ATTENCAO

The University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has appointed Mr. Aniediabasi Udofia as the university’s registrar while Prof. Ahiaoma Ibegwam becomes the institution’s librarian. A statement from the university’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr. Godfrey Essien, on Tuesday in Uyo, added that Udofia had worked in the UNIUYO, University of Lagos and the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in different capacities. Udofia, who holds a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from UNIUYO, was principal assistant registrar and head, Academic Staff Establishments Unit (Directorate of Personnel Affairs) 2009 to 2010 and assistant registrar and head liaison office, Lagos (2001 to 2003). According to the statement, he had also worked at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta as Deputy Registrar, Vice-Chancellor’s Office from 2010 to 2012 and as Deputy Registrar and Secretary, Postgraduate School in 2016. Meanwhile, a statement from the Registrar and Secretary to Council, UNI...

Given my background as a former managing director of a major bank, I struggled with the propriety of writing on what I believe is a looming crisis in this sector that I love and to which I owe a lot. I felt that some people may interpret it as loyalty to my constituency, but I am sure that more perceptive people will agree that I had not spared the industry and former colleagues in previous articles when necessary. After serious reflection, I was convinced that it was my patriotic duty to raise this necessary alarm in this formal and public format. Simply put, the manner in which the TSA is currently being implemented, has the potential to drag the larger economy into further distress. It is imperative that concerned parties take a second look at it with a view to addressing some of the unintended consequences. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced in 2012 to “sweep”, on a daily basis, all balances in the accounts of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) into a co...

Security operatives drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, as well as the Department of State Services, DSS, barred the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group from gaining access to the Three Arms Zone, where the Presidential Villa is located, on Monday. As part of the group’s 14 days campaign to pressurise the government to intensify efforts to rescue the girls taken away from their school on April 14 2014, the group had planned a protest to the Presidential Villa. However, a massive blockade of the road to the Three Arms zone ensured that the campaign could not get to the villa. The protest was jointly led by Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu while the police detachment was led by CSP Chuks Obasi. Both Ezekwesili and CSP Obasi were involved in a shouting match as the officer insisted that the protesters would not cross the human barricade put together by the security operatives. In the course of the confrontation, Ezekwesili told t...

Paul Pogba is one of the most coveted midfielders all over europe in the last couple of years, during the period which he had his name consistently pinned to speculation boards every transfer window. He was never strongly linked to a move away from Turin, where he arrived in the thrash bag from Manchester United 4 years ago, to the extent he is this summer. The youngster previously carried a mouthwatering price tag in the region of £80 million however juventus raised their asking price to around a never-of-its-kind £93.2, which his former team, Manchester United have coughed up (a little moral - if you dont have an eye to sight potentiality imbedded in things, you might end up breaking the bank for a 'worthless' item you left to deteriorate). Real Madrid, renowned serial spenders who were also a leading party in the chase for the Frenchman, in fact for the longer period, informed pogba's agent they lack the finances match the offer tabled by the red devils, although Pog...

The Nigerian military says its “most unprecedented and spectacular air raid” has “fatally wounded” Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader, in his shoulders. Sani Kukasheka Usman, a colonel and acting director of army public relations, made the claim in a statement he released very early on Tuesday morning. He said the operation held on August 19, 2016 as the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area, within Sambisa forest, Borno state. “In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we have just confirmed that as a result of the interdiction efforts of the Nigerian Air Force, some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were fatally wounded,” Usman said. “The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State. “Those Boko Haram terrorists comma...

Nigeria on Saturday won her first medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the country’s men’s football team won bronze after defeating Honduras in Belo Horizonte. Mikel Obi combined brilliantly with Ezekiel Imoh to set up Sadiq Umar for Nigeria’s first goal in the 34th minute. Aminu Umar increased Nigeria’s lead four minutes into the second half after latching on the ball as Honduras goalkeeper, Luis Lopez struggled to stop Mikel’s shot. Samson Siasia’s wards took the game beyond the reach of Honduras with another goal coming off the boots of Sadiq within six minutes. It was another of Mikel’s assist to make it 3-0. The goals were enough to ensure victory, despite a late rally from the Hondurans who scored two late goals but could not overhaul their more illustrious opponents. Speaking after the game, Siasia said, “I want to say thanks to the players. They did a great job. It is good to take something back home. Winning bronze is not easy. We are happy and we have to celebrate. W...

Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has formally declared cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta region. It, however, declared support for any emerging negotiating team that Chief Edwin Clark’s Niger Delta elders and stakeholders conference held last Friday might put in place to negotiate with the Federal Government and multinational oil companies on modalities for de-escalating conflicts in the region. NDA, in a release signed by its spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo, said it will continue to observe cessation of hostilities against the interests of oil companies but warned that it will engage in asymmetric warfare during the period should the Federal Government use security agencies to harass or intimidate its suspected members. “We are going to continue the observation of our unannounced cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta against all interests of the multinational oil corporations, but we will continuously adopt our asymmetric warfare during this period if the Nigerian gover...

The UNICEF has said the sobering news that two children have been paralyzed by wild poliovirus in northeastern Nigeria underscores the urgency of eradicating the disease in conflict-affected areas. The Government of Nigeria and the World Health Organization have confirmed an outbreak of wild poliovirus in conflict-ridden Borno state, where children are already facing dangerously high levels of malnutrition. The two cases were discovered in parts of Borno that have recently become accessible, but large areas of the state remain unreachable. Nigeria – and the continent – had its last confirmed polio case two years ago and was within a year of being certified polio-free, thanks to a massive mobilization by the government, partners and local health providers. “We cannot deny the connection between conflict and the continued threat of polio. The two new cases mean children across the Lake Chad region are now at particular risk. With our partners, we will not stop until we reach every ...

Saturday, July 23, 2016, was one day that will always give 18-year-old Praise Adelakin nightmares. That day, a journey from Ile-Ife, Osun State, to Ibadan, Oyo State, that was supposed to take her about two hours only, almost turned out to be a journey of no return. A 300 Level Law student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Praise had gone to the school in the morning of that day to check whether her things were still intact in her hostel before resumption after some weeks of strike by lecturers in the institution. Around 4pm, when she ensured she had put everything in place, she left for the Mayfair Motor Park in the town to board a bus going to Ibadan, where her family resides. All things being equal, she should have been back in Ibadan by around 6pm on the same day, but by 12 midnight of the following day, she found herself in Ilorin, Kwara State. Narrating the incident to our correspondent in Ibadan on Tuesday, she said, “We’ve been on strike for some weeks. Meanwhile, fresher...

Donald Trump acknowledged Friday he was wrong in claiming to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in cash being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners. Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film. “Remember this: Iran — I don’t think you heard this anywhere but here — Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane,” Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. “Right?” But that widely viewed footage is believed instead to show the moment in January when three of five American prisoners freed by Iran get off a plane in Geneva. In a tweet Friday, Trump said this is indeed what he saw. It is rare for the free-wheeling Republican presidential nominee — known for making provocative claims — to admit making a mistake. “The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash goi...

Thee erstwhile leader of Jama’atu Ahl as-Sunnah li-Da’awati wal-Jihad popularly known as Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has released a recorded message a few hours after the news of his successor was made public by ISIS via its magazine. The Islamic State militant group on Wednesday announced Abu Musab al-Barnawi as its West African affiliate ‘Boko Haram’s new leader. Shekau in the 10-minute 23-second audio message in Arabic and Hausa said he was deceived, but he will never stray from the ideology of the Jama’atu Ahl as-Sunnah li-Da’awati wal-Jihad which he said had a basis in the Quran. Shekau in the recorded message said nothing would deter the sect from pursuing it’s cause even if they are called ‘kwawarij’ meaning those that opposed arbitration as a means to chose a new leader. The new Shekau message coming after one year of silence has clearly confirmed the ideological differences and friction in Boko Haram hierarchy and failure to resolve their differences which might have led...

The naira plunged to 400 against the dollar at the parallel market on Thursday as shortage of foreign exchange continued to have negative effects on economic activities in the country. The local currency had closed at 390 against the greenback on Wednesday. The shortage of forex at the interbank and the black market has continued to weigh on the value of the naira. After closing at around 378 against the dollar for most part of last week, the naira dropped to 380 on Friday before falling to 382 on Monday. The currency closed at 315.06 to the United States dollar at the interbank market on Thursday. Economic and financial analysts have linked the wide depreciation in the value of the naira against the dollar at the parallel market to huge demand for forex by holidaymakers seeking to travel abroad. However, some experts said the huge demand for forex at the parallel market was beyond the normal summer rush. They linked the development to the activities of speculators and s...

GENERAL Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye has charged all members of the church to help themselves by being obedient to every divine pronouncement. Warning members on the dangers of not paying their tithes and vows, he maintained that there are two houses—one is built on the Rock and the other is built on sand—both look alright and beautiful until there is a storm. According to the man of God, at a time such as this when government find if difficult to pay workers’ salaries, God has a way of defending His own people. “Go back and tell your members to stop robbing God. Tell them not to fail in the payment of their tithes and vows. “The reason you must pay your tithes and vows,” he stressed, “is that nobody knows when trouble will come. When trouble comes, God has a defence for His people, but such defence cannot be extended to those who are disobedient to His Word.” He therefore urged the pastors to ensure the message is delivered u...

Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has raised a five-man special team to probe the alleged padding of the budget by House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara and some of his principal officers. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali-led Special Investigative Panel (SIP) has invited Dogara, his deputy Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor to appear before it on Friday. The panel Tuesday had what was called “a preliminary session” with ousted House Committee on Appropriations chairman Abdulmumin Jibrin, who accused Dogara and others of padding the budget with N284 billion. Last Monday, Jibrin petitioned the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies over the matter. Jibrin was said to have “furnished the SIP with vital information and a heap of documents” at their meeting yesterday. A highly-placed police source, who spoke in confidence, said Ibrahim...

The University of Lagos on Monday says it will go ahead with its screening of prospective candidates for admission into the 2016/2017 academic session as scheduled. The institution’s Deputy Registrar, (Information), Mr. Toyin Adebule, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. Adebule gave the university’s position against the backdrop of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board withdrawing the list of recommended candidates for admission, earlier sent to the various universities. JAMB, in the statement signed by its Head of Media and Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, stated that the withdrawal was to ensure that the senate of each of the universities performed its statutory functions. NAN reports that UNILAG had, last month, announced that it would begin screening candidates, who chose the institution as their first choice with a cut-off point of 200 and above, between Wednesday Aug. 3, 2016 and Aug. 24, 2016. “We want to inform the public that ...

The Federal Government recently sacked the Registrar, Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde. Sixteen other chief executive officers in the Ministry of Education, who were appointed during former President Goodluck Jonathan administration, were also sacked. The Federal Government has given no reason for the action. This was contained in a statement signed by the Deputy Director (Press), of the ministry, Mr. Benjamin Bem Goong, in Abuja announcing the sack. According to the Vanguard, Ojerinde might have been sacked over the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, irregularities from bordering on result multiplicity, centre relocation and system failure. Ojerinde’s tenure as registrar of JAMB was supposed to end in April 2017, Meanwhile, in a similar development, JAMB has withdrawn the 2016 admission list it previously sent to tertiary institutions.

Bulent Tufenkci, Turkish Customs and Trade Minister, said on Tuesday in Istanbul that the failed coup of July 15 has cost Turkey at least 99.9 billion dollars in damages. He said the damages include destroyed buildings, military equipment, decline in orders abroad for goods and a drop in tourism. Tufenkci said it was so unfortunate that the coup plotters had tried to create an image that Turkey was a “third world country”. The minister said photos of tanks on the streets during the night of the putsch attempt were posted all over the city. He said the situation had improved following the resilience of the local economy, and the quick reopening of the stock exchange. “The lira has also recovered some of its loses. “During the peak of concern over the coup, the lira had dropped from about 2.87 to the dollar to 3.09. It is now trading at just below 3 to the dollar,’’ he said. Tufenkci said the Standard and Poor rating by agencies downgraded Turkey after the coup, citing concerns n...

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of new chief executive officers for the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Examination Council (NECO) and other education parastatals and agencies.This contained in a statement signed by Mr Bem Goong, Deputy Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Education, in Abuja on Monday. They are Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, NUC; Prof. Lilian Salami; Nigerian Institute For Educational Planning and Administration; Dr Hameed Bobboyi, Universal Basic Education Board; and Prof. Lanre Aina, National Library of Nigeria. Others are Prof. Charles Uwakwe, NECO; Prof. Abba Haladu, National Commission For Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal Education; Prof. Bashir Usman, Nomadic Education Commission; and Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, National Business and Technical Examination Board. Also appointed are Prof. Sunday Ajiboye, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria; Afolabi Aderinto, Computer Registration Council of Nigeria; Prof. Bappa...

Academic and administrative activities were paralysed at the University of Ibadan as the Non-academic staff unions of the institution began a warning strike. The unions which include Joint Action Congress of Senior Staff of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union(NASU) are demanding full payment of salaries and arrears from January 2016 to date. Staff of the university have been collecting their salaries piece meal since January 2016. This resulted in traffic gridlock at the Agbowo end of the university. Academic staff and other visitors to the institution had to park their vehicles outside the campus before trekking inside the school. The strike disrupted undergraduate examinations in some faculties. The unions said they were forced to take the latest action owing to the failure of the University administration to yield to the demand of commencing full payment of salaries by July ending and arrears of shortfalls from December 2015 to June 2016. Speaki...

The slide in Nigeria’s revenue from oil exports touched the lowest level in five years, recording a loss of about $62 billion, depicting a 57.8 per cent decline in oil money receipt by the country, it has been gathered. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which revealed this in its World Factbook on Field Listing: Exports – Commodities of 15 biggest oil exporters in the world, noting that Nigeria is becoming a fast-declining oil exporter. Notwithstanding the loss,Nigeria raked-in N$38 billion in 2015 from oil exports. This, the agency said, was 4.8 per cent of the total revenues made by 10 countries biggest oil exporters for the year. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter, depends largely on proceeds from crude oil to service over 85 per cent of its budget, which constitutive some 70 per cent of her foreign exchange earnings. The declines in the value of the country’s crude oil exports from 2011 to 2015, the agency said, stood at over 55 per cent. “Oil is the world’s number...

What will economic policy look like once the global financial crisis is finally over? Will it resume the pre-crisis consensus, or will it be forced to contend with a post-crisis ‘new normal’? Have we made progress in addressing these issues, or does confusion remain? In April of 2015, the International Monetary Fund gathered leading economists, both academics and policymakers, to address the shape of future macroeconomic policy. This book is the result, with prominent figures—including Ben Bernanke, Lawrence Summers, and Paul Volcker—offering essays that address topics that range from the measurement of systemic risk to foreign exchange intervention. “The chapters address whether we have entered a ‘new normal’ of low growth, negative real rates, and deflationary pressures, with contributors taking opposing views; whether new financial regulation has stemmed systemic risk; the effectiveness of macro prudential tools; monetary policy, the choice of inflation targets, and the responsib...

 Dangote Cement Plc has reported a revenue of N292billion for the half year ended June 30, 2016, indicating an increase of 20 per cent over N242billion posted in the corresponding period in 2015. According to the reports filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), profit before tax rose to N229.9billion in 2016, from N145.6billion in 2015. However, Profit after tax fell by 14 per cent to N106.3billion, compared with N123.1billion in the corresponding period of 2015. A further analysis of the performance showed that the fall in profit for half year resulted from foreign exchange loss of about N101 billion which shot up the finance cost to N118 billion in 2016, up from N24.381 billion in 2015. Commenting on the results, the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr.  Onne Van der Weijde said: “We have achieved a commendable result, given the very challenging situation in our main market and general economic weakening across Africa.” He said the management woul...

First City Monument Bank Plc says its official, Olisa Nwakoby, who committed suicide on Friday in front of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Lekki, Lagos State, had personal challenges and became frustrated. The bank, however, noted that neither the management nor colleagues of the deceased were aware of the challenges, adding that it was working with Nwakoby’s family and the police to unravel the nature of the challenges. Forty-four-year-old Nwakoby, said to be the manager of the bank’s branch in Lekki, shot himself in the head over a bad debt estimated at N350m on Friday. The deceased was said to have given out the sum as loan to a bank customer, who allegedly failed to service the loan. He was reportedly under pressure from the bank’s management to repay the loan and became frustrated as he could not meet the demand. But the Acting Group Head, Communications and Brand Management of the FCMB, Lola Egboh, said on Sunday that the suicide had nothing to do with the ...

Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET weekend said it has paid N186.7billion to Electricity Generating Companies GENCOs saying it is only owing them about N156 billion. Reacting to the alarm raised by GENCOs that their continued existence is being threatened by huge unpaid debt by various stakeholders and that they are currently running their operations at a huge loss; and are barely struggling to survive, General Manager/Head, Power  Procurement  and  Power Contracts, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, Longe Yesufu Alonge, said the company has made payment of N186, 556, 636, 647 from February 2015 to April 2016, while the outstanding payment to the GENCOs from February 2015to April 2016 is N155, 768, 549, 056. He said that “the payment performance of NBET from February 2015 to April 2016 is 54.50 percent not the average of 40 per cent being claimed by the GENCOs. He also said that NBET has paid the sum of N21billion from its capitalisation to reduce the ...

  Popular instant messaging app, Facebook Messenger now has 1 billion monthly users globally. The platform, which connects friends, families and loved ones around the world, Facebook Messenger is the second most popular iOS app of all time, behind Facebook. More than one billion messages are sent between people and businesses each month. This number has more than doubled in the past year. “As part of this journey to one billion, we focused on creating the best possible experiences in modern day communications,” said David Marcus, Facebook Vice President. “We remain focused on helping connect people to the people and businesses who matter most.” He continued. Studies show that people send more than 17 billion photos to friends through Messenger every month. On average, more than 22 million GIFs are sent every day via Messenger – that’s 254 GIF’s per second. There are more than 250 sticker packs available in Messenger with more than 4,000 stickers. Facebook Messenge...