₦airaland Forum

The Senate on Thursday blamed its rejection of President Muhammadu Buhari’s $29.960 billion external loan bid on the incompetence of presidential aides tasked with preparing the proposal.
This position was given by the Senate spokesperson, Aliyu Abdullahi, when he featured on a Channels TV breakfast programme, Sunrise, on Thursday.
The president, last week Tuesday, forwarded a request to the National Assembly to approve an external borrowing plan of $29.960 billion to execute key infrastructural projects across the country between 2016 and 2018.
Mr. Buhari said the external loan, the biggest in Nigeria’s history, will fund targeted projects cutting across all sectors with special emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth and employment generation.
Other sectors, he said, are poverty reduction through social safety net programmes and governance and financial management reforms, among others.
But a week after the request was submitted, the Senate on Tuesday threw out the loan request without debate.
The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, later revealed that the president’s letter had no detailed information about the loan bid, even though the letter made reference to an “attached” breakdown in its first paragraph.
This was admitted by the Presidency through Mr. Buhari’s assistant on the Senate, Ita Enang, who said the government would work with relevant agencies to collate the needed information.
Speaking on the development Thursday morning, the Senate spokesperson, Mr. Abdullahi, said people entrusted with key responsibilities within the Presidency must do their work.
He noted that there was a line in the letter that read “attached”, but lamented “nothing is attached”.
He blamed the anomaly on officials who were responsible for helping the President on matters of communication.
“This is the reality unfortunately. We have to rethink position given to certain persons and people who are not competent should step aside.
“What is the Chief of Staff doing? What is the SGF doing?
“We have said it that some people are working to set the president against the legislature,” said Mr. Abdullahi.
Defending the Senate’s action, the spokesperson said since the president’s letter was not supported by detailed information, the lawmakers had nothing to work with.
Mr. Abdullahi however said “if all these things are addressed, the Senate is more than desirous” to consider the loan authorisation request.
As at June, Nigeria’s debt profile is N16.29 trillion, representing $61.7 billion at N283/$1 exchange rate, according to the Debt Management Office.
In the 2016 budget, N1.48 trillion is meant for debt servicing, far higher than the country’s N221.7 billion budget for health and the N369.6 billion for education.
The proposed 2016-2018 borrowing (rolling) plan of $29.960 billion is made up of proposed projects and programmes loan of $11.274 billion, special national infrastructure projects $10.686 billion, Euro bonds of $4.5 billion and Federal Government budget support of $3.5 billion.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved eight new private universities across the country.
The approval was granted, Wednesday, during a meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, which held at the council chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Minister of State for Education, Anthony Onwuka, who briefed State House correspondents, said the ministry “submitted a memo seeking approval for eight private universities after recommendation by the NUC”
He said the eight approved universities include Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos; Arthur Jarvis Akpabuyo University, Calabar, Cross River; Clifford University, Owerinta, Abia; Coal City University, Enugu; Crown Hill University, Kwara; Dominican University, Ibadan, Oyo; Kola Daisy University, also in Ibadan; and Legacy University, Okija, Anambra State.
Mr. Onwuka said the new universities were given three years provisional license.
He also said all the new universities are to be mentored older ones.
He said Anchor University will be mentored by the University of Lagos, Jarvis University by the University of Calabar and Clifford University by the University of Agriculture, Umudike.
Coal city University will be mentored by the University of Nigeria Nsukka; Crown Hill University by the University of Ilorin; while the two new universities in Oyo State, Kola Daisy and Dominican universities, will be mentored by the University of Ibadan.
Legacy University, Okija, will be mentored by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

More to come…

Justice Jude Okeke of an FCT high court Maitama on Wednesday slammed a fine of N5 million on Airtel Nig. Ltd for violation of customer’s right to privacy.
The plaintiff, Mr Emmanuel Anene on Dec. 21 filed a suit against Airtel for continues disturbances through unsolicited messages to his line.
The judge held that the crucial issue that calls for determination here was whether or not that the plaintiff evidence made out a case to justify the claims in the reliefs he sought.
“One of the reliefs sought an order of the court seeks for the award of damages.
“A plaintiff who seeks for a violation of right is to succeed on the strength of his case and not on the weakness or absence of the defence.
“Though he can rely on the absence of the defence to support his case.
He said the burden of proof could shift from party to party until the issue in contention is resolved.
The court records showed that the plaintiff evidence of claims was served on the defendant and led evidence in the support of same.
“The defendant who was afforded the opportunity failed to file a statement of defence contradicting the plaintiff’s statement of claim or fails to lead evidence in challenge to the claims; it means he had admitted the facts.
“Unless the court does not believe in the evidence or sees any reason in contrary in law it reserves a duty to act on such.
“The defendant failed to place any evidence on the other scale of balance there is nothing against in which the plaintiff’s evidence can be weighed.
Okeke held that the plaintiff complained about disturbances and distractions which he did solicit for, from the defendant but the defendant did not reply nor do anything about it.
“The plaintiff having purchase the defendant telephone number a contractual relationship is satisfied, the defendant is in violation of the right to the plaintiff privacy.
“The defendant, having received complaints from the plaintiff but continued to disturb the plaintiff from quiet enjoyment of the line.
“In every wrong there must be a remedy, to vindicate the plaintiff’s right which has been violated in the forth going circumstance by the defendant; the plaintiff shall be awarded damages based on the discretion of the court.
“Against this background putting into consideration the obvious inconveniences, discomfort and the embarrassments the plaintiff had undeniably gone through.
“The defendant has been directed to pay to the plaintiff damages, not the N200 million the plaintiff asked for but N5 million only.

Dr Timothy Olanrewaju, a Consultant Nephrologist, has warned against the unusual practice of vaginal administration of herbal remedy which he said causes Acute Kidney Injury (AKI).
Olanrewaju stated this in a paper entitled: “Acute Kidney injury from herbal vaginal remedy in Ilorin: a case report”.
The expert, who teaches at the Department of Nephrology of the University of Ilorin, said that the use of herbal remedy causes AKI that accounts for 35 per cent injuries in Africa.
He explained that herbal remedies were known to be administered through vaginal routes and used for abortions in some part of South Africa.
He said that the AKI that resulted from vaginal administration of a herbal products for infertility has been reported also in Nigeria.
The Nephrologist described the case of a young female who developed AKI three days after vaginal insertion of herbal remedy for treatment of secondary infertility, adding that ”she was managed conservatively and recovered full renal function”.
According to him, the unusual socio-cultural practice of vaginal herbal therapy leading to AKI is under-reported in Nigeria.
He called for surveillance and public awareness of harmful effect of this practice and the use of unstandardised herbal products.
The expert pointed out that the reason for the high use of traditional remedies in poor countries included poor access to medical care, poverty, religious beliefs, infertility and body pains among others.
Olanrewaju warned that AKI is frequently encountered in clinical practice and is associated with high morbidity and mortality.
“The use of herbal remedies and socio-cultural practices that predisposes to health hazards should be discouraged,” he advised.

A former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday argued that even if the country achieves diversification of the economy, the continued concentration of power and resources on the central government would slow down the achievement of freedom, development and advancement of the society.
Atiku, who was the chairman of the African Veterinary Association, AVA, and the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, NVMA, Congress held in Enugu, said, “If we diversify the economy but still let the state dominate economic activities as a major investor and competitor against the private sector, we will be unable to unleash our peoples’ productive and entrepreneurial energies.”
Describing the theme of the congress: “The vets and economic diversification in Africa” as apt, he pointed out that one cannot expect a state that confiscates economic resources such as rent to genuinely and enthusiastically promote diverse economic activities.
“Can we realistically expect such a state to embark on the political difficult task of levying and collecting taxes from its citizens and allowing itself to be held accountable?” he queried.
The former vice president challenged the congress to “consider these issues and the role of democratic government in the quest for the diversification of Africa’s economies.
“Does it help or hurt for people to have a say in how they are governed including economic governance, policy development and the accountability of leaders?”
He challenged the AVA and NVMA to play a critical role in improving African agriculture, especially veterinary health and the quantity and quality of the country’s animal protein intake as well as the prospects of earning vital foreign exchange from exporting meat and dairy products to the rest of the world.
“What should Africa’s position be on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to what extent should Africa embrace GMOs as a way to improve our agriculture and nutrition? What are the risks, if any? You can help with evidence-based advice to Africa’s governments rather than one governed by fad, fear or paranoia,” Atiku said.

Abuja joined the fun train on Saturday, as GOtv hosted residents at its Customer Fair to mark the fifth anniversary of its operation in Nigeria.
The event which drew huge numbers of fun lovers from across the Federal Capital Territory to Top Rank Hotel, Utako, delivered fun aplenty, as top entertainers and celebrities delighted residents.
In action were GOtv brand ambassador, Daddy Showkey; Oritsefemi, Aki and Pawpaw, Helen Paul and MC Acapella.
The event started with Naija FM’s DJ Kentalky dishing out a heady mix of music. The combination of MC Acapella and Helen Paul drew tremendous laughter from the audience.
Daddy Showkey and Oritsefemi also drew ecstatic dances from the audience with their hit songs. Daddy Showkey took the audience down memory lane with a performance of his old hit-songs, such as ‘Showkey’ and ‘Fire Fire’
Aki and Pawpaw augmented the event with their comedy routine. There was a dancing competition and the giving out of free GOtv decoders and other gifts to lucky winners.
Subscribers who had difficulties with their hardware or service were attended to by the GOtv Clinic set up at the venue for that purpose.
The next installment of the Customer Fair will take place in Lagos on November 5, 2016.
Speaking on the celebration, the managing director of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe said: “MultiChoice customers are at the center of all the organization does, that is why the company has put together a series activities to say thank you to all subscribers who have stayed with GOtv since its launch in 2011.”
Also speaking on the GOtv fifth anniversary celebration, Mr. Akinola Salu, General Manager, GOtv said there are many reasons for GOtv to roll out drums to celebrate, going by the success the brand has achieved over the last five years.
“Despite the fact that the country is going through a very challenging time, we have kept our prices. We have further gone ahead to ensure that everybody within different strata of the economy can afford GOtv. We recently launched GOtv Lite. This is a selection of twenty channels and these channels are for every member of the family just for #400 monthly. If you decide to subscribe in bulk, you can do a quarterly subscription for #1050 and for a year, you pay #3100. You can’t get anything better than this anywhere.”
GOtv was launched in Nigeria in 2011 to make digital TV service affordable for low income earners in Nigeria. So far, the innovated digital TV provider has become so popular among subscribers across the country both in rural and urban areas.
Five years after it was launched, GOtv Nigeria has been able to strategically spread out it network to 24 states and the FCT with households in over 50 cities across the county already in its subscriber base.
Abuja is among other cities across Nigeria with a larger coverage of GOtv network with virtually all its satellite towns and villages on the GOtv digital TV network service.

As part of its contributions to the development of sports in Nigeria as well as ensuring continuity between the older generation of athletes and the younger ones, Heritage Bank Plc, in partnership with the Lagos State government, is targeting the youth in its forthcoming signature sports event, the Skoolimpics project.
The event which is billed to take place between November 2nd and 4th at the Teslim Balogun Stadium and Rowe Park, will be bringing together, over 200 public and private secondary schools with about 6,000 students competing across all the local government areas in the state.
In his address at a media briefing in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, who was ably represented by Mary Akpobome, an executive director of the bank, explained that Skoolimpics targets development of young people in order to foster their physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Physical education and sports, he said, help in character and community building, delinquency reduction, community safety, economic and social development.
He said, “It is an organized tournament, driven on the platform of education, to aid tackling the dearth of insufficient sports talents by ‘catching them young’; mentoring them by facilitating the development of their talents and dreams whilst attaining good education.”
Other objectives of the tournament, he mentioned, included creating a platform through sports where the youths will imbibe great leadership attributes and lead their communities well; grooming young athletes yearly from the grassroots, develop, train and nurture them to compete and achieve their dreams; and increasing participation in sports in order to discover more talents and future champions and Olympians.
Sekibo narrated that a look at the days of glory in sports to the present, particularly, with the recent lackluster outing at Rio Olympics, pretty sums up the deterioration in the country’s institutional framework.
He added: “In the history of Nigerian sports, never has there been an organized competition of this magnitude for all secondary schools! The talents to be gathered in one place can only be imagined and the emotions generated will simply be electrifying: different schools from different geo-political zones; competing students from different walks of lives, cultural ideologies and languages. ‘It will be an amazing melting pot to harness youthful talents with a clearly defined national outlook’.
“I would like to underscore our vision as a generational bank, one that is poised to help create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations. This mantra of ours is evidenced in the work that the bank has done so far in empowering children and youth in the society in order to foster productivity in the economy.”
On the part of the Lagos State government, the chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Deji Tinubu stated that right now, there is no current school child both at the state and national level who is an athletic household name; whereas in those days, there was Stephen Keshi, Henry Nwosu, ChidImoh, Falilat Ogunkoya, Dick Tiger, a host of others.
He then narrated that the essence of Skoolimpics was to get everybody back on track, reminding them that the country’s future stars, are the ones who are in the secondary schools now and not the ones who are training and between the ages of 20 and above.
According to Tinubu, if we don’t tap them now, if we don’t starting training them, if we don’t start nurturing them at this level, we are probably going to lose another generation of stars who would probably have made Nigeria proud. ‘That is why we are partnering with Heritage Bank’.
“All the talents that will be discovered in this maiden edition, will stay with the experts, they will be counseled, guided, spoken to and we will entertain them so that even at this age, they will begin to have the feeling of what a champion is like.
“It is not going to be one of those programmes where we do the event and then you don’t get to hear about us until another one year. It is going to be a constant thing and by the grace of God in the near future, we will be able to hold somebody’s hand as a champion. It may be regional, continental, but all traced back to why we are gathered here today.”
Taking the audience down memory lane, Skoolimpics Brand Ambassador, Mary Onyali, narrated her experience at the age of 10 right from St. Mary’s Anglican Primary School, where she was trained by volunteer coaches and her visits to fine tune her talents at Rowe Park, Yaba up to Amuwo Grammar School, Agboju, where she was always sending senior students scampering into safety whenever she featured in a competition.
By 2004, after having vested 30 years of her talents to athletes, she had made five Olympic appearances, winning two Olympic medals and tens and thousands of medals in all African games, Commonwealth games, world championships and so on.
“Nigeria has 60% of its 160million population as children and youth. This boardroom decision of Heritage Bank to start Skoolimpics is a marked effort. Here is the link: 98million Nigerians are children and the youth. They have been denied the opportunities of being greater than little Nkem (Onyali). But Heritage Bank is making Nkems of 2016 to have a greater hope and support.
“Please ask yourselves, must this situation of hopelessness continue? Can we change the situation? Yes of course, we can.I urge each and every one of you to join forces with Skoolimpics for the sake of our children in the state because once this pilot in Lagos is launched, we want to recreate on the streets of our states, greater children who are better than Nkem, who is sitting right here before you and talking to you.”

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has stated that worshiping deities (idols), is not a sin against God Almighty as it was part of nature.
He cautioned people to stop misrepresenting the importance of festivals and deities celebrated in the ancient city of Ile-Ife and all parts of Africa.
His royal majesty made this known on Wednesday while speaking at the 2016 celebration of ORANFE, the god of fire in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Oranfe, the god of fire, is believed to be one of Yoruba’s 401 deities sent by God to establish the first world’s community called Ife Oodaye, and as one of the historical festivals in Ile-Ife, Oranfe is celebrated annually.
He said, “Those who keep sensitizing people against us that we are worshipping idols are not kind to history. I am proud to be associated with nature. Ife has 201 out the 401 deities and they are all relevant.‎
“These deities are divine messengers of God sent for different purposes. One of them is ORANFE, the god of fire being celebrated here today.”
“It is a pity that all powers in the possession of black men are being used for battles and power tussles. It is from these unique powers that the west sourced technology and development from, and they are now using it against us.
“We are also following the instructions of God needed for the sustenance of mankind as everybody, including powerful leaders rely on nature to survive.
“Some of these deities also show the mysteries of God, God wouldn’t have made mistake in the creation of the deities, they are representatives of sciences being taught in schools.
“It is very sad that the western world has messed up our psyche and inflicted slavish mentality on us making us to believe we are idol worshippers as our pitiable neglect of our own culture and traditions.
“This is a major factor responsible for the poverty in the land. We left the positive sides and allow the west to implant the negative side in our brain.
“Our people really need to be enlightened, a lot of these festivals have been misconstrued, misrepresented and demonised as if we are idol worshippers. We are not idol worshippers. We are rather believers in nature. ‎
“I am not saying the commandments of God should not be adhered to, but we must know that all these deities are messengers of God.
“They represent nature. Nothing can be done without nature regardless of our religion be it Islam or Christianity or even traditional.
“We only honour nature because we are all integral part of it and do not worship idols. Some of the deities we worship have roots in the holy books,” he restated.
Recall that the Ooni had declared earlier that his tradition does not support idol worshiping, but gives glory to the Almighty God.
‎The Ooni had also caused controversy in the social media recently after he went down on his knees to worship God during a Thanksgiving Service after his coronation, saying Jesus was his father.
Users had lambasted him, calling him a hypocrite, although, he responded saying he was not moved by mere criticisms.

…..staff rage over sale of shares in WAMCO

Another major scandal has broken in the Bank of Industry (BoI), as assets allegedly declared missing by the bank have been sold.
Also sold were 127 million shares of the bank in Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria which were yielding good returns according to some staff of the bank.
The assets and the shares in Friesland Campina WAMCO were reportedly sold for N39.953 billion according to its 2015 accounts that is creating ripples in the presidency.
BoI in its previous accounts had declared about 12 assets missing and removed the “missing” assets from its books.
The sale of the assets hitherto declared ” missing” has however raised suspicions in its 2015 accounts that its books might have been cooked up over the years.
In the 2015 accounts exclusively obtained by InsideBusiness correspondent, the BoI, according to item 8 titled ‘other income’ under the ” Notes to the consolidated and separate financial statements” on page 72, reportedly made N800.04 million from the sale of the assets that were hitherto declared missing.
Under item 8.2 on the same page 72 of the accounts, BoI noted that ” gains on the disposal of plant and equipment represent the profit from disposal of properties located at plot 1220a Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, and 26, Idejo street, Victoria, Lagos.
The two properties- 1220a Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria Island and the one on 26, Idejo street, Victoria Island were among the properties hitherto declared missing by the bank in its previous accounts.
An impeccable source in the Bank told InsideBusiness that the identities of the buyers are known only to the top management staff.
“We are also curious about of the assets and situation is worsened by the fact that the sale was shrouded in secrecy. No one knows the buyers of the assets” a management staff told InsideBusiness on condition of anonymity.
Another worrisome development, according to some staff of the bank, was the sale of BoI’s stake in Friesland Campina West African Milk Company Nigeria (WAMCO), makers of Peak Milk.

The creditors of Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mtel, have petitioned the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) over alleged delay in payment of their claims by the appointed liquidator for the national carrier.
A representative of the creditors, Sebagen Noboh, who signed the petition, dated October 20, 2016, accused the liquidator,Olutola Senbore, of not being accountable in the payment of claims from the N51.65 billion realized from the sale of the core asset of NITEL/Mtel.
The asset included total book debts of N7.9 billion largely due from government ministries, departments and agencies, which proved difficult to recover as at July 31, as well as outstanding private sector debts of N597.5 million.
Apart from the initial 16.5 per cent of the amount fixed in the offer letters signed by Mr. Senbore for each of the 300 creditors, Mr. Noboh said the liquidator has refused to account for the balance of 83.5 per cent.
He said the payment made in 14 months interval, in two installments of 15 per cent in May 2015, and 1.5 per cent in July 2016, was in violation of the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
Although Natcom Consortium, which acquired the asset, had fully paid up since March 2015, the petitioners said they were still waiting for the liquidator to pay them.
“We seek the urgent intervention of the FRCN for independent examination of the Liquidator’s account records, because he has remained evasive since July,” the petitioners said.
“We also believe that the outcome of PACAC’s investigation might give President Muhammadu Buhari a clue into certain tendencies that have cast doubts on the credibility of the exercise,” they added.
But the liquidator, in a report dated August 19 sent to shareholders and creditors, said about 186 claims were processed, with total liquidation receipt put at N51.65 billion, consisting amount realized from sale of core assets (N49.97 billion) and recoveries from other income (N2.55 billion).
Out of the amount, he said N472.1 million was paid for former NITEL/Mtel staff costs; N733.99 million for other operations and administration expenses and liquidation expenses (N2.924 billion).
He blamed the delay in the payment of the last two liquidation dividends to the creditors on some banks, which, he said, erroneously transferred the funds to the treasury single account in September 2015, resulting in their having to go through court process to secure an order to get the funds released in May 2016.
Besides, AMCON had claimed both NITEL and MTEL were owing it N107billion as at March 14, 2014 when the court ordered the liquidation of the companies.

A former deputy governor of Plateau, Pauline Tallen, has said that she turned down her ambassadorial nomination in order to be fair to other parts of the state in terms of federal appointments.
Mrs. Tallen, who is also a former Minister of Science and Technology and Labour Party governorship candidate in Plateau in 2011, made this known in Abuja on Monday.
“I hail from the same local government and tribe with Gov. Simon Lalong. I turned down the nomination because of balancing of appointments, I don’t think it is right for me to accept the appointment,” she said.
“Secondly, proper consultation was not done, my governor was not consulted because I called him when he was in United States of America to ask but he said that he was not aware.
“For me, I was consulted and I turned down the appointment even before the announcement was made,” Mrs. Tallen said.
She also cited her husband’s poor health.
“My husband’s ill-health is another reason why I will not accept the appointment,” she said.
Mrs. Tallen, who was nominated last week by President Muhammadu Buhari, alongside 45 others, said the president gave her another option and also assured her that Plateau would not miss its two slots.
The former deputy governor, who appreciated the president for the honour, said that her name was not included on the list of nominees and was surprised when the announcement was made.
Meanwhile Gov. Simon Lalong has described Mrs. Tallen’s decline as an exhibition of political maturity.
“Plateau is always on the front-burner when it comes to politics, that shows her maturity not just in Plateau but as a national figure.
“Once things are not done properly, it is better for a leader and a mother to come out and say that things are not done properly in the interest of the state.
“When I heard the announcement I was very shocked because what happened was without proper consultation,” he told journalists in Abuja.
The governor said his administration was working towards addressing the issue of balancing appointment.
Mr. Lalong said the opposition was already saying that the appointments were lopsided.
He appreciated Mrs. Tallen for her decision, and assured the people that their quota would be filled and he would go further to ensure that distinguished sons and daughters of Plateau get more appointments.

(NAN)

United Bank for Africa has continued to receive accolades and global recognition for its commitment to the use of cutting-edge technology to provide simple and convenient banking solutions and services to its customers. The pan African banking Group was adjudged winner in two categories at the recently concluded Finacle Client Innovation Awards 2016, organised in India by Infosys Limited; the corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services to financial institutions across 19 countries.
UBA won the ‘Award for Process Innovation’ on account of its innovative approach to transaction authentication and reconciliation and also clinched the award for ‘Project Management Innovation’ as a result of the outstanding work it has done on implementing a ‘multi country migration of Finacle core banking solution using the Clustered Rollout concept. The awards were keenly contested for by financial institutions with over 160 nominations received from across different banks in 94 countries.
Commenting on the awards, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, the Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc said the Finacle Awards is an attestation to the quality of human resources that abound in UBA and the importance the Bank places on using information technology to better serve its customers. “UBA has remained the leading bank in driving customer satisfaction and banking penetration across Africa using information and computer technology”. “In achieving this, we have and will continue to commit resources to bringing convenience to our teeming customers,” he added.
The Finacle Client Innovation Awards recognizes some of the breakthrough innovations achieved by the clients, leveraging Finacle solutions. The award celebrates product, channel/distribution, customer service, process, custom component development and project management innovations that have benefitted banks by increasing revenues, profitability, enhancing customer satisfaction and efficiency. “Using technology to provide consumer satisfaction and excellent banking experience is important to us. In doing this, we emphasised the acquisition of relevant technologies to drive service excellence and innovation in product and services, across all channels” said Chuks Nweke, Executive Director, Operations and Technology, United Bank for Africa.
UBA is one of Africa’s leading banks with operations in 19 African countries including having presence in global financial centers; New York, London and Paris. Adjudged to be at the forefront of innovation and convenience banking, UBA is one of the first financial services institutions on the continent to deploy Finacle 10x, a new information technology platform to boost its services and electronic banking channels. Today, UBA provides banking services to some 11 million customers globally, through diverse channels and several thousand touch points/

By Adejuwon Soyinka

Within the last few days, we have observed with keen interest, the antics of certain individuals who are masquerading as labour leaders while actively playing partisan politics.
At this point, we are constrained to set the records straight. To start with, it must be clearly stated that what has happened in the last few days in Ogun State has nothing to do with genuine agitations for the welfare of workers but was rather an attempt at playing partisan politics.
The reason for this conclusion is not far fetched. Ogun State workers are paid their salaries and allowances as and when due even during the current economic recession being experienced across the nation. For instance, as it is the practice, the state government paid its workers September salaries on September 25, 2016.
Certainly, labour leaders now insisting on leading Ogun workers down the path of an unpopular and politically motivated strike action cannot be said to be ignorant of this fact. Similarly, they cannot be said to be ignorant of the fact that whereas workers salaries are paid without delay in Ogun State, many states of the federation are having a hard time meeting that obligation due to the dwindling revenue profile of the country.
In the same vein, it must be clearly stated that the Ogun State government has not reneged on its agreement with workers with respect to the payment of 11 months arrears of cooperative deductions, which affects only 40 per cent of the state workforce. It will be recalled that in March 2016, the state government promised to gradually reduce these backlog by paying it once after every three months. Indeed, for each month, the total sum required for the payment of deductions is about 1/9th of the state’s monthly wage bill.
In this respect, the Ogun State government has so far kept faith with its promises by ensuring that in the month of May, Ogun workers were paid cooperative deductions alongside their salaries. A similar payment was made in August while another is due for November 2016.
“We even promised to pay outstanding gratuities when we receive bulk funds from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) but this has not been forthcoming due to the dwindling revenue profile of the state,” says Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, Secretary to the State Government. He added that, “In spite of that, the labour leaders are also aware of the fact that we are working very hard towards ensuring that by November some of the backlog of gratuities are paid.”
Indeed, the state government has also gone ahead to resume the payment of subventions to tertiary institutions while it has repeatedly maintained that it cannot stop Contributory Pension Scheme deductions because doing so will be illegal. We met the law on assumption of office in 2011 and only the legislative arm of government can change it through an amendment of the existing law.
When these facts are added to the access that labour leaders and indeed all citizens in Ogun State have to records of the state’s financial status, politically motivated mischief becomes more obvious as the reason for the ongoing strike action.
Again, this is an assertion that is founded on facts. For instance, on October 5, a day set aside for the commemoration of World Teachers’ Day, some of these labour leaders-turned-politician organized a rally, where against the grain of Civil Service Rules, they boasted about receiving the sum of N5m from a politician.
Not only did they admit receiving such huge sum of money from this politician, they also hired a musician who led them in singing his praises for hours on end while chanting his political slogan.
The Ogun State government is in possession of video evidence of this unprofessional, unethical and highly partisan act on the part of so called labour leaders who, for a moment forgot that they are supposed to be public servants. The Ogun State Civil Service Commission charged with the responsibility of regulating the actions and activities of public and civil servants is already looking into that infraction in line with the extant rules of the public service.
Prior to that incident, information at the disposal of the government showed that some of the leaders of the organized labour had a secret meeting with some politicians where a decision was taken to deliberately heat up the polity in Ogun State.
It was therefore not surprising that shortly after they commenced their politically motivated strike action, these labour leaders turned politicians also held a joint press briefing with an opposition politician in the state.
When thoroughly considered, a combination of the monetary inducement and the kind of company being openly kept by these politicians masquerading as labour leaders would provide an answer to the question of why they chose to ignore all the facts on the ground and still called for a questionable strike action.
Not only that, it also explains why these set of labour leaders chose to rebuff the peacemaking efforts of revered traditional rulers like the Olu of Ilaro and Chairman, Ogun State Council of Obas, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle; Awujale and Paramount ruler of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona and the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Aremu Gbadebo on the eve of their politically motivated strike action. Not only did they walk out on a peace meeting called at the instance of the traditional rulers, they also hurled insults at them, calling the revered traditional institutions all sorts of unprintable names.
More than anything else, this singular action has given the labour leaders away as individuals who cannot be said to be representing the best interest of Ogun State workers let alone that of the generality of the good people of Ogun State.
As a government, the Senator Ibikunle Amosun led administration will not fold its arms and allow a few disgruntled elements in the leadership of the organized labour in Ogun State, attack revered traditional rulers in that manner and get away with it. We are determined to ensure that all those involved in the assault on our revered traditional rulers will be brought to book in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Again out of mischief, these labour leaders have also resorted to claims that their lives are no longer safe in Ogun State while alleging that political thugs were sent after them. It is rather disturbing that without seeking verification of such spurious claims some national dailies have also assisted them to publish this falsehood.
Not only is this far from the truth, it is actually an attempt at reversing the truth. Contrary to their claims, these labour leaders and their cohorts are the ones who are going around the state secretariat to forcefully give effect to their widely unpopular strike action and in the process causing bodily injuries to dedicated civil servants who are not part of their partisan mission.
It must be stated for the records that the Amosun-led administration is peace-loving, law abiding and would not prevent any genuine agitation for the welfare of workers.
This much was stated by the governor who recently said, “Our administration is not opposed to any form of agitation for improved condition of service for workers. But nobody should hide under the guise of labour unionism to play partisan politics.”
We are grateful to the generality of our workers who saw beyond the veil and have chosen to continue working in spite of provocations by these ill motivated labour leaders.
We also appeal to the disgruntled minority to toe the path of honour and come back to work. For the avoidance of doubt, the state government shall not pay salaries to workers who absent themselves from their duty post without lawful excuse.
Soyinka is Senior Special Assistant (Media) and spokesman for Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

The convener of the Save Nigeria Group, Pastor Tunde Bakare, whose group, SNG, was among the arrowheads of the Occupy Nigeria protest that shot down the country over total removal of fuel subsidy during the administration of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has averred that he has “no single regret about my action in 2012.”
The government of President Muhammadu Buhari, had in May this year announced the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS otherwise known as petrol, making the product to be sold at the pump price of N145 per litre. Bakare was Buhari’s running mate in the 2011 presidential election.
Recall that Jonathan, who removed the subsidy on petrol in 2012, had stated in an interview with Bloomberg that “the very people that have been accusing us of corruption are the very people that frustrated it (the removal of subsidy).”
But speaking on Saturday as a guest lecturer at the 14th year anniversary of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Asokoro, Abuja, Bakare stated that he never regretted occupying the street in January, 2012, following the fuel subsidy removal by Jonathan.
“I have no single regret about my action in 2012. If I have another opportunity, I will do it again. Save Nigeria Group (SNG) campaign was not about fuel subsidy, but against corruption. We insisted on ‘kill corruption and not Nigeria’. It was corruption in that government that we fought.
“We simply made the then government to understand that sovereignty belongs to the people and we demonstrated it through our actions. And we will do it again and again if time demands for it,” the Senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly asserted.

Jude Ndukwe, media aide to Femi Fani-Kayode, director, media and publicity of the Goodluck Jonathan presidential election campaign, says the federal government is dealing with its perceived enemies instead of tackling the recession.
His aide said this while reacting to the arrest of the Fani-Kayode, who was picked by operatives of the EFCC operatives just as he stepped out of the federal high court in Lagos.
The former aviation minister is standing trial for his alleged involvement in a N4.9bn fraud case.
But in a statement on Friday, Ndukwe alleged that the EFCC was being used to silence the opposition under the guise of fighting corruption.
“Is that not why despite the urgent need to tackle the economic recession they have plunged the country into, they have concentrated all their efforts on dealing with all members of the opposition and perceived enemies even including honourable justices of the supreme court,” the statement by Ndukwe read.
“The re-arrest of Fani-Kayode is needless as much as it is reckless. The EFCC once again lived up to its billing of being used by the current administration for the sinister purposes of silencing the opposition under the guise of fighting corruption.
“As expected and as earlier stated in his press statement, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode had already raised the alarm that he was going to be rearrested by the EFCC as the organisation whose operations have become easily predictable, have graduated from being an investigative body meant to serve the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians to a vindictive institution willing to do the bidding of some vengeful cabal whose existence even the wife of the president confirmed recently.
“Let it be on record that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode was held for 67 days in EFCC custody who used questionable orders from magistrates to perpetuate their illegality. While in their custody he suffered all forms of abuses, trauma and even physical attacks from some of the agents of the Commission. Their thinking was that all these torture and torments would be enough to silence him.
“But rather than being silenced, Fani-Kayode, to the consternation of his traducers, has remained faithful to his position right from the pre-election periods that this is a regime of evil men whose only purpose for wanting power was to waste their perceived enemies, their family members and all those associated with them.”
He said earlier in the month, the EFCC filed a fresh suit against Fani-Kayode at the federal high court in Abuja, but failed to show up the day the matter was heard.
“The case was consequently adjourned to November 10, 2016. We are therefore aghast but not surprised that this latest action of the EFCC is in sync with the script writers of this whole episode to silence Fani-Kayode by hook or by crook. Words have filtered to us from credible sources within the presidency and the security agencies that the ultimate aim of those who are behind the former minister’s travails is to apply ‘extreme measures’ on him,” he said.
“We have also been told that in security circles, that means to have him killed through the use of some poisonous substances that would break his health down irreversibly and eventually kill him even months after he might have been released so that the suspicion would not be at the doorsteps of state agents.
“If not, why allow Nenadi Usman (former minister of State of Finance) and Director of Finance in the PDP Campaign Organisation, Danjuma and others charged alongside Fani-Kayode to go and only him was re-arrested in the court premises?
“Our fears now are that nothing is beyond this government of sadists and fascists. We call on the good people of Nigeria, democrats and lovers of this great nation to rise and demand that no Nigerian should be persecuted or assassinated based on his beliefs and or opinions on critical national matters.
“We are watching very closely, and should anything untoward happen to FFK, Nigerians of course know who to hold responsible even as we demand for his immediate and unconditional release now.”

Details have emerged why Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State sacked three of his commissioners on Wednesday.
Ambode had on Wednesday sacked the Commissioners for Tourism, Mr Folorunsho Folarin-Coker; Finance- Dr Mustapha Akinkunmi and Transportation, Dr Ekundayo Mobereola.
Our investigations revealed that Ambode showed the commissioners the way out of his government for various reasons ranging from insubordination, incompetence,high-handedness and disloyalty.
A top government source told this medium authoritatively on Thursday that Folarin-Coker was sacked because of outright disloyalty to the governor as he does not respect him because of his affiliation with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Folarin-Coker was said to have even boasted openly that he is at par with Ambode and thus undermined his authority as governor, even when it was Ambode who tried to shield him when he was named in the scandalous Panama papers.
In the Panama papers, Folarin-Coker was said to be owner of a London property worth over N476m and situated in Fulham.
According to a report by the UK Guardian, Coker was reported as one of the famous Nigerians whose anonymous ownership of different property in London has been exposed by the massive leak of the Panama law firm’s data on offshore companies.
He reportedly owns a townhouse worth £1.65m in Kensington and Chelsea but shown as belonging to a BVI company, whose sole shareholder is Folorunsho Coker.
The report further noted that Coker’s lawyer said he had multiple sources of income and had always declared his interest in Satori Holdings to the Nigerian authorities.
With all these allegations in the making and with his alleged disloyal to the governor, Ambode sacked him.
Also, Dr. Akinkunmi’s sack was said to be purely on ground of alleged incompetence in the performance of his duty and disloyalty as commissioner for Finance.
A close government source told our reporter that Akinkunmi was not competent in his job as Finance Commissioner and that the governor, on several cases had to teach him on how to carry out his job being a chartered accountant himself.
His inability to cope, according to our source, cost him his job.
As for Mobereola, he was said to have been sacked because he did not respect the office of the governor.
A top government source said having occupied the office of LAMATA for over 10 years and his closeness to Tinubu, Mobereola was said to have brazenly disregarded the position of Ambode as governor.
He was even alleged to have at one time awarded contract worth several millions of naira to a contractor without the governor’s approval.
“He did many things outside due process. He approved contract worth millions of naira without the governor’s approval. The governor had to cancel the contract and tongue-lashed him,” our source alleged.
Investigation further revealed that there are still more commissioners who are not performing and are still in the governor’s cabinet.
A government source said many of them would still be shown the way out by next year as the governor is bent on having the right team to deliver qualitative service delivery to the people of Lagos State.
However, several calls made to Mobereola’s phone to get his reaction to the story were not picked.
But Folarin-Coker debunked insinuations that he was disloyal to Ambode, saying there was nothing like such.
Also, Akinkunmi did not pick his call when he was contacted to get his reaction to the story.

Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo has given a hint of how he became President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate, saying “somebody somewhere” recommended him for the position.
In his book, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: Challenges of Leadership,’ John Paden, Buhari’s authorised biographer, claimed that the president chose Osinbajo as his partner in the 2015 presidential election despite pressure from Bola Tinubu, who wanted the position.
Tunji Bello, secretary to the Lagos state government, who served in Tinubu’s government, had described Paden’s account as half-truth, saying he was in the know of how Osinbajo emerged as Buhari’s running mate.
At a presidential dinner in honour of the beneficiaries of the amnesty programme on Wednesday night in Abuja, Osinbajo, for the first time, spoke subtly on the matter.
“I was in a group of young men and women and one of them asked the question how did I become vice president; I was never a politician or anything like that,” he said.
“So, I tried to explain it is quite simply that someone somewhere has to recommend you. Somebody somewhere has to give you a helping hand.
“Whether to be a vice president or to be an aircraft pilot or to be an engineer, somebody somewhere has to give you an opportunity and I think that all of you that are here today are the beneficiaries of the opportunities that you have somehow received.
“And this is why this event is so important. I think that it is one way we have to remind ourselves that we are bound as individuals to give opportunities to everyone.”
Osinbajo urged Niger Delta militants to lay down their arms and embrace peace, saying the region was also losing in the bombing of oil installations.
“The fact that you did so well was a tremendous opportunity for other people,” he said.
“We all have the responsibility to ensure that the future of the country is one that is secure. That cannot happen under the atmosphere of conflict.
“There is no point blowing up pipelines. If they are blown, who are the losers at the end of the day? All of us, even the up-and-coming ones.”

One of the nation’s upcoming entertainers, Simisola Ogunleye, popularly known as “Simi”, says that criticism from fans has made her to improve on her career as a musician.
Simi, who made her mark with hit tracks like “Love don’t care’’ and “JAMB Question’’ told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that she even thrived under negative criticisms.
“Some people go out of their way to be cruel, they don’t even know you; they just feel the need to be mean because it’s their constitutional right.
“I’ve been feeling quite grumpy and a bit moody all evening. But I just saw this message a fan wrote and it made me to feel so much better.
“This is why I wake up every day, eager to write another song, make another record. And this is why I don’t go to bed until 3 a.m. most nights.
“I have learnt to grow and be better. This is why I still drag myself to the studio even when I’m ill.
“It’s because of the beautiful souls out there who can feel what I’m trying to tell them, or show them through my music that has made me to improve.
She added that she would not be stifled by a handful of negative individuals and thanked those who had encouraged her through their messages on her social media timeline.
“For those that show me love and those that criticize me without spite, I love you. Thank you for being part of the reason for my growth. I don’t take you for granted.
“I love you all, I don’t even get mad. I’m too busy getting ready for bigger projects in life.

It’s a new phase for Nollywood producer and actress, Happy Uchendu. The beautiful actress is breaking new grounds in the industry and she has some photos to celebrate this milestone.
The graduate of Microbiology started off her career in the field of Science but her love for the arts soon drew her into acting. Since then, her journey has been an interesting one. After featuring in a few movies, her hard work and tenacity paved the way for her to become a movie producer in this very competitive industry.
That move to many, was deemed too bold. But it was worthwhile as she has excelled in this field. Happy has produced over 10 movies including some award winning features like: Valerie, Heroes and Villains, Behind the Curtains, The Injury, Different Passion, My Mother’s Wife, Dear Diary and My Game. Her entrepreneurial spirit and drive is responsible for bringing lots of fresh acting talents into the limelight.
Happy is also passionate about beauty and style and is looking forward to starting a business venture in that field.
She is currently working on an exciting new project titled ‘Blind Spot’ and has recently wrapped up production for her latest movie which would be released in the cinemas early next year.

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday clarified its decision to demolish illegal structures and shanties erected along the river banks and under high tension cables across the State, citing security concerns and flagrant abuse of its building regulations as its core reasons.
Addressing journalists at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said that the move was in line with government’s pursuit of its policy on cleaner environment and restoration of master plans through the removal of all environmental infractions and nuisances across the state.
He said over time, the government had noted with dismay, the flagrant disobedience of building regulations in the State, hence its decision to go ahead with the enforcement of structures in contravention of the Law.
Ayorinde, who was joined at the press briefing by his counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal, Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Adejare and top officials from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, said the State Government would not go back on its resolve to establish zero tolerance for all structures and properties built under high tension cables.
“It is quite worrisome that ramshackle structures, sheds, canopies and shanties, especially along shorelines have turned to the abode of miscreants/street urchins, kidnappers, touts, street traders and hawkers who often vandalise public utilities and attack innocent citizens.
“The State’s Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010, prohibits erecting structures within the Right of Ways and set backs of drainage channels, centre-line of over-head electricity wires and also states in very clear terms specified distance to be observed between a Property line and a public utility”, he said.
Ayorinde said after the Security Council Meeting of September, a directive went out to the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABCA) and the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to take inventory of all the houses and buildings along the river banks in the riverine areas of the state to among other things, ascertain whether set backs were adhered to inline with stipulated regulations.
“So you would see that nothing is being done and nothing will be done in Lagos State as far as demolition of illegal structures are concerned without due considerations to the extant laws of the state and without adequately engaging with the communities and the people involved as demonstrated by what the Governor did in Illubirin to give them more time to move inspite of the repeated warnings and notices that were being served.
“Yes, we would be considerate to the plight of those considered as urban poor, but we will also not allow their situation to jeopardize the safety and security of more than 21 million residents of the state. This is the reason why this is being carried out and this is the reason why government will not succumb to cheap blackmail,” Ayorinde said.

Explaining further, the Commissioner said most of the buildings marked for demolition did not comply with the required setback as stipulated, saying that such could have fatal consequences in the wake of an incident.

Giving a background to the demolition of shanties on the Illubirin waterfront, Commissioner for Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, said the occupants were evicted and their shanties demolished because they were illegal settlers in the area.
He recalled that the Illubirin Housing project started about ten years ago under the administration of former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu with the reclamation of the Lagoon, while the fishermen who were there at that time were resettled at Badore.
He said after the reclamation, the housing units started in 2013 and it was initially designed to accommodate 1,254 housing units, while the scheme was reviewed and redesigned by the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to make the place a live, work and play environment, with the partnership of a private investor.
According to Lawal, the illegal settlers moved into Illubirin waterfront during the process of redesigning the scheme, adding that the private investor had perfected plans to move to site, and is committing about $500 million into the scheme.
On his part, Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, said adequate notices and sensitisation have been embarked upon by the State Government to educate the people on the need to refrain from constructing any structure on river banks, saying that the safety of about 22 million residents of the State cannot be allowed to be jeopardised by few.


http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/2016/10/18/lagos-clarifies-demolition-of-illegal-structures-shanties/

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), yesterday, ramped up its tax enforcement drive when its teams shut down premises of companies with tax liabilities in Warri, Lagos and Ilorin.
In Warri, Delta State, the enforcement team visited two companies.At JAD Construction, along Enerhen Road, the FIRS team evicted all the staff before sealing off the premises for unremitted taxes in excess of N400million, accumulated from 2013.
Efforts by a management staff, simply identified as Mr. Ben, to present some tax clearance documents as proof of payment were rebuffed. The by the enforcement team insisted they had a duty to seal unless there was verifiable proof of payment of the said arrears.
“These defaulters had the option of clearing the arrears to avoid being sealed even at the point we came in. Now they still have a duty to settle the debt to get unsealed. If they fail to settle the arrears or attempt to operate under FIRS lock and key, we have other measures of enforcement against them,” said Mandeun.
At Bredero Pipelines Services at Sedco Road, Uvwie Local Government Area, the team met a team of policemen at the premises. The policemen claimed the company has been shut for more than three years following a court injunction restraining the workers or management from working there pending determination of court case between management and staff. The company has an aggregate debt tax of N178,638,649.90
In Lagos, the enforcement team, led by Chinazor Edeh, visited Dee Jones Petroleum and Gas Limited at Beachland Estate, Apapa. The company is said to owe N31million, a tax debt the operational manager said he was not aware of.
He later phoned the company’s tax consultant, who admitted that the company is owing but asked for more time to enable it pay.
This was rejected by Edeh, who insisted that the company had to pay immediately or have its premises shut. Edeh ordered the premises shut at about 11.50am.
The enforcement team in Ilorin, Kwara State, visited Kwara Hotels, where the new management, Integrated Services Limited, explained that it was neither aware that the previous management had a N10.5million tax liability nor of correspondences between the hotel and the FIRS. The argument ended when a call was put the FIRS headquarters, which confirmed the existence of the hotel’s tax liabilities. The new management then signed an undertaking to reach the previous management and revert to the FIRS within 30 days.
Also in Ilorin, the FIRS team visited Henry George Company Limited, which owes a little over N2million. But the company escaped being shut having paid a part of money on Monday and its officials were headed to the bank to pay the balance while the enforcement team was in the premises.
On Monday, an FIRS enforcement team, visited the premises of Eagle Package Printing Limited in Ota, Ogun State, over a tax liability in excess of N21million. However, the company was not sealed, as members of its management ordered the payment of in N10million.

http://sunnewsonline.com/firs-shuts-firms-in-warri-lagos-ilorin-over-unpaid-taxes/

Veteran actress, Esther Idowu Philips, popularly known as Iya Rainbow, is among those who will sit as judges during the Area-D Drama competition this Friday, 21 October, 2016.
The competition, which will be held at the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Ikeja 2 Parish, Ogba, Lagos.
The competition will parade all Celestial church’s Area drama groups in Lagos and other prominent parish drama groups.
Other judges billed for the competition include Prophet Farodoye, Prophet Tunji Fashina, Bro Rotimi Ajayi and Bayo Adetu.
According to Tomisoye Ajayi, Area D’s Drama Coordinator, there are numerous prizes and gift items for winners and participants of the competition respectively.
Area D Drama Troupe is a dance and drama unit of Celestial church, comprising of parishes in Ikeja, Agege, Ogba, Iju and Ojodu.
“The purpose of this 2016 drama competition is to identify talented youths, with innate dramatic and dancing skills, and nurture them to stardom,” Ajayi noted.

The Chaplain of Aso Villa Chapel, Seyi Malomo, has explained his stance on recent media reports alleging Aso Villa was infested with evil spirits and demons.
Rather than take the report as truth, Mr. Malomo said on Sunday, Nigerians should dedicate themselves to praying for God’s righteousness to take over the land.
“I am not saying there are no evil spirits. I am also not saying there are,” he said.
“I don’t know what people believe. For me, I believe it is only righteousness that exalts a nation.
“Evil spirit is everywhere. Even the street you live, don’t you have witches and wizards there?” he added.
Mr. Malomo said his advice was for citizens to pray for Nigeria and its leaders, particularly President Muhammadu Buhari, his family and all those working in the presidential villa, for God to cleanse the Nigerian seat of government of all alleged demonic influences.
The Chaplain was speaking in Abuja in a exclusive chat with PREMIUM TIMES shortly after delivering a sermon as guest preacher during the African International College (AIC), Abuja thanksgiving/welcome service for its 2016/2017 freshers.
Despite allegations the presidential villa was full of evil spirits, Mr. Malomo said there was nothing above prayers to seek God’s intervention to restore righteousness in Nigeria.
“All we need to do as Nigerians is to pray that wherever evil exists, God should make His righteousness to take over.
“As Nigerians, our responsibility is to continue to pray for the president and his cabinet, and every part of the country, particularly the Villa, for righteousness to take over,” Mr. Malomo said.
The claims of evil spirit at the presidential villa heightened when a former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati, said in an article in the Guardian that he was “totally convinced Aso Rock Abuja is full of evil spirits.”
Mr. Abati recalled several incidents of fire outbreaks at the Aso Villa during his stay there.
“Around the Villa while I was there, someone always died or their relations died. I can confirm every principal officer suffered one tragedy or the other. It was as if you needed to sacrifice something to remain on duty inside that environment,” he said.
“Even some of the women became merchants of Love Machine because they had suffered a special kind of death in their homes … and many of the men complained about something that had died below their waists too.
“The ones who did not have such misfortune had one ailment or the other that they had to nurse. From cancer to brain and prostate surgery and whatever, the Villa was a hospital full of agonizing patients.”
A former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, agreed with Mr. Abati, saying “a lot of very strange things happened there” when he worked at the villa as spokesperson to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He listed some of the strange things he noted happened as the death of Mr. Obasanjo’s assistants, Tunji Oseni and Remi Oyo, who he said contracted terrible terminal illnesses whilst in office and died few years after leaving office.
Mr. Fani-Kayode also said several other aides who worked in the Villa at the time were also afflicted with strange diseases and a sudden and tragic end. He mentioned such people as Mr. Obasanjo’s ex-aide de camp, Solomon Amu, and former Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Stanley Macebuh.
Mr. Fani-Kayode had made a similar allegation about the aviation industry. He said that during his time as minister there was a “blood sucking cult” in the ministry that believed shedding human blood brought power and wealth.
“There is definitely a spiritual aspect to this (plane crashes). In my view, there has always been a blood cult operating in the ministry of aviation. There are some people that are very strange,” he said.

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent outburst that his wife, Aisha “belongs to his Kitchen,” former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said the President needs prayers because “demons are speaking through him.”
There has been a verbal ‘war’ between the first couple, following Aisha Buhari’s criticism of her husband’s government.
But the President while in Germany reacted to her comment, saying she “belongs to my kitchen and other rooms” in his house.
Following backlash from the public, Buhari’s media aide, Shehu Garba defended the President, saying the statement was a joke.
However, the former Director of Media and Publicity in the campaign organisation of ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan, has claimed that Buhari’s comment is part of the “spiritual dimension of living in the villa.”
Fani-Kayode, who took to his Facebook page said, “When the President can get up and tell the whole world all the way from distant Germany that his wife ‘belongs to the kitchen and other room’ simply because she dared to speak her mind to the BBC, then you know that he is in the grip of something evil and that demons are speaking through him.
“It is all part of the spiritual dimension of living in the villa that Abati was referring to in his latest essay.”
Recall that a former Special Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati, had last week described Nigeria’s seat of power, Aso Rock, as an evil place .
Fani-Kayode added, “The President’s mind has become twisted and he is now possessed by strange and powerful entities. Any man that can say such a thing about his own wife can kill his own children. He needs a lot of prayers.”

A former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has arrived Nigeria in an apparent move to submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC
Mr. Obanikoro has been having a running battle with the anti-graft agency on allegations bordering on financial crimes.
He left for the United States shortly after his party lost the 2015 elections and he ceased being a minister.
The EFCC accused him of using his children to take out government contracts that were never executed.
Mr. Obanikoro, on a separate charge, was also implicated in the Ekiti elections scandal. It is not immediately clear if he was prepared to answer questions about that, too.
He had initially vowed not to return to the country alleging persecution by the government as a means to discredit him.
It is not immediately clear when he planned to submit himself to the EFCC, but Demola Olarewaju, an associate of the politician confirmed his arrival.
Mr. Olarewaju said Mr. Obanikoro had moved to Abuja from Lagos and could visit the EFCC headquarters on Monday.

The Federal Government, through its National Biosafety Management Agency, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to retail store giants, Shoprite and Next Cash ‘N’ Carry to withdraw any product that contains Genetically Modified Organisms from their shelves or risk a total shutdown.
The warning was handed out to representatives of the two superstores at a briefing in Abuja on Friday.
The Director-General, NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, said the agency had received complaints from members of the public about the sale of GMO foods in the two stores.
He stated, “Recently, we carried out a survey of likely GMO products and we have been able to have some collections, some materials that we call GMO suspects. We call them GMO suspects because we have not been able to ascertain their status.
“Why we have invited the superstores basically is for them to understand that some of their products need to be properly ascertained before they are brought in, especially the imported ones that may contain genetically modified materials, so that they will not run afoul of the law.
“There is a law in place. We will not want any segment of the society out of ignorance to act in manners that will infringe on the law. The Biosafety Management Act empowers the NBMA to regulate the activities of modern biotechnology and the use of genetically modified organisms.”
According to him, the agency will not hesitate to shut down any of the stores found selling unregistered GMO products in the country.
Edegba called on representatives of the superstores to ensure that all GMO products on their shelves were duly registered by the agency by obtaining permits.
He said, “If they have any GMO food in their stores, they should withdraw them from their shelves within seven days. The NBMA will not hesitate to shut down those stores found selling GMO products. We will not want to see any GMO food in your stores. We urge you to comply with this Act.
“We have taken samples, which we are analysing. This information is not peculiar to only the superstores. We are not threatening anybody, we are just telling you the consequences of dealing in GMO products if found in these stores. Within the next seven days, we believe you will withdraw from your shelves all foods that are derived from genetically modified organisms.”
The NBMA boss added, “Please, it is an advice and this advice is not without a legal backing. So we urge you to withdraw all GMO foods from your shelves and formalise your dealings by obtaining permits.

-Punch

The full text of Aisha Buhari’s explosive interview with BBC Hausa has been released.

Aisha Buhari had complained about her husband’s appointments and also suggested that his government had been hijacked by a few people.

The president responded in a blunt manner, saying his wife belongs in the kitchen and the “other room” — although Garba Shehu, his spokesman, later said the president was obviously throwing a banter.

Below is the full text of the interview that started the public spat, courtesy of SaharaReporters.

BBC Hausa: People have goodwill towards President Muhammadu Buhari, especially looking at the things he did before, but since coming into power things have not been working the way they should, what do you thing is the cause?

Aisha Buhari: I am not a government official, but in my opinion as a woman, a mother, what I think is it is well known that the first 4 years are not going to be easy. Firstly, it was people that brought the government into power. More than half of those people are not appointed into the government. Some people that are not politicians, not professionals were brought into the government. They don’t even know what we said we want and what we don’t during the campaign. They even come out and say to people we are not politicians, but they are occupying the offices meant for politicians. Some have parted with their wives, some lost their children lost, some women too have parted with their husbands because of politics, a lot happened during the time. The way things are going I too I am not happy. We are just starting, we have not finished. Some people that worked for the government have been appointed. But those heading government agencies you can find one fighting his state governor, they contested together during election one in APC while in PDP.

BBC Hausa: Who are those doing these kinds of things?

Aisha Buhari: Everybody knows them. Those people should know that people voted singly. Even Buhari too had one vote. Nobody voted 5 times. 15.429 Million People. That one that people are thinking too, he had only some 2 or 3 people. I am pleading to them to have the people at heart and embrace everybody so that we can all move together. Not even now in 2016 or 17, lot of people are creating divisions within the APC, which is our source of concern. They think they have worked for the government while those appointed some of them had no voter’s card. What I fear is uprising of 15.4 million people.

BBC Hausa: Is the President aware some people are subverting his government?

Aisha Buhari: Whether he knows or he do not, those that voted for him knows.

BBC Hausa: But you are the most closest to him, did you tell him?

Aisha Buhari: There is nothing I can tell him, he is seeing things himself. Out of the people he has appointed, take 50, 45 of them I don’t know them. Perhaps he doesn’t know them too. I have been living with him for 27 years.

BBC Hausa: Do you think there are some people that are dictating to the President things to do, not him?

Aisha Buhari: That is what I am saying, those that know they don’t have voters card, they should give chance to those that have, they are the ones that struggled and knows what we want to do. Some of them if you go to a meeting with them they will tell you, we are not politicians, if somebody is wise, they will not accept to take any political office. They didn’t even work for it. Even if you are asked to, you should say it is not my profession. Those places not headed by politicians will cause people discontent.

BBC Hausa: One would wonder to hear you say some people have hijacked the government without him knowing, but who do you think are those people?

Aisha Buhari: I don’t know them, I don’t know them. I don’t know them

BBC Hausa: But some people are calling names, saying 2 or 3 are the ones, do you that as well?

Aisha Buhari: Yes I agree. Because of those appointed apart from Fashola, Ameachi and some others, not much, I don’t know them, most of us too don’t know them, and he too does not know them

BBC Hausa: One would wonder that Buhari is not the one charge knowing him as a person who had leadership experiences, people would not believe.

Aisha Buhari: Yes it is surprising; nobody thought it is going to be like this. But now that it is so…sometimes when one is doing something wrong without him knowing, but when people talk to them, they should listen. Because in the future, whether he is going to contest or not, it is that same people that would vote for APC. We hope those people don’t come back, and everybody don’t hope so too

BBC Hausa: You said “Whether he is going to contest in the future or not”, has he disclose it to you whether he is standing or not?

Aisha Buhari: He didn’t tell me, but I have made up my mind.

Lagos State Government has endorsed the Heritage Bank Skoolympics project, an initiative of Heritage Bank Plc, aimed at building a heritage of champions through youth sports competition at the secondary school level
Mr. Ayodeji Tinubu, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Sports, gave the endorsement at a stakeholders meeting held at the corporate headquarters of the bank in Lagos recently, noting that Heritage Bank is the only bank at the moment that is undertaking such a lofty and premium sporting project in the state, which maiden event will take place from November 2 to 4, 2016.
He said, “We are very excited at the project because it will help to develop youths in the state in a disciplined manner,” adding that we have mobilized and created awareness among students in the state for the project and were looking forward to it.
He said the Heritage Bank Skoolympics was a “very fantastic idea” and that the state was interested in the “pre, during and post event activities because it intended to expose the beneficiary students to proper mentoring and counselling.”
Tinubu, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission said the state government was building a sports culture in the state as it is in most metropolis, through the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable sporting activities to thrive in a variety of sports events, in a bid to cater for the passion of majority of the citizenry.
Also speaking, Chief Mrs. Mary Onyali, the Brand Ambassador of Heritage Bank Skoolympics said, “I was really moved when I was approached to be the ambassador.” She urged the stakeholders to make the Heritage Bank Skoolympics a continual project, as it consist of concepts that would benefit Nigerian children.
Earlier in her address of welcome, the Executive Director, Lagos and South-west/Corporate Banking of Heritage Bank, Mrs. Mary Akpobome, who stood in for the Managing Director, Ifie Sekibo, affirmed that the bank was spearheading the noble project in the state because Lagos State has been known to be successful in driving sports initiatives.
She said the bank has a sustainability plan to organise the programme yearly in a bid to identify, and mentor the winning youths over a long period of time to become medallists in international competitions.
Heritage Bank will be hosting over 200 public and private schools with about 6,000 students competing across all local government areas of Lagos State in the maiden event. The competition which will take place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere and Rowe Park Sport in Yaba will feature various sporting activities like basketball, athletics, handball, table tennis, swimming, track and field events among others.

By Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
Nigeria has not had a First Lady as beautiful as Aisha, at least, not in my judgement, for beauty as they say is in the eyes of the beholder. Nor in my own generation, it is not quite long I started observing these First ladies as intently as I now do. For someone like me who like to admire beautiful women, I have not seen any Nigerian President since I became conscious of my environment and the politics of my nation who is as attractive as this President’s wife. She is so beautiful that she wrote a book on beauty and runs a center where beauty is either created or enhanced!
As long as I can remember, we have always had hardworking First Ladies, but never have we had First Lady who publicly disagrees with her husband on political issues, at least not to our ears or our eyes. Isn’t that how marriages should be? First Ladies come to be known to us, not because of any contracts we have with them, but for the contracts we have with their husbands. First Ladies all over the world are usually their husband’s Number one supporters and political associates. This is not to say that these first ladies do not have areas of discord with their husbands, but because they understand the importance of bedrooms and kitchens. Not in the literal sense though. Kitchens can be the belly, while the bedroom may actually be the heart. We shall get to that as we progress.
It is only an insincere person who will disagree with me that the immediate past First Lady, Patience Jonathan contributed in no small way to the defeat of her husband in the 2015 polls. Do we talk about the embarrassments meted out to the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi which made the later begin to look elsewhere for political sojourn instead of protecting his own kith and kin? Or do we talk about the many embarrassing gaffes that gave the then opposition lots of rooms to make mincemeat of the President? Or her overbearing influence over the control of the Party’s structures that got many Party members alienated and aggrieved? There are lots of reasons why the next First Lady needs to be careful or the next President needs to be careful not to allow his First Lady get him into troubles.
One of the promises made by the then presidential candidate and his Party was that there will not be the office of the First Lady when they come to power. This promise was obviously predicated on the several embarrassments that the former President Goodluck Jonathan had to stomach as a result of Mama Patience’ alleged excesses.
On coming to power, the President’s wife got all the perks of the office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic, but whether she had the influence the other First Ladies before her had is what few people can tell. However, the official nomenclature of her office was changed from the office of the First Lady to the office of the Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Observers are still not satisfied that the President kept to his promise of not allowing the Office of the First Lady, but the presidency thinks that the name change was enough.
It is instructive to note that Mama Aisha brought a lot of positives to the presidential campaigns of the President. Her visibility during the campaigns may be credited, not in small part, for the eventual victory of her husband, especially when you consider the fact that her husband had made three previous attempts at becoming Nigeria’s President through the ballots but failed to clinch majority of the votes. In 2003, 2007 and 2011, Aisha’s presence in the campaigns was not as dominant and effective as it became in 2015. No doubt, many of the women who cast their votes for Buhari in the main election did so, because of Aisha. The full participation of Aisha in the campaign train humanized Buhari who was hitherto seen by not a few of Nigerians as a male chauvinist, considering where he is coming from and his history with his first wife.
Aisha Buhari did not only come out to join the campaign, she led the women wing of the campaign, she brought lots of new ideas into the campaign, she inspired her fellow women to believe, she went to the streets to mobilize her fellow women and youths and convinced millions of them into believing in the ideology of change, into believing that her husband is not the old generation chauvinist his political rivals have severally painted him as. She came forward as an activist, as a philanthropist and as a woman who has lots of influence over her husband. Not the woman who will be restricted to the literal kitchen while her husband is hijacked by any cabal or misled by outsiders. Aisha came out to say things only she could have said. When the former First Lady went to a campaign rally to tell her audience that voting Buhari would mean voting for jail for many Nigerians, it took Aisha Buhari to respond to that. She spoke then, as someone who has lots of influence on her husband and not the kind of wife who is estranged from her husband. Her words then did not portray her as someone who will be an outsider in her husband’s government. She assured the then First Lady, Mrs. Patience Goodluck and indeed all Nigerians that her husband was not coming to jail anybody, but to sanitize the system.
Since she started running the office of the Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha has been scarce in scandal mills. Except on occasions when she was caught spotting highly expensive wrist watches and handbags valued at costs higher than what most families in the country can afford in ten years. But those who actually made some hullabaloo about that did not accuse the First Lady of purchasing those items with public funds. Of course they know she runs a big business of her own, from which proceeds she might comfortably afford such luxuries. Also, the allegation by Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose that she is the same Aisha Buhari mentioned in the Halliburton scandal is yet to be substantiated, and even if substantiated, it did not happen within the period of this presidency, hence, one can safely say that the Office of the Wife of the President of the Federal Republic has not brought any embarrassment to the office of the President, at least, not just yet.
It is normal for a woman to feel uncomfortable when she suspects that some people are beginning to have the best part of her husband more than herself. No matter the status attained by a man, he is still his wife’s most valued asset. That is why we have names in Igboland like; Dibuugwunwayi, Akudiya, Odoziakudiya, etc. These are feminine sobriquets that highlight the importance of a husband to a woman and the relationship a wife should have with her husband. Aisha is right to have complained if her husband has been hijacked by any cabal. What is not right about this is the medium she chose to make this complaint through. A respectful woman, especially an African wife will not want anyone else to hear the complaint she has against her husband not to talk of going to the market place to disgrace her husband and tell the world how she will no longer support him.
A former Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, Owie Rowland has said what many Nigerian husbands would say if they are given the microphone. Senator Owie who claims that what Aisha Buhari said is the true representation of what is happening in Nigeria at present, says her idea of going to the BBC Hausa Service to air her grievances instead of waiting for when she will have some private time with her husband is wrong and would have earned her a trip back to her parents’ house if he was in Buhari’s shoes.
On a personal note, If my wife has to take to the media to tell me what she can call me into the bedroom and let me hear, then, I may not think of sending her back to her parents like Owie Rowland suggested, but I will sure be aware that I now have a political opponent sharing a bedroom with me, instead of a wife.
Aisha may have said something many people think is correct, but, we must commend President Buhari for remaining married to such an obviously petulant woman for the past 27 years. Aisha like every other wife must not always have things her way, but her ability to devise peaceful and respectable ways of getting her husband to understand her grievances is important and marks such woman out for commendation.
Fortunately, Aisha is not the first highly placed Nigerian to have raised the alarm over the activities of a cabal that has hijacked the President and are calling the shots in the country. The Senate President, who is officially, the third strongest man in this country, had raised such alarm, Asiwaju Tinubu whose contributions to the making of this presidency cannot be wished off had recently implied such and there could be so many muted complaints from highly placed quarters indicating such. Nigerians did not elect any cabal to run the affairs of our country hence we should be as concerned as our First Lady that this anonymous cabal are derailing the ship of State. The wife of the President is aware that Nigerians will not blame the cabal for the failures of the government, but her husband, hence, her frustration with the way things are going.
President Buhari’s decision to respond to this may also be a work of this same cabal who do not seem to care about what becomes of the President nor the country, but are desperate for their own political and economic survival. The President, if he was surrounded with those who truly love him and wish him the best would have found a way to evade the question on this issue as what he did is the same as exchanging words with his wife in the market square. An ordinary man is condemned when he does that, not to talk of a man in our President’s standing.
However, it is important to understand that the President did not deride his wife by saying that she “belongs to his kitchen, to the living room and to the other room.” If not that our African values have been dangerously eroded by those do not even understand the concept of feminism and gender equality. For those who understand how figuratively important the kitchen and the other room are, the President’s remark is one of the most complimentary things anyone could say about his wife.
The President did not chide his wife for being political, rather he declared that no matter the political persuasion of his wife, she is still his most trusted ally. Let me explain what I think the President really meant:
“I do not know the political Party my wife belongs to.” My wife has a right to belong to a political Party (This completely removes the literal meaning of a wife belonging to the kitchen. A wife who belongs to the kitchen cannot have the right to join a political Party)
“She belongs to my kitchen.” The kitchen is not for everybody. Unless you are well trusted, you cannot have access to my kitchen. But, Buhari did not say that his wife can go to the kitchen, he said that his wife belongs to his kitchen. This means that she owns his kitchen. Anyone who owns your kitchen, or who belongs to your kitchen is the most trusted individual you can think of. By this, the President was invariably saying that his wife owns his stomach. This is an unambiguous way of telling the world that his wife has lots of influence over him.
“In the living room, and the other room.” This is actually one of the most talked about of that brief speech. The other room is really what it is, the bedroom. Who has more access to a man than the woman with whom he shares his bed? While I insist that the President should have waited till he got to the bedroom with his wife before responding his wife’s criticisms, I also think my feminist friends should design a plaque for our president, for his transparent respect to womanhood with that response. The president elevated his wife to being the most important person in his life and by implication, his most trusted confidante.
-Onwuasoanya, write from Abuja, Nigeria

The bankers’ committee has assured the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that it would halt any plans of mass retrenchment within the Nigerian banking industry.
This was disclosed by ‘Tokunbo Martins, director of CBN banking supervision, after the Bankers’ Committee meeting in Lagos on Wednesday evening.
“One of the things we discussed was about the impending retrenchment in the banking industry. So, we understand that many bank workers are expressing fears about possible retrenchment in the industry,” she said.
“We discussed and the banks are now committed to not retrenching their staff, going forward. So, whatever rumours are flying around that mass retrenchment is happening or not happening, that is not true.

NIGERIAN BANKS STRONG AND SAFE
Martins assured the public after the meeting that he was sure that all banks were strong and stable. She added that there was enough buffer to pull through the crisis.
“The banks are adequately capitalised, so the report is not true,” she said.
“That does not mean that the banking sector is not feeling the economic headwinds. The headwinds are also in every other jurisdiction.
“It is not strange. So, non-performing loans at 11.7 per cent is not what we should focus on. The underlying assets of the banks are still there, and they are good. So, I think you should totally dispel or ignore that type of story.
“It should be expected to have non-performing loans (NPLs). It is not the reason why any jurisdiction should be demonized. There are other jurisdictions that have NPLs as high as 15 per cent, 35 per cent and so on.”
Fitch, one of the big three rating agencies in the world, also raised the alarm on NPLs within the Nigerian banking sector, while warning against a possible downgrade in the future.