NDDC: Shehu Sani reacts to Joy Nunieh slapping Buhari’s Minister, Akpabio

Former Kaduna Senator, Shehu Sani has mocked Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta following the revelation that he was slapped by Mrs. Joy Nunieh, a former Managing Director of the Interim Management Committee, IMC, of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

Mrs. Nunieh, during an interview on Monday, had said that she is the first and only woman to have slapped Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

She said this while raising counter accusations against the Minister who had earlier described her as a woman of bad character.

“I am the only woman in Nigeria to have slapped Akpabio,” she said, detailing the incident when Akpabio allegedly wanted to take advantage of her.

“He [Akpabio] wanted me to take a blood oath of secrecy in Abuja,” Nunieh added.

“My meetings with Akpabio were either in Apo or Meridian, those are his meeting points…so I slapped him… I am accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment,” she said.

Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, said it takes a lot of courage on the part of Nunieh to slap a Minister of the Federal Republic.

“Slapping a minister with such sounds as ‘tas’ or ‘tau’ takes a lot of courage,” Sani mocks.

Recall that Akpabio had earlier reacted to corruption allegations made against him by Nunieh, saying the former NDDC MD has character problems.

This was after Nunieh recently made some damning revelations about the Minister and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State on his handling of the Ministry.

Addressing the press after she appeared before the Senate adhoc Committee investigating NDDC, Mrs Nunieh recounted her ordeal at the hands of the Minister before she was removed as the NDDC MD.

Among other claims, Mrs. Nunieh said, “Nobody makes any payment in NDDC without Godswill Akpabio’s approval. When we first came, on the day of the inauguration, he said to me in the car, ‘Madam MD, if you don’t do what I say, the same pen with which I used to sign your paper is the same pen I’ll use to remove you.

Obaseki meets with President Buhari, reveals in virtual meeting

Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki has opened up an a virtual meeting he had with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.

The President and Obaseki had a virtual private meeting where they discussed about several issues related to Edo state. This is the first meeting Obaseki is having with the President since he officially defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Speaking on the meeting, Obaseki disclosed; “My relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari is that of a father and son.”

I was on a zoom meeting with the President, during which we engaged on development issues affecting Edo people and Nigerians. We also discussed measures to manage the spread of #COVID19.”

Pastor resigns from RCCG, in the USA, gives reason [VIDEO]

One of the most prominent pastors of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, in the USA, Pastor Tola Odutola, has resigned from the Church.

Pastor Odutola, who is the senior Pastor of Jesus House Baltimore, cited lack of care from the church in his 30 years of service.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

In a viral video, Pastor Odutola refused to divulge direct details of his reason for his decision, but revealed he had served RCCG for 30 years without receiving anything in return.

Odtuola announced on Sunday his church would run independently, attracting applause from the congregation, before adding he was prepared to face backlash on social media for his decision.

Odutola was the founding Chairman of the Redeemer’s Leadership Institute, RLI, according to the website of Jesus House Baltimore

RLI is “the Leadership arm of the Redeemed Christian Church of God North America (RCCGNA) which provides continuous training for Religious Leaders worldwide.”

Twelve Facebook Leaders from Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya Selected as part of the Facebook Community Accelerator Programme

Awarding up to $3 million, selected community leaders will receive up to $30,000 in funding

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 14, 2020/APO Group/ -- 

As part of its focus in bringing people together and building communities, Facebook (Facebook.com) today announced the 12 African community leaders who have been selected to join Facebook's Community Accelerator (bit.ly/2Wj59Hp), a six-month programme that aims to equip communities with the training, mentorship, and funding they need to grow.

As part of the global Facebook Community Leadership initiative launched in 2018, the Community Accelerator programme invests in leaders who are building communities around the world; including bringing people together, offering encouragement, and driving change. Following the call for applications in March 2020, 77 community leaders from around the world were chosen, with 12 selected from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Awarding up to $3 million, selected community leaders will receive up to $30,000 in funding. In the first three months of the programme, these leaders will learn from experts and coaches, whilst developing customized curriculums focused on growing their own communities. The following

three months will then be focused on iterating and executing their plans, with funding and continued support from their network, as well as from a dedicated programme team. The Community Accelerator will then culminate in an event with community leaders to showcase their communities and progress to external funders and partners. 

Commenting, Kezia Anim-Addo, Head of Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming 12 African community leaders to Facebook’s first Community Accelerator. We’ve seen time and again the power of communities in bringing people closer together and feeling more connected. We know community leaders can do amazing things when they have adequate support from others, tools to get the job done, funding to grow and belief in themselves. The Facebook Community Accelerator will enable these great communities to make an even greater positive impact in the world, and we hope that through the support of the programme these communities will have extraordinary impact, even in extraordinary times.”

Community leaders selected from across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa as part of the Facebook Community Accelerator include: 

• Hauwa Ojeifo, She Writes Woman (Nigeria) (bit.ly/3ft1azJ) - In 2016, Hauwa created "Safe Place Nigeria" to provide a stigma and judgment-free space for young people to talk about mental health related issues. It has become a community for young people to learn, feel connected, get support and feel a sense of belonging
• Bright Shiitemii, Mental360 (Kenya) (bit.ly/2C8czX9) - Mental 360 was started in 2016 to give youth a safe platform to learn about mental health and illness and to access affordable holistic solutions. It is a non-partisan non-discriminatory space where youth can grow their emotional wellness, grow their network and get peer support
• Lauren Dallas, Future Females (South Africa) (bit.ly/3fy2em0) - founded in 2017 with a mission to increase the number of female entrepreneurs and support their success. They have become the go-to destination for aspiring and early stage female entrepreneurs to receive the inspiration, education and support needed to build profitable businesses online
• Tony Onuk, The Root Hub (Nigeria) (bit.ly/3gTri79) - Roothub was started in 2014 to provide a safe space for youths to build their ideas, grow their businesses, and access support
• Esther Mwikalii, Metta NBO (Kenya) (bit.ly/3et39CA) - founded in 2015 as an entrepreneurs’ network with the goal of bringing together founders, policy makers and investors to collaborate 
• Refilwe Nkomo, Visual Arts Network South Africa (South Africa) (bit.ly/2ZpLFmi) - established in 2007 as a support point and development agency for contemporary art practice in South Africa. It aspires to be a dynamic and resilient network-based organisation contributing to growth, innovation and opportunities in the arts
• Eyitayo Ogunmola, Utiva (Nigeria) (bit.ly/308rxnZ) - Utiva is a decentralized ecosystem that helps Nigerians access technology skills and trainings regardless of their location and internet barrier
• Naadiya Moosajee, WomEng (South Africa) (bit.ly/3iUJmj7) - a social enterprise aimed at attracting, developing and nurturing the next generation of women engineering leaders
• Abiodun Adereni, Helpmum (Nigeria) (bit.ly/2CwGjwQ) - started in 2017, HelpMum tackles maternal and infant mortality in remote rural areas in Nigeria, and provides Clean Birth Kits for hygienic delivery to pregnant women, immunization reminders and health information to nursing mothers
• dillion phiri, Creative Nestlings (South Africa) (bit.ly/391o2UA) - Launched in February 2011, dillion s. phiri founded Creative Nestlings to connect young African creatives to each other, to opportunities and to resources, democratizing how young African creatives connect, get paid, learn and grow
• Rufaro Mudimu, Enke (South Africa) (bit.ly/2Olj3Eq) - "enke", meaning 'ink' in SeTswana, started in 2009 to bridge socioeconomic inequality by bringing young people together and equipping them with the skills and experiences to improve their lives. "enke" connects, equips and inspires young people to make their mark, authoring a positive future for themselves and their communities
• Tariro Bure, MINDS (South Africa) (bit.ly/2B0t8DY) - MINDS was founded in 2010 as a platform rooted in cultural heritage and knowledge systems for youth to reclaim their African identities and transform the continent. It has become a movement of youth and crucial stakeholders which aspires to shape policy, foster economic development, and enhance evolution of African institutions

Find out more about the Facebook Community Accelerator program and selected participants at bit.ly/2CAu1TT.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Facebook.

Media Contact:
Idea Engineers
PR agency for Facebook
South Africa
facebook@ideaengineers.co.za

Notes to Editor:
The Facebook Community Leadership Program is a global initiative that invests in people building communities. It now includes:

• 1. The Community Accelerator - focused on helping impactful communities to grow. 
• o  This six month program will provide growth-focused training, hands-on mentorship and funding to communities with demonstrated impact who are ready to reach new people. Up to $3 million in total will be awarded to program participants.
• o  The Community Accelerator is an evolution of our Fellowship program (bit.ly/30atVKO), which supported 115 leaders across the world. Together, their projects impacted over 1.9 million lives through online community support, the use of helpful resources and other activities made possible by the program
• 2. The Community Accelerator is also part of our Facebook Community Leadership Program (FCLP), a global initiative that invests in people building communities. 
• o  In EMEA, FCLP now also includes Learning Labs (bit.ly/3et3wNu), which brings group admins together into a digital classroom for structured learning, and the Community Hub (bit.ly/2AUinmq), where anyone can access product education and learn more about our programs.
• 3. In addition, we know that adding new members and moderating conversation are important parts of being a community leader. That’s why we’ve built new tools to help them manage new member requests and have more visibility and organization around conversations in their groups.

OPEC pegs Nigeria’s crude export earnings at $206bn in 5 years

Nigeria’s crude export earnings in the five year period from 2015 to 2019 came to $206.06 billion, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Monday.

OPEC detailed Nigeria’s half-a-decade oil export revenue performance in its 2020 Annual Statistical Bulletin issued on Monday, noting a 20.8% slump from $54.51 billion in 2018 to $45.11 billion in 2019.

Africa’s biggest oil producer ranked fifth behind the United Arab Emirates ($49.64 billion), Kuwait ($52.43 billion), Iraq ($80.03 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($203.37 billion) in the pecking order of OPEC’s top crude oil earners.

Nigeria’s crude oil proceeds crumbled by from $41.17 billion in 2015 to $27.29 billion in 2016, a 33.7% fall around the time of the global oil crash.

It climbed up a year after, however, soaring by 39.2% to $37.98 billion in 2018.

In 2019, oil exports to Europe cratered down to 680,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.06 million the year before, signalling a negative margin of 35.8%.

Nigeria’s gross exports to North America tumbled by 84% to 27,500bpd that same year just as those to the rest of Africa went 15.77% down to 260,000bpd.

664,900 bpd were exported to Asia and Pacific in 2019 while Middle East took delivery of 122,300 bpd.

OPEC members posted an 18.4 per cent depletion in output between them last year, triggering a revenue earnings fall from $692.3 billion to $564.9 billion.

Brent Crude, the international benchmark for Nigeria’s crude grades, traded at an average price of $64 per barrel in 2019 from $71 in 2018, U.S. Energy Information Agency said.

The global oil market has been at the mercy of a fierce oil crash this year with oil prices touching their historic low in April and setting in motion an unprecedented daily supply cut of 9.7 million barrels in an effort to combat glut.

A two-day meeting of OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee beginning from Tuesday is nevertheless expected to review the decision by slash output to 7.7 million bpd as the market gradually finds recovery.

COVID-19: Nigerian govt gives update on resumption of international flights

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has said the federal government is not in a hurry to announce the resumption of international flights.

Sirika stated this while speaking during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 yesterday.

The Minister made it clear that any decision taken would be in the interest of Nigerians.

He pointed out that several countries have not opened up for international flight operations and that Nigeria has not received clearance to fly to countries who are already receiving foreign visitors.

“Everyone is trying to keep safe. These and many other reasons will make us be cautious and study some more and liaise with stakeholders to decide when we will open international flights.

“Within the sector, we want to reopen because we are bleeding and losing money but we have to remain alive first before we make money. Whatever decision we take has to be in the interest of humanity in general,” Sirika said.

He also added that the World Health Organisation, the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and other aviation stakeholders would be consulted, before any announcement is made.

BREAKING: Security Operatives Seal Magu’s Offices, withdraw Bulletproof Vehicles

Security operatives have reportedly sealed offices belonging to embattled former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.

POLITICS NIGERIA earlier reported that Magu is being investigated by an inter-agency panel set up by the Presidency to look into allegations of corruption and misconduct levelled against him. Top staff and directors of the agency who worked with Magu are also being questioned by the panel.

It was also gathered that two bulletproof official vehicles belonging to the suspended chairman have been recovered. One was recovered in Abuja and the other in Maiduguri, Borno State. The two vehicles have been parked at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Furthermore, Operatives from the Force Criminal Investigation Division (FCID) sealed up Magu’s office located on the tenth floor of the new EFCC office located along Airport Road, Jabi and his other office in Wuse II. His personal staff were prevented from accessing their offices or the floor housing the offices in the two buildings.

Again, 25 Nigerians Arrested For Entering Ghana Through Unapproved Routes

Officials of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region have arrested 25 Nigerians for allegedly entering the country through unapproved routes.

The immigrants, which included 24 males and one female and aged between 19 and 26 years, failed to give any reason for their illegal entry.

Chief Superintendent Shradrach Azangweo, the District Commander of GIS, told the Ghana News Agency that the illegal immigrants had been moved to the Aflao Command to assist in investigations. 

"They have breached our immigration laws and we would send them back to Aflao to assist us in investigations on how they entered the country," he said. 

He said in line with the COVID-19 protocols, the immigrants were screened to determine their COVID-19 status and were likely to be referred to Port Health at Aflao.

He said he expected the 25 immigrants to be repatriated soon.

Mr Azangweo warned all drivers and “Okada” riders to desist from assisting foreigners to enter the country through illegal means to ensure that the reasons for the closure of the borders were achieved.

"We will advise the general public and drivers to support in this fight since the COVID-19 numbers keep increasing; just report any foreigner to the Immigration officers," he said. He warned that anyone who facilitated the entry into the country of a foreigner would be prosecuted.

There was nothing like favouritism, tribalism when I was president —Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that his government was devoid of favouritism and tribalism.

He accepted that his administration made some mistakes but said they were genuine mistakes not based on selfishness.

This was contained in an interview Obasanjo granted to The Point Newspaper, a weekly Nigerian tabloid, which was published on Monday, July 13, 2020.

According to the former leader, anybody who is in leadership should not ‘think only of today’ but should also think of the future and what he would be remembered for.

He said, “When you are in a position of leadership, don’t think only of today, think of tomorrow, because, look, you would be a reference point. How did he perform? How did he do? What did he do? In future, people would refer to it. For one thing, I have no mind for malice. I cannot even think of malice. And when I have a job to do, I sink myself into it.

“People who worked with me, it doesn’t matter where they come from; they remember what we did together.

“There is no question of favouritism, there is no question of, yes, this is my kith and kin. There is no question of this is my personal interest. I never say that we didn’t make mistakes or we are perfect, but whatever mistake we made was a genuine mistake. It wasn’t a mistake we made as a result of selfishness.”

Speaking further he said that “some Yoruba have come to me and said you didn’t do enough for the Yoruba. I said, yes, did I do for Nigeria? They said, you did. I asked, is Yoruba not part of Nigeria? If I did as I could for Nigeria and Yoruba are part of Nigeria, then I have done for the Yoruba as well as I have done for Igbo, Hausa and so on. I think that must guide us.”

He continued, “Yes the question is what is my guiding principle? Nigeria. You know it is true I became the President on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Now I am not a PDP man, I am not an APC (All Progressives Congress) man, even I am not an ADC (African Democratic Congress) man. But if you ask for my party, I will say Nigeria is my party.

“The point you must bear in mind is that this country can be a great country. We have everything to make this country great. And that is what always worries me.

“When you see what we can do, how to do it, and we are not doing it. That is really unfortunate.

“Can we get there? I believe we can. All we need is one generation of consistency in leadership, we will be

there. That is what we need. We need one generation of right leadership consistently.”

Presidential Probe: Why I can’t release/grant bail to Ibrahim Magu – IG of Police

The Nigerian police force has disclosed that the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has no power to release Former acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

This was contained in a statement made by  Force Public relations Officer, Frank Mba, in a recent interview with Sun. Responding to a question on what the police was doing in regards to Magu’s bail request, Mba said;

“It is a probe by Federal Government panel. Therefore, all enquirers concerning the probe or relating to actions incidental to the probe should be directed to the panel that is handling the probe.”

It will be recalled that Magu, through his lawyer, Tosin Ojaomo, had on Friday, July 10, written to the IGP demanding that he be granted bail from police custody where he has been for over one week. The embattled Ex-anti-graft boss is still in detention.

The Force headquarters further disclosed that there was nothing it could do concerning the bail request, especially when the panel was not a police affair even though the IGP is represented on the panel.