» Nigerian Striker, Odion Ighalo Turns Down N90Million Per Week Pay «

Watford striker Odion Ighalo has said he was offered nearly
£300,000 a week to move to the Chinese Super League.
Going by the present Pounds to Naira exchange rate, that
is appoximately N90, 000, 000 per week.
A number of big-name players have signed for Chinese
clubs, with Jiangsu Suning paying Chelsea £25 million for
Ramires and Shakhtar Donetsk £38.5m for Alex Teixeira,
while Guangzhou Evergrande landed Jackson Martinez for
£32m.
The Daily Mail reports that Hebei China Fortune, who
signed Gael Kakuta on Friday, attempted to secure the
signature of Ighalo, who has scored 14 Premier League
goals this season.
The Nigeria international said: "I was very close. They
made a £10m bid and were offering me over £200,000 a
week; a four-year contract. I couldn't sleep for three days.
"That kind of money is not easy to turn down. Some
teammates in the dressing room were saying, 'You can't
miss this chance.' But I don't jump into decisions like that.
"I prayed about it, and God said it was not for me, no
matter how much money it was. I knew God would direct
me. When I said I don't want to go, they offered me more
money, almost £300,000 a week. I told them it's not about
the money."
Ighalo, who signed a new five-year contract at Watford in
September, added: "They have called again and I have
turned them down again. Maybe if I keep scoring goals,
that team will come with triple the money at the end of
the season. When the time is right to go to China I will
know. If it's for me it will come to pass.
"When I was in Ajegunle, I was watching the Premier
League, dreaming one day I would be part of it. If I keep
doing what I'm doing I can enjoy my football in England for
four, five or six years.
"I helped this team to promotion. How can I leave because
of money? I know money is good. With that sort of money I
can secure my life. But you can't sell your dream."
Now imagine earning ninety million naira every week for
four years. #seriousbucks

» Reverend Impregnates Seven Church Members & Two Married Women - Punch «

A randy man of God identified as Dukes (surname
withheld) in Umunede, Delta State who has been accused
of sleeping with his church members in the past two
years, has allegedly impregnated seven of his single
female church members and two married women.

While trouble is currently brewing over the act, it was
reliably gathered that the self-acclaimed man of God had
also allegedly seduced several young girls in neighbouring
communities: Ute-Ukpu, Otolokpo under the guise of
providing them with suitors before he moved into Umunede
after his cover was blown.
He was said to have been arrested and detained at Agbor
Police Station by aggrieved parents of his victims for two
days before granted bail.
A member of his church “Light Of God Ministries”
Josephine Ogor said, “The self acclaimed reverend uses
preaching, choirs and organised youth fellowship to get
young girls.”
“That was what he did in Ute-Okpu, Otolokpo neighbouring
communities before he moved into Umunede and he was
driven away by the elders of the communities, he likes
girls of 15, 16 and 17 years he sleeps with,” she added.
Investigation revealed that until some married women
started carrying their marital problems to him, the self-
acclaimed man of God allegedly known for magical powers,
specialises in mind-blowing prophecies for unsuspecting
members of his church including some highly placed
politicians and businessmen across the state.
His victims, some who claimed they were hoodwinked into
sexual intercourse with him via magical powers, Awele
John, Marble Ogoan and Rosemary Iwendi said: “Please Mr.
Pressman don’t use our pictures.”
“The man is fake, he uses magical powers to woo young
girls he sleeps with, that was how we fell into his net, and
our eyes were opened”.
Another victim, a married woman who did not want her
name in the print said she had gone to the reverend’s
house to seek advice on constant quarrels between her
and the husband for possible solution when Dukes
allegedly gave her anointed oil for her to rub and take from
it but this was not to be, when she found herself in love
making with the reverend during the night.
She said: “I saw myself having sexual intercourse with the
Reverend in my sleep and I was shocked before I made it
known to my husband”.
Further investigation revealed that his modus operandi is
to give out olive oil bottles to unsuspecting female miracle
seekers, young girls looking for suitors, a situation that
keep them glued to him before taking them to bed.
But in swift reaction, the Reverend dispelled on telephone
as untrue and attempts to blackmail him as true man of
God, adding that those who claimed to have been
impregnated by him designed a plot to kill him.
He said: “I am not responsible for their pregnancies, they
are lairs”.
At Agbor Police Division, two investigating police officers
who did not want their names in the print said: “We are
currently investigating the Reverend after some parents of
the girls he allegedly seduced reported the matter at the
station, we have earlier arrested and released him on bail
while investigation is ongoing.

» "Top Civil Servants May Be Fired For Sabotaging President Buhari’s Budget" «

Budget Scandal: Top Civil Servants May Be Fired For
Sabotaging President Buhari’s Budget
FEB 06, 2016
SaharaReporters has learned that the Muhammadu Buhari
administration was considering firing several top civil
servants who acted in various ways to sabotage or
undermine the government’s efforts to produce budget
proposals that reflected financial prudence and frugality.
Two top administration sources told our correspondent
that “bureaucratic resistance and entrenched systemic
corrupt practices dogged every move by the Presidency
during the preparation of the 2016 budget,” adding that Mr.
Buhari had ordered that culpable bureaucrats be identified,
fired or demoted.
One source stated that, after learning that the Presidency
was considering a large budget of possibly N8 trillion in
order to significantly increase capital expenditure, some
bureaucrats jacked up the budget proposal to N9.7 trillion
for overhead and capital spending, even without personnel
spending. Of the proposed N9.7 trillion, the bureaucrats
had proposed that an alarming N3 trillion be spent on
overhead alone, but the Presidency eventually slashed the
figure to N163 billion, lower by 8% than the 2015 budget
which was N177 billion. “This indicated that the Buhari
administration significantly cut some of the main
provisions,” the source said.
Bureaucrats also proposed to spend N2.1 trillion on
personnel for the 2016 estimates compared to N1.8 trillion
in the 2015 budget. However, the Presidency also cut this
down to N1.7 trillion in the final estimates sent to the
National Assembly. According to our source, President
Buhari found the bureaucrats’ games infuriating, but
decided to maintain his cool in order to meet the deadline
for presentation of the budget in line with the laws and
regulations governing the budget process. “While Mr.
President has always stood for prudence and against
waste, the bureaucrats were sneaking in controversial
provisions that clearly didn’t represent the president’s
standards and priorities,” said our source. He added:
“Anybody who knows the president would realize that he
could not have approved or endorsed some of the
questionable provisions.”
Our sources disclosed that many of the controversial
provisions in the budget were essentially smuggled in by
what one of them described as “the budget mafia in the
civil service, made up of people who consider the period
of budgeting as their time of massive opportunity to
arrange the stealing of public funds.” The sources assured
that several top civil servants involved in the “resistance”
would be fired soon. There has been fierce public criticism
of controversial provisions in the budget. Our investigation
revealed that the bureaucratic opposition began when the
Presidency decided to engage the skills of experts to help
in the budgeting process, especially to ensure the adoption
of the zero-based budgeting instead of the “usual envelope
and incremental system used in years past by the federal
government.” Zero-based budgeting requires a focus on
need and costs rather than the former system that merely
transfers expenses from previous budgets, but with added
upward reviews. One administration official disclosed that
the “old approach, which is mastered by bureaucrats, often
leads to several acts of corruption both by civil servants
and political appointees.”
The Presidency had made it clear to officials of the then
Budget Office and then National Planning Commission that
it planned to adopt the zero-based budgeting process.
Even so, bureaucrats in the departments, which were
merged into the new Ministry of Budget and National
Planning, refused to brief their minister, Udoma Udo Udoma,
on the zero-based budget. “For weeks after the minister
was sworn in, the civil servants continued to plan on the
old budget model, stalling the decision to use the zero-
based budget until Mr. Udoma, a former senator, found out
from the Presidency. Our correspondent learned that the
bureaucratic stalling led to a huge waste of valuable time,
with the civil servants calculating that the Presidency
would be forced to abandon the zero-based budget once
time was running out. However, by early December, Mr.
Udoma and the Presidency regrouped the budget planning
efforts around the zero-based budget. An expert who was
brought in to facilitate the new process told our
correspondent that some bureaucrats still found ways to
sabotage the process. “They took longer than required to
come back with revisions to their estimates. In the
process, many of the provisions already marked down for
revision simply got snuck in, effectively pushing the
Presidency into the defensive in the face of public
backlash,” he said. A presidential aide added that many
provisions that have drawn the ire of the public managed
to sail through the budget, which has more than 6,000
items in all, “because some of the civil servants who were
meant to supervise the final product were also hostile to
the zero-based process. So their uncooperative attitude
just compounded the problem.”
The source, who assured that the embarrassing problems
would never crop up in future budgets, pointed to an
example where Bureau of Public Procurement, the agency
of government responsible for maintaining a price reference
list, could not provide an updated list. “The list should be
updated quarterly, but the bureau “maintained a list
prepared in 2013,” said the source.
The source added, “Some people were so bent on exploiting
the system that the time was simply not sufficient to stop
them. But since the budget is only an estimate, the
implementation part now offers the Presidency the
opportunity to tame the corrupt intentions and practices.”
According to an expert who helped in the budget planning,
“We were virtually doing vigils to beat the time since the
budget had to be presented before the end of the year to
the National Assembly. And while some of the civil
servants eventually cooperated, those who were resistant
caused the insertions of many of the provisions that are
now embarrassing the government.” On the duplications
that were rife in the budget proposals, the expert explained
that it was “due to the difficulty experienced by the
software that had been in use for planning the budget in
the past. That software does not easily accommodate the
zero-based budget template.”

» Ogun State Confirms First Lassa Fever Case, Places 60 People Under Watch «

he Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde
Ipaye, on Thursday said the state had recorded the first
case of Lassa fever.
Ipaye said this during a press conference held at Oke
Mosan in Abeokuta, thestate capital.
He identified the index case in the state as a 28-year-old
lady, “discovered on Wednesday February 3 at 8:10pm.”
Ipaye said the victim had travelled to Ebonyi for a burial
and returned to Ogun on January 15, and later started
manifesting the symptoms of the viral disease.
He said, “The victim had accessed treatment at Ruby
Medical Centre, Ota. She was said to have been moved
another hospital, Central Specialist Hospital, Ota. It was
the management of the Central Specialist Hospital that
called the state Ministry of Health.”
“We moved in immediately and took her in. We have shut
the two health facilities for decontamination.”
Ipaye said the victim had been transferred to the Olabisi
Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, one of the
isolation centres for the disease.
He added, “The confirmatory test was done and the result
came in last night. We started emergency procedures
immediately and she has been moved to the isolation
centre in Sagamu.
“She has been given the drug, ribavirin and still under
observation. She has had fever and other symptoms but
have not started bleeding.
“She has passed through two private hospitals, which have
now been shut for decontamination.”
Ipaye also said 60 persons who had contact with the
victim in the two health facilities including three members
of her family were under watch.
He said the first 35 contacts were health workers in the
first hospital, 22 in the second one and three others were
family members of the victim.
He said, “These 60 people have been placed under
surveillance, but I want to appeal to the residents not to
panic. They must be vigilant and maintain good hygiene in
their homes.”
Ipaye commended the management of the Central
Specialist Hospital for its patriotism in contacting the
government and saving the state from the scourge of
Lassa fever.
The state government had on Tuesday January 26, raised
the alarm on 19 suspected cases of the Lassa fever who
had contact with the first index case in Ahmadiyyah
Hospital, Ijaiye in Ojokoro Local Government Area of Lagos
but live in Ogun State.
Ipaye, however, said all the 19 persons have been declared
free of the disease, “because they did not manifest the
symptoms of the disease, not even of malaria fever.”

» Immigration To Recruit 5,000 Personnel Soon - NIS PRO «

Replaces dead, retired, officers with over 200 people in the
North-East
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), will soon commence the
recruitment of 5, 000 officers, following government
approval, NIS Public Relations Officer, (PRO), Ekpedeme
Kings disclosed Thursday.
The 5, 000 vacancies, Kings said were: “approved under
the past administration of former President Goodluck
Jonathan for fresh recruitment in 2012, which is still
pending.”
Speaking with our correspondent on the alleged
recruitment scam in the NIS, the immigration spokesman
said the service has not started any fresh recruitment.
He explained that the immigration only carried out over
200 replacements of officers that died in the North –East
zone following the attacked by the Boko Haram sects,
resignation and retirement of its personnel at the junior
cadre within the last few years.
It would be recalled that there was a report in a National
Daily (not The Nation) early this week with the caption:
“NIS in fresh recruitment scam”.
The publication alleged that the NIS is in a fresh service.
It further alleged that the recruitment was done in
December, 2015 while the new recruitment was done in
December, 2015 while the new recruits have already been
paid their January salaries.
Kings denied the development when asked.
His words: “We did replacement of over 200 officers. The
fact is that Boko Haram has been rioted out of the North-
East zone and now for the Army to carry out its operations
in other areas it is common knowledge in the country that
the para-military, are to continue to take over the areas
that have been conquered.
“We should be able to maintain the peace in that area for
developmental proposes. The Army will go on with the war,
while the paramilitary gives support and also while
government is reconstructing the area.
“Because we have not been able to recruit for the past five
or six years, due to our failed recruitment exercises we
have not been able to have the kind of man power that is
needed to carry out this administrative occupation of the
North-East zone.
“So that services approached government that so many
officers have died in the North East zone, others have
retied because they have completed their years of service
or on account of age, others have been moved due to
several reasons.
“The workforce we are putting to this places are not
actually the middle cadre or the senior officers it is the
inspectorate that is level 1-7. We have the senior officers
that are already there.
“We pleaded with government to replace these people and
government considered and government gave the approval.
The number I do not know but it is over 200 and not 300.”
“The 5, 000 vacancies were approved under the past
administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for
fresh recruitment in 2012, which is still pending.”
He said 80 percent of the 5, 000 officers that are going to
be recruited soon will be deployed to the borders across
the country after proper training.

» Lagos Government Demolishes Baba Ijebu's 4-Storey Building «

The Lagos State Government, yesterday, demolished a 4-
storey building owned by founder of Premier Lotto,
popularly known as “Baba Ijebu,” Sir Kessington Adebutu,
as part of the on-going exercise to address building
collapse. The building, which was located at No 6,
Campbell Street, Lagos Island was used as party
secretariat by the Action Congress, (now All progressives
Congress) and law firms, but was deserted 10 years ago
when the tenants discovered cracks on the wall. Baba Ijebu
is said to have bought the building a few years ago but
was still deliberating with his staff on how to restructure it.
The building was sealed by the Lagos State Building
Control Agency( LASBCA) twice to allow the owner embark
on Structural Stability Test(SST) before embarking on
manual demolition exercise which commenced on October
16th, 2015 and December 22, 2015.

» The Lady Peter Okoye Was Accused Of Cheating With, Reacts To The Allegation «

“Rumors can be entertainment for some but affect the
people they are about. We all have families we love dearly
and it is extremely wrong and unfair to link me to
someone who is SIMPLY a
friend. Nothing more. Nothing Less. Instagram pictures do
not tell the whole story. I am a model, a continuing student
and a woman dedicated to making a small mark in this
world.
The world of modeling and bartending has afforded little ol’
me the opportunity to meet lots of people and travel all
over the world. About 6mos ago, I began a small project in
my native land, the Dominican Republic for a small school
for 100 young and impoverished children. Since breaking
ground, my father and business partner (my godmother)
have met with many leaders of the society & world. .
Athletes, Local Dominican Politicians, Town leaders,
Musicians, and Entrepreneurs to donate their time, effort or
money towards helping these kids of mine. When I am
done with my school, I will reveal details in due time. Much
like everything important, things take time and with Gods
grace, it will be a success. #GirlBoss #GlamourWomen
#VivianWang #UnitedNations #WomeninBusiness
#DominicanRepublic #SayNotoFalseRumors #HealtheWorld
#JustBecauseIModelDoesntMeanImDense
#BadBitchesAreBossesToo #Smile”

» 'Nigerians May Starve To Death By 2050' — Minister Of Agriculture, Ogbeh «

VangaurdNgr: THE Presidency, yesterday, raised alarm that
Nigerians would starve to death by 2050 if nothing was
done to ensure an all year round farming.
It also said with the rate the country was going, the
population would by 2050 rise to 509 million.
According to the Federal Government, the present mode of
farming will not sustain the increasing population in the
country.
It noted that there was the urgent need for all major
stakeholders to work towards improving mechanized
farming and irrigation, to ensure an all year farming to
avert the problem.
Speaking, yesterday, during the budget defence of 2016,
Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the country
had the capacity to grow the grass required by the cattle
to consume.
He said: “We have written to state governments to
encourage them to develop dams and canals so that
agriculture becomes an all year round activity and it is not
confined to the rainy season alone.
“Besides, by 2050, Nigeria population will be very close to
500 million at the current rate of growth. This is just
34years from now. If we carry on at the current rate of one
crop per year, with very low mechanization, Nigerians run
the risk of starving to death.
He said: “We intend to intensity and consolidate on the
local staples, the yams, the cassava, the beans, especially
rice and wheat. Both of which consume $11 million per day
in import. The figure is going down a bit. We can’t afford
that in the long run because we don’t even have the
resources.
“The ministry has put necessary machinery in motion to
stop the constant bloody clashes between herdsmen and
farmers. We have decided we are going to develop
massive paddocks across the country.
“What the cows are looking for is grass and water. We have
the capacity to grow the grass we want not just any kind
of grass but highly nutritive grass for the cows to eat. If it
can be done in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, there is no reason why
we can’t do it here.
‘’There is sizable provision for grassing at hinterland, by
developing water, drilling of boreholes and small dams
toirrigate those areas already mapped out. In the process
we hope that the cattle herdsmen would have a more
stable life.”

» Married Pastor Arrested Over Rape Of Teenage Girl In Abuja «

A 34-year-old pastor has been arrested by the police for
allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in Phase 2, Site 1 area
of Kubwa, Abuja.
The suspect was alleged to have raped the victim several
times before he was eventually arrested.
City News gathered that the suspect had lured his victim
from Kaduna where he went for pastoral work in a church in
Kaduna last April.
The source said the suspect, who had been married for
over two years without any issue, had convinced the
mother of the teenage girl that he would to sponsor her in
school if she lived with him in Abuja.
“Instead of fulfilling his promise, he turned the girl to a
sexual partner since that time he took her,” the source
alleged.
The source however said trouble ensued when the victim,
who was unable to reach her parents as her phone was
seized by the suspect, became fed up with the whole
situation and refused to go to bed with him.
“When he discovered that the girl was not ready to give in,
he brought out a pump action gun which he threatened her
with,” the source alleged.
Though the suspect eventually had his way, the victim
later reported the matter to the wife who quickly sent her
away.
City News further learnt that the victim managed to get
back home where she narrated her ordeal to the mother
who subsequently reported the case to the police in
Kubwa.
Confirming the incident, the Kubwa Divisional Police Officer,
Chief Superintendent Nurrudeen Sabo, said the suspect has
been arrested and the case is being investigated.

» President Buhari Begins Short Vacation As VP Osinbajo Takes Over «

President Muhammadu Buhari has begun a short vacation
from today, February 5 to February 10, 2016.
While President Buhari is on vacation, the Vice President,
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will perform the functions of the
President.
In compliance with Section 145 (1) of the Nigerian
Constitution, President Buhari has dispatched a formal
notice of his vacation to the Senate President and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
February 5, 2016

» 7 English Words Nigerians Use Everyday Which Don't Exist In The Dictionary «

Here are 7 words Nigerians use every day which don’t
exist. These are the kind of words you type into your
phone or computer and it draws a red line underneath it.
Please read on and educate yourself.
(1.) GO- SLOW Although the word ‘go-slow’ appears in the
dictionary, it is wrongly used by many Nigerians. The word
go-slow means a form of industrial action in which work or
progress is deliberately delayed or slowed down. It does
not mean congested traffic, so it is wrong to use it in that
way.
(2.) INSTALMENTALLY There is no such word in the
English dictionary, this word exists only in the Nigerian
edition dictionary (if such a book exists). The correct thing
to say is ‘in installments’
(3.) OPPORTUNED How many times do you say ‘I was not
opportuned to come’? The correct variants that exist are
‘opporteune’ or ‘opportunity’. The word ‘opportune’ has no
past tense.
(4.) CUNNY “That guy is very cunny”. This is wrong, the
word is ‘cunning’, not cunny. If you want to refer to
someone who is sly or deceitful, use the word ‘cunning’,
‘cunny’ simply does not exist.
(5.) WAKE-KEEPING I’m sure most people will argue with
this, but argue as you may, what you will find in the
dictionary is ‘wake- keep’. (
6.) SCREENTOUCH PHONE Oyinbo people made these
devices and called it ‘touchscreen’, by the time the phones
go enter Naija, we rename them ‘screen touch’
(7.) DISVIRGIN No, you did not dis virgin that babe, you
deflowered her, you took away her virginity, but you
certainly did not disvirgin her, because the word ‘disvirgin’
simply does not exist!

» Court Sends Judge To Prison For Fraud «

A Federal High Court sitting in Gombe State on Friday
remanded an area court judge, Umar Y. Gwani, for alleged
fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC,
which filed the case, accused the judge of collecting
money from the public through false pretence and
conspiracy.
The counsel to EFCC, Zarami Mohammed, said the
accused conspired with two others to sell plots of land
belonging to Gombe State government to the public
through false pretence.
He said the judge failed to contact the Ministry of Land
and Survey and Local Government Area before selling the
plots of land to the public.
He also said the judge later had denied receiving payments
for the eight or nine plots sold for N7 million.
The accused judge appeared before the Federal High court
on a four- count charge.
Speaking to journalists after the hearing, his counsel,
Mukaan Kingsley, said that he was surprised to see that
the listed count charges were different from what
transpired in court

» New Petrol Price: A Shift From Subsidy To Profit Making - The Guardian «

WITH the newly adopted modulation model for the pricing
of petroleum products nationwide, government has
‘stylishly’ deregulated the downstream sector.
In the new pricing model, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),
otherwise known as petrol, is sold at N86.50, kerosene at
N83 and diesel at 74.99 per litre at filling stations.
From all indications, government is believed to be making
a profit of N3.83 per litre of PMS, but the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) regard what
is perceived as profit as ‘over-recovery.’
Over the years, government has been selling the idea of
fuel subsidy removal to Nigerians, communicating how
immensely beneficial the measure would be for everyone.
It argued that savings from not paying subsidy could be
channeled to the provision and improvement of
infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals, among
others.
In the last few years, subsidy debate has polarised the
country. Envisioned as a people-oriented policy to help
reduce the price of fuel for Nigerians, it has become a cash
cow for the cabal involved in PMS importation.
Watchers of events in the petroleum sector believe that
with the plummeting price of crude globally, the
commodity ought to have gone below the recent pump
price released by the price regulatory body, the PPPRA.
They said from the new pricing template, government has
gone into the petroleum business with the sole aim of
profit making. And instead of paying subsidy on the
commodity, it is angling to make marginal profit, as the
Estimated Open Market Price (EOMP) for the commodity is
lower than the pump price.
This is even more worrisome, when the price template is
compared to prices in fellow oil-producing countries.
Nigeria is the biggest producer of oil in Africa, yet it was
gathered that the same fuel that sells for N86.50 per litre
(without payment of subsidy) in Nigeria goes for between
N4 and N5 in Venezuela and N22 in Libya.
According to the template, government would be making
about N3.83 profit on every one litre of the product. The
PPPRA template states that that the EOMP of petrol is
N82.67 with a retail price of N86.50 at filling stations
nationwide.
The EOMP is the total landing cost of PMS and sub-total
margins, including transporter’s cost, dealer charges,
bridging fund, administrative charges and a handful of other
variables to make it the true cost of the product.
By the end of 2014, the official pricing template for petrol
by PPPRA indicated that government was paying N6.45 per
litre as subsidy, as the EOMP then was N94.45, which was
N6.45 higher than the pump price of N87 per litre.
The difference between the EOMP and the retail price was
what the government was paying as subsidy. This
difference has now been removed with the new template,
and government is now set to make profit instead of using
public resources to pay for what has not been beneficial to
majority of Nigerians.
Speaking on the development, Senator Lee Maeba said the
Minister of Petroleum is still shy to announce a complete
deregulation of petroleum products. The Senator, who
represented Rivers South East in the Senate and initiated
the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), told The Guardian that
the type of modular prices system the Minister introduced
cannot guarantee adequate pricing system of petroleum
products.
Said he: “the Federal Government is shy to announce full
deregulation and without deregulation, the price is still
what the minister feels. He fixes it, and you cannot get
adequate pricing system without full deregulation. When
you deregulate, everybody would sell how he/she
produces. In fact, there would be so many refineries
producing. But the situation now is that we are still in
price fixing.
“Whether you remove subsidy or not, as long as you are
doing price fixing, you are regulating. So, the government
should not shy away from deregulation. Yes, I agree that
the first set of product that comes out is diesel, while the
second set is kerosene, petrol and the last is jet fuel, and
it goes down. So, these products are cheaper from
concentration. So, as long as the price fixing is still going
on, and as long as you have PPPRA, they will continue to
fix price. When you deregulate, you disband all these
institutions, so the market forces now control prices. Until
market forces control pricing, you cannot have adequate
price.”
However, the organised labour believes that government is
moving from petroleum subsidy to that of petroleum tax
collection. The General Secretary of Nigeria Labour
Congress, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said the new pricing regime
is fraught with ulterior motives.
Ozo-Eson told The Guardian that the process of arriving at
the new template should have been transparently executed,
with the consultation of the PPPRA board empowered by
the laws of the land to fix price of petroleum products.
“We need to have a transparent re-working of the
template. The PPPRA, by law, is saddled with that
responsibility, but it also by law constituted in a
stakeholders’ context, which stipulates that engagement
takes place before a change in template is effected,” he
said.
“PPPRA Executive Secretary, who is appointed by
government and is directed either by the Minister or the
President, cannot, on his own, fix the template. This is
because the stakeholders have not met or reconvened for
a long time. Therefore, there is a violation of the law by
government. We need to be careful as a mono-economy
country.
“The N3.83 government is making now would not make
sense, unless the price remains excessively depressed
over a long period of time. This cannot be the basis of
building up the kind of fund that is needed. Though a
modulation scheme in itself can have economic logic, the
way we have it now is not sustainable, if prices were to go
up,” he added.
The Chairman of Trade Union Congress in Rivers State,
Chika Onuegbu, described the price of diesel as very
exorbitant. He argued that government is making money
from the diesel, because, “there is no how petrol will sell
at N86.50 per litre without subsidy, and diesel will sell for
N125 or N130, also without subsidy, which is a difference
of about N40 per litre.
He said, “obviously, government has not reviewed the
PPPRA template for diesel and AGO and that shows that a
lot of money is being made from people. Government
needs to review the template and bring it down. What is
more painful is that these products are actually what most
businesses use, as a result of poor power supply in the
country. Companies use diesel to power their generators
and that increases the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
From hotels to hospitals, banks and telecom operators use
diesel and that increases the cost they charge.”
Onuegbu asked, “How could government reduce the price of
PMS this time, and did not do anything to the price of
diesel? Government should reduce price of diesel to around
N80 per litre, because without subsidy, it should not be
more than N80 given the current price of crude oil.”
According to the labour leader, government should prove
that it is concerned about people’s welfare and generating
employment.
On his part, the Rivers State Chairman of Independent
Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN),
Sunny Nkpe, said the answer to the whole issue is
deregulation following the dwindling of foreign exchange.
“We have all seen that government can no longer sustain
this thing anymore. The main thing is deregulation. Price
of diesel was deregulated long time ago. NNPC sells at
N90 per litre, while pump price of diesel fluctuates
between N120 to 130. What determines the prices is the
loading from government depot. If you load from
government depot at less than N75 and the man that buys
from private depot for N95, they cannot sell at the same
price. So, deregulation is the solution to encourage
competition and level playing ground for everybody.”
The President, Association of Petroleum Explorers, Mr. Afe
Mayowa, said government was collecting a form of tax
from petroleum consumers. He agreed that government,
through the differences in the landing cost and pump price,
is collecting petroleum tax from consumers, but advised
that the profit be ploughed back into the society for the
benefit of Nigerians.
“Government is collecting tax with the price differential.
But my advice is that the proceed should be invested in
infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools for the
education of the people, especially those in the North and
Niger Delta, where illiteracy is prevalent. With education,
there will be peace and security because people will not be
deceived to imbibe false doctrine.
“The landing cost for PMS is supposed to be lower than the
pump price, because government is now in business. The
government has to make profit from what it is doing. The
subsidy was a fraud, which has no justification. They
should now allow market forces to determine the pump
price of petroleum products. There is no way you can
subsidise consumption, because that subsidy has no way
of getting to the generality of the people. In my opinion, the
difference is not too much. People paid as much as N150
per litre in Akure during the Christmas season,” he said.
He added, “We should invest in the youth, create
opportunity for the people to be educated and exposed. It
is a lot of money the government is going to make. So,
they should put the money to fix power infrastructure. The
money is being taken from us and should be spent on the
people. It is a tax being collected from the people. They
should, therefore, not share it. I don’t blame the people for
not willing to pay such tax, because government had in the
past disappointed them, such that the fund ended up in
private pockets.”
Commenting on the disparity in the prices of PMS, diesel
and kerosene, he said the forces of demand determine
their prices, supply and preferences, which have to do with
the population, technology, economics and usage.
In his view, the demand for kerosene and diesel is very
low, so is the supply, hence the rise in price.
Commenting on the price enforcement for the product by
the government, Mayowa said the regulation is necessary
for marketers not to become “shylock.”
“In a market like this, you need some form of regulation
(Cap) to prevent emergence of shylocks in the
downstream sector. It is like what Lagos is doing to
housing. Government says you cannot charge beyond
certain limit. In this case, the government says you cannot
sell PMS beyond N86.50, but you can sell below the price.
If there is no such control, marketers will team up to fix
pump price arbitrarily,” he said.
The Assistant General Manager, operations at the PPPRA,
Victor Shidok, said the agency has created a template that
is normal and would prevent frequent changes of pump
price.
He said government is yet to make official pronouncement
on subsidy, hence it would be incorrect to say it has
discontinued subsidy payment or petroleum products.
He said, “The government has not made public
pronouncement on petroleum subsidy. It has not said it
has stopped. Under Petroleum Support Fund (PSF)
guidelines, there is what we call under and over recovery
scheme. None of them is a permanent state.

» “My Harlot Wife Beats Me Every Day” - Man Cries For Divorce «

The allegation of a 65-year-old man who dragged his wife
to court over a
dissolution of their marriage will leave you in dismay.
According to the accuser who doesn’t want his name on
print before an Asaba High Court, he re-married after the
death of his first wife, so he could one again have a
companion and also someone to help him take care if his
four children, but the only thing he has gotten so far from
being married to his second wife is beatings and harlotry.
“I married my wife in 1998 and did the church wedding at
Catholic Church of Assumption, Zappa, in Asaba. Since
then, we have two children; a boy and a girl, but this
woman always threatens to kill me, she beats me at every
chance, and many times, I go into coma. She vowed that
she must kill me and she sent all my children packing, I
cannot continue with the marriage.
“She beats me most times, but it came to a climax on
January 17, 2016, when she took something and hit my
head in an attempt to kill me, so that I would not be able
to pursue the divorce case in court, but thank God, her
mission did not come to reality as I overcame her plan.
“She is a harlot, she beats me every day. I cannot eat her
food again because she is a harlot. It is against my
tradition and I want the marriage dissolved before she kills
me,” he said
According to Punch, when the court asked the man’s wife,
she denied her husband’s allegations saying;
“ What will make me to beat or attempt to kill my
husband? We stay in the same house, sleep on the same
bed, I am taking good care of him, but I don’t know what is
wrong"
The case still lacks enough evidence to prove that the 65-
year-old man was actually been abused by his wife as he
claims.
However, the case remains in court, while the trial judge
demands his first son as a witness to the allegations, the
case was adjourned to February 17, 2016.

» '100 People Killed As Boko Haram Burned Children Alive In Bornu' - TheEagleOnline «

There were fears on Sunday that over 100 persons must
have been killed by the Boko Haram terrorists who
attacked Dalori village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the
Borno State capital, on Saturday.
The terrorists, said to be mostly dressed in the uniform of
the Nigerian Army, reportedly burnt several kids alive.
They were said to have fired firebombs into houses in the
town, which is about 5km from Maiduguri.
Eyewitnesses said several corpses still liter the town as at
Sunday morning despite the fact that no fewer than 50
dead bodies have been deposited at the University of
Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the Specialist Hospital,
Maiduguri.
Houses in the town were torched by the terrorists, who
were said to have arrived in Army uniform on several
motorbikes and trucks.
As at Sunday morning, charred remains of those burnt and
shot to death still littered the town.
It was gathered that among the dead were those who fled
the town to Gamori, a neighbouring village, where three
female suicide bombers also struck.
It was gathered that but for the timely intervention of the
troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, the casualty figure would
have been higher.
So far, over 20,000 persons have been killed in the Boko
Haram insurgency, which began in 2009.
The spokesman of Operation Lafiya Dole, Colonel Mustapha
Anka, confirmed the development.
Anka, however, said details of the attack would only be
released after the compilation of all reports emanating
from the scene.

» ''The Six Kinds Of People You Will Find In A Church In Naija'' «

I have been observing people in my church for a long time
and I have made a list of the various kinds of people you
find in a typical Nigerian church.
1. The first set of people are called the Bible Scholars.
They are always very serious, writing everything the pastor
says, and nodding their head every now and then. I was
shocked to see a brother by my side today writing
everything the pastor said including the "praise the lord",
"amen" e.t.c they are always waving their hands and
shouting yess at any little thing the pastor says.
2. The second set of people are called the talkers. All they
do is to talk. Sometimes I wonder if there is pepper in their
mouth as they just talk and laugh loudly. They wouldnt
even hide it as they talk loudly and laugh carelessly.
Sometimes it takes the intervention of the ushers to
separate the two talkatives or group chatters. Once, a
pastor on the altar shouted "Shut Up" on a girl from the
congregation out of reflex action due to her endless
talking...
3. The Sleepers
this set of people sleep through out the service. They can
be found at vintage points near the fans or a.c. They would
then bow their heads and sleep off and when the ushers
wake them up, they would insist that they were only
sleeping, there was one minister that layed down on the
floor all in the name of praying with anointing and he went
to chibok from there...
4. Walkers
This set of people can walk from lagos to port harcourt. All
they do is to go in and out of the church. They cant sit
down comfort ably for 5 minutes. They always have
something to do either to change money for offering or to
buy tom tom and baba blue. You would hear them saying
words like, sorry, pls excuse me, get your bag out of the
way e.t.c. An elder in my church had to slap one brother
like that because he was always going in and out,
disturbing the woman. ..
5. The Eaters
People that belong to this group are fond of eating. Their
mouth is always closed but moving rapidly. I could not
beleive my eyes last wheek when I saw a woman, a choir
member for that matter eating corn at the front row during
service sshe brought differnt items from her bag like corn,
plantain, e.t.c and was eating it stupidly to the
amazement of the church members, the pastors wife had
to seize her bags...
6. Frosh Kidz
this people come to church with a lo t of pride. They dress
as if they are going to see Buhari. They also apply a lot of
heavy make up (for girls). They dress extravagantly with
all the latest dress or clothes reigning even though they
don't have money. They would now start forming british
accent. They wear all type of jwellry, head chain , neck
chain, hand chain, waist chain, leg chain e.t.c. They usually
come very late for notice me purpose holding their heads
high and holding the latest technological gadgets in their
hands as they catwalk to their seat hoping to impress that
boy/girl they have been crushing on....
Which one do you belong to?
Feel free to add yours...

» Buhari Raises Alarm, Says Terrorists Returning To Embarrass Government «

PunchNG: President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday raised
the alarm that having lost the war to the nation’s armed
forces, insurgents are desperately seeking ways of
returning to the society to wreak havoc.
Buhari therefore called on all Nigerians, especially those
that are resident in areas previously ravaged by terrorists,
to be more vigilant and ready to work with security
operatives in ending the war against insurgency.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant
on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President
made the submission while reacting to the spate of suicide
bombings in Chibok market, Dolari Internally Displaced
Person’s camp in Borno State and the Gombi market in
Adamawa State.
He said the insurgents’ gradual return was meant to
embarrass his government and that was why they chose
isolated communities and markets as their targets.
He said the insurgents had suffered immensely from the
sustained bombardments of their camps and hide outs by
the Nigerian military and had resorted to using desperate
measures to gain cheap media attention.
The President added that the terrorists had been rendered
weak, confused and homeless after repeated bombings and
ravaging of their camps and hide outs by the military,
forcing them to find their way back into the society to
wreak havoc, like the case of the Dolari IDP camp.
He said, “I urge all citizens wherever they live to own the
war against terror and to be part of the fight because it is
the only way we can finish the remaining work that needs
to be done to make our country safe again.
“Having lost the war, they (the insurgents) are seeking
ways and means to gradually find their way back into
society.
“They are not returning to contribute but to cause more
havoc. They are so desperate to embarrass the
government and the people that they have no qualms
attacking isolated communities and markets.”
Buhari noted that the materials for the Improvised
Explosive Devices were locally sourced by the insurgents.
He therefore urged Nigerians to be more circumspect and
report suspicious purchases and movements of unusual
components in any part of the country, especially the
North East.
The President extended his condolences to all the people
of Chibok, Gombi and Dolari who lost loved ones in the
recent attacks and prayed that the Almighty God will
comfort them and grant the injured persons quick recovery.

» FG Declares French Compulsory For All Students «

Students from primary to tertiary institutions will
henceforth learn French language compulsorily, the federal
government said at the weekend.
It said it will embark on intensive training of more French
teachers in its bid to make it the nation’s second official
language.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwukah,
stated these in Abuja yesterday when the French
Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gaver, paid him a courtesy
call.
Anwukah said: “French language is a matter of necessity.
We have to because we have Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Benin
Republic, Togo Guinea, and Ivory Coast surrounding us and
so there is need for us to get more Nigerians to become
proficient in French language.
“This is good for the continent; it is good for us as a
nation. It is good for our brothers at the borders because it
will enable us to communicate with them effectively.
Speaking to the envoy on the need to have more French
teachers, the minister said: “We plead that you consider it
a lot more expedient in helping us train our teachers in
French both for the primary school level, secondary level
and tertiary level.
“So far, we have demonstrated the enthusiasm to foster
the teaching and learning of French in Nigerian schools
which are the tertiary, basic and secondary levels and our
main concern now is the training of sufficient number of
French teachers within our school system.”
The minister also flagged off the French Clinic Project in
Federal Government Boys College Apo, Abuja.
Speaking on the project, Anwukah said: “The ministry is
geared towards establishing French clinics in 104
government colleges, unity schools.
“We are keen and motivated by the need to actualise our
dream of making French language our second language of
business in Nigeria.
“The clinic is expected to improve the listening, speaking,
reading and writing skills of students.
“It is expected that with these skills, our students will fare
better in their examinations and in the world of worth.
Gaver said in the absence of sufficient French teachers, the
internet can be employed as a tool for training teachers.

» Four Nigerian Banks Among World’s Top 500 «

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc,
Zenith Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa have been
named among the world’s top 500 banks. A new study
conducted by the United Kingdom-based The Banker
Magazine gave this verdict.
The 2016 The Banker and Brand Finance Top 500 Banking
Brands report showed that First Bank retained its number
one banking brand ranking in Nigeria for the fifth
consecutive year.
First Bank moved up the scale by 16 places, rising from
336th position in 2015 to 320th this year.
The ranking was published in the February edition of The
Banker magazine of the Financial Times Group in
conjunction with London-based Brand Finance.
While GTB moved to 389 in the world from 417 in 2015,
Zenith Bank dropped from 388 in 2015 to 392 in 2016.
UBA returned to the ranking in 447, while Access Bank Plc
dropped from the 2016 ranking. Access Bank was ranked
496 in 2015.
A statement by the Country Representative of The Banker
magazine in Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ogedengbe, noted that First
Bank’s brand value increased to $322m in 2016 from
$300m in 2015 while that of GTB also increased to $243m
from $213m.
A brand value is the licensing rate that a third-party would
need to pay to use the bank’s brand.
The 2016 brand value of Zenith Bank increased to $238m
from $235 in 2015 while UBA that made a return to the
ranking since 2012 has a brand value of $198m. UBA’s
brand value in 2012 was $121m.
According to The Banker magazine, of the five countries in
Africa that made the ranking, Nigeria has the highest brand
value increase of $249m.
Egypt moved up by $239m; Togo gained $134m while
South Africa and Morocco lost $878mn and $213m
respectively.

» Why You Should Not Register MTN With Your BVN Details«

My MTN line is partially blocked and I've been getting
messages asking me to allow MTN access my BVN to
complete the SIM registration. My skepticism won't let me
do this. It's not that I don't just trust MTN or something,
I'm actually scared of my fellow countrymen working in
that company.
A regular Joe working with MTN might receive a 10 million
naira payment from someone who needs a thousand BVNs.
Am I overthinking?
Maybe not. Your data is never safe with these companies.
I have a new MTN line I've never used for registration
anywhere online and recently, it's receiving promotional
messages from Jumia. There can only one explanation to
this. Tho my friend told me Jumia and MTN are partner,
But why would they start sending promotional msg to me
that way. Our Country Men at work.
My bro who Did Jamb Last Year Recieved up to 10sms
from one unrecognized polytechnics and college of Edu
telling him "he has been offered admission"
pls tell me where they got his number.
So what am try to say is that,
Dont trust MTN with your BVN details. Do you think I will
turn down an offer when someone tell me to just give him
access to just 1000 BVN details and am gonna get
10millions.
This is my own oppinion, What do you Think??