TREASUREWEB

Plateau: 21 suspects held

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 3 Jul 2018 01:26:00 +0100

TWENTY-one suspects have been arrested over the Plateau State killings, according to the special military task force Operation Safe Haven (OPSH).

Among them are those found with arms and suspected hoodlums who hijacked the protests sparked by the killings.

The special task force comprises police, Air Force, Army and paramilitary security agencies.

The suspects were paraded yesterday at the OPSH Headquarters in Jos by the media officer of the task force, Major Adam Umar and Police Public Relations Officer Tyopev Terna.

Major Umar said: “Out of the 21 suspects we arrested so far, 11 of them are those arrested in connection to the killings in Barkin Ladi and environs while 14 of them were arrested from the scene of the civil disturbances after the attacks.

He added: “In our efforts to fish out the criminals carrying out attacks in some villages in the state, particularly in Barkin Ladi, we have been able to arrest some people from the scene of attacks.

“The suspects we are parading were arrested with arms, some of them with locally made guns, revolver and other dangerous weapons which they are not supposed to have as citizens.

“Information we extracted from the original suspects led us to trace some other accomplices and we have also arrested them. And there is the possibility of making more arrests over those killings as we intensify our efforts to get to the root of these killings in pursuant of our mandate to stop the killings, prevent further killings and restore total peace in the state.

“In our commitment and desire not to give the attackers opportunity to operate or opportunity to escape after attack, the commander of OPSH has relocated to Barkin Ladi based on his resolve to remain with the villagers and monitor things closely and to be able to respond faster to distress calls from residents in danger.

“To be able to achieve better results in tracking these criminals, we are appealing to members of the public to oblige us with credible and useful information. This battle against these criminals should be seen by the general public as a collective one. We need everyone’s cooperation to do more than we are doing.”

Most of the suspects paraded have blood stains on their dresses. One of the suspects wore military trousers. Some victims alleged that some of the assailants were dressed in military uniform.

The task force did not however disclose the names of the suspects.

The Plateau Government has reviewed the curfew it imposed in three local governments of Jos South, Riyom and Barkin Ladi to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily

On June 24, the Government of Plateau, imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in Jos to avert a further breakdown of law and order, following the killing of scores of people in some communities.

The downward review of the curfew was announced in a statement yesterday by Secretary to the State Government Rufus Bature.

“The period of curfew earlier imposed on Jos South, Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areass has been reviewed.

“The period of the curfew is now 10pm to 6am daily,” Bature said.

The statement advised citizens to go about their lawful duties and continue to be vigilant.

NASA launches TESS satellite to search for alien worlds

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 01:04:00 +0100

The $337m planet-hunting space telescope launched on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida, is the agency’s most ambitious quest yet to scour planets' atmospheres for any life.

The search for alien worlds has taken another big step with the launch of NASA's latest satellite.

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, is the agency's most ambitious attempt in the search for worlds like our own
.

An 'internet civil war' has erupted in Russia

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 01:01:00 +0100

Russian authorities started blocking the messenger app Telegram on April 16 [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]

When Evgeny first heard that Russia's communications censor Roskomnadzor was going to block the popular messenger app Telegram, it brought to mind a Soviet-era slogan. The Communist Party said: "It must be done!" The Komsomol - the party's youth wing - responded: "Aye!"

Policies today get applied without much deliberation, just like Soviet times, he explained. "It feels as though it's a bunch of ignorant people who don't understand anything, who did not consult any experts, that did this," said Evgeny, who requested that his second name not be mentioned for fear of intimidation by the authorities.

On April 16, Roskomnadzor started trying to block Telegram after what it said was the company's failure to comply with a Russian law on dissemination of information. But by the time the censor told mobile operators to limit access to the app's services, Evgeny and the team of the start-up he works for had already set up a proxy service to ensure that internal communications chats and their company Telegram channel continued to work smoothly. He said he and his team would not give up using the app.

Reacting to the use of proxies, Roskomnadzor had to expand its blocking efforts, inadvertently affecting IP addresses of various other companies.

"[Roskomnadzor] managed to block [other businesses], cashiers of supermarkets stopped working. Imagine, I go to the store, and I can't buy food because of Roskomnadzor," Evgeny told Al Jazeera in a call over Telegram.

The "collateral damage" caused outrage across Russia, evoking even criticism from government officials.

A week into Roskomnadzor's campaign, it not only has failed to fully block the app, but it has made it more popular. In fact, the backlash against the censor and acts of defiance by Telegram users have already made some in Russia talk of an "internet civil war".

Durov vs the system

The standoff between Roskomnadzor and Telegram goes back to June 2017, when the communications censor issued an open letter saying the app was violating Russian law on "organisers of information dissemination". The law - part of a number of anti-terrorism measures passed by the Russian Duma in the early 2010s - stipulates that entities designated by the state as such have to store user information in Russia for six months and give access to it to law enforcement.

Roskomnadzor demanded the company hand in encryption keys, so that security agencies could access user messages. Russia-born Telegram CEO Pavel Durov responded that the encryption technology used in the app did not allow its creators to have access to those keys.

Eventually, a Russian court ruled in Roskomnadzor's favour, allowing the censor to proceed with blocking the app.

Preempting the move, Telegram had already introduced a proxy option that enabled users to log in with an IP address from another country, circumventing geo-blocking.

Most Telegram users Al Jazeera talked to said they had enabled the option; others, such as Evgeny, installed their own VPN services, which not only allow users to log in from other countries but also encrypt the data they send.

State institutions, many of which also operate official Telegram channels, had also bought VPN equipment ahead of the blocking campaign. Various news outlets also started circulating instructions on how to use proxies and VPN services.

Foreseeing a storm of negative reactions from the Russian public, Pavel Chikov, a lawyer and member of the rights organisation Agora, which represents Durov in the case, posted on his Telegram channel on April 16: "An internet civil war has started."

Throughout the week, Russian Telegram users and media continued to report that they were using the app without a problem.

Durov also posted on his Telegram channel that there hasn't been "a significant drop in user engagement" and that to support "internet freedom", he would start giving out bitcoin grants to "individuals and companies who run socks5 proxies and VPN".

Collateral damage

According to Stanislav Shakirov, technical director of Roskomsvoboda (a wordplay on Roskomnadzor meaning RoskomFreedom), an anti-censorship NGO, Telegram has managed to weather the pressure because of its well-made architecture.

"[Telegram architects] had set up a rotation of servers which the app links up to. This makes it difficult for Roskomnadzor to block it," Shakirov explained.

"By the time Roskomnadzor requests mobile operators to block an IP address, the app had already moved onto another."

The use of VPN and proxy services has also helped. Traffic to VPNlove.me, a website Roskomsvoboda set up as a guide to using VPN services, increased 15-20 times, he said.

Scrambling to block a massive number of IP addresses, which reached 20 million on April 19, Roskomnadzor ran up against another problem: the disruption of other services using the same IP address clusters as Telegram.

Mid-week, reports started coming in of various companies experiencing difficulties with their online operations: from international companies such as Viber and taxi service Gett, to Russian ticket booking service Kupiblet and supermarket chains like Diksi.

On Thursday, Chikov reported on his Telegram channel that some 120 companies - among them small businesses, internet stores and VPN operators - had reached out to Agora requesting help to get unblocked.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Roskomnadzor's press office said that "most disruptions in the functioning of websites which have been announced were due to other reasons and were not at all connected to measures undertaken against Telegram".

On Sunday, access to Google's search engine was also limited for Russian users. On its page on social media platform VKontakte, Roskomnadzor announced it was blocking many IP addresses of Google's cloud service because the company refused to stop helping Telegram evade blocking.

The growing discontent over the disruptions prompted German Klimenko, adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin on internet development, to say that Roskomnadzor should apologise for the problems it had caused.

'Subversion and guerrilla tactics'

The campaign against Telegram has also had some unintended consequences. Russian media outlet RBC reported that Telegram traffic in Russia increased early last week, while the number of downloads from the Android app store doubled compared with a week earlier.

On Sunday, many Russians, like Evgeny, heeded a call by Telegram's CEO to join a symbolic gesture of support for the company and throw a paper plane out of a window - a reference to the app's logo. Videos of the campaign flooded social media.

According to blogger and activist Alexander Brusentsev, the blocking efforts have also boosted the technical literacy of some Russians by encouraging them to learn about proxies and VPN services, which they wouldn't have done otherwise. It has also driven some to resist Roskomnadzor's censorship efforts.

"People find it interesting to watch how Roskomnadzor can't do anything, and they find it even more interesting to help make sure this continues to be so," he told Al Jazeera via Telegram.

"Subversion and guerrilla tactics are actively being used and will continue to be used in the future."

Brusentsev himself ran into problems with Roskomnadzor in 2017 and had to leave Russia temporarily after the censor accused him of "tampering" with the blocking of websites.

Throughout last week, Roskomnadzor's website was intermittently unavailable. The censor blamed the disruption on DDoS attacks.

Asked about whether there was indeed an "internet war" in Russia, the censor's press office responded that, "Roskomnadzor is taking a set of measures in order to fulfil a decision by a Russian Federation court in relation to a company that is ignoring Russian law."

China-style 'Great Firewall'

It is not the first time that a product developed by Russian entrepreneur Durov was hit by controversy. In 2006 he founded the social network VKontakte (In Contact), which quickly came to dominate the Russian market.

Eight years later, he resigned as CEO and left Russia. Durov claimed he was forced out because he refused to shut down Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalny's account in VKontakte, and because oligarchs close to Putin wanted "full control" over the social network.

It is also not the first time that Roskomnadzor, which was established as a separate agency 10 years ago, has blocked messenger apps.

In May 2017, the censor included the apps BlackBerry Messenger, imo, Line, и Vchat on its list of banned websites after they also refused to comply with provisions of the "organisations of information dissemination" law. The registry of banned websites was established in 2012.

According to Shakirov, Russian authorities could be using the blocking of Telegram as a test before they go on to other much bigger internet companies.

"Our government wants the Chinese model in which all Western services are replaced by local, sovereign ones. They've started with Telegram, which is popular but not so powerful service," he said.

If the plan of establishing a China-style "Great Firewall" in Russia goes forward, IT giants such as Facebook could face a choice between "losing the Russian market, or losing their reputation", he said.

But Roskomnadzor's actions against Telegram and the pursuit of greater control over the internet could have far-reaching negative consequences on Russian businesses as well. According to Evgeny, the blocking of Telegram already has negatively affected the business climate.

Over the years, he has observed a notable trend of capital flight from the country, as many companies have registered in Western countries to avoid being subject to Russia's ever-changing laws.

"We are kind of tired of such [decisions] by the state: Let's block this or let's ban that," he said. "Let's just live like North Korea without internet.
"

University of Maiduguri produces 78 First Class graduates

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:57:00 +0100

The University of Maiduguri on Monday said it produced 78 First Class graduates for the 2015/ 2016 and 2016/2017 academic sessions.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr Ibrahim Njodi, made the disclosure at a pre-convocation press conference in Maiduguri.

Njodi said that a total of 17, 895 graduates would be conferred with various degrees and certificates during its 23rd combined convocation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, April 28.

He explained that 3, 527 students were graduands of the Post Graduate School programmes comprising of 56 Ph.D graduates; 570 Masters Degree graduates and 2, 901 Post Graduate Diploma graduands .

Njodi added that the statistics of the undergraduates showed that 8, 643 graduands would be awarded degrees, 7, 278 of the number were from the regular programmes, 573 from affiliated colleges and 714 were Distance Learning programmes.

He disclosed that 5, 725 graduates would received diploma certificates, adding that 106 and 102 graduates would receive awards for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 academic sessions, respectively.

The Vice Chancellor disclosed that three lecturers would also be conferred with the title of “Emeritus Professor”, for their outstanding performance and contributions to the development of the university.

“We remain committed and resilient to excel in our academic pursuit inspite of the challenges posed by the insurgency.

“The University continued with its services and achieved significant feat in the past nine years,” he said.

Njodi disclosed that the university with support of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund ( TETFUND ), United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ), corporate organisations and philanthropists executed viable projects in the school.

He explained that the projects were designed to provide an enabling teaching and learning environment, as well as research, to enhance academic excellence.

He listed the projects to include Senate Complex Building, Mega House, Veterinary Centre and Instructional Technology Centre.

Njodi added that the projects were completed and billed for inauguration as part of activities lined up for the convocation ceremony.

According to him, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ); Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and a philanthropist, Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi, pledged to execute various projects in the University.

Njodi lauded the Borno State Government, stakeholders, security agencies and members of the public for their support to the University.

International Identity Day: ID4Africa, NIMC, others to petition UN

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:55:00 +0100

The ID4Africa, National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) and other international organisations have decided to petition the United Nations ( UN ) to declare September 16 of every year as International Identity Day celebration.

Dr Joseph Atick, the Executive Chairman, ID4Africa Movement, made the disclosure on Monday at a news briefing to commence the 4th annual meeting of the organisation in Abuja.

The ID4Africa is a multi-stakeholder movement that promotes the transparent and responsible adoption of digital identity in the service of development in Africa.

The 2018 ID4Africa Conference is scheduled from April 24 to April 26 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Atick, who said that the petition would be launched on April 24 at the opening session of the conference, added that the campaign would be taken to New York until the success would be achieved.

According to him, the petition is calling on the United Nations to recognise September 16 of every year as International Identity Day.

“I want to make an announcement that it is going to be launched; another first African announcement which we will start here in Africa on April 24.

“We will continue all the way to New York until we reach a successful end. The announcement is that we will be launching a petition tomorrow; a petition to the United Nations.

“This petition is supported by the General Secretariat of the ID4Africa, the board of advisers of ID4Africa which has membership or representatives of the World Bank, UNDP, Centre for Growth and Development and of course NIMC, among others.

“Together, we are launching a petition and the petition is that we are calling on the United Nations to recognise September 16 as International Identity Day,” he said.

Explaining why September 16 should be declared as the day, Atick said the organisation adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals and that number 16.9 of the SDGs pushed for legal identity for all by 2030.

“We have worked for many years together to establish what I called the Sustainable Development Goals. So government has responsibility by the year 2030 to give everybody in the country legal identity.

“We want a day because identity is one of the most important aspects of human experience in a modern society.

“We want to celebrate it, we want to create awareness for it, we also want to measure our progress towards the ultimate goal.

“Once we get the United Nations declaring that as international day, different countries diversify it and observe it with different activities. So April 24, it is going to start in Abuja,” he said.

Atick, who expressed optimism that 193 nations of the UN would vote in its support, said about 47 African nations would be attending the conference.

The Director-General of NIMC, Mr Aliyu Aziz, however, said this year’s conference is tagged: “Harmonisation,” adding that it aimed at addressing issues of duplication of data by different agencies of government.

He said the conference would be dealing on how to develop artificial intelligence, how to utilise it and how to get market intelligence in improving, especially agriculture.

The Chairman Board of Director of NIMC, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said the news briefing was to acquaint everyone with the conduct of the conference on ID4Africa.

He described the organisation as a movement of countries within the continent that have come to the understanding of leveraging ID ecosystem on digital system.

Looters’ list: Court restrains Fed Govt from further mention of Secondus

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:53:00 +0100

A RIVERS State High Court in Port Harcourt has restrained the Federal Government from further mentioning the National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, in the looters’ list published by the government.

The Chief Judge of Rivers, Justice Adama Iyayi-Lamikanra, who gave the order on Monday, also ordered that the hearing notice be served on the respondents by the plaintiff.

The order followed a motion brought by Secondus seeking an interlocutory injunction against further publication of his name on the list.

Secondus is suing the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Federal Government and Vintage Press for alleged libel.

He is asking the court to award him N1.5 billion damages for the alleged libel.

He said listing him as a looter, who collected N200 million on February 19, 2015, from the Office of the National Security Adviser was libellous.

The PDP chairman’s counsel, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN), said the judge could hear the suit because his client was defamed by the publication.

The respondents were not present in court and the judge adjourned the matter until April 28.

Buhari’s 2019 bid and matters arising

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:52:00 +0100

The country is gearing itself up for the general elections in February next year and with President Muhammadu Buhari announcing that he will bid for the governing party, APC’s (All Progressives Congress) ticket to run for a second term, all hell has been let loose by the chaotic and ill-prepared opposition camp.

A joke on WhatsApp last week was about the abuse and insults heaped on Muhammadu Buhari, attacking him for everything wrong with the country but failing to answer an important question: who do you have that is better?

In democracies around the globe, second terms by incumbents are usually harder to get simply because, somehow, there is always some kind of anti-incumbency leading to a loss of faith among those supporters.

For President Buhari, who won with massive votes in 2015, his major challenge is to do as well as he did, or even better. He came to power with a lot of expectations and Nigerians had, justifiably placed very high hopes on him. As we said sometimes back, he as a consequence, has became a victim of the tyranny of expectations. The weight of unrealistic expectations has evidently blinded many of the people from seeing the revolutionary changes happening across the nation.

Nigerians expected him to undo the damage in several decades of misgovernance and naturally, many are already feeling frustrated that he hadn’t done that in three years.

The problem with our opposition is that beyond fault-finding, they are unable to give or, innovate a vision of their own on how they can make the nation better.

A so-called Third Force has failed to get political traction since it birth. This is understandable, given that they have promised to give the country everything that is new but have so far produced no new faces, no new ways of doing things. Certainly, there is no face that can be called the President of Nigeria.

For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) parading itself on the glory of being the largest opposition, the party has not less than 10 leaders acutely ambitious to rule Nigeria. It will take them minimally two to three terms of presidential tenure that is eight to 12 years to reinvent the party.

Looking at the entire opposition landscape, it can be said that they cannot be united by ideology, the type that made the pre-2015 opposition fuse into a formidable challenger that pushed an incumbent out of office. There is in no way therefore, they can choose leaders with unanimity.

What then they have taken to, is scaremongering by fanning ethnic and religious divisions among the minorities especially in the Middle Belt where hundreds of innocent citizens are confronted with violent death.

Before they take the words out of my mouth, let me state that the spate of those killings are tragic and unacceptable. They ought not to happen, and I am aware of how sad the Presidency is about these unfortunate goings-on. And there is so much that is being done to end the killings.

More, however, could still have been achieved if there is cooperation extended to the security agencies by everyone, and by everyone, I mean especially the political opposition. A political warlord recently ordered the provocative stoning of a Nigerian Air Force personnel as their chopper landed in a Northeastern state.

Today, the government has irrefutable evidence that much as most of these killings are arising from herdsmen-farmers attacks, some of it is driven by politicians. The recent arrests by the army in Taraba State point to a clear political sponsorship, and the kingpins, some of whom have been arrested have been handed over to the DSS for further investigation. Others who are being sought have either gone into hiding or they are pulling strings of blackmail to force the hands of government to abandon the search for them.

It is clear by now that the Middle Belt killings, even if they are not caused by the opposition, are no doubt, seen as a political opportunity to set the tone for the 2019 elections.

Another matter of great disappointment is the ongoing attempt to victimize a group of religious leaders, the Arewa Pastors Initiative for Peace, representing 45,000 members, simply because they paid a visit to President Buhari. We see this development as an unnecessary distraction at a time the country should be united against its common problems and challenges.

We are both mystified and disturbed by the growing lack of tolerance and accommodation by some groups who see it as their birth right to visit and address the President on their issues but lack the modicum of respect for others to do the same. It is regrettable that an innocuous visit is becoming a subject of needless and unprintable attacks on the President and his visitors for doing nothing wrong.

For the avoidance of doubt, the President would not want to set a dangerous precedent for the country by discriminating against any group exercising their democratic rights of freedom of speech and association.

The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, told the tale of the toad at the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Colloquium recently in Lagos.

“Let’s discuss tails,” the toad was told. It, not having a tail, the toad said, “no, let’s talk about other things.”

Rather than coming to the table to discuss what has been achieved or not in key areas of policy, the conversation is today limited to one, the morbid tale of the relationship between farmers and herders.

Sad as these incidents involving farmers and herdsmen are, I wonder what the result will be if half the newsprint and airtime devoted to this is used to draw attention to malaria which kills 300,000 Nigerians every year; the 88,000 malnourished children and the 230,000 malnourished, pregnant women in the northeast, a quarter of whom the UNICEF said would most likely not make it.

An important motivation for President Buhari’s bid for second term is that the gains made from 2015 should not be frittered. Buhari is not involved in corruption and is not desperate for the office. He is among the few leaders we have who are not obsessed with money, cars and homes but working passionately for the country’s economy, peace and safety. If a corrupt politician wins, we will go back to where we were in 2015.

Many, by now, have forgotten where we are coming from. The daily bomb blasts in our cities between 2012 and 2015 including the deadly attack on the United Nations Office in Abuja have been forgotten by many. The Juma’at Mosque bomb attack on Kano that left 300 dead and the theft of 270 girls in Chibok as they assembled to write their final exams, with 113 yet to return have for many, faded into history.

We lived in perpetual fear. I remember the story of the roadside Mosque in one settlement in which a black plastic bag was noticed by the congregation as the Imam led in prayer. The entire congregation fizzled out, the Imam, realising that he was left alone, only from the eerie air of silence after everyone had quietly left.

Today, religious gatherings and crowded markets have resumed. Witnesses reported that Abuja and Kaduna witnessed the largest simultaneous assembly of people when the Tijjaniyya Islamic movement celebrated their Maulud a week ago without the fear of bomb blasts.

Cabinet meetings are now about how trillions of Naira are to be used to provide long delayed infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railway, power, drugs and equipment for hospitals. Grand corruption, by which ministers sat around the table to share money drawn from the treasury, has been ended.

A majority of our people are farmers who depend on good rains, access to land and fertilizer to grow the food they eat and sell the surplus to make money for school fees for their children and where possible, add a wife or two and make the Hajj or other plans.

This administration has broken the jinx of fertilizer shortage and its high cost and has put land clearing for agriculture on a priority. Loans at low or no interest rates are being given by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Bank of Agriculture, the Bank of Industry and the Development Bank. It will take years to raise our rising population from poverty. Even in China, with the world’s fastest growing economy, this, still, is a work in progress.

The administration is doing so much for women, children and our enterprising youths. This is the first time anyone has given our country a social welfare scheme.

By it, 7.5 million children are served free meals in schools. This has improved school attendance. Two Hundred thousand graduates are now enrolled in N-Power, and 300,000 have just passed screening in the biggest, most audacious employment scheme on the continent. Our youths have a lot of ideas and many who need support, mentoring and guidance under the various schemes under the Social Investment Programme (SIP) of the government are getting help.

Three years on, the economy has seen a paradigm shift with agriculture getting a pride of place. We are importing 90 percent less rice than we did three years back. The World Bank has certified Nigeria as being one of the top ten most improved economies in the world. Power ministry has done commendably well, raising generation from an average of 2,600 megawatts (mw) to 7,500mw.

Today, each state has a minimum of between one to five federal roads under construction or reconstruction. Some have as many as eight or nine. The legendary Second Niger Bridge is by now 44 per cent complete, putting to shame the many years of platitude and lies by several past administrations.

With the advent of the Buhari administration, foreign policy has become robust. Nigerian enjoys a good reputation in West Africa, Africa and the world.

What this government is doing is different and the results are showing, for example:

Reversing the decline which began in 2014 and stabilizing the economy for Nigerians.
Recovery of stolen national assets.
Economic restructuring for the growth of private sector as the best solution to unemployment.
Demonstrable infrastructure improvement: roads, power and energy.
Re-establishment of collaborative working relationship between the President and the Vice President as model of how Northern/Southern, Muslim/Christian, Older/Younger Nigerians can and should work together.

The thing about second term in all political climes is that voters must have a practical reason to vote for someone. President Buhari has not given anyone an excuse not to choose him on this count. His is an administration that has something for everyone.

Supporters, who talk about a noticeable loss of faith by some, must note that there is nothing permanent in politics. Many of the allies will, in pursuit of power, come back to the APC, being the party with superior power.

The party did extremely well in the North to come to power and every indication is that in 2019, it will do in the South, what it did in the North in 2015.

By the way, did anyone notice the poll on who to choose in 2019 by a young man, Mark Essien @markessien on Twitter? Buhari supporters need to read that to cheer up!

Garba Shehu, is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity

My daughter seduced me, says incestuous dad

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:49:00 +0100

The was the one who seduced me, she kissed me and I warned her. A particular day, she grabbed me and was trying to have sex with me. I beat her up but later I fell for it and slept with her. It was the devil that made me to fall.

Those were the words of a 50-year-old man, Taiwo Oyelabi arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for sleeping with and Impregnating his daughter, Nibila, 21.

According to the suspects, his daughter started leaving with him seven-months-ago after his sister brought her back from France.

Oyelabi said Nibila and her twin were abandoned by their mum when they were two-year-old, adding that his siblings took them from him until last November when she was brought home.

After sleeping with her the first time, Oyelabi said he reported the incident at a Celestial Church, where they performed deliverance.

“But after that, he said, I slept with her four more times. It was not four straight times. We were leaving together and I decided that she needed to learn a skill to keep her occupied. I took her to a place where they produce nylons for her to learn and I paid for it.

“But after two weeks, she repeated the same action again and we slept together. Then, I am a security man at Obadore. Each night I want to go to work, she would say she cannot sleep alone that she was scared.

“So, I used to take her to my workplace and we would also have sex at night there. It was my landlord who leaked the news of our sexual affairs. He did it because we had an argument.

“I did not know that my daughter was already pregnant. She was three months and few weeks gone. I am not the one who deflowered her. She was not a virgin when we started sleeping together. She had a man friend, Azeez.

“I do not think I am responsible for her pregnancy because I was not the only one sleeping with her. I wanted to commit suicide when I learnt of the pregnancy. I tried to kill myself three times but people stopped me.

“The first time I tried to drink Snipper insecticide but a neighbour stopped me. I later jumped into a well but I was rescued alive. Then, I bought some drugs but people saw it and they collected it. It was the devil that led me to it.”

According to Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, the suspect was arrested by operatives attached to Igando Police Station, adding that the matter was later referred to gender section of the command for detailed investigation.

Armed policemen storm Melaye’s Abuja house

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:44:00 +0100

Armed policemen on Monday stormed the Abuja home of embattled Senator Dino Melaye to arrest him.

The Kogi West senator also had a brush with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport where he was stopped from leaving the country.

Our reporter, who visited Melaye’s 11 Sangha Street, Maitama, Abuja, residence, witnessed a horde of armed police personnel milling around his house.

Apart from the presence of the police in their numbers, an unmarked police pick up van was also used to block the street near Melaye’s residence.

All vehicular movement in and around the house was blocked by police forcing motorists to beat a retreat.

The policemen were led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who refused to disclose his name.

Asked why the policemen besieged Melaye’s house, the ACP declined comment and directed journalists to refer their enquiry to the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood.

Philippine museum traces war to lost tribal kinship

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:45:00 +0100

Cotabato Museum houses implements from Mindanao's centuries of warfare [JC Gotinga/Al Jazeera]

North Cotabato, Philippines - Visitors at the brand new Cotabato Museum begin their tour by watching a short animated film.

It's crude compared with the average Hollywood cartoon flick, but the audience leaves the mini-theatre enchanted.

It tells the legend of two devoted brothers at the time when Islam came to Mindanao, the largest southern island in the Philippines.

One of them, Tabunaway, chose to embrace the new faith while the other, Mamalu, held on to his traditional beliefs.

Their parting of ways eventually set off what would become the bitter conflict that's tearing their descendants apart to this day.

More than 100,000 people have died in Mindanao's successive wars since the 1970s, according to several non-government research groups.

The conflict has also set the region's economy back by about $14bn.

Although the violence in Mindanao is often characterised as being between its native "Moro" Muslims and Christian settlers from the country's northern islands, the reality is far more nuanced and complicated.

There is a third voice - the Lumad - caught in the fray.

The Lumad are an indigenous group composed of more than 100 distinct tribes.

In mythology, they are the descendants of Mamalu, who moved to the highlands when Islam became the predominant religion in the lowlands.

The Lumad are gentle by nature, leading simple lives close to nature.

A long history of discrimination and neglect by the government has left them desperately poor and vulnerable to many kinds of abuse, including the usurpation of their ancestral lands.

The Lumad were forced to fight.

'spread subversive ideas'

In July last year, President Rodrigo Duterte said in a public speech that he would "bomb" the Lumad's schools because they "spread subversive ideas", accusing the group of supporting the communist rebels, the New People's Army (NPA).

At the Cotabato Museum's inaugural ceremony, Duterte's secretary for the peace process, Jesus Dureza, said: "More than 70 percent of the NPA's fighters are Lumads."

The government has recently reopened channels for peace talks with the communist rebels, and Dureza's lumping the Lumad with them was not necessarily an indictment.

Many Lumad leaders deny supporting the NPA, but not the fact that they have, in recent years, banded together their own small army to fight for their cause.

Although the Cotabato Museum tells history from three vantage points - the Muslim, Christian and Lumad narratives - it highlights that of the Lumad, not only because it is the least heard among them but also because it is the most ancient.

"Everyone was a Lumad," said museum co-curator Antonio Montalvan, "and that is what we want the Cotabato people to always remember, that they come from one source."

As visitors go through the museum's collection of weapons and implements from Mindanao's centuries of warfare, they should have in mind that all of it are symbols of a broken vow.

That is if they had paid attention to the animated film at the start of their tour.

Before they parted ways, Mamalu and Tabunaway made a pact of peace - that even though their beliefs had become different, they would forever remain brothers.

The museum challenges their descendants to keep that promise
.

Soyinka delivers Elizade varsity lecture

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:38:00 +0100

One hundred and five students of Elizade University, Ilara-mokin in Ondo State will receive their first degrees at the second convocation ceremony of the institution slated for Friday.

As part of the activities, Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka will on Thursday deliver the convocation lecture titled: “Tending the tree of commencement”.

Addressing reporters in Ilara-mokin, the Chairman, Ceremonies/Honours Committee, Omololu Adegbenro, said of 105 graduating studnets, 16 are in first class, 50 in second class (upper) and 39 in second class (lower).

Adegbenro, the registrar, recalled that the institution, which began operation on January 6, 2013 with 31 students, now has 1,121 students.

He said the university started with 12 programmes, but now has 31 programmes spreading across five faculties.

The registrar said the 25 programmes matured for National University Commission’s (NUC’s) accreditation were given full status.

He said over N25 billion had been invested in the university by its founder, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, who, according to him, had contributed over N200 bilion as yearly taxation to the government’s coffers since inception.

About 4,765 Nigerian doctors working in UK, says Anyaoku

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:36:00 +0100

•’Govts must uplift health sector’

MEDICAL doctors are abandoning Nigeria for greener pastures overseas owing to inadequate management of hospitals by the three tiers of government, former Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku said yesterday.

He said over 4,765 Nigerian doctors were working in the United Kingdom (UK), which, according to him, constitute 1.7 per cent of the European country’s medical workforce.

Anyaoku spoke yesterday during the celebration of the 110th anniversary of the Iyi-Enu Mission Hospital and the launching of an ultramodern Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State.

He said Iyi-Enu Mission hospital had been no exception from the general decline of institutions throughout the country.

According him, “People of my age (85) feel nostalgic for the old days in the early years of our country’s independence.

“During that period, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, the Commonwealth ranked Nigeria fourth in the hierarchy of health sector efficiency countries.

“In fact, at that time, ours was a country that itself was attracting medical tourism on account of the quality of the services offered by the University Teaching Hospital Ibadan (UCH).

“But today, it is lamentable that the Federal Government’s endorsement of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that 13 per cent of the national budget should be allocated to the health sector, as well as the African Union’s Abuja declaration in 2001 that 15 per cent of the national budget should be allocated to the health sector, only a paltry sum of between about 3.4 per cent and 5.6 per cent are allocated.”

The elder statesman said the result of the low budgetary allocation to the health sector over the years and “the Nigerian factor” had assailed the country with ill-equipped hospitals with low grade facilities.

“Indeed, most of our hospitals have been reduced to mere consulting clinics.

“Recently, we had a big shock to the national psyche, when it was revealed that even the Aso Rock Clinic that attends to the nation’s highest political leaders and their families was completely lacking in basic facilities like drugs and even syringes.

“It is, therefore, no surprise that when he visited Nigeria recently, Bill Gates, the Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in criticising Nigeria for spending relatively far too little on the development of its human capital, pointed to the nation’s health sector alongside the education sector as some of the most neglected,” the elder statesman said.

Anyaoku said Bill Gates’ reference to the Nigerian health sector was not comforting.

“Yet, Nigeria’s dismal record and bad reputation in the health sector cannot come to anybody as a surprise, not when highly qualified Nigerian doctors are voting with their feet, fleeing and abandoning the country in droves to work abroad,” he said.

He, therefore, hailed the authorities of Iyi-Enu Hospital under the leadership of the Bishop on the Niger, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo, for accepting the challenge of restoring the health facility to its past glory.

“But in this highly desirable restoration, I enjoin the management to take seriously, the importance of specific training of technicians for the maintenance of the sophisticated diagnostic, dialysis and the MRI equipment that are installed, “Anyaoku said.

The event was attended by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, the traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Alex Onyido and others.

Electricity Distribution Companies: Service or trouble providers?

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:34:00 +0100

The complaints of electricity consumers in Nigeria has shifted From erratic supply, arbitrary disconnections and poor customer service, the complaints of electricity consumers have shifted to outrageous estimated billings, which the Distribution Companies (DisCos) do without remorse. Rather than monitor the consumption of power by customers, DisCo workers prepare for and send bills to unoccupied and abandoned buildings. Pushed to the wall, customers are ready for a showdown and they have the current backing of the National Assembly, reports EMEKA UGWUANYI.

FOR almost two decades, Nigeria has been in search of stable and efficient electricity supply. After experimenting with not a few models, the Federal Government settled for the privatisation of the power sector.

The anomalies in the sector over the years were blamed on long years of non-investment in power infrastructure by successive military administrations and alleged corruption in the sector as encouraged by government ownership and management.

Besides, the metamorphosis of the utility from Electric Company of Nigeria (ECN) to the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA); to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) Plc, and to the unbundling of the PHCN into 18 successor companies – six generation companies (GenCos), one transmission company (TransCo) and 11 DisCos), which today bear different names.

The search for regular power supply began with the inauguration of a Technical Committee on the defunct NEPA by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002. The committee chaired by the former Power & Steel Minister and one-time Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke. The Imoke-panel had a mandate to raise the generation capacity from a little above generate 1000 megawatts (mw) to 4000 mw.

The failure of that effort to yield the expected dividend brought about the introduction of the Electric Power Sector Reform Bill, which the National Assembly passed in March 2005.

By July 1, 2012, NEPA transformed to PHCN Plc, which was unbundled and by November 1, 2013, the private sector was privatised, giving birth to the current 11 DisCos. They are: Eko, Ikeja, Port Harcourt, Benin, Abuja, Ibadan, Yola, Kano, Enugu, Kaduna and Jos.

Also in 2005, the Federal Government established the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) superintended by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) to intervene in all the power value chain to make power available.

The NDPHC established to fast track an infrastructure development company to manage the power projects under the NIPP scheme of the three-tiers of government (federal, states and local). The NIPP is an emergency intervention scheme to tackle the deficit and expand power sector infrastructure in the country.

The company had a mandate to develop 10 power plants with a designed ISO capacity of 5,067mw, 102 transmission lines and substations projects and over 291 distribution- injection sub stations and gas infrastructure with over 22,000 completely self-protected transformers among other critical projects. It has over 3,000mw of generation capacity available for deployment to the national grid.

The challenge

The expectations of consumer were that the privatisation of the sector in 2013 would end their plights, light would be stable, operational capacity of the DisCos would substantially improve and service delivery and customer relations would be standardised.

However, four years after, the customers’ dilemma has grown from bad to worse. Power supply has not improved and the bills continue to grow every month. The customers that are billed on estimation are worst hit. The marketers engaged by the DisCos must meet revenue targets to keep their jobs. Their employers must remain in business to service others on the value chain – the GenCos and TranCos.

The DisCos are the only part of the value chain that interfaces with power consumers (customers) and generates the income that serves the financial needs of the value chain – generation, transmission and distribution. Since the privatisation of the sector, the government has drastically reduced its financial intervention in the sector even though it still has 40 per cent equity in the 11 DisCos.

Meeting the financial needs of the sector has been herculean for the DisCos. According to the DisCos, the customers are under-billed and for them to be efficient as expected, the power sector regulator – the Nigerian Electricity Regulator Commission (NERC), should make customers to pay cost-reflective tariffs.

The DisCos have been fighting battles on multiple fronts – with customers, the power generators and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) that has accused them (Discos) of under-remitting their collections.

To prevent total collapse of the sector, the Federal Government came up with an intervention fund of N701 billion. It is to pay the power generators and by extension, gas suppliers, should DisCos and NBET fail to pay.

But ironically, as the government solved the problem in the power supply value chain, consumers’ pains tripled. The DisCos went on the rampage with outrageous billing.

The metering of customers dropped abysmally in some DisCos in preference for estimated billing. But officials of the DisCos denied having preference for estimated billing to properly metering customers. They told The Nation that estimated billing was helping them to recover their costs.

It was learnt that the customers that are billed on estimation pay for the power lost in transit during the transportation of the energy to the DisCo from the grid, or power lost as a result faulty facilities and also stolen power by customers that feed on illegal connections and customers that bypass their prepaid meters.

An official explained: “Therefore, what the DisCos do is that when they buy power, whatever is the percentage cost of the purchase realised from customers that are metered, the remaining part of the cost including anticipated profit is factored into the unpaid cost and shared among customers on estimated billing.

“Unfortunately, the DisCos do this without checking customers’ consumption and were sending huge bills even to unoccupied premises.”

Customers’ outrage

With no end in sight for estimated billing, customers have been sending complaints and petitions to DisCos’ Complaint Centres and the National Assembly. Sometimes out of anger, customers swoop on DisCos’ staff when they go for disconnection. There have been series of protests by customers at the offices of DisCos over shoddy services.

Not a few customers are armed with their petitions to the National Assembly. The Nation learnt that the members of the Journalists’ Estate Residents Association (JERDA) Phase I, Arepo and Mokore Residents Association, Warewa are collating complaints and petitions against outrageous billing. Both communities in Ogun State fall within the network of Ikeja Electric (IE). The action they plan to take after the collation is being kept secret.

The public hearing

Following the complaints and petitions from consumers that are before the National Assembly, the House of Representatives constituted the House of Representatives ad- Hoc Committee on Electricity Customers’ Complaints, to look into the problems and proffer solutions.

The committee began its intervention in Lagos last week by holding a public hearing for customers in the Southwest geopolitical zone. At the hearing were representatives of the DisCos in the Southwest geopolitical zone, excluding Ekiti, whose customers are serviced by the Benin Electric Distribution Company (BEDC). In attendance were: Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company and representatives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The committee Chairman, Israel Ajibola Famurewa, said: “We have received a lot of complaints, petitions from Nigerians about outrageous billing and poor services rendered by the DisCos. It has got to a stage that if the House doesn’t do something about the matter, it may lead to a breakdown of law and people may take laws into their hands.

“The House in its wisdom constituted this committee to interface with the consumers, DisCos and the regulatory body (NERC) and find lasting solutions to the problems.

“We had an interactive session with some stakeholders in Abuja and decided to have proper interactions with consumers, DisCos and NERC in different geopolitical zones. We have started with Lagos in Southwest, from there to Enugu in the Southeast, Port Harcourt in Southsouth, Yola in the Northeast, Kano in the Northwest, Nasarawa in the North -central before we have a proper public hearing in Abuja.

“At the end of this exercise, hopefully we believe, I will tender our report in the House. We will look at the laws that guide the sector holistically.

“If need be to repeal some laws and re-enact, we’ll do, or amend some laws, we’ll do. We are representatives of the people, we will do everything possible within the legislative framework to protect the interests of Nigerians who we are representing and make sure their rights are adequately protected.”

Famurewa told The Nation that his committee has six weeks to submit its report to the Green Chamber within six weeks.

Complaints all the way

The Southwest public hearing was explosive as customers hit the DisCos hard for giving them outrageous bills without commensurate power supply.

Some customers called on the Federal Government to review power sector privatisation as the DisCos, according to them, lack the capacity and competency to handle power business.

Many customers from Ikeja, Eko and Ibadan DisCos that cover the Southwest, urged the government to carry out holistic review of the activities of some distribution companies in the region over non-performance.

In his submission, the Chairman, Magodo Phase I Community Development Association, Bode Ojomo, urged the committee to enact a law that would restrain distribution companies from carrying out estimated billing without reading of meters.

He said “We are battling with overbilling and estimated billings from the distribution company, despite non-supply of power to the estate in the last three months.

“Ikeja DisCo has failed in its responsibility to customers. I urge the electricity regulator to attach stiffer sanction to non-performing Discos. Enough is enough; we cannot continue to be paying for darkness. We are paying over N35, 000 monthly on three bedroom apartment.”

Ojomo said IE needs to audit its staff as many of them are ignorant of the job they do.

“They sit in the office, make up figures and share among customers as bills. He noted that the Ikeja DisCo does not read meters, querying how houses in the estate could get the same amount on the bills issued. Do they have the same consumption level? It is not possible to have the same bills, it is fraud”, he added.

Another consumer, Mrs. Ladun Lawal, a retired civil servant in Ife, Osun State, condemned IBEDC for persistent high bills given her by the company without corresponding energy supply. Mrs. Lawal said the phenomenon of crazy bills had become a monthly ritual, which she had to contend with.

She urged the IBEDC management to train their workers on manners and how to attend to customers. According to her, the DisCo lacked service delivery, customer relations and notorious for issuing fictitious bills to consumers.

Mrs. Lawal claimed that the installation of pre-paid meter by IBEDC to customers has become a taboo as they live fat on estimated billing.

Her words: “I paid over N80, 000 for the pre-paid meter since 2016, but I am yet to receive the meter and they keep sending bills of over N200, 000 monthly to my place. It is painful that this is happening in this country. How will one access light from the IBEDC for just three hours in the entire month and the bill is mind-boggling.’’

Mrs Abosede Ogunyemi, a trader from Ekiti State under Benin DisCo, lamented the crazy billing in spite of the epileptic power supply. She added that many had waited for years to obtain prepaid meters. Mrs. Ogunyemi described the fixed and estimated billing system as fraudulent, saying the system has also been faulted by the NERC as cheating of consumers.

She decried consumers’ arbitrary billing by the BEDC over the year, adding that the estimated billing system had become means of exploiting Nigerians.

Mrs. Ogunyemi urged the government to intervene by making durable prepaid meters available to consumers.

“I stopped using public power supply since two years ago due to poor supply and unscrupulous officials of the distribution company. The officials would bring between N35,000 and N47,000 monthly when their company did not supply us power up to three hours in a whole month,’’ she said.

Another customer under the IE network said her bills were increased every month in geometrical order, from N40, 000 to N80,000 and N160,000 until it reached N400,000.

According to her, when the bill got to N80, 000, she reported at the undertaking office and they didn’t treat her matter.

She said: “So, when they (IE staff) came again, she willingly asked them to cut her supply off as it was far cheaper for her to run fuel. Besides, I only occupy the apartment with my mother and siblings and we don’t produce manufacture anything.

“I was out of grid supply for six months before the problem was resolved but throughout the six months, the bills continued coming. I have copies of the bills with me here, she told the committee.”

The same scenario played out in Enugu when the committee staged a public hearing for the customers in the Southeast at the weekend. The customers urged the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company to install prepaid meters for them and stop the over-billing and estimated billing that cause disagreements between them (customers) and the utility.

A consumer from Akwa Ibom, Mrs. Eunice Nwoye, said estimated billing made it difficult for artisans to make profit because it was high and not commensurate with the energy consumed.

She said: “It is unbearable for someone operating hair salon to pay as much as N5, 000 when the person hardly gets supply in a day. I believe if functional prepaid meters are installed, customers definitely will pay for what they use.”

Another consumer from Ogbete area in Enugu, Enugu State, Chidi Madu, complained about inconsistencies in the estimated bills for his flat.

“My estimated bills have continued to increase from N6,000 to N8,000 and now N10,000,” he said, noting that only prepaid meter would stop Nigerians from paying for what they did not consume.

Famurewa, said his committee’s report would be guided by the aggregate of the consumers’ views and their challenges.

Pockets of protests

On Thursday, last week, Badagry residents protested what they called four-hour weekly power supply and huge bills.

Women Arise President, Mrs. Joe Okei-Odumakin joined scores of the protesters who said in the last decade, they only get four-hour supply in a week. The protesters, who carried placards, marched through the coastal town, causing heavy traffic congestion on the Badagry–Lagos Expressway.

Mrs. Okei-Odumakin said: “Badagry is written in gold in our history books because it is the cradle of civilisation. So, it’s saddening that such an important place doesn’t have power supply. I learnt that for over 20 years, the power supply in the city has been extremely terrible and despite all these, residents still receive estimated bills for services not rendered. Estimated billing is evil and part of corruption. So, it must be eradicated totally. This protest would drive home our request that something must be done in that aspect.”

Ayo Akinde, a resident of Itoga Road, said Badagry residents only got a maximum of four-hour power supply weekly in the past 10 years.

According to him, Badagry residents have not enjoyed two hours of uninterrupted day time power supply in the past decade.

Akinde said: “The power situation in Badagry has become so bad that many people have moved out of the ancient town to other areas such as Agbara and Ibereko where there is improved electricity supply.”

DisCos as no respecters

of customers

Not even the lawmakers, including House of Representatives the Speaker Yakubu Dogara, were spared of the ordeal and embarrassment caused customers by the DisCos.

But the legislators have begun a progress to criminalise electricity estimated billing system.

The lawmakers said the process to proscribe the issuance of estimated bills to consumers is to propose a bill seeking to amend the Electricity Power Reform Act.

Sponsored by the House of Representatives Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila and others, the Bill has scaled second reading on the floor of the Green Chamber. If passed, every electricity consumer must be provided with a prepaid meter, thus ending the regime of paying for power not consumed.

The lawmakers also proposed to criminalise non-provision of prepaid meter after application and illegal disconnection of consumer’s light, among others, with a fine of N500, 000, or six-month jail term.

Failure to carry out the provision of the proposed law was to attract a six-month jail term, a fine of N1 million, or both.

The development followed the second reading of a bill where Section 67, sub-Section 1 of the Principal Act among others was amended. Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Gbajabiamila said that feedback from Nigerians showed deliberate extortion of consumers by the DisCos.

On the need to back the prohibition of estimated billing by law, the House Leader pointed out the difference between regulation and law.

He said: “The Electricity Regulatory body can direct that all consumers be provided with prepaid meters immediately and by the stroke of a pen, can also direct that the prepaid meter no longer be provided for one reason or another. So, if this is backed by law, such can no longer happen.”

Other lawmakers relived their experiences in the hands of Discos officials on estimated bills.

Dogara said he had to disconnect his house in Bauchi that was not occupied but receiving N80, 000 monthly on estimated bill.

Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Pally Iriase, described estimated bill as a serious financial oppression, adding that the sale of the National asset was faulty from the beginning. The arbitrariness of the billing is real, Iriase regretted, adding that “the people who were handed our commonwealth for nothing and making millions out of it could not add any value to it.

“These are the same people who don’t want to install the meters even after the consumers have paid for the meter, they kept on giving excuses.”

Muhammad Monguno (APC, Borno) wonder why estimated bill was alien to Nigeria’s less-developed neighbours like Chad and Sudan and others that Nigeria supplies power to.

Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (PDP, Abia) regretted that corruption has eaten deep into the system. She described as unacceptable a situation whereby an entire community in parts of Southeast gets one prepaid meter while the bill, running into hundreds of thousands are shared by individuals within the community.

“Billing on one prepaid meter by the entire community is always causing problems every time”, she added.

Sergius Ogun (PDP, Delta) lamented that the N215 billion intervention fund given to the sector, and by extension to the DisCos, has yielded no result.

Fed Govt reforming NNPC for transparency, says Adeosun

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:32:00 +0100

The Federal Government will reform the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure that all revenues earned are accounted for, Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said yesterday.

Mrs. Adeosun spoke at a joint news conference with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele at the end of the 2018 International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington D.C.

She said the government’s priority was to ensure that all earned revenues entered government coffers and were better managed.

The minister said: “Government will continue to efficiently and effectively manage costs and plug leakages. We must make sure that every money that is earned comes in. We will drive the process of improving governance.”

The reforms of state-owned enterprises, she said, would boost the country’s fiscal buffers, which will lead to a rise in the Excess Crude Account (ECA). The ECA, Mrs Adeosun said, was expected to rise now that crude oil prices have risen.

“Now that we have $72/per barrel oil price and $45/per barrel oil benchmark, we must begin to see ECA accumulation and to do that, we have to focus on the cost of state-owned enterprises. If every time the price of oil goes up, and the cost goes up, then there is no net gain,” she said.

Mrs Adesoun said her ministry would work closely with the NNPC. “In terms of what we are doing, even tomorrow (today), I am staying back because we are having a team from the NNPC coming in, and we have meetings with technology providers who will help us control some of those costs. We have to look into state- owned enterprises and look at their costs very, very closely. And as Chairman of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), and on behalf of their owners and NNPC, we are going to be strengthening their governance,” she said.

“And the NNPC is working very closely with us. We sit down, and look at the numbers together. If we are not happy with the numbers, we ask more questions. I think in the past, NNPC will simply come and present a figure, now, we are questioning those figures. Why are we spending so much on this, and I think that is very, very important to us to take advantage of this period to really rebuild our buffers,” she said.

Mrs. Adeosun and Emefiele said the country’s positive growth outlook would be sustained.

The minister, who noted that the present growth outlook contrasted with the outlook in 2015, said inflation rate was slowing down while the foreign reserves were rising.

She said: “We are confident that if we diligently implement our economic plan, we will grow the economy. We have room to grow but other countries do not have rooms to grow.

“By 2019, the growth will be far more robust than the present level in 2018. We are, therefore, very optimistic in sustaining Nigeria’s economic growth. We are going to use this opportunity to grow our fiscal buffers, particularly aggressively growing our revenue base.”

Mrs Adeosun confirmed the recovery of $322,515,931.83 Abacha loot from the Swiss government into a special account in the CBN. The funds, according to her, would be used for the government’s National Social Safety Nets Programme .

“The objective of the National Social Safety Nets Project for Nigeria is to provide access to targeted transfers to poor and vulnerable households under an expanded national social safety nets system,” Mrs. Adeosun stated.

Explaining his absence at the US Investors’ Forum held in Washington on Friday, Emefiele said the minister and himself were in the United States to attend the World Bank/IMF statutory meetings.

He said: “For the Minister of Finance and me being the governor of the CBN, what takes preeminence is the meetings in the IMF as well as the meeting at the world Bank. I think it is important for me to say this, when I arrived in Washington, the officials of the embassy spoke with me that there was going to be a US-Nigeria summit and I said I would check my schedule because I was not consulted when this summit was being organised.

“What one would have expected is that they would have checked my schedule and that of the finance minister if they thought that our presence at the summit was very necessary. They could have checked our schedule to see that there was no conflict. I sit here to say the US-Nigeria summit was meant to hold between 2 pm and 3 pm whereas the World Bank Development Committee plenary session which is an Assembly of Ministers and Governors of Central Banks was to hold between 2.45 and 5pm. There was no way the Minister of Finance and myself could have been at those meetings,” he said.

Emefiele added: “But I think it is important to say it is unfair for people to begin to cast aspersions without understanding our schedule. The main reason we are here is because of the statutory meetings of the IMF and World Bank. I felt I should explain this. We are not irresponsible people and please, we apologise to those investors who had gathered at the Nigerian Embassy for the summit. But I know we also held some side meetings with some investors and there will always be lots of opportunities to meet with them. But I want to say this is not the fault of the Minister of Finance and myself the CBN Governor”.

Speaking on Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), Mrs. Adeosun said the Common Reporting Standards agreement was signed, which is a reporting standard that forces multinational companies to report their figures in a consistent way, to allow us compare. The aim, she said was to stop a lot of multinationals which earn a lot of money in Nigeria but do not pay a lot of taxes in Nigeria and also ensure that they are not using profit shifting to move those taxes abroad.

The VAIDS compliance deadline, she said, was extended because of appeals, especially from professionals, who said, the volume of people that wants to comply, demands that government gives more time and we considered the options and decided that on the balance of averages, it is better to have people who pay voluntarily and get the revenue quicker than to be strict and chase after them. That informed us giving another three months.

“The level of compliance has been considerable especially personal income taxes, and the state is excited about the number of people who have adjusted their level of compliance. Let me give example with Ogun State. I was speaking with the chairman there, and he said the number of people paying N10 million and above in Ogun State has risen to 200. We asked for that statistics before, I do not think that Ogun had more than 20. So, VAIDS has succeeded in getting an High Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) really stand up to pay their fair share for national development,” the minister said.

“There is one person that paid N250 million and more under VAIDS. It is a very successful programme and we know a lot of people are waiting for the extension and we want more people to come in. The level of compliance is quite reasonable, especially the personal income tax and the states are very excited about it. In my own state of Ogun, the number people paying N10 million and above has risen to 200 from less than 20. So VAIDs has succeeded in getting our high net worth individuals to stand up and pay their fair share of national development. I know that the figures for Lagos are very significant. We have a case of one person paying N250 million and more,” she said.

On debt rebalancing, Mrs. Adeosun said before now, 80 per cent of Nigeria’s debt was short dated, with a tenure of two years or less. “Interest was compounding on debt service to revenue. So, what we did was to restructure, and we told the debt management office to stop issuing 90 days bill. Issue 180, 360 and bonds to reduce your interest cost. Secondly, most of what we owe was domestic and the interest rate was high between 19 and 20 percent. Today, what Debt Management Office is paying is around 13 per cent because we have restructured that portfolio, refined some into dollars,” she said.

Mrs. Adeosun said one of the advantages of the government borrowing heavily and coming out of the domestic market was to enable the banks to lend to the real sector. ”If we don’t allow the private sector to grow and only government is borrowing, we cannot grow. The real fiscal buffer is an economy that is growing strongly. That is the real shock absorber and then we can weather the storm if there is a storm,” she said.

Emefiele described the foreign reserves as economic variables that should be focused on not just by Nigerians, but by everybody. “Today, our reserves have risen close to $47.93 billion as I speak with you but it is not to say it cannot come down. It’s a fluctuating number. You make payments, you receive money. So, if tomorrow you hear that it has dropped from $47.9 billion to $47 billion, then moves to $50 billion, don’t be surprised. I don’t want to raise hopes,” he said.

The CBN, he said, would continue to build the reserves, adding that Nigeria’s decision to rebuild its reserves from as low as $23 billion in 2016, to almost $48 billion today was a decision in the right direction.

“So, we are going to continue to do so. If we had reserves when we were hit by the exogenous shocks, we would not suffer the recession that we suffered. And there is a very strong likelihood that there could also be reversals,” he said.

He said the CBN would love to have inflation as low as possible. “Last month, inflation was 13.43 per cent. We are hoping that in 2018, we should achieve a very low double digit inflation level and if we are lucky, high single-digit. And I think with that we should be seen to be moving in the right direction. I keep saying the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has the primary mandate for monetary and price stability.”

Saraki, Tambuwal give PDP conditions

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:31:00 +0100

Will the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) grant the request of Senate President Bukola Saraki and some of its former members for a name change before rejoining the party?

The party is wooing Saraki, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, his predecessor, Senator Aliyu Wammako, former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and former Governor Danjuma Goje (Gombe) to return to its fold in order to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) next year.

They all left PDP in 2014 to form APC, which wrested power from PDP in the 2015 elections.

Although sources said yesterday that the request of the APC chieftains tagged as “game changers” had been “tactically rejected” by the National Executive Committee (NEC), PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan claimed that no decision has been taken on the issue.

Another APC chieftain and former Zamfara State Governor Sani Ahmed Yerima, who was never in PDP, is being wooed by the opposition party.

About three APC governors from the Northwest are also on PDP’s radar.

But none of them, it was learnt, has made any commitment to return to PDP. They were said to be weighing the options.

The name change request is said to be a drawback for the talks.

There are fears that changing PDP’s name may truncate the tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Prince Uche Secondus.

Some forces in the party also felt that the APC stalwarts should not be dictating to a party they “left in the lurch to lose the 2015 presidential election.”

A top member of (NEC), who spoke in confidence, said: “We have really opened up talks with Saraki and others. It is like we are begging them to return to their roots as part of a larger reconciliation policy in PDP.

”We want Tambuwal, Kwankwaso, Wammako, Goje and others in PDP because we see them as “game changers. We are also targeting ex-Governor Sani Ahmed Yerima of Zamfara State who has always been in the opposition until the APC coalition emerged.

“We have had series of shuttles to them by some of our leaders having discovered that they had been patching in APC. They have been stifled and abandoned in the coalition called APC. We want them to return to their natural habitat.

“The PDP has also initiated talks with three APC governors in the Northwest, which is the political base of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “None of these leaders has given the PDP any commitment because they are the weighing options. Some of them have given sufficient signal that they might quit APC.

“If you look at some states, the associates of these key leaders have started deriding APC. Some of them have even defected from APC to PDP. So, we are positive.”

Another member of NEC said: “As part of the ongoing negotiations, some of those defecting to PDP specifically demanded for a change of name of the party.

“We were wary of the request for change of name in order not to cause crisis in PDP. If we accede to their request, the Uche Secondus-led NWC will technically cease to exist.

“The danger is that these new members might want the NWC restructured in a manner that will give them a stake in the leadership of the party.

“We believe we have conceded enough by granting a waiver to all PDP returnees and new members. We have promised them equity and justice too in all our dealings.

“Another concession is granting these bigwigs the control of PDP machinery in their states in order to determine who to field for the 2019 polls. We, however, added a caveat that they should accommodate those who have been steering the affairs of PDP in the affected states before their return.”

The source however added: “We won’t promise any of these leaders automatic presidential ticket. We are firm on this.”

Ologbondiyan said the party was reaching out to top politicians and leaders but declined to name them.

He said there were demands at the talks including the name change.

Ologbondiyan said the party had not taken any decision on the request.

He said: “Our party is open to discussion with anybody and politicians of various ilk. We are talking to community leaders, religious leaders and youth groups across the nation. A lot of Nigerians are tired of this government and we are reaching out to them.

“We are discussing with everyone on the need for us to lead the coalition for the sack of this incompetent administration in Nigeria and the dysfunctional APC.

“In the course of these discussions, various suggestions have been made; some requests and demands naturally came up. We are not tied to any decision yet.

“But as we speak, the PDP remains open to conversation. No decision yet in respect of changing name. PDP is a structured party and we have various caucuses that any decision will pass through.”

2019: Obasanjo under fire for anti-Buhari campaign

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:29:00 +0100

Soyinka, Falana attack ex-president at Gani lecture

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo came under fire yesterday for what was termed his posturing on national issues.

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) carpeted him and former military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida for pretending to be “messiahs”.

Soyinka, Falana, former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, former Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa, Senator Shehu Sani, Afenifere chieftain Femi Okurounmu and a presidential aspirant, Omoyele Sowore, among others spoke at the 80th posthumous birthday for Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN).

The theme of the lecture was “Democracy for the masses through proper and effective governance.”

Though Soyinka and Falana did not name Obasanjo, it was clear they were referring to him in their speeches.

Nigeria, according to them, is in danger when politicians like Obasanjo, who “supervised the sacking of democratic governments” in Oyo and Anambra states pretend to be messiahs.

Under Obasanjo’s presidency, Dr. Chris Ngige was abducted by armed policemen and forced to sign a resignation letter at gunpoint in July 2003.

In January 2006, his administration influenced Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja’s impeachment by the House of Assembly.

The Court of Appeal in November 2006 quashed Ladoja’s impeachment.

In a special statement on January 23, Obasanjo asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to contest the 2019 election as he has “failed.” He promised to lead the battle to prevent Buhari’s return to office with his coalition. He has also been meeting with groups and individuals in his bid to truncate Buhari’s second term bid.

The President has announced his intention to run again on April 9.

Soyinka said: “All I want to say in connection with the title of today is just one word: vigilance….There is no question whatsoever that democracy is in danger.

“And so I find it ironic that those who’ve proved themselves the enemies of democracy who’ve really taken, they’ve really committed acts, not just negligence, but actually inaugurated certain policies which contributed to our being at this point again are once again coming out and positioning themselves as saviours, as messiahs, as the sole possible rescue mission that this nation can even dream of, a nation of nearly 200 million people.

“I find it very strange, and I find it even stranger because at the beginning of this movement towards ‘rescue mission’, there were one or two organisations that came out under different names and they had people in them whom I considered worth following, worth encouraging, worth encouraging others to study closely and even consider following.

“The next thing I knew, these movements were being hijacked by the very people who laid the foundation, an ironic word by the way, for the collapse of the democratic edifice.”

Soyinka said he turned one of the groups down when it approached him.

He said: “The next thing we know, they are forming coalitions and I was invited by one of the rescue missions to address them and I telephoned them and I asked the question, ‘wait a minute, which one are you? Are you the original people I saw or is there a faction or is there now a fatherly umbrella under which everybody is moving?’

“And I told them; don’t even come near me, if you’ve signed up on one of those who are the enemies of democracy in this nation.

“Those who inaugurated so-called constitutional amendment programmes, total charades, to assist them to continue to run, which has been scuttled by the direction known as tenure elongation, third term, etcetera for which the entire national treasury was almost bankrupted.”

There were claims that Obasanjo attempted to seek a third term following the expiration of his tenure in 2007. The bid hit the rocks when the Ken Nnamani led-Senate threw out the tenure elongation clause during Constitution amendment.

The Nobel laureate went on: “And suddenly, here they are they are forming coalitions all over the place, once again, confusing people.

“Who are the genuine leaders, who are those that we can trust? The answer to that is very simple: look at their track records. That’s all”.

He advised Nigerians not to allow themselves “to plunge into a zone of amnesia, in which you conveniently forget unpleasant realities.

“We’ve had presidents in this nation, some of whom inaugurated a never-ending democratic process, which landed us eventually under the most brutal dictators that this nation has ever known.”

Under Babangida, who was in office between 1985 and 1993, his transition programme was the longest ever in the country’s history. On several occasion, he promised to hand over to a democratically elected government but failed to do so.

In June 1993, he annulled the presidential election won by the late Bashorun MKO Abiola.

He was forced to “step aside” in August 1993.

Babangida handed over to the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government (ING), which was sacked by the late Gen. Sani Abacha, who tried to perpetuate himself in office before his sudden death.

Soyinka was not done: “We had others also who actually supervised sacking of ‘democratic government’; I’m speaking of Anambra, I’m speaking of Oyo State. A governor was kidnapped under their watch with their complicity; in another instance, thugs actually entered the House of Assembly, sacked the legislators and installed their own candidates; under the same watch.

“And they call themselves the God-designated watchmen over the fortunes of this nation? And suddenly, here they are and I see Nigerians flocking to them and asking them once again to lead.

“Mind you, they’ve said very clearly if it becomes a political party count me out o, but paths are already being beaten to their doors, control by subrogation.

“Even if they do not individually put themselves back in the position of power, they are already smoothening the way for their surrogates, their stooges, so that they can continue to misrule from their cosy farmsteads. So, all I’m urging is: be very vigilant. Just look closely at their records, look at the company they keep.

He urged the youth to “grow up” and take political power.

“Why can’t a new generation actually rise, throw us all out of the window and take control of their own lives by themselves? Why do we keep recycling the same jaded traitors, enemies of the people? Why do you need to go for blessing somewhere if you’ve made up your mind that it is time to take control of your own existence?

”Once again, I don’t want to be misunderstood, I know what I think about this government when voting time comes, I know exactly where I’m going to cast my vote but I’m not going to allow anybody to hoodwink me and say I will show you the path. No, this will be adding insult to injury.”

Falana urged the government to confiscate some assets of those people, including a university, “at the right time.” Obasanjo is known to own the Ota-Ogun State based Bells University. He also owns a farm in Ota.

The activist lawyer said: “Our country is undergoing serious crises of governance but we must be very careful so that we do not allow those who destroyed the country, those who ruined the nation to pose as the saviour of our people.

“There’s somebody living very close to this place who has been parading himself as the saviour of our people; this guy ruled the country for 11 ½ years cumulatively – 3 ½ years under the military, eight years under a civilian dispensation. And even wanted to do a third term but Nigerians rejected him. Obasanjo was military head of state between February 1976 and October 1, 1979. He was president from 1999 to 2007.

Falana added: “The guy is going round the country now, claiming to have solutions to our problems; I wish to say here and we are challenging him to name one thing that he did, any problem of the country that he solved.

“On the contrary, this guy wasted $16billion to generate darkness for the country. This guy formed and took over the resources of the country blindly under what he called blind trust.

“Nigeria is the only country in the world where a sitting president and a sitting vice-president established private universities when the government refused to fund public universities and other tertiary institutions.

“Gani went to court to challenge the extortion of state governments and contractors by a man who realised about N7billion to set up a so-called library” Obasanjo has a presidential library in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The SAN said: “Under the constitution, any gift received while you are in office, other than customary gifts, is forfeitable to the state; therefore, at the right time, this country, when it is properly organised, will take over all those universities and libraries that were set up with public funds and that may be sooner than you think.”

Senator Sani (Kaduna Central) said Nigeria was not yet in a true democracy.

He said: “In fact, our country is sick, the republic is sick; our people are dying, violence, bloodshed, killings, mass murder is becoming the emblem of our democracy today.

“We are out of PDP misrule but we will be deceiving ourselves to say we are in the Promised Land; we are not in the Promised Land. We must keep vigil,

“The political ruling elite are not yet prepared to see to a democratic Nigeria. Nigeria’s political reality is about personal interest.

“Those who destroyed our country in the past are very much present as born-again.”

He urged Nigerians of integrity to support Buhari because “you can’t build a country because of the integrity of one person. The integrity of one person is not enough to rule and sustain a state. We have a President who is a man of integrity but integrity is not enough for leadership.”

Oshiomhole, represented by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba said Obasanjo was not worthy to determine Nigerians’ political destiny.

Oshiomhole said Obasanjo “acted like a civilian dictator” while in power and prevented Nigerians from protesting an unjustified fuel price increase.

He urged the Federal Government to emulate Lagos State and honour Fawehinmi.

“Lagos did a good job to build a befitting statue in Fawehinmi’s honour. The Federal Government should do better,” Oshiomhole said.

Sowore lamented that Nigerians rejected Fawehinmi for Obasanjo in 1999.

He said: “I want to say very briefly that Nigeria must be regretting that when they had a chance to choose between Chief Gani Fawehinmi and a Barabbas, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, they decided to choose Obasanjo instead of choosing Gani Fawehinmi and that is why we are regretting today.

Young pilot, Miracle wins BBNaija show

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:27:00 +0100

A 24-year-old pilot and model in the Big Brother Naija (BBN) reality show, Miracle Igbokwe, has been crowned winner of the competition, carting home the cash prize of N25million, an SUV and other benefits totaling N45 million during a glamorous finale in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday night.

Miracle who had showed traits of winning, having led the votes chart each time he was put up for possible eviction, and came tops during series of tasks since January 28, 2018 when the show opened, beats fellow finalists – Tobi Bakre, Cynthia Nwadiora, Nina Chinonso and Alexandra Asogwa.

He had earlier earned over N3million coming from winning House tasks such as Pepsi Challenge, Payporte Challenge, Close-Up Challenge, and scooped to himself, the N200, 000 wager in the last week.

He had been Head of House several times and contributed to entertaining fans with dramas, intrigues, tasks, gossips, and betrayals, while also being noted for his romance with fellow housemate, Nina throughout the 24/7-three months live broadcast.

It didn’t come to many as a surprise that he won the show, as most viewers hold the view that he was the housemate with the least tussle with other contestants, while his status as a pilot might have also endeared fans to him.

The energy was ‘double’ in the South African studio when he was brought to the sage with Cee-C. The shout of Miracle! Miracle!! Miracle!!! by supporters rent the air.

Miracle who hails from Imo State, recently graduated from the Aviation School, and entered the Big Brother Naija house with his pilot license tightly in hand.

The charming housemate who plans to use part of the N45million prize to get more aeronautic training and the rest to help his family said while canvassing for votes: “Coming here is a deal for me, winning this money is a bigger deal to me. I would use the money to go for my CPL training as a professional pilot. Help me abeg and vote for me.”

Cee-C, while canvassing for votes last week hinged her plea on some unnamed projects she will be needing the money for. “Nigerians please vote for me to win this money. I cannot give a particular reason to vote for me. I can’t say because I’m beautiful or attractive but Nigerians please vote for me. Vote for me because I have lots of projects to achieve with this money,” she stated.

Tobi on his part was going to use the money to boost his photography business.

According to the former staff of Heritage Bank, “For a 28-year-old, I have a finance background, so I know what to do with the money; I would not waste it in clubs.

“My photography, I need to expand that business because I don’t have plans of going behind the desk anytime soon. I need you guys to vote let’s get that money.”

While Nina said “I have always had the dream of becoming someone in future and this is just it. I am pleading to Nigerians, Africans to support me to achieve this dream of mine.”, Alex said “I need the money in my life to treat my dad, finish school and take care of my siblings.”

Ebuka who entered the House in an unusual manner, announced Nina’s eviction first. Her eviction was soon followed by that of Alex and Tobi, before Miracle was declared winner.

Other housemates who were earlier evicted include Vandora, Bitto, Princess, DEE-One, Angel, Ahneeka, K-Brule, Leo, Ifu Ennada, Khloe, Anto, Teddy A, Bambam, Lolu and Rico Swavey.

It was an emotional moment for fans of the show across Africa, who must have voted vigorously in the last week, raising the stake for the three top contestants.

The show which began broadcast on January 28, 2018 closed Sunday night with host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu announcing the results during a live show that had artistes including Davido with ‘Fia’, “Like That’ and “Fall” and Mr Real with ‘Legbegbe’, performing for the excited studio guests.

At a streaming center in Lagos, top celebrities, former housemates and recently evicted contestants like Lolu, Anto, Teddy A and Bambam, where part of the crowd that had ‘official’ supporters of the finalists.

The Lagos event was anchored by former BBNaija’s Housemate, Bisola Aiyeola.

Iran to replace US dollar with euro in financial reports

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 01:04:00 +0100

The Iranian rial has lost nearly two-thirds of its value to the US dollar over the last year

Tehran, Iran - The government of Iran has announced plans to replace the US dollar with the euro in official financial reporting, according to state-run media.

The move on Wednesday is seen as part of efforts to circumvent restrictions on accessing the US currency amid tensions with Washington, as well as prevent market instability generated due to fluctuations in the value of Iranian rial against the dollar.

In a cabinet meeting, the government decided that all ministries, state organisations and companies should report based on a euro-rial exchange rate, which the Central Bank of Iran will be tasked to report frequently, state-run IRNA news agency said.

It was not clear when the decision would become effective, but business owners said they awaited for the new policies to take effect.

"I assume if they use euro as the official currency, this will reduce the psychological impact of fluctuations of rial against the dollar," Newsha Sheikh Soleimani, a Tehran-based importer of raw materials for the tile and ceramic industry, told Al Jazeera.

"Our company trades mostly in euro, but still some of the invoices are issued based on rial-dollar exchange rate."

Iran nuclear deal hangs in the balance

She said her firm had recently put on hold all transactions amid uncertainty over the value of foreign currency.

"I welcome any move to bring back stability to the foreign exchange market."

Losing value

Valiollah Seif, the Central Bank chief, had earlier said it is not "logical" to use the dollar in financial reporting.

Iran's trade revenues are obtained mostly in euro due to sanctions on the US dollar, he said. Therefore, added Seif, the country's financial reports should use a reference currency that is more stable and widely used in trade.

As part of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers, all sanctions related to Iran's controversial nuclear programme were lifted.

Nevertheless, due mostly to lingering tensions with the US, limitations still remain on Iran's access to the US currency.

These restrictions have contributed to a fall in the value of rial against the dollar in the past months.

Each dollar was traded for an all-time high of 60,000 rials last week, triggering serious concern among Iranians over the stability that President Hassan Rouhani had brought to the economy by controlling the foreign exchange rates.

Since summer last year, rial has lost roughly 50 percent of its value against the US currency, which some Iranians buy in large numbers as an investment at times of economic uncertainty.

A sudden decline in rial's value is expected to result in an increase in the price of imported goods and push up the inflation rate.

To control the currency crisis, the government last week froze the free market trading of the US currency by introducing an official rate of 42,000 rials for each dollar.

The Central Bank said it will only provide dollars for registered consumers for specific purposes, while free trading of the foreign currency would be deemed illegal.

Seif, the Central Bank chief, faced furious legislators last week when he took the parliamentary podium to explain the new forex policies.

Iran's Khamenei criticises government's economic record

He said he suggested to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the country should use the euro in foreign trade instead of the US dollar.

Short-term remedy?

Meanwhile, a currency trader told Al Jazeera that the new policies are "good news for importers and exporters", but added that there was still a lot of uncertainty, which has created confusion for his business.

"Even if the government does officially replace the dollar with the euro, still the dollar is traded and invested in by many in the free market," he said, preferring to stay anonymous.

"I hope these decisions are not just temporary measures - as if short-term remedies to reduce a fever - as international restrictions on the dollar affect our economic stability."

There have been mounting concerns among Iranian businesses over a possible withdrawal of the US from Iran's nuclear deal.

US President Donald Trump is expected to decide by May 12 whether his administration will re-impose sanctions lifted as part of the nuclear pact.

He believes the deal is flawed as it does not address Iran’s missile programme, as well as its military presence in the region.

Iran says its missiles are for defence purposes.

Why is Trump against the Iran nuclear deal?

Catholic cardinal meets Saudi king in historic visit to Riyadh

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:59:00 +0100

King Salman has recent held a number of meetings with representatives of Christian traditions [Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Kingdom Council]

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has met French cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran during the first visit to the kingdom by such a senior Catholic authority, according to Saudi state-run media.

It followed a flurry of similar gatherings between senior Saudi figures and representatives of other Christian traditions in recent months.

The kingdom hosts Islam's holiest sites but bans the practice of other faiths.

The meeting in Riyadh between the king and Tauran, who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, is the first between the current Saudi ruler and a Catholic official.

Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai visited Saudi Arabia in November. The Maronite church, which has a presence in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus and follows an Eastern rite of the Roman Catholic church.

During a meeting with the head of the Anglican church in Britain's capital, London, last month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised to promote interfaith dialogue as part of his domestic reforms.

The crown prince has loosened some social restrictions recently, scaling back the role of religious police and permitting public concerts.

The government also announced plans to allow women to drive this year.

King Abdullah, Salman's predecessor and brother, met Pope Benedict in the Vatican in 2007
.

Zimbabwe: Nurses' strike takes toll on public health service

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:56:00 +0100

The hospitals struggle to cope with the patient backlog

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe - Defiant nurses in Zimbabwe have vowed to continue a nationwide strike, despite the government saying that they have all been sacked.

The striking staff continued on Thursday for a fifth day their labour action demanding better pay and improved working conditions.

The walkout is seen as the biggest mass action facing Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa since taking power after an army-led operation ousted veteran ruler President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

On Tuesday, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga issued a directive ordering the immediate dismissal of more than 16,000 striking staff, accusing them of "politically motivated" actions.

Chiwenga, a former army general who led the anti-Mugabe military operation, said the sacked staff would be replaced by trained nurses and retirees.

But the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZiNA) said they were undeterred.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the union said its members had not received any letters terminating their services by the Health Services Board (HSB), the medical employer.

It also said that it would take legal action if the HSB failed to confirm by Thursday at 4pm (14:00 GMT) that it would not act on Chiwenga's mass dismissal order .

"[W]e shall approach the High court on an urgent basis to protect our rights," the statement said.

Simangaliso Mafa, president of ZiNA, told Al Jazeera that the government had acted in "bad faith" and their action was not procedural.

"We only heard about the firing on the television; the pronouncement was not communicated formally so we are currently engaging our stakeholders and we are following our procedures so we can interrogate the decision and act," he said in a telephone interview.

Negotiations to pay outstanding allowances that date back to 2010 were under way and the Treasury had taken steps to release $17.1m for payment of arrears.

However, ZiNA said the backdated allowances had nothing to do with the current dispute.

"Our grievances which relate to poor and dangerous working conditions which threaten our health and affects the discharge of our duties remain unaddressed," ZiNA said in a statement.

Many of Zimbabwe's nurses work in poorly-equipped government institutions where patients are required to supply basics such as gloves, cotton wool and methylated spirit.

One of the early major successes of Mugabe's era was to offer free primary healthcare in the 1980s. However, the consistent underfunding of the health sector saw the collapse of the scheme in the late 1990s when the economy began to decline.

In a bid to revive the benefits of the past, Mnangagwa has followed suit by extending the provision to the elderly. However, health centres are inadequately funded and its workers poorly paid.

The lowest paid nurses currently earn less than $300 a month, before allowances.

They reportedly demand a raise on their night duty allowances from $0.70 to $70 an hour, and a review of their on-call allowances from $1,50 to $7,50 an hour.

Enduring the worst

The crisis has left patients, who have withstood bouts of labour action for months, feeling worried.

Freshly discharged from Mpilo Hospital, Zimbabwe's second largest health centre in Bulawayo, Siphiwe Mkhwananzi, 37, told Al Jazeera that she had been badly affected by the series of strikes by Zimbabwe's health workers.

Diagnosed with cervical cancer, Mkhwananzi has been in and out of the city's public hospitals since March, but to no avail.

"When I first came here, I was sent to UBH (United Bulawayo Hospitals), but they sent me to Mpilo for radiotherapy treatment. I saw a doctor for some time, but then the doctors went on strike and they discharged me with painkillers," she said.

"Yesterday, they re-admitted me because I was in a lot of pain, but all I had was one drip and some pain eeze [a painkiller]. Last night, I slept in pain because there were very few nurses in the ward so there was no one to give us any medication. They say it's better for me to go home and I know without nurses there is really nothing for me here - but now where will I get money for this list of pills I have to buy?" she said.

Mkhwananzi, an unemployed villager, hails from a remote village in Gwanda South near the South African border. A month after being referred to a hospital in the second city of Bulawayo, junior and middle doctors went on a month-long strike demanding salary increases and better working conditions.

Solwayo Ngwenya, the clinical director of Mpilo Hospital, said the outpatient department and the centre was only handling emergencies, relying on non-striking staff to fill the gap.

"The hospital has been using skeletal staff to man critical departments. Patients from the outpatients unit have been inconvenienced as a result of the strike, but mortality [deaths] remain under control. Nurses not on strike are working overdrive to save lives," he said.

Frustrated nation

But the hospitals' struggle to cope with the patient backlog has frustrated relatives of patients.

Flatsa Mzima, an unemployed driver, told Al Jazeera, that his family took a decision to move their relative, Thandiwe, after six weeks of suffering from tuberculosis throughout Mpilo's disgruntled workers' actions.

"It's painful to see Sis'Tha [Thandiwe] in so much, there is no one to attend to her at night, there are only student nurses but they can't give any medication. We can't rely on those nurses because they only work at night and during the day there's no one to bathe her or change her.

"The nurses have a duty to make sure patients get the right care, but there is no one here. How can we say we are a free country if we can't even get the support we need?

"A nurse can't be thinking of their own suffering while patients are dying. I can't blame them, but I blame government for this mess," he said.

At UBH, emergency staff are on duty, but the wards are understaffed.

Student Rachel Tembu, whose 72-year-old grandmother was admitted on Saturday, the day the labour action began, said the family hoped a solution would soon be found as the elderly woman required long-term care.

"We aren't expecting her to come out any time soon, she has arthritis and her condition is complicated so we hope the staff can do their best to minimise the situation and return things to normal," she said
.

My twins are okay, says Otun Olubadan

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:52:00 +0100

The Otun Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Lekan Balogun, has hailed security agencies and Nigerians for standing by him and his family during the six days his twins were taken captive by kidnappers.

Balogun, in an interview with The Nation yesterday, said he received support from the police, Department of Security Service (DSS), sister agencies and Nigerians.

He said security agencies rose to the occasion and worked hard to secure the release of the six-year-old children, who were kidnapped on Tuesday last week at his Akobo, Ibadan home.

Balogun said unknown to Nigerians, the police had advanced in crime fighting, using modern technology.

He said their commitment to rescuing the twins was amazing.

The monarch thanked well-wishers who showed concern throughout the period.

He said the twins were in good condition, adding that a doctor and a psychologist attended to them immediately they were released.

“They have been certified to be in good condition.”

OAU panel submits report on alleged sexual harassment

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:48:00 +0100

A probe panel set up by Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, to look into the allegation of sexual harassment against a female student by a senior lecturer, Prof. Richard Akindele, yesterday submitted its interim report.

Its content was unknown last night.

Akindele, a professor in the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Administration, was alleged to have demanded five rounds of sex from the student before she could pass his course.

OAU spokesman Abiodun Olarewaju, in a phone chat, said the panel was given free hand to do its job.

He said the student, whom he identified as Eniola, refused to appear before the panel to substantiate her case.

The Nation learnt that she refused to write a complaint or report to the institution to buttress the purported leaked audio conversation between her and the lecturer, despite reactions from the public.

It was gathered that the don had resumed lecturing.

The lecturer, said to be a pastor, was reportedly seen in MBA 645 (Human Resource Management) class between 10am and 11am last Saturday.

A student, who preferred anonymity, said the lecturer was initially nervous, but summoned up courage as the lecture progressed.

Win World Cup get $24m, Pinnick tells Eagles

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:39:00 +0100

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick has said that the Super Eagles players stand the chance of pocketing 24 million dollars if they play in the final of the 2018 World Cup.

Russia World Cup will hold from June 14 to July 15 in Russia.

Pinnick told newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday during a parley that the money was part of the agreement reached with the players to share 50-50, whatever would accrue to the country if they get to the final and lift the trophy.

“I don’t put players under pressure. Pressure can be put on them unconsciously because we are creating enabling environment for them.

“If for example we don’t have money to prepare them, they can now relax but now, we have given them everything upfront and they should deliver.

“If today they get to the final, the World Cup money will be shared 50-50 between the team and the NFF.

“Winning the final is 48 million dollars, it means the team will get 24 million dollars and the football house will take the remaining 24 million dollars,” Pinnick said.

He also said that the adequate preparation including grade A friendly matches have been secured with England and Czech Republic to ensure the team do well at the World Cup.

The NFF boss further said that glass house had already secured 2.8 million dollars to pay the players allowances and bonuses during the mundial.

“We are ready to play against England on June 2 in London in an international friendly. We had a conclusive meeting with the England FA.

“After the England match, we will play Czech Republic and from there we move to Russia. As it is everything is going on very well.

“For the world cup, I don’t think we have any problem, I am in touch with the technical committee. It is the desire of every Nigerian to see the Super Eagles do well at the World Cup.

“We had a meeting with the team, we signed a contract with them and ready to pay them 20 per cent of eight million dollars which is what is accrued to us for the World Cup.

“At the end of the day it amounts to 2.8million dollars which will go to the players. The money is almost 100 per cent ready,” Pinnick added.

Pinnick also explained that the football house met with some state governors who were ready to assist the NFF financially to achieve the country’s World Cup dream.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his support for the NFF and the Super Eagles, and assured that they would not let him down in Russia.

Truck lands on cars after falling off Berger Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:36:00 +0100

A Pay Loader truck yesterday fell off the Berger Bridge in Lagos and landed on two cars.

The Nation gathered that two cars were damaged in the accident, which happened around 9am.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority Response Unit (LRU) were at the scene.

A LASTMA official said he heard of the incident on Traffic Radio around 9am and immediately ordered the officials close to the scene to go there.

“The information I have regarding the accident is that the Pay Loader entered from the bridge and fell. The LRU came to the scene for rescue but it could not, so it left because it could not lift the Pay Loader because it was heavy. The accident did not cause traffic. Nobody died.”

Another LASTMA official said he was ordered by his boss to go to the scene.

“I was told that it was caused by break failure, although I did not see any sign of brake failure. I did not see nor heard that anybody died or was injured.”

A passerby, Yinka injured his hand while assisting a motorist to pull out what hooked the door of the car. “He injured in his hand and was bleeding. He left the scene,” an eyewitness said.

UI to meet parents, guardians, students on fee increase, says VC

noreply@blogger.com (treasureweb) — Mon, 9 Apr 2018 01:34:00 +0100

•Varsity subsidises accommodation with N100m’

The management of University of Ibadan (UI) said yesterday that it was concluding arrangement to facilitate Senate/Parents Management Consultative Forum with workers, students, parents and guardians.

It said this was to discuss the rationale behind the slight adjustment in accommodation fees.

The meeting, slated for tomorrow, is to among others, douse tension over the decision.

The Senate had recommended increment in hostel fee from N14, 000 to N30,000 for main campus and N40,000 for College of Medicine with effect from 2017/2018 academic session.

Noting the stifled funding from the Federal Government to cater for utilities, the management said it spent about N100 million yearly to augment what was collected in running the hostels, adding that this was no longer sustainable.

The Nation learnt that while students at present paid N14,000 per bed space, the partial economic rate per bed space, according to a 2012 survey conducted by the institution, was put at N59,650 per session.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Idowu Olayinka had said the institution was at a crossroads because managing the hostel based on the old rate was not sustainable, adding that only 30 per cent of the students were accommodated on campus, as the opportunity for hostel accommodation was optional.

The Senate also approved increment in fees for laboratory and studio arts (N5,000); maintenance fees; fees for professional health training (non-clinical (N75,000) and clinical N100,000); pharmacy practice experience levy (N5,000); science laboratory levy (N7,500); Faculty of Agriculture (N5,000 to N7,500); renewable natural resources upward review of the practical year levy (N15,000 to N17,500) for those in practical year; while other students are to pay the old levy.

Other items which attract upward review include access fee for undergraduates (from N2,000 to N2,500) for improved Internet access on campus.

However, fees payable by students in the Faculties of Social Sciences, Law, Sciences and Technology have not been adjusted.

Prof. Olayinka said: “The university is at a point where it is difficult to continue to subside the running of halls of residence and carry out academic functions without a slight adjustment in accommodation charges and in some fees payable by students in some faculties.

“We urge the public to note that it is only the increase in accommodation fees that cuts across students who desire to stay in the halls of residence. Residency in the hall is optional and only about 30 per cent of our students can find accommodation in the halls of residence.

“It is also important to note that the Federal Government, years ago, had stopped providing funds for the running of the halls. As a result, the university spends about N100 million over what is collected as accommodation fees for the running of the halls.

“The university is no longer in a capacity to continue to provide this subvention. It has been very objective in adjusting other fees. For instance, fees were only adjusted for students in the Faculties of Arts, Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources and Pharmacy. Even in these faculties, the fees are limited to categories of students requiring academic service for which an increase has been approved.

“Let us give two examples. For instance, only 400 level students in the Faculties of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources are to pay additional N2,500. These are students in their practical year. Other students in the faculties are not to pay these fees. In the Faculty of Arts also, only 200 and 300 level students in six departments are to pay the studio maintenance fees. Students in departments without studios are exempted from these fees.”