₦airaland Forum

THE Niger Delta Peoples Alliance has renewed calls for oil giant, Mobil Producing Nigeria, to relocate its headquarters from Lagos to Akwa Ibom State where the company has its main operational base.








NDPA, described it as unfair that Akwa Ibom communities continue to suffer environmental degradation because of Mobil’s exploration of crude oil, while Lagos was getting most of the financial benefits.


The campaign for the relocation was initiated about 15 years ago by the Akwa Ibom government, under the then governor, Victor Attah, known for his passionate advocacy for resource control. Since then, several groups have lent their voices over the years to the campaign.


But there is nothing to indicate that the company may likely heed such call.


NDPA claimed that in 2016 alone, there were five cases of oil spillage, involving more than 30,000 barrels of crude oil, within the local communities in the state.


The group, which met in Uyo on Wednesday, said in its communiqué that the oil-rich state wouldn’t have been weighed down by dwindling revenue, when it could generate up to N5 billion monthly, if Mobil’s headquarters were to be in the state.


The communiqué, signed by the group’s Publicity Director, Unyime Isemin, also assessed some moribund companies in the state, and called on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to specifically revoke the privatization of the Aluminium Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi and the Nigeria Newsprint Manufacturing Company (NNMC) in Oku Iboku.


The group said the government should bring in new companies with capacities to manage them.



“These companies were said to have been privatized for about 10 years now, yet none of them has started production, depriving our teeming youth the needed employment opportunity, (and) also depriving the state of the payee and withholding taxes,” the group said.


It called on the federal government to extend the clean-up of the Niger Delta to the state, as well as upgrade the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, to a maritime university.


It advised the government not to take the people of the state for granted because of their peaceful disposition.


“It is our position that there will be no meaningful and sustainable resolution of (the) Niger Delta struggle without the resolution of items,” the group said.

THE Nigerian Senate on Tuesday told the Federal Government that no asset of Nigeria should be sold in the bid to tackle the economic recession facing the country.








This was one of the resolutions of the Red Chamber sequel to the consideration of the motion on how to tackle the country’s economic crisis.


The National Economic Council, chaired by the Vice President and made up of the Governors of the 36 States and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had last week resolved that some of the country’s assets be sold to tackle the present economic recession.


The move was also supported by the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki.


It was first mooted by billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote.


But the Senate on Tuesday resolved that none of the country’s assets should be sold.


Among those proposed for sale are the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited and refineries.

THE Edo State Government has exempted banks and corporate organisations from the public holiday declared for Tuesday, September 27.

The State Government had declared a public holiday for Tuesday, September 27 and Wednesday, September 28, 2016.


The public holiday was declared to enable voters in the state travel to their various locations and exercise their voting rights on Wednesday, September 28.


However, Banks and corporate community have now been exempted from the public holiday on Tuesday, September 27 in order not to slow down the economy of the state.


The general public should, however, note that the public holiday on Wednesday, September 28 affects everyone in the state as there is a restriction of movement on the election day in accordance with the Electoral Act.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, even though he not declared openly has set up a committee in Aso Villa with the mandate to secure his re-election in 2019.

Top sources in the Aso Villa revealed that the arrowhead of the committee are former Lagos State Governor and current Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Babatunde Fashola, former Governor of Ekiti State and presently Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi and current Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

OUST former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin has said he will not appear before the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges.


Jibrin who is expected to have his day before the committee on Monday told journalist in Abuja on Sunday that he will not honour the committee’s invitation.

CNPP Rejects Reps’ Probe Of Jibrin, Insists On Independent Investigation

Meanwhile, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has rejected the move by the House of Representatives to probe Hon. Abdulmumi Jibrin over his efforts at exposing budget fraud in House, reiterating its call for independent investigation into the allegations “rather than engaging in the persecution of the whistleblower.”

Speaker Hon. Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers of the House of Representatives were named in a budget padding and abuse of office allegations by Hon. Jibrin.

CNPP in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu described Jibrin’s probe by the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges as “a witch hunt and harassment of whistleblowers to the detriment of the ongoing war against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration”.

“The CNPP insists that the Speaker and the fingered principal officers of the House must step aside until they are properly investigated as they cannot be the Judge in their own case and yet lay claim to equity.

“For us, the probe of Hon. Jibrin by Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House, with an obvious predetermined script to suspend him, is nothing but a blackmail by the hunted hunting the hunter in a bid to cover up a gross allegation made by the lawmaker.

“How can the war against corruption succeed when the principal leadership of the House of Representatives noticeably pays lip service to the anti-corruption drive by the Buhari government?

“Rather than embark on the probe, the House would have compelled the Speaker and the principal officers named by Hon. Jibrin to submit themselves to an independent probe panel comprising of relevant security agencies and if cleared, they can sanction the lawmaker for false allegation. Is this not what is most reasonable to do by the House?

“What is it that the Speaker and the principal officers are afraid of? Why are they quick to probe the allegation by some members who claimed their reputation has been damaged by Hon. Jibrin’s allegations, when the allegations have not been investigated and found to be untrue? What is it that the Speaker and his co-accused are struggling to hide from Nigerians?”, the CNPP asked.

“We, therefore, call on the Speaker to immediately disband his probe committee and submit themselves first to an independent investigative panel for open probe of the allegations against them. It is only then can any probe of Hon. Jibrin may be acceptable to well meaning Nigerians.

“If the House is truly concerned about its image, clearing the abuse of office and budget fraud allegation against its Speaker and other principal leaders should be more troubling to them at this time”, the CNPP said.

CHUKWUMA Charles Soludo, a Cerebral economist and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has dismissed the an allegation by the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, that he unlawfully loaned $7 billion of Nigeria’s reserves to banks as born out ignorance.




Falana had accused the former CBN governor making loans amounting to that humongous figure without recovering them.

He urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the alleged “criminal diversion or withholding” of government funds by the CBN, under Mr. Soludo and his successor, Lamido Sanusi.

According to Falana,  Mr. Sanusi, who is the Emir of Kano now, also gave another un-recovered N600 billion as bailout to the same banks.

He also accused Mr. Sanusi of illegally paying N2.5 trillion instead of N245 billion to fuel marketers as subsidy.

Mr. Sanusi denied the allegation and said he was ready to face investigations.

 

Soludo, in a statement,  described the allegation as  “blatant lies”, and demanded evidence or an apology.

He said, “I largely ignore such ignorant commentaries. However, Femi Falana is one of the Nigerians I deeply respect, and I am sure many Nigerians also hold him in very high esteem. I was therefore shocked beyond belief that someone like him could fabricate and peddle blatant lies.”

 

According to Soludo,  Soludo, throughout his tenure as governor of the apex bank  Nigeria never lost one penny of the reserves.

He further said, “From the above quotation, Falana alleged that I “removed” $7 billion from Nigeria’s external reserves and gave same as a “loan” to 14 Nigerian banks in 2006, and apparently such a “loan” has not been recovered. This is a blatant lie and I challenge Falana to publish the details of such a “loan” which remains unpaid or as a person with honour, publish a retraction and unreserved apology immediately.” Mr. Soludo said one of the legacies of his tenure as CBN Governor was the highest rate of reserve accumulation in Nigeria’s history as well as its effective and efficient management.

“On assumption of office, I met exactly $10 billion in foreign reserves. With average monthly oil price of $59 during my tenure, we accumulated reserves to all time high of over $62 billion. Even after paying off Nigeria’s external debt with $12 billion and facing unprecedented global financial and economic crisis, I still left $45 billion upon leaving office in 2009..

“Throughout my tenure, Nigeria never lost one penny of the reserves. It is particularly important to note that even during the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 when major international banks collapsed and some countries lost some of their reserves, our prudent management ensured that Nigeria never lost a penny but earned returns on the reserves. Given the powerful interests that I fought during the consolidation of banks and even since I left office, one can only imagine the international headlines that would have been made if just one penny of the reserves was unaccounted for.

“That under the provisions of the CBN Act as well as the guidelines for the management of foreign reserves, it is impossible for anyone to ‘remove’ any sum of money from the reserves and give out as “loan” to commercial banks in Nigeria. To qualify as ‘foreign reserves’ such reserves are held in foreign currency abroad as deposits with banks or in sovereign instruments such as the US treasury bills,” he said.

The economic professor, who has not been shy in speaking up about Nigeria's economy, expressed his readiness to answer to queries concrning to his tenure at any time.

“I have come to terms with the fact that part of the burden one bears for having held public office in Nigeria is that one has to endure all kinds of uninformed and sometimes mischievous attempts to malign one’s character,” he said.

BEING TEXT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS, APC, RIVERS STATE CHAPTER HELD ON SUNDAY, 25TH SEPTEMBER, 2016 AT THE STATE SECRETARIAT, 43 FORCES AVENUE, OLD GRA, PORT HARCOURT.

Gentlemen of the press,

On the 21st of September,  2016, at about 4:25pm, Hon (Dr) Chidi Julius Lloyd received a phone call from his security men in his country home  AKPABU, a community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, that unknown gunmen numbering about 20 in various military camouflage stormed the community on 10 motor bikes and shot sporadically into the air, scaring members of the community and finally broke into his premises and threw dynamite into his compound  housing a chapel, a hall and a two-bedroom guest house, fully furnished.  The inferno that followed burnt down his personal belongings such as library and other valuables.

 

The APC recalls that since the 2013 crisis that engulfed the RVHA, Dr. Chidi Lloyd has been subjected to all forms of threats by the PDP and agents of Rivers State Government under Gov. Nyesom Wike.

 

Following the unfortunate incident in the RSHA, Dr. Lloyd was arrested, detained and charged to court for the offence of attempted murder among other charges. When the then Hon. Attorney-General, Worgu Boms Esq, in exercise of his constitutional powers, took over prosecution and eventually discontinued trial as a result of the fact that the police authorities then had made it impracticable for trial to continue as the complainant had approached the Port Harcourt division of the federal High court seeking for an order to stop the release of the case file to the HAG.

 

Curiously, on May, 2016, the Hon. Attorney-General of Rivers State, Chinwenwo Aguma, SAN, filed a criminal information in the High Court of Rivers States, before Hon. Justice Adama  Iyayi-Lamikaran, to review the Nolle Prosequi entered by the Hon. Worgu Boms way back in 2013.

 

The trial is currently ongoing with an interlocutory order to the police to produce Dr. Chidi Lloyd to take plea even when no process was served on him.

 

Arising from that development, Dr. Lloyd has since appealed the order despite all efforts by Justice Lamikaran to frustrate him from exercising his constitutional right to appeal. Subsequently, Dr. Lloyd has also petitioned the Hon. Chief Justice of the Federation and the Chairman of the National Judicial Council, NJC.

 

Despite the pendency of the matter at the court of appeal, Justice Adama Laminkara has refused to stay proceedings in the matter.

 

Only on Thursday, the 21st of September, 2016 at about 10 am, the Hon. Attorney-General of Rivers State, Chinwenwo Aguma, SAN had boasted in open court that since the police, a non-party in the matter, had refused to produce Dr. Lloyd, they (the prosecution) will ensure Dr. Lloyd appears in court to take plea “their own way” and six hours later, the country home of Dr. Lloyd was bombed and razed down.

We have painstakingly drawn this graphic analogy so that it will be clear to the discerning and fair-minded Rivers people and Nigerians who the perpetrators of the arson on Dr. Chidi Lloyd’s country home are.

 

The APC views this incident as part of the fulfilment of the boasts by leaders of the PDP government in Rivers State to teach the APC and their leaders a lesson. One of such is the ongoing persecution of Hon. Ojukaye Flag-Amachree on trumped-up charges before their court in Port Harcourt despite attempts by the Nigeria Police to properly investigate the matter before charges are filed.

 

Similarly, same last week, the landed property of the State Women Leader, Evangelist Caroline Nagbo was invaded and vandalised by suspected political thugs who are now on the run.

 

The APC calls on all well-meaning Nigerians including the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, the State Director, DSS and all security agencies to come to the aid of Dr. Chidi Lloyd as his life and those of his family members are in GRAVE danger just for being an APC leader in Rivers State. We urge relevant security agencies to painstakingly investigate this latest assault on Hon [Dr] Chidi Julius Lloyd to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice promptly.

 

The APC has also taken notice of spate of bombings and destruction of pipelines in the Niger Delta by the Avengers and other restive groups. We condemn these acts of sabotage and urge the perpetrators to desist from such in order not to worsen the nation’s present economic recession.

Chief [Dr] Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, JP

State Chairman

Sun, 25th September, 2016.

IN 2012, when former Nigerian Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala signified her intention to run for the World Bank presidency, there was a quake – she was endorsed by a majority of the emerging economies.

 

As a matter of fact, she was the candidate of the African continent as they had put forward her name as the best qualified candidate to represent Africa and challenge the West.

 

She was the most qualified candidate, having worked at the World Bank for decades, including a stint as its second in command. The only country that stood her way was the United States which controls not less than 16 per cent of the Bank’s shares.

 

Before I go on, let me present her unabridged Curriculum Vitae for the world to see. Her intimidating credentials include: Harvard University degree in Urban and Regional planning (magna cum laude); Ph.D. in Regional Economic Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1981; Vice-president and Corporate Secretary and later, Managing Director of the World Bank Group. Can I say our dear Okonjo-Iweala is over-qualified for this job?

 

The US and allies took notice of this, as well as respected media organisations such as the New York Times, The Economist and UK Guardian which paid glowing tributes to her and urged the World Bank’s board to take a serious look at her, as they juxtaposed her candidature with those of Ocampo of Colombia and Kim who was the choice of the United States of America. Her appeal to reason to the United States fell on deaf ears.

 

She was endorsed by over 30 former staffers who wrote an open letter praising her deep experience in international and national issues in economic management. On paper, her opponents – the Colombian Jose Antonio Ocampo and the Korean American, Dr. Jim Yong Kim stood no chance against her. Ocampo stepped down and endorsed her, leaving her to slug it with Dr. Kim, who later won.

 

Why a liberal country like the US will support a less qualified candidate with no demonstrable experience like Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a medical practitioner, against Dr. Okonjo-Iweala still baffles rational minds. To some of us, Kim's victory stood merit and competence on their head. It also institutionalised and glorified nepotism. With America's might and anointing on Kim, the result was out before the voting.

 

But the media and the world, especially the developing nations, were agog and chorused for Ngozi. She lost gallantly.

 

But the world has learnt a lesson: who backs you up signposts your success or failure. You can't be nominated by America and lose to a third world nominee even if you are a world-class economist like Okonjo-Iweala. Only in this world will a low-rated medical personnel defeat an economist in a contest for the World Bank presidency.

 

She lost out gallantly and even made a point in the process. It was the first time in the World Bank's history that the United States' hold on the position was challenged. Okonjo-Iweala congratulated Kim and said the competition had led to "important victories" for developing nations, which have increasingly pushed for more say at both institutions. Still, she said more effort was needed to end the "unfair tradition" that ensured Washington's dominance of the global development lender.  

It didn’t take long before Kim’s incompetence began to show. The recent poor handling of staff relations in the Bank is one of the reasons Kim should not be trusted for the position.

 

He seems more like a stranger to the bank he is supposed to preside over. He lacks the requisite administrative skills needed to manage one of the most robust institutions in the world.

 

It takes more than just academic brilliance to handle sensitive issues like human relations in the Bank. This would have been better handled by Okonjo-Iweala if the US had supported her.

 

The embarrassment the administration has caused the Bank would have been avoided with Okonjo-Iweala at the helm of affairs. She is no stranger to the Bank. Okonjo-Iweala who has worked as the Bank’s Managing Director would have understood the inner workings of the Bank better than an outsider. The Obama administration can still undo this error by sticking to reason in the future. This is my stand!

 

Bade Adebolu is an Accountant based in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He can be reached via badeadebolu@gmail.com

ANTIVIRUS doesn’t necessarily mean your system is secured especially if you are always online. When on the World Wide Web, you may unknowingly download a file embedded with viruses and your so called antivirus may not alert you.








Hackers have developed or evolved smart ways to gain entry into your personal system to steal vital information. They make the virus less conspicuous. Besides, it is not only when you are online that a system can be infected. It is, therefore, important to look out for signs that will let you know if your laptop is infected. Adeniyi Ogunfowokw of Jumia Travel shares some if these signs which can crash a PC and may result in losing your data.


Ø  Slowdown of your system


Your system only take few seconds to boot or power but you suddenly observe that it started showing snail-like characteristics. For example, there is a decline in the speed of internet surfing and exchange of files.


Ø  Recurrent system crash


According to Wikipedia, a system crash is when a computer program (software or operating system) stops functioning properly. So, if your system consistently crashes, it may be as a result of virus. You may have to change to a more powerful antivirus.








Ø  Too many shortcuts


Not all shortcuts are viruses. But when almost all your files are shortcuts, you should be worried because they may be virus. And even if you delete the shortcuts and scan your system they will always reappear. The only way to kill the virus is by formatting your system.


Ø  Your apps take forever to start


The bytes that an App needs to function are not very big for it to take forever to start. Then, you need to scan your laptop for viruses and malware for it overwhelms your system.


Ø  Popups from nowhere


Unsolicited websites popping up on your system can be very annoying and inconveniencing. Popups like betting, porn and money making websites can invade and disrupt. The cause of this is virus!


Ø  Disabled antivirus


Due to your system being infected, it will automatically disable your antivirus. Thus, opening the doorway to viruses and malware. Thankfully, if you are using windows virus protection, you will be alerted of this abnormality. You will be asked to activate, update antivirus and afterwards scan for virus.

As you re commenting mind the words you use, cyberpolice re watching you.

Jonathan this is one reason i will always remember you

SOUTH-AFRICA Telecom giant, MTN, is in fresh controversy in Nigeria as a serving Senator, Dino Melaye has sought leave of his colleagues to present a motion next  legislative sitting detailing how  “Between 2006 and 2016, through four Nigerian banks and a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, MTN moved over $12 billion out of Nigeria.”



Speaking during plenary Thursday, Melaye said “I  seek the indulgence of this house to move that after this short presentation this matter be allowed to be taken on the next legislative day.

“My respected colleagues, MTN Nigeria paid a sum of $284.9 million on the 6th of February, 2001 to purchase their license of operations in this country.

“Between 2006 and 2016, through four Nigerian banks and a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, MTN moved over $12 billion out of Nigeria.

“That is about half of our external reserves.

“If I get the nod of the Senate, I will want to bring a substantive motion on the next legislative day with substantiated facts to buttress this position.”

It could be recalled that MTN  was recently fined by NCC  for  failing to register  5.2 million subscribers  in Nigeria.

abokibuhari:
wow! guess her pvssy is still tight ...

I was alone in my bedroom yesterday and was moved to do a video and just talk to you guys. I shot the video myself with my phone so it's not great quality...lol. But I spoke from the heart and I hope it touches you in some way. Enjoy...

AS the dust of secret recruitment in two federal Government agencies the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS  is yet to settle, another federal government agency is now enmeshed in another recruitment scandal.








Secret Reporters is reporting that the Public Complaints Commission has joined the league of CBN and FIRS in recruiting children of the rich


Months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) secretly employed children of prominent Nigerians with the active connivance of President Muhammadu Buhari; another secret recruitment has taken place in another Federal agency.


Documents seen by this online newspaper reveals that the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) without advertisement calling for employment has currently engaged new staff against the public service rules.


It was gathered that the commission secured the mandate to secretly employ children of politicians who supported the All Progressive Congress (APC) during the 2015 elections, as compensation for not securing employment for their wards in CBN and FIRS.


This mandate was factually gotten from President Buhari through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, as compensation.


The secret employment letter Lying their way to justify the employment, the agency clearly expressed falsehood by telling the new employees that they were selected after interview and/or selection test was conducted, which was never done.


All the secret recruits sources told the news medium, were in their houses when their parents and guardians brought the employment letters to them, and were even shocked to learn that they are now staff of Public Complaints Commission when they never went for any interview or wrote any test.


The letter of employment was dated 8th September, 2016 with lowest rank starting as Investigative Officer II on salary grade level 08/2, which attracts over One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira monthly, exclusive of other perks associated with it.


A source familiar with the commission noted that it is one of the cash cows of government which no one really looks into, whereas those working there become millionaires overnight through shady deals carried out.


As gathered by the news portal, the Public Complaint Commission (PCC), has secretly recruited 149 Nigerians without following fundamental civil service rules for public engagement.


Public Complaint Commission, PCC the medium gathered gave out appointment letters to their new illegally acquired staff on September 8th 2016.


Of the 149 new employees, 124 are from the Northern part of the country while the remaining 25 hail from the southern Nigeria.

THE Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has again criticized President Muhammadu Buhari over the country’s economic recession, describing him as the “major problem of Nigeria.”




“Our President, through his actions and inactions is destroying everything that makes Nigeria a country and well-meaning Nigerians must stand-up to be counted in the crusade to save the country from going under,” Mr. Fayose said in a statement signed by his media aide, Lere Olayinka.

He accused President Buhari of “de-marketing Nigeria,” by depicting her citizens before the international community as dishonest.

“Which foreign investor will invest his money in a country of dishonest people?” He asked.

“Who made investors to leave Nigeria if not President Buhari, who created atmosphere of economic and political instability in the country by his acts of nepotism and vindictiveness?”

According to Mr. Fayose, Nigerians will not measure his government on the basis of what his predecessors failed to do, but on what he did or failed to do between May 29, 2016 and May 29, 2019.

He said with the level of hunger in the country, President Buhari should rather get serious with governance, stop his blame game, and be innovative.

“No nation has ever reached greatness by their leaders engaging in blame game, nepotism and vengeance as being done by President Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) government,” he said.


“Nigerians must begin to speak out now before the country is totally destroyed by this one-man government, which does not see any idea coming from those perceived as opposed to the government as worthy of consideration.

“Like I said before, the main issue confronting Nigerians now is hunger and hunger does not speak the language of politics. It is therefore no longer about politics; it is about preventing hunger from killing Nigerians.”

Governor Fayose said the federal government should stop deceiving Nigerians with stories of injecting funds into the economy, given that the economic problems facing the country had gone beyond talks of injecting N350 billion into the economy through execution of capital projects.

“If they inject even N500 billion into the economy by paying contractors executing federal government capital projects, how does that affect the price of rice and other food items? How does it affect the price of basic drugs?” he said.

“Instead of unsustainable measures, what President Buhari should do is to bring economic experts in the country together not-minding their political and ethnic affiliations so that they can proffer lasting solutions to the country’s economic problems.”

horlabiyi:
But Fayose became the governor in 2014. And I'm sure there was NECO exam In 2014 and 2015 so why didn't they (APC) the 14/15 failure

EKITI State Government has said that the state’s emergence as the best performing in the 2016 June/July National Examination Council (NECO) result was earned.



Addressing a news conference in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday shortly after the release of the result by NECO, the Commissioner for Education, Jide Egunjobi, said the feat resulted from some radical measures taken by the government.

He said the steps include the cancellation of free WAEC and NECO registration fees for students.

Besides, Mr. Egunjobi said the introduction of moderate tuition fees in schools for students also played important role.

He said the emergency Education Summit convened by the present administration in the state shortly after inauguration revealed that payment of examination fees by past administrations was part of the indulgences responsible for past failures.

“Those who were paying for free registration in public exams without first inculcating discipline and hard work in the students did more harm than good for them.

“An unserious student whose parents never suffered to pay either school fees or WAEC and NECO money may not see reason in being serious and dedicated to his studies

“We found that it was the belief of such students that neither they nor their parents will lose anything after all, if they failed those exams since it was the government that would eventually bear the brunch.





“We backed all these up by fortifying the schools with the right type of books, instructional materials and accorded priority attention to teachers’ welfare.

“We also cancelled manual work such as grass cutting during school hours while our inspectorate division was strengthened to fish out lazy and complacent tutors,” he said.

The commissioner said the current performance would be celebrated “in grand style’’ by the government to serve as impetus to teachers and students, and would be maintained for a long time.

In the result released by the new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of NECO, Charles Uwake, Ekiti was declared the best performing state with over 96.31 per cent success.

Edo came second while Abia and Kogi have joint third position.

(NAN)