2017 will be great for Nigerian football – Pinnick

NFF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick.

Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Wednesday said that 2017 would be a great year for football in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Pinnick made the assertion while appearing on “Sports This Morning”, a sports programme on Channels TV.
Pinnick, who reviewed the 2016 performance of the NFF, noted that though it was a very rough and tough year for the NFF, next year promised to be a great year.
“Generally I will say, with all sense of objectivity, that it was a kind of mixed fortune for Nigerian football in 2016.
“In terms of technology and new thinking in global football, we have signed up for the Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS), the Intermediary Regulatory Tool (IRT), the FIFA Connect and FIFA Integrity programmes.
“I think the federation has done well in these areas and we are always looking to the future; these are technology driven programs and areas that will enhance football in the country.
“We are the first country in Africa to have signed up for the DTMS. So, in terms of technology and the new thinking in global football, I think we are in the right direction.
“However, in terms of the politics of the game and funding, I won’t rate us very well. That’s the truth. We have not been able to live up to expectation in that area.
“Then in terms of qualifying for events, yes, we started very slowly but now we are on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup.
“It’s a marathon anyway, but I think we have got to an appreciable distance,’’ he said.
Pinnick noted that the NFF had its ups and downs and was not very proud of some of the downs, but referred to them as “some level of force majeure”, saying that they did not predict or see them coming.
“In terms of funding, our relationship with Nigeria and the global corporate, I just feel very pained about these because this is not the target of the NFF, that’s the truth.
“We believe at this point (second year running), we should have an appreciable level of financial independence and autonomy,’’ he said.
The NFF boss commended all the national teams, adding that they had done the federation very proud in spite of all the challenges.
“The last two years haven’t been very encouraging and of course, we give credence to the fact that the country is going through a recession.
“The recession is not peculiar to football; it has to do with the economy generally. If you look at Nigeria, how many companies have posted profits this year?
“The reality is that the economy has not been very palatable, but we are working with companies that have MDs and CEOs who are driven by passion for the game.
“They love football. So, we just sell that point to them and they buy it. So, I think next year will be a great year for Nigerian football.
“Next year by God’s grace, when I will be sitting here reviewing football again, I will say congratulations; we are in the World Cup, congratulations, we are going to go beyond the second round.
“You can look at the maturity of our players like Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi even Victor Osimhen. We have the youngest and most enterprising team in the continent at the moment.
“Unfortunately, we are not in AFCON; if we are in the tournament, there’s no way we would have won it,” he said.
NAN reports that the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Defending champions, the Flying Eagles, also failed to qualify for Zambia 2017 U-20 AFCON following a 4-3 defeat at home to 10-man Sudan.
Coach Emmanuel Amuneke’s side needed a draw to stand a chance of defending their title in Zambia but was unable to do their part and the North Africans won at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
In the same vein, world champions, Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets crashed out of the U-17 qualifiers.
The Eaglets, who beat Niger Republic 1-0 in the first leg in Abuja, could not keep their slim advantage in Niamey.
The Coach Manu Garba-tutored side were beaten 3-1 by their hosts; hence were denied participation in the African Championship and the opportunity to defend their title at the next FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Nigeria is the most successful team in the world in the U-17 cadre with five titles but surprisingly it could not navigate past Niger in the African qualifiers.
Also, the Flamingoes crashed out at the group stages of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after a disastrous campaign in Jordan.
Nigeria failed to score a goal in their three matches and managed only a goalless draw with England to finish on a solitary point.
The Flamingoes, who reached the quarterfinals in the last three editions of the competition, suffered from lack of international exposure as they did not play any international warm-up before Jordan 2017.
The Nigeria U-20 Women’s team, Falconets, also crashed out of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea.
In the final group standings, Japan, Spain and Nigeria were all tied on six points, but the Falconets were edged out due to their huge goals deficit.
Crashing out in the group stage was disappointing for the Falconets who went all the way and were only narrowly beaten in the final in the last edition of the tournament.
The NFF afterwards admitted that they did not have the funds to arrange any international games for the team.
All these setbacks saw Nigeria football hit an all time low.
It was the first time in the country’s history that Nigeria won’t be part of all AFCON tournaments at all levels.
However, on a positive note, Nigeria’s national U-23 football team won bronze at the Rio Olympic Games, while the superb Super Falcons reinforced Nigeria’s position as the powerhouse of female soccer in Africa.
They defended their title at the 10th Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) in Cameroon, beating the hosts 1-0 to win it a record 8th time.
Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles also qualified for next year’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2017 in Bahamas after finishing as runners at the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations at the Eko Atlantic Beach, Lagos.
The Super Eagles are also on the brink of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after beating Zambia 2-1 in their own backyard and defeating Algeria 3-1 in Uyo.
Match Day 3 will see Nigeria welcome Cameroon on Aug. 28, 2017, while the reverse fixture takes place five days later.
Zambia will visit on Oct. 2, before the last group game away to Algeria on Nov. 6, 2017.

2019: Ebonyi PDP adopts Umahi as sole candidate

Ebonyi Governor David Umahi.

 

 

With over two years still left before the 2019 general election, the Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has adopted Governor David Umahi as its sole candidate for the governorship poll.
The state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi, announced this on Tuesday when he led the State Working Committee of the party to pay Christmas homage to Umahi in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area.
Nwebonyi said they were in Uburu to felicitate with and thank Umahi for his achievements within a short period of time.
He pledged their total support and loyalty to Umahi, whom he said was the best in the country.
“On behalf of the state EXCO of our great party, we hereby adopt you as our sole candidate for governorship position come 2019,” the party chairman said in a statement on Wednesday by the governor’s spokesman, Emma Anya.
Nwebonyi thanked Umahi for increasing the monthly stipend of party executives and those at the ward level.
In his response, the governor thanked the PDP SWC, but charged them to work assiduously by holding party meetings even in the local and ward levels to enlighten people on the activities of government.
Informing the delegation that his government would partner the PDP in 2017 in the area of agriculture, he advised them and other stalwarts of the party to ensure they had a farm.
Umahi said: “If you are in leadership at any level of our party, you must have to engage in rice production.
“We are looking at maize also.
“Our yam is the biggest in the whole country, if not in the whole of Africa.
“One who doesn’t have a farm land is not a member of PDP.”
Umahi added that his administration would by January empower more than 4,000 people as over N1 billion had been set aside to execute the programme.
Earlier, the National Vice-Chairman of the PDP (South-East), Deacon Austin Umahi, charged the state executive of the PDP to go down to their villages and wards to evangelise the good works of the governor.
He said those interested in running for the governorship poll in 2019 must realise that there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State.

Army arrests 1,240 suspects in Sambisa raid

The Nigeria Army said it had arrested about 1,240 suspected Boko Haram terrorists during a mop-up operation by troops inside the Sambisa forest.
The Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, disclosed this while giving update to newsmen on Operation Rescue Final at the Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri.
Irabor said that 413 of the suspects were adults; 323 were female adults; 251 male children, while 253 were female children.
He said that the suspects were apprehended during a mop-up operation against the sect members in the forest.
He said, “We are interrogating them to know whether they are Boko Haram members, because there is no way somebody that is not their member would live inside Sambisa forest.
“We are still on the trail of the terrorists and I want to assure you that all escape routes have been blocked.
“Within this period, also, about 30 fleeing suspected Boko Haram members have surrendered to the Niger Multinational Troops on the shores of the Lake Chad and we learnt that they were taken to Difa in the Niger Republic.
“The suspects include; 24 male and six females.
“We would like to use this opportunity to encourage the terrorists to give up the fight because the window is still open.”

NSE transactions maintain positive trading

Activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) resumed trading on Wednesday after the long holidays to mark the Yuletide still on a bullish trend with the market capitalisation growing by N69 billion.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market capitalisation inched by N69 billion or 0.76 per cent to close at N9.182 trillion compared with N9.113 trillion posted on Friday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index rose by 202.23 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 26,688.25 as against 26,486.02 achieved on Friday due to huge gains by some blue chips.
Mobil Oil recorded the highest gain to lead the gainers’ chart appreciating by N12 to close at N292 per share.
Nigerian Breweries came second with a gain of N4.48 to close at N142.03, while Total garnered N3.12 to close at N287.12 per share.
Cadbury improved by 80k to close at N10.83 and Stanbic IBTC rose by 74k to close at N15.66 per share.
Conversely, Guinness led the losers’ table with a loss of N4.30 to close at N80 per share.
ETI lost 54k to close at N10.34 and Forte Oil dipped 26k to close at N103.61 per share.
Custodian Insurance shed 19k to close at N3.74, while Ekocorp dropped 16k to close at N3.21 per share.
An analysis of the activity chart indicated that International Breweries was the most active in volume terms, accounting for 16.21 million shares valued at N289.23 million.
Transcorp traded 12.42 million shares worth N10.98 million, while FCMB Group sold 11.66 million valued at N12.59 million.
Access Bank exchanged 10.65 million shares worth N63.15 million, while Zenith Bank accounted for 7.59 million shares valued at N110.76 million.
In all, investors bought and sold 131.74 million shares worth N1.25 million transacted in 2,257 deals against 139.09 million shares valued at N1.43 billion traded in 1,703 deals on Friday.

Calabar Carnival is melting pot of Africa’s hospitality – Ayade

Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has described the annual Calabar Carnival as the melting pot of Africa’s hospitality.
Ayade said this on Wednesday in Calabar while opening the grand finale of the 2016 Calabar Carnival.
He said that the carnival, which had gained international recognition over the years had continue to grow bigger, better and bolder.
According to him, the carnival represents the true vitality, unity and harmony that signify the growth of Africa.
“The flag off of the grand finale of the 2016 Calabar Carnival represents the true beginning of African enjoyment.
“As we have started today, this is the beginning of a new dawn in Africa. Calabar Carnival remains the largest street party in Africa.
“As a government, we will continue to promote and sustain the hospitality and tourism that the state is known for,’’ he said.
The theme for the 2016 Calabar Carnival is `Climate Change’.
The five carnival bands – Seagull, Master Blasta, Passion 4, Freedom and Bayside were colourfully dressed in different costumes to reflect the colour of their bands.
Mr Gab Onah, the Chairman of Calabar Carnival Commission, said that 13 countries were in attendance for the street party.
According to Onah, some of the countries included Brazil, Croatia, Turkey, UK, Spain, Kenya, Ghana and others.
He said that the carnival, the 12th edition in a row had united the state and Nigeria in general.
“We have in Cross River today 13 countries worldwide. The attention of the world is in Cross River today.
“We are going to hit the street today with different dance steps and different displays.
“Today is the grand finale of the 2016 Calabar carnival, the largest street party ever; the greatest show in Africa,’’ he said.
Neurite Mendes, Miss Africa, who was in attendance, said that the carnival had gone beyond borders due to its sustained organisation by the state government.
“It is an honour to come from my country Angola to represent the African beauty in the carnival.
“The theme of the carnival is climate change. We need to let the world know that together we can combat the effect of climate change.
“This carnival is definitely bigger and better; I am happy to be in attendance at the grand finale of the 2016 Calabar carnival,’’ she said.
Dignitaries at the event include, Mr Donald Duke, former Cross River governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio, former governor of Akwa Ibom, Nollywood actors and actresses, captain of industries, among others.
There was heavy presence of security personnel including the Police, Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Immigration and others.

N’Assembly to re-work N7.29trn budget – Reps

The House of Representatives said on Monday that each item in the N7.29tn budgeted for 2017 would be subjected to a thorough review by the National Assembly.
It noted that until such a review was done by various standing committees and approved by the legislature, the budget remained mere proposals by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, who spoke in Abuja, explained that lawmakers would ensure that the controversies, which nearly marred the 2016 budget, would not be replicated with that of 2017.
Namdas, a member of the All Progressives Congress from Adamawa State, stated, “We have received the budget proposals from Mr. President. We now have a duty as lawmakers to look at the items one after another.
“The first step is that every member will get copies of the budget to study and this will assist them in pointing out key areas for the attention of the House.
“As soon as we reconvene in January, work on the details of the budget will begin.”
Asked whether lawmakers would increase the budget size, Namdas replied that the size was already “huge.”
He added, “N7.29tn is a huge amount; increasing it is not likely the way to go.
“However, the budget is the document eventually passed by the National Assembly.
“Nigerians should be patient till we reconvene in January.”
The President had, on Wednesday, December 14, laid the estimates of the budget before a joint session of the Senate and the House in Abuja.
The budget of “economic recovery and growth” is 20 per cent higher than the N6.06tn budgeted for 2016.
Its total capital component of N2.24tn is also higher than that of 2016 by 30.7 per cent, a projection Buhari said was made to spend more on infrastructure, solid minerals development, agriculture and provide support for local manufacturing firms to speed up growth.
Spending on recurrent expenditure is put at N2.98tn.
Although the budget’s anticipated revenue of N4.9tn is higher than that of 2016 by 28 per cent, it has a deficit of N2.36tn, representing 2.18 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.
The President told lawmakers that the deficit would be financed through a projected borrowing of N2.32tn, broken into N1.06tn (external) and N1.25tn (domestic).

Liverpool match Borussia Dortmund’s team spirit – Klopp

Former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp.

 

 

Jurgen Klopp has likened the atmosphere at Liverpool to that of his successful Borussia Dortmund sides.
Klopp’s Dortmund teams took home two Bundesliga titles and reached the final of the Champions League in 2013, and Klopp, who took the reins at Anfield in October of 2015 says he feels a similar vibe at the Merseyside.
“I am still in contact with a lot of the Dortmund players and hopefully I will be in contact after my time at Liverpool with these players because they are nice lads. That is first of all,” Klopp told multiple outlets in the UK.
“But they are not here because they are nice lads; they are outstanding footballers and I love working with them and really appreciate them.
“We have an atmosphere which is as good as it should be because of all the people working here. We had our Christmas party last week and it was really nice having all the people around. It was a big difference after one year because you know all of them.
“After three months I still had no idea the name of certain staff. We have a completely different situation to last year. It is not the same but similar to what we had at Dortmund.”
Klopp could have defender Joel Matip available against Stoke for their match on Tuesday after keeping the Cameroon international out against Everton at Goodison Park.
But the German boss says Ragner Klaven, who has played in Matip’s stead, is getting more comfortable in the Premier League following a £4.2 million summer move from Augsburg.
“We were never in doubt about him,” Klopp said. “That is how we always work. We always decide for the player, not against the other one.
“We saw the good moment Ragnar and Lucas Leiva were in. Joe Gomez is in a good way too. It was clear there is no reason for rushing Joel back even though everyone outside thought that without Matip we could not get anything.
“That was good and I said a few times before that timing is very important. A few weeks ago Ragnar was not struggling but he was not that player he is now because he still needed to adapt a little bit to all the circumstances. Now he is in a really good moment and we should use it.”

EFCC to spend N6.13bn on new head office

The Federal Government will spend additional N6.129bn on a new head office for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2017.
This was apart from a total of N7.912bn budgeted for the same project in the 2016 Budget.
The commission’s current head office is located on Fomella Street, off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja.
According to a copy of the details of the 2017 Appropriation Bill currently before the National Assembly, N4.584bn would be spent on the completion of the ongoing construction of the new head office.
The sum of N1.1bn was also earmarked for the furnishing of the yet-to-be completed building while N244.727m was budgeted for consultancy for the new head office.
According to the budget document, the EFCC will also be spending N60m on the completion of its Lagos office building and N10m on consultancy for the same project.
The commission is also expected to spend N737.85m on the training of its members of staff during the fiscal year.
This is against the N111.587m budgeted for the same purpose in 2016.
Out of the sum, N707.85m would be spent on local training while international training would gulp N30m.
N76.587m was budgeted for local training while N35m went to international training in 2016.
Travel and transport for the commission got N415.848m in the 2017 appropriation bill.
Further breakdown shows that local travel and transport (training) gets N41.716m; local travel and transport (others) gets N249.672m; international travel and transport (training) gets N100m while international travel and transport (others) gets N24.460m.
The commission will also be spending N250.536m on legal services during the year.
This is a drastic reduction in the N339.939m budgeted for the same item in the 2016 budget.
A large percentage of the sum is expected to be paid to lawyers handling the commission’s numerous prosecutions.
With the renewed anti-corruption fight of the present administration, the EFCC has witnessed an increase in corruption cases being prosecuted in courts.
Majority of the cases currently being prosecuted by the commission are those related to the alleged arms contract scandal involving a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.); as well as the $115m alleged scam involving a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Former ministers, ex-service chiefs, chieftains of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, bank chiefs among other individuals and firms are currently standing trials in relation to the cases.
There are expectations that the commission will still arrest and prosecute more suspects in connection with the cases.
Various sums have also been budgeted for the commission to cater for industrial and security equipment, stationery, computer and printers as well as library books among others during the year.

Nigeria loses N94bn to gas flaring in four months

The country lost at least N94bn in four months as oil and gas companies flared a total of 87.03 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas in that period.
The latest monthly report from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation showed that 22.60 billion scf of gas was flared in October; 21.50 billion scf in September; 21.14 billion scf in August; and 21.79 billion scf in July, this year.
It stated that out of the 215.43 billion scf of gas produced in October, a total of 121.63 billion scf was commercialised, comprising of 29.29 billion scf and 92.34 billion scf for the domestic and export markets, respectively.
The gas flare rate in the month was 10.49 per cent, compared with the average flare rate of 9.36 per cent for the period of November 2015 to October 2016.
With the price of natural gas put at $3.54 per 1,000 scf as of December 22, the 87.03 billion scf flared translates to a loss of $308m or N94bn (using the official exchange rate of N305.25/dollar).
According to the draft National Gas Policy recently released by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the flaring of natural gas that is produced in association with oil is one of the most egregious environmental and energy waste practices in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
The draft policy states, “While gas flaring levels have declined in recent years, it is still a prevailing practice in the petroleum industry. Billions of cubic metres of natural gas are flared annually at oil production locations resulting in atmospheric pollution severely affecting host communities.
“Gas flaring affects the environment and human health, produces economic loss, deprives the government of tax revenues and trade opportunities, and deprives consumers of a clean and cheaper energy source.”
The ministry said under the gas policy, the government intended to maximise utilisation of associated gas to be treated for supply to power generation or industry.
“To ensure that flared gas is put to use in markets, the government will take measures to ensure that flare capture and utilisation projects are developed and will work collaboratively with industry, development partners, providers of flare-capture technologies and third-party investors to this end,” it added.
According to the gas policy, the current gas flare penalty of N10 per 1,000 scf of associated gas flared is too low, having been eroded in value over time, and is not acting as intended, as a disincentive.
“Consequently, the low penalty has made gas flaring a much cheaper option for operators compared to the alternatives of marketing or re-injection. The intention of government is to increase the gas flaring penalty to an appropriate level sufficient to de-incentivise the practice of gas flaring, whilst introducing other measures to encourage efficient gas utilisation,” it added.

Much ado about MMM

I have read with deep concern, the various accounts shared by many Nigerians on their sad experiences on the Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM) Ponzi scheme that has created a lot of apprehension, tension, anxiety and uncertainty in the country.
Because of this unfortunate development, millions of patrons of MMM have been thrown into confusion having placed a one-month ban on all withdrawals starting from December 13.
MMM has claimed that it had frozen the accounts to avoid preventable challenges during the Yuletide in the purported negative media reports given to the scheme. MMM is not new in the business world.
It is on record that the organisation began as an office equipment company in Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) in the 1980s, before moving into the financial sector when the scheme collapsed and many investors lost their money.
The MMM was able to win the hearts of many Nigerians with its ‘30 per cent per month’ return-on-investment in addition to other acquirable bonuses.
But the hard truth is that despite the mouth-watering offer, the risks associated with the scheme seem to be more.
No wonder, the company was ‘wise’ enough to have advised customers to: “use your #SpareMoney only (and) don’t be unnecessarily greedy.”
What this expression tells me is that the operators of schemes have cleverly and tactically insulated themselves from any undue liability and legal encumbrances.
The scheme has since been declared illegal by the Federal Government. Before coming to Nigeria, MMM has similarly operated in South Africa and Zimbabwe with the same business model, which claimed a 30 per cent per monthly return-on-investment through a ‘social financial network’ that until the accounts of its clients were frozen.
Similarly, in 2016, the Chinese government banned the scheme on the grounds that it was a Ponzi scheme, unregistered and hence, was tagged as a fraudulent scheme.
What the organisation does is to manage payments in such a way that quick returns to the first investors from money invested are given to later investors in a manner described as robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Despite the controversies surrounding the modus operandi of MMM, Nigerians seem to have forgotten so fast the lessons learnt from the failed operations of wonder banks in which billions of naira went down the drain under similar circumstances, despite warnings by the National Assembly, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), suggesting that the scheme is fraudulent, but then, many Nigerians still patronized it. Three major reasons could be attributed to this doggedness.
Firstly, is the current economic situation in the country that has brought about untold and high incidences of unemployment, inflation and poverty.
Hence, people would want to do anything humanly possible to survive at a great risk. Secondly, is the secretive and greedy nature of many of the participants, who kept the offer to themselves, perhaps, to prevent others from benefitting, thus making them highly vulnerable in the process of secretly dealing with MMM.
Thirdly, is the weak regulatory framework that allows such a system to exist without having to pass through the necessary due diligence, checks and screening. No wonder, MMM had the audacity to tell the Nigerian government to look at the benefits of the scheme to the over three million Nigerians within its one year of operation in the country, claiming that the scheme was the ‘only source of livelihood for many people’.
The ripple effects of the MMM invasion have begun telling on the people. Not a few investors were reported to have either committed suicide or attempted such.
For instance is the story of a man from Benue State, who was found to have ingested insecticide, having invested N300,000 meant for his wedding in the dicey scheme!
From the survey that I recently conducted, many people seem to be affected by the loss but would rather prefer to remain silent rather than lamenting their ordeals while many would rather prefer to keep mute for the fear of being stigmatised.
Afterall, they never told anyone before going into the scheme! That is usually the problem with those who fall victims to fraudsters.
They hardly inform others they are deeply engrossed in such a deal until everything crumbles and danger becomes the inevitable. Despite the ordeal happening now, it must be appreciated that people should be free to invest in whatever business interest they so desire.
That is why I won’t be surprised that MMM may not be the only active Ponzi scheme around. There is the likelihood that many of such programmes exist under various names and brands.
Whenever people are committing their resources into such deals, others hardly know of it until things begin to unfold and they cry out of the untold hardship and negative consequences that may arise.
It is the secret nature of the patronage of the Ponzi schemes that makes many innocent people to lose their head earned resources and savings, thereby increasing the level of poverty in the land.
As a way forward, regulatory agencies should do more by helping the citizens in beaming their searchlights on other schemes to verify what is happening to them before they become another source of national problem, source of worry and tragedy.
The whole scenario bordering on how MMM has been managed has shown that the economic problems that encourage people to look for money at all cost, is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.
Governments should come together to see how common problems could be discussed with a view to finding sustainable alternative to Ponzi schemes that would add value to the real sectors of the economy through spending.
It is only hopes that by January, the scheme would come alive again as it has planned to do by offering another opportunity for investors to access their funds.
If this becomes a reality, they should pull out. I won’t be surprised that in order to sustain their interest in the scheme, an additional accrual of over 30 per cent could be dangled to lure participants into keeping their keeping funds in the scheme and even put in more resources after January.
I really think they should not be lured again, in case the opportunity represents itself. They should look for other means of making money despite the economic recession currently facing the country.
And a big lesson for all is that people should learn to be open, as much as possible, to those they could trust.
I kept wondering why a very close friend of mine of many years should now be crying wolf now after the bitter experience when I was never consulted before deciding to join and invest in the scheme ab initio.
Government should do more sensitisation of the citizens on the dangers that could befall them whenever they are confronted with issues that concern financial intelligence and breach of public trust.
It is only hoped that MMM would afford its depositors another opportunity to have a rethink. It’s just a matter of days for that to be or not to be!
– Kupoluyi writes from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB).

Ebonyi Gov. Umahi distributes 18 Prado Jeeps worth N279m to 18 traditional rulers

Ebonyi Gov. David Umahi

 

 

Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi has distributed 18 Prado Jeep vehicles worth N279 million to 18 traditional rulers in the state.
The governor, who made the announcement during the distribution at Government House, Abakaliki on Saturday, said that about 80 traditional rulers in the state would benefit from the largesse.
He appealed to traditional rulers who have not collected their Jeep to be patient or indicate the vehicles of their choices for money to be provided to buy them.
“The Prado Jeeps cost N11.5 million each when we assumed office, but currently they cost N25 million each and they are scarce.
“We have made the necessary commitment to the supplier as the vehicles might not even be purchased at that amount in 2017,” he said.
The governor said the vehicles would give the traditional rulers a sense of belonging and instill the required confidence on them to enhance their status.
He said: “the vehicles will enable you compete favourably with your counterparts across the country.
“When you travel to zonal and national meetings, our image will reflect positively.
“The vehicles will assist you in achieving our agricultural policies as you are the lead farmers and chief security officers of your various domains.
“In our desire to make the vehicles assist in achieving our agricultural policies, they will not attract Value Income Taxes and other levies.”
Umahi commended the state House of Assembly for approving the funds for the purchase of the vehicles and the local government area caretaker chairmen for their commitment.

“Most of the House members have not received their official vehicles, but they still approved the purchase of the vehicles for the traditional rulers.
“It is hoped that traditional rulers will reciprocate the gesture at the appropriate time as the local government chairmen also showed avid commitment in achieving the objective.
“The funds for the procurement were shared on equal basis between the state government and local government council.
“We will also offer wardrobe or inconvenience allowances to traditional rulers,” the governor assured.
Chief Samuel Okoronkwo, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, thanked the governor for the gesture and applauded his commitment to enhance the status of traditional institution in the state.
“You graciously approved the increase of their allowances to N100, 000 monthly and currently redeemed your pledge of presenting vehicles to them.
“The traditional rulers have unanimously endorsed you for a second tenure in office and will ensure the objective is achieved,” he added.
Charles Mkpuma, the Chairman of the State’s Traditional Rulers Council, also thanked the governor for the gesture and promised to ensure Umahi completes his good works for the state.
“We assure you that security will be adequately ensured in our various localities especially during this yuletide while working assiduously to achieve the government’s agricultural programmes,” he said.

Christmas celebrations begin in Bethlehem

A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus gestures as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives through an Israeli checkpoint to attend Christmas celebrations, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 24, 2016.Reuters/Mussa Qawasma.

 

 

Christmas Eve celebrations have begun in the birthplace of Jesus with thousands of pilgrims and tourists descending on Bethlehem.
Crowds gathered in Manger Square to hear traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells being played in Arabic over loudspeakers.
Tourists and local Christians wandered around the square, which has been illuminated by festive red and golden lights and decorated with a large Christmas tree.
Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky, said: “It’s very unique, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It’s very meaningful. It’s Christmas time, where everything started.”
Christian clergymen welcomed the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of the Nativity, as Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.
The Rev Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population.
He travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession, and said: “I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season.
“I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there.”
The Syrian Government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the country’s largest city.
The Christmas festivities brought holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, which has endured a wave of bloodshed that erupted more than a year ago.
The violence has eased in recent months but not stopped completely.
Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked.
Despite the Christmas cheer, Middle East politics loom large in the background – the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem just one ominous reminder.
It was built by Israel in the last decade during the second Intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.
Israel insists the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also holds back their economy.

Christmas: Lagos Speaker enjoins Nigerians to imbibe Jesus’ virtues

Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa.

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, has called on Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of peace, love and perseverance from the life of Jesus Christ to move the country forward and ensure its development and growth.
This was contained in Obasa’s Christmas message to the people on Saturday in Lagos.
The statement was signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Musbau Razak.
“As we are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we should not forget to imbibe his virtues as criteria for national development,” Speaker Obasa said.
According to him, Jesus Christ was the harbinger of peace and love, while perseverance radiated all over Him in his lifetime.

He added: “He was peace, love and perseverance personified. At this point in time in our socio-political history, we need to imbibe all these virtues as a people for our country to grow and develop.”
Describing Christmas as a period of joy and festivity when people celebrate, dance and wine together, the Lagos Assembly Speaker urged Nigerians to do everything in moderation so that the society will remain at peace.
Obasa said: “Our people should desist from activities that can cause chaos and violence. We should always remember that Christmas goes beyond wining and dining alone, it is also a period to share love, preach peace and ensure we all co-habit amicably. Therefore we should desist from unnecessary indulgence capable of breaching the peace of the society.”
The Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker wished Nigerians a happy Christmas celebration.

FIFA research says 48-team World Cup is the best option for reform

FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

 

 

FIFA research has concluded that the best and most profitable way to expand the World Cup is a 48-team tournament of 16 three-team groups, the Associated Press has reported.
Earlier this month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said a proposal to expand the tournament to 48 nations, with 16 groups of three teams, had received backing at a meeting of national federations.
Although the in-house research accepted that the current 32-nation format produces the highest quality football, the 48-team version ranks highest.
The proposed format is one of five options put forward for the 2026 World Cup, the first when change can be made.
In a document seen by the Associated Press FIFA concludes: “The 48-team (16×3) format would appear to offer the most tangible and intangible value.”
With extra knockout games in a new round of 32, the format of 80 matches — each in an exclusive time slot over 32 days — appeals to broadcasters and sponsors and would raise income, FIFA suggests.
World football’s governing body also wants to cater for fans and broadcasters in “major markets” by creative scheduling of kickoffs in prime time in those countries rather than in the host nation.
Revenue could rise almost 20 percent to $6.5 billion, using the projected $5.5 billion income from the 2018 World Cup in Russia as a base comparison, with the potential profit would increase by $640 million, the research said.
FIFA’s ruling council is set to vote on the proposed changes at a meeting next month, but the organisation said “it should not be a financial decision” and that “the goal of expanding the World Cup is to further advance the vision to promote the game of football, protect its integrity and bring the game to all.”
Keeping the 32-team format is one option but FIFA’s research shows the clear intent to change that promised during Infantino’s election.
The president points to “16×3” being the most popular option, saying it had a “big, big, big majority in favour” after a meeting of some members in Singapore.

English Premier League fixtures do not favour Manchester United – Mourinho

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho 

 

 

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed the Premier League’s Christmas fixture list has been “chosen to give rest to some and problems for others” with leaders Chelsea handed only three games in 10 days over the festive period.

United, who face Sunderland at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, must negotiate three games in eight days, with clashes also lined up against Middlesbrough on Dec. 31 and a trip to West Ham two days later.
But with Liverpool forced to play three times in seven days, and Arsenal and Manchester City facing the same workload as United, Mourinho believes former club Chelsea have been handed an advantage by the imbalanced fixture programme.
“The busy period is for some clubs, not for everyone,” Mourinho said. “If you analyse the fixtures, there are clubs with no congestion.
“It looks like fixtures are chosen to give rest for some and to create problems to others.
“But we are used to it because we are in the Europa League and the Europa League is competition that creates more difficulties — Southampton know that, Tottenham will. For us, it’s more of the same.”
Despite the heavy workload, Mourinho insists United go into the Christmas period with their resources stronger than at any time this season due to the injury list diminishing in recent weeks.
“It’s good for us to have everyone available apart from Luke Shaw and he’s not far away,” Mourinho said. “Central defender position we have now all of them.
“Smalling is back, Bailly is back, Blind is fine, Rojo fine, and it is a position where it’s important to have stability in options.
“We were in a difficult position a couple of months ago but now we are safe. We know Bailly is going to African Cup in January. For the next three matches we know what we have.”

NFF to refund FIFA cash they can’t account for – audit report

World football governing body FIFA have warned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will refund any cash paid to them for football development they could not account for.
This followed a rash of queries raised by FIFA over the $801,229 development grant they paid the NFF.
The review was done between August 16 to 18, 2016.
The audit by PricewaterhouseCoppers (PwC) said the money was spent without supporting documentation, like receipts, invoices and contracts.
FIFA have therefore warned that if the NFF could not provide adequate supporting documentation for the disbursements, it should make refund on sums unaccounted for.
They also expressed displeasure with the unrestrained practice of cash payments, which they maintained should have been greatly minimised.
Further investigations revealed that as many as 19 issues were raised by the auditors.
The Nigerian sports ministry has already demanded for an independent and full-scale audit of the books of the NFF caused by the litany of queries of how the FIFA grants were disbursed.
Sports minister Solomon Dalung has said he has yet to receive a detailed explanation from the NFF as promised in a communiqué after the federation’s Annual General Assembly in Lagos last week.

Schneiderlin asks to leave Manchester United – Mourinho

Manchester United's Morgan Schneiderlin.

 

 

Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Morgan Schneiderlin has asked to leave Manchester United, with West Bromwich Albion leading the race to sign the midfielder after lodging a £13 million bid.
Schneiderlin, a £24m signing from Southampton in July 2015, has failed to start a Premier League game for United this season and has not appeared at all since making a substitute appearance against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Nov. 19.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman is also keen to sign Schneiderlin, having worked with the Frenchman at Southampton.
But with the transfer window due to open on Jan. 1, United manager Mourinho has said that he is willing to sell the player following talks between the pair.
“He is a great professional, a fantastic boy, very honest and open,” Mourinho said. “He opened his heart to me a couple of times and my answer is simple.
“If he was playing regularly with me, I have the right to say no way. But if he is not playing, I have no right to say you are going nowhere.
“My answer was that, if the offer is right and the board thinks it’s a good offer in relation to quality of a very good player like Morgan, I wouldn’t stop him going.”
Schneiderlin is not expected to figure in the matchday squad for Monday’s home game against Southampton, with Memphis Depay, another Everton target, also likely to miss out.
Meanwhile, West Brom manager Tony Pulis confirmed the club had made bids for several players but declined to discuss names.
“We have made bids for four or five players, we won’t talk about them today. We will talk about them if we get them.” he said.
“I don’t want to go into it specifically, doing deals and business with people you should deal directly with them. Once they are done you can talk about them more openly. That’s the way I prefer to conduct my business.
“We’ll be spending a bit of money left over from the previous window, then moving on from there. They are very keen to keep the club running financially positively. They feel they can if they manage it properly.”

Barcelona to face Athletic Bilbao again in Copa del Rey

Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez (L) celebrates a goal with teammates Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C) and Brazilian forward Neymar during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs RCD Espanyol at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on December 18, 2016.Josep Lago/AFP

 

 

Holders Barcelona will face familiar opponents in the shape of Athletic Bilbao in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey after Friday’s draw paired the sides together.
Barca will go to San Mames for the first leg in the first week in January before hosting the Basque side in the return at the Camp Nou a week later.
Barcelona have beaten Athletic in three Copa del Rey finals in the last eight seasons and also emerged victorious when the sides clashed in the quarter-finals last season.
Luis Enrique’s side won the trophy by beating Sevilla 2-0 after extra time in the final in Madrid.
Sevilla have been drawn against Real Madrid, with the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, in a repeat of the UEFA Supercup at the start of this season.
Madrid won 3-2 after extra time in the Norwegian city of Trondheim in August thanks to a late goal by Dani Carvajal.
They will go to Seville for the return leg days before the sides meet in La Liga at the Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday, January 15.
Atletico Madrid will meet Las Palmas, while Villarreal, currently fourth in La Liga, have been drawn against Real Sociedad.
One second-tier team is guaranteed to reach the quarter-finals after Alcorcon and Cordoba were drawn together.
Madrid club Alcorcon reached the last 16 by beating top-flight Espanyol on penalties while Cordoba eliminated Malaga.
Last 16 draw
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid
Alcorcon v Cordoba
Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Sevilla
Real Sociedad v Villarreal
Deportivo la Coruna v Alaves
Valencia v Celta Vigo
Osasuna v Eibar
First legs scheduled to be played on Wednesday, January 4; second legs on January 11

FG explains why workers are yet to get November salaries

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.

 

 

The Federal Government on Wednesday explained why the staff of some agencies are yet to get their November salaries, stating that it is because such parastatals had exhausted their budgetary allocations since October.
Speaking with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, stated that the affected agencies had more staff than the budgetary allocation.
According to her, “Let me explain how the salary system works. All the agencies have an allocated IPPIS which is the salary platform. If for example an agency has a N12bn salary for the year, we insist they continue to pay until that N12bn is exhausted.
“Instead of taking N1bn a month, such agencies were taking N1.2bn or N1.3bn. So, by the time it got to October, many agencies had exhausted their allocations. What we did in the virement we sent to the National Assembly, which the National Assembly approved, was that we listed all the agencies that had problems with their salaries and applied to National Assembly. We had to go back to the National Assembly to ask for an increase in the budgetary allocation of those agencies.
“We received that virement advice from the National Assembly on Monday this week. We are waiting to log it onto the system so that we can now pay those agencies. Basically, the system itself shut them down. That is the way the system has been configured, it’s a problem that used to happen every year and it’s something we are trying to correct.”

11 Gambian ambassadors ask Jammeh to quit

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh.

 

 

No fewer than 11 serving Ambassadors of The Gambia have called on President Yahya Jammeh to quit and handover power peacefully to President-elect Adama Barrow.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said this during a press briefing on Thursday.
Mr. Haq said the permanent representative of The Gambia to the UN, Mamadou Tangara, was among the Gambian envoys who appealed to Mr. Jammeh to peacefully transit power.
“The Secretary-General met today with the outgoing Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia to the United Nations, Mamadou Tangara, to discuss the deteriorating political situation in the country.
“The Secretary-General commended Ambassador Tangara for his appeal to President Yahya Jammeh.
“This is along with 10 other Gambian diplomats serving overseas, to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to the President-elect, Adama Barrow,” Haq said..
He said Mr. Ban expressed deep concern about Mr. Jammeh’s refusal to hand over power, in accordance with the Gambian constitution, despite consistent calls from regional bodies and the international community.
The spokesman said the Secretary-General reiterated the commitment of the UN to support efforts for a peaceful, timely and orderly transfer of power from Jammeh to Barrow.
According to him, the commitment of the UN is in full respect of the will of the Gambian people, working closely with all regional and international partners.
Haq said he could not explain the reasons for Tangara’s status as outgoing and could not say if he had been recalled by Jammeh.
According to him, however, the Gambian permanent representative represented himself at the meeting as “outgoing”.

Mikel ‘very likely’ to leave Chelsea in January – agent

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

 

 

John Obi Mikel’s agent has confirmed that the Nigeria international is “very likely” to leave Chelsea in January after spending the first half of the season on the sidelines.
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has not selected Mikel in a single match day squad this season, and back in September the 29-year-old said that he will talk to interested clubs in January, when he enters the final six months of his current contract.
Mikel is not expected to be offered an extension by Chelsea, and the player’s agent, John Shittu, says the odds are against his client completing the season at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s very likely [Mikel] will leave Chelsea in January,” Shittu told The Sun. “There are many teams interested in the player.
“In the past we spoke with Inter Milan but now there are a lot of Italian clubs that want him. I will not reveal the names, but there are other Italians teams on his trail.
“And beware: even clubs in the UK, Spain, Germany and even in China know the value of the player and requested information about him.”
Mikel is Chelsea’s longest-serving player behind John Terry, having made 376 appearances in all competitions for the Blues since arriving in a controversial transfer from Lyn Oslo in June 2006.
Shittu has said that Mikel does not hold his lack of first-team minutes this season against Conte, and says that his client’s next career move will not be financially driven.
“John does not have problems with his manager,” he added. “They have a normal and professional relationship.
“The salary [in his next contract] will be important, commensurate with his value, but the most important thing will be the football project.
“If everything was based only on the money he would probably go to play in China. But I repeat: he can choose from many clubs, so the project will be crucial in his decision.”

Hijackers of Libyan plane surrender in Malta

A picture taken on December 23, 2016 in Valletta, Malta, shows a crew member helping hostages to disembark from the Afriqiyah Airways A320 after it was hijacked from Libya. A man who said he was armed with a grenade hijacked a Libyan plane which landed on Malta Friday with 118 people on board, Malta’s prime minister and government sources on the Mediterranean island said. After more than an hour on the tarmac, the plane’s door opened and a first group of women and children were seen descending a mobile staircase. “First group of passengers, consisting of women and children, being released now,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter, adding in a later tweet that 50 passengers in all were being let off the plane.AFP/Matthew Mirabelli.

 

 

Hijackers claiming to have a grenade took over a Libyan plane Friday and diverted it to Malta before releasing everyone onboard and surrendering to authorities, officials said.
“Final crew members leaving aircraft with hijackers,” Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter.
Minutes later he added: “Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken in custody”.
Libyan Foreign Minister Taher Siala said the two hijackers were supporters of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi and had requested political asylum in Malta.
Siala, from Libya’s internationally backed Government of National Accord, said the hijackers have also said they want to set up a pro-Kadhafi political party.
The plane landed at 11:32 am (1032 GMT) in Malta.
After more than an hour on the tarmac, the door of the Airbus A320 opened and a first group of women and children were seen descending a mobile staircase.
Dozens more passengers were released minutes later following negotiations that Maltese government sources said were led by the head of Malta’s military.
In all there were 111 passengers, including 28 women and a baby, on board, as well as seven crew members.
Maltese government sources had earlier said only a single hijacker was believed to be on the plane.
The aircraft had been on a domestic Libyan route operated by Afriqiyah Airways from Sabha in southern Libya to the capital Tripoli but was re-routed.
“The Afriqiyah flight from Sabha to Tripoli has been diverted and has landed in Malta. Security services coordinating operations,” Muscat tweeted earlier.
Muscat later spoke to Libya’s prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the north African country’s fledgling unity government, the Maltese prime minister’s office said.
The plane could be seen on the tarmac of a secondary runway surrounded by military vehicles.
All flights in and out of the airport were initially either delayed or diverted to destinations in Italy, though some later took off and landed.
Malta International Airport said there had been “an unlawful interference” but operations had now resumed.
An Afriqiyah Airways source said the two hijackers had threatened the pilots with an explosive device, probably a grenade, forcing them to continue to Malta instead of landing at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport.
Libya has been in a state of chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi left warring militias battling for control of different parts of the country.
Forces loyal to a national unity government recently took control of the coastal city of Sirte, which had been a bastion for the Islamic State group since June 2015.
Western powers have pinned their hopes of containing jihadism in the energy-rich North African state on the government but it has failed to establish its authority over all of the country.
A rival authority rules the country’s far east, backed by the forces under military strongman Marshal Khalifa Haftar who have been battling jihadists in second city Benghazi.
Only local airlines — banned from European airspace — operate in Libya, with flights to Tunis, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul and Khartoum.

Nigeria gets N1.5bn grant from Germany to fight insurgency

As international cooperation heightens to combat global terrorism, Nigeria has received 180 metal detectors, radar stations as well as field hospitals and other technical assistance from Germany to boost counter-insurgency operations in the North East region of the country.
Also, the German government provided fresh €3 million grant (about N1.5 billion) for the procurement of surveillance equipment, mobile medical care units and associated support services for the nation’s armed forces.
Receiving the items from the German Minister of Defence Ursula Von Der Leyen, his Nigerian counterpart, Mansur Dan-Ali, noted that the existing relationship between both countries had been further strengthened by the gesture.
He said the capacity-boosting items were facilitated through the German Technical Advisory Group and its Enhance and Enable Initiative by the memorandum of understanding undertaken to cover 2012 -2016.
“Some of them include two mobile medical care units with intensive care facilities as well as training for personnel and maintenance.
“The German government also donated Vallon metal detector/counter-improvised explosive device, explosive ordinance disposal equipment. Also included is training for personnel and maintenance of devices. We also received three mobile tactical ground surveillance radar systems for border security in the North East,” Dan-Ali disclosed.
He added that a second phase of the agreement, covering 2017-2020, was being facilitated.
At a joint press conference, Der Leyen pointed out that fighting terrorism was a dangerous venture that required strong collaboration as well as trained quality personnel and equipment, because it was “hot but very important fight.”

Machar ‘not under house arrest’ in South Africa – associates

South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar

Close associates of South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar have denied reports that he is under house arrest in South Africa.
Instead, they are accusing President Salva Kiir’s administration of trying to persuade Pretoria to expel him from the country.
Lam Jok, the SPLM-IO representative in Kenya said that Dr Machar is free to carry out any of his activities in South Africa.
“He goes out, attends meeting just like any other diplomat in South Africa.
“His major focus now is to return to South Sudan after the region and the international community intervene to help the people of South Sudan co-exist,” Mr Jok said.
SPLM-IO is Dr Machar’s party that has been in a three-year conflict with President Kiir’s SPLM.
Since last week, talk has been rife that Dr Machar has been placed under house arrest in Pretoria. This comes after Ethiopia suspended his return to Addis Ababa where he had been operating since the war begun in December 2013.
Dr Machar returned to Juba in April but fled in July after the outbreak of fresh fighting, first to DR Congo then to Sudan. However, his brief stay in Sudan was also marked by restrictions when the Khartoum government banned him from issuing any political statement.
In the meantime, the outgoing United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has condemned what he called as President Kiir’s pursuit of an ethnically-based strategy to suppress dissent, muzzle the media, and exclude significant South Sudan people.
He condemned the restrictions imposed by the government on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and humanitarian organisations, which he says is increasing by the day.
The UN had earlier warned that Rwanda-like genocide could be in the making in South Sudan.
Expressing similar sentiments, outgoing United States president, Barack Obama, said: “I feel responsible for the murder and slaughter that’s taken place in South Sudan that’s not being reported on partly because there’s not as much social media being generated from there.”
The Obama administration play a key role during the birth of the world’s newest nation in 2011, when it seceded from Sudan.

Delay in payment of Super Falcons, unfortunate – Dalung

Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalung

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalung, said on Tuesday in Abuja that the delay in the payment of allowances of the victorious Super Falcons “was unfortunate’’.
Dalung said this at a Special Town Hall Meeting for the Youths organised by the Federal Ministry of information and Culture.
“It is unfortunate that we have to go through that situation. We learn from our mistakes and we will ensure issues that will subject our national image to ridicule will be avoided.
“We will take careful look at such issues when planning in the future,’’ Dalung said while responding to questions from the youths.
It will be recalled that the Super Falcons’ bonuses and allowances after their AWCON 2016 victory were delayed until they protested and the Presidency ordered immediate release of their money.
Dalung assured the gathering that the National Youth Parliament would be reformed and democratised to ensure that its representatives have mandate of members.
“We inherited this very important body for youth representation and we are going to embark on reforms. The next parliament would be democratically elected.
“Therefore, those interested should be informed and be getting ready,’’ he said.
Dalung blamed the crises in the Council on interference by politicians and others not in age bracket of youths but using the group for their selfish motives.
He said the ministry is planning to hold youth stakeholders meeting next year to discuss on best ways to address the challenges facing youths.
Dalung urged the youths to change their mind set and disengaged from indiscipline and negative values.
The Minister of State for National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said the 2017 budget was designed to expand partnership between the public and private sector.
She said in the design, the government funds would be used to act as catalyst to attract the private sector resources.
Ahmed said the government is determined to take the country out of recession by using the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which will be concluded in January 2017.
She said other critical component of the 2017 Budget is its focus on infrastructural projects such as road, rail, power and ICT to have positive effect on the economy.
The minister said there are provisions in the budget for the creation of special economic zones and industrials parks which will act as vehicles to accelerate domestic activities for innovation, wealth creation and job creation for youths.
She said that the economy has made significant increase in the development of agricultural and mining sectors.

Refineries to work optimally in 2017 – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday said it would embark on a comprehensive rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries to achieve optimal capacity utilisation in 2017.
NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refineries, Mr. Anibor Kragha, said this in Abuja in a statement by Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division.
The three refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt have had skeletal operations this year.
The statement reported Kragha as saying that the Corporation was determined to move away from the approach of quick fixes and undertake a comprehensive revamp of the plants.
He said, “The plan for next year is to get the comprehensive rehabilitation programme done.
“The situation is like having three cars in your garage that have not been maintained for 15 to 20 years while you expect optimal performance from them.
“Changing one fuel pump here, one compressor there is not helpful. What we are doing now is to step back and take a holistic approach and do a full rehabilitation of all the refineries.”
He noted that once the exercise was achieved, a chart for routine Turn Around Maintenance Programme would be drawn.
On the earlier plan to have other refineries co-located with the existing refineries, Kragha explained that though the plan was still on course, none of the projected co-location refineries would come on stream in 2017 based on existing timeline for assemblage of the plants.
He added that the Port Harcourt Refinery was a ”few steps away” from commencing the production of Aviation Turbine Fuel known as aviation fuel.
He said, “We are very close; we have done tests with some of the key marketers. We have achieved all the parameters, we just want to be 110 per cent certain.”
The statement stated that earlier, the Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company, Mallam Idi Maiha, assured that KPRC was ”assiduously working towards a target of 75 per cent capacity utilisation in 2017”.
Mariah projected that the KPRC would supply one cargo of crude oil per month.
Also, the Managing Director of Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company, Mr. Solomon Ladenegan, noted that ”despite the hostile operating environment, fraught with incessant cases of pipeline pulverization and outright product theft, the refinery was looking forward to better days ahead”.

Troops deploy in tense DR Congo as leader’s mandate expires

A man is arrested by a member of the military police after people attempted to block the road with rocks, in the neighbourhood of Majengo in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 19 December, 2016, as tensions rose with one day left of Congolese President's mandate. Joseph Kabila's second term ends on December 20 but he has shown no sign of stepping down and mediation talks have failed, sparking fears of fresh political violence in the mineral-rich but unstable Democratic Republic of Congo.Griff Tapper/AFP

People stayed home across Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, leaving troops to patrol ghost cities as tension peaked hours before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate ends, but with no election in sight.
Kabila’s second term expires at midday on December 20, but he has shown no sign of stepping down and talks on a peaceful transition are in limbo, sparking fears of fresh violence in the unstable mineral-rich nation.
The normally teeming capital Kinshasa, the megacity of 10 million people, was a shadow of itself on Monday, with barely any traffic on the main roads, public transport at a minimum, and soldiers and police outnumbering passers-by.
Shops were shuttered in the main square and there were tense scenes at Kinshasa University, where dozens of police and troops held back hundreds of angry students, AFP journalists said.
At least one man was arrested by military police after a group of protesters sought to block a road in Goma, eastern DRC.
“This silence is hiding our anger but means that tomorrow will be bad,” said a 20-year-old in Kinshasa who gave his name only as Moise.
“Kabila will be over at midnight. Tomorrow I’ll be partying because it’ll be over.”
In the volatile east, five rebels, a South African peacekeeper and a Congolese police officer were killed when militia fighters attacked several buildings in Butembo, including the prison.
A supplier of minerals crucial for everyday items ranging from smartphones to lightbulbs — tantalum, tungsten, tin and coltan — the mineral trade in the east has long been linked to armed groups and conflict.
Kabila, who has been in power for 15 years, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term but under a recent constitutional court order he may stay on until a successor is chosen.
The ruling party and some opposition leaders have agreed to schedule an election in April 2018, leaving Kabila in office until the vote. But the main opposition bloc rejects this.
In Kinshasa, security forces cordoned off the university but students reached by telephone said they had been planning “to march peacefully” to parliament to demand Kabila step down.
Security was also tight in the second city, Lubumbashi, in the southeast, with most shops closed and very little traffic on the roads.
Social networks have been cut or filtered since midnight Sunday on government orders and police at the weekend banned gatherings of more than 10 people.
In a last-ditch bid to achieve a peaceful transfer of power, the ruling party and fringe opposition groups held talks last week with the mainstream opposition led by 84-year-old Etienne Tshisekedi.
But after a week of mediation, the two sides broke up Saturday with no progress.
Negotiations are to resume on Wednesday when Catholic bishops acting as mediators return from a long-planned trip to Rome — a day after 45-year-old Kabila’s term ends.
A democratic handover would break ground for Congo’s 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed a democratic transfer of power following polls.
The president has been in office since his father Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001. He was elected in 2006, and again in 2011, in a poll the opposition decried as rigged.
Tshisekedi’s opposition grouping has threatened to bring people onto the streets from Monday if the talks failed.
Leaflets urging people to retake Kinshasa “street by street, district by district until we retake the whole of the DRC”, have begun to circulate in the capital.
But so far the opposition has refrained from encouraging a mass mobilisation, while the international community has pleaded for calm on all sides.
“I don’t see (Kabila) caving in to pressure,” his diplomatic advisor Kikaya Bin Karubi said Monday.
“The Congolese people aren’t pressuring President Kabila,” he added.
Some two decades ago, Congo sunk into the deadliest conflict in modern African history, its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragging in at least six African armies and leaving more than three million dead.

Unions to shut down Arik Air operations over seven-month salary arrears

The unions in the aviation sector on Monday directed the commencement of a joint strike at Arik Air, with effect from December 20, over the airline’s failure to pay seven months salary arrears and other anti-labour practices.
The unions gave the directive in a strike notice signed by General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees, Mr. Olayinka Abioye; the General Secretary, Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frances Akinjole; and the General Secretary of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, Mr. Aba Ocheme.
The unions said the strike would continue indefinitely, until their demands are met by the management of Arik Air.
They said, “That the management of Arik Air allows total unionisation of its employees, in compliance with extant labour laws and with respect to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The management of Arik Air recalls all sacked employees who have been victimised for their roles in the effort to bring about unionisation in Arik Air.
“Payment of salary arrears for seven months, with a commitment to pay salaries as at when due, henceforth.They also called for the immediate review of all employee remunerations which had remained the same since the inception of Arik Air, over ten years ago.
The unions further demanded for immediate commencement of negotiations of Conditions of Service to be concluded within four weeks and remittance of Pension, Tax, and statutory deductions to the appropriate authorities.
They also urged the management of Arik Air to comply with the Nigerian Expatriate Quota law.
They said, “Towards the full realisation of the strike, all aviation workers, in complete solidarity with their enslaved comrades in Arik Air shall withdraw all services being rendered by third parties.
“The aviation workers will be supported by Nigerian workers from all other sectors throughout Nigeria, to underscore the seriousness of the matter at hand.
“In the above respect, all ground handling services, security clearance for Arik Air ticket holders, marshalling, aviation fuel supply, air traffic control, safety inspection, etc, will be completely withdrawn.
“All Arik Air employees, aviation workers, and other stakeholders are hereby enjoined to ensure full compliance with this directive please.”

Claim that 9 PDP govs’ support Sheriff false – Adeyeye

Press Dayo Adeyeye

The Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described as `unrealistic political dream,’ the claim that nine PDP governors support the Ali Sheriff faction.
Dayo Adeyeye, the National Publicity Secretary of the Makarfi-led faction, made the remark in a statement issued to journalists on Monday in Abuja.
Mr. Adeyeye said that the party’s attention was drawn to a statement credited to Ahmed Gulak, an aide of Mr. Sheriff that up to eight PDP governors were in support of his group.
“We naturally wouldn’t have dignified Gulak and his cohorts with a response but silence could be misinterpreted as admission of the lies of this pathological liars.
“We are amused by Gulak’s claims.
“Since the 21st May 2016 convention which held in Port Harcourt, Ali Sheriff and his renegade band have never missed any opportunity to blame the governors for the problems of the party.
“Only last week their self appointed Deputy National Chairman, Cairo Ojugboh, was still castigating the governors for the party’s woes at a press conference.
“Why attack those who are supporting you?”
Mr. Adeyeye said that if Mr. Gulak wanted to be taken seriously, he should name those governors who were supporting his group.
He added that Mr. Gulak should also disclose the type of support his group received from the governors.
“On the other hand, it may be a case of political hallucination (where someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels things that don’t exist outside their mind).’’
Mr. Adeyeye said maybe Mr. Gulak actually meant the All Progressives Congress, APC, governors.
“The whole world knows that these are paid agents of the APC being used to destabilize our great party.
“We make bold to say that all PDP governors are fully in support of the caretaker committee which they and other stakeholders created
“Gulak should wake up from his dream and come to the world of reality,” Mr. Adeyeye said.