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In October, Lagos state paid N1.5bn to 333 retirees

The Lagos State Pension Commission said it paid another set of 333 retirees the sum of N1.5bn in October.

According to a statement obtained on Sunday, LASPEC said the beneficiaries were from the mainstream civil service, local governments, state Universal Basic Education Board, teachers’ establishment and pensions office as well as other parastatals of the state government.

The Director-General, LASPEC, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, said that since monthly payment of accrued pension rights started in August, 2015, the administration had been able to pay the cumulative sum of N20.98bn to a total number of 4,799 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme in the last 15 months.

She spoke at the 32nd retirement benefit bond presentation ceremony, which took place at LASPEC office in Lagos, adding that the payment of  pensions was structured in such a way that one did not need to know anyone before one could be paid.

She also advised the retirees to put their money in ventures they could manage, and not one that would put their health in jeopardy.

Onanuga said that apart from the commitment to paying the entitlements of the retirees, the Lagos State Government was interested in the well-being of the retirees and would soon have a one-day retirees’ interaction with the governor.

“This forum, which will be the first of its kind in Lagos State as well as in Nigeria at large is tagged- ‘Retirees day-out with his Excellency’, and the first outing will take place early in the New Year,” it stated.

Nigeria, D8 nations agree to increase trade by $500bn

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of eight developing countries, otherwise known as D-8 have agreed to increase trade volume among member countries to the tune of $500 billion by the year 2023.

The countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

This pact was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the D-8 Chambers of Commerce and Industry meeting held at Izmir, Turkey in October 2016.

A copy of the communiqué made available to journalists yesterday in Kaduna by the President of Kaduna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Abdul Alimi Bello, who was at the Izmir, Turkey, said they planned to enhance trade amongst the D-8 countries, where the countries have comparative advantage: Bangladesh in silk and mango; Turkey in culture fishing, leather and shoes sectors; Nigeria in construction, mining, agriculture and energy fields.

Other resolutions of the D-8 countries show they plan to provide five years’ visa for businessmen with multiple entries.

Member-countries of the developing nations also resolved to abolish all existing commercial and economic restrictions that obstruct economic co-operation between them, abolish custom duty tariffs between countries as well as facilitate and enhance banking operations within member-countries.

Other highlights of the communiqué include: signing the double taxation avoidance agreement, to cooperate in tourism between member-countries, provide scholarship by the Izmir University of Economics to one student from each chamber of commerce and industry that participated in the meeting, to develop know-how and technology transfers between the D-8 countries, to participate reciprocally in trade exhibitions in D-8 countries to increase commercial and economic interaction.

Naira may not fall below 475

Economic and financial experts say the naira may not fall below 475 against the United States dollar between now and end of December.

They based the prediction on declining dollar demand and efforts being made by the Central Bank of Nigeria to boost supply of foreign exchange.

The experts spoke in separate interviews on the outlook of the naira.

“It appears the exchange rate has got to the peak, which is something around 470/dollar. I think  the naira may not go beyond 475/dollar between now and end of December,” a currency strategist at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, said.

He added that holidaymakers returning to Nigeria for Christmas would also make dollar supply to increase.

According to Ezun, this will reduce the currency volatility created by dollar scarcity.

The Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, said due to declining economic activities, demand for forex was gradually reducing.

This, coupled with efforts being made by the regulator to boost forex supply, will make the naira-dollar exchange rate to remain around the 470 mark in the coming weeks, according to him.

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said efforts being made by the CBN to boost supply would make the naira to appreciate in coming months.

He said, “The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, met with the International Money Transfer Organisations in London on Saturday. The government is trying to woo these operators to enable them to bring more forex into the country. This will boost supply. Already, the exchange rate which the IMTOs can sell dollars to the banks has been increased from 336 to 375.”

He added, “At the association level, we have created committees that will check sharp practices in the market. All these will yield result.”

Group points out South-East projects for FG’s $30bn borrowing plan

The leadership of Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), Enugu State Chapter, has outlined some critical infrastructure projects in the South-East to be included in the $30 billion external borrowing plan for 2016, 2017 and 2018 being worked out by the Federal Government.

The group pleaded that Enugu coal-to-power project, second Niger Bridge and Port Harcourt to Maiduguri railway be included in the ‘Buhari infrastructure renewal.’

In a statement by its publicity secretary, Eze Chibueze, the group noted that since food security cum agriculture was part of the major thrust of the President’s diversification plans, it would be appreciated if the Adani-Anambra rice project was factored into the programme.

“We understand that international creditors predicated the facility on the integrity quotient of Mr. President; most Nigerians are also well disposed to the loan, knowing fully well that the loan will be prudently managed and that President Buhari may not borrow again in the next eight years,” the group stated.

While affirming their full support for the loan, Enugu BSO noted that the President was handicapped by the culture of impunity, crumbling oil prices and the unprecedented looting that caused the general infrastructure deficit.

The group, however, expressed happiness that a “majority of Nigerians have come to the inevitable conclusion that without the Buhari infrastructure renewal, we will remain trapped in gross unemployment, abject poverty and weak infrastructure.”

It, therefore, appealed to the National Assembly and indeed all citizens to support the scheme, stressing that it “remains the only patriotic and viable means to renew our critical, social and physical infrastructure.”

According to an expert, Nigerians borrow more as domestic debt of banks hit N13.8trn

Borrowings by individuals and corporate entities from banking institutions have increased due to the economic recession, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Many now find it difficult to purchase their usual consumables, leading to increased demand for personal loans.

Topping the list of the increased borrowing are housing and personal loans to support basic necessities like feeding, school fees, repairs and other household miscellaneous.

“Households’ demand for house purchase lending, unsecured credit card lending and unsecured overdraft/personal loans increased in Q3. Corporate lending also increased across all firms’ sizes. These are expected to increase further in the Q4,” the report said.

Secured loan performance, as measured by default rates worsened in Q3, with attendant losses to banks and expectations of improvement in Q4.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector’s indebtedness to the banks increased from a N3.2 billion level during the first quarter of 2015 to N4.9 billion in the third quarter of 2016.

This is just a part of private sector indebtedness to the banking sector in the period under review.

The NBS, in its third quarter 2016 Private Sector Banking Credit, showed that banking debt portfolio at the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2016 is N13.8 trillion. Power and energy industry and services, which are currently struggling to fund their projects, are also increasing their respective obligations.

Private sector credit flow represents the net amount of liabilities (for the instruments debt securities and loans) that have been incurred in various sectors.

Specifically, the oil and gas industry indebtedness rose by N3.6 billion, while the service segment increase was put at N1.2 billion in the period under review. Other high-profile debt increases include the manufacturing, N2.2 billion; mining and quarrying, N27.3 million; construction, N631.5 million; trade/general commerce, N973 million; and real estate, N760.2 million.

Finance, insurance and capital market debt recorded N933.4 million; education N89.3 million; information and communication, N957 million; and transport and storage, N459.2 million.

For example, about 15 energy companies in the country collectively owed bank a total of N380.76 billion, which has translated to a non-performing loan.

Speaking on his company’s indebtedness to banks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Egbin Power Plc, Dallas Peavey Jr., said the company owes banks $325 million (N99.13 billion).

He noted that the scarcity of dollars had continued to take a toll on the company’s operations.

Speaking on the implication of such bank exposure to the oil and gas companies, an economic expert and Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf yesterday said that the credit risk outlook for these two sectors were not positive due to attacks on oil installations.

The LCCI chief noted that the recovery of the oil and gas sector would depend largely on the progress made in the curbing of the attacks on oil installations as well as the outlook for oil price.

Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan, Adeola Adenikinju, blamed the power sector’s indebtedness to banks on the technical and economic losses that remained unacceptably high in the sector.

The don maintained that many government agencies, powerful individuals and organisations were also indebted to the power companies, thereby, worsening the plight of the industry and limiting their ability to meet their obligations to the banks.

Election can’t take place in Ondo without PDP – Mimiko

The Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has declared that governorship election will not take place in the state on November 26, 2016 if the issue of the candidacy of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was not resolved.

He, however, assured that the issue of the PDP standard bearer in the governorship election would soon be resolved by the appellate court and expressed the assurance that the candidate of the Ahmed Makarfi’s faction of the party, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), would contest the election.

The governor who stated this on Sunday at the PDP stakeholders’ meeting held in Akure, the state capital, said the PDP as a party in Nigeria and Ondo State in particular, is a major stakeholder in election matter and no one can prevent the party from participating in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

“I don’t know how they will do it, it is impossible for them to deny us our right. Justice will stand and Jegede will contest this election. Election can’t take place in Ondo State without the PDP.”

The governor explained that the substitution of name at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was a conspiracy because the decision of INEC could not find comfort “in justice, in principle, in law and in morality.”

Mimiko, who noted that redress had been sought by Jegede, the PDP and major stakeholders, assured the party members that justice would be done because the alleged impunity on the matter would not stand.

The governor commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his action towards good and credible elections in the country by ensuring that justice would be done regarding the Ondo election.

He however debunked insinuations that he went to see Buhari as a prelude to crossing over to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He explained, “I had to see the President in my capacity as the Chief Security Officer in Ondo State, briefing the Chief Security Officer of the country on the need to allow justice to prevail, and Mr. President gave his commitment to ensure that justice will be done and I have no reason to doubt him.

“Justice will stand and Jegede will contest the election. Election can’t take place without the PDP.

“We know those that are behind this. It is beyond the President. Their thinking is that without Jegede, they will win but their plan will fail, “ he said.

I saw a woman in the Oval Office - T.B Joshua predicts US Election

Popular televangelist, Prophet Temitope Joshua, has predicted that the next President of the United States will be a woman.

Joshua said this on his official Facebook page on Sunday.

The two frontrunners in the presidential race are Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party and Republican’s Donald Trump.

Clinton is the only leading female candidate.

The other female presidential candidate who is Jill Stein of the Green Party is not believed to be a threat.

The cleric, who is the General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, however, predicted that the next US President would face an uphill task in passing bills.

Joshua said, “Ten days ago, I saw the new President of America with a narrow win. The new President will be facing several challenges over many issues, including: passing bills, attempts to possibly pass a vote of no confidence on the new President. The boat of the new President will be rocked.

“By the way, in order not to keep you in suspense, what I frankly saw is a woman.”

Chaos at Donald Trump's rally, Secret Service rushes him offstage

Donald Trump was abruptly brought off the stage by Secret Service in the middle of a Saturday night rally when an unidentified man apparently tried to rush the stage.
Multiple witnesses near the front of the stage told reporters that they believed that the man had a gun, but the Secret Service said no weapon was found.
Trump had paused his stump speech to call out a protester when several Secret Service agents suddenly rushed to him and grabbed him off the stage. Chaos ensued as the crowd began to hurry away from the stage. Some moved back toward a barricaded area where the press corps was set up and began screaming at them.
“Why don’t you cover this!” a man screamed as reporters stood on their chairs with cameras, trying to get a better look. “Liars!”

As rally attendees began to fearfully race for the exits, Trump aides rushed to the candidate’s traveling press corps and ordered them to immediately head to the motorcade.

Donald Trump is hustled offstage by Secret Service agents after a perceived threat in the crowd in Reno, Nev., on Saturday. (Steven Styles/Reuters)

Reporters ran through the crowd. Heavily armed police officers with machine guns were seen escorting a man backstage. They declined to comment to reporters about the incident.
Trump’s traveling press corps initially rushed toward the motorcade, amid word from the campaign that the candidate would not return to the stage. But about seven minutes after the incident began, Trump’s entrance song — “God Bless the USA” — suddenly boomed throughout the convention hall and reporters hurried back in the room, where the candidate retook the stage.

“No one ever said it would be easy for us,” Trump said, thanking the Secret Service. And then he returned to his usual stump speech.

After the rally, Trump released a statement thanking law enforcement officers. “I also want to thank the many thousands of people present for their unwavering and unbelievable support. Nothing will stop us — we will make America great again!” he said.
The Guardian interviewed the man who sparked the commotion. The man, who identified himself as Austyn Crites, said he was simply making his way through the crowd so he could raise his “Republicans against Trump” sign. The crowd then fiercely attacked him, he said.

This was not the first time Secret Service have rushed to protect the Republican nominee at a campaign rally. In March, Trump was surrounded by agents after a man suddenly headed to the stage at an event in Ohio. The man, 22-year-old Thomas Dimassimo, was blocked before he ever reached Trump and was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Trump claimed the man was tied to ISIS, but experts dismissed the assertion.

The man who spent $9 million on a license plate

The oil-rich country's wealthy elite are willing to drop millions of dollars to get their hands on one.

Dubai property developer Balwinder Sahni wanted a highly coveted plate bearing the number 5. He wanted it so much, he bid 33 million dirhams ($9 million) for it at a government auction earlier this month.

It was one of the largest sums ever spent on a license plate, although still lower than the $14 million record set in 2008 by an Abu Dhabi businessman.

Sahni found that his big purchase also brought him a lot of attention. He says he can't go out in public without people stopping him and asking to take a photo -- and some aren't impressed, accusing him of wasting his money.

"It's hard, people giving comments without knowing the type of person I am," Sahni told CNNMoney. He described himself as "a simple man."

The single-digit plates now adorn two of his six Rolls Royce cars. (He also has two more of the luxury vehicles on order.) 

It's also not the first time Sahni has spent serious money on a license plate. He secured a No. 9 plate with a winning bid of 24.5 million dirhams ($6.7 million) at a government auction last year.

Since Dubai has no income tax, Sahni says he sees the hefty license plate purchases as his contribution to the public coffers. He says he believes the money will go to charity and toward improving the city's infrastructure.

"I believe in giving back," he said. "This city has given me a lot."

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority declined to comment on how the proceeds from the license plate auctions are spent. The authority holds several a year. Bids can start in the millions of dirhams. 

Private companies in the UAE are also trying to cash in on the license plate business. A secondary market where the more sought-after plates are traded has sprung up.

Abdulkerim Arsanov and his brother set up a website, numbers.ae, to link sellers with buyers. The biggest deal through their website so far was for a two-digit plate that sold for 2.7 million dirhams ($735,000).

"Number plates have become more luxurious than the cars themselves," Arsanov said.

The brothers started their business two years ago after struggling to find ways to sell their own collection of unique plates. Their website isn't making them any money yet, but Arsanov hopes to expand it into markets beyond the UAE, like the U.K. and Russia. They plan to start charging for the services at a later stage.

The site usually gets 500 to 800 visitors a day. but the auction where Sahni bid $9 million set off a wave of new interest. More than 8,000 views caused the site to crash and forced the brothers to upgrade their server.

And Sahni's habit of spending big on license plates could generate extra web traffic for them in the future.

"I always like to give myself a gift every year," he said. "When you work very hard, you need to present yourself something."

 (CNNMoney)

Women executives left Yahoo in U.S. amid layoffs, deal talk

(Reuters) - Women executives left Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) U.S. operations at an unusually high rate after the technology company announced plans to sell itself earlier this year, but it was not immediately clear why, according to the company's 2016 diversity report, released on Monday.

The sharp drop comes as Silicon Valley faces pressure to diversify a workforce heavily dominated by white and Asian men.

The last year has been turbulent for the web pioneer, which in February announced it would explore alternatives and put in motion a plan to cut about 15 percent of its workforce. In July, it struck a $4.8 billion deal to sell its core internet businesses to Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N).

The number of women in Yahoo leadership roles in the United States slipped to 21 percent as of June 30, down from 23 percent the year before, the report showed. Women in non-technical jobs remained flat at 52 percent. The total number of women at Yahoo in the United States remained steady at 31 percent.

Yahoo had 8,800 employees at the end of the second quarter, down from 9,400 as at March 31.

It was not clear why there was such a marked decline in the proportion of women leaders at Yahoo, which is led by Silicon Valley's most powerful female CEO, Marissa Mayer.

"Women leaders organically left because other opportunities were more appropriate for them," said Margenett Moore-Roberts, Yahoo's global head of diversity and inclusion. She said most of the women executives who left did so voluntarily after the plan to sell the core company was announced.

She said Yahoo will use a combination of internal searches and promotions, outside recruitment and partnerships with women-focused tech organizations to balance the losses.

The dip in women executives does not seem to be mirrored at other major tech companies. Women held 28 percent of leadership positions at Apple Inc (AAPL.O), according to its latest figures, unchanged from the year before.

India to launch clean energy equity fund of up to $2 billion - sources

The Indian government and three state-run firms will jointly set up an equity fund of up to $2 billion for renewable energy companies to tap into to help New Delhi meet its clean energy goals, two government sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Private and public companies will be able to dip into an initial amount of more than $1 billion starting next fiscal year, said the sources with direct knowledge of the decision taken after a meeting of government officials more than a month ago. India's government hopes the Clean Energy Equity Fund (CEEF) will attract pension and insurance funds from Canada and Europe.

Around $600 million of the initial pool will come from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, under the finance ministry, and the rest from state entities NTPC Ltd, Rural Electrification Corp and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, according to one of the sources.

The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to talk to the media. Officials at the finance ministry, new and renewable energy ministry, NTPC, Rural Electrification, and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of raising India's renewable energy target to 175 gigawatts by 2022, more than five times current usage, as part of the fight against climate change by the world's third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter and to supply power to all of the country's 1.3 billion people.

The program will depend on getting as much as $175 billion in funding with 70 percent of that likely in bank loans and the rest as equity, the sources said.

The government reckons loans are not a problem but providing equity to investors may be difficult due to uncertainties over returns, one of the sources said.

"As we expand our clean energy capacity, there may be a shortage of equity next year," said the source. "Private equity is seen as risky in India but if the government itself creates a fund, that gives a lot of confidence."

India's clean energy push was set back earlier this year when U.S. solar company SunEdison filed for bankruptcy. The company is now looking to secure partners to see through its planned India projects.

Nevertheless, companies are still keen to invest in clean energy.

Japan's Softbank Corp, Taiwan's Foxconn and India's Bharti Enterprises have pledged to invest about $20 billion in India's renewable sector. Global solar giants like First Solar Inc, Trina Solar Ltd and Fortum are also expanding their presence.

(Reuters)

Professor Leaves Racist Note on Student's Paper

Tiffany Martínez is a college student of sociology at Suffolk University in Boston. She is a McNair Fellow, a Dean’s List recipient, and has presented at national conferences all over the U.S.

On the morning of Oct. 27, her professor handed her back a paper she’d written wrote and announced, in front of the entire class, "This is not your language." At the top of the paper were the words, “Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste,” presumably meaning the professor believed Martínez had plagiarized passages. On the second page, the word "hence" was circled, next to the note, "This is not your word." The word "not" was underlined twice.

Martinez responded by writing a blog post critiquing the racial biases apparent in such a judgment, and her disappointment at living in "a society where people like me are not set up to succeed":

My last name and appearance immediately instills a set of biases before I have the chance to open my mouth. These stereotypes and generalizations forced on marginalized communities are at times debilitating and painful. As a minority in my classrooms, I continuously hear my peers and professors use language that both covertly and overtly oppresses the communities I belong to. Therefore, I do not always feel safe when I attempt to advocate for my people in these spaces...My professor assumed someone like me would never use language like that. As I stood in the front of the class while a professor challenged my intelligence I could just imagine them reading my paper in their home thinking could someone like her write something like this?...There are students who will be assumed capable without the need to list their credentials in the beginning of a reflective piece. How many degrees do I need for someone to believe I am an academic?

Martinez’s paper did not have a grade, only the words, "needs work." Hence, Martínez ended her blog post with quite the literary mic drop: "Academia needs work."

BuzzFeed reports that Martínez "has not spoken with the professor since the incident, but has brought it to the attention of the chair of Suffolk University’s sociology department, who has launched an investigation." In particular, the department’s head read over her paper, Martínez added, and "had nothing but good things to say."

Days before vote, FBI releases Bill Clinton closed case files

The FBI has unexpectedly released documents concerning ex-president Bill Clinton's pardon of the husband of a wealthy Democratic donor, in a surprise move just days before the election in which his wife is seeking to become America's first female president.

The release of the heavily redacted 129-page report over the pardon of trader Marc Rich - an investigation that closed in 2005 without charges -- triggered questions from Democrats already angered by the FBI's probe into hundreds of thousands of newly uncovered emails possibly linked to Hillary Clinton.

While the Rich documents were published online Monday, they received little notice until they were posted on Tuesday on a Twitter account for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's division managing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that had had no posts since a year ago, except for a small handful released simultaneously on Sunday.

"Absent a FOIA litigation deadline, this is odd," said Hillary Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon.

"Will FBI be posting docs on Trump's housing discrimination in '70s?" he added, referring to Clinton's Republican rival Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate.

The FBI said the documents were posted shortly after they were processed, as with FOIA materials requested three or more times.

"Per the standard procedure for FOIA, these materials became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI's public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures," the statement said.

The FBI indicated that this was only a "preliminary" release that could therefore be followed by more.

Rich was indicted on federal charges of tax evasion in the United States. He was a fugitive from the Department of Justice -- at a time one of the FBI's most wanted -- living in exile in Switzerland at the time of his indictment. He died there in 2013.

In a controversial move, Bill Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office on January 20, 2001. The FBI opened its investigation into the pardon later that year.

Rich's ex-wife Denise Eisenberg Rich, whose name was redacted from the FBI files, "has been a major political donor to the Democratic Party, and these donations may have been intended to influence the fugitive's pardon," reads a bureau note requesting that a preliminary investigation be opened.

Some of the donations went to the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, the predecessor to the Clinton Foundation, according to the document.

"It appears that the required pardon standards and procedures were not followed," reads the FBI document dated February 15, 2001.

The Rich case fell under the watch of current FBI Director James Comey, then a younger prosecutor.

The FBI document dump comes as Comey is under fire, from both Democrats and some Republicans, for effectively reopening in recent days the bureau's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

AFP

A Woman was denied $43 million jackpot, and was instead offered steak dinner

Katrina Bookman hit the jackpot on a slot machine in late August at Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens. She even took an excited self-portrait with the machine displaying her winnings: $42,949,672. It would have been the largest slot machine jackpot in US history. 

"I can't even describe the feeling. It's like my whole body just got numb," Bookman told CNN affilate WABC.

But when she came back the next day to find out the exact size of her jackpot, a casino employee crushed her excitement.

"I said, 'So what did I win? He said, 'You didn't win nothing,'" she told WABC.

The New York State Gaming Commission said that Bookman's machine had malfunctioned. The machine, like all the ones in the casino, has a disclaimer stating, "Malfunctions void all pays and plays."

Instead, the casino offered Bookman a complimentary steak dinner.

"All I could think about was my family," Bookman told WABC, her voice breaking. She grew up in foster care and raised 4 children as a single mother. 

Katrina Bookman and a slot machine screen displaying what she thought were her winnings.

The New York State Gaming Commission told WABC that they immediately pulled the machine from the casino floor to fix it, and it is now up and running once again. The commission said that by law they can only award Bookman her actual winnings of $2.25, printed by the machine.

"They win, and now the house doesn't want to pay out. To me that's unfair," says Bookman's attorney, Alan Ripka. He's fighting for the casino to pay Bookman the maximum amount allowed by the Sphinx slot machine -- $6,500.

"The machine takes the money when you lose. It ought to pay it when you win," Ripka said.

Resorts World spokesman Dan Bank told CNN: "Upon being notified of the situation, casino personnel were able to determine that the figure displayed on the penny slot was the result of an obvious malfunction -- a fact later confirmed by the New York State Gaming Commission.

"After explaining the circumstances to Ms. Bookman, we offered to pay her the correct amount that was shown on the printed ticket. Machine malfunctions are rare, and we would like to extend our apologies to Ms. Bookman for any inconvenience this may have caused."

The casino couldn't send a portion of its revenue to a New York state education fund, as mandated by law, if had to pay out massive jackpots like the one displayed on Bookman's machine, Bank said. In five years, the casino has generated more than $1.6 billion for the fund, he said.

But Bookman remains frustrated.

"I should win the max. And I feel like I should treat him (the casino employee) to a steak dinner," she said.

 

(CNN)

NERC fines Port Harcourt Disco N37.5m

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has imposed a fine of N37.52m on the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company over its failure to submit audited financial reports since 2013 when a new management came on board.
NERC in its Directive 158 that was signed by its acting Chairman, Dr. Anthony Akah; and General Manager, Legal Licensing and Enforcement, Mrs. Olufunke Dinneh, said the PHED had consistently flouted its licensing conditions, which require it to submit yearly audited financial reports, and that subsequent reminders were unheeded.
The commission said the PHED had flouted at least four of its licensing conditions by failing to submit two years financial reports, adding that each of the four grounds of infringement attracted a fine of per day beginning, from April 1, 2014 when the offences were first brought to the Disco’s attention.
The power sector regulator stated, “For failing to comply with the licence terms and conditions, and other regulatory instruments, which is a breach of Section 63 (1) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005, the PHED is hereby fined N10,000 per day from April 1, 2014.
“For failing to comply with Condition 6 (7) of the Electricity Distribution Licence terms and conditions granted the PHED by the commission, the PHED is hereby fined N10,000 from April 1, 2014 till the date of this directive. For failing to comply with Conditions 23 (1) of the Distribution Licence Terms and Conditions granted the PHED by the commission, the PHED is hereby fined N10,000 per day from April 1, 2014.”

(PUNCH)

Don jazzy reacts to Iyanya's move to Mavin Records

Iyanya made a surprise move when he chose to join Mavin Records, ending his long time association with MMMG.
Reacting to Iyanya’s decision to join his team in a message posted on his Twitter handle, Don Jazzy wrote, “Let us learn that not all artistes must own a records label. It is either the business or the music suffers. Iyanya made a great decision and he has earned my respect.”
But, judging by the reactions that have greeted the move since Monday, it is clear that most people, who consider the singer to be a big artiste in his own right and deserving of his own records label, are surprised.
To say the least, the news of the move, coming a few months after Iyanya quit Made Men Music Group – a records label that he co-owned with Ubi Franklin – went viral on the Internet.
Not long ago, the singer had confessed that the decision to leave his former label was a difficult one. His statements did not betray any ill-feeling towards his ex-business partner at the time nor did it hint at any misunderstanding between both of them, despite insinuations that their relationship might have gone sour.
However, critics believe that Iyanya’s latest move is bound to yield mutual benefits for Don Jazzy and the rest of the Mavin crew on one hand and for himself, on the other hand.
Speaking in an interview with The Cable, an online news magazine, the singer said that he could have gone ahead to start his own records label, as planned, but he had to dump the idea to join the Mavin family.
By joining the Mavin team, the singer seems to have filled the vacuum created by the exit of D’banj and Wande Coal from the outfit. Before now, it was rumoured that the absence of both talented artistes had not rubbed off quite positively on the image of the label
 D’banj’s sudden and dramatic departure from Mavin Records, after a rumoured disagreement with Don Jazzy, had left the outfit, known for its excellent productions, without the presence of a natural showman. With Iyanya’s arrival, Don Jazzy need not look for a replacement any longer.

Leave Nigeria if you’ve another country – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday “If anybody has a country to go to, let him go, we will stay here and salvage our country.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement, quoted Buhari as saying this yesterday while meeting with stakeholders from the Niger Delta region.
Shehu said the high-level meeting with leaders and other stakeholders was to seek ways to end the militancy and the sabotage of oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.
He noted that Buhari had a vision of unity and progress for the country in which peace reigns and said peace, security, investment and prosperity are linked together.
“If we give peace a chance, investors will come here to invest. Nobody will invest in an insecure environment,” the president was said to have also noted.
Shehu said Buhari, "in a speech dripping with nationalist fervour", stressed that the problems his administration found on the ground were many as illustrated in collapse of oil prices, inability of 27 of the 36 states of the Federation to pay salaries, absence of savings to fall back and having to deal with an elite who didn’t seem to care.
The president was said to have stated that all these made his government to conclude that “life as usual is no longer affordable.”
Buhari said he was still expecting reports from officials he had instructed to review the implementation of the amnesty programme to determine where government fell short so that amends can be made.
Buhari said the service chiefs were putting together their own assessment of the militancy situation, saying “when I have these reports, including this one (just presented), we'll revisit the situation to ensure that we succeed this time.”
The president, according to Shehu, however cautioned the leaders of the Delta that they had more to do than anyone else to bring peace to the region, given the influence they have on militant groups.
Buhari expressed the determination of his administration to stay focused on its key campaign promises of securing the country, fighting corruption and creating jobs through the improvement of the economy.
The president was said to have also delivered his report card on the war against corruption and the efforts to secure the country, repeating his call to the Niger Delta leaders to join the administration in bringing peace to the troubled region.
“Please Your Excellencies, Your Majesties, distinguished ladies and gentlemen; we all have our individual constituencies.  Let us try to pacify our constituencies.  Let us first recover our country, secure the country and let us invite people who will invest.  Let us create jobs for our people and let us be accountable to our people where we are sitting on treasuries, whether it is local government, state or the center.
"Nobody wants to fail. So, the only way out is, if people understand and believe that we are doing our best at all levels, then we will have some peace.  But if they have reason to doubt our performance and sincerity, then we will have problem,” he said.
The Niger Delta leaders were said to have reaffirmed their support for Buhari's government and expressed total commitment to the unity, peace and stability of Nigeria.