US Donates e-Learning Multimedia Laboratory To Nasarawa Poly

A United States’ tertiary institution, the University of Southern California, Institute for Creative Technologies, has donated an e-learning multimedia laboratory to the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday and signed by the institution’s public relations officer, Mal. Yakubu Salisu.

Remuneration for Chief Justice, other judicial officers hit N33.47bn yearly

The Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), federal judicial officers, and State judicial officers have in the last one year guzzled a total sum of N33.47 billion as emoluments and other allowances, checks by the Economic Confidential has revealed. The report obtained and computed by the Economic intelligence magazine showed the annual salaries, regular and non-regular allowances of 934 judicial officers in the country, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

More Nigerian Soldiers Killed, Wounded By Boko Haram In Maiduguri Encounter

Barely 24 hours after the Nigerian Army announced the death of 4 soldiers and 22 terrorists in a clash in Borno, anothèr officer, and three soldiers have been killed, and 16 soldiers wounded after a fierce fight in Maiduguri. 

In another development, four vigilantes were killed, and nine others sustained injuries when troops rebuffed an attack on Godogodo community in Kaduna state on Sunday.

Ribadu: Why All Forms of Security Votes, Subsidies Should be Scrapped

The former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday called on government at the federal level to scrap all forms of security votes usually allocated to governors.

He said such money ends up in private pockets, adding that that is the worst form of corruption in the country.

He said subsidies in whatever guise they are given breed corruption, adding that all these must be removed from the system at whatever level they are being deployed as those managing them and their cronies steal such funds.

“We have seen this happen in the oil industry,” he said, stressing that there is no reason why anybody should be given public money as subsidy to go to Saudi Arabia or Jerusalem.

The pioneer EFCC boss who made a presentation at the ongoing 2016 Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) meeting in Abuja, said the biggest form of criminality in the country is the allocation of security to governors.

According to him, corruption can be reduced to its barest minimum, adding: “This is do-able; let all of us stand and say all public spending must go through budgetary process and must follow transparency. It should be open and transparent and let us not allow whatever is called padding.

“Why should security vote be kept secret by governors? If you are spending to entrench peace. Then there should be no secrecy about it.”

“Nigerians must take a stand to say that all public monies must be properly budgeted and this should be open and transparent, we should not allow.”

This Day Live

Lai Mohammed briefs Press on efforts by @MBuhari Government to #BringBackOurGirls

1. Good afternoon, gentlemen of the press.

2.Members of the public may recall that when the present administration came on board, Mr. President pledged to Nigerians to ensure the security of lives and property of every Nigerian, provide employment for the nation’s teeming youths and fight corruption. Since that time, the security agencies have been saddled with the responsibility of dealing with the threat of terrorism which has ravaged most parts of the Northern region.

3.You will also recall that from the physical destruction of communities and strategic institutions, the terrorist elements also engaged in abduction of women and children in the affected parts. Most painful was the abduction of the School girls in Chibok at the twilight of the past administration in 2014. When Mr. President assumed leadership of this country, he immediately directed security agencies to urgently fashion out strategies to trace, locate and ensure the safe and successful release of the Chibok girls. This was the mandate given to security agencies.

4.Gentlemen, it was consequent upon this directive that the security agencies, comprising of the Nigerian Army, Air Force, Navy, Police and the DSS, commenced action in June 2015. To this effect also, the DSS established a special tactical unit to review the gamut of actions so far carried out to secure the release of the Chibok girls, establish why the action has recorded no success as it were and to present a roadmap for possible success.

5.In this process, the DSS and the other security agencies observed the following:

a.Many persons or groups posing as negotiators actually had no veritable intelligence nor the reach to facilitate the release of the Chibok girls;

b.The efforts were clouded by persons with very partisan interests and whose main objective was solely to score cheap political points. It was obvious their approach had no relevance to the release of the girls;

c.Some informants or persons volunteering to be negotiators or facilitators saw and treated the girls’ fate and indeed the situation as a conduit to enrich themselves, thus making the whole thing a pecuniary venture; and

d.As a result of the conflicting and partisan interests, issues were muddled up to the extent that reasonable and fruitful leads either failed or simply came too late for any useful action.

6.It was therefore found that in the midst of these strong competing interests and unnecessary rivalries, nothing was achieved before the 2015 handover date. It was based on these that the security agencies set out to work for the release of the girls.

7.First, there was the need to identify those with relevant intelligence on the groups holding the girls, as well as establish sources of contact in touch with the group. This exercise was found not to be an easy task. On those holding the Chibok girls, there was also a high level of mistrust, as they too found many approaches or groups claiming to be in touch with them as false or unreliable.

8.In this new bid, many offers ranging from credible, not credible to outright off-mark information came to the Government. Some international bodies and countries also provided leads. It was out of this that relevant security agencies were able to strike a chord. By the third week of July 2015, a contact group was in touch with credible assets who had the reach, and who attested to the fact that some of the Chibok girls were alive. Mr. President was then briefed of these assets and intelligence and he gave his assent for further negotiations on the Chibok girls.

9.Precisely on 17th July, 2015, the DSS opened negotiations process with the group holding the Chibok girls. However, in return for the release of some of these girls, the group also made some demands. These included the release of some of their fighters arrested including some involved in major terrorist actions, resulting in several fatalities, and others who were experts in manufacture of locally assembled explosives. This was difficult to accept, but appropriate security agencies had to again inform Mr. President of these demands, and its viewed implications. Again Mr. President gave his assent believing that the overall release of these girls remains paramount and sacrosanct.

10. Meanwhile, following the above development, Government and the security agencies had sufficient leverage to work out the modalities of the swap. These included creating the safe haven, or necessary place of swap and working out the logistic details. Based on this, the DSS availed other critical sister agencies of this new situation. Immediately, the Nigerian Army and the Air Force sent some specialists to commence a detailed arrangement for the swap. This was during the last week of July 2015 and 1st week of August 2015. The officers representing the various agencies worked out the logistic details, such as the number of persons to be swapped i.e. number of girls and detainees to be exchanged, the vehicles and aircraft, as well as safeguards, i.e. safety of the persons, including the location of the swap.

11. When it was finally agreed by all parties, Mr. President was again informed that the preparations were concluded, and the first step for the swap would commence on 1st August, 2015. Mr. President robustly gave his approval.

12. On 4th August, 2015, the persons who were to be part of the swap arrangements and all others involved in the operation were transported to Maiduguri, Borno State. This team, with the lead facilitator, continued the contact with the group holding the Chibok girls. The Service was able to further prove to the group its sincerity, as it established communication contact between it and its detained members. All things were in place for the swap which was mutually agreed. Expectations were high. Unfortunately, after more than two (2) weeks of negotiation and bargains, the group, just at the dying moments, issued new set of demands, never bargained for or discussed by the group before the movement to Maiduguri. All this while, the security agencies waited patiently. This development stalled what would have been the first release process of the Chibok girls.

13. It may be important to note that in spite of this setback, the government and the security agencies have not relented in the bid to ensure that the Chibok girls are released safely. By the month of November, precisely 13th November, 2015, another fresh negotiation process with the group was initiated. This time, there was the need to discuss a fresh component in other to avoid issues that had stalled the former arrangement. There were however some problems that many may not discern, but should be expected in this kind of situation. Some critical persons within the group who played such vital role in August, 2015 were discovered to be dead during combat action or as a result of the emerging rift amongst members of the group then. These two factors delayed the process. In spite of these, negotiation continued on new modalities.

14. By 30th November, 2015 it was becoming glaring that the division amongst the group was more profound. This affected the swap process. By 10th December, 2015, another negotiation process was in place, but this failed to achieve results because of the varying demands by the group.

15. Gentlemen of the press, the security agencies since the beginning of 2016 have not only remained committed but have also taken the lead to resolve the Chibok girls’ issue. In spite of the current division amongst members of the terrorist group, which has seriously affected efforts to release the girls, renewed efforts have commenced using our trusted assets and facilitators. However, this job requires diligence and ability to deal with a group that can easily change its demands without notice.

16. Officers and men have sacrificed their time and energy, and some have already paid the supreme price since the abduction of the Chibok girls, fighting for the safe release of the girls. Many friendly countries and organizations have equally been very forthcoming in providing their human and technological resources to assist in the process. They are still doing so. We cannot as a nation ignore these sacrifices.

17. The Government and its security agencies remain committed to ensuring that the Chibok girls are safely released in fulfillment of the Presidential mandate. Let me emphasise that Government appreciates the resilience of Nigerians in the fight against insurgency and terrorism, and will continue to call on fellow Nigerians to hold that much is ahead and therefore support Mr. President’s resolve on this matter. I cannot end this without appealing to the parents and relatives of the Chibok girls. We are with you; we feel your pains and shall not relent until we succeed in bringing home our girls and every other citizen abducted by the group. It is important to appeal to all those who have shown concern in resolving this matter to continue to trust the efforts of Government to deal with the situation.

18. Thank you.”
      
Lai Mohammed

Information Minister

THE TRAGEDY OF AN UNTHINKING AGITATION

The MD of DESOPADEC Chief William Makinde speaking on Quest FM this morning made a very serious point  regarding the relocation of oil servicing companies from Delta state that should be a take home for every true lover of the Niger Delta.  His major point was that we created the state of insecurity that chased away the companies that would have provided employment for our teaming unemployed youths.

This is the immutable truth that our so called agitators and  those who applaud them have failed to see.  There is on the rise, a culture of laziness and self destruct that have permeated and continues to bedevil the Niger Delta region especially Delta State.
I can recall  mid 80s to the early 90s  when Warri, the economic hub of Delta state was home to hundreds of oil companies. Oil production was at its pick and many of our young men and women were engaged in one form of employment or the other. Technicians, filters, welders, caterers, security guards, etc. It was in this era that catering, a hitherto disregarded profession in this area came to the fore. Several catering schools sprang up to train careers to fill the need of the catering companies that catered for the countless oil companies that operated offshore and they were legion. Even security companies became sophisticated and people were no longer ashamed to take on security jobs as they were now well kitted and the pay was good. The economy of the area boomed. Night life and recreational activities which are indicators of economic buoyancy of the citizenry thrived. Female night workers, popularly called club girls, could visit any of the night clubs, pick up expatriate oil worker of which ever nation and take him to her one room apartment in a face me I face apartment and spend the night in peace. That white man  would wake up in the morning take a cab and go back to his place of abode without any fear or may even decide to spend the weekend without a care for his safety. Club girls were known then to turn down advances from black men whom they nick named "si kro kro" for lack of dollar power during club nights until the early hours of the morning when it becomes clear that there will be no white customers to catch.  Such were the exotic tastes of even prostitutes! How times have changed.

Then entered the dragon! From nowhere, in the name of resource control, greedy politicians seeking leverage in national politics empowered and encouraged criminal groups to cripple oil installations. This graduated to kidnapping of expatriate oil workers for ransome and then vandalization and bombing of pipelines.

There was a time in Warri when you walked  into a roadside bar and you see an "Oyibo" man drinking beer. They had black friends co- workers  whom they visited  at home,  but with the advent of unthinking militancy, the companies started relocating one after the other. Those who could remain bought up our security and made us second class citizens in our land. You need to observe these expatriates hold up traffic during rush hours . While our gun wielding uniform security operatives clear traffic for them -sometimes flogging us- we are made to spend needless hours in traffic just so that they can pass. While there is shortage of security for our homes and neighborhood, our expatriate friends has no such needs. Even the Almighty Nigerian army have been reduced to maigad status at the residents of the expatriates. You dare not loiter around their abodes anyhow or else you get the usual bloody civilian treatment.

Where  has all these left us? A teeming horde of lazy jobless youths who thinks the surest way to easy wealth is intimidation and violence. They are even against the development of their own communities. Anyone who have attempted to create a road, draw electricity or cite a building project in any of our commutes will know what am talking about. "Deve" collection have driven away many investors from our clime as well as hamper and led to the folding up of many business concerns.

The evil that we created has come full circle. In the absence of white men to kidnap, these so called agitators have turned on our wives, daughters, and mothers who are daily kidnapped, and violated.

How does bombing and polluting the already degradated environment help the Niger Delta course? How  has the harassment and  intimidation of investors helped the course of the region?  Instead of acting with tack to protect and preserve our environment, we have contributed in no small measure to its damnation. Instead of agitating to create wealth and employment, we have chased away employment opportunities.

Now let me say this to the so called Niger Delta agitators who blow up oil pipelines and pollute the already  over devastated environment. You are like the mad man who in an attempt to solve problem of rats in his house, set the house on fire only to sleep out in the rain. You are worst than the Boko Haram of the North-East, cause for the Boko Haram, there is a religious hope of heaven and dream of sleeping with several virgins, but for you your religion has already condemned you to a life damnation in hell, for the faith you profess is against rape,   arson, stealing and murder. And for those who profess the African traditional religious faith , yours is even worse , for the gods of egbesu, agbejugbele , igbe and whatever god you serve does not wait for the afterlife to mete out retribution.

Until we create a conduce atmosphere for investment to thrive we will continue to be jobless. The DESOPADEC MD put it succinctly when he said, until a white man can walk freely from NPA, Warri to Enerhen junction in Effurun without fear of being kidnapped, investors will continue to run away from our region and with them the prospect of employment and general economic boom.

Mike Zukerberg recently came to Nigeria, freely walked on the streets of Lagos and jogged on the Eko bridge without security escorts. This is the kind of environment that encourages investors and employment creation and not an atmosphere of killing fields like the streets of Lebanon.

I challenge all Waferians with memory to cast their minds back to the mid 80s to early 90s before the agitation that drove away the companies and tell me when the region was better off: before or after the agitations? what gains have the so called militancy brought us if not strife, tears and pain. Besides making billionaires of a few, what gains have the years of criminal militancy disguised as freedom agitation brought the region.

Niger Deltans , it is time for us to think.

Written by Austin Maduku

Brazil sacks President for budget padding

 
Brazil’s Senate has voted in favour of permanently removing President Dilma Rousseff from her office, in an impeachment trial set to end 13 years of leftist rule in the country, Al Jazeera reports.

Sixty-one of 81 senators voted against Rousseff on Wednesday after a five-day trial and a lengthy overnight debate.

“Today is the day that 61 men, many of them charged and corrupt, threw 54 million Brazilian votes in the garbage,” Rousseff tweeted minutes after the decision.

In a separate vote senators decided not to ban Rousseff from seeking a public office for the next eight years.

Al Jazeera reported that Rousseff was watching the session from the presidential palace and would speak a couple of hours after the vote at a news conference.

She also said that the case was not expected to go any further as the charges were political, not criminal.

Allies of Rousseff have signalled that they would take the case to the Supreme Court. But several motions filed to the country’s highest court throughout the impeachment proceedings have failed.

Rousseff’s former vice-president turned rival Michel Temer, 75, was sworn in as president on Wednesday until the next scheduled election in late 2018.

Rousseff, from the leftist Workers’ Party, is accused of taking illegal state loans to patch budget holes in 2014, masking the country’s problems as it slid into its deepest recession in decades.

She told the Senate that she was innocent, saying the impeachment trial amounted to a right-wing coup d’etat.

Rousseff asserted that impeachment was the price she paid for refusing to quash a wide-ranging police investigation into the state oil company Petrobras, saying that corrupt politicians conspired to oust her to derail the investigation into billions in kickbacks at the oil giant.

She said it was “an irony of history” that she would be judged for crimes she did not commit, by people accused of serious crimes.

The Workers’ Party under Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is credited with raising around 29 million Brazilians out of poverty.

But many now blame the party and Rousseff in particular for the country’s multiple ills

Punch Newspaper

Kaduna proposes life imprisonment for rapists

The Kaduna State Government has proposed life sentence for rapists in the new Child Right Bill forwarded to the State House of Assembly for passage into law.

Deputy Director, Civil Litigation in the state’s Ministry for Justice, Mr Irimiya Samson, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

Samson explained that the development became necessary, following incessant cases of rape, particularly of minors, being recorded daily in the state.

He noted that current penalty for rape in the Penal Code was very light, as such it was important to make the law more strict to curtail the ugly trend.
“The incidences of rape have become very rampant in the state. It is particularly disturbing that the offenders are mostly elderly men whose victims are toddlers, minors within the age range of three to six.

“In curbing this abominable act, the state government has decided to invoke a stiff punishment for offenders in the child right law.

“As such, when the bill is passed, anyone caught would remain behind bars for life.”

He added that the law also criminalise child trafficking, child labour, street hawking, and begging, which are common practices in the state.

“Similarly, exposing children to obscene materials like phonographic content has also been criminalised.

“Offenders would be imprisoned or made to pay fine of N500, 000 for individuals and one to five million for companies, plus a two-year ban.

“The proposed law also de-emphasise detaining or locking up children for juvenile offences, having realised that detention do not help the children in anyway.

“What the law proposed in place of detention is community service, which in all sense could instill some level of discipline in juvenile offenders.

“Education was also covered in the law, making it mandatory for every child to acquire basic education,” the official added.

Samson also said that the state government would be deeply involved in issues bordering on welfare and development of children.

According to him, based on the proposed law, government would take away children from parents, caregivers, or guardian who failed to properly cater for children under them.

He added that guidelines for fostering and adoption of children was provided in the bill, for people who wish to adopt or foster a child.

NAN reports that the UNICEF, in conjunction with ministries, departments and agencies concerned with children, had in 2015 held series of meetings to push for the domestication of the Child Right Act in the state.

Key stakeholders in the various meetings, including the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), produced the redrafted law which was vetted by the Justice ministry.

The Guardian

PRESS BRIEFING ON RECRUITMENT OF TEN THOUSAND (10, 000) PERSONNEL INTO THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE COMPULSORY POLYGRAPH ( LIE DETECTOR) TEST FOR PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES

The Nigeria Police Force  will subject successful   candidates in the ongoing recruitment exercise  to compulsory polygraph test (lie detector Test) this test will be in addition to the general background check, biometrics, medical, physical examination, aptitude, oral and psychological tests. The Police will also conduct a thorough verification of all documents submitted by prospective candidates.

 

The Inspector General of Police IGP Ibrahim K. Idris gave this directive while reviewing the recruitment exercise so far and expressed satisfaction with the progress made in recruiting Ten thousand personnel into the Nigeria Police Force. The IGP said that no candidate will be admitted for training at the Police academy and colleges without undergoing these prescribed tests.

 

The Polygraph test is aimed at ensuring that candidates are not of questionable character and their behaviours conform with standard rules of behaviour expected of an officer to be recruited into the Force.

 

The Police Academy and other training Colleges across the country will be equipped to carry out the necessary tests.

The Nigeria Police Force is determined to ensure that the current recruitment exercise conform to acceptable standards necessary for an ideal Police officer the Nigerian people deserve. 

 

DCP DON N. AWUNAH, fsi

FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,

FORCE HEADQUARTERS,

ABUJA.

Only political decision can release imprisoned Boko Haram insurgents, not Chibok girls swap – CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Lt.-Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, on Monday said only a political decision can guarantee the release of the current detained Boko Haram members.
Recall that the insurgent group in its new video released at the weekend, demanded the release of its members before freeing the abducted Chibok girls.

The terrorist group also threatened to attack Lagos, Abuja and Borno States in a bid to effect the release its detained members.

But addressing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Olonishakin said the Military will not relent in its operations against Boko Haram insurgents despite the group’s new video demanding the release of their members in prison.

Olonishakin said, “That (call for the swap of the girls with Boko Haram fighters) is a political decision to be taken. The military decision is that we are going ahead with our operations. The operation is being conducted appropriately.”

He also disclosed that the military will analyse the video with a view to taking a position on it soon.

“We are analysing the video released by Boko Haram and we will make appropriate comments at the right time,” he added.

Daily Post

Boko Haram released another Video of the Chibok Girls

https://youtu.be/ozAG1ZalRpU

Buhari will ban the ‘Dogara cabal’ from Aso Rock after my corruption exposé – Jibrin

Former chairman of the House of Representatives committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumuni Jibrin has said President Muhammadu Buhari will ban Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun and two others from visiting the presidential villa if he the extent of corruption by them were fully exposed.

In a blistering statement released on Monday entitled”the Corrupt Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his 3-man cabal,” Jibrin raised a series of allegations against the principal officers including Minority Leader, Leo Ogor and Chief Whip, Garba Alhassan.

Jibrin said his allegations should be investigated and the extent of corruption ascertained before the House undertakes to probe the budget padding saga he triggered last week.

Justice Yunusa, Two Other Judges Sacked For Judicial Malpractice

The National Judicial Council of Nigeria (NJC) has dismissed Justice Mohammed Yunusa and two other judges for judicial malpractices, SaharaReporters has learned.

The NJC met on Thursday and Friday to consider several allegations of judicial misconduct by Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Justice Olamide Falahanmi Oloyede of the Osun High Court, and an unnamed judge from Benue State. At the end of its deliberations, the NJC decided that the three judges deserved to be dismissed for acts of gross misconduct.
An NJC source stated that Justice Yunusa had the worst case, with numerous petitions accusing him of receiving kickbacks and bribes. He was also accused of writing and delivering two different judgments in one case.

I’m Pro-Biafra –Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka  has, again, explained his support for Biafran agitators.
Soyinka said the Igbo people have been so wronged that they have no choice than to consider opting out of Nigeria.
Prof. Soyinka  spoke on Al Jazeera, yesterday where he shed light on his support for Biafra agitators.

“I am very much pro- Biafra because I recognise that the Igbo have been wronged desperately.

“They have been brutalised in a way that justifies their feeling that they were not part of the nation.

“Let me also say this, Biafrans are not entirely innocent in this affair. They were not, but the unleashing of such venom, such devastation on them as a people, was sufficient to justify their decision not to be part of the nation.
“I was pro-Biafran in the sense that I felt that they needed justice.”

Soyinka denied he was a troublemaker, especially in the Biafran crisis, but added, “I grew up in certain circumstances being very conscious politically, in this very Abeokuta; my mother was involved in the politics, my aunt, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a leader…

“I grew up among political arguments on issues that concern humanity and I find that basically gravitated towards recognising the basic worth of human beings.

“Something I disagree when they call me a patriot because I don’t agitate on some certain entity called a nation; I agitate on humanity.”

He criticised the removal of History and teaching of the Biafran crisis in schools.

“Officials do not want to confront their own history, especially the history in the making of which they feel uncomfortable but, if you do not confront your past, you are going to mess up your future.”

On Boko Haram and the breakup of Nigeria, he said ironically, Boko Haram might be part of the reasons Nigeria may stay together.

Soyinka said a few years ago, he would have agreed that Nigeria would break, but, now that a section of the country is in trouble, there is some kind of pulling together. He added that the conscience of many Nigerian has been awakened such that they cannot abandon that section of the country.

He urged Nigerians to recognise the plurality of Nigeria, how it came together and begin to devise and adopt a method of governance which cannot only be of massive decentralisation. “That way, we can stay together. If we continue to have a centralist government, then, Nigeria is on the brink.”

The Sun.

Sterling Bank introduces flexible work conditions for staff

To further demonstrate its philosophy of enriching lives, Sterling Bank Plc has come up with a policy to promote work-life balance among its staff as it continues to strive to build a great place to work for its workforce through the introduction of Flexi-time and Flexi-place.
The initiative which the bank says complies with global best Human Resources (HR) practices, is currently being piloted in it’s corporate Head Office and is aimed at introducing flexibility in work arrangements for the Bank’s staff.
According to a statement from the lender,the Flexi-time arrangement allows members of staff the opportunity to determine their own working hours by choosing a convenient time to come to work within the options provided by the bank. Similarly, the Flexi-place package gives staff the opportunity to choose a convenient location from which they can carry out their job functions. In this pilot phase, interested staff particularly in the Head Office are encouraged to select locations closer to their place of residence.
The Bank’s Executive Director, Strategy & Finance, Mr Abubakar Suleiman who described the pilot stage as highly successful, expressed his optimism that the initiative will enhance productivity of staff, promote bonding among family members, reduce the stress of waking very early and spend long hours in traffic to get to the office early, improve the well-being of staff and ultimately promote work life balance among staff..
“Employees  in the cities are faced with the onerous yet elusive goal of maintaining work-life balance as they are confronted with the challenge of waking up very early to beat the traffic going to the office and also pass through same stress going home in the evening.
“We recognise that the fast-paced nature of cities is likely to continue to deprive workers of quality time with their families as they spend a lot of time commuting to and from work.
With the staggered resumption time offered by these initiatives, staff will be able to determine preferred and more convenient work hours. We believe with this initiative, they would be in a better position to spend quality time with their family, commute at more convenient traffic times and spend less on Medical care thus become more productive at work,” he said.
To ensure the effectiveness of the workplace solutions, Mr Abubakar noted that appropriate structures and resources have been put in place adding that each team during the pilot phase, had a succession plan with back-ups knowledgeable on other duties and available at crucial periods.
He assured that Sterling Bank will continue to come with initiatives to enrich the lives of all stakeholders as “we have demonstrated this in various areas such as education, sports, entrepreneurship, environment and the introduction of various products and services to meet the banking needs of our customers. This time, we want to focus on the people who work tirelessly to implement these initiatives- our staff.

Tribune

Court sends ex-Ministers Nenadi Usman, Fani-Kayode to prison

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered that two former ministers, Nenadi Usman, and Femi Fani-Kayode, be remanded till Friday when their bail applications would be heard.
The two ex-ministers as well as Danjuma Yusuf and a firm, Jointrust Dimensions Nigeria Limited, were on Tuesday arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 17-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, corruption and making cash payments exceeding the amount authorized by law.
Mrs. Usman is a former minister of finance and director of finance of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization in the 2015 election.
Mr. Fani-Kayode is a former aviation minister. He also served during the 2015 election as director media/publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization.
They are alleged to have stolen and illegally disbursed about N4.9 billion belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against them.

Premium Times

Reduced To Barest Minimum In 5 West African Countries – NACA

The Chairman of the Governing Body of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization and Director General of the NACA, Mr John Idoko, told a gathering in Abuja that Nigeria is recording a minus three percent new infection rates while Ghana has achieved a minus-one prevalence rate.

The organization is set up to control the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/Aids and Ebola in the West African sub region.

14 years after its establishment, Chairman of the organization said the region has achieved significant reduction in the prevalence of HIV/Aids and control of other disease that are easily transferred along the borders of these countries where 65% of the economic activities of West African states happen.

Commending the efforts of the West African countries, the representative of the United Nations Agency for HIV/Aids said there is need for more co-operation and integration of other country borders to ensure that the West African sub-region achieves the United Nations goal of eliminating HIV/Aids completely or reducing it to the barest minimum by the year 2020.

Channels Television’s Amaka Okafor reports that the consensus at the event is that the results achieved by the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization needs to be replicated along other borders in the West African sub-region to achieve the aim of completely eradicating HIV/Aids from the region.

Channels news

Omar Mateen: Ex-wife of Orlando gay nightclub shooter says 'he beat me'

The ex-wife of the 29-year-old man suspected of killing 50 people in a Orlando nightclub early Sunday said that he was violent and mentally unstable and beat her repeatedly while they were married.
The ex-wife said she met Omar Mateen online about eight years ago and decided to move to Florida and marry him.
At first, the marriage was normal, she said, but then he became abusive.
"He was not a stable person," said the ex-wife, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety in the wake of the mass shooting. "He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn't finished or something like that."
While the FBI has not identified Mateen publicly, U.S. law enforcement officials said his identification was found on the body of the suspected killer who was armed with a handgun and an assault rifle.

THROWBACK: June 12 Remains the True Democracy Day, By Wole Soyinka

July 12, 2015
The Organising Committee
June 12 MOVEMENT of NIGERIA
MKO ABIOLA’S Residence
44/46 MKO Abiola Crescent
Ikeja, Lagos.

Dear Friends and Comrades,

Regretfully, I am unable to be with you tomorrow morning. However, I extend a warm embrace to you in your resolve to keep within Nigeria’s short memory the events that have been central to the attainment of our democracy – warts and all – enjoyed today by you and me. June 12 remains the true Democracy Day despite the unprincipled efforts of some prime beneficiaries of that struggle to expunge it from a people’s chronicle.
If I had been able to join you, I would most certainly have asked you for help. It has to do with the nation’s latest alleged legislative stance against sexual abuse – molestation, rape, paedophilia etc etc. I am only a layman, not a “learned brother”, so any help from the learned is earnestly solicited. The question on my mind is this: is that legislative reinforcement not merely a case of rubbing vaseline on leprosy?

Suspect dies in EFCC custody

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday said one of its suspects, Desmond Nunugwo, died after being taken into custody.

Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the Spokesman of EFCC in a statement in Abuja said the suspect’s death was confirmed at a hospital where he was rushed to after he took ill.
He stated that the late suspect was alleged to have fraudulently obtained N91 million from an acquaintance under false pretext.