NEWS

UNILORIN PROF’S EX-DRIVER, TWO OTHERS TO DIE BY HANGING

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 High Court in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, presided over by Justice H. Saleeman on Thursday sentenced three persons to death by hanging for armed robbery and attempting to commit culpable homicide against a professor with the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abdullahi Onimisi.

The convicts, who are Onimisi’s former driver, Mr. Opeyemi Esan; one Mr. Benjamin Musa and Mr. Oluwasegun Ajiboye, were convicted of robbery, punishable under Section 1 (2) Robbery and Firearms Act, Cap R 11, LFN 2004.

The Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kamalden Ajibade, who led the prosecution, had told the court that the professor disengaged the service of Esan due to his unruly behaviour.

Ajiade added that Esan was aggrieved with his dismissal and organised a robbery attack to retaliate the sack.

Esan, in his confession to the police, was said to have owned up that he recruited Musa and  Ajiboye  from Lagos State to deal with his former boss.

Ajibade said, “On September 10, 2016, at the Senior Staff Quarters, University of Ilorin, the accused, while armed with weapons, including guns and machetes, robbed Onimisi and his family of their property, including a car, handsets, jewellery, and other valuables.”

IFE CRISIS: POLICE UNFAIR TO YORUBA, SAYS AFENIFERE

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he pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere has criticised the Police over the manner they handled the recent Hausa/Fulani crisis in Ile-Ife, Osun state.

It emphasised that the Police are not fair to the Yorubas.

At its meeting held Tuesday at the residence of its leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, the Ondo State, Afenifere condemned the action of the Police, especially the arrest of 20 Yoruba people.

The group accused police of bias and sectional in the way they handled the matter.

The Publicity Secretary of the organization, Yinka Odumakin, who read the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting said “Afenifere becomes worried with the way the Police handled the Ife crisis, especially considering the fact that the leadership of the presidency and that of the Police are from one of the sections involved in the crisis.”

Afenifere therefore urged the Police to investigate the crisis with utmost fairness and in line with the ethics of the profession.

It insisted that the suspects arrested in connection with the crisis must be returned to Osun State where the offence was allegedly committed, rather than being tried in Abuja.

Afenifere advised the Police to stop further dehumanizing of the suspects, warning them against further sectional judgment.

The group noted that the office of the state Attorney General should be given roles to play in the constitution, stressing that on Ife crisis, the office of the Attorney General of Osun State and the Ministry of Justice as a whole should be the one to advise the Police on the matter.

On Fulani herdsmen, Afenifere said a seven-member panel has been set up to move round all the communities in the South West to ascertain the level of damage done by the Fulani herdsmen.

Besides,it charged the Governors the northern states to build ranches within their states to avoid invasion of farm land by cattle.

WE PAID N62.5M FOR CONTROVERSIAL RANGE ROVER NOT N298M – SENATE

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he Senate Tuesday said that the controversial Sport Utility Range Rover was not purchased at the rate of N298 million.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, in a statement in Abuja said that although the SUV was imported in 2015 at the rate of $298,000, the Senate paid only N62.5 million when it bought the vehicle.

Abdullahi said that the clarification became necessary following misinformation that the Senate paid N298 million for the vehicle.

He said, “Our attention has been drawn to the various false and mischievous reports in the media about the price of the vehicle which the Senate was said to have bought as part of its convoy but was later abandoned when it got impounded by the Customs over controversy surrounding import duty payment.

“The correct price of the vehicle when it was imported in 2015 is $298,000 which at the prevailing rate of N165 to a dollar is about N49, 170.

 “The Senate paid N62.5m for the vehicle in November 2015. This is contrary to the mischief by those who decided to turn the $298,000 to N298m as the price of the vehicle. For the avoidance of doubt, the price of that vehicle is N62.5m and not N298m.

“The Senate will appreciate it if all reports relating to the legislative institution, particularly on this vehicle matter, are reported with accuracy and all facts put in proper perspective. We urge journalists to avoid sensationalism.

“The Senate is a responsible institution and those who believe that when they have issues to explain before it, the next thing to do is to resort to falsehood, blackmail, muck-raking and mud-slinging, should know that they are just overheating the polity and undermining our democratic institution.

“Finally, the Senate wishes to reiterate our total commitment to upholding the rule of law and to work for Nigerians, in accordance with our constitution.”

BOKO HARAM WILL NEVER SEIZE ANY PART OF NIGERIA AGAIN, BUHARI VOWS

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has vowed in Sambisa Forest on Monday that terrorists will never again take over and occupy any part of Nigeria’s territory.

The President made the vow when he declared the 2017 Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship (NASAC), opened.

Represented by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, Buhari noted that holding the championship in the forest was an affirmation that government was “resolved to stamp out all activities and operations of the Boko Haram insurgents from our territory.” 

Buhari said: “This championship is a showcase of the clear effect and degradation of the Boko Haram terrorist group with the destruction of Camp Zairo in the heart of the famous Sambisa forest.

“I can say categorically that never again will Boko Haram occupy any of our land. “I want use this opportunity to congratulate the Nigerian Army for this achievement and reiterate at this point by noting that it is a case of professional training that brought the Nigerian Army to this length.”

Buhari restated that through the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (PCNI), government would reconstruct facilities and structures destroyed by the terrorists so that the people of the region could enjoy the dividends of democracy.

Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the championship was held at the forest to consolidate on the gains achieved by troops in the North East so far.

“This championship is therefore held here at the heart of the Sambisa forest as part of Nigerian Army’s plans to effectively dominate all hostile territories in the North East”, Buratai said. NASAC was held seven years ago at Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, in Kaduna state.

According to Buratai, the championship could not be held since then due to numerous operational engagements by the army.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has named the newly established Nigerian Army shooting range at the Sambisa forest after the late Lt.-Col. Abu Ali. Ali, who was the commander of an army formation at Mallam Fatori in Borno east, died in a battle on Nov. 4, 2016 when Boko Haram terrorists attempted to invade and take the town.

Newsmen, recalls that the army routed the terrorists and took over Sambisa on Dec. 23, 2016 at about 1.35pm after it overran Camp Zairo, their last strong hold in the forest.

POLITICIANS CAN BE STUPID SOMETIMES, SAYS GERMAN DIPLOMAT

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ermany’s foreign minister, says politicians can be stupid sometimes, in response to comments by a senior EU politician quipping that southern European countries squandered their money on ‘booze and women’. 

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chair of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, rekindled lingering anger over the euro zone debt crisis by telling a newspaper “I cannot spend all my money on booze and women and plead for your support afterwards.

“This principle applies on the personal, local, national and also the European level,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, speaking in Athens, one of the countries worst hit by debt and austerity, called the comment unbelievable.

“The fact that politicians sometimes talk nonsense is not proof that the European idea doesn’t work. This is my response,” he added.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Dijsselbloem should resign, while other nations, including Greece, have chided the remarks as sexist.

The Dutchman, whose five-year term ends in January, has refused to quit but said he regretted the comments.

MELAYE DECIDES TO DIE AFTER REVEALING THE TRUTH, REPLIES AGF

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enator Dino Melaye has said he will continue to speak the truth even if it costs him his life.

“You speak the truth, you die; you lie, you die. Melaye Daniel Dino has decided to speak the truth and die,” the Senator representing Kogi West said on Wednesday in reaction to a letter that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, wrote to the Senate.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, had written the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, saying it would be sub-judicial for the upper chamber to insist that the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hammed Ali (retd.) should wear the NCS uniform.

“I ask again, where did the Attorney-General of the Federation who we screened on this floor derive his powers from to authorise, direct the Senate or suggest to the Senate how to carry out our constitutional mandate?

“The Attorney-General has no such powers to suggest to us, to direct us, to motivate us, or even imply by inference how we should carry out our (duty).”

I CAN’T JOIN APC- FAYOSE

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kiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said he cannot join the All Progressives Congress (APC), even if he has to leave his current party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Fayose, who spoke at a gathering in Ado-Ekiti, said the practice of use and dump adopted by the leadership of the APC would not allow him to contemplate defecting to the party.

A press statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, the governor cited the case of a national leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, who worked tooth and nail for the victo‎ry of the party in the 2015 general elections in the country and who was subsequently abandoned by those he helped to put in power.

 “Some people have been making overtures to me to join the APC, but I cannot join them. With what have they repaid somebody like Asiwaju Tinubu? He worked and helped the party to secure victory but has been dumped. That is not a party I would be interested in joining.

“One thing I would not allow is for anybody to rubbish our leaders in the South-West. Our leaders, including Asiwaju Tinubu, must be accorded their due respect, as any attempt to rubbish them will be taken as a slap on the entire Yoruba race,” he added.

The clarification by the governor came on the heel of crisis rocking the PDP at the national level in which Senators Ahmed Maka‎rfi and Ali Modu Sheriff are locked in a battle over the national chairmanship seat of the party.

This is just as the governor said his administration would complete the rehabilitation of the federal Ado-Itawure Road before the burial of the late military governor of the old Western Region, Major-General Adeyinka Adebayo.

He also promised to rehabilitate the Ifaki-Omuo Road, another Federal Government road, to make access to the state more pleasurable.

On the need to ensure coordinated development for the state, Fayose said a master plan for Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, would be worked out.

He noted that the government would need the support of landlords and property owners, as the government would not want a situation whereby indiscriminate physical development would later turn the town into an eyesore.

He promised that a Landlords’ Summit would be conveyed to aggregate the opinions and input of landlords to the evolution of the master plan.

4 DIE IN KWARA FARMERS, HERDSMEN CLASH

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OUR persons have been feared killed in a clash between the residents of Yakira community in the Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State and herdsmen.

It was alleged that the community killed three herdsmen in retaliation to the killing of an indigene.

The man, whose corpse was found in his farm, had earlier reportedly complained of incessant grazing of cattle on his farm.

Contacted, Alhaji Musa Buge, the Chairman of the Transitional Implementation Committee for the council, yesterday, confirmed the killings.

He, however, noted that normalcy had been restored to the area. Buge said arrangement was ongoing to have a security meeting of the council to work out a way to forestall future re-occurrence.

Spokesman of Kwara State Police Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the killings, but said he was not sure of the number.

He also said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olusola Amore, had ordered an investigation with a view to bringing the culprits to book.

I WAS NOT EMPLOYED TO WEAR UNIFORM – CUSTOMS CHIEF

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n an apparent response to senate’s directive, the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), declared on Friday that he was not employed to wear uniform.

Ali told newsmen that rather he was appointed to work effectively.

The Senate had ordered him to appear before it on March 15 in his official uniform as a customs officer.

He was summoned by the senators over the Customs’ new order, asking all old vehicles to pay customs duty.

Customs offered a 60 per cent rebate for vehicles from 2015 below.

He said: “No! I was not appointed Comptroller General of Customs to wear uniform.

“Does uniform work or the person behind the uniform?”

On the criticism of the Customs for the recent invasion of the Sango Ota motor park in Ogun State where thousands of bags of rice were carted away on the allegation that they were smuggled, Ali said: “If we suspect that smuggled items are taken into your house, we have the right to cordon that house and go in to search.

“Am I doing my job or not? I think that should be what should worry the National Assembly.”

BUHARI RETURNS, LANDS IN KADUNA, CHOPPERED TO PRESIDENTIAL VILLA

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resident  Muhamadu Buhari arrived the country Friday at about 4 a.m., 51 days after he left the country. 

Owing to the closure of the Abuja airport, presidency sources informed THISDAY that his plane was scheduled to land at the Kaduna airport in the wee hours of Friday, following which he was to be flown by helicopter to the President Villa, Abuja.

The sources also revealed that the president might address the nation Friday after his long absence, in order to quell any concerns over his capacity to govern.

The news of his return Friday was broken last night in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina. 

Adesina recalled that the president left the shores of the country on January 19 for a vacation, during which he was scheduled to undergo routine medical check-ups.

He said the scheduled vacation was however extended due to the advice by his doctors that he undergoes further medical tests.

According to him, the president expressed gratitude to the generality of Nigerians in all parts of the country and beyond who supported him in their prayers and good wishes while he was away.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to return to the country tomorrow, Friday March 10, 2017. The President left the country on January 19, 2017 for a vacation, during which he had routine medical check-ups.

FG TO PROSECUTE ILLEGAL IMPORTERS OF FROZEN FISH

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he Federal Government says it will henceforth arrest, prosecute and fine illegal importers of frozen foods into the country through the land borders and seal cold rooms where it is sold.

Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development, announced this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

Lokpobiri said the government would also set up a taskforce to seal and prosecute operators of cold room, who deal on those illegally imported produce.

The minister said the ministry was working in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Marine Police to actualise the plan.

  He said the offenders would pay a fine of $250,000 or attract five years imprisonment or both in addition to the forfeiture and destruction of the produce as stipulated by the law.

He listed some of the fishes usually being imported to include tilapia, red pacus, river bream, pangassius, horse mackerel, sardine and croaker, among others.

Lokpobiri said the illegal venture had resulted to huge loss of revenue, decrease in local production and loss of jobs, as well as discouragement by farmers.

The minister, who said that the move was to encourage local production and exports, disclosed that the country’s annual demand on fish was currently at 3.2 million tonnes and deficit at 1.9 million tonnes.

According to him, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the ministry is the only competent authority empowered by the Nigeria Sea Fisheries Act to issue distant water fishing licence for the importation of frozen fish into Nigeria.

“The department does not issue licence for the importation of frozen farmed fish into Nigeria through the land borders.

“The smuggling of unhealthy frozen fish into the country is detrimental to the progress being made toward guaranteeing the good health and nutrition of Nigerians.

 “We will continue to partner with the Nigeria Customs Service, the Navy, marine policy to see how we can clamp down on the offenders.

“Even those that have brought the produce into the country, we are setting up a taskforce that will go round different cold rooms, like what Customs is doing to rice.

“Any cold room that we find these fishes, we will seal them up, ensure you pay the $250,000 fine because laws are meant to be obeyed,’’ he said.

The minister said that consumption of those imported frozen foods were major cause of some health challenges being experienced in the country.

Lokpobiri, who frowned at the rising cases of kidney disease among children between the ages of five and seven, assured that the government would fight the menace to a halt.

In an interview, Mr. Lamina Rasheed, the National Chairman, Association of Indigenous Seafood Stakeholders, appealed to the Federal Government to release foreign exchange (FOREX) for the importation of fish.

He said that getting FOREX at a cheaper rate would ensure reduction in the price of the produce and make it affordable.

The chairman said the illegal importation of fishes was detrimental to their business.

Rasheed said that members of the association paid import duty of 14 per cent, which amounted to millions of naira to the Federal Government while the illegal importers pay next to nothing through the land borders.

According to him, it is difficult to compete with them in the market because they slash their prices.

He attributed the high cost of fish to the current exchange rate, adding that the frozen fish did not enjoy FOREX from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“Before, we were getting FOREX from the government but now, we are buying from the open market.

“When you pay 14 per cent and somebody is paying zero per cent, how do you sell your commodity?

“Therefore, all the fishes we brought legally into the country are currently stocked in the cold room because we cannot afford to lose our money or bank’s money.

“We have a lot of stocks in the cold room, which are unsold,’’ Rasheed said.

ELDERSTATEMEN RE-ECHO CALLS FOR TRUE FEDERALISM

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igeria’s pressing challenges require urgent solutions. 

And the panacea could come a little sooner if the current federal system is readjusted to fit the prescription of the late elder statesman and founder of the defunct Action Group (AG), Chief Obafemi Awolowo. 

This was the consensus of prominent leaders at the 2017 Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Lecture and his 108th posthumous birthday event in Lagos yesterday. 

The eminent Nigerians included former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd); Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II; Obi of Onitsha, HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe; former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Governors, Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos) as well as Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Chief Olusegun Osoba, both erstwhile governors of Delta and Ogun states.

Also present were The Guardian’s Publisher, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; former Minister of Defence, Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd); Chief J.K. Randle, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and National Coordinator, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams. 

To them, the nation’s foundation needs urgent tinkering with to enable it to deliver the expectations of the founding fathers for the citizenry.

The speakers noted: “If Nigeria had embraced the political advice of Awolowo on how a multi-ethnic country like ours should be run, we would have been walking side by side with some of the Western nations like Japan, United Kingdom, America and others today.”

Anyaoku particularly expressed sadness at what he described as the prevalent poverty rate and disrespect for the judiciary by the Federal Government over the years.

His words: “The founding fathers would be disappointed to find out that instead of having viable federating units, we have weaker and non-viable ones with an all-powerful government at the centre which stifles competition and growth.

“They would also be disappointed in the way that the Federal Government disrespects the judiciary and disobeys court orders. Our fathers would be disappointed in the direction the country is heading to.”

Anyaoku, who is also the chairman, Selection Committee, Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, therefore called on those in government to review their stance on the restructuring of the country.

Gowon lauded Awolowo’s sagacity, saying he was a great Nigerian who gave all to keep the nation united, especially during the civil war.The Ooni of Ife, who also condemned the current federal structure, however, challenged all on stewardship. He stressed that it was good for one to be remembered for service.

Aregbesola however, differed, saying the critical deficiency of the country was the concept of money.He noted: “A nation that does not care about how its income is distributed to the class of workers cannot be said to be serious. This is responsible for the great poverty in our country and until income is predicated on production of good and services, we are going nowhere.”

But the guest lecturer, Prof. Banji Akintoye, faulted the governor, noting that the abandonment of the late sage’s prescription had done the nation a lot of evil. He stressed that true federalism remains the only way to go.

To Osoba, Awolowo left a great legacy that the country could not afford to overlook.Later yesterday, political associates and family members held a thanksgiving service at Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne-Remo Ogun State to commemorate the day.

The Vicar Venerable Samuel Enike, who spoke on the theme, “Living for Christ”, noted that the free education policy initiated by the late Awolowo afforded countless Nigerians the opportunity to be educated.

Also yesterday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said he was championing the restructuring of the country because the current system gives room for suspicion and makes the nation weak.

Atiku, who spoke at the annual public lecture of Prof. Ademola Popoola of the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile Ife, Osun State under the theme, “Constitutional and political framework for reconstructing Nigeria for true federalism and national integration,” termed the current structure a “unitary federalism.”

VARSITY STUDENTS DECLARE THREE-DAY PRAYER FOR BUHARI

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has set aside three days of prayers for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari and his early return to the country.

 

NANS President, Chinonso Obasi, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said Nigerian students would within the three days starting from Wednesday, February 8, 2017 join other patriotic citizens to intercede on behalf of the President who is on medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

According to him: “As leaders of tomorrow and champions of a better Nigeria, we should not be left out in the national call for prayers for the President.”

Also, a political platform, Sunshine Integrity Forum (SIF) has urged Nigerians to pray for good health for the President so that “his task of cleansing the country of corruption to engender socio-economic development” can be successfully completed.

The platform is a group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, which is under the leadership of Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice who represents Ondo North in the upper legislative chamber, stated this during a prayer session it organised for the president in Akure, Ondo State capital yesterday.

Leading the prayers, Pastor Kehinde Zacheaus of Complete Bible Church expressed optimism that “President Buhari will live to fulfill the good purpose of God for Nigerians.” 

Personalities who attended the event at Boroffice’s former campaign office were the ex-Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Kenneth Olawale, Chief Bailey Arohunmolase, Mrs. Julie Ajegunmo, Mrs. Nireti Akinyele, Messrs Dayo Bello and Olusola Aturu among other APC politicians.

Boroffice, in a speech delivered by Elder Ebenezer Ogunrinde, urged Nigerians to support President Buhari in the task of rebuilding the country.And in Gombe, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Community for Peace and Corrupt-free Society, Nigeria yesterday held special prayers for President Buhari and the nation.

Speaking at the prayer session, the National Chairman of the society, Zakari Ahmed, said it is part of their responsibility as Nigerians to pray for the speedy recovery of the President and the country’s development.

The Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu-Abubakar, who was represented by Alhaji Lamido Abubakar thanked the organisers, the clerics and the participants for their cooperation.

OSINBAJO’S PERFORMANCE: DELE MOMODU, PRESIDENTIAL AIDES IN MEDIA WAR 

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hat seems like a media war has erupted between the media aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie on one hand and both the Publisher Ovation Magazine, Otunba Dele Momodu and the former aide of Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri on the other hand over the Ovation publisher’s comment that “Osinbajo is doing what Buhari failed to do.”

Mr. Momodu had on his twitter handle and in a write-up said that President Buhari’s medical leave abroad has turned out to be a blessing owing that the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo whom President Buhari had handed over before leaving the country is redirecting the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government back on course from it’s derailed path of fighting many war fronts while the economy suffered. According to him, “What has happened in Nigeria in the past few weeks, even days, can only be a testimony to that miracle I prophesised.

When President Buhari left Nigeria he formally wrote to the Senate putting his Vice-President in charge as Acting President until he returns.” “That singular act which is merely a repetition of what was done during previous extended personal visits abroad by the President is salutary as it is stellar and itself heralded the transformation in this government that we are witnessing.”

“When I flew out of Lagos to Johannesburg last Monday, February 20, 2017, a US dollar was selling for about 520 naira in the omnipotent black market. As at Thursday, it was selling at around 475 Naira. By yesterday, Friday 24 February 2017the Naira was exchanging at about 460 Naira to the Dollar.”

“What a difference a week makes. This remarkable resurgence of the Naira is coming on the heels of new policies and directives that the CBN has been mandated to put in place by the rejuvenated economic team that the Acting President is the driving force.” “Not just that, I received a report from Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi that the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, paid an unscheduled visit to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Thursday, February 23, 2016, and caught the airport officials napping. My joy knew no bounds.

Only last Saturday, I had complained bitterly about that unfortunate airport on this very page.”

“Anyway. The good news is that the Acting President has started doing some of the things we expected and advised President Buhari to do. I do not want to over-excite anyone yet but this is smelling good, like the Americans would put it. We must enter special prayers and intercede with serious fasting so that President Buhari can continue along this path of progress when he returns to office, hopefully very shortly, by the grace of God.”

However, that analysis did not go down well with President Buhari’s aide on electronic media, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie as she swiftly replied Momodu saying the publisher needed to be schooled on common sense to know what team work means. In a write-up she themed, “Educating Dele Momodu,” Lauretta also accused Momodu of being used to leadership where deputies dared not make a decision without the permission of their principals.

She wrote thus: “With a mindset like this, it’s not hard to work out that Dele Momodu is too clever by half. If he does not understand “Team”, how can he understand “Team Spirit”? The President and the Acting President have a great understanding of what it means to be a team. They respect, consult and collaborate with each other. Sync.”

“Dele Momodu is used to the “Leaders behaving badly” ways of leadership where deputies do not dare breathe without the permission of the Principal. I have no doubt that Dele Momodu runs his Corruption-friendly business empire that way. He decides alone and imposes on his staff.”

“The difference between Buhari/Osinbajo and Jonathan/What’s his name, administrations is not only the anti and pro corruption. One is a team, the other wasn’t. While Nigerians are applauding the cohesive team spirit that exits between our President and our VP, Dele Momodu is using it to earn his keep from his corrupt friends. It’s common knowledge that under this administration, all businesses whose foundation was built on corruption, will collapse.

Did I hear a loud OVATION?” “As an image maker and a friend of the corrupt especially of those who raped our nation, has Dele Momodu stopped to ask where his fees are coming from? Stolen funds? Dele Momodu must borrow some common sense from some of our youth who are educated and who know the meaning of “Team”.

Here’s one from Japheth J Omojuwa. It’s not lost on Nigerians that Dele Momodu helped to encourage corruption by providing a platform for our corrupt nouveau rich to massage their corrupt ego.”

Dele Momodu has taken a stand for corruption. He must now understand that the respect that exists between our two leaders, is stronger than his love for the corrupt.

Nigerians are learning again, that a President can delegate to the Vice so the benefit will go to Nigerians, not just to them. Dele Momodu can no longer hide his disdain for the war on corruption. But joining accidental Social Media practitioners in this way is to say the least, sickening!” “One thing is certain. Nigerians are learning from a credible team that great respect, friendship, collaboration and consultations are possible between workmates. Say “No’ To Dele Momodu’s divisive stance. It’s selfish, self-centred and egocentric. He alone, stands to gain. END. Thanks for retweeting.”

“God bless Nigeria. God bless us, everyone.” Nevertheless, in somewhat a team-up with Dele Momodu, former aide to Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on electronic media, Reno Omokri joined the fray, advising the Ovation’s publisher to ignore the Buhari’s aide just like he(Omokri) ignored his (Momodu) attacks at his principal during the time ex-President Jonathan was in power. Omokri tweeted thus: “Egbon @DeleMomodu, you shouldn’t have responded to that woman. She’s insulted me but I never respond to her.

Responding is what she wants! Be guided by Proverbs 26:4 ‘Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.'” “What she wanted was to be associated with you in a fight. It brings you down and raises her up. Lose-lose for you, win for her. You egbon @DeleMomodu, have met @Mbuhari personally and one on one. I assure you she has not even enjoyed that privilege.” “The more you @DeleMomodu respond to her and others of her ilk, the more they attack you to gain relevance. Just leave trash for LAWMA!” Omokri concluded with the tweet:

BUHARI NOT CRITICALLY ILL, NOT IN HOSPITAL, SAYS LAI MOHAMMED

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he Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says President Muhammadu Buhari is neither critically ill nor in life threatening situation and there is no cause for alarm.

The minister reiterated this position on Monday in Umuahia at the second town hall meeting for the South East and the launch of national reorientation campaign, “Change Begins With Me’’ in Abia.

The minister, who was asked to tell the country about the health condition of the president and whether there was need for a regular briefing on his health stressed that there was no reason for such briefings.

 Mohammed disclosed that the president spoke with him on Saturday in the afternoon and there was no reason for Nigerians to be worried. “ I can say here very boldly and confidently that there is absolutely no cause for alarm. “`Mr president called me at 2.43 p.m. on Saturday and we spoke.

“If Mr president is in the hospital or is critically ill, as minister of information, I will give daily bulletin on his health. “Mr president is neither critically ill nor in the hospital and there is nothing life threatening about the checks he is going through,’’ he said.

Speaking on the state of the economy, the minister said that it was corruption that made the prices of commodities to go up. He noted that no economy in the world could survive the blind and reckless looting perpetrated by the previous administration.

“If one person was found with almost 10 million dollar in an uncompleted house and another with 136 million dollar in fake account and other with N7 billion how can the economy survives the kind of looting. “Naturally the price of commodities will go up.

“These are funds meant for development of infrastructure and for provision of services. “That is why you cannot do anything with the economy without first facing corruption squarely.

“But the good news is that the government is doing both together, as we are fighting corruption, we are also making sure that we are ensuring we are out of recession by investing heavily on infrastructure. Mohammed also pacified the audience who lamented the spate of attacks on farmers by the herdsmen.

SARAKI PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FRESHCORRUPTION CHARGE

                                          

T he Federal Government, on Thursday, re-arraigned the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja, on an amended 18-count corruption charge.

      

Saraki pleaded not guilty to the fresh charge, even as the tribunal headed by Justice Danladi Umar, gave the third prosecution witness, PW-3, Mr. Samuel Madujemu the nod to narrate how FG uncovered discrepancies in assets he declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB.

The witness is the Chief Admin Officer at the CCB. He was the head of investigation Division under the Department of Intelligence, Investigation and Monitoring, that joined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to probe Saraki’s assets.

It will be recalled that the Senate President was initially docked before the tribunal on September 22, 2015, on a 13-count charge. He was latter re-arraigned on April 28, 2016 after FG increased allegations against him to 16 counts.

FG had alleged that the defendant made false/anticipatory declaration of assets, operated foreign accounts while in office as Kwara State governor between 2003 and 2011, as well as collected governorship salary four years after his tenure had elapsed.

In the amended charge that was read to the defendant on Thursday, FG, alleged that he had while in office as governor of Kwara state in 2007, failed to declare his interest in No. 15 Mc Donald, Ikoyi, Lagos, a property he acquired in 2006 through a company, Tiny Tee Limited for the sum of N165million.

It said the defendant, on or about the September 16, 2003, while in office as a governor, made false declaration by claiming ownership of No 15A & 15B Mc Donald, Ikoyi, Lagos through Carlisle Properties Ltd in the year 2000, when the said properties was in actual fact sold by the Federal Government to G & C Real Estate Properties and Investment Company Limited in 1997 for the sum of N12million.

In count four and five of the fresh charge, FG, alleged that Saraki, whilst being a public officer, on or about June 3 2011, falsely declared his assets at the end of his tenure as a governor and on his assumption of office as Senator in the same year, when he declared that he acquired No 17A and 17B Mc Donald, Ikoyi, Lagos on September 6, 2006, from the proceeds of sale of Rice and Sugar commodities, whereas he acquired the said properties with aggregate sum of N497.2million, through a loan he obtained from Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.

FG alleged that contrary to section 15(1) & (2) of the CCB and Tribunal Act, Cap C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, Saraki, at the end of his tenure as governor in 2007, failed to declare his outstanding loan liability of N315, 054, 355. 92 out of N380million loan he obtained from GTB on February 5, 2007.

The defendant was also accused of failing to declare his ownership of Plot 2A Glover Road, Ikoyi Lagos, which he acquired between 2007 and 2008 through Carlisle Properties Ltd from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the sum of N325million, as well as not declaring that No 1 and 3 Tagus Street Maitama, Abuja belongs to him.

The prosecution told the tribunal that as a governor, Saraki, in 2008, transferred the sum of $73, 223. 28 to a bank account he operated outside Nigeria.

Saraki allegedly failed in his second tenure as Kwara State governor to declare his interest in an American Express Bank, New York card No. 374588216836009 through which he transferred $3.4million between August 2009 and October 2012 from his GTB domiciliary account No 441441953210 to the American Express Services Europe Ltd No. 730580 for onward credit to the said card account.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, the witness told the tribunal that Saraki had in his capacity as a governor, made several cash lodgements running into billions of Naira into his personal accounts.

He said the cash lodgements were in excess of Saraki’s salary as a governor. Asked if public officers are permitted by the law to operate private business ventures, the witness said:

“My lord, public officers are only entitled to engage in farming. Governors are not permitted to engage in sales of Rice and Sugar”.

 MAN, 55, SEEKS DIVORCE OVER WIFE’S SEIZURE OF CAR KEY

A 55-year-old businessman, Shola Akande, approached an Igando Customary Court in Lagos State on Wednesday seeking to end his 13-year-old marriage to his wife, Omolade, because she seized his car key. “My wife seized my car key; she was claiming I bought a car for a girlfriend.

“I begged her to give me my car key; she refused, her family intervened by pleading with her to release the car key to me but their plea fell on deaf ears,” he said. He said that his wife, Omolade, used to fight him a lot, adding that she had turned his clothes to rags as she used to tear them whenever she was fighting him.

“My wife derived pleasure in tearing my clothes whenever she was fighting me, there was a day she tore my clothes in the presence of her father,” he said. The embittered husband also accused his wife of stealing his money all the time. “My wife stole my money in the house and also burgled my office where she stole all the money in my drawer,” he said.

Shola said that his wife always accused him of infidelity, saying; “anytime my wife sees me with any woman, she will be fighting and accusing me of dating them. “I am a businessman, I sell land, and both men and women come or call to buy land or building from me.

“My wife once seized my phones after I received a call; when she thought I was talking to a woman,” he said. Akande told the court that his wife had no respect for him and even for her father.

“My wife does not respect me nor her father, anytime her father invites her over to his place to settle our fight or advice her, she will not listen. “Due of her stubbornness, her father once advised me to seek dissolution of the marriage,” he said.

He, therefore, begged the court to dissolve his 13 year-old marriage which had not produced any child, saying he did not love her anymore. “Please terminate the marriage that had nothing to show for both now and the future,” he begged the court.

However, Omolade, 45, said that she seized her husband’s car key because he refused to pay her the money he borrowed from her. But he had money to buy a car for a girl, she said. “I was not happy when I heard that my husband bought a car for a girl while he still owes me N220, 000. “If he pays me my money, I will release his key,” she said.

Omolade, a businesswoman, accused her husband of always drinking to stupor, adding that whenever she scolded him, he would turn it to a fight.

“My husband always comes home around 1:00 a.m., drunk and whenever I cautioned him, he fights me,” she said. She, however, denied stealing her husband’s money and lamented that he used to call her a barren woman.

“My husband always calls me a barren woman but I had three children during the 13 years of our marriage, but they all died,” she said.

The respondent begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish that she still love him.

The court president, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, ordered the respondent to release the petitioner’s car key within one hour. He later adjourned the case to April 4 for further hearing.

NO CAUSE TO WORRY: PRESIDENT BUHARI TO NIGERIANS

President Muhammadu Buhari has allayed the anxiety of Nigerians about his health, assuring them that there is no cause for worry.

In a statement today, President Buhari, who is in London thanked millions of Nigerians who have been sending good wishes and praying for his health and well-being in mosques and churches throughout the country. 

According to Presidential media adviser, Femi Adesina, “the President is immensely grateful for the prayers, show of love and concern.”

“President Buhari wishes to reassure Nigerians that there is no cause for worry. “During his normal annual checkup, tests showed he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating the President staying longer than originally planned,” Adesina said.

President Buhari began his vacation on 19 January, choosing London, where he also planned to conduct some routine medical checks. He was billed to return to work on 6 February. 

On 5 February, he notified the Nigerian Senate that he needed more time based on the advice of his doctors that he await the results of some tests. 

In his absence, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been acting for him.

FG’S CASH TRANSFER: THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS BENEFITING IN KWARA- YAHYA- BAGUDU

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ead of Unit, Conditional Cash Transfer, Kwara State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Aminah Yahya-Bagudu has said that Ten thousand, seven hundred households are currently benefitting from the first phase of the Federal Government's National Cash Transfer programme in the State.

Hajia Yahya-Bagudu  who disclosed this today in Ilorin said the programme was part of the components designed by the Federal Government to tackle poverty in the country. 

“Under the scheme, twelve local government areas are participating in phase one, while the remaining four local government areas are being considered to benefit in the second phase” 

She disclosed that the beneficiaries had started receiving the payment of five thousand naira monthly from the Federal Government.

Hajia Yahya-Bagudu explained that the selection process was based on data collected for the World Bank supported Youth Employment and Social Support Operation (YESSO), where each community identified those considered as poor. 

On current hitches in payment, Hajia Aminah-Yahya said the selected bank had engaged the services of a Consulting firm to decentralized its payment process to all beneficiaries across the state.

APC COMMENDS FG OVER N5000 PAYMENT TO VULNERABLE NIGERIANS

A

ll Progressives Congress (APC) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for fulfilling the promise the Party made to Nigerians during the 2015 general election campaigns.

In a statement released by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the Party notes that with the commencement of payment of N5000 to one million poor Nigerians through the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme of the Government, the Buhari’s  administration has demonstrated its commitment to the Party’s Change manifestoes which is couched on true transformation.

“We recalled that as part of its Social Investment programme (SIP), the government has began implementing three other major campaign promises of the Party designed to provide jobs and lift the most vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty. These include: the N-Power Volunteer Corps which will provide jobs to 500,000 young Nigerian graduates, the National Homegrown Feeding Programme which has commenced in selected states, and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which provides soft loans ranging from N10,000 to 100,000 to artisans, traders, market women, among others”

The Party acknowledges that the past year was a tough one for Nigerians occasioned by the economic recession but have confidence in the ability of President Buhari to design programmes and policies that will provide succor to the masses.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to support and pray for the President Buhari-led administration so that our dream of a more prosperous, secure and stable nation will be achieved”

AHMED SEEKS PEOPLE’S SUPPORT TO UPLIFT KWARA

 

 

G overnor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has urged the people of the state to support him in taking the state to greater heights in the New Year.

The governor made the plea on Sunday in his New Year message to the people of the state.

Ahmed, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant (Media and Communications), Dr Muideen Akorede, wished all citizens of the state a joyous and prosperous New Year.

 
He prayed for fulfilled hopes and expectations with greater accomplishments in the New Year.

Ahmed also called on the people to pray for continued peace in the state and the country as a whole.

He urged the people of the state to join him in rededicating themselves to achieving collective aspirations for a better state.

Ahmed, therefore, restated his commitment to elevating the state and the people by providing more dividends of democracy.

He commended residents of Kwara for their resilience and appreciated their support for his administration, in spite of the challenges faced by individuals and families in 2016.

Ahmed acknowledged the difficulties experienced in 2016 and expressed optimism that the challenges facing the state would soon end.

He pledged prompt service delivery to the people of the state and also gave an assurance that the ongoing infrastructure and other peoples’ oriented projects would be completed.

According to him, this will develop the state and uplift individuals, families and businesses in the state.

NEW YEAR NEW SYSTEM-

10-YEAR-OLD GIRL USED AS HUMAN BOMB IN MAIDUGURI

 

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ne person was seriously injured when a suicide bomber aged around 10 blew herself up in a New Year’s Eve attack in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, according to the eyewitness.

The girl approached a crowd buying noodles from a food vendor in the Customs area of the city around 9:30 pm on Saturday and detonated her explosives, they said.

Although no one has claimed responsibility the attack bore the hallmark of Boko Haram Islamists who are notorious for using suicide bombers, mostly women and young girls, in attacking civilian targets.  

“The girl walked towards the crowd but she blew up before she could reach her target,” said witness Grema Usman who lives in the area.

“She died instantly, while one person was seriously hurt after after he was hit by shrapnel.”

“(Judging) from her corpse the girl was around 10 years old,” Usman said.

An aid worker involved in the evacuation of the body gave a similar estimate of the bomber’s age.

“The girl was clearly not more than 10 and this could have made her too nervous, making her to detonate the explosives prematurely,” the aid worker suggested.

Borno state police spokesman Victor Isuku, meanwhile, said a second female suicide bomber was caught and lynched by an angry mob. Her bomb was safely detonated by security forces, he said.

In December two girls aged between seven and eight detonated explosives in suicide attacks on market in the city, injuring 19 people.

Authorities blamed the attack on Boko Haram, whose seven-year insurgency has killed 20,000 people and displaced 2.6 million others. The conflict has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbours.

Saturday’s attack came a week after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the jihadist group had been routed from Sambisa forest, its last stronghold in Borno state.

FLEEING BOKO HARAM LEADER ARRESTED IN LAGOS

T here seem to be no hiding place for Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria as one of their leaders who escaped from Borno State and settled-in in Lagos has now been arrested.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, told journalists in Maiduguri that the Nigerian Army has resolGeneral Buratai also asked soldiers in the northeast to pursue the fleeing terrorists and intercept them.

He made the disclosure on Sunday while opening two major roads in Borno State that were closed sincGeneral Buratai also asked soldiers in the northeast to pursue the fleeing terrorists and intercept them.

General Buratai also asked soldiers in the northeast to pursue the fleeing terrorists and intercept them.

He made the disclosure on Sunday while opening two major roads in Borno State that were closed since 2014, at the height of the activities of the insurgents.

The roads are Maiduguri-Gubio-Damasak road and Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga.

The State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who witnessed the event, said there was no Christmas and New Year gift to the people of Borno State better than the fall of the Sambisa forest.

He described year 2016 as one that witnessed a major breakthrough in the ongoing fight against the terrorists, adding that the year was so far his best in the last five years since he assumed office on May 29, 2011.

“Since I became the Governor of Borno State in over five years, this is the best Christmas season I have witnessed. This is the best December I have witnessed and the year 2016 is my best year so far as Governor of Borno State,” he said.

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FAYOSE APPROVES N140M SEVERANCE PACKAGE FOR FORMER PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS

Ekiti State Government on Monday announced the approval for payment N140m severance package due to former dead and living elected-public-office holders at the local government level.

The Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, in a statement, said the beneficiaries of the severance include those elected into office in 1999, 2006 and 2008‎.

They included former chairmen of local governments, council secretaries, councilors  as well council advisers.

He said the state governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, gave the order for the immediate payment of the severance package to the affected officers during a meeting he held with them on Monday.

Adelusi quoted the governor as directing that families of those already dead must also be paid the entitlements of their deceased ones.

He also warned local government officials who would effect the payment not to play politics with the exercise, saying anyone caught would face the consequences.

He said, “The governor felt that despite the economic challenges we are facing as a state, we feel it is our duty to honour those who had served our state in the past.

“They had contributed their own quota to the development of our state; therefore, families of those that are already dead should be paid too.

“The ‎exercise has nothing to do with politics and must be fairly shared.

“We already made some payments some months ago and we are again doing this now.

“If this had been done in the past, the backlog would not have been a burden on us now, if not for the financial challenges we are facing, we would have paid everything at a goal.”

The governor admonished leaders of the state to let their actions be in the best interest of the state.

The statement said Fayose urged the people of the state to expect the best from his administration, economic recession notwithstanding in the New Year.

THE FULL STORY OF MMM INITIATOR 

Sergey Panteleevich Mavrodi (Russian:born August 11, 1955) is a Russian criminal and a former deputy of the State Duma. He is the founder of the МММ series of pyramid schemes. In 2007 Sergei Mavrodi was found guilty in a Russian court of defrauding 10,000 investors out of 110 million rubles ($4.3 million). 

MMM activities

In 1989 he founded MMM. He was then elected to the State Duma, thereby obtaining parliamentary immunity. Mavrodi declared MMM bankrupt on December 22, 1997, then disappeared, and was on the run until his arrest in 2003. 

In 1998 Mavrodi created Stock Generation, allegedly a classic pyramid scheme presented as a "virtual stock market game". 

The website ran from 1998 to early 2000. The Massachusetts district court initially found that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was unable to cite Stock Generation's founders and owners for securities violations. However, the United States Court of Appeals reversed this decision in 2001, concluding that the SEC alleged sufficient facts to state a triable claim. 

In 2003 the SEC obtained permanent injunctions against SG Ltd. and relief defendants SG Perfect and SG Trading, which profited from the disbursement of funds fraudulently gained by SG Ltd.  On April 28, 2007, a Moscow court sentenced him to four and a half years in a penal colony. The court also fined him 10,000 rubles ($390). 

In January 2011, Mavrodi launched another pyramid scheme called MMM-2011, asking investors to buy so-called Mavro currency units. 

He frankly described it as a pyramid, adding "It is a naked scheme, nothing more ... People interact with each other and give each other money. 

For no reason!" Mavrodi said that his goal with MMM-2011 is to destroy the current financial system, which he considers unfair, which would allow something new to take its place. MMM-2011 was able to function openly as Ponzi schemes and financial pyramids are not illegal under Russian law. 

In May 2012 he froze the operation and announced that there would be no more payouts. 

In 2011 he launched a similar scheme in India, called MMM India, again stating clearly that the vehicle is a pyramid. 

He has also launched MMM in China. He was reported to be trying to expand his operations into Western Europe, Canada, and Latin America. 

As of September 2015 it had spread rapidly in South Africa with a claimed 1% per day or 30% per month interest rate scheme and warnings from both the South African and Russian Communist Parties for people not to participate in it.

In early 2016, he continued the same model in Zimbabwe (the accounts were frozen in September 2016), and later, in Nigeria (accounts frozen in December, 2016).

BREAKING: MMM FREEZES ALL CONFIRMED ACCOUNTS-
PANIC, CONFUSION GRIP NIGERIANS

Members of a the famous money-doubling scheme, Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox, MMM have been thrown into panic and great confusion, Tuesday, following the message from the ponzi scheme freezing all confirmed Mavros, otherwise known as money due for withdrawal for one month.

This means, all the accounts of members who are due to be paid after having ‘provided help’ (PH) to another person since the last month have been frozen and hence, have no access to request for payment, known as ‘Get Help’ (GH) until after one month.

All members woke up with the shock message displayed on the screen as soon as they logged into their accounts. Giving reasons for freezing the Mavros, the scheme said it is experiencing heavy workload and want to deal with the attacks coming from the country’s mass media.

It also said it wants to prevent hitches in the coming new year hence, the freezing of the access to requesting for payments even when such person is due for payment.

EATING CHEESE, BUTTER AND CREAM CAN HELP PROTECT YOU FROM HEART DISEASE, STUDY FINDS

 

Fatty foods such as cheese, butter, and cream are often considered culprits of heart disease – but according to a new study, a diet high in saturated fat could in fact bring significant health benefits.

Eating more naturally high-fat foods while limiting the amount of carbohydrates consumed did not cause a significant increase in harmful cholesterol, researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway found.

Simon Dankel, who led the study, told said the research showed the human body “can do perfectly well with fats as its main energy source.”

“People will say: ‘you can’t lose weight, you can’t go on any diets with saturated fats, no matter what’,” said Dr Dankel.

“But in this context, we see a very positive metabolic response. You can base your energy in your diet on either on carbohydrates or fat. It doesn’t make a big difference.”

NHS guidelines advise people to eat less saturated fat, because a diet high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood. Men are recommend men eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day, and women no more than 20g.

Around 40 obese men took part in the study, which Dr Dankel said was more strictly controlled and therefore more reliable than previous research into low-carb diets.

 Half were given a strict low-fat, high-carb diet, while the others ate fewer carbohydrates but doubled their intake of saturated fats, with 24 per cent of their entire energy intake for one day coming from butter alone.

“We emphasized dairy fats especially. The people were eating cream and butter, and some coconut oil,” said Dr Dankel, who stressed the diet didn’t include processed fats found in junk food.

By the end of the study, both groups had lost an average of 12kg, most of which was body fat, lowering their risk of obesity-related diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Dr Dankel said the new research questioned “the alleged strong adverse effect of saturated fats on health, which hadn’t been tested as directly before”.

“It’s not the fat per se, or on its own, that’s driving a negative health response. You can have just as good a health benefit on this high-fat diet as a low-fat diet in this context,” he said.

PEOPLE BOMBING PIPELINES NOT ORDINARY NIGERIANS, SAYS BUHARI

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resident Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday maintained that the people involved in the blowing up of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region are not ordinary Nigerians going by the sophistication of equipment they are using.

By going into the sea for almost 70 kilometers to blow pipelines with ease, he said, has necessitated the need for some professional associations with high competences to talk to their members to ensure they were not deploying their skills in a negative way to the detriment of the country.

He spoke at the Presidential Villa after his investiture as the Grand Patron of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), led by its President, Mrs. Joana Maduka.

He said: “How can ordinary Nigerians go into the deep sea almost 70 kilometers to blow installations, they are not ordinary Nigerians. So you have to talk to your members.”

Disagreeing with the delegation that Nigerian engineers are under utilized, he said that 99 per cent of those that constructed the four refineries in the country were Nigerian engineers.

 Stressing that the government has always taken engineers seriously in the task of nation building, he described Nigerian engineers as those whose capacity to learn is unparalleled.

Regretting that none of the four refineries in the country are currently working, he blamed the country’s leadership for the situation and not the engineers.

“Nigerian engineers are competent and cost effective. I respect you all, it takes a lot to be a competent engineers”  He stated.

Speaking earlier, Maduka pointed out that Nigerian engineering companies have performed laudably well in the last one year in the procurement and construction of a 600 megawatt power generating plant and a 330KV switching station, the biggest in the national grid.

She said that the role of an academy of engineering all over the world is to serve as Think Tank for the technological and economic development of a nation.

“Countries like China, USA, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia are examples of nations that have harnessed the benefits of their engineering academies for economic progress. Fellows of the Academy of Engineering are Engineers who have reached the peak of their careers and are invited to join”.

She noted that the anti-corruption efforts of the administration was a move in the right direction as it will bring about economic transformation of the country.

 The group also backed the move by the Buhari’s administration to fix all the infrastructural deficit in the country.

She said: “This effort is very germane to the development of our nation. For this to be done effectively and efficiently, inputs are required from all cadres of engineering disciplines.

“The physical indices of development of any country are engineering based like roads, railways, water supply, power, housing and other infrastructure. However, Nigerian Engineers are underutilized for the tasks and challenges of nation building.

“For the country to attain sustainable growth status, the Nigerian engineers need to be adequately engaged in planning, policy formulation, consultancy and construction as well as industrial processes of production and manufacturing.

“Furthermore, the fact is that Nigeria is grossly under-engineered as there are insufficient engineering professionals taking the population per capita basis. For example, in China, between 2000 and 2013, all the nine members of the Standing Committee (Ministers) of the Politburo were trained engineers.

“Currently, about half of the cabinet ministers in Singapore are engineers and in China,  70 per cent of the cabinet are engineers”. She stated

She disclosed that the Nigerian Academic Engineering is currently made up of 140 fellows.

MINIMUM WAGE: NO REVIEW IN SIGHT, SAYS NLC

Mr Ayuba Wabba, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has blamed the delay in securing an upward review of the national minimum wage on the disunity in the organised labour.

Wabba spoke to newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday on the prospects of getting a review of the existing N18,000 minimum wage for workers.

The present N18,000 national minimum wage was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in March 2011. “It is time to review the N18,000 minimum wage. If we had been united, this issue would have been resolved,’’ the NLC president said.

He said that since 2015, when the organised labour submitted a formal demand for the review of the minimum wage, no technical committee had been set up to look into the issue. According to Wabba, the committee is to start the process of negotiations, where the concerned stakeholders will gather at a round table to drive the process.

“For the minimum wage to be reviewed, it has to be tripartite. The employers’ organisation will be present, government’s representatives and the organised labour,’’ he said.

The NLC president stressed that the current minimum wage could no longer sustain workers as the five-year cycle for review of workers income was due and the value of money had also depreciated.

He assured that there was hope of getting an increment in the minimum wage but added that workers must be ready to fight for their right.

“Everything that we have gotten as workers over the decades is through collective struggle.

Government did not offer it on a platter of gold. “These are the issues that have caused delay in resuming negotiation on review of new minimum wage for workers,’’ he said.

Wabba said that the Federal Government and labour could look at ways of implementing a new strategy for the new minimum wage with the economic recession not hindering the discussions.

“Labour is committed to driving the process of an increment in minimum wage for workers and we assure you that we will defend your interest. “On the issue of recession, the NLC will soon arrive with an alternative to enable the government solve its economic problem,’’ the NLC president said.