The Nigerian stock exchange (NSE) has become the worst performing stock exchange in Africa, and the third worst performing in the world, after China and Saudi Arabia. Nigeria lost 1.2 trillion in the first eight trading days of 2016, only less than China and Saudi Arabia in the entire world. Oscar Onyema, chairman of the NSE, said he would have been bothered if Nigeria was not losing the way it was, adding that the NSE was reflecting the state of the economy. Onyema, said the bourse could fund the deficit of the 2016 budget,revealing that the stock had notified the government of the problems with the economy.
Ijaw kinsmen of Government Ekpemupolo (AKA
Tompolo) in Warri area of Delta state have accused
enemies of the former MEND leader of trying to smear
his name by embarking on destruction of oil facilities
in Delta state.
The Warri Ijaw Peace Monitoring Group, in a
statement by its chairman, Chief Patrick Bigha,
condemned the renewed wanton destruction of oil
facilities in the Niger Delta region. It urged the
Federal Government to enlist Tompolo’s assistance to
fish out the masterminds of the attacks.
He said, “The government should make peace with
Tompolo so that he will be of great help to the
government in managing such situations as well as
not to allow the matter to lead to resumption of
hostilities in the Niger Delta.
“Mind you,Tompolo is a force to reckon with, in terms
of peace building in the Niger Delta region,” the
statement added.
The Ijaw group said they are not happy over the
incident, stressing that it looked like a smear
campaign against Ekpemupolo, because of his
position in the Bayelsa State governorship elections
as well as the issue with the EFCC.
“ It is worthy of note that Tompolo will not embark on
such self destructive mission as one that fervently
believes in the Nigeria project, and has contributed to
peace building and development of Nigeria.”
It could be recalled that it was this same Tompolo
that was protecting oil facilities in the Niger Delta
even though he was not paid for doing that,and so
could not turn around to be one that is destroying oil
facilities.
“And as he was doing that he stepped on many
powerful toes and such people were not and still not
happy with him. Therefore such people can carry out
this act and point accusing fingers on him because of
the present condition he find himself in.
“There is urgent need for the Federal Government to
look inward as some APC chieftains may likely be
involved in this incident as some of them have been
involved in such acts in the past.”
President Obama wept on Tuesday as he reflected on the children killed during the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Announcing new executive actions on guns in the East Room, the president paused and wiped away tears when he spoke about first graders who were shot and killed at the Connecticut school. ADVERTISEMENT “Our right to peaceful assembly, that right was robbed of moviegoers in Aurora … and from first graders in Newtown. First graders,” Obama said. “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” he added. “And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.” Obama delivered a dramatic performance in rolling out unilateral measures to curb gun violence, which he has called the most frustrating issue of his presidency. Dozens of gun-control activists and families of gun victims attended the White House event, serving as a reminder of the mass shootings that have cast a cloud over Obama's time in office. "Too many," Obama said of the shootings. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who survived a gunshot wound to the head during a 2011 shooting in Tucson, was in the audience. The president was introduced by Mark Barden, managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, who lost his son in the Newtown shooting.
Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, on Sunday regretted the inequalities between the public office holders in Nigeria and the masses. The Bishop, who spoke at the Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu in a thanksgiving mass to mark the re-wedding of old Anambra State Governor, Senator Jim Nwobodo and his wife in the Catholic church, attributed the inequality to corruption among public office holders. He added that this had resulted in persistent crisis and youth restiveness in the nation. Bishop Kukah called on Igbos as a people with a common language and culture to be united and ensure security and peace in the area to actualize socio-economic development, regretting that Nigeria was today a country that is more divided. He observed that life did not depend only on power and money, enjoining Christians irrespective of their denominations to close ranks and strive towards evangelism which is the common goal. Kukah, who gave a homily during the holy mass, which also coincided with the service to mark the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance /Appeal Fund Week warned the catholic faithful not to be over excited by feeling that they had gained where the Anglicans lost, adding that there is no gain and loss in the matter. He appealed to all Christians to close ranks and endeavour to achieve success in evangelism which is the most important Christian goal. Bishop Kukah Commended the Anglican Church for nurturing Chief Jim Nwobodo from birth till the time he joined Catholic church. He added that Senator Nwobodo’s entry into the Catholic church is a home coming, recalling that all Christian churches pulled out from Catholic church, because of the protest from the then Rev. Fr. Martin Luther. He warned that people should not judge others but allow judgement for God. The bishop expressed happiness that since the enthronement of Pope Francis and the emergence of his “down to earth simplicity and freshness”, the Catholic church had continued to grow. In a remark, Senator Nwobodo noted that his entry into the Catholic church as a home coming which God has destined. According to him, since he embraced Catholic church, things have started turning around positively for him and his family. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, who was the sponsor of the wedding with his wife Monica, took the first reading in the church service attended by top government officials, friends and relations of the celebrant, including Bishop emeritus of Enugu Catholic Diocese, Most. Rev. Dr. Anthony Gbuji, and the Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga.
Nigeria is risking the lives of millions of displaced civilians by planning to return them to communities vulnerable to attack by Islamist terrorists, experts warn. The government says it has all but defeated Boko Haram, the ISIS-allied group that was involved in the slaughter of 11,000 people last year and ranks among the world's deadliest terror organizations . President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged that he will "start in earnest" to return an estimated 2.2 million citizens who have been forced to flee their homes. However, while most of the territory once held by Boko Haram has been recaptured, experts say the insurgents' renewed guerrilla campaign is deadlier than ever. advertisement FROM DEC. 23: Thousands Flee to Safety After Boko Haram Attacks Along Nigerian Border 1:06 "The concern from humanitarian actors is that some of these areas are still very risky for people to live in," Francis Garriba of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told NBC News from the Nigerian capital of Abuja. "To return the IDPs [internally displaced people] to their home communities is premature in many cases." Garriba said he believed the government was putting millions of lives at risk with its plan. "If the government wants to remake a meaningful life for these people it will take a very long time to put these infrastructures in place," he said. Nigeria says around 80 percent of its IDPs are women or children. Most are staying in relatives' homes, but thousands are forced to live in camps funded by the government and aid agencies. advertisement "MASS RETURNS COULD BE LIKE RED RAGS TO A BULL" Their towns and villages were heavily damaged or destroyed as Boko Haram swept the northeast of the country in 2014. "They killed two of my brothers," 39-year-old Mohammed Umaru, a nurse who fled the northeast to a camp outside Abuja, told NBC News. With little or no infrastructure, civilians wanting to move back there would face a lack of food, water, medicine and education, as well as the militant threat. There is also evidence that Boko Haram suicide bombers have deliberately attacked returning IDPs because of their vulnerability, according to Elizabeth Pearson, an associate fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute think tank. advertisement "Mass returns could be like red rags to a bull," Pearson said. "While IDPs want to return home, and should eventually do so, it is important to ensure that their safety is not jeopardized in achieving this goal." Manzo Ezekiel, spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, rejected the idea that some areas were not safe enough for re-population. "The military has made a lot of progress against Boko Haram ... and the IDPs are very much eager to go back to their communities," he told NBC News. "The fear that was in the minds of the people last year is not the same kind of fear that's in their minds now." However, Ezekiel was not able to provide details on whether the government planed to finance the rebuilding of ruined communities, nor how 2.2 million people would be transported across the country. advertisement One of the IDPs who is feeling more positive is Bunu Saje, a 55-year-old civil servant who was forced to flee his hometown of Baga after a devastating Boko Haram assault in January last year . "Yes, yes, yes! Of course we want to return. Life here is not comfortable," he told NBC News by telephone from Maiduguri. "The security situation has now improved. The threat has dramatically decreased." Related: ISIS Owns Headlines, but Nigeria's Boko Haram Kills More Than Ever Evidence suggests that this optimism owes more to government hype than reality. The administration has been keen to appear successful against Boko Haram after the crisis became deeply embarrassing for the previous government. The potential for political points scoring could be prompting "the incumbent administration to try to paint a better picture that's not representative of the situation on the ground," said Ryan Cummings, a South Africa- based analyst at crisis management consultancy Red24 . "You just cannot see how communities within northeast Nigeria are going to be repopulated without protection against very probable attacks," he added. FROM MARCH 8, 2015: Militant group Boko Haram pledges allegiance to ISIS 0:33 The UNHCR's Garriba agreed, calling the government's positive message "political propaganda." One man who as seen the crisis unfold firsthand is Zanna Mustapha, a lawyer and philanthropist who runs a school for orphans and disadvantaged children in Maiduguri. The northeastern city has remained a relative safe haven despite being on the fringes of the conflict, and as such has seen a large influx of IDPs. "It's not safe for anybody to go back to where they have come from," Mustapha said. "Every week there are fresh attacks." He praised the efforts of the Nigerian army in routing Boko Haram from its territory, but said he was worried there were too many unanswered questions in the government's plan to resettle people. "How do you transport them back to their communities? How do you take care of their town? Is the military going to be guarding them 24 hours a day?" he said. The arrival of untold numbers of IDPs has put a strain on the city, Mustapha said, with his school, the Future Prowess Islamic Foundation, also seeing a swell in numbers. "We have orphans whose fathers were soldiers in the Nigerian army, and orphans whose fathers were Boko Haram fighters — they are all children who need somewhere to go," he said. "Most of the children in the school witnessed how their parents were killed and saw the most horrible things you can imagine." Outside of Maiduguri "the humanitarian challenge is also enormous," said Nwakpa Nwakpa, head of communications at the Nigerian Red Cross Society. Some civilians want to return to their hometowns, Nwakpa said, while others see little point in moving from one area of poverty to another. "For some of them, moving back would be just like moving from one IDP camp to another — there's nothing there for them anymore in a lot of cases," he said.
on Wednesday, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) issued a statement confirming they received N50 million from the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a revelation first revealed in a statement by the former editor of ThisDay, Nduka Obaigbena, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December. NGE President Garba Deen Muhammad In the statement, the NGE notes that the organization did indeed receive N50 million from the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. However, they claimed the funds were a donation given to the NGE at a fundraising dinner in April 2014. The dinner was intended to raise money for the construction of a secretariat, the Editor’s Plaza. According to the NGE N50 million was presented to them by former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Labaran Maku, and deposited in their Zenith Bank Account. The organization also attacked President Muhammadu Buhari, insinuating that the recent attempts to drag the NGE into Dasukigate are without merit and most likely motivated by President Buhari’s desire for revenge for earlier statements made by the NGE regarding the president's war on corruption. “It is regrettable that an earlier statement by the Guild on the anti-corruption war of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari may not be unconnected with recent attempts to drag the Guild into a matter in which it has no case whatsoever,” the statement noted. In December, the EFCC interrogating Mr. Obaigbena for questioning for his connection to the $2.1 billion misappropriated by the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki for the purposes of bankrolling the PDP’s presidential campaign. The NGE's statement can be found in its entirety below. NGE Statement
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is expected to release the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Chief Olisa Metuh on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari . As at the time of this report, the directive had not been received from Mr. President. Dawn-To-Dusk News however gathered that Metuh has written a 2- page statement. According to a source," As at 7:42pm this evening, Olisa Metuh has finished answering all questions on the allegations & made a statement to this effect. EFCC says they are waiting for directives from president Buhari to release him or not.Olisa Metuh statement to EFCC was short - 2 pages. "He said former president Goodluck Jonathan called him & gave him an assignment. That he carried out the assignment perfectly well & reported back to the former president who was satisfied with job done. That if the EFCC has any case they should charge him to court. He is ready to defend himself. That he disbursed all monies to those it was meant for but will not give details until he is charged to court. That former president directed he should give an account for which the job can be funded & he gave his company account. "Asked for a copy of the report, Olisa said its for his personal records & he will not give EFCC but will present it in court. That he was transferred N400m for the job & he disbursed it to the last kobo. That he submitted a report to GEJ & he has a copy. They asked Olisa to make additional statement, he declined & said they should use force if they want him to.Olisa Metuh is set for Court. It's now over to EFCC for next move.Olisa has refused to drink water or eat food. They asked him, his reply: "Do you people want to poison me?"
Following the various restrictions in the Nigerian foreign
exchange market as well as the ban on the usage of
naira denominated cards outside the country, some
Nigerians have resorted to buying dollars from
neighboring countries to be able to pay school fees of
their wards schooling outside the country.
LEADERSHIP investigations revealed that to circumvent
the ban on the usage of naira cards outside the country,
some people go to Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana,
among others to source dollars to send via courier or
other means abroad.
Also, investigations show that speculators taking
advantage of the high demand for dollars in Nigeria buy
the greenback from outside the country to sell it in
Nigeria. The value of the naira had dropped to an all
time low of N283 to the dollar last year but has
remained stable since last week at N265.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had placed various
restrictions on the foreign exchange market, having
removed 41 items from the eligible for forex list and
reduced the annual and daily spending limits.
It had also backed the move by banks to stop accepting
foreign currency deposits as well as the recent ban on
the usage of naira denominated cards abroad, a move
that has been condemned by many Nigerians especially
students living abroad.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
Confirming this, the acting president of the Association
of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigerian (ABCON),
Aminu Gwadabe said "there are people that now buy
euro in Nigeria and convert it to dollar and bring it back
to sell. The people doing this are traders that make it
their business and not BDCs"
He noted that the speculators who follow international
exchange rates take advantage of the high demand of
dollar in Nigeria. This he said may spike activities at the
parallel market affecting the value of the dollar.
Meanwhile he noted that there may not be dollar sales to
BDCs today as they are yet tot receive any notification
from the CBN. According to him, "Normally by Monday,
the CBN would have told us what they will be giving us
and the bank would have deducted it from our accounts
by Monday evening. We are confused now and some.
Banks as deducting $10,000 others are deducting
$30,000, but we are yet to get any notification from the
CBN."
dunkem21: You will be a mischievous person in real life
I don laugh tire .. The man dey make his supporters to change mouth every second ..
buhari has made his supporters to create multiple monikers so that when he says one thing they will praise him with their firs moniker but once he contradicts himself they will defend him with another moniker
chai e no easy to be zombie for this present politics
Aufbauh: I knew from the onset the fallacy of budget withdraw was a mischievous propaganda from low skilled apprentice of the PDP e-rats geared towards self consolation and also an appetizer to their ever gullible supporters to get relief from their ongoing political penury.
The presidency has denied the report yesterday in a national daily (not THISDAY) that President Muhammadu Buhari had withdrawn the 2016 budget estimates that he presented to the National Assembly on December 22, 2015, describing it as untrue.
In the same vein, the Senate denied knowledge of the withdrawal, saying if there’s a need for adjustment in the budget, the president will merely send it to the National Assembly while it is being considered without any necessity for its withdrawal.
Speaking with journalists on behalf of the presidency at the National Assembly yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, said budget withdrawal was an official matter which could not be done in secret but could only be done through official correspondence between the Presidency and the National Assembly.
According to him, if there is any need for adjustment in the budget, it would be done at the background through the relevant committees after the second reading of the Appropriation Bill without any need for a withdrawal as claimed by the report.
In his bid to buttress his submission that the budget was not withdrawn, Enang told some National Assembly correspondents to come to his office and see the document lying intact.
He said: “To my knowledge, the budget as laid by Mr. President on the December 22, 2015 is still with the National Assembly and has not been withdrawn. If there is a withdrawal, there is always a communication and budget is not a sensitive thing that it cannot be dealt with behind the scene. It can be worked on behind the scene after second reading. After second reading, the different committees will work on the budget but it has not been read a second time so, it cannot be dealt with before then.”
On its part, the Senate said it was not aware of any withdrawal of the budget by the president, saying instead, debate on the budget may begin next week as the National Assembly prepares to resume from its three week Christmas break on Tuesday.
Deputy Senate Leader, Ibn N’Allah, who made this remark said in his capacity as deputy senate leader, he was not aware of any withdrawal adding that if the insinuation was true, the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators would duly be privy to the information. “I’m not aware of any withdrawal. I just came from the village yesterday and l will return tomorrow. Ordinarily, as members of the APC, we should officially be able to know if there’s anything near to that.
“When we resume, we will settle down immediately into the issue of passing the budget. We might begin debate on the general principles of the budget next week and then dissolve into the committee to quickly ensure that the budget is passed as quickly as possible so that government business can start with no delay,” Na’Allah said.
On Monday, when the rumour first filtered into the landscape, Senate’s spokesman, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, had told journalists that he was not aware of any attempt to withdraw the budget.
Other senators contacted by journalists on the subject matter such as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Babajide Omoworare and Senator Kabiru, also said they were not aware of any withdrawal.
Said Gaya: “I don’t think it has been withdrawn but whatever the case is, the figure of the entire budget will not change. Mostly, it is adjustment of priority projects. During the media chat recently, the president specifically mentioned some few projects especially some important roads in the country. It is possible that some of the roads may not have been reflected in the budget.
“There is no way if the president speaks on something, that may be part of his campaign promises and I think, he will try and do it. He also spoke about the railway and that there is a counterpart funding to be put in to the project. So if the figure under the subhead is not defined, then he has the right to readjust it and bring it back to us. The adjustment can also be done even while we are still discussing the budget. Once the main figure did not change, it is possible to make the adjustment.
“Both chambers of the National Assembly will for instance, tinker with the figures especially as it affects overheads. If we are cutting 30 percent from the National Assembly budget, then it has to be done pro rata. We must cut across 30 percent across the agencies, the ministries and all other government parastatals. There are duplications of figures like purchase of computers. When all the duplications are discovered, it is necessary to take them out.”
The report had claimed that Buhari secretly withdrew the budget in reaction to the range of criticisms accompanying the budget figures. It cited the editorial of The Nation newspaper on Sunday which identified a lot of loopholes in the budget.
The report further claimed that the alleged withdrawn budget would not return to the National Assembly until the end of January. In his reaction to the allegation, Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, said without mincing words that it was practically impossible for the president to withdraw the budget after it had been duly laid before the National Assembly.
He said: “It is impossible to withdraw the budget. It is not a document that you can just write and say you are withdrawing it. The budget proposal that has been laid at a joint session of the National Assembly cannot just be withdrawn like that. Budget proposal is not a document that is sacrosanct; you can adjust it and this is why it is before us. During the budget defence, it can be adjusted if need be,” he said.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria PENGASSAN, have rejected planned sack of no fewer than 1100 workers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and threatened to shut down the nation’s petroleum sector should the management go ahead with the sack.
Energy Energy Similarly, organised labour condemned the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, describing it as anti-labour.
Labour expressed surprise and embarrassment that the Minister of state, Petroleum Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, could make such a statement on retrenchment of workers in the NNPC without consultation or recourse to the two Unions in the oil and gas sector; NUPENG and PENGASSAN.
NUPENG in a statement by its President, Igwe Achese, vowed that organised labour in the petroleum sector would resist such a move, as the cardinal policy of President Buhari Government was job creation and not job losses.
According to NUPENG, “we cannot watch and see our members who have served for years to be thrown into the unemployment market because of inconsistent policies of the government. NNPC workers are the best because they have continued to keep the oil and gas sector moving even when they have to work with obsolete equipment and indecent work environment. The workforce should not be used as guinea pigs but commended. The unbundling of the firm into four companies and intended restructuring should not have anything to do with sack of 1,100 workers which is one sack, too many.
“We advice the Federal Government to convene a major stakeholders’ meeting to x-ray the challenges facing the sector and proffer solutions, rather than chasing shadows. Towards this, it should ensure that the stakeholders’ meeting look at the Petroleum Industry Bill together before it is represented. The current policy of the NNPC to engage casual workers is against the extant labour laws of the country and should be condemned and a stop put to it. We believe that the impending retrenchment will be counter – productive and should not be allowed as we will resist it and call out our members to protest the action if the two oil unions in the sector are not consulted.”
On its part, PENGASSAN, while condemning the proposed PIB and describing it as anti-labour, vowed to resist the plan by the Federal Government to retrench workers, especially employees of NNPC as a result of the restructuring in the proposed PIB.
The association argued that the planned sack was not in tandem with the “change” that the government promised Nigerians, especially in the area of job creation.
Reacting to the official release of the proposed draft institutional and legal frameworks for reforms in the oil and gas industry by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, who is also Group Managing Director, GMD, of the NNPC, PENGASSAN Acting General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, said that the provisions in the proposed PIB were not only anti-labour but also not in the national interest.
The PENGASSAN scribe, who commended the renewed effort by the Minister to rejuvenate the reforms after several failed attempts in the past, noted that PENGASSAN had always been in support of the reforms in the oil and gas industry but with a caveat that it must be transparently done to make sure that stakeholders in the oil and gas industry were carried along.
He, however, contended that PENGASSAN would not support any reforms that jeopardized the welfare of its members, noting that the restructuring would be resisted if it negatively affected the Association’ members.
On the plan to sack half of the current NNPC’s employees, Okugbawa said that the plan if carried out would further compound the unemployment situation in the country, arguing that there was nothing wrong with the unbundling of the NNPC to bring about greater efficiency and effectiveness.
He insisted however, that the unbundling and repositioning of the corporation should be done with human face, saying “ we have said on many occasions that the problem of the NNPC is not the workers but the high level of political interference in the corporation and we are satisfied that the current government has promised to give the Corporation free hand to operate for better service delivery to the Nigerian nation. Some of the inconsistencies noted by PENGASSAN in the draft bill include : a subtle ploy in Section 87 (Transfer of Staff) to retrench or drop some of the work force transiting to the new Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC) with the contentious clause ‘’transfer of certain employees”
The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, on Tuesday ordered that three commissioners be locked out of office for failure to be at their duty posts as early as 8am.
The directive was given when the governor paid an unscheduled visit to the ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources, Women Affairs and Sustainable Development.
At the Ministry of Agriculture, where Ayade first visited, neither the commissioner, Prof. Egrinya Eneji, nor any of his directors were available to receive him.
No explanation was, however, offered for the commissioner’s unavailability.
At a similar visit to the Ministry of Water Resources, along Marian Road, the governor was visibly enraged that the commissioner, Mr. Gabe Orji, was not on duty as of the time of his unscheduled visit.
This prompted his directive that Orji should be locked out.
Of the four ministries visited, only the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Stella Odey, was on hand to receive the governor.
The governor, who expressed his disappointment over the seeming lack of dedication to duty by the various heads of the ministries, particularly commended Odey for what he described as her devotion to duty.
Voicing his displeasure at the lukewarm attitude shown by the heads of the affected ministries, Ayade said, “I am saddened by what I have seen this morning. It is shocking that it is already gone past 8am, yet commissioners cannot be found on their seats.
“I will not take kindly to this culture of lateness to work and I am going to do something about it. I must, however, commend you for your exceptional conduct. Please, do keep it up.”
Also, at the Ministry of Sustainable Development, it was the same situation as the governor was also disappointed that the commissioner, Oliver Orok, had yet to report for work.
He subsequently directed the defaulting commissioners to be locked out of their offices.
Politics › Re: Investor Flees Nigeria After Being Paid N32b For Vessels - Amaechi by kodded(m): 6:04am On Jan 20, 2016
.. The man dey make his supporters to change mouth every second ..