Global Naija Info

The International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecast for the Nigerian economy this year on Tuesday, saying a combination of plunging oil revenues and weakened investor confidence will push it into recession. The IMF said it expects Africa’s largest economy to contract by 1.8 percent this year, after having forecast in April a 2.3 percent expansion. Nigeria’s stall, and sluggish activity in the number two economy, South Africa, is expected to pull down economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa, the IMF said, forecasting a “dramatic implication.” “In 2016, regional output growth will fall short of population growth, implying declining per capita incomes,” it said. Nigeria’s economy has been battered hard by the plunge in oil prices, the main source of the country’s income, as well as prices of other key commodities. In addition, rebels in the southern oil region have forced crude production cutbacks, and internal unrest, especially attacks by the Boko Haram group in the north

Senators Oluremi Tinubu and Dino Melaye The dispute between Senators Remi Tinubu and Dino Melaye has taken a new turn after the outburst on the floor of the National Assembly during a closed-door session last Tuesday. The feud between the two lawmakers has spurred Melaye’s supporters to begin a fight back. A conference was staged on Tuesday by a group of Kogi State women where they called out Remi Tinubu while asking her to apologize to Melaye for allegedly calling him a ‘dog’. According to the women, who used unpublishable names to describe the female senator, it was unbecoming of Tinubu, who was supposed to be a role model to women across the country to insult somebody else’s man just because they are colleagues. The women, also printed banners with words like “Remi Tinubu must apologize to Dino Melaye” and “Lagos is not superior to Kogi” and “Kogi Women support Dino Melaye” among others. The group also said the female senator needed to be called to order because her action

A Gudu Upper Area Court, Abuja, on Tuesday admitted a 62-year-old businessman, Kyrian Onu, to bail in the sum of N100, 000 for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl. The judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, ordered the defendant to produce two sureties in like sum. Kagarko said the offence was ordinarily not bailable, but the Prosecutor, Malik Taiwo, did not oppose the bail application due to his age and health. He said one of the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, and adjourned the case till Sept. 14 for hearing. The Defence Counsel, Mr Alika Festus, had applied for the bail of his client on health grounds, adding that the defendant had suffered stroke for years. He added that the defendant’s wife was present in court and the defendant had been in detention for a month now without any medication. But, Taiwo, who did not oppose the bail, urged the court to impose a condition to ensure his attendance in court if granted bail. Taiwo had told the court that the matter was r

Nigeria’s Emmanuel Arowolo and Raymond Ekevwo did not start the 100m event at the ongoing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World U-20 Championships in Poland. The 100m men event held on July 19 at the Zawisza Stadium, Bydgoszcz. They were said to have missed their event because Team Nigeria arrived in Poland on Tuesday afternoon after the competition had started. Nigeria now hopes to feature Mercy Ntia-Obong and Aniekeme Alphonsus in the women’s 100m event on the second day of the championships. Alphonsus, a silver medallist at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa has a season best of 11.34 secs, while Ntia-Obong has her best as 11.47secs. Abdullahi Bashiru whose season best is 13.68 secs and Omon Ojeikere whose season best is 13.91 secs will feature in 110m Hurdles. Eucharia Ogbukwo will feature in the women’s Shot Put. Nigeria is featuring 13 athletes due to cash crunch at the championships which began on Tuesday and will end on July 24.

A Federal High Court, Lagos, has been urged to restrain the National Assembly from passing into law, any bill seeking to grant immunity and life pension to officers of the assembly. A rights activist, Mr Kabir Akingbolu, made the call in a suit he filed at the court on Tuesday. Joined as respondents in the suit were Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Akingbolu, in his originating summons, said the move by the federal lawmakers was not only detrimental to the well-being of every citizen but amounts to gross violation of constitutional provisions. He argued that the move by the National Assembly to propose life pension for its leaders at a critical economic period was crude. Relying on sections 15 (5), 16 (1) (b), (2) (a) (b) and 17 (1) of the Constitution, Akingbolu argued that the proposed life pension and immunity laws by the lawmakers, was a total departure from the provi

Student Who Lost Foot in Central Park Explosion: 'That's Okay, Just Don't Take My Hands' http://ift.tt/29SvKAQ @Peoplemag

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Command on Tuesday seized three bullet-proof cars with a Duty Paid Value of N76million. The Area Controller, Mr. Victor Dimka, a Comptroller, disclosed this at a briefing held at the vehicle seat in the command. He disclosed that individuals who desired to import bullet-proof cars into the country must get clearance from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). “The command seized three bullet-proof cars with a Duty Paid Value of N76million and this was done through intelligence gathering by officers of the command. “A particular bullet-proof car, which was a 2012 Mercedes C300, was intercepted at the Gbaji area of Badagry and it had an official plate number of FG 35 S02. “Due process must be followed in the importation of bullet-proof cars and the process is that the individual must apply to the ONSA and if it is approved, the office would send an approval certificate to the NCS and the individual would be allowed. “All the cars

Late Mr Lazarus Agai, the Saf Ron-kulere and First Class traditional ruler of Bokkos Plateau Governor Simon Lalong, has condemned the killing, on Monday, of Mr. Lazarus Agai, the Saf Ron-Kulere and First Class traditional ruler of Bokkos in Plateau by unknown assailants. The 76-year-old monarch, who reigned for 42 years, was attacked on his way to Bokkos after visiting his farm in Sha District of the chiefdom. Also killed along with him were his police orderly, his wife, and his son. Lalong, in a reaction in Jos on Tuesday, described the murder as “very gruesome, barbaric and sad.” “I received the news (of the killing) with a heavy heart. The cold-blooded murder is despicable and cowardly”, Lalong said in a statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Nanle, Director of Press Affairs. He said that the people and government of Plateau were pained by the unfortunate wave of killings of traditional rulers in Bokkos Local government Council, and reiterated his determination to end the trend.

The police on Tuesday arraigned 23-year old Friday Ibe before Evboriaria Magistrates’ Court for allegedly having carnal knowledge of a ten-year-old girl. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Thomas Ojo, told the Court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 6, 2015, at 4p.m. at No. 107, Igun St., off East Circular road in Benin. He said that the accused unlawfully had sexual intercourse with the girl against her wish. He said that the offence contravened Section 31 (2) of the child Right Act, 2003. The accused however pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Magistrate Mrs J.O. Ejale granted the accused bail in sum of N100, 000 with a surety in like sum who must be gainfully employed and adjourned the case till Aug. 4, for hearing.

A civil society organisation, the Buhari Youth Organisation (BYO), Lagos Chapter, has suggested that the one year for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme be devoted to farming. The Coordinator of BYO, Mr Abdul-Waheed Odunuga, made the call at a Stakeholders’ Forum on the state of the nation on Tuesday in Lagos, adding that it was also a service to the nation by youths. Odunuga said that the present structure of the NYSC scheme had lost its purpose and needed to be restructured for effective diversification from oil to agriculture. “The state and federal governments can create farms where many of the youth can both serve and learn from the vast potential and opportunities in agriculture. “This will also be an opportunity to build and revamp the economy of the nation through an effective diversification plan to agriculture,” he said. Odunuga also decried the under utilisation of the state and federal governments employment and empowerment programmes by unemployed youths.

A former President of the Nigeria Wushu Kungfu Federation (NWKF), Ojo Adelusi, on Tuesday, called for the total overhaul of sports federations after the 2016 Rio Olympics. Adelusi said in Lagos that it was necessary to conduct elections into the bodies to make them relevant. “There is, therefore, the need to overhaul the federation because many of them are non-functional. “Overhauling would be a major step that could develop the various sports federations and bring them at par with their counterparts worldwide. “There is the need to ensure that only officials with passion and determination to develop their federation were elected to occupy positions,” the former president said. He said proactive and committed board members should be elected to bring about significant changes to the bodies. Adelusi noted that there was the dearth of activities in most of the sports federations which had affected their development, stressing that such federations need passionate administrators to g

About 17 Health Management Organisations (HMOs) under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) have been delisted, Mrs Ahunna Ochor, the Coordinator of the scheme in Enugu State, has said. Speaking in Enugu, Ochor said the affected HMOs could not provide quality health to enrollees. She said that some of the delisted HMOs collapsed on their own and owed some health care providers several millions of naira. “About 17 of the HMOs were recently delisted. Some collapsed on their own and we found out that they owed some health care providers quite a lot of money that run into millions. “Some of those owed have written to the executive secretary of the scheme through the state office and we await the outcome,” she said. Ochor said that there was the possibility that the debts would be paid and appealed to the health care providers to route their complaints through the state office. She said that the state office had taken major steps to fix some of the challenges and lapses noticed

Officials of emergency management agencies in some states of the North East said that concerted efforts were being made to relocate people living in flood-prone areas to safe places. The officials made this known in separate interviews with correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday. They also said that enlightenment campaigns had been intensified against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in water channels and need for people in flood-prone areas to relocate. In Adamawa, the Executive Secretary of State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), Mr. Haruna Furo, said the state government had set up three committees to manage the threat posed by the flood. Furo said that the committees were those of monitoring and gauging dams, identification of safe zones, as well as assessment and resettlement of victims of the flood disaster. He said that so far, two safe zones had been identified in the state for possible relocation of communities living in flood-prone areas of

Some members of the cast of Okafor’s Law produced by Omoni Oboli Nollywood Actor and Producer, Omoni Oboli, has begun works on her fourth production as a Producer and Director. The new work “Okafor’s Law” is coming on the heels of the success of ‘Wives on Strike’ which became the third most successful nollywood movie in Cinema ever. Okafor’s Law is a comedy about a married woman who ran into her past love and had to contend with the legendary Okafor’s Law to save herself and her marriage. Okafor’s Law is a law which states that if a man sleeps with a woman once, he can always bed the woman again irrespective of new developments like marriage, new boyfriend or break up. With Okafor’s Law, Omoni is raising the bar and stepping up several inches from where she left off with her past movies. Apart from high quality crew led by respectable Director of photography, Yinka Edward and respected Set Designer, Pat Nebo, the movie also boasts of actors and actresses of note. The cast of the

The Coalition for Women Advancement in Africa group has expressed its concern over the ongoing feud between Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West Senatorial District and Senator Remi Tinubu representing Lagos Central Senatorial District. The group stressed that if the crisis is not nipped in the bud, will discourage women’s participation in politics. In a statement issued by the group’s Executive Vice Chairman, Jummai Samuel in Abuja, the group explained that it was unfortunate that critical issues which were supposed to be discussed at a closed-door session snowballed into crises to the extent that there was a threat of rape, which according to the group has undermined the integrity of womanhood. The group lamented saying, “We in the coalition believe in gender equality and we want women to be encouraged, but looking at the weight of the alleged threats, it undermines women’s integrity and it is unfortunate that this is happening between two Senators.” The group while picking

Senator Bukola Saraki A Legal practitioner, Mr Remi Agwuezie, has called on the Nigerian Senate to face the business of law making rather than dissipate energy on the trial of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. Agwuezie made the call on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar. “They should allow the Senate President to face his trial as an individual not as Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “We have 109 Senators and when one is facing trial others should continue to make laws for the country. “Instead of causing confusion among their colleagues they should face the real business of law making, which is the main reason why they are there. “They should stop making the trial a major issue, ‘’ he said. He said it was a misnomer, the way the trial was allowed to take centre stage instead of the business of law making. The lawyer pointed out that, in Law, Saraki being a citizen of Nigeria, is subject to the Law of the country, just like any

APC protesters in Port Harcourt Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and some civil society groups on Tuesday protested in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, calling for the swearing in of two members of the party who won elections into the state House of Assembly. The protesters led by APC deputy National Chairman, Oji Ngofa, marched outside the Rivers State judiciary and Assembly complexes. They carried placards accusing the state judiciary of corruption. They protested what they referred to as the pronouncements and actions of some members of the Rivers State Judiciary which had stalled the swearing-in of Victoria Nyeche of Port Harcourt Constituency I and Andrew Miller of Opobo/Nkoro Constituency both into the Rivers State House of Assembly [RSHA]. The protest commenced as early as 7a.m when protesters gathered around the General Post Office area adjacent to the judiciary complex under the watchful eyes of security men who stood at a distance.

Hon Wasiu Eshilokun, Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly Hon Wasiu Eshilokun, the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, on Monday, slammed Senator Dino Melaye by describing him as an “irrational rabble rouser”. Eshinlokun made this known when he led 20 of his colleagues to receive some protesters who marched against Dino over his alleged threat to beat up and impregnate Remi Tinubu at the assembly complex on Monday. Eshinlokun addressing the protesters, said that “This is what should happen in any decent democracy rather than resort to self-help. Let me say that we will deliver your message to Mr. Speaker and let me also tell you that we are not unaware of verbal diarrhea and vituperation of that irrational rabble rouser. “I also want to assure you that we will treat this letter on the floor of the House and we will do all that is needful and deliver your message to the appropriate authorities.”

The Peoples Democratic Party in Kaduna State has announced plans to reconstitute local government caucuses of the party as part of its ongoing reform. The State Chairman of the party, Mr Felix Hyat made this known on Tuesday in Kaura, Kaduna state. He said that the change was in pursuant to section 31 of the party’s guidelines which specified those qualified to be nominated as caucus members and stakeholders at that level. “Our checks have shown that people were just handpicked into such positions without resort to the party’s constitution. “Obviously, such individuals did not meet the criteria which also affected their ability to influence PDP’s electoral fortunes and ultimately cost us so much. “So, what we are doing is to rejig the party at the local levels to strengthen our capacity to get back to our feet and start all over again,” he said. He said that the party’s State Executive Council had resolved to bring on board influential persons “with good track records and good n

A former Nigerian envoy to the Central African Republic, Ambassador Yahaya Tabari is dead. Tabari died in an auto-crash on Monday night on Kaduna-Zaria expressway. A close relation to the family, Alhaji Abdurrahman Nuhu-Bayero disclosed in Zaria on Tuesday that the deceased died at the age of 64. He said Tabari had worked with Nigerian Foreign Mission in several countries including Saudi Arabia, Benin Republic and Central Africa Republic among others. Nuhu-Bayero said that the funeral prayer for the deceased would hold at his family residence in Rimin-Kambari, Zaria city by 2p.m. Tabari is survived by a wife, Hajiya Binta and five children.

Coach Alphonsus Dike of Heartland FC The Technical Adviser of Heartland FC of Owerri, Alphonsus Dike, says he has resigned following irreconcilable differences with the club’s management. The coach disclosed on Tuesday in Lagos that he was resigning because the “they are not ready to do my bidding’’. Dike took over from Bethel Orji on February 28 following the club’s poor run in the 2015/2016 Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL). He led the club for 11 matches with the last against Lagos-based MFM FC on Sunday at the Agege Stadium where they lost 0-2. Reacting to Dike’s resignation, Heartland Protocol Officer, Tonex Chukwu, said that the club had yet to receive a formal letter from Dike. “I am just hearing about the resignation this morning, it is news to me. Other journalists had called me to verify same story too. “The club has yet to receive any letter of resignation from him, so, we will treat such news as mere speculation. We did not employ him on the pages of newspaper