Jaiz Takaful Insurance to commence in 3 states.

THE Jaiz Foundation has expressed readiness to commence Islamic ‘Takaful’ Insurance in Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos States with head office in Abuja. This was disclosed by the Chairman, Jaiz Takaful Insurance Plc, Dr Umaru Abdul Mutallab, during final preparation by the Foundation, which held one- week induction training for staff of the organisation that will be deployed to the states to commence its pilot operation.

Mutallab who also doubles as Chairman, Jaiz Bank Plc, said should take advantage of the new insurance concept. He further explained that the insurance products give equal opportunity for customers to be owners of the company as well and was for everybody. He said: “The name Islamic notwithstanding, it is for all Nigerians, provided they adhere to the principle of Sharia. Individuals, groups and business people should take advantage of this rare opportunity.

The premium you pay remains there for you as investment, if it do not suffer loss.” Also speaking on the operation of the insurance policy of Jaiz Takaful, the Managing Director, Jaiz Islamic Takaful Insurance, Momodou Musa Joof, said the company shares profit by 80 per cent to its participants who have not suffered losses. According to Joof, the staff that were being trained will be deployed to states to sell Islamic Takaful Insurance support to potential customers. “They have been into conventional insurance but now we are introducing Takaful or Islamic Insurance, which is basically Sharia compliant.

Osinbajo has steered Nigeria away from tension — COL UMAR.

Former military 
administrator of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (retd), has lauded Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for steering the country out of tension since he assumed office in acting capacity about two months ago. Umar, who is also chairman of Movement for Unity and Progress, made particular reference to his intervention in forcing the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to tinker with the forex policy that had led to marked appreciation of the Naira to the dollar.

 

                          

In a paper, titled: The Deft Moves of Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Col Umar said: ‘’It’s one and a half months since President Muhammadu Buhari sent a letter to the National Assembly conveying his decision to proceed on leave. ‘’He also transferred power to his Vice President Prof Yemi Osibanjo as is required by the Constitution. The President has now extended his leave to an indefinite period on the advice of his UK doctors. 

‘’Since taking over, the acting President has embarked on measures which have effectively set the country on the path of positive change. In an effort to reunite a dangerously polarized nation since the APC took power at the centre, he has paid visits to the Niger Delta region and parts of the southeast. ‘’These are two zones of the country which feel genuinely alienated by the Federal Government’s discriminatory doctrine of favoring those who gave President Buhari over 95% of their votes over those who gave him less than 5% of theirs. 

‘’The implementation of this policy in the initial political appointments, including those of the military service chiefs had the negative effect of spawning a more determined Niger Delta militancy. That in turn, succeeded in crippling most of the nation’s oil and gas assets. ‘’As we all know, this country depends for over 90% of its foreign exchange earnings and an equally huge proportion of governments’ revenue on the oil resources in that region.

 Even more, it exacerbated the agitation for an independent state of Biafra. ‘’The acting President’s initiative appeared to have convinced the belligerents to engage in meaningful dialogue. This has led to the suspension of acts of sabotage and in raising our crude oil output to the optimum level of over two million barrels per day; as per our OPEC quota.

Rohr fails as England battles to keep Lookman

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has allegedly failed in his attempt to persuade Everton’s rising star Ademola Lookman to commit his international allegiance to Nigeria.

The 19-year-old London-born forward, who joined the Toffees from Charlton Athletic in a deal reportedly worth £11m in January, has represented England’s Under-19s and Under-20s.

But Lookman, who announced himself at Everton with a scintillating goal with his second touch in the 4-0 pounding of Manchester City at Goodison Park on January 15, is eligible to play for Nigeria through his parents.

The Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director Bitrus Bewarang confirmed in January that the NFF was interested in the youngster.

“He has Nigerian parents and we’d need to speak to him first,” BBC Sport quoted Bewarang as saying.

“I saw him against Manchester City and I was excited to see a young player of Nigerian descent shine, so I thought: ‘Why not?’”

He added, “We’ve managed to get players like Moses and Iwobi in the past and Lookman will be a great addition to the national team if we got him.”

Our correspondent learnt that Rohr discussed with the player through his representative in England recently but could not convince him to commit his international allegiance to Nigeria.

Rohr’s discussion with Lookman came after the Daily Mirror reported that the player’s representatives met with some NFF officials in London.

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/rohr-fails-as-england-battles-to-keep-lookman/

6 common smartphone problems and how to fix them.

These days, it seems like as the sales of smartphones rise, the issues found on these devices rise. Thankfully, some of these common problems can be fixed without having to take it to a technician; all you need is the knowledge of how to fix them. To help with the acquisition of this knowledge, Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 6 common smartphone problems and how they can be fixed. 

Smartphone is Running Slowly 

This is the most common smartphone problem. This problem is most of the time caused by keeping apps running when not in use, installing unnecessary apps that choke your device’s RAM storage and saving numerous files on your device which congest your internal storage. Solution: Close apps that are not in use, uninstall and disable unnecessary apps, free up your device’s storage and clear your cached data. If the issue still isn’t resolved you can download diagnostic apps like Phone Doctor Plus and Z-Device Test to help pinpoint the problem. You can also perform a factory data reset to wipe your device clean, leaving the software of your phone the way it was when it was first turned on. 

Bluetooth Issues

Most Bluetooth issues are either pairing or interference issues. These can occur over time, sometimes due to the build of cached data in the ‘Bluetooth share’ system app or due to interference from sources like microwaves, wireless speakers, certain external monitors and LCD displays, Direct Satellite Service (DSS), power sources like power lines or stations, 2.4GHz or 5GHz phones or wireless RF video. Solution: You can try switching off and switching on on your Bluetooth, if it is malfunctioning. If it still doesn’t work, go to Settings> Apps> Systems Apps> Select Bluetooth Share> Clear Cache. The steps vary for different smartphone brands, but the important thing to know is that ‘Bluetooth Share’ is a system app and should be sourced from the system apps of your phone. For interference issues, either switch off the source of interference or take your device away from it. For pairing issues, you should make sure your device’s discoverable mood is on, get away from or power down likely interferers and make sure the devices you are attempting to pair are in close proximity to each other. If these don’t work, you can try powering your phone off and back on and limiting the data shared between the devices, before trying the above suggestions again. 

Cracked Screen or Immersion in Water

We all know water and electronics are not a good mix, but unfortunately accidents happen and devices suddenly get immersed in water or have a hard impact with the floor when they mistakenly slip. Solution: To avoid such accidents, a sturdy mobile phone case and screen protector can help to protect your phone. Though relatively expensive, it’s a worthy investment because they can help prevent cracked screens and water entering the phone’s ports. 

Battery Problems

Battery problems are also fairly common in smartphones. The common battery problems are battery drain, slow charging and ‘system-hogging’ apps. They are mostly caused by users’ abuse. Solution: To solve this issue you should start by stopping unnecessary apps from running and desist from using defective or wrong chargers to charge your phone. Google Play Service is a feature on most Android phones that drains a lot of battery, so you should clear the cache at least once a month to stop it from draining your battery. Also, you can reduce your screen’s brightness; shorten your screen timeout; and reduce the frequency your widgets and background apps update.

Phone or Apps Crashes

This is indeed a frustrating problem. It can be caused by bugs in your apps, too many apps open at a time, too little memory on the phone etc. Solution: If your apps crash, you can clear the app data from ‘App Info’ or ‘App Manager’ (depending on how it’s named on your device). Also, learn to clear your cached data and avoid opening too many apps at a time. For phone crashes, you can try troubleshooting your device for random restarts, troubleshooting apps on your device for random restarts, remove the case and external battery of your device for a short while, or performing a factory data reset on your device. 

MicroSD Card Not Working On Your Smartphone

There are a lot of microSD cards in the market, but unfortunately not all of them will work on your smartphone. That can be frustrating. Solution: There are mostly two types of microSD cards that you’ll come across – SDHC and SDXC. Before you buy any of them, you need to confirm the one which your smartphone supports. In terms of speed, most smartphones support these three primary speed classes of microSD cards: Class 10, UHS-1 Class 1, and UHS-1 Class 3. There are also UH-2 cards but only a limited number of mobile devices support them. You should watch out for these labels when buying microSD cards for your smartphones. MicroSD card type (SDHC or SDXC) and capacity (GB or TB) are labeled on the card. The three speed classes above also have logos to signify their minimum speed. Class 10 is the letter C with the number 10 inside. UHS-1 Class 1 and Class 3 are the letter U with a 1 or 3 inside, respectively. Finally, you may also see a I or II label on the card, which references a UHS bus speed.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/6-common-smartphone-problems-fix/

Alleged $801m bribe: Shell, Etete, Adoke face charges

All is set for the legal battle over the alleged $801million Malabu oil deal bribe.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday filed charges against a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete, a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Bello Adoke (SAN) and a businessman, Aliyu Abubakar.

                             

Also charged are eight others.

The others are: Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited; Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited; ENI SPA; Malabu Oil and Gas Limited; Ralph Wetzels (ex- director of SNEPCO), Casula Roberto (Italian) and director of AGIP; Pujatti Stefeno(Italian) and director in AGIP; and Burafato Sebastiano (Italian).

The charge sheet, dated February 28, states that all the accused persons will be arraigned before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja Division.

No date has been fixed for their arraignment.

All the 11 suspects will face three charges bordering on alleged official corruption of about $801million.

According to the charges filed by the EFCC legal team, comprising Johnson Ojogbane, H.M. Mohammed and Victor Ukagwu, all the accused persons are to face trial for alleged: 

conspiracy, contrary to Section 26 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 12 of the same Act; and 

official corruption contrary to Section 9 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 9 (b) of the same Act 

SOURCE: http://thenationonlineng.net/alleged-801m-bribe-shell-etete-adoke-face-charges/

Mixed reactions trail reintroduction of charges on cash deposits, withdrawals

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the reintroduction of bank charges by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on cash deposits and withdrawals.

Some bank customers in Ilorin who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, expressed different views on the CBN’s decision.

Mr Dipo Fatokun, CBN’s Director, Banking and Payments Department, had said that the decision to reintroduce the charges was consequent upon the review of charges on deposits and withdrawals in the cashless policy.

Buhari inherited a bad economy, made it worse – Soludo

A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari had worsened the “very bad” economic situation he inherited when he assumed power in 2015.

Soludo spoke at the ‘Big Ideas Podium’, a public policy debate organised by the Afri Heritage Institution in Enugu, where he canvassed what he termed a “citizens united” campaign by Nigerians to demand change and accountability from government at all levels.

Besides Soludo, other speakers at the inaugural edition of the Big Ideas Podium were a former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke; a former Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Prof. Osita Ogbu; and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Board, Prof. Akpan Ekpo.

Speaking on the theme of the debate, ‘Prognosis of the Nigerian Economy 2017’, Soludo said Nigeria was fast approaching the status of a failed state.

The former apex bank chief noted that it would take nothing short of a miracle for the Federal Government to return the naira to its exchange rate to the dollar as of the time Buhari took over on May 29, 2015.

He said, “Buhari met a very bad situation when he assumed power, but he has made the situation worse. Nigeria today is a fragile state with a failing economy. Some say failing state; some say failed state.

“The economy is not just in recession; we are suffering from massive economic compression. Saying it is recession trivialises the issue.

“It will be a miracle if after eight years, by the time it leaves office in 2023, the current administration is able to return the economy in dollar terms to the exchange rate it met when it took over.

“The truth is this government inherited a very bad situation, but it has made it very much worse.”

He criticised what he described as the “official policy of waiting for the oil price to rise.”

According to the former CBN governor, the government cannot be relied upon to provide the change that Nigerians desire.

The solution to the quest for change, according to him, is a citizens’ united campaign that will put government on its toes.

He called on Nigerians to agitate for the implementation of campaign promises by government at all levels, noting that the country would make progress if political parties kept at least 25 per cent of the promises they made before coming to power.

Soludo said, “Only citizens united can rescue Nigeria, not just the government alone. It is a big luxury for anybody to say I am minding my business, because what others do will come to mind your own business for you sooner than later.

“We can’t get the leadership that we desire but we can get the leadership that we demand and work for. If only each party or government implements 25 per cent of their promises, Nigeria will be a great country.”

He added, “If you see the governments run by APC, PDP and APGA, they are all the same, because Nigerians don’t hold them accountable. We must resolve as citizens not to let government off again; peaceful agitation must be encouraged and tolerated in this country. Everybody must be allowed to have a voice.

“For example, the APC promised us that they were going to restructure Nigeria; before the elections, they said the current structure was not working, they said that Nigeria was becoming a failed state; but now, they are in power and they are not getting it done.

“Unless we citizens rise up and tell the government ‘deliver on what you promised’, they will not get it done.”

Soludo added that issues such as the continuing agitation for the Presidency along tribal and religious lines were distractions that arose from the fact that Nigeria was not working.

He said, “Nigeria is not working in anybody’s interest except that of the privileged few and because of this, there is an obsession with unnecessary distractions, like which part of the country produces the President. You can have the President, the Vice President and all the ministers from one village and the life of the ordinary people from that village will not move from point A to point B.

“The North has ruled the country for several years, but poverty, to a very large extent, is a northern problem.

“In the last dispensation, we had Jonathan as President, the Finance ministry and almost all the financial institutions of government were headed by Igbos then, but we still don’t have any motorable federal road in Igboland.”

Soludo noted that the government could not provide the type of change Nigerians desired.

He added, “Change is a struggle; change is never given by a benevolent elite; no change is given by the government, the people always had to ask for change. Nigeria has been waiting for a benevolent leader since 1960 but he has not come. You will get the type of leader that the people demand.

“The change we think we need will never be given to us; we have to demand it; we have to agitate for it, and it is the sustained agitation that will bring about the change. Citizens should get involved and stop complaining.”

While reacting to Soludo’s assertions, the Presidency said Buhari was working diligently to fix the bad economy he inherited from the last administration with positive results now emerging.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said while Soludo was entitled to his own opinion, Nigerians were entitled to the facts.

According to him, while the opinion expressed by Soludo is understandable in a democratic system, the facts are that the challenges of today are direct results of wrong decisions of the past and mind-boggling actions of those who were entrusted with leadership.

Akande stated, “Nigerians have demonstrated that they know that the Buhari administration inherited a sorry state of the economy but is working diligently to fix it with positive results now emerging.

Digital currency: ‘CBN not against financial innovations

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it is not against the use of financial technology as the country steps up efforts to enhance its payment system.

The central bank said it was in support of innovations that would propel e-payment system growth in the country.

The Director, Banking and Payments System, CBN, Mr. Dipo Faitokun, who said these, however, emphasized the need for the regulator to examine the proposed usage of any innovation and put necessary guidelines in place for its success.

He spoke at a breakfast meeting on virtual currencies organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Lagos.

The forum was tagged, ‘Virtual/crypto-currency: Evolution, regulation, challenges and impact on the future of payments and settlement systems’.

He said the central bank was meant to support innovations that would improve safety while performing its statutory role of maintaining monetary and financial stability.

Fatokun, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Banking and Payment Systems, CBN, Mr. Musa Itopa, stressed that the central bank owed Nigerians the responsibility of warning them against investing their hard-earned money in any venture with high risks.

He said, “It’s the subject in town now: Bitcoin, crytocurrency and blockchain. The Central Bank of Nigeria cannot regulate bitcoin, blockchain. Just the same way no one is going to regulate or control the Internet; we don’t own it.

“The CBN is interested in this technology called blockchain. And what we have said is that we want to identify the various use cases in which we can deploy the technology to do our business; that all the operators within the financial sector can use to conduct their business because it engenders strong benefit.”

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/digital-currency-cbn-not-against-financial-innovations/

Why we intervened in forex market –CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday said that its current intervention in the foreign exchange market was purely to ease the pressure on the naira and had nothing to do with succumbing to blackmail from some quarters.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, stated this while reacting to some trending posts in the social media to the effect that the current appreciation of the naira was as a result of the alarm raised about the illegal sale of forex at ridiculous rates to some people.

A Lagos-based businessman and former governorship candidate, Babatunde Gbadamosi, had claimed that the CBN was engaged in racketeering in the allocation of forex, which he alleged, had led to disparity in the allocation of foreign exchange to cronies of the present administration.

Gbadamosi, who had accused the CBN of selling dollars to some people for as low as N3, was later arrested by the Department of State Services and has been in detention for over five days.

But reacting to the development, Okoroafor said that the CBN did not sell dollars directly to individuals and that the figures being cited by Gbadamosi were as a result of formatting errors during the filing of forex returns by Deposit Money Banks to the CBN.

He said the banks involved had been queried and responses obtained from them, adding that the appreciation of the naira was in no way connected to the allegations of Gbadamosi.

Okoroafor stated, “I want to state categorically that there is no relationship whatsoever between the allegations by the so called person that dollar was being sold at 61 kobo and the current appreciation of the naira.

“What led to the appreciation of the naira is that the CBN has done its intelligence work on the market and we came to the realisation that much of what was driving the demand at the Bureau De Change and parallel market was speculation.

“We reasoned that since there is a lot of pressure on the two segments from people seeking to buy foreign currencies for Business Travel Allowance, tuition and medicals that if we successfully address that, the pressure will come down.

“Also, before now, the level of our reserves was not enough to make us comfortable enough to really do the kind of intervention that is required. We decided to do so now because we are a bit more comfortable with our level of reserves.”

The apex bank spokesperson noted that since the new forex policy, the CBN had intervened with over $500m in the market, which had led to naira gaining strength.

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/why-we-intervened-in-forex-market-cbn/

BoI, First Bank, AGDC target five million jobs with increased on-lending to MSMEs

To increase access to funds to the underserved and intending entrepreneurs, the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC) have partnered to finance viable and sustainable business ideas.

The partners, working in collaboration with First Bank of Nigeria, hope to create at least five million jobs by supporting one million entrepreneurs with funds at single digit interest rate as well as enhance their capacity for sustainable growth.

Speaking at the unveiling of the partnership in Lagos, yesterday, the Acting Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BoI), Waheed Olagunju stated that the bank was partnering with development partners to ensure that funds get to the appropriate businesses who then achieve desired impact designed under the programme’s objective.

Olagunju explained that the initiative is a lending scheme and not a grant as may be perceived by intending applicants, adding that terms and conditions have been streamlined to improve access and remove bottlenecks hitherto experienced by entrepreneurs.

On her part, the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Ibukun Awosika noted that the level of youth unemployment and the social ills arising from the trend is worrisome and should be addressed.

She said: “Right now, we are at the point of building the future of the nation and when you have an environment where 65 per cent of your able-bodied young people ‎or where a large part of your population are out of work, you should not be able to sleep. We need to think of growing businesses in the future. 

“For any country in the world to achieve economic growth, it must prioritize developmental efforts towards small businesses. Small businesses represent about 60 per cent of the economy and also the largest employer of jobs in the country.

She added that micro and small businesses can access loans as low as N250,000 for new businesses and N500,000 for an existing enterprise with a tenor of one year.

source: punch newspaper

Xenophobic attacks: Militants threaten MTN, others as Obasanjo berates S’African leaders

A coalition of Niger Delta militants, on Wednesday, threatened to blow up Multichoice, owner of DSTV; MTN, Shoprite and 16 other major South African investments in Nigeria if the Federal Government failed to shut them down within one month.

The militant groups, who were reacting to the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and their business premises in South Africa, gave one month ultimatum to South Africans living in Nigeria to leave the country and relocate elsewhere.

The threat from the militants groups – Niger Delta Watchdogs, Niger Delta Volunteers and Niger Delta Strike Force – is contained in a copy of a letter, addressed to the Office of the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, located at 71 Usuma Street, Off Gana Street, Abuja.

Signatories to the letter are ‘General’ John Duku (Niger Delta Watchdogs); ‘General’ Ekpo Ekpo (Niger Delta Volunteer); and ‘General’ Hart Bradford (Niger Delta Strike Force).

According to the letter titled ‘Attack and killings of Nigerians living in South Africa’, the militants expressed anger that the South African Police were shielding criminals and joining them (criminals) to kill Nigerians.

Apart from MTN, DSTV and Shoprite, some of the South African companies in Nigeria listed for attack by the militants are Eskom Nigeria, South African Breweries (SAB Miller), Umgeni Water, Refresh Product, LTA Construction and Protea Hotels.

Others, according to the letter, are Critical Rescue International, Global Outdoor Semces, PEP Retail Stores, Woolworths Holdings Limited, Truworths International Limited, Clover Industries, Oracle, Power Giant and Airtime.

READ: (Photos) Protesters, Nigerians clash in South Africa 

The militants added, “Arising from the joint meeting of the Niger Delta Watchdogs, Niger Delta Volunteers and Niger Delta Strike Force, held today (Wednesday) in Port Harcourt, we condemn the recent attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

“We want to state that the recent attacks (on Nigerians in South Africa) will mark the end of this nonsense because we will not fold our arms and allow this to continue. We, therefore, call on the Nigerian Government to immediately close down all the businesses owned by South Africans in Nigeria.

“Failure to close down these companies within one month, we shall mobilize in full force and commence massive attacks on the above-mentioned South African-owned investments in Nigeria. We shall also make sure that all MTN masts and offices are brought down to naught.

“We shall strike any property and persons from South Africa within our reach; we will bring down Multichoice (DSTV), Shoprite and others. We will not fold our arms and watch you (South Africans) slaughter our people like chickens for no just cause.

“We are fully prepared; our professional fighters are already strategizing, South Africans must be crushed in Nigeria; our people must be free from these wicked agents.”

The militant groups pointed out that the one month ultimatum was enough for South Africans to relocate and leave Nigeria, even as they warned Nigerians against patronising South Africans business concerns on the expiration of the ultimatum to avoid casualties.

Accusing the South African Government of plotting to kill Nigerians within its territory by all means, the Niger Delta agitators cautioned that they would not allow such a plan to be executed.

“How can you explain a situation where the police clobbered defenceless Nigerian citizens to death without any provocation?” the militants asked.

They observed that the South African Government and her citizens possessed the highest number of business operations in Nigeria by a foreign country and making huge profits and living in a peaceful environment with nobody attacking them.

“But our people in South Africa have been unjustly subjected to torture, killings, looting of their belongings as well as burning down of their business premises/apartments,” they added.

Obasanjo berates S’African leaders, youths

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned attacks by South African youths on Nigerians and other African nationals in the former apartheid enclave, blaming the development on the insincerity of the government and the leaders of the country.

He said this on Wednesday in Abeokuta while receiving the management of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, led by its chairman, Maj. Gen. Lawrence Onoja (retd.).

The former President, who received the delegation at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, said the current development in South Africa betrayed the contributions of Nigeria to the struggle for the emancipation of the country during the apartheid era.

Obasanjo, who blamed the exodus of Nigerians and other African nationals in search for greener pastures, however, called on African heads of government to ensure good governance for the overall development of the continent and its teeming population.

He blamed South African youths for their immaturity, while hitting their leaders more for allowing fellow Africans to rise against themselves.

He stated, “Youths can be so immature; they may not understand what Africa stands for; what our continental organisations stand for. But if the youth do not understand what happened, what happen to the leadership?

“I will blame the youth of the country for the attacks but I will blame the leaders more in any country that allows xenophobic attacks against fellow Africans for whatever reason.

“Having said that, it is also the responsibility of everyone of us in our different countries to prepare our countries so that our youths, who think that there is an Eldorado somewhere outside their countries, will be made to know that there is no greener pastures anywhere.

“The greener pastures is here in your country. I feel disheartened to know that many of our youths perish while crossing the Sahara desert or the Mediterranean.”

Ekweremadu heads Senate delegation to South Africa

Also, on Wednesday, the Senate named members of its delegation to South Africa to investigate the ongoing xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in the country.

Senate President Bukola Saraki made the announcement at plenary on Wednesday.

Members of the delegation are the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan; and the Chief Whip, Senator Sola Adeyeye.

Others are Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Shehu Sani; Senator Stella Oduah, Senator Magnus Abe and Senator Shaba Lafiaji.

SOURCES: http://punchng.com/xenophobic-attacks-militants-threaten-mtn-others-as-obasanjo-berates-safrican-leaders/

FC Barcelona manager to step down at end of season

FC Barcelona manager Luis Enrique on Sunday confirmed he would step down at the end of the season. The 46-year-old, in his third season in charge of Barca, was speaking after their 6-1 win over Sporting Gijon on Wednesday night. Luis Enrique He won the Champions League as part of the treble in his first year, and led them to a domestic double last season. But they are on the verge of elimination from the Champions League, after losing 4-0 to Paris St-Germain in the last-16 first leg.

                          

“It is a difficult, measured and well thought-out decision and I think I have to be loyal to what I think,” he said. “I would like to thank the club for the confidence they have shown in me. It’s been three unforgettable years.” Barca’s win over Sporting took them to the top of La Liga, a point above Real Madrid. 

Real Madrid had forced a 3-3 draw away to Las Palmas in a late Wednesday night fixture, but they still have a game in hand. Former Spain midfielder Enrique played for FC Barcelona between 1996 and his retirement from playing in 2004. He then coached their B team from 2008 to 2011, returning to the club as first-team boss after spells managing Roma and Celta Vigo. Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said: “Luis Enrique has brought us great success and he can still bring us more. The players are motivated to do it. “We accept Luis Enrique’s decision. He has been a great coach. Now is it time to end his spell in the best possible way.”

SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/fc-barcelona-manager-step-end-season/

Experts predict further gain as naira hits 445/dollar

The naira rose to 445 against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Sunday, one week after the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a new policy measure aimed at boosting foreign exchange supply in the market. 

The local currency, which had tumbled to 520/dollar last Monday, closed at 450 on Friday.

                                

The CBN had last Monday commenced the implementation of the reformed forex policy with a promise to sell $1m weekly to each of the 21 commercial banks in the country.

Following the announcement of the new forex policy measure by the CBN on Monday, the naira commenced a gradual reversal of its previous losses, closing at 512/dollar on Tuesday.

It recorded further gain on Wednesday and Thursday, closing at 505/dollar and 495/dollar, respectively.

Foreign exchange traders said the CBN had intervened on the official market in recent days.

Economic and financial experts told our correspondent on Sunday that the naira would record further gain this week but not as big as last week’s.

“There is always a restriction point beyond which the exchange cannot cross except there is a huge forex inflow to breach that ceiling,” a currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, said.

“The naira will gain further but it won’t be like last week’s own.”

The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, commended the CBN for the policy reform and wondered why the regulator had delayed such measure for months.

Amina Mohammed assumes duty at UN Tuesday

Ms Amina Mohammed, the immediate past Minister of Environment, will be sworn-in on Tuesday as the UN Deputy Secretary-General at the UN Headquarters in New York, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Mohammed, who was appointed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Dec. 15, 2016 as his deputy, was supposed to have assumed office on Jan. 1, 2017. She, however, delayed the assumption of her new role at the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to complete some ongoing responsibilities she was handling at that time.

Guterres had, while announcing Mohammed alongside two other women appointees, described them as “highly competent”.

Hayatou’s men fight back, minister summons emergency NFF meeting

Perhaps, the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick, was too hasty in announcing the federation’s decision to team up with other young elements in African football to engineer a change in the leadership of the continental soccer governing body, CAF.

The incumbent CAF president, Issa Hayatou, a Camerounian, has been the boss of the body since 1988 when he took over from Ethiopia’s Yidnekatchew Tessema. But a group of young football administrators, including Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick, recently decided to effect changes in the leadership of CAF and chose Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad as the preferred candidate in the forthcoming CAF polls.

A lot of football enthusiasts have applauded the move, especially now that the world body has a group of young men trying to reshape the global game. But the applause in Nigeria may have come too early as some officials holding certain CAF positions have come out to distance themselves from Pinnick’s alliance with the progressive administrators.

                    

The first inkling that things might not be all well with the Nigerian position on the polls came at the weekend when Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, tried to distance the country from the support for Ahmad’s candidature.

The minister, who said Nigeria would first consider regional interests before every other consideration, yesterday summoned an emergency meeting of the NFF where the issues would be thrashed out.

SOURCE: http://guardian.ng/sport/hayatous-men-fight-back-minister-summons-emergency-nff-meeting/