₦airaland Forum

The Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, said the Federal Government had released N50 billion for the rehabilitation and completion of irrigation projects across the country.

Adamu made this disclosure at a town hall meeting in Dutse on Monday, which deliberated on how to sustain and develop agriculture in Jigawa.

He explained that the money was not only meant for the rehabilitation of irrigation projects but would also ensure food security in the country.


The minister stated that the project was expected to be completed between 2018 and 2021.

He said that work was ongoing at the rehabilitation of Hadejia-Jamma’are canals and would be completed soon.

He said: “Very soon if the project is completed, farmers will put the water channels to optimal utilisation for their dry season farming.’’

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/suleiman-adamu-fg-releases-n50-billion.html

The Plateau Executive Council has approved a supplementary budget of N15.2bn, Mr Yakubu Dati, Commissioner for Information and Communication, has disclosed.

Dati told newsmen in Jos that the approval was one of the decisions reached at the council’s meeting presided over by Gov. Simon Lalong.

Giving a breakdown of the budget, Mr Sylvester Wallangko, Commissioner for Economic Planning, said that N6.3 billion was for recurrent expenditure, while N8.9 billion was for capital expenditure.

He said that the monies would be sunk into ongoing projects before the end of the year.

According to him, the approval will be transmitted to the State House of Assembly for passage into law.

“The essence of the supplementary budget is to enable government complete ongoing projects, he explained, adding that the goal was to ensure that no job was abandoned over lack of funds.


Mr David Wuyep, Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy, who also addressed the newsmen, said that the council also approved two bills for the water and energy sectors.

He said that one of the bills was seeking a law to make the Plateau Water Board a commercial entity and give it some level of autonomy.

“Such commercial status will ensure the creation of an agency to take care of water issues outside the greater Jos area,” he said.

He said that the second bill was for the creation of an energy corporation to facilitate the engagement of private hands to develop the enormous energy resources in Plateau.

“Both bills will soon be sent to the House of Assembly,” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/plateau-executive-council-approves-n152.html

The leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has commenced reconciliatory moves to bring together all its aggrieved members in Anambra, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The party in a statement signed by the secretary of the reconciliation committee Chief Ifeatu Obi-Okoye made this known in Awka on Friday.

The constitution of the special reconciliation committee is to look into all complaints arising from the party’s primary elections, conducted on October 3.

The chairman of the committee Dr Uju Okeke urged all aggrieved party members to expect peaceful resolutions of all outstanding matters.

According to the statement, the committee will meet with stakeholders and candidates at the Willie Obiano Campaign Office in Akwa by 10 am on November 10.

It also charged the affected persons to cooperate with the committee in the overall interest and well-being of the party.

It added that all elected Senate, House of Representatives, state assembly candidates of the party were expected to be in the meeting.

The release stated further that the reconciliatory process began following intervention of the party’s national leader Chief Victor Oye and its Chairman Board of Trustees Gov. Willie Obiano.

NAN reports that part of complaints over the primary elections conducted by the party was the election between the widow of late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and a businessman, Chief Nicholas Ukachukwu for Anambra South Senatorial seat.

The exercise conducted at the Ekwulobia Township Stadium was alleg

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/anambra-apga-begins-reconciliation-with.html

Eminent personalities have paid tributes to the late scholar and clergyman, Apostle Hayford Alile, whose service of songs was held yesterday at the St. Joseph Chosen Church of God in Benin City.

Among them are the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, and former military administrator of defunct Bendel State (now Edo and Delta states), Gen. Jeremiah Useni.

Alile, was until his death the Spiritual Leader of St. Joseph’s Chosen Church of God International and founder of the Hayford Alile Foundation (THAF).Among other dignitaries who paid tributes to their departed friend and colleague were former Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, who described him as a legend that will forever be missed in the NSE.

She said: “Your candle has burnt out, but your legend remains in all of us that ever walked through the halls and floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”Others were family, friends, associates, members of the Christian community, including the chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Edo State chapter, Bishop Mon Igbinosa, and the Spiritual leader of Christ Chosen Church of God, Most Senior Apostles David Unefe and Jonathan Onaghise.

President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and General Superintendent, Gospel Light International Ministries, Rev. Felix Omobude said the deceased “was a highly respected name in the Nigerian Stock Exchange and in the financial industry in Nigeria and beyond.”

The late Alile attended the University of Ibadan as a state scholar in Physics and thereafter proceeded to Howard University, Washington D.C., where he earned his B.A. degree in Economics.

In 1973, he returned to Nigeria to head the Management Consulting Department of the Centre for Management Development, Lagos where he was responsible for the establishment of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMCON) and the Nigerian Association of Management Consultants (NAMCON).He was later appointed in 1976 as the Executive Director/CEO of the then Lagos Stock Exchange (LSE). He became the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of The Nigeria Stock Exchange in 1979 from where he retired in 1999

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/pfn-odigie-oyegun-useni-others-pay.html

A nursing attendant, Fatima Suleiman, who allegedly sold a new born baby’s placenta for N20,000 to an Islamic cleric, Salaudeen Ibrahim, on Thursday said she had not been paid for the transaction before she was arrested.

In an interview with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the nursing attendant, who worked at Capstone Hospital, Taiwo Road, Ilorin, said the cleric asked her to get the placenta for him.


Suleiman and Ibrahim were paraded alongside other suspects by the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr Bolaji Fafowora.

The nursing attendant said that she was a friend to Ibrahim’s wife and that the cleric asked her to get the placenta about two months ago.

“The cleric asked me to get it (placenta). I succeeded in getting one just last week. It’s my first time of engaging in it. He has not given me any money yet, neither did he promise me a certain amount of money. He didn’t tell me what he wanted to use it for,” she stated.

On his part, Ibrahim confessed that he wanted to use the placenta for a money ritual, adding that he inherited the ritual practise from unnamed persons.

He alleged that Suleiman had approached him for a charm to enable her curry people’s favour in her dealings with them.

The cleric said, “She (Ibrahim) told me that she heard that people were using placenta to make charms to curry people’s favour. I said it was true. That was the last I heard from her until she brought the placenta.

“After she handed over the placenta to me, my conscience rejected it though I inherited the charm-making practise, and I said I won’t do it. When I didn’t do it for myself, why for someone else?”

The police commissioner said the nursing attendant and the cleric were arrested for conspiracy to commit the offence of buying and selling/trafficking in human parts, and for being in possession of human parts.


Fafowora said a miniature coffin, charms, an exercise book and photocopied sheet of paper for charms were recovered from the suspects.

He explained that on October 31, 2018 at about 2pm, one Bashirat Jimoh, a pregnant woman and wife of Abdulfatai Jimoh of Gaa Akanbi area of Ilorin, was due to be delivered of a baby, but developed complications and was referred to Capstone Hospital on Taiwo Road, Ilorin, for a caesarean section by the General Hospital.

The CP stated, “Upon a successful surgery carried out on Bashirat by Dr Jamiu Mohammed on the same date, Mohammed handed over the placenta of the new born baby to his hospital attendant, Fatima Suleiman of Agaka area of Ilorin, to give same to Abdulfatai Jimoh, the father of the new baby; but instead, the suspect, Suleiman, delivered the placenta to one Salahudeen Ibrahim to use for a charm, with the hope of getting monetary rewards from Ibrahim.

“The suspects were arrested; they have confessed to the crime and will soon appear in court.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/i-havent-been-paid-for-selling-newborns.html

The 65-year-old leader of Shiite Islamic sect, Sheik Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife have been denied bail by the Kaduna High Court.

The Court sitting on Wednesday denied the bail application filed by counsel to the leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Gideon Kurada, said in his ruling that the accused persons have not shown any substantial medical evidence to grant them bail in their written application.

The judge however ordered that the two accused persons should remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) throughout the period of their trial.

The matter has been adjourned to January 22, 2019, for accelerated hearing.

The IMN leader is facing trial for alleged murder, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disruption of public peace, among other charges.

El-Zakzaky and his wife were first arraigned on May 15, 2018, following their arrest in Zaria, in December 2015.

When the matter came up for hearing on October 4, 2018, the presiding judge, Justice Gideon Kurada adjourned his ruling on their bail application to November 7, 2018 due to the absence of the IMN leader and his wife in court as a result of the visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the state on that date

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/el-zakzaky-to-remain-in-dss-custody.html

The federal government has denied a United States Department of Agriculture World Markets and Trade Report that Nigeria imported three million metric tonnes of rice in 2018.


This was disclosed by the minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to State House correspondents yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Dismissing the report as fake news, Mohammed also knocked Atiku Media Organisation who latched on to the story.


According to him, he contacted the relevant authorities when the story broke out saying they all confirmed that story was not true.

He said, “I’m sure many of you read the report of United States Department of Agriculture World Markets and Trade Report that falsely claimed that Nigeria imported three million metric tonnes of rice in 2018, which is 400,000 metric tonnes more than the quantity of the product imported in 2017.



“And also that local production was on the decline and that these facts fly in the face of government’s claim of what it achieved in the area of rice production.

“I want to say categorically that , that story is false. Predictably, the Atiku Media Organisation, this afternoon latched onto the story, we are not surprised.I want to say categorically that , that story is fake and that Atiku Media Organisation also goofed.”Immediately that story broke out, I contacted Central Bank of Nigeria and comptroller general of customs, I had meetings with the Rice Producers Association and also with the millers and they all confirmed that that story is not true.”


He further explained that “For starters, you can’t import rice without a Form M being approved. You can’t import rice without Letter of Credit.


“So we challenge the US Department of Agriculture World Markets and Trade Report to provide evidence that Form M was opened to bring in 400,000 metric tonnes over and above that of last year and that Letter of Credit were open for these.


“Two, the records are very clear as to the importation of rice, you don’t have take my words but go to Thailand Rice Miller and the figures are there. In 2014, 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice was exported to Nigeria, in 2015, 644 metric tonnes of rice was exported to Nigeria, by 2015 it went down to 5,000 metric tonnes. These are not my figures, these are figures from the Thailand Rice Association.”

He also described as fake claims that local rice production was on the decline.


According to him, “Yesterday (Monday), when I spoke to the millers, all of them said, please just come to Kano, come to my factory you are going to see two kilometers length of trailers waiting to discharge paddy rice.

“So I want to say categorically again without fear of contradiction that the Anchor Borrowers Rice Programme is working.



“Nigeria has been able to reduce by 90 per cent the $1.65 billion it was paying on rice importation, the number of integrated rice processing mills increased from 13 to 25, those are the majors and that between the smaller ones and the big ones, today the capacity is 4.9 metric tonnes of rice.”

He expressed confidence that in a year,Nigeria is going to meet the six million metric tonnes of rice production which is the local consumption.


On challenges on smuggled rice, he said”Good question. You see, you cannot claim that smuggled rice is part of rice imported into the country.


“Yes, we do know we have a challenge with smuggled rice but we have taken steps to ensure that these menace is contained.”


He noted that the government set up a tripartite committee between the Republic Benin and Nigeria comprising the two ministers of finance and agriculture and comptroller general of customs of both countries.

He said they have been able to reach an agreement with the Benin Republic president to allow Nigeria customs officials to be present at the Cotonou Port.


“ And you know that only a week ago Mr. President jointly commissioned the border building within Benin Republic. These are all attempts made to contain smuggling.


“When we say Nigeria imported it is different from x-amount of rice is being smuggled because when you import you open Letter of Credit and we are saying it is absolutely untrue.


“Again to say local rice production has gone down is absolutely untrue,” he stated.

The minister further explained that they have grown rice farmers from five million to 12 million saying “ those facts are out there. We have created prosperity for rice farmers. We have about 32 or 34 states that produce rice, you can ask them.



“So you see, this kind of information is not only misleading but it is capable of generating a lot of misunderstanding. So I say with all emphasis at my command that that story is part of the fake news we are fighting,” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/fg-denies-usad-report-on-3m-metric.html

Africa’s food import bill may surge to $110 billion by 2025, going by the current import reliance trend.

However, the African Union (AU), and the United Nations (UN), have canvassed unhindered trade integration among countries in the continent.

Stakeholders, who gathered at the Africa Trade Forum 2018, in Lagos, believe the continent would not meet its growth aspirations unless it supports the manufacturing sector, and enhances trade facilitation across borders.


They harped on adequate utilisation of its water resources and massive investment in sea trade as well as exploiting the vast opportunities in agriculture.

National Country Director, TechnoServe, Larry Umunna, in his presentation, said: “Africa spent approximately $35 billion on food imports in 2016, and if left unchecked, the continent’s food import bill may surge to $110 billion by 2025.

“The continent is home to 50 per cent of the world’s cultivatable land, and has vast unexploited water resources and various agro-ecological zones,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said in its latest bulletin that, “the potential of the blue economy, which incorporates a range of productive sectors in trade and marine services, is presently underutilised.

“Approximately 90 per cent of Africa’s trade is sea borne, but African-owned ships accounts for only 1.2 per cent of global shipping, and 0.9 per cent of gross tonnage, while African ports handle six per cent of global water borne traffic, and three per cent of global container traffic,” it stated.


Executive Secretary, Economic Commission of Africa, Vera Songwe, commended African countries for coming together on trade, adding that the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement)AfCFTA), is a game changer.

She added that the digital economy that would be introduced under the new trade regime would cut cost, and allow for seamless trading of goods across the continent.

Nigeria’s Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, said the country is also interested in growing African trade, but needed to study the provisions of the AfCFTA.

He said: “Our countries, individually, and our African Union, collectively, are confronted with a complex of problems that are compounding. These include demographic pressures; a population growth rate that has out-stripped Gross Domestic Product growth rates; unemployment; food insecurity; and, the justified impatience of a youthful African population, demanding for a better life.

“There is progress on our continent. But, we need to move much faster, more purposefully, with improved coordination and greater discipline to harvest the abundance of opportunities.

“The pace of change and transformation in the global economy beyond Africa has accelerated. Africa cannot afford to stand still or proceed at a slow pace. As with the expression, whenever you wake is your morning. Now that Africa has woken up we must shift into speed gear and accelerate. We must be more business-like,” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/africas-food-import-to-hit-110-billion.html

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Tuesday hinted at current efforts to conduct a maiden remittance household survey as well as establish a remittance legal and regulatory framework for the country.

He said remittance statistics in the country gathered from both banking records and staff estimates of informal inflows had proved to be inadequate “as we think that a large chunk of migrants’ remittances pass through informal channels and are, thus, unrecorded”.


However, he said the survey and regulatory framework being sought will ultimately support improvements in the country’s remittance transactions and boost the quality of data as currently captured in its balance of payments.

Speaking at the opening of a workshop on remittance household surveys, which was jointly organised by the CBN and the African Institute for Remittances, Emefiele said: “Nigeria is yet to conduct a household-based remittances survey to provide scientific estimates of these inflows. In addition, data from banking records also come with some discrepancies due to classification challenges on the part of the reporting institutions.”

According to him, remittance inflows contribute substantially to foreign exchange earnings of developing countries including Nigeria and exceeds international aids and grants in some cases.

Citing statistics from the World Bank, he noted that global remittances had risen gradually over the years to about $613 billion in 2017, with Africa accounting for $72 billion, out of which Nigeria has the lion’s share as well as ranked among the top five globally.

Represented by the Director, Statistics Department, CBN, Dr. Mohammed Tumala, the apex bank’s governor further stated that the purpose of the meeting was to bring together officials of the Africa Union (AU) member states to brainstorm and share experiences on how to enhance remittance statistics through the conduct of remittance household surveys.

He added that the country had in recent years taken measures targeted at attracting remittance inflows and contribute to its economic development.

These, according to him, include the appointment of a special adviser to the president on foreign affairs and diaspora matters and the establishment of the standing committee on diaspora by the legislature.

Other measures include the floating of a $300 million diaspora bond by government and the introduction of electronic certificate of capital importation to Nigerians in the diaspora as well as becoming a member of the International Association of Money Transfer Networks.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/cbn-seeks-legal-regulatory-framework-as.html

Four members of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the House of Representatives, who failed to win renomination to contest in 2019, have announced their defection from the party.

The Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara announced the defections on the floor of the House in Abuja on Tuesday.

Among them are Mr Abiodun Awoleye-Dada,(Ibadan North) who moved to the Accord party; Mr Samuel Segun-Williams,(Abeokuta South) who moved to the Labour Party; and Mr Lawan Hassan-Anka(Anka/Mafara Zamfara State), who joined the Peoples Democratic Party.

The fourth member, Mr Lam Adesina,(Ibadan North East/South East) from Oyo state defected to the African Democratic Congress.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/4-house-of-reps-members-jump-apc.html

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) wants the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to caution indigenous operators and International Oil Companies (IOCs) involved in anti-labour practice.

PENGASSAN President, Francis Olabode Johnson, who gave the warning in a statement, said the caution became necessary to avoid throwing the sector into industrial crisis.

According to him, PENGASSAN’s objective is to safeguard and improve the rights, terms and conditions of employment of its members through labour and industrial relations processes.

Johnson commended the Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru, for supporting the association’s activities.While warning against breaches, he explained that adherence to constitutional provisions and best practices in labour engagement are crucial to the maintenance of cohesion and discipline.

In a related development, Baru urged PENGASSAN to continue to seek the growth and existence of the nation’s oil and gas industry. He gave the charge at the 5th Triennial Delegates Conference of PENGASSAN NNPC Corporate Headquarter (CHQ) Branch in Abuja.

Baru said the management was impressed with the maturity of PENGASSAN, and commended it for moving unionism to another level where dialogue and intelligent argument supersede force and banging of table.

Meanwhile, members of Senior Staff Association (SSANU) of the Federal University, Lokoja (FUL), yesterday protested against the delay in payment of October salary.They accused the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Angela Freeman Miri, of deliberately withholding their salaries and duty allowances.

But, in his reaction, the VC told The Guardian in a telephone interview: “I have problem with finalising the salary, because I have an issue with the Gismix platform, which I reported to the office of the accountant general,” which is currently working on it.The protest coincided with the commencement of the indefinite strike by the Uche Onyedi-led Academic staff Union of Universities (ASSU), which began yesterday.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/pengassan-wants-nnpc-to-caution-iocs.html

The Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) has denied involvement in the endorsement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu by some opposition parties for 2019.

The state Chairman of the party, Mr Olumide Oguntoyinbo, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

According to media reports, 45 opposition parties in the state, including People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), Young Democratic Party (YDM), Accord Party, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and Action People’s Party (APP) adopted Sanwo-olu for the 2019 polls at a meeting on Friday.

PPA, Independent Democrats, Legacy Party of Nigeria (LPN) and People’s Redemption Party (PRP) were also listed as members of the “Coalition of Progressive Political Parties (CPPP),’’ that endorsed the APC candidate.

Reacting, Oguntoyinbo said PPA was not part of the arrangement as it had an ideology different from that of the APC.

He said whoever had attended the endorsement meeting on behalf of the party was on his own, as both the state chapter and the national Secretariat did not approve membership of any coalition.

Oguntoyinbo said that the party was fielding a candidate for the governorship poll and could not have been in CPPP or any other coalition against its candidate.

“Let me state clearly that we are not part of the coalition of the parties that endorsed Sanwo-olu for 2019.We can never be part because we have our candidate.

“If we are to join any coalition in Lagos, the directive has to come from the national secretariat. We did not get approval from above and the state chapter did not have any deal with any party on the coalition.

“So, whoever went to the meeting on behalf of PPA is on his own. We are not part of CPPP or any other coalition .We have a candidate and we are currently focused on achieving victory in 2019,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has described the endorsement of Sanwo-olu by 45 opposition parties as false and laughable.

The Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr Taofik Gani, said that the claim was “propaganda” and phantom arrangement by APC to portray Sanwo-olu as a popular candidate.

He alleged that the endorsement did not have the approval of the parties, both at the state and national levels.

Gani described Sanwo-olu as incompetent and unprepared, saying the PDP candidate, Mr Jimi Agbaje and not the APC candidate had the requirements to move the state forward.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/ppa-denies-endorsing-lagos-apc.html

Egyptian sculptor Mai Abdel Allah has unveiled a statue of Mohamed Salah at the World Youth Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, which ends tomorrow.

The statue shows Salah with his arms outstretched in apparent celebration, albeit with much bigger hair in real life.

Liverpool’s Salah is a hero back home in Egypt.

The Liverpool star famously scored the penalty that took his nation to their first World Cup in 28 years.

However, his Champions League final injury seriously hampered his fitness ahead of the tournament in Russia. He was forced to miss his side’s first game against Uruguay, a 1-0 defeat.

He returned for the matches against Russia and Saudi Arabia, scoring in both, but – in the midst of off-field rows – Egypt lost both games to exit in the group stages.

More photos at https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/photos-mohamed-salahs-statue-unveiled.html

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it collected the list of candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State because there was no court order or judgment barring it from doing so.

The Supreme Court had on October 22, 2018, descended on the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal for granting an application in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in respect of the conduct of the party’s congresses in the state.


A five-man panel of the Supreme Court, in its unanimous judgment, held that the Court of Appeal committed “a sacrilegious exercise of discretion” by favouring the APC in its June 21, 2018, judgment despite the party’s decision to conduct its congresses in Rivers State in disobedience of subsisting orders of the court.

The Supreme Court faulted the action of the APC, and described the conduct of the party’s ward, local government and state congresses of May 19, 20 and 21, 2018, respectively, in Rivers State, in violation of a pending court order as “condemnable, egregious and preposterous.”

The five-man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, upheld the appeal filed against the APC by 23 aggrieved members of the party in Rivers State.

INEC National Commissioner on Voter Education and Publicity, Festus Okoye, said as at the time APC submitted the list, INEC has not been served any court order or any judgment barring the party from submitting the list.

According to him, “The APC conducted party primary in the state and the party primary election was monitored by INEC, and at the end of the day, the National Chairman of APC and the National Secretary forwarded the list of candidates that emerged from the primary election to INEC, and INEC collected the list as submitted by the national chairman and secretary of the APC.”

Okoye added that “on the date of submission of the list, there was no order from any court of law served on INEC to the effect that the electoral body should not collect the list of candidates from Rivers State.”

He said what INEC has done is what the law says in terms of political party submitting the list of their candidates.

Okoye stressed that in the next few days, INEC would publish the list of candidates for governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the various constituencies in accordance with the law.

He stated: “When the affidavit is published in all their constituencies, any individual or group that has issues has the constitutional right to go to court to challenge issues arising from the primaries.”

However, the electoral body has once again rejected the list of candidates from Ogun State submitted to it by the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while acknowledging that of the state chapter of the party loyal to Senator Buruji Kasamu.

Though the electoral body had in a letter written to the party on October 25, 2018, and received on October 30, 2018, notified the PDP of its decision to publish the lists of candidates submitted by the Adebayo Dayo-led State Executive Committee of Ogun State PDP in pursuant to the orders until it is set aside.

The Federal High Court in Abeokuta had on October 2, 2018, in suit No: FHC/ABJ/CFS/636/2016, of Adebayo Dayo (state chairman) and eight others versus INEC and three others, ordered the commission to recognise Dayo-led State Executive Committee of PDP in Ogun State, and receive the list of candidates for the 2019 governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections from the said committee.

Okoye said based on the subsisting court orders that have not been vacated, the commission collected the list of candidates that emanated from the Ogun State chapter of the PDP.

He stated: “This has nothing to do with our processes and procedures. We had told the political parties from the beginning that we will only collect the list of candidate signed by the national chairman and the national secretary of the political party which remains the policy of the commission.

“But if any court of law directs otherwise, we will definitely do as the court directs. So, from Ogun State, we have subsisting court orders and court judgement, and we should collect the list of candidates emanating from the political party in Ogun State.

“We have collected the list emanating from the political party in Ogun State as against that of the PDP at the national level based on the court order directing us on the list to collect. That’s the position of the commission presently.

On Zamfara State, Okoye said the position of the electoral body remains the same- the party (APC) primary did not take place in the state.

According to him, “Based on the fact that the party primary did not take place in Zamfara State, we are not going to collect any list of candidate emanating from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in relation to the state election.”

He stated categorically that the commission did not collect any list of candidate in relation to senatorial election from the state.

Okoye said: “The commission did not collect any list of candidate in relation to governorship and state House of Assembly elections from the state. So, the commission maintained its position that party primary election did not take place in Zamfara State, and that remains the commission’s position.

“But the commission is aware that there are two suits in relation to the party primary election ongoing presently. If at the end of the day, the court directs that we must collect a list of candidates from the state, we will submit to the rule of law and due process and accept such a list.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/inec-why-we-accepted-list-of-apc.html

Organised Labour had threatened to commence an indefinite strike to press for the increase in the national minimum wage from the current N18,000.
As they shunned a reconciliatory meeting with the Federal Government, the labour leaders warned that only positive response from government at today’s tripartite committee meeting could forestall a showdown.

The meeting held behind closed doors at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, was attended by Boss Mustapha, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, and some permanent secretaries.

Mustapha, who spoke before the meeting went into closed session, indicated that the tripartite committee on national minimum wage set up by the Federal Government would be concluding works on its report today.

He said the Federal Government was waiting for the report so that it could commence processes leading to the enactment of law on the new minimum wage.

The SGF explained that the report would still go through the National Economic Council and the Council of State before an Executive Bill would be sent to the National Assembly on the issue.

He added that the only outstanding issues left for the committee was to harmonize the 15th chapter of the report, harmonise figures and submit report to the President.

Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Sunday Salako, in a telephone interview, said members of the Organised Labour considered the meeting as unnecessary since there would be a meeting of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage which would have all the representatives in attendance.

“Though we are not preempting the government, as far as we are concerned, we cannot revisit the issue. We believe the meeting is for us to come and sign the report. Some of us, even from the Organised Private Sector and government, have signed because we’ve all thought it’s a mission accomplished.”

He maintained that no court injunction was served on the unions restraining them from embarking on the proposed strike from November 6.

“We don’t have a copy of any court injunction and we cannot speculate neither can we acknowledge what we do not have,” he said.

On the legal implication, the labour leader said: “It is only if we have it that we will be talking of legal implication.”

Justice Sanusi Kado, sitting in Abuja had last Friday restrained the organised labour from going ahead with its planned strike pending the determination of the suit brought by the Federal government.

His decision followed an ex parte application moved by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata.

The suit with No: NICN/ ABJ/287/2018, was filed on November 1 by the Federal Government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, as the 1st and 2nd claimants respectively.

After listening to Apata, the court held the planned strike would lead to huge economic loss to both public and private institutions and could jeopardise the health of many Nigerians who would not be able to access health facilities during the period.

Apart from the NLC and the TUC, the NGF is also joined as a defendant in the suit.

Justice Kado adjourned the matter till November 8 for the hearing of the motion on notice seeking the interlocutory injunction to stop the strike.

The judge ordered that the court order and other papers be filed on all the defendants.

The last meeting of the tripartite negotiation committee had ended in a deadlock after the Federal Government insisted that it could only afford to pay N25,000, while the governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum held on to N22,500 and the labour N30,000.

Recall that the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, who briefed the media at the end of the joint meeting involving the three labour centres, NLC, Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC), on Friday, had also denied knowledge of the court injunction.

“We are not aware of any court injunction anywhere, and we can’t go into any speculation. Our judicial process has gone beyond ‘Jankara injunction.’ As we are now, no NIC notification has been served to us.”

He stated that the proposed strike would be a total shutdown of both the public and private sector of the economy.

“The only way government can stop the strike is to allow the chairman of the of the Minimum Wage Committee to submit the report which has the N30,000 consensus figure, anything short of it, we will commence indefinite strike from November 6.

“The N30,000 was not our demand, but a compromise figure which acceptance was bore out of patriotism.”

Wabba who was supported by Bobboi Bala Kaigama, TUC president and Joe Ajaero, ULC president, condemned the attempt

to clamp down on labour through the invocation of “No work no pay policy.

Already, the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has directed its members to commence mobilisation for the indefinite nationwide strike.

Meanwhile, frontline lawyer Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) has called on labour to obey the order of the National Industrial Court restraining them from embarking on its indefinite strike.

He said Labour could approach the court to set aside the order if it was not comfortable with it.

According to him, it is trite law “a court order must be obeyed even if such Order is perverse, until such a time that the Order is set aside by a competent court.

“Those that procured the order must have convinced the court into granting it. So as it stands now, labour cannot proceed on the planned strike until the order is set aside, anything short of that would amount to contempt of court.

“The issue of minimum wage has been on for long and it should be resolved before the general elections.”

Kano State Chapter of NLC has directed workers in the state to embarked on indefinite strike.

The chairman, Ado Minjibiri said they would prevent flight operations at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) as workers there have been mobilized to join the strike.

He said they would only give room for skeletal services in some critical sectors.

The Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has assured workers that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration will pay the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.

According to the state Publicity Secretary, “even though some of the governor’s disagreed on the N30,000 minimum wage, I believe Enugu governor will pay because he has workers’ interest at heart and he believes that the only way to motivate workers for effective service is through better wage. So, I believe Governor Ugwuanyi will not pay anything less than N30,000 because he will not want the workers who voted him into power to suffer, he will not disappoint them so he must fulfill his promise of meeting their needs,” he said.

However, Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) faulted argument that Federal Government cannot pay N30,000.

He said the law on industrial matters were deliberately in the Exclusive legislative list, saying otherwise we would have people who would pay starvation wages or not pay salaries at all.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/minimum-wage-organised-labour-insists.html

The Nigerian National petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has assured motorists that it has adequate petroleum products that will serve the nation, irrespective of the proposed strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress.

The Corporation gave the assurance in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu in Abuja on Sunday.

“The corporation had 39 days petroleum products sufficiency and about 25 days products availability on land

“Motorists and other consumers of petroleum products are assured of adequate stock to meet their energy needs,’’ he said.

Ughamadu further dispelled insinuations of any impending petroleum products scarcity in the country.

He said that providing information on the petroleum products stock level became imperative to dispel suggestions that the threat of strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) would result in a slip into a round of products shortages across the country.

Ughamadu advised motorists not to engage in panic buying as the corporation would do all it could to ensure the strike did not impact negatively on fuel distribution nationwide.

He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and volunteer information to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) or any law enforcement agency around them, on any station that attempts to take advantage of any prevailing situation in the country at the expense of the consumers.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/nlc-strike-no-need-for-panic-buying-of.html

Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s appeal to all aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to sheathe their swords and embrace peace, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and his Imo State counterpart, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Thursday returned to the battle field, accusing the National Chairman of the party, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, of treating them unjustly during the recent primaries of the APC.

Buhari had, at a dinner in Abuja for members who lost out during the party’s primaries, appealed to them to put the past behind them and move on, calling on them to remain loyal to the party and work for its success in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.


But hostility broke out again Thursday as the two governors, whose preferred candidates lost out in the primaries, in responses to the national chairman’s claim that the disputed exercises were done in accordance with the party’s rules, accused him of acting outside the rules of the party.

Oshiomhole, who had received an endorsement of the APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, had told State House correspondents that he acted in accordance with rules and constitution of the party and that the aggrieved governors were a minority, who were placing their personal interests above those of the party.
Amosun and Okorocha replied Oshiomhole Thursday, saying he abused his power as party chairman and acted illegally.

The Imo State governor, who emerged from a meeting with the president, told State House correspondent that the party acted in defiance of court order and enjoined him to submit himself to the rule of law.

Okorocha claimed that no fewer than five million members of the APC had dumped the party as a result of injustice meted to them by Oshiomhole.

According to Okorocha, Oshiomhole’s penchant for disobedience to court orders must stop, adding that but for the status of Buhari as the party leader, the entire party would have scattered.

He further described the president as the only rallying point for the party.
He, however, absolved the president of beliefs that he’s backing the national chairman in his alleged misdeeds.

He said, “So, we cannot give that credit to the chairman. He cannot disintegrate this party, the party is still intact, just that many people are hurt. Since his inception and after this primaries, we are losing almost five million voters because of anger, protest everywhere and he needs to be called to order, he has to respect the rule of law, respect court orders and do the right thing – obey court orders where applicable and not turn himself into INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission).”

He added, “I am here to clear the air that the presidency is behind what Oshiomhole is doing in some of the states, which has affected our party negatively.

“From my understanding from Mr. President, there is no such directive for Oshiomhole to do anything illegal or create any sign of injustice and as so, Oshiomhole is on his own in this whole thing.

“There is no presidential support for him to refuse a candidate who won election and give to a wrong candidate who did not win election. This is the matter and I will simply say it is not with the consent of the presidency, he is on his own.

“And I also requested that Oshiomhole must learn to respect the rule of law and obey court orders where they apply. His issue of treating court orders as tissue papers must stop. It doesn’t reflect the image of our party, he must act quickly to fix the integrity of this party because his coming in ought to have brought joy into the party and not sadness.”

Asked whether APC would not fall apart as a result of the festering crisis rocking the party, Okorocha disagreed, saying, “APC will not disintegrate for as long as the person, Muhammadu Buhari is still the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and remains the leader of this party.”

He said Oshiomhole would not be allowed to run the party into the oblivion, insisting that he must learn to obey rules and court orders.
Okorocha also spoke on the substitution of Uche Nwosu, his son-in-law with Hope Uzodimma, accusing Oshiomhole of working for Uzodimma whom he said did not win election.


“He (Oshiomhole) cannot be standing for Uzodimma because that man (Uzodimma) did not win election. You cannot compare somebody who won 265,000 votes with somebody who won 7,000 votes. He (Uzodimma) never won election and you cannot impose a candidate who is unacceptable to the people to the people, that is how serious the matter is now.

“So he (Oshiomhole) should do the right thing and I have advised him severally to do the right thing before he creates more disaffection in our party.

“He (Oshiomhole) can’t do it. I don’t think the National Working Committee will do that because in the first place, the National Working Committee sent a 13-man delegation who conducted election and 12 of them signed proving that Uche Nwosu won the election with 265,000 votes as against Uzodimma who got less than 7,000 votes.

“So, they (NWC) can’t do that. And there is a letter to that effect from the NWC saying Uche Nwosu won, there is a Certificate of Return given to Uche Nwosu, there is a Police report saying Uche Nwosu (won), there is INEC report saying Uche Nwosu (won). So nobody can do that and if they do that, that must be the worst imposition in the history of Nigeria.”
Okorocha also reacted to Tinubu’s support for Oshiomhole, saying he was misinformed about the latter.

Tinubu had while answering questions from journalists in the State House Wednesday, thrown his weight behind Oshiomhole who is under the threat of removal by state governors over his handling of the party primaries, saying he did no wrong.

But Okorocha while answering questions from journalists after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, cautioned Tinubu against his utterances, admonishing him to learn how to both respect the rule of law and court orders.
He said, “Maybe, he is being misinformed. If he is properly informed, he will not say what Oshiomhole is doing is the right thing.”
On his rumoured plan to defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he said, “SDP? How can I build a house and leave it for someone else? I am in APC. I founded the APC, I gave the name APC and so this is our party and we must continue with the party and build the party for victory. “

Amosun spoke in the same vein in a statement by his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Adedayo Adeneye, saying at no time did he ask Oshiomhole to favour his candidate.

He said, “We state without any fear of equivocation that no one, at least not on the side of Senator Amosun, has requested or expected Oshiomhole to sell his conscience. The least we expect of him is to abide by the rules and guidelines of the APC.
“Oshiomhole knows, as we know, that in the instance of the last primaries in Ogun State, he has fallen short of the minimum standards of justice, equity and fairness. The resort to hiding under the false claims about “conscience and integrity” is cheap.

“Oshiomhole knows that there were no other gubernatorial primaries in Ogun State other than the one that produced Hon. Adekunle Akinlade as candidate. He knows that the primaries into national and legislative offices were won hundred per cent by those declared winner by the panel he sent to Ogun State to oversee the exercise.

“He knows that the shenanigan of unknown court injunctions, unknown appeal panels and all sorts unleashed on the process by him and his cohorts are premeditated schemes executed to deny the members of the APC their true choice of candidates in the elections. Our consolation lies in the fact that in the fullness of time, what remains unknown to the public will become bare and everyone will see Oshiomhole and his co-travellers for who they are.

“In his conduct, Oshiomhole has exhibited disdain for the interest of the APC and that of the National Leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari. Senator Amosun remains committed to his convictions about President Buhari and nothing in the shenanigan of the primaries will change that.

“Finally, Oshiomhole’s claim that only three state governors are aggrieved about the conduct of the primaries flies in the face of the nation-wide outcry that remains loud, trailing the exercise several weeks after. We remind him that in any case, justice is not dependent on the number of whom it has been denied. Injustice to one is injustice to all. The overwhelming majority of members of the APC in Ogun State remain unshaken in their rejection of the gangsterism that has been visited on them in the conduct of the primaries. They remain resolved that the attempt to hand over their state and their patrimony to a rapacious gang of expansionists in the South-west will be resisted, not only by members of the APC but by the entire people of Ogun State who are too enlightened to tolerate such abomination.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/despite-buharis-appeal-for-peace-amosun.html

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s son, Olujonwo met President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja and pledged to campaign for his re-election.

The younger Obasanjo, son of Mrs Taiwo Obasanjo, has already identified with the campaign team.

The 34 year-old only visited today to meet the President and pledge his support, contrary to the position of his father, who is vehemently against Buhari.

More details at https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/obasanjos-son-to-buhari-dont-mind-my-dad.html

The Federal Ministry of Finance has denied knowledge of a 3.5 billion-dollar fund allegedly kept and utilised by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for fuel subsidy.

The Permanent Secretary, Mr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, gave the ministry’s position when he appeared before the Senate ad hoc committee probing the allegation in Abuja on Thursday.

Isa-Dutse’s claim appeared to corroborate the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru, who restated the agency’s denial that it had no such fund in its custody.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the allegation emanated from the Minority Leader of the Senate, Abiodun Olujimi, at plenary on Oct. 16.

In a point of order, Olujimi had alleged there was a 3.5 billion dollar “Subsidy Recovery Fund being managed only by the GMD and Executive Director, Finance, of the NNPC”.

It was on the basis of that allegation that the Senate set up the committee, chaired by the Majority Leader, Sen. Ahmed Lawan.

Isa-Dutse said the ministry was only aware of the outstanding payments under the old subsidy regime, being handled by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

“As far as the current fuel importation regime is concerned, the Ministry of Finance does not have any account it is operating.

“We are not aware of the alleged 3.5 billion dollar fund, and we do not maintain any subsidy fund account,” he said.

The NNPC had earlier denied the 3.5 billion dollar subsidy fund claim in a statement on Oct. 17.

The GMD explained on Thursday that the agency was only utilising a revolving fund of 1.05 billion dollars to defray the cost of under-recovery in the importation of fuel.

Asked by the lawmakers to differentiate between subsidy and the “cost of under-recovery”, Baru said subsidy was usually captured in the national budget, while the latter was not.

The 1.05 billion dollars, according to him, is part of the NNPC’s operational costs.

He said the money was sourced from the corporation’s share dividend in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Baru explained that the action was in line with section 7 (4)(b) of the NNPC Act, which mandated it to defray its operational costs from its revenue.

“This 1.05 billion dollars is being administered under a steering committee that was set up, and a working committee that handles daily operations of this fund.

“These committees comprise representatives of the Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Accountant General of the Federation, CBN, Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board, Directorate of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC.

“The fund is being transparently administered according to laid down processes and governance.

“I would like this honourable committee to note that the actions of NNPC were in compliance with the National Assembly directive that NNPC, as the supplier of last resort should, and has, maintained robust petrol supply and distribution to the nation.

“Currently, no other oil company imports petrol due to the high landing cost above the N145 per litre price ceiling on sale of the product, and also due to the lack of provision for subsidy in the Appropriation Acts since 2016,” he explained.

The GMD assured the committee that the NNPC would continue to guarantee energy security in the country by maintaining PMS supply at the approved pump price of N145 per litre, except directed otherwise.

When Lawan requested for documents to back up his claims, Baru said they were not immediately available and asked for one month to present them to the committee.

But the lawmaker gave him two weeks to furnish the committee with the documents, and adjourned the hearing till Nov. 6.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/ministry-denies-knowledge-of-alleged.html

A of total of 1,519,350 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) have been collected by registered voters in Edo ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Mr Emmanuel Alex-Hart, he Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Emmanuel Alex-Hart, disclosed this to newsmen in Benin.

Alex-Hart said that the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) office in Benin received 1,992,826 PVCs from the commission’s headquarters for registered voters in the state.

He said that the figure received from the commission’s headquarters represented the total registered number of voters in the state from 2011 to date.

The REC however said 473,476 PVCs had yet to be collected by their owners in the state.

According to him, the continued voter education and sensitisation by INEC was yielding results in the state, adding that registered voters’ turnout for PVC collection was impressive.

Alex–Hart further said that the commission had also commenced the sensitisation of eligible voters and all the stakeholders against vote buying.

”To achieve this, we have started sanitising the electorate through the churches, motor parks and worship centres among others.

”The commission has also given the responsibility to apprehend and prosecute whoever that is caught buying votes during elections,” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/11/over-15m-pvcs-collected-in-edo-inec.html

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday dismissed plans to increase pump prices of petroleum products, especially Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.

The corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, said contrary to the trending information on the social media, the Federal Government also had no plan to review prices of white products.

He noted though the agency has since last October been sole importer of petrol due to the inability of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to cope with the Open Market Price that exceeds the official N145 per litre, the spokesman, however, dismissed any increment moves by government.

A statement by him warned purveyors of false information against acts that could stir sharp practices as the festive period approaches. Ughamadu urged the public to report any filling stations selling above the official pump price to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Besides, it has announced the re-entry of its subsidiary, NIDAS Shipping Services, into the international shipment of crude oil and petroleum products, seven years after falling out of reckoning.The development follows the ongoing re-engineering by the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, to add value to the organisation.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/nnpc-rules-out-hike-in-fuel-price.html

The heavens opened on Sunday night and let out a downpour that lasted nearly 12 hours. While many Lagos residents were savouring a sound sleep, residents of Aboru in Alimosho Local Government Area and Oko-Oba in Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA) could not sleep all through the night. Many others woke up to count their loses caused by flood.

Residents of Azeez Olaosebikan, Ogundele, Oyatoki, Alaramimo, and Olasoji Streets in Oko Oba area all wore long faces as they stood nonplussed in front of their houses lamenting the havoc caused by the rain while some were seen moving their belongings away from harm’s way. Many fences were pulled down while the entire Aboru Road in Iyana-Ipaja was littered with mud and garbage washed to the area by the flood.

The community was thrown into mourning over a four-year-old boy washed away by the flood. It was a pensive search for the boy. The Councillor representing Orile-Agege Ward C, Ishola Ibrahim Obanla, also joined in the search party. The body was yet to be recovered as at press time yesterday. The residents vowed to continue their search until the body is retrieved.


It was gathered that the victim was playing in front of his house yesterday morning when one of his footwear mistakenly fell into a flooded drainage. In his bid to recover his footwear, he jumped into the gutter, wrongly judging its depth.

While the residents were still counting their loses, the chairman of Orile Agege LCDA, Johnson Sunday Babatunde, and his team visited some of the affected areas to check the level of damage. He also visited sites of ongoing evacuation of refuse and lamented the illegal dumping of refuse on roadsides and drainages across the council area, which he blamed for the flood in the community.

He further sent his condolence message to the family of the four-year-old boy that was lost to the flooding at Powerline, Oko-Oba, promising that measures would be taken to avert such incident in the future. The council boss advised parents to always keep an eye on their wards and also desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse at unauthorized places.

In Aboru, many of the residents linked the recurring flooding to the alleged abandoned bridge connecting Iyana-Ipaja to Aboru, saying the bridge was taking much water than it could. According to them, whenever it rains, not only in the area but also in other places like Abule-Egba and Abattior in Agege, the water being channeled to the bridge affect residents of the area.

An elderly landlord, Mr. Solomon Egbodhoroma, said the people in the area had been suffering because of the abandoned bridge. He alleged that what the government constructed was a culvert and not bridge.
He said: “I could not sleep since 2:00a.m. when the rain started because the water spilled over to the window level of my one-storey building and pulled down my fence.

“Our challenge in Aboru road here is the canal that the government refuses to do. What is here is better described as a culvert not a bridge. Every year, we suffer a lot and lose property. The flood has sent away people in my ground floor as you can see. I have been restricted to the upstairs and every year, my house is always affected.

A furniture maker, Mr. Gift Wejem, said the flood did not only carry away a set of furniture and wood that were kept outside the shop, but also damaged materials, machines and power plant kept in the shop.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has given a seven-day ultimatum to owners of distressed buildings across the state to demolish them or bear the risk and cost of their demolition by the agency. LASBCA General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Shodeinde, gave the ultimatum yesterday.

Shodeinde said LASBCA had identified and marked some distressed buildings for demolition in some areas of the state. According to him, at the expiration of the ultimatum, LASBCA would demolish the buildings in accordance with the Lagos State Physical and Urban Planning Development Law, 2010.

Shodehinde warned that owners of such buildings would pay the demolition cost to the state government within 90 days, failure of which the government would confiscate the land.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/flood-claims-four-year-old-boy-property.html

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, recently gave an account of how a 2016 oil production cut exemption granted Nigeria by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries was beneficial to the country.
In this report, Chineme Okafor, reviews the deal

It is almost two years since Nigeria got what analysts considered a good deal from the oil production cut member-countries of the OPEC and non-OPEC associates led by the Russian Federation, agreed to raise prices of oil which had gone down and threatened a lot of economies including Nigeria.

From the December 2016, OPEC and its 11 non-OPEC associates decided to cut their crude oil production levels by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (mbd) to support a market rebalancing effort by taking out excess oil volumes, limiting supplies and shoring up oil prices.


At the meeting, it was agreed that the cut would kick off in January 2017, but with Nigeria and Libya exempted from taking part because of the production disruptions they had in their respective oil fields which severely impaired their output levels and uniquely affected their economies.

As reported then, oil production from both countries witnessed intense disruptions from separate violent uprisings and militant activities.
This affected their respective OPEC production quotas, hence the exemption to enable grow productions to their pre-agreement levels after which additional outputs would be capped.

For Nigeria who participated intensely in the negotiations as confirmed by Kachikwu recently, the exemption gave the country a breather considering that its production had plunged as a result of disruptions by armed militants in the Niger Delta.
With prices down to low levels and affecting investment in the sector as well as government revenue, disruption in production became an additional headache Nigeria could not deal with.
In fact, it was a double whammy for the country as the development contributed to the country’s slide into economic recession in 2016.

The OPEC Negotiations
But then, the country realising how it had badly been hit by the developments, initiated and sustained for months what Kachikwu referred to then as a shuttle diplomacy to galvanise major oil producers’ blocs to knock out a deal to revive the oil market.

Recalling how the country fared in the 2016 oil output cap negotiations, Kachikwu explained the country had a good negotiation.
According to him, his shuttle diplomacy across member countries of OPEC was a precursor to the agreement. He also said that Nigeria at that time was strategically alert in its conversations with the group.

To give further insight on the roles Nigeria played to get countries in the cartel to sit down to agree on the alternatives available to them to overcome the price slump, Kachikwu, explained the country was available and committed in all the key negotiation stages, as well as in leadership of subcommittees, and crafting of the final agreements parties were then meant to sign.

But, negotiating an exemption for the country, he added was not a walkover as some producing countries resisted the exemption even though she eventually overcame the oppositions and got what it wanted.

“We took over OPEC when prices were plummeting and countries were fighting over who would bring in barrels. It was a very tough time to lead OPEC and my job was stopping the attrition war and see how everybody could cooperate and help OPEC regain its credibility, relevance and premium pricing, and this resulted to the OPEC declaration.

“But more importantly for us, was that we succeeded in negotiating an exemption at a time when countries were compelled to reduce volumes drastically to shore up the volumes that were to be taken out of the market,” said Kachikwu, in his explanation of what the situation was with OPEC at the time the deal was struck.

Gains from the Negotiations

To contextualise what he said were the benefits Nigeria got from the exemption, Kachikwu, said that it helped Nigeria raise its oil production level, and ensured its forex reserves grew to $45 billion, from the $25 billion he said was the level of the reserves then.
From this, he noted that Nigeria produced and sold more oil which resulted in about $20 billion addition to her foreign exchange reserves.

“It wasn’t an easy negotiation for Nigeria but we got it and subsequently renewed the exemption over two periods. This stabilised supplies, income, our budget was able to get largely funded.
“We began to see our reserves for the first time grow dramatically from an all-time $25 billion to as high as $45 billion currently – $20 billion movement in terms of reserves growth,” said Kachikwu, in this regards.
In addition to the reserves growth through output exemption, Kachikwu, stated that Nigeria equally reinforced its commitment and influence in OPEC by getting it to elect Dr. Barkindo Mohammed, as its Secretary General. This he noted has helped the country regain its relevance within the cartel.

Gains Eroded by Rising Subsidy Payments

Though the minister did not admit the country was perhaps not make the most of the exemption for the simple reason that it still maintains a subsidy regime on petrol consumption which by reports drains its oil revenue.
He, however suggested that Nigeria would need to take proactive steps to enjoy the revenues from the improved oil prices.

“We need to continue to look at the global oil market that continues to do a pendulum movement, we need to do this because the earlier Nigeria can reap the best benefits in terms of the incomes from this resource, the better we can do our diversification project, the better we can finance our budgets, the better we can create employment, peace and harmony and the better lifestyle that we have as Nigerian citizens,” he said.

At the moment, reports indicate Nigeria’s fuel subsidy bills have gone way up, and could rise further.
Based on a recent report from Lagos-based research and financial advisory firm, the Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), the continuous rise in crude oil prices are set to send Nigeria’s bill for fuel subsidies rocketing above $3.85 billion.

The $3.85 billion quoted by the FDC, was however different from recent claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that funds for subsidy which it kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was revolving around $1.05 billion.

Quoting analysts such as Tunde Ajileye, a partner at SBM Intel – a political and economic risk consultancy, the FDC report said Nigeria currently sits, “on a double-edged sword: when oil prices go down, government revenues go down and it becomes difficult to get foreign exchange. When oil prices go up, while there is usually an increase in government revenues, the big issue is that for refined products like fuel and diesel, the prices go up and the subsidy bill goes up.”

Similarly, in his submission in the report, Jubril Kareem, an energy analyst at Ecobank, explained that no one knows exactly what the NNPC pays itself for under-recovery on petrol it imports into the country being currently the sole supplier for the country.
“At least before, we knew what NNPC was paying in subsidy (because of monthly reports that the NNPC no longer regularly issues). Now you don’t know that. You would understand why a government would want to keep it that way,” Kareem, noted.

Beyond the Exemption
Notwithstanding the impacts of the oil production deal and exemption for Nigeria, Kachikwu, also noted that his other diplomatic shuttles which included strategic visits to International Oil Companies (IOCs) with the aim of galvanising support and mobilising funds for the Nigerian petroleum industry, have yielded results.

He said the travels and one-on-one conversations with the IOCs helped placed Nigeria on their investment tables, adding that Nigeria would be top priority when investment options are being considered by chief executives of the IOCs.

“I embarked on strategic visits to the IOCs and the reason was simple: If we do all we want, in terms of the policy drives, in terms of the need to increase production, in terms of the need to increase infrastructure; but a large amount of those funds comes from abroad.

“We visited all of them in their headquarters, held meetings and aligned them to a lot of the initiatives we have. Initiatives in terms of gas expansion; initiative in terms of crude oil production stabilisation; in terms of a new funding mechanism to deal with the cash call problems that we had and initiative with local content drive,” he said.

Furthermore, the minister noted: “With all these, what can we do in terms of international collaborations? Quite a bit more. We need to get into the financing corridors and be able to find the funding to develop our infrastructure.
“As we move from a public sector driven oil sector model, private sector financing is key.

“We need to be able to find investors, who on the basis of equity investments can come in and massively change some of the dilapidated infrastructure that we see here and create a business model that makes sense for this country.

“We will like to see production go up, at cost that makes a lot of sense. We will like to hold conversations with a lot of people and be able to look at the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) terms and get the very best value for this country.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/assessing-nigerias-gains-from-opec.html

Cristiano Ronaldo has finally opened up on reason he decided to leave Spanish giant Real Madrid FC for Italian clubside Juventus.

Ronaldo said he sensed that the Spanish club’s president, Florentino Perez, no longer saw him as being “indispensable”.

“I felt within the club, especially from the president, that I was no longer considered in the same way as I was at the beginning,” Ronaldo said in an interview with France Football magazine.

“For the first four or five years, I felt like Cristiano Ronaldo. Less so after.

“The president looked at me in a way that suggested I was no longer indispensable, if you know what I mean. That is what made me think about leaving.”

The 33-year-old Portuguese superstar joined Juventus in a 100 million-euro ($115 million) deal in July, ending a glorious nine-year association with Real.

His last act with the Spanish club was to participate in them winning the Champions League for a third consecutive season by beating Liverpool in the final in May.

But Zinedine Zidane departed as coach in the wake of that game, something which Ronaldo admits confirmed to him that it might be time to move on.

“My decision to leave was not based on him going. That said, it was one of the little details that confirmed to me what I had been thinking about the situation at the club,” Ronaldo said.

He added that he would “deserve” to win the Ballon d’Or this year, and in doing so would pass Lionel Messi by taking the award for a sixth time.

The winner of the prize, awarded by France Football, will be announced in early December.


But while Ronaldo continues to enjoy great success on the field, scoring twice for Juventus at the weekend, he remains embroiled in off-pitch problems after being accused of rape in the United States.

A former American model Kathryn Mayorga, 34, of Las Vegas, accused Ronaldo in a 32-page complaint filed last month with a district court in Nevada, of raping her in June 2009, just before he joined Madrid from Manchester United.

“Of course this matter interferes with my life. I have a partner, four children, an ageing mother, sisters, a brother, a family with whom I am very close,” he told the magazine.

“That is without talking about my reputation, that of an exemplary person.

“Imagine what that is like to have someone say you are a rapist, or that you have this or that.

“I know who I am and what I did. The truth will come out. And the people who criticise me and who expose my life today, who make a song and dance about it, these people will see.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/cristiano-ronaldo-finally-reveal-why-he.html

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has called on Nigerians to be vigilant and to hold their leaders to account as well as pay more attention to how the nation’s resources are being managed.

He made the call at a public lecture on “Developing the Nation through Youth Empowerment’’, held at the University of Ibadan in Oyo State.

Osinbajo, a professor of law, urged Nigerians to ask more questions to save the country’s commonwealth from going under in no distant time.

According to him, the Federal Government is investing in infrastructure and job creation to ensure Nigeria does not return to the old days.

Professor Osinbajo stressed the need for the government at various levels to focus on technology and innovation.

He said the move is necessary because the future of jobs for the Nigerian youth depends on it.

Upon his arrival in Ibadan, the Vice President was received by Governor Abiola Ajimobi and top officials of the state government.

A day before his visit to Oyo State, Osinbajo attended an event organised for entertainers in Lagos.

At the event which held on Friday, he re-emphasised the importance of the entertainment industry to the nation’s economic growth and assured stakeholders that the sector would continue to enjoy the need support to maximise its potentials.

“No sensible politician can ignore entertainers; if you do, you do so at your own risk. Entertainers also cannot ignore politicians; it is impossible. If you do, you do so at your own peril,” Osinbajo said.

“Already, there is a lot going on. Your industry has to respond to what is going on. This industry is important and crucial to our economy.”

The Vice President said he had met frequently with entertainers with a view to developing policies around the industry for economic growth.

He revealed that the government has decided to create a Technology and Creativity Advisory Council, to see how the government could move the industry forward through proper policies, especially on how to address the issue of piracy.

Osinbajo said, “We must set up the environment that will make it happen. No environment is completely ready; whatever it is that we have at the moment, we have to make the maximum use of it to grow this industry.”

He said it was gratifying that some entertainers were already in politics and urged others to participate, in order to make a change and a difference.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/be-vigilant-hold-leaders-to-account.html

For Nigeria to benefit from its advantageous central location within West Africa and realise its desire to become a regional air transportation hub, it must upgrade its airport facilities, according to President Muhammadu Buhari. He spoke at the official opening of the new Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) terminal building in Rivers State yesterday.

The new terminal has 24 check-in counters, three baggage curbsides, 12 immigration desks at arrival and 16 immigration desks at departure, four security screening points and four passengers boarding gates, all valued at N40 billion ($111.2 million).

The president, who was visiting Rivers State for the first time since he assumed office, apologised for the delay in the completion of the new terminal building built on 25,163 square metres. He said the opening of the facility was a significant landmark for international air travellers, particularly from the South-South region and the entire country.


Buhari explained that after the opening of the major airport terminals in the country in the late 70s and the early 1980s, not much was added to increase the passengers’ handling capacity of the facilities by successive administrations. And due to a large increase in national population, the capacity of the terminals became woefully inadequate to cater for the consequent surge in air passenger traffic.

He observed that although palliative measures were periodically taken, the facilities were fast giving in to the effect of wear and tear. To correct this anomaly, he said it became necessary to take a decisive action to ensure the terminals meet minimum internal standard for the travelling public.

According to Buhari, the construction of four new international terminals in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airports was embarked upon by the Federal Government with a view to modernising the aging infrastructure to meet global aviation standard, and improve service delivery in tandem with best international practice.

President Buhari further explained that the recent decision of the Federal Government to remove value added tax from domestic air transportation was in line with global best practices. This will make air travel more affordable and subsequently lead to the creation of jobs by air transport service value chain as well as increase revenue for the government.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, said the construction of the terminal, which commenced in February 2014, was funded through the China Export-Import Bank of China loan of $500 million with $100 million counterpart fund facility from the government of Nigeria.

According to him, the project, which was expected to have been delivered in two years, was below 30 per cent completion when President Buhari assumed office, and bedeviled by various technical challenges. Based on this, he said the president gave the ministry the nod to rectify all the discrepancies, subject to due process.

Sirika expressed optimism that with the new terminal and others to follow, Nigeria is well position to benefit from International Air Transport Association and International Civil Aviation Organisation projections that global air travel is expected to increase to 7.4 billion by 2030.

Governor Nyesom Wike said the people of Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta were happy over the completion of the terminal, as it would boost the economy of the state, and create employment for her people.

Wike said: “Rivers State is safe. Rivers is secure for people to come and invest. If Rivers is not safe, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) would not have completed this project. I urge all of us who are from Rivers State, who are from Nigeria, to market the state well and not de-market it. Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Meanwhile, airlines’ operators have maintained that the dream of creating a Nigerian aviation hub will be difficult to realise without official support. They contend it is only the Federal Government that can make local airlines stronger and be able to compete with their foreign counterparts and reciprocate multiple Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) that Nigeria signed with several countries.

Currently, foreign airlines have about 80 per cent share of the Nigerian market, flying multiple destinations in the country. BASA provides for reciprocity by the number of flights and destinations reached by airlines. Nigeria, with the second largest market in Africa after South Africa, has at least 90 BASA pacts, with less than 20 serviced in return by the local carriers.

Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said aeropolitics, that is “politics as conditioned by considerations of air power or its dominance” is the bane of the Nigerian carriers and indeed worse among African countries. Onyema, who owns and manages the leading local carrier, said Nigerian flag carriers had wrongly been “demonised” as lacking requisite capacity to compete, “forgetting the effects of resistance and bad politicking coming for the African neighbours”.He said “while Air Peace, for instance, has six international destination slots and 17 regional, there must be approval to venture, which has been very difficult.”

He gave examples. “Asky Airlines is doing four frequencies to Lagos daily. But their home country, Togo, said they would not allow us in because their government is protecting Asky. It took them a year to reply us. Later, they apologised when I threatened to go to court to stop their airlines from coming to Nigeria.

“Cote d’Ivoire gave us permission to fly into their country but not even an airport office was given to us, yet they slammed us with $10,000 charges. But how many people are you carrying on that plane? Are they (Air Cote D’Ivoire) paying $10,000 in Nigeria? Why is it that when we complained, we haven’t received any help?


“Air Peace has lost over a billion in just six months of flying the West Coast. When they presented this to me a few days ago, I almost cried. What we make are all spent on their charges. These airlines we are supposed to be competing with are receiving support from their governments; some of them are not even paying taxes. Air Peace, from day one, has started paying tax and charges. The truth is that those countries don’t want you to come and compete with their own airlines, whether private airline or whatever, they don’t want you to come.”

He said the indigenous airlines need the backing of the government in terms of slot negotiation, charges harmonisation and other strategies often deployed to frustrate Nigerian carriers abroad.

According to him, the recent suspension of the proposed national carrier has restored confidence in private airlines and government should complete the rounds by rallying behind the flag carriers to do Nigeria proud. The Chairman of the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON), Capt. Nogie Meggison, said the gross imbalance and insincerity of many African countries explained why his members were against both the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) initiatives, supposedly aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/how-nigeria-can-become-regional.html

United Nations Children Education Fund, UNICEF, has said 69 percent of children without access to basic education in Nigeria were from the northern partof the country. UNICEF Education Specialist, Azuka Menkiti, who stated this while speaking at a two-day media dialogue in Kano yesterday, attributed the development to some obsolete cultural practices and religious misinterpretations in the region. According to him, the obsolete cultural practices and religious misinterpretations are also responsible for increased poverty in northern Nigeria.

Menkiti also noted that 69 percent of children without access to education in Nigeria were found in streets of northern Nigeria, with North East states leading and North West states trailing behind. To this end,UNICEF charged political, traditional and community leaders in the region to put more effort to change the statistics as regards number of children without education She said: “Few weeks ago, we held an education conference in Kaduna and it impressed traditional, community and religious leaders. “Stakeholders that participated in the meeting signed a commitment to join forces with government and global partners to pull children out of the streets and return them to school so as to secure a peaceful and productive posterity. “We don’t insist on formal education. It could be Koranic education. But it will be more profitable if they combined both Koranic and formal education. Records indicated that about 9.5 million school age children in Nigeria are currently enrolled Koranic schools across Nigeria but only 24 percent of them combine both formal and Koranic education.” Recall that the Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission ,UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, recently disclosed that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria had increased from the 10.5 million it stood before to 13.2 million.

The increase in the figure ,he said,could be attributable to increased attacks and destruction of educational facilities in communities in some North East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Speaking also at the event, Head of Child Right Information Bureau,CRIB, in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Olumide Osayinpeju, said the essence of the media dialogue was to draw attention to implications of uneducated posterity. “Evidence exists that increased investment in education and protection of the vulnerable citizens, in this case children, and addressing inequality would ensure sustained growth and stability in Nigeria. “We heed to integrate children, especially those in difficult terrain and other excluded children and ensure equitable distribution of education resources,”she said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/north-constitutes-69-of-children.html

Business Mogul and frontline Presidential CAN, Mr., Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has consolidated his presidential bid with his emergence at the weekend as a third force presidential candidate in prime position to challenge the duo of President Mohammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Olawepo-Hashim running on the platform of the People’s Trust (PT) had earlier won the party’s presidential ticket following a fusion of over ten political parties, including the Olisa Agbakoba lead National Intervention Movement (NIM). His name has since been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Reliable sources have also confirmed that more parties are likely to fuss into the growing alliance, following a new zeal to join forces against the duo of President Buhari and Alhaji Abubakar, in what will give a lie to the impression that next year’s election is a two horse race.



The growing integration of the third force includes the majority of members of the moribund Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), even though a tiny fraction of the party still went ahead and presented a presidential candidate.

The Middle-Belt Forum had earlier shortlisted Olawepo-Hashim among four of its prominent indigenes as likely presidential candidates to represent the region in next year’s presidential poll

Others who had made the list were a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia; and former Plateau State Governor, Senator Jonah Jang, amongst a dozen candidates that went through the rigorous screening.

Chaired by Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, the panel reportedly shortlisted Olawepo-Hashim, the youngest amongst the four, for his deep knowledge of the economy arising from his successful business endeavours, spanning the breadth of oil and gas , power, communications and marketing.

The businessman’s urbane and cerebral qualities partly reflected in his feats in the University of Lagos and the Buckingham University where he was best student in his cohort, winning the MaxBerlof Award for Global affairs were also advantages.

The first elected National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Olawepo-Hashim, the youngest of the aspirants screened, is seen as a potential force from the Middle-Belt region, good enough to attract first-time voters on the national voter register numbering over fifteen million apart from potential voters from the region and elsewhere.

Other than this are his pro-democracy credentials beginning from his University of Lagos days and growing into his real life experiences, leading to his recognition as Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience in 1989.

Detribalized with strong bridge-building credentials, his international exposure additionally appealed to the eighteen-member screening committee, spread across fourteen Middle-Belt states.

Aside Commodore Dan Suleiman, who is former military administrator and one- time Nigerian envoy to Russia, other personalities on the then screening panel included former Adjutant-General of the Nigerian Army, Major-General Zamani Lekwot, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi, former Governor of old Gongola State, Mr. Wilberforce Juta, former Governor of old Kwara State, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Mr. Sam Ada Maagbe and Chief John Odakun.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/olawepo-hashim-emerges-third-force.html

The Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, will today graduate 400 medical students from various medical schools in the institution even as it pledges to continue to quality healthcare services.

Briefing journalists on the commencement of the hospital annual week in Lagos, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, CMAC, LUTH, Prof. Femi Fasanmade said apart from being a place where people come for treatment, LUTH also provides services in the area of training and medical research. The Joint graduation ceremony which would hold tomorrow will be graced by family members of the graduating students, friends and well-wishers including stakeholders in the health sector.

“What we are celebrating today is the training aspect of it, the 15 schools that we have to cater for every medical training need of various professions within the health sector.” “It is interesting that most of these schools usually churn out graduates in the national exams; they usually score 90 to 100 per cent success in national exams, so anybody that enrols in any of these schools, and goes for national and international exams, you will have 90 to 95 per cent chance of making it in the first time. LUTH is about excellence, and all of the teachers that you are seeing are people that are very well trained, with decades of experience, with decades of postgraduate training,” Fasanmade stated. He further announced that “Most of the graduating students will be having multiple awards tomorrow because we make sure we reward excellence, and we recognize all the students, who excelled. We have management prizes, individually endowed prizes; we also have prizes that are given by institutions, so it is going to be a wonderful time of celebration.” Fasanmade commended the various schools for their excellent performances in both national and international examinations

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/luth-graduates-400-medical-students.html

The Federal Government on Tuesday disclosed that heavy fines imposed on MTN Nigeria Communications Limited was because the telecommunications company took stipulated regulations for granted.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed stated this during a session at the 24th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

She said MTN provided what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier requested after the firm and some affected Deposit Money Banks were asked to refund about $8.1bn.


CBN recently effected the N5.87 billion fine on four banks that breached its capital importation policy.

CBN debited the accounts of Standard Chartered Bank with N2.4 billion, Stanbic IBTC N1.88 billion, Citibank Nigeria N1.2 billion and Diamond Bank N250 million for allegedly issuing irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCI) on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.

MTN Nigeria was also directed by the CBN to refund $8.134 billion to its coffers.


Reacting, the minister said, “The MTN incident was a very damaging one for us and that was one of the reasons why we have been out trying to engage our investors. But you see there is a tendency for big businesses to take regulation and government for granted.

“Only after that incident happened, all of the information that the CBN had been trying to get for months actually came out. Now, I think they are up to a point where they have almost solved the problem.

“And this is information that the CBN governor had personally met with MTN, with the key banks involved and had asked them to provide the information.”

Zainab recalled that the information requested for by the CBN from MTN and the banks had to do with an audit that took place over a period of two years.

She said, “It was an audit that took place over the course of two and a half years and the auditors were not satisfied with some of the information.

“They queried and they asked for additional information. Unfortunately, this was negative for us but is now being sorted out and we are bearing the cost of it. We have been engaging investors and trying to explain what is happening.

“We are trying to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. We are continuously discussing with the regulatory authorities and there will be no company next after MTN. Nobody is next because we just can’t afford this kind of incidence to happen.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/nigerian-govt-explains-heavy-sanctions.html

Former Vice President and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called in his supporters to be prepared for insults in the days leading to the 2019 general elections.

Atiku, a leading opposition to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who gave the advise on his Twitter handle, however urged his followers to remain calm irrespective of views opposed to theirs.


According to Atiku, “Everyone who supports me, I ask you to conduct yourself respectfully, even with people who do not agree with you. There will be insults, falsehoods, threats and innuendo. Ignore them and stay focused on the task of rebuilding Nigeria.”

He said rather than being confrontational, everyone who believes in his presidential ambition and his agenda should let others know that he would be committed to bringing Nigeria back on track.

Atiku said: “Instead of insults, speak with facts. Let us all work together to get Nigeria working again. Let us remember to speak to everyone about the task we have in this election – to replace a government that has lost over 6 million jobs with one that will create new jobs.”

He reiterated that if elected, his administration “Will promote a policy of commercial agriculture and encourage cooperative societies among farmers to aggregate input and outputs, to make them wealthier.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/atiku-urges-supporters-to-prepare-to.html

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) says it has set up a team to commence investigation of abandoned government projects across the country.

Acting EFCC Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Magu, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Gombe on Monday.

He said this would help the anti-graft agency to know the level of completion of the projects, as well as the funds being spent on them.

“The move is to ensure that the contractors complete the projects for the benefit of the people and the development of the country,’’ he said.


Magu said the agency was ready to fight corruption, but with the support of all stakeholders in the country.

The EFCC boss therefore called on Nigerians to identify such projects in their respective areas and report to the commission, for necessary action.

“This is where you can help us, if there is any abundant project we will go after them, because most people collect money and they don’t execute the contract,” he said.

According to him, some contracts were awarded without the intention to execute them.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/10/efcc-investigates-abandoned-projects-in.html