Mbu deployed as AIG in charge of Lagos, Ogun states

By Kingsley Omonobi


Also, Mr. Tunde Ogunshakin, former AIG in charge of Training was redeployed to Rivers State as the AIG in charge of Zone 6, Calabar, comprising Rivers State, Akwa Ibom State and Cross Rivers State, while AIG Tambari Mohammed will be in charge of Zone 1, Kano.
AIG Musa Daura  will be in charge Zone 5 Benin,  comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States.  Also, AIG Aderenle Shinaba,  former CP Kano was deployed to Zone 4, Markudi .
Others are; AIG Mohammed J. Abubakar,  in charge ZONE 3 Yola; AIG. Patrick Dokumor in charge of AIG Zone 7, Abuja; AIG Christopher Dega, ZONE 8 LOKOJA, AIG USMAN AKILA GWARRY is AIG in charge Zone 9 UMUAHIA, AIG BALA A. HASSAN is AIG ZONE 10 SOKOTO, AIG IKEMEFUNA R. OKOYE is AIG ZONE 11 OSOGBO, AIG MOHAMMED J. GANA is AIG ZONE 12 BAUCHI and AIG SULE MAMMAN is AIG FORSEC at Force HQ.
Others are AIG ADISA B. BOLANTA Commandant Police Academy, Kano, AIG EDGAR TAM NANAKUMO, AIG FORCE ANIMAL BRANCH, AIG SABO RINGIM IBRAHIM, AIG in charge BORDER PATROL, AIG WILFRED EJE OBUTE, AIG in charge ARMAMENT FHQ ABUJA, AIG KALAFITE HELEN ADEYEMI is AIG MARITIME, FHQ; AIG IBRAHIM M. MAISHANU is AIG INFO-TECH FHQ; AIG JUBRIN OLAWALE ADENIJI is FHQ 2i/C FCID.
AIG LAWAL TANKO is AIG in charge Police Mobile Force FHQ, ABUJA; AIG BALLAH MAGAJI NASARAWA formerly AIG INTELLIGENCE is now CMDT PSC JOS; AIG YAHAYA GARBA ARDO is AIG in charge Counter Terrorism Unit FHQ; AIG BUHARI TANKO is in charge SPECIAL DUTY at FHQ; AIG OLUFEMI A. ADENAIKE is AIG TRAINING, FHQ; AIG UMARU ABUBAKAR MANKO formerly AIG ZONE 2, LAGOS is now DIRECTOR STUDY GROUP NIPSS KURU, JOS; AIG IRIMIYA F. YERIMA is AIG.COMMUNICATION, FHQ; and AIG MARK ADAMU IDAKWO is now AIG in charge Federal Operations at FHQ.
A statement signed by CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, Force Public Relations officer said, “While charging the Senior Officers to bring their experience to bear on their new postings and be more service-oriented in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities, the IGP urges the public to partner closely with the force in its determination to ensure improved safety and security of our country”.

Achievments of GEJ - Economy

Since taking office, President Goodluck Jonathan has made remarkable progress in the development of critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, particularly agriculture, manufacturing, power and services.
According to international firm KPMG*, “In terms of Nigeria’s economic policy, prospects have improved with President Goodluck Jonathan in the driving seat, with a strong technocratic economic team lending support.”
Over the course of his administration, Nigeria has become the preferred destination for foreign direct investment in Africa, leading to unprecedented economic growth and job creation.
Under President Jonathan’s leadership, the National Bureau of Statistics rebased Nigeria’s GDP, securing the country’s rightful place as the largest economy in Africa and the 26^th largest economy in the world.  The release of the rebased GDP data is part of a broader push by the Jonathan Administration to improve and update Nigeria’s statistics.
Achievements:

• Created 1.6 million new jobs under various programmes including the Community Service Scheme (CSS), Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN!) and the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P).
• Created 250,000 jobs in the agriculture sector by enabling Dry Season Farming in 10 Northern states.
• Launched the National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) to spearhead private sector-led industrialization by strengthening the value chain of various manufacturing industries.
• Introduced SURE-P (The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme), which has created 185,000 jobs across the country.
• Lowered government fiscal deficit from 3.35% of GDP in 2010 to 1% in 2014.
• Enhanced transparency in government financing through the publication of monthly FAAC allocations to Federal, States, and Local Governments.
• Hosted the World Economic Forum on Africa for the first time in 2014, showcasing Nigeria’s impressive economic growth to a global audience and attracting further foreign investment.
• Generated $68bn in Foreign Direct Investment, with notable projects including: Indorama’s $1.2bn fertilizer plant at Onne, Procter and Gamble’s $250mn consumer goods plant in Ogun, and SAB Miller’s $100mn brewery in Onitsha.
• Tackled fraud in the oil subsidy regime, identifying N370 billion in fraudulent claims now targeted for recovery.
• Spearheaded the YouWIN programme, aimed at creating youth employment and alleviating poverty. The programme will create 80,000 -110,000 jobs over 3 years.
• Initiated the Community Works Programme to create 370,000 jobs in 3 years with all 36 states and the FCT benefitting.
• Established the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to manage the Sovereign Wealth Fund and oversee The Future Generations Fund, The Nigeria Infrastructure Fund and The Stabilization Fund.

*See “Nigerian Snapshot: 2013 Quarter 1,” KPMG / NKC

Abeokuta Meeting: Obasnjo's 5 Questions To Jonathan

By - Clement Ejiofor,

Reactions and allegations keep tracking the Monday meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
It had been previously reported that what was supposed to be a peace meeting ended in fiasco. Some sources said that Obasanjo was not feeling comfortable during the encounter because of the President’s recent provocative utterances against prominent Nigerian statesmen, including him.
The others however added that the meeting “was frank and straight to the issues at hand”.
Still, it soon emerged that following the occasion OBJ declared his current mindset to be ABJ , or “Anything But Jonathan”. It was a clear indication that the whole thing did not go well.
The latest update on the meeting was exclusive provided by Leadership, according to which the ex-President put the acting President on the hot seat in his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta.
READ ALSO: IN PHOTOS: Jonathan And Buhari Look Like Best Friends As They Meet In Abuja
Together with Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Bishop David Oyedepo, also present at the meeting, Obasanjo asked Jonathan questions which he had earlier thrown up in his correspondence to the country leader.
See the FIVE questions of crucial importance which were allegedly heard behind the closed doors. It seemed like a court interrogation as Obasanjo asked Jonathan to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”.
1. Did you agree to run for only one term or not?
2. What did you tell me was your reason for not going after Boko Haram insurgents even when I told you this will boomerang?
3. What happened to Nigeria’s external reserve and Sovereign Wealth Fund?
4. Did you give licence to Niger Delta militants (Dokubo and Tompolo) to import arms in the name of their privately owned companies? If so, for what reason?
5. Did you not get correspondence from the United States consulate that a certain citizen named Buruji Kashamu is indicted for drug trafficking? Why did you appoint the same Kashamu as South West leader of PDP rather than hand him over to the US? And did the PDP give automatic Senate ticket to a wanted and convicted drug baron?
The information about the answers to these questions is however yet to be obtained.
Meanwhile, as less than a months is left before the presidential elections in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties signed a document to avoid actions that could endorse violence during and after the polls.

Nigeria won’t break up this year –US

 
by _ Nigeria Blogger

The United States Government has said that there are no signs that Nigeria will disintegrate before, during or after the February general elections.
While explaining that Nigeria was indeed facing “big challenges,” the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, stated that the problems at stake were surmountable.
According to the top American envoy, Nigerians should “throw out of the window” the idea from “some think-tank or somebody outside the (US) government” stating that Nigeria was going to fall apart in 2015.
Entwistle spoke in Lagos on Thursday, during an interactive session with select journalists on the recent donation of a US naval ship, christened, “NNS Okpabana” to the Nigerian Navy.
The US diplomat said, “I have been plagued by the question (on Nigeria’s 2015 disintegration) and I have gone back to look and I can’t find any government report that said Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015. Maybe some think-tank or somebody outside the government said it; I don’t know.
“But in my opinion as the US Ambassador to this country, I am not worried in the least that Nigeria is going to disintegrate in 2015. Regardless of what someone may have said, the question is that we are now here in 2015: Do we see signs that Nigeria is going to disintegrate or fall apart or something? I don’t know what you think. But I don’t see those signs.
“But I see signs of growth, optimism and I see that to minimise the challenges that you have, in this life, you have to keep on keeping on, and I think the future is quite bright.”
Entwistle added that if the Federal Government did what was needed to be done in the coming years, especially as pertaining to “security, corruption and all of these things,” the future of Nigeria would be “very bright.”
He debunked the insinuation that the President Barack Obama administration had imposed “an arms embargo” on Nigeria following the reported refusal of the American government to sell Cobra helicopters to the Federal Government to prosecute the ongoing war against terrorism.
Citing human rights considerations for the development, Entwistle hinted that the US Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria was “still talking about a number of other types of equipment and different types of helicopters that might be more appropriate” for the Nigerian military services.
Respecting human rights among the civilian population, he argued, should not be an impediment to fighting terrorism in the three north-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
He added, “Sometimes the criticism of us (the United States) is that we don’t care about fighting terrorism, but we care about human rights. My reaction is that I don’t believe that you have to choose between fighting terror and protecting the civilian population. I think you can do both at the same time.
“As you fight terror, you also have to protect the civilian population and keep them on your side. We have learnt the hard way in our own counter-terrorism experience that if you lose the trust and support of the civilian population, you have lost everything. We (Nigeria and America) have had that conversation and indeed much of the (military) training that we have done with the army over the years have focused on this kind of thing.”

Etisalat, FirstBank Partner to Provide Mobile Money on Easywallet

AND           

Etisalat Press Release

Lagos, Nigeria; January 6, 2015: In a partnership which industry watchers hailed as capable of entrenching financial inclusion and lead innovation in mobile payment systems, Etisalat Nigeria and FirstBank have teamed up to provide Firstmonie on the Etisalat Easywallet SIM application solution.


The partnership between Nigeria's most innovative telecommunications company and leading banking institution will promote the use of Firstmonie mobile money on the mobile technology driven easywallet SIM application. According to Lucas Dada, the Director, Business Segment at Etisalat Nigeria, this partnership between Etisalat Nigeria and FirstBank will provide added value to all customers and stakeholders in the mobile money industry.


"Etisalat easywallet, is one of the most secure and convenient platforms for mobile money services. With the easywallet, Etisalat subscribers can make financial transactions such as Peer-to-Peer transfers, Bills Payment and Airtime top-up, directly from their mobile device." He said.


He added that Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa collectively contribute a lot to the nation's economy and this necessitates the need to support this segment of the economy by making financial transactions easier, safer, more efficient and innovative. He described EasyWallet as one of Etisalat's strategies of facilitating financial integration of the SMEs.


"Etisalat Easywallet is the first to partner with prominent Nigerian banks and independent Mobile Money Operators including First Bank, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Zenith Bank and Pagatech. It is convenient and helps our corporate clients (SMEs) to also enjoy benefits of cost reduction, inventory management, streamlining intermediaries, ensuring price transparency and competitiveness."

MEND endorses Buhari for Presidency, says it has no confidence in President Jonathan to solve Nigeria’s problems

By Sisi Calabar
Home support is very critical in any battle. Even football clubs don’t like to lose matches at their home grounds how much more a politician. But I am afraid the reports reaching me from the home front of President Goodluck Jonathan is not palatable.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari [GMB], on Tuesday gained an unusual support as the main agitating militant group in the Niger Delta, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), pledged its total support for the former military ruler.
MEND, in a lengthy press statement circulated through email by its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, anchored its decision on the need to deliver Nigeria, especially the Niger Delta region, from the crunching effects of corruption.
It also lamented the unconcerned attitude of President Jonathan’s administration at the unrelenting degradation of the Niger Delta environment, taking a hard stance on the increasing level of oil theft in the region.
President Jonathan, according to MEND, does not deserve “a second” more in the Presidency.
The group also commended Buhari for proposing to scrap the office of the First Lady, which it considered to be a drain on the nation’s resources and a conduit through which corrupt government officials steal across all levels of government.
It said, “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has, upon careful consideration of the state of the nation, endorses and fully supports the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Gen. Mohammadu Buhari.
“Our decision to throw our full support on Gen. Mohammadu Buhari stems from the pathetic state in which the country has been put by the government of Goodluck Jonathan and our strong believe in Buhari as the man and change the country needs.

Google Nigeria to Train 100 Reporters & Editors on Poll Reporting for Elections

 

Ahead of the February national elections, Google Nigeria said on Wednesday in Lagos that it would train 100 journalists on poll reporting.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa, said the workshop for poll reporting would be held in Lagos on Jan. 16.
The theme of the workshop, is “Data Tools for Elections Reporting’’, a statement by Kola-Ogunlade said.
It said the Google for elections workshop was a hands-on certificate programme with a focus on using social media tools, visualisation and citizen reporting tools in ‘unearthing’ and telling elections-based stories.
The statement said the training was hinged on the important role the social media and online journalism had played in helping to build a stable democracy resulting from informed voting.
The weeks leading to Nigeria’s 2015 general elections will present great opportunities for media people to innovate on their storytelling abilities through the use of online tools and social media, it said.
It said that participants would be taught the use of online tools such as fusion tables, polls, trends and tables to research and develop stories.
The statement also said journalists including editors, social media users, digital reporters would be equipped with skills in a bid to make them more proficient.
It is hoped that at the end of the training participants will be able to leverage on online digital tools for better election reporting.

Photo Credit: alderconsulting.wordpress.com