₦airaland Forum

The former director-general of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign organisation for the 2019 general elections, Gbenga Daniel, has denied abandoning the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party.

“I have not, will not and will never abandon Atiku,” said Daniel on Tuesday.

Daniel, who renounced his membership from the People’s Democratic Party last Friday, insisted that he will not rescind his decision to quit active and partisan politics and divorce himself from the activities of the party.

He, however, noted that having nothing to do with the party did not mean he has abandoned its presidential candidate.


“Atiku is different from PDP,” he said.

Daniel, in a letter sent to the national chairman of the PDP Uche Secondus, said he quit politics for personal reasons.

In his statement on Tuesday Daniel hinted that he resigned from PDP because it has been a “thankless process” for the past 20 years.

A similar thought had been shared by his supporters who complained that Daniel was treated “with disdain” in the PDP.

Although his supporters desire he leads them to the ruling All Progressives Congress, Daniel said: “I did not agree to lead them to APC.”


“I listened carefully to them and I permitted them to join any political party of their choice since I have become non-partisan,” Daniel said on Sunday evening.

He doubled down on his claim to non-partisanship again on Tuesday, noting that he will continue to support the political process in a non-partisan manner.

“I am clear with my position, without any ambiguity,” he said.

“There is no need to insinuate, speculate, extrapolate, anticipate or draw conclusions on my behalf.”

His resignation had since attracted “insults” from critics.


A chieftain of the PDP Femi Fani-Kayode Monday said Daniel decision to dump the party at the time it was challenging the presidential election result was tragic.

“For the 1st DG of Atiku’s PCO and his closest confidante in South West to dump PDP and join APC before the conclusion of Atiku’s election petition is sad,” Fani-Kayode said in a tweet.

“For a man that was gunning to be SGF in an Atiku govt. to join Buhari after Atiku was rigged out is tragic,” he added.

However, Daniel again debunked joining the APC. He emphasized that “There is no need to insinuate, speculate, extrapolate, anticipate or draw conclusions on my behalf.”

“I did not expect such a simple personal decision can generate such national discourse and for that I remain grateful to God,” Daniel said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/gbenga-daniel-denies-abandoning-atiku.html

In the last few days, Mr. Rochas Okorocha, the Governor of Imo State, seems to be a sober man. In the last eight years that he has been the keeper of the shop at Imo, he has carried on the business of managing that shop with an unusual swagger, wielding power with a tremendous sense of the ultimate, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent controller of the people’s destiny. He could do, and did, almost anything he wanted, appointed anybody from his family to any position he wanted. It is a surprise, indeed inexplicable that Imolites, who constitute a huge chunk of the Igbo educated elite, could tolerate his avant garde, idiosyncratic effusions and actions for so long. Perhaps they thought it was better to let him tie the rope round his neck and hang himself by himself. In his huge hunger for power, the man had strutted on to the political podium some years ago, saying that he wanted to be the President of Nigeria. He cut a miserable figure in the contest and retreated. Then the Imo people believed him when he said that what he had done in education as a private person he would multiply it many fold if he had the opportunity to be the dispenser of the State’s resources.

The day I heard him pronounce that he was establishing three State owned Universities in Imo State I shouted, Chineke. It was clear to me that he thought a University was a Primary School, glorified or not, some kind of political stomach infrastructure not an institution of Universal relevance. I haven’t been able to confirm if indeed Imo State has three Senatorial Districts based contraptions called universities today.

Then the man who is himself a master of sartorial inelegance, sought to prescribe, and indeed prescribed, a mode of dressing, call it uniform, for Imo civil servants.

When they appeared at public functions in those uniforms you had to sympathise with them because they looked like delinquent pupils made to sit in a heap by their high handed headmaster. They didn’t look like public servants whose duty was to contribute their expertise to the building of a modern state in the 21st century. For him, what his public servants thought was irrelevant. It was only his view that counted and when he addressed them as “my people, my people” your mind raced back to the humble slaves at the Badagry slave camp of yester-years being addressed by their haughty buyers.

For Okorocha, there was no difference between his government and his family. His family was the government and the government was his family. In the heat of his altercation with Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, the APC Chairman released a long list of Okorocha’s relations appointed by him into several juicy positions in the Imo State Government. He, Okorocha, also fired back with a list of members of the Oshiomhole clan that had been appointed into Oshiomhole’s government when he was the Governor of Edo State. Both lists were long and I have not yet developed sufficient interest in conducting a verification exercise. But it was obvious if Mr. Oshiomhole’s list was correct that Mr. Okorocha did quite well in ensuring that charity began in the family. And family here is all-embracing, nuclear family, extended family and marital family. That is how a man who was little known as a politician came into sudden prominence and threatened to upset the apple cart in Imo. A young man called Mr. Uche Nwosu had fallen in love with Okorocha’s daughter and that love tango earned him the prominent and lucrative office of Chief of Staff to the Governor. Mr. Okorocha gave his daughter to him in marriage. That amorous relationship transmutated into a political relationship. From then onwards, Okorocha started plotting how he would build a political dynasty that would outlast him. The plot was Lady Macbethian in stature. Every obstacle on the way had to be brought down. Sir Jude Agbaso, who was his first Deputy was framed and booted out. The second Deputy Governor, Mr. Eze Madumere, was impeached by an obliging, sycophantic House of Assembly. The Court reversed the impeachment but the man was still kept in limbo. This was the path-clearing strategy for the ascension of Mr. Nwosu as the Governor of Imo State in 2019. This man, Okorocha, simply ran the State as his personal fiefdom and Imolites promptly called his government “familiocracy”; that is a government of the Okorocha family, by the Okorocha family and for the Okorocha family.

Did it bother him? No. The more they cried the more he subverted the process in the hope that he could run Imo State for another four or eight years by proxy if he could install his son-in-law as his successor. He apparently did not reckon that at some point the Imo people would wake up from their slumber. They did and together with the faith-based organizations that he had oppressed they took the clothes off the emperor. Let us interrogate greed, that consuming passion of Nigerian politicians. The APC, I am told, had asked Mr. Okorocha to choose either a Senatorial seat for himself or the Governorship seat for his son-in-law. But he wanted both; the APC said No. Now it does appear that he is on the verge of losing both. In the contest for the Imo West Senatorial District Okorocha contesting on the APC platform polled 97,762 votes as against that of Mr. Jones Onyereri of the PDP (63,117) and Senator Osita Izunaso of APGA (30,923). Now the story has k-leg. The Returning Officer, Professor Innocent Ibeawuchi, says he was “compelled to announce the result which was inconclusive. I was held hostage by agents working for the Governor. I was manhandled and I thank God that I came back alive”.

He also said that the election was inconclusive because of irregularities and malpractices. INEC has condemned the action of holding its staff hostage and forcing them to declare winners under duress. Mr. Okorocha has not been given a Certificate of Return apparently because INEC believes the story of its Returning Officer.

INEC may decide to do the inconclusive part of the election or Mr. Okorocha may decide to go to Court to fight for his right. But for now he is in no man’s hand, the land of limbo. He is showing an unusual spirit of soberness. “I am not a violent person and those who know me know that. This is why we have peace in Imo State. The Returning Officer could not have done that under duress, under the watchful eyes of the Police, DSS and party agents. I am not unmindful of the fact that those who are fighting me from Abuja are anxious to see me removed as a Senator”.

While his senatorial ambition is not yet determined completely, his ambition to have his son-in-law succeed him has crashed. Mr. Nwosu was actually the least known of the contestants for the Governorship position. Look at the intimidating figures in the race: Emeka Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hope Uzodinma, a ranking Senator, Ifeanyi Ararume, a former Senator, Ikedi Ohakim, a former Governor of the State. Mr. Nwosu’s party, Action Alliance, which he joined at the last minute was also one of the least known of the parties eventhough 65 candidates vied for the office. Mr. Okorocha thought he could woo the voters to vote for him on the APC platform and his son-in-law on the Action Alliance platform. That arrangement is the epitome of political gerry mandering and chameleonism. It failed woefully.

As soon as the Governorship election result in Imo State was announced Imolites went into the streets honking their horns, pulling down Okorocha’s billboards and those of his son-in-law. This was apparently the people’s view of the result as their liberation from familiocracy and the crash of the Okorocha dynasty. Even if Imolites see the result purely as the failure of Okorocha instead of the success of Emeka Ihedioha, I think Ihedioha deserves some credit for his success. Imo State had the biggest collection of heavyweights in the gubernatorial contest so anybody who won deserves a pat on the back, and a lap of honour. Ihedioha was in the race in 2015 and lost so his victory this time marks him out as a dogged fighter. He deserves his share of bragging right and the respect of a victor particularly since many people thought that the emperor was invincible.

My error: In last week’s article I said that Chief Bola Ige (UPN) and Chief Jim Nwobodo (NPP) won the 1983 Governorship elections. They did not. instead it was Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo and Chief C.C. Onoh respectively who did. The error is regretted.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/rochas-okorochas-swan-song.html

The Ogun State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC), has warned banks and other financial institutions not to succumb to threats and pressures from the outgoing governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to obtain last-minute loans, overdrafts and other financial instruments barely two months to the end of his tenure.

In a press statement issued in Abeokuta on Monday, and signed by the APC Caretaker Committee’s Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, the party warned that any institution that grants such requests “does so at its own risk.”

The press statement reads:

“It has come to our notice that the outgoing governor has been exerting pressures on banks and financial institutions to grant frivolous loans, overdrafts and other instruments immediately Dapo Abiodun was declared governor-elect.

“We are equally aware that files and other sensitive government documents are being moved out of government offices on the order of the outgoing governor, His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

“It is therefore important to let it be known to the concerned public officers that it is part of their duties to protect public properties, including files, documents and information at their disposal. As anything contrary to this will be running foul of the laws and their oath of office. The allegiance of the civil servants is to Ogun State and not to any individual, no matter who.



“As for the banks, we want to state categorically that the incoming administration believes so much in the rule of law and due process. Therefore, the administration will not honour any obligation that does not follow due process or any loans that do not receive the prior approval of the state’s House of Assembly.



“According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, Ogun State’s Internally Generated Revenue has increased by 590 per cent in eight years totalling N74, 835, 979, 000.51.

“Why the outgoing administration still wants “injury-time” loans despite those already incurred, beats one’s imagination and leaves much to be desired. The incoming administration will not honour such shady loans.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/ogun-apc-warns-banks-against-granting.html

A suspect in last year’s robbery attacks on commercial banks in Offa, Kwara State, Ayoade Akinnibosun, on Friday told an Ilorin High Court how the police asked him to implicate the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

Akinnibosun and two other suspects, Ibikunle Ogunleye (2nd accused person) and Adeola Abraham (3rd accused person) narrated before the court how police extracted statement from them by force during the course of investigation of the dastardly robbery incident.

The suspects also disclosed that the principal suspect in the robbery incident who was a dismissed police officer, Michael Adikwu, was shot dead by one Inspector Vincent attached to the police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

Akinnibosun, Ogunleye and Abraham were examined and cross-examined by their counsel, Mathias Emeribe and prosecution counsel, Razaq Gold, in a trial-within-a-trial on how they were tortured and threatened by the police to make confessional statements.

Prosecution witness, Inspector Hitila Hassan, had on Thursday told the court that the suspects voluntarily gave their statements under his supervision.

Lead Prosecuting Counsel, Prof. Wahab Egbewole sought to tender the statements as exhibit but the defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe objected.

Emeribe argued that the statements were not voluntarily taken, noting that they fell short of the provisions of the Evidence Act particularly sections 28 and 29.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, Akinnibosun said “Abba Kyari told me to mention the name of Senate President Bukola Saraki that he gave me the guns for the operations. But I declined to do contending that my life is at stake.

“He (Abba Kyari) promised that they would reward me handsomely and set me free if I can indict Senator Saraki. When I disagreed they called some policemen to take me back to their cell. During this time my hands were tied to my legs,” Akinnibosun said.

The trial Judge, Justice Halimat Salman adjourned the case to March 25, 2019 for continuation.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/offa-robbery-case-police-forced-me-to.html

Some of the senators-elect, who received certificates of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, in Abuja, have cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders not to meddle in the emergence of the Senate president and other leaders of the 9th Senate.

This is coming barely two and a half months to the inauguration of the 9th Senate.

The newly elected senators further cautioned the APC and the presidency to manage the issue of the election of the presiding officers of the Senate in such a manner as to ensure peace in the upper chamber as well as harmonious relationship between the lawmakers and the presidency.


Speaking with newsmen at the event, the elected lawmakers, though didn’t rule out the presidency and leadership of the party playing some roles in the emergence of the next Senate leadership, added that they must be careful not to re-introduce fresh crisis.

The newly elected Senator Adedayo Adeyeye (APC, Ekiti South) advised that for the 9th Senate to avoid the leadership crisis that engulfed the 8th Senate, the national leadership of the party must provide the required direction to that effect.


Also speaking, the senator-elect, Bamidele Opeyemi (APC Ekiti Central), suggested that whatever process would be used by the presidency and party leadership must be well managed to avoid any backlash.

He said: “The calibre and character of personalities elected for the 9th Senate are very solid and promising for the country, but leadership is key, the very reason why the leadership of the ruling party must manage well, whatever process it is going to use for emergence of leadership at both chambers this time around.

“Once this is done, the party and, in particular, the National Assembly and the presidency will be on the same page on development-driven bills sponsorship, policy formulations, and approvals.”

The spokesman of the Senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger North), told journalists that the lesson learnt in the 8th Senate would be used to prevent the mistakes of the past from happening.

He said: “I was a key player in the leadership configuration of the 8th Senate and the attendant crises that followed. As one of the 43 returnees now, the lessons learnt will be used to prevent the mistakes of the past from happening.”

A twist was, however, added to the leadership race on Thursday as Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), openly declared for the position of deputy president of the Senate.


Recall that it was reported that Ahmed Lawan (APC, Yobe, North East); Ali Ndume (APC, Borno, North East); Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa, North Central) and Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe, North East) are interested in the position of Senate president.

With Gaya, a senator from North West declaring for deputy and others from North East and Central eyeing the Senate president, the Southern region will have nothing in the Senate if this projection materialises.

Gaya, who declared his intention on Thursday at the International Conference Centre (ICC), after collecting his certificate of return as senator-elect from Kano South into the 9th Senate, told journalists that his aspiration is driven by mass appeal for it from his colleagues and his burning desire to serve in the leadership of the next Senate, having returned for the fourth time.

He said: “I thank the Almighty Allah who granted me the grace of being elected into the Senate for the fourth time.

“As regards the leadership composition of the 9th Senate, majority of my colleagues are mounting pressure on me to run for the position of deputy senate president, which I want to use this opportunity to announce that I’m running for the position, being one the most ranking senators in the 9th Senate.”

He, however, added that his ambition for the position would be determined by permission to that effect by the presidency and the party just as he stated that had Senator Bukola Saraki remained in APC and won, he would have still retained his position as Senate president.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/senators-caution-buhari-apc-against.html

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rural Development, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, has expressed deep sadness over the death of a member of the committee, Hon. Temitope Olatoye (a.k a Sugar).

Olatoye, who represented Lagelu/ Akinleye Federal Constituency in Oyo State, was killed by unknown persons on his way back from casting his vote on Saturday, March 9.

In his tribute, Adebutu described the deceased lawmaker as a patriot who made fruitful contributions to legislative reforms in Nigeria.

According to him, “Hon. Olatoye was a vibrant member of the House Committee on Rural Development who understood the intricacies of rural development in Nigeria and strived to see reforms introduced to rural communities across the country.”

He added that Olatoye will be sadly missed and prayed for the repose of his soul.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/house-committee-chair-mourns-slain.html

Senator-elect for Abia North and former state governor, Chief Orji Kalu, said on Thursday that he had put his political enmity with his successor, Sen. Theodore Orji, behind him and was prepared to work harmoniously with him in the Senate.

Kalu said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent in Umuahia, shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Election Commission in Abuja.

He said: “I have forgiven him (Orji) for the benefit of Abia people and we are going to work as one family in the Senate in the interest of Abia and Nigeria.

“We are going to have a robust relationship in the Senate because the interest of Abia and Abians is uppermost to me.”

NAN reports that Kalu and Orji, who succeeded him in 2007 as Abia governor, had been arch- enemies for almost a decade due to political differences.

Kalu, who won the March 9 National Assembly polls, after two consecutive attempts, said that he would work assiduously to re-write the history of representation in his senatorial district.

“There is a lot of work to do for my constituency and we shall work to support the programmes of the Federal Government to ensure they succeed,” he said.

Kalu, who was a member of the House of Representatives in the aborted Third Republic, promised that the ninth Senate would reverse the unnecessary delay in the passage of the annual budget.

He said that the Senate would ensure that the Appropriation Bills received expeditious considerations, once they were presented by the president.

“The consideration and passage of budget estimates would not exceed three months. Once the president presents the bill in September, by December we would have concluded the consideration.

“By so doing, the budget would be ready by January for the president’s assent,” Kalu said.

He said that during the consideration of the budget, the ministers would be restrained from embarking on overseas trips.

“They must be available during the budget defence. They would not be allowed to travel overseas until the budget is ready,” Kalu said.


He said that his membership of the Senate would be remarkable, saying that he would strive to build harmonious relationship among all the ethnic nationalities in the National Assembly.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/ive-forgiven-theodore-orji-says-kalu.html

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday met behind closed doors with the Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar and the Adamawa State Governor, Jibrila Bindow at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The two governors are seeking second tenure on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

But the governorship results of the March 9th elections in the two states were declared inconclusive.

The agenda of the meeting on Thursday was not made public.

It was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/breaking-osinbajo-bindow-abubakar-meet.html

The candidate of the Action Alliance in the just concluded General Elections in Imo State Mr Uche Nwosu have called on his supporters who he gave vehicles to for campaign purposes to return the vehicles or face police arrest. Uche Nwosu who is contesting the victory of Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha yesterday allegedly held his

Uche Nwosu who is contesting the victory of Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha yesterday allegedly held his coordinators hostage in Government House allegedly over the N10million given each of them to share at the polling units and demanded they return the money given to them since they failed.

The coordinators claimed they gave the money given to them to the people but the people voted who they wanted and there was no way they could return the money since they used it as they were asked to.
Similar reports have also been heard from the APGA Governorship camp of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume who had even before the election threatened to take back cars he had given to his coordinators and supporters if they failed to deliver their booths.

Uche Nwosu and Ararume have both refused to accept the outcome of the election and are both demanding a total cancellation of the election.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/return-my-cars-or-face-police-arrest.html

A prosecution witness, Abdulraheem Jimoh, in the ongoing trial of Erastus Akingbola, a former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, yesterday told Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, how the defendant diverted funds from the bank and bought some property in London for £9.7 million

A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Acting Spokesperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Tony Orilade, said the prosecution had on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 opened the trial of the former bank chief.At the resumed hearing, Jimoh, a former Chief Inspector with the defunct Intercontinental Bank, told the court how he unravelled fraudulent transactions by Akingbola.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the witness said: “I was given a letter by the management of the bank, which came from Tropics Securities Limited, a company owned by Dr. Erastus Akingbola, his wife and some other shareholders.


“The letter was addressed to the Group Managing Director, Dr. Erastus Akingbola and for the attention of Mr. Olayinka Adebiyi, requesting the payment of N10 billion, N1.2 billion and N4.3 billion to Tropics Securities Limited and other companies. “Investigation report on the issuance of N10 billion to Tropics Properties, Tropic Securities Limited and Bankinson Nigeria Limited showed that the monies paid and cleared by Access Bank were said to have been used to pay for the “indebtedness to Access Bank”.

The witness said the N10 billion fraud was discovered by the bank and later forwarded to him for further enquiry. In his further evidence, he said he discovered, during investigation, that the defendant acquired property in London with £8.5 million and £1.2 million allegedly diverted from the bank. He added: “This was discovered when the bank received a letter via e-mail from Deutsche Bank of London.

“Monies were transferred to Soo-Kok Holdings Limited; Tofa General Enterprises; Cinca Nigeria Limited; Harmony Trust and Investment Limited; Stanzus Investment Limited.” Counsel to the defendant, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), during cross-examination, confronted the witness with a documented evidence he gave to an Ikeja High Court some years ago where he contradicted himself over his MBA qualification.

“I enrolled, but the MBA programme was aborted because I didn’t finish some project works in 2000 from the University of Ilorin,” the witness stated. Olanipekun also told the court that the witness was misleading the court, saying: “The witness is not a witness of truth and, therefore, should not be believed by the court of his testimony.”

When asked to explain to the court the origin of the statement to the court marked Exhibit L, he said: “The statement was written in my office when the EFCC investigators came to interview me. They gave me their letter head.”The statement was typed by someone else in my office.

“I sat beside the person who typed the statement while I dictated the hand-written statement to her.” Under further cross-examination, he said he never interrogated or met with the defendant.The witness, however, admitted to have interrogated various Heads of Departments in the bank.

“I interrogated various Heads of Departments in Intercontinental Bank because they acted upon the instructions of Akingbola”, the witness said. The witness also told the court that no loan was granted to the defendant or his companies. Justice Olatoregun adjourned the case to today, March 14, 2019, for continuation of trial.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/witness-reveals-how-akingbola-allegedly.html

The Nigerian Senate resumed briefly on Tuesday, before proceeding to adjourn sitting.

The decision followed a motion by the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, who prayed his colleagues postpone plenary in honour of Temitope Olatoye, a member of the House of Representatives, who died on March 9.

Olatoye was killed by suspected thugs after he was shot in the eye. The incident happened in Elesu village in Ward 13, Lalupon, Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State, on Saturday evening.

Until his demise, he represented Lagelu/Akinyele Federal Constituency in Oyo State.

One minute of silence was observed for the deceased.

Plenary was adjourned until Wednesday.

“It is our culture in the Senate and National Assembly in general that when this kind of thing happens, either in Senate or House of Representatives, we observe a minute silence and adjourn plenary in honour of our late brother and friend. May his soul rest in peace. Our condolences goes to his family, the people and government of Oyo State. I hope we can address the issue of what happened to this colleague of ours and the circumstances in which he lost his life," Senate President Bukola Saraki said.

During the plenary, the Senate President anounced that Senator Francis Alimikhena would take charge as Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee on the New Minimum Wage from Senator Olusola Adeyeye.

He also announced that deliberations on the 2019 budget would hold on Wednesday and Thursday.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/senate-resumes-plenary-briefly-adjourns.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock at the plane crash involving an Ethiopian Airliner bound for Nairobi, Kenya, in which all the 149 passengers and eight crew members died.


Akelicious had reported that the airline announced that there were no survivors on its flight ET302 which crashed on Sunday en route Nairobi from Addis Ababa.

The airline said the 149 passengers and eight crew members on board the B-737-800MAX with registration number ET- AVJ, all died in the crash.


“None of the people on board the Boeing 737 that crashed en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi survived,” the airline said.

Reacting, Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, extended condolences to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, the people of Ethiopia, Kenya, Canada, China and all other nations who lost citizens in the air disaster.

The President also commiserates with the families of the victims and prays God Almighty to grant the gentle souls of the departed eternal rest.


Buhari said “Such large scale loss of human lives in a single incident is shocking beyond words. I am profoundly touched by this devastating report of air accident involving one of the world’s most successful and efficient Airlines. Given its remarkable safety record. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for Ethiopian Airlines.”

“like every other African leader, I am proud of the fact that Ethiopian Airlines represents one of Africa’s success stories.”

Buhari added that he hopes that the tragic accident will not have a negative effect on Ethiopian Airlines’ passion for excellence.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/ethiopian-airlines-buhari-reacts-as-157.html

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Collation Officer Prof. Emmanuel Sanya has announced Abdullahi Halidu-Danbaba as the winner of the March 9 Kwara House of Assembly seat of Kaiama/Kenmaji/Wajibe constituency.

Halidu-Danbaba defeated the incumbent occupier of the seat, Ahmed Mohammed, who was seeking re-election into the state Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Declaring the result on Saturday night in Kaiama, the headquarters of Kaiama local government area of the state, Prof said that the APC candidate polled 7,096 to defeat the PDP candidate that scored 1835.

In his reaction, Halidu-Danbaba commended the people of the constituency for voting for the APC.

He noted that now that APC had taken over the state, there would be a synergy to rapidly develop the area in term of infrastructure and human capital.

He explained that the victory came with a message of hope as bad leadership and mis-governance had been put to an end in the state.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/apc-beats-incumbent-pdp-legislator-to.html

The visibly traumatised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accredited observers during Saturday’s governorship and state assembly elections in Enugu State have narrated their ordeals at the residence of Senator Ayogu Eze, the guber candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Observers say they had paid a visit to verify his alleged boycott of the election.

The observers, who introduced themselves as members of Global Policy Advocate and Leadership Initiative said they narrowly escaped death during the unfortunate attack on them, despite all the efforts they made to identify themselves before the angry supporters of Senator Eze, numbering over seven hundred.

Speaking to journalists shortly after they were rescued by the police and brought to Enugu from Enugu-Ezike, where the ensuing fracas claimed one life, the group thanked God for sparing their lives.

Resulting from the injury sustained from the attack, the leader of the Team, Amaka Offor, felt seriously sick and fainted just a few meters away from the Enugu Police Command headquarters, immediately they were granted bail.

She could not narrative her experience.

It would be recalled that an incident at the residence of Senator Eze, claimed the life of a 30-year-old man.

Speaking on the incident, the observers alleged that they escaped death by the whiskers.

One of the leaders of the the team, Mr. Frank Ohazulike, said but for the prompt response of security operatives, they would have either been lynched or burnt alive.

Ohazulike, who gave graphic details of the incident, further stated that it was cruel for anyone to have claimed that they were Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, thugs.

He narrated their experience thus:

“We’re independent domestic observers, a team from Global Policy Advocate and Leadership Initiative.

“This is an organization accredited by the INEC. We’re the 50th group that was accredited to monitor this election, hence we came down here to Enugu to monitor this process.

“We came here and in the process of going for electoral observation, our car broke down. We then looked for an alternative means to move around. Luckily for us, we approached a friend that works in the Government House and he obliged to give us a bus so we could use it to move around.

“At a point, we got a call that Senator Ayogu Eze, the APC guber candidate had allegedly boycotted the election. So, we decided to visit his home at Umuida in Enugu Ezike in order to get our facts and figures right so that we would be able to ascertain the correct information to give to the outside world when writing our reports.

“So, when we got to Senator Ayogu Ezeh’s residence, we requested to see him. We also met some media people there while other observers were coming out from the place. We requested to know if it was, indeed, true as it was being alleged that he had threathened to boycott the exercise. Some people alleged that it was because of the removal of his name from INEC list whereas others claimed that they knew that the PDP would compromise the processes. They told us that he was busy inside and would not come out.

“So, as we were driving out of his compound, one man accosted us and asked us where we were coming out from and our mission there. We explained to him and even showed him our ID cards. The man got enraged and asked us: ‘why would you people come to this place in a vehicle with a government number plate? We explained that we had an issue on the road and we had to get an assistance in that emergency situation.

“We told him that we didn’t see that as a problem because even when the presidenct visits non-PDP States, they give the entourage vehicles to move around. We explained to him that in the spirit of oneness, we can always get help to make sure that the electoral process is observed.

“Immediately, the man beckoned on all the thugs within the compound; they were more than 700 and they rushed to our vehicle, smashed the windscreens and other glasses in the vehicle. They even brought out one cap with an inscription ‘Gburus’ and they dropped it in the front of our car.

“Before we knew it, they started beating us. We were beaten to stupor; they threatened to get the ladies with us naked. If not for the timely intervention of the police, the DSS and the Army, it would have been a different thing. They asked them to stop beating us because we’re observers, that we were merely doing our job. Some of the thugs threatened to burn us inside the vehicle. They collected all our phones, our gadgets, our reports and other personal effects.

“At that point, the police now started shooting their guns apparently to harass and/or disperse them. Some of them still remained adamant. One of them was busy struggling for the gun with one of the mobile policemen.

“In the process, we now suddenly saw somebody lying in the pool of his own blood.

There was a lot of pandemonium. Senator Ayogu Eze now came down and called us, asked us what the problem was. When we told him, he apologized to us; he said that he felt bad over what had happened to us. He now pleaded with the police to escort us out of the place.

“The police took us from there to the police station in the area and finally to Enugu until now we were granted bail after police investigation confirmed our name in the list of observers with INEC.”

On the claims that they were PDP thugs, the INEC-accredited observer charged: “How can we be thugs; who is saying that? Didn’t they see our tags? We had nothing to do with the State Government; it was just on pure emergency that we sought assistance and got that bus from a friend. We actually had a vehicle which we had been using. So, we never had any contact with the State Government. We are observers, properly accredited by the INEC and we did identify ourselves as the 50th on that list.”

When asked to rate the conduct of the elections, Ohazulike said “the election was going on very smoothly until we had that incident which was not in a polling booth.

“So, there was no issue in Enugu apart from that isolated incident. If you ask me to rate the performance, I would say it was over 90 percent success on the part of the INEC, the security agencies and other stakeholders.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/how-we-escaped-death-in-apc-guber.html

No fewer than 36,392 registered voters in three out of 10 wards in Ezza North Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi State were disenfranchised in the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state following an inferno that engulfed three Registration Area Centres (RACs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the council area.

Suspected political thugs about 2:15a.m on Saturday set ablaze all the voting materials meant to be used in Oriuzo 009; Okposi Umuoghara 007 and Ekaa 002 RACs.

Sunday Sun gathered that the thugs stormed the RACs and shot sporadically into the air before setting the election materials ablaze.

According to sources, the ad-hoc staff of the INEC, some of who were youth corps members, scampered for safety while the ensuing confusion lasted.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/ebonyi-thugs-burn-down-inec-rac.html

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, has called on the Federal Government to implement recommendations on newly inaugurated reports on child protection in the country.
The reports are Financial Benchmark on Child Protection Services and the Economic Burden of Violence Against Children.
Fall made the appeal at the inauguration of the two reports in Abuja on Thursday.
He said the implementation would help the country to achieve target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He also emphasised the need to invest more in the protection of children in the country.
“With the report we now know that violence against children, in any form, not only has a lifelong impact on a child’s physical and psychological development, it also eventually results in diminished human capital, affecting all of society.
“These reports are important because if Nigeria does not achieve the SDGs, including those on ending violence against children, the world will not achieve the SDGs. And the world is watching us,’’ the UNICEF official said.
Fall, who noted this year as the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, said “the inauguration was an important moment of reflection on the state of children’s rights in Nigeria 30 years after the world committed to promoting and protecting them.’’
He said it was an opportunity to reflect on what could be done to improve the situation in Nigeria and measures needed to be in place to ensure that children could live happy, safe and productive lives.
Fall said that to combat violence against children and to ensure their protection a strong and comprehensive child protection system must be in place nationwide.
The UNICEF representative, who frowned at the current low fiscal budget and subsequent expenditure on child protection services, added that it was lower than 0.5 per cent of Nigeria’s total expenditures.
Specifically, he said that in 2015 about N10.1 billion or 0.16 per cent of the consolidated Federal and State expenditure was recorded.
“Currently, government expenditures cover mainly responsive child protection services, thereby neglecting the importance of essential preventive measures like the domestication of the Child Rights Act in all 36 states including the FCT.
“It also neglects ensuring universal access to birth registration services, giving an identity to each and every child and raising awareness of child abuse due to some prevailing social norms and harmful practices.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/child-protection-reports-unicef-urges.html

No fewer than thirty-two political parties are fielding candidates for Saturday’s governorship polls in Benue state, Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Nentawe Goshwe said on Friday.

However, the tense political battle going on between longtime political godfather, Senator George Akume and his erstwhile loyalist, Governor Samuel Ortom has intensified issues between their parties, All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) respectively.

Aggressive mobilisation by loyalists of Akume who surprisingly lost his senatorial seat two weeks ago, in support of APC governorship candidate, Emmanuel Jime and Ortom’s supporters yearning to defy Akume’s clout and retain the governorship has strongly energized the political landscape in Benue state.

With an average of about two candidates per ward jostling for a position on the state’s House of Assembly, the grassroots appear sufficiently stimulated for a turnout far beyond the 36 percent voter turnout recorded during the presidential election two weeks ago.

Speaking with some reporters on behalf of the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC’s Head, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Organisations in Benue State, Mr. Emmanuel Okpe; stated that 432 candidates from various political parties are jostling for 30 Assembly seats in the state.

He further stated that no fewer than 2,182,997 registered voters out of the state’s total of 2,480,131 registered voters are expected to use their permanent voter cards and vote during the governorship and state House of Assembly elections on Saturday.

According to the INEC official, about 5,025 smart card readers had been re-configured for both the polling units and voting points in the state.

He also said that over 22,000 ad-hoc staff would be on duty at the 3,688 polling units and voting points across Benue state.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/32-political-parties-set-for-polls-in.html

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that the NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank (NMFB) will provide loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at five per cent interest rate for about seven years tenor, as well as a two-year moratorium.

NMFB, a brainchild of the Bankers’ Committee, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), was set up with an initial capital base of N5 billion and designed to boost credit to small businesses by removing identified problems. Emefiele, who said the emergence of the institution would significantly boost access to credit for SMEs, however, allayed the fears expressed by existing microfinance institutions that the emergence of NMFB could be a ploy to crowd them out of business.


The CBN governor argued that it would help create some form of competitive landscape to checkmate the excesses of existing institutions particularly in the areas of exorbitant interest charges.

Speaking to journalists in Gwagwalada, Abuja, shortly after a facility tour of a model NIRSAL MFB, which will soon be formally inaugurated, Emefiele urged microfinance institutions to be fair in their dealings with their customers.
He said: “The existing microfinance institutions are doing their best and I must say that I have heard some of them say that this is an attempt to crowd them out.

“It is not an attempt to crowd them out but it is also an attempt to complement their services and also see to it that whatever services that is being provided by these microfinance institutions which are in their own right also banks- that they should be seen to be fair to their customers.”
The CBN boss added: “And when we say being fair, it also leads to what pricing are you charging for the loans you are granting?

“I also know of the rural communities where the microfinance institution charge very prohibitive interest rates, sometimes we hear about five per cent flag, ten per cent flag, but here we are talking about making loans available at very low interest rates to these people.

“I think it (NMFB) will help create some form of competitive landscape so that those kinds of practices where it’s as if “you take it or leave it” will no longer arise. Because if you are unable to provide them the kind of finance and interest which they think it is right, then they should be able to have access to our own microfinance institution support as well.”

However, commenting further on the single-digit credit provision to SMEs, Emefiele said: “You will find that if someone takes a loan of about N1 million and he has moratorium of about two years, and comes back to say for the next five years he is going to pay back the loan, the amount he is going to pay will be so paltry and the person would have really stabilised in his business and begin to earn a living to be able to survive and pay the loan.”

He said: “I am happy that with the establishment of this microfinance bank which would be in at least local government all through the federation- we are talking about 774 locations all through the country, we would have been able to really set up a financial institution that will help deepen financial inclusion, making it easy for people to access credit, particularly the small and unbanked people because we have always said these are the very weak along the chain, so we are going to use this to really improve access to credit.”

According to him: “The technology that will be used here- you are not going to see too much of cash: it is going to be a fintech technology but the important thing is that we have already set a target for ourselves to say that by the year 2020 which is just next year- about 20 months- the rate of financial inclusion in Nigeria must increase to 80 per cent from about 48 per cent about a year and a half ago.

“So, this is just part of our initiative to make sure that we deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.”
Emefiele further explained that issues bordering on collateral to access the facility had been addressed.
“We know that those who are weak in terms of being unable to access credit- the big issue for them is also the inability to provide collateral. So what are we saying here? They will be able to access credit without necessarily providing any collateral.

“The asset that we are financing for them, like the poultry business will act as the collateral – that collateral will be registered in the National Collateral Registry as something that is eligible to serve as collateral or security for a loan that has been taken.”

Meanwhile, the Bankers’ Committee provided the set up equity capital and owns 50 per cent of the bank, while NIRSAL and NIPOST own 40 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

One of the bank’s cardinal objectives is to expand available options and empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country with structured microcredit to help them establish and expand their businesses.
The institution plans to utilise extant structures to reach the most financially excluded Nigerians in rural communities by working with all relevant partners, stakeholders and players to achieve its objectives.

NMFB is expected to be launched simultaneously across the six geopolitical zones in the country as well as at the flagship branch in Gwagwalada, Abuja, while other pilot locations include Bauchi, Ibadan, Kaduna, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Lokoja NIPOST offices.

The roll out is expected to continue in other parts of the country eventually covering all 774 local governments.
Emefiele had inspected one out of the first set of seven NMFBs with plans to scale it up to 50 in the next phase before the end of the year.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/emefiele-cbn-backed-mfb-will-provide.html

Nigeria has assumed the Chairmanship of the African Group at the United Nations for the month of March 2019, succeeding the Republic of Benin.

The Nigerian Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Tijjani Bande, took over from his counterpart for the Republic of Benin, Jean-Claude do Rego, at a ceremony at the African Union Observer Mission in New York.

Bande pledged Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening the African continent.

The Nigerian envoy also said his focus as Chairman of the African Group would be to convey the views of the African Union at the United Nations and globally.

“The focus of the Mission of Nigeria is to help to continue the work of consolidating Africa’s position on a number of common important issues from the point of view of the continent.

“These positions are questions like Security Council reform, positions we take in relation to the Status of Women, and issues relating to Peace and Security around the globe.

“The whole idea is to strengthen the African voice.

“The voices actually are of the African Permanent Representatives but occasionally, collectively, we need to make a statement for the continent and to defend the continent’s interests,” Bande said.

The Ambassador/Permanent Observer of African Union to the United Nations, Ms Fatima Kyari-Mohammed, said the Chairmanship position of the African Group was very important in projecting Africa’s voice at the United Nations.

Fatima said: “The monthly leadership allows us to have somebody that can help us with the coordination of the various priorities for that month.

“This is to ensure that we follow through on the various priorities for us and most importantly, when it comes to projecting our positions at the UN.”

According to her, there are a number of different platforms where Africa needs to speak as a group.

She said the African Mission, through the African Group, ensured that Africa’s positions as a group are integrated to ensure that they are understood by all UN Member States, projected and then followed up.

Earlier, the Rego had commended Nigeria for its contributions to Africa’s integration, describing the country as a ‘pride’ of Africa.

The Republic of Benin’s envoy also expressed confidence that the quality of interaction among the Member States of the continent would be enhanced under Nigeria’s leadership.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/nigeria-assumes-chairmanship-of-african.html

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has expressed its support for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monetary policy and intervention in critical sectors in the economy.

In a statement yesterday, ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the central bank under Governor Godwin Emefiele, has achieved financial stability and promoted monetary policy initiatives that have kept the economy on the right paths.


He said CBN’s sound monetary policy decisions have also impacted positively on the banking system and economy, adding that bank customers now have confidence in the financial system.

Gwadabe said the monetary policy decisions of the CBN has helped to lower inflation rate, boosted foreign reserves and stabilised the naira exchange rate.

He said the local currency has been continuously strengthened by the CBN dollar/Yuan interventions and other policy initiatives.

The statement added: “The monetary policy decisions, Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and foreign exchange interventions are among the measures that brought inflation down from 17.2 per cent in April, 2017 to 11.37 per cent in January 2019.

“The CBN-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept benchmark interest rate steady at 14 per cent for over two years to curb inflation and support the naira.”

He said CBN’s registration of more International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) from 11 to 60 operators has also boosted Diaspora remittance inflows into the economy adding that the short-term outlook of the Nigerian economy remains positive.

He also applauded the CBN’s initiatives including the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Forex window, which has helped to attract foreign capital investment into the economy as well as foreign investors who are committed to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential.

Gwadabe, said the CBN’s restriction on 42 items that can be produced locally from accessing foreign exchange has not only improved the local production of the concerned items, but led to better utilization of available foreign exchange.

The ABCON boss also applauded the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers programme, which has led to Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice production, moving the country from a net importer of rice to a major producer of rice, supplying key markets in neighboring countries.

The apex bank, he added, also established a N300 billion Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) to unlock potentials in the economy and promote real sector growth. The facility is supporting large enterprises for start-ups and expansion financing needs of N500 million up to a maximum of N10 billion in key sectors of the economy, especially manufacturing, agriculture and services.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/currency-dealers-back-cbns-policies.html

The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to bring to an end the illegal seizure of goods and over time cargo charges by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

At a media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja, Ken Ukaoha, president of NANTS, lamented that the members of the his association, who transact genuine businesses, have suffered terribly in the hands of personnel of NCS, adding that this ugly phenomenon had negatively impacted on business activities in the country as well as hampered economic growth.

He noted that apart from the illegal and incessant confiscation of goods of traders, there was urgent need for President Buhari to address the menace of multiple taxations, which he described as a “disincentive to economic growth.”


While congratulating the president on his re-election in the just concluded 2019 presidential poll, Ukaoha tasked him to provide a credible and predictable trade policy for the country’s economic growth.

As part of agenda setting for his second tenure, he asked Buhari to address the incessant market fire disasters across the country, adding that the source of livelihoods of traders have often destroyed as a result of inferno that have engulfed the markets.


According to him, in the last one week, there have been fire incidences in Niger and Sokoto states, urging the government to give priority attention to the protection of local or domestic investments.

He further tasked Buhari led administration to include the members of the Association on the Boards of Agencies and Departments under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) as well as Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

According to him, “We wish to remind Mr. President that it amounts to obvious injustice that out of 17 Agencies and parastatals under the FMITI and 45 Agencies under the supervision of FMARD, no trader sits on the Board of any.

“NANTS therefore appeals that her members should be included in all statutory Boards of Agencies related to their activities, including the Nigeria Customs Service where import duties paid by traders have kept the country’s economy on its feet.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/nants-wants-buhari-to-end-illegal.html

Worried by the large-scale irregularities that characterised the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in Niger State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state has warned that any community that refuses to allow the use of smart card readers during the next Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly polls would have the results of the affected area cancelled.

INEC said the non use of the smart card readers contravenes the Electoral Act, insisting that the smart card readers were integral part of the electoral process and therefore mandatory for it to be used during the election.

Resident Electoral Commissioner in Niger State, Professor Sam Egwu, gave the warning in Minna on Tuesday after inspecting materials for next Saturday’s elections.

The INEC warning is sequel to complaints by local government returning officers for the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state, that the presiding officers were forced to drop card readers machines for manual voting in no fewer than 10 out of the 25 local government areas of the state.

According to Egwu, the commission discovered that in some parts of the state during the presidential and National Assembly elections, voters refused to use the smart card readers under the guise that the machines failed to function.

“I am aware we had challenges with the card readers in some areas; there was popular pressure to abandon the smart card readers; let me warn that failure to use the card readers the consequences will be very grave

“We will put zero for any polling unit where the card readers are not used,” Professor Egwu declared.

He also said that there was no link between the networks of the telecommunications service providers and smart card readers, insisting that card readers operate independently of telephone networks.

Professor Egwu disclosed that the commission was ready for the conduct of the governorship and House of Assembly elections, saying that it had received all the sensitive materials.

“All the sensitive materials are here in Niger State; we have scrutinised them, we have batched them local government by local government; we don’t have any shortage.”

He added that the materials would be sorted out polling unit by polling unit and despatched on Friday.

Professor Egwu said 31 political parties were fielding candidates for the governorship election in the state while 371 candidates from 27 political parties would jostle for the 27 assembly seats in the state.

The resident electoral commissioner was of the view that Saturdays election “will be more competitive, because all politics are local; elections on March 9 are local; people who did not vote the last time want to vote this time around.”

He, however, called on voters to conduct themselves in orderly manners during and after the election so that they would not run foul of the law.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/inec-threatens-to-cancel-election.html

The Central Bank of Nigerian ( CBN ) has moved to revive Nigeria’s moribund textile and clothing industry with foreign exchange restrictions on importers of textiles and clothing materials.

Speaking at the at the Textile Industry stakeholders Meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele announced that the apex bank has decided to implement a few steps that will support the revival of the textile sectors.

These steps he said include; financial support to textile manufacturers with the provision of funds at single digits rate, to refit, retool and upgrade their factories in order to produce high-quality textile materials for the local and export market.

“Effective immediately, the CBN hereby place the access to FX for all forms of textile materials on the FX restriction list. Accordingly, all FX dealers in Nigeria are to desist from granting any importer of textile material access to FX in the Nigerian Foreign exchange market.”

In addition, the CBN he said “shall adopt a range of other Strategies that will make it difficult for recalcitrant smugglers to operate banking business in Nigeria. The details of those strategies will be unfolded in due course.”

Also the CBN “shall, initially support the importation of cotton lint for use in textile factories, with a caveat that such importers shall begin sourcing all their cotton needs locally beginning from year 2020.”

As part of its Anchor Borrowers Program, the CBN he said will support local growers of cotton to enable them meet the needs of the textile industries in Nigeria. To this end, the CBN “shall also support efforts to source high yield cotton seedlings so as to ensure the yields from our cotton farmers meet global benchmarks.”

As regards provision of stable electricity, the CBN has also offered to support the creation textile production centers in certain designated areas in Nigeria where access to electricity shall be guaranteed.

Emefiele noted that in 2016, the CBN began discussions with the Kano and Kaduna State Governments to establish textile industrial areas in a bid to guarantee stable electricity in those industrial areas. “We would intensify efforts with these governments and others that may show keen interest to see to the quick actualization of such programmes.

On the FX restrictions specifically which will take effect from today, Emefiele insisted that “banks or FX authorized dealers are prohibited from granting or selling Forex to anybody who wants to import textiles, clothing, textile materials whether through valid and non-valid, I would just advice that there is no need for anybody to talk about whether it is valid or non-valid format we need to close it.”

“Once we close it, it will make it difficult for them to import those garments into Nigeria so that all those garments that are sitting in the factories, the people will be forced to go and buy them whether the price is right or not they will be forced to buy them and the fact that they are forced to buy, they create opportunities for more people to go into that business and over time the price will stabilize that is the idea.”

He said talked about 2020 because “I felt that the cotton association talked about time from planting to harvesting cotton and whether it will be in the kind of quantity that you may need and the rest so that is why we are saying for now subject to speaking to these stakeholders behind closed doors, we may say ‘you can import your cotton that is needed by the industry to gin and then convert into their textiles on the condition that by 2020 this will stop in which case our farmers would have gotten into the rhythm to produce the cotton that we need for our textile production.”

These measures the CBN governor said “will discourage smuggling, resuscitate this critical industry, and support efforts at creating jobs for Nigerians.”


The CBN was moved to take these critical steps to save the textile industry because according to Emefiele, “today, Nigeria currently spends above $4 billion annually on imported textiles and ready-made clothing. With a projected population of over 180 million Nigerians, the needs of the domestic market are huge and varied, with immense prospects, not only for job creation, but also for growth of the domestic textile industries.”

One example that highlights the potential of this local market, he pointed out includes “the need to support provision of uniforms and clothing apparels for school students, military and paramilitary officers as well as workers in the industrial sector. In addition, when we consider the amount spent on outfits for religious and social events such as weddings, naming and funeral ceremonies on a weekly basis, the potential market size is well over $10 billion annually.”

Emefiele told the textile industry stakeholders that the CBN is ready “to change this narrative today. I believe that if the CBN along with other critical stakeholders are able to address some of the challenges facing this key industry, given the high domestic demand for textiles, we will be able to create jobs for our economy, while increasing production of textiles in Nigeria.”

During the interactive session with journalists and textile industry stakeholders, the CBN governor assured the group from the mining sector of the industry as well as textile groups generally that “regarding the loans from the Bank of Industries (BoI), we will be engaging the BoI, a substantial portion of the loans that they have lent out to you are our own Central Bank interventions so we will be talking to see how these loans can be properly restructured so that you now have a new beginning.”

He said he was “optimistic that they will agree for the restructuring given the attempts we are now making to get this industry back to life. Once this is done I believe you shouldn’t have any problems about restructuring the facility.”

Emefiele also assured the cotton and textile stakeholders that “before the planting in May we would have gone round and made funds available because we have development finance officers in all CBN branches and we have an anchor borrowers template for recognizing genuine farmers to access the funds under the auspices of the association recognized cotton farmers not just anybody who will just come to take money and not pay we want people who genuinely are farmers who genuinely want to go into cotton farming business so that they can help to produce the badly needed raw materials for the textile mills to produce.”

With regards to textile factories that have stockpiles of inventories flooding their warehouses and storage facilities, the CBN helmsman said the CBN “will make things difficult for those things to come in, don’t worry, in our closed door session we will talk about dealing with smuggling and you know the Central Bank does not carry guns or arms we do not have lorries to be at the border post, but we know what we will do to make it difficult for those smugglers to bring those things into Nigeria and we will unfold those things to you so when we make life difficult for them to smuggle this items into the country what does that do, it opens the market for you so that those who would have gone to buy those smuggled or imported goods will be forced to come to the Nigerian. That is one immediate economic solution that I can see and since the president has signed an executive order that will now compel everybody flow in your direction.”

In his address, President of National Cotton Association of Nigeria Mr. Anibe Achimugu expressed delight that the CBN’s latest offensive against textile smuggling and desire to revive the textile industry now signals “better days are ahead of us under the anchor borrowers’ project for members of Cotton and Textile Group (CTG).

He said members of the group were grateful “for the points the CBN governor highlighted in terms of the CBN interventions but want to appeal to the governor that in as much as we have started the journey of the anchor borrowers programme, time is of essence, what has been happening in the past is that we have been missing our planting seasons. We are urging (of course we have our own work as well) that at least within this month we will get the approval that we are seeking under the anchor borrower programme for cotton production to fast track the process of planting and training members.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/cbn-bans-sale-of-forex-to-textile.html

The leadership of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has warned against the continued attacks on the people of South East and their businesses in Lagos State.

In a statement issued to newsmen in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, the leader of the pro-Biafra group, Uchenna Madu, warned that there would be dire consequences if such was not stopped.

This was even as the group commended the social-cultural Yoruba organisation, Afenifere, for condemning the attacks on the Igbo and preaching peace.

The statement partly read: “The leadership of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has warned of dire consequences of systematic attack or organised killings of the people of Biafra that are resident in Oduduwa land mostly in Lagos State.

“Ndigbo are not cowards or afraid of any motivated or sponsored attack against our people in Lagos State or any other part of Nigerian state. We can no longer watch and pretend that we don’t know the evil plans of a popular politician in Lagos and his co travellers against the people of Biafra in Lagos State. We shall continue and not relent in the defence of the people of Biafra anywhere in Nigeria.

“One good thing the last presidential election has brought home to Biafrans worldwide is that despite the machination of our detractors, the Biafran world speaks with one voice as clearly shown in the total and utter rejection of a band of marauders and killers with their armed herdsmen intent on snuffing the very life out of Biafrans.

“Through the votes of every Biafran living in occupied Biafraland and beyond, the verdict came out loud and clear that we reject a blood-sucking, bloodletting regime including their hired minions and saboteurs in Biafraland.

“A thousand Python Dance crude intimidation and outright bribery has not and will not shake our faith in our quest to exit Nigeria. We know those who have joined forces with our enemies to openly declare war on us on our land in the name of elections.

“Biafran citizens living in different parts of Nigeria are encouraged to keep exercising their right to vote especially at the coming governorship elections on the 9th of March 2019, both in Biafraland and in Lagos, a state where we have contributed immensely to its development.

“MASSOB wishes to remind our Yoruba brethren under the same British/Fulani imposed yoke that our hands of fellowship are always extended to the people of Oduduwa. We have been part and parcel of the enormous effort of our leaders from across both sides of the Niger to have a permanent handshake.

“We will not allow a few greedy, wicked, devil-infested spirits, and merchants of death for lucre to destroy the understanding we have built up with you this few years. We know and identify the subtle handiwork of their Fulani handlers, intent on causing ethnic strife to deflect our attention from the recent ‘Guinness Book of Record’ criminal heist of our votes at the presidential elections.

“We appreciate the efforts of Afenifere to douse the tension created by some of their lost sons. We are watching the security agencies keenly as they continue protecting criminals who now steal with bullion vans while intimidating non-violent Biafrans in Nigeria,” the statement concluded.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/massob-warns-against-attacks-on-igbo-in.html

The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has revealed why he is still alive.


Adeboye, who turned 77 over the weekend, disclosed that if not for God, he would have been dead.

He spoke during Sunday morning thanksgiving service at the Redemption Camp in Lagos.


The clergyman disclosed that if not for God Sunday’s service could have been a memorial service, though he refused to give details.

According to Adeboye: “But for God, I won’t be alive today. But for God, this would have been a memorial service. Can somebody help shout Hallelujah! Don’t try to find out the details, just keep on praising God.

“It is not all testimonies you can share in public. You share some of them, people would wonder. I remember telling some of my children some moments ago that a certain General Overseer visited me not too long ago and he began to share all that God had done in his ministry and I kept on saying ‘wonderful, praise God, Glory be to God.’


“After about one hour, he said; ‘Daddy, I am the only one talking, you have not said anything. And I told him, Sir, if I tell you everything God has been doing for me, you will say God is partial. And that’s why some of us can’t say it all.

“You have to keep some of them. But there is one particular point that I must make this morning, I won’t give you the details, but for God, I won’t be alive today. This would have been a memorial service. But for God! Will somebody help me shout Hallelujah,” he told the crowd at the 3 kilometre by 3 kilometre auditorium at the Shimawa area of Ogun State with an unusual calmness that left his listeners confused.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/if-not-for-god-i-would-have-been-dead.html

The Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB) has said it is not bothered about who becomes president of Nigeria from May 29, rather its focus is on Biafra restoration.

The group urged politicians, artisans, traders, academics, professionals, businessmen and women in Biafraland and all over the world to support IPOB in its quest for Biafra liberation.

Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Army, Police, Department of State Security (DSS) and other security apparatus were regular instruments used by the government to disenfranchise citizens from discharging their civic rights in Nigeria.

“With or without your votes, soldiers and police in Nigeria uniforms, including INEC, will continue to rig elections and publicly disenfranchise Biafrans. A new equation has been successfully introduced, which is the use of INEC collation officers to allocate figures to their preferred candidates, under the watchful eyes of the Nigerian military. We are not bothered who becomes president of Nigeria from May 29, because our focus is on Biafra restoration.

“Our people must understand that the way the Constitution of Nigeria was written, and the country’s structure gives the core North undue advantage over the rest of the South, especially with Yoruba support, which the North can always count on. Nigeria is not a country and will never be.

“We wish to reaffirm our position, clearly, to all and sundry, in Nigeria and beyond, that Biafra freedom and sovereignty is non negotiable regardless of the political permutations in Nigeria.

“Idle minds and hired hands can chatter and speculate to their heart’s content on social media, but, one obvious and inescapable fact remains that our stance that voting in Nigeria is useless has been vindicated by the result of the shambolic rigging fest they call elections.

“The unacceptable levels of humiliation, intimidation, killing, announcement of fake results, coupled with sponsored propaganda against our leader, Nnamdi Kanu and entire peaceful movement like IPOB, by strategy deficient perennial losers, cannot stop our total resolve to restore Biafra sovereignty in the shortest possible time.

“Only a slowpoke and worker of iniquity will pretend not to know what transpired in Nigeria, during the recently concluded presidential election. Using the military, police and armed thugs to rig in favour of the ruling APC was clear for all to see.

“Irrespective of your tribe, group or religion, there is undeniable universal acknowledgement that IPOB is the only ray of light in an otherwise dark and murky political landscape in Nigeria.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/we-care-about-biafra-not-who-becomes.html

Nigeria’s total merchandise trade increased by 39.31 per cent to N32.26 trillion (year on year) in 2018 compared to N23.16 trillion in 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). NBS noted that the volume of total merchandise trade in 2018 was the highest recorded since 2014, and almost doubled the pre-recession levels.


However, total trade dropped by 5.1 per cent to N8.60 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018 (Q4 2018) compared to N9.06 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter, the NBS noted.
According to the Foreign Trade Statistics in Goods (Q4 2018), which was released by the statistical agency at the weekend, total export stood at N5.02 trillion in Q4, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent over Q3 and 28.5 per cent over Q4, 2017.

The import component stood at N3.58 trillion in Q4, indicating a decline of N631.6 billion or 15 per cent when compared to Q3 estimates, but showed an increase of 69.6 per cent when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2017.
NBS said the increase in export value and decrease in import value (relative to Q3 2018) resulted in a favourable trade balance of N1441 billion or 125.5 per cent over the preceding quarter.

However, crude oil export, which stood at N4.22 trillion, remained the mainstay of the economy and took the largest share of total exports (84.2 per cent) in Q4. The non-oil products accounted for 4.6 per cent of total exports, while other oil products accounted for 11.2 per cent of total exports in the review period.

According to NBS, the value of total exports in Q4 increased by 3.52 per cent compared to the level recorded in Q3, and was 28.46 per cent higher than Q4 2017 estimates.
Agricultural exports rose by 115.1 per cent in Q4 compared to Q3 2018 and 696.8 per cent compared to Q4 2017.

The statistical agency further stated that the value of raw material goods exports in Q4 was 26.7 per cent higher than the value in Q3 and 7.7 per cent higher than the value recorded in Q4 2017. It stated that the value of solid minerals exports decreased by 20.6 per cent compared to Q3 estimates and 67.7 per cent against the corresponding quarter in 2017.
Exports of energy goods increased in value by 6.1 per cent in Q4 compared to Q3 and by 12.7 per cent when compared with Q4 2017.

Furthermore, the value of manufactured goods exports rose by 14.97 per cent in Q4 when compared with the value recorded in Q3, but decreased 36.6 per cent against the corresponding quarter in 2017.
The value of crude oil exports in Q4 was 1.98 per cent higher than in Q3 2018 and 29.95 per cent higher than in Q4 2017.

Meanwhile, India, Spain, France, South Africa and the Netherlands constituted the country’s major export trading partners in Q4 while China, the United States, Netherlands, India and Belgium were the major import trading partners.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/03/foreign-trade-hits-n3226tn-in-2018.html

The leadership of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in Kano have rejected the presidential results compiled in Kano by INEC.

The party agent at the collation Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi, who is also the chairman of the party in the state expressed disgust with the way in which figures were inflated in the results.

According to him “we cannot accept such inflated figures and that is our stand, so we will go back and analyse the issue to know the next line of action to take.”

“As you can see the presiding officers complained of lack of use of card readers during the voting exercise of the presidential and national assembly elections in the state coupled with over-voting.

Asked whether the PDP will institute a legal action over the narratives, Sulaiman said ” we shall look at the circumstances and provisions of the law and see what the law says so as to pursue our rights.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/02/breaking-pdp-rejects-results-in-kano.html

Kwara Police Command has confirmed that gunmen attacked a Senatorial Candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Arch. Lola Ashiru, and his campaign train in Ojoku in Irepodun Local Government area of the state.

A statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, DSP, confirmed this in Ilorin on Wednesday.

The statement quoted the state Commissioner of Police, CP Kayode Egbetokun, as saying that police officers were dispatched to the scene at Ojoku immediately the report of the gunmen attack on Ashiru was received yesterday evening.

Ashiru is the APC candidate for Kwara South Senatorial District.

The statement read in parts: “a team of policemen, led by the DPO Ilemona and the Squadron Commander 68 Pmf, Offa successfully brought the situation under control and rescued the candidate unhurt.

“It said that suspects, who were actively involved in the attack, were arrested and peace was restored.

“Manhunt for the remaining fleeing suspects had since begun, while discreet investigations of the incident is ongoing.

“The Command is restating its commitment to the safety of lives and property of the people of Kwara State.

“While warning sternly that hooliganism, thuggery, unlawful possession of firearms and other dangerous weapons will be met with superior forces and suspects arrested will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

“Political party leaders are reminded of the peace accord they signed with respect to political campaigns in the state.

“The Command is appealing to the victims of this attack and their sympathisers not to result to self-help, rather have confidence in the command that justice will not only be done but will be seen to have been done in this case.

“The following GSM numbers can be called when in distress before, during and after the elections”, it said.
AIG 08034360736
CP 08066176099
DC ‘A’ 08066666615
ACP Operations 08037029395
ACP CID 08036924220
ACP OFFA 08102990068
ACP BODE SADU 08101135551
ACP OMUARAN 08037424180
ACP KOSUBOSU 08062446298
ACP X SQUAD 09025911911

COMMAND EMERGENCY NUMBERS
08125275046
09053872299
08127252508
08080715002.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/02/kwara-police-confirm-gunmen-attacks-on.html

The President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has been awarded the Foreign Investment Network (FIN) Oil and Gas African ICON of the year award.

Also awarded was the Managing Director of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistic Base, LADOL, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, who bagged the Oil and Gas Leading Women Award at the FIN and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources Honorary Patrons Dinner and Awards Night which was held at the just concluded 2nd edition of Nigeria International Petroleum Summit 2019, in Abuja last week.

The award is an acknowledgement of Jadesimi’s contribution to oil and gas servicing industry and maritime sector’s development in Africa, including leading LADOL – as it ensured that the first successful partial fabrication and integration of the world’s largest FPSO successfully took place in Nigeria, thus making the country the hub for fabrication and integration in Africa. She was also recognised as the Managing Director and CEO of the first Sustainable Industrial Special Economic Zone Africa, and a member of the Price’s Trust International Global Advisory Board; a Founding Commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commiss0ion; and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Maritime Forum.

The Petroleum Industry Award is an arm of the Foreign Investment Network whose main function is to recognise the outstanding achievements made within the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream sectors of the Oil & Gas Industry; rewarding success and commitment to health & safety, environmental stewardship, excellence and corporate social responsibility.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Michael Dragoyevich, Chief Executive Officer of Foreign Investment Network described the award as prestigious Foreign Investment Network (FIN) Petroleum Industry Award in recognition of business leaders like Dr. Amy Jadesimi, who are trailblazers, policy makers and investors in the oil and gas sector in Africa for their contributions

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/02/dangote-ladol-boss-bag-fin-award.html