A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the immediate release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Soludo said this in Abuja on Thursday at the presentation a book entitled, ‘The Politics of Biafra and the Future of Nigeria,’ written by Chudi Offodile.
The former CBN governor said Kanu was not popular until security agents arrested him last year.
He recalled that Chief Obafemi Awolowo was imprisoned for treason in the 1960s, but this caused him to be loved even more among the Yoruba.
Soludo said Kanu’s prolonged detention would make him a hero or a martyr, which would not stop the current Biafran agitation.
The ex-CBN governor warned that if Kanu was not released, his detention could be used as a campaign tool in 2019, just as the pardoning of Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu was used by Shehu Shagari to gain support in the 1980s.
Other prominent Nigerians at the event included a former Minister of Transport, Osita Chidoka; former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme; a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; and the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah.
INEC has declared APC candidate, Mr Godwin Obaseki, as the winner of the Edo State governorship election which held on Wednesday, September 28.
After the collation of results from the 18 local government areas of Edo state in south-south Nigeria, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled a total of 319,483 votes while his closest from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osagie Ize-Iyamu, polled 253,173 votes.
The APC won in Akoko-Edo LGA, Ikpoba-Okha, Etsako West, Etsako East, Etsako Cenral, Owan East LGA, Ovia North LGA, Oredo LGA, Uhunwomnde, Igueben LGA, Egor LGA, Owan West LGA.
The PDP won in Esan North Central, Esan West LGA, Orhionmwon LGA, Esan South East LGA, Esan North East LGA.
Edo election: Security has been beefed up at Edo Government House,Benin, and other public institutions as the result of the governorship election in the state is being announced.
Some people had protested in front of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Benin while the result was being announced.
The state Chairman of PDP, Mr Dan Orbi, said the party had rejected the result of the election because it had been pre-determined and predicted.
Following the protest, more security personnel were drafted to the state INEC office and also stationed at strategic locations in Benin City.
More security personnel were seen at the government house following the protest.
The security personnel drafted to government had barricaded major entry and exit points, while visitors are thoroughly screened before entering the building.
Police Armoured Personnel Carriers have been stationed at the popular Kings Square , and campaign headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate.
Other security personnel were seen patrolling the city and manning check points in strategic locations.
Disputed National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, has said he was not in support of Thursday’s rejection of the yet-to-be-declared result of Wednesday’s governorship election in Edo.
He said the rejection of the result ahead of its declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was preemptive.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PDP in Edo, at a news conference in Benin, announced its rejection of the result of the governorship poll.
The chairman of the party in the state, Dan Orbih, who addressed the media, said the outcome of the exercise had been pre-determined by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, at the time of the news conference, collation of results of the election was ongoing at INEC secretariat in Benin.
Speaking on behalf of Mr. Sheriff, Deputy National Chairman of his faction of the party, Cairo Ojougboh, said, “we will await the final announcement of the result, consult widely before making our decision public”.
He said the national leadership was concerned about issues arising from the election, and called for restraint from members and supporters.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Dayo Adeyeye, had in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday warned that the party would reject the result of the government poll if the antics of APC continued.
He accused the Edo Government of sponsoring massive irregularities in the election.
(NAN
States with active mining of solid minerals in their domains are to receive 13 per cent derivation revenue, just as their counterparts in oil and gas producing areas, the federal government has said.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, who said this in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said serious-minded operators in the mining sector would soon be granted access by the government to the intervention finance for mining from the National Resource Fund.
The minister, who was addressing the opening of the National Council on Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) on Tuesday, did not say when the payment would begin.
The National Resource Fund is about 1.6 per cent revenue allocation from the Federation Account set aside by the federal government for agriculture, solid minerals and water resources development. The minister said President Muhammadu Buhari had already given approval for the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to grant active players in the sector access to the fund.
The Minister, who spoke on the topic, “Non-oil sector as a sustainable alternative in enhancing revenue generation”, said funding has remained a major challenge to the development of the sector. Mr. Fayemi was however optimistic access to the mining intervention fund, coupled with funding to be
provided by Nigerian banks, would boost sector growth. Mr. Fayemi was however optimistic access to the mining intervention fund, coupled with funding to be provided by Nigerian banks, would boost sector growth.
"This is a significant shift. It signpostsStates with active mining of solid minerals in their domains are to receive 13 per cent derivation revenue, just as their counterparts in oil and gas producing areas, the federal government has said.
He said payment of 13 per cent derivation to states would deepen the ministry’s partnership with the state governments. Besides, he said arrangements were afoot to establish a Council of Mining and Mineral Resources Development, a quarterly forum for the minister, commissioners responsible for mining and natural resources at the states as well as other relevant government officials.
“The forum would be an avenue to discuss pertinent issues on the mining sector, which are of concern to the federal and state governments. It will also allow us to track progress on agreed areas of collaboration,” Mr. Fayemi said.
The minister also unfolded the ministry’s plan to set up zonal offices of the Mining Cadastral Office, to bring its operations closer to the states. Equally, he said the federal government would work with states to find commercial means to co-invest alongside private companies to bring mining assets to market faster and more profitably. The minister assured state government the right regulatory frameworks to encourage investors comply with global best practices in resource extraction, by integrating all relevant environmental protocols to conduct mining activities and related business.
“This is why ecological justice is one of the major planks of our approach to the repositioning of the solid minerals sector,” the minister said.
Anselm Ojezua, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state, has described the Peoples Democratic Party as “bad losers” for rejecting the results of the governorship election in the state.
Ojezua, who said the entire process of the election had been nothing but peaceful, said it was “a pity that PDP expected to win in a state that it had run down”.
“This is just a case of a bad loser. It is a pity that the PDP expects to win in a state which it had run down,” he told reporters in Benin.
“Though the announcement of the results is still ongoing, I commend INEC thus far. The process was very peaceful. INEC was efficient in delivery of materials to ensure that they got to locations on time.”
He advised the PDP to channel its grievances to the appropriate quarters.
The PDP had earlier announced the rejection of the results of the election, describing it as “fabricated and pre-determined”.
Although collation is still ongoing at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the result of the Edo state governorship election.https://www.thecable.ng/just-in-ize-iyamu-rejects-election-result-before-it-is-announced
Addressing reporters at his Benin residence, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the PDP, described the results being announced by INEC as a “rape of democracy”.
Ize-Iyamu said his party monitored the the election through its agents across the state.
“Contrary to claim that PDP brought in 8,000 militants, the election showed that PDP is law-abiding and did not involve in illegality. The delays in announcing official result by INEC was in order to announce predetermined fabricated results,” he said.
“The Figures being announced by INEC do not represent the massive turnout. We have told our agents to bring all the results issued at the polling units. We do not want to rely on the messages they sent.
“In the next three or four days, will have complete record. From findings, it is clear a lot of manipulation has taken place.”
ABUJA – The Federal Government has declared Monday, October 3, as Public Holiday to mark Nigeria’s 56th Independence Anniversary.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido and issued to Vanguard Thursday in Abuja.
“The Minister of Interior, Lt Gen (rtd) Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, while making the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulates Nigerians at home and abroad on the commemoration of this year’s independence anniversary and assures them that Government is working assiduously to put in place various palliative measures to cushion the effects of the current economic challenges.
“The Minister enjoins all Nigerians to continue to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his avowed determination to build a strong, virile and united country in line with the dream of the country’s founding fathers”, the statement added.
The medical team of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, on Wednesday converged on Lagos state to begin arrangements for the mental evaluation exercise to be carried out on all armed policemen.http://dailypost.ng/2016/09/29/police-medical-team-arrive-lagos-begin-psychiatric-test-serving-officers/
The exercise is meant to assist in promoting principles of people-oriented policing as directed earlier this year by the then Inspector-General.
It would be recalled that the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Solomon Arase had in January, disclosed that the NPF was considering conducting psychiatric test on recruits and serving officers, stressing that the Force would also consider the idea of a Trauma Centre for its officers because of the nature of their job.
The IGP had explained that the initiative became necessary following incidents of indiscriminate use of firearms by personnel of the force.
The Zone 2 Police Command in Onikan, Lagos state, on Wednesday said the test would be done to maintain standards in the handling of firearms, and police activities in Lagos and Ogun states, the two states that Zone 2 covers.
In a statement made available to newsmen, the Assistant Inspector-General for Zone 2, CP Abdulmajid Ali, said, “The medical team which arrived Lagos state from Abuja comprised of experts and trained psychiatrists from the police medical department and the Melville Healthcare Centre in Abuja.
“The team was led by the AIG Medical, Stella Akintade.
“Units such as the Police Mobile Force and the Special Anti-Robbery Squads, SARS, are to attend a workshop which will mark the beginning of the medical exercise,” the statement added.
l
UGHELLI- THE Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, NDJM, today, bombed another Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, delivery line in Delta State.
The group in a stament by self styled Gen Aldo Agbalaja, said: “As a mark of our commitment to a just course and to prove to the wicked and ungrateful multinational oil companies and their Nigerian military allies, who have been forcefully taking our natural endowment, without any visible returns, that we own our lands, the Opudo Strike Team of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, at about 01. 00 hour today , 29th Sept 2016, bombed the Unenurhie-Evwreni delivery line in ughelli south/north respectively operated by NPDC.”
“We want to assure the oil multinational companies that we are determined to end their operations in our lands and this we shall if they fail to show the will to change their relationship with our people and their operational attitude in our lands.
“For the avoidance of doubts, we want to say here, categorically, that no amount of military protection/presence can stop this whirlpool, no amount of shoddily arranged military operation can quell the will of our gallant army.” the group said.
It added: “The same way their Operation Crocodile Smile was sunken by our Operation Crocodile Tears is how all their schemes against our land and people will continue to be defeated.”
The group went onh “like we have said, this will only stop when you turn a new leaf, adopt a sincere attitude, give back to our people what naturally should be theirs, advise the government rightly, stop thinking there’s an army to protect you from justice, do these and all that you know are good. If you do these, be assured to have a good relationship with our people and real protection for your personnel and assets across our lands.”
Nigerian drug lord deported from Kenya on presidential order sneaks back
Controversial Nigerian businessman Anthony Chinedu. A Nigerian drug lord Emmanuel Peter Lovembe, who was deported from Kenya in 2013 alongside Mr Chinedu, was Wednesday arrested in Kayole after he sneaked back into the country.
In Summary
In June 2013, he was arrested and deported together with Anthony Chinedu for involvement in narcotics trafficking.
Three months later he also sneaked back and was arrested in Donholm estate
He was arrested together with a Kenyan woman, Ms Virginia Wakini, who had just arrived from Tanzania via Namanga border when police raided their house.
A Nigerian drug lord who was deported from Kenya in 2013 following a presidential order was Wednesday arrested in Kayole, Nairobi, after he sneaked back into the country.
Mr Emmanuel Peter Lovembe was arrested in Kayole estate on Wednesday at around 2pm.
On Thursday morning, the suspect was picked from the station by detectives from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) for interrogation.
In June 2013, he was arrested and deported together with Anthony Chinedu for involvement in narcotics trafficking.
Three months later he also sneaked back and was arrested in Donholm estate
He was arrested together with a Kenyan woman, Ms Virginia Wakini, who had just arrived from Tanzania via Namanga border when police raided their house.
He confessed to have come back using different identification documents through Namanga.
FIVE bright Nigerian students have received the ultimate award for being the best gheir respective universities.
The Annual Reward Nigeria Award, hosted by Culbeat New concepts Limited at Four Point Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, was held in honour of five students who distinguished themselves as the best graduating students in their respective institutions across Nigeria.
Five of the universities graduates were rewarded with N50, 000 prices for their academic excellence. The awardees were; Umar Ningi, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Thompson Mba, University of Nigeria, Nsuka, (UNN), Ademola, University of Ibadan, (UI), Micheal Adeboye, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and Ayodele Dada from University of Lagos, (UNILAG).
Speaking during the award ceremony, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan Managing Director First Bank Nigeria, who was the keynote speaker, advised the students to work harder and merit their brilliance in their future engagement. “You are celebrated now because of your academic excellence, but it will be a waste if at the end of it all, you cannot harness your intelligence to impact future. Nigeria needs your contribution to drive the country forward.”
Speaking at the award on behalf of the organizer, Mr. Kunle Akintayo expressed gratitude to God for another successful award despite challenges.
The Nigerian Naira plunged further to a new record low on Wednesday, down 1.76 percent against the dollar on the parallel market even as dollar supplies dry up.
The local currency fell to 460 to the dollar on the black market, down from 452 at the close of trading on Tuesday.
Though the naira closed at 305.50 to the dollar on the official interbank market against 305 a dollar the previous day, traders said dollar liquidity remains a major challenge in the market. "Trading has continue to be thin on the interbank market as the dollar shortage persists while demand for the greenback remains strong," one dealer said. (REUTERS)
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday dismissed allegations made by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu alleging that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his Kaduna State counterpart, Mallam Nasir El Rufai were in Edo State for the election.
In a statement signed by the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, the government described the allegations by the PDP candidate as reckless and disgraceful.
Ayorinde while clarifying the position of the government said Ambode was presently overseas for an official assignment and in any case had no business being in Edo State on Election Day.
“The Lagos State Governor served as the chairman Campaign Council constituted by the All Progressives Congress and his duty ended 24 hours before the election because no campaign was supposed to hold 24 hours to the election and having completed his assignment which included appearing with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Grand Rally in Edo State earlier in the month, Governor Ambode has no reason to return to Edo State on election day and for this sort of lie to have been peddled by a candidate who is supposed to be a pastor, is reckless and disgraceful,” he said
Ayorinde said Governor Ambode had clearly enumerated his position on the election during the grand finale of the campaign when he said that like Lagos where continuity has moved perfectly well, Edo State also deserved continuity in governance.
“That message has been passed and has been accepted by majority of Edo indigenes and therefore there would not be any need for the Governor to return to Edo on Election Day. The general public and security operatives are hereby advised to ignore the desperate lies of Pastor Ize-Iyamu,” Ayorinde said.
APC national chairman John Odigie-Oyegun acknowledging the crowd just before casting his vote.
The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief John Odigie Oyegun has again lost his unit to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the ongoing Edo election.
Oyegun, who voted at Oredo Ward 2, Unit 1 has not won an election for his party in the unit since joining the APC.
The returning officer of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that the APC scored 69 votes, while the PDP scored 78 votes.
Meanwhile, Situation Room is reporting that there are tension in some polling booths and wards over issues ranging from over-voting to unused ballot and many more.
It reports that a polling unit in Etsako, the number of voters did not tally with the number of votes cast. In Oredo, it says there is argument between party agents over election materials.
Voting has ended in practically all the polling booths and counting of ballots has commenced.
Meanwhile, it was jubilations galore at Ward 4, unit 19 as APC candidate Godwin Obaseki won election in the ward.
ABUJA – Former Vice President and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar Wednesday waded into the altercation between the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and another leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja, the former vice president said the leadership of the party cannot make rules only to discard it while the game is on.
He charged “the APC on the promotion of rule of law and due process in the conduct of its affairs noting that they are germane to the unity and stability of the party”.
According to him, “it is imperative for the national leadership of the party to live by the rules of internal democracy and respect for democratic consensus”, warning that “you cannot break your own rules without creating problems.”
Abubakar spoke in light of the face-off between Messrs Oyegun and Tinubu following the party’s decision to jettison the majority report of its Appeal Committee on the primary election in Ondo state which recommended a cancellation of the exercise that produced Mr Rotimi Akeredolu.
Retrace your steps
Abubakar also told Odigie-Oyegun to urgently retrace his steps in order to build confidence among aggrieved members.
He urged aggrieved members of the APC in the Ondo election “to exercise restraint in seeking redress to the crisis, while also urging the leadership of the party to retrace its steps and do the needful to restore confidence among the conflicting parties in the state for the overall benefit of the ruling party”.
He said the party is supposed to be an impartial entity in the arbitration of crisis among its members in any given election, contending that “since the APC found veritable reasons to review the outcome of the gubernatorial primary election it conducted in Ondo State, and was able to establish valid grounds to cancel that election and call for a fresh one, the decision to deviate from its own resolution is a negation of due process and an unfashionable hollow in democratic best practices.
“It was wrong for the APC to have set aside a resolution it had reached aimed at resolving the crisis in our party in Ondo State. It is a recipe for acrimony and division”, he stated.
The former Vice President also added that glossing over such a problem could only worsen the situation, advising the leadership of the party to do a soul-searching and address the issues at stake.
According to Atiku, the party leadership should always be guided by respect for the rules, fairness, equity, neutrality and respect for democratic consensus.
When contacted, an aide of the embattled chairman said the former vice president cannot exonerate himself of culpability in the emergence of Mr Akeredolu.
Though the aide pleaded for anonymity, he said, “we got reports that Atiku and some other party bigwigs actually bankrolled the Akeredolu campaign.
We are at a loss as to his recent romance with Tinubu but the president is the overall leader of the party and his decision on this matter is what would be our guiding principle especially because we do not have a functional Board of Trustees BOT in place as of now”.
The House Of Representatives on Wednesday suspended Abdulmumin Jibrin, a lawmaker from Kano at the centre of the unfolding budget padding scandal, for 180 legislative days.http://saharareporters.com/2016/09/28/house-representatives-suspends-jibrin
The House seats three days in a week and this consequently means that Mr. Jibrin’s suspension would last more than a year.
In a motion recommended by House Ethics Committee chairman, Nicholas Ossai, and adopted by the whole House, Mr. Jibrin will also not be able to hold any position of responsibility for the span of the current National Assembly.
Mr. Jibrin began stirring what experts now described as one Africa’s biggest parliamentary scandals in recent memory on July 21, a day after he was eased out as chairman of the powerful committee.
Although the House was taking a two-month recess at the time, Mr. Jibrin remained resolute in his quest to “end the massive corruption in the House.”
“My resolve to champion this cause was borne out of patriotism and desire to complement the present administration’s anti-corruption war from the legislative front,” Mr. Jibrin said in an email to PREMIUM TIMES on August 21.
Mr. Jibrin said the campaign had earned him “blackmail, propaganda and campaign of calumny” from Mr. Dogara, lawmakers loyal to him and their proxies.
The assault had been largely targeted at the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, and three other principal officers, whose resignation and prosecution he had continued to demand.
Mr. Dogara had announced the removal of Mr. Jibrin in a speech he read in plenary on July 20, alleging budget fraud and serial betrayal of trust.
To back his allegations against Mr. Dogara, Mr. Jibrin released damning documents to the media.
On July 30, the State Security Service sealed the secretariat of the Appropriation Committee in the National Assembly after Mr. Jibrin raised the alarm that Mr. Dogara had allegedly concluded plans to cart away computers and destroy evidence.
Mr. Jibrin also visited law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC, the SSS and the police, where he said he personally submitted petitions detailing evidence of fraudulent manipulation of budget by Mr. Dogara, his deputy Yusuf Lasun, House Whip, Alhassan Doguwa, Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, and nine others.
After several days of silence, Mr. Dogara succumbed to public demands for him to defend himself and came out with blistering statements denying all the charges against him.
Mr. Dogara took specific issue with the ‘budget padding’ catchphrase, saying it was a strange term to use when describing the actions of the legislature.
He also said lawmakers could not be probed by law enforcement agencies over any infractions in the National Assembly, but later walked back this statement.
At some point, the APC moved to contain the crisis, but its gag order lasted only a weekend.
Consequently, lawmakers began openly criticising Mr. Jibrin for allegedly defacing the National Assembly, dealing a major blow to his crusade.
Mr. Jibrin’s isolation became even more pronounced after 10 principal officers of the House released a statement backing Mr. Dogara and denouncing Mr. Jibrin. Amongst them was Femi Gbajabiamila, the Majority Leader who many thought would be reluctant to openly back Mr. Dogara.
The development sparked speculation that Mr. Jibrin would be suspended upon resumption of the House from recess.
The House resumed on September 20 and a lawmaker loyal to Mr. Dogara moved a motion the next day to have Mr. Jibrin probed for allegedly breaching the privileges of the members.
Emmanuel Orker-Jev, a lawmaker from Benue, proposed tough sanctions against Mr. Jibrin for the damage his allegations have allegedly wrought on the House.
“The image of the House has never been worse than this before. Hon. Jibrin was reckless and the allegations were false. He knew that the allegations were false and scandalous and he had no regards at all to whether the allegations were true or false,” Mr. Orker-Jev said.
The House subsequently assigned the matter to its Ethics and Privileges Committee for further investigation and to report back within a week with its findings and recommendations.
Mr. Ossai, chairman of the committee, convened the first hearing on the matter September 23, during which Mr. Orker-Jev submitted his allegations against Mr. Jibrin.
Mr. Jibrin received an invitation to appear before the committee on Monday. But decided to boycott the hearing, even though his demand that the sitting be thrown open to the public was met by Mr. Ossai. Mr. Jibrin also asked his lawyer, Femi Falana, to seek discontinuation of committee’s actvities in court.
Mr. Ossai said Mr. Jibrin’s failure to appear before his “properly and constitutionally constituted committee” was, in effect, a defence.
Mr. Jibrin had on Tuesday alleged subjudice saying the committee should not have sat since the matter was in court.
Mr. Jibrin’s suspension would see him banned from the premises of the National Assembly in the course of the disciplinary action. He would also not receive salaries or allowances.
Some sympathisers of Mr. Jibrin saw his suspension as partisan, draconian and counterproductive.
“This show of partisanship and support for Mr. Dogara is condemnable and too severe,” said a political analyst, Gbola Oba.
Mr. Oba said Mr. Jibrin had suffered the same fate as Dino Melaye who was suspended in 2010 for breach of members’ privilege. Mr. Melaye is now a senator representing Kogi West.
“We knew they would gang up against him as they did against Mr. Melaye,” Mr. Oba said. “This clearly shows that the House has failed to move beyond its counterproductive ways of suspending anyone who challenges the status quo.
“If the House were a serious body, serious attention would be given to Mr. Jibrin’s claim so as to foster a thriving democratic experiment within the country.”
South African telecoms giant, MTN, on Wednesday denied the allegation that it illegally repatriated 13.92 billion dollars from Nigeria, saying the claim was without merit.
“The allegations made against MTN are completely unfounded and without any merit,” MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Ferdi Moolman, said in a statement in Johannesburg.
Nigeria’s Senate agreed on Tuesday to investigate the allegation that MTN, Africa’s biggest telecoms company, illegally transferred the money out of Nigeria.
Senator Dino Melaye, who raised the motion, said the alleged illegal repatriation was allegedly facilitated by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Elenemah and involved Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citi Bank and Diamond Bank.
The allegation threatens to raise tensions between Nigeria and MTN just three months after the South African firm agreed to pay a reduced fine of N330 billion in a settlement over the hefty sanction it attracted over unregistered SIM cards. The settlement followed interventions by Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Jacob Zuma .
The company had threatened to pull out of Nigeria during the dispute over unregistered SIM cards.
MTN is the largest mobile phone operator in Nigeria, which accounts for about one third of the company’s revenues.
Reuters reports that MTN shares fell more than three per cent on Tuesday, but opened one per cent firmer on Wednesday.
Despite security presence at the polling units, transactions on buying and selling of votes continued unhindered in some units monitored on Wednesday.
PREMIUM TIMES observed at Igueke community, in Orhiowon local government area, a crowd of young men distributing cash to influence voting in the early hours of Wednesday.
Some of the voters at unit 26 and 27 in Iduenbo Ward, would first visit the distributor of the cash encircled by members of the group before going to queue for voting.
In Auchi, Etsakor West local government, the practice is rampant, as cash was distributed openly to voters.
Premium Times gathered that the voters first received N1000 before queuing. They got a balance of N1000 after voting for the candidate who paid the money.
An observer who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday said the practice was rampant at units 7, 9 and 10 Ward 1.
“As I speak to you now, they are doing it and as I talk to you, they are hearing me talking to you about,” he said.
But the Social Democratic Party has lamented the use of funds to buy votes in the election.
Publicity Secretary of the party, Oshiobugie Bonvist, said he had observed the buying of votes himself at different polling units.
“The election is very peaceful and orderly except the buying of votes,” Mr. Bonvist said.
“They are sharing N2000 each and I observe that it is the ruling APC that is doing it right now.”
He noted that the election is going well and hoped that it would remain so until the end of the election.
By Emmanuel Aziken
President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed a move by Governor Aminu Tambuwal and two other governors to settle the dispute between All Progressives Congress, APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oygeun.
A meeting between the peace envoys and the two men will, however, not hold until weekend at the earliest, sources in the party told Vanguard. The delay it was learnt was to enable the party give full attention to the Edo State governorship election holding on Wednesday. Oyegun, Tinubu and Buhari The peace move, it was gathered, was launched by interested party stakeholders who were discomfited with the verbal tirade between the two men following the submission of Chief Rotimi Akeredolu’s name as the party’s governorship candidate ford Ondo State governorship election holding in November.
Tinubu had allegedly backed Dr. Segun Abraham who came second in the primary contest that an internal party appeal panel said should be annulled. Odigie-Oyegun, however, rejected the panel report and forwarded Akeredolu’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as the party’s candidate and by that brought a stinging rebuke from Tinubu last Sunday.
Vanguard gathered that party stakeholders made contact with Governor Tambuwal and the two other governors who were seen to be sufficiently removed from the different tendencies in the party or seen to be non-partisan in the Ondo matter to lead the peace initiative.
“The crisis was not one that should be allowed to fester and so party insiders thought that Tambuwal and two other governors should try to broker peace. Tinubu is not the type of man that we should allow to leave the party,” the party source told Vanguard. It was upon this that Tambuwal who accepted the offer visited the president to inform him of the peace move and the president it was gathered enthusiastically gave his endorsement. It was, however, reasoned that a meeting with the two men would not hold until after the Edo State governorship election.
Two days after the resumption of schools in Lagos State, school proprietors say many of the students returned without reading and writing materials.
In separate interviews with NAN, the school owners told NAN that it was unusual for pupils to start a new academic session without at least 70 per cent of their textbooks ready.
Ifejola Dada, president of the Association for Formidable Education Development, confirmed that in her school, most pupils resumed school without textbooks.
Dada said this was a new development unlike what obtained in the past when pupils resumed on the first day with their school materials ready.
She attributed the development to the current recession in the country.
“We are not talking about the school fees now because it is obvious that the recession is biting hard on parents and guardians,” she said.
“We could not even increase the school fees but what we are battling now is the children’s readiness for school as indicated by the purchase of textbooks.”
Kalu Orji, proprietor, Rockford Private School, Ikorodu, said the effect of the recession on students and their parents was very visible.
Orji said apart from parents of new in takes who had met the school requirements, regular pupils were still to meet up with the demands of the new session.
“Before resumption, I had to put things in place in my school since it was a new session to make the parents happy on resumption,” he said.
“However, it was not easy because funds were limited as a result of poor response to fee payment and the hike in the prices of things.
“Parents and pupils are affected because most of the pupils do not have the necessary school items yet.’’
Also Gladys Grimes, proprietress, Gladys and Grimes Educational Service, Alagbado, said there was an exceptionally low turnout of students for the new session.
She said it was difficult to tell whether the students had met the requirements for resumption because of the low turnout.
Grimes added that resumption was usually not rapid but that turnout had been exceptionally low this session.
THE Nigerian Army has dismissed the recent reports of 8 people being killed in a church in Chibok, Borno state by Boko Haram terrorists.
Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman clarified the allegations.
He said: “The Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole wishes to clarify that alleged suspected Boko Haram terrorists attack at Chibok is not correct.”
“What happened was that, two persons were murdered at Kwamjilari village, (which is over 30 kilometres from Chibok, and very close to Sambisa forest), by suspected remnants of Boko Haram terrorists looking for food.”
The Army Spokesman reiterated that the victims weren’t killed outside or near a church as being reported.
He stated that “the people from the said village are all in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Chibok”.
Usman said that those who went back to the village without authorisation were moved back to Chibok two weeks ago, adding that “those killed went back on their own contrary to security advise”.
He assured that a patrol team that was sent from Chibok went to the village this morning.
He also noted that adequate measures would be taken to ensure no one go back to the village for now.
President Muhammad Buhari has received concrete evidence that his Chief of Staff (CoS), Abba Kyari, took N500m from operators of MTN to help the telecommunications giant mitigate the fine imposed on it by the federal government, SaharaReporters has learned.
Sources say the evidence was presented to President Buhari several times including during the Sallah holiday.
The mind-boggling revelation is the latest in the mounting allegations of corruption involving members of the top echelon of President Buhari’s administration.
Confronted with the evidence, the CoS reportedly claimed he was helping the All Progressives Congress party raise funds for the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State, to which the president is said to have asked him if he was the party chairman, but did not relieve him of his post.
SaharaReporters has previously revealed several corrupt actions of the Chief of Staff. They include taking money from Jide Omokore, a shady businessman who was massively involved in corruption in the oil sector in the preceding administration.
Following acceptance of the money, Mr. Kyari reportedly took Mr. Omokore twice to meet President Buhari to enable the businessman to make a promise to refund some of the funds. A source told Saharareporters Omokore promised to refund N500 million
When Omokore was eventually arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the CoS reportedly told President Buhari that it was the EFCC chair, Ibrahim Magu, who had bungled progress concerning Omokore. SaharaReporters has also previously reported that Mr. Kyari wants to remove Magu from the anti-graft body in favor of a candidate who is more amenable to his wishes.
On his part, Omokore is also known to have bribed the judge handling the case with $2million. He was released on bail without leaving the court premises.
Other members of President Buhari’s inner circle have been exposed as engaging in serious cases of corruption but the President has not acted on their cases, either. In some instances, they reportedly got members of President Buhari’s office to absolve them of any “wrongdoing”.
Among others:
The Chief of Army Staff, Yusuf Buratai, was found to have used Nigerian Army funds to purchase homes in Dubai;
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Abdulrahman Dambazau, bought homes for millions of dollars in Boston in the United States;
Several other aides and officials within the government have been exposed for involvement in illegal employments and forgery of age and certificates.
As in the case of Mr. Kyari, they have so far all been shielded by President Buhari. Speaking earlier this to journalists in Daura, his hometown, the president said his “anti-corruption war” was being implemented on the basis of justice and fairness.
THE candidates of the Advanced Congress of Democrats, ACD, Andrew Igwemoh and Action Alliance, Paul Ofomile, yesterday stepped down for the PDP candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/kowa-acd-candidates-steps-ize-iyamu/
Ofomile and Igwemoh, who made the declaration during a PDP rally in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area, anchored their decision on the ground that Ize-Iyamu was better prepared for the office of the governor and offered the best hope for the state.
The ACD candidate, who is from Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s Iyamho community, pointed out that it would have been easy for him to align with the governor and the APC but the issue of who governs Edo State was not a “brotherly affair.”
He said Governor Oshiomhole only developed a section of Iyamho community, regretting that the governor has succeeded in building a university in Iyamho that is not affordable to the people of the community.
He said: “We have collapsed our structure and are now working for a team that can take Edo State to Eldorado. They (APC) promised to create 200,000 jobs when they have not even created 10, 000 jobs.”
In his remark, Pastor Ize-Iyamu regretted that Governor Oshiomhole abandoned Okpella despite the overwhelming support given to him, adding that the governor ruled as if Okpella was not part of Etsako and did not harness the huge mineral deposits in the area.
He said: “I want to assure you that we will not disappoint you. We will harness the huge mineral resources in Okpella. They have punished you for too long, and you must punish them for abandoning you.”
The withdrawal of the duo brings to four the number of candidates, who have so far withdrawn from the race for Ize-Iyamu. The candidates of KOWA Party, Thompson Osadolor, and the People for Democratic Change, PDC, Bishop Akharame, had earlier stepped down for Ize-Iyamu.
By Ediri Ejoh & Genevieve Aningo
Amidst controversies over appropriate pump price for petrol, repreau of Statistics, NBS, has indicated that petrol marketers in16 states of the country are selling the product significantly higher than the N145 maximum price stipulated by the federal government.
While the marketers have subtly canvassed for upward review of the ceiling on the bases of upwards movement in exchange rate, the key factor in the petrol pricing template, many stakeholders have argued that the marketers were being selfish in pressuring the government for their financial gains at the expense of the economy and the citizens.
Also the federal government through both the presidency and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, have resisted the pressure saying that the increase was not acceptable.
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has also indicated that at N145 per litre the marketers were already making huge margins on the exchange rate of N280/USD1.00, arguing that the further depreciation of Naira recently only narrowed the profit margin instead of wiping it out.
But according to the NBS report, as at last month Nigerians across the 36 states bought petrol at average of N147 per litre, above the fixed price cap of N145 per litre.
Specifically, the reports show that in 16 states the price ranged from N145.90 in Imo State to N164.30 in Bayelsa State.
In the report, all oil producing states are running the most expensive fuel price, except Edo and Delta.
Other states that recorded significant mark-up on the benchmark price include: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Rivers and Sokoto, with a range of N146 and N164.3 per litre.
Meanwhile, within this period, no regulatory agency has been able to check the discrepancy.
John Alechenu, Abuja
The three-member All Progressives Congress Ondo State Governorship Primary Appeals Committee has recommended for the cancellation of the election.
It also recommended that a fresh election be conducted to chose the party’s standard bearer in the forthcoming governorship election.
A copy of the report sighted by our correspondent on Monday, observed among other things that, “It is a matter of grave concern that the accreditation process appeared to have been manipulated.
“Thus, in consideration of the above observed irregularities and for the sake of fair play, it is hereby recommended that the election result should be cancelled while a rerun election should be ordered immediately in order to beat the INEC deadline.”
It was however learnt that the committee submitted its findings and left the decision on the way forward for the party leadership to make.
A meeting of the party’s National Working Committee on the report was, however, deadlocked as party leaders failed to reach a consensus.
The meeting, which had most members of the NWC in attendance, was held at the party’s National Secretariat on Monday.
It was learnt that the three-hour meeting, was convened to deliberate on the Appeal Panel’s report which was secretly submitted to the NWC by the panel’s Chairman, Helen Bendega, late on Friday.
It was gathered that the party leadership was divided over whether or not to cancel the primary as recommended by the panel.
The Ondo APC Governorship primary conducted on September 3, was reportedly marred by controversy as several contestants and party leaders from the state alleged massive electoral fraud.
Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, was declared winner after the contest which was supervised by the Governor Abubakar Badaru-led Primary Election Committee.
Akeredolu defeated Segun Abraham, the preferred candidate of the national leader of APC, Bola Tinubu.
Abraham, Olusola Oke and Senator Ajayi Borofice had petitioned the APC Appeal Panel Committee, alleging irregularities on the delegates’ list for the primaries.
Those who attended Monday’s meeting included the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, two Deputy National Chairmen (South), Segun Oni and his counterpart from the North, Lawali Shuiabu.
The Indigenous People of Biafra has said its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is critically ill in Kuje prison.http://punchng.com/nnamdi-kanu-critically-ill-ipob-insists/
The group said it got the information from Kanu’s lawyers who visited him recently,
In a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, on Saturday, the group said Kanu was suffering from chest and abdominal pains as well as a violent cough.
The group alleged that Kanu’s poor health might not be unconnected with the bad treatment he had been allegedly subjected to by prisons officials.
It called on the international community to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to allow its leader to have access to medical treatment.
The statement read, “We have notified the international community about his present condition which include debilitating abdominal pains and occasional tightening of the chest resulting in cough, which has persisted.
“The Department of State Services has this information in its record and we suggest it makes it public for the world to know. Kanu’s loss of blood through bleeding from the nose prompted the agency to send in an external doctor to examine him while in their custody.”
The group also declared its support for the United States Republican Party’s presidential candidate, Donald Trump.
The group ranked Trump among other world leaders such as Vladimir Putin of Russia, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and Angela Merkel of Germany.
It said Americans and the world should be desirous to see Trump as the next US President.
It also expressed hope that if Trump became the President of the US, he would address “the plight of Biafrans.”
The statement added, “We are calling on the international community, world leaders like Vladimir Putin of Russia, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Angela Merkel of Germany and Donald Trump, whom the good people of America, to come and make the US greater. These leaders and others who recognise the ideals of freedom for all should come to our rescue.”
The group decried the DSS’ declaration of the wife of its leader, Uchechi and one Powerful as wanted persons.
“The DSS should have known that IPOB is a non-violent organisation committed to the liberation of the people of Biafra and has not been involved in any violent act or crime during its protests in Nigeria and across the globe,” the group added.
A number of Deposit Money Banks in the country will close many of what they described as unprofitable branches as the economic recession continues to bite harder, investigation by our correspondent has shown.
It was similarly gathered that most of the banks would lay off hundreds of workers between now and December.
The revelation came barely 24 hours after Unity Bank Plc laid off about 300 workers, more than the 220 that was mentioned last week.
Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank and Skye Bank Plc had earlier in the year sacked over 3,000 members of their workforce.
It was learnt that following the economic downturn in the country, a number of bank branches could no longer justify their existence as cost analysis had shown that the financial institutions were spending more on salaries and overheads than the income from the branches.
Some top bank executives, who confirmed the development to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity on Monday, said some lenders might be forced to relieve more workers of their duties before the end of this year.
An executive director in one of the banks that recently asked some of its workers to go said, “We have laid off some of our staff members but that it still not enough. Many branches are just existing for the sake of being there. They are not generating enough income. What they are bringing in is far less than what the bank is incurring as costs on them.
“We may have to close such branches before the year ends. I know a number of other banks that are planning something similar.”
Commenting on the development, an ex-banker and Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, described branch closure as an ongoing action in the banking sector, especially in times of economic downturn.
He, however, noted that banks were required to notify the Central Bank of Nigeria before closing any branch.
“It is an ongoing administrative thing in the banking industry. Banks will want to rationalise branches, especially in a difficult economy. Banks are planning to cut costs. Branch rationalisation is normal but the CBN has to be notified,” Chukwu explained.
The banking sector has been facing a number of challenges following the downturn in economic activities.
The slowdown in the economy, which has led to a high rate of non-performing loans in the banking system, made four lenders to lose at least N17bn in profits in the first quarter of this year.
Specifically, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc recorded a combined decline of N17bn in their profits before tax for the three months ended March 31, 2016, when compared with the corresponding period of 2015, according to the results of the financial institutions posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
When compared with the PBT of N30.52bn, N32.65bn, N4.26bn and N7.94bn recorded by the banks in the first quarter of 2015, the combined PBT of the four banks dropped by N17bn from N75.4bn in the first quarter of last year to N58.4bn in the same period of this year.
While Ecobank’s PBT fell from N30.52bn in the first quarter of 2015 to N20.63bn in a similar period of this year, GTBank’s dropped from N32.65bn to N30.68bn. That of Unity Bank dropped from N4.26bn to N1.05bn, while Diamond Bank’s came down from N7.94bn to N6.04bn.
In terms of their profit after tax, the four banks recorded a decline of N14bn.
Banks in the country had been posting sharp increases in profits before tax and profits after tax since 2011 after the establishment of the Asset Management of Corporation of Nigeria in 2010 following the banking sector crisis in 2009.
However, consistent drop in the global prices of crude oil, Nigeria’s main foreign exchange earner, since June 2014, caused banks’ profits to start declining at the end of 2015.
Majority of the 15 banks listed on the NSE recorded declines in their full-year profits in the 2015 financial year. However, a few ones such as Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and GTBank outperformed the market despite sizeable volume of bad loans.
In the first quarter of 2016, 13 out of the 15 banks posted a combined PBT of N135.36bn, compared to N148bn in the corresponding period of last year.
Similarly, the 13 banks posted profits after tax of N116.6bn in the first quarter of 2016, compared to N126.4bn in the first quarter of 2015.
The 13 banks are Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, GTBank, FCMB Limited, Sterling Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, UBA Plc, Unity Bank, Wema Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.
Skye Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank have yet to release their full-year 2015 and first-quarter 2016 financial results.
An economic analyst and Head, Investment Advisory, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Mr. Ayodeji Ebo, said the declining profit in the financial services sector was a reflection of the challenges facing the Nigerian economy.
