THE Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Security Sub–Committee will today (Tuesday) hold a crucial meeting over growing concerns on the security challenges ravaging the country.
The chairman of the NGF, Dr Kayode Fayemi, in a statement yesterday unveiled plans to interface with President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs on the worsening security situation across the country after the meeting.
The NGF chairman also expressed solidarity with Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State over last Wednesday’s attack on his convoy by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.
Dr Fayemi said: “On behalf of the 36 state governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the NGF, I write to express our solidarity with you and the people of Borno State following the last Wednesday’s attack by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect.
“This is one unwarranted attack too many. It epitomizes our collective vulnerability and the fragility of the country’s security architecture. “Although you emerged from this incident unscathed, we note with regret the injuries sustained by two members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and a police officer attached to your convoy and do accordingly pray for their quick recovery.
“Mr Governor, Forum members are resolutely behind you in your effort to rid Borno State of these dastardly and wicked agents of evil. “We are appalled by the worsening security situation in the country generally, in spite of all the efforts of government to end it.
“On our part, the NEC Sub-Committee on Security will be meeting tomorrow (today) and rising from the resolutions thereof, we will soon dialogue with Mr President and the nation’s security chiefs to discuss this worrisome and rapidly degenerating situation. “On a final note, Mr Governor, we thank God for always being merciful.”
The Lagos State Police Command has started investigation into the death of a 25-year-old man, Auwal Sulaiman, who was allegedly stabbed to death by his live-in lover, Precious Okogbua, at their residence in the Liverpool area of Apapa, Lagos State.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the suspect had been arrested and the case transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for investigation.
He said, “On August 1, 2020, one Musa Abubakar, Manager, Island Village, off Liverpool, Apapa, came to the station and reported that on the same day, he received a phone call that one Precious Okogbua, stabbed her lover, Awal Sulaiman, in the neck with a knife.
“The victim was rushed to the General Hospital in Apapa, where he was confirmed dead. Upon close observation of the corpse, there was a mark of violence in his neck.
“We have transferred the suspect to the SCIID, Yaba, for discreet investigation and we have deposited the corpse in a mortuary for an autopsy.”
PUNCH Metro gathered that the lovers were at home when an argument bordering on infidelity ensued between them.
The argument, however, degenerated into a fight.
It was learnt that Sulaiman overpowered Okogbua and beat her up.
Okogbua was alleged to have, however, reached for a knife with which she stabbed the 25-year-old in the neck.
ShopRite Nigeria has debunked the story making the rounds that it intends to close shop in Nigeria. The Country Director for Chastex Consult, Ini Archibong, in a telephone conversation with Vanguard, said: “Shoprite is not leaving Nigeria. “We have only just opened to Nigerian which we have also been talking to just before now. We are not leaving, who leaves over a $30billion investment and close shop? It doesn’t sound right.”
“We only gave this opportunity to Nigeria investors to come in and also help drive our expansion plan in Nigeria. So we are not leaving. “I have tried to say this to many people as I can. There should be no panic at all and all of that. There is no truth in that report.”
Recall that reports have been circulating that the retail outlet has started a formal process to consider the potential sale of all or a majority of stake in its supermarkets in Nigeria. The report said the retailer had struggled in the Nigeria market after some South African owned retailer shops exited the Nigeria market.
The report further stated that Shoprite results for the year do not reflect any of their operations in Nigeria as it will be classified as a discontinued operation. The report also said international markets excluding Nigeria contributed 11.6 percent to the group sales and reported 1.4 percent decline in sales from 2018. South African operations contributed 78 percent of the overall sales and saw 8.7 percent rise for the years.
The report went further to say that as a result of the lockdown, customers’ visits declined 7.4 percent but the average basket spends increased by 18.4 percent.
Josip Ilicic, 32, is considering quitting football after he was granted permission to leave the Italian club’s training camp for personal reasons.
Ilicic met his wife Tina Polovina in 2009 and soon enough got married to her, they have two daughters Sofia and Victoria, rumours have it that the “little heart ” celebration the striker does after every goal is a dedication to his wife, Tina.
The Slovenian striker seems to have slipped into depression after he found his wife cheating on him when he decided to pay her a surprise visit at their country home in Slovenia.
Speaking after their Serie A match, Atalanta manager Gasperini told Sky Sports Italy, “We’re getting closer to the day [of the PSG game]. With each passing day, it is more difficult for us to have Ilicic back. It would be very difficult for him to be with us in Lisbon.”
The Italian side is set to play their round of 16 fixture against PSG on Saturday, August 12, with the remaining fixtures of the Champions League set to be played as a one-game knock out game, and will likely play either Atletico Madrid or RB Salzburg in the semi-final.
PSG will be without its star striker Kylian Mbappe as he recovers from an ankle injury which he picked up against St Etienne, and missed out on his side’s French Cup final win against Lyon to win a domestic quadruple.
Ilicic has been in fine form this season, scoring 21 goals in 34 matches, including five goals in the Champions League. The striker’s goals have been very crucial to the team’s fairytale season in Italy and Europe top competition with just two goals shy of 100 goals in Serie A.
Atalanta will surely miss their top striker, but Colombian forward Zapata and Luis Muriel have 19 goals each this season, while Mario Pasalic and Alejandro Gomez are both on double figures. Atalanta finished the season third on the league table as they failed to overcome Inter Milan in their last game of the season.
Nigeria Police detectives have arrested seven armed robbers including two soldiers – one serving, one dismissed, for alleged robbery of a bullion van in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
The incident caused the death of four police officers, leaving others injured.
The bullion van was coming from Enugu State when it was attacked on July 29, 2020.
The suspects were nabbed in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
On Monday, the Police Situation Report (SITREP) seen by PRNigeria, said, “IRT Detectives with technical Intelligence Support from TIU arrested one Alfred Robinson, 45, a native of Gelegele Town in Ovia North LGA of Edo State on 1/8/2020 in Asaba, Delta State.”
It added that: “During intensive follow up, six more gang members were arrested by IRT detectives within 24 hours.”
The SITREP listed them as Sgt Ayeni Samuel, a Nigerian soldier serving in Ikeja, Lagos; Cpl Emeka Harrison, a dismissed Soldier who had served in Borno State; Emeka Illo, sponsor of the operation; Abuchi Elijah, aka ‘Chime D Mosquito’, the informant for the robbers; and Ibanifiroi Ekiene, a native of Tombia community.
A number of firearms were recovered from the criminals.
These are 12 improvised explosives that did not detonate: One GPMG, six rifles, 51 AK-47 magazines, 1,620 ammunition, 2 robbed vehicles, breaking implements and charms.
The Police said all suspects, upon interrogation, confessed to the bullion van robbery.
They confessed that 4 out of the rifles recovered belong to the policemen killed during the operation.
The suspects are assisting police to arrest the remaining gang members.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has rejected the timetable of the 2020 West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
Reacting to the exam body’s timetable which revealed that examination will commence on the 17th August, 2020, MURIC stated that it clashed with Muslims’ Friday prayers.
MURIC Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola went on to accuse WAEC of creating a wedge between young Muslims and the mosque and putting out a timetable which is exclusive, sectional, parochial, insensitive, provocative and designed to cause pain to Muslim candidates.
Akintola who averred that Nigerian Muslims will liberate themselves from slavery, serfdom and religious apartheid if government is lackadaisical, further directed WAEC to give Muslim candidates three hours every Friday.
The statement read in part;
“There are at least three clashes between examination periods and Muslim prayers on Fridays: Management-in-Living (2 pm, Friday 14th August, 2020); Literature-in-English (2 pm, Friday 21st August); Health Science (1.30 pm, Friday, 4th September).
“It is the handiwork of sadists and anarchists. It smirks of an anti-Muslim machinery oiled by the passion for hate and injustice. This is in spite of efforts made by us to guard against this kind of clash.
“Our message to WAEC is very clear and simple: Adjust your timetable and stop provoking Muslims forthwith.”
South Africa’s grocery retailer ShopRite is leaving Africa’s biggest market, Nigeria, 15 years after it opened shop in the West African country.
The announcement by ShopRite came months after another South African brand, Mr Price, exited the market.
International supermarkets (excluding Nigeria) contributed 11.6% to group sales and reported 1.4% decline in sales from 2018. South African operations contributed 78% of overall sales and saw 8.7% rise for the year.
The company said it has been approached by potential investors willing to take over its Nigerian operations. It said it considering an outright sale of its operation or selling a majority stake in its Nigerian subsidiary.
“As such, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited may be classified as a discontinued operation,” ShopRite said in a statement on Monday.
Filling station owners are currently in panic buying mood, as many of them are stockpiling products ahead of the announcement of a new pump price for petrol in August, investigation has shown.
It was also gathered that the price of the commodity might increase to about N150/litre as the committee saddled with the task of fixing petrol price had been meeting and would make the new price public soon.
Marketers and officials of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency told our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday that the rise in crude oil price in the international market could lead to an increase in petrol price.
They noted that since March this year, the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, had always been adjusted based on the global prices of crude oil.
“There is panic buying and it is because of the worry that prices will be reviewed either downwards or upwards. But because of the marginal rise in crude oil prices, the calculation is that petrol price could go up,” the National President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said.
He added, “That is the situation and this was why we requested that there should be a stakeholders’ engagement every month or quarterly so that we can be sure of what to expect.”
He said many marketers who had stockpiled products were ready to sell at the current rate regardless of any increase.
Gillis-Harry noted that the failure of the pricing regulator to involve marketers in the price fixing process was putting dealers in bad light.
He, however, stated that a lot of marketers had determined not to hike petrol cost immediately, particularly if there was an increase in the price of PMS in August.
The PETROAN president said, “Many of our members have been buying products since (July) 22nd and now they have products lined up, hoping that if PPPRA increases price, they will manage the cost in a way that Nigerians will know that we are not out to profiteer.
“We are out there to give service. So if we got products at this current rate of about N143 and they are ready to shoot the price up to N155, which is what is being anticipated, we will still sell at N143.”
Gillis-Harry said marketers would not take advantage of any petrol price increase, adding that a task force had already been established to work on enforcement of agreed terms.
He further noted that marketers had written to the petroleum minister, the PPPRA, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company on the need to involve marketers when fixing prices.
Gillis-Harry said, “From March to July, there was no clear-cut permutation or formula that we as marketers can affirm that this is the reason why the price changed from this to that. We don’t have it.
“And we’ve kept asking what the parameters are because the information we have is that marketers margin is going to increase. There was no such increase in margin; rather, there was depletion of our buying capital.”
In June, the PPPRA insisted that it would continue providing price bands for petrol despite opposition by oil marketers regarding the move.
It also declared that a regulation for PMS price had been established in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, argued that different sectors of the polity operated under the guidance of national regulators.
He said, “The Central Bank of Nigeria regulates the banks and other financial sector operators, the National Communication Commission regulates telecommunications, etc, and the same exists for operators in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
“To this end, it is not out of place for the agency (PPPRA) to provide a guiding price band with the aim to protect consumers against price gouging.
“It is important to also state that there is nowhere in the world that deregulation means total lack of control, supervision or oversight.”
Saidu noted that while the market-based pricing regime was a policy introduced to free the market of all encumbrances to investment and growth, it should not be misconstrued to mean a total abdication of government’s responsibility to the sector and citizenry.
On the need for a regulatory/legal framework for PMS pricing, he said extant laws gave the agency the legislative backing to formulate policy initiatives on pricing regime.
“In accordance with the above, the development of Guidelines for Petroleum Products Commercial Framework has been concluded and Code of Conducts for Operators is currently being firmed up to reflect the present price regime,” Saidu said.
He added, “The agency, in collaboration with the Office of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation has put in place a regulation on the PMS market-based pricing regime.”
On Sunday, the spokesperson for PPPRA, Kimchi Apollo, told our correspondent that the committee saddled with the task of coming with the new price for August was working on it.
“The committee has been working on the new price and I will keep you updated as soon as the cost for August is arrived at,” Apollo said.
But oil marketers insisted that it was high time the government intervened in the matter by making owners of filling stations to be involved in the process of fixing the price of petrol.
Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, speaks at the Nigeria Capital Markets and Banking Forum.
Chris J Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Deposit Money Banks on August 1 commenced the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Global Standing Instruction which allows them to recover outstanding debts of debtors from other banks.
Experts who spoke to our correspondent said the implementation would help to differentiate real wealthy businessmen from debtor businessmen.
A former President, Trade Union Congress, Peter Esele, said the guideline was long overdue but added that it was better late than never.
He said, “The financial system has been abused and it is baffling that one man would be owing six banks in the same country; it can’t happen anywhere else.
“What the CBN is doing now is that it is sanitising the industry and we now actually know who are the real businessmen and the real big men.
“Some men are wealthy from running banks down because a lot of the big men are running banks down.”
He said the CBN and the banks should start giving credit score.
The President, United Labour Congress, Joseph Ajaero, said, “Banks that are lending money to people should make sure that they have adequate collateral.
“Ordinarily, banks cannot on their own go to another bank and take the money that was kept in another bank; they are independent and should operate independently.”
He said it was because the banks were lending without collateral that they were running into problem.
Barely a few days after Ka3na and Praise got jiggy between the sheets, it appears BBNaija lovebirds, Erica and Kiddwaya have followed suit and fans are going wild with reactions.
The couple who have gathered quite the fanbase seem to have taken their relationship to the next level as the videos going around the internet suggests.
While some people believe they had sex judging from the expression on Erica’s face during the ‘late-night activity’, there are others who believe it was nothing more than foreplay that happened between them
Also, earlier on, the couple were seen on the couch making out and Erica’s bare derriere was caught on camera being fondled by Kiddwaya who later attempted to cover it with the blanket.
Watch video below:
ERICA: What do you like about me?
KIDD: I like your complexion, I like the way you dress, how abition you are, your bear-bear. You’re good and you’re bad at the same time, there’s an energy I get and I love it.
(…wardrobe malfunction during the kiss?👀) #BBNaijapic.twitter.com/lvtDXMrksh
All this happened hours after Laycon confessed his feelings to Erica.
Erica’s decision to get intimate with Kiddwaya has left many fans convinced that she has made her decision concerning who she wants to be with.
Erica and Kiddwaya’s heavy petting makes them the second couple in the house engaging in sexual activities.
Recall earlier that Praise and Ka3na, were on the night of Friday, July 31, caught rolling in the sheets. The two housemates who are not openly known as lovebirds were caught having sex after a truth or dare game on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ka3na and Lilo have become the first set of housemates of the 2020 edition of the BBNaija show to be evicted and fans are buzzing with mixed reactions.
It was all tears, hugs and relief for the BBNaija Lockdown housemates as they witnessed the first eviction.
A week after Big Brother put everyone up for eviction, fans of the housemates put in efforts to keep their favourites in the house.
Well, things took a different turn when Eric, Lilo, Praise and Ka3na were officially announced as the voting public’s choice for eviction.
