All governors declare: We are in BAD shape

<p dir="ltr">Governors of the 36 states of the federation rose from their meeting on Wednesday night in one accord and with once voice, declaring: “We are in bad shape.”<br> The N299 billion shared from the federation account for March 2016 is regarded as among the lowest in the 4th republic.<br> Deductions from the federation account were deferred to avoid some states receiving “negative” allocations.<br> The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), led by Abdulaziz Yari (pictured), governor of Zamfara state, has now expressed worry over the continued dwindling resources.<br> Speaking to the media after their closed-door meeting, Yari said the governors noted that they were in very bad situation and need to come together and discuss “intensively” about the economy.<br> “If you look carefully at this month’s federation account, it’s the worst ever in the last six years, so definitely we had to come to a round table,” he said.<br> “We were elected under different party platforms to perform, not just to pay salaries. It is worse not to be able to pay salaries, so the issue is very, very serious that we are coming back to discuss it and if we have the opportunity we will come back to see our leader, Mr. President.”<br> The governors want a permanent solution, not just bail-outs, he said.<br> He diversification is a “long term programme”.<br> “We are looking for a short term formula for you to live, at least survive before the long term. So on diversification, we are looking on agriculture, which is supposed to be the major focus long time ago but has been neglected by the past administrations,” Yari said.<br> “Now that we found ourselves in this situation we are working harder to diversify the economy and to look forward to a more permanent solution should oil go out of existence but at the same time we have to look for a short-term solution.”<br> Ayo Fayose, governor of Ekiti State, said he was comfortable that “everybody is concerned about the dwindling economy and we must as leaders of this country come together to find solutions and I agree with all the positions”.<br> Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom state, said no solution can be achieved in a two-hour meeting, saying the current economic crisis was not peculiar to Nigeria.<br> “It’s a global issue, so you can’t just at one meeting of about two hours fashion out entire solution for the country. We troubleshoot some points, we discuss those points and we have to weigh the impact of those points both the positive, negative, the extreme, the mid-point,” he said.<br> “Once you are bringing out certain policies, you also need to align those policies with the socio-cultural environment that you are operating in, what may work in this part of the world may not work in other parts, even though it is a good policy.”<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyf15HFyPwhU8XjuT837Kk3yW1OBEpYIQqaxLPj3eME3yMrMgQlW6ll2XF3nvSPWa6AHDeSoSAjKW1HJClZ7VqZk5t2ZpAVazLcIRyZcD8RqgQvPUYmgprpYchVjZbn74nUA4bsLDbcmc/s1600/AbdulAzeez-Yari-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyf15HFyPwhU8XjuT837Kk3yW1OBEpYIQqaxLPj3eME3yMrMgQlW6ll2XF3nvSPWa6AHDeSoSAjKW1HJClZ7VqZk5t2ZpAVazLcIRyZcD8RqgQvPUYmgprpYchVjZbn74nUA4bsLDbcmc/s640/AbdulAzeez-Yari-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

All governors declare: We are in BAD shape

BASAM 0 05:17:00

Governors of the 36 states of the federation rose from their meeting on Wednesday night in one accord and with once voice, declaring: “We are in bad shape.” The N299 billion shared from the federation account for March 2016 is regarded as among the l… link to this post

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Saraki arrives CCT without a single senator

<p dir="ltr">Senate President Bukola Saraki arrived the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) without the usual array of senators in tow.<br> TheCable observed that no senator accompanied the senate president, who arrived at the tribunal at 10:15am.<br> But two senators later joined him after 45 minutes.<br> This is the first time the senate president arrived “solo” at the tribunal.<br> In October 2015, at least 81 senators accompanied Saraki to the CCT. But the number kept plummeting afterwards.<br> On Wednesday, only two senators accompanied him to the tribunal.<br> Meanwhile, Danladi Umar, chairman of the CCT, will rule on Saraki’s application asking him to withdraw from the trial.<br> Saraki is facing multiple counts of false declaration of assets.<br> This is a developing story…<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWFWxBIN6AxTm7LHqhT1OD3bs9o08vYQWkmgW0CJaE5CsQqUnTKvkgy_WkYU9-94Uyb6DIzYkqjAExvvd9ZB3_oK2ZH811sV1kck2C24wKA99TSitplxCGdF8k8Iri9No10Zjc2bYZ2L4/s1600/bukola-saraki-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWFWxBIN6AxTm7LHqhT1OD3bs9o08vYQWkmgW0CJaE5CsQqUnTKvkgy_WkYU9-94Uyb6DIzYkqjAExvvd9ZB3_oK2ZH811sV1kck2C24wKA99TSitplxCGdF8k8Iri9No10Zjc2bYZ2L4/s640/bukola-saraki-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Saraki arrives CCT without a single senator

BASAM 0 05:14:00

Senate President Bukola Saraki arrived the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) without the usual array of senators in tow. TheCable observed that no senator accompanied the senate president, who arrived at the tribunal at 10:15am. But two senators later j… link to this post

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Soldiers at war front demand unpaid allowances

<p dir="ltr">Nigerian soldiers, including those fighting Boko Haram insurgency in the north east, say they have not been paid their peace keeping and daily operational allowances for six months.<br> According to one of the soldiers, who spoke with journalists, some 200 soldiers of the 158 Task Force Battalion fought in the AU peace keeping operation in Guinea Bissau in 2015, but are being owed six months allowances.<br> “We fought in Guinea Bissau between 2014 and 2015; they promised to pay our allowances immediately we arrived in Nigeria,” he said.<br> “When we returned, they promised to pay us before the end of the training. Soon after the training, we were posted to fight in Yobe and Borno and nobody is talking about our allowances anymore.”<br> Another soldier said nine of the affected soldiers had died – eight in a recent clash in Kareto –refuting the claims of the military authorities that one person died in the clash.<br> The ninth soldier, he said, died in an accident.<br> Source: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOUbZu7CQAbszJ2NwOeWAt1jZGaUpGNW-qnyOh7iIlO-wjyYPIkslRlL4mdGmSzzyunSF2Kx6R4IkGz7nVqHxfwya7TzlvYGSZfvhfBQ0uklIhwRj6HGSavNMIsEEHMo37RcjJMkTKoV3/s1600/nigerian-soldiers-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOUbZu7CQAbszJ2NwOeWAt1jZGaUpGNW-qnyOh7iIlO-wjyYPIkslRlL4mdGmSzzyunSF2Kx6R4IkGz7nVqHxfwya7TzlvYGSZfvhfBQ0uklIhwRj6HGSavNMIsEEHMo37RcjJMkTKoV3/s640/nigerian-soldiers-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Soldiers at war front demand unpaid allowances

BASAM 0 05:10:00

Nigerian soldiers, including those fighting Boko Haram insurgency in the north east, say they have not been paid their peace keeping and daily operational allowances for six months. According to one of the soldiers, who spoke with journalists, some 2… link to this post

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Naira down to 320.5 against the dollar

<p dir="ltr">The naira has depreciated slightly, exchanging at N320.5 to the dollar at the parallel market.<br> According to NAN, the naira lost 50 kobo on Wednesday afternoon, from the N320 it traded against the dollar on Monday.<br> Also, the naira traded against the pound sterling and the euro at N457 and N361 respectively, weakening further against the pound.<br> Meanwhile, the Nigerian currency maintained N197 to the dollar at the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rate.<br> Traders at the market complained of low activities but expressed delight at the efforts by the executive and the legislature to resolve issues surrounding the 2016 budget.<br> Industry watchers also said that with the appreciation of oil at the international market, the nation’s revenue would increase and the<br> naira would he strengthened.<br> Crude oil was sold at about 47 dollars per barrel at the close of trading on Wednesday.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgdRgC6NIlGarVwv8faOlGTjrjdCbQ1skqoTfIOYFQGI3-9hSBBLAUOQottxjp4E_QcW3mYleHQ30Scg3Wg10zxnFiK7lRGnajt3yI209UGs03OR976nQhlGis7th80lQ-wz0b_bK-HhN/s1600/naira-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgdRgC6NIlGarVwv8faOlGTjrjdCbQ1skqoTfIOYFQGI3-9hSBBLAUOQottxjp4E_QcW3mYleHQ30Scg3Wg10zxnFiK7lRGnajt3yI209UGs03OR976nQhlGis7th80lQ-wz0b_bK-HhN/s640/naira-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Naira down to 320.5 against the dollar

BASAM 0 00:33:00

The naira has depreciated slightly, exchanging at N320.5 to the dollar at the parallel market. According to NAN, the naira lost 50 kobo on Wednesday afternoon, from the N320 it traded against the dollar on Monday. Also, the naira traded against the p… link to this post

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ALERT: Buy petrol with jerry can, end up in prison

<p dir="ltr">It will no longer matter whether you’re the buyer or the seller; if you’re found handling petrol with jerry cans, you will be arrested.<br> The order, given on Tuesday by Solomon Arase, inspector-general of police, to all zonal assistant inspectors-general of police, FCT and state command commissioners of police, states clearly that anybody found selling petrol and other petroleum products in plastic containers should be arrested.<br> Arase gave the order in a statement issued by Olabisi Kolawole, acting commissioner of police and force public relations officer, in Abuja.<br> It said apart from the hardship the act was causing to fuel buyers, it had also rendered some innocent and law-abiding citizens homeless as a result of fire outbreaks.<br> The statement noted that fuel products such as petrol are highly flammable and if not stored and handled properly, can seriously endanger people’s lives, property and the environment.<br> It warned fuel attendants at filling stations to desist from selling petrol inside jerry cans and plastic containers.<br> The statement said both the buyers and the sellers of the products would be arrested and prosecuted under the law.<br> It assured Nigerians of the readiness of the police to fulfill its constitutional mandate, and also appealed for more cordial relationship between the police and the public.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnogOHOcgo-8zw_Ccjf2FjodjMjlJK_05R77jKVpwD7yQt1fbPj3ySE7Z8XFGwf_X6bfGGaNY-7stuX1_7XuZK6Vtj2iK4S2nrGG1LbpkRmmUxZeafgJ3RpYG2JVYjyDZ-ZiwScX0okhp/s1600/Fuel-Scarcity-653x365.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnogOHOcgo-8zw_Ccjf2FjodjMjlJK_05R77jKVpwD7yQt1fbPj3ySE7Z8XFGwf_X6bfGGaNY-7stuX1_7XuZK6Vtj2iK4S2nrGG1LbpkRmmUxZeafgJ3RpYG2JVYjyDZ-ZiwScX0okhp/s640/Fuel-Scarcity-653x365.png"> </a> </div>

ALERT: Buy petrol with jerry can, end up in prison

BASAM 0 00:24:00

It will no longer matter whether you’re the buyer or the seller; if you’re found handling petrol with jerry cans, you will be arrested. The order, given on Tuesday by Solomon Arase, inspector-general of police, to all zonal assistant inspectors-gener… link to this post

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Six in 10 children lack access to early childhood education

<p dir="ltr">More than six in 10 Nigerian children have no early childhood education, Save the Children Nigeria, a humanitarian organsation that promotes child rights, has said.<br> The organisation made this known in a tweet chat to launch a new campaign that will focus on reaching excluded children.<br> According to the organsation, more children in north than in the south face a daunting life, have no access to education and are more affected by poverty.<br> “Sadly, #Children deprived of basic primary education are largely located in the north with 15 states in #Nigeria #EveryLastChild,” the group tweeted.<br> The statistics, according to the organisation, are worse for females.<br> “#Malnutrition is higher in the north than in the south & is far more among #female #children than #males in #Nigeria. #EveryLastChild.”<br> Recent reports by the UNICEF reveal a startling rise in child brides, occasioned by the incessant kidnaps of young girls by Boko Haram insurgents.<br> The girls are often sexually abused and used as domestic slave, UNICEF had said.<br> According to Save the Children Nigeria, early marriage is a serious issue and is more preponderant in the north.<br> It says Nigeria must end the practice of child marriage and the perpetuation of poverty through the practice, as early marriage shows how children are left behind as a result protection deprivation.<br> The organisation lamented that though children are the most vulnerable group in terms of poverty, efforts targeted at eliminating poverty are barely reaching them.<br> It called on the Nigerian government to recognize that too many children in #Nigeria are deprived of health services & basic services.<br> The organisation also urged the government to prioritise the welfare of children and ensure no child is denied the chance to live through the implementation of the child rights act in Nigeria and the just approved National Food & Nutrition Policy.<br> It asked the government to end the practice of child marriage and the perpetuation of poverty through this discriminatory practice.<br> The organisation also asked the government to “fast-track the implementation of the Universal Basic Education Act with emphasis on education for girls”.<br> Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBi60W2i4ql2LLlSVsumd9h0DthgiTpNwjwb1GazA7lphIwaDTIC_xnDp1fh0XW6T3QoXBXJED-XQcrM7SyzuwM-U0MfiqGz4V-Jyb_H2HnneD-jfEwHThqF0PLthpqhTjZU5Vg8somGj/s1600/prayer-school-children-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBi60W2i4ql2LLlSVsumd9h0DthgiTpNwjwb1GazA7lphIwaDTIC_xnDp1fh0XW6T3QoXBXJED-XQcrM7SyzuwM-U0MfiqGz4V-Jyb_H2HnneD-jfEwHThqF0PLthpqhTjZU5Vg8somGj/s640/prayer-school-children-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Six in 10 children lack access to early childhood education

BASAM 0 23:51:00

More than six in 10 Nigerian children have no early childhood education, Save the Children Nigeria, a humanitarian organsation that promotes child rights, has said. The organisation made this known in a tweet chat to launch a new campaign that will f… link to this post

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Enyeama ranked 6th best goalkeeper in the world

<p dir="ltr">Vincent Enyeama, former Super Eagles goalkeeper, has made the list of top 10 goalkeepers in the world.<br> Enyeama is the sixth on the list, compiled by Swiss-based CIES football observatory, ahead of the likes of David De Gea of Manchester United, Petr Cech of Arsenal and Joe Hart of Manchester City.<br> also behind Enyeama are Hugo Lloris of Tottenham, Alphonse Areola of Villareal, Keylor Navas of Real Madrid and Pepe Reina of Napoli.<br> But ahead of the Lille FC goalkeeper are Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich, Jan Oblak of Athletico Madrid, Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus, Kevin Trapp of PSG and Claudio Bravo of Barcelona.<br> CIES ranked the players taking into account the number of goals conceded per match, number of minutes per goal, number of passes per match, number of saves per match, number of saves per goal conceded and the percentage of saves.<br> At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Enyeama deputised for regular captain Joswph Yobo, who stayed on the bench for most of the competition. He led Nigeria to its third continental victory, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 defeat of Burkina Faso in the final.<br> He was named on the team of the tournament as first choice goalkeeper, having conceded only four goals in six matches.<br> Enyeama was named in Nigeria’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a tournament Nigerians will continue to remember for his series of saves against Lionel Messi in the encounter against Argentina at the group phase.<br> He won his 100th cap for Nigeria in March 2015, in a 1-0 loss to Uganda. He retired from international football on October 8, 2015<br> Credit: <u>thecableng</u></p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfKUCEkjNjKmAH4DPSucCT8ou0Ng0Mgxug-TOLCLWWc99oxxpf3hkrwqVFZq-G1Ub-_dz09enAzBNIp95jn-jxDNaSiQnYGawVY4lBAYgAg1BQ7gB_o4zVdaXeGW7Qg4XkS8iVP3NhpSG/s1600/GOALKEEPER-ENYEAMA-3-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfKUCEkjNjKmAH4DPSucCT8ou0Ng0Mgxug-TOLCLWWc99oxxpf3hkrwqVFZq-G1Ub-_dz09enAzBNIp95jn-jxDNaSiQnYGawVY4lBAYgAg1BQ7gB_o4zVdaXeGW7Qg4XkS8iVP3NhpSG/s640/GOALKEEPER-ENYEAMA-3-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Enyeama ranked 6th best goalkeeper in the world

BASAM 0 23:45:00

Vincent Enyeama, former Super Eagles goalkeeper, has made the list of top 10 goalkeepers in the world. Enyeama is the sixth on the list, compiled by Swiss-based CIES football observatory, ahead of the likes of David De Gea of Manchester United, Petr … link to this post

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Saraki finally meets with Buhari as budget impasse is resolved after 10-minute parley

<p dir="ltr">After being absent from an earlier meeting at the presidential villa, Senate President Bukola Saraki attended a late evening parley with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday to resolve the budget impasse.<br> At the end of the meeting, it was announced that “all grey areas” had been resolved and the budget would be passed “in a matter of days”.<br> Speaker Yakubu Dogara had earlier on Tuesday met with Buhari, with Saraki absent.<br> Journalists were not allowed to ask questions after the 30-minute closed-door meeting.<br> But later in the day, another meeting was convened after which it was announced that “all grey areas” in the 2016 budget had been resolved.<br> Saraki said: “We just finished a meeting with the president and the vice-president. We came to let them know some of the solutions that we found in moving the budget process forward and we are happy to say that we have agreed on the way forward.<br> “We believe that this process will be completed in matter of days rather than weeks.<br> “So it is good to Nigerians and all of us, we have found a way forward and in a matter of days, the budget will be ready for the President’s assent.”<br> He was not specific on the details.<br> “We have committees that have been set up on our side and also on the executive side,” he said.<br> “We will engage over the next few days to just tidy up a few loose ends and here and there and the outcome will be satisfactory to everybody.”<br> On the day of the week the budget would be signed, he said: “You heard what I have said. I said it is a matter of days and not weeks. So, you can start counting the days which means that between now and Monday or Tuesday, I’m hopeful that the budget will be signed.”<br> Udoma Udo Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, also confirmed the resolution of the impasse.<br> He said: “We have agreed to work together to resolve all issues in the next few days and we have also agreed on the modalities of or doing so.<br> “It was a very good meeting, very positive and within the next few days all issues will be resolved.<br> “We are working together, both the executive and the legislature, to sort those things out. Within the next days, all matters will be resolved.”<br> The meeting, which lasted for 10 minutes, was held inside the the First Lady’s Conference Room.<br> It started at about 9.20pm and ended around 9.30pm.<br> In attendance were Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Saraki; Dogara; deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu; deputy speaker, Yusuf Lasun; senate minority leader, Godswill Akpabio; and house leader, Femi Gbajabiamila.<br> Other leaders of the national assembly were also there.<br> Abba Kyari, the chief of staff to the president; Udoma; Ita Ewang, senior special assistant on national assembly matters (senate) to the president, and his counterpart <u>in</u> the house of representatives, Samaila Kawu, also attended Tuesday night’s meeting.<br> Credit: thecableng</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkW5srp929l2u4XmG01QSrRgu8lVbVEq84-Lwebd4njJaDYMSqXoEN_o86gSwcUsq5FNoRAdhRXKQY4GxAZpCbBJzkVDDkuPFrty0B21XrVWd53-f3Llvw4jELUyCcsoevhF24V6B98kQj/s1600/buhari-saraki-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkW5srp929l2u4XmG01QSrRgu8lVbVEq84-Lwebd4njJaDYMSqXoEN_o86gSwcUsq5FNoRAdhRXKQY4GxAZpCbBJzkVDDkuPFrty0B21XrVWd53-f3Llvw4jELUyCcsoevhF24V6B98kQj/s640/buhari-saraki-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Saraki finally meets with Buhari as budget impasse is resolved after 10-minute parley

BASAM 0 23:20:00

After being absent from an earlier meeting at the presidential villa, Senate President Bukola Saraki attended a late evening parley with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday to resolve the budget impasse. At the end of the meeting, it was announced … link to this post

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Kachikwu: We'll soon be producing aviation fuel

<p dir="ltr"><b>Ibe</b><b> </b><b>Kachikwu</b><b>, minister of state for petroleum resources, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s refineries will soon be producing aviation fuel.</b></p> <p dir="ltr">Kachikwu, who met with Hadi Sirika, his counterpart in the aviation ministry, said that although the refineries are not producing aviation fuel for now, efforts will be made in due course to provide the enablers that would ensure local production in the near future.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to a statement released by Garba Deen Muhammad, group general manager of NNPC’s public affairs division, Kachikwu received the minister of state for aviation and his team of directors at the NNPC Towers on Tuesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Muhammad said Sirika and Kachikwu have pledged to work together to eliminate the noticeable challenge faced by airline operators in accessing aviation fuel for their daily operations.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kachikwu said that the supply and distribution of JET A1 is out of government control because it has since been deregulated. But he added that a meeting of importers of aviation fuel would soon be convened to address all challenges impeding the seamless supply of the product.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kachikwu, who also doubles as the group managing director of the NNPC, said the corporation would look into the import and sale of aviation fuel to understand and tackle the problem.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The immediate action point for now is to meet with all the importers of aviation fuel; we want to understand the consumption pattern and also look at their cost to ensure that they are not profiteering excessively,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sirika also noted that the need to ensure availability of JET A1 fuel has become imperative, seeing that the product accounts for about 45 percent of the total cost of operation.</p> <p dir="ltr">The scarcity of aviation fuel has been hampering operations in the aviation industry, forcing some airlines to purchase JET A1 fuel from neighbouring countries at added cost.</p> <p dir="ltr">Credit: thecableng </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRim3IOy87Q6x1_kkgYrPA7e3GMxUPlMRc9BXFp0P1vzuCykJuuL95f36GpiJO3rUQdHGDh8x3R2XJu3pRD8KxerDDOK9wX8KHINZ-joVhJj81zniNqCoWqvUiJNJCScbrsxxsksvSvWxN/s1600/Aviation-Fuel-653x365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRim3IOy87Q6x1_kkgYrPA7e3GMxUPlMRc9BXFp0P1vzuCykJuuL95f36GpiJO3rUQdHGDh8x3R2XJu3pRD8KxerDDOK9wX8KHINZ-joVhJj81zniNqCoWqvUiJNJCScbrsxxsksvSvWxN/s640/Aviation-Fuel-653x365.jpg"> </a> </div>

Kachikwu: We'll soon be producing aviation fuel

BASAM 0 22:42:00

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s refineries will soon be producing aviation fuel. Kachikwu, who met with Hadi Sirika, his counterpart in the aviation ministry, said that altho… link to this post

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Govt Extends Drivers’ Licence Expiration To 5 Years

<p dir="ltr">The Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Road Safety Corps – Boboye Oyeyemi, has announced that the Federal Government has approved the extension of the validity period of Drivers licence to five years. This decision was taken by the Joint Tax Board at its 134th meeting held recently in Kano.<br> In a chat with Transport Editors in Lagos, the Corps Marshal said rather than Drivers’ licence expiring in three years, drivers now had the option of settling for either three or five years licence.<br> This however comes with different price tags. Drivers who want the three years’ license are to pay N6,000 while those who opted for the five years’ licence would pay N10,000.00.</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilniPqrQBL96uoA775Wth_XFEB7yWDXzcMyqtXrPCMyLJIaR7ApbQqr4R-IfAVymV0I2XTqbObUbbRXXTRoKK-Eiu02xUo1HSWmxemro0dck3qLIB2A-Fg5wb7dfv1zZN02INPHhYjUoYM/s1600/FRSC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilniPqrQBL96uoA775Wth_XFEB7yWDXzcMyqtXrPCMyLJIaR7ApbQqr4R-IfAVymV0I2XTqbObUbbRXXTRoKK-Eiu02xUo1HSWmxemro0dck3qLIB2A-Fg5wb7dfv1zZN02INPHhYjUoYM/s640/FRSC.jpg"> </a> </div>

Govt Extends Drivers’ Licence Expiration To 5 Years

BASAM 0 03:08:00

The Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Road Safety Corps – Boboye Oyeyemi, has announced that the Federal Government has approved the extension of the validity period of Drivers licence to five years. This decision was taken by the … link to this post

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President Buhari Congratulates British/Nigerian Boxer, Anthony Joshua

<p dir="ltr">President Buhari has congratulated British/Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua for winning the IBF Heavyweight championship. The president in his congratulatory message asked Nigerians to support him as he defends his heavyweight title.<br> The statement from President Buhari came through his Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora and Foreign Relations, Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa. Joshua is ranked the world’s sixth best heavyweight boxer and will be defending his title by June 25th, 2016.</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIzv8_9oiV-6K7VUxT4sW67c8Bo3CCj98TxceUDYUgMUpUpFU7GXAelMDwbpP-D6uLUVEQ1BKtVYTvSfRTNcPoR6etyxipjThnltZfGGlIvG9h-9-d03hPa-djOgDYpXFKUR0IsY1yt-N/s1600/IMG_20160425_094936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIzv8_9oiV-6K7VUxT4sW67c8Bo3CCj98TxceUDYUgMUpUpFU7GXAelMDwbpP-D6uLUVEQ1BKtVYTvSfRTNcPoR6etyxipjThnltZfGGlIvG9h-9-d03hPa-djOgDYpXFKUR0IsY1yt-N/s640/IMG_20160425_094936.jpg"> </a> </div>

President Buhari Congratulates British/Nigerian Boxer, Anthony Joshua

BASAM 0 01:53:00

President Buhari has congratulated British/Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua for winning the IBF Heavyweight championship. The president in his congratulatory message asked Nigerians to support him as he defends his heavyweight title. The statement from … link to this post

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Buhari Appeals To Nigerians To Be Patient With Him While He Works On The Changes Needed To Grow The Economy

<p dir="ltr">President Buhari through a statement by the Presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu appealed to Nigerians to be patient with him over the difficulties in the land, adding that the change he promised will be achieved soon.<br> As part of the change, the President ordered the release of 10,000 tons of grains from the national strategic grains reserves to help alleviate hard times people were suffering.<br> The statement reads in full…<br> The Presidency firmly rejects the insinuations that poverty and lack are products of the Change mantra. This should be dismissed as an erroneous and misplaced opposition criticism. The President understands the pain and the cries of the citizens of this country and he is spending sleepless nights over how he can make life better for everyone.<br> Contrary to assertions by a faction of the opposition Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, the President’s energy and focus are on changing the lives of Nigerians, with a view to making it better than he met it.<br> “Change is a process. Change does not happen overnight. Change can be inconvenient. Change sometimes comes with pain. Over the past year, the government has been working night and day to deliver on its promise of change to Nigerians, and the painful process is still ongoing. “This is work in progress<br> . As life gradually returns to normal in much of the country and the northeast in particular, agriculture will resume and traders from neighbouring African countries will once again feel safe to do business with us. “It is estimated, for instance, that three Northeast states of Nigeria alone have so far lost about three trillion Naira (Nine billion US Dollars) to the Boko Haram insurgency.<br> The previous administration at the center said Federal Government losses amounted to about USD18 billion. “It would have been a miracle for our country’s economy not to feel the effects of this. And, in addition to the thousands of lives lost to the insurgency, thousands have also lost their means of livelihood.<br> The northeast region of Nigeria is a mostly agrarian society, which means Nigeria has lost billions of naira in agricultural produce. Many communities, which have had their yearly planting and harvesting cycle disrupted by Boko Haram attacks or occupation are still yet to return to their farms. In many of these communities, there have not been planting and consequent harvest for between two to five years.<br> “At the time this government came to power, about 600 billion naira was owed to fuel marketers in subsidy payments. Strategic fuel reserves were depleted and local refineries not functioning. “One of the President’s first steps was to pay off the marketers, leaving an outstanding of about N150 billion which is captured in the 2016 budget. The Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries are being brought back to life. Shortly, Nigeria will resume refining its own fuel rather than depending on imports.<br> ” As part of the permanent solution of recurring cycle of petroleum products shortages, government is working on a plan to ensure that some of the newly-licensed independent refineries start coming on stream from 2018.” “Government is also turning its attention to the sabotage of the oil and gas infrastructure that has taken so much away from the generation and distribution of electricity.”<br> “These are just some aspects of the change that Nigerians voted for, a change that is happening and which will soon be felt by Nigerians in every nook and cranny of our country. “Nigerians are a people renowned for our inner strength and our ability to triumph. These are just the darkest days before the dawn. The change Nigerians voted has indeed begun.”<br> Credit: omojuwa.com </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0899zCUSQInXHTOsIJMPssFMugn5eTsVENb-7faT6GoetYicelq96qlRz2fw9gr1DazTaAexYjcTdzcWPbKJeLGkH3J_xTfirpBDUQJvIqloKc9GRK1wTR0362pbPfLW4fWynk1XN7P0/s1600/Muhammadu-Buhari-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0899zCUSQInXHTOsIJMPssFMugn5eTsVENb-7faT6GoetYicelq96qlRz2fw9gr1DazTaAexYjcTdzcWPbKJeLGkH3J_xTfirpBDUQJvIqloKc9GRK1wTR0362pbPfLW4fWynk1XN7P0/s640/Muhammadu-Buhari-1.jpg"> </a> </div>

Buhari Appeals To Nigerians To Be Patient With Him While He Works On The Changes Needed To Grow The Economy

BASAM 0 01:48:00

President Buhari through a statement by the Presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu appealed to Nigerians to be patient with him over the difficulties in the land, adding that the change he promised will be achieved soon. As part of the change, th… link to this post

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Electing Sheriff National Chairman will be disastrous, Okupe tells PDP

<p dir="ltr">April 25, 2016<br> An aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has called on leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, not to elect Ali Modu Sheriff the party’s chairman.<br> Mr. Okupe said electing the controversial Borno politician would mean repeating the mistake the party made in adopting Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate in 2015.<br> The PDP has been plunged into a protracted internal crisis as Mr. Sheriff, who is its substantive chairman, insists on contesting for the position at the national convention scheduled to hold on May 21 in Port-Harcourt. <br> Mr. Sheriff’s prominent loyalists, including the party’s national secretary, Wale Oladipo, said the former Borno State governor, who was appointed in February, should be allowed to lead the party into the 2019 elections.<br> “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is the right man for the job,” Mr. Oladipo said in a text message to PREMIUM TIMES. “He has my absolute support.” <br> In a post on his Facebook wall on Sunday, the authorship of which he confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Okupe, who served Mr. Jonathan as a senior special assistant on public affairs, said the leaders of the opposition party are on the verge of repeating the errors that relegated them from a 16-year political dominance.<br> “The argument that because the party is weak in the north if the chairman is zoned to the north it will strengthen the party in that zone is a puerile argument,” Mr. Okupe wrote. “It is not supported by fact or history.”<br> Citing the historical precedent of two late politicians, Obafemi Awolowo and Adisa Akinloye, Mr. Okupe said politicians have their unique appeals that set them apart from each other, adding that only a genuine engagement with the party’s political base could help reverse its misfortunes.<br> “When Awolowo was alive, there were great politicians in the West, but he was of such stature that if the ruling party then appointed one national chairman per state in the west it would have amounted to no political strength or gain whatsoever. It was this type of sentiment that led to the zoning of the chairman of the NPN (National Party of Nigeria) to chief Adisa Akinloye, no doubt a political Juggernaut, but still could not produce the desired result,” Mr. Okupe said. “What we need to strengthen the PDP in the north is, excellent and stellar performance of PDP governors in the north and the south, diligent and committed efforts by local party leadership and passionate and courageous; genuine and dutiful; engagement of the leadership of the party at all levels with the grassroots in the zone.”<br> Mr. Okupe also reminded PDP leaders of the failure of Adamu Mu’azu, who resigned as chairman in May 2015 after presiding over the party’s biggest electoral disaster in history.<br> “It is for the same reason that the fact that Alhaji Adamu Muazu, a northerner, and a two time governor of Bauchi state, could not help the fortune of the PDP in the north or even his state Bauchi,” Mr. Okupe said. “Presently and for some time to come, General Buhari is the most popular Northern politician and leader alive. He stands and will likely stand shoulders taller than any politician in APC or PDP in that region.”<br> The Ogun State politician added that, because they were in charge of the presidency, he and his colleagues within the PDP underestimated the northern public’s determination to see the post of president returned to the north.<br> “In retrospect, it is regretful that based on the expedience circumstances of incumbency, we committed a politically fatal error of robbing the north of their turn to have the Presidency in 2015, and we paid dearly for it,” Mr. Okupe said. “We didn’t know the northerners will be so tenacious in their determination to ensure that they have the presidency back and that is regrettable,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfv-zva-qxkCrxW2wT5LAkLH_Km2G9Nu1mTyecje0sj09e7y2ehJy6YcWUkHQFMbR_2dWMnYe-p9PzhdbeQ9dpB3uS9NcIUOvDfK5J314ScRHxEnsDd7RPczNxLNnRBc2SLAhL_6_LZzC/s1600/Ali-Modu-Sheriff-504x283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfv-zva-qxkCrxW2wT5LAkLH_Km2G9Nu1mTyecje0sj09e7y2ehJy6YcWUkHQFMbR_2dWMnYe-p9PzhdbeQ9dpB3uS9NcIUOvDfK5J314ScRHxEnsDd7RPczNxLNnRBc2SLAhL_6_LZzC/s640/Ali-Modu-Sheriff-504x283.jpg"> </a> </div>

Electing Sheriff National Chairman will be disastrous, Okupe tells PDP

BASAM 0 00:43:00

April 25, 2016 An aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has called on leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, not to elect Ali Modu Sheriff the party’s chairman. Mr. Okupe said electing the controversial Borno politician would me… link to this post

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Modu Sheriff deserves to be PDP chairman – Oyo lawmaker

<p dir="ltr">Ali Modu Sheriff, PDP national chairman</p> <p dir="ltr">Honourable Dokun Odebunmi (PDP- Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere) says the acting Chairman of his party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has the qualities to change the fortunes of the party if given substantive appointment.</p> <p dir="ltr">He told newsmen in Ogbomoso on Sunday that Sheriff had within his short period as acting chairman demonstrated an ability to unite party members.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was at the meeting where it was unanimously agreed that our party chairman should come from the northern part of the country so as to balance up with the south where we have many PDP governors and other elected public office holders,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Odebunmi, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, said the party needed a mature leader.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In order to have a disciplined and organised party that can win election in the next political dispensation and subsequent elections, there must be a level playing ground for all and sundry in the party.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We must reposition ourselves and embrace a transparent system of electing our leaders during the congress at all levels,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">He also confirmed moves to woo former Gov. Rashidi Ladoja back into the party, saying he would be an asset to the PDP.</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjn8o1CDqjvBpfuMVKfqZ8jead5ukLW8PahNzGPmKSbpD0VrqW0EPiHxUQKGYAVDHJHz0h_oLeH8Ym3WRvl4zL4Kfd1JpTqnEPdYutNTmVr3xNTzGQP_rxN7ac26LB44fzexAXUg6QM5c/s1600/Ali-Modu-Sheriff-504x283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjn8o1CDqjvBpfuMVKfqZ8jead5ukLW8PahNzGPmKSbpD0VrqW0EPiHxUQKGYAVDHJHz0h_oLeH8Ym3WRvl4zL4Kfd1JpTqnEPdYutNTmVr3xNTzGQP_rxN7ac26LB44fzexAXUg6QM5c/s640/Ali-Modu-Sheriff-504x283.jpg"> </a> </div>

Modu Sheriff deserves to be PDP chairman – Oyo lawmaker

BASAM 0 00:39:00

Ali Modu Sheriff, PDP national chairman Honourable Dokun Odebunmi (PDP- Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere) says the acting Chairman of his party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has the qualities to change the fortunes of the party if given substantive appointment. He to… link to this post

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S’Africa slashes Zulu king’s budget to save cost

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="S’Africa slashes Zulu king’s budget to save cost" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Zulu-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>The budget of South Africa’s powerful Zulu king<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-36059952?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5718c240230000d21b11ac85%26Zulu%20king%27s%20budget%20cut%26&ns_fee=0#post_5718c240230000d21b11ac85" target="_blank"> has been slashed </a>by more than 15% as part of the government’s cost-cutting drive.</strong><br /> The household of Goodwill Zwelithini, the king, will receive 48.8m rand ($3.5m) during the 2016/2017 financial year, down from the 54.2m rand and 57.6m rand in the two previous financial years.<br /> The decision of the Kwazulu-Natal provincial government, led by the African National Congress, was condemned by the opposition Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).<br /> “We can’t have the dignity of His Majesty being undermined in any way,” said IFP MP Blessed Gwala.<br /> However, Kwazulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu said “adequate measures” were in place to continue giving financial help to King Zwelithini, who has six wives and close to 30 children.<br /> “In terms of respect [for the monarch], we will do our utmost to succeed on this one,” he is quoted as saying.<br /> Political analyst Thabani Khumalo told the Daily News that King Zwelithini was likely to accept the cut as South Africa was going through tough times.<br /> “He has to stand with his subjects,” he said.<br /> “We all know we are in a drought and it has affected our lifestyles.”<br /> source; thecableng

S’Africa slashes Zulu king’s budget to save cost

BASAM 0 12:33:00

  The budget of South Africa’s powerful Zulu king has been slashed by more than 15% as part of the government’s cost-cutting drive. The household of Goodwill Zwelithini, the king, will receive 48.8m rand ($3.5m) during the 2016/2017 financial … link to this post

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Mandela’s ex-wife’s legal dispute blocks finalisation of his will

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Mandela’s ex-wife’s legal dispute blocks finalisation of his will" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Winnie-2-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>The finalisation of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s will is being delayed due to his ex-wife’s legal battle over his Qunu home.</strong><br /> Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who is recovering in a Johannesburg hospital following a second back operation in many months, is appealing a high court decision which ruled that she has no claim on the residence where the anti-apartheid hero was born and buried.<br /> Last year, she sparked an outcry when she launched a legal challenge against the estate, with her lawyers claiming that her divorce from the former president was fraudulently obtained.<br /> George Bizos, Mandela’s lawyer, who is also recuperating in hospital after falling this week, said the will which was completed in 2014, cannot be executed because of the legal tangle.<br /> Bizos, who represented the world statesman at his famous Treason Trial in the 1960s, confirmed that Madikizela-Mandela has filed a notice of an application to appeal the ruling “which we are going to oppose”.<br /> He added that once that matter was resolved, “we will deal with the will.”<br /> The will, which was first written in 2004, and last amended in 2008, excluded Madikizela-Mandela.<br /> He left an estate worth about $3million to his children and grandchildren, staff and the African National Congress (ANC).<br /> Madikizela-Mandela, who carried the hopes of black South Africans during Mandela’s lengthy imprisonment, was married to him for 38 years.<br /> As at 1994 when Mandela became president, their marriage had suffered a setback as a result of the high-profile affair which she had.<br /> Their divorce was finalised in 1996.<br /> Mandela, who remarried former Mozambican First Lady Graca Machel on his 80th birthday, excluded Madikizela-Mandela from his will.<br /> He died in 2013.<br /> credit: thecableng

Mandela’s ex-wife’s legal dispute blocks finalisation of his will

BASAM 0 12:27:00

  The finalisation of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s will is being delayed due to his ex-wife’s legal battle over his Qunu home. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who is recovering in a Johannesburg hospital following a second back… link to this post

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PICTURES: Ambode, Atiku, Afikuyomi grace LSE Africa Summit in UK

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, former Nigerian vice president, Atiku Abubakar, former Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi amongst others graced the London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom.<br /> <div> <img alt="R-L: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, with former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and former Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016" height="322" src="http://i1.wp.com/naijalumia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PIX-5304-504x325.jpg?resize=500%2C322" width="500" /> R-L: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, with former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and former Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016<br /> </div> <div> <img alt="Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), flanked by Chief Whip, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru (left) and member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade (right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016" height="280" src="http://i1.wp.com/naijalumia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/AmbodeA-504x282.jpg?resize=500%2C280" width="500" /> Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), flanked by Chief Whip, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru (left) and member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade (right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016<br /> </div> <div> <img alt="Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), flanked by Chief Whip, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru (left) and member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade (right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016" height="322" src="http://i1.wp.com/naijalumia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PIX-5295-504x325.jpg?resize=500%2C322" width="500" /> Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), flanked by Chief Whip, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru (left) and member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade (right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016<br /> </div> <div> <img alt="Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle); Fellow, Department of Management, LSE, Dr. Vanessa Iwowo (left) and Co-Director, Business Conference, LSE Africa Summit, Eki Izevbigie(right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016" height="314" src="http://i1.wp.com/naijalumia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PIX-5326-504x317.jpg?resize=500%2C314" width="500" /> Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle); Fellow, Department of Management, LSE, Dr. Vanessa Iwowo (left) and Co-Director, Business Conference, LSE Africa Summit, Eki Izevbigie(right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016<br /> </div> <div> <img alt="L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), flanked by former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (left) and member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade (right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016" height="327" src="http://i2.wp.com/naijalumia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PIX-5299-504x330.jpg?resize=500%2C327" width="500" /> L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), flanked by former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (left) and member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade (right) during the 3rd Annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, April 23, 2016<br /> </div>

PICTURES: Ambode, Atiku, Afikuyomi grace LSE Africa Summit in UK

BASAM 0 12:25:00

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, former Nigerian vice president, Atiku Abubakar, former Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi amongst others graced the London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Summit in the United Kingd… link to this post

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Wife Of Late Actor, Alasari Crushed To Death In Abeokuta

<img alt="alasarii" height="240" src="http://i1.wp.com/stargist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/alasarii.jpg?resize=400%2C240" width="400" /><br /> <br /> Tragedy struck in Ogun State, on Friday evening, as one of the wives of the late Yoruba movie actor, Isola Durojaiye also known as Alasari, identified as Adeola, was crushed to death by a truck in Adatan area of Abeokuta.<br /> According to Sunday Tribune, the mother of one was coming down on a motorbike when the incident occurred and she was reported to have died on the spot.<br /> According to an eyewitness, the truck rammed into the woman from behind which resulted in her death.<br /> “The truck crushed the woman from behind as she was trying to disembark from an okada. She died instantly,” the eyewitness said<br /> The remains of the deceased were interred at late Alasari’s home at Elega, in Abeokuta on Saturday morning.<br /> The incident was confirmed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi.<br /> He said, “The accident occurred at Car Wash in Adatan on Friday, where a truck crushed a woman to death. We later got to know her identity as the wife of the late Yoruba actor and movie producer, Ahmed Isola Durojaiye popularly called Alasari.”

Wife Of Late Actor, Alasari Crushed To Death In Abeokuta

BASAM 0 12:23:00

Tragedy struck in Ogun State, on Friday evening, as one of the wives of the late Yoruba movie actor, Isola Durojaiye also known as Alasari, identified as Adeola, was crushed to death by a truck in Adatan area of Abeokuta. According to Sunday Tri… link to this post

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We did not divert bailout funds – Osun Govt

<div> <img alt="Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State" height="336" src="http://i2.wp.com/naijalumia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Governor-Rauf-Aregbesola2-471x336.jpg?resize=471%2C336" width="471" /> Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State<br /> <br /> </div> The Osun Government has denied allegations of diversion of N34.99 billion bailout fund it received from the Federal Government to pay workers’ salaries.<br /> The information was contained in a statement issued by Semiu Okanlawon, the media aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in Osogbo on Sunday.<br /> The government said the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) did not indict it over the disbursement of the fund.<br /> It said the fact that ICPC was investigating claims that workers in the state received their last salaries in July 2015 was enough for those monitoring developments in the state to conclude that the allegation could not have been true.<br /> “This is because after the payment of seven months backlog of salaries last year, the government had proceeded to pay salaries on the agreed terms with workers.<br /> “And this is why Osun has been able to pay its workers till January this year.<br /> “There is no case of diversion of bailout loan as far as Osun is concerned.<br /> ” The state was able to accommodate pensioners in the bailout loans application when in actual fact pensioners were not part of the bailout scheme.<br /> ” But this was agreed upon by both government and workers.<br /> “ The bailout was to take care of salaries backlog up till June last year. The report that Osun paid salaries last in July 2015 is laughable.<br /> “If anything, the Osun government had demonstrated enough transparency by ensuring that the bailout loan was disbursed with adequate supervision of a committee of labour and government.<br /> “We have insisted that Gov. Aregbesola cannot be found wanting because whether in bailout funds or other funds of Osun he has been very creative in the management of the scarce resources to lift the state beyond the limit of the available resources.

We did not divert bailout funds – Osun Govt

BASAM 0 12:21:00

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State The Osun Government has denied allegations of diversion of N34.99 billion bailout fund it received from the Federal Government to pay workers’ salaries. The information was contained in a statement issued by … link to this post

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10 sins of Donald Trump that Washington Post won’t forget

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="10 sins of Donald Trump that Washington Post won’t forget" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Donald-Trump-3-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>Donald Trump, Republican front runner in the American polls for presidency, has suddenly become presidential, referring to Ted Cruz, his Arch-rival whom he has previously called “lying-Ted”, as Senator Cruz.</strong><br /> He’s gradually letting go of his abusive sides as he nears the Republican nomination. His campaign says he’s acting presidential.<br /> But Washington Post will have none of that. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-be-fooled-by-the-new-donald-trump/2016/04/22/aa984b62-082e-11e6-b283-e79d81c63c1b_story.html" target="_blank"><strong>In this editorial</strong></a>, the newpaper wants the American people and the rest of the world to remember the sins of Trump:<br /> 1. DO YOU remember when Donald Trump crudely <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/donald-trumps-politics-of-denigration/2015/11/27/ff23ffb6-951d-11e5-a2d6-f57908580b1f_story.html">mocked</a> the disability of a New York Times reporter, and then lied about having done so?<br /> No? That’s just as the Republican candidate might hope. Now that he is nearing the Republican nomination, he says <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/04/21/trump-is-playing-a-part-and-can-transform-for-victory-campaign-chief-tells-gop-leaders/">he will become more “presidential.”</a> After winning the New York primary, he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/20/the-kinder-more-disciplined-donald-trump-should-scare-the-hell-out-of-the-gop-establishment/">referred to</a> “Senator Cruz” instead of “Lyin’ Ted.” You can expect multitudes of office-seekers and sycophants to follow Chris Christie’s craven path to believing, or pretending to believe, in a presidential Trump.<br /> So it is important to remember.<br /> 2.Remember that Mr. Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/?tid=a_inl">said</a> that Mexicans crossing the border are rapists, though “some, I assume, are good people.”<br /> 3.Remember that Mr. Trump falsely <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/22/donald-trumps-outrageous-claim-that-thousands-of-new-jersey-muslims-celebrated-the-911-attacks/?tid=a_inl">claimed</a> that thousands of American Muslims had celebrated the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11.<br /> 4. Remember that Mr. Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/03/10/kids-need-to-learn-self-regulation-to-succeed-trump-is-teaching-them-the-opposite/">insulted</a> Carly Fiorina for her appearance: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?”<br /> 5. Remember, now that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/04/14/megyn-kelly-made-up-with-donald-trump-everyone-else-on-the-right-will-do-the-same/">sought to make peace</a>with Mr. Trump, that he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/07/trump-says-foxs-megyn-kelly-had-blood-coming-out-of-her-wherever/">insinuated</a> that she had asked him a tough question because she was menstruating: “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”<br /> 6. Remember that he called her a bimbo, sick, overrated and crazy.<br /> 7. Remember that Mr. Trump lashed out at Ms. Kelly in the first place because she had <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/26/here-are-the-megyn-kelly-questions-that-donald-trump-is-still-sore-about/">recited</a> some of the other names he has used for women he disliked: “ ‘fat pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ ‘slobs’ and ‘disgusting animals.’ . . . You once told a contestant on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees.”<br /> 8. Remember that Mr. Trump, who never served in the armed forces, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/07/18/trump-slams-mccain-for-being-captured-in-vietnam/">said</a> that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was “not a war hero.” Mr. McCain, after being shot down over North Vietnam, endured 5½ years of torture and solitary confinement as he repeatedly refused offers of liberation unless all of his fellow prisoners would also be freed. “I like people who weren’t captured,” Mr. Trump said.<br /> 9. Remember how Mr. Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/22/donald-trump-warns-owners-of-chicago-cubs-better-be-careful-after-funding-campaign-against-him/">threatened</a> a Chicago family who donated to a PAC opposing his candidacy: “They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!”<br /> 10. Remember that Mr. Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-vague-plan-to-open-up-libel-laws-misses-the-core-of-the-first-amendment/2016/03/21/c5a3b800-efa7-11e5-85a6-2132cf446d0a_story.html">threatened</a> and disparaged not just reporters who angered him but freedom of the press overall with a vow to “open up” the libel laws.<br /> source: thecableng <br /> <br />

10 sins of Donald Trump that Washington Post won’t forget

BASAM 0 12:11:00

  Donald Trump, Republican front runner in the American polls for presidency, has suddenly become presidential, referring to Ted Cruz, his Arch-rival whom he has previously called “lying-Ted”, as Senator Cruz. He’s gradually letting go of hi… link to this post

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Ambode asks Arase to investigate Disu’s killing

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Ambode asks Arase to investigate Disu’s killing" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ambode-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, has urged Solomon Arase, inspector-general of police (IGP), to take over investigations into the killing of Tajudeen Disu, managing director of Lekki Worldwide Limited, following an unrest at the Lekki free trade zone in October.</strong><br /> According to a statement signed by Steve Ayorinde, state commissioner for information and strategy, Ambode urged Arase to take over the investigation through Fatai Owoseni, the state commissioner of police.<br /> The state government also released a White Paper, at the weekend, on the report of the tribunal of inquiry into causes of civil disturbances at LFTZ, and reiterated its commitment to ensuring free access for investors not just in the area but also in other parts of the state.<br /> It further accepted most of the recommendations of the tribunal.<br /> The directive, according to the Commissioner, became imperative owing to the need to resolve the mystery surrounding Disu’s killing.<br /> Leaders of the Okunraye community, where Disu was murdered, had claimed that the deceased was hit by a stray bullet from mobile policemen attached to the area, while the police in turn issued a statement denying the allegation.<br /> As recommended in the white paper, Ambode also directed the ministry of commerce, industry and cooperatives to ensure that all outstanding compensation issues are resolved as soon as possible.<br /> The ministry was equally directed to ensure that the resettlement committee is reconstituted in line with the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding to enable it perform satisfactorily.<br /> “The state government further directed that ‘a LFTZ Peace and Security Committee comprising of the Police and representatives of investors of the affected villages be constituted to receive complaints from any party in the zone and will also have further responsibility of taking action to resolve issues referred to, as spelt out in the Memorandum of Understanding,'” read the statement.<br /> “Besides, the state government directed the Lands Bureau to give priority to preparation of Certificate of Occupancy of excised land.<br /> “The state government accepted the recommendation of the Tribunal that under no circumstance should payments, irrespective of how insignificant it is, be paid in cash, adding that all payments should be by cheque, duly receipted by the payee in a format that carries the said payee’s name, picture and signature.<br /> “The government further accepted the recommendation of the Tribunal that there should be an effective mode of communication and dissemination of information amongst all inhabitants of LFTZ, and directed the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs through the Special Adviser for Communities and Communication to create a platform for regular dissemination of information.<br /> “The State Government also noted the recommendation of members of the Tribunal on proper stock taking to identify communities that have not been resettled or given possession of land excised to them, and thereafter directed the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives in conjunction with Lands Bureau and the State Valuation Office to identify such communities and complete the resettlement process.”<br /> Ten days after the incident, Ambode had constituted a six-man tribunal of inquiry headed by Adesuyi Olateru-Olagbegi, retired judge of the Lagos high court, to inquire into the remote and immediate causes surrounding the public disorder at the Lekki free trade zone on October 12, 2015, which culminated into Disu’s killing.<br /> source: thecableng

Ambode asks Arase to investigate Disu’s killing

BASAM 0 12:00:00

  Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, has urged Solomon Arase, inspector-general of police (IGP), to take over investigations into the killing of Tajudeen Disu, managing director of Lekki Worldwide Limited, following an unrest at the … link to this post

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NNPC ‘withholding more revenue’ under Buhari than it did under Jonathan, says report

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="NNPC ‘withholding more revenue’ under Buhari than it did under Jonathan, says report" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Kachukwu-shaking-Buhari-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) withheld 12 percent more money in six months under President Muhammadu Buhari than it did with his predecessor from 2013 to 2014.</strong><br /> According to a report by the National Resource Governance Institute (NGRI), an international non-profit policy institute with focus on oil, gas and minerals, NNPC withheld more in the last six months of 2015 than in the first six.<br /> “Under the Buhari government, transfers from NNPC’s convoluted oil sales system to the Federation Account have continued to decline,” the report read.<br /> “After analyzing NNPC’s own numbers, we estimate that during the last six months of 2015, the corporation transferred $2.1 billion in oil proceeds to the Federation Account from the three types of oil sales we examined: regular export sales, domestic crude sales, and sales of oil from NPDC fields.<br /> “During that same period, however, the value of these sales totaled $6.3 billion. In other words, under the Buhari government, only one third of NNPC’s oil sale revenues found their way into the country’s treasury.<br /> “The figures show that NNPC retained $4.2 billion in the last six months of 2016, 14 percent more than what was withheld in (Goodluck) Jonathan’s last days as president.<br /> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_99111" style="width: 560px;"> <a href="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NNPC-witholding-under-Buhari.jpg"><img alt="NNPC witholding under Buhari" class="wp-image-99111" height="357" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NNPC-witholding-under-Buhari.jpg" width="550" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text"> NNPC withholdings of selected oil sale revenues</div> </div> “NNPC reported retaining $4.2 billion—or 66 percent—of the value of the oil sold through these three types of transactions.<br /> “As seen in the figures below, this was 14 percent more than the corporation’s withholdings under Goodluck Jonathan in the first half of 2015, and 12 percent higher than the share withheld in 2013 and 2014.<br /> “Go back a decade, and the numbers nearly flip: in 2005, NNPC sent 68 percent of its oil sale earnings to the Federation Account and kept only 32 percent.”<br /> The report, which was compiled based on NEITI financial audit reports, NNPC financial reports, and NRGI’s investigations, revealed that NNPC withheld 52%, 52% and 59% of its revenue in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.<br /> <h3> <strong>WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?</strong></h3> NRGI did not stop its research on how much was retained by the NNPC, but takes the process further to unveil tentative locations where the monies end up.<br /> <a href="http://www.resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/documents/nrgi_nnpc-still-holds-blank-check.pdf" target="_blank"><strong>According to the report</strong></a>, some of the monies are used to pay outstanding joint venture debts, refineries, and the rest to NPDC which it referred to as “one of the Nigerian petroleum sector’s great black boxes”.<br /> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_99112" style="width: 560px;"> <a href="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/nnpc-WITHolding-in-both-halves-of-2015.jpg"><img alt="nnpc WITHolding in both halves of 2015" class="wp-image-99112" height="305" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/nnpc-WITHolding-in-both-halves-of-2015.jpg" width="550" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text"> NNPC withholdings of revenues, January-June versus July-December 2015</div> </div> “The subsidiary (NPDC) produced a sizeable 110,000 barrels of oil per day in the last six months of 2015.14 But we have seen no evidence that proceeds from NPDC oil sales enter the treasury.<br /> “Instead, they are spent in an unknown manner. In one especially questionable case, we found evidence that NNPC has retained all earnings from the offshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 119, a field owned wholly by NPDC that produces around 30,000 barrels per day of Okono grade crude.”<br /> These revelations have called Buhari’s fiscal responsibility message to question, with NRGI saying “corruption aside, allocating $4.2 billion in six months to NNPC expenses of unknown priority raises serious questions about fiscal responsibility”.<br /> <h3> <strong>NNPC ACT AND CONSTITUTION AT LOGGERHEADS</strong></h3> Recommending probable solutions to the president, NRGI said “clarifying the financial relationship between NNPC and the state may be the single most important component of the Buhari administration’s oil sector reform campaign”.<br /> The report further recommends that a “longstanding misalignment” between the NNPC Act of 1977 and the 1999 constitution “leaves this money in legal limbo”.<br /> NRGI seeks that “the government should put in place a clear, legally enforceable rule governing which revenues NNPC can keep”.<br /> NRGI commended Buhari and his team for clearly working towards a cleaner oil sector, stating that much of its focus has been limited to replacing unethical officials and tracking stolen funds.<br /> “The leadership can build on gains made to date by clarifying the financial relationship between NNPC and the state,” it concluded.<br /> source: thecableng

NNPC ‘withholding more revenue’ under Buhari than it did under Jonathan, says report

BASAM 0 11:57:00

  The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) withheld 12 percent more money in six months under President Muhammadu Buhari than it did with his predecessor from 2013 to 2014. According to a report by the National Resource Governance … link to this post

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$40m 'scam': Jonathan's cousin seeks freedom from detention

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="$40m ‘scam': Jonathan’s cousin seeks freedom" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Robert-Azibaola-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>The family of Azibaola Robert, cousin of former President Goodluck Jonathan, wants the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to charge him to court or release him “unconditionally”.</strong><br /> EFCC arrested Azibaola,  who is the managing director of Katakar Civil Engineering Company as well as One Plus Holdings Ltd., on March 23 in connection with a $40 million pipelines protection contract awarded to his firm by the office of the national security adviser (ONSA).<br /> Speaking on behalf of the family at a press conference in Lagos on Sunday, Faith Robert condemned the continued detention of his elder brother by the EFCC, “after an Abuja high court had granted him bail on April 7″.<br /> He said the remand order by an Abuja magistrates’ court, which EFCC relied upon to detain Robert, had expired on April 19.<br /> He said it was therefore improper for the EFCC to approach another magistrates’ court in Lagos for another remand order when the Abuja high court had granted bail to the accused.<br /> “The same High Court served a production warrant on EFCC on April 12 after meeting its bail conditions,” he said.<br /> “It is important to note that EFCC, an organisation created by an Act of Parliament, has continued to treat the order from a High Court of competent jurisdiction with contempt.”<br /> Robert urged the EFCC to charge his brother to court, allow him enjoy the bail he received from the Abuja high court, or free him unconditionally.<br /> Earlier in April, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesman, had dismissed insinuations that the suspect was being witch-hunted due to his connection with Jonathan.<br /> “This is not a witch-hunt. He (Robert) is not Jonathan’s only cousin,” Uwujaren had said.<br /> “The truth of the matter is that they are being held for a $40m contract he received from the ONSA. The mandate for the payment read, ‘Purchase of Tactical Equipment for Special Forces’.<br /> “Two days after their arrest, they were offered bail. The condition was that the sureties must be on the level of civil service directors and a N250m bank guarantee. They must also have landed properties in Abuja and provide tax evidence of two years. But they could not meet up.<br /> “So, the EFCC went to court for a remand order. They are being held pending the conclusion of investigation.”<br /> credit: thecableng

$40m 'scam': Jonathan's cousin seeks freedom from detention

BASAM 0 11:53:00

  The family of Azibaola Robert, cousin of former President Goodluck Jonathan, wants the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to charge him to court or release him “unconditionally”. EFCC arrested Azibaola,  who is the managing di… link to this post

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‘Fake Instagram account’ behind Nonso Diobi’s accident report

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="‘Fake Instagram account’ behind Nonso Diobi’s accident report" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Nonso-Diobi-2-653x365.png" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>Nonso Diobi, Nollywood actor, has declared that the news of his accident is false.</strong><br /> <strong>In a voice note obtained by Colossus Gists</strong>, an online news platform, the 40-year-old movie producer said the news was spread by a false Instagram account.<br /> “Hi, my name is Nonso Diobi. I am sending this message to my fans and friends that must have heard the false news. This is to confirm that the news is false and it is not from me.<br /> “My Instagram account is @nonsodiobi Check my account and you will realize that I didn’t send such message, that message was from an impersonator @nonsodiobi1 or whatever name they are using now.<br /> “The news is totally false, I’m fine and none of the news that have been coming through all this while is true.<br /> “As you can see, I sound perfectly ok so please disregard anybody carrying on with this message. I did not ask anybody for support online, I did not ask for cash or gifts online and I am perfectly ok and everything is alright so please it’s a scam from impersonators.<br /> “Do not regard that news, I am fine.  And that account @nonsodiobi1 is not my account, I don’t use it and I don’t ever operate it.”<br /> An <strong>Instagram account with the username @nonsodiobi1</strong> posted a picture of an injured leg on Monday, April 18.<br /> “Had an accident yesterday evening, my leg all plastered up but I believe that sometimes God allows some things to happen to people so we can know who our true friends are.”<br /> However, the post has been taken down.<br /> source: thecableng

‘Fake Instagram account’ behind Nonso Diobi’s accident report

BASAM 0 09:27:00

  Nonso Diobi, Nollywood actor, has declared that the news of his accident is false. In a voice note obtained by Colossus Gists, an online news platform, the 40-year-old movie producer said the news was spread by a false Instagram account. “Hi, … link to this post

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DPR seals four Abuja petrol stations for ‘hoarding fuel’

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="DPR seals four Abuja petrol stations for ‘hoarding fuel’" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PIC.10.FUEL-SCARCITY-PERSISTS-IN-ABUJA1-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>The department of petroleum resources (DPR) has sealed four petrol stations in Abuja for hoarding duel, under</strong><strong>-dispensing it and for involvement in other sharp practices in selling premium motor spirit (PMS).</strong><br /> Mohammed Usman, zonal operation controller of DPR in the north-central, told newsmen while monitoring some filling stations on that DPR would continue to sanction those engaged in sharp practices.<br /> Commenting the fuel scarcity, Usman said that most of the filling stations visited had products to sell, and there was no need for the long queues witnessed in the city.<br /> He also said the DPR had directed that henceforth, there should be no reserve of fuel for the so called ‘special customers’.<br /> Ademola Abraham, a motorist at NNPC Beulah, commended the effort of the DPR in ensuring fair sale of the commodity.<br /> “We have been here (petrol filling station) since 6a.m but they refused to sell to us. Yesterday, we saw them discharging products but yet they have refused to sell,” he said.<br /> Another motorist, Abdulrahman Sani, said he queued at NNPC Gauiyya affiliate station before he could get the product.<br /> credit: thecableng

DPR seals four Abuja petrol stations for ‘hoarding fuel’

BASAM 0 09:25:00

  The department of petroleum resources (DPR) has sealed four petrol stations in Abuja for hoarding duel, under-dispensing it and for involvement in other sharp practices in selling premium motor spirit (PMS). Mohammed Usman, zonal operation co… link to this post

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Massive victory for PDP in Ondo LG, councillorship polls

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Massive victory for PDP in Ondo LG, councillorship polls" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PDP-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> <br /></div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the chairmanship election in all the 18 local councils of Ondo state.</strong><br /> The results were announced on Sunday in Akure by Olugbenga Ige, a professor and chairman of the Ondo state independent electoral commission (ODIEC).<br /> According to Ige, PDP won 202 out of the 203 wards in the councillorship election, while the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) won one ward.<br /> He said that ACPN won the councillorship election at Ward 9, Oba-Ile in the Akure north local government area.<br /> Fourteen political parties participated in the election, which stakeholders adjudged to be free and fair.<br /> Ige said that ODIEC was determined to carry all political parties along in its drive to move the state forward by entrenching grassroots democracy.<br /> He praised residents of the state for their confidence in the electoral body, and the state government and security agencies for their support before and during the election.<br /> credit: thecableng

Massive victory for PDP in Ondo LG, councillorship polls

BASAM 0 09:22:00

  The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the chairmanship election in all the 18 local councils of Ondo state. The results were announced on Sunday in Akure by Olugbenga Ige, a professor and chairman of the Ondo state independent electoral c… link to this post

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Yahaya Bello begs Kogi varsity workers to shelve strike

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Yahaya Bello begs Kogi varsity workers to shelve strike" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Kogi-653x365.png" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, has appealed to the Kogi State University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its industrial action.</strong><br /> At a meeting with the leadership of the union on Friday, the governor urged members of the union to continue holding dialogue with his government, saying his administration has shown commitment to lift the university to new heights.<br /> He said his administration was determined to make the university one of the best citadels of learning in Nigeria.<br /> According to Kingsley Fanowo, the governor’s chief press secretary, Bello asked the workers to appreciate his administration’s effort to pay two months salaries within the first 57 days in office.<br /> The governor said it will not be proper for the union to punish his government and the innocent students for the failure of the past administration to pay their salaries, saying his government will continue to accord priority to the educational sector.<br /> In his response, Gbenga Aina, acting chairman of Kogi ASUU told the governor that the uUnion will go back to the negotiation table to give consideration to his call.<br /> credit: thecableng

Yahaya Bello begs Kogi varsity workers to shelve strike

BASAM 0 09:19:00

  Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, has appealed to the Kogi State University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its industrial action. At a meeting with the leadership of the union on Friday, the gover… link to this post

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Question of the Day: Is Kim Kardashian’s Body 100% Natural???

<div class="image-container" itemprop="image"> <img alt="cover" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" height="681" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cover.jpg" width="1023" /> </div> She has been named GQ’s Woman of the Year and is wifey to Kanye West.<br /> <a href="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/kk.jpg"><img alt="kk" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29533" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/kk-300x300.jpg" width="300" /></a> <a href="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/212.jpg"><img alt="2" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29535" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/212-255x300.jpg" width="255" /></a><br /> Her coca- cola body figure has made her the gaze of the entire earth, but most people believe that her body is not all natural. Critics say she doesn’t want to admit to having secret surgeries, while other say she is all natural and her killer body is as a result of serious constant work outs.<br /> So here is the Question of the Day: Is Kim K’s Body all Natural?<br /> <a href="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/37.jpg"><img alt="3" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29536" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/37-196x300.jpg" width="196" /></a> <a href="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/44.jpg"><img alt="4" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29537" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/44-200x300.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/53.jpg"><img alt="5" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29538" height="300" src="http://4a7jjc25uykf24u8sd3k8m5n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/53-157x300.jpg" width="157" /></a>

Question of the Day: Is Kim Kardashian’s Body 100% Natural???

BASAM 0 09:10:00

She has been named GQ’s Woman of the Year and is wifey to Kanye West.   Her coca- cola body figure has made her the gaze of the entire earth, but most people believe that her body is not all natural. Critics say … link to this post

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Troops Avert Suicide Bombing In Ummarari

<em><strong><img alt="Troops-of-the-african-Union" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-163521" height="161" src="http://www.channelstv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Troops-of-the-african-Union-300x161.jpg" width="300" /></strong></em><br /> <br /> <em><strong>Troops of 7 Division Garrison Forward Operation Base (FOB), on Saturday averted another suicide bombing on Ummarari community by suspected Boko Haram terrorist.</strong></em><br /> The suicide bomber was intercepted at about 7:00am local time by the troops and the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) while making attempt to enter the village to detonate his dangerous cargo on innocent persons in the Ummarari.<br /> A statement by a spokesman for the Army, Colonel Sani Usman, said the suicide bomber detonated the strapped Improvised Explosive Device (IED) vest on his body, thus killing himself instantly when he was forced to halt based on suspicion that he was carrying suicide bombing material.<br /> There was no other casualty.<br /> The troops and the Civilian JTF at the village are now combing the surrounding area to forestall further attacks and clear the environment of likely remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hibernating.<br /> The suicide bomber, according to Civilian Joint Task Force sources, had three IEDS strapped to his body before he was stopped.<br /> He detonated one upon interrogation blowing up himself, while the police antibomb squad reportedly diffused the other two.<br /> Umarari, barely six kilometers from Maiduguri was attacked for the third time by two female suicide bombers in March this year, leaving 22 persons dead.<br /> The village’s proximity to the the notorious Sambisa forest has made it vulnerable to attacks by suicide bombers on errand.<br /> credit: channelstv <br /> <div class="ad-image"> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-8675631753543209" data-ad-slot="2314255613" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="display: inline-block; height: 250px; width: 300px;"><ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; display: inline-table; height: 250px; margin: 0; padding: 0; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 300px;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0; padding: 0; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 300px;"></ins></ins></ins> </div>

Troops Avert Suicide Bombing In Ummarari

BASAM 0 05:52:00

Troops of 7 Division Garrison Forward Operation Base (FOB), on Saturday averted another suicide bombing on Ummarari community by suspected Boko Haram terrorist. The suicide bomber wa… link to this post

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Congolese Music Star, Papa Wemba, Dies On Stage

<em><strong><img alt="Papa_Wemba" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-194847" height="162" src="http://www.channelstv.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Papa_Wemba-300x162.jpg" width="300" /> </strong></em><br /> <br /> <em><strong>Congolese music star Papa Wemba has died after collapsing on stage in Abidjan in Ivory Coast.</strong></em><br /> French broadcaster, France 24, confirmed the death, quoting his manager.<br /> Reports say video from the concert shows the artist, who was 66, slumped on the floor as dancers continue to perform, unaware of what is happening.<br /> The Congolese band leader, whose real name was Jules Shungu Webadio, also inspired a cult movement known as the Sapeurs whose members, young men, spend huge amounts of money on designer clothes.<br /> Wemba’s made his style of music, Soukous, also known as rumba rock, to become a popular sound across Africa.<br /> Together with his bands Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi and Viva La Musica, he racked up hit after hit including L’Esclave and Le Voyageur.

Congolese Music Star, Papa Wemba, Dies On Stage

BASAM 0 05:46:00

  Congolese music star Papa Wemba has died after collapsing on stage in Abidjan in Ivory Coast. French broadcaster, France 24, confirmed the death, quoting his manager. Reports say video from the concert shows the artist, who was 66, slumped on the … link to this post

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Confronting The Curse Of Oil by Dr. Reuben Abati

<div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="site-inner"> <div class="content-sidebar-wrap"> <img alt="Dr. Reuben Abati: Confronting The Curse Of Oil" class="aligncenter featured" src="http://www.africanliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Buhari-3.jpg" /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> NIGERIA:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting was held the other day in Abuja, with the representatives of state governments again cap in hand, asking for their share of federal revenue – read: oil revenue, or better still, national cake, or our money.  A paragraph in the report by the online newspaper, <em>Premium Times,</em> caught my attention and here it is: <em>“But at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting, representatives of the 36 state governments went home SAD (emphasis mine), as they were handed parlous shares from a total N299.75 billion statutory allocation for the month, the lowest allocations in more than five years.” </em>For the month of March 2016, the states shared N55.34 billion, compared to N64.52 billion in February 2016. I have deliberately emphasized the word <em>sad,</em> because the day may well come when after the sharing of national revenue, we may be told that some Commissioners of Finance left the meeting crying, or wailing.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> To prevent that happening this time, the Federal Government chose to suspend deductions of salary repayment loans owed by the states. When such deductions were made in February 2016, at least one state, Osun, went back home with a paltry N6 million only. The truth is that most of the 36 states are in dire straits, worst hit by the economic crisis that the country faces. About 27 out of the 36 states of the Federation are effectively insolvent, if not bankrupt. In July 2015, the Federal Government not only bailed out the states financially, the Central Bank of Nigeria further extended the repayment period for bank loans taken by the states from a period of seven years to 20 years.  So far the affected states have collected salary assistance loans from the CBN to the tune of N689.5 billion, with an additional N310 billion as loans backed by the Excess Crude Account.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Across the country, these states are owing staff salaries, in some cases up to seven months. Pensioners have not been paid their arrears. Civil servants are angry because their allowances are being withheld. Most of the states (24) have not been able to improve on their internally generated revenue. The people are angry, wondering what this change has brought to their doorsteps.  In January 2015, former CBN Governor, Charles Soludo, had sounded a cautionary note of warning in a piece titled “Buhari vs. Jonathan: Beyond the Election” wherein he argued that under President Jonathan, economic prosperity (oil boom) rather than generate wealth and opportunities resulted in greater pressures and the handing over of the economy to “self-conflicted traders and businessmen.”</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He warned that the future of the Nigerian economy appeared bleak in the event of a slide in the spot price of crude oil. In November 2015, Soludo wrote a post-election piece titled “Can a New Buharinomics save Nigeria?” in which he slightly revised his trenchant attack on the Jonathan administration and argued that President Muhammadu Buhari had in fact inherited strong economic indicators and that in spite of the dwindling oil prices, he had an opportunity to further strengthen the Nigerian economy, given the right choices. The economist called for a debate on the subject, made his own recommendations and asked for the immediate setting up of a WAR ROOM on the economy.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Between January 2015 and March 2016, Soludo has been proven right in many respects; if you discount the politics of his January 2015 piece, that is, and focus on the analytical prescience of his contributions, you would easily agree that whatever may be happening in the economy today is foreseeable, foretold, and perhaps preventable. There is no challenge more urgent in Nigeria today than the economy. The health of the economy is linked to the well-being of the people. A recursive economy brings hardship and perhaps the last time Nigeria found itself in similar circumstances was truly between 1981 and 1985; the mismanagement of that challenge then, rather than improve our situation resulted in an uncontrollable decline, the effect of which has had Octopal implications for the well-being of the entire society.  The concern of the concerned intelligentsia is that things should not get worse than they are now.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Because things are not really looking good, right now, President Goodluck Jonathan, for example, has had the great opportunity of engaging in an inevitable chest-beating-if-nobody-praises-me-I-will-praise-myself presentation in Newark, United States a few days ago. What he didn’t spell out is in the sub-text of his commentary. The current indication is that Nigeria’s GDP growth has dropped to below 3% in 2016 from about 7% in 2014.  Income levels have similarly dropped. Inflation has jumped from single digit to a frightening double-digit range (12.11%). The manufacturing sector, which was on the rebound as at 2014, is now below 3% of GDP, which is as bad as saying there is no manufacturing going on at all and that the real sector is prostrate. The country’s reserves have been drained. Government deficit is rising. Unemployment has risen, even if one West African country is nonetheless asking Nigeria to come and help it solve its unemployment problem – I hope we will not again go and give what we do not have at home! Fuel queues are back as a feature of national life. Many Nigerians have not had an hour of electricity supply in the last four months. The people are angry and hungry.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In his November 2015 article, Soludo asked for a War Room. In March 2016, the Federal Government organized a Talk Shop in the form of a 2-day retreat of the National Economic Council (NEC) which came up with 71 proposals to revive the economy.  71 proposals! Sadly, there is nothing new in those proposals.  Soludo called for a debate and pro-active measures. The administration is obviously not interested in what he has to say. Instead, there has been a lot of blame-this-blame-that going on.  My take is that we cannot leave economics to the economists. Economists are fundamentalists; between the market fundamentalists and the state capitalists they only manage to produce problems, and that is perhaps why the idea of a War Room may be the wrong idiom.  I also don’t consider the blame game helpful. Whatever is wrong with the Nigerian economy is an open secret that does not require any prolonged movement of the mandibular.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> We are, to say the truth, paying the price for the failure of the Nigerian leadership elite to diversify the Nigerian economy and expand the country’s revenue base.  We found oil in 1958, and since then we have been as a country, a victim of the curse of oil. The curse of oil in our context has meant indolence, the emergence of a rentier class, a squandering of riches and the alienation of the poor by the rich. Every country afflicted by the curse of oil has found it difficult to escape from the curse. In our case, it is worse. Crude oil accounts for 90% of Nigeria’s exports, 70% of Federal revenue and about 15% of GDP. The point has been made for years that without oil, or with great falls in the spot price of the Brent crude, Nigeria will be in trouble. Every scholar has spoken about the need for diversification, but oil money is so cheap, it does not allow our ruling elite to think.  I wrote the foreword two months ago to a book tilted <em>Memories of Yesteryears</em> written by Akpandem James, formerly of the <em>Independent Newspaper</em> and in one of the chapters he reminisces about a long list of plantations across the South Southern part of the country, but those plantations are no longer there, either in the South South or the North or the East or West, because over the years, Nigerians got used to the easy money that comes with oil.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Oil, everyone said, is a wasting asset. But our leaders never listened. Instead, they argue that we have more gas than oil and that if nobody buys our oil, shale oil or no shale oil, Nigeria will sell gas. A country built on a philosophy of wealth without work or sense, commits a grievous sin. We have confronted the curse of oil on so many occasions. It caused the civil war of 1967-70. It resulted in the desperation of the North to seize Federal power and get a bigger share of the national cake by all means. It led to the agitations in the Niger Delta, the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Eight, pipeline vandalism, Niger Delta insurgency, environmental degradation and the potent threat of a resurgent militancy in the Niger Delta, which is bound to cripple the Nigerian economy finally and tragically.  The curse of oil is the source of a national cake mentality that has turned public service into an arena for primate accumulation.  It is the root of corruption in Nigeria.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> It is not a Buhari vs. Jonathan apotheosis therefore. To reduce it to that level is to ignobly avoid the messages of history. If anyone must be blamed, it must be all Nigerian leaders from independence at all levels.  They have focused more on the fundamentals of ethnic, religious, regional and personal benefits, more than the fundamentals of national benefit. The leaders at the state levels are no better than gluttonous beggars. Elsewhere, states are centres of productive, economic activities. In Nigeria, every Governor is interested in what comes from the easy monthly allocation from Abuja. For IGR, they tax the people, multiple, punitive taxes.  They create the impression that government exists to punish the people. Not every problem is Abuja-sourced. We need Governors who can think creatively economically and turn their states into economic units, not cowboys who spend more time in Abuja doing eye service. Truth is: some Governors are so cheap when they go to the Villa, they even expect to be given transport fare!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> There are other issues: enhanced financial transparency will help, fraud has to be checked; there should be greater oversight scrutiny by civil society and the legislature; too many lawmakers are too busy trying to get their own bite of the national cake – can they please keep their rumbling and insatiable stomachs in check? And finally, the cost of governance must be reduced: Lawmakers who proudly ride vehicles worth N36.5 million are bandits not servants of the people. Governors who live ostentatiously and claim that there is not enough money to pay salaries are wrong. President Buhari is fighting corruption: he should allow states being run corruptly to sink if they must.</div>

Confronting The Curse Of Oil by Dr. Reuben Abati

BASAM 0 05:41:00

NIGERIA: The monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting was held the other day in Abuja, with the representatives of state governments again cap in hand, asking for their share of federal revenue – read: oil revenue, or bette… link to this post

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Kachikwu: FG can’t afford upgrade of refineries

<div class="article-photo"> <span class="set-image-border" style="float: none;"><img alt="Kachikwu: FG can’t afford upgrade of refineries" class="setborder" src="https://www.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ibe-Kachikwu-2-653x365.jpg" style="float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></span></div> <div class="article-controls" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"> <div class="date"> <div class="calendar-date"> </div> <div class="calendar-time">  </div> </div> </div> <strong>Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, on Saturday said $700 million, which the federal government “does not have”, is required to upgrade refineries to the state where they can produce at maximum capacity.</strong><br /> Kachikwu, who is also the group managing director of NNPC, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during the re-inauguration of the Port Harcourt/Bonny Crude Supply Line at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), Eleme, Rivers.<br /> He said that due to the fact that the government does not have such amount, advertisements had been signed for investors to come in.<br /> “We are not inviting foreign partners to take over the refineries; the total investment for that is up to $700 million and we don’t have that. Let us be honest about it,” he said.<br /> “So the best thing to do is to find a very creative way to bring in investors, who will come in, work with our team here, investors, who have the skills to reactivate and upgrade facilities in this place and help us provide technical support and we will pay through the flow-out of the refined products over time.”<br /> Kachikwu emphasised that there should be no confusion about what the investors would be coming to do, since they would not come to run the refineries.<br /> ”They are coming to provide funds to take our performance on these refineries to 90 percent and to provide us with technical skills, so the areas of intervention will be funding and technical support,.”<br /> He explained that at the moment, Nigerians are consuming about 45 million litres of PMS daily, while the refineries are producing 12 million litres daily, as they only function at 60 per cent capacity.<br /> He said that the nation will need to upgrade these refineries and let them develop to the point where they can perform up to at least 90 per cent.<br /> “By the time the refineries are upgraded and they start producing at 90 per cent, about 20 million litres would be produced daily. Such production level will meet up with about half the country’s consumption,” he added, before apologising to Nigerians for the lingering fuel scarcity.<br /> “We have been able to recover two critical crude supply pipelines, which are the Escravos/Warri and Bonny/Port Harcourt crude supply pipelines.<br /> “The pipelines were down for six to seven years, but have been repaired and are now working and supplying crude to the refineries. For the first time, the refineries will get their crude, pay for it, they will sell their products and they will earn the income from that product.<br /> “And then, they can develop and continue to maintain the refineries even after this intervention is over. Port Harcourt is back in production, Warri is back in production. Kaduna today is receiving and will soon be back in production. It is something of joy.”<br /> On the fuel scarcity, he said: “Lagos is easing off now from fuel scarcity and Abuja is doing the same thing; once Kaduna begins to produce, the north will see a lot of improvement.<br /> ”Over and above that, we are putting long term policies in place to ensure that while smaller marketers go out and do their stuff, we can then be the key suppliers for the rest of the country.<br /> “I told you I will never give up. We owe Nigerians the duty to ensure that the refineries are working. We owe Nigerians that, we can’t give up.”<br /> credit: thecableng

Kachikwu: FG can’t afford upgrade of refineries

BASAM 0 05:33:00

  Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, on Saturday said $700 million, which the federal government “does not have”, is required to upgrade refineries to the state where they can produce at maximum capacity. Kachikwu, who is also th… link to this post

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