Blog

NAN-H-34
FirstNation
Lagos, Sept.18,2016 (NAN FirstNation Airways says it will resume operations on Sunday evening, one month after it suspended flights to enable the aircraft fleet undergo engine maintenance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the airline made the announcement through its Twitter account which stated that it would resume flights by 4 p.m. on Sunday.

NAN reports that the airline announced the suspension of its flights on Aug. 17, a development some people said created panic in the aviation sector.

However, Capt. Chimara Imediegwu, the airline’s Director of Flight Operations, on Sept. 6, told newsmen that a team of engineers were coming to Nigeria to service the planes.

Imediegwu had debunked the claim that the airline was on the verge of folding up, stressing that it voluntarily grounded the aircraft to await the arrival of the manufacturer’s team.

He said “the FirstNation management planned well ahead and kept the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) informed of the progress of the maintenance of its aircraft.

“The airline planned this maintenance action well ahead. We notified passengers and flights are currently loaded online,  effective Sept. 15.

“This will ensure that passengers continue to enjoy safe and reliable services that the airline is reputed for.”

It would be recalled that another airline, Arik Air, resumed operations on Sept. 14, after suspending its flight operations for 24 hours over issues relating to aircraft insurance renewal. (NAN)
ASO/DUA/HA
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(Edited by Dada Ahmed/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NAN-H-30

Resumption

By Stellamaris Ashinze & Rukayat Adeyemi

Lagos, Sept. 18, 2016 (NAN) As schools resume for new academic session, traders in Lagos are lamenting low patronage of schooling items by parents, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

NAN reports that dealers in books, shoes, bags, uniforms and other items are complaining about that buyers are not coming as expected.

They told NAN in separate interviews that the patronage was not impressive compare to previous times when schools resume for new session.

Mrs Chinonso Shina, who runs Shina Bookshop at Moshalasi,Alagbado, said that the patronage was not as impressive as before.

Shina attributed this lull to the country’s economic recession, but added that many of the textbooks on demands were not available.

“The publishers are complaining about high cost of material and papers, prompting them to reduce the quantity published.

“Some are not even publishing at all and as such, some of the books requested for are not available,’’ Shina said.

Miss Benedicta Osuagwu, a schoolbags dealer, also complained about poor sales.

According to her, even when children still have good school bags, parents are in the habit of buying new ones for the new session.

“That is not the same now, it is as if they are now cutting cost.

“I approached my customers to ask if I should bring some bags for their children, many of them said the old ones were still in good condition,’’ Osuagwu said.

A parent, Mr Adbulrahman Onikoyi, said his plight was about the increase in tuition fees by schools.

Onikoyi told NAN that the schools were given excuses about the current inflation in the country as the reason for the increase.

“I taught of changing my children’s school to cheaper ones, but by my investigation, they too have increased their fees.

“If I have to register them in a new school, I will even spend more‎ on registration, uniforms and other things.

“I think the government should come to our rescue and regulate fees being charged by these private schools,’’ he said.

A mother, Mrs Florence Ajayi, told NAN that she only managed to buy some core textbooks for her children and forego other school items because “the prices were outrageous’’.

Ajayi said items like school bags, sandals, socks, lunch bag ‎and boxes were among those things she could not afford now.

“I decided to assemble the old items the children used last term and clean them up for use in the new session because there is no money to buy new ones,’’ Ajayi said.

Another parent, Mr Bola Makinde, described school resumption as a period to incur compulsory expenses.

Makinde said that buying books were compulsory but one need to prioritise buying for core subjects, leaving those that were not so compulsory.

“I bought a dozen of 60 leaves for N850 as against N500 and six higher Education notebook for N800 as against N500.

“These are essential learning materials the children need,’’ Makinde said.

He, however, said that other expenses on shoes and bags could be avoided if the old ones were still in good condition.

A trader in Odumota‎ market at dopemu, Lagos, Mrs Titilope Gold, said traders were not responsible for the hike in price of school items, adding: “we sell according to how we buy”.

`According to her, things are very expensive from the manufacturers as they all complain about high exchange rate.

“Even we, the sellers, are not happy with the hike in prices of virtually all items in the market, just as the buyers are complaining,’’ Gold said. (NAN)

SKA/RUKY/AIB/OFN

(Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde//Felix Nwadioha)

CPC queries Samsung Electronics for explosion of Galaxy Note 7
NAN-H-32
Query
Abuja, Sept. 18, 2016, (NAN) The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Samsung Electronics West Africa Ltd. to provide full status of its compliance with the global directive of Samsung.

A statement by the Head of Public Relations,CPC, Mr Abiodun Obimuyiwa, on Sunday in Abuja, said the ultimatum was in respect of the recall of the company’s Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

It stated that the CPC had received dozens of complaints of explosion of the said Samsung Galaxy Note 7 while charging.

”The ultimatum came on the heels of recent global recall of the product following its defective battery.

”CPC, however, demanded that Samsung Electronics West Africa Ltd. furnish it with other measures the company might have taken to safeguard the safety and interest of Nigerian consumers,” the statement said.

It stated that CPC, in a letter by its Director-General, Mrs Dupe Atoki, on Sept. 14 to the company, said reports showed that the said phone’s batteries were prone to explosion.

”The attention of the Council has been drawn to media reports indicating that the lithium-ion batteries for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 are prone to catching fire.

”The agency’s letter stated further that the said faulty batteries have reportedly caused the phone to explode in 35 separate incidents.

”Sometimes bursting into flames, damaging property and exuding dangerous chemicals.

“‘This calls for concern as some Nigerian consumers may already have purchased the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for personal or other uses,”it stated.

Commenting on the situation, the Council’s Director-General, said Nigerian consumers who might have purchased the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 should, as an interim measure, stop using the phone forthwith.

The statement quoted Atoki as saying that,” there is an urgent need to avert whatever dangers that may be associated with the use of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in Nigeria.

”In line with international best practices, the company should immediately issue a recall notice giving Nigerian consumers adequate information on the procedure for recall and the appropriate compensation being offered.

”The company should ensure that affected consumers either get a free replacement from Samsung, or a refund of their money, where necessary,” it said.

The statement explained that Samsung had announced in the United States that consumers with Samsung Galaxy Note 7 could check whether or not their phones were affected and eligible for recall.

It said the consumers could do this by entering the IMEI or serial number of their phone in a space provided on Samsung website,(www.samsung.com/us/note/ recall/).

It added that Nigerian consumers could also avail themselves of that facility.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CPC is the apex consumer protection agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, established by the CPC Act Cap 25, LFN 2004.

It is meant to educate consumers, remove hazardous products from the market, provide redress to consumer complaints and ban the sale of products which do not comply with safety or health regulations.(NAN)
LCN/MA/AMY
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Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

NAN-H-23

Utterances

By David Adeoye

Ikole(Ekiti) Sept 18, 2016(NAN) Pastor Olusola Adewumi of the Christ Apostolic Miracle Church, Ikole, in Ekti, on Sunday, cautioned Nigerians against negative utterances about those at the helm of affairs of the country.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), Adewunmi noted that the current economic hardship facing millions of Nigerians made some people to condemn the nation’s leaders.

“We should support government with prayers and struggle in our individual capacity to improve the economy.

“The notion that only those in leadership positions can develop and salvage the country from her poor economic situation, is misleading.

“We have roles to play as individuals for the country to grow and become a place where all of us will be proud to call our own,” he stated.

The Cleric called on those in leadership positions at all levels, to rise up to the task before them and do what would improve the living standard of the people.

He also urged religious leaders to intensify prayers for the country, saying divine intervention could restore the country’s greatness.(NAN)

DAK/MA/ASH

NAN-H-18
Sirika

By Omosuri Asowata
Lagos, Sept.18,2016 (NAN) The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, has assured unions in the aviation industry that the proposed concessioning of the four airports will not lead to job losses.

Sirika gave the assurance at a meeting with the Air Transport Senior Staff Services of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) in Lagos.

The Federal Government had indicated its interest to concession the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt Airports, toward increasing their capacity and efficiency.

Sirika disclosed that this was the first phase, noting that all the 22 airports owned by the Federal Government would be concessioned at the end of the second phase.

He said the meeting was to give the unions the opportunity to become members of the Concession Project Delivery Committee and enable them make inputs to better the process.

According to him, the government’s resolve to concession the airports is aimed at ensuring the establishment and sustenance of world-class standards in infrastructure development and service delivery.

He assured the unions that concession was not tantamount to privatisation or outright sale, explaining that the facilities being concessioned remained the properties of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigeria.

The minister said: “You see government has no plans whatsoever to sell national assets so it is sheer misconception.

“The truth is that government does not have money to invest and even if it could, with the sheer bureaucracy it could take 10 years and Nigerians are tired of what is on ground and want something new.”

He noted that private investors could provide funding for construction of world-class terminals in Nigeria under the build, operate and transfer process which would be beneficial to the country in the near future.

“The vision of the government is engage all stakeholders and people who have a stake in what we are doing, especially on the concessioning of our airports and other things we intend to do,” Sirika said.

He also said two committees had been inaugurated to mid-wife the process, stressing that there would be continuous engagement of stakeholders toward ensuring what was best for the country.

The President of ATSSSAN, Mr Benjamin Okewu, who spoke on behalf of the unions, noted that the unions were not in agreement with the concession of the revenue generating airports.

Okewu, however, agreed that concession done in other climes had resulted to increased revenue, building of infrastructure and other developments.

He also said the unions would meet to deliberate on their membership of the Project Delivery Committee which was extended to them by the minister and thanked him for the gesture.(NAN)
ASO/AOM/OFN

(Edited by Mohammed Abdullahi//Felix Nwadioha)

NAN-H-22
Cars
Maiduguri, Sept. 18, 2016(NAN) Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno said he abandoned the use of bullet proof cars as an act of sympathy with the suffering masses who had no means of self protection from terrorists.

Shettima stated this on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

He said that the action was also aimed at showing that the terrorists had no super natural powers.

“We have to dare the terrorists; I have bullet proof cars,  but I do
not use them; I want to be exposed to the elements as the ordinary
people do,” Shettima said.

He said the bullet proof cars were only kept for the use of visitors who might be afraid to use ordinary cars.

“We have so many bullet proof cars but we only use them for our
guests.

“Sometimes I drive myself round the town to see things for myself,” Shettima said.

The governor also attributed his numerous achievement in office to dedication and hard work.

“There is no magic in our achievements, except that where there is will, there is the way; like I always say,  there is no politics better than the contentment of the people.

`You are there not because you are the best among the people of the
state;  I am the governor not because of my political sagacity,
intellectual prowess, parental back ground  or physical strength, ” he said.

Shettima added: ” This is because even within my cabinet, there are many people who supersede me in all these attributes.

“Power to me is a very humble experience;  it is about what you can do to a great number of people within the time allotted to you to pilot the affairs of the state.”

He said that with the gradual return of peace in the state, government would unfold a developmental agenda in a few months time.

“By the grace of God,  we are poised for a great change.

“Believe me, in the next couple of months,  you will see changes in the fortunes of the people of the state,” Stettima said.

He said that the recent successes recorded by the military against the Boko Haram terrorists, had made the state capital a safe haven for all Nigerians

“`Maiduguri is more secured than even Lagos or Abuja.

“There are 2 million people living in Maiduguri;  we celebrated Sallah without any incident,” Shettima said.

He said that the government would take advantage of the Boko Haram crisis to ensure better welfare for the people.

“This crisis has accorded us the opportunity to merge small settlements and provide better infrastructure to uplift the living standard of the people.

“This is more especially for those living in remote communities,” Shettima said. (NAN)
ABI/PD/ASH

Ishaku appoints Useni Chancellor of Taraba University

NAN-H-20

Appointment

Jalingo, Sept. 18,2016(NAN ) Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba has  appointed Sen. Jeremiah Useni as the Chancellor of Taraba University, Jalingo.

This is contained in a statement signed by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Hassan Mijinyawa, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jalingo.

According to the statement, the appointment is with immediate effect.

NAN reports that Useni is a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from Plateau.

He is a retired Army General and also a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory , Abuja.

NAN reports that Useni is the university’ s first Chancellor since its inception in 2008. (NAN )

NB/PD/AMY

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Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

Nigeria’s Mortgaged Housing is under-financed—MBAN

By Ella Anokam and Uche Bibilari

NAN-H-19
Mortgage
Abuja, Sept. 18, 2016 (NAN) Dr Femi Johnson, the President, Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), says about five per cent of the 13.7 million housing units in Nigeria are currently financed with a mortgage.

Johnson said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja at the just-concluded African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) 2016 Conference.

The AUHF 2016 Conference with the theme: “Housing Africa’s Growth Agenda’’ was co-hosted by the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16, 2016.

Johnson said that the low mortgage finance in the country was as a result of affordability gap and dearth of titled property.

He explained that a lot of properties in the country lacked title, adding that due to lack of title, it would be difficult for anybody to finance such properties.

“Mortgage penetration is low because less than five per cent of houses in the country have formal title registration.

“One cannot lien on a property that does not have title because it is that title that you are going to collect as security that you create a lien or legal mortgage on.

“When you want to refinance or go to the capital market it is that title they will also collect from you.

“Because the cost of registering that title can be as high as 15 per cent of the cost of the property, people now buy property but do not care to do the title registration,’’ he said.

The expert expressed worry that a lot of state governments were also hiking the price of title registration and transfer, charging as high as 15 per cent.

He stressed that high cost of title registration and transfer was a big challenge facing the industry, adding that it was as high as 22 per cent in some states while others charged 15 per cent.

“People also buy land and build but they do not care to obtain document showing that they are the owners.

“So, if someone comes to the mortgage bank, trying to buy a house without document, there is no way a mortgage bank can lend on that type of property,’’ the president said.

Johnson, who is also the Managing Director of HOMEBASE Mortgage Bank Ltd., urged the government to reduce the high charges associated with title registration and transfer for mortgage to be accessed.

Speaking on key challenges in funding the Mortgage Portfolio in Nigeria, Johnson recalled that the mortgage industry generated 100,000 transactions from 1960 to 2009.

He further stated that currently, mortgage industry had generated 181,519 transactions from 2010 to 2016, adding that the contribution of mortgage finance to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was about one per cent.

He described Nigeria as a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market with a nominal GDP of 582.986 billion dollars.

According to the president, Nigeria ranks 21st largest economy in the world, and 20th largest economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity.

He listed the key players and regulators in mortgage market as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), MBAN and Security and the Exchange Commission (SEC).

“CBN is an external regulator for Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), while MBAN is an internal and self regulator for PMBs’’.

He further listed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) as a mortgage regulator and lender through the mortgage banks, identifying sources of long-term Funds as the National Housing Fund (NHF) and NMRC.

On the achievements so far, he identified recapitalisation of mortgage banks, establishment of NMRC and development of Uniform Underwriting Standards (UUS) for the formal sector.

He listed other achievements to include improved Operational Efficiency for Mortgage Banks and seamless integration of the customers of mortgage banks into the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) platform.

“The achievements also include issuance of NUBAN Numbers to facilitate online transactions for mortgage bank customers.

The president also noted that there was an amendment of Pension Act to facilitate withdrawals from Retirement Savings Account (RSA) for down payments on equity contribution to boost inclusion.

He said that there was an establishment of Mortgage Brokerage firms, reduction of cost of title registration and transfer from 13 per cent to three per cent in Lagos State.

“Loss of job insurance which is new in our market and currently covers three months is to be extended to 1 year.

Speaking on the key challenges he noted lack of long term funds, high cost of funds, and interest rates and few eligible borrowers due to high cost of funds.

He identified other challenges as lack of foreclosure law, inadequate cadastral system, high inflation rate, informal sector exclusion and lack of infrastructure, making it difficult to develop new cities where land is cheaper.

Other challenges are; lack of Affordable housing, especially in cities, high cost of land and title registration and transfer, unfavourable investment climate and exchange rate.

The expert also expressed worry over the slow bureaucratic procedures involved in registration and transfer of title which could take from six months to two years.

“It has too many processes which are slow, cumbersome, unreliable and inefficient, government needs to look into it,’’ the expert added. (NAN)
UU/ELLA/AOM/AMY
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(Edited by Mohammed Abdullahi and Abdullahi Yusuf)

Lawyers say Nigerian legal system must create room for whistleblowers

NAN-H-10

Whistleblowers

By Wandoo Sombo

Abuja, Sept. 18, 2016 (NAN) A human rights activist, Mrs Esther Uzoma, says the Nigerian legal system must create an enabling environment to encourage whistleblowers as part of efforts in the fight against corruption.

Uzoma made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

She said that the importance of whistleblowing would not be effective without enabling environment backed by legislation.

The activist said that Nigeria’s social environment as currently constituted was not yet ripe for whistleblowers due to weak institutions.

According to her, the social environment that we live in does not encourage whistleblowing because we have very weak institutions championed and dominated by personalities.

“Whistleblowers are people who are part of the system but do not like what the system is doing, so they come out to tell the world the rot that the system is harbouring,” she said.

Uzoma, a lawyer, said that the unique position of the whistleblower is grounded in patriotism and trust in government institutions.

She, however, noted that these qualities were presently lacking in the country.

According to her, the degeneracy in the security system is such that people who give information eventually become the hunted.

“As a result of this, you don’t find people eager to say what is happening because they know that once they open their mouths and say it, the very people they report to are the same ones who will expose them.

“You find out that we have institutions that differ to the government in power that is why the place of the whistleblower is lacking

“There is a lot of mistrust between the citizens and institutions of government and this will not augur well for the citizen because there is nobody to blow whistle to.

“But I think this current assembly is working out a bill in that light so maybe it will help,” the activist said.

She noted that the only way whistleblowers could be encouraged was if they were guaranteed adequate protection.

In another interview with NAN, Mr William Emoni, a lawyer, agreed that whistleblowers were the panacea to a corruption-free society.

Emoni, however, noted that the only way one could confidently whistle-blow was when the person was assured of maximum protection from victimisation.

“Whistleblowing is very important because a whistleblower is usually an insider who can give the police and security agencies information.

“This helps to the extent that people who are criminal minded can be fished out and punished and the informant needs to be protected,”

Emoni also cautioned that the whistleblower must, however, be discreet in the way and manner he gave out information and to whom.`

He stressed that the whistleblowers themselves owe a responsibility to themselves to be discreet, saying`”you don’t give information and begin to tell people that this is what I have done in order not to put yourself in trouble”.

Mr Samuel Ebitoye, another lawyer, noted that in the current administration’s onerous task of tackling corruption, whistleblowing would be a very needful tool in curtailing corruption in government and private organisations

.“A lot has gone wrong with the Nigerian system of governance and there are people in high positions that are involved in corruption cases that need to be exposed,’’ Ebitoye said.

Ebitoye, like the others, stressed the need for the whistleblower to be protected from oppression

“`There must be protection and security for the whistleblower. We need a robust statutory framework that is able to provide protection in the event that a whistleblower’s identity is exposed.

“The absence of this framework puts us back where we are, with no information to get back all the stolen funds, ” he said.

Mr Gaius Obah, also a lawyer, corroborated that Nigerian legal system needed whistleblowers, but that without adequate protection, no one would stick their necks out to whistle-blow. (NAN)

WS/MA/OFN

NAN-H-15

Immunisation

By Muhammad Bashir

Dutse, Sept. 18, 2016 (NAN) The Jigawa Government says it will immunise over 1.7 million children against polio in the ongoing immunisation campaign in the state.

Dr Kabiru Ibrahim, Executive Secretary of the state Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHDCA), disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Dutse.

Ibrahim said that enough personnel had been engaged to conduct the exercise simultaneously across the 27 local government areas of the state.

The executive secretary commended traditional and religious leaders and other stakeholders in the state for their support and cooperation for the smooth conduct of the exercise, so far.

Ibrahim also expressed satisfaction at the level of compliance by parents and urged husbands to always allow their wives to take their children to health facilities for the routine immunisation.

He also appealed to parents to co-operate with the immunisation officials in order to facilitate a smooth conduct of the exercise.

According to him, the exercise was to ensure that all children within the state were immunised against the disease.

This, Ibrahim said, was also to facilitate quick response to combat the disease and other emergency situations in the state.

NAN reports that the immunisation for September had commenced in all the 27 local government areas of the state on Sept. 17. (NAN)

Edited by Wandoo Sombo

MNB/WS/AMY

Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf