₦airaland Forum

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday said no member of his family ever reached the ripe age of 70 years.
He spoke in Yola, capital of Adamawa, during an event which students of American University of Nigeria Academy and primary schools, organised to mark his 70th birthday.
“It is a milestone in my life because nobody in my family has ever lived up to 70 years,” Abubakar said.
He lauded the students for “the surprise of a birthday bash” and reiterated his commitment to continue to support education in the country.
The former vice-president called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend the ongoing warning strike for the sake of students.
He said education was the backbone of development, saying nothing should be done to jeopardise education.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Thursday declared that the Treasury Single Account, TSA, implemented by the Federal Government has turned lecturers to beggars as salaries are not paid in full for several months. It described the innovation which governs transactions in public institutions including universities as a new form of slavery.
This was made known to reporters by the Chairman of the University of Calabar, UniCal chapter of ASUU, Dr Tony Eyang, who pointed out that TSA is stifling the universities, stressing that it was not designed with the running of the universities in mind.
“By the peculiar nature of universities it is difficult for them to operate without hitches based on the TSA. The TSA has made it very difficult for funds to be assessed. It has made it very difficult for academic programmes to be conducted. So that is the problem. As a union we are not opposed to the introduction and operation of the TSA, but its application to the university system is stifling the smooth running of the universities. That is where our problem is,” he said.
Eyang stated that ASUU, which embarked on a warning strike on Wednesday to press home its demands, will not surrender until government does the needful by addressing the union’s demands.
He stated that government has not indicated any intention to address any of the issues being agitated by the union including those that do not involve money like the low subvention to the universities and the TSA.
According to him, “There is a new form of slavery where university teachers are not given what they are entitled to which implies that the federal government has unilaterally reached a decision to reduce the entitlement of academic staff of universities which of course is against the labour law”.
“In the past ten months because the subventions to the universities have fallen, it has increasingly made the universities unable to pay the full entitlement of its workers. In the University of Calabar for example, what we are being paid is 90% of our salaries since February 2016,” the ASUU chairman said.

Renowned stand-up comedian, Ali Baba, has recounted his weird experience with controversial Nollywood actress, Cossy Orjiakor.
Ali said the incident happened at the airport when they were about to embark on a trip to the United States, US.
He said that some immigration officers delayed the actress because of her large breasts.
On his Twitter handle @ALIBABAGCFR, the rib cracker shared a photo of the ‘Queen of Boobs,’ saying: “Cossy Orjiakor and I were on the same flight to the USA last month.
“I had crossed Immigration and even checked in and realized she had not called to say she had checked in.
“I called later and found out they held her back at the airport for 2 hours.
“Why? I asked her.
“She said they said something about ‘No dairy products allowed’… Still don’t get it,” he quipped.

Oritshefemi: I lost N8.5m jewelry at Shina Peller’s Quilox Club

Upscale hangout Quilox club is gradually becoming a notorious hub for infamous fights between celebrities especially music stars. Quilox has recorded a number of high profile fights and misunderstandings between artists who chose the venue to settle scores in recent time than any other club in Lagos.
The crises emanated from that early morning of Saturday 12 November bloody fight between Afro pop star Oritsefemi Majemite Ekele and Quilox Nightclub owner, Shina Peller, is yet to abate.
While the brawl had led to blood, sweat, loss of properties, police intervention, sneering, and shading, but the heat generated by the accusations and counter-accusations by the two gladiators -Oritsefemi and Shina Peller – are nerving. The two camps have released press statements, while the social media space has also been saturated by their posts shading others.
But what went wrong? A source close to Oritsefemi, the MSN Gang frontman disclose that it is unrealistic for a popular singer like Oritsefemi to kick off a fight inside a popular hangout like Quilox without any cause.
According to him, the singer neither was he drunk nor angry with anyone prior to arriving the nightclub.
“…it is very unfair for anyone to insinuate that Oritsefemi would be at the club to disrupt patrons and other customer’s peace,” he said.
The source shared with our correspondent message from Oritsefemi explaining further what happened that led to he been ordered out of the club by Shina Peller and how the brawl went out of hand.
Oritsefemi stated; “On Friday, a friend invited me to meet him at Quilox at around 2 a.m early Saturday. On arrival at the club’s entrance, a bouncer whispered into my ears that Grade A celebrities like me have reserved seats upstairs in the VIP section of the club. However, on entering the VIP, my friends who were with me were bounced. I protested that I was not at the club alone. More so, I was invited by a friend and the person needed to come in alongside some of my colleagues. They were all denied access into the VIP section.
“Where I was reserved to seat was a Quilox patron also seated. After exchanging pleasantries, he offered me to share drink on his table. Already, I had ordered an expensive bottle of Hennessy XO for my friends and I. Due to my status, I had to share the drink with him because he showed he was my true fan. We chatted for some minutes, but I was not really comfortable being there with him because my friends were out of the VIP.
“I however excused to leave the section. The patron pleaded that I shouldn’t leave simply because my friends were bounced from the VIP. I told him that the reason I wanted to leave was best known to me. As I was discussing with the patron, one of the bouncer suddenly came to tell me that his boss, Shina had ordered that I should leave the VIP section. I asked him over what? He said if I don’t want to stay I should f**k off out of the club.
“The ‘f’ words he used really provoked me and the next thing the bouncer did was to start harassing me. When I realised he wanted to him me, I resisted but I was holding a glass cup with drink inside on my right hand which mistakenly hit one of his eye balls and blood started gushing out.
Oritsefemi claimed that while this was going on, Shina Peller then instructed other bouncers to walk me out of the club with instruction not to welcome artistes again into his club. He then re-instructed the other bouncers almost eight to take the “Double Wahala” singer off the premises and beat him up.
After the order, the bouncers dragged Oritsefemi out of the club and allegedly beat him to stupor.
The music star stated, “As this was going on, Shina Peller pretended he didn’t know anything until the bouncers descended on me. They beat me until I fainted. I was stripped naked inside the club premises. One of the bouncers stole my necklace jewelry worth N8.5 million on the spot. They dragged me on the floor for almost one hour before the Police came to rescue me. By then, I had no cloth on me. Even the Police officers who came to rescue me can bear me as a witness.
He claimed that another artiste, White Man, who accompanied him to the club was also beaten and terribly injured.
“I was later invited to Maroko Police station in order to write statement on what transpired between me and the bouncer. I narrated the whole scenario and the Investigative Police Officer, IPO settled the issue. He however instructed me to treat the injured bouncer immediately while also ordered Quilox management to provide my missing necklace one of the bouncers stole or they pay me N8.5 million which is the worth of the jewelry as at the time it was purchased.
Oritsefemi said Shina Peller or his Quilox management have not provided his necklace as instructed by the police. He said the IPO in charge of the matter had called Shina Peller severally but was told Shina had travelled to United Kingdom immediately after the incident.
While we could not immediately get the police reaction on the whole imbroglio, the management of popular Lagos nightclub, Quilox has also released a statement to state their own side of the story.
A statement signed by Jessica Ulo Oputa, PR and Marketing Manager of Quilox, accused Oritsefemi of throwing caution to the wind by attempting to forcefully sit eight of his guests at the VIP section of the club, contrary to the rule that table were reserved and the section not meant for every guest at the club.
She said the singer inflicted grave bodily harm on one of its bouncers in a bloody confrontation that occurred in the early hours of Saturday.
Quilox’s statement reads;
“In the early hours of the November 12, 2016, an unfortunate incident occurred between music act Oritsefemi and a member of the security team at Club Quilox.
“The incident started at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning when Oritsefemi came into Quilox without prior reservations or table bookings. It is important to note that tables are allocated to customers who have made prior paid table bookings in advance of their arrival except such customer is a patron or member of the club and tables are allocated according to availability in such case.
“However Oritsefemi who did not fall into any of the categories above approached a patron and after pleading was accommodated on a patron’s table, but with the understanding that other guests of the said patron were still being expected to join the table shortly which Oritsefemi agreed to. It is important to note that this is a table that could only accommodate a maximum of six people.
“In a surprising turn of events, Oritsefemi who was drinking from the patrons’ bottle, threw caution to the wind by attempting to sit eight of his guests at the table. The surprised Patron strongly rejected such effrontery and invited the bouncer guarding the floor to intervene.
“The bouncer politely approached Oritsefemi and told him that the Patron who owned the table did not want any of Oritsefemi’s guest joining in as the patrons guests were still being expected. However, Oritsefemi in a fit of unprovoked rage slapped the bouncer then proceeded to breaking a glass in his hand and stabbing him in the eye. Despite his position or the power he thinks he has as a celebrity, this is not an excuse for inflicting grave bodily harm on another human being.
“The scene quickly became rowdy as other customers rushed to the table and confronted the artist for his violent behaviour, our security team quickly stepped in to salvage the situation by carrying Oritsefemi out of the club (this is our standard procedure for violent altercations) while other members of staff focused on giving First aid treatment to the bouncer who almost lost his eye and had already lost so much blood.
“Oritsefemi faced by an enraged crowd outside and perhaps realizing the gravity of his offense pretended to collapse. The artist and the bouncer were subsequently rushed to a nearby hospital
“The bouncer affected insisted on pressing charges as thus he and Oritsefemi went from the hospital to Bar Beach police station, where Oritsefemi accepted his offense and pleaded for mercy, he was granted bail at November 12 and 13 and advised to report back to the station on Tuesday November 15, 2016.
“We were hesitant to release a press statement as several well meaning people have attempted to intercede on behalf of the artist, but after his malicious and grossly false account of the events that occurred, it is only fair that we defend the integrity and ethos of our organization.”
When Quilox berthed on the scene, it changed the scene with a luxurious style of nightclubbing. With the absence of a high net-worth and respected nightclub like Niteshift Coliseum, the high and mighty naturally drifted to Club Quilox. At a different time, Governors Akinwumi Ambode and Ibikunle Amosun of Lagos and Ogun States respectively were at the club to unwind. Same with some city billionaires, young tycoons and A-list entertainers. Within its few years of existence, it has arguably earned the nod as Nigeria’s biggest and most expensive nightclub.
The first major face-off was a misunderstanding between Chocolate City CEO and rapper, M.I who took to Twitter on Sunday, 1 March 2015, claiming he was disrespected alongside his band while they were performing in the club.

Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia state, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
John Oyegun, chairman of the APC, received the billionaire businessman at the party’s secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.
Kalu served his two terms as governor under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but floated the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), after falling out with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He is currently standing trial for alleged corruption
Last month, the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him before a federal high court in Lagos on 34 counts bordering on money laundering.
Kalu in his speech said he decided to join the party following pressure from friends and well wishers.
More to follow…

The bill for establishment of Nigerian Maritime University at Okerenkoko in Delta State, on Wednesday scaled second reading at the Senate, months after Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, announced scrapping of the project.
The bill sponsored by James Manager (PDP-Delta) was unanimously supported by the senators after the mover’s lead debate, making case for the establishment of the university.
The groundbreaking of the proposed school at Okerenkoko in Warri south-West local government area was done by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 and, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, physical asset were on site.
However, there has been no law backing the establishment of the university.
Addressing the senate committee on maritime on January 19, Mr. Amaechi had announced the scrapping of the project, which was to be financed by the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration Agency, a parastatal under his ministry.
Mr. Amaechi then cited insecurity in the area, and said the project was a “misplacement of priority” because there are transport institutes in Zaria (Kaduna), and Oron (Akwa Ibom), already.
Later on June 14 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Minister said the Federal Government lacked the funds to continue with school; and that unless the N13 billion spent on the procurement of the land for the project was retrieved, the project stood scrapped.
“Okerenkoko (Maritime University), I am not against,” he said. “My argument about Okerenkoko is that land alone is 13 billion(naira). If you give me 13 billion, I will buy the half of Lagos. That 13 billion has built the university already.”
“What to do: let EFCC retrieve the money and release the money and we build the university. If they bring the N13 billion, I will build the university for them. That’s for land alone. I believe the Federal Government does not have money. When we have money, we can continue. The minister of petroleum has said he would look for the money. Minister, give me the money and we continue,” Mr. Amaechi said in Uyo.
But the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu disagreed with Mr. Amaechi, saying he was in support of the project, drawing a loud applause from the audience.
“First, let me say on Okerenkoko University, I disagree with the Minister of Transport,” he said.
“Any facility that is located in the South-South we should work close to developing it. I don’t care the circumstances under which you are placed.”
On Wednesday, the Senate shunned the transport minister, ensuring the bill for the establishment of the Maritime University scaled second reading.
Mr. Manager, the sponsor, argued that maritime sector had huge potentials and that Nigeria should have a university for the purpose of producing capable manpower for the sector which, as he said, is currently dominated by foreign interests.
On suitability of Okerenkoko for the project, he said the area was close to the sea and surrounded by oil wells.
The move that the bill be read for the second time was seconded by Fauster Ogola (PDP-Bayelsa) who said the giving legal backing to the school would make Nigeria become a “hub of manpower development in the Maritime sector.”
He said Nigeria would be the first to have maritime university in West Africa once the bill received approval of the National Assembly ultimately.
Gbenga Ashafa (APC-Lagos) and Jibrin Barau (APC-Kano) also supported the bill.
After the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, called the voice vote and the Senators unanimously responded ‘ayes’, Mr. Saraki ruled the bill be referred to the committee on tertiary education and Tetfund.
The committee was asked to report back in four weeks.
Also, the Senate made progress on the bill to make the Maritime Academy in Oron, Akwa Ibom State a degree awarding institution. The bill, proposed by Effiong Nelson (PDP-Akwa Ibom) was read for the second time.

A former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday declared that the Boko Haram insurgency would not take place in the country if he were to be Nigeria’s president.
The Turaki Adamawa made this claim in Yola during the distribution of relief materials to over 50,000 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, at American University of Nigeria, AUN, drawn from displaced persons camps across the state in commemoration of his 70th birthday celebrations.
“If you recalled,while we are in office in 2002, such a small up raising, very similar to this Boko Haram,reared their head in Yobe State, then, we smashed it immediately.
“So I think it requires a steadfast leadership, a leadership that is decisive,” he said, adding that, “We never heard anything about it again,until we left government.”
Atiku said he would have used all at his disposal to ensure that Boko Haram did not take place in any part of North-Eastern Nigeria and else where in the country.
He regretted that Boko Haram took over seven of the 21 local government areas of Adamawa state, adding that what he did to prevent Boko Haram from completely over running Adamawa State is between him and Almighty God.
The ex-vice president pointed out that the Adamawa Peace Initiative was put together to ensure peaceful coexistence of the people of Adamawa State.

History shapes men but very few men shape history. The few that do affect rare traits characteristic of giants of men, like Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Inherent in the retired General are character, order, and meaning; the traits of exceptional men.
There is no gainsaying IBB is a political force, a symbol of change exemplary of the world that he lived in his youth. But despite the passage of time, IBB’s name and character remain immune to the ravages of time that renders passé, abstractions like beauty, nobility, and greatness. In the former military president, they epitomise a shifting but continuing validity.
This perhaps explains Ummi Ibrahim Zeezee’s fascination with IBB. In IBB, the Hausa actress has discovered the beat that makes her heart skip. It reverberates in the pulse of the former military General. And in his eyes, Ummi has found shiny little stars. As the stars brighten the skies, IBB imbues Ummi’s world with glitter. Little wonder she loves him with all her heart.
There is no gainsaying Ummi has found purpose and romance in her love for IBB and she would pay no worship to garish lust. The Hausa actress and Nollywood star is set to marry the former military ruler, if her latest Instagram post is anything to go by.
The actress claimed that she has been in a relationship with him since 2013, when she granted an interview stating that IBB loved her and that she loved him too. She had earlier hinted on Facebook that the 75-year-old former military ruler was planning to marry her but that there were things to be sorted out first.
Ummi posted a photo mix of herself and the Minna, Niger State born ex-ruler.
She however, took the message down less than an hour after posting it, suggesting that she was not permitted to make the announcement yet.
Some are of the opinion that she is merely fantasizing about a relationship with IBB.
Babangida, a native of the Gwari ethnic group, married Maryam (née King), his first wife on September 6, 1969. Together they had four children: Mohammed, Aminu, Aishat, and Halima. However, Maryam died from complications of ovarian cancer on December 27, 2009, leaving Babangida alone in the world.
Predictably, IBB was heartbroken over Mariam’s sad demise and despite speculations that he would take another wife, the ex-military dictator refused to remarry. Even in the face of temptation, IBB remained resolute, nursing the wounds inflicted in his soul by the tragic death of his heartthrob, Mariam. Sources close to Babangida revealed that it would be impossible for any woman to take the place of late Mariam in his heart.

Ummi vs late Mariam Babangida
Speculations abound over Ummi’s capacity to measure up to late Mariam in the estimation and life of IBB. While the jury is out on her ability to win the unhesitant love of IBB and earn a place in his life, the pressure is on Ummi to prove herself worthy of the retired General’s loyalty and affection.
There is no gainsaying late Mariam was a force of nature. As first lady, she launched many programmes to improve the life of women. The “Maryam Phenomenon” became a celebrity and “an icon of beauty, fashion and style”, a position she retained after her husband’s exit from power.
Born Maryam King in 1948 in Asaba (present-day Delta State), she attended her parents were Hajiya Asabe Halima Mohammed from the present Niger State, a Hausa, and Leonard Nwanonye Okogwu from Asaba, an Igbo. On September 6, 1969, shortly before her 21st birthday, she married IBB who was a Nigerian army Major at the period.
They had four children comprising two boys, Mohammed and Aminu, and two girls, Aisha and Halima. After her husband became Chief of Army Staff in 1983, Maryam became President of the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA). She was active in this role, launching schools, clinics, women’s training centres and child day care centres.
She also established a glamorous persona. Talking about the opening of the seven-day Better Life Fair in 1990, one journalist said “She was like a Roman empress on a throne, regal and resplendent in a stone-studded flowing outfit that defied description.” Women responded to her as a role model, and her appeal lasted long after her husband fell from power.
On December 27, 2009, Mariam died of ovarian cancer at 61 in Los Angeles, California. Her husband was at her side as she died. The president of the Nigerian Senate at the period, David Mark, reportedly broke down in tears upon hearing the news. The Times of Nigeria reported on her death identifying her as “one of the greatest women in Africa.”
Such is the force of life that late Mariam symbolised. Can Ummi ever measure up to her?

Award-winning actress and filmmaker, Stephanie Linus was a headline speaker at the ‘Mentorship’ programme of the 18th Lagos Book & Arts Festival 2016 recently.
The event, which took place at the Freedom Park, Lagos saw a good turnout of students from Primary and Secondary Schools across the state.
Stephanie spoke on the topic “My Encounter with the Book” where she shared the impact of books and reading on her life with children and young adults. While recounting some of her childhood experiences with books, she encouraged them to imbibe positive values always and be great ambassadors of our nation.

The unfolding story of Chidinma Blessing Okeke, the dethroned Miss Anambra, who was said to be involved in a lesbian act in a widely circulated video, continues to confound people. There’s no gainsaying that beauty pageants the world over is a platform for the celebration of feminine beauty and intelligence, though in the recent times many of the girls emerging winners flaunt less of beauty and more of brain. Many over the years won the crown and ended up etching their names in the sands of time.
One of such name is Agbani Darego who won the Miss World pageant in 2004. For the dethroned Miss Anambra, Chidinma Blessing Okeke, it was perhaps a journey filled with thorns and snares.
She may have had a big dream of moving to the top through beauty pageants but her dreams had been thwarted by the release of an obscene video where she was filmed nude in a lesbian act with another girl, Ada, who is alleged to be the third runner-up of Miss Democracy and Chidinma’s personal assistant.
We learnt from Chidinma’s mother, Lady Nora Okeke, that the former beauty queen performed the act under the influence of something which she could not ascertain. “As a mother watching the video broke my heart but I have stopped crying and committed everything to the hands of God who always fight my battle.
When I spoke with my daughter, I asked her what led her into such an unholy act despite the fact that I brought her up in a Godly way,” Okeke said in tears.
Chidinma stated: ‘Mummymiss_anambra_acc1 even if I did it, I didn’t know when it was done honestly, I’m surprised and confused. I don’t know what happened mummy’. On whether or not the family supported Chidinma to participate in the pageant, the mother recalled: “Chidimma came home to say she was going to take part in Miss Anambra Pageant and I discouraged her; I told her to use her beauty for God. She went back to school and returned later to say she has been selected among the final contestants.
I can never support any of my children to take part in any beauty pageant because we are a Christian family and don’t have liking for such things. Chidimma went into the pageant without our knowledge but she is a little girl and we cannot abandon her; she remains my little baby and the baby of the house. When she won, it was her sister that called to tell us. She is my last child and came seven years after my sixth child.”
Okeke stated: “Chidimma was simply a pawn in the hands of both the organisers of Miss Anambra and her former manager hence things went awry when she decided to free herself from the bondage.” She added: “The entire controversy affected my daughter because when I went to see her, she had emaciated so much and not looking after herself at all, when I asked her why her hair was so unkempt, she said, ‘Mummy leave that hair alone, that’s not my worry.’
My prayer is that they should not kill my daughter.” Events leading up to the dethroning of Miss Anambra may have started building when she decided to break away from the clutches of her manager who the family did not name. In an interview Chidinma’s father, Sir Jeremiah Okeke, declined comments on the controversy because he felt the deed had already been done and could not be reversed.
His words partly read, “I have embraced prayers and seeking the face of God and I know in no distant time he will expose the people behind all this. They have rubbished my daughter and my family name but my God will fight my battle, I trust Him and he has never failed me. How can a beauty queen be borrowing money to pay her driver, where is it done?
Why was the crown taken away from her three to five months before the due date for another queen to emerge? Why was I called and told to declare my daughter missing by the Managing Director of AB? A man does not say all that he has seen…leave that alone, God will expose the truth soon. This MD is neither known to me nor my wife.
Then he called me to suggest I declare my daughter missing? My response to him on the phone was- you say I should declare my own daughter Chidinma missing? Okay, I have heard you and I dropped the phone.”
Details gathered from Chidinma’s father showed that the dethroned queen was not even paid the full amount of N1million which she won while she was made to share every kobo she made while reigning as a beauty queen until she couldn’t contain it anymore and she was advised to take her complaints to the person currently managing her. It was the tears of a drowning queen that made the current manager to swing into action.
It was alleged that the take-over did not go down well with the former manager who called to query Chidinma on the move describing it as a wrong one to make.

HOW THE CAR WAS SEIZDED FROM HER
According to the embattled queen’s father, “Chidinma was with her elder sister when she was called to go to the ABS office with her car for a function only for her to return shortly in tears and the elder sister asked what happened, and she said that When she got to ABS, she was asked to hand over the keys of the car which she did but before she left, she was shown a video of herself in an immoral act.
chidinma2She broke down in tears but was asked to leave. God has finished the fight for me because even as an adult I cannot even contain that kind of shock. It’s amazing how my daughter was able to leave that place and remained sane not to have thrown herself at an oncoming vehicle to die or commit suicide. Anybody that can do that kind of thing does not mean well.
I thank God that my daughter is recovering, I was with her yesterday (Monday, Nov. 7), though she is still in shock, it will all pass and I can’t wait for the truth to be exposed”. Reacting to Chidimma’s father’s statement, the Managing Director of ABS, Nze Uche Nworah, denied ever calling the man on the phone saying that he does not have the man’s number neither have they met. “That’s a lie, I never spoke with Chidinma’s father and I have never met him in person.
I hope he is not confusing me with somebody else. The ABS management which is the management that is handling the Miss Anambra pageant has followed the binding contract to the letter. If you can access Chidinma, ask her to show you the contract which she signed and her sister’s husband signed on behalf of the father. I never called her father at any time; I am not even supposed to be responding to what the man is saying but for the sake of clarity”.
When a call was put across to Chidimma’s father to react to Nworah’s denial, he simply said, “okay” and condemned the management’s negligence regarding knowing who the beauty queen’s parents were. Despite the barrage of accusations and counter accusations, only Chidinma has the key to unravelling the entire truth.
Until the truth is unearthed, it remains to be seen if Chidinma, the dethroned Miss Anambra (2015), is truly a lesbian who performed the act wilfully perhaps because of the gains that accrued from it, or she was drugged to perform the act. For now, she remains in hiding and only her parents can tell where she is.
The two-day journey through the very lonely, tarred road to the small town of Ogboji to get the version of the parents, who are visibly distraught as a result of the scandal, was tough. It gave an insight into the origin of the embattled beauty queen, a middle class, quiet and friendly family who believes in nothing except God.
“My family planned on keeping the news from me because I’m hypertensive, but I was later told and it won’t kill me. I have seen worse things during my time in business; let God continue to fight my battle”, Okeke said.

The Universal College of Estate Management, UCEM, an institution that provides supported online learning for Real Estate and Construction professionals has introduced its Distance Learning programmes to Nigeria.
Its International Business Development Manager, Lale Day, Mr. David Hunt –Tutor, Real Estate and Mr. Akintoye Akinosi, the Chief Executive Officer of Cranesway Horeb Consulting Limited, UK, flagged off the campaign at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Environmental Science Auditorium on November 8.
Akinosi, an alumnus of UNILAG, advised the students to take maximum advantage of the rare opportunity given to them by UCEM. According to him, instead of travelling abroad for their Degrees and Masters, the students can save millions of naira by applying for UCEM’s online programmes. He urged the students never to give up and develop thick skin in order to surmount the challenges ahead of them.
In her own words, Lale Day hinted that UCEM’s undergraduate degrees benefit those who have already started their career in the surveying profession but also provide a launch pad for those just starting out in the diverse and financially rewarding industry.
“Our Foundation Degrees offer a possible route to Associate Membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for those without A-levels wanting a career in the Built Environment. A UCEM qualification equips our students with the knowledge and skills needed to make a positive contribution from the very beginning of their career, and all our qualifications are recognised and accredited by leading professional bodies, providing a route to professional membership,” Lale explained, adding that the institution’s mode of payment is flexible enough to accommodate all class of people.
Dozens of UNILAG and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) students, who convincingly registered for the online programmes, relished the opportunity brought to them by UCEM. Prof Timothy Gbenga Nubi, the Dean, Faculty of Environmental Science, UNILAG, noted that the world has become a global village. “That is why I was quite happy when this program was introduced to us.”
Established by Royal Charter in 1919, UCEM has trained over 150,000 surveyors and currently has students in over 100 countries. According to David Hunt, “our bachelors’ degree programmes are designed to provide you with the academic knowledge required for the fast-track route to Chartered surveyor or Chartered builder. All of our programmes are fully online, meaning that you can study with us while you are working and wherever in the world you are based.”

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. James Abiodun Faleke, has raised an alarm over attempt to assassinate him by gunmen along Lokoja-Abuja highway last Sunday.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Duro Meseko on Friday, Faleke said he was nearly killed around 7pm that day by gunmen.
Faleke who was the running mate to Alhaji Abubakar Audu, deceased governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, disclosed that the gunmen fired severally at his car but the bullet did not penetrate because his vehicle was bulletproof.
Faleke was replaced by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State by the APC hierarchy after the death of Audu. Attempts to make Faleke accepts the deputy governor slot under Bello failed as the former insisted on being the governorship candidate of the party.
Meseko’s statement read: “The news of the assassination attempt on our leader, Hon James Faleke came to us as a big shock. How could any sane mind contemplate such evil on an innocent soul who though shamelessly robbed of his governorship mandate has remained humble, calm, peaceful, and law abiding.
“What else could those wicked masterminds want?”
Meseko alleged that the assassination attempt may have been due to the mammoth and unprecedented crowd that welcomed Faleke home recently.
“His political foes had resorted to this dastardly plan to assassinate him. We thank the almighty God for sparing his life.
“Some desperate and wicked people would want to cause more pain and misery to an already pained citizenry who aside having lost the creme of its political class to both natural and unnatural causes like Barrister James Ocholi, Prince Abubakar Audu, Senator Ohize and even Senator Ohiare who narrowly escaped death recently, are also undergoing the most unprecedented socio-economic crisis ever.”

Lagos under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has been on a steady pedestal towards all-round economic growth and infrastructural renewal in the last 17 months. Virtually every sector is feeling the impact of the strategic planning of the present administration, a development that is fast attracting foreign direct investment into the state. In this interview held at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ikeja and put together by the Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment (Lagos Global) Governor Ambode speaks on the strategy to improve on the ease of doing business, make the state the one-stop-shop for local and international investors as well as plans to revolutionize the key sectors for efficient service delivery. Excerpts:

Your Excellency, take us through the rationale behind the creation of the Office of Overseas Affairs?
Thank you for that question. When I won the election in April 2015, one of the tasks that I had was to see how I could improve on the ease of doing business in Lagos State and in doing that, I also believed we needed to do some kind of public sector reforms to be able to drive the vision which we had actually set for ourselves and in doing public sector reforms.
In doing these reforms, you also needed to have set up some kind of structure or institutional framework that would drive that vision and the vision is very simple; we want a safer, a cleaner and a more prosperous Lagos and one of those structures would be that if you want to tackle bureaucracy in the civil service, you need a location where you could do 24/7 non-stop service to investors. It was very clear that we could create a new face that we could just refer to as Office of Overseas Affairs and Investments and without actually competing with the Federal Government, we needed to find a place where foreign investment and investors could actually come into the civil service and have like a 24/7 beyond just going from one ministry to the other and it became imperative that the office had to be established.

What mandate is Lagos Global charged with and what role does this office play regarding to your vision?
You know the vision is very clear; a safer, a cleaner and a more prosperous Lagos. In driving that vision, it is also very clear that we have to do a strategy to drive the administration in such a way that we are running this administration on a tripod. It’s just three simple issues – security, job creation and then improvement of infrastructure. And on that tripod, the first thing to do to allow us make investors safe in is to make Lagos safer and you’ll see that we’ve driven that in such a manner that Lagos has become safer when you compare it to the last 18 months. If it is safe, more businessmen and more investors would be interested in coming to Lagos to do businesses in our environment.
So the role of the Office of Overseas Affairs is to be able to intervene in that process and when more investors are coming to Lagos, we are in a position to now say that more jobs would be created and then when you create more jobs, it’s also possible that we increase our revenues which we will now use to improve the infrastructure. So the intervening of instruments is where that mandate has been given to the Office of the Overseas Affairs and Investments to ensure that they create jobs, to also ensure that we grow our GDP and ultimately create happiness for Lagosians.

What are the incentives available to investors under your administration?
First of all, is to say that is that we come with a huge sense of credibility. We are extremely transparent about the transactions we do. We are only looking for value, you don’t need to know anybody as an investor in Lagos, once you bring value to the table we are willing to do business with any investors.
But you know, beyond that, like what Professor Ademola Abass has just said, we believe strongly that we do not necessarily have to do a public private partnership with investors that come into Lagos, our business is to create an enabling environment for business to thrive. We are not businessmen, we are enablers. We just create the space and when we see there is value that can create so much impact on our people, we are willing to sacrifice. So, we do sometimes, wave land charges, wave fees, because we know that in the medium time and in the long run, it is going to improve on the GDP and bring jobs to our people. So, we are not out there to choke investors and say that you must go and bring this or bring that, we are looking at the future and that is why I said it is in line with our vision, it would make Lagos more prosperous.
So, where we have incentives and even allowing people have tax waivers, we can as well say you should not pay PAYE as much as we want, depending on how impactful or how valuable those investments are because there are a thousand and one people who have investments that do not come to government to do their business, so when you come to meet the government, government should be able to create a better enabling environment for investors, so those are the things that are lined up, but the truth is this; its more about value propositions and its more about what it does to our people and its more about the tripod, creating jobs; are we going to use the revenue to create more infrastructure and at the end of the day do you bring true happiness to Lagosians, then we are willing to partner with anybody.

Your administration has prioritised putting in place key reforms; there are reforms in civil service, judiciary, land, tax and also development of free trade zones. How have these reforms impacted the drive for local and foreign investments?
Firstly, the simplest impact of our reforms can be found in the level of productivity that is being churned out by Lagosians now, through the ease of traffic management that we have just put in place. Where we used to transact business from point A to point B for two hours in traffic, right now that has been technically eliminated to about 30 minutes, that one and half hour saved has made Lagosians to become more productive cumulatively and in that sense it is going to grow out GDP, that’s the way to look at it and then beyond all that we are doing, you see that our civil service also has become extremely responsive to the yearnings of the people and service delivery has technically improved over the last 18 months.
Another thing you can quickly point to is the work we have done in our judicial and security sector reforms, they look so intangible, but the truth is this; we’ve been having the rule of law properly upheld in this state, so when you put all that together, that is the main thrust of when you can now say confidently that investors can have an enabling environment to do their business and you can see that they are coming in droves and it’s not officially documented, but we know that the FDI that we have gotten in the last 16 months is greater than what has been done in the last 10 years.

Your state is the fifth largest economy in Africa and we are glad because this is where we do business. One of the major constraints that we have in Nigeria today which has relatively impacted in our foreign exchange earnings is the importation of white product, otherwise called petroleum. Are there plans by the Lagos State Government to set up or encourage the setting up of a refinery because for over 23 million people in Lagos, we don’t have to depend on importation of petroleum. Do you have that in the works?
Thank you for that question. I absolutely agree with you. For a population that is 23 million and still rising, you need energy security to protect the prosperity of Lagos. Beyond the fact that we are not in the right position to drive our energy needs, we have decided that we are going to collaborate with the discos and all the stakeholders in the energy sector to come out with a roadmap that actually addresses the security of energy supply and even petroleum supply that we have made. Like I said, we have investment vehicles in the state that can actually drive the future of wanting to have our own petroleum supplies in Lagos. We are thinking of it, I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of that advisory council, I guess in another few weeks, they would come out with their recommendations, but I can tell you that it is likely going to be in tandem with the kind of desire that you have just requested of us, but in totality, it is not really so much about petroleum supplies, it’s about the energy security of a thriving commercial capital in the country that is being driven as the fifth largest economy in Africa.
We cannot afford to sit down, we have to start thinking about protecting the city and making it more industrial and more investment friendly and that is the way to go.

If we have 23 million people, the question is what is your plan for these citizens of Nigeria who are Lagosians to access government services given the age of technology particularly with respect to the fact that businesses or economies today are driven by small medium enterprises. We keep talking about mega investments, but there are Lagosians who want to access government services, so that they can contribute their quota to the development of the State. What is your plan to use technology to provide access to governance?
If I had my way, I would virtually want every service in Lagos State to be done through technology, but the truth is that while we want it to happen, we need the infrastructure to make it happen. It’s not enough for me to have the application; I also need the hardware and the infrastructure to drive it. How much of the taxes that I am getting from the citizens can I use to devote to technology? So, we are limited by the resources that we have. It is not political correct right now in a recession that we would say we want to increase taxes; we are not going to do it, but again we can get more efficient in the collection machinery that we are using by also applying technology to improve on our collection machinery so that we would get more taxes to be able to serve the people.
But like you have just said, the ability to be able to permeate the SMEs, the artisans and the individuals is our major drive, that’s why decided that we are having a N25billion Employment Trust Fund which we would commit N6.25billion every year for the next four years, that money is not for the big investors, it is to be able to tap into the SMEs and into the creative talent of the younger ones and be able to rise above what it is that we think is poverty and in doing that , we are going to use our identity card project to allow people to be identified and then more importantly, to use it for data planning, economic planning and financial planning, so that each person can use that same technology that we are trying to do to have access to the services that we are providing.
Its herculean, sometimes you want to do it in a PPP way we have already awarded a contract with Thomson Reuters in which we are going to do a Geographic Information System (GIS) and be able to identify every property in Lagos State and also identify every individual and I can tell you we need a census of those who are living in Lagos State, we need to know who are our residents, we need to know those who are coming in and going out, without doing this as a backbone, we cannot actually allow a whole lot of people have access to the services. It’s something complex, but it is doable.

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, on Thursday said every day, food consumption in the state gulps over N3 billion.
Ambode said this at the maiden edition of the Lagos food security and exhibition summit.
He said his administration remained committed to achieving food security, and assured investors willing to do business in the agric sector that there is a ready market.
“Our core policy thrust towards achieving food security is to maximize the comparative advantage of the state in agriculture and establish partnerships with other states of the federation with comparative advantage in specific areas.”
Ambode said his administration had sealed a “landmark” partnership with the Kebbi state government for the development of agricultural commodities.
He added that the state decided to take its investment in the agricultural sector beyond its borders.
“We have also acquired agricultural land in other neighbouring states of Ogun and Oyo as well as Abuja,” he said.
“Specifically, 500 hectares of farm land has been acquired for rice cultivation in Eggua, Ogun State, 84.7 hectares at Okinni in Oshogbo for oil palm processing, among others.”
He said the summit was organised to bring together stakeholders in the agricultural sector to proffer solutions to the challenges militating against the achievement of food security.
Ambode added that in the wake of the economic challenges facing the country, there was no better time for the nation to review its approach and the redirection of its energies to food production.
“Behind every dark cloud, they say, is a silver lining. One of the challenges the current economic recession has brought to the fore is the urgent need to develop a sustainable programme that will guarantee food security for our people,” he said.
“As a nation, in the past, we spent billions of foreign exchange on importation of food and food items many of which can be cultivated in our country.
“Our country is blessed with very good arable land and a climate that supports food production. We can achieve food security and create employment opportunities for our teeming youth if we put in place the right policies and incentives that will attract significant investment into the Agricultural sector.”

Some promoters of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, otherwise known as ‘MMM’ in Nigeria, have lambasted the House of Representatives for ‘witch hunting’ them.
This is coming after the House of Representatives described the scheme as a “scam” and warned Nigerians to stop dealing in it.
The lawmakers, on Wednesday, directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to immediately go after the promoters of MMM in Nigeria.
The lawmakers observed that the current economic recession in the country gave popularity to the scheme which offers 30 per cent return on investment for any money put into the scheme within 30 days.
The investment scheme has a Russian origin and “involves directing clients to make money available for an anonymous person with a promise of 30 per cent return within one month.”
Also, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, had revealed plans to shut down the scheme in Nigeria, insisting it is fraudulent.
A branch manager of a new generation bank in Nigeria, anonymously disclose: “All these people that are against MMM are not ready to take risks or they have been victims of networking schemes and online businesses that didn’t pay them well.
“It’s not like they doubt MMM, they are just naïve about how the whole thing works. It’s magical, you know.
“Even the banks are furious because they can’t just believe that any deposit scheme can promise a 30% interest rate after 30 days, but I am a banker and I am not in doubt.
“Even some bankers are enjoying from MMM; the unemployed also are not left out. To an average Nigerian, the benefits of MMM is not far-fetched.
Another member, Tonye Ibim, said: “There are people that now have more than a million in their accounts in few months via the scheme and have not scammed or been scammed by anybody.
“I only can’t understand why members of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives are witch hunting the scheme.
“The government should be happy now that people are surviving- not begging and living in penury.
“They have refused to pass a bill that will bring about employment and revive the bad economy, yet they have the time to debate on a scheme that is saving us in this bad economic recession. Do you know how many people would have taken to crime due to lack of jobs in the country if not for MMM?”
Meanwhile, a top media personality, who is ‘against’ the scheme, is of the opinion that as more people get registered or want to play the game, so the scheme would continue to encounter difficulty with people wanting to get loan.
He said, “They now chase after the bonuses of the game, they are just waiting for people to call them for help. a time will come that nobody will be taking again and that will be the end of the game.
“It is fraudulent, that’s the truth.”

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.
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.

The Nigeria’s social media community is currently buzzing over the last week’s prophecy by founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet TB Joshua on the just concluded US presidential election.
The Prophet, as the Ikotun-based prophet is called, had in a prophecy released last week claimed that he saw a woman winning the election.
Checks reveal the only woman in the race to the White House is Hillary Clinton and has since bowed to fate after her co-challenger, Trump won the key states.
In the prophecy posted on his social media page, Joshua said the ‘woman’ would win but would face an uphill task in passing bills.
Joshua has said, “Ten days ago, I saw the new President of America with a narrow win. The new President will be facing several challenges over many issues, including: passing bills, attempts to possibly pass a vote of no confidence on the new President. The boat of the new President will be rocked. By the way, in order not to keep you in suspense, what I frankly saw is a woman.”
However, Trump won defeated Clinton in key swing states of Florida, North Carolina and Ohio early this morning, putting him on a clear path to the White House against the expectations of many pundits and observers in Florida, where Hillary Clinton had been expected to win.
With the outcome of the result, the prophecy has hit the cross bar, leaving many people in confusion if the prophet truly heard from God.
Reacting to the development, a social media activist, Akom Akom said the outcome of the result shows that some men of God need to review their calling.
“Am I dreaming? Trump leading Clinton? But I thought our prophet said the Democrats candidate would win? This shows that some men of God were not actually called. I am ashamed,” he said.
Another activist, Seun Ladoke said the prophet has not only goofed but disgraced Christianity.
“The man of God just proved to us that he is not what he wants us to believe he is. He just disgraced Christendom. I am yet to believe his prophecy just missed the tagrget.”
On his part, Apeh Peter said it is either the man of God did not hear well or spoke from human angle.
“The last time I checked, God cannot lie and has never lie. I am sure the prophet only spoke from human angle and not the mind of God. My God cannot lie,” he tweeted.
Another @aunty_ifeoma tweeted, “I sincerely wish prophet TB Joshua’s prediction comes true oo. He said he saw a woman abi is Trump a woman?”
On is part, former Jonathan’s aide, Reno Omokri ‏@renoomokri said, “Dear TB Joshua. Who gave you your prophecy? My God is not a man that He would lie neither is He the son of man that He would repent!”

The Heritage Bank-Lagos State Skoolimpics, which is the bank’s signature sporting event that brought together over 6000 student athletes, over 20,000 students from over 600 secondary schools of the six educational districts of Lagos State berthed successfully as the curtain finally fell on the 3-day sporting fiesta at the weekend.
The Minister for Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, led some other top sports dignitaries to the final among which were the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick; the Athletic Federation of Nigeria President, Solomon Ogba; Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Sports and Chairman, State’s Sports Commission, Mr. Deji Tinubu; former Commissioner for Sports in Ogun State, Bukola Olopade and Commissioners of Youth and Sports Ogun, represented by Mobolaji Fabi; Director of Sport Kwara/Chairman Director of Sport Forum Mallam Tunde Kazeem and Director Sport Development, Anambra State, Ministry of Youth and Sport Development, Faith Okwonna.
Of utmost interest was that the energy and zeal amongst students, athletes and non-athletes were simply unbelievable and electric. Skoolimpics records were set; exceptional talents discovered and a new sporting order instituted with Heritage Bank proud to be the initiator of this unfolding history. Altogether, a total of 21 trophies and 450 medals were won in this sports fiesta fashioned in the tradition of the Summer Olympic Games.
Oriyomi Akala of Euba Senior Secondary School, Mushin and Anita Taviore from Ipakodo Senior Secondary School were the stars of Skoolimpics, as they won the boys’ and girls’ 100 metres events respectively. They were also the over-all best athletes of the tournament. Akala beat Moshood Abdulabeeb from Mushin Secondary School to win the gold with Abdulabeeb settling for silver while Chigozie Nweke of FCET, Akoka, Yaba, won the bronze.
Taviore toppled every other contestants in the girls’ event to win gold, while Peace Amuneke of Dorcas Memorial Secondary School and Victoria Oyebode from Surulere Local Government Girls School settled for silver and bronze medals respectively.
In the 4x100m relay race, Euba Secondary School, Mushin won in the boy’s category while Hallmark Group of Schools, Ikorodu won silver and King’s College, Lagos picked the bronze. The Hallmark Group of Schools won gold in the girls’ 4x100m relay event while Surulere Girls Secondary School got silver and Dorcas Memorial College, Ajegunle collected the bronze medal.
In the basketball event, Wesley Girls Secondary School won the gold while Topfield Girls School and International School, Lagos won silver and bronze medals respectively.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalong commended Herritage Bank’s drive to resuscitate sporting activities from the foundational level with a view to combining education and sports to bring out the best from Secondary School students.
Brand Ambassador for Heritage Bank-Lagos State Skoolimpics, Mary Onyali (MFR), expressed confidence in the benefits the Heritage Bank Skoolimpics will bring to the table. She described the pilot edition of the project as timely and a rare opportunity for interested secondary school students to start from. “This is designed to encourage and help our young ones to discover their talents early and optimize them.”
“During my time as an active sports participant, I didn’t have this opportunity to start from the very foundation like this, but now that these ones are enjoying the opportunity, it will help the nation to discover more talents and run with it. With this type of mammoth crowd, it shows that these children have been looking for this opportunity because they have so much energy and skills to do sports. If other private institutions could embrace something like this, it means our children will have more competitions to attend and boost skills. Apart from lessons and other assignments in the classroom, these young ones desire an organized school competition like Heritage Bank Lagos State Skoolimpics. So, this is where education and sporting activities are important”.
The Managing Director/CEO, Heritage Bank Plc, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, while declaring the pilot edition of the Heritage Bank-Lagos State Skoolimpics 2016 open said he will set aside the sum of N10m for any athlete discovered at the Skoolimpics that will break Onyali’s 20-year 200m record.
At the closing ceremony, the MD explained that success of the Heritage Bank Lagos State Skoolimpics is the potential benefit of the private-public sector partnership, which the bank intends to pursue and replicate in other states of the federation as the tournament goes national.
Represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Mrs. Mary Akpobome, the bank boss described the participating schools as world-class, who only need a platform like ‘Heritage Bank Skoolimpics’ for them to showcase their talents and taken up for other phases of excellent performances to the glory of Lagos State and Nigeria.
Skoolimpics, is an annual sporting event aimed at discovering, nurturing and rewarding talents from secondary schools. The idea behind Skoolimpics is the holistic development of young people, to foster their physical, social and emotional health in addition to discovering talents that will become a feedstock to the country’s pool of amateur and professional athletes.

Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business, complicated. Thank you very much.
I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It’s about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign.
I mean she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.
I mean that very sincerely. Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together, to all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.
It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family.
It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.
Working together we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I’ve spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.
That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I’ve gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it. We will also finally take care of our great veterans who have been so loyal, and I’ve gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey.
The time I’ve spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors.
Our veterans are incredible people. We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It is going to happen. We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world. At the same time we will get along with all other nations, willing to get along with us. We will be. We will have great relationships. We expect to have great, great relationships. No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.
America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We’re going to dream of things for our country, and beautiful things and successful things once again.
I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone.
All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility, partnership, not conflict. And now I would like to take this moment to thank some of the people who really helped me with this, what they are calling tonight a very, very historic victory.
First I want to thank my parents, who I know are looking down on me right now. Great people. I’ve learnt so much from them. They were wonderful in every regard. They are truly great parents. I also want to thank my sisters, Marianne and Elizabeth who are here with us tonight. Where are they? They’re here someplace. They’re very shy actually.
And my brother Robert, my great friend. Where is Robert? Where is Robert?
My brother Robert, and they should be on this stage but that’s okay. They’re great.
And also my late brother Fred, great guy. Fantastic guy. Fantastic family. I was very lucky.
Great brothers, sisters, great, unbelievable parents. To Melania and Don and Ivanka and Eric and Tiffany and Barron, I love you and I thank you, and especially for putting up with all of those hours. This was tough.
This was tough. This political stuff is nasty and it is tough. So I want to thank my family very much. Really fantastic. Thank you all. Thank you all. Lara, unbelievable job. Unbelievable. Vanessa, thank you. Thank you very much. What a great group.
You’ve all given me such incredible support, and I will tell you that we have a large group of people. You know, they kept saying we have a small staff. Not so small. Look at all of the people that we have. Look at all of these people.
And Kellyanne and Chris and Rudy and Steve and David. We have got tremendously talented people up here, and I want to tell you it’s been very, very special.
I want to give a very special thanks to our former mayor, Rudy Giuliani. He’s unbelievable. Unbelievable. He traveled with us and he went through meetings, and Rudy never changes. Where is Rudy. Where is he?
Governor Chris Christie, folks, was unbelievable. Thank you, Chris. The first man, first senator, first major, major politician — let me tell you, he is highly respected in Washington because he is as smart as you get, senator Jeff sessions. Where is Jeff? A great man. Another great man, very tough competitor. He was not easy. He was not easy. Who is that? Is that the mayor that showed up? Is that Rudy?
Up here. Really a friend to me, but I’ll tell you, I got to know him as a competitor because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those Democrats, Dr. Ben Carson. Where’s been? Where is Ben? By the way, Mike Huckabee is here someplace, and he is fantastic. Mike and his familiar bring Sarah, thank you very much. Gen. Mike Flynn. Where is Mike? And Gen. Kellogg. We have over 200 generals and admirals that have endorsed our campaign and there are special people. We have 22 congressional medal of honor people. A very special person who, believe me, I read reports that I wasn’t getting along with him. I never had a bad second with him. He’s an unbelievable star. He is — that’s right, how did you possibly guess? Let me tell you about Reince. I’ve said Reince. I know it. I know it. Look at all of those people over there. I know it, Reince is a superstar. I said, they can’t call you a superstar, Reince, unless we win it. Like secretariat. He would not have that bust at the track at Belmont.
Reince is really a star and he is the hardest working guy and in a certain way I did this. Reince, come up here. Get over here, Reince.
Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. It’s about time you did this right. My God. Nah, come here. Say something.
[Reince Priebus: Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the united States, Donald Trump! Thank you. It’s been an honor. God bless. Thank God.]
Amazing guy. Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success and what we’ve done, so I also have to say, I’ve gotten to know some incredible people.
The Secret Service people. They’re tough and they’re smart and they’re sharp and I don’t want to mess around with them, I can tell ya. And when I want to go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down and put me back down in the seat, but they are fantastic people so I want to thank the Secret Service.
And law enforcement in New York City, they’re here tonight. These are spectacular people, sometimes underappreciated unfortunately, we appreciate them. So it’s been what they call an historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job and I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years or maybe even eight years you will say so many of you worked so hard for us, with you, you will say that — you will say that that was something that you were — really were very proud to do and I can — thank you very much.
And I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning. We’re going to get to work immediately for the American people and we’re going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your president. You will be so proud. Again, it’s my honor.
It’s an amazing evening. It’s been an amazing two-year period and I love this country. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you to Mike Pence.

TPT International, a foremost Public Relations Agency in Nigeria last weekend emerged the most Media Friendly Public Relations Agency of the Year at the 2016 Brand Journalists’ Association of Nigeria (BJAN) Awards held in Lagos.
Brand Journalists’ Association of Nigeria (BJAN) is the umbrella body of practicing journalists covering Brands, Public Relations, and Marketing Communication beats in Nigeria. The award, according to Goddie Ofose, Chairman of BJAN, is aimed at rewarding excellence in the fields of Public Relations, advertising and marketing communication.
Ofose maintained that TPT deserved such honour because it is a Public Relations Agency of repute known for its outstanding media relations, strategies and campaign executions. TPT beat four other agencies to the keenly contested award.
Recently, the agency also emerged as the PR Agency of the Year at the 10th Media Nite Out Award for its “consistent endeavor to re-define Public Relations practice through innovation and passion.”
The Chairman and Lead Strategist, TPT International, Adeokunbo Modupe commended the organizers of the awards and explained that the honours remained a confirmation of the agency’s watchword: “Challenging the Logic to achieve the magic”.
“Obviously, our edge in the industry is our creative solution to client briefs. We believe in innovation and professionalism. In today’s PR world, content is a major driver of perception and for us at TPT, we are not unmindful of this global trend which is actually what makes technologically driven platforms like the social media very effective in conversation orchestration.
“However, the combination of traditional media and technology-backed platforms helps to deliver a trado-social impact that we consistently deliver for our clients,” the highly respected PR professional concluded.
TPT started business in February 1998 and has since grown into the leading Public Relations solutions provider to top brands that spread across various sectors in Nigeria.
TPT has won the ‘PR company of the year’ award six times in the last ten years.

Nigerian music icon, Innocent Ujah Idibia, better known by his stage name as Tuface, has revealed that his saddest moments were those times people wrote so many unprintable things about him when his children were born by different women.
The ‘African Queen’ crooner, who fathered six children from three different women but married to one, Annie, told the Sun: “My saddest moment was when they were writing things about me some years ago while I was celebrating the kids coming.
“Some people were using it against me, and saying some hurtful things to put me down. I wondered how people could be so mean as to say some things about other humans.
“Another sad moment was when I lost my dad.
“All of a sudden I realized that this man who used to carry us on his shoulders and take us out for shopping and all that was going to die.
“Although, I tried all I could but I couldn’t help him, and he died. I cried like a baby.”
Speaking further, he said he had no regrets.
“I am not somebody that likes to regret. I feel that whatever that happens has happened. The only thing I think of is how to blend and turn things positively.
“I don’t just sit down; fold my hands and start regretting. Instead, I re-adjust and move on.”
Asked if he misses the Plantashun Boiz 12 years after the group broke up, the Benue-born ace musician said, “You know that once in a while you feel that way and nostalgia just overwhelms you and you are like ‘wow!’
“It was really fun those days hanging out with Faze and Blackface, singing together, cracking jokes and living together in the hotel, and all the funny things we did.
“We have some plans to still do stuff, but right now, we haven’t fixed a particular date or anything concrete,” he added.

Renowned Ghollywood cum Nollywood actress, Juliet Ibrahim, says there are a lot of ‘evil spirits working tirelessly to bring downfall celebrities’ marriages.
She said she is still wishing to be loved again after her divorce with her husband, Kwadwo Safo Jnr, whom she was married to for about four years.
The mother of one added that there is no hope of reconciling with her estranged husband, even though she maintains a cordial relationship with him.
She told Punch, “I speak with my ex-husband; it is a must we speak because we have a son together. Everything is fine between us. But there is no way we are getting back together because it is in the past and he has moved on.
“I d not have any criteria when it comes to my dream man.
“Of course I am open to love. I don’t really look out for anything in a man because I believe if the right person is there, God would definitely bring him my way and I would just feel it. I would just know.
“I don’t have a list of quality a man must possess. It also has to do with the man’s personality because from the first greeting, you can tell if we would click or not.
“I don’t really have so much I expect in a man but I know that he has to be God-fearing.
“There are lots of evil spirits and people who are always ready to break relationships because we are in the limelight.
“They feel we do not deserve the best; that is what I noticed. They just don’t want us to be happy.
“With the kind of industry that I have found myself, you can only pray for a God-fearing man who would not listen to rumours,” the curvy thespian added.

Dr. David Oyedepo, the Bishop of the Living Faith Church worldwide, has appealed to those criticising the school fees charged by Covenant University to desist to avoid incurring the wrath of God.
Oyedepo, in a telecast to a pre-Shiloh 2016 Convention gathering of the church monitored via satellite in Jos on Saturday, said the critics were acting in ignorance and risked incurring the wrath of God.
He said one of such critic smitten with a strange plague of chronic mouth odour over the act only received spiritual pardon following his confession and “my intervention before he was restored to dignity”.
Oyedepo said the issue of school fees paid by students of the university was a godly agenda to meet the demands of raising godly children in an environment conducive for learning.
He said such criticisms were products of ignorance as what students pay could not be compared with what obtained elsewhere that lacked facilities.
“The school fees has Gods approval and is in accordance with the quality of facilities provided by the university in meeting the educational needs of the nation,” he said.
He said the church in its pioneering role in pushing the frontiers of education with excellence had concluded plans to establish offshore universities.
The cleric said a fully automated Bible press by the church had been completed and would be launched soon.
Oyedepo, however, quoting from some verses of the Bible, which include Matthew 24:6-8, 1Peter 2:9, Joel 2:2 and Mal. 4:1, said the current economic meltdown was predicted but that committed Christians would be exempted.
He prayed for resources for parents to always meet the demands of the time and declared the theme of this year’s Shiloh holding between December 6 and 10 as “My Case is Different”.
The bishop said this year’s annual event of Shiloh would not be advertised as past events as it would be church based.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has broken his silence on the person behind his nomination into the second most powerful office in the land.
John Paden, a professor ofhistory, who wrote a biography in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari had ruffled feathers by saying it was Buhari who picked Osinbajo.
Paden’s assertion punctured the widespread belief that it was Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, who single-handedly picked Osinbajo for the job.
But speaking during the Coalition of Nigerian Apostolic Leaders in Lagos, Osinbajo said it was his former boss (Osinbajo worked under Tinubu as a commissioner) who nominated him.
According to Vanguard, though Osinbajo did not mention Tinubu’s name, it was obvious that he was referring to the former governor.
“An APC national leader whom I had served when he was governor was interested in putting me forward as the running mate of President Muhammadu Buhari in consensus with other national leaders of the party,” he reportedly said.
“I was a product of this system (Coalition Leaders). The church was reluctant and I understood why the church was reluctant. The church was looking at the head of the ticket (president). This is our first opportunity. This is our first shot at it. We need to maximise it and do the best we can.
“I think what my nomination and appointment have done is that it has open the door for us. We can do it and we can be influential in doing it.”

Nollywood sweetheart, Mercy Johnson-Okojie, has shared her journey to stardom, as she recalled how N50, 000 once meant the world to her.
The mother of three said she ventured into the movie industry after she initially failed her JAMB exams.
Mercy made this known in a recently released video autobiography on her youtube channel, REALMJO.
“Things weren’t extremely rosy, so I know what it means to be hungry. I know what it means to lack something. And I know what it means to work hard to achieve something.
“I agreed to act for free in the ‘Maid’ but after the movie which brought me to limelight, the EP thought I did a great job so he gave me N50, 000.
“I held the money like; you will have to kill me to take it away from me.
“It meant a lot, it was like a Messiah at that point in cash.
“So, there goes my biggest phobia, which is going back to nothing, the fear of going back to my humble beginnings.”

Melania Trump, the wife of US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, is suing a Slovenian journalist for defamation over claims that she previously worked with an escort agency, her attorney said on Wednesday.
The suit, filed last Friday at a court in the capital Ljubljana, accuses journalist Tomaz Mihelic of defamation as well as making false and unverified statements against the Slovenian-born former model.
The claims were published in Slovenian celebrity magazine Suzy in August and repeated in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, in which Mihelic was interviewed under the fake initials S.S.
“The claim, according to which Mrs. Trump allegedly worked as an escort of wealthy men, strongly damaged Mrs. Trump’s reputation as a businesswoman and as the wife of businessman and presidential candidate Donald Trump,” attorney Natasa Pirc Musar said in a statement.
She added that the claims had tarnished her client’s reputation “not only in Slovenia, where the magazine is published but, due to her position and exposure at the time, also on a world scale.”
The Slovenske Novice company, which publishes Suzy magazine, has previously said its reporting “never claimed that Melania Trump offered services of sexual escort.”
Its report said she had worked with a New York modelling agency that “operated as an escort agency for wealthy clients,” the newspaper said.
The Daily Mail retracted a story about Melania Trump in September after she filed a lawsuit accusing the tabloid, as well as US blogger Webster G. Tarpley, of defamation for publishing similar allegations.
The Daily Mail, like Slovenske Novice, said it “did not intend” to suggest she had been involved in the sex business.
Melania Trump was born in Slovenia — then part of the communist Yugoslavia — in 1970, leaving home in the early 1990s to pursue her modelling career. This took her to the United States where she met Trump, who she married in 2005.

Detained former presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he does not have any money to refund to the government, sources within the agency said.
The disclose that Mr. Abati told interrogators that he had no immediate means of sourcing the amount for which he is being detained.
The EFCC accuses Mr. Abati of receiving N50 million from the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
The money was part of $2.1 billion allocated for purchase of arms for the fight against Boko Haram, the EFCC says.
Mr. Dasuki is currently standing trial for allegedly misusing the money.
The latest development came days after Mr. Abati reportedly promised to refund N5 million.
The former presidential spokesperson has been in EFCC detention since turning himself in last week Monday.
Apart from being unable to refund the money, Mr. Abati also allegedly told investigators that he could not provide documentary evidence showing how he spent the N50 million.
Mr. Abati reportedly said he disbursed the money as cash and material gifts to journalists during the 2015 campaign.
Asked to name names of media practitioners who benefited from the largess, Mr. Abati said he did not keep such records.
“We thought he would be able to pay N5 million yesterday, but it turned out that he doesn’t have any money,” a source told PREMIUM TIMES Monday.
Our source also clarified that Mr. Abati had met his bail conditions since Friday, but the EFCC had refused to release him.
The EFCC had on October 26 granted Mr. Abati an administrative bail, and required as one of the conditions for his release, a surety of the level of director in the federal civil service.
Those conditions were met on Friday, our source said, but the EFCC failed to release him because of the stalemate over the N50 million.
The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, did not respond to requests for comment.

The name ‘Enenche Akogwu’ may not ring a bell in the Nigerian media landscape — he was only 31 in 2012 when Boko Haram gunned him down in Kano. But he remains a hero.
On January 20, 2012, Boko Haram launched a series of attacks on Kano state. The Farm Centre Police Station was affected as well, by a bomb blast that claimed dozens of lives. Rather than rely on figures from security agents, as most journalists are wont to do, Akogwu dashed to the scene of the blast to find out for himself what had happened.
Idris Jibrin, his friend, would later say that Akogwu’s body was found hours after. He had been shot six times — three times in the chest and three in the stomach. The bystanders from whom he requested information on the blast were insurgents themselves, and they wasted no time in pulling the trigger.
Thereafter, not much has been said about Akogwu, who won the Channels Television Chairman’s Award the year before his death. His name has virtually disappeared.
However, on Wednesday night, at the Free Press Awards in The Hague, Netherlands, ‘Fisayo Soyombo, who was awarded the Newcomer of the Year award, extolled the late journalist’s virtues.
“A day like this is important to keep alive the memory of journalists such as Akogwu, who have paid the supreme price for journalism,” Soyombo said after receiving the award.
“The truth is that I didn’t know Akogwu personally in his lifetime; I never met him. But to have died the way he did, it’s something I can relate with because I’ve reported from that zone myself.
“I dedicate this award to Akogwu; a name like his should never die. The world must not forget people like him.”

Tim Jacobs, CEO MultiChoice Africa, and John Ugbe, managing director, MultiChoice Nigeria, explain the company’s Nigerian operations at an interview session with journalists in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the 2016 CNN/ MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award.

How has the current economic downturn in Nigeria affected your business?
Ugbe: We are facing very tough times and we hope they do not last. MultiChoice offers a lot of international content denominated in dollars which we have to continue offering our subscribers. The naira has been devalued officially by close to 70% – from N200 to N320 – but we all know the reality of the parallel market – the naira doesn’t exchange at N320 to a dollar. We haven’t done any price increase this year since the devaluation of the naira. We have been absorbing the costs on behalf of our subscribers. The naira required to pay for the content we buy in dollars has suddenly become so insufficient. Additionally, we can’t even get the dollars to remit. We are lucky that we have a big shareholder, who believes in our business. We haven’t been able to pay our bills for about a year now and have been supported by MultiChoice Africa. Bear in mind that our business is about 24 years old. That’s a mature business and not the kind of business that shareholders should be putting money into.

That is where the economic downturn has left us. However, we are all very hopeful, as with every Nigerian, that there will be some recovery in the price of oil, so that our economic indices can change quickly, and enable our business recover.
Jacobs: John has articulated the in-country challenges very clearly. When a country goes through the structural changes that have happened in Nigeria, with oil price reduced to about a third of what it was at its peak, many things begin to happen. Costs and inflation start going up and for your average consumer in Nigeria, there’s less take-home pay. That was one of the thought processes we had at the group level when we were looking at Nigeria and sat with John and his team to discuss the way forward. When the devaluation happened last year, we increased prices. However, a further devaluation happened about three to four months ago and we did not increase prices. We recognize that the customers in Nigeria are under pressure and we are doing everything that we can to try and absorb as much costs as we can before we put any price increase into the market. I think that it will become inevitable for us to put in place some price increases but in the meantime, we are trying as much as we can in the business to take costs south. We are going back to our suppliers to renegotiate the cost of content down, where we can. But in many instances we are tied into long-term contracts. For example, with the EPL, you are signed on for about three seasons and you are locked-in with those prices. We are trying to do whatever we can to first reduce the impact as much as we can ourselves, and then only will we look to potentially put in some prices into the market. It is a big concern and John raised a point. What worries us in the short term is not that the currency has been devalued by as much as it has, but that the parallel market is trading significantly worse and that there is still no dollar liquidity. And as John said, MultiChoice Africa is effectively funding the Nigerian business while we hope that things start to stabilize. But again, we have been in this situation before. You can’t be on the African continent and in Nigeria for 24 years and not go through these cycles. We are taking a longer term view, we still believe in the country, we still believe that Nigeria is a market we want to be in, and we are doing whatever we can to survive in the short term and hopefully, if we come through this and the economy starts to turnaround, hopefully we will start to see some better traction once the consumers have more money in their pockets.

From time to time, your staff call people up, asking them to renew their subscription. I would like to know how these economic changes have drastically affected your business. Have you noticed a very sharp drop in your subscriptions or has the drop been marginal? In addition, have you had any billing changes to accommodate these economic problems we are having in Nigeria?
Ugbe: With respect to our subscriber numbers, we always refer the public to naspers.com, where our audited numbers are published. Having said that, it’s no secret that every Nigerian is under pressure. Everyone is reassessing his budget and deciding on what to spend on.
However, I believe that we are one of the few companies that give you something that will put a smile on your face. So, we are seeing that more people are staying at home now because it’s more expensive to get up every night and go out. Comparatively, people are beginning to see that DStv is so much cheaper for your monthly entertainment than if you go out one night. It makes more sense to sit in front of your TV. So yes, people are using the opportunity and they subscribing. We fill a gap through the entertainment we provide. After all the challenges we face, you just want to sit down, put on your TV and have something to smile about. We also provide a big source of information – it’s not just global but local information. And people are at this point trying to find information about what is going on. So, it is that need for information that makes a service like ours very relevant at these tough times. People are subscribing but we are also very understanding, and as Tim mentioned earlier, that is why we have held out for as much as we can. We all know for instance that as soon as the naira was devalued, the prices of cars changed the next day based on something called a “restocking value”. We have held-off on price increases and subscribers are appreciative that we have held-out to ensure that they can still afford our services. Billing is something we continuously look at. We are at the middle of a project where we are trying to make changes internally to our entire billing structure and software. It might not be the right time but it’s all about continuous improvement for us.
We have also recently introduced GOtv Lite with a N400 monthly subscription that has made our service even more affordable. Who would have believed that there would a subscription package for N400? Our message to our subscribers is, “rather than let your TV go black completely, we have an affordable option for you. The pocket has shrunk but there’s something for you.”

Given the hostility towards MultiChoice, how are you preparing for a possible backlash when you increase prices?
Ugbe: As a company, we always give notice before any price increase and I think we are one of the few companies that send out a notice to say that from “x” date, we are going to increase prices. I also think people are aware of the present state of the economy. I have spoken to a few people who have asked when we are going to increase prices and I said to them that we are trying to hold-out. Some people are not going to be happy, but as much as possible we will put the information out there to ensure that people understand. We will appeal to everyone to look at the situation objectively.
What we’ve done is to continue to support the growth of the entertainment industry. I think it is one of the last few industries that’s holding us on and I am so scared that if that industry went down, we would really be in big trouble in Nigeria. If you go and speak to the guy in Nollywood, they’d tell you that MultiChoice is commissioning and buying content, and keeping the relationship going. We can’t just take a decision not to buy because if you look at the effect MultiChoice has on the economy – the entire Nollywood supply chain – a decision not to buy content would kill the industry. We remain the backbone of that industry.

You have had the National Assembly take on your company and threaten to probe you. How will you explain a likely price increase to them or even the Consumer Protection Council?
Ugbe: We have an open-door policy with the National Assembly and the Consumer Protection Council and we explain to them. I think a lot of people fail to understand our business. We are a company that should make profits and we do not take excessive profits. We have to stay alive; we cannot wake up one day and announce to be public that we are gone. The reality of the pay-TV industry is that you sign three to five- year contracts with content suppliers. You have to assure these suppliers that you can buy the content to create a product you can sell. Unfortunately, you cannot go to the US and tell Time Warner that you want to pay for the content in naira. They will have a good laugh. It’s as simple as that. You cannot subscribe to a news agency abroad right now without remitting their payments in dollars. You don’t have a choice, otherwise they will cut your news feed. That’s the reality. We will as much as possible appeal to the media and everyone and explain the reason for a price increase (if it happens), and I believe people will show us some empathy. It’s business.

Explain some of the things you have done recently and in the past that are sustaining Nollywood.
Ugbe: On the face of it, the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) looks like a big celebration. However, we can see a marked improvement in the quality of the movies we had when we started the AMVCAs four years ago compared to today. What the AMVCAs have done is to make the industry players work harder, not in isolation, but with the intervention MultiChoice. We train producers and have invested a lot. Everyone is now trying to win an AMVCA and in trying to win, the quality of the movies is improving. We recently heard of the Nollywood movies premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. I know some have been shown at the Urban World Film Festival in the US and there are a few more going to a Film Festival in the UK. That’s because of the improved quality of the movies. Furthermore, we are putting money on the table, commissioning and co-producing movies.
We commissioned Deloitte to do an independent report on the impact our business has had on the economy over the last three years. And according to that report, MultiChoice’s aggregate economic impact in Nigeria, across the period from 2012 to 2015 is estimated around $1.1 billion. In a few weeks, we will release that report and we will hold the briefing at our Ilupeju studios so you can see how much we have invested. It’s an independent report done by Deloitte, we simply opened our doors to them and asked that they have a look at the industry to see what we have been able to contribute because you mustn’t see our contributions as ad-hoc donations, which we make.
We have built studios that are world class by any standard and I would like anyone, anywhere in the world, to make a comparison.

What has the setting up of the Ilupeju studios done for the economy?
Ugbeh: When the House of Representatives member representing that constituency visited our studios, he said he had no idea we were providing jobs for people in his constituency. We also put in a lot of subsidy into our decoders making them more affordable.
There’s a lot going on behind the scene that if it stops, it will hurt the economy. Going back to the AMVCA, a lot of hotels are fully booked from about two weeks leading up to the event. Nigerian designers live for that week. A lot of make-up artists are also employed during that period because we have created a platform. And I think that’s what we need – to create platforms. A lot of cities worldwide will actually fight to host such awards because they know what it does to the commerce of the city – transportation, food, everything is impacted. We bring hundreds of people from across Africa into Lagos for that period and we know what the AMVCA does for the economy of Lagos state.

There was a report that Nigerians are among the subscribers paying the least for DStv services. If you have that kind of report, why not make it public?
Ugbe: From the Nigerian perspective, our businesses are very independent. We don’t make comparisons with other countries. And prices are available online. The content which we license for our environment is at a different price from other markets, Ghana for example. MultiChoice Nigeria ultimately, is an independent company with local shareholders so we do business as a Nigerian company, and not in comparison with another territory. If it makes sense to charge one naira with a good business plan, we will do it not minding what goes on in another territory.
Jacobs: From the perspective of a shareholder, Nigeria is a big market for us. Over the years, the investment that we have made in various Nigerian content is quite enormous. We have invested in local language channels: Hausa Yoruba, Igbo and long term contracts with the Nigerian Football League to broadcast Football and support basketball. We do a lot of contracts that are very specific to Nigeria. The problem we have which is often misunderstood is competition. HiTV bid and took over football rights, Nigerians were excited and assumed they would get the football cheaper and at half price. Ultimately, HiTV went out of business as a result of the economics of football rights being so expensive. They took the cost football rights from something that was low and made it very high. We now contend with very specific Nigerian costs. There are a lot of things we are doing to absorb costs as shareholders. We are funding the business, while we try to slowly increase prices so consumers can absorb it for as low and long as we can. The second thing is that we try to take costs out of the business by doing what we do currently, but cheaper. Football is also now accessible on DStv Compact and we are thinking of doing same with other content such as kids, general entertainment and telenovelas. We are announcing content change at cheaper price points all the way down to DStv Access and launching an engaging new marketing campaign using a local celebrity in Nigeria, Basketmouth. He is funny and has the ability to interface with our customers and explain what is going on with DStv to them. All of this is done with one thing in mind and that is if we are going to be long term in Nigeria and see ourselves through the difficult times, we have to make our products more affordable for Nigerians, attractive at cheaper price points, give our consumers the opportunity to be able to watch TV when the wallets are being squeezed and doing a lot of things to ensure the survival of the business.

Besides Forex which is the main issue, what do you make of other policy measures, regulatory and fiscal, under the present administration? How impactful are they in your operations?
Jacobs: With the CPC investigation publicised, we could have done two things. We could have dug our heels in and fought and said it’s unreasonable and has a cost impact on the business. Instead, we sat as a team and asked ‘Does CPC have a point? Does it make sense for us to have a 24-hour toll free lines? Does it make it better for our consumers?’’ In these instances, it does make business sense for us to be doing this and at a cost to the business. We have introduced these additional measures coming out of the regulatory space and this is why CPC said we are the model of compliance once we implemented our different programmes. We didn’t fight and agreed it made sense for the business and the customer. There is always a small group of people who are never satisfied with what you do. Nevertheless, we will keep working and figure new ways to improve our systems and operations. The legislation and regulators are very active and have big impact on our business especially in Nigeria.

What was the position of the CPC?
Ugbe: It is extremely important that we engage and work with the regulators. It is robust process and continuous. We had a joint press conference and the CPC was very happy with the measures we have put in. It does not end, we keep working and have introduced toll free lines which is a first for pay TV in Nigeria which is at a cost to us. It is a continuous enhancement and we engage with the regulators frequently. The relationship with regulators is ongoing.
Jacobs: The other things we are doing is that we have new satellite capacity that we got in February this year. John is negotiating for a lot of additional channels to be put onto the platform. A whole lot more will happen in the next coming months. We are doing a lot to boost the value proposition for customers, make sure that we give them access to as much local content as we can. If your customer is happy, the regulator is normally happy. The regulator tends to tackle companies when consumers are complaining. If we can make customers happy and sort out that problem, then the regulatory problem tends to get smaller.

In reference to making customers happy, what are you doing about unsolicited calls by your marketing agents? It irritates quite a lot of subscribers.
Ugbe: It is one of those things that is either way. I get a lot of people personally who say: ‘You guys have changed. I love the fact that you remind me. It skips me completely and I get home at 11 in the night and I see that message and there is nothing that I can do.’ It is both ways. We have gotten a lot of positive feedback saying thank you for the reminders done. When reminders are done, customers ask about dates they will be disconnected so we had to put them in place. As things evolve, we continue to see the best method and put messages on the screen, send out text messages, emails reminding people amongst other things. We will continue to evaluate.

When are you introducing more HD channels? And when are you going to take into consideration the disabled, those who are learning impaired in terms of subtitles?
Jacobs: We have a lot of HD channels that will be launched in the near future and converting SD channels to HD. We should be having over 20 HD channels on DStv Premium. On the audio side, it is complicated and it massively expensive but it is available on some channels. For example, for telenovelas, we either dub into English or start to put in subtitles. We are a multi-channel environment and have to decide on what channels to do. A single 24-hour channel is 8,760 hours a year, and it will cost about $2,500 an hour to convert and put in audio subtitles. It is something we are aware of and as technology keeps changing, there may come a time that we can do something that’s cheaper and will start to factor that in.