₦airaland Forum

The fear of total defeat is the beginning of too many excuses...!

Aidejay:
Apologize my foot

Apology is good for our democracy. Fighting blindly will produce a mediocre out of Ihedioha. For the interest of those who fight for free, they should ask Anthony Joshua what he earned for fighting his opponent.

Henceforth, free fighting is outlawed...

A group, Association of Imo Patriots, has called on the Governor of Imo state, Emeka Ihedioha to apologise to the immediate past governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha following the recently released Second Corruption Survey in Nigeria by the National Bureau of Statistics, which ranked Imo as the least corrupt of the 36 States.

In a statement issued on Monday by the Spokesman of the group, Emma Ezekwe, said that the report was especially timely, considering the enormous resources being wasted by Ihedioha in his bid to malign his predecessor.

He stated: “We have received with delight the recently released “2nd Corruption Survey in Nigeria” by the National Bureau of Statistics, which ranked Imo as the least corrupt of the 36 States and the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory.”
Ezekwe noted that over the last seven months, Ihedioha has set up more than 20 probe committees and allegedly sponsored over ten protests, aimed at portraying Okorocha as corrupt in the eyes of the people.

He said that fortunately, these probe committees have mostly returned empty files and in some cases, made sweeping statements without facts to buttress allegations of corruption against Okorocha.

“As non-partisan patriots from Imo State, we demand an immediate apology from Ihedioha’s administration over their several lies against the Okorocha administration.”

The group noted that the apology should be personally addressed to Okorocha and another addressed to Imo people, whom the Ihedioha administration has insulted severally through his malicious campaign of lies.

The group stressed that while majority of Imolites of good conscience are not surprised about this rating by the NBS, which c Okorocha’s prudence and transparency in the management of Imo’s resources within the eight years he held sway as governor.

It said it was unfortunate that Ihedioha is reluctant to accept the credible review of the Okorocha administration by an independent agency of the federal government, with support from the United Nations. Index: Ihedioha Must Apologise to Okorocha, Says Group
Adedayo Akinwale ín Abuja

A group, Association of Imo Patriots, has called on the Governor of Imo state, Emeka Ihedioha to apologise to the immediate past governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha following the recently released Second Corruption Survey in Nigeria by the National Bureau of Statistics, which ranked Imo as the least corrupt of the 36 States.

A statement issued on Monday by the Spokesman of the group, Emma Ezekwe, said that the report was especially timely, considering the enormous resources being wasted by Ihedioha in his bid to malign his predecessor.

He stated: “We have received with delight the recently released “2nd Corruption Survey in Nigeria” by the National Bureau of Statistics, which ranked Imo as the least corrupt of the 36 States and the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory.”
Ezekwe noted that over the last seven months, Ihedioha has set up more than 20 probe committees and allegedly sponsored over ten protests, aimed at portraying Okorocha as corrupt in the eyes of the people.

He said that fortunately, these probe committees have mostly returned empty files and in some cases, made sweeping statements without facts to buttress allegations of corruption against Okorocha.

“As non-partisan patriots from Imo State, we demand an immediate apology from Ihedioha’s administration over their several lies against the Okorocha administration.”

The group noted that the apology should be personally addressed to Okorocha and another addressed to Imo people, whom the Ihedioha administration has insulted severally through his malicious campaign of lies.

The group stressed that while majority of Imo people of good conscience are not surprised about this rating by the NBS, which confitms Okorocha’s prudence and transparency in the management of Imo’s resources within the eight years he held sway as governor.

It said it was unfortunate that Ihedioha is reluctant to accept the credible review of the Okorocha administration by an independent agency of the federal government, with support from the United Nations.

- thisdaylive.com

Africa will never be independent, Africans believe in Europeans, Americans and Chinese more than themselves. They do not trust each other, African engineers / technocrats do not have the platform to practice what they have studied. They hire Chinese people to build roads for themselves. A white man will commit a crime in Africa but no action will be taken because the African authorities consider us whites as half gods, which is far from the truth. A black man can be kidnapped in Europe, harassed and even killed, but no African authority can even challenge him.

Africans present themselves as weak, hopeless people, especially when dealing with Europeans and Americans. They are their own enemies. They hate each other, allowing their colonial masters to continue to explore their resources. As far as I know, Africa is the chosen continent, chosen by God, it is a blessed continent and it is time for Africans to realize that they are in a place where Americans, Europeans and Chinese people are jealous and would like to be.

Do not compare the African weather with any other weather … African soil can feed all Europe, America and Asia, but their problem is one, “THEIR LEADERS”. As far as I’m concerned, their best president has always been Gaddafi.

South African police in Gauteng are looking for a man who hacked into the department of health database and employed himself as a system administrator since June 2018.

The suspect is identified by police as Bright Chabota, a computer engineering graduate, of Zambian origin. His father is Zambian and his mother is a South African.

He never actually went to work but he was getting the salary every month, according to reports.

Medical card and salary advice were piling up in an officer of the supposed system administrator in the department of health building in Pretoria but nobody had ever seen him.

His parents were tracked down in Alexander and they said he told them he got a job in Nelspruit. He had been sending them R7000 every month since June last year.

helinues:
Ecowas court for Nigeria internal affairs.

Chei, educated illiterates everywhere

ECOWAS Court checkmates the internal affairs of every West African country. Any issues with that?

This present government has no regard for ECOWAS Court, and has never obeyed its directives before... Can they start it from now?

Efforts to sell the hate speech bill to Nigerians suffered a setback as an activist delivered a court judgement to President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to guide the Senate from the further attempt to gag free speech in Nigeria.

The letter dated November 28, 2019, drew the attention of the Senate to the judgement of the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) forbidding Nigerian government from criminalising free speech in whatever guise.

The letter was delivered by Mackay Chambers and Associates and reads in part: “We hereby inform you that, the exercise in pursuing this Hate Speeches Establishment Bill 2019 is one in futility and therefore, the taxpayers money should not be plunged into it, in view, of the Judgment of the ECOWAS Court which has been termed by the global community as a landmark Judgment, a trailblazer for the global freedom of expression.”

The judgement was the culmination of the arbitration in a case instituted by Festus Ogwuche and Anor vs the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The certified true copy of the judgement sighted by Tribune, not TheNigeriaLawyer reads in part: That on Tuesday the 11th day of December 2018 in Suit no; ecw/ccj/app/ 10/15; judgment no; ecw ccj jud 31/18, quashed and forbids the Federal Republic of Nigeria from criminalizing free speech in whatever form, colour or clothing and barred her from free speech or press censorships enshrined and guaranteed under Article XIX of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.”

The judgement states that all these are covenants from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Nigerians enjoy its full declaration.

The letter further stated that the hate speech bill runs contrary to section 22 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and other international convention to which Nigeria is a signatory.

According to the letter: “The Hate Speeches Establishment Bill 2019 is contrary to Section 22 and 39 of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended which guarantees freedom of expression. It needs no saying that, any Law or Act that is or are contrary to the grand norm of the Constitution is null and void.

“The National Assembly under the leadership of our Distinguished Senator, Ahmed Lawan, haven chosen this ignoble road of willfully subjecting and making our Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations beats our imaginations.

“There is the availability of sufficient Laws on offensive spoken words and actions with great and effectual remedies in our laws. It’s wrongful to attempt criminalizing freedom of expression for the traumatized citizens of
Nigeria.

“It is absurd for Nigeria in the comity of nations on earth to be heard singing these ignoble songs rather than creating the conducive environment for freedom of Speech and enterprises for her rapidly growing populations.

“In View of this Judgment, the National Assembly of Nigeria is, therefore, acting contrary to the core terms of the Judgment in terms of the citizens’ rights; it protects, to embark on the facilitation of the Hate Speeches Establishment Bill 2019.

“This Judgment clearly forbids the Federal Republic of Nigeria sued in this case as the Defendant from further violating Nigerians citizens’ rights to freedom of speech being a matter that was initiated within the public interest advocacy mechanism.

“It would not be seen that Nigeria as an entity would have her legislature act in defiance of her international obligations freely entered into and in the face of a valid subsisting Court Judgement.

“Freedom of speech being an entrenched Fundamental Human Rights provided for in the Nigerian Constitution and this Right is fully preserved by the Judgment of the Regional Court afore said. It is completely out of the way for the Nigeria legislature to attempt to facilitate the enactment of any law that infringes the rights protected by the said Judgment of the Regional Court.”

Speaking further on the matter, Barrister Daniel Makolo said the silence of the Attorney General of the Federation was misleading to the National Assembly in the face of the aforementioned judgement of the Regional Court.

He urged Lawan to show the way of global best practices in line With international obligations entered into freely by Nigeria in halting immediately the ignoble debate, inclusive of all processes on the Hate Speeches Establishment Bill 2019 in the public and national security interest of Nigeria, her friends in the International communities and her noble citizens.

https://thenigerialawyer.com/hate-speech-bill-suffers-defeat-as-senate-receives-ecowas-court-judgement-criminalizing-bill/

An Ibadan-based businessman, Mr Saheed Eniola, on Wednesday told a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan that his wife, Kafayat, was caught at different times sleeping with his younger brother.

He said that the alleged romance with his brother had caused disharmony in his extended family.
Saheed made the allegation while responding to a divorce suit filed by his wife before the court presided over by Chief Ademola Odunade.

He said that he had doubts that the two children produced by his wife belonged to him.

“The real reason I consented to Kafayat’s request for dissolution of our marriage is that she is evil and has torn my extended family apart because of her waywardness.

“Anytime I went on my business trip, family members, especially my dad, usually caught Kafayat sleeping with my immediate younger brother; despite his warning, Kafayat kept luring my brother into unholy romance.

“My father has threatened to disown me if I don’t send her away.

“Despite the problem, I have never failed to be responsible to the two children except that I no longer live with Kafayat,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“Saheed added that his wife repeated cursed him, thereby causing him a setbacks.

“I have pleaded with Kafayat to give me the custody of the children, but she would not listen; she might mislead them,” Saheed said.
Earlier, Kafayat told the court that her husband was irresponsible.

“We stopped living together since 12 years ago, and Saheed does not make any provision for our children.

“In fact, the second child cannot recognise him either as a father or anything because she had never sighted him.

“Though, he requested to take charge of the first child, I refused to give him because he would not send him to school.

“Even when the child was dying of sickness in the University Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, Saheed did nothing about it, though I told him,” Kafayat said.
She, however, did not respond to the allegation of sleeping with her brother-in-law.

In his ruling, Odunade directed the duo to bring their relatives and their two children in court.
He adjourned the case until Dec. 17 for judgment, urging that they should maintain the peace.

See Ethiopia and where they are now... My people are perishing for lack of knowledge. Is this a curse on our people or what? We prayed for good leadership, they gave us CHANGE, when the change could not heal our wounds they quickly capped it NEXT LEVEL... Now we don't know the level where we are: Next of Last level...

Abiy Ahmed Ali was raised a Muslim but converted to Christianity . He is a devout Pentecostal Pastor of Full Gospel Believers Church Ethiopia.

Less than 2 years since taking office Prime Minister Ahmed Ali helped Ethiopia achieved the kind of peace and reconciliation once deemed impossible.

100days in Office Pastor Abiy Ahmed Ali achieved the following

Lifted the state of emergency in Ethiopia

Granted Armnesty to thousands of Political Prisoners

Discontinue Media censorship (Granted Free Speech)

He legalised outlawed opposition groups

He dismissed military and civilian leaders who were suspected to be corrupt

He significantly increased the influence of women in Ethiopian politics

He promised to strengthen democracy by holding free and fair elections( The proof is the new country that emerged from Ethiopia)

He reconciled 2 branches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church which splitted for political reasons.

He fostered reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in his home town of Beshasha

Ethiopia is 59% Christian and 34% Muslim

His Christian faith is seen as the driving factor in his push for peace in Ethiopia.

BBC News recently said this about him. "There is something of the revivalist preacher in the way he evangelise for his vision, he has energy , passion and Certainty "

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali holds strong to his Christian believe that , 'Nothing is Impossible'

Pastor Abiy Ahmed Ali at 43 years is Africa's youngest leader and he recently won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pope Francis led an impassioned mass for tens of thousands of emotional worshippers at a packed Bangkok stadium Thursday, urging respect for prostitutes and trafficking victims in a part of the world where sex work is rampant.

The remarks came at the end of a whirlwind day of meetings for Pope Francis, who is on his first trip to Buddhist-majority Thailand where he is carrying a message of religious harmony and peace.

He heads to Japan next, visiting the twin atomic bombs sites of Nagasaki and Hiroshima where he will seek a ban on “immoral” nuclear weapons.

The 82-year-old arrived at the stadium in a golden robe woven for him from Thai silk, greeting crowds of flag-waving faithful, some wiping tears from their faces at the sight of the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.

An estimated 60,000 worshippers gathered for the mass, some pouring into a nearby stadium to watch the hymn-filled service on large screens.

Known for his down-to-earth style, the Pope did not shy away from difficult topics at the mass.

He focused his message on helping vulnerable children and women “who are victims of prostitution and human trafficking, humiliated in their essential human dignity”.

He also referred to drug addicts, migrants and “exploited sinners and bypassed beggars”.

“All of them are part of our family. They are our mothers, our brothers and sisters. Let us not deprive our communities of seeing their faces, their wounds, their smiles and their lives,” said the Pope, after leading prayers.

The remarks were delivered in a region infamous for a thriving sex trade and unchecked human trafficking.

Prostitution is illegal in tourist hotspot Thailand, home to at least 300,000 sex workers, some four per cent of whom are believed to be trafficked, according to official estimates.

Many women are drawn to the work because they can earn up to 10 times more than the minimum wage, and critics say some corrupt Thai authorities turn a blind eye to the thriving trade.

Earlier, the Pope praised Thailand’s efforts to stamp out the “scourge” of exploitation and enslavement of women and children, urging a “dignified” future for vulnerable youth.

– ‘Gift from God’ –
Thailand has not had a visit from a pontiff since John Paul II in 1984, and the small but spirited Catholic community was thrilled ahead of the mass.

Just over 0.5 per cent of the population is Catholic but the community has been here for centuries.

For Pimrapat Panyawattanatikul, the service was her second shot at seeing a pope after John Paul II touched her head some 35 years ago.

Now she’s hoping her mother will get a similar honour, with the pair sitting right on the track Francis was set to drive past in his Popemobile.

“It’s a miracle we got these seats. It’s my mom’s dream to see the pope and to go to Italy. This is a gift from God,” Pimrapat told AFP, her mother next to her clutching a rosary.

The Pope’s colourful mass capped a packed schedule on the first full day of Thailand where he was welcomed Wednesday by cheering worshippers in Bangkok eager for a glimpse of his motorcade.

On Thursday Francis followed in the footsteps of John Paul II, paying a visit to the supreme Buddhist patriarch Somdej Phra Maha Muneewong at one of Bangkok’s famed gilded temples.

The pair sat before a brilliant gold Buddha statue inside the ornate temple, built 150 years ago by the former Thai King — the supreme patriarch barefoot and draped in orange robes as they spoke.

The Pope reciprocated the gesture, removing his shoes for part of the tete-a-tete.

In an earlier speech, the Pope said the meeting was “a sign of the importance and urgency of promoting friendship and inter-religious dialogue ".
Nuclear ban –
This visit coincides with the 350th anniversary of the founding of the “Mission de Siam”, marking the first papal mission from Europe in the 17th century.

Though Christianity’s first visitors were initially met with scepticism, today Thailand’s nearly 400,000 Catholics face little discrimination.

The Pope also paid a visit to Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha and King Maha Vajiralongkorn, gifting the top royal a colourful mosaic of a papal blessing in Vatican City’s Saint Peter’s Square.

On Friday the pontiff will host another mass, this one for young people, and meet with religious leaders in the city.

He jets to Japan Saturday, where he will visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both devastated when the US dropped atomic bombs at the end of World War II in 1945.

The pope, who years ago had hoped to be a missionary in Japan, has made strong calls for a ban on nuclear weapons.

- AFP.

Panama Papers reveal shell companies linked to Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote

Worth a staggering $15.4-billion, Nigerian businessperson and industrialist Aliko Dangote is on the Forbes rich list as the wealthiest man in Africa. But does Dangote pay his fair share of tax in Nigeria, or is he hiding assets abroad? That remains unclear. Yet that question has become even more relevant following discoveries of several secret shell companies linked to him, his allies and his relatives.

According to the leaked internal data of Panama-based offshore legal services provider Mossack Fonseca, obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Dangote, his half-brother and his business allies have over the years used shell companies domiciled in controversial tax havens in their business transactions.

The unprecedented year-long investigation involving 11.5-million secret documents – which date from 1977 to December 2015 –has exposed the hidden underground of the world economy: a network of banks, law firms and other middlemen that use shell companies, sometimes to hide illegal wealth.

The 2.6-terabyte trove of files, involving 214 488 entities, also reveals details about how former gun runners, contractors and other players in the spy world use offshore companies for personal and private gain.

The investigation unveiled the cloak of secrecy provided by Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm that specialises in creating offshore companies, some of which have been used by con men and women to hide Ponzi schemes, predatory lending scams and other financial fraud from their victims and the authorities.

Mossack Fonseca has, however, issued a statement denying wrongdoing.

It said that as a registered agent, it merely helps incorporate companies and that before agreeing to work with a client, it conducts a thorough due diligence process, “one that in every case meets and quite often exceeds all relevant local rules, regulations and standards to which we and others are bound”.

Dangote and the game of shares

Dangote is one of Mossack Fonseca’s most prominent clients and in Panama alone, based on company registration addresses provided by shareholders, 13 shell companies registered by the firm are directly linked to people and companies who in turn are linked to the billionaire and his allies.

Dangote and his half-brother, Sayyu Dantata, the founder of MRS Holdings (a leading West African oil-marketing firm, which acquired Chevron-Texaco’s downstream assets in 2007), bought equal shares of 12 500 each in Ovlas SA, a shell company registered in the Seychelles, on October 6 2003.

The Seychelles is a well-known tax haven used by businesspeople, politicians and celebrities.

On the same date, a company they both owned, MRS Oil and Gas Company, bought 25?000 shares in Ovlas SA.

According to the documents, three years later the trio – Dangote, Dantata and MRS Oil and Gas Company – ceased to be shareholders in the company. That was on April 12 2006.

But in an arrangement that seems curious, Dangote was issued a higher amount of shares – 250 000 – on the same day he resigned. His brother, Dantata, was also issued 250 000 shares. This suggests that the two simply resold the shares back to themselves. Their company, MRS Oil and Gas, was reissued with 500 000 shares.

After three years of holding the shares, they all ceased to be shareholders. Again, they resumed possession of the shares as on the previous occasion, but this time it seems Dangote sold his shares to Dantata and MRS.

Dangote ceased to be a shareholder permanently on July 6 2009, and Dantata’s shares doubled to 500 000 while MRS retained its 500 000 shares. Documents show that to date Dantata has never sold or transferred his shares, nor ceased to be a shareholder.

Same folks, same tricks

At the same time, Dangote, Dantata and their co-owned company, MRS, bought shares in Petrowest SA, another company registered in the Seychelles, on October 6 2003.

Dangote and Dantata bought 12 500 shares each from Petrowest SA, while MRS bought 25 000 – the same modus operandi used with Ovlas SA. Again, three years later, the trio ceased to be shareholders in the company. That development was also dated April 12 2006.

As was the case with Ovlas SA, Dangote suddenly ceased being a shareholder. According to documents made available to Nigerian online newspaper Premium Times, on the same day, Dangote was reissued a higher number of shares – 250 000 – and Dantata was also given 250 000 shares.

This again indicates that they resold the shares back to themselves. MRS was reissued 500 000 shares.

Name swap in the Seychelles

In what appears to be a plot to blur the tracing of Ovlas to the Seychelles, the shareholders filed for a change of name to Petrowest SA.

An official document seen by Premium Times certifies that Ovlas SA changed its name “and is now incorporated under the name of Petrowest SA” on April 27 2011.

In a separate document, it was shown that while Petrowest had swallowed Ovlas SA in the Seychelles in 2011, Petrowest SA Panama only bought 100 units of shares at $100 each from Ovlas to become a shareholder in the company on October 12 2012.

Web of intrigue

Dantata, Anil Kumar Ahluwalia and MRS Investments (a subsidiary of MRS Holdings) share the same business address on Lagos Island, in entities incorporated for them offshore by Mossack Fonseca.

Ahluwalia, whose company’s name is Santosh Investment Limited SA, is connected to a Panama shell company called Lotus Trust Services Sarl.

Similarly, MRS Investments is a shareholder in Chalmers Shipping Incorporation, which in turn is directly connected to another shell company named Afrex Sal, also domiciled in Panama. Afrex Sal is a client of Dantata and Dangote’s Ovlas Trading, based in Monaco.

Dangote and Dantata have allegedly used their multiple companies in Nigeria and other countries to secure huge loans. For instance, in 2010, the management of Bank PHB, a Nigerian bank, took Dandata’s MRS Holdings to court over the nonpayment of a $58-million loan the bank had granted it to purchase Chevron Texaco in 2008.

In September 2014, Sani Dangote, Dangote’s younger brother, was dragged before the federal high court in Lagos. In its suit, Union Bank alleged that in a bid to evade repaying his 5-billion naira loan, Sani Dangote tried to deplete the funds in his accounts by diverting them to Dubai, Canada and Switzerland.

Shell companies: A dark corridor

Shell companies are usually domiciled in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Monaco, Panama, Samoa, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Lebanon, Mauritius, the British Virgin Islands, St Lucia, Belize, Macao and close to 100 other, usually tiny, countries.

Shell companies, experts say, are entities that have no active business and usually exist only in name as vehicles for another company’s business operations. In essence, they are corporations that exist mainly on paper, have no physical presence, employ no one and produce nothing. They are frequently used to shield the identities of their owners and/or to hide money.

Owners create shell companies for a host of suspect business reasons. Some people own shell companies so that when they acquire assets such as private jets and real estate, governments do not find out and demand tax. Others set up shell companies to raise funds before starting operations, to attempt a take­over or as a front for an illegal business.

The reasons why Dangote and his allies set up secret companies are not clear. But shell companies are not illegal, and not all owners use them to dodge paying tax or to hide assets.

However, they are at times used for tax avoidance. This they do through transfer pricing, a complex structure that allows businesses (often in developing countries) to shift profits to shell companies overseas to allow them to pay little or no tax in the country where they made the money.

The leaked documents offer evidence that Mossack Fonseca offers clients aggressive “re-invoicing” services that are designed to help companies evade paying taxes. It remains unclear whether Dangote and his associates used their shell companies to procure any such service from Mossack Fonseca. Many people using offshore companies do so perfectly legally.

Because shell companies are at times associated with fraud, their activities are of major concern to international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Money laundering, billing schemes, fictitious service schemes, bankruptcy fraud, tax evasion and market manipulation are some of the fraudulent activities facilitated by shell companies.

Given that they at times have nominee directors, and often have no phone number, no email address, no physical address, no company logo, no contact person and no federal identification number, and because the host country did not collect enough ownership information, there are usually no paper trails for law enforcement agencies to trace back to a particular individual or individuals.

More players uncovered

Using data-mining techniques and working in collaboration with a global network of investigators with access to secret databases, Premium Times was able to uncover several Nigerian business players associated with shell companies.

Among them are Sayyu Dantata, Aisha Dantata and Mariya Dantata, who are listed as shareholders of Koggi Shipping Incorporation, whose registered location is in Abuja, Nigeria.

In addition, Sayyu Dantata owns 25-million units of shares in Corlay Global SA, a company that is a client of Afrex Sal’s.

Other Dangote and Dantata allies were also flagged as shareholders in the shell companies used for their Panama deals. They include Ola Rosiji, a shareholder in Excalibur Holdings Services Incorporation, and Alex-Duduyemi Oyekunle, a traditional chief known as the Aro of Ife Kingdom.

Oyekunle holds shares in Sunningdale Assets SA, a company that shares its registered location with MRS Holdings.

MRS Holdings pops up regularly as a shareholder in other companies linked to Dangote and Dantata in Panama.

Corlay Global SA and SID Holdings Group are among the other companies owned by MRS Holdings and Dantata, and are clients of Afrex SA in Panama.

It is a similar story in the Seychelles, where Afrex SA and Bulldog Global Financial Services LLP are linked to Dangote and Dantata’s companies.

Dangote and the business of secrecy

A 2015 investigation by Premium Times, in partnership with French daily Le Monde, the ICIJ and a host of major media organisations named Dangote as being among the wealthy Nigerian industrialists, former government officials and their relatives who operated highly secretive foreign accounts with the Swiss branch of banking giant HSBC.

Some of those named in that global investigation were found to have concealed their identities for years and to have possibly used codes to deter tax authorities from probing their accounts, some of which held illicit assets from criminals, traffickers, arms dealers and other outlaws.

That investigation, published in February last year, showed how HSBC profited from doing business with some of the world’s most notorious con artists, including people who made a fortune fuelling wars in Africa.

The bank, it was discovered, helped questionable characters conceal their wealth despite knowing where it came from, and devised ways to hide the identities of the owners of secret accounts from governments around the world.

At least 100 000 secret bank account operators with financial assets of some $100-billion were exposed in the leaks, unsettling investigators in several countries.

One of the accounts was that of Dangote, who became an HSBC private account client in July 2003. The account appeared in the name of Development Projects Corporation, registered in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Dangote’s account was in operation until August 2004.

Please, what is "Ex"?

I totally agree that women offer nothing in relationship other than sex, but in marriage it is not so...

NEW YORK CITY, New York –

Where else but New York City? A newly opened restaurant within the city limits is boasting the nation’s first license to serve human flesh on the menu. The restaurant, simply called SKIN, received a license after petitioning the state and federal governments over laws against cannibalism.

“As a species, we are at the top of the food chain, and the only meat left to tackle was other humans,” said SKIN owner Mario Dorcy, a 4-star Michelin chef. “We battled long and hard to be able to serve human meat in our restaurant, and the government finally conceded that were were in the right.”

Dorcy says that he has been fighting cannibal ordinance laws for over 10 years, and was finally given the green-light after he promised that the meat that was used would only come from people who had donated their bodies specifically to his restaurant, knowing full well that they would be eaten.

“We have to keep meticulous records, and there is a lot of paperwork someone has to fill out before they die, and before they can be eaten,” said Dorcy. “We do pay handsomely for body donations, though, and the money can be used for anything, since funeral expenses become zero when you donate your body to be eaten.”

Dorcy says that there are plenty of dishes on the menu that do not include human meat, but those leery of the process should not order at all.

“Just like on those packages of candies with allergy warnings that say ‘the machines also are used to make items with nuts,’ our utensils are also used to cook human meat,” said Dorcy. “So don’t come in if you’re not down with what we do.”

https://empirenews.net/new-york-city-restaurant-becomes-first-to-get-license-to-serve-human-flesh/

oloriLFC:
What are you saying ogbeni? What is the difference between an hijab-wearing lady that was denied a law certificate and the sisters that were stripped of NYSC cos of their refusal to wear the mandated shorts? Is it not the same thing? What hypocrisy? Who told you I was one of those who supported the hijab lady? I am a christian but not a fanatic. I no dey carry religion put for head cos no be im go carry me reach heaven. If anyone whether Christian or Muslim decides to go against the laid down rules in any given organization cos of their beliefs, they should be accountable for whatever comes out of it. Me ayam not understanding you fa

As if you did not know that her certificate was later given to her as they cited human right. Now, you're rejoicing because a Christian was de-kitted and sent off the NYSC camp. To you the usual human rights have gone to the dogs...

oloriLFC:
Ok. The way many people dey carry religion for head, one would think that's how pure their hearts are but nay! Many are just hiding under religion, their act, behaviour will never make them smell heaven .Even Jesus said 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God, what belongs to God'. The laws of the land must be adhered to

Now you remembered that your land has laws? The Muslim Lady that was denied her law school certificate because she wore hijab had your support. Now, it's a turn of Christians, your land has started having laws that should be obeyed. The level of hypocrisy in Nigeria is unimaginable.

Listen to your heart...

ROAD SAFETY: Another Rules on Tyres

thisdaylive.com

Last week I wrote on, “Rules for changing tyres”. Today I am running this piece as a follow up in response to a request by a friend who was recently involved in a near- miss road traffic crash because of ‘ his arrogance and I too know attitude” as he rightly captured it in a chat he sent to my WhatsApp. Please as we gradually navigate through to the busiest period of this year’s EMBER months, I plead with you to enjoy the reading and internalize the message. Tyres are among the most important part of the vehicle but unfortunately the least understood. Without the tyres, your vehicle is useless.

You need the tyres to start, move and stop the vehicle. So buying tyres is a task you need to undertake very carefully otherwise your safety and that of other could be put in great danger.before you buy any tyre, give serious consideration into the size of the tyre,the age of the tyre and the physical conditions of the tyre.

Tyre size:On the side wall of your tyres, you will see figures like 215/75/15r, 195/65/14r and so on. These are designations for your tyre sizes. Check your own tyre to know what is written on it. The first figure from the left is the width (from side wall to side wall) of the tyre in millimeters; the middle number is what is known as the aspect ratio used to calculate the height of the side wall of the tyre. The last number is the ream diameter. When you go to buy tyres you will mention all of those figure to the tyre seller so that he will give you exactly what you want, there are various sizes of tyres in the market that can fit your type of vehicle but that does not mean that those sizes are good/safe for your vehicle.

Every vehicle has tyre sizes specified by the vehicle manufacturer. If you check the tyre placard by the end of your driver’s door, hood or the vehicle’s manual, you will see the specification for your vehicles tyre sizes, please stick to these specification while buying replacement tyre. Don’t let the tyre seller give you something else. The manufacturer of your vehicle have taken a lot of factors into consideration before specifying your vehicle tyre sizes. If you change that, your vehicle may not handle well, may be risking a blowout and a crash. Changing to fatter tyres like some people do may look better but not safer.

In most cases, the manufacture provides alternative sizes should you not find the original sizes the vehicle came with. The tyre placard will specify these alternative. However, there are some calculations you can make to get sizes apart from what the manufacturer specified that will give you the same result as the original specification, but you need to know how to do the calculations otherwise stick to the original specification.

Determinig the age of the tyre:Even more important that the size of the tyre is its age. Unfortunately most motorists as well as tyre sellers themselves don’t know how to check for the tyre age they depends only on visual inspection of the physical conditions. Some will invite a vulcanizer who will do a press up (or is it press down) on the tyre to certify if it is okay what a wrong and dangerous thing to do.

Why the emphasis on the emphasis on age of a tyre? Just as age could disqualify and otherwise promising marriage mate, age will disqualify a tyre even if every other thing seems alright from a visual inspection. Do not be deceived by a tyre’s looks every tyre has an effective life span beyond which you will be entering the danger zone. As a general rule, any tyre more than 6 years old should be discarded. This rule, however, applies to quality tyres with branded known names. Less quality tyres of course, may not last that long.

So how do you determine the age of a tyre? Unlike humans who can hide their ages, every tyre provides information about its age but in a coded form. Look at the side walls of your tyre and check for the letters dot. Look around the dot (to the left or to the right) until you get to either a three digit or four digit number boldly imprinted on the tyre without any alphabet attached to it.

Some tyres though, may not have the letters dot printed on them. Just look around the side wall you definitely will see a 3 or 4 digit number clearly imprinted on the tyre. The 3 or 4 digit number is the code designating the date of manufacture of the tyre. Since it is a code, you need to decode it to get the age of the tyre. So lets decode it. If it is a 3 digit number, check to see if it has a triangle sign attached to it.

A 3 digit number without a triangle means the tyre was manufactured in the 80’s, the first two number from the left tells you the week in the year while the last number tells you the year in the 80’s. For example if you have the number 341 (without a triangle) it means 34 week of 1981 (34 is the first two numbers from the left indicating the week while 1 is the last number indicating the year in the 80’s) if the 3 digit number has a triangle it means the tyre was made in the 90’s.

So 341 with a triangle means the tyre was made in the 34th week in 1991. If it is a 4 digit number, it means the tyre was made any year from year 2000. For example, a tyre with 2302 means the 23rd week of year 2002. The first two numbers from the left indicating the week while the last two numbers indicating the year. Four digit numbers do not have triangle signs with them.

From the date of manufacture you can now determine how old the tyre is do a simple calculation on tyres made in the 80’s or the 90’s and see how old a such tyres could be. Even if a tyre looks brand new don’t be deceived. Check the age repeat, check the age. If possible find out for how long it has been left unused because the more unused a tyre is the more unsafe the tyre becomes.

Please note that you start calculating the age of tyre from the date it was manufacture and not from the date you bought it.

Check for physical conditions: After you are satisfied with the signs and age, check for cuts, wears (either at the edges or the center) bulges, swells, cracks, warp. These may be the time to do your press up (or is it press down) with the tyres. Any of these deformities could be a warning signal to stay off the tyre.

Spare tyres could be a death trap if……Given two tyres of the same age, the one not in use (for a long time) is more dangerous than the one constantly in use. Surprised? Well that is the way it goes with tyres. For instance, if you bought two brand new tyres and kept one as spare and didn’t use it for say 12months, the one in constant use is far safer than the one not in use. Why? When not in use, atmospheric gases have more damaging effect on tyres (whether brand new or not)such gases harden unused tyres and make them like brittle. When such tyres are eventually engaged, they could simply disintergrate and cause a crash.

A tyre that is in use counteract with effect of the atmospheric gases as it rolls and flexes. So if you have to engage spare tyres that you have not used for a long time drastically reduces your speed and change to a better tyre as soon as you can. From this you can see that those who park their vehicles for a long time may need to change the tyre when they eventually engage the vehicle again. It doesn’t matter if you remove the tyres and store them somewhere else as long as they are affected by the air, you can be sure the damaging atmospheric damages will impact on them.

ObaKlaz:
Na una wahala be dat. If una like, make una change am to Ewedugerians. Y'all are just as confounded as the Igbos. Today, they are Biafrans, tomorrow they are Jews, next Zeus is their progenitor.

Some people own worse pass... They have no identity... If you can comfortably state your tribe here, then you'll be taken serious...

:Post

ObaKlaz:
Na una wahala be dat. If una like, make una change am to Ewedugerians. Y'all are just as confounded as the Igbos. Today, they are Biafrans, tomorrow they are Jews, next Zeus is their progenitor.

Thatssobeyonce:
use

What is "use"? Is that a comment or correction?

The former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has opted for a name change for the entire South West, urging them to reject the name "Yoruba" as it is allen to the original people of the land.

In his verified twitter handle, Femi Fani-Kayode
@realFFK, dated October 21, 2019, the former minister stated that it was the Fulani's who coined the name to cajole the South West but ignorantly the people allowed it and it stayed.

"Two names that the Fulani gave to southerners: "Yamiri", in reference to SE and "YAR-IBA" in reference to SW. The SE rejected that name but the SW accepted it. The name "Yoruba" derives from "Yar-iba" and it means "shady and unreliable". I reject that strange name and label...
".... I am not a "YA-RIBA" or "Yoruba" but an "Omo Karo Jire" or an "Oduduwan" and my lanuage is not "Yoruba" but "Anago". We are what we call ourselves. We are not "shady and uneliable"(Yoruba) and we must not accept names that are given to us by our historical adversaries..."

Fani-Kayode warned that any South Westerner that continues to call himself "Yoruba" should count himself lost.

".....Any Omo Karo Jire or Oduduwan that continues to call himself a "Yoruba" is lost and does not know the implications of what he is doing to his own people. He is simply affirming and confirming an insulting label which has deep sinister, mystical and spiritual connotations..."

He further explained that the word "Yoruba" was not known but after the 18th century.

"......The word "Yoruba" did not even exist until the 18th century and even then most of the tribes of the SW, including the Oyo's, rejected it due to its origin and meaning. The word "Yoruba" is alien to our culture and not known in the Anago language. Oduduwans please take note."

Many twitter users are reacting to this with so many lending support to his position. The question that is begging us for an answer is: are there other prominent south western people that share this thought? Is Fani-Kayode right on this? Do we have more facts to back this up so that we can truly trace our origin and be the people we should be?

*** Lalasticala, other mods take note.

Peacemaker5128:

Dangote alone can buy the entire shout yeast the land of raising criminals

But it's beyond your President and his government to develop it and put necessary infrastructure on ground there...! So who is fooling who?

Lamasta:
For the first time am tempted to insult this woman abi how can You correlate same figure vying for the office of the President still went ahead to attend a summit in a country killing your countrymen and granting them persona non-grata.....

Those who advised her to attend the summit have killed her political career that's if she still has any political ambition cos social media never forgets

Mind you, she vied for presidency but you rejected her, abi you voted for her...? Hmmmm, this is her way of paying you back....!

I was handed a mutilated naira note at a fuel station when a little girl out: "Oga, don't take it, no one will take it from you!" I turned to know more, and she narrated how CBN had been warning people on the collection of such notes and that a deadline has been set after which such notes become useless. I wondered how such an order will be possible in Nigerian society. My fears were allayed as I browsed through to know what went wrong, then, I saw a message from CBN regarding the matter. I am sharing it here so that people will have the right information.

Excerpts:

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday said the general public would continue to return mutilated banknotes to their banks after the September 2 deadline.

The Director, CBN Corporate Communications, Isaac Okoroafor disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

NAN reports that this is contrary to the news making round that mutilated notes collection would stop after the deadline.

Mr Okoroafor said that people had been misinterpreting the story to say that the banks would stop the collection of mutilated notes after September 2.

“It is not true, the banks will continue to accept those notes from people.

“The general public should continue to return mutilated banknotes to their banks after the deadline.

“The September 2, 2019, deadline does not apply to bank customers or the general public who will continue to return mutilated notes to the banks.

“It only applies to the banks because free sorting of Naira notes for them will cease at the expiration of that deadline,” Mr Okoroafor said.

He noted that September 2 was only the deadline after which CBN would begin to charge banks.

Mr Okoroafor said that “we opened a window from June to September so that when they bring the notes without sorting, we can sort it for them free.

” But as from September 2, if they get those notes, they need to sort it before they bring it to us.

“The deposit by customers and acceptance by commercial banks of mutilated notes is a normal and continuous banking practice and as such continues.

“Anyone whose qualifying mutilated note is rejected by any bank should report such a bank to CBN by calling 07002255226 between 9am and 4pm daily,” he said.

On banks compliance level to the CBN mutilated notes directive, Mr Okoroafor said, “I wouldn’t know what the compliance level is now until we ask our currency people.


“But all we know is that they are returning the notes, they have been bringing it in and we have been replacing it with new ones,” he told NAN.

Recall that the CBN had opened a three-month window from June 3 to September 2 for customers across the country to replace old notes with new ones in all the banks.

The apex bank said this was part of its efforts to improve the overall quality of the naira notes in circulation.

Agency Report, August 31, 2019.

Wiseandtrue:
Is he a debtor or not Was he owing her or not

The Nigerian police has arrested the wrong person! The lady wants her money and the boss should pay ASAP not the other way round!!!

Issues like this is what the NLC needs to take up!!!

Many bosses are guilty of this! Someone needs to be made a scape goat!!!

Seun
Lala
Mynd44

What do you think

You don't dey run your mouth abi? So owing her was enough to go on social media to defame his character abi? There is no more debt tribunal in the land?

jackslow:
they have a book they normally write down names and phone numbers of people they have transacted with including the amount involved in the transaction and a particular number used to Identify the transaction among other things

Okay, I understand. So noncompliance to the instructions got this man to trouble... Waoh! But the fines are much...!!!

Auladimeji2:
Why will Kanu be absent be my own wahala, he ought to be there,Lead by example

How many times did you see Buhari in Sambisa...?

Amuatulu:
Pls are u an agent of mobile money or a customer?

A customer...