Monday, 13 March 2017
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Another N16m won in Fidelity Bank’s savings promo
By Nkiruka Nnorom
Another set of customers of Fidelity Bank Plc have emerged winners of N16 million cash prize in the 6th monthly and second quarterly draw of the bank’s on-going customers loyalty campaign, tagged: “Get Alert in Millions Promo”.
The draw ceremony, which was streamed live on the bank’s facebook page, saw the emergence of Johnson Chukwudeme Ndelukwute from Ihiala branch, Anambra State, as the star prize winner of N5 million in the second quarterly draw. Saminu Sani from Bello branch, Kano State from the northern region emerged winner of N3 million.
FR. Louismary Okeiya, Obochi Bridget Nwanneka and Toheeb Bolaji Moronfade emerged winners of N2 million each from the South South, South East and South West regions respectively, while Oge Mordi and Sunday Alokha won N1 million each from Lagos and Abuja respectively. Winners were also selected for 12 consolation prizes of refrigerators and generating sets from the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Addressing the newsmen at the end of the draw, Chijioke Ugochukwu, Executive Director, Shared Services, Fidelity Bank, said”This is the best time to have a promo that gives out cash. Several winners both today and in the past have expressed a lot joy and happiness that the winnings will make great difference for them, in their businesses and their family lives and all they have proposed to do this year.
The economic situation is gradually easing, but most projects need capital injection and support and promo like this has grand objective of putting cash in the hands of our existing and prospective customers as well as rewarding them for their loyalty in the years past..”
Making reference to one of the winners, who testified over the phone to having wooed eight customers to the bank, she expressed optimism that the promo has aided in driving savings culture in the country.
She said: “we heard one of the gentle say that he has encouraged eight people he knows to open account so far.
The post Another N16m won in Fidelity Bank’s savings promo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2mh7KwC
Friday, 10 March 2017
C&S leader commends The Guardian, urges Nigerians to support anti-corruption campaign
The Chairman and General Leader of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church (C&S), Surulere District, Lagos, Special Apostle Sunday Funsho Korode, has urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign.
The cleric, during a visit to The Guardian with top echelon of the church, commended the Buhari-led administration’s fight against corruption, adding that it is a sign of hope for the country.
He also enjoined Nigerians, irrespective of their faith, to pray for the President’s quick recovery.
While noting that the fight against corruption is a collective one, the cleric said: “We are good at buck-passing, but if every individual would decide to build a culture of excellence, the nation will be transformed.
“We cannot legislate corruption out of existence; we have to fight it.”
Korode added that part of the reason for the delegation’s visit to The Guardian was to thank the organisation for the good relationship it has enjoyed with it over a period of time, hoping that such continues to flourish.
He also used the opportunity to formally announce that the church had concluded plans to hold second yearly public lecture in memory of its late leader, Apostle Gabriel Fakeye, which also coincides with the celebration of his posthumous birthday today (March 11) at the church premises along Apapa/Oshodi Expressway.
He explained that former President Olusegun Obasanjo would be the Guest Speaker, with Rev. Fr. George Bako as Chairman of the occasion, while Chief Remi Omotosho would be the Special Guest of Honour.
On the Southern Kaduna killings, the cleric called on the federal government to muster the same zeal and skill it used to fight Boko Haram to address the issue.
He urged the government to engage the militants in a fruitful dialogue that would open the door for peaceful coexistence and economic growth in the country.
In his remark, The Guardian’s Executive Editor, Mr. Abraham Ogbodo, commended the church for the good work it is doing and charged the church in general to encourage their members to participate in governance with a view to eliminating evil people who have dominated the scene.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2neQN7Z
Inner Wheel provides health assistance for women in Enugu
It was an opportunity to reach out to the less privileged, the elderly, women and young girls with medical care, counseling and health talks that would help them.
Members refrained from much talks to give free cancer screening for reproductive women, medical checkups for the high blood pressure people, eye test, malaria test and others. 140 women drawn from various parts of the state were treated of various ailments, while 130 female students from eight schools within the metropolis benefitted from health talks delivered by health experts.
The international President of the organisation, Oluyemisi Alatise, who is the first African and Nigerian to lead the over 90 year old organisation, told The Guardian that; “ We are doing this because our objective is first to promote friendship, do personal service and foster international understanding. So it is a way to encourage the ideas of personal service by way of good health to the women, touching and helping to improve the lives of women.’
She stated that the focus was on women because the organisation itself is a woman organisation.
“If you take care of a woman, you take care of a nation, because she is going to look after the man, look after the children”.
Alatise said the International Inner Wheel, which has over 102 countries as members was set up to assist Rotarians and draws its membership from being their wives, daughters and daughters- in-law.
“We want to continue to provide assistance the little way we can to the women. I have so far visited 10 countries to encourage women and provide them with the little empowerment we can afford. What has been my motivation is the fact that being the first African to lead this organisation, I want to use it to make the statement that Africans can do better that their European counterparts
“I don’t want to be the last African or Nigerian to hold this post. So I want to make sure I leave a good legacy for the 102 countries that belong to Inner Wheel. Nigeria is one out 102 countries where Inner Wheel exists and I can only visit a country once. I am planning to go to Kenya and Malawi to strengthen and encourage women over there and hopefully my presence will be felt”, she said.
Speaking further on the activities of the organisation, Alatise stated that the kind of politics played in most African countries have affected the progress of women, stressing that majority of them have not aspired beyond their duties at home.
Accompanied by the National President of National Governing Body, Lady Uche Agbim and over 200 members, Alatise paid courtesy calls to the governors of Ebonyi and Enugu, where she advocated the need for continuous assistance and support for women.
Enugu State Governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi while receiving them sought the support of the public for the organisation. The members later visited the Innoson Technical Industrial Company and decried wastages in terms of machineries and human resources, due to lack of production materials.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mL2WUg
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
The National Petroleum Fiscal Policy – Old iine in a new bottle?
PWC
Here we go again!
More talk of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). You must be getting tired of hearing about it by now – we know we are. Late 2015, the government finally heeded the advice of various stakeholders to repackage and break up the PIB. In 2017, the Senate began the legislative process on a repackaged piece of the PIB, known as the “Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB)”. Then in January 2016 came the news that the PIB had been rechristened as the Petroleum Industry Reform Bill (PIRB).
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources recently released the draft National Petroleum Fiscal Policy (NPFP) which is meant to feed into the PIRB. Like the name implies, the NPFP aims to provide a fiscal framework for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Those familiar with the previous version of the PIB, will observe that the fiscal changes proposed by the NPFP are not entirely new, so the key question is – what are we going to do differently this time around? Let us take a look at some of the key fiscal highlights of the NPFP.
1. Resource tax and Companies Income Tax
The previous version of the PIB introduced a resource tax called the Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax (NHT), which was to be levied on the chargeable profits of upstream companies at the rate of 50% for onshore and shallow waters, and 25% for bitumen, frontier acreages and deep water areas. While the NPFP retains the NHT, it has tweaked the rates by amending it to 40% for onshore areas, 30% for shallow waters and 20% for deep water areas. Like the PIB, all upstream companies will also be liable to Companies Income Tax (CIT). For both regimes (PIB and NPFP), the petroleum profits tax (PPT) currently in existence, will be no more. Meaning from a current maximum tax rate of 85%, the revised maximum tax rate will now be 70% (40% NHT plus 30% CIT) of chargeable profits.
There is no mention of bitumen anywhere in the policy, which should be a relief for potential miners, at least from an income tax perspective.
2. You can have income tax, but give us royalties!
The NPFP clearly shifts its focus from tax to royalties. The interesting thing about royalties is that it is paid on production (revenue in practice). Meaning that government gets paid as far as there is production, unlike income tax which is based on profits. Smart isn’t it? You see under the current regime, upstream companies operating in deep waters can get away with 0% royalty, because that is the rate provided by law, when you operate in areas in excess of 1,000 metres water depth.
The NPFP not only proposes to remove royalty payment based on water depth, it introduces a royalty payments regime based on both price and volume. Under the policy, if you produce more than 50,000 barrels per day, at a price of over $100 per barrel (wouldn’t we love this), you could be liable to a royalty rate of 40%! Interesting to note that the policy also proposes that taxes and royalties be paid at the same time (that is, on a monthly basis). Royalties are currently paid on a quarterly basis.
The policy does give a flat royalty rate of 5% to “small fields” but failed to define what constitutes a small field.
3. Less tax deductions and reliefs
In addition to the increased royalties, the NPFP proposes far fewer tax deductions and reliefs compared to the current regime and the PIB. Some interesting examples include:
• No more capital uplift. That is, no Petroleum Investment Allowance (PIA), Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC).
• No deductibility of interest. This seems rather harsh, given that many companies in the sector often rely on debt funding for their operations.
• Maximum of 80% recoverability for costs incurred overseas, and a cap placed on how much costs can be recovered locally. The policy does this on the erroneous assumption that non-recoverable costs are also non-deductible for tax purposes. There were a number of cases in 2016 where the tax appeal tribunal (TAT) clearly ruled that cost recoverability should have no bearing on tax deductibility. So if this policy is implemented in its current form, the upstream companies would have a field day in court.
• The policy also proposes to remove the tax deductibility of acquisition costs on the basis that the buyers would not pay tax for a long time because acquisition costs are tax deductible. One wonders if the buyers would have made the investments in the first place, if there were no tax reliefs for their investments.
• Elimination of gas flare deductibility.
4. What about gas?
Gas is a very sensitive issue, especially because of the state of the power sector. The drafters of this policy are obviously very unhappy about the current fiscal gas regime. It is pertinent to note that the Associated Gas Framework Agreement (AGFA), which was codified and inserted into the PPT Act as sections 11 and 12, enables companies that produce gas to take a higher tax deduction (up to 85%) against oil income, and still pay tax at 30%. While companies have seen this as an incentive to invest in gas, the government seems to feel that the incentive is being abused, and this policy is proposing that the sections which provide for these incentives be completely removed. Since the NPFP includes gas as part of petroleum operations, it means that gas will now be taxed at a maximum 70% – just like oil! Wonder how this would impact on investor decisions.
Now it’s not all bad news for gas. The policy proposes expanding section 39 of the CITA, which contains incentives for downstream gas utilisation, to include LPG projects and infrastructure, as well as refineries. Meaning that LPG projects could get a tax holiday of up to 5 years potentially.
Verdict
The points above are not exhaustive of the provisions of the policy. In fact, the policy also proposes to increase the capital gains tax (CGT) on asset based transactions in the petroleum industry from 10% to 30%, reduce the time limit that petroleum companies can carry forward losses and review the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act to restrict petroleum companies from taking tax holidays.
The motive of the policy is clear – increase government take now (especially in deep water)! While there is nothing wrong with this, it is important to strike a balance between more revenue for government and attracting or retaining investment in the sector. While the proposals seek to remove or reduce existing incentives, there must equally be a deliberate effort to tackle current disincentives in the sector. This balance is paramount given a shrinking economy and growing need for foreign direct investment.
Seun is a Senior Manager in the Tax Reporting & Strategy Unit of PwC Nigeria. He has over 12 years of tax experience in the Oil and Gas sector. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists.
Babatunde is an Assistant Manager within the Tax and Regulatory Services Unit of PwC Nigeria. He has several years of tax experience in the Energy sector.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mDBCHW
APC, Dogara laud Osinbajo on 60th birthday
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday eulogized Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, for demonstrating exceptional capacity, humility and patriotism in handling the affairs of state.
In a congratulatory message to mark Osinbajo’s 60th birthday anniversary today, Dogara, commended the Acting President for exhibiting abiding faith and commitment to the ideals of democracy and rule of law.
“ Since your emergence as the Vice President and chairman of the country’s economic council you have not left any one in doubt as to your capacity to handle matters of national interest, development and progress “ Dogara said.
Similarly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday sent a congratulatory message to Osinbajo.
The Party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi noted that, the Acting President had demonstrated a high level of loyalty and commitment to the ‘change agenda’ of President Muhammadu Buhari and the party.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mh8h3z
Angry mother bathes daughter with hot soup
Joyce
• Man bags eight years for killing friend over girlfriend
A Benin-based housewife, Tricia Oterneghoro, has bathed her 13-year-old daughter, Joyce Emmanuel, with hot soup for allegedly sleeping in a neighbour’s room. The incident occurred at No. 9, James Watt Street, New Benin area, in Benin, Edo State. The soup burnt the girl’s chest.
According to a report monitored on a local television station, residents in the area rushed to the scene of the incident to administer first aid on the victim.
Some of them told journalists that they had cautioned the victim’s mother on several occasions to stop maltreating her daughter but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
According to one of the neighbours, “a woman in her normal sense will not do this to her daughter. I have warned her not to beat the girl again. Her father called yesterday and the girl said she was interested in going to nursing school.”
Narrating her ordeal, the victim, Joyce said she wanted to go out and take her bath on Monday night but her mother refused. Joyce said she went out to take her bath and her mother locked her outside, which made her to sleep in her friend’s room.
She said she was shocked when her mother stormed the room the next day and pour hot soup on her. “It was in the evening and I said I wanted to take my bath but my mummy said no. I went out to take my bath and my mummy locked the door. After knocking many times, I went to sleep in my friend’s house. In the morning, my mummy came and poured hot soup on my body.”
In her reaction, the victim’s mother, Mrs. Oterneghoro, said she did not know what came over her to make her pour the hot soup on her daughter. She said she had warned her neighbours not to allow her daughter sleep in their room and when she saw her the following morning, she poured the hot soup on her.
In another development, a 24-year-old man, Sodiq Salaudeen, was yesterday sentenced to eight years imprisonment for killing his friend during a fight over a girlfriend at Ijanikin area of Lagos State.
The convict was sentenced by Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, after changing the initial charge of murder to manslaughter.
The judge observed that the three witnesses who testified before the court were not at the scene when the crime occurred. He said: “The court will be relying on the statement of the defendant, which showed that he had no intention to kill the deceased.
“The statement read and I quote, ‘I used the iron from the Hausa man’s shop to stab him on the left side of his chest. I only wanted to scare him because I was being overpowered by him and his friends; I did not intend to kill him.”
Pronouncing the sentence, the judge, however, said that Salaudeen’s eight-year sentence would start from the day he was first detained for the crime. “The defendant is hereby sentenced to eight years in prison with effect from April 19, 2012.”
Salaudeen, who was dressed in a white attire, had an expression of relief on his face after the sentence was pronounced.
Prior to the sentence, counsel to the convict, Mr. K.O. Adebayo, had in his plea for leniency, told the court that the convict committed the offence out of youthful exuberance.
“Since the objective of punishment is to reform and not for retribution, I plea for a lighter sentence for the convict so that he can still be useful to the society.”
According to the prosecutor, Mr. Adebayo Haroun, the convict, who was 19 years old when the offence was committed, stabbed one Tope Akinyemi with a sharp object in his chest during a fight.
He said, “the deceased and Salaudeen had attended the same secondary school and knew each other. They developed a liking for the same girl and a rivalry developed between them, which led to a fight with their friends joining.
“When Salaudeen felt that Akinyemi was gaining an upper hand in the fight, he ran into the nearby kiosk of a Hausa trader to pick a sharp object, which he used to stab the deceased once in the chest leading to his death.”
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mDljdX
Sunday, 26 February 2017
VC tasks varsities on economic growth, recession
Adekunle Ajasin University(AAUA)
Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba, Ondo State, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, has disclosed that universities and research institutions in Nigeria have a major role to play in getting the country out of recession.
The institutions, he noted, also have a huge role to play in combating un-employment and bolstering the resources and revenue base of government.
Ajibefun, who stated this in an interview with The Guardian at the Gala Nite held in Akure in honour of the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, said the institution would support the governor in achieving the content of his contract with people of the state, part of which he listed during his swearing-in ceremony at the weekend.
He noted that one of the reasons for setting up universities and research institutions was to partner with government in times of emergencies and urgent national needs as we have in the country today.
He added that universities and researchers in most developed countries in the past had at one time or the other had been called upon to rescue the countries in times of emergencies.
Ajibefun, an agric-economist, argued that for universities to play their roles effectively as employment creation and entrepreneurial centres in periods of recession, there is need to review their curricula and tailor them to the strategic needs of the country.
He advised the governor to hit the ground running in his determination to combat un-employment when he vowed to make agriculture attractive, promote large scale commercial farming and give entrepreneurial skills to youths and graduates.
He added that AAU and sister institutions in the state have comparative advantage in these areas.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mARxmD
Controversy as PDP wins Gombe local council’s poll
PDP
The Chairman of Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission (GOSIEC), Mr. Caleb Maina, yesterday declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the local council’s poll held on Saturday.
Maina told journalists after receiving the results of 11 returning officers that the election was conducted peacefully.
However, the Coalition of Opposition Political Parties has rejected the results, which they described as a sham.
Addressing newsmen in Gombe on behalf of the coalition, the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Idi Barde Gubana, said election did not hold in the entire local council areas of the state.
He said: “Despite the huge amount of tax payers’ money that was spent by the commission, election did not hold in any of the 11 local council areas.”
The coalition urged GOSIEC to refund the money that it collected from candidates of the opposition parties who participated in the election.
Gubana also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the misappropriation of public funds alleged against the GOSIEC.
The Guardian learnt that the election witnessed low voters’ turnout, just as electoral materials were not delivered to several polling units.
But, GOSIEC Commissioner for Public Affairs, Mr. Kalagar Kudi Lubo, explained that security threats delayed the distribution of sensitive materials to polling units.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m0oqMX
Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Kano Hago beats Lagos Balmoral, La Mansuri also triumph in Low Cup…See full details
Director, Co-Curricular Services, Ministry of Education, Lagos State, Mrs. Babs Akinyeye; Head, Communication and External Affairs Group, GTBank, Mrs. Oyinade Adegite, and Chairman, Principals Cup Planning Committee and First Vice President, Nigerian Football Federation NFF, Barrister. Seyi Akinwunmi, during the flag-off of Season Eight of GTBank Lagos State Principals Cup held in Lagos…at the weekend.
The second leg of the on-going NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament galloped off to an exciting beginning yesterday with Kano H. Hago defeating Lagos Balmoral International 6 1/2 – 6 in the Low Cup of the competition sponsored by GTBank.
Lagos La Mansuri also got off to a flying start in the Low Cup with an 8 – 3 1/2 win over Ibadan Oluyole with Ibrahim Musa Dantala, the MVP of the Silver Cup during the first week, influencing an impressive win for the home side.
In the Balmoral-Hago match watched by the Managing Director of GTBank, Segun Agbaje, the visitors – formed by Sarki Waziri (0), Tata Alikura (+2), Baccha Mustapha (+2) and Yusuf Ibrahim Katako (+2), took initiative and won two penalty kicks, which were, however, but were missed by Katako and Alikura. They were made to pay for their wastefulness by Isa Kwame, who scored the opening goal with a low shot from about 12 yards to give Balmoral, completed by Luqman Adebayo (+1), Kabiru Saidu (+2) and Mohammed Dangote (+1).
Kwame, a three-goaler, was back on the goal line less than 30 seconds after but this time, he puts his low shot off target. Katako puts Hago, who started the match on a half-goal handicap, ahead with a 10 -yard penalty to end the first chukka.
Alikura extended Hago’s lead to 2 1/2 – 1 at the start of the second chukka but another 30-yards miss from him saw them missed the chance of furthering their lead. He amended for the miss in the final minute of the chukka to make scores 3 1/2 – 1 but Adebayo forced the ball over the goal line off a Kwame shot to end the chukka at 3 1/2 – 2.
The penultimate chukka started on a blistering note with Katako scoring Hago’s fourth field goal and the chukka was barely 90 seconds old when Mustapha scored as Hago begin to get out of sight with scores at 5 1/2 – 2.
Isa converted a 40-yarded for 5 1/2 – 3. Alikura’s missed a golden chance failing to convert in front of goal under no challenge.
Dangote pegged the scores to 5 1/2 – 4 in the final chukka. Katako got his third goal for a 6 1/2 – 4 lead but Isa scored twice to set up a tense finale. However there was no time left for further goals to the relief of Hago and their supporters.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2llmRYS
AGF, Sagay, Falana, others for anticorruption workshop (Read full details)
The event scheduled for today February 22, 2017 at Ikeja has as it s theme as “Combating Corruption and Impunity: The Imperatives of Improving the Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption Institutions and the Justice System in Nigeria.”
The roundtable is expected to come up with key programme agenda for among others prosecuting high-level public officials for corruption; responding to the tactics of suspected corrupt officials to delay and frustrate corruption cases against them; improving the independence and freedom of action of anticorruption institutions, and empowering and mobilising the citizens to take ownership of the fight against corruption in the country.
Others who have confirmed their participation at the roundtable include: Barrister Babatunde Ogala former Chairman of the Lagos State House of AssemblyCommittee on Judiciary; Professor Adedeji Adekunle ;Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies; Mr Tayo Oyetibo (SAN); representatives of both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Ebun Adegoruwa; Tessel Kuijten First Secretary Economic Affairs Royal Netherlands Embassy, Nigeria; Emmanuel Uche Component Manager AntiCorruption Justice for All Programme; representatives of the International Federation of Women Lawyers; Mr.Deji Elumoye Chairman Nigeria Union of Journalists, and the media.
Others expected at the roundtable include: Mr. Levi Adikwaone, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikorodu Branch; Mr. Martin Ogunleye is the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos branch, and representative of the National Human Rights Commission.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2kXrSDp
Muslims, Christians should find shelter in churches, mosques (Read full details)
Muslims who run to the churches during a crisis situation should be able to find refuge there while their Christian counterparts should also be able to find shelter in the mosques.
This resolution was reached by religious leaders from Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau sates when they converged in Jos to find a way forward to the religious quagmire that the country finds itself. It was a two-day intensive deliberation.
The states involved noted that similar deliberations took place somewhere else like in the North East and the North West, and felt that it should also be extended to parts of the North Central.
The two-day meeting was organised by the pro-peace international organisation, the Search for Common Ground. A communiqué was issued at the end of their deliberations.
The Publicity Secretary of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Mohammed Sani Mudi read the communiqué to the participants.
The communiqué called for the adaptation and implementation of the Universal Code of Conduct on the Protection of Holy Sites in the country by ensuring that the local needs and peculiarities of the different communities are reflected.
The Code which contains 10 articles on the protection of Holy Sites defined the code as “places of profound significance and holy religious attachment such as Mosques, Churches, Cemeteries, Synagogues, etc, whose special character and integrity are to be preserved and protected against all violence and discrimination.”
It states that in focusing on the issues of definitions, the Universal Code lays out the foundation for cooperative, concrete implementation plan for preventing and ending conflicts in relation to holy places.
According to the communiqué, the code encourages religious leaders, traditional institutions and other inter-faith bodies to consider it as a template for cooperation to confront the need to protect Holy Sites as a socially compelling imperative.
The communiqué reads in part, “In the spirit of the Code, we suggest the adaptation and implementation of the code such that it reflects local needs and peculiarities of different communities.
“Such a process may include but not limited to, education, monitoring, documentation, joint visits and denunciations by religious leaders to attack Holy Sites, among other activities.”
The meeting condemned in strong terms hate ideologies and derogatory speeches, adding that key religious leaders should advocate the inclusion of religious studies as compulsory in school curriculums.
The meeting also called on government and security agencies to respond promptly to on-going banditry in the north.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2llwlDf
Mortgage bank to get N500b recapitalisation (Read full details)
Federal Mortgage Bank
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is to be recapitalised to the tune of N500 billion.
The Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, who dropped the hint yesterday during the commissioning of the ministerial pilot housing scheme in Ardo-Kola Local Council of Taraba State, said the move would go a long way in repositioning the institution to adequately cater for the mortgage finance needs of Nigerian workers, whom he said, “would be beneficiaries of houses built under the housing programme of this administration.”
He noted that all projects inaugurated in the past three years were funded “ from the limited resources of the National Housing Fund.”
The minister admonished workers to contribute to the fund “so that collectively we can strive to totally resolve or at least, reduce to the barest minimum the housing deficit in Nigeria.”
He reiterated government’s resolve to tackle the housing deficit nationwide.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2l66tZx
NECO releases Nov/Dec 2016 SSCE results (Read full details)
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the November/December 2016 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted for private candidates. Of the 47,118 that partook in the exercise, 28,530 got five credit passes and above in English Language, Mathematics and other subjects.
The Registrar/Chief Executive, Professor Charles Uwakwe, who announced the results yesterday at the council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State, acknowledged an improved performance, especially in the core subjects .
He noted that the examination was well supervised by experienced senior members of staff and external monitors.
His words: “Furthermore, our question papers have continued to undergo reliable and valid processes of examination administration, monitoring and computation to arrive at credible certification.
“The marking exercise was just recently concluded and the results were processed for release within a very short time.”
According to Uwakwe, Abia State topped the malpractice list with 953 cases, representing 12.3 per cent while Edo recorded the least of the incidence.
Conversely, Ogun ranked topmost on performance with 5,183, translating to 91.13 per cent of her candidates recording pass marks.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lsXtyP
Monday, 20 February 2017
Court joins Chevron as defendant in suit by 235 disengaged workers
By Onozure Dania
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Awka, Anambra State, has joined Chevron Nigeria Limited as a party/defendant in the N23.5 billion suit by 235 disengaged workers of four contractors to Chevron, who are challenging their unceremonious lay-off without sack letters, redundancy letters and non-indebtedness letters.
The disengaged workers were engaged by four of Chevron’s contracting firms: JOCECO Nigeria Limited, Pat Onosen Nigeria Enterprises Limited, Sanco Calaya J.V. Nigeria Limited and Hensteel Engr & Construction Services Limited.
Trial judge, Justice W. Abali, in a ruling after listening to Chevron’s counsel, Mr Akpomudje Albert, SAN, held that Chevron is a party in the case with reference suit No: NICN/Awka/39/2015 and cited relevant paragraphs in the claimants/plaintiffs’ originating motion.
Justice Abali thereafter, adjourned till March 27, 2017 for commence of hearing in the main case.
It will be recalled that the court had adjourned till October 25, 2016 to rule on whether or not Chevron is a party in the suit by nine of the workers, including, Mr. Patrick Gbetah, Mr. Edward Usino, Mr. Frank Panama and Benedict Atiyota, but the case was on the said date further adjourned to February for the ruling.
The disengaged 235 workers are praying the court to compel Chevron and its four contracting firms to pay them N100 million each as damages, totalling N23.5 billion.
The post Court joins Chevron as defendant in suit by 235 disengaged workers appeared first on Vanguard News.
Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2kT2jn7
