3rd Mainland Bridge: ‘Area Boys’ slowing down construction, says Controller, as FG postpones shutdown

 

FEDERAL Controller of Works, Lagos, Olukayode Popoola, has lamented the disruptive activities of  ‘Area Boys’ who sometimes open the closed section of the Third Mainland Bridge to traffic to endanger the safety of motorists.

The controller said on Saturday that their actions jeopardised the safety of road users, adding that security had been beefed up to nip the problem in the bud.

“Sometimes where we closed, Area Boys reopened to traffic especially when they notice law enforcement agents are not around.

“We had to call the Police, the FRSC to intervene because the action of the Area Boys delayed construction works for some days because safety is of importance to everybody.

“We are doing roads for human beings, so we have to be very careful. We cannot be breaking concrete when someone is driving pass. Supposing some of the element flies and breaks his head,’’ he queried.

Popoola added that the planned two-day repairs shutdown of the Third Mainland Bridge had to be postponed because of the buildup to the Yuletide.

He told the  News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that construction works had reached the stage for casting concrete on additional three expansion joints, hence the need for a total shutdown.

The controller noted that the Federal Government had to postpone the closure because it was sensitive to the needs of citizens preparing for the festive season with increased human and vehicular traffic.

He said that remarkable progress had been made and the next total closure was shifted till the holiday period to reduce hardship on road users.

“On the Island-bound lane where we are working now, the contractor is ready to cast another three expansion joints this weekend, but because of the festive period that we have a lot of vehicles on the road.

“We were advised to leave it till next week maybe during the public holiday where we will do the total closure, then, we will be able to cast the three expansion joints.

“That will be next week. So, Third Mainland Bridge work is progressing steadily,’’ he said.

Popoola said that work on the surface of the bridge was over 70 per cent completed, but the entire project was 22 per cent completed with the inclusion of construction underneath.

He said that efforts were on to ensure the contractor completed the ongoing replacement of expansion joints on the top of the bridge before the Feb. 22, 2021 delivery date.

He added that work could continue under the bridge even after it is reopened to traffic.

“When we say 22 per cent completion, we are not talking of only expansion joints, there are other works that are going on under the bridge included.

“If we are talking of only the surface, it has achieved more than 70 per cent completion. The contractor is working under the bridge on the abutment, the Pile Caps and Piers.

“And it is all those words put together that makes us say we have achieved about 22 per cent completion but if it is only the surface, we have achieved over 70 per cent,’’ he said.

He explained that the Abutment is where the bridge either starts or ends, where the bridge abuts all the load.

NAN reports that in between the abutment where there are beams on both sides are the piers, while the Pile Cap is located underwater where all the Piers rest for support.

The Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, which was going through a series of repairs, was partially shut down on July 24 for another round of rehabilitation works.

The repair expected to last six months was extended by one month due to the recent #EndSARS protests in Lagos extending the completion date from January 2021 to February.

The construction was initially divided into two phases of three months on each carriageway, starting with the Oworonsoki bound carriageway whose completion dragged to four months.

Traffic was partially diverted on a stretch of 3.5km where construction is ongoing between Adeniji Adeniji Ramp and Ebute Meta, while different time belts were allotted for traffic diversions on the bridge.

The 11.8km bridge is the longest of the three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the Mainland.

The bridge starts from Oworonshoki, which is linked to the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and ends at the Adeniji Adele Interchange on Lagos Island.

Constructed in 1990, the bridge was adjudged as the longest in Africa until 1996 when the Oct. 6 Bridge in Cairo, Egypt was completed.

 

 

Observe COVID-19 protocols to avoid fresh lockdown, Sanwo-Olu urges Lagosians

 

BY FOLASHADE KEHINDE

GOVERNOR Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has urged residents to observe prescribed protocols by health authorities in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the state cannot afford another total lockdown.

Sanwo-Olu, who is isolation, having tested positive for the virus, urged Lagosians to embrace the required lifestyle adjustments that would help everyone enter 2021 stronger, healthier, and safer.

Lagos, the epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria was locked down for more than five weeks earlier this year, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus, causing untold economic hardship to individuals and businesses amid huge job losses.

The Governor observed, in a statement on Saturday, that residents of Lagos had relaxed their adherence with COVID-19 protocols, which had resulted in the rising cases and casualties.

He said, “Yesterday, we issued guidelines to help us in the next phase of our battle with the virus. Lagosians have relaxed and the effects are evident with increasing cases and unfortunate deaths. These guidelines will affect us all but we need to be strong and we need to persevere.

“We cannot afford another total lockdown so I enjoin us to keep observing the prescribed protocols and the required lifestyle adjustments that will help us enter 2021 stronger, healthier, and safer.”

Thanking Lagosians for their support and prayers while in isolation, Sanwo-Olu added, “I am overwhelmed by your show of love and concern about my health and wellbeing. I must admit that the gesture touched me deeply and reaffirmed our connection to one another as humans.

“I acknowledge and thank you very sincerely and pray that none of us will lose our lives to COVID-19, and in any other preventable circumstance.

“To families that have lost loved ones to the virus, I pray that God grants you the fortitude to bear the loss.”

 

 

Why label IPOB terrorist group when those ‘killing Nigerians’ move freely, Ohanaeze asks FG

 

BY NGOZI OKORIE

THE apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said on Saturday, that the Federal Government had no justification for labeling the Indigenous People of Biafra as a terrorist group when those it claimed were killing innocent Nigerians were walking freely.

Ohanaeze advised security agencies to concentrate their efforts on the North East to stop the killings, adding that if other agitators were moving freely in the society without trial and prosecution, it was not right to declare IPOB a terrorist organisation.

The Group made reference to bandits and herdsmen who had been kidnapping and killing innocent people in the northern part of Nigeria, without harassment, saying the action against IPOB was one-sided and must be reviewed.

President of Ohanaeze in Anambra State, Damian Okeke-Ogene, made these positions known during the organisation’s Executive meeting at the Ohanaeze Secretariat, in Awka.

Okeke-Ogene, at the meeting, got the support of the State Executive to contest for the National Office that would be zoned to Anambra State in the Ohanaeze Ndigbo election, scheduled to hold in January.

Stressing the group’s position on the issue of terrorism, he asked, “Have you ever heard that IPOB kidnapped, killed anybody unjustly? why would the government go to court within 24 hours after a misunderstanding between Operation Python Dance II of the Nigerian Army and IPOB without a proper investigation and declare the group a terrorist organisation?”

“And those with intention of tarnishing the image of the country before the international community are moving freely in the society without any government action,” he claimed.

While commending Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State for ensuring the release of schoolboys abducted from Kankara, Okeke-Ogene called on security agencies to checkmate the activities of immigrants from Niger Republic and Lake Chad.

 

How SARS operatives dehumanised me during illegal arrest – Community head

 

BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO

A community chief at Olobedu, Ota Efun area in Osogbo, Osun State, Adanku Oyinlola, has explained to the State Panel of Inquiry Against Police Brutality and Extra-Judicial Killing how operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) illegally arrested and extorted N700,000 from him.

He said the officers drove him from Ibadan to Abuja and were “extinguishing Indian hemp fire” on his head when he was illegally arrested.

Giving evidence before the panel, he explained that he was arrested illegally by one Police Superitendent Omoyele attached to Assistant Inspector General Zone XI Office, Osogbo, on June 23, 2016, in his house at Olobedu Community, Osogbo, around 5:45am, without disclosing his offence.

He added that the officers took him to AIG Zone XI, Osogbo without food to break his fast before moving him to the police cell at Ataoja Divisional headquarters in Osogbo.

Oyinlola added that he was later detained at the Abuja SARS office for days before his relatives raised the N700,000 used to prosecute his release.

He said, “When I was arrested, I requested the police to provide the petition or reasons I was arrested but none was provided. One Sergeant Lamidi Rasaq took my statement. The officer that arrested me demanded N200,000 for bail and requested that I provide one civil servant as my surety.

“My friend, Taiwo Adebisi, who was a civil servant came to the police station for my bail but they refused him on the ground that I did not provide the money they requested for. I was detained for two days at Zone XI, before I was transferred to Ataoja Police Station, Osogbo where I spent another two days.

“Later, I was transferred to Gbagi police cell in Ibadan, Oyo State, where I spent three days. I did not eat any food for seven days until my third day in Ibadan when my family and lawyer came around.

“I was later taken to Abuja inside a hummer bus with my face covered with a veil. I was handcuffed behind my back and the SARS officers inside the bus were smoking Indian hemp and extinguishing its lunt on my head till we got to their station.

“The Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Muyiwa at the Abuja station collected my phone. My family paid N700,000 to officer Omoyele and Muyiwa. In fact, my wife sent recharge cards to other officers in Abuja before I was eventually released. The N700,000 was raised from the proceed of a landed property disposed by my family.”

He sought the relief of the panel to compel the police to pay the compensation awarded in his favour as well as place apology in a national daily as ordered by the court.

In his remark, the panel Chairman, Justice Akin Oladimeji urged the petitioner to provide the document of the land sales with which the N700,000 was raised before the panel on the next adjourned date.

The matter was then adjourned to January 14, 2021 for hearing.

 

Teenage female suicide bomber kills 3 in Borno – Security sources

A teenage girl killed at least three people when she blew herself up in a crowd in Borno State, militia and humanitarian sources told AFP Saturday.

 

“We evacuated three dead bodies and two people who were seriously injured from the scene,” said aid worker Abubakar Mohammed.

The attack happened in the town of Konduga, about 38 kilometres (24 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri.

The attacker set off her explosives among a group of men at a hangout next to the local chief’s home, said Ibrahim Liman, an anti-jihadist militia leader who gave the same toll.

Konduga and surrounding villages have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers from Boko Haram, which typically attacks soft civilian targets such as mosques, markets and bus stations, often using young women as bombers.

At least 30 people were killed last year in Konduga when three bombers detonated their explosives outside a hall where football fans were watching a match on TV.

Boko Haram and a splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million since 2009.

The jihadist conflict has spread into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to end the violence.

– AFP

 

Kankara schoolboys: It’s senseless to say abduction was stage-managed – Lai Mohammed

 

THE Federal Government has described as senseless, the claim in certain quarters that the abduction and release of over 300 schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, was stage-managed.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, dismissed the claim on Saturday when he spoke on NTA Good Morning Nigeria’ programme.

He said, “What precisely does government want to achieve? Is it to prove the deficiency of the military or what?

“In the case of Dapchi, we had all kinds of bizarre theories.

“You have to be in government to know how many sleepless nights the President, ministers and head of security outfits spent until the matter is resolved.”

Mohammed said many people were disappointed that the Kankara abduction was resolved so fast just like that of Dapchi.

He said, “Many naysayers would have loved the incident to linger and become the igniting rod for their attacks.

“Otherwise, how do we describe the spurious organisation like the Bring Back Our Boys that emerged within a few days of the capture of the students?

“Within a few days of the abduction, the so-called organisation had moved to Katsina.

“When you have a situation like this, naysayers who are bent at bringing down the government will come up with all kinds of theories that do not make sense.

“Dapchi abduction was in 2018, how come two years down the lane, nobody has come out to tell us how it was stage-managed?”

The minister admonished politicians and other interest groups to stop politicising and commercialising issues of security and national tragedy.

“In times of crisis and tragedy, people normally come together to address the issue.

“It is not a time to politicise and even trade or commercialise the misery and tragedy of a nation.

“We can have our differences but when it comes to issues of security, we should come together and fight it,’’ he said.

– NAN

 

 

Defection: APC receives Nyako, Ngillari, others ahead of 2023

 

BY ABUBAKAR ALIDU

THE All Progressives Congress (Adamawa State) officially welcomed the Governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2019 election, Abdul-Aziz Nyako, and other heavyweight defectors from other political parties, to its fold on Saturday.

The party said with the early defection of these prominent Adamawa indigenes, the APC was on the right path to take over governance form the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

Some of those who were officially received into the party, along with Nyako, were a former governor of Adamawa State on the platform of PDP, James Bala Ngillari; Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in 2019, Emmanuel Bello; and Senator representing Adamawa North District, Ishaku Abbo.

The defectors were received into the ruling party, along with their supporters.

Nyako, who represented Adamawa Central Senatorial District in the 8th Assembly, reportedly collapsed the ADC structure into APC, after merger talks between the two parties.

The merger, which would be made official through a ceremony at a later date, became necessary to ensure the end of PDP rule in Adamawa State, The Point learnt.

 

 

COVID-19: British Prime Minister imposes fresh total lockdown on London

 

UNITED Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a full lockdown on London and large parts of Southeast England and told the public across the country to avoid travel, in a desperate attempt to stop a new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the UK, Bloomberg reports.

After emergency talks with his most senior officials, Johnson canceled plans to ease pandemic restrictions for five days during the holiday. Household mixing will be banned in London and the south-east and socialising restricted to just Christmas Day across the rest of England.

The premier announced a new Tier 4 will apply in the hot-spot areas around the capital from Sunday, with all non-essential shops closing, millions of people ordered to stay at home and all foreign travel banned except for essential purposes. Johnson urged people across England to “stay local” and not travel far. He promised the new rules will be reviewed on Dec. 30.

“When the virus changes its method of attack we must change our method of defense,” Johnson said at a news conference. “Without action the evidence suggests infections would soar, hospitals would become overwhelmed and many thousands more would lose their lives.”

The dramatic escalation in the government’s pandemic response was triggered by a new strain of the virus that is virtually unique to the UK Emerging scientific evidence suggests the new strain can spread significantly more quickly than previous strains in circulation and is behind a huge surge in infections in recent days.

Covid-19 case rates nearly doubled in London over the past week, with almost 60% of these infections attributed to the new strain of the virus, according to government officials.

 

 

2023: We’ll force Fayemi to contest Presidential election – Ekiti APC

 

BY REBECCA AJANI

THE All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has urged Governor Kayode Fayemi to contest the 2023 Presidential Election, saying the time has come for the President of Nigeria to come from Ekiti.

The Ekiti Chapter of the ruling party said, though Fayemi had not declared his intention to contest, members would force him to run because of what they described as his competence, dedication and loyalty to APC.

This position was made known on Saturday by the state Caretaker Chairman, Paul Omotoso, in Ayede-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area of the state, during a programme organised for 1,000 APC members in Ekiti North Senatorial District by Olusegun Osinkolu, a chieftain of the party.

APC State Publicity Secretary, Ade Ajayi, who represented the caretaker chairman, said the Governor had paid his dues in Nigeria’s polity and in the ruling party, adding that he should be given the opportunity to rule Nigeria.

Recall that some loyalists of the National Leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, had, a few days ago, also launched a ‘South-West Agenda’ Presidential Campaign Movement to signal his readiness for 2023.

The movement, codenamed ‘SWAGA 2023’, was inaugurated last Tuesday in Ibadan even when the organisers said Tinubu had yet to make his intention to run for Presidency public.

On Fayemi, the Caretaker Chairman said, “On the 2023 presidency, the time has come for the President to come from Ekiti. That is why we are pleading with you to support Governor Fayemi.

“Though Governor Fayemi has not said he wants to contest, we will force him to plunge into the race, because of his competence, dedication and loyalty to APC.”

He added that the party would support Osinkolu for the Senatorial race in 2023, noting that he had done well to boost the acceptability and popularity of APC in Ekiti in spite of the fact that he was denied the Senatorial ticket twice.

“He has remained loyal, contented and committed to APC,” he said.

Osinkolu commended what he described as Fayemi’s giant strides in the state and urged members of the ruling party to allow internal cohesion.

 

 

Edo State Head of Service kidnapped

 

BY ADEMETO ADELEKAN

THE Head of Service in Edo State, Anthony Okungbowan, has been kidnapped.

Okungbowa was said to have been kidnapped in Benin City, at gunpoint on Saturday evening.

The unknown gunmen who perpetrated the act, reportedly whisked him to an unknown destination.

The gunmen also reportedly killed the HoS’ official driver.

There had been no official statement on his kidnap, but it was learnt that neither members of his family nor Governor Godwin Obaseki had been contacted by the abductors as of the time of filing this report.

Efforts to get the reaction of the state government on the incident were not successful.

-ThePoint

 

Use your second term to create culture of justice, integrity, ADC’s Nwosu tells INEC boss

 

BY LINUS CHIBUIKE

THE National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Ralphs Nwosu, has tasked the newly reappointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, to use the rare opportunity of his second term in office to create a culture of justice and integrity in the Commission.

Nwosu said to be in charge of the election management agency of any nation for 10 years was no mean task, noting that the INEC boss was now in a vantage position to create a legacy for Nigeria’s democracy.

He said this while reacting to Yakubu’s reappointment as INEC Chairman, first in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.

He also advised the Commission to pull itself out of politics and focus on meeting the interests of its multiple stakeholders and Nigerians as a whole.

“For a democracy of just 22 years, Prof. Mohmood has the democratic destiny of the nation on his shoulders. He is now in a vantage position to create the legacies of Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.

According to him, INEC as at today, is a typical Nigerian government agency with what he described as “wobbly foots of clay and intrigues.”

Nwosu, who is also the Acting President of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, said, “The independent in the name is mere cosmetics and phantom decoration. His first job is to try to build an independent agency and create a culture that epitomizes democracy, diversity, justice and integrity.

“I know him as a strategy scholar, therefore, I expect a clear strategic compass and dashboard that guide the commission’s work for credibility. The commission should pull itself out of politics and focus on meeting the interests of its multiple stakeholders and entire Nigerian people.”

He added, “As the first person to spend 10 years at the helm of affairs in INEC, it would require him to take ownership of INEC’s lenses, standards, goals, and values and recreate them to stand all form of integrity tests.

“Although appointed and reappointed by Mr Presidents, he may be required to go against this method of appointment for the top echelon of our election management body; it doesn’t promote our democracy when clearly partisan commissioners and Chairmen are appointed by a partisan President to run elections.

“The commission should better be run by consummate professionals selected by multiple stakeholders using best international practices.”

“I hope he realizes that with this appointment, he has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the country a flagship nation with model democratic protocols,” the ADC National Chairman said.

 

 

Ebonyi: PDP kicks against closure of Chairman’s school, accuses Umahi’s govt of harassment

 

BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI

THE Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has kicked against the closure of Kingdom Model Secondary School, in Ikwuato Idembia, Ezza South Local Government Area of the state.

The school, owned by a PDP chieftain in Ebonyi, Agbom Friday, was shut down by the State Government and students asked to seek admission elsewhere over allegations related to cult activities and killings.

The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Silas Joseph Onu, expressed the party’s displeasure in a statement made available to newsmen, saying that members of the party would “not be deterred by needless intimidation and attacks” from the ruling party.

THE POINT had reported that the Special Assistant to the Governor on Internal Security and Utility (Ebonyi Central), Onyekachi Nwoba, ordered the closure of the school in a public service announcement.

He had said security threat and killing in Ezza South LGA were all planned and executed at the school, hence the need for the closure.

Onu, however, said the PDP was compiling records of what he described as abuses against its members and would soon expose them in national dailies and televisions “for the whole nation and international communities to see what is happening in Ebonyi State.”

He described as unwarranted and illegal, the closure of the private school, which he said was duly licensed to operate.

The statement read, “Just two days ago, His Excellency, Governor David Umahi, made an open declaration for peace in Ebonyi State and also directed his subordinates to desist from acts that will advance bitterness in the State.

“With this brazen act of intolerance coming from the Local Government Chairman of Ezza South and other political office holders therefrom, could the directive of the Governor be a mere window-dressing, designed to deceive while politically motivated attacks are sustained by his appointees and boys?

“If the Governor truly meant his directive, then we should see a serious resentment from him regarding this open act of intolerance and psychological violence meted upon Barr. Agbom. As we have stated repeatedly, it is not a crime to refuse the lure of decamping along with the Governor.

“Politics is the epitome of freedom of association as encapsulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and no one can be forced to belong to a political party that he or she is not interested in.

“The action of the Executive Chairman of Ezza South Local Government Area is condemned in totality and he is called upon to immediately re-open that school. It is still the duty of the Nigerian Police to fish out criminals, arrest and prosecute them.

“The Governor is called upon, also, to once again admonish his appointees and followers to desist from further harassing or using their office to intimidate citizens simply because they have refused to decamp into APC.

“The PDP is compiling records of these abuses and will soon begin publishing same in national dailies and televisions for the whole nation and international communities to see what is happening in Ebonyi State. We will not be deterred by needless intimidation and attacks.”

 

He said, “Barr. Agbom Friday is the PDP Chairman for Ezza South Local Government Area and has remained resolute in his decision to continue as a loyal member of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State. This is his only sin – refusal to decamp to the APC.

“Suddenly, his business endeavour has become the target of State as they’ve alleged that the School is a harbour for cultists in the Local Government Area. When did they know of this fact? Was it when he refused to decamp with them?”

I was disgusted by CNN, BBC’s reports on #EndSARS – Buhari

 

BY FOLASHADE KEHINDE

WEEKS after the back and forth between the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and international news platform, CNN, President Muhammadu Buhari has described the coverage of the #EndSARS protest by foreign press as disgusting.

The President particularly berated the coverage by CNN and BBC, saying it was not balanced.

He made his position known via a tweet on Wednesday.

According to Buhari, the foreign press did not pay attention to the prison breaks, policemen that were killed or stations that were razed.

“It must be said that foreign press coverage of the ENDSARS violence was not balanced, especially from CNN and BBC. I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened,” the President tweeted.

The Information Minister had, in November, berated the CNN for allegedly relying on social media videos for its report on the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters at Lekki tollgate, in Lagos, Nigeria, without verifying them, THE POINT had reported.

The Government said such report “should earn the CNN a serious sanction for irresponsible reporting.”

Mohammed insisted that contrary to the foreign news platform’s report, not a single family had come out to claim that their family member was killed in what he described as a “massacre without bodies.”

 

 

Despite COVID-19 disruptions, ‘we’re on track to report decent numbers’ – Orji, NSIA MD

 

BY BANYO TEMITAYO

THE Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority said on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected projects under the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund, managed by the Agency, negatively.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NSIA, Uche Orji, who disclosed this on an Arise TV programme, monitored by THE POINT, however, added that despite the disruptions, the Authority was on track to report “very decent numbers.”

He said there had been delays in construction, commissioning and logistics, adding that the NSIA might have lost a few months on some of the affected projects.

Orji said, “Let me deal with the issues. I want to talk about three or four impacts. First is the domestic impact. It’s been destructive. It affected some of the projects we were working on the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund which we manage. So there have been delays in construction, delays in commissioning, delays in logistics.

“We may have lost a few months on some of those projects. We are handling the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Niger Bridge and Abuja-Kano Road. Those have been affected by the lockdowns, restriction of movement, interstate travels.Those had a big impact on domestic investment.

“Internationally, it is first a significant response by both the monetary and fiscal policy instruments and the authorities, especially the Central Bank of Nigeria. And there has been a huge influx of liquidity.’

He noted that investment in Treasury Bill was not that rewarding anymore, saying an investor would be lucky if he got one per cent.

“Last year, it was about 13 per cent. So it’s been challenging. But the good news is that this has led to a significant improvement in the value of other assets,” he explained.

He said equity investments had done very well, noting that equity prices were higher internationally.

“So that has been good for us. It has also led to volatility, and if you are an investor or a trader, volatility is good; volatility is a time when you can make some decent returns,” the MD stated.

On the Authority’s balance, he said, “It’s been fairly good. But It’s not over; it is three weeks to the end of the year; but we are on track to report very decent numbers because we have seen benefits coming through our private equity investments, Public equity investments.

“So the year is ending fairly well, despite all the disruptions that we have seen.”

 

 

US lawsuits: Facebook may be forced to sell WhatsApp, Instagram – Report

 

FACEBOOK Inc could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the United States Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company, saying it used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay.

With the filing of the twin lawsuits on Wednesday, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc’s Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of using its market power to fend off rivals.

The lawsuits highlight the growing bipartisan consensus to hold Big Tech accountable for its business practices and mark a rare moment of agreement between the Trump administration and Democrats, some of whom have advocated breaking up both Google and Facebook.

The complaints on Wednesday accuse Facebook of buying up rivals, focusing specifically on its previous acquisitions of photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014.

Federal and state regulators said the acquisitions should be unwound – a move that is likely to set off a long legal challenge as the deals were approved years earlier by the FTC.

“For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals, snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James on behalf of the coalition of 46 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam. Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and South Dakota did not participate in the lawsuit.

James said the company acquired rivals before they could threaten the company’s dominance.

Facebook’s general counsel Jennifer Newstead called the lawsuits “revisionist history” and said antitrust laws do not exist to punish “successful companies.” She said WhatsApp and Instagram have succeeded after Facebook invested billions of dollars in growing the apps.

“The government now wants a do-over, sending a chilling warning to American business that no sale is ever final,” Newstead added.

PROTRACTED FIGHT

Facebook’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees in July that Facebook would “go to the mat” to fight a legal challenge to break up the company, calling it an “existential” threat, according to audio of internal company meetings published by The Verge.

Antitrust experts such as Seth Bloom of Bloom Strategic Counsel said the FTC complaint was “significantly weaker” than the DOJ’s lawsuit against Google.

“We’re talking about acquisitions that are six or eight years old and it will be difficult for a court to order divestitures of many years ago,” Bloom said.

Investors echoed similar concerns.

“I do not know if the FTC or DOJ will be successful in breaking Facebook up. I’m assuming this will be dragged out in the courts as FB defends itself,” said Daniel Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta, Georgia.

The lawsuits are the biggest antitrust cases in a generation, comparable to the lawsuit against Microsoft Corp in 1998. The federal government eventually settled that case, but the yearslong court fight and extended antitrust scrutiny prevented the company from thwarting competitors and is credited with clearing the way for the explosive growth of the internet.

Last month, Facebook said it was buying customer service start-up Kustomer, in an acquisition that the Wall Street Journal said valued Kustomer at $1 billion.

Facebook also bought Giphy, a popular website for making and sharing animated images, or GIFs, in May. That acquisition has already drawn scrutiny from the United Kingdom’s competition watchdog.

Facebook shares fell as much as 3% after the news before paring losses to close down 1.9 per cent.

– REUTERS

 

 

Gunmen shoot Afghan TV female journalist, driver dead

 

GUNMEN shot dead a female news anchor and her driver on Thursday, her employer said, the second murder of a journalist in Afghanistan in a month.

Malalai Maiwand was killed in the eastern city of Jalalabad, said Enekaas TV, the private television channel she worked for.

Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months as violence surges in Afghanistan, despite peace talks between the government and the Taliban.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, and the local hospital confirmed the killings.

Nangarhar province and its capital Jalalabad have seen regular clashes between government forces and the Taliban. The extremist Islamic State group has also claimed several deadly attacks in the province.

The murder of Maiwand, who was in her 20s, comes just weeks after Radio Liberty reporter Aliyas Dayee was killed in a car bomb attack in Lashkar Gah.

Human Rights Watch said Dayee had previously been threatened by the Taliban.

A former television presenter in Kabul, Yama Siawash, was killed in a similar car bomb attack near his home last month.

No group has so far claimed these murders.

Afghan forces are battling an increase in violence in the country, much of it unleashed by the Taliban as they attempt to gain leverage in peace talks in Qatar, which opened in September.

– AFP

 

Ebonyi: PDP kicks against closure of Chairman’s school, accuses Umahi’s govt of harassment

 

BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI

THE Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has kicked against the closure of Kingdom Model Secondary School, in Ikwuato Idembia, Ezza South Local Government Area of the state.

The school, owned by a PDP chieftain in Ebonyi, Agbom Friday, was shut down by the State Government and students asked to seek admission elsewhere over allegations related to cult activities and killings.

The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Silas Joseph Onu, expressed the party’s displeasure in a statement made available to newsmen, saying that members of the party would “not be deterred by needless intimidation and attacks” from the ruling party.

THE POINT had reported that the Special Assistant to the Governor on Internal Security and Utility (Ebonyi Central), Onyekachi Nwoba, ordered the closure of the school in a public service announcement.

He had said security threat and killing in Ezza South LGA were all planned and executed at the school, hence the need for the closure.

Onu, however, said the PDP was compiling records of what he described as abuses against its members and would soon expose them in national dailies and televisions “for the whole nation and international communities to see what is happening in Ebonyi State.”

He said, “Barr. Agbom Friday is the PDP Chairman for Ezza South Local Government Area and has remained resolute in his decision to continue as a loyal member of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State. This is his only sin – refusal to decamp to the APC.

“Suddenly, his business endeavour has become the target of State as they’ve alleged that the School is a harbour for cultists in the Local Government Area. When did they know of this fact? Was it when he refused to decamp with them?”

He described as unwarranted and illegal, the closure of the private school, which he said was duly licensed to operate.

The statement read, “Just two days ago, His Excellency, Governor David Umahi, made an open declaration for peace in Ebonyi State and also directed his subordinates to desist from acts that will advance bitterness in the State.

“With this brazen act of intolerance coming from the Local Government Chairman of Ezza South and other political office holders therefrom, could the directive of the Governor be a mere window-dressing, designed to deceive while politically motivated attacks are sustained by his appointees and boys?

“If the Governor truly meant his directive, then we should see a serious resentment from him regarding this open act of intolerance and psychological violence meted upon Barr. Agbom. As we have stated repeatedly, it is not a crime to refuse the lure of decamping along with the Governor.

“Politics is the epitome of freedom of association as encapsulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and no one can be forced to belong to a political party that he or she is not interested in.

“The action of the Executive Chairman of Ezza South Local Government Area is condemned in totality and he is called upon to immediately re-open that school. It is still the duty of the Nigerian Police to fish out criminals, arrest and prosecute them.

“The Governor is called upon, also, to once again admonish his appointees and followers to desist from further harassing or using their office to intimidate citizens simply because they have refused to decamp into APC.

“The PDP is compiling records of these abuses and will soon begin publishing same in national dailies and televisions for the whole nation and international communities to see what is happening in Ebonyi State. We will not be deterred by needless intimidation and attacks.”

 

INEC arraigns another lecturer for electoral fraud in Akwa Ibom

 

BY NGOZI OKORIE

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday, arraigned another lecturer, Prof. Ignatius Uduk, for alleged involvement in electoral fraud during the 2019 polls.

Uduk is the second lecturer to be arraigned by the Commission for electoral fraud in the 2019 election.

He was a Collation and Returning Officer for the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly election in Essien Udim Constituency in the said election.

Uduk was arraigned before the state High Court, Uyo, on a three-count charge, bordering on abandoning his assigned duties as Collation and Returning officer and unlawfully generating scores and entering same in form EC 8E(II), thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 122, subsection 1 of the Electoral Act of 2010 as amended.

He was also accused of announcing and circulating fake election results contrary to and punishable under Section 123 subsections 4 of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended.

The charge against him also included perjury, lying on oath, which INEC said was contrary to Section 119, subsection 1 of the criminal code laws of Akwa Ibom State 2000.

Uduk pleaded “not guilty” to the three-count charge, while his Counsel, Samuel Ndah, filed an application for bail on his behalf.

The bail application was, however, opposed by Prosecution Counsel, Kpoobari Sigalo.

Justice Archibong Archibong adjourned the matter till December 14, 2020 for ruling on the bail application.

 

 

US: Federal prosecutors investigating Biden’s son

 

UNITED States President-elect, Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, has said his tax affairs are under investigation.

The investigation is being conducted by federal prosecutors in Delaware. US media quote sources saying it relates to business dealings with foreign countries including China.

Hunter Biden said he was confident he would be shown to have done no wrong.

The Biden-Harris transition team said the president-elect was “deeply proud of his son”.

A statement from the team said Hunter had “fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger”.

The 50-year-old said he had learned of the investigation on Tuesday. He did not disclose any further details.

“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers,” he said.

Reports say the investigation was begun in 2018, before Joe Biden announced his bid for the presidency.

Hunter Biden was a frequent target of Republican criticism during the 2020 election campaign, focusing on his business dealings in Ukraine and China when Joe Biden was vice-president in the Barack Obama administration.

Last December, President Donald Trump was impeached by the Democratic-run House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress stemming from his attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

But Mr Trump was cleared by the Republican-held Senate in February.

The new investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax affairs comes as his father assembles his cabinet. If the case is still ongoing when Mr Biden is sworn into office next month, his pick for attorney general could have oversight of the investigation, AP notes.

– BBC

 

 

DSS detains leader of Osun #EndSARS protest, as youths kick

 

BY TIMOTHY AGB0R, OSOGBO

THE Department of State Services has arrested and detained the leader of Monday’s #EndSARS protest in Osun State, Emmanuel Adebayo, popularly known as Captain.

According to reliable sources, Adebayo was arrested and detained for allegedly impersonating the Nigerian Army and receiving accolades on that basis.

Adebayo was said to be referring to himself as a “Captain.”

But sources said the arrest might not be unconnected to the #EndSARS protest.

It was gathered that Adebayo might not be released until he is charged.

The youths, on Monday, had displayed different placards at the entrance of the Osun State House of Assembly when the Speaker, Timothy Owoeye, addressed them.

The placards read, “We are not fighting for any political party”, “#End Bad Judiciary in Nigeria”, ” #End fake judicial panel of Inquiry in Osun”, “Unfreeze all the frozen accounts”, ” We are Nigerian youths,” among others.

Meanwhile, #EndSARS protesters have condemned Adebayo’s arrest and demanded for his immediate release.

Speaking for the youths in Osun, one of the #EndSARS protesters, Farombi Olufemi Benjamin Jnr, accused the Osun State Government of being behind the arrest.

He said, “On Monday, we marched out to the street of Osogbo to demand an end to bad governance under the #EndSARS movement umbrella.

“It is quite disheartening however that the government through the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, despite giving assurance to look into our grievances, has now turned around to use the DSS to haunt and harass us.

“It’s a shame that Adebisi Oluwaseun Emmanuel (Captain) who led the protest has since been detained by the DSS after honouring an invitation requesting him to appear before them which was sent by a certain DSS officer identified as Kolawole Amanoo (spelling could be wrong).

“It has however come to my notice that there’s a list of persons to be picked up with myself being on the list.

“We hereby demand the immediate and unconditional release of Adebisi Oluwaseun Emmanuel (Captain) from the clutches of the DSS where he has been for the past 24hrs.

“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution and he’s well within his rights to exercise such.”

“The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Timothy Owoeye should, with immediate effect, look into the matter and demand for the release of Adebisi Oluwaseun Emmanuel Captain,” he added.

 

BREAKING! Maina collapses in court

 

BY LINUS CHIBUIKE

A former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, on Thursday, collapsed during a hearing on his N2bn money laundering trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The resumed hearing was to consider Maina’s “no-case submission”, after the prosecution closed its case with nine witnesses on Wednesday.

Justice Okon Abang, as a result of the development, said the court would rise for five minutes.

Defence lawyer, Anayo Adibe, was briefing the judge when the loud noise of Maina’s fall disrupted the proceedings. 

Officials of the Correctional Service quickly rushed to attend to him, amid the commotion that the fall caused.

The Court had, on Tuesday, rejected a request by Maina, seeking an adjournment to enable him to prepare for his defence, saying it was a ploy to waste judicial time.

Justice Abang, in his ruling, explained that the Court had not breached Maina’s right to a fair hearing, saying the trial had continued in his absence when he jumped bail.

The Judge stressed that the former pension boss had not appeared in court since September 29, when hearing on the case resumed, arguing that his former lawyer should have handed over the brief properly to the new Counsel.

 

 

Grow capital market to address infrastructure gaps, Reps Committee tells FG

 

BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA

THE Federal Government has been told to develop the capital market to accelerate economic growth and tackle the infrastructural challenges limiting the potentials of the nation.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Other Institutions, Babangida Ibrahim, said this during a visit to the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange on Wednesday.

Ibrahim said the lawmakers decided to visit the Exchanges to understand their workings in a bid to provide legislative support where necessary.

The Chairman said capital markets broadened access to economic prosperity by enabling the emergence of financially responsible citizens, accelerating wealth creation and wealth distribution, providing capital to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and catalysing housing finance.

The lawmaker added that the capital market was a critical sector which contributed immensely to macro-economic and financial system stability by fostering the diversification of economies and raising their capacity to absorb volatile capital flows.

“Our purpose is to visit most of the Exchanges and understand how they operate snd see if there is any parliamentary intervention we can provide. The only way to save the economy is through capital market activities,” he said.

Speaking on the issue of unclaimed dividend, Ibrahim said the National Assembly was committed to supporting investors in ensuring that they received the benefit for investing in the capital market.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, described the development of a vibrant and efficient commodities trading ecosystem as a major driver of economic growth and development.

Yuguda assured that the regulator was committed to working with the Exchange to grow the commodities market.

He said, “This visit is a demonstration of the commitment both the legislative arm of government and the regulator have to the development of the capital market of which the commodities market is important

“We are impressed with what we have seen here today. We have engaged them for the past one year and 

are aware they have been working hard to make this Exchange successful.”

He said the Commission was willing to work with LCFE to develop all the rules needed to realise the potentials of the country in the area of commodities trading, adding that the responsibility of SEC was to ensure good market development, fair trading and investor protection.

He added, “We are working to get appropriate rules that will enhance the operations of the Exchange. In a bid to ensure the relevant standards required are approved by the SON, we are engaging them and pulling our weight to ensure increased visibility of our commodities in the international market.

“We need to get the foundation right and we are ready to assist you in any way to ensure that we get this right, as this will lead to a more vibrant economy for us in the years to come.”

Speaking earlier, Chairman of LCFE, Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu, said there was a need to fully realise the potential of the Federal Government’s drive towards the development of the agricultural and solid minerals sector and to tap opportunities brought about by the initiative to establish a Commodities and Futures Exchange.

He expressed optimism that the Exchange would be well positioned to support the Federal Government’s plan to create wealth and enhance flow of foreign currency.

Ezeagu said the Exchange would redefine practice standards of the Nigerian commodities ecosystem and give hope to producers of commodities who were constantly searching for ways to offload and improve on their commodities.

 

 

Benue Council worker commits suicide

 

BY BIMPE ADEYEMI

A casual worker at Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State has committed suicide.

Information Officer of the Council, Chris Avi, who identified the deceased as Aondona Yaga, confirmed his death.

Yaga was said to have set himself ablaze in his house, owing reportedly to difficult times occasioned by non-payment of his allowances for a long time.

His grandmother, it was learnt, told sympathisers how miserable he had been as a result of this.

His burnt body was still in the house as of last night.

 

Senate asks Buhari to reinstate Argungu as NDE DG

 

BY LINUS CHIBUIKE

THE Senate has called for the reinstatement of the sacked Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, Nasiru Argungu.

The lawmakers urged President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the approval to sack Argungu, saying his removal could affect the implementation of the Federal Government’s Special Public Works Programme, aimed at employing 774,000 youths across the 774 Local Government Councils.

The Upper Chamber’s resolution followed a point of order by Senator Ibrahim Hadejia (Jigawa East Senatorial District).

The Senate also asked President Buhari to order an investigation into the cold relationship between the sacked NDE boss and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Kayamo.

The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had confirmed the removal of Argungu in a statement on Tuesday.

The Presidential aide revealed that the President’s directive on the sacking of Argungu was issued on Friday, but effective from Monday, December 7

The Federal Government also appointed Abubakar Fikpo as the acting Director-General of the NDE on Wednesday.

 

 

FG slashes cost of data by 50% in one year – Pantami

 

BY BANYO TEMITAYO

IN line with the directive to the Nigerian Communications Commission by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, to put measures in place to reduce the average cost of data in the country, the average cost of 1GB of data has reduced from N1,000 in January 2020 to N487.18 in November, the same year.

This represents a decrease of more that 50 per cent within one year.

Pantami, who disclosed this on Thursday, said the Ministry aimed at reducing the average cost of 1GB of data to a maximum of N390 by 2025.

“The cost of data in November 2020 was less than 50% of the cost of data in January 2020,” he said.

The minister, who spoke through his Technical Assistant, Femi Adeluyi, in a statement, in Abuja, said these were contained in a report by the NCC, submitted to him, following the implementation of the directives.

The statement read in part, “The Honourable Minister had inaugurated a Committee that developed the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) on the 16th of December, 2019.

“The Plan was unveiled and launched by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on the 19th of March, 2020. One of the goals of the Plan is to reduce the average cost of 1GB of data to a maximum of N390 by 2025.

“With the January 2020 baseline of N1,000 per GB, the maximum projected steady decrease for the end of each year was as follows: 2020 (N925), 2021 (N850), 2022 (N775), 2023 (N700), 2024 (N545) and 2025 (N390).

“In line with Dr Pantami’s commitment to under promise and over deliver, the measures have caused the current cost of data to reduce significantly beyond the December 2020 projection of N925.”

It said, “Based on the Report by NCC, the average cost of data as at November 2020 was N487.18, which amounts to 47.33 per cent lower than the projected value. The Report also indicates that the cost of data in November 2020 was less than 50% of the cost of data in January 2020.

“The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the NCC, will continue to ensure that consumers enjoy a price regime that supports fairness and is friendly to consumers.

“Policies are in place to ensure that operators adopt competitive pricing that eschews unjustifiable margins. The general public may also wish to note that complaints about rapid data depletion are also being investigated.

“For more enquiries, the Honourable Minister has directed NCC to respond to all issues raised by our citizens and customers.

“All hands will remain on deck to achieve the goals of the Broadband Plan as the Ministry supervises its implementation in line with our National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria.”

 

 

Ghana’s opposition rejects presidential, parliamentary election results

 

GHANA’S opposition has rejected presidential and parliamentary election results, a party official said late on Wednesday, adding that it intends to take steps to appeal the electoral commission’s decision.

“Overwhelming evidence available makes it impossible for us to accept this spurious and hurried conclusion,” Haruna Iddrisu, a member of parliament for the National Democratic Congress party said after the electoral commission announced President Akufo-Addo had won Monday’s vote with 51.59 per cent, beating the NDC’s leader John Mahama’s 47.36 per cent.

“We intend to take decisive and concrete steps, both with the presidential and parliamentary results, to overturn this brazen and shameless attack on our democracy,” said Iddrissu, speaking at a press conference in the capital Accra.

The West African country is known for its stable democracy, but tensions rose Tuesday after Mahama claimed to have won a parliamentary majority and warned Akufo-Addo, of the New Patriotic Party against stealing the vote.

Mahama, 62, charged that Akufo-Addo, 76, had harnessed the military in a bid to sway the outcome, a claim the government said was false.

“You cannot use the military to try and overturn some of the results in constituencies that we have won. We will resist any attempts to subvert the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people,” Mahama said.

In a victory speech on Wednesday, the president-elect addressed his jubilant supporters, calling for peace.

“Now is the time, irrespective of political affiliations, to unite, join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder,” Akufo-Addo said.

Ghana has had seven peaceful transitions of power since the return of democracy more than 30 years ago, as post-electoral grievances have always been pursued through the courts, a rarity in the troubled region.

Hoping to retain that reputation, Akufo-Addo and Mahama on Friday had signed a symbolic peace pact, which the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS urged “all political parties and their leadership to respect.”

– AFP

 

 

France fines Google, Amazon €135m for privacy breach

 

FRANCE’S CNIL data privacy watchdog slapped 135 million euros in fines on US tech titans Google and Amazon for placing advertising cookies on users’ computers without consent.

The 100-million-euro fine against Google is the largest sanction the regulator has ever imposed, which it justified by the fact 90 per cent of French internet users use the firm’s search engine.

CNIL said the fines were “for having placed advertising cookies on the computers of users… without obtaining prior consent and without providing adequate information.”

A cookie is a small piece of data stored on a user’s computer browser that allows websites to identify users and remember their previous activity. They are important for providing targeted advertising as well as improving user experience on websites.

The CNIL said when a user visited the website google.fr, several cookies used for advertising purposes were automatically placed on his or her computer, without any action required on the user’s part.

It said a similar thing happened when visiting one page on the amazon.fr website.

The regulator said, “No matter what path the users used to visit the website, they were either insufficiently informed or never informed of the fact that cookies were placed on their computer.”

CNIL said the type of cookie used “can only be placed after the user has expressed his or her consent” and thus violated regulations on receiving prior consent.

It faulted Google for providing insufficient privacy information for users as it did not let them know about the cookies which had been placed and that the procedure to block them still left one operational.

CNIL said after redesigns implemented in September 2020 the websites of both firms stopped placing cookies on computers without consent.

However, it rapped both for still not providing clear or complete information about the use of the cookies and the possibility to refuse them, ordering both to make changes within three months or face additional fines.

– French rules ‘uncertain’ –

CNIL imposed fines of 60 million euros on Google LLC and 40 million euros on Google Ireland Limited.

The 35-million-euro ($42-million) fine is on the Amazon Europe Core subsidiary.

When contacted, Google defended its “record of providing upfront information and clear controls” to users.

A Google representative also complained “that French rules and regulatory guidance are uncertain and constantly evolving” and overlooked its efforts to comply.

Amazon also expressed its disagreement with the fine in a statement sent to AFP.

“We continuously update our personal data protection practices to ensure we meet the needs and expectations of clients and regulators which are in constant evolution,” it said in a document written in French.

The sanctions were based on French regulations before Europe’s data protection regulation entered into force in 2018.

The GDPR stiffened fines for violations which can rise to 4 percent of a company’s worldwide revenue.

CNIL has said it will begin in April 2021 to fine companies which do not meet the GDPR’s requirement of having an option to accept or refuse all cookies.

– AFP

 

 

World Bank predicts 4% GDP contraction for Nigeria, says recovery uncertain next year

 

BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA

THE World Bank, on Thursday, projected that the Nigerian economy could shrink by up to four per cent in 2020 following the twin shocks of COVID-19 and low oil prices.

It said the pace of recovery in 2021 and beyond remained highly uncertain and subject to the pace of reforms.

The Bank noted that the absence of measures to mitigate the twin impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and fall on crude oil prices could raise the number of poor people in Nigeria by between 15 million to 20 million by 2022.

It said the pandemic was disproportionately affecting the poor and most vulnerable, women in particular.

The World Bank, in its Nigeria Development Update, said that food insecurity had increased substantially, adding that economic precariousness was on the rise because unemployed workers had migrated to the low-productivity agricultural sector.

In the next three years, the World Bank said an average Nigerian could see a reversal of decades of economic growth and the country could enter its deepest recession since the 1980s.

The Report argued that this path could be avoided if progress in the current reforms was sustained and the right mix of policy measures implemented.

While acknowledging measures taken by the government since April, including the efforts to harmonise exchange rates, introduce a market-based pricing mechanism for gasoline, adjust electricity tariffs to more cost-reflective levels, reduce non-essential expenditures and redirect resources towards the COVID-19 response, it said there was a need for greater policy response to the economic crisis.

It also highlighted the greater transparency in the oil and gas sector and public debt as essential steps for a resilient recovery.

The World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria and co-author of the report,
Marco Hernandez, said, “Nigeria can build on its reform momentum to contain the spread of COVID-19, stimulate the economy, and enable the private sector to be the engine of growth and job creation.

“It can also redirect public spending from subsidies that benefit the rich towards investments in Nigeria’s people and youth in particular, and lay foundations for a strong recovery to help make progress towards lifting 100 million people out of poverty.”

The report, titled, “Rising to the Challenge: Nigeria’s COVID response”, takes stock of the recently implemented reforms and proposes policy options to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and foster a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive recovery.

The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, while speaking on the Report, said Nigeria was at a critical historical juncture, with a choice to make.

He added, “Nigeria can choose to break decisively from business-as-usual, and rise to its considerable potential by sustaining the bold reforms that have been taken thus far and going even further and with an even greater sense of urgency to promote faster and more inclusive economic growth.”

Looking ahead, the Bank discussed policy options in five areas that would help mitigate the effects of the crisis and support Nigeria’s recovery.

-ThePoint

 

 

Hoodlums break into Ogun Speaker’s office, cart away mace

 

BY ABISOYE JOHNSON

SUSPECTED hoodlums, on Thursday, broke into the Ogun State House of Assembly, carting away the official Mace.

The yet-to-apprehended hoodlums reportedly broke into the office of the Speaker of the House, Olakunle Oluomo, through the ceiling.

There was however restriction of movement around the complex owing to the development even as the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.

It was however learnt that the coat of arms in the mace had been recovered, while the stick had not been found.

Details later…

 

 

APC postpones nationwide membership registration

 

BY LINUS CHIBUIKE

THE All Progressives Congress has postponed its nationwide membership registration and revalidation exercise, scheduled to begin on Saturday, December 12, 2020.

The exercise has been moved to the second week of January 2021.

The party hinged the postponement on the fast-approaching Christmas and End of Year celebrations, noting that it was in the interest of Christian party members and the commitment to ensuring maximum participation.

National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee, John Akpan Udo-Edehe, made the announcement at the APC National Secretariat, in Abuja, on Thursday.

“On account of several factors however, including the fast-approaching Christmas and End of Year celebrations; as well as the interest of our Christian members; and the objective of ensuring maximum participation, the CECPC has decided to shift the date of the Exercise to the second week of January 2021,” he said.

The National Secretary added, “The CECPC sincerely regrets any inconveniences that may arise out of the change in date; but appeals for the understanding of our teeming members and the general public, in the interest of preparing a solid foundation for a successful Exercise.

“The Party wishes you all; as well as members of the public, a peaceful and rewarding Yuletide, and End of Year celebration.”

 

 

Ooni to pay N250bn yearly as tuition fees for 5 million Nigerian students

 

BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO

OONI of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has unveiled an Education Trust Fund named, “Ooni of Ife Tertiary Tuition Fund”, targeted at paying tuition fees for five million students across Nigerian universities.

While unveiling the project at his Ile Oodua Palace, Ile-Ife, the Ooni identified the current economic reality of the country as the motivation behind his intention to assist the students return to school.

The monarch, who said an average of N50,000 tuition was targeted for about five million students for a period of four years, explained that the payment of tuition for five million students would gulp about N250billion yearly.

Ooni noted that youth emancipation and empowerment had been his focus, saying that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gun powder if urgent steps were not taken to address students’ problems.

He said, “I am putting together the Education Trust Fund to support what the government is doing. We are not all safe. We have to cut our social activities and focus more on youth empowerment. It is better to stay and fix this country than to be running out of the country.

“We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder if we do not look at how best to assist our youths. I have said it before and I will keep saying it. We all had a feel of their anger during the #EndSARS protests; we must begin to engage them productively.

“The COVID-19 has made many youths and their parents to be jobless, while the current recession in the country’s economy is another blow which has made the youths to be the most vulnerable group in Nigeria.

“We have between seven to ten million of them in Federal Tertiary Institutions and they need to pay close to N500 billion in tuition fees in January, 2021. But how would this demand be met when the bulk of the parents of these students are petty traders, peasant farmers and other average Nigerian parents who might not be able to get the needed fees to return to school? That is the reason behind the project.”

“Earlier before now, I had personally assisted many in paying tuition fees, vocational trainings and other empowerment initiatives but I have come up with this to bring more beneficiaries on board,” the Ooni said.

On how funds would be generated for the project, Ooni, the Spiritual Head of Oduduwa Race worldwide, revealed that individuals and organisations at home and abroad, would be contacted for donations to ensure the success of the lofty idea.

“I am appealing to all our people to let us come together and achieve this for our youths. I am promising that everything will be accounted for to the last kobo while details of beneficiaries would be verifiable for accountability,” Ooni Adeyeye added.

On the prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike, he assured that it would soon be called off and that it would be in the best of Nigerians.

“You will recall that we traditional rulers from across the 36 states recently held a meeting in Abuja on the state of the nation the communique of which I submitted to President Buhari in my capacity as Co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, on behalf of others.

“It is part of it and I wish to assure you that the Federal Government and ASUU are almost done resolving the grey areas,” he said.

 

 

2 more fear dead as Police kill Keke driver over N100 bribe in Rivers

 

NGOZI OKORIE

A policeman attached to the Rumuokoro Police Divisional Office in Rivers State, on Thursday, shot dead a commercial tricyclist for allegedly refusing to part with N100 as bribe.

The victim, popularly called School Boy, was shot at Elukpokpodu Road, Rukpokwu, in the Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Port Harcourt.

The development caused a riot by angry youths and colleagues of the ‘Keke’ driver.

This was even as the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Nnamdi Omoni, said the officer who shot the victim had been arrested.

It was gathered that two more people might have been killed in the fracas that greeted the joint efforts of vigilante groups and the Police at maintaining order in the area, and preventing the mob from burning down the police station.

 

 

Britain’s ‘worst hotel chain’ where guests would ‘rather sleep on the street’

 

A hotel, part of a chain ranked as the United Kingdom’s worst for the eighth consecutive year has been visited by a reporter.

John James, of Kent Live, visited one of the county’s most infamous hotels – the Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone.

Consumer group ranked Britannia Hotels as the worst chain in a survey of 4,000 guests as UV lights showed stained towels, broken glass and hair in toilets.

They were also previously the subject of investigation by the consumer magazine into hotel hygiene during the first wave of the pandemic.

When investigators visited the Grand Burstin in the summer, they found stray hairs and stained towels in the room they had booked.

Further tests indicated that surfaces had not been thoroughly cleaned between stays despite the fact the hotel had advertised a system of “enhanced cleaning”.

At the time, the chain apologised for the lapse in protocol and said in a statement it was “totally committed to providing a safe environment for visitors but accept there is more to do”.

However the company’s apology could not satisfy consumer choice website, Which?.

Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said, “It appears that not even a global pandemic could force Britannia to clean up its act.

“At best, it’s drab and dated, and at worst it’s downright filthy – and after eight years at the bottom of our survey, our message is loud and clear: avoid these hotels.

“While Premier Inn remains a firm favourite, it’s clear that this year, UK hotels have become more than just a place to lay your head, but a destination in themselves.

“With fewer of us travelling abroad this year, our survey shows that when it comes to holidaying at home, we’re quite happy to pay more for a little luxury.”

Reporter John James checked into a room at the Grand Burstin to see whether the hotel’s reputation was deserved.

The hotel has struggled with poor reviews for years and holds only two and a half stars on TripAdvisor.

It has more than 1,000 “Terrible” reviews, many of them alarmingly recent.

One woman wrote of her stay: “What a terrible shame such a hotel still exists.

“Would never stay here again and it isn’t that it’s a bargain price, it’s that price because it’s so bad. Do yourself a favour and stay elsewhere.”

Another wrote: “The building is run down, stinks of cigarettes and booze. The interior is disgusting and our bed had pubic hair all over quite visibly.”

And one man swore to go to great lengths to never visit again.

He said, “Personally, couldn’t wait to leave this place and won’t ever be back there again as I would rather sleep on the street.”

Kent Live reporter John James on his stay at the Grand Burstin

With such a “glittering” reputation, I was beginning to wonder what I’d let myself in for.

I arrived into the Grand Burstin at around 6pm as the day was winding down.

My first impression of the great white building that loomed above me was one of resignation.

It was filthy on the outside, covered in green and brown dirt from who knows what decade.

Things weren’t to improve when I ventured inside.

Naively, I had assumed the hotel would be relatively quiet, considering it was a weekday.

No such luck, it was packed to the rafters and the check in queue stretched around the dated foyer.

As I sweated at the back of the interminable line, I did a quick headcount to see who was wearing masks.

Not only were barely any customers wearing them, many staff also had gone without. It’s not a requirement by law to wear them in hotels but I was still surprised.

Things got worse when I reached the till and was informed I’d have to pay £5 for the luxury of leaving my car in their car park.

The sheer front of it would make a bargain flight provider blush.

It was a scrum for the lifts and I saw multiple family units cramming themselves into them.

Disheartened, I trudged up the stairs to the fifth floor to see what a double room at the Grand Burstin looks like.

The TV was on when I entered the room and the view out of the window wasn’t exactly inspiring.

The bedroom suffered from the worn out aesthetic of the rest of the hotel but I suppose it would look a little odd if it didn’t.

Of far greater concern was the meal that came with my £50 room, a sloppy plate of steak pie that managed to be greasy and dry at the same time.

I stirred the tepid dish for a few seconds and trudged into the bar for a socially distanced drink.

Once the bingo came on, I knew it was time for bed.

I awoke with the sun light streaming in through the curtains.

I’d deliberately left them open so as to beat the breakfast buffet rush – not that I was particularly excited for the food on show.

True to Grand Burstin form, the breakfast was disappointing and actually quite meagre.

I assume in normal circumstances customers are allowed to serve their own breakfast but during the pandemic it was being done by a member of staff who was anything but generous.

I helped myself to three glasses of orange juice, put on my tattered face mask and checked out.

To paraphrase an earlier review: “I won’t ever be back there again as I would rather sleep on the street.”

Britannia Hotels, which runs the Grand Burstin, was approached for comment by the Mirror.

– mirror.co.uk

 

 

Defection: Ohanaeze Ndigbo sets up 3-man committee to reconcile Umahi, Anyim

BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI

APEX Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has set up a three-member committee to wade into the feud between Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim.

The President General of the Group, John Nwodo, was said to have announced this at the general meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo (Ime Obi) held at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu.

This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Monday Uzor, on Monday.

The committee members, according to the statement, include Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Igwe Alfred Achebe and Sen. Ken Nnamani.

Nwodo described as unfortunate the media war by the two Igbo leaders in the past weeks, and charged the committee to stop at nothing to reconcile them.

The Organisation also received and approved the report of the Prof. Osita Ogbu-led Alaigbo Stabilisation Fund Steering Committee.

The President General said under the arrangement, Ndigbo Development Foundation and Ndigbo Investment would be set up to serve as a catalyst for the development of Igbo land.

On the forthcoming general election of the  Group, slated for January 10, 2021, Nwodo announced the electoral committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections into various offices.

He appealed to Ndigbo to be diplomatic in all forms of agitations for the sake of national unity.

On his part, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State urged the technical committee to come up with implementable proposals that would benefit Igbos at home and in the diaspora and assured that Imo whose turn it was to produce the next President General, would ensure that a credible candidate emerged.

He announced that South East Governors approved a parting gift of a Prado Jeep to  Nwodo, and Achebe, the outgoing President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and outgoing Chairman of the South East Traditional Rulers Council, respectively.

The “Imeobi” which is the  highest decision making organ of Ohanaeze, was attended by notable Igbo sons and daughters, including Umahi, who was represented by his Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe.

-ThePoint