Rice smuggling thrives in spite of ban

The smuggling of rice through the land borders has continued to thrive in Badagry area of Lagos State in spite of the Federal Government’s ban on the practice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that markets along Badagry Expressway close to Seme border, are stocked with various varieties of smuggled rice, especially as the Christmas season approaches.

A smuggler, who identified himself as Sunday Egeseme, was seen offloading bags of rice from his car at Alaba Rago Market in Okokomaiko area of Lagos.

He described the business as “lucrative’’.

“We are messengers to the main owners of the goods who are in the Seme border.

“Transporting rice from Seme to customers in various location of the town is a fast moving business with good returns,’’ Egeseme said.

He, however, declined to say the exact amount it cost to ferry a bag of the commodity.

Egeseme, a driver, said that the Christmas period was the peak of the business as many families depended more on the consumption of rice.

At Doyin Bus Stop market before Navy Gate Market, Okokomaiko, a trader who could not find space at the Alaba rice market, was seen taking delivery of the product from smugglers.

A driver simply known as Taiwo, who was exchanging banters with his colleagues for a successful trip, said his target was to make a lot of money before the end of the season.

“I run three trips before morning breaks and two in the day time if the road is good.

“The security officers are there but we still find our way unless one is a new person on the route,’’ Taiwo said.

Mrs Celine Ukachi, a rice seller at the Navy Gate Rice Market, said, “we are used to selling the Cotonou rice because it is easy to get than the local ones.

“If we see the local ones, we sell together with the Cotonou one so that everybody who wants anyone can buy,’’ Ukachi said.

The trader also claimed she had been in the business for four years. - Guardian

Five things to do with smartphones when offline

In many ways, your smartphone is more powerful than the computers of Apollo 11. While it won’t get you to the moon, you can be lightyears ahead if you use your phone to its full potential. That includes using it when you have no mobile or data connection.

Listen to podcasts

You can listen to music to pass the time or you can go with informative podcasts. One Android app that is yet uncovered is Podcast Addict. Using this app, you can search audio and video podcasts by keywords or networks, subscribe to your favourites, manually add RSS feeds or YouTube channels, import OPML files, and download episodes for listening or watching them offline.

Catch up on your reading list

If you’re like most people, you hardly have time to read all the interesting articles you come across on a daily basis. Maybe you can get through some of them if you started reading during your commute. While doing nothing or reading novels can be very relaxing, it’s not always the best use of your time. Plenty of applications support offline reading and syncing between your desktop and your smartphone, it’s just a matter of finding what works best for you.

Pocket

Pocket, formerly known as Read It Later, lets you save pretty much anything you can view in a browser, including articles and videos. You can even email content to your Pocket. When you have some Internet downtime, check your Pocket for entertainment.

Download: Pocket (free) for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and more.

Readability

Do you already use the Kindle app to read books? With Readability, you can send articles from your desktop or its mobile apps to your favourite e-Book reader and read them on the go. Simply add kindle@readability.com to your Kindle approved email list, then send articles to your Kindle email address.

FeedMe

If you’re using RSS, you can go through your feeds with an add-free Android app that supports offline reading and Feedly. You’ll find more mobile RSS apps for various platforms in the Unofficial Feedly Guide.

Evernote

Did you know the web clipping service, Evernote, had an offline feature for mobile devices? It’s only available to Premium subscribers, but if you happen to be one, this is a feature you should take advantage of!

Improve your foreign language skills

Whether you’re a bloody beginner or have some basic skills, practising a foreign language has many benefits. Apart from being able to eventually speak a few sentences or even have a conversation, it’s also a great way to sharpen your memory and expand your horizon. With new words and phrases come new insights.

Duolingo

The question is, can you learn a new language using your phone? Absolutely! If you’re lucky, the language you’re interested in is offered by Duolingo. You can learn Spanish, French, Italian, German, or Portuguese with the most engaging, fun and best tool out there. And it’s completely free!

Babbel

If you’re not so lucky, give Babbel a try. Here, you can currently pick from 13 different languages. You can try the tool for free.

Play games to improve your memory

Is it possible to have fun and be productive at the same time? Kill two birds with one stone by playing games that sharpen your memory. Be sure to set an alarm, as time will fly as you are drawn into these brain teasers.

Edit your to-do lists

You can be all low tech and do this on a digital or even physical notepad, or you can employ an app. If you pay for Premium, you can use Evernote to manage your ‘To Do’ list, while your phone is offline. A free alternative that offers unlimited offline editing and one free sync per 24 hours is Remember The Milk.

Man kills, buries mother in soakaway

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 33-year-old man, Segun Ogunlusi, for allegedly killing his 60-year-old mother, Abimbola Ogunlusi, and later burying her in a soakaway.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on Tuesday, December 13, 2016,  on Oketunde Street, Molatori, Ogijo, in the Sagamu Local Government Area of the state.

The suspect was said to have been arrested following a report from his younger sister, Yetunde Ogunlusi.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said Yetunde had reported to the police that she left their mother at home when she was going to work on Tuesday, December 13, 2016.

The spokesman for the police added that when the complainant got back home at about 7.15pm, she could not find her mother.

Oyeyemi said, “She further stated that when she inquired from her elder brother, Segun, who was at home with their mother, the explanation given by her brother was not satisfactory enough.

“Based on her report, the Divisional Police Officer, Ogijo Division, Ahmed Tijani, led a team of policemen to the house situated on Oketunde Street, Molatori, Ogijo, and the suspect was promptly arrested.”

Oyeyemi said during investigation, the police discovered that the Segun stabbed his mother to death and hurriedly buried her in a soakaway very close to the house.

“The reason for his action is still under investigation,” Oyeyemi added.

The PPRO said the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, had directed that the case be transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Eleweran , Abeokuta.

Maid flees with baby, dumps her in Kaduna garden

A maid, Cynthia Shamang, has been arrested in Kaduna for absconding with Amarachi, the one-year-old baby of her employer, Mrs. Kachi Mbagwu.

The 17-year old was arrested alongside her father in Kaduna and handed over to the police in Abuja.

Cynthia was apprehended by the police on Wednesday in Kaduna. She fled with Amarachi on December 10, 2016 after her boss went for the annual Shiloh service at the Living Faith Church, Dutse Alhaji, Kubwa, some kilometres away.

Mbagwu told Northern City News on Thursday that the maid abandoned Amarachi at a deserted garden in Kaduna, saying the baby cried throughout the night, adding that a security guard around the area rescued her the next morning.

It was learnt that the guard was afraid to rescue the child that night because the garden was known be infested with snakes and other dangerous animals.

The relieved mother stated that Cynthia had barely spent three days with her when she absconded with her daughter.

She said she returned from the church to find the house deserted and her daughter and the maid nowhere to be found.

“We circulated the incident on WhatsApp and other social media platforms asking people to assist in finding the girl. We later learnt that a security guard who heard my baby’s cries at a deserted garden rescued her the next morning and took her to the NTA station in Kaduna which broadcast it,” she narrated, adding that she was contacted by those who identified her child.

Mbagwu said Amarachi was in good condition, noting that she was however dehydrated. “I am about taking her to the hospital for check-up, but she seems alright,” she said.

Asked the reason Cynthia gave for her action, she said, “The maid said she didn’t want to work as a maid anymore and that she went away with my child because she didn’t want to leave the girl alone in the house.”

The Federal Capital Territory police spokesman, Anjuguri Manzah, confirmed the arrest of the maid, saying investigation had commenced into the matter.

Rivers rerun: Controversy trails leaked audio tape

Controversy has greeted a leaked audio recording in which a voice bearing a striking similarity with that of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, was heard admitting bribery and threatening to kill electoral officers in the December 10 rerun elections in Rivers State.

The All Progressives Congress on Thursday said the leaked audio recording confirmed its worst fears that the elections were rigged.

It noted that revelations contained in the said recording, made public by an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, on Thursday, provided evidence of alleged unwholesome practices.

The party also said the audio recording was a pointer to the fact that the governor might have compromised the integrity of the electoral process and the integrity of his office as Chief Security Officer.

This was contained in a statement signed by the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja.

He said, “The leaked audio recording showing the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, admitting to bribing some electoral officials and threatening to kill them if his instructions were not followed, has confirmed the fears raised by the All Progressives Congress in the countdown to the recently conducted December 10, 2016, legislative rerun elections in the State.

“Going by the revelations from the leaked audio recording, it is obvious that Governor Wike might have engaged in unwholesome conducts that might have compromised the integrity of the electoral process and undermined his office as the Chief Security Officer of a state.

“The only logical conclusion from this, therefore, is that the electoral victories of the Peoples Democratic Party might have been achieved through underhand dealings and intimidation of officials.”

The statement recalled that the APC alerted security agencies to reports of massive arm build-up and sinister plots by Wike and the PDP.

It said, “On December 6, 2016, the APC alerted security agencies to reports of a massive arms build-up and other sinister plots that Wike and the PDP planned to execute on the day of the legislative rerun elections in Rivers State.

“Nigerians have watched with grave concern how the process of the just concluded legislative rerun elections has led to the deaths of ordinary citizens in the state, including security officers. The statement that Governor Wike appeared to have made on the record has now pointed directly at where responsibility should be placed for the violence that attended the election.”

The APC also argued that the audio recording provided evidence that the allegation by the Rivers State Government and the Peoples Democratic Party of an assassination threat on Wike and the allegation by Wike that APC governors funded violence in the state during the election might have been deliberately contrived to hide the role the governor played in the violence that attended the election.

It also urged security agencies to do the needful and ensure that the sponsors and perpetrators of violence, no matter how highly placed, were brought to justice.

But the Rivers State Government has denied the allegation that Wike threatened to kill an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, said on Thursday that the governor never made any contact with INEC officials in person or through the telephone.

Tam-George argued that the online outfit, Saharareporters.com, engaged in an audio impersonation of the governor, using a voice changer technology.

 “We categorically deny these latest allegations as a sick fabrication, an outright lie. Governor Wike never made any contact with INEC officials in person or by telephone.

“Saharareporters.com is the online propaganda bullhorn of the All Progressives Congress. Their publications are typically false and the writers are professional hawkers of fiction.

“No one would have thought that the APC and its cowardly media allies would resort to an audio impersonation of Governor Nyesom Wike, using a voice changer technology.

“The voice changer technology is often used by teenagers mainly in South Korea and Japan to launch innocent technological pranks at each other, mainly for laughs.

“The APC and Saharareporters.com are inmates in the prison of their own lies. We reject the latest blackmail by the APC,” he added. - Punch

Rivers rerun poll: Police officer, orderly beheaded

The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army on Saturday said that a deputy superintendent of Police, Alkali Mohammed, of the Mobile Police Unit 48 was beheaded along with his orderly at Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni Local Council during Saturday’s bloody Rivers rerun elections.

“The patrol vehicle was taken away with weapons, three policemen escaped while five were missing in action. This is the same area where soldiers of 34 Brigade were ambushed on November 20, 2016 when a soldier was killed," said
the General Officer Commanding the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Kasimu Abdulkarim.

“Also on November 21, 2016, four personnel of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were killed and their weapons carted away. These attacks are reasonable evidence of violations of breach of law and order, which portray the area as a flashpoint.

“Despite these barbarism, soldiers acted with civility and professionally guaranteeing peaceful election.”

Abdulkarim said the alleged killing and mass arrest by soldiers in Tai, Ogoni, Gokhna-Ogoni local councils were false. He stated that it was true that soldiers of 6 Division Nigerian Army provided security during the Rivers State Legislative Re-run election, but the allegations made by some respected politicians regarding deep involvement of soldiers during the elections were aimed at tarnishing the positive image of the Army.

“Several shooting were recorded in some communities such as Bodo, the home town of the secretary to the State Government, B-dere and Mogho in Gokhana LGA, including snatching of ballot boxes,” he said.

“He explained that Nigerian Army troops were in no way involved in any form of ballot box snatching, neither were they involved in the escort of politicians as alleged. According to him, the army acted swiftly in response to security breaches in order to enforce the law, provide aid to the Nigeria Police and other security agencies especially in areas like Abonema, Etche, Gokhana, Ikwere, Eleme, Tai, Khana and Omoku, among others.

Recession: FG Unveils 10-Point Roadmap to Reset Economy

The federal government has unveiled a 10-point fiscal roadmap, designed to stimulate the economy and set it on the path of recovery and growth.
Highlights of the roadmap were rolled out by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who represented the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the annual dinner of the Lagos Business School. Adeosun itemised the fiscal policies and actions being taken to tackle the key barriers to economic growth.

A major component of the roadmap is to replace administrative measures on the list of 41 items with fiscal measures to reduce demand pressure on foreign exchange (forex) at the parallel market. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in its wisdom, had barred importers from assessing forex, particularly the United States dollars, for the 41 items via the official window, a measure, which had generated intense controversy. Though the measure was applied in good faith by the monetary authority, it pushed importers to sourcing forex from the parallel market, which led to forex shortage and inadvertently affected the value of the naira and the economy.

But with the federal government’s decision to reconsider its policy on the 41 items, the expectation, according to the roadmap, is that there would be a reduction in the demand for US dollars to ramp up forex supply.
Speaking at the session, which was attended by industry leaders across key sectors of the economy including oil, banking and telecoms, Adeosun said, “The Federal Government’s Fiscal Roadmap is addressing barriers to growth that will drive productivity, generate jobs and broaden wealth creating opportunities to achieve inclusive growth.”

She stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was determined to convert Nigeria to a productive economy from the one that is consumption driven. To do so, she pointed out, the federal government would tackle the infrastructure deficit to unlock productivity, improve business competitiveness and create employment. The minister stated that the government would actively partner the private sector to achieve this by use of a number of new funding platforms. These, according to her, include the Road Trust Fund, which will develop potentially tollable roads, and the Family Homes Fund, which is an on-going PPP initiative for funding of affordable housing.

In addition, Adeosun detailed a revision to the tax provision that allows companies to receive tax relief for investment in roads on a collective basis. She explained that the existing provision that enabled companies to claim relief for road projects had only been taken advantage of by two companies, Lafarge and Dangote Cement. This was because few companies were large enough to fund roads alone.

The revision, she noted, would now allow collective tax relief such that companies would be able to jointly fund roads, subject to approval by FIRS and the Ministry of Works, and share the tax credit. This would be particularly attractive to firms in clusters such as industrial estates, many of which are plagued by poor road conditions.

She emphasised the role of infrastructure in creating inclusive growth, explaining the current barriers to growth in agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing. She stated that the drivers of inflation were structural and were being addressed through the focus on power, rail and road infrastructure.

Adeosun also outlined measures planned to deal with the problem of hidden liabilities, which were affecting the banking sector and efforts to revive the economy. The minister explained that the conversion from cash accounting to IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) had unveiled unrecorded debts owed to contractors, oil marketers, exporters, electricity distribution companies and others. These liabilities were estimated at N2.2 trillion and would be addressed with a 10-year Promissory Note Issuance programme in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria. This measure would be subject to a rigorous audit process of all claims to ensure validity and mitigate fraud and the impact of past corrupt practices.

Henceforth, the minister said that measures would be put in place to prevent recurrence of such a problem by ensuring that contracts are managed in a manner that firms have assurance over when they would be paid. She cited the fact that many contractors were owed as a reason that many of those recently paid by government were slow in remobilising to site. According to her, “Some contractors had not been paid in the past 4 years and in some cases the banks they were owing, refused them access to the funds released, causing delays.”

She explained further that those receiving the Promissory Notes would be expected to provide a material discount to government. The issuance was a solution to a long term problem that was ‘a drag on economic activity’.

Adeosun gave assurances that, despite the current challenges facing the Nigerian economy, the outlook is positive due to the strong fundamentals and the on-going reform programme. She reiterated that the federal government was determined to create an enabling environment and put in place supportive policies to return to growth in 2017 including greater alignment of monetary and fiscal policies.