Photos: Gov. Ambode receives President of Germany, Mr Joachim Gauck at Lagos house, Ikeja

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and his wife, Bolanle, jointly presenting a gift to the President, Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Joachim Gauck (left) and his wife, Gerhild (2nd right), during a courtesy visit to the Governor by the German President, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Monday, February 08, 2016. See more photos after the cut...

Nigerian Passenger Accused Of Smuggling 1.7kg Of Cocaine In His Intestines Through Dubai

A 40-year-old Nigerian man has been accused of smuggling nearly 1.7kg of cocaine capsules in his intestines via Dubai in transit. A special device helped capture the man carrying the cocaine in his intestines.
Jail wardens did not bring the suspect from his detention and present him before the Dubai Court of First Instance where he was scheduled to enter a plea on Sunday, February 7. Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal adjourned the hearing until the defendant is brought from detention on February 21.


Law enforcement officers at Dubai International Airport were said to have discovered that the Nigerian passenger, C.J., had been carrying drugs in his intestines when they had him checked at the special detecting device at the airport’s transit terminal in November.

The passenger was referred to Dubai Police’s anti-narcotics department immediately after the scanning device exposed tens of capsules in C.J.’s intestines.


Drugs prosecutors charged the suspect with smuggling 80 capsules that contained a stone-like white substance via Dubai in transit. A policeman claimed to prosecutors that he was tasked with accompanying C.J. to a public hospital to make him emit the drug capsules.


“I escorted the suspect to the hospital where he was provided with a medical substance to help him emit the capsules. He got out 45 capsules over a few hours,” testified the policeman.

Dubai Police’s forensic laboratory confirmed that the extracted capsules contained nearly 1.7kg of cocaine.


Source: Gulf News Court

Photos: COZA pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo holds all-white birthday party in Dubai

Popular Abuja pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly held a lavish all-white yacht party in Dubai to celebrate his birthday in January this year. In attendance were US based popular pastor, Mike Murdock, International singer Tye Tribett and others. He also had a birthday dinner as well at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. See more photos after the cut...

Buhari is not sick, he only went to rest- Adesina

Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, says contrary to opinion held by some people, Buhari's five day vacation is for him to rest and that he is not sick . Adesina who was a guest on Channels TV yesterday night, said Buhari had worked for eight straight months since he assumed office and needs rest

“Any man can fall sick, old or young, but the president is not sick, the president is well. The president has worked for more than eight months non-stop, and he felt it was time to take a respite and he asked for six days leave and he did it the proper way. He communicated it to the national assembly, handed over power to his deputy and nothing is wrong with that.”he said

He denied claims that Buhari's vacation appeared sudden.

“Do you go on vacation because you are sick? You need respite from time to time and when you think it is time for respite, you take it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his state of health. “Nigerians have been lied to for so long that they are now finding it difficult to believe the truth and that is the problem. You have told the truth yet they did not believe it because they have a carry-over of those who have lied to them for many decades but this government will not lie; it will tell the truth.”he said

Photos: Jay Z, Swizz Beatz, Lewis Hamilton, Kendrick Lamar, Usher hang out after the Super Bowl

Rappers Jay Z, Kendrik Lamar, singer Usher, music producer, Swizz Beatz, F1 racing champion Lewis Hamilton, singer Alicia Keys and super models, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio hung out after the Super Bowl 50 on Sunday night. More photos after the cut...

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reacts to alleged investigation by EFCC

Former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has reacted to reports that she's allegedly being investigated by the EFCC for embezzlement, calling media headlines misleading and untrue. Her statement below..


We want to clarify that some of the media reports alleging that the EFCC is investigating former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, are misleading and untrue. This is clear from eye witness accounts of the Budget 2016 presentation by the EFCC at the House of Representatives and gaps in the reported stories.



The headlines are a misrepresentation of what the EFCC Chairman actually said during the event. While the headlines claimed that the EFCC Chairman, in response to a question by an APC, member Hon Razak Atunwa, stated that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is under investigation, the actual words quoted in the same reports told a very different story.


His words: “Very soon we will go into the petroleum industry. Such investigation requires that we have to build capacity, we have to bring in experts to enable us tackle what we are doing properly and the investigation must be conducted properly. We have internal lawyers and external lawyers. We have to pay insurance…”

The words said to have been spoken by the EFCC Chairman cannot support the lurid headlines that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is under investigation by the EFCC. The Nigerian media plays an important role in our democracy and we urge them to be fair, balanced and factual in their reports.


Paul C Nwabuikwu Media Adviser to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Nigeria can generate N5trn annually from solid minerals — Metal exporters

Exporters under the aegis of Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, AMEN have called on the Federal Government to intervene in the solid minerals sector and tap the abundant benefits as the sector has opportunity of generating N5 trillion annually.

The President of AMEN, Mr. Seun Olatunji said that Nigeria can generate at least N5 trillion annually from mining and exporting of its vast solid mineral deposits, with several multiplier effects on job creation , state development and social infrastructure that could make the solid minerals sector as the main catalyst for the national development.


At a press briefing at the weekend in Lagos, the metal exporters called on the Federal Government to provide the enabling environment for the development of the Nigerian solid minerals sector. “Metallic solid minerals are the most exported solid minerals from Nigeria” he added.

The Association, which comprises of various companies in the business of metal export, commended the focus of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, and expressed its readiness to partner with the government in the development of the Nigerian solid minerals sector.

According to Olatunji, “There is need for synergy between government agencies and private operators to unlock the values in solid minerals sector. With not less than 38 viable solid mineral deposits in sustainable export quantity in Nigeria, the solid minerals sector has the potential to generate not less than N5 trillion annually once the government put in place necessary frameworks.

He stated that the solid minerals industry could serve the much-needed solution to unemployment as the development of the value chain from mining to export can create more than five million jobs.

Diversification of the economy

“We are glad that the current government is serious about solid minerals and diversification of the economy. Government should come up with policies that will enable Nigerians to benefit optimally from the country‘s natural resources,” Olatunji said.

According to him, there is need for government regulatory agencies such as Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to work with established private sector companies under the auspices of Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria to develop globally acceptable regulatory standards for Nigerian metallic exports.

Vice president, Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, underscored the need for government to consider viable public private partnership (PPP) option to develop basic infrastructure such as crushing plant and standardized weighing bay among others.

According to him, with a crushing plant, government should put in place a general policy that ensures that all metal exports are crushed and SON and other regulatory agencies should see to the enforcement of standards in the solid minerals exports in order to ensure that Nigerian exports are competitive in the global market.

General Secretary, Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, Mrs Kemi Ayo-Ogunkeye, added that standard-setting will bring values to Nigerian businesses and Nigeria as this will not only enhance the volume of transactions but also the reliability of the business.

In his remarks, financial secretary, Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, Mr. Adegbola Ilori, said the association would also interface with the National Assembly to seek review of existing laws and to promote new laws that could help the development of the solid minerals industry.

Nigerian refineries receive 9.5m barrels of crude in 2015

At a period refining operations averaged 26 per cent, three of Nigeria’s five refineries received about 9.5 million barrels of crude oil in 2015, but processed about 7.2 million barrels, data from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources have shown.



This leaves a shortfall of about 2.3 million barrels that were not processed, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said were “sold” but did not give details about who bought them.

The data, which was exclusively obtained by Vanguard, revealed that the processed volumes were used in producing four types ofpetroleum products. These included premium motor spirit, PMS or petrol; automotive gas oil, AGO, also called diesel; dual purpose kerosene, DPK, used for both domestic and aviation fuel; and low pour fuel oil, LPFL, otherwise called black oil.

Based on the output from the refineries, the operations data revealed that about 907.853 million litres of petrol were produced between January and December last year, a far cry from the14.60 billion litres required for domestic consumption, based on the national daily estimate of 40 million litres.

*Refineries

Nigeria has five refineries with combined capacity of 446,000 barrels per day, bpd; four of them operated by the NNPC with daily combined capacity of 445,000 bpd, and the 5th, Niger Delta Petroleum Refinery, NDPR, with a capacity of 1,000bpd. The NDPR is privately owned and devoted to only producing diesel.

The dedicated daily crude allocations to the NNPC refineries have often come under criticism, even more so when the refineries were almost comatose in 2015, and Nigeria relied mainly on imported products to meet daily national demand estimated at 40 million litres daily for PMS alone.

At 445,000 bpd, the NNPC refineries can only produce a little above 28 million litres daily, but operating at about a quarter of their combined capacity, critics questioned the continued allocation of the same volume of crude to the refineries.

*Crude allocations

Broken further, the refinery operations data revealed that between January and December 2015, the New PPRC Refinery with a capacity of 150,000bpd received the highest allocation of over 4.52 million barrels. However, the refinery could only process about 2.91 million barrels or 55.27 per cent of the total crude allocated to it during the period.

Similarly, the WRPC with a template of 125,000 bpd received over 3.48 million barrels and processed 3.08 million barrels (13 per cent), while the 110,000bpd capacity KRPC received about 1.48 million barrels and processed a little above 1.20 million barrels (22 per cent).

With regard to the quantity shortfalls, NNPC, in an email response to Vanguard enquiry said: “Whatever shortfall as you may call it or rather surplus that arises between what was received and what was actually processed in terms of crude oil, is usually sold and the proceeds remitted to the Federation Account.”

The corporation’s spokesman, Mr Ohi Alegbe, added: “Remember that the NNPC is allocated 445, 000 barrels every day at prevailing international market price, thus this means that every molecule of crude received, and utilised or un-utilised as the case maybe, is captured.”

Against this backdrop, NNPC in defence of the continued allocation of the dedicated daily volumes to the refineries at a period of high downturn in operations, said:”The volumes of crude oil allocated to the refineries are usually based on projections generated after detailed realistic production simulations.”

Abuja rail to be operational December 2017 – FCT Minister

In a bid to compliment the present mode of public transportation, as well as reducing traffic gridlock often experienced at peak periods in the Federal Capital Territory, the FCT Administration said it was working extremely hard to make the Abuja rail system operational in the last quarter of 2017.

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, made the disclosure while receiving the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachichwu who paid him a working visit in his Abuja office.

Bello disclosed that the last quarter of 2017 was the new target date envisaged by the FCTA.

The minister noted that when the Abuja rail comes on stream, it would revolutionise the transportation system, as the use of personal vehicles would become unattractive.

Bello addedd that the rail transportation would also go a long way to create employment for some residents of the FCT.

He however called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to build Mega filling stations in the six area councils of the FCT, instead of only one earmarked for each senatorial districts in the 36 states of the federation.



[ThisDay]

Big Sean Is more than Just a Rapper

Big Sean isn't just spending his time in the studio these days.

In fact, he's spending a great deal of time is spent giving back to his hometown of Detroit, Mich. Sean tells E! News exclusively that starting the Sean Anderson Foundation (the rapper's real name) was very important to him and his mother, Myra.

"I started it with my mom a few years ago, she has dedicated her whole life to it," he explains. "We wanted to see how we could help out the city of Detroit."

"My roots are tied to the city of Detroit," Sean adds. "It's a city that needs a lot. Detroit public schools are full of kids who can't afford clothes or books. I really felt the need to give back. The first thing we did was donate backpacks with tons of school supplies and paid for school uniforms for kids who couldn't afford them. At the beginning the foundation didn't have much money and initially the money spent was out of my own pocket.

And that "was some of the best money I ever spent."


"The word started to spread throughout the city, people started donating more and more. Now we're able to have after-school programs, we built a recording studio in my old high school," he continued, recalling how he used to get in trouble for selling his CDs in the school's hallway, "and now we have the Sean Anderson Studio."

"Whenever I am back in Detroit, which is pretty often, just going through the neighborhoods people come up to me and say they appreciate the work I'm doing. Seeing the impact we're having changed my whole attitude and my priorities have changed."

In addition to his education foundation and work with kids in his hometown, Big Sean has also turned his attention to Flint, Mich., where the water supply was found last year to be tainted with lead.


"We launched Heal Flint Kids not too long ago to try and raise money for the kids of Flint," Sean told us. "The toxicity in the water is a very big deal causing irreversible harm. People don't understand what it's like to have that many people affected. So far we've raised close to $60,000 for the community."

"It really brings down my spirits when I see the constant suffering—I talk with my mom about what we can do and how can people help."

Sounds like Mom raised a heck of a kid.

Nigeria University Awards 2016

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Nominees could be contacted at any point during the award period for certain clarification or verification.

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Don’t take World Bank loan – Falana tells FG

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has warned the Federal Government against obtaining loan from the World Bank to finance the 2016 budget.

The Federal Government had disclosed plan to borrow $2.5bn from the World Bank and another $1bn from the African Development Bank.

But Falana, who wrote to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Friday, argued that there was no need to obtain $3.5bn loan to finance the budget when the Federal Government could recover about $66.5bn it was being owed.

The lawyer urged the Federal Government to drop its proposition to obtain World Bank loan, noting that it required the endorsement of the International Monetary Fund, which he said, usually imposed stringent conditions on borrowing countries.

He lamented that the debt profile of the country had now grown to $64bn after it took much effort in 2005 for the country to exit the London/Paris Club after struggling to repay a loan of $12.4bn.

Falana urged the Federal Government to make effort to recover the over $66.5bn accruable to it, rather than obtain loan to finance the budget.

According to him, part of the said $66.5bn was the sum of $20.2bn in form of underpayment/underassessment of taxes, royalties, levies and rents, which a former Executive Secretary of the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, called on the Federal Government to recover.

Falana also recalled that there was about $11bn which the Central Bank of Nigeria injected into the banking industry between 2006 and 2008 as bailout to commercial banks, which had yet to be recovered.

Besides these, Falana also recalled that the Federal Government had on September 6, 2015 announced that the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was in the process of recovering the sum of $9.6bn in “over deducted tax benefits from joint venture partners on major capital projects and the legacy OPA/SWAP oil contracts.”

He also made reference to the $750m of the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s loot, which the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said arrangements had been concluded on it to recover.

Finally, he also recalled that the a recent probe by the Senate revealed that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had accumulated about $25bn which, according to AMCON’s Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, was owed by “big men who fly in private jets, live in big mansions and they have taken money and they are not paying back.”

Falana said, “From the foregoing, you will agree with us that the hapless Nigerian people should not be made to pay for the gross mismanagement of the national economy by the Federal Government and the profligacy of the pampered members of the ruling class.

“Instead of taking a loan of $2.5bn with dangerous conditionalities from the World Bank, the Federal Government should recover the aforesaid loans and revenues of not less than $66.5bn with the assistance of the anti-graft agencies.

“While acknowledging the concerted efforts to recover the looted wealth of the nation through the anti-graft agencies and the Arms Procurement Panel, the Buhari Administration should embark on the immediate recovery of the aforesaid loans and accrued revenues with a view to financing the 2016 budget and the infrastructural development of the nation.”
[Punch]