US Judge Refuses To Step Down In Cosby Sex Case

US Judge Refuses To Step Down In Cosby Sex Case

The judge presiding over Bill Cosby’s retrial for alleged molestation on Friday quashed defense demands that he step down for purported bias because his wife works with sexual assault victims.

Judge Steven O’Neill, in Pennsylvania, denied the request in a written order after reportedly telling a pre-trial hearing Thursday that there was no evidence of bias and his wife was an“ independent woman.”

The bid had been another attempt from Cosby’s defense team, headed by Tom Mesereau, to substantially delay the retrial for alleged sexual assault.

Mesereau is the celebrity Los Angeles lawyer who got Michael Jackson acquitted of child molestation in 2005.

The defense had claimed “a clear appearance of partiality ”because Deborah O’Neill coordinates a sexual trauma team at the University of Pennsylvania, donated to an activist group that had targeted Cosby, and wrote a dissertation on acquaintance rape.

Jury selection is now due to begin in Norristown on Monday with opening statements expected to begin April 9 at the earliest . O’Neill has already presided over the case for two years.

He was forced to declare a mistrial last June when the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict against the comedy legend on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

The 2017 trial irrevocably damaged the once- towering icon of US popular culture, loved by millions as “America’s Dad” and best known for his seminal role as a father and obstetrician on hit 1984-92 TV series “The Cosby Show.”

The 80-year-old, once a pioneering African-American entertainer, is accused of drugging and molesting a former university basketball official at his Philadelphia home in 2004. He says their relations were consensual.

Around 60 women have publicly accused the Emmy-winning actor of being a serial sexual predator, but most of the alleged abuse happened too long ago to prosecute, putting him in the dock in connection with only one of the alleged victims.

Now frail and isolated, he risks spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

AFP

Residents flee as monkeys invade Lagos community

Residents flee as monkeys invade Lagos community

Invasion by monkeys from natural habitat is forcing many residents of Soluyi/Sosanya Community in Gbagada, Lagos State, to flee.

Some of the residents told Newsmen in Lagos on Monday that they could no longer withstand the situation.

They called on the state government to save the community from the trouble, saying that the animals forced their ways into their rooms, destroying window and door nets, food stuffs and other items.

The Chairman of the community’s Landlord Association, Mr Adigun Olaleye, said that it had become difficult for the community to curtail the monkeys and their destructive attitude.

He said that the invasion might have resulted from the nearness of the community to a swamp forest that separated the community from Ifako area.
According to him, the monkeys come into residences at any time including early morning and gain entrance into rooms even if the houses are locked.

Olalaye told Newsmen that the community had written a letter to the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture as regards the situation but had yet to get a relief.

“They said we would have to pay for them to come and pack the monkeys,” he said.
He said that the invasion had been on for years but recently became unbearable.
Olaleye appealed to the state government to urgently intervene.

Narrating her ordeal, a journalist who lives in the community, Mrs Funmilola Gboteku, told Newsmen that the monkeys had forced her family to flee.

“Many times, these monkeys come to the neighbourhood to destroy our property. Once they see food items inside a house, they direct all their energies at gaining entrance forcefully.

“The monkeys are in the habit of tearing the protective nets on windows to gain entrance and eat whatever they find in the house.

“I have had to replace the protective nets several times; I am tired of doing it.
“I have been locking my windows but locking of windows has disadvantages; there is no cross ventilation in the house, and as a result, we suffer heat,’’ she told Newsmen.

Another resident, Mr Gabriel Omopariwa, said that he was tired of the destructive attitude of the monkeys and had tried to look for ways to stop them, to no avail.

“On several occasions, these monkeys have destroyed our kitchen nets to gain entrance and steal food items.

“Several traps have been set to capture and kill these demonic animals to no avail.

“One of my neighbours, while trying to pour chemical on a monkey, fell in the bowl of the chemical; she had to be rushed to a hospital.

“She still lives with the scars from the unfortunate incident,” he said.

Mr Joshua Folowosele, a landlord, said that the monkeys entered his wife’s shop on many occasions to eat gala, biscuits and other foods.

“We have tried to poison them on many occasions, but those monkeys are too smart; once they perceive the smell of the food, they usually detect it has been poisoned.

“Some of them have been killed with guns, but we cannot keep shooting in a residential area; it is very risky.

“Those of us who are landlords can testify that these monkeys have been disturbing us for years.

“One of the landlords here had to sell his house to move to another place when he got tired of the disturbance,” Folowosele said.

Another landlord, Mr Oluwatosin Aregbesola, told Newsmen that his tenants were no longer feeling safe in the house because of the monkeys.

“The monkeys enter kitchens to eat our soups and any food stuff on the shelf.

“The day I tried to catch one of them, the monkey attacked me by using its long nails to punch a hole on my neck and scratch my face,” he said.

Aregbesola appealed to the state government to save the community from the menace.

MMM founder, Sergei Mavrodi, dies of heart attack at 62

MMM founder, Sergei Mavrodi, dies of heart attack at 62

Founder of MMM scheme, Sergei Mavrodi Russian businessman Sergei Mavrodi, whose MMM pyramid scheme deprived millions of Russians of their savings in the 1990 s , has died of a heart attack , according to Russia media.

Reports said the 62-year-old was rushed to the hospital late on March 25 with pain in his chest and died several hours later.

Mavrodi’s MMM financial pyramid was a typical Ponzi scheme in which earlier investors receive their profits from subsequent investors. Mavrodi promised returns of 20 percent to 75 percent a month, as well as lotteries and bonuses for investors.

As soon as the number of new clients stopped growing, the pyramid collapsed, causing huge financial losses for at least 10 million people, in some cases leaving them destitute.

In 1994, Mavrodi was elected as a lawmaker, a decision he later said was to ensure he received immunity from prosecution. In 1996, he lost his parliamentary mandate.

In 2007, a Moscow court found him guilty of financial fraud and sentenced him to 41/2 years in a penal colony.

In 2011, Mavrodi launched another pyramid scheme called MMM-2011, calling on investors to purchase so- called Mavro currency units in a bid to get rid of the “unfair” financial system.

Some 15 months later, Mavrodi halted the project.

From 2011-16, Mavrodi launched Ponzi schemes under the MMM brand in India, China, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria.

In many of those countries, Mavrodi’s operations were subsequently shut down or suspended.

Brent Crude Oil Futures Above $70 Per Barrel On Middle East tension

Brent Crude Oil Futures Above $70 Per Barrel On Middle East tension

Oil prices rose on Monday with international Brent crude futures, Nigeria’s blend of crude oil, opening above $70 per barrel for the first time since January.

According to a Reuters report, prices were lifted by expectations that OPEC-leader Saudi Arabia may extend supply cuts into 2019, as well as concerns that the United States may re-introduce sanctions against Iran.

In Asia, meanwhile, Monday saw the launch of Shanghai crude oil futures, potentially marking the dawn of a new oil price benchmark to rival dominant Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $66.06 a barrel, up 18 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their previous close.

Brent crude futures were at $70.74 per barrel, up 29 cents, or 0.4 percent.

"Oil prices are on the ups driven by rising geopolitical risk in the Middle East," said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia/Pacific at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.

"President Donald Trump continues to suggest the U.S. will pull out from (the) Iran nuclear deal, which raises the specter of bringing back sanctions on the country and severely limiting Tehran's ability to export crude oil," Innes said.

Prices have also been supported by statements from Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), that production cuts that have been in place since 2017 may be extended into 2019. An agreement between OPEC and some other producers, led by Russia, to withhold supplies in order to prop up prices came into force in January 2017, and is currently scheduled for expiry by the end of this year.

Financial oil markets have long been dominated by Europe's Brent and America's WTI.

That may begin to change gradually going forward, as Monday saw the launch of Chinese crude oil futures out of Shanghai - Asia, despite being the world's biggest and fastest growing oil consumer, has so far not had a benchmark.

Few analysts doubt that Asia is overdue a financial oil price benchmark, and that China with its vast consumer and production base is a prime location for it.

"The government (in Beijing) seems determined to support it, and I hear a number of firms are being asked or pressured to trade on it, which could help," said Jeff Brown, president of energy consultancy FGE.

Despite this, Brown said there were concerns over regulatory interference, as seen in other Chinese financial commodity markets, including iron ore and coal.

"The fact that the government is encouraging the exchange and also is not shy about stepping in to occasionally change the rules may discourage international players," Brown said.

Agriculture, Manufacturing Lead As Non-oil Exports Hit $2.34bn In 2017

Agriculture, Manufacturing Lead As Non-oil Exports Hit $2.34bn In 2017

Export of agricultural products grossed over $852.23 million in earnings as non-oil exports fetched $2.34 billion in the 2017 fiscal period.

This was followed by the manufacturing sector with total export earnings of $553.7 million while minerals sector operators received a total income of $481.2 million during the period.

According the recently issued Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) economic report, $870 million was realised in the first quarter with second quarter earning declining to $350 million.

However, in the third quarter, the sector’s earning rose to $505.9 million before hitting the sum of $614.5 million in the fourth quarter.

A breakdown of the $2.34 billion showed that exporters in the agricultural sector with $852.23m received the highest export earnings within the 2017 fiscal period.

Exporters in the industrial products sector received a total income of $307 million while those in food products sector earned $146.16 million.

The report said the least income of $0.41 million was received by exporters in the transport sector.

“Total non-oil export earnings received through the banks rose by 20.7 per cent above the level in the third quarter of 2017 to $614.50 million in the review quarter.

“The development was due mainly to the 43.2, 18.0 and 6.1 per cent increase in foreign exchange receipts from agricultural, industrial and minerals subsectors, respectively.

“The percentage shares of agricultural products, minerals, industrial sector, manufactured products and food products in the total non-oil export proceeds were 50.9, 16.9, 16.1, 14.4 and 1.7 per cent, respectively,” the report stated.

NASS, Judiciary Shun TSA As Remittances Hit N8.9t

NASS, Judiciary Shun TSA As Remittances Hit N8.9t

The resistance by the legislature and judiciary to embrace the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is one of the greatest challenges to the fight against corruption in Nigeria’s public finance management, according to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).

This is as remittances to TSA have hit N8.9 trillion.

The TSA is an operating bank account where receipts (inflows and expenditure) of government transactions are electronically and transparently captured.

The Accountant- General of the Federation (AGF) Alhaji Ahmad Idris who announced this, said to date, 1,674 Ministries , Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been enrolled in the implementation of TSA.

Idris, who was represented by a director and Coordinator of TSA e- collection in the Funds Department, Mr. Sylva Okolieaboh, made the disclosure at the weekend in Abuja at a training workshop for journalists.

He gave insight to the successes already registered by the TSA as: “Savings of over N40B/month in Ways & Means charges; Ability to determine consolidated FG cash position; Improved monetary policy implementation through the elimination of costs associated with liquidity management arising from DMB float Better traction in inflation management through reduction in Ways & Means and money supply; Significant improvement in Federal Government liquidity position; Improved budget implementation due to enhanced liquidity; Better control and oversight over MDA operations.”

Idris stressed the need for obstacles for the smooth implementation of the TSA to be removed by the “National Assembly, National Judicial Council (NJC) and other stakeholders.”

In a related development, the Presidential Initiative of Continuous Audit ( PICA) a taskforce undertaking human resources audits in all MDAs of government to confirm their actual wages have smashed a syndicate in the Police wages office running to over N68 billion in bloated salaries and other allowances normally siphoned from the treasury after an audit was carried out in the police formations across the country.

The police ghost workers fraud was detected following the enrollment of Police formations in the Federal Government Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by the OAGF wherein it was discovered that the police staff was bloated to 370,000 whereas actual manpower is 291,685 , indicating over 80,000 ghost names on the force’s payroll.

Following, the detection, salary commitments for the month dropped from N43.497 billion to N22.276 billion, indicating that the balance of over N68 billion was monthly being siphoned by officials.

The Director of Special Duties in the Federal Ministry of Finance/ Secretary, PICA, Dr. Mohammed Dikwa, in a paper declared that the syndicate was smashed and some eleven officials already undergoing trial in courts of competent jurisdiction.

Dikwa also presented an update of the PICA efforts so far in check fraudulent practices through ghost workers syndrome.

Airways Bans Obese Passengers From Business Class

Airways Bans Obese Passengers From Business Class

Thai Airways International plans to install new seat belts with airbags in the business class cabins of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.

But there’s a catch: The belts are not designed for overweight people. According to The Bangkok Post, the airline has decided to introduce a 142-cm waistline limit.

The company claims the airbags prevent the seat belts from extending.
The new airbags will also make flying difficult for parents with young children seeking to travel with their kids sitting on their laps.

It is not the first airline to come up with special policies against overweight passengers.

In November, European airline Finnair started a programme to encourage passengers to weigh themselves and their luggage before boarding.

The Finnish airline said the program was not intended to penalise passengers for being overweight, but only designed to give it a better sense of the amount of weight its flights would carry.

Hawaiian Airlines introduced a controversial policy in 2016 that passengers flying out of American Samoa could no longer pre-select their seats, in an effort to optimise weight distribution.

The policy received heavy bashing as weight is a sensitive issue and American Samoa has a high obesity rate.

Raped Chrisland schoolchild recounts ‘bad things’ done to her

Raped Chrisland schoolchild recounts ‘bad things’ done to her

Child X, the pupil allegedly defiled by Adegboyega Adenekan, a 47-year-old Chrisland School supervisor, on Thursday testified at an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence court in Lagos and confirmed that she was abused.

Child X, who is now four-years-old, was two years and 11-months at the time the alleged defilement occurred serially in 2016 at the Victoria Garden City (VGC) branch of the school.

The trial which was slated to begin at 2pm, due to other matters, did not start until 3.26pm. It ended at 5.53pm.

Before Child X’s testimony, Justice Sybil Nwaka, had ordered that members of the public vacate the public gallery of the courtroom. However, she allowed journalists and lawyers to witness the testimony.

When Child X was brought into the courtroom, the judge rose from her bench to sit by a desk opposite Child X.

Justice Nwaka engaging Child X in small talk said: “I love your shoes, we are all your uncle and aunties here. Do you like the building? Do you know why you are here?”

Child X said: “I’m here to talk about the bad things Mr Adenekan did to me.”

Justice Nwaka responding said: “You know you are here to tell the truth, Jesus loves children and what do your Sunday School teachers tell you?”
Child X: “Always tell the truth.”

Before Child X took oath as a witness, Justice Nwaka repeated to her not to be afraid to tell the truth and that the people in the courtroom are all her friends.

The judge warned journalists against taking photographs, making recordings or revealing the identity of Child X.

The prosecution led by Mr Jide Boye, the Chief State Counsel led the child in evidence by asking a series of questions and getting the following responses from her.

Prosecution: “How old are you?”

Child X: “Four”

Prosecution: “How many schools have you attended?”

Child X: “Two”

Prosecution:” What are the names of the schools?”

Child X: “Chrisland, Grange School”

Prosecution pointing across the room to Adenekan: “Do you know him?”

Child X: “No”

Prosecution: “Who is Mr Adenekan?”

Child X: “When I go to class after recess, I see Mr Adenekan after recess”

Prosecution: “What did Mr Adenekan do to you?”

Child X: “He put his mouth in my wee-wee, the first time he did that, he took me out of the class. The second time, I ran. I tried to report to my teacher but my teacher did not believe me, so I reported to my mummy.

“First time he did it was inside his office which was the toilet, the second time he did it was in the hall which was outside.

“I did not like what he did, he put his hand in my wee-wee, he put his wee-wee in my wee-wee and he put his mouth in my wee-wee.”

The prosecution at this point proceeded to show Child X three photographs, one of which was Adenekan’s.

Child X identified Adenekan’s photograph.

Child X said: “This is Mr Adenekan, I remember how he used to greet me but I don’t know where he is.”

Prosecution: “How did you feel when he was doing it to you?”

Child X: “I felt I should tell my mummy, I felt pain.”

Prosecution: “When he did it, what were you wearing?”

Child X: “My Chrisland School uniform.”

Prosecution: “Can you describe how he did it to you?”

Child X: “He put his hand under my uniform, he put his hand in my wee-wee, pull my uniform down and it was really really paining me.

“When it was really really paining me, I screamed and he covered my mouth like this (demonstrated with hand over her mouth).

“I couldn’t do anything because he covered my mouth. When I was trying to remove it (his hand) he tightened my mouth.”

Prosecution: “Describe his office”

Child X: “I cannot remember.”

The defence counsel, Mr Olatunde Adejuyigbe (SAN) opposed the tendering as evidence, the three photographs shown to Child X during proceedings. According to him, the prosecution did not comply with Section 86 of the Evidence Act.

In his submission Boye told the court that in accordance with Section 84 of the Evidence Act, photographs are no longer secondary evidence but primary evidence and as a result, the photographs should be admitted as evidence.

In a short ruling Justice Nwaka said: “I cannot agree more with the prosecution. These photographs do not have a certificate. I mark them tendered but rejected.”

While cross-examining Child X, Adejuyigbe asked her the following questions.

Defence: “Do you like to draw?”

Child X: ” I don’t know how to draw yet but I like to draw”

Defence: “You said something really really pained you, when you got home did you tell your mummy about it?”

Child X: “Yes”

Child X responding to Adejuyigbe’s questions, recalled some of her pre-school teachers at Chrisland School.
Defence: “Did anyone tell you before that he will kill you?”

Child X: “I don’t know what that means”

Defence: “Did you see Mr Adenekan today,?”

Child X: “I only saw him in the picture.”

Defence: “Do you know there are three tables in Mr Adenekan’s office? ”

Child X: “No”

Defence: “His office is not near your class, do you remember?”

Child X: “No”

Defence: “Have you entered Mr Adenekan’s office before?”

Child X: “Only when he did the bad things to me”

Defence: “Did he take anyone else with you?”

Child X: “No”

Defence: “Did you take your mummy to any corner?”

Child X: “No when I told her what happened to me, she changed my school.”

Defence: “Does your aunty (name withheld) bath for you?”

Child X: “Sometimes her but everytime my mummy.”

Defence: “Have you seen the police before?”

Child X: “I have seen them guarding the door at the gate before I enter my school gate.”

Defence: “Is there a doctor’s office at your school? ”

Child X: “Yes”

Defence: “Do you go to the toilet alone in school? ”

Child X: “When I want to go by myself they (teachers) still follow me”

Defence: “Did anyone tell you what to say when you get here?”

Child X: “No”

Earlier during the cross-examination of Child X’s mother, the video in which Child X was portraying her alleged defilement at a clinical psychologist’s office was replayed in court by the defence.

The mother (name withheld) admitted to the defence that some parts of the sessions of Child X’s interview with the clinical psychologist were not recorded.

“At the time she started drawing the private part, I can confirm to you that I was in the corner of the room and I only asked my child questions regarding the defendant’s name,” she said.

The mother also told the court that she reported to the police that the defendant took her child to a corner in the school where he allegedly defiled her.

“I mentioned the corner to the police and it is in my statement. Like I said before, I initially wanted to cover it up.

“I mentioned it to the school authorities but I later told them to forget it that it never happened.

“I was afraid of people like you (pointing at the SAN), it is a shameful act,” she tearfully said.

Justice Sybil Nwaka adjourned the case until May 21 for continuation of trial at 11am.

EFCC Arraigns Man For Defrauding Access Bank Of N1.2Bn Through POS

EFCC Arraigns Man For Defrauding Access Bank Of N1.2Bn Through POS

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday arraigned one Ifeanyi Nwaneri before Justice Olusola Ajibike Williams of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on a five-count charge of stealing the sum of N1.2 billion.

The defendant, a customer with Access Bank Plc, was alleged to have fraudulently carried out several transactions on Point of Sales, POS, terminal issued to him by the bank.

One of the counts reads: “That you, Ifeanyi Nwaneri, sometime between September 1 and 4, 2017, at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly converted for the use of Sessy Global Ventures the sum of N25, 000, 000.00 (Twenty-five Million Naira only), property of Access Bank Plc.”

Another count reads: “That you, Ifeanyi Nwaneri, sometime between August 15 and September 12, 2017, at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly converted for the use of Omede Shedu Silas the sum of N17, 000, 000.00 (Seventeen Million, One Hundred Thousand Naira) only property of Access Bank Plc.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against him.

In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Nnemeka Omewa, urged the court to allow his trial begin immediately and, remand the defendant in prison custody pending the determination of the charges levelled against him.

However, counsel to the defendant, John Dong, informed the court of a pending application for bail on behalf of his client.

He, therefore, prayed the court to grant the defendant bail.
Consequently, Justice Williams granted the defendant bail in the sum of N5 million with two sureties in like sum.

One of the sureties must be a relation to the defendant and must own a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.

Thereafter, Justice Williams asked the prosecution counsel to call his witness in the matter.

Led by Omewa, the first prosecution witness, Chuks Igboerika, a manager with Access Bank Plc, revealed to the court how the defendant had approached the bank sometime in March, 2017 for the issuance of a POS terminal.

The manager said the defendant had requested that the POS machine should be enabled in such a way that it would accept international cards, which he was eventually granted.

The witness further told the court that the defendant started receiving huge inflows into his account through his international cards on July 30, 2017.
He also said that the defendant consistently received money from July, 2017 to September 18, 2017 to the tune of N1.2 billion.

“When we discovered how money was being credited into Ifeanyi’s account with Access Bank, he was engaged by the Relationship Team Unit of Access Bank to know the nature of the work he did that could have warranted the large sums of money that he had in his account. He told the team that he deals in ‘Precious Stone’, in addition to dealing in automobile parts. He also said that his customers were foreigners.”

“As the money came into his account, he transferred some into different bank accounts. He has so far transferred N508 million to other banks, leaving a credit of about N677 million in the account with Access Bank”, the witness said.

In his further evidence, the first prosecution also told the court that Access Bank received a mail from Interswitch in which it made declaration of fraud in the transactions of POS belonging to the defendant and the fact that there was no authorization for the transactions from the legitimate owners of the money involved.

Investigations, however, revealed that the defendant carried out the transactions with the VISA International Card.

Also, investigation revealed that when the bank asked the defendant to produce the POS machine issued to him, he said it was not with him.
It was also revealed that when Access Bank asked Interswitch to produce ‘chargebacks’-complaints from the persons who lost money so as to declare the transactions fraudulent, it could not produce any.

Giving further testimony, the witness told the court that “the loophole was discovered by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, after Access Bank reported the transactions.

“It was revealed that Interswitch was hoarding the debits entries in its system records without passing the entries to the appropriate channels, which were the real card holders who have allegedly parted with their money.

“An international POS transaction must go through Interswitch, then to the card issuing company which, in this case, is VISA Card. Then, the transaction must reflect to the card holder and go back through the same channel to the bank before a transaction can be confirmed approved.

“And if a transaction was declined or not approved, it goes through the same channel. But in this case, it was discovered by CBN that the transactions done by the defendant started and ended between the defendant and Interswitch.”

The witness told the court that all the authorized companies; VISA Card, Unified Payment System, Interswitch, CBN, and Access bank involved in an international POS transaction were invited to review the fraud independently.

“They all came to the verdict that the fraudulent transactions done by the defendant were debited from Access Bank authorised by Interswitch.

In view of this, the prosecution counsel, Omewa, sought to tender the petition written to EFCC against the defendant and the defendant’s statement of account.

Both documents were admitted in evidence as exhibits by the court.

During cross-examination by the defence counsel, the witness told the court that it was at the point of interrogation that the defendant told the bank what he does for a living.

But the defence counsel pointed out that it was wrong of a financial institution to have failed to do that from the outset.

The case was adjourned to April 23 and 27, 2018 for continuation of trial.

Prepaid meter providers must deliver in 10 days –NERC

Prepaid meter providers must deliver in 10 days –NERC

Meter asset providers are expected to supply and install meters within 10 working days of payment on the premises of electricity customers who choose the option of paying for the meters.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission stated this in the newly released Meter Asset Providers Regulation 2018, which seeks to bridge the metering gap in the nation’s electricity supply industry.

NERC said it would commence the enforcement of the provisions of the regulation on April 3, 2018.

It said, “Where a customer elects to pay for a meter asset upfront under this regulation, such a customer shall not be liable for the payment of metering service charge through the distribution licensee.”

The regulator said the amount payable to a MAP by a customer electing to pay upfront would be the efficient cost of the meter asset and its installation cost as determined by the procurement process for the MAP, conducted by the distribution licensee.

It said, “The MAP shall install the meter on the premises of the customer within 10 working days of the receipt of full payment by the customer. The authorisation by the distribution licensee to pay for the meter shall only be issued after certifying the readiness of the premises for a safe and secure installation of the meter asset.”

According to the regulation, the distribution licensee and MAP shall enter into a metering service agreement, which shall provide for the number of meters to be installed by the MAP in the distribution licensee’s network over an agreed period and the recovery of the cost of meter asset plus a reasonable return over a period of 10 years, among others.

It said, “Upon the installation of a meter by a MAP, the customer has an obligation to pay for metering service charge through the distribution licensee at the time of payment for energy unless financed upfront in full by the customer.”

The regulator said the payment for metering service charge by the customer to a MAP would cease upon full amortisation of the meter asset over its technical life assumed in the procurement process for the MAP.

It said, “Where a customer fails to pay for metering service charge in any given month or months, the cumulative metering service charge shall be deducted upon the subsequent payment.

“In line with guidelines for asset enumeration by distribution licensees, customers’ meters are associated with feeders and distribution transformers and shall not be moved by customers.”

Israelis Hacked Buhari’s E-mail, Says British Journalist …Deal Sealed with £2Million

Israelis Hacked Buhari’s E-mail, Says British Journalist …Deal Sealed with £2Million

A British journalist, Carole Cadwalladr, is telling the world that Israelis, allegedly financed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, have hacked the e-mail account of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a series of twits late last night, the 48-year-old journalist, using the Twitter handle – @carolecadwalla, started her post with this caption: “Nigeria, your President was hacked. @MBuhari”.

Citing what she called the Cambridge Analytical Files, Cadwalladr claimed that hackers offered personal data about Buhari and PM of St Kitts and Nevis.

Cadwalladr’s claims were also published in The Guardian of UK last night. Here is the excerpt:

The data analytics firm that worked on the Donald Trump election campaign was offered material from Israeli hackers who had accessed the private emails of two politicians who are now heads of state, witnesses have told the Guardian.

Multiple sources have described how senior directors of Cambridge Analytica – including its chief executive, Alexander Nix – gave staff instructions to handle material provided by computer hackers in election campaigns in Nigeria and St Kitts and Nevis.

They claim there were two episodes in 2015 that alarmed members of staff and led them to refuse to handle the data, which they assumed would have been obtained illegally.

SCL Elections, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, denied taking possession of or using hacked or stolen personal information from such individuals for any purpose in either campaign.

The revelations are the latest to focus attention on Cambridge Analytica, whose activities are being investigated in the US by the special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his inquiry into possible Russian collusion in the 2016 US presidential election.

The firm is under pressure to explain how it came to have unauthorised access to millions of Facebook profiles. Politicians in the US and UK have accused it of giving misleading statements about its work, and the information commissioner has demanded access to the company’s databases.

In all, the Guardian and Observer have spoken to seven individuals with knowledge of Cambridge Analytica and its campaign in Nigeria in early 2015.

Hired by a Nigerian billionaire to support the re-election of Goodluck Jonathan, Cambridge Analytica was paid an estimated £2m to orchestrate a ferocious campaign against his rival, the opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan lost out to Buhari in the presidential race. There is no suggestion Jonathan knew of the covert operation.

Staffs working on the campaign say in early 2015 they met Israeli cybersecurity contractors in Cambridge Analytica’s offices in Mayfair, London. Employees say they were told the meeting was arranged by Brittany Kaiser, a senior director at the firm.

The Guardian and Observer have been told the Israelis brought a laptop from their office in Tel Aviv and handed employees a USB stick containing what they believed were hacked personal emails.

Sources said Nix, who was suspended on Tuesday, and other senior directors told staff to search for incriminating material that could be used to damage opposition candidates, including Buhari.

“It made everyone feel really uncomfortable,” said one source. “They wanted people to load it into their email programs.”

People “freaked out”, another employee said. “They wanted to have nothing to do with it.”

One member of the campaign team told the Guardian and Observer that the material they believed had been hacked included Buhari’s medical records. “I’m 99% sure of that. Or if they didn’t have his medical records they at least had emails that referred to what was going on.”

When news of the London meeting filtered back to Cambridge Analytica staff working on the ground in Nigeria, it caused panic, the source said. Local security advisers told the firm’s team to leave the country immediately because if opposition supporters found out, they could turn on them.

“What is clear is that the security of their employees didn’t even seem to have occurred to them,” said one former employee. “It was a very serious situation and they had to evacuate immediately.”

An SCL Elections spokesperson said team members working on the Nigeria campaign remained in the country throughout the original campaigning period, and left in accordance with the company’s campaign plan.

The Guardian has seen an email from Nix dated 26 January 2015, referring to the “Israeli team”.

It says: “Although it is outside of our remit, I have asked for an update on what the Israeli team has been working on and what they will be delivering between now and the election.”

In a second episode in early 2015, sources said the same Israeli team that had worked on the Nigeria campaign obtained private information of the St Kitts and Nevis politician Timothy Harris. At the time he was an opposition leader, and is now prime minister.

Sources have said staff did not want to handle what appeared to be stolen material. “Nobody wanted to have anything to do with it,” one employee said.

A statement from SCL Elections said: “During an election campaign, it is normal for SCL Elections to meet with vendors seeking to provide services as a subcontractor. SCL Elections did not take possession of or use any personal information from such individuals for any purposes. SCL Elections does not use ‘hacked’ or ‘stolen’ data.”

The statement added: “Members of the SCL Elections team that worked on the Nigeria campaign remained in country throughout the original campaigning period, although the election was rescheduled and SCL was not retained for the entirety of the extended campaign period.

“Team members left in accordance with the company’s campaign plan. Team members were regularly briefed about security concerns prior to and during deployment and measures were taken to ensure the team’s safety throughout.”

The revelations will add to the questions facing Cambridge Analytica and the techniques it uses to influence elections for its clients.

In the UK, the Electoral Commission and the Information Commissioner’s Office are investigating the firm for breaches of electoral and data protection law.

Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/21/cambridge-analytica-offered-politicians-hacked-emails-witnesses-say

Presidency confirms release of Dapchi girls

Presidency confirms release of Dapchi girls

The Presidency on Wednesday confirmed the release of students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College , Dapchi , Yobe State who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect on February 19.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity , Garba Shehu , confirmed this in an interview.

Shehu promised to give further details on the development later.

“Yes, the girls are being transported to safety. We will give details later. We thank God, ”the presidential spokesman said.

The girls ’ release came exactly one week after President Muhammadu Buhari visited the school where they were kidnapped.

Buhari had during the visit last Wednesday reassured parents of the abducted schoolgirls that the Federal Government will not rest on its oars, until their wards are safely brought back home.

The President, who was accompanied by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State , said he had directed full scale aerial surveillance and investigation to ensure that the girls were returned safely.

“ I have read the full report of what happened in Dapchi . As I received the report, I was saddened and I am praying that God will continue to console you, ”he said.

Buhari also said government will ensure that the Boko Haram menace is totally brought to an end.

“Boko Haram was in control of many local councils in Borno and some parts of Yobe State before we came.

Now it has resorted to using young girls for suicide missions in mosques , churches and motor parks.

“We will not spare their members . We will ensure that Boko Haram meets its waterloo . By the will of God, I have directed the police and reinforced them, and the army and air force to keep searching until the children are returned alive,” he said.

LASSA FEVER: DEATH TOLL HITS 86, WITH 1,121 CASES RECORDED IN 18 STATES

LASSA FEVER: DEATH TOLL HITS 86, WITH 1,121 CASES RECORDED IN 18 STATES

There seems to be no end in sight for onslaught of Lassa fever which has continued to decimate many areas across the nation with current death toll put at 86 in 18 states across the federation based on statistics released by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control.

The statistics which are for week 9 since the onslaught of the disease indicates that there are so far 1, 121 cases recorded in the 18 states across the federation.

“Of this, 361 cases have been classified as 353 confirmed cases, 8 probable cases with 86 deaths (78 in Lab confirmed and 8 in probable) recorded giving a case fatality rate (CFR) of 23.8%.

According to the centre, with the recent escalation of the current Lassa fever outbreak to Level 3, more resources have been dedicated to response activities with the goal of controlling the outbreak and ensuring that identified strategies are sustainable.

“Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi states account for 85% of all confirmed cases. By implication, these are the high burden or hotspot states and the focus is to ensure that State-specific interventions are employed to control the outbreak”, the centre said.

Dapchi: No Security Force Was Informed Of Planned Abduction, DHQTRS Replies AI

Dapchi: No Security Force Was Informed Of Planned Abduction, DHQTRS Replies AI

Defence Headquarters has dismissed claims by Amnesty International, AI, that security forces were alerted of impending invasion of Dapchi town by Boko Haram terrorists before the abduction of students of Government Girls’ Secondary Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

Amnesty International had in a report released late Monday night, faulted the military over the abduction of the female students in the North East, saying the Nigerian security forces were intimated of the planned attack of the town by the terrorists group, yet could not swiftly act to avert the situation.

But responding to the claim in a statement, Tuesday, Defence Headquarters insisted that contrary to the claim of the international rights monitoring group,” no security force was informed of Dapchi schoolgirls abduction as alleged by AI.”

The statement signed by its spokesman, Brigadier-General John Agim, read: “Nigerian public and the international community should know that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is a professional military and has attained the highest form of professionalism in line with international best practices.

“Apart from questioning the motive of Amnesty International, it is pertinent to state that most of their narratives are outright falsehood and a calculated attempt to whip up sentiments and mislead unsuspecting Nigerians, demoralise friendly nations and people collaborating with security forces to end the forces of evil in the North-East.

“It is not proper for an organisation, such as AI, who does not mean well for Nigeria going by their previous reputation of denigrating the security forces anytime they make gains against the forces of evil, to incite the Nigerian public and international community against the military.

“Amnesty International always brings out damning reports about the Nigerian military at strategic points.

They did that accurately in the previous administration and the United States invoked the Leahy law against Nigeria at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Within this year, Amnesty International issued reports against the military in January 2018, February 2018 and now March 2018. The question is; what is the motive of the AI?

‘’The answer is simple: President Trump of the United States of America has agreed to collaborate with the current government of Nigeria to end insurgency in the North East and AI wants to do everything within its powers to make sure the US-Nigeria anti-terrorism cooperation does not succeed in accordance with their paymasters design.

“The question Amnesty International has not answered satisfactorily is which of the security forces and what unit was informed that a convoy of Boko Haram fighters was heading towards Dapchi where they abducted Dapchi schoolgirls? What were the telephone numbers used to inform the military or the Police?

“Why has AI refused to communicate its findings to the Federal Government’s committee set up to investigate what happened before, during and after Dapchi girls abduction? Is AI trying to undermine the outcome of this committee?

‘’The answer is simple: AI is not ready to contribute towards finding a solution to our problems, if anything, they are ready to complicate the problems.”

FRC: Lagos, Osun, Cross River’s debts exceed revenues by over 480%

FRC: Lagos, Osun, Cross River’s debts exceed revenues by over 480%

The debt status of most states of the federation exceeds 50 per cent of their annual revenues. For 18 states, the debt profiles exceed their gross and net revenues by more than 200 per cent. Lagos, Osun and Cross River states record over 480 per cent debt to gross revenue.

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission , which stated this in its 2016 Annual Report obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Monday, said the development was contrary to the guidelines of the Debt Management Office on debt sustainability.

According to the guidelines, the debt status of each state should not exceed 50 per cent of the statutory revenue in the previous 12 months.
The report stated, “In the light of the DMO’s guidelines on the Debt Management Framework, specifically, sections 222 to 273 of the Investment and Securities Act, 2007 pertaining to debt sustainability, according to the guidelines, the debt to income ratio of states should not exceed 50 per cent of the statutory revenue for the preceding 12 months.”

However , an analysis presented in the FRC report showed that most states flouted the directive. In fact, the debt status of many states exceeded the debt to revenue ratio by more than 100 per cent. The analysis was based on the debt profile of the states as of December 31, 2016.

The states with the highest debt to gross revenue ratios were Lagos (670 . 42 per cent ), Osun (539 . 25 per cent ), Cross River (486 .49 per cent ), Plateau (342 . 01 per cent ), Oyo (339 . 56 per cent ), Ekiti (339 . 34 per cent ), Ogun (329 . 47 per cent ), Kaduna (297 .26 per cent ) and Imo (292 .82 per cent ).

Others were Edo (270 .8 per cent ), Adamawa (261 .96 per cent ), Delta (259 . 63 per cent ), Bauchi (250 . 75 per cent ), Nasarawa (250 . 36 per cent ), Kogi (221 . 92 per cent ), Enugu (207 .49 per cent ), Zamfara (204 . 91 per cent ), and Kano (202 . 61 per cent ).

The debt to net revenue ratio of the states puts some of the states in even more precarious situations . The debt to net revenue of Lagos, for instance , is 930 . 96 per cent , while that of Cross River is 940 . 64 per cent.

The only states whose debt did not exceed the 50 per cent ratio by more than 100 per cent are Anambra, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and the Federal Capital Territory.

The debt to revenue ratio is very important in debt analysis as it can give an indication of the capacity of the debtor to service and repay the debt.

However, the FRC noted that it should not be concluded that a state had over -borrowed because its debt to revenue ratio was more than 50 per cent.

The report stated, “It should be noted that the fact that some states exceeded the threshold of 50 per cent of their total revenue is not an indication that they over -borrowed as the debt limits of the governments in the federation are yet to be set.

“Furthermore, only total revenue is used for the foregoing analysis as comprehensive data on the states’ Internally Generated Revenue were not available. In any case, the IGR on the average is not more than eight per cent of the states’ total revenue except for Lagos State . In essence, the non -inclusion of the IGR may not distort the result of the analysis.

“Therefore , there is a need for each of these states to work towards bringing their respective consolidated debts within the 50 per cent threshold of their total revenue in order to guarantee a general public debt sustainability in the country.”

Agric Exports Up 150% In One Year — NAQS

Agric Exports Up 150% In One Year — NAQS

Export of agricultural commodities exceeded 150 per cent in the last one year, export Coordinating Director, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) Dr. Vincent Isegbe, has said.

He spoke on Monday at the commencement of massive sensitization on export process on various crops. However, he did not back his claim with relevant data.

Isegbe attributed the increase to the intensity of sensitization by the agency to ensure exporters of agricultural products comply with international standards.

“We are on massive sensitizations on how to go about export of agricultural produce. We are going from state to state, and we are on radio and television.

“Agricultural export has increase of 150 per cent in the last one year according to the Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority and we believe it has gone beyond that percentage.”

On yam export and others, the NAQS boss said there has been high demands for the commodity, which exporters are responding to with the support of the agency.

How Corruption, Cross-Border Smuggling Scuttle Fg’s Bid To Stabilise Fuel Supply

How Corruption, Cross-Border Smuggling Scuttle Fg’s Bid To Stabilise Fuel Supply

Recent revelations by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that high volumes of petroleum products have continued to be smuggled from Nigeria to neighbouring countries, among other relevant posers, questions the integrity of security agencies manning the border posts.

When Dr. Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) led his management team on a visit to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col Hameed Ali (rtd), in Abuja to initiate a partnership that could curb the increasing incidence of petroleum products smuggling, the data he unveiled showed a much more damning and treacherous assault on the nation’s economy.

From 35 million litres of petrol consumed daily prior to the increase in the pump price to N145, average daily consumption skyrocketed to over 50 million litres per day.

The increase, Baru told the Customs boss, defied all logic and is in “sharp contrast with established national consumption pattern.” His interpretation of the increase in consumption was straight forward: It is a strong indication that smuggling has taken a new dimension. Calling the rate of smuggling of petrol “unprecedented”, Baru said a detailed study conducted by the NNPC indicated strong correlation between the presence of the frontier stations and the activities of fuel smuggling syndicates.

In December 2017, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) reported that more than nine million litres of petrol which was supplied to one retail station alone in Kano. It was just one of the numerous cases of willful diversion of products perpetuated by businesses at the lower rung of the marketing chain.

According to the DPR Head of Public Affairs Unit, Mr Saidu Bulama, 20 marketers in Kano and other states in the north have been fined N2.5 billion for diverting over nine million litres of petrol. He explained that the marketers evaded detection because the products were intervention products meant for the market between December. 9, 2017 and February 3, 2018.

“The DPR has uncovered massive diversion of products. These were as a result of Special Intelligence Unit that we just created to intensify surveillance.

“The products so far diverted were from Kano NNPC depot where one marketer diverted 115 trucks within a month and you could see that it was the peak of the crisis.

“One marketer through Kano depot was consigned 115 trucks, specifically meant for intervention and those trucks never got to any station because the station he claimed to be taking the truck was a non-existing station.

“Our intelligence unit visited there and discovered that the land was not even cleared let alone a filling station existing there,’’ Bulama said.

While a lot of attention has been given to the coastal and border towns in the south, the north has become the bastion for unchecked smuggling of refined products to neighbouring towns. The revelation from DPR on the disappearance of 115 trucks laden with petrol to a non-existent retail station alone in Kano State has brought to the fore the issue of ineffectual policing of land borders in the north.

From Sokoto through Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano to Borno, it is a vast unmarked and unprotected land where inhabitants engage in unregulated trade with their kith and kin in Niger Repulic.

Baru explained that because of the low price of petrol in Nigeria compared to prices per litre in neighbouring West African countries, smugglers are taking advantage of this to divert loaded tankers of products from their destinations in-country to service stations at border towns to supply to countries like Niger, Ghana, and Benin Republic, amongst others.

NNPC had said it now incurs a subsidy of N774 million as subsidy on the 50 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) consumed daily across the country. Curiously, the NNPC calls this volume of subsidy "under recovery ", attributing the smuggling spree to the proliferation of filling stations in communities within international land and coastal borders across the country. These filling stations have become staging posts for a large scale of smuggling of petroleum products outside Nigeria.

According to Baru, eight states within the coastal boundaries spread across 24 local government areas accounted for 866 registered fuel outlets with combined capacity of 144,998,700 litres of petrol.

With a total of 4,477 kilometers of land boundaries surrounded by Chad (85 km), Benin Republic (809km), Niger (1,608km), Cameroon (1,975km) and the Gulf of Guinea in the south, Nigeria’s borders are manned by security agencies and most especially the Nigeria Customs Service, among others. A total of 13 states share boundaries with other countries within the West African subregion and the African continent.

Going by the poor manner agencies of the government are known to handle issues of statistics, NNPC’s claims that it imports about 50 million litres of PMS daily out of which a total of 15 million litres are lost to smuggling remain subject to further scrutiny. Experts see NNPC’s figure of 15 million litres as a cautious estimate given the oil behemoth’s infamous lack of tardiness in record keeping.

Observers have said that any cross-border criminal act in Nigeria is traceable to the porosity of the borders and the ease with which smugglers enter and exit through the nation's 149 border points. The poorly- manned Jibiya and Ilela borders in the north west, for example, has been described as one of the notorious posts in Nigeria despite the large number of Customs personnel manning it. Here, all kinds of items exit and enter the country unchecked.

In fact, Jibiya is alleged to be a favourite for Customs officers seeking ‘juicy’ postings owing to the ease of complicity that exists among them and smugglers to encourage the illicit trade.

Sources told our correspondent recently that despite restrictions on the movement of prohibited goods in the axis, Customs officers look the other way as illegal movement of people and goods flow unchecked.

Apart from alleged high level of connivance from customs officials at the frontiers to allow illicit freight of PMS, there are concerns about NNPC officials who alsoconnive with owners of petrol stations located near the borders to commit the same offence.

Observers often recall that tankers laden with petroleum products always cross the border posts to neighbouring countries while customs officials who are supposed to monitor cross-border movement collect huge bribes from drivers.

From the Idiroko border post in Ogun State, a Baale who wants to remain anonymous recently told Business & Maritime West Africa that apart from goods like rice, vehicles, poultry products and second- hand clothing, petroleum products remain a major attraction, talking about goods smugglers deal on in the full glare of customs officers.

"The lucrative business of smuggling tankers within the border community is highly organised by the smugglers and officers of the customs."

The products are not only smuggled by smaller containers and 50 liters jerrycans but through large tankers bearing over 44,000 litres of fuel each."

He stated that while tankers ply the roads, smugglers use 50 liters jerrycans to smuggle petroleum products through the creeks Nigeria shares with neighbouring Benin Republic.

This trend has, over time, become a recurring decimal within the Ogun state and Badagry borders owing to smugglers’ determination to resist checks.

From the Seme border axis, Haruna Salami, a transporter lamented the increasing level of smuggling which he attributed to the alarming rate of bribery and corruption buoyed by connivance of operatives of some security agencies.

Apart form Seme border, the transporter also affirmed that the Idiroko, Shaki and Banki areas are also volatile and notorious with criminal activities.

He alleged that most of the prohibited but smuggled goods found in the country come in through the border posts located in the northern region.

In his analysis, he said that while the western and eastern borders are a bit regulated by the law enforcement agencies, the northern borders are highly vulnerable to smuggling. The enforcement of government's trade and fiscal policies is not seriously pursued as done in the southern borders. He called on customs management to adopt the same measure in enforcement of laws in both borders as the unrestrained activities of smugglers in the north is killingly the nation's economy.

A tanker driver, Musa Bala, who plies the Jibiya border route regrets that despite what customs authorities in Abuja are fed with, smuggling of petroleum products keeps thriving because officers who make huge money from them (tanker owners and the drivers) encourage it. He recommends that stiffer sanctions be meted out to both smugglers and officers who encourage them.

I’ll release details of Saraki, Dogara’s pay, says Sagay

I’ll release details of Saraki, Dogara’s pay, says Sagay

•MASSOB hails Sani for disclosing senators’ pay

Eniola Akinkuotu and Tony Okafor
The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN ), says the N13 m allowances being received by senators is only a tip of the iceberg as Nigerians will be shocked when he releases details of the allowances of the principal officers of the National Assembly.

Sagay said this during an interview with our correspondent.

The PACAC chairman was responding to revelations by the lawmaker representing Kaduna-Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, that senators receive N700,000 monthly and a separate N13.5 m as running costs.

Sagay, who has for several years accused federal lawmakers of receiving outrageous allowances, said principal officers of the National Assembly, including the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the majority and minority leaders of both chambers, are receiving far more than what Sani revealed.

The senior advocate said the polity might explode when he released the details of their allowances.

He said, “There are many things the press doesn’t know yet. If you come to know the allowances that the leadership of the two houses are getting… My God! It will blow up the country. What is the Senate President getting ? It is not the ordinary N13 m.

“What does he get as Senate President? What is the leader of the House getting, what is the deputy leader of the House getting? What is the Deputy Senate President getting?

What are the minority leaders getting in both houses? Go and find out. It is an explosive stuff, I tell you.

Eventually, I will come out with the figures. I am working on them now . When I am ready, I will come out with them.”

Sagay lambasted spokesman for the Senate, Senator Abdullahi Sabi, for saying that the N13.5 m allowances were already in the public domain.

The PACAC chairman said it was hypocritical of the lawmakers to have berated him last year when he released details of their allowances.
He added that Sani’s revelation was at variance with the details released by Saraki last year.

He added,“ What they released then was their salaries which the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission approved for them. What they are hiding now are the allowances they voted for themselves.

“The salary details released was just about N700,000 but what they voted for themselves is about 20 times that amount. That is the whole point and they were hiding it.

“I came out with the figures last year and they wanted to cut off my neck and now it has come out in the open and Sabi Abdullahi is saying it is nothing new but you were denying it in the past. So, they have a guilty conscience because they know what they are doing is shameful.”

Meanwhile, the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra on Sunday commended Sani for exposing the wages of Nigerian senators.

In a statement by the MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, the group said providence would bless Sani for exposing his colleagues.

The Biafra agitators described other senators as “criminal lions.”

The statement partly read, “MASSOB hails Senator Sani representing Kaduna Central in exposing his fellow distinguished criminal lions roaring in the National Assembly of the Nigerian state.

“MASSOB sees the Nigerian parliament, mostly the senators, as market men and women who always see the National Assembly as a business market where they only make billions of monetary profit without investments.

“The majority of these National Assembly businessmen and women are so insensitive and shameless in their dealings with the people of their senatorial districts.

“It is only in Nigeria that a senator will openly without shame donate a gas cooker with frying pan or grinding machines and other useless materials unbefitting of a country’s senator to the few people of his senatorial constituents as an empowerments incentives.

“Nigerian parliamentarians lack innovative empowerments in education, healthcare, economy and technology. They have no visions, intentions or programmes for the poor.”

The group added, “Most worrisome is that the majority of these senators do not exist in the Senate chambers; they only exist during election campaigns or ceremonial functions.

“Most of them are glorified laymen with no qualitative educational background, a man without a good academic insight and exposures as a senator can never be fruitful to his nation.”

Lagos reduces land use charge rates, waives penalty for late payment

Lagos reduces land use charge rates, waives penalty for late payment

…Grants 50% Reduction on Commercial Charges, 25% For Owner-Occupier, Manufacturing Concerns

… Gives Tax Credit for Payment Already Made, Introduces Instalment Payment Plan

Following extensive deliberations with stakeholders on the new rates payable by property owners under the Lagos State Land Use Charge (LUC) Law, the State Government on Thursday announced a major reduction in the rates and as well waived the penalty for late payments across board.

The State’s Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, who disclosed this while addressing a press briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa on the outcome of dialogue with stakeholders, said the rates payable on commercial properties have been reduced by 50 per cent in response to the demands of the people.

He said the government has also reduced the charges for Owner-occupier with third party including industries and manufacturing concerns by 25 per cent, while tax credits has been given for LUC charges already paid in addition to introduction of instalment payment system.

Ashade, who addressed the briefing alongside dozens of Executive Council members and top government functionaries, said the decision to reduce the rates was taken at the weekly Council Meeting held on Wednesday and Chaired by the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.

He said: “The Lagos State Government, in its desire to build world class infrastructure and improve the well-being of its citizens reviewed the Land Use Charges payable by all property owners. This exercise was received with mixed feelings by various interest groups who expressed serious concerns.

“In line with this administration’s tradition of inclusive governance and civic engagement, and as a Government that is committed to the welfare of its citizens and understands the importance of continuously engaging the populace, we undertook extensive dialogue with various stakeholders on the Land Use Charge (“LUC”) revised Law and its implementation.

“Consequently, we received a wide range of responses from our dialogue with various stakeholders on the amended LUC Law 2018. The stakeholders included the Organised Private Sector, Nigeria Bar Association, Real estate investors & developers, Landlord & Resident Associations, Community Development Associations, Civil Society Organisations, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors &Valuers and several other professional groups.”

Giving a breakdown of the reduction, Ashade said for commercial property owners who were mostly affected by the amended law, a property valued at N20million for instance which was earlier billed N91,200 will now pay N45,600 per annum as a result of the 50 per cent discount, while property occupied by owner, third party and property used for industrial and manufacturing purposes will now pay N23,040 per annum on a property valued at N20million as against the earlier N30,720 based on the 25 per cent discount.

On owner-occupied property, the Commissioner explained that for a property valued at N20million, only N7,752 will now be paid per annum as against N9,120 earlier demanded based on 15 per cent discount.

He added: “Other rates and reliefs, apart from the ones stated above, will remain unchanged and will be implemented as stipulated by the Law.

These include 40% general relief, 10% for 70 years and above, 10% for properties owned by persons living with disability and 10% for properties that are 25 years old and so on and so forth. Owners of Property across all categories will now be allowed to make payments by instalments. This will help to reduce the burden of taxation on our citizens.

“We appreciate and commend property owners of all categories who have performed their civic duties faithfully by paying the LUC.
Consequently, as a result of these new measures, those who have paid the original amount will be awarded tax credits to the extent of the excess amount paid and carried forward to next year,”  Ashade said.

He added that in a bid to create a framework to empower property owners with self-assessment, the executive would forward a regulation to the House of Assembly for review of applicable rates and regime of reliefs on categories of properties pursuant to LUC Law.

While appreciating stakeholders for trusting the current administration with the responsibility of investing the revenue from LUC in infrastructure renewal and overall development of the State, Ashade urged them to endeavor to participate effectively in the legislative proceedings going forward.

Besides, the Commissioner said the reduction would be implemented immediately as there were provisions within the LUC law which empowered the government to carry out necessary adjustment to cushion the effect of implementation.

Also, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem said under the amended law, there is provision for establishment of five tribunals out of which one has been created in Ikeja and now operational, while the remaining four would be established in other administrative divisions of the State in Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu and Lagos Island.

He said the law also makes provision for aggrieved tax payers to ventilate their grievances within forty-five days through a mediation process, adding that so far over 80 cases have been resolved through mediation.