₦airaland Forum

The Federal Government says it is targeting the production of eight million tonnes of paddy by rice farmers across the country in 2018 wet season.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this on Monday in Abuja, while speaking to newsmen on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the past three years.

The minister said that the country was currently producing between 5.8 million and six million tonnes of paddy, adding that it was targeting the production of nine million tonnes by 2019.

He said that the rice revolution was the most outstanding achievement recorded in the Buhari-administration’s economic diversification efforts in three years.
Ogbeh said that the feats in the rice revolution were attained through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The minister, who noted that in the past, Nigeria spent over five million U.S. dollars a day on rice importation, said that rice importation had reduced by 95 per cent from December 2015 till date.
“The number of farmers growing paddy rice has risen from five million to 12.2 million; more farmers are coming in as we clear more land for them and arrange irrigation facilities.
“By the end of this planting season which we are entering, we should be approaching eight million tonnes of paddy, which will give us roughly 6.5 million tonnes of processed rice.
“We hope that by this time next year, we should be targeting nine million tonnes of paddy because the good thing is that rice grows everywhere in the country.
“Irrigation has to come on board for us to achieve this because as long as we depend on rain-fed agriculture, we would have difficulties in achieving the target.
“When the CBN came up in partnership with us on the ABP loan at nine percent interest rate, which to the farmer was a biggest relief they have seen in years; even though it is still too high but it made all the difference.
“We are still pushing for five per cent,’’ he added.
Ogbeh said that at present, there were over 27 large rice mills and over 5,000 small rice mills across the country, processing rice to international standards so as to boost improved local production.
He listed some of the states that were involved in rice production as Kano State, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Anambra, and Nasarawa State, among others.
Besides, the minister quoted the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as saying that Nigeria was currently the largest producer of maize in Africa, producing 10 million tonnes.
He said that the country was the foremost yam producer, the second in sorghum production, the third in millet production and the fourth in cashew nut production in Africa.
On the country’s export earnings, the minister noted that the country earned 700 million dollars from cashew nuts sales in the first quarter of 2018.
Ogbeh said that agricultural exports from Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, had risen by 180 per cent in the last two years.
“We are also leaders in cassava production but we are not doing well enough in cassava processing and value addition,’’ he said.
He said that the Federal Government was working tirelessly to free the nation from the anxieties of hunger and food insecurity.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/fg-targets-production-of-8m-tonnes-of.html

The Southeast Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Chijioke Ekwegh, has alleged that the Igbos have been relegated in terms of development under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ekwegh, who spoke in Owerri, lamented what he termed as negligence of the Southeast region by the government.

The PDP scribe also said that it became evident that the zone was neglected in the appointments made so far by Buhari.

According to Ekwegh, “For the past three years of APC’s unceremonious rule, the region has not felt any federal government’s presence or impact, be it infrastructure, employment, security and otherwise.
“We cannot forget in a hurry the lopsided appointments made by this government, of which the South East remains the most shortchanged.
“What about the intimidation of business men and women from the Zone, an attempt by the APC federal government to cripple the economy of the region?

“Sadly enough, the only times the South East experienced federal government’s presence in the current dispensation were during the military invasion of the region in the guise of Operations Crocodile Smile and Python Dance.
“These exercises were successfully used with utmost impunity to intimidate, harass and hound people of the area, leading to loss of innocent lives.”

Full report at http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/buhari-govt-has-abandoned-igbo-land-pdp.html

Coca-Cola has launched its first alcoholic drink, a lemon flavoured alcopop, in Japan in a bid to tap new markets and consumers.

In a global first for the US drinks giant, three fizzy lemon drinks went on sale on Monday.

The product aims at a growing market of young drinkers – especially women.
Described by Coca-Cola as “unique” in the company’s 125-year history, the three drinks range from three to eight per cent alcohol.
In keeping with the company’s tradition, the recipe is closely guarded but the drinks are modelled on the country’s popular Chu-Hi drinks, usually a mix of local spirit and a range of fruit flavours.
Chu-Hi – an abbreviation for shochu highball – has been marketed as an alternative to beer, proving especially popular with female drinkers.
Local companies like Suntory, Asahi and Kirin currently dominate the sector for canned Chu-Hi drinks.
The most popular flavours are strong citrus ones such as grapefruit or lemon, the latter one being the taste Coca Cola now wants a share of.
Coca-Cola says there are no plans to bring the new drinks range to markets outside Japan.
Alcopop drinks boomed in Europe and the UK in the 1990s with the likes of Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Breezer becoming hugely popular.
They were controversial, with concerns they encouraged young people to drink more alcohol because of soft drink-like taste.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/coca-cola-launches-first-alcoholic-drink.html

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) joint partners’ economic contribution to the federal government between 2013 to 2017 stands at $23 billion (N5.31 trillion).
The revelations came as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday disclosed that it would review the key performance indicators (KPIs), and other operational strategies it had given to its subsidiaries to boost its plan of becoming a fully integrated national oil company.
The monies were paid under the joint venture agreement between government-owned NNPC, 55 per cent; SPDC, 30 per cent; Total E&P Nigeria Limited, 10 per cent; and the Eni subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, five per cent.
Shell’s share of royalties and corporate taxes paid to the federal government in 2017 stood at approximately $1.1billion (N333.33 billion), SPDC $0.4billion; SNEPCo $0.7 billion).
This was contained in latest edition (April 2018) of ‘Shell in Nigeria Briefing Notes’ which was presented to journalists in Warri, Delta State over the weekend.


The copy of the document which was obtained byAkelicious indicates that Shell also paid $1.9 billion to the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) since inception in 2002.
According to the report, the oil bearing communities social investment funds for community-driven projects under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) was $228 million (N41.10billion).
The company stated that 94 per cent of Shell contracts was awarded to Nigeria companies in 2017 while 631,000 barrels of oil equivalent per average daily production by Shell-operated ventures in Nigeria in 2017.
As part of effort to support local content, develop human resources, Shell in 2017 spent about $0.76 billion (N230.30 billion) on contracts awarded to Nigerian companies.
The report says between 2012 and 2017, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (NLNG) of which Shell contributes 25.6 per cent share, has committed over $45 million (N14.19 billion) to social investment projects in the Niger Delta region.

According to the report, Shell is also contributing $49 million (15.36 billion) to the construction of the 34-kilometer Bonny-Bodo road project estimated to cost more than $190 million (N60 billion) as part of federal government socio-economic integration of the Niger Delta region.
The report says Shell Nigeria Gas Limited (SNG), another of its sister firms, supplies natural gas to about 90 industrial and commercial customers, majority of which were in Ogun, Rivers and Abia States, adding that the gas is used for power generation and for the manufacturing of domestic products.
The presentation was made by senior SPDC’s officials including Head, Government and Community Relations, Alaye Dokubo; Head Community Interface, Evans Krukrubo, Community Interface Coordinator, Jerry-Gaultney Udjo, as well as Shell Petroleum Development Company, Media Relation Manager, Bam Olugbenga Odugbesan, (SPDC West)’s Media Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Obari, Precious Okolobo among others.
Before the presentation, SPDC General Manager, External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli, had said SPDC is still very active in Delta State contrary to widespread believe that it had relocated from the state.
To confirm the company’s presence in Delta State, he disclosed that Shell operates Joint Ventures has implemented wide ranging projects in the state which included the disbursement of N1.88 billion to Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with cluster host communities.

He also disclosed that a Professorial Chair was established at Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) as part of Shell’s continuous operations in the state and contribute to its development.
“These are in addition to the donation of N600 million facilities to five schools under a Youth Sports and Athletics Development project to mark Nigeria’s centenary anniversary.
“The projects shows our continuous presence and interest in the development of Delta State. While it is true that SPDC divested from a number of assets in line with business strategy, and in support of the participation of more Nigerian companies in the oil and gas industry, we are still active in Delta State,” Mr. Weli said.
He gave, as example, that SPDC still operates Forcados Terminal, Flowstations, gas plants and a network of pipelines in the state.
Meanwhile, the NNPC stated that the reviews would enable it prosper as an oil company despite the changing dynamics of the global oil industry.

Its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said this at the corporation’s first quarter 2018 top management steering committee meeting held in Abuja.
A statement from the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, quoted Baru to have admitted that there were tremendous changes going on in the global oil industry which NNPC must plan well to survive through.
Baru explained that apart from the review of its operational KPIs, the other new strategies to be adopted by NNPC would include setting realistic targets for immediate sign-off, as well as spending items capable of improving its bottom-line.
All these, Baru noted would become NNPC’s long-time survival strategies to achieve efficiency, growth and profitability in its operations.
“The changes we are seeing in the industry over the last few years call for some action on our part. This is because as a business concern, we don’t live in isolation in the industry and therefore, we must act now,” said Baru in the statement.

According to him, the NNPC was accelerating its action on the holistic rehabilitation of its four refineries in Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt, in addition to strengthening its internal control mechanisms and intensifying exploration efforts in the frontier oil basins.
He added: “Today, we are reviewing the mission and vision of the corporation and have also ventured into renewable energy and power sectors.”
The statement equally quoted NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Downstream, Mr. Henry Ikem-Obih, to have explained that a lot of work had been done to get the corporation to measure up with its peers.
Ikem-Obih, noted that the corporation was investing a lot in downstream supply and distribution assets, and that now its focus in the sector revolved around imbibing world-class culture, implementing best practices, focusing on cost reduction, improving efficiency, deploying cutting-edge technologies and having a clean balance sheet that reflects its corporate business vision.



He said: “Gradually, we are repositioning from an intervention engine for the nation to one that is ready to make profit, grow and create value for our teeming stakeholders.”
Similarly, NNPC’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy Division, Mr. Bala Wunti, said the essence of the meeting was to review performance, redefine expectations, identify areas of improvement and implement actionable items that would boost efficiency and high profitability.
Wunti, noted that the meeting had brought to the fore areas yearning for further improvement which the division would vigorously pursue to ensure profitability and growth for NNPC.
He said: “It is important that we do what we need to do like any other NOC to move on the upward trajectory and be able to achieve our mandate of delivering value to our major shareholders, who are Nigerians.”

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/spdc-jv-paid-n531tn-to-fg-in-four-years.html

Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Saturday confirmed the longevity of payment of several loans incurred by his administration, which according to him will take many decades.

He declared that his conviction about the indispensable nature of education in human development made him to take long time loans to build schools.

” I have taken long time loans to build schools, which will be paid by these children. They will pay it with ease”.

Aregbesola made this known at a calisthenics display by students and pupils from various schools across the state, to mark this year Children’s Day in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
He emphasised the need for every child to have access to basic education for the purpose of mental development and strengthening of human personalities, saying it is their “fundamental and inalienable rights.”
The Governor maintained that children were custodians of the future and prosperity, hence the necessity of protecting them jealously.

He described calisthenics as a sport with imprint of cognitive instrument to develop mental and physical ability.
“We are giving quality education to our children as a right, where science and technology take number one”.
Akelicious recalls that the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had recently accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of “mortgaging the future of the state through huge loans” due for repayment till 2042.
The Chairman of the party, Mr Soji Adagunodo, in a statement challenged Aregbesola to explain to the people of the state how he spent a total of N172billion loan due for repayment between the year 2034 and 2042.
He gave the details of the loans to include: N88 billion Naira commercial loans restructured by the CBN and due for repayment in 2034; bailout funds totalling N35Billion to be repaid in 2035 and N49billion from Islamic bank due for repayment in 2042.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/aregbesola-confirms-longevity-of-states.html

A former Minister of Police Affairs, General David Jemibewon (rtd) has provided reasons President Muhammadu Buhari is allegedly not performing well.


The former Minister said Buhari finds it difficult to perform not because he is incompetent but for the fact that he does not know the people he is working with.

He further explained that the president could not function to the expection of Nigerians because the people around him do not believe in some of his policies.


Jemibewon, who spoke with The Sun, also listed former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Sule Lamido as better candidates for Nigeria’s number one seat come 2019 presidential election.

He said, “I sympathise with Buhari because, one, he doesn’t know the people he is working with.

“Two, those people he is working with don’t believe in some of his major policies. It is not like the military where you follow the leader. When you talk of corruption, idea of his followers is different from his own idea.


“So, you could see the conflict under his leadership. And it is not because of his incompetence. He is a very highly competent person and incorruptible. But then, he doesn’t know those who are working with him. These are some of the reasons we are not making progress.

“If PDP is to do well at all, if PDP wants to make an impact, the person I could see as having the
potential for great things to happen is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

“The best person under whose leadership we can hope for a better performance is Atiku. It is unfortunate that the man has been messed up. If there was no misunderstanding between Obasanjo and this man, if we had followed a systematic succession plan, this country would have been better than now.

“If PDP is given another chance, the leadership under which there can be progress and
peace is under Abubakar.

“And my reasons are very clear. One, he is a gentleman. At the moment, he is the person
who can talk to some people in the East, some people in the North, some people in the West.

“Peace is very important in a country. You can’t just go and bring one isolated person that is not known across the border. People need to have confidence in the leadership.

“And I think that man has the quality. He has
friends in the East, he has friends in the
West, he has friends in the North. Even though they gave him the tag of corruption, it has not been proved. He has employed thousands of Nigerians.

He has one of the best educational institutions in the country. He has been involved in every sector of the economy and the development of the
country and he is comfortable. Nobody has
given me any bribe to promote anybody.

“But I think if there is any hope for PDP, then they should vote that man. For me, if I am to stick out my neck today, that is the only person I have confidence in.

“Another person I have in mind is the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido. For me, the best for now is former vice president. Next to him is Sule Lamido.

“If PDP really wants to win, it has to be one of these two people. If PDP can put its acts together, the development of this country is
better achieved with PDP being in control of government.”

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/jemibewon-buhari-has-failed-reveals.html

Nigerian music boss Don Jazzy, who is also the CEO of Mavin Records,

Said he is going to embrarrass future wife with is dance moves

See below as shared on IG



If you ever think you can’t dance. Just remember this. You can’t be that bad. I decided to start going out more. Came all the way to this wedding maybe I will see wife ��‍♂️. Everybody was taken sha. But dear future wife, just know that I will embarrass u with my dance moves forever. Take me as I am. I don talk my own. �

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/i-will-embarrass-u-with-my-dance-moves.html

The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu on Friday says there is need to strengthen the weak institutional frameworks in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in a way that would foster synergy among existing ICT institutions in the overall interest of the country.

He made the disclosure at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, venue of an ongoing two days 2018 Ministerial Retreat of the Federal Ministry of Communications.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the retreat with the theme “Mobilizing ICT Institutions for Driving Economic Recovery and Growth”, the minister emphasized that the influence of ICT on the socio-economic life of the people cannot be ignored if trade, commerce and even security must be enhanced.

Shittu, a lawyer, said the “retreat is aimed at bringing together the strategic management staff of the ministry and its agencies to take stock of activities and achievements in the sector. The major objective of the retreat is to build synergy between the ministry and its agencies, strengthen the policy framework and agree on targets for the near future.”


He stated that the strategies and initiatives on the ICT sector could be effectively achieved if the ministry and its agencies work collaboratively, adding that ICT has continued to expand the boundaries of possibilities and that it has become more critical for participation in economic, political and social life in national and international levels.

He said, “To reinforce our review process, we will be projecting the future by identifying smart, attainable, realistic and time-bound targets to guide our actions in the near future. There is no doubt that agreeing targets will facilitate our accountability framework with respect to the outcome indicators in the sector.”

Speaking in the same vein, The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication, Mr AbdulAzeez Abdullahi, said the retreat was premised on restoring growth, investing in people and building a globally competitive economy.

He stated that ICT being an enabler for economic growth and development is envisaged to drive the successful implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the FG if harnessed effectively and efficiently.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/govt-to-synergise-ict-institutions-for.html

Liverpool forward, Sadio Mane has stated that he sent 300 of his club’s shirts to his home village, Bambali, in Senegal for fans to wear during Saturday’s Champions League final against Real Madrid.

According to Mane, he sent the shirts so that out of the 2,000 people living in Bambali, three hundred people can wear it and support Liverpool to win the Los Blancos.
The 26-year-old also disclosed that he found himself in a similar position as the village turned out to watch Liverpool’s famous 2005 Champions League final victory over AC Milan.

The forward, however, hopes to be able to return to Bambali, where his family still live, with the Champions League medal.
“If you had said then I would be playing the final I would say it is something incredible in my life. Hopefully we are going to win,” Mane told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final.
“My family still live in the village. My mum and my uncle. They are all going to be watching.

“There are 2,000 in the village. I bought 300 Liverpool jerseys to send to the people in the village, so the fans can wear to watch the final.”
Mane added, “I remember AC Milan v Liverpool. Three-nil down, then 3-3 and penalties. This was a big memory for me.
“I was watching in my village. I was not supporting Liverpool at this time. I was a Barcelona fan.
“I remember being with my friend, a big friend of mine, and at 3-0 down he was completely out.
“He stopped watching until the end and ran like crazy to get away. Then he came back at the end and he could not believe (it).”

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/why-i-sent-300-liverpool-shirts-to-my.html

The Cross River Government on Friday urged Timber Dealers Association in the state to register women as timber dealers, saying women have the right to engage in any business.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Stella Odey, made the call when she met with the association members in Calabar.

Odey reminded them that the 35 per cent slot agitation for women in appointments did not apply to politics alone, but to every sphere of human endeavour.

“There is no law in Nigeria that says you should discriminate against women; they have the right to engage in any business they want to engage in.

“It is clear that you do not carry the women along, because if you do, you would have given them a place in the association’s executive even if it is as secretary or treasurer,’’ she said.

The rule of the timber association in the state is that women are only allowed to submit the name of a male child or male relation in the event of death of a husband who was a member.

Chairman, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Cross River chapter, Mrs Beatrice Awa, who attended the meeting, said there was no law in Nigeria that reserved certain jobs for men or women.

According to Awa, a situation where a woman is refused to take over her husband’s timber business when he dies because she is a woman, is absolutely archaic and should not be mentioned in the 21st century.

“As a lawyer and a woman, if my husband dies as a timber dealer and you tell me not to inherit his business because I am a woman, by that act alone, I will go to court,” she said.

The Director, Citizens Rights, Ministry of Justice, Mrs Florence Agbiji, observed that the association’s regulation may have been there for a long time, but that the Constitution of Nigeria superseded such rule or cultural practice.

She said that Section 42 of the Constitution gave every citizen of Nigeria the right to freedom against discrimination, and that it was enforceable.

Responding, Secretary of the timber association, Mr Ekpenyong Akiba, said that the group had not registered a woman because timber business was tedious.

Akiba said that women were not sidelined in the business as many of them were gainfully employed in the timber market as sales girls and cashier.

He, however, assured that the executive committee of the association would meet and deliberate on the issue.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/cross-river-govt-lobby-for-women.html

Following ongoing effort by the federal government to diversify the nation’s economy, it has emerged that Nigeria can save over N288 billion ($800 million) being spent on the importation of fishes annually, if the nation’s deep ocean resources are optimally developed and harnessed.

Director/Head, Fisheries Resources Department, Nigeria Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, Dr. Parcy Ochuko Obatola, who disclosed this, said Nigeria is naturally endowed with a lot of marine resources.


According to him, these resources have been left untapped over the decades thereby leading to huge economic losses. Research, she further stated that Nigeria consumes about 2million metric tons of fishes every year but can only produce less than 800,000 metric tons domestically thereby necessitating the importation of about 1.2 million metric tons.

She disclosed that over 70 per cent of the fishes domestically supplied are produced by small scale fishermen whose activities litter the coast line.

“Right now when we look at the demand and supply of fishes in Nigeria, there is still a huge deficit. The demand is almost three million metric tons per annum. The supply is about two million metric tons and there is still a deficit of over one million including those imported and those produced within this country. We are producing about 800,000 metric tons in Nigeria.

So we can see the reason we actually need to carry out activities when it comes to blue economy.
“Most of the fisheries that are exploited in Nigeria are done at the inshore waters and have consequently put a lot of pressure on the resources and negatively impacted the ecosystem via indiscriminate pollution, water contamination and other forms of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing otherwise known as IEUs. This has translated into a situation where there are lesser catches and smaller sizes of fishes”, she stressed.

She therefore, called on the government and other stakeholders to help ensure that the activities of the fishermen are regulated and managed while the deep ocean resources are tapped to help reduce pressure on the inshore waters.

Obatola further explained that various surveys conducted by the institute had shown that some rare species of fishes and other marine resources are in the Nigerian territorial waters especially at the deep oceans revealing that practicable recommendations on how they can be exploited for the economic benefits of the nation have been forwarded to the federal government.

She stressed that Nigeria could be losing about N50 billion yearly to illegal fishing and other unregulated activities of intruders at the deep oceans.

“We have carried out surveys and found out that there are resources in the deeper waters that the fishing industry can exploit so that the inshore waters would have a respite, if the pressure on them is reduced. We have other resources out there that can be exploited. As I am talking to you right now, Nigeria as a nation is not exploiting our Tuna resources but that doesn’t mean that people are not exploiting it. People come from other places to exploit them on our territorial waters.

“Apart from that, we also have what is called harima-bondi. It is the kind of fish that can replace the imported sardine; in fact it was canned in this institute just to let the industry know what can be done. Tuna was also canned in this institute years back so that the industry can go further to exploit other resources out there,” she said

The expert explained that part of the resources present in the nation’s deeper waters is the mesopelagic resource, which is very useful for the production of fish meals noting that the major problem that has hindered aquaculture from being what it should be in Nigeria is the input.
She disclosed that fish meals constitute about 70 per cent of the running cost of an aquacultural establishment.

“Feed is very pertinent because a crucial component of that feed is fish meal and as we say right now, fish meal is mainly imported to Nigeria. So, that’s another way of getting our money out via capital flight if we are able to substantiate it now that we know we have it. Our duty is to look at the quantum because another value chain that the fishing industry can go into is getting the mesopelagic resource and turning it to the fish meal that will now be incorporated into the fish feed that the aquaculture sector uses.

“We actually have a lot of resources but it is not about just having the resources. We need to work on how we maximize or exploit them so that it will be useful for us in the country and also the artisanal sector. There is enough that can be done and we are playing our own role,” she said.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/nigeria-spends-n288bn-on-fish.html

The United Nations, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has commended Nigeria’s leading role in the fight against corruption in Africa.

Guterres made the commendation in his remarks at high-level debate marking the 15th anniversary of adoption of UN Convention Against Corruption in New York.
The secretary-general pointed out that through Nigeria’s anti-money laundering efforts, stolen funds had been returned.

Guterres said, “African countries have taken a leading role in moving this agenda forward in the last AU Summit.
“And with measures as for example through anti-money laundering efforts in Nigeria and Tunisia, which have seen funds returned.”
He said if governments were serious about doing the best for their citizens, then pledges to promote integrity and clamp down on corruption must be more than campaign promises and words on paper.

“Millions will go to the polls this year with corruption high on their agenda. I make an urgent call to our global leadership to take a moral stand and install a culture of integrity from the top down.
“It all begins with setting an example. By tackling corruption, governments can show they mean business. We must all do more.”
According to him, those who can least afford corruption suffer the most adding, corruption cripples economic development, stifles entrepreneurship and deters investment.
Continuing, Guterres said, “Society cannot function equitably and efficiently when public officials – from doctors to police, judges and politicians – enrich themselves rather than perform their duties with integrity. “Corruption robs funds from schools, hospitals, infrastructure and other vital services.
“Human trafficking and migrant smuggling, illicit financial flows and illegal trade in natural resources, weapons, drugs and cultural heritage are all made possible because of corruption.
“It fuels conflict, and when a hard-won peace is achieved, corruption undermines recovery. Corruption and impunity are corrosive, breeding frustration and fostering further corruption when people see no other way of achieving their goals.”
The UN chief added that the lack of opportunities for young women and men, often exacerbated in corrupt societies, could feed into the cynical narratives of terrorists and violent extremists.
“The answer is to root out and eradicate corruption at all levels and restore trust where it has been lost,” the secretary-general stressed.
He said UN would continue to support Member States every step of the way, from helping to engage and empower citizens in this fight, to helping build and enhance institutions that could deliver on their promise
The UN chief urged Member States to use the 15th anniversary Convention as a platform to mobilise political and popular support for the fight against corruption. He said the fight against corruption is the world’s most agile instrument in the hands of the international community to achieve our common goals of good governance, stability and prosperity.
Also speaking, the President of the UN General Assembly, Miroslav Lajčák, reiterated that corruption hurt all sections of the society adding, it “destroys everything in its path.”
Ultimately, corruption causes suffering to ordinary people going about their daily lives, he stressed, citing common examples: “When they are stopped at checkpoints, for bribes.
“When a bus does not come – or a clinic does not open – because budgets were mismanaged. Or when they lose all of their savings, from extortion,” said Lajčák.
Yury Fedotov, the Executive-Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, also noted that while Sustainable Development Goal 16 explicitly urged action against corruption, tackling the problem was a prerequisite for overall economic growth.
“Anti-corruption responses are also crucial to ensuring access to healthcare, water, education and other vital services; protecting forests, oceans and wildlife; and reducing inequalities,” Fedotov added.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/un-speaks-on-buharis-fight-against.html

Lagos State Government has said it is in the process of reviewing some sections of the State’s Child Rights Law to make some sections contained in the law to meet with present day realities.

According to the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General, Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Funlola Odunlami, some punishments as stipulated in the law had not served its intended purpose of deterring abusers of children from desisting from such acts.

The Permanent Secretary, who spoke on Tuesday at a one-day stakeholder’s meeting on “Amendment and implementation of the Child rights Law, 2015″ maintained that the overall intention of the review was to place emphasis on empowering children and protecting their rights from being infringed upon.

She added that the review would take into cognizance necessary framework that would be helpful in the entire review process, assuring that the outcome of the review would be more beneficial to all concerned stakeholders on children matters.

She listed of the sections of the law being considered for review to include Section 3, 7, 13, 17, 19, 20-23 among others.

These sections, according to her, ranged from parental neglect, sentencing terms, forms of punishment for offenders, inclusion of persons responsible for facilitating under-age or forceful marriage of an underage girl in the punishment of the Child Rights Law and several others.

The Solicitor-General expressed the hope that the outcome of the meeting would produce a more robust recommendation that will take care of the interest of all the concerned parties considering the caliber of personalities at the event who are practitioners from government, private and non-governmental organizations.

The overview of the areas identified for review was chaired by Honorable Justice Iyabo Oludunni Kasali, a Judge with the Lagos State Judiciary.

She advised the stakeholders that the review being carried out should correspond with the new Lagos Sentencing Guidelines.

Participants at the event among other suggestions opined for community service for minor offenders of the Child Rights Law instead of prison terms especially if the offender is the parent of the child so that the absence of the child’s parent will not further expose the child to more abuses.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/lagos-set-to-review-child-rights-law.html

Nigerian central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele’s tight monetary-policy stance and system of multiple exchange rates may have paid off through slowing inflation and a stable naira, and he’s not about to change that soon.

The Monetary Policy Committee is meeting this week with price growth at a two-year low. All but four of the 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey said the panel will continue its unchanged stance on Tuesday.


The MPC has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record 14 percent since July 2016 despite calls to lower rates to support economic growth. While gross domestic product expansion slowed in the three months through March, it’s now been positive for four consecutive quarters as the West African economy continues its recovery from a 2016 contraction.


Emefiele, 56, was appointed in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan amid questions about the central bank’s independence. The finance ministry has urged the regulator to lower interest rates while some investors criticized foreign-exchange measures introduced under the former banker.

His policies have worked to stabilize the naira and moderate inflation, according to Peter Moses, an economist at Lagos-based Codros Capital Ltd.

On Tuesday “we expect the MPC to maintain the status quo and continue to communicate the inclination to cut when macroeconomic fundamentals better support that,” Moses said. “Monetary-policy makers have achieved a lot in price moderation and foreign-exchange stability, and wouldn’t want to be quick to jeopardize those achievements.”

Oil-Price Collapse
Oil is the government’s biggest revenue source and the price collapse from mid-2014, along with Emefiele’s tightening of capital controls, starved the country of foreign currency, throttling growth and pushing inflation to almost 19 percent in January 2017. The black market consequently thrived.

Emefiele banned importers of 41 items from full access to the currency market to suppress dollar demand. The central bank introduced various currency-trading windows, leading to a weakening of the naira rates used by investors, encouraged capital inflows and boosted foreign reserves.

While the International Monetary Fund has said the existence of multiple exchange rates creates distortions in the economy, Nigeria will probably maintain several naira rates until at least 2020, according to Moody’s Investors Service. This is because merging them could force the government to weaken the currency and raise fuel prices, which would accelerate inflation.

“Higher oil prices and production, as well as import compression that helped reduce FX demand, supported building up FX reserves,” said Yvonne Mhango, an economist at Renaissance Capital in Johannesburg. “As long as oil prices remain attractive, the FX situation will remain relatively stable.”

While the tight policy stance has helped inflation ease to 12.5 percent in April and price growth is below the central bank’s key rate for the first time in two years, it still exceeds the 6 percent to 9 percent target band.

The MPC is scheduled to start announcing its decision from 2pm in Abuja, the capital. The slowdown in economic expansion in the first quarter won’t be enough to push the panel to ease rates, according to Michael Famoroti, chief economist at Vetiva Capital Management Ltd.

The best way to stimulate growth “would be to further engender price and exchange-rate stability,” he said by email.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/easing-inflation-stable-naira-show.html

All is set for the Abuja presentation of a new public policy book on President Muhammadu Buhari's first year in office. Titled, "Prime Witness: Change And Policy Challenges In Buhari’s Nigeria", the public policy evaluation book is scheduled for presentation at the Shehu Musa Yar'adua Centre, Abuja on Thursday, May 24, 2018.

Prime Witness, which is published by Safari Books Ltd. is authored by a public policy expert, Mr. Oseloka H. Obaze, the MD/CEO of Selonnes Consult Ltd. who coincidentally, was the candidate of People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2017 governorship election in Anambra state.

The 448-paged book chronicles and offers recommendations to various public policy challenges in the Buhari-led Nigeria.

According to Obaze, a former United Nations official, and one time Secretary to Anambra State Government, the book “is essentially a product of my observations, my exchanges with my various interlocutors in and out of government, and Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike, during the first year of the Buhari administration.”

In the foreword, Amb. Ejeviome Otobo, a Non-Resident Senior Expert in Peacebuilding and Global Economic Policy at the Global Governance Institute, Brussels, states that the book “turns critically on three questions: Has the Buhari administration delivered on what it promised during the electoral campaign? Has President Buhari demonstrated the qualities of responsive and responsible leadership? And has he displayed the necessary statesmanship in the governance of national affairs?”

The book addresses an array of topical policy issues and challenges. It acknowledges areas of discernible progress, gives credits for accomplishments, but also underline fault lines and failings.

On a key national and still trending issue, Obaze reiterated the call for restructuring, saying that “every ethnic jigsaw component of Nigeria feels sufficiently aggrieved, marginalized and therefore, seeks equity via restructuring.”

Obaze goes on to warn that “Nigeria is at risk unless it finds the courage to restructure." Alternatively, he opined that, “A default restructuring, will happen, certainly not by choice, but definitely like an uncontrolled experiment with attendant risks and indefinite outcome.”

Those able to secure and peruse a copy of the book, speak to the book's timeliness and it's rising above the political fray. One reader considered it a "lucid, engaging and compelling volume."

As Prof. B.A.C. Obiefuna of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka's Department of Religion and Society/Human Relations, an early reviewer, couched it, "Let us pick it; read it; digest it and use the knowledge from it to insist on groupthink formulation and implementation of workable policies to address the challenging realities in our dear country Nigeria."

The book's initial presentation took place at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Lagos on May 2, 2018. The event was chaired by Chief Chris Ezeh and was attended by several eminent Nigerians.

http://akelicious..com.ng/2018/05/obazes-public-policy-book-prime-witness.html

Convener of the socio-political group, ‘Our Lagos Your Lagos,’ Mr. Idris Aregbe was at the weekend elected as the Youth Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos.

Aregbe, was one of the 37 APC State Executives voted by voice affirmation by over 1,500 accredited delegates at a peaceful and well organised State Congress held at the party’s Secretariat in Acme, Ikeja, Lagos.

Over the years, Aregbe has shown his capacity to galvanise and mobilise youths for positive movements especially in the State politics.

The confidence reposed in Aregbe by the leaders in APC is unarguably connected to his total commitment to the progress of the party at the State and his clout to rally youths for the party at the past elections.

It is expected that Aregbe will bring his wealth of experience to bear and justify the confidence reposed in the Alhaji Tunde Balogun-led Exco by the party leadership.

http://akelicious..com/2018/05/our-lagos-your-lagos-boss-elected-apc.html

Google has agreed to create a fund of 11 million dollars as part of a a class action settlement for terminating or disabling a publisher's Adsense accounts, but not paying out any balances that the publisher had at the time.

The class action complaint filed by a California company named Free Range Content, Inc. alleged that Google would shut down an Adsense account shortly before a payment was to be made and then deny the publisher the balance owed on the account.



2. The AdSense program is enormously popular. This popularity translates annually to billions of dollars payable to AdSense publishers – Google’s parlance for website operators that host its ads. But as the plaintiff and many other publishers have found, Google often shuts down AdSense accounts shortly before a periodic payment is due and then denies the publisher the entirety of the expected payment, notwithstanding all the ads the publisher already has served to visitors to its website during the payment period.

3. This practice has sparked numerous bitter complaints detailed at various places on the web. For example, one self-described AdSense publisher stated the following: “It’s common knowledge among SEOs that AdSense tends to be disabled a few days before the supposed payout. I haven't lost any big sum – only $2000 but I know one person that lost $40,000. It was all legitimate traffic coming straight from Google themselves, no click fraud no bought traffic etc. PS: I was using AdSense from 2008 to 2013 – over 5 years so it’s not like only new users got banned.”1

While the Plaintiffs ultimately feel they would have won the case, they also acknowledged in the settlement agreement that they "recognize that Google raised defenses as to both liability and damages, which created a material risk that Plaintiffs would not have prevailed."

Google on the other hand has "has at all times denied—and continues to deny—any and all alleged wrongdoing. Specifically, Google denies that its conduct concerning Google AdSense violates any law, and it is prepared to continue its vigorous defense, including at summary judgment and trial. Even so, taking into account the uncertainty and risks inherent in summary judgment and trial, Google has concluded that continuing to defend this Action would be burdensome and expensive."

With both the plaintiff and Google recognizing that this case could have gone either way, they both felt it was in the best interests to settle rather than continue what would be an expensive case.

As part of the settlement agreement an 11 million dollar fund will be created, with no more than $5,000 being paid to Class Representatives, no more than $2,750,000 being paid to the class action lawyers, and $116,045 reimbursed to the lawyers for costs and expenses. The rest of the money will be used to pay Settlement Class Members whose accounts were terminated or disabled by Adsense and were not paid the current balance of their accounts.
Amount of payment is based on various criteria

The amount of money that a claimant will be paid depends on the payment group they would fall under, which is based on whether a notice of dispute was sent in a timely manner, when they were terminated, and what Adsense agreement their account was bound by. For "Payment Group 1", the publisher would receive 100% of the balance, "Payment Group 2" would receive 50%, and "Payment Group 3" would receive 30%.

The minimum amount that can be claimed is $3.00 and any remaining distributions will be distributed as a “cy pres” award, which is proposed to go to Public Justice Foundation and Public Counsel.


For those who have had their Adsense accounts terminated or disabled by Google and were not paid the balance, you can visit the http://www.adsensepublishersettlement.com/ site to submit a claim.
Should Google's actions be considered criminal?

Some are also concerned about the heavy handed actions of Google and their actions having no consequences.



For example, a user on Hacker News was baffled that an action like this would not be considered a criminal act. Terminating an account for breaking policy is one thing, but taking their money is another thing altogether.

After posting this story, Bad Packets Report pointed us towards an old Pastebin post from 2014, which was supposedly from a Google employee that stated that these bans were an attempt by Google to increase earnings. Whether or not this post is true is not known and could be completely fabricated, but it does make for an interesting read.

Full details at http://akelicious..com.ng/2018/05/google-agrees-to-pay-11-million-to.html

Iniesta stayed on the pitch bare footed, lying on the pitch till 1 AM in Spain last night

http://akelicious..com/2018/05/photos-iniesta-stayed-on-pitch-bare.html

Top opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members have been granting press interviews and addressing zonal political rallies talking about “CHANGING THE CHANGE” in next year’s general elections, without defining what exactly that means.

As the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) gears up to celebrate the completion of three years of the Buhari government in the centre on May 29th, Nigerians need to be reminded of what the reversal of the achievements of this administration will amount to.

The real meaning and cost of the “Changing the Change,” is that if they win the next election, they will not take us back to where we were in 2015, they will mostly reverse the progress the APC has brought to the nation. The main reason for the defeat of the PDP in 2015 was corruption. The present administration at the centre led by President Muhammadu Buhari has so far presented a corrupt-free image of itself. It has also succeeded in abolishing grand corruption at the top and as attested to by the American President, Donald Trump. The government has significantly brought down the level of corruption in the whole country. It has, however, warned over and again that corruption was fighting back.

Many who are discerning would have read this from President Buhari’s speech when he inaugurated the impressive new headquarters building of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a week ago. He narrated how and why he was overthrown as a military Head of State in the 80s.

In that speech, he said not only was he kicked out because he fought corruption, the ones who took power freed all those that he had jailed, and whatever they stole was returned to them. He took their place in prison and stayed there without trial for 36 months, until that day when a journalist in Benin, now in Edo, broke the story that he had lost his mother. That was when he was allowed to go home.

The real difference between the PDP and the current APC administration is that although they mouthed a flood of rhetoric against corruption, in fact rightfully lay the claim of founding the institutions now in the forefront of fighting corruption as a government, the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, they had intended to keep them as toys, or bulldogs which teeth had been removed. No, they never intended that the war against corruption would be taken this far.

To change the change would mean that the teeth of the bulldog will be removed. It would then only bark but not bite.

In this country, politics is often considered as synonym of corruption. The previous government came under huge criticism for scandals like that discovered in arms procurements in the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA which transformed itself into a major source of funding of the PDP; NNPC crude oil thefts, broadband spectrum licensing scandal, oil subsidy scam and so many others but the present government has not faced any such corruption allegations.

Although he said he was unafraid and would not bend, the President’s concern, and fear on the part of many is that if a corrupt leader takes over, it will be happy days all over again for former Oil Minister Diezani Allison-Maduekwe who has so far forfeited USD 153 million, N23.4 billion, and USD 4m and USD 5m in separate accounts. “Change the Change” would mean she will get the money back. So would the former Managing Director of the maritime agency, NIMASA get back GBP 578,080 seized from him and the Ikoyi apartment owners have back their USD43.4m; N23m and GBP 27,800.

The hidden owner of the Lagos cash shop may then step forward to reclaim their N449.6 million; the ex-Naval Chiefs will have returned to them the already forfeited N1.8 billion; the Governors Forum paid back their N1.4 billion and the major oil marketers, from whom the EFCC has so far seized N328.9 billion will smile their ways to the bank.

The banks themselves will equally join the party, happily getting back N27.7 billion they “ate” from taxes they failed to remit; the scion of the Akinjides, Jumoke will have N650 million awarded to her while those scammers in INEC who coughed out N1 billion will equally get money back and charges standing against them in court may be dropped.

But the happiest of them all will be Mrs. Jonathan, who will get the first priority when the refunds start coming for obvious reasons. The former First Lady would not anymore need lawyers to keep her mountain of gifts, counted in huge millions of dollars, billions of Naira, hotels and buildings.

The list of people who oppose the Buhari government and yearning to ‘‘change the change’’ include a number of parliamentarians, policemen, customs officials, immigration officials, civil servants now rooting for other political parties, not leaving out those various businesses and platforms owned by these political parties directly or indirectly.

The Buhari win in 2015, and the possibility of four more years have crumbled their dreams of endlessly looting the state and the growing list of achievements of the administration is not doing any good for them.

“Change the change” means also that the biggest tax revolution since independence, the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) now being implemented, and about which many of our rich citizens are unhappy may be scrapped. A recent report shows that there are four million new taxpayers, including companies and individuals, resulting in N700 billion increase in tax revenue in 2017.

The early casualties of ‘‘changing the change’’ may include initiatives like the Whistle Blower policy by which the government is able to recover stolen or concealed assets through information provided by citizens. This has changed the ethical and moral tone of the business transaction space in the country. The whistle blower is entitled to between 2.5%-5.0% of amount recovered.

Sometime last year, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, told the world, “we are going after those who have stolen our money. We have put in place a very successful whistle-blower programme that is delivering results and allows those who report illicit activity to receive up to five per cent of any funds that we recover.” The response has been so fabulous that in just four months, it yielded N17bn, as revealed by the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.

Another formidable group unhappy with the change and wish it reversed are the importers of diesel and generators. Nigeria ranks as the second biggest importer of generators all over the world.

Buhari is bad business for them because he has raised electric power availability from 2,600 MW in 2015 to 7,000 MW and is targeting 10,000 megawatts by the year’s end. Increased power availability means less purchase of generators and less consumption of diesel. Noticeably, they are rooting for parties that are bent on changing the change. Rooters of ‘‘Changing the Change’’ campaign also include the beneficiaries of the malaria economy which costs Nigeria N132 billion and 300,000 lives annually, an economy now threatened by the administration’s National Malaria Elimination Programme, NMEP, by which tens of millions of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (ITN) are being freely distributed. A part of this order is now made in Aba, Nigeria.

The government’s moves on ease of doing business which has attracted international attention and investment and significantly improved the ranking of Nigeria as a place of doing business, in fact achieving a place in the World Bank’s top 10 reforming economies would suffer a hit from those bent on proving that on-going change is not working. But this is how the World Bank saw Nigeria: “Overall, the 10 top improvers implemented the most regulatory reforms in the area of getting credit, starting a business, dealing with construction permits and paying taxes,” the report said.

It’s really hard for the beneficiaries of the old order to see and appreciate what the Buhari government is doing considering that they ran an economy based purely on oil, the price of which was as high as US$140 per barrel. They reticulated oil revenue through personal spending and corruption, wasteful expenses and salaries. Nigeria did not record a single major infrastructural project in the 10 years before the Buhari administration. The money was mismanaged. No savings were made. To compound the problem, they borrowed heavily and owed contractors, and international oil companies.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II and Professor Chukwuma Soludo, both eminent former Central Bank Governors had had occasion to warn the government of the day about the wrongful way of doing things and the accompanying wastage but they were clobbered. The dire warnings of the dangers to economic health and the wellbeing of the people were both ignored.

Increase in government spending in infrastructure which is beginning to show results with sectors like employment, and returning growth to the recessed economy may equally suffer. Under the 2017 appropriation budget which is about to lapse, government’s capital spending is expected to hit N1.5 trillion. In the PDP years, the highest this got to was N450 billion or 21 per cent of the capital allocation in 2014. Doing more with less.

The Railways, on which the common man travels, is being changed for the better. The 3,500 monorail that had existed has been leased to the American company, General Electric. They are to refurbish it and are bringing new locomotives and hundreds of coaches. All trains and coaches are being modernized. New standard railway tracks are being laid linking Ibadan and Lagos. Kaduna-Abuja, partly completed when President Buhari took over is now in use and contracts for the entire stretch, Lagos to Kano have been awarded. Lagos-Port Harcourt will follow and by the Presidential directive, all state capitals are to be linked by the new, standard gauge railway.

“Changing the Change” means that we will go back to the old ways of doing things. A strong and diversified economy has been on top of President Buhari’s achievements. Key drivers of the economy such as agriculture and solid minerals have been progressing with over 7% growth rate, an indication of positive signs for the future. Is everyone happy with this? No. We cannot say this of the importers of rice who have seen their import business go down following the tremendous success of the home-grown rice schemes. Over two billion USD have been saved as a consequence.

Then, you must also count those who got USD 200 million every year from the Central Bank and ended up bringing in low standard fertilizers. They lapped a government subsidy of N60,000 annually and sold a bag each for between N10,000-N13,000. Now, a government-approved price, by the common consent of local producers is N5,500 per bag. Those who fed fat on the perennial shortages and the subsidy regime would desire nothing but “Changing the Change.”

There are many today who take for granted the declared victory over the Boko Haram terrorists, forgetting the reign of the bomber who made it almost impossible for regular attendance in markets, Churches and Mosques in many of our cities, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

But again, as we have seen from the heist in the national security establishment, even Boko Haram was an industry from which money was scooped. Boko Haram was the hallmark of a flourishing business of corruption. The beneficiaries won’t like that the security threat is eliminated. Yes, for them, “Changing the Change” is an opportunity for a resumption of business as usual.

Garba Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President

http://akelicious..com/2018/05/the-real-price-of-changing-change-garba.html

Ticket sales for the high profile Warm-up match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and The Three Lions of England on June 2nd at Wembley has not closed, this NationSport has learnt.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Saturday made this clarification stating that ticket sales are still on for the pre- Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup match.

Nationsport has however gathered that for a live view as the World –Cup bound Eagles trail tackles at the magnificent 90,000 capacity stadium, fans would have to part with £70, about N34,000.


The three-time African Cup of Nations champions will provide an important test for Gareth Southgate’s squad as the Three Lions finalise preparations for group games with Tunisia, Panama and Belgium at the World Cup.

The symbiotic match will also provide Nigeria’s German tactician, Gernot Rohr an ample opportunity to make his final 23-man World Cup list expected to be released and submitted to FIFA not later than June 4.

Rohr is expected to open Super Eagles final selection camp on May 22, with invited 30-man Eagles who will prosecute DR. Congo friendly on May 28, before jetting out to England for the Three Lion’s friendly which has been gaining international frenzy.

As gathered there are concessions of £10 off ticket price for students, under 16s and senior citizens on purchase of the ticket which has been on sale since March 21 and would end on June 2,- the match day.

Recall that England has played Nigeria on two previous occasions at senior level, a 1-0 friendly victory at Wembley in 1994 when David Platt scored the winner, before sharing a goalless draw at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan.

http://akelicious..com.ng/2018/05/fans-to-pay-n34-000-for-england-vs.html

The former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Mr. Kole Ajayi, is dead.

Ajayi, a lawyer, reportedly died of heart attack on Friday while traveling to Lagos for a function of Ekiti State University (EKSU) Alumni Association.

He was 51.

The deceased was the National President of EKSU Alumni Association and a member of the institution’s Governing Council.


He was also the Publisher of the now rested EKITI NOW Newspaper.

Ajayi was the Accord Party candidate in the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti.

He joined the APC recently and declared his governorship bid.

He, however, withdrew from the race before commencement of sale of nomination and expression of interest forms.

http://akelicious..com.ng/2018/05/ex-apc-governorship-candidate-in-ekiti.html

Our attention has been drawn to the call for the postponement of tomorrow's State Congress in Taraba State by one Mr. Aaron Artimas.

Ordinarily, we would have ignored him knowing full well that he is an agent of destabilisation sent to our great party by the opposition to disrupt it's activities in Taraba state, but because he has drawn the national secretariat of the party to his mischief by falsely accusing the national leadership of taking side with Senator Aisha Alhassan, we have decided to scold the undesirable element in our party.

For the avoidance of doubt, we are stating categorically clear that the national secretariat of our great party has never taken side and would never take side with any aspirant whatsoever!

However, our investigation revealed that Mr. Artimas is somebody who joined our party about a year ago!

This is a man without any electoral worth or value as further investigations shows that he cannot even win election or deliver his polling unit to APC in Taraba State let alone delivering his ward to the party.
There is no doubt that the man has revealed his true mission as an agent provocateur in our party by throwing jabs at the national secretariat.
What stops Mr. Artimas from exploring internal dispute resolution mechanisms within the party if he has any genuine concern for the party?
Apart from throwing jabs at the national secretariat, Mr. Artimas who only joined the party as 'food is ready' politician after the party had laboured to win elections in 2015 manifested his mission by creating faction which he made himself secretary in Taraba State. This act alone warrants outright expulsion from the party, but the National Secretariat is magnanimous enough to accommodate him because APC is a party of true democrats.
Instead of castigating the leadership of the party, Mr. Artimas should be grateful to the national secretariat for unconditionally accepting him in to the party even though it is a public knowledge that he has no electoral capital to contribute towards the progress of the party in Taraba State.
We therefore urge politicians like Mr. Artimas who have formed the habit of constantly bashing the leadership of the party in the public to spear some thoughts for party and seek internal dispute resolution mechanisms if they are aggrieved over any issue.

http://akelicious..com.ng/2018/05/apc-reacts-to-call-for-postponement-of.html

A group, Hausa Singers Association has vowed to see to the voting out of the All Progressive Congress, APC-led administration during the 2019 elections.

He stated that the association will soon commence a tour of all the 20 local government areas to sensitise voters not to vote for the APC, ahead of the 2019 elections.


Isa claimed that the APC under Abubakar is clueless to the extent that it has failed to live up to expectations in tandem with its so-called Change mantra.

Recall that some hoodlums had attacked about nine members of the association while in a meeting in Bauchi, yet government was yet to publicly condemn the act even as the culprits still walk freely on the street.

Isa said, “We have put in place all arrangement to proceed on tour of the whole state to create public awareness as to why APC should be voted out in Bauchi state come 2019.”


The association stressed that it will not leave any stone unturned in its resolve to uproot the APC during the elections, basing their reason on the absence of development in the state.

The secretary criticized the policy of Abubakar towards youths empowerment, stating that unemployment has ravaged the society under APC.

According to him, the association will not be intimidated by the agents of government in their genuine commitment for survival.

He called on the people of Bauchi to ignore all efforts made by the Abubakar administration for the re-election of the APC in 2019.

http://akelicious..com/2018/05/2019-hausa-singers-vow-to-vote-against.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the nation’s economy is steadily improving, urging Nigerians to remain optimistic as the future of the country is bright. At a state dinner held Monday, in his honour by the government of Jigawa State during his 2-day working visit, President Buhari in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu called on Nigerians to continue supporting his administration’s well thought-out economic policies. “The future is bright for Nigeria, as the economy has taken a turn for the better, our foreign reserves are almost twice the level we met, boosting investors’ confidence and stabilising the Naira, and inflation has declined consecutively for more than a year. “The federal government released over N1trillion for capital projects in 2016 and N1.5 trillion in 2017, figures that are unprecedented in Nigeria’s history,” the president said. President Buhari listed the ‘Shuwarin overpass’ and ‘Dutse-Shuwarin-Kiyawa’ portion of the Kano – Maiduguri expressway as well as the ‘Dutse-Laraba’ highway extension as part of areas in which Jigawa State has benefited from the federal government’s commitment to infrastructural rejuvenation. The President commended Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State for emulating his administration’s commitment to infrastructure development despite severely limited resources available to the State. The President also lauded the state government for subscribing to federal government’s renewable energy master plan by having the largest solar power investment portfolio in the country — the 330 megawatts joint solar power development station situated in Gwiwa local government of the state. Commending the success of the federal government’s Social Intervention Programme in Jigawa State, the President urged states that are yet to access the over N500 billion budgeted for the scheme due to “its stringent eligibility guidelines” to fully take advantage of the programme. President Buhari equally lauded Governor Badaru’s efforts as the head of the fertilizer supply and distribution programme which has resulted in “unprecedented availability of fertilizer to farmers at zero level.” The President told the governor: “Your Excellency, you have done well. You deserve the support of your people to keep it up.”

http://akelicious..com/2018/05/nigerias-economy-future-bright-pmb.html

General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Mr Enoch Adeboye, has urged Christians to register for their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

The cleric said Christians who show any form of indifference about their PVCs might sin against God.

Adeboye spoke at a special prayer and thanksgiving for expectant mothers, medics, paramedics and all those seeking medical attention.

The event was organised by RCCG’s national headquarters Throne of Grace Parish on Redemption Way in Ebutte Metta, Lagos.

It was tagged: Hope for the Hopeless and was attended by thousands of christians from across the country.

The event comprised prayer, bible teaching and prophetic impartation.

Adeboye said as 2019 draws nearer and Nigerians will choose those to lead them for another four years, Christians must get their PVCs to choose politicians of their choice.

The cleric said eligible Christian voters who fail to get their PVCs would commit a sin against God.

According to him, the scriptures says give therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

Although he said the bible enjoins Christians to pray for kings and those in positions of authority, Adeboye added that voting is a civil right that must be obeyed and followed by all eligible voters.

The cleric, who spoke through his Assistant General Overseer and Special Assistant of Administration and Personnel, Mr Johnson Odesola, said: “Nigerians should be ready to vote for credible and God-fearing people in positions of authority at all levels of governance. Those who are currently in power but are not serving us well should be voted out.”

He said Nigerians should also vote out politicians who are aiding and supporting the killing of fellow beings, irrespective of who they are.

Adeboye decried the killings in Benue and other parts of the country, saying they cast a dent on the present government for its alleged failure to protect the people.

The cleric, who supported the concern raised by American President Donald Trump, noted that every right-thinking person would decry the killing of thousands of innocent people in any part of the country.

He challenged the National Assembly to pass this year’s budget as quickly as possible in the interest of Nigerians.

According to him, National Assembly members were elected to serve the interest, yearnings and hopes of the ordinary Nigerians and not for backing the selfish interests of some people.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/christians-without-pvcs-sin-against-god.html

The online portal of the Nigerian Prison Service has been temporarily shutdown,

The development came barely one week after the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB) invited applications from suitably qualified candidates for full time appointments to fill existing vacancies into the service.

Candidate were asked to log into the website www.prisons.gov.ng fill and submit the application form online. Applicants were also advised to print out the Referee forms which must be duly completed for submission during screening.
All applications are expected to be completed and submitted within six (6) weeks.
However, a check on the official website of the service on Sunday showed that the portal was unavailable.
The site had a short message on its homepage that reads, “WE WILL BE BACK SHORTLY.”

Meanwhile, a quick tech check on the site by this reporter shows that the site was created on December 25, 2008 by National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and was last updated in August 2014.
When DAILY POST reached out to the Registrant, Agi Edegi, he did not respond to our calls.
Meanwhile, the board is yet to explain the reason behind the unavailability of the portal.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/nigerian-prisons-website-shutdown-amid.html

”Assurance” crooner and DMW boss Davido has revealed that his next album will be out by September. OBO is known for giving us hit songs back to back and this year will not be an exception.

This happened while the singer was receiving his award as the Artiste of the Year during The Headies awards 2018.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/davido-to-release-new-album-in-september.html

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District on Sunday urged the Federal Government to declare public holidays for collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), ahead of the December 2018 deadline.

Her statement was sequel to revelations by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that over seven million PVCs were yet to be collected nationwide, with one million and four hundred thousand from Lagos State.

Tinubu in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, said that the PVCs were the tools towards participating in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.
She also urged INEC to extend deadline of collection of PVCs.
Tinubu said “With previous elections, Nigerians developed voter apathy due to a distrust of the system.
” The 2015 elections taught us, however, that as individuals, our votes count. Thus, we must rise up as citizens to fulfill our civic responsibility and ensure accountability in governance.

“Towards the 2019 elections, INEC had released modalities for ongoing continuous voter registration. The centres open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
“The period should be extended; and should include weekends to allow people who were unable to visit the centres during work hours to do so at weekends.
“INEC should ensure that it had adequate resources to make the process quick and easy.”
She further called for increased voter education and sensitisation to achieve the desired results.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/tinubu-urges-fg-to-declare-public.html

There are doubts if the nationwide All Progressive Congress (APC) ward congress will hold in Zaria and Sobongari Local Government Areas of Kaduna State as the event is yet to commence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as at the time of filing this report, officials expected to conduct the exercise were yet to arrive as at 12 noon.

A correspondent of NAN who visited Limancin-Kona, Kwarbai A, Kwarbai B, Kaura, Gyallesu, Kufena, Muchia, Chikaji, Jama’a, Samaru and Bomo wards among others reports that many party members were gathered at designated areas waiting for take-off of the exercise.

The party members who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed concern over the delay and appealed for justice in the entire exercise.
One of the members said: “I am disappointed; I was here since 7:00a.m. thinking that they will start the election on time, so that we can finish and go about our normal daily businesses.
“APC should endeavour to prove that it is a party for positive change that will contemplate imposing party leadership on members.”
Another party member, noted that the ward congress “is scheduled to start at most by 9:00 a.m., but the time now is after 11:00 a.m. there is no news of the officials assigned to conduct the election.”
When contacted on telephone, the APC Zonal Chairman, Kaduna North Senatorial District, Alhaji Abubakar Rilwanu said they were still expecting the officials that would conduct the election.
Rilwanu who did not make further comment, however, called on all party members to exercise patience, assuring that the congress would hold.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/apc-ward-congress-delayed-in-kaduna-lgas.html

Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has stated that no other president in the country has managed the nation’s economy better than President Muhammadu Buhari.

The governor spoke in Ibadan on Friday evening while receiving members of the National Congress Committee of APC at the Government House.

The committee led by Alhaji Musa Aliyu were in the state for the ward congress of the APC scheduled to hold on Saturday.

“I read Economics and Finance, and there is no economic theory that we have not read. The most important part of all the economic theory is leadership.


“And Nigeria is lucky to have that leadership. There is no president in Nigeria that has ever managed the economy like Buhari,” he said.

Ajimobi, who described the APC as the greatest party in Africa, said Buhari was the most credible president that Nigeria has ever produced.

“I was in one of Buhari’s delegation to London and when he was asked to speak he said ‘I have no money to distribute. All I have been selling is my integrity,” he said.

The governor said that Buhari has been able to maintain that integrity till date

“Politics is just a game that if God plays it, some people will abuse Him no matter the performance. I use to tell the president anytime I meet him not to worry people is abusing him.

“I told him that people abused Prophet Muhammed and Jesus Christ, who are godsend not to talk of us ordinary human beings. That is why God has created the world a binary one,” he said.


Ajimobi promised that the congress committee would not be influenced, assuring them of their support.

Earlier, Aliyu said the committee was in Ibadan on a national assignment of the party, which he said the committee would do satisfactorily.

He said that the party was known for internal democracy, adding such was the cardinal principle preached by Buhari, the leader of the party.

“We intend to work closely with the local chapters in achieving the desired success, so that the party will come out strongly,” he said.

The committee had Hon Usman Ibrahim, Hon Mohammed Ibrahim, Hadjia Halima Jabiru and Mrs Fola Olasehinde.

Also in attendance were Chief Akin Oke, Oyo State APC Chairman and some House of Representative members from Oyo State.


http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/buhari-has-managed-nigerian-economy.html

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye has expressed doubt over the 2019 election holding in the country.

Pastor Adeboye who spoke on Friday at the ongoing Holy Ghost service for the month of May with the theme, ‘Greater Than Your Enemies’ said Nigeria may not live to see 2019 elections if religious war breaks out in the country.

“There is no father that will lose 19 children in a day and be quiet. It doesn’t matter the denominations. All Christians in Nigeria call me daddy, so when anyone of them dies it’s my son that is dead.

“We need to pray because unless these killings stop immediately even Nigeria may not live. We are not talking about individuals we are talking about Nigeria itself.

“A bishop asked me sometimes ago what God has revealed to me about 2019 election.

“I told him I am not sure there would be an election because unless these killings stop, there may be no election next year, I’m mot prophesying but this is so because no one will go out to vote if not sure they will return home safely.

“I have seen war at a close range, there is nothing good about it. A nation may survive a civil war but no nation can survive a religious war and remain the same.

“That Nigeria may live and not experience religious war these killings must stop.”

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/im-not-sure-election-will-hold-next.html

A stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC ), Ferdinand Ovundah, who was one of the five occupants of the black Toyota Hilux van of Rivers State Secretary of the (APC ), Chief Emeka Beke, that a big tree fell on Thursday, is dead.

Ovundah, who hailed from Ogbakiri in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers state, had spinal cord injury from the accident and passed on yesterday in a private hospital in Port Harcourt.

Rivers Publicity Secretary of APC, Chief Chris Finebone, Friday evening, confirmed the death of Ovundah, describing it as very pathetic and so unfortunate.

Beke, who sat in the front passenger’s seat of the van, and the other occupants, including a policeman, were around 10 a.m. on Thursday, on their way to the Rivers secretariat of the main opposition party (APC) on Forces Avenue, old Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port Harcourt, through the road by the residence of a former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, and the Port Harcourt Club, when the big tree fell and damaged the vehicle.


Rivers secretary of APC, his driver and others were injured and they were quickly rushed by passersby and sympathisers to the nearby Rivers state government-owned Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) in the Rivers state capital, from where they were quickly moved to better-equipped private hospitals, off Aba Road in Port Harcourt and in Eleme, Rivers state (names withheld), where they received treatment.

Beke was on Friday afternoon at the Rivers secretariat of APC with swollen face, while thanking God for the narrow escape, but expressed sadness over the death of Ovundah.

Thursday’s heavy rain in Port Harcourt and its environs, accompanied by windstorm, was responsible for the sudden fall of the tree.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/05/rivers-apcs-stalwart-confirmed-dead.html