I will unbundle Supreme Court, Keyamo promises Says Nigeria to have 6 regional apex courts Submits that constitution replete with mistakes, needs amendment Tunde Opalana, Abuja
A ministerial nominee, Festus Keyamo (SAN) from Delta State said if President Muhammadu Buhari appoints him minister of justice and
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Ministerial screening:
attorney general of the federation, his first priority assignment will be to restructure the Supreme Court. Keyamo said the Supreme Court will henceforth, operate on regional basis with one in each of the six geopolitical
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Iran demands El-Zakzaky’s release from Nigeria g5 NO. 1001
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Malami justifies El-Zakzaky, Dasuki’s continued detention Says their detention is in public interest Canvasses collaboration between executive and legislature
Tunde Opalana, Abuja A minister -designate - Abubakar Malami (SAN) has justified the continued incarceration of the leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El- Zakzaky and former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) among others being kept behind bars in spite of court judgements ordering their release. Malami, who was the immediate former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, said such persons suffer continuous detention in the interest of the public. Absolving the Federal Government of any wrong doing in detaining Dasuki and El-Zakzaky against public outcry, Malami, who appeared before the Senate screening of ministerial nominees on Friday, said Nigerians should not
Confusion, g 4 intrigue trail Justice Tsoho’s swearing-in as acting chief judge Teenage sex trade booms in Delta as used condoms litter uncompleted g4 buildings
throw sentiments into their continuous detention which is in the interest of the nation at large. Substantiating his submission with Section 174 of the 1999 constitution (as amended), he said the constitutional provisions creates room for preference of public interest over private interest. Malami was responding to a question raised by the Senate minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, on the continuous detention of people against order of courts for their bail. Abaribe quoted exclusive rights of individual Nigerians as entrenched in Sections 36 to 44 of the constitution which he said are not being respected in the case of Dasuki and El-Zakzaky and others. Malami said: “I concede as argued by the Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP Abia South) that a minister of justice and CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Imo uncovers looted govt g 4 properties in warehouses own by Okorocha’s wife g8 FG, OGP partner to reduce secrecy in governance
Amazing story of Mike Tyson’s marijuana empire g 11
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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‘Malami justifies El-Zakzaky, Dasuki’s continued detention’ Continued from page 1
attorney general as stipulated by sections 36, 37 and 39 of the constitution, supposed to protect the rights of any citizen from being violated even by the state, but where such rights conflicts with public interest, the latter overrides the former. “The office of the attorney general has exclusive responsibility of upholding the public interest above personal interest of anybody”. He went further to cite the ruling of Supreme Court on Federal Government versus Asari Dokubo where on the grounds of public interest, the court refused him bail. Sambo Dasuki has since December 2015 been
detained at the instance of the Federal Government on alleged corrupt practices, while El- Zakzaky alongside his wife were also being detained since December 2015 on alleged treasonable offences. Malami also advocated more collaboration between the executive and legislature at different parliamentary processing stages of bills to avoid high turnover of bills not assented to by the President. He said: “Absence of collaboration and cooperation between the legislature and the executive, accounted for high rate of bills rejection by the Presidency from the last Assembly. “For such scenario not
to repeat itself during the current 9th National Assembly, culture of deeprooted collaboration between the two arms, has to be put in place. “The culture of collaboration between the two arms has to be demonstrated right from the stage of conception or formulation of a bill, up to the level of public hearing and eventual passage. “For example, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was fundamentally rejected by the executive for lack of this required collaboration especially as regards the interest of host community perceived by the executive to have been compromised through provisions of the bills.”
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PHOTO TIMES
L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; Liberian President George Weah and Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gbehzohngar Findley as President Buhari is decorated with The Grand Cordon of the Knighthood of Venerable Order of the Pioneers,” Republic of Liberia’s highest national honour as part of Liberian 172nd Independence Anniversary Celebration in Monrovia...on Friday.
I will unbundle Supreme Court, Keyamo promises Continued from page 1 zones of the country, lamenting that the apex court is the busiest in the world and is over-burdened with frivolous cases that are below the standard of the highest court in the judicial system of any nation. The spokesperson of the Buhari/ Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Council highlighted his plan for a holistic reformation of the nation’s judicial system while fielding questions from senators on Friday during the screening of ministerial nominees. Keyamo said the Supreme Court in Abuja will handle cases bordering on constitutional, political and election jurisdiction while the court at regional level will handle other classes of cases. He as well faulted the decision of cases before the Supreme Court as presently constituted by just seven out of the 21 justices on the bench, describing such as scandalous. Keyamo frowned at the provision of the court establishment that makes the remaining 14 justices indolent and involuntary acceptance of the verdict of the ruling seven judges without power to raise objections. “If the President assigns me the portfolio of the attorney general, the first thing I will do is to reform the judiciary with my cardinal reformation principle, namely to decongest the Supreme Court, to decongest the prisons and to decongest courts across the country. “As an attorney general of the federation, I will decongest the Supreme Court which is the busiest in the world. Nigeria will have six regional Supreme Courts. Let me say without being immodest that the Supreme Court diary uptill 2022 is fully booked. “I will press for an
amendment of the 31 justices. I will make a holistic restructuring of the Supreme Court and unbundling of the court,” he asserted. Keyamo, who commended the 7th National Assembly for passing the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which provides for prison decongestion in the country, lamented that only a few states in the country have replicated the provision in their judicial system, adding that “it is unfortunate, that the provisions are not complied with by states. State governments must amend their criminal procedure acts.” The nominee picked holes in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as being replete with mistakes that impact negatively on the judicial system, submitting that a handful of provisions of the constitution need to be amended. Keyamo specifically called for a review of the constitutional powers granted the attorney general at the federation and state levels, particularly the provision that says the discretion of the attorney general cannot be questioned. He said: “Let us amend the constitution to make power of the director of public prosecution. It should be subjected to review.” When asked by Senator Dino Melaye on the usurpation of the power of the Code of Conduct Bureau by the Presidential Committee on Recovery of Public Properties headed by Okono Obla, he agreed that there is a conflict of roles, but blamed the inability of the legislature to amend the provision. Keyamo explained that the committee in question was a creation of the military decree in 1984, but was transmitted into law by an Act of parliament while the legislature under subsequent governments has
not attempted to amend the provision. Also, during the screening exercise, a constitutional issue was raised by the senator representing Bayelsa West, Sen. Lawrence Ewrujakpor, who noted that the Senate has breached Section 121 of the Senate Standing Rule and Part 2 of the 5th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in screening nominees without proper asset declaration. Ewrujakpor said nominees are constitutionally requested to have declared their assets before been screened for appointment into public offices. He said: “Mr. President, I noticed that this trend was not followed since we started this screening exercise. This is a breach of our rule and that of the provision of the constitution.” The senator said glossing over this important constitutional provision is not in tandem with the anticorruption campaign of the incumbent administration of President Buhari. “This call is not to witch hunt anybody, but to satisfy constitutional provisions. It could be ascribed to the hurried nature of the assignment. I am happy that the Senate has taken note. We have not lost any ground, we can make amends,” he added The Senate President noted the point of order. Meanwhile, the Senate on Friday screened seven nominees, bringing to 31 the number of ministersdesignates so far screened. Screened on Friday were Abubakar Malami from Kebbi State, Sen. Hadi Sirika from Katsina State, Dr. Osagie Ehanire from Edo State, Mrs. Paullen Tallen from Plateau State, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi from Sokoto State, Festus Keyamo from Delta State and Dr. Ali Isa Pantami from Gombe State.
Fourth from left is Ibrahim Magu, Ag. Chairman, EFCC; Dr. Joe Abah, Country Director, DAI; Olanipekun Olukoyede, Secretary to the EFCC and Esther Adegunle from DAI.; 1st right from left is Dr. Aminu Gusau, Director Organisational Support; Tony Amokeodo, SA (Media) to the Chairman, EFCC and Tony Orilade, Ag. Spokesperson, EFCC.
L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Transcorp Power Limited, Mr. Kalyana Sundaram; President/CEO, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc,, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo; Managing Director/ CEO, Transcorp Hotels Plc, Mrs Owen Omogiafo; and Executive Director, Business Development and Legal Services, Mr. Christopher Ezeafulukwe, during the Transcorp Half Year Analyst Parley held in Lagos...on Tuesday
Executives of Correspondents’ chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Kwara State during their inauguration in Illorin, the state capital.
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Confusion, intrigue trail Justice Tsoho’s Teenage sex trade booms in Delta as used condoms litter swearing-in as acting chief judge Andrew Orolua, Abuja The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, on Friday, swore in Justice John Tsoho as the acting chief judge of the Federal High Court after an aborted 10 am ceremony which officials claimed was put off because a letter from the Presidency was not forthcoming. In his remarks, the chief justice failed to allude to the early morning confusion, but said that Justice Tsoho has been sworn in as the acting chief judge of the Federal High Court in compliance with the constitution being the most senior judge after the retirement of Justice Adamu AbdulKafarati. He said that “Justice Tsoho has served as a judge at the Federal High Court for a very long time and he has risen to be the number two in hierarchy and by the constitution he is the most senior. “We hope he will do well and improve upon the achievements of the court. You have a lot of responsibilities as head of this court that is spread all over the country with many judges.” He urged that if the new acting chief judge wants to nominate new judges, he must carry out a thorough scrutiny of nominees and expressed the hope that the welfare and conditions of service of judges and staff of the Federal High Court would improve under Justice Tsoho’s tenure. Justice Muhammad enjoined the acting chief judge to take time off and pay visits to other divisions of the court to see things personally and paid glowing tributes to retired Justice Abdul- Kafarati, who he said was
called to the bench same day with him. Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmoud Mohammed, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice Ejembi Eko of the Supreme Court and several judges of the Federal High Court witnessed the swearing- in. Earlier in the morning on Friday, Justice Tsoho and guests who came for the ceremony left the venue disappointed after waiting for hours. The Supreme Court on Thursday sent out invitations that the chief justice will swear -in Justice Tsoho as the acting chief judge of the Federal High Court by 10 am on Friday. However, the swearing-in ceremony which was supposed to take place at the main bowl of the apex court at 10 am on Friday could not hold because “there was no letter from the Presidency approving the swearing-in.” Though, at 9:37 am on Friday, Justice Tsoho and a large number of his wellwishers and staff of the Federal High Court were seated, but the chief justice who ought to administer the oath of office was conspicuously absent. After a long wait till about 11:30 am, a staff of the Supreme Court, who spoke on behalf of the chief registrar of the court, informed the gathering that the swearing-in will not take place. He said that the Supreme Court is still expecting the letter from the Presidency authorising the swearing-in of Justice Tsoho as the acting chief judge of the Federal High Court, adding that when they receive the letter, Justice Tsoho will be sworn- in. A senior lawyer, who was among those in attendance, said that the unfortunate lapse has created a vacuum in the Federal High Court leadership as the tenure of Justice Kafarati expired by 12 midnight on
uncompleted buildings Nosa Akenzua, Asaba
Justice Tsoho Thursday. The Director of Information of the Supreme Court, Dr. Festus Akande, told The Daily Times that “once the letter reaches the court from the Presidency, the swearing-in will take place immediately, adding “it can even happen on Saturday, if we get the letter on Friday.” Justice Tsoho was born on June 24, 1959 in Mbaduku, Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State. He attended Saint Anthony’s Primary School Chenge-Mbaduku in 1967 -1972 and proceeded to St Michael’s Secondary School Alaide and obtained his WASC in 1977 and Murtala college of Arts, Science and Technology, Makurdi (IJMBE) from 1978 - 1979. Justice Tsoho was appointed judge of the federal high court on November 12, 1998.
Imo uncovers looted govt properties in warehouses own by Okorocha’s wife Val Okara, Owerri The Imo State Recovery of Movable Assets Committee led by Jasper Ndubuaku on Friday uncovered warehouses packed with 40 feet containers loaded with looted state government properties. The warehouses where the looted government properties were packed belong to Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha, wife of the immediate past Governor of the state, Sen. Rochas Okorocha. In the warehouses located along Aba Road opposite Alaba Market beside the sealed All-In One plaza owned by Okorocha’s wife, the committee discovered all types of furniture, air conditioners and electronic gadgets previously used to decorate the Imo International Conference Centre, the Ahiajoku Centre and other government offices before they were looted. Also discovered in the warehouses were the corrugated roofing sheets removed from the state secretariat and the state House of Assembly complex. The bursting of the warehouses by the asset recovery committee attracted the traders at the Alaba International Market, commercial bus operators and other angry residents who were about to vent their anger at
the former governor’s daughter who arrived at scene and started abusing the committee members as well as security agents that accompanied the committee. The state Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo and his men, who were present to forestall any breakdown of law and order, prevented the mob from venting their anger on her. Although, the plea from the police boss did not dissuade the angry youth and traders from pelting Mrs. Nwosu with stones as she attempted to leave the place before a member of the recovery team persuaded them to stop their actions. Fielding questions from journalists at the premises, the chairman of the recovery committee, Jasper Ndubuaku said the team acted on a tip -off and discovered the massive warehouses where most of the looted government properties were kept. Ndubuaku disclosed that some of the properties found in the warehouses include most of the looted items from the Government House, such as beddings, window blinds, chairs and tables from the Imo International Conference Centre and the Imo Trade and Investment Centre, electronic gadgets and air conditioners amongst others. “Luckily, some citizens were
attracted and the state Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo came around and decided that we seal this place. “The funny thing is that all those point seven millimetre roofing sheets removed from the Imo State secretariat and House of Assembly are all packed here. They removed all those things and then used point 3.5 mm to re-roof the state secretariat and the House of Assembly,” he added. Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo expressed happiness that his men were able to forestall a breakdown of law and order. According to him, tempers were very high to the extent that some the mob numbering over 100 persons were about destroying the property and even killing people before the police intervened. He said his happiness was the application of justice and professionalism by the police, which resulted in the citizens, the government and the immediate past governor believing more in the assurances of the police. The Daily Times on Saturday recalls that the operatives of the EFCC last Tuesday sealed some of the properties illegally acquired by Okorocha’s family members and his associates.
Teenage sex trade for financial gains has continued to thrive in Asaba and its environs in Delta State with uncompleted buildings being used as their operational base. Though the Delta State Government through its Secretary (SSG), Barrister Chiedu Ebie, had in a chat with journalists in Asaba last weekend condemned the increasing rate of persons sleeping in uncompleted buildings across the state including nefarious activities being carried out in many of the buildings, but the situation appeared to not to be abating as the ‘sexual marabouts’ have continued to eke their living through random sex with sex hungry men for financial gains. Investigation revealed that these teenage ‘sex traders’ operate as visiting prostitutes from neighbouring states like Edo, Anambra, and Imo and are hardened cigarettes smokers with disdain manners. It was exclusively gathered that they are allegedly empowered by powerful native doctors with “do what I ask love charm” as powder they rob on their faces during night fall and in preparing for their routine sexual business. Clad often in disarming skimpy dresses and pointing to power zero artificially pumped breasts, these teenage sex traders, further investigation revealed, operate in Summit Junction Asaba, Nnebisi road close to a popular international hotel, Okwe quarters, Ibusa Community and Ogwashi Uku Community where they hoodwink unsuspecting sex hungry men into sexual intercourse for between N10,000 and N15,000 depending on negotiations. Apart from within Asaba operations, they have also discovered powerful operational areas such as Umunede Community, Ubulowhoi Community and Onicha Ugbo Junction where they operate full swing sexual bouts with trailer drivers including other smaller motorists who derive pleasure in casual sex with them even without the use of condoms. Their business in Asaba and other places in the state, our informed sources said, is profitable as the cost of sex through the night range from N30,000 to N40,000 with additional blow jobs
and heavy sucking of their customers’ genitals for quick ejaculation. At the uncompleted buildings, sources said they bribe their way into the rooms through area boys/men who collect N2,000 on each sexual intercourse with a customer for forty to sixty minutes depending on the sexual strengthen of the customer on well dressed foams with tissue papers positioned for their cleaning exercise after sex. Abeiyuwa (surname withheld), who spoke to our reporter, said that they make more money in Asaba hence they moved into it for sexual activities, adding:”We often settle Area Boys/Men with N2,000 and Police with N1,000 after which we are allowed to sleep with our customers and the following morning we will go back to Benin and others not from Benin will go to where they came from”. Asked why she took to prostitution at age of sixteen years, Abeiyuwa said: “I don’t have anybody caring for me and I am from Benin and my parents are very poor, and I need to assist them since they will not allow prostitution in Benin again,” disclosing that she was introduced to Asaba by a friend. Some of their customers, who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, described the teenage sex traders as the best, adding: “We are enjoying sex with them better than those big girls carrying disease about. When you try them they will just finish you in bed”. Unconfirmed sources said that these teenage prostitutes are crazy in sex with men and most often knock out the overzealous sex hungry men whose performance portends laughable narrative. But the Police Commissioner in the state, Adeleke Adeyinka, who spoke to journalists in Asaba, said that the police were on top of investigation about the teenage girls operating as prostitutes, adding that though no arrest has been made, there was ongoing investigation to bring the perpetrators to book. “We are worried because of their activities as teenagers and we shall soon bring them to book, especially as they operate in uncompleted buildings and also invite hoodlums to have sex with them every day”, the Police boss said.
Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Iran demands El-Zakzaky’s release from Nigeria I r a n i a n government has asked Nigeria to send the leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiites, Sheikh Ibrahim El- Zakzaky to Iran for medical treatment. The Prosecutor-General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammed Montazeri, who made the demand, urged the Federal Government and the judiciary to allow El-Zakzaky get medical attention because of his deteriorating health condition. A report by AhlulBayt News Agency, an Iranbased news organisation, the prosecutor general made the demand in a letter on July 20, 2019. He was said to have called on the Judiciary to grant bail to El-Zakzaky, who is the leader of all Shia Muslims in Nigeria and criticised Nigerian government’s handling of the crisis, adding that El-Zakzaky’s current medical condition had become a source of worry.
“I, as the prosecutor general of the Islamic Republic of Iran, urge the Nigerian judicial authorities (to take steps) in line with their judicial independence and support for a captive citizen, and provide the ground for his release and transfer him to the Islamic Republic of Iran for treatment,” he said. The Daily Times in its Tuesday Editorial commentary demanded that the Islamic sect leader should be released by Federal Government without further delay. “El-Zakzaky was arrested in December, 2015, barely six months after Buhari was sworn in as civilian president. The arrest and detention followed a bloody clash between members of IMN and the Nigeria Army which accused the Shiites of blocking the highway and disallowing the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai passage on the Kaduna-Zaria road while they were
Echono
observing their annual religious procession. “During the clash, over 400 Shiite members including three sons of the Islamic cleric, were reportedly killed by the Army and buried in mass grave. El-Zakzaky who was seriously wounded, was arrested alongside his wife and have been in detention
since then. “While the case has been in court over the years, El-Zakzaky has been granted bail several times by courts of competent jurisdiction but the government has refused to release him citing security and other concerns,” Daily Times editorial commentary recalled.
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Magu laments obstacles in repatriation of stolen funds The acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has lamented the difficulties being experienced in the repatriation of stolen assets traced to foreign countries, making a clarion call on international law enforcement agencies to assist the agency in this regard. “The process of repatriating monies stashed abroad has been very frustrating and disappointing, yet we have done everything possible, gone out of our way to encourage our sister agencies, but cooperation is almost nil,” he said. Magu expressed the concern on Thursday at the EFCC Head Office, Jabi, Abuja, during a visit by Dr. Joe Abah, Country Director of DAI Nigeria, an international development firm implementing programmes covering governance, in more than 100 countries worldwide. He said: “We have been investigating a number of cases for over four years working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, National Crimes Agency and even the Crown Prosecution Service, we have done everything possible, gone out of our way to encourage our sister agencies, but except there is a third party involved there is no cooperation.” While noting that “the Swiss have been more cooperative”, Magu observed that “the others never disclose their findings”, and are “very reluctant to get the proceeds repatriated”. “We are willing to go outside this country to give evidence, and to share the intelligence that we have,” he stressed.
He further noted that President Muhammadu Buhari has remained unwavering in his vision and mission of ensuring victory in the anti-corruption crusade. “The next level in the corruption fight is promising, there is political will and we are going to be daring,” he said. He further noted the importance of inter-agency collaboration between the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Fraud Offences Commission, ICPC, the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, FRC, stressing that multi-agency collaboration was key to winning the corruption war. Noting that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA 2015 has been “very helpful”, he opined that “majority of the people in the Judiciary are not doing well, but a few of them are, and we use to have dialogue with them to share our experience, and this has been very helpful”. He further revealed that from January till date, the EFCC has secured about 550 convictions. While commending the MacArthur Foundation and the DAI for their support of the anticorruption crusade in Nigeria, he called for more support for the EFCC in all areas possible. According to Abah, the visit was part of efforts aimed at further supporting the anticorruption crusade in Nigeria. “We recognise the valuable work EFCC is doing to preventing, investigating, prosecuting and combating financial and economic crimes,” he said.
WASSCE: Over 1m candidates obtain credits and above in 5 subjects 180,205 candidates’ results withheld over exam misconduct
Esther Taiwo This will be a cheery news for parents, guardians and students as out of 1,590,173 candidates that sat for the 2019 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), a total of 1,020,519 candidates representing 64.18% obtained credits and above in minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics. Announcing the results at a press briefing to announce the release of WASSCE results for school candidates on Friday at the WAEC National Office, Yaba, Head of the Nigeria national office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr. Olu Adenipekun, said of this number, 507,862 representing 49.77% were male candidates, and 512,655 representing 50.23% were female candidates. He, however, said the percentage of candidates
in this category in the WASSCE for School Candidates in 2018 was 50%. “The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates 2019 took place in the five member countries of WAEC from Monday, April 9, 2019 to Friday, June 7, 2019” “The Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Candidates’ Scripts took place at 83 Marking Venues in Nigeria while one Subject was electronically-marked in three selected Computer Centres. A total of 80,125 Examiners participated in the coordination and marking exercise”, he said. He said a total of 1,596,161 candidates registered for the examination from 18,639 recognised secondary schools in Nigeria. “Of the number that registered for the examination, 1,590,173 candidates sat the examination. The examination was also
administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea where the Nigeria curriculum for the Senior Secondary School were in use”, he said. The head of WAEC national office noted further that a total of 1,918 candidates with varying degrees of special needs were registered for the examination saying out of this number 299 were visually challenged, 842 had impaired hearing; 158 had low vision; 75 were spastic cum mentally challenged, and 85 were physically challenged. All these candidates with special needs, according to him, were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination adding that their results have also been processed and released along with other candidates. “Of the total number of 1,590,173 candidates that sat the examination in Nigeria, 822,098 were male
while 768,075 were female, representing 51.70% and 48.30% respectively. “Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination in Nigeria, 1,468,071 candidates, representing 92.32% have their results fully processed and released while 122,102 candidates representing 7.68% have a few of their subjects still being processed”. He said efforts are however being made to speedily complete the processing and all the affected candidates will get their results fully processed and released subsequently. The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination shows that out of the 1,590,173 candidates that sat the examination: 1,309,570 candidates representing 82.35% obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects that is, with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics; 180,205
candidates, representing 11.33% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. “The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council in due course. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools,” he stated. “The details of the results are already available online, and candidates who sat the examination and who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council are free to check the details of their performance on the Council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org. “The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number needed by candidates to check their results online are contained on the candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the
examination. Certificates of candidates whose results have been fully processed and released will be ready within the next 90 days from today (Friday)”, the HNO added. Olanipekun on behalf of the Management and entire Staff of the Council in Nigeria expressed gratitude to all the Supervisors, Invigilators, Custodians, Examiners and other Ad-hoc personnel for their support towards the successful conduct of the examination and marking of scripts. “Our sincere appreciations also go to the officials of the Federal and State Ministries of Education, ANCOPPS and to the Nigeria Police and other Security Agencies for their assistance and cooperation during the conduct of the examination. We are equally grateful to schools that availed the Council the use of their facilities for various activities of the Council despite other commitments,” he said.
News 6
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#BBOG challenges FG to confirm Short News NEMA receives 171 Nigerian or deny Leah Sharibu’s death Andrew Orolua, Abuja
Members of the #BringBackOurGirls movement have called on the federal government to confirm or deny the video released by Boko Haram stating that Leah Sharibu and Alice Loksha have been killed. The group said it has read the statement put out by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu as the government’s reaction from the Presidency are unsatisfatory. #BBOG, in a statement signed by Florence Ozor, Gapani Yanga and Nifemi Onifade respectively, said it is the constitutional duty of the government to uphold the dignity of life of all Nigerians. They stated that “#BringBackOurGirls calls on the federal government to confirm or deny claim of the death of Leah Sharibu and Alice Loksha with a proof of life video. “The claim that Leah Sharibu, the sole remaining Dapchi schoolgirl of the 110 students abducted by
Boko Haram on February 19, 2018 and Alice Loksha Ngaddah, an aid worker with UNICEF may be dead is extremely troubling. “Grace Taku, a recently abducted aid worker with Action Against Hunger, made this claim of Leah and Alice’s death in a proof of life video released by the insurgents on July 24. She stated that Leah and Alice were killed by the insurgents because of the federal government’s inability to do something. “We have read the statement put out by a senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, as the government’s reaction from the Presidency to this disconcerting news. We are however, not satisfied, especially given that the statement is characterised by too many innuendos as well as lame assurances that are not backed up with any credible evidence. “We therefore, call on the President, Muhammadu Buhari, directly as is usually done by leaders of other nations to provide an update to the people of Nigeria on the status of Leah Sharibu and
Alice Loksha Ngaddah. Are they still alive? “What is the government under his leadership doing to secure their release from terrorist enclave that has lasted over 522 and 512 days respectively? Or has the President forgotten his numerous promises to bring them back? “Given the belated justice of rescue to our 112 remaining Chibok girls who have been in captivity for 1, 929 days and end the shame of his failure to keep promises made to ensure that all of them are rescued before December 31, 2015 – about four years ago. “We remain resolute and determined to never cease demanding action for our citizens. The constitutional duty to uphold the dignity of life of all Nigerians must be performed by the federal government and President Muhammadu Buhari. “As a citizens movement committed to keeping government accountable, we are not for turning until Leah, Alice, Grace, her five unnamed colleagues, Chibok girls and other abducted citizens are rescued.”
returnees from Libya
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday received another batch of 171 stranded Nigerians from Libya. Coordinator, Lagos territorial office of NEMA, Alhaji Idris Muhammed, who was represented by the Public Information Officer, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the returnees arrived the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport about 1.10 a.m. on Friday. He said that they arrived aboard an Al Buraq Airline aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG and flight number UZ 196/25. According to him, the returnees were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union under the assisted voluntary returnees programme. Muhammed said the returnees comprise of 61 female adults, one female child and five female infants, as well as 98 adult males, one male child and five male infants. He advised Nigerian youth to be wary of overseas love advances from strangers, noting that this was now one of the tactics being used by human traffickers to lure their victims outside the country. The coordinator said the traffickers were now contacting ladies via social media apps, especially Facebook and WhatsApp, and making fake marriage proposals to them to deceive them into travelling outside Nigeria. He cited a particular case when a lady sought advice about a man who simply called himself Ali, who claimed to be living in Sudan, adding that “upon critical observation, the code number of the caller indicated that it belongs to Libyan code, and the man that makes video calls was an Arab; but he was not making statements for the lady to hear him. “It was understood that the man cannot communicate in English, but someone behind the scene was responsible for the chatting with the lady.” The NEMA official urged the returnees to put behind their experiences in the volatile North African country and take advantage of the opportunities being put in place by the federal government and other development partners to forge a better future for themselves. Muhammed advised young Nigerians planning to leave the country to make use of the migrant resource centres, jointly set up by the government and the International Organisation for Migration to know more about their destination countries. According to NEMA, as at March 15, 12, 574 Nigerians have so far returned from Libya under the assisted voluntary returnees programme which began in April 2017.
UBA pledges more funding for SMEs
Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa making his remarks at the FCT Police Command during the FCTA’s condolence visit. Listening attentively is the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma.
Don advocates need to embrace forestation in Nigeria Kehinde Akinpelu, Ilorin The three tiers of government in Nigeria as well as Nigerians have been enjoined to embrace forestation, while doing away with unnecessary deforestation. Prof. Paul Ojo Fatoba of the Department of Plant Biology, University of Ilorin, who gave the admonition at the 183rd inaugural lecture of the institution, said forestation is the most appropriate approach to arrest climate change as the green plants are the space vehicles and have the capacity to act as carbon sinks, thus reducing green house gases. He stated that when a tree is felled, at least two stands of such a tree should be planted. Prof. Fatoba, whose lecture was
titled: “The unrecognised are also important,” said that the dynamics of this world is being kept moving through the activities of the seen and unseen, plants and animals, living and non- living things. “Therefore, there is the need to accord everything and every person due recognition because everybody and everything are important. Even if only for the purification of the atmosphere, all plants deserve recognition. “Plants are very important in the purification and the making of the environment clean and safe,” he added. Urging prudent use of forest resources so as to reduce the loss of bio-diversity, the academic said industries should evolve strategies that are environmentally friendly by reducing the emission of gaseous and
particulate matters, and treat industrial wastes before their release into the environment. He cautioned against farming along the roadsides, saying any farming activity should be at least 20 metres away from the road. Prof. Fatoba said Nigerians should learn to recognise everything around them because they are all important, adding that this would help in decoding the messages in them. The teak plants along the main road, he cautioned should only be weeded while others should be left so that the seedlings and saplings can survive, thus increasing the stands and the smothering of the weeds. All the teak stands, he added, need to be pruned so as to increase their economic value.
The United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has pledged more funding for the growth and development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME’s) in Africa. The General Managing Director, UBA, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja at the opening of the UBA Market Place. The UBA Market Place is an entrepreneurial fair, with exhibitors from 20 African countries, taking place on the sidelines of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum. Uzoka said that the bank had made specific initiatives to make SMEs more viable and better established across Africa with a view to stimulating and deepening the economy of the continent. “We bank a lot of customers across the continent and in doing that we have discovered that there is a gap in the business value chain. “That void we discovered is how to bring more buyers and sellers together and that is what we have done today. “The UBA market place has brought together under one roof, more than 5,000 SMEs from across Africa. We want to create a platform in Africa similar to Alibaba and ebay,” he said. Uzoka said that Africa’s youth were full of ideas that could change the standard of living and reduce poverty on the continent and that was why the bank was passionate about supporting SMEs. Also, the UBA Group Head, Retail Banking, Mr. Jude Anele said that 10 per cent of the bank’s total balance sheet has been earmarked to support SMEs in countries where the bank operates in Africa. The countries are Nigeria, Chad, Cote D’ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Congo Brazzaville, France, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, and Mali. The other countries are Sierra Leone, Zambia, Cameroon, Congo DRC, Gabon, Mozambique and Tanzania In Nigeria, Anele revealed that about N50 billion had been set aside from the bank’s portfolio for SMEs financing.
Man, 28, docked for allegedly raping 13-year-old girl
A 28-year-old man, Moses Okechukwu on Friday appeared before a Badagry Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos state for allegedly raping a 13-yearold girl. Okechukwu, whose address is not provided, faces a three-count charge of rape, sexual assault and trying to escape arrest to which he pleaded not guilty. Police prosecutor, ASP Akpan Nkem, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on July 15, at No. 2, Chukwuma Close, Jakande, Ajangbadi, Lagos. Nkem said that Okechukwu unlawfully had sexual intercourse with the girl without her consent. “The defendant forcefully penetrated the girl’s private part without her consent. He also assaulted one Chukwuemeka Okereke while trying to escape arrest,’’ the prosecutor said. Ikem said that the offences contravene Sections 168, 258 and 170 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos state, 2011. The Chief Magistrate, Patrick Adekomiya, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N500, 000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case until August 28 for hearing.
Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Gov. Dickson has no preferential Short News FG inaugurates committee on candidate, says Alaibe sustainable funding for education Tunde Opalana, Abuja
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant for the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa state, Timi Alaibe has absolved the state Governor, Seriake Dickson of having a preferential candidate as the PDP flag -bearer. He described as unsubstantiated rumour, insinuations that Dickson is propping one of his many loyalists in the restoration group to succeed him as the state governor. Alaibe, who was at the PDP national secretariat, Abuja on Friday to submit his expression of interest and nomination forms said the governor has never said that he has endorsed any aspirant. He acknowledged that the governor has encouraged his immediate staff and others who have identified their interests, have collected the forms for this process and are all qualified to pursue their
ambition. He said all the governorship aspirants have equal rights like any other citizen of the state to contest as governor. “In fact, if anyone is actually looking for endorsement, I should be the one to be endorsed. So, there is no story about him endorsing anyone; he has not said that publicly and people should stop carrying these rumours,” Alaibe stated. The aspirant assured the people of the state that he is focused on exploring the economic opportunities of the state because Bayelsa state is very strategic to Nigeria and ought to be the economic hub for the people of the Ijaw nation and Nigeria. He said that “from our experience in the public and private sector, we need to implement a shared economic prosperity since a lot of infrastructure work has been done by the current governor who we adore and we are going to take -off
from that point when we get in as governor. “We have rolled out a blue -print for the economic development of our state which will soon be publicised and of course, with special emphasis on our ability to deliver them. “We want to tell our people that we shall face creation of jobs, we have strategy for resolving conflicts and youth restiveness. “All what we have done so far in the resolution of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta and the experience and capacity is what we will put on the table to try to deal with the security dynamics in Bayelsa state and provide jobs for our teeming youth and resolve some of their issues. “We will emphasize on skills development for our teeming youth and ensure that the shared economy that we talk about is something that will energise that growth and propel the economic development of our state.”
Doorsum Iwambe, Abuja
The federal government has inaugurated a committee charged with the responsibility to harmonise, develop and work out a framework for sustainable funding of education in Nigeria. Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, charged members to interface with the relevant stakeholders to collate their views and submit the report for President Muhammadu Buhari’s consideration. In a statement released on Friday, Echono said the challenge before the committee was to devise a new source of mobilising the resources needed to adequately fund and transform the sector. According to the permanent secretary, President Buhari is keen on addressing the challenges in the education sector, declaring that “the President accords top priority to this assignment to ensure that we provide the right framework for intervention in the education sector. “Prior to this formal inauguration, I had the privilege of meeting with the Vice President as well as the Senate President to discuss the core priorities in the education sector. “So, it is a special privilege to welcome the members of this committee. The federal government alone cannot fund education adequately and we need to look at other sources.’’ Echono listed the committee’s terms of reference to include the provision of effective strategies towards ensuring that adequate resources were made available to fund quality education at all levels. The committee is also expected to review, harmonise and develop an implementation framework on the proposal produced in 2018 during a stakeholders’ workshop on the subject matter. He said that the committee has up until August 15 to submit its report. Members of the committee, include Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, executive secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Prof. Abubakar Adamu, executive secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC).
Bayelsa: Police read riot act to political parties, politicians
The Police in Bayelsa state has urged political parties in the state to abide by the electoral rules in the forthcoming local government and gubernatorial elections. Commissioner of Police in the state, Uche Anozia, gave the advice on Friday at a meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Yenagoa, the state capital. According to Anozia, when laws are obeyed, there will be peace, calm and tranquillity in the society. The commissioner warned that the command would not hesitate to prosecute perpetrators of such crimes during and after the elections. “Youth in Bayelsa state prefer engaging in crimes than engaging in profitable ventures; so, there is always a tendency on the part of politicians to pick up these youth at periods of elections with a view to protecting their interest outside the law during elections. “I want to let you know that we are not going to tolerate any unlawful acts during this election because the law will take its course. Do not engage in anything outside the law while participating in the election; avoid electoral violence because I will not want to record any and most importantly, abide by the rules. “The police are not going to tolerate any disorder and any person found causing trouble will be dealt with. If you engage any youth, such must act within the rules guiding the exercise and feel free to report any incident that is against the law to the police. “We know that campaign has started and it is expected to end in August according to the INEC time-table. I therefore, urge you to play by the rules of the game; we all know what the law says, so, conduct yourselves,” the commissioner warned. Responding, the Deputy IPAC Chairman in Bayelsa state, Mrs. Ibubeleye Ikoko decried the incidents of electoral violence during elections.
L-R, Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer, Hygeia Nigeria Limited, Mrs Lanre Sanusi; Executive Director, Mrs Fola Laoye; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Titilayo Goncalves; General Manager, Enterprise Directorate, Bank of Industry, Mr Leonard Kange; CMD/Chief of Surgery, Hygeia Nigeria Limited, Dr Jimi Coker and NHIS representative, Mrs Aisha Haruna, during the unveiling of critical care and advanced urology, neurosurgery and dialysis services at Lagoon Hospitals Ikoyi, Lagos...recently.
IGP cautions against false security information Andrew Orolua, Abuja The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has cautioned the public against circulating unsubstantiated security advisories that can create undue fear and apprehension in the country. Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Frank Mba, said in a statement on Friday in Abuja, that Adamu gave the advice against the backdrop of violent protests by the Shi’ite group in Abuja.
Mba said the inspector-general has ordered the immediate beef-up of security in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). According to him, the proactive measures, including aerial surveillance of major cities have been emplaced to ensure the safety and security of lives and property of all Nigerians. He said that zonal assistant inspectors-general of police and commissioners of police nationwide have been mandated to ensure customised security
arrangements. The police spokesman explained that the idea is to checkmate the activities of criminals and any possible threat to public peace in their respective area of responsibilities. He further stated that the police chief has also advised all wouldbe protesters to ensure that they express their grievances within the ambit of the law, adding that “this is to ensure that the constitutional rights of other citizens are not infringed upon or that they do not cause breach of public peace.”
Assign portfolios to ministers based on competence, PPA tells Buhari
The Lagos state chapter of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assign portfolios to screened ministerial nominees based on their competence. Chairman of the party in the state, Olumide Oguntoyinbo, made the call on Friday in Lagos in an interview. He said that ministers would perform better if given portfolios in areas where they have competence and experience. Oguntoyinbo advised the President to put “round pegs in round holes,” saying that will enable them to deliver on their responsibilities, adding that “we urge the President to assign portfolios to ministerial nominees immediately after all screening by the Senate.”This will help to fasten the wheel of governance and facilitate the realisation of budgetary goals. In assigning portfolios, the president should consider the competence and experience of would-be ministers and ensure that assigned responsibilities match their expertise and passion.”Someone with expertise in agriculture should be put in that ministry while a nominee knowledgeable in military affairs should be appointed as minister of defence. Putting round pegs in round holes is the only way the country can get the best of out of the would-be ministers,” he said. Oguntoyinbo remarked that portfolios should have been attached to nominees presented for screening as this would help the Senate to better assess the nominees with relevant questions. He however, commended the Senate for the screening the nominees, but said that there was still room for improvement and however, decried the low number of women ministerial nominees.
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Nigerians need results, Princewill Short News 23-year-old-man drowns in Kano charges ministers-designate
A former governorship candidate in Rivers state, Prince Tonye Princewill, has advised the ministerial nominees to hit the ground running after their inauguration and not expect a honeymoon period. Princewill said on Friday in Port Harcourt in reaction to the nominations and ongoing screening of the ministerial nominees that Nigerians look forward to results from the new and re-appointed ministers. He said that the release of the ministerial list and the immediate screening of nominees by the Senate were significant for several reasons. “I want to use this opportunity to thank the president for not only bringing in fresh faces with good records. But, returning a few good men and women who have proved themselves not only diligent in their
work, but committed to their people,” the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said in a statement he signed. According to Princewill, the renomination of the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechia is a welcome development and sweet. “Amaechi’s contributions to the party and this government, including what we have suffered here in Rivers state makes his own nomination and his now successful screening all the more sweet. “I thank the President for standing by him and he will more than justify your confidence,” the former governorship candidate added. He said that while Nigerians await the screening of the other nominees and the assignment of portfolios, it is important that continuity in the ministries where
the returning ministers had performed was the surest way to consolidation. “I look forward to seeing the returnees in familiar roles, while the newcomers hit the ground running; time is not on our side and Nigerians need results because there will be no honeymoon period. “This is the more reason why we in the ruling party need to bury all our political differences and join hands to make our party succeed, especially here in Rivers state. “If we cannot learn from our mistakes, we will be doomed to repeat them; so, anywhere we find a brother or a sister, let us do our little bit to provide them support,” Princewill said. The APC chieftain urged Nigerians to be positive, saying that “no list is perfect, but the pursuit of perfection is itself a major motivation.”
FCT Coordinator of NYSC, Hajiya Walida Isa (Midlle) with 2019 Batch ‘B’ stream II corps members during the passing-out ceremony in Abuja.
FG, OGP partner to reduce secrecy in governance The Open Government Partnership Nigeria (OGP) is to partner with the federal government to adopt a globally acceptable framework to reduce all forms of secrecy in governance. Nigeria joined the OGP in 2017 as its 70th member-nation. National Coordinator of the programme, Benjamin Okolo disclosed this in his address at a training held to expose public officials and institutions into the workings of OGP on Friday in Abuja. Okolo explained that OGP was about peer reviewing, learning and education of government functionaries on the need to ensure elimination of secrecy in governance. He said the main objective of the partnership is to extinguish all enactments that legitimise secretive administration of government policies. According to him, the federal government by joining the world body in 2017 is prepared to increase citizens’ participation in government decisions.
“OGP is simply aimed at enhancing transparency where all barriers that prevent the citizens from participating in governance are removed to increase the integrity of government. “We have invited you to be trained to act as the drivers and reformers of the system. The trend now is that state actors and non-state actors have equal stake in the affairs of government and we must ensure that the government becomes more accessible to the citizens. “The anti-corruption fight can best be won when critical government information on budgets, procurement and contracts are made opened for the citizens to evaluate. “We are working toward the direction where all laws that stand the way of OGP like the Official Secret Act, CAMA and the Public Service Rules are amended to encourage open governance instead of negating it. “The framework of the OGP is such the citizens formed the nucleus of the system. Where the citizens are not involved, then there is no OGP,’’ Okolo
said. Okolo however, said the government has since commenced implementation of some of the body’s policies on open governance, such as the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) geared towards open administration of government affairs. Director-General, Ethics and Corporate Compliance Institute of Nigeria (ECCIN), Agaidu Chukwuemeka, said the federal government would count on the expertise of public officials to drive the policy to an achievable end. Chukwuemeka therefore, urged participants to show commitment to the training, adding that it was for the public good and that the OGP if properly handled would eliminate citizens’ reservations toward government policies. “The essence of this is to bring the government and the governed at a meeting point where trust can be built for the growth of the country,’’ he said.
A 23-year-old man, Aminu Abdullahi, has drowned while bathing in a pond at Hotoro Quarters of Kano metropolis in the Nasarawa Local Government Area. The Public Relations Officer, Kano state Fire Service, Saidu Mohammed, confirmed the incident in Kano on Friday. Mohammed said that the incident happened in the morning hours when the deceased went to take his bath. “We received a distress call today from one Habila John, at about 08:30am that Abdullahi’s body was found floating in a pond. “On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team to the scene at about 08:35am, but the cause of the incident is still under investigation for now. Abdullahi was rescued unconscious and was handed over to the police,’’ he said. Mohammed advised the general public, especially parents and ward heads to stop their children from going to take their bath in any open water as such could be dangerous.
Saudi, NAHCON assist pilgrims following unbearable heat
Saudi Arabia authorities, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and concerned organisations have continued to assist Nigerian pilgrims with water following the harsh weather condition in Madinah The assistance has been particularly in the area of provision of portable and adequate water to quench the thirst of pilgrims in the face of the excessive heat. Many of the pilgrims, who attended Jummat prayer at the Prophet’s mosque, were seen drinking ‘Zamzam’ water freely made available to them. Other pilgrims made do with cold water provided by concerned individuals and organisations on their way to the mosque. The weather condition in Madinah on Friday was 45 degree Celsius, which most pilgrims described as very harsh. At the Jummat prayer, Saudi security personnel had a hectic time controlling the tumultuous crowd of pilgrims at the one million capacity mosque. Some, who could not secure space inside the mosque, resorted to using adjourning spaces some metres away from the mosque. At a point before the commencement of khutba (sermon) and the two rakat prayers, security men were heard echoing “Hajji,Hajji, Hajji” to pilgrims for them to maintain orderliness in the observance of the rakat prayer. The number of Nigerian pilgrims to this year hajj increased to 21, 990 and they were airlifted in 45 flights as at Friday while MaxAir VM1057 departed Yola for Jeddah with 539 from Taraba state. The command control centre of NAHCON disclosed the figure in Madinah on Friday.
Jigawa agency vaccinates 44, 157 children against polio
The Jigawa state Primary Health Care Development Agency (JPHCDA) says it has vaccinated 44, 157 children in Birniwa Local Government Area during the April round of Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs). Alhaji Umar Said, the council’s manager, National Programme on Immunisation (NPI) made the disclosure in Birniwa on Friday while presenting the report of the exercise to the council’s Chairman, Alhaji Mohammad Dole. The manager said the figure represents 100 per cent coverage of the target population, disclosing that 49, 180 oral polio vaccines were used in the exercise, and the wasted rate of vaccines stood at eight per cent. Umar thanked the council for donating N240, 000 and more than 100 cartons of sweets to lure the benefiting children for the vaccination. The chairman of the council commended the manager “for the unprecedented coverage of the target children” and promised to continue to assist the agency in its operations by providing vehicles to enhance access to remote areas.
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Akeredolu orders arrest of Fulani vigilante in Ondo Our correspondent Governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu has ordered the police to arrest anyone or group parading themselves as Fulani Vigilante in any part of the state, according to a statement by the Information and Orientation Commissioner, Donald Ojogo. This is coming following severe criticism that followed the report of Fulani herdsmen patrolling the highway as vigilante group. Several pan -Yoruba groups on Tuesday angrily replied to reports that the governor has set up armed Fulani Vigilante groups in the state. They described attempts by him to deny the reports as a tissue of lies to cover up a horrendous anti-humanity policy. In a statement, 23 pan -Yoruba groups described the action of Akeredolu as a “monumental disgrace” to the culture of the heritage and tradition of the people he was elected to serve and gave him 24 hours to take action on the matter or face serious sanction.
“If Akeredolu fails to disband the groups within 24 hours, Yoruba groups from across the traditional Yoruba territories will move to Ondo state to physically confront the Fulani Vigilante. “This is not a threat, but an historical responsibility to defend every inch of Yorubaland from armed killers who already have their hands dug inside the mouth and intestine of patience Yoruba people. “We have endured traitors for too long, but there should be a limit, for it is better to die than to live in slavery,” Chief Hakeem Salau Akinremi and Col. Abimbola Sowunmi (rtd) respectively signed the statement on behalf of the 23 groups. However, in a statement, Donald Ojogo said the state government “has witnessed with utmost dismay, an orchestrated campaign in respect of the above subject matter. The intention of the sponsors and their echoers is undoubtedly, to discredit the administration of Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu and ostensibly, incite the people against the Ondo state government. “It is pertinent to recall that upon the
circulation of the story in the social media about the purported formation of an armed vigilante group by the Miyetti Allah, Gov. Akeredolu was swift in his reaction to the development. “Not only did he disown the move, if at all, he indeed ordered the police to arrest anyone or group which parades itself as Fulani Vigilante. The governor’s position was decisive even as it was pointedly consequential. “At the risk of repeating himself, Gov. Akeredolu reaffirmed the position of government on July 23 when he was accosted by reporters who sought further information on the matter. “The leadership of the Miyetti Allah in the state has equally, disowned the report and has even provided further insights into actionable steps to deal with whoever conducts self in a manner that does not conform to the position of government. “The position of Gov. Akeredolu on this matter stands. The government will not allow armed Fulani Vigilante in any part of Ondo state,” the statement concluded.
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Short News Teenager, 2 farmers, drown in Jigawa – Police
The police command in Jigawa state has said a teenager and two farmers have drowned in a river and pond in Kiyawa and Dutse Local Government Areas of the state. The command’s spokesman, Abdu Jinjiri, who disclosed this in Dutse, the state capital, confirmed that a 13-year-old boy, Abdullahi Adamu drowned when he went to swim in a pond at the outskirts of Fanisau village in Dutse Local Government Area of the state on July 25. “Yesterday, one Alhaji Adamu Buba of Fanisau village in Dutse Local Government Area reported to Fanisau division that his 13-year-old son Abdullahi Adamu, got drowned after he went to swim at the outskirts of the village. “The police rushed and took the corpse to Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” Jinjiri said. He said the deceased’s corpse has been released to his family for burial. Also, the police spokesman said two farmers, 30-year-old, Rabiu Abubakar of Kagadama village and Adamu Saidu, aged 35 of Kazuba village, got drowned while crossing a river on their way back from their farms. According to him, the corpse of Abubakar was found later, while efforts are being made to recover the corpse of the other victim. “On July 25, Rabi’u Abubakar, aged 30 and Adamu Saidu, aged 35, got drowned while trying to cross a river. However, the body of Rabiu Abubakar was found and effort is on to recover Adamu Saidu’s corpse,” he said. Jinjiri then cautioned people who were not conversant with swimming to desist from entering ponds or rivers.
Lawan swears-in Uwajumogu as senator for Imo North Tunde Opalana, Abuja The senator representing Imo North Senatorial District, Sen. Benjamin Uwajumogu has been sworn in as the 109th member of the 9thSenate. Sen. Uwajumogu, who won his election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but has been enmeshed in legal tussle to claim his mandate, received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday. Our correspondent recalls that Justice Taiwo Taiwo, of the Federal High Court, Abuja had ordered INEC to immediately issue a certificate of return to Uwajumogu. Uwajumogu had approached the court seeking for an order to compel INEC to issue him the certificate after the failure of the electoral body to declare him the winner of the senatorial election based on an allegation that the electoral process was marred by irregularities. The oath of office as a senator was administered on him at exactly 10.33 am at the commencement of plenary on Friday morning by the Clerk of the Senate, Nelson Ayewoh.
L-R: The African Church Bethlehem Cathedral Ebute Trustee, Elder Lolu Odofin; Cathedral Verger, Bro Oluwafemi Lambo; Trustee, Dr Niyi Obigbesan and Trustee, Chief Sola Sipeolu during the Swearing In Ceremony of Officers of The African Church Bethlehem Cathedral Ebute Metta, Lagos... recently.
Nigeria loses 420, 000 children annually to severe malnutrition Samuel Luka, Bauchi An official of International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), Solomon Dogo has revealed that 420, 000 Children die every year from severe acute malnutrition in Nigeria. Dogo made the revelation during a twoday advocacy training aimed at equipping journalists and civil society organizations on the menace of severe acute malnutrition as a child killer and the need to take measures in reversing the trend, especially in Bauchi state and the country in general. Addressing participants at the commencement of the training in Bauchi yesterday, Dogo said that the main objective of the training was to expose journalists and civil society groups to the severe acute malnutrition epidemic in Nigeria. “We want to secure the commitments of journalists and the CSOs toward using the media
to hold policy makers accountable on severe acute malnutrition prevention and treatment through intense and sustained reportage,” he explained further. The official who represented the Executive Director of ISMPH, Moji Makanjuola described the media as a key stakeholder in influencing policy change. Dogo said that the ISMPH in collaboration with other partners put together the training to “better articulate the role media can play in holding policy makers accountable in support of severe acute malnutrition prevention and treatment. “A 2017 UNICEF report has estimated that 2.5 million under five years Nigerian children suffer severe acute malnutrition every year with nearly 420, 000 of them dying annually.” Also, a resource person, Dr. Grace Onotu, while making a presentation said that according to a 2018 SMART survey, the largest percentage of severe acute malnutrition burden
is concentrated in the North East with 8.7 per cent prevalence, North-West 8.3 per cent, SouthWest 6.8 per cent, South-East 5.6 per cent while the South-South has 6.7 per cent and the NorthCentral with the least of 4.9 per cent. Another facilitator, Edosa Oviawe, disclosed that the training will feature presentations, group work exercise and field visits to sites in Bauchi state for a first hand information on the scourge of severe acute malnutrition. The Aisha Buhari Foundation (ABF) called on the participants to contribute in the fight against the scourge through sustained reportage of nutritional issues as well as advocacy for prompt release of budgetary allocations on health related activities. The training is being conducted in partnership with the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) and the Aisha Buhari Foundation (ABF).
We will close down South African businesses in Nigeria, NANS vows Our reporter Zonal Deputy National Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Owoicho Aba, says members of the association have been mandated to close down any business linked to South African investors, including the South African government. Aba stated this in Makurdi while members of the Benue state branch of the association were protesting the killing of Nigerians in South Africa. The national coordinator who led the protest lamented that the Nigerian government is sitting down watching while its citizens are killed daily in other countries, especially South Africa, adding that Nigerian students would not allow South African businesses to operate in Nigeria. According to him, students have been mandated to close down all South African businesses in Nigeria, including MTN, DSTV and Shoprite. He said that if Nigerian businesses cannot enjoy the peace and support that South African businesses enjoy from the federal government, the only reasonable thing would be to close down all South African businesses in the country. “It is very painful to see that the citizens of a country, which supported South Africa to attain freedom from apartheid, are being massacred. Nigeria fought hard to stop apartheid and now, the South Africans are paying us back with evil,” he said. The protesting students marched to the offices of some companies linked to South Africa operating in Makurdi, including MTN, DSTV and others.
News 10
Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Southern, Middle Belt Forum accuses Short News Enugu ACP lauds Buhari for Fulani herdsmen of genocide Our reporter The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) says Fulani herdsmen are deliberately committing genocide against Nigerians while disguising as cattle breeders. The forum stated in a statement that the action of the Fulani herdsmen are coordinated and sponsored by vested interest. According to the statement signed by Yinka Odumakin, SouthWest, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, South East, Senator Bassey Henshaw, South South and Dr. Isuwa Dogo, Middle Belt, the Arewa Consultative Forum is assaulting the
sensibilities of Nigerians by pretending that the herdsmen were not responsible for the attacks across the country. They said that the “level of insensitivity being displayed by the ACF on the serial crimes against humanity being carried out by their kinsmen shows clearly they are a group who think only about themselves while ignoring the interests of other citizens they jokingly refer to as ‘fellow Nigerians.” The forum said that about 30, 000 Nigerians have been killed in the last four years by Fulani herdsmen/ militia “with not a soul convicted even when we hear of people being charged to court for killing cows
under this administration,” adding that the figures were as compiled by international organizations. “As late as yesterday, there was kidnap on the Lagos –Ibadan Expressway during which the son of the Chief Medical Director of Lafia Hospital in Ibadan, Dr. Oladopupo Sule and two staffers were kidnapped. This has been the common thread in many of the kidnappings in recent time in many communities, adding that “instead of ACF and their ilks showing empathy with the victims as humanity demands and contribute to finding ways to end the menace, it is only insults that flow from their mouths,” the forum said.
re-nominating Onyeama as minister Charles Onyekwere, Abakaliki
Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu state on Friday lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for re-nominating Geoffrey Onyeama as a minister. In a joint statement they issued after a meeting in Enugu, the stakeholders who are all members of the Kwusike Political Family said the ministerial list as submitted by the President would be a sure way to taking the country to the next level. The statement was signed by Ejike Njeze, Comrade Adolphus Ude, Lolo Nwankwo, Tony Ibekwe, E.L Aja, Obed Eneh, Ginika Tor and Nwakaego Madubuaku. They specifically lauded Buhari for finding their son, Onyeama worthy to serve in his about to be formed cabinet. “We heartily thank President Muhammad Buhari for recognising performance and finding it worthy to re-appoint our incorruptible and illustrious son of Enugu West, Geoffrey Onyeama as a minister in his new cabinet. “Mr. President has by this singular act endeared himself more to the good people of Enugu state and the party members who believe in rewarding loyalty and excellence. “We wish to reassure Mr. President that this reappointment is not in any way misplaced but is very much in line with the wishes of all well meaning members of Enugu APC. “We have no doubt that our son, Onyeama would go all the way in contributing his quota towards the realization of Mr. President’s Next Level agenda. “The crack team assembled by Mr. President meet the aspirations and expectations of well -meaning Nigerians and we are pretty sure that they will deliver,” the group stated.
Police arrest 5 suspects over Ikere killing, monarch denies involvement Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado-Ekiti
L-R: Chairman, Board of Trustees, Pacific Group of Schools, Mr. Remi Omosowon; Best Graduating Student (Female), Pacific College, Precious Egidi; Best Graduating Student (Male), Pacific College, Alexander Attoh; and Chairperson of the occasion, Chief (Mrs), Kofoworola Awobamise, during 2019 Valedictory Service & award presentation in Lagos.
Police probe robbery, murder of housewife in Delta Nosa Akenzua, Asaba The Delta state Police Command has said that the police is investigating how a housewife was robbed and murdered after the police had impounded her car. State Commissioner of Police, Adeleke Adeyinka, who spoke to journalists in his office on Friday, disclosed that two policemen were currently being interviewed following the incident that culminated in the death of the housewife and expressed regret on the sad incident. “We are investigating the incident and two policemen are currently being interviewed in regard to the incident and we shall get to the root cause of the housewife’s death soon. I appeal for calm to enable the police carry out a thorough investigation,” Adeyinka said It was gathered that the housewife
identified as Mrs. Ugochukwu Grace Dabo during the week was allegedly killed by suspected armed robbers after her car was impounded by policemen on a stop and search check-point in Warri. In a statement signed by Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Onome Onovughkpoyaga, the police disclosed that police officers had stopped the housewife and upon her inability to produce her valid papers for the ownership of the car she was driving with her daughter, the police impounded her car, adding that in anger the woman abandoned the car to walk home when she was shot dead by armed robbers. The statement reads in part: “ On July 20 at about 1920hours while one Mrs. Ugochukwu Grace Dabo was driving home in company of her 11-year -old daughter, Dabo Oghenryerhowo Evon in her Toyota Sienna space bus with registration
number AGL 822 EY, she was intercepted by policemen at Igbiki Junction, Ovwian -Aladja and when she could not produce the vehicle documents on demand by the police, the vehicle was impounded and taken to the police station for further investigation, while the woman was left at the scene having refused to go with the policemen to the station. “That same night at about 2105hours, her husband, one Benjamin Dabo later reported to the divisional police officer at the station that while the woman was on her way home with her daughter in a commercial tricycle they boarded, she was attacked, robbed and shot dead by a three-man robbery gang operating with the tricycle unknowingly boarded by her. “Her daughter survived the attack and escaped unhurt and she was able to narrate how the mother was killed by the armed robbers.”
The police have arrested five persons in connection with the shooting and killing of a commercial motor-cycle rider in Ikere Ekiti on Thursday evening. The commercial motor-cyclist was allegedly hit by bullets during a traditional dancing rehearsal conducted by the wife of Ogoga of Ikere and the paramount ruler of the town, Oba Adejimi Adu in preparation for Odun Oba festival slated for today (Saturday). According to a police source, the traditional dancing procession was conducted amid shooting, which allegedly led to a stray bullet hitting two motor-cyclists and one of them died immediately. The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti state Police Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu confirmed the arrest of the suspects. “When killing like this happens, once we know where the shooting allegedly emanated from, it is normal for us to make arrest; so it is true. The offence becomes more severe when you carry prohibited firearms, as it was in this case. The arrest should be expected,” he stated. When the incident which caused a big commotion in the town occurred, people thought it was a fight between Ogoga’s supporters and his rival, the Olukere of Ikere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin. But speaking on Friday, Oba Obasoyin denied his involvement in the crisis, saying he and his supporters were never involved in the incident. The monarch added that he has already spoken to his people to be calm in spite of the highly provocative shooting in the town on Thursday. “The whole town knew where the shooting emanated from; we are not involved at all. Some people were dancing round the town and shooting when they shot the dead and the injured man. “We are doing our best as leaders to ward off crisis. We are engaging our people on the need to embrace peace, but some people are jittery. The issue has nothing to do with Olukere and Ogoga. We are happy that the killers have been arrested. “I appeal to the police to do their job. They should do a just job. They shouldn’t allow the matter to be swept under the carpet,” the monarch added. A member of the commercial motor-cycle riders’ association in the town, Jide Amos, who was an eye-witness, established that the man was killed by stray bullets from the dancers.
Hisbah personnel arrest 24 suspected sex workers, clients in Jigawa
The Hisbah Command in Jigawa state says it has arrested 24 suspected commercial sex workers and their customers in a raid conducted in Gwaram Local Government Area of the state. Hisbah Commander, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who confirmed the arrest disclosed that 14 of the suspects were prostitutes while the other 10 were those who patronize them. The commander added that 588 bottles of beer, one jerry can of local beer popular called ‘burkutu’ and 10 cartons of condoms were recovered during the raid in Sara village of Gwaram Local Government. He stated that the raid was carried out in collaboration with the police, adding that those arrested would be charged to court soon and commended the police for their cooperation while advising residents to stop engaging in immoral acts and other vices inimical to the society. A similar operation was carried out in Dutse, Gumel, Kazaure and Taura Local Government Areas during which 84 suspects were arrested and over 37 cartons of beer confiscated.
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Amazing story of Mike Tyson’s marijuana empire Bonaventure Melah Former world heavyweight boxing champion, Iron Mike Tyson is creating a marijuana empire that would turn the herb into multimillion dollars business as well as make it a vital medicine for the healing of many aliments including depression, among others. Tyson whose life career has spanned decades moving from boxing, acting and later, pop culture icon, seems to be set for the limelight once again, and this time, in a huge positive way. According to a tip-off publication by The Blast which is being followed by Daily times of Nigeria, The man once known as Iron Mike for his capacity to destroy his boxing opponents in minutes has broken grounds on a 40-acre ranch in California which he said would become a cannabis resort for growers, users and enthusiasts of the drug. Located in the Mojave Desert, some 110 miles north of Los Angeles and just a stone’s throw from Edwards Air Force base, Tyson Ranch will set aside 20 acres for marijuana cultivation by “master growers” to develop new strains, according to The Blast. It also plans to offer an “edibles factory,” an amphitheater and an upscale campground. Tyson has been a cannabis advocate for years and is a big proponent of using cannabis or cannabidiol (CBD)) which has the same non-hallucinogenic properties as marijuana, to help veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the report, Tyson is not the only person looking to make a marijuana-themed destination for enthusiasts. Last year, American Green bought the town of Nipton, CA, and transformed the ghost town into a marijuana tourist destination, with plans to also use it as a production hub for cannabis-based products – including CBD-infused water. The company says it plans to spend $2.5 million in 2019 to build out the town. Tyson said the marijuana resort is a place where clients can smoke freely and study about cannabis. According to him, the vision is to educate, enlighten and engage the public on the healing properties of marijuana and cannabis He said marijuana saved him when he was spiraling with severe substance abuse and so he founded his cannabis company in 2016 to make weed accessible. Currently, Tyson sells an array of high grade strains and marijuana merchandise such as grinder and tray. Mike Tyson is a retired boxer and former world heavyweight boxing champion, unarguably one of the most
ferocious fighters in the history of professional boxing. In 1986, at the age of 20, Tyson won the WBC title, making him the youngest heavyweight champion ever. The following year, Tyson won the WBA and IBF titles making him the first heavyweight champion to hold all 3 titles at the same time. Tyson had the strength of a bull, his blows came very quickly and his defensive abilities were unmatched. His aggressive behaviour in and out of the ring, coupled with his ability to finish off his opponents in just one round, earned Tyson the nickname “Iron Man”. Mike Tyson’s winning streak lasted till 1990 when he lost the belts to an underdog Buster Douglas. In 1992, he was sent to jail after being convicted of rape. After a 3-year stint in jail, Tyson promptly returned to the ring and made several efforts to get back to the top. Tyson is also infamous for biting off the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield during a high-profile match in 1997. The former heavyweight champion was disqualified for the bizarre act, fined very heavily and equally had his license revoked. Controversial as his career was, Mike Tyson is still adjudged as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers ever. In 2011, he was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame. Upon retirement, Tyson ventured into showbiz and also launched his own clothing line. His acting career boasts such blockbusters as The Hangover. Mike Tyson was born Michael Gerard Tyson on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Jimmy Kirkpatrick and Lorna Tyson. Tyson was raised by his mother after his father abandoned them. Due to scarce resources, Tyson’s mother was forced to move to Brownsville, a rough Brooklyn neighbourhood with a high crime rate. As a young boy, Mike Tyson had a small frame and was an easy target for bullies. To defend himself, the young Tyson developed into a notorious street fighter. He was recruited into a criminal gang at the age of 7. He dropped out of high school as a junior and by age 13, he had been locked up more than 30 times. However, his outstanding fighting skills were spotted during one of his spells at a juvenile detention centre by former boxer Bobby Stewart. As a teenager, Tyson won the gold medals at the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympics, a precedence for what was to become of the fiery boxer. He made his professional debut in 1985 and a year later (1986), he was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world. The following year, Tyson successfully defended his heavyweight title against James Smith which also earned him the
Tyson World Boxing Association (WBA) title. In the same year (1987), Tyson claimed the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from Tony Tucker making him the first boxing champion to hold all 3 major boxing belts simultaneously. Mike Tyson maintained his winning streak until February 11, 1990, when he was defeated by underdog Buster Douglas. After he lost his titles, things seemed to go south for the former champion. In March 1992, Tyson was found guilty of rape and was sentenced to 6 years in jail. However, he was released after serving only 3 years. Upon his release, Tyson immediately got back to the ring in a bid to reclaim his place as a boxing champion. On November 9, 1996, after a series of successful fights, Tyson went head-to-head against the reigning heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield. Tyson was defeated via a knockout in the 11th round. However, Tyson cried foul claiming that Holyfield had illegally head-butted him several times during the match. He threatened to pay Holyfield back in his own coin. Tyson booked a rematch with Holyfield on June 28, 1997. The rematch was a high profile fight which attracted a record number of viewers worldwide. However, the viewers and match officials got more than they bargained when things went awry in the 3rd round of the fight. In a bizarre turn of events,
Mike Tyson grabbed his opponent’s head and bit off a piece of his right ear. That unprecedented move got Tyson disqualified from the match, followed by a myriad of other sanctions by the boxing associations. On July 9, 1997, Mike Tyson had his boxing license revoked and was slammed with a fine of $3 million. He made efforts to regain his license while his personal life was also in turmoil. He had a bit of luck in October 1998 when his license was reinstated. Tyson quickly set out to get back to his winning ways but without success. From the time he got back his license until the end of the millennium Tyson was trailed with numerous allegations of violence and sexual misconduct. In 2000, things seemed to come to a head for Tyson after he failed a random drug test. The last high profile match of Tyson’s career was against British boxer Lennox Lewis. He lost the match by a knockout and that signaled the beginning of the end for the former undisputed champion. In the following years, Tyson suffered a series of more defeats and in 2005 he decided to hang up his gloves. Since after retirement, Tyson has engaged in several ventures to reinvent himself. He went on an exhibition tour in 2006 and featured in the 2009 comedy film The Hangover alongside Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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My several controversies have pulled more business for me – Mike Nwalie, aka Pretty Mike of Lagos
Some of the cast members of MTV Shuga season 4
RMD, Tobi Bakre, Funsho Adeolu, Osas Ighodaro join all-Star Cast! Nigeria’s biggest Nollywood actor, Richard MofeDamijo, popularly known as RMD, is joining the new cast of MTV Shuga Naija, alongside Nollywood Veteran, Funsho Adeolu, top actor and show host, Osas Ighodaro, Big Brother 2018 finalist, Tobi Bakre, Omowunmi Dada and Belinda Yanga among many others. This year’s cast will feature a mixture of both old and new faces – including three budding stars, who beat off the challenge of over 1,000 other hopefuls at April’s public auditions, to land a role in the award winning TV series. Returning cast also include Funlola Raimi Aofiyebi, Timini Egbuson, Rahama Sadau, Yakubu Mohammed, Bukola Oladipupo, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Amal Umar, Alvin Abayomi, Helena Nelson and Ruby Akabueze among others. Timini Egbuson, who has starred in previous seasons, shared his excitement about the upcoming season: “I am so excited to be back on MTV Shuga Naija. I couldn’t be prouder to be such an integral part of this conversation, helping to educate young people on effective ways to manage pressure from society, and to make informed decisions about their sexual health. This is my fourth series of MTV Shuga, and not only have I learnt so much from being involved, but I’m sure that our fans have grown with us too. MTV Shuga Naija continues to make a positive change in Nigeria, and I’m thrilled
to be back on set again and to meet the new cast”. Executive Director, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Georgia Arnold also shared her thoughts on the unveiling of the new cast. “The new series of MTV Shuga Naija has so many stories to tell: we’ll see characters dealing with family planning, contraception, and gender based violence among other issues – all of which are so relevant to our audience. The cast of the series are such an integral part of the work of MTV Shuga they are not only (brilliant) actors, but actors and ambassadors who work so hard to ensure that our messages are reaching and positively impacting young Nigerians across the country. Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Viacom International Media Networks Africe (VIMN Africa) adds “It is incredibly gratifying to see the rollout of the 4th instalment of this powerful campaign in Nigeria that has helped change the lives of African youth for the better. At VIMN Africa, we are proud to continue supporting this crucial campaign that originated on our MTV Base channel.” As producer for the show’s return, Tope Oshin shared her excitement for the new season “I’m elated to be producing the new season of MTV Shuga… We have so many issues in the world and while we entertain our audience, we also talk
about serious issues raised in our communities. MTV Shuga is entertaining, witty and fun but also effects change within communities and inspire the next generation of young people to serve the world better.” MTV Shuga has also announced a new partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the new season; the United Nations body, whose key initiatives and messaging is centered on adolescent sexual health, teen pregnancy and family planning among young mothers. Speaking on the new collaboration with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Fatima Mamman-Daura (Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Specialist, UNFPA Nigeria) said: “UNFPA is proud to collaborate with MTV Shuga - the undisputed leader in behaviour change communication for adolescents and young people. MTV Shuga speaks the language of young people - providing HIV education and information on sexual and reproductive health in the most entertaining and captivating manner.” The past seasons have been broadcast in over 61 countries across the world, showing on more than 179 channels and reaching over 720 million households. MTV Shuga Naija will premiere on MTV Base and BET in September 2019.
For someone who has been back lashed several times for pulling jaw breaking stunts, Mike Nwalie, better known as Pretty Mike, has disclosed in a recent chat that he has over time developed tough skin towards negative vibes from members of the public , saying “what people don’t understand is the fact that these controversies help in selling my several businesses”. “Most of the time, when I pull those unbelievable stunts, people are prompted to ask who is that guy and that attracts a lot of people to my club thereby driving sells and in most cases when people visit my club and don’t find me, they take the pain to wait, buy more drinks in cause of waiting for me,” Pretty Mike explained. Explaining the time he got on the bad side of Nigerians when he went out with girls on a leash, he said: “I have never really shared that story fully; that point in my life was when all the ladies were my friends and I was managing a lot of girls. I was not their lecturer and I was not a pastor, but these girls kept coming to me for advice. I started an NGO at that time because of these ladies, trying to bring attention to the abuse our ladies suffer in society. I figured that since I was
As part of helping in the growing entertainment industry, Fast rising outfit, The Narcos 19 record label has unveiled its first sets of two budding artistes - Aviel Kingz and P Ray to the industry. The label which prides itself as a selfless organization that has modeled its operations as collaborative and innovative such that artistes and management can both contribute towards success
that is mutually beneficial for all its team members. Elijah Mbadiwe-Odum popularly known as Aviel Kingz is an Alte/Afro Trap recording artist who has been working on his debut EP and would be dropping singles before the end of the year while P Ray on the other hand just released his single titled Ire featuring Alapomeji crooner, 9ice is also set to give us more good tunes before the end of the year. On what makes them difference
compared to other budding artists in the industry; both signees disclosed that their distinctive sound and quality of materials set them apart as they are bringing a change to the industry at large. However, as a youthful and creative record label, the management embraces and utilizes the advantages of cutting-edge innovations without discarding the invaluable knowledge gained from industry veterans to help promote its artists and attain success.
catching people’s attention with what I was doing, I could use it to shine the light on certain things. However, you may come up with a concept but it ends up going the wrong way. I think that’s what happened in that case”. However, Pretty Mike disclosed exclusively that he has project currently running that is tilted toward empowering youths especially the female folks with reasonable amount of money as startup capital for small scale businesses as this will further enable them take their minds off involving themselves in prostitution and other indecent acts.
TV Reality show ‘Voice to Fame’ begins Sunday Episode 1 of the first pidgin English dubbing competition, ‘Voice to Fame’ featuring a host of celebrities including actress Mide Martins, Charles Okocha, aka Igwe 2Pac, Nkechi Blessing and others, will start airing from tomorrow on leading Digital pay TV network, StarTimes. The 13-episode show will be aired from 7:30 to 8:00pm on Orisun, ST Yoruba and Area 10 with a late broadcast at 9;00pm on ST Dadinkowa. The show will see eight contestants competing against celebrities, for a chance to win a grand prize of N2 million and will feature the re-enactment of classic movies and TV plays, Rap battles and lipsync taken from clips of movies and TV shows with focus on vocal delivery and demonstrative facial expressions.
The Narcos 19 label unveils new acts Stories Mutiat Alli
Pretty Mike
Charles Okocha
Short videos sharing platform, VSKIT has announced its partnership with Digital cable TV, StarTimes, to host the maiden edition of ‘Voice to Fame’, a dubbing competition in Nigeria. Inspired by the dual notions of dubbing and acting, Voice to Fame will connect with Nigerian audiences and seek to deliver a wonderful audio-visual feast with the most expressive voices and the most creative acting. The show is a combination of dubbing and acting where all stars will compete by using their voices to tackle challenging lines and dub new life into classic films and television clips. StarTimes subscribers will understand and enjoy the power of great performance. The competition will also be open to viewers on StarTimes ON.
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Gist Burna Boy announces 7th Body of work, ‘African Giant’
Augustsecrets founder, Toyin Onigbanjo, flanked by guests at the just concluded event
Augustsecrets records large turnout at 1st kids’ food fair Mutiat Alli, Lagos The 21st of July saw an amazing turn up of parents, guardians, and their kids to Augustsecrets’ first ever kids fair organised with the sole aim of showcasing their new products, as well as create an avenue of fun and entertainment for families to chill, mingle, and be properly catered to. It was an event filled with fun, laughter, games, and free gifts for all. Speaking on the occasion, the brand’s founder, Mrs. Toyin Onigbanjo,
said: “I understand the sacrifices parents make for their children’s comfort and well-being which is as it should be, but I also want parents to sit back and enjoy their time when they can. The sole purpose of this fair, aside from the food exhibition and sales, was really to give parents the opportunity to just relax and enjoy themselves with the assurance that their children were properly watched over.” Held at the popular Bay Lounge, Lekki, guests had opportunity of a firsthand feel of the newly improved Augustsecrets products that featured
the Jaden’s brand series that includes Fossy Pops, Fruitamil, Nuttymeal, Mixagrain, Veggie Beans and the crayfish powder amongst others. However, one of the exciting moments of the event was the mini kitchen set up where parents and guardians were educated on the fast and effective way of preparing the brand’s meals which helps you save time, but still nourishes the child while the kids corner manned by Baby Lounge had exciting set up that includes slides, diaper changing sections, mini trampolines amongst others.
Zenith Bank unveils ‘Style by Zenith 2.0’ Following the success of the maiden edition, foremost multinational financial services provider, Zenith Bank Plc has announced the launch of “Style by Zenith 2.0”, the second edition of its flagship lifestyle fair dedicated to intentionally celebrating the ‘small’ things that make ‘big’ differences in our lives. First launched in 2018, the “Style by Zenith” initiative was created with the objective of supporting and creating value for customers by focusing on various aspects of their lifestyle. This year, “Style by Zenith 2.0” takes things up a notch with the theme, “Style the Life you Desire”, aimed at encouraging Nigerians to live their best lives and be extraordinary. The platform seeks to inspire people to be authentic, while showing them that with ordinary talent and extraordinary effort they can thrive and make a real change in this world. Speaking on the rationale behind “Style by Zenith 2.0”, the Executive Director of Zenith Bank Plc., Dr. Temitope Fasoranti said that, “Banking, for Zenith Bank means going that extra mile to be present in the lives of our customers. Driven by a culture of excellence and providing cutting edge solutions, the bank is championing this cause to enable individuals and businesses to grow wealth.” He added that “Beyond providing
financial solutions, Zenith Bank Plc seeks to be a reliable partner to her customers, ensuring that they excel on every front. With “Style by Zenith 2.0”, the bank continues in her commitment to empowering individuals and entrepreneurs by celebrating real talents. We will be helping people do what they know how to do best and repositioning them for greater levels of success in their various endeavors.” This year’s program includes an interesting line up of activities all culminating in the 3-day Lifestyle Fair taking place at the end of 2019. Kicking off the array of activities is the “Style by Zenith 2.0” Fitness Walks being held in conjunction with Mass Medical Missions, a non-profit organization, and Venus Medicare Ltd, a leading Health Management Organisation in the country. The Fitness Walk will serve as a platform to promote Mission Pink Cruise – a project of Mass Medical Missions supported by Zenith Bank, aimed at taking holistic cancer prevention and health promotion to various communities across the country using Mobile Cancer Centres (MCC) nicknamed Pink Cruises, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria. Scheduled to hold in August, these Fitness Walks and Cancer Screening exercises will hold in five cities across Nigeria – Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Onitsha. Interested
individuals are invited to register their participation by visiting the Zenith Bank website at www.zenithbank. com/style. Aside the fitness walks across the country, there are a lot of activities such as conferences, online engagements, and a special event for models that builds on the masterclass held last year, not forgetting the special play arcade and activities designed for children at the fair. The variety of events and activities lined up also come with free medical check-ups like free eye, dental and cancer tests, amongst other special promotions both online and at the events leading to the final crescendo which is the 3-Day Lifestyle Fair. With initiatives such as these and many more to come, “Style by Zenith 2.0” promises to offer an allencompassing experience touching on key aspects of the lifestyle of Zenith customers and the public. The “Style by Zenith 2.0” platform is also a testament to the priority given to SMEs and the retail segment of the market by the bank. Together with her various partners, Zenith Bank will be laying the foundation for a future where individuals and SMEs can live up to their full potentials. Fashion One, the leading global fashion and lifestyle channel will once again be working with Zenith Bank on the “Style by Zenith 2.0” initiative.
The year started off great for the Afrofusion artiste Burna Boy with hits like “Killing Dem”, featuring Zlatan, “Dangote”, “Anybody” and “Pull up”, which was released on Monday 22nd July 2019. This 7th body of work is a testament to his development and growth as an artist. It is often said, both in religious texts and folklore that the number 7 is an auspicious sign from our guardian angels that one is on the right life path. It means one will overcome all obstacles and realise success in all endeavors. Every song on this album stands out, from the musical arrangement to the message which is both introspective and thoughtful. We are treated to the sounds of the motherland - Africa, with collaborations from Grammy awardwinning musicians Angelique Kidjo and the “Junior Gong,” Damian Marley on the track “Different” and features from a cross selection of critically acclaimed artists like Manifest from Ghana, Jeremih, Future and YG from the United States, Jorja Smith from the United Kingdom and Jamaican dancehall artiste Serani. Known for philosophical messages of holding steadfast to achieving one’s dreams, standing up for the right and just, calling out bad leadership and rising up to change our society, Burna Boy presents this album artwork with hidden details, clues, and tributes. The album artwork is inspired by the first Nigerian Ten Naira note on which Alvan Ikoku, one of Nigeria’s foremost educationists, free primary education activist and advocate for learning/gaining knowledge was immortalized for his belief in one’s ability and right to be free to pursue a better life. Some other clues and tributes are “BB 7” - Burna Boy 7 representing
Burna boy his 7th body of work; serial style numbers representing his date of birth, images of his Grandfather, Father with him as a baby depicting generational transition, stack of gold coins suggesting a single African currency backed by gold making it the strongest currency in the world and the image of Burna Boy which depicts the true African Giant whose values are a combination of some of Africa’s greatest leaders from Obafemi Awolowo to Nelson Mandela to Muammar Gaddafi and Fela Anikulapo to name a few. The road to the African Giant album started with the African Giant tour with performances at The Apollo Theater NYC, Coachella, The Ends festival ,Afro-Punk to being named Apple’s Up Next artiste to winning a BET Award and then a live performance on The Jimmy Kimmel Live Show. On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Los Angeles, California Okay Africa and Hennessy hosted a listening party for the album. Burna Boy is currently on the second leg of his African Giant Tour with his band.
Emulate Mr. Eazi, Dapper Music exec charges artistes To get optimal leverage from digital revenue, a music distribution expert and versatile artiste and Repertoire manager, Damilola Akinwunmi, Founder, Dapper Music Entertainment, has outlined pitfalls that Nigerian artistes make and proffered ways out of it. Akinwunmi described popular artiste and Empawa founder, Mr. Eazi, as the poster boy that Nigerian artistes should emulate. “I consider Mr. Eazi to be the best at hacking the digital space, he is basically tolling a line that everyone should follow and emulate. He also sets the bar so high and if you pay attention to what he does you can benefit a lot as well,” he said. The young and vibrant creative industry entrepreneur has been working with rapper, Ice Prince, to reposition his career. To his credit, he has distributed content for popular Nigerian artistes such as Sean Tizzle, Teni, Ice Prince, Mr. Real, Orezi among others. Fondly called Dapper Damm, the Sociology graduate of University of Lagos cut his teeth in 2014 promoting rising Nigerian artistes, Koker and Dotman. He moved on in 2016 to join Temple Management, a Lagos, and Nigeria-based talent agency as an Entertainment Executive. At Temple, he was in charge of artistes such
as Iyanya (Artiste), Adey (Producer), Chris (Artiste USA), Aaron (Producer USA), and Tee-Y Mix (Producer). He said: “At the moment, I believe that platforms that make the most money for Afrobeats artistes are Apple and Spotify. However, a lot really depends on the artist and type of content. One of the most important mistakes Nigerian make is, they don’t have their content well distributed and monetized on all platforms. It’s easy for artistes to neglect some platforms because it’s not popular but when calculated, the missed revenue from that is huge. One of the main sources artist neglect is YouTube Content ID and Monetization on platforms such as SoundCloud and Audio Mack.” While he admitted that piracy has become a reoccurring decimal, he adde:, “I believe things are starting to ease up and the artist are gradually beginning to know their rights and what they deserve. Before now, artistes promote their songs by sending out the actual MP3 to blogs for upload. Now, some artistes are wise, they push out digital download links of their songs on monetized platforms to the blogs for upload as opposed to MP3. Like I said, a lot has to do with the artist first changing their mentality and fighting for their rights. I believe things will start to take shape from there”.
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Beyonce needs Nigerian artistes than we need her - Rexxie, Producer Beyonce. I am a firm believer in Afrobeats. In the end, I feel like American musicians need us more than we need them. We are doing them a huge favour rather we doing them a favour. We are the new wave and they need us right now. If you check Apple music and other digital platforms, you will see that Beyonce album is on every African playlist as a result of her cleverly featuring African artistes.
Chisom Ezeh, popularly known as Rexxie, is behind the new wave of sound known as Zanku Music. The Anambra State born music producer and multi-talented artiste is a frequent collaborator with Zlatan Ibile and Naira Marley. Together, they have made some of the biggest songs on the music scene. To his credit, Rexxie has produced some of Nigeria’s biggest songs such as Zlatan’s Able God and Naira Marley’s ‘Am I A Yahoo Boy’ among others. In this chat with MUTIAT ALLI, he spoke about growing up, the popular Zanku sound and take on international Beyonce feature of Nigerians. Enjoy… Could you share your childhood memories with us? I was raised in Lagos and Abuja. Growing up in Lagos helped me to get accustomed to Yoruba tradition. My childhood was spent in Akoka, Shomolu, Lagos. I did not think of music at that. I moved to Abuja for my secondary school education. It was in Abuja that I would say music first met me. After that, I returned back to Lagos and that was when music started for me. I worked with different upcoming artistes. We are three children from my parents and I am the first. I studied Computer Science from Taiye Solarin University of Education (TASUED). What is your story, how did you find music? For me, music started in school although I had been playing the keyboard in church. I was part of the school band at Government Secondary School, Garki. I was actually the Music Prefect. This was in 2010. We usually do covers of popular trending songs and perform it at the school assembly before the whole school. I became more curious to know how the popular songs were made and that inspired me to go into music production. I learnt on my own, I was selftaught. How did Zanku sound originate? I am the originator of the Zanku Sound. Let me go back a little bit. Before we started the movement, I had a terrible accident in February March last year that almost claimed my life. It made me almost quit music. It was a tough period and turning point in my life. At that time, I had been experimenting on a new bounce and I didn’t what to call it. I was always praying to meet CDQ and play the beat
for him. I was not able to make the connection. As fate will have it, I met Zlatan Ibile in a chance meeting. I went with an artiste, Thessy who was featuring him to meet him at a hotel. After working on the song, Zlatan asked if I had any beat for him, then I played an unfinished beat to him. One thing led to another, he started to vibe to it and I liked what I was hearing him sing and I began to add more parts to the song. The title of the song was Jogo featuring Lil Kesh and Naira Marley. In the lyrics, Zlatan sang a line that said, ‘Zlatan, abeg no kill us’ which has the acronym Z-A-N-K-U. He had this unique dance style that he dances any time the song comes on. People started to dance to it too. What would you describe as a turning point in your music career? Jogo went a long way. It was recorded in a hotel. I also met Lyta, former artiste with Olamide’s YBNL and we recorded his second single, SelfMade. Luckily, Olamide heard it and called me inviting me to come record some songs with him. While we were trying to record Jogo, I played a couple of beats for Naira Marley and Lil Kesh. We recorded a couple of songs that is everywhere now. I did three hit songs such as Jakpa for Naira Marley, Again O for Lil Kesh and Illuminati by Zlatan featuring Naira Marley. That night was magical, several hit music was born in one sitting. Can you tell us about recording the monster hit song, Able God? For me, what I would call the biggest turning point for me was the recording of Able God featuring Chinko Ekun, Zlatan and Lil Kesh. It was just the right time and everything was
Rexxie
happening in my life very fast. Mind you, I was doing all this recording while I was healing. I was still walking around with bandage on my body. How bad was the accident and how did affect your music career? I was almost going to quit. It was a low point in my life. Actually, it happened when I was returning to Lagos from Ilorin. It occurred around Epe. The car somersaulted like seven times. It is still a miracle that I walked out alive from the wreckage. I had a serious injury on my left hand. I would say that Able God announced me and people came to identify me with that sound that we called Zanku. We uploaded the dance on social media and the song just went viral. Can you take us through your creative process? First of all, I am not the type of producer that sits down and create beat for artiste. I don’t send beat to artiste. I like to be in the room with the artiste and do the music live. I like to flow with the artiste and feed on the artiste’s energy and vibe. I can work if I don’t get the vibe from the artiste. It is all about creativity. This is why I am always selective of the people that I work with. It is a collaborative work. This is why I hardly work with some certain people. I am not the type of producer an artiste will send voice note to on WhatsApp. We have to create it together.
But this put you at the risk of being described as a onedimension producer, how do you react to this? One thing about this live is that, once you are known for something, you establish your niche. This means that whoever is coming to record with youth know what to expect. However, this does not mean that I do not do other styles of music. I have made hip hop sings for Chinko Ekun and Reminisce. I made high-life music for Lil Kesh, it was quite a hit featuring Duncan Mighty titled Flenjor. Don’t forget that, Lil Kesh’s Self-Made was a high-life Jam. What’s the special connection between you and Zlatan? Like I said, I like to work physically with an artiste in the studio and Zlatan is that kind of spontaneous artiste. He is the type of artiste that if you send him beat, he hardly records it. He is the live recording type as well. The way he loves to record is the way I also like to produce. He writes his lines on the spot. That is chemistry. Another person who I achieve that kind of chemistry with also is Naira Marley. He is a very creative artiste. I like artistes that think on their feet. What are your thoughts about Beyonce’s feature of Nigerian? Afrobeat has come to stay. I think it is a big progress for our industry to get featured by
How best can Nigerian musicians tap revenue from digital streaming? Nigerian artistes are now making a lot of money from digital distribution. It all boils down to working with the right people and understanding the business as well as the digital market itself. We have to understand how lucrative it is and the potentials available in digital streaming. Most artistes don’t understand how much revenue they stand to gain from it. That is being handled for me by Damilola Akinwunmi of Dapper Damn Entertainment; he has been a good professional. What is the most important advice an up and coming producer should know? Keep believing in what you are doing, don’t let anyone put you down with negative opinion. Once upon a time, I used to allow people’s opinion weigh me down. For instance, before we released the monster hit, Able God, someone whom I highly respected said told me that my beat was getting ‘wack’. But for the first time, I disagreed with him. I had that strong believe in what I was doing for the first time. Also work towards finding your own sound. Please watch out for more music from me. In the coming immediate future, what should people expect from you? At the moment, I am working on my EP. I want to put out a body of work that shows different sides of me apart from the one the world knows. I want to test the waters and put out different vibes. I feel like this is best way to let people know that I do other sounds apart from Zanku. I plan to feature African and international artistes. It will be out in November by God’s Grace. Before now, I dropped my own hit song Fotifoyin by Rexxie featuring Teni, Naira Marley and Zlatan.
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Interview
Tim Godfrey: Hunger drove me into music After engaging in several menial jobs and now an international brand, gospel singer, Tim Godfrey, is sure one of the leading and successful gospel artistes who is changing the narratives and the way people position the gospel music sector. In this chat with MUTIAT ALLI, Tim disclosed the journey to his successful brand, and ideal woman amongst others. Enjoy… How did you discover your talent? I was one of those kids that did well at whatever I touched. I played football very well, same for table tennis. It was easy for me to get into football but I was always doing music by the side, like in the choir. I became a music director in 1994. But in all of this, my focus was football. In fact, when I got to Lagos and was staying under Oshodi Bridge, it was hunger that drove me into music. One day, when I was very hungry, I just barged into a church at Oshodi and told them I could handle their music and make it different. They did not answer me the first time, so I began to attend their rehearsals, and the third time they gave me a chance. Because I play five musical instruments including bass guitar, lead guitar and piano, I just mesmerized them; they were shocked! That was how they employed me and I remember my first salary was N3, 000. A lot of people do not know my story; think I just popped out of the blue and stumbled into success. What will consider as your turning point? I think every part of my life, every experience, and every turn has been a turning point. When I was a houseboy to when I was sleeping under the bridge to when I was selling coconut and bananas on the streets of Kaduna, every one of these experiences God used to build me. None was a waste. All of them were used by God to build me. So, every mistake, disappointment, and everything that made it look like it was not going to work out, was part of God’s plan for my life. I think the most important thing is that, at some point in my life, I received Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and savior. Getting to this present stage of your life; you did menial jobs including working as a houseboy; can you share those past moments of yours? Working as a houseboy was not an embarrassing experience but a painful one. I was always beaten and abused. There was nothing fun about the experience. I was flogged until I bled. I never stole and was not disobedient but it was not a good
experience. I remember one day I ran away from my master’s house and I almost committed suicide. I was like ‘this life is not worth it. If I go back to my parents, this man will come for me again, because that was about the fourth time I was running away from his house’. It was a nightmare staying with him. I couldn’t watch television, listen to radio or play around with friends. I was just there washing, cleaning and sweeping. I became a houseboy at the age of 12 due to crippling poverty. You did a song with Travis Greene and it became a national anthem; how does that make you feel? You see one of the essences of doing gospel music is to change the narratives and attract more souls to the brand, I want to attract international brand to my kind of music and not the regular forms of using English language in songs but going as far as promoting our culture and preserving our heritage. I never believed ‘Nara’ will travel this far and people love it for the fact that Travis spoke a bit of Igbo. What is the secret to your success? God has always been and will continue to be my strength. I don’t believe in magic or short cuts. I work and I push myself to the limit. I challenge myself everyday to be a better version of who I was yesterday. I am committed, resilient and focused, learning from my mistakes and doing those things they say are impossible. You are good looking, guess there is a woman in your life? Media and the way they put words into your mouth; I am not married neither am I in any relationship at the moment. I am taking my time and am sure when the time is right all will be set. What is your idea of an ideal woman? My ideal woman must first of all be God fearing and family oriented; I am not really bothered about color or language but she must be beautiful and also because of the nature of the kind of work I am doing; she definitely needs to be very understanding
Tim
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Airtel Africa grew customer base by 9.3% to 99.7m in Q1 - Report Ladesope Ladelokun Airtel Africa has announced a customer base growth of 9.3 per cent to 99.7 million in the first quarter of 2019. Details of the growth are contained in the telecommunication company’s first quarter 2019 results, posted on the website of the Nigeria Stock Exchange. According to the report, at the end of the quarter, ended June 30, the company’s revenue increased to $795.9 million, up 6.9 per cent, with constant currency growth of 10.2 per cent. Details showed that this was the 6th consecutive quarter of double-digit constant currency growth recorded by the company. Similarly, revenue growth of 10.2 per cent in constant currency was driven by double-digit growth in Nigeria and East Africa, although this was partially offset by a decline in revenue in the rest of Africa where the company operates. Growth was equally recorded across business products as constant currency revenue in voice increased by 3.2 per cent, data revenue by 35.9 per cent and mobile money by 41.8 per cent. The company’s reported underlying EBITDA was $347.6 million, up 9.7 per cent, while constant currency underlying EBITDA growth was 12.8 per cent. Similarly, the underlying EBITDA margin in reported currency was 43.7 per cent, an increase of 111 bps, while there was an increase of 101 bps in constant currency terms. In accounting and finance, EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and it is a measure of a company’s operating performance. It is simply a way to evaluate a company’s performance without having to factor in financing decisions, accounting decisions or tax environments. Airtel Africa’s free cash flow for the period under review was $102.4 million, down 29.2 per cent. The company attributed it to increased capex for network modernization and the rollout of additional sites.
FG tasks ECOWAS on commitments in implementation of regional labour policies Joy Obakeye The Federal Government has called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to show commitment and political will in the implementation of labour policies and programmes in the sub-region. According to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Williams Alo, the West African region needs a renewed commitment to drive the tenets of Decent Work and other labour policies. He spoke at a meeting of Labour and Employment Ministers in the ECOWAS region in Abuja, where key policy documents on the future of work and decent job for all in the West African region was adopted. “We cannot continue to be paying lip service to issues of labour administration in the sub-region. The time has come for us to make a radical departure from the past if we are to bequeath to future generation an ECOWAS subregion that prides itself in the attainment of the tenets of decent work.” Two policy documents: “Directive on Minimum Standards Towards Harmonisation of Labour Laws in the ECOWAS region” and the “ECOWAS Regional Programme for Decent Work (DWRP),” were extensively deliberated, revised, validated and adopted during the two-day meeting. ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said the two documents would be a key framework that ECOWAS and member states can apply to achieve the ILO Centenary Declaration for the future of works, adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 108th Session in June in Geneva. He said the policy documents would address the challenges to shaping a fair, inclusive and secure future of work with full, productive and freely chosen employment and decent work for all.
L–R: Ige Olorunsogo, Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS); Charles I. Ojo, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc; Ugochi Obi, Head, X-Academy, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Akin Oyegoke, Managing Consultant, Johan Consults Ltd during an X-Academy & Johan Consults training on GDPR & NDPR Masterclass, which held at the Exchange in Lagos.
CBN clarifies policy on forex restriction for milk importation Says milk importation is not banned
Urges Nigerians to restrict blackmail tactics of interested individuals Motolani Oseni Due to continual criticism of its recent policy on forex restriction for milk importation in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified its stand that the decision has no political undertone. The apex bank made the clarification in a statement released on Friday, where he explained that the bank had offered milk importers low-interest loans to begin local production since 2016 but the offer was treated with “imperial contempt.” He noted that it is possible to produce milk locally in Nigeria because the loans are still available to interested manufacturers. Reacting to tweets condemning the new forex policy on its official twitter handle, the CBN said: “Nigeria and the welfare of all Nigerians come first in all
our policy considerations. “Our focus remains ensuring forex savings, job creation and investments in the local production of milk. “Milk importation is not banned. Indeed, the CBN has no such power. All we will do is to restrict the sale of forex for the importation of milk from the Nigerian foreign exchange market. “About three years ago, we began a policy to encourage backward integration to conserve foreign exchange and create jobs for our people. Included in this policy package was the introduction of the highly successful policy which restricted the sale of forex from the Nigerian foreign exchange market for the importation of some 43 items goods that could be produced in Nigeria. “Arising from the success of the restriction policy, we approached some milk importers, like we did for rice, tomato and starch and asked them to take advantage of CBN’s low-interest loans to
begin local milk production instead of relying endlessly on milk imports. “Today, although there have been some successful attempts at producing milk locally, the vast majority of the importers still, treat this national aspiration with imperial contempt.” Acknowledging that the policy could hurt some business interests, the CBN urged Nigerians to restrict the blackmail tactics of individuals who have vested interests in milk importation. Meanwhile, an Agric Economist, Mr Nnamdi Infenkwe, has said the plan by the CBN to ban the importation of milk products is long overdue in view of the drain on the nation’s resources. Infenkwe, who is Senior Manager, Nissi Agro Alide Services, said this in Lagos, yesterday. He said immediately enforcement of the ban would force the milk producers to immediately commence backward integration as agreed three years ago
with the CBN. He said the ban became necessary after major dealers of milk products in Nigeria failed to ensure that they produce milk locally, three years after meetings were held with them in that regard. According to him, Nigeria currently spends between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion on importation of milk products annually, a situation he declared was no longer acceptable. It would be recalled that the new forex policy was announced in Abuja on Tuesday by the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele. Emefiele said the item would soon be part of the 43 items delisted by the CBN from accessing official foreign exchange market. He added the apex bank was ready to give loans to the importers to acquire land, promote the artificial insemination of the cows or production of water to make milk in Nigeria.
OAAN to check influx of foreign outdoor firms in Nigeria Godwin Anyebe Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) has deployed deliberate measures designed to stem the tide of the illegal entrance of foreign-based firms into the nation’s outdoor advertising landscape. Speaking on this development, President of the Association, Emmanuel Ajufo, disclosed recently in Lagos that the organisation was already in the process of initiating legal action against a number of such foreign companies that are engaged in outdoor advertising businesses in
Nigeria without due adherence to the code and guidelines of practice as stipulated by Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). According to him, Nigeria’s outdoor advertising sector was bedevilled by myriad challenges bordering on breach of professionalism, basic among which is an uncontrolled entry of foreign firms into the business as well as the ever recurring issues of multiple taxations by various governmental agencies. Commenting on the prevalent issue of inter-sectorial indebtedness in the industry, the OAAN boss noted that the debt issue was assuming
an alarming dimension adding that industry stakeholders must have to come together to chart the way forward on the debt issue. Though he was unspecific on the total volume of debts owed by the various industry players, he was particularly critical on the new trend of 120 days payment terms being initiated by several multinational advertisers, pointing out that the development was antithetical to APCON stipulations on debt and as such, must be jettisoned in the interest of business and industry growth at large. The OAAN boss who took a
retrospective look at the industry’s business performance, especially in the just ended half year period of 2019 regretted that though the industry fared not too well in the period owing to prevailing negative economic situations in the country, there are, however, strong optimism that businesses would perform better by the turn of the second half of the year. He added that the association was in the process of leveraging with similar outdoor regulatory bodies across West African sub-region and other international agencies with a view to ensuring standardisation of outdoor advertising practice in Nigeria.
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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NSE enhances stakeholders’ engagement with Investors Relations Data pack Temitope Adebayo
R-L: Governor of Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi; Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson, and Senior Finance Manager, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Yomi Adenson at the partnership agreement signing ceremony on Ikun Dairy Farm project, held at Ekiti House, Abuja….recently.
Promasidor partners Ekiti on local material sourcing for dairy products Kazeem Adeyemi Promasidor Nigeria Limited has signed a partnership agreement with Ekiti State Government to drive its backward integration initiative aimed at creating a local source of raw materials for its dairy products through the state-owned Ikun Dairy Farm. The pact was sealed on behalf of the partners by the Ekiti State Governor, Dr John Kayode Fayemi and the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson, during the week in Abuja. This project will enable Promasidor to utilise the potentials of Ikun Dairy Farm in the making of milk and other
products of nutritional value which helps to enhance human growth. Commenting on the agreement, Fayemi stated that Ekiti State was delighted to collaborate with a major player in the fast-moving consumer goods sector that is deeply committed to the wellbeing of consumers through its array of quality products. The Governor affirmed that the partnership would enhance the backward integration an initiative of Promasidor, in compliance with Federal Government’s directives those companies should seek the local source of raw materials for their products, thus ensuring local content development. Fayemi disclosed that Ikun Dairy Farm, established in 1980 with
hundreds of fattened cows could serve as a source of milk supply to produce evaporated milk and other nutritional products, create more employment opportunities and increased nutritional products. In his remark, the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson, who was highly elated with the progress made on backward integration, said Ikun Dairy Farm would in no small measure provide opportunities to enhance local milk production, an exciting opportunity for the company. He affirmed that as the maker of quality products such as Cowbell Milk, Loya Milk, Cowbell Chocolate, Miksi, Top Tea, Onga food seasoning, Sunvita Cereals, and others, local
source of milk collection is paramount to ease less dependence on foreign raw materials. The Promasidor boss corroborated Fayemi’s view that the partnership would also lead to further employment and another viable source of livelihood for people in the state. He explained that Promasidor’s backward integration initiative would give the company an edge over others in the dairy market with the potentials of the farm. Ikun Dairy Farm spans across 1,000 hectares of land area. Located in IkunEkiti, in Moba Local Government Area, the farm was established in the early 1980s as an integrated agroallied farm to boost the economy of the State.
StarTimes opens all kids channels free to customers Joy Obakeye Pay-TV company, StarTimes has announced a one- week free viewing for all its kids’ channels from August 1 to 7. This, the company said is in a bid
to entertain, educate, and provide informative content no subscription needed to children who are on holiday. According to the Public Relations Manager, Kunmi Balogun, “The kids can now watch the popular paw patrol on Nickelodeon among other great educative content. We are staying true
to one of our core values which is to provide and entertain viewers with timely, uncommon and innovative content. The holiday season for children is upon us and we have a whole lot of fantastic content lined up to ensure they enjoy their summer break with
family.” He added that “Children are a part of our business and now they can enjoy unlimited fun during the holiday on channels like ST Kids, Jim Jam, Nickelodeon, Baby TV and more irrespective of the bouquet, parents are subscribed to.”
Diageo increases global marketing spend by 8% …as Nigerian Ad spend hike by 15% Godwin Anyebe Diageo’s marketing spend for the last year jumped by 8 per cent to over £2bn, contributing to sales of £12.9billion, up 5.8 per cent from last year. Meanwhile in Nigeria, its marketing expenditure increased to 12,047,558 in 2018 compared to 10,196,935 from the previous year, representing a more than 15 per cent increase. Marketing investment surged worldwide to £2,042m (up from £1,882m) with the North American market leading the charge with 11
per cent growth, which combined with the use of new analytic tools to improve the effectiveness of each pound spent to boost investment returns, the drinks giant has revealed. In the Asia-Pacific region, the comparable rate of growth was put at 7per cent, buoyed by increased investment in Chinese white spirits, Johnnie Walker and scotch malts across China as well as its “#ChallengeAccepted” campaign for Royal Challenge in India. Marketing growth increased by 6 per cent both in Europe and Turkey as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, with the former driven
primarily by Guinness’ sponsorship of the Six Nations. Finally, African marketing investment rose 3 per cent on the back of the relaunch of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout as well as investment in Tusker marketing and media. The results also claimed an operating profit of £4bn, an increase year-on-year of 9.5 per cent, driven by organic growth. Announcing Diageo’s preliminary results for the year recently, chief executive Ivan Menezes said: “Diageo has delivered another year of strong performance. Organic volume and net sales growth were broad-based across
regions and categories, with new product innovation being a strong contributor. We expanded organic operating margin ahead of our guidance and increased investment behind our brands ahead of organic net sales growth. “Our focus on quality sustainable growth is backed by a culture of everyday efficiency that enables us to invest smartly in marketing and growth initiatives while expanding margins.” Diageo has invested heavily in updating its drinks packaging as part of an ongoing arms race to win the attention of consumers.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (“NSE” or Exchange) has announced the launch of the NSE Investor Relations (IR) Data Pack, an innovative and dynamic webpage integrated with key market data, corporate news and disclosures for corporate issuers. NSE Investor Relations Data Pack is designed to reduce the burden on issuers, by providing them with an intuitive investor relations webpage which can easily be integrated into their existing corporate websites. Hosted in the cloud, it features enhanced interactive functionalities with 99.5 per cent uptime. The IR Data Pack was created with an easy-to-use, secure, and customizable interface to boost access and adoption. Commenting on the launch of IR Data Pack, Mr Jude Chiemeka, Head, Trading Business, NSE, noted that “NSE Investor Relations Data Pack is a necessary tool required by issuers to improve their engagement with investors. “We came up with the IR program to provide value-added service to our issuers and make their daily market statistics available to investors in real-time. It is a tool that will enhance their communication and outreach strategy to investors, analysts and other stakeholders”. “As an Exchange, we remain committed to bridging the information gap between the Exchange and market participants, knowing that the stock market thrives on information. The delivery of the IR Data Pack and associated services is an essential building block in The Exchange’s strategy as it seeks to improve market participation and transparency, and facilitate informed investment decision making”, Mr Chiemeka added. On his part, Mr Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, NSE, said, “We are delighted to provide a solution that enables adequate exposure to capital market information. Issuers can now drive a more robust market interaction on their corporate websites and potentially position themselves to attract more investors.
Lush Hair, Nashco reward winners in braiding competition Godwin Anyebe Lush hair, a hair extension brand alongside the Nigerian Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists NASHCO Lagos chapter, organized hair braiding competition amongst stylists from across the twenty local Governments areas in Lagos. The hair stylist contest was a braids competition amongst 20 teams from across the local governments in Lagos State. Each team comprises of a model, stylist and an assistant who slugged it out to in order to emerge as the winners of the monetary reward offered by the lush brand. The monetary reward came in the order of N150, 000 for the Winner, N100, 000 for the 1st runner up and N50,000 for the 2nd runner up. Out of the twenty teams that contested, Model Olamide Osoba from Orile Agege LGA, came first and won for the team N150,000.00, Model Oyeloro Sidikat and team from Kosofe LGA received N100,000.00 for the second and finally Model Roseline Ogunyemi From Etiosa LGA a long side her team went back home with N50,000,00. According to Mrs Omotayo AzeezAbiodun, Public Relations Manager, Tolaram Group who represented the Brand Manager, Lush Hair, Ms Sukhm Pannu, “it is such a great pleasure collaborating with one the most credible hairdressing regulatory associations in the country- the Nigerian Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists (NASHCO) in organizing such an exciting yet cerebral hair stylists competition which captured all the local Government Areas in Lagos State”.
POLITICS TIMES Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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It is El-Zakzaky, Dasuki today, it may be any of us tomorrow, everyone should speak up now – Yerima Alhaji Shettima Yerima is a well known human rights activist and one of those who has always advocated for the recognition of June 12 as Nigeria’s democracy day, but he is not so happy with the way the issue of June 12 and the naming of the National Stadium Abuja was handled by the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government. While he appreciates that June 12 has finally become the nation’s democracy day, he is sad that it was the abandoned National Stadium Abuja that is named after Abiola. To him the University of Lagos that President Goodluck Jonathan named after him, but was rejected is far more prestigious. He recently spoke with some journalists in Lagos and PATRICK OKOHUE was there. Recently the Federal Government celebrated June 12 as the nation’s democracy day with a public holiday, also the National Stadium Abuja was named after Abiola, being one of those who have been in the trenches calling for the recognition of that day as the nation’s democracy day, are you satisfied with what has happened so far? When you say satisfied I will say not yet, yes something happened, some of us have spent major parts of our lives in the struggle for this June 12, I will say that was my first step into the prodemocracy struggle, it was June 12 that brought some of us into the limelight, I remember some of my contemporaries such as the Aare Onakanfo today, the likes of Asari Dokubo, people like Sowore, Mayegun, these are people who at that time were just growing up and many others, Wale Okuniyi and the rest of them, many of us were just coming out of school and some others were in school at that time, we were working as foot soldiers, the like of Shehu Sani who by God’s grace is today a Senator, were ahead of us, age wise and experience wise. We lost some who were killed by the military at that time. I remember one Mustapha who was always around any struggle, any protest, he is still in Lagos, but goes with clutches now because he lost one of leg, so many of them lost their jobs, many were incarcerated, some of them lost their families. I remember a comrade who lost his wife and kids when the attack came. Those are things that happened many years ago. When I was talking yesterday, I was on air on Channels TV on Politics Today and I mentioned something, I said these things are not about Abiola as a person, but there was something that made us come around at that time, we formed a rallying point, we believed in the idea of that struggle at that time, we believed in the manifestoe of Chief MKO Abiola at that time. What are those things that actually drove us closer, the issue of fighting hunger, alleviating poverty, controlling it to some level, food on the table, insecurity to be addressed, addressing corruption, unemployment and so on. These were things that were very key and germane at that time, subsequently Nigeria killed him. At that time we were more united than we are today, I don’t know really, but maybe I was so young, I didn’t get to know that Wale was different from me Shettima, or Tunde or Emeka, I did not know any of this, we moved on together, I didn’t know if there was difference between religion at that time, because we celebrated Christmas together, and when Sallah comes we do the same, the only thing that differ was that when it is Sallah it was like I am coming to your house to eat today and you are also coming to my house at Christmas if I was a Christian, that was the only thing I remember, but today we are all much more divided than we were. But, why is that so? Now come to think of it, under this regime insecurity is at the highest of it, nothing is impossible, I don’t know if I am thinking like this because I am from the North, I only come to Lagos briefly, sometimes I stay in the North for six months or even one year without coming down here, you only read my statements from there. Secondly, the issue of poverty is higher, hunger,
Yerima today you people in the Southern part of the country are living in paradise when it comes to the issue of hunger, because even among some of our people that seems to be among the elites some of them find it very difficult to eat, people don’t go to farm anymore, kidnapping now has gone to a level that people only write you a letter, sell your property if you don’t have money, come and pay, if they come to your house it means you are too stubborn, it has come to that level. The issue of banditry is a thing that happens religiously every day in the Northern part of the country, there is no place that is safe in Northern part of the country. Now if you look at all of this, the hunger, the poverty, the unemployment and everything, it contradicts the principle of the struggle of June 12. I was looking at something bigger, when you say whether we are satisfied, it has not addressed anything yet out of what we are thinking. That one grazing reserve, abandoned property, was named after Chief MKO Abiola is not enough. Public
holiday, good, at least there is a change from May 29, to that day, even some people among my contemporaries says it is politics, even if it is politics, it has to some extent started, a journey of a million miles starts with a step, we have taken a step to some extent on June 12, I don’t know if one mad government will come up in the future to reverse it, I hope that doesn’t happen, because almost all of us will rally round and become enemy of that government if they reverse it. They named June 12 the nation’s democracy day, at least that is a big step forward, or don’t you think so? Now when you talk about democracy day, what is democracy with hunger in the land, what is democracy in the midst of insecurity, what is democracy without respect to the rule of law, where rulings or pronouncements are made by competent courts and it is only in this regime where I see impunity thrive, undermining court
The case of Dasuki is one, El-Zakzaky is another, so many of them, probably I may also be a victim soon, because I am always a victim, tomorrow I may be picked and a court will rule and nothing will happen. So it portends danger, today it’s the issue of El-Zakzaky, Dasuki who are direct victims, it could as well be anybody, so where lies the whole thing called democracy.
rulings in so many cases. The case of Dasuki is one, El-Zakzaky is another, so many of them, probably I may also be a victim soon, because I am always a victim, tomorrow I may be picked and a court will rule and nothing will happen. So it portends danger, today it’s the issue of ElZakzaky, Dasuki who are direct victims, it could as well be anybody, so where lies the whole thing called democracy and democracy day. Unfortunately, we have some of our contemporaries today who are opportune to be in government, who are directly benefitting from it, they are gladly raising their hands and jumping up and down. I have said it before, I said when Jonathan named UNILAG after Abiola, the protest against it was not initiated by the students themselves, it was sponsored by some elements here in Lagos, who instigated the students and funded them to raise that protest, so that Jonathan will look stupid and they rejected that thing completely, isn’t UNILAG more prestigious, better than that stadium? I am sure the President has never been there, because you can’t even find good animal there, some of them rejects it not to talk of human beings. I was at the stadium a few days ago, one of my friends goes to the gym there and once in a while you see people doing exercise on weekends, I was surprised how it looks like, I have never seen an ugly place like that in recent time and a government property. Somebody built that stadium, all they would have done was to renovate it, put the facilities, improve it to an extent. Obasanjo built that stadium, yet you said PDP has not done anything, but part of what the PDP did is what you are using today to showcase and take glory. You are President of Arewa Youths and some of these challenges are being caused by the youths, what are you, at the level of your group doing to address some of these youths? Let me ask you this question, how do you address a woman who you marry and keep in the house and starve her of food every day, leave her hungry day in day out and tomorrow you come and say you want to sleep with her? It’s a simple example, when an environment or a society is the way the North is today, where you have high rate of unemployment, where when it comes to the issue of Western education you realize it is not even encouraged by successive governments, like Awolowo did in the South West, where almost all the younger generations are direct beneficiaries of Awolowo’s gesture, some of you benefited from the free education and to some extent they made it compulsory and some of these legacies are seen working today. Today Lagos State can boldly say we have passed a law, that a child of six, seven years must not be seen on the street begging, infact must not be seen on the street roaming, he must be in school from so and so hour to so and so hour, those laws are possible in a state as big as Lagos. But those laws are so impossible in where I come from, it doesn’t work, poverty is high, hunger is much, I have fear that in the nearest future some of us may not live to even talk, I am worried not just for myself, but for my children, by God’s grace today my children are doing good, they are in schools, but can they live in peace, certainly I don’t see that happening.
Politics Times 19
Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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CACOL slams states who pilfer LG allocation, says action tantamount to grand corruption recognises and takes cognizance
Stories by Patrick Okohue of our three-tier system of The Centre for AntiCorruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), has chided various state governments across the country that continues to corner federal allocations to the different 774 local government areas under the excuse of their individual definition of what should constitute the Nigerian Federalism. CACOL in a release issued by Adegboyega Otunuga, it’s Coordinator for Media and Publications on behalf of Mr. Debo Adeniran, the Centre’s Executive Chairman, noted that, “It is noteworthy that the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU had instructed the Nigerian Banks not to remit or allow any portion of their federal allocations to be deducted or received by the respective states governments again with effect from June 1, 2019. “This is not only in line with the 1999 Nigerian Federal Constitution (as amended) that
administration; it also tallies with various rules and amendments that emanated from the National Assembly, especially the 8th National Assembly. “Though, the leadership of our (two) leading political parties had at one time or the other, insisted that local governments can only exist at the behest of their relevant states, this argument is self-serving with no substance or relevance in the Nigerian Constitution that recognizes three-tiers of authorities as obtained in many other modern democracies. “The truth is that, though states’ assemblies are constitutionally empowered to initiate the creation and coming into being of local governments, but the final nod for such to become lawful and official must have the imprimatur of the National Assembly. It is same for states’ creation, so as not to encourage willful and unwieldy balkanization of the polity.” The CACOL Boss added,
“In retrospect, the recalcitrant attitude to local governments’ independence is actually inimical to ease of providing beneficial leadership to the people through the grassroots and convenience. “It is germane to note that democracy itself as we know it worldwide today, started from the Greek commune called Polis a suburb not bigger than a ward inside a local government. In the United Kingdom today, affordable Council flats and other social welfare programmes, including primary Health care, Primary Education, etc., are usually within the purview of local authorities with the higher levels of Government exercising oversight and judicial control to guarantee fiscal and administrative discipline. “This is why many have opined that such emasculation of this 3rd-tier of government is largely responsible for widespread poverty occasioned by unemployment, insecurity and deep rooted economic frustration ravaging the land.”
Residents of Lagos-Badagry Expressway storm governor’s office, Assembly over state of road It was a sight to behold during the week, when residents of communities linked by the LagosBadagry Expressway stormed the Lagos State governor’s office and the state House of Assembly to protest what they described as the untold hardship they are being subjected to on account of the state of the road. The protesters who stormed the office of the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu demanding immediate removal of checkpoints and commencement of palliative works on the road. They complained that the promises made by the state governor during the gubernatorial election campaign have not been fulfilled 60 days after assuming office. The protesters, who were armed with placards bearing different inscriptions like: Remember, ‘Badagry is still part of Lagos’, Badagry road deserve more attention’, ‘Good road is not a luxury but necessity’ and others vowed to continue their protest until the government yield to their demands. The joint protesters led by President, Society for Human Advancement and Creativity Organisation, Akande Mark, and Fix Lagos-Badagry Expressroad mass Movement, led by Sewanu Micheal, barricaded the entrance to the office of the state governor, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja. In a letter containing their demands presented to Sanwo-Olu, the protesters demanded that for
Sanwo-Olu them not to cause any mayhem on the road, the governor should immediately order removal of illegal checkpoints on the road. According to them, these checkpoints have become an eyesore and a disgrace to the nation compared to other neighbouring countries. They also demanded that the governor should immediately commence palliative works on the road while major reconstruction continues, adding, “We request a strong commitment from the government on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the road. “That government should desist
from engaging in double standard attention on issues relating to Badagry as against other parts of Lagos and remove all impediments obstructing the reconstruction of the road,” the protesters added. Addressing the protesters, SanwoOlu, who was represented by Mr. Hundeyin Kolawole, political director, office of civic engagement, assured them that their demands would be addressed. Also, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa, who was represented by Gbolahan Yishau, stressed that the House would deliberate on the issues raised by the protesters at plenary.
Aisha
Governors’ wives back Aisha Buhari on violence against women, children, seek police’s prompt response Wives of Governors’ of the thirty six states of the Federation have thrown their weight behind the First Lady of the country, Mrs. Aisha Buhari on the need to urgently take proactive measures to stem increasing cases of violence against women and children. Mrs. Buhari had recently called for action to be taken to forestall rising cases of sexual abuse against women and children. According to a statement released at the weekend on behalf of the Governors’ wives, jointly signed by wife of the Chairman Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, Chairman Northern Governors’ Wives Forum Mrs. Amina Abubakar and Chairman of Southern Governors’ Wives Forum, Mrs. Betty Obaseki, they noted that this had become expedient with daily cases of rape, violence, sexual harassment and murder of women and children. This is even as the wives of the state helmsmen lamented that even women and children with special needs have become targets of sexual violence. The statement reads: “As concerned mothers and citizens, we hereby call on the Inspector General of Police to direct the Nigerian Police to treat rape and defilement cases with the speed and seriousness such cases deserve, in order to ensure justice for victims. We are also requesting that the Nigerian Police should be tactful and supportive in the handling of alleged sexual offences and take measures to prevent the intimidation of victims by families and associates of suspects. “We are also appealing for rape and sexual offences desks to be created in Police Stations across the country where they do not exist, and that appropriately trained personnel are designated to provide timely support for victims. “We implore the Attorney General of the Federation as well as State Attorney
Generals to fast track cases of rape and defilement. We also urge the setting up of Special Offences Courts for rape and defilement cases, and for such cases to be charged to the courts and heard without undue delays. “We beseech the Minister of Health to ensure the provision of timely, sensitive and comprehensive medical services to victims of sexual violence. We plead that all medical facilities be equipped with Rape Kits and Post- Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent rape victims from contracting HIV. It is also our hope that professional counseling services can be made available to sexual violence survivors. “We appeal to the National Assembly, Executive Governors and State Houses of Assembly to facilitate the passage of laws to protect women and children from violence and abuse. Where legislation already exists, we call for political will in the enforcement and implementation of such laws. In this regard, urgent medical attention, shelter, counseling and other support mechanisms for survivors are important. “We plead with all political, religious and community leaders to speak up against the abuse of women and children. “We encourage civil society organisations and women’s support groups to continue to advocate on behalf of victims as well as provide all relevant services. We acknowledge the efforts of organisations such as WRAPA, which was created by former First Lady, HE Justice Fati Abubakar, and many others across the country who have been working tirelessly on these issues. “We urge the general public to address this issue by supporting victims to get justice and breaking the culture of silence and stigma which prevents victims from coming forward,” the statement said.
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Korea seeks to strengthen bilateral ties with Nigeria through dance Godwin Idagu At least 29 Nigerians have graduated from the K-POP dance academy organized by the Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria (KCCN) in Abuja. According to the Director of KCCN, Lee Jin Su, the dance class which lasted for six weeks was aimed at promoting the cultural exchange between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Nigeria. He disclosed that two Korean A-list dance instructors, Park Yong Hyun (T. Gragon) and Kang Ji Won (T. Eli) were brought in by the centre from Korea to I FORMERLY KNOWN AS YANICK MICHAEL. .WISH TO ADD FIODE TO MY NAME ...I NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS FIODE YANICK MICHAEL. ALL DOCUMENTS BEARING MY FORMER NAME REMAIN VALID AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.
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take the dance class which was free of charge. “Korean Cultural Centre invited two K-POP dance instructors from Korea who took the dance classes from Monday to Thursdays every week for six weeks. The registration and participation in the dance academy were completely free.” He also revealed that while their stay in Nigeria, the K-POP instructors also held a 2-day dance training session at the Creative Arts Department of the University of Lagos all in a bid promote cultural exchange between the two countries. The class which was divided into two
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A former Head Coach of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Tony Oghuma, on Friday in Ibadan charged volleyball coaches and games masters/ mistress in the country to build a reservoir of players. He gave the charge while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the ongoing seminar for South-West Volleyball Coaches and Games Masters/Mistresses. NAN reports that the seminar holding at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium in Ibadan is organised by the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, in conjunction with the NVBF. Oghuma said there was the need to build a reservoir of players if Nigeria must continue to play volleyball at the higher level. He said this would be done through the discovery of new talents at the grass roots. “The present NVBF board led by Musa
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Volleyball: Oghuma charges coaches, games masters to discover more players
had 9 students for the beginners category and 20 students for the intermediate class. Some outstanding students during the six weeks training session were awarded with various gifts including certificates. Bavoshia Silas-Bossan and Rosemary Onunkwo won the Excellent Award under the beginners category while Aneni Cordelia and Joseph Uhiene bagged same award in the intermediate class. Park Yong Hyun who took the beginners class while his counterpart Kang Ji Won served as instructor for the intermediate class.
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
OBIORA
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Nimrod is ready to ensure the recruitment of players from the grass roots, and that is why we are having this seminar for coaches and games masters/mistresses, so as to build a reservoir of players. “The effort is to ensure the country plays volleyball at a particular level and build a reservoir of players to replace the present ageing players,” Oghuma said. He expressed delight at the spate of positive developments in the NVBF, saying they were a strong indication of a brighter future for volleyball in the country. “I am happy with the progress in NVBF. You will always get a positive result when you put round pegs in round holes. “I am happy that Nigeria qualified for the World Championships in the Under-19, and qualified for the seniors in beach volleyball, while the Nigerian girls just returned from Hamburg in Germany. ”Also, the men and women teams have qualified for the 2019 African Games
in Morocco. This means the present board is working hard, especially now that we have a lot of competitions.” NAN reports that the seminar, scheduled to end on Saturday, features both the theoretical and practical lessons handled by prominently qualified coaches.(NAN)
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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
Read more on: www.dailytimes.ng
Feature
How Dangote Cement promo turned graduate applicant to a car owner Ladesope Ladelokun If she didn’t buy the Dangote cement bag herself to find the winning scratch card, she definitely would not believe that the Dangote Cement Bag of Goodies promo is real. Even after the confirmation by the company that she has won the star prize, she is yet to come to terms with the reality of being a proud owner of a brand new saloon car which in the general parlance is referred to as “tear rubber”. For Mrs. Godwin Chimezie Success, a fresh English/Education graduate from the Federal University, Gombe, Wednesday, July 17, 2019 will remain a day never to be forgotten. Just as her name suggests, Success accompanied her to the retailer shop somewhere at Olodo area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. On this day, Chimezie Success’ life was suddenly turned around from that of an applicant to an exotic car owner, even to her own amazement, courtesy of Dangote Cement Plc. Behold, Godwin Chimezie Success who just emerged the Star Winner of Dangote Cement ‘Bag of Goodies’ National Consumer Promotion in the South West Zone was publicly presented her winning prize, a brand new GAC Salon Car, at the Mingles Event Centre, Magazine Road, Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, in the presence of major distributors and retailers as well as some officials of Oyo State government including the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan, who was represented by his Principal Private secretary, Mr. Laide Raji. Chimezie’s winning is coming on the heels of a similar winning a week ago in Abraka, Deta State by a cement retailer, Benjamin Igherighe, who became the first consumer of Dangote Cement to win one of the 43 cars on offer. This Star Prize, according to Engr. Joseph Makoju, Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, was just one out of the seven luxury cars earmarked for consumers in the South West Region in the ongoing National Promo. Makoju revealed that in all, a total of 43 cars have been lined up for grabs nationally by lucky winners across the various geopolitical Regions of Nigeria as the National Promo continues until the end of the third quarter of the year. Variety of other prizes include 24 tricycles, 24 motorcycles, 550 refrigerators, 400 television sets as well as a total of N200 million cash. Visibly emotional Chimezie Success, who was accompanied to the presentation ceremony by her husband, Mr. Godwin, was short of words as the whole episode just seemed like a dream to her. However, by the time she managed to express her gratitude to Dangote Conglomerate for ‘this valued gift’ which she pledged to use for the purpose of which it is meant ‘for the glory of God’, she was highly excited and could no longer keep the joy to herself. Her words: “I will first of all say a very big thank you to Dangote Cemnet Company. I did not take the Promo very serious initially as I thought it was a joke, not knowing that it is a reality. Dangote should endeavour to continue with this type of empowerment initiatives which, I believe, will go a long way in changing the fortunes of many Nigerians like me positively.” Pressed to speak further, Chimezie Success explained that she bought 15 bags of Dangote Cement somewhere in Ibadan out of which she had discovered the winning scratch card from one of the bags. The young housewife and her husband had resolved to use the cement for the purpose of moulding some blocks to construct a demarcating fence as security round a plot of land they just acquired somewhere in Ejioku village in Ibadan, not knowing that the winning scratch card was divinely tucked inside one of the bags to transform the life of the family. Chimezie Success has a message for members of the public. She enjoined the populace to continue to take Dangote Cement by their words in all its ramifications. “They said it and we found it to be so, this is quite surprising, a car in a bag of Dangote cement, quite unbelievable.” Oyo State Deputy Governor, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan, who spoke through Mr. Laide Raji at the event, commended Dangote Group for the noticeable connection between the company and the consumers submitting that Dangote Cement is fast becoming a global brand of first choice. The Deputy Governor congratulated the star winner in the same vein while urging her to be a good ambassador for Dangote. Engr. Joseph Makoju, the Group Managing Director had earlier, in his address, paid glowing tributes to the supportive organisations notably the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the network of distributors across the country who he described as the
L-R: Winner of star prize, Saloon Car, Mrs. Chimezie Success Godwin; Marketing Director, Dangote Cement, Funmi Sanni; Representative of Oyo State Deputy Governor, Laide Raji, Private Principal Secretary to the Deputy Governor; Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement, Engr. Joseph Makoju; and National Sales Director, Dangote Cement, Adeyemi Fajobi, during the Dangote Cement “Bag of Goodies” consumer promotion star winner presentation in Ibadan, Oyo State. foot soldiers and very important elements in the production chain. While maintaining that the Conglomerate churned out eight million bags of Dangote Cement on daily basis, Engr. Makoju remarked that it can only continue to keep its leading position in the market by upholding consumers’ loyalty through good service, sustained quality and affordability. Makoju said the company was decided to run the biggest promo ever in the country as a way of contributing to the economic wellbeing of the consumers of its products given the prevailing economic situation. He said the promo is to reward valued consumers for their unflinching partnership in ensuring that our range of cement products remains today the first choice for construction purposes across the country and added that the consumer promotion gives opportunities for existing and new consumers to get a step ahead of their struggle for economic emancipation by winning any of the give-away items which has economic value. “We have made it so transparent that you don’t have to go through any raffle draw or the so called lucky dip associated with many other promotions in the country. For Dangote cement, you win instantly because what is revealed in the scratch card is what you win”, he stated. Explaining why Dangote Cement launched such a humongous promo, Engr. Makoju explained that Dangote Cement is the largest in Africa with the largest production capacity and therefore decided to reward the consumer in the biggest way ever experienced in the
Dangote should endeavour to continue with this type of empowerment initiatives which, I believe, will go a long way in changing the fortunes of many Nigerians like me positively.
country. “Here in Dangote Cement, we adhere strictly to best global standards in producing our range of cement which makes them the best in the market. Our products; BlocMaster, 42.5R, 42.5N and Falcon are all top-of-the-range brands developed to ensure that cement users have a choice on the type of product suitable for their projects. Much research and tests went into the development and production of these products as we are determined to offer consumers the best quality and experience either in building personal houses or in commercial construction works,” he added. The Dangote Cement Marketing Director, Mrs. Funmi Sanni hitherto, the South West Regional Director, was obviously at home with the cement distributors and retailers who graced the occasion as the chant of “Who are Who are Who are we? We are Dangote” punctuated her comment intermittently. She told the elated customers that Dangote cement decided to roll out the billions of Naira to empower the consumer because that the company’s consumers are at the heart a production process is incomplete and our ability to remain in business becomes impossible. “To grow our business, we must constantly create value in terms of quality product and service, competitive pricing and depositing in consumers’ emotional bank accounts in order to become their preferred choice of brand at the point of purchase.” The Marketing Director said as a business, the management of Dangote Cement recognizes the importance of every member of our value chain, distributors; wholesalers; and Retailers, “and as such we have invested in growing their businesses through various empowerment schemes.” According to her, every promo bag of cement contains a scratch card carrying winning items carefully inserted in each promo bags. Consumer needs to be educated to scratch gently so as not invalidate their wining card. She disclosed that the promo cuts across all Dangote cement’s brands which include 3X, Falcon and Blocmaster. Mrs. Sanni explained that the consumer promo was in line with the mission of the company which is to touch the lives of the people by providing their basic needs pointing out that the consumer promotion is another huge investment to help the customers improve their rate of sales and make more profit while at the same time improving the consumers’ quality of life.
FOREIGN TIMES
Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
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Bitter chocolate: Deforestation in the Ivory Coast
A Syrian man saves a baby under the debris following air raids in Arihah district of Idlib, northwest Syria
More than 100 killed in Syria air raids in past 10 days, UN says Air raids by the Syrian government and its allies in the country’s last rebel-held enclave have killed more than 100 civilians in the past 10 days, according to the United Nations, which said the three-month campaign has displaced more than 400,000 people. The 103 dead from the recent air attacks on schools, hospitals, markets and bakeries included at least 26 children, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Friday, adding that the rising toll had been met with “apparent international indifference”. The targets of the attacks were “civilian objects, and it seems highly unlikely, given the persistent pattern of such attacks, that they are all being hit by accident,” she said in a statement. Backed by its main ally, Russia, the Syrian government began its offensive against the rebel enclave in northwest Syria - the last area of active opposition to President Bashar al-Assad - at the end of April, saying it was responding to violations of a ceasefire. Since then, “more than 400,000 people have been displaced,” David Swanson, spokesman for the UN office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs (OCHA), said on Friday. The region under attack is home to some three million people, nearly half of them already displaced from other parts of the war-ravaged country. It covers nearly all of Idlib province and parts of neighbouring Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces. Idlib and surrounding areas of the northwest were included in a “de-escalation” deal in September between Russia and Turkey, which backs some rebel groups, to reduce warfare and bombardment. However, the accord was never fully implemented after fighters refused to withdraw from a planned buffer zone. Instead, the bombardment increased in intensity in recent weeks. The region is mostly controlled by Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, led by alQaeda’s former Syria affiliate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, has said more than 730 civilians have been killed in aerial bombardment and shelling of the region by the Syrian government and its allies since the end of April. In Friday’s statement, Bachelet put the number of civilians killed
since the start of the campaign at at least 450. In a statement on Thursday, OCHA described Monday as one of the “deadliest days” in the region since the start of the flare-up, with 60 people killed in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, including 39 in an air raid in a busy market in Maarat al-Numan. It also said that most of the displacement was from southern Idlib and northern Hama, the two areas that have been hit hardest by the flare-up. “The majority of those fleeing have displaced within Idlib governorate while a smaller number have moved into northern Aleppo governorate. Roughly two-thirds of people displaced are staying outside camps,” it said. The agency said it had documented 39 attacks against health facilities or medical workers in the region since the end of April. At least 50 schools have been damaged by air raids and shelling, it added. Both the Syrian government and its Russian ally, whose airpower has been critical to Damascus’ military gains in recent years, deny targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
US House panel to ask court for Mueller grand jury material US House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said his committee is filing a court petition Friday in an effort to obtain secret grand jury material underlying former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report. The panel is also expected to file a lawsuit next week to try to enforce a subpoena against former White House counsel Donald McGahn, a key Mueller witness, if he doesn’t comply before then. That suit is expected to challenge the White House’s claim that former White House employees have “absolute immunity” from testifying before Congress. The move comes after Mueller’s testimony on Wednesday about his 22-month investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump. In the first of back-to-back House hearings, Mueller told Congress he had not “exculpated” Trump as the president has claimed. Democrats are trying to focus public
attention on Mueller’s words and on his 448-page report’s contents, including several episodes in which Trump sought to influence the special counsel’s investigation into Russia election interference. Mueller concluded that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. He also concluded that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Nadler said before the court filing that the grand jury information “is critically important for our ability to examine witnesses” like McGahn and for them to investigate the president. It is unclear what new information might be found in the grand jury transcripts. Many of the high-profile witnesses connected to the White House, for instance, appeared for voluntary questioning before Mueller’s team rather than before the grand jury. The panel has struggled to bring in witnesses like McGahn who spoke extensively to Mueller because the White House has directed them to refuse to
testify. Trump has said he will fight “all of the subpoenas”. Nadler said the committee is still negotiating with McGahn for documents and testimony, and the committee will file the lawsuit “in very short order” if he does not comply. The court battles are beginning as the House leaves for a six-week recess and Democrats are debating whether to impeach the Republican president. Nadler said the court filing will include a line saying that the materials are necessary “to determine whether the committee should recommend articles of impeachment.” More than 90 House Democrats have said they favour starting the impeachment process, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to build the strongest case possible before making that decision, including by going to court to force witnesses to comply. On Friday, Pelosi said she is not “running out the clock” on impeachment as Congress heads into their summer recess.
The last piece of chocolate you ate likely had its roots in West Africa, where two-thirds of cocoa beans are produced. Respectively, Ghana and the Ivory Coast account for roughly 19 and 45 percent of this production, according to data from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). “That provides both countries significant market strength against powerful buyers,” says Casper Burgering, senior economist at ABN AMRO. Yet when the two nations recently demanded higher compensation for their prized crop from global buyers, the industry called their bluff. On July 16, Ghana and the Ivory Coast gave in to pressure from the global chocolate industry and lifted a monthlong ban on cocoa sales that was meant to push international buyers to accept a new minimum pricing agreement. The two countries settled for a fixed premium price - and now farmers in Ghana and the Ivory Coast will get $400 per every tonne of cocoa beans they sell during the 2020-21 harvest season. The move may slightly boost earnings for West African cocoa farmers. But it is so far from the $2,600-a-tonne minimum price for which Ghana and the Ivory Coast were angling that the negotiations are largely considered a defeat in both these nations. Getting farmers just 15 percent of their requested price for cocoa is especially painful in the Ivory Coast because the country has destroyed massive portions of its forests trying to satisfy the global demand for chocolate. In 1960, the West African nation had roughly 12 million hectares of forests. Today, nearly threequarters of that forest is gone, reports the World Bank. Compounding the pain, many cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast still don’t make a living wage, even though their country is the world’s top producer and exporter of cocoa beans that are the main ingredient in the $100bn global chocolate industry. “There are times farmers have abandoned cocoa for other crops, but [still they] return,” says Ivory Coast cocoa merchant Baikeh Lezou, 28. “That means they are producing cocoa beans because they have no other choice.” For Lezou and others in the Ivory Coast cocoa trade, setbacks like the recent fixed-pricing defeat are becoming all too common as forces outside Africa set the rules - and profit - from chocolate’s sweet success. Global demand for cocoa beans is surging because consumers in China and India - the two most populous countries on the planet - have taken a liking to chocolate, reports the World Bank. Scientists are researching cocoa’s pharmaceutical applications, which could also spur the industry’s growth. The ICCO expects cocoa processing to grow 3.4 percent this season - and continue to expand in future years. Currently, North America and Western Europe are the principal markets for the consumption of all chocolate products, according to Euromonitor. And because cocoa prices are set in auctions at exchanges in the West - and not in West Africa - the cost of Ivory Coast farm labour is not a determining factor in what is ultimately paid for chocolate. This means that though many people in the cocoa supply chain may earn more because of increased demand, many farmers must continue struggling to make ends meet. Only an estimated 12 percent of the Ivory Coast’s small farmers of cocoa make what Fairtrade International considers a living wage, or $2.50 a day. More than a million of these small-scale growers live in poverty. “We work with a lot of farmers and cooperatives and what they earn is nothing compared with what the margins are for big processing firms,” Lezou says, while welcoming customers to his brightly painted shoppe.
Lezou grew up surrounded by cocoa. His family owns a farm that produces the crop, and his mother still works in a cocoa cooperative in the western port city of San Pedro, through which most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa is shipped overseas. Lezou now runs an artisanal cocoaprocessing outfit in the former capital, Abidjan. He notes that farming cocoa is labour-intensive, and the yields are low. He dreams of a day when the farmers who supply his business will be able to earn a living wage. “We really have no say on the price against these international buyers of cocoa,” Lezou told Al Jazeera. “They [are the ones who] decide the price.” In the 1960s, Ivory Coast encouraged locals and migrants to take up cocoa farming. Since then, annual production in the West African nation has quadrupled from half a million tonnes of cocoa to over two million tonnes in 2018. IMF data shows cocoa exports account for nearly 15 percent of the Ivory Coast’s gross domestic product. Cocoa gave the Ivory Coast one of Africa’s strongest economies, but there is a sour side to this sweet story. A satellite analysis sent to Al Jazeera by the Washington-based environmental activist group Mighty Earth shows more than 30 percent of Ivory Coast’s cocoa production is conducted illegally - and spread across at least 220 protected forests and national parks. Traditionally, if a farmer wanted to earn more, he or she had to produce more, which would mean using more land. However, since the Ivory Coast is running out of farmland, it has to fight to increase farmers’ earnings so they are not tempted to illegally grow cocoa in protected forests. “Cote d’Ivoire [Ivory Coast] has already announced a plan to regulate supply by addressing rampant illegal cocoa production in its national parks and forest reserves over the next five years,” says Callee Davis, an economist at South Africabased NKC African Economics. The government believes it can cut the global supply of cocoa by 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes by evicting illegal farmers from the forests. This would not be the Ivory Coast’s first evictions of illegal cocoa farmers. In operations that Human Rights Watch says were marred by corruption and violence, the government has - in the past five years - evicted thousands of people from protected forests and also burned their farms. Although the government has the right to reclaim forests, this needs to be done in a humane manner, respecting the dignity and rights of those affected, Human Rights Watch said in a June report. In addition to addressing concerns about its forestland, the Ivory Coast must also grapple with the impacts of the $400-per-tonne minimum price at which it has agreed to sell cocoa beans. “Although a price floor is viewed by many as a positive development for cocoa farmers, it could also have potentially debilitating effects in the long run in the case where an oversupply is induced,” says Davis. Davis and other economists are concerned that guaranteed compensation will entice other competing countries - such as Indonesia and Nigeria- to produce more cocoa, thereby increasing global supply and triggering a fall in cocoa bean prices. The lion’s share of money earned from cocoa is claimed by big-name international manufacturers and retailers. Producers receive only a mere six percent of the final product’s value. Desperate to cash in on the guaranteed price - and without farmland to expand cocoa production - Ivory Coast growers could start tilling even more of their crops in protected forests just as their government is ramping up its efforts to stamp this practise out.
SPORTS TIMES Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, July 27, 2019
Abia Warriors retain Emmanuel Deutsch as head coach for new NPFL season
Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side Abia Warriors have put to rest speculation around the future of their manager, Emmanuel Deutsch. While several reports suggested Deutsch would be replaced with former Katsina United coach Abdullahi Biffo, the management of Abia Warriors have confirmed the Cameroonian manager is staying on for another year. “As we look forward to a new @
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npfl_lmc football season, Coach Emmanuel Deutsch has renewed his contract with the club,” a statement on the official pages of Abia Warriors read. “Deutsch signed a further one year with Us. He will be in charge of the team as the Head Coach next season.” Abia Warriors recalled Deutsch in the second half of the 2018/19 NPFL season to replace Henry Makinwa, who resigned after a string of poor results which saw the Umuahia-
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based team slide into the relegation zone. Deutsch not only led Abia Warriors to Premier League safety but was quite close to securing one of the play-offs spot for the team. Abia Warriors were in the 11th position in the NPFL Group B with 18 points from 16 games when Deutsch was brought back on a rescue mission and the team finished in the fifth place with 31 points.
Andy Ruiz Jr cancels UK for the rematch with Anthony Joshua Andy Ruiz Jr has reacted to the allegations Dillian Whyte has failed a drug test by insisting he would not fight Anthony Joshua in the UK. The three-belt world champion is due to finalise terms with Joshua this week, with their rematch expected to take place in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium. Ruiz Jr has consistently pushed for the second fight to be held in New York again and news of Whyte’s reported failed drug test has riled the Mexican. Reports emerged on Wednesday night Whyte had failed a drug test just days before his fight with Oscar Rivas last Saturday. Eddie Hearn was quick to respond to the claims, saying both Rivas and
Whyte underwent extensive drug testing with Voluntary Anti-Doping Association and UK Anti-Doping Agency, and were cleared to fight. Ruiz Jr hit out at Hearn and Joshua after hearing the news, saying: ‘I’m not going to the UK for the rematch.’ Joshua has not failed a drug test as a pro and his team have repeatedly referred to him as the most tested boxer in the world. The former unified champion is signed up to UKAD’s whereabouts system, which opens him up to potential testing 365 days a year. Joshua has final say on the venue for the rematch per the first fight’s contracts and Cardiff remains the favourite to host the heavyweight
clash. Whyte served a two-doping ban earlier in his career, but has always denied he knowingly took a banned substance. Hearn did not deny the allegation Whyte had failed a drug test in his response on Wednesday. He said: ‘Further to reports I can confirm that both Dillian Whyte and Oscar Rivas were subject to extensive VADA and UKAD testing for their bout. Both fighters were cleared to fight by both bodies and the BBBofC (British Boxing Board of Control).’ Whyte is 10-0 since his 2015 defeat to Joshua and officially became the mandatory to Deontay Wilder’s WBC belt on Saturday night.
Ogenyi Onazi: Missing Afcon was heartbreaking Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi says that missing on the the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations action for Nigeria was hugely disappointing to him. Onazi ruptured his achilles tendon in a Turkish Super Lig game against Rizespor in December 2018 which ruled him out of the rest of the season and the African showpiece in Egypt. Following the six-month injury layoff, the 26-year-old has now returned to training, as was captured in a video jogging. The Trabzonspor midfielder, while reflecting on the injury and missing the AFCON 2019 and winning the competition with Nigeria back in the year
2013 in South Africa says the situation broke him down so much, but had to move on. “I cannot deny how I felt about it. I almost got crazy but I had to just control myself, keep training and avoid distraction to focus on my club,” the combative midfielder told Brila FM on Thursday. “Now, I am happy and looking forward to doing more exploits.” Nigeria finished third in the competition for a record eighth time after beating Tunisia 1-0 in the thirdplace play-off courtesy of a third minute goal by Odion Ighalo who has now announced his international retirement.
Zinedine Zidane denies Dani Ceballos feud led to Arsenal loan switch Zinedine Zidane has dismissed speculation he does not get along with Dani Ceballos, insisting the midfielder was loaned to Arsenal to increase his game time. Ceballos’ season-long loan to the Premier League club was confirmed on Thursday, as the Spain international became the Gunners’ second signing of the transfer window, followed closely by William Saliba. The 22-year-old joined Madrid from Real Betis in 2017, having caught the eye in the European Under-21 Championship following an impressive 2016-17 season in La Liga. However, Ceballos struggled to establish himself under Zidane, making 22 appearances in all competitions in 2017-18 before featuring 34 times last term. Only three of those appearances came after Zidane had been reappointed as Los Blancos boss in March, though, and Ceballos has been handed an opportunity to test himself in England’s top flight. But Zidane affirmed he has no problem with Ceballos. “No, it’s not that I didn’t get on with Ceballos. I think Dani needed to play a lot because he’s an important player,” Zidane told a news conference. “It’s true that at Madrid he has not had enough minutes, it’s just
about that. There are a lot of players here, a lot of competition. I wish him to play many games and do well.” Ceballos is looking forward to taking on a new challenge in English football. He believes Unai Emery is capable of bringing the best out of him, with the man in charge at Emirates Stadium playing a big part in his decision to head for north London. “The coach was the turning point in terms of me joining this massive club,” Ceballos told Arsenal’s official website.
“He’s a Spanish coach and he knows me from my time at other clubs. I’m really happy to be able to help Arsenal achieve our objectives. “I knew I had the confidence of the coach, which was very important for me from the start. “I was aware of the responsibility that wearing this shirt entails and it was a tremendously proud moment when I decided to join Arsenal. “He’s a very tactical coach and I think that’s going to really help me to perfect my positioning. I think we’re both going to try our best to make me a better player.”
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FIFA sets December 11 date for Qatar 2019 Club World Cup World football governing the body, FIFA, has confirmed December 11 to December 21, 2019, as the date for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, according to Bureau of the FIFA Council. According to FIFA Media Channel on Friday, the body says the tournament would be held in Qatar. Newsmen report that the Club World Cup will be played in its current format featuring seven teams and will consist of eight matches. FIFA Media Channel said the draw that would determine the pairings for the second-round matches and the semi-finals would take place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on September 16. Three participants have already been confirmed: CF Monterrey from Mexico (winners of the 2019 Concacaf Champions League), Hienghène Sport from New Caledonia (winners of the 2019 OFC Champions League) and Liverpool FC from England (winners of the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League). The participants from CAF, AFC and CONMEBOL will be known in the coming months. “The club representing hosts Qatar will depend on the outcome of the ongoing AFC Champions League. “If a team from Qatar is the AFC
champions, they will qualify directly for the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019, with the AFC runnersup playing the opening match against Hienghène Sport. “If the AFC Champions League winners are not a club from Qatar, then the current holders of the Qatar Stars League title, Al Sadd SC, will play the opening match against Hienghène Sport on Dec. 11,” FIFA said. FIFA also said the winners of the first-round match and the representatives of the AFC,
CAF and Concacaf, who would be drawn in no particular order as teams A, B, C and D, would contest the second round. The second-round winners will then face the UEFA or CONMEBOL representatives in the semi-finals, with the respective pairings having been previously defined by the draw. FIFA, however, did not confirm stadiums and kick-off times for the tournament, stating that those details would be announced on its website in due course.
NBBF appoints officials for Zenith women basketball league Ahead of the 2019 Zenith Women Basketball League sponsored by Zenith Bank tipping off on Friday, 26th of July, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has appointed referees, table officials, statisticians and Technical Commissioners for the four match venues. Subel Kingsley, Sharon Njoku, Faith Ogwuche, Queen Nwagu and Abdul Yakubu have been appointed as Table Officials for Zenith Women Basketballll League 2019 Abuja zone, while Suleiman Tukar, Aisha S. Daudu, Felix Adedeji, Emmanuel Balus, Abu Salias will be in charge of Zaria. Oyinloye Rapheal, Adeola Isah and Suleiman Mutiu will be on duty in Ibadan. In Akure, it will be Korede Fesiyo, Martins Ola, Babatunde Alex, Austine Olajide, Sunday Owolabi and Taiwo Kayode. Babatunde Ola and Josiah Ahmedu have been selected as statisticians for Abuja. Timothy Abimbola and Abu Asimi will be in Zaria, Shomola Abiola will partner with Oladele Lanre in Ibadan with Adeniyi Adewale and Emmanuel Asher in charge of Akure.
Christopher Thomas Nnaji and Ishola Akinsehinde have both been appointed as Technical Commissioners with Afolabi-Oluwayemi Olabisi (NBBF SecretaryGeneral) to supervise. Ibrahim Haruna Hassan, Mohammed Sule, Shibi Emmanuel (Supervisor) have been posted to Zaria. Others for the Zenith Women Basketball League 2019 include, Monday Owuh, Bamidele Funmilayo and Aderinboye Adebayo Alaba (Supervisor) in Ibadan and Adeola Oboro, Angela Nzekwe and Isokphehi Andrew (Supervisor) in
Akure. 23 referees have also been appointed for the phase first of the Zenith Women Basketball League. All officials and teams are to arrive on Friday, 26th, July for the Technical Meeting. Departure is on the 2nd of August. In a press conference heralding the season, Zenith Bank announced a N70m sponsorship for the 2019 edition of the league with 27 teams taking part across four centres – Ibadan, Akure, Zaria and Abuja, with the first leg expected to jump ball on Friday, July 26.
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Gernot Rohr turn to NigerianGerman to solve goalkeeper crisis Gernot Rohr has turned to NigeriaGerman Maduka Okoye to solve Super Eagles goalkeeper crisis after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations third-place finish in Egypt. The three-time Africa Champions are struggling with a reliable number one keeper to replace former Wolves stopper Carl Ikeme who quit football due to leukaemia in June 2017 one year before 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Rohr has given Daniel Akpeyi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Francis Uzoho chance to feature in just concluded tournament in eight but the German tactician is not satisfied with trio performance as he
continued his search for a permanent solution in the goalkeeping department. The 66-year-old coach has told Sports Extra that he would invite Fortuna Düsseldorf II safe hands Okoye to give him an opportunity to prove himself after the 19-year-old who was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and German mother insist his desire to represent Super Eagles ahead of his country of birth, thus making the job of convincing him easier for Rohr and his technical crew. “My aim is to improve all the departments in the team. The most important ones are the goalkeeper and then the goal scorer, they are
already two challenges now, we’ve been working on it for a long time now,” “We knew the problem in the goalkeeping department before the AFCON, and that it could be a big problem at the AFCON. So, the bronze medal is really an achievement and we could have even gotten to the final. When you go to the history of winners of AFCON, you must be good in this position, you must be very good and I think we can be. “So, for the goalkeeper position, we have Maduka Okoye, who plays for Dusseldorf; he will be a good one (keeper), I think.” Okoye was invited to the U-23 national side for an Olympics qualifier earlier in the year but club commitments held him back.
Vincent Enyeama begins trials at French club Dijon after injury layoff Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama will begin trials with French Ligue 1 outfit Dijon FCO today (Friday) in his quest to sign a contract. The trial period will end on Wednesday, July 31st when the club is expected to make a decision on whether or not to hand him a contract. Enyeama, who is the most capped Nigerian player in history with 101 appearances for the Super Eagles last featured for another Ligue 1 club, Lille Metropole. He was forced out of the club by then handler of the side, Marcelo Bielsa who deemed him surplus to requirements. The 36-year-old had been sidelined by a knee injury for close to two years now and is willing to return to action in the French top flight. The former Enyimba of Aba goal tender previously had stints with Isreali clubs, Bnei Yehuda, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Enyeama won three Africa Cup of Nations bronze in 2004, 2006 and 2010 before winning it with the Super Eagles in 2013 in South Africa. He also featured in 2002, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups for Nigeria.
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