Late Publication of Accounts Might make CBN Sack Bank CEO's and their Chairmen.

LAGOS — The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it will sack chief executive officer and chairman of any bank that fails to publish its financial statement within the regulatory period.

This was contained in the Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy Guidelines for the 2016/2017 fiscal year released by the apex bank, yesterday.

According to the CBN, all banks must publish their financial statements latest four months after their financial year or risk severe sanction, including removal of the chief executive officer and the chairman.

The CBN stated: “In accordance with BOFIA 2010 LFN, banks are required, subject to the written approval of the CBN, to publish not later than four months after the end of each financial year, their audited financial statements (statement of financial position and statement of comprehensive income) in a national newspaper printed and circulated in Nigeria.

“To facilitate the implementation of consolidated supervision, all banks, discount houses and their subsidiaries shall continue to adopt December 31, as their accounting year-end.

“The CBN shall continue to hold the Board Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of a defaulting bank directly responsible for any breach and impose appropriate sanctions which may include the following: Barring the MD or his/her nominee from participation in the Bankers’ Committee and disclosing the reason for such suspension; suspension of the foreign exchange dealership licence of the bank and its name sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (in the case of a public quoted company); and removal of the chairman and managing director from office if the accounts remain unpublished for 12 months after the end of the bank’s financial year.”

Naira depreciates N281.5/$

Meanwhile, the naira depreciated in interbank and parallel segments of the foreign exchange market yesterday.

At the interbank market, the naira depreciated marginally by 35 kobo as the interbank exchange rate for spot transactions rose to N281.49 per dollar from N281.14 per dollar. But at the parallel market, the naira depreciated by N10 or 3.2 percent as the parallel exchange rate rose sharply to N351 per dollar from N340 per dollar on Monday.

A bureau de change operator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sharp depreciation was due to resurgence of demand for dollars, while supply has declined.

Last week, the naira appreciated significantly in the parallel market due to panic selling of dollars which boosted supply. The BDC source, however, said the appreciation was due to panic reaction to the commencement of the revived interbank foreign exchange market under the new flexible foreign exchange policy introduced by the CBN two weeks ago.

Source :

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/late-publication-accounts-cbn-sack-banks-ceos-chairmen/

New IGP Idris Writes Buhari... Demands retirement of 30 Officers.

In an exclusive gotten by THISDAY Newspaper monday, the new acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, was said to have on Friday last week, allegedly written to the presidency to retire 30 senior officers.

The officers who are of the rank of Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of police, were said to have been penned down for immediate retirement.

The reason for his move might not be far fetched. Even though they are all coursemates, they are his senior in terms of promotion.

Already, some of the attempts made by some AIGs to meet and greet him was said to have proven abortive as they were blocked off.

A source who spoke to THISDAY said, “There is serious tension at the Police Headquarters in Abuja. We have heard that the new acting IG wants to retire both his seniors and coursemates.

” On Friday, he wrote to the presidency, through the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and it was approved and forwarded to the desk of the President for final approval.

“According to what Idris wrote, his reason why he asked for their retirement is that he cannot work with them. He said he wants to in all sense of the world take charge of the police.

” He said since he has been given the responsibility to provide security, it was imperative that these AIGs be removed because they might be a clog in his wheel of progress.

“With this move, there is a tendency to make 14 Commissioners of Police AIGs since the available and compulsory vacancy for AIGs is 26.

“Already before now, 12 AIGs were promoted. From the 12, they will take seven of them to become Deputy Inspector General (DIGs) of Police and then they will be forced to go to the CP rank to fill up the AIG rank of 26.

” We wonder why they are removing experienced hands that would have helped him steer the police to greater heights.

“These officers that will be retired, are the last set of senior policemen that were trained abroad, or have gone for short courses.

“I don’t know why we are wasting manpower. By removing these old hands, we will have to expend huge amount of money to train the new crop of AIGs and CPs.”

Source:

http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/06/27/acting-police-ig-writes-to-presidency-recommends-immediate-retirement-of-30-senior-officers/

Under Buhari, AMCON Has woken up to her Responsibility.. Chases Billionaire Adenuga

SPECIAL REPORT: Adenuga’s Mountain of Debt: Several firms, AMCON chase billionaire for unpaid bills - Premium Times

ConOil, owned by Nigeria’s second richest man is being pursued for a combined debt of over $140.5 million by two foreign and one local companies, PREMIUM TIMES has learned.

Despite making several pledges to pay, ConOil and other companies owned by Mr. Adenuga have reneged on paying the debts, multiple sources in the oil and gas sector have told this newspaper.

Things have got so bad that some of the creditor companies have either commenced or are considering commencing legal actions to force the billionaire businessman to pay up having exhausted all options to make him honour promises and agreement to pay.

In fact, one company has successful secured an interim order from a federal court to place one of Mr Adenuga’s companies under receivership.

The increasing debt profile of the telecom and oil mogul, who increased his net worth by almost $5 billion in the last year, according to luxury lifestyle magazine, Forbes, has hit some his creditors so hard that they had to shut down some of their operations.

One of such companies is Depthwize, a local oil servicing company, which is owed $40 million by ConOil.

The refusal of the management of ConOil to pay Depthwize, a small drilling contractor has forced the company to lay off workers and shut down services on two of ConOil’s rigs until the money is paid, those familiar with the matter said.

“Depthwize says it can no longer afford the day to day running cost of working on the rigs,” one source said.

Similarly, American oil and gas firm, Baker Hughes, was forced to lodge a court petition to wind up one of Mr Adenuga’s company, Belbop Nigeria Limited, over a USD $12.09 million bill they had been unsuccessfully trying to get the company to pay.

Baker Hughes argued that in 2009, Belbop awarded it a contract for the provision of directional drilling, MWD/LWD services and supply of drilling fluids and drilling bits, Logging cabin and surface acquisition system.

The company told the court that after it duly discharge its obligation and rendered all requisite services, Belbop refused to pay. Baker Hughes said it incurred a liability of $9.4 million in the course of executing the contract.

On April 12, 2016, Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos placed an interim injunction on the accounts of Belbop pending the determination of suit.

The judge therefore appointed the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court as the receiver/manager of Belbop until the substantive suit is determined.

Mr Adenuga has also been given multinational oil firm, Total, the runaround over a $28.5 million debt it owed the French oil giant since 2009.

Although Total has been trying to resolve the debt without litigation, the refusal of Mr. Adenuga to pay the debt has forced the company to stop work at OML 136 gas field. Total is ConOil’s technical partner in the project.

At a meeting held with Total in November 2015, it was agreed that ConOil would pay the $28.5 million dollars owed before January 31 2016.

That meeting, which minutes is in the possession of PREMIUM TIMES, was chaired by Mr. Adenuga and attended by four executives from Total.

But those familiar with the matter told this newspaper Mr. Adenuga’s company is yet to pay up. All attempts by Total to make him release the money have also failed, insiders said.

Some said they are baffled by Mr Adenuga’s refusal to pay Total the $28.5 million, which would have seen work commence on the lucrative oil field.

The OML 136 asset is considered to be one of the largest gas fields in Nigeria, with a proven reserve of 11 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. The exploration of the oil assets would have boosted Nigeria’s economy by creating jobs and would have yielded massive return to Total and ConOil, they explained.

When contacted, Total’s spokesperson, Charles Ogan, in an email to PREMIUM TIMES, said the matter is an “obvious internal administrative subject.”

Also, ConOil is engaged in a decade-long dispute with British oil firm, Vitol, over its alleged failure to pay a $60 million debt incurred from lifting of cargoes of refined petroleum products.

Vitol secured a court judgement in the UK in respect of the debt but has been unable to enforce it in Nigeria because ConOil got a stay of execution from a Nigerian court.

Conoil’s financial problems, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, may have been caused by Mr Adenuga’s slowness in taking advantage in potential money earners for the company.

For instance, in 2005, ConOil was granted exploration licence for OPL 257 by the federal government, but the company surprisingly left the block fallow until its licence expired. Now it is frantically asking the government for a two-year extension of its expired licence to enable it explore the field.

On January 22, 2016, Taiwo Olushina, the managing director of ConOil, wrote a letter to the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) blaming insecurity, high cost of drilling and technical hitches for its failure to explore the field before the expiration of the licence.

“Having attended to technical and financial challenges peculiar to ultra -deep offshore blocks, this approval will provide us with ample time in drilling three identified prospective locations in preparation for further development towards boosting national oil and gas reserves and production,” the letter read in part.

The spokesperson for Mr. Adenuga, Bode Opeseitan, could not be reached to comment for this story. He did not answer or return calls seeking comment.

Another spokesperson ducked when approached by this reporter to comment for this story.

Despite being identified by Truecaller app, Mike Oduniyi told PREMIUM TIMES that we had reached a wrong number and promptly terminated the call.

Tax palaver and bad loan

Mr Adenuga’s companies have also had tax issues in the recent past. In 2009, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) sealed the Lagos office of ConOil, and Continental Oil and Gas, another company owned by the businessman, over the non-remittance of $610 million tax to government.

Last month, seven years after his companies were first sealed, the FIRS shut the Lagos office of Globacom, the second largest mobile telephone company in the country, owned by the billionaire, for allegedly failing to remit Value Added Tax worth N24.3 billion.

Earlier in February this year, the Osun State Internal Revenue Service (OIRS) sealed the offices of the telecommunication firm in the state for failing to pay outstanding taxes and other levies in respect of mast/ base stations and laying of fibre optics.

The state said several meetings were held with the company’s representatives in the past three years to resolve the issue, but that the company failed to comply.

The Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) also listed Mr. Adenuga as one of the country’s biggest debtors for a N2.4billion loan his real estate company, Convenant Apartments Complex Limited, took from Wema Bank.

AMCON acquired the loan from the bank in 2010, after Convenant Apartments failed to pay up.

Source :

 http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/205953-special-report-adenugas-mountain-debt-several-firms-amcon-chase-billionaire-unpaid-bills.html

CBN approves N75billion loan for agricultural lending in states, Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the disbursement of about N75billion as loan to farmers in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

The loan guarantee scheme is a public-private sector initiative set up to transform the country’s agricultural sector. It was initiated by the apex bank, the Bankers’ Committee and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to guarantee 75 per cent loans provided by Deposit Money Banks (DPB) to farmers as part of efforts to transform the country’s agricultural sector.

The Head of NIRSAL Project Implementation Office under the Development Finance Department of the CBN, Jude Uzonwanne, who spoke on the role of NIRSAL in Abuja, told the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Akinjide, that the guarantee would be issued to farmers through commercial banks and other financial institutions.

“NIRSAL would mobilize financing for Nigerian agribusiness by using credit guarantees to address the risk of default,” Mr. Uzonwanne said.

“NIRSAL is a flexible financing tool designed to change the behaviour of financial institutions.

“It covers all crops and livestock activities in Nigeria, while driving improved investment outcomes and job creation. It is also building on a legacy of previous CBN interventions in agriculture that has helped create thousands of jobs.”

Mr. Uzonwanne said the programme was designed to create access to finance to farmers by integrating end-to-end agriculture value chains, such as input producers, farmers, agro dealers, agro processors and industrial manufacturers with agricultural financing value chains – loan product development, credit distribution, loan origination, managing and pricing for risk, and loan disbursement.

“The integration is driven by NIRSAL’s 5 pillars, particularly the Risk Sharing Pillar and the Technical Assistance pillars, such as Risk sharing Facility, allocated ?45 billion, Insurance Facility (?4.5 billion), Technical assistance facility (?9 billion), Agricultural bank rating scheme (?1.5 billion), and Bank incentive mechanism (?15 billion).

“NIRSAL will share risks with banks ranging from 30% to 75% of loss depending on the segment. We are prepared to offer following terms to farmers in the States and FCT Abuja: 75% guarantees on all input, working capital and limited living cost loans to plant the crop, and loan duration should be about 24 – 28 months,” he said.

The Minister of State for FCT, who was represented by the Director of Treasury in the FCT Administration, Ibrahim Bomai, said that NIRSAL is cardinal to the success of the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformational Agenda (ATA) as it was established to address the grey areas inhibiting agricultural growth in the country.

“NIRSAL seeks to address all the technical, administrative and financial needs of the farmers along the selected agricultural value chain commodities in which the country has comparative advantage,” said the minister said Akinjide.

He said the six Area Councils of the FCT have already been directed to identify and key into the value chain commodities to be promoted in their respective area of jurisdiction, adding that the Authority has commenced the implementation of the Growth Enhancement Scheme of Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development in order to empower the farmers in the territory.

Source ; http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/5486-cbn_approves_n75billion_loan_for_agricultural_lending_in_states_.html

EFFects of Brexit on Nigerians in the UK

Nigeria has strong economic ties with Britain, as it is a member of the British Commonwealth. Nigeria happens to be Britain’s second largest trading partner in Africa after South Africa, with £6 billion (about N2.4 trillion or $8.52 billion) in bilateral trade volume last year. However, the two countries have long standing political and economic ties. In light of this, the decision of Britain to pull out of the EU will affect Nigeria in different ways. Here are seven possible ways Brexit will affect Nigeria. Read below:

Gross Domestic Product

1. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United Kingdom would shrink over time and a weaker and smaller UK economy would scale back its investment in development projects in Nigeria. Immigration and Visa application

2. It would foster anti-immigration around the world, and this will affect Nigeria who have a large population of its citizens in diaspora. It is expected that Britain will be very strict on visa applications especially from countries like Nigeria which has a large visa applicants to the United Kingdom. Investment potential

3. Investment in Britain by Nigerian businessmen would be less attractive since the country would no longer offer full access to the lucrative EU market. Trade agreements between EU countries and non-EU countries are negotiated by the European Commission. Integration and economic development

4. The benefits of deepening integration and socio-economic development through economic blocs in Africa especially Nigeria would be punctured due to Brexit. Tough immigration policies

5. Brexit will bring about enforcement of tougher immigration policies that would affect Nigerians travelling to the UK and the estimated over 2 million Nigerian migrants in the country. May fuel secessionist sentiments

6. It will have a strong influence on secessionist sentiments in Nigeria as the unification of the United Kingdom will be affected, as some regional agitators in Nigeria would find the example worth emulating. Nigeria internal politics

7. The toll of Brexit on Nigeria would have deeper implications on Nigeria’s politics because it is a signal that political unions can no longer be seen as self-perpetuating.

Militants : Army Officers contacted us to Help Topple This Regime

 NEWS COMMENTS By Emma Amaize, South, Egufe Yafugborhi & Perez Brisibe WARRI—Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, yesterday, alleged that some top Army officers planning to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari goverment had approached Niger- Delta militants to continue bombing oil installations to give pretext and justification for a coup against him. The militant group in a statement by the Commander, General Duties, Joint Revolutionary Council, JRC, of JNDLF, General Akotebe Darikoro and others,  said: “We are constrained  to let the cat out of the bag today that President Buhari should be wary about the security of this country as some military men are making moves to remove him from power by instigating civil unrest in the country. “Some top military men through their civil agents approached us to cause and continue the vandalization of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region to serve as an excuse to take over the government from democracy to military rule in the country.
 File: Militants “We said no, as such plan is not in conformity with our genuine desire of agitation. The military want to disgrace him now and let him quickly look into the issues and make pronouncement for his administration to be in peace. “Let the President  analyze certain memo from the military concerning Niger Delta region before taking actions, otherwise the military will use that as a platform to remove him. “We know that the issue of Niger Delta is political and we prefer political solution to resolve it,  but if the president refuses, that is not our problem. “Since some military men want to use various agitations in the country and the President’s probing of the military, which they said exposes the respected uniformed personnel to disrepute and ridicule before the civilian populaces as an excuse to strike. “We received several calls from unknown persons to persuade us to continue the bombing and that when they succeed in overthrowing the government,  we will be in a better position. “We  said capital no, when asked of their names,  they said they are above Major General level. They refused to disclose their names but their intonation seemed like Yoruba and Hausa. “Our agitation is not for selfish interest but for the overall benefit of the Niger Delta region. We will not kidnap any person or kill expatriate in the country but will continue our agitation with clear determination to actualize our cause in Nigeria.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/army-officers-contacted-militants-plot-topple-buhari-militants/

Senators Elected On PDP Platform withdraws Support for FG.

Saraki, Ekweremadu for trial June 27

From Fred Itua and Godwin Tsa,Abuja

SENATORS elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, formally resolved to withhold their support for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.

They cited the actions of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government to- wards their party members since taking over the central government as reasons.

The resolution was taken following the court summon on the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, along with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules.

The Senators who met at a secret location in Abuja said they would communicate their new position to the national leadership of the party, after which it would be publicly announced at a press conference.

A source at the meeting said a delegation comprising one Senator from each of the geo-political zones, along with Ekweremadu, would convey the position of the PDP Senate caucus to the leadership and report back to- day.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja , yesterday, officially summoned Saraki, Ekweremadu, former clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa and outgoing Deputy Clerk, Ben Efeturi, over their alleged involvement in the forgery of Senate Standing Order in 2015.

The summon was effected through a substituted service which was pasted at the corridor along the Senate President’s Office. According to the summon, Saraki, Ekweremadu, Maikasuwa and Efeturi are to appear before the court on Monday, June 27.

The inability of the Federal Government to effect service of court summons yesterday stalled their arraignment before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the alleged forgery of the Senate Rules.

When the case came up yesterday, before Justice Yusuf Halilu none of the accused persons was in court and no lawyer appeared for them.

The prosecution counsel, David Kaswe, attributed the development to the inability of the bailiff to effect service on the accused persons.

Parts of the summons read: “By oral application dated 21st June, 2016 moved by D.E Kaswe, Principal State Counsel Federal Ministry of Justices in this case praying the court for:

“An order of this Honourable Court granting leave to the complainant/ applicant to serve the criminal summon on the defendants by substituted means to wit by pasting it at the Notice Board of the National Assembly Three Arms Zone, Abuja.

“And after hearing D.E Kaswe with A.A Kaltingo Esq, counsel for the complainant/ Applicant moved the court orally for the above relief. “

Also included in the summon, were statements already volunteered by Maikasuwa and Efeturi on their alleged involvement in the forgery.

Maikasuwa in his own statement said: “The Senate Standing Orders used in seventh Senate was not known to me. The Clerk of the Senate is in position to know. I was not aware of the amendment that was made to the Standing rules.”

However, Efeturi said the Senate leadership handed the 2015 Standing Rules as amended by their convention and practice to him.

But the Senate in its first reaction to the allegation, stated that amendment of the standing rules was done by the National Assembly bureaucracy.

Source : 

http://sunnewsonline.com/pdp-senators-withdraw-support-for-buharis-govt/

Presidency: Fayose Is Hopelessly Confused, Needs Prayers.

The Presidency has dismissed as laughable the desperate attempt by Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State to link President Buhari's wife Aisha to US Congressman William Jefferson's bribery scandal for which the American lawmaker was convicted in 2009.

Reacting to Fayose's allegations in a press statement, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said ordinarily the presidency would have ignored Fayose because he is a man "childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts."

Malam Garba explained however that the presidency chose to respond on this occasion for the sake of innocent Nigerians who might be misled by Fayose's shameless and blatant distortion of facts.

He said ignoring Fayose carries the risk of giving traction and credibility to outright and brazen falsehoods inconsistent with the status of anybody that calls himself a Governor or leader.

According to Shehu, Aisha had no direct, indirect or the remotest connection with William Jefferson's corruption scandal in the United States.

He challenged Fayose to tell Nigerians if the so-called Aisha whose pictures he proudly, but ignorantly shared, was the same Aisha married to President Muhammadu Buhari, or if the Aisha of his idle imagination had any relationship by blood or any relationship in whatever form, with President Buhari's wife. 

Shehu also challenged Fayose to produce evidence from the records of investigation and subsequent trial of Jefferson to prove that Buhari's wife Aisha was in anyway linked to that scandal. He explained that common names alone are not enough to automatically link innocent people to crimes or scandals, especially in an era of identity thieves.

He further challenged Fayose to show proof when and where Aisha Buhari was invited for interrogation in connection with Congressman William Jefferson's bribery scandal, let alone indicted for a crime locally or abroad.

According to the Presidential Media Aide, free speech does not entitle Governor Fayose to falsely accuse innocent people of crimes they knew nothing about.

He warned Fayose that Aisha Buhari is entitled to protect her reputation from being recklessly maligned, adding that political opposition is not a licence to attack people's reputation brazenly without legal consequences.

3 Nigerian House of Representative members involved in Sex Scandal

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday, directed the investigation of three members of the House for an alleged sex scandal.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, confirmed this in Abuja just as investigations had shown that the United States Embassy had cancelled the visas of the affected members.

Namdas explained that the leadership of the House decided to investigate the alleged sex scandal following a formal complaint made by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle.


He said, “We are in receipt of a letter from the US Ambassador, alleging misconduct by some members of the National Assembly, who attended training in the United States of America.

“The leadership of the House has commenced its own part of the investigation. When it is concluded, we will brief Nigerians further on this issue.”

Namdas, however, declined questions on how the investigation would be conducted.

“When we say we will conduct an investigation, we will conduct it and there will be a report,” Namdas stated.

The development came as the US formally cancelled its visas from the three lawmakers, an indication that they had been barred from future trips to the United States.

However, investigations showed that the speaker came under pressure from many lawmakers, who felt that the matter could tarnish the image of the National Assembly if it was not attended to.

The affected members – Mr. Mohammed Garba-Gololo (Bauchi State); Mr. Terse Gbillah (Benue State), and Mr. Samuel Ikon (Cross River State) – allegedly committed the act during a recent trip to the US to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on Good Governance organised by the US Government.

The three legislators were members of a team of 10 lawmakers nominated to attend the leadership programme, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio, between April 7 and 13 this year.

Entwistle, in his June 9 letter to Dogara, stated, “It is with regret that I must bring to your attention the following situation.

“Ten members of the Nigerian National Assembly recently travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on good governance.

“We received troubling allegations regarding the behaviour of three members of the delegation to the US Government’s flagship professional exchange programme.

“The US Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel, where the representatives stayed, alleging that the representatives engaged in the following behaviour:

“Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex. While the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for Representative Gololo.

“Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested that hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes.”

Finding showed that the lawmakers dismissed the allegation as “baseless and untrue” when Dogara first sought their explanations.

However, he was said to have come under pressure from members, who insisted on a thorough investigation, considering the fact that the Ambassador committed it to writing.

A National Assembly source stated, “The speaker came under pressure because many members are not satisfied with the responses of the affected persons.

Another source stated, “Of course, the members have threatened legal actions and have requested video evidence from the US Ambassador since the housekeeper was said to have identified Garba-Gololo in a group photograph.

“Members felt that the House should thoroughly investigate the allegation to establish the correct position. The 8th Assembly passed a Code of Conduct to members of the House in 2015.

“This is one of the test cases and it is important that we clear this issue.”

Some of the members, who participated in the programme were Chairman, House Committee on the Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Rita Orji; Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Gaza Jonathan; Mrs. Ayo Omidiran; Mr. Danburam Abubakar; and Mr. Nkole Ndukwe.

The US embassy, it was learnt, had written the three members cancelling their visas to the US.

One of the lawmakers, Gbillah, wrote Entwistle on Thursday (yesterday), accusing the US of not giving the three members fair hearing.

Gbillah also expressed surprise in his letter that within hours of bringing the matter to the attention of the House, the US Government had gone ahead to cancel the visas of the lawmakers.

He threatened to immediately institute legal actions against the US Government, the Ambassador and the Marriot Hotel Brand, among others for damages.

Part of Gbillah’s letter, which was dated June 16, read, “Without conclusive evidence of any sort or contact with any of the accused individuals, the US State Department and US Embassy in Nigeria have less than six days after your letter to the Speaker, gone ahead to revoke the US visas of the accused individuals based on hearsay from the employees of the hotel in Cleveland.

“Affected individuals received correspondence from the US Embassy on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, indicating the denial of their US visas and requesting that they bring their passports with the current US visa to the Embassy.”

The letter was copied to Dogara, the US Secretary of State, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Cleveland Council of World Affairs, and the President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International.

On his part, Ikon claimed that the allegation levelled against him was not only untrue but also a case of mistaken identity.

He stated, “My attention has been drawn to the publication, alleging an act of impropriety against me by the US Mission in Nigeria.

“I wish to state unequivocally that this is false and definitely not me.

“This, to me, is a case of mistaken identity and I have already instituted measures both legally and diplomatically to clear my name and the institution I represent.

The US Mission in Nigeria refused to comment on Entwistle’s letter on Thursday.

“We do not comment on private diplomatic correspondence.  Thank you very much for your inquiry,” the Mission’s Press Attaché, Sean McIntosh, said in an email.

Dr Sid; Singer finally addresses claims he slept with Tiwa Savage

Tee Billz who attempted to take his own life accused Tiwa Savage of having affairs with 2baba Idibia, Don Jazzy and Dr Sid.

It’s been back to work for Tiwa Savage as her marriage to Tee Billz smashed months ago.
Recall that Tee Billz dragged his wife Tiwa Savage on Instagram, accusing her of cheating, emasculation and even witchcraft.

Tee Billz who later attempted to take his own life accused her of having affairs with 2baba Idibia, Don Jazzy and Dr Sid.

Now, Dr Sid has come out to refute such claims. He told Daily Post, "Tiwa Savage is, and will always be, a good friend of mine. She is a hard worker. All we need to do is to pray for them and hope that everything is sorted out soon.

Tiwa also said a lot in her interview, so I am sure she has cleared the air on that. On my own, my wife and I are good. Everybody is fine."

"Who do you verify from? How many things would one verify? Let’s be real. If this person talk am and that person talk am again, na so I be. If one person says it and another confirms it, then it is true.

am not really bothered about these things. If somebody calls you a thief and you did not steal why you go vex?

I don’t want to respond to nothing."

As Tiwa Savage gets back to business and promoting her second album, her estranged husband Tee Billz has stayed off the radar. Since his suicide attempt Tee Billz has kept a low profile.

SEE LIST OF 23 CONDITIONS BUHARI SAID EVERY GOVERNOR MUST MEET BEFORE THEY CAN ACCESS N90BN FG LOAN

On Tuesday, June 14th, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun announced the list of all the 23 conditions state governors have to fulfill to access the Federal government’s N90 billion loan. The conditions were;

1. Publish audited annual financial statements within nine months of financial year end.

2. Comply with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)

3. Publish state budget online annually

4. Publish budget implementation performance report online quarterly

5. Develop standard IPSAS compliant software to be offered to states for use by state and local governments

6. Set realistic and achievable targets to improve independently generated revenue (from all revenue generating activities of the state in addition to tax collections) and ratio of capital to recurrent expenditure

7. Implement targets

8. Implement a centralised Treasury Single Account (TSA) in each state

9. Have quarterly financial reconciliation meetings with federal government to cover VAT, PAYE remittances, refunds on government projects, Paris Club and other accounts

10. Share the database of companies within each state with the Federal Inland Revenue service (FIRS). The objective is to improve VAT and PAYE collection

11. Introduce a system to allow for the immediate issue of VAT/WHT certificates on payment of invoices. Review all revenue related laws and update obsolete rates/tariffs

12. Set limits on personnel expenditure as a share of total budgeted expenditure

13. Biometric capture of all states’ civil servants will be carried out to eliminate payroll fraud

14. Establish efficiency unit

15. Federal government online price guide to be made available for use by states

16. Introduce a system of continuous audit (internal audit)

17. Create a fixed asset and liability register

18. Consider privatization or concession of suitable State-owned enterprises to improve efficiency and management

19. Establish a capital development fund to ring- fence capital receipts and adopt accounting policies to ensure that capital receipts are strictly applied to capital projects

20. Domesticate Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 21. Attainment and maintenance of a credit rating by each state of the federation

22. Federal government to encourage states to access funds from the capital markets for bankable projects through issuance of fast- track Municipal bond guidelines to support smaller issuance and shorter tenures

23. Comply with the FRA and reporting obligations, including: No commercial bank loans to be undertaken by States; Routine submission of updated debt profile report to the DMO.

2016 AGIP OIL AND GAS MSC FOREIGN AND LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NIGERIANS, SEE HOW TO APPLY

To qualify for 2016/2017 NAE Post Graduate Scholarship Award scheme, applicants MUST:

1. Possess a minimum of Second Class Upper division in any of the relevant disciplines from a recognised Nigerian university.

2. Have secured admission into a Nigerian or Overseas university for a one year Master’s Degree programme in any of the disciplines listed below.

3. Not be above 28 years of age by December 31st, 2016.

4. Have completed the one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

Course of Study
Only candidates with offer of admission and BSc degrees in disciplines related to the following areas should apply
• Geosciences

• Engineering (Petroleum, Mechanical, Civil, Subsea, Electrical/Electronics, Marine, Chemical)

• Petroleum Economics

• Law (Oil and Gas/Petroleum)

Please note:
1. ONLY Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the aptitude test.
2. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted with details of the qualifying test via SMS and Email (Ensure to provide valid email and phone contacts).
3. Employees of NAE and other affiliate companies and their dependents are not eligible.
4. Current and past beneficiaries of similar awards from NAE, other companies and agencies are not eligible.
5. Please ensure you understand the Instructions carefully before you start this application to avoid errors and disqualification.
6. Strict compliance with above guidelines is required.
7. Application closes midnight, 26th June, 2016.

The Computer Based Test for shortlisted candidates shall be conducted on 9th July, 2016

Apply through here:http://scholastica.ng/schemes/naescholarship

See Photos Here How American Came out En'Mass For Oni oF IFe.

The Ooni of Ife, his wife Olori Wuraola and members of his entourage arrived Gaylord, Maryland on a visit to the United States and many Americans trooped in to catch a glimpse of him. See more photos below…

Governor Wike's SSG, Kenneth Kobani Charged With Terrorism

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital has started the trial of Kenneth Kobani, Secretary of State Government of the Rivers State charged with electoral offences, breach of public peace and terrorism allegedly committed on March 19 in Gokana local Government area of the state.

Kobani is being prosecuted for alleged electoral offences by the Department of State Security, DSS.

The case has now been adjourned for further hearing till 28th September, 2016 the continuation of the trial of Secretary to the Rivers State Government.

He was accused of allegedly holding some Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials hostage during the March 19 rerun election in Gokana Local Government.

On cross examination at resumed trial, the INEC electoral officer in charge of the election in Gokana Emmanuel Isong told the court that the rerun election was disrupted in the area due to heavy shooting and explosions.

The INEC electoral officer did not indict any political party or individual for the electoral violence in Gokana.
The Secretary to the Rivers State Government Kobani, who is a lawyer and currently on bail was present in court.

In a related development, Justice Mohammad Liman of a Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt struck out a suit instituted by the PDP candidate in the March 19 rerun election for Degema Constituency Farah Dagogo.

The PDP candidate Dagogo had gone to court seeking an order compelling INEC to issue him Certificate of Return claiming that he won the election.

The court struck out the suit following an application for discontinuation of the matter by filed by counsel to Farah Dagogo.

Counsel to the Lulu Braide, the APC candidate in the Degema Constituency rerun election Emenike Ebete said the discontinuation of the case by the PDP candidate is commendable because the Federal High Court lacks the power to handle post election dispute.

Ebete also said the decision of his client Lulu Braide not to oppose the discontinuation of the matter is not an admission that Dagogo won the election.

Ebete hinted that the case would be pursued in an appropriate court, which is the Elections Petitioned tribunal in Abuja that purely set up for election matters.


http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/06/16/wikes-ssg-kenneth-kobani-charged-with-terrorism/

Plans Underway For National Rebirth- Lai Mohammed

– Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s information minister, met with the spokesman of the Senate and revealed how government plans to further unify the country

– The minister further denied any frosty relationship between the executive and legislative arms of the federal government

– Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi talked about promoting confidence building through genuine co-creation, co-action, co-operation, collaboration and co-ordination

The minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has disclosed that the government will soon hold a summit on national rebirth, values and ethics.


Lai Mohammed said the executive and legislative arms of the federal government are in a good relationship

He said during the event, the government would launch the national re-orientation campaign, tagged ‘Change Begins with Me’.

Mohammed, who recently said he committed a sin against Nigerians by talking too much during the All Progress Congress (APC) campaigns before the 2015 general elections, described as a lie reports of an ongoing feud between the legislative and the executive arms of government.

He said instead, the two arms are working harmoniously to improve the social and economic well-being of the citizenry.

Mohammed made the remarks in Abuja when he received the Senate committee on media and public affairs, led by its chairman, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, on a courtesy visit.


“If the spokesman of the Senate wants to meet the spokesman of government, that says a lot about the trust, understanding and also the confidence between the two arms of government. 

“This visit will also show the world that the so-called feud between the executive arm of government and the legislative arm is only the figment of their own imagination,” he said. ‎

Alhaji Mohammed restated the commitment of the present administration to ensuring good governance, providing adequate security and revamping the economy in order to deliver the change that Nigerians are yearning for.

“It proves once again that this government, each arm of the government, is working in tandem. They recognise security, the economy and good governance as the sole pillars of any government,” he said.

The minister said upon assumption of office, he adopted creative and pragmatic approach to bridge the communication gap between the government and the people in order to deepen democracy and inspire trust and confidence among the people.

“We realise the importance of information to the deepening and sustenance of democracy and to that extent, we have evolved means to ensure that there is no communication gap between the government and those that are governed.

“We put people right in the centre of our communication strategy. We know that the moment that gap exist then you create opportunity for mischief makers, misconception, half truths and downright falsehood,” he said. 

Mohammed identified town hall meetings as a deliberate strategy adopted by the government to communicate with the people directly to inform them about the policies and programmes of the government and at the same time get feedback on their perception of government.

In his remarks, Abdullahi said though the challenges confronting the nation are surmountable, there is the need for greater value re-orientation.‎

He sought the collaboration of the minister in the efforts to promote actions that will bring about positive change in Nigeria.

“As managers of the information and communication space of two critical arms of this democratic government, permit me to note that we need, more than ever before, to proactively work to promote and canvass for the urgent need to ensure genuine and sincere actions anchored on rule of law, due diligence and due process.

“In doing this, we must promote confidence building through genuine co-creation, co-action, co-operation, collaboration and co-ordination,” he said.


https://www.naij.com/862453-buhari-plans-returns-london.html