Curator

http://ift.tt/2rgHQz4 By Johnbosco Agbakwuru ABUJA — THE House of Representatives, yesterday, disagreed with the Senate’s piecemeal passage of Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, contending that the one the Senate passed did not contain how the welfare of host oil communities would be protected. Consequently, the House promised to expedite action in the passage of a holistic bill that would consider all segments in the smooth operation of oil companies in the country. Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum,Upstream, Victor Nwokolo, told journalists in Abuja that the PIB the House would pass into law would not only be holistic but also encompass the interests of host communities and fiscal regulation of the oil industry. Nwokolo, who spoke at the workshop organised by the committee for House members on the PIB, disclosed that the consideration of the PIB would commence next week in the House and be given accelerated hearing. He said the bill passed into law by the Senate was only one-th...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J …commissions Naval War College By Jimitota Onoyume P ORT HAR-COURT —  Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Abayomi  Olonisakin, has commissioned a temporary Naval War College in Rivers State, saying it would strengthen security in the Niger Delta region. Speaking at the ceremony in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area,  General Olonisakin  said that the Naval War College will adequately equip naval personnel to effectively discharge their reponsibilities to the nation. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas,  who also spoke at the event, said that the Naval War College will serve as the highest training institution for the Navy. He said that the training school has accommodation, medical space, lecture halls and other necessary  facilities, stressing that personnel of the Navy would be trained in essential components of Naval operations. He said Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area, was chosen as a temporary base ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Emeka Aginam LAGOS—Broadband service providers in Nigeria have warned that the  broadband plan of the Federal Government might be derailed unless  difficulties threatening to cripple their operations were  addressed immediately by the government. The operators, made up of  broadband companies in Nigeria, also asked the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC,  to take immediate and decisive steps to avert the looming threat of strangulation facing  its members. The delegation of operators made the call during a visit to the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC,  Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, in his office in Abuja. The operators  noted that  the industry was in a situation where they were all  finding it difficult to justify the required investment case for additional CAPEX for network capacity expansion to improve quality of service to customers. The delegation included Mr. Godfrey Efeurhobo, Managing Director o...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Jimoh babatunde L AGOS— Two months  after a building of eight bedrooms was sealed up by operatives of Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, in Kirikiri area, Apapa, Lagos, for being stocked with expired and fake products, two other buildings in the vicinity (Comfort Oboh Street) were, weekend, discovered to be stocked with expired household products. The fake products, which the importer has been arrested, were household consumables imported by the same company accused of tampering with products’ expiry dates and labels two months ago. SON’s Director-General, Osita Aboloma, who was represented by the Director of Inspectorate and Compliance, Bede Obayi, said most of the substandard products that had left the warehouse will be traced and recalled. He said: “We acted on the intelligence report received from well-meaning Nigerians and a tip-off courtesy of the Nigeria Police Force. You can see the volume of expired products here and imagine the implicatio...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Providence Obuh ACCION Microfinance  Bank (AMfB), weekend, revealed a disbursement of N62 billion since inception in 2007 and N15 billion in its financial year ended, December 2016. Also, the bank’s loan portfolio grew from N5.45 billion in 2015 to N6.12 billion 2016 representing a 12 percent growth with a corresponding growth of 20 percent in the number of customers who are saving money with the bank. Speaking at the 11th  Annual General Meeting held in Lagos, Chairman AMfB, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, said that business environment in the year under review was not easy as the economy experienced slow growth and had its full year recession since 1987. He added that despite the challenges in the year, the bank remained strong and profitable while serving an increasing number of clients. Akinwuntan assured that the bank would in the new year deepen its use of technology to serve customers better through multiple channels to access and transact on their...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Favour Nnabugwu, Reporting from Kampala THE agitation of labor unions for full payment of workers’ accumulated funds in their pension accounts under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) represents misguided perception of the scheme. Managing Director of IEI-Anchor Pension Managers Limited, Mr. Glory Etaduovie, who took this position told Vanguard Insurance that the government acted in the best interest of the country’s pensioners. He stated: “There is still a serious gap in understanding the Contributory Pension Scheme. The passion and negative emotions of those fighting implementation was palpable. “Some information making rounds is that the states that adopted the CPS are failing like Kaduna and Niger, which clearly, are not true because we have facts of the schemes. The mix-up is coming from the challenges of transition from the old scheme to the new one.” Etaduovie added, “This is especially so for those caught in between of both schemes. This will dis...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Acting President Yemi Osinbajo left Nigeria on Saturday for Taormina, Italy to attend the G7 meeting where he met with U.S President Donald Trump. The G7 is comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the U.S. He also met other leaders, including the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. The special assistant to the acting president, Mr. Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo was invited to the summit to represent Nigeria. The 43rd Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Italy will focus attention on opportunities and challenges in Africa and the implications for the international community. Four other African leaders joined the World leaders. They are Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Beji Essebsi of Tunisia, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his address at the Summit, called on world leaders to invest in technology, education and capacity building of youths in Africa. He spoke ...