Foreign currency speculators, who launched an unprecedented attack against the naira in the last two weeks, got their fingers burnt on Tuesday when the nation’s currency staged a major recovery, rising to N310 to a dollar at the close of business, compared to N375 at which it sold on Monday.

The naira fell to an all-time low of about N400 to a dollar on the parallel market last week fuelling concerns that it would plummet further to N450-N500/$ this week.


But findings from Akelicious showed that the naira defied expectations, climbing to as high as N305 to the dollar at some parallel market points in Lagos on Tuesday afternoon, before settling at N310.

Forex dealers and currency analysts attributed the significant gain on the parallel market to excess supply of the greenback in the market, even as it looked like a lot of speculators lost the shirts on their back.

THISDAY gathered from a reliable source that speculators who thought that by attacking the currency last week, coupled with misplaced concerns that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was going to stop the allocation of forex for school fees and medical bills abroad, this would compel the central bank and President Muhammadu Buhari to alter their stance against the devaluation of the currency.

But they were disappointed when Buhari, in Egypt at the weekend, adamantly ruled out the devaluation of the naira on the grounds that Nigeria does not have the competitive advantage to benefit from an official currency adjustment.

Reacting to the president’s stance, speculators who had been betting that the naira would depreciate further, started dumping the dollars with reckless abandon, effectively creating excess supply of the greenback in the parallel market.

Commenting on the situation in the secondary forex market, the chairman, Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said: “The market is moving from perception to reality.”

Similarly, an analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, predicted that the naira would edge higher in the coming days.
“We expect that the naira would appreciate further. We have always said that what happened last week was purely a speculative attack.

Some people felt that if they pushed the naira down to that level, they could force the CBN to devalue, so that when the naira is devalued and the gap widens further, they would now bring out the dollar cash to make a kill,” Ezun said.
He however urged the fiscal authorities to introduce policies that would help stimulate economic activities, saying that the fundamentals of the economy were still weak.

ABCON also aligned with the federal government’s decision not to further devalue the naira.
Gwadabe said this at a media briefing, pointing out that devaluing the naira would create more problems than it would solve.
He said that as a way of enhancing transparency in the BDC sub-sector, his association had decided to introduce a forex rate band weekly.

This rate band is expected to serve as a guide for all BDCs and the public on the prevailing exchange rate across the country, he added.
In addition, it will be operated in line with the regulated forex rate in the economy.

“This is to forestall exploitation of forex end users, and also to ensure that end users are informed to avoid falling victims of exploitation.
“The band will be announced via weekly press releases that will be circulated to the media for publication.

“ABCON will introduce a series of measures aimed at transforming the operations of BDCs in Nigeria to align with global best practices. These include: review and updating of BDC operational manual; introduction of live trading platforms; automation of all transactions and documentation requirements; and increased partnership with the CBN and other relevant agencies.

“Further, as part of its responsibility as a self regulatory organisation (SRO), and also in continuation of its aim to transform its members to compete within the global regulatory currency market, ABCON will seek the approval of relevant monetary and fiscal authorities as well as partnership for effective use of the nation’s external reserves to enhance domestic trade and foreign exchange management.
“To this end, our website and internet platforms will be developed to position BDCs to serve as agents of Western Union and currency auctioneers.

“We would also develop platforms that will allow our members to access sources of autonomous foreign exchange like govt agencies, embassies, IOCs and export proceeds, etc,” he explained.
He also urged the federal government to introduce policies that would diversify the economy to increase non-oil export earnings, and reduce imports.

This, according to him, would lead to increased foreign exchange inflow and a reduction in demand for foreign exchange.
In addition to policies that would diversify the economy, ABCON suggested that the CBN should review the policy of dollar importation into the economy for the purpose of defending the naira.

According to the association, the central bank should introduce a policy whereby the naira is used to intervene in the real sectors of the economy to boost productivity.

Furthermore, Gwadabe said as a way of reducing demand for dollars, the CBN should explore the option of promoting the use and acceptability of naira for transactions within the West African sub-region.

He added: “We observe that this is already happening at the level of informal trading activities within the sub-region, and it is our belief that this can be replicated at the level of formal economic activities.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has expressed concern over the uncertainty arising from the federal government’s foreign exchange policy, warning that it is threatening macroeconomic stability in the country and is unsustainable.

He stated this yesterday at the 2016 Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Conference tagged, “Unlocking Nigeria’s Potential…Growth through Diversification”.

He said the federal government’s foreign exchange policy is the biggest uncertainty facing the country today following the lack of economic policy direction and the likely composition of Buhari’s economic team for much of the third and fourth quarters of last year.
According to him, “The argument at stake is not whether to devalue or not because there has already been an effective devaluation.

“The naira prices of various capital goods are now being ‘correctly’ priced purely on the basis of realistic expected replacement costs and so the economy is sliding towards an unpalatable scenario where the consumer suffers the ‘pains’ of devaluation (rising prices) without witnessing any of the expected ‘gains’ such as enhanced fiscal viability (in local currency terms at least) of the three tiers of government and increased competitiveness of Nigerian businesses.”

Peterside stressed that the much-craved economic diversification could only take place meaningfully if new capital investment activity takes place to take maximum advantage of increased domestic competitiveness.

“Sadly, most investors here – local and foreign – are currently caught up in a frenzied pursuit of the cheapest available dollars and the difference between losing this game and winning it can be as high as a mind-boggling 50 per cent on new transactions.

“The pursuit of scarce forex for today’s needs has understandably become the main game in town and this has exacerbated the pressures on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves and the naira via the one-way bet that is currently on against the naira, that is, everybody wants to take foreign exchange out and nobody really wants to bring it in,” he added.

He further stated that the excitement caused by the important development in Nigeria’s political landscape last year, where a change in government occurred at the federal level after a keenly contested election, has given way to some apprehension surrounding whether a populist government can take the necessary tough economic policy actions that are necessary to restore confidence and stimulate badly needed new investment activity.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/speculators-get-their-fingers-burnt.html

Following the gradual implementation of the re-introduced export expansion grant (EEG) by the federal government and the boost in agriculture, the nation’s non-oil exports has continued to grow, rising by $0.62 billion (N223.20 billion) in the last quarter of 2017, indicating a rise of 21 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q/q).

According to the latest quarterly Economic Report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while the non-oil exports grew 21 per cent q/q, it however declined by 46 per cent year-on-year (y/y).


The quarterly economic report attributed the q/q increase to a significant rise in receipts from agricultural products.

The sectoral breakdown showed that proceeds from agricultural products stood at $313 million (N112.68 million) in the fourth quarter of 2017, representing 50.9 per cent of total non-oil export proceeds.

The solid minerals sector trailed the agric sector with 16.8 per cent, followed by Industrials with 16.1 per cent while manufacturing and food products recorded 14.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.

Also, industry sources revealed that the value of Nigerian agricultural exports to the United States under its African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) increased by 200 per cent y/y to $9 million in 2017.

In their comment, analysts at FBN Quest believe the pick-up in non-oil export is commendable stressing however that the generated revenue still remains low.

According to FBN Quest, “We note that food inflation has remained stubbornly high over the past several months. One likely reason, although anecdotal at this stage, is the increasing preference of farmers to export their produce as opposed to supplying domestically. In our view, the preference can be linked to currency depreciation and the attraction of being paid in a convertible currency (the CFA franc).”

The analysts added: “A favoured agricultural export is sesame seeds. Recent reports indicate that global demand for the product has picked up, with Japan positioned as its leading export destination. This is most likely due to the growing market for food products such as hummus as well as sushi in Japan.

“To encourage export activities, the CBN has reintroduced the N500 billion export stimulation loan for non-oil producers and exporters. This was initially introduced in 2015. Additionally, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, the country’s export credit agency, has set up a smaller N50 billion intervention fund for the same purpose.
“From the CBN’s Economic Report Fourth Quarter 2017 we can see the limited success of the fiscal branch of the FGN’s diversification agenda. Gross non-oil revenue in 2017 amounted to N3.24trn, and so well short of the target for the full year, implied in the CBN’s commentary, of N5.34trn. Gross oil revenue in the same period of N4.11trn was far closer to budget due to the recovery in oil production and prices. Data from the same source has average crude oil output rising from 1.75 mbpd in Q1 2017 to 1.98 mpbd in Q3.

“Non-oil revenue peaks in the third quarter because of the deadline for payment of companies’ income tax (CIT). This has been the case every year since 2010, when collection was marginally higher in Q4. The chart does show some positive momentum on the non-oil revenue side. Collection of N815bn in Q4 represented an increase of 22.5 per cent y/y: drilling down into the sub-categories, we see rises of 59.4 per cent for CIT, 21.0 per cent for VAT, and just 7.9 per cent for customs and excise. As the economy has emerged from recession so we would have expected this improved take, most of all from VAT.”

The analysts added that they expect that in 2018 non-oil will underperform oil revenue collection relative to their respective targets.

They pointed out that the federal government’s budget proposals have an ambitious assumption for production of 2.30 mbpd.
“However, we still see some useful room for manoeuvre for the FGN from the price although the Senate has already raised the assumption to $47/b and may push for another rise in the continuing negotiations.”

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/eeg-agriculture-lift-non-oil-exports-by.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsbcnMEcdd0

The senator representing the Lagos East in the Senate, Gbenga Ashafa, on Thursday said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State had done well in the assignment given to him by Lagosians.

The senator, who noted that Ambode was focused, urged residents of the state to continue to support him, adding that he was equally committed to “supporting the brilliant strides of the incumbent Governor of Lagos State.”

Ashafa in a statement said he believed that there was no need to have a change of guard in the governance of the state.

He urged those who were asking him and others to contest governorship to support Ambode in the overall benefit of the state.

He said, “Only last week, at the closing ceremony of the Entrepreneurship Training and Skill Acquisition programme for constituents of Lagos East, I commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the good work he is doing, particularly in the aspect of youth empowerment. I have no reason to change my mind.

“I urge the people of Lagos East and indeed all Lagosians to continue to support Governor Ambode. As for me, I am currently focused on my assignment as the senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District in the National Assembly.”

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/lagos-senator-commends-ambode.html

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, has again enhanced the level of service delivery and experience for its customers by introducing a mobile banking solution through the use of a dedicated code, *329#. The bank in a press statement said the offering is anchored on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology platform. ‘‘The self-service, stress-free and secured solution, which is available on all the Global System for Mobile (GSM) networks in Nigeria, (Globacom, MTN, 9Mobile and Airtel), enables existing and potential customers of FCMB carry-out various financial transactions, using their mobile phones. These include enrolment, funds transfer, account opening, micro loans and top-up, account balance enquiry, airtime and data purchase, bills payment, wallet deposit and withdrawal, sending of cash, withdrawal from agent’s outlet, limit increase, among other value-added services, on the go and without any hurdles,’’ the statement read in part. According to FCMB, the *329# mobile banking solution forms part of the Bank’s core strategy to expand its service channels by promoting and deepening the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless and financial inclusion policies. ‘‘The development will also go a long way to eliminate possible delays periodically experienced by physically visiting a branch of the Bank or outlet to carry-out transactions. In addition, the initiative will reinforce the lender’s commitment to environmental sustainability, geared towards reducing the quantity of paper and other materials usage in the society of which printing of various banking documents forms a substantial part of the process,’’ the bank said. Commenting on the introduction of the *329# offering, the executive director, Retail Banking of FCMB, Mr. Olu Akanmu, said the service has been designed to meet the needs of its ever increasing customer base that is technology savvy. He added that it was in line with the commitment of the Bank to inclusive banking through products and services aligned with the lifestyles of its teeming customers.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/fcmb-accelerates-mobile-banking-to.html

Ahead of the coming general elections in the country, more opposition party members have continued to defect to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Ogbaru Local Government Area.

Addressing the new and old party faithful at Atani, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Matters, Comrade Arinzechukwu Awogu, said APGA has brought a new dawn to the state and South East as well as raised the tempo of good governance.

Comrade Awogu, while commending the party members for their efforts and contributions to the successes recorded during the Governorship and other elections in the state, stressed the need to build on what has been achieved so far.

He enjoined them to continue to harness and expand the grassroots support enjoyed by the party across the state.

Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Image Management, Mr. Paul Nwosu, noted that regular interaction among party members would enhance understanding and provide opportunity for all to make inputs that would further move the party forward and enjoined the members to avoid acts detrimental to the collective interest of the party.
In his remarks, the Transition Committee Chairman for Ogbaru Local Government Council, Barrister Ignatius Ezediokpu, called for more support for the Obiano administration to deliver more democracy dividends to the people.
Speaking on behalf of the new entrants, Chief Okwudili Osai assured that they would work with other members of the party to consolidate the success of APGA within and beyond the state.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/pdp-and-apc-members-decamp-to-apga-at.html

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu yesterday in Abuja supported the need for a regulation that will allow market forces to determine proper pricing of petroleum products in Nigeria.

At the ongoing Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, Kachikwu stated that unless the issues confronting proper pricing of petroleum products, were urgently addressed, attracting investment to the sector may remain elusive.

Linking the current fuel scarcity in the country to price modulation, industry stakeholders had said the poor pricing regulatory framework put in place by government remained major factor confronting the sector and dragging back efforts on energy sufficiency in the country.


Indeed, the projection that the country would have private and public refineries running in the coming year may also face setback “because nobody is going to build a refinery and sell products at a loss,” Kachikwu said.

According to him, the greater challenge the country would have and still have is that of pricing.

He said that addressing the challenge would encourage producers in value chain by providing incentives.

Experts in the sector, including the Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, President, Nigeria Gas Association, Dada Thomas and others insisted that government must launch a policy that would mitigate the challenges hindering gas revolution in the country.

Ojulari said Nigeria must look beyond making headlines with the volume of gas reserves to making the nation benefit from the products.

Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF), Ahmed Bobboi, said the agency is considering move to begin equalization of gas as part of measure to support government move in developing the gas sector.

He said the new development in the gas sector and the current gas policy of government would boost the economy of the country.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it imported 9.8 million metric tons of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) worth $5.8 billion to combat the fuel crisis that resurfaced since late last year.

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, during a public hearing by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts yesterday in Abuja, said the corporation’s provision of 9.8 million metric tons of petrol so far has helped a great deal in ameliorating the suffering of Nigerians.

In a presentation by the GMD who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Finance and Accounts, Abdulrazaq Isiaka, NNPC stated that it carried out the massive importation in fulfilment of its statutory role of supplier of last resort to ensure that Nigerians do not suffer as a result of product unavailability.

He said the corporation’s intervention became necessary following the inability of the major and independent marketers to import the product because of the high landing cost which made cost recovery and profitability difficult owing to the regulated price regime.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/poor-pricing-of-petrol-may-jeopardise.html

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said Nigeria will win the war against corruption if citizens join hands to fight the challenge.

This is contained in a speech he delivered at the first Adamawa Anti-Corruption Summit.


He said it was encouraging that a State Government on its own, ventures into the subject matter of fighting Corruption deliberately, as well as transparently subjects its methods to the whole nation for detailed discussion.

His speech reads: “You may recall that on 29th May 2015, when I stated that we are faced with enormous challenges in this Country, with insecurity and institutionalized pervasive corruption being key and that my confidence remained high that together we will tackle them head on. As I had predicted, today I am proud to note that we have not relented in our determination to fight corruption. We are fixing our problems together.

Even though under our system the Federal Government cannot directly interfere in the details of the operations of States, but to see that the gross corruption at the local level is being checked and transparently reported is a thing of satisfaction and joy for me.

We will try to ensure that, there is more responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country.


I note with satisfaction the logical steps taken by Adamawa State Government in the last two and a half years to demonstrate that transparency, fiscal responsibility, accountability and timely delivery of strategic goods and services to develop the state and enhance the confidence of its people is a viable template to fighting corruption.

Team work, the cordial relationship between the Executive and the Legislature, the respect and compliance with fiscal and procurement laws, the institutional reforms to improved efficiency, the drive to achieve value for money, as demonstrated by this administration, are worthy of note.

I recommend to other states this model along with all other winning approaches to enhance the progress and development of our Nation.

The projects and progress I have seen in Yola along with the reports and presentations made here have given me encouragement on the future of the State. I hope this momentum will be sustained.


To the Government of Adamawa State, I say “well done and keep it up”. To the people of Adamawa State, I congratulate you all on supporting the Government and encourage you to continue to give your maximum support to the State Government in its drive for a much better future.”

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/full-text-of-what-buhari-said-in-adamawa.html

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, has once again escaped from being captured by men of the Nigerian Army, according to BBC.

In a recent operation by the Army, Shekau escaped his hideout in Sambisa forest, leaving behind some of his clothing, chewing stick and a pistol.

A source from the vigilante force working with the Army told the BBC that the troops were very close to the hideout of the factional leader of Boko Haram in Sambisa when an order to retreat forced them to halt operation.



The Nigerian Army has recently ordered that the sect leader be arrested either dead or alive, with a bounty of $8,000 place on him.“They ran away I saw them with my naked eyes,” the source said, adding that the militants are still armed.

Around 200 to 300 Boko Haram fighters are in operation, according to a commander who defected just after the attack.

The army repeatedly claim they have caught, killed or injured Shekau.

President Muhammadu Buhari also claimed a year ago that Boko Haram had been technically defeated.

475 people who were arrested on suspicion of being linked to the militant Islamist group were released because of lack of evidence to duly prosecute them.

A young woman, who gave birth in detention three months ago, is among the group of women, children, elders and young men who were freed.

It is unclear when she was arrested but some of those freed have been in military custody since 2010, when the militants launched a full-scale insurgency in the north-east to establish its version of Islamic rule.

A total of 205 suspects have so far been convicted in the mass trial launched by Federal Government some months ago.

The convicts include a man identified as the mastermind of the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in 2014.

Haruna Yahaya, 35, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday for masterminding the abductions, which caused global outrage.

This is in addition to a 15-year sentence he received earlier for taking part in the kidnappings.

The judge ordered Yahaya to spend 30 years in prison.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/boko-haram-leader-shekau-escapes.html

The FRSC has reduced the rate of road accidents in Nigeria by 62 per cent since its establishment on February 18, 1988, according to its Kaduna sector commander, Mr Umar Ibrahim. “The corps has recorded a milestone; it has reduced road accidents from 25,792 in 1988 to barely 9,694 in 2016, representing 62 per cent decrease in road accidents,” he said yesterday in Kaduna. He said that before the establishment of the FRSC, Nigeria had one of the most accident-prone roads in the world and was second only to Ethiopia. Ibrahim attributed the success to intensive public enlightenment and highway operations designed to curb road accidents. Umar, who spoke at a dinner to wind up week-long activities to mark FRSC’s 30 years, urged the personnel to work hard toward further reducing accidents on the nation’s roads, and advised Nigerians to obey traffic regulations. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that six officers of the sector, who had distinguished themselves in the performance of their duties, were given special rewards during the dinner. Those honoured included Deputy Road Commander Waheed Salihu, who emerged the best patrol man of the sector. Also honoured were Road Commander Aliyu Audu and Road Commander Sain Gwom Ambisa, who emerged second and third best respectively. Others included Route Marshal Assistant Isah Kabir, Assistant Chief Inspector Halilu Abubakar and Assistant Chief Inspector Lawal Ahmed. The Kaduna Zonal Commander of the corps, Assistant Corps Marshal Bulus Darwang, who also spoke at the dinner, commended the officers and marshals for a job well-done, and urged them to sustain the tempo.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/road-accidents-reduced-by-62-frsc.html

Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has said that only ill-health can stop President Muhammadu Buhari from seeking re-election in 2019.

He said Buhari as an honest man would tell Nigerians at the right time whether he would seek re-election or not.

Kalu who spoke to aviation reporters on arrival from Abuja yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Ikeja, Lagos, said:

“Buhari is an honest man. If he is interested in running, he will tell Nigerians that he will run. You know Buhari is also a man of conscience, if he feels his health will not allow him to seek re-election he will not go ahead.

“But, if he feels he is capable of running he will seek re-election. We pray that his health gets better and that his doctors give him a clean bill of health.”

Kalu also called on the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to accelerate the mandate of reconciling aggrieved members of the ruling party.

Said Kalu: “We need to thank Mr. President in his wisdom in giving the mandate to the national leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the opportunity to reconcile members of the party. I am very excited that such a thing is happening.

“I am confident it will be a good beginning for my brother and friend, Tinubu, to execute the reconciliation task very well. I am confident Tinubu will be blunt to settle feuding members of the APC.”

Kalu said although the Igbo in the South East had been cheated over the past decades by successive governments, the Buhari administration was committed to reversing the trend. He argued it would be the right thing to allow the South East take a shot at the Presidency in 2023.

Said Kalu: “Other parts of Nigeria have been cheating us (Igbo) since 1960, but today the issue is that we must build national cohesion.

“The problem with Nigeria is the inability to build national cohesion by all stakeholders. We are still talking about tribe; where people come from and what people think about their religion.

“We need to impress it on all Nigerians that we need a country where all stakeholders feel a sense of belonging. Not minding where they come from or where they live, they should feel at home whether in Ogbomoso, Lagos, Ibadan, Sokoto, Enugu, they should feel at home.

“The earlier we have that sense of belonging the better for all of us.”

He said the call for Igbo Presidency in 2023 by some political gladiators in the North only resonated with the principle of fairness.

“It is the right thing to do, Nigeria is built on a tripod, when you allow the South East to have the Presidency by 2023, that will be the end of the civil war.

“The South East has had the Chief of Army Staff, the Inspector General of Police. So it is only natural for the South East to have the Presidency.

“No man has the capacity to divide this country, the country will fight such a man. It is not possible, so the fear in the minds of people that the Igbo are pushing for secession only amounts to imbalance in perception.

“Take a look at Lagos State, Igbo have over 50 percent of investment here. Go to Abuja, almost 70 percent of its investment are owed by Igbo.

“So, where are the Igbo going to go outside Nigeria? All these kinds of talks are just blackmail. We should stop the blackmail.

“An Igbo president will bring prosperity to Nigeria, because the Igbo man or woman had the capacity for business and investment in areas outside their homeland.

“Igbo presidency is a thing the country should do with joy and pride in showcasing an Igbo man as President.”

On the importation of palm oil into Nigeria he said: “The Ministers of Finance and Agriculture should immediately convene a conference for stakeholders in that value chain to sought out the issues. All imported palm oil in Nigeria should be banned, whether it contravenes the conventions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or not.

“We need to protect the agricultural sector of our economy because it is our mainstay. We need to consider farmers growing farm produce and cash crops, especially palm oil, the farmers cannot sell their produce because the big giants are importing palm from Malaysia, so how do we develop our own economy?

“Look at what Buhari has done in the rice cultivation value chain, it is almost zero importation, why can’t we adopt such model for palm oil?

“Government should immediately ban the importation of palm oil to enable farmers have money in their pockets.”



Kalu threw his weight behind Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s recent call for the establishment of state police, noting that it would go a long way in addressing the various incidences of crime in some states.

He said it was time for Nigeria to grant the request of states to own their own independent police units noting that it was a position he canvassed in 1999 when he was elected Abia State governor.

He said: “State policing is what I called since 1999. That was after three months that I was elected as governor. I said there was a need for state policing and I was the first governor in Nigeria who supported state policing.

“Having been governor for three months, that was precisely September 1999, I said there was need for state policing and that was the only way to stop armed robbery.

“When we were in Abia, we were able to stop armed robbery operations because we had collaboration with the Bakassi boys and the police.

“We should have the federal police like the FBI and all the rest of them, so that they can handle all the serious issues while the state police will handle local issues.

“State police should be able to handle local issues. It will be very difficult for anyone to use state police to intimidate aggrieved political opponents.

“The state police commissioner should not be appointed by the Federal Government, but should be directly elected by the people.

“State police will not be anybody’s stooge, sincerely state police will be part of the ingredients that will complement Nigeria’s unity and democracy.

“Let me sound a warning to governors that will use state police for their selfish end, because the laws are not so strong.

“The laws of Nigeria should become strong, we should not be above the law. The beauty of any country is the independence of its judiciary, absence of such independence is arbitrariness, it is a dead end.

“Whenever there is recklessness of the executive arm of government or rascality of the National Assembly, the judiciary serves as a check. Our judges should stand up to defend democracy and people’s right.”

On the ruling by the court, which restored his degree awarded by the Abia State University, Kalu said it was needless to discuss such issues because he challenged the infraction by the Abia State Government, which withheld his certificate:

“I went to court to challenge my maltreatment. I did not go to fight anybody with any weapon, I could have gone on to fight , but rather went to court to challenge the infringement on my right.

“This is what I want all Nigerians to be doing. The sanctity and strength of the judiciary is a strong pillar for Nigeria’s democracy.”

Kalu also said government needed to have a second look at issues bordering on open grazing and cattle colonies, which he said was serving as a disincentive to farming.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/2019only-ill-health-can-stop-buhari.html

Mr. Gabriel Chineye Onyedilefu, the Accountant General of Abia State on Monday told a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that there was no record of purchase of N2.9bn worth of fairly used clothes at any time by the state government.

An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in November 2017, alleged the court that Mr. Jones Udeogu, a former Abia Director of Finance and account once claimed during the course of investigations that Abia state employed the service of Slok Nigeria Limited, a private company of Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of the state to import fairly used clothes from Cotonou, Benin Republic.



However, the Accountant General, while being led in evidence by the anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), on Monday told the court that upon receiving EFCC subpoena, he checked through the records as he was ordered, but did not find anything to show that there was any contract between the state government and the company, between the period of 1999 to 2007.Mr. Onyedilefu narrated procedure for award of contracts in the state during the hearing.

He said: “When there is service to be rendered, the Finance and General Purpose Committee will meet in consideration of that service. After they have looked at all the details, they will award a contract to one of the bidders and it will be referred to the governor through the ministry involved.

“Then the governor gives approval through the release of fund letter signed by the Chief of Staff to the governor, who sends the release to the ministry concerned. From there, all the document must have been duly observed, a voucher will be raised and forwarded to the office of the accountant general through the sub treasury, then if the funds are there, payment will be made. It should be noted that payment can be part of full."

Mr. Rotimi Jacobs also moved to tender some documents which the witness had brought with him, but the defense team objected vigorously.

For instance, the prosecution attempted to tender a book that contained financial regulations of Abia state, but the defense team objected to its admissibility. They held that the book is a public document, hence must be certified as stipulated by the Evidence Act.

They also argued that the material was not front loaded with the proof of evidence, therefore, it cannot be “sprung up on them”.

Mr. Jacobs, however, argued that a document printed by government does not need to be certified and thus admissible.

He argued further that the witness was subpoenaed which made the document a subpoenaed document and at such could not have been front-loaded as it was never in the possession of the prosecution.

Mr. Kalu, Udeogu and Slok are being tried before Justice Mohammed Idris for allegedly conspiring to divert Abia funds to personal use.

The anti-graft agency claimed that the money was allegedly diverted in tranches of N200m, N50m, N200m, N300.8m, N545m, N429m, N288.4m, N190m, N157m, N152.8m, N100m, N84m and N50m between August 13, 2003 and January 12, 2005.

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 17 (c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2003 and punishable under Section 16 of the same Act.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/fraud-trial-abia-accountant-general.html

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday felicitated with the management and staff of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as the organisation marked 30 years of its existence, saying FRSC has reduced road crashes from an alarming 40,881 in 1976 to 5,993 in 2016 and 4,418 in 2017.


In a statement, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president commended the vision of FRSC’s founding fathers in February 1988 in response to what he described as unacceptable level of road crashes in the country.

He said Buhari noted with delight that after three decades of operations, there has been a significant reduction in the emergency response time of FRSC to accident scene on the nation’s highways from hitherto 50 to 15 minutes was laudable.

Adesina also said Buhari commended the FRSC’s deployment of international best practices and use of technology in its uniform licensing scheme, tracking, vehicle plate numbering and other services, observing that “the recent United Nation’s commendation of Nigeria’s road safety action plan, affirms the Federal Road Safety Corps’ leading role not only in West Africa but the entire African continent.”

According to the statement, Buhari pledged federal government’s continued support to FRSC with a view to enabling the organisation achieve the goal of United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety of 50 per cent fatality reduction by 2020, thereby placing Nigerian roads among the league of 20 global safest roads by the target year.

“Declaring that road safety is a shared responsibility, the President enjoins the FRSC to intensify its public education role, while urging other government and private organisations and the entire public to support the FRSC to further make road travels safer and more pleasurable,” the statement added.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/at-30-buhari-says-frsc-has-reduced-road.html

A federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has adjourned further trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and five others, till March 22, 2018 pending the determination of an appeal filed by the former NSA at the Supreme Court, Abuja.

The matter before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the FCT High Court, which had been scheduled for further trial for yesterday, was adjourned following a notification by counsel to the second defendant (Dasuki), Adeola Adedipe, who informed the court of a motion-on-notice dated November 2, 2017 filed by Dasuki at the apex court.

Adedipe applied for adjournment of the matter pending determination of appeal No. SC/618/2016 between Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki vs FRN and five others in the interest of justice and fair-hearing.


He, therefore, sought for a date to be taken for trial after the March 2 date scheduled for the Supreme Court hearing.

While other counsel in the matter aligned with the application for adjournment by the second defendant, prosecution counsel, Adeleke O. Atolagbe, opposed it.

Atolagbe, who argued that the said motion had been withdrawn by the defendant and struck out, urged the court to discountenance the application of the defendant and proceed with the trial.

“The case was adjourned for trial and there is nothing stopping the case from proceeding,” he said.

The second defendant counsel however responded, saying the motion was never moved in the first place.

He said: “Relevant briefs of argument have been exchanged by parties at the Supreme Court and their lordships on October 12, 2016 have accordingly set down hearing of the appeal.

“The primary issue sought to be determined at the Supreme Court directly challenges the lawfulness of the complainants vires to continue prosecuting the instant charge vis-à-vis the complainant’s right to fair-hearing and trial and until same is determined, the conduct of further proceeding or trial in this case will largely be speculative.”

The judge, in his ruling on the argument, granted the application of the second defendant and consequently adjourned sitting till March 22, 2018 for further trial in the case after the Supreme Court would have given its verdict.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/supreme-court-pending-appeal-delays.html

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has sealed six fuel station in Cross River State over diversion of the product and price hike.

Operations Controller in charge of Cross River, Mr Bassey Nkanga, told reporters in Calabar that the stations were sealed in the last one week.

According to him, intensified surveillance was carried out to ensure that the product released from the depot is sold to the public at the government approved price of N145 per litre.

“In the past few days, we have embarked on an intensified surveillance to ensure that the product released to Cross River is sold in filing stations in the state and at the stipulated price.


“Some marketers were found to have erred. Some diverted the product and were not able to account for it. We gave them a time grace and after that, we will conclude that they have diverted the product and sanctions will be meted on them.

“Any marketer who diverts the product will pay N200 fine on each litre diverted, if it is a whole truck, the marketer will pay N6million and those selling above government price will pay N100,000 as fine respectively.

“Some of the marketers have come to report that the alleged diverted products have reached their stations. We are going to monitor them and ensure that the product is sold at N145 per litre’’, he said.

He further said that DPR in the state would soon start announcing the number of trucks released to Cross River and the allocations so that the public can report back to them in case such products were diverted by marketers.

He added that the effort was to ensure that the product meant for each fuel station in the state was delivered and sold to the public at the stipulated price.

“Marketers should respect the guidelines covering their operations. They should operate within the confines of the guidelines and ensure that those products given to them are sold to the public accordingly.


“The government is doing everything possible to bring back normalcy in petroleum product supply.

“I wish to appeal to the general public to have faith in the government because efforts are on to ensure availability of the across the country,” he said.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/dpr-seal-off-6-fuel-stations-in-cross.html

One of the 2018 prophecies of the General Overseer of Freedom For all Nations Outreach (FANO) Prophet Samuel Akinbodunse‎ for 2018 has been actualised.

The cleric, who accurately predicted Mugabe’s fall in November, 2017, also predicted in his 2018 prophecies that there would be a shift in South Africa’s presidency.


The prophet was quoted saying “First Quarter of 2018 in South African Politics. There will be a shaking. Some people will be removed for God to carry out his agenda.

“There will be a shift in the presidency. A well known will fall in order to make way for someone else to take over.
“In South Africa–The ANC should make an uncompromising decisions in order to save the integrity of the party. They stand to lose major metros. ”
Jacob Zuma on Wednesday night resigned with immediate effect from office after increasing pressure from the ruling party, All National Congress.

Recall that Prophet Akinbodunse sometime in January claimed that President Buhari would die if he campaigned in 2019.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/prophet-akinbodunses-2018-prophecy-on.html

National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Labaran Maku, has explained why the Department of State Services (DSS) invited him.

He said: “The purpose of the invitation was to caution me over threat to my life, contrary to allegation that the summons was for corruption-related offences.

“The DSS intercepted an information that is of interest to my personal security. So they called me to draw my attention to be careful and proactive.”


The APGA chieftain made the clarification yesterday at the party’s secretariat in Lafia, the state capital.

He explained that it was not his nature to take what does not belong to him, let alone steal from government coffers.

Lamenting that the good work by security operatives is being muddled in political waters, he urged Nigerians to appreciate and support their efforts.

The Nasarawa governorship aspirant in the 2015 election cautioned politicians against meddling in security matters.

He advised politicians not to engage in utterances and acts that could lead to the shedding of blood, as political season unfolds.

“As politicians, don’t shed blood for power, your life is just one breath away, your ambition or office is not worth the life of one soul of any citizen. Your business is to protect the lives of people.

“All politicians should not forget that there is a limit to power. The authority of every office must certainly end one day. Even if it does not end, your live will end one day and you would be made to give account of all you did,” he said.

Maku, who was a former Minister of Information, urged the political class to end the prevailing violence in the country.

He charged them to preach peaceful coexistence in the society and avoid ethnic and religious sentiment.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/dss-invitation-was-over-threats-to-my.html

Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote visited the Ijora-Apapa Wharf road in Lagos on Wednesday, calling on the Federal Government to withdraw agencies causing the perennial gridlock in Apapa.



He cited the presence of the Nigerian Customs and the Nigerian Navy on the road, saying the customs, especially was causing untold hardships to road users in its bid to collect revenue at check points.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Apapa-Iganmu-Wharf areas have been on lockdown since the past three years and the problem appears to have defied every solution.


Dangote lamented that check points mounted by the customs, navy and other agencies was causing the gridlock, making life unbearable for motorists.

He said that the presence of customs men on revenue drive on the road was taking on businesses and killing the economy of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub.

“We are going to formally write to the government to withdraw all these task forces, especially the Federal Unit of the customs.

“If they want to set up a road block, I think this is the wrong place to come and set a road block.

“Customs should not be coming here and mounting a check point.”

“We are pleading with government to remove all these task forces and leave just the police, LASTMA and the FRSC. These are the only three that we need.’’

The tycoon assured that the Apapa-Wharf reconstruction project would be completed on schedule around June ending, saying that the work was progressing faster than he anticipated.

“Now, my impression has changed, AG Dangote is actually doing an excellent job.”

He lauded the quality of work being funded by Dangote Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria and the Nigerian Ports Authority.

Dangote explained that utilities in the right of way of the project had initially slowed down work but that engineers had evolved a design that solved the problem.


The business mogul said that people were not aware of the revenue loss caused by gridlock, explaining that the cost of the gridlock to the economy was 20 times the cost of the road project.

“The entire road is costing about N4.3 billion.

NPA is giving about N1.8 billion; the rest of the money, which is N2.6 billion is going to be given free of charge both by Flour Mills of Nigeria and Dangote.

“But I must also caution: the cost of the road is not N4.3 billion because we got our own construction company to do it,” he said.

The Group Managing Director of Flour Mills, Mr Paul Gbededo, told newsmen that the gridlock had posed severe difficulties for both big businesses and small ones in Apapa.

He said that the economy of Apapa was generating over N20 billion a day and that the gridlock was causing huge revenue losses.

The Managing Director of AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd., Mr Ahif Juma, said that he had deployed 140 men to site, to ensure that the project was completed on schedule.

“Some of the men would work on night shift, seven days a week and we would work 24 hours.”

“Now we have about 39 to 40 per cent completed and by end of June, July, we should be able to finish work,” he said.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/dangote-seeks-withdrawal-of-task-forces.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Christians in the country to pray for peace and progress as they embark on this year’s Lenten season.

The President noted that Nigeria’s existence as one united country was a divine arrangement and that nothing should be done to break it apart.

In a message to Nigerian Christians on the solemn occasion, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quotes Buhari as saying that as Christians join their counterparts worldwide to emulate the Christ’s example who fasted for 40 days at the beginning of His earthly ministry, they should “pray fervently for the country’s unity and progress.”

President Buhari called for love, brotherliness and concern for the less privileged among all Nigerians in order to strengthen the bond of unity.

“As Christians begin the period of increased prayers, piety, sacrifice and selfless services, the President wishes them and all Nigerians well,” the statement read.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/lent-pmb-urges-christians-to-pray-for.html

The World Bank has approved the sum of $611 million to support Nigeria in addressing the menace of out-of-school children, which recent statistics put at over 10.5 million across the nation.

This came as the federal government yesterday flagged off the 2017/20198 Annual School Census exercise across the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).


The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who kicked off the enumeration exercise in Abuja, stressed the imperative of data in planning for delivery of quality and all-inclusive education in the country.

Adamu explained that there would be simultaneous commencement of enumeration of all schools, pupils, teachers and facilities in the basic and post-basic school levels in 36 states and FCT.
He added that the census would provide reliable data that would lead to proper planning, management and administration of education in Nigeria.

Adamu announced at the event that federal government has commenced geo-positioning of schools, saying this would help in getting the exact and accurate number of schools and validating the annual census school data collection.
He lamented that some state governments, agencies of government and private schools had failed to comply effectively with the enumeration exercise in the previous years, appealing to them to diligently adhere to the guidelines so as to get the data right.

He also disclosed that the federal government would soon put the operational plan of the new Ministerial Strategic Plan for the development of education into action, which the minister said requires accurate and reliable data to implement.

“I will also urge for cooperation and full participation of the military, para-military and private schools, both registered and unregistered, almajiri centres, and integrated Koranic schools in this exercise so that we can explore and improve all school environments in order to begin to solve the problem of out-of-school children, “ he said.
Meanwhile, the World Bank Education Specialist and Consultant, Mr. Adebayo Solomon, speaking at the flag-off ceremony, disclosed that the bank approved the sum of $611 million to support Nigeria in tackling the menace of out-of-school children.

He said the gesture was to support the federal and state authorities in their efforts to foster inclusion and revive growth, in alignment with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the federal government.
He said the 611 million dollars to Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) Programme was aimed at bringing out-of-school children into the classroom, improve literacy, and strengthen accountability for results in basic education.

Solomon said the fund was also designed to support both the Federal and state governments in generating credible and reliable data in the education sector.
He noted that many states were not able to conduct annual school census because they did not prioritise it, saying with the project the World Bank is doing with the Ministry of Education, there is now money available for each of the state to be able to do it.

“He said the money is available to the level at which data are collected first of all by the states themselves. They have to spend their money and after they have spent their money somebody will now verify.

“We are working with the National Bureau of Statistics to ensure that the data are verified. Immediately they are verified, each school will collect 30 dollars. And each state government will collect $100,000.
“The more you continue to publish the data and it is becoming accurate, there is a bonus that is given to you. There should not be challenge in respect of collecting the data. State need to be on top of it and proactive,” he said.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/world-bank-to-spend-611m-to-tackle.html

About 24 Libyan returness have asked their states to relocate them from the Port Harcourt International Airport.They protested yesterday against what they called their continued stay at the airport’s reception centre.

Akelicious learnt that the returnees were not supposed to have stayed at the airport for more than 48 hours after arrival.The victims lamented that their various states had not come to receive them more than two weeks after arriving from Libya.The affected returnees are from Osun, Ekiti and Kwara states.

Meanwhile, another 136 Nigerians stranded in Libya have been evacuated to the country.The victims, who arrived at the Port Harcourt International Airport around 1.11a.m yesterday, were the fifth batch to be lifted by the Federal Government. The first flight had lifted 484 and the second, 446, while the third and fourth flights lifted 560 and 465 persons.

The Federal Government had planned to evacuate 5,037 stranded Nigerians within 38 days.But, it was learnt that a clash between some militia groups delayed the profiling of the victims, as it resulted in the closure of the Tripoli airport.

The South-South Cordinator of the National Emergency and Management Agency, (NEMA), Ejike Martins, disclosed that one of the 136 returness, who fell sick had been taken to the hospital.Represented by a NEMA official, Ebhodaghe Eric, he said, so far, 2,091 had been evacuated, leaving over 2,000 stranded Nigerians in the Arab country.

According to him: “I would not call it a protest, but somebody has the right to complain. I think the returnees felt that they had overstayed at the camp because they were seeing other state governments coming to pick their colleagues. As humans, they may have felt lonely and desired to go home too.

“The guidelines for the operation is that NEMA receives the victims and hand them over to the state governments, who obtain approval to evacuate their returnees. But sometimes, the procedure is slow.”

The coordinator explained that the affected states had earlier evacuated some of their returnees at the camp, adding that it was those in the fourth batch who are yet to go home.He appealed to the various state governments to hasten up the process to take their returness home.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/libyan-returnees-seek-relocation-from.html

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ) says monthly revenue has gone up by 68 per cent following the introduction of automated operation at the new car park at the Murtala Muhammed Airport ( MMIA ), Lagos.

Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, told newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday that the automation had blocked revenue loopholes since the exercise began at the car park on Jan. 8.

She said the new system had also reduced rowdiness and vehicular traffic associated with the manual toll collection at the park.

Yakubu said FAAN would review the performance of the exercise by the end of this quarter and make adjustments where necessary for better service delivery.


She explained that the authority decided to overhaul the whole system to restore orderliness and reduce complaints from passengers and airport users.

“Then, we were wondering if all the people that park their vehicles at the car park are airport workers and travelers.

“Also, we are in an era of technology where people no longer do things manually, but automated.

“That was what prompted FAAN into introducing automation in its operations. Since we started, there has been a lot of sanity at the car park; there is a lot of orderliness,’’she said.

According to her, the long queues experienced in the past has been brought under control.

“If you are not dropping, you are encouraged to go to the car park and do your business there, rather than parking on the road and creating traffic jam,” she added.


Yakubu said FAAN was also planning to construct a multi-storey automated car park within the General Aviation Terminal, explaining that it would help to boost the agency’s revenue generation.

Yakubu also disclosed that FAAN was also working on the poor toilet facility at the International Wing of the MMIA.

“We are doing complete overhaul of the facility so that we can have new toilets for users.

“We have been getting a lot of complaints from our customers on the state of our toilets. You know MMIA is an old airport and what we are doing is in line with our core value of comfort for passengers and other users of the airport.

“We believe it’s necessary for us to remove obsolete ones and replace them with new ones, while we are waiting for a new terminal,” she added.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/faan-records-68-revenue-increase-from.html

The wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of making a mockery of the judiciary.

This was contained in an application, which she filed through her lawyers, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), seeking to reclaim the sums of $8,435,788.84 and N7.35bn seized from her by the EFCC.



The EFCC said it found the money in 15 bank accounts linked with Patience, saying it believed the money originated from the coffers of the Bayelsa State Government, where Patience, at a time, served as a permanent secretary.

The EFCC alleged that Patience gained access to the funds by fraudulently assuming the identity of one Esther Oba as the signatory to the accounts.

The anti-graft agency had last December, through an ex parte application, obtained an order, temporarily forfeiting the money to the Federal Government.

But Patience kicked against the freezing order, describing the ex parte application leading to it as an abuse of court processes.

Adedipe, who is representing Patience before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun at the Federal High Court in Lagos, contended that the money was already a subject of litigation before Justice Binta Nyako at the Abuja division of the court.

He accused the EFCC of concealing material facts while obtaining the temporary forfeiture order from Justice Olatoregun.

“The ex parte originating summons filed by the EFCC amounts to forum shopping, thus an abuse of court process.

“The respondent is making great mockery of this judicial system and in extension this honourable court,” Adedipe said.



He urged Justice Olatoregun to discharge the temporarily forfeiture order and grant Patience access to her money.

The court will hear the application on Tuesday (today)

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/efcc-making-mockery-of-judiciary-says.html

The UN said more than 5,000 child soldiers were released and reintegrated in 2017 due to the international commitment to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms Virginia Gamba, stated this in her message on the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers.

The UN envoy, however, regretted that tens of thousands more child soldiers remained.

“Once released, these children still have to face the complex and long reintegration process into their communities, a decisive step for their wellbeing which also contributes to end the cycles of violence.


“Children can only be freed from armed groups and forces through a comprehensive reintegration process, including medical and psycho-social support, as well as educational programmes and trainings.

“Without a strong political and financial commitment to the reintegration process, re-recruitment is unfortunately likely to happen in many conflict situations,” Virginia Gamba, said.

In spite of progress, boys and girls continued to be recruited, kidnapped, forced to fight or work for military groups or armed forces, she said.

She said the recruitment and use of children happened in all 20 country situations covered by the Children and Armed Conflict mandate.

According to her, 61 parties to conflict out of 63 are listed for this grave violation in the 2016 Annual Report of the Secretary-General, making it by far the most widely-spread violation.

Gamba reminded that “these children experience appalling levels of violence, which is likely to have dramatic physical and psychological consequences for the adults they will become.


“It is our responsibility to show these children that there is hope outside of conflicts, that they can live in peace and security and be allowed to live their dreams”.

The 2018 International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, marked the 18th anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

This protocol, adopted by the UN General Assembly in May 2000, sets the minimum age for recruitment into armed forces in conflict at 18 and has been ratified by 167 state parties.

The Special Representative called for support to continue moving towards universal ratification of this important international standard.

The international Day against the Use of Child was initiated in 2002 when the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict entered into force on Feb. 12, 2002.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/over-5000-child-soldiers-released-in.html

Gov. Ambode has inaugurated the new boards of the Lagos State Sports Commission and the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund while emphasizing the need for the private sector to partner with the government to invest in sports development.The Governor also identified the importance of collaboration of key stakeholders to achieve the desired goal for sports administration and development in the country, saying funding of sports should not be the exclusive preserve of government.In achieving our vision in Sports, it is our belief that the funding of sports should not be the responsibility of Government alone. This informed the establishment of the Sports Trust Fund- Gov. Ambode

The funds raised through the Sports Trust Fund would be utilized for various aspects of sports development on the recommendation and advice of the Sports Commission.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/photosgov-ambode-inaugurate-new-boards.html

Nollywood Actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde who kicked off her 40th birthday celebrations with widows and orphans, a couples’ retreat also had a “Hollywood Glam” themed party yesterday.

She had the finale for her birthday last night and it was well attended by many celebrities including Funke Akindele, Omoni Oboli, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, D’banj, Toolz and royalties from the country, family, fans and many more.

The old “Hollywood Glam” themed party was held at the Landmark Centre in V.I, Lagos.

Here are the photos below:

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/photoshuge-turn-up-for-omotolas.html

The structure of Nigeria’s budget whereby huge amount of money is allocated to recurrent spending and debt servicing have been identified as major reasons why Nigerians are not feeling the impact of budgetary spending.

The Chief Executive Officer, RTC Advisory Services Ltd, Mr Opeyemi Agbaje, said this during a presentation in Abuja at a media parley organised by First City Monument Bank Plc.

Agbaje in his paper titled, ‘’The Nigerian Economy and Financial Sector in 2018,”said the structure of government spending as contained in the budget was such that only few people working in government circles benefited directly from it while many Nigerians were left in suffering.

He lamented that despite the fact that about 70 per cent of the budget was allocated for recurrent spending, the less than 30 per cent that was allocated for capital projects which would have impacted on the people were not adequately funded.

For instance, he said out of the N2.2tn allocated for capital spending in the 2017 fiscal period, only N1.3tn was released by the government.

Agbaje, a one-time Chairman of Convention on Business Integrity, explained that the inability to fund capital projects could not guarantee development for a country like Nigeria with huge infrastructure needs.

He said, “Nigeria’s budget as currently structure may not affect the citizens quickly as expected unless its focus is changed from heavy recurrent expenditure to capital.

“Unless we reverse our budget culture, poverty will continue to grow. When you spend 80 per ent of revenue on limited number of people you will get the sort of outcome we are currently grappling with.

“Unless you reverse the trend of your priority by spending 80 per cent on capital projects and spend less on recurrent items, there would be massive poverty.”

He explained that Nigeria’s economy was still vulnerable with the fragile growth driven by increased oil production and rising crude oil Price.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/why-nigerians-are-not-feeling-impact-of.html

As part of its corporate social responsibility role within the communities it operates in, Ikeja Electric recently organised a two-weeks long youth empowerment programme to train 40 young people on culinary entrepreneurship.

The programme was held at the Community Vocational Centre in Oshodi, Lagos, and participants were taught how to make varieties of plantain chips, chin-chin and ofada stew. They also received business management trainings and, at the end, were each given a start-up toolkit with which they could effectively start up a small business with the skills acquired.


At the training’s closing ceremony held recently in Lagos, Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Felix Ofulue, said the training was designed to empower young people and reduce the level of unemployment across the country.

“At Ikeja Electric, we are deeply passionate about providing opportunities for Nigerian youths to hone their entrepreneurial skills through various platforms, because we believe that there are millions of youths out there who need the right opportunities and support to develop,” Ofulue said. “That is why we will continually strive to create the avenues for youth empowerment.”

Representative of the Lagos State Government at the event, Mrs. Joyce Onafowokan, thanked Ikeja Electric for caring enough to empower people in the communities in which they operate. “Beyond the moral bearing of social responsibility of this project, it is the genuine thought of providing low-entry skills to youths in our communities that matter,” she said. “This reveals the quality of thought behind the initiative. And I do hope that you beneficiaries will immediately set sail and become productive citizens of Lagos State – part of which is the responsibility to set up your business and pay taxes.”
She further charged the beneficiaries to use the knowledge they had received from the training to empower themselves economically.

“Knowledge is power,” she said, “but knowledge by itself cannot be power, because it is what you do with it that makes it powerful. So it is my hope that this knowledge you have acquired here will be turned into power. You have been empowered. If you do nothing with this new information, you will remain economically powerless.

“Do not despise the days of little beginnings. The sky should be your limit. What you need to do is to bring somebody else along with you. That’s how to spread the knowledge and power. Don’t ever think that whatever you have is too small. This century is about entrepreneurs. So you need to position yourself properly. Remain consistent in your enterprise and be very disciplined in your finances. You will experience growth and satisfaction beyond your dreams.”

One of the students, Gloria Olumese, told Akelicious that although catering was not something she had always wanted to do, she found herself working with event planners and event caterers. “So I had been able to develop some interest.”

On the training, she described it as “wonderful. We were able to learn three different things in three days. We were given assignments to take home and they gave us all the necessary materials.

“Now I want to start selling the plantain chips and chinchin in my school, Yaba College of Technology where I am currently studying Science Laboratory Technology. I am very grateful to Ikeja Electric for this opportunity.”
Another participant, Abigail Arobonosen, who was told she would be attending the training at a church programme, was already into food catering before the training. “I like eating and I love cooking so I was excited when I heard about the training,” she said. “And what made it more irresistible was when they offered to give us breakfast, lunch and transportation fees.”

At the end of the training, she told Akelicious, “it surpassed my expectations. I was really amazed. I am starting a business next week. I have a business name in my head already. I want to study Accounting and when I get into the university, I can use this business to support myself financially.”

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/ikeja-electric-trains-40-youths-on.html

The Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) has maintained that it has the jurisdiction to wade into the dispute between Innoson Group of Companies and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), as there are components of the tussle bordering on financial crimes.

The Director of Legal at the commission, Mr. Chile Okoroma, while speaking before the Senate Committee on Anti Corruption, wednesday, said it was a misconception that the tussle between both business entities is a civil one, or that the agency waded into the matter based on the dictates of the bank.


This is as the committee summoned the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, to appear before it at its next sitting.

The Senator Chukwuka Utazi-led committee is investigating the alleged gestapo styled arrest of the Chairman of Innoson Group, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, by EFCC officials and alleged manhandling of his wife in December 2017, and the role of the commission in a transactional dispute between a private entrepreneur and a commercial bank in a matter which is already before the Supreme Court.

Okoroma said the EFCC can also wade into cases of duping between two persons, and can prosecute or play the role of an arbitrator if the accused person agrees to pay a refund.

“If someone goes to take loan from a bank and presents forged documents, are we saying it is a civil matter between them? It is a case of alleged forgery and obtaining money under false pretence. We have a responsibility to investigate, and from our investigations, we can prosecute,” he told the committee.

He told the committee that Chukwuma has already instituted about three suits, with EFCC as party, in different courts over his arrest and alleged abuse.

Okoroma added that the EFCC arrested Chukwuma from his Enugu home after the businessman, who he said was on administrative bail, failed to honour invitations extended to him by the commission.

He further alleged that officials of the EFCC were assaulted by thugs when they tried to arrest the businessman.
“We are not partisan, we do not have anything to do with their civil matter, but if there is anything that has to do with financial crimes, it is our duty to investigate it,” Okoroma added.

But while being questioned by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi APC), Okoroma was unable to categorically state whether the commission had a warrant of arrest for Chukwuma before invading his home.
As the lawmaker insisted on a “Yes or No” response to the question, Okoroma said the operation was conducted by the Lagos office of the agency.

“I would ask for permission to verify if there was a warrant of arrest and get back to you,” he said.
Melaye also demanded that the agency produce copies of its invitation letters to Chukwuma, and pictorial or video evidence of the assault on its officials by about ‘1,000 miscreants” as claimed in the memorandum submitted by the EFCC.

“We want it because it also falls within the purview of human rights abuses,” Melaye said.
The legal counsel to Chukwuma, Prof. McCarthy Mbadingha, in his submission said the EFCC had no jurisdiction in the transactional disputes between his client and the bank, as the disputes are already before the law courts.
“Under the EFCC Act, in Section 46 which defines what financial crimes are, the issue between Innoson and GTB does not fall under financial crimes,” he argued.

Instructed by the committee members to restrict his presentation to areas that border on human rights abuse in the course of Chukwuma’s arrest, as the transitional disputes are already prejudicial matters, Mbadingha maintained that Mrs. Chukwuma was slapped by an EFCC official for demanding to see the warrant of arrest issued for her husband.

He cited the degrading conditions under which his client was arrested and taken to Lagos, where he was detained until his release about 24 hours later.

GTB’s lawyer, Mr. Adebowale Kamoru, also noted that since the matter was already in court, the bank would not be making any submissions.

The Chairman, Utazi, said the Senate was interested in the matter because of the need to protect the business sector,

“A businessman’s wife of Innoson’s status, with all his connections, we have to look at the implications (of EFCC actions) on foreign investments. If you handle your own like this, how will you handle a foreigner. We must restore confidence in the local business environemnt,” he said.

Ruling, Utazi insisted that the Chief Executive Officer of GTB, Agbaje must appear at the committee’s next sitting instead of sending his legal team, since Chukwuma had personally shown up before the committee at an earlier sitting.

Invitations were extended to both men, Utazi disclosed.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/efcc-insists-on-power-to-intervene-in.html

The federal and state governments have allocated less than eight percent of their N43.5 trillion combined budgets for education in the last three years, Daily Trust investigations have shown.


The two tiers of government had a cumulative expenditure of N43.5 trillion between 2016 and 2018, but only N3.34 trillion was earmarked for education.


This amount will mainly be spent on salaries, general administration and overheads. Votes were also made for new recruitments and teachers’ verification among others.


Daily Trust investigations have shown that in 2018, the federal and state governments budgeted a total of N17.5 trillion but only N1.32 trillion (7.5 percent) was voted for education.


Out of the N13.5 trillion total expenditure of the two tiers of government in 2017, only N993 billion (7.3 percent) was meant for education.


In 2016, the federal and state governments voted N1.03 trillion (8.44 percent) for education out of their combined votes of N12.5 trillion.


Impact of poor funding


These lean votes for education will translate to low GDP growth that will hinder the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) said.


This also means that Nigeria hadn’t yet factored education as a key to development and economic empowerment, he said.


The poor funding of the sector will likely affect pupils’ enrolment into primary schools. Minister of education Adamu Adamu recently said there are 8.6 million out-of-school children in the country.


A 2015 UIS-UNESCO report on “Financing education in Nigeria: Opportunities for action,” said despite many years of effort, the education system in Nigeria remains weak, especially in the north, although the poor quality of statistical data hampers a clear analysis of the numbers.


Recurrent capital expenditure imbalances in budgetary allocations aggravate the challenges and stifle the provision of education infrastructure, the study said.


It said Nigeria has recorded some progress in school enrolment recently, but despite this progress, however, the country has the highest population of out of school children in the world.


“While officially mandated to oversee primary education, state governments (SGs) fail to allocate resources for this purpose, relying instead on local governments’ (LGs) funds,” the report said.


As education takes backstage


Analysis of the 2018 budget documents of the 29 states across the country revealed that N742.2 billion was earmarked for education.


There are no education figures for Kebbi, Adamawa, Enugu, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Ondo, and Osun.


The federal government, on the other hand, is planning to spend only N605.8 billion out of its N8.61 trillion budgets on education this year.


In 2017, the federal and 33 state governments budgeted N993 billion (7.3 percent of the budget) on education.


This figure was slightly lower than the N1.03 trillion (8.44 percent) the two tiers of government spent on education in 2016.


Of its N7.3 trillion budgets in 2017, the federal government voted N448.01 billion on the sector, compared to the N367.73 billion it spent in 2016.


Twenty-seven states budgeted N544.6 billion on the sector in 2017, a slight reduction from the N653.53 billion they spent on the sector in 2016.


This figure is far below the reported 26 percent benchmark set by UNESCO on education for developing countries.


The northern states (minus Kebbi and Adamawa) are planning to spend N365.7 billion on education this year.


This is slightly higher than the N301.2 billion the states budgeted for education in 2017.


In 2016, the region voted N361.13 billion for education.


This year, the southern states (minus Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Enugu, and Ebonyi) budgeted N376.5 billion for education.


This figure is higher than the N243.4 billion education budgets of 12 southern states in 2017.


In 2016, the southern states voted N292. 4 billion for education.


Geopolitical breakdown


The South-west zone’s spending on education for the year (minus Ondo and Ekiti states) is N211.6 billion. This is about N60 billion higher than the N152.5 billion it spent in 2017. The zone spent N178.41 billion in 2016.


The North-west zone (minus Kebbi) budgeted N184.9 billion for education in 2018.


The figure is N40 billion higher than the N139 billion it spent in 2017 and N174.28 billion it spent in 2016.


The Northeast allocated N118.1 billion for education this year, about N100 billion higher than the N81 billion it spent in 2017. The zone spent N85 billion on the sector in 2016.


The North-central zone’s budget for education this year is N62.3 billion, about N20 billion lower than the N82 billion it spent in 2017. It spent N101.71 billion on the sector in 2016.


The South-south region allocated N136.5 billion for education in 2018. This figure is slightly higher than the N100.99 billion it spent in 2017.


The South-east (minus Enugu and Ebonyi) budgeted N28.4 billion for education. The states of Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi voted N16.4 billion for education in 2017.


States with fat budgets


Lagos remains the biggest spender on education for two consecutive years. It is planning to spend N126.3 billion this year, having spent N92.4 billion last year.


Other top spenders include Ogun which is planning to spend N79.2 billion, having spent N47 billion in 2017.


Sokoto which spent N38 billion in 2017 has budgeted N57.5 billion for the sector this year.


Rivers is planning to spend N50 billion on education this year having spent only N30 billion last year.


Katsina budget also rose from N16.5 billion last year to N42.4 billion in 2018.


Kaduna’s education vote dropped from N45 billion in 2017 to N33 billion in 2018.


Borno’s education allocation dropped from N33 billion in 2017 to N27.2 billion this year.


There was an increase in Kano’s vote from N17.5 billion in 2017 to N21 billion in 2018.


Bauchi’s budget rose from N27 billion in 2017 to N31 .5 billion in 2018.


Bayelsa’s education vote rose from N13.5 billion in 2017 to N22 billion this year, while that of Delta rose from N12 billion to N18.7 billion.


Nasarawa voted N24.3 billion for the sector this year, against last year’s N11.8 billion; and Yobe earmarked N23 billion this year, up from 2017’s N17.7 billion.


Gombe voted (N31.4bn), Imo (N13.5bn), Zamfara (N13.3bn), Akwa Ibom (N10.5bn), Kwara (N12.6bn), and Plateau (N11bn).


States with lean budgets


States with less expenditure for education are: Niger (N4.1bn), Kogi (N4.2bn), Taraba (N5bn), Abia (N5.4bn), Benue (N6.5bn), Oyo (N6.1bn), Edo (N6.3bn), and Anambra (N9.5bn).

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/fg-states-voted-n75-of-n43tr-budgets-on.html

The management of Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) yesterday said it has spent N5.7billion to empower no fewer than 108,367 rural farmers in 19 states of the country during last year.
Speaking at the annual media forum of the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Benin City, Executive Director of LAPO, Sabina Idowu-Osehobo, said the farmers were empowered under LAPO Agricultural and Rural Development Initiative (LARDI).

Osehobo said as part of efforts to boost farming operations in the period under review, pointed out that the farmers were provided with high yield inputs and extension services.

While explaining that LARDI, established in 2007, was geared towards promoting rural economy through agricultural development, improving income, food security and general living conditions of poor rural households, particularly women-headed households and youths, said the beneficiaries were into cassava, cocoa, animal husbandry and fish farming, among others.

She added that in 2016, 76,000 farmers were empowered with N3.4 billion billion through the LARDI.Osehobo said LARDI was deeply committed to its mandate of developing the rural economy with innovative and affordable agricultural financing and support services. LAPO currently maintains 120 branches in 19 states of the country.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/lapo-spends-n57-billion-to-empowers.html