ONE WORD

Buhari in Poland, says ‘I’m not Jubril’ By Mod - [ Update ]  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (not pictured) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S. September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz Oyedepo seeks official statement on controversy President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday broke his silence on rumours suggesting he had died and had been replaced by one Jubril, a body double from Sudan. “A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health. Some even reached out to the vice president to consider them to be his deputy because they assumed I was dead. That embarrassed him a lot and, of course, he visited me when I was in London convalescing… It’s real me; I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday. I am still going strong,” Buhari said. According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu, the president made t...

USA not paying enough attention to Nigeria’s 2019 elections—Ex-CIA chief By Mod - [ Update Vanguard ] Former Central Intelligence Agency, CIA’s senior political analyst on sub-Saharan Africa, Judd Devermont, has expressed concern that the US government and the international community were not paying enough attention to Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election. Atiku and Buhari According to him, “what happens in Nigeria matters to the United States and the international community. The U.S. and international stakeholders need to step up their game. “At the minimum, there is a proven playbook to draw on. During the last election in 2015 for instance, U.S. government and other stakeholders feared a repeat of the violence and ballot-rigging that tainted elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011. Eulogies as Anenih is laid to rest “Secretary Kerry travelled to Nigeria, and President Obama issued a video message calling for free, fair and peaceful elections. U.S. o...

Two versions of salad bowl of illusions on offer as economic policies By Mod - [ Update Vanguard ] Those who deal in ideas, if they are wise, will welcome attack. Only a peaceful passage should dismay them for it proves the ideas do not affect anyone very much — John K Galbraith. VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 97. By Dele Sobowale THE two presidential candidates wasted no time releasing their proposals for governance once the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, flagged off the campaigns for the 2019 elections. Both documents were packed full with the multitude of promises for which elections worldwide are known. Most of them will be addressed as we proceed with the campaigns. On this page, however, only the economic policies and their impact on society will be discussed. Atiku and Buhari Buhari, Critics and Next Level 2019 Before going forward, it is necessary to once again declare that in 2011 and 2015, I worked for Buhari with all ...

Five Things To Try On Your Next Vacation By Mod [ Update ] Everything you need to live well Travel is an excellent opportunity to not only get out of the routine of your everyday life but learn, grow and evolve as an individual. By travelling and immersing yourself in a new culture, you learn about the world and ultimately, yourself. Here are five things you should try on your next vacation. Try the new cuisine Try new food. Photo: hors d oeuvre We all get comfortable with the familiar food we eat regularly but a vacation is your opportunity to try the new cuisine offered by the country you are visiting. On your next trip, resist the urge to look for familiar food and step out of your comfort zone by trying the local food no matter how “bizarre” it may seem. Expand your food palette, try something new. Connect with the locals A tourist connecting with locals in Thailand. Photo: The Ufuoma Connecting with the locals is an amazing ...

Burden of desperate presidency versus, lawless democracy By Mod - [ Update ] Senate President Bukola Saraki PHOTO: TWITTER/ NIGERIAN SENATE The best insight into how crucial the collation centre is to the conduct of credible election could be gleaned from the recent Osun State gubernatorial poll. Although a new governor has been sworn into office in the state, the outcome of the election that produced Governor Gboyega Oyetola is still undergoing judicial scrutiny at the Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal. One inscrutable feature of the Osun poll was the way the Returning Officer, Prof. Joseph Afuwape, grimaced while receiving a phone call after which he declared the election inconclusive.  The question, who initiated the strange call as well as the subject matter discussed with the INEC adhoc staff remains a critical aspect of the current interrogation of the process. That particular spectacle more than any other curious specimen of elec...

Tightening noose against policy riggers of ‘41 items’ By Mod - [ Update ]  [FILE PHOTO] Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele speaks during the monthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Nigeria January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo Why interventions are not quick fixes of structural gaps CBN insists policy option is potent, saves $21b in food imports It is not going to be a journey as usual for banks, companies and individual operators behind activities aimed at undermining the extant policy on the 41 items banned from accessing foreign exchange at the official window, as it is now declared economic sabotage. For the apex bank, beside the immediate prosecution, which is being finalised in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), culprits would not be banked by any financial institution in the country for unspecified period. Meanwhile, a mix of inadequate infrastructure base and time lag needed fo...

N800bn subsidy: Fuel scarcity looms as oil marketers give FG 7-day ultimatum By Mod - [ Update ]  Oil marketers on Sunday in Lagos gave the Federal Government seven-day ultimatum to settle outstanding debts totalling N800 billion, failing which depots would cease operation across the country. The marketers, comprising Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and Independent Petroleum Products Importers (IPPIs), said failure to meet the deadline would force its members to disengage workers from depots. Confirming the seven-day notice, Mr Patrick Etim, Legal Adviser to IPPI told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that banks have taken over investments and assets of oil marketers over unpaid debts. According to Etim, marketers have no chcice that to ask their workers to stay at home over unpaid salary arrears due to huge subsidy debts owed by the government. “The only way to salvage the ...

Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday suspended the state Accountant General, Stella Udogwu, for allegedly not paying October to November salaries to workers in the state.  Okorocha was quoted to have sodirected by his Chief Press Secretary Sam Onwuemeodo, at the 40th Year Anniversary of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, at the Hero’s Square in Owerri. Okorocha did not stop at that, he called for  the arrest of the bank managers of the banks where the money meant for salaries was said to have been lodged. He ordered that  the interests so far generated by the money be recovered. According to the statement, “The governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has suspended the Accountant-General of the State, Mrs. Stella Udogwu and ordered  the arrest of the Branch-Managers the banks over the non-payment of the November Salaries of the Local Government Workers in the State. The suspension of the Accountant-General is with imme...

Buhari, a child of destiny By Mod - [ Update ] President Muhammadu Buhari (Photo by Audu MARTE / AFP) I think those fighting Buhari over his reelection bid in 2019 are wasting their time. My candid advice to them is to stop diverting the attention of the citizens over their non-ability to present concrete issues to engage the people. They keep on trying to create confusion in desperate attempts to devalue Buhari’s mass acceptability by Nigerians. But the most surprising thing is that each time they prop up any false claim, Buhari’s popularity gains more grounds, leaving them in their obduracy and faithlessness. Simply, Buhari is a child of destiny and no evil fashioned against a child of destiny shall prosper. Three things the opposition is playing on are exposing them to acute ignorance of the force of destiny and the masses. When God is with anybody, keep off. In politics, when the masses are with a candidate, other politicians should dare not play games wi...

True federalism and the question of state police By Mod - [ Update ]  Nigeria police PHOTO:NAN Going by the amount of ink, paper, time and saliva already dissipated in the current debates on the desirability or otherwise of state police in Nigeria, it is more than clear that people are raising issues about the over-centralization of the institution of policing as well as the almighty figure of the federal republic of Nigeria. The whole picture shows a powerful or an almighty centre at whose mercy good things of life can only filter to even the people at the local government councils. After all, if the centre determines how much goes to the state and local government authorities, the hopes of people would not be misplaced if they lay their trust about security on the power from the centre. The federal authority is so powerful that it can, at will, dictate what should be done or should not be done at the other two tiers of government. This raises the quest...

Economic volatility: Dangote steps up investments in agriculture By Mod - [ Update Vanguard ] LAGOS—AGAINST the background of Nigeria’s economic vulnerability, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has stated that the current efforts of the Federal Government at diversifying the economy to an agriculture-centered economy remain the viable solution to creating a healthy economy. Dangote Dangote said this during a meeting with some business men from Asia, in Lagos. He said: “We have invested massively in rice, sugar, dairy products, and tomatoes. Our rice-out grower scheme will produce rice by next year that will reduce our rice import to nearly zero because Nigeria imports more than half of the rice it consumes. We have expanded our sugar operations with our operations in Tonga in Nasarawa in addition to Numan sugar projects where sugarcane is cultivated for raw sugar production that will be refined. Cooperative societies contribute over N500b GDP ...

Fasehun: Gov Akeredolu, Mimiko, Afenifere mourn OPC founder By Mod -  [ Update ]  Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has described the demise of the founder and national leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun as shocking and great loss to Ondo State and the entire country. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ajiboye, Akeredolu stated that the death of Fasehun would create a huge vacuum whose place in the nation’s history cannot be easily forgotten. The statement reads, “Ondo State governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), mourns the founder of Oodua Peoples Congress, Dr. Frederick Fasehun who died today, December 1, 2018. “Governor Akeredolu describes the late Fasehun as a disciplined citizen, nationalist to the core and intelligent medical practitioner who used his energy and other resources to fight for the interests of common man. “As a politician, the governor ...