TODAY FIXED MATCH TRY IT DON'T OVER FIRE IT

Booking Number:KFTD8W
08/04/2016 14:31:00
Code 5333  Date 08/04/2016 19:30:00
Event Lierse - Tubize
Live/Prematch Normal  Selection 1/2
Stake: ₦ 1,000.00

List of Top Schools that Accepts 150 JAMB Cut Off Mark Even When You did not choose them

 The major problem faced my JAMB candidates now is low JAMB scores. Because of this, there are chances that many of them will fail to get admission into their schools of choice since many schools accepts 180 as their cut off mark.

For this reason, we have compiled the  full list of Top Schools that Accepts 150 JAMB Cut Off Mark Even When You did not choose them in JAMB CBT.
  In these schools, you can apply and write for their post utme examination if you have art least 150 aggregate scores in JAMB CBT. Also, you are also eligible to write for their post utme examination even if you did not choose them as your institution of choice during your JAMB UTME registration.

All you need is to watch-out when their post utme form will be released and apply immediately, follow up and sit for their post utme examination. If you perform well, you will get admission. By so doing, you don’t waste another year or writing another JAMB.

See the list here…
 1) Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH)
 2) Ekiti State University (EKSU)
 3) Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT)
 4) Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu
 5) Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD)
 6) Gregory University, Uturu
 7) Lagos State University (LASU)
 8) Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU)
 9) Federal University Otuoke (FUOTUOKE)
10) Plateau State University Bokkos (PLASU)
 11) Ignatius Aturu University Of Education (IAUE)
12Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU)

JAMB Change of Course and Institution 2016 – 1st or 2nd Choice

Read the following guide to do your JAMB Change of Course and Institution 2016 – 1st or 2nd Choice. So many candidates always need to change their course or institution of choice because of one reason or the other. However, whatever your reason is, I will quickly teach you how to you can change your Jamb-UTME Course/Institution – 1st or 2nd Choice. It’s a step by step guide to help you do just that.

      How to Change your Jamb-UTME Course/Institution – 1st or 2nd Choice:


1. Go to JAMB office or any JAMB sales point nearest to you
2. Purchase CHANGE OF COURSE Scratch Card (=N=2,500)
3. Go to JAMB Website
4. Click on Change of Course/Institution
5. You’ll be redirected to your JAMB Form
6. Change your Course or Institution (where applicable)
7. Crosscheck and Submit your form.
8. You’re done
9. Reprint your JAMB Slip.

   With the above steps, you will be able to change your Jamb-UTME Course/Institution – 1st or 2nd Choice without stress.

Cheers in South Africa as new dollar bond is oversubscribed

Johannesburg – South Africa has successfully issued a 1.25 billion dollar 10-year bond in the international capital market to help finance its foreign currency commitments over the medium term, the Treasury said on Friday.

In a statement, the Treasury said the dollar bond, with a coupon of 4.875 per cent, had been more than two times oversubscribed with an investor base primarily located in Europe and the U.S.

“The South African government sees the success of the transaction as an expression of investor confidence in the country’s sound macro-economic policy framework and prudent fiscal management,” it said.

The bond launch follows a March roadshow where Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan sought to reassure investors about continuity in fiscal policy.
Investors were skeptical after President Jacob Zuma changed finance ministers twice in less than a week in December.

The rand extended gains against the dollar after the Treasury’s statement, climbing to a session high of 15.0600, up 1.2 per cent for Thursday’s close.

Government bonds also edged higher with the benchmark government issue due in 2026 dipping four basis points to 9.235 per cent.

The treasury said the new foreign bond formed part of South Africa’s 2016/17 financing programme.

Its proceeds would partly finance the government’s foreign currency commitments of 6.4 billion dollars over the medium-term.

The coupon for the bond represents a spread of 335 basis points above the 10-year U.S. Treasury benchmark, which analysts said was in line with South Africa’s current funding rate.

“I don’t think it’s too expensive. If you have a look at our CDS rates, that’s at 385. So it was probably in line,” Rand Merchant Bank trader Gordon Kerr said.

Kerr was referring to credit default swops or the cost of insuring exposure to South African debt.

South Africa might, however, be forced to borrow at a higher premium as it faces the risk of losing its investment-grade credit rating because of persistently weak growth and large deficits.

Moody’s, which currently rates the sovereign two notches above junk, has placed South Africa on review for a cut, citing concerns about its ability to restore fiscal strength and boost growth.

Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, whose grades are just a notch higher than sub-investment grade, have also hinted at downgrades.

God chose President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria, says APGA

THE national chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Oye has called for understanding of Nigerians in the face of the current hardship, saying that Nigeria is not as hopeless as some people think.

Addressing reporters in Awka yesterday, Oye observed that with the measures being taken by government, things would soon get better.

He said: “Every problem has an expiry date. I believe that before the end of this year, things will begin to normalize. What the government is trying to do is to cut wastes and Nigerians are beginning to see the result going by the savings already made.

“Nigerians can see that the federal government has the courage to do semblance of what is right and what is happening in the country shows that there is no hiding place for any corrupt politician.

“We should also appreciate the fact that God chose President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria and he has a purpose for doing that.”

According to him, many Nigerians do not know Buhari well, adding that from what he knew about the president, he has a good vision for the country.

Oye also spoke on his party, APGA, saying that his vision as the national chairman is to make the party a global brand. He added that with measures being put in place by the national leadership of the party, APGA would be a party to beat during the 2019 general elections.

Corruption has eaten deep into every fabric of the Nigerian society – Farida Waziri

ILORIN-Former Chairman, Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri on Thursday urged Nigerians to partner with the federal government in the ongoing task of waging war against corruption in the country,even as she said that the ongoing war is not selective as widely believed in some quarters.

   

      Farida Waziri, former Chairperson of the Economic      and Financial Crimes Commisssion.

According to her, “the government alone cannot wage war against corruption, hence, all people irrespective of their status should complement the current effort of the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the menace in the country.

On the allegation that the ongoing corruption crusade was selective, Waziri said, “I disagree. This is not issue of federal character. Are you looking for a job that you will say unless certain areas commit; then you wait for another zone to commit?

The former EFCC boss disclosed this in Ilorin, Kwara state capital shortly after attending the commendation service organised by the Emmanuel Baptists Church, Sabo-Oke, Ilorin in honour of the former Inspector General of Police, Late Chief Sunday Adewusi.

She noted that,” corruption is a monumental endemic that had eaten deep into the fabric of the society and the people of the country should support President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government to address the menace once and for all”.

‎ She also stated that,”The ongoing war by the federal government is going on very well but the anti-corruption fight is a monumental war because corruption has eaten deep into every fabric of the Nigerian society so it is something we all must fight.

“It is not just for President Muhammadu Buhari alone. It is for everybody. If you know the dangers of corruption, you will know that all Nigerians should

come together and say ‘enough is enough.’

“Because the rich man is a

victim, the poor man is a victim, the old man is a victim and the child, the young man and the students are victims.

“Those who are looking for jobs are all victims so it is time that we all support this president to say enough is enough”.

‎

On the argument that the fight against corruption is targeted at members of the opposition,PDP,Mrs Waziri eexplained,”The thing is that it will be tested in the court of law. If you have no evidence, then you can not arrest and arraign somebody in the court of law. So those saying that it is‎ selective, they are enemies of Nigeria. That is my belief because if I pick you, I will build a case file that can stand the test of time.”

Continuing she said, “I will file charges in the court of law, I will bring witnesses to prove my case and the proof is proof beyond any reasonable doubt”.

On her advice to the current EFCC leadership in the country, Waziri said, “The EFCC leadership is doing their best and they should follow due process and the rule of law. Finish. When you work; you work within rules and regulation, you wil‎l have no problem”.

Earlier in his sermon at the commendation service, the Minister -Incharge of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sabo-Oke, Ilorin, Reverend Olawuyi James ‎charged political office holders in the country to see their positions as temporary which should be used to bring better change to the doorsteps of the populace rather than impoverishing ‎ them with obnoxious policies and programmes.

‎He believed that, such step would also go a long way to accelerate the socio well being of the society.

According to the cleric,”Your appointment into various political offices is a temporary one and should be used to add values to the teeming populace”.

He said that, “I want you to know that, God is the only permanent and your political offices are temporary one that would come to an end one day”.

“The essence of electing you into various political offices is to serve the people and not to enrich yourself and thereby bringing new lease of life to the people and not to impoverish them”, he added

James stressed further that, “The present political office holders in the country would clock one year in office in few weeks and they should search their minds if they have done what is expected of them since they assumed the leadership positions of this country and they should know that, one day, one day, their tenure would come to and end.

“They should be reminded that this positions they are occupying would come to pass one day and therefore they must rise up to bring new lease of life to the citizenry ”

He commended late IGP Adewusi for using his past positions as head of the police authorities to move the nation forward.

He also said that, late IGP Adewusi has been in fore front in the work of God during his life time which according to him has made him a good christian throughout his life time.

‎He however prayed to Almighty God to give late Chief Adewusi an eternal rest and prayed to the family to bear the fortitude irreparable loss.

Those in attendance at the commendation service include, former chairman of EFCC, Mrs. Wasiri Farida, former governor of Oyo state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, deputy governor of Kwara state, Elder Peter Kisra, top government functionaries both in Kwara and Oyo state.

Osoba didn’t collect $1m from Jonathan – APC chieftain

As the anti-graft war by President Muhammadu Buhari is intensified, reports before the President has revealed that ex-governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba did not collect any funds from the former President, Goodluck Jonathan to campaign at the 2015 polls.

This was disclosed by a national chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC yesterday, during an interactive session with selected journalists in Lagos.

This came barely few days after the former governor returned to APC, few years after dumping the party.

The Chieftain noted that the reason behind the former Ogun State governor’s return to the APC was aimed at building a united political front in the South-west considering his previous experiences in the region.

He alleged that some political interests within and outside the region, who did not want Osoba in the APC sponsored media reports that he collected one million dollars from the Jonathan campaign organisation.

The Chieftain added that President Buhari believed initially that Osoba “benefitted from Jonathan’s campaign largesse and was just using him to forment political crisis in the region.”

On the assumption of office on May 29th, he stated that Buhari had access to all security information and reports, which according to him, revealed that Osoba did not benefitted from the distributed funds.

He added that the President also discovered “from different security information, reports and manifests that Osoba did not have political relationship with the former president. If Osoba had relationship with Jonathan or collected campaign funds from his campaign organisation security reports would have shown it.”

The chieftain sad it was after the President assumed office that it “became obvious that Osoba was simply fighting on principle and that some political interests actually sponsored media report to discredit him.”

On the Sunday’s reconciliation meeting, the chieftain disclosed that Osoba’s return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) had been going on underground long before the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu led other party leaders “to prevail on him to return to the party last Sunday.”

He also said the northern leaders from the APC had been engaging Osoba to return to the APC, which he said the former Ogun governor contributed so much to make it happen despite pessimism in some quarters.

He added that the process of what happened last Sunday actually did not start on the same day, noting that what culminated in the Sunday reconciliation meeting “has been going on a very long even before Osoba finally decided to leave the APC for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

He explained that the return of Osoba “has nothing to do with Ogun politics or Ogun State Governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun. Rather, the monarchs were motivated to ensure unity in the rank of the South-west APC leaders because of the antecedent of the region. Our political antecedent shows that the South-west will suffer if it does not have a united political front.

His words, “It happened between 1964 and 1965 during the federal parliamentary elections. It also happened in 1993 before and after the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections. Among others, these antecedents motivated the monarchs to reconcile the APC leaders so that the region will not lose out.

“The Sunday meeting was a formality. The issue is not about Amosun and Osoba. Amosun was not part of us. But Osoba worked with the progressives.”

He said the whole process was kept secret from some political interests within and outside the geo-political zone, explaining that the reconciliation process was “kept secret because those who did not want it happen would have scuttled it for their selfish political advantage or gain.”


He also explained the central roles of South-west governors, even before he finally decided “to leave the APC for the SDP. Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi started it before other governors from the region eventually joined them.”

On these grounds, the chieftain pointed that Osoba’s exit from the APC was a terrible blow on the Progressives because it caused division in the South-west, noting that it was imperative to forge a united political from in the South-west in order to make inroad into South-east and South-south.

Buhari absent as Osinbajo presides over emergency FEC meeting

ABUJA – President Buhari is conspicuously absent at the emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting he summoned yesterday.

The meeting just came underway at the council chambers of the presidential villa, Abuja with Vice President Yemi Osinabjo presiding.

No official reason yet as why the president is absent.

His absence was apparently a surprise to the members of the FEC made up of the 36 ministers, the Vice President, the Secretary to the State Government, SGF.

Time of the meeting was 11: am and the licensed members had arrived pretty early.

Vanguard saw them exchanging pleasantries amongst themselves.

But they were interrupted by a clap of hand, a sign to signal them of the president’s arrival to the meeting.

But there was no sign of the president in the room.

It was the SGF, Mr. David Babachir that verbally called the meeting to order while Vice President Osinabjo called for opening prayers.

At this point, Journalists were excused from the meeting. It was not known whether the president would join the meeting later.

Meanwhile, the purpose of the emergency meeting, Vanguard learnt, was apparently to review the 2016 budget estimates whose got to the presidency yesterday from the National Assembly.

It will be recalled that the president had insisted on seeing the details of the budget before he could append his signature to sign the 2016 Appropriation Bill into law.

While he submitted a total of N6.08 trillion as the budget estimates, the National Assembly pruned it down to N6.06 amid stories of all-time padding.

It was yet unknown whether FEC would recommend the signing of the document into law after the meeting as the president is believed to be leaving for China next week, a trip that may keep him away from office for almost a week or even more.

Tell politicians to allow Kachikwu do his work’

ABUJA – CHAIRMAN, House House of Representatives Committee on Information, Rep Segun Odebunmi yesterday blamed the Federal Government of not being proactive in tackling the lingering fuel scarcity in the country that has adversely affected the economy.

The lawmaker also expressed disappointment that despite the assurance by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu that the lingering fuel scarcity would disappear in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, within seven days, the long queues still persisted in filling stations.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Rep Odebunmi told politics to allow the Minister of State for Petroleum who is knowledgeable in oil and gas matters to do his work and not to distract him.

According to him, “The government should allow those who know how to run the petroleum sector to do their work, the politicians should step aside a little bit so that the career officers in NNPC can do their work, the control is getting too much, let us think of how to solve this problem before any other thing. Nigerians are suffering and in pains.

“The state minister of state for petroleum came out to tell Nigerians that the queue in the filling stations will vanish today (Thursday) but the queue is still persisting up till today but the truth is that it is not the making of the Minister of Petroleum, the problem is that the system is collapsing perhaps due to lack of trust in the system.

“Nigerians know that we don’t refine oil, we only import so the moment there is a break in the importation of this fuel, Nigerians will suffer for it but the present administration is exhibiting lack of trust and I believe this has caused this problem for Nigerians, so this problem is man made by those people in the system.

“During former President Goodluck Jonathan tenure a lot of those that are in the system right now were always shouting that the money given to oil subsidy was too much.

“Now coming on board with the new government they want to look for ways to reduce the money, in Nigeria today we have up to 15 million cars plying the roads on daily basis, but whereby they think the amount used for importation of fuel is too much and then looking for ways to reduce the amount, it won’t work.”

Super Eagles’ doctor for FIFA conference in London

Lagos – The Super Eagles’ doctor, Ibrahim Gyaran, has expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for facilitating his attending the FIFA/Isokinetic conference in London.

Gyaran’s appreciation is contained in a communiqué by the NFF’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, on Friday in Lagos.

The statement said the conference would hold between April 9 and April 11 with the theme “Return to Play in Footballers’’.

The conference, it added, would emphasis the complete recovery and return to full match fitness of injured players.

The statement quoted Gyaran as saying that conference would enable him to keep abreast with new findings and methods in medicine that would make him more effective on his job.

“The field of medicine is constantly evolving, there are new findings and more modern methods of work discovered every time, so, we have to be abreast of all these things on a regular basis.

“This also explains why I want to always appreciate the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports and the NFF for facilitating my attending such conferences.

“It goes a long way in helping me become more knowledgeable and effective in the discharge of my responsibilities as the Super Eagles doctor,’’ the statement quoted him as saying.

Boko Haram terrorists now divideds – Air Chief

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has expressed the commitment of the Nigerian Airforce NAF to swiftly eliminating the remnants of insurgents in the North East, saying members of the sect are already surrendering in large numbers.

Abubakar spoke on Friday in Abuja at a media parley to unveil activities for the 52nd anniversary of the Nigerian AirForce.

He said although there are still pockets of insurgent attacks on soft targets, the battle is already being won, urging local communities to offer credible intelligence to security operatives.

“Looking at where we are coming from, I think we have done substantially well. In those days in 2014, you had convoy of vehicles moving round villages and killing Nigerians but it is no longer so.

“I believe that very soon, God’s willing, we shall come to the end of this problem. We are at the tail end of this operation” he said.

Abubakar added that available intelligence showed that many of the terrorists are exhausted and want to stop fighting. “Some of them are trapped and they do not know how to come out”, he said, adding that intelligence has it that the group is now divided.

According to him, it was this development that made the Defence Headquarters to create a “safe corridor” for repentant Boko Haram fighters, saying the corridor is for those willing to surrender their arms and be reintegrated into the society. He was however quick to add that the military was not offering amnesty to anyone as only the political authorities can take such decision.

“So, we came up with the idea of ‘safe corridor’. If you want to come out, come out and then we profile you, keep you under watch before taking the next step. So many of them are surrendering in large numbers. We have seen that they are surrendering because they know that there is no escape”, he stated.

On whether the leader of the group is still alive or using a look-alike in releasing propaganda videos, the Airforce Chief said the Defence Intelligence Agency DIA is currently analysing the latest Shekau video to make “sense” of what is contained therein.

He said despite the enormous challenges caused by the situation in the Northeast, the airforce is not overwhelmed. He said in the last nine months, fighter jets in the area have flown for over 3, 000 hours which translates to a consumption of 3.7m litres of Jet A1 fuel.

Also, he said over a thousand personnel were trained within the last nine months both locally and internationally in order to meet up with current demands of the job.

Abubakar also hinted of the resolve of the airforce to embark on certain local maintenance of its equipment as some of her young officers now have PhD’s in aeronautical and space engineering while more are undergoing further studies.

According to him, the NAF has invested heavily in the area of Research and Development while also collaborating with about 15 Nigerian universities.

With such collaboration, the NAF now produces its own electrolytes and hydraulic diaphragms, rather than having to wait for six months to procure same from abroad.

He said highlights of the 52nd celebration which holds from April 12-15 in Bauchi state would be lectures, novelty match, flypast, CAS open forum, reunion variety night, CAS awards, jumat prayers, church service and humanitarian outreach.

There will also be a reunion of serving and retired officers in order to brainstorm on key challenges, hence the team of the anniversary, “Reuniting for Enhanced Service Delivery and Operational Effectiveness”.

Abubakar said lessons drawn from the reunion would form the basis for the review of its tactics in tackling emerging challenges in the 21st century.

Established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament, the Nigerian AirForce was designed to be a full complement of Nigeria’s military defence system.

The airforce was also to ensure fast and versatile mobility of the armed forces of Nigeria to provide support to sea-borne and ground forces of the country.

UNILAG shuts down over water shortage, epileptic electricity protest

The management of the University of Lagos, yesterday, ordered the immediate closure of the institution, ‎following students’ protests over epileptic power supply and poor water supply.

The school in a circular said the closure was also due to the difficulties faced by the “large number of students” living off campus to attend classes as a result of the lingering fuel crisis.

“Senate noted that the problem of poor municipal service is a national issue that the governments at both state and federal level are addressing,” the circular stated.

The university management said it was suspending all academic activities on campus to forestall further breakdown of law and order.

It also ordered the students to vacate their halls of residence on or before 10am on Friday, April 8, 2016.

“A decision to re-open for normal academic activities will be made as soon as municipal services improve.

“All members of the University community are enjoined to go about their normal activities as adequate security measures have been put in place,” the circular added.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu: The strategist as game changer

The significance of it was not lost on many when last month Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu moved the annual colloquium hosted on his birthday from Lagos to Abuja, the federal capital. The annual colloquium had in recent past been a forum for the political class to ponder Nigeria’s socio-political milieu, and of course, an opportunity to celebrate the man generally applauded as the Pathfinder
The movement of the colloquium spoke for itself; to wit, the elevation and enlargement of Tinubu’s political power from Lagos and his Southwest base to Abuja, reflective of his bourgeoning his political strides and repositioning from opposition leader to national leader of the country’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Though President Muhammadu Buhari as president of the country

       

remains the undoubted leader of the party, no one in the party doubts who moves the gear when it comes to political locomotion.

Speaking just before last year’s presidential election, Mrs. Aisha Buhari had made an open confession of how Tinubu is celebrated in the Buhari household.

“My husband, General Muhammadu Buhari has been contesting presidential elections for over a decade now, but this particular election is unique because our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu jettisoned his personal interest for the sake of Nigeria.”

 Political prowess and patience

Buhari himself speaking at the Abuja colloquium had praised Tinubu for creating a “formidable opposition party in Nigeria that worked vigorously within a short period to oust a party that had been in power for 16 years.”

However, Tinubu’s emergence on the national platform was not without much stress. It took a lot of political prowess and patience for the former Lagos State governor to survive intrigues weaved against him by successive administrations controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Abuja.

In the 2003 elections, he was the only one of the five governors elected on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy, who survived the political tsunami contrived in an ethnically inspired conspiracy supposedly framed to help return President Olusegun Obasanjo to power.

While all the other Yoruba AD governors lost to the PDP, Tinubu through sheer guts and political wizardry sufficiently checked the PDP marauders. The last man standing in 2003 then became the bastion of the progressive bloc. In his second term as governor between 2003 and 2007, Tinubu was faced with the double task of not just wading off the sustained political darts of the PDP from home and Abuja, but also ensuring that Lagos did not slip away from his political fold into the hands of the PDP in 2007.

Remarkably against many intrigues including the withholding of local government funds by Abuja, he succeeded with great aplomb in ensuring that Lagos remained within the pace and pattern of progressivism. Indeed, the 2007 transition was challenging especially as he sought to project a successor that would actualise his visions of Lagos.

 Channels of dialogue

 The emergence of Babatunde Fashola as his successor was a personal victory for Tinubu, the Pathfinder. It also was to pose some little challenges as politicians from within the camp sought to create a division between father and son, but both men to a remarkable degree managed the issues.

Unbeknownst to many, the issues between Pathfinder and Actualiser may not have challenged Tinubu as much as engaging the then seemingly frail new leader of the PDP, President Umaru Musa Yar`adua. Arrowheads of the new president seeing Tinubu as a possible obstacle to their 2011 dreams were halfway into the regime already seeking for how to divide the Tinubu camp by poaching and punishment. Remarkably, President Yar`adua’s short stay passed on, and Tinubu was faced with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The initial reaction of the Jonathan team was to intimidate and hence the arraignment of the opposition leader before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for allegations ranging from many years back. The charge was easily dismissed giving a firm legal cover which also helped embolden the opposition leader.

After the 2011 election, it became apparent that a national coalition was needed to successfully tackle the PDP. Drawing from his contacts with the North maintained since his days in the Social Democratic Party, SDP among whom was Senator Abu Ibrahim, channels of dialogue were opened with other oppositionists in the country.

Undoubtedly, Tinubu and Buhari turned out to become the anchormen in the building of what some regarded as a purpose built political infrastructure to demystify the PDP. It was not an easy task, and Tinubu’s prominent role in raising the new platform is recognised by both friends and foes. It was, however, not an easy task for the Jagaban of Borgu.

It took the prescient cognition of Tinubu to navigate the political landmines laid by the involvement with many strange fellows in the merger of the former Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

Reconstruction of the opposition

There were subtle brushes with two men during the negotiations – Chief Tom Ikimi of the ACN and Ali Modu Sheriff of the ANPP – but Tinubu and other elders helped to maintain tact in order not to derail the reconstruction of the opposition.

In the end, patience paid off as both men left the platform, and Sheriff, ironically is now the chairman of the PDP!

That spirit of endurance is one of the knacks that has helped to make Tinubu the political enigma that he is.

Tinubu’s tact and tractor of the political landscape helped in the construction of the first national based opposition party to grab power from a ruling party; and he is for that for that and much more

Buhari heads to China to borrow $2bn

President Muhammadu Buhari will visit China on Sunday to sign a loan infrastructure projects deal worth about $2 billion and the low interest loan is to be deployed to finance the N3 trillion deficit in the budget.

Though the exact figure for the loan is yet to be confirmed, the Presidency and Chinese foreign affairs ministry confirmed the visit.

The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, who disclosed this in an interview with Reuters, said: “I can’t tell you how much until the day the loan will be signed.  Both countries will also be signing some bilateral agreements to strengthen their relationship, that is all I can say for now.”

In February, financial and government sources said the loan could be as high as $2 billion, but officials have not provided an update since then.

The federal government had said it would raise about $5 billion abroad to cover part of its 2016 budget deficit which could be as high as N3 trillion.

Lu Kang, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, had earlier said Buhari would visit China from April 11-15 to sign “cooperation agreements” and attend a business forum.

When the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, visited China in February, a Nigerian government official said the loan deal she agreed on could be signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The Finance Minister, in the company of the Central Bank Governor, is scheduled to be in China sometime next week to conclude negotiations on the $2 billion loan,” the official said.

Adeosun had earlier said the country was looking for a loan with about 1.5 per cent interest.

“We looked at our debt profile and we recognised that one big problem is interest rate. So, we are going to try and borrow as far as possible externally.

“We are borrowing at the cheapest rates. So, multilateral loans are the cheapest.  If someone offers me 1.5 per cent over 20 years, I think I should take it.

“That is why we are going to the multilateral agencies first and, thereafter, concessional borrowing and also tap into the Eurobond market,” the minister had said at a KPMG forum in Lagos.

Release Jonathan’s cousin or charge him to court, Nigerians tell EFCC

Nigerians have call for the release of the nephew of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Azibaola Robert, the Managing Director of Kakatar Engineering limited following his continuous detention by anti-graft agency,  Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC.

Operatives of EFCC arrested Azibaola along with his wife and executive director of projects of his firm after he honoured an invitation by the commission.

According to reports, Azibaola was immediately taken to detention and has been held there for more than two weeks without formal charges.

A Public Affairs commentator, Henry Omoregie condemned the arrest and detention of the entrepreneur by the anti-graft body, stressing that it is an unnecessary distraction from the glaring failure of governance.

“I think it is an unnecessary distraction from the glaring failure of governance. Of course the soul that sinneth should not go unpunished but this case is clearly, as things stand, sheer impunity. If the security contract in question was actually carried out without hitches, why hold the contractor in detention,” he queried.

“Why seek for details of execution when the contract was actually executed? I also understand that Mr Robert is ex-President Jonathan’s cousin. The selective justice we are witnessing has become too conspicuous for even the least informed to see.

“First it was his CSO, detained, then released; then his ADC detained and released. In fact the latter has sued the FG for illegality. This has become a charade. The courts should hear people out no matter the cases involved. We are not in a military dictatorship where things are done arbitrarily. Selective justice is actually corruption,” he said.

The spokesperson of the foremost Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Eric Omare, stated that Azibola should be treated as a Nigerian who is entitled to fundamental human rights.

He said: “Robert is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The security agency that has kept him in incarceration is a creation of law and subject to the law and therefore ought to follow due process of law in carrying out their functions”.

Other Nigerians have joined the conversation, using the hashtag #SelectiveJusticeIsInjustice to demand the immediate release of Mr. Azibola and his wife.

Why electricity tariff is hiked—Osinbajo

THE Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, explained why electricity tariff increased, citing shortage in gas supply and drop in power generation.

The Vice President in his key note address during the maiden edition of the National Forum on the economy, organised by Vintage Press publishers of The Nation Newspaper, themed: ‘ National Economy: The Way Forward’ said generation companies’ inability to supply power to consumers was as a result of short supply in gas and the drop in power occasioned by lost in line of transmission.


He said that for this reason Generation Companies, GENCOs invariably requires increase in electricity tariff to enable them meet demand for power.

“There is no way the GENCOs can supply enough power to consumers without generating enough fund to drive the necessary processes that will bring about adequate power generation and supply.”

Osibajo who spoke on diverse issues concerning Nigeria’s economic growth revealed plans by the President Mohammed Buhari led government to propel the growth of the economy through private sector stimulation and diversification of the economy to the non oil sector.

He stated that government plans to make utmost use of its backward integration initiative that will propel and project the growth of the economy and bring to live industries that will drive the development and growth of Nigeria.

Governors

Also, as part of measures to boost the Nigerian economy, the State Governors yesterday, move for decentralisation of power at the federal level to states and local governments, inter-state relations, regional integration and diversification of the economy from oil to agriculture.

The Governors also called on the Federal Government to strengthen the educational sector in order to tackle the increasing rate of unemployment and also address the over bloated workforce in the public sector of the economy.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the “ National Forum on the Economy” organised by Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation Newspapers, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State said “ The problem with Nigeria’s economy is that too much power resides at the Federal level. It is time for the Federal Government to decentralise power and make the state and local government stronger. We also need to use our local culture to solve our economic problem. The British or American system cannot solve our problem. All we need is to adopt the Nigeria system to be able to solve our problem.

The Federal Government should stick on Nigeria’s culture and use traditional chiefs in various states to tackle the issue of terrorism.

On the educational system, he said “ The Federal Government need to change the educational policy where English language and Mathematics are made compulsory before students can be admitted. We need vocational schools where the youths could be trained on painting, bricklaying, fishing, plastering, and other handwork. There are jobs for people to do but because of the kind of educational system we have we the youths cannot find job. Bible tells me that my people perish for lack of knowledge, not for fall in oil price. Nigeria is blessed more than any

This is my record – Shettima

SIR, can we know your background?

I should call myself an accidental politician just to  borrow from my brother and friend, His Excellency, Malam Nasir El-Rufai who creatively described himself as an accidental public servant in his insightful book.

I am an agricultural economist by training, a banker by profession and now a politician by calling. I was born in Maiduguri on September 2, 1966. I attended my primary school in Maiduguri between 1972 and 1978 and thereafter went to Government Community Secondary School, Biu between 1978 and 1980 and finished my secondary education in Government Science School, Potiskhum in present day Yobe State in 1983. Between 1983 and 1989 I was in the University of Maiduguri where I read Agricultural Economics.

I did my National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria Agricultural and Cooperative Bank, in Calabar, Cross River State and between 1990 to 1991, I was in the University of Ibadan where I did my masters in Agricultural Economics. From Ibadan I came straight to Maiduguri and I was offered lecturer II in the department of Agricultural Economics and I was there for two years before I got a job with the defunct Commercial Bank of Africa, CBA in Lagos.
   Pinnacle of career

I was the head of accounts in Lagos and we were the pioneer staff that opened the Abuja branch of the bank in 1994. I joined the defunct African International Bank, AIB in 1997 and I rose to the position of Manager 1 and I left AIB and subsequently joined Zenith Bank Plc. I started as a deputy manager and I progressively rose to the pinnacle of my career in the year 2007 as a General Manager.

So, up till 2007 you were still not in politics?

Yes. I was in Zenith Bank and I was in charge of the Northeast and supervising the branches in that region. And it was at that point in 2007 that I became a commissioner. I was variously a commissioner in the ministries of finance, local government and chieftancy affairs, agriculture, health and education. So, I was opportuned to serve in five different ministries which gave me an aerial a view of the activities of government and the key sectors of the local economy.

In the year 2011, my good brother, Modu Fannami Gubio, a highly disciplined and respectable man was chosen as the gubernatorial candidate of the defunct  ANPP unfortunately he was murdered by the viciously evil Boko Haram and I was thrown up by circumstances. I became the flag bearer and we won the election in 2011 and by the grace of God we succeeded in getting a second term in the last election. This is a brief synopsis of the man Kashim Shettima.

What are the differences working in the private sector and working for the people as a politician?

As a banker you work within certain guidelines and framework. You pursue a big target but abiding by practical realities of what is achievable, you don’t live in deceit in the bank because you are dealing with finances, how to get the finance and how to grow it for the bank and the person dealing with the bank, so there is no room for double speak. The purview of politics is one that if you are fond of calling a spade by its name you will always have a rocky relationship with a lot of people. They want you to speak from both sides of your mouth, they want you to always tell them lies and engage in deception which I hate to do. That is the main difference between politics and banking.

In the banking industry, the sole barometer for assessing you is your level of input, your level of competence, how far and fast you are able to hit a target. In politics, a lot of shenanigans tend to come up. You will be amazed at what politicians would do to one another all in the quest for power, and power is the most ephemeral of what keeps humanity.

You cannot be in power beyond the stipulated time frame, eight years at most for the executive arm and even for the legislative arm which has limitless number of times people can aspire for office, electorate tend not to allow one individual to seek the same office for more than 12 years, at most one elected four times and those who get that don’t constitute up to 15 percent of the total number of lawmakers in the whole country when you combine that National and State Assemblies.

Coming to terms with reality

So, you will spend more years of your life outside power than in power, but it seems we are yet to come to terms with that reality. Many people are desperate, we undermine each other all for vanity.  It was claimed that the Modu Sheriff government bequeathed N67 billion cash and near cash to you. Is it true?

It is partly true, but it was equally partly tragic in the context that there is more to leadership than stockpiling funds in the banks. If Ali Sheriff had invested half of the funds he stockpiled in banks in agriculture, believe me this madness would not have happened. Leadership is about development, the funds are meant for the development of the people, not to be kept in banks earning interest. But he also left behind liabilities, contractual liabilities were about N25 billion or so.

What factors would you attribute to your staying power against Boko Haram?

Once there is a will there is always a way. As I said earlier, there is no politics greater than contentment with the masses and those of us from the north we have no option than to invest in the people. This is a country of two nations. The south is much more educationally advanced, while the north is much more lower in indices compared to our brothers in the south.

At the rate of our population growth, Nigeria’s population in 2020 is projected by population experts to become 210 million, by 2030 it is expected to be 270 million and by 2050 Nigeria is expected to be the third most populous nation in the world and would be 410 million and 70% of these Nigerians are likely to live in the north mainly because procreation is stabilizing in the south due to elitism.

Most families have three to five or seven children but in the north there is massive procreation without responsibility.

Without being disrespectful to their line of duty, in the north a clerk, cook or driver who earns N25,000 per month will marry four wives and have 30 children, he doesn’t care where the next meal comes from. With desertification, deforestation, illiteracy, unemployment, et cetera, these are the recipe for disaster.

Enlightened self interest

This is why I have always been an advocate for us to work for the people in our enlightened self interest because the masses are visibly angry.

Our only outlets are to provide quality and affordable education to our citizens and to invest massively in intermediate agriculture which by the way, we have to see as the business that should make profit not just developmental intervention like President Olusegun Obasanjo said to me when he came to Maiduguri.

Entrepreneurial capitalism is embedded in the body psyche of the average Nigerian, even in the years of the cold war, we were capitalists, Nigeria was never a socialist nation. So, our people lack the wherewithal to climb the access ladder of development and this is where I owe no apology to anybody, we are on the driver’s seat, we have acquired more than enough agricultural equipment, tractors, irrigation equipment, harvesters, planters.


So, how do you intend to put the people to work once the insurgency is finally ended?

All we need is for us to get the peace and going by the trend of events, we might get an enduring peace in the next three months. We are already prepared, the moment we secure the peace we will move in spite of whatever challenges, we will definitely restart the development of our communities. We have acquired agricultural equipment that will shock you. We bought them when the exchange rate was fair and thank God we did. We have virtually every tool needed for modern commercial agriculture. We are even building a seed production center in Maiduguri where we will be developing improved seeds for our farmers to multiply their harvest. We have combined harvesters, planters, rice mills, vegetable and groundnut oil mills, tractors.

Mobility of  agro produce

Water is the number one component of Land in Agriculture. We have Dando super rigs manufactured in the UK which can drill water in any desert up to 1,500 meters.

All we want is a peaceful atmosphere to start deploying these heavy machinery. We are building roads for mobility of agro produce, we are currently building a new industrial layout for about 10 industries including agro processing factories for value chain of produce like tomatoes and corn etcetera.

You were in Borno, you saw our Agricultural machinery, you saw the seed production center, you saw that we are building over 2,500 houses and storey building apartments in 6 estates despite the security problems, you saw the roads, you saw jobs we are creating through skills acquisition, you saw what we are doing in education. Believe me, you will see more when you come again,  we will change Borno for good Insha Allah.

There is one question we have to ask, what is your political ambition after being a governor, would aspire for the Presidency by say 2019 like second term Governors often do at their exit?

If I have to be brutally frank I will tell you that given our political dynamics that have been with us from time immemorial, only a fool aspires for the presidency of Nigeria. The presidency of this country is one that you don’t aspire to become if you have regard for our history and if you know what you are doing.

President Muhammadu Buhari aspired to be president in 2003, 2007 and 2011, he didn’t succeed because he was the one seeking the office. But ahead of the 2015 elections,  Nigerians unanimously wanted him, not him seeking for the Presidency from onset that time around, he had to be convinced or perhaps begged to re-contest and those who begged him read the body language of Nigerians, majority of Nigerians were fed up with the PDP and because the main issue was about corruption the person Nigerians needed was one that his integrity was absolutely certain; Nigerians wanted a man with capacity to fight corrupt public officials with insanity for corruption and Buhari was that man.

If you cast your mind back to previous years, President Shehu Shagari wanted to become a Senator, he didn’t aspire for the Presidency, Nigerians choose him through evaluators in the NPN who made him the party’s flag bearer; when we returned to democracy in 1999, President Obasanjo was in prison so the issue of aspiring for the Presidency didn’t even arise, he was chosen to come and be President and Nigerians accepted him.

When Obasanjo was leaving in 2007, we all know how some outgoing Governors scrambled for the Presidency. The late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was not an aspirant; in fact, someone told me that when he was to be chosen, most Governors who were his colleagues didn’t have his phone number because he was reserved. His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was a Deputy Governor and didn’t even aspire to be Governor but he ended up becoming President of this country.

So, Nigeria has its peculiar political dynamics. It is good that we get to a level people can aspire based on their convictions and readiness but the reality is that foor now, you will be foolish to aspire for the Nigerian Presidency.  

Sir can we now say that Boko Haram has been defeated?

They have been defeated for now. We have won the battle but winning the war requires long term planning and execution. For now, they have been defeated as a fighting force, they don’t have the capacity to hold on to territory in this country as they used to, they have been truly, truly degraded in their capability to inflict pain.

It will not be accurate to say that there is no Boko Haram in Borno, but by and large, they have been sufficiently decimated that they no longer pose any serious threat to the territorial integrity of this country. But note that in November 2008, ten terrorists held, Mumbai, a city of 20 million for three days and these guys dwell on the oxygen of publicity because in their campaign to burn, maim, loot and what they are craving for is a higher ranking in the Jihadist world.

Investing massively in education

I think that era has to end in our enlightened self interest. My mission in the next three years is to invest massively in education.

Is it free?

Free and compulsory up till the secondary school level. Without it the picture will be terrible. Go to the interiors of the cities of Kano, Maiduguri, Sokoto and you will hear what they are saying and you will not need a soothsayer to tell you that they hate us as leaders.

And that will reach a boiling point very soon and they are the sons of the poorest of the poor who have been neglected over the years. So, it is in our enlightened self interest to invest in the education of our people.

The south is much more prosperous largely because of the investments in education. The son of a certified pauper can become an icon within a generation and it is only through education that you can achieve that.

I am not speaking now as a politician, I am speaking as a Nigerian. All the secondary schools in Borno and Yobe States are not up to the number of secondary schools in Ibadan metropolis alone. So, do we have any reason why we should not provide free education?



So we need to wake up from our slumber especially us in the north and live up to our obligations. There is more to politics than stealing public resources and at the rate of population growth by 2050, Nigeria will be the third most populous nation on earth, more than the United States.

In fact after China and India, Nigeria will be the next most populous nation and by 2050, 70% of Nigerians will live in the North because the family size in the South is largely stabilised. Very few people have eight  kids in the south nowadays. But in the north, the population is burgeoning, population without responsibility is how I put it.

One man will tell you he has four wives and 40 children. So definitely we will invest in education, job creation, agriculture and the whole value chain in agriculture, the one meal per day programme for students and also on primary health care, empower our women, this is because we may have had up to 500,000 orphans of Boko Haram violence in Borno and Yobe alone.

So we have to make sure that these ones grow up as contented citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If they grow up to be frustrated without any visible hope for tomorrow, anything can happen.

What are the challenges your administration is facing on account of the large number of IDPs and how can you be helped?

The Federal Government has been helping us with regards to the feeding of the IDPs through NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency), but for the past couple of weeks I think they have been experiencing some financial challenges so the state government for the past two or three months has been bearing the burden alone.

It is enormous because we have nearly 276,000 persons in camps in Maiduguri alone while over one million live in host communities. In Dikwa we have 120,000 persons, in Bama we have nearly 40,000 persons and they are increasing every day, in Ngala we have quite a substantial number and if I tell you that we are not overwhelmed, I will be lying.

We are at our wits end, we are overstretched and this is why my focus is on how we can rebuild these communities and villages so that people can go back to their homes. ICRC is actively helping, UNICEF is there on ground, Doctors Without Borders, is also there.

300,000 jostle for 3,000 Naval jobs, as agency shifts recruitment

The Nigerian Navy has postponed its recruitment exercise initially slated for tomorrow, as the force plans to work out  a new digital approach in handling the huge volume of applications received with over  300,000 candidates  applying for  limited slots of 3,000.

The postponement, according to the  Nigerian Navy, is necessitated  to ensure a well-planned and hitch-free recruitment.

This is coming on the heels of  warnings of ex-service men by the Military Pensions Board (MPB) of the discovery of  a fake website known as mpbnigeria.com.

A statement from Naval Headquarters on the postponement, signed by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Christian Ezekobe said: “The aptitude test for applicants of the 2016 Nigerian Navy Recruitment initially scheduled to hold nationwide on  Saturday, April 9, 2016, has been postponed.

“The exercise will now hold on Saturday, May 14, 2016, at all the designated centers nationwide as earlier planned.

“The shift in date is necessitated by the desire of the Nigerian Navy to ensure a well-planned and hitch-free recruitment.

“Therefore, the Nigerian Navy regrets any inconveniences the postponement will cause to parents and candidates.

“More so the general public is hereby informed that there is ‘NO’ extension of date for submission of online application forms. The submission of online application forms ended Friday, April 1, 2016.”

Meanwhile, the Military Pensions Board (MPB) has alerted the nation, particularly ex-servicemen of the discovery of and existence of a fake website known as mpbnigeria.com.

A statement from MPB signed by Flt. Lt. Uchenna Ezendu, Public Relations Officer, said “The Board, however, frowns at this development especially now that it has been repositioned to serve military pensioners who served the nation diligently.

“The Board therefore categorically disassociates itself from this fake website and urged the general public to take note.

“In view of the foregoing, MPB wishes to inform its esteem pensioners, stakeholders and the general public that its official website remains:  www.mpb.ng.

“Consequently, military pensioners are advised to visit the website in order to acquaint themselves with the Board’s activities and innovations.

“They are also advised to note that activities contained on the fraudulent website have nothing to do with the board.”

Ekiti Day holds in Lagos

This year’s Ekiti Day, organised by a socio-cultural group, Ekiti Parapo, holds in Lagos tomorrow.

The event, billed to start by 11am, will be graced by Ekiti sons and a daughters from across the world.

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, the Grand Patron of the group, is expected to lead other notable Ekiti top government functionaries to the occasion.

The Special Guest of Honour is the former Military Governor of the old Western State, Major-General  Adeyinka Adebayo, while the Chairman of the Occasion is the former Minister of Health, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi.