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Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Yay! Fellow Blogger Linda Ikeji made Credit Suisse 50 Movers And Shakers In Africa list
Photos: VP Osinbajo in Zambia to commission Dangote cement factory
What President Buhari Should Do with Tompolo & Asari Dukobo
Born on June 29, 1977, the 38-year-old monarch, who became the world’s youngest monarch when kingmakers installed him in 1979 at the age of two years, four months, has demonstrated wisdom beyond his age. The Guinness Book of World Records captured the rare feat in its 1981 edition.
He has avoided scandal like a plague and rarely grants press interviews.
However, he finally broke his time-honored silence...
Last week, he played host to a team of Vanguard, led by the Editor of Niger Delta Voice in his palace:
What was childhood like, how did you grow up?
As many people know in Nigeria, I crowned at the age of 2 years, 4 months and not too long after that for security reasons, I had to travel abroad. As at the time that I was crowned, I will take as honour to Nigeria because honour to anybody in Nigeria is an honour to the country.
The Guinness Book of Records recorded the country as having the world’s youngest crowned monarch at the time. I grew up in the United Kingdom; it was very interesting and as far as am concerned, that was the building block of who I am today.
Security reasons
Rather than growing up with silver spoon in my mouth, which I would have grown up with had I been here with my father, instead I grew up in a country where I had to be very silent about who I was for security reasons. However, the relevant authorities, royal palace and queens’ palace knew who I was and where I was. The headmaster in the schools always knew who I was, but thanks to those who made it so and I am very grateful for this, I was able to grow up pretty normally without the rest of the children knowing who I was and I have always enjoyed that. Therefore, it was somewhat a strong training ground for me.
I finally came back to Nigeria in the year 2000; I had been to Nigeria
previously on two occasions for short visit. The final coming back was
after I aged 15, I had become very pro-African after understanding that
Africa is actually the cradle of civilization. Africa is where the great
stories of the Bible mainly took place, Africa is where you can find
the Garden of Eden, we are great people in Africa and at 15 years, I
dedicated my life to making sure that the world one day will recognize
Africa as it was in the distant past.
So, it has been a very interesting life, it has taught me one thing, we are all human beings, those in position of power and leadership are simply in a position of trust, our people trust us and we must dedicate our lives to serving them. Once again, being abroad taught me that even it is once every year, those in leadership should go somewhere where nobody knows them.
Arguments and problems
It will make them to remember that we are all the same, I drive and I go out incommunicado on my own, we all bleed, we all cry, we all have good days and bad days and we will all join our ancestors one day. Therefore, what we do in life is cherish what we have and people around us and stop the war, the arguments and problems, be your brother’s keeper, these things are part of my growing up and what made me who I am today.
There was a report then that the Oba of Benin took custody of you then, can you confirm this?
Certainly, you can imagine that the Oba of Benin and Ooni of Ife were quite instrumental with the government of the day in making sure that I was crowned. Many people do not understand that the relationship between Benin and Agbor kingdoms is a very ancient one.
We are direct blood brothers, so at that time, there was a lot of pandemonium, my life was at risk, the safest place for me then was to have stayed with my brother, the Oba of Benin. Therefore, I was there briefly before they finally took me abroad.
At what point in your life did you find out that you are a king?
From the moment I was born, I knew that I am a monarch to be, just like my son, he carries his royalty very well.
There was this succession battle while you were outside the country, how did it play out?
First, there was never anything like a succession battle, so you have two assumed facts that are very incorrect. We have a tradition here that dates back to 721 BC, which is our first dynasty of which I am the 19th monarch. From 1270 AD, the monarchy here is hereditary, so if you know that there is a hereditary monarchy and there was a vacuum, then there cannot be a succession battle. The interest then was simply a matter of the Regency Council; a regency council had to be in place to manage the affairs of the kingdom.
Of course, the regency council is just like an authority, an agency, it is something that happens whenever there is a vacancy anywhere in this country, so everybody was very interested, that was simply what it was.
Can you recall while in the UK how you carried yourself knowing you are a king?
The same way I have always carried myself with the knowledge and responsibility that I have people that are relying on me. It is the same way that I still carry myself knowing that if I embarrass myself, I embarrass my people.
Interest in parties
Anybody in a position of power should know that, I have always kept myself very quiet; I have never been interested in parties and going out with friends and or that. My interest is to serve my people and how best to promote Africa. We produce the resources; Africans feed the world, so it has always been very important to me that Africans should organize themselves so that we regain back our glory from the days of Egypt. Unfortunately, every nation goes through its bad stages. Africa has gone through its bad stage of slavery and it disorganized us. During slavery, they carried away the best and fittest of our people, they took them away to build Europe for them, build America for them, we are proud of these things, but at the same time, we, as Africans have to look back and start doing for ourselves what we have done for others.
Therefore, in England, I have my friends, I have my Indians friends and African friends too and I enjoyed it because it was a period of learning for me, just like any other young man at the time.
What are the odd things that you have had to go through in life?
Odd things, I have not had odd things in my life. As I said, I have always kept myself to myself; I try to stay away from contention and problem. From when I was very young, I have never really been with people of my own age because I find them talking about girls constantly, about cars and parties. It is quite boring to me, especially when people are dying and need help. I will rather be talking about how to rebuild Nigeria, how Nigeria can take pre-eminence in not only Africa, but in the international world.
We are hoping that our present President, Muhammadu Buhari will follow up on what former presidents of Nigeria have done and improve on it. I think here in Nigeria, we like to talk about negative things too much and when you talk about the negative too much, you will be surprised that you encourage the negative to happen, this is a great nation, and we have many things to celebrate, let us talk about the positive things in life and celebrate them.
What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to your in life?
The strangest thing that has ever happened to me in life, it to be in a country that is very rich and the people are very poor. The strangest thing I have ever seen is to have such a great nation, to have such a great people, Nigerians are very intelligent people, if you go anywhere in the world, check their great institutions and achievements, you will find that there are one or two Nigerians behind the feat.
Who played the role of father to you after the death of your father?
Once again, as you mentioned earlier, Oba of Benin has played that role for me, his cousin in London, Dr. Robert Obaze also played that role. Equally, the Ooni of Ife has played that role; the Emir of Kano has played that role. In current times as I always joke with him, I call him big bros; the Sultan of Sokoto has recently been a very big brother since he ascended the throne of his ancestors.
Chief Alex Duduyemi is another man that has been a great influence in my life, I cannot forget the former president of this country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is a great father to me. He is somebody that I turn to when I have difficulties or I need to discuss things, I enjoy his company, I enjoy his wisdom and I thank God that he is still willing and able to fight for this country the way he had fought.
Having spent a good part of your life abroad, what are you missing now you are in Nigeria?
I am missing good roads, instead of five hours from Lagos to Agbor, I would rather if the road is good want to spend two hours, I enjoy driving, I love powerful cars, it gives me pleasure but we do not have good roads. If we have, I will like to drive myself while my chiefs can follow me, although they might not like the fact that I am driving. However, somebody has to relax somehow; but certainly, I miss the fact that we do not have good roads because without good roads, we lose many lives.
I miss constant electricity, I feel sad that so many successful business executives in this country, rather than spend their profit on building a stronger company, they have had to dedicate so much of their profit to buying diesel and I think it is counterproductive. I also miss a lawful society, disciplined police force, but we are working towards that, I think everybody is sitting up now that we have a very strict president, we thank God for that. This is the follow up from President Obasanjo that we have always wanted.
How has it been occupying the sacred throne of your fathers for about 15 years effectively?
It has been challenging, I have been on the throne for about 36 years now, not 15 years effectively as you said. In Africa, the young ones are supposed to be seen and not heard, but circumstances have brought a situation where the young ones are now heard, many elders are not comfortable with this, many elders would prefer to talk to the young ones and be talked back at.
Huge potential
So I took the risk, I took it for the nation, for the good of all because I could see young men that were on a dying situation. Not understanding how to move forward was causing destruction and that destruc-tion would affect all of our lives, that was what inspired my trip to the creeks. I was very shocked when I got to the creeks, I went with one of my subjects, who is now a chief, Rear Admiral Elumah (retd), I thank God I had a naval man to help navigate the water. The other person, who is an army general, was not too comfortable on the water, but I thank God that we got there and I saw that there is huge potential in the creek. We can turn the creeks into Miami and California, it is beautiful there but unfortunately, oil has caused so much damage.
And indeed after hearing all the horror stories of kidnap and all that, as my boat was going this way, I saw Dokubo-Asari going the other way and I was wondering what have I gotten myself into, but while I was expecting to see a very huge leader of the militants, a very violent person, I was completely proved wrong. An amiable, respectful and soft spoken and humble Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, walked in and we sat down and discussed.
He told me what their grievances are and he took me to his house, which he had built to make a statement that it was possible to develop the creeks. After showing me the house, he asked me if the state government cannot do likewise and I remember that very clearly, his intention of building that structure was to prove that if he can do it, what is stopping government from doing it. In addition, he took me round several projects in the creek communities, which both the state and federal governments have been doing, many of which remain uncompleted.
I can tell you, these were what made the boys bitter and I took that away with me and until this day, I will never forget how they shouted, how they hollered, the Dein of Agbor in the creeks! Nevertheless, why not, is this country not my own as well. If Nigeria is embarrassed, will I not as a Nigerian abroad be embarrassed, I will not want them to single me out when I am travelling because I am a Nigerian to search me and suspect everything about my passport.
People see Tompolo from different perspectives depending on what they know of him, how do you see him which year was this famous voyage?
It must have been around 2007 or 2008 at the height of the problem. Many Nigerians I have noticed in the 15 years I have been here comment on people they have never met before. If I listened to people before I met Obasanjo, I would not have met him because I have heard all sorts of horrible things about him. However, when I met him, I found out that he loves Nigeria and is a good person. I have said this earlier.
The same thing with the young man Tompolo, he is fighting for his people, he might not necessarily be doing it in the best of ways, but his intention is simply struggling for his people. Now, can you imagine if we do what is correct, as President Obasanjo had tried to do, as Jonathan tried to continue and I am sure this present regime will also continue, will we not be able to tap minds like Tompolo, Dokubo-Asari instead of exerting their energy against the country? Tompolo is a man that is soft- spoken and respectful. My advice is not to judge people before you meet them and find out who they really are.
Brother’s keeper
Let us be our brother’s keeper. What happens if Dokubo-Asari with all his fire and strength is fighting to push Nigeria forward, I think we will all enjoy it, these are very strong people, let us not always give a negative picture of our people and the worst thing you can do in life is to judge somebody before you ever met him. We do it far too much, it is a very dreadful thing, discuss with somebody first. I did not know who I was going to meet when I ventured into the creeks and as I told you, I was very shocked at how quiet Tompolo is. I have never heard an angry word from him, he speaks with such a silent voice that you start to wonder that when a quiet person blows up, the world trembles.
Therefore, please Nigeria, Buhari is a very quiet person, let us not upset the man, when your brother does something that is wrong, do not embarrass him in public.
So, it has been a very interesting life, it has taught me one thing, we are all human beings, those in position of power and leadership are simply in a position of trust, our people trust us and we must dedicate our lives to serving them. Once again, being abroad taught me that even it is once every year, those in leadership should go somewhere where nobody knows them.
Arguments and problems
It will make them to remember that we are all the same, I drive and I go out incommunicado on my own, we all bleed, we all cry, we all have good days and bad days and we will all join our ancestors one day. Therefore, what we do in life is cherish what we have and people around us and stop the war, the arguments and problems, be your brother’s keeper, these things are part of my growing up and what made me who I am today.
There was a report then that the Oba of Benin took custody of you then, can you confirm this?
Certainly, you can imagine that the Oba of Benin and Ooni of Ife were quite instrumental with the government of the day in making sure that I was crowned. Many people do not understand that the relationship between Benin and Agbor kingdoms is a very ancient one.
We are direct blood brothers, so at that time, there was a lot of pandemonium, my life was at risk, the safest place for me then was to have stayed with my brother, the Oba of Benin. Therefore, I was there briefly before they finally took me abroad.
At what point in your life did you find out that you are a king?
From the moment I was born, I knew that I am a monarch to be, just like my son, he carries his royalty very well.
There was this succession battle while you were outside the country, how did it play out?
First, there was never anything like a succession battle, so you have two assumed facts that are very incorrect. We have a tradition here that dates back to 721 BC, which is our first dynasty of which I am the 19th monarch. From 1270 AD, the monarchy here is hereditary, so if you know that there is a hereditary monarchy and there was a vacuum, then there cannot be a succession battle. The interest then was simply a matter of the Regency Council; a regency council had to be in place to manage the affairs of the kingdom.
Of course, the regency council is just like an authority, an agency, it is something that happens whenever there is a vacancy anywhere in this country, so everybody was very interested, that was simply what it was.
Can you recall while in the UK how you carried yourself knowing you are a king?
The same way I have always carried myself with the knowledge and responsibility that I have people that are relying on me. It is the same way that I still carry myself knowing that if I embarrass myself, I embarrass my people.
Interest in parties
Anybody in a position of power should know that, I have always kept myself very quiet; I have never been interested in parties and going out with friends and or that. My interest is to serve my people and how best to promote Africa. We produce the resources; Africans feed the world, so it has always been very important to me that Africans should organize themselves so that we regain back our glory from the days of Egypt. Unfortunately, every nation goes through its bad stages. Africa has gone through its bad stage of slavery and it disorganized us. During slavery, they carried away the best and fittest of our people, they took them away to build Europe for them, build America for them, we are proud of these things, but at the same time, we, as Africans have to look back and start doing for ourselves what we have done for others.
Therefore, in England, I have my friends, I have my Indians friends and African friends too and I enjoyed it because it was a period of learning for me, just like any other young man at the time.
What are the odd things that you have had to go through in life?
Odd things, I have not had odd things in my life. As I said, I have always kept myself to myself; I try to stay away from contention and problem. From when I was very young, I have never really been with people of my own age because I find them talking about girls constantly, about cars and parties. It is quite boring to me, especially when people are dying and need help. I will rather be talking about how to rebuild Nigeria, how Nigeria can take pre-eminence in not only Africa, but in the international world.
We are hoping that our present President, Muhammadu Buhari will follow up on what former presidents of Nigeria have done and improve on it. I think here in Nigeria, we like to talk about negative things too much and when you talk about the negative too much, you will be surprised that you encourage the negative to happen, this is a great nation, and we have many things to celebrate, let us talk about the positive things in life and celebrate them.
What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to your in life?
The strangest thing that has ever happened to me in life, it to be in a country that is very rich and the people are very poor. The strangest thing I have ever seen is to have such a great nation, to have such a great people, Nigerians are very intelligent people, if you go anywhere in the world, check their great institutions and achievements, you will find that there are one or two Nigerians behind the feat.
Who played the role of father to you after the death of your father?
Once again, as you mentioned earlier, Oba of Benin has played that role for me, his cousin in London, Dr. Robert Obaze also played that role. Equally, the Ooni of Ife has played that role; the Emir of Kano has played that role. In current times as I always joke with him, I call him big bros; the Sultan of Sokoto has recently been a very big brother since he ascended the throne of his ancestors.
Chief Alex Duduyemi is another man that has been a great influence in my life, I cannot forget the former president of this country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is a great father to me. He is somebody that I turn to when I have difficulties or I need to discuss things, I enjoy his company, I enjoy his wisdom and I thank God that he is still willing and able to fight for this country the way he had fought.
Having spent a good part of your life abroad, what are you missing now you are in Nigeria?
I am missing good roads, instead of five hours from Lagos to Agbor, I would rather if the road is good want to spend two hours, I enjoy driving, I love powerful cars, it gives me pleasure but we do not have good roads. If we have, I will like to drive myself while my chiefs can follow me, although they might not like the fact that I am driving. However, somebody has to relax somehow; but certainly, I miss the fact that we do not have good roads because without good roads, we lose many lives.
I miss constant electricity, I feel sad that so many successful business executives in this country, rather than spend their profit on building a stronger company, they have had to dedicate so much of their profit to buying diesel and I think it is counterproductive. I also miss a lawful society, disciplined police force, but we are working towards that, I think everybody is sitting up now that we have a very strict president, we thank God for that. This is the follow up from President Obasanjo that we have always wanted.
How has it been occupying the sacred throne of your fathers for about 15 years effectively?
It has been challenging, I have been on the throne for about 36 years now, not 15 years effectively as you said. In Africa, the young ones are supposed to be seen and not heard, but circumstances have brought a situation where the young ones are now heard, many elders are not comfortable with this, many elders would prefer to talk to the young ones and be talked back at.
Huge potential
So I took the risk, I took it for the nation, for the good of all because I could see young men that were on a dying situation. Not understanding how to move forward was causing destruction and that destruc-tion would affect all of our lives, that was what inspired my trip to the creeks. I was very shocked when I got to the creeks, I went with one of my subjects, who is now a chief, Rear Admiral Elumah (retd), I thank God I had a naval man to help navigate the water. The other person, who is an army general, was not too comfortable on the water, but I thank God that we got there and I saw that there is huge potential in the creek. We can turn the creeks into Miami and California, it is beautiful there but unfortunately, oil has caused so much damage.
And indeed after hearing all the horror stories of kidnap and all that, as my boat was going this way, I saw Dokubo-Asari going the other way and I was wondering what have I gotten myself into, but while I was expecting to see a very huge leader of the militants, a very violent person, I was completely proved wrong. An amiable, respectful and soft spoken and humble Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, walked in and we sat down and discussed.
He told me what their grievances are and he took me to his house, which he had built to make a statement that it was possible to develop the creeks. After showing me the house, he asked me if the state government cannot do likewise and I remember that very clearly, his intention of building that structure was to prove that if he can do it, what is stopping government from doing it. In addition, he took me round several projects in the creek communities, which both the state and federal governments have been doing, many of which remain uncompleted.
I can tell you, these were what made the boys bitter and I took that away with me and until this day, I will never forget how they shouted, how they hollered, the Dein of Agbor in the creeks! Nevertheless, why not, is this country not my own as well. If Nigeria is embarrassed, will I not as a Nigerian abroad be embarrassed, I will not want them to single me out when I am travelling because I am a Nigerian to search me and suspect everything about my passport.
People see Tompolo from different perspectives depending on what they know of him, how do you see him which year was this famous voyage?
It must have been around 2007 or 2008 at the height of the problem. Many Nigerians I have noticed in the 15 years I have been here comment on people they have never met before. If I listened to people before I met Obasanjo, I would not have met him because I have heard all sorts of horrible things about him. However, when I met him, I found out that he loves Nigeria and is a good person. I have said this earlier.
The same thing with the young man Tompolo, he is fighting for his people, he might not necessarily be doing it in the best of ways, but his intention is simply struggling for his people. Now, can you imagine if we do what is correct, as President Obasanjo had tried to do, as Jonathan tried to continue and I am sure this present regime will also continue, will we not be able to tap minds like Tompolo, Dokubo-Asari instead of exerting their energy against the country? Tompolo is a man that is soft- spoken and respectful. My advice is not to judge people before you meet them and find out who they really are.
Brother’s keeper
Let us be our brother’s keeper. What happens if Dokubo-Asari with all his fire and strength is fighting to push Nigeria forward, I think we will all enjoy it, these are very strong people, let us not always give a negative picture of our people and the worst thing you can do in life is to judge somebody before you ever met him. We do it far too much, it is a very dreadful thing, discuss with somebody first. I did not know who I was going to meet when I ventured into the creeks and as I told you, I was very shocked at how quiet Tompolo is. I have never heard an angry word from him, he speaks with such a silent voice that you start to wonder that when a quiet person blows up, the world trembles.
Therefore, please Nigeria, Buhari is a very quiet person, let us not upset the man, when your brother does something that is wrong, do not embarrass him in public.
Buhari orders reduction of recurrent expenditure in 2016 budget
In a statement released yesterday by Senior Special Assistant to
President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari
yesterday ordered the National Planning Commission to go back to the
drawing board and produce the framework for the 2016 national budget
that will reduce recurrent expenditure and prioritize developmental
projects.
Shehu said the President gave the order after receiving a briefing from
the Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr. Bassey Akpanyung, at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the President told Akpanyung and the directors of the NPC that
capital projects must now be given priority because Nigeria cannot
achieve real development without adequate investment in capital and
infrastructural projects.
“In carrying out its role in surveillance of the economy, review and appraisal of policies, the commission should devise a plan for a realignment of the budget so that capital projects can be really prioritised,” the President directed.
The executive secretary of the NPC had informed the President that
Nigeria’s planning system was beset by many challenges. These
challenges, he said, included the non-alignment of national plans with
the annual budget and inadequate capacity in the departments of
planning, research and statistics in the various government ministries.
He said the commission was in the process of developing a medium term plan.
“Of course, we sought the President’s support for the articulation and finalisation of that document because his pronouncement on it will assist us in rapidly doing so.
“Planning, like I said, will make it effective from 2016 to 2019.
“So, we should be working very seriously to pick out the elements that will form the document.
“The core areas: security, the areas of diversification, the area of restabilising the polity, the micro economic situations that are going to be addressed.
“Of course, we can’t forget the issues of unemployment and agric in the real sectors. These are the areas that will drive and ensure that the employment situation is improved upon and that will reduce the poverty level,” he added.
Source: Vanguard
Jonathan's Meeting With PDP In Otueke Fails; Alamieyeseigha, Dickson Walked Out
It seems Governor Seriake Dickson is
going to defeat Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, who is particularly bent
on removing from office Bayelsa State governor by ensuring he doesn't
get PDP ticket.
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP held an emergency meeting at the country home of Goodluck Jonathan in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, to wade into the crisis rocking the state chapter of the party.
But to the shock of many, both the state governor, Seriake Dickson, and former governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, were ordered out of the venue of the meeting.
At the meeting which looked into the recommendations of the National Peace Committee for the state, the acting Chairman of the party’s BoT, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, called on all feuding members and stakeholders of the party in the state to close ranks, while also upturning the decision of the state chapter of the party to expel some prominent members from the party.
President Jonathan was said to been scandalised by the action of the party at the state level, adding that the party cannot afford a major crisis less than five months to the governorship election.
At the meeting which was held at the Jonathan country home amid tight security, some uninvited prominent persons, including those who had already defected to the APC, were walked out of the venue.
Some loyalists of the expelled party leaders, including the embattled Chairman of the PDP in the state, Col. Sam Inokoba, claimed that the Chairman of the state reconciliation committee and first governor of the state, Alameiyeiseigha and other party members were barred from attending the meeting due to non-membership of the party BoT.
But Col. Inokoba and Senator Emmanuel Paulker were allowed into the meeting.
Meanwhile, Governor Dickson is strategizing with majority of the PDP delegates already on his side.
I Don't Have Boyfriend But I Sort Myself Whenever I Need S*x
All those guys who have been eyeing fast-rising Nollywood actress,
Hannah Ogundare should just take their hunt elsewhere. She is not your
regular what you see is what you get lady.
The tall, beautiful and cute actress has got the goods not only to play
with sensibility of her fans but also to knock them out as she recently
did in a photo shoot that sent her male fans into an uproar.
But when it comes to action, she is ready to do things. “Acting has always been my dream. Acting comes to me naturally.” Hannah is many guys dream chic but not without a word of caution. She doesn’t really like the 'hitting' action. Does that sound scary? She is not frigid either but prefers things to shape out her own way, the way she likes it and wants it.
While speaking with Potpourri about her private life, she said:
“I don’t really enjoy s*x, I prefer romance. Meanwhile, I don’t have s*x often because I don’t have a man presently. But that does not mean I won’t sort myself whenever the need arises. I can always arrange that.”
But when it comes to action, she is ready to do things. “Acting has always been my dream. Acting comes to me naturally.” Hannah is many guys dream chic but not without a word of caution. She doesn’t really like the 'hitting' action. Does that sound scary? She is not frigid either but prefers things to shape out her own way, the way she likes it and wants it.
Any actor who is also interested in her will have to work hard. “I don’t think I can date an actor but if such happens, there’s nothing I can do about it but the possibility is very slim,” she stressed.
Obama Hails Nigerian Disability-Rights Activist, Embraces Her
U.S. President Barack Obama embraces Grace during the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel August 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. Identified as Sub-Saharan Africa’s ‘most promising young leaders,’ 500 people were invited by the U.S. State Department for the three-day summit where they interact with representatives from the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Buhari Appoints Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as New GMD of NNPC
Dr. Kachikwu, who was the Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Exxon-Mobil (Africa), is to take over from Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha. He hails from Onicha-Ugbo in Delta State.
Dr. Kachikwu is a First Class Graduate of Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Nigerian Law School. Has a Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Law from the Harvard Law School.
He started his working career with
Nigerian/American Merchant Bank before moving on to Texaco Nigeria
Limited where he remained for about eight years before joining
ExxonMobil.
President Buhari has also approved the appointment of Professor Umaru Garba Danbatta as the new Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Prof. Danbatta, who holds a Doctorate Degree in Electronic Engineering, takes over from Dr. Eugene Juwah whose tenure expired on July 29, 2015.
His appointment as Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC is for five years in the first instance.
President Buhari has also approved the appointment of Professor Umaru Garba Danbatta as the new Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Prof. Danbatta, who holds a Doctorate Degree in Electronic Engineering, takes over from Dr. Eugene Juwah whose tenure expired on July 29, 2015.
His appointment as Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC is for five years in the first instance.
FULL DETAILS: See The Big Men Owing Banks N143.81billion
Nigerian Deposit Money Banks has continued with the policy of revealing delinquent debtors with publication of names of firms and directors whose loans have become non-performing for over one year.
While nine banks published the names of the loans defaulters on Monday, four banks released the lists of their chronic debtors, owing a total of N143.81bn, on Tuesday.
The four banks are First Bank, Access Bank, Diamond Bank and Unity Bank.
The banks, which had published the list of their delinquent debtors on Monday were Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Heritage Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited.
First Bank, which has its total amount of non-performing loans as N43.72bn, published 92 names of delinquent debtors.
The first five companies on the lender’s list owe a combined sum of N23bn. These are Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Starcomm Plc; BGL Securities Limited, where a former Minister of Finance and National Planning, Kalu Idika Kalu, is a director; Shield Petroleum Limited and Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited.
Shield Petroleum, the number one on the list, owes N6.883bn; while Zurich International Service, the last on the list, owes N26.69m.
Unity Bank also released 260 names of delinquent debtors with a combined NPL figure of N45.52bn.
The list has the companies of some prominent Nigerians. These include Umar Mutallab’s DeanShanger Project Limited, N3.6bn; Senator Ayodele Arise and a former Minister of State for Works, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye’s International Payment Devices Limited, N81.9m; and Prince Adeyanju Olateru-Olagbegi’s Cupid Investment BDC, N90.1m.
According to PUNCH, other prominent companies on the list are Ekiti Kete Mass Transit, which owes N991m; Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited, N2.5bn; Ava Cement Limited, N.8bn; and Plywood Chemical and Accessories, N1.1bn.
Ava Cement topped Unity Bank’s debtors’ list with N9.8bn, while Malcolm Akpokodje owes the least with N20m.
Access Bank Plc published a list of 11 delinquent debtors, with a combined NPL figure of approximately N3.4bn.
Top on the list are Bioka Ventures Limited, which owes N1.15bn, while Derukas International Limited was last on the list with a debt of N56.3m.
Diamond Bank Plc has N47.17bn as its total NPLs, with companies belonging to prominent Nigerians owing sizeable amounts.
These include Sir Emeka Offor’s Global ScanSystem Limited, which the bank says owes N181m; a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa’s Thriller Eneavours, which owes N122m; and a former Delta State Commissioner for Sports Solomon Ogba’s Delta Mega Trend Limited, which owes N89m.
Aside the 13 banks which have published their debtor lists, other banks which will publish theirs this week are Ecobank Nigeria, First City Monument Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Keystone Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc and Wema Bank Plc.
Investigations by our correspondents on Monday revealed that most of the banks had cut their list of delinquent debtors due to litigation with their customers over disputes arising from loan terms and last-minute renegotiations by some clients.
A top bank executive, who spoke to one of our correspondents under the condition of anonymity, said, “Some of the banks have to remove the list of some clients due to issues that border on litigation.
“Some names were removed at the last minute after the affected customers came to renegotiate with us. Some banks have had to cut the names on their debtors’ list by at least 50 per cent.”
Officials of banks, who spoke to our correspondents, linked the relatively high figure of the NPLs in some banks to inside connivance with customers, lingering margin loans and huge oil and gas-related loans.
According to them, customer relationship managers in some of the banks connived with the customers to obtain huge loans that eventually became bad.
They also said that long-standing margin loans in some banks were responsible for the high figure.
“A huge chunk of the loans are oil and gas related. The drop in oil prices has also worsened the situation for some oil and gas companies. They borrowed relatively large amounts of money, which later became bad loans,” an official of a tier-1 bank told our correspondent.
Meanwhile, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria will publish the list of its debtors early next week if they fail to regularise the terms of their loans with the agency.
The spokesperson for AMCON, Mr. Kayode Lambo, who confirmed this on Monday, said companies which failed to regularise the terms of their loans with the agency would have their names published.
“As many companies who have not been servicing their loans will have their names published,” he added.
The names of firms belonging to prominent Nigerians who have not been servicing their loans may appear on the list.
In 2009, the Federal Government spent about N5tn to buy the NPLs from banks to save them from imminent collapse.
AMCON, the government agency created after the 2009 banking crisis, was the special purpose vehicle used to acquire the NPLs from the banking sector.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had on April 22, 2015 directed the banks, discount houses and AMCON to publish the list of delinquent debtors from August 1.
They are to publish the names in at least three national newspapers on a quarterly basis.
In line with the directive, the banks gave the chronic debtors a three-month grace period, which expired on July 31.
The Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. ‘Tokunbo Martins, had in a circular dated April 22, 2015, said, “In order to ensure that the industry NPL ratio does not exceed the prudential limit of five per cent and to improve the credit culture in the banking industry, banks and discount houses are directed to observe prudent credit underwriting and monitoring standards.”
The debtors are those whose accounts have been classified as lost and include persons, entities, directors, subsidiaries and other related parties, according to the central bank.
The central bank had stated that delinquent debtors in the category described above would be blacklisted and “banned from participating in the Nigerian foreign exchange market and in the Nigerian government securities market.”
Already, Abike Dabiri has reacted, saying she is not owing anyone. I guess other reactions will follow.
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