The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UK

  • Charity begins in UK

    There is a penetratingly scalding saying in Igboland about people who are overly charitable outside the household in the face of gaping needs within. They are branded okanmanama – he who is most gracious only outside his homestead. Or to make it more plain, he who rushes to fix another man’s roof while his own leaks profusely.

    So Mr. Okanmanama is further derided as always doing too much seeking to belong or be accepted by outsiders while often neglecting his immediate relations and family members. In the end, while the crowd you bend backwards to please hardly notice or take you for granted; you have incurred the ire of your homies as they say, leaving them distraught and generally full of dissing   for you.

    This must be exactly the feeling many football fans and lovers of the Nigerian game probably have towards many of Nigeria’s corporate bodies and multinationals. Some of these firms operating in Nigeria may be described as okanmanama’s. They pump funds into the English Premier League (EPL) while finding Nigeria’s home football industry unworthy of any considerations.

    Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was so peeved at a point he mooted the idea of making any company sponsoring an EPL club to commit a fraction of the sum in the local league. This condition may well be worth looking into considering the fact that sponsorship of top English clubs are often worth millions of pounds sterling.

    Hardball understands that corporate bodies are leveraging on the global identities of English clubs to trade, sell more products and curry goodwill but this must not be at the expense of complete sponsorship blackout of the local league and clubs.

    Just as the EPL was not built in one day, so does the Nigerian league need even more corporate funding to grow and become a global football giant someday soon. The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has actually recorded some appreciable growth in the last five years. It certainly needs sponsorship dollars to do even better.

    This is needed in areas of jersey and kits branding, stadium branding and sustainable partnerships. Standard Chartered Bank for instance brands Liverpool F.C’s jersey as well as carries out local promos with the Liverpool FC name. Same does MTN with Arsenal while Glo and Guinness sponsor EPL matches on television.

    We have a duty to deepen our football industry as has been done in South Africa. Let charity begin in Nigeria please!

  • Diezani: Firm briefs UK, US lawyers

    A leading oil producer, the Aiteo Group, has briefed a London law firm, Mishcon de Reya and Washington-based Covington & Burling.

    It was learnt that the company’s Executive Vice Chairman Benedict Peters directed that the law firms be engaged to address likely politically-motivated issues that may arise from its operations.

    Mishcon de Reya is one of the world’s leading law firms with a particular proficiency in handling contentious international disputes. Covington is renown for navigating complex legal issues at the intersection of law and policy.

    An online report claimed that Peters bought property and luxury furnishings in England for former Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke in return  for contracts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Peters said: “I maintain my position that all the allegations are baseless and without any truth whatsoever. These unfounded allegations have caused untold disruption to my family and my business.

    “To ensure that we remain focused, I have engaged two of the world’s leading law firms to offer both counsel and guidance in dealing with these issues.

    “There is a toxic culture of politically motivated witch-hunts that stains reputations, stifles enterprise and keeps foreign investors away from our country. For two years, I have suffered malicious, unfounded and false allegations hanging over my head.

    “This persecution is being pursued to diminish the visible endeavours to position our business, and Nigeria, at the apex of the energy industry worldwide.

    “ Despite these distractions, I remain focused on the efforts to sustain Aiteo’s growth towards becoming Nigeria’s leading indigenous oil producer. It is time to address the situation and so I have decided that I must take direct legal and other action to clear my name.”

    Peters, in an earlier statement, said the publication contained several false and malicious allegations against him and Aiteo Group and were part of “an orchestrated largescale campaign of calumny which is sponsored and designed to tarnish our image”.

     

  • UK partners Nigeria on aviation security

    UK partners Nigeria on aviation security

    … As NSCDC boss hails FG over release of 90% budget allocation

     

    The Department of Transport, United Kingdom, has resolved to partner with the Federal Government through the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Aviation Security in Nigeria, especially the Lagos and Abuja International Airports.

    Commandant General (CG), NSCDC, Gana Muhammadu disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the Department of Transport, United Kingdom.

    A statement issued in Abuja by the NSCDC spokesman, Emmanuel Okeh said: “Andrew Jones the leader of delegation, Department of Transport United Kingdom, highlighted that the essence of their visit is to partner the NSCDC on Aviation Security in Nigeria, especially the Lagos and the Abuja International Airports. He disclosed that they are responsible to counter terrorist attack in the UK, and they work with host governments in the area of Aviation Security.

    “Andrew explained that in carrying out their work, they will do regular department by department thorough security assessment of the Lagos and Abuja Airports.

    “He maintained that in working together with the NSCDC, they will like both them and the NSCDC to learn from each other on how best to make the Airports very safe for travelling Nigerians and foreigners alike.

    “Andrew affirmed that they will prepare a manual on Aviation Security specifically for the NSCDC, that their approach to protecting the Nigerian Aviation Sector will be holistic.

    “The Commandant General thanked the Minister of Interior, Associate Professor Bello Dambazzau and the Team for the visit. The Commandant General also appreciated the Federal Government to have released about 90% of the Civil Defence budget allocation for the first time.

    “Gana noted that the mandate of the NSCDC is to protect Critical Infrastructure and National Assets in Nigeria, the Aviation Sector inclusive. He revealed that as at today, the Corps has successfully Prosecuted 150 vandals and destroyed over 500 illegal refineries nationwide.

    “The Corps helmsman pointed out, that the Agency is very open to work with the UK Transport Department on Aviation Security for the Airports in Nigeria, as the hallmark of the discussion is to provide adequate security for the travelling Nigerians and foreigners on the Nigeria soil.

    “Gana maintained that the visit is timely, and requested that the UK Transport Department should assist in ameliorating the challenges faced by the Corps by providing capacity building for Officers and Men of the Corps, equipment devices to work with by the officers and Men of the Corps at the Airports.

    “The Leader of the Civil Defence postulated that the concerted efforts being made by the present administration of the NSCDC and the insertion of the NSCDC into the Nigerian constitution are all for laying very solid foundational structure for the future of the Corps.

    The CG reiterated that working at the Airports, the NSCDC will work at the outside perimeter of the Airports in order to forestall any eventuality.

    Read: NSCDC moves to address personnel’s housing needs

    “Director Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Alhaji Bala Salihu, informed that the Minister of Interior directed that he accompany the Team to the NSCDC, in his capacity as the Secretary to the Presidential Committee on Security of the Nigerian Ports.

    “Salihu revealed that the then Acting President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, set up the Presidential Committee on the Improvement of Security at the Ports. The focus is to facilitate the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria by providing adequate security at the Airports, Seaports and at the Strategic Boarders in the Country.

    “He also disclosed that the Committee was split into other 3 Sub-committees, which are Committee for Sensitization of the General Public on security at the Ports. Committee on Streamlining the Presence of the Security Agencies to work at the Ports in Nigeria, and the Committee to Advice the Federal Government on how to fast track the ease of doing business in the areas of security in Nigeria.

    “Speaking also, the Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Interior, Honourable Aliyu Gebi, advised the Corps that in the discharge of their duties at the Airports, they should monitor strictly the fuel dump sites, farm areas and the human habitation around the Airports.”

  • UK, Ghana trip for school quiz winners

    Finalists of the ongoing Ayodeji Joseph Inter-Primary Schools Quiz competition would be taken on tour to the United Kingdom  (UK) and Ghana.

    Ayodeji Joseph, a lawmaker, disclosed this at the kick off of the quiz, noting that it would promote academic excellence among the pupils.

    The contest held simultaneously in 20 schools.

    According to the legislator, two best pupils from the competition, one each from Apapa Local Government (LGA) and Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), would be sent to the UK for two weeks, while the runners-up would go on tour of Ghana, as well as N500,000 cash prizes each.

    The tours, he said, would be co-sponsored by the Apapa LCDA Chairman, Elijah Owolabi.

    Ayodeji said he was committed to instilling the passion for education in the children, adding that the quiz would encourage academic rivalry, challenge the pupils to be focused and bring out the best in them.

    He said: “Many youths in this constituency have seen touting and thuggery as the only means by which they can make money. We need to change this and that is why we want to focus on the pupils, so that they do not grow with that mentality.

    “When you educate a child, you enhance the potential inherent in him or her and when we fail to do this, they will take to hooliganism.

    By sending them on UK tour, we need them to know another part of the world where development is on the high side.

    “Since they are the leaders of tomorrow, we need them to know that something is wrong in this part of the world and that something must be corrected. We want them to know that electricity can run uninterrupted and traffic can flow better.”

  • 100 Nigerian students face deportation in UK over unpaid scholarships

    100 Nigerian students face deportation in UK over unpaid scholarships

    •High commission steps in

    More than 100 Nigerian students on scholarship in the United Kingdom universities could be deported home as early as this week except their fees are settled immediately, according to The Telegraph of London.

    The students are said to be sponsored by a regional agency and some of them are saddled with debts of up to £20,000.

    The name of the sponsor agency was not given in the report.

    The report described the students as “some of the Nigeria’s brightest undergraduates.”

    They have been told that they will not receive their degree certification even though many of them completed their courses in the last academic year.

    The newspaper said some of the affected students claimed they have been warned they could be deported by Friday, October 20.

    It said the Nigerian High Commission in London confirmed that 152 students had been caught up in the scandal, and that the sponsor agency had been left with a “draught of funding” due to a slump in Nigeria’s oil revenues.

    The High Commission said in a statement that additional funding had been approved for 87 students.

    There was no mention of how soon the bill would be paid.

    The universities of Leeds and Essex said they “sympathised” with the affected students but declined to say whether their visas would be revoked.

    They said that they were working closely with the Nigerian High Commission to resolve the dispute.

    The University of Sussex claimed it had allowed one student to graduate, but declined to comment on whether their transcript had been withheld. It added that it had been providing “some financial assistance for living costs in cases of particular hardship.”

  • UK, Canada institutions, others storm Lagos for Edufair

    No fewer than 17 institutions of higher learning participated in the 2017 edition of Education Fair held at Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island last weekend.

    The event organised by ALT Consulting, had institutions from Canada, UK, Switzerland and  UAE in attendance.

    The Managing Partner of the organization, Mrs. Anthonia Foluke Sawyerr, said: “The programme is about interfacing  overseas schools with parents and students in Nigeria. We  invited 17 schools from the UK, Canada Switzerland and the UAE to meet directly with the parents and the students. A lot of Nigerian children go abroad to school and a lot of time, they don’t understand the schools properly or their requirements. It is god when schools come down here and parents are able to meet directly with the school representatives.

    “We have here today many parents whose children are already studying abroad and they have come back to us” We don’t just help to find schools, we assist with the visa processing. If there are issues with the students, the parents would come back to us and the school will also make us to know and we step in to see how we can help resolve the problem. Often times, we hear positive reports.

  • Kanu’s kinsman seeks his repatriation from UK to face trial

    Kanu’s kinsman seeks his repatriation from UK to face trial

    For fear that Nnamdi Kanu’s sureties may be held responsible should he fail to return for his trial, a Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to compel the Federal Government to have him brought back to the country.

    The request is contained in a suit filed on October 5 by an indigene of Abia State, Ugochukwu Kenneth, through his lawyers Obor John and Tersagh Unande.

    Named as de?fendants are:  the British High Commission, the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

    Kanu and some other member of his defunct group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), are being tried before Justice Binta Nyako (also of the Federal High Court, Abuja) for alleged treason.

    The court granted only Kanu bail on health grounds on April 25. In meeting the bail conditions, three individuals, including Senator Eyinanaya Abaribe, stood surety for Kanu to guarantee that he would attend court until the trial is concluded.

    But in a suit filed in his name on September 26, also before the Federal High Court in Abuja, his lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor, accused the Army of abducting Kanu.

    Ejiofor stated, among others, that Kanu had not been seen since some soldiers invaded his home on September 14, during which shots were fired and people allegedly died. Some were injured, he said.

    Kanu’s lawyer’s claim about his whereabouts was, however, countered in an interview by former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, who said Kanu had escaped to Britain through Malaysia.

    The plaintiff in the fresh suit, Uguchukwu Kenneth,agreed with the ex-governor’s position on Kanu’s whereabouts and requested that the NIS be compelled to repatriate him to enable him face his trial, which is expected to resume on October 17.

    Kanneth stated, in a supporting affidavit, that “Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, representing the good people of Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State; Tochukwu Uchendu and Jewish Chief High Priest Immanuel -El Shalom Oka-Ben Madu perfected the bail bond which facilitated the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

    “Upon the perfection of the bail and consequent released of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from prison custody, Mazi Kanu has, to the best of my knowledge, breached all the bail conditions to wit; granting press interviews while on bail, participating in any rally, or being found in a crowd of more than ten persons in the course of the bail.

    The case has been assigned to Justice John Tsoho. It is fixed for October 12 for its first mention.

  • Activists to occupy UK embassy for Kanu’s extradition

    Activists to occupy UK embassy for Kanu’s extradition

    A group of activists under the aegis of Advocate of Social Justice for All (ASJA) has threatened to occupy the embassy of the United Kingdom (UK) if the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, is not extradited to Nigeria.

    In a statement yesterday by its Executive Director, Asongo Venatius, ASJA said it was disappointed to learn that Kanu was hiding in the UK, after illegally travelling through Cameroon and Malaysia.

    According to Venatius, this implies that the UK is harbouring a fugitive from justice, notwithstanding his dual nationalism – Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    The statement said: “The proper thing is for the UK to have allowed Kanu answer the treason charges against him in Nigeria before making any intervention.”

    “We find it supremely irresponsible for the UK High  Commission in Nigeria to have issued its statement seeking clarification on Nnamdi Kanu when it knows it was in cahoots with the terrorist leader.

    “The irresponsible behaviour became diabolic when the UK issued him an emergency travel document in collaboration with crisis merchants. This is the worst form of double standard ever.

    “We are at a loss to understand what the UK Mission in Nigeria or even the home country stands to gain by mischievously sinking so low to aid a terrorist and facilitate his sneaking out of the country.

    “This is a disgrace to the government and people of the United Kingdom; it is a blot that can only be erased by the government of the UK flushing out Kanu and all other bad elements trying to sabotage Nigeria.

    “If the UK truly believes in freedom, it must extradite Kanu, who is facing charges in a Nigerian court, so that those who stood surety to perfect his bail conditions do not end up in jail, if he fails to show up for his trial.

    “Even where the UK has decided to spurn the ties that existed between it and Nigeria, we advise it to revisit the ill-advised choice of backing a terrorist against the Nigerian state.

    “As the UK should have learnt from initially supporting ISIS terrorists, the attacks by these sick minds would eventually take place on its soil.

    “The ASJA, therefore, demands that the UK High Commission in Nigeria immediately extradite Nnamdi Kanu to stand trial for his crime before his October 17 court appearance.

    “Failure to do this will see ASJA leading Nigerians to occupy the UK High Commission’s premises in a manner it has never experienced before in any other part of the world.”

     

  • UK, France: no protests on IPOB, Radio Biafra

    UK, France: no protests on IPOB, Radio Biafra

    Britain and France yesterday denied any link with the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    They were reacting to the Federal Government’s claim that Biafra Radio was broadcasting from Britain, which rejected requests to stop it.

    Minister of Information Lai Mohammed said also that the bulk of the Diaspora money being sent to the group and its leader Nnamdi Kanu was passing through France.

    The British High Commission, in a statement by its Press and Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Joe Abuku, said: “The UK is not aware of any representation from the Nigerian government about Radio Biafra.

    “Were we to receive any such request, we would of course consider it carefully on the basis of the available evidence, recognising that freedom of speech and expression carries responsibilities.”

    A diplomatic source who corroborated the High Commission’s statement said: “There is no way the UK Government will harbour any terrorist organisation. The UK is not immune from terrorism and it is in our interest to join hands with the Nigerian government to fight the scourge.

    “We can only crack down on any group if proven intelligence is made available. And even in doing that, we will act only within the ambits of the law and fundamental human rights.

    “If you will recall, the British Prime Minister in June called for a global action against  the use of internet space by terrorists.

     ”She demanded international agreements to ‘regulate cyberspace’ against terrorists.”

    The source quoted the British Prime Minister as saying:  “We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online. We need to deprive the extremists of safe spaces online.”

    The French Embassy said its government was not harbouring IPOB terrorists.

    It said the French Government was surprised by the allegation from the Federal Government.

    A statement by the Embassy’s Political Counsellor, Claude Abily, said there was no knowledge of IPOB presence in France.

    The statement said: “The Embassy of France was surprised by the statement made yesterday by the Minister of Information and Culture indicating that the ‘financial headquarters’ of IPOB were in France.

    “We don’t have any knowledge of a particular presence of IPOB in France and the Nigerian authorities never got in touch with the Embassy on this point.

    “We stand ready to examine any information which could support this statement.

    “Furthermore, we would like to reiterate that France actively cooperates with Nigeria in the field of security and that we strongly support the unity of the country.”

  • France, UK deny support for IPOB

    France, UK deny support for IPOB

    France and United Kingdom have denied granting any form of support to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    Both countries in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday said they are strongly in support of Nigeria’s unity.

    The French government denied any knowledge of IPOB presence in its country, saying it is strongly in support of Nigeria’s unity.

    In apparent reaction to the statement made by Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the bulk of IPOB funding from diaspora supporters came through France, the Political Counsellor, Embassy of France in Nigeria, Mr. Claude Abily, said the statement was shocking to the French government.

    Abily said his country has been cooperating with Nigeria in the area of security.

    The statement reads: “The Embassy of France was surprised by the statement made yesterday (Wednesday) by the Minister of Information and Culture indicating that the ‘financial headquarters’ of IPOB was in France.

    “We don’t have any knowledge of a particular presence of IPOB in France and the Nigerian authorities never got in touch with the Embassy on this point.

    “We stand ready to examine any information which could support this statement.

    “Furthermore, we would like to reiterate that France actively cooperates with Nigeria in the field of security and that we strongly support the unity of the country.”

    On its part, the British government said it was not aware of any representation from its Nigerian counterpart about Radio Biafra.

    The statement reads: “The UK is not aware of any representation from the Nigerian government about Radio Biafra. Were we to receive any such request, we would of course consider it carefully on the basis of the available evidence, recognising that freedom of speech and expression carries responsibilities.”