Over 1000 Edo N-Power Beneficiaries Demands Payment Of Stipends

Over 1000 beneficiaries of the N-Power programme, an initiative of the Federal Government aimed at reducing unemployment have decried the non-payment of their two months stipends.

The aggrieved beneficiaries from different local government areas who stormed the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Edo state Council refuted report by one Emmanuel Yakubu who claimed to be the State Coordinator saying they have been paid.

Spokesperson for the beneficiaries, Mr Tolulope Temitayo, in a statement expressed disappointment over the neglect of some duly registered members in the payment process of December and January stipends while other in the scheme have been paid.

Tolulope noted that many volunteers in some local government areas especially Egor with over 450 beneficiaries are yet to receive any payment. He then demanded that the self-acclaimed state coordinator appear from his hiding and explain what happened to their stipend.

He stated, “We will like to know the N-Power Coordinator in Edo state. The claim that all N-Power volunteers have been paid in Edo State is false.

“No single N-Teachers have been paid in some local government area especially Egor. Many volunteers have not been paid in Oredo, Owan West, Ikpoba Okha, Etsako West, Esan Central, Ovia North East, Owan East, Ovia South West and others.

“Some N-Agro volunteers have not been paid in Egor Local Government area and we want to ask, what really happened to the original list? Why some volunteers are paid December-January while others are completely neglected. Even with the fact that we were all successfully schemed.

“We will like to know the N-power Coordinator in Edo state and when we should be expecting our outstanding stipends,” he stated.

Nigeria Central Bank announces new foreign exchange policy

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has released a new foreign exchange policy in the country with immediate effect.

The new policy is sequel to last Thursday’s directive by the National Economic Council, NEC, for immediate review to stem the widening gap between the inter-bank foreign exchange and parallel market rates.

The CBN said in order to ease the difficulties encountered by Nigerians in obtaining funds for foreign exchange transactions, it would henceforth be providing direct additional funding to banks to meet the needs of Nigerians for personal and business travel, medical needs, and school fees, effective immediately.

The CBN said such retail transactions would be settled at a rate not exceeding 20 per cent above the interbank market rate.

Macaneta braces up to become regional benchmark tourism destination – Mozambique

RM / Marracuene Administrator, Avelino Muchine (left), Minister Silva Dunduru (centre) and João das Neves (right)

The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Silva Dunduro, is stressing the need to plan Macaneta locality as a major national tourist destination.

The construction of the bridge over the river Incomáti connecting Marracuene village to the beaches of Macaneta has given new impetus to the process of development of Macaneta township in Maputo province. New tourist developments are opening locally every day.

In order to oversee development, the Association of Economic Agents of Marracuene organized last Friday in Macaneta a seminar to discuss the Plan of Development and Sustainable and Harmonious Management of Macaneta’s Tourist Destination.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Silva Dunduro, the District Administrator of Marracuene, Avelino Muchine, the President of the Association of Economic Agents of Marracuene, João Das Neves, representative of MITADER, Lizy Matos, the secretary general of the Union of Hotels and Tourism Industry, Luis Macuácua, along with state officials, businesspeople, community leaders and other stakeholders attended.

Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Silva Dunduro stressed the need to invest in tourism as an engine of the country’s economic development fundamental in promoting the country’s sustainable development and the well-being of its communities.

President of the Association of Economic Agents of Marracuene, João das Neves, said that the Municipality of Macaneta offered enormous opportunities for tourism development that, if well-used, would contribute to the socio-economic growth and improvement of the living conditions of communities, but that speedy and good planning was essential.

“The district of Marracuene in general, and in particular the beaches of Macaneta, have the potential to become one of the most attractive tourist spots in the region, provided that correct plans are implemented right away,” das Neves said.

Das Neves stressed the need to harness and exploit existing resources in the locality in a harmonious and concerted way for the good of local communities and entrepreneurs.

Despite the optimism, there were challenges to be overcome, namely the absence of an urban development plan for the site, the need to define a public beach and create basic infrastructure, the need to improve access roads and the quality of electricity supply, address poor distribution of drinking water and better order the informal market.

In another development, the President of the Association of Economic Agents (AGEM), stated that there is an urgent need to plan the development of Macaneta and the type of business done there, along with who will do it and how, in order to avoid overloads in certain areas that may conflict with sustainable and harmonious development. João das Neves added that if care was not taken to properly manage the number visitors, there was a risk of damaging the very environment that currently attracts so many visitors, sending the future of Macaneta off down a dark and winding road.

As an example, Das Neves explained that there is no defined public beach for bathers and no public bathroom, although Macaneta is visited every weekend by thousands of people.

Suzana Cardoso, Director of District Services for Economic Activities, explained that the Macaneta has six neighborhoods, five schools, a health center and a police station. It has infrastructure built mostly with a combination of local and conventional material, and boasts 198 tourist rooms, 455 beds, six campsites and other tourist attractions.

At the end of the seminar, District Administrator Avelino Muthxini highlighted the importance of the event, reaffirming the government’s commitment to the sustainable development of Macaneta and its continuing willingness to work with economic stakeholders and local communities.

Source: Rádio Moçambique

Uber Investigating Sexual Harassment Claims by Ex-Employee

The chief executive of Uber on Sunday opened an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment made by a former engineer at the company.

The engineer, Susan Fowler, said that she was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor during her time at Uber and that after she reported those claims to the human resources department, they were ignored. She gave her account in a lengthy post on her personal blog on Sunday.

“It was clear that he was trying to get me to have sex with him, and it was so clearly out of line that I immediately took screenshots of these chat messages and reported him to HR,” Ms. Fowler wrote. 

“Upper management told me that he ‘was a high performer’ (i.e. had stellar performance reviews from his superiors) and they wouldn’t feel comfortable punishing him for what was probably just an innocent mistake on his part.”

Ms. Fowler left Uber in December and this year joined Stripe, a payments processing start-up.

Ms. Fowler’s account is another sign of Silicon Valley’s struggle with women’s issues and diversity in a male-dominated engineering environment. In 2015, the venture capital world was put under the microscope when Ellen Pao, a former partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, claimed in a lawsuit that she was discriminated against at the blue-chip venture firm because of her gender — a case she lost.

Ms. Fowler’s story is particularly resonant because of Uber’s reputation for having an intense workplace culture with high turnover.

Hours after Ms. Fowler’s post, Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, said it was the first time the issue had come to his attention. He said he had instructed Liane Hornsey, the company’s recently hired chief of human resources, “to conduct an urgent investigation into these allegations.”

Mr. Kalanick said in an emailed statement: “What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in. We seek to make Uber a just workplace for everyone, and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber — and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is O.K. will be fired.”

In a Twitter post on Sunday, Arianna Huffington, the business mogul and a board member at Uber, solicited feedback from employees and said she would work with Ms. Hornsey to support the investigation.

Messages sent to Ms. Fowler over email and Twitter were not immediately answered on Sunday.

Uber recently faced a backlash when Mr. Kalanick agreed to join President Trump’s economic advisory council. The matter reached a fever pitch around the time of Mr. Trump’s travel ban against seven predominantly Muslim countries, and hundreds of thousands of people deleted their Uber accounts from their phones in protest of the company.

After the outcry, Mr. Kalanick eventually stepped down from Mr. Trump’s council.

Hunters, herdsmen may clash in Oyo over missing 500 cows

A crisis looms at the Oke- Ogun area of Oyo State, except urgent steps are taken to strengthen ties between some Fulani herdsmen and the traditional hunters of the area over about 500 missing cows belonging to the Fulani.

This is as the hunters of the area warned the Fulani herdsmen that they would not tolerate any conduct that may lead to the breakdown of law and order.

The Fulani on their part accused their host communities of exhibiting lackadaisical attitude to their plight. About 500 cows belonging to the itinerant Fulani herdsmen were said to have gone missing recently in the Oke Ogun area of the state, with the owners accusing people of the communities in the area of stealing their live stocks.

The Fulani were said to have closed down all meat markets in the area as a form of retributive action against their hosts, who in turn issued a warning to the herdsmen not to take the laws into their hands, but rather conduct themselves within the ambits of the law, while a solution is being sought.

Chairman of the Soludero Hunters Association, Chief Oladejo Oladapo and the President of the association, Chief Nureni Ajijola Idris have advised the Fulani socio-cultural organization, Jamu Nati Fulbe Association of Nigeria not to resort to violence as the state government and police are making arrangement to resolve the disappearance of their cows.

He gave the advice while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan at the weekend. According to the Head Hunter, it would be helpful for the herdsmen to toe the path of peace as violence would only escalate the matter.

National Chairman of the Fulani herdsmen, Alhaji Saliu Kadir, had, a fortnight ago, lamented that since the report of the sudden disappearance of their cattle was made, the committee that was set up to address the issue had been too lackadaisical towards the plight of those affected by the massive loss.

As a first step to recovering their cows, the herdsmen had ordered closure of all their cattle markets in Ibarapa area.

Reacting to the incident, Oladapo said: “We are aware of what Fulani herdsmen are doing in Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa areas of Oyo State. We have to make rituals so that their killing instincts will not gain ground in Oyo as they do in other places.

There is nothing like prayers. We will pray and make rituals in all corners of the state so that evil will not happen to us. Evil will not happen. Rituals help in matters of this nature”.

Oladapo however, warned the herdsmen not to foment trouble of any kind but rather allow the law to take its course, so that the issue can be resolved peacefully.

“If they want to be violent, we will be prepared for them and they would not overcome us. Hunters are to maintain peace in society and we will live up to this responsibility. If there is any hostility somewhere, we the hunters have the capability to confront it and ward it off.



“The Fulani herdsmen are here to graze their animals, they should face their chosen job and not to kill our people and rape our women. If they do, we know what we can do so that they would not stay here in Oyo State. By the time we put some things together, they would not be able to stay here again,” he warned.

Responding, Nureni Idris, said: “We are calling on all Fulani herdsmen to comport themselves and not disturb the peace of Oyo State. If they don’t, we will send our hunters into all areas to check their excesses.

“We cannot be here and allow them to do harm to our people. We will not allow it. Our fathers are blessed with charms and they have transferred it to us. We know what we can do to arrest whoever ruptures the peace of the state and hand him over to the law enforcement agents,” he cautioned.

I'm 100% with the presidency on proposed budget — Dogara

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has assured that the Nigerian lawmakers would give total support to the presidency in the ongoing deliberations over the 2017 proposed budget.

Mr. Dogara said the National Assembly took this decision because most of its members and Mr. Buhari all belong to the same political party, the All Progressives Congress.

“I must say that the APC as the party with majority in the National Assembly will not allow Mr. President and the APC as the ruling political party to be humiliated or defeated on its budget priorities as we are all part of the same government,” Mr. Dogara said.

He made the comments when he addressed a round-table on the N7.29 trillion budget proposal organised by governors on the platform of the APC in Abuja Monday morning.

The Speaker also noted that lawmakers across political aisles believe that constituency matters are very crucial to their activities as lawmakers.

“It is however, important to stress that on budget matters members of the National Assembly tend to be very sensitive to their constituency representational functions, irrespective of party,” Mr. Dogara said in an apparent reference to the controversial culture of earmarking funds for lawmakers to carry out projects in their respective constituency.

The practice has come under heavy criticism in recent years, and the call for its abolition peaked in the wake of the budget padding scandal that broke out in 2016.

Critics say the so-called constituency projects line items mostly serve as a conduit for lawmakers to syphon public funds into their pockets because they are often poorly executed or, in most cases, never carried out.

 Mr. Dogara updated the governors on the progress so far made by the National Assembly in the ongoing debates about the 2017 budget and promised better transparency and accountability in its passage and implementation.

Lagos drags Lekki Garden boss to court

The Lagos State Government Monday said it had filed a suit against the managing director of Lekki Gardens Estate, Richard Nyong and others over the death of ‘no fewer than 35 persons’ in a collapsed five-storey building under construction on Kushenla Road in Ikate Elegushi area of the State.
“Apart from Lekki Gardens Estate Ltd, GT Rich Ltd, HC Insight Solutions Ltd, others charged alongside Nyong are Taiwo Odofin, Omolabake Mortune, Maruis Agwu, Sola Olumofe and Omotilewa Joseph,” said Kayode Oyekanmi, an assitant director in the State’s Ministry of Justice.



The defendants are facing six-count charge of failure to obtain building approval for the collapsed building and unlawful manslaughter contrary to Section 75 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law.

 The criminal charge, which was filed on February 17, 2017, is yet to assigned a date for arraignment of the defendants.

The State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, after the collapse of the building, had visited the scene where he expressed a strong commitment to the protection of lives and property of all citizens in the State.
Ambode vowed to ensure justice for the victims of the collapsed building, while also assuring residents of the State that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that cases of criminal negligence and other forms of criminal activities are prosecuted. THEGUARDIAN

Xenophobia: Oodua Progressive Union (OPU) South Africa Chapter Condemns Attack On Nigerians

MEDIA RELEASE:
The Oodua Progressive Union, South Africa chapter has condemned the targeted attacks on Nigeria businesses in Pretoria West, on Saturday.

According to the Cordinator of the group made up of Yoruba descendants based in South Africa,Mr Tunji Aladeselu, "information available shows that five buildings with Nigerian businesses, including a church was looted and burned by South Africans.
One of the buildings is a mechanic workshop with over 20 cars under repairs, aside other vital documents, were burned during the attack, the Pastor of the church sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment in the hospital".
According to Aladeselu, the Saturday attack must have been preplanned and it should be viewed as a criminal act because goods and items were looted and the rest set ablaze.

The OPU South Africa Chapter are by this statement condemning the attack, we find it unbecoming of South Africans. We will visit the Nigeria Embassy by Monday to meet with other members of the Nigerian Community and fashion out ways of safe guarding Nigerians and demand that Federal Government of Nigeria should relate with the South African Government to increase security presence in areas highly populated by Nigerians and their business concerns and take punitive measures against the perpetrators of such inhuman acts to discourage others. "

Oodua Progressive Union is a global organization convened by Otunba Gani Adams to unite Yorubas in diaspora with the aim of fostering unity, common ideology and project the Yoruba culture and tradition across the globe.

Signed.

Mr. Tunji Aladeselu,
Coordinator, OPU South Africa, Chapter.

Mr. Taiwo Olukotun,
OPU South Africa Gen Secretary.

Fire guts Lagos factory

There has been a fire outbreak at Rida plastic industry on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Barack bus stop, Lagos.

Fire fighters from the Lagos State fire Service and other private and public agencies including the Ikeja military cantonment were on ground to put out the fire.

The fire has been curtailed from spreading to the cantonment and other factories around the area.

Damping is ongoing.

UPDATE: Woman dies as car plunges into Lagos lagoon

In an update by PREMIUM TIMES to a tragedy reported here few hours ago,  struck Saturday night when a silver-coloured Kia Rio car plunged into the Lagoon at Mekwen Bridge, Bonny camp, Marina, at about 7.47 p.m., killing a woman.

The incident involved two occupants who were identified as Felix Aniele and Chinagorom Adibe.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that when the incident occurred, Mr. Aniele, who drove the car, swam out to the river bank.

The other occupant, a female identified as Chinagorom Fustine, however, got  trapped in the vehicle and drowned with the car in the Lagoon.

With the combined efforts of officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA,  as well as other agencies like the LASAMBUS, Nigerian Police Force, and the National Emergency Management Authority, NEMA,  the car was recovered from the Lagoon and the corpse of Ms. Chinagorom was also recovered from the car.

LASEMA’s spokesperson, Kehinde Adebayo, said the recovered car has since been towed to Bar Beach Police Station, while the corpse was deposited at the Mainland Hospital Mortuary, Lagos.
The General Manager LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu, said that a full scale investigation surrounding the incident would be conducted by appropriate authorities.

He, however, advised motorists to observe utmost safety while plying the road.