The Pope taking a selfie with a Hindu man
30 Oct 2015
Those agitating for Biafra nation are miscreants & should be ignored - Obasanjo
"This is a fake agitation. You people make a mountain out of a molehill. These are boys who want to take people unaware and get money out of them in the name of Biafra. These are the people you should ignore, I don’t talk about Biafra. (Philip) Effiong came and said Biafra ceased to exist and since that day, Biafra has ceased to exist. We absorbed those we should absorb both into the civil service and into the military.
Even those we didn’t absorb, who we initially regarded as being retired without benefits, later on we even gave them their benefits. Abandoned houses were returned. Within 10 years of the end of our Civil War, an Igbo man became the vice-president of our country. It took the Americans 100 years before they got to that point. So, what are you talking about? They have held all the ministerial positions existing in this country. We have Igbo as the Governor of Central Bank, Igbo has headed many parastatals in this country. That’s why these miscreants should be ignored. They want to get money and they go round and say, ‘We are still being victimised. We are still being treated badly in Nigeria,’ so that they can take money from people.”he said
The horrible state of Onitsha-Enugu expressway
Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has called on the federal government to save the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway from caving into gully erosion that has affected parts of the newly constructed flyover along New Parts market, Nkpor, Idemili North council area.
The Governor made the call, yesterday, October 29, while inspecting the havoc being wreaked by the erosion on the road.
He disclosed that he has contacted the President after inspecting the site recently, mandated IDC construction firm to mobilize to site and start palliative work, to save the road.
He stated that the federal government owes the state an outstanding twenty-five billion naira spent on the reconstruction of federal roads in the state, a reason why it must get permission from the federal government before embarking on palliative work on the site.
The Governor made it clear that the state alone cannot undertake the erosion project which will run into billions of naira, and advised the citizenry to bear with the state while it pressurizes the federal government to come to its aid.
Source: ABS RadioTv
Customs retires 34 top officiers
A statement by the Public Relations officer of the Nigeria Customs Service Wale Adeniyi, said the retirement is one of the core mandates of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) pictured above.
The statement in part reads
"Those affected in the exercise are five Deputy Comptrollers-General of Customs (DCGs) who have earlier given notification to the Comptroller-General for voluntary disengagement. They are John Atte MFR, Ibrahim Mera OON, Musa Tahir mni, Austin Nwosu and Akinade Adewuyi. Three others, of the rank of Assistant Comptroller-General are also affected in the re-organization exercise. They are Madu Mohammed mni, Secretary to the Nigeria Customs Board, Victor Gbemudu, Zonal Coordinator Zone ‘A’ and Bello Liman, Assistant Comptroller-General, (Headquarters). The rest are of the rank of Comptrollers serving in Customs Headquarters, Zonal Offices and various Area Commands. The Comptroller-General of Customs stated that the retirements were part of measures to kick-start the repositioning of the Service for improved performance".
White people dress as blacks and carry Nigerian flag for Halloween (photo)
Mikel Obi, Obafemi Martins and 21 others make Super Eagles list for World Cup qualifiers next month
The Super Eagles will tackle Swaziland in the first leg on November 13, while the return leg is at the Adokiye Amiesiamaka Stadium in Port Harcourt four days later.
As expected, there was no place in the squad list for Fenerbahce loanee Emmanuel Emenike and Vincent Enyeama, who have both announced their international retirement after falling out of favour with the coach (Emenike denied this).
But experienced duo of John Obi Mikel (Chelsea) and Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow) are among the players that will begin training at Bolton White Apartments, Abuja on November 8.
Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi is poised to make his competitive debut, which will tie him to Nigeria once and for all, as he is one of the 6 strikers listed.
List of Invited Players
Goalkeepers: Carl Ikeme (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Sunshine Stars); Dele Alampasu (Club de Sportivo Feirense, Portugal)
Defenders: Abdullahi Shehu (Uniao da Madeira, Portugal); Kalu Orji (Enyimba FC); Elderson Echiejile (AS Monaco, France); Chima Akas (Sharks FC); Leon Balogun (FSV Mainz, Germany); Godfrey Oboabona (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey); Efe Ambrose (Celtic FC, Scotland); Austin Oboroakpo (Abia Warriors)
Midfielders: Ogenyi Onazi (SS Lazio, Italy); Paul Onobi (Sunshine Stars); John Mikel Obi (Chelsea FC, England); Rabiu Ibrahim (AS Trencin, Slovakia); Wilfred Ndidi (KRC Genk, Belgium); Sylvester Igbonu (FC UFA, Russia)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Moses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium); Odion Ighalo (Watford FC, England); Ezekiel Bassey (Enyimba FC); Alex Iwobi (Arsenal FC, England); Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders, USA)
Cross Rivers state govt suspend morning devotion in primary and secondary schools
The Cross Rivers state government has ordered the suspension of early morning devotions held in primary and secondary schools across the state. A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education in the state, Anne Odey, stated that the decision to suspend the devotion came from security concerns raised by the state Commissioner of Police, Henry Fadairo.
She said the state police commission had suggested the suspension of the age long practice following the prevailing security concerns in the country.
In a swift reaction, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the state released a statement rejecting the suspension of the early morning devotion by the state government. The statement which was signed by the chairman of CAN in the state, Archbishop Joseph Edra Ukpo, reads in part;
“Sequel to the letter from the Ministry of Education with reference No MOE/S132/VOL 1, by the Permanent Sectary of the Ministry of Education dated October 21, directing public and private primary/secondary schools across the state to suspend all assemblies (morning and afternoon) till further notice, the Christian Association of Nigeria , Cross River State chapter, hereby, says that such directive is totally unacceptable. This directive will negatively affect the moral upbringing of our children who are future leaders of this country”.
Electric Powerbike Made In Unizik (pictures)
With final year projects making the waves in Unizik, UNIZIKMATA presents to you another Team of Zikites that has assembled in same line of creativity to produce a made in Nigeria ELECTRIC POWER BIKE which they have named EBS ONE.
This team of Mechanical Engineering Students comprises of ONYEBUCHI CHINONSO, OVOKE PAUL, CHIKA PAUL, UDORA EDISON, NWAFOR PAULING, and from the department of Electrical Engineering VICTOR IKEH TOCHUKWU.
The project(EBS ONE) has to do with having an electrical system in place of internal combustion engine of a motorcycle. This electrical system comprises mainly of; the batteries, a DC motor, the gear system, and an inverter. The batteries power the motor which in turn moves the gear to bring about the movement of the rear wheel. i.e batteries>motor>gear>rear wheel.
The idea of this project is to reduce the dependence on fuel for motorcycles and reduce ozone layer depletion by carbon compounds due to combustion of fuels.
They fabricated their own Chasis(skeleton). It has the shape of a moderb day powerbike.They also made use of Solidworks application,Autodesk Inventor and Matlab for different simulations.Everything involving the project was done in the school's workshop. The power system comprises of a 12Volts 6Amps battery, an electric motor and some other materials which were gotten.
Indeed, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka is really producing qualified and competitive engineers.
BVN: Banks To Deactivate Unregistered Accounts As Deadline Expires Today
Bank customers that are unable to obtain their bank verification numbers (BVNs) before the close of business this Friday would not be able to operate such accounts as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ruled out another extension of the deadline, which expires this Friday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee had introduced the BVN on February 14, 2014. The initiative was aimed at ensuring unique identity for all bank customers and other users of financial services in the country by the use of the customers’ biometrics as means of identification.
At the expiration of the initial estimated 18 months after the launch, a good number of bank customers were reluctant in registering, which led to commotion and stampede in banking halls across the country towards the end of the previous deadline. That confusion necessitated the call for the extension of the registration dateline by four months to October 31.
Data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), showed that 20,833,635 bank customers had enrolled as at October 25, 2015.
"Given the tradition of multiple accounts holding by an average Nigerian, which could be conservatively estimated at about two or three per an account holder, therefore, it could be safely assumed that over 40 million accounts might have been enrolled to BVN," the central bank explained on Thursday
Furthermore, some Nigerian banks’ customers in the diaspora have taken advantage of more facilities provided for enrollment in more locations abroad.
"It is evident that there has been less pressure in banking halls across the country which goes to buttress the fact that a greater percentage of account holders have been enrolled with the exception of those yet to link their accounts to their BVN," the CBN added.
The Deputy Director, Consumer Protection Department at the CBN, Mrs. Khadija Kasim, also urged those yet to be captured to do so before the deadline expires.
“The initial deadline was June 30th before we extended it to end of October. By now we expect all Nigerians to go before the expiration date and get their bank verification number. Please Nigerians, come out and ensure that you are registered for the exercise,” she appealed.
N1.4trn Penalty Too Heavy To Bear – MTN
Three days after Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC slammed a N1.4 trillion penalty on MTN Nigeria for failure to disconnect customers with unregistered SIM cards, Parent company MTN group has cried out that the fine was too extreme, even as it continues to engage the regulator on how to resolve the issue.
MTN Group noted with dismay that Nigerian Communications Commission refused to listen to its plea to reconsider its stand on the penalty slammed on its Nigerian arm last week.
According to a report, MTN Nigeria spokeswoman, Chineze Gbenga-Oluwatoye, had said in an e-mailed response, that “recommendations were put forward with respect to the non-commensurable nature of the fine but the Nigerian Communications Commission did not accept recommendations that the fine of 200,000 Naira ($1,005) per SIM was too heavy.”
‘‘MTN Nigeria contacted the regulator with concerns that a demand to disconnect SIM cards by a certain deadline would cause “severe disruption” for customers and recommended a staggered process to limit the possible impact,’’ said Oluwatoye.
As a result of the fine, MTN shares plummeted about 20 percent this week in Johannesburg. The biggest four-day drop since 2008, valuing the company at about 284 billion rand ($21 billion).
A MTN service provider tries to register a client's SIM card in Lagos, on October 27, 2015. Nigeria's telecommunications regulator has fined South African mobile giant MTN $5.2 billion for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered SIM cards, the company announced on Monday. The penalty saw shares in Africa's largest telecommunications company crash more than 12 percent to 167 rand on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the biggest fall the firm has suffered in a day since November 1998.
Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator has fined South African mobile giant MTN $5.2 billion for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered SIM cards, the company announced on Monday. The penalty saw shares in Africa’s largest telecommunications company crash more than 12 percent to 167 rand on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the biggest fall the firm has suffered in a day since November 1998.
The phone operator had said on Monday that the Nigerian Communications Commission is seeking the penalties because it missed a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million subscribers and is reviewing its management in the country.
Moody’s Investors Service had on Thursday lowered it’s rating for MTN to negative from stable following the fine.
“Key concerns raised to the NCC highlighted the difficulty of carefully reviewing the data on 18.6 million records within the one week deadline to ensure identification and disconnection of only affected subscribers,” Oluwatoye added.
Meanwhile, Financial analysts have pointedly said that Nigeria government is at risk of scaring off investors it can’t afford to lose if the N1.4 trillion fine slammed on MTN holds through.
With an economy struggling to cope with sliding oil prices, the experts said currency restrictions and no finance minister, authorities are doing themselves no favors by penalizing one of their biggest foreign investors.
According to fund managers including David McIlroy of Alquity Investment Management Limited, the fine equates to more than 20 percent of Johannesburg-based MTN’s market value.
“It’s the last thing Nigeria needs, given the economic and political struggles it’s contending with at the moment,” McIlroy, chief investment officer at Alquity, which oversees $100 million of frontier market stocks, including MTN shares, said by phone from London.
Vanguard
