Christian women declare Chibok girls, BBOG as scam

Even as some groups of people risk their lives to protest for the rescue of the Chibok girls, Christian women in Nigeria have denounced the abduction of the Chibok girls in Borno state over two years ago. 

The women, under the aegis of Women’s Wing of the Christian Council of Nigeria (WOWICCN), on Friday, September 9 declared the abduction and the consequent move by the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group to get government to rescue them as ruse.

Vanguard quotes the national president of the group, Rev. Mrs. Omatsola Williams as saying during an interview with newsmen at the second Bi-ennial national convention of the WOWICCN tagged; ‘Women; Goodly Heritage’ in Abuja, that the matter is now being used to promote selfish interests.

“For me o’, I don’t believe that there is Chibok girl. We should not use the life of people to play ‘Jambo’ (game) at all. Some people are using this to make money. Ah ha! How tick is the Sambisa forest is it that people cannot penetrate? “Food for thought; when you come to Niger Delta Area, there is no secret. Let Nigerians do not toil with Nigerians, because before they know it, women will arise and they will see the other side of women,” she said.

 Her words echo those of a group that is in support of President Muhammadu Buhari, which says that the group is distracting the president rather than helping. You can also read all what the group also said about BBOG Ezekwesili in shock as #BringBackOurGirls is declared scam.

Osinbajo: Nigeria’s Economic Recession Is Inevitable

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday reviewed the state of the economy and explained that the prevailing recession was necessitated by the loss of 60 per cent of the nation’s revenue in the first quarter of the year to the violent activities of militants and economic sabouteurs in the Niger Delta.

But he gave assurances that the recession would be short-lived because the federal government was putting in place some mechanisms that would aid the quick recovery of the economy.

The vice-president, who spoke at a convocation in Ede, Osun State, enjoined Nigerian youths to multitask in order to break even.

Osinbajo’s assurances of a quick return to better days was echoed in China by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, who restated the federal government’s resolve to restructure the economy, saying that its policies focused on diversifying revenue sources would help the economy speed up the recovery process.

Explaining Nigeria’s sharp fall into recession, Osinbajo explained that there was no way the country could have avoided the recession since it had in February lost 60 per cent of its revenues to the activities of saboteurs.

He also identified pipeline vandalism coupled with the errors of some past leaders as some of the reasons for the current economic situation in the country.

The vice-president enjoined youths, especially young graduates to be diligent and take advantage of various international trading platforms to improve their status.

Also speaking at the convocation, a Global economic analyst, Mr Dick Kramer, in a lecture entitled, “Nation Building and Nigeria’s Economic Challenges,” said the country was in recession because it had failed to build a strong private economy over the years and also failed to create an economy based on industries.

While noting that the global economy had been relatively weak in the last 18 years, Kramer said Nigeria needed a new long term economic plan which must entail fostering an effective public/private partnership.

Also a former Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), called for serious investment in the education system in view of its impact on the socio-economic development of the country.

Speaking in China, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Enelamah, said the federal government was taking advantage of the difficult economic conditions arising from the sharp fall in oil prices to restructure the economy.

He said China would continue to be an important partner in Nigeria’s ongoing quest for sustainable growth and development.

The minister spoke during a panel discussion at the Second ‘Investing in Africa’ Forum, which took place in Guangzhou, China, and was organised by the government of China’s Guangdong Province, the China Development Bank, and the World Bank Group.

Enelamah said: “Our principal economic policy direction in Nigeria is to diversify the economy, away from the longstanding traditional reliance on oil exports. We are taking steps to structurally transform the economy, so as to restore growth and create jobs.”

He listed some of the steps the government was taking to include: “Strategically aligning monetary, fiscal and structural policies, to engender much-needed investors’ confidence; creating a private-sector driven Presidential Council on Ease of Doing Business that will initiate and implement far-reaching business environment reforms; repositioning the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council to enable it effectively fulfil its core mandate, among others.”

According to the minister, the NIPC would provide the needed incentives and ‘aftercare’ services to investors, as well as proactively create regular opportunities for investors’ engagement.

The minister highlighted a number of “strategic” sectors for intending and potential investors in Nigeria to include: Agriculture and Agro-Processing, Automotive, Infrastructure (Roads, Rail, Ports and Power), Real Estate, Pharmaceuticals, and the Digital Economy.

In his closing remarks, Enelamah praised the ongoing cooperation between China and Nigeria on the part of both governments, and also the private sector.

Enelamah said: “The China miracle is one that provides very many useful lessons from which Nigeria can borrow, and is borrowing. Nigeria will continue to work hard and in close partnership with China for mutual benefits, growth and development.”

Mourinho criticises United travel plans before Manchester derby

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has questioned why his South American contingent had a more difficult journey back to Europe than their Manchester City counterparts.

Antonio Valencia, Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo have all been away on international duty, recently returning to Manchester ahead of Saturday's derby clash with Pep Guardiola's men.

Mourinho claimed the likes of Nicolas Otamendi and Pablo Zabaleta came straight back to Manchester after performing for Argentina, and hinted it gave them an advantage.

He told reporters at his news conference: "Antonio Valencia was able to get one direct flight to Madrid. Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo went around the globe, Venezuela, Argentina, Europe.

"Manchester City spent money to bring them on a direct flight - or sent the owner's plane. Our boys arrived this morning in time to train."

One man not away on international duty was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, having retired from Sweden duty following Euro 2016.

Ibrahimovic, who famously did not see eye to eye with Guardiola at Barcelona, has rapidly become the United talisman and Mourinho was full of praise for the 34-year-old.

"Zlatan is a phenomenal player who arrives at 34 and still wants more for his career," said the Portuguese. "He didn't want the Chinese money or the American US dollars; he wanted the most difficult place to play and win.

"Zlatan is more about him than us. Our contribution to him, in motivational terms, is zero. This is just his nature."

Ibrahimovic will be denied an intriguing head-to-head battle with City's Sergio Aguero on Saturday as the Argentine is suspended.

Mourinho denied his absence made United's task any easier, though, saying: "He [Guardiola] could decide to play with [Kelechi] Iheanacho or [Raheem] Sterling," he said.

"He could decide to play with [David] Silva as a fake number nine between the lines. It is clear that they have many options.

"That for us, in the preparation of the game, makes us have to go step-by-step with every situation because we are trying to reduce the unpredictability of the game. To try to do this now is more difficult."

Imo State Government Intervenes To End Artificial Fuel Scarcity

The artificial fuel scarcity experienced on Friday in all parts of Imo state seems to have been resolved following the intervention of the Imo State government.

This was after hours of dialogue between the men of the Nigeria Security And Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), members of the Imo state Independent Petroleum Marketers and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association, Imo State chapter.

The news came as a shock to residents of Imo State as they woke up on Friday morning to discover that petrol stations across the state were under lock and key.

The artificial scarcity was said to have been as a result of the alleged harassment and intimidation of tanker drivers by the NSCDC officials which recently led to the accidental shooting of a tanker driver.

The tanker driver is purportedly lying unconscious at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia state.

Most of the petrol stations visited in the Owerri metropolis were locked, as people were seen gathered at entrances of the petrol stations waiting for positive news.

Commuters were also seen stranded at various bus stops within the city.

Solidarity Protest

It was also gathered that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Of Nigeria Imo state chapter, had gone on strike, as a solidarity protest following the continuous harassment of tanker drivers by the NSCDC officials.

This according to the Chairman of the Independent Marketers Association in the Southeast, Bobby Ebere Chidick, is a regular occurrence.

“This is not the first time this will happen, it’s been happening, intimidation and harassment of our drivers, we had to take this step this time around because it’s pertaining to life and death.

“One of our drivers has been shot by the Civil Defense, he’s lying unconscious at the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia,” he said.

In justifying their actions, he further stressed that “it is a solidarity protest to try to notify the government of the activities of the Civil Defense”.

He said the duty of the NSCDC was to secure pipelines rather than monitoring trucks. He insisted that the matter must be resolved once and for all.

Confirming the incident, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone E of the NSCDC, Ben Dikuro, explained that the it happened accidentally in the course of discharging their primary duties.

He however debunked allegations of intimidation and harassment by his men, saying that the NSCDC will continue to discharge their duties as regards transpiration of petroleum products.

According to him, “we got an intelligence report about illegal diversion of petroleum product around Okigwe axis.

“My men swung into action and in the course of doing their duty, there was a misunderstanding and accidentally a driver was shot in the leg”.

In defense, he explained that it wasn’t intentional, adding that he had sent a team to the hospital to look after him.

Meanwhile, the state government immediately called for a meeting between both parties to resolve the issue and avert any harsh effects it might have on the masses.

The outcome of the meeting with the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere, was however positive as both parties resolved the issues amicably and the petroleum marketers promised to re-open as soon as possible.

“Thank God the Imo state Deputy Governor has intervened, we have been in a meeting since the last 4 hours and we have resolved to reopen our business”

The chairman of the Independent Marketers Association said.

Postponement of Edo election, a coup against Nigerians – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party has condemned the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission to postpone the Edo State governorship election, describing it as a coup against Nigerians.

INEC had on Thursday night postponed the election till September 28 a day after the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force advised it to shift the poll due to security threats.

However, the PDP, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, condemned the move, adding that under the current INEC, all elections conducted had either been inconclusive or truncated.

It said, “The postponement of the election by INEC is illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the commission and the security agencies.

“It is a coup against the people of Edo State in particular and Nigerians in general. Since APC assumed power, virtually all elections conducted by INEC have either been inconclusive or truncated.

“Saturday’s election in Edo State must be an exemption. We will not accept anything less than free, fair and transparent election conducted and concluded the same day. INEC must rise to the occasion to restore the confidence of Nigerians in its operations.

“Edo is a test case. With the way INEC is performing, how are we sure that it would be able to handle the 2019 general elections. Our democracy is under a serious threat from the APC and its Gestapo security agencies.

“It is shameful and indeed a major constitutional breach for the security agencies to act in concert with the APC to truncate an election that had been planned for months.”

But the ruling party, the APC, has yet to comment on INEC’s decision to postpone the Edo State governorship election till September 28.

Attempts to get an official reaction from the party’s National Secretariat, in Abuja, on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Repeated calls to the mobile of the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, were not returned.

A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.

Similarly, the mobile phone of the party’s National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, indicated that it was switched off when the line was called.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 banned from flights as officials fear it might cause planes to catch fire

US authorities have taken the almost unprecedented step of telling airline passengers not to take new Samsung phones with them on flights in case they set planes on fire.

The Federal Aviation Authority has warned passengers not to turn on or charge their phones because of concerns about the devices. It has also told passengers not to put their phones in their checked bags.

It is one of the first times that the FAA has warned people about a specific device, this time referring to the new Galaxy Note 7.

The warning followed a global recall of the phone, after reports that they spontaneously exploded. Samsung investigated the problems and found that the rechargeable batteries inside the phones were at fault.

In one case, a family in St Petersburg, Florida, reported a Galaxy Note 7 phone left charging in their Jeep caught fire, destroying the vehicle.

Australian airline companies were among the first to take measures.

Qantas has asked passengers not to switch the Note 7 devices on and not to charge them during flights, its spokeswoman Sharna Rhys-Jones said.

Media reports said other Australian airlines took a similar step, including Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia.

Samsung launched the latest version of the Note series in August.

The Note series is one of the most expensive line-ups released by Samsung, and the devices usually inherit designs and features of the Galaxy S phones that debut in the spring.

Samsung also added an iris scanner to the Note 7, which detects patterns in users' eyes to unlock the phone.

Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping up with higher-than-expected demand for the smartphone.

The Note 7 is not the only gadget to catch fire thanks to lithium-battery problems, which have afflicted everything from laptops to Tesla cars to Boeing's 787 jetliner.

Rechargeable lithium batteries are more susceptible to overheating than other types of batteries if they are exposed to high temperatures, are damaged or have manufacturing flaws.

Once the overheating starts, it can lead to "thermal runaway" in which temperatures continue escalating to very high levels.

Water can extinguish the flames, but does not always halt the thermal runaway. Flames will often reappear after initially being quenched.

Lithium batteries are ubiquitous in consumer electronic devices. Manufacturers like them because they weigh less and pack considerably more energy into the same space than other types of batteries.

Earlier this year, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN agency that sets global aviation safety standards, banned bulk shipments of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes until better packaging can be developed to prevent a fire from spreading and potentially destroying the plane.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger 'refused' to let Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho sit next to him

Hostilities between Arsène Wenger and Jose Mourinho look set to continue after the Arsenal manager refused to let his Manchester United counterpart sit next to him at a Uefa coaching conference.

The pair attended the meeting in Nyon with several other top European coaches on the recent transfer deadline day, which began with a speech by Sir Alex Ferguson.

According to Marca, Mourinho arrived slightly late and was the last to enter the busy room where Ferguson was speaking.

When he spotted a free seat next to Wenger, opposite Unai Emery, the Paris Saint-Germain manager, and Zinedine Zidane, the Real Madrid head coach, he asked whether he could occupy it.

Wenger is said to have then deadpanned: “No, it isn't possible,” provoking laughs from the other coach

es in the room.

The incident is the latest in the pair’s long-standing spat, which dates back to Mourinho’s first spell in English football at Chelsea.

Mourinho, often characterised as the aggressor in the feud, infamously labelled Wenger as a ‘voyeur’ in October 2005, in response to critcism over his side's defensive tactics.

During Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea, in February 2014, he described Wenger as a “specialist in failure” after the Arsenal manager intimated that he was afraid of losing.

The two then came to physical blows eight months later when Wenger shoved Mourinho while arguing with him on the touchline at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho appeared to aim a dig at Wenger in his first press conference after his appointment at United earlier this year.

“There are some managers, the last time they won a title was 10 years ago, the last time I won was a year ago," he said.

“I feel I have to prove - not to the others - to myself. I will never be able to work without success. That’s my nature.

“If I have something to prove, imagine the others! To finish 4th is not the aim.”

United will meet Arsenal for the first time this season at Old Trafford on 19 November.

The change you desire to see begins with you- President Buhari tells Nigerians

Yesterday, at the launch of a new initiative, 'Change Begins With Me' campaign in Abuja, president Buhari tasked Nigerians to be the change they desire to see as it all begins with them. He said:

"I am therefore appealing to all Nigerians to be part of this campaign. Our citizens must realise that the change they want to see begins with them, and that personal and social reforms are not theoretic exercise. If you have not seen the change in you, you cannot see it in others or even the larger society. In other words, before you ask ‘where is the change they promised us’, you must first ask how far have I changed my ways, ‘what have I done to be part of the change for the greater good of society? Nigeria today is passing through a challenging moment where hardly anything works in a normal manner. Many have attributed this phenomenon to the total breakdown of our core values over the years. It is safe to say today that honesty, hard work, Godliness have given way to all kinds of manifestations of lawlessness and degeneration in our national life. This is why we have among our cardinal objectives ‘change’, which implies the need for a change of attitude and mindset in our everyday life.” he said.

Meanwhile, the president has failed to notice that Nigerians are seeking for political of which only they, who promised such, can give. Why did the APC government promise what they cannot give? In my opinion, this government has failed.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic regrets not playing for Jose Mourinho longer

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has reiterated his belief that Jose Mourinho is a "mastermind" and revealed his only regret is that he didn't have more time to play under the Portuguese boss.

Ibrahimovic and Mourinho spent a year together at Inter Milan, where the United boss led the club a historic Treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles the season after selling the Swede to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.

The two stars have reunited at Manchester United, where they will participate in their first Manchester derby on Saturday against Guardiola's City. And the former PSG man hailed Mourinho ahead of the match.

"Mourinho is a mastermind. He knows everything about the game," Ibrahimovic said.

"I do not have many regrets, but I do regret that I did not get to play under Mourinho for longer. When the opportunity came again for him to be my coach at United it was an easy decision.

"Who wouldn't want to be coached by him? I am at a great club with a great coach and great fans and I want to be as successful as possible for them."

Ibrahimovic has helped United to a 100 percent Premier League record thus far -- matching City's impressive start to season -- making this campaign's first derby between the two even more special than usual.

"These games always mean so much to the fans and we want to win for them, but the players must always be focused," Ibrahimovic said.

"Every game must be looked at as an opportunity to win three points whoever the opposition."

On the absence of City striker Sergio Aguero through suspension, Ibrahimovic said: 'You know when you play the teams at the top that any team they put out is going to be dangerous."

Clinton hammers ‘dangerous’ Trump after Putin praise

Hillary Clinton portrayed herself Thursday as a steely stateswoman ready to fend off the dangers facing the United States, as she denounced Republican rival Donald Trump as "unpatriotic" and unfit to lead.

With just 61 days before America chooses a new commander in chief, the Democrat went on the offensive highlighting the risk of electing a political novice who praises Russia's leader while dismissing the US president, and who has no real plan to combat IS jihadists.

Trump pushed back just as hard, accusing Clinton of being a failed and "trigger-happy" secretary of state whose policies triggered mayhem across the world.

Clinton, 68, and Trump, 70, have clashed repeatedly over foreign policy, but their battle rose to a new level Wednesday night when the two were separately grilled over their national security credentials at a New York forum.

"One thing you didn't hear from Donald Trump last night is any plan to take on ISIS, one of the biggest threats facing our country," Clinton said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

"He says his plan is still a secret, but the truth is he simply doesn't have one. And that's not only dangerous, it should be disqualifying."

Instead of laying out a Middle East strategy at the forum, she said, Trump praised Putin and suggested the strongman is "far more" of a leader than US President Barack Obama.

"Even I was shocked by this," Clinton said later at a rally in Charlotte, in the battleground state of North Carolina.

"That is not just unpatriotic, it's not just insulting to the office and to the man who holds the office. It is scary, it is dangerous."

Clinton invoked one of the nation's most popular Republican presidents in driving home her point.

"What would Ronald Reagan say?" Clinton asked, "about a Republican nominee who attacks America's generals and heaps praise on Russia's president? I think we know the answer."

The seniormost elected US Republican, House Speaker Paul Ryan, distanced himself from Trump's praise of Putin just one day after returning to Congress after a seven-week break.

"Vladimir Putin is an aggressor that does not share our interests," Ryan said, citing US authorities who believe Moscow is conducting cyber-attacks on the US political system.

Seeking to strike a commanding tone, Clinton called for the United States to track down and kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as it did Osama bin Laden.

"Getting al-Baghdadi will require efforts at the top levels, but it will send a resounding message that nobody directs or inspires attacks against the United States and gets away with it," she said.

With the campaign now in the final two-month stretch, Clinton was wasting no opportunity to harangue Trump over his missteps, accusing him of having "trash-talked" US generals.

"We've never seen anything like this," she said, highlighting Trump's call to bring back interrogation techniques deemed to be torture, and to kill relatives of terrorists.

Clinton pointed to the US military code of honor, saying "that, Donald Trump,... is what we're going to stand up and defend in the face of your outrageous, disgraceful attacks on the men and women of our armed forces."

The bitter back-and-forth was likely to be on display for the campaign's duration. Trump joined the fray Thursday with attacks on Clinton, whom he accused of having "raced to invade, intervene and topple regimes."

"Hillary Clinton is trigger-happy," with policies that "produced ruin" in Libya, Iraq and Syria, Trump said in Cleveland, Ohio in a 10-minute anti-Hillary riff before delivering planned remarks on education.

"Her policies unleashed ISIS, spread terrorism and put Iran on a path to nuclear weapons."

Trump has gained on Clinton over the past 10 days, but the former secretary of state still maintains an advantage of 2.8 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average.

A new Quinnipiac Poll of battleground states shows Clinton ahead 48 percent to 43 percent in Pennsylvania and ahead 47-43 in North Carolina. But Trump leads in Ohio, 46-45, while the two are tied in Florida, 47-47, according to the poll.

A Suffolk University poll shows a different story in North Carolina, with Trump ahead by three points.

Clinton's tarmac address to reporters marked the first podium press conference in nine months for the candidate, who broke a long media drought by speaking to journalists at length on her campaign plane this week.

She also rebuked an "undisciplined" Trump for discussing elements of a recent classified intelligence briefing during Wednesday's commander-in-chief forum, in which he said he learned that Obama and other US leaders "did not follow" the advice of US national security experts.

"I would never comment on any aspect of an intelligence briefing that I received," Clinton said.

FIFA confirm transfer ban on Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid

On Thursday, FIFA dismissed appeals by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid against a ban on registering new players in the next two transfer windows for irregularities in the signing of foreign players under 18.

Real and Atletico — last season’s Champions League finalists — were also fined 360,000 ($358,000) and 900,000 Swiss Francs respectively.

However, the Spanish giants still have a final right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by Spanish clubs Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid and to confirm in their entirety the decisions rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in the respective cases relating to the protection of minors,” FIFA said in a statement.

Both clubs were sanctioned in January, but by appealing had temporarily held off the ban during the transfer window which closed last month.

They will now not be able to register any new players in either of the next two windows, in January 2017 and July-August 2017.

European champions Real responded by saying they will now go to the CAS in an attempt to have the decision overturned “as quickly as possible”.

“The club regrets the decision on the ground that it is profoundly unfair and contrary to the most elementary principles of penal law,” read a statement posted on their website.

“The club will begin the appropriate appeals procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, requesting that the decision be completely overturned, with absolute confidence that said organisation will come to an entirely favourable decision.

“Real Madrid C. F. will request that the procedure be undertaken in an urgent manner in order to obtain a decision from the CAS as quickly as possible.”

Britain’s first post-Brexit budget due in November

The British government will in November present its first budget since the country voted to leave the European Union, the Treasury announced on Thursday.

New finance minister Philip Hammond will give his first Autumn Statement to lawmakers exactly five months after the referendum backing Brexit.

“The chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, has today announced that he will present his first Autumn Statement to parliament on 23 November 2016,” the Treasury said.

As well as tax and spend plans, the budget will include the Conservative government’s latest forecasts for British economic growth.

The Autumn Statement is seen as a mini-budget before the main tax and spend announcements given usually in March.

While the risk of recession in Britain caused by Brexit fallout has diminished following relatively upbeat data releases since the June 23 vote, the economy could still take a turn for the worse.

A leading economic think tank, NIESR, warned Wednesday that “the probability of a technical recession before the end of 2017 remains significantly elevated”.

Hammond replaced George Osborne, who resigned as chancellor after the Remain camp lost the EU referendum. The biggest political casualty was David Cameron, who stepped down as prime minister and was replaced by Theresa May.

Hammond meanwhile decided against holding an emergency budget following the referendum result despite Osborne claiming that one would have been necessary.

Benue’s N107bn: Court freezes suspects’ bank accounts

 

The Benue State Attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Mike Gusa, on Thursday said that an  Abuja Chief Magistrate  Court had ordered immediate freezing of the bank accounts of 12 former Benue officials recently arrested by EFCC in conjunction with Nigeria police.

Gusa, who spoke with our correspondent, said those whose accounts were frozen include the former Benue State Commissioner of Finance, Omadachi Oklobia; former Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Solomon Wombo; former Permanent Secretary in the Bureau, Asen Sambe; the accountant of the bureau, Isaiah Ipevnor; and 12 others indicted by the Kpojime Commission of Inquiry for allegedly looting over N107bn belonging to state government.

Gusa said the court gave the order while ruling on an exparte motion brought before it by Police detectives who are investigating the matter.

According to Gusa, ”Since these people were arrested and investigation is still going on, the Police decided to obtain order from court to put every transaction around their accounts on hold, pending when investigation would be completed”.

The commissioner said the order has been served on all affected banks and was optimistic that Benue State Government would follow due process in the recovery of the alleged looted funds.

The Attorney General disclosed that, so far, over N250m have been recovered from the suspects, saying the state government in collaboration with anti graft agencies is making efforts to recover the remaining money.

Monarch orders arrest of ‘beggar masquerades’

The Obong of Calabar, Ekpo Abasi-Otu V, has called on the Cross River Police Command to arrest any masquerade found along the streets of Calabar begging for money.

Abasi-Otu made the call on Thursday in Calabar during the formation of Eminent People’s Forum organised by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Jimoh Ozi-Obeh.

The Obong, who was represented by Etubom Bassey Duke, the Chairman of Etubom’s Traditional Rulers Council in the palace, said the call became necessary following series of negative complaints about some masquerades.

He said that the palace of the Obong had received several petitions that some people were hiding under the guise of ‘masquerade’ to extort money from innocent residents of the state.

He said, “The palace of the Obong of Calabar has received several petitions about the wicked act of some masquerades in Calabar.

“Some of these people hide under the guise of masquerades to extort money from people. They also carry out heinous crimes while pretending to be spirits.

“We don’t permit masquerades to go about in the street begging for money unless it is a very big cultural event.

“I am calling on the police to arrest any masquerade found begging for money along the streets of Calabar.”

Earlier, Ozi-Obeh said the forum was set up to bring stakeholders together to collaborate on peaceful co-existence in the state.

The commissioner said that the police needed the support of the traditional rulers in order to maintain a crime-free society.

Mrs Tina Agbor, Secretary to the State Government, said that the security of any state requires the support of the traditional rulers because they were the closest to the people.

Agbor urged traditional rulers in the state not to shield any of their subjects found wanting, but rather, hand them over to the police for interrogation.

A traditional ruler, Etubom Michael Etim, urged the police to deploy more patrol vans to Akpabuyo and Bakassi local government areas, to check the activities of suspected militants in the creeks.

Traditional rulers, local government chairmen, serving and retired senior civil servants, professionals and youth leaders, among others, attended the forum.

(NAN)

Why Google is paying $625 Million to Acquire API Company

Cloud chief Diane Greene is in charge as Google and Apigee announced a definitive agreement for Apigee to join the Googleplex in a deal valued at about $625 million. 

With the new acquisition announced on Thursday, Google continues to “get with the program” in building out a new-look cloud offering to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Amazon and Microsoft.

 And in a conversation with Forbes following the announcement, Greene said the Apigee acquisition is all about APIs.

“Almost every customer that I talk to is talking about how they’re using APIs, and what a step function they are for their business,” Greene says. “It’s an incredible fit for us to be able to offer enterprise customers what they need in their digital transformation.”

Google has raised its cloud profile under Greene, investing in reorganizing the unit’s structure while bringing in new faces and technology through hiring and acquisition. The company pitches itself as having particular strengh in back-end services, analytics and machine learning—who knows better than the search giant about how to crunch data, the argument goes—but Google lacked a true proxy tool that would connect on-premise back-end services to the increasingly mobile-first applications that businesses are building today. “We had pieces of it, but we didn’t have a full solution like Apigee,” Greene says.

Apigee, meanwhile, went public in April 2015 but endured a rocky year-and-change on the public market. After pricing at $17 per share, the company was trading as low as $7.75 in March, when CEO Chet Kapoor told Business Insider he had no regrets about the IPO. Apigee’s stock since made its way all the way back, up to $17.40 per share at the price Google plans to pay. On the phone with Greene, Kapoor told Forbes that his company has found traction especially with retail and financial services companies, as well as telcos. “They want to make sure they have a rich experience with customers and partners, and they have to take advantage of the back-end they have,” he says. Using APIs, “you can decrease time to market and make it a richer experience.”

Kapoor had better get used to his future boss Greene jumping in; those words had barely left the CEO’s mouth before Greene interjected that Google has found its enterprise customers to be moving faster than she’d originally expected. “It’s not so much that they’re being disrupted so much as it’s, ‘Whoa, there’s so much I can take advantage of here,’” she says.

But Kapoor is excited to be overruled by Greene. Apigee chose to sell to Google for two reasons, he says: Google’s cloud platform committing to an open architecture ecosystem that embraces multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies in which customers can mix and match products from different vendors and keep their own pieces on-premise, and to work with Greene.

While Amazon Web Services remains the first mover in cloud services, leading challengers like Microsoft and IBM pitch themselves as the most hybrid cloud-friendly partners for large-scale businesses that have complicated infrastructures set up on their own servers that they don’t plan to walk away from anytime soon. Greene argues that Google’s on-premise efforts are already considerable, though they’ll get a jolt from including Apigee. Just the day before, Greene and Google announced a new partnership with Box to bring Box-secured data to Google’s business apps.

Apigee’s product will help those customers make calls for data between their back end and their apps and also keep track of what happens on each one. That gives the company an analytics component, though both say the focus is on the APIs.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2016.

(FORBES)

Economy: The times are confusing but we as an administration are not confused- Kemi Adeosun

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun says contrary to opinions by some Nigerians, this administration is not confused as to how it intends to grow the economy. According to Adeosun, the times may be confusing but the administration is not confused. She said this while speaking with state House correspondents.

"We are here because we were pumping the oil and using the money in recurrent expenditure. We were not investing. The NBS statistics are clearly showing that the level of investment has gone up so we are moving away from consumption to investment.
What does investment do? It is permanent. If you build a road, it is there for 40 years. These railways we want to revive was done in the colonial years. and it is still there. So we have to invest in capital. That is what this administration has said was our economic strategy. No we are not confused. The times are confusing but we are not confused. We are extremely focused. Know that if we can just bear and get through this difficult period, Nigeria is going to be better for it. And I must say, those who are criticizing us, not one person has come up and said this is what you should do. All they are saying is we don't like what we see. And we don't like it either. It is inevitable"she said