₦airaland Forum

‎MEN of the Nigeria Police in Lagos whisked away Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, following an attack on him by a London-based Nigerian journalist, ‎Lekan Fatodu, ‎publisher of UK-based CheckOut magazine.‎
‎‎
Recounting how he was arrested Mr. Sowore said Mr. Fatodu attacked him after he drove out of a restaurant situated along Isaac John Street.

‎“I went with a friend to have lunch in a restaurant and as we drove out of the place we got on Isaac John Street,” Mr. Sowore explained in a facebook post on his timeline.‎

“After driving for a few minutes, I slowed down by a construction site on the road and someone knocked on my window.”‎

‎Mr. Sowore said he immediately recognised Mr. Fatodu and wound down to greet him only to be physically attacked and dragged out of his vehicle.



‎“The construction workers and other people around moved closer to intervene and the police were called in,” he said.

‎The police took Mr. Sowore, Mr. Fatodu and others involved in the incident to Area “F” Command Headquarters, also in Ikeja.

‎It was here that the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said Mr. Sowore should be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
‎
‎“It is unfortunate that the commissioner will treat such a brutal attack against me this way,” Mr. Sowore said.
‎
‎“The matter that was before him was only about the immediate threat to my life only for him to further endanger my life by asking them to send me to Panti.”‎

‎Dolapo Badmus, the police spokesperson in the state, said Mr. Sowore was sent to Panti based on a petition against him.

‎Mr. Badmus said the petition was filed by Mr. Fatodu and it involved criminal defamation, blackmail and threat to life.

‎“The commissioner received the petition yesterday and he immediately referred it to Panti for further investigation,” Ms. Badmus said. 

“That is why he was driven there for further investigation in his case.”‎

‎Ms. Badmus could not immediately say if or when Mr. Sowore would be arraigned before a court.
‎
‎“The matter is still under investigation,” she said.



‎Mr. Sowore founded Sahara Reporters in 2006 to promote citizen journalism by encouraging everyday people to report stories about corruption, human rights abuses and other political misconduct in Nigeria.

‎A story the platform published in January 2016 alleged that Mr. Fatodu stood as front for a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, in the mismanagement of funds meant for the purchase of arms for the military.

‎Mr. Sowore said he believed Mr. Fatodu’s attack against him was “strictly because of the report and other numerous investigations of Sahara Reporters against him and his benefactors.”‎
‎
‎Mr. Fani-Kayode is currently standing trial on allegations that he received funds from a former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.‎

deantimes:
Source: http://www.socialtimesng.com/2016/12/bill-to-establish-christian-court-scales-second-reading/

PRO-GOVERNMENT and anti-government protesters clashed in Benin on Tuesday over the alleged plan of the Edo Government to build N300 million retirement homes for former Gov. Adams Oshiomhole and his deputy.








The pro-government group and members of some civil society organisations (CSOs) fought at Ring Road, Benin, when the latter marched through the streets over the amendment of the law for the pension of the governor.


Edo State House of Assembly last week amended the 2007 Pension Rights of the Governor and Deputy Governor Law to include the provision of a building valued N200 million for a former governor and N100 million for his deputy.


Justin Okunobor, the speaker of the assembly, had said that the new provision was justified as there was an existing law on pension benefits for former governors and deputies.


Civil society groups have criticised the move.


Anti-government protesters, under the aegis of Edo Civil Society Organisations, had converged on the museum ground in Benin as early 8 a.m. and marched toward the Anthony Enahoro House of Assembly Complex to announce their rejection of the new pension benefits.


The civil society groups were confronted by those who support the amendment, who prevented them from gaining access to the major entrance of the building.


The challenge resulted in the CSO members running away, while security operatives who had taken position at strategic positions around the assembly premises watched.



Some protesters sustained injuries during the fight which lasted about an hour, while some vehicles and public address systems used by the CSOs were vandalised.


As a result of the fight, passersby scampered to safety.


The spokesperson for the civil society groups, Osazee Edigin, said his members were attacked by thugs allegedly sponsored by the government.


‘’They mobilsed thugs to attack us and we are trying to revive a guy who fainted, the thugs have taken over Ring Road,’’ Edigin said.


The Chief Press Secretary to Edo Governor, John Mayaki, said the state government recognised the rights and freedom of citizens to express their opinion on public issues and would not do anything to infringe on their freedom.


Mr. Mayaki said there was no iota of truth in the claim of the CSOs as the government would not in any way attempt to gag the people’s freedom.


[NAN]

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court to continue its hearing in the ongoing legal battle for the Ondo State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket.



The Appeal Court had on October 18 suspended hearings into the various applications pending the decision of the highest court.

The applications were brought to the Appeal Court by a factional candidate of the party, Eyitayo Jegede, who challenged the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja to replace him with another contender for the ticket, Jimoh Ibrahim.

While both candidates belong to the PDP, Mr. Jegede was picked by the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the party, and Mr. Ibrahim represents the camp of former Borno governor, Ali Sheriff.

A three-member panel of the appeal court led by Ibrahim Salauwa set aside the matter to await the decision of the Apex Court.

Applications regarding the forthcoming elections were taken to the Supreme Court by a factional leader of the party in Ondo state, Biyi Poroye, who represents Mr. Sheriff’s faction.

On Tuesday, a five-man panel of justices led by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, ordered the Appeal Court to proceed with the matter.

[NAN]

Chibabi:
INEC has been compromise

THE Independent National Electoral Commission says it has no plan to postpone the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for November 26.



The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, disclosed this to newsmen while responding to calls by the Peoples Democratic Party and some other registered political parties that the election should be postponed.

Oyekanmi said that INEC had already gone far with preparations and there was no any occurrence that warranted the commission to shift the Saturday election.

Oyekanmi said: “INEC has no plan and does not intend to postpone the election.

“Preparations for the Ondo Governorship election started since March and 12 out of 14 activities planned for the poll have already been carried out.

“Besides, the grounds for postponing any election are enshrined in the Electoral Law and certainly, such calls for postponement is not one of the grounds.

“The 13th activity which is the Stakeholders’ Forum will hold on Tuesday in Akure, Ondo State. The Commission therefore will not postpone the election.”

The PDP had called on INEC to postpone the election, pending the determination of the suit involving its candidate which was before the Supreme Court.

A total of 20 other political parties had also called on INEC to postpone the election at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.

NO fewer than 20 political parties met on Monday in Abuja, demanding that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC should postpone the November 26 governorship election in Ondo state.

NgcoboP:
what's their productivity?

NgcoboP:
sharing sharing and sharing... sell all them unproductive states like ebonyi.... jigawa .... Sokoto.... borno.... yobe .... zamfara... Kwara.... sell them. olx them off

THIRTY-SIX states of the federation shared N111.8 billion in October, less than the N143.6 billion shared in September from the Federation Account by N31.8 billion.



The breakdown forms part of a report obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria from a source at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in Abuja on Sunday.


The report showed that the revenue allocated for each state in October was less than what they got from the federation account in September.


The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, at the last FAAC meeting, attributed the low revenue earnings of the month to several factors.


Adeosun attributed the decline to the loss of $45.5 million in Federation Export sales, while shut- in and shut-down of pipelines for repairs and maintenance also contributed to the drop in revenue.


The decrease in volume of dutiable imports receipts from Joint Venture Cash Call, Foreign Companies Income Tax and Value Added Tax were other reasons given.


The federation funds are usually shared in arrears, so, revenue generated in January is shared in February; thus, the revenue shared was actually generated in September and shared in October.


The key agencies that remit funds into the federation account are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Customs Service.


NAN reports that during the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting in October, federal, states and local governments shared N455 billion as against the N516 billion that was shared in September.


The revenue distributed included the Gross Statutory revenue, Value Added Tax, exchange gain, N63.3 billion excess
Petroleum Profit Tax and 13 per cent derivation to oil- producing states.


The oil-producing states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.


The report showed that before distribution, state liabilities were deducted.


The liabilities included an external debt of N2.9 billion, contractual obligations of N10.48 billion and other deductions amounting to N17.56 billion.


Other deductions covered National Water Rehabilitation Projects, National Agricultural Technology Support, Payment for Fertilizers, State Water Supply Projects, State Agriculture Projects and National Fadama Project.


However, the 36 states got their due shares after all deductions were made.


Abia took N2.6 billlion, Adamawa N2.5 billion, Cross River N1.4 billion, Ekiti N1.6 billion, Edo N1.9 billion, Kaduna State N3.4 billion, Kano State N4.2 billion, Lagos State N5.9 billion, Rivers N7.6 billion, and Zamfara, N2 billion.


Delta N5.6 billion, Anambra N2.8 billion, Benue N2.7 billion, Borno N3.2 billion, Ebonyi N2.4 billion, Enugu State N2.6 billion, Gombe State N2.03 billion, Nassarawa State N2.3 billion, Imo N2.3 billion and Kogi N2.7 billion.


Yobe got N2.7 billion, Taraba N2.3 billion, Sokoto State N2.9 billion, Plateau N1.7 billion, Oyo State N2.79 billion, Osun N305 million, Ondo State N3.3 billion, Ogun N1.5 billion, Niger N2.7 billion and Kebbi N2.73 billion.


Also, Katsina State got N3.2 billion, Bayelsa N6.3 billion, Bauchi State N2.3 billion, Jigawa N3.1 billion, Akwa Ibom N8.7 billion and Kwara N2.2 billion.


The report also showed that the Federal Capital Territory had N3.9 billion from the Federal Government’s share of the distributable revenue in October.


NAN reports that the FAAC committee is made up of Commissioners for Finance and Accountants-General from the 36 states; the Accountant-General of the Federation and representatives from the NNPC.


Others are representatives from the Federal Inland Revenue Service; the Nigerian Custom Service; Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria.


The federation account is currently being managed on a legal framework that allows funds to be shared to the three tiers of government under three major components. These components are the statutory allocation, Value Added Tax distribution and allocation made under the derivation principle.


[Agency Report - NAN]

The Judge said the panel took the decision following a notice of motion for stay from the Supreme Court served on it by the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the PDP.

Salauwa said: “Only yesterday, at about 7pm, we were served a motion from the apex court ordering the panel to discontinue further actions.

“The motion was filed by all the respondent parties in the pending appeals.

“This include the Ali Modu Sheriff, Biyi Poroye, the Executive members of the Ondo State PDP and the Executive members of the South West Zone of the party.

“These parties had approached the apex court to order us from further actions pending the determination of interlocutory appeals they had filed at the apex court.”

THE low demand for dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday forced naira to appreciate further against dollar, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.



NAN reports that the Nigerian currency gained N5 in Lagos to exchange at N460 to a dollar from N465 recorded on Tuesday.

Also, the Pound Sterling and Euro closed at N560 and N500 respectively.

At the Bureau De Change window, the dollar was sold at N385, being the Central Bank of Nigeria controlled rate.

Also, the Pound Sterling and Euro traded at N560 and N503 respectively.

However, the naira weakened against the dollar at the interbank market, losing N2.49 to close at N307.26 against N305.27 recorded on Tuesday.

Traders at the market said that the demand for the green back was low due to the political situation in the US.

Harrison Owoh, a BDC operator, said that stakeholders in the market were painstakingly watching the political situation in the US and its effect on the country’s economy.

Owoh said that in the coming days, the demand for the dollar was likely to remain low until the successful transition from a Democratic to a Republican Government in US.

THE economic recession combined with the rate of unemployment has resulted in millions of Nigerians applying for almost every available vacancy. It is even worse if the offer is from the Federal Government. Consider this, 700,000 Nigerians apply for just 500 vacancies in the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).



Interestingly, government have embraced the innovation of online applications. We all know how government is always foot-dragging when it comes to new technology. As the government roll out new vacancies, Nigerians are having a torrid time applying for these jobs.



As usual, Nigerians are very good with conspiracy theories. They have accused the agencies of knowingly making their server very slow while others say that they have already selected candidates. Whichever divide you belong, it is important to read this five tips to help successfully apply for a job a government website.

Read Instructions

Whether you are applying for a job or not; it is very important for you to read the instructions and job description. This will help you avoid unnecessary mistakes. It will even make your application faster and quicker.

Be Extremely Patient

There are thousands of Nigerians applying for the same job like you. So, you will experience frequent website crashes. So, you have to be extremely patient if you want to successfully apply. The best thing to do is for you to do your application in the wee hours of the day. At this time, there are less people online. The important thing is to keep trying.

Read other people’s experiences on websites

If you are having troubles with your application, you should visit websites like Nairaland and innovation village to read about other people’s experiences. This will help you navigate any issues you are having with your application.

Double-check your application

It is important to know that you may have only one opportunity to submit your application. Hence, you should ensure that you double-check your application. If you click submit, and you notice any mistake afterwards, it may reduce your chances of being selected.

Apply once



Even if this point is part of the instructions, some Nigerians don’t abide by these rules. They prefer to apply more than once with the mindset that it may improve their chances of being invited for the test. This is not the case. Most times, you will be disqualified if the computer software notice that you applied more than once. Just obey and apply once.

SENATORS from the South East zone who held a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari said they went to express their concern over issues affecting the region.








Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, led the senators to the meeting with Mr. Buhari in his office in Abuja on Wednesday.


Briefing State House correspondents’ shortly after the meeting, Mr. Ekweremadu said they especially raised concerns on the state of security and infrastructure in the south-east region.


“For us from the South-east, we believe that dialogue is better than any other form of engagement. So we decided to visit the President and present to him some of the concerns of the South East, including the issues of roads, general infrastructure, the rail and airports,” he said.


The Deputy Senate President said the delegation discussed the issue of insecurity in the South-east especially with regards to the activities of the Independent Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.


“We had a good conversation and he promised to look into the issues”, he said.


The Chairman of the South East Caucus in the Senate, Eyinnaya Abaribe, who also spoke with reporters said that the region was the most “short-changed” in the country.


He said Mr. Buhari promised to look into their complaints.



“We know that there are problems everywhere but we also believe that the south-east is the zone that is far more short-changed at this time than other zones.


“We also talked about the issue of appointments from the South-east, especially with respect to the National Security Council. The President also told us that governors of the South-east have also engaged him on the same problems,” Mr. Abaribe said.


The senator said leaders from the region would continue to engage with the government.


Other senators in the delegation include Sam Egwu, Hope Uzodinma, Andy Uba and Chukwuka Utazi.


[NAN]

THE House of Representatives on Wednesday called on law enforcement agencies to track down promoters of a “questionable” investment scheme popularly known as ‘MMM.’








The lower chamber also mandated its committees on banking and currency and financial crimes to investigate the scheme.


The MMM is a deposit money scheme that promises a 30 per cent interest on investment per month.


Despite its popularity amongst Nigerians of all classes, critics maintain that the business is a Ponzi scheme because its operators use money from earlier investors to pay later investors.


Those behind the venture are not known to the Nigerian regulatory agencies, including the Central Bank and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation.


The business is also said not to have been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, making it difficult to identify its promoters.


Regulatory and anti-corruption agencies had earlier warned Nigerians against participating in the scheme.


But lawmakers said members of a syndicate who conduct seminars to train people on how to invest in the business should be arrested.



The development followed a motion of urgent national importance raised by Akinlade Fijabi from Oyo State, who described MMM as a ‘Rob Peter to Pay Paul Scheme’.


Mr. Fijabi said the operators of MMM are exploiting the economic situation of Nigerians that had left them desperate for income through any means without considering the implications.


Another lawmaker from Ondo State, Bode Ayorinde, said lawmakers should be concerned because they will likely be inundated with petitions if the scheme goes burst.


“When the business goes burst, it is the same House that people will flood with petitions,” Mr. Ayorinde said.


An Enugu lawmaker, Dennis Amadi, said the House should save Nigerians from themselves, because the collapse of MMM could make many commit suicide.


“The House will not wait until these crooks defraud Nigerians of billions of naira or until people start committing suicide,” Mr. Amadi said.


Speaker Yakubu Dogara ruled that the motion was adopted and urged the committee to expedite its investigation and report back to House within four weeks.