US Court throws out Biafra case against the Nigerian government

A District of Columbia (DC) Court in the United States (U.S.), has dismissed the suit filed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) against the Federal Government and 15 others seeking millions of dollars compensation.
 
The group, through its plaintiff, Godson M. Nnaka, and his lawyers, is also seeking payment of 40 percent of the $550 million Abacha loot.
Respondents in the suit are the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), Lawal Daura, former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase and his successor, Ibrahim Idris.
Others are governors of Abia and Anambra states, Okezie Ikpeazu and Willie Obiano.
IPOB had filed the case against the defendants in the U.S. court, alleging rights violation, torture and killing of its members, who were on peaceful protest at different times and locations between 2016 and 2017.
The trial judge, Dabney Friedrich, dismissed IPOB’s case for lack of jurisdiction, saying officials of the Nigerian government enjoy foreign immunity.

Nigeria to experience longest total lunar eclipse on Friday —Scientist

Nigeria will on Friday night experience a spectacular total lunar eclipse, which will last for one hour, Prof. Augustine Ubachukwu,.

Ubachukwu, the leader of Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Group of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

“Nigeria is set to experience a very spectacular total lunar eclipse on Friday, July 27, weather permitting.
“It will be visible from 9:30.p.m. and last till 11: 220 p.m.
“This total lunar eclipse will be primarily visible from the world’s Eastern  Hemisphere, which are Europe,  Africa,  Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Fayemi visits Bamidele in London

Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has paid a get-well visit to the Director General of his Campaign Council, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele in London, United Kingdom.

 

Bamidele was shot on June 1 by a trigger-happy policeman at the premises of the All Progress Congress (APC) during a welcome rally organised for Fayemi after stepping down from the Federal Executive Council  (FEC) as Minister of Mines and Steel Development.

The former House of Representatives member was rushed to the State University Teaching Hospital where he was operated upon and stabilised before being flown abroad to recuperate.

Bamidele who has been discharged from the hospital is still in London as an outpatient.

In a statement on Thursday night by his media aide, Ahmed Salami, Fayemi who left Ado-Ekiti for Lagos immediately after inaugurating his Transition Committee arrived London earlier in the day to pay Bamidele a morale-boosting visit.

The statement said Fayemi spent quality time with Bamidele, his wife, Mrs. Yemisi Bamidele, and other members of the family, Mr. Abiodun Bamidele and Mrs. Folasade Bamidele.

Fayemi and Bamidele also reviewed issues regarding the fiercely contested July 14 governorship election.

The reunion sparked up celebration of victory and praise and worship  sessions from the two eminent Ekiti leaders.

Facebook’s value crashes by $111bn

Facebook’s value was down by $111bn when Wall Street opened on Thursday, one of the most dramatic share price declines in history, after the social networking firm reported slowing growth in user numbers following a string of recent scandals.
 
If losses hold at that level Mark Zuckerberg’s firm will earn the dubious honour of having suffered the largest single-day fall in value of any company in US stock market history.
Investors frantically sold Facebook shares in after-hours trading on Wednesday, pushing the company’s price down 18 per cent by the time the bell went on the New York Stock Exchange.

The precipitous decline was triggered by Facebook’s announcement that revenue gains would lag behind spending growth, meaning lower profits. It also said growth in user numbers would slow down.
Mr. Zuckerberg will be able to take comfort from the fact that Apple is now valued at more than three times the amount it was after its $60bn blip while Exxon is trading around 30 per cent up on its price in October 2008.
Still reeling from a backlash against its handling of fake news and privacy scandals, Facebook delivered further bad news on Wednesday in the form of its slowest growth in user numbers for more than two years.
However, that still meant facebook had 2.23 billion monthly active users – almost a third of the population of the planet – at the end of June, 11 per cent more than it had a year earlier.

China’s currency swap deal, investments in Nigeria may help create “petroyuan”

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation has plans to pump another $3 billion into this sphere on top of the $14 billion in assets that it already has in Nigeria, which is a huge move that indicates its intent to challenge the US and India for influence in Africa’s most populous country.
 
The announcement that China intends to increase its energy investments in Nigeria by over a fifth follows a $2.4 billion currency swap deal in early May, which while seemingly not a lot in absolute terms, is designed to strengthen the future prospects for the so-called “petroyuan” by tying Africa’s largest oil producer to the petrodollar’s worst enemy.
This strategy is expected to dovetail with the several rail corridors that China wants to build in Nigeria in order to make the country the most important node along the vast Sahelian-Saharan Silk Road megaproject that it’s gradually constructing, which is envisioned to lift the world’s greatest concentration of extremely impoverished people out of their misery.

Oracle blockchain technology will boost Customs revenue by 50%

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has partnered with Oracle to deploy its Blockchain Cloud Service to boost efficiency and grow revenue. In this interview, Assistant Comptroller-General, Modernization, at NCS, Aber T Benjamin, said the initiative promises to grow revenue by over 50 per cent. He speaks with Lucas Ajanaku.


Why did the NCS reached for Oracle’s blockchain technology?
NCS needed a technology, and partner, that could help us automate as many processes as possible – securely and efficiently.
How long has it been deployed?
The pilot on Oracle Blockchain Service was started in August of 2017 for the automation of Customs Excise Trade and Free Trade Zones.
What has been its impact on optimising running cost? How is the technology going to help NCS meet the revenue target set by the Fed Govt?
The successful completion of this Proof of Concept (POC) shows that, the entire business environment of Nigeria Customs can be migrated to Blockchain, to automate as many customs processes as possible, creating transparency and predictability. With Information Communication Technology (ICT), NCS have been able to improve revenue collection from about $195,000,000 per month to over $280,000,000. It is expected that once the Excise Trade Automation on Blockchain is fully completed, NCS will see a revenue growth increase of about 50 per cent.
Generally, what has been its impact on the NCS?
Oracle’s Blockchain-as-a-Service is used to provide Nigeria Customs Service with a trusted platform for the full automation of Customs Excise Trade business processes and procedures that improves transparency by allowing us to document and track products that are manufactured locally, right from the source of licensing and permits for manufacturing, to distribution and point of sale. An automated Excise will enable Nigeria to have reliable statistical data of its manufacturing base, and goods produced in Nigeria. In addition, it will help control the manufacturing industry, and create standards for global competitiveness; as well as regulate illegal manufacturing of products not fit for trade and consumption.
With your experience so far with the technology, would advise other MDAs to embrace it?
Yes, technology is required to drive transparency, trust, and predictability. To ensure reliable and irrefutable data required for all government services.
In what particular way, if any, would this technology boost the anti-corruption war of the President Buhari led administration?
Technology brings about inclusive understanding of all parties involved in that business process or service, and when it comes to the business process of Government the transparency attributed to this technology will instantly make it difficult for corruption to survive. Corruption survives where there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of policies, business process and procedures especially where this is not made transparent to all parties involved.
How is the technology complementing the efforts to boost the efficiency of the Service?
The area where this technology is being applied is currently manual, but with the full automation of the manual process leveraging Oracle Blockchain Service, the outcome will only be a win-win situation for the Service and the trading public in general.

CELEBRATING FUJI ICON.

BARRYBATION

Celebrating originality and innovativeness of Fuji born leader.

Bringing:   Unity

                     Creativity

                     Development

           Discovery.

Remembering Dr.Sikiru Ololade Ayinde Balogun, (MFR)

On a yearly Celebration

Dr.Sikiru Ololade Ayinde Balogun, MFR, (February 9, 1948 – December 16, 2010) better known by his stage name Ayinde Barrister was a Nigerian-born Yoruba singer-songwriter and music performer. He is regarded as one of the pioneers and revolutioneers of Fuji and wéré music. After his first break into music in 1965, Ayinde Barrister went on to release over 70 studio albums.

BARRYBATION 2018.

  BARRYBATION2018

Celebrating originality and innovativeness of Fuji born leader.

           FOR   Unity, Creativity, Development & Discovery.

Life

Ayinde Barrister was born to the family of Salawu Balogun of Ibadan; his father was a butcher, while his mother was a trader. He had his early education at Muslim Mission School and the Model School, Mushin Lagos. He later studied typing and other commercial related classes at Yaba Polytechnic. Ayinde Barrister started playing music at a young age as an ajiwere singer during the period of Ramadan; he continued playing music in between various jobs. He worked as a typist for Nigerian Breweries and was later enlisted as a clerk in the Nigerian Army during the Nigeria Civil War. He served in the 10th Brigade of the 2nd Division of the Nigerian Army under Col Adeniran and fought in Awka, Abagana and Onitsha. On his return from the war, he was posted to the Army Signals Headquarters, Apapa and later to the Army Resettlement Centre, Oshodi. He left the army to become a full-time musician and proceeded to start a full-fledged band of 34 percussionists and vocalists called the "Supreme Fuji Commanders".

Music career

In 1966, Ayinde Barrister released his first LP record. During the time, he usually played with his band at events around Ebute Meta and Lagos mostly to Muslim clients. He released further records under the label African Songs Ltd before starting his own label Siky-Oluyole Records. Among the LP's released under African songs is Bisimilahi (1977) and Ile Aiye Dun Pupo/Love In Tokyo (India Sound) (1976). By the early 1980s, Ayinde Barrister and Fuji music had become accepted by all religions in the country. He went on to record various albums including Iwa (1982), Nigeria (1983), Fuji Garbage (1988) and New Fuji Garbage (1993) under his imprint. He had a bitter feud with another Fuji singer, Kollington Ayinla in 1982.

Ayinde Barrister had a couple of successful shows in London in 1990 and 1993 performing what later became known as the Fuji Garbage sound.

 BARRYBATION 2018.

Buhari speaks on Nigeria’s defeat of Iceland in Russia

President Muhammadu Buhari heartily congratulates the Super Eagles on their victory Friday over the national team of Iceland in their second match at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

“The President expresses particular delight at the confidence, discipline, team-work and indomitable spirit displayed by the young Nigerian players,” Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said in a statement.

“President Buhari urges them not to limit themselves but sustain the current winning momentum by going all out against their last group opponent, Argentina, next week.”

Mr. Adesina further quoted the President as saying, “I am confident that if our players believe in themselves, they can qualify out of their difficult group and even go very far in the tournament,” adding that “with determination, nothing is impossible.”

The President urges all Nigerians to continue to rally round the Nigerian ambassadors with their prayers and other forms of support.

Nigeria still in contention after beating Iceland in World Cup group stage

Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0 on Friday to revive their hopes of advancing into the knockout stages of the World Cup in Russia, as striker Ahmed Musa dramatically marked his return to the team with two fine second-half goals.

The result left both sides, and struggling Argentina, still in the hunt to go through from Group D along with already-qualified Croatia.

But Argentina and World Cup debutants Iceland have to win their respective games against Nigeriaand Croatia next week to have a chance of advancing.

In only the second win for an African side in Russia so far, Nigeria broke the deadlock in the 49th minute when Victor Moses, playing as a wing-back, lofted a pass towards Musa who deftly controlled the ball and smashed in the half volley.

Musa, recalled to the starting team by coach Gernot Rohr, made it 2-0 in the 75th minute when he found space on the left, beat Iceland defender Kari Arnason and rounded goalkeeper Hannes Por Halldorsson before slamming the ball into the net.

Iceland, roared on by thousands of fans from the tiny country, kept pushing and were awarded a penalty in the 80th minute when referee Matt Conger used the Video Assisted Referee system to confirm that striker Alfred Finnbogason had been fouled by Tyronne Ebuehi.

But Iceland's playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson blasted his effort high over the bar.

The win vindicated the decision of Rohr to overhaul his attack after a limp 2-0 defeat to Croatia in Nigeria's opener, bringing in Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho at the expense of strikers Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi.

CBN resisted pressure to float the Naira

Acting Director, Corporate Communications of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, says the apex bank resisted suggestions to float the Naira when the country was battling with economic recession.

Okoroafor spoke at the Capital Chapter Congress/Dinner of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), FCT chapter, on Wednesday, in Abuja.

Delivering a lecture titled, “Managing Public Confidence in a Period of Economic Challenge.

 -The Role of Public Relations’’, the CBN spokesman said the bank was vindicated afterwards for rejecting the suggestion.

A floating exchange rate is a regime where the currency price is set by the forex market based on supply and demand compared with other currencies.

IMF not worried about Nigeria’s debt, says Adeosun

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said that the International Monetary Fund is not worried about Nigeria’s debt profile.

Adeosun said that the country had enough capacity to repay its debt obligations estimated at N21.7tn.

“We are pursuing a very measured strategy. We are running a budget deficit; the size of that deficit is coming down now. Nigeria is not among the countries that the IMF is worried about. We do have a challenge on debt service to revenue. That is because the interest cost is quite high and that is a function of two things.

“One is the fact that most of the debts were short-term; so, we are paying interests and compounding it. We have been refinancing treasury bills and issuing bonds. We have been refinancing treasury bills in the domestic market and replacing them with longer term debts in the international market. And this is reducing our cost of borrowing.”

She said that as of this time last year, the Federal Government was borrowing at an average cost of 18 per cent, adding that currently, it had reduced to 13 per cent.

The minister added that the Federal Government was working very hard on the country’s debt service cost and revenue collection.