The Economist Writes Off Adeosun, Says She’s Poorly Qualified

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21/11/2015

The Economist magazine has dismissed newly appointed Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, as ill-equipped for the job handed her by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The magazine in its assessment of President Buhari’s cabinet suggests that Adeosun’s qualification and skills may not suitable for the current challenges the Nigerian economy faces despite her having acquitted herself well as Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State. The magazine said of her:

“Africa’s biggest economy, which relies on oil for 70% of its revenue, is sputtering as prices fall. Economic policy has been adrift since Mr Buhari came to power, and investors complain about the central bank’s use of trade controls and import restrictions. However, the new finance minister, an accountant who cleaned up the books of one of Nigeria’s smaller states, is poorly qualified for the job.”

Adeosun holds an economics degree from the University of East London and a post graduate degree in public financial management from the University of London and she spent time working with Price Water Coopers and Chapel Hill Denham Management. She served as Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State from 2011 to 2015.

She replaced as Nigerian Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Managing Director of the World Bank, who had served two administrations in that capacity.

Of Okechukwu Enelamah Minister for Trade and Investment, the magazine said he is a respected businessman but “may lack the clout to stand up to a president with statist leanings’

On the composition of President Buhari’s cabinet as a whole, the magazine notes:

“The president has failed to please all as he juggles the demands of his party and people. His decision to keep the oil post for himself, while appointing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s new head as his deputy, was designed to keep the valuable resource in hands he can trust. But it raises concerns over the centralisation of power. Ethnic groups of the south-east who mostly voted for Mr Jonathan in this year’s election are feeling neglected. Critics also fret over an absence of desperately needed financial expertise”.

Curled from The Nigerian Times

Nigerian Army Officials In Contradictory Claims To Cover Up Battle With Boko Haram That Left Several Soldiers Missing

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20/11/2015

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In their attempt to cover up the setback suffered by its troops in a recent battle with the extremist Boko Haram sect and discredit PREMIUM TIMES exclusive report on the matter, senior officials of the Nigerian Army have made at least four contradictory statements in the last 24 hours.

PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively and authoritatively reported that at least 105 soldiers attached to the 157 battalion went missing after they came under intense attack from Boko Haram insurgents in Gudunbali, Borno State, on Wednesday morning,

Reliable military insiders also told this newspaper that the terrorists captured a T-72 tank as well as several artillery weapons from the unit.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the spokesperson of the army, Sani Usman, before the story was published, he directed us to forward our enquiries to officials of 7 Division in Maiduguri.

However, the spokesperson of the 7 Division, Tukur Gusau, a colonel, also declined to comment on the matter saying the commander of the division would address a press conference on the issue later on Thursday and that it was improper for him to pre-empt his commanding officer.

However, after our story ran, Mr. Usman called our reporter to officially confirm that the attack indeed took place as reported.

“I want to confirm the incidence at Gudunbali but the details you provided were not correct. “The unit attacked is within the area of responsibility of the MNJTF and troops are now organising to counteract the attack,” he said.

However, he did not give contrary details of the attack to counter PREMIUM TIMES account of the incident. He merely added that the theatre of command would provide details during a press conference in Maiduguri later on Thursday.

During that press briefing, attended by our reporter in Maiduguri, the commander of 7 Division, Yushau Abubakar, also admitted that the troops were involved in a major clash with the insurgents. He further stated that several causalities were recorded on both sides.

“Our troops were attacked in Gudumbali where we dislodged the Boko Haram there. We had an attack and we are sorting it out. But I have not heard anything relating to what is being reported in the media, he said.

He however became evasive when pressed further for details of the attack by journalists.

“I have spoken with the CO (commanding officer) there even this morning and I have not heard anything of such from him. Yes, we went to Gudumbali and we were attacked and we repelled them and we are currently sorting out the situation. In war anything can happen and the operation is ongoing.”

However, later on Thursday evening, the military issued a statement describing the report of the attack as a product of “the imagination of those sympathetic to Boko Haram ways of life.”

“The attention of the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole was drawn to an online media publication saying troops of 157 Task Force Battalion were overran by the Boko Haram terrorists in Guzamala axis of Borno state and that several personnel were killed and several others cannot be accounted for including the Commanding Officer of the Unit, the statement signed by Mr. Gusau read.

At no point in our two reports on the matter did PREMIUM TIMES say the soldiers were killed. We merely reported that they were missing.

“The Theatre Command wants to state clearly that the story is a fabrication from the imagination of those sympathetic to Boko Haram ways of life.

“Although the location of 157 Battalion was attacked last Wednesday and was subsequently repelled by the gallant troops of the Unit, the Commanding Officer of the Unit is in contact with his Brigade Commander.

“However, the unit suffered some casualties which is normal in military operations. The affected personnel sustained minor injuries but no gunshot wound was sustained by the troops.

“The number of casualty and equipment lost as being circulated is not correct. The situation was unnecessarily blown beyond proportion to give terrorists the type of propaganda they desired,” he stated.

Also later on Thursday night, Mr. Usman, circulated another statement, describing the incident in Gudunbali as a “slight setback”.

“The situation is being stabilised,” he said. “The troops have rejoined their unit for further action. The earlier media reports were exaggerated. The CO is right now with his soldiers. It is just a minor setback and such are common in military operations,” he said.

However, in all its comments on the incident, the military failed to say whether soldiers went missing at any point during the operation or not.

PREMIUM TIMES Managing Editor, Musikilu Mojeed, said Friday morning that his paper was standing by its story.

“We are not surprised by the army’s desperate attempt to confuse Nigerians,” Mr. Mojeed said.

“We understand they were shocked that we got to know about the incident. We stand by our story, and we will provide further details as necessary.”

Curled from Premium Times

Mali Hotel Attack: Africa’s’ Richest Man Denies Being Held Hostage

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20/11/2015

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One of Africa’s richest men, Aliko Dangote has denied rumored reports to be one of the 170 hostages being held by terrorists that attacked Radisson Blu Hotel, Bamako, Mali’s capital, Friday morning.

Dangote discredited the reports through his Twitter handle @AliikoDangote; saying, “Rumor about me being held hostage is false. I was in Mali yesterday. Thank you for your concern. My prayers with those involved.”

According to security sources, Gunmen entered the hotel, shooting and shouting an Islamic slogan “God is great!”, (Allahu Akbar), in Arabic.

Already Special Forces have been deployed to the scene and have freed the hostages, killing the gunmen. Reporters were told that 18 hostages died.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its offshoot al-Murabitoun said they carried out the attack, according to an agency used by jihadists in the region.

Earlier, Rezidor Group, the company that runs the hotel in a statement said, two gunmen held 140 clients and 30 employees.

A senior member of the hotel’s security detail said two private security guards had been injured in the early stages of the attack, which began at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT).

A Chinese guest who was also at the hotel told China’s state news Agency Xinhua that Six staff from Turkish Airlines were trapped at the hotel and himself.

French newspaper Le Monde quoted the Malian security ministry as saying at least three hostages had been killed.

Witnesses in the area said police had surrounded the hotel and were blocking roads leading into the neighborhoods.

The attack on the Radisson Blu hotel came a week after Islamic State (IS) militants killed 129 people in Paris.

The identity of the attackers or the group is yet to be known.

Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist fighters, some with links to al Qaeda, for most of 2012.

An Islamist group claimed responsibility for the death of five people last March in an attack on a restaurant in Bamako that is popular with foreigners.

Ugandan President Says He Will Be A Cattle Keeper If He Loses 2016 Election

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19/11/2015

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Veteran Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has said he will be a cattle keeper if he loses elections next year after three decades in power.

“If I lose election I shall leave power,” Museveni said Thursday, according to the state-owned New Vision newspaper. “I have got my job at home, I am a cattle keeper,” he added, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper.

“I am not power-hungry, but mission-hungry — so I have got a mission of economic transformation of Ugandans.” Meanwhile, key presidential challenger Kizza Besigye, leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), has told supporters he had been arrested 43 times in his long-running bid to win the country’s top job.

Besigye, once Museveni’s personal doctor, previously said he would not contest elections again after losing in 2001, 2006 and 2011, claiming free and fair polls were impossible. After losing in 2011, Besigye led repeated anti-government protests, at which he was regularly arrested and held for hours before being released while his supporters were also chased, tear-gassed, beaten and arrested.

“Since 2000, when I first contested for the presidency, I have been arrested and taken to jail 43 times and they keep releasing me without any charge,” Besigye said at a rally on Wednesday. Opposition leaders have said they will back a joint candidate, expected to be either Besigye or ex-prime minister Amama Mbabazi, although both have begun campaigning separately for the February 18 polls.

With both being influential former members of the ruling party, critics say they struggle to offer a convincing alternative or to effectively criticise a system they created and from which they benefitted. Museveni, who has led the east African nation since 1986, and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) are widely expected to return to power.

www.vanguardngr.com

Merck Opens First Office In Nigeria

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19/11/2015

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As part of strategy to grow its market share in Nigeria and West African, Merck – a leading science and technology company has announced the opening of its first office in Nigeria being the largest African Economy.

Announcing its opening on Wednesday by Merck CEO-elect, Stefan Oschmann, and Merck President of North & West Africa, Karim Bendhaou said Nigeria was chosen because of it fastest growing economies and to see how their services can contribute to their growth.

Oschmann noted that, “Nigeria is an evident choice for us. With a population that is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas, this is a perfect match with Merck. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and we believe that through our high quality, innovative Healthcare, Life Science specialty products and services we can contribute to that growth.”

Similarly, the General Manager of Biopharma in Nigeria Charles Ajibo, added “Nigeria is a very important market for us and this will only increase in the coming years. We plan to expand our current portfolio in a steady pace and introduce many more products that are targeted to the unmet medical needs of Nigerian patients and help them improve their daily lives.”

Merck products have already been present in Nigeria for several years and the company has also announced that this portfolio was expanded with the launch of the Muse Auto CD4/CD4% System(1), a compact and easy to use HIV/AIDS Diagnostic Kit, which is able to monitor the progression of the HIV/AIDS virus in patients.

The company has also been working closely with the Nigerian government and international organizations to increase access to health solutions in the Country: “Merck and the Federal Ministry of Health organized a panel discussion on November 17th that focused on the role the private sector can play in helping countries like Nigeria accelerate progress on Universal Health Coverage and the importance of forging partnerships to deliver health solutions for the population.

It also took a closer look at the challenges of scaling up and sustaining public-private partnerships and private-private partnerships that seek to improve access to affordable and quality care.

Furthermore, as part of its commitment to improving access to healthcare in developing countries, the company is supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against schistosomiasis in Africa. Merck has donated over 290 million praziquantel tablets in its Merck Praziquantel Donation Program where more than 64 million patients have been treated, mostly school children.

“Millions of children worldwide still suffer from schistosomiasis. The disease prevents them from learning and weakens development potential in the affected countries. We want to give children new opportunities while at the same time promoting economic growth and making a brighter future possible,” said Oschmann during a visit of the Karon-Majigi Primary School in Abuja where he attended a distribution of Praziquantel tablets.

Nigeria is currently the largest recipient of the Merck Praziquantel Donation Program. Praziquantel is the most effective treatment for the parasitic worm disease schistosomiasis. Until now, Merck has donated nearly 71,000,000 tablets to WHO for Nigeria and another 34 million will follow by the end of this year.

Merck, within the scope of its responsible corporate governance, is committed to improving access to health for underserved populations in low-and middle-income countries. Health, along with environment and culture, represent Merck’s strategic spheres of activities that are part of the company’s Corporate Responsibility Strategy.

Group Decries Poor State Of Nigerian Cemeteries

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18/11/2015

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The bizarre and poor state of Cemeteries in Nigeria has become worrisome as most of the grave-yards have turned out to be places of defecating, refuse dumping, hide-out for criminals and center for ritual activities.

It is against this backdrop that a team of Kaduna based clerics (Imams and pastors) engaged on a grave-yard tour within Kaduna metropolis to sensitize the public on health hazard and dangers of defecating in cemeteries as well as discourage dumping of refuse in such areas.

Addressing journalists after the tour, the team leader who is also the General Overseer of Christ Evangelical Intercessory Fellowship Ministry Church, Pastor Yohanna Buru, said a graveyard is supposed to be a clean and sacred environment, not a refuse dump site.

According to him, a graveyard must be properly secured and fenced to avoid trespassing or encroachment, but the reverse is the case, as most of cemeteries have no fence and are expose to all sort of filthiness.

He further expressed worry over what he referred to as neglect of Nigerian graveyard sanitation, stating that majority of the cemeteries in Kaduna and other parts of Nigeria are in bad condition resulting from lack of sanitation exercise by some worshipers.

“It is regrettable that our graveyards are not looking attractive due to the I don’t care attitude of many residents which have turned cemeteries into refuse ground, where dangerous criminals and ritualists are sighted at night carrying out nefarious activities.”

Buru urged the state government to secure and start cleaning what he termed ‘final home’ saying; “When we grow old, God willing, we are going to be permanently laid in those grave yards so we must keep them clean.” He further called on government and religious leaders to sensitize citizens and worshippers on the importance of keeping the graveyard clean – adding that, there is the need for state governments to extend monthly sanitation to graved-yards in order to save the poor state of Nigerian cemeteries.

In the same vein, A Muslim scholar, Alaramma A. Bichi who was part of the tour, expressed dissatisfaction over the condemnable attitude of some people who usually defecates at the cemeteries – emphasizing on the need for Nigerians to use every last Saturday of the month for cleaning the cemeteries.

General survey of the Nigerian graved-yard shows that there is the need for fencing all cemeteries in order to protect them from trespassers and refuse dumping.

NIGERIA: Casual Staff Of Electricity Company Protest Unjust Dismissal And Non-payment Of Salary

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18/11/2015

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By Longtong Ibrahim Kaduna (Nigeria) – More than 500 Casual employees of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) on Tuesday stormed the zonal headquarters of the Company protesting over what they called unjust dismissal and non-payment of their three months salaries.

The Casual employees, who protested along Ahamadu Bello way to the Zonal headquarters, barricaded the KEDC entrance; carrying placards with different inscriptions to express their grievances.

When the situation was getting out of hand, the police dispersed the crowd with teargas, but they later regrouped and protested peacefully.

The protesters alleged that their dismissal was unfair, after been promised permanent employment in the recently conducted employment exercise by the company.

According to one of the protesters, Aisha Musa, the management of the company asked them to vacate the premises of the company without payment of their three months salary.

She said, she had been a casual staff of the company for ten years.

Also speaking, Ahmad Mohammed said, so many of them have worked for several years without been considered, adding that he had worked for more than 17 years with letter of confirmation as a casual staff.

Ahmad demands that his severance package should be paid.

Head communications unit, Abdulazeez Abdullahi in a response said, when the company took over from its predecessor last December, they didn’t want to contravene the national and international labor laws, but gave opportunity to the casual staff to apply for a dignified employment.

“In compliance with the extant national and international labor laws, the casual workers were given the opportunity to apply for full and more dignified employment, where they applied and went through the recruitment processes and the successful ones among them were employed.” He said

He described the protesters as those who didn’t meet up the employment requirement, adding that, “an opportunity was given to both internal staff and fresh candidates to gain employment.”

Nigeria: Northern State Reinstates Suspended Council Chairman

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17/11/2015

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By iliya Kure
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Chairman of Interim Management Committee of Kaduna North Local Government Council, in Northwest Nigeria, Ahmed Kurfi has been recalled from suspension.

Kurfi was suspended from office early October following demolition of over 100 shops in the local government, in a drive to recover public lands, from whom the state government called “encroachers”.

Read the story here: https://www.africaprimenews.com/2015/10/demolition-hits-printing-village-in-nigerian-city-over-100-shops-affected.

A statement by Special Assistant to Kaduna State Governor, Samuel Aruwan says an
investigation conducted has cleared the chairman of any wrongdoing, and commended his ‘courage and initiative’.

“After his suspension, his conduct was investigated and he was invited to respond to a query.

“Following consideration of his response, and the conclusion of investigations, the government determined that his conduct in tackling illegality was commendable.” The statement says.

“But it noted that the administrative lapses that occurred in the implementation of the action were unfortunate.” The statement adds

A letter of recall, dated 13 November 2015, by Secretary to the State Government, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has ordered the immediate reinstatement of the chairman.

The letter also admonished the recalled chairman to always abide by laid down administrative procedures.

The Kick-Off
On Wednesday August 6, bulldozers moved to Alhudahuda Secondary School in Zaria [second biggest city in the state] and commenced pulling down private living houses on the order of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, on the grounds that the houses were built on public land [house owners claim they bought the land from previous governments under government carve-out policy, which permits state officials to sell land in public institutions].

Read the story here: https://www.africaprimenews.com/2015/08/nigeria-el-rufai-commences-demolition-of-houses-in-kaduna/

The state government had given owners of such structures ultimatum to remove them on, or before August 5, or face the wrath of the law.

In a discussion on Kaduna State Media Corporation (radio), at that time, Mr. Aruwan warned that the state government would recover all such lands acquired by individuals

“This government cannot allow the encroachment of schools and hospitals lands to continue. For instance, when we visited the state library in Zaria and Alhudahuda College, private buildings have almost taken over the institutions. This has serious effect on the learning atmosphere of such institutions.” He said on the programme.

Following the action, a Kaduna High Court restrained the State government and its agencies from demolishing buildings along Constitution Road in Kaduna city, that have been marked for demolition.

The order was against the two weeks quit notice served on the owners of the marked buildings dated 5th August, 2015 and signed by the Interim Chairman, Kaduna North Local government, Ahmed Kurfi.

Read the story here: https://www.africaprimenews.com/2015/08/kaduna-demolition-court-restrains-el-rufai/

This was also followed by two separate rallies, one by a group of commercial printers and traders occupying shops along Lokoja, Gwari and Muri Roads opposing the demolition drive, while the other by road transport workers and market associations in support of the demolition.

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