₦airaland Forum

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Its that time of year again and its always nice to get in the spirit of the season with some great holiday music. Here are a few memorable if not typically played holiday songs, made a little hipper by these wonderful jazz artists. I hope you find some joy in them as I do. Happy Holidays to all my family, friends and followers. Looking forward to a swinging New Year!



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The Nigerian Communications Commission has said the proposed hike in data tariff by telecommunication companies is meant to protect the interest of the subscribers and prevent monopoly.

The Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of the NCC, Mr. Ismail Adedigba, said this in Osogbo on the sidelines of the 81st consumer outreach programme held in Osogbo.

He said the agency had not given up on the proposed data tariff increment, saying the NCC was working to protect the interest of Nigerians in order to prevent telecom giants from ripping them off at the end.

Adedigba explained that some telecoms giants could charge very low tariff just to prevent new entrants in the sector, adding that after warding off competition, they would hike their price astronomically and subscribers would be at their mercy.

The NCC boss said, “It is the NCC’s mandate to regulate activities in the industry, to protect the interest of subscribers. That is the reason behind the plan to increase data tariffs.

“If we allow the operators to charge any price, some can charge very low prices and they will take all customers to their networks at the expense of new entrants.

“Nothing is free; once the consumers take the bait of rushing to the network offering cheaper tariff, competition will be eliminated. The effect is that once the big operators know that new entrants have been frustrated, they will increase their prices and the consumers will not have any choice because the new entrants have been crippled.

“At the end of the day, you would have predating prices and there will be no competition against the few ones left in the sector. So, we will continue to enlighten Nigerians.”

The Director, Consumers Affairs of the NCC, Alhaji Abdulahi Maikano, had earlier in his address said the agency would not shirk its responsibility of protecting the interest of subscribers.

Maikano said, “Consumers must be protected and that is why the commission has developed series of initiatives with the main goal of empowering consumers with appropriate information that will ensure that their rights are not only protected but their choices provide them with value for money.”

Consumers, who spoke at the meeting decried the alleged fraudulent activities of the major operators in the industry, saying they usually set trap for them to fall into with the aim of defrauding them.

Some also lamented the poor quality of voice calls and data services of the operators, saying despite this, they charged and bombarded them with unsolicited messages.



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The Indigenous People of Biafra, on Monday, warned President Muhammadu Buhari to ‘stay clear’ of the South-East.

The President is slated to attend the opening session of the South-East Economic Summit in Enugu on Thursday.

But IPOB, in a statement entitled, ‘Muhammadu Buhari must stay clear of Biafra land or have himself to blame for the outcome of any such visit,’ told the President to cancel the planned visit.

The secessionist group, in a statement signed by its spokespersons, Emma Nmezu (a lawyer) and Dr. Clifford Iroanya, equally warned Igbo governors and other political leaders against hosting Buhari in Enugu or any other part of the South-East.

IPOB warned that the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and other leaders should be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order in the state if Buhari went ahead to visit the Coal City on December 22.

The pro-Biafran group alleged that Buhari was a ‘killer and persecutor’ of Igbo and should not be allowed to visit the geopolitical zone.

The statement read in part, “The Indigenous People of Biafra have received information that Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will be visiting Enugu on the 22nd of December, 2016. We object totally to this visit.

“We warn that any governor or Igbo politician that receives Buhari in Enugu will have himself or herself to blame. We make it public that should there be a breakdown of law and order in Enugu on the 22nd of December, greedy Igbo politicians will have themselves to blame.

“Any Igbo governor or politician that is found among those hobnobbing with Buhari becomes an enemy of the people and shall pay dearly for it.”

IPOB also demanded an investigation into the Amnesty International report, which accused the army of mass killing of Biafra activists.

The group urged all pro-Biafra activists to be in Enugu on December 22 to show their anger over Buhari’s visit.

“We are calling on all Biafrans to descend on Enugu on the said date of December 22, 2016 to show our anger and displeasure at this attempt by some greedy Igbo men to insult the memory of our glorious dead and those still in detention with our leader.

The police could not be reached for comment as calls to the Force spokesman, Donald Awunah, indicated that his line was unreachable. He had yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report.




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The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has suspended his nationwide crusades in preparation for the church’s December Retreat.

The nationwide crusades, which started early this year, had taken the 75-year-old man and his 71-year-old wife, Esther, to almost all the 36 states of the federation.

The cleric’s unprecedented outreaches in states and regions had recorded many signs and wonders.

The church, in a statement on Monday, said the December Retreat, tagged, ‘Power for the present hour,’ would be unprecedented in the history of the ministry.

Holding from December 23 to 26, the retreat will hold not only in Nigeria, but also in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Africa and other parts of the world where the church has presence.

Kumuyi, who would minister from the Deeper Life Conference Centre on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway during the four-day retreat, was quoted as saying that God would pour out His blessings upon all participants as they open their hearts during the programme.

He said, “He (God) never calls people to Himself only to send them away empty-handed. He is a loving Father and cares about our every need. If we humble ourselves before Him and by prayer hold on to His promises, He will increase our benefits from the retreat.”



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members of the Super Falcons, who won a record eighth African Women Cup of Nations in Yaounde, have confirmed receipt of payment of their money by the Nigeria Football Federation.

The players had lodged in Agura Hotel, Abuja, in protest, after they were not paid their AWCON and qualifying allowances by the federation.

However, after a protest match to the National Assembly on Wednesday, the Presidency promised to pay their money on Friday.

The placard-carrying players had stormed the NASS so that President Muhammadu Buhari, who visited the complex to present the estimates of the 2017 budget to lawmakers, would see them and put an end to their plight.

But it was the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, who addressed them and promised to offset their bills last Friday. The Federal Government then released about US$1.2m to the cash-strapped NFF on Friday to pay the ladies.

The players told our correspondent that they received bank alerts early on Monday morning, adding that the federation only paid them N4.8m, which they claimed was for winning the AWCON.

The players have insisted that they are entitled to about $25,000 each.

“I saw my bank alert this (Monday) morning and what was paid into my account was N4.8m, which is just for winning the AWCON. They have not paid us money for the qualifiers but they told us that they will pay,” a player in the squad, who pleaded anonymity, said.



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A pastor at the Divine Yard Deliverance Ministry in Iyana Iyesi, Ota, Ogun State, Peace Udoh, has been arrested by the police for allegedly running a baby factory in the church.

The 47-year-old was said to have sold 64 babies before she was arrested on Sunday by operatives from the Lagos State Police Command who acted on a tip-off.

Udoh was apprehended with one Angela Akpan and a nurse, Mrs. Bukola Ajala, who reportedly assisted in childbirth at Udoh’s church.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the pastor usually referred complicated cases to the nurse, whose clinic – El Shaddai Hospital – is located a few metres away from the church.

Our correspondent gathered that Angela’s younger sister, 17-year-old Goodnews Akpan, recently gave birth to a child at the clinic.

Angela, who was arrested on Saturday in the Sango area, was said to have led police operatives on Sunday to Udoh’s church and Ajala’s clinic, where they were picked up respectively.

While parading the suspects on Monday at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said detectives swooped on the syndicate after receiving intelligence report that Udoh needed a buyer for Goodnews’ baby.

“The suspects run a baby factory in the Sango Ota area. We are still working to get 64 other children she has sold out,” the CP added.

However, the pastor, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, refuted the allegation, saying she used the church as a maternity home to assist her pregnant church members for a token.

She said, “I have been a pastor for 13 years. I only assisted my church members during childbirth. I take delivery of 13 to 15 babies every year and I have handled over 60 cases so far. I don’t sell the babies.

“Whenever I have a complicated case, I refer the patient to the nurse and we share the money she collects for the service. Angela brought her sister to me in July. She gave birth on November 16 at the nurse’s clinic and she was discharged. I was surprised when the police came to arrest me yesterday (Sunday).”

Ajala, the nurse, said she collected between N15,000 and N17,000 for each child delivery, adding that she didn’t know anything about selling of babies.

The third suspect, Angela, said, “I am from Abak in Akwa Ibom. I took my sister from our village to the pastor when her pregnancy was four months. She was there until she gave birth in November and I paid N17,000. I didn’t intend to sell her child and I have never sold any child before.”

Goodnews, a secondary school dropout, told our correspondent that she was not aware of the plan to sell her baby. She said she followed Angela to Lagos to avoid being ridiculed in the village.

“I got pregnant in the school but none of my boyfriends was willing to take the responsibility for the pregnancy.

“My mother would not allow me stay with her so I decided to follow my sister to Lagos,” she added.


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