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  • Lagos screens over 250 intending pilgrims

    THE Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (CPWB) yesterday screened over 250 intending Jerusalem Pilgrims.

    The exercise was to ascertain their fitness for this year’s Easter pilgrimage and validate their traveling documents.

    The administrative/medical screening is a statutory prerequisite programme organised by CPWB to orientate intending pilgrims for the yearly exercise.

    CPWB Public Affairs Officer Olasimbo Uvieshe, in a statement, said the orientation and screening were designed to ensure that prospective pilgrims were equipped physically and psychologically.

    Addressing the prospective pilgrims at the Chapel of Christ, Alausa, Ikeja, CPWB Board Secretary Mrs. Yetunde Gbafe said the exercise had curbed absconding and unruly conduct by pilgrims.

    She said since the pilgrims would be travelling to another country, there was need to orientate them about the values, customs and behavioural expectation of the Israeli government during the pilgrimage.

    Gbafe advised the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state by ensuring that they comport themselves while there.

    Read also: Ambode seeks PPP to develop Lagos

    The board Chairman, Bishop Olusola Ore, urged the prospective pilgrims not to see the visit as tourism, but a spiritual journey that should stir up spiritual rebirth.

    The board’s Assistant Director, Finance and Accounts, Dr. Olayinka Kilanko, assured the pilgrims that the government was working with the relevant agencies to ensure their safety during the exercise.

    An intending pilgrim,  Adebayo Michael, implored the government to put structures in place for the physically-challenged, who intended to visit the Holy Land.

  • Lagos brings fresh DNA evidence against Danish murder suspect 

    A LAGOS High Court yesterday deferred till May 10 the murder trial of a Dane, Peter Nielsen, to enable him examine the new DNA evidence brought against him by the state

    Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile fixed the date following an application by Nielsen’s counsel, Olasupo Shasore (SAN).

    Shasore accused the state of swamping the defence with “a bundle of papers” and a flash drive containing “almost 100 pages of scientific analysis” only a day before yesterday’s proceeding.

    Nielsen, 54, is standing trial for the death of his Nigerian singer wife, Zainab and their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Petra, last April 5.

    The state accused the Dane of smothering Zainab and Petra around 3:45am at No 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi.

    Five people were said to be in the apartment that fateful night –  Nielsen, Zainab, Petra, Gift and Favour Madaki, both of whom are Zainab’s stepsisters.

    Nielsen was arraigned last June 13, on two counts of murder contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Last March 25, the state obtained an adjournment to enable it secure its last witness, a forensic expert, and serve other “information that is very essential” to the defence.

    But at the resumed hearing yesterday, Shasore told the court that the state did not keep its word about the date to serve the new information.

    He said: “We were served, contrary to the undertaking, on Friday, March 25, at 3:35pm, with a bundle of papers containing two new documents, and, crucially, my lord, a new DNA report. A new report containing DNA analysis.

    “The report is styled ‘Forensic DNA superseding report’. It concerns matters that occurred almost a year ago. The defendant was arraigned in this court in June 2018, a period of almost nine months.

    “The state has prepared two DNA forensic reports, from which we prepared our defence. My lord, we are greatly prejudiced, that on the eve of the testimony of a forensic expert, the state will introduce new evidence without availing us the opportunity to consider expert advice on this. A report that seeks to discountenance all we’ve done for the last nine months.

    “We are disappointed at the conduct of the state, for putting us in this state. We are hereby applying for an adjournment, based on these, and we are at great pains to do so.

    “To compound this, the state served us yesterday (Tuesday), a flash drive containing detailed DNA analysis, almost 100 pages of scientific analysis.

    “We are at great pains to seek this adjournment because we are anxious that the defendant be set free.”

    Responding, Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Titilayo Shitta-Bey said there was no   intention to delay Nielsen’s trial.

    Shitta-Bey said: “I want to apologise to the Learned Silk; the service of the flash drive was not an attempt to delay trial.

    “My lord will recall that at the beginning of this trial, the prosecution made an application for biological samples from the defendant for DNA analysis, and the court granted the application.

    “The defendant’s blood samples were collected during the trial and subjected to tests to build his DNA profile.

    “It is the outcome of the tests carried out on the defendant’s samples that is now incorporated, served on the defence, titled ‘Forensic DNA superseding report’.”

    She said the flash drive “merely contains an overview, summary of the scientific DNA report that we have already served on the defence…it contains nothing new.

    “However, in view of the concerns of the Learned Silk, I will not be opposing the application for adjournment.”

  • Ambode lauds NYSC for election role

    Lagos State Governor Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has praised the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for its role in the success of the general elections.

    Ambode said this at the swearing-in of 2019 Batch A corps members at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, where he was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Dr Yusuf Jimoh.

    “May I on this note specially commend the National Youth Service Corps for its invaluable role and contributions to the just concluded elections. The success of the 2019 elections has further proven that the scheme is indeed an enduring legacy of its founding fathers. Our political trajectory becomes more definite with the NYSC as an instrument for sustaining our democracy,” he said.

    The state NYSC Coordinator, Prince Mohammed Momoh, said a total of 2,658 corps members (954 male and 1,614 females) took the oath of allegiance administered by the Chief Justice of Lagos, Justice Opeyemi Oke, represented by Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court at the ceremony.

    He urged them to take the programmes of the three-week orientation camp seriously, especially the entrepreneurship aimed at preparing them for self-employment.

    “The Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme has been specially designed to salvage the deepening threat of unemployment in our country. I therefore encourage you to go the extra mile to participate in the programme in order to derive the maximum benefits and position yourself as an entrepreneur ready to take the many business opportunities out there. Remember the race for excellence has no finish line,” he said.

  • Akpabio: opponents using my name to intimidate tribunal

    Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North West) has accused his opponents of using his name to intimidate judges of the election tribunal.

    According to him, his opponents have started ascribing false and malicious statements to him to paint him in bad light before the tribunal.

    A statement by his media aide, Anietie Ekong, described as ‘unfortunate’, ongoing propaganda that Akpabio vowed to secure victory at the Appeal Court if the tribunal refused to deliver judgment in his favour.

    The statement reads: “The attention of Senator Godswill Akpabio has been drawn to malicious news titled: “I will win at Appeal if tribunal judges refuse to perform”, with an equally malicious rider “says Appeal Court President in his palms”.

    Read also: Akpabio serves Ekpenyong petition to appear at tribunal

    “We state categorically that Senator Akpabio never uttered those words. The article is political propaganda manufactured from the pit of hell. The obvious objective of this ill-advised article is to intimidate and blackmail members of the Akwa Ibom State election tribunal and sway them from the course of justice.”

    Ekong affirmed that nothing would stop the Senator from seeking redress in court for the ‘brazen robbery’ of his mandate which the people of Akwa Ibom North West gave him.

    “It is not just about Senator Godswill Akpabio. The right of the people of Akwa Ibom North West to freely choose their leader cannot be mortgaged. This is why Senator Akpabio has chosen the path of due process by challenging the electoral heist of February 23. Such daylight robbery cannot stand.

    “The tribunal will have no inhibition upturning the shambolic election. This is why his opponents are in panic. The Senator has implicit confidence in the judiciary to dispense justice without fear or intimidation,” he added.

  • FBNQuest marks Global Money Week

    FBNQuest Merchant Bank, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, took the nuggets of financial literacy to secondary school students across the country to commemorate the 2019 Global Money Week (GMW) which took place on March 25 to 31,  2019.

    The 2019 Global Money Week was themed “Learn Save Earn”. Representatives of FBNQuest Merchant Bank, imparted over 800 students with the knowledge required to make wise financial decisions as they proceed with their academic and career pursuit in life.

    They emphasised the importance of being grounded on the essentials of financial literacy which include budgeting, learning to save and the various types of financial accounts available for this purpose. Volunteers from FBNQuest Merchant Bank went further to cover and highlight how students can take advantage of investment opportunities in fixed deposits and Mutual Funds from a young age, cultivating the habit of putting money away to meet medium to long term financial goals.

    Schools visited include; Government Secondary School, Kuje – Abuja, Government Secondary School, Gwarimpa, Federal Government Boys College, Apo – Abuja; Federal Government Girls College Abuloma, Holy Rosary College, Government Girls Secondary School Rumuokwuta amongst others.

    Speaking on the event, Managing Director/CEO, FBNQuest Merchant Bank,  Kayode Akinkugbe,  stated that “This initiative driven by the CBN provides institutions the opportunity to impart useful financial knowledge to young students at an early age. The importance of teaching financial literacy at this crucial stage of learning cannot be overemphasised as it is pivotal to building sustainable economic growth and development.

  • Tricycle owners hail Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat

    The Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN) has congratulated the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his 67th birthday.

    The group, in a statement in Lagos yesterday by its acting Lagos State Chairman, Chief Tunji Oyeniyi, described Tinubu as the “father of our modern democracy.”

    He said: “Asiwaju Tinubu is a patriot, a visionary leader of no comparison, a pace-setter, dynamic, well focused, courageous, a mentor with a Lion’s heart and an apostle of one Nigeria.”

    Oyeniyi said the history of the nation’s democracy can never be told anywhere in the world without Tinubu’s name being mentioned.

    “Asiwaju remains the father of our modern democracy. On behalf of my members, I join millions of Nigerians to celebrate you and wish you more fruitful years ahead in good health,” he added.

    The association also hailed Lagos State Governor-elect Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, for their victory at the polls.

    According to Oyeniyi , the  victory of Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat and all APC lawmakers-elect will further develop Lagos State.

    He rejoiced with other APC federal lawmakers-elect and appealed to those that lost to accept defeat and support the ruling party to move the country  forward.

     

  • Oando to raise fresh capital, cut debt

    The Chief Executive Officer, Oando Plc, Adewale Tinubu  yesterday said the oil firm is planning to raise fresh capital over the next two years and repay debt incured during the acquisition of Conoco Phillips Nigeria assets.

    Oando has transformed itself in the past few years from a fuel retailer to oil producer and now competes with multinationals such as Shell and ExxonMobil, but its growth has been largely built on debt.

    It bought Conoco Phillips’ Nigeria assets for $1.5 billion in 2013, but high financing costs coupled with lower oil prices hit profit, leaving it unable to repay its debt. It has posted losses including a record $1.10 billion loss in 2014.

    According to Tinubu, Oando has paid over 77 per cent of the acquisition debt and plans to pay-off the rest in 12 months, which would allow it to resume dividend payments. The firm would then be left with a total debt of $300 million.

    He said Oando would continue to pursue acquisitions as multinational oil companies sell assets, adding that the firm would take on new deals after paying the debt.

    ExxonMobil is weighing the sale of its Nigerian oil and gas fields for up to $3 billion to focus on new developments in U.S. shale and Guyana, industry and banking sources said.

    “Our expectation is that over a four-year horizon we will no longer have long term debt,” Tinubu told Reuters by mail.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2016 gave lenders a deadline to reach a deal to resolve Oando’s debt issue, leading to a N94.6 billion loan restructuring including asset sales.

    Last week, Oando’s losses narrowed to N18.3 billion  ($59.8 million) for 2018 while its auditor Ernst & Young questioned its “going concern” status, saying its current liabilities were in excess of its current assets.

    Oando said it would reclassify some current liabilities as long-term liabilities to remedy its working capital by June and swap N27.5 billion of debt into equity, it said in a note to its 2018 accounts.

    It also said in its accounts that it plans to sell up to $200 million via a rights issue by October and cut its stake in its upstream unit to raise $275 million in 2020.

    Tinubu said he was confident with the capital raising initiatives and that over the next 24 months, Oando would raise funds as plans were far advanced.

    Shares in Lagos-listed Oando, which are down 86 percent from their peak of N33.47 in 2014, rose 3.2 per cent yesterday to value the company at N58.43 billion.

  • ‘Osun deserves better than Adeleke’

    THE Osun State All Progressives Congress has reacted to the verdict of an Abuja High Court, which disqualified Ademola Adeleke from contesting the state governorship election of 2018.

    The party described the verdict as a victory for the state, saying Osun deserves better than an ill-educated person as its governor.

    “Long before independence, this state has produced intellectual giants and exceptionally brilliant businessmen and technocrats, including jurists of international standard.

    “We’re too civilised to have an Ademola Adeleke as governor, who presented a fake statement of result of the secondary school he attended and is currently under investigation for another NECO certificate forgery allegation.

    Read also: We didn’t see Adeleke in exam hall, NECO supervisors tell court

    “The court judgment, therefore, corroborated what we have known all along that this young man is best suited for the dance floor of a discotheque rather than the intellectually high demand of running Government Secretariat at Abere,” a statement issued by the party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi said.

    The APC regretted that “of all the highly qualified and intellectually solid individuals available even in the PDP, the party went for the lowest possible cadre, whose integrity is questionable but whose wealth is limitless”.

    “Fortunately for Osun, we can depend on Nigerian’s jurisprudence to uphold justice at the most critical point.

    “We hope that the Appeal Court handling Osun governorship dispute will take judicial notice of this judgment that has practically disqualified Ademola Adeleke from the governorship position,” the statement added.

  • Minister praises FEDPOFFA’s deputy rector

    Education Minister Adamu Adamu has congratulated the Rector, Federal Polytechnic Offa (FEDPOFFA), Dr. Lateef Olatunji on the recognition and patent right given to the Deputy Rector (Academics) Dr Jimoh Abdul for the production of a Hydrogen Storage Tank.

    The Patent Right was awarded him by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu in Abuja on the completion of his research on Production of Hydrogen Storage Tank with Palladium Additive.

    In a message to the Rector, Adamu praised the polytechnic for keying into the nation’s drive for technological advancement, urging the institution to keep it up.

    During the presentation of the patent, Dr Onu admonished Abdul as well as all academics present at the occasion to keep up the drive “so that we can together move Nigerian nation from developing to developed nation.”

    Explaining the details of the research, Abdul said the innovation was all about the use of hydrogen gas as a replacement for fossil fuel to power vehicle.

    He said he took up the research to eliminate the carbon-monoxide a poisonous gas expelled into the air from exhaust of cars, which is dangerous to health.

    Abdul said the hydrogen system had numerous advantages including: “The outcome of hydrogen from car exhausts is steam (water) or H20 which is always friendly to the environment. More so, the use of hydrogen is more economical than petrol though it may be expensive at the initial stage but as soon as the car adapts to the use of hydrogen system, it becomes very economical.”

    Olatunji said he was delighted that the feat was recorded in his time – the first in the 25-year history of the polytechnic. He congratulated the polytechnic community on the great honour done the institution.

    “A lot of good things have been happening recently to the Polytechnic.  This is a proof that the Federal Polytechnic, Offa is on its way to the zenith of academic and technological excellence as we have vowed to take the lead among technical institutions in innovations and meaningful fabrications towards national development,” he said.

    He thanked staff members for their support.

  • Bank promotes financial literacy

    Heritage Bank Plc has joined the world to mark the Global Money Week (GMW) with educational programmes targeted at exposing children to financial literacy and promoting savings and investment.

    The programme was in commemoration of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Financial Literacy Day, which is part of activities to mark the GMW.

    The Central Bank directed Heritage Bank to adopt schools in seven states: Osun, Bauchi, Kebbi, Niger, Enugu, Delta and Ekiti for Financial Literacy workshops.

    To this end, Heritage Bank visited the schools last Thursday to discuss the theme of this year’s GMW, “Learn. Save. Earn.”

    This is the sixth year that Heritage Bank has commemorated the programme.

    The pupils and teachers were taught several concepts, including: the role and management of money, needs and wants, benefit of budgeting, spending and savings among others.

    Addressing some of the participants, Heritage Bank Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ifie Sekibo underscored the importance of youths being financially equipped for the country’s development.

    He said through financial literacy, Nigerian youths could learn to save and earn money wisely.

    Sekibo said Heritage Bank had developed some products, including the HB Bud Savings Account to help parents create wealth for their wards.

    His words: “As a bank committed to creating, preserving and transferring wealth from one generation to the next, we have consistently maintained our position as the leading brand in financial inclusion initiatives by leveraging on CBN’s mandate to impact schools across the geopolitical zones and improve financial inclusion.”

    Other senior employees of the bank visited other schools in some of the CBN-assigned states.