Welcome to Elizabeth Ifeoma's Blog.: March 2016

Thursday 31 March 2016

Today's Naira Exchange Rate

Nigerian Air Force, Innoson, Sign Agreement On Parts Procurement

The agreement is aimed at ensuring adequate maintenance of the Air Force’s air fleet.
It was announced by Air Vice Marshal James Gbum, who led a delegation of top senior officers of the Nigerian Air Force on a visit to Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia.
Air Vice Marshal Gbum said the present administration had heightened efforts to improve research and development and that an order by the Chief of Air Staff had brought about the discovery of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company.
With the agreement, the Nigerian Air Force hopes to surmount the challenge of

At least 14 people have been killed, over 70 injured and 150 feared trapped after a portion of a flyover under construction collapsed over taxis and other vehicles in the Indian city of Kolkata on Thursday, March 31, according to police.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry, says the US government will be giving $600 million as assistance to Nigeria this year. He said this while speaking at the opening session of the U.S- Nigeria Bi-National Commission meeting in Washington DC yesterday March 30th.

"Our development assistance this year will top $600 million, and we are working closely with your leaders – the leaders of your health ministry – to halt the misery that is spread by HIV/AIDS, by malaria, and by TB. Our Power Africa Initiative is aimed at strengthening the energy sector, where shortage in electricity has frustrated the population and impeded growth" he said

Nigeria's Promise Turns To Peril As Investors Flee-Bloomberg

The promise of Africa’s biggest economy has turned to peril.

Companies drawn to Nigeria by the prospect of a population bigger than Germany and Turkey’s combined are retreating; those staying have publicly criticized the president, a military strongman in the 1980s who came back to power via an election last year; and foreign investors are pulling their money out.

The corporate tribulations that began with a slide in oil prices and accelerated after the imposition of capital controls are also entangled in a global emerging-market slump. In propping up the naira in a futile bid to contain inflation, officials have jacked up pressure on an economy running out of cash, deepening a black market in currency trading and causing shortages of imported goods from fuel to milk. U.S. officials said they will press their Nigerian counterparts to change tack during talks in Washington this week.

Three children went to pluck cashew from a bush opposite Ajyaita Village in Kakau District of Chikun LGA of Kaduna State on Tuesday, but ran into a very unlikely sight-a corpse, which was later identified as that of the abducted military officer.
Ajyaita village is about 10 kilometres from Kaduna city centre, and lies along the Eastern By-pass which links the Abuja-Kaduna express way to the southern part of the state.The children had set out for the forest opposite the village on Tuesday morning and met the decomposing body by a narrow footpath leading to the forest.

Slain Colonel Samaila Inusa laid to rest according to Islamic rites at Ribadu Cantonment, Kaduna on Wednesday 28 March 2016. The colonel was kidnapped on Sunday March 27 in Kaduna, and was found dead at about 6.00pm on Tuesday, the Army said.

A statement from the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said Colonel Inusa’s body was found in Kaduna, and he was suspected to have been killed on the day he was kidnapped.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki in his final desperate move to win his false assets declaration trial has hired four forensic experts to provide new evidence to present in his upcoming trial.He hired the experts to train his lawyers so as to assist them to win his legal battle against the Federal Government of Nigeria.

An insider said the experts arrived Lagos on Monday and left for Abuja yesterday to commence operation.

Sometimes we all take a phone into the toilet. But it is a very dangerous habit! You can expose yourself and others to germs like salmonella, E. Coli and C. “If you wipe your bum then pick up your phone, you may as well not bother washing your hands because all the bacteria you put on your phone will end up back on your hands,” hygiene expert Dr. Lisa Ackerley told.So what we all should do? Dr. Ron Cutler, director of biomedical science degrees at Queen Mary’s University London, said: “Basically, you just shouldn’t (take your phone into the toilet) if you are at all concerned about the transfer of viruses and fecal contamination.”

Nigerians in the Diaspora have remitted the sum of $21 billion to the country in 2015 according to a report by the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD).

Ekpo Nta, chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), who made this known at a Board Meeting of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Austria, called on Nigerians in the diaspora to collaborate with ICPC in the fight against corruption.

Given the Government’s zero-tolerance for corruption this was the best time to complement the Federal Government’s job creation effort by investing in cottage industries, especially in their home communities.

“Such industries, he opined should be targeted at manufacturing hitherto imported items for the huge local market and refining local products for export.

“ICPC would continue to treat all petitions from NIDO members expeditiously through continuous investigation, prosecution and conduct of Corruption Risk Assessments in relation to any person or public institution that creates corruption bottlenecks for their investments, especially in the areas of property acquisition and business partnerships”, he said.

Nta who was a Special Guest of Honour during their Extraordinary Annual General Meeting at the official flagging off of Nigerians In Diaspora (NIDO) Germany Anti-corruption Campaign for Nigerians in Germany, said that ICPC’s mandate was to promote strong public institutions

“Even if we successfully prosecute and jail every looter, ghost worker and other economic saboteur, there is every risk that those caught will only be replaced by persons who are just as bad, or worse – unless we radically strengthen our systems and institutions”, he added.

NIDO Chapter Presidents from other European countries who were in attendance called on the ICPC to enter into similar partnerships with them.

Thereafter the ICPC chairman inducted all participants as members of the National Anti-corruption Volunteers Corps (NAVC) of ICPC and decorated them with special arm bands.

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Naira Exchange Rates Today

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Fuel scarcity to end by April 7th- Kachikwu

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of NNPC, Ibe Kachikwu, appeared before the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resource s(Downstream) today March 29th. According to Vanguard, Kachikwu apologized for saying the fuel scarcity will linger till May and stated that efforts are being made to ensure that fuel queues disappear on or before April 7th

"By 6th or 7th April, the long queues in filing stations would disappear”he said

Muslim shopkeeper stabbed to death for wishing Christians Happy Easter

It is a most tragic tale, 40-year-old Asad Shah was sent to an early grave for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. The shopkeeper from Glasgow who has been described by those who knew him as 'peace-loving' was stabbed 30 times in his shop after he had praised both the life of Jesus and ‘his beloved Christian nation’. He died in hospital.

Cizinho Afreeka and Jéssica desired to name their daughter “Makeda Foluke.” This is because they have roots with the Yoruba culture, but when they went to register their newborn daughter’s name, they were turned down.

Officials at the registration office in Rio de Jainero, Brazil stated that the baby’s name made “no sense at all” when pronounced in Portuguese and that it “could provide possible future suffering for the person in social life.”

On 28/03/16 , one Musa Hashimu , of Maraban Jos, Kaduna State, Fulani by tribe came to the Station and reported that one Hashimu Iliyasu of Dobi Village, Fulani by tribe, said to be a notorious kidnapper demanded the sum of N500,000 from his father. Failure to do so would result in his death. The suspect collected N250,000 from the victim. Police detectives swung into action and arrested the suspect.

Foreign airlines to sack 2000 Nigerian workers due to CBN rules on Forex and funds transfer

The National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, revealed that foreign airlines are planning to sack about two thousand Nigerian employees due to the CBN International rule on restrictions of Forex and funds transfer which prevents them from transferring their salaries to their respective home countries to take care of basic needs.

In a letter which was addressed to the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and made available to newsmen, Acting General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Olayinka

The United States said on Monday it will press Nigeria in talks this week to adopt a more flexible foreign exchange rate to boost growth and investment in Africa’s largest economy.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told an audience at the U.S. Institute of Peace that Nigeria should ensure the value of the naira currency versus the U.S. dollar was “more realistic.”

Surely this is one to make you question your eyesight...

A Nigerian man dies after he fell down from the 18th floor of an apartment in North Jakarta, Indonesia

A Nigerian man has reportedly died after he fell down from the 18th floor of Gading Nias Blok Emerald Apartment, in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday, March 26.

"He was 30 years old," said a police officer from Kelapa Gading sector police. The police said that the incident happened at around 9 am and the body was taken to hospital at around 11.45 am.

As of now, the cause of the incident remains unknown and nobody recognizes the man.

22 Ghanaians were arrested on Sunday, March 27 by detectives from the Directorate General of Residency Affairs in the course of an immoral party held at a restaurant in Fahaheel area, says Public Relations and Security Media Department of the Interior Ministry.

According to the statement, the detectives acting upon a tip-off concerning an ongoing immoral party at a restaurant in Fahaheel area, dispatched a team of detectives to verify the information.

Why Having A Phd Is A Waste – Bishop Oyedepo

David Oyedepo, the presiding Bishop and founder of Living Faith Church worldwide, has said that an inability to identify problems and solve them, renders every PhD degree useless.

While addressing few PhD graduates of the Covenant University (CU) in Ota, Ogun state, Oyedepo urged people to come up with innovations that can solve problems plaguing the society.

The Chancellor, told them their inability to do so would mean their research programme was useless.
Bishop Oyedepo promised to make funds available to them to identify problems and find solutions.

Alright, so this is a little guide on websites and how they work.

The Web has given us a lot of things to be grateful for; Patience Jonathan's epic 'CHAI' video on YouTube is something I will always be grateful for.
You can be in a remote village in Jalingo, and buy expired drugs from a businessman in China. NEPA might misbehave while you're in the middle of Season 3 of Game of Thrones. One MTN data pack later, you'd have watched it on YouTube or one of the many illegally legal streaming sites. tongue

Simply amazing, amazing technology.

Tea Farming: Gov Ishiaku of Taraba State eyes export market.

Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba State while commissioning a tea crusher plant in the Mambilla plateau reiterated the need to start the exportation of its produce being the only company producing tea in the entire west African region.

The Tea and Coffee grow very well in Nigeria. On the Mambilla plateau (Taraba state), the tea is one of the highest quality in the world. The temperate climate and the plateau provide good arable land for its cultivation and high yield. Some companies already exist taking advantage of these endowments. There is however abundant room for additional investors.

FG Owes 16 States N580bn On Rehabilitated Roads

The federal government owes 16 states the sum of N580.5 billion for the various rehabilitation works carried out on some federal roads in their territories.

The revelation was made at the public hearing of the joint House of Representatives committees on works and finance chaired by Reps Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu) and Babangida Ibrahim Mahuta (APC, Katsina) yesterday in Abuja.

The public hearing was to ascertain the claims by state governments of expenditures incurred on the rehabilitation of federal roads in their states.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has stopped the Senate from going ahead with the probe of former chairman of the Economic and Financial crimes Commission ( EFCC) , Ibrahim Lamorde over an alleged N1trillion scam.

The Senate summoned the former EFCC boss to account for the fund seized from some alleged corrupt public servants but rather than honour the invitation of the lawmakers, the former anti-graft boss rushed to the court to stop his probe.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has earmarked $6m to support Nigeria’s push for food sustenance through the production of rice and cassava.

This was disclosed at the inauguration of the State Partnership for Agriculture by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Foundation.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, James Nyoro said the move is to enable Nigeria move from importer to exporter of food.

A top official of the Federal Ministry of Education, who pleaded anonymity has told the Daily Times in an exclusive chat that the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, had scolded the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over the shoddy conduct of this years’ examination and the myriad of controversies that have been trailing the exercise.

The official also disclosed that the Minister is preparing to make appropriate representations to the Federal Executive Council to effect a leadership change at the agency.

Why My Company Has Been Very Successful – Dangote

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has stated that the challenge of electricity was adversely affecting the growth of the continent’s economy.

Speaking at the Africa CEO forum in Abidjan, the President of Dangote group also disclosed what has made his conglomerate successful.

“Where I come from, which is Kano in Nigeria, we have over 20 million people and we are sharing 35 megawatts only,” Dangote said.
“So when we started business as a group, we said that we would not go into the national grid. Every single country that we are operating in, we would create, generate our own power and that is why we have been very, very successful.”

Girls need to learn from this...talking about travelling miles just to meet a boyfriend/friend whom they can't vouch for... Tragedy befell this pretty lady who had prospects of marrying and settling down, after her life was cut short by a man (suspected ritualist) who posed as a suitor on Facebook and deceived her into traveling to Minna, Niger state just to see him....

Below is what was shared on Facebook by one Chisom concerning her death;

PHYSICIANS of Nigerian origin practicing abroad have given the Federal Government some conditions under which they can transfer their services home, among which include granting them low interest loans and high reduction in tariff of transportation of medical equipment into the country.

But the Senate swiftly advised them to seek request for the former from the governments of America and the United Kingdom as according to it, Nigeria lacks such financial strength.

Speaking yesterday, during a courtesy call on the Senate Committee on Health, the medical practitioners under the aegis of Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas, ANPA, said they had intention of moving their trade back home given what they called “ineffective medical health care” in Nigeria but but being prevented by the issues listed.

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commissions (ICPC) Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, has reiterated his view that “stealing is not corruption.”

Speaking to a team of The Nation on Sunday in Lagos at the weekend, Nta explained that his commission would fare better if there was a proper understanding of the word corruption.

According to him, the controversy emanating from the definition of corruption is as a result of a long entrenched misunderstanding of the vice.

Footballer Adam Johnson sentenced to 6 years imprisonment

Ex-Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in prison for having sexual relations with a 15 year old girl. The jury passed out the judgement on the former England midfielder today, and at 28, his career as a professional footballer is surely over.

Johnson had earlier denied all four of the allegations until the first day of his trial when he pleaded guilty to one count of grooming and one count of kissing the schoolgirl.

The grinding conflict between the Nigerian state and Boko Haram insurgents has exacted a devastating human and economic toll over the past six years.

But for Nigeria's first car manufacturer, the crisis may represent an opportunity.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) recently announced a partnership deal with Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), which will see the company supply spare parts for jets conducting airstrikes against the insurgents.
"The ingenious effort by IVM is instrumental to the continued operation of the Alpha Jets," NAF spokesperson Ayodele Famuyiwa said of the deal. "IVM helped to save the day when help was not forthcoming from abroad."

Embattled former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki again refused to appear in court for his trial on Wednesday.
His absence, however, stalled his trial at a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

Sambo, Director of Finance, and Aminu Baba-Kusa, a former Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Executive Director, are also currently faces charges for reportedly diverting of N13.6 billion meant for purchase of arms.

So, what would you do?

Nigerian Bond Yields Rise After Rate Hike Aimed At Luring Investors

Nigerian bond yields spiked across the curve on Wednesday after the central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy in an about-turn to curb inflation and attract foreign investors.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday raised its benchmark rate to 12 per cent from 11 percent, having cut rates only four months ago by 2 percentage points, and lifted the cash reserve ratio for commercial banks to 22.5 per cent from 20 per cent.

The race for 2019 Presidency may have split the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) into three camps, battling for the soul of the party.

The three main camps are the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) caucus, defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) cum South-West caucus and new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) caucus.
Sources said there are other sub-camps and caucuses that are ready to align with the main three camps when need be.

The tussle in APC is said to be connected with the 2019 general elections and the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari regarding the presidential election, which is red years away.

An attempt by a yet to be identified former Nigerian governor to transfer $517million out of United Arab Emirates to Dominican Republic has been blocked by the authorities.

A report today said the former governor hit a brickwall because UAE money laundering laws are now strict.

Nigeria had signed a “Judicial Agreement on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters, which includes the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth”, in the course of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit last January.

Marcus Rashford, Manchester United's star of the moment, who on his first match for the club, scored two goals in a must win Europa league clash and has scored important goals against Arsenal and Man-city while still going for his Chemistry and Biology exams in between training, is now set to receive a new contract worth £15,000 per week.

The National Caucus of APC has said there is no vacancy in the presidency come 2019. According to Vanguard, members of the National caucus which comprises of serving and former governors, the National Assembly leadership, and selected members of the national executive of the party, stated this after a meeting with President Buhari on Tuesday March 22nd. A source at the meeting said; "With Buhari contesting in 2019, those who have been squabbling will now have to queue up behind him and put the interest of the party ahead" The source added that the issue was brought up as a way of resting restiveness among some party leaders, who have been divided over who will secure the party's presidential ticket come 2019The source added that the positioning by different party leaders on 2019 has been blamed for the problems that led to the crisis in the National Assembly and also the inability of the party to inaugurate its Board of Trustees, BoT till date.

Naira Exchange Rates Today

Gunmen Shoot Herbalist In Nsukka, Enugu (photo)

The university town of Nsukka which was not long ago thrown into confusion and mourning following invasion and murder of two persons in nearby Abbi community by suspected Fulani herdsmen is once again under the grip of tension arising from the attack of an Enugu-based herbalist, Emmanuel Udorji, by unknown gun men who stormed his home supposedly on a killing mission.

But the talking point of the incident is that while the invaders had succeeded in assaulting and tying up their victim, they somehow found it difficult shooting him dead after several attempts as the bullets allegedly could not pierce or penetrate his skin and flesh.

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has warned that there would be no short-cut into the Nigeria Police Force in the recruitment of 10,000 personnel.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2015 approved the recruitment of 10,000 policemen at the National Security Summit in Abuja.
In a statement Wednesday, Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the commission, told journalists that Mike Okiro, Chairman of the commission, gave the warning while unveiling a portal for the exercise in Abuja.
The statement said that the portal would be opened to the public on April 1 to herald the commencement of the exercise.

Leaders of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, FOBTOB, have alleged that employers of Labor in their sector are planning to sack 3 million workers as most of the companies are finding it hard to get foreign exchange to use in purchasing raw materials for production.

According to Vanguard, President of the association, Quadri Olaleye, spoke at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday March 23rd, where he said that between 2012 and the first half of 2015, over 3,000 workers were sacked in the guise of re-engineering, restructuring, right sizing, downsizing, redundancy and re-organisation.He said many of the companies gave the same reasons of difficult business terrain, dwindling profit, irregular and insufficient power supply

Facebook Claims Infringement Over Nigerian Site Facekobo.com

For the 2nd time in less than a year Facebook is attempting to bulldoze me from fear of competition, FaceKobo was formed with our local KOBO, unit of Naira. Initially Facebook had claimed that I built Facekobo like Facebook, adopting its colors, since that didn't fly, they are coming for the name, the first thing that comes to my mind is 'who the hell do they think they are'...??......While contacted Nigerian lawyers home and abroad were easily intimidated by the name FACEBOOK, my Jewish lawyer asked me to ignore their rant...saying "Facebook knows what to do" if they consider me a threat, back then Facekobo was ranked 1.4 million today at 260,000 they R back...........what do you advise?

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), has said it has admitted more than 20,000 fresh undergraduate and postgraduate students across its 72 centres nationwide, promising to pursue quality assurance excellence through the National University Commission’s Benchmark for Academic Standards (BMAS).

The newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Abdalla Adamu, who took part in the matriculation ceremony at the institution’s Mushin Centre in Lagos at the weekend, said the initiative would be achieved by reviewing the university’s curricular and

Fresh indications emerged at the weekend on why the Presidency and the National Assembly are not on the same page over the N6.07 trillion 2016 Appropriation Bill.
President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the estimates on December 22, 2015 to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Shortly after, there were reports that the document was withdrawn for re-drafting.
On January 18, Daily Sun exclusively reported how the Presidency withdrew the budget over claims that the version Buhari laid before the National Assembly in December was not the same version hius aide presented for consideration.

When you want to create a blog, you get confused on which blogging platform to choose. Is it going to be WordPress or Blogger??
Now, when we talk about creating a blog from the professional front, WordPress is a very good choice. WordPress is a self hosted blog and there are so many things you can do on it which you can’t do on a Blogger blog.

Blogger and WordPress offers free blogging platform which is a nice way to start your blogging career, though certainly not the best. Free blogging platforms have some limitations unlike a self hosted WordPress blog

The House of Representatives is to recognise the exceptional academic performance of a graduate of the University of Lagos, Mr. Ayodele Dada, at its session soon, The PUNCH has learnt.

The event had been scheduled for March 22 but the House shifted it because it would not be sitting.

Dada, who studied Psychology, graduated with a 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average.

The feat is first in the history of the university and has been a big topic of discussion, particularly in the academic community in the country in the past weeks.

This is the first quarter of 2016 and the statistics are rolling in for 2015. It has become obvious that unemployment is still a big topic in Nigeria and there’s no overnight miracle in plane sight. According to the Unemployment/Under-employment Watch Q1 2015 publication of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 5,533,559 individuals are unemployed and 12,208,823 are underemployed. Though there are arguments as regards the authenticity of the publication by NBS, there is no doubt that the unemployment rate in Nigeria still needs to be worked on and I think organisations can help with it.

BLANK

Thursday 31 March 2016

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Sunday 27 March 2016

Saturday 26 March 2016

Friday 25 March 2016

Thursday 24 March 2016

Tuesday 22 March 2016