Baba 2face now has new managemnt .Now music has decided that to cast all doubts into the ocean about the Rkelly fiasco .A Duet with Super R N B Diva Mary J Blige is in the studio and about to be hatched .
Tuface’s new management - Now Muzik are going the extra mile to make sure all doubt of Tuface reported collaboration with Mary J Blige for his next album is not marred by bad press.They got proof! His management went the extra mile - making his picture with Mary J Blige come out as crisp as possible unlike the picture with R Kelly that fuelled the controversy to lofty heights.I 'm sorry to say that If you go to the rkelly official website there
is no mention of a collabo with tuface also on Maty J Bliges site there is no mention of tuface or 2face but these are the pictures of them together in the studio ENOUGH PROOF TO HATERS !
ENJOY
Noelene J
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True to its vow at a world press conference held in Lagos on July 14, the coalition of major associations in the Nigerian music industry has begun the mobilization of stakeholders throughout the country for the commencement of an indefinite mass hunger strike to draw the attention of the world to the intolerable amount of piracy that is devastating the music industry in Nigeria. The mass hunger strike is planned to commence on August 25. As a prelude to the strike, there will be an important rally of stakeholders in the Nigerian music industry at the premises of the National Theatre, Lagos at 10.00am on August 25. The rally will offer an opportunity to artistes and investors across the industry to network and devise strategies to frontally attacking the piracy scourge that is plundering the Nigerian entertainment industry.Further to the hunger strike, the coalition has resolved that a powerful delegation of industry stakeholders will proceed to the National Assembly in Abuja on September 1 to express the frustration of the industry over the lukewarm and ineffective attitude of the government to attacking the piracy cancer that is fast eating away the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and destroying the Nation’s image. The coalition is also requesting all broadcast organizations in the country to show solidarity with the plight of the Nigerian entertainment industry by observing September 1, 2009 as “NO MUSIC DAY”. Consequently, broadcasting stations across Nigeria are requested not to broadcast music between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm on September 1. Artistes across the country are also requested not to engage in any musical performance on “NO MUSIC DAY”It will be recalled that at the Press Conference held at Protea Hotel, Ikeja on July 14, the coalition had called on President Yar’ Adua to declare a State of Emergency with respect to the fight against piracy in Nigeria and to muster the necessary resources to eradicate the monster. The coalition had also called on the President to take the following specific actions:-1. Set up a Governing Board made up of Nigerians of proven commitment and integrity to design and supervise the activities of the Nigerian Copyright Commission in accordance with the Nigerian Copyright Act as the records show that for more than five years, the Nigerian Copyright Commission has only had a Board for a period of a few months in 2005.2. Direct the Nigerian Copyright Commission to immediately put on hold the process of approval of any new copyright collective management organization pending the IMMEDIATE convening of a stake holders conference on Collective Management to ensure that the process receives input from the stakeholders that will earn any organization emerging from the process the support of the industry.3. Direct the Inspector General of Police to serve a warning to the traders at Alaba International Market in Lagos, the world’s biggest hotbed of piracy, that if within a specified period the traders do not clean up the market, the government will shut Alaba market down.At the massively attended Press Conference, the coalition had noted that whatever efforts made so far to fight piracy in Nigeria had failed and rather than piracy being controlled or reduced in Nigeria, it was ravaging an entire generation of creative people. The coalition also warned that in desperation, practitioners in the Nigerian entertainment industry may soon be forced to take the laws into their hands in a desperate attempt to safeguard their investment and this may result in otherwise avoidable bloodshed.The coalition made up of Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Nigerian Association of Recording Industries (NARI), Performing & Mechanical Rights Society Ltd/Gte (PMRS), Association of Music Business Professionals (AM.B-Pro), Music Label Owners & Recording Industries Association of Nigeria (MORAN), Music Label Owners Association of Nigeria (MULOAN), Gramophone Records & Cassette Dealers (AGRECD), Music Advertisers Association Of Nigeria (MAAN). Audio /Video CD Sellers Association of Nigeria (AVCDSAN) also reminded the government that Nigeria may face sanctions from the international community because of the glaring failure to meet the nation’s obligations under the different conventions and treaties signed by our country to protect intellectual property rights of citizens of other nations which are wantonly infringed upon in Nigeria alongside those of Nigerian nationals.All artistes in music film, comedy, drama, literary works and all friends of the entertainment industry are invited to storm the historic rally at the National Theatre Lagos on Tuesday August 25 at 10 amEfe OmorogbeFor: The Nigerian Music Industry Coalition
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Posted by 9jabook.com on August 20, 2009 at 12:56am
WHICH DO U PREFER??? Fortunately or Unfortunately its the reality of our time...
FULL TIME HOUSE WIFE VS CAREER WIFE
House Wife: Welcome Dear, how was the office today?
Husband : Fine o jare. How are my kids?
House Wife: They are asleep already. Change your clothes while I get your bath water ready.
(10 minutes later)
House Wife: Dinner is ready oooooooo. (She sit down and watch the husband eat, waiting for compliment).
House Wife: The landlord was here today.
Husband: (stop eating) for what again? I have paid the house rent ke!
House Wife: He brought the bills for PHCN, LAWMA, Security, Water and Sanitation. Iya Agba too phoned that she needs money for that medicine we promised her last month. Mama Kemi brought the Ankara material for her father’s burial. Its N5,000 for 6 yards. We don’t seem to have enough foodstuffs again ooooooooo.
Husband: (Grunts)
House Wife: Ehen, you promised to give me the money for my cream yesterday. Junior’s food is finished oooooooooooo. I want to do my hair tomorrow ooooooooooo to enable me attend Iya Kofo daughter’s naming ceremony. I will need some pocket money as well. Even though I don’t have a shoe that will match the colour of the lace material, I will manage the black one any way.
Husband: (begin to cough)
House wife: Oh Sorry Dear! (Rushes to get cold water from the fridge). The devil is a liar! Sorry Darling! Let me get you a pack of juice.
Husband: I am very tired Dear, I am going to bed. We will talk about this tomorrow.
House Wife: Ok, I will join you later. I want to watch this film on TV. Galaxy showed part 1 yesterday, and part 2 will be on soon.
Husband: (Staggered to bed full of anxiety, with no idea on how to meet up with these entire financial obligation)
CAREER Wife
Career Wife: (Gets back from work) Ekaete! Ekaete!!! Ekaete!!! Where is this useless girl self?
Ekaete : Yes MADAM! Welcome Ma. I de come. I been de attend to the children. Dem don sleep just now.
Career Wife: Ok, get those things from my car for me right away, and get my bath water ready. Set the dinner very snappy. By the way, is Tunde back from work yet?
Ekaete : Che Oga? E nefa come back yet oooo. He been phone say na pounded yam im wan chop for dinner and I don prepare am plus the rice wey you wan chop self. But dem junior na egg and yam dem request for.
(10 minutes later)
Ekaete: Madam, de money you gif me to pay for junior dem school fees, na de receipt be dis. I don go buy the bags of rice, beans, garri, sugar, salt, semo, turkey and fish. I even go to Mile 12 for Ketu to buy the yams, cassava, onion, pepper, vegetable, fruits and meat.
Career Wife: Ok. Did Tunde give you the money to pay the bills for PHCN, LAWMA, Security, Water and Sanitation?
Ekaete: yes Madam! He even gif me money to pay for the house rent for landlord account. He gif Garba money to buy one drum of diesel for the generator, to service the generator, fill the gas. E don pay my salary and Garba own.
(Tunde enters)
Husband:Ah! Bridget, you are back already. The Traffic today is disastrous!
Career Wife: Is that so?
Ekaete: Oga Welcome Sir! Let me get your bath ready while you change your cloth. I don prepare your favourite meal as requested.
Husband: Oh that’s great, Ekaete
Career wife: OooooPh, I am going to bed. I got to be at the airport early to catch the first flight to Abuja tomorrow.
Husband: I will join you later. Got to watch the match between LIVERPOOL AND CHELSEA.
Ekaete: Oga, your dinner is set. (She disappeared into the kitchen)
Husband: (Eats his dinner alone without a companion).
YES, BOTH SITUATIONS HAVE DISADVANTAGES BUT HONESTLY...........WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE WITH???Read more…
FULL LIST !
ANalysis by Oluwafolabomi on Aug 19 2009
I would like to note a few interesting facts.
1. Access Bank managing and deputy managing director are owing N16 Billion in a personal capacity while hounding Femi Otedola who owes through a company...pot calling the kettle black.
2. Fola Adeola, founder of Fate Foundation, and a shareholder in this newspaper, on the list from being a director at Omatek. An obvious example of the endemic nature of the lack of corporate governance in Nigeria's publicly listed companies. Isn't a board of directors suppossed to guide the company away from such issues.
3. President Yaradua's, son-in-law (to be), a debtor too through RAHAMANIYYA OIL AND GAS LTD! I guess there is no accounting for taste when taking on new in-laws! Will there be a "Federal" bailout or will Yaradua be aloof to the travails of his new family.
4. "Who watches the Watchmen?". There is no wonder that the NSE doesn't support fighting the problems of insider dealing when it's head, NDI OKEREKE-ONYIUKE, is a director of a a company with several billions in bad debts. Afterall would you ban yourself? It's also interesting to note that both the current, Aliko Dangote, and immediate past presidents of the NSE, Oba Otudeko, are represented here too!
5. That Aliko Dangote's name appears does not surprise me. When you owe as much money as he does,you get to boss your creditors around since you are "too big to fail".
6. ARISEKOLA ALAO & Oba Otudeko owing billions of Naira, while being a major shareholders, gettng dividends, in First Bank.
7. Femi & Nana Otedola, whose lavish expenditure on a boat apparently costing over $12 million is to be noted, obviously live a life that cannot be supported without debt that they have no intention of paying back. Evidently its true that empty barrels really do make the most noise.
8. (Barrister) Jimoh Ibrahim has never been afraid of debt so he was bound to be here in some capacity. But not paying it back, while not a crime, is basically dishonest! Wetin lawyers dey do sef?
9. PRINCE FEDRICK .E. AKINRUTAN is just about to be made an Oba, who will then be dispensing "fatherly" advice to his people. Will that advice include "Go forth and accumulate debt". There is nothing dishonourable in running your business through debt financing. After all the government does it most years. The problem comes when you live a life, that drains the company of its life blood, while putting other peoples and your staff's livelyhoods at stake. That's just plain criminal and shoud be treated as such!
ARTICLE READ MORE HERE
Pushing on doggedly with its reform of the septic banking environment in the country, the new management team at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) late Tuesday published the list of the country's worst debtors on its website as an "Advertorial."
In a prefatory note to the table of debtors that has 205 names, the CBN said, "Following the recent regulatory action of the Central Bank of Nigeria on the five banks, it has become necessary to use this medium to request the following defaulting customers of the affected banks to pay without further delay their indebtedness, failing which the banks will take all appropriate legal actions to ensure repayment.
"These are the largest debtors and the CBN will continue to publish the list of defaulters on an on-going basis."
A keen reading of the CBN advertorial indicates that the five ailing banks that lost their management team in last Friday's "Bank Massacre", were neck deep in debt reaching the staggering proportions of N740 Billion, a quarter of the nation's annual budget.
The CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, blamed the intimidating numbers on what he described as the poor risk management, and corporate governance profile of the banks' management.
The Central Bank also took the daring step to name the institutional and individual debtors, many who are among the nation's high and mighty, and also warning them to "pay without further delay their indebtedness, failing which the banks will take all appropriate legal actions to ensure repayment."
Of the 205 debtors, most of whose indebtedness are in the double digit bracket, three elect for a daring borrowing culture which the CBN derisively characterise as "Non-performing", an euphemism for a poor credit record of not servicing ones debt.
These are companies in the Rahmaniyya Group which owe just two of these banks 41 Billion naira; companies headed by Peter Ololo, which owe three of the banks 76 Billion naira; and companies owned by the controversial Transcorp Plc, which owe two of the banks 41 Billion naira.
The Rahmaniyya Group is owned by Abdulrahman Bashir, Peter Ololo is the Managing Director of Falcon Securities in Lagos while Transcorp Plc is headed by the Director General of the Nigeria Stock Exhange, Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke.
The CBN stated in its advertorial that its action in exposing the debtors draws directly from its mission to restore proper regulatory culture in the industry long characterised by an "anything goes attitude."
Some of the banks had attempted to rationalise the huge debt overhang in different ways. The management of Intercontinental bank, one of the five ailing banks, in an open letter to President Umaru Yar'Adua on August 12, blamed its debt on "a plethora of personalities otherwise called the cabal who have deliberately refused to make returns in respect of facilities from which they have benefitted."
These could however not save the bank's management from being fired by the CBN. Other banks whose management were sacked are Union Bank, Afribank, Oceanic Bank and Finbank.
FULL PAGE LIST !
FULL LIST on CBN WEBSITE SCROLL TO SEE MORE BIG MEN DEBTORS ! http://www.cenbank.org/Out/publications/pressRelease/GOV/2009/ADVERTORIAL2.pd
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Peter Edochie has been set f.r.ee by the kidnappers after an undisclosed amount was paid as ransom, his son Uche Edochie has said.The veteran actor was held by the kidnappers for about 24 hours; from yesterday, Sunday August 16 when he was kidnapped till Monday, 17 August 2009.He was kidnapped while he was being driven from his country home in Enugu in the company of his family members. Armed men stopped the car he was travelling in and Pete Edochie was the only one kidnapped 3 people were allegedly shot dead at the Scene of the kidnapping .
Posted by 9jabook.com on August 17, 2009 at 9:08pm
The United States military had, in May 2008, conducted a war games test called Unified Quest 2008, to ascertain how its military might respond to a war in parts of Africa including ni.ge.ria and Somalia.
According to an article written by Director of the African Security Research Project in Washington, DC and Guest Columnist of AllAfrica Global Media, Mr. Daniel Volman, the ni.ge.rian scenario was predicated upon a possible war in 2013. The article observed that it was the first time the African scenarios were included, as part of Pentagon’s plan to create a new military command for Africa: the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). It also emerged that “the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market” was one of the “guiding principles” of AFRICOM, as articulated by Vice Admiral Robert Moeller at an AFRICOM conference held at Fort McNair on February 18, 2008.
The 2013 war date, the article said, was a test of how AFRICOM could respond to a crisis in ni.ge.ria in the event that rival factions and rebels fight for control of the oil fields of the Niger Delta and the government was near collapse.
Among scenarios examined, Volman said, were the possibility of direct American military intervention involving some 20,000 US troops in order to "secure the oil,” bearing in mind that ni.ge.ria is a major supplier of US oil needs.
Also, the question of how to handle possible splits between factions within the ni.ge.rian government was tested.
Other options included diplomatic pressure, military action, with or without the aid of European and African nations.
One participant, US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Mark Stanovich, drew up a plan that called for the deployment of thousands of U.S. troops within 60 days, which even he thought was undesirable, Volman stated.
"American intervention could send the wrong message: that we are backing a government that we don't intend to," Stanovich said. Other participants suggested that it would be better if the U.S. government sent a request to South Africa or Ghana to send troops into ni.ge.ria instead,” the article stated.
According to Major Robert Thornton, an officer with the Joint Center for International Security Force Assistance at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, "it became apparent that it was actually green (the host nation government) which had the initiative, and that any blue [the U.S. government and its allies] actions within the frame were contingent upon what green was willing to tolerate and accommodate.”“As the game progressed, according to former U.S. ambassador David Lyon, it became clear that the government of ni.ge.ria was a large part of the problem. As he put it, ‘we have a circle of elites [the government of ni.ge.ria] who have seized resources and are trying to perpetuate themselves. Their interests are not exactly those of the people,” said the article.
“The recommendations which the participants drew up for the Army's Chief of Staff, General George Casey, do not appear to be publicly available, as what the participants finally concluded was not known. But since the war games took place in the midst of the presidential election campaign, General Casey decided to brief both John McCain and Barack Obama on its results,” the article stated.
The game ended without military intervention because one of the rival factions executed a successful coup and formed a new government that sought stability.
AFRICOM representatives were said to be in communication throughout the test, but non of their officers were part of the event, said Volman.
Volman observed that neither the General of AFRICOM William Ward nor Vice Admiral Mueller “were under illusions about the” purpose of the command.
“Thus when General Ward appeared before the House Armed Services Committee on March 13, 2008, he cited America’s growing dependence on African oil as a priority issue for AFRICOM and went on to proclaim that combating terrorism would be “AFRICOM’s number one theatre-wide goal.” He barely mentioned development, humanitarian aid, peace-keeping or conflict resolution.”
“Since then, as General Ward has demonstrated in an interview with AllAfrica, he has become more adept at sticking to the US government official public position on AFRICOM’s aims and on its escalating military operations on the African continent,” stated the piece. Volman argued that contrary to expectations, President Obama had chosen to increase US military intervention in Africa by providing arms and training to the Transitional Government in Somalia, an attempt to make the continent a central battlefield in the “global war on terrorism.”
He further argued that the operations of AFRICOM had been expanded through a proposed budget for financial year 2010, which will provide increased security assistance to repressive regimes in ni.ge.ria, Niger, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and key US allies such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Rwanda and Uganda.
The war game test drew various participants from the State Department and other US government agencies, foreign military officers (including military representatives from several NATO countries, Australia and Israel), journalists, academics, and the private military contractors that helped run the war games: the Rand Corporation and Booz-Allen.
Another of the four scenarios that were war-gamed was a test of how AFRICOM could respond to a crisis in Somalia — set in 2025 — caused by escalating insurgency and piracy. Unfortunately, no information on the details of the scenario is available.
The five-day game was designed to look at what crisis might erupt in different parts of the world in five to 25 years and how the US might respond. Back in 2005, the US had predicted that ni.ge.ria would break-up in 2015. The report was highly criticised by ni.ge.rian leaders.
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He might as well as laid in front of his grave !
God Help Us !
On Thursday, an unidentified man was found dead along Obalende Road, Lagos Island. He was there since 10 am the previous day breathing erratically, but no help came for him as he was in rags and believed to be insane.
Obalende is known for heavy traffic of people and vehicles. Barely 10 metres from him were two police officers directing traffic. When asked why the man was left unattended, a female officer, who refused to give her name, said, "I don't know. He was there when I resumed duty at 4 o'clock."
The gate of the Nigeria Police Headquarters annex, Kam Salem House, on Moloney Street, was about 30 metres from the man's unconscious body.
A passer-by, Seth Orok, said the police should have taken the man to a hospital.
"Even if he is mad, he is still somebody's relative," he said. "The police are supposed to protect us, including this man. It's bad."
"That is what has become of Nigeria," said Kingsley Abayomi, a bank employee on his way home. "Nobody cares for anybody anymore. If it was before, that man would have been moved many hours ago. I saw him there at 12:30. It's almost six now and he's still there."
It's a body again
This kind of case is becoming familiar. On January 16, 2009, Kolawole Balogun, a casual worker with Grinaker LTA construction company on Victoria Island, Lagos, slumped and died in front of Kam Salem House. For two hours, his corpse was there. None of the officers on duty offered to help move it. Later, a group of his colleagues had to pay a commercial bus to take the body home.
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Richard Mofe Damijo,actor and Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State joined actress Patience Ozokwor and Zack Orji, as an inductee of the Nanet Suites Nollywood Hall of Fame.RMDRMDRMD, as he is better known, became one of the notable names in the Nigerian movie industry that have their portraits adorning the walls of the Nollywood lounge at Nanet Suites. The event which began a little behind schedule had in attendance friends of the Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism.he was decked in a black suit, the star-actor came for the event with his wife, Jumobi. RMD also enjoyed the company of DAAR Communications boss, Raymond Dokpesi, his wife Toyin, his newly wedded son, Raymond Jnr and his wife, Doyin. The venue of the monthly ceremony was jam packed with celebrities including Director General of the National Film and Video Censors Board, Emeka Mba, and Phone Port boss, Femi Sanni.RMD who’s featured in over 30 films according to Nanet Suites Chief Executive Officer, Ini Akpabio, is an Actor’s actor. Akpabio, an advocate of using Nollywood as a marketing tool for tourism, said actors like RMD have earned Nigeria the kind of goodwill only stars of their calibre could.Comedian, Julius Agwu, read RMD’s citation, and then the actor’s portrait was mounted in a conspicuous position in the Hall of Fame. Actor and stand-up comic, Francis Duru, gave a good account as Master of Ceremonies, while comedians Fred Bright, Wahala and Youngest Oldman, added spice to the night humour.He graced T.V screens in the 90’s with the soap opera “Ripples”, then moved on to “Checkmate”, and has ever since been a popular face in Nollywood, enjoying a wide fan base of not just Nigerians, but Africa at large.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on August 14, 2009 at 3:42am
As a crucial meeting between the the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido, and CEOs of the nation’s banks is ongoing, industry sources have disclosed that the sack of CEOs and management staff of five major Nigerian banks is the “CBN now acting in its full capacity”.
“What has happened is that these banks have not kept to the stipulations of corporate governance. There is no bank that is not exposed, but these sacks are likely about gross marginal exposure, to just a few corporate entities and individuals,” disclosed one of our sources, a top executive with a new-generation bank.
Another disclosed that police officers are currently on the premises of headquarters of all five banks affected, showing the hard-line stance that the CBN has adopted over reviving the sector; “continued failure of regulation and risk management of the nation’s financial institutions and the effects on banks is at the front-burner of this meeting, which is why no representatives have been allowed.”
It was also revealed that CEO of Bank PHB, Francis Atuche, was one of several executives who hurriedly booked flights in and outside of the country to attend the meeting.
Advising shareholders not to panic, the bank official said that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s motives were well-intended.
“These bankers have most likely been sacked because the government plans to re-inject funds into the banks, and to do so, they will have to oversee its management until the bank is on its feet again. It could have been worse, had the mismanagement been allowed to snowball into the beginnings of a financial crisis quite like that seen in the West.”
He added that this situation was not an industry first. “You will recall that Wema bank had management and shareholders’ funds misappropriation issues and the CBN stepped in, put it in receivership temporarily until it stabilised. Why there is an uproar is the calibre of people, and top-tier banks involved. Sadly, anyone sacked will never work in a financial institution; that is the law.”
Confirming that calls had been made by concerned bankers and shareholders across the nation’s 23 banks on the need for the CBN to clarify the situation, our source said: “until the CBN makes a categorical and detailed statements explaining its actions and the consequences to the Nigerian public, developments like this can in no way help the stock market. I cannot confirm the actual values right now but shareholder value is decreasing even as we speak.”
5ive down ONE more to Go
WHO ? Chemical Ali the boss of all the bosses .
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A Nigerian made armoured car was on Thursday launched by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua at the eagle square in Abuja.It is the first home made armoured car, with most of the materials used in its production sourced locally, while others were imported.It was built by two Nigerian brothers who recently relocated from the United States of America. The brothers; Victor and Johnson Obasa, came back home to use their talent to boost security and also create employment in the country.
The brothers are based in Ekiti State and the duo own a company named Mobile Truck Technology where they nurtured and built the first Nigerian armoured car.According to Johnson Obasa, the local production of the armoured car would help in upgrading the nation's security status. "It will promote up to 50 percent security in the country, it is something to protect the armoured personnel in their line of duty and it can work anywhere. It is designed to help the nation's security; we also did it to create employment," he said.Also, Victor Obasa in a conversation with the press stated that they were in a better position to create this kind of cars since they are in Nigeria and understand the Nigerian terrain.He added that they were willing to do it for the government at almost half the price of importing it. "We would do it for Nigerians for almost half the price they get it outside," he said.The truck which was tested with different kinds of ammunitions, from a far range had little or no mark left on it, but from a close range left peripheral marks.On how they created such a truck with products from Nigeria, Johnson said: "It's been a little bit of up and down's. When we encountered some challenges, the Senate president encouraged us and at the end of the day we were able to put this together."The other brother Victor pledged that they would produce a vehicle carrier that would meet international standard at a reasonable price.The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Adamu Aliero who represented the president at the launch said it was commendable that Nigerians with talents will come home and contribute to the nation's development.He disclosed that the President had directed the Inspector General of Police to meet the fabricators on what they required to produce the vehicle to specification.He also called on Nigerians within and outside the country with such talents to come out and contribute to the development of their country."This is also to call on other Nigerians with similar talents to also come back home and join us to contribute their own quota to the country and for other Nigerians with this kind of talent to put it to use," Mr. Aliero said.Present at the event to inspect the vehicle were top police officers and the Minister for science amd Technology, Al-Hassan Zaku who said the ministry would send a team of engineers to the base where the truck was fabricated to further examine the product."We will examine it thoroughly and work with the police to ensure that it is properly produced to the standard they want," he said.
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They met on the internet. They fell in love. A spare parts seller, Kunle Bamidele was completely honest in his dealings with his Kentucky, US-based beau, Robin Martins, and their wedding recently in Ibadan was as topical as it was controversial. Nevertheless, the young man will soon jet out of the country to join his wife. Seye Adeniyi reports.
The couple kissing during their wedding.advertisement
He was castigating one of his apprentices for wrong-doing when this reporter got to his shop at Ile-Epo area of Odo-Ona, Abeokuta road, Ibadan, Oyo State.
He was so annoyed with the young male apprentice that he brought out the Sunday Tribune edition of 12th of July, 2009 to butress his admonitions to the boy, on the need for him to be truthful, dedicated to duty, and, above all, say the truth at all times.
“Look at this young man now (pointing at Kunle Bamidele’s picture featured in the Sunday Tribune newspaper of 12th July, 2009), he reaped the reward of being faithful, truthful and sincere, and that was why a white woman, an American for that matter, left her country for Nigeria to marry him, ‘’ he told the apprentice.
Many people thought it was not possible, some tagged it an “arrangeé wedding”, while some are still casting doubts on the unique matrimonial union that took place recently in the city of Ibadan between the duo. Alhaji Laide Eniola, a 70 year-old popular fashion designer at Odo-Ona, along Apata road, Ibadan, was privy to all that transpired during the wedding.
Robin Martin, a 41-yr-old Kentuckian, had travelled to Nigeria, some weeks ago, to wed Kunle Bamidele, a 32-year-old spare parts trader at the popular Gate Market, Ibadan.
According to the tailor, the wedding ceremony actually took place in his house at the Scout-Camp, along Challenge-Molete road, in Ibadan on July 11, 2009, after the registry wedding at the Mapo Registry hall.
On why the wedding festivities were not held at the Bamideles’ house, as was customary, he said Kunle’s father chose the Scout Camp venue to give the American some solace as it was modern and more comfortable than his own, adding that since he and the man were childhood friends, he had to oblige him.
The 41-year-old American woman from Kentucky, USA, arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday, July 8, 2009, and the wedding between her and Kunle took place on Saturday, July 11, 2009. She was accommodated, throughout her stay, at the tailor’s house.
But why the quick arrangement that eventually led to a wedding between the duo, considering the short-days intervals?
Alhaji Eniola has this to say: “Kunle and the American woman had been chatting with each other on the internet for a long time, before the woman agreed to visit him in Nigeria. What really impressed the Kentuckian was Kunle’s sincerity and truthfulness. The woman had used many things to test Kunle’s truthfulness, sincerity, love and faithfulness and, I tell you, the young man is not like other Nigerian youths who are fond of duping Europeans on the internet.’’
He noted that the flight ticket with which the woman travelled to Nigeria was sent to her by Kunle. The bride-to-be had, through the internet, sent the money (foreign currency) to Kunle, instructing him to help her purchase the flight ticket in Nigeria and send it to her, an assignment which Kunle carried out to the letter.
“How many Nigerian youths, especially the so called yahoo boys, can do such a thing? I know what many of these yahoo boys can do, and how they are creating a negative image for the country through their dubious activities on the internet. But Kunle Bamidele, now the legal husband of the Kentuckian, did not do that,” he emphasised.
The tailor also revealed to Nigerian Tribune that the white woman, who is a divorcee and a mother of two children in Kentucky, was also impressed with her Nigerian husband’s truthfulness and sincerity when Kunle showed her all the receipts/invoices he had used in purchasing every material she instructed asked him to get, preparatory to their wedding, including the receipt for the new generating set that was purchased before her arrival in Nigeria. Robin Martins also surprised many people, especially the people living around the Scout-Camp area of Ibadan, when she took delight in eating traditional foods like amala, fufu, eba, even ewedu, gbegiri and okro soups, without developing bowel discomfort during her stay in Ibadan.
He noted that many people had tried to discourage the woman from coming, and yet many others had told the family that the woman would not tolerate the facilities on ground, but she coped admirably well.
Concerning the traditional wedding gown (aso-oke), which the couple used for their wedding, the septuagarian also disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that Kunle was given money to buy the material by his bride, adding that it was he who designed the attire for the couple.
‘’The newly-wedded coupled enjoyed their honeymoon in my house and, I tell you, she was impressed with Kunle’s “performance,” being a black man. She also confessed to me that what she saw and experienced in Nigeria was the entire opposite of all the negative reports she had heard about the country before coming to Nigeria,” the tailor told the Nigerian Tribune.
He added that the white woman told him that she was very comfortable in her country, as she presently had two or three companies of her own. But she had to divorce her former American husband because the man used to beat, maltreat, and often subjected her to inhuman treatments despite the fact that she had two children by him.
There was a mild drama inside the Mapo Registry hall during the wedding ceremony. The local government officials that conducted the wedding programme were amazed and highly impressed by the woman’s dancing steps. They were pleasantly surprised, especially when the Kentuckian began to lavish dollars on them, when the couple were called to come forward for thanksgiving.
Throughout her stay in Nigeria, Robin Martins Bamidele was able to acclamatize to Nigeria’s weather; she did not complain of any ailment or infections. But she kept abusing the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), for throwing the country into darkness.
Another drama that also ensued during the woman’s short stay in Nigeria, according to Alhaji Eniola, who hails from Ede, Osun State, was between the woman and the Embassy officials when she took her Nigerian husband there to get all the neccessary papers that would facilitate his smooth journey to Kentucky, USA.
The Embassy officials did not want to give Kunle clearance documents for the journey, hinging their excuses on their previous experiences with Nigerians. However, when the new bride shouted at them, Kunle was given all the necessary papers, and will soon be going to America to join his new heart-trob.
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Shameless ,heartless Kidnappers should be Hung by their privatesKidnapped 76-year- old Woman Feared DeadFrom Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, 08.12.2009The family of 76-year-old Mrs. Ibiwari Brown kidnapped two months ago from Abalama town in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State has said that the group which abducted her and demanded N30 million ransom had called to say she had died.A statement sent online by Alabo Aroloye Brown said the family had been frequenting police stations and handed petitions to the Commissioner of Police, Bala Hassan, on the issue, lamenting that no positive thing had been heard from the police.Contacted, spokesperson of the Police in Rivers State, Mrs. Rita Abbey, confirmed that she was aware of the said kidnap but was yet to hear that she was dead. She said the family members of the kidnapped victim had been coming to their office on the issue.“Twenty four days after her kidnap, the kidnappers called, that was the third time, and demanded for N30million ransom and gave us a phone number to call only when we are ready with the money.“They warned that mama will be killed if we try to make an offer,” Brown said in the statement.But we bluffed them and begged them but they refused and instead cut off communication with us.“This and other security information were promptly given to the security. We were instead advised unofficially to know what to do and not to depend on the police because they were handicapped.“On the 19th of July, 2009 they called and after a long discussion, they promised to release her in the early hours of 20th. This discussion was made between 10.47 and 10.54pm of the 19th instead. That was 30days after her kidnap. On the 3rd of August, 2009 they called and told me that mama is dead. Maybe it is correct or they are bluffing , only God knows”, Alabo Brown said.
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They are brutes, dangerous and daring. The mere sight of them immediately sends commercial bus drivers and their conductors cringing with fear. They are the lords of the road in the cities and in the hinterlands. They are the agberos, dangerous-looking touts who stand at bus stops and motor parks forcefully milking money from motorists.
Agbero, a sobriquet for street urchins, is synonymous with trouble and carnage. With terror, they unleash a regime of dread on Lagos roads as well as in other states.
On Friday last week, WE watched as Manager, as he popularly known at Cele Bus Stop, along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, pranced after a fast moving vehicle in Oshodi.
With one hand, he held firmly to the door, while he menacingly demanded ‘owo ero’ (passengers’ money) from the conductor.
“How many times I go pay for that one? I don pay you when I pass before”, the conductor replied.
The answer infuriated the dirty looking tout.
“You dey craze? You want make I wound you?”
The timely intervention of the driver and passengers, who prevailed on the conductor to comply with the demand, saved the day.
As the fuming street toughie jumped down from the vehicle, angry passengers hurled a load of invectives on him.
He isn’t alone in this brutish behaviour, as his likes litter the metropolis. Be it in the market where they collect illegal levies from traders to the motor parks where they are lords of the manor, they are a law to themselves.
The illegal act of forcefully extorting money from hapless commercial motorists by touts has been in practice for long, but it has, in the past couple of years, assumed a more dangerous dimension.
According to a 70-year-old man who spoke under the condition of anonymity, the ‘business’ of touting started in Lagos around the mid 70’s.
The old man who disclosed that he has lived in Lagos for more than 30 years informed that young boys, who fled to Lagos because of their parents’ inability to cater for their needs, metamorphosed into motor park touts to survive.
“The boys who didn’t have anywhere to go after coming to Lagos were forced to sleep in motor parks, uncompleted buildings and under the bridges. The good ones survived by working as house helps, truck pushers and hawkers, while the criminal minded ones took to armed robbery and extortion from commercial drivers. Initially, agberos did not start collecting money by force. Then, what they did was to assist drivers to fill their vehicles with passengers after which they would take any amount the driver gave them,” he explained.
We discovered that the leaders, who head units in bus stops across the metropolis where the touts work as foot soldiers, also have leaders in the motor parks who they are answerable to.
According to Morufu, a retired banker who now drives a Lagos State-operated taxi cab, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos are very organized and their activities are coordinated by national, state and local bodies.
“They hold zonal meetings every Wednesday across the state. I believe an arrangement should be made for these set of people to work with the local government since the government can’t remove them completely from the road.”
We were also reliably informed that in Oshodi area, there are 16 units that remit N700, 000 daily to the coffers of the leader in charge of the area. Also, in Iyana Ipaja, there are seven units and they collectively deliver close to N200, 000 daily. Some areas such as Shomolu and Alimosho regarded as money spinners remit close to a million naira daily.
How do they generate such large sums within 24 hours?
A motor park tout who said in each bus stop, 10 of them are sent to the road daily and are expected to return with N30, 000. The money, he explained, can be remitted by installments.
“We fit bring small for morning, afternoon and for night. Na him make us dey collect money three times from conductors and drivers”, he explained in spattering English.
But the money, in the words of a commercial bus operator, makes the touts live extravagant lifestyles and throw parties at will. According to Isola Amuda, a bus operator, an average agbero lives like a king.
“They have wives, girlfriends and drive big cars. They eat and drink as if they would die tomorrow with the money we labour for everyday. They are illiterates and drop-outs who live better than many university graduates. It is such an unfortunate situation”, he lamented.
On how a tout emerges a kingpin after running after vehicles and forcing motorists to part with money, Baba Ayo, a former commercial bus driver at Shomolu revealed that there are two major ways of becoming a baba alaye in any area. He informed that it is not a position for all-comers or rookies.
“First, you must be their member for long time. Anybody wey want be oga must dey give boys money and get juju, so dat dem go fear am. If you want start your own group, you go bring your own boys wey to dey deliver. The only thing wey you go dey do everyday na to carry women, smoke and eat. When boys bring money, as baba, you go dash dem some.”
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Since he release d his latest album, UNSTOPPABLE, popular singer, 2face idibia has found himself faced with one controversy or the other. The latest centers around the duet he claimed to have done with American RnB star, R. Kelly. The song in question is titled 'FLEX'. According to him, in a recent interview, the deal was brokered by Toyin Subair, boss of HiTV cable network and he (2face), actually met R. Kelly in the US before recording the song. One of the reasons people seemed to be debating the authenticity of his claim of a collabo with R.Kelly is because the beat of the said song has been used by R.Kelly before in one of his songs.While the entire nation seemed to have forgotten the issue, the whole collabo brouhaha came up again when R.Kelly visited Nigeria a few weeks ago. Expectedly, many people were expecting to see Tuface perform with R. Kelly but that didn't happen. Rumours started flying that Tuface may have lied to Nigerians about having done a duet with R.Kelly.Surprisingly, 2face, who'd featured in past music festival organized by ThisDay didn't make the list of the performing artists billed for R.Kelly's show. An insider disclosed that when R.Kelly was asked if he knows Tuface, he denied him, saying he had never heard the name before. He was said to have listened to the song they were meant to have done together and he laughed over it, insisting that he made the beat a long time ago, and that it must have been tapped on the internet.This City People learnt got the organizers upset and it is for this reason, sources revealed that 2face may have been dropped from the show.Last week Thursday, City People put a call across to 2face to comment on the allegation but his line was not available, so they called up his manager, Efe Omoreige who spoke exclusively on the issue “Well, I have not heard anything from the organizers of the show that R.Kelly disclaimed Tuface, so I might not be able to respond to it. About the allegations that Tuface didn't record with R.Kelly, I will explain to you. Yes the duet was real. Tuface recorded with R.Kelly but not in the same studio. The met but couldn't achieve being in the studio at the same time because of their tight schedule. R.Kelly did his own part and sent it to Tuface and that is all about it. Tuface didn't perform at the show because he was already engaged elsewhere. We were contacted for the show, but we were already booked to be in Benin . You don't expect Tuface to neglect a show he has been paid for to convince people that he knows R.Kelly”
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Posted by 9jabook.com on August 11, 2009 at 8:30pm
Sultan ofSokoto & US Secretary of State
ABUJA—Barring a last minute change of mind, several interest groups scheduled to hold talks with visiting United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton would not honour the American Embassy invitation based on what is seen in diplomatic circles as a breach of protocol.
It was learnt, yesterday that the American Embassy in Abuja, had largely kept the Federal Government in the dark on preparations for the Secretary of State’s visit.
Mrs. Clinton was scheduled to hold talks with top government officials, led by President Umaru Yar’Adua at the Aso Villa, today, after which she would meet with several stakeholders in 9geria, including senators, members of the House of Representatives, traditional rulers, members of the National Inter-religious Council.
However, a top government functionary expressed dismay at the strategy employed by the American Embassy, which was said to have taken it upon itself to make arrangements without adequate consultations with the 9gerian government.
For instance, it was learnt that the Embassy had sent letters to the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, his counterpart at the House of Representatives, Hon Dimeji Bankole, requesting a list of their colleagues to hold talks with Mrs. Clinton.
A similar letter was said to have been sent to the Sultan of Sokoto, requesting a list of traditional rulers to be invited to meet the visiting Secretary of State. The source said each of them turned down the request.
Top officials of government, it was learnt, were alarmed that with a nation battling religious extremists, the Embassy could ask for nominations of people to meet with the US Secretary of State without considering the security implications.
“We don’t pray that anything bad happens but can you imagine the implications of negatively minded persons being invited to such a meeting if they choose to take advantage of such a meeting. It would be a monumental tragedy for 9geria as a nation,” the source said.
The source said that even the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no clear picture of the itinerary of Mrs. Clinton until yesterday, wondering “if the ministry which primary responsibility was to make the woman’s visit memorable was kept in the dark until the last minute before arrival, how could it brief the presidency?
“We are uncomfortable with the way officials of the embassy have been secretive about this visit. It does not show adequate regard for our government and we are certainly not pleased with such an arrangement. This is a sovereign nation and should be taken as such,” the official insisted.
The official noted that the way the embassy had gone with the preparations for the visit showed a strong disrespect for the Federal Government, which normal protocol demands should fully host Mrs. Clinton and take charge of her entire security.
It was learnt that there were no security meetings between operatives in the embassy and the 9gerian Police High Command in collaboration with other security outfits on the visit. The Americans were said to have been making independent arrangements, a development considered as a respect for the Federal Government.
Mrs. Clinton had, at the weekend, criticised 9gerian leaders for the continuous importation of refined petroleum products while occupying the position of world’s number six crude oil producer. She said it was a sign of bad leadership in the country.
“9geria is the 6th largest producer of crude oil but the country still imports fuel,” Clinton said at the weekend during her seven-nation tour of Africa, adding that this was a sign that the nation has poor leadership,” she was quoted as saying.
On the other hand, she praised the Southern African nation of Botswana which she described as a good example for Africa because her leaders judiciously utilized that country’s resources.
The US Secretary of State had warned, “Investors will not be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, crime and civil unrest or corruption that taint every transaction and decision.”
Clinton shuns red carpet, state banquet
Facts emerged also yesterday night that Hillary Clinton who arrived the city of Abuja at 8:30 pm yesterday did not step a foot on the red carpet prepared for her by the 9gerian Government, let alone honouring an invitation to a banquet at the State House.
Her security detail, Vanguard gathered, would also ensure that vehicular and human traffic is temporarily cut off around the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, where she is expected to parley with President Yar’Adua and the Civil Society.
The Centre, it was also gathered would be stripped of any ceremony that may “endanger the security” of Clinton and her team.
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No fewer than 24 corpses were recovered on the hitherto abandoned Sango/Ota Flyover when the construction company, Julius Berger Plc, returned to site for completion of the project in June.
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Deputy Director Highways South-West in the Federal Ministry of Works, Robert Agwusiobu, disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday at Sango/Ota.
Agwusiobu was on inspection team of the House of Representatives Committee on Works led by the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, when he made the disclosure.
His words: "Where we are standing was use as graveyard. Over 24 corpses were removed from this place. In fact, on daily basis, should somebody drop dead in the market, they come and dump it here, so we are not talking of only refuse.
"Today is Saturday, any other day, any other weekend, you cannot pass here.
"That was why I was even talking about working at night or whatever, regardless the cost implication. So we are just soliciting the Honourable Speaker, to see whether fund would be voted so that we tackle this thing," Agwusiobu said.
He assured that with the pace of work, if government releases funds promptly and tackle the issue of cost variations, the bridge would be completed by January.
"We will get through before the rains. Work will speed up now after the rain stops, certainly by January (2010), we will be through with it," he said.
On the dumping of refuse and corpses on the ramp, Agwusiobu said that since the contractor has fully moved to site and cleared the hips of refuse, people have stopped dumping refuse there.
"Now they don't dump (corpses) any more, we've started working; activities are going on here, so they cannot do that.
"But let's assume now we leave for a period, then it would revert into a burial ground again," the deputy director added.
Inspecting the progress of work on the bridge, Bankole expressed satisfaction at the quality of work carried out within two months, when the construction giant remobilised back to site.
"It is okay so far, but we hope to see better improvement. I'm happy, they are happy, the people of this area should be happy that they can do their business now.
Also speaking, the Division Manager of Julius Berger Lubash Det, said that the company had improved upon the hitherto poor condition of the bridge.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on August 10, 2009 at 1:59am
•Uduaghan steps in over repairs of Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline there is a lot of talk but the bottom line is that nothing works at all .
Nigerians will pay more for electricity with effect from this month following a 10 per cent increase in tariffs, according to Federal Government’s plan to encourage private sector participation in the power sector.
But according to the Administrator of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Alhaji Imumudeen Talba, consumers will not pay the new tariff which he said would be borne by the Federal Government through subsidy.
However, this claim is not consistent with findings by THISDAY which revealed that consumers will indeed pay 10 per cent of the new tariff while the Federal Government will pay 90 per cent of it.
Meanwhile, hopes of improved power supply have been rekindled by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State who has succeeded in resolving the impasse over the repair of the major pipeline that supplies gas to the nation’s power plants.
The contractor handling the damaged Escravos-Lagos pipeline is expected to return to site today, fuelling optimism that the Egbin power plant in Lagos, which has the capacity to generate close to 2000 megawatts but has been generating a little above 200 megawatts because of gas shortage, would soon bounce back.
Under the new pricing structure, the tariff for the least paying urban-dwelling consumer is now N4.40, up from the previous N4.00 per kilowatt per hour.
The next category who usually paid N6.00 per kilowatt per hour are expected to go up to N6.60 while the tariff for the highest paying category went up from N8.50 to N9.35 per kilowatt per hour.
Talba told journalists that it was part of the agreed periodic adjustments embedded in the Multi-year Tariff Order (MYTO), which government has already subsided and the support would subsist till 2011.
By then, consumers will bear all the tariffs as Federal Government is expected to gradually disengage from paying subsidy, by which time power supply is expected to have become steady.
Talba explained that the rise was as a result of the inflation and changes in the exchange rate of the national currency against the dollar.
“What we are saying is that there is MYTO. We reviewed that in view of the inflation. You see, there is inflation…Then in view of the inflation, in view of the exchange rate - you know, last year when we did it, the exchange rate of the naira to a dollar was N170 and this year it is N147, and then there is inflation,” Talba said.
According to him, “It is just a minor review, which is part of the multi-year order. It has already been provided, but it does not affect what customers are paying. It does not affect them.”
Rather, he said it was an issue that would be settled among the generation companies, the gas companies and the distribution companies.
“It is not something that will affect the consumers, especially the poor Nigerians, because government has already provided subsidy for that,” Talba stated. “So whatever review we do, it’s been taken care of by the subsidy given by the government. So it will not affect the consumers.”
The NERC boss spoke after a dinner his organisation hosted in honour of the visiting delegation from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), Michigan Public Service Commission and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The third in the series, it was part of the two-year old Energy Regulatory Partnership programme with NERC for which an MoU was signed in 2007.
Talba disclosed that the release of the subsidy to the power distribution companies was for the months of January, February and March.
“What we know is that for the months of January, February, March, we made a recommendation to the government and the Minister has given approval for the release of the subsidy to the beneficiaries. What I mean by the beneficiaries are the distribution companies. I know that has been done and release has been made to the market operator,” he said.
The market operator is Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) which operates through its 11 distribution companies, six generation companies and one transmission company.
“And we’re now looking at the April subsidy because we ought to be satisfied that the money given to them has been utilised for the purpose for which they were given before we recommend again,” the Head of the Nigerian regulatory agency said. “So we are waiting to hear from the market operator and be sure that the money released earlier has been properly utilised.”
On why NERC had not made its findings known months after it said it would announce them after it had completed a visit to all the IPPs (independent power producers) granted licences to see if they had lived up to expectation in terms of meeting the milestones, Talba said: “I promised you and we are still on it.”
According to him, “What happened was this. At out last meeting with the IPPs, they made us understand that we have not released the market rules and we promised them that we would release the market rules by the end of May. We have done that.
“The president has approved the market rules and it has been released to them; we have done the standard PPA. It has been sent to the ministry; we have given them. All these are now on our website.
“They wanted to have these first before they proceed with other things, but we should give them the room and watch them. So having given them these, let’s wait and see what they can do. If they cannot perform, if they cannot do anything we take the further step.”
Talba said during the week-long meeting with the visitors from the U.S., they exchanged ideas about regulatory issues, frameworks, legal issues and pricing, as well as how to run and monitor issues about electricity companies.
Michigan, agencies which he said had been regulating for more than 100 years, are consumer complaints, case procedures and enforcement of guidelines.
“We learnt a lot of things we’d not been doing before,” he said. “We’re going to improve on what we are doing, particularly on consumer issues, and enforcement of guidelines, monitoring the activities of the electricity companies, especially the distribution companies. Safety issues are of much concern to us, taking into cognisance the recent frequent electrocution cases… So we’ve learnt from them.”
The partnership programme was financed by USAID and NARUC.
Uduaghan, at the weekend, successfully resolved the impasse over the repair of the major pipeline that supplies gas to the nation’s power plant.
Uduaghan said the repairs of the pipeline, which conveys gas to Lagos, would help in meeting the target of 6000 megawatts by December 2009.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Warri, Delta State, with Gbaramatu elders, chiefs, officers of the Joint Task Force (JTF), the chairman of Warri South West LGA, Mr. George Ekpemuokpolo and staff of oil companies, the governor harped on the need for a conducive environment to enable repairs to be effected by the contractor, De Wayle’s International limited.
Uduaghan, who stated that oil giants, Shell and Chevron, had already embarked on the repair of their damaged pipelines, assured the contractor that adequate security would be provided by the JTF.
He said that government was aware that power was a critical issue and the worsening situation was leading to a shortfall in gas production, occasioned by vandalism of pipelines in the aftermath of the May 13, 2009 military bombardment of Gbaramatu.
The representative of the NNPC, Mr. Voke Mukoro, disclosed that the nation was losing 180 million cubic feet of gas daily as a result of the damage to the Escravos-Lagos pipeline.
Efforts aimed at generating 6000 megawatts of electricity that will translate into nationwide steady power supply has received a boost with a gas processing plant soon to be established at Utorogun, Delta State.
Already, the Delta State government has given land to the contractors, South Field Gas and Power Limited, which is expected to complete the project in 15 months.
The Managing Director of South Filed Gas and Power Limited, Dr. Patrick Ndiomu, who briefed Uduaghan when the chairman, Senator Musa Adede, led a team of the company’s management to the Governor’s Office Annex, Warri, said the completion of the gas processing plant would provide gas to power stations across the country.
Ndiomu further said with the abundant gas reserve in Nigeria, the Utorogu Gas Processing Plant alongside the Oben Gas Processing Plant that was ongoing in Edo State, would account for 80 per cent of gas supply to power stations in the country.
He also stated that the gas processing plant was part of the national gas master plan and was intended to improve electricity generation.
In his remarks, Uduaghan thanked President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for approving the establishment of the gas processing plant in Delta.
“The Utorogu Community is excited and waiting for the commencement of the project,” he said.
The governor noted that the gas processing plant would eliminate condensate which some “unpatriotic persons used in adulterating kerosene as well as reduce the incidence of pipeline vandalisation”.
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Courtship is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage. During a courtship couples date to get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement and marriage. Usually courtship is a public affair, done in public and with family approval.
Stephanie Oforka:advertisementadvertisement
It includes activities such as dating where couple go out together for dinner, movie, dance parties, picnic, shopping or general “hanging out”, along other activities.
With all these activities in place, the question today is whether lengthy period of courtship guarantees a successful marriage? As usual Bridget Amaraegbu has all the answers. Read on:
Successful marriage has no formula — Stephanie Oforka, MBGN Universe 08
Whether the period of courtship is long or short doesn’t really matter. What matters is that both parties are able to know themselves very well within the period of courtship.
I think it is wrong for people to court for a short period as it may imply that the people involved are in a rush. This may lead to certain arguments in the future because they didn’t take time to study themselves.
But courting for a long period does not also mean that the marriage will eventually be successful because we have actually seen people who courted for several years get divorced. Long period of courtship also has its advantages and disadvantages. One of those disadvantages include not having much respect for each other (in pidgin English, you can say it is see finish) because it gives the people involved the opportunity of knowing each other in and out. That is when you’ll find out that there is nothing any of them can tell each other anymore that will sound new.
Sometimes too, long period of courtship has been responsible for a lot of break ups in relationships. What can you say about a situation where people court for seven years only for one party to discover that they’re no longer compatible and that becomes the end of the relationship. You know, I call that madness. Why did it have to take them so long to realise they’re not compatible. For Christ sake, it doesn’t have to take a decade before you can know that he or she is not good enough for you. Even three months is enough for you to start seeing symptoms of a bad relationship if you’re very observant. At that point you should have defined what you really want and if it’s not there, back out at that point instead of wasting several years in a relationship that won’t work out in the name of courtship.
Some people have made several mistakes of marrying the wrong persons because even while they were courting, they saw some of those symptoms that indicates the marriage won’t work but they just thought it will get better. But I tell you that there are certain characters people have that can’t change. That is why you still see people who court for so long break up after sometime.
Both those who courted for short and long period experience break ups so the solution is not with how long. Instead invite God to open your eyes to the right person he created for you because if you refuse to invite him, you’ll have problems.
The only advantage with long courtship is that it helps you know your partner better than you would in a shorter period.
Also remember that people pretend so you may only find out those qualities the person wants you to know in some cases no matter how long. I know that some people will want to refer us back to our forefathers who didn’t know what it meant to court a woman and yet they didn’t experience divorce. My sister such actions lead to a lot of polygamy, disunity and things like that and I don’t blame them at all. What else do you expect of a marriage where the parties involved never got to be friends not to talk of courting each other. Days have gone when such actions were applicable. Today it’s most appropriate for a man and woman who intends leaving together till death do them part to really get to know themselves well.
That is not to say that there’s any particular formula to a successful marriage. What worked smoothly in the house of Mr A may not work for Mr B so don’t compare any two relationships together.
Can guarantee success — Sapphire Obi, Actress
I think I still prefer the long period of courtship despite the fact that it’s very possible for people to hide their bad character for a long time. I know very well that if you have to court someone for a short period, there are certain things you may not find out about that person. But with time, you’ll get to discover those things that he or she has been hiding. It’s even possible for the person to portray such character unconsciously not even taking cognisance of your presence when both of you are very close. By this time you should be able to capture certain about that person that you’re likely to cope with and those you can’t so I think that long courtship will go along way to guarantee success in marriage.
Only God can guarantee success — Moses Efret, Actor
I don’t think it’s wise for any courtship to last for too long or too short. The most important thing here is that you take time to know whom you want to spend the rest of your life with. If you think it must have a specific period, then two years may not even be enough. The major thing most people fail to realise is that it’s only God that can direct you to the right man or woman. Therefore it’s important that you invite him into that courtship because he has the final say.
If you ask me how long people can court, I’ll say six months to one year is alright after which the relationship becomes suspicious so I don’t think the length of courtship can determine a successful marriage.
Lengthy period not the solution — Sound Sultan, Musician
The length of courtship is not where the issue lies because many times we have seen people who courted for several years still divorce after all. And amazingly some others who courted for short term live successfully. I think the most important thing is just for you to let God direct you and nothing more because if you to rely on your personal analysis , you may get it all wrong and at the end you still have to suffer break up.
No guarantee to successful marriage — Djinee, Musician
My dear, whether the period of courtship is long or short doesn’t matter. The fact remains that there is no guarantee to a successful marriage, unless God gives it to you. It’s possible for you to have known someone for several years without really knowing that person, people live in so much pretense. Over the years, research has shown that people can hide some ugly characters in them which they don’t want you to know about. So no matter how long you court such person, you’ll only get to see those ugly things after both of you are married. The fact that you’ve courted for a long time doesn’t mean you’ve known him or her in and out.
If am allowed to choose from long and short term courtship, I’ll still prefer it a bit long because it gives you the opportunity to know your partner very well. Atleast it’ll give both of us the benefit of doubt that you’ve known each others families. Within this period, if any of us finds anything about ourselves that we may not be able to cope with, it’ll be better for us to forgo the relationship than get married and begin to have problems because of an issue that could have been avoided long time ago. Marriage is not a sympathetic institution so make sure you go into one that you must enjoy.
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The rising complaints of abuse and sexual harassment in the banking industry, traceable to the emergence of Nigeria's new generation banks, has continued to cause concern about questionable labour practices allowed to thrive in the sector due to the glut in the labour market.
The burden of banks' seemingly insatiable desire for deposits experts said is carried largely by female bank officials -who are subjected to various forms of threats, intimidations, queries and demotions, if they are unable to meet the monthly targets.
Meeting the target
According to a female bank staff, "some banks, attach the payment of the salaries of marketers to performance on their given targets. If the target is not met, a percentage of their salary may be deducted and their promotion and other bonuses delayed. I have a friend who has just lost his job because he didn't meet his target. The management called him and advised him to resign or get sacked."
According to her, some female bankers are recruited with clear instructions to generate between N150 million and N300 million within 3-6 months, while those in the operations department have specified targets, like N1 million per month, two savings accounts in one week or three in a month, depending on the branch head and stability of the branch.
No bank has publicly acknowledged the truth of these allegations though.
According to the CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, in his maiden meeting with the House of Representatives committee on banking and currency in Abuja, last month, "Yes this thing is here, although in my over 20 years in the banking industry, I have not experienced where a lady was asked to go and sleep with a man to get deposit. I am sure no bank will say that."
Mind games
According to a female marketer at a top bank, the ultimate decision lies with the marketers as individuals. "It has not been easy, but I am getting used to it. Sometimes, in the process of persuading customers to open accounts, I realise that I am already crying, and then, they are moved and just open the account with much more money than I was even asking for. Sometimes, with just two or three people opening accounts, you can cover your targets for that period.
"Of course, you may not always be lucky, because things don't always turn out that way, but once in a while, we meet decent men, who understand our plight and help us," she explained.
Taking action
The acting secretary general of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), O.P. Orere, explained that the association has never been in support of unrealistic targeting. According to him, "This institution has never supported this. We have frowned at, condemned and castigated it through our various publications and press releases.
"There is nothing we can do. At a time, some of our members complained that condoms were being distributed to them at their offices. It is a fight that has been in existence for a long time. In my 25 years of working in the bank, we didn't have targets."
He puts the blame on the new generation banks. "These banks have 25 billion with the CBN which they do not have free access to, but they need money to carry out their day to day transactions. We have advised them that they can get this by introducing good products to the public and not exposing these ladies to various vices. It is against the International Labour Organisation's decent work agenda, which Nigeria is a member of."
Investigations however reveal that an arm of the ASSBIFI is sponsoring a bill at the National Assembly to check these ‘outrageous' practices.
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From Iyabo Lawal (Ibadan) and Bodunrin Beckley, (Keffi)Like a blockbuster action movie from hollywood ! Assault on Banks 13 !
IT was a black day in Ogbomoso yesterday as gunmen invaded three commercial banks in the city and unleashed mayhem on officials, customers and passers-by.
At the end of the operation, which took place simultaneously in the affected financial institutions, seven persons, including three of the robbers were killed, while others sustained various degrees of injuries.
Also, five persons were yesterday feared killed in a ghastly accident at Gidan Waje village on Keffi-Akwanga road in Nasarawa State.
The robbers, according to sources had arrived at the Apake area of Ogbomoso where the banks are located in five vehicles, including three 18-seater passenger buses, a Toyota Camry and another KIA car, armed with sophisticated weapons. They were said to number about 60.
On their arrival, the gun-wielding robbers took position in the three banks after overpowering the security men stationed within the banks' premises.
While the shoot-out lasted, a cleaner and a top official of one of the banks were shot dead. Three of the robbers also died in the process.
Two persons were hit by stray bullets, while the robbers were trying to escape as they shot sporadically into the air, causing pandemonium in the city.
A police patrol van, which was cited by the robbers while trying to find an escape route was also not spared as it was riddled with bullets, though it could not be ascertained whether anyone was injured in the process.
The development forced other banks in the city to hurriedly close for business while traders and markets also hurriedly locked their stalls.
Commissioner of Police, Baba Bolanta, led a special rescue team to Ogbomoso while mobile policemen and an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) were immediately deployed to the town.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bisi Okuwobi, who expressed sadness over the incident, appealed to well meaning Nigerians to support the police in the area of equipment, saying if an APC was stationed in Ogbomoso, the robbers would not have had a field day.
Those feared killed in the auto crash involving three vehicles, include the chairman of the Senior Staff Association (SSANU) at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Bala Angbashim, his wife and son.
Another occupant of the third vehicle was badly wounded and had to be rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi by men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Commander of the Road Safety Unit in Keffi, Solomon Agure, told The Guardian that the mishap occurred when one of the vehicles tried to overtake and in the process hit an incoming vehicle.
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