35 FRSC officials killed on duty

By Wole Mosadomi Minna—No fewer than 35 regular marshals have been killed by motorists on highways across the country in the past one year while on official duties, with seven of them from Niger State. FRSC-operatives 

State Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Susan Ajenge, who disclosed this on the floor of the Niger State House of Assembly, said the development occurred when the staff were trying to enforce simple safety regulations. According to her, another staff recently knocked down by a driver while trying to clear obstruction on the highway, was lying critically in a hospital and had gone through two operations and might lose his manhood. The state legislatures had summoned the Commander to defend the series of criticism by the public against FRSC over allegations of officials intimidating and harassing motorists in its desperate move to generate revenue for government. However, Ajenge defended the commission, lamenting that rather than obey simple traffic rules, motorists would turn around to criticise and attack FRSC officials.

You must represent Nigeria positively, Saraki tells Ambassadorial Nominees

As Presidency commends Senate over thorough screening of Ambassadorial nominees By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke ABUJA- SENATE President Bukola Saraki yesterday read the riot act to all the 47 Ambassadorial Nominees that were screened by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, saying that they must represent Nigeria positively in the countries they were posted to.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja when the screened Ambassadorial nominees were presented to him, Senator Saraki who noted that they have made history by going through the screening exercise, however charged the executive to quickly as possible forward names of non career nominees to the Senate on resumption in September, for thorough screening exercise, saying “the earlier we have substantive ambassadors at our various foreign posts , the better at this critical time of repositioning the country for better”. “The ministerial nominees, as you go forward are taking position in the history of the country. Going forward, they will be representing our country on the global stage. “We appeal to you to please make us proud, though there are challenges, I urge you to look at things differently in your service to the nation. ‎As you know, it is in the interest of our country to have ambassadors all over, as the absence will slow down bilateral relations‎. I wish you all the best. Out of the 47 ambassadorial nominees, Borno State has the highest number with 3, Kwara, Edo, Ekiti and Anambra states having two each while remaining states except Bayelsa, Ondo, Plateau and Ebonyi states have one each. The Presidency on its part yesterday hailed the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, over what it described as “thorough and intellectual” manner in which the screening exercise of the ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari was carried out. Speaking yesterday in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters( Senate), Senator Ita Enang who described the screening exercise as the most thorough he had witnessed, he also commended the Senator Monsurat Sunmonu-led committee for dedication and commitment. Senator Enang spoke when he led a delegation of the Ambassadorial nominees immediately after the screening exercise which was concluded yesterday on a courtesy visit to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki. He said, “Let me use this opportunity to commend the Senate committee for the way and manner in which the screening exercise was carried out. I must say it is the most thorough and intellectual I’ve seen in my time here. ‎”Also, the committee has demonstrated by its decision to screen the nominees despite the Senate being on recess that it is committed and dedicated to service of our dear nation.” Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday rounded off the screening of all 47 ambassadorial nominees. The screening which lasted three days took place at the National Assembly in Abuja with Senator Monsurat Summonu Charing the committee. At the end of the exercise yesterday, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Monsurat Summonu who thanked her colleagues and the press for their hardwork despite the recess, said, “We give Glory to God that 47 people have been screened the exercise we started on Tuesday. “On behalf of the Senate being led by our Senate president, Bukola Saraki and all the principal officers and the Senate committee on foreign affairs, I will like to express my gratitude to my colleagues for sacrificing their time. “They laid petitions last week and discussed the petition and agreed to screen the 47 nominees. This is a big sacrifice. We decided to cancel everything and put national interest first,” she said. Others members of the Foreign Affairs Committee who were around include the Deputy Chairman, Senator Shehu Sani; Senator James Manager; Senator Clifford Ordia; Senator Sunny Ogbuoji; Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; Senator Shaaba Lafiagi, Senator Olugbenga Ashafa, others. Bakor Aliyu Usman from katsina state, Eric Bell-gam from Rivers state, Inusa Ahmed from Nassarawa state, Bankole Adegboyega Adeoye from Ogun state and Attahiru Halliru from Sokoto state were the ambassadorial nominees that screened yesterday. More so, D. A Agev from Benue state, T. Gongulong from Borno state, Hamzat Ibrahim from katsina state, Oguntunwase Emmanuel Kayode from Ekiti state, Ibidapo Oluwasegun from Osun state, Abu Abubakar from Gombe state and Adamu Shaibu from Federal Capital Territory were also screened yesterday. Those screened on the first day which was Tuesday: Vivian Nwunaku Okeke(Anambra), Enoch Pear Duchi(Kaduna), Ibrahim Isah (Niger), Hakeem Balogun(Lagos) Jane Ada Ndem (Benue) Sakirat Ogundero (Oyo), Lilian Ijeukwu Onoh(Enugu), Kenneth Nwachukwu(Imo) and Baba Garba (Kano), Audu Ayinla Kadiri (Kwara), Rabiu Akawu (Kano), Salisu Umaru (Adamawa), Janet Omoleegho Olisa(Delta), Hassan Mohammed Hassan (Borno), Manaja Tulah Isah(Gombe). Those screened the second day being Wednesday: Sunday Itegboye, Edo state; Iliyasu . A. Paragalda, Adamawa state; Iyang Udoh-Inyang, Akwa-Ibom state; Obinna Chukwuemeka Agbugba, Abia state; Martins Nyong Cobham, Cross river state; Ngozi Ukaeje, Imo state; Rahmatu Dunama, Taraba state; Nonye Esther Udo, Anambra state; Munir Liman, Bauchi state; Odeka Janet Bisong, Cross River state; Umaru Zainab-Salisu, Kebbi state; and Momoh Saidu Omeiza, Kogi state, Kabiru Bala, Zamfara state; Queen Nworlu, Edo state; Abibat Sonaike Ogun state; Michael Femi Abikoye, Kwara state; Musa Saban Maman, Yobe state; Bello Kazaure, Jigawa state; Adesesan Olatunde, Ekiti state. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday, June 9, released the list of Ambassadorial nominees to the Senate president, Bukola Saraki and he read out the list of the 47 ambassadors on the floor of the Senate. According to the letter, the nominees are career diplomats who will oversee Nigeria’s mission outside the country.

Finally! Fashola Reveals Date For Improved Power Supply, Better Roads

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Raji Fashola has said that Nigerians should check back for solid results in his tripartite ministries in May 2017 when he is sure to have massive achievements in place for them.

The minister said this to the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, who has now made this public in an interview on a live radio show monitored by Naijaloaded in Lagos on Tuesday.

According to Adesina, Fashola told him that results would start coming in very soon after he (Adesina) paid a visit to the minister at his office in Abuja. The former Governor of Lagos State said all he needed was money, which has now been given to him. Now, it is time for people to see him work and that by May next year, Nigerians can check his scorecard.

“The minister said all he needed was money and money has been released to him. He said I should wait till May next year and then come and assess what he has done.

“He referred to when he was in Lagos. He said do we recall that in the first year of his administration, we didn’t hear much about him, he just laid low and he was planning. But from the second year, we began to the results of that planning.

“And he told me that by the second anniversary of this administration, we would see what he would have done in those three ministries. He told me that the president gave him three priority roads to do; Lagos Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Lokoja Expressway and Port Harcourt-Enugu Expressway.

“He said that we should wait and see by May next year what they would have done.”

Ghana to hold elections December 7 – electoral commission

Ghana’s presidential election will now be held on December 7, after parliament voted against an amendment to push the vote forward by one month, the electoral commission said on Friday. Lawmakers late on Thursday rejected a bill seeking to change the date for the polls from December 7 to the first Monday of November for every election year. “Despite the demonstration of our preparedness to deliver a credible and world-class elections on the proposed November 7 date, parliament in its wisdom has decided not to pass the amendment,” the electoral commission said in a statement. “The outcome of the voting therefore sets December 7, 2016 as the day for our presidential and parliamentary elections,” it added. The electoral body said the change in date would not affect its “commitment to deliver a free, fair, transparent and credible elections this year”. Proponents of the amendment believed an earlier vote would allow for enough time for any election disputes and possible presidential run-offs to be held before inauguration. National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader President John Dramani Mahama is seeking a second, five-year term against Nana Akufo-Addo, of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). Last week, Ghana’s electoral chief Samuel Tettey said the commission would be ready for the polls on either November 7 or December 7. Some 56,000 names on the electoral register have been expunged after opposition claims the list was bloated with names of foreigners and minors. Re-registration began this week.

Very Funny! See How This Lady Punished Her Colleagues Who Kept Stealing Her Milk

One lady was fed up with colleagues taking her milk from the fridge at her workplace she decided to do something about it. She didn’t do anything radical or extraordinary, she just left the milk snatcher a note. The unidentified woman known only as Phantom0591 posted a picture of her note on Reddit. See what she did below. 

Ghen Ghen!! N1.2bn deals: EFCC freezes Obanikoro daughter’s account

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja(Punch.ng) 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen an account linked to Shalewa Obanikoro, the daughter of a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

According to EFCC investigators, about N1.2bn passed through the account which belongs to an oil firm.

Shalewa, who is a signatory to the account, was said to have personally mandated Fidelity Bank to transfer N800m from the account to another account within the bank.

A source in the anti-graft agency on Tuesday said, “We have frozen an account in which Obanikoro’s daughter is a signatory. She specifically mandated the bank to transfer N800m from the account to another account.

“We discovered that money was paid into the account at various times. The money came in N50m, N20m, N30m and various sums.

“She said the money was for oil and gas transactions. So, we have frozen the account as investigations continue. We want to know where the funds came from. At least N1.2bn has passed through the account.”

The EFCC was said to have made the discovery of Shalewa’s transactions when it was investigating the N4.7bn allegedly paid into the account of Obanikoro’s two sons – Babajide and Gbolahan.

The money, which was paid into the Diamond Bank of Sylvan McNamara, was allegedly shared among Obanikoro, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose; and the then governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

While Omisore is in detention for allegedly receiving N1.3bn, five properties, allegedly belonging to Fayose, have been seized while his three Zenith Bank accounts have been frozen.

A house belonging to Obanikoro’s two sons in Ikoyi, Lagos, has also been seized. Obanikoro and his sons have, however, remained in the United States for the last 14 months.

The anti-graft agency had, last week, quizzed Shalewa and seized her passport to prevent her from travelling to the US.

“We seized her passport because we were told that she was planning on travelling soon. We had to prevent her from travelling since she is part of the investigation,” a detective said.

Apart from the N4.7bn arms scam rocking the Obanikoro family, MOB Integrated Services Ltd, a company headed by Obanikoro’s second son, Gbolahan, was implicated by the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation in 2012 over an alleged petroleum subsidy fraud.

The company was said to have made three transactions valued at N5,393,592,906.62. However, investigations revealed that the company only made one transaction valued at N3,261,263,992.52 verified as legitimate.

The difference of over N2bn was allegedly embezzled as MOB did not make the needed oil supply.

However, sources at the commission told our correspondent that after Obanikoro was appointed the Minister of State for Defence, the case was mysteriously suspended indefinitely.

The oil business linked to Obanikoro’s daughter has therefore opened a new dimension to the subsidy fraud case.

A source at the EFCC said, “Obanikoro’s case is very easy to investigate because unlike other politicians, he used his children to carry out most of his alleged crimes. Out of his four children, we have seen suspicious transactions in the accounts of three of them. There is no way these young guys will have billions in their accounts if they were not fronting for their father.”

Meanwhile, the EFCC on Tuesday grilled a former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, for receiving N100m from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

The EFCC, however, discovered that N15m was also transferred to Okupe from the account of Destra Investment Limited, a company owned by the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, who is on trial for allegedly receiving N400m from Dasuki.

Ironically, Okupe is one of the defence witnesses in the case against Metuh.

A source at the EFCC said, “Okupe came again as usual and we grilled him over the funds he has openly confessed to receiving from Dasuki. He claims to have spent all the money but we keep making fresh discoveries.

“He received about N15m from Destra Investment Limited, owned by Metuh. Okupe is also one of Metuh’s defence witnesses. Okupe had appeared before the Federal High Court to defend Metuh and yet he (Okupe) has confessed to receiving money from Dasuki and he also collected N15m from Metuh.

“When we confronted him with evidence, he was shocked and could not respond.”

Okupe had, on May 19, 2016, told Justice Okon Abang that Metuh received N400m from Jonathan but argued that the fund could not have emanated from the ONSA.

While defending Metuh, Okupe had said, “I am surprised to hear that the Office of the National Security Adviser was used to distribute money for Jonathan’s presidential campaign. However, the President could also use his tremendous goodwill to source funds to assist his party or help to execute special programmes.

“Besides, as the candidate for election, the President has immense capacity to raise funds as a candidate. He did not use any government establishment as his pseudo-sponsor.”

It was learnt that Okupe risked being charged with conspiracy alongside Metuh depending on the outcome of investigations.

An EFCC investigator added, “With this new revelation, it is possible that Okupe knew that Metuh’s N400m emanated from the ONSA but went to court to defend Metuh in order to cover his tracks, having received N15m. We are still investigating the matter.”

.Copyright PUNCH.       

Labour Gives Bello 30-day Ultimatum To Pay Kogi Workers’ Salary Arrears

Organised labour on Wednesday gave the Kogi State Government a 30-day ultimatum to pay the seven-month salary owed workers or face a strike action.

The presidents of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) issued the ultimatum at a rally organised by their respective state chapters at the NLC office in Lokoja.

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC National President, told the workers that no reasonable government would owe salaries for seven months.

He said labour would go on strike if the governor refused to address lingering issues and stop the usage of two banks for workers to access their “fundamental human rights”.

The NLC president hailed the workers for their determination to press home their demands despite intimidation from the state government and its apparatus.

“Let me salute you for your courage and determination to pay the ultimate price for your fundamental human rights in the face of threat and intimidation.

“All over the world, nobody gets his right while sitting down and watching without taking any drastic action; there is price for liberty everywhere in the world which is vigilance.

“We have heard about your predicaments and we thought we cannot have the comfort of sitting in Abuja without coming to see and confirm the report we received.

“With our collective strength and unity, we shall surely overcome these predicaments caused by our leaders,” he said.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that no arm of government under his watch would mismanage public funds.

The TUC President, Mr Bobboi Kaigama, the union would not allow impunity against any worker in the state.

Represented by his deputy, Mr Austin Etabor, he urged the workers to be united as one indivisible force, keeping their hope alive by defending their rights.

The labour leaders urged the media in the state to avoid any form of bias reportage.

How police inspector raped girl, 15, at gunpoint in A’Ibom

Ibuotenang (A victim of police brutality) , Photo: Etim Ekpimah

Etim Ekpimah, Uyo

A police inspector attached to Mkpat Enin Police Division in the Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has allegedly raped a 15-year old girl, Udo, at gunpoint.

Udo, a Senior Secondary School one pupil of Community Secondary School, Iyadiong, Mkpat Enin, said on Tuesday that she was returning from church on Thursday when a police team accosted her.

She explained that the inspector raised the gun, cocked it and pointed it at her, saying if she resisted, he would shoot her.

Udo said the inspector led her away from other members of the team to a dark area along the road.

The pupil added that the policeman fondled her breasts, and said, “Small you, possess this type of breasts!”

She said the policeman ordered her to undress with his gun pointing at her.

She said, “After he had forced me to remove my clothes, he ordered me to lie down and open my legs and raped me.

“As he was raping me, he warned me not to cry and threatened to shoot me if I opened my mouth.

“Blood was oozing from my private parts, but the policemen dragged me into the vehicle and drove to the station, where he detained me from Thursday till Saturday.

“It was my uncle, Dr Ime Stephen, that came from Abuja and bailed me with N10,000.”

Udo told PUNCH Metro that her mother left her dad when she was a toddler, adding that her dad had been paralysed since the day he fell from a palm tree. She said she and her dad depended on her uncle’s benevolence.

Stephen, her uncle, who said the culprit was also a police prosecutor, added that he could not believe his eyes when the girl pointed at the cop as the one who raped her from among the policemen who were on duty that time.

He said, “We call for his dismissal from the force so that he can be prosecuted accordingly.”

Meanwhile, an artisan, Mr. Ndifreke Ibuotenang, 28, claimed that he was also brutalised on Thursday by the same group of policemen.

Ibuotenang said he was returning from where he went to drink palm wine around 9pm, when the same police team accosted him and beat him to a pulp.

Ibuotenang’s two eyes had been seriously affected.

He said he was released after the payment of N10,000 bail.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Murtala Mani, said the police had already commenced investigation into the two cases.

Mani explained that all the policemen that were on patrol from the station at the time were in detention at the police headquarters in the state.

He explained that the fact that a police officer was a prosecutor did not mean that he could not be assigned to other duties.

He said, “We have already started investigation into the matter. We have detained all the policemen involved.

“I interviewed the victims close to three hours yesterday (Monday). If the culprits are found wanting, they would be dismissed and prosecuted.”

"Source PUNCH.  

Na Sack? See House Of Rep Member Struggling To Put Ipad In His Pocket (Photo)

lol. As seen above, Hon Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure, a member of the House of Reps who is know to talk and act funny, was spotted at King Abdullaziz Int’l Airport, Saudi Arabia, trying to put his iPad inside pocket. I wonder how that iPad will be inside his pocket. Funny man. Lol! 

Dino Melaye Is Still Very Much On Remi Tinubu’s Case…

The Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye posted this on Facebook last night.

In his words he asked why Mrs Remi Tinubu always seemed like the victim in all circumstances, while in the actually sense she is the culprit. His words below…

Drama As “Herbalist” Storms Project Fame Audition In Lagos (Photos)

For Awopeju Olaniyi Philips aka King Phillipiano, it was fame or nothing as the self-professed herbalist stormed the Ultima Studio in his full traditional regalia to slug it out with other music enthusiasts in the Lagos audition of Project Fame West Africa season 9.

Adorned in beads, robes, animal skin and a horsetail to match, the chap claims his costume represents the cultural diversity and the unity of the African continent.

Like many others who thronged the Ultima Studio, he had the singular objective of reaching musical fame on the Project Fame platform.

However, for this feat to be achieved, King Phillipiano believed his costume would prove his seriousness to the judges.

Like the celebrity he dreamt to be, his presence attracted paparazzi on the yellow carpet.

However, the fame King Phillipiano sought wouldn’t come cheaply for as he had to showcase his vocal prowess to convince the panel of judges comprising Gloria Rhodes, CobhamsAsuquo, and Shola Allyson.

Well, his magic could only get him as far as the arena.

His vocal power wasn’t convincing enough for the judges who were nonetheless thrilled by his comical performance and elaborate regalia.

He’ll have to try again next time, but not after proper consultations with the oracles.

Revealed: Rita Dominic’s Groundbreaking Career

Rita Dominic, whose full name is Rita Uchenna Nkem Dominic Waturuocha, a popular Nigerian actress and movie producer was born on July 12, 1975.

As a young girl she attended the Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, before heading to the University of Port Harcourt, where she graduated with a BA (Honours) Degree in Theatre Arts in 1999.

The award winning actress is from the Royal Waturuocha family of Aboh Mbaise local government area in Imo State.

The Nollywood diva started performing as a child, appearing in school plays and children’s television shows in Imo.

In 1998, she starred in her first movie, “A Time to Kill” and won the City People Awards in 2004 as the Most Outstanding Actress. In 2012, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and has so far starred in over 100 Nollywood productions.

In the course of her career, the Nollywood diva has been associated to quite a number of rumours ranging from marriage, relationship, pregnancy and unending  feud with colleagues.

At a time, Rita was reported to have been in a relationship with Mikel Obi, the Nigerian football star, following pictures which surfaced online of the pair together. It was even reported that Mikel intended proposing marriage to her.

Another picture made rounds online, this time, Rita and Ghanaian actor John Dumelo appeared to be married. It was later confirmed that the picture was from a scene in a movie. She was also romantically linked with Jim Iyke.

Rita has said severally, that she does believe in marriage and hopes to have her own family someday, she maintained that marriage is a personal journey and she will settle at the right time.

While marriage rumours made rounds, Rita also had to deal with alleged feud with colleagues and friends, Monalisa Chinda and Ini Edo.

Despite all controversy, Rita dominic has however remained silent, making such accusations loose ground over time.

The acting guru has numerous endorsements and awards to her name, as a result of her on-screen prowess, which has grown better with time.

Rita Dominic who is known to effortlessly slay at any red carpet or event, has remained undaunted in her career.

She remains the ever talented actress and producer, whose charisma, elegance and class has given her an edge among her contemporaries.

‘Nigeria May Be Backward, But Nigerians Are Not’ – Ben Murray-bruce

Posted by Businessman and Senator, Ben Murray-Bruce, on his Facebook page.

Why I Don’t Attend Council Of State Meeting With President Buhari – Fayose

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has revealed reasons why he decided not to attend President Muhamamadu Buhari’s council of states meeting each time its being called upon.

Fayose, in an interview with Vanguard over the weekend said: “Each time they call meeting, my deputy goes there.

You remember I was in Abuja, and I said expressly there that they were calling it economic summit; they brought all of us there, but when I saw the list of the people that will lecture us; I couldn’t allow a sick man to be treating me – people I knew ran the economy of their states aground were to be the lecturers in the summit”.

“And when you see the figures they brandished for arrangements and feeding running into over N250m; that is not economic summit. That is economic stealing. So, I send my deputy regularly”.

“I wrote three letters to the president, none of them was replied. Initially, when he became president, I didn’t start like this.

About two – three times I called the villa they would divert my call to the CSO, saying I cannot talk to the president. I should say whatever I want to say to him; a sitting governor? That is not Nigeria.

So, at that point, I had to steer clear because they were on a vendetta mission”.

The governor explains further that: “The fact that I criticise you; I don’t have to be in your party! The APC, every day they come here to do rallies, they say that Fayose should resign, they say Fayose is fraudulent, did you see me slapping anybody? I will just look at you.

There is freedom of expression. Even in the face of intimidation and even in the face of misbehaving, as a leader, you should accommodate all.

Let me give you one instance, which the APC can never do to anybody.

Throughout the tenure Fayemi was here, I never used a word that is unclean on him.

I tell him he is our leader because anybody God has put there is our leader truly!”

Delay In Salaries: 50 Lecturers Leave Kogi Varsity

At a briefing in Lokoja, yesterday, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Kogi State University branch, Dr. Daniel Aina lamented that no fewer than 50 lecturers have left the institution to the prolonged delay in salaries payment and other problems affecting the staffers of the institution.

Daniel warned that if nothing was done urgently, more qualified staff would join the exodus. 

He said the sad situation prompted the union’s industrial action in May, stressing that the strike would continue until all their demands were met.

Veteran Actor Olu Jacobs Celebrates His 74th Birthday Today.

 

Veteran Nollywood actor Olu Jacobs is a year older today July 11th. His wife/fellow veteran in the industry, Joke Silva shared a message to him via her Instagram page. She posted the photo above and captioned it,

“Happy Birthday dear One. May your strength be renewed like the eagles and your children’s children surround your table. Have a beautiful day.”

Nigeria’s inflation rate to return to stability —Economic research

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

(Vanguard news)

Nigeria’s inflation readings may close first half positive as research reports indicate a moderation to 15.4 per cent in the month of June 2016, down   from 15.6 per cent recorded for the preceding month, May 2016.

       

  Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria

       (CBN) Mr Godwin Emefiele

The trend has been on upswing month-on-month for the past ten months, culminating in a huge 6-year high recorded in May. National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, is expected to release its June figures this week. Research reports by FSDH Merchant Bank and Financial Derivatives Company, FDC, headed by Nigeria’s leading economist, Bismark Rewane, were in agreement that the headline rate for June would show a stabilizing range between 15.39 and 15.5 per cent. The stability would be coming at the backdrop of two major cost-push developments in the macroeconomic policy environment, notably, the upward price adjustment in petroleum products in May and the huge depreciation of the Naira against major currencies in June. In its report FSDH said it expects the marginal drop in inflation to come from decrease in the prices of tomatoes, beans and rice. Reflecting on the impacts of the two major cost-push developments in the economy, FSDH said “we believe the depreciation in the inter-bank foreign exchange rate did not translate to an increase in domestic prices because most transactions were earlier carried out at parallel market exchange rate”. According to economists at the investment bank “the prices of food items that FSDH Research monitored in June 2016 dropped on the average compared with May 2016. “The prices of tomatoes, Irish potatoes, rice and beans were down by 38.41%, 4%, 3.33% and 2.56%, while the prices of Irish potatoes, onions, vegetable oil, palm oil, fish and yam increased by 8.33%, 6.67%, 5.56% 5.56%, 1.96% and 0.46%. Meanwhile, the prices of garri and meat remained unchanged. “The movement in the prices of food items during the month resulted in a 0.79% increase in our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index to 203.32 points. We also noticed increases in Clothing and Footwear; Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels divisions between May and June 2016. “Our model indicates that the price movements in the consumer goods and services in June 2016 would increase the CCPI (composite consumer price index) to 199.82 points, representing a month-on-month increase of 0.76%. We estimate that the increase in the CCPI in June will produce an inflation rate of 15.39%”. FDC, in its own report stated that “after an almost unstoppable rise in headline inflation to a record high, the economy may be entering an era of disinflation or declining rates of inflation. “We are projecting inflation in June to drop from 15.6% to 15.5%. If this estimate turns out to be accurate, it will raise some fundamental questions as to the direction of inflation and possible level of interest rates in the money markets. However, FDC noted that headline inflation in Nigeria had almost been a loose cannon, defying most rules of economic gravity and logic, adding that the root cause of the near hyper inflation rate experienced in the last ten months can be traced to supply shocks, sometimes attributable to artificial scarcity compounded by uncertainty in the foreign exchange markets. The big question, according to them, is whether this drop in inflation is a blip or a point of inflection. On the likely impact of a stability in the financial markets, FDC noted that the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, scheduled to meet next week will be closely monitoring the inflation data. They stated “a lower inflation number will ease the pressure on the policy makers. However, a precipitated move such as lowering rates is an unlikely outcome at this meeting. “In aggregate, we see an upward shift in interest rates move out of the risk mitigation attitude of the market than as a result of the inflation data”. On the exchange rate they noted that Naira is still trying to find its true value in the transition from an imperfect towards a more efficient market, adding that the apparent lack of liquidity in the spot market is hampering the effective development of a forward and futures market. Consequently, FDC stated, “a 0.4% of a decline in the rate of inflation will be exchange rate neutral”. They also noted that the market will be looking forward to CBN’s willingness and ability to settle the 90-day foreign exchange forward contracts entered into on June 20, 2016, which will mature on  September 17, 2016. They added that analysts will derive some comfort from a lower inflation rate because the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) value of the Naira will actually appreciate.

Nigeria’s unity negotiable —Ex gov Attah

By Omeiza Ajayi (vanguard news)

ABUJA—Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, has, in apparent response to President Muhammadu Buhari, said that the country’s unity was negotiable.

                      Oboong Victor Attah
In an interview with Vanguard in Abuja weekend, the former governor said the only way out of the various challenges bedeviling Nigeria would be to adopt fiscal federalism, saying the country, as currently constituted, was unworkable. He said:  “Things that are happening in Nigeria are really very worrisome. There are those who feel some perception of injustice in the system. It is a perception, but sometimes, perception could be reality. ‘’We need to look at the situation holistically, and where there is justification, you correct them, and where there is none, you explain to the people why they should not have doubts or fears about them, if you wish, even-handedness of the government towards any part of the federation. ‘’But it points to one fundamental thing, that, we are still in the process of forming a country. ‘’If we had had one solid firm country, you would have found that a lot of these fears would not arise; there would be common fears, common to everybody but now they are sectional fears, sectional problems which means we have not really forged a country and there is an absolute and urgent need for that to happen. 

        ‘You have to renegotiate’

“You have to renegotiate. If you talk about renegotiation, some people think you want to split the country. No, it is like everytime they tell you to go and investigate somebody, you think it means you must go and find that person guilty. No, do not forget that they investigated Dr Alex Ekwueme and came back and said in fact, he was poorer than when he went in (to government). The people of Nigeria are dissatisfied with the current federal arrangement or whatever is binding them together now and are saying they want to renegotiate the terms of staying together. ‘’The President quoted Gowon. Gowon had said that keeping Nigeria one is a task that must be achieved. That task was achieved by military means. He (Buhari) is not a military man now, he is a democrat, a politician. So, the only means politicians have is to negotiate. ‘’So, what did you mean by you won’t negotiate? If you want to keep Nigeria one today, you must negotiate the terms and conditions of the people staying together and it goes back to the conference report, it goes back to the concept of fiscal federalism. ‘’You would find out that in the final analysis, that is what everybody would be saying to you. Go and study as religiously as you can, the constitutions of 1960 and 1963. “What is restructuring? Several people have used that word and have not been able to say what they mean. ‘’The few that have actually attempted to say what they mean either end up talking about going back to the regions as we had them before or adopting the six-zonal structure that had been proposed for Nigeria, which actually is in current usage but has not been sanctioned by the constitution of Nigeria. Others just use the word restructuring because it is almost like a buzz word, it is a popular thing to say now. ‘’I do not want to be caught up in the semantics. I will subscribe, absolutely and entirely, to the concept of fiscal federalism. People ask what is the difference between fiscal federalism and restructuring and I will explain. ‘’I am convinced that fiscal federalism can be practised with even the 36 state-structure and one federal capital territory that we have today in Nigeria. In fact, I can say, it is a must, for there to be peace and harmony, understanding among the federating units. 

      Kaduna State governor 
‘’Why haven’t the tar sands been exploited and so that they can go ahead and even have more money than the South-South, if you like, put together? It is just because we have refused to accept the concept of fiscal federalism. The governor of Kaduna was the one that said there is more gold in Kaduna than the whole of South Africa. ‘’ I am quoting the governor of Kaduna State. 
So, why should Kaduna State not be able to meet all of its obligations and put a lot of money into the federation account, which I condemn.” 

South-South is over-exploited
The former governor also stated that the Niger Delta area was currently over-exploited, a development he said had partially fuelled militancy in the area. He said:  “The South South has the feeling that the rest of the country wants to milk it, pollute it or completely milk it dry and then tell them goodbye. There is that fear and it is not being addressed because the question is why are you preserving all your resources and exploiting only this one? “There is this concept of diversification. When you talk about diversification, people just think it has to do with going into agriculture, apart from oil. It is not sufficient. ‘’Diversification should come in more areas than just agriculture. If we had diversified our source of power, today we would not feel it so much, at least certainly not in the effect of these bombings (of oil and gas installations). ‘’Today, we are dependent almost exclusively and entirely on the gas turbines and then oil, but if we had had hydro, coal and solar, those boys would see that they are hurting themselves because, we could say, ok, you have cut off the source of power in your area, so you do not have power but the other parts of the country would still have power. ” ‘’They would see that they are not hurting anybody other than themselves. And they would see that in fact, it is silly,what they are doing. So, diversification is beyond going into agriculture. ‘’You will diversify in several other areas and one of the areas you must look at urgently and you must begin to give confidence to other people who have these resources is in the solid minerals. ‘’Go and look at the ownership of Itakpe Iron Ore. It is a mineral resource but even the community is part of the ownership arrangement but tell me whether anybody was ever consulted before oil blocs were given out in the South-South. You know what I mean? ‘’That is why recently I wrote an article and said this Petroleum Industry Bill, let us go softly with it. ‘’Let us be sure that everything is even-handed because if you now come by this bill and treat oil mineral differently from other minerals and give the people on whose lands other minerals are found greater advantages than you have given to people on whose lands oil is found, there would still be dissatisfaction. ‘’So, why can’t we come out with “Mineral Bill”? The 10 percent that was supposed to be given, they said no, that because this one is governance bill. Is that happening in other areas of mineral exploitation? It is a question we have to answer.” 

Why Buhari must look at the 2014 Confab Report

Attah also faulted partisans who had continued to advance reasons as to why the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration must jettison the 2014 National Conference report. While he conceded that the recommendations contained in the report might not be totally perfect, he said the federal government should identify those it could implement since the exercise was widely accepted by the generality of Nigerians. “You would realize one thing; that the people who today are steering the party called APC, were in opposition at the time to the government in place. They did not like the idea, because they had this notion that whatever the government does, the opposition must oppose. ‘’So, they opposed the conference and I think they are just holding on to that for whatever reason. There comes a time when you have to acknowledge that, well, you did it because you had to do it or you did it because you were wrong, then you change that position. ‘’Somebody was writing, a major feature writer, in one of the newspapers and he was trying to support the president’s position with regards to that conference report. ‘’He wanted to say that the president has good reasons not to want to consider that report because after all, and this was what he said, President Jonathan did not even want to have it. ‘’He waited until he was under pressure and because he saw that the people would like it, so he called for the conference. Now, for me, that is an argument for somebody to look at that conference report because if it is something that the people would like, why won’t you do something that the people would like? ‘’I’ll add something else. I read where the current Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Babachir David Lawal) said he is so busy with governance and that it would take him about seven days to go through the report; where is the time to read the report? ‘’How can you be busy governing without being interested in knowing how the people want to be governed? To me, it is a very wrong argument. ‘’There are certain things in that report -I am not saying every decision taken was correct or right- that are imperative because they could bring the succour, they could bring the balm or whatever you need to create the harmony that we want in Nigeria today. You see, when people begin to say that they (government) did not like it in the first instance and so they must not honour it, if you find out that it is something that the people want, then you have to do it. ‘’Let’s not forget that the campaign mantra of this government was change. I was in the PDP then. ‘’When people asked me whether I saw my party winning the elections, I always told them that my party would not win and it was just for one reason, that what I hear from everybody is that we cannot continue this way, so change must come. ‘’Suddenly, if you remember the campaigns, PDP themselves started saying when we come back we would change certain things and I said, oh, you are now shouting change like the opposition is shouting change? ‘’So change must come, whether they would allow PDP to come back and effect those changes, fine but chances are that they are going to bring the people who conceived of the change to come in and effect the change. What that suggests to me is that nobody can successfully stand against an idea whose time has come. ‘’The time for change had come and nobody could stop it. Today, the need for, let me borrow your word, restructuring the fiscal arrangement of Nigeria has come and nobody can stand against it and I mean it. It is not a threat, it is just one of those things you feel, because you see and you know that this is the case. ‘’Fiscal federalism must come and the kernel for the establishment and operation of proper fiscal arrangement within the country is in that report and that report cannot and must therefore not be ignored,” he said. 
The former governor also opined that there was no need giving financial bail-out to states, arguing that any state that could no longer meet its obligations should fuse with others.

How Buhari inspires Osinbajo- Laolu Akande, VP’s spokesman

By Levinus Nwabughiogu (vanguard)

Though it is not known to many Nigerians, the Office of he Vice President is actually saddled with the task of providing the economic roadmaps in conjunction with relevant bodies for the president’s approval. And so, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo wouldn’t stop at nothing to help his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari succeed in putting the country on a sound pedestal. For one year now, both men have come to appreciate their passion for the country and Osinbajo’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande who follows and greatly understands the passion of these two leaders shares with select few Newspapers a vivid insider’s account of what the Economic Team located in the Vice President’s office has been doing, the gains of the Social Welfare Scheme of the government amongst other things. Vanguard was there. Excerpts:

The Vice President is doing a lot on the economy and apparently, the impact of this administration’s Economic Management Team has not been felt on the nation’s economy, one year after. What will you tell Nigerians?

Laolu akande,

VP's spokeman

I think the Economic Management Team started taking shape after ministers were inaugurated. That means it is not up to a year. That was probably October or November 2015 or thereabout. We have to understand that the attitude of this Presidency is to consider the management of the economy as a government responsibility. It is not something that this government believes should be done by bringing in some of the private interests into the economic team to take a decision that they will be directly involved with. So our stand is that the management of the economy is a government responsibility and we engage the stakeholders in the economy. For instance, we have started meeting on constant basis with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN. There have been meetings with arms of the economic sector of the country. There have been meetings with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG and some other economic interests with companies making presentations. But generally, this is a government team and the team has been able to set out before the budget trying to figure out what the budget ought to focus on. After the budget was presented and eventually signed, there was also the publication of the strategic implementation plan which was produced in a reader friendly format. All of these are the outcomes of what Economic Management Team does and it is also in the team that you have the heap of the whole physical and monetary policy and don’t forget that the monetary policy is always the duty and responsibility of the Central Bank which is an economic arm of government. At times, more than once in a week, almost certainly most of the time, the team meets every Monday and make proposal and suggestions to the President but then, the team is actually like an adhoc committee of the Federal Executive Council and that is why we don’t throw a lot of media around it because it is a committee that is meant to advise Mr. President. So the team, for instance, defined six themes around the economy and used that to build the budget and reflate the economy. The first is Policy, Governance and Security which includes issues such as ensuring a stable and predictable currency exchange rate and securing the nation among others. The second one is Economic Diversification which includes achieving targeted self sufficiency in agriculture produce and increasing private sector investments. The third is infrastructural development which includes the completion of several NIPPs, the Lagos -Calabar coastal railway among others. Oil and gas reforms is the fourth one and it includes privatisation of refineries, PIB, ensuring gas availability to power the plants. The Ease of Doing Business is the fifth one. In this regard, the President has constituted a Presidential Council headed by the VP to look at fast tracking Pre-investment approvals across the country, eliminate bureaucratic delays and so on. The last one is the social investment meant to assuage unemployment pains, development of human capacity and improve school enrollment


Nigerians are saying that the economy right now is not in a good shape. How do you tell them that the government is working towards ensuring that the economy bounces back? 
As much as we try not to say this, we know as a matter of fact that members of the past administration, most of them have come out to say they did not save for the rainy day. So we are dealing mostly with situations that have been caused even before this administration took over power. The President and his team have worked hard and planned not only to save cost, not only to tighten public expenditure but to also diversify the economy like never before. So we are sure and we believe that going forward, things will begin to pick up again. It is taking a while because of the extent of the damage. If the country took a sharp drop as much as 70 percent drop in its foreign earning, you can begin to understand some of the difficulties that the country is going through where States used to share a huge sum of money which have come down incredibly. For instance, I believe in April I think the whole foreign earning was just about $550m which is low. So these are the problems and a lot of what is happening right now in the country is as a result of some of the decisions that were taken in the past but the administration has clearly changed the direction of this country and going forward we expect better things.

This is the second year of the administration and the same song of what the past government did or didn’t do is still responsible for where we are. When would Nigerians expect the first fruit of this administration?

The first fruit is already in place because we have started rebuilding. I think to some extent, that question presupposes that building is still continuing, no!   I believe that a huge factor in the way Nigeria is today economically is corruption. We can’t run away from that and the President has made it clear and I think everyone in the country now understands that and it is not going to continue. Effectively, he has reduced the corruption in Nigeria. Look at the TSA, for instance, which has managed to save over N3trn that would have been lost if we didn’t have the TSA implemented. I think he tried to cut cost with many ghost workers in the federal payroll detected and I understand that the process is continuing. So one of the things that the President has delivered is that the bleeding has stopped and that is so important.

The constitution requires that whatever is made is deposited into the Federation’s Account in which case, you can’t keep aside any money. So how can this government accuse past government of not saving? 
Well, there are several ways of managing your resources adequately in a prudent way. Firstly, when a barrel was being sold for over $100, what did we do with the money? It is a very simple preposition. And as much as some of our friends in the media will tend to say what is up and down there is no way you won’t have to look back to look forward. That is the point. How many of the infrastructural projects that were made have been implemented for the betterment of people? How many were delivered? And how many roads were built for instance in the last 8, 9, 10 years? These are the ways of managing your resources well to take care of the future and I think when you look at the idea of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, it is also a good idea which this country needs. That is why we say Nigeria would have safeguarded much more than what we have. So when you spend your resources adequately on your people, when you spend your resources on infrastructure, in the sense, you are saving. What I am saying is that we had a lot of wrongs in the past.

Let’s look at the government’s social welfare scheme. Many would have thought that with the media hype that characterized it, by now, you should have been able to point to certain number of people that have benefited from the scheme.


You have to agree that we do have some delay in the whole process because of the timing of the budget approval. For instance, when we came in at the end of May, there was no way the government could implement some of those social welfare schemes because it was not budgeted for. So we had to wait for the budget process to kick in so that we can begin to put our ideas forward which was done and since the budget has been signed now, we are taking off.   For instance, we have started the 500, 000 jobs for unemployed graduates and people have been applying and I can tell you that the project will continue for the rest of July and the application process should end sometime at the end of this month and we would go to the next stage of picking the 500, 000 unemployed that have been selected. The school feeding is also in the process. We are in the process of sitting down with the States that will start the first phase of it, trying to work out the modalities of how that is done. I think we can identify the States that would start. The States are already developed with the World Bank or the states where the register has been developed working with the World Bank to start the conditional cash transfer. So that is also in progress. As soon as funds become available, we would begin to announce very soon the commencement of these programmes.

What is the time frame of these projects. Besides, do you think that N23,000 earmarked as the salaries can sustain a graduate looking at the harsh economic realities on ground now.
I believe the intention of the President is to make impact in the lives of Nigerians. The 500,000 jobs for unemployed graduates is a continuous programme. So, we expect that the people are going to exit after two years and I also think a new set of people after the two years will come in but it is going to get to a point that the economy would have picked up and sufficiently advanced to create private sector jobs. So, we can’t begin to talk about the termination of the programme now because it is just starting. Hopefully it is something that is going to go on for a while. On the issue of the N23, 000, the way we conceived   the allocation of 500,000 jobs for unemployed graduates is not so much to see it as a full time permanent job. It is like a volunteer job and then people get paid. The idea is to intervene. The idea is to say that N23, 000 is better than nothing. They will stay in their community and help to teach, help in health sector. N23,000 is not a lot of money but it is an intervention to reduce the situation. We believe within two years, all things being equal and by the grace of God and all the programmes of this government in the economy, technology, agriculture, more jobs, real jobs, better jobs would be created. One thing that you are also not taking into consideration is the fact that we planned to pay N30,000 but an idea came that why don’t we actually do more in terms of preparing and equipping those selected 500,000 graduates by giving a laptop or an iPad that would be equipped with different kinds of Apps that can help them to develop new skills. So N7,000 would be taken out of the N30,000   and would be used to give them maybe an iPad or a laptop. We are working with Microsoft and some technology firms abroad on how to give a good and useful skill that people can be empowered through and by that, even though he or she leaves in two years, he or she would take away that iPad, that laptop and be allowed to continue to improve themselves. So we are looking at it as something that is a little bit more exciting than just those two years. We intend to create conditions that would give opportunity to people to actually discover their hidden talents, some of their gifts by exposing them to better technology in different aspects of life.


Some people have the impression that the recruitment would have been better handled by the NDE or relevant ministries instead of the office of the Vice President. They feel the exercise will not be transparent under the current arrangement. How will you react to this?

The first thing about this process is that it is transparent and that is why we are using a platform that everybody can go and check. That is the first thing. That is why we are insisting on applications. NDE is involved. The ministries are involved. When we have a project that cuts across ministries, we need   co-ordination and that is what the Presidency is doing. So it is for the reason of bringing about effective co-ordination of some of these programmes that Mr. President has asked the Vice president to co-ordinate this programme to bring the ministries together. It is not just something that is done by one ministry and you don’t want a situation where everybody would be going in different ways. The Presidency exists for the purposes of coordinating the job of government. That is why it is being co-ordinated. So each of these programme has inter-ministerial interactions and working effectively and efficiently to deliver on the programme of Mr. President.

The Vice President co-ordinates the economy under this administration. Is he not concerned about reports of illegal recruitments in some government agencies such as CBN and FIRS?
Some of these reports are inaccurate. What we heard is that government is working to ensure that we develop going forward in more transparent process. We are committed in going forward to ensure that some of these procedures are refined, fine tuned and made to become more transparent.


How has it been serving the government in the last one year?

Well, it has been exciting especially for someone like me having lived outside this country for 17 years. So, to have the opportunity to serve a President and Vice President both of whom are men of high integrity, is a privilege and it is also a very unique opportunity to work with the President and Vice President: people that you know will not go back and cut corners. I think it is good that we have a President that has integrity.   We have a leader at this time who everybody knows is very honest. Someone whose only agenda is how to make this country great again. I must tell you that it is extremely inspiring in the last one year. I count myself blessed.


How do you cope with the pace of the Vice-President who is apparently a workaholic?

I think the Vice President himself is inspired by the President. That is the truth. I remember I had a discussion with him even before he gave me the job and he told me he had always regarded the then General Buhari for his frugalness, honesty, his desire to touch the lives of people. So I believe the Vice President sees this as an opportunity that Nigeria has, having a leader of President Buhari’s calibre. He has to throw in everything that he has got to make this administration work to support the programme of the President. That is why you see the Vice President working endlessly because he believes that having someone like President Buhari at the head of affairs of this country is a great opportunity that shouldn’t be lost.