Tuesday, October 4, has been declared as a public holiday by the Kano state government, Vanguard reports.
The holiday, reports confirmed, is to mark the beginning of the new Islamic calendar 1438 A.H. which coincided with the annual commemoration of Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary.
On Friday, September 30, there was a prayer session at the state house in Kano to herald the new Islamic year, just as Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje showed love to some of his people by visiting hospitals in the state capital to sympathise with the ill, while also praying for their speedy recovery.
He therefore appealed to Muslim faithful to ease the socio-economic challenges facing the country during the period when they would be on break. The federal government had earlier declared Monday, October 3 as a public holiday to celebrate Nigeria’s independence day anniversary since the October 1 annual date for the celebration fell on a Saturday. In a statement signed on Thursday, September 29 by Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido who is the acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Interior, the federal government congratulated Nigerians.
The statement read: “The Minister of Interior, Lt Gen (rtd) Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, while making the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulates Nigerians at home and abroad on the commemoration of this year’s independence anniversary and assures them that Government is working assiduously to put in place various palliative measures to cushion the effects of the current economic challenges. “The minister enjoins all Nigerians to continue to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his avowed determination to build a strong, virile and united country in line with the dream of the country’s founding fathers".
NAIJ.com
Saturday, 1 October 2016
‘30 die in Nigeria daily due to hunger, illness’
Success Nwogu, Ilorin
The Vice-Chancellor, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Prof.
Aize Obayan, has said that more than 30 people die daily due to
hunger and illness in Nigeria, especially at the internally displaced
persons’ camp in Bama, Borno State.
According to her, such a recent report of the international medical
humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders, (Medecins Sana
Frontiers) on the devastating effect of hunger and malnutrition in
IDP camp in Bama, Borno State, was humiliating.
She spoke on Friday at Omu-Aran, Kwara State during a media briefing to commemorate the 62nd birthday anniversary of the university’s chancellor, Bishop David Oyedepo.
She described Oyedepo as a blessing to humanity.
According to her, the David Oyedepo Foundation has supported lives in over 40 nations, especially in the field of education and life
development.
Obayan said Nigeria could take the lead in feeding Africa considering
its population of about 180m and its land areas of 98.3m hectares
out of which 74m hectares were said to be good for farming, but had
yet to be explored maximally.
She said, “This calls for more than a sober reflection, but also quick and meaningful action of salvaging the situation, which we dare to spearhead as a university committed to driving food availability, food affordability and food security.
“Nigeria’s famous agricultural profile has declined steeply, making the giant of Africa to slide from being a self sufficient country in food to being a worrisome importer of agricultural produce. This trend is
reversible. The unnecessary aberration could be addressed. Agriculture needs to be revamped.”
SOURCE
The Vice-Chancellor, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Prof.
Aize Obayan, has said that more than 30 people die daily due to
hunger and illness in Nigeria, especially at the internally displaced
persons’ camp in Bama, Borno State.
According to her, such a recent report of the international medical
humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders, (Medecins Sana
Frontiers) on the devastating effect of hunger and malnutrition in
IDP camp in Bama, Borno State, was humiliating.
She spoke on Friday at Omu-Aran, Kwara State during a media briefing to commemorate the 62nd birthday anniversary of the university’s chancellor, Bishop David Oyedepo.
She described Oyedepo as a blessing to humanity.
According to her, the David Oyedepo Foundation has supported lives in over 40 nations, especially in the field of education and life
development.
Obayan said Nigeria could take the lead in feeding Africa considering
its population of about 180m and its land areas of 98.3m hectares
out of which 74m hectares were said to be good for farming, but had
yet to be explored maximally.
She said, “This calls for more than a sober reflection, but also quick and meaningful action of salvaging the situation, which we dare to spearhead as a university committed to driving food availability, food affordability and food security.
“Nigeria’s famous agricultural profile has declined steeply, making the giant of Africa to slide from being a self sufficient country in food to being a worrisome importer of agricultural produce. This trend is
reversible. The unnecessary aberration could be addressed. Agriculture needs to be revamped.”
SOURCE
Buhari Has Shown He Belongs To Somebody After All – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of complicity in the alleged manipulation of Wednesday’s Edo governorship election. Reacting to Buhari’s congratulatory message to Godwin Obaseki, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and winner of the election, the party said the president had shown he belonged to somebody.
The PDP said this in the context of Buhari’s inaugural speech in which he said: “I belong to nobody and I belong to everybody.”
The party insisted that the election was rigged.
“President Buhari’s congratulatory message to Godwin Obaseki has finally revealed his hand in the Edo guber election imbroglio. We note with sadness that he had never extended similar congratulatory messages or goodwill to PDP candidates who were victorious in various elections since he assumed office,” Dayo Adeyeye, spokesman of PDP, said.
“In Bayelsa state where his party with the support of security agencies virtually declared war on Governor Seriake Dickson and the people of Bayelsa, the president refused to congratulate the PDP candidate who against all odds managed to survive the APC onslaught.
“His aides claimed then that the president was not in the business of congratulating election winners. Why the sudden change of heart now if we may ask? The only plausible explanation is that the president was eager to confer legitimacy on an otherwise badly flawed election in which his party acted like Shina Rambo, the notorious armed robber. Only that this time they were robbing the people of their votes.
“The action of the president belies his statement that he belongs to nobody but belongs to everybody. The president has shown where he belongs. We recall that President Jonathan dutifully never failed to congratulate opposition candidates who won elections during his tenure, including Adams Oshiomhole. That is what is expected of a statesman.“
We did not lose the gubernatorial election in Edo state. We can therefore not be described as ‘bad losers’ according to the APC state chairman in Edo state, Anselm Ojezua. We were robbed by very shameless election riggers.”
SOURCE
The PDP said this in the context of Buhari’s inaugural speech in which he said: “I belong to nobody and I belong to everybody.”
The party insisted that the election was rigged.
“President Buhari’s congratulatory message to Godwin Obaseki has finally revealed his hand in the Edo guber election imbroglio. We note with sadness that he had never extended similar congratulatory messages or goodwill to PDP candidates who were victorious in various elections since he assumed office,” Dayo Adeyeye, spokesman of PDP, said.
“In Bayelsa state where his party with the support of security agencies virtually declared war on Governor Seriake Dickson and the people of Bayelsa, the president refused to congratulate the PDP candidate who against all odds managed to survive the APC onslaught.
“His aides claimed then that the president was not in the business of congratulating election winners. Why the sudden change of heart now if we may ask? The only plausible explanation is that the president was eager to confer legitimacy on an otherwise badly flawed election in which his party acted like Shina Rambo, the notorious armed robber. Only that this time they were robbing the people of their votes.
“The action of the president belies his statement that he belongs to nobody but belongs to everybody. The president has shown where he belongs. We recall that President Jonathan dutifully never failed to congratulate opposition candidates who won elections during his tenure, including Adams Oshiomhole. That is what is expected of a statesman.“
We did not lose the gubernatorial election in Edo state. We can therefore not be described as ‘bad losers’ according to the APC state chairman in Edo state, Anselm Ojezua. We were robbed by very shameless election riggers.”
SOURCE
I’ll Continue To Blame My Predecessors For Nigeria’s Woes – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said despite the criticisms of many, he would continue to blame his predecessors for Nigeria’s woes.
He said passing the buck, which people have been frowning at, was important in order for Nigerians to know what went wrong with the country.
Buhari spoke at an event tagged, “The Conversation: An evening with creative youths,” held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The event, attended also by the President’s wife, Aisha; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; as well as governors and other top government officials, had “Creative youth as drivers of the change agenda” as its theme.
Buhari said, “I am going to bore you with what we met. I know that I am being accused in the papers of passing the buck, but passing the buck is sometimes absolutely necessary to remind people who take things for granted.“When we came in, I screamed to high heavens because I had promised a lot while seeking votes.
“I said where is the saving? There was no saving. There was no infrastructure,power, rails, roads, there was none. What did we spend the money on? I was told buying food and petrol.
“Where were the billions going? We conducted a study and found out that the oil marketers were committing fraud on at least one third of what they were importing, which is about 25per cent of our foreign exchange.”
The youth must watch our elite, especially with the condition we found
ourselves. It is unpatriotic for anybody to pretend that economically we have no problem.
“I have bored you with this long explanation because there are things that could be hidden from you by those that have mismanaged the country in the last 16, 17 years.”
The President therefore tasked Nigerian youths to be alive to their responsibilities of holding their leaders and the elite accountable.
SOURCE
He said passing the buck, which people have been frowning at, was important in order for Nigerians to know what went wrong with the country.
Buhari spoke at an event tagged, “The Conversation: An evening with creative youths,” held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The event, attended also by the President’s wife, Aisha; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; as well as governors and other top government officials, had “Creative youth as drivers of the change agenda” as its theme.
Buhari said, “I am going to bore you with what we met. I know that I am being accused in the papers of passing the buck, but passing the buck is sometimes absolutely necessary to remind people who take things for granted.“When we came in, I screamed to high heavens because I had promised a lot while seeking votes.
“I said where is the saving? There was no saving. There was no infrastructure,power, rails, roads, there was none. What did we spend the money on? I was told buying food and petrol.
“Where were the billions going? We conducted a study and found out that the oil marketers were committing fraud on at least one third of what they were importing, which is about 25per cent of our foreign exchange.”
The youth must watch our elite, especially with the condition we found
ourselves. It is unpatriotic for anybody to pretend that economically we have no problem.
“I have bored you with this long explanation because there are things that could be hidden from you by those that have mismanaged the country in the last 16, 17 years.”
The President therefore tasked Nigerian youths to be alive to their responsibilities of holding their leaders and the elite accountable.
SOURCE
Recession: Prices Of Food Soer Higher As Carton Of Fish Hit N22,000
Recession: As the country celebrates its 56th independence anniversary, some women in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried the continuous hike in the prices of food items in the market as carton of fish hit N22,000.
Some of them, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja on Friday called on government at all levels to introduce price regulatory system to protect the consumers from unwarranted price hike.
Mrs Agnes Itoro, a housewife, told pressmen that some traders were using the pretext of the economic recession to hike prices of food items on a daily basis and indiscriminately. “My husband gives me N10, 000 for the purchase of food items every month for four members of my house. But now even if he releases N15, 000 or even N20, 000, it will not be enough for the list of items I normally purchase.
“I normally use some of the remaining monies from the market to cater for my needs.
“Now, it is not even enough for the items we need at home monthly,’’ she said.
A civil servant, Mrs Lilian Ibekwe, told journalists that prices of the food items had increased but there was no increment in salaries to complement it. She said, ”this issue needs urgent attention, if not people will begin to eat once in a day”.
Mrs Florence Iwotor, a food vendor, said the increase in the prices of food items was negatively affecting her business. “I cook and sell food but at the end of the day, I do not make any profit because I do not even cover the cost of goods bought.
“I am contemplating quitting the businesses because I put a lot of efforts under the rain and the sun still, I do not make the desired profit to make ends meet in my family,’’ Iwotor told newsmen. Meanwhile, the survey conducted by pressmen in some markets in Utako, Nyanya and Mararaba markets revealed that prices of some food items had doubled.
A carton of iced fish at Utako market, previously sold between N12, 000 and N12, 500, is now being sold at N22, 000 depending on the specie of the fish at Nyanya market.
A bag of rice which was sold between N7, 000 and N12, 000 now goes for between N17, 000 and N22, 000 in all major markets. A 20 litres gallon of red oil which was sold between N7, 000 and N9, 000, now sells for N12, 500 at Mararaba market.
Also, a 20 litres gallon of vegetable oil sold at N6, 000 and N8, 000 previously now sells at between N12, 000 to N13, 000. A bag of garri which was sold at N6, 000 is now being sold between N10, 000 and N12, 000.
Mrs Uche Ajegba, an iced fish seller at the market, attributed the increase in the price of fish to increase in import duty and exchange rate. Some traders in the market told newsmen that they were selling according to the price they bought the products.
Source
Some of them, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja on Friday called on government at all levels to introduce price regulatory system to protect the consumers from unwarranted price hike.
Mrs Agnes Itoro, a housewife, told pressmen that some traders were using the pretext of the economic recession to hike prices of food items on a daily basis and indiscriminately. “My husband gives me N10, 000 for the purchase of food items every month for four members of my house. But now even if he releases N15, 000 or even N20, 000, it will not be enough for the list of items I normally purchase.
“I normally use some of the remaining monies from the market to cater for my needs.
“Now, it is not even enough for the items we need at home monthly,’’ she said.
A civil servant, Mrs Lilian Ibekwe, told journalists that prices of the food items had increased but there was no increment in salaries to complement it. She said, ”this issue needs urgent attention, if not people will begin to eat once in a day”.
Mrs Florence Iwotor, a food vendor, said the increase in the prices of food items was negatively affecting her business. “I cook and sell food but at the end of the day, I do not make any profit because I do not even cover the cost of goods bought.
“I am contemplating quitting the businesses because I put a lot of efforts under the rain and the sun still, I do not make the desired profit to make ends meet in my family,’’ Iwotor told newsmen. Meanwhile, the survey conducted by pressmen in some markets in Utako, Nyanya and Mararaba markets revealed that prices of some food items had doubled.
A carton of iced fish at Utako market, previously sold between N12, 000 and N12, 500, is now being sold at N22, 000 depending on the specie of the fish at Nyanya market.
A bag of rice which was sold between N7, 000 and N12, 000 now goes for between N17, 000 and N22, 000 in all major markets. A 20 litres gallon of red oil which was sold between N7, 000 and N9, 000, now sells for N12, 500 at Mararaba market.
Also, a 20 litres gallon of vegetable oil sold at N6, 000 and N8, 000 previously now sells at between N12, 000 to N13, 000. A bag of garri which was sold at N6, 000 is now being sold between N10, 000 and N12, 000.
Mrs Uche Ajegba, an iced fish seller at the market, attributed the increase in the price of fish to increase in import duty and exchange rate. Some traders in the market told newsmen that they were selling according to the price they bought the products.
Source
11 Ways to Make Money While You Sleep.
Do you remember in the past we were warned to be careful about being in debt because interest never stopped charging us, interest never slept, never took a day off, never took a holiday. Well the reverse is true, as well.
Is your money making money while you sleep? Does it sound too good to be true? Since we still live in the age of the interest, it’s not that difficult to earn extra money on the side.
With that in mind, here are 11 ways that you can actually earn money while you sleep.
1. Start a blog.
Perhaps the most popular way to earn a passive income is by launching your own blog. It only takes a couple of minutes to setup and is cheap to start - just purchase your domain name and pay for hosting.
After that, start creating amazing content that people would be interested in reading or sharing. For example, if you’re an accountant that has helped small business owners with their taxes, then that could be your blog. I personally have my invoicing blog to help customers know everything there is to know about invoicing. This draws thousands of signups a month.
Make sure the topics you write about are popular. If you still love your pet rock, I doubt there would be enough people visiting your our site to monetize it. But, you never know.
Once you’ve gained a following, you can start making money from of your blog by:
Earning commissions as an affiliate. This is where you push other people’s products or services on your site. Make sure these products or services are relevant to your blog. For example, that accounting blog could become an affiliate for accounting or invoicing software. Once you find an affiliate partner you’ll be given a unique code so that whenever a visitor clicks that link on your site you’ll earn your commission.
Sell-advertising. If you’re site has the traffic to become an affiliate, then it may also be good enough for advertisers to purchase ads on your site. You may start off small, like making under $20 per ad. But, you may eventually be able to charge triple digits. Again, you site must be quality.
Find sponsors. This is slightly different than just selling ads on your site. Sponsorships may be a one-off piece of sponsored content or permanent logo embedded in your footer.
2. Sell your own information product.
If you’re knowledgeable in a certain area, then you can start creating products, such as eBooks or videos, and selling them on your blog. It may take a lot of work to create and market your products, but once all the leg work is over, you can just set back and collect the proceeds.
3. Earn royalties.
If you’re a talented musician, actor, or author, then you could earn royalties from your work. In other words people will pay you for using your work or creative assets.
If you aren’t talented enough, but still interested in earning royalties, then check out Royalty Exchange. It’s a marketplace where you can buy and sell royalties.
4. Create a membership community.
If you’ve proven yourself to be a authority figure, then you can create a membership community where you pay a monthly fee to receive additional high-quality content and information that’s not available to non-members.
One of my favorite examples is Timothy Sykes who makes more than $100,000 per month in passive income through his membership community which discusses how people can make money in trading penny stocks.
5. Install an autoresponder.
Another common online business model is using autoresponders to sell services, products or memberships. This is where people leave their email address on your site and then they’ll receive an automated email containing the link to download products or quality information you have to offer, as well as follow-up with a series of emails.
You’ll a need service like OptinMonster to make this possible. I also recommend you read this Quick Sprout guide to get started with autoresponders.
6. Flip websites.
If you’ve put in the time and effort in building a website and you have gained a lot of traffic, then you may be able to sell it to an interested party by listing on marketplaces like Flippa. I've bought and sold a lot of sites here and made a lot of money.
7. Sell physical products.
Just like with a blogging site, there are several ways to earn a passive income by selling physical products. Probably one of the best known ways is by selling your old junk on eBay. But even if you don’t have anything left to sell you can start drop shopping. This is where you sell products for a company on eBay or Amazon and they’ll take care of the rest - including shipping.
You can also launch your own eCommerce store by using Shopify. They literally give you everything you need to sell products online from a complete online shop to including buy buttons on your social media channels.
8. Invest in stocks or shares.
When you invest in stocks you become a stakeholder. That entitles you to a share of their profits. Investing in stocks has been a popular way to earn a passive income for years, and thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to research and invest in stocks on your own.
Keep in mind that the stocks you invest in can change throughout the various stages of life. For example, I look for investments that can benefit my daughter, such as a CA529 plan that will go towards her college tuition.
9. Peer-to-peer lending.
Companies like LendingClub, Propser, and Harmoney have created a new industry where anyone can become a lender. They will then match you with a consumer who either prefers or has trouble securing a loan from a bank. You can earn a higher interest rates on the loans you issued since you’re dealing directly with the borrower.
10. Rent out property.
Thanks to Airbnb, you can rent out your home while on vacation or your vacation home when not in use. You can also rent out your garage, parking space, or unused office space. It’s a nice supplemental income without really doing anything except placing an ad.
11. Hire a middleman.
This is also known as arbitrage and is basically where you have someone else do the work for you. For example, you could start a dog walking service or web design firm, but outsource the actual dog walking or coding to someone else. You’re much better doing anything except being the middleman who is in charge of marketing these services.
4 Ways to Establish Transparency in Your Business.
Learn how an Atlanta CEO established transparency and vulnerability in his business.
We all have our own version of hometown heroes. As an entrepreneur, based in Atlanta, I could name as some of mine several local entrepreneurs blazing a trail for the rest of us -- with both their company’s financial success and their leadership.
One such entrepreneur is Kyle Porter, CEO of SalesLoft, which helps salespeople increase qualifed demos and appointments.
We live in a culture that glamorizes entrepreneurs, but we rarely hear the stories of struggle or vulnerability. I've known Porter since before he was the CEO, back in the days when he was growing SalesLoft from no revenue to eight figures in under three years.
“I've been an entrepreneur and seller since I sold commemorative pins to Olympics fans in Atlanta's Centennial Park in 1996," Porter recently told me. "In 2011, I met with David Cummings, one of the top software entrepreneurs in Atlanta, and we decided to build software to help salespeople get more information about their buyers so they could engage their prospects with more sincerity."
This is how Porter's CEO story began: “In the first year of SalesLoft, we fell flat on our face," he said. "We burned up a lot of capital and learned a lot of lessons. After a total systems reboot in 2013, we've been able to build one of the fastest growing and most successful SaaS companies in business. During the reboot, we learned the power of core values, and they've guided us ever since."
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Where many CEOs -- in an interview like this -- would stop and rest on their laurels, and metrics, Porter opened up and modeled the vulnerability that he brings to his office every day.
As an infant he was diagnosed with a major immune system issue, he said; doctors said he wouldn't live past 2 years old, then 3, then 4. He needed weekly two-hour IVs and was often "on my death bed." But he miraculously overcame this disease at 11, and that experience as a whole, he said, shaped much of who he is today.
I also was a bit of a wild troublemaker in high school and college," Porter said. "The entire company knows all of these stories. The point is that we are all unique, and if we can understand what makes us who we are, we're so much better for it. We need to trust each other at the deepest level so we can battle through challenges and obstacles together because when you're growing two to three times the rate of other startups, you hit two to three times the hurdles."
So what does all this mean for your company? Consider these four tips from Porter on how he brought growth to his company by infusing transparency and vulnerability into his workplace.
1. Establish core values.
"Think about how you believe people should treat one another. Think about how you want your children to behave. These are your core values,” Porter said. "Establish them, and then use them as guideposts. Decide how to manage, reprimand, praise, demote or promote. Don't hire anyone who doesn't align with your values."
2. Selling is not the goal.
Your driving goal should not be to build products and sell things. “Set out with the goal to inject your standard of values and expected performance into the team. If you do that, the rest will take care of itself,” Porter said.
3. Be an open book.
Nothing is a mystery to any member of Porter’s team. “Share everything you can with every team member, investor and mentor," Porter said. Investor concerns, ups, downs, everything. "Great people are attracted to transparency, and awesome team members operate at a higher level when they know what's going on with the business,” he said.
4. Communicate regularly.
“I send weekend update emails to every stakeholder, with metrics tracking toward goals. I've sent one every Sunday night, and never missed a single one since January 2013,” Porter said. “[Our team embraces] a once a week values stand-up meeting, where we pass around a wireless mic and all team members discuss their highlight of the week in 20 minutes. We also do monthly company breakfasts and daily team standups. Having rigor in our communication and meeting cadence has been key.”
5 Ways to Win Sales and Influence People.
Conversations, especially the requirement to listen, are the key to conversion.
To a degree, we're all salespeople, whether our job title reflects it or not. If you work in account management or in a typical sales job, you already know how hard it can be to make the same pitch repeatedly -- to the point where you're not even sure whom you told and whom you didn't tell.
It's a common hardship, but one that can be avoided if you know a few tricks. Here are five tips for better conversations.
1. Don’t be tone deaf.
Salespeople are good at their jobs because they know how to talk. By establishing rapport, they can better service their clients because they know what they need.
While salespeople may know how to talk, their gift of gab can make them lackluster listeners. When client speak, their tone gives away a lot of information, even when what they're saying is all positive. If you're too busy thinking of the next thing you want to say, you may lose out on what the client actually wants to hear.
2. Ensure that your responses are personalized.
Responses cannot be rote for proper sales procedures to work effectively. This is why scripts can often get in the way of a good call or visit. That isn't to say that professional language and a carefully sculpted message is a bad thing -- only that clients and potential customers can hear that rigidity in a voice because it's likely not the salesperson's natural speaking style. Responses need to be directed at what a person is saying. A few examples:
Client: "Yes, you mentioned that.” (Translation: "Please don't treat me like an idiot. I already considered what you said and decided against it.")
In this case, the client may either read into the fact that you've repeated yourself because you don't remember giving that information or because you feel the client forgot it. Neither is particularly great. Your response needs to address the fears a client has and demonstrate that this type of miscommunication will not be a continuing problem. It doesn't have to convey that you're embarrassed, only that you heard what was said, and you don't intend to let it happen again.
Client: "I'm happy with the way things are." (Translation: "I feel that you're trying to sell me on something that will be more of an investment than it's worth.")
This would be a good time to point out just how well the client is doing -- his or her successes and achievements. However, it's also a good idea to tie those achievements into what more could be done for the client's business.
3. Be mindful of a customer’s true despair.
There are clients who can feel that their back is against the wall, and they need someone in their corner who is ready to fight for them. These buyers are most likely your best candidates to upsell.
Related: 5 Strategies for Entrepreneurs to Improve Sales
In these cases, you have to acknowledge how the clients are feeling, and offer them real solutions as to how to get out of their sticky situation. This is the time to empathize with how they're feeling. If they've seen disappointments, then they'll likely be open to telling you exactly how things went wrong; now is the time to understand it, and get to work on how to fix it. Many salespeople will jump into how great they can make a business without truly realizing what the original problem is.
4. Find interest in the exchange.
You will have fewer instances when you will need to read between the lines, if you're genuinely interested in the other person.
This can be difficult because you likely have a sales quota, and people can get pretty chatty. But you may find that those extra minutes on the phone, or over email, can translate to customer loyalty and referrals worth thousands of dollars in future business.
5. Know when to fold 'em.
There are certain people who are extremely hard to reach when you approach them under certain circumstances. Most people can be made to open up if you say and do the right things at the right time, but sometimes those conditions just can't be met.
If it seems that a person is dying to end the conversation, there's a possibility you'll say the perfect thing to get this person to come around, but it's more likely you'll just upset him or her by continuing. You need to accept the answers offered, and then exit as politely as you can. You’ve lost the battle for now; however, you will likely have another chance later to win the war.
How This Entrepreneur Went From Solopreneur to Employing More Than 500.
Kelsey Humphreys sits down with entrepreneur Matt Britton to discuss how he built a multimillion dollar award-winning agency.
Matt Britton |
Since founding the now award-winning New York-based agency MRY in his bedroom in 2002, Matt Britton has worked with some of the world’s leading brands, such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Visa. He has also become a leader in social media marketing and millennial marketing. Britton has spoken at industry conferences around the globe and has become a featured advertising expert for CNBC, Mashable, Forbes, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, among others.
How did he go from solo consultant to employing more than 500 people and then a multi-million-dollar exit?
First, he faced failure, launching an internet marketing firm out of college that burst along with the internet bubble. Even with clients such as Sony, eBay and Evite, the firm couldn’t survive and was bailed out by Youthstream Media Networks. He stayed at Youthstream as an employee for less than two years, then took the leap again, forming Mr Youth, which later became MRY.
Britton has lived out the romantic one-man-show-turned-giant-agency story. Here are his best pieces of advice for consultants and freelancer out there eager to do the same.
Learn from failures.
After Britton’s first failed business, he tried to absorb as much as he could while employed at Youthstream.
“I learned a lot from [Youthstream]," he says. "How to work with brick-and-mortar traditional companies, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola -- how those companies worked, how they evaluated agencies, etc.”
He also believes there is tremendous value in finding a mentor and joining groups such as Young Professional Organization, two factors he says were vital to his success.
But don’t play it too safe.
Like many successful entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed, Britton recommends that you build a substantial financial cushion before you take the leap. But this cushion, Britton explains, should allow you to relax about your bills, and in turn take more risks. He says you have to go all in, right from the start.
“If you’re playing scared at the beginning, you’re going to make a lot of short-term decisions, and short-term decisions come back to haunt you later on,” he says.
Create a clear vision.
His number-one piece of advice for brand new entrepreneurs is to do one powerful, practical vision exercise: If your business had a dream press release written about it in 10 years, and received coverage in all the major business publications, what would that release say? Write that press release. At the start, many entrepreneurs don’t know how to manage time or what tasks to tackle each day, so Britton recommends they print and display the release where they can easily see it.
“Hang it up on your wall, and every day when you’re doing things, ask yourself, ‘Is what I’m doing at this moment, contributing to me getting there?’” he says.
Project that vision.
Britton shared that when he launched Mr Youth in 2002, he would disguise his voice when answering his phone to give the appearance of an administrative assistant who didn’t exist. At the time, his small team of freelancers was virtual, but you wouldn’t have known it looking at the company website. He was confident he could deliver, and didn’t want potential clients to feel uneasy.
“When you’re in your early stages, make sure that you portray stability and portray a certain level of sophistication and prestige,” he says.
Cultivate trust.
Today, it is even easier to fake a great online presence. Remember that that’s not enough though. Projection only works, Britton says, if you can deliver. Cultivating relationships and building trust, he explains, were the keys to securing his first few giant clients, such as Red Bull, even though the company knew he was running a small shop.
"The best way to get a disproportionate amount of business relative to the size of your organization is through relationships and trust," he says. "They knew I would run through a wall for them if I had to, and because of that, they were willing to take a chance on me.”
Britton then delivered for those clients and publicized the glowing testimonials he received, which started to build a name for himself and Mr Youth. More large clients followed.
Find amazing people (and let them go).
Scaling from one to 500 does not happen without hiring and retaining amazing team members. How do you find them? By getting out of your existing employees’ way.
From there, word of mouth takes over, and the best of the best start seeking out your firm. What about the “free agent” movement that we’re living in? Use it to your advantage, Britton says. Hire freelancers to cut down costs, especially during your slow season. Know that a lot of your best talent has a “side hustle.” Leverage those rock stars while you have them, and you may get to play a part in their future success.
“Get out of [your employees’] way," he says. "The companies that are unable to scale is because the founder hug the businesses so tight that they suffocate and paralyze them.”
Britton practiced what he preaches, letting a product manager at MRY experiment and eventually leave to create Crowdtap. Britton served as an advisor of the on-demand participation network, which went on to raise more than 12 million in funding and is used by more than 100 of the largest brands and marketing agencies in the U.S.
Keep up the pace.
Britton noticed a distinct disconnect between C-level executives who knew that Mark Zuckerberg was smart, yet didn’t value the 20-somethings within their companies. Brands and their executives need to continually think about, and listen to, the upcoming generation. MRY exploded because Britton could discuss big business in the boardroom, but build a campaign for the streets. Today, Britton says that means building memorable, short form, micro-targeted, mobile-ready messages “designed for the flick [of one’s finger].”
Be patient.
One of the biggest mistakes Britton sees young founders making is going for the big money too early. Instead of trying to cash in on your first crop of ideas as soon as possible, Britton says, plant as many seeds as possible.
“Too many entrepreneurs and young business people are thinking ‘how can I make money tomorrow?’" he says. "You really have to think long term and build something you believe in and stay focused on the vision and the plan and know it’s ultimately going to pay off.”
Taribo West Is Not Dead, He Is Alive - Victor Ikpeba Dismisses Death Rumour
Former Africa Player of the Year, Victor Ikpeba has negated news announcing Taribo West’s death.
Reports that filtered the air on Friday evening has it that the former Super Eagles' defence stalwart died in South Africa, but his former teammate, Ikpeba and close associates rebuffed the claims via Twitter.
My brother Taribo West is alive. Please ignore rumours that he is dead.— Victor Ikpeba (@V_Ikpeba) September 30, 2016
Source
Reports that filtered the air on Friday evening has it that the former Super Eagles' defence stalwart died in South Africa, but his former teammate, Ikpeba and close associates rebuffed the claims via Twitter.
My brother Taribo West is alive. Please ignore rumours that he is dead.— Victor Ikpeba (@V_Ikpeba) September 30, 2016
Source
BBOG flays FG over contradicting positions on Chibok girls’ rescue
Adelani Adepegba
The Bring Back Our Girls coalition has flayed the Federal Government over what it described as the apparent contradiction by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed on the Chibok schoolgirls’ rescue.
It said that while Buhari earlier claimed that his administration had not established contact with the group holding the girls, the minister in his media briefing on September 16, stated that the Federal Government had, through the Department of State Services opened negotiation with the group holding the #ChibokGirls since July 17, 2015.
The group at a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, said it did not know who to believe between the President and the minister.
In its press statement, delivered by the BBOG Co-coordinator, Oby Ezekwesili, the
coalition also noted that there was a gap in the chronicle of events by the minister, noting that the account presented by Mohammed only covered July-December 2015, leaving out January-September, 2016.
The group said, “Based on this very obvious contradiction, who then should parents, Chibok Community, our Movement and the Nigerian and global public that are extremely anxious about the rescue of the 218 young women believe?
“Should we believe the President who says that government has not established contact with the “credible group holding the girls”? Or should we believe the Minister of Information whose September 16, 2016 account to the public, explicitly stated that the Federal Government has through the Department for State Services, “opened negotiation with the group holding the #ChibokGirls” since July 17, 2015? Who should we believe?”
The BBOG also said it was curious to know why it appeared from recent statements of the President that he was expecting the terrorists to take the lead by showing up and identifying themselves to the government.
“How reasonable is such expectation? Should it not be the Government of Nigeria under the leadership of our President that must mobilize both national and global intelligence assets and military capabilities to take all necessary actions that makes it impossible for the terrorists to continue to hold our ChibokGirls hostage?,” it asked.
The BBOG said while it welcomed the request made to the United Nations by the President, the group said it is the primary duty of the FG to make the decisions and carry out the actions that would lead to the Chibok girls return.
“Therefore, the invitation to the UN should in no way signal any attempt to abdicate this core duty that our government owes to Nigerian citizens,” it said.
It demanded that the President and the military should engage with three key countries of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, United Kingdom and France.
It urged the three countries supported by the UN to begin an urgent collaboration with the FG to execute the lowest risk option for retrieving the school girls from Boko Haram captivity.
The group said, “We demand that the Federal Government should, in the light of the many contradictions evidenced by our info-graphic mapping of its numerous public pronouncements, promptly overhaul its communication on this tragedy.
” We ask the President to direct as a matter of urgency, the setting up of a 24/7 Situation Room, composed of senior officials of the military and security teams as well as others who have a role to play in the negotiation proposed.”
Source
The Bring Back Our Girls coalition has flayed the Federal Government over what it described as the apparent contradiction by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed on the Chibok schoolgirls’ rescue.
It said that while Buhari earlier claimed that his administration had not established contact with the group holding the girls, the minister in his media briefing on September 16, stated that the Federal Government had, through the Department of State Services opened negotiation with the group holding the #ChibokGirls since July 17, 2015.
The group at a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, said it did not know who to believe between the President and the minister.
In its press statement, delivered by the BBOG Co-coordinator, Oby Ezekwesili, the
coalition also noted that there was a gap in the chronicle of events by the minister, noting that the account presented by Mohammed only covered July-December 2015, leaving out January-September, 2016.
The group said, “Based on this very obvious contradiction, who then should parents, Chibok Community, our Movement and the Nigerian and global public that are extremely anxious about the rescue of the 218 young women believe?
“Should we believe the President who says that government has not established contact with the “credible group holding the girls”? Or should we believe the Minister of Information whose September 16, 2016 account to the public, explicitly stated that the Federal Government has through the Department for State Services, “opened negotiation with the group holding the #ChibokGirls” since July 17, 2015? Who should we believe?”
The BBOG also said it was curious to know why it appeared from recent statements of the President that he was expecting the terrorists to take the lead by showing up and identifying themselves to the government.
“How reasonable is such expectation? Should it not be the Government of Nigeria under the leadership of our President that must mobilize both national and global intelligence assets and military capabilities to take all necessary actions that makes it impossible for the terrorists to continue to hold our ChibokGirls hostage?,” it asked.
The BBOG said while it welcomed the request made to the United Nations by the President, the group said it is the primary duty of the FG to make the decisions and carry out the actions that would lead to the Chibok girls return.
“Therefore, the invitation to the UN should in no way signal any attempt to abdicate this core duty that our government owes to Nigerian citizens,” it said.
It demanded that the President and the military should engage with three key countries of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, United Kingdom and France.
It urged the three countries supported by the UN to begin an urgent collaboration with the FG to execute the lowest risk option for retrieving the school girls from Boko Haram captivity.
The group said, “We demand that the Federal Government should, in the light of the many contradictions evidenced by our info-graphic mapping of its numerous public pronouncements, promptly overhaul its communication on this tragedy.
” We ask the President to direct as a matter of urgency, the setting up of a 24/7 Situation Room, composed of senior officials of the military and security teams as well as others who have a role to play in the negotiation proposed.”
Source
Pastor Who Got Stuck In Ogun Shrine Finally Speaks (Photo)
A Pastor, Prince Adewale Fagbire, who was alleged to have been struck dumb and motionless when he invaded his community shrine at Ketu – Ayetoro in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun state while pulling it down, has told The Nation that though the town’s traditionalists assaulted him with “charms and other fetish objects,” but was not “harmed” at all.
Fagbire, who is a Pastor at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Ayetoro area, said he actually entered the shrine, evacuated all the fetish items that were kept there and also took a position beside the entrance to it in quietness as instructed by God.
Prince Fagbire, son of the past Alaye of Ayetoro, Oba Taiwo Fagbire, who joined his ancestors in 1981 after his 20year reign in the agrarian community, said his late father and monarch, used to take him to the said shrine occasionally when he was alive.
Narrating his experience to The Nation and a handful of reporters, at the Office of the Chairman, Ogun State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Tunde Akin – Akinsanya, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Fagbire said he elected to “remain calm and mute” during the assault and interrogation at the shrine by the traditionalists and some villagers.
Speaking in the presence of over a dozen of Christian leaders from CAN and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Ogun State, said God instructed him to stay calm and not utter a word at the shrine.
The father of two noted that his not talking or not uttering a word on the site of the shrine had nothing to with his being beaten with “charms and fetish objects” by the traditionalists as what they did had no physical or spiritual effects on him.
According to him, it was also not true as reported in some section of the media that the priests and custodians of the shrine upon the intervention of the Alaye of Ayetoro, Oba Abdulaziz Adelakun, treated or healed him before he could regain his consciousness.
“I was conscious, physically and mentally sound, during and after the incident because God was already with me. I followed the instruction of the LORD to enter the shrine and packed all the items there away. I followed God’s instruction to be quiet aa instructed by God.
“God told me to go there (the shrine), create a scene, step aside and watch the film (the unfolding events). They struck me with charms and nothing happened to me. They know the truth, nobody treated me and I spoke when I got to the Palace of the Oba,” he said.
Our Correspondence gathered that although the traditionalists demanded N300,000 from a church in the community where Fagbire had once preached and also N200,000 from the pastor’s family to perform sacrifices to appease the gods for his alleged sacrilege but nothing was given to them eventually.
The church in the community incurred the wrath of the traditionalists and was attacked following the allegation that it instigated Prince Fagbire to carry out the alleged sacrilege on the shrine.
http://thenationonlineng.net/demolished-shrine-ogun-pastor-recounts-experience/
Fagbire, who is a Pastor at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Ayetoro area, said he actually entered the shrine, evacuated all the fetish items that were kept there and also took a position beside the entrance to it in quietness as instructed by God.
Prince Fagbire, son of the past Alaye of Ayetoro, Oba Taiwo Fagbire, who joined his ancestors in 1981 after his 20year reign in the agrarian community, said his late father and monarch, used to take him to the said shrine occasionally when he was alive.
Narrating his experience to The Nation and a handful of reporters, at the Office of the Chairman, Ogun State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Tunde Akin – Akinsanya, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Fagbire said he elected to “remain calm and mute” during the assault and interrogation at the shrine by the traditionalists and some villagers.
Speaking in the presence of over a dozen of Christian leaders from CAN and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Ogun State, said God instructed him to stay calm and not utter a word at the shrine.
The father of two noted that his not talking or not uttering a word on the site of the shrine had nothing to with his being beaten with “charms and fetish objects” by the traditionalists as what they did had no physical or spiritual effects on him.
According to him, it was also not true as reported in some section of the media that the priests and custodians of the shrine upon the intervention of the Alaye of Ayetoro, Oba Abdulaziz Adelakun, treated or healed him before he could regain his consciousness.
“I was conscious, physically and mentally sound, during and after the incident because God was already with me. I followed the instruction of the LORD to enter the shrine and packed all the items there away. I followed God’s instruction to be quiet aa instructed by God.
“God told me to go there (the shrine), create a scene, step aside and watch the film (the unfolding events). They struck me with charms and nothing happened to me. They know the truth, nobody treated me and I spoke when I got to the Palace of the Oba,” he said.
Our Correspondence gathered that although the traditionalists demanded N300,000 from a church in the community where Fagbire had once preached and also N200,000 from the pastor’s family to perform sacrifices to appease the gods for his alleged sacrilege but nothing was given to them eventually.
The church in the community incurred the wrath of the traditionalists and was attacked following the allegation that it instigated Prince Fagbire to carry out the alleged sacrilege on the shrine.
http://thenationonlineng.net/demolished-shrine-ogun-pastor-recounts-experience/
Nigeria @ 56: Jonathan sends inspiring message
– Goodluck Jonathan has asked God to bless Nigeria on her 56th independence anniversary
– He called on Nigerians to support the government at all levels to build up the country Nigeria is celebrating her 56th independence anniversary today, October 1, and people have been sending messages, both good and bad. Former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the nation on her 56th independence anniversary.
Jonathan, in a message posted on social media called on Nigerians to remain patriotic. He prayed for God to bless Nigeria and also the citizens.
“Happy 56th Independence Anniversary to all Nigerians. I call on all my beloved countrymen and women to remain patriotic by praying for and supporting governments at all levels to build up Nigeria. Remember, do not think of who will make Nigeria great. Instead, think of how you will make Nigeria great. May God bless Nigeria and may God bless her people,” his message on Facebook read.
NAIJ.com
– He called on Nigerians to support the government at all levels to build up the country Nigeria is celebrating her 56th independence anniversary today, October 1, and people have been sending messages, both good and bad. Former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the nation on her 56th independence anniversary.
Jonathan, in a message posted on social media called on Nigerians to remain patriotic. He prayed for God to bless Nigeria and also the citizens.
“Happy 56th Independence Anniversary to all Nigerians. I call on all my beloved countrymen and women to remain patriotic by praying for and supporting governments at all levels to build up Nigeria. Remember, do not think of who will make Nigeria great. Instead, think of how you will make Nigeria great. May God bless Nigeria and may God bless her people,” his message on Facebook read.
NAIJ.com
Kidnappers Shot Dead By Soldiers In Bauchi State
Two kidnappers have been shot dead after they engaged the army in a shoot out. According to a statement by Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, four women and a child were rescued in the process.
The statement reads: "Troops of 33 Brigade Nigerian Army on patrol at Mai Hari village, Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State yesterday afternoon had an encounter with armed bandits and kidnappers.
"After fierce exchange of gun fire, the troops killed 2 of the kidnappers and rescued 4 women and a child earlier kidnapped.
"The victims have been reunited with their families ay about 2.00pm yesterday.
"The troops have continued with patrols and raids of suspected kidnappers and armed bandits hideouts in Bauchi and Gombe States under the auspices of Operation FOREST KUNAMA."
Source
The statement reads: "Troops of 33 Brigade Nigerian Army on patrol at Mai Hari village, Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State yesterday afternoon had an encounter with armed bandits and kidnappers.
"After fierce exchange of gun fire, the troops killed 2 of the kidnappers and rescued 4 women and a child earlier kidnapped.
"The victims have been reunited with their families ay about 2.00pm yesterday.
"The troops have continued with patrols and raids of suspected kidnappers and armed bandits hideouts in Bauchi and Gombe States under the auspices of Operation FOREST KUNAMA."
Source
Friday, 30 September 2016
Recession: Northern elders call for sack of federal workers.
– The Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) believes that the way to get out of the current economic recession is to tighten the reins on government spending.
– The group says the way out of recession is to sack 50 per cent of the federal workers in the civil service.
– Spokesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi says the sack or reduction of federal government spending by 50 per cent would work.
Spokesperson of the Northern Elder’s Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi has said that the way out the current economic recession is not selling national assets but sacking federal government workers. Abdullahi made the statement in an interview with Vanguard. The former presidential adviser on agriculture and food security said that sacking 50 per cent of the country’s public service workforce or the reduction of its federal government’s cost by 50 per cent or both could save the day.
He said: “The Present recession was hinged on the fact that 2016 budget was pegged at N6 trillion with recurrent taking N4 trillion, while N2 trillion is set aside for capital project. “Nigeria is a poor country and it is consumption based. We import and consume and we hardly produce. “Yet we have a very unproductive workforce. Nigeria workforce is not the productive type, but it takes a good chunk of the budget every year.
“This year, they said that of the N6 trillion appropriated, only N2 trillion will be generated. The rest N4 trillion would have to be sought from somewhere else. And now we are in a recession. So, I will suggest two ways from which we can get out of recession. We must cut down unproductive spending. “And I am suggesting two ways in which we can do this and they are simple. The first one will not be socially and politically good. I will advise we go for the second one. “The first one is that we have to reduce the workforce by 50%. We are talking of a large unproductive workforce with a minimum wage of N18,000 per month both at the Federal, State and Local Government levels. But, I know that it will be difficult to achieve that one.
“The second one is that we can cut salary and allowances of the workforce by 50%. Nigeria has become poor, so we have to consume less. “What kind of workforce do we have that cannot produce 5000Mw of electricity, that cannot fix broken schools, roads etc? “The idea of the National Economic Council, NEC, that our national assets should be disposed of is bad and unacceptable. Their argument cannot fly. Look at NEPA. It is a public company that is over 100 years old. It was sold to the same people who vandalised the economy and made it not to work. Is NEPA any better today? “They have stolen enough dollars and rubbished the Naira. In short time, the Naira has been devalued by over 200%. These are people who have stashed away dollars. They want Nigeria’s assets to be sold to them as scraps. NEC is not serious.
NAIJ.com
– The group says the way out of recession is to sack 50 per cent of the federal workers in the civil service.
– Spokesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi says the sack or reduction of federal government spending by 50 per cent would work.
Spokesperson of the Northern Elder’s Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi has said that the way out the current economic recession is not selling national assets but sacking federal government workers. Abdullahi made the statement in an interview with Vanguard. The former presidential adviser on agriculture and food security said that sacking 50 per cent of the country’s public service workforce or the reduction of its federal government’s cost by 50 per cent or both could save the day.
He said: “The Present recession was hinged on the fact that 2016 budget was pegged at N6 trillion with recurrent taking N4 trillion, while N2 trillion is set aside for capital project. “Nigeria is a poor country and it is consumption based. We import and consume and we hardly produce. “Yet we have a very unproductive workforce. Nigeria workforce is not the productive type, but it takes a good chunk of the budget every year.
“This year, they said that of the N6 trillion appropriated, only N2 trillion will be generated. The rest N4 trillion would have to be sought from somewhere else. And now we are in a recession. So, I will suggest two ways from which we can get out of recession. We must cut down unproductive spending. “And I am suggesting two ways in which we can do this and they are simple. The first one will not be socially and politically good. I will advise we go for the second one. “The first one is that we have to reduce the workforce by 50%. We are talking of a large unproductive workforce with a minimum wage of N18,000 per month both at the Federal, State and Local Government levels. But, I know that it will be difficult to achieve that one.
“The second one is that we can cut salary and allowances of the workforce by 50%. Nigeria has become poor, so we have to consume less. “What kind of workforce do we have that cannot produce 5000Mw of electricity, that cannot fix broken schools, roads etc? “The idea of the National Economic Council, NEC, that our national assets should be disposed of is bad and unacceptable. Their argument cannot fly. Look at NEPA. It is a public company that is over 100 years old. It was sold to the same people who vandalised the economy and made it not to work. Is NEPA any better today? “They have stolen enough dollars and rubbished the Naira. In short time, the Naira has been devalued by over 200%. These are people who have stashed away dollars. They want Nigeria’s assets to be sold to them as scraps. NEC is not serious.
NAIJ.com
Independence—PDP blasts APC, says party responsible for the woes of Nigerians
Enyioha Opara, Minna.
The People’s Democratic Party on Friday carpeted the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying the party is responsible for the woes of the ordinary Nigerian.
The PDP submitted that since the party came into power almost two years ago Nigerians have been facing several problems as a result of poor leadership and implementation of policies that were not people friendly.
The party chairman in Niger State, Mr. Tanko Beji, who made the observations in a statement released to journalists to mark Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary regretted that Niger state had not fared better under the rulership of the APC government of Abubakar Sani Bello.
“Niger State has not fared better under the leadership of “the clueless, visionless and rudderless APC government,” Beji said in the statement.
“It is sad that virtually all the social infrastructures like water, roads, health facilities etc inherited from the Peoples Democratic Party government by the APC has been allowed to rot away thereby making the sufferings of the people become more unbearable.”
Tanko Beji recalled that the APC government declared state of emergencies on water, education and the health sectors but argued that “nothing tangible has been done to redress the deplorable conditions”.
PUNCH
The People’s Democratic Party on Friday carpeted the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying the party is responsible for the woes of the ordinary Nigerian.
The PDP submitted that since the party came into power almost two years ago Nigerians have been facing several problems as a result of poor leadership and implementation of policies that were not people friendly.
The party chairman in Niger State, Mr. Tanko Beji, who made the observations in a statement released to journalists to mark Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary regretted that Niger state had not fared better under the rulership of the APC government of Abubakar Sani Bello.
“Niger State has not fared better under the leadership of “the clueless, visionless and rudderless APC government,” Beji said in the statement.
“It is sad that virtually all the social infrastructures like water, roads, health facilities etc inherited from the Peoples Democratic Party government by the APC has been allowed to rot away thereby making the sufferings of the people become more unbearable.”
Tanko Beji recalled that the APC government declared state of emergencies on water, education and the health sectors but argued that “nothing tangible has been done to redress the deplorable conditions”.
PUNCH
NCC warns against use of unregistered SIM cards
Enyioha Opara, Minna
The Nigerian Communications Commission on Friday warned against the use of unregistered SIM cards by Nigerians saying the organisation is now poised to enforce the law making the practice illegal.
The warning followed three days of raids by operatives of the enforcement units of the Commission in Minna Zungeru and Kontagora towns of Niger state.
The enforcement team which was led by the Assistant Chief Enforcement Officer Mr. Shuaibu Tswade took the team to most of the retail outlets where SIM cards and other handset set accessories were sold in these towns.
The team apprehended five suspects in Minna and one in Zungeru town
Those arrested were handed over to the police for prosecution if they could not pay the N200,000 fine provided in the law.
Tswade said the raid would be carried out across the 36 states of the federation adding that the exercise started in Abuja where 4 suspects were apprehended.
“Several SIM cards which were not registered were confiscated during the raids in these towns” he said.
The Assistant Enforcement Officer said security reports had shown that criminal elements in the country now use unregistered SIM cards to perpetrate their nefarious activities’.
“‘There is nowhere in the world where it is allowed for unregistered SIM cards to be used by telephone subscribers.”
He said the NCC was collaborating with the police and other security agencies in the country to ensure that Nigerians obeyed the law.
Tswade therefore asked Nigerians to ensure they registered their SIM cards with the mobile telephone company of their choice and resist the temptation of patronizing quacks which could put them into trouble.
Some of those arrested it was observed were hawkers of recharge and SIM cards who claimed they were not engaged in the illegal business.
PUNCH
The Nigerian Communications Commission on Friday warned against the use of unregistered SIM cards by Nigerians saying the organisation is now poised to enforce the law making the practice illegal.
The warning followed three days of raids by operatives of the enforcement units of the Commission in Minna Zungeru and Kontagora towns of Niger state.
The enforcement team which was led by the Assistant Chief Enforcement Officer Mr. Shuaibu Tswade took the team to most of the retail outlets where SIM cards and other handset set accessories were sold in these towns.
The team apprehended five suspects in Minna and one in Zungeru town
Those arrested were handed over to the police for prosecution if they could not pay the N200,000 fine provided in the law.
Tswade said the raid would be carried out across the 36 states of the federation adding that the exercise started in Abuja where 4 suspects were apprehended.
“Several SIM cards which were not registered were confiscated during the raids in these towns” he said.
The Assistant Enforcement Officer said security reports had shown that criminal elements in the country now use unregistered SIM cards to perpetrate their nefarious activities’.
“‘There is nowhere in the world where it is allowed for unregistered SIM cards to be used by telephone subscribers.”
He said the NCC was collaborating with the police and other security agencies in the country to ensure that Nigerians obeyed the law.
Tswade therefore asked Nigerians to ensure they registered their SIM cards with the mobile telephone company of their choice and resist the temptation of patronizing quacks which could put them into trouble.
Some of those arrested it was observed were hawkers of recharge and SIM cards who claimed they were not engaged in the illegal business.
PUNCH
Tinubu vs. Oyegun: The battle for 2019 begins.
The recent call by a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, that the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, should resign has shown cracks in the party, which may set the pace for the 2019 presidential election, GBENRO ADEOYE writes
For more than a decade, there has been a lion at the centre of South-West political empire whose name is Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu. But the enduring rein of the man also known as the Lion of Bourdillon appears to be facing its stiffest test yet.
Tinubu rose to the position of real influence and prominence because of his hold on Lagos politics and the roles he played in breaking the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti states as the leader of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.
Then his role in the merger that brought about the All Progressives Congress and the success the party recorded at the last general elections further enhanced his profile as a political godfather.
The ACN, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, the Congress for Progressive Change, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance had merged to form a mega party which ended the PDP’s rule after 16 years.
Of the parties that make up the APC, the ACN was the biggest so Tinubu can be said to be the biggest partner.
But recently, the fallout of the APC’s governorship primary in Ondo State has snowballed into crisis within the party and thrown up political intrigues capable of damaging its chances in the forthcoming Ondo Governorship election and even the 2019 general elections.
Tinubu, had in a communiqué from his media office on Sunday, called for the resignation of the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, saying he had “dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead” by derailing from the path of progressives.
Oyegun has, however, declined to comment on Tinubu’s statement, saying he would need to consult before replying the party’s national leader, which political experts have described as understandable, considering that the latter had played a big role in the former’s emergence as the party’s national chairman.
A lawyer and political analyst, Yemi Adetoyinbo, who linked the crisis in the party to its governorship primary in Ondo State, said it was clear that Tinubu was still angry that his godson, Dr. Olusegun Abraham, lost the election to the eventual winner, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).
Akeredolu had 669 votes to put Abraham in second place with 635 votes.
“The election was seen to be transparent by the media but there was inkling that there would be issues when the party’s chairmen in Ondo East and Ondo West local government areas, Akintunde Samuel and Adeola Ademulegun, respectively, submitted a petition that their delegates had been replaced but the election had to go on,” he said.
“Tinubu had endorsed Abraham but others had ganged up against his godson to make sure that he was defeated, until the presidency met with them in Abuja and a list of delegates was given to them. But when the votes were cast eventually, Abraham had 635 votes and Akeredolu led with 669 votes. Olusola Oke came third and Prof. Ajayi Boroffice came fourth.
“We heard that Tinubu had guaranteed 805 votes for Abraham but that was not possible because the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, decided to work for Oke because of his Special Adviser on Environment, Bola Ilori, who was his running mate.”
Therefore, following allegations by some party members including Oke, who specifically alleged that some names of the delegates were removed from the delegates’ list while non-delegates were allegedly allowed to vote, the APC set up a three-person Appeal Panel Committee, headed by Mrs. Helen Bendega.
Two of the committee members, which represented the majority, voted that the primary election won by Akeredolu should be cancelled and that a fresh one be organised.
The committee’s report was then submitted to the party’s National Working Committee, headed by Odigie-Oyegun, which upheld the primary and dismissed the report.
But reports that later came suggested that six out of 11 NWC members present at the meeting had voted in favour of the committee’s report and that Odigie-Oyegun had deceived the NWC by leaving to submit Akeredolu’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission while they were praying or under the guise that he was visiting the toilet.
One of those said to have voted that the Appeal Panel Committee’s report be dismissed was the party’s National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire (SAN), who had argued that there was no documentary evidence to support all the allegations put forward except oral accounts.
In a five-page letter to Odigie-Oyegun, Banire had recommended “the rejection of the recommendations of the Appeal Committee and the dismissal of the petitions as same are lacking in merit.”
However, Tinubu’s communiqué has enhanced the fault lines within the ruling party to make them bigger.
Analysts close to the APC say there are two major cabals and possibly three operating within the party, with Tinubu on one side, President Muhammadu Buhari on another and former Vice President and presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar on the third.
They say Oyegun, even though, has Tinubu to thank for his position, had acted the script of the Presidency’s cabal when he submitted Akeredolu’s name to INEC.
A source in the APC confirmed that Buhari had earlier promised to support the former NBA President, who was one of the President’s foot soldiers during the 2015 electioneering as a member of the presidential campaign committee, which was headed by the former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
So Amaechi is said to belong to the Presidency’s cabal along with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN); Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.
Meanwhile, on the other hand is the Tinubu faction with elders of the party like its former Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba. Then the third cabal in the party is said to belong to Atiku, who has a leg in each of the other factions and still calls some shots in the PDP.
Adetoyinbo said, “We have the Presidency’s group and the Tinubu camp. What everyone did was to defeat the candidate of Tinubu. The Presidency and his team allegedly came together to ensure Akeredolu emerged winner at the Ondo APC governorship primary.
“It means that it is now a battle between the President and Tinubu and Oyegun is allegedly with the Presidency while Tinubu is on his own. So if anybody will remove Oyegun, it will have to be the President and there is no way Buhari will remove because he is enjoying his loyalty to him instead of to Tinubu, his benefactor.
“It is like a chess game, you hold your own tail and shake Tinubu’s hand while you go behind to plan against him.”
Analysts believe that President Buhari’s moves suggest that he is laying the foundation for his re-election or for the election of the person he will nominate to succeed him should he wish to pass the opportunity to go for second term to someone else.
A political analyst, Mr. Segun Balogun, said, “It appears that Buhari’s camp is after two things: one, cutting Tiinubus’ wings and two, laying the groundwork for himself or the candidate that he will anoint ahead of 2019 presidential election.
“Tinubu did not support the nominations of Fashola and Fayemi as ministers but he picked them to work with him all the same and that has won him their loyalty and broken Tinubu’s influence on them and in the region. So it is a game that will get really interesting later. Gradually, Tinubu is being demystified and the situation will repeat itself henceforth. It used to be suicidal for party members to challenge Tinubu’s anointed candidate but many people will start to do so now because some others have done it successfully.”
Also, Adetoyinbo said the Presidency’s cabal has limited Tinubu’s influence to the South-West, where it is also being threatened.
“Tinubu still has the support of Akande and Osoba, so his influence is more regional now, limited to the western region and even in the region, there is a crack. Amosun never supported Senator Adeola Solomon (YAYI) from Lagos to be anointed to succeed him as Governor of Ogun State because he is already grooming his own candidate to replace him in office.
“Tinubu nominated Wale Edun, who was his Commissioner for Finance when he was governor, to be Buhari’s Minister of Finance, but Amosun nominated Kemi Adeosun. Edun and Adeosun are both from Ogun State but Amosun convinced Buhari that Adeosun did well as his commissioner and would do well as minister.
“She is the daughter to the late Oluwole Adeosun, the renowned economist and former Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. And Amosun, as an accountant, trusts Adeosun, so it will be difficult to remove her despite the economic crisis.
“So the practice by Tinubu to always want to plant people everywhere may not work every time as it has shown in Ondo and the National Assembly, where his candidates for the positions of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, lost out to Dr. Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara.
“Buhari is now creating his own political structure; he had none as of the time he vied to become the President because he was never a politician. So this politics will go on until 2019.”
According to Adetoyinbo, the intrigues that the APC crisis could throw up before 2019 could see Tinubu working with Atiku or Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State, who is also interested in becoming the President of Nigeria someday.
He said, “They are trying to checkmate Tinubu, but if the situation continues like this, he is likely to support another candidate in 2019 and they may use one of the new parties. This is because Tinubu is not likely to run for the position himself.
“Atiku wants to be President by all means and he is working in-between the APC and the PDP and funding candidates here and there. The problem now is that Tinubu wants to be a supremo, the power broker and for Buhari to be under him. He wants to be the authentic party leader and not just a ceremonial national leader; he wants to sit down at meetings, take charge and give orders to the President but Buhari will not agree to that.
“But Kwankwaso will still want to contest and Saraki as well; all of them, including Tinubu are showing interests in new parties now. Atiku is still keeping his Peoples Democratic Movement in the cooler despite being in the APC and still funding candidates in the PDP.
“Tinubu has fielded Atiku as presidential aspirant for the ACN before and he can do it again because there is no permanent friend or enemy in politics. The two of them can still work together in 2019. Even Kwankwaso may work with Tinubu tomorrow as things stand because Tinubu will not likely support the return of Buhari for second term in office. Tinubu believes that he should be able to call the shots and anoint candidates.”
If Tinubu chooses any of the options highlighted by Adetoyinbo, it will throw up a stiff contest between the APC; the PDP, particularly, if its two factions are able to unite; and a new party that is likely to have the backing of the APC National Leader and either Atiku or Kwankwaso.
A similar situation is already playing out in Ondo State ahead of the governorship election, where Oke and his political structure are said to have almost finalised their move to Action Alliance, should Akeredolu remain the APC candidate for the election.
Oke is banking on the support of Abraham and Boroffice to defeat Akeredolu and the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).
Both Balogun and Adetoyinbo’s advice is that Tinubu and Buhari should close ranks and resolve the crisis in the party, describing the power of the Presidency as difficult to beat into submission.
“Buhari has the power of the Presidency and does not mind to step on toes, so even tomorrow, we can see Tinubu being hounded by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission because Buhari doesn’t believe there is any powerful toe that cannot be stepped on,” Adetoyinbo said.
Balogun said, “It will be difficult for Tinubu to win the war because even the people with him can switch alliances tomorrow and align with the Presidency because of the benefits that the office can provide.”
A member of the APC, Mr. Niyi Ajidahun, said the solution to the crisis was to have a fresh primary.
“I’m not comfortable with everything going on in the party but I think that we should cancel the primary and have a fresh one,” he said.
“Why should some people sit in Abuja and doctor the delegates’ list and say we have no resources to conduct a fresh primary? And without the support of Oke, Boroffice and Abraham in the Ondo governorship poll, I don’t think Akeredolu can win.”
PUNCH
For more than a decade, there has been a lion at the centre of South-West political empire whose name is Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu. But the enduring rein of the man also known as the Lion of Bourdillon appears to be facing its stiffest test yet.
Tinubu rose to the position of real influence and prominence because of his hold on Lagos politics and the roles he played in breaking the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti states as the leader of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.
Then his role in the merger that brought about the All Progressives Congress and the success the party recorded at the last general elections further enhanced his profile as a political godfather.
The ACN, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, the Congress for Progressive Change, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance had merged to form a mega party which ended the PDP’s rule after 16 years.
Of the parties that make up the APC, the ACN was the biggest so Tinubu can be said to be the biggest partner.
But recently, the fallout of the APC’s governorship primary in Ondo State has snowballed into crisis within the party and thrown up political intrigues capable of damaging its chances in the forthcoming Ondo Governorship election and even the 2019 general elections.
Tinubu, had in a communiqué from his media office on Sunday, called for the resignation of the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, saying he had “dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead” by derailing from the path of progressives.
Oyegun has, however, declined to comment on Tinubu’s statement, saying he would need to consult before replying the party’s national leader, which political experts have described as understandable, considering that the latter had played a big role in the former’s emergence as the party’s national chairman.
A lawyer and political analyst, Yemi Adetoyinbo, who linked the crisis in the party to its governorship primary in Ondo State, said it was clear that Tinubu was still angry that his godson, Dr. Olusegun Abraham, lost the election to the eventual winner, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).
Akeredolu had 669 votes to put Abraham in second place with 635 votes.
“The election was seen to be transparent by the media but there was inkling that there would be issues when the party’s chairmen in Ondo East and Ondo West local government areas, Akintunde Samuel and Adeola Ademulegun, respectively, submitted a petition that their delegates had been replaced but the election had to go on,” he said.
“Tinubu had endorsed Abraham but others had ganged up against his godson to make sure that he was defeated, until the presidency met with them in Abuja and a list of delegates was given to them. But when the votes were cast eventually, Abraham had 635 votes and Akeredolu led with 669 votes. Olusola Oke came third and Prof. Ajayi Boroffice came fourth.
“We heard that Tinubu had guaranteed 805 votes for Abraham but that was not possible because the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, decided to work for Oke because of his Special Adviser on Environment, Bola Ilori, who was his running mate.”
Therefore, following allegations by some party members including Oke, who specifically alleged that some names of the delegates were removed from the delegates’ list while non-delegates were allegedly allowed to vote, the APC set up a three-person Appeal Panel Committee, headed by Mrs. Helen Bendega.
Two of the committee members, which represented the majority, voted that the primary election won by Akeredolu should be cancelled and that a fresh one be organised.
The committee’s report was then submitted to the party’s National Working Committee, headed by Odigie-Oyegun, which upheld the primary and dismissed the report.
But reports that later came suggested that six out of 11 NWC members present at the meeting had voted in favour of the committee’s report and that Odigie-Oyegun had deceived the NWC by leaving to submit Akeredolu’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission while they were praying or under the guise that he was visiting the toilet.
One of those said to have voted that the Appeal Panel Committee’s report be dismissed was the party’s National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire (SAN), who had argued that there was no documentary evidence to support all the allegations put forward except oral accounts.
In a five-page letter to Odigie-Oyegun, Banire had recommended “the rejection of the recommendations of the Appeal Committee and the dismissal of the petitions as same are lacking in merit.”
However, Tinubu’s communiqué has enhanced the fault lines within the ruling party to make them bigger.
Analysts close to the APC say there are two major cabals and possibly three operating within the party, with Tinubu on one side, President Muhammadu Buhari on another and former Vice President and presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar on the third.
They say Oyegun, even though, has Tinubu to thank for his position, had acted the script of the Presidency’s cabal when he submitted Akeredolu’s name to INEC.
A source in the APC confirmed that Buhari had earlier promised to support the former NBA President, who was one of the President’s foot soldiers during the 2015 electioneering as a member of the presidential campaign committee, which was headed by the former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
So Amaechi is said to belong to the Presidency’s cabal along with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN); Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.
Meanwhile, on the other hand is the Tinubu faction with elders of the party like its former Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba. Then the third cabal in the party is said to belong to Atiku, who has a leg in each of the other factions and still calls some shots in the PDP.
Adetoyinbo said, “We have the Presidency’s group and the Tinubu camp. What everyone did was to defeat the candidate of Tinubu. The Presidency and his team allegedly came together to ensure Akeredolu emerged winner at the Ondo APC governorship primary.
“It means that it is now a battle between the President and Tinubu and Oyegun is allegedly with the Presidency while Tinubu is on his own. So if anybody will remove Oyegun, it will have to be the President and there is no way Buhari will remove because he is enjoying his loyalty to him instead of to Tinubu, his benefactor.
“It is like a chess game, you hold your own tail and shake Tinubu’s hand while you go behind to plan against him.”
Analysts believe that President Buhari’s moves suggest that he is laying the foundation for his re-election or for the election of the person he will nominate to succeed him should he wish to pass the opportunity to go for second term to someone else.
A political analyst, Mr. Segun Balogun, said, “It appears that Buhari’s camp is after two things: one, cutting Tiinubus’ wings and two, laying the groundwork for himself or the candidate that he will anoint ahead of 2019 presidential election.
“Tinubu did not support the nominations of Fashola and Fayemi as ministers but he picked them to work with him all the same and that has won him their loyalty and broken Tinubu’s influence on them and in the region. So it is a game that will get really interesting later. Gradually, Tinubu is being demystified and the situation will repeat itself henceforth. It used to be suicidal for party members to challenge Tinubu’s anointed candidate but many people will start to do so now because some others have done it successfully.”
Also, Adetoyinbo said the Presidency’s cabal has limited Tinubu’s influence to the South-West, where it is also being threatened.
“Tinubu still has the support of Akande and Osoba, so his influence is more regional now, limited to the western region and even in the region, there is a crack. Amosun never supported Senator Adeola Solomon (YAYI) from Lagos to be anointed to succeed him as Governor of Ogun State because he is already grooming his own candidate to replace him in office.
“Tinubu nominated Wale Edun, who was his Commissioner for Finance when he was governor, to be Buhari’s Minister of Finance, but Amosun nominated Kemi Adeosun. Edun and Adeosun are both from Ogun State but Amosun convinced Buhari that Adeosun did well as his commissioner and would do well as minister.
“She is the daughter to the late Oluwole Adeosun, the renowned economist and former Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. And Amosun, as an accountant, trusts Adeosun, so it will be difficult to remove her despite the economic crisis.
“So the practice by Tinubu to always want to plant people everywhere may not work every time as it has shown in Ondo and the National Assembly, where his candidates for the positions of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, lost out to Dr. Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara.
“Buhari is now creating his own political structure; he had none as of the time he vied to become the President because he was never a politician. So this politics will go on until 2019.”
According to Adetoyinbo, the intrigues that the APC crisis could throw up before 2019 could see Tinubu working with Atiku or Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State, who is also interested in becoming the President of Nigeria someday.
He said, “They are trying to checkmate Tinubu, but if the situation continues like this, he is likely to support another candidate in 2019 and they may use one of the new parties. This is because Tinubu is not likely to run for the position himself.
“Atiku wants to be President by all means and he is working in-between the APC and the PDP and funding candidates here and there. The problem now is that Tinubu wants to be a supremo, the power broker and for Buhari to be under him. He wants to be the authentic party leader and not just a ceremonial national leader; he wants to sit down at meetings, take charge and give orders to the President but Buhari will not agree to that.
“But Kwankwaso will still want to contest and Saraki as well; all of them, including Tinubu are showing interests in new parties now. Atiku is still keeping his Peoples Democratic Movement in the cooler despite being in the APC and still funding candidates in the PDP.
“Tinubu has fielded Atiku as presidential aspirant for the ACN before and he can do it again because there is no permanent friend or enemy in politics. The two of them can still work together in 2019. Even Kwankwaso may work with Tinubu tomorrow as things stand because Tinubu will not likely support the return of Buhari for second term in office. Tinubu believes that he should be able to call the shots and anoint candidates.”
If Tinubu chooses any of the options highlighted by Adetoyinbo, it will throw up a stiff contest between the APC; the PDP, particularly, if its two factions are able to unite; and a new party that is likely to have the backing of the APC National Leader and either Atiku or Kwankwaso.
A similar situation is already playing out in Ondo State ahead of the governorship election, where Oke and his political structure are said to have almost finalised their move to Action Alliance, should Akeredolu remain the APC candidate for the election.
Oke is banking on the support of Abraham and Boroffice to defeat Akeredolu and the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).
Both Balogun and Adetoyinbo’s advice is that Tinubu and Buhari should close ranks and resolve the crisis in the party, describing the power of the Presidency as difficult to beat into submission.
“Buhari has the power of the Presidency and does not mind to step on toes, so even tomorrow, we can see Tinubu being hounded by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission because Buhari doesn’t believe there is any powerful toe that cannot be stepped on,” Adetoyinbo said.
Balogun said, “It will be difficult for Tinubu to win the war because even the people with him can switch alliances tomorrow and align with the Presidency because of the benefits that the office can provide.”
A member of the APC, Mr. Niyi Ajidahun, said the solution to the crisis was to have a fresh primary.
“I’m not comfortable with everything going on in the party but I think that we should cancel the primary and have a fresh one,” he said.
“Why should some people sit in Abuja and doctor the delegates’ list and say we have no resources to conduct a fresh primary? And without the support of Oke, Boroffice and Abraham in the Ondo governorship poll, I don’t think Akeredolu can win.”
PUNCH
Nigeria @56: Nigeria not on track, say Ekweremadu, Fasoranti, others.
Olufemi Atoyebi, Femi Makinde and Leke Baiyewu
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has called for sober reflection as Nigeria marks its 56th Independence anniversary.
He said there is the need to return to the path of true federalism as envisioned by the country’s founding fathers in order to move it forward.
Ekweremadu — who said these in his message to Nigerians on the occasion of the Independence anniversary, stressed the need for justice, peace and unity, urging the Federal Government to mobilise “all capable hands” to salvage the country’s ailing economy.
He said, “This 56th Independence anniversary calls for sober reflection. No people can make progress unless they retrace their steps back to where the rain started beating them. Nigeria, at formation, had a building plan, which was based on true federalism as covenanted by our founding fathers at various conferences leading up to Independence.
“For as long as we followed that plan, we prospered. But, once we discarded the building plan, dissembled the inherited structures and legacies and began to undermine the fabrics of equity, justice, balance, healthy competition and economic prosperity that was ingrained therein, we charted our route to the current perdition.”
Ekweremadu, however, assured Nigerians that the country would bounce back if immediate steps were taken to unite the country, getting the best hands on deck, irrespective of who they are.
The leader of Afenifere, a socio-cultural group, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, expressed disappointment at the pace of development in the country despite its abundant human and natural resources.
Fasoranti, who spoke in Osogbo on the sidelines of the 91st birthday ceremony of Senator Ayo Fasanmi, said the country was not on track even as it marks its 56th Independence anniversary, while he decried the lack of creativity by the country’s leaders, who he said had always depended on oil money to run the country.
He said, “We are disappointed. We are not on track at all. For instance, the sale of national assets should not happen at all because that is going to be a sad loss. The best thing for our leaders is to think well and look inward on how to maximise what we have.
“Our leaders only like easy option instead of exerting themselves. They should think well. What they are planning to do is a very easy option. The executives need to think again.”
A former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Wole Olanipekun, described the current system of government in Nigeria as “hydra-headed unitarism,” which negates all known principles of federalism as practised in other countries of the world.
Olanipekun said this at the opening of an ultra-modern Vice Chancellor’s lodge which he donated to Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State.
He said, “Nigeria must be governed properly and I am saying that today, Nigeria is not being governed properly. Leadership is rudderless at the federal, state and local government levels.
“What we have in Nigeria today are powerful individuals, not powerful institutions. And the powerful individuals, if care is not taken, will become lions and when lions roar, they will devour. I hope those individuals who are richer than Nigeria don’t devour us. A time will come when Nigeria will start borrowing from them to survive.”
PUNCH
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has called for sober reflection as Nigeria marks its 56th Independence anniversary.
He said there is the need to return to the path of true federalism as envisioned by the country’s founding fathers in order to move it forward.
Ekweremadu — who said these in his message to Nigerians on the occasion of the Independence anniversary, stressed the need for justice, peace and unity, urging the Federal Government to mobilise “all capable hands” to salvage the country’s ailing economy.
He said, “This 56th Independence anniversary calls for sober reflection. No people can make progress unless they retrace their steps back to where the rain started beating them. Nigeria, at formation, had a building plan, which was based on true federalism as covenanted by our founding fathers at various conferences leading up to Independence.
“For as long as we followed that plan, we prospered. But, once we discarded the building plan, dissembled the inherited structures and legacies and began to undermine the fabrics of equity, justice, balance, healthy competition and economic prosperity that was ingrained therein, we charted our route to the current perdition.”
Ekweremadu, however, assured Nigerians that the country would bounce back if immediate steps were taken to unite the country, getting the best hands on deck, irrespective of who they are.
The leader of Afenifere, a socio-cultural group, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, expressed disappointment at the pace of development in the country despite its abundant human and natural resources.
Fasoranti, who spoke in Osogbo on the sidelines of the 91st birthday ceremony of Senator Ayo Fasanmi, said the country was not on track even as it marks its 56th Independence anniversary, while he decried the lack of creativity by the country’s leaders, who he said had always depended on oil money to run the country.
He said, “We are disappointed. We are not on track at all. For instance, the sale of national assets should not happen at all because that is going to be a sad loss. The best thing for our leaders is to think well and look inward on how to maximise what we have.
“Our leaders only like easy option instead of exerting themselves. They should think well. What they are planning to do is a very easy option. The executives need to think again.”
A former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Wole Olanipekun, described the current system of government in Nigeria as “hydra-headed unitarism,” which negates all known principles of federalism as practised in other countries of the world.
Olanipekun said this at the opening of an ultra-modern Vice Chancellor’s lodge which he donated to Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State.
He said, “Nigeria must be governed properly and I am saying that today, Nigeria is not being governed properly. Leadership is rudderless at the federal, state and local government levels.
“What we have in Nigeria today are powerful individuals, not powerful institutions. And the powerful individuals, if care is not taken, will become lions and when lions roar, they will devour. I hope those individuals who are richer than Nigeria don’t devour us. A time will come when Nigeria will start borrowing from them to survive.”
PUNCH
NJC sacks Enugu CJ, Appeal Court Justice, Kano judge for alleged corruption
Ade Adesomoju, Abuja
The National Judicial Council said on Friday that it had recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari, the compulsory retirement of Justice Mohammed Tsamiya from office- the Ilorin Division of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Tasmiya was sanctioned over allegations that he met with a party to a case before him, Nnamdi Oji, three times and on each occasion, demanded the sum of N200m to influence the Court of Appeal panel in Owerri, which sat on election cases that arose from the 2015 general elections.
In a statement by its Acting Director, Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the NJC said it also recommended the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, for compulsory retirement and Justice Kabiru Auta of Kano State High Court for dismissal.
The NJC recommended Auta for prosecution over an allegation that he collected N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru, who wrote a petition to the NJC against him.
The NJC said it recommended to Governor Lawrence Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, the compulsory retirement of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Umezulike, for delivering judgment in a case 126 days after final addresses were adopted by parties, and for other instances of abuse of office.
Justice Umezulike, during his book launch, allegedly received a donation of N10m from a businessman, Prince Arthur Eze, while two cases in which Eze was said to have had “vested interest”, were in the judge’s court.
It also recommended to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, of Kano State, the dismissal of Justice Kabiru Auta.
Kabiru was accused of collecting about N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru Yakassai, under the pretext that he had plans to use the money to help a then newly appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria to secure accommodation and for Yakassai to be later rewarded with a contract by the CJN.
The NJC recommended that Auta should be handed over to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 1, Kano, for prosecution.
Justice Auta was said to have agreed to refund the sum of N95m to Yakassai, who had petitioned the NJC, but only for him to admit during his probe before the NJC panel that he only agreed to refund N35m.
The NJC said it made the recommendations at its 78th meeting, chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, and held on September 29, 2016.
In respect of Justice Tsamiya, the statement read in part, “Hon. Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal was recommended for compulsory retirement from Office to President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, pursuant to the ‘Findings’ by the Council in the petition written by Nnamdi Iro Oji against him and Hon. Justices Husseini Muktar, F. O. Akinbami and J. Y. Tukur, all Justices of Court of Appeal, who sat on Election Appeal Panel in the Owerri Division of the Court during the 2015 general elections.
PUNCH
The National Judicial Council said on Friday that it had recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari, the compulsory retirement of Justice Mohammed Tsamiya from office- the Ilorin Division of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Tasmiya was sanctioned over allegations that he met with a party to a case before him, Nnamdi Oji, three times and on each occasion, demanded the sum of N200m to influence the Court of Appeal panel in Owerri, which sat on election cases that arose from the 2015 general elections.
In a statement by its Acting Director, Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the NJC said it also recommended the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, for compulsory retirement and Justice Kabiru Auta of Kano State High Court for dismissal.
The NJC recommended Auta for prosecution over an allegation that he collected N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru, who wrote a petition to the NJC against him.
The NJC said it recommended to Governor Lawrence Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, the compulsory retirement of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Umezulike, for delivering judgment in a case 126 days after final addresses were adopted by parties, and for other instances of abuse of office.
Justice Umezulike, during his book launch, allegedly received a donation of N10m from a businessman, Prince Arthur Eze, while two cases in which Eze was said to have had “vested interest”, were in the judge’s court.
It also recommended to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, of Kano State, the dismissal of Justice Kabiru Auta.
Kabiru was accused of collecting about N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru Yakassai, under the pretext that he had plans to use the money to help a then newly appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria to secure accommodation and for Yakassai to be later rewarded with a contract by the CJN.
The NJC recommended that Auta should be handed over to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 1, Kano, for prosecution.
Justice Auta was said to have agreed to refund the sum of N95m to Yakassai, who had petitioned the NJC, but only for him to admit during his probe before the NJC panel that he only agreed to refund N35m.
The NJC said it made the recommendations at its 78th meeting, chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, and held on September 29, 2016.
In respect of Justice Tsamiya, the statement read in part, “Hon. Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal was recommended for compulsory retirement from Office to President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, pursuant to the ‘Findings’ by the Council in the petition written by Nnamdi Iro Oji against him and Hon. Justices Husseini Muktar, F. O. Akinbami and J. Y. Tukur, all Justices of Court of Appeal, who sat on Election Appeal Panel in the Owerri Division of the Court during the 2015 general elections.
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CBN Gov’s wife kidnap: IG deploys helicopters along Benin-Agbor Road
Eniola Akinkuotu and Adelani Adepegba
In a bid to track the abductors of Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, the wife of the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has deployed helicopters along the Benin-Agbor Road, where the incident had taken place.
Idris, it was gathered, had also flooded the area with hundreds of police operatives and sniffer dogs in a move to put pressure on the kidnappers.
A senior police officer said, “We received information on Thursday that the CBN governor’s wife was abducted alongside three women and a male driver. They were on their way to Agbor, Delta State, where she hails from.
“We have deployed policemen, helicopters and sniffer dogs and we will arrest the suspects very soon.”
Gunmen had on Thursday abducted Margaret along with four others and demanded N100m as ransom.
The kidnappers were said to have made the demand after taking their victims to an unknown location.
A senior police officer told our correspondent that Margaret was abducted alongside three women and a male driver.
He said they were abducted along the Benin-Agbor Road on Thursday.
Police sources said the abductors did not know her identity, adding that they simply stumbled on her and whisked her away.
Our correspondent learnt that the IG Special Intelligence Monitoring Team, headed by Abba Kyari, has commenced investigation into the incident.
Kyari was the officer who arrested the suspects responsible for the abduction of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, the mother of ex-Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in 2012.
Another source said, “The kidnappers did not know the identity of the woman; preliminary investigation indicated that the gang just got her by chance. They have contacted her husband and they are demanding for N100m cash.”
Findings indicate that there were fears that the gang may increase their demand if they got to know the identity of their hostage.
“We actually wanted to keep the incident under wraps until the woman has been rescued, because the exposure of the victim’s identity may complicate the case; this is our fear,” a source said.
The police spokesman, Donald Awunah, could not be reached for comments as calls to his mobile telephone failed to connect. He had yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report.
Incident, very embarrassing-Security experts
Security experts described the abduction of the CBN governor’s wife as an embarrassment, noting that something must have gone wrong.
A former director, Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, stated that as a politically exposed person, Margaret must have had security operatives attached to her.
He wondered where the personnel were at the time she was abducted, noting that until the details of the incident came to light, it might be hard to know what transpired.
The lawyer urged Nigerians to take their personal security seriously.
Ejiofor said, “I don’t know the circumstances around her abduction, but this is one of the highest profile kidnap cases in recent time.
“How can the wife of the CBN Governor, with all these security challenges be kidnapped? We need the details. Was any security operative attached to her?
“As the wife of the CBN governor, I expect she would need some protection. Until I get the details, I can’t talk much, but I believe something has gone wrong, which is very embarrassing.”
Another security analyst, Ben Okezie, also observed that something must have gone wrong with the security operative(s) around Margaret.
He expressed confidence that the kidnap victim would be rescued and prayed for her safety.
“We pray they did not do anything evil to her. This should signal top people that their security should be guaranteed because they are important to Nigeria,” Okezie said.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, did not pick repeated calls made by one of our correspondents to his mobile telephone.
When a text message was sent to him, requesting for comments on the kidnap of Margaret, his response was “I am sorry, not at this time.”
When contacted on Friday evening, the acting Police Public Relations Officer, Edo State Command, Stephen Onwochei, told our correspondent to call back in 20 minutes.
But he did not pick subsequent calls made to his telephone.
He also did not respond to a text message sent to his telephone number as of the time of filing this report.
However, the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Iheanacho, said that he was not aware of the incident.
PUNCH
In a bid to track the abductors of Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, the wife of the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has deployed helicopters along the Benin-Agbor Road, where the incident had taken place.
Idris, it was gathered, had also flooded the area with hundreds of police operatives and sniffer dogs in a move to put pressure on the kidnappers.
A senior police officer said, “We received information on Thursday that the CBN governor’s wife was abducted alongside three women and a male driver. They were on their way to Agbor, Delta State, where she hails from.
“We have deployed policemen, helicopters and sniffer dogs and we will arrest the suspects very soon.”
Gunmen had on Thursday abducted Margaret along with four others and demanded N100m as ransom.
The kidnappers were said to have made the demand after taking their victims to an unknown location.
A senior police officer told our correspondent that Margaret was abducted alongside three women and a male driver.
He said they were abducted along the Benin-Agbor Road on Thursday.
Police sources said the abductors did not know her identity, adding that they simply stumbled on her and whisked her away.
Our correspondent learnt that the IG Special Intelligence Monitoring Team, headed by Abba Kyari, has commenced investigation into the incident.
Kyari was the officer who arrested the suspects responsible for the abduction of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, the mother of ex-Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in 2012.
Another source said, “The kidnappers did not know the identity of the woman; preliminary investigation indicated that the gang just got her by chance. They have contacted her husband and they are demanding for N100m cash.”
Findings indicate that there were fears that the gang may increase their demand if they got to know the identity of their hostage.
“We actually wanted to keep the incident under wraps until the woman has been rescued, because the exposure of the victim’s identity may complicate the case; this is our fear,” a source said.
The police spokesman, Donald Awunah, could not be reached for comments as calls to his mobile telephone failed to connect. He had yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report.
Incident, very embarrassing-Security experts
Security experts described the abduction of the CBN governor’s wife as an embarrassment, noting that something must have gone wrong.
A former director, Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, stated that as a politically exposed person, Margaret must have had security operatives attached to her.
He wondered where the personnel were at the time she was abducted, noting that until the details of the incident came to light, it might be hard to know what transpired.
The lawyer urged Nigerians to take their personal security seriously.
Ejiofor said, “I don’t know the circumstances around her abduction, but this is one of the highest profile kidnap cases in recent time.
“How can the wife of the CBN Governor, with all these security challenges be kidnapped? We need the details. Was any security operative attached to her?
“As the wife of the CBN governor, I expect she would need some protection. Until I get the details, I can’t talk much, but I believe something has gone wrong, which is very embarrassing.”
Another security analyst, Ben Okezie, also observed that something must have gone wrong with the security operative(s) around Margaret.
He expressed confidence that the kidnap victim would be rescued and prayed for her safety.
“We pray they did not do anything evil to her. This should signal top people that their security should be guaranteed because they are important to Nigeria,” Okezie said.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, did not pick repeated calls made by one of our correspondents to his mobile telephone.
When a text message was sent to him, requesting for comments on the kidnap of Margaret, his response was “I am sorry, not at this time.”
When contacted on Friday evening, the acting Police Public Relations Officer, Edo State Command, Stephen Onwochei, told our correspondent to call back in 20 minutes.
But he did not pick subsequent calls made to his telephone.
He also did not respond to a text message sent to his telephone number as of the time of filing this report.
However, the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Iheanacho, said that he was not aware of the incident.
PUNCH
Buhari & Saraki Attend Special Prayer For Nigerian 56th Independence Anniversary.
President Buhari, Senate President, Bukola Saraki and many others attended Special Prayer for Nigeria at the National Mosque in Abuja to mark the country's 56th Independence Anniversary.
Delivering his sermon from the Holy Quran, the Chief Imam of the National mosque, Ahmed Onilewura enjoins leaders to always use position of authority to better the lots of their followers.
See more photos…
Image credit: Sallau
SOURCE
Delivering his sermon from the Holy Quran, the Chief Imam of the National mosque, Ahmed Onilewura enjoins leaders to always use position of authority to better the lots of their followers.
See more photos…
Image credit: Sallau
SOURCE
Robber Who Stole 500k In A Shop In Abuja Caught & Beaten Mercilessly By Mob
According to an online user who shared the photos,the suspect named Illiasu, from Kogi State, and his companion, went into a shop and stole about N500,000 in the afternoon of today at Jeremia Usani Junction, Gwagwalada. They were about leaving on a motorcycle when one of the salesgirl grabbed him from behind and raised an alarm.Unfortunately for him,he fell off the bike and was beaten to pulp by mob.However,his accomplice to the crime was able to escape.
Source
Source
Presidency Keeps Mum On Indictment Of Usani, Buhari’s Minister For Fraud
The presidency has decided to keep mum on a minister who was indicted for fraud when he held office in a different capacity.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani, was indicted for financial impropriety for his role when he held office during the military era.
PREMIUM TIMES is in possession of a government white paper which documented Mr. Usani’s indictment after he was found guilty of fraud in 2000 by a panel established by the Cross River State Government.
Mr. Usani, who had just finished serving as the Cross River State Commissioner for Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development, appeared in 1999 before a government committee set up to investigate financial impropriety among officials of the preceding military administration in the state.
The committee, officially known as Financial Impropriety/Verification Standing Committee, was inaugurated in 1999 by the then governor, Donald Duke.
It was chaired by Orok Oyo, and had Andy Ikpeme, Ekpe Ita, Otu Oka and Akomaye Adie as members.
According to the document, Mr. Usani, because of his alleged intent to defraud the government, was said to have refused to apply government approved scales, when he paid out some money as fees to Gersh Henshaw & Company, a firm of estate surveyors and valuers, which handled the contract for the valuation of vehicles, workshops and equipment belonging to the Cross River State Water Board.
The valuation was said to be part of the African Development Bank water project in the state.
Gersh Henshaw & Company was paid a lump sum in dollars, the document said.
The committee said the state government lost N16.323 million because of Mr. Usani’s “deliberate” action.
Mr. Duke’s administration, apart from accepting the committee’s report, directed that the N16,323,150 be recovered from Mr. Usani, and that he should be prosecuted.
The government, according to the document, accepted to forward particulars of the transaction to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, with a complaint of financial impropriety and abuse of office against Mr. Usani.
It also accepted to blacklist Gersh Henshaw & Company from getting further patronage from the government.
PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t verify, as at the time of publishing this report, if the state government recovered the money from Mr. Usani, and if it also handed over the case to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Mr. Oyo, the chairman of the committee which indicted Mr. Usani, said the minister never went to court to challenge the indictment.
Cross River keeps mum
Like most other white papers by various tiers of government, which some analysts have blamed for the impunity among public officials on corruption matters, Mr. Usani’s indictment appears not to have been followed through by the Cross River government.
The current Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Cross River, Joe Abang, declined to be interviewed by this newspaper when he was contacted on phone.
His counterpart in the Ministry of Information, Rosemary Archibong, told PREMIUM TIMES that, “You can talk about government white paper if you have it. I am not in the position to comment on the criminal aspect of it, because it is only the court that can decide on that”.
None of them would comment on whether the state planned to take any further action on the indictment.
Mr. Usani, who served as commissioner from 1997 to 1999 under the military administration of Colonel Umar Ahmed, did not pick calls nor respond to text messages sent to his telephone line.
The 55-year-old politician, who is also a pastor, was Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Cross River before he was appointed minister in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Before then, he contested for governorship in the state in 2003 under the National Democrats (ND) and again in 2012 under the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.
It is unclear how Mr. Usani was able to scale through the usual thorough background and security checks when he was slated for a ministerial appointment.
Presidency keeps mum
For an administration whose major mantra has been the war on corruption, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has kept mum on the minister’s indictment.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, he asked that an email be sent to him. He is yet to respond to the email over two days after it was sent.
Should the presidency decide to shield Mr. Usani, he may not be the first to enjoy such privilege by the administration.
The administration has received a lot of criticisms from Nigerians for its treatment of corruption allegations levelled against the current Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, and the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau.
Mr. Usani’s case is, however, unique as his indictment has been made official by a government gazette.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani, was indicted for financial impropriety for his role when he held office during the military era.
PREMIUM TIMES is in possession of a government white paper which documented Mr. Usani’s indictment after he was found guilty of fraud in 2000 by a panel established by the Cross River State Government.
Mr. Usani, who had just finished serving as the Cross River State Commissioner for Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development, appeared in 1999 before a government committee set up to investigate financial impropriety among officials of the preceding military administration in the state.
The committee, officially known as Financial Impropriety/Verification Standing Committee, was inaugurated in 1999 by the then governor, Donald Duke.
It was chaired by Orok Oyo, and had Andy Ikpeme, Ekpe Ita, Otu Oka and Akomaye Adie as members.
According to the document, Mr. Usani, because of his alleged intent to defraud the government, was said to have refused to apply government approved scales, when he paid out some money as fees to Gersh Henshaw & Company, a firm of estate surveyors and valuers, which handled the contract for the valuation of vehicles, workshops and equipment belonging to the Cross River State Water Board.
The valuation was said to be part of the African Development Bank water project in the state.
Gersh Henshaw & Company was paid a lump sum in dollars, the document said.
The committee said the state government lost N16.323 million because of Mr. Usani’s “deliberate” action.
Mr. Duke’s administration, apart from accepting the committee’s report, directed that the N16,323,150 be recovered from Mr. Usani, and that he should be prosecuted.
The government, according to the document, accepted to forward particulars of the transaction to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, with a complaint of financial impropriety and abuse of office against Mr. Usani.
It also accepted to blacklist Gersh Henshaw & Company from getting further patronage from the government.
PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t verify, as at the time of publishing this report, if the state government recovered the money from Mr. Usani, and if it also handed over the case to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Mr. Oyo, the chairman of the committee which indicted Mr. Usani, said the minister never went to court to challenge the indictment.
Cross River keeps mum
Like most other white papers by various tiers of government, which some analysts have blamed for the impunity among public officials on corruption matters, Mr. Usani’s indictment appears not to have been followed through by the Cross River government.
The current Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Cross River, Joe Abang, declined to be interviewed by this newspaper when he was contacted on phone.
His counterpart in the Ministry of Information, Rosemary Archibong, told PREMIUM TIMES that, “You can talk about government white paper if you have it. I am not in the position to comment on the criminal aspect of it, because it is only the court that can decide on that”.
None of them would comment on whether the state planned to take any further action on the indictment.
Mr. Usani, who served as commissioner from 1997 to 1999 under the military administration of Colonel Umar Ahmed, did not pick calls nor respond to text messages sent to his telephone line.
The 55-year-old politician, who is also a pastor, was Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Cross River before he was appointed minister in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Before then, he contested for governorship in the state in 2003 under the National Democrats (ND) and again in 2012 under the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.
It is unclear how Mr. Usani was able to scale through the usual thorough background and security checks when he was slated for a ministerial appointment.
Presidency keeps mum
For an administration whose major mantra has been the war on corruption, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has kept mum on the minister’s indictment.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, he asked that an email be sent to him. He is yet to respond to the email over two days after it was sent.
Should the presidency decide to shield Mr. Usani, he may not be the first to enjoy such privilege by the administration.
The administration has received a lot of criticisms from Nigerians for its treatment of corruption allegations levelled against the current Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, and the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau.
Mr. Usani’s case is, however, unique as his indictment has been made official by a government gazette.
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