UBA Reacts To Alleged Involvement In Turkish Coup

The United Bank for Africa Plc on Tuesday denied any involvement in the recent failed coup in Turkey, saying a Turkish newspaper report linking it with the high treason was false and spurious.

A Turkish newspaper, Yenisafak, had alleged that a suspected financier of the coup in Turkey, ex- US commander, General John Campbell, transferred funds used to finance the coup through the Nigerian bank.

It stated that Campbell managed more than $2 billion transactions through UBA in Nigeria, using CIA links to distribute the money among the pro-coup military personnel in Turkey.

But UBA in a two paragraph statement by its Head of Communications, Charles Aigbe, dismissed the allegation saying it was in no way connected with the coup in the European country

It said: “UBA is aware of the on-going spurious media speculation linking our institution to recent events in Turkey. In the light of this, we believe it is necessary to categorically state that UBA has no involvement in or connection to these accusations, which are clearly false.
“We remain focused and firmly committed to delivering on our strategy to build Africa’s premier banking institution.”

The report by Yenisafak had alleged that the Nigerian branch of UBA was the main base for the last six-months of money transactions for the coup plotters.

It stated that millions of dollars were transferred from Nigeria to Turkey by a group of CIA personnel.
The money, which it said had been distributed to an 80-person special team of the CIA, was used to convince pro-coup generals. More than two billion dollars were allegedly distributed during the process leading to the coup.
It said after taking money from their bank accounts, the CIA team hand delivered it to the coup plotters under military dresses.

It also stated that ongoing investigations showed that Campbell had paid at least two secret visits to Turkey since May, until the day of the coup attempt.

SOURCE: nigerianmonitor

Hillary Clinton Makes History As She Becomes First Female Presidential Nominee Of A Major US Party

The Democratic Party has made history by nominating Hillary Clinton to run for US president as the first woman to head a major party’s presidential ticket.

Speaking via video link from New York after her nomination on Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton told the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that she was honoured to have been chosen as the party’s nominee.

“I am so happy. It’s been a great day and night. What an incredible honour that you have given me. And I can’t believe that we’ve just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and everyone who has fought so hard to make this possible,” she said.

“And if there are any little girls out there, who have stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next.”

Delegates erupted in cheers throughout the roll call of states on the floor of the convention earlier in the evening.

“She’s got it. She has the numbers that are needed,” Al Jazeera’s James Bays said from the convention when Clinton passed the 2,383 votes needed to secure the nomination.

“We knew this was going to happen because obviously we knew she was the presumptive nominee and that she had all the votes that she needed from the primaries. But what happened here was a roll call, state by state announcing their votes. How many for Bernie Sanders. How many for Hillary Clinton. And a great deal of drama in the room.”
(Al Jazeera)

Lagos will start generating N30bn monthly by 2017 – Commissioner

The Lagos State Government on Sunday said it will reduce dependence on federal allocation by increasing its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to a monthly target of N30 billion in 2017.

It also said that it would increase the IGR to N50 billion monthly in 2018 and that it targeted a yearly budget of N1 trillion by 2018.

This is contained in a communique issued at the end of a four-day retreat for members of the State Executive Council, Body of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Government Agencies and Parastatals in Badagry.

The communiqué said the retreat had the theme “Reflect, Reappraise, Restrategise: Raising the Bar of Governance’’.

On the budget plan, it said the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, described the target as ambitious, adding that appropriate measures were being adopted to achieve the plan.

“Yes, it is ambitious, it requires thinking and what we are going to do differently is to ensure that we use technology to drive it in terms of automation and collection.

“What we are also going to ensure is that the whole reform around consumption taxes is really taken to another level.

“The land administration system will support this initiative,’’ the communiqué quoted Ashade as saying.

It said that the government had resolved to scale up and run efficient revenue collection machinery through the convergence of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies operations and utilisation of cutting edge technologies.

It also said the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, noted that participants agreed to achieve 100 per cent budget performance with a 58 per cent to 42 per cent ratio for capital and recurrent expenditure.

It added that it was also resolved that efforts should be redoubled at reducing cost and blocking leakages.

“Meanwhile, it was resolved that those MDAs who are not yet integrated into the Treasury Single Account be brought in before the end of third quarter of 2016.

“Participants pledged to ensure timely preparation of the 2017 budget and its passage into law by the end of October 2016.

“This will facilitate the implementation of the budget from Jan. 1, 2017,’’ it quoted Ayorinde as saying.

He communiqué said that participants deliberated on the six pillars of Lagos State Development Plan which included infrastructure development, sustainable environment, finance, economic development, social development and security and governance.

“As a government of inclusion, participants identified the need for partnership with persons and organisations that will create positive value to enhance the quality of life and standard of living of residents,’’ it said.

The communiqué said other conclusions included the need to improve on the performance of Lagos Water Corporation in the production of water and collection of water tariff.

It said that participants resolved to also encourage private sector investment in production and supply of portable water and mapping out strategies toward food security.

On tourism, the communique said that participants acknowledged the imperative and need to invest more in the sector.

It said that they emphasised the need to improve on the technological capacity of the Lottery Board to create jobs and increase revenue generation.

The communiqué said the government also urged individuals and corporate organisations to take ownership of its Tree Planting initiative to mitigate the effect of climate change by nurturing and ensuring survival of trees. (NAN)

SOURCE: dailypostng

Institute, ministry to include sector as subject in school curriculum

The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has revealed plans to partner the Federal Ministry of Education in the teaching of insurance as subject in schools.
The institute has also implored insurance professionals to volunteer as teachers and lecturers, so as to make up for the dearth of insurance teachers and lecturers in the nation’s academic institutions.

President of the CIIN, Lady Isioma Chukwuma, who stated this recently at a press parley in Lagos, added that the institute has aided in the study and teaching of insurance by providing support to institutions across the country through donation of course books, equipping libraries with study materials and equipment.

She noted that the institute’s train-the-trainer programme was designed to upscale insurance education and to ensure that insurance teachers possess the required skills for imparting the necessary knowledge to the future generation of insurance practitioners.

She said the programme was first carried out in Lagos and Ogun states and has since been replicated in other parts of the country, stressing that the institute is presently engaging some states that it had visited to fashion out modalities to host the programme in such states.

Chukwuma noted that the train-the-trainer programme has been well received and many states are enthusiastic about partnering the institute and the college in this regard.

Speaking on the drop in insurance sales, the Deputy President, CIIN, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye, said, “it’s only when you have a lot of money to spend that you remember insurance; even corporate organisations have a lot of issues regarding their bottom line.

“Prices have gone up and you see some of them that are even insuring in the past, comprehensively, have started insuring third party. Even individuals are not renewing at all. You can imagine the negative impact on the bottom line of insurance firms.

“Also talking about aviation and oil and gas, we are aware of how it’s been.

SOURCE: guardianng

Ogun teacher caught sexually abusing pupil

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a private school teacher, Matthew Sodeke, for alleged child abuse in Igbala community in the  Sango Ota area of the state.

Our correspondent learnt that Sodeke, an English Language teacher, was caught sucking the private parts of a male pupil.

The teacher was reportedly caught by a parent who had come to pick his child in the school.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the teacher allegedly sexually assaulted the 16-year-old boy, identified only as Ajala, in one of the offices of the school after closing hours.

On Tuesday, July 12, around 4pm, Sodeke was said to have called the pupil upstairs into one of the offices.

It was learnt that Sodeke allegedly instructed the boy to remove his trousers, after which the teacher allegedly began to suck the boy’s private parts.

A yet-to-be-identified parent, who reportedly came to check her child in the school, was said to have caught the duo and raised the alarm.

The matter was thereafter reported at the Sango Police Division, and Sodeke was arrested.

A parent, identified only as Shokoya, who claimed to be a witness, said the teacher was beaten up by a mob before he was taken to the police station.

Shokoya added that the pupil confessed that his private parts had been sucked by the teacher on several occasions.

She said, “The teacher was caught while molesting the boy after school hours. He could not deny it because he was caught in the act.

“After a parent had raised the alarm, other parents and youths descended on the teacher and beat him to a pulp. He was thereafter handed over to the police at the Sango division.

“The teacher said he was formerly living with his brother, a pastor, who later sent him out when he (the pastor) caught him sucking a neighbour’s private parts.

“When the pupil was also interviewed, he confessed that it was not the first time the teacher would molest him. He said the teacher warned him not to disclose the act to anyone.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that Sodeke, who confessed to the crime, had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further investigation.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident, adding that the suspect had been charged to court.

He said, “It is a case of indecent assault. The English Language teacher, Sodeke, called the victim to one of the offices and asked him to remove his trousers. He then put Ajala’s private parts in his mouth.

“Based on this report, detectives from the Sango division arrested the culprit and brought him to the station for interrogation. He confessed to the crime. The matter was transferred to the SDCI, Abeokuta, as directed by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Abdulmajid Ali.

“The teacher has been charged to court and remanded in prison custody.”

SOURCE: Punchng

Halliburton scandal: Buhari’s wife sues Fayose

Aisha, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, has sued Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, for defamation.
Mrs. Buhari is dragging the governor to court for claiming that she was among those indicted in the Halliburton multi-million dollar scandal.

Recall that the President’s wife had on several occasions denied involvement in the scam and threatened to sue Fayose.

Similarly, a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, stated that Aisha was not one of Nigerians mentioned in the scam.

But Fayose has continued to insist that the President’s wife was involved in the fraud in which Nigeria lost huge sums of money, alleging that the Federal Government’s anti-corruption war was selective and politically-motivated.

Premium Times reported on Wednesday night that Mrs. Buhari had dragged Fayose to court for tarnishing her image.

The online portal added that it had obtained the court summons, dated July 20, 2016, that Aisha filed against the governor.

SOURCE: DailyPostng

Rivers university student expelled for ‘speech and hearing challenges’ returns to school

The student who was expelled by the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, in 2015, for having “speech and hearing challenges” has been allowed to return to school.

Jane Ottah, 28, who dragged the university before a Rivers State High Court for expelling her over claims that she had disabilities, agreed to an out-of-court settlement with the University on Tuesday.

Ms. Ottah had demanded the university to pay her N20 million as damages in addition to providing the necessary support services and facilities to aid her learning. She also asked the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the university or their agents from discriminating against her in any way.

“I won the case, I’m going back to school,” Ms. Ottah informed PREMIUM TIMES in a Whatsapp message minutes after the court’s decision.

Rotimi Oguneso, the lawyer who took up the case after it was reported by PREMIUM TIMES, confirmed that the matter had been settled.

“We filed terms of settlement in court and same was adopted, the court recognized it as a settlement and it’s binding on all parties,” Mr. Oguneso, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said over the phone on Wednesday.

“So the university will take her back, she’s resuming in the next academic session.”

Blessing Didia, the school’s Vice Chancellor, also confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that they had agreed to settle out of court, but insisted that Ms. Ottah “was never dismissed ab initio”.

Benedict Ottah, the student’s father, said they agreed to the University’s plea to settle out of court because he wanted his daughter back in school

“We were in court on the 19th of February, the first sitting, their (university) lawyer pleaded for settling out of court,” Mr. Ottah told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.

“Then, on the 11th of April, Rotimi (Oguneso) and Femi Falana met them, they agreed on that settlement, not on monetary basis but on educational basis that my daughter shoul resume back to school this September.”

While expressing gratitude to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Ottah said the school agreed to assist his daughter settle back in school, as well as carry forward the school fees paid and registrations done in 2014 to September this year.

“She will not be victimized again,” he said.

“The issue is, I didn’t go for monetary compensation, I just forgot about that, let my daughter resume her school.”

PREMIUM TIMES had, in November last year, reported how the University handed a letter of expulsion to Ms. Ottah after it claimed it had observed that she was “medically challenged and have hearing and speech difficulties.”‎

“Since the University does not have special communication facilities, the Vice-Chancellor has directed that you be de-registered on health grounds‎,” the school registrar’s letter to Ms. Ottah read.

“I am in the circumstance, directed to inform you that you have been de-registered on health grounds with immediate effect. You are therefore advised to hand over all University property(ies) in your possession to your Head of Department and thereafter leave the campus.”

The letter was dated 30th January, 2015.

The University’s action was widely condemned by lawyers and human rights activists who described it as “a crude treatment” for a person with disability.

Ms. Ottah, who was in her first year in the Department of Educational Foundation, was writing the semester’s examination when she received the letter.

She was admitted into the university in September 2014.

Before securing admission, Ms. Ottah had passed her West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination with three distinctions and five credits; scored 205 in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam; and passed the university’s post-UME test.

Ms. Ottah described the out-of-court settlement with the university as “not bad”.

“Half bread is better than none.

“My education is very important to me, and I thank Jehovah Ebenezer, the tear wiper has done it for me.”

SOURCE:Premiumtimesng