Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Prof. Gideon Omuta, former Vice Chancellor, Christ Embassy University, Benin City, said on Tuesday that corruption was the major reason why the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), did not succeed fully in Nigeria. Omuta made the remark at the second International Conference on Environment at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Uli Campus, Anambra. The theme of the conference was “Evaluating Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria”. Omuta spoke on “National Development Planning, MDGs and SDGs – An Assessment of Achievements and Challenges in Developing World: Lesson for SDGs”. He said that corruption contributed to the failure in the full implementation of the nation’s development plans and that the menace had been elevated from just a social problem to the status of a culture. “As a culture, corruption wears different faces including diversion of resources to projects they were not meant for, conversion of pu...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Prof. Gideon Omuta, former Vice Chancellor, Christ Embassy University, Benin City, said on Tuesday that corruption was the major reason why the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), did not succeed fully in Nigeria. Omuta made the remark at the second International Conference on Environment at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Uli Campus, Anambra. The theme of the conference was “Evaluating Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria”. Omuta spoke on “National Development Planning, MDGs and SDGs – An Assessment of Achievements and Challenges in Developing World: Lesson for SDGs”. He said that corruption contributed to the failure in the full implementation of the nation’s development plans and that the menace had been elevated from just a social problem to the status of a culture. “As a culture, corruption wears different faces including diversion of resources to projects they were not meant for, conversion of pu...

http://ift.tt/2qpKsry Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has granted a state pardon to 34 inmates serving various jail terms in Calabar Prison to mark the 50th Anniversary of the state. Ayade said this on Saturday in Calabar in his anniversary speech to the people of the state. He said that Cross River had every reason to celebrate 50 years of its existence as a state, considering its monumental achievements during the period. The governor said the pardon was in the spirit of the celebration and based on the provision of section 212 of the 1999 Constitution. He said, “in the spirit of the celebration and the powers vested on me by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, I hereby grant clemency to the following category of people serving various jail terms in the state. “They are five people on death row; 16 prisoners serving life sentences; four prisoners who are above 60 years of age; nine convicted criminals who are terminally ill and...

http://ift.tt/2q8vt5r Managing Director, AMCON, Ahmed Kuru Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) recovered N134 billion in 2016, according to Mr Ahmed Kuru, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. Kuru said at a news conference in Lagos on Friday that N86.9 billion was from cash collections while N30.64 billion came from assets forfeiture. He said that N7.9 billion was realised from sale of property and N8.7 billion from sale of shares. He said that the corporation would continue to engage its obligors to enhance loans recovery, adding that AMCON would welcome customers with strategies for loan repayment within a specific period of time. “They are quite a lot of challenges we are facing in debt recovery; we are not under illusion that it is easy to recover bad loans. Loan recovery is a very unpleasant job.” He said that most of the customers were not willing to pay and would resort to court to seek redress. The managing director said that court cases wer...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J …blame leaders for poor development The Pan Niger Delta Youth Leadership Forum (PANDLEAF), says the leadership of the region over the years should take the blame for the problems and failures of the region. The forum, comprising the leadership of youth groups in the region, made this known on Tuesday in a meeting organised by its Coordinator, Mr Richard Akinaka, in Calabar. The group maintained that the problem of under-development of the region was due to the selfish behaviour of some leaders of the region. In a communiqué signed by the President of the forum, Mr Famous Daunemigha and its Secretary, Mr Michael Ekpo, the forum agreed that the time had come to hold leaders of the region accountable. “We know that we have not been treated fairly within the comity of the Nigerian nation; it is our belief that the problem of our region is more of the leadership failure. “ It is on this note that while we want to engage the Federal Government, we want to hold pas...

http://ift.tt/2rPNk1a Nigeria’s economy contracted for a fifth straight quarter, official figures showed Tuesday, as low oil production dented overall output. Gross domestic product shrank by 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2017, an improvement from a 1.7 percent fall in the last quarter of 2016, said Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics. Despite an encouraging pick-up of momentum in the non-oil sector, the latest reading disappointed expectations of a modest recovery and an exit out of a debilitating recession. “It’s worse than what we’d expected,” said John Ashbourne, Africa economist at London-based Capital Economics. “But if you remove oil, non-oil GDP increased. Manufacturing picked up and construction picked up,” Ashbourne said, “it’s a pretty positive set of figures in the sense that the contraction is easing.” As a result of attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the oil-producing swamplands, last year production fell to a low of 1.4 million barrels per day...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yussuf Lasun, on Monday backed the call by Army authorities that army officers should stay off politics. Lasun, while delivering a speech at a public hearing on proposed further amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, in Abuja, said that democracy remained the best form of government. He insisted that democracy should be allowed to thrive in the country, adding that he could not understand why any military personnel should think that the military should return to power. He said that the issue may appear trivial or correct, but what was being bandied on the matter in the last two weeks was disturbing. “Having practiced democracy for 18 unbroken years, I wouldn’t know why some military people want to think that it is time again to come back to governance in Nigeria. “It is going to be difficult; democracy at its worst is still best form of government,’’ Lasun said. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J A retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mr  Felix Ogbaudu, says military rule is no longer acceptable anywhere in the world. Ogbaudu stated this in a telephone interview with the News men on Monday, at the backdrop of rumours of rumblings in the military against the Federal Government. He said that it would be abnormal for Nigeria to be taken back to the era of military rule, adding that military administration was an aberration, which had caused more havoc than good. The retired police officer commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, for warning military personnel to desist from meddling in politics. “There is nothing wrong with the statement made by the Chief of Army Staff and as far as I am concerned, it was made in good faith. “There is nothing wrong in him advising them not to meddle in politics. If you have been following events, you will see what is happening in Cote d’Voire. “Military rule anywhere in the worl...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Early in the life of his administration, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola brought up a video for those he believed were going to play critical roles in the implementation of his development agenda. It was a video on Bogota, the once decrepit, dreaded slummy province of Columbia. It was a story of tearing down and building up what many had resigned to as the fate of a settlement that was beyond redemption. But Bogota was redeemed. The essence of that exercise was to inject in the veins of those who would later play critical roles in the transformation of Osun, the passion for delivery. From that moment, those who may not have given very serious thoughts to the essence of the credo that Aregbesola subscribes to that “Power is Responsibility” must have then commenced ruminating over what lay ahead with a man that carries with him such revolutionary zeal. In the fullness of time, Nigerians would indeed discover that the confident expression, “I am as large in Osun as I am la...

http://ift.tt/2oJQk1W Arsene Wenger’s torrid year reached a calamitous climax as Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years after Manchester City and Liverpool wrapped up the remaining top four places on the final day of the Premier League season. Wenger’s side won 3-1 against Everton, but Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough and Manchester City’s 5-0 demolition of Watford pushed Arsenal out of Europe’s elite. After reaching the Champions League for the last 19 seasons, Arsenal will spend next term trekking around the unglamourous outposts of the Europa League. That indignity will cost Arsenal an estimated £50 million ($65 million) in revenue and increase the pressure on Gunners boss Wenger, who has endured a miserable season filled with fan protests and calls for his resignation. The Frenchman, who has yet to reveal if he will sign a new contract to extend his 21-year reign, could still finish the season with silverware as Arsenal fac...

http://ift.tt/2r2cQAs WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 10: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shake hands in the Treaty Room before heading into meetings at the State Department May 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. Tillerson is hosting Lavrov to discuss Syria, Ukraine and other bilaterial issues, according to the State Department. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Wednesday with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ahead of rare Oval Office talks with Donald Trump, whose firing of his FBI chief again put the spotlight on Moscow’s alleged meddling in last year’s US election. On Tuesday, Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, who was leading a probe into whether the Republican billionaire’s campaign aides colluded with Russian officials to sway the November presidential election. After talks with Tillerson, Lavrov heads to the White House to meet Trump, whose shock sacking of Comey was seen by Democrats a...