A midday rain on Tuesday locked down Akute community in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun state.
The rain, which fell intermittently for about 15minutes, was not really heavy but succeeded in locking down every route as commuters had to take off shoes to work through the flood.
Motorists could not immediately attempt the flood until it receded after about five minutes.
Video soon…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari reserves the right to nominate anyone for any post, and to stick with his nominees even when they are at first rejected by the Senate. In exercising this right, the president last week asked the Senate to reconsider its decision not to confirm the nominee for the post of Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu. Now re-designated as acting chairman, Mr Magu, as this column wrote when he was first turned down, deserves a reconsideration on account of his assiduousness, passion and even efficiency, notwithstanding his sometimes abrasive and unsophisticated approach to the job. The important point is that since the days of the former chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, no one has done the job with as much commitment, if not suicidal zeal. And in any case, those on whom Mr Magu is expected to train his anti-graft guns, are themselves uncouth, ruthless and unconscionable.
All things considered, therefore, it is not surprising that President Buhari is sticking to Mr Magu. Last week’s presidential remonstrance to the Senate may be lacking in finesse and logic, not to say administrative acumen, but there are indications he may just pull it off. The plot against the EFCC boss, it was clear from the beginning, was never profound, never strictly legal, and never quite legislatively moral. Had the antagonism against Mr Magu rested purely on his work, especially the content of his ideas, perhaps he could be exposed as lacking in a structured approach to the work, and shown to be all sound and fury. Instead, at the point of his denunciation, when Mr Magu seemed to have united his enemies against himself, it was obvious that the plot reeked of a conspiracy between fulminating members of the president’s kitchen cabinet and many cynical lawmakers seized by either fear or loathing.
But in sticking with Mr Magu, the president once again illustrated sharply the confusion and amateurishness that pervade the presidency. In the letter sent to the Senate and read by its president, Bukola Saraki, President Buhari clearly glossed over the anomalous manner the secret service undermined his appointee. It is true that institutions ought to be free to do their work, especially when that work promotes and undergirds the constitution. But in respect of Mr Magu’s nomination, that work ought to have been done silently and behind closed doors. That work ought to have helped the president to come to a clean and clear decision on who his nominee would be. However, the secret service did its job in such a manner that it seemed to have served as a counterpoise to the president’s decision and a reflection of the disharmony that has crept into the inner workings of the presidency.
What the public expected of the president in his letter to the Senate was to address the secret service’s report frontally, get the agency to formally withdraw the report it earlier forwarded to the Senate, and plausibly defend its volte face on the grounds of superior information, not executive pressure. It has sadly taken the Senate to point out this elementary fact to the public and the presidency. The presidency may already be lobbying the Senate to approve Mr Magu’s appointment, but there is no way both the presidency and the Senate would not need to first resolve the matter of the secret service’s unfavourable report on Mr Magu. They can’t sweep it under the carpet.
The chaotic workings of the presidency manifested even more vividly in the subterranean clearance unilaterally granted the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal. Not only were the allegations levelled against him in the Senate referred by the presidency to the wrong persons for investigation, even the exoneration itself bore the hallmarks of tameness and favouritism. It is possible Mr David Lawal is innocent of the accusations and suppositions levelled against him; but those who probed him, including the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, did nothing to clear the SGF of wrongdoing. For, at the centre of the whole brouhaha is the issue of conflict of interest, not whether he had resigned or not from the companies that secured the contract from the ad hoc agency under his supervision.
It is not clear how the Senate would react to the SGF matter. They will probably resist all blandishments the presidency might bring, even if the executive arm manages to win the support of Senator Saraki. It will therefore require inordinate pressure to save him, the kind of pressure that comes with horrendous and costly compromises, the kind of pressure President Buhari by his personal constitution and aloofness and inner solitude is poorly equipped to give. The whole world, figuratively speaking, supports Mr Magu. The initial resolve of the Senate to reject his nomination may therefore be unable to withstand the pressure that will be brought to bear when eventually the anti-graft boss is presented for screening. Indeed, what is at stake here is not so much whether the Senate finally does the president’s bidding concerning Mr Magu and Mr David Lawal, but the obvious and frustrating fact that the presidency does appear to walk with unsteady gait, reeling from one faux pas to another, unsure whether its modest accomplishments so far have not been the fortuitous outcome of kindergarten application of policies and ideas.
Several elated Gambians took to the streets on Thursday to welcome home President Adama Barrow, who was elected in December 2016 presidential election but was forced to flee to Senegal when his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, refused to step aside.
Barrow arrived Banjul, the Gambian Capital city on Thursday with heavily armed troops from Nigeria and Senegal standing by as he flew in from neighbouring Senegal, where he had been taking shelter since January 15.
Accompanied by his two wives and his children, Barrow was welcomed by military officials and senior members of his coalition government.
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Nobel Carpets and floors has once again shown its commitment to the development of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria, as it recently partnered VConnect Global Services to host the first of its kind SME conference 1.0 held recently in Lagos.
The event which brought together diverse budding entrepreneurs from different parts of the country had facilitators from Paga, Businessday, Seedvest, and other small and medium scale entrepreneurs in attendance, and they spoke on topics ranging from essentials of starting a business to growing your business, accessing funds, business partnerships etc.
The General Manager, Nobel Carpets and Floors, Mr Jitesh Pamnani who spoke at the event, said that the SME conference 1.0 is a platform through which the firm seeks to support and grow small scale businesses within the country through knowledge acquisition and mentoring from established entrepreneurs.
“As an organization, we desire to eradicate the challenge of unemployment and business failure ravaging our society and this we plan to achieve through training and information gathering platforms such as this where young minds and start-ups can have the opportunity to interact with business leaders, thereby gain knowledge and strength needed to keep pursuing their ideas and growing their businesses no matter the challenges that may erupt over time” stated Pamnani.
Pamnani further added that “with as little as Thirty thousand naira, individuals can also become partners with Nobel Carpets and Floors; and this is no doubt a viable business opportunity, as the brand is known, trusted and accepted across West Africa.”
A partnership with Nobel Carpets and Floors is one opportunity you should embrace this year, as the brand’s leadership status in the interior design segment, product acceptability and recognition are some brand attributes which guarantee swift success.
Pamnani, therefore, urged the budding entrepreneurs to remain focused and open-minded to ideas, information and opportunities which are essential for growth and success in the competitive world of entrepreneurship.
Also speaking at the event, The Founder, VConnect Global Services, Mr Deepankar Rustagi, stated that the conference was organised to teach small and medium scale enterprise owners on how to have an effective online presence and how to grow their businesses online to yield great returns on investment.
Consumers of La Casera Apple have been enjoying give-aways even after the festive season. The brand is currently rewarding her teeming Consumers with the La Casera ‘Share Your Aspiration’ promo, a phone-in radio campaign that has seen thousands win refreshing cases of La Casera among other juicy gifts.
The phone-in radio programme is being broadcasted in 15 states across the country, enabling Consumers to call-in, share their aspirations for the year 2017 and win great gifts. Radio On-Air-Personalities (OAPs) urge callers to share their aspirations for their family, job and the country and for doing that they get rewarded by La Casera.
La Casera Apple drink has led the Apple segment of the Nigerian CSD market for 15 years and is reputed for having natural apple taste and juice extracts; La Casera is also the first to introduce the PET bottling technology in Nigeria. This innovation revolutionised CSD packaging in Nigeria.
According to Managing Director, The La Casera Company, Roland Ebelt, The festive season may have come and gone but there is really no season to enjoy a refreshing bottle of La Casera. We appreciate the value our Consumers attach to every New Year and their attempts to better the previous year and improve their lives with positive resolutions no matter the obstacle. This campaign is special because Consumers are getting rewarded for deciding to better their lives.”
Bold Bitter Lemon, another brand from the stables of The La Casera Company is also engaging her Consumers in a phone-in campaign in three major cities: Port Harcourt, Enugu and Akure. Listeners call-in to give their most ‘bold’ life -changing experiences and decisions that nudged them to success.
On his part, Marketing Manager, Bello Yusuf, said: “The La Casera Company is reputed for many first but our greatest achievement is coming tops on Consumers’ share of mind. The new campaign will see many Consumers win gifts right from the comfort of their homes, work environment or even from the road. All they need to do is tune in to the designated radio stations across the country and participate through phone calls and they could be winners.”
Nigerians have vehemently criticised the fact that the ongoing Big Brother Naija is being held in South Africa instead of Nigeria which it focuses on.
The reality show which started on Sunday, January 22, has a whole of South Africans on the team thereby discouraging Nigerians from following with interest.
It’s called “Big Brother Naija”
Venue – South Africa
Paid cameramen – South Africa
Accommodation (House) if leased, will be paid to a South African
Security fees for housemates – South African Security company
IT company – South African
Food and drinks for housemates for 11 weeks will be bought in – South Africa.
Generated income will develop South Africa Logistics
TV show to be aired on South Africa cable TV (DSTV/GoTV)
“It is sad to further emerging that the largest viewership is coming from Nigeria while the generated income is going to South Africa,” Says a Facebook user, Arthur.
However, the media gathered on Tuesday that the Federal Government of Nigeria has ordered an investigation into why the show is holding in South Africa and not Nigeria as it is titled.
Beyond Arthur more Nigerians are unhappy with the reality TV show organisers and they speak through Twitter while some others have moved on.
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The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) in Syria has said the bombing of the Ain el Fijah water facility in Wadi Barada on December 24 has left over 5 million people without fresh, running water for the past 30 days.
UOSSM in a statement lamented the growing concerns over a health epidemic with a sharp rise in severe gastrointestinal cases, according to a doctor from Ibn Nafis Hospital in Damascus. The price for a box of six water bottles has skyrocketed to 1000 Syrian Pounds.
The NGO decried the rate at which a fierce bombardment continue to affect the villages of Wadi Barada.
According to a representative from the Wadi Barada Media Council, on Friday one medical staff was killed, the executive director of the medical council was wounded, and an ambulance was targeted and destroyed by artillery shelling as it was transporting the wounded through an area supposedly under a ceasefire agreement. The continued targeting of Wadi Barada with heavy artillery and barrel bombings has led to more damage to the Ain el Fijah water facility.
A doctor from Damascus said: “We are very concerned that over 5 million people in Damascus have not had access to clean water for a month. The situation could lead to a catastrophe as the risk of hepatitis A, cholera and parasitic diseases rise due to a large population using contaminated water. Water is life and people need to have this basic human necessity to survive. We are concerned that we are not able to access people in besieged areas. We have a medical staff member who walks for 8 ½ miles to communicate the situation in Wadi Barada with us. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
While the people of Aleppo have been evacuated from the besieged area, many people throughout Syria are suffering greatly, with no access to food, water or medical care. A lack of communication and information from these areas has made it extremely difficult to perform needs assessments, assess medical facility capacity, and receive accurate numbers of civilians injured and killed from daily attacks. The lives of hundreds of thousands in besieged areas are still in danger.
In Deir Ezzor thousands of civilians are trapped in the crossfire. The shortage of doctors in the area has left many without any access to medical care.
Dr. Khaula Sawah, CEO of UOSSM USA said, “Hundreds of thousands of lives are still in danger and we must not forget them. Wadi Barada is the new Aleppo, with a brutal besiegement and a brutal bombardment of the area. Many are being wounded in these attacks and we have no way of getting to them. They are living without the basic necessities of life including water, food and access to medical care. This is a denial of basic human rights and is unacceptable. We call on the international community to ensure water facilities in Wadi Barada are repaired immediately, and humanitarian aid is delivered to civilians in Wadi Barada, Deir Ezzor, and in other besieged areas throughout Syria.”
UOSSM is hopeful that the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan today will usher in the long term peace the people of Syria so greatly deserve. UOSSM urges the international community and the UN to send international observers and ‘Blue Helmets’ to conflict areas in Syria to ensure civilians are protected.
The former ruler of the Gambian, Yahya Jammeh has been accused of stealing $11million (500m dalasi) in the past weeks before going into exile.
Jammeh was accused of flying out luxury cars by Mai Fatty, the Adviser to the New President, Adama Barrow in a cargo aircraft provided by the President of Chad, Mr. Idris Deby.
The seven exotic cars, include Rolls Royce and Sports Utility Vehicles for the exclusive use of Jammeh, who is now in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, shortly after a brief stop-over in Conakry, Guinea.
The private jet headed to Malabo where Jammeh will, in the meantime, spend his post-office life as the guest of another sit-tight dictator, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.
No fewer than 95 people have been arrested after anti-Trump protesters clashed with Police in riot gear who responded with tear gas and stun grenades in Washington DC.
The angry protesters took to the streets after President Donald Trump was sworn in on Friday, smashing stores, car windows and obstructed the free flow of traffic in the city.
Friday and fought with police in riot gear who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
According to Reuters, the number of people who turned out to view the midday swearing-in, on a gray day threatened by rain, appeared to be significantly smaller than the estimated 2 million who turned out for now-former President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.
Overhead video of the National Mall showed sections of the white matting laid down to protect the grass were largely empty.
More people were expected to be on hand when Trump and his entourage travel along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House later Friday afternoon.
Earlier, liberal activists with a group called Disrupt J20 intermittently blocked multiple security checkpoints leading to the largest public viewing area for the inauguration. Several were led away by police.