Author: Chief Editor

• Alleges poor consultation on AfCFTA, fiscal indiscipline • Nigeria’s renegotiation delaying ratification, says official • Russia seeks more commitment to raise deals above $20b Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lamented that nepotism in Nigeria is obstructing the fight against corruption.In what seemed like reporting the country’s leadership to the world, the elder statesman, before a gathering of investors at the ongoing yearly meeting of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Moscow, accused the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of fiscal indiscipline and bias in the fight against corruption. He described corruption and development as strange bed fellows, warning that…

Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei pleaded guilty at a trial in China on Thursday to accepting $2.1 million in bribes — a remarkable fall from grace for the former vice minister of public security. The Tianjin No.1 Intermediate Court said Meng “showed repentance” during the hearing, which was the culmination of a dramatic case that shook the international police organisation and put a spotlight on China’s opaque judicial system. The verdict will be announced at a “select date or time”, said court in northern China in a statement, without specifying further. Photos released by the Tianjin court showed Meng, who…

Paul Pogba’s Manchester United tenure looks like it has come to an end. It’s been an up-and-down three years for the club and for Pogba himself, and unfortunately for everyone inolved (including the fans), it seems likely to finish on a down note. In Pogba’s first season Manchester United finished in a measly sixth place, but that was quickly forgotten as they achieved Champions League qualification through winning the Europa League. In Pogba’s second season United finished in second place, but in reality, they were worlds away from league winners Manchester City. They finished 19 points behind their cross-town rivals that season. Finally,…

• Lagos suspect tests negative, discharged • Agency says country better prepared than in 2014 • Issues advice on prevention, spread of disease The Federal Government yesterday urged Nigerians to dismiss rumours suggesting a case of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) had been discovered in the country. The scare came as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) battles to contain an outbreak threatening to get out of control while Kenya attempts to douse concerns over a woman with related symptoms. An unnamed female had arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, onboard a Kenya Airways flight on…

•’It’s El-Rufai’s excesses being exposed’ •We will appeal verdict, says state govt • Delivering judgment late is no issue, lawyers argue A Kaduna State High Court has declared as illegal the Religious Regulatory Bill passed by the House of Assembly, saying it infringed the fundamental rights of pastors to propagate Christianity in the state. Specifically, Justice Hajara Gwadah ruled that the plan by the government to issue licences to the pastors of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), using the bill, is a gross violation of their fundamental human rights, which guarantees the freedom of association and freedom of religion. The…

I do not know if those in positions of authority have taken a closer look on the above subject matter with a view to honestly finding out why the situation persists. The situation persists because the root cause of the problem has not been addressed. The truth of the matter is that every track truck on the road (except faulty ones) has a destination and therefore has a purpose. The question to be addressed is this: Why does it take a truck from point “A’  or ‘B’ in Lagos,  or from anywhere three weeks to one month to access either…

Jide Ojo “We are guilty of many errors and many faults but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the things we need could wait — the child cannot” —Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist, Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, known by her pseudonym, Gabriela Mistral. June 16 every year has been observed as the International Day of the African Child since 1991 as prescribed by the Organisation of African Unity now known as African Union.  The day aims at raising awareness about the condition of African children and how there is an urgent need to…

In a country that nearly always believes bigger is better — think supersize fries, giant cars and 10-gallon hats — more and more Americans are downsizing their living quarters. Welcome to the world of tiny homes, most of them less than 400 square feet (less than 40 square meters), which savvy buyers are snapping up for their minimalist appeal and much smaller carbon footprints. The tiny homes revolution, which includes those on foundations and those on wheels, began a few decades ago, but the financial crisis of 2008 and the coming-of-age of millennials gave it a new impetus. The proliferation…

Eze Onyekpere The idea of exploring and exploiting the full value chain of agricultural products sounds very appealing. It is most appealing considering that these are what we produce in large quantities and most times, allow the produce to rot in post-harvest losses. This impoverishes the farmer and rural dwellers, who spend most of their time producing crops and animals that do not realise their market potential, due to no fault of theirs.  It is further appealing because we are not discussing a concept that will make a few very well-positioned Nigerians rich, but a bottom-up approach which will improve the…

Henry Boyo The report in the Tuesday,  June 11th edition of the Daily Independent Newspaper, entitled, “Free-floating the naira is disobeying the law — CBN”, made an interesting reading. In the report, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, engaged stakeholders at an interactive session in Lagos on why he had rebuffed the incessant calls by some “experts” to deregulate and float the naira exchange rate, as a product of  the actual market dynamics of demand and supply. Notably, the proponents of deregulation argue that price controls create serious distortions in the supply chain and also claim that rather than the…