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President Goodluck Jonathan Loses Sister

According to reports, the sister of the President of Nigeria, Nancy Jonathan-Olei, passed away today after a brief illness.

She passed away in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, at the age of 52.

MALI: Six Nigerien Soldiers Wounded in Mine Explosion

A vehicle transporting troops of the Nigerien contingent of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), on Sunday drove on a landmine in the northern region of Gao, leaving six soldiers injured in the explosion, three of them critically, a UN source has announced.The incident occurred on the road between Ansongo and Menaka, MINUSMA said, renewing its call to all stakeholders in the peace process already underway to be proactive in preventing attacks on UN peacekeepers.

According to corroborating details from various sources, Northern Mali, especially the Gao and Timbuktu regions have for the past ten days been mired in a wave of violence including kidnappings, attacks and fighting between armed factions.

These incidents take place a few days ahead of a crucial round of peace talks between the government in Bamako and the armed movements, which have moved to distinguish themselves from terrorist organizations and criminals.

This last phase of the negotiations to be held in January should in principle lead to the signing of a pre-agreement ahead of a final peace deal, the signing of which is slated to take place in the Malian capital Bamako.

- Star Africa News

Suspected Nyanya Bombing Mastermind Ogwuche Demands 100mln Naira Compensation For Unlawful Detention

The Federal High Court in Abuja had on November 24 dismissed two counts of terrorism-related charges which were levelled against Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, the alleged mastermind of the twin bomb explosions in Nyanya, a satellite town of Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory. Ogwuche now demands for 100 million Naira from the Department of State Services (DSS) as damages for unlawful detention.

Ogwuche also demanded a public apology in two national dailies.

In a lawsuit filed for enforcement of his fundamental human rights, Ogwuche through his lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji, told the court that his continued detention by the State Security Service was illegal and unconstitutional and asked the court to order his release or his trial.

At the proceedings, Ogwuche's lawyer urged the court to discountenance section 27 of the Terrorism Act which the DSS was relying on to detain his client.

He argued that the said section was inferior to the constitution which stipulated a time frame within which an accused person should be arraigned.

According to him, the continued detention of the accused without prosecution is illegal and unconstitutional .

Mr. Raji asked the court to order the DSS to pay Ogwuche 100 million Naira as damages and a published apology in two national dailies as compensation for unlawful detention.

He also requested that the court should make an order releasing him on bail and preventing the DSS from further arresting or detaining him, or in the alternative charge him to court within 48 hours of the court granting his orders.

After listening to the accused person's lawyer, Justice Adeniyi Ademola adjourned the case for the prosecution to show cause as to why the orders should not be granted in favour of Ogwuche.

The suspect, who was in court, however, was not discharged, as he is being detained by the Department of State Security Service.

Ogwuche had earlier asked the court to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation and the SSS to either charge him to court or set him free.

Nigeria Slashes Oil Price Assumption to $65 per Barrel

Nigeria has slashed the oil price assumed in its 2015 budget by 11 percent to $65 a barrel from $73, in light of lower world oil prices, a Finance Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.

It was the second time in a month the benchmark has been cut, after initially being lowered from $78 a barrel.

Other oil exporting countries including Russia and Mexico have said they expect oil prices to be lower next year than assumed in their budgets, which may be revised.

The spokeswoman gave no further details but said Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was working on a statement. No time was given for when the statement would be issued.

Nigeria depends on oil for around 75-80 percent of government revenues and its finances have been hammered by a steep drop in oil prices since June.

Its oil money is distributed between three tiers of government — local, state and federal, with the federal portion being used to fund finance ministry budgets, along with tax receipts. The budget assumes a benchmark price that is usually conservative, so money over and above that is deposited into an oil savings account to cushion against shocks.

The minister has often wrestled with parliament to keep the benchmark low and accumulate more savings, but the Excess Crude Account (ECA) is all too easily raided for spending. It has declined by billions of dollars to around $4 billion over the past two years even while oil prices were at record highs.

The allure of Africa's biggest economy to foreign investors has been growing, especially for buyers of its attractively priced debt, but they worry about its tendency to squander its oil windfall in bloated government spending and patronage.

Nigeria's central bank devalued the naira by 8 percent and raised interest rates sharply last week, as it sought to stem losses to its foreign reserves from defending the currency against weaker oil prices..

The naira has consistently tested the lower end of the new band.

Okonjo-Iweala has said Nigeria still has funds to pay salaries and keep debt obligations but with crude likely to fall, the government would increase taxes on luxury items and ban non-essential government travel to cut expenditure.

- Reuters

NATCOM Consortium Wins Nitel, Mtel Bid With $252m

The process for the sale of functions and assets of the nation's national carrier, Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (Nitel) and the Mobile Telecommunications (Mtel) has been formalised. The sole qualified bidder, NATCOM Consortium, has offered to pay $252,251 million to acquire both assets, liabilities and functions of the moribund companies.

NATCOM came from a short break that was granted by the Technical Committee to enable it meet the fixed preferred price of $221 million to acquire the companies which it did not meet initially to surpass its offers to pay above the price.

Ebonyi First Lady Gives Educational Materials to 230 Orphans, Indigent Students

Wife of the Ebonyi State governor, Chief (Mrs) Josephine Elechi, has continued the programme which started in the 2010/2011 academic session. She has provided educational materials for over 230 orphans, vulnerable children in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the state.

The education support programme would cover instructional materials like exercise books, textbooks, as well as school uniforms, sandals, sitting forms, school bags, cash and other items necessary for effective learning.

The programme has experienced an increase in the number of beneficiaries to 33 undergraduates, 48 secondary school students and 72 primary school pupils; the same number of beneficiaries recorded in the 2012/2013 academic session.

"This occasion is designed to offer succour to orphans and vulnerable children by way of providing them with educational support materials. This programme is part of my pet project, Mother and Child Care Initiative (MCCI) which is aimed at enhancing the well-being of our women and children, as well as other vulnerable members of the society," the governor's wife said.

"42 pupils and 68 secondary school students are benefiting from today's event, making it a total of 110 and previous 120."

According to Josephine Elechi, the beneficiaries of the programme cut across primary, secondary and tertiary levels, noting that the OVC team has been going around the various communities and local government areas to identify more of the OVCs in order to include them in the list of the state government.

She urged the recipients to make effective use of the support in order to guarantee a brighter future for them, admonishing them to ensure that they succeeded in their future endeavours.

Some of the beneficiaries of the educational materials commended Mrs. Elechi for wiping out their tears by taking up their educational responsibilities.

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PHOTO: Governor Okorocha Celebrates Wife on Her Birthday (See Tweets)

Happy birthday to her!

Dr. Myles Munroe and Wife to be Buried December 4

Founder of Bahamas Faith Ministries (BFM), Dr. Myles Munroe and his wife Ruth who died on Sunday, November 9, 2014, will be buried on December 4, 2014.



The burial services for the 9 people that lost their lives in the crash actually commenced on Sunday, November 22, 2014, with the home going programme for the co-pilot, Franhkan Cooper, a copy of the burial plan revealed. The Parks family who lost their son, his wife, and the unborn baby was buried on Wednesday, November 26, 2014. Stanley Thurston who piloted the jet was interred on Saturday, November 29, 2014.



Myles partner and senior vice president of the ministry, Dr. Richard Pinder will be laid to rest on Tuesday, December 2, 2014. Finally, a memorial service would be held on behalf of the Myles on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 while their burial would be on Thursday, November 4, 2014.





According to Bahamas Faith Ministries, Dr. Myles and wife's bodies will be in a closed casket at their memorial service next Wednesday. BFM spokesman Kevin Harris said people would not be able to view the bodies out of respect for the family, who decided not to have open caskets after identifying the bodies.

"They were IDed by all the family members, and all the family have confirmed that there will be a closed casket ceremony," said Harris.

R.I.P

Wife of Former VP, Mrs. Abubakar Called To Bar

Wife of former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, just added another feather to her academic cap.

Jennifer Jamilah Douglas-Abubakar was called to the bar on November 25, 2014.

Hold on.... There was more for the former VP; the same day was his birthday!

Barrister (Dr.) Mrs. Jennifer Jamilah Douglas-Abubakar holds a Ph.D.

American Tower to Buy Over 4,800 Bharti Airtel Masts in Nigeria

American Tower Corp has agreed to buy more than 4,800 communications towers in Nigeria from Bharti Airtel Ltd, the companies said on Monday. The deal value was, however, not disclosed.

Bharti Airtel is India's top telecommunications company. The company which also operates in Africa, will be the anchor tenant on the towers initially for 10 years, the two companies said in a joint statement.

The companies expect to close the deal during the first half of 2015. Nigeria is Bharti Airtel's biggest market in Africa.

This move by Airtel is in a bid to cut costs.

WARNING: Fashola Impersonators Scamming Lagos Residents

The Lagos State Government is sending out a warning to its residents, notifying them of fake social media accounts in the name of the Governor, Babatunde Fashola, used to extort money from unsuspecting members of the public.

On Sunday, the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Mr. Hakeem Bello, stated that Gov. Fashola doesn't do business on Facebook or Twitter.

He said: "Although he (Fashola) has Facebook and Twitter accounts, those are used strictly for communicating government policies and programmes when necessary."

"The Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, does not do business on Facebook. He does not operate a Facebook account that asks people to make cash donations into any bank account."

According to Mr. Bello, the reason for the fresh alarm was a certain Dr. Bukola David attempted to defraud a popular artiste by demanding a certain percentage of money be paid into a bank account.

FG to Cut Petrol Subsidy by Half; Fuel May Sell for N145 Per Litre

The Federal Government has said it plans to cut subsidies on petroleum products by half next year after sharp falls in global crude prices, spurred a reversal of its 2015 budget downwards.

President Goodluck Jonathan submitted the revised budget figures to lawmakers last week, proposing to spend 458.68 billion naira ($2.59 bln) on petrol subsidy in 2015, down from 971.14 billion naira presented for 2014.

It also assumed further cuts to petrol subsidies in 2016 to 408.68 billion naira and 371.18 billion naira for 2017.

The Minister of finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has proposed lowering the assumed benchmark oil price for the 2015 budget to $73 per barrel from the $78 proposed in September, after global crude prices collapsed.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters last week that declines in the price of oil, which has lost almost 30 percent since July, would impact the economy, requiring the government to cut non-essential spending and raise more revenues.

Recall that the FG tried to end subsidy in 2012 in efforts to cut government spending and encourage badly needed investment in local refining, doubling the price of a litre of petrol overnight to about 150 naira ($0.93) from about 65 naira.

The budget proposals assumed an exchange rate of 162 naira to the U.S. dollar for 2015, weaker than 160 naira assumed for 2014. It expects the naira to weaken further to 163.50 in 2016, reaching 165 in 2017.

- Vanguard

"We Have No Affiliation With Any Political Party" – MTN

There have been photos online of MTN recharge cards bearing the picture of Lagos State governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Akinwunmi Ambode. But MTN, one of the leading telecommunication companies in Nigeria, has distanced itself from the recharge cards bearing the photo.

MTN has denied having any knowledge of the branding, while stating that it does not have "affilliation with any political party" as it is a "non-political and non partisan" organisation.

MTN has to this effect released a statement:
As a corporate organisation MTN is non-political and non-partisan. MTN Nigeria does not have any arrangement with any political party to produce specially branded recharge cards or merchandise.

We also do not have any affiliation with any political party or organisation, either in Nigeria or in any of the 22 countries where MTN operates across Africa and the Middle East.

Furthermore, the company insinuated that some of its authorized partners may be behind the Ambode branded recharge cards, while adding that it would take steps to ensure that the "dealers conform to agreed trade practices".

Operators and their authorized partners are allowed to sell logical PINs to dealers and trade partners, who in turn retail them to third parties and members of the public who may also wish to/reprint them for their private/commercial use.

We will take all prudent steps to ensure that dealers conform to agreed trade practices consistent with statute and policies governing the Industry.

New 'Digital' ₦100 Paper Note Unveiled

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has unveiled the first digital ₦100 paper note, to commemorate Nigeria’s Centenary.

The new note was unveiled at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, in a presentation by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The new note which has features for the visually impaired will be officially issued into circulation on Friday December 19, 2014.

The unveiling is part of the series of activities lined up for the eventual injection of the new note into circulation.

On Wednesday, November 19, the new note will be sent to banknote equipment manufacturers and other machine suppliers to enable them adapt to machines and authentication devices.

On November 26, there will be a publication of the new ₦100 bank note to be sent by the CBN to commercial banks, chamber of commerce, Nigeria Police force, cash in transit companies etc.

On Wednesday December 3, leaflets on the N100 bank note will be sent to 1,000 Point Of Sales (POS) in the country, including a reminder about adapting machines and devices. While on Wednesday, December 17, a film showing how to check the new hundred naira bank note will go live on the CBN YouTube channel.

Explaining the features of the new banknote, Mr. Emefiele said the new note was designed with enhanced security to offer robust resistance against counterfeiting.

"We have produced a banknote which is the first of its kind, but most importantly it has been designed and produced with most advanced technologies in the world," he said.

He noted that in the process of producing the new note, the following was taken into consideration: “Durability, to make it tolerant in tropics and in doing that we introduced a two sided interglow barriers, both at the front and the back. We also made the note attractive for public acceptance. Emphasis was also placed on our rich cultural heritage. The note has a transformational character”.

Explaining the features he said on the front side of the note is a public authentication features, window micro-optics, showing the national flag and numeral100 indicating the value of the denomination and the attainment of the centenary period.

The second is a spark feature of a rolling manilla bar which was the instrument used during the slave trade era. A portrait of Chief Obafemi Awolowo is retained both in the ink, that is the interglow level, as a portrait and also in a paper as a shadow image.

“We made provision on the front for the visually impaired individuals in our midst by having a raised and embossed line,” he said.

At the back side, the CBN introduced a feature called Quick Response Code, QRC. It is a feature that highlights and sources all the information about the centenary.

“This makes the note the first digital banknote in the world,” he said.

The QRC is an application found on the smart phone or Ipad. Once the barcode on the back of the note is scanned it shows the President’s face and then comes up with all information on Nigeria’s history.

President Goodluck Jonathan thanked the CBN for unveiling the note.

The Coordinating Minister of Economy and minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, said introducing the note was a smart move and the feature of the QRC is educative. But she went on to ask how much it will cost to print the notes.

The President said this will be discussed when the memo is presented.

- Premium Times

Health Workers Declare Indefinite Strike

(LAGOS)

National Agency for Food and Drug Administrations and Control (NAFDAC) offices across the country were shut down by Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN over poor working condition and unpaid allowances.

Declaring an indefinite strike to begin at 12 mid-night Wednesday, Lagos State Chairman, MHWUN, Stephen Ibe directed workers to immediately vacate the premises of the agency.

To this end all NAFDAC offices at the seaports, land ports, airports have been shut indefinitely.

"All other offices of NAFDAC remain closed. It is not a warning strike. It is not JOHESU (strike). Workers can only resume when their 2012 and 2013 salary arrears are paid.

"Other demands include payment of first 28 days after employment, travelling allowances, conversion of HND holders, Implementation of CONHESS among others."

Aliko Dangote Is Africa’s 2nd Most Powerful Person

According to Forbes Magazine's latest ranking of the World's Most Powerful People, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is the 2nd most powerful man in Africa.

Dangote, 57, who is Africa’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $21.3 billion, is listed as the 68th most powerful person in the world, and is one of only two Africans to appear on this year's list. Africa's most powerful man is Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was elected president of Arab's most populous state in June with 96.6% of the vote. He ranks 51st on the power list which was published on Wednesday.

Dangote holds the national honor of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, an honor that was previously the exclusive reserve of high-ranking government officials in Nigeria.

Nigeria to Stop Importing Petroleum by 2018 – Aganga

According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Nigeria would stop importing petroleum products by 2018 if things worked as planned. He spoke as guest Lecturer at the sixth convocation lecture of Bells University of Technology BELLSTECH, Ota, Ogun State.

While speaking on the Topic, 'Emergence of Nigeria as Africa's Leading Economy: Challenges for the Future', the Minister said "If things go as planned, by 2017/2018, Nigeria will stop importing petroleum products because we have over 44 other solid minerals in commercial quantity and rich human resources to sustain us. Nigeria is on the road to unparallel change; the likes that we have not seen in this country before. Over the last five years, we have done well; we have never had it this good."

He added that the 2014 rebasing of Nigeria economy had helped tremendously as the country is now the 26th largest economy in the world and the largest in Africa. He said the nation's economy now accounts for more than 75 per cent of all of ECOWAS.

Aganga affirmed that: "I can say to you confidently that we are indeed a blessed nation. Just consider that we achieved all this despite the constraints we face like electricity and electricity makes about 40 per cent of production. With this, we know where we will be when we have enough power supply." He added that crude oil never made Nigeria rich, instead it made it poor because of the way the country treated the mineral resource.

UK Set to Return Part of Ibori's Loot

The United Kingdom (UK) authorities have concluded arrangements to return part of the funds stolen by jailed former governor of Delta State, James Ibori.

It would be recalled that Ibori was sentenced at the Southwark Crown Court, London, to 13 years imprisonment after being convicted on a 10-count charge of money laundering and fraud.

The former governor pleaded guilty in February 2012 in expectation of a light sentence. Instead Judge Anthony Pitts slammed 13 years jail term on him and confiscated his properties worth billions of dollars.

Quite unfortunate that the former governor has had a bad record for long. In 1991, he was convicted of stealing from a hardware store where he was working in London. His girlfriend back then, who later became his wife was also found guilty.

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TB Joshua Keeps Coroner Inquest Waiting

(LAGOS)

Pastor T.B. Joshua is running late in appearing at the coroner inquest, set up to probe the 12 September collapse of the guesthouse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, in Ikotun, a suburb of Lagos.

The inquest headed by Oyetade Komolafe was expected to begin proceedings by 9 a.m in Ikeja, capital of Lagos State, with Joshua as the star witness. But as at 10.25 a.m, he was yet to appear.

The entire high court venue of the inquest, was overfilled, said a source.

Last week, the coroner threatened to arrest Joshua if he failed to testify on the collapsed building, caused the death of 116 people, most of them South Africans.

Komolafe rejected arguments from Joshua's lawyers that the televangelist should not be summoned because he did not directly witness the September 12 tragedy.

T.B Joshua has indicated that sabotage was to blame and linked the collapse to a low-flying aircraft seen in the area at the time.

"The court has the power to summon whoever it deems necessary to assist it," Komolafe told the hearing in the city.

"The counsel should advise The Prophet to come. The church is not on trial. It's not a matter of ego. Nobody is above the law. The court will be fair to all.

"If he is an institution with immunity, the court will not even go there. If the man refuses to come, he can be arrested… He has to appear. We summoned the Prophet. We summoned the contractors."