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Fulani herdsmen invade Edo communities killed AAU student and 4 others

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Fulani herdsmen invade Edo communities killed AAU student and 4 others

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]uspected Fulani herdsmen have killed five persons including a first-year student of the Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo in the state.The AAU student identified as Collins Ojierakhi, and four others were allegedly killed by herdsmen in Ugboha, Esan South East Local and Odiguete Ovia North East local government areas of the state respectively. Besides, twelve persons are presently receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of the Central Hospital Benin while other private hospitals as a result of the deadly attack by the herdsmen.

The incident at Ugboha happened on Friday night at about 7:30pm when the dead student in the company of his friends were on their way back to the village from Uromi. Narrating the sad incident to newsmen yesterday, father of the deceased, Mr Festus Ojierakhi, said: “I am just confused. I was actually in the house eating at about 8pm and I started asking about my son who was not there. I was told he went to Uromi with his friends on a motorcycle. “It was around 9pm that the mother of my son’s friend started shouting, crying that herdsmen have killed her son. I rushed out of the house and I asked about my own son. I was told he died too with his friend.

He explained that, “We immediately detailed boys and ran to the place. When we got there we were told that the police have come to take the corpses to Ubiaja mortuary. I was told my son and two others including the friend died. They said the other person that died is an Igbo person.”

“The information we heard was that as my son was driving home with his Okada, the herdsmen and their cattle blocked the road and they waited for them to leave the road. Immediately they passed, some of their people in the bush opened fire on my son and his friends and they died at the spot.”

“I have been to the Area Commander office and they said they are investigating the matter. I don’t know what to do. This is a young boy that just entered university, he stated. At Odiguete community in Ovia North East, it was learnt that the herdsmen invaded the community yesterday, shooting sporadically and in the process killed two persons. It was gathered that the community and the herdsmen have been having running battle in the area for sometime now.

However, some of the wounded persons were brought to the Benin Central hospital yesterday while the two dead persons were said to have been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary. When contacted, the Edo State Police Commissioner, Johnson Kokumo could not answer his phone. He was said to be in a meeting while the Public Relations officer of the Command, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, said he was attending an event therefore cannot comment on the matter.

 

Source : Grassroots Publishers

Crude Oil Price Hits $70

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Crude Oil Price Hits $70

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]il prices jumped on Friday, with Brent crude futures hitting their highest in more than two weeks as U.S. stock prices rose. Investors covered short bets ahead of a weekend in which the U.S. news programme “60 Minutes” will air an interview with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.
Brent futures rose to more than 66.42 dollars , its highest since Feb. 28.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for April, which will expire on Tuesday, rose to 62.54 dollars on Friday, its highest since March 7.
Gains on Wall Street also supported crude futures, which have recently been moving in tandem with U.S. stock indices.
U.S. drillers added four oil rigs in the week to March 16, bringing the total count to 800, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said on Friday.
It was the seventh U.S. rig count rise in eight weeks.
On Thursday the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted global oil demand would pick up this year. The agency raised its forecast for oil demand this year to 99.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from 97.8 million bpd in 2017. It expected supply from non-OPEC nations to grow by 1.8 million bpd in 2018 to 59.9 million bpd, led by the United States. OPEC and other producers have cut output to reduce a global crude glut.
“Demand is gradually improving, and that continues to be priced into the price of oil,” said Mark Watkins, regional investment manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Park City, Utah. “That’s that positive backdrop that you end up having that really is going to be the catalyst for a true rebalancing of inventories.”
On Wednesday, the U.S. government reported that crude stockpiles in the United States increased by a more-than-expected five million barrels.

Liverpool face Manchester City in UCL quarterfinals, Juventus play Real Madrid

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Liverpool face Manchester City in UCL quarterfinals, Juventus play Real Madrid

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]iverpool face Manchester City in an all-English Champions League quarterfinal after the draw in Switzerland on Friday. Juventus take on defending champions Real Madrid while Barcelona — the first team to emerge from the draw — play Serie A side Roma.

Sevilla, who knocked out Manchester United to reach the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time, face Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for a place in the last four. The draw means Liverpool, who eased past Porto to reach this stage of the competition, play a domestic rival for the seventh time in European competition.

They were thrashed 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium in September but inflicted City’s only Premier League defeat of the season so far in a 4-3 thriller at Anfield — where City have won just once in their last 30 visits.Juventus have the chance to gain revenge on Real, who beat them 4-1 in last season’s Champions League final in Cardiff.

Bayern, meanwhile, have been knocked out of the Champions League by a team from Spain in the last four seasons. The first legs between Sevilla and Barcelona and Juventus and Real Madrid take place on Tuesday April 3, with Barcelona vs. Roma and Liverpool vs. Manchester City the following night. The second legs see Manchester City and Roma play their home games on April 10, with Bayern and Real in action the evening after.

The Champions League final takes place in Kiev on May 26.

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   Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ollowing 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 the 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 a dialogue with stakeholders, said the rates payable on commercial properties have been reduced by 50 percent in response to the demands of the people.

He said the government has also reduced the charges for Owner-occupier with the third party including industries and manufacturing concerns by 25 percent, while tax credits have been given for LUC charges already paid in addition to the introduction of installment 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 most 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 percent 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 percent 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 percent 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 installments. 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 the 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 taxpayers to ventilate their grievances within forty-five days through a mediation process, adding that so far over 80 cases have been resolved through mediation.

 

Source – Grassroots Publishers

MISAPPROPRIATED NSITF’s N30bn: NUPENG Asks FG To Probe Ex-Board Members Of NSITF

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MISAPPROPRIATED NSITF’s N30bn: NUPENG Asks FG To Probe Ex-Board Members Of NSITF
Dr Achese Igwe
National President, NUPENG

[dropcap]N[/dropcap]igeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG has pleaded by with Federal Government to bring to book  those  involved in  alleged N30 billion financial misappropriation at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF.

NUPENG President, Igwe Achese, at the end of the union’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Lagos, also informed that NUPENG’s National Delegates Conference, NDC, would hold on April 6, to elect a new set of officials to run the union for the next four years.

While urging President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate and swear-in a new board for the NSITF to check further financial mismanagement, he said it was regrettable that the government inaugurated board members to run other ministries and parastatals, but yet to inaugurate that of NSITF.

According to him: ‘’It is discrimination against Labour. A former NUPENG General Secretary  and renowned activist, Chief Ovie Frank Kokori has been named chairman of NSITF board. We appeal to the President to swear-in the board to check further unethical practices.’’

On fuel crisis, Igwe  urged the government to boost production capacity of local refineries to solve the issue of persistent fuel scarcity.

 

Source -Grassroots Publishers

 

IPMAN urges NNPC on steady supply of petroleum products

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IPMAN urges NNPC on steady supply of petroleum products

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Wednesday urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to intensify the distribution of petroleum products to Western depots, to address shortage in the hinterlands. Alhaji Debo Ahmed, Chairman, IPMAN Western Zone, made the appeal in Lagos, against the backdrop of the inability of IPMAN members to import petrol into the country.

Ahmed, however, commended the NNPC on frequent supply of petrol, but said the distribution was still not enough for the zone. According to him, some depots within the western zone have begun to receive massive supply of petroleum products from the NNPC, which independent marketers enjoy loading at ease to the hinterlands.

“The supply of petrol to depots has improved grossly in the western zone. We appeal to NNPC to maintain the tempo. “All depots within the western zone now sell petroleum products at government-regulated prices, compared to when petrol was sold above ex-depot prices.

“We, the marketers, under the western zone, commend the management of NNPC for addressing the petroleum distribution challenges to depots in the zone. “Government has set the pace for steady supply of petroleum products across the country,’’ he said.

Ahmed lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his concern in easing fuel distribution and supply to every part of the country. He said that this had informed the commitment of the NNPC management in upgrading storage facilities across Nigeria and ensuring the availability of products. Ahmed said that product availability in the depots would address the challenge of selling petroleum products above the pump price in some filing stations, particularly in the hinterlands.

The IPMAN boss also said that the development was a huge boost to petroleum distribution in the region. He lauded Dr Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC for his leadership quality, saying that “It is one of the key mandates of the present administration in revamping abandoned assets like the petroleum product depots.

Ahmed said that the upgrading would also put those assets back to work for the overall security, improvement in supply and the distribution of petroleum products for the benefit of all Nigerians. “We are very happy about the massive supply of petrol to depot within the western zone, which has the biggest depots in the country.

Ahmed assured that his members would partner with NNPC officials to ensure the protection and surveillance of the petroleum product pipelines, to curb incessant vandalism. He appealed to Baru to expedite action in rehabilitating the Ore and Ilorin depots, to ease distribution and loading activities within the axis. 

Seme Customs Command collects N1.07bn revenue in two months

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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Thursday said it collected N1.07 billion in the first two months of 2018. A statement by the command’s Spokesman, Taupyen Selchang, in Lagos said the amount was N28 million lower than the command’s expected revenue target of N1.35 billion.

The statement also quoted the command’s Comptroller, Mohammed Aliyu, as saying that the command was no longer a safe haven for illicit activities and trans-border crimes.According to him, any attempt by deviant stakeholders will be met with stiff penalties by the proactive officers and men of the command’s anti-smuggling unit.

“The command also intercepted 2,200 cartons of banned tin tomatoes and 63 second-hand front and rear lamps of vehicles. “The tomatoes were concealed in a truck marked LND 759 XE along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while the lamps were found in a bus marked KRO 530 EP on the same route.

“The goods with a Duty Paid Value of over N6 million have been deposited at one of the command’s warehouses,” he said.Aliyu added that the new intelligence-driven operational strategy adopted by the command was yielding positive results.The Customs boss warned officers to be wary of the current wind of change blowing through the service and urged them to key into the reform agenda of the Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali.

He noted that failure to comply with approved procedures and guidelines would be met with severe disciplinary actions, commensurate with the offence committed in line with the service regulations.

WAEC releases maiden private WASSCE result …says only 17.13% obtained credit in five subjects

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WAEC releases maiden private WASSCE result …says only 17.13% obtained credit in five subjects
 
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he West Africa Examination Council on Tuesday released the results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates, 2018 – first series with the results of 1,021 (One Thousand and Twenty One) candidates, representing 9.03% of the total candidature for the examination being withheld for further investigation in connection with various cases of examination malpractice. Olutise Adenipekun, Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC at a press briefing at the council’s office in Yaba, Lagos said that out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, a total of 1,937 (One Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty Seven) candidates, representing 17.13%, obtained minimum of credits in five (5) subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for Private Candidates in 2017 was 26.01%.

Adenipekun while giving a detailed statistics of the result disclosed that a total of a total of 11,721 (Eleven Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty One) candidates registered for the examination, out of which 11,307 (Eleven Thousand Three Hundred and Seven) candidates sat the examination. Of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, 6,370 (Six Thousand Three Hundred and Seventy) were male and 4,937 (Four Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty Seven) were female, representing 56.34% and 43.66% respectively.

He observed that 3,263 (Three Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Three) candidates, representing 28.86% obtained credits and above in five (5) subjects; while 2,010 (Two Thousand and Ten) candidates, representing 17.78% obtained credits and above in six (6) subjects.

According to him, “6,375 (Six Thousand Three Hundred and Seventy Five) candidates, representing 56.38% obtained credits and above in three (3) subjects; 4,762 (Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Two) candidates, representing 42.12% obtained credits and above in four (4) subjects”

The HNO further opined it is expected that the additional diet of the WASSCE for Private Candidates will reduce pressures on the conduct of the WASSCE for School Candidates; address the do-or-die attitude of some candidates and thereby reduce their tendency for involvement in examination malpractice.

“The additional diet of the WASSCE for Private Candidates is part of WAEC’s contributions to the efforts of the Governments at all levels to bring about expansion in educational opportunities in the West African sub-region,” he said.

He also acknowledged and appreciated the immense contributions of Chief Examiners, Team Leaders, Assistant Examiners and Checkers who participated in the Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Scripts of the examination.

He enjoined candidates who sat the examination to check the details of their performance on the Council’s results website within the next few hours.

Source : Grassroots Publishers

 

BVN Fraudsters takes over Delta, Defraud 4,000 Bank Customers

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BVN Fraudsters takes over Delta, Defraud 4,000 Bank Customers
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he heart beat of the nation ( Delta State) is now a safe heaven for Bank Verification Number ( BVN) fraudsters. About four thousand unsuspecting Bank customers have reportedly lost a whopping sum of N6.5 million to fraudsters currently on the prowl across the state. It was gathered that since BVN was made compulsory for all Banking transactions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), there have been hue and cry of increasing loss of funds to fraudsters by Bank customers.
Investigation revealed that with the implementation of the BVN, otherwise known as Bank Verification Number, policy in the country, fraudsters have intensified their activities of obtaining money illegally from the unsuspecting Nigerians, many of whom do their businesses mainly in Banks.
According to our investigation, for over three years now, the conmen have defrauded several people in Asaba, and its environs including Ughelli and Warri metropolis of their hard earned money.
This has also worsened the status of some persons to wallow in poverty, while others lost their savings in the process.
Sources said the fraudsters more often cash in on vulnerability of desperate customers who get panicked at the slighted development to enrich themselves at the detriment of their victims.
Their modus operandi is to send text messages to members of the public requesting them to update their BVN which they claim was purportedly deactivated in the process of registration for the BVN.
 For instance, the message thus reads: “Dear customer due to our BVN system upgrade, your ATM card has been deactivated, to reactivate, kindly call CBN customer care on 08161751*** now”.
Thousands of these messages are sent out on a daily basis, and some unsuspecting Nigerians are responding despite warnings from Banks.
Banks have, warned that customers should not honour such requests, and to call or email the bank to confirm veracity of such claims, but some people are hitherto patronizing these fraudsters.
But the Delta State Police Commissioner, Muhammad Mustafa, who confirmed that fraudsters were on the prowl in the state, disclosed that the police have arrested six persons in connection with alleged fraudulent banking transaction in Asaba, and Ibusa communities, adding that the suspects, upon interrogation, confessed to the crime as they will be charged to court on completion of investigation.
Recently, a woman, Mrs. Evelyn Okolie, in her 50s, lost N260,000 through this process of unsuspecting text message.She was said to have received the message, and immediately responded by calling the number, and before long, the fraudsters swooped on her, and collected money from her account without her knowledge.
Unfortunately for her there was nothing the bank officials could do to help her at that point in time because the people had perfected the acts of cloning ATM cards, and using same to withdraw money from other people’s account.
Speaking further, the State Police Boss however assured members of the public of the police assistance to fish out the fraudsters, and bring them to book.
Source: Grassroots Publishers

Why I exposed senators’ jumbo pay — Sehu Sani

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Why I exposed senators’ jumbo pay — Sehu Sani
       Senator Shehu Sani

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]adical Senator Shehu Sani, has given reason why he revealed that the country’s senators receive a hefty 13.5m naira every month to use on expenses of their own choice. Sani, of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), said there is little accountability about how the money is spent.

In an interview with BBC, he called for the payments to be scrapped, saying they are a key reason why people choose to enter politics.“I decided to bust it open. It was a moral issue,” Mr Sani told the BBC.“The National Assembly is one of the most non-transparent organs of government. It pricked my conscience and I decided to burst the bubble and open the National Assembly to public scrutiny.”

“If the expenses payment system was ended then parliament would only be attractive to people who contribute ideas,” he said. The money is paid on top of a senator’s salary which is more than $2,000 a month. They also receive a yearly constituency budget of $5.5m.

Nigeria’s minimum wage, meanwhile, is just $50 a month.The Senate confirmed Mr Sani’s revelation but described it as “nothing new”. “Almost all holders of elective and appointive offices have running costs allocated to their offices that cannot be said to be part of their salaries,” a spokesman said.

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