Gov Fayose Lied, We Don’t With-Hold Ekiti State Statutory Allocation – Finance Ministry

February 16, 2017

Federal Ministry of Finance has described as a lie, claim by the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, that the ministry is withholding statutory allocation due to Ekiti State.
In a statement today, Thursday by the Director of Information, Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta, the ministry categorically denied the claim, saying that the governor’s claim is incorrect.
The statement added that the ministry had never withheld any statutory allocation due to Ekiti State or any other State in the country.
“The fact is that, the Ekiti State Government failed to comply with the necessary requirements for participating in the Budget Support Facility (BSF), which is a Conditional Loan Programme to State Governments, introduced with the view to enhancing fiscal prudence and designed particularly to enhance transparency, efficiency in public expenditure and payment of salaries.
“This is not the first time of non-compliance by the Ekiti State Government. His administration defaulted in meeting the conditions specified and agreed upon by the 35 State Governments that are participating in the programme as contained in the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) and the Ekiti State Government was warned formally of its failure to comply with the full requirements, vide a letter on August 5, 2016, with reference number HMF/FMF/ASG/1/2016.
“The failure of Ekiti State Government to comply with the requirements and conditions for the Budget Support Facility (BSF) resulted in a letter sent to the Chief of Staff to notify him of the suspension of BSF for Ekiti State and it was conveyed to Mr. President before payment to the Ekiti State Government was reinstated.
“The Ekiti State Government and all the other participating States are aware of the consequence of failure to comply with the full conditions and it is not the first time that a State would be stopped from accessing the Facility due to non-compliance. In the course of its normal duties, the Ministry of Finance has the right to query, suspend or withhold funds as part of the conditions of the Budget Support Facility.
“The process is for the Commissioner of Finance of any State or the Governor having issues to contact the Federal Ministry of Finance and resolve the issues without resorting to the media because such issues are of a financial nature and therefore, confidential; they are routinely resolved amicably by the parties involved.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance wishes to restate very strongly that the Budget Support Facility is a conditional programme and the Federal Government would not be intimidated or threatened in the discharge of its duties.” [myad]

EFCC, 36 Governors Flex Muscles Over Alleged Diversion Of Paris Club Excess Charges Refund

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and governors of the 36 states of the federation are flexing muscles at each other over the alleged diversion of the refund made to states from the excess charges of Paris Club.
While the EFCC has since swung into action to investigate the alleged fraud, the governors said that they are ready to take on the EFCC on the matter.
The governors, under the umbrella of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), who met in the early hours of today, Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that they are waiting to see what the anti-graft agency would come up with.
Answering questions from news men after the meeting, Chairman of the NGF and Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, said the governors are ready for the EFCC probe even as he made it clear that all the governors are in support of the present administration’s war against corruption.
He declared: “We discussed the issue of Paris Club and London Club. We observed that EFCC said it is doing investigations. Yeah, we support the federal government for fighting corruption.
“We are waiting for the EFCC to come up with what they say is the investigation and come up with the result.”
Reports emerged last week that the NGF may have used fictitious consultants to divert some of the money from Paris Club which had attracted the attention of the EFCC.
Worried by the development, the Presidency ordered a full scale investigation into the disbursement of the funds.
Top Presidency source had confirmed that the federal government is worried that its efforts to ensure the settlement of pension and salaries owed to workers in the states was being sabotaged by likely diversion of the funds earmarked for the purpose.
The Presidency expressed its determination to get to the bottom of the matter and consequently ordered relevant agencies to carry out a full scale probe to unravel any abuse the fund might have been subjected to.
It was also reported that the governors are spoiling for war with the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, over the decision of the EFCC to investigate alleged diversion of the money, suggesting that the EFCC may have questioned the Director General of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Asishana Okauru, over the use of the possible diversion of funds by state governors as it was believed that the governors may have paid the money to phoney companies.
The reports also fingered the Senate President, Bukola Saraki over the abuse of the funds.
But the governors were said to be fighting back over what they claimed was the unnecessary harassment of members and officials of the NGF.
However, the EFCC has denied that it indicted the 36 state governors and Senate President, Bukola Saraki for allegedly pocketing large slices of the Paris loan refund.
A media report on an online medium had alleged that the governors’ forum championed a five percent deduction of the funds paid to the states whereby some governors got about N400 million while Saraki got N2.5billion.
In the report, the EFCC was said to have been informed by Okauru that he transferred money to individual governors, through the NGF, though he failed to write an official statement to this effect.
Apparently reacting to the report, EFCC in a statement on its twitter handle, @officialEFCC, said that though investigation was ongoing on the reimbursement paid to state governments for excess Paris club deduction, but that it is yet to indict any governor or Senate President so far.
The EFCC said that the investigation remained at a preliminary stage, even as it frowned at insinuations that it is trying to cover up for some of the officials of the commission.
The commission said that it would brief the public of the results of its investigation as at when due.
The statement read: “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has been drawn to a report captioned, Nigerian State Governors, Senate President Saraki Pocketed Billions of Naira from Paris Loan Refund, which appeared in the online news portal, Sahara Reporters on Sunday February 12, 2017.
“The report among others claimed that the Commission has indicted all the governors of the 36 states of the Federation and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki in the ongoing investigation of the reimbursement paid to state governments by the Federal Government for excessive deduction charged to them on account of the Paris Club and other international loans.
“The Commission wishes to state unequivocally, that no state governor or Senate President has been indicted so far by the investigation which is still at a preliminary stage. Also, insinuations about cover up by some officials of the Commission are untrue as there is no incentive to do so.” [myad]

CBN Directs Banks To Tidy Up Their Forex Sales, In Naira And Dollar Only

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given new directive to all Deposit Money Banks in the country to henceforth, render their returns in a uniform format, by converting all forex sales and purchases to Niara and US Dollar only.
The apex bank insisted that all third currency transactions should also be converted to Naira and US Dollar.
The CBN, in a statement by the acting director of corporate communications, Isaac Okorafor, gave the directive in reaction to recent media report suggesting that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, issued a query to the CBN over issues relating to the sale of foreign exchange.
The full text of the statement by Okorafor goes thus:
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a media report suggesting that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has issued a query to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over issues relating to the sale of foreign exchange.
While it is perfectly normal for any agency of Government to seek clarifications on any matter from other agencies of Government, we wish to state that neither the Governor of the CBN nor the Director, Legal Services Department has received any communication with regard to the issue.
The CBN, as a responsible and responsive arm of Government, will always provide clarifications on any matter within its purview for the purpose of educating and enlightening all concerned.
Accordingly, we wish to reiterate our position by making the following clarifications:
1. The CBN DOES NOT deal directly with any Bank customer on foreign exchange transactions. Such transactions are consummated strictly between the customers and their respective Deposit Money Banks (DMBs);
2. The figures of FOREX sale published in national dailies or on CBN website, over which insinuations are being formed, were transactions consummated between the DMBs and their customers;
3. Pursuant to our policy of transparency, we publish the reports of purchases and sales of forex between the DMBs and their customers, as submitted by the banks without editing. This practice of publishing the figures on our website has been on since October 2016;
4. Following observations of different exchange rates after the last publication on our website (www.cbn.gov.ng), we called for explanations from the banks concerned.
5. In response to our queries to them, apart from some observed formatting errors, the concerned banks reported that the returns were sent on the basis which the transactions were conducted. The transactions concerned were consummated in third currencies such as Japanese Yen and South African Rand (YEN/ZAR); JPY/NGN, EUR/USD, USD/ZAR. As a result, there is no way any DMB or the CBN will deal in forex transaction at the rate of 61kobo/USD, N18/US$1 or N3/US$1, as was erroneously reported.
6. The aforementioned are third currency transactions and when properly translated, will be in line with the prevailing forex rate range in the interbank market.
Consequently, to prevent any such occurrence in the future, the CBN has directed ALL Deposit Money Banks to render their returns in a uniform format converting all forex sales and purchases to NGN/USD. All third currency transactions are also to be converted to NGN/USD.
Again, we urge all concerned stakeholders to always verify information on matters relating to the Bank before going public in order not to trigger volatility in the market.
Isaac Okorafor
Ag. Director, Corporate Communications.” [myad]

GTBank Board Appoints Bolaji As Executive Director, Soyoye As Non Executive Director

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

The Board of Directors of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, has announced the appointment of Mobolaji Lawal as an Executive Director and Babatunde Soyoye as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Bank.
The appointments were announced by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje.
Prior to his appointment, Bolaji Lamal was the Divisional Head, Digital Banking Division. He joined the Bank in 1992 as an Executive Trainee and rose through the ranks to become a General Manager, a position he held until his appointment as Executive Director.
He has over twenty-four years’ of banking experience which covers various aspects of banking including Credit Risk Management; Corporate Banking Group; Commercial Banking Group; Investment Banking and Corporate Finance where he served as Group Head. Under his leadership, the Group worked on several landmark debt syndications, capital market and project finance transactions both in Nigeria and abroad.
He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Obafemi Awolowo University (1990); B.L from the Nigerian Law School (1991) and a Master of Business Administration from the Oxford University, United Kingdom (2002). He has also attended several executive management and banking specific developmental programs in leading educational institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).
The new Independent none executive director, Babatunde Soyoye is a seasoned professional with over twenty-four years’ work experience, twenty-one of which has been spent in investment/financial advisory services.
He is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners LLP, a private investment firm with its principal office in the United Kingdom, formed to pursue alternative asset class investments in Sub-Saharan Africa, specializing in investment in companies, growth capital for private enterprises, restructurings, joint ventures, start-ups and structured investments.
Prior to co-founding Helios Investment Partners, Mr. Soyoye was a Principal responsible for Telecoms & Media investments across Europe for TPG Capital. Before that, he served as a senior member of the corporate strategy team at British Telecom, and manager of business development at Singapore Telecom International.
Guaranty Trust Bank plc was established in 1990 and is regarded by Industry watchers as the best run and most ethical financial institution within the Nigerian Financial Services space, due to its bias for world-class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation. The Bank is one of the few Nigerian financial institutions to have a well-articulated succession plan and this has enabled it seamlessly undertake two management and several board changes since inception.
The Bank operates from over 238 branches within the country and has banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom. [myad]

Farooq Kperogi, A Professor Of Lies, By Muhammad Labbo

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

Few days ago, a United States based journalist, Professor Farooq Kperogi wrote on his facebook wall about the existence of a so called “propaganda” group known as Buhari Media Centre. My first thought was that the publication is one of what has clearly become his new found love of attacking the person of President Muhammadu Buhari for whatever reason. But seeing how far the intent of the so-called expose has helped in deceiving gullible Nigerians into believing his hatred, masqueraded as the criticism of the president, I felt the need to set the records straight and tell Nigerians that Kperogi deliberately twisted what is never a secret, to garner more support for his new found love.
Firstly, Kperogi’s claim about the existence of what he called “Buhari Media Centre” is a twist of fact. To the best of my knowledge, no such group other than the Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) exists and its existence has never been shrouded in secrecy as he alluded to in his publication. Members of the group were drawn voluntarily from the defunct Media and Publicity Committee of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council who out of their free will, patriotism and love for president Buhari, decided to remain together as a media support group as the name implies, to help the president and his media handlers propagate his achievements and also advise on the demands of Nigerians from the media space. This, the group has been doing since its formation and diligently too.
Kperogi alluded in his write-up that the group operates in secrecy, use pen and pseudo names and exists primarily for the purpose of engaging in propaganda, especially to “attack, demonize and smear people critical of the president.” But this again, is another lie, to misinform.
BMSG, since its creation shortly after the inauguration of the president in May 2015, has been a public knowledge. Apart from the fact that the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu had on 28th July, 2015, via a series of tweets, announced the existence of the group, I, as Chairman and Co-ordinator of the BMSG on 27th October, 2015, hosted and addressed a press conference in our office, attended and reported by every major media organization in the country. The BMSG has also periodically issued press statements which are equally widely used in the media. Where then is the secrecy about the existence of the group?
Members, who are drawn from different fields like the media, economy, medicine, law, etc. have been granting interviews, appearing on radio and TV programmes and writing articles in their areas of specialisation. None of them does these in pen or pseudo names, but Kperogi lied by reducing these patriotic and voluntary work to ‘propaganda.’
I however ask, is it ‘propaganda’ to propagate the various infrastructural projects such as roads, railways, power etc., being executed across Nigeria? Is it also ‘propaganda’ to propagate the successful war being waged by this administration against graft in public offices? Is it within the prism of ‘propaganda’ to inform the Nigerian people about the achievements of the military against Boko Haram?
Conversely, the BMSG on a daily basis, reviews events in the media, guages the mood, feelings and perceptions of Nigerians about policies, programmes and actions of government and makes reports or advisory for necessary action.
Another issue that is clearly false, but Kperogi has chosen to deceive Nigerians with is the number of members comprising the Buhari Media Support Group which he has painted as Buhari Media Centre for reasons best known to him. As earlier stated, the Buhari Media Support Group is an offshoot of the Media and Publicity Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council. After the winding-up of the activities of the committee upon successfully winning the 2015 election, some members of the defunct committee volunteered to remain together to assist the president to showcase his activities in office, knowing what lies ahead and learning from the media attack he was subjected to since 2013 when he joined the political fray, and most especially, during the 2015 election campaigns. More than half of the members of the defunct committee could not remain with the group because of their other engagements, even though they promised to always help propagate the president’s achievements wherever they may be. Of the nearly half who remained from 2015 till date, some have also left for other engagements. So the story that the “Buhari Media Centre” as Kperogi chose to call it has 40 paid journalists, bloggers, media analysts, commentators is completely false.
One important fact to note about the existence of the group and its activities is that there is no link between the government and Buhari Media Support Group as far as funding is concerned. The Buhari Media Support Group is a voluntary organization and is being funded by private individuals and not from any government coffers as the Kperogi publication intended to impute. While in the past dispensation, funding for similar media organisations controlled by the media aides of the then president came from the Office of the National Security Adviser and other government coffers, under President Buhari, the Buhari Media Support Group does not receive a dime from the government. The Buhari I know will never allow that.
I will also not forget to mention that those who chose to demonise the Buhari Media Support Group today, as if it has no right to exist, forget that under the last PDP administration, former President Jonathan apart from having more than sixteen media aides, had different media propaganda machinery under each of the aides, all of them drawing funds from government coffers.
I have taken the pains to embark on this narrative to straighten the record and pinpoint the fact that there is no secrecy about the existence of Buhari Media Support Group, neither does it draw funds from the government. Whoever believes otherwise should come up with their facts.
BMSG will continue to serve as a volunteer organization for the progress and development of Nigeria, in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration. We are a group of patriots, united in our love for our country and belief in our President. We have refused to become Diasporans like Kperogi, but chose to remain in our country to, with other Nigerian patriots, salvage our dear country.
In conclusion, while acceding to the right of all persons to air their views publicly, it is expected that they check the veracity of their write-ups to avoid twisting facts of an issue. Kperogi, particularly, must learn to separate deliberate falsehood and blatant lies from genuine criticism.
If BMSG, despite its ardent support for the president, can within itself criticize some actions of the government and offer appropriate advice where necessary, we would not frown at citizens who choose to toe this path. But it must be done with all sense of responsibility.

Muhammad Labbo is Chairman/Co-ordinator BMSG. [myad]

Like Patience Jonathan, Like Andrew Yakubu, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

If the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan claims the billions of Naira found in her bank accounts were gifts from friends and former Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu also says the $9.77 million found in his house were gifts from friends, it’s high time I changed my present circle of friends.
I need friends who can offer me cash gifts in Euro, Pounds and Dollars.
So, if you don’t hear from me anymore, it is because I have concluded you do not know how to give what true friends give to their friends!
When the late Dele Giwa wrote, more than 30 years ago, that Nigerians have been shocked to the state of “unshockability,” he was basing his thesis on the fact that there is hardly any public protest after revelations of scandal, no matter how huge.
But then, the Yoruba people have a saying that if you face calamity so big that even your tears would not help, you must use humour to deal with the situation.
That, I guess, is what many Nigerians have learnt to do over the years though there is another category of Nigerians who take delight in celebrating their oppressors which is a different matter altogether.
Meanwhile, the lesson from the joke with which I opened the page is that the surest way of “making” stupendous wealth in Nigeria today is to befriend the right kind of people in the right places but such “friends” must also be subversively generous enough to make you a billionaire.
The flip side, however, is that a society with a preponderance of such “beneficial owners” of wealth obtained not from work but rather as “gifts from friends” is doomed.
That unfortunately is the story of Nigeria today.
It is indeed very telling that at a time the federal government is making a song and dance over the oversubscription of its $1 billion Eurobond, one percent of that sum was retrieved from the residence of just one former career public officer who was not even elected.
With the whistle blower policy recently introduced, this may be the season for all ill-treated aides and aggrieved wives to come forward with details of movable and immovable assets got “from their friends” that some fat cats have been hiding from the public.
As I once wrote on this page several years ago, there are inherent lessons in Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” published in her 1974 collection, “The Wind’s Twelve Quarters” that will serve us as a nation, especially in such a time as this.
The major theme in the interesting story – which teaches profound lessons – is the place of morality and how different people within a given society accept certain norms while others would simply walk away. Using Omelas as a metaphor for Nigeria today, we can examine the different aspects of our society and the rot within but that is a task for another day.
On Tuesday, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano presided over by Justice Zainab Abubakar ordered the forfeiture to the federal government of the sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 recovered from Mr. Andrew Yakubu, a former GMD of NNPC.
Since the case is already in court, we must wait for Yakubu’s side of the story in this incredible country where even “grass cutters” now attend government-sponsored anti-corruption rallies to talk down on the rest of us!
While I commend the Ibrahim Magu-led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its tenacity and the efforts that led to the discovery in Yakubu’s house, there is one quick issue here that we must not gloss over: our society is what it is today because we have imbibed the ethos that wealth is not related to work.
So, the corruption we are talking about is far deeper than mere stealing; it is about looking for “miracles” and all sorts of magic formula for illicit “gifts from friends”; after all, what are friends for?
In my presentation titled “Between Waste and Nigerian Work Ethics” at the maiden edition of Pastor Poju Oyemade’s “Platform Nigeria” in Abuja on 1st May 2015, I made allusion to this when I said:
“… many of us know the ‘Okada’ rider of yesterday who now owns a fleet of cars simply because he has worked his way to become a pimp for some politicians who conspired to foist him on the rest of the society either as council chairman or a lawmaker.
“We also know the struggling business man of yesterday who could not even pay his house rent but who is now a subsidy billionaire with Private Jet to boot, just because he is fronting for some unscrupulous powerful political office holders who abuse their public trust.
“Let us not even talk about the low cadre civil servant who has made it big, after being posted to the Pension office, where he feeds fat on the misery of pensioners…”
Considering the damage corruption has done both to our national psyche and socio-economic well-being, some of the questions I have posed in the past remain:
Will the sensational stories we read in the media every day lead to the successful prosecution and conviction of some big fish in the pool of corruption to serve as deterrence to others?
Are institutional mechanisms being put in place to make it difficult for people to fiddle with public funds and easily get away?
What legal/judicial reforms are ongoing to ensure that public officials who steal billions are not asked to pay peanuts in fines to walk free?

When are we going to get to a situation in which being invited to serve in public office would not attract celebrations and all manner of expensive social and religious thanksgivings?
It should worry all of us that because of the “gifts from friends,” Nigeria is now defined by majority of the Seven Social Sins identified by Mahatma Gandhi which are:
– politics without principles
– wealth without work
– pleasure without conscience
– knowledge without character
– commerce without morality
– science without humanity and,
– worship without sacrifice.
However, the real issue for me today is not even the magnitude of the money usually stolen from public treasuries in our country but what the “beneficial owners” do with such money.
That is where the double jeopardy that has become the lot of our people comes in.
After some crooked officials might have cornered to themselves what belongs to the people, the next thing is to lock up such “gifts from friends” either in some bank accounts (home and abroad) or convert them to Dollars and store in some silos or/and overhead/underground tanks.
That way, the money does not work for them or the society.
As I wrote in my 23 June, 2013 piece, “The Craze of Dubai Weddings,” having stored up such illicit treasures, they can afford to:
– mark their birthdays in Toronto
– keep their mistresses in Alaska
– celebrate the weddings of their children in Hong Kong and
– bury their parents in Baghdad.
And when they finish the loot, as they most often do, they then begin to hustle again for contracts or appointments.
I saw many of them at the Villa between 2007 and 2010, men and women of yesterday who came to see my late boss for “just anything.”
These basically are people who cannot turn N10,000 to N10,010–all they know how to do is spend easy money, “the gifts from friends”!
Imagine if Yakubu had taken half of the money he locked up in his safe to Lagos and spread it by investing in many of those young Nigerian serial entrepreneurs who are creating hubs in the growing tech-ecosystem in the country, employing young people like themselves, generating incomes and making profits.
With that, he would have added value to the society, helped to put many of our young citizens to work and on top of that, he would have also be earning huge financial rewards by turning black money into white!
However, like the others like him (and there are still many out there), he had to bury his “talent.”
And now, he must face the consequences!

Email: olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com [myad]

Too Much Talking Can’t Have Impact On People Living With HIV/AIDS – Minister

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has said that too much talking, seminars, conferences and other ceremonies have no impact on the welfare of the people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.
He therefore asked officials of the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, particularly the FCT Action Committee on AIDS (FACA) to put less emphasis on seminars and conferences and do things that would really uplift the standards the patients.
The Minister spoke today, Thursday when he received in audience members of the Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, FCT Chapter in his office.
The minister insisted that the officials should be practical in their approach to dealing with such persons, by fostering things that would have direct bearing on their lives.
He asked the relevant Agencies to try and create an enabling environment for the patients to get much from life and spend less on conferences, booklets, banners and T-shirts.
“Now is not the time for us to be spending money on ceremonies. But we will strengthen our institutions to be able to provide services and support to enable you have direct positive impact on your lives.”
Muhammad Bello ordered the Health Secretariat and FACA to step up proactive counseling in FCT Hospitals for the patients in areas where that are practically useful for them.
“If there is any window of opportunity to be able to take them on as full time employees, please explore that.
“I know it is difficult; employment is a challenge but you always have one or two vacancies and you should keep on doing it continuously. At all locations, we should have these people that provide counseling. “For everything in life, information is key. If you get the right information, half of your problem is solved.”
The Minister also directed the FCT Social Development Secretariat to, as a matter of policy, encourage people living with HIV/AIDS to participate in the empowerment programmes being undertaken by the FCT Administration to enable them enjoy full benefits.
He also directed the Health and Human Services Secretariat to pay for the three year rent arrears the organization, People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, is owing to take the burden off them and improve the level of their networking.
Earlier, the Coordinator of the People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Comrade Peter Ogbonaya Ikiti, said that the first case of HIV/AIDS was reported in Nigeria in 1986 and that since then, prevalence cases in Nigeria is one of the highest in Africa, only next to South Africa.
He appealed to the minister to help settle the three-year rent for office accommodation the organization owed in the FCT. [myad]

How I Will Move Nigerian Tourism Industry To The Next Level – Director General

Greenbarge Reporters

February 16, 2017

The acting Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Mariel Rae-Omoh, has rolled out plans to take tourism to the next level, one of which to work with professional bodies, associations and stakeholders.
Mrs. Rae-Omoh spoke when the Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN) paid her a courtesy visit in her office, in Abuja, on Thursday.
Mrs. Rae-Omoh described the stakeholders and private sector as the main drivers of the industry, saying: “I will build a strong alliance with the stakeholders and professional bodies in the industry to move it forward.”
She promised to boost the socio-economic activities and development of minority ethnic groups through promotion of untapped tourism potentials in Nigeria.
“Tourism is an important instrument for poverty reduction, economic growth, biodiversity conservation, employment creation, community empowerment, grassroots development and revenue generation.
“In line with this, NTDC as the apex tourism policy implementation agency under my administration will effectively carry out its mandate with the support of the Public-Private Partnership and staff of the Corporation.”
Earlier, HATMAN President, Badaki Aliyu, who congratulated the Acting DG on her appointment, described her as a professional who understands the language of the industry and is willing to drive the industry for development and productivity.
Aliyu said that the main objective of HATMAN is to entrench professionalism in the hospitality and tourism industries, which according to him, the association will achieve through training
He said that the willingness of the association to collaborate with NTDC to ensure that the industry moves forward.
Aliyu prayed to God to give her the wisdom to sail the ship of the industry and confirm her appointment as Director General, NTDC.
Aliyu’s entourage was made up of Dennis Orjime – Member (HATMAN), Adm. Amos Opoola – FCT Chairman, Lantana Bako Nnaji – Member (HATMAN), Charles OlufemiFolayan – National Publicity Secretary (HATMAN), S. O. Onyeabo – Rep. Kogi State (HATMAN), Abioye Adedipe – Welfare officer (HATMAN), Samson Aturu – Ex-Official (HATMAN). [myad]

Army To Recruit 12,000 Men To Boost Fight Against Boko Haram, Insecurity

Greenbarge Reporters

February 15, 2017

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has said that the Nigeria Army would recruit 12,000 men in 2017 to boots the war against Boko Haram insurgents and other insecurity in the country.

Buratai, whow spoke today, Wednesday during a budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Army, said that the recruitment exercise would take place after the Army’s 2017 budget proposal of N152.8 billion is approved.

He said that the exercise would be in two batches with 6,000 men first and another 6,000 later.

The army chief said that the Army is currently engaged in different operations in almost all the states of the federation, combating criminalities such as kidnapping, terrorism, pipeline vandalism, cattle rustling, among others.

He complained that delay in release of funds is frustrating military operations nationwide, and that the morale of troops must be boosted regularly. [myad]

How I Wept For PDP As It Went Asunder, Ex Vice President Ekwueme Confesses

Greenbarge Reporters

February 15, 2017

Former Nigeria Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme has recalled how he wept for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when it recently disintegrated mainly because people who did not know how it was formed hijacked and converted it to their personal estate.

Dr. Ekwueme who spoke when the PDP strategy committee and party relation presented its report to him as one of the founding fathers of the party, said that the story of PDP “makes me sometimes to weep.”

“When our founding fathers said the party will be in charge for 60 years or more, some thought they were just bragging. PDP was packaged to be mass movements of all Nigerians just like the ANC of south Africa and we started that way; the first election in 1998, December 5, we won massively across the country, we took control of 28 out of 36 states.

“In 1999, we ended up with 21 of the 36 governors, south east, and south-south were all PDP, 10 of the 19 governors of the north were PDP, it was a strong showing, we also had control of the National Assembly, with that showing, all we needed to do was to manage the party properly as envisaged by the founding fathers, making it a mass movement and expanding its power base.”

The former Vice President said that some people who did not know how the party was formed or what informed its philosophy, “got involved in the party and decided to convert it to a personal estate without regard to the underpinning principles that formed its formation and gradually we started to lose ground, at one stage, in my state, they decided to commence the re-registration of members so as to exclude members who they thought were not in their camp, instead of attracting more members, they decided to exclude, that was the genesis of our present situation, coupled with lack of internal democracy.”

Dr. Ekwueme narrated the efforts that were made in the past to reposition the party but that such efforts were aborted after the death of late President Yar’Adua.

“I can’t remember how many times I’ve been called to come and spearhead the process of bringing back people to our party, that was what late Yaradua invited me to do as soon as he took over as president, we went round all the six zones, met with aggrieved members but unfortunately Yaradua passed on and that initiative was not conclusively implemented.”

He expressed happiness that after the debacle of 2015, there has been need for retrospective as “evidenced by this strategy committee to try and find out where we went astray and try to bring the party to its original plan.”

The leader of the delegation of the PDP Strategy committee, Alhaji Aminu Wali, had earlier while presenting the report of the committee to Dr. Ekwueme, said that the report has addressed the problems bedeviling the party and that the committee had done a good job that will help revive the party if implemented.

“Impunity, to party discipline, impositions and intra-party problems were looked into and solutions preferred. We’ve presented the report to the caretaker committee. We’ve learnt our lessons, the indiscipline that bedeviled the party over the years was tackled, we want to rebrand our party and get back to the visions of the founding fathers which made the party a winning party. We will revive the party and win back power by 2019.”

Aminu Wali, who was Nigeria’s Ambassador to China and immediate past foreign affairs minister later told news men that those who are behind the formation of mega party don’t know how parties are formed.

“PDP has always been a mega party, find out the personalities behind the so called mega party; I don’t want to dwell on that because it’s not really a serious effort. They don’t understand how parties are formed. It’s going to be very difficult forming a mega party. No governor is with them. PDP is in every ward in Nigeria.

“Nigerians are yearning for the return of the PDP. Nigerians have tried two parties, they now know better. Gauge the feelings and the mood of the people of this country; you can see that they want PDP back. APC is a motley collection of people who just want to grab power, the party is not formed on the basis of any principles. PDP belongs to everybody. We are correcting past mistakes, we still have the grassroots. Anybody leaving is on his own.”

He said that the national secretariat of the party would be opened once the court issues are dispensed with, while describing as untrue that there is duplicity of committee.

“The magnitude of the committee and the inclusiveness of people from all sections of Nigeria, all levels of leadership, old and new far outweigh the Ekweremadu committee which report is also a reference point. All these efforts are geared towards resolving problems in the party.” [myad]

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