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Friday, March 17, 2017

The Missing Bauchi blogger found dead


A Bauchi based Nigerian blogger, Abdulhakeem Bauchin Bauchi has been reportedly found dead after he was declared missing.

It was gathered that his body was found in a bush just a few weeks to his wedding ceremony.

Details surrounding the death are still sketchy.

‘how to Solve 50 million unemployment problem’

An India-based consumer product company, Godrej Nigeria, has advised the Federal Government to tackle the over 50 million job deficit in the country by creating massive employment opportunities for youths.

The Business Head of the company, Mr. Sanjiv Jetly, in a statement on Thursday said a 2016 World Bank report had stated that the FG must create 50 million additional jobs to resolve the unemployment problem in the country.
He said Godrej Nigeria would partner the Lagos Business School Career Fair to assist in creating jobs and developing the economy.

Jetly said, “By supporting the Lagos Business School Career Fair, Godrej is encouraged to drive the process of job creation and career opportunities in Nigeria. We are thrilled to be working with the Lagos Business School to bring employment opportunities to the students, and training resources to our business.”

According to him, Godrej serves about 1.1 billion consumers globally across consumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and other sectors.

The Human Resources Business Partner of the company, Navjot Dhar, explained that Godrej was expanding its commitment to foster “an inspiring workplace with an agile and high performance culture.”

“We are confident that the LBS will remain committed to developing managers and top executives who will contribute immensely to the development and growth of organisations in Nigeria and Africa at large,” he added.

You Are Losing the Mission And the Momentum, Governor El-Rufai Warned President Buhari , 2016 Memo

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in September 2016 sent a powerful memo to President Muhammadu Buhari arguing that their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has made the situation in Nigeria worse than it met it by failing to be proactive in taking key decisions in a timely manner, SaharaReporters has learned.

 Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in September 2016 sent a powerful memo to President Muhammadu Buhari arguing that their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has made the situation in Nigeria worse than it met it by failing to be proactive in taking key decisions in a timely manner, SaharaReporters has learned.

"In a very blunt terms, Mr. President, our APC administration has not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance outside of our successes in fighting BH insurgency and corruption,” he said in the 30-page memo, which was a follow-up to an earlier one he sent to the president.  

“Overall, the feeling even among our supporters today is that the APC government is not doing well,” he declared, before proceeding to an analysis of the key areas: Politics, National Economy and Governance, and then making suggestions for Mr. Buhari’s consideration and action.  

Listing his reasons for the memo, he said, the final one was his opinion that President Buhari is Nigeria’s only hope now and in the medium term of saving the Nigerian nation from collapse, and enabling the north of Nigeria to regain its lost confidence, begin to be respected as a significant contributor, and not the parasite and problem of the Nigerian federation.

“Mr. President, it is also clear to many of us that have studied your political career, that so long as you remain in the political landscape, no Northerner will emerge successfully on the national scene,” Governor El-Rufai said.  “All those wasting time, money and other resources to run in 2019 either do not realize this divinely-ordained situation or are merely destined to keep others employed and rich from electoral project doomed to certain failure.”

He noted that President Buhari’s relationship with the national leadership of the party, both the formal and informal, as well as with former Governors of ANPP and PDP which joined, and the ACN, is perceived by most observers to be at best frosty, as many of them are aggrieved due to what they consider to be total absence of consultations with them on the part of the president and of those he has assigned such duties. 

Observing that that many not be Mr. Buhari’s intention or outlook, the governor affirmed that that is how it appears to those that watch from afar.

This situation is compounded by the fact that some officials around you seem to believe and may have persuaded you that current APC State Governors must have no say and must also be totally excluded from political consultations, key appointments and decision-making at the federal level,” he said. 

“These politically-naive ‘advisers’ fail to realize that it is the current and former state governors that may, as members of NEC of the APC, serve as an alternative locus of power to check the excesses of the currently lopsided and perhaps ambivalent NWC,” he continued, adding that alienating the governors so clearly and deliberately ensures that you have near-zero support of the party structure at both national and state levels. 

Advising the president that it is not too late to reverse the situation, El-Rufai told the president that he, however, appears to have neither a political adviser nor a minder of his politics.

“The two officials whose titles may enable them function as such generally alienate those that contributed to our success,” he declared, dismissing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as not only inexperienced in public service but lacking in humility, in addition to being insensitive and rude to virtually most of the party leaders, ministers and governors. 

“The Chief of Staff is totally clueless about the APC and its internal politics at best as he was neither part of its formation nor a participant in the primaries, campaign, and elections,” El-Rufai said.  “In summary, neither of them has the personality, experience, and the reach to manage your politics nationally or even regionally.

Among many others, the governor also noted that in this era of global interconnectedness, nations compete viciously in the economic arena - for a larger share of international trade, investments, maritime and aviation services, and a whole raft of knowledge-based services and industries. He noted that this competition is neither moral nor fair, even if the advanced nations pretend to present it as such to those that are gullible.

“No one cares about, or will ‘help’ us unless we get our act together and organize our political economy and national affairs to be regionally,” the governor said.  He added that these troubling perceptions, whether accurate or not, must be addressed frontally by the president, and no other person. 

To that end, he asked Mr. Buhari to consider communicating actively and directly with the Nigerian public about his vision – the government’s plans, strategy, and roadmap to take the country out of the current, dire economic situation, suggesting a five-year national development strategy and plan urgently.

“The President should speak to the nation – something akin to a State of the Union address on December 1 or January 1,” El-Rufai also said in the memo, dated September 22,2016, “preferably in a joint session of the National Assembly during which he will explain away some of the perceptions and lay out the national plans, strategies, and roadmap [contained in this memo].

He noted that the memo might be misunderstood, misinterpreted and even perverted, but said he was willing to accept the usual accusations of arrogance and ambition, adding that the President knows that none of those arguments hold water.  

“I ran for state Governor because you directed me to do so,” he said.  “From 2010 when we joined your team, I have no other interest other than your place in history as our President. I believe in your integrity, commitment and sense of duty to make our nation better. I am distressed that our government is seen not to be succeeding mostly due to the failures, lack of focus and selfishness of some you have entrusted to carry on and implement your vision. I am troubled that our own missteps have made the PDP and its apparatchiks so audacious and confident.”

Calling on the president to “act decisively,” and expressing the hope that his memo will “contribute in some way in regaining our governance momentum,” the governor told Mr. Buhari, “You have both a crisis and opportunity in your hands to turn around our country in the right direction. We pray that Allah gives you the strength and good fortune to succeed. This is an honest, frank and objective view of an admirer, a mentee, and a loyalist. I hope it helps, and I apologize if it displeases you. My duty to you is to tell you the truth as I see it. I have no interest other than the progress of our party, our president, our government, and our country.”

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

OBama says farewell in his last speech

News, Politics,Foreign




Barack Obama closes the book on his presidency Tuesday, with a farewell speech in Chicago that will try to lift supporters felled by Donald Trump’s shock victory.

Obama’s last trip on Air Force One will be a pilgrimage to his adoptive hometown, where he will address a sell-out crowd not far from where he accepted the presidency eight years ago.

Diehard fans — many African Americans — have braved Chicago’s frigid winter to collect free tickets, which now sell for upwards of $1,000 a piece on Craigslist.

The First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will come along on for the ride.

Obama’s cross-country trek would be a sentimental trip down memory lane, were it not slap-bang in the middle of a tumultuous presidential handover.

Trump has smashed conventions, vowed to efface Obama’s legacy and hurled personal insults left and right.

The 2016 election campaign has raised serious questions about the resilience of US democracy.

In a virtually unprecedented move, US intelligence has accused the Kremlin of tipping the electoral scales in Trump’s favor.

Democrats, cast into the political wilderness with the loss of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives plus a majority of statehouses, are struggling to regroup.

With an approval rating hovering around 55 percent, Obama will hope to steel them for new battles ahead.

Lead speechwriter Cody Keenan said the address will be about Obama’s vision for where the country should still go.

“It’s not going to be like an anti-Trump speech, it’s not going to be a red meat, rabble rousing thing, it will be statesman-like but it will also be true to him,” Keenan told AFP. “It will tell a story.”

– Life after White House –

Trump’s unorthodox politics has thrown 55-year-old Obama’s transition and post-presidency plans into flux.

Obama, having vowed a smooth handover of power, finds himself being increasingly critical of Trump as he prepares to leave office on January 20.

After that there will still be a holiday and an autobiography, but Obama could find himself being dragged backed into the political fray if Trump were to enact a Muslim registry or deport adults brought to the United States years ago by their parents.

Having vowed to take a backseat in politics, Obama’s second act could yet be as politically engaged as Jimmy Carter — whose post-presidency has remade his image as an elder statesman.

Many Obama aides who had planned to take exotic holidays or launch coffer-replenishing forays into the private sector are also reassessing their future and mulling a return to the political trenches.

Obama’s foundation is already gearing up for a quasi-political role — funneling idealistic youngsters into public life.

– Presidential precedent –

Presidents since George Washington have delivered a farewell address of sorts.

Washington’s final 7,641-word message — which is still read once a year in the Senate by tradition — contained warnings about factionalism and interference by foreign powers that seem oddly prescient.

But speechwriter Keenan sees few obvious templates: “Bush and Clinton did theirs from here (the White House), George H.W. Bush went to West Point, gave a foreign policy speech,” he told AFP. “They are all totally different.”

The trip to Chicago is not just for nostalgia, Keenan indicated.

“The thread that has run though his career from his days as community organizer to the Oval Office is the idea that if you get ordinary people together and get them educated, get them empowered, get them to act on something, that’s when good things happen,” he said.

“For him, as someone who started as a community organizer, whose campaign was powered by young people, ordinary people, we decided we wanted to go back to Chicago.”

“Chicago is not just his hometown, it’s where

Buhari takes out FRC boss over Adeboye, others’ tenure

News,Religion,politics




Fresh facts emerged on Monday why President Muhammadu Buhari sacked the Executive Secretary of the Financial Regulatory Council of Nigeria, Mr. Jim Obazee, in connection with the implementation of the controversial corporate Governance Code 2016.

The PUNCH gathered on Monday that Obazee was sacked for disobeying a directive of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechuckwu Enelamah, that the implementation of the regulation should be suspended.

Among others, the code stipulates 20-year tenure for heads of religious groups and civil rights organisations.

Buhari had, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday, approved the immediate removal and the replacement of Obazee.

According to the statement, the new Council, as approved by the President, has Mr. Adedotun Sulaiman as chairman.

The President has also approved the appointment of Mr. Daniel Asapokhai as the Executive Secretary of the council to replace Obazee

Sulaiman is a former Managing Partner/Director of Arthur Anderson and later, Accenture.

He is a chartered accountant and a product of the University of Lagos and Harvard Business School.

Asopokhai is a partner and a Financial Reporting Specialist at the PriceWaterHouseCoopers Nigeria.

He is a product of the University of Lagos and the University of Pretoria.

Shehu said Buhari had also instructed the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, to invite the 19 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government and private sector organisations specified in the FRC Act to nominate members of the board of the council.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God had, on Saturday, stepped down as the overseer of the church in Nigeria in accordance with the governance code of the FRC.

Adeboye, who made the announcement during the church’s annual ministers thanksgiving service, at the Redemption Camp in the Mowe area of Ogun State, said the new regulation would affect clergymen, including Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church Worldwide International, aka Winners Chapel;  Pastor W. F. Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry and Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission.

The PUNCH, on Monday, reported that the minister had, on October 17, 2016, written the FRC boss, directing him to suspend the operation of the controversial regulation, which the Christian Association of Nigeria alleged was targeted at weakening the church.

According to the report, Obazee refused to suspend the regulation because there was no gazette backing the suspension of the regulation.

Enelamah’s recommendation nailed Obazee

The PUNCH learnt that Enelamah had earlier recommended to Buhari that the implementation of the regulation be suspended.

A top government official, who spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said the President approved Enelamah’s recommendation and the minister thereafter conveyed the decision to Obazee.

The source said, “Since the minister had conveyed the President’s approval that the implementation should be suspended, it was taken for granted that it had been suspended.

“Surprisingly, the Presidency received a report that during the Christmas period, Obazee hosted chief executives of some quoted companies to a dinner.

“It was at that dinner that he reported ly told his guests that the law had taken effect and would be implemented.

“The report got to the government and the President was angry about it.”

The President of the National Council of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, was said to have led the chief executives of companies to the dinner.

Another source, who confirmed the development, said Buhari sacked Obazee and dissolved the board of the FRC on Monday based on the recommendation of Enelamah.

Ministers warn President on implication of code

A top source in the Presidency, who confided in The PUNCH on Monday, stated that Obazee  was sacked because he defied the directive of the minister.


“The President was irked by the fact that the FRC disobeyed the directive of the minister that the regulation should be suspended,” the source stated.

Another source added that the Presidency found it curious that a regulation, which the Council could not implement during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, was being enforced under Buhari.

“Although the regulation dated back to Jonathan’s administration, why did he fail to implement it and ask the religious leaders to resign? Why did the council wait till the present administration before insisting on its implementation?” the source asked.

It was also gathered that some ministers told Buhari on Monday morning that the gale of resignation that would sweep across the Pentecostal churches in the South would affect his government.

One of the ministers, who spoke on condition of anonymity with one of our correspondents, said the ministers reminded the President that the regime could be tagged anti-Christian if action was not taken.

FG suspends code of corporate governance

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on Monday, suspended the controversial Corporate Governance Code, which was issued on October 17by the FRC.

The suspension was disclosed in a statement by Enelamah.

In the five-paragraph statement by the minister’s Strategic Communication Adviser, Constance Ikokwu, he said the code was suspended in order to carry out a detailed review of its application.

The review, according to the statement, would now involve extensive consultations with stakeholders upon the reconstitution of the board of the FRC.

The statement states, “The Corporate Governance Code issued by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria has been suspended, pending a detailed review, extensive consultation with stakeholders and reconstitution of the board of the FRC.

“Government remains committed to restoring and enhancing market confidence and improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria.’’

The FRC is one of the parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and it is responsible for setting and promoting compliance with standards for accounting, financial reporting and auditing in Nigeria.

Shareholders rejoice as FG sacks FRC boss

Shareholders in the country’s capital market, on Monday, expressed joy over the sack of Obazee, saying it was a timely step in the right path.

They said the erstwhile FRC chief executive had overshot his bounds so many times before recent developments.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, the President, Renaissance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Olufemi Timothy, said at this particular time, the sack of Obazee was a good thing that had happened to the country as a whole, and not just the capital market.

He recalled that Obazee had earlier maintained that only chartered accountants could be admitted into the audit committee of companies, going against the practice where any elected shareholder could be elected into the position by fellow shareholders.

Timothy added, “He had gone beyond his mandate, and putting the country on a very hot seat. I think President Muhammadu Buhari is no longer comfortable with him. It is the best thing to happen to us to save the nation.”

Also, the President, Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Shehu Mikail, described Obazee’s sacking as “lovely”, saying the FRC boss had no business regulating bodies that were not under him.

Mikail stated, “This means the government has heard the cries of the people. I really support his sacking.

“People saddled with responsibilities should take into cognisance the interest of the people. The former FRC boss did not properly liaise with the regulators, but rather saw himself as superior.”

Also, the National Director, Legal and Public Affairs in CAN, Kwamkur Samuel, described Obazee’s sacking as a commendable development.

He said, “The Nigeria church



Source : punch ng

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Senate to probe Emirates Airlines for employing 10 Nigerians

News, Politics

Senate President Bukola Saraki has revealed that the upper house of legislature will investigate why a foreign airliner operating in the country employed only 10 Nigerians.

In a statement shared via series of tweets late on Friday, January 6, Saraki noted that the action of the company Emirates Airlines was unfair to Nigerians.
He however vowed to ensure that the anomaly is corrected as soon as possible.


Saraki said: “Today, I learnt that there are only 10 Nigerians employed in the entire Emirates Airlines workforce that operates in our country.

“I gathered that in countries like Kenya, Emirates Airlines employs close to 1000 Kenyans in their workforce.

"Considering the size of Nigeria and its market -- I would have expected more. Foreign airlines and companies need to hire more Nigerians.

"I am sure that at the time Emirates Airlines started their route, we did not get a good deal for our people. It is time to look into this.”


Saraki noted that not only Emirates will get probed over this, so would other foreign companies operating in Nigeria and are not employing enough Nigerians.

The former Kwara state governor vowed: “The Senate will work to ensure that foreign entities operating in the country hire more Nigerians. This is important for our domestic growth



Saraki noted that not only Emirates will get probed over this, so would other foreign companies operating in Nigeria and are not employing enough Nigerians.

The former Kwara state governor vowed: “The Senate will work to ensure that foreign entities operating in the country hire more Nigerians. This is important for our domestic growth

“I wish the Senate Aviation Committee Chairman a speedy recovery. Once he's back there is work to do to address this airline employment issue

“It is important to address why only 10 Nigerian air host/hostesses work for Emirates. Companies operating in Nigeria must employ Nigerians.

“I encourage everyone out there with information that can help better the plight of Nigerians to let us know.”

Meanwhile, the federal government is facing a herculean task convincing local and foreign airline operators to temporarily move to the Kaduna Airport.

In an aviation stakeholders meeting convened on Thursday, January 5 by Captain Hadi Sirika, the minister of state for aviation, the airlines kicked against the federal government's decision to shut down the Nnamdi Azikiwe In­ternational Airport.     

phones Been Snatched At Oshodi, A Day to Day Routine

Gist, News



Saturday, January 7, 2017.      Another innocent was robbed of her phone in a BRT Bus , The young teenager dressed in yellow, got herself a seat near the window, she was so carried away with the chatting she was having with her friends .

After a few minutes when the bus was almost full , She SHOUTED " MY PHONE " in a tiny little heavy voice, All the passenger's. Felt pity for her.





Immediatly She started crying and he felt helpless, still in state of shock...... No one could help her get her phone back.

Many have been victim of this and it is as day to day routine at Oshodi Lagos state , pls the Government should help do something on this issue, citizen passing through this route on a daily basses with fear in their minds.

Please help do something about this issue







Saturday, January 7, 2017

BREAKING: Five confirmed dead as gunman opens fire at US airport

Breaking News,Foreign

At least five people has been confirmed killed after a gunman opened fire on passengers at an airport in the United States of America.
CNN reports that the gunman opened fire at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport in Florida and killed at least five people and injuring eight other.

The gunman is said to have been taken into custody.

The gunman opened fire at a baggage area in Terminal 2 of the airport.

The security agencies are refusing to give information about the type of gun or guns used, the history or identity of the suspect.

But the Sheriff department says it believed that the shooter acted alone.
Television footage showed passengers running to safety, and others gathered on the tarmac as NBC reported, citing Broward County officials, that one person had been killed.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Nnamdi Kanu's Son Is ONE TODAY

News, Gist, Politics,



The son of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu is one-year old today, January 5.

Nnabuikem Nnamdi Okwu Kanu was born in 2016 to Kanu and his wife Uchechi Kanu in the United Kingdom.


Sources within the family said there would be a quiet family party to celebrate Nnabuikem’s first year in the UK.



The source however said messages are already coming from friends and other family members in celebrate the young Kanu's first year on earth.

The source however said messages are already coming from friends and other family members in celebrate the young Kanu's first year on earth.

"Today is a good day for us, we have receiving messages on the boy's birthday from all over the world, I wish him Happy Birthday! Long life and a fulfilled life here on earth," the source said.

I know Buhari to be the WRoNG CHoICE – Fayose

NEWS, POLITICS


- Governor Ayodele Fayose says he has always known that President Muhammadu Buhari will not perform in government

- The Ekiti state governor said the change mantra which President Buhari promised Nigerians is not working

- Fayose calls on President Buhari to save Nigerians from agony since they voted for CHANGE

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has said all his predictions that President Muhammadu Buhari will not perform in government have all come to pass.

Fayose told Vanguard in an interview on Thursday, December 5, that he has always known that President Buhari will not perform in government.

The Ekiti state governor said the change mantra which Buhari promised Nigerians is not working.

He said: “The question to ask is that; every observation, every comment, all I said before the President became President of Nigeria, they’ve all come to pass.”

“The truth lies in the fact that I know the President will not perform. I know he will be taken over by a cabal and they’ve taken him over.


“Nigerians are suffering. You can read between the lines. Forget about the messenger, think of his message. This change is not working.”

Fayose called on the president to save Nigerians from agony since they voted for change.

He said millionaires of yesterday have become paupers because they are losing money.

The governor said the average man can no longer eat and asked how long Nigerians need to wait for the promises which he said were empty promises.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ekitit state chapter has warned against the alleged renewed plot to impeach Governor Ayodele Fayose.

Source -- Vanguard