₦airaland Forum

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) broke into the international sponsorship market with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the League Management Company (LMC) and United Kingdom’s leading global sport drinks maker, iPro Sport International Limited.







Isotonic drinks replace nutrients and fluids quickly, helping to prevent exercise-related injuries and illness that may arise from loss of important minerals, dehydration and heat stroke due to sweating during physical exercises. Isotonic fluids are also known to have six to eight percent carbohydrates, including glucose, the human body’s preferred energy source for exercise.



The MoU, which is subject to sign off of national distributors agreements and other regulatory approvals was executed in London on Wednesday, June 7 with the LMC represented by the Chairman, Shehu Dikko and iProsport represented by the Managing Director, Mr. Thomas Garrad. The deal is said to be the biggest natural ingredients sports drink football sponsorship in the African continent and NPFL is the first league on the continent to be associated with iProsport all natural ingredients Sports drink. The tenure of the MOU is for 5 years.



It is considered a major breakthrough and an international recognition and endorsement of the steady growth recorded by the LMC in the revival of the Nigeria Professional Football League, improved quality of administration, the quantum leap in followership around the arenas and the media.



Nigerian businesses have starved local football of patronage necessary to revive the game and allow it reach its potentials of being a vibrant sub sector employing thousands of young Nigerians. Last year, it is estimated that over N40 billion was funneled out by Nigerian corporate organizations to sponsor foreign clubs and foreign league broadcasts.



Mr Dikko describes iProsports’ entry as “a strong message to businesses in Nigeria to embrace the ‘Buy Nigeria’ campaign. It can stimulate the economy and create more jobs through the football industry. It certainly will add impetus to bringing back the lost glory of our football”.



“The possibilities in this deal is huge because the NPFL will stand to gain incremental fees for every bottle of iProsport drink sold in the Nigerian market and the beauty is that this is coming from a company that is yet to start operations in the country when we have those reaping big profits from the Nigerian market taking out money abroad to fund clubs and create jobs there”, Dikko said further of the deal.



iPro Sport International Limited’s leading sports drink product, iProsport will thus become the Official Supplier of isotonic sport drinks to the NPFL and the 20 NPFL Clubs for a fee of £1.5 pounds paid to NPPL for every pack (consisting of 12 bottles) of iProsport drink supplied to the Nigerian Market with a target to commence with a shipment of minimum of 213,333 packs which guarantees NPFL a fee of £320, 000 British Pounds (about N165.4m) when fully activated.



Furthermore the NPFL would receive an additional fee of £0.5 pounds for every pack supplied to the Nigerian market above the guaranteed 213,333 packs projected in annual sales, guaranteeing a further revenue stream for NPFL from every bottle of iProsport drink consumed in the Nigerian Market.
In addition to the cash backing for the deal, the company will also provide through its products and equipments to all NPFL Clubs and to the LMC for use throughout the NPFL season as well as support NPFL capacity development programs.



iPro Sport International Limited’s projection, according to Garran, the Managing Director is to open a production factory in Nigeria subject to market response to their entry into the Nigerian market and successful implementation of the deal with the LMC. The objective is to use Nigeria as a hub to provide the products to regional neighbours and in the process create jobs in Nigeria.



Meanwhile, the growing appeal of the NPFL has been captured in the steady growth of its online followership on the website alone which totaled 39,545,924 from January to May 2016 with the highest traffic recorded in May with over 7m hits.



The Google Analytic report showed that interest in the NPFL outside Africa is higher in the USA (992, 865) and Britain (284, 436). South Africa (438, 492) and Ghana (60, 018) top the list of African countries with online followership of the NPFL during the period under review. In Nigeria alone, there are over 4.7m followers.



On the social media, the NPFL twitter handle with a total of over 35,000 followers recorded total 5,230,000 impressions for the month of May with a daily impression of 168, 700. On Facebook, the total reach from May 6 – June 2, 2016 was 68, 528 and a total page view of 32, 568 within the same period.



The British company’s MD, Garrad said iProsport International Limited is interested in the Nigerian market and has found the NPFL as the vehicle to drive their entry and acceptance to the new business territory. iProsport drink, a natural isotonic drink is the official sport drink of English and Scottish Premier League clubs, Norwich and Dundee United and a host of English Premiership, Championship and League 1 clubs. iPro Sport also has the naming rights to the Derby County stadium and is involved in the sponsorship of several sports such as a Rugby, Marathon, Athletics, UK School Sports and is the official sport drink of the UK Army.



http://www.npfl.ng/index.php/news-features/lmc-news-updates/1614-npfl-lands-international-deal-as-lmc-seals-sport-drink-supplier-deal.html


Source:http://www.barbaric.com.ng/npfl-lands-international-deal-lmc-signs-mou-sport-drink-supplier/

The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to speculations and rumours regarding the number and names of the senior Army officers affected in the recent retirement exercise. This is worrisome as some individuals and media houses went to the ridiculous extent of publishing outrageous figures and names of serving officers as being retired. This is unethical and unfair.



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It is therefore necessary to inform the public to please disregard such inaccurate lists.

We wish to state that only 38 senior officers were affected by the retirement exercise. For the avoidance of doubt the following is the statistics of the officers retired compulsorily; 9 Major Generals, 10 Brigadier Generals, 7 Colonels, 11 Lieutenant Colonels and a Major.



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We are quite aware that some mischievous elements are trying to whip up sentiments. This is quite unfortunate because all the affected officers were retired based on Service exigencies and in line with the Armed Forces Act, CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

It is pertinent to remind all that the Nigerian Army is a professional institution that is based on highest standards of discipline and conduct. Consequently it’s personnel must remain professional, neutral and apolitical at all times.
Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman
Acting Director Army Public

Source:http://www.barbaric.com.ng/nigerian-army-dispels-rumours-compulsorily-retired-officers/

Samuel Olowokere, Abuja: The Ministry of Labour and Employment says the reaction of the Director General of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Assembly (an umbrella body for investors, manufacturers in the private sector) Mr. Segun Oshinowo to the directive of the Federal Government to banks and other financial institutions to suspend the on-going retrenchment of workers in the sector pending the outcome of a conciliatory meeting and stakeholder’s summit billed for the first week of July is not only irresponsible and thoughtless but a bland knee jerk reaction borne out of self service and unpatriotism.


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A statement by the Deputy Director, Press in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Samuel Olowookere said any reaction that tends to hamstrung the intervention by government in any sector of the economy in the overall interest of all Nigerians, by invoking a sudden rigid stricture to free market rules, is an overarching absurdity

” If government has been intervening and shall continue to intervene to save banks and allied institutions, even the aviation industry, in times of distress without allowing the free market rules to solely reign, therefore forcing some of them to go under, the same government can equally make minimum demands from this private sector in the overall interests of the nation. Our authority in this instance is not only statutory but also moral .”

” Therefore, we wish to state clearly once more, that the intention of government rather than being punitive on these financial institutions is to safeguard national interest by staving off unnecessary job losses and hence avert its real and potential threat to the already fragile security situation and stability of the nation.”

” Government intention is guided by the fact that there are clear alternatives to the abrasive lay off of thousands of workers especially in the background of non-compliance with laid down rules on redundancy as clearly enunciated in our labour laws. The labour unions in the financial has brought forward, very strong evidence that thousands of workers laid off last year in a similar excercise are yet to receive their negotiated benefits.

” We wish to state that it is only an irresponsible government that will trivialize such a situation and attendant responsibilities . The Buhari administration is patriotic, nationalistic and very responsible and therefore shall continue to take measures that protect our institutions, private or public as well the people they are meant to serve within the ambit of the law.”

” May we also add that our directives to the banks are premised on set rules of engagement. That section 20 of the labour act is abundantly clear on redundancy and steps expected of institutions to safeguard not just their interests and that of their employees but also that of government who is the chief guarantor of industrial harmony.”

” Verily, financial institutions though ‘privately owned’ are not mere private businesses in the manner of an average shop on the street, rather they are institutions whose stake in the stability of the national economy is denominated by their pivotal roles as well as consequent regulations and oversight by government. It is hence unpatriotic and a predetermined sabotage of common good to expect that government will have its hands tied by a mischievous and self serving credo about free market.”

“The intention of government is that if the private sector is helmed from expansion and new job creation as a result of downturn in the economy, it can at least hold onto what exists by these institutions making little adjustments in the administrative and other expenditure profile . We have made similar patriotic demands from the petroleum sector ( Internal Oil Corporations) and got positive results .”

There is nothing therefore inappropriate or untoward about this demand on the financial institutions except as viewed from the prism of those who are still slumbering in the thoughts and imagination, hamstrung by narrowness of the immediate past, from where they catapulted the nation into the economic jeopardy, with the attendant youth unemployment we are in today. We have invited the banks to a dialogue and we hope the dialogue will be fruitful.


Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/neca-reaction-fg-directive-retrenchment-irresponsible-unpatriotic/

Walking the talk of economic diversification, the Kwara State government has taken another leap on boosting investment drive in the state, the latest business trip of Governor Abfulfatah Ahmed to China has proven so.



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As learnt by The Brief, Governor Ahmed secured a $56m Chinese investment deal for the establishment of a textile industrial park in the state. The deal was signed during the 18th China Zheijand Investment and Trade Symposium, held in Ningbo, East China, over the weekend.



SSA Media and Communication to the governor, Dr. Muideen Akorede, described the trip as identical to President Buhari’s recent successful investment drive to China.



The agreement for the establishment of Kwara Chitex Industrial Park was signed between the Governor and Mr. Shi Zengchao, Managing Director, of Ningbo Jinsheng Star Import and Export Co Ltd.



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The signing, which was part of the Ningbo Major Investment Projects Signing Ceremony organized by the Ningbo Municipal People’s Govt, involved a total of $3.7b worth of investments in 31 projects out of which $1.4b was for outbound investments with the Kwara Chitex Industrial Park being the only Nigerian bound.



The governor, in his goodwill message, expressed delight about the multi-million dollar project which according to him is commencing soon. Ahmed stressed that the State is focusing on manufacturing in his quest to stimulate the economy and create more jobs. According to the Governor, the Kwara Chitex Textile Industrial Park is expected to create 3000 local jobs when operational.



“We are looking for investors especially in the area of manufacturing. We have a very youthful population which shows there is a strong workforce that can support industrialisation. There are opportunities in textiles, agriculture, mining and other areas. The potentials are huge”, he added.



Providing further details of the deal, Governor Ahmed’s Chief Economic Assistant and DG of the state PPP Office, Mr. Abayomi Ogunsola said the deal involves the state government providing up to N1b in counterpart funding and 400 hectares of land as well as infrastructure support.



Governor Ahmed also held preliminary talks with potential investors in agribusiness and Agro-allied industries, and offered them incentives such as tax relief and accelerated land acquisition.

Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/governor-ahmed-secures-56m-chinese-investment-deal-kwara/

…Says good governance can only thrive on true federalism

…20 LGs for Lagos, a gross injustice –Opadokun

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday said one of the best ways Nigeria can immortalise the late winner of June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola, is to entrench viable democracy, just as he said that such can only be achieved through the practice of true federalism which is currently not in place in the country.



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Governor Ambode, who spoke in Lagos at a event organised by the State’s Office of Civic Engagement to mark the 23rd Anniversary of June 12, said Nigeria owe the late Abiola a duty to entrench democracy in the system and practice it the right way.

Speaking on the theme: “Democracy And Inclusiveness: Basis For Good Governance,” Governor Ambode, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, said June 12 would continued to be remembered, but that the country must be prepared to travel through the journey of ensuring the right things are done in proper ways.

He said: “This is a day we must continue to remember because we have been practicing democracy and at the end of the day, we are not actually doing what we should be doing. If you look at the topic of today, it says Democracy and Its Inclusiveness, what we have today, we still have a long way to go, and that is to say that we are not practicing true federalism.

“What we owe Nigeria today is nothing but true Federalism and for us to be able to achieve true federalism, we have to work hard for it and that is the message the Governor has asked me to deliver.
“We still have a long way to go. If you want to live by Abiola’s memory, if you want to honour him, we owe him a duty to ensure that we install a viable democracy and that viable democracy can only be installed if we have true federalism which we are presently not practicing, and that is very important,” he said.

The Governor added that the federating units of the country must be allowed to develop at their own pace, saying that it was important for the country address the very evident wrongs of the past.

He said: “For us in Lagos here, Lagos as it is today has everything to stand by its own. We run the police, we have the most viable infrastructure in the whole country, yet we are not given what we deserve.

“Look at the number of Local Governments we have, if we run true federalism, we would not be having 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and 20 Local Governments. We should be able to create the number of Local Governments that we desire,” he said.

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion and General Secretary of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Pa Ayo Opadokun urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently recognize late Abiola as a former President of Nigeria and name a national monument after him.

Opadokun lamented that it was unfortunate that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who he described as the major beneficiary of the June 12 struggle, failed to accord Abiola the due recognition throughout his eight year-tenure, but urged the Federal Government to right the wrongs to Abiola by paying his family for the crippling of his businesses during the struggle.

Besides, Opadokun said it was unthinkable that Nigeria, which is the eighth largest exporter of oil, still has the poorest people in the world, adding that the country may not get out of the wood until the restructuring of the skewed and lopsided national structure.

Opadokun also called for urgent address of injustice in the system, saying the federation must be reconfigured to make every Nigerian equal and totally remove the traces of injustice and unfairness.

He said: “For instance, in 1960, there were four political divisions in Lagos and two in Kano. As we speak, Jigawa State has been created out of Kano with 27 Local Government Areas, while Kano itself has 44, making a total of 71.

Lagos, on the other hand, has just 20 Local Government Areas. This is injustice,” Opadokun said.

Source : http://www.barbaric.com.ng/june-12-nigeria-owes-abiola-viable-democracy-governor-ambode/

This article is a response to Dele Momodu’s article titled “Before They Mislead President Buhari”. The article like most of the writer’s recent articles is a subtle castigation of Buhari’s administration and support for the corrupt and dirty past that brought us the this position as nation. To appeal to his audience, which presently are populated by the disciples of the old order and ignorant young men and women, the writer employs often half baked truth, intellectual manipulation and sometimes outright lies. These are what i intend to set straight.



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Let me start by stating my respect for the person of Egbon Dele Momodu. I may not agree with him always but I respect his personality and brand. Here is a man who dragged himself from the lowest rung of the society to the pinnacle of his career. I must confess that he is good at what he does. His work and talent has opened doors of kings and queens and have taken him to places where mere mortal can only dream. As a Yoruba, I was brought up to respect elders. I hold the person of Dele Momodu in high esteem.



Saying I am supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari will be stating the obvious. Anybody that follows me on any social media and read any of my articles before, during and after the last election will already know this. One thing that may not be known is that I have not always been Buhari’s supporter not because I don’t believe in him but because of other constrains that may have nothing to do with his ability to perform. My father is a politician and my family suffer a direct impact of Buhari’s tsunami in 1983.
I am an ardent reader of Dele Momodu’s pendulum every Saturday. His grasp of national issues is apt. However, his write ups have significantly drifted in the past months. Sometimes he tried so much to be politically correct that you are at lost about his stand. This should not be a surprise, a man of his standing in PR job should not be seen to be directly at loggerhead with potential clients. His most recent article titled “Before They Mislead President Buhari” is typical example of his recent misinformation riddled articles with subtle castigation for the current administration and support for the corrupt class the administration is trying to rid the nation of. In a divided society like ours, coupled with high degree of ignorance among the populace, any lie can fly and hence the high degree of followership. This lies should be demystified not for the sake of the mischievous, who sees anything against Buhari as a cause they must identify with, but for the sake of the ignorant, especially the young one that need to be put in proper perspective.
Lies often repeated begin to assume the semblance of truth. Every right thinking Nigeria should guide against allowing the enemies of progress dictate our narratives at this critical stage of our national development. The fight against corruption of Buhari’s administration is not about the President alone. If anything, it’s more against the President, because, he is setting a very high moral standard on which him and his aides would be judged after living the office. The fight is about the soul of the nation. What is going on is a class war. A war between the haves and the have nots. A war between the privileged and the downtrodden. A war between the forces of evil and good. But the consolation is in the maxim that “The victory of evil over good is temporal”. In this battle, the good will definitely triumph.
The first fallacy in the said article is in the first sentence of the first paragraph where he said ” let me say categorically and emphatically that our dear beloved country is dangerously hemorrhaging again and this perfidious drift must be halted urgently before we all end up in perdition”. This statement is far from the truth. How can a nation where the financial leakage of the past is been blocked be said to be hemorrhaging? How can a nation recovering stolen asset be said to be drifting? When a nation that has just recovered back it lost territories to Boko Haram is described as drifting, when a nation that is clearly steering it economy away from a single source of income and diversifying into hitherto neglected areas is described as drifting, it’s either the person making the description does not have the understanding of the unfolding events or chose to be mischievous. If the change mantra is misconstrue, it’s probably due to lack of understanding of what change actually means. Change means doing things differently. I also disagree with the insinuation that the world is worried about Nigeria. If what we read and saw in the international media is anything to go by, world leaders from America to Canada to UK have recently applauded the effort of the present administration. Where the worry as express by the writer beats my imagination.



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The writer also went further to say ” Even those who did not vote for him (PMB) accepted him with unusual equanimity”. This is far from the truth. Those that didn’t vote for the President Buhari never accepted him and I doubt if they will ever do. If they did, can the writer give a rationale behind the renew insurgency in the South-South and the agitation for Biafra in Southeast. If anybody accepted each other, the President should be given kudos for this. The President has flagged off the cleaning of Ogoniland, He refused to sign the 2016 appropriation bill because of Calabar-Lagos rail road, Second Niger bridge has been appropriated for, Enugu-Onitsha road, Enugu-Portharcourt road etc. were all appropriated for. How many stand out projects were located in Katsina State were the President comes from? We should stop misinforming our gullible audience to score cheap political points.
Before alluding to what the President has done or not done since assumption of office or taking Nigerians for granted or not, it’s pertinent that we examined his promises during campaign and where we were as a nation at the point of his assumption of office. The President campaign was based on the tripod of security, fight against corruption and job creation/economy. Let’s not forget also that at the point of assumption of office of the present administration Boko Haram was ravaging the country, seventeen local government was effectively under the control of the insurgents. Bombs were going off in various location across Nigeria including Abuja as if explosion was going out of vogue. On the economic front, twenty eight states of the federation were owing between three to eleven months of salary, about 600billion naira owed petrol importers in subsidy payments, the country’s reserve is almost completely depleted and oil price was spiraling downward at an alarming rate. Stealing was not corruption at the point of assumption of the administration and the ‘goats’ were having a fill day with the ‘yams’. This was the summary of the state of the nation when Buhari came in.
The current state of Boko Haram insurgency will make every objective mind to agree that the President is doing something and did not take Nigerians for granted. We now take it as aberration to talk about bomb blast or Boko Haram attacks. This shows the President is actually doing something. New security challenges such as herdsmen attacks, militancy in the Niger Delta and Biafra in the Southeast. The herdsmen case I believe is getting solved looking at the decrease in such attacks in recent times. Also attackers of Nimbo community in Enugu State have been apprehended, the attackers of the Igbo lady in Kano were also promptly apprehended, the killers of the kidnap army Colonel in Kaduna have been apprehended.



These are all taken for granted and we completely forget it has not always been like this. These are successes the administration should be praised for rather than castigated. This does not mean there is no room for improvement. On the militancy in the Niger Delta and Biafra agitations, these are more of political problem that are residue of the last election.
The administration has to bailed out about twenty eight States owing salary immediately it assumed office.



Though there has been slight improvement in oil price, the militancy in the Niger Delta has seriously brought down national oil production. This coupled with low reserve means the country is short of foreign exchange. To cater for the shortfall, the administration introduced several fiscal policies to ration the available foreign exchange to cater for priority areas. This means there will be more demand for foreign exchange on the parallel market. The increase demand has led to rising in exchange rate at the parallel market. The administration cannot be said to be doing nothing about the economy.



The process of recruiting ten thousand Nigerians into the Nigerian police, five hundred thousand volunteer teachers, one hundred thousand entrepreneurs, school feeding for over twenty million children and mobilization of contractors to site for massive infrastructural development have all commenced. If this is not a ways of reflating economy then I don’t know what is.
The administration anti corruption fight is surely progressing well. List of fund recovered and frozen in various account across the globe was recently released, it’s mind boggling. Several individuals are also been prosecuted for corruption across the country. Everything pointed out here shows that the country is no taken for granted as alluded by Dele Momodu but the administration is methodically building a country we can all be proud of.
It also a fallacy to say the President has not been communicating with Nigerians. As of last count the Presidency has five media aides in addition to the minister of information with mandate of communicating with Nigerians both on new and traditional media. The aides have been actively engaging Nigerians on government policies and programs. However, Nigerians sometimes choose what they listen to and what they don’t listen to. Fixation with past has also meant some Nigerians will also not be satisfy except the President comes to face the media on every issue. If the President will have to communicate directly with Nigerians on every issue then probably the aides are not needed. Part of the change mantra is doing things the right way. If the President established a system of communicating with Nigerians, the system should be allowed to take root so that it will go beyond the life of the administration.
The steps taken by the President to unite Nigerians have been highlighted earlier. The issue of unity is not only for the President but prerogative of all Nigerians. Some section of the country are not ready to accept the President as their leader. The President has done a lot to pacify these sections of the country but will they be pacify? That’s a big question. The selection of ministers was criticized because of the fixation with former standard. The President took time to reorganize the civil service which needed a serious reorganization. Even with the reorganization, the civil service still almost scuttled the President budget.



What would have happened if the reorganization was not carried out can only be imagined.
What Dele Momodu referred to as war of attrition is simply war against corruption. Corruption is a monster that must be annihilated if we must progress as a nation. I have not heard of any of the accused so far denying the accusation, rather, they’ve all tried to explained why the money was taken. I don’t also know of anybody detained without court order. Dasuki’s case has always been a point of reference but the federal government has always maintained he is a security risk. Even in the USA there is Guantanamo. With the recent call by Niger Delta militants that released of Dasuki is the only condition for cease fire, objective minds can start drawing conclusion. It’s obvious that the writer is uncomfortable with war against corruption hence the need to jump from Shiite case to former President Goodluck Jonathan being humiliated to Biafra demonstrators been killed and all what not. What the writer failed to established in each case is if the law of the land was bridged before the incidents he highlighted. If the law was bridged, the writer should have pointed out an alternative way of solving the problem without recourse to the use of force. The blackmail of the President by subtly referring to him as a military dictator cannot hold waters.


The stand of the writer is when it comes to fight against corruption is understandable considering the fact that his business thrives on promoting affluence. How many of the affluence promoted by the writer is actually acquired in a legitimate way? If the fight against corruption continue as it is presently, many of his client will be affected and that means less business. The writer also advocated the application of “Carrot and stick” in the fight against corruption. Will that not be an incentive for further corruption? If an individual stole public fund and negotiated his/her way by returning a fraction to evade prosecution, where is the deterrent? Every right thinking Nigeria should encourage the government to not only recover looted fund but prosecute the looters to serve as deterrent.
If the writer is suggesting that the blowing up of pipeline is as a result of President Jonathan been investigated or other corruption fight, then, the government should not allow itself to be blackmailed, even if oil production is brought to zero. Afterall, if government does not sell oil everybody including the States and those bombing will also have no money to share. The shortfall in federal government income has already encourage States like Kebbi and Lagos to develop alternative sources of income. Necessity is the mother of invention.
The writer should however advice those blowing pipelines that they cannot take on a serious government. Boko Haram tried it and today they are routed. That’s a group that is ready to die. The Shiite the writer also referred to held Kaduna State, especially Zaria, to ransom for decades but not today. The government is offering an opportunity for negotiation and I advice that it should be taken. The population density in the Niger Delta will lead to high collateral damage if government is given no other option than military action. Those destroying the pipeline should also be advice about the adverse effect on the environment. Oil economy is gradually winding up globally and there may be need to go back to the land for sustenance in the near future.



Every nation has lived through its terrible moments but no nation progress by pretending that the terrible moments never exist as been suggested. Nigeria must internalized our recent past. We must learn from the mistakes made, punish those that took the country for a ride and put in place a system that ensure the mistakes will never be repeated. “We have a President that stands head and shoulders above all else and he clearly leads the way”. We owe the country the duty of supporting the President irrespective of ethnic, religious or party affiliation. All it takes for evil to thrive is for men and women of goodwill to look away while evil is perpetrated. Nigeria is certainly on its way to greatness once more.



by
Ayantunji Benjamin Gbenro (PhD)
@bengbenro



Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/setting-record-straight-nobody-misleading-president-buhari/

An unidentified member of the Queen’s Guard collapsed and face planted during the Trooping The Colour in celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday on Saturday in Whitehall, London.

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After the soldier fell, some rushed to his aid as the remainder of the Queen’s Guard stood stone-faced.

Eventually, the solider was carried off in a stretcher as the celebration continued.


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The Queen and royal family were in attendance when the soldier fainted during the military ceremony, which is also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade. According to the Press Association, the celebration featured 1,500 soldiers and 300 horses.

Although the day was overcast (because London) temperatures were in the low 70s during the ceremony.



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But of course this isn’t the first soldier to faint in the presence of royalty. On Friday an RAFserviceman fainted and was carried away by paramedics at St. Paul’s Cathedral shortly before the Queen arrived.

Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/soldier-fainted-queens-90th-birthday-celebration/

I have been under intense criticism and accused of abandoning my job as Minister while usurping responsibilities of clerics as cover up for non- performance.
Let’s get the records right, Sunday Corner has been in existence for about three years. Many can attest to my disposition when peace, justice and love is at stake. I will prefer to an advocate for peace, love and justice than the current status.



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In any case I have done my best and will continue but alongside advocacy because that’s the definition of my personality. Let me be remembered for that when long I have gone. Sunday Corner is here to stay, to God be the glory.

May I start by asking “why are the mighty falling?” Where is the ‘Big Boss’ Stephen Keshi, the Footballer, Captain, National Coach, ex-International? What is this news about him? He was billed to resume work as National Coach for Bafana Bafana of South Africa sometime this month, but he is no more. Is this life?



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Coach Amodu Shaiubu, so many times National coach and one of the longest serving members of the National Technical Team suddenly disappeared yesterday morning. Infact, he has since been buried according to Islamic rites. He followed Keshi within few days interval, but to where? This is the one million Naira question on the mind of every mortal. “Why are the mighty falling?”



What is happening to the football family? There has been war of attrition for leadership in NFF, it’s a fierce battle where much damage has been done to relationships. The news about Soccer has been that of crisis between Amaju versus Giwa, while Dalung who inherited it is at the receiving end. Suddenly, God has changed the narratives and the house has been thrown into mourning mood. Where did they disappear to?



“Then I saw a great white throne and the one who is seated on it. Before his face both earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened.

Another scroll was opened too; this is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged on the basis of what was written in the scrolls about what they had done….

This, the fiery lake, is the second death. Then anyone whose name wasn’t found written in the scroll of life was thrown into the fiery lake.” Rev. 20:11-15



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I met with the two departed sports icons not too long ago especially Coach Amodu who came to my office and submitted a blue print of how to move Nigerian football forward. He also narrated his predicament which included non-payment of his five months’ salaries and that since his relocation to Abuja, his employers had not provided him with accommodation, so he was squatting. He was full of pains, I observed.



I promised to look into it which I instructed accordingly. I am told he has gone. Is this life where we are here today then will suddenly disappear next day?
Sorry I can’t continue. My eyes are full of tears and my heart is heavy. Happy Sunday.



Solomon Dalung is the Minister Of Sports


Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/mighty-falling-solomon-dalung/

A non-profit organization founded in 2013 by the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode to offer leadership mentoring and empowerment for the Nigerian youths, La Roche Leadership Foundation, has been formally opened to members of the public.


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The Foundation, which has the main mandate of attending to the welfare and prosperity of Nigerian students in all facets of their educational endeavours, was opened to the general public at an event attended by dignitaries from all walks of life on Saturday in Lagos.

The Governor, who has since stepped aside from active participation in the affairs of the Foundation to avoid conflict of interest, was said to have founded the organization owing to his passion for reaching out to children and young ones, especially by creating and sustaining a positive and enabling educational environment for Nigerian students.

Part of the objectives of the Foundation was to sponsor students by way of scholarships, grants and organizing capacity building seminars, workshops and other related activities and opportunities to students and young people, as well as collaborating with other stakeholders such as government agencies, NGOs, foreign bodies to raise awareness on the state of education in Nigeria and intervening with solutions.

The Foundation, which has service, diligence and integrity as watchwords, also has the mandate of inculcating leadership values and training as a way of grooming future leaders in all spheres of life.

In her welcome address at the event, Administrator of the Foundation, Mrs. Marina Oshoba said the formal launch marked a milestone in the life of the Foundation, as it would offer a relationship between the organization and the core people it had been working to serve who are the children and young ones.

She said: “We started our registration process in 2012 but we got our permit by 2013 and even from before then till date, we have been working on our six projects which are the Flags Project, Tool Box Project, Internship Project, Toy Box Project, Support Our Schools Project and Our Chosen Youth Project.

“Since we got our new facility last year May, we are now fine-tuning our in-house work such as our Book Bank, E-library, Mobile Library, Resource Centre and E-book Club. We have a facebook page and we have a blog that we write every two weeks where we talk about education and leadership mentoring,” Mrs. Oshoba said.

For instance, the Administrator said through the Schools Support Project, the Foundation hoped to answer to infrastructural needs of schools in Lagos State and work with manufacturers of building and construction materials, building technology professionals and other well meaning sponsors to help refurbish and upgrade public schools, while the Foundation has so far won three awards for projects executed at Government Technical College, Agidingbi; St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Metta and Ojokoro Community Library.

Speaking on funding, Mrs. Oshoba said for now, the Board of La Roche Leadership Foundation was not favourably disposed to the idea of soliciting for funds from the public, but felt the Foundation has to first build track record, adding that the belief is that people must first see what the Foundation has been able to do to be persuaded to give.

Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the Foundation and retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice George Oguntade said the essence of such Foundation could not be down played, as it would go a long way in reaching out to people.

He said: “If you look at the starting position of the Nigerian society, you will know that we are virtually at the end of the ladder in almost all aspects and so foundations like this will hasten development in Nigeria and I think it is commendable.”

Justice Oguntade, however, expressed the hope that the Foundation would be replicated across the State and later across the country, so that the advantages can be evenly distributed.

Also speaking, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Oversees Affairs, Professor Ademola Abass Foundations such as La Roche would help reach out to people who are often overlooked by mainstream governmental agencies in the society either because their needs do not fall within the mainframe policies of government at any given point in time.

Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/ambodes-foundation-targets-leadership-mentoring-empowerment-youths/

After nearly six months of negotiation and re-negotiation over the N1.04Trillion MTN fine, levied by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the fine was yesterday reduced to N330Billion.



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This amount includes the “goodwill” payment of N50Billion earlier made by MTN to the government.
The balance of N280Billion will be made in six tranches in the following order. By the terms of agreement, MTN will pay N30Billion into NCC’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 30 days from the date of the agreement dated June 10, 2016.



Other dates of payments include:
• March 31, 2017 – N30Billion;
• March 31, 2018 – N55Billion;
• December 31, 2018 – N55Billion;
• March 31, 2019 – N55Billion and the balance will be in
• May 31, 2019 – N55Billion.



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The agreement and resolutions were signed by Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar G. Danbatta, NCC Commission Secretary, Mr. Felix Adeoye, Chief Executive of MTN, Fredinand (Fredi) Moolman and MTN’s Company Secretary, Mrs. Uto Ukpanah, and witnessed by Mr. Tony Ojobo, NCC, Director, Public Affairs; Mr. Usman Malah, Chief of Staff to the EVC, NCC; Ms Helen Obi, Assistant Director, Legal, NCC and Ms. Amina Oyagbola, Corporate Executive, MTN.
It was also agreed that MTN shall undertake the followings:



• Tender an apology in line with the apology previously tendered in correspondences relating to this matter to the Government of Nigeria and Nigerians within the one month of the execution of this Agreement;



• Subscribe to the voluntary observance of the Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecoms Industry and would ensure compulsory compliance when the said Code is made mandatory for the telecommunications industry; and



• Undertake to take immediate steps to ensure the listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as soon as commercially and legally possible after the date of execution of this Settlement Agreement.



Both parties agreed that these terms of settlement cannot be altered, varied, annulled or modified in any respect, except by writing duly executed by both parties; and the terms of settlement constitute all the terms and conditions of the settlement and supersede and replace any previous offers, representations and terms.



It will be recalled that the NCC on October 20, 2015, imposed the MTN fine of N1.04Trillion for infraction of the provisions of the Nigerian Communication Commission (Registration of the telephone subscribers) Regulations, 2011; for failure to disconnect 5.1million improperly registered lines within the prescribed deadline.



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In arriving at the agreement, the EVC said our decision was taken based on professionalism and global best practices, and in line with the NCC core value “to be fair, firm and forthright”.
According to the EVC, the Commission has always carried industry and stakeholders along in taking transparent regulatory actions, adding that at no point will the regulator do anything to jeopardise the business health of the entire sector.



“We were careful not to take decisions that were likely to cripple the business interest of the operators we regulate. Besides, the downturn of the global economy is biting hard on everybody and every sector, so we must therefore be sensitive and flexible in our decisions”.



This perhaps is one of the attractions of the global communities to the activities of the Commission through multiple awards recently.
A week ago, the NCC got the European Award for Best Practices by the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR) based in Switzerland. The award ceremony involved over 63 Countries and global business giants like United Air-lines, Cathay Pacific airlines amongst others took place in Brussels, Belgium.
Only two weeks ago, the NCC was named Africa Regulator of the year in Accra, Ghana.



“Africa and global communication investors are excited about the Nigerian telecommunication environment and have made Nigeria investors first choice”, Danbatta explained.



Tony Ojobo
Director, Public Affairs, NCC.

Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/details-new-ncc-payment-plan-mtn-fine/

Lagos State government has debunked the allegation that there is no quality education delivery in the nation, saying that the statement is self-serving and reckless.


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In a statement released by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Adesegun Ogundeji in the Ministry of Education, he opined that the State is arguably the only State that has an Agency dedicated to education quality assurance with offices in all the Local Government Areas.

This Office is responsible for quality-assurance and grading of public and approved private schools below tertiary level in a three year cycle using outcome for learners; quality of provision; and impact of leadership and management as criteria, which results are manifest in the performance of our pupils and students in national and international competitions.

Ogundeji said this clarification is sequel to comments credited to the Proprietor of First Islamic English Foundation Academy, Lagos, Prince Mohammed Mansur Williams under the caption “Most private schools are mere recreational centers” in the Daily Trust of Thursday, 9th June, 2016.

He noted that nothing can be farther from the truth of the unsubstantiated assertions of the proprietor insinuations that, “In Lagos, I know that most of the private schools are owned by either an ex or dismissed staff of the Ministry of Education or some ambitious ones”.

“Lagos State has over 12,000 private schools out of which over 4000 are registered, while many are close to satisfying the criteria for registration, there is no doubt that there are also those fall short of the standard for registration,” he stated.

“While no one is saying that ex-Ministry officials don’t own schools and no known law exclude them from doing so. The question to be addressed here is how many of the schools in the state belong to them to justify the sweeping generalization.”

Ogundeji also challenged Prince Mohammed Mansur Williams, to come up with facts and figures on the percentage of the accredited schools that belong to the class of people in question and wether those schools are worthy of the accreditation or there was compromise.

He said that Williams statement from all intent and purposes was made deliberately to cast aspersion on the image of the ministry, impugn its integrity as the regulatory and supervisory authority while disparaging the work force.

According to Ogundeji, instead of reduction in the number of private schools, given the yawning gap and the state of the economy, more private sector participation should be encouraged while insisting on the rules of engagement.

He therefore enjoined Williams to concentrate on building his self- acclaimed unique education concept which we all know was preceded by many Islamic faith based schools like the Anwar-Ul-Islam, Ansar-Ur-deen, Ahmadiyah Colleges and many private ones instead of disparaging institutions of government in an attempt to have them shut down its competitors for no reason other than fear of competition.

Source: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/lagos-takes-exception-no-quality-education-delivery-allegation/

Wow! The sheer hate for our military is amazing, but when real trouble comes, we'll hide behind them.

I remember when Boko Haram was still an infant, the general populace in the affected areas used to sabotage and even give information to Boko Haram about military movement.

Back then they thought Boko Haram was their friend. Back then, Boko Haram was referred to as Insurgents, rather than Terrorists.


Today, those same people are hiding behind the military to protect them from Boko Haram, and recapture their land from the terrorists in order for them to resettle. What a wonderful world!

"Doyin na my boy! Doyin na my boy!!"

Thanks for this information. I'll definitely try this out.

She is not selling bread for lack of money O! She is doing it because she wants to be active in old age, and be able to interact with people. I can say for a fact, that the Kwara State Government for instance, has been providing upkeep to Rashidi Yekini's immediate family, up to the tune of N5,000,000.

Some of these old people who came up in life by working hard, even if you decide to pay monthly allowances into their accounts, they must do something to keep busy. In fact, that is what makes them live longer.

You could hear voices in Saraki's corner saying "THIS IS WHAT WE WANT". Very good!

They are just making Bukola Saraki's case worse, and eventually his punishment will be more than he bargained for.

This video is enough evidence that this drama was pre-planned, and there is no Judge in Nigeria who will handle Saraki's case with any sense of leniency now, since it is clear the kind of things that they want.

Even if Justice Danladi Umar decides to step down from the case right now, the next Judge will deal with this case more fiercely because an attack on one Judge, is an attack on every Judge.


Lastly, I need to remind Nigerians that THE JUDICIARY IS AN ARM OF GOVERNMENT. It is not a Ministry or department, it is not an organization trying to participate in the justice system. The Judiciary is and ARM of Government just like The Executive and the Legislative, and must be given due respect.

People who cannot stand up to Local Government Chairmen and State Representatives will be talking back at a Judge. It is contempt! Such a lawyer should sleep in a jail cell, and then be derived!

Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, who is accompanying President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria on a state visit to China, met in Beijing with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China,



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Wang Yi expressed that President Muhammadu Buhari is the first visiting head of state of African countries invited by President Xi Jinping after the Johannesburg Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).



Yesterday, the two heads of state reached important consensus on China-Nigeria cooperation in five prior fields including:

Industrialization,

Agricultural

Modernization,

People-to-people and cultural exchanges,

Security / Defense

as well as international and regional affairs, starting a new chapter of win-win cooperation and common development between China and Nigeria. The foreign ministries of the two countries should enhance communication, strengthen coordination, solidly promote the implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and timely translate results of the visit into tangible benefits for the two peoples.



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Geoffrey Onyeama expressed that the Nigerian side appreciates China’s thoughtful arrangement as well as warm and considerate reception for President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to China. President Muhammadu Buhari had brotherly and friendly talks with President Xi Jinping, and reached extensive consensus on strengthening all-round bilateral cooperation. Nigeria is very satisfied with the results of the visit. The new government of Nigeria is willing to fully cooperate with China, learn from China’s development experience, actively promote friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields between the two countries, and advance the comprehensive development of Nigeria-China relations.




Wang Yi expressed that the FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg has achieved a great success. President Xi Jinping and leaders of African countries jointly drew a new blueprint for the development of China-Africa cooperation and proposed the “ten major China-Africa cooperation plans” for the next three years. China is willing to, under the framework of the FOCAC, continue to adhere to its African policy featuring sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, and the correct viewpoint of righteousness and benefit, actively encourage Chinese enterprises and financial institutions to conduct investment and cooperation in Nigeria, and support Nigeria and other African countries in accelerating the process of industrialization and agricultural modernization so as to realize economic diversification and independent sustainable development.



Geoffrey Onyeama expressed sincere appreciation for China’s selfless and long-term assistance for Nigeria and Africa. China never attach any additional conditions in its cooperation with Africa, never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries, and never seeks political control over Africa, fully demonstrating China’s sincerity for cooperation with Africa. Nigeria sincerely hopes that the results of the Johannesburg Summit will be implemented as soon as possible to bring benefits to the African people.


SOURCE: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/geoffrey-onyeama-meets-foreign-minister-wang-yi-china

MTN is under very serious financial pressure from the Government of Nigeria, primarily the National Assembly. Today you hear of a $5 billion fine, tomorrow, it is $3.9 billion, the day after that a Representative is proposing billing them $15 billion, yet you expect all the cheap packages from MTN to continue. It's a company, not a charity organization. In as much as they try to be as charitable as possible, that is not their primary function, so when push comes to shove, they will cut off some liabilities to remain profitable.

The BB Lite, the Midnight Calls, and other cheap and free services will definitely have to go in order for them to be able to shore up their finances to pay whatever our Government finally settles for. Definitely, some subscribers who have previously enjoyed those services will leave, and others will simply stop using the services. That is the collateral damage they are willing to bear.

For me, my concern is less about who dumps, MTN, and more about who MTN dumps. A lot of MTN Contractors are losing their 2016 contracts, shutting their offices, and sacking staff. A lot of the network improvement and expansion projects which MTN announced last year could be put on hold, and subscribers will suffer. More painful is the case of those hundreds of Nigerians which MTN provides medical care for, both at home, and also abroad. I also fear for the MTN Football Scholars who MTN sent to school abroad on football scholarships. You've heard Government calling back students they sent on scholarship because of lack of available funds. I wonder what will happen to those MTN Football Scholars when Government finally puts MTN in that same position.

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Just when you think you are dumping MTN, you're actually doing nothing as your national assembly forces MTN to dump you.

Well, as much as I agree that people should be able to choose their own 4-digit codes themselves, I don't believe it is necessary, because whoever uses *737# to illegally transfer money from someone else's account to their own account has carefully mapped their way to jail.

With Biometric BVN registration, the account which that money landed in will identify the thief or their beneficiary, and they will soon get caught. In fact, we need situations like this where thieves will be taught the futility of their crime.

Please NigerianMusic, send me the banking details of your friend who got robbed, so I can pass it on to my friends at GTBank so that they use those thieves to set a very good example for the world to see.

The GTBank *737# service has been a saviour to me, especially since I don't use internet banking. The stress of banking halls, and waiting on queues, even at Deposit ATMs, all that has ended for me. The problem of running out of mobile recharge credit is now a thing of the past.



last year, one of my clients mistakenly transferred N200,000 into my account on December 23rd, and wanted their money back. There was no way I could get to the bank that evening, and by Boxing Day (December 24th) they had stared getting suspicious, and begged me to even send them N170,000 back. I just remembered *737# and transferred their money back. Today, Bar Baric Digital is their most trusted digital marketer, and that trust is invaluable. Also, my staff used to go crazy at the end of the month, when they knew I had their salary, but the only problem was going to the bank to pay. Now, I just text the cash easily. My nephews and nieces in college too, *737# to their bank accounts, no matter the bank.

Secondly, as much as the GTBank *737# code is for sending and spending money, funny enough it has actually helped me save more, not only in terms of transportation, and time spent in banking halls, but in fact, I have a savings account with no ATM card, and no withdrawal booklet, so I can't withdraw from it. The only hindrance to depositing money in this account has actually been the stress of going to the banking hall to deposit the cash. With *737#, I simply text between N50,000 and N100,000 to my untouchable Savings Account. By the end of this year, I hope to have saved an extra N1.2 million.

The issue I see with the service is the cost, which works well for me, but ay not for others. They charge about a total of N125 for a single transaction. In my case, I'm very happy with spending N125 to post N200,000 to someone else's account. For people transferring N10,000 or less, I hope they have a reviewed price.

I believe MTN has don the right thing by first withdrawing the court case which is one of the preconditions the NCC gave in order to further negotiate, then secondly, going further to pay N50 billion shows they are willing to cooperate.

I just hope the Government is also willing to cooperate too. As much as laws must be obeyed, businesses also must thrive, and I think this issue of MTN fine has dragged on for too long.

The PDP House Of Hunger has been exposed! Lies everyday, in hopes that the party will compensate them in Naira. It's just a big shame how low that arty fell, even before they lost the elections. It is a pity what the PDP turned Nigerian youths into over the 16 years of their misrule. God help Nigeria!

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The conversation of a group of Nigerian youths in the Peoples Democratic Party who trend hashtags in expectation of monetary compensation from the party leaders has been exposed.

In the leaked photo of their conversation, the group which exists on Whatsapp specialises attacking President Muhammadu Buhari with propaganda material for monetary gains.


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In one of such conversations, a member of Attah Ikiddeh said “this team is doing a tremendous work and I hope the PDP leadership recognises and compensates accordingly.

Below are more screenshots of the conversation of the group.

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SOURCE: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/pdp-social-media-propaganda-group-trending-hashtags-for-compensation-exposed

Health we all know is wealth, the progress of anyone or nation is tied to the health of its people. This was stressed recently by Dr. Bolaji Adebiyi, the Chief Medical Officer of Alimosho General Hospital during an interview program Hard Facts on Nigeria Info 93.7FM.



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His interview was quite revealing as it highlighted the challenges faced in health care service and the intervention programmes provided to mitigated and sustain support for valuable healthcare solutions.
First, he revealed that the hospital is Lagos’ busiest hospital referring to Alimosho as a Local government area with a population density that exceeds that of Bayelsa state and recording the highest population numbers in all of the country. Dr. Adebiyi stated that the hospital’s ability to meet the needs of over 24,000 patients monthly with only 450 staff strength made up of doctors, nurses, pharmacist is a daily feat.



The Alimosho General hospital is especially popular for its renal dialysis centre. Presently there are a total of twelve of such centres across the country. Each of the centre has two dialysis machines provided by the telecommunication giant’s Corporate Responsibility arm MTN Foundation. Part of the foundation’s intervention initiatives was also to support the reduction in the price of a dialysis by nearly eighty percent to the most affordable fee when compared to some private and other government owned hospitals.
Doctor Adebiyi related the testimony of a US based Nigerian who has used the centre three times for dialysis whenever in the country. Countless Nigerians also benefit from the centre’s cost saving packages. He also revealed that MTN foundation also provides kidney treatment consumables required for the dialysis process since inception five years ago and continues to do so.


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He offered a candid advice to Nigerians to always go for basic health checkups like blood pressure, prostate cancer checks and cholesterol level checks, He advised women to do normal breast examinations to detect and prevent breast cancer.
He added “The kidney is the chief organ for detoxifying the body, any malfunction poses serious danger to the body as dangerous substances won’t get expelled causing organ break down, diseases and eventual death.”
He finally urged corporate entities to emulate MTN Foundation in giving back to the society through efforts which not only compliments government efforts but going to the point of meeting the health needs in communities they operate. Dr Adebiyi charged government to recognize and support organization that have identified and are aiding worthy causes such as the ongoing intervention at his general hospital
MTN Foundation recently sponsored 14 children to India for heart surgery as part of its commitment to making sure Nigerian children realise their dreams regardless of their health challenges.



Aside health, the foundation also caters to needs in education and infrastructure sector of the economy which directly impact the average man on the street.

2016 is just 20 days gone, and with the Nigerian stock exchange having lost over N2 trillion Naira already; the mind can only begin to imagine how bad the year is going to be. On the larger context though, Nigeria isn’t alone in its woes, with China’s stock markets also experiencing a free-fall during the first week of trading in 2016. It can not be ignored that the Chinese regulators erred greatly in recent regulations, a fact that can also be said of Nigerian regulators and their own faulty regulations. The Chinese regulators installed market-wide circuit breakers into their stock markets (Something the NSE has just recently done). The way a circuit breaker works is that it shuts down and closes the trading day if the market is down by a specific percent. Installing circuit breakers into the Chinese markets was a big mistake, as it instills a wide sense of panic in an already fragile market.



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Sure, we use circuit breakers in the New York Stock Exchange, but that’s also controversial. In China, its stock markets already use daily price limits (in China, individual stock prices cannot fall by more than 10% per day), and its marginal investors seem to be the uninformed, speculative, individual investors (a marginal investor is the one that has the power to affect market prices). So, the imposition of circuit breakers was not only repetitive to its price limit system, but it also only served to incite panic rather than to reduce it.



The question to ask now, is if there is already a sense of uncertainty in the Nigerian market? From issues of insurgencies, to FX restrictions and even to over-regulation of sectors, Nigeria is looking less like the attractive destination it once was. The over N1 trillion slump on the NSE from last week looked like a protest sell off investors, who were sending a clear message to the Nigerian government that they didn’t believe the recent reforms were working.



With crude oil falling below $30/barrel and the realization that Nigerian oil fields could begin to shut down should the slide persist. These realities point to a fact that government revenues, in the face of a N6 trillion budget looks very threatened. Analysts had hoped that this budget would stimulate the economy, but with the fiscal deficits widening, the prospects look bleak.



The core challenge is on how to restore investor confidence, in a scenario where it appears that the government doesn’t particularly believe in the success of business enterprise. Now, it may say otherwise, but actions, they say, speaks louder. With FX restrictions that have greatly hurt local and foreign investors, coupled with unrealistic fines and sanctions handed out to the likes of Stanbic IBTC, MTN and Guinness; the message seems clear. Who wants to then invest in an economy where your access to FX to buy raw materials for your production is hampered, or where the government goes to court to try to stop your “guaranteed” repatriation of funds?



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The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has however shifted the blame to the United States and Nigeria’s over reliance on foreign goods for the unrelenting depreciation in the value of the naira against other major foreign currencies; and puts this out as a background backing for the banks instance on the new FX policies. He said this after a closed door session with the Nigeria senate; who had summoned him to give clarifications to the nations weakening currency. The Nigerian Senate, after the meeting said it was satisfied with the way the monetary authorities had been able to manage pressured naira in the face of prevailing tight global economic conditions.
Kunle Bello an economist said he believed that the government was on the right path, but was going way too fast. He said “ the reforms in themselves are not bad, but are things implemented in phases to meet with social expectations and economic changes. If I were the government, I would have spaced out the reforms to see that the effects aren’t lumped on Nigerians. Also, with job losses, government can’t be driving the stick hard on big employers of labor, it just doesn’t make sense.

Senior researcher at BTVA media also agreed with this and said “The business environment is lacklustre, desperately seeking for positive metrics to lift it. The CBN is compounding matters as its demand management is stifling an already challenged market”



by Tunji Andrews

SOURCE: http://www.barbaric.com.ng/the-titanic-called-nigeria/

austinvsb1:
What a load of crap!! When will Nigerians start thinking like intelligent humans?!

Of course, when nothing else works, resort to insults. The truth however, is that MTN will not bear the brunt of financing a misguided trillion naira Budget Deficit that the Federal Government has landed Nigeria into.

Lakeland4321:
Stop misleading people, atms and pos are run by banks and interswitch. there are competent firms in nigeria that will replace mtn if they ship out, they brought this fine upon themselves out of their own treachery which backfired spectacularly. Every SA and foreign business forums backed NCC and condemned mtn. For once we are right here and i will even support flouting court orders to backslap them to Zululand.

And the banks have their own data networks which they run these transactions on? Or the competent firms that will replace MTN, why are they not already the major service providers being used already? Because they are not competent!

Well, support the flouting of court orders. It's becoming clear with your mention of "Zululand" that your position is more Xenophobic than anything else.

E dey forbid Aso Rock Chapel?!

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the lowest possible poorest performance and 10 is perfect excellence, I will score Buhari just a bit below average, which is 4/10.

He's doing just okay, and is faced with numerous challenges created by the previous administration. However, that does not excuse him, because he claimed he could solve those problems.

[size=20pt]4/10[/size] it is.