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Friday, December 6, 2019

Breaking: DSS Officer Attempts Rearrest of Sowore In Court

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Breaking: DSS Officer Attempts Rearrest of Sowore In Court


Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Friday, have rearrested activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore.

This follows an initial report by this online medium that DSS stormed the premises of the Abuja Federal High Court to arrest the #RevolutionNow convener but were resisted by other activists in court.

However, an update on the matter has it that Sowore has now been arrested by the secret police and has been taken to the DSS headquarters.

As at the time of filing this report, the reason for the rearrest was yet to be ascertained as Sowore was only released on Thursday following a court order.

Kiss Daniel Declares Class Of Degree He Graduated With

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Kiss Daniel Declares Class Of Degree He Graduated With


Nigerian music artiste and FLYBOY Inc boss, Kiss Daniel has declared what degree he graduated with from Water Resources Management and Agrometeorology (Water Engineering).

This he revealed while responding to a fan on Twitter yesterday evening.

The fan had believed that Kiss Daniel had graduated with a first-class, to which Kiss Daniel reacted saying he graduated with a 4.37 and was almost at a first-class.

See the tweet below:

EFCC Arrests 23 Men From ‘Yahoo-yahoo’ School

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EFCC Arrests 23 Men From ‘Yahoo-yahoo’ School


The Economic and Financial Crimes has arrested 23 suspected students learning Internet scam also known as ‘yahoo-yahoo’.

Operatives of the commission busted an alleged training centre on Essien Essien Street, Ikot Ibiok Village, Eket Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.

A spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwajaren, said the fraudsters were arrested during an operation, which took place in the early hours of Thursday, November 28, 2019.

He noted that the suspects between the ages of 19 and 35 years confessed that they were undergoing training in various aspects of cybercrime such as love scam, online trading scam, identity theft etc.

Uwajaren also disclosed that during questioning, the suspects narrated how they were recruited into the ‘academy’ to be trained in cybercrime in the regimented premises.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

FG begins payment of N22.6bn to defunct Nigeria Airways workers

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 FG begins payment of N22.6bn to defunct Nigeria Airways workers

The Federal Government will on Monday, October 15, 2018, begin the final verification and payment of entitlements to former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways.
According to a statement by Paul Abechi, the special adviser on media and communications to the finance minister, the payment will last one week simultaneously across Lagos, Kano and Enugu states.

The exercise will take place at Sky-Power Catering, Ikeja, Lagos; ABC (former Nigeria Airways Office), Bank Road, Kano; and Villa Toscana Hotel, Independent Layout, Enugu.

Buhari receives Liberia President special envoy, Ms Mawine

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Buhari receives Liberia President special envoy, Ms Mawine


President Muhammadu Buhari receives the Liberian Special envoy and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, H. Ms. Mawine Diggs accompanied by the Ambassador of Liberia to Nigeria, H.E Prof Al-Hassan Conteh during an audience at the State House, Abuja on Wednesday, December 4, 2019.

Huawei releases the HUAWEI Y9s: get more enjoyment from mobile photography with a 48MP AI triple camera

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Huawei releases the HUAWEI Y9s: get more enjoyment from mobile photography with a 48MP AI triple camera
Today, Huawei officially launches the HUAWEI Y9s, a new entry-level smartphone for the second half of 2019. To meet consumers’ diverse demands, the HUAWEI Y9s launches with impressive features including a pop-up camera and a 6.59-inch FullView Display, giving the user truly borderless viewing experience. Crafted with flagship-level quality, HUAWEI Y9s uses stylish colours and unique textures to present a truly attractive handset.
The standout feature is an ultra-wide-angle, AI Triple Camera with a 48MP Main Camera for outstanding photographic capabilities. Inheriting Huawei’s technological strength in low-light photography users can take high-quality photos with sharp details. With these remarkable features, the HUAWEI Y9s offers excellent performance and user experience in the entry-level smartphone segment.
Explore the Enjoyment of Photography in Everyday Life
Demonstrating Huawei’s expertise in producing quality smartphones for younger consumers, the new HUAWEI Y9s maintains smooth performance and long battery life while continuing Huawei’s advantages in photography. It improves camera performance through hardware and software integration, giving users new ways to capture wonderful moments in their everyday life.

The HUAWEI Y9s is equipped with an AI Triple Camera setup, which comprises an ultra-clear 48MP Main Camera, an 8MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera and a 2MP Depth Camera. The 48MP Main Camera features a 6 Plastic (6P) lens with a large aperture of f/1.8, which effectively increases the quality and clarity of images. Users can take great photos with sharp details without the need for touch-ups.Additionally, the 8MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera offers a 120-degree field-of-view for photo and video shooting, almost doubling the viewing angle of 78-degree that traditional lenses can offer. Whether shooting natural scenery, urban architecture or a group photo, a wider field of view gives you more opportunities to record your story. The 2MP Depth Camera helps with background blurring to create professional bokeh effects, making portraits more vibrant.
Instead of a notched or punch hole design, the HUAWEI Y9s uses a pop-up camera to provide a clean, true FullView Display experience. A Micro-Seam Earpiece is embedded in the top bezel, while a hidden ambient light sensor is installed at the bottom of the display. Compared with the previous product (HUAWEI Y9 2019), the HUAWEI Y9s features thinner top and bottom bezels to get a high screen-to-body ratio of 91% and maximise the viewing area.

The HUAWEI Y9s is powered by the Kirin 710F chip, a high performance, low power consumption processor which ensures a fast and smooth user experience, effectively improving the battery life.

Compared with the Kirin 659, Kirin 710F provides roughly 75% better single-core performance and around 68% improved multi-core performance in CPU. For GPU, it also doubles the power efficiency and delivers 1.3 times higher performance.
In addition to its powerful hardware, the HUAWEI Y9s also uses AI algorithms to enhance images. The built-in Multi-Frame Noise Reduction powered by Huawei’s AI algorithms allows long exposures of up to six seconds during handheld photography, helping users shoot improved night photography without fear of, red-eye, blurring or noise caused by long-exposure. Moreover, with AI Scene Recognition, the HUAWEI Y9s can quickly identify 500+ scenes such as ancient architecture, food or sunrises and sunsets. It can then optimise the portrait and background of the photo for different scenarios.
The rear Triple Camera allows users to capture clear photos, while the front pop-up camera is designed to snap beautiful selfies. The HUAWEI Y9s comes with a 16MP front camera paired with remarkable AI algorithms to enrich portraits with flare effects, AI Backlit Imaging and new AI Beauty for the ideal selfie.
Quality Build 6.59-inch Ultra FullView Display with Stylish Colour Design
The HUAWEI Y9s sports a 6.59-inch negative LCD FullView Display that offers a palette of 16.7 million colours. With a screen resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, 1500:1 contrast ratio as well as a wide colour gamut of 85% (typical value), the FullView Display brings out the sharp, fine details and make colours vibrant. The device also provides professional Eye Comfort Mode, which passed TÜV Rheinland’s low blue light certification, helping to alleviate eye fatigue over time.
Additionally, the HUAWEI Y9s adopts a side-fingerprint solution, which combines the power button and fingerprint unlock button so users have one button for multiple purposes. This design ensures the integrity of the front and back panels, while providing unlock speeds are lightning fast. Made of glass and polished with a nano-texture process (Breathing Crystal only), the back panel of the HUAWEI Y9s interprets the dynamic changes of lights and shadows.
High Performance, Large Storage and Big Battery
Additionally, the HUAWEI Y9s supports UFS2.1 Dual-channel Storage technology and Huawei’s Extendable Read-Only File System (EROFS) to bring better read and write performance and more efficient storage, releasing more space for the phone to run heavy-duty applications.
The HUAWEI Y9s provides a large battery of 4000mAh (typical value), along with 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM with expandable 512GB storage (sold separately). Available in Midnight Black and Breathing Crystal. The HUAWEI Y9s will be available for Pre-Order starting from 9th December – 15th December. Pre-order the HUAWEI Y9s and get the HUAWEI Band 4e for free.

CAC’s acting boss, Obiageli, will be arraigned at CCT on December 18; FG

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CAC’s acting boss, Obiageli, will be arraigned at CCT on December 18; FG

The Federal Government will on December 18 arraign the acting Registrar-General of the Cooperate Affairs Commission, Azuka Obiageli, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, on assets declaration-related charges.

A statement by the Head, (Press & Public Relations), Ibraheem Al-Hassan, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

Al-Hassan noted that the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, had on November 27, 2019, approved the December 18 date for the arraignment, adding that the defendant had been served with the tribunal’s summons on Tuesday.

He said Obiageli was charged with 11 counts of violating “the provisions of Paragraph 1, 9 and 11 (1) (a), (2), of the Fifth Schedule, Part1 and punishable under paragraph 18 (1) and (2) of the Constitution.”

The statement added that the 11 counts bordered on “alleged infraction of asset declarations.”

It added, “The charge was signed by the operative of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Musa Ibrahim Usman, on November 20, 2019, for the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation.”

It also stated that a Deputy Director of Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports, Mohammed Al-Hassan, would also be arraigned on December 18 on two counts.

Unconventional monetary policies have created over 2.5m jobs —CBN

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Unconventional monetary policies have created over 2.5m jobs —CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria says its unconventional monetary policies have supported the creation of over 2.5 million jobs across the agricultural value chain.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, made this known in a keynote address he delivered at the 28th Annual Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors, held in Owerri on Tuesday.

Emefiele was represented at the occasion by Mr. Edward Adamu
CBN Deputy Governor, Corporate Services.



The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2019 seminar has its theme as “Galvanizing Development Finance and Monetary Policy for Growth.”

He noted that the unconventional or heterodox monetary policies adopted by the apex bank were well thought through and had been yielding significant gains for the Nigerian economy.

He said this was evidenced in the GDP recovery in the third quarter of 2017, which had been sustained for nine successive quarters after five consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Emefiele noted that the unconventional monetary policy initiative was premised on ensuring credit delivery to critical sectors of the economy.

According to the CBN governor, the move informed the directive to Deposit Money Banks to maintain a minimum Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) of 65 per cent by the end of December 2019.

He said the apex bank was also creating the necessary eco-system to inculcate a better credit culture among Nigerians.

“In all, there is sufficient evidence of significant reductions in our annual imports bill and increased non-oil exports.

“Our Development Finance intervention has helped to bolster agricultural production by removing obstacles faced by smallholder farmers.



“We have also improved access to markets for farmers by facilitating greater partnership with agro-processors and industrial firms in the sourcing of raw materials.

“So far, the programme has supported more than 1.5 million farmers across all the 36 States of Nigeria, in cultivating 16 different commodities over 1.4 million hectares of farmland.

“It has also supported the creation of over 2.5 million jobs across the agricultural value chain,” he said.

Emefiele said that considering the gains, the media had a critical role to play in conveying a deeper understanding of the bank’s commitment to economic growth and development.

“For instance, it is our game-changing intervention in the rice value chain in Kebbi and other rice-producing states across the country that increased local rice production from 2.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2017.

“This was also the case in the cotton intervention with the flag-off of input distribution to 150,000 cotton farmers, cultivating 150,000 hectares in 23 states of the Federation,” he said.

The CBN governor said the theme of this year’s seminar was relevant, considering the evolving interconnectedness between development finance and monetary policy, not only in Nigeria but in other economies across the world.

He said the CBN approach to stimulating economic development was three-pronged and centered on Agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Infrastructure.

He said the apex bank had transcended her core mandate of maintaining monetary, price and financial system stability, to undertake developmental initiatives with a view to spurring economic growth and job creation.

“Our efforts at these development finance initiatives have helped to accelerate the actualization of the Federal Government’s economic diversification programme.

“Diversifying our economic base presents a more sustainable and stable option.

“It is our conviction that focusing our developmental efforts on sectors with inherent potential for growth, employment and accretion to foreign reserves would enhance the fortune of the Nigerian economy,” he said.

Emefiele pointed out that the CBN had increased its lending to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, through targeted intervention schemes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme and the Real Sector Support Facility.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

President Buhari Commissions Transport University In His Hometown, Daura Katsina State

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President Buhari Commissions Transport University In His Hometown, Daura Katsina State

 President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned a new Transport University in Katsina State.

The university is said to be the first of its kind in Africa and it is located in Daura, the hometown of President Buhari.

Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony of the university in Daura on Monday, Buhari said the school will enhance employment opportunities and supplement the transport sector’s ”dire need of new thinking, skills and investment”.

Buhari noted his consent to the university ”is to encourage the development of indigenous capacity which is part of his commitments to Nigerians”.

“The project is part of the ongoing effort of the federal government towards promotion and development of indigenous capacity through technology acquisition and knowledge transfer to effectively maintain and operate numerous railway infrastructure,’’ he said.

“When established, the university would among other things pave way for (the) domestication of railway engineering and general transportation sciences in Nigeria thereby bridging the technology and skill gap in the railway and ultimately transportation sector.”

He also noted that the university is an investment of the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) ”with the support of the federal government with guidelines to ensure domestication that will support local infrastructure.”



President Buhari performs Ground Breaking Ceremony of the University of Transportation in Daura and commissions road by Katsina State Government on 2nd Dec 2019

UTDaura 2: President Buhari with L-R: Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Ambassador of China to Nigeria Dr Zhou Pingjian and MD CCECC Nig. Ltd. Mr Jiang Yigao shortly after performing Ground Breaking Ceremony of the University of Transportation in Daura on 2nd Dec 2019
Katsina Road 2: President Buhari with Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, Katsina State Deputy Governor Alh. Manir Yakubu and other dignitaries at the commissioning of Randa Doguru-Gallu Kwanar-Gwanti-Shargalle road built by Katsina State Government on 2nd Dec 2019

Appointment of banks by FIRS as collecting agents for recovery of alleged tax liabilities

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Appointment of banks by FIRS as collecting agents for recovery of alleged tax liabilities



The FHC further held that the Plaintiff is not liable to pay CIT, being an individual who carries on legal practice in its name and issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the FIRS, its agents, privies, employees, etc., from demanding the payment of CIT from the Plaintiff. The FHC also awarded monetary sum as damages against the Defendants for illegal and unlawful freezing of the Plaintiff’s bank account.
Comments
In 2018, the FIRS commenced the issuance of Letters of Substitution to banks in Nigeria, pursuant to Section 49 of the Companies Income Tax Act, Cap. C21, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended) and Section 31 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act, 2007. By the letter, the FIRS alleged that certain listed customers (“affected companies”) maintaining bank accounts with such banks failed to fulfil their tax obligations, and therefore appointed the banks as tax collecting agents for the deduction and remittance of the alleged tax liabilities. The FIRS also requested the banks to “freeze” the accounts of affected companies and demanded that the banks should not execute any mandate on those accounts without its prior approval.
Following the above, KPMG issued a Newsletter – issue 2.5 of February 2019 highlighting key issues that the FIRS should consider before implementing its directive to the banks, some of which the FHC addressed in this judgement.
The FHC judgement declaring the FIRS’ action as “unlawful, null and void” is, therefore, not surprising given the plethora of issues associated with the FIRS’ directive, some of which we had highlighted in the Newsletter mentioned above. For instance, the judgement confirms that the FIRS’ appointment of banks as agent for collection/remittance of taxes when the taxes are not proven to be due is premature and exposes the banks to risk if such taxes are not actually due, or are lesser than the sum actually paid to the FIRS. The FIRS must also demonstrate that the alleged liability is final and conclusive, and that the taxpayer has failed to pay the liability within the statutory time limit before it can validly appoint an agent of collection for that purpose. In any case, such enforcement must be limited to the amount of the valid liability and not the total funds in the affected taxpayer’s bank account.
The FHC judgement further demonstrates that a risk of exposure in the form of an award of damages may crystalize on the banks where the freeze order is determined to have been wrongly issued and executed, especially where the bank failed to obtain adequate comfort from the FIRS that the liability is indeed final and conclusive before executing the lien.
While the FIRS must be commended for its various initiatives to expand the tax net and improve voluntary compliance level, such actions must be within the confines of the law. Banks must protect their fiduciary obligations to their customers, failing which the customers have a right in law to seek legal redress whenever they perceive a breach of their statutory rights. Taxpayers must also ensure that they promptly fulfil their civic obligations by paying the right amount of taxes and complying with all statutory filing requirements as and when due. This will, expectantly, engender trust in the Nigerian tax system.

Finance Bill to use banks as agents to tax Nigerians

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Finance Bill to use banks as agents to tax Nigerians


In October 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the Finance Bill 2019 to the National Assembly, seeking a sweeping change to Nigeria’s outdated corporate tax laws. The bill, if signed into law, is expected to address most of the challenges with Nigeria’s corporate tax laws, ease payments of taxes, and ultimately increase government revenues.

Businesses in Nigeria are now more than ever exposed to payment of taxes, according to provisions of the Finance Bill currently being debated by the National Assembly.

Whilst the bill has largely been received positively by most stakeholders, a critical look at its provisions outlines the significant roles which commercial banks will play in widening the tax base and reducing tax evasion.

Role of Banks
According to Section 2 of the Finance Bill, Every person engaged in banking in Nigerian shall require all companies to provide their tax identification number as a precondition for opening a bank account, or in the case of an account already opened prior to September 30th 2019, the bank shall require such tax identification number to be provided by all companies as a precondition for the continued operation of the bank account.
What this means
Banks will be required to request Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) before opening accounts for individuals while existing account holders must provide their TINs to continue operating their accounts.Emails are to be accepted by the tax authorities as a formal channel of correspondence with taxpayers.
Banks in Nigeria currently demand TINs; however, this was under the instruction of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) mandating banks to demand the TINs.
With this law, the TIN is now a critical KYC information required by banks, which inadvertently gives the FIRS access into the banking transactions of taxpayers.

Implication for taxpayers
The Finance Bill gives the FIRS and the State Inland Revenue Service complete access to transactions in the bank accounts of businesses. The provision is obviously aimed at increasing the government’s revenue, giving them unfettered access into the bank accounts of millions of Nigerian companies. According to an analysis of the Finance Bill by accounting firm, PWC, “there is also a deliberate effort to ensure that the sector contributes to revenue generation without excessive financial burden. An area of focus for the government would be to formalise these businesses through the TIN project in collaboration with the banks.”
Before now, Nigerian business owners had often complained that their bank accounts had been frozen by banks on behalf of the FIRS. With this bill, it is unclear how the FIRS will utilize the access they have to bank accounts by leveraging on the TIN.


What experts say
As far as Managing Partner, Prime Consult, Dr Gbenga Adebayo, is concerned, the primary objective of the bill is the generation of additional revenues for the government to potentially partly finance the deficit in the 2020 Budget of the FGN.
He explained that requesting TIN connotes that the Federal Government is determined to ensure that everyone pays tax, and would be ready to enforce remittance from the source or ask the bank to freeze the account of defaulters.

Adebayo said, “FIRS has been freezing the accounts of tax defaulters, and insisting on TINs of both new and existing account holders is a drastic move to enforce compliance. The TIN could be used to monitor/track people’s accounts and curb default.” 
Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Tunde Fowler

Another tax consultant, Tayo Oluwole, agreed that the bill seeks to promote fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation, reform domestic tax legislation in line with global best practices, and introduce tax incentives, particularly for investments in infrastructure.
“It will no longer be business as usual regarding tax collection. Banks are being used as agents for both tracking and collection,” she said.

13 reporters, Osinbajo, Smart-Cole, Amnesty for Wole Soyinka Award

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13 reporters, Osinbajo, Smart-Cole, Amnesty for Wole Soyinka Award


Thirteen journalists from print, online, television, radio, photo, and editorial cartoon categories have been shortlisted for the 2019 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism.

Similarly, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Amnesty International and veteran photojournalist, Sunmi Smart-Cole, have been nominated to receive honorary awards at the 14th edition of the initiative, which will hold at NECA House, Lagos, on Monday, 9th December 2019 by 6pm.

The journalists who were shortlisted from 194 entries received include; Chinwe Agbeze of The Sun, Damilola Banjo of Sahara Reporters; Samson Folarin of The Punch; Sharon Ijasan of TVC News; Isine Ibanga of The Next Edition; Samuel-Wemimo Bukola of TVC News; Oladimeji Ramon of Punch; Mary Abayomi-Fatile of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); Ayodele Adeniran of Guardian; Saheed Olugbon of The Punch; Albert Ohams of The Sun; Chikezie Omeje of International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR); and Odutayo Odusanya of The Punch.

Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, will be presented the Integrity specialty of the Anti-Corruption Defender Award for his invaluable work of overhauling the Lagos State Judiciary, facilitating far-reaching reforms in the administration of justice in the state, his work of promoting integrity in the civil society and business in Nigeria and his consistency as a strong voice for promoting integrity in the country.

On the other hand, Amnesty International, a global movement promoting human rights in Nigeria and beyond, will be honoured with the Human Rights Specialty of the Anti-Corruption Defender Award for its remarkable voice against human rights violations and oppressive laws, and its efforts to defend freedom of expression in Nigeria.

Veteran photojournalist, Sunmi Smart-Cole, will also be honoured with the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence for his outstanding contribution to journalism exhibited by his beautiful and evincing pictures particularly during the military era in Nigeria and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of photojournalists.

The award presentation event is held annually on December 9, the World Anticorruption Day and eve of the Human Rights Day, to acknowledge best practices in investigative journalism and call attention its for attaining good governance, accountability, and social justice. It has produced 91 finalists, 9 investigative journalists of the year and 20 honorary awards recipients so far.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Charly Boy set to perform at 2019 ‘Felabration’ Festival

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Charly Boy set to perform at 2019 ‘Felabration’ Festival




Maverick entertainer and activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as ‘Charly Boy’, is set to perform at the 2019 annual Felabration fiesta, a week-long celebration of the life and times Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

The event is holding from Oct. 14 to 20, at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, with both local and international artistes slated to perform.

In a video shared on his social media page on Tuesday, Charly Boy said he was set to perform alongside other artistes at the grand-finale of the fiesta.

According to the 68-year-old showbiz maestro, who released his debut highlife album over three decades ago and recently returned to the stage, his performance was in the spirit of immortalising Fela’s ideas.


The former president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN) said he will present his latest songs at the show. “Make a date with me, alongside other great Nigerian artistes on Sunday, Oct. 20, as we all gather together to give honour to whom honour is due, the legendary baba Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

“Come listen to my new tunes as we all gather if we can find a cure to our mumu.”
Charly Boy had earlier told NAN that he has decided to use music as a tool to inspire ordinary Nigerians, especially youths, to realise that power truly belongs to them.

He explained that he was leading an advocacy and enlightenment campaign on the “Social Contract’’ to Nigerians across all backgrounds.

“Music has been my age-long passion, and this time I am using it to awake the consciousness of all Nigerians, no matter where they are, towards building the country they desire.”

NAN also reports that Felabration was founded by Fela Anikulapo’s daughter, Yeni Kuti, as an annual festival to honour and celebrate the ideals that the late founder of Afrobeats music and socio-political activist lived for.

This year’s edition, tagged “From Lagos with Love”, opened on Monday at Neca Hall with a talk show on the topic, ‘Teacher don’t teach me nonsense’.

The panel included Ugandan singer and politician, Bobi Wine, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and British rapper, Akala.

The first day also had electrifying performances from promising Nigerian singers, including Fuji singer, Remi Aluko, singer Dotman, Trod, Picazo Rhap and Yomi Blaize.
Fast-rising versatile singer Zinoleesky, popularly called the ‘show killer’, also performed at the opening day.

Zenith Bank supports start-ups

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Zenith Bank supports start-ups

Zenith Bank has supported and sponsored various technology start-ups and innovative ideas at its recent Tech fair.


Zenith Tech Fair, which held at the Land Mark Event Centre, Victoria Island Lagos, was themed ‘Future forward’, which showcased leading technology innovations across every aspect of life.



Speaking at the event, Jim Ovia, Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, said Zenith Bank has always had some form of technology summit over the years, but the tech fair is a little bit different from the prior years because, at this point in time, the world has gone so digital and Nigerian economy is being digitised.

He said Nigeria has well trained Nigerian engineers, IT and practitioners and there is a need to encourage them.

Ebenezer Onyeagwu, MD/CEO, Zenith Bank, who was pleased with the turnout of people in attendance, acknowledged that virtually every stakeholder in the digital ecosystem was represented at the event.

“I am very impressed with the quality of the presentation. We had presentations from Google, IBM, Oracle and several others and every one of them talked about the huge potentials in Nigeria and the opportunity for growth expansion that awaits us, so I believe what we need to do is take it to an elevated level to see what happens,” he said.

On whether the tech fair was mature for discussions around 5G technologies, Onyeagwu said it was mature, stressing that Nigeria needs to be aware of what is happening.



“We need to be aware of the direction of travels so if everyone is taking about 5G and moving ahead, what you see in the digital space is that, if you fail to adapt to the latest technology, you will soon become irrelevant,” he said.

Juliet Ehimuan, Google’s Country Manager in Nigeria, who said she felt great being at Zenith Bank’s tech fair said that technology has played a very important role and continues to play that role in transforming the way we live, work, do business and interact with one another.

Amaechi announces free Lagos-Ibadan ‘#NextLevel’ train ride

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Amaechi announces free Lagos-Ibadan ‘#NextLevel’ train ride



Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, has announced a free train ride from Lagos to Ibadan.
In a tweet on Saturday, Amaechi said the take-off point will be from Iju, and that the rides will run until March 2020.

He asked commuters to take advantage of the free rides during the festive season.
“Our free rides on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line will begin today and run through March, 2020,” he tweeted.

“Commuters on that route can take advantage of it and save on transportation during the festive season and beyond. Let’s ride to the #NextLevel.”

 During the inspection of the project earlier, Amaechi said it was the wish of the government to begin free rides in Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line.
The minister inspected the project in the company of Gbémi Saraki, minister of state for transportation.
He said he put pressure on the contractor to ensure that the minor stations were completed in due course.
“We know that by January next year, they are going to finish both the minor and major stations so that we can move on,” Amaechi had said.
“They need to increase their speed. They reduced their speed within the period the government dissolved the last cabinet.

“Now that we are back, my colleague, the minister of state, and I had resolved to push back the pressure to ensure early completion.
“Our ambition is that by November, we should begin trial if train services between Lagos and Ibadan for free.”

Jim Ovia Inaugurates Second Edition of Zenith Bank’s Lifestyle Fair

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Jim Ovia Inaugurates Second Edition of Zenith Bank’s Lifestyle Fair



The Chairman of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia was among the large drove of people who convened at the Eko Energy City of Eko Atlantic in Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday November 29, for the second edition of the Style by Zenith. Accompanied by top management staff, Ovia expressed satisfaction at the turnout, more particularly the layout of the venue which was transformed into a fairground of some sort.  He walked the length and breadth of the recreational facility, stopping at a few retailer booths to drop a few kind words.
The new venue accommodated more than a 100 exhibitors from different segments of the lifestyle sector. From fashion vendors to food vendors, the facility boasted a potpourri of activities. There were also on display artworks as well as a game arcade for children and adults who want to indulge in the pastime. Operators in the Information and Communication Technology were not left out. Notable brands at the fair include MTN Nigeria, Airtel, and Glo. To add panache to the event, a VIP section was created for high profile personalities. Over here, top executives unwind, clink glasses and network while the DJ provided cool music vibes.
Over 1000 applicants applied for a spot in the fair this year, according to a senior management staff, Titi Awokoya. Only 300 booths, however, were available.  The figure indicated an over five per cent increase from last year which recorded only 285 retailers. Awokoyo hinted that there will be a significant increase in subsequent editions once the bank gets its permanent site.
Part of the increase, Awokoya pointed out, was from the accessibility of the fair to retailers outside Lagos state.
“The maiden edition was open to only retailers residing in Lagos state. But this year, we have people applying from different parts of the country. We have a special booth for Aba SMEs. We sponsored the Aba SME Fair last month so they are here to participate in the fair. We are giving our customers exposure” she said, a fact that the Brand Activation Representative (West), of NatnudO Foods, Abiodun Adekola attested to. It is the second time the brand is participating in the fair. He is exceptionally excited about the new venue because it is spacious and with the greenery food court, customers can enjoy their meals under a serene ambience.
One of the reasons the brand participates in the fair according to Adekola was the class of people that it connects them to.
“Zenith is associated with the class so it is a good avenue to introduce our products to the elites.”
However, for first-timers like High Prestige Bella, a hair company,  they are excited to participate in the fair and look forward to greater business opportunities.
For its second edition, the financial institution threw all in the ring to deliver a holistic experience for its customers. It flew in top international fashion designers like Tom Ford to walk the red runway. The three-day event will also witness leading fashion designers in the country like Mai Atafo. Each day will be crowned by music performances from top rated music artistes like 2Baba, Teni the Entertainer to mention a few.
Attendees of the first day of the event had the opportunity to participate in masterclasses of high-profiled creative entrepreneurs like the ace photographer, Kelechi Amadi-Obi who enlightened the audience on fashion photography while veteran Nollywood actress cum apostle Eucharia Anunobi shared insights on how to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry.
Launched in 2018 with the objective of supporting and creating value for customers by focusing on various aspects of their lifestyle, ‘Style by Zenith 2.0’ caps a year of all-encompassing customer lifestyle engagements by Zenith Bank. This year, the bank held its first-ever music concert Aspire Music Festival. The show which was held in Lagos last September attracted a large pool of millennials.
In October,  the bank threw its weight behind Aba SME Fair, organised for SMEs in the Aba Fashion Market, Abia State.
Awokoya said the whole idea is to build up events that will culminate in the lifestyle event.
“It is a retail initiative. We are trying to bring all the entrepreneurs together under one umbrella which is in line with the apex bank of Nigeria, CBN’s Intervention Fund. We want to empower entrepreneurs so their businesses can grow.”
The fair continues today with more lined-up activities and will draw its curtains on Sunday, December 1.
Source: THISDAY

Dangote refinery takes delivery of world largest crude distillation column equipment

6:28 PM 0
Dangote refinery takes delivery of world largest crude distillation column equipment



The world’s largest crude distillation column equipment designed for crude oil processing for Dangote refinery on Sunday arrives Lagos.

The Crude Distillation Column is the largest in terms of distilling capacity which is 650 thousand barrels per stream day. Presently, this is the world’s largest single-train refining Column.

The significant equipment  weighs 2250MT; Length, 112.5m; Width, 14.036m; and Height, 13.752m;

The above-mentioned weight does not include the weight of the internal trays which is approx. 536 MT.

Capt Rajen Sachar, Head, Maritime and Ports Infrastructure of Dangote told the newsmen during the arrival of the facility in Lagos that the equipment  is the biggest single-train facility used for refining crude

The refinery equipment which was manufactured by Sinopec in China is the primary unit processor of crude oil into fuels.

Sachar said the crude oil consists of various chemical components that have different molecular sizes, molecular weights and boiling temperatures.

He added that the crude distillation column works on the principle of fractional distillation leading to separation of various components in the mixture on the basis of their different boiling points.

According to him, “ Crude oil enters the top of the column, where the inlet temperature is 165 deg C gradually increasing to 357 deg C at the bottom of the column.

“During this passage, the crude and its vapours pass through a complex web of internal trays to increase the contact time and surface area within the column with the hot vapours travelling upwards through bubble caps which allow the vapour to pass through the tray with the cooler liquid flowing downward the column.

“When the vapour reaches the height within the column where its boiling point is equal to the temperature of the column at that height it condenses to form a liquid.

“The liquid then collects on various trays in the column at differing heights from where it is extracted out of the column.

“It is therefore critical to control the heat load of the column to optimize the crude crack.

“These separated fractions are mainly middle distillates namely, Naphtha, Jet Fuel, Kerosene, Gasoline and Gas Oil,” Sachar added.

The company’s captain said that the refinery, when completed, will produce Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.

He said that the crude column will enhance the economy of Nigeria and all neighbouring countries in Africa by making available refined petroleum products meeting world standards emission norms of Euro 5 and Euro 6.

The captain said the strategic location of Nigeria in West Africa continent will help in reducing the transportation costs of these fuels to other countries in the African subcontinent.

“Thereby providing cost-effective high-grade petroleum products to them.

“This Refinery with a capacity of 650 kbps is higher than the total demand of Nigeria

“Thus catapulting Nigeria position from a net importer of petroleum products to a net exporter of petroleum products. Thereby redefining Nigeria’s position in the global petroleum product market.

He said that the equipment was capable of refining 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) which he said the refinery was designed to be Africa’s largest, with potential to transform the country from an importer of fuel to a net exporter.

He said that the technology is significant to Nigeria and Dangote refinery, because “ this is the largest crude oil processor in the world”.

According to him, this technology will bring a multiplier effect positive to the company and Nigeria through supply to a huge market.

Sachar said that the project is also expected to generate over 9,500 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs.

“The Crude Distillation Column is the largest in terms of distilling capacity which is 650 thousand barrels per stream day.

“Presently, this is the world’s largest single-train refining Column.

“The dimension of this equipment has a weight of 2250 metric tonnes,112.5 meters length,  14.036 meters width and 13.752 meters height, he said.

Sachar said: It is the largest diameter, longest length and the heaviest single-unit equipment in domestic export equipment.

“ It will be installed in the world’s largest single-series refinery – the 32.5 million tonnes/year Dangote refinery in Nigeria.

He said that crude oil processor took 14 months in construction by Sinopec company in China and eight weeks to bring it down to Nigeria.

“ We decided to ship it through the vessel from China to avoid being damage and also to avoid traffic congestion if using roads from Apapa.

“ Dangote refinery also invested heavily in dredging to sea from refinery to Apapa for easy passage of the vessel.

He said that the President of the company, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is passionate about technology transfer to Nigerians, adding that he has given standing instruction to train seven Nigerians be a ship Captain

Sachar said Dangote Oil Refinery Company is currently training about 150 young Nigerian engineers in refinery operations in preparation for the take-off of its Lagos refinery and petrochemical plant in Indian.

He said engineers were currently undergoing training  Mumbai, India.

He said the training programme was a continuum as more engineers would be trained to work effectively in the fertilizer plant and refinery being built by the company.

In his remarks, Mr Lawal Fagbo Saheed, Pilot Grade 1 of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) commended the vessel crew who brought it from China, adding that it took seven hours to drive the vessel from Apapa to Dangote due to the heavy equipment.

According to Saheed, “ It took an experienced and patient pilot to move the vessel to the final destination due to sea waves.

“ We are happy today that am also part of progress and am proud to be associated with such landmark achievement.

Presidency debunks UN assessment of insecurity in Nigeria

6:20 PM 0
Presidency debunks UN assessment of insecurity in Nigeria



FG has rejected the assessment of the United Nations of the state of insecurity in the country.

The Presidency in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Friday said that the UN Rapporteur on violence in Nigeria was inadequate and does not reflect the true situation in the country, describing it as disappointing.

It said while the government admitted that violence was a challenge, it was equally addressing the issue at all levels in collaboration with state governments.

However, the Presidency argued that any report that left out intra-group violence as a major factor contributing to the general spate of insecurity was unacceptable to the government.

Shehu said, “In Benue, Taraba, Cross River states and many parts of the country, most of the casualties resulting from intra-group, inter-group and community violence.

“Many of the displaced persons across the nation are also victims of these conflicts.

“Therefore, we are saddened that the rapporteur did not address intra-ethnic conflicts and cattle rustling as key elements in herders/farmers conflicts.”

The Rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, in one report this month, said “Nigeria is a pressure cooker of conflicts”, warning that it posed a serious danger to the rest of West Africa.

Aside from widespread killings by Boko Haram, she touched on raging banditry, killings by herdsmen over the right of access to farmlands, kidnapping and alleged increasing human rights abuses by Nigerian security forces.

Callamard said, “The lack of accountability is on such a scale that pretending this is nothing short of a crisis will be a major mistake.

“If ignored, its ripple effect will spread in the sub-region given the country’s important role on the continent.”

Source: Saharareports

Joseph Kunini elected new speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly

6:17 PM 0
Joseph Kunini elected new speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly


Joseph Allbasu Kunini has been elected as the new speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, following the resignation of the former speaker Abel Peter Diah and his deputy.

Hammanadama Abdullahi, member representing Bali Two constituency is now elected as the deputy speaker of the House.

The new speaker in his acceptance speech called on the members to put aside their differences and work collectively for the interest of the state.

He said; “Taraba should be greater than all of us..”

Joseph Kunini promised to work with the leadership of the house tirelessly round the clock to ensure a harmonious relationship between the three arms of the governments.

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: FG opens Kara Bridge to traffic

5:58 PM 0
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: FG opens Kara Bridge to traffic



The Federal Government on Sunday opened the Kara Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to traffic, after completing repair works on a 600-metre stretch, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Kara Bridge of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which was partially closed in September for repairs, is now open.

This was done to ease the gridlock on the expressway, which has been gruelling for motorists in the past three months.

The ministry of works had executed the partial closure to allow the construction firm Julius Berger repair approximately 600 metres of the road.


The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) personnel closed the Kara end of the bridge, using patrol vehicles to lead vehicles into the newly-constructed lane.

The FRSC in a slow motorcade, took off from the Kara end of the bridge at exactly 10:30 a.m., leading the vehicles on the Lagos-bound carriageway to merge onto the Lagos traffic at the Isheri intersection on the highway.

An FRSC Assistant Corps Commander expressed satisfaction at the road repair and thanked the Federal Government and its agencies that effected the repair.

When a NAN correspondent visited the site, traffic regulatory agencies, law enforcement agencies and officials of Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing were supervising removal of barricades by construction workers.

Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) personnel closed the Kara end of the bridge, using patrol vehicles to lead vehicles into the newly-constructed lane.

The FRSC in a slow motorcade took off from the Kara end of the bridge at exactly 10:30 a.m. leading the vehicles on the Lagos-bound carriageway to merge onto the Lagos traffic at the Isheri intersection on the highway.

An FRSC Assistant Corps Commander, Taofik Iyanda, expressed satisfaction at the road repair and thanked the federal government and its agencies that carried out the repair.

Mr Iyanda appealed to road users to exercise caution while driving on the highway.

“Motorists should not see the road as a racecourse. They should exercise patience on the little segment that has been completed and opened for use.

“They should not exceed the specified speed limit.

“The road is still under construction and a lot of things will have to be put in place, so they have to be very careful and exercise patience anytime they are plying the road,’’ he advised.

He told journalists that the collaboration of traffic management agencies and law enforcement agencies helped to minimise road accidents and deaths during the repair period.