MISSING BUDGET: "I Don't Want To Comment Because Of My Ogas At The Top" Sen. Ita Enang

The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly (Senate), Ita Enang, says he will not respond to an allegation by the Senate that he doctored the 2016 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari in December.
He described the matter as “sensitive”.
Lawmakers had told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that the budget documents was missing, prompting the senate to set up a committee to investigate the matter.
On Thursday, after a closed-door session, the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, said the copy of the 2016 budget made available to the Senate was different from the original copy presented by Mr. Buhari in December last year.
“What he distributed is different from what was presented by Mr. President and we have resolved not to address any version until we receive the version presented by Mr. President,” Mr. Saraki stated, referring to Mr. Enang.
The claim was later reinforced by the Senate spokesperson, Aliyu Sabi, after the plenary. He said the Senate would obtain a soft copy of the original document, produce it in hard copies and consider next week.
Neither Mr. Saraki nor Mr. Aliyu gave details of the discrepancies.
But speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Enang, who is a former senator, said he would not comment on the development.
He said the matter was between “two of my bosses”, in reference to the presidency and the National Assembly.
“I do not want to comment on the matter at the moment,” Mr. Enang said. “It is a very sensitive matter involving two of my bosses – the National Assembly and Presidency. I don’t want to talk about them.”
CREDITS: Premium Times.

SSA to President Buhari, Ita Enang replaced 2016 budget with new one – Saraki

The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has admitted on Thursday that the Senior Special Adviser to the President, Senator Ita Enang removed the original copy  of the 2016 budget proposals which was presented to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari and replaced with a different copy, different from the one presented by the President.

“The Committee which was set up have investigated and the report shows that the Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang had withdrawn the original copy and replaced with another one that has conflicting figures,” Saraki said.

Saraki made this disclosure at Thursday’s plenary after the senate’s two hours closed door meeting.

Also speaking after the brief session, Senate Spokesman, Aliyu Sabi insisted that the budget was not missing, but that the Senior Special Adviser to the President, Ita Enang withdrew the original one and replaced with a copy with a different figure, and that the Senate Committee had discovered some differences.

Sabi, however, added that he will not specifically point out areas of differences as the committee has been detailed to work further on that aspect.

“I will not be able to point out in specifics areas of differences, we should all be patient to see its outcome,” he added.

He also explained that the Senate was interested in seeing the original copy which would be made available in soft copy so as to guide them in the course of doing their work.

“The Senate will make copies of original ones as presented to the joint session by Mr. President and would work on it according,” he insisted.

According to him, “the presented copy has legal implications which the Senate has already taken cognizance of, hence, they will be guided,” he maintained.

CREDITS: Wazobia Reporters

Breaking News: "BURGLARS" INVADED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, CARTED AWAY WITH 2016 BUDGET DOCUMENTS

The hard and soft copies of the 2016 budget documents President Muhammadu Buhari handed over to the National Assembly on December 22, 2015, have been declared missing, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.
The Nigerian Senate was scheduled to commence deliberation on the proposed budget Tuesday (today).
But Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, shocked lawmakers at a closed-door session, when he told them the budget documents had been stolen, people familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Ndume, our sources said, explained that deliberation on the budget could therefore not begin until fresh copies of the documents were obtained from the presidency, the Ministry of Finance or that of national planning.
The Chairman, Senate Committee of Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, was subsequently mandated to lead a search for the documents and liaise with the presidency, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang, and the national planning ministry on the matter.
The Senators also resolved that the matter be kept under wraps, saying making it public could embarrass the presidency, the National Assembly and the country.
Our sources said senators of the Peoples Democratic Party accused the presidency of being behind the theft of the documents, an accusation rejected by their All Progressives Congress’ counterparts, who reportedly said it was too early to speculate.
Some lawmakers told PREMIUM TIMES they are suspicious that the presidency might have colluded with the management of the National Assembly to quietly withdraw the documents after detecting some discrepancies in them.
“Can you imagine this kind of national embarrassment?” one senator asked. “Documents that were presented to us with fanfare have been stolen.”
The spokesperson for the senate, Aliyu Abdullahi,could not been reached for comments. So also is Mr. Goje, the chairman of the appropriation committee.
President Buhari had on December 22,2015 presented a N6.08 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2016 to a joint session of the National Assembly.
It was the first time in three years a Nigerian President would personally present a budget before the National Assembly.
Copies were however not distributed to lawmakers before they proceeded on Christmas and New Year holidays.
But weeks after the budget was presented to lawmakers, there were speculations that Mr. Buhari had withdrawn the documents to enable him to correct some discrepancies, a claim the presidency and the national planning ministry denied.
In the budget, capital expenditure takes N1.8 trillion, marking a significant over 300 per cent increment from the 2015 vote of N557 billion.
According to the estimate, N396billion is voted for education, being the largest sectoral allocation.
The health sector gets N296 billion while defence has N294 billion.i Ndume, shocked lawmakers at a closed-door session, when he told them the budget documents had been stolen, people familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Ndume, our sources said, explained that deliberation on the budget could therefore not begin until fresh copies of the documents were obtained from the presidency, the Ministry of Finance or that of national planning.
The Chairman, Senate Committee of Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, was subsequently mandated to lead a search for the documents and liaise with the presidency, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang, and the national planning ministry on the matter.
The Senators also resolved that the matter be kept under wraps, saying making it public could embarrass the presidency, the National Assembly and the country.
Our sources said senators of the Peoples Democratic Party accused the presidency of being behind the theft of the documents, an accusation rejected by their All Progressives Congress’ counterparts, who reportedly said it was too early to speculate.
Some lawmakers told PREMIUM TIMES they are suspicious that the presidency might have colluded with the management of the National Assembly to quietly withdraw the documents after detecting some discrepancies in them.
“Can you imagine this kind of national embarrassment?” one senator asked. “Documents that were presented to us with fanfare have been stolen.”
The spokesperson for the senate, Aliyu Abdullahi,could not been reached for comments. So also is Mr. Goje, the chairman of the appropriation committee.
President Buhari had on December 22,2015 presented a N6.08 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2016 to a joint session of the National Assembly.
It was the first time in three years a Nigerian President would personally present a budget before the National Assembly.
Copies were however not distributed to lawmakers before they proceeded on Christmas and New Year holidays.
But weeks after the budget was presented to lawmakers, there were speculations that Mr. Buhari had withdrawn the documents to enable him to correct some discrepancies, a claim the presidency and the national planning ministry denied.
In the budget, capital expenditure takes N1.8 trillion, marking a significant over 300 per cent increment from the 2015 vote of N557 billion.
According to the estimate, N396billion is voted for education, being the largest sectoral allocation.
The health sector gets N296 billion while defence has N294 billion.

CREDITS: Premium Times

STOCK MARKET: Investors Lose N455 Billion In 5days

Stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market have lamented  the lull in market activities  and the huge lose recorded in the Nigeria Stock Exchange  last week, where investors lost over N455 billion in  the first five tradings days of the year. The huge losss according to stakeholders was due to  delayed policy pronunciations and direction by the Federal Government. They however expressed optimism that  the recent visit by the International Monetary Fund, IMF boss, Christine Lagarde would spur the Federal Government to quickly take actions that would enhance the economy and boost the stock market in particular.
Analysis of activities on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) last week showed that  market capitalisation, which represents the total value of securities traded on the NSE declined by  over N455 billion  to close  trading  last Friday at N9.295 billion from N9.850 trillion it opened  during the first trading day of the year, 2016 .
On Monday market capitalisation shed N93.521billion to close at N9.757 trillion; On Tuesday it dropped by over N93 billion to close at N9.664 trillion; On Wednesday it shed N317 billion to close at N9.347 trillion.
However, on Thursday, market capitalisation rebounded to appreciate by over N30 billion to close at N9.377 trillion, while on Friday market capitalisation declined by over N82 billion to close at N9.295trillion. In the same vein, another stock market gauge, the All Share Index declined by 1,6‘13.86 points or 5.63 per cent in five trading days from 28,642.25 it opened the market  to close last Friday at 27,028.39 points.
The breakdown show that the Index on Monday shed 371.93 points to close at 28,370.32 points; On Tuesday the Index declined by 268.18 points to close at 28,102.14 points; On Wednesday it dropped by 911.38 points to close at 27,180.76 points; On Thursday, the index rebounded and  went up by 85.42 points to close at 27,266.18.
Further analysis showed that  that  899.604 million shares worth N7.669 billion in were traded by investors  in  14,164 deals  on the floor of the exchange in contrast to a total of 2.965 billion shares valued at N9.364 billion traded penultimate week in 7,174 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 764.790 million shares valued at N4.858 billion traded in 8,904 deals; thus contributing 85.01 percent and 63.34 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 40.164 million shares worth N100.471 million in 626 deals. The third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 40.006 million shares worth N1.707 billion in 2,116 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely – Access Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc.(measured by volume) accounted for 339.027 million shares worth N2.800 billion in 3,116 deals, contributing 37.69% and 36.51 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Also traded during the week   under review were a total of 12,016 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N2.050 million executed in 25 deals, compared with a total of 60,171 units valued at N484,396.36 transacted last week in 20 deals.
Furthermore, Seventeen (17) equities appreciated in price during the week under review, lower than forty-two (42) equities in the penultimate week. Fifty (50) equities depreciated in price, higher than twenty-two (22) equities in the penultimate week, while one hundred and twenty-three (123) equities remained unchanged, lower than one hundred and twenty-six (126) equities recorded in the previous week.
Top Ten Price Gainers
Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc led the top ten price gainers recording 19.64 percent price appreciation. Others are  Vono Products Plc (18.52%); Learn Africa Plc (15.49%); Lafarge Africa (8.47%); Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (8.02%); Fidson Healthcare Plc (8.00%); Berger Paints Nig. Plc (5.00%); E-transact International Plc (4.93); Portland Paints and Products Nig. Plc (4.79%) and Ikeja Hotels Plc (4.47%).
Top Ten Price Gainers
Skye Bank Plc led the  top ten price losers recording  25.32 percent price loss. Others are Unity Bank Plc (24.11%); Nigerian Breweries Plc (19.49%);  Tiger Branded Consumer Goods Plc (16.81%); Honeywell Flour Mills Plc (15.61%); Eterna Plc (13.66%); Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (13.04%); Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (12.50%); Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nig. Plc (12.28%); FBN Holdings Plc (11.89%).
Stakeholders’ reactions
Commenting on these developments, Chairman Proactive Shareholders of Nigeria, PROSAN Mr. Oderinde Taiwo in  said  “The Nigerian stock market is experiencing this negative response because the Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government policy direction came out late, even on some vital issues, there are no policy direction yet. We should know that it is government’s policy direction that attract foreign and core investors into any market. So that delay in the appointment of ministers and pronouncement of policy direction really affected investment decisions in our market.
Continuing, he said “With the recent visit of the IMF boss in Nigeria, there is likely going to be positive changes in the economy and our market in particular once the Federal Government is able to execute some of the initiatives recommended to it. All these and more will likely attract investors to the market.”

Another stakeholder, Mr. Boniface Okezie, Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, PSAN said “The decline in our market is not only affected by factors within the economy but also global issues. The fall in global oil has been a major factor affecting Nigerian economy. So our market has been resilient, though there are issues that the regulators in our market need to address. When a finger of an investor is burnt, he or she will be careful to release his or her other fingers to be burn. That is what is really affecting the market.”
Continuing, he said “The decline we are experiencing in our market now is somehow normal as some investors are selling their shares to meet up with other expectations. Remember, Christmas and new year holidays are over  and people had spend money and they needed cash to pay for their children’s school fees and other essential needs, that is why the prices of equities are dropping.
But, there is hope that the market will rebound once investors see clearer picture of the Federal Government‘s policy direction. The Buhari administration has started fighting corruption and tackling insecurity. So these are some of the things that will attract investors to invest in our economy.”’
In his own view, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, Chairman, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), said there is need to rid the economy of every uncertainty to inject confidence in the investors. He explained that riding the market of uncertainty requires discipline across all strata of the economy.
“The market mirrors the economy; if the economy is down, the market will be down. For me I think what the market requires is a situation where the economy has a lot of discipline. It does not matter, for instance, how much the budget is; but it is the implementation that is critical and it requires a lot of discipline across all levels for us to have an economy that is devoid of uncertainty.
“There are too many uncertainties in the economy and uncertainty does not give confidence for investment because if you are investing money, you are doing so not for today, but for tomorrow. When people are not sure of what will happen tomorrow, they may likely not invest; so that is why we are having this lull.”
He added: “From my own point of view, there need to be a lot of accountability in the ways things are done in our system. There needs to be consistency in the way government is run, in the ways policies are pursued; there need to be consistency. And there need to be reward and punishment depending on what people have done and people have not done. As soon as investors see a steady pattern, a lot more investment will come.”
Madubuike explained that the market is driven by two factors – fear and greed; that’s what drives the market. “When investors don’t see where the economy is going, they won’t invest. That is when the  fear factor comes in, but if they are sure that the economy is doing well, then greed will come in. When do you exit, when do you come in. Those are the two factors that drive the market”.
Analysts’ views
Mr. Tola Odukoya, Managing Director, Asset Management & Research, Dunn Loren Merrifield said the current fall in the global equity markets is essentially made in China. “The wider story is that China’s economic growth is slowing and there are concerns that the transition to a slower and more sustainable rate of growth might be disruptive.  This is largely due to decline in manufacturing triggered by slump in exports and a surprise devaluation of the Yuan. This among other considerations is raising concerns about whether the Chinese economy is slowing down more sharply than thought” Odukoya stated.
Continuing, he said, “Though we reckon that it’s not just about China, decline in commodity prices such as crude oil and copper have also prompted investors to take fright over signs of waning financial crisis. To better put, there is certainly a possibility of “safe haven” effect in other markets as the Chinese stock price falls has made investors more wary about risks. Hence, shares around the world have followed the China’s market slowly.
In addition, the increase in interest rates in the US is also sucking money out of riskier markets.” He affirmed that while investors are keeping a close watch on China, there are signs that investors are retreating, therefore making money to be pouring out of major markets around the world which is almost similar to the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
“Whilst we maintain that improved global economic data amongst other considerations are some of the key factors that will lift the global market performance considerably, we are of the view that market unpredictability which prevailed for the most part of 2015 will be sustained in the first quarter of 2016 and even beyond,” he said.
In its own part, Vetiva Capital Management Limited (“Vetiva”) stated “ Global stock markets rallied in wake of the news which suggests to us that this “lift-off” had been priced in by markets and emerging economies exposed to global financial flows are better  positioned to deal with further tightening in global liquidity conditions contrary to the “taper tantrum” episode of summer 2013. In this scenario, the rise in U.S. long term yields will likely remain well contained, with interest rate differentials only marginally lower, thus, capital flows to emerging and frontier markets would be modest.
However, another scenario is that better than expected data on U.S. GDP growth, employment and inflation triggers a deviation from the assumed interest rate path, leading to a more rapid rise in the policy rate. This could create financial market volatility with spillover effects to emerging economies, in particular, those exposed to foreign currency denominated debt. Overall, tighter global liquidity conditions are likely to increase vulnerabilities of economies with BOP fragilities, especially in oil exporting countries.”
Commenting further, it stated “We expect demand for fixed income securities will open on a healthy note, largely supported by domestic banks and pension funds (PFAs). In the second half of the year however, we foresee uptick in yields as supply begins to outweigh demand, nonetheless, we expect the uptrend in yield to be capped. We anticipate that the demand would be largely weighted on the short end of the yield curve – particularly T-bills and short dated bonds as the market remains risk averse.
Overall, we anticipate a relatively steep yield curve for most part, indicating an expectation for a rise in yields. We foresee an upward shift in the yield curve by an average 200bps across 2016.” “With the NSE All Share Index, ASI returning -17% in 2015, closely in line with our scenario analysis for Brent crude oil price at $45/bbl, our outlook for the equity market in 2016 remains anchored on the direction of oil prices.
As such, we think the equity market is headed for another tough year as oil prices stay “lower for longer” with economic concerns ranging from currency to corporate earnings ; Overshadowing seemingly low stock prices; we expect heightened volatility for much of the year.
We re-iterate the strong correlation of the Nigerian equity market to oil prices and with the price of Brent crude oil hovering $38/bbl coming into 2016, we think losses will be less steep this year with the potential for a positive year close given our expectation for oil prices to rebound to between $50 – $60/bbl in the second half of the year.”
Global Stocks:
Meanwhile, global markets stabilised last Friday, with U.S. stocks halting a two-day rout and the dollar advancing after China shored up its markets and a surge in U.S. payrolls boosted optimism in the economy. Oil fell below $33 a barrel.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index stopped a selloff that has erased $4 trillion from global equities this year as Chinese authorities set a higher yuan reference rate and intervened in its equities markets. The renewed selling in crude sent energy shares lower around the world, damping the equities rebound. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index held to a 0.4 percent advance as the yen weakened with gold.
Volatility in Chinese markets spurred a global selloff in riskier assets as concern deepened over the ruling Communist Party’s ability to manage an economic slowdown. U.S. payroll growth surged in December, capping the second-best year for American workers since 1999. While that was further evidence of a resilient job market that prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, wages grew slower than forecast, adding to disinflation concerns stoked by plunging commodities prices.
“There will remain some jitters about China until they get get through a week or more without having a precipitous drop,” said Peter Jankovskis, who helps oversee $1.9 billion as Co-Chief investment officer of Lisle, Illinois-based OakBrook Investments. “Given what’s going on in China right now, the market is looking for economic growth and evidence that there’s strength in the U.S. economy. We’re still walking on egg shells, but this is definitely going to help turn a corner.”
Specifically, the  Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent at 10:47 a.m. in New York. The index almost erased a gain of 0.8 percent before stabilizing. The gauge ended the first four days of 2016 lower by 4.9 percent, its worst start in data going back to 1928.
“The big concern right now is what’s happening overseas, particularly in China,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird, which oversees $110 billion. “Today there was a very strong labor market report that relieved some of that concern. Investors typically sell the first rally after a big selloff, because it’s the first chance they can get out on an uptick. That’s why the first rally after a deep decline is hard to get underway.”

The 292,000 gain in payrolls exceeded the highest forecast in a Bloomberg survey and followed a 252,000 increase in November that was stronger than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 200,000 advance.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fluctuated. The gauge is down about 4.5 percent in the week, the worst performance since August, when China’s shock devaluation of the yuan roiled global markets.
Emerging Markets
The People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s daily fixing at 6.5636 per dollar. That’s 0.5 percent higher than Thursday’s onshore effective closing price in the spot market and ends an eight-day reduction of 1.42 percent. The securities market regulator abandoned the circuit breaker after plunges of 7 percent in the CSI 300 triggered automatic trading halts on Monday and Thursday in its first week.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index advanced 0.3 percent, rebounding from a six-year low. Benchmarks in China, Brazil, South Korea, Thailand and Hungary gained at least 0.6 percent. Russian markets remained closed for holidays. The CSI 300 Index of large-cap companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen advanced 2 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 1.1 percent from a four-year low.
India’s rupee and South Africa’s rand led gains in emerging-market currencies, climbing at least 0.4 percent against the dollar. Brazil’s real strengthened 0.3 percent.
Currencies
The yen weakened 0.8 percent and the Swiss franc slid 1 percent against the dollar. The euro fell 1 percent after German industrial production unexpectedly dropped in November. Output, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, slid 0.3 percent from October, when it gained a revised 0.5 percent, data from the Economy Ministry in Berlin showed.
Bonds
U.S. Treasury 10-year notes fell for the first time in seven days, sending yields up two basis points to 2.17 percent. China may be selling Treasuries to raise money as part of its efforts to stabilize markets, said Yoshiyuki Suzuki, head of fixed income in Tokyo at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance, which has $55.9 billion in assets. China’s foreign-exchange reserves shrank last year for the first time since 1992, according to central bank figures on Thursday.
Yields on euro-denominated junk-rated corporate debt rose to the highest since November 2012 on Thursday. The average yield climbed 12 basis points to 5.99 percent, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index.
Commodities
Oil fell 0.8 percent to $33 a barrel and contracts on Brent crude dropped 0.4 percent to $33.62 in London. Gold pared its best weekly advance since August, falling 1 percent to $1,098.23 an ounce. The precious metal has outperformed other commodities this week as investors sought haven assets.

CREDITS: Vanguard

"ARE WE SERVING DIFFERENT GODS": An Open Letter From Tunji Akinlade To Wale Adedayo.

Dear Wale Adedayo, I woke up with very heavy heart this morning. The reason is not far fetch, it has to do with happenings around us. I thought of who to share this with and your name came to my mind.
Recently the Shiites blocked the road for one man who happened to be the COAS and they paid dearly for it. Hundreds of their members were killed and up to this moment the whereabout and the condition of their leader can not be ascertained.
Come to think of it Wale, not too long ago a building that does not have approval collapsed and scores of foreigners got killed in the process. The incident sharply affected diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and South Africa negatively till today. The owner of the building in question refused to be questioned and nothing happened. ARE WE SERVING DIFFERENT GODS?
Every Sunday the most important road in the southwest of the same Nigeria get blocked due to activities of a religion group like the Shiites, it is worst on first Friday of every month and the first week of every December. Yet everybody pretend as if it was normal. Or is it because the COAS has never been caught in the lockdown?
ARE WE SERVING DIFFERENT GODS?
Idi-Iroko road is another no go area on Sundays, second Friday of every month and first week of every December.
No thanks to the activities of another religion sect like the Shiites. The only different is that those in authority never see this one as a treat like the Shiites.
ARE WE SERVING DIFFERENT GODS?
When are we going to start to treat ourselves as equal in this nation.

Tunji Akinlade is a public analyst, A Technocrat (Engineer) and Administrator.

SPORTS: -Pierre Emerick Aubameyang Win GLO-CAF African Footballer Of The Year Award

The #GloCAFAwards2015 was an amazing success last night.
The event, held in Abuja, was televised live on TV and has been trending on social media.
There were mega performances from D’banj, Flavour, P-Square, Omawumi, Di’Ja, Korede Bello, Awilo longomba, and more. The awards night was attended by an array of stars including Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, Nadia Buari, AY Makun and more.

See the full list of winners below.

•Club of the Year – TP Mazembe

•Fair Play Award – Allez Casa (Senegal
Supporters group)

•Women’s National Team Of The Year –
Cameroon

•Men’s National Team Of The Year –
Cote D’Ivoire

•Youth Player Of The Year- Victor
Osimhen

•Most Promising Talent -Oghenekaro
Etebo

•Coach of The Year – Havre Renard

•Women’s National Team Of The Year –
Cameroon

•Woman player of the year – Gabrielle
Enganamouit

•Referee Of The Year – Ameshinda
Bakari Wa Gambia Papa Gassama

•African Player Of The Year based in
Africa-Mbwana Samatta

•Football Leader Of The Year –
Abdiqani Said Arab Of Somalia

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: MTN finally Acquire Visafone CDMA

Telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria on Thursday said that it has completed the acquisition of Visafone, the only surviving Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

The Telecom company who is yet to pay its $3.4billion fine to Nigerian Communications Commission is optimistic that it can boost the quality of broadband in Nigeria.

MTN Executive, Ms Amina Oyagbola made this known in a statement in Lagos.

Oyagbola said that the acquisition of Visafone was in line with a continued commitment by MTN to improve the quality of broadband services for its subscribers.

She said that the acquisition, which sought to leverage resources for service enhancement, was also reflective of the company’s concerted efforts to deepen the growth and roll out of broadband services across the country.

According to her, the acquisition of the CDMA network is in support of the National Broadband Plan, for the benefit of Nigerians.

“We are committed to exploring avenues for meeting our customers’ increasing data needs in line with our vision ‘to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers’.

“As we work to maximise our data capabilities towards achieving broadband of international quality, our objective is to ensure that Nigerians experience a boost in the quality of broadband internet services.

“This will translate to the much needed enhanced data speeds and value to enhance personal and business productivity.

“The acquisition of Visafone highlights MTN’s commitment to Nigeria. More capacity will facilitate enhanced product/service offerings and experience in the data space to the delight of our valued customers.

“Voice is still King. However, data is becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives and our energies are focused on enhancing data and internet services to the benefit of our customers and the country at large,” she said.

NAN reports that Visafone is one of the leading CDMA/ICT companies in Nigeria, offering a number of services, which include voice, high speed data (3G), internet and other Value Added Services (VAS).

Visafone also provides business solutions to small and medium sized companies and corporate organisations in Nigeria.

NAN also gathered that over 2,000 employees of Visafone were disengaged with effect from Jan 5 and were paid three months salaries as severance package.

The only employees said to been left are those in the personnel and transmission departments.

TERRORISM: United State Donnates "TOKUNBO" Mines Resistance Vehicle To Nigeria Army.

The United States government Thursday‎ officially handed over 24 mine-resistant armour-protected vehicles to the Nigerian army.
At a brief ceremony in Lagos, the US government said the donation was part of its commitment to assist Nigeria in its war against insurgency.
‎”For many years the Nigerian armed forces has been a strong partner of the United States,” said Patrick Doyle, a Colonel and the US Defence Attaché to Nigeria.
“We have asked for your support in many endeavours, in particular throughout West Africa and you have responded.
“I believe United States government security cooperation commitment is second to none‎. We have provided extensive training programmes, logistical supports, and equipment to the Nigerian armed forces and we will continue to do so.”
The armoured vehicles, which arrived the country on New Year day, were part of the US government’s Excess Defence Articles Programme, a programme designed to transfer excess US military equipment to partner nations.‎
Eight more of the vehicles are expected to arrive the country soon.
Mr. Doyle said half of the 24 vehicles are in good working condition but will need “minor work.”
“‎When the Nigerian army inspected the vehicles a few months back, they selected the best vehicles that they could find,” he said.
‎”The reason we are giving the vehicles, we have the Excess Defence Programme, is because we are downsizing forces in our military, we have left Iraq with our forces and we ‎have downsized our forces in Afghanistan and we do not need all these vehicles anymore. So Nigeria asked for these vehicles and we gladly provided it to them.‎”
There are many land mines buried by the Boko Haram terrorists across the north-east.
Last August, two soldiers were killed in Dikwa, Borno State, after a land mine they stepped on exploded. Two other soldiers sustained serious injuries while an armoured personnel carrier was destroyed in the blast.
‎Barry Ndiomu, representing Nigeria’s Defence Minister, said the vehicles are what is needed to prosecute the war in the north-east.
“We express our most profound gratitude for the gift of Mine Resistant Ambush-protected vehicle to the Nigerian Army. It couldn’t have come at a better time especially considering the challenges that confront our armed forces in the north east,” said Mr. Ndiomu, a Major-General.
“We appreciate what you have done, although like Oliver Twist, we would appreciate if you can do even more.”
Mr. Ndiomu noted that some of the armoured vehicles are not ‎serviceable and requested for help from the US to procure their spare parts.
“The defence adviser has actually told me about certain steps we need to take. As soon as I return to Abuja‎, I’ll pass this information on to the appropriate authorities so we can initiate the process.”
The 24 armoured vehicles are worth $11 million (brand new ones), according to Mr. Doyle, and the other expected eight are valued at $7.5 million.
‎”The repairs of the vehicles is up to the Nigerian government to do that,” he said.
“They can repair them on their own and they have the facilities to do that, but of course the spare parts are very particular to these vehicles so the Gene‎ral and I have been discussing and we have been in discussions with the army previously and we were working modalities on how we will get those parts to them.“They will have to order those parts from the United States and we will work out those conditions and how they will do that but when you say they will pay the United States, the easiest way to do that is to open a government-to-government case, where we can then work with them to ensure they get the correct parts and get them in a time and manner and from the correct manufacturers and the parts they actually need.”
Mr. Ndiomu also said the vehicles would be moved “as soon as possible” to the Nigerian Army Electrical Maintenance Engineers workshop in Bauchi.
‎”They will make the necessary assessments and I believe that ongoing discussions with our American partners, the spare parts will be made available and they will be repaired.”

TRANSPORTATION: Governor Ambode Sack NURTW From Operating BRT.

The Lagos State Government has terminated operations of the first BRT cooperative run by the National Union of Road Transport Workers from the Mile12 to CMS BRT corridor with immediate effect.

This is contained in a statement signed by the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, on Thursday in Lagos.

“The termination of the franchise agreement with the operator is sequel to breaches of the BRT operations Service Level Agreement it signed with the state government, despite years of discussions and engagement to ensure SLA was adhered to.

“Though the SLA requires a one month notice prior to its termination, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, custodian of the agreement, had indeed given a three-month notice which the operator failed to honour,” he said.

The commissioner said the government’s decision had been communicated to the operator on Thursday.

Mobereola said the decision was premised on the inability of the operator to offer good public transport services to commuters on the all-important BRT corridor.

According to him, this has led to incessant complaints by members of the public over poor services provided by the operator.

He said that the state government was against the non-operation of stipulated frequency schedules and operation of buses below 50 per cent fleet capacity contrary to the agreement.

Mobereola said that the breaches which the operator had indulged in and failed to remedy despite being notified prompted the government’s decision.

“The state government on September 29, 2015 served the operator with a notice of termination of the franchise of the agreement.

“The operator pleaded for time to be able to identify other corridors and remove all its buses from the depot, a commitment it failed to uphold,” he said.

Mobereola said the notice of termination of franchise agreement was followed by series of meetings where government maintained its position on the need for the operator to vacate the corridor.

NAN

TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT: We Don't Give A Damn...... National Assembly Tells Buhari

National Assembly turns down Buhari’s TSA policyBy Wale Odunsi on January 4, 2016@dailypostngr
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Nigeria’s federal legislature yesterday said it would not be part of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) being implemented by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari had during last Wednesday’s media chat, said he was having challenge with the National Assembly over the TSA.

“We are having problems with them (National Assembly) on TSA. We have to have a closed door session with them,” the president said.

Reacting, both chambers said such would amount to, “surrendering of their autonomy to the executive.”

Spokesperson of the senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, told Daily Trust that “There is no trouble on TSA, it is as an executive programme and we cannot surrender our autonomy to the executive.

“Submitting ourselves to the TSA is surrendering our autonomy to the executive. We are on the first line charge as guaranteed by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Why should we give you our funds to put in the TSA and then we will be subjected to your own control, is that autonomy?”

“That is just the issue; we’ve given our total support to the TSA programme. As far as we are concerned, we cannot subject ourselves to it because it amounts to mortgaging our autonomy.

“Our autonomy is guaranteed by the constitution and how our money should be paid is also guaranteed by the constitution.

“Are we saying our autonomy should be jettisoned? Are we a revenue generating arm? Are we saying that the constitution should be jettisoned, because somebody wants to do TSA? Are we going to put the Constitution aside and follow somebody’s wish? What we are following is constitutional,” he said.

Similarly, spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas insisted that said TSA remains an executive policy.

“Every arm of government has its ways of operations. The issue of TSA is an executive matter, and in as much as we want to work together with the executive for good governance, we are not part of TSA for now,” he said.

Olamide And DonJazzy Settles Rift. Apologised To Fans

Mavin’s Boss, Don Jazzy and YBNL’s CEO, Olamide Adedeji, have settled their rift and issued a joint apology.
Recalled that Olamide blasted the organisers of the awards for not recognising his protege, Lil Kesh as the Next Rated Artiste. The category was won by Reekado Banks of Don Jazzy’s Mavins.
“Lil Kesh is our own Next Rated artist. F**k that sh*t!The streets ti take over.Every f**king single was a hit back to back. From lyrically, to Shoki to Efejoku. Ko ni dafun Iya anybody,” Olamide said when he climbed the stage with his whole YBNL team, during the presentation of  the award for Best Alternative act, won by his artist Adekunle Gold for the song, Shade.
After Olamide’s diatribe, Don Jazzy won Special Recognition Awards and while on stage to receive his award, he reacted to Olamide’s rant. He said “Egbon Olamide, if you want the car, come and take it.” (Next Rated win comes with a car).
Afterward, Olamide went nuts and came for Don Jazzy on Twitter. In a number of twitter rants, Olamide declared war on Don Jazzy and ripped him to pieces not only on his person but also on the way he treats artistes signed under him.

Former NSA Media Consultant Admonishes President Muhammad Buhari Spokesman Femi Adesina Through Open Letter.

Dear Femi Adesina

Since I am a victim of association to one of the most vilified and scandalised Nigerians through media trial, this Open Letter is the best opportunity for me to put some issues in proper perspective following some of your public remarks about your old friend.

As you are aware, I have been actively involved in cementing relationship between the media and security agencies in the recent past. Immediately after my premature retirement from the public service by the Jonathan administration, I was invited by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retired), to help in changing the negative media narrative on Nigeria’s counter-terrorism campaigns. It was at a period when the Boko Haram was having the upper hand in the propaganda campaign of the war against Nigeria with a section of the foreign media castigating Nigerian troops as “cowardly” “undisciplined” and “ill-trained.”

Among other things, I have the responsibility of consulting for the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA), then Chaired by Major General Chris Olukolade, which has membership from critical public institutions including the military, security, intelligence and response agencies. We also created and sustained web portals for providing accurate and timely information to the public.

I must commend Mr. Femi Adesina for playing greater roles on the success of our campaign because as the President of Nigerian Guild of Editors, you also encouraged Editors to support our activities through occasional self-censorship to manage negative terrorists’ propaganda.

Being one of the closest Editors to former National Security Adviser, you were always sincere and frank when you met and discussed with Dasuki. You never hid your hardened support for the candidacy of General Buhari of All Progressive Congress (APC). I remember your annoyance over security clampdown on the media and when you sought Dasuki’s intervention for compensation for media organisations over their loss rather than engaging in prolonged court cases. I was with you on that occasion in his office.

Apart from interfacing between FOSSRA and media representatives at different levels and locations, which you encouraged, Sambo Dasuki too, as National Security Adviser occasionally hosted Media Debriefing sessions where sensitive information was disseminated with supported photos and video clips. Many of such sessions were classified, not for publication, where atrocities of terrorists; the gallantry of the Nigerian troops and sophisticated equipment deployed for counter-terrorism operations were disclosed or shown.

I am glad that not only were you adequately informed of those success stories of Jonathan administration’s war on terror, you even took the pain to pen an opinion article eulogising Dasuki for keeping to his promise of clearing all known terrorists’ camps before the handover to the new government.

As a respected columnist, your article of May 1, 2015 on the back page of the Daily Sun with the title “A little Late But Not too Late,” clearly exonerates Dasuki from some allegations and also reveals some concrete facts of achievements that were not being reported in the media.

It is therefore, baffling that the same Femi Adesina, could brazenly contradict himself shortly after gaining public office in his official statements. Some of us who know your cordial relationship with Dasuki and information at your disposal are indeed baffled by your dramatic turn-around in so short a time.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to point out that not all funds in ONSA are meant for arms procurement. As you are aware, under its Special Service Office (SSO), funds are expended on training, espionage, communication, special interventions for special causes including NGOs. One of the successful programmes under ONSA is Soft-Approach to countering terrorism, of which deradicalization without the use of force through economic empowerment, education, communication, rehabilitation and counselling were part. The Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE) was conceived from the Soft Approach.

As a media consultant who has distributed over 1000 releases on behalf of the military and security agencies, I can state the following as a fact from official documents and releases:

On August 6, 2015, through PRNigeria, Dasuki named and provided pictures of sophisticated weapons bought for the military, which included: “Alpha jets, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) APCs, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunitions, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 Battle Tanks and modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters.” Even in his official response to your statement against him on November 18, 2015, Dasuki mentioned official acknowledgements of delivery of some of the equipment by the security chiefs.

It is therefore laughable when critics claim that no weapons were purchased when a video from Boko Haram leader Shekau displayed captured sophisticated weapons after alleged mutinous soldiers fled Baga

At the twilight of Jonathan’s administration more than 22 towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states were recovered and confirmed with video and pictorial evidences through military press releases. Some of the towns recovered before the coming of President Buhari included: Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Biu, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Goniri, Gujba, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, and others. A clear testimony to some of the accomplishments was the official DHQ release dated March 16, 2015 with reference No: DHQ/ABJ/901/32/DDI and a title: “Troops Finally Rout Terrorists from Bama and Last Stronghold in Yobe.”

Even though when you confirmed in the same article while you were still a columnist that “Sambisa Forest is falling” it was actually stormed by Nigerian troops where about 300 kidnapped women and children were rescued with video evidence before the emergence of the current administration.
In an attempt to indict Sambo Dasuki, some media leak unethically expose expenditures of sensitive agencies like National Intelligence Agency, Department of State Service and others to public ridicules. This is unfair. It was for sensitive nature of issues that we guarded the recruitment of Special M Forces to help in the air while Nigerian troops recaptured the ground. Some would rather call our technical Advisers as South-African mercenaries. Even when Nigeria financially supported some neigbouring countries to participate in the Multi-National Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) it was deliberately done because they were initially reluctant as foreign powers were not helping Nigerian troops.

Since Dasuki and others are now being arraigned in court, rather than the continued media trial and planned secret trials, let the trial commence in open court to enable prosecutors and accusers present their arguments to remove facts from fictions and reality from illusions.

Sir, as you know that I have tremendous respect for you, I strongly urge you to use your good office to protect the integrity of critical institutions like security and the media from public ridicule as some patriotic officers, media organisations, and publishers are already being indicted without fair trial in the court of law.

While I vouch for your professional integrity, you know for a fact that Dasuki is kind and obediently loyal in and out of office. You know that for sure, Mr. Femi.

As we end 2015, I pray the year 2016 will not be one of media circus but one in which the rule of law will determine official actions and suspects of all kinds will have their rights under the constitution respected. This is my last article on this issue and I do this with the best of intention to protect our institutions.

Yushau A. Shuaib

yashuaib@yahoo.com