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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Patrick Dele Cole T HE administration of Pensions in Nigeria is a national disgrace. Ever so often the pension administrators insist on a verification exercise. All Nigerians know someone who has not been paid his or her pensions for years – some for over 10 years, despite repeated verifications. It is common to see very old, infirmed, sick people carried to verification exercise in the hot sun, waiting for hours, without food or drink; these people are carried daily to these exercises, many faint, others get more infirmed. The centres are usually in the cities when most pensioners have retired to their villages. A former Director of the Ministry of Agriculture has not been paid his pension for over 10 years. Yet, we have multiple biometric identification systems – GSM, voter’s registration, Bank Verification Number, BVN, Driving License biometrics, National Identity Cards, etc. There are many permanent secretaries, ambassadors, clerks, nurses, teachers, loc...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Onozure Dania lagos—A councillorship aspirant in Lagos State, Oriola Molomo, has described as “unacceptable”  alleged imposition of a councillorship aspirant on the people of Ward H, Mushin Local Government Area, of Lagos by the hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state. Molomo, who accused Lagos APC of trying to “disfranchise” him, even when he remains the most popular aspirant in the ward, said in a letter to the Lagos APC Chairman, that he was prevented from being voted for when he got to the venue of the primary election for his ward with his teeming supporters on May 29, 2017 as the gate was firmly locked. He said: “Nobody, not even the party representatives were allowed entry.  All of us were there from 8a.m. till 7p.m.” I make bold to say that I am the most popular of all the councillorship aspirants in ward H, in Mushin council. “I also have the voting strength. I have waited and stepped down a lot of times for other ca...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Gabriel Olawale The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has  pledged the Emirate’s support  to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON’s, battle against the influx and circulation of substandard products in Nigeria. The Emir made the pledge while receiving the agency’s management in Kano, led by the State Coordinator, Mr Yahaya Bukar, an engineer, recently. The Royal Father described the SON responsibility under its mandate as very tasking, particularly in relation to the fight against the influx, storage and distribution of substandard products. He assured the SON delegation of the full support of his council to assist the organization win the war. Speaking earlier,  Bukar thanked Emir Sanusi, the Emirate Council, Government and people of Kano State for their support since SON’s establishment in the state in 1988. He acknowledged the valuable contributions of the monarch to the realization of the SON offshore conformity assessment program...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Simon Ebegbulem BENIN—Edo State Government has described the 228 years old Aba festival held once every six years by the people of Igarra in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of the state, as one of the oldest festivals in the country. Mrs Kate Ibe, a Director in the state Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, disclosed this at a press conference organised by Etuno Youth Association, EYA, saying that the state government will ensure that the festival, scheduled to hold in August, was given its desired recognition. She said that the festival has already been documented and forwarded to the National Council of Arts and Culture, NCAC, for official recognition and endorsement. “The Aba festival is the first festival in our list. We have forwarded the list to NCAC for proper identification. Every festival in Edo State was submitted. They have been documented and will be sent to the international bodies. We are not leaving you people alone,” she assured. On activ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Dapo Akinrefon THE Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has painted a gloomy picture of the state of the nation saying that restructuring remains the panacea to solving the problems facing the country. In a statement by Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin, entitled: ‘24 Years After June 12: Whither Nigeria?’ the group said the only way for Nigeria to fulfill its destiny as one country is to ensure “a restructured polity that practices federalism in its truest form.” Lamenting the current state of Nigeria, Odumakin said it was unfortunate that Nigeria is celebrating the 24th anniversary of June 12 in a state of quagmire. Odumakin said: “Nigeria marks today the 24th anniversary of the cleanest elections ever held in its checkered history. Unhappily, Nigeria marks this day still labouring under intense strain, palpable uncertainty and extreme apprehension, because Nigeria has failed to learn the lessons of history. And th...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J An aspirant in the June 13 sports federation election, Frank Orbih has called on the Badminton family to put acrimony and disagreement behind them and ensure that the right people are voted. Orbih, who is eyeing the office of President of the Badminton Federation Nigeria (BFN) after serving once as the vice, urged candidates vying for elective offices to eschew bitterness and personal attacks and focus on issues that bother on policies and programmes. He said: I am appealing to the Badminton family that we put the acrimony, disagreements and disharmony behind us. Let us eschew bitterness and personality attacks in our campaigns and focus instead, solely, on issues. It is just stating the obvious that campaigns and elections laced with venom, bitterness, hatred and acrimony will only lead to enmity and divisions once the process of elections are over. “While I am quite aware that not everyone will necessarily support my aspiration in the coming elections, I plea...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Nigeria Army has revealed that 1,400 suspected Boko Haram members are undergoing investigation at its detention facility. Lucky Irabor, outgoing Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, said this yesterday during a handover ceremony at the Army Command Headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno State capital. Irabor has been posted to the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, while Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru has been appointed to replace him. Meanwhile, Transparen-cy International, TI, has said the anti-corruption group is not working against the interest of the Nigerian military. Speaking through its representative in Nigeria, Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani, TI said the recently-released report on how senior officers have been allegedly making profit from the fight against insurgency, was not meant to derail the anti-corruption fight by the current administration. The military had denied the report, accusing the agency of mischief. Speaking on a local television stat...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Ebun Sessou Lagos—The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday, set-up a six-man committee to investigate the cancellation of the contract for the construction of the 4th Mainland Bridge. The Speaker of the House,  Mr Mudashiru Obasa, said at plenary that the committee would be chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun. Other members include the Majority Leader,  Mr Sanai Agunbiade; the Chairman House Committee on Finance, Mr Yinka Ogundimu; and the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Muyiwa Jimoh. The rest are Mr Moshood Oshun, the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts (State) and Mr Bisi Yusuff, the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts (Local). The House mandated the committee to invite the State Attorney-General, the  Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, the Commissioner for Finance and the state Chairman of Lagos Global to clarify the termination of the contract. The committee is to submit its report to the Hou...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Former Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Ahmad Farroukh, has been appointed to the Board of Smile Telecommunication as Executive Director, Operations. Ahmad is an experienced telecoms executive with a distinguished record of commercial success, extensive experience working in Africa and an impressive ability to drive strategy and profitability in accordance with international standards. According to Irene Charnley, Smile Group’s Chief Executive Officer, “the Africa telecoms market is as dynamic as it is challenging, and Ahmad Farroukh is perfectly suited to lead Smile’s next exciting phase of growth, as we have transitioned from a spectrum rich start-up to the most reliable data gigabyte factory in Sub-Sahara Africa. Oh his part, Farroukh said: “Africa is experiencing explosive data growth, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the operations of the continent’s best 4G LTE network at this exciting time. “It has also been a revelation after over...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Dennis Udoma UYO—Professor of Political Communication at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Professor Nkereuwem Udoaka,  has warned members of the public from berating journalism, describing the profession as a lethal weapon that can destroy the society. Udoka, who spoke in Uyo, during the university’s inaugural lecture, said journalism practice, like the medical profession, is a matter of life and death. He noted that journalism wields more power on society than medical practice, hence journalists should be treated with respect. According to him, “A doctor’s error might endanger only one or few lives, while a wrong and inaccurate report could destroy the whole community.  A closer analogy of the effect of inaccurate media reports is like an aircraft pilot’s error, which could claim the lives of all the passengers on board.” The communication lecturer urged government not to ignore the roles and functions of journalists in any given democrati...