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Friday, 17 November 2023 05:56

First Miss Nigeria celebrates 93rd birthday

The first Miss Nigeria beauty pageant winner, Grace Oyelude, was honored on her 93rd birthday, as announced by the Miss Nigeria Organisation in an Instagram post on Thursday, November 16th.

The caption read, “We are immensely delighted to celebrate the evergreen beauty and brave leader, Chief Grace Atinuke Oyelude, on her 93rd birthday.


“Her courage, resolve, and great strength of character are excellent qualities that have endeared her to us and many others.

“Happy birthday, once again, to the first Miss Nigeria, Chief Grace Atinuke Oyelude.

“Thank you for paving the way and setting the standards that all Miss Nigeria Queens walkthrough, as well as your priceless contributions towards women’s empowerment.”

Friday, 17 November 2023 05:50

Telecom Operators May Increase Tariff

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), yesterday said that the current tariff regime in the telecom sector is not sustainable.

The Chairman of ALTON, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed this in Lagos, during a stakeholders’ meeting with the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida.

He said price review should be considered in line with the rising operating cost, adding that operators are burdened by 52 taxes across the country.

“Our current pricing regime is no longer sustainable. That is the fact, with the way things are going, I am not sure we can sustain this sector with the current pricing regime,” he said.


He also urged the EVC to intervene in the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debts owed them by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), which he noted has now hit N200 billion. He noted that the total debt must be paid, stressing that the association would not hesitate blocking debtor banks from accessing the service.

While assuring the NCC EVC of the support of stakeholders in the sector, he said it is important to put a timeline on resolutions reached at the meeting.


On his part, the President of Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr Anthony Emoekpere, said there is a need to bridge the telecom infrastructure in the country as part of measures to improve the quality of service.

The NCC boss while assuring the stakeholders of his support and commitment to the growth of the sector, said his action would be guided by the Renewed Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and the policy guidelines enumerated by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani.


Noting that the government sees the telecom sector as critical to the economy, he urged the operators to improve the quality of their services as well as boost job creation in the country.

Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday confirmed the nomination of Dr. Aminu Maida as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Communication, which screened the nominee.

The Committee Chairman, Senator Aliyu Ikra Bilbis (Zamfara Central), while presenting the report during plenary Thursday, said Maida’s nomination was in accordance with section 8 (1) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Act, 2003.

He said that during the screening, the committee found that Maida passed security clearance as well as possessed the requisite qualifications, professional experience, competence and capacity to occupy the office.


Dr. Maida had, prior to his appointment by President Bola Tinubu as the new Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, served as the Executive Director, Technology & Operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).

There is no respite yet for the nation’s currency as the naira recorded the biggest fall in recent times exchanging for N1,105 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved official market.

The currency depreciated by over N200 within hours after it opened earlier in the day at N830. However, the fall would not last as the currency bounced back, closing at 841.14 yesterday.

According to Reuters, the sharp depreciation of the currency yesterday brought “The official exchange rate within touching distance of the parallel market rate.”

At the parallel market, Daily Trust reports that dollars opened at N1,135 and closed at N1,150 to N1,200.


One of the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators at a popular market in Lagos, Alhaji Hassan Sabo said, “Today we are buying at N1,100 and selling at N1,150.”

Asked on the prospect of the rate dropping, he said, “It cannot come down like that because the dollar is not available, some are not even selling at the rates I just gave you. It might even go up tomorrow.”


A capital market analyst, Samuel Showunmi said the government should return to multiple exchange rates to push the dollars into the market through the BDC.


“What we are seeing now with the banks is currency racketeering within the banking sector as well,” he said.

Friday, 17 November 2023 05:15

Multichoice loses $72m on naira devaluation

MultiChoice, Africa’s leading pay-TV provider, reported a third consecutive semi-annual loss, attributing its financial challenges to foreign exchange difficulties in Nigeria and persistent power outages in South Africa.

In a filing on Wednesday, Africa’s largest pay-tv company disclosed a net loss of 1.32 billion rand ($72.4m) for the six months ending September 30.

The loss was linked to the Nigerian naira’s weak performance against the US dollar; following a 40 per cent devaluation after Nigeria allowed the naira to trade more freely in mid-June.

The firm said it was influenced by inflationary pressures in key markets like Nigeria and typical trends following a FIFA World Cup or Northern Hemisphere football off-season.

“A total of 0.1m subscribers were added to end the period at 13.0m 90-day active subscribers. The active subscriber base was broadly stable at 8.9 million subscribers and subscription revenues grew 14 per cent organically.

“Revenue of ZAR10.5bn was flat (+13 per cent organic) with a weaker ZAR against the USD on conversion, offsetting the impact of weaker local currencies relative to the USD.

“The RoA (return on assets) segment delivered a trading profit of ZAR330m (+ZAR2.2bn YoY on an organic basis) which was underpinned by specific cost interventions around decoder subsidies and content costs.”


According to the firm, weaker currencies remained a significant impediment to improvements in profitability, with average first-half exchanges falling sharply against the dollar.

“The sharp fall of the naira resulted in a large proportion of the previously recognised losses incurred on cash remittances now being recorded in trading profit.

“The net effect of these forex movements was a negative ZAR1.6bn impact on the segment’s trading profit for the period,” it stated.

The Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force are contemplating the extension of the police retirement age to either 65 years or 40 years in the service.

The move, it was gathered, followed the retirement of several competent police officers which had affected the effectiveness of the force.

The recommendations were among the several others presented by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase, to the Inspector-General of Police, Kehinde Egbetokun, as part of plans to reform and professionalise the police force as contained in the Nigeria Police Force Scheme of Service.

Among other policies being considered under the NPF Scheme of Service is a proposal to ease out junior officers at the inspectorate cadre unless there is a conversion based on additional academic qualifications.


However, if the policy was approved, the affected policemen would not be promoted beyond the rank of Chief Superintendent.

The recommendations for inclusion in the NPF service scheme read, “Rank and file should terminate at the inspectorate cadre unless is a conversion based on additional qualification but should not rise beyond the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police.

“Non-graduates should not be promoted to the SPO cadre. The scheme of service should cover traffic warden personnel as a specialised arm of the force.


“Abolish the concept of general duty or limit it to a specific number of years after initial entry to allow new intakes to develop skills, gain competencies and acquire relevant experience to progress into specialised areas.

‘’Length of service in the NPF should be extended to either 40 years or 65 years of age, whichever comes first.’’

When asked about the proposal to ease out junior officers who failed to provide additional qualifications, the force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, simply said, ‘’A recommendation is not a policy.’’

Explaining the decision to extend the service tenure to 65 years for policemen, the spokesman for the Police Service Commission, Ikechukwu Ani, said the commission’s chairman, Arase, believed that the early retirement of seasoned police officers had robbed the NPF of what he called institutional memory.

He stated, “The chairman of the commission is saying that when you retire them too early, they go away with their institutional memory and this affects the force. They have done it (extension of service years) for the judges, and he is saying it should be extended to the police.

“At the last retreat for retired IGs, it was part of their communiqué. When they leave below 60, some of them are still young and they can still be useful to the police and the nation. When you extend their tenure, they are still in a position to contribute to the nation.’’

On the plan to peg the exit rank for junior officers who had no additional qualifications to CSP, Ani stated that the personnel had been directed to present their certificates.


‘’What I know is that they asked those with additional qualifications to submit their certificates. The policy behind it is that they can move up to fill certain positions.

“There are some policemen that read law and they are corporals and they go to court to represent the police and the NBA (Nigerian Bar Association) said it is wrong. The chairman said there is a need for them to be in short service and upgraded so they have self-confidence in the job they do,’’ the PSC spokesman disclosed.

Meanwhile, the police reform plans have received the endorsement of retired IGs.

The Committee of Retired Inspectors-General of Police in a communique issued at the end of their retreat in Ibadan in August advocated 65 years as retirement age and 40 years as tenure of service for police personnel.

The retreat had the theme, ‘Intervention of former IGs for strategic contribution to effective policing in Nigeria.’

The retreat allowed the ex-police heads to brainstorm about repositioning the NPF for greater impact, relevance, and strategic intervention within the country’s competitive security landscape.

According to the communiqué, there is a need for a re-evaluation of retirement age and tenure of service.


“This should be by extending the retirement age from 60 to 65 years and tenure of service from 35 to 40 years, whichever comes first,” it said.

The committee also recommended that divisional police headquarters across the country, which they observed were usually understaffed and under-equipped, should be adequately staffed.

“They should be provided with appropriate law enforcement equipment to enable them to discharge their statutory duties effectively,’’ it said.

The committee said recruitment into the Nigeria Police should be institutionalized and captured in the annual budget proposals of the NPF to put a halt to intermittent requests for approval.

It also asked the police management to re-evaluate the large number of police personnel usually attached to VIPS and politicians to allow for wider coverage of the personnel in its core area of policing.

The committee advised the NPF to build the capacity of its personnel by promoting digital literacy initiatives to enhance professionalism, noting that promotions should be based on examinations, merit, competence, and a deep understanding of the evolving challenges.

The former IGs encouraged the NPF management to leverage the experience of retired officers and harness their potential in the efforts to combat security challenges.

They said, “In the immediate, graduates, professionals, and technicians should be recruited to replace the number of personnel wastages in the system. The efforts of the IG should be applauded for gravitating towards actual personnel increase during staff recruitment rather than the usual personnel replacement.

‘’The Federal Government should give the NPF funding priority in the face of competing demands. Government at all levels should prioritize consultation with the Committee as a strategic partner in both intelligence sharing and policy reforms.

“Government at all levels should prioritize the employment of technology in policing to complement other policing assets of the Nigeria Police. The government is advised to come up with a policy as a condition precedent for all building approvals to have CCTV installed, as part of community safety measures in the country.’’

The participants also called on the Federal Government to implement the White Paper on the Police Reform Reports (Danmadami and M.D Yusuf Reports) for optimal performance of the Nigeria Police.

Relying on extant provisions of the Constitution and Establishment Act, the ex-IGs said the NPF should be restored to be effectively in charge of internal security management to avoid needless usurpation of her statutory functions.

The communiqué further stated, ‘’Police Mobile Force should be restored to its original status where it has its budget with the IGP as the Accounting Officer for efficient service delivery.

“The NPF should, as a matter of urgency, conduct a personnel audit of the PMF to restore it to its original concept.


“It was observed that the Divisional Police Headquarters across the country are usually under-staffed and under-equipped. It is therefore recommended that they should be adequately staffed and provided with appropriate law enforcement equipment to enable them to discharge their statutory duties effectively.’’

Also, given the shortfall in manpower of the Nigerian police, the CRIG stressed the urgent need to upgrade junior police officers with higher educational qualifications to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police to reflect the persona and carriage of their qualifications.

Noting the level of sophistication with which modern crimes were perpetrated, it urged the Federal Government to support the NPF in her quest to continually upgrade assets in logistics and intelligence-sharing technology with her strategic partners.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will clash in a “historic” fight for the undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia on February 17, it has been announced.

British star Fury will put his WBC belt, Lineal heavyweight belts on the line, while the WBA, IBF and WBO titles held by Ukraine’s Usyk will be up for grabs in Riyadh.

 

The winner will be crowned the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis who reigned from 1999 to 2000.

 

Fury, 35, and Usyk, 36, were originally expected to clash on December 23 but Fury’s poor displayed in a split-decision victory over MMA star Francis Ngannou last month forced a delay.

 

The pair will finally step into the ring in 2024 as Fury looks to add to his record of 34 wins with one draw since turning professional in 2008.


“This is a historic event. The whole world of boxing has been waiting for many, many years, and they now have this fight,” Fury’s promoter Frank Warren told reporters at a press conference in London on Thursday.

 

“For the first time this century, we will have an undisputed heavyweight champion.

 

“As a promoter I’ve been banging my head against the wall. But now we have the creme de la creme. These two undefeated heavyweight fighters.”


In typically combative mood at the press conference, Fury referenced his 2015 victory over Usyk’s fellow Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko, which earned him the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.


“I already relieved one Ukrainian of all the belts, and now I’m going to take them all back,” Fury said.

 

“Usyk’s a champion, I’m a champion. It’s going to be a fight for the ages.”


Fury believes a victory over Usyk would cement his status as one of the all-time greats.


“He’s a good boxer, slick. But I’ve seen people like him before, and when they fight the big man, they lose,” he said.


“I believe we’re both destined to be here. I’m destined to become the undisputed champion, and more than that, cement my legacy.”

 

Usyk kept his cool amid Fury’s insults, which included taking swipes at his opponent’s height and his ear-ring.

“Yes I’m a little man. I’ll speak in the ring,” Usyk said.

 

Fury has held the WBC belt since he defeated Deontay Wilder in 2020 and has defended the title three times.

 

He stopped Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April 2022 and beat Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium eight months later.


Usyk, who has won all 21 of his fights, has been the WBA, IBF and WBO title holder since defeating Anthony Joshua in 2021.

Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested four suspected armed robbers and cultists in Aniocha South and Ika South Local Government Areas of the state.


Spokesperson of the command, DSP Bright Edafe, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, November 16, 2023, said three locally-made cut to size guns, one AK-47 magazine, five rounds of ammunition and substances suspected to be Indian hemp were recovered from the suspects.

“On 12/11/2023 at about 0500hrs, operatives of Agbor Area Command while acting on credible intelligence, stormed Kelubia Street Agbor-Obi where they apprehended four suspects: Ogbolu Peter ‘m’, Justice Nmor ‘m’, Precious Odilu ‘m’, Queen Mba ‘f’, all of Agbor Community, and aged 35, 28, 26, and 27 years respectively,” the statement read.

"Preliminary investigation led to the search of their premises during which two (2) locally made cut-to-size guns, one AK-47 magazine loaded with five (5) rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, three (3) rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition, two (2) live cartridges, two (2) Vikings secret cult berets, and ten (10) wraps of weed suspected to be Indian Hemp were recovered.

“The suspects and exhibits are in custody, and investigation has commenced as efforts are being made to arrest other members of the criminal gang.”

In another development, members of Crack Squad received information about a cult activity at Ogwashi-Uku, Ubulu-Uku Road.


Upon arrival, the members of Crack Squad cordoned off the premises and arrested one Chigozie John 'm' aged 36 years, and recovered one locally made cut-to-size gun with one live cartridge.


The suspect admitted being a member of Aro Bagger Confraternity. Meanwhile, further investigation is in process, as efforts are being made to arrest other cult members operating within the state.


Reacting to the arrest, CP Wale Abass hailed the successes achieved as well as the tenacity of the operatives in the execution of their duties.


He further called on the assistance of the public in the speedy eradication of firearms and ammunition, stating that the opportunity given by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun Ph.D., NPM for persons in possession of firearms to return to the nearest police station is still open, noting that criminal activities will not be tolerated in the state.


The police boss issued a warning to residents, particularly the youths in the State to shun cultism and other related vices, stating that the Command will not relent in identifying, arresting, and bringing them to justice.

Churchgoers are claiming they witnessed a miracle after a small statue of the Virgin Mary appeared to shed tears in a church.

The “crying” figure in El Chanal, Mexico, has attracted believers and sceptics, with hundreds reportedly visiting the church to witness the weeping Virgin.

Videos on social media show water droplets seemingly coming out of the statue's eyes and running down its face.

Local resident Victor Ramos said: "Similarly, when we cry, and our eyes become red, the same happens to the image. So a couple of tears started flowing. This is the event, the phenomenon that is happening here in the church."

Many associate the tears with the prevailing insecurity in the state of Colima, currently immersed in a wave of violence.

Victor added: "We can associate it with... the violence rates that are being experienced here in the state of Colima, also here in the community."

Real life ?miracle? witnessed as statue of Virgin Mary is filmed ?crying? with eyes turning ?red?

As of October this year, 702 confirmed intentional homicides had been recorded by the Colima Prosecutor's Office.

Visitor Maria Mercedes Hernandez said: "Peace, may she give us peace in Colima and throughout the world, that we may return to the Colima of before."

Sceptics have said there could be a scientific reason behind the crying statue.

Professor Luigi Garlaschelli pointed out that certain statues can soak up water due to the porous materials they're made from.

Garlaschelli explained: "You need a hollow statue made of plaster or ceramic, which must be covered on the outside with a waterproof layer.

"By filling the statue with water through an imperceptible hole at the top, the porous material will absorb it, but the outer layer will prevent it from coming out.

“However, if a slight scratch is made in the protective glaze in the tear duct area, the absorbed water will come out through it as if it were tears.”

Malawi's President, Lazarus Chakwera has suspended with immediate effect all international travel for himself and his government in a bid to save money.

The president disclosed this during a televised address on Thursday, November 16.

The measure follows a huge devaluation of the currency as Malawi secures a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost its ailing economy.

Mr Chakwera has also ordered all ministers currently abroad to return home.

Fuel allowances for senior government officials have been cut by 50%.

Malawi's economy has been undergoing turbulent times, characterised by an acute shortage of petrol and diesel, as well as high inflation.

Mr Chakwera said the measures would remain in place until the end of the financial year in March 2024.

As part of moves to ease the cost-of-living crisis, the president has asked the finance minister to make provisions for a reasonable wage increase for all civil servants in the next budget review.

He has also ordered a lowering of income tax on individuals in the upcoming budget, to help workers whose incomes have lost value.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja today November 16 declared as inconclusive the Zamfara state governorship election that was held on March 18.

In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel led by Justice Oyebisi Folayemi nullified the return of Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the governorship poll.

Justice Sybil Nwaka who read the lead judgement, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in three Local Government Areas of the state, where elections had not been held previously or where results from various polling units were not counted.

The affected LGAs are Maradun, Birnin-Magaji and Bukyun.

The court held that it was wrong for INEC to rely on information it obtained from its INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, to collate the final result of the governorship election. The judgement followed an appeal that was brought before the court by the immediate past governor of the state, Bello Matawalle, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election. Matawalle is currently the Minister of State for Defence.