NEWS- Buhari approves New travels measure for public office holders

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President Muhammadu Buhari has approved for immediate implementation, additional cost saving measures aimed at instilling financial discipline and prudence, particularly, in the area of official travels.

Willie Bassey, Director Information, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in a statement issued on Wednesday said with the new measures said, “Henceforth, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are required to submit their Yearly Travel Plans for statutory meetings & engagements to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and/or the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation or express clearance within the first quarter of the fiscal year, before implementation.

“They are further required to make their presentation using the existing template and also secure approvals on specific travels as contained in the plan, from the appropriate quarters.
“All public funded travels (local & foreign), must be strictly for official purposes backed with documentary evidence. In this regard, all foreign travels must be for highly essential statutory engagements that are beneficial to Nigeria’s interest.

“Except with the express approval of Mr. President; Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen of Extra-Ministerial Departments, Chief Executive Officers and Directors are restricted to not more than two (2) foreign travels in a quarter.
“Also, when a Minister is at the head of an official delegation, the size of such delegation shall not exceed 4 including the relevant Director, Schedule Officer and 1 Aide of the Minister. Every other delegation below ministerial level shall be restricted to a maximum of 3.

“For Class of Air Travels, the President has approved that Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants to the President, Chairmen of Extra-Ministerial Departments and Chief Executive Officers of Parastatals who are entitled continue to fly Business Class while other categories of Public Officers are to travel on Economy Class.

“Also, travel days will no longer attract payment of Estacode Allowances as duration of official trips shall be limited to only the number of days of the event as contained in the supporting documents to qualify for public funding.

“The Auditor-General of the Federation has been directed to treat all expenditures

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FG Commissions Africa’s Largest Off-Grid Solar Power Plant in BUK

The Federal Government has commissioned the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in   Bayero University, Kano under the Energising Education Programme (EEP), aimed at providing sustainable decentralized energy to the nation’s university  campuses.
The Vice-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, SAN, who   commissioned the project said it was the second in the series after a similar one at Alex Ekwueme University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State.
He said the energise education programme of the government was a project aimed towards providing a conducive learning environment in Nigeria universities in the next four years.
  Professor Osinbajo said that as a result, 55,815 students and 3,077 staff of BUK now have access to electricity supply from the university’s 7.1 mega watts solar hybrid power plant.
He explained that the EEP project under implementation by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) focused on developing off-grid dedicated independent power plants and the rehabilitation of existing distribution infrastructure.
“The overall goal is targeted at supplying clean, safe and reliable power to 37 federal universities and 7 affiliated university teaching hospitals,” he said.
He reiterated that the BUK commissioning included the launch of 11.41km of solar powered streetlights as well as a world-class renewable energy training centre.
The Vice President charged Nigerians to embrace the emerging renewable off-grid energy sector, saying it was poised to generate significant impact for the Nigerian market, as well as the un-served, underserved communities and higher institutions of learning.
Prof. Osinbajo stated that with the growing solar generation, there was need for more private sector participation in collaboration with the federal government.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, described the project as the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa.
She said “It is one that as Nigerians, we should be very proud of the project, thanks to the commitment of the Federal Government towards sustainable energy and education and education”.
In his remarks, Vice Chancellor of BUK, Professor Mohammed Bello re-echoed that students and staff of the University could now experience learning and teaching in a safer, cleaner and more conducive academic environment.
It would be recalled that EEP is a Federal Government initiative under the Rural Electrification Agency aimed at providing an off-grid captive power that is reliable and sustainable across 37 Federal Universities and seven Federal Teaching Hospitals.
In addition, the EEP was meant to provide street lighting for illumination and safety as well as a component for workshop/ training centre for each of the EEP beneficiary institutions.
The Phase one of the EEP cut across nine Federal Universities and one Teaching Hospital which is located across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The phase one is fully funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and will train 180 Female STEM students.
Within this phase there are seven solar hybrid projects currently benefitting from funding from the Green Bond issued by the FGN. The phase one projects was estimated to benefit 127,000 students and 28,000 staff of universities and 4,700 staff in Teaching Hospitals including  Doctors, and power 2,850 streetlight.
Further analysis of the BUK power plant also showed that the project catered for 277 academic buildings, 120 commercial buildings and provided comfortable support accommodation for 478 staff. It is estimated that about 16.5 mw of existing generators and Carbon Dioxide emission would be conserved, thereby causing this quantum of mega watts capacity of petrol and diesel generators to be removed with the EEP become fully operational in the University.
Available statistics also showed that the solar of power infrastructure had a total capacity of 8.1mwh (mega watts per hour) battery storage, total capacity of 2.4mw backup generators, about 10,680 solar panels installed, with a total capacity of the solar panels at 3.5MWp.
On the street lighting and distribution infrastructure, the contractors Messrs. METKA provided a total of 694 installed street lightings, covering about 11.41km and with 9.636MW capacity of transformers. 
The power project has a distribution infrastructure of eight transformers, nine distribution panels and about 2.65km length of distribution cables. The solar power project also houses a world class renewable training centre, where some research training courses would be undertaken by staff and students. Already about 20 female STEM students have undergone Solar Energy and Metering Training in the facility, while an additional 182 direct and indirect jobs had been created so far, including jobs for six Project Managers, three construction managers, two power systems engineers, five mechanical engineers, four civil engineers, 10 renewable experts, 11 designers, 12 electrical engineers, 40 brick layers and 89 laborers.

NPMCN Collaborates with NUC in Medical Training

The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, mni, MFR, FNAL, has expressed satisfaction with the partnership  between the Commission and the National Postgraduate College of Nigeria (NPMCN) on the  improvement of medical education in Nigeria.
Receiving the President of NPMCN, Professor O. B Olalilly  Taria and his team in his office last week, the executive secretary  described the existing relationship between the NUC and NPMCN as critical, stating that the postgraduate medical college had been a very relevant partner in the commission’s guest to review the curriculum of medical.
Professor Rasheed stated that NUC was concluding the  review of universities curriculum including that of medicine for which the Commission reached  out and borrowed ideas from countries like Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, whose universities have very strong medical education.
The NUC scribe gave the example of  Iran which run a five-year programme in medicine and upon graduation the students seamlessly move into their house job whereas that in Nigeria  students were left to search for where to do their house job after graduating from the medical college.
He said that Nigeria needed to study these countries to put things right and expressed dismay on the rivalry between the different medical bodies which led to unnecessary frictions.
Prof. Rasheed also said that  government was not investing enough in Medical Education but    expressed delight that things were now getting better with government’s renewed interest in building more universities of medical sciences which, he described, as a welcome development.
He agreed that it was a good idea to have more medical universities in the country provided they would be properly funded and assured that NUC would on its part encourage more investments in medical universities.
He urged NPMCN to visit the existing ones to see the facilities  on ground and to discuss with the owners of the universities and the students on ways to improve and report back to the commission.
Professor Rasheed further assured the team that NUC would visit the Post Graduate Medical College with a high-powered team to see  how they are conducting their affairs.
He reiterated that NUC does not intend to criminalise or abolish Masters Programme as its acquisition was eligibility for obtaining PhD which must be in clinic sciences, insisting  that the Senate of a university was the only body to approve the award of PhD’s.
He added that admission into the Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme should be restricted to Fellows or those undergoing Residency Training.
He argued that the reason many Nigerian doctors travel out of the country was because of the roadblock they encounter after graduating from the universities.
He stated that the country was under investing in Medical Education and that there was the need for NUC and NPMCN to broaden collaboration which would incorporate Directors in the Ministry of Health.
Responding, Professor I. A. Yakasai, Provost College of Health Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, thanked the executive secretary for motivating them and sending them on tour of Egypt and Sudan.
He said the trips to Egypt and Sudan were very revealing because of the experience they gathered on how things were done the right way in their medical schools, adding that  Basic Medical training was not as robust as it should be in Nigeria when compared to the countries visited.
He noted that the number of doctors Nigeria produced was still not enough, but said the medical schools could be more efficient with the right things done in the country.
The Provost  agreed with Prof. Rasheed that NUC and NPMCN should meet often to deepen collaboration.
In the delegation of the College were its Registrar, Professor Owoidho Udofia; Vice-President, Professor Borodo Musa; Treasurer, Professor Anyanwu. 

Stakeholders want teaching of leadership, entrepreneurship as subject in schools

With continuous decline in moral values and lack of good virtues among Nigerian youths, stakeholders have called on managers of the country’s educational system to facilitate the teaching of leadership and entrepreneurship as a subject in all schools.

They made the call at the launching of a book titled, Leadership and entrepreneurship series, co-authored by Chief Executive Officer, Crystal Marketing Centre Ltd, Dipo Ojedeji and creative director, Manners and Conduct, Aderonke Faseru.

The stakeholders regretted that social vices and societal ills are multiplying by the day, thus the need for government at all levels to begin to redirect the minds of the youths and expose them to good traits of leadership and entrepreneurial education.

Vice chancellor, Caleb University, Prof. Ayandiji Aina, who described the attitude of most Nigerian youths as unsatisfactory, pointed out that majority of them lack skills, mentorship and moral values, which he described as a threat to the country.

Citing so many nefarious acts the contemporary youths usually engage in at homes and in schools, he stated that from all indication parenting has gone wrong in the society.

He said, “We recently had conference on revitalising Nigerian education system, and I have come to realise that we cannot revitalise without doing something in the feeder system.

If the foundation is wrong, there is nothing we can do at higher education level.

Thus I recommend this book for all schools as it has lesson plans that will enable teachers inculcate leadership traits and stimulate entrepreneurial spirits of leaners at early age.”

Tobi Lawal, who chaired the event, said Nigerian youths are highly intelligent and hard working but lack mentorship and direction.

Teaching of leadership and entrepreneurship in practical terms is key.

They must be made to understand that attitude, integrity and passion are imperative to living a responsible life.

The book reviewer and education consultant, Busola Adegbaju, said the 17-chapter book, which is divided into two segments-leadership and entrepreneurship, regretted that Nigerians are known for high intellectual prowess, but applying it to realities of life is a challenge.

Describing lack of application of knowledge to real life as a huge gap, which must be bridged, she said issues of leadership and skills must be prioritised in Nigerian schools.

“I have read a lot of books, and I have not seen one with this volume of activity pages. This will encourage collaboration among pupils.

The author was able to develop a curriculum in the book and this is laudable, as it will stimulate hands-on activities and enable learners to be explorative.

This is the standard in developed climes but unfortunately it is lacking in our schools.”

The authors urged both the federal and state governments to ensure that leadership and entrepreneurship is separated from civic education and prioritised in teaching and learning.

We resorted to illegally escorting goods since 2015 - Dismissed military personnel

- They were arrested for allegedly hijacking a truck carrying N13.5 million worth of goods - They were dismissed from the military in 2015 and have since resorted to escorting goods for survival Two dismissed military men arrested in Lagos for allegedly hijacking a truck carrying N13.5 million worth of goods have allegedly confessed to be involved in illegal escort of goods since 2015 as a way of surviving after their dismissal from military service. They were described by the Lagos state police command as leaders of an armed robbery gang that had been hijacking trucks and diverting goods on highways, Daily Trust reports. NUCBLOG.com gathers that the military personnel were identified as Moses Johnson, a former lance corporal in the Nigerian Army, his counterpart in the Nigerian Air Force, Akintola Abiodun. Another suspect identified as Osegbu Chidi, was allegedly parading himself as an Army lance corporal. 

Speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, September 5, Johnson said: “I never knew that this one was hijacked. I only got a call as usual from Oje Oloja to escort a truck from Ajah to Epe. They have not even paid us before our arrest. What happened was that a truck ran into our vehicle. "While we were arguing, Oloja came and ordered one man to drive the truck away. I was at home when someone called to say that I should come for another escort job. I was arrested on arrival." According to the police,on September 2, 2018, the suspects intercepted a truck registration number LSR 266XW, laden with groundnut oil and valued at N13.5 million at Epe, Lagos. The commissioner of police, Imohimi Edgal, said: “At about 22.30 hours, policemen on stop-and-search duty saw the truck coming and intercepted it. In the process, Monday and Emeka were arrested, and during interrogation, they mentioned Johnson, Abiodun and Chidi as part of the people that hijacked the truck. The truck and goods were recovered intact and the suspects had been identified by the victims. They will soon be charged to court.” 

Air Force launches Operation Thunder Strike 2 against Boko Haram

The Operation, which commenced on Monday, 3 September 2018, is an independent Air Interdiction Operation targeting selected BHT locations within the fringes of Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest in Borno state, with a view to further degrading the remnants of the insurgents, curtailing their freedom of action and denying them bases from which they could launch attacks against our ground troops’ locations. On Day 2 of the Operation, September 4, 2018, air strikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the destruction of BHT hideouts and neutralization of scores of insurgents at 3 locations namely; Tumbun Rego, Sabon Tumbun and Tumbun Allura, all on the fringes of the Lake Chad. Tumbun Rego, which is located about 140Km Northeast of Maiduguri, has been identified as a major logistics/communications base and staging area for the insurgents. Accordingly, the ATF detailed F-7Ni and Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the identified BHT logistics/communications hubs. 

The identified hubs were subsequently destroyed by the strikes. Similarly, a number of solar panels were spotted and destroyed during the attack. The attack on Sabon Tumbun was undertaken based on Human Intelligence reports, which were later confirmed following several days of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, indicating that the settlement was a BHT tactical operations base. The settlement also had some equipment and vehicles cleverly concealed under thick foliage. Accordingly, the settlement was attacked in successive waves of strikes by Alpha Jet, F-7Ni and Mi-35M Helicopter Gunships, leading to the destruction of BHT facilities, equipment and structures in the settlement as well as the neutralization of several insurgents. Tumbun Allura, another major BHT operations base on the fringes of the Lake Chad, was attacked by Alpha Jet and F-7Ni aircraft. Overhead the area of interest, several of the BHTs were observed and the objective attacked leading to the complete destruction of one of the specific target buildings under a tree. Many of the fleeing insurgents were also mopped up by subsequent follow-on attacks.

Only 4 varsities approved to run e-Learning degree programmes —NUC

The four universities as listed by the commission are the University of Uyo; National Open University of Nigeria; Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and University of Maiduguri.

Director, Information and Public Relations of NUC, Mr Ibrahim Yakasai, however, warned that the commission maintains its stand that online degrees are not accepted in Nigeria at the moment.

He added this ban does not include the four universities earlier mentioned, which have been duly approved by the commission as the pilot institutions for the Nigerian universities e-Learning programme run within the shores of Nigeria.

NUC had blacklisted about 57 illegal universities in Nigeria, with some of them running online degree programmes in affiliation with some foreign universities.

But Yakasai said the Nigerian Universities e-Learning Programme is a legitimate and well thought-out pilot e-Learning initiative. It is a public-private-partnership between NUC, Park Associates e-Learning Group and the four federal universities.

He added that its goal is to provide new opportunities for students to access university education in Nigeria.

He said the students enrolled for the programme could select any of the following undergraduate degree programmes: Economics, Banking & Finance, Accounting, Business Administration and Marketing, for which they have requisite qualifications.

NUC in its weekly bulletin obtained by the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja said: “The Commission wishes to use this medium to allay all fears and doubts concerning the legitimacy or NUC endorsement of the Nigerian Universities e-Learning Programme.

“This is one of the avenues that the National Universities Commission is exploring to increase access to university education without compromising quality.

“Students in the programme are therefore advised to continue to pursue their studies without fear, and prospective applicants are encouraged to enrol.

“Concerned parents, guardians, students and the general public may contact the commission for further clarification on the programme,”

Smart bed - New Technology 2017

The Sleep Number 360 smart bed is designed to keep you comfortable by sensing your movements and automatically adjusting your position to keep you sleeping blissfully.

It works even when there are two people in the bed, can warm your feet to help you fall asleep faster, and even raise you head to stop snoring.

Ford just invested $1 billion in self-driving cars

The race to build a self-driving car keeps getting more intense -- and expensive.

Ford (F) announced Friday afternoon it would invest $1 billion over five years in a previously unheard of startup. Argo AI, led by Google and Uber veterans, will combine with Ford's existing team to develop a fully self-driving car.

It's the latest high-priced investment that a major company has made in self-driving car engineers.

Almost a year ago, General Motors (GM) spent $1 billion to acquire Cruise Automation. And last August, Uber spent $680 million on Otto, a self-driving car startup led by former Google (GOOGL, Tech30) engineers that hadn't even existed a year before.

Related: You car's data may soon be more valuable than the car itself

Argo AI is a startup that hadn't even been publicly announced. And Ford hasn't acquired all of the startup, it's only the majority stockholder. Argo AI engineers will have equity in the company, which should help it attract talent. Other companies have tried similar arrangements amid intense competition for qualified engineers.

When Google spun off its self-driving car project as Waymo in December, CEO John Krafcik said the arrangement would help it to better align incentives for employees.

Argo AI plans to have 200 employees by year's end. They will be split between Silicon Valley, Michigan and Pittsburgh.

Argo AI CEO Bryan Salesky spent three years working at Google's self-driving car program. He left in 2016. His cofounder, Peter Rander, spent nearly two years working on Uber's autonomous vehicle team in Pittsburgh.

Experts have long warned that legacy automakers such as Ford risk being disrupted by tech companies like Google. Tech companies have the software expertise that is necessary to build a safe self-driving car.

The doomsday scenario for automakers is to turn into Nokia, which was a global leader in cell phones -- until Apple unveiled the iPhone. Nokia wasn't able to keep up during the smartphone revolution and watched as SiIlicon Valley titans Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and Google sucked up their profits.

Ford is clearly willing to spend a lot of money to avoid such a fate.

CNNMoney (Washington)

Apple CEO Tim Cook calls for "massive campaign" against fake news

Apple CEO Tim Cook wants the tech industry to take action against "fake news" stories that are polluting the web.

"There has to be a massive campaign. We have to think through every demographic," Cook said in a rare interview.

Speaking with The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Cook also said "all of us technology companies need to create some tools that help diminish the volume of fake news."

Other leading tech company CEOs, like Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, have spoken about the problem in recent months. But Cook's comments were much more frank.

According to the Telegraph, he said made-up stories and hoaxes are "killing people's minds."

And he called the "fake news" plague "a big problem in a lot of the world."

The term "fake news" was originally coined to describe online stories that are designed to deceive readers. Often times these stories are shared on Facebook and other social networking sites to generate profits for the creators. Other times the stories are essentially propaganda made up for political purposes.

These kinds of stories received widespread attention before and after the American election. Fictional stories with titles like "Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for president" won millions of clicks.

It can be very difficult for web surfers to tell the difference between legitimate news sources and fakes.

That's where companies like Apple come in.

In the Telegraph interview -- part of a multi-day European trip -- Cook said "too many of us are just in the complain category right now and haven't figured out what to do."

He urged both technological and intellectual solutions.

"We need the modern version of a public-service announcement campaign. It can be done quickly if there is a will," Cook told the newspaper.

What he described is music to the ears of media literacy advocates.

"It's almost as if a new course is required for the modern kid, for the digital kid," Cook said.

There are scattered efforts in some schools to teach media literacy, with a focus on digital skills, but it is by no means universal.

When asked if Apple would commit to funding a PSA campaign, an Apple spokesman said the company had no further comment on Cook's interview.

The Apple CEO also suggested that tech companies can help weed out fake stories, though he added, "We must try to squeeze this without stepping on freedom of speech and of the press."

Apple's own Apple News app has been credited with being a relatively reliable place to find information.

The company "reviews publishers who join Apple News," BuzzFeed noted last December.

And the app has a "report-a-concern function where users can flag fake news or hate speech."

Facebook recently started working with fact-checkers to test "warning labels" that show up when users share made-up stories.

Cook, in the newspaper interview, expressed optimism that the "fake news" plague is a "short-term thing -- I don't believe that people want that at the end of the day."

How to really deal with the North Korean nuclear threat

North Korea is a “small country, far-away, about which we know little,” to paraphrase a fateful comment in defense of appeasement from the 1938 crisis over Czechoslovakia. But there is one thing every American needs to know about far-away North Korea: its rulers are on a methodical and relentless quest for the capability to hit New York and Washington with nuclear weapons.

The nuclear campaign that North Korea—formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK-- is planning against the United States is one it intends to win.  

Washington is badly unprepared to meet this threat, because too many of our leaders do not understand the Pyongyang game-plan.

As bizarre and satire-prone as the North Korean regime’s buffoonish-looking Kim Jong-Un and his servile courtiers may be, Pyongyang’s leadership is neither irrational nor suicidal. The rationale behind this confrontation would actually be to achieve a maximum of strategic gain with a minimum of actual destruction and violence.

The basic idea is to force Washington to blink in an escalating crisis on the Korean peninsula—a crisis of Pyongyang’s own making, at a time and under circumstances of Pyongyang’s own choosing.

If America hesitates or climbs down in the face of a future, stage-managed exercise in tactical North Korean aggression, Pyongyang will have undermined the credibility of the U.S. military alliance with South Korea.

The formal end to that alliance, and the exit of American troops from Korea, could quickly follow.

America’s policy toward the DPRK has been an immense success in preserving a ceasefire in the Korean peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953—this is “deterrence.”

But for more than a generation, bipartisan U.S. efforts to keep North Korea from developing nuclear weapons have come to naught. This should not surprise: only the North Korean government can denuclearize—and the existing government has absolutely no interest in making that dream come true.

The Trump Administration needs to do something different.

We need more effective defenses against the DPRK’s means of destruction while simultaneously weakening the regime’s capabilities for both conventional and strategic offense.

This would consist mainly, though not entirely, of military measures. Restoring badly eroded U.S. military capabilities—naval, air, ground forces and an aged strategic arsenal-- is essential.

Likewise more and better missile defense: the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems against ballistic missiles that the U.S. has offered  South Korea and Japan is a good step, and so is moving forward in earnest on missile defense for the USA.

 As for weakening the DPRK’s military economy, the foundation for all its offensive capabilities: we should put Pyongyang back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list—it never should have been removed in 2008. Sanctions with genuine bite should be implemented—the dysfunctional DPRK economy is uniquely susceptible to them.

The United Nations has already gotten a comprehensive report on North Korea’s grisly human rights record from its Commission of Inquiry on the situation in the DPRK: let governments of conscience now seek international criminal accountability for North Korea’s leadership.

Then there is the China question. It is by no means impossible for America and her allies to pressure the DPRK if China does not cooperate. That said: it is time for Beijing to pay a penalty for its support for the most odious regime on the planet today.

Many in the West talk of “isolating” North Korea as if this were an objective in its own right. But a serious DPRK threat reduction strategy would not do so. The regime is deathly afraid of what it terms “ideological and cultural poisoning.” We could call that foreign media, international information, cultural exchanges and the like. We should be saying: bring on the “poisoning”! 

This brings us to the last agenda item: preparing for a successful reunification in a post-DPRK peninsula. The Kim regime is the North Korean nuclear threat.  That threat will not end until the DPRK disappears.

We cannot tell when, or how, this will occur. But it is not too soon to begin the wide-ranging and painstaking international planning and preparations that will facilitate divided Korea’s long-awaited reunion as a single peninsula, free and whole.

Japan spokesman: Trump criticism of currency policy off base

TOKYO –  Japanese officials have rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Tokyo is seeking to weaken the yen against the U.S. dollar to gain a trade advantage.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said  that Trump's comment, made in a meeting with executives of pharmaceutical companies, "completely misses the mark."

Suga told reporters Japan plans to explain to U.S. officials that the aim of monetary policies that have pulled the yen lower is to spur inflation, not devalue the currency.

Trump accused China and Japan of currency manipulation, saying they play "the devaluation market and we sit there like a bunch of dummies."

After Trump's comments, the dollar weakened sharply against the yen. But by midday Wednesday in Asia, it was at 113.00 yen, slightly above its previous close of 112.94 yen.

Nigeria’s unfairness to the Igbo, a ticking time bomb – Nnia Nwodo

PRESIDENT-GENERAL of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and two-time minister, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, does not want to witness another civil war in the country because of the nasty experience of the first one between 1967-1970. Consequently, he wants all sections of the country to truthfully air their grievances to enable Nigerians fashion a constitution themselves that will give rise to a true federation. Speaking for the Igbo, he said there is urgent need to address age-long maltreatment of the Igbo, which gave rise to agitation for Biafra Republic by Igbo youth, stressing that Nigeria’s unfairness to the Igbo is a ticking time bomb. He spoke to an editorial team of Vanguard in Lagos on Thursday. One month after your election as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, how has it been? It has been humbling and this is because the result of the election was an overwhelming mandate. 


To be unanimously chosen by your people is a phenomenon and it has been challenging in terms of rising up to accepting the unanimous decision. The expectations are very high because I was elected at a time of extreme national concern for our national cohesion and very strong apprehensions. Nnia Nwodo, President-General of Ohanaeze So I have a work which is humbling and challenging and demands energy more than what a 65 year old man can offer. So I look up to God to find a balance and the energy to handle the job. Concerning the expectations of your people, what are the takeaways from your ongoing consultations across the country? Well, I won’t confine it to my people because I have been consulting beyond my people. I have been receiving calls, letters and congratulatory messages from across the length and breath of this country. Beginning with my constituency, there is an awakening of consciousness already in the existence of Ohanaeze. It will be too immodest to attribute it to myself but our people have an increased resort to Ohanaeze as an instrument for vocalizing their difficulties and in all my interactions, I have vocalized their frustrations with the Nigerian federation. 


They have vocalized their expectations from our country. They have harped on the need for consciousness of its leadership to respond to their yearnings and aspirations. So they have set a benchmark for me.   Among other Nigerians, it is very difficult to draw a common line. The northern Nigerian traditional rulers through the Sultan of Sokoto sent me a congratulatory letter and the Sultan personally called me. Several former heads of states, former vice presidents including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, which I have met with, I have extended a hand of fellowship to a lot of these people. I am meeting with the Afenifere tomorrow (Friday), the Niger/Delta people have called me on the phone. My friends in the Middle Belt have also congratulated me. 


The South East caucus in the National Assembly has also congratulated me. Virtually all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria have called to congratulate me and various Igbo organisations that have affiliation with Ohanaeze Ndigbo have called to congratulate me. I think all these calls were triggered off by the spontaneous response by the Presidency barely 48 hours after my election in which the President extended his hand of fellowship to me. I have responded to this hand of fellowship in my inaugural address and I presented our misgivings in the public domain. I regret the sickness of Mr. President and I pray to Almighty God for his speedy recovery. Whenever he comes back, I will explore the earliest opportunity to visit him and discuss with him our various problems.

Whistle-blower policy: FG recovers N42bn loot from bank account with fake name

The Federal Government said on Sunday that its whistle-blower policy had started yielding fruits.

It said the policy had so far led to the recovery of over $151m (N46bn) and N8bn in looted funds.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this in a statement.

The minister said the looted funds, which did not include the $9.2m in cash allegedly owned by a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, were recovered from just three sources through whistle-blowers who he said gave actionable information to the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami(SAN).

He said that the $9.2m cash and others, were also dividends of the whistle-blower policy.

The minister said that the biggest amount of $136,676,600.51 (N42bn) was recovered from an account in a commercial bank, where he said money was kept under an apparently fake account name.

This, he said, was followed by N7bn and $15m from another person and N1bn from yet another.

Mohammed said, ‘’When we told Nigerians that there was a primitive and mindless looting of the national treasury under the last administration, some people called us liars.

“Well, the whistle-blower policy is barely two months old and Nigerians have started feeling its impact, seeing how a few people squirrelled away public funds.

“It is doubtful if any economy in the world will not feel the impact of such mind-boggling looting of the treasury as was experienced in Nigeria.

‘’Yet, whatever has been recovered so far, including the $9.2m by the EFCC, is just a tip of the iceberg.’’

He appealed to Nigerians with useful information on looted funds to continue to provide the authorities with such information, saying confidentiality would be maintained with regard to the source of the information.

The minister also reminded Nigerians of the financial reward aspect of the policy, saying ‘’If there is a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets on the account of the information provided, the whistle-blower may be entitled to between 2.5 per cent (minimum) and 5 per cent (maximum) of the total amount recovered.’’

Meanwhile, some human rights groups – the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Campaign for Democracy – have called on the Federal Government to show value for the recovered loot by immediately injecting it into the economy.

The SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said the Federal Government must immediately inject the loot back into the economy so that Nigerians could feel the socio-economic impact.

He said, “We are not just looking at recovery for recovery sake. We want whatsoever is recovered to be pumped immediately into the economy. What will be the benefits of Nigerians from recovered loot? Is it recovery to keep in personal purses or to inject into the economy?

“The critical areas of our economy include building infrastructural facilities and the Federal Government should immediately deploy these funds.

“Another area is that if the loot was recovered as a result of the whistle-blower initiative, the government must keep to its promise. You will recall that when the idea came up, it was promised that if a whistle-blower gives information and it leads to the recovery of sums of money, compensation will be given to the whistle-blower. I hope the government would not go back on that. I think the whistle-blower policy should continue.”

The CD President, Bako Usman, said, “It is very unfortunate that the Federal Government has been recovering loot without meaningful development. Such recovery can take care of some of our debts, provision of social amenities and others. Up till now, we have not seen the value of the recovered loot. The government must work on this.”

Also, the Executive Secretary Anti-corruption Network, Ebenezer Oyetakin, noted that the whistle-blower policy was yielding positive results.

He stated, “I have a concern about what follows the recovery. Is it that we secretly collected back the loot and let go the looters without serving any deterrence, or worse still, we do not want such looters name to be known to the public?

“That will be a gross disservice to the intention of the anti-corruption fight. What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well. Everyone who has participated in the disgraceful act of national sabotage, betrayal of trust and blatant thievery of our common patrimony should be exposed.”

Meanwhile, the United States Agency for International Development, has identified inappropriate use of funds as one of the problems affecting national development in Nigeria.

The USAID Senior Planning and Program Adviser (Health Population and Nutrition Office), Celestine Carr, stated this in Abuja during the closing ceremony of a five-day workshop on Health care Financing which was organised by USAID in collaboration with Health Finance and Governance, a non-governmental organisation.

Carr said the USAID was committed to supporting the efforts of the Nigerian government in preventing women and children from falling victims of preventable diseases, by injecting more funds to increase universal health coverage to all citizens.

She said, “One of the challenges that the government has had both in national and state levels is inappropriately use of existing funds. Existing funds can be used in a way that will go a long way if it is used appropriately.

“If funding does dry up (we don’t know if it will, but we are going through a period of economic challenges), we should be able to budget the current funding more appropriately. So, we can access the means and access the drugs and human resources that are needed for Nigerians to be healthy and strong and be able to be more productive.”

The Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Shehu Kakale, said allocation of the 15 per cent of the budget to health by both the federal and state governments as proposed by the Abuja Declaration, was the key to achieving national development.

“The 15 per cent will go a long way if the Federal Government and state governments implement it all  across board. It means that more children and more women will be healthier. There will be healthy adults in the workforce and of course the productive workforce of the country will earn more revenue for the country.”

Kakale further called for the operationalisation of the  National Health Act of 2014, which stipulates that one per cent consolidated fund of the country should be dedicated to primary health care.

The commissioner maintained that such action would turn around health care financing and more importantly, the landscape of primary health care which was responsible for about 80 per cent of health products consumed in the country.

The Chief of Party, Health Finance and Governance, Dr. Gafar Alawode, disclosed that universal health coverage could only be achieved through the establishment of State Health Insurance Schemes throughout the country.

“The states should have their own support health insurance; but to achieve that, we need to put in place structures. To that end, we are supporting the states on how best to place the structures for health insurance,” he stressed.

He also called for appropriate use of funds, saying “financing alone is not the problem, even in the little amount of money the states are spending, probably there are better ways of spending the money to achieve better results.”

Arik Air’s take-over: ‘Powerful cabal in the Presidency taking advantage of Buhari’s absence’

THE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, yesterday, said that over N10 billion will be needed to fix Arik Air to resume full and uninterrupted flight operations to its regular routes across the country and beyond. According to AMCON, the situation is so bad that only nine aircraft of the 30 in Arik Air’s fleet is operational. It said the remaining 21 aircraft had either been grounded or gone for C-check in Europe, among other challenges. Powerful cabal in the Presidency was said to have decided to take advantage of President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence to hatch the plot as efforts to sell the idea of “take-over of ARIK” This is coming as industry sources alleged hidden agenda in Arik Air’s take-over, with the Senate planning to hold a public hearing on the issue. AMCON’s revelation was made public by the new management of Arik Air, headed by the Chief Executive Officer, Capt. Roy Ukpebo Ilegbodu, under the receivership of Mr. Oluseye Opasanya, SAN. The airline was, last Thursday, taken over by the Federal Government, under the auspices of AMCON, as a result of a debt profile of over N300 billion. 

AMCON, in a statement, yesterday, said: “The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, has discovered deep rooted rot at Arik Airlines, which would require over N10 billion to fix before the largest local carrier would resume full and uninterrupted flight operations to its regular routes across the country and beyond. “The situation is so bad that only nine aircraft out of the 30 in the fleet of the airline is operational. 21 of them have either been grounded, gone for C-check in Europe among other forms of challenges. ‘’As if these problems are not enough, the airline does not have money to procure aviation fuel for the nine operational aircraft because no dealer wants to sell aviation fuel to Arik if it is not on cash-and-carry basis. ‘’This also calls for public understanding because flight schedules may be realigned based on the nine aircraft that are available, technically sound and ready for flight operation. “It was also discovered that Arik also owes its technical partners and also in perpetual default in its lease payments and insurance premium, leading to regular and embarrassing squabbles with different business partners, which account for why 21 aircraft are off the fleet for different reasons.

 ‘’All these problems, in addition to huge staff salaries, which have remained unpaid for 11 months; vendors that supply different items to Arik Airlines that are also owed, meant that Nigerians may have to tarry awhile to allow the new management clean up the huge mess at the airline before Arik would finally resume uninterrupted flight.” Capt. Ilegbodu assured at the weekend, that these issues, though daunting, would be gradually resolved to enable Arik Airlines, which carries about 55 per cent of the load in the country, recover the 21 aircraft. He said:  “Once all the aircraft are back to the fleet, Arik Airlines would within the shortest possible time regain its pride of place as a leader among the comity of airlines in Nigeria. ‘’Having settled the insurance cover for the aircraft, which would have expired on February 12 and met with different trade creditors as well as aggrieved staff, Arik will return to full operational capacity within the shortest possible time frame.” Hidden agenda cited in Arik Air’s take-over Meanwhile, the desperation of a powerful cabal in the Presidency to float a national airline by all means may have led to alleged hostile take-over of the privately owned Arik Air. With the suspended management of the company vowing to challenge the action in court, sources said AMCON’s action was to preempt a crucial meeting the suspended management of the airline was scheduled to have with Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt, this week to unlock a massive capital injection to refinance its operations which had been hampered by forex crisis. Citing the airline’s inability to service its debt portfolio and commitments to service providers, AMCON forcibly took over its operations with the help of truckloads of armed policemen, barely 24 hours after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, invited the chairman of the suspended board, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide. Justifying its action, AMCON said it considered Arik Air too critical in the aviation sector to be allowed to go under. The powerful cabal in the Presidency was said to have decided to take advantage of President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence to hatch the plot as efforts to sell the idea of “take-over of ARIK” in the past to form the nucleus of “the so-called national career” did not receive a positive response from him. The President reportedly said: 

 “I am not interested in taking anybody’s business.” A source privy to the multinational financial negotiations being pursued by the former management to recapitalise the airline, faulted official claims that the airline was on the brink of collapse before AMCON’s intervention, last week. Said the source, who is a top banker: “Contrary to the bogus claims that Arik Air was owing over N300 billion, I am aware that in the last reconciliation between the suspended management and AMCON, the figure agreed was in the neighbourhood of N90billion.

 “For an airline valued independently at over $4 billion by a world renowned valuer like Deloitte of London, I do not think that the company could be regarded as a bad case with such debt profile. “Some powerful interests are just desperate to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The agenda is to bring together Arik Air and Aero to form what they call new national carrier and bring in Ethiopian Airways as technical partner. ‘’Can you imagine, going to bring Ethiopia to run a national carrier for Nigeria, the supposed Giant of Africa? If government could run an airline, Nigeria Airways would not have gone under. “The said N90 billion provided by AMCON was to buy back loan provided by Union Bank to acquire two brand new A340 Airbus aircraft being used for international haul by the company. So, it is most unfair to accuse the promoters of Arik of mismanagement when everyone knows that the economy is in distress and even foreign airlines have had to downgrade their operations in the country due to the hostile environment.

 “If AMCON says the suspended management was incompetent, is it not ironic that the same AMCON a few hours later named the Deputy Managing Director of the same management it discredited as new CEO of Aero Contractor? “It is an insult on the intelligence of the Nigerian public. If AMCON itself is a good business manager, how come Aero, which had nine aircraft when AMCON took it over five years ago now has only two aircraft in its fleet? “As a matter of fact, the suspended management was already scheduled to have a meeting with Afreximbank team in Cairo this week to finalize the negotiation of massive capital injection into Arik to enable it refinance its debt to AMCON. “The AFREZIM’s cash was supposed to have come last year alongside additional funds from private placement that the old management wanted to do to raise more funds to reposition the company. But the massive devaluation of naira by the CBN upset all the plans as new financial outlays had to be done to reflect naira’s new value. “Rather than crucify a local investor who is patriotic enough to go into aviation at a time the sector was in disarray and planes were virtually falling off the sky, I think the reasonable and fair thing to do is for government to support such individuals. “Look at what President Donald Trump did last week.

 He called all the CEOs of American Airlines and said he was willing to do anything to assist them to compete favourably against the likes of Emirate and Qatar that are heavily subsidized by their countries. Here, we go for the jugulars of Nigerians who invest in Nigeria.” Already, many aviation stakeholders consider AMCON’s action too high-handed, considering that the suspended management of Arik Air had helped to raise safety standards in the industry in the last decade, apart from facilitating Nigeria’s certification as Category One, thus opening the international routes for Nigeria’s privately owned airlines. Only recently, Arik became the third airline after South African Airways and Ethiopian Airline to be certified in Africa by the influential Israeli secret service, MOSSAD, to fly directly to Tel Aviv. Worried by the negative reactions AMCON’s action has generated both locally and internationally, the Senate Committee on Aviation, it was gathered, has sent invitation to all the stakeholders for a public hearing, this week.