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[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:49 | null | 2016-08-30T00:06:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffetish-objects-found-apc-secretariat%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/APC.jpg | en | null | Fetish items surface at Ondo APC secretariat gate | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Unknown people yesterday placed fetish objects, including rituals, cutlasses and palm front, at the entrance of the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Secretariat at Cathedral Area, Akure.
The secretariat had been sealed off by aggrieved party members under the aegis of Movement Against Imposition (MAI) in protest against the alleged anti-party activities of its state party chairman, Isaac Kekemeke.
Some of the fetish items were placed at the secretariat gate and some were hanged around the premises.
It was learnt that the items were placed in the night.
The development scared many party supporters and prevented them from gaining entry into the secretariat.
Many traders and other shop owners around the APC secretariat could not open their shops as a result of the development. Residents of the area scampered when they heard about the fetish items.
Workers at the secretariat deserted the place for fear of being victims of the rituals until some APC youth came to remove the objects after “spiritual cleansing”.
Speaking on the development, the party’s Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, described the situation as unfortunate.
He noted that the development might not be unconnected with the crisis rocking the party, which, according to him, had been resolved in the interest of peace.
Otaloro blamed the opposition members, who, he said, were not comfortable with reconciliatory effort being made to forge ahead for the APC victory on the November 26 poll.
He was optimistic that the party’s National Secretariat was making frantic efforts to reconcile warring factions within the Ondo APC ahead of Saturday primary.
Some members of MAI linked the crisis to Kekemeke, stressing that the state APC organs, including the youth wing, women wing and members of the National and State Assemblies have passed a vote of no confidence on him.
But they said yet Kekemeke wants to remain in office.
Policemen have been permanently stationed around the secretariat premises to prevent further crisis. | http://thenationonlineng.net/fetish-objects-found-apc-secretariat/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2cf0e6cb3f89026fb40638c56c2c6e7ac6de4c797ded14292e06abf7d56f9a4c.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:46:24 | null | 2016-08-30T00:04:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnot-yet-executive-desperation%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/former-Indonesian-President-Ahmed-Sukarno-e1472507696894.jpg | en | null | Not yet executive desperation | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Some people are saying that President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for emergency powers to fix the nation’s ailing economy smacks of executive desperation.
What do they know about the subject?
I should take them to Indonesia in the 1960s, at the time of its charismatic and fun-loving president, Dr Ahmed Sukarno.
The economy lay prostrate. Inflation ran into three digits. Even if they had struck oil then, it would have made only a marginal difference to the 70 million inhabitants of the more than 1000 islands in the archipelago, for it had not become the black gold. Nor had OPEC begun to exact a realistic price from the Western nations that had built an industrial civilisation on obscenely cheap oil.
Sukarno tried all the prescriptions, the classic remedies in the pharmacopoeia of the economists, from Adam Smith to John Milton Keynes. None worked.
Then, he hit upon a bright idea. He would offer a ministerial appointment to, and vest with sweeping powers, any Indonesian who thought he or she could fix the economy. But there was a catch. If the economy had not improved significantly at the end of one year, the minister would be executed by a firing squad.
That was executive desperation at its starkest.
There were no applications.
Since then, I rarely stopped wondering what would have happened if that same offer were to be made by the federal authorities in Nigeria. My relief came some three decades later, from a source I could never have conjured up, when the economist and one-time Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Tijani M. Yesufu, volunteered a variation on Sukarno’s proposition that was even more stringent.
That was the time of SAP, when the Nigerian economy was going through the same kind of discontinuities that had driven Sukarno to executive desperation. The black gold that had always seen the country through adversity had turned into black dust. Approaches that had worked splendidly elsewhere seemed doomed to failure in Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances.
The difference was that, unlike Sukarno, Babangida did not panic; he did not lose his equanimity. On the contrary, he said he was astonished that the Nigerian economy had not collapsed, given all that it was going through.
This was the context in which Professor Yesufu re-wrote Sukarno’s Proposition, offering to put the economy back on a solid path to recovery within one year if he was appointed Minister of Finance, failing which he would voluntarily submit to execution by a firing squad.
The Babangida regime spurned the offer, just as it had spurned every offer to present an alternative to SAP. The speculation then was that acceptance of Yesufu’s offer might create the pernicious impression that the economy was about to collapse when, in fact, the surprise in official circles was that it had refused to collapse.
But there was a far more important reason for spurning Yesufu’s offer. Given the regime’s oft-repeated declaration of commitment to upholding and respecting the fundamental rights of Nigerians, it could not in good conscience acknowledge, much less accept, Tijani’s offer.
Back to my earlier question: What would have happened if Sukarno’s proposition had been made to Nigerians on Nigerian soil?
I believe that a good many of our compatriots would have jumped at it, and the authorities would have had a hard time winnowing their ranks and settling for the most plausible candidate.
Some will accept the job and its terrible conditionality as a way of demonstrating that they are prepared to make any sacrifice for the nation. Others will see it as an opportunity to obtain, at long last, their share of the national cake. For such persons, the penalty for failure would be but a small price for a chance to telescope into one rollicking year all the fun they never had, and by the same stroke, make up for all the material deprivations they had suffered.
One thing is certain: There will be no dearth of applicants. It is just as certain that the successful applicant will contrive to escape execution even if the economy actually deteriorated during his tenure. If he – pardon my sexism, but I doubt whether a woman would apply for the position – if he is truly a Nigerian, he will have taken fool-proof measures to guarantee safety for himself and his family.
Half-way into his term, he will arrange an overseas trip for a loan or grant that only he can negotiate on behalf of the government. But as soon as he reaches destination, he will apply for political asylum.
If the minister is barred from foreign travel during his tenure, he could sneak across the border in any number of guises or disguises. He could use his new-found wealth to engineer a coup or an uprising –anything that can destabilise the government or keep the authorities so busy trying to maintain their hold on power, calculating that the ensuing turmoil will give him a chance to wriggle out of his Faustian bargain
The more creative minister will resort to litigation as the surest way of staying alive. In the tenth month of his tenure, he will seek a court order voiding, for any number of reasons, the agreement under which he was appointed minister. If he fails at the court of first instance, he will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, and thereafter to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The process could drag on for several years, by which time the political and economic climate will have changed to the point of rendering the matter moot.
Nor do these steps exhaust the possibilities.
The minister will seek to employ what has become the most important weapon for evading restitution in Nigeria: a perpetual injunction restraining the authorities from putting him on trial or executing him or inquiring in any manner whatsoever into any matter relating to his appointment to the cabinet.
If that fails, he will file for a perpetual stay of execution (no pun intended).
The whole thing will be messy and interminable, and a circus to boot, like the corruption trials now mired in contrived procedural issues.
President Buhari knows this all too well and has wisely chosen, despite the great challenges of the times, not to riff on Sukarno’s Proposition. The desperadoes out there expecting him to do so will be sorely disappointed.
There is no sympathy for them in this corner.
August 27, 1985: Why they struck
After decades of studied silence, President Buhari recently spoke up about the motivations of his colleagues who toppled his military regime.
One of them, General Aliyu Mohammed (Gusau), was to be cashiered for improperly obtaining an import licence and trading it for valuable consideration. To save his friend, the aforementioned Aliyu, General Ibrahim Babangida led a group of officers to stage the August 27, 1985, coup, Buhari said.
But that claim is incompatible with Babangida’s coup broadcast, which resonated as a study in high-mindedness, selflessness, and high patriotism.
Was the coup just an elaborate pretext, then, and the coup broadcast a fudge?
Babangida may well have struck to save a friend. What is not generally known, according to an unassailable source, is that he struck to save himself as well. | http://thenationonlineng.net/not-yet-executive-desperation/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/8db94c6d7ee10b28659f5ce6da209333fee81a68491dc910f79d2b26a352c72b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:49:02 | null | 2016-08-30T12:23:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fborno-relocate-idps-three-lgas%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Borno to relocate IDPs from three LGAs | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/borno-relocate-idps-three-lgas/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/7bb602d69387d33934770834a9507f4d900315692b9043c72f104337f98af790.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:49 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fwife-walked-trap-not-knowing-eyeing%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | ‘My wife walked into my trap, not knowing I was eyeing her’ | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | AUTO dealer and higher education consultant, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, is living his dreams. Since his humble beginning as a member of a family of six who barely managed to eke out a living, young Ayodele has made up his mind to be successful.
“I am from the family of the late Engr. Akinola Ogunsan,“ he said. “I encouraged myself in the midst of the challenges that I grew up in at the time when we were struggling to survive and we had to do some funny things to get money. For instance, my younger ones and I had to sell things on the streets of Lagos because my father was working as a civil servant at a time their efforts were not well rewarded, and my mum had to sell hair attachment and second hand clothes for us to survive. I made up my mind that I would turn the story of our family around.”
Ayodele counts himself lucky for having a father who believed in education.
He said: “My father believed that the first thing in life is education, from which I could get another thing. So my parents encouraged and pushed me to become what I am today. So, that humble beginning provoked me and still provokes me even today. I decided to be the Moses of my family and today, our story has changed. I made up my mind that no one I know, from family to my workers, will toe that line of poverty again.”
Today, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan is a thoroughbred businessman with a string of achievements.
Said he: “I am the chairman of Executive Group Company which comprises Executive Motors Ltd, a notable agent of Peugeot Automobile in Nigeria, and Executive Trainers Limited, an international training and consulting firm based here in Nigeria, which handles the training and re-training of Nigerian higher institution practitioners in all higher levels of education. That is what I do both locally and abroad.”
Recalling the humble beginnings of his business life, he said: “Executive Motors came into existence in 2005, after almost a decade of working with Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) network. I had the privilege of being admitted to the postgraduate college of Peugeot Nigeria in Kaduna, precisely in the year 2000. Twenty-one of us were brought into the training school mainly to re-position PAN’s sales, to try and change the mindset of people from the sympathy purchase of Peugeot products to actually seeing the reason and benefit of buying the products in Nigeria.
“About 6,428 of us were screened and only 21 of us were successful after the nine months of training. We were then deployed to various dealers of Peugeot to be able to propagate the good news of the new products that have been brought into the market, to change the primitive version of the Peugeot we used to have.
“Fortunately, I was posted to a company called Road Truckers in Yaba, Lagos, and within the little period I stayed there, I was able to make a lasting impact to help them re-position their sales. From there, I was posted to Madunka Motors in Kaduna. But I didn’t stay in Kaduna. I personally requested that the management of that company allow me to stay in the South West, so that I could assist them to turn around their sales here.
“I started as a sales officer in Lagos, then I was promoted to sales manager and later rose to the position of Regional Manager for South West before I left Madunka Motors to start my own company, Executive Motors, in 2005.”
Restless and bustling with energy and ideas, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan said he reflected on the Nigerian economy, trying to find where he could further contribute to alleviating people’s sufferings. His thoughts led him to the educational sector.
He said: “In 2008, I started a training business. I was burdened because in the course of travelling abroad, through some of the tertiary institutions abroad in places like USA, UK, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Canada, and so on, I saw a wide gap between what was obtainable in the western world and what obtained in Nigeria. So I felt I could bridge the gap, connect them together so that what was good for the people over there could possibly be transferred to our own programmes in our universities, polytechnics and so on.
“To the glory of God, eight years down the line now, I have been able to make significant impact in Nigerian tertiary institutions. I have been able to organise conferences for Nigerian vice chancellors, provosts, rectors and other principal officers of higher institutions of learning. I have also gone further to identify various problems they have in the sectors.
“We have also helped in student-student transfer, in technology transfer, in lecturer transfer and during the course of the years, we have been able to assist both academic and non-academic staff to leave the shores of this country to develop themselves and come back to use the technology here; an opportunity that has not been easy to come by in recent times. We are still on it and we will continue to make it even better.”
Considering his youthful looks, Ogunsan must have had a fast ride to the top. To him, he said, dreams come first. But as a young man, did he ever dream about where he is at the moment?
His response: “Yes, I used to dream that one day I would have my own automobile organisation. Though it also went beyond me. I remember that to support that dream, I had a man, Mr Madubuko of blessed memory. He was the training and manpower development general manager at Peugeot in those days. One day, he was making an illustration in the classroom, and he particularly used me as an example.
“He said, ‘Let’s assume that Ayo, sitting here, becomes a dealer in Peugeot. He therefore uses all that we are teaching him here to make sure that the products and brand gets better and more admirable for the people.’ When he said that, it dawned on me that it was my dream, and here was a general manager who I immediately saw as a prophet, confirming it. So while the other students in the classroom were laughing, I immediately told God silently to confirm what the General Manager had just said and make it a reality.
“So, exactly five years ago, I approached my employer to tell them that I was leaving to start my own business. I remember what they told me. They said, ‘Look, you cannot leave us. We need you. You have made a strong impact in this company, and we still need you.’ I told them I had to go. I remember what my boss said then: ‘You can drop the ID card and any other thing, but for me, I didn’t sack you or terminate your appointment, and I refuse to accept your resignation letter. You can go and start that your business, but represent my interest everywhere you go.’ And down the line, from then till now, I am still very much within the industry.
“Recently, the new Management of Peugeot invited me to come over and add some value to the system in the area of sales. Despite the fact that they know I run my business, they said I should come over because they feel that I can make an impact because, according to them, my track record in the industry for Peugeot is commendable. They invited me to be a National Sales Consultant for Peugeot. And from the time I took that appointment till now, Peugeot has been transformed significantly in terms of sales. We have re-positioned the brand in terms of sales and everybody is crazy about Peugeot now. My work has earned me few names like Mr. Peugeot and Mr. Higher Education. I love both and I’m passionate about both.”
An auto lover and dealer, which Peugeot series would he say is most popular in Nigeria today?
“In the car series we are doing well,” he said. “If I can take you back memory lane, you will recall that Peugeot 504 used to be in vogue. Then there were Peugeot 505, Evolution and the rest of them. I happened to have sold some of these when I got into the system. At the moment, I can tell you that we have the best set of vehicles. Peugeot 508 is the highest that we have in the range right now, but it is cheaper than other brands in the same range. The engine is far more fantastic, and maintenance is excellent.
“Some of the complaints that people had about Peugeot in the yesteryears, like the doors which were very hard to open and close, are gone. We have improved on all that, and I can tell you that when you are in a Peugeot car, it is like you are in the cockpit of an aeroplane. The gadgets, the censor, the aesthetics, the beauty and dynamics are excellent. I am telling you, we have dream cars that everybody will love to drive. So as far as Peugeot is concerned today, we are doing well in the car series and also doing well with the bus series.”
Time was when Peugeot was about the most popular brand of cars in Nigeria. Does he see that coming back to play at some point?
“Very well. It is coming back to that now. Because I must confess to you, both the private and public sectors are doing a rethink. They are seeing what we are seeing, and then they have been able to test these products, and the feedback we are getting from them now is that they agree that Peugeot offers the new cars of dreams: cheap and fuel-efficient.
“With the forex challenge and the devaluation of our currency, the automobile business is now becoming a difficult terrain for people to go into. It is extremely expensive. The cheapest we have today is Peugeot. And when you buy a Peugeot car, you are putting food on the tables of Nigerians. We have an existing and functional assembly plant in Nigeria. Others that are copying us now and are trying to get into it, but a father remains a father. Our plant is functioning.
“The beauty of it is that our plant employs over a thousand Nigerians. If you buy a Peugeot, you have succeeded in putting food on the table of a Nigerian. We have technical people in Kaduna and fantastic international support from Peugeot Paris. We get these parts in completely knocked down units and they are assembled here in Nigeria.
“There are some parts also that are sourced locally. You buying Peugeot is also you bringing up some other dead businesses alive, like the leather and brake pads manufacturers. So I want to tell you that recently when the Managing Director of the company, Mr Boyo Ibrahim, a man of vision, a fantastic leader of people and a man passionate about Peugeot, recently visited the President and got the endorsement of the Commander-in-Chief who saw it as a great brand of vehicles, he looked at it as a Nigerian thing and endorsed it.
“I can tell you today that for the executive, legislature and judiciary and other the agencies of government, Peugeot now remains their main vehicles of choice. I want to assure you that in the next one year, if you have been a Peugeot lover, you will find out that if you count 10 cars, seven of them will be Peugeot.”
Having to co-ordinate too many things at a time, one cannot help but wonder where Dr Ogunsan gets his energy from. But he was quick to say that his energy comes from God who has been the source of his strength. “I am a product of God’s mercy. I gave my life to Christ early. He is the reason for my strength. When I look at some of my outputs, I know that only God must have done this.”
A self-confessed restless individual, Ogunsan admits that strive for excellence also urges him on. Was that also why he travelled abroad?
“That was when I was in Peugeot. My performance was encouraging and thrilling to the management of Peugeot then, and they decided to send me and my wife to Paris. I had to defer the journey to 2006 because I needed to get married, since the opportunity was for two persons. When I got married, they were all there. They cheered me up and encouraged me. So we had our honeymoon in Paris. Since then, I travel almost every month. The next home I have apart from my home is in the sky. It is either I travel for the automobile business or for the international education consultancy business that I run.”
Busy as he seems, the auto dealer and education mentor has an emotional side. The happy family man proudly declares: “I run a family business with my wife. We arrange it in such a way that there are some programmes that we attend together. Some she goes alone while I stay or the other way round. And over the years, the organisations have grown to the point where I have able staff that I can commit or delegate some of these journeys to. My managers are involved in my business. I have been able to create a system whereby if I am not there, the system runs. All my staff have valid international passports. So I call on them any time to lead the delegation when I am not around.
“For me, I am a complete family man. I keep tabs with my wife and children. Anytime I am not at work, I am with them. When I am not in church, I am with them. And even when I am not with them, I am with them, because I talk to them regularly. I have children who are attached to my wife and I. They call us regularly. Any moment I spend with them is usually qualitative. It’s a family business with a godly setting.”
With his bespoke jacket and urbane office environment, Dr. Ogunsan is a stylish man; a compliment he greets with a smile.
“Yes I am a strong believer in decency, I am a very neat and clean individual. I love being with godly people who are decent and neat. I like the air of success which such people exude around them. I am a simple person. Although I like to be different, I don’t have a special attachment to designers. I buy what is good for me or what I need.
“For me, style means being decent and being able to match it with what is obtainable at all times. So I am adaptive. I flow.”
Did his style play any role in his first meeting with his wife? Perhaps yes. But more importantly, he said, they met at a godly setting.
“It is a funny story. That day, we were in a church programme. It was a leadership training programme where student leaders were built to develop and lead others. I was a product of that process; a programme where youths are taught to love God, be sound academically and be socially responsible.
That day, I was seated for the variety programme and it was a monologue play whereby a single person made a performance. After the choir rendition, a young man was leading a blind lady. That was the role she played in that monologue, a blind woman. She was being led to the podium from where she sat. Immediately I saw her, there was a trigger in my system and I heard a voice which I know must have been God’s. It said to me, ‘The pretty angel could be your wife.’
“I couldn’t resist the voice because I love someone who loves God and at the same time beautiful. She is a very pleasant and beautiful lady to behold, and I know she loves God too. But she was much younger than me in terms of school level. She was in JSS 3. I wondered how I would be able to wait for her, since I was already on the way to a higher educational institution.
“But the voice spoke to my soul again that the lady is my wife. I did my due diligence to know her family. Through the church, we kept on interfacing on natural grounds because I didn’t want to distract her with such stories. But for me, I decided then to close up on other ladies because I was always praying for her and thinking about her.
“Later, just when I was rounding up in school and started thinking of a partner, she was trying to sit for examination. It was at the time that I was at home and running a tutorial. Someone told her that he had a teacher who was running a tutorial, one who was good in Mathematics, Further Maths and Physics, and that she should come for tutorials. That was how they sent a prey to the predator (laughs).
“So I gave her the best attention and, to the glory of God, she had a fantastic result in Mathematics. I was doing that for personal reasons. I graduated and she started her degree programme. I was waiting. People were worried because my colleagues were getting married. At the appropriate time, I proposed, she agreed, and on June 10, 2006, we went to the altar. Today, we are blessed with three children. This year, we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.”
Ogunsan has an advice for the youth. “There is a price to pay. You have to be dedicated, passionate and consistent. You have to be focused even in the midst of noise and distractions. And that, to me, is the definition of success.”
Once a dreamer, they say, is always a dreamer. So what is Ogunsan’s dream about the future?
“The future is bright with God. I trust and look forward to institutionalising the conferences and programmes I run on the educational platform. I look forward to having a renowned business school in Nigeria, which I am sure will be better than the one already in Lagos. With that, I won’t need to fly people out of Nigeria for same.
“I want to see a Ministry of Higher Education separated from the Ministry of Education. The primary and the secondary schools can still remain under the Ministry of Education as they presently are. I also want to see Peugeot being the only car used in this country.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/wife-walked-trap-not-knowing-eyeing/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/dfef58fb4b6e9a0bd1cbcd13ff57cfa61bcaf98f349529bfb3e724b23a0b4f3b.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:47:45 | null | 2016-08-27T01:25:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fondo-apc-governorship-primary-now-september-3%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/APC.jpg | en | null | Ondo APC governorship primary now September 3 | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | For the second time in two weeks, the All Progressives Congress(APC) has again shifted the Ondo primary election to September 3 citing logistic reasons.
The exercise was originally fixed for today, but shifted to Wednesday August 31 and now rescheduled for September 3 by the National Executive Commitee(NEC) of the party.
The team to oversee the smooth conduct of the APC election in the state headed by the Jigawa State Governor,Mohammed Abubakar is being expected in Akure, the state capital.
A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Bayode said the State Executives and the entire APC members in Ondo State had already set for the primaries originally scheduled for today, but NEC decided on the postponement which was later conveyed to the State Exco for logitistics reasons.
It said: “ The election has now been shifted to September 3 and will be tentatively held at the democracy park in Akure.
The statement maintained that the Ondo APC is more than prepared to host those coming to conduct the election.
It said“At the State level, we are more than prepared for the election. There will be accreditation and all other processes involved. The presiding officer is going to address the aspirants, the excos of the party and all other persons involved on arrival in Ondo state”. | http://thenationonlineng.net/ondo-apc-governorship-primary-now-september-3/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/35063a5600927e4d1ac8e67f4c710331383d60e93dab9b01fde3f22fb7b1c8ce.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:48:44 | null | 2016-08-29T15:13:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffg-enroll-pupils-schools-annually%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Out-of-School.jpg | en | null | FG to enroll 2. 9m pupils in schools annually | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/fg-enroll-pupils-schools-annually/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/3ea80eed41373283a16e8a36768625cbbbefca2df480815fe1da15a16dd80bca.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T17:05:26 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fexperts-seek-solutions-to-nigerias-economic-crisis%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Experts seek solutions to Nigeria's economic crisis | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/experts-seek-solutions-to-nigerias-economic-crisis/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/d295bd858fbc5eb372aa4828e0bce8b60c68d58759a39d6bb809752fe3bf2097.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:45 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fgreen-white-green-hold-world-premiere-3%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | GREEN WHITE GREEN TO HOLD WORLD PREMIERE | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | FOLLOWING its selection for screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF in its City to City program, Green White Green, a movie which explores Nigeria’s history and evolution of violence, art and film told through the coming-of-age tale of aspiring artists in Lagos, will be holding a global premiere.
According to the producers, the movie will have its world premiere at TIFF on September 14 at the Isabel Bader Theatre
The movie is the story of three young men from different classes who band together to escape the monotony of their parents’ generational demands and chase their creative dreams. In a satirical stab at the old straight to video Nollywood, Green White Green is a modern dramatic comedy that asks that question, “What does it mean to be Nigerian?”
“I fought to make this film come to fruition despite many limitations. With this film I wanted to express the experience of many young Nigerians who are lost inside a culture and history they are coming to grips with,” says rising filmmaker, Abba T. Makama.
Green White Green is lead by a powerhouse team of creatives; Executive Producer, Rimini Haraya Makama, listed in Forbes 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa (2014) Abba T. Makama, director of African Movie Academy nominated documentary Nollywood, commissioned by Al Jazeera, award-winning actor Ifeanyi Dike Jr. has been named a Top 30 Nigerian under 30, Top 21 Young Achiever under 21, among other accolades, Veteran Film/TV actor and Thespian Bimbo Manuel. | http://thenationonlineng.net/green-white-green-hold-world-premiere-3/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/7f683dd685ce96e42f5bde3ceda3dabf92cc571e50ed0ab63f8eb22c790118d0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:45:44 | null | 2016-08-26T18:04:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fwe-planned-to-kidnap-otedola-robbery-suspects%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Nigerian-Police-e1468272740175.jpg | en | null | We planned to kidnap Otedola | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/we-planned-to-kidnap-otedola-robbery-suspects/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/7890d9bc28a92216c461f593edf834e2a191591ad5c20f82efa2da5c2bcba8df.json |
[
"Omooba Adekunle Orafidiya",
"O Seun Ogunseitan"
] | 2016-08-26T14:45:40 | null | 2016-08-23T18:36:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnobody-influenced-buharis-success-at-polls-obasanjo%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Obasanjo12.jpg | en | null | Nobody influenced Buhari's success at polls | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/nobody-influenced-buharis-success-at-polls-obasanjo/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5f6f46612998718f0eeaab06a7fa4f4b7d789eca4f92a96882989dc1ec9c9524.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:48:41 | null | 2016-08-29T12:41:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fflushing-criminals-niger-delta-army%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | We are flushing out criminals in Niger Delta | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/flushing-criminals-niger-delta-army/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/284aa132b5ab0ca1ecf66962c9ab6ad36660c3e2958331e52dfa6051df933218.json |
[
"Smith Robinson",
"Air Line",
"The Airline Pride",
"Mercy Wood",
"Airline Service",
"Airline People",
"Airline Booking",
"Omi Daniel",
"James Oscar",
"Wale Rotimi"
] | 2016-08-27T14:45:54 | null | 2015-08-11T00:01:56 | Medview Airlines is set to begin flights from Lagos into London and Lisbon in Portugal. The Managing Director, Alhaji Muneer Bankole | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmedview-airlines-to-begin-lagos-london-lisbon-flights%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Medview-Airlines-e1439234129348.jpg | en | null | Medview Airlines to begin Lagos-London, Lisbon flights | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Medview Airlines is set to begin flights from Lagos into London and Lisbon in Portugal. The Managing Director, Alhaji Muneer Bankole who made this known, said the carrier has secured approvals from aviation authorities in the United Kinfgdom (UK) and Portugal to begin the operations.
Bankole said the airline has engaged a consultant to complete the bilateral and technical preparations for the operations, describing the deal as part fulfillment of the Air Agreement Nigeria it has with the two European countries.
He said Medview was moved to actualise its designation into the routes, to offer Nigerians affordable fares from the exploitative ones being offered by foreign carriers.
He said foray into the routes would offer passengers travel options from the exorbitant fares offered by British carriers on the London route .
He spoke just as the airline took delivery of its own Boeing 767 aircraft, to be used for the international operations as well as Hajj operations.
The new delivery by the airline is historic as the only indigenous carrier to acquire a Boeing 767 aircraft with Nigerian pilots and cabin crew .
Bankole said: ” I discovered that getting out of London is so expensive because we only have two British Airlines coming here; Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. Among the countries we have got designation is Jeddah and Dubai.
“So, we are putting one on the forefront now and that would be in the next couple of months. We are sincerely working on that. The British authorities as well as the government of Nigeria have designated us to the Lagos-London route. We also got Portugal; Lagos-Lisbon route.
“So, we are looking at the European side, but we are launching this aircraft to Jeddah on the 16th August, 2015 for pilgrimage. We hope to close the first leg on September 16, continuing through October and the aircraft would be ready for international operations in November.”
He added: ”There are people doing the business right now. You know Heathrow Airport is the in-thing with about 73 million travellers annually while Gatwick takes about 35 million yearly. We are looking at the link of bringing Nigerians to Gatwick and we are looking at using the British rail, linking them on complementary to Victoria. Or, we are looking at Heathrow. We are there already.”
On preparation for Hajj, he said: ” I told you I’m ready, but the only thing is that I’m busy for hajj operations now.
“And we are also bringing B777 for the hajj operations and we would be the first in the annals of this country to use B777 and I am proud to say that the NCAA people have been trained by MedView, they are in Atlanta, United States, running for 777.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/medview-airlines-to-begin-lagos-london-lisbon-flights/ | en | 2015-08-11T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/546e569ef2971b88e84be92a4fd355469bf117dc4e2f7163158d82f459b60add.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:48:51 | null | 2016-08-29T20:08:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fimo-police-clampdown-cultists%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Imo-cultists.jpg | en | null | Imo Police clampdown on cultists | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/imo-police-clampdown-cultists/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/6366f6b61d3f1a366a5be49be4e4fde876ba7a16f30ea03ffc939df86f6b5674.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T14:49:07 | null | 2016-08-31T13:36:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fvideo-zuckerberg-addresses-nigerian-tech-community%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mark.jpg | en | null | Video: Zuckerberg addresses Nigerian tech community | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/video-zuckerberg-addresses-nigerian-tech-community/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5a09a587ee91f0d100a98114c4d70aece811d1079a638d4e3b43fed6b92a51b8.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:48:59 | null | 2016-08-31T00:06:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnigeria-can-overtake-india-digital-technology-says-osinbajo%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Yemi-Osinbajo-11-e1455050841106.jpg | en | null | Nigeria can overtake India in digital technology, says Osinbajo | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said the country could overtake India in the technology and innovation talent market.
He spoke during the flag-off ceremony of Google Digital Training for Youth Empowerment at the State House, Abuja.
According to him, the administration will continue to explore creative ways at empowering the youths.
He said: “We intend to create a reservoir of human capacity in technology that can be exported internationally. Nigeria can lead India as a market for technology and innovation talent.
“This year, we are establishing technology hubs across the country, two super hubs in Lagos and Abuja and six regional hubs in the six geo-political zones. In partnership with several major technology companies, the hubs will be fully resourced with infrastructure and capacity building tools.
“Each hub will be designed to produce relevant innovative technology solutions to a wide range of business, commercial and government problems. For example, alternative energy solutions, creative technology, public services delivery in health, education and government processes, import substitution and others.
“Several major technology companies are partnering with us in the provision of infrastructure and opportunity in the hubs. Also starting this year, we have budgeted for the training of 65,000 young Nigerias in hardware and software services and more sophisticated software and hardware such as animation.
“This would mean that we would be building more local capacity to build, assemble hardware and write innovative programmes; we will also be focusing on technology for media and entertainment.”
While the empowerment initiative is targeting 400,000 youths at a start, Osinbajo said the government is determined to give every opportunity to younger generation to ensure they excel through the use of modern technology.
He said a special initiative on innovative technology and start-ups’ presentation of prospective participants have already been done in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
“This Friday, 30 of the best start up ideas will be exhibiting their inovations at the Presidential villa at the first Annual Aso Villa Demo Day.
“The 30 winners will be arriving here in Abuja today and they will participate in an innovation growth camp for the next two days.
“And this is why what Google has offered to do in collaboration with the Federal Government, the Google training for youth employment, the training of 400,000 young people is a monumental contribution to the national plan and in particular to economic development.
“Everyone of the 400,000 young men and women to be trained is a potential creator of Facebook, Uber, Jobberman, Iroko Tv or something that we haven’t even imagined yet. The exciting prospect of this training is that it unleashes the creativity, innovation and the boundless imaginative of the most productive segment of our society, the youths.
“For any student today, I think that we must appreciate that this is the age of multi-tasking; you cannot just be an economist, an accountant, a lawyer or a graduate of international relations, or mass communication or performing arts and just remain that way. Multi-skilling is crucial today, multi-tasking is the order of the day; you can’t just be one thing.
“You must learn to be a man of affairs, a versatile operator not a mono skill graduate.”
To achieve this, he said there are many opportunities as practically anything can be learned online today.
“All of these business reviews and business journals, many of them are free online. Everyone has a right to be rich; age is not a barrier to great wealth as we have seen from all the examples of great men and women who have done so many incredible things,” the Vice President said.
According to him, there are also important opportunities for those in the performing and film arts, which goes beyond actual performing to effective management of talents, their programmes and projects. | http://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-can-overtake-india-digital-technology-says-osinbajo/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b598e59022596bf30686d86f32f23fa17ebb3a29e3f04def94842e4a5a1f2dea.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:23 | null | 2016-08-26T11:51:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fdigital-switch-course-lai-mohammed%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/download-14.jpg | en | null | Digital Switch Over is on course | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/digital-switch-course-lai-mohammed/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b8d7ca1ab8f9a6101c00064d6f6abe365d76df2cb707fb8694c11ade7acc9172.json |
[
"Sola Akinwande",
"Dodo Trade Inv.",
"Honestly Speaking",
"Efada Acha",
"Rakiya Adamu"
] | 2016-08-29T12:46:23 | null | 2016-08-25T00:24:43 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmuslims-killed-zamfara-says-governor%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Governor-Abdulaziz-Yari.jpg | en | null | Only Muslims were killed in Zamfara, says governor | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari said yesterday that false alarm led to the killing last weekend of eight people in Talata-Mafara.
He debunked insinuations that it was a religious clash in which Christians were killed.
According to him, those killed were Muslims. He promised to ensure that the killers are brought to book.
Also yesterday, the apex Islamic body in the North, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), raised the alarm on a plot by some forces to hide under “blasphemy” to cause religious tension and crisis in the North and in the country at large.
A woman was killed in Kano and eight people were killed in Zamfara – for alleged blasphemy.
The Zamfara killings started when a student of Abdu Gusau Polytechnic and seven others were killed on Monday for alleged blasphemy against Islam.
A mob set fire to the house of a man who tried to rescue the student.
Speaking with reporters after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Yari described the killings as an act of the devil.
He said: “From the intelligence I had from the security agencies, there was a fight between two students and I think one of them injured the other and started shouting that the other person abused Prophet Muhammad.
“Other students came and beat up the other boy who is Yoruba from Kogi State. Some people are saying he was a Muslim and some say the boy was a Christian. They beat the student until he collapsed and thought he was dead.
“Then security personnel requested help from one shop owner who then took the boy to the hospital in his car. When the students heard that the boy was still alive and in the hospital, they went to the hospital. But the boy was rescued by soldiers in the hospital.
“Then the students went back to the polytechnic and burnt down the shop of the person who gave his car to rescue the boy.
“They went back to town again and, as you know, the police in the division don’t have enough men to contain the riot and before reinforcement came, the crowd threw tyre in the man’s house and burnt down the house.
“That was how everybody in the house was killed and all the people killed in the House were Muslims and not like the rumours going around in the social media that Christians are being killed in Zamfara.
“In fact, the mob wanted to go and burn churches and attack non-Muslims but the security forces stopped them. It’s my home town and that’s where I live.”
The governor said no arrest had been made at the time he left the state for Abuja.
The police and the Department of State Service (DSS), he said, were investigating the incident.
According to him, the authority shut down the school immediately the incident happened.
Yari said: “The government will not take this lightly, people taking laws into their hands. If you say the punishment of who abused Prophet should be killed, and you now kill innocent people, knowing there is a government, laws and courts in place.
“So why should someone take laws into his hands? So definitely all the culprits will be brought to book.”
The JNI raised the alarm in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, who urged governments particularly in the North, to urgently check acts of blasphemy.
The statement condemned the Zamfara incident saying individual Muslims were not Jurists, but faithful in practising their religion and, therefore, have no right to pass judgment on emotions.
The statement said: “Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), upon the receipt of reportage on the alleged blasphemy of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is once again poised to make this release over the most unfortunate alleged blasphemy which occurred at Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara, Zamfara State.
“This recurring matter is becoming tediously monotonous and remains condemned in the strongest terms. The unfortunate attacks that ensued thereafter are criminal and also stand condemned. We reiterate that human lives are sacred and therefore must be dignified. That has been the position of Islam.
“JNI reemphasises that individual Muslims are not Jurists, but faithful in the practicing of the religion. Therefore, they don’t have the right to pass judgment on emotions. The nasty behavior of some miscreants should not be misconstrued as the Islamic teaching. In the light of which we commend the efforts of the Zamfara State Government in nipping in the bud the escalation of the crisis and equally the beefing up of security by the various security agencies, around Talata Mafara and its environs is also commendable.
“We however call on state governments, particularly in the North, to hasten mechanisms which will address these repeated acts of blasphemy; it seems that there are deliberate attempts to cause more tension in the region and the country at large, in the name of blasphemy.
“While we commiserate with all the affected victims of the unfortunate incident, we call on respective predominant Muslim communities to be very wary and cautious of crafty art of blasphemy within or around their respective communities and learn to handle such matters with utmost caution – no matter the provocation that may arise therefrom.
“The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, JNI calls on all and sundry to remain calm and avoid all actions that could jeopardise peaceful co-existence, especially at this material point of trying time of nation building.
“As always, the generality of Muslims are also implored to fervently continue praying for the restoration of peace and security in Nigeria.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/muslims-killed-zamfara-says-governor/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/626ba2a33b51239fa25cceb0d908f58962973ff7c29abd390ae2b4c0c8f8430e.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T10:49:05 | null | 2016-08-31T11:13:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fniger-govt-plans-to-build-70-phc%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Niger Govt to build 70 PHC | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/niger-govt-plans-to-build-70-phc/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/416e602138dcc66d318f634c202f9e45afb820506ef27ebd4c1dc63384e1c570.json |
[
"Artful ºdodger"
] | 2016-08-29T06:46:10 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpdp-national-chairman-not-zoned-southwest-says-dokpesi%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Raymond-Dokpesi.jpg | en | null | PDP national chairman not zoned to Southwest, says Dokpesi | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | A national chairmanship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, has said the party did not zone the position to the Southwest, but to the South.
He spoke yesterday in Nasarawa, Nasarawa State.
“I think the media is helping in confusing the matter regarding the national chairmanship position of our party, PDP, as there was no time the leadership of the party at the national level zoned the chairmanship position to anybody.
“Chairman of caretaker committee made it clear that as the Presidency is zoned to the three geo-political zones in the North for 2019, so national chairmanship is zoned to the three geo-political zones in the South.
“That is the position that will be sustained and maintained till the convention in Port Harcourt.
“I am contesting for this chairmanship position to unite members of the party so the party can come out stronger and victorious in 2019,’’ he said.
Dokpesi said PDP was the only party that could provide support as well as make Nigeria’s economy stable and great.
He urged Nigerians to support the party for the development of the country. | http://thenationonlineng.net/pdp-national-chairman-not-zoned-southwest-says-dokpesi/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2769b293faaf5ce7c448598fc56eaf44c91985c24c4585dbd578c6b27aabb3e2.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T12:48:06 | null | 2016-08-27T12:21:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fitaly-holds-mass-funeral-quake-victims%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Italy holds mass funeral for quake victims | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/italy-holds-mass-funeral-quake-victims/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/1c3cd1cba592d5314878eb5e6c161b2878fa1102cbf47f826d438434c0cf4e56.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T12:48:07 | null | 2016-08-27T12:11:27 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmugabe-protesters-no-arab-spring-zimbabwe%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Mugabe to protesters: No Arab Spring in Zimbabwe | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/mugabe-protesters-no-arab-spring-zimbabwe/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2e56d998c8dd462b48db13020872d18779b941b7300b31aa775c21aba3988878.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T00:48:42 | null | 2016-08-28T00:05:36 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fwell-fully-rehabilitate-boko-haram-victims-buhari-tells-world-leaders%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Buhari-cropped.jpg | en | null | BUHARI: FG TO FULLY REHABILITATE BOKO HARAM VICTIMS | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | President Muhammadu Buhari promised yesterday a full rehabilitation of victims of Boko Haram by the federal government. He also promised a lasting solution to terrorism in the country.
He told world leaders at the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya that Nigeria is already having the upper hand in subduing the terror sect, Boko Haram, having degraded it in many ways.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said Buhari acknowledged Japanese assistance through UNICEF in the rehabilitation of victims of Boko Haram.
He also lauded development partners for their work geared towards improving the lives of some two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have been rendered homeless by terrorism,.
“The bottom line is that these problems are our primary responsibility. We must tackle them and find lasting solutions for ourselves,’’ he said.
Buhari also told the summit, which is being attended by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 35 African leaders and chief executives of at least 80 major companies from Japan, that international cooperation with Nigeria was central in the decimation of Boko Haram terror group.
Recounting his handling of the Boko Haram menace, Buhari said: ‘’I took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria when the North-Eastern part of the country was being ravaged by Boko Haram.
‘’However, soon after assumption of office, our administration with the support of our immediate neighbours — Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin- and international partners including Japan, faced the challenge frontally.
‘’As I speak the terror group has been decimated and life is beginning to return to normal in the affected region. The challenge we currently face which is also being addressed, is that of the IDPs which number over two million to get them re-integrated with their families and their original homes.’’
Buhari also hailed Japan for contributing $800 million to Nigeria for the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, among others.
The contribution is part of the $1.3 billion made available to the Nigerian Health Sector by the Global Fund.
He was optimistic that partnership between Africa and Japan would help create and improve investment opportunities in industries, agriculture, information technology, science and technology among others for the good of the continent and investors from Japan.
‘’In view of the challenges Africa is facing, the imperative for a viable partnership like the Tokyo International Conference on African Development cannot be over emphasized,” he said.
‘’Today, many countries in Africa including the oil producing ones are wisely seeking to diversify their economies away from mono-cropping.
‘’In Nigeria, our Administration has already taken concrete steps to diversify the economy by making agriculture not just a development programme but a thriving business.
‘’Investing in the economies of this continent especially through Public-Private-Partnership can contribute to building capacity for our economies,’’ he said.
The two-day summit with the theme ‘‘Advancing Africa’s Sustainable Development Agenda-TICAD Partnership for Prosperity”, is being held outside of Japan for the first time since its inception in 1993.
Among other things, TICAD aims to solve Africa’s development problems through quality technology in the health, industry, agriculture and environment sectors.
A draft declaration to be adopted at end of the summit will seek to combat the growing threats of terrorism, conflicts and violent radicalism through the promotion of education and job creation. | http://thenationonlineng.net/well-fully-rehabilitate-boko-haram-victims-buhari-tells-world-leaders/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2fc09f421e0a690af0a19c6688dac448ae7c549472c27cc51b993f8e429acf93.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:49:03 | null | 2016-08-30T16:32:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fagbakoba-efcc-overworked-needs-help%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Agbakoba-2.jpg | en | null | Agbakoba: EFCC is overworked, needs help | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) Tuesday said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would function more effectively if its workload is reduced to investigation alone.
He said powers to prosecute should be vested in an independent and highly resourced prosecuting agency, such as a proposed National Prosecuting Agency.
“The international best practice is that one agency investigates, another prosecutes and the court adjudicates. The EFCC as currently composed is overworked and will not efficiently deliver on investigation and prosecution,” Agbakoba said in a statement by his non-government organisaition, the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS).
According to him, the suggestion by NBA president Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) that EFCC should only investigate but not prosecute was not out of place.
“HURILAWS applauds the call by Mahmoud for a debate on the efficacy of the war against corruption in Nigeria. Where corruption is endemic like in Nigeria, strong institutions are critical to achieve success.
“It is in this context that the debate on the propriety of the EFCC investigating and prosecuting financial crimes at the same time is appropriate.
“Whilst we have no objection with the EFCC investigating or the courts adjudicating, we believe the powers to prosecute should be vested in an independent highly resourced prosecuting agency.
“We appreciate the enormous work done by the EFCC since its establishment in 2003. Thirteen years on the Federal Government needs to rejig the EFCC and other crime fighting institutions to perform optimally.
“We support plan by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to establish a National Prosecuting Agency,” HURILAWS said in the statement jointly signed by its Legal/Programme Officer, Collins Okeke.
The NBA, in a statement, described EFCC’s reaction as “unduly harsh and negative”, saying it was uncalled for.
The association said Mahmoud only called for the reform of the agency to enhance its capabilities to deliver on its mandate on a ‘consistent and sustainable’ basis devoid of political interference and on the basis of well-established institutional safeguards that demand the proper regulation of the wide discretionary powers involved in the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters.
“Combining investigative powers with prosecutorial powers in one single agency, (called the Roskill Model in England), is the exception rather than the norm. In the UK only the Serious Fraud
“Office (SFO) enjoys such combined powers. But given the institutional safeguards, both within the SFO and the maturity that characterizes the UK Criminal Justice Institutions, the abuse of such powers will be highly unlikely.
“The NBA Constitution demands that it promotes law reform and legal development. It therefore commits itself to promoting healthy public debate about our institutions and interrogating their capabilities and performance, including all criminal justice agencies such as the EFCC. The NBA will not be intimidated or cowed in the discharge of this responsibility.
“The NBA condemns in the strongest terms the use of abusive and uncivil language of ‘rogues and vultures’ and such strictures by a public authority. Name calling and use of abusive language is not expected of any public institution. It is unacceptable.
“The NBA demands unequivocal withdrawal of this statement and an unreserved apology from the EFCC.”
Mahmoud said neither he nor his firm has ever represented the EFCC or the AGF or been involved in any prosecution or defense of former Delta State Governor James Ibori in any criminal matter
The NBA President admitted representing EFCC in the case involving the former Rivers State State Governor Peter Odili in a civil appeal on the constitutional challenge of EFCC’s powers by the Rivers State Government, adding that he was yet to be paid his legal fees.
“In spite of his best efforts, the case has remained stuck in the Court of Appeal, even after all briefs of arguments had been settled.
“The records of the EFCC will also show that neither Mr. Mahmoud nor his firm has been paid any fee, notwithstanding the nearly 20 court appearances in the matter in the course of the last several years involving air travels (Abuja to Port Harcourt) and hotel expenses,” NBA added.
Lawyers also took to social media to express dissatisfaction with EFCC’s claims. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Jibrin Okutepa, wrote: “EFCC is cashing on the gullibility of Nigerians to cast aspersions on NBA president and the entire Bar.
“While I admit that some of our members have been acting in most unprofessional manner the release by EFCC spokeperson is most unacceptable to me. It is actionable and we can’t fold our arms in gentility.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/agbakoba-efcc-overworked-needs-help/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/bdbc758861a77853d83b05fd9fcee36481a6e7f458abe3447b69fecb3ce6b942.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:02 | null | 2016-08-30T18:37:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmakarfi-committee-cant-organise-convention-sheriff%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Senator-Makarfi.jpg | en | null | Makarfi committee can't organise convention | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/makarfi-committee-cant-organise-convention-sheriff/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/abfdb02af46528f8ae248804ff32154162d44878d6ce9abc484b3bf36fdda54d.json |
[
"Hassan Lawal"
] | 2016-08-27T10:45:53 | null | 2016-08-27T01:15:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fkilled-girlfriend-stone-2%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Girlfriend-Killer.jpg | en | null | How I killed my girlfriend with a stone | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | A 22-year-old student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), Ondo State, Chukwudi Oweniwe, has been arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Nifemi Adeyeye, in a bush at Ilu-Abo in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Chukwudi and Nifemi were both Part Time (PT) Three students of the Department of Science and Laboratory Technology (SLT).
The suspect, who lives at Ayede-Ogbese, allegedly invited the deceased to his place from school and lured her into a bush in Ilu-Abo, where he killed her. He was alleged to have performed some devilish acts on his late girlfriend.
Paraded before reporters at the police command in Akure, the state capital, Chukwudi confessed to the crime, but denied conducting ritual acts on the victim. He narrated how he killed her. “I invited her from Owo to Ayede-Ogbese, and after introducing her to my parents, I lured her into a bush and strangled her
leaving her body in the bush,” he said. “On the second day, I asked a commercial motorcycle rider to take me to the bush where I left her and observed that she was not dead. I used a stone to hit her head and she died immediately.
“My parents became curious when they did not see her. I was arrested by the police in Ayede Ogbese, and from there, they transferred me to the Special Anti-cultism Squad in Akure.”
Asked why he killed his girlfriend, Chukwudi said that he did not know what came over him, and that it was when he killed her that he realised that he had committed a sin. He denied being a cultist.
He said that he and the deceased had dated since February, 2016 and that she has never cheated on him.
The State Police commissioner, Mrs. Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison, said Nifemi’s remains were recovered in the bush by men of the Special Anti-cultism Squad. She said that the police are still investigating the matter to unravel the suspect’s action. She added that he would be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.
The police also paraded suspects arrested for different offences. | http://thenationonlineng.net/killed-girlfriend-stone-2/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e97ad55a498b16cf33a55cadc1e82dd05b370729ecdcff3df550f5f4c0b84735.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:49:50 | null | 2016-08-26T18:21:28 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fitaly-quake-death-toll-hits-268%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Italy-earthquake.jpg | en | null | Italy quake death toll hits 268 | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/italy-quake-death-toll-hits-268/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e78b5fb03bde5f012a0b406e75b8df93733d96abb6c8bc68e2654ba78227bde5.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:48:20 | null | 2016-08-27T18:41:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-raid-dicksons-aides-house-missing-4-6m-dollars%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Nigerian-Police-e1468272740175.jpg | en | null | Police raid Dickson's aide's house over missing $4.6m dollars | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-raid-dicksons-aides-house-missing-4-6m-dollars/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/557f07b9c6860e0025fb6de1e320bc4ca2f80595fdd22259e8715c908c8931ff.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:49:16 | null | 2016-08-26T18:34:24 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fclark-mend-meet-niger-delta-crisis%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Clark, MEND meet on Niger Delta crisis | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/clark-mend-meet-niger-delta-crisis/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b72099401aba87ad08a1c2c3cacdaa8644af8d881f13ec99dfceb8db926ce4fe.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:49:10 | null | 2016-08-31T00:10:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnigeria-britain-join-forces-treasury-looters%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/nigeria-uk.jpg | en | null | Nigeria, Britain join forces against treasury looters | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | MoU on return of assets signed in Abuja
LOOTERS who plan to hide their illicit wealth in Britain will face a hostile host, with the signing yesterday of a pact by the two countries.
Britain will facilitate the return of stolen assets on the condition that:
The Federal Government will ensure that stolen assets recovered from both within and outside the country will be put to judicious uses; and that
such assets will not be re-looted.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) signed for Nigeria. Minister of State for Immigration Robert Goodwill signed for Britain. The ceremony was held in Abuja.
The memorandum of understanding is specifically on modalities for the return of stolen assets.
Malami, who praised Britain for its willingness to cooperate with Nigeria in recovery and return of stolen assets, said the Federal Government will endeavour to prevent further looting of the nation’s wealth.
The AGF, who frowned at alleged moves by some “individuals to use the process of asset recovery to create reputational damage for the government,” said all measures adopted since he assumed office in November last year have been aimed at “effective and efficient assets recovery.”
He said: “Today, we are determined to change the narrative, regardless of who is involved. I want to assure the international community that all funds recovered within and outside Nigeria would be judiciously utilised for projects that will benefit the poorest segment of the Nigerian society as well as enable us support reform in the justice sector.
“The position of the law in Nigeria today is that all funds recovered should be paid directly into the Consolidated Revenue Account. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case under the previous administration,” he said.
The AGF said the Muhammadu Buhari administration was committed to enacting laws, including the Proceeds of Crime Bill, to strengthen existing anti-corruption institutions, prosecution authorities and law enforcement agencies.
Leader of the UK delegation and UK’s Minister of State for Immigration, Robert Goodwill said the signing of the memorandum was in furtherance of his country’s promise, at the last Anti-Corruption summit held in London in May, to improve the process of the return of looted assets.
He said by this gesture, his country’s government was sending a loud message to all that the UK was no longer a safe haven for stolen assets, including looted funds.
Goodwill, who was silent on the worth of Nigeria’s looted assets currently in his country, said the UK government was “committed to return all funds looted from the Nigerian State and we are keen to do this as soon as the necessary procedures allow.”
He said aside the UK, 40 other jurisdictions, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are willing to automatically share beneficial ownership information relating to companies, trusts, foundations, she’ll companies and other relevant entities and legal arrangements.
Goodwill, a Member of Parliament (MP), said: “This MoU provides the mechanism by which monies can be returned. Our ability to recover and return stolen assets should send a clear message to all, who may seek to harbour such assets overseas, that there is no safe haven in the UK.”
The UK has been returning frozen Nigerian cash stashed away in their country.
Money seized from former Bayelsa State Governor tehe late Diepreiye Alamieyeseigha and former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye and former Delta State Governor James Ibori, who is serving a jail term in Britain following money laundering conviction, has been released to the federal government.
A former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke is being investigated for money laundering in the UK.
Britain has returned to Nigeria 250,000 pounds – the cash seized from the senator- during his arrest, when Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria James Tansley, handed over two cheques totalling more than $250,000 (£126,000, 29.3m naira).
A further $2.8m of his assets have been frozen by a court order and are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
In all, Mr Dariye faces charges of stealing some $128m from Plateau State during his tenure as governor from 1999-2007.
One cheque for $2m belonging to the late Alamieyeseigha has already been returned to Nigeria. | http://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-britain-join-forces-treasury-looters/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/9e5fdef665d6e5c66bd1322ae6c8a8da2674bd2cd3b2adb2246a14a5eddd6def.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:03 | null | 2016-08-30T19:27:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Flagos-set-prosecute-kidnappers-oniba%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Oniba-of-Iba.jpg | en | null | Lagos set to prosecute kidnappers of Oniba | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/lagos-set-prosecute-kidnappers-oniba/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/390a533cffade0a29fdd320b47c577126b6f71786ce303c71e157d56a0581025.json |
[
"Omooba A"
] | 2016-08-28T00:48:26 | null | 2016-08-28T00:10:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fdogara-principal-officers-diverted-n10b-jibrin%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hon.abdulmumin.jibrin.jpg | en | null | How I, Dogara, principal officers diverted N10b -Jibrin | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | •Speaker, ex-Appropriation chair in SMS war ahead of resumption
The sacked chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has revealed how principal officers of the House allegedly diverted various sums of money.
According to him, Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other House leaders allegedly diverted over N10b meant for the personal running cost of members. This is coming as members have taken their war to the telecommunication sphere.
Jibrin said the running cost was not part of the salaries of the lawmakers, and therefore wants the anti-corruption agencies to step in and investigate.
He described the running cost as part of the corruption confronting the institution. According to him, “It should be noted, however, that money is voted as ‘running cost’ to members apart from salaries.
“You don’t need a professor or a committee of technocrats to tell you what is reasonable as running cost for member of the House and also how the money should be administered and who should be the recipient of the money.
“The way the allowances of members are currently structured cannot pass the integrity test of any of the aforesaid. The issue of allowances of Members of the House is another systemic corruption.
“Since you cannot afford the systemic shock if you go all out and arrest 200 to 300 members at once, what you do is to deal with the issues in phases.
“Today, I will start with the 10 principal officers of the House of Representatives. If just these 10 are named and shamed, it will force reform in the House. I will therefore provide what each one of them had collected as “office running cost” in their entire stay in the House.
“If any one of them disputes my figure, he or she should not make a drama out of it but just simply tell the country how much he or she has collected.
“Running cost is a money collected by many members (with a few exception) and used as personal funds. No more, no less – case closed! Most of these members use it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury they never lived before coming to the House.
“Though there exist systems for retirement of such money but a simple investigation by a primary school pupil will reveal the massive fraud therein.
“From computation of various sub heads of allowances of the House, Speaker Yakubu Dogara has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received about N1.5billion. Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun has been in the house from 2011 to date. He has received about N800million.
“House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila has been in the House from 2003 to date. He has received about N1.2billion. Deputy House Leader Buba has been in the House from 2007 to date. He received about N1.2billion.
“Whip Alhassan Doguwa has been in the House from 2003 to date. He has received about N1.2 billion. Deputy Whip Pally Iriase has been in the house from 2011 to date. He has received N700 million.
“Minority Leader Leo Ogor has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received N1.2 billion. Deputy Minority Leader Barde has been in the House from 2011 to date. He has received N700 million. Minority Whip Chuma has been in the House from 2007 to date.
“He has received N800 million. And finally, Deputy Minority Whip Binta has been in the House from 2011 to date. She has received N700 million.
“So in between these 10 principal Officers, the country has pumped about N10 billion – and still counting! As I have mentioned earlier, in most cases with few exceptions, these funds are diverted for personal use.
“I will provide further breakdown of these figures in due course. I will also provide 50 additional names of members with worst cases of diversion of such funds in due course so we can name and shame them.
“As we continue this struggle to wipe out corruption and restore sanity in the House of Representatives, I will continue to urge Nigerians to remain vigilant as these corrupt elements can go to any length to change the narration and evade justice.”
Meanwhile, fear has gripped some members of the National Assembly following hints by the Police that they would be proceeding with their planned questioning of Dogara over the padding allegations made by Jibrin.
It was gathered that during the week many of the lawmakers who were involved in the 2016 budget processes were asking questions about the police planned inquisition.
Sources revealed that some of them who had travelled abroad are back in Abuja where endless meetings are daily held to discuss the padding crisis.
National Assembly sources had talked about a plan by a group of federal lawmakers to scuttle the planned probe by raising false alarms that certain individuals are being targeted for victimization by the presidency as soon as the national assembly reconvenes.
A reliable source said the plan was the outcome of a meeting held at the Abuja home of a Southeast Senator on Friday.
“The plan is to discredit the police probe even before it kicks off. Many of those who had one hand or the other in the processes that gave birth to the 2016 budget are scared stiff that police investigations into the padding allegation will no doubt uncover their involvements. Many of them are anxiously finding ways to avert being indicted by the probe.
“Those having sleepless nights over this padding issue are not just members of the House of Representatives; some Senators are also worried they may be indicted.”
When contacted, one of the lawmakers mentioned by Jibrin in his allegations, admitted that some lawmakers met in Abuja to discuss the development, but said there is nothing like fear amongst them. Instead, he said the meetings were to discuss how to respond to Jibrin’s incessant allegations in the interest of the national assembly and its leaderships.
“It is not true to say we are afraid of being probed. It is going to be Jibrin’s words against ours when the probe starts. So there is not talk of anxiety or fear at all. It is true we have met on a number of occasions. We have to meet though the House is on recess. There is need to decide how to react to the many lies being told by Jibrin on a daily basis. Don’t forget the party said all parties should stop the media exchanges, but he didn’t stop.”
In the meantime, members are now locked in an SMS war to woo as many members as possible to their side ahead of the September resumption from recess.
The two sides are poised to put their popularity to test on the floor of the Green Chamber following the damaging allegations made by Jibrin that Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and nine others inserted about 2000 projects worth N284 billion into the 2016 budget.
They have resorted to sending text messages to their colleagues telling their own stories and pleading for support once they resume. They were originally scheduled to resume on September 7 but this has now been fixed for after the Eid el Kabir .
The Jibrin camp fears that the House leadership plans to suspend him, and does not want him humiliated.
On the other hand anti-Dogara Reps want the Speaker to resign or step aside pending investigation of the allegations made by Jibrin.
The Speakers’ supporters do not want that.
Instead they are mobilizing effort to get enough members to give him a vote of confidence at the first seating when the House reconvenes.
According to sources, nearly all members, except known die-hard anti-Dogara legislators, are daily bombarded with calls and text messages soliciting their understanding and support for the Bauchi-born politician.
“I still got a call and two text messages today soliciting my understanding and support for the Speaker,” a Rep said yesterday.
When contacted over the phone for response to the latest allegation, Dogara’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan asked our reporter to contact House spokesman, Abdulrazak Namdas.
Namdas however, said the House would not respond to the allegations and wondered why Jibrin could not wait for the anti-graft agencies to which he submitted petitions do their job.
“The party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has directed all parties to stop commenting publicly on the matter. We abide by the party’s directive,” he said.
Ogor on his part said he would no longer exchange words with Jibrin over the budget padding controversy or any other related issue.
“I will not have any altercation with Jibrin over this issue again, I think I have spoken enough about the issue. I have made between 10 and 15 comments about the issues raised by Jibrin since the controversy broke out and no matter what he says again, as far as I am concerned, I will not make further comments until the House resumes.”
However, House Whip Doguwa said Jibrin said nothing new.
“There is nothing new to respond to. As far as I am concerned, all that Jibrin had said and whatever he may have to say in the future are not true,” he said.
Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila could not be reached as he was away in Mauritius for the ongoing Commonwealth Parliamentary conference.
His media aide, Olanrewaju Smart said he was not competent to speak on the issue while calls to Deputy Minority Whip, Binta Bello were not returned as at the time of this report. | http://thenationonlineng.net/dogara-principal-officers-diverted-n10b-jibrin/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/a925ce46bfe1df45f789e5da22b78bd101b04df09711733292e1d64d55c832d3.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:49:08 | null | 2016-08-31T11:13:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fniger-to-build-70-phc%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Niger to build 70 PHC | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/niger-to-build-70-phc/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/dd8ae0af27609300fa1e447d6f90f8c7038da516b9b61a4f71eb61dda42199c3.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:49:04 | null | 2016-08-31T13:36:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmark-zuckerberg-address-nigeria-tech-community-live%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/zuckerberg.jpg | en | null | Mark Zuckerberg address Nigeria tech community live | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/mark-zuckerberg-address-nigeria-tech-community-live/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/3a99b49088dae30d90449dfbbf5df643972c87d3c4178a973f0cd0bbd0e58ae5.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:49:02 | null | 2016-08-30T14:06:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fepl-la-liga-fans-get-authentic-jerseys-lagos-adidas%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Adidas.png | en | null | EPL, La liga fans to get authentic jerseys in Lagos | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/epl-la-liga-fans-get-authentic-jerseys-lagos-adidas/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/dae9ae2a4f6247e11307a63df53c252b2e4b31ecc74fb59657f6595da94cbbcf.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:48:47 | null | 2016-08-29T19:58:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnscdc-urges-unity-peace-among-muslims-christians%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/NSCDC.jpg | en | null | NSCDC urges unity, peace among Muslims, Christians | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/nscdc-urges-unity-peace-among-muslims-christians/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/6d2c0dcceae594d793bda76ecc293902d48e4354459500231c6475e79de50fa0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:48:14 | null | 2016-08-26T16:06:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fondo-not-imposed-acn-candidate-akeredolu%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Ondo: I was not imposed as ACN candidate | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/ondo-not-imposed-acn-candidate-akeredolu/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/f6d6c009af70b28838e5168876958b544c4e9ca17b449ec09f2c7833105e0231.json |
[
"Omooba A",
"Ricky Ifo"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:30 | null | 2016-08-26T04:58:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fkachikwu-40b-drain-niger-delta%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Dr-Emmanuel-Ike-Katchkwu-2-3.jpg | en | null | Kachikwu: $40b down the drain in Niger Delta | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/kachikwu-40b-drain-niger-delta/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/93a0d8571472f8df346e6fbb3574748f4def03ad5a874bd009b02f5e55c9dac3.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:48:41 | null | 2016-08-29T09:50:23 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fgalatasaray-want-isaac-success-loan%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Galatasaray want Isaac Success on loan | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/galatasaray-want-isaac-success-loan/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e644264e1ef66d26db2fa54321189eda353e62bed576e6dcfdb400d09add0b09.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:49:03 | null | 2016-08-31T00:05:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpower-supply-now-3061mw%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/POWER-PLANT-AKPAN-1.jpg | en | null | Power supply now 3,061Mw | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday sent out 3,061megawatts (Mw) of electricity generated by the electricity generation companies to the 11 distribution companies (DisCos).
The Nigerian Electricity System Operator (SO) made this known on its website yesterday .
According to its operational report for August 30, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the power sector on August 29, hit a peak generation of 3,556.5MW and lowest peak generation of 2,423.8MW.
The TCN on the same day wheeled 2,927Mw to the DisCos . NESI said the power sector recorded highest system frequency of 51.58Hz, lowest system frequency of 49.12Hz, highest voltage recorded was 372KV, while lowest voltage recorded on the same day was 300KV.
The TCN had on August 28 sent 2,766MB to the distribution companies. The lowest energy generation on the day under review was 2,520MW, while highest generation was 3,502MW. | http://thenationonlineng.net/power-supply-now-3061mw/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/7b014dd064528b7a0ee284b6a550a79b02d949cfd09dbd1f06b6e6dbc1e23fdc.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:46:06 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Falleged-diversion-n2b-contract-funds-ex-minister-perm-sec-testify%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Alleged diversion of N2b contract funds: Ex-minister, perm sec to testify | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Ahead of their arraignment tomorrow, the Federal Government has lined up 11 witnesses to testify for the prosecution in the case of alleged diversion of about N2.3 billion meant for dualisation of Section IV of the East-West road involving ex-Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godsday Orubebe, and three others.
Orubebe, Oludare Lawrence Alaba (an assistant director, Ministry of Niger Delta Affiars), Ephraim Tewolde Zeri (director of Contracts in Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Limited and the company are named in the charge, marked: CR/265/2016
Among those scheduled as prosecution witnesses are Orubebe’s successor in the Niger Delta Ministry, Dr. Stephen Orise Oru, a former Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, two senior personnel in the ministry – Annietie O Effiong and John Ngene.
Also included are a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Works, Joseph Gande (who claimed to have been assigned to, among others, monitor execution of the project), consultants and community leaders in Akwa Ibom State.
They were initially scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on August 18. It was shifted to August 30 when prosecution lawyer Osuobeni Akponimisingha told the court his agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) was yet to effect service of the charge on the defendants.
The Nation learnt yesterday that the prosecution altered the charge, raising the counts from five to six.
According to court documents filed last week, Dr. Oru is expected to testify in relation to his role in the project as Niger Delta Affairs minister from 2014.
It was learnt Oru may testify that on assuming office, all relevant decisions in relation to the single lane running through Eket Town had been taken.
In a proof of evidence served on the defendants, Oru is also expected to speak among others, that “a meeting of stakeholders was convened by his predecessor, Godsday Orubeb, where the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, elders of Eket community, chief of staff to ex-Governor Godwill Akpabio and others attended.”
On his part, Ngene is expected to state all he knew about the contract and how “the compensation fund of N2.3 billion was released to Messrs Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd for further release to the appointed consultants for disbursement to beneficiaries, which Messrs Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd failed to do. | http://thenationonlineng.net/alleged-diversion-n2b-contract-funds-ex-minister-perm-sec-testify/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4cb4d91f25f9eddad148bf89ca01519026b2fe01d00c00230a0fd5315c990369.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:48:30 | null | 2016-08-26T18:52:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fburatai-bags-kwame-nkrumah-leadership-award%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Burutai-receiving-award-Kwame-Nkrumah-Leadership-award...yesterday.jpg | en | null | Buratai bags Kwame Nkrumah Leadership award | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/buratai-bags-kwame-nkrumah-leadership-award/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/62da4858dfac290b1891fa8d4c1a0959ac368970a65b01484828ca5bfd010b9f.json |
[
"Ader Dele",
"Rockson Wilson",
"Izedomi Ohirein"
] | 2016-08-26T12:47:21 | null | 2016-08-26T10:50:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fcan-faults-kerrys-visit%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Buhari-in-Wash.jpg | en | null | CAN faults Kerry’s visit | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/can-faults-kerrys-visit/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/6a0e58a975439d15716d2ab785cac7673456c34a4b4f0b0974bbad16f0bfe6b8.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T17:35:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-arraign-health-workers-n92m-fraud%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/court.jpg | en | null | Police arraign health workers over N92m fraud | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-arraign-health-workers-n92m-fraud/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/18c9a6a53390ac66b03725f124b6899994ca35ce98823312669c1df8f4562c6b.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T20:48:34 | null | 2016-08-28T21:30:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2F10-die-auto-crash-oyo%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | 10 die in auto crash in Oyo | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Ease of doing business: Nigeria will be top 100 countries by 2019, says Buhari
2:57 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/10-die-auto-crash-oyo/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b0c56fee3b57a0780d13dac742b493c2d6783ccecb71d5753482e633ed6dce22.json |
[
"Inuwa Mohammed"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:01 | null | 2016-08-26T09:41:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fconfession-frustrated-lagos-based-housewife-since-not-sexually-satisfy%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Woman-Crying.jpg | en | null | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me” | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/confession-frustrated-lagos-based-housewife-since-not-sexually-satisfy/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/70cb2c45c9d22516ef4ca48d41b152e04e514a8b5adb7797c72c53aedb18e5b8.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:51 | null | 2016-08-26T11:00:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fosun-25-promises-spectacular-calisthenics-display%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Caliisthenics-6.jpg | en | null | Osun at 25 promises spectacular calisthenics display | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Celebration of compositions, colours, designs and formations to stun! No form of human activity appears to have been formed to arrest, entertain and motivate better than calisthenics. That is what the skyline of Osun, South-West Nigeria promises to be resplendent with as the State of Virtuous marks its 25th anniversary on Saturday 27th, August 2016.
Calisthenics is a body of exercises consisting of a variety of gross motor movements; often rhythmical and generally without equipment or apparatus. They are, essentially, body-weight training tactics.
Wikipedia explains that the word calisthenics has its roots in Greek words kálos, which means “beauty”, and sthénos, meaning “strength.”
Thus, calisthenics is the art of using one’s body weight and qualities of a body’s motion as a means to develop one’s physique as well as an art of aesthetic display.
There are numerous types of this body building exercise which include: lunges, jumping Jacks (star jumps or stride jumps), squat -jumps, sit -ups, crunches, pushups, pull-ups, dips, leg raises, hyperextensions, planks and so on.
Sports teams and military units often perform leader-directed group calisthenics as a form of synchronized physical training (often including a customized call and response routine to increase group cohesion and discipline.
Calisthenics is also popular as a component of physical education in primary and secondary schools across the world.
Either at its most elementary or at the advanced level, calisthenics’ primary motif always resonates whenever it is performed.
To say that it brings out beauty is to say the obvious. Wherever there is calisthenics display, the atmosphere turns into beautiful scenery with competing colours and designs..
It is this component of calisthenics that has been given meaning in Osun under the Government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as part of the total package of educational training for young minds.
This kind of extra-curricular development was last exhibited in the Second Republic in the old Oyo State under late Chief Bola Ige as the Governor.
The State of Osun is the first in the country to revive this sterling and rewarding initiative in about more than three decades.
The scheme seeks to instill the spirit of collaborative efforts and discipline in school children. This is by combining extra-curricular activities with academic pursuit, thus building their minds and bodies and preparing them for the future.
Besides, calisthenics trainings are also intended to increase body strength, body fitness, and flexibility of the pupils through movements such as pulling or pushing oneself up, bending, jumping, or swinging, using only one’s body weight for resistance; usually conducted in concert with stretches.
Again, proper calisthenics training will promote the growth of lean muscle mass, and increase the strength, mobility, flexibility, agility, and endurance.
Proper strength training via weight lifting routine will promote the growth of muscle mass and strength.
When performed vigorously and with variety, calisthenics can provide the benefits of muscular and aerobic conditioning, in addition to improving psycho-motor skills such as balance, agility and coordination.
It also teaches the pupils the spirit of cooperation, discipline, organization, concentration and togetherness as they perform as a group thereby working in their minds as one.
In addition to general fitness, calisthenics exercises are often used as baseline physical evaluations to test physical fitness. In other words, pupils who undergo calisthenics training will have sound minds in healthy bodies. Participants become good samples in precision, unity of purpose, social networking and above all, discipline.
This programme was conceived to enhance the emergence of a new generation of students who are physically fit, mentally sound and socially responsible and well-adjusted to the need of the society.
The programme has been so entrenched in the body system of the pupils that it has become a routine exercise and they have, on few occasions, displayed the stuffs they are made of.
On the two previous occasions the state had put up the show, the pupils had dished out breathtaking calisthenics performances at the Osogbo City Stadium.
As Governor Aregbesola would say, “Education has three aspects: the affective, cognitive a psycho-motor. It is this last aspect – the psycho-motor – that had been neglected before our government. Education is meant to be total. As we develop their cognitive and effective senses, so also we must develop their body fitness in order to have a sound mind in a healthy body.”
In the fullness of time, the child being raised in Osun today must turn out to be a model of good character, innovation and competence; the true Omoluabi to the state’s tomorrow.
On a third outing in the state, the 25th anniversary of the creation of the State of Osun awaits another spectacle of performance as colour, arrangement, cooperation, concentration, focus are all to be on display in what promises to be another historic performance in Osun.
*Owolabi, a Media Assistant writes from Osogbo, State of Osun | http://thenationonlineng.net/osun-25-promises-spectacular-calisthenics-display/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/eb58a198263c57fbbb7a618594d1a06cf90403ba20e8096dabdcafd0a959c456.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T11:43:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffunds-diversion-orubebes-arraignment-stalled%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/orubebe-500_300_300.jpg | en | null | Funds diversion: Orubebe's arraignment stalled again | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/funds-diversion-orubebes-arraignment-stalled/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/77d8d7b7ed62de1813758ca0e4a5e29f77b36aeb9665c88ac4b2ab5c48446291.json |
[
"Mercy Wood",
"Airline Service",
"Airline Booking",
"Omi Daniel",
"Airline Booking Service",
"Wale Rotimi"
] | 2016-08-30T10:46:23 | null | 2014-11-24T00:06:55 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fair-peace-kebbi-govt-partner-on-new-airport%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Air Peace, Kebbi govt partner on new airport | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Sir Peace has signed a contract with Kebbi State government to develop flight operations into its new airport located in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.
Its Chairman, Mr Allen Onyema, said the carrier would deploy its Dornier Jets for the flight connections between Birnin Kebbi and Abuja as well as a return flight from Abuja to the state capital.
The airline would commence operations on the Lagos-Asaba route on December 1.
Further operations would expand to Lagos – Warri, Warri – Port Harcourt, and Warri – Abuja routes as its acquires more aircraft.
The contract agreement was signed between officials of the state led by the governor and the chairman of the airline in Birnin Kebbi.
Onyema said the agreement would involve sharing of costs between the airline and the state government as part of efforts to open up Kebbi to the national air link.
Opening the state to the national air link, he said, would facilitate trade and business and other socio economic activities between the Northwestern state and other parts of the world.
Onyema said the airline will consolidate on the operations by introducing a flight between Kebbi and Kano to facilitate commercial and other activities.
He commended the state government for choosing the airline as the first carrier to achieve such feat within a month of its commencement of flight operations.
Onyema said: ”We have made history as the first airline within one month of its existence to sign agreement with a state govern | http://thenationonlineng.net/air-peace-kebbi-govt-partner-on-new-airport/ | en | 2014-11-24T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/f8ed76fcc2be12b553596b64c5d8a8f9fdd11f1fd85799f7fdd01b7202175eca.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:47:39 | null | 2016-08-27T01:26:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fipob-backs-avengers-oct-1-breakup-threat%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ipob.jpg | en | null | IPOB backs Avengers’ Oct 1 breakup threat | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared its support for the Niger Delta Avengers’ plan to break away from the country on October 1.
The group said its support for Avengers is borne out of their philosophy that is related. It, however, reiterated the fact that it has no working relationship with Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).
The spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, said: “We have nothing to do with MEND, but our philosophy aligns with that of Niger Delta Avengers who bravely called for the release of our leader and has maintained it till date. Avengers and IPOB are one in pursuit of freedom for all the peoples of Biafra. IPOB is in total support of the proposed independence declaration proposed by Avengers on the 1st of October.
“IPOB recognises the efforts of the reformed MASSOB as they have publicly stated that they are no longer working with the now discredited leadership of BIM and former MASSOB. As long as they maintain this stance and do not engage in activities capable of undermining the pursuit for freedom, we shall continue to acknowledge their efforts. Some so-called Igbo leaders are mere Hausa Fulani stooges and will kill their own children if the North demands it. Thankfully, we still have honorable Igbo men left.”
He asserted that the group would not soft pedal in spite of the continued detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu. “IPOB is not in the business of soft-pedalling like previous groups that may have given the impression they were campaigning for our freedom when all they were after was settlement. At the end of this battle for freedom, the world will know that there are those who cannot be bought nor compromised like Nnamdi Kanu and the IPOB that he leads.
“We want, first and foremost, the release of our leader and other detained members of IPOB after which he would direct us on how to negotiate terms of reference for a referendum which we launched a while back. Nobody will be forced or coerced. We want to build a model society based on the consent of the people not one imposed by a few group of people.”
Explaining why two lawyers who spoke on behalf of the group were sacked, Powerful said: “The lawyers spoke out of turn and have been duly sanctioned. We suspect that some elements within the executive of Ohaneze Ndigbo and Governor Rochas Okorocha were behind it. IPOB under instruction from our leader has only three official outlets through which its mind or views can be expressed and these are first his wife, IPOB spokespersons and announcement on Radio Biafra. Apart from these three, no one can claim to represent or speak the mind of our leader. Individuals are allowed to speak their minds but they cannot say they are doing so for our leader without his explicit consent.”
In a separate chat with our correspondent, the factional leader of MASSOB, Uche Madu also joined the call for the release of the IPOB leader, saying: “MASSOB does not see Mazi Nnamdi kanu as one who can betray his belief for Biafra. He is not a sellout, his ideologies about Biafra may differ, he can never betray hundreds of Biafrans that died recently for the course of Biafra. We shall continue to press for the release of Biafra detainees including the ultimate aim of Biafra actualization with non violence. Nigeria will soon experience another dimension of non violence struggle that will marvel them.”
The OYC in a statement by the chairman of the state chairmen, Alex Okemiri debunked allegations that its leader, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, is mobilizing youths across the region to work against Biafra agitators.
”The pro-Biafran groups should sort themselves out and stop linking Ohanaeze youth leadership in their crisis. We believe in a united Nigeria anchored on justice and equity and we have made this clear at all times.”
The planned secession of the Avengers has also attracted knocks from frontline Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark .
Speaking at a one-day Stakeholders Meeting of Niger Delta Coastal states , held in Warri, last weekend,,Clark dismissed the threat by the NDA to declare Niger Delta Republic on October 1 saying that the unity of the country was not negotiable and that, the strength of the nation lies in its diverse culture, population and the unity of her people.
He called on the Federal Government to re-visit the restructuring aspect of 2014 national conference report in order to address some of the burning issues of socio-economic and political imbalance in the country.
He said: “I posit that the answers to many, if not all, of these issues are contained in the report of the 2014 National Conference. My strong belief is that only a genuine restructuring of the political administration of the country will remove most of these problems in the country. With such, the issues that lead some of us to take up arms will be resolved.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/ipob-backs-avengers-oct-1-breakup-threat/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/9c94407b95ae64a7e8ebb1d90ee72678fdc3901020dae1623f3b887c74db7a51.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T00:48:30 | null | 2016-08-28T00:04:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmina-horsfall-admire-powerful-intelligent-women%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mina-Horsfall.jpg | en | null | Mina Horsfall I admire powerful and intelligent women | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Mina Horsfall is one of the cast in Tinsel. She is also a model, former beauty queen and entrepreneur. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, the actress takes you into her world, turning point and more.
What is life as an actress like?
I would say that it is quite interesting. It is great sometimes because of the special privileges, opportunities, recognitions, invitations and the other things that come my way. On the other hand, you find that most times I am perceived in different light, sometimes positively and negatively or wrongly. It is sad to note that you can be quickly judged due to a tiny mistake or just lumped up with the character of other controversial actors. However, it is important to say that in all it is a blessed life that I live as an actress.
What are the most memorable moments in your career as an actress?
There are a number of memorable moments and it includes when I had my first lead role in 2004 with fantastic actors, directors and crew by Andy Best and it was directed by Chike Obi. That period of life witnessed so much fun and it was a very hard working process. That was an eye-opener for me and it was also a time when I had even more regard for top actors. I came to the realisation that filming is not a joke, it’s serious business.
Tell us how it all started and the initial challenges
I must say that my career didn’t start on a platter of gold. In 2003 was when I officially kicked off my acting career. Interestingly, I got the contacts of marketers and producers from CD posters and gradually I began to get invitations to audition. First, I started from minor roles to supporting and leading roles in both TV series and movies. I would say this was easy, thanks to my style of delivering my roles and I remember that I was always applauded by the crew that I worked with then. That made it easy for them to also refer me to others and so on and so forth. Looking back now, I would say that it has been rough but worth the efforts that I put in.
Over the years, I have had to cope with a whole lot of challenges that actually made me stronger. These include working without being paid or sometimes I get picked for a job and lose it to someone else at the dying minute. That is not all. You also have situations where you discover that you are being antagonised by already established names on set who are insecure while working just to make you uncomfortable. Interestingly, I had that experience twice and the lady in question is a B list actress; we just never got along. So, I always make an effort to be as calm as I can be to avoid being disrespected by upcoming and established names while filming.
What was the turning point for you?
When I had my first lead role titled ‘My house help”. It helped to launch my career in 2004 and also the Next Movie Star reality show in 2012 was also a very exciting period and turning point for me. Interestingly, at that point, I went down due to my studies, death of my dad and some health challenges.
What are the other things that occupy your time?
I am an entrepreneur and I run a company called Mish Concept Ltd.
We organise events, pageants, festivals for states, local governments and I also sell properties. In addition to all these, I still hire my face to brands for endorsements.
Who or what will you consider as the greatest influence in your life?
Jesus Christ and my father are the greatest influence in my life.
Let’s talk about some of your role models and women that you admire
I admire strong, powerful, successful and intelligent women like
Agbani Darego, Mo-Abudu, Isabella Ayuk, Hillary Clinton, Kris Jenner, Omotola Ekehinde, Genevieve Nnaji and Benita Nzeribe.The list also includes Mrs. Ibiwari Horsfall, my beloved mother. I would also like to say that I am my own role model because I learn from my mistakes. My life is a teacher to me.
What is your definition of style?
Style, to me, is comfort, happiness and peace. It might sound weird but the truth is if you have to dress up then be sure to be happy and at peace with what you are wearing.
If we take a peep into your wardrobe, what are the things we would find in your wardrobe?
I am more of a casual chic, so if you get there you will find more of tees, pants, maxi gowns and blazers.
What is your assessment of our designers?
They are doing a lot of interesting things these days and they have things that can be described as collector items. I’m super impressed with the things that I see around now. Our designers have become more creative and use even better fabrics and colours.
Where do you hope to be in the next five years?
In the next five years, I would like to be one of the best actors in Africa and to have my movies premiered in Cannes. In addition, I would also love to have been nominated for an Oscar Award, Emmy and making Africa proud in the international scene as a humanitarian ambassador and style icon.
If you have to advice young people what would you tell them?
For young people, I would say that it is very important for them to hold on to their dreams and not give up. Most importantly, my advice to them would be to be prayerful because this industry is full of so much drama, too many clean and unclean spirits are involved, so put God first and have a clean heart. To move to the next level, it is better to celebrate rather than envy successful people and success will be yours too.
Apart from acting, what are the other things that occupy your time now?
Currently I am working on a cultural event for Rivers State, Port Harcourt, where I come from. It is something that will project our culture. It’s difficult getting sponsors. However, it also involves the state government because nobody is ready to assist and it is something I have to do on my own then hopefully interested sponsors will come on board. There also Miss Goodwill Ambassador’s beauty pageant coming up in November at the Transcorp Abuja and also the 2016 Goodwill Ambassadors Awards coming up later in the year.
This will be followed with what I call the Big Charity give-back event in Nigeria, where we will be visiting lots of IDP camps and orphanage homes. Here, I will be supported by some of my colleagues and they are Ambassador Chris Odey, Queen Isabella Ayuk, Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2012. | http://thenationonlineng.net/mina-horsfall-admire-powerful-intelligent-women/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5404ad84cbe2b1b43a3a26dc16f0cb6c4e066ab9b697cb08f062790c7fdb086b.json |
[
"Olu Summer"
] | 2016-08-31T06:46:31 | null | 2016-08-31T00:02:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fakintelure-gets-nod-deputy%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Akintelure.jpg | en | null | Akintelure gets nod as deputy | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | A group, Ondo Progressives Movement (OPM), has called on All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to give “automatic deputy governorship ticket to Dr. Paul Akintelure” for dropping his ambition in the interest of peace.
Addressing news conference yesterday in Akure, the state capital, its coordinator, Oke Oyelehin, said Akintelure deserves to clinch the deputy governor ticket because of his popularity and love for the party.
Oyelehin said the APC must allow someone like Akintelure to be the running mate of any aspirant, who becomes candidate.
“Akintelure has paid his dues, and is versed in the politics of the state.
“Akintelure displayed a good spirit of a loyal party man by stepping down from the race to ensure peace reigns.
“In 2011, he was the only one financing the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the southern senatorial district.
“He has been a consistence progressive politician, who has contributed immensely to the development of his community.
“He is a man, who has never disrespected the party leadership before and very dedicated to the progress of the party,” the group said.
“We believe that he has the political and academic experience to assist who emerges as the party’s candidate to win the November 26 governorship election and assist such governor to succeed in his regime.
“The emergence of Akintelure would also make it an easy ride for the party in the southern senatorial district during the poll.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/akintelure-gets-nod-deputy/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/0dd61dbda4800a0b137762c6f2609cd1af3e2c2ff1b7ec30cacfa6bea57f1fc7.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:49:04 | null | 2016-08-30T17:12:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fim-not-aware-nff-engaged-foreign-coach-dalung%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Solomon-Dalung.jpg | en | null | I'm not aware NFF engaged foreign coach- Dalung | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/im-not-aware-nff-engaged-foreign-coach-dalung/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/dbcecd2bb9d10f29f9042c460f72e6a44d6c4cfa380a932c1741c78cd3d29d6d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:48:28 | null | 2016-08-26T16:03:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffg-woos-investors-creative-sector%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | FG woos investors to creative sector | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/fg-woos-investors-creative-sector/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/13be63f5ff1b2317697845044b541637cc918df1bfa32a8b2d769e5d15e6d368.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:49:06 | null | 2016-08-30T16:41:59 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-nab-three-suspects-alleged-highway-extortion%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Suspects.jpg | en | null | Police nab three suspects for alleged highway extortion | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-nab-three-suspects-alleged-highway-extortion/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/749659a032d0f53f0dd271252290316ecc3fa0dccbd940f9936283bfbbce0a01.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:48:40 | null | 2016-08-29T09:57:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fexplosion-rocks-belgium-crime-laboratory%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Explosion rocks Belgium crime laboratory | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/explosion-rocks-belgium-crime-laboratory/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/051dcc24de6519e6ff8bea7d8aefaac5b6361b05df5aa36167599b6b395f18ad.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:47:47 | null | 2016-08-26T16:46:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fbuhari-congratulates-nba-new-executive%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Buhari congratulates NBA new executive | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/buhari-congratulates-nba-new-executive/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4c2208aa65a6fb40bb80abe057850d2bb3a61c60b81ccf40731a696c76c170f3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:47:31 | null | 2016-08-26T17:35:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffce-katsina-obudu-get-new-provosts%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | FCE Katsina, Obudu get new provosts | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/fce-katsina-obudu-get-new-provosts/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5a9350517d8d2eeeee6ad88f9353d445103b83f1727aca8a39034d77dbaaa95c.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:48:40 | null | 2016-08-29T00:04:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fapc-hails-buhari-appointing-ekiti-man-npa-chair%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Buhari-OnoBello-1127-650x400.jpg | en | null | APC hails Buhari for appointing Ekiti man NPA chair | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing an indigene of the state, Emmanuel Olajide Adesoye, as the chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
The party lauded the President “for recognising an Ekiti man as having the qualities to lead a sensitive organisation such as NPA, noting that the appointee got the position by integrity, honest and amiable disposition to workers at his previous place of work, Mobil Producing Unlimited.
In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the APC expressed confidence that Adesoye, who hails from Ikoro Ekiti, will be a worthy ambassador of the state and demonstrate the needed brilliance to turn things around at NPA.
He said: “As NPA is a sensitive agency that requires honesty to manage, Adesoye’s appointment is therefore a vote for Ekiti as homeland for people of integrity, particularly at a time Buhari is cleaning up the system by appointing credible and honest Nigerians to man sensitive sources of revenue to rebuild Nigeria from the ruins the country was left by the last administration.
“This appointment complements that of another honest Nigerian, Col. Hameed Ali, who is leading another sensitive revenue-spinning source, the Nigeria Customs, as Comptroller-General at the time the country needs honest Nigerians to lead sensitive sources of revenue as oil prices crash in international market, fuelling exchange rate crisis with dire consequences on the living conditions of Nigerians.”
“Your hard work, honesty, integrity and amiable disposition to workers at Mobil, where you demonstrated rare Ekiti quality, no doubt prepared you for this onerous assignment. ”
Olatunbosun added: “We trust that you will once again fly Ekiti colour in its true form and we assure you of our support at the home-front with prayers and we are ready to offer assistance in any area you may require such.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/apc-hails-buhari-appointing-ekiti-man-npa-chair/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/30a80acd36a455abdfd0260d624acc74cae93957e304e1c5c4d664526fa75280.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:48:09 | null | 2016-08-26T18:52:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmans-arrest-naming-dog-buhari-laughable-presidency%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Man’s arrest for naming dog ‘Buhari’ laughable | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The arrest and prosecution of Sango-Otta, Ogun State resident, Joachim Iroko, for naming his pet dog, Buhari has been daubed a “laughable incident” by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
Shehu in a riposte to critics who believe that the President should have stopped the police from harassing Iroko said such people do not understand Buhari.
They are in “ignorance of the type of person he is,” he said on his twitter handle on Thursday night.
He added: “He enjoys cartoons and likes sharing them. The ones he enjoys the most are those that caricature him.
“People should listen to the real story behind this dog incident and to not waste precious time seeking the hand of the President in a laughable incident!”
It is the first reaction from the Presidency since the news broke two weeks ago.
Iroko was charged before an Ota Magistrate Court on Monday for conduct likely to cause breach of the peace.
The prosecutor, Inspector Itaita Ebibomini, said the accused committed the offence on August 13 at the Hausa section of Ketere Market in Sango-Ota in the Ota Magisterial District.
The prosecutor told the court that the offence was punishable under Section 249 (d) of the Criminal Law of Ogun State 2016.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of N50,000 and two sureties.
He was able to perfect the bail conditions only after spending three days at the Ibara, Abeokuta prisons.
Shortly after his release, Iroko said his arrest and confinement brought untold trauma on his family.
“The President must be having a good laugh over this whole thing,” Shehu said. | http://thenationonlineng.net/mans-arrest-naming-dog-buhari-laughable-presidency/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4c56c7df80b07d80cffd15744eb4c7e6d8c538499b3013388453b3b736ff8abb.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T14:49:05 | null | 2016-08-31T14:10:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2F12-injured-u-s-plane-emergency-landing%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | 12 injured in U.S plane emergency landing | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/12-injured-u-s-plane-emergency-landing/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/d799c940294680f1da2c36e9ff9a12f47d1c8fc6441199b540ab9c8570bbacb2.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T10:45:51 | null | 2016-08-27T01:17:55 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Febonyis-strange-human-property-law%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Human-Right.jpg | en | null | Ebonyi's strange (human) property law | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | MORE than a month after a 15-year-old Ebonyi girl, Uzoamaka Chukwu, was tortured, stripped naked and dehumanised by a group of people at Umunaga Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area, the governor, David Umahi, has finally roused himself from his lethargy to take some tentative steps. Embarrassingly, he has approached the matter from an unfeeling and remorseless perspective. Some 38 days after the dehumanisation of the teenage girl, Mr Umahi visited her home and met with the distressed family. On being told by a family representative, Francis Odabe, that the girl’s whereabouts was not known, the governor ordered her return within seven days if she was not to be declared wanted. It was the responsibility of the state to look after her and sponsor her education, he asserted in amazement.
According to a statement issued by government spokesman, Emma Anya, “Government is asking that wherever she is, she should come back so that we can take over her training from secondary school to university level. We will also be able to rehabilitate her. We are giving seven days for her to come back. We don’t know where she is; but we ask that she must return because she is the property of the state.” It is not clear why the government chose to describe the harassed girl a state property, whether they mean it in the endearing sense in which great sporting or intellectual assets are described, or in the ordinary and mercantile sense in which slaves or indentured servants were described when the practice of owning humans flourished during the era of slave trade and thereafter. What seems obvious, however, is that by reacting very late and so cavalierly to Miss Chukwu’s plight, the government could not realistically see her as a treasure, let alone state property.
“Concerning what we saw,” continued the government’s spokesman, doubtless with an air of detachment and hypocrisy, “we felt very bad as a people, as a government, and as brothers and sisters of Uzoamaka. We felt that (what happened) was a gross violation of her right and man’s inhumanity to man. So we are very sad about that…” But it took more than a month to react and offer those soothing but obviously empty words to the afflicted girl and her defenceless family. Those words, it must also be pointed out, came after Miss Chukwu had been adopted by a Port Harcourt-based Ebonyi woman, Rita Nnena Anoh. And when the governor finally visited the family of the dehumanised girl, it was in company with the Coordinator of Ohaozara West Development Centre who was alleged to have masterminded the unfortunate incident. Rather than respond to the allegation against the said Coordinator and probably suspend him pending investigations, the governor gave threatening orders for the girl’s immediate return.
By responding so late to the saga, and retaining the alleged mastermind in his entourage, and describing the offended teenager as state property when five other girls experienced the same torture without government response of any kind, Mr Umahi could not be said to be managing the problem sensibly well like a governor. The national lawmaker representing Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo state constituency, Linus Okorie, has asked for the coordinator to be sacked. Many others have also bemoaned the shoddy manner the incident was treated. Though the principal assailant and his two brothers, as well as three conniving policemen, have been arrested in connection with the case, they have already been admitted to bail and are walking free. It is not surprising that Miss Chukwu has spurned the governor’s order to return home and declined any offer of scholarship.
“I don’t want their scholarship because before this incident, they never thought it wise to give me any scholarship,” said Miss Chukwu, “it is now they want to give me scholarship. They should go with their scholarship because I am comfortable where I am.” Doubting the state government’s altruism, Miss Chukwu added: “Five of my friends are also victims of what happened to me. If the governor wants to give me scholarship, he should give it to those ones because nobody has said anything about them…As long as the coordinator is still in office and the governor is not even saying anything about removing him from office, I will not even step my feet in Ebonyi state, let alone taking any scholarship. The governor wants to bring me back so that I will still remain under a man who did such evil to me; how will I cope in that particular environment. I am not going anywhere; I am okay where I am. He should look for those other five girls and give the scholarship to them.”
Mr Umahi is wrong to give any order to the harassed girl, not to talk of describing her as state property. It is clear the governor is merely reacting to national outrage and media reports on the matter. If he is as altruistic as he wants the public to believe, let him find out what has become of the other girls who were alleged to have been similarly dehumanised by the same gang, but whose stories have not reached the media. Miss Chukwu has thrown the governor a challenge; let him take it up on behalf of Ebonyi State as a responsible government. But if the governor is adamant, and still wants to rehabilitate Miss Chukwu and give her scholarship, let him go to court and establish his case. More, let him include the other five maltreated girls in the rehabilitation scheme. And, finally, let him, if he can, relieve the Ohaozara coordinator of his position, and put the machinery in motion to ensure that such barbarous displays never recur in Ebonyi State. | http://thenationonlineng.net/ebonyis-strange-human-property-law/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4763ea92cf5067fb9cc538ab431dfa19591472200d1ec09b6908d4203a04caef.json |
[
"Wilson Eche",
"Dele Odugbemi",
"Iyk James",
"Andy Adewale",
"Dave Jacob",
"Waahid Animasaun",
"George Bongu",
"Wazobia Ninja",
"Edcino Wiper Rio",
"Yakubu Ishaku"
] | 2016-08-31T10:46:34 | null | 2016-08-14T00:04:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnaira-free-fall-emefiele%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Naira-and-dollar-notes.jpg | en | null | Why naira is on a free fall, by Emefiele | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has explained why the Naira is on a free fall.
He said the country’s currency depreciated against the Dollar because the nation has nothing to export except oil.
Emefiele disclosed this during a career talk organised for the teenagers of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) at TEAP school, Abuja.
He spoke in response to a question by one of the teenagers.
He said over dependence on oil contributed largely to the current situation, stressing that when the oil falls, the naira falls.
The CBN Governor further stated that the only way out was to diversify the economy, which the federal government has commenced.
Emefiele, who was represented by his deputy, Sarah Alade, emphasised that the nation would grow economically when it produces, have more things to sell and export to earn dollars.
His words: “Our currency is naira but there are lots of things we buy but we cannot use the naira.
“We have to use dollars but do we earn dollar? We earn dollar when we have something to sell to people who have dollar so we can gain in Naira.
“In Nigeria, the only thing we have is oil. So when the prices of oil fall, everything falls.
“We then have less dollars and in that case, those who want the dollar will then need more naira to be able to meet the demand.
“Those who did economics will know that the price is determined between supply and demand.
“So if the supply for dollar is very low and the demand for dollar is high, the price of naira will be low.
“So as a country, we should have more goods to sell and export so that we can have enough dollars for supply and the naira can grow.”
He encouraged youths to embrace entrepreneurship skills to create jobs and export goods.
Emefiele said that was why CBN set aside N220 billion to support youths and ultimately diversify the economy. | http://thenationonlineng.net/naira-free-fall-emefiele/ | en | 2016-08-14T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/01fe66c67a08a87c582fbbb69011ba973b30ff5589e24a3aaa87ad78ec49115e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:46:12 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:59 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fn5000-tax-enough-save-child-malaria-says-firs-chief-fowler%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/William-Fowler.jpg | en | null | N5,000 tax enough to save a child from malaria, says FIRS chief Fowler | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | A tax of N5, 000 is enough to save the life of a child who has malaria from death, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Tunde Fowler, has said.
Fowler recalled how the establishment of a connect between tax contribution of as little as N5, 000 and the life of a child, who may die from malaria, touched the hearts of some taxpayers who became compliant taxpayers in Lagos, when he held the forte as the chairman of the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS).
In a statement, FIRS spokesman Wahab Gbadamosi said the FIRS chief made his observation in Accra at the Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana (CITG), where Fowler was also given an award as a Honourary Fellow of the institute.
Fowler noted that every kobo contributed by a taxpayer – even as little as N5, 000 – is enough to stop the death of a child from malaria.
He told tax practitioners and administrators, from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cote D’ivoire and other parts of the West African sub-region that beyond deploying the law, enforcement, technology and mobilisation, tax administrators must deploy a medley of psychology, persuasion and being firm to convince citizens to pay tax and to fund their country’s development.
The statement quoted Fowler as saying: “When you ask people to pay tax, they ask you: ‘Why?’ But when you tell them that a tax of N5, 000 is enough to safe a child from dying from malaria, their attitude about tax begin to change gradually. As a tax administrator, you have to become a teacher to save the life of a child.
“The point is that as tax administrators, we must see the work that we do, not just as another job, but as nation building. Tax collection is nation building. It is serving your nation. It is serving God.
“When you convince a taxpayer that the tax he/she pays could save the life of a child who has malaria from death, you could begin to touch the taxpayer’s heart.
“Before the law changes, tax administrators, need to wear the hat of a teacher, a psychologist, a friendly person and a firm upholder of the law.
“All stakeholders must be conscious of our roles in ensuring that Africa catches up with the rest of the world in moving away from dependence on resource revenue towards dependence on taxation as the primary source of funding for our development.”
The FIRS chief was said to have expressed concern that no member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC – with all their wealth – belongs to the league of developed countries.
“Today”, he noted, “Venezuellans queue for food. It can be argued that the extent to which an economy is able to grow sustainably and develops depends to a large extent on its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure and the efficiency if its tax system.
“Even in Nigeria, oil, gas and mining sector (6.48) is not the biggest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $422.59 billion dollars. The sector takes the third place after Trade (19.15) and Agriculture (19.0).”
Fowler, who stated that governments fund budget either by levying taxes or borrowing, noted that whatever tax collectors do must still be within the ambit of the law.
He observed that “though tasking, it is still possible to collect taxes with existing laws”, describing obsolete laws and challenging law amendment processes as some of the challenges to tax legislation in Africa. | http://thenationonlineng.net/n5000-tax-enough-save-child-malaria-says-firs-chief-fowler/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5bb985abda45adc92fb04a6492e20a00869b79ec827b00991b9d88f1d799c81d.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:47:41 | null | 2016-08-27T01:20:24 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fgroup-carpets-akeredolu-insulting-tinubu-ondo-2012-governorship-election%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Akeredolu-2-new-jpeg.jpg | en | null | Group carpets Akeredolu for insulting Tinubu over Ondo 2012 governorship election | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | A group, Ondo Collectives for Change has berated one of the governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu(SAN) for claiming that the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did not support him during the 2012 governorship election in the state.
The group which is also the campaign organization of an APC governorship aspirant in Ondo State, Mr Segun Abraham, expressed resentment at the comment credited to Akeredolu, the then candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) in the highly pulsating governorship election, said his statement has further confirmed that Akeredolu can’t be entrusted with the party’s ticket.
Akeredolu allegedly made the comments while appearing as guest on a programme tagged: ‘Guest of the week’ on an Akure based station, Positive 102.5 FM on Thursday.
He was quoted to have said: “We can say it here, so it is not new today that Bola Ahmed Tinubu says he want to support Abraham, he argued for him in 2012, but God chose me in 2012. So if he is now supporting him today, that is a repetition and God will still choose me this time.”
A statement issued by the spokesman of the group, Kola Ademujimi said: “The whole world could attest to the fact that that(2012) election was a battle between Governor Mimiko and Asiwaju Tinubu. There was no statement credited to Mimiko and his campaign team where Akeredolu was condemned, because they knew him as a political featherweight and neophyte.
He said: “All their arsenals were directed at Tinubu and the only campaign slogan reverberating on the lips of Mimiko was that Akeredolu was about to be imposed on Ondo people by the former Lagos governor, so that they can loot the state and make Ondo an extension of Lagos political empire.
“Another imperative question to ask the Senior Advocate(Akeredolu) is that, what was his political antecedent for the likes of political heavyweights like Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Segun Abraham and many others to have stepped down for him at the primary? This was made possible because of Tinubu’s persuasion and the entire world knew except an ingrate like Akeredolu.
Ademujimi added: “I know that this comment will go a long way in shaping the minds of the 3,000 APC delegates that will participate in the Wednesday primary about the personality of Akeredolu and his ilk, who threw jibes and tirades at their benefactors just because political scheming of the moment is not in their favour.
“I wonder if Akeredolu, who woefully lost in his unit in Owo during the election could have won up to ten wards instead of the three local governments he won, if those, who sacrificed their ambitions for him to emerge the ACN candidate had taken this perilous path he is treading. I want to advise Akeredolu to rely on names -calling to whip up sentiments to get the supports of the delegates, because this strategy will fail as delegates will reject him based on his unstable character as manifested in his behaviour and open confrontation with party leaders.”
Meanwhile, Akeredolu, who is a former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, has clarified his statement on alleged endorsement of candidates by some leaders of the party ahead of the party governorship primary scheduled for Saturday September 3.
In a statement issued by Akeredolu Campaign Platform, the governorship aspirant stated: ” My attention has been drawn to some stories making the rounds especially on the social media linking me with some ridiculous comments and incendiary quotes on the purported endorsement of candidates in the governorship primary. Those who know my antecedents will attest to the fact that I am a man of courage. For the avoidance of doubt, I didn’t insult any of our national leaders in APC, especially Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as quoted mischievously in the social media…. “
The statement reads further: ” Like I have said in my earlier statement, all our leaders have assured us a free and fair primary. What is happening in Ondo state right now is that some leaders are using the name of Asiwaju Tinubu to cause confusion; claiming that he had given them money to work for a particular aspirant. Anybody doing such cannot be described as a leader. Asiwaju Tinubu’s last communication on Ondo State Governorship primary was that there will be free and fair primary. “ | http://thenationonlineng.net/group-carpets-akeredolu-insulting-tinubu-ondo-2012-governorship-election/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/eed3ca79e0c597bf7cf89017cb865043709f7a4b3535eea18c39eed9a9979e01.json |
[
"Sheik Faraj"
] | 2016-08-29T12:46:22 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fminister-condemns-theft-traffic-light-tools-others%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Minister condemns theft of traffic light tools, others | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/minister-condemns-theft-traffic-light-tools-others/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e468da18f1d3fd19269b810ec61cb94f98d04ea6e790a725e1b520ce5f9facc2.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:52 | null | 2016-08-27T00:02:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmen-fear-women-fame-nollywood-actress-adetoun-lamerica%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/img_5125.jpg | en | null | WHY MEN FEAR WOMEN WITH FAME - NOLLYWOOD ACTRESS ADETOUN L’AMERICA | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Lola Faduri is a psychologist and surgical assistant in the United States of America who, for her passion in the make-believe world, decided to pursue a degree in filmmaking at the renowned New York Film Academy. Fondly called Adetoun L’America among her folks, the light skinned lady, who started her acting career in 2001 with the popular Odunfa Caucus, recently produced two films. In this interview with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI, she speaks on her journey in the motion picture world, among other issues.
TELL us about your new movies?
I just finished producing two movies. One of them is titled Ayamo meaning ‘Destiny’. It is basically about people who think they cannot succeed or survive in Nigeria without traveling abroad. They do not know the daily struggles of those living there and they think life is smoother on the other side. The irony of it is that people stay here in Nigeria and succeed without having to travel.
There’s a lot to learn from it but it simply teaches us that wherever you are destined to be, God will locate and prosper you. We do not need to travel abroad before we make it in life. The second movie is titled Ife Odale. It’s a story of betrayal, hurt and greed between couples. It also emphasizes reasons why distance can damage homes and relationship.
If a spouse relocates abroad and the other spouse is back home, should there be trust? Could such marriages work? Can such marriage stand the test of time? All these answers can be found in the movie Ife Odale.
One of the challenges producers face is funding. How have you been raising funds for your projects?
Well, acting and movie making are not the only careers I have. I work in the medical field here in the US and I’m also into buying and selling.
Moreover, our industry is not as profitable as before but that doesn’t mean we still don’t make money from the movies we produce. Most of my colleagues have other businesses, and we fund our movies ourselves because it’s what we have a passion doing.
What are the challenges of staying abroad and getting roles in Nigeria?
It’s hard, to be sincere. It’s a big challenge but if you are determined, things will always work out the way you want. There are lots of actors that are based in US and UK. In fact, Nollywood US produces lots of movies every year. We have an industry here too. I know people who produce here in US without having to travel home.
My last production, Adetoun L’america was shot here in US. I mean 90 % of it and only few scenes were shot in Nigeria. I’ve featured in a lot of productions here that don’t have a single scene in Nigeria, so it’s not so hard to get roles here. But I personally have to travel to shoot my movies and get roles in Nigeria and I get roles here in US too.
How true is the perception that most actresses are wayward?
Well, I don’t know about that. There’s no industry that does not have wayward people as you mentioned, so it’s not only in our industry. It happens everywhere and in every career but just because we are role models, people tend to think there should be perfection in Nollywood, I do not see or know any wayward colleague but if some of them are actually wayward, then it’s very bad.
People also believe their wayward attitude could be one of the reasons. They get married late and end up divorced?
Some people marry late for reasons best known to them, not because of waywardness. Actually, there are two sides to it. Some men are reluctant to marrying female actors because of the fame and they think they cannot control them; this could lead to female actors marrying late.
On the other side most men that eventually marry them for the stardom part and not real love which eventually leads to divorce in no time except the very few God-fearing men. Yes, I could start mentioning happily married female actors that don’t have any problem in their marriages. There is a lot of us.
You must have been in the business for a while; cell you tell us about it?
If you have passion for something and you aren’t seeing yourself doing it, it saddens you. Acting has been my passion, so if I know any one that knows someone in the industry, I was always quick to tell them to introduce me. There was this brother I know; he’s a very popular musician in London. His name is Jide Chord. He and Uncle Alade Aromire were very close friends. He introduced me to Alade Aromire in 2002 and he tutored me till 2005 before I relocated.
Same way I met Uncle Yinka Quadri in 2001 through his brother Waheed Olateju Quadri. He told me he is Yinka Quadri’s brother and I was like you have to take me to see him. That was how I started going to Odunfa. I used to go to LTV 8 to see Uncle Alade Aromire back in 2003 at his Yotomi studio. He knew I was in Odunfa but I took him as a brother and because he was a veteran, I learned a lot from him, I pray his gentle soul continues to rest in peace.
What is it like combining acting with a medical career?
Acting is my career and medicine is my job. I have passion for both but acting is my life: Healthcare brings me money, I combine both easily without one affecting the other.
Do you think you can have a break with you
staying abroad?
Yes and I’m not only aiming to become a top shot in Nollywood, I plan to make big movies that will be shot in Los Angeles and I will cast Hollywood actors, I went to NY Film Academy here and most of my colleagues we graduated together have relocated to Los Angeles to start a career.
We do keep in touch and I plan to make an Afro/American film project soon. I hope to cast both Hollywood and Nollywood actors. Acting for me is not all about the country I was born alone but also about the county I live. I’m aiming higher and with God nothing is impossible.
What was your reason for joining a caucus?
Back then, it was necessary to join a caucus. You see, people don’t produce movies then like we do now. Before you can even feature in one movie, you have to really try. It wasn’t coming easy and there were few producers. But now, I do not belong to any caucus. We produce singly, we have marketers and we feature other actors. There are still caucuses and I always and will always represent Odunfa caucus but I don’t belong to any now.
Are you also of the opinion that joining one is the only way to survive in the Yoruba movie industry?
No, I don’t believe that the only way to survive is to join a caucus but it’s good to join one especially if you are just coming up as an artist.
Is Ife Odale your story?
No, it’s not my story but it’s a true life story of what is happening in our society. It is assumed that producers sometimes tell the story of their life through their works. But if they do, they will let the audience know it’s the true life story. Not every story is true life. There are lots of things happening in our society, and there is a lot to write about.
Are you one of the actresses who believe marrying a white man makes their career easy to maintain?
I don’t believe marrying a white man makes life easy abroad; neither does it make a career easy to maintain. Marrying black or white here does not make any difference unless for people marrying the white to get their papers and eventually getting divorced at the end.
Did you pay those you featured in your new movie, or it is the normal norm of exchange, which is popular in the Yoruba sector?
I paid them all, although I cannot finish paying them. Can we finish paying each other? No. The works we do is much but the pay is little, we help each other a lot too, may God bless our hustles.
You also act in English movies too?
Yes, it started from my church. Half of those English movies are produced By COGA Cathedral, and one of the movies was directed by Doyin Hassan and others by reputable Christian movie directors. I’m a devout Christian and a child of God. I’ve featured in other Nollywood English movies as well.
What is your take on those who flaunt their charity works on social media?
It’s good to do charity but not as means of cheap publicity. | http://thenationonlineng.net/men-fear-women-fame-nollywood-actress-adetoun-lamerica/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/c4a06075bbd8b48c503aef330f1c22b9abec9a580db369b0f73faa148e03d0dd.json |
[
"Moses Oludele Idowu",
"Yusuf Mikail"
] | 2016-08-26T18:45:43 | null | 2016-08-25T00:28:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2F2-274b-nnpc-cash-day-reckoning-banks%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Banks-CEO.jpg | en | null | $2.274b NNPC cash: Day of reckoning for banks | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | It is not always that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on banks and other financial institutions. But on Tuesday, the apex bank wielded the big stick against nine banks for failing to remit $2.274 billion belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as required by regulation. COLLINS NWEZE takes feedback from the lenders and examines the implications on their interactions with foreign exchange customers.
BARELY 24 hours after the apex bank announced the suspension of nine banks from Foreign Exchange (forex) market transactions for violating the rules of the game, the management of the affected banks yesterday rose to clear their names.
Their reaction was to save them form the risk of losing priced customers with interest in forex transactions, especially those needing to establish Letters of Credit (LCs) or meet foreign obligations in the coming weeks. No thanks to the indictment by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that nine of the 22 commercial banks breached forex regulations.
An LC is a letter issued by a bank to another bank (especially one in a different country) to serve as a guarantee for payments made to a specified person under specific conditions.
The CBN has a mandate to administer the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Act (1991) as amended. Its sole aim is to ensure high standards of banking practice and financial stability.
This role is achieved through the apex bank’s surveillance activities, as well as the promotion of an efficient payment system. The CBN mandate is derived from the 1958 Act of Parliament, as amended in 2007.
The Act charges the bank with the overall control and administration of the monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.
On Tuesday, the CBN disclosed the identities of the nine deposit money banks (DMBs) that were allegedly hiding over $2.274 billion belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The CBN therefore barred the affected banks from forex market transactions.
According to the regulator, the affected lenders are: United Bank for Africa (UBA) $530 million ; First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) $469 million; Diamond Bank Plc ($287 million); Sterling Bank Plc ($269 million); Skye Bank Plc ($221 million); Fidelity Bank ($209 million); Keystone Bank ($139 million); First City Monument Bank (FCMB) $125 million and Heritage Bank ($85 million).
The Nation learnt that many of the customers of the defaulting banks have been moving to lenders that have the capacity to access CBN’s funds for LCs transactions as they will be constrained in establishing new LCs until the resolution of the issue.
Former Executive Director, Keystone Bank Limited, Richard Obire, said since the affected lenders will not be able to access forex sold by the CBN, it is expected that their prime customers, with significant interest in forex transactions, will have to seek alternative funding from other lenders.
He said the grave implication of staying away from the interbank market for a long time implies that the affected banks may have to pay up quickly, but will have to face further CBN sanctions, that may include fines.
Obire explained that in the interim, there will be loss of revenues for the banks in terms of profits that come from forex spread. Besides, the affected banks will also face further sanctions and penalties from the apex bank as stipulated in the forex guidelines.
“In the short term, loss of revenues for the banks is likely. They will lose forex spread and the CBN will penalize them, when they return the funds. But I think the banks will overcome it quickly. But they will suffer reputational or brand damage,” he said.
However, some of the banks responded yesterday to the forex indictment by the CBN. The FBN said it has been complying with the TSA policy requirements in line with the Federal Government’s directive and that it will continue to remit funds received as and when due.
In a statement, the bank said: “It is pertinent to state here that the referenced NNPC dollar accounts are fully disclosed to the CBN and are being operated in line with the regulatory requirements, whilst tripartite documented discussions have been ongoing between the CBN, NNPC and the Bank on the need for domestic retention of those balances as part of measures to ameliorate challenges posed by the lack of forex availability, and customers inability to source FX to fund their trade finance obligations to the bank.”
The bank reassured its stakeholders that the issue is not a function of concealment or willful non-compliance. “We are confident in our ability to meet and honour all our obligations as and when due and are currently in talks with the CBN and other relevant bodies and are positive of an amicable resolution soonest,” the statement said.
In its own reaction, the First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) said its suspension by the CBN is based on the Treasury Single Account Directive, which stops banks from holding funds on behalf of government entities and instead, make daily remittances to the CBN. For our bank, this scenario is based on our non-payment/transfer of the remaining $125 million NNPC fund with us to TSA.
It said: “As a financial institution with strong corporate governance rules, we have always fully disclosed the outstanding TSA funds in our books and have continued to work assiduously to fulfill our outstanding obligations.
“The members of the NNPC Management Team have been kept fully in the picture on the funds. This development is really because of lack of foreign exchange availability and the prevailing fall in oil prices rather than concealment or willful non-compliance by FCMB. It is actually a widespread industry issue.
“In conjunction with the other institutions, we are working closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria for an amicable and mutually beneficial resolution of this scenario. As an institution, our fundamentals remain strong, our franchise is still growing and we remain firmly committed to our professional values.”
The Diamond Bank Plc also reassured its customers of enhanced quality service delivery and commitment to meet its banking obligations despite the CBN announcement that the bank and eight others have been barred from foreign exchange transactions for alleged infringement on the TSA directive issued by the Federal Government last year.
In a statement, the bank explained that “as a financial institution built on a foundation of sound corporate governance, full disclosure of the outstanding TSA funds were made to the CBN.
“We are currently engaging with relevant stakeholders, with the support of the regulator, to resolve this industry-wide issue quickly.
“Our primary responsibility is to our customers. This development does not affect customers own deposits, both local and those in foreign currency./ It also means that services such as payments – local and international, will go through as normal whenever our customers need to make them./
“Remittance service will continue as normal and customers can transact anywhere in the world, any time of the day, on their mobile application or internet banking.”
In the same vein, the management of Keystone Bank Limited, said: “Our attention has been drawn to media publications to the effect that the CBN has excluded some banks including, Keystone Bank Limited (Keystone) from further participation in the Foreign Exchange Market until the issue of non-remittance of funds belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is resolved.
“We wish to assure you that Keystone has always made full disclosure of outstanding TSA Funds, and had at various times diligently engaged the CBN and relevant stakeholders for resolutions to enable the bank fulfill the TSA obligations in the face of challenging market conditions.
“All our efforts are geared towards very timely resolution as we understand the importance of sourcing foreign exchange for our customers’ needs to support economic growth.”
The bank noted that this development does not adversely affect customers’ existing transactions with it, except that there will be constraints in establishing new LCs until the issue is resolved.
It assured its customers: “We enjoin you, therefore, to continue to patronise Keystone as we remain committed to rendering exceptional service on all our other banking products including best rates on deposits, visa card products, electronic banking and mobile banking transfers among others.”
But the UBA Plc, one of the affected banks, yesterday, said it has been readmitted into the forex market after remitting the fund.
“We are pleased to inform our valued customers, stakeholders and business partners as well as the general public that the CBN has re-admitted us into the Foreign Exchange Market following our remittance of all NNPC/NLNG dollar deposits. UBA wishes to thank you all for your continued support and patronage,” the bank said.
Confirming UBA’s position, CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins, said in a statement that the lender has been cleared.
She said: “Further to the directive of the CBN to all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to return all outstanding unremitted NNPC/NLNG foreign currency, this is to confirm that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has remitted all outstanding NNPC/NLNG deposits in its possession to NNPC’s TSA account at CBN. Accordingly, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has been re-admitted into the Foreign Exchange Market effective Thursday (today), August 25, 2016,” she said.
Reacting, Sterling Bank Plc said: “We consider it necessary to respond to news reports of the suspension from the interbank FX market of nine commercial banks (Sterling Bank included) as widely reported in various media in the last 24 hours.
“According to these accounts, the suspension arose from a failure to disclose and remit certain balances held under the TSA on behalf of an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria. In order to set the records straight, Management wishes to clarify as follows”.
The bank rejected the claim that it failed or neglected to disclose at any time, any sum held on behalf of its clients to the regulatory authorities as such balances were fully captured in the relevant regulatory returns.
It said: “In actual fact, the bank affirms that it went beyond this basic requirement of disclosure and reporting to holding several meetings with the parties involved; while the current situation is a broader sector issue arising from the foreign currency illiquidity in the domestic banking sector, Sterling Bank continues to work with its client and the banking regulator to resolve the situation in the shortest possible time”.
The bank said it had at all times, reported the balances involved to the CBN and at no time concealed or refused to remit the funds as documented in several written correspondences.
“Arising from our continuing efforts in this regard, we have reduced the outstanding sum to the current level within a very short period. As an institution built on the core values of integrity and sound corporate governance, Sterling Bank has always complied with all regulatory and other operating requirements and the TSA regulation is no exception to this proud record,” it said. | http://thenationonlineng.net/2-274b-nnpc-cash-day-reckoning-banks/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/90a71662326e7efaa6fb6ead18b19d32935e6ccc513d679223284c4487f3786d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:55 | null | 2016-08-26T12:05:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffunke-akindele-jjc-skillz-marry-secretly-london%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/funke-akindele.jpg | en | null | Funke Akindele, JJC Skillz marry secretly in London | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/funke-akindele-jjc-skillz-marry-secretly-london/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/1f0d59439d20c9643ada7a8a53238ec0b698ead9789762b0ba3d0a131d162110.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:54 | null | 2016-08-29T19:15:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fdogara-involved-money-laundering-jibrin-alleges%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Yakubu-Dogara.jpg | en | null | Dogara involved in money laundering, Jibrin alleges | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/dogara-involved-money-laundering-jibrin-alleges/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/39134edd23e3763b037cdf822f17b3751a4e4109e323836309bf24882c86d1ab.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T19:38:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2F25-3-million-nigerians-school-fg%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | 25.3 million Nigerians out of school - FG | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/25-3-million-nigerians-school-fg/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e312dee764f4377f695fd0a56ad7dfe1a842071e1de027f6c7af2c85b9241171.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:58:51 | null | 2016-08-26T11:40:24 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fekiti-dam-victims-not-world-bank-officials-agency%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Ekiti Dam victims not World Bank officials | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/ekiti-dam-victims-not-world-bank-officials-agency/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/d9f77aece5af66d569ce7326e35852f46e050e39bff03ffdf741f363f339b928.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:46 | null | 2016-08-30T00:09:59 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffed-govt-earns-n677-8b-second-quarter-says-cbn%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CBN-Governor-Godwin-Emefiele1.jpg | en | null | Fed Govt earns N677.8b in second quarter, says CBN | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | FACTS AND FIGURES
•Forex inflow $5.89b
•Forex outflow $6.09b
•Banks’ assets/liabilities $31.23tr
•Non-oil export dropped 20.4%
•Inflation rate 16.5%
Federal Government retained revenue for the second quarter of this year stood at N677.88 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Economic Report for the second quarter released yesterday said.
According to the report, the figure is above the receipts in the preceding quarter by 34.2 per cent, but lower than the quarterly budget estimate by 33 per cent.
The Federation Account accounted for 47.7 per cent of the total revenue. “Other Oil Revenue”, Federal Government Independent Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Refund and Exchange Gain accounted for 30.0 per cent, 14.9 per cent, 4.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent.
Provisional data indicated that Federal Government expenditure for the second quarter stood at N1.76 trillion, which was above the provisional quarterly budget estimate and the level at the end of the preceding quarter by 12.8 and 58.1 per cent. This was attributed, mainly, to the rise in both recurrent and capital expenditure.
A breakdown of the expenditure showed that the recurrent component accounted for 72.6 per cent. Capital and statutory transfers constituted 19.8 per cent and 7.6 per cent.
Of the recurrent expenditure, the non-debt component represented 73.4 per cent. Debt service payments accounted for the balance of 26.6 per cent.
The fiscal operations of the Federal Government thus, resulted in an estimated deficit of N1.09 trillion, indicating an increase of 96.4 per cent above the provisional quarterly budget deficit of N555.49 billion.
The CBN data also showed that foreign exchange inflow and outflow through the apex bank amounted to $5.89 billion and $6.09 billion, resulting in a net outflow of US$0.20 billion.
Foreign exchange sales by the CBN to the authorised dealers amounted to $4.31 billion. The average exchange rate of the naira against the dollar at the inter-bank was N209.13 to dollar.
Also, assets and liabilities of the commercial banks stood at N31.23 trillion, at the end of the preceding quarter of 2016, representing an increase of 9.6 per cent over the level at the end of the preceding quarter.
The funds were sourced, mainly, from time, savings and foreign currency deposits, foreign liabilities and unclassified liabilities. The funds were used mainly to increase claims on private sector, acquire foreign and unclassified assets.
The CBN’s credit to the commercial banks rose by 34.2 per cent to N1,041.73 billion.
Banks’ specified liquid assets stood at N6.53 trillion, representing 34.9 per cent of their total current liabilities.
The gross external reserves, the report said, stood $26.51 billion, showing a decline of three per cent and 6.5 per cent, compared with the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2015. The development, relative to the preceding quarter, was due to increased sales of foreign exchange at the interbank market.
“A breakdown of the official external reserves showed that CBN reserves stood at $19.44 billion (73.3 per cent), Federation reserves, $2.45 billion (9.3 per cent), and the Federal Government reserves, $4.61 billion,” it said.
Provisional data showed that total non-oil export earnings stood at $576.97 million, fell by 43.2 per cent, below the level in the preceding quarter. The development, relative to the preceding quarter, was attributed mainly to the significant decline in receipts from manufactured and food products as well as minerals export.
“A breakdown by sectors showed that proceeds from the export of agricultural, minerals, industrial, manufactured products, food products and transport sectors stood at $196.87 million, $185.51 million, $84.34 million, $79.44 million, $30.68 million and $0.12 million respectively.
The percentage shares of agricultural, minerals, industrial, manufactured products, food products and transport sectors in the total non-oil export proceeds were 34.1 per cent, 32.2 per cent, 14.6 per cent, 13.8 per cent, 5.3 per cent and 0.02 per cent, respectively, the CBN said.
The invisible sector accounted for the bulk (34.1 per cent) of total foreign exchange disbursed , followed by the industrial sub-sector (22.5 per cent). The contributions of other sectors in a descending order included: minerals and oil sub-sector (23.3 per cent), manufactured products (11.3 per cent), food products (6.3 per cent), transport sector (1.7 per cent) and agricultural products (0.8 per cent).
The report said crude oil export stood at 1.09 million barrel per day (mbd) or 100.28 mb. This represented a decline of 20.4 per cent, compared with 1.37 mbd or 124.67 mb, recorded in the preceding quarter. It said supply disruptions owing to continued attacks on oil installations by vandals accounted for the decline in crude oil production.
It said the inflation rate at the end of the review quarter, on a year-on-year basis, was 16.5 per cent, compared with 12.8 and 9.2 per cent in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2015, respectively. On a 12-month moving average basis, the inflation rate was 11.4 per cent, indicating a 1.6 percentage points increase, above the level recorded in the preceding quarter. | http://thenationonlineng.net/fed-govt-earns-n677-8b-second-quarter-says-cbn/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b55a743a164ae7aaae6815441b7ed8eea499d098b5b8730d617b3dfeae970f60.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T02:46:29 | null | 2016-08-31T00:02:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnba-magu-lawyers-not-rogues%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Magu-copy.jpg | en | null | NBA to Magu: lawyers are not rogues | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | THE Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has faulted a statement credited to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, describing lawyers as rogues.
The NBA, in a statement yesterday by its General Secretary, Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, demanded a retraction from Magu.
Olagunju accused Magu of sounding uncivilised by referring to lawyers, who are performing their professional and constitutional roles, as “rogues” and “vultures”.
He advised the EFCC to get its facts correctly before reaching conclusions and making comments.
“The inaugural address of the NBA president was a statement of nearly 30 pages, which set out the vision and direction of his programmes for the Nigerian legal profession.
“He committed himself to leading a brave new Bar fully aligned with the aspirations of Nigerians in their quest for national development, which can only be anchored on the rule of law built on strong institutions.
“In the paragraph of the statement dealing with corruption, the NBA president restated the commitment of the NBA in the fight against corruption.
“He commended the modest achievement of the EFCC, but called for the reform of the agency to enhance its capability to deliver on its mandate on a consistent and sustainable basis devoid of political interference and on the basis of well-established institutional safeguard that demands proper regulation of the wide discretionary power involved in the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters.
“The NBA condemns in the strongest term the use of abusive and uncivil language of ‘rogues and vultures ‘ and such structures by the public authority. Name calling and abusive language are not expected of any public institution. They are unacceptable. The NBA demands unequivocal withdrawal of these statements and unreserved apology from the EFCC,” Olagunju said.
Magu was quoted as saying the body of lawyers was populated by rogues and vultures, in reaction to a suggestion by the NBA president, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), that EFCC be restructured.
The EFCC chair, who spoke through the commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said the call by Mahmoud was self-serving. | http://thenationonlineng.net/nba-magu-lawyers-not-rogues/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/9e800a773f5582a82bbb8934591512dd2b42531484ba87be02160b5816b190f8.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T00:06:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Frep-urges-fed-govt-stimulate-economy-e-procurement%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/President-Muhammadu-Buhari-e1471116429573.jpg | en | null | Rep urges Fed Govt to stimulate economy with e-procurement | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The National Assembly said President Muhammadu Buhari could actually use the electronic procurement, or e-procurment system to stimulate economic development of the country instaed of seeking emergency powers to do so.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Procurement, Dr Oluwole Oke, who stated thi while addressing a gathering of professional procurement officers in Abuja, however said Buhari’s request for emergency economic powers can be robustly tackled with the e-procurement system.
“This is the best time to look into e-public procurements in Nigeria because we are in recession. The economy must be stimulated through increased public spending. The Federal Government has pledged to roll out stimulus package, but this move alone will not sufficiently address the economic challenges we are facing,” he said.
Oke said the good intentions of the government “can only succeed if it meets the expected mandate. Time is of the essence, this is where e-procurement comes in.
“We need not be scared, countries that have refined their procurement systems have introduced e-procurement, or digital procurement and this has reduced procurement cost, improved administrative efficiency, streamlined processes, minimised corruption, enhanced superb benchmarking in the selection of most competent suppliers and bidders and excellent value for money.
“There are ongoing amendments to the current procurement laws in both chambers and I can confirm that the public hearing has been concluded by the House of Representatives and the proposals for the procurement bill have been sent to relevant committees of the National Assembly,” he stated.
Oke agued that one of the basic tools that Buhari needs to humble corruption is the Procurement Act. “We have been hearing that some people are toying with the idea of emergency powers so that they can fast-track procurement processes in Nigeria. What you need to do this is e-procurement. It is a practice that has been adopted across the globe and it has worked. So, all Mr. President needs to resuscitate the economy and to humble corruption in the public sector is to deploy the procurement laws,” he said.
He lamented that the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) has no council. “A council should be inaugurated. Thank God the Act is undergoing review in the House. If there are views or areas those who are thinking of emergency powers for Mr. President, want us to address, now they have the opportunity to do so,” he said.
Oke stated that “if e-procurement is adopted, you are going to maximise your gains by minimising the cost. Then, you are going to eliminate substantially corruption because everybody can see through the window. Manpower will be saved, because it is going to be auto. We are going to identify procurers and suppliers at best prices across the globe. The issue of members of the executive or people working in one ministry or agency shortchanging Nigerians will no longer be there.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/rep-urges-fed-govt-stimulate-economy-e-procurement/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/a3777483a192f4edb856c3266ed55a22270fb300660b2f5779e6a36aa1bf791d.json |
[
"Onyebuchi Ikekamma"
] | 2016-08-26T14:45:45 | null | 2016-08-26T00:45:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fherdsmen-kill-catholic-priest-enugu%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Herdsmen.jpg | en | null | Herdsmen kill Catholic priest in Enugu | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Suspected herdsmen yesterday attacked a community in Enugu, killing one person and injuring four others, among them an expectant woman who was reportedly stabbed in the stomach.
Attakwu Akegbe Ugwu community in Nkanu West council area – not far from Enugu metropolis – was attacked at dawn by the herdsmen.
It was the second attack, after the one at Nimbo. Nine people were buried following that attack. A judicial commission of enquiry set up by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has just submitted a preliminary report on the attack.
In yesterday’s incident, four persons including the husband of the expectant woman, are critically injured, undergoing treatment at the Park Lane Hospital and the Mother of Christ Hospital in Enugu.
A Catholic Church seminarian, Lazarus Nwafor, who on Wednesday completed his apostolic work at the local church, was killed.
Ugwuanyi and the Catholic bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Callistus Onaga, visited the community.
They were conducted round the scene of the attack by Hon. Afam Okeke, chairman of Nkanu West Local Council.
According to the villagers’ account, the herdsmen, believed to be Fulani, invaded a family compound with their cows which destroyed crops and property.
A woman in the compound raised the alarm and chased away the cows by sounding a gong. The cows went in various directions on hearing the sound. They are said to be averse to the sound of a gong.
This reportedly did not go down well with the herdsmen who challenged the woman. They were said to have threatened to retaliate. They raided the compound at about 2am.
They reportedly climbed the ceiling from where they jumped into the rooms, using machetes and daggers to attack the occupants, including the seminarian.
The herdsmen were said to have escaped unhurt and when the community’s men stormed their makeshift camp, they were all gone with their belongings.
Ugwuanyi told members of the Atakwu community that enough was enough on the herdsmen’s attacks. He said he would no longer fold his arms while people were being killed.
He said the people would henceforth do everything to defend themselves.
The governor expressed regrets that the attack happened in spite of doing everything to ensure that the Nimbo attack was the last.
In a statement later, Ugwuanyi said: “I received the report of an attack by suspected herdsmen in the Attakwu community during which one person-a seminarian – was killed and four others injured.
“Even though the Police are still conducting investigation into the matter, I hasten to condemn this act in the strongest terms and its entirety for government cannot tolerate the wanton destruction of lives anywhere in Enugu State by anyone or group under any guise whatsoever.
“I have already summoned a meeting with the Fulani community and the security agencies in Enugu State this afternoon to review the situation and determine the appropriate actions to be taken.
“It is indeed unfortunate that this incident is coming just days after the Commission of Inquiry into the killings at Nimbo submitted an interim report and is about to conclude its assignment.
“I wish on behalf of the State Government, to express my sympathies to the family of the deceased, I assure them that Government will do everything necessary to ensure that the culprits are apprehended and brought to book while we take care of the medical bills of the injured persons.
“I want to reassure all citizens of the State of the unwavering commitment of Government to ensuring the security in every corner of the state. We will continue to take necessary and adequate measures to protect the lives and property of our people and ensure that anyone or group of people found to be engaging in acts that threaten peace and security in the state, will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”
Enugu State Police Commissioner Emmanuel Ojukwu sympathised with family of the victims and the community.
A statement by police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said: “Security made up of personnel of riot policemen, Counter Terrorism Unit as well as operatives of the Homicide Section of the State Criminal and Investigation Department, Enugu have been deployed to the area to ward off any breakdown of law and order.”
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu condemned the attack.
In a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu said: “This is another heartbreak, not only for Enugu State, but the nation in general; and whatever evil forces behind these reprehensible acts certainly do not wish the country well.
”It must not be condoned; the primary objective of government is the welfare and security of the citizens.”
“The Federal Government must take decisive steps to put a full stop to this wanton destruction of lives and property; and the security agencies must do everything humanly possible to ensure that the perpetrators of this act of wickedness in Akagbe-Ugwu do not go unpunished.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/herdsmen-kill-catholic-priest-enugu/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4701bca65f02577d6e6229853489d014f0f0f0733b6391f643aa60b984384783.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:48:43 | null | 2016-08-29T17:22:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fondo-guber-poll-buhari-no-preferred-candidate-sgf%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/sgf-lawal.jpg | en | null | Ondo guber poll: Buhari has no preferred candidate | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Raw Story of Ngozi! The Lady that Got Rid of Fibroids Without Surgery
4:11 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/ondo-guber-poll-buhari-no-preferred-candidate-sgf/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/69f8aec0062883514d67a15775e79a3fbb6810933dd836a6612247f94ffcaf5a.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:47 | null | 2016-08-27T01:29:47 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fkogi-governor-stoned-lokoja%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/download-9.jpg | en | null | Kogi Governor stoned in Lokoja | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Unidentified people yesterday pelted Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State with pebbles and rotten tomatoes_ _as he emerged from the Lokoja Central Mosque in the state capital where he observed the Jumat prayer.
The protesters also chanted anti-government slogans,according to Premium Times.
But the police quickly stepped in and dispersed the crowd with teargas.
It was not immediately clear what could have sparked the protest.
However,Premium Times quoted a source as saying:“The situation in this state is even worse than what the residents are doing. The situation is pathetic.”
It was gathered that the governor had earlier been similarly attacked two weeks ago at Ankpa.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Kingsley Fanwo,denied that Bello was attacked although he admitted that “some sponsored miscreants caused a mild drama as they were caught with stones while one of them attacked one of the security aides of the Governor.”
Fanwo in a statement said: “Our attention has been drawn to the unfortunate incident, which occurred during the Jumaat Prayer at the Lokoja Central Mosque to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the creation of Kogi State.
“It was discovered that some sponsored miscreants caused a mild drama as they were caught with stones while one of them attacked one of the security aides of the Governor.
“The gallant market women at the Lokoja Old Market accosted the perpetrators and stopped them from absconding from the scene in solidarity with the Governor._
“The Governor wishes to thank the market women and security agencies, who rose to the occasion to protect lives and property at the scene of the unfortunate incident. No life was lost and no serious injury was recorded.
“We can also confirm that arrests have been made and those arrested are already giving useful information to security agents investigating the politically motivated attack at the Mosque.
“Governor Yahaya Bello has also urged his supporters to remain calm and not take the law into their hands as he remained committed to the cardinal ideals of his administration. Imported and sponsored miscreants, who have infiltrated the state from neighbouring states should know that Kogi is prepared to protect her citizens from desperate politicians who think they can turn the state to a war zone. The people of Kogi will be protected.
“We are not unaware of scheming by change resistors to sponsor attacks against government officials. “The staff verification exercise has come to stay because it has exposed powerful forces, who have been milking the state dry. Sponsoring attacks against the Governor will not stop our march to restore sanity to the polity.
“The administration of Governor Yahaya Bello will soon publish the names of corrupt citizens of the state who are behind the Ghost Workers syndrome.
“Governor Yahaya Bello thanks the people of the state for standing resolutely behind his administration to restore the lost glory of the state.
“We know some failed politicians who have been jolted by the giant strides of the Governor are holding on the last straw. We remain undaunted and committed to the development of the State.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/kogi-governor-stoned-lokoja/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2c437677807360769b070d4bcb5e89ea9b88590098d91d334ba9ac1370ef2586.json |
[
"Isaac Akindipe",
"New Nigeria",
"Onyekwelu Okonta"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:26 | null | 2016-08-24T00:07:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-uncover-shallow-graves-pastors-home%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ADEYEMI-5-1.jpg | en | null | Shallow grave found in Lagos pastor’s home | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | •Police deepen probe
The police in Lagos yesterday claimed that shallow graves were discovered at the residence of 70-year-old Prophet Emmanuel Adeyemi arrested for chaining his son and 27 others.
Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni who confirmed the allegation said the place was raided following a tip-off that the suspect traded human parts to ritualists.
He claimed that Adeyemi who was arrested alongside his first wife on Friday, buried some dead persons in the swamps and three others at his residence.
Owoseni said: “We got a tip-off that they were people he buried in that compound and he confirmed it during interrogation.
“Because the area is swampy, the suspect had allegedly buried some people in the swamp and about three others in the house.
“When we asked him of their identities he said it was some of his patients that were brought to his home from the hospital, after they were given up for dead, who finally died in his care and were buried in the swamp.
“When we also queried him on the claims that he used the body parts of the deceased to sell to ritualists, he swore that he was only a traditional healer and not a human parts seller.”
Owoseni said Adeyemi was earlier invited for questioning after it was discovered that he put his son in chains.
The Commissioner said the suspect claimed he chained the teenager, Toba Adedoyin Adeyemi in order to cure him from stealing.
He said: “When we got information that a teenager was locked up in a house, the area G Commander invited the suspect, who claimed that his son was known for stealing and so he locked him up in chains to cure him of stealing.
“While we were still on that case, we got another credible tip off that there were other people chained up in that same house. Of course, we carried out a raid and confirmed the allegation to be true.
“But before then, we had contacted the Lagos State Government because we don’t have the facility to keep the rescued persons. His claims now that he was arrested is that he is a herbalist, but why didn’t he tell us that when we first invited him to the station over locking up his stepson? He only told us that he wanted to cure his son of stealing.”
It was gathered that one of the victims who was feeble and had sores was currently on admission at a hospital, while the others were moved to the state rehabilitation centre. | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-uncover-shallow-graves-pastors-home/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5fa1af49b39190bf2b56927db6baecae930edfb7d5de7c36c25a59f29c686f71.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:48:45 | null | 2016-08-29T00:06:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fambode-gives-contractor-december-deadline-road-projects%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ambode.jpg | en | null | Ambode gives contractor December deadline on road projects | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has ordered contractors working on multi-faceted expansion projects at the ever busy Berger Bus Stop on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to work day and night to ensure completion by December.
He spoke at the weekend when he carried out extensive inspection of on-going projects across the state.
The governor said the directive became imperative in view of the strategic importance of the axis being the major gateway to the state.
The expansion projects at Berger include the construction of about 700 metres slip road through which traffic outward Lagos-Ibadan Expressway can connect Omole Phase Two, Magodo Phase One and Olowoora.
The road, which was designed with drainage channels, sidewalks and street light, is about six metres wide and can conveniently accommodate two vehicles at a time.
Apart from the pedestrian bridge, which has been completed, there are also expanded lay-bys and reservation areas at both sides of the Berger Bus Stop to facilitate easy pulling off of commercial and private vehicles from the main expressway.
Massive road improvement, construction of lay-by and reservation projects are equally on-going under the bridge.
Ambode, who was accompanied by his top officials, also ordered the construction of iron barricade under the newly completed pedestrian bridge to compel usage so as to achieve its main purpose of saving lives and facilitating free flow of traffic.
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Ganiyu Johnson, who briefed the governor on the work done so far on the Berger projects, said the projects, upon completion, will give Berger a new befitting look and ensure permanent removal of gridlock hitherto associated with the area.
“The idea is that we should have a reservation area for our commercial buses and also a reservation area on top. In the phase one of it, we have on both sides about 200 metres of reservation area. For instance, vehicles coming from upland and wanting to discharge passengers have been accommodated as we have cleared the road further down and we have about three to four base underneath the bridge.
“We have also improved Wakati Adura, Ijaye Road and Isheri Road in such a way that there will not be any traffic gridlock anymore by the time we complete this project and there will be a free flow of traffic around the whole place. We are also moving the roundabout at PWC forward a little bit to Wakati Adura area and channelise the place just to improve traffic flow,” Johnson said.
The governor also inspected the newly completed lay-by at Car Wash Bus Stop in Oworonsoki, which made it a total of four modern lay-bys constructed in Oworonsoki axis by the Ambode administration.
Ambode inspected the on-going construction of 1.65-kilometre slip road from Olopomeji in Oworonsoki to Ifako with under pass through which vehicles can make U-turn back to either Lagos Island or Oshodi through Gbagada and others. | http://thenationonlineng.net/ambode-gives-contractor-december-deadline-road-projects/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/36ae7c75ef5d3fb1bb4e04c02e19f4fe261673f8506655731f515b203c401ee9.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T19:54:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmilitary-lacks-power-declare-civilians-wanted-falana%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Femi-Falana.jpg | en | null | The military lacks power to declare civilians wanted-Falana | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/military-lacks-power-declare-civilians-wanted-falana/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/50d3d657015484233c4e48fcb094f8445e35b8f2562b38a06a0ae46628ba7227.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:48:58 | null | 2016-08-30T15:32:14 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpdp-sues-judges-leadership-crisis%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/1198453728editor_Former_Governor_of_Kaduna_State_Senator_Ahmed_Makarfi-e1463865354198.jpg | en | null | PDP sues judges over leadership crisis | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/pdp-sues-judges-leadership-crisis/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/871dc949f2a062a1b63da8d6d3351b2e40a0b7b0d142b99a7dd448799a3ecfb9.json |
[
"Olu Summer"
] | 2016-08-31T06:46:33 | null | 2016-08-31T00:02:55 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fabraham-good-apc-party-leaders%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Ondo-APC-1.jpg | en | null | Why Abraham is good for APC, by party leaders | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | TWO leaders of Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Taiwo Malumi and Dr. Paul Akintelure, have explained why a governorship aspirant in Saturday’s primary, Olusegun Abraham, will pick the party’s governorship ticket for the November poll.
They spoke last weekend while addressing APC delegates at the Igbokoda headquarters of Ilaje Local Government.
Malumi said the Ikare-born technocrat and businessman is “a square peg in a square hole”, who will sustain the party’s progressive stance.
The party’s senatorial leader said statewide acceptance of Abraham showed that he would win with high margin as the APC flagbearer.
His words: “Our party prides itself on singling out the best heads for positions of responsibility. And, as far as Ondo is concerned, its economy is in need of someone who can produce results based on evident economic experience. Abraham is a successful businessman, who will get the best deals that will profit Ilaje and Ondo.
“I do not support losers. I’ve known him for a while. I know he also doubles as a technocrat with the highest hands-on experience and professionalism among the aspirants, at a level sufficient enough to use what we have in our state to transform Ondo to the Amsterdam of Africa. We must vote for him, and with the acceptance the state has given him, I’m sure he will win by a wide margin”, Malumi stated.
Akintelure, another leader in the neighbouring Okitipupa Local Government and a fellow aspirant who stepped down for Abraham, said what Ondo needs “is politics of economy, not politics of power”.
He added this is why most delegates are embracing the Abraham option ahead of the Saturday primary election.
Akintelure added: “I am a medical doctor with diverse interests in other sectors, such as agriculture, human capacity development, and hospitality and I understand this exigent need for states to diversify in this era of dwindling oil fortunes to stay afloat.
“That is why I bow to the talent in this guy, Olusegun Abraham, he is a perfect fit for the task at hand in Ondo. He has proven his worth at excelling in business and infrastructure in and outside Nigeria. He has the needed amount of exposure to unlock our blessings in Ondo
“To be honest, I believe all the aspirants who showed an interest to bear our party’s flag are competent. But considering the scale of preference of priorities in Ondo, one would naturally and with wisdom select the Abraham option. The priorities in Ondo include wealth creation, job creation and a sustainable economy. Abraham has the highest level of experience in this regard and it explains why our national leaders and most delegates embrace him.”
Akintelure berated some of the party members who are displeased by the stream of endorsements Abraham got so far.
“We must condemn this hypocrisy and charlatan politicking depicted by those against valid endorsement of an aspirant, all of us at one point or the other sought these endorsements for our aspiration.
“Why then cry foul when there is none? The fact remains that we have to present our strongest candidate to successfully unseat this monster PDP government in Ondo State, and judging by this overwhelming acceptance so far, I believe Abraham will win by a wide margin on Saturday.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/abraham-good-apc-party-leaders/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/688c7496816da78753513fcf02f02558af094a1097f11964ff404de9714bcc2d.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:49:01 | null | 2016-08-31T00:08:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fboko-haram-kids-battle-malnutrition-idps-camp%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cc-1.jpg | en | null | Boko Haram: Kids battle malnutrition in IDPs camp | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Children who escaped the terror of Boko Haram are now facing starvation in Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camps.
The youngsters, some of them only infants, are being treated in a feeding centre run by Doctors Without Borders in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, according to a report by The Mail of London.
Up to one in four of the youngsters in the 110-bed centre are dying, Doctors Without Borders spokeswoman Shaista Aziz was quoted by the newspaper in a report published yesterday.
Most of the children were brought from the IDPs camps, she added.
Parents living in the camps complain that there is not enough food, and when it does arrive, it is insubstantial.
Dr Natalie Roberts, deputy emergency desk manager for the medical aid group, said the feeding programme in Maiduguri “has quadrupled in size in the last weeks, but each time it expands it becomes rapidly full’.
In one camp, Muna Garage, 20 children under the age of five died in a single week.
At Farm Centre Camp, on Maiduguri’s outskirts, residents said they had received no food in more than one month.
They and displaced persons at other camps said that when they do get meals, it consists only of rice and beans. They get one shovelful a day – literally delivered from a shovel – whether a household has six people or 12, they said. | http://thenationonlineng.net/boko-haram-kids-battle-malnutrition-idps-camp/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4f3c81a878191c00e8ca58f8faca6407fd992590ad886c6caedb170d3c77e6d5.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:48:39 | null | 2016-08-29T00:09:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffloods-13-hours-rains-pound-lagos%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Flood-1.jpg | en | null | Floods as 13 hours rains pound Lagos | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | •Properties destroyed
Homes and roads were yesterday flooded in many parts of Lagos as a 13-hour rain pounded the city.
The Southwest witnessed one of the heaviest rains in recent times. It destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
From Osun to Ogun and Lagos states, the torrential rain, which started on Saturday night, lashed cities and towns non-stop.
Many vehicles were stalled on the roads as parts of Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital, were flooded.
From Ilasamaja to Ojuelegba, Mushin, Agege Motor Road, Iyana-Ipaja and Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, the roads were flooded.
Residents of highbrow areas of Victoria Island, Lekki and Ajah were not spared .
Many houses in Surulere were flooded. Residents were seen scooping water out of their homes.
Many commuters were stranded due to heavy traffic caused by the flood.
Agege Motor road from Ladipo to Ikeja along was worst-hit.
The intensity of the flood left many motorists in fears.
Many of the property destroyed by the accompanying flood affected Lagos, more than other states but there was no report of death or of collapsed building, according to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), whose men were deployed across the state in response to emergency calls by citizens.
LASEMA General Manager Michael Akindele, said the Agency’s Emergency Response Teams were sent out to assess the affected areas to avert worst disaster.
He noted that the flood was accentuated by blockage of some of the major drainages in the affected areas advised Lagosians not to panic but ensure they clear the drainage in their neighbourhood to allow free flow of water.
In its situation report, LASEMA said: “The Agency received several distress calls regarding flooding activities which seriously affected some areas in the state as a result of the heavy downpour that started last night (Saturday) at about 8.40 pm.
“Several streets in Oworonshoki, Ifako, Ikorodu and Lekki axis were seriously affected by the heavy downpour.”
“Many properties and items worth several millions of naira were also damaged, but no life was loss or collapse of any building.
“The Affected street around the Oworo axis include: Fasas Ojomu,Ogunyomi, Aabiola, Akewusola, Adebanmwo, Unity, Oduduwa, Agberin, among others, While Hassan Street in Owutu (Ikorodu) and other areas were affected in the Ikorodu axis.
In a statement, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment Dr. Babatunde Adejare, urged the people to remain calm saying that necessary steps had been taken to avert flood disaster.
He said the government had in recent times carried out intensive tour of some flood prone communities in the state to clear blocked drainages and canals.
The commissioner wondered why any right thinking person would be dumping refuse on water courses and drainages created for free flow of storm water, saying the numerous campaigns against such practice was in the interest of the residents.
“Canal is a storm water channel for the conveyance of storm runoffs, they are God’s natural protection for holding water during massive flood and it is not a place for anybody to build a house or dump refuse. Those in the habit of doing such must stop henceforth,” Adejare said.
He warned that the government would no longer tolerate the building of illegal structures along channel right of ways in the state.
Adejare urged residents living on wetlands and flood prone areas to be cautious and careful, urging them to limit their movement if possible and to move to higher ground if need be. | http://thenationonlineng.net/floods-13-hours-rains-pound-lagos/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5d7a14ffd13dd3651ec734b1a2ef0e8ff25afe1634168a29ceec6855015941d3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:56 | null | 2016-08-26T00:16:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpadding-dogara-others-jibrin%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Abdulmumin.jibrin-e1469573301516.jpg | en | null | Padding: 'Why Dogara, others are after me, by Jibrin | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Ex-Chairman, House of Representatives’ Appropriation Committee Abdulmumin Jibrin yesterday explained why the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers sought his expulsion.
Jibrin said he attracted the wrath of the leadership when, as chair of the Appropriation Committee, he rejected alleged proposals by Dogara and others to corner about N90 billion to themselves from the 2016 budget.
He made the claim in a fresh document at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in furtherance of his suit, seeking to, among others, restrain the House from suspending him.
Defendants are the House of Representatives; Clerk of the House; Dogara; Yusuf Lasun, Dogara’s deputy; Alhassan Ado Doguwa; Leo Ogor; Herman Hembe; Umar Mohammed Bago; Zakari Mohammed; Chike Okafor; Dan Asuquo; Jagaba Adams; Haliru Jika and Uzoma Abonta.
In the document filed yesterday, Jibrin, an All Progressives Congress (APC) legislator, representing Kiru/Bebeji in Kano State, said he had conflicts with the House leadership because he rejected their unlawful directives.
He said in the document – a counter-affidavit – deposed to on his behalf by his lawyer, Nura Abdulrrahman, that one of such instances was his “refusal to admit into the budget about N30 billion.
“His refusal to cover up the decision of the third to fourteenth defendants’ (Dogara and others’) unilateral decision to allocate to themselves N40 billion of the N100 billion allocated to the National Assembly, in addition to what he (Jibrin) considered as wasteful projects of over N20 billion to the third to fourteenth defendants’ constituencies.
“Even when he (Jibrin) had given the defendants/respondents, especially the third (Dogara) statistics of 2,000 new projects introduced into the Appropriation Bill by less than 10 committee members, the third defendant took no decision or corrective.
“When the inflation of the budget became a matter of public interest and controversy, the defendant, especially the third to fourteenth, started taking measures to avoid responsibility and to place the issue on the shoulders of the plaintiff to use him (Jibrin) as a scapegoat,” Abdulrrahman said.
Jibrin denied claims by Dogara that he (the plaintiff) was removed as chair of the Appropriation Committee, saying he resigned, and informed Dogara on July 20, 2016.
Against the defendants’ claim that they were not planning to suspend Jibrin, and that the House did not intend to reconvene before the end of its vacation, Jibrin said Dogara and others were plotting to reopen the House and suspend him.
He urged the court to proceed to determine his case and grant his reliefs, including a declaration that the defendants’ decision at a meeting of August 3, 2016, to suspend the plaintiff without a fair hearing is unlawful.
Jibrin also seeks a declaration that the defendants should comply with sections 49, 54, 56 and 60 of the 199 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House, regulating its sitting, procedure and other matters.
Dogara and others have, in the notice of preliminary objection filed on Tuesday, urged the court to decline jurisdiction to hear the case and strike it out on the grounds that the suit showed “no reasonable cause of action.”
Clerk of the Appropriation Committee Dr. Abel Ochigbo faulted Jibrin’s claims, saying there was no plan to suspend him and that no meeting was held to that effect.
Ochigbo, who deposed to the affidavit supporting the defendants’ objection, said all that was done in the process leading to passage of the budget was within the law.
He added that since the budget has become law, nobody could query steps taken by the lawmakers.
“The 2016 Appropriation Act was duly passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President. The issue of any officer of the House taking any decisive action against any particular member or members does not arise as the Appropriation Bill has now become the Appropriation Act’’.
“The issue of inflation of the 2016 budget does not arise as the Appropriation Bill was passed by the House of Representatives pursuant to powers vested in the House by the Constitution and in line with the Standing Orders of the House.
“The Bill was duly certified pursuant to the provisions of the Acts Authentication Act before it was duly assented to by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is now being executed as an Act of the National Assembly.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/padding-dogara-others-jibrin/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/0558b27a7060b467c84af437535a5d51028d23c3b076789ee57d13e12cd986ab.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:48:58 | null | 2016-08-30T20:28:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnigeria-uk-sign-mou-return-stolen-assets%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Abubakar-Malami-1.jpg | en | null | Nigeria, UK sign MoU on return of stolen assets | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-uk-sign-mou-return-stolen-assets/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/87d4c0b516af2f0c3ac404e47a36ba5844a288a1df968f21d86840ef9c4f3641.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:48:32 | null | 2016-08-28T16:46:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Flagos-reads-riot-act-owners-illegal-structures-street-hawkers%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Mr-Tunji-Bello.jpg | en | null | Lagos reads riot act to owners of illegal structures, street hawkers | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Ease of doing business: Nigeria will be top 100 countries by 2019, says Buhari
2:57 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/lagos-reads-riot-act-owners-illegal-structures-street-hawkers/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/d952418133fa42baf87257c824cb50748be5e897362fcc5f569da80677fe1767.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:48:38 | null | 2016-08-29T00:07:14 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fn5b-capital-market-development-fund-coming%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SEC-copy.jpg | en | null | N5b capital market development fund coming | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning a N5 billion Capital Market Development Fund (NCMDF) to promote infrastructural development of the capital market.
A source said the regulator would provide the cash to demonstrate its commitment to the special fund.
Earlier, SEC provided N5 billion initial capital for the Nigerian Investor Protection Fund (NIPF).
The source said the NCMDF was conceived as a trustfund to enhance the development of the market.
The source added that the proposal for the NCMDF to take custody of statute-barred and unclaimed dividends of 12 years and above was part of efforts to ensure that the seemingly “free funds” were put to the collective use of the market to enhance future returns to investors, adding that the NCMDF will be managed by a board and an independent fund manager without interference from SEC.
SEC had last week launched the plan for NCMDF. In a circular to capital market stakeholders, the regulator called for a consideration of a new rule that will set up the NCMDF, which will take custody of all unclaimed dividends that are 12 years old and above. SEC estimates unclaimed dividends to be about N80 billion, with nearly half of the money unclaimed for years.
Under the laws, unclaimed dividends will remain available for collection by beneficiaries up till 12 years when they become statute-barred and are returned to the companies that paid them. The rule seeks to change the return of the unclaimed dividends to companies that issued the dividends.
According to SEC’s proposed “rule on application of 12 years and above unclaimed dividends”, companies and registrars in custody of dividends which remain unclaimed by shareholders 12 years after the date of declaration or subsequently attain the 12 years threshold shall upon the coming into effect of this rule transfer such monies into the Nigerian Capital Market Development Fund (NCMDF).
“All companies and registrars shall not later than 30 days after the end of every calendar year forward to the Commission a report of unclaimed dividends in their custody, which shall specify compliance with Sub Rule (1) of this Rule. Companies shall disclose details of compliance with this Rule in their annual reports,” SEC stated.
Major retail shareholders’ groups have risen against the plan to return statute-barred unclaimed dividends to NCMDF, describing it as a ploy to divert private funds into the control of the regulator.
Shareholders’leaders across the groups said they would resist the transfer of statute-barred unclaimed dividends to any NCMDF, describing the plan as a wrong move and a volte face from the recent campaign by SEC for the removal of the 12-year limit to enable shareholders and their beneficiaries collect their dividends at any time.
Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) National Coordinator, Sir Sunny Nwosu, said his group would mobilise shareholders to resist what he described as “very offensive” attempt to take their private monies.
Shareholders’ activist and Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA) Co-founder, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, said the plan would lead to corruption and discourage investors from the domestic market.
Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria Coordinator, Mallam Shehu Mikhail, said the rule on return of statute–barred dividends to companies should be retained.
He criticised the plan by SEC for lack of details on benefits of such initiative to shareholders and the quoted companies.
However, the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS) President, Dr. Faruk Umar, described the plan by SEC as a healthy development, noting that the trustfund would discourage sharp practices around the unclaimed dividends. | http://thenationonlineng.net/n5b-capital-market-development-fund-coming/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/1b42cb6a12bff6d9a759b42572e16e7a93b1cf490fe340cb5c331c3753178e4d.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:48:21 | null | 2016-08-27T13:52:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fjapan-pledges-30bn-support-africa%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Japan pledges $30bn support for Africa | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/japan-pledges-30bn-support-africa/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e0ed38ba0cbf63936e019499d92b51c39736f02edcbe6fabc1c407b39c3afa7a.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T14:48:33 | null | 2016-08-28T14:48:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-kill-criminal-warlord-five-others-rivers%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Police kill 'warlord’ , five others in Rivers | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-kill-criminal-warlord-five-others-rivers/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2f990606f5e650a59e1d3644c921c47cc3ddaee5c52eda01d5dd5451ff312d87.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:48:49 | null | 2016-08-29T19:58:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fhumanitarian-crisis-fg-partner-rock-star-artist%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/BUHARI-new-e1459892263623.jpg | en | null | Humanitarian crisis: FG to partner Rock Star artist | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/humanitarian-crisis-fg-partner-rock-star-artist/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/9d26d4c5e38e3ad8df1a2a6258f385a5c5fb57cc95fd990ccf04a92b787b4876.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:48:58 | null | 2016-08-30T19:09:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fkekemeke-remains-ondo-apc-chair-says-nec%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/kekemeke.jpg | en | null | Kekemeke remains Ondo APC Chair, says NEC | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/kekemeke-remains-ondo-apc-chair-says-nec/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/1b3a0bb8c39cda72f7315b56a1819d50d176a47019acf9965919276cc85b6e10.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T00:48:41 | null | 2016-08-28T00:06:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fcbn-accuses-banks-violating-international-money-transfer-rules%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CBN.jpg | en | null | CBN accuses banks of violating international money transfer rules | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has accused commercial banks of compromise in the ways they handle proceeds from international money transfer inflows into the country.
A circular to banks titled: Illicit International Money Remittances Through The Banking System, and signed by CBN Acting Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D. Gotring, accused the lenders of opening multiple illegal company and personal accounts where they harvest dollar proceeds for onward disbursements to recipients in Nigeria.
The practice, Gotring said, is against guidelines for the operation of International Money Transfer Service (IMTS) in Nigeria of September 26, 2014, warning the lenders to desist from such unwholesome practices.
“Further to the guidelines for the operation of International Money Transfer Service (IMTS) in Nigeria of September 26, 2014, we have observed that some Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are operating accounts either as companies or companies masking themselves as individuals for the purpose of illegally receiving money transfer flows into the accounts for onward disbursements to recipients in Nigeria,” he said in the circular obtained yesterday.
He therefore ordered the lenders to conduct Know Your Customer’s Business (KYCB) checks on all their customers to ensure that they do not transact in illegal/illicit flows and also freeze compromised/ identified defaulting accounts.
“The CBN therefore reiterates that the DMBs have the absolute responsibility to conduct Know Your Customer’s Business (KYCB) checks on all their customers to ensure that they do not transact in illegal/illicit flows. Consequently, DMBs are hereby directed to identify and freeze accounts receiving illicit flows, submit the mandate and account details of these accounts held in naira or foreign currency to the CBN for onward reporting to the security agencies,” he said.
Findings by The Nation showed that the banks have continuously been engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions to gain access to large chunk of dollar flows from the Diaspora estimated at $21 billion annually and is expected to hit $35 billion this year after the CBN devalued the naira. The naira devaluation remains a big incentive for Nigerians in Diaspora to send more dollars home as they would get more value.
Besides, the World Bank Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 released showed that Nigerians living abroad sent home $21 billion in 2015. The figure, it said, is by far the largest volume of remittances to any country in Africa and the sixth largest in the world.
“The United States is the biggest remittance sending country to Nigeria, followed by the United Kingdom. Nigerians receive $5.7 billion in remittances sent from friends and family members in the US and $3.7 billion from the United Kingdom in 2015 and a total of $21 billion within the year. Nigeria is also the third largest destination country for migrants from other African nations,” it said.
It says a quarter of a billion people around the world are migrants, and over $600 billion in remittances are sent annually.
The global lender says international remittances to developing countries reached over $441 billion in 2015, more than foreign direct investment and thrice more than official aid flows. It says 34 per cent of all international remittances are sent between developing countries.
It disclosed that remittances constitute more than 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 25 countries. It insists that international remittances have been growing steadily and remain stable even during episodes of financial volatility.
“In 2015, the number of international migrants surpassed 250 million, a quarter of a billion people, globally. International migrants now represent more than 3.4 per cent of the world’s population. South-South migration is now larger than South-North migration. Over 38 per cent of international migrants have migrated from developing countries to other developing countries. 14.4 per cent of international migrants are refugees,” it said.
Speaking on the development, Senior Mobile Analyst at WorldRemit, one of the global money transfer firms, Alix Murphy, says the World Bank’s latest report shows that countries have now hit two significant milestones – quarter of a billion migrants globally and $600 billion of remittances sent annually.
She believes that despite being the biggest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s financial system is still deeply fragmented, making sending and receiving money very challenging for ordinary Nigerians. According to her, 56 per cent of Nigerians are unbanked, so offering a variety of pay-out options, including direct to bank account and instant cash pick-up, is extremely important for reaching everyone in society. | http://thenationonlineng.net/cbn-accuses-banks-violating-international-money-transfer-rules/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/3540398d9e694b2b99e57a12ed7f82601ca914e8e4d0218c5f3a66bd3dc35b62.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T18:50:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffg-assures-of-judicious-application-of-recovered-assets%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/AGF-Malami.jpg | en | null | FG assures of judicious application of recovered assets | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/fg-assures-of-judicious-application-of-recovered-assets/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/f297366653e024763a282adc631cdb9ec3df9713a1c89c657ee48e491d59532e.json |
[
"Ikechi Jim Nnah"
] | 2016-08-29T14:46:16 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:16 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fghost-privatisation-haunts-nitelmtel%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nitel.jpg | en | null | Ghost of privatisation haunts NITEL/Mtel | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Following inquisition by the National Assembly and other stakeholders into the privatisation of the nation’s premier telecoms outfit, NITEL and its subsidiary, Mtel, it does appears that the behemoth is jinxed after several unsuccessful attempts to privatise it. Jide Babalola and Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf in this report examine the issues
There is a general consensus that any proper review of the Federal Government’s $252.251 sale of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its subsidiary, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (Mtel) in April 2015 may easily run into crosswinds against the transparency and accountability principle that the current administration holds aloft as a cardinal principle.
Indeed, it is easy to recall that since 2001 when the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration put in motion, its plans for sales or privatisation, suspicions and questions continuously trailed the exercise, especially when NITEL/Mtel were brought to the auction table.
In December 2014, the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) Technical Committee, Atedo Peterside had announced at a meeting presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, they had liquidated Nigeria Telecommunication Plc. and its subsidiary, Mtel, to NATCOM Consortium for $252million.
Subsequently, the sale process was concluded with documentations in April 2015.
It is worth noting too, that the sale of NITEL/Mtel took place after about four or six untidy and controversial earlier processes undertaken by the NCP through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). Yet tongues have continued to wag over what many continue to see as inadequate concern for transparency in the sale of such national patrimony.
Sure, NITEL was prominent among Nigeria’s public enterprises that suffered consistent mismanagement by successive leaderships that saw no wrong in milking the cash cow till death.
Its jaded privatisation history started in 2000 when the new democratic administration began to implement its plans for a reform of the telecommunications sector.
In 2001, the government tried to sell 51 per cent equity in NITEL/Mtel to Investors International London Limited (IILL) as the strategic core investor.
Pentascope which acquired 51 per cent of NITEL equity, along with its management contract went under less than three years thereafter. Pentascope claimed that government’s continuous inclination for pokenosing into the running of NITEL diminished great possibilities. In turn, the Federal Government saw the firm as one that was incapable of demonstrating a strength for market competitiveness.
Thus by year 2005, a bid by Orascom Telecoms fell through.
By 2006, the Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) had acquired 51 per cent majority stakes in the firm for $500 million. After another round of blame game, the Federal Government eventually voided the sale of the telecoms giant in 2009 and appointed a technical board to manage the carrier.
The strategic core investor sale in 2011, where New Generation Communications Limited and Omen International emerged preferred and reserved bidders respectively, ended up without success.
Following the last failed attempt, former Vice President Namadi Sambo-led NCP, adopted the guided liquidation strategy for the sale of NITEL/Mtel.
Throughout the processes deemed by many to be far from being transparent, NITEL’s assets declined in value. Even today, after its last ‘sale’, NITEL has continued to generate interest as Nigerians still wonder, with suspicions about the level of criminal neglect and corruption that the firm has suffered under the hands of people with connections in high places.
Expectations for a review
In August last year, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Mr. Tunji Olaopa came out of a briefing for President Muhammadu, Buhari with ‘big news’ for waiting journalists.
According to Olaopa, the President had just mandated his ministry to provide details of the recent privatisation of the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mtel so as to ascertain whether or not Nigeria was short-changed.
He said Mr. President was concerned about the possibility of Nigeria not receiving a fair value from the deal.
“The President was also concerned about the liquidation of NITEL. He is not opposed to its privatisation but he wants to know and he wants us to bring a memo on how the whole transaction was undertaken so that he would know whether Nigeria was short-changed,” he said.
Mr. Olaopa said the President was very concerned about the whole issue of privatisation that is hindering investments in ICT and said “that he will personally champion this.”
At the time, industry watchers eagerly awaited a review of how a consortium run by erstwhile Skye Bank’s chairman, Tunde Ayeni, the founder of Sahara Energy, Tonye Cole, and two other companies, used their NATCOM Telecommunications consortium to emerge as sole bidders for NITEL/Mtel which they bought for $242.3 million, equivalent to about N42.4 billion at the time.
Ayeni reportedly owns at least three of the seven companies in the NATCOM consortium that comprises NATSPACE Telecommunication Investment Limited, PCCW Global Limited, Prime Union Investment Limited, Olutoyi Estate Development & Services Limited, Legal Resources Alliance & Co., Sahara Energy Resources Limited, and LM Ericsson Nigeria Limited.
The acquisition of NITEL/Mtel by Ayeni and co came barely two months after Ayeni had led Skye Bank to buy Mainstreet Bank from Assets Management Company of Nigeria, for N120 billion.
Barely one year before that, Ayeni’s Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company Limited had bought the Ibadan and Yola Electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs.
Part of the reasons why the sale of NITEL/Mtel to little-known NATCOM consortium raised eyebrows was the near-mystery aura surrounding NETTAG Consortium. Even though it was NATCOM’s sole ‘competitor’, NETTAG failed to attach a $10million bid bond to its bid submission as stipulated in the Request for Proposals (RFP) given to prospective bidders, thereby earning a disqualification that left the prize for NATCOM to win so easily.
Thus in August, 2015 when Ayeni received the operational licences of NITEL and Mtel on behalf of his consortium, he unequivocally stated that they would work towards investing about $ 1 billion, with a view to providing Nigerian subscribers first-class rated services.
Strident calls for review
Expectedly, there have been welter of criticisms over the privatisation of NITEL from different quarters.
“For NITEL, the mess that has characterised its sale, privatisation, commercialisation or even liquidation, depending on whatever interpretation can be given to the sorry pass such a behemoth has come to, is a shame too much for a country like Nigeria,” a newspaper editorial noted in its September 2, 2015.
Thus there have been strident calls on the need to revisit sale of NITEL and other national assets.
One of the strident voices opposed to the process of the sale of NITEL/Mtel is to the Nigerian Association of Auctioneers (NAA).
According to the National President of the NAA, Alhaji Aliyu Kiliya, President Muhammadu Buhari is duty-bound to honour his promise to probe the sale of NITEL/Mtel, following the outrage that trailed such sale.
Kiliya made the appeal in an open letter to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo who is Chairman, National Council on Privatisation.
“The National Association of Auctioneers (NAA) as stakeholders filed a case in Bauchi Federal High Court against the liquidator who was appointed by the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE).
“We feel disappointed by the way and manner NITEL and MTEL sale was carried out.
“The items were supposed to be sold by open and competitive bidding, instead of secret bidding,” Kiliya argued.
He said the NAA is dismayed that despite the direction by the Federal High Court judge that status quo should be maintained, it was regrettable that NATCOM took over all the items of NITEL/Mtel nationwide, contravening the order that was given by the court.
“In this regard we are appealing to your good office to, as a matter of urgency, kindly stop immediately the selling of NITEL/Mtel as we believe that a lot of revenue is being looted. That is why they were rushing to sell and if this is allowed to happen a lot of revenue will be lost,” he said while emphasising the need for a reversal of the sale process.
Other critics of the sale attributed it to the unusual clout of Mr. Ayeni and his closeness to the PDP federal administration.
In December, 2014 when N21.2 billion raised by the PDP at its fund raising dinner held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mr. Ayeni, who was chairman of the occasion, donated N2billion – N1 billion on behalf of himself and his partner and another billion on behalf of his friends. This provoked arguments and discussions online.
In response to someone who expressed reservations about the sale of NITEL to Ayeni, a comment on a popular blog, Nairaland forum stoutly defended Ayeni at the time.
“Because Ayeni bought NITEL, he should not contribute to the political campaign of his choice? Money is the lifeblood of politics, as our system matures, more billions will be spent by politicians and their supporters to win elections. That’s the way it works around the planet. What we should ask of them, is a public disclosure of the people donating.
“No secret accounts or payments from unknown parties. PDP and GEJ did the right thing, by having a public fundraiser, where you and I can point to who gave what. Rich people will always be at the front of table, that’s life. Don’t cry about it, just try your best and become one of them,” he stated.
On December 3 last year, the House of Representatives directed its Committees on Telecommunications and Privatisation to conduct a thorough investigation into the liquidation and sale of NITEL and Mtel by BPE.
The House expressed concern that since the sale of the companies, a lot of controversies have been raised about the processes leading to their sales, particularly allegations that the companies were under-valued before they were sold.
Hon. Henry Nwawuba (Imo PDP) in a motion said the revenue potential of the companies are huge, and they also have capacity to bridge the unemployment gap among young Nigerians.
There is a need to resolve the issues surrounding the sales and takeover, he said.
On his part, Hon. Aminu Shehu Shagari (Sokoto APC) alleged that the companies were sold for more than $250million rather than the $242.3 million declared publicly.
On March 10 this year, the House of Representatives gave the BPE a clean bill of health over the sale of NITEL and its mobile network, Mtel to the NATCOM consortium.
Review as litmus test for Buhari
However, discerning Nigerians hold the view and very strongly too that Nigerians deserve a full disclosure, not only on the sale of NITEL or Mtel but on every other part of the national patrimony that has been supposedly sold or privatised.
The current momentum to sanitise the system must be sustained and there should be no hiding place for the locusts that have destroyed Nigeria till date.
According to the school of thought, at this point, a template for transparency must be created for the sale or management of the nation’s investment or national institutions.
With the assets acquired from NITEL including cellular spectrum/microwave frequencies, telecom operating licences, international submarine cable, which is the SAT-3, cell towers, fibre and duct network (including Right Of Way), prime buildings and satellite earth stations, NATCOM has transformed Nitel/Mtel into Ntel, with an aim towards gaining industry foothold in no time. This year, the NatCom Development & Investment Limited brought in a highly-connected business tycoon, Gen. TY Danjuma, as Board Chairman, towards confronting various challenges and moving the company forward.
Yet the debate over a possibility of government’s revisit of the sale of Nitel/Mtel assets continues to linger. | http://thenationonlineng.net/ghost-privatisation-haunts-nitelmtel/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/8ecb70ec4e8dd1823adf31140a2ada511f8f66f17b2f6c7ba5d69608af345dbb.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:41 | null | 2016-08-27T01:30:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fefcc-rakes-n1-9bn-seized-funds-oftafa-balogun-others%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Magu-copy.jpg | en | null | EFCC rakes in N1.9bn from seized funds ofTafa Balogun, others | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says N1,956,007,975.81 has accrued to government as interest from the public funds sized from a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, and other suspects under investigation or trial.
N2.25billion was confiscated from Balogun alone.
The amount was deposited in 11 accounts,according to records put together by the agency.
The EFCC document sighted by The Nation also shows that seized properties from the founder of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Erastus Akingbola, former Edo State Governor Lucky Igbinedion, former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye and seven other highly-placed people under investigation ,have yielded about N185.6million as rents for government.
The other suspects in this category are: Alhaji Tukur Muazu, Bayo Lawal, Kayode Ojuri, Timothy Akani, Esai Dangabar, Aliyu Bello and John Yusuf Yakubu.
Similalrly, the EFCC took over 75 money laundering cases involving drug barons from the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) between 2006 and 2013.
EFCC sources said the records were put together following the controversy generated by the assets seized from the former IGP.
Balogun resigned his appointment as the IGP on January 18, 2005 following the uncovering of a huge amount in his accounts by the EFCC under its pioneer chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
But 11years after, some critics alleged that cash and assets seized from Balogun had been re-looted.
The EFCC records sighted by The Nation says in part: “A total of 15 Spring Bank accounts were forfeited by Mr. Tafa Balogun. Of this number, four accounts had NIL (zero) balance.
“The total balance in the remaining 11 accounts as of January 2005 was N1, 226,518,163.09. In addition to this, seven treasury bills/commercial papers in the same bank had a total balance of N1, 017, 178, 719.42.
“The two added together came up to N2, 243,696,882.51. With the addition of the accrued interest of N14, 403,634.36, the figure came to N2, 258,100,516.87.
“This sum was what was paid to the commission by Spring Bank and eventually remitted to the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance.”
But the commission said that some assets of the former IGP were yet to be disposed of because of legal disputes.
Continuing, the EFCC says: “There were legal issues on some of the properties recovered from Tafa Balogun. Other claimants emerged, with claims to the properties. The cases include the property at Plot 2220 Suez Crescent, Zone 4, Abuja, which the Commission eventually won in 2013, while the other involved a property at Plot 1488, Fugar Street, Asokoro which case the Commission lost in 2014.
” Apart from the Fugar Street Asokoro property that is now a subject of appeal by the EFCC; three other properties forfeited by Tafa Balogun are yet to be disposed of. One of the properties is located at Plot 110, Tunis Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.
“Meanwhile, the total sum of N46,358,393.15 generated from the management of the property by Diya Fatimilehin & Co since 2009 was remitted to the Commission at various times.
“The remitted sum is in the Commission’s recovery account.
“The remaining two properties which appeared on the forfeiture order as Plot 75, Asokoro and Plot 2262B Maitama A6 District, Abuja, are also subject of legal disputes.”
The EFCC also admitted that it raked in about N1,956,007,975.81 from forfeited funds placed in interest yielding accounts.
It says: “The placement of forfeited monies in interest yielding accounts is not an entirely new idea. The court in various rulings ordered some funds to be placed in interest yielding accounts.
“Rather than warehousing forfeited funds in current accounts for a long period, the commission lodged such funds, including those of Tafa Balogun, in interest yielding accounts.
“The interest element is always in line with CBN Cash Reserve Ratio and not fixed. Not a single kobo is taken out by the commission under this initiative.
It is interesting to note that under this initiative, as at March 2015, the sum of N696, 590,765.36 was generated as interest on recovered funds with Access Bank Plc. “Another sum of N522,807,543.83 presently stands as interest generated from recovered funds with Ecobank Plc, while the subsidy recoveries with Enterprise Bank Plc has yielded the sum of N736,609,666.62. All these monies are intact and are held on behalf of the Federal Government until all encumbrances to their release are cleared.
“For purposes of transparency and accountability, the commission sought and obtained approval to operate a dedicated interest income account vide a letter from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation Ref. No. AGF/TRY/RB/441/VOL.I/128 dated 3rd December, 2012.”
Meanwhile, about N185.6million was collected as rents from seized properties of Erastus Akingbola, Lucky Igbinedion, Alh. Tukur Muazu, Bayo Lawal, Kayode Ojuri, Timothy Akani, Esai Dangabar, Aliyu Bello, Joshua Chibi Dariye and John Yusuf Yakubu.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the said rents were remitted to the commission as follows:
The sum of N70, 655,872.47 was collectively generated from the management of the forfeited properties of Erastus Akingbola, Lucky Igbinedion and Alh. Tukur Muazu. The sum of N99, 083,241.75 was collectively generated from the management of the forfeited properties of Erastus Akingbola, Bayo Lawal, Kayode Ojuri, Timothy Akani, Esai Dangabar, Aliyu Bello, Joshua Chibi Dariye and others.
iii. The N15, 944,222.40 was collectively generated from the management of the forfeited properties of Mr. Bayo Lawal, Esai Dangabar and John Yusuf Yakubu.
On money laundering cases by drug barons, the EFCC confirmed receipt of 75 cases from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) between 2006 and 2007.
It said: “Between 2006 and 2013, the EFCC received a total of 75 cases from NDLEA. The cases related to various offences including, unlawful possession of financial instruments, currency trafficking, unlawful possession of counterfeit financial instrument, obtaining under false pretense and unlawful possession of fake currencies among others.
“The cases were basically transferred along with exhibits which include financial instruments in form of cheques, drafts, traveler’s cheques, money order and cash in local and foreign currencies which were mostly fake or counterfeit in nature.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/efcc-rakes-n1-9bn-seized-funds-oftafa-balogun-others/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/df58f2a3eae545aabcd3378da80855f2e3631cf294da8dd192dec5ddd087375a.json |
[
"Andrew Lincoln",
"James Sandra",
"Jane Silver",
"Sonia Ifa",
"Sarah William",
"Raymond Vigo",
"Jim Ovia",
"John Lizyy",
"Cherie Moore",
"Lilian Moore"
] | 2016-08-27T22:45:55 | null | 2016-03-03T00:00:32 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fred-algae-2016-upcoming-herbal-medicine-8%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Red algae 2016 upcoming herbal medicine… (8) | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | We live in a world of colours. Back in primary school, we learned about ROYGBIV… Red, Orange, yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. ROYGBIV is the formula for tracking them. We had Crayons of some, if not all of them. Also, we had the water colour box. We learned that not all these colours exist naturally on their own. Some, called the primary colours do.
They all speak to us. But we no longer understand their language. And, because we do not understand this language any longer, we do not understand the message they bring to us from Mother Nature about how to use them to obtain radiant health. Knowing people of old knew the health benefits of the various colours which we are exposed to every day in the plant kingdom. For example, they knew each organ of the body expresses a different colour from another. This colour is its radiation or aura or frequency on which it is broadcasting its existence to the world. Thus, clairvoyant physicians of old could tell if an organ was healthy or sick or likely to be sick from the brightness or dullness of its colour or radiation.
The radiation is no more than a physical expression of the rays which occurs in the organ. And every organ feeds on rays from food or the environment which are homogenous with its own constituent rays. And this is why, in bygone days, water kept in white glass bottles was left in the sunlight from sunrise to sunset to absorb radiations from sunlight. Sunlight is a powerhouse of ROYGBIV. It is thus assumed that such water exposed to ROYGBIV in sunlight hours would provide all the rays needed by every organ of the body. If the blue ray absorbed by that bottle of water was needed to revive the health and radiation of a blue-ray organ, water was kept in a blue glass bottle and kept in the sunlight as already described.
The medics of old believed the blue bottle would eliminate absorption into the water of other ROYGBIV colours except the blue, thereby making this bottle of water very rich in the blue ether and medicinal for the ailing blue organ. The water colour of healthy living is, therefore, an interesting one provided in the various colours which plants, food crops, fruits and marine life presents to us.
The red algae
The foregoing is an introduction to the Red Algae. Red is one of the three natural primary colours of Red, Green and Blue. The Red algae is different from the deep Blue-Green algae, such as Spirulina and Chlorella, which have been mentioned in this series. Spirulina, for example, is one of the richest nutritional plants on earth. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described it as the “super food of the 21st Century.” The Americans make it a part of the diet of their astronauts in their space voyages. WHO recommends it for the growth of children and up keep of the health of adults. And children? The WHO recommends Spirulina for their nutritional health, especially in situations where they obtain little protein in the diet, and are not growing well. Equally nutritional, it is an antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory and excretes heavy metals from the body apart from fighting cancers, among its various benefits. There are about 10,000 species of Red algae, but not all of them are edible. It is a plant form in the water or sea which provides food for marine animals. In the web site www.disabledworld.com, Jane Lantree says:
“Red marine Algae has long been known to assist the body’s immune system to respond to virus attacks and their severity. It has been used traditionally for many ailments, including boils, urinary infections, asthma, goitreand stomach problems, and also for ulcers and tumors with varying degrees of success. The scientific basis of these applications is varied, but it is the typical use to eradicate cold sores that is is best known for in the West, though it has been claimed to be an effective means of reducing the cholesterol levels in the blood.”
“At one time, those who suffered chronically from cold sores had no long-term relief. In fact, frequently, the short-term relief was sleep. It is not so much the pain that cause the distress of a cold sore but the constant irritation much like a painful itch. Temporary relief could be obtained by the use of some herbal remedies such as chamomile and Licorice root, although they were no genius remedies in that they did not cure the condition but provided relief from the symptoms for a short time.
“However, St. John’s Wort and Lemon Balm were real remedies in that they killed the virus and were likely to be the best anti-viral remedies available other than Red Marine Algae. The virus killed, however were the active soldiers while the main body remained dormant deep within the nerve cells, ready to become activated at some future date. Herpesor cold sores are not nice viruses because they can lie dormant for years and then be activated by one trigger or another. These triggers include menopause, stress, dental work (so probably stress!), other infections, sunburn and fatigue caused by over work…
“There are many species of red algae used in China, Japan and the Pacific Region in general, though the family dumontiaceae has been particularly useful in the treatment of Herpes I and II. Herpes I is the cold sore and Herpes II is the genital herpes. It has been proved unequivocally to alleviate the symptoms of Herpes topically and to prevent a recurrence by oral administration.
“The active agents of Red algae are Carrageenans, a family of sulfated polysaccharide that in 2006 were found to be effective against the sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and genital herpes. In fact, it is already being used in some condom lubricants where it has been found to inhibit HPV, human Papillo viruses that cause genital warts. Carrageenans seem to be able to identify unfriendly proteins such as viruses and prevent them from bonding to human cell surfaces. The polysaccharides are thought to stimulate the production of interferons which work with the immune system as antiviral agents. They also improve the activity of T cells and B cells that destroy virus-infected cells in the body. These polysaccharides are generally contained within the top cell walls of the dumontiaceae that also bind with heavy metals, carcinogen and other harmful impurities before they do any damage. It is a very useful seaweed. In fact, the sulfonated Carregeenans of red Marine algae are now thought to be natural anti-viral agents superior in effect to ACYCLOVIL, and to effectively cure Herpes zoster (shingles) infections which is a definite breakthrough on the treatment of viral infections and the understanding of the immune system. The effects of extracts from Dumonticeae delivered orally on other viral infections such as Candida have been very encouraging, resulting in very rapid improvement of the condition. ACYCLOVIL can create immunity if used frequently, in much the same way that antibiotics do. But Red Marine Algae, do not appear to. The full benefits of these supplements used by the Chinese and Japanese for thousands of years, have yet to be determined but it is thought of to be of more value to those that suffer regularly from cold sores than Acyclovil which, chemically, is a glucosamine named “Acyclogualosine”.
hat sounds a mouthful. Jean Langtree has provided a great insight into the health benefits of Red algae marred only, in my view, by the polemic discrepancy that suggests that pharmaceutical antibiotics promote immunity whereas Red algae doesn’t. If antibiotic drugs promote immunity, why do doctors warn against self-medication or are sometimes reluctant to prescribe them. Why do we have to take probiotics to re-boost immunity after a course of antibiotics? Why has the immune function so failed with the use of antibiotics because micro-organisms against which they are used have developed resistance against them? Why is the medical profession searching desperately for a new generation of antibiotics?
Anne Gordon, in www.naturaldoc.com agrees that red algae builds immunity. She speaks of GIGARTINA, a specie of red marine algae, which is indicated for hair, nails, skin and immunity. She says:
“Gigantin is a type of ocean growing algae commonly known as sea vegetable that could be one of the most important new therapeutic foods sea vegetables. It contains 10 – 20 times the minerals of land plants as well as an abundance of vitamins and other elements necessary for proper metabolism. They have been sought for thousands of years for their ability to prevent disease and prolong life. While sea vegetables have been a common part of the diet of many healthy cultures to prevent aging and prolong life, scientific research has only recently reinforced the nutritional and medical importance of sea vegetables. In the mid-70s and early 80s, scientists identified some 30 species of red marine algae (RMA) which enhance the immune system regulatory response and were shown to be antiviral. The most promising part of this discovery was that these species had an antiviral effect against a wide varietyof pathogens. Current research on red marine algae has shown promising results in the control and reduction of both the candida albicans yeast (a fungus) and the herpes simplex virus. Clinical trials have shown that these sulfated polysaccharides can suppress HIV, herpes and influenza viruses, and patients have reported a lessening and even a halting of their growth within the body. Researchers believe that Red Marine Algae may serve as a gateway to resist many other types of bacteria, fungal and viral pathogens.”
Anne Gordons reports a personal experience when she and some of her other family members travelled to care for a senior family member admitted to hospital for about three months in the United States. She says:
“While hospitalised, this elder contacted MRSA (Methiguin resistant staphylocusaureus, virulent staph infection)and Clostridium difficile, an intestinal bacteria commonly referred to as cdif by hospitals. Both are very hard to treat hospital-borne bacteria infections that have evolved from the overuse of antibiotics. These bacteria had colonized in our bodies and could never be fully eradicated. With frequent courses of antibiotics, they were able to be kept under control briefly. Then, they would return in a few days due to her weakened immune system and poor overall health. I tried to talk to the hospital and get some of the natural alternatives that I would discuss below as part of my own case, but at the time I did not have the personal experience that I now have to support any assertions about their effectiveness. While frequenting my relative’s hospital for two weeks straight, I myself contracted an acute eczema outbreak that spread all over my body. Doctors at a local urgent care facility could not diagnose the particular pathogen I had, and we figured it was some sort of hybridized hospital-borne super bug. Then, my sister got it, too. So, it became clear that it was caused by an infection pathogen and not just an allergic reaction. I called my naturopathic doctor for a phone consultation, and he advised myself and my sister to get several supplements at a local health food store. Colloidal silver (which I took both orally and topically), freeze-dried Nettle and Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5) we also took Naturodoc domatium product known as 1918, a powerful immune boosters that was the method the Western Indian tribes used to survive the great influenza 1918 epidemic unscathed.
These were dramatic support for my adrenal functions and seemed to help control the terrible itching and fight the infection. But my skin was still dried out, hardened and scaly all over my body. It was still uncomfortable and looked terrible.
Within three days of taking Gigartina I, a strain of red marine algae, upon returning home, her lackluster skin began to improve.
“The scaliness and scably, lesions cleared up, Anne Gordons recalls, and the skin lost its angry redness, the tormenting itch completely subsided, my skin became healthier and clearer the next month. I noticed another effect from the Gigartina that I hadn’t expected. For over a year, I had been experiencing increasing amounts of hair loss (Alopecia) that had become a significant concern for me. I knew the hairloss had something to do with a skin problem in my scalp, and I had been battling scaliness and even eruptions and scabs in my scalp for which I could not find any obvious explanation. I had suspected that my hair loss might be due to a candida yeast infection, so I had been taking yeast-fighting formulations, drinking Pau d’ Arco tea and changing my diet to fewer carbohydrates, but my problem still hadn’t improved much.”
hatever my skin problem was, it was obviously hurting the hair follicles and lots of hair were falling off every time I washed or brushed my hair. My hair had been getting noticeably thinner, and none of the therapeutic shampoos I was using was having a positive effects either. About a month after starting to take Gigartina, it suddenly dawned on me that the hair loss to which I got accustomed to was greatly diminished. My scalp was less itchy and disrupted, and there was a lot of hair coming out when I washed my hair. I believe the skin strengthening effect that result from taking Gigartina is actually reversing the cause of my hair loss. I don’t know if my scalp irritation was caused by Candida or some other pathogen, or whether Gigartina, would work this way for everyone. However, because of my own experience, I am convinced the power of this sea vegetable extract to correct chronic and acute skin problem by boosting immunity.
Any side effects?
Jan Millehan tell us in www.lifestrong.com that red marine algae, too, may have its problems. It is said to be a heavy source of Vitamin K, which is a blood clot forming agent. This may disturb the work of blood thinners. The large Calcium load may also lead to constipation and calcium-hardening of the arteries. And this may cause high blood pressure. But a Korean study, published in the 2006 edition of the Journal ALGAE “observed the inhibition effects of the red algae extracts on an enzymes linked to high blood pressure.”
In that study, “Angiotensin -1 converting Enzymes or ACE, plays a significant role in combating blood pressure, according to researchers. Scientists reported that some red algae specie produce remarkable anti ACE activities when compared with other marine organism.”
Everything which goes on to the mouth, even water, had side effects when more than is needed is taken.
Welcome, again, to the water colour of life. Red is the colour of the blood… life. It is active, energetic, even boisterous. Blue calms. Look at the sky. It is also the colour of love. And green? It is the colour of the formula of the blood…. Life. Isn’t there a reason the earth’s vegetation is green? On account of this, when a proprietary brand of liquid chlorophyll arrived in Nigeria, this column suggested: “Let’s drink green, for the earth is not green for the fun of it”. | http://thenationonlineng.net/red-algae-2016-upcoming-herbal-medicine-8/ | en | 2016-03-03T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e6970f52de4262023a9717b3d2303f0603016cf4281514ff9e0458a42a7c2e4f.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:48:51 | null | 2016-08-29T16:39:18 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Flasucom-students-protest-prolong-programme%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | LASUCOM Students protest prolong programme | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Raw Story of Ngozi! The Lady that Got Rid of Fibroids Without Surgery
4:11 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/lasucom-students-protest-prolong-programme/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/8e58f4f4940d48edbc5a8049d09ace19ef6470932415a0a434cebfd0195e4287.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:48:45 | null | 2016-08-29T17:18:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Feconomic-recession-nigeria-blessing-utomi%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/UTOMI.jpg | en | null | Economic recession in Nigeria a Blessing | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Founder, Lagos Business School, Professor Patrick Utomi has described the recession presently faced in Nigeria as a golden opportunity and not a problem, saying it is an opportunity to finally get the Nigerian economy right.
Professor Utomi who spoke during the ground breaking ceremony of Integrated Produce City (IPC), a private initiative championed by him and other investors at Ugbokun community in Ovia North East local government Area of Edo state, added that without appearing to scandalise anybody, he actually pray for oil prices to stay down and stay down for a long time for Nigerians to come of their senses to know that the country is really rich.
His words: “Let me shock you by saying that the recession we face in Nigeria is a golden opportunity. It is not a problem; it is an opportunity to finally get the Nigerian economy right.
“So without appearing to scandalise anybody, I actually pray for oil prices to stay down and stay down for a long time. Then, we will come to our senses and we will know that Nigeria really is a rich country.
“Right now, we are not behaving as we should be behaving. Competitively driven industrial policy in select value chains will be helpful in confronting the misery index and bringing hope to millions.”
He said Integrated Produce is unique first, because it aims to confront the biggest monster facing agriculture in Nigeria, which is yielding losses – the poor returns that farmers get, as middle men scoop everything up, the profits that slip away in these kinds of disarticulated markets and the poor infrastructure challenge that face people in agriculture
According to him, “With a well organised trading platform, accessing commodity exchanges, efficiencies increase at a pace that increases global competitiveness on the produce in which our factor endowment are strong.”
On his part, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state who performed the grand breaking ceremony, on behalf of the Vice President, Professor Hemi Osibanjo described the Integrated Produce City as a shear commitment by the investors to combat poverty, noting that it is the first produce city in the heart of Benin kingdom.
“Today we are having the first produce city right in the heart of Benin Kingdom few minutes’ drive from Benin City I want to appreciate you, your wife your boss because we know that the neck controls the head.
“This is an event that will kick-start what will add meaning and values to thousands of people both within and outside here. What you have done by this initiative is to demonstrate that there are Nigerians who have those qualities that we celebrate elsewhere. All those who teach can also practicalise what they teach and practically in the country you are one of those teachers.
This gathering couldn’t have been better not just what we have been telling people in the past three months that our candidate said he would create 200,000 jobs many believe that it is not possible and that brings you to two divide of Nigerians that we have those who belief that our future lies in that lazy tradition of extracting the liquid gold and exporting it with little or no value to it, bring dollar home, quarrel over sharing it do some symbolic public toilets and buildings, and then privatise the rest and export more”, he said.
Governor Oshiomhole who thanked all the foreign partners to IPC for showing confidence that they can come and invest in the state, also enjoined the host community to regard the project cited in their community and defend it as their own as they are they stand to benefit more.
In his welcome address, Edo state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Joe Plague saluted the courage of IPC, saying the project is timely because it is in line with the agricultural policy of the state, more so with the concept of combining farming with industry.
He therefore promised that the state government would do everything possible to ensure the purpose of the project is achieved.
Also in his speech, the representative of Ugbokun community said his people will ever remain grateful for the project because it is going to open the forest that has become a hideout for hoodlums who use it to attack unsuspecting travellers.
He therefore requested that government should establish a Police station in the community to help safeguard the investment, while calling on management of IPC to take care of the interest of the host community. | http://thenationonlineng.net/economic-recession-nigeria-blessing-utomi/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/fe62977b9dc7caf3ef6e8f414fb3f0fc7e91952c51ceb83ab39767c9f6b392e1.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:49:02 | null | 2016-08-30T17:02:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fim-not-done-national-team-toriola%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Toriola-Segun.jpg | en | null | I’m not done with national team - Toriola | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/im-not-done-national-team-toriola/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/f9f61ee5d7c0e05a19fcb3add4762d76b02c7fe9fada12e30da7220e2a7ffa9e.json |
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