₦airaland Forum

I wont be surprised if the 'turn out' in Southern Ijaw is at least 80% and one candidate gets at least 80% of the 'votes' there to win the election! By the way, what of results for Nembe LGA? I expect same 'massive' turn out there and same 'landslide' win!!

ABDamola:
Tomorrow

Thanks

Can anyone confirm date for the rescheduled election in Southern Ijaw?

texazzpete:
Why is Leadership Newspapers so determined to point fingers at APC?

First the claim that APC were thumbprinting illegally
Next the claim that Timi Alaibe was set to decamp to the PDP
And now the claim the PDP supporters are being attacked

All these claims made in the past 24 hours!!

I wonder which PDP chieftain owns Leadership newspapers

Leadership newspaper is owned by an APC chieftain, Sam Nda-Isaiah who contested the APC presidential primaries!

Indecent dressing simply refers to an improper way of dressing that tends to expose one’s body especially the parts that are meant to be covered or private. Indecent dressing is a vice that is being practised by all age groups but common to the youth, especially the female ones.

There is a popular saying ‘’Dress the way you want to be addressed,’’ the way one dresses determines the way he or she will be addressed. If a person dresses properly and decently, he or she will definitely attract respect and the person’s dignity will be protected, but when one is indecently dressed, he or she will attract disrespect, harassment, scandals and even rape which most indecent dressers experience.

Many youth are exposed to western cultures and their mode of dressing which they observe on television or social media where they see celebrities dress indecently and they try to emulate them. Most celebrities, while on stage, wear all sorts of clothes like pants, miniskirts, bumper shorts, tight trousers and some even wear their trousers on their waist, a style now referred to as sagging. The youth tend to dress this way in order to be like the celebrities they see on television, thereby ignoring the value of Africans with respect to the way one should dress in order to be addressed with respect and value, all in the name of fashion.

Fashion is supposed to be a style, practice or manner in which a person dresses. It doesn’t necessarily mean one should go naked because he or she wants to wear what is trending. Fashion means different things to different people but whatever it means, it certainly does not refer to one dressing indecently.

Indecent dressing exposes the body thereby attracting other vices such as sexual harassment and rape. For instance, when a girl is dressed in a way that leaves her body exposed, she is in a way asking for attention from men, which could eventually lead to rape or sexual harassment. ‘’men are enticed by what they see,’’

Most of the indecent dressers are often influenced by peer group, who lure them into dressing in a way that they would never have imagined. Friends may tell you to dress the way they fancy, giving you the excuse that it is fashion and what’s trending.

Many youth in our country today have embraced indecent ways of dressing because they think it’s a way to show that they know how to dress or that they know what fashion is. They now see decent dresses as old fashion, sometimes this happens because there is no good advice from either close relatives or parents.

The home is supposed to be the first place a child is exposed to whatever he or she will practice in the future, so the parents should endeavour to inculcate good moral upbringing in their children.

As a responsible person, you must be conscious of how you dress because your dressing goes a long way to tell who you are, where you are from, what you do and where you are going.
http://www.leadership.ng/features/480399/indecent-dressing-form-vice-among-youth

Hundreds of protesters including women and children on Tuesday stormed the Kaduna State Council secretariat to protest Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s plan to demolish their houses. The angered protesters who cried profusely and uncontrollably, said they were issued three weeks notices to vacate their houses, out of which a week has already elapsed. Leader of the protesters, Mallam Usman Aliyu while addressing newsmen in Kaduna yesterday said that over 300 of their houses have been marked for demolition in the next two weeks by the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Authority, KASUPDA. The houses, he said are located behind the state library, Kofan Doka in Zaria local government area of the state, stressing that there were some of the houses marked for demolition that were built over 20 years before the state library was built. According to him, the state government should temper justice with mercy, adding that they voted for change and not demolition or making them poorer than they are. Also speaking amidst tears, Hajiya Aisha Abdullahi said, “walahi, we regret voting for this government because of a truth, we voted for change but this is not the change we voted for. We are poor people and now our pains are about to be increased as we are about to be made homeless and thrown into the cold with our children.” Lamenting also, Hajiya Habiba Usman in an apparent frustration said, “We want the governor to look at us with the eye of mercy, we have lived all our lives there and we cannot afford to rent any house or purchase any land because of our ‎ present condition, so we are appealing to the government to come to our aid.” Some of the placards carried by the protesters reads: “we voted for change not demolition,” “don’t make us homeless,” “end forceful eviction,” “we are dying of poverty don’t make our condition worst,” among several others. The protesters who converged at the NUJ secretariat in fully loaded vehicle complained bitterly that their pains and poverty are about to ‎be aggravated should the state government go ahead with the planned demolition. It would be recalled, that the state government has reiterated its commitment to recover all the school and hospital lands acquired by individuals or organizations. - See more at: http://nigerianpilot.com/angry-kaduna-residents-protest-el-rufais-demolition-exercise/#sthash.Yz5Gs0wd.dpuf

I pray he delivers on this his rather ambitious but noble and laudable goal. The mindless killings on the plateau have gone on for too long. It has defied much effort and if he can solve it, it will be a big feat.

churchkilo:
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/as-opec-president-kachikwu-targets-removal-of-1-5mbpd-excess-crude-from-market/226843/ is this the source really @ op

Yes it is the source. I think Thisday mixed up the link. If you click on the link, it will take you to the story.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is presently faced with yet another constitutional dilemma over the absence of a deputy governorship candidate who will replace Mr. James Faleke to contest with its substitute governorship candidate, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in the Kogi governorship supplementary election on Saturday.


Faleke was chosen to run with Bello by the party on Monday but rejected the position, insisting that he was the governor-elect following the collation of results in the Kogi poll and death of the party’s candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Audu.


He formally wrote the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday rejecting the post of running mate, effectively jeopardising APC’s candidacy in the Kogi election.


The bigger dilemma is that the party did not immediately substitute Faleke for the supplementary poll before yesterday’s deadline given by INEC for the substitution of the late Audu, a requirement clearly spelt out in the constitution.
Section 187(1) of the constitution states: “In any election to which the foregoing provisions of this part of this Chapter, a candidate for the office of Governor of a State shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of Governor, who is to occupy the office of Deputy Governor; and that candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected to the office of Deputy Governor if the candidate who nominated him is duly elected as Governor in accordance with the said provisions.”


Elaborating on the issue, foremost human rights lawyer and activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), said he deemed the supplementary election, in the first instance, illegal.
According to him, INEC had no power to declare the Kogi election inconclusive since the constitutional requirement of polling 25 per cent in two-thirds of the local government areas in the state had been met, and a clear lead had already been established by the Audu-Faleke ticket.


He held that INEC should have declared Faleke the governor-elect, as was the case in the Atiku Abubakar case when he relinquished his post as the governor-elect in Adamawa State in 1999.
He further held that Bello could not assume the votes that he never contested for, as these were cast in favour of Audu and Faleke.
With respect to APC fielding a candidate without a running mate for the supplementary poll on Saturday, he said: “What we have is an incomplete nomination, that makes it illegal. The constitution is very clear on the requirements for the nomination of a governorship candidate.

The absence of a running mate invalidates the nomination.”
By yesterday, APC was expected to have closed the door on the submission of names of its substitute governorship candidate and his deputy to INEC, but THISDAY gathered that the position of a running mate remained unresolved following Faleke’s withdrawal from the contest.
Following the failure of the meeting convened by the party’s leadership in Abuja on Monday to reach a détente with Faleke, the party is now left in a dilemma over what to do given that deadline for the submission of names to INEC expired yesterday.


Shortly after the three-hour reconciliatory talks at the APC national secretariat, Faleke told journalists that he would not accept the decision to field him as deputy governorship candidate for the supplementary election.
The party had worked on the basis that the only issue it had to resolve was a replacement for Audu and did not anticipate that Faleke would opt out of the arrangement.
When contacted, a party chieftain, who was at a campaign rally in Bayelsa ahead of the governorship election in the state on Saturday, said as far as the party was concerned, it had fielded a substitute governorship candidate and a running mate.
The party chieftain, who preferred not to be named, said: “Yes, we are in receipt of the letters written by Faleke to the party and INEC. But we deemed that a complaint and not an outright withdrawal from the supplementary election.


“Let us see if he maintains that position after the supplementary election, then we shall cross that bridge when we get there. But as far as we are concerned, we have a valid nomination for the election in Kogi on Saturday.”
However, an INEC lawyer confirmed that APC might have a problem on its hands.
The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “If he (Faleke) has actually withdrawn from the race, then indeed there is a new twist to the race, because it will invalidate APC’s nomination for the supplementary poll.
“Effectively, APC could win the election by popular vote but lose the election on a technicality backed by the constitution.

”
Meanwhile, in furtherance of his objective to be declared the duly elected governor of Kogi State, Faleke yesterday filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking the court to declare him the governor-elect of the state.
In the suit filed by his counsel, Mr. Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Faleke, a serving member of the House of Representatives, said contrary to the claim by the electoral body, the election was conclusive and that as running mate to Audu, he should be declared winner.
The court papers seeking 16 reliefs from the court were served on INEC yesterday afternoon, Faleke confirmed.
The deputy governorship candidate had written INEC last week, insisting that he was the governor-elect following Audu’s death.


He asked the commission not to go ahead with the supplementary election.
According to the result declared by INEC, Audu had the highest number of votes thus leading 21 other candidates, including the incumbent governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, who is the standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a related development, the Federal High Court also in Abuja has fixed Friday to determine whether or not INEC should go ahead with the planned supplementary governorship election in Kogi State.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole, who heard four separate suits challenging the legality of the scheduled run-off poll, said there was need for the court to take a position on the matter “so that INEC will not conduct the election under a grave shadow of doubt as to the legal or constitutional validity”.


Justice Kolawole consolidated the four suits, even as he persuaded lawyers to the various plaintiffs to distill out three central issues for the court to determine.
The first suit was lodged before the court by the Kogi State governor, the second suit was filed by the governorship candidate of the People for Democratic Change (PDC), Hon. Emmanuel Daikwo, the third suit was filed by a legal practitioner, Mr. Johnson Usman, while the fourth suit was filed by two plaintiffs, a member representing Ahiazu Ezinaehitte Mbaise Federal Constituency of Imo State at the National Assembly, Hon. Rafael Igbokwe and Mr. Stephen Wada Omaye from Omala Local Government Area in Kogi State.
Even though Wada had in his originating summons, prayed the court to declare him winner of the November 21 governorship election, the other plaintiffs sought for the nullification of the election, as well as an order compelling INEC to conduct a fresh poll.
But sequel to the directive of the court, all the plaintiffs, led by Mr. Goddy Uche (SAN), narrowed the three issues for determination to:

“Whether having regard to the provisions of sections 31(1)(2)(4)(5)(6)(7) and (, 33, 34, 36, 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, as well as sections 178-181 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, INEC can lawfully conduct a second/supplementary election into the office of Governor of Kogi State on December 5, 2015, or any other date at all, let alone accepting the nomination/substitution by the APC of any candidate on the basis of votes computed and credited to the deceased candidate of the APC when the new or substitute candidate was not part of the original election.”
Before he adjourned the case to Thursday for all the parties to adopt their final addresses, Justice Kolawole warned the lawyers to limit themselves to issues of the law.


He stressed that since the substantive facts of the matter with regard to the death of Audu was not in dispute, “counsel should therefore be moderate, brief and concise in their addresses by limiting argument to the three issues distilled from the four originating summons listed on the cause list”.
“This is because time is of the essence, as the court has to consider all the issues and deliver its judgment on Friday. The addresses should not be more than 10 pages and maximum of 15 pages.

This case is hereby adjourned to December 3 for adoption of addresses.
“Counsels are to file and exchange their addresses within 48 hours,” Justice Kolawole ruled.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/as-opec-president-kachikwu-targets-removal-of-1-5mbpd-excess-crude-from-market/226843/

Dr Safiya Ojo, a General Practitioner with Wuse General Hospital, Abuja, on Monday, recommended the use of water for anal cleansing rather than toilet paper after defecation.

Ojo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that it was important to have a hygienic means of cleaning the anus for overall body hygiene.

She said “it is better to wash with water than use toilet paper after defecation because water washes completely without a trace, whereas toilet paper might not wash completely or properly.
“The paper particles can attach to the surroundings of the anus which can bring discomfort, while water washes off everything, leaving you clean and fresh.’’

The doctor said westernisation had lured many people into using toilet paper, adding that water allowed for thorough cleaning.

She said it was important to wash the hands with soap after defecation and after almost every activity for good hygiene.

Ojo also recommended the use of warm water to clean infants and toddlers, saying most wipes which mothers used to clean their babies after defecation could give the children rash due to the chemicals in the wipes.
NAN also sought the opinions of a cross section of Abuja residents on which sanitary option they would prefer after using the toilet and got different views.

A university student, Miss Kemi Smart, said she had never used water to wash after using the toilet but used water to just clean her hands.

She said “I use tissue paper to clean up after using the toilet and I am comfortable with that; in my family house then, one thing I know that we never lacked in the house is tissue packs.

“But some people I know are comfortable using water to wipe their anus after defecating; I normally ask how comfortable it is using water because your buttocks will be wet after using water.’’

However, a trader, Mrs Veronica Ossai, said water was the best way to clean up after using the toilet and advised ladies to avoid keeping nails for proper washing and in order to avoid germs entering the fingers.

She said “I feel more comfortable using water to clean my body after using the toilet.

“I also use good toilet soap to wash my hands because one might not have enough tissue to properly clean up.’’

A civil servant, Mrs Mary Williams, said that both water and toilet paper could be used, adding that water could be used first and toilet paper used to wipe the wetness.
http://dailypost.ng/2015/11/30/defecation-expert-recommends-use-of-water-instead-of-toilet-paper-to-clean-up/

Why I wear khaki uniform, red beret – Sports Minister

Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung has explained why he wears ‘Khaki’ uniform to public functions.

Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the spokesperson and Special Adviser to the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Comrade Barrister Solomon Dalung said the Minister ‘’is a staunch activist who cares for the welfare of the masses. His wears portray the struggle for the government to provide a better life for the people’’.

She said: “My boss is a Comrade and will like to be seen as one. He is a voice for the voiceless who loves to fight for the hopeless and the down-trodden. That is just his style. It also indicates that the struggle continues wherever he finds himself and in whatever position.”

Nneka said: “I trust my boss, he is as constant as the Northern Star. He won’t change regardless of his position. That is simply his style”, Nneka who is the first female sports Journalist to be special Adviser to a Minister said.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/why-i-wear-khaki-uniform-red-beret-sports-minister/

Anyone with updates on the ongoing APC procession in memory of those killed during the last elections?
I hear the procession is causing traffic disruption/congestion on some roads in the city and clashes between protesters and opposing groups?

The long term solution is for Nigeria to refine sufficient crude locally and if possible, strategise to become an exporter of refined petroleum products. That Nigeria exports crude and cant even find buyers for her crude at this time; and is importing refined product so heavily, is a scandal, sham, scam and shame that should have long entered the Guinness book of world records!. Apart from security and perhaps infrastructure, availability and affordability of PMS, DPK and AGO is the minimum key performance indicator (KPI) that we should use to assess any government in this country.

Luke 13:3-5 King James Version (KJV)

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

https://dailypost.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Dalong_Buhari.jpg

A pro-democracy non-governmental organisation, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Danlong, over his preference for appearing in red beret cap and dress that “depicts him as a suspected member of one of the banned confraternities/secret cults in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions”.

The Rights group said it was worried that if appropriate clarifications were not immediately provided and the minister asked to desist from dressing comically on national stage, it could be construed that Buhari’s government had officially endorsed the particular secret confraternity that is identified by the adorning of red beret and dresses that looks like military fatigue.

The group said Dalong’s style of dressing violates extant national dress code in a purely civilian-led democratic government and must be checked forthwith.
HURIWA has also asked the military authorities to question the minister for adorning dresses that bear semblance to military combat fatigue.

HURIWA in a statement signed jointly by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, called on Buhari to call Danlong to order and compel him to dress properly and decently so as not to send confusing signal and impression that belonging to any of the confraternities renowned for causing intra-campus uprisings resulting in violence is now an acceptable national past time.

HURIWA said it had no concrete evidence to link Dalong to the membership of any of the campus cults but expressed strong reservations that his choice of dressing in symbolism and tangible costumes closely related to what some of these dreaded groups wear was worryingly traumatic.

“If the minister strongly feels like wearing a distinctive clothes then he can as well adorn himself with the validly permitted legal regalia or alternatively he can take a Chieftain title that will guarantee him a unique dress mode that won’t attract suspicions,” the group added.

http://dailypost.ng/2015/11/26/probe-sports-minister-he-dresses-like-a-cultist-huriwa-tells-buhari/

Adeniyi Ademola, justice of the federal high court, Abuja, has struck out a case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa state.

The EFCC had filed 50-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N19.2 billion, against Sylva.

But on Thursday, Ademola struck out the case on the grounds that it was an abuse of court process.

The judge held that the charges had been dismissed by two federal high courts, and a resuscitation was tantamount to an abuse of court process.

He also held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the criminal charges against Sylva, who is now the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa governorship election.

In June, Ahmed Mohammed, a justice of the federal high court, Abuja, dismissed a 42-count charge of stealing which the EFCC brought against Sylva.

The anti-graft agency later amended the charge, adding eight more charges, and brought the suit before Ademola.

But the judge held that all the 50 charges were the same; hence the suit of the EFCC was a “regurgitation of a settled matter”.

He also inferred that Sylva’s case was one of persecution by people who want to get at him at a cost using the EFCC.

He thereafter dismissed the case against the accused person.
https://www.thecable.ng/breaking-court-dismisses-charges-sylva

johnmartus:
ARE YOU SAYING IS NOT OLD ENOUGH ?

Not at all. Just that I never heard he was ill and still haven't heard any further gist about it.

Is this confirmed? For real?

A forty-two year-old man has been arrested by the police in Kubwa for allegedly withdrawing the sum of N50,000 from her wife’s account without her consent.
The suspect, Emenike Egwuonwu who lives with his wife and four children in Phase 4 area of Kubwa, was said to have made the withdrawal via the wife’s ATM card which he took from her handbag.
City News gathered that the suspect who was also accused of stealing the sum of N5,500 from the same handbag, obtained the wife’s ATM pin from her handset.
Our source who identified the victim as Lorita, said the wife had been the bread winner of the family, as the suspect had not been working for a period of time.
It said the victim got to know about the fraud through an alert of a debit transaction on her mobile phone from her bank, adding that the suspect did not deny the accusation when he was confronted.
“The wife had been the one catering for the entire family, and I’ve not seen her complain any day. It is just an act of ingratitude” he said.
While confirming the case, the Kubwa Divisional Police Officer, Chief Superintendent Nurruddeen Sabo said the suspect had been arrested and would be charged to court.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/city-news/man-arrested-for-defrauding-wife-at-kubwa/120714.html#d2wqF1LcJGXMVwm3.99

A forty-two year-old man has been arrested by the police in Kubwa for allegedly withdrawing the sum of N50,000 from her wife’s account without her consent.
The suspect, Emenike Egwuonwu who lives with his wife and four children in Phase 4 area of Kubwa, was said to have made the withdrawal via the wife’s ATM card which he took from her handbag.
City News gathered that the suspect who was also accused of stealing the sum of N5,500 from the same handbag, obtained the wife’s ATM pin from her handset.
Our source who identified the victim as Lorita, said the wife had been the bread winner of the family, as the suspect had not been working for a period of time.
It said the victim got to know about the fraud through an alert of a debit transaction on her mobile phone from her bank, adding that the suspect did not deny the accusation when he was confronted.
“The wife had been the one catering for the entire family, and I’ve not seen her complain any day. It is just an act of ingratitude” he said.
While confirming the case, the Kubwa Divisional Police Officer, Chief Superintendent Nurruddeen Sabo said the suspect had been arrested and would be charged to court.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/city-news/man-arrested-for-defrauding-wife-at-kubwa/120714.html#d2wqF1LcJGXMVwm3.99

The problem is how to monitor and ensure that the supplies are not diverted to black market. In the mid-long term, get our refineries back and provide incentives to encourage more local refineries to be set up by private investors. Our crude oil is begging for buyers in the international market and yet we have no fuel at home. This is the scandal of the millennium!

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government is flooding Kogi state, where a governorship election is scheduled to take place on Saturday, with corrupt money to buy the people’s mandate.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Olisa Metuh, spokesman of the PDP, who had earlier alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the election in favour of the APC candidate, said the attempt by the ruling party to buy votes in the Kogi election would set the country backwards.

“We also wish to further expose the insincerity of this government, which in its attempt to forcefully take over Kogi state, is now flooding the state with corrupt money ostensibly to sway the people and purchase their mandate. This primitive attempt at vote-buying is not only an insult on the people of Kogi state but also setback to efforts towards credible elections in Nigeria,” he said.

“This same government that prides itself on being incorruptible had, in addition to fielding persons facing corruption charges in Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections earlier in Kebbi, fielded Governor Atiku Bagudu, who falsely declared to INEC that he has never been convicted, imprisoned or fined for any wrongdoing, when in actual sense there are records that he was indicted and is being wanted by the US Justice Department, for which he is now facing pre-election charges at the federal high court, Abuja.

“We wish to state categorically that the PDP has never made any claim or any statement that has been contradicted by either the government or the ruling party (beginning with our revelation that the director-general of the DSS is a member of the APC, to the latest revelation of the secret meeting between the presidency and INEC on plots to rig the Kogi governorship election).

“The PDP will continue to show responsibility and caution in ensuring that only facts that have been verified by the party are put out to the public at all times. We will not indulge in falsehood as we continue in our opposition role of putting this administration on check in the general interest of the nation.”
https://www.thecable.ng/apc-flooding-kogi-corrupt-money-says-pdp

OP, this is a great selection and I have read 3 of them including several other books by the authors. However, whatever you do, please get a copy of the book of books -the Bible. Get acquainted with the author and your life will never be the same. God bless you.

One of Nigeria’s telecoms companies, Airtel, has sacked 30 per cent of its workforce. New Telegraph exclusively gathered that the affected employees from some departments, who were ‘caught unawares,’ received their sack letters last Friday. “We were served the sack letters on Friday and as I received my letter, I just walked out,” says one of the affected workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The ex-worker explained, “the development was shocking as I don’t have any other job.” Another female worker of the company, who also did not want her name mentioned, explained that the development left her devastated. Industry analysts say the development is a reflection of the distress being faced by most of the playlBanks ers in the nation’s telecoms industry. “What we heard is that about 30 per cent of us were sacked and I just hope that I would have a second chance to be re-absorbed,” he said.

However, another worker affected by the Airtel action said that he was still happy with the way the telecoms company went about the restructuring exercise, claiming that Airtel paid workers that were laid off four-months salaries upfront to assuage the effect of the exercise on them.

“Though the development came as a rude shock, I still believe that Airtel has been fair because when they gave us the letters last Friday, we were paid up till the 15th month, meaning that they paid us for November, December 2015 and for January, February and March next year.

At least, I can use the money to take care of myself pending the time I would get a new job,” she said. Meanwhile, the Director, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility of Airtel, Mr. Emeka Oparah, in an email response to New Telegraph’s enquiry confirmed that there was an ongoing staff restructuring.

“Airtel Nigeria is embarking on a strategic restructuring that will reposition the business and reinforce its competitiveness in the market place,” he said. He was, however, silent on the percentage of the workforce affected. According to him, “the exercise, which is focused on aligning the company’s structure with its operating model, also entails a right-sizing that will impact a section of our current workforce.” He assured that in accordance with best practice, a robust plan had been put in place to cushion the effect of the exercise on the impacted employees and ensure that the process is seamless.

“One of the key objectives is to create a high performing organisation, which satisfies the needs of all of our stakeholders, especially our customers, as we step into the next growth phase of our operation,” he said. Another source told New Telegraph that “the affected staff received three months salaries in lieu of notice and an additional one month for every year they have worked.”

Earlier on Monday, an Airtel source told our correspondent that the action was predicated on the telecoms company’s realisation that there has been duplication of staff for certain responsibilities. “The redundancy of some staff, where you have 10 people in a department that should have just six people to do the job, amounting to unnecessary overhead, is responsible for the Airtel’s action and any company could have done same. Even the media industry also downsizes. So what are we talking about? It was an administrative action and not an exercise intended to make life difficult for the people,” he said.

Airtel Nigeria, which used to be the second largest telecoms company in subscriber base, narrowly lost its second place to Globacom in the second quarter of 2014.According to the latest industry status report released by the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), there were 150.6 million active mobile subscriptions on telecoms networks with teledensity standing at 107.61. Of this figure, MTN Nigeria had 62.4 million, Globacom came second with 31.3 million, Airtel had 31.1 million while Etisalat came fourth with 23.4 million subscribers. Telecoms operators have been facing declining revenue with increased operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX).

The development is worsened with the decline in the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). ARPU, which hitherto stood at up to $10, has fallen to about $6 currently. To cut down their CAPEX and OPEX, telecoms companies including Airtel, have taken a business decision to outsource most of its infrastructure, especially base stations (BTS), to a third party infrastructure management company. Already, as a result of the distress the telecoms company is facing, it has sold over half of its telecoms towers in Nigeria and other African countries where it is operating.

The Economic Times of India, an online news platform, reported on October 20, that Barti Airtel has completed the sale of about 8,300 mobile towers in Africa including Nigeria, for $1.7 billion, which will be used for reducing debt. “We have completed the sale transactions in seven countries for approximately 8,300 towers representing close to 60 per cent of the total tower base,” the online platform quoted Airtel as saying in a statement. Barthi Airtel has around 14,000 mobile towers in Africa and has decided to exit the tower business.

“The total value of proceeds from the concluded transactions in these seven countries is over $1.7 billion and is being utilised for reducing the debt of the company,” the statement said. The net debt of Airtel was $4.7 billion as at the end of June this year. The agreements to sell mobile towers have lapsed in four countries while the process is on in two countries, it added.

Airtel said that sales and lease back shall continue to remain a strategic priority for Airtel in all its operating countries across Africa and accordingly the balance towers will also be disposed of over a period of time. Analysts say the latest downsizing in the Nigerian operation of Airtel is in line with the overall objectives of cutting down its OPEX.

Consumer rights activist, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, condemned the ‘new development’, saying “why would they be doing this at a time when the industry is looking up?” He said: “Why must they be down-sizing or right-sizing at this time? I hope they are not looking for how they would move into casualisation or outsourcing certain tasks to some foreign firms that will come to Nigeria and be giving our people pittance for their labour.”

He called on the Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, to begin to look into the matter, saying, “we should be careful the way this foreign companies treat our people.”
http://newtelegraphonline.com/airtel-sacks-30-per-cent-staff-cites-rightsizing/

The fight against corruption should be taken aggressively to the States and Local Governments as well and urgently too!

This issue is a national emergency and should be treated as such. Insulting each other wont solve the problem. Everything should be done to revive local refining by existing refineries and provide incentives for private sector participation in local refining. The price of crude oil has collapsed, Nigeria cant get buyers for her crude oil in the international market and yet we don't have fuel at home? Somebody should get mad enough to act decisively, radically and pragmatically. Its like you produce cassava and the supply is so much. Your cassava is wasting or rotting away and you don't have Garri at home!

Parents of the abducted secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State have started accusing the state and federal governments of negligence and insensitivity to their plight. This was evident during their interaction with Mrs. Graca Machel, widow of former South African President, the late Nelson Mandela, writes Shola Oyeyipo

As you read this piece today, it is over 580 days since about 219 secondary school girls were kidnapped by members of the Boko Haram sect in Chibok, Borno State. But as each day passes by, the plights of the parents of the girls are also worsening. They feel betrayed and abandoned by government, both at the state and national levels.

Though a majority of Nigerians would have erroneously concluded that considering the media razzmatazz around them, the parents may have adequately catered for, however going by their narration to the widow of former South African president, the late Nelson Mandela and of Mozambican president, Samora Machel, Mrs. Graca Machel, who was in Lagos last week Friday and took time out to share in the pains of the affected parents, it is obvious that not much has been done to ameliorate the agonies of the parents of the missing girls.

Machel, renowned Mozambican politician and humanitarian met with the yet grieving parents of the missing girls at the Federal Palace Hotel and shared in their woes, particularly, the issue of negligence by the Borno State and the federal governments. They also gave some messages for the Nigerian government and the rest of the world.

The meeting held behind closed doors was at the behest of Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF), a non-profit making organisation and strong advocate of democracy, human rights, women empowerment, disaster relief and betterment of lives for Africans, led by the daughter of the late former military head of state of Nigeria between 1975 and 76, Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode.

It was however an emotion-laden moment as every of the parents, who took turn to speak did in tears and almost inconsolable about their alleged abandonment. They saw Machel’s visit as a rare opportunity for her to help them update the federal government and the rest of the world on their plights as parents of the Chibok girls.

The chairman, Chibok Abducted Girls Movement, Mr. Yakubu Nkeki, who led 23 other parents to the Lagos meeting bemoaned that in spite of the promises, the people have suffered untold hardships without help coming from governments.

One consistent argument among the parents was that since the girls were abducted in the custody of government – in their school, government should come clear about the fate of the girls rather than keep them in perpetual suspense.

Listening to them, aside their material and other needs, it was observed that reliable information as to whether the children are still alive and would ever return to their parents or not, was the main cause of their depression.

“We have been suffering. Now it is 577 (last Friday) days since our children were taken away and we don’t have any reliable information about their fate. The concern is that the military has been rescuing some other abducted persons and we are yet to see even one of the Chibok girls rescued.

“We have been largely abandoned by government, both the state and the federal government. Neither of them has ever come to Chibok to see what we are going through. Chibok is in the forest – we can call it forest. We have buried more than 14 of the Chibok parents. Even if you see some of us today, you will not be able to go near them because some are very sick and they are depreciating; their conditions are pathetic. Some of them still live in IDP camps while many have fled to neighbouring states. We have to cope with all these as we nurse the pains of our missing children.

“Today, in Chibok, sustaining oneself is difficult. We are predominantly farmers but not many can farm nowadays because of the fear of Boko Haram attack on us while working in the fields. We usually pride ourselves with western education for our children but there is no school in Chibok. Another problem is that our younger children are not ready to go to school anymore for fear that the fate that befell their sisters awaits them if they go to school.

“So, with the opportunity that the visit of our mother (Machel) presents, we told her the reality on the ground – that the state and the federal government are not taking care of us, very seriously. Though there were promises that they would assist us but there has been nothing like that. They were abducted from government’s hand and not our hands because we sent them to school, so they should be talking to us to let us know whether they are still alive or not,” Nkeki lamented.

Some other parents who spoke included secretary of the group, Mr. Lawan Zanna (father of Aisha Zanna); Mrs. Mariam Abubakar (mother of Mariam and Hamsatu Abubakar); Mrs. Esther Yakubu (mother of Dorcas Yakubu, Alhaji Maiyanga Askira (father of Halima and Mariam Maiyanga) and one escapee, Ibrahim Sanya.

They all bemoaned the hapless situation of the parents of the abducted Chibok girls and the entire people of the remote village, urging all well-meaning Nigerians to implore government to do more to bring the girls back and to also alleviate the conditions of the grieving parents, especially with up to date information about the well-being of their missing daughters.

Mrs. Yakubu, for instance, asked: “Why lying to us? They should let us know the true state of affairs. They should let us know if the children are never going to come back because it is better to know that your child is dead than to be like this – expecting that they would come back forever.” She was also unhappy about some people, who presumed that the girls were not truly missing at some point, asking, “So, where are the children?”

Alhaji Maiyanga, on his part, is as disturbed as the other parents, but complicating his own plight, his two sons who left Chibok for Lagos for fear that they may be conscripted into the outlawed group, have been in police custody since February on the suspicion that they are Boko Haram.

“If you look around and ask our people, that is the kind of problem each one of us faces. Some are sick, some cannot feed themselves anymore because we cannot farm as we used to do,” Maiyanga noted.

Sanya, who claimed he was abducted when he joined the local vigilante group fighting the sect and later escaped when the insurgents were observing their prayers, seems to have become a kind of ambassador for Chibok people in Lagos; helping them to relocate and start a new life. He is more particular about the displaced persons.

“Being very close to the forest and without adequate protection, Chibok was attacked about 10 times and because of that a lot of our people have scattered all over the places. Our means of livelihood have been distorted. So, we really need help in this regard. Our people living in the IDP camps should be able to return home and start a new life.”

The obviously touched Machel said her resolve to meet with the grieving parents was because she had always shared in their pains since the unfortunate incident took place. She emphasised that she is a mother and a grandmother too and that she understands what the families are presently going through.

“I am a mother and a grandmother. I stand here as a mother like you. I simply live in Mozambique but I'm a parent like any ‘baba’ or ‘mama’ here. When the girls were abducted, I sent a letter, I don't know if any one of you got it. I said I was there with you; matching with you on every street to bring back the girls. I was with you.

“There were millions of African mothers, who cannot stand with you but we were standing hand-in-hand with you. In our African way of being, when your sister or mother is faced with a challenge like that, we stand together. We don't know where they are; all we say is that we are with them and want them back.

“I sent a message to the girls. In the letter, I told them that I want them to know wherever they are – inside forest or wherever they are; there are star‎ and that they are stars. I was encouraging them to keep looking at the stars. There are millions of mothers and fathers praying that they should be hopeful, strong and healthy, knowing that there are millions of mother waiting for them to come back.

“My hope is that they would soon come back but now, not all of them may come back. So, in my first opportunity to come to Nigeria, I cannot come without seeing these families, which is what I did when I came into this room; shook hands with everybody. I know it may not reduce your pains but I want you to know that we are with you,” Machel said assuring them that she would convey their messages to the Nigerian government and other humanitarian groups she belongs.

The Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode-led MMF however received commendations from the Chibok parents, who said like some other spirited persons and organisations around the world, the MMF has been working to assist the parents.

Oyebode implored them to remain strong. She also assured the people of continuous assistance from the foundation.

But of all their demands, a very important one resonates; they still want western education. Despite the fact that their children were seized in the school, they want schools closed down reopened and in fact, when the insurgents are eventually chased out, they want schools to be built in Chibok. They also desire government presence that would reassure the siblings of the missing girls that they can return to school.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/is-the-chibok-project-abandoned-/225836/

The total depravity, sinfulness and guilt of mankind. Except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish. People, eternity is near!

Repent and get delivered from immorality.

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The police in Osun State have commenced investigation into the death of a married woman identified as Damilola at the residence of her lover in Osogbo, Osun State.
Our correspondent gathered that Damilola who was married in Lagos State had a misunderstanding with her husband and decided to travel to Oye Ekiti in Ekiti State to meet her in-laws.
She later left her in-laws and travelled to Ifaki Ekiti also in Ekiti State where she spent some days with her mother who resides there.
She was said to have told her mother that she wanted to attend a wedding ceremony of one of her friends in Osogbo.
During her visit to Osogbo, Damilola was said to have developed stomach-ache in the house of one of her lovers and eventually died.
A source at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state police command said relations of the deceased had come to Osogbo to identify her corpse.
The source added that the police insisted that an autopsy must be carried out on the corpse to ascertain the cause of her death.
“Investigation is on-going to know the cause of her death,” the source said.
In another development, a man died after meeting a commercial sex worker in a brothel at Ago-Wande Area in Osogbo. A resident of the area said: “We just noticed that many vehicles were parked near the brothel in the evening, but that did not raise concern because there used to be many vehicles there. But on the following day, I noticed that the brothel was empty. The sex workers had run away.
“We later saw policemen evacuating the body of the man. We were told that his wife was among those that came with the police when the corpse was evacuated. But no one could identify the man in our area. His car was also taken away by the people that came with the police,” she added.

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/housewife-dies-in-lover-s-house/119571.html

The military insiders have expressed worry over the working relationship between the new Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Monsur Dan-Ali (rtd) and the current service chiefs, owing to the fact that he was their junior in military hierarchy and order of seniority.

THISDAY findings revealed that a friction could occur should Dan-Ali tries to assert his authority over the service chiefs.

Already, some of the officers have expressed misgivings over the seeming confrontational and controversial manner with which he started his assumption of office, saying “this smacks of braggadocio.”

Dan-Ali reopened the old wounds recently when he openly castigated the immediate past Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah (rtd) and the Nigerian Army for the manner they handled President Muhammadu Buhari’s West African Examinations Certificate (WAEC) scandal.

“Where is your integrity when your own Chief of Army Staff (Minimah) stood up and say his Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (Buhari) has no WAEC. How? Please let us be sincere with ourselves. Because you should have stood up and said no, because you are there you cannot. If you leave the job, is it the end of your life. If you leave the job there are other ways, better ways God can bless your life,” he was quoted to have said.

According to one of the sources, this is the first time a Minister of Defence with military background would have to issue (administrative) directives and orders to his superiors (the service chiefs).

The source said Dan-Ali, who retired two years ago, was a Short Course Service equivalent to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Regular Course 31, while the COAS, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, who is the youngest among the service chiefs is from the Regular Course 29.

“He retired barely two years ago, in 2013, when the services chiefs were major-generals then. He is of the Short Service Course, equivalent to the NDA 31st Regular Course and the present Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is of the 25th Regular Course. So you can see the gap, and the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) is of the 26th Regular Course, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) who also came through the Air Short Service is equivalent of the 26 to 27th Course. Then the COAS who is the most junior among the current service chiefs, is even of 28th Course. So you can imagine that they are all senior to this new minister,” the source explained.

Further enquiries also put a question mark on the military and academic prowess of the new Defence minister, especially with regard to his performance at the Bangladesh Armed Forces Command and Staff College.

Another senior officer expressed doubt if he can bring what it takes to match the sterling experience and intellectual capacity of the service chiefs most of whom were directing staffs at one time or the other in different military institutions.

The source expressed doubt if the minister would have the courage and professional grounds to reject from the service chiefs, “and being their junior, how will the service chiefs react if their advice are being discarded by the minister.”

Meanwhile, the officer noted, “you can recall that when they asked him during the ministerial screening about his performance when at the Bangladesh Staff College, where he had no grades and he responded that it was not compulsory.

“So that’s the new minister of Defence for you, one who could not defend his course and performance. I see him he is not going to last because the people he is dealing with, have high level of intellectual framework. They are all directing staffs either in War College or Armed Forces Command and Staff College. Some were even Directors in Defence College,” the source stressed.

Also, another officer further explained: “The fear is that President Muhammadu Buhari wanted to bring down the service chiefs to the 31st Course before he appointed this present minister but people had to intervene because the rate of retirement is so high.

“That was why he had to stop at 29th Course, but now that he is bringing in a 31st course equivalent, is it possible that he wants these ones to resign out of frustration or annoyance. This is because if the CDS happens to write a letter to this minister, who ordinarily is his junior and he cancels it, he may react and not take it lightly. You know in the armed forces our junior officers give their utmost respect. So will these ones now be telling their junior sir. When you see him, he want to force talk in order to assert his authority, I can see a man struggling to get loyalty from his military seniors.”

“The limitations are many, one most of the service chiefs will not feel comfortable working with him. So there might likely be friction because a leader will not want a subordinate to give the impression that they are better than him. So that is an area of friction because these men may not be able to give him directly the proper interpretation of things. We are in a quagmire, I am telling you.”

Investigation also revealed why the former COAS, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (rtd), who was initially tipped to head the Ministry of Defence was dropped for Dan-Ali.

Sources revealed that damning petitions trailed Dambazzau’s nomination.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/military-insiders-fret-over-possible-friction-between-dan-ali-service-chiefs/225770/