Jonathan Speaks In Geneva on Security, Education and Development in Africa

Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Wednesday at a world press conference at the Geneva Press Club gave account of his stewardship as the leader of the world’s most populous black nation.

The club was filled with diplomats, policy makers and journalists to whom he gave details of his post presidential focus and touched on some of the roles his administration played in key areas of the Nigerian and West Africa polity, with particular emphasis on Security and Education.

Read speech below

Press conference on Security, Education and Development in Africa Geneva Press Club – Wednesday the 27th of January, 2016

Protocols

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, I thank you for coming to hear me speak on the twin issues of education and security.

Though this event is billed as a press conference on a Better Security and Education for West Africa, for the sake of time, I will focus on my experience in government which gave me a practical demonstration of how education impacts on security.

I will thereafter touch on my post-presidential focus which is on advancing democracy and good governance in Africa and increasing access to opportunity for wealth generation in Africa.

If you peruse the official UNESCO literacy rates by country, what you will find is that all of the top ten most literate nations in the world are at peace, while almost all of the top 10 least literate nations in the world are in a state of either outright war or general insecurity.

Lower education levels are linked to poverty and poverty is one of the chief causative factors of crime whether it is terrorism or militancy or felonies.

With this at the back of my mind, I began the practice of giving education the highest sectoral allocation beginning with my very first budget as President in 2011.

My policy was to fight insecurity in the immediate term using counter insurgency strategies and the military and for the long term I fought it using education as a tool.

As I have always believed, if we do not spend billions educating our youths today, we will spend it fighting insecurity tomorrow. And you do not have to spend on education just because of insecurity. It is also the prudent thing to do.

Nigeria, or any African nation for that matter, can never become wealthy by selling more minerals or raw materials such as oil. Our wealth as a nation is between the ears of our people.

It is no coincidence that the Northeast epicenter of terrorism in Nigeria is also the region with the highest rate of illiteracy and the least developed part of Nigeria.

In Nigeria, the Federal Government actually does not have a responsibility for primary and secondary education, but I  could not in good conscience stomach a situation where 52.4% of males in the Northeastern region of Nigeria have no formal Western education.

The figure is even worse when you take into account the states most affected by the insurgency.

83.3% of male population in Yobe state have no formal Western education. In Borno state it is 63.6%.

Bearing this in mind is it a coincidence that the Boko Haram insurgency is strongest in these two states?

So even though we did not have a responsibility for primary and secondary education going by the way the Nigerian federation works, I felt that where I had ability, I also had responsibility even if the constitution said it was not my responsibility.

Knowing that terrorism thrives under such conditions my immediate goal was to increase the penetration of Western education in the region while at the same time making sure that the people of the region did not see it as a threat to their age old practices of itinerant Islamic education known as Almajiri.

For the first time in Nigeria’s history, the Federal Government which I led, set out to build 400 Almajiri schools with specialized curricula that combined Western and Islamic education. 160 of them had been completed before I left office.

I am also glad to state that when I emerged as President of Nigeria on May 6th 2010, there were nine states in the Northern part of the country that did not have universities. By the time I left office on the 29th of May 2015, there was no Nigerian state without at least one Federal  University.

Now the dearth of access to formal education over years created the ideal breeding ground for terror to thrive in parts of Nigeria but there are obviously other dimensions to the issue of insecurity in Nigeria and particularly terrorism.

You may recall that the fall of the Gaddafi regime in August 2011 led to a situation where sophisticated weapons fell into the hands of a number of non state actors with attendant increase in terrorism and instability in North and West Africa.

The administration I headed initiated partnership across West Africa to contain such instability in nations such as Mali, which I personally visited in furtherance of peace.

And with those countries contiguous to Nigeria, especially nations around the Lake Chad Basin, we formed a coalition for the purpose of having a common front against terrorists through the revived Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

Those efforts continue till today and have in large part helped decimate the capacity of Boko Haram.

Another aspect of the anti terror war we waged in Nigeria that has not received enough attention is our effort to improve on our intelligence gathering capacity.

Prior to my administration, Nigeria’s intelligence architecture was designed largely around regime protection, but through much sustained effort we were able to build capacity such that our intelligence agencies were able to trace and apprehend the masterminds behind such notorious terror incidences as the Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State.

Other suspects were also traced and arrested including those behind the Nyanya and Kuje bombings.

Not only did we apprehend suspects, but we tried and convicted some of them including the ring leader of the Madalla bombing cell, Kabir Sokoto, who is right now serving a prison sentence.

But leadership is about the future. I am sure you have not come here to hear me talk about the way backward. You, like everyone else, want to hear about the way forward.

I am no longer in office, and I no longer have executive powers on a national level. However, I am more convinced now than ever about the nexus between education and security.

My foundation, The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, was formed to further democracy, good governance and wealth generation in Africa.

Of course, Charity begins at home and for the future, what Nigeria needs is to focus on making education a priority.

Thankfully, the administration that succeeded mine in its first budget, appears to have seen wisdom in continuing the practice of giving education the highest sectoral allocation. This is commendable.

I feel that what people in my position, statesmen and former leaders, ought to be doing is to help build consensus all over Africa, to ensure that certain issues should not be politicized.

Education is one of those issues. If former African leaders can form themselves into an advisory group to gently impress on incumbent leaders the necessity of meeting the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommended allocation of 26% of a nations annual budget on education, I am certain that Africa will make geometric progress in meeting her Millennium Development Goals and improving on every index of the Human Development Index.

Data has shown that as spending on education increases, health and well being increases and incidences of maternal and infant mortality reduce.

In Nigeria for instance, Average Life Expectancy had plateaued in the mid 40s for decades, but after 2011, when we began giving education the highest sectoral allocation, according to the United Nations, Nigeria enjoyed her highest increase in Average Life Expectancy since records were kept. We moved from an Average Life Expectancy of 47 years before 2011 to 54 years by 2015.

I had earlier told you about the connection between education and insecurity.

I believe that it is the job of former leaders and elder statesmen to convince Executive and Legislative branches across Africa to work together to achieve the UNESCO recommended percentage as a barest minimum.

I intend to offer my services, through The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, for this purpose and I invite interested organizations to help us make this happen.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, this, in a nutshell are some of my thoughts for a Better Security and Education for Africa and I will now entertain your questions.

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The kind of Rat That Transmits Lassa Fever and how they Spread the disease

The name of the rat that Possess and spread the virus that causes lassa fever is called multimammate rat( because it has many Tips like all these local street dogs after delivery). While the botanical name is mastomys natalensis.

There is also an upsurge of the disease everywhere. So we should all practice hand washing hygiene.

Also all apple lovers should wash them with salt and warm water before refrigerating them to eat.

Our wives should avoid testing of dry garri by chewing them for starch in the market.

All garri soakers should let go for now.

The problem is that most of our garri sellers in the market buy their garri from bush markets.

These garri are often fried half dry and are subsequently dried on polythene sheets on the tarred roads or compounds in the villages.

These rat dive in at will, to feed their hungry bellies and in the process defecate and urinate on the garri, which dry up with it. If used for Eba, the virus may die because of the hot water used. But if soaked, the virus is directly ushered in.

Please no one should joke with this precaution, except you process your cassava yourself.

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Fayose Gives Buhari A Very Strong Warning against army chiefs being probed by EFCC

Governor Fayose has warned President Buhari against army chiefs being probed by the EFCC.

Fayose said on Saturday, January 16, that if the army chiefs are to be probed for their involvement in the $2.1 billion armsgate, then it must be done in accordance with the armed forces rules of engagement.

The governor who spoke through Lere Olayinka, his aide, said: “the $2.1 billion arms deal is a scam because all that they are just doing is to brandish figures to deceive Nigerians and demonise the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and those opposed to his (Buhari’s) dictatorship in the All Progressive Congress (APC).

“Till today, the amount they have charged people for stealing is not up to N10 billion and $2.1 billion they claimed was stolen is about N600 billion.

“The President must let Nigerians see where the arms deal is in the 2015 budget and publish details of the imaginary $2.1 billion scam.

“Also, the President must tell Nigerians how his friend, Jafaru Isa was able to return N100 million to the EFCC within three days because there are insinuations that the N100 million refunded came from the Presidency.”

PM News reports that while reiterating his support for the war against anti-corruption, Fayose said it was strange for serving military generals to be interrogated by junior police officers, adding that “the President should not act in a way that he will be perceived as ridiculing the armed forces.

“Even though I am not a military officer, I know that there is what is called orderly room trial or court martial, which military men who erred in the performance of their duties are made to go through.

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Buhari’s anti-corruption war suffers serious setback

President Muhammadu Buhari’s war on corruption is set to encounter stumbling blocks as the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Nta Ekpo, on Friday January 15th, affirmed that the anti-graft agency had been unable to successfully carry out its statutory responsibility of fighting corruption due to insufficient funds.

Nta stated this when he hosted members of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, headed by Senator Chukwuka Utazi in his office.

He further stated that the budget for the ICPC was insufficient in carrying out its responsibility of fighting corruption.

“In 2015, the commission proposed N9.5 billion, but N4.9 billion was appropriated, while N4.2 billion was released.

“The difference between what was appropriated and released is N697, 470,164 million. The budget performance for 2015 on recurrent and capital is 100 per cent based on releases.

“In the 2016 budget, so far, information from Budget Office (ceiling) for recurrent is N680, 984, 456 as against N764, 182, 724, while it was N300 million in 2015 and N132 million in the 2014 appropriations.”

On assumption into office on May 29th, 2015 legal experts had advised Buhari to immediately sanitize and financially empower some of the law enforcement and anti-graft agencies in order to achieve an all inclusive fight against corruption.

Reacting on behalf of the senate, Utazi said the legislatures would work out modalities on how to strengthen anti-corruption institutions.

He said during the consideration of the 2016 budget at the committee levels, issues raised by the ICPC would be addressed.

“This administration has to fight corruption and we are here as a committee to strengthen this commission.

“We are also asking you to look at the ICPC Act and then bring suggestions as amendments that will help us do our job.

“We are going to help the President succeed in his fight against corruption. We must also focus on prevention, rather than prosecution.

“It bothers us that the only thing we hear about ICPC and other anti-graft agencies is prosecution.”

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Anti-corruption war: A plot to silence opposition?

The plan is clearly working. As at the last count, over ten chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been arrested and detained. Some of them have since been released on conditional bail with their travelling documents seized by security agencies.

Others have remained in custody despite court orders to the contrary. Among them is immediate former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, who was only recently charged to court after ten days in detention. The court fixed hearing for his bail application at a later date.

It is believed many more are about to be picked up by security forces. In theory, the plot seems to be have been crafted around the alleged $2.1billion arms procurement deal to get as many opposition figures as possible into government’s nets. The final plan? To contain the opposition and whip the recalcitrants into shape. The PDP has been crying out on this for a long time but has been generally ignored by the public.

Investigations revealed that forces in the Presidency have perfected strategies to use the anti-corruption war to fight the PDP and opposition community to a standstill. Nigerians, the strategists are aware, are disposed to believing a corruption tag placed on anyone. Using the anti-corruption weapon will sweep in virtually all members of the PDP knowing many of them have put their hands into the government’s till.

By tagging opposition figures as corrupt, Nigerians will never believe whatever else they say but dismiss them as collective thieves unworthy of getting their attention. It will also damage them politically and destroy the party’s chances of seizing power again at the federal level. The plot is working, at the moment, to perfection with the anti-corruption tool as the ultimate weapon.

But discerning Nigerians are beginning to raise dust over the matter. One of them is constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, who expressed serious disgust over government’s failure to obey court rulings to release Dasuki. The former NSA has been granted bail twice by the courts. He met the bail conditions and was on his way out of detention when he was picked up again at the prison gate.

Falana said: “The decision of the SSS to ignore the order admitting Col. Dasuki to bail coupled with the failure to re-arraign him on fresh charges is tantamount to impunity in every material respect,” Mr. Falana said.

“If the federal government were aggrieved by the order admitting Col. Dasuki to bail it should have challenged it in the Court of Appeal.

“Much as the Nigerian people are fully behind the Buhari administration in the patriotic move to recover the looted wealth of the nation, the federal government should be advised to ensure that the procedure for the loot recovery meets the tenets of the rule of law.”

He said the anti-corruption war has to be fought using the appropriate instruments of the law and not crude methods. This tally with the views of many who are worried the government appears to be fighting a selective war against corruption. They point out that chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are as corrupt as PDP members, if not more. Yet, none of them, they say, has been picked up.

Perhaps in response to this one-sided approach, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) picked up an ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, Isa Jafar, a former Military Administrator of Kaduna State. He was arrested for allegedly collecting N160 million from Dasuki from the arms fund.

He was released two days after because EFCC said he already admitted guilt and refunded N100m with a commitment to return the outstanding N60million soonest. While he was let off the hook, Metuh is still in detention for the same offence. He was said to have collected N400million from Dasuki through a company he has substantial interest in.

Metuh admitted he received undisclosed amount of money from former President Goodluck Jonathan to carry out some assignments as a national chieftain of the PDP. The opposition spokesperson is still in government detention since he was picked up. The EFCC also obtained an order from an Abuja Magistrate Court to keep the Anambra-born politician in its custody until investigations are concluded into the alleged case.

This method of arresting and detaining suspects while gathering evidence has also been criticized as being contrary to civilized modes of crime fighting, and an abuse of individuals’ fundamental right to freedom, or being presumed innocent, until proven otherwise by a competent court.

In a recent statement, Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, who stated his support for the anti-corruption war, bemoaned a situation where the EFCC would first arrest and detain a person before shopping for evidence against him. “The EFCC appears to be operating a system in which an accused person is first arrested, detained endlessly while the anti-corruption agency goes about looking for evidence”, he said.

On the surface, Metuh’s arrest appears justifiable given he has not denied accepting the said fund. But he is no small fry in the nation’s political space. He is the leading voice of the opposition and had alleged government was after him to gag opposition. It is impossible not to interpret his arrest and continued detention as an attempt in that direction.

In his absence, the PDP is certainly depleted without a clear leader, or a voice to criticize any action or policy of the Buhari-led government. This has further decimated the arsenals of the main opposition party. The surest winner is the APC, which is left to carry on with governance without any inhibition. The development is a further dent on the nation’s multiparty system with Nigeria at the brink of becoming a one party state.

It is also a big stain on the ruling party’s political tolerance. Many have expressed serious reservations with President Muhammadu Buhari’s dictatorial tendencies as a former Military Head of State when he was gunning for the big post. They appear to have been vindicated given the desperate response of the APC to every criticism and opposition to its policy thrusts and decisions.

Yet, this is a party that benefitted so much from opposition politics in the immediate government. The APC gave the PDP no breathing space, constantly knocking down its every move and activity. Jonathan once complained he was the most abused President based on the scathing, critical assessment of his day to-day activities.

The current Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made a name for himself tearing apart the PDP while it was in power. He was unsparing in his criticisms, most times going over the board to make his case. Yet, he was never molested or harassed, let alone arrested. He lived as a king and was untouchable.

But the APC has shown it is not ready to tow the same path. It is proving to be intolerant of opposition views and figures. It has balked at every critical view, even warning that the office of the President should not be disrespected. But this was its stock in trade throughout its stint in the opposition. It is ironic that the party that rode to power on the strength of abuses and insults is asking to be treated differently.

Even if he is released today, Metuh will clearly not be the same biting, hard tackling opposition mouthpiece he used to be. His experience in detention would have softened and emaciated him. APC’s National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, last Monday said the party was unapologetic over its approach to the anti-corruption war.

He told reporters: “The APC is not in any way apologetic. We promised change and there is a lot of rot in the system. This must be cleansed and whoever and whatever ox is being gored, where ever the tree is going to fall, so, let it be.

“We must get used to the fact that in the process of cleansing this nation, there is going to be a lot of bullets to bite.

“The APC has not been in office at national level in the last 10 to 16 years. So, the issue of whether somebody is PDP or not PDP does not arise. We have a nation to cleanse. The president has committed himself to that and we should support it whatever way it comes. We are not being apologetic about that at all.”

He however denied that the party is out to stifle opposition. According to him, “It has nothing to do with witch-hunting. It just happened that the dramatis personae of the period all happened to be on one side of the political divide. We have absolutely no intention to pressurise any group or any nation towards a one-party state. It is not in our interest so to do because we need a vibrant opposition.”

But asides from Jafar, no one in the APC has been questioned or arrested for being corrupt. This is something many cannot live with considering the fact that many of the party chieftains have corruption cases in court.

For now, the plot to stifling opposition appears on course but the APC will certainly be worse off for it. The nation will be the ultimate loser.

Article By Olumide Olaoluwa

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FG clarifies N5,000 unemployment stipend

The Federal government said yesterday that it has no plan to pay N5000 to Unemployed Nigerians just to be indolent and unproductive, saying such payment will be made as allowances to those undergoing different skill acquisition programmes.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at the APC secretariat said no country can afford to pay stipend to her citizens to be indolent, adding that Nigeria will not be different.

The Minister however explained that while some people will be paid N5000 under the cash conversion scheme, some will also get N10000 while other may get more than N15,000 while in training.

He maintained that some people that will be given such stipend will go through different training and later get employed by either the state or federal government.

“We also have the programme on the commission cash transfer. Though even you the press has said it,  we won’t pay N5000 for people to be indolent. No country in the world, would pay people to go home and sleep and collect cash, so Nigerian would not be an exception.

“We will pay some people N5000, we will pay some N10,000, and even for people in teacher conversion scheme, we will pay more than N10,000, N15,000 as stipend while in training, and then after the training, they are going to be employed by state government and the federal government in different institution.

“It is not a programme we shall run alone, the state governments are going to buy into it, they are going to synchronize with us, we are going to do it in synergy”

He also disclosed that the present administration has mapped out some poverty alleviating and employment generating programs for Nigerians which will be carried out by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Labour and Employment.

On the planned Skills Acquisition Scheme, Ngige said “The Ministry has specialists skills acquisition centres; we have seven like that base in the ministry under the commissioner of skills or directorate for skills.

“The NDE have over 120 centres scattered all over the country, we also have those that have been built by state government and we want to capture all of these into that scheme and then get people to the scheme; to be bricklayers, to be POP designers, builders, welders, electronics repairer and the one they called Mecha-tronic, repair of vehicles, automobile carpentry, painting and fabrication of all sorts.

“We are going to do it, teach people, give them certification, because many people do not know that Ministry of Labour is the only place that can certified tradesmen.  This skills acquisition centres are in grades, we have grade A certification, Grade B, Grade C, D and E Certification, they all still exist.

“So we want to get back our youths, capture them, teach them to use their hands, and when they used their hands, they can earn money by employing themselves. If you get a bricklayer, or a painter today, you cannot pay less than N5000 for a daily job.

“If somebody is able to work 20 days in a month for N5000, he already has N100,000. But, today it is a sad story that Togolese, Ghannians, people from Benin Republic, people from Niger Republic that do all these skilled job for us.

“80 percent of workers in that specialize category in construction site all over Nigeria, be it in Abuja, in Lagos or in Onitsha, they come from outside, and we don’t know that little drops of water, form  ocean, the money or the naira they are paid is repatriated to their country and all of them will come at the end of the day to put pressure on naira in the foreign exchange market.

“So we have decided that we have to train our own youths, let them use their hinds to fend for themselves. We will also want to advance some of them into entrepreneurship. If you are very good, we can open a place for you and give you money through the Bank of Industry and SMEDAN and then you move to the next stage where a number of youth will work with you.”

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Lassa fever hits lagos

A case of Lassa fever has been confirmed in Lagos.

The  victim ,identified as a 25-year-old student from the Ahmadu Bello University case,  was diagnosed with the ailment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

The patient  was first admitted  at a private hospital in Ojokoro area of Lagos State.

Health  Minister  Isaac Adewole said the patient was  responding to treatment.

The minister had,last week,confirmed 40 deaths from a Lassa fever outbreak in parts of the country.

The death toll increased by one with the loss of a patient  at the National Hospital,Abuja during the week.

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Bird Flu is back

Two days ago, the Kano state Government, through the Directorate of Veterinary Service in the Ministry of Agriculture, confirmed that the dreaded Bird flu disease had returned to the country, with the report of several cases in the state.



It would be recalled that the disease was prevalent in the country between January and September 2015.



During this outbreak, 491 poultry farms were affected in 21 states, which led to the loss of 1.7 million birds. The economic value of last year’s bird flu epidemic cost Nigeria N10 billion.

After Jigawa state advised its residents to take precautionary measures, the government of Anambra state has also followed suit.

In a statement released by Dr Barr Mrs Uju Nwogu, Hon. Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Anambra state, the public was alerted on the return of the disease.

Read the statement below:

The Anambra State Government alerts members of the public about the resurgence of Avian Influenza popularly called Bird Flu in some states across the country. This disease which is usually associated with birds can also be transmitted from bird to man.

Bird Flu can be transmitted through direct contact with infected birds or poultry materials. The Symptoms of the disease include fever, sneezing, cough, diarrhea, trouble breathing, general ill feeling, muscle aches, runny nose and sore throat.

Members of the public are by this announcement advised to observe personal hygiene, and to wash their hands with soap and clean water after contact with birds and poultry product.

They should also ensure that all poultry meat and eggs are thoroughly cooked before eating. All poultry farmers in the state are also advised to clean their surroundings, and to report cases of sick birds to the nearest veterinary clinic.

Similarly all veterinary officers in the state are by this announcement requested to commence surveillance/sensitization visits particularly at Live-bird markets in the state to avoid the contact and spread of the flu.

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Naira depreciates again, now N300/$ at Parallet Market

Monday’s stoppage of foreign exchange sales to Bureau De Change operators by the Central Bank of Nigeria failed to lift the naira on Tuesday as the currency exchanged for 300 against the United States dollar in Kano, 290 in Lagos and 292 in Abuja.

Financial experts said the naira would decline further, while private sector operators described the move as a welcome development.

The ban was announced on Monday, when naira trading at 285 against the dollar at the parallel market from 278 on Friday.

The Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, told one of correspondents in a telephone interview that the currency traded against the greenback at 300, 290 and 292 in Kano, Lagos and Abuja a day after the CBN announcement.

“There is cut of (dollar) supply to the market. The BDC sub-sector has been murdered. We are not coping. The naira is going to head northwards. There is no solution in sight,” Gwadabe lamented.

The Head of Investment Research, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Mr. Ayodeji Ebo, said the stoppage of forex sale to the BDCs meant that the CBN wanted everybody to apply to the banks for dollars.

He stated, “But we feel the pressure now will move from the BDCs to the parallel market. We will see significant spike in the value of the naira at the parallel market because the little supply to the BDCs have also helped to cushion the demand at the parallel market.

“It will further compound or increase the spread between the parallel market and the interbank market. So, it will also increase round-tripping and unethical practices within the financial system.”

On the lifting of the ban on cash deposits into domiciliary accounts, Ebo said, “I am still sceptical about how this will work except they are also assuring us that if you deposit it, you can consummate business with it.”

A professor of financial economics at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Leo Ukpong, said, “I don’t think the stoppage of dollar sale to the BDCs will solve the problem. The currency will depreciate some more.

“This move will make the naira to weaken more as demand for dollar will skyrocket because of the short supply.”

Members of the organised private sector, however, applauded the CBN for the stopping the sale of dollars to the BDCs and lifting the ban on cash deposits into domiciliary accounts.

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs, said industrialists had earlier kicked against the funding of the BDCs by the central bank, adding that with the development, the forex could be channelled towards funding the real sector in terms of importation of raw materials.

On the removal of the restriction of cash deposits into domiciliary accounts, Jacobs said manufacturers were still waiting for more clarification as to how the money deposited could be utilised by the customers.

The Director-General, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Mr. Emmanuel Cobham, said the forex sale ban was a welcome development.

According to him, although the BDCs are necessary in the economy, they are licensed entities and should, therefore, source for their own funds.

Also speaking on the matter, the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, lauded the forex policy review, noting that it had addressed the concerns of economic operators.

According to him, it is a source of worry that the CBN continues to maintain its official exchange rate at N199 to the dollar at a time of dwindling forex inflow.

“The pressure on the official window will persist. The risk of round-tripping and distortions in the foreign exchange market will consequently remain high,” he said.

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2016 Budget Documents re reportedly declared Stolen From National Assembly

The documents of the 2016 budget handed over by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015 have been reportedly declared missing, Premium Times informs.
As the Nigerian Senate was going to commence deliberation on the proposed budget today, Tuesday, Senate leader Ali Ndume disclosed that the hard and soft copies of the budget documents had been stolen.

According to people familiar with the matter, Ndume explained that deliberation on the budget could therefore not begin until fresh copies of the documents were obtained from the presidency, the Ministry of Finance or that of national planning.

Danjuma Goje, the chairman of Senate Committee of Appropriation, was appointed to lead a search for the documents and liaise with the presidency, the senior special assistant to the president on National Assembly matters, Ita Enang, and the national planning ministry on the matter.

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Nigerian Police Launch Mobile Application called SMART POLICE [DOWNLOAD HERE]

I'm happy to inform you that Nigeria police force has stepped up towards competing with their counterparts across the globe by going digital.

This time a mobile application has been launched. You can report any case with 100% convenience and the most interesting part of it is that you can choose to do all these without revealing ur identity.


Click Here to download the application.


Criminals are in real trouble this time.

Steps on how to activate the app.

Click on open to launch it.

Then register (You must register before you will be able to use the app).

Ways through which you cn register.

Click on the menu at the top left hand side of the screen.

Facebook
Google+
Anonymous login (your details will be unknown)

Create account.

You can use the Panic mode Button to make a distress call at ease.

You can equally make incident report.

You don't need to be looking for phone numbers any longer.

You can also interact with Nigerian police force.

This is used by the force to monitor how the men in the police force responds to distress call.

Remember if registered with your email, your identity will be known, a confirmation email will be sent to your inbox.

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3032 soldiers rejects redeployment to battle fronts in the northeast

Thousands of soldiers who were pardoned last August for various alleged offences during campaigns against the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, have rejected redeployment to the battle fronts in the northeast.

The soldiers totaling about 3032 soldiers, explained that they were never really pardoned and re-integrated into the Army, but rather, re-sentenced to the war front.

Vanguard reports that this created anxiety at the command and staff college, Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI), in Jaji, Kaduna state.

The soldiers who claimed to have been subjected to unimaginable ill treatment after their pardon – were gathered by the commandant of NASI, Major General Kassim Aldulkareem, to inform them that they have been assigned new riffles and should be ready for deployment to the fronts on Monday, January 11, 2016.

Sources inform that the soldiers complained that they have not been fully re-instated into the Nigerian Army, because attempts by them to report to their units were rejected at their bases since they have no re-instatement letters.

The soldiers also said that since they have been kicked out of the barracks they have not been paid for seven months making their families who live off-barracks begging for food.

Witnesses said they cried, “We are not going! Give us re-instatement letters! You are sentencing us back to war,” among others.

According to sources, the commandant hurriedly left when the soldiers were becoming uncontrollable.

One of the soldiers who spoke to some newsmen on grounds of anonymity, said: “Look at me; I have put in about 28 years of my life serving this country. I have seen action in Liberia; I have been to Rwanda, Sudan and even served overseas and we the Nigerian troops did very well and were decorated in some occasions.

“But, our experience in fighting to save our motherland is too sad a story for the outside world to know. We are not cowards. We held on for over four months facing Boko Haram.

“I just want to say that after the Army dismissed about 5,000 of us, 3032 of us were pardoned last August. Since that time, the Army Authority has treated us like prisoners of wars.”
“We were told to assemble in Jaji on August 17, which we did. Then on August 19, the General Officer Commander (GOC), of 1st Infantry Division, Maj Gen Adeniyi Oyebade gathered us and without prior noticed moved us to Nigerian Army training Centre (NATRAC), Kontogora. Some of us found ourselves there in bathroom slippers. We were just taken straight to the place. Then, without any additional clothes or uniform, we were subjected to what was clear punishment, not training for another three weeks.

“Still in the clothes we came, we were again relocated to 333 artillery Barracks, Njetilo, Maiduguri. We got nothing but constant insults as cowards. We were there without uniforms no arms. They just left us there and we were abused and told to assemble at every two hours through these days for another three weeks.

“In Jaji, we went through another round of punishment, not training. Yet, we were not given any letter to show that we are still serving soldiers.

“So when the Commandant came and said we were going back to the North East, without clearing our status, we felt we have been punished enough.” the soldier said.

Spokesman for the Nigerian Infantry Corps, Major CK Abaide, told pressmen on phone that he was not aware of the development. He said he would get back to the correspondents to share the army’s side of the story.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian army on Wednesday, January 6, said that implementing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the federal government was reason for the delay in payment of allowances to some of its officers.

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MTN Buys Visafone, Sacks 2000 Workers

Reports has it that over 2,000 employees of Visafone have been immediately sacked as MTN Nigeria completes its acquisition of Visafone.

Reliable sources reveal that MTN completed the acquisition of Visafone, the only surviving Code Division Multiple Access operator in the country, before the end of 2015.

When contacted, MTN Nigeria neither denied nor confirmed the deal, but said the management was already working on a statement that would be made available to journalists later in the day or today (Thursday).

Meanwhile, the disengagement of the 2000 staff members took effect from January 5, 2016 with a payment of three months' salaries as severance package.

The only categories of employees said to be left were those in the personnel and transmission departments.

A senior management employee at Visafone confirmed the sacking, but was quick to refer media enquiries to MTN because he was not authorised to speak on the deal.

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DSS must release Kanu or get ready for … – IPOB

In light of the flagrant disobedient to court order by the Department of State Security service, DSS, and refusal to unconditionally release the controversial Biafra Radio Director, Nnamdi Kanu, the Indigenous People of Biafra ,IPOB, has raised alarm over plot to ‘secretly execute” the Pro-Biafra agitator.

In a strongly worded statement, the group which is campaigning for an independent state for the Igbo also alleged that Kanu was “very ill” and needed urgent medical attention.

Buhari, had on December 30, 2015 while responding to why the DSS has continued to disregard court orders instructing the release of the Former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki and Kanu, insisted that the magnitude of their alleged crimes was too grievous that government cannot afford to release them on bail.

Earlier in December 2015, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, of the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the release of Kanu unconditionally, but the DSS failed to comply with the order.

While uncovering the plot, IPOB said; “Information getting to us now is that the director of DSS and Buhari are planning to kill some Igbo-Biafrans working for the DSS in other to secretly execute Nnamdi Kanu,”

“For months now reports have been coming to us on how Nnamdi Kanu is been tortured in the dungeon of the DSS. Nnamdi Kanu is reported to be very ill and needs urgent care and treatment but the DSS on the order of Buhari have refused to grant him any treatment.

“Some Igbo-Biafrans who are members of the DSS have expressed their displeasure towards the treatment of Nnamdi Kanu, this resulting to Buhari and the director of DSS secretly plotting way to murder them.

“This information got to us is from a very reliable source and our advice to Buhari is to release Nnamdi Kanu, and also to stop torturing him because any harm done to him, will result to a war Nigeria can’t handle.

“We are calling on all IPOB members to get ready for action as instructions will be given by our deputy. We are calling all coordinators to start mobilizing all IPOB members and be on alert.”

Confirming this, Vincent Obetta, lawyer to Kanu said: “I don’t know his state of health. They have refused to give me access to see him. I have made every effort to see him since 23 of December, but I have not been given access. So, I don’t know is condition now.”

“If he is being tortured, I don’t know, but I got the rumour that he is being tortuanred. I am still pressing to get access to him.” he said.

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The 2015 Glo-CAF awards full list of winners + photos from the event

The 2015 Glo-CAF Awards took place tonight at the International Conference Center in Abuja and below are the awards winners in full. 

Club of the Year - TP Mazembe

Fair Play Award - Allez Casa (Senegal Supporters group)

Women's National Team Of The Year - Cameroon

Men's National Team Of The Year -Cote D'Ivoire

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Youth Player Of The Year- Victor Osimhen

Most Promising Talent -Oghenekaro Etebo

Coach of The Year - Havre Renard

Women's National Team Of The Year - Cameroon

Woman player of the year - Gabrielle Enganamouit

Referee Of The Year - Ameshinda Bakari Wa Gambia Papa Gassama

African Player Of The Year based in Africa-Mbwana Samatta 

Football Leader Of The Year - Abdiqani Said Arab Of Somalia

African Player Of The Year -Pierre Emerick Aubameyang

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