Global Naija Info

The Katsina House of Assembly, on Tuesday, warned the state Department of Higher Education to immediately desist from awarding contracts on behalf of state-owned tertiary institutions. Alhaji Ibrahim Dikko, The acting Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, said in Katsina during the budget defence by officials of the department, that their action was illegal. “The Department should stop making financial encroachment in all the state tertiary institutions to avoid causing confusion in the financial records of the institutions. “The House hereby orders the Department of Higher Education to desist from meddling into the award of contracts and financial activities of the state university and other tertiary institution in the state. “The Department has no business to award a contract for the cleaning the State University at the cost of N38 million. “It also has no business to pay the facility cleaning contractor the sum of N38 million; the Vice-Chancellor of the university has th

APC No fewer than 13 aspirants including Prof. Charles Soludo, have indicated interest to contest the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The other aspirants included Chief George Muoghalu, Chief Barth Nwibe, Mr Obinna Okonkwo, Chief Paul Chukwuma and Chief Obinna Uzor. Dr Chike Obidigbo, Chie Raph Okeke, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, Chief Tony Nwoye, Sen. Uche Ekwunife, Sen. Andy Ubah and Prince Donatus Okonkwo have also indicated interest to fly the APC flag. The state chairman of the party, Mr Emeka Ibe, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Awka while briefing newsmen He said that there would not be automatic ticket for any of the aspirants, stressing that they would all participate in the primaries for selection. “We will give all the aspirants equal playing ground. There is no special interest for any of the aspirants. “We will hold transparent primaries for them. They are all qualified to unseat Gov. Willie Obiano. “Any

Big Brother Naija (BBN) The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the reported shooting in South Africa of the ongoing Big Brother Nigeria Reality Show. In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister said the NBC should determine whether Multi-Choice, by shooting the show in South Africa, has breached the Nigerian Broadcasting Code in any way, as well as the issue of possible deceit, since the viewing public was never told that the event would be staged outside Nigeria. ”As a country of laws, only the outcome of the investigation will determine our next line of action,” he said. Alhaji Mohammed said while concerned Nigerians have bombarded his office with calls to complain about what they regard as an anomaly (of shooting outside the country a show meant for Nigerians), they should remain calm while the NBC investigates the issue and submits its findings. f

Big Brother Naija (BBN) The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the reported shooting in South Africa of the ongoing Big Brother Nigeria Reality Show. In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister said the NBC should determine whether Multi-Choice, by shooting the show in South Africa, has breached the Nigerian Broadcasting Code in any way, as well as the issue of possible deceit, since the viewing public was never told that the event would be staged outside Nigeria. ”As a country of laws, only the outcome of the investigation will determine our next line of action,” he said. Alhaji Mohammed said while concerned Nigerians have bombarded his office with calls to complain about what they regard as an anomaly (of shooting outside the country a show meant for Nigerians), they should remain calm while the NBC investigates the issue and submits its findings.

Mr Godfrey Nwosu, President of Phone and Allied Dealers Association of Nigeria (PAPDAN) says the depreciating value of the Naira has discouraged his members from long and short term planning of businesses. Godfrey in Lagos on Tuesday said that dealers in phone and accessories were mostly affected by the current status of the Naira. “We all know that the exchange rate of the Naira is not stable. “We want the Federal Government to stabilise the Naira exchange rate so that people can project to know their turnover,” Nwosu said. On the fight against entry and sales of substandard phones and accessories, Nwosu said that the association had built a good relationship with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). He said that the association had also built a relationship with other regulatory bodies, such as Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), and Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) to address the threat of substandard product. The president said that PAPDAN had set up a task f

Rainfall The coastal town of Badagry, Lagos State, on Tuesday witnessed its first rain of the year. The rain which began around 5.15 a.m and ended at 10.25 a.m, did not cause any havoc in the area. Some Badagry residents expressed delight at the downpour, noting that it was a sign of blessing. Mrs Senami Balogun, a resident, expressed optimism that the early rain was a sign that things would be better in 2017. “It isn’t the rainy season yet, but we still witnessed it; this goes to show that this year would be a wonderful year for everyone. “Apart from the blessing, it would bring about cool weather because the heat would be reduced,” she said. Another resident, Mr Mayowa Akeem, said he was delighted with the downpour. “Lately, the weather has been really hot but with this downpour, it’s a bit better “I believe the rain is a blessing sent down from heaven,” he said.

Algerian coach Algeria coach Georges Leekens has resigned following the team’s early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations. The Desert Foxes were one of the pre-tournament favourites but were knocked out of the finals on Monday after failing to win a game in Gabon. “For the good of all I decided to quit even though I do it with heartache,” Leekens told the Algerian Football Federation website. “I wish all the success in the world to the national side.” The 67-year-old Belgian was appointed to the role only in October, for what was his second spell in charge following a four-month stint in 2003. He had been expected to take Algeria deep into the latter stages at least in Gabon, coaching a side that contains BBC and Caf African Footballer of the Year Riyad Mahrez and his Leicester team-mate Islam Slimani, Porto’s Yacine Brahimi and Napoli’s Faouzi Ghoulam. But the team underperformed at the tournament, beginning their Group B matches with a shock 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe – in which

Governor Tanko-Al-Makura of Nasarawa State Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has ordered Interim Management Committee chairmen in the 13 local government areas in the state to declare their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) or face sanctions. Al-Makura gave the order on Tuesday in Lafia while inaugurating the Interim Management Committee Chairman of Keana Local Government Area. He said that given the current economic crunch, it behoved on the chairmen to come up with alternative sources of revenue rather than rely solely on allocation from the Federation Account. According to him, henceforth, any chairman of a local government area or overseer of a development area in the state who fails to declare his IGR does so at the peril of his job. Al-Makura explained that the essence was to ensure transparency and prudent management of resources and accountability at the local government level. He said that the appointment of overseers for the development areas was meant to decent

Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa on Tuesday described YouTube as an essential aid for building confidence in cooking. Kola-Ogunlade in a statement in Lagos said that YouTube had unveiled five ways the internet could teach its users how to “cook up a storm”. “So whenever anyone asks if you can cook, you will tell him you can, just not the difficult recipes. “If you love to eat, and have a problem of not knowing how to cook the kind of meals you love, Google can help you. “But do you know you can become a talented chef and even earn respect from others. How you ask? On the internet! The internet is a gem. “There are several online videos and articles to take you on a step-by-step journey of amazing recipes. “You can also maintain a healthy lifestyle and teach yourself to count the calories you will accumulate while slurping all the “mede-mede’ or varieties of food you will cook,” he said. The Google manager said th

The gavel of justice A Magistrates’ Court in Rijiyar Zaki, Kano, on Tuesday, remanded a 28-year-old man, Oluwaseun Lasisi, in prison for allegedly forging a diploma certificate of Bayero University, Kano. Lasisi of New Road, Sabo Gari, Kano, is facing a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and forgery. Senior Magistrate Aminu Fagge ordered the remand of the accused in prison till Jan. 30 when the case would come up for mention. The Prosecutor, Mr Yusuf Sale, had earlier told the court that a security officer attached to Bayero University, Tasiu Muhammad, reported the case to the Rijiyar Zaki Police Division in Kano on Jan. 4. Sale said that the accused and two others now at large committed the offences. “The accused and his accomplices criminally conspired and printed fake diploma certificate in Banking and Finance of Bayero University, Kano. “The fake certificate contains the name of Lasisi Tosin Oluwaseun with matriculation number SMS/9/DBF/01251 and indicating upper cred

Bags of rice The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in Osun says it confiscated more than 1,000 under weighed bags of rice in Osogbo markets on Monday. Mr Sunday Badewole, the SON State Coordinator, disclosed this in an interview in Osogbo on Tuesday. Badewole said the agency made the confiscation during the enforcement operation where more than 1,000 bags of 5kg, 10kg and 25kg of bags of rice were confiscated. He said many of the rice sellers had reduced the quantity of rice from the kilogrammes that were indicated on the bags, to make more money. Badewole said the observation carried out by the enforcement team of the agency in the markets during the raid revealed that rice sellers would remove some measures from the bags of rice and seal it back for sale. He said the quantities removed would thereafter be repackaged in another bag, sealed and sold to buyers. Badewole said the rice sellers confessed that they used to buy empty rice bags from Lagos to repackage the quant

FILE PHOTO: Kerosene Queue Residents of Hadejia in Jigawa have blamed petroleum products dealers for diversion of kerosene resulting to the current acute scarcity of the product in the town. The situation has also resulted in price hike of the commodity in the market. A check in Hadejia on Tuesday showed that most of the petroleum products service stations had run out of stock of the product in the past weeks. Kerosene was only obtainable at the black market outlets, where it sold for between N400 and N450 per liter, above the N83 approved pump price. Black-market operators are making brisk businesses due to the high patronage of the trade occasioned by the scarcity. A cross section of the residents, who spoke with newsmen described the situation as ‘worrisome’. Malam Ahmad Bala, a resident, said that he was exposed to difficulties in sourcing for the product. Bala noted that kerosene was beyond the reach of the common man due to exorbitant prices at the black market outlets.

The gavel of justice Mr Moses Ibu, an aggrieved employee of Gilmor Engineering Nigeria Limited has instituted N22.4 million suit against the company for alleged injury sustained while performing a task for the construction company. However, when the case came up for mention on Tuesday in Abuja, the National Industrial Court adjourned it till March 16. Ibu is praying the court to order the company to pay damages for the injury he sustained on his legs while on duty in 2014. The claimant is seeking for special damages for the permanent disability which allegedly rendered him redundant. He also urged the court to prevail on the company to pay damages for the pains and trauma he undergone. Counsel to the claimant, Mr Vincent Edegbinin, told the court that the respondent who had been served with hearing notices was not represented in court. Edegbenin said that he would be ready with his only witness at the hearing of the case. However, the judge, Justice Rakiya Haastrup, adjourned

Ibrahim Magu, EFCC Chairman President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate to reconsider and confirm Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Senate President Bukola Saraki read Buhari’s letter notifying the lawmakers of the re-nomination on Tuesday, just after the Senate returned from an executive session. PREMIUM TIMES had on Monday exclusively reported that the President had re-nominated Mr. Magu for the top job at the EFCC, after earlier rejection by the Senate over claims made against the nominee by the State Security Service, SSS. The President’s insistence on Mr. Magu followed investigations that involved Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami and the Itse Sagay-led presidential advisory council on anti-corruption, presidency sources said. The investigations absolved Mr. Magu of any wrongdoing and afterwards he was recommended to be re-nominated by the president. In his letter to the Sen

The gavel of justice Azeez Ganiu,36, an unemployed, who allegedly impersonated an officer of the Lagos State Task Force on Tuesday appeared in an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos state. The accused of No.3, Okokor Arowolo St., Ota-Ona in Ikorodu, is facing two-count charge of stealing and impersonation. The prosecutor, Cpl. Mary Ajiteru, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Jan. 5 at 4.00 p.m in Ikorodu. She said Ganiu acted as a task force officer and seized a Bajaj motorcycle from one Muhammad Abu. “The accused later converted the motorcycle to his personal use,’’ he said. The offence contravened Sections 285 and 378 and of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Section 378 stipulates a seven-year jail for offenders while Section 285 provides three imprisonment for offenders. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and the Magistrate, Mrs A.B. Adelabu- Olagbegi, granted him bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum. She s

Magistrate-court For allegedly stealing his employer’s N623,000, a 33-year-old accountant, Kamardeem Raji, was on Tuesday brought before an Ikeja Magistrate’s’ Court in Lagos. Raji, a resident of Bariga area of Lagos, was arraigned on a charge of stealing. The prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu, told the court that the accused stole N623,000 belonging to Connect-Zone Limited on Dec.6. “The accused, an account clerk with the company that is into telecommunication products, stole N623, 000,” he said. Nwosu said that the accused collected goods worth N623,000 from the company but failed to remit the money to the company’s account. He said that the fraud was discovered during the audit of the company’s account. “When the audit of the company’s account was done, it was discovered that the accused did not remit the proceeds from the products which he collected between August and September, 2016,” he said. He said the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2

Senator Ken Nnamani Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East have described the defection of a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, to the party as a `welcome development’. The APC chieftains, who spoke in separate interviews with newsmen on Tuesday in Enugu, said that the gale of defections by South East politicians to the ruling party was good for the zone. Mr Osita Okechukwu, Director-General, of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), said the APC welcomes with open arms the political bigwigs who had found it worthy to identify with the progressives. Okechukwu, however, called for caution in order not to admit those who participated in dislocating and subverting the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). “My fear is that those who have excess baggage may also wittingly or unwittingly infect the APC in Enugu State with such anti-democratic and less than transparent tendency,” he said. Okechukwu described Nnamani as `a politician with high integrity’

SON The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in Osun says it confiscated more than 1,000 underweight bags of rice in Osogbo markets on Monday. Mr Sunday Badewole, the SON State Coordinator, disclosed this in Osogbo on Tuesday. Badewole said the agency made the confiscation during the enforcement operation where more than 1,000 bags of 5kg, 10kg and 25kg of bags of rice were confiscated. He said many of the rice sellers had reduced the quantity of rice from the kilogrammes that were indicated on the bags, to make more money. Badewole said the observation carried out by the enforcement team of the agency in the markets during the raid revealed that rice sellers would remove some measures from the bags of rice and seal it back for sale. He said the quantities removed would thereafter be repackaged in another bag, sealed and sold to buyers. Badewole said the rice sellers confessed that they used to buy empty rice bags from Lagos to repackage the quantities that was stolen from

President Muhammadu Buhari The Federal Government says it has nothing to do with the recent arrest of Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of the online newspaper, Premium Times, and a reporter working for the paper, Ms Evelyn Okakwu. Government position is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The minister said that the whole issue of the journalists’ arrest was purely a private affair involving a citizen and a privately-owned newspaper. He wondered how that could now be construed as an attempt by the government to intimidate the press. The minister reassured that government would not do anything to stifle press freedom, because it is keenly aware that a free press is vital to the success of any democracy. “We have said it before and we want to re-state it: The Federal Government has no immediate or long-term plan to stifle press freedom. “Even the Social Media, with its warts and all, will neither be reg

Senator Ken Nnamani Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East have described the defection of a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, to the party as a `welcome development’. The APC chieftains, who spoke in separate interviews with newsmen on Tuesday in Enugu, said that the gale of defections by South East politicians to the ruling party was good for the zone. Mr Osita Okechukwu, Director-General, of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), said the APC welcomes with open arms the political bigwigs who had found it worthy to identify with the progressives. Okechukwu, however, called for caution in order not to admit those who participated in dislocating and subverting the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). “My fear is that those who have excess baggage may also wittingly or unwittingly infect the APC in Enugu State with such anti-democratic and less than transparent tendency,” he said. Okechukwu described Nnamani as `a politician with high integrity’

Top Belgian model, Hanne Gaby Odiele A top fashion model has revealed that she is intersex, saying that she hopes speaking out will help break a taboo. Hanne Gaby Odiele, 29, was born with undescended testicles, which were removed when she was 10 after doctors warned that they could cause cancer. Intersex people are born with a mixture of male and female sex characteristics. According to the United Nations, the condition affects up to 1.7% of the world’s population. Ms Odiele, originally from Belgium, was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), which causes girls to have XY chromosomes usually found in boys. “It is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo,” she told USA Today in an interview. “At this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this.” At 10, Ms Odiele had surgery to remove her testes. “I knew at one point after the surgery I could not have kids, I was not having my period. I knew something was wrong

Top Belgian model, Hanne Gaby Odiele A top fashion model has revealed that she is intersex, saying that she hopes speaking out will help break a taboo. Hanne Gaby Odiele, 29, was born with undescended testicles, which were removed when she was 10 after doctors warned that they could cause cancer. Intersex people are born with a mixture of male and female sex characteristics. According to the United Nations, the condition affects up to 1.7% of the world’s population. Ms Odiele, originally from Belgium, was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), which causes girls to have XY chromosomes usually found in boys. “It is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo,” she told USA Today in an interview. “At this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this.” At 10, Ms Odiele had surgery to remove her testes. “I knew at one point after the surgery I could not have kids, I was not having my period. I knew something was wrong

court An Ile-Ife Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday ordered a vigilante member, Sunday Arewa, 25, to be remanded in Ile-Ife Prison over alleged rape of a woman. The Magistrate, Olalekan Ijiyode, who gave the order after Arewa pleaded not guilty to a four-count charge preferred against him, adjourned the case to March 10, for hearing. Mr Emmanuel Abdulahi, the prosecutor, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on Jan. 19, at about 12:00 a.m., at Oke-Ogbo area in Ile-Ife. Abdulahi alleged that the accused inflicted injuries on the left arm of the victim, after threatening her with a gun, before raping her in an uncompleted building. According to him, the offences contravened Sections 351, 355, 86(2), and 360 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Vol. II, Laws of Osun, 2003. The defence counsel, Akintilo Olakunbi, asked the court to grant his client bail on most liberal terms, but the magistrate asked the accused to provide a written bail application.

Lagos-bus-conductor A 18-year-old bus conductor, Afeez Junaid, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to stealing a bus side glass window worth N5,000. Junaid, who has no fixed address, admitted before Magistrate G.O. Anifowoshe that he burgled a shop in Alagbado, Lagos, and made away with the item. Following his guilty plea, the court ordered the conductor’s remand at the Kirikiri Prisons till Jan. 30 when it would review the facts of the case and sentence the conductor. The prosecutor, Mr Eruada Victor, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on Jan. 14 on Church Street, Ajegunle, Alagbado, a Lagos suburb. He said that the complainant, Mr Saheed Adegbenro, received a telephone call, informing him that Junaid had stolen the item and was caught with it. The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State The Chief of Staff to Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, Mr Taiwo Akerele, on Tuesday pledged that the state government would ensure fair taxation in the state. Akerele made the pledge when the National Association of Women Journalists visited him in Benin. He said the state government would also encourage small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and embark on massive infrastructural development. “We are initiating a town hall meeting to provide a platform for government to receive inputs and feedback from the public on key issues. “We shall need your support in this regard, not for propaganda but to report government activities objectively.” he said. Akerele noted that the state government was committed to eradicating poverty, particularly in women. Earlier, the Chairman of Edo NAWOJ, Flora Bossey, said the visit was to congratulate him on his appointment and to seek his support to move the association forward.

Gov. Sani Bello of Niger State. Niger Government has distributed relief materials worth N28 million to victims of tanker fire in Tegina, Rafi Local Government Areas of the state. Alhaji Ibrahim Inga, Director-General, State Emergency Management Agency, disclosed this in Minna on Tuesday. The tanker fire incident, which occurred on Dec. 2, claimed 18 lives, injured five and destroyed property worth millions of naira. Inga, who described the incident as unfortunate, noted that the relief materials was not a compensation but government intervention to cushion effect of the disaster. “What we are doing is not a compensation, it is an intervention. When ever such disaster happen, we look at the severity of the damage done and assist the victims,” he said. The items distributed, include; cement, rice, maize, zinc, roofing nails, textile, Maggie, salt, vegetable oil and palm oil. The director-general advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the relief materials and cash to

FILE PHOTO: A herdsman in Nigeria Some farmers in Kwara say the menace of herdsmen on their farms are destroying farm produces and causing economic loss. Some of them who narrated their ordeals in interviews with newsmen in Ilorin on Tuesday said there was the need for the state government to intervene and control the invading herdsmen. They said the herdsmen had virtually forced them to run for their dear lives and even abandon their farmlands. A Cassava farmer, Mr Kehinde Fagbemi, said herdsmen had occupied his farm for some time, where cows and cattle now graze. “My farm is located in Bacita area, but herdsmen have frustrated me to the point of abandoning the farm. “They even threatened to harm me when I challenged them for intruding into my farm,” he said. Another farmer, Malam Abubakar Mohammed of Lafiagi in Edu Local government area of Kwara, described the attitude of the herdsmen as“ barbaric”. Mohammed said the herdsmen had become a threat to farmers’ lives in the are

Marriage put asunder An Ado-Ekiti Customary Court on Tuesday dissolved a nine-year-old marriage between Yemi Lawrence and her husband, Alaba, for frequent provocation, beating and molestation. The President of the court, Mr Joseph Ogunsemi‎, held that the marriage had broken down and consequently dissolved the marriage. Ogunsemi awarded custody of the three male children to the petitioner, and ordered the respondent to pay N5,000 as monthly upkeep allowance on each of the children and be responsible for their education at all levels. He ordered that the upkeep allowance be deposited with the court’s registrar for onward delivery to the petitioner. Ogunsemi, however, ruled that the petitioner should allow the respondent to have access to his children. He also ordered that the respondent should not be seen around the vicinity of the house of the petitioner unless with the consent of the petitioner. Yemi, a 31-year-old food vendor, had told the court on on Oct. 4 that Alaba beats

court An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday admitted a 30-year-old man, Adeniyi Babatunde, to bail in the sum of N20,000 for alleged theft of a pack of can Coke. Babatunde, who lives at Sango Otta, Ogun, had pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Magistrate, Miss A.R. Onilogbo, ordered the accused to provide two sureties in like sum. Onilogbo said that the sureties must show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Ishola Samuel told the court that Babatunde committed the offences at Nigeria Bottling Company, Ikeja plant, on Jan. 17. Samuel said that the accused stole the soft drinks valued at N3,500 and hide it in his bag, he was about leaving the company’s premises, when he was caught and reported the matter to the police. The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The case was adjourned till Feb. 8 for mention.

National Youth Service Corp members The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has resumed orientation of corp members in Adamawa after three years suspension due to insecurity caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in the state. The last orientation was held in Adamawa in March 2013. Speaking to on Tuesday in Yola, the State Coordinator of NYSC, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, said 2,500 corps members were deployed to the state. “Registration of corp members started this Tuesday morning by 7 am and you can see they are trooping in; we are expecting 2,500 corp members.” Abubakar said that adequate security has been put in place with about 300 officials from the Army, Police, Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp and NYSC. He explained that Adamawa Government has provided the facility of Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola, as a temporary camp pending the final evacuation of the Internally Displaced Persons at the permanent orientation camp in Damare. “I want the co

Naira Prof Uch Uwaleke, an economic expert says he is optimistic that Nigeria’s economy will be ‘out of the woods’ this year. Uwaleke, the Head of Banking and Finance, Nasarawa State University, said this in Abuja on Tuesday. He stated that the growth would be possible, especially if the 2017 expansionary budget was approved in due time and implemented accordingly. Uwaleke shares the same optimism with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a possible growth by 0.8% in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year. According to him, the growth will be largely powered by the crude oil price, which is recovering and trading currently in excess of 50 dollars per barrel well above the 2017 budget reference price. “I have confidence in the ability of OPEC-member countries to sustain this tempo by keeping to the agreed production cut. “The attendant improvement in oil revenue will translate to more funds for state governments to pay workers’ salaries and boost aggreg

Theresa May, British Prime Minister Parliament must vote on whether the government can start the Brexit process, the Supreme Court has ruled. The judgement means Theresa May cannot begin talks with the EU until MPs and peers give their backing – although this is expected to happen in time for the government’s 31 March deadline. But the court ruled the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies did not need a say. Brexit Secretary David Davis will make a statement to MPs at 12:30 GMT. During the Supreme Court hearing, campaigners argued that denying the UK Parliament a vote was undemocratic. But the government said it already had the powers to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – getting talks under way – without the need for consulting MPs and peers. It wants to do this by the end of March. Reading out the judgement, Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger said: “By a majority of eight to three, the Supreme Court today rules that the government cannot tri

National Council on Hydrocarbons The National Council on Hydrocarbons on Tuesday released guidelines on how to review, strengthen and initiate robust policies for the oil and gas sector. The guidelines, contained in a communique released by the Ministry of a Petroleum Resources, highlighted 29 needs to aid the development of the sector and the Niger Delta region. Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had given approval for the resuscitation of the National Council‎ on Hydrocarbons after a Federal Executive Council meeting on Oct. 5, 2016. The Council, which is to act as an ombudsman that meets once a year at extraordinary times to review policies in the sector, processed a total of 36 Memoranda for considerations. Part of the needs adopted in the communique includes: ”the need for the use of metrics and measures to calibrate remediated and regenerated polluted areas. ”The need for relevant Agencies to streamline all environmental regulatory roles in the industry and integrate

Nigeria has never borrowed more than $3 billion at once and we constantly get into trouble. How can we manage 10 times that? What has got into us now? Why is she seeking this jumbo loan with so much confidence? What has happened to the civil society and other right-thinking Nigerians? Why are we sleepwalking into slavery? This government is daring us. Each day, they stuff their entire arm and body down our throats and push us to break our silence or else! Or how does one explain Madam Finance Minister’s claim that “Nigeria has no choice but to borrow $30 billion.” If that was how past governments borrowed $30 billion because they had no choice, I bet she will not have any ministry to preside over today. In fact, listening to her confuse everyone with her good looks and British accent and get away with it, one begins to wonder if she has other allegiances. For these things happen. This $30 billion borrowing business started like a joke, and many people have said that with our curren

Fashola We cannot, for the sake of some agreement and a rigid reading of the law, continue to short-change ourselves by not removing the hurdles in the way of off-grid solutions that will enable independent power plants set up, based on potential demand, to generate and distribute directly to customers without any go-between in form of a distribution company and an overbearing regulator. Starting out, Mr. Fashola seems to have gotten it wrong. From the outside, one would think his quick and wholesale embrace of what he met on ground in the power sector was rather disconcerting, even if one can see that he felt he needed to ensure continued investor confidence in the sector. Some of us who felt that his coming in would unravel the knotty problem that has almost grounded power supply were unnerved at his pat-on-the-shoulder approach. He could not have been helped by the fact that the same team that led us to where we are, under the previous regime, were left intact to baptise the