Wednesday, 6 April 2016

Enyimba, Abia Warriors make state FA Cup semis

Idris Adesina

Nigeria Premier League champions, Enyimba, and their rivals, Abia Warriors, have qualified for the semifinals of the 2016 edition of the Abia State FA Cup after defeating their respective opponents at the quarterfinal stage.

The premier league teams will battle Nigeria National League side, Abia Comets, and amateur side, Abonta of Aba, in the last four.

To make the last four, Enyimba beat another amateur side Flying Birds of Aba 6-0 while Warriors defeated Kambu, also of Aba, 2-0. Flying Birds went past Wanderers and Diamond of Umuahia before their dreams ended against Enyimba. Kambu also eliminated Enyimba Feeders and Chidex both of Aba to meet with Warriors.

A man simply identified as Shabi and his two daughters, 18 year old Mistura and 16 year old Adura, were burnt to death after some Jerry cans of petroleum products stored at their home in 5 Adebiyi Street, Somolu Oja in Lagos exploded yesterday night.

The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe who spoke with PM news, said the petrol was stored close to the kitchen where the family cooked their meal. In a related development, a grandfather was burnt to death after his grandchild lit a candle and went out to play at their home 48 Oyedele Street, off Liasu Road, Egbe , in Ikotun area of Lagos. The candle fell and ignited a fire which consumed the apartment and the old man

Polity: Opposition parties in deep slumber

For the All Progressives Congress to deliver on its campaign promises and deepen the nation’s democracy, opposition parties which are believed to be in slumber now must wake up, FISAYO FALODI writes

Nearly 17 years of unbroken democratic government in Nigeria is believed to have been characterised by poor performance culminating in misappropriation of public fund. The ongoing revelation of the alleged political sleaze and corruption perpetrated by a few top public officials and the astronomical rise in the cost of living are said to be a testimony to the fact that the lives of the citizens have not been impacted by the successive governments they have elected over the years.

An economist, Dr. Godwin Obaseki, said on Wednesday that President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to withhold assent to the 2016 appropriation bill until the details were scrutunised was a financially sound decision.

Obaseki, the Chairman of the Economic and Strategic Team of the Edo Government, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Benin that the president’s decision was in order.

Abia State Commissioner of Police, Joshak Habila

Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia

OPERATIVES of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Obehie Division, Abia State, have arrested three persons for allegedly manufacturing and selling guns.

The suspects; Allwell Anyanwu, Udo Nwanmuo and Ejiofor Kanu, said to be natives of Ukwa West Council Area of the state, were arrested at their different villages by the police following a tip-off.

Some items recovered from the suspects included assembled guns, oxygen gas cylinder, pipes of various sizes and a hammer.

It was gathered that the suspects had been in the business for over 10 years.

While fielding questions from journalists, the suspects admitted that they did not have the licence to manufacture guns, but insisted that they sold guns to hunters in the area.

Ademola Olonilua and Eric Dumo

Early in the week, reports surfaced online that the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos struck out the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s Board of Trustees and Ibinabo Fiberesima’s suit challenging the nullification of her election as President of the body and also challenging the legitimacy of the presidency of Emeka Ike and his executives.

The implication of this judgment is that the Emeka Ike-led executive remains the only authentic and lawful leadership of AGN.

In a chat with Saturday Beats, the actor said that although he has nothing to do with Ibinabo’s predicament, the actress could bag another jail term because of contempt of court.

Olufemi Atoyebi and Kamarudeen Ogundele

Nine lawmakers of the Ekiti House of Assembly have fled Ekiti State to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, alleging that their lives were unsafe.

The lawmakers, who addressed a news conference in Ibadan, on Wednesday, alleged that a batch of detectives from the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja, arrived in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday to arrest them.

They alleged that the batch was led by a Chief Superintendent of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

The lawmakers alleged that some leaders of the All Progressives Congress were seen helping policemen identify their homes, stressing that they fled Ekiti because

Aluko recants, denies reconciliation with Fayose

April 6, 2016

Gbenro Adeoye

A fresh twist crept into the reconciliation between Governor Ayodele Fayose and a former Secretary of the Ekiti Peoples Democratic Party, Tope Aluko, on Tuesday, when the latter denied reconciling with Fayose.

This came barely 48 hours after Fayose and Aluko jointly addressed journalists at the VIP section of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, on Sunday.

Last year, Aluko alleged that Fayose, with support from former President Goodluck Jonathan, rigged the governorship election held on June 21, 2014.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Lagos, Aluko, however, alleged that he was under duress when he addressed journalists in company with Fayose.

He added that the event was stage-managed by Fayose and some PDP chieftains to look like a reconciliation.

Gunmen kidnap Dickson’s aide at Redeemed Church

Chukwudi Akasike

Gunmen on Sunday kidnapped an aide to Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Captain Henry Ungbuku (retd).

Ungbuku, who is the special adviser on aviation to the Bayelsa State governor, was abducted as he was about leaving the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Light House Parish, after service.

It was gathered that his abductors had waited close to the church located in Iwofe, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State as early as 8.50am. They waited for their victim to come out of the church at the end of the service before pouncing on him.

An eyewitness told our correspondent that Ungbuku, who came out of the church some minutes after 10am, was stopped by the hoodlums as he drove out of the premises of the church.

Ungbuku’s abductors were said to have asked him to open the door of his vehicle while one of them pointed a gun at him.

The gunmen, according to the source, drove their victim away to an unknown destination after forcing him into a waiting vehicle.

“They were about four, but we did not know whether there are others hanging around the premises of the church. They forced him out of the car at gun point and took him away.

“There was confusion around the premises of the church when the incident happened. The kidnappers were all armed and many people who saw the scene were all scared,” the eyewitness said.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said he had not been briefed on the incident.

For federal retirees, rest is bitter after labour

The slogan: ‘rest is sweet after labour’ is not applying to many erstwhile government workers, who served the nation meritoriously in their prime but have now retired into penury and hardship as a result of haphazard or non-payment of their pension stipends, NIKE POPOOLA writes

Neglected after service

Abraham Adigun, 70, used to work in the Federal Ministry of Works until his retirement nine years ago. In June 2015, he left his home in Osun State for the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate in Abuja to seek solution to the problem he encounters every month with regards to the payment of his pension.

The payment of his pension stipend was stopped in 2010 without any explanation. The PTAD is currently in charge of the payment of pension benefits to former Federal Government civil servantswho retired from service before 2007 when a new pension scheme was introduced. This old man had been weakened by illness but had to fall back on a reserve energy that even he could not explain where it came from to embark on the risky road journey to Abuja since he could not afford any other means of transportation.

Adigun had torely on a walking stick on which he balanced his gaunt figure as he entered the pension office to lodge his complaint.

“I was employed and posted to the Ministry of Works in 1980 and retired in 1998, after which I got my gratuity and the payment of my pension stipends commenced. But in 2010, my name was removed from the payroll for no reason and I have been lodging complaints ever since.I have been asked to fill several forms,yet my money has not been paid,” he explains while wiping his brows with his right palm.

Nigeria loses $1.5bn annually to oil cargo monopoly

Comfort Oseghale

Nigeria is said to be losing an estimated $1.5bn annually to a monopoly, which allows for the discharge of oil and gas-related cargos at a designated terminal belonging to a particular company.

The Nigerian Ports Authority had last year issued a directive, citing presidential order, that all oil and gas-related cargos must be handled only by the company’s terminal in Onne, Warri and Calabar ports. The directive was signed on behalf of the NPA managing director by its General Manager (M&O), A. A. Goje.

QUEUE FUEL — Fuel queues at the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Akinpelu Dada and ’Femi Asu

The scarcity of petrol got worse in many parts of the country on Monday despite assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that the situation would improve.

Lagos, which traditionally receives more product than other parts of the country, was virtually grounded on Monday as only few vehicles moved about, with many passengers stranded at bus stops, while queues of desperate motorists stretched for kilometres at the few filling stations that had the product to sell, and partially blocked major roads.

The same situation was recorded in the Federal Capital Territory, Osogbo, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Minna, Maiduguri, Bauchi, Ado Ekiti and Benin City, among others.

At most filling stations belonging to independent marketers, a litre of the product sold for between N120 and N200 instead of the N86 and N86.50 official pump prices, while black market hawkers sold it for as high as N400 per litre.

Many commuters were seen in Lagos struggling to get commercial vehicles to different destinations, even as some transport operators increased the fares by 100 per cent or more.

On the Otedola Estate and Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Mobil, Capital Oil and Oando filling stations had longer queues of desperate motorists and other customers, which spilled onto the road and caused a serious gridlock.

The Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Tuesday said never would his administration base the execution of its programme on allocations from federal revenues again.

The governor, at the signing of the Osun State Land Use Charge Law in Osogbo, stated that previous and present administrations in the state had so much relied on federal allocations and that when the oil glut came, his government could no longer pay salaries and carried out other critical expenditure.

Aregbesola said the state had learnt a lot of lessons from the situation where it had to go cap in hand to the Federal Government for allocations that could no longer take care of the primary needs of the state.

Jumia, others get N1.6tn support from Orange

Ozioma Ubabukoh

French telecommunications company, Orange, says it will invest €75m (N1.6tn) in Nigerian e-commerce group, the Africa Internet Group.

The AIG owns several technology firms across 26 African countries, including online retailer, Jumia; a delivery app, HelloFood; hotel booking platform, Jovago; and online real estate marketplace, Lamudi.

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi

Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The Federal Government on Tuesday said it had entered into a partnership with the World Bank Group to address the challenges facing the solid minerals sector in the country.

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, stated this during a meeting between the representatives of the Federal Government, World Bank and investors in the sector.

Some of the challenges currently facing the sector are limited infrastructure, insufficient geological data, limited cooperative federalism and low productivity.