Author: premier radio premier radio

e-Commerce

New Delhi, Dec. 28,2018 (Reuters/NAN) India’s new curbs on e-commerce companies may not be enough to win over small store owners and traders in next year’s general election, with the key voting bloc still seething over what it sees as broken promises by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

From Feb. 1, e-commerce firms, such as Amazon.com and Walmart-owned Flipkart Group, will not be able to sell products from companies in which they have an equity interest or form exclusive agreements with sellers.

Intended to prevent predatory pricing and deep discounting, the curbs follow intense lobbying by India’s many millions of small shopkeepers and the middlemen who serve them, particularly after Walmart this year spent $16 billion to acquire Flipkart.

The sector, which includes an estimated 25 million small store owners, largely supported Modi in the 2014 general election.

While seeing the new rules as a step in the right direction, many small businesses feel too much damage has been done after Modi went back on promises that he would not allow the entry of foreign companies into the domestic retail sector.

“We clapped and voted for Modi, believing in his promises.

“But what have we got is just a slap on our face,’’ said Pankaj Revri, president of a furniture market association in central Delhi.

The curbs, announced on Wednesday, surprised foreign e-commerce firms as little had been done by the government despite over three years of lobbying by domestic retailers.

Modi’s Hindu nationalist, Bharatiya Janata Party, is widely viewed as panicking after losing five state elections this month.

The government, which must hold a general election by May, is also expected to come up with new support programmes for farmers as their opposition grows due to low crop prices.

An opinion poll by TV channel ABP News this week predicted Modi’s party could fall short of a majority if the opposition forms an effective alliance in the national election.

B.C. Bhartia, President of the Confederation of All India Traders, said some small businesses had seen earnings more than halve in the last few years as they struggle to compete with low prices offered by the American-controlled behemoths.

“The last-minute policy change is too little and too late,’’ he said.

In particular, retailers and traders believe Modi turned a blind eye to what they say was the use of policy loopholes by major e-commerce companies to offer heavy discounts that allowed them to seize market share for goods such as electronic items.

Asked about those accusations, Amazon India said in a statement that it had always operated “in compliance with the laws of the land’’ and that had more than 400,000 small and medium businesses on its marketplace.

Flipkart declined to comment on the specific allegations.

Small Indian businesses have also been bruised by other Modi policies, including a sudden ban on the use of high-value currency notes in late 2016 and the launch of a national sales tax in 2017, both of which raised compliance costs.

Bhartia said if the government was serious about the concerns of small traders, it should prosecute violators of trade rules and appoint an independent regulator to curb malpractice.

A government official told reporters on Thursday the administration could consider demands for a regulator in its new e-commerce policy, expected to be released in the coming months.

A September report by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated online commerce in India would grow 25 per cent a year for the next five years, hitting $100 billion a year by 2022.

The new curbs could harm those growth prospects and discourage some foreign investors, said investment consultants.

“Sentiment is definitely hurt,’’ said Harminder Sahni of retail consultant Wazir Advisors, adding that the policy suggested online retail business should only be done by Indians.

Amazon said in its statement it was evaluating the new guidelines to engage as necessary with the government so it could remain true to its vision of “transforming how India buys and sells and generating significant direct and indirect employment’’.

Flipkart said the advent of e-commerce had created hundreds of thousands of jobs and “the industry was set to be a major growth driver for the Indian economy and create millions of jobs in the future’’.

“It is important that a broad market-driven framework through the right consultative process be put in place in order to drive the industry forward,’’ it added.

The government boasts of attracting nearly $223 billion foreign investment in the last four years, compared with about $152 billion in the previous four years. (Reuters/NAN)

AIB

=====

Syrian army enters Manbij after Kurdish calls to deter Turkey

Army

Beirut, Dec. 28, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The Syrian army said it entered Manbij on Friday for the first time in years after the Kurdish YPG militia urged Damascus to protect the town from the threat of Turkish attacks.

It was unclear whether the government forces had spread out in the town, where U.S. forces operate and have a military base.

With the YPG at its forefront, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) seized Manbij in 2016 from Islamic State, a milestone in the U.S.-backed battle against the jihadists.

The Manbij Military Council, fighters allied to the SDF, hold the town in northern Syria, which lies on a front with Turkey-backed rebels.

Ankara deems the Kurdish YPG fighters a threat and has vowed to crush them.

The Syrian army said in its statement on Friday that its troops had raised the national flag in Manbij and would guarantee security “for all Syrian citizens and others present in the area’’.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the troops had deployed only along the edges of Manbij, standing between the town and Turkey’s rebel allies.

President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to pull out some 2,000 U.S. troops, whose presence has deterred Turkey, has alarmed the SDF, which controls much of northern and eastern Syria.

The YPG says its fighters previously withdrew from Manbij to fight Islamic State jihadists in eastern Syria.

“So we invite the Syrian government, which we belong to, to send its armed forces to take over these positions and protect Manbij in the face of Turkish threats,’’ it said on Friday. (Reuters/NAN)

AIB

=====

Dollar

London/New York, Dec. 28, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) After an unexpected rally that carried the dollar to 18-month peaks and saw it end 2018 as investors’ top trade, the currency faces challenges in the coming year.

They include an expensive valuation, a flagging equity boom, waning cash repatriation by U.S. companies and the possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates as many times as signalled.

Hence the prediction in a Reuters poll this month that the dollar will end 2019 around five per cent below current levels.

That flies in the face of the current trend, with futures showing dollar positioning near historical highs.

Furthermore, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly investor survey shows the greenback regaining the “most crowded trade” crown from the FAANG tech stocks group.

But the wheels have come off that investor bandwagon in recent years, as big bets have misfired on Bitcoin, tech and…the dollar, which markets had heavily bet against in late 2017.

“From a positioning perspective, the scope for the dollar to rally significantly is not there unless you see growth in the rest of the world really weakening and the United States continuing to be strong,’’ said Eugene Philalithis, Portfolio Manager at Fidelity International.

On the economic front, jobs and housing data suggest a decade-long U.S. recovery is losing traction and a flattening bond yield curve is flashing the classic recession warning.

While the Fed raised interest rates in December and signalled it would stay the course on policy tightening, money markets reckon otherwise.

Then there is valuation.

Even before the dollar rally began in April, it was overvalued compared to historical averages against the currencies of trade partners and adjusted for inflation (REER).

Now it is 12 per cent more expensive than its 10-year average on that basis.

Other currencies, including the British pound and some emerging heavyweights, look significantly undervalued – the Turkish lira and Brazilian real by around 20 per cent.

But if odds are stacked against the dollar, why have investors rushed to embrace it as 2018 ends?

The Dollar Smile theory, put forward by former Morgan Stanley strategist, Stephen Jen, offers an explanation.

It says the dollar strengthens as risk aversion grows – as is happening now – because investors rush for safe, liquid assets.

It would then weaken as growth flags – the bottom of the smile – before rising again as the economy recovers.

Indeed Jen, now CIO at hedge fund Eurizon SLJ, considers cash dollars the best investment going into 2019.

But clouds are gathering over the broader economy too.

This month’s BAML poll showed investors at their most pessimistic on global growth since the 2008 financial crisis. (Reuters/NAN)

AIB

====

Schools
By Josephine Obute
Lagos, Dec. 27, 2018 (NAN) Mrs Patricia Nwabuwa,  a retired immediate Education Director in Lagos State, has advocated for decongestion of schools in the State by building more public schools.

Nwabuwa made the call in an interview with told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of her retirement, also known as “Pens-Down’’ and thanksgiving held in her honour at Ijegun, a suburb of Lagos State.

The former President of Rotary Club International, Nigeria said more schools should be built to decongest the already existing ones.

“In terms of the location, there are some areas in the state without schools at all and children should go to schools nearest to them.

“Because of this lack of schools in proximity, students trek very long distances to get to their schools,’’ the retired director said.

She said that more parents were embracing government schools because they wanted their children to enjoy the free education offered by the State.

Nwabuwa described Lagos as a State that allows level playing ground for all stakeholders without any form of discrimination in students’ admission or recruitment of staff.

“The State is an everyman’s land because it ensures everyone has an equal chance in terms of admission of students into schools and recruitment of staff.’’

She commended the state government for prompt payment of workers’ salaries.

She described her experience as a teacher as great and worthwhile working with the State, adding that it was also quite stressful as a principal and an accounting officer to the school.

Nwabuwa listed some challenges that confronted her while serving as a school principal to include having to manage a very high population of children that outnumbered the staff.

“A major challenge in our schools is the overpopulation of students in classes, yet the principals must manage,’’ she told NAN.

She recently retired as the Principal of Sasa Community Senior High School, Egbeda, after serving in several schools in the state for 35 years. (NAN)
JNEO/AIB/GY
===========

Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Grace Yussuf

Ojude-Oba

By Iyiola Pedro & Vezi Isike

Ijebu-Ode (Ogun), Aug. 24, 2018 (NAN) Senate President Bukola Saraki, Senators Dino Melaye and Ben-Murray Bruce were among dignitaries, indigenes and tourists that braced the early morning rains to grace the annual Ojude-Oba festival in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2018 edition, celebrated on the third day after the Muslims’ Eid-Ul-Kabir festival, was held at the Oba Sikiru Adetona Golden Jubilee Centre, on Thursday.

The 100-year-old festival brings together sons and daughters of Ijebuland for an elaborate display of culture and heritage in honour of the town’s monarch.

Although originally, a small gathering of adherents of the Islamic religion every 3rd day after the Muslim festival, the Ojude Oba has transcended religious lines.

Prince Adekunle Babatunde, the General Secretary of the ‘Egbe Obabuwaji Okunrin of Ijebuland’ (the Club of men born between 1950 and 1952) told the NAN that the festival has been in existence for over 100 years.

“Ojude Oba, celebrated every third day after Ileya, is meant to pay homage to the Awujale by the indigenes, the Baloguns, the Regberegbes and the horse riders.

“To the people of Ijebuland, Ojude Oba is a cultural Day that attracts eminent sons and daughters of Ijebuland as well as people from foreign countries,’’ Babatunde told NAN.

Also, Aremo Adewale Abdul, the Giwa (Head) Jagunmolu Fehintade Akile Ijebuland age-group (1965-67) said the names of various age-group (Regberegbe) were coined out of events that are happening in Ijebuland.

“The Regberegbe thing has been a yearly festival that most of us look up to in the last couple of years.

“Our own Egbe, Fehintade, will be about 19 years now that we’ve been in existence, so we’re looking forward to doing our 20^th anniversary.

“The various age groups’ names are coined out of events that are happening in Ijebuland.

“For example, the Bobagunte age-group; that was the year the Awujale became the Oba in 1960.

“Our own Fehintade age-group was coined out of our Iyalode, who happened to be Yeye Fehintade at Okun Owa,’’ Abdul told NAN.

The event attracts people of all faiths and tourists, who come to witness the festival celebrated amidst pomp and pageantry.

Other side attractions are the mock wars and horse display by various warlord families, who dress their horses and exhibit their horse-riding skill to the admiration of spectators.

During the dance competition, different age-groups, known as Regberegbe, display their dancing prowess.

The best-dressed Regberegbe and horse-riding family are rewarded with cash prizes. (NAN)

VOI/IYI/AIB

===========

Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde

Deal

Brussels, Aug. 24, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Ten European Union states meeting over their latest migration tussle in Brussels on Friday agreed to no solution for disembarking Mediterranean migrants stranded in an Italian port, diplomats said.

Italy threatened earlier on Friday to stop transferring funds to the EU unless its peers in the bloc agree to take in people from the Diciotti boat.

“Italy was pressing to come up with a solution for Diciotti,” one diplomat said.

“But it was not the most important element for the others, they wanted to talk more about structural solutions for the Mediterranean ships.

“So there has not been a deal on Diciotti.” (Reuters/NAN)

AIB

Table tennis

By Ifeanyichukwu Chisom

Lagos, Aug. 11, 2018 (NAN) The Media Officer of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Mr Olalekan Okusan, said on Saturday that the ongoing Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open was helping to build a mutual relationship between participating countries.

Okusanya made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the 5^th edition of the ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open in Lagos.

“Sport knows no colour, it does not know tribe and everybody is a friend in sports,’’ the media officer said.

NAN reports that this year’s edition of the Challenge kicked off on Tuesday, Aug. 8 and will end on Sunday, Aug. 12.

According to him, the Challenge, which started in 2013, has its highest attendance in this year’s edition.

“This competition started with 12 countries in its maiden edition, but this year we have about 27 countries, with a total of 169 players, comprising 101 male and 68 females.’’

NAN reports that there are six categories in the 2018 edition, which include the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, the U-21 singles male and the U-21 singles female.

The ITTF Challenge Open is recorded as the second biggest challenge series in terms of prize money.

A total of $46,000 dollars in prizes, which is equivalent to over N16.75 million,  are to be won by players at the end of the championships. (NAN)
CS/AIB/PIO
=========
(Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Idonije Obakhedo)

Fashion

By Abdulfatah Babatunde

Lagos, July 29, 2018 (NAN) The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, says the Federal Government is committed to the diversification of the economy to improve revenue and save foreign exchange.

Abubakar made the remarks at the unveiling of Adire (tying & dying) fabrics by a fashion designer, Mrs Yejide Laguda, in Lagos.

Laguda is the daughter of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

Cue in (AISHA ABUBAKAR)

“For a very long time, we’ve been looking for ways to make our fabrics for everyone, not just for a particular group.

“You’ve also done well for linking the brand to our heroines who have actually done great things in the past.

“I think, whenever we wear her clothes, we want to be a part of those women and I want to congratulate Yeside on today’s event. I wish more of such efforts and we are ready to support you any day any time.’’

Cue out (AISHA ABUBAKAR)

The minister, therefore, called on Nigerians to patronise local fabrics not only for their aesthetic value but also for the need to grow the economy.

She commended Laguda for the initiative, saying her creative spirit aligned with government’s calls to promote Nigerian products

Abubakar said she was personally motivated by Yeside’s designs, describing it as “the diversification thing that really gets me and I am so excited.

Also speaking, the Deputy Governor of Ogun, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga, said she was particularly moved that Laguda was showcasing Adire which her state is known for.

Onanuga said she was proud of Laguda’s brand and that the state would support her to promote the Adire fabric.

Cue in (YETUNDE ONANUGA)

“Indeed, Adire is now a trademark, as we have given it a name, which is called “Adire Ogun”.

“We congratulate our dear sister, Yeside Laguda, on this initiative for promoting our country, for bringing our local fabric to the limelight.

“And I’m sure before now, we’ve been seeing people ordering Adire from Ogun State to other countries.

“Now that you are promoting it (Adire), we know that more people will want to have it, even with the way you are now presenting it’’.

Cue out (YETUNDE ONANUGA)

Onanuga also said she was proud of Laguda’ brand and that the state would support her to promote the fabric.

(NAN)

AIB/

Security

By Abdulfatah Babatunde

Lagos, July 15, 2018 (NAN) A faith-based organisation, The Muslim Congress (TMC), has called on the Federal Government to  prepare adequate security apparatus across  the country ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The TMC Committee on Social Mobility, the Economy & Politics made the call in its 11^th quarterly series of the “State of the Nation Address”, presented by its chairman, Dr Luqman AbdurRaheem in Lagos.

He said the call was necessary to ensure adequate protection of lives, property as well as in the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.

“When the general election approaches in Nigeria, there is always heightened tension in the politics and economy of the country with palpable fear for the security of lives and properties.

“This is due to the contest for power among political parties, economic groups, ethnic nationalities and religious organisations.

“Each contending party tries to manipulate circumstances in its favour without any consideration for morality, justice or the national interest.

“The government has the onerous responsibility of managing these circumstances in such a way that the country does not descend into anarchy,’’ AbdurRaheem, also the Amir (President) of TMC, said.

The committee, however, commended the Federal Government for being proactive by deploying 30,000 policemen in Ekiti State during its just concluded governorship election to forestall violence.

“It is also gratifying that the INEC reiterated its commitment to the principles of free, fair and credible elections and acted to the letter,’’ he said.

He advised the security agencies, politicians and the youths to conduct themselves honourably in the forthcoming elections.

“Electioneering should not be a do-or-die affair if, indeed, the purpose is to render service to the people.

“Elections should not widen the ethnic and religious cleavages that already exist among the people.

“Nigerians should seek to recreate the kind of atmosphere that enabled the ideals of the 1993 elections when the people sought unity in diversity.’’

The committee also raised concern over calls by some interest groups for the creation of “state police”, saying the recourse to “state police that is being touted needs to be done with caution’’.

“Granted that the numerous killings in the country have exposed the underbelly of our security architecture, the recourse to state police that is being touted needs to be done with caution.

“For all the merits that the “state police” may have, it is going to be bedevilled with the challenge of funding since many states are already unable to pay the salaries of civil servants within their care.

“It will be a danger and a security threat to the people to have a police force that is owed salaries for years.

“It will result in a lawless and undisciplined police, who will exact their pound of flesh on the ordinary citizens.

“It will, therefore, be better and more sensible for the police to continue to be under the Federal system till such a time that the states have grown and become capable of footing the bills,’’ said. (NAN)

AIB/PAD

========

Edited by Peter Dada

Flooding

By Mercy Okhiade

Lagos, July 14, 2018 (NAN) An environmentalist, Mr Gafar Odubote, has called for legislation against blocking of drains and canals, saying it is immediate cause of flooding.

Odubote, a climate change activist, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

He attributed the cause of flooding in the country to indiscriminate dumping of refuse that blocked drains and canal.

He, therefore, called on government at all levels to take preventive measures to address the problem.

“One of the major causes of flooding in Nigeria is blocked drains and canals basically.

“Plastics block drains and prevent water from running through the canal and waterways.

“We need to do more of preventive than corrective.

“One way to do the preventive is to come up with regulations that will stop people from disposing of wastes anyhow because that is the root cause of flooding in Nigeria,’’ Odubote said.

He also called for effective waste management infrastructure and for sanctions to be put in place against blocking of drains and canals with solid wastes.

“The government should put the infrastructure in place to tackle the root cause of the problem, because there will be flooding year-in, year-out if we do not tackle the root cause of the problem.

“Government should make a framework and sanction people.

“People just have trash blindness and they do not care what happens to the next neighbour.

“If the government, for example, the local government, has sanction in place to check house-by-house, building-by-building and impose a heavy fine on anyone whose surrounding is dirty, people will wake up.

“If residents can make sure that the drainage in front of their houses is clean, it is going to be fine for everyone.’’ (NAN)

DMO/AIB/OPI

==========

Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde and Olisa Ifeajika