift the ban was met.

Quoting an official journal of the EU, which accused Nigeria of not doing enough to lift the ban during the initial period of suspension, the official said "the continued presence of dichlorvos (pesticide) in dried beans imported from Nigeria and maximum residue levels of pesticides show that compliance with food law requirement as regards pesticide residual cannot be achieved in the short term".

Isegbe said the extension would give Nigeria the opportunity for its stakeholders to put their hands together to correct the mistake. He also urged local farmers to do the needful from the farming stage and ensure that "the latest development did not repeat itself". Enditem

Read more @ http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/eu-extends-ban-on-dried-beans-import.html

The Inspector Gener­al of Police, Mr. Solo­mon Arase, has urged Nigerians not to lose sleep over the threats by some Niger Delta militants to bomb key public and private institu­tions in Lagos, Abuja and Ka­duna.
In a swift reaction to the threats by the Joint Niger Del­ta Liberation Force (JNDLF) to bomb the State House, Abu­ja, Defence Headquarters, Po­lice Headquarters, refineries, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and others today, the IGP affirmed that the police authorities would provide ad­equate security for all law-abid­ing citizens.
Last week, the JNDLF threatened to launch six mis­siles beginning from today.
And yesterday, the group is­sued a statement, threatening to bomb the country’s seat of power, Aso Rock, Abuja, and the National Assembly in its full-scale hostilities this week.
In the new statement, the JNDLF warned residents and oc­cupants of such targeted buildings and areas, including offices of oil multinationals, to vacate them for their safety.
The group, which claimed to be an affiliate of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), also named the CBN, Department of State Securi­ty (DSS) Headquarters, the Nige­rian National Petroleum Corpo­ration (NNPC) Towers, Supreme Court/Appeal Court, Agip head­quarters, Abuja, Shell headquar­ters, Lagos, Chevron headquar­ters, Lagos, Exxon Mobil, Lagos, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Lagos, and other pub­lic offices in Abuja, Kaduna Re­finery and all military formations in the country.
But Arase said that the Nige­ria Police is well prepared to con­front any group of persons who will threaten the peace of the country.
Force Spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole, declared that the police would not leave any stone unturned to ensure that the life and property of Nigerians are protected.
According to her, the IGP has directed all command commis­sioners of police to remain alert and ensure that Nigerians are pro­tected.
She said: “We are well pre­pared to protect the life and property of Nigerians wherever they are in this country. We are not leaving anything to chance as the IGP has directed our men all over the country to remain on the alert.
“The police will not toler­ate anything that will disturb the peace of Nigerians. We therefore warn troublemakers to have a re­think and take the path of peace” Kolawole said.
The Force Headquarters therefore urged Nigerians to re­main on the alert and report to the police or any security agent, any suspicious gathering or movement for prompt action.
Meanwhile, the Acting Pres­ident, Yemi Osinbajo, has dis­closed that the Federal Govern­ment was engaged in a dialogue with Niger Delta stakeholders to stem the incessant militants’ at­tacks on oil facilities in the region.
Speaking at the Presiden­tial Villa during a meeting with a delegation of the European Union (EU) led by the EU Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Michel Arrion, Osinbajo said the peaceful dia­logue had, however, not stopped the government from stepping up security measures in the oil-rich region.
Osinbajo explained that the engaging of the leaders and peo­ple of the Niger Delta on the spate of attacks was in line with the ad­ministration’s resolve “to ensure that the man on the street in the Niger Delta receives the benefit from all that is available there.”
Describing the attacks as eco­nomic sabotage, the Acting Pres­ident called on the leaders in the region to be accountable to the people, even as the Federal Gov­ernment works round the clock to minimise the losses arising from the bombings.
He also restated the determi­nation of the administration to ensure that the ease of doing busi­ness ranking in Nigeria goes up by at least 20 steps in the World Bank rating.
Ambassador Arrion said he came for consultations with the Nigeria as a follow-up on Pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari’s meeting with EU leaders during his visit to the continent, adding that “Nigeria has a huge market we can invest in. It is also a place we can export to.”
The new militant group had in the statement it issued on Mon­day, said the decision to bomb the aforementioned institutions was taken during its last Joint Revolu­tionary Council meeting in a de­liberate attempt to actualise the United States of America’s pre­diction of the eminent break-up of the country.
The statement was signed by General Akotebe Darikoro (Commander, General Duties), General Torunanaowei Latei (Creeks Network Coordinator), General Agbakakuro Owei-Tauro (Pipelines Bleeding Expert) and General Pulokiri Ebiladei (Intel­ligence Bureau).
The group said that it will fire missiles simultaneously at night to make serious its earlier threat to Nigerians.
The group declared ex-mil­itant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo, whom it alleged had fled to Lib­ya, wanted dead or alive for be­traying the Niger Delta struggle.
According to it, “In our final meeting it was resolved that the Nigerian Communication Satel­lite Orbit should be shut down so that it will avoid the cause of elec­tronic radiation to human lives.
“Also, the following occu­pants of these buildings should as a matter of urgency, vacate them immediately in order to save their lives because our fight is not for any human blood to be shed but to destroy all those infrastruc­tures that were built with our oil and gas monies in this country.
“We will make the Federal Government and oil companies to suffer as they have made the people of the Niger Delta region suffer over the years from envi­ronmental degradation and en­vironmental pollution.
It added, “We equally advise the diplomatic community to be neutral on this issue as wrong comments against us will be seen as saboteurs. Where they are stay­ing at present will not be affect­ed which is not part of our tar­geted areas of destruction in the country.
“We shall embarrass the self-acclaimed Nigerian Air Force with their recent deployment of fight­er aircraft, helicopter gunship and surveillance aircraft when at this digital age, countries are talking about missile development, and they still condescend so low with their present obsolete equipment. This is sad indeed!”
They cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari to be mind­ful of counsels from some Niger Delta leaders, especially Chief Ayi­ri Emami, Professor Itse Sagay and a former ex-militant leader, Isra­el Akpodoro, whom the militants said are under their searchlight.
“The founder of the Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, Israel Akpo­doro, is a dead man and that he should not hide for linking for­mer President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State with the Avengers. We are not in any community, the military can’t locate Tompolo but we have identified where he is now,” the group said.
Meanwhile, a prominent Ni­ger Delta leader, Chief Favour Izoukumor, has described the missile launch threat as a need­less venture and asked President Buhari to have a rethink about military action to confront them.
Izoukumor said employing political measures could help fore­stall further militants’ attacks on the nation’s oil facilities.
The Fiye-Owei of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of the state blamed the resurgence of militancy in the region on under­development and urged the gov­ernment to match words with ac­tions on the development of the region


Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/dont-panic-fg-negotiating-with-niger.html

The people of Yobe were shocked yesterday after a baby was born with the heart outside his body (a rare case of disorder) at a local hospital Gaidam area of the state. The baby was immediately rushed to University Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State -for a life-saving surgery


See more Pic @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/baby-born-in-yobe-with-his-heart.html

The authorities should apply the carrot and the stick as the government’s stability is being tested

For weeks now, a violent militant group going by the name “Niger Delta Avengers” has been on the offensive, bombing and disrupting oil and gas production in the Niger Delta. By the last count, Nigeria was said to be losing almost half of its oil production on a daily basis while the onshore operations of most of the international oil companies in the Niger Delta had been crippled. In economic terms, this is a luxury we cannot afford, particular at a period like this. But of greater importance, the violence has opened yet another conflict with all the security implications at a time the nation is trying to end the menace of the Boko Haram violence in the Northeast. But who exactly are the avengers and what are they avenging?
When the group started its violent activities about a month ago, it made 10 demands of the federal government that were not only political but which also gave them away as sympathetic towards a political tendency. Reacting, Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State Governor, said: “I don’t think the state should submit to blackmail from any quarters. I believe the responsibility of the political elite is to strengthen the bridge of unity; to discourage preaching hatred; discourage amplifying weak points, and work to strengthen those points.”
We share this view as we call on critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta to talk to the Avengers by making them realise not only the futility of their action but also the danger they pose to the communities and the environment. Beyond that, in economic terms, the damage of disrupted oil production will impact more negatively on the Niger Delta than any other region in Nigeria.
We recall that under the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the Niger Delta militants were asked to submit their arms for amnesty. Meanwhile, the administration that followed awarded contracts worth billions of naira to a few militants and ethnic warlords. The policy angered those who were excluded from the largesse. As some of the contracts were not executed, some of the beneficiaries are now facing the wrath of the law. One of them has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
That is the backdrop to the present crisis. Unfortunately, what we have witnessed so far are mixed messages from the federal government. While the presidency threatened to treat the avengers like the Boko Haram terrorists, other officials announced that the state would enter into dialogue with them. For now, there is a full-scale military operation in some communities in the Niger Delta which has led to fatalities on both sides.
The criminality of the Avengers has to be viewed in the context of a corrupt political environment and a weak state which has lost the monopoly of violence to criminal gangs – terrorists, kidnappers, herdsmen, armed robbers and other nihilist groups. Instead of equipping the police to secure the country, each successive government since 1999 has deployed armed soldiers to protect life and property. In the process, peace loving communities have been subjected to harassment and intimidation by armed troops.
Without prejudice to the ongoing efforts at restoring order in the region, the current violence and sabotage of strategic installations in the Niger Delta renews the imperatives of Nigeria’s sovereignty. Whatever may be the limited grouse of these militants, the fact is that they are in a violent contest with the Nigerian state over aspects of national territory and economic activities. The responsibility of the state is therefore dual: first, to persuade these groups to seek more peaceful alternative ventilation for whatever may be their grouse and, second, to deploy such persuasive force as to deter further infrastructure damage without alienating the unarmed populace.




for more interesting news http://www.buzorpages.com/

A new group, Niger Delta Advancement Frontier, has alleged that the Niger Delta Avengers are attacking oil and gas facilities in the region to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari into not probing their corrupt deals under President Goodluck Jonathan.

The group charged the president not to succumb to the whims of the militant group who aims to draw him into allowing them go with their loots and pledged to work with other stakeholders and government to stop the rampaging Niger Delta Avengers from blowing up pipelines in the region and halt what it called a looming danger of expanding attacks on oil facilities.
They also wants Buhari not to make the mistake of allowing the sponsors of the Avengers to have their way as it would embolden the traumatised oil companies to enter into contracts of protection with them as well as mutate other groups to do so, thereby plunging the region into another session of anomy.

A statement by the National President of the group, Nengi Jasper, Secretary Erepadei Ngozi and Provost, Dennis Boloudiowei, said the group rose from an emergency meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with a resolve to come out and fight the avengers because of the implication of their continued activities.

According to them, unless President Muhammadu Buhari moved fast, oil companies may panic and start employing any group that claimed affiliation with the Avengers to protect their production activities since they would rather cut back loses by going back to production.

Rather they advised the president to interface with communities and groups minded to stopping the carnage with the military so that they can rout the Avengers who they said were a phony and selfish body whose aim was to protect the business interest of their masters.

“The Avengers who we do not believe are real are just forcing the hand of Buhari to leave scrutinising of their contracts under President Jonathan and feel the best way was to arm-twist him into letting them go with their loot. President Muhammadu Buhari should not make the mistake of falling for the antics of the Avengers because that is the bobby trap they have laid for him. If he does, other groups will mushroom and before you know it, several groups aiming for contracts will be formed and the region will descend to the former state before the launching of the amnesty programme.

“What he should do is to liaise with communities and groups who are against the Avengers, interface with them through the military and with the common front, rout the resurgent group. They are not representing the interest of the region but trying to get attention of government and oil companies. They want to prove to both that they are the only ones that can protect their operations so that they would have their business interests preserved.

“The mistake the president is making is that he is taking too much time in taking action. He also must have noticed that this is not a problem military action could solve. Since the people working with the president from the region are unable to know what to do to solve the problem, new set of people who do and can engage the people to stop the spread should be brought on board to handle matters before it blooms into something uncontrollable. The Avengers are already reaching out to people in Bayelsa and Rivers States and trying to collaborate with them.

“Niger Delta Avengers and other groups are not working in the interest of the region; their attacks are pre-meditated and for business and security contracts especially in NIMASA. Those behind Avengers are former contractors of NIMASA who are using the information and reach at their disposal because of what they did for government to hold the entire country to ransom and bringing down oil production.

“They are showcasing their nuisance value so that they would be called for negotiation. They don’t love the Niger Delta and they are not working in the interest of the region. If they claim to love their people, how come they collected N11 billion for the location of the Maritime University in Okerenenkoko and only declared N300 million to their community? It is this type of free funds that has put a lot of arms with which they are embarrassing the nation together,” the group alleged.

They expressed anger over the impression that Ijaws were the only people in the Niger Delta, pointing out that from Ondo to Akwa Ibom and Cross River were part of the Niger Delta, adding that complaining of one Captain Hosa handling pipeline contracts as their grouse was misplaced.

According to them, “Captain Hosa is a Niger Delta, and even under President Goodluck Jonathan, he was handling the same jobs and we wonder why the issue of his jobs did not come up under President Jonathan”

The group further alleged that the Avengers complaining of poor funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Amnesty programme and the Niger Delta Ministry which though may be true, were afterthought which they were holding on to for higher stakes.

On the alleged support by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the group faulted the support to resort to arms, querying why the group did not resort to arms when their leader, Nnamdi Kanu was incarcerated.

They carpeted the Amnesty Coordinator, General Boroh and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which they said were supposed to rally youths to check the excesses of the Avengers.

Read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/avengers-blackmailing-buhari-to-cover.html

Cyber criminals are believed to have taken down the London Stock Exchange (LSE) website for more than two hours as part of a campaign against the world’s banks and financial institutions.
The attack was carried out by a group based in the Philippines which is part of the ‘hacktivist’ network Anonymous – an organisation infamous for hacking government, religious and corporate websites.
Anonymous claims the incident was one of 67 successful attacks it has launched in the past month on the websites of major institutions, with targets including the Swiss National Bank, the Central Bank of Venezuela and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
The attack on the LSE took place at 9am on Thursday, but experts say trading was unlikely to have been affected and that no sensitive data was stolen.
In the 24 hours before the LSE site went down, Anonymous said it had also attacked the websites of the Turkey Stock Exchange and NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
A loosely associated international network of activists and hackers, Anonymous first came to public attention in January 2008 following a series of high-profile cyber attacks on groups such as the Church of Scientology.

Elad Ben-Meir, from cyber-security company CyberInt, said that one of the group’s goals is to bring down capitalism as part of their ‘opposition to injustice’ and ‘establishment hypocrisy’.
He said: ‘It’s highly unlikely they will succeed in bringing down capitalism, but this latest round of attacks on central banks and stock exchanges around the world highlights the vulnerability of financial institutions at this time.’
City of London Police said it was not informed that the LSE website had gone down and had no knowledge of the attack. The London Stock Exchange has refused to comment.

Read more @ http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/hackers-attack-stock-exchange-cyber.html

The Berom people of Plateau State have said that they will resist any attempt to appropriate any part of their land for the proposed grazing reserve.
President of the Berom Youth Movement, Mr. Choji Chuwang, told Saturday PUNCH in Jos on Friday that the people were not aware of any arrangement where they had asked or appropriated any part of their land to be used as grazing reserve.
Chuwang, who was reacting to reports credited to the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, that identified Plateau as one of the 11 states with a total of 55, 000 hectares of land for the proposed grazing reserve, said that it was “totally unacceptable to the Berom people.”



He said, “We read in the papers that Plateau has given land for grazing reserve. Well, we are not part of that decision and we will do everything to resist the imposition of such idea on us. We don’t know where it is coming from and I can tell you that we, as the Berom people, have maintained our stance on the issue.”
However, the Director of Press Affairs to Governor Simon Lalong, Mr. Emmanuel Nanle, said that the issue of grazing reserve is not an official policy of the government, but is entirely an affair of the local governments under the native land system.
He said that the governor had made it clear that he would go according to the wishes of the people, adding that it was in this line that Mikang and Langtang south local government areas had indicated interest in the project.
Nanle said, “There is an existing grazing reserve in Wase established in 1952 under the native authority and under the land system in the local government, each of them is at liberty to make a choice. This government has no general policy on grazing reserve, but definitely supports the idea of ranching. The belief is that the present arrangement can promote ranches which can trigger economic development along with farming, which is the traditional practice of the people and so enhance economic development.”

read more @http://www.buzorpages.com/2016/06/well-reject-grazing-reserve-on-our-land.html

Over 8,300 people have signed a petition asking the United Kingdom to openly investigate stolen funds from Nigeria kept in the country.
If the petition, available on petition.parliament.uk, reaches 10,000 signatures by the November 19, 2016 deadline, the UK government will respond to it.
Meanwhile, if it reaches 100,000 signatures by the November deadline, it will be considered for debate in the UK parliament.



The creator of the petition, Siji Otenigbagbe, lamented that the UK had served as a haven for stolen funds for corrupt Nigerian politicians and their associates since the 1960s.
“These funds are kept as pseudo assets, bank accounts and properties. In law, the receiver of stolen goods is as guilty as the thief. It is about time the UK did something,” he said.
The petition, which can only be signed by British citizens and UK residents, had gathered 8,303 signatures as of Friday, June 3, 2016.
President Muhammadu Buhari had at the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit in London, demanded the UK to return assets in the country which were stolen by corrupt Nigerian politicians.
This was after the UK Prime Minister David Cameron tagged Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” country.
Responding to Cameron’s statement, Buhari had said, “I am not going to be demanding any apology from anybody. What I will be demanding is the return of assets.

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Linda Okungowa, 36, of Sheffield, who arrived in the UK on a false passport 12 years ago, claimed the money in destitution and child benefits despite working under false identities.

But the mother-of-three received a suspended sentence in an ‘amazing display of mercy’ after it emerged she had support from a church which was protecting her from committing more crime.

The decision by Judge Simon Lawler QC came five years after Okungowa was sent to prison for eight months for using false documents to obtain work while claiming £70,000 in benefits.

Okungowa arrived in Britain believing she would be able to train as a doctor, but instead became entrenched in a mounting debt cycle with the traffickers who helped her get in.

She said the smugglers kept increasing the amount they said she owed them and she was left so destitute her children were forced to walk 12 miles a day to school in Sheffield because the family could not afford the bus fare.

Okungowa also ended up working multiple jobs in a bid to keep up with the repayments.

Neil Coxon, prosecuting, said that after getting out of prison in 2011, she took on the identity of a friend in London while applying for work.

After getting several jobs in the care sector she asked the woman if the wages could be paid into her bank account and transferred to Okungowa.
Sheffield Crown Court

Mr Coxon said Okungowa told the woman she could not be paid directly due to debts associated with her account.

Between July 2011 and August 2014, Okungowa had claimed £22,610 in destitution benefits, and £26,201 in child tax credits and working tax credits between June 2011 and January 2015.
Delighted: Ben Hudd, minister at The Ark church in Sheffield, which supported her, said the suspended sentence was an 'amazing display of mercy'

Delighted: Ben Hudd, minister at The Ark church in Sheffield, which supported her, said the suspended sentence was an 'amazing display of mercy'

At Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Lawler said the exceptional circumstances of the case meant he wouldn’t be sending her straight to prison.

He added: ‘I may be criticised because fraud from the public purse is common and everybody in this court knows usually the offender goes immediately to custody.

‘But in this particular case I can see no useful purpose to the public in sending you to custody. I hope you repay the trust the court has placed in you.’

Okungowa, who has three children aged one, nine and 11, said after the case: ‘I’m not proud of the things I have done but I have been given a chance.’

An investigation will now be carried out into Okungowa’s finances to see if she can pay any of the money back. She received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

Ben Hudd, the minister at The Ark church in Sheffield, which supported her, said: ‘It was a balance between justice and mercy. We saw an amazing display of mercy.

‘Although justice was done with the sentence, the judge had mercy on Linda because of all the things she has dealt with in her life. It was the perfect way forward.’

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A caretaker at one of London’s top public schools has launched a desperate appeal to the Home Office to allow his brother to visit the UK from Nigeria for a life-saving bone-marrow transplant.
Isaac Aganozor, who works at Dulwich College, was diagnosed with leukaemia in August and needs an urgent stem cell transplant from his brother Patrick, who lives with his family in Nigeria.
Patrick, a tricycle courier who earns £2.30 a day, was refused a visa to enter the UK as he did not meet economic requirements. This was despite the £36,000-a-year school offering to sponsor his month-long “mercy mission” and pay £1,500 for his return flight.
His brother Isaac, 44, who lives in Sydenham Hill, is being given regular high-dose chemotherapy sessions at St Bartholomew’s hospital but has been told that “time is running out”.
A search of the national donor database revealed that Patrick, 38, is a 50 per cent match for his brother, and the only realistic hope of his receiving the stem cells in time. Despite a letter from hospital specialists detailing Patrick’s status as the “only available matching donor for the urgent stem cell transplant”, he was refused a visa in April.
A rejection letter from the British High Commission in Lagos, seen by the Standard, reads: “You have stated your brother has acute myeloid leukaemia and you are to be a stem cell donor. I must take into account your personal socio-economic circumstances in Nigeria when reaching my decision. I note that you are a tricycle driver earning £69 a month in Nigeria but you state you have £1,500 for this trip.
“Given your limited economic circumstances in Nigeria I am not satisfied that these provide you with an incentive to leave the UK at the end of your stay as claimed.” Mr Aganozor, who has been off sick from work since December, said there is no danger that his brother will try to stay in the UK after the transplant as he has to care for his four-year-old daughter and ailing mother in Lagos.
He said: “I was so happy when I found out that my brother was a match. But when his application was rejected it was a bigger shock than getting told I had leukaemia in the first place. The immigration officers didn’t consider my health, only economics. It is incredibly frustrating to know that the solution that could save my life is only six hours away by plane. I feel the sickness inside me, I don’t know what to do. My life is gradually slipping away.”

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