₦airaland Forum

A Benin-based housewife, Tricia Oterneghoro, has bathed her 13-year-old daughter, Joyce Emmanuel, with hot soup for allegedly sleeping in a neighbour’s room. The incident occurred at No. 9, James Watt Street, New Benin area, in Benin, Edo State. The soup burnt the girl’s chest.
According to a report monitored on a local television station, residents in the area rushed to the scene of the incident to administer first aid on the victim.
Some of them told journalists that they had cautioned the victim’s mother on several occasions to stop maltreating her daughter but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

According to one of the neighbours, “a woman in her normal sense will not do this to her daughter. I have warned her not to beat the girl again. Her father called yesterday and the girl said she was interested in going to nursing school.”
Narrating her ordeal, the victim, Joyce said she wanted to go out and take her bath on Monday night but her mother refused. Joyce said she went out to take her bath and her mother locked her outside, which made her to sleep in her friend’s room.
She said she was shocked when her mother stormed the room the next day and pour hot soup on her. “It was in the evening and I said I wanted to take my bath but my mummy said no. I went out to take my bath and my mummy locked the door. After knocking many times, I went to sleep in my friend’s house. In the morning, my mummy came and poured hot soup on my body.”
In her reaction, the victim’s mother, Mrs. Oterneghoro, said she did not know what came over her to make her pour the hot soup on her daughter. She said she had warned her neighbours not to allow her daughter sleep in their room and when she saw her the following morning, she poured the hot soup on her.
In another development, a 24-year-old man, Sodiq Salaudeen, was yesterday sentenced to eight years imprisonment for killing his friend during a fight over a girlfriend at Ijanikin area of Lagos State.
The convict was sentenced by Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, after changing the initial charge of murder to manslaughter.
The judge observed that the three witnesses who testified before the court were not at the scene when the crime occurred. He said: “The court will be relying on the statement of the defendant, which showed that he had no intention to kill the deceased.
“The statement read and I quote, ‘I used the iron from the Hausa man’s shop to stab him on the left side of his chest. I only wanted to scare him because I was being overpowered by him and his friends; I did not intend to kill him.”
Pronouncing the sentence, the judge, however, said that Salaudeen’s eight-year sentence would start from the day he was first detained for the crime. “The defendant is hereby sentenced to eight years in prison with effect from April 19, 2012.”
Salaudeen, who was dressed in a white attire, had an expression of relief on his face after the sentence was pronounced.
Prior to the sentence, counsel to the convict, Mr. K.O. Adebayo, had in his plea for leniency, told the court that the convict committed the offence out of youthful exuberance.
“Since the objective of punishment is to reform and not for retribution, I plea for a lighter sentence for the convict so that he can still be useful to the society.”
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/angry-mother-bathes-daughter-with-hot.html

Islamist militant group Boko Haram has caused $9 billion of damage in Nigeria’s northeast since 2009, destroying homes, schools, bridges and roads, according to the United Nations.

Borno state alone suffered losses worth $6.2 billion, Matthew Rycroft, the president of the UN Security Council, told reporters Sunday on a visit to its main city of Maiduguri. The global body is stepping up support to the region as many who fled Boko Haram violence are now facing a humanitarian crisis even as attacks on their communities abate, he said.

“The number of displaced is shocking, the number of children suffering from malnutrition is alarming,” Rycroft said. “It is like suffering twice.”

Boko Haram has waged an eight-year campaign, capturing towns and razing villages in a bid to impose its version of Islamic law on Africa’s most populous country of more than 180 million people. Nigeria is almost evenly split between a mainly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.
The U.K. will contribute more money to help tackle a crisis that’s struggled to attract donor funds, said Rycroft, who’s also the British permanent secretary to the UN. He didn’t specify how much. Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told reporters Sunday that Nigeria had spent $4 billion on the region, without giving further details.

Norway last month pledged $189.7 million over three years to Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad basin that’s been affected by the violence.
MORE AT http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/un-boko-haram-caused-9b-damage-in.html

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has set aside three days of prayers for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari and his early return to the country.

NANS President, Chinonso Obasi, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said Nigerian students would within the three days starting from Wednesday, February 8, 2017 join other patriotic citizens to intercede on behalf of the President who is on medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

According to him: “As leaders of tomorrow and champions of a better Nigeria, we should not be left out in the national call for prayers for the President.”

Also, a political platform, Sunshine Integrity Forum (SIF) has urged Nigerians to pray for good health for the President so that “his task of cleansing the country of corruption to engender socio-economic development” can be successfully completed.

The platform is a group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, which is under the leadership of Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice who represents Ondo North in the upper legislative chamber, stated this during a prayer session it organised for the president in Akure, Ondo State capital yesterday.

Leading the prayers, Pastor Kehinde Zacheaus of Complete Bible Church expressed optimism that “President Buhari will live to fulfill the good purpose of God for Nigerians.”

Personalities who attended the event at Boroffice’s former campaign office were the ex-Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Kenneth Olawale, Chief Bailey Arohunmolase, Mrs. Julie Ajegunmo, Mrs. Nireti Akinyele, Messrs Dayo Bello and Olusola Aturu among other APC politicians.

Boroffice, in a speech delivered by Elder Ebenezer Ogunrinde, urged Nigerians to support President Buhari in the task of rebuilding the country.And in Gombe, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Community for Peace and Corrupt-free Society, Nigeria yesterday held special prayers for President Buhari and the nation.

Speaking at the prayer session, the National Chairman of the society, Zakari Ahmed, said it is part of their responsibility as Nigerians to pray for the speedy recovery of the President and the country’s development.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/varsity-students-declare-three-day.html

A former Governor of Adamawa State, James Bala Ngillari, was yesterday sentenced to five years in prison by a Yola High Court for fraud he committed while in office.

The presiding judge, Justice Nathan Musa, said he relied on section 58 sub-section (5) of the Adamawa Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) Law which provides that any state officer that contravenes the law is liable to a minimum of five years imprisonment without an option of fine.

“The court’s hands are tied by this law, so I cannot do otherwise. The only thing is to give you the minimum sentence of five years, you will serve in Yola main prison,” the judge said.

This conviction is a major boost to the anti-corruption campaign. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had suffered a credibility crisis for not being able to successfully prosecute former or serving top public officers for corruption and sending them to jail. They had either been set free because of poor prosecution or plea bargain that enabled them to go home to enjoy their loot.

Ngillari was found guilty of 17 criminal charges relating to the award of contracts without due process levelled against him by the EFCC. He was sentenced to one year each on five out of the 17 charges brought against him, former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Ibrahim Andrew Welye and erstwhile Commissioner for Finance Jonathan Lamorde. The two were discharged on the grounds that they merely acted on instructions from the convict.

The former governor awarded a N167.8 million contract for the supply of 25 units of Toyota Camry 2.8 to a contractor to the state government, whose identity is known only to him.

Justice Musa said the case was decided based on evidence before the court and not on the opinion of the counsel.According to the judge, the counsel to the former governor failed to prove before the court that the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance was the officer to be held responsible as the accounting officer of the ministry for the contract scam.

He pointed out that the evidence before the court and oral confessions of the second accused (Welye) at the EFCC proved that the tender board headed by the permanent secretary was sidelined in the award of the contract before the court.

Justice Musa read the SSG’s statement which was one of the exhibits: “The governor summoned me and directed me to write a memo for the purchase of vehicles for commissioners. When I raised the issue of due process by contacting the BPP, the governor told me he was under pressure. A few days after I raised the memo, the governor called me to say that the contractor failed to supply eight vehicles, out of the 25, she supplied only 17 units and that I should call her, but I could not call her because I did not have her phone number.”

On the submission of the counsel to Ngillari that it was an emergency and if quick measures were not taken the prices of the vehicles would go up, the judge ruled that the first accused failed to prove that he carried out a market survey on the prices of the vehicles and that the prices were increasing fast.

Justice Musa stated that since the vehicles were not security in nature, hiding under emergency could not be covered by law and that the defence lacked legal protection and merit. He said Ngillari unlawfully awarded a contract to a contractor known to him alone and his action amounted to executive rascality and lawlessness.

The judge noted that the prosecuting counsel, Murktaka Ahmed, proved his case beyond reasonable doubt against the first accused, and that the second accused (SSG) and the third accused (Jonathan) could not be held responsible for an offence they were not part of from the initiation to the execution level.

He said his judgement would be a warning to political office holders that the law would not respect anyone that abused it using the powers of his office.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/court-jails-adamawa-ex-governor.html

Cop a gander of KKTBM music stars Yung6ix, LK Kuddy, Percy, Sean Dennis and She; as they stun in new press photos.
The KKTBM camp releases these photos as part of announcing the signing of She and LK Kuddy to the label and reaffirming Percy and Sean Dennis deal.
The hot shots arrives ahead of the release of new music from all the artistes under the Kash Kamp Trick Billionaire Musiq umbrella. Yung6ix is currently working of hi sophmore album and a mixtape slated for a 2017; while LK Kuddy, She, Sean Dennis and Percy are gearing up to premiere new singles and world-class visuals.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/kktbm-music-stars-yung6ix-lk-kuddy.html

The operatives of Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command over the weekend arrested three suspected kidnappers fleeing from Ibadan in Lagos after collecting N3 million ransom.

The kidnappers, Adekunle Funsho (31), Charles Ezeilo (32) and Obioha Nnaji were apprehended in Abule Egba Lagos after kidnapping a lady and collecting N3 million ransom.


The kidnappers had, after collecting the ransom fled to Lagos.

The police in Ibadan after discovering that the kidnappers were heading to Lagos with the victim’s Toyota Highlander had radioed Lagos for assistance.


RRS officials on receiving the radio signal tracked the vehicle to Fela Shrine in Ikeja, from where the alleged suspects further moved the vehicle to a compound somewhere Abule Egba, Lagos.


It was there that the officers arrested a suspect before recovering the Toyota Highlander 2005 model with the registration number LND 954 EE.


The first suspect assisted the police in the arrest of another suspect who was later apprehended in Fela's Shrine in Ikeja while another suspect simply identified as Theophilus is on the run.
According to one of the suspects, Adekunle Funsho, a fashion designer around Felele, Ibadan, where it was believed the kidnapping took place,

“Theophilus handed over the car to me in Ibadan and told me to look for a buyer for the car…. I brought the car to Lagos because I know that I would get a buyer quickly for the car. The instruction from him was that I sell the Highlander at N800, 000:00.
He stated further,

“I got a buyer In Ondo State. He has bought a car from me before, a fairly clean Toyota Corolla. He bought it N550,000:00. I took the car to him on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where he paid me before moving the car away…. Charles is my friend of over 5 years. We met at Redeemed Church, Ogba, where I was a chorister. I gave him the car to help me warehouse it for me to get a buyer. He took the car from me at Fela Shrine to his house in Abule Egba.”
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/rrs-arrests-three-fleeing-kidnappers.html

Elder statesman and Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has noted that the policies of the current administration have made life more difficult for Nigerians living in Nigeria than those complaining of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

He said, “We complain of xenophobia in South Africa, what do we have in Nigeria?”

Clark spoke when eminent leaders of the South-South and South-East geo-political zones met at his residence in Apapa, Lagos in a closed door meeting yesterday.

He further called on the federal government to be just and fair to all ethnic and geo-political zones in the country.

He said the country should be restructured for Nigeria to return to the kind of country the founding fathers bequeathed the citizens where the three regions created at independence had control over their resources.

The Ijaw leader also called for an egalitarian society where everyone is equal without allowing one region to be dominating others.


He added, “The Richard’s Constitution at Nigeria Independence in 1960 spelt out what Nigeria should be as a Federal Republic with three regions (Northern, Eastern and Western regions) as the components units.

“And each of the regions was equal and each of the regions was allowed to develop at its own pace.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/edwin-clark-nigerians-at-home-suffering.html

So adorable
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/peter-and-paul-and-asquare-looking-so.html?m=1

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday afternoon chided the Nigeria Police for keeping him waiting at an event organised by the security agency in Lagos.

Obasanjo, who was the special guest of honour at the maiden yearly special training and capacity development organised by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone II, advised them to be ready when next they invite him to an event.

The reaction of the former president sets what looks like an official precedent in efforts to curb lateness to corporate meetings in the country . Most public sector-organised events often take off many hours behind their official schedule at a time known as ‘African time’ leading to the loss of man hours in private and government businesses. In Nigeria, the practice has over time been generally accepted as normal.
The former president was at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos venue of the training for about 90 minutes before the event started. “Next time, before you call me, please be ready,” Obasanjo said as he stormed out of the hall.
Billed for 10:30 a.m., the police event did not begin until 11:52 a.m., with the former president informing the gathering he had to return to Ogun State for an event he left midway to attend the police training.

It was learnt that AIG Kayode Aderanti, the host of the training, had sent a police helicopter to convey Obasanjo to the venue. There was, however, a communication breach between operatives that went to bring Obasanjo and the team expecting the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

Speaking on the initiative, Obasanjo said there was no substitute for training, urging security operatives to be in tune with the best practices alongside their contemporaries in other parts of the globe. According to him, all human institutions need constant appraisal, regeneration, introspection and training.

“Police must be aware and in touch with new developments in other parts of the globe. I can see my former IGP Musiliu Smith. Smith is completely out of date to give lecture on police duty. He has experience to share with you, but not on modern ways of policing,” Obasanjo said.

Idris who got to the venue of the event around 12:19 p.m., about 10 minutes after Obasanjo left, apologised for being late. “I was told former President Olusegun Obasanjo was here and I would have loved to meet him. He’s a committed Nigerian who has given so much to this country. I sincerely appreciate his coming, which shows the level of his commitment to our quest for democratic policing.”

The IGP expressed optimism that such trainings would improve the level of professionalism of policemen, adding that in no time, the police would not only be celebrated at home but also abroad.

Also at the event were Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Training, Emmanuel Inyang; AIG Tunji Alape (rtd); Commissioner of Police (CP) Olayinka Balogun (rtd); Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni; his Ogun State counterpart, Ahmed Iliyasu; and former Director General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Dr. Ndi Okereke, among others.

In his remarks, Aderanti advocated heavy investment in security, commending the IGP for placing a high premium on training. He expressed the hope that the training would enhance the capacity of the participants.

At another event yesterday, Obasanjo blamed the loss of values in the society on the high rate of criminality and delinquency. The former president, who spoke in Abeokuta at the 2017 International Youth Variety Day and Public Presentation of volume one of Olusegun Obasanjo’s Books for Children, said it was sad that youths now lack morals and values.




The programme organised as part of activities to mark the commissioning of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) was also part of his 80th birthday activities.



Obasanjo who went down memory lane to recall his Yola prison experience during the period of his incarceration under the late Gen. Sanni Abacha-led military regime, said his interaction with the inmates revealed that some of them were being punished for offences committed as a result of the moral decadence in the society.

He chided religious institutions, parents, teachers and community leaders for not living up to expectations from them. Obasanjo expressed regret that Nigeria has no “institutional memory”, saying that the nation has been careless with what it ought to preserve as national treasures.

He lamented the situation in some of the country’s national museums. “There is nothing to write home about in most of our museums,” he said.
“One of the confusions in people’s mind is that Presidential Library is the same as normal library. And I see many people sending books to me. The library is for both young and old. I also believe that it might start bridging the gap in our behaviour and attitude about our carelessness in preserving our national treasures. One of our behavioural patterns and attitude is that we have no institutional memory; that is what brings about the idea of Presidential Library. If you go into our national museums, the situation is pathetic”.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, in his speech noted that the library and books of the former president were borne out of his interest and passion to move the Nigerian’s education system forward.

more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/obasanjo-chides-police-for-lateness.html

Commandant of Peace Corps, Dickson Akoh, has been released by the Nigerian Police Force.

Recall that men of the Police Force in conjunction with the Department of State Services, DSS, had on Tuesday arrested Akoh when they invaded the new national headquarters of the Corps.


The youth-based organisation whose Bill was passed by the National Assembly, has recently come under assuualt by security agencies.

Meanwhile, the police yesterday explained why its operatives and personnel from other security organs raided the Peace Corps office.

Upon his arrest, Akoh was taken to the Force Headquarters were he was detained.

As at the time of filing this report, Akoh is on his way to the Secretariat of the National Youth Council after he had was filled necessary documents for his release at the FCT Command headquarters.


Over 1000 youths are expected to welcome him.


more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/dss-releases-peace-corps-commandant.html

The xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa is one of the mostly searched items on Google this week, the company announced on Thursday.

Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the search was from Feb. 23 to March 1.

“Relationship between Nigeria and South Africa became slightly strained this week, when allegations of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa ruled the internet,’’ he said.

The Google manager said that people’s attention was also caught online by the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against Nigeria’s naira.

“The dollar, after moving up like a rocket going to space, lost speed this week as the Nigerian naira strengthened to N425 per dollar at the parallel market.


“This is being hailed as a relief after remaining at N500 per dollar rate in the last few months.

“Reports are saying this development is a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent modification to the forex policy,’’ Kola-Ogunlade said.

He added that release of the video of the song of the late talented singer, Eric Ayobami, also trended on Google.

“Although the death of talented singer has continued to shock his friends and fans, the long-awaited video of his song, The Sound, was released during the week,’’ he said.

The spokesperson said that the released video was for television broadcast and video-sharing websites such as YouTube.

According to Kola-Ogunlade, the news of the death of Neil Fingleton, the Games of Throne actor, who died at the age of 36, also trended.

He noted that the seven-foot-seven-inch British actor played the giant Mag-the-Mighty in the popular American fantasy drama television series, “Games of Throne’’.


“The actor, a former basketball player, was recognised in 2007 by the Guinness World Record as the tallest man in the U.K.,’’ Kola-Ogunlade said.

He said that people also searched much about the start of the Lenten season.

“Ash Wednesday which usually welcomes lent took place this week.

“It kicked off 40 days of intense reflections through prayers and fasting observed by many Christians across the world.

“Catholics are known to go to church to be blessed with ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross to signify repentance and mortality.’’

Kola-Ogunlade said that other stories that trended on Google included results on the La Liga Table and European League Draw, and the confession of American top actress, Viola Davis, about her struggle with impostor syndrome.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/xenophobic-attacks-against-nigerians-in.html

A ban on alcohol sold in plastic sachets will come into force in Tanzania this week, the government said Wednesday, as it seeks to protect the environment and curb youth boozing.

The import, manufacture, sale and consumption of the 50 millilitre alcoholic sachets — the size of a double shot and commonly containing gin, rum, vodka, whisky or other spirits — will be banned with effect from March 2, said environment minister January Makamba.

President John Magufuli announced the ban last year.

The sachets sell for as little as $0.25, putting intoxicating liquor within reach of even the poorest while the discarded sachets clog drains and litter the streets.
The sachet ban is expected to upset businessmen, some of whom make huge profits from their sale, as well as drinkers who will be forced to pay more for bottled alcohol, but will be welcomed by religious leaders, teachers and parents.

The easily-concealed bags of booze are especially popular among school students who can be seen sucking on the sachets between classes or at the start of the school day.

In some places the sachets sell faster than soft drinks or donuts and, when discarded, are an eyesore. When the wind blows they float in the sky like filthy confetti.

The sachet ban comes after the government launched an anti-drugs campaign last month.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/03/tanzania-bans-alcohol-sachets.html

The management of Queen’s College, Yaba, in Lagos, has sent senior students home, after two students allegedly died of diarrhoea, between Thursday, February 23 and Friday, February 24, 2017.

Two female boarding students, Vivian Osuinyi and Bithia Itulua reportedly died after vomiting and stooling after they allegedly ate Spaghetti and drank water served in the Refectory by the college cooks.


The school sent the students home on the directive of officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and their colleagues from Lagos State who have opened investigations into the deaths.

Already, the officials from the Federal Ministry are in the school, to determine what allegedly killed the two female students.

Following outbreak of diarrhoea in the school, parents, whose wards resumed on Monday, contacted officials of the Parents Teacher Association (PTA), to find out the situation of things.

Only Senior Secondary III students resumed on Monday, to complete their examinations while the junior students were expected in school next week, but, with the outbreak of diarrhoea and the directive by health officials to send the students home, it will affect the resumption of other students.

Some parents told Daily Sun, yesterday, that the school management ought to have taken pre-emptive measures when, a month ago, some students started vomiting and stooling in the dormitory and were rushed to the sickbay by their colleagues.

A senior staff confirmed to Daily Sun that health officials have directed that the SS III students will be sent home to enable Lagos State health officials investigate the source of the diarrhoea as well as carry out environment exercise in the school.

“As soon the SS III students finish their Mathematics examination, today, they will go home. We have informed parents about their coming home. The health officials insisted the students must vacate the college to allow for thorough investigation.”

The staff, however, added that, “some parents are just blowing the issue out of proportion. The issue started a month ago when some students complained and were treated at the sickbay and two weeks ago, a student vomited and stooled and she died later. The new Old Girls Association president called the principal to inform her of another death which we are yet to confirm.’’

Daily Sun gathered that Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole has visited the school.

Also, it was gathered that Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris called to instruct that health officials be allowed to carry out their investigation,.

Director of Information and Press of the Education Ministry, Mrs. Ihuoma, did not respond to calls and text messages sent to her phone on what the ministry was doing about the situation at at Queen’s College.
mora at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/queens-college-shut-over-death-of-2.html

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday admitted that his generation has failed Nigeria in their efforts at taking it to the ‘Promised Land.’ He, however, quickly added that what they missed out in growing the nation economically, they have been able to deliver in a united and stable country under a democratic dispensation.

Obasanjo spoke in Kaduna during the one-day trade fair seminar of the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA), where he listed the factors inhibiting the nation’s growth and development.

Obasanjo traced the journey of the country from 1960: “the generation before us gave us and our country independence. Whatever you like, say about them: the Awolowos, Nnamdi Azikiwes, the Sardaunas, Aminu Kanos, Tafawa Balewas and others; they gave us independence, they were not perfect and if you like you can even go from now till tomorrow to condemn what they did, but they gave us independence.”

“These people and my generation laid the foundation for the democracy we enjoy today. Our democracy is not perfect, our democracy is a journey and not a destination and we must continue to improve on it. My sons and daughters, what will your generation do? Condemnation is easy but what will you do?”

Obasanjo listed policy summersault as one of the factors that held Nigeria down. “When I banned the importation of toothpicks, another president came and lifted the ban. When I heard it I quickly got across to him: you unbanned importation of toothpicks? He explained that he did not read the recommendation before he approved. Isn’t that a disaster for a country like Nigeria?”

The former president also faulted the lack of focus and capability of the nation’s leadership in handling the complex economic issues. “Part of our problems is that our leaders were not proactive. If Aliko Dangote and other private sector giants have taken over the refinery that we privatised at that time we won’t have had all the problems of petroleum shortage and all that. But, that was not done.”

“Dangote today is building a refinery capable of producing 650,000 barrels per day. Whereas what we are consuming may not be more than 500,000 barrel per day.”

“Lack of continuity and inconsistency in government and lack of knowledge is also a factor. There was a president, one of the two who came after me. He promised to generate 30,000 megawatts of electricity in 4 years.”

more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/obasanjo-my-generation-has-failed.html

Game of Thrones” actor Neil Fingleton, who was named Britain’s tallest man, has died of suspected heart failure at 36, according to the London­-based Tall Persons Club.

Standing at 232.5 centimetres (seven feet and six inches), he was best known for his role of Mag The Mighty in an episode of the hit American television show.

“Sadly it has come to our attention that Neil Fingleton, Britain’s Tallest man, passed away on Saturday,” a statement posted on the Tall Persons Club Facebook page read.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family,” it also said.

Born in 1980 in Durham, northern England, Fingleton started his career as a professional basketball player for teams in the United States and Spain, after being awarded a scholarship at the University of North Carolina.

But an injury forced him into early retirement in 2007.
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He then started an acting career, appearing in feature films including “X­Men: First Class” and “Jupiter Ascending,” and in television on Doctor Who. In 2014, he joined the cast of “Game of Thrones”.

Tributes poured in on social media.

“Game of Thrones” actor Ian Whyte took to Twitter writing: “Very sad to hear of the tragic passing of Neil Fingleton. He followed his dreams. Rest in peace”.

Gary Windle, a fan of the show, tweeted a picture of himself with the actor, adding: “Rip to the giant that is Neil Fingleton, Mag the Mighty, Game of Thrones, rest in peace mate, gutted”.

In a 2006 interview to the Guinness Book of Records, Fingleton explained that he was seven feet tall by the time he was 11 and that he stopped growing at 18.

“I have never been self-conscious about my height,” he said at the time.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/game-of-thrones-actor-neil-fingleton-is.html

Finnish brand Nokia, a former mobile star, on Sunday launched three new Android smartphones and unveiled a revamped version of its iconic 3310 model more than a decade after it was phased out.

Unlike the original, which was known for its sturdiness, the new Nokia 3310 will allow web browsing.

The new version will bring back its predecessor’s popular “Snake” game and distinctive ringtones, said Arto Nummela, the head of Finnish start-up HMD Global which will produce the phone under a licensing agreement with Nokia.

“The telephone will allow you to talk for 22 hours, ten times more than the original,” he said during a presentation in Barcelona on the eve of the start of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest mobile phone show.

Launched in 2000, Nokia’s original 3310 sold nearly 120 million units worldwide before it was discontinued in 2005, making it one of the world’s best-selling mobile phones.

Analysts said resurrecting the popular model was a clever way for HMD Global to relaunch Nokia’s brand.
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“HMD launched three new smartphones and an iconic mobile. It is a way to create a halo effect around the other models by reviving talk about the Nokia brand,” said Thomas Husson, a mobile analyst at Forrester.

In addition to the new 3310, HMD presented three new smartphones, the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 which will sell for different prices.

The Nokia 6 was already available in China and will now go on sale globally.

“We think (Nokia) could take 5 percent of the global smartphone market by the end of 2019. But it needs to get big quick or it won’t work,” said CCS Insight’s device specialist and chief of research, Ben Wood.

Nokia was the world’s top mobile maker between 1998 and 2011 but was overtaken by South Korean rival Samsung after failing to respond to the rapid rise of smartphones.

Its telephone brand remains widely recognised, especially in developing markets.

Now a leading telecom equipment maker, Nokia sold its entire handset business to Microsoft Corp in 2014.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/nokia-relaunches-iconic-3310-mobile.html

The bitter political fight between Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and his former close associate and now Rivers State Governor, NyesomWike, rumbles on. In recent newspaper interviews Wike had dismissed his predecessor’s two terms in office as a wasted period. He said he was a reluctant entrant into the gubernatorial contest and further claimed that Amaechi never wanted him to be a minister. In this interview with FESTUS ERIYE, the minister hits back with his own account of how the erstwhile close relationship between the two men transformed into a bitter feud. He speaks about his legacy as governor, his current challenges as a minister and why Nigerians shouldn’t crucify the APC government over the ongoing national economic crisis.

YOU have been in office as Minister of Transportation for about a year and three months. What are the challenges and what would you consider as your achievements?

I don’t know about achievements but I know about challenges. There are challenges and the greatest is how to get the economy moving – the transport sector forward – because a huge chunk of the economy depends on the transport sector. Even those who tra nsport crude by pipe will still need the transport sector and we have all sorts of ideas that we want to implement but basically there are no funds. When I tell people that we met recession, they would say how? I tell them that recession does not start in a day. It could not have happened in our first one year in office if the factors were not there before we came in – but the factors were huge. If you had listened carefully, I had said as chairman of the Governors’ Forum, the first disagreement I had with former President Goodluck Jonathan was on funds that the Presidency couldn’t account for. There wasn’t any specific reason why we were fighting other than my insistence on good governance.

The first battle between Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and i… How much did former President Olusegun Obasanjo leave behind …about $68 billion in the Excess Crude Account, not in the foreign reserve and then we fell into the economic crisis we had in 2008. To be able to battle with that economic crisis, late President UmaruYar’Adua borrowed quite a lot of money from the Excess Crude Account. He was taking $1 billion every month that was shared among federal, states and local governments to augment the budget and ensure that we didn’t feel the impact of that economic crisis.

We came out of that economic crisis by 2009 or so, the oil price bounced back to about $110, $150. By that time, Yar’Adua had spent the money to $48 billion. So, Goodluck Jonathan inherited the Excess Crude Account, inherited an untouched foreign reserve and also inherited increase in price of oil.


The contract for railway construction from Lagos to Kanowas awarded at $8.7 billion by the Obasanjo administration and you had an excess crude account of about $48 billion. All he would have done was to take $8 billion from the $48billion and he would have done the Lagos-Kano railway project. Former President Jonathan awarded the contract for the Lagos-Calabar railway project for $11.9 billion before this government brought it down to $11.1 billion. Let us even go back to $11.9 billion; from that $48 billion, you can still take another $11.9 billion. You would have funded the Lagos-Kano and the Lagos-Calabar railway project.

So, here now as Minister for Transportation, I am battling on how to raise funds from China for these same rail projects, and like I said, they have just released $1.5 billion for the Lagos-Ibadan railway project. The most difficult aspect is the funding and security. Most people don’t know that NIMASA is in charge of water security in the coastal areas and it is huge. The coastal area is essentially the Niger Delta. So, it is a huge problem but we are confronting the challenges and trying to find solution to the problems as we approach them.

You got into a bit of hot water with the Senate over the issue of funding some rail projects with loans and they said that you were not telling the truth…

(Cuts in) As a journalist, what do you think is the truth? As much as possible, I have huge respect for the National Assembly. I was once in the legislative arm of government and I wouldn’t want to get into confrontation with the National Assembly.

It is a fact that the Federal government submitted a request for $30 billion borrowing plan, it is a fact that it was rejected, it is a fact that $1.5 billion of the Lagos-Ibadan railway project was in it. That was what I said in Kwara and I told the people of Kwara that they should beg the National Assembly to please approve it. So, what are they disputing?

Once they pass the borrowing plan, we will start work because it is very embarrassing that the Chinese government has approved. We cannot travel to China to sign because the National Assembly is yet to approve the borrowing plan. One reason why China quickly approved it was because we told them that we didn’t want the rainy season to meet us before we start the project.I don’t think I insulted or lied against the National Assembly, all I did was to repeat the facts as they happened. I told my (media) people not to reply the National Assembly because it is an institution and you don’t joke with such an institution.

Which of the railway projects will come up this year?


If the National Assembly approves the borrowing plan and I hope they will, then the Lagos-Ibadan rail line will start. In fact, ordinarily, we expect to start this February or first week in March. I hope that the National Assembly will approve it and we expect that we start early in March.

Many Nigerians wonder what the Federal government is doingrecovered looted funds?

How much is it? There is no money that they recovered that has not been announced. Everyone they get, they announce and you should be able to tabulate from that point.

One of the mistakes I made as a governor was that I listened to Rivers people who said I shouldn’t take loans because they hate their governor borrowing money. Even what I borrowed, I paid off almost everything.And I was not borrowing as thecurrent governor is borrowing now. I was borrowing to execute projects. If you asked anyone who was in my administration in Rivers State, he/she would tell you that we suffered in the last six months because we could have told the new government to pay.

So, the federal government has to borrow to come out of the current economic crisis we are in. One person that does not like to borrow is the President, he believes we can manage our way through. The reality is that the President also understands that people need to come out of recession and that is why he agreed to submit the $30 billion borrowing plan. These loans are tied to specific projects and when the money comes, it won’t come to the Ministry of Transportation, there will be an account where they will be paying the contractors. So, you can see the discipline by the President. Unlike before, the loan will be provided but it is the federal government that will allocate to projects. But these are loans for specific projects and imagine how the economy would look like. Just imagine $30 billion pumped into the economy, you and I would no longer be talking about recession because it will generate so much economic activities, so much jobs etc. It will revolve around the economy and create a lot of jobs, that is our argument but like I said, I make sure that my ministry doesn’t go into any dispute with the National Assembly.

Still on the borrowing plan, many people are skeptical about the huge amount of money government wants to borrow.

The infrastructure gap is huge and as I said, this loan is not going to any ministry or minister’s pocket. I just told you that by the time we were getting huge money from crude, we didn’t need to borrow money because we had money to do these rails. Now, one of the things that can bring us out of recession is construction. And since we don’t have money we have to borrow. If you review the borrowing plan, they are all tied to specific projects.

One controversial issue has been the closure of the Abuja airport. Some experts say you don’t have to shut down that airport to do what you need to do. Foreign airlines have been particularly difficult about that shutdown. Have you made any progress getting them to accept your plan?

Who are the experts? The truth is that the federal government does not want to close that airport; the pain we will feel for closing the airport is unimagined.

How do you close an airport in the seat of power? The president is also compelled to go to Kaduna to fly out. When people say these things, it is as if we are having fun closing the airport. That is not our intention. The crisis you have at the Abuja airport is that the runway has lasted for 34 years and it is supposed to last for 20 years. What these so-called experts are telling you is that they think we are repairing the runway. We are not, we are building a new runway because the foundation has given up; you cannot repair it anymore.

If it is to overlay the runway, we will be glad to do that but if you overlay it, it won’t last and we don’t want to lose any life. It could be anybody, it could be me because I use the airport too. We are also confronted with the reality that people may die if we don’t shutdown this airport and rebuild the runway. I think Nigerians should be patient and give us some time. One government that is cautious and committed to Nigerians is our government.

So are you meeting the foreign airlines midway?

The Minister of State for Aviation has held series of stakeholders meetings. He has spoken with them on the challenges that we have and the arrangements we have put on ground to assist them in Kaduna including security, alternative mode of transportation, putting more soldiers and policemen on the road and all that.

The Rivers State Governor, NyesomWike, granted an interview recently where he made some critical remarks about your tenure as governor and what he inherited. He said he inherited a mess and that some of the projects you left behind were bogus in particular the school projects. He alleged that you built hospitals with no doctors in them. How do you react to that?

A governor should not tell lies, but when you make a child a governor then you expect a reverse of the protocols of governance. There is a saying in my village that if you give a child something he can’t carry, he would falter and falter. The hospitals I built are still being used; he tried to change the name of one of the hospitals I built inside the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. He lied. I met 200 doctors when I came in as governor, I employed 400 more. He even lied that I owed salaries for six months. Let anybody in the state come out to say I did not start paying April salary before I left in May 2015.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/amaechi-wike-schemed-to-be-governor.html

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo reviewed the performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari government in the last 21 months and concluded that the government has not performed creditably well in the area of economy and foreign affairs.

He however noted that the Buhari administration has stepped up efforts on the foreign policy segment and gave kudos to the President in the way he has been piloting the affairs of the country.

Speaking in an interactive session with The Guardian at his HillTop Presidential Mansion in Abeokuta, Friday, Obasanjo noted that leadership was not about age, but quality of the individual, stressing that Buhari has performed creditably in the areas of fighting insurgency and securing the country.

His words: “I don’t know about what is your direction or wrong direction. But what I know is that President Buhari has not disappointed me. From what I know of him and what he has done, he has not disappointed me.

“You can come to whatever conclusion you want to. In my book I said, and that is not running him down; I said he is not strong on the economy and he is not. In fact, I also said he is not strong on foreign affairs, although he has somewhat improved on foreign affairs.

“But in the areas we know he is strong, he is doing his best. He is doing his best in fighting insurgency; he is trying his best in trying to fight corruption. So where you are facing is entirely unto you. You may be facing east or west or north.”

On the issue of youth empowerment, the former President expressed dismay at the absence of commensurate opportunities for the teeming population of young people, pointing out that quite unlike during his own time when there was only one university, there are more than 150 universities in the country.

“I pity the youths, they have more facilities than in my time, but they lack opportunities. What we need is to create more opportunities,” he added, recalling that when he left secondary school, he got employment offers from five establishments, including a teaching job.

The former President also clarified his position on the issue of zoning of the presidency to the Southeast in 2019, pointing out that it was merely a passing allusion to the underlying factors that give rise to agitations leading to the Southern Kaduna crisis.

He stated: “The Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Abeokuta chapter, came to meet me about the situation in Southern Kaduna. Before then, I had been briefed by the governor (of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai), Bishop (Matthew Hassan) Kukah, General (Martin Luther) Agwai (retd), who hail from the area.

“So I gave them my own understanding of the situation. I said the Southern Kaduna issue is historical, cultural, religious and political. That if you want to resolve the issue, you now take all these issues together. And I said, the problem is that when we fail to attend to what is important at the time that we should attend to it and then it boomerangs on our face, we don’t have anybody to blame.

“I said here in Ogun State, we have a bit of Southern Kaduna problem. I said since Ogun State was created, we have had four elected governors. We have three senatorial districts, East, West and Central; it (the governorship) has rotated between East and Central. And I said the West has not produced the governor, I don’t know when you will get there, but if you don’t get there when you should get there and the West decides to go into agitation, you have yourself to blame.”

Speaking on the age-long animosity between him and the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, dating from when Soyinka opposed his aspiration for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Chief Obasanjo noted that contrary to public perception, he does not hold grudge.

“I don’t hold grudge, he added. “(But) Wole Soyinka is not God and I don’t believe that there is any human being that is absolutely right. Wole Soyinka, has what I believe he has, he is a gifted person in his own way.

“But Soyinka is not an orator. I cannot accept it when Wole Soyinka makes cathedral statements on everything. When he does what is right I will commend him, when he does what is not right I will criticize him. Wole Soyinka is a populist I am not a populist, so you got it wrong and you should get it right.”

On the development of his Presidential Library project, which is the first in the country and Africa; the former President said some observers may describe what he is doing at the Presidential Library as madness, saying it is not something you do because you want to make money.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/obasanjo-rates-buhari-low-on-economy.html

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal, has blamed the current economic recession on the massive corruption and looting of the economy by the previous administration.

He also stressed the determination of the present administration to lay a new foundation for the country in the face of the threatening security challenges in the North-east.


Lawal made these submissions after his conferment with a Fellowship of the Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, at its 5th convocation ceremony.

He said: “What has held us down as a nation is corruption. Corruption in government at all levels has totally destroyed our nation. It is evident in key sectors like educational system, healthcare delivery, infrastructural development and provision of social services. Massive corruption has crippled our economy and dwarfed our individual potentials, including limiting the enterprising and intellectual capacity of our people”.

Speaking further on the state of the economy, he added: “This administration has introduced diversification policy and in the shortest possible time, results will be coming in like we are doing in the area of rice and wheat production. On the youth, the government of PMB is doing everything possible to create sustainable jobs as 30,000 jobs are already being created through one of its programmes.”

Host Governor, Rochas Okorocha, in his own speech at the event, said “This is not the time to weep or complain in the struggle to nationhood. It is a time to comply.

“President Buhari is building a strong foundation for sustainable growth of the nation. Whoever that is waiting for Buhari to build sky scrapers and historic tunnels may be wasting time, as his job is to lay a solid foundation so that successive governments will have a good foundation to build upon.”
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/massive-corruption-responsible-for.html

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has described the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Alli Modu Sheriff, as a mole in the party.

The Governor alleged that Sheriff is planted in the party by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to decimate the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.


He described the loss by Makarfi at the Court of Appeal to Sheriff as a temporary setback.

Wike told Thisday, “As far as I am concerned, you may say it is complicated but I will rather say it is a temporary setback because I don’t like commenting on all these judgments but I know that this is not the final bus stop; the final bus stop is the Supreme Court.

“Obviously, we reject the judgment. Sheriff is a mole in the party and so if it were a situation you know it is someone who has the interest of the party talking, then you begin to see how you can move from there.

“Having identified that the mole has been working for APC, it will be difficult for any right-thinking politician to say oh, let us allow him, it will be very, very difficult.


“We are going on appeal; we will take a major decision after the final appellate court that is, the Supreme Court has given its verdict, so I am not worried.

“I know that in politics this is the way it goes, you don’t expect things to be smooth all the time. Sometimes it is rough; it will threaten you and sometimes it enables you to know that this is the type of human beings you are working with so you can know the kind of characters they are made of.

“Luckily, it was not a unanimous judgment, it was a split decision of two to one; you can appreciate the fact that there is still hope as we go to the Supreme Court

“There is nothing to reconcile because everybody has seen his actions so you don’t need anybody to tell you that he is a mole; even those who are parading him, you can see the characters, you can see how they romance with the ruling party.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/sheriff-is-mole-planted-by-apc-in-pdp.html

Hoodlums were said to have chopped off the hand of an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (inec) in Igbo-etche community, etche Local Government Area of Rivers State in the supplementary legislative election holding today.

One of the officials who was on duty with the victim was also said to have been taken hostage by the thugs and has not been rescued.

Although there is heavy security presence in etche but there was panic in the area due to series of abduction attempts of policemen on duty and inec officials.

The victim whose hand was chopped off was taken to inec headquarters in Port Harcourt for treatment.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/breaking-new-thugs-chop-off-inec-officials-hand/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

Another census exercise is looming in Nigeria. By law, it should take place one in 10 years. The last population count was in 2006 when Olusegun Obasanjo was at the villa. As a nation we have defaulted again. This is by no means the important thing. What is important and frightening is the incessant problem associated with out head count. In other climes, even in Africa, population census is the normal counting of those inhabiting a particular political entity. It is a simple act which does not threaten the break – up of persons or the nation. In Nigeria we have not achieved this level of comprehension of counting all men, women, and girls, boys, leaving out animals, reptiles, and birds etc. that also inhabit our country.

As much as I can remember, census taking has consistently threatened the existence of our country. It is during the exercise that ethnicity, tribalism and regionalism come to the fore. Census reminds us about every reason why we are not one people. It pitches the ‘North’ versus the ‘South’, the minority versus majority and so on.

In Nigeria things have not changed to warrant a peaceful, honest and reliable census exercise. On the other hand, the political atmosphere is getting more fouled, ethnicity more pronounced, manipulation of vital social statistics more apparent. Most times we are helpless as the nation hovers on the brink, especially at state and national elections. The only exception is local government, an election in which the party controlling the state government is assigned 99.99% of the total vote. In many cases, opposition parties do not bother to contest the election’ the result of which had been written weeks before in the State INEC Office. Even with such perversity, the existence of Nigeria as a corporate body is not threatened as we have been used to since 1954.

For population counting it is another ball game. All the hierarchy of the society are activated from the president, to the governor, Emir to Eze, Oba to Baale, presidents and chairmen of town, village, clan ‘development’ association. Every conceivable leader is geared to play a ‘noble’ role to assure that the population of the community advances to pre-determined figures, “because development depends on the number of people living in our area”.

The nationwide mobilization is geared up. Okada riders, Danfo conductors, sex workers all who rarely visit their homeland feel a sense of patriotism, rushing home to register. Every leader in the community struggles to ensure that his village achieves 100% increase in population. And the regional upheavals start in earnest.


Recall for instance that in the 1962 population exercise, the Northern Region with 11million became 30 million; Eastern Region with10.5 million became 12 million; Western Region with 8.5 million became 10.5 million; and Lagos with 600,000 remained 600,000. For exercise which cost a whopping one million pounds, the controversies generated by the declared outcome led to its cancellation.

Considering today’s heated political astrosphere, such controversy could snowball into more dangerous proportions.

What, with all these, am I talking about? It is simple. We should be prepared for the storm ahead. Leaders, including the super-rich, super exposed religious leaders should start organizing themselves into prayer groups to appeal to the Almighty God to save our country.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/will-nigeria-survive-another-census.html

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development says it will liaise with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to investigate the alleged importation of garri from India.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who made this known on Wednesday in Abuja, said that it is ”strange and ridiculous” that garri would be imported when there is enough supply of cassava and garri in the country.

He said that the country produces more cassava than India, adding that Nigerians must change their attitude towards imported goods.

“Whoever buys that kind of garri should be blamed.

“I have heard of it. I will find out by tomorrow if NAFDAC indeed did certify any garri from India; unless it is some Indian companies packaging the garri here.
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“Nigerians are too ready to buy anything imported. They will bring in apples and some of them have been preserved with ethanol which is not healthy for our consumption.

“Whoever is importing garri from India, something must be wrong with them. Why import garri when you do not know the conditions through which the garri was produced over there.

“I have no powers to stop imports, but I can recommend to the Nigerian Customs that this is unreasonable. I produce and encourage Nigerians to eat what they produce because it is safer for them,’’ Ogbeh said.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that some sections of the media reported the existence of NAFDAC certified imported garri from India in some departmental stores and open markets across the country.

more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/fed-govt-to-investigate-alleged.html

My dressing today is reflection of my mood,If i get where am going they will no that am not in mood to laugh she said.
More photos at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/splash-stun-in-dress-that-reflects-her.html?m=1

Ahead of the June 17 deadline for the analogue to digital switch over (DSO) in Nigeria, there are fears that dearth of policy, inadequate funding and poor infrastructure may again, prevent the country from achieving this feat.

The House of Representatives and one of the signal distributors raised this alarm, stressing that funding and adequate infrastructure are very crucial to achieving fully digitalised television broadcasting, as with these and other necessary logistics, the process will be smoother.
Indeed, Nigeria requires about $1.2billion or N366billion at N305/$1 to purchase about 30 million set-top boxes at $45 each to meet the digital needs of at least 95 per cent of the population estimated at 189 million.

Nigeria actually failed to migrate in 2015, for these same challenges. The implications of not migrating this year are many. Apart from signal interference from neighbouring countries that have migrated, the digital dividend that should come from the process through the release of the 700MHz/800MHz spectrum from broadcasters to telecoms operators from improved broadband provisioning would also be affected.

The Managing Director, Integrated Television Services (ITS), Rotimi Salami, raised the alarm during the visit of the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, led by its Chairman, Olusegun Odebunmi, to ITS office in Jos, Plateau State.

He said: “Generally, the challenge we are having is funding and government money is not just spent anyhow you want, there is a process and this process is guided by principles. For example, we inherited infrastructure from the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), but we need to replace analogue equipment. We have to install infrastructure and we need N45 billion to put effective infrastructure that will cover Nigeria, we need support to realise our goal.”

The Guardian gathered that during the visit, the committee members also expressed concerns about how the new deadline would be met with almost all relevant parties to the project having one complaint or the other.

The Odebunmi-led committee which visited the zonal offices of the NTA, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and ITS in Jos, said that it discovered among other challenges that there is no law backing the DSO. This is because the International Telecoms Union (ITU) treaty signed by Nigeria, as a member country has not been domesticated in the National Assembly.

Similarly, the committee also discovered lack of funds as an impediment, considering that there has been no appropriation for the DSO since inception of the process and even the 2017 budget makes no provision for such activity.

Specifically, the Director-General, NBC, Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, had told the lawmakers that “We need about 30 million boxes for Nigeria, if we assume that a television household is a man, one wife, and four children; it’s a six-person’s household. If we multiply 30 million boxes by $45, which is the cost for one box in the present ecosystem (about $1.2billion), maybe we would need the entire budget of Nigeria to achieve 30 million boxes.”

Kawu however disclosed that Nigeria has only been able to import the first sets of 650,000 set-top boxes, at a cost of $26 million, which were subsidised by Government.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/reps-signal-distributor-raise-fear-over.html#more

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has denied claims by a section of the media that he endorsed Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during his visit to him on last Monday.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan described the claim as false.


He clarified in a statement that the issue of endorsement never came up in the course of the visit, “not at the closed door meeting with Sheriff, or during the former president’s interview with journalists.”

Eze who wondered: “Why few journalists some of whom were not even at the venue, chose to infuse mischief in their report,” also noted that Jonathan as a former president and foremost leader of the party, welcomed Sheriff and some of his supporters to his house, in line with a mediation role he is playing towards unifying and strengthening the PDP.

He further stated that Jonathan opened his doors to Sheriff upon his request, just as he had earlier done to the Makarfi-led caretaker committee members, adding that the former president is prepared to broker more talks until the issues in the leadership of the PDP were finally resolved.

He said: “In deed, it may interest you to know that after meeting with Sheriff, the former president also met with Senator Ahmed Makarfi, leader of the PDP Caretaker Committee, and the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Senator Walid Jubril, later in the evening.”

Eze emphasised that “as a peace-loving leader of the party, Jonathan’s interest is to help reposition PDP to enable it play a constructive role in the affairs of the nation, in view of the imperative of deepening the nation’s democracy.”

Eze said further: “I wish to let those spinning this falsehood know that it just doesn’t add up to fly a contrived banner of endorsement in one breath, and in another, concede that the former president explained his commitment in meeting with different interest groups, towards resolving the differences in the party.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the following are the former president’s exact words during the interview with journalists, as had accurately been reported by most online and major national newspapers, as well as broadcast organisations:

‘We (PDP) are not factionalised. We are one. We are solving our problems. There are bound to be differences in politics. It is the way we resolve these differences that makes us human beings and that is what makes us leaders. I have met with Sheriff. And I have met with others. I will still meet with others, so that we will be able to do what is expected of us as a political party,’ Jonathan said.”

Eze further made a case for fair and balanced reporting of national issues, saying: “While we appreciate the interest of journalists in the coverage of the activities of the former president, we urge accurate and constructive reporting, as it is a known fact that we cannot truly develop our nation, if journalists continue to twist and fabricate stories with the intent of misinforming the public.”

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed allegations levelled against it by the PDP that it is behind the raging crisis in the opposition party as well as the prevention of its use of the International Conference Centre, for a stakeholders meeting in Abuja wednesday.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/jonathan-denies-endorsing-sheriff.html#more

The March 8 deadline set by the Senate for the passage of 2017 budget is no longer feasible, as the chairmen of the sub-committee on the Appropriation Committee tuesday complained that the three weeks set aside for budget defence had exposed fundamental flaws in the document.


At a closed-door session held between the principal officers of the Senate and all the committee chairmen tuesday, the senators said contrary to the belief that this year’s budget was better packaged than that of last year, the budget was actually a “mess”.

the sub-committee chairmen complained that the details of the budget had shown that several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) did not learn any lessons from the discrepancies that characterised the 2016 budget.

The chairmen were reported to have informed the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, that they could no longer meet the deadline set for the conclusion of the budget process because the document was characterised by inconsistencies, shortfalls in the spending for 2016 appropriations, and failure or inability of the MDAs to explain how the funds were disbursed.

the tale of woes by the committee chairmen compelled the Senate President to head for the Presidential Villa after the meeting yesterday to relay the Senate’s concern over the budget.

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, was put on the spot on Monday when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance where she was confronted with the flaws in the budget.

The minister, it was learnt, was challenged over her failure to provide details of the budget proposal including the breakdown of the figures in the budget.

At the end of her meeting with the committee, she was told to come back with the budget details and breakdown of some proposed expenditure.

Among the details that the executive was accused of failing to provide, included proposals on the N500 billion proposed for the social intervention fund and N100 billion proposed for housing, among others.

However, it was also learnt that the minister did not show an understanding of the issues raised by the senators and felt that the Senate by its handling of the budget was attempting to usurp her power as the finance minister.

It was also learnt that the committee chairmen also decried the failure of a number of heads of MDAs to appear before the Senate committees and consequently complicated the budget process.

The MDA heads were alleged to have stayed away and opted to send representatives for fear of being put on the spot over allegations of budget padding.

The senators named the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, among the heads of MDAs who stayed away during the budget defence.

The highlights of the stalemate identified by senators during the budget defence included a sharp disagreement over N700 million in the budget by the Budget Office and Debt Management Office (DMO).

In the end, it was learnt that the meeting resolved that the sub-committees should carry out a lot of engagements with the MDAs with a view to helping them to clean up the discrepancies in the budget.

The senators’ submissions at the meeting appeared to have confirmed the report of civil society organisations submitted to the National Assembly last week that the budget was full of fraudulent and frivolous proposals.

A coalition of CSOs under the aegis of Citizen Wealth Platform (CWP) had at the opening of a three-day public hearing organised last week by the National Assembly on the 2017 budget, said it had uncovered a range of frivolous, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful expenditure proposals in the budget.

According to the group, a range of wasteful, duplicated and needless proposals, amounting to N151.536 billion had been identified in the budget which it wanted the National Assembly to expunge.

The group further reported that a number of proposals for which funds had been appropriated in 2016 budget were again smuggled into the 2017 budget.

On this basis, the committee chairmen were said to have reported yesterday that a number of questionable proposals found in the budget included fake items such as computers and other items that were duplicated.
more at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/senators-say-2017-appropriation-bill.html

The great man of Igbo land is gone,the man we know as pericoma just pass on today by 4.30am may his soul rest in peace.
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/breakingnews-pericoma-is-dead.html?m=1

More photos at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/photos-sarakidogaraahmed-lawan-paid.html?m=1

More photos at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/tiwa-savage-display-her-water-mellon-in.html?m=1

The X3M Records act Simi has bagged her first major endorsement deal with Telecommunications company, Etisalat.

The singer couldn’t contain her excitement as she posted a photo of herself covered in Etisalat’s logo on her Instagram page and captioned it:

“#EtisalatisFamily #LetzGetiT #0809jaforlife #SIMIARMY #SoHelpMeGod #MamAiMadeIT”
More at http://www.akelicious.com/2017/02/simi-bags-first-endorsement-deal-with.html?m=1