FG to begin Payment of N5,000 to unemployed youths next year.

The All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government, yesterday, said the payment of the N5,000 stipend to the unemployed Nigerian youths will commence next year.
It regretted that the payment could not take off immediately because it was not included in this year’s budget.
Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalong, revealed this yesterday in Abuja when he paid a condolence visit to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the national secretariat in Abuja on the demise of Prince Abubakar Audu, the late governorship candidate of the party in Kogi State election.
Dalong, who spoke with journalists, assured that APC government would also create more jobs to fulfill its campaign promises.
The party, during the electioneering campaigns, had pledged to pay N5000 stipend to unemployed youths monthly.
He said : “I would want the youths to understand that every promise must be backed up by budgetary provision and our promise to pay N5000 is not contained in the 2015 budget. So, definitely, it is going to begin in 2016 as we have made budgetary allocations for that.
“We are committed to the campaign promises of creating jobs, providing wealth creation and combat poverty. We have embedded in our manifesto things that we are translating to reality.
“We are busy reviewing some of the youth empowerment programmes that are ongoing, to ensure that they are more viable and people oriented. We are also looking at the possibility of realigning some of them to our vision so that in the final analysis, it can add value to the people”.
The minister also said that he would soon convene a stakeholders meeting to help re-orientate the Nigerian youths.
In his remarks earlier, the National Chairman of APC, Chief Oyegun, expressed optimism in the performance of Dalong as Youths and Sports minister.

The first batch of 48 Nigerians were deported from the UK for now out of 500

It was learnt that 44 men and 4 females were deported from the UK. They arrived aboard a chartered flight, Titan Airways no ZT3931, at 8am at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State yesterday.
The deportees were said to have been stranded at the airport waiting for family members and friends to come pick them up.

It was gathered that while 26 of the deportees had passports, 22 others were issued Emergency Travel Certificates by the Nigerian High Commission in the UK.

Buhari to decide MTN’s fate on $5.2billion Fine

Nigeria’s communications ministry said on Wednesday that it is up to President Muhammadu Buhari to decide “in which direction to go” with a $5.2 billion fine imposed on mobile phone network operator MTN.
“The Communications minister Adebayo Shittu said in Lagos that it will be up to the president to determine which direction to go since MTN asked for leniency,” ministry spokesman Tajudeen Kareem said.

The South African firm was fined by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at the end of October for not disconnecting 5.2 million unregistered users from its network.
Nigeria has been pushing operators to verify the identity of their subscribers, concerned that unregistered SIM cards were being used for criminal activity in a country also fighting an insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

MTN is the largest mobile phone operator in Nigeria and the west African nation accounts for about one third of its revenues.
The payment deadline was extended from Nov 16 after the NCC said it was looking into MTN’s plea for leniency though the fine remained because the firm admitted to breaking the law.

MTN’s stock price has sunk more than 25 percent since the penalty was announced on Oct. 26 as the size of the fine is equivalent to more than two years profit for the firm. As of 1341 GMT, MTN shares were down 2.6 pct at 140.92 rand.
Two weeks ago, Shittu told Reuters in an interview that “nobody wants MTN to die” as a result of the pen

The reason why 500 Nigerians were deported from U.K

On Wednesday, the news broke a plane carrying about 500 Nigerians who were deported by the United Kingdom government Wednesday which arrived at the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos at 8:07am local time aboard a large chartered aircraft.
It was gathered that the deportees were taken to the main entrance of the Nacho gate where they were dispatched, while some of the deportees were received by their relatives at the same venue.
Coaster buses were used to convey the deportees in batches

It will be recalled that Nigerians living in the United Kingdom on Monday 23rd of November 2015 cried out that the UK authorities were planning to deport 500 Nigerians due to immigration issues and other related offences and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the UK government to stop the deportation.
On ground at the airport were the Immigration Officers, TARMAC Operations officers, The Nigeria Police Force, Airport Command, Air Force Defence officers and other security agents who provided adequate security during the documentation exercise of the deportees.
A relative of one of the deportees who refused to have his name mentioned said that he came to receive his aged brother’s son who was running his Masters Degree programme in the United Kingdom.
He said that he was surprised when he heard that his elder brother’s son was one of those deported by the UK government adding that he had come to the airport to pick him up.
Asked why the student was one of those deported by the UK government, he said “I don’t know, I have never gone to the UK before. This (Nigeria) is where I have lived all my life.
When contacted to speak on the deportation, one of the officials of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told our reporter that he had been redeployed out of the airport but stressed that he would help the reporter with a contact which he never gave out.
Efforts to speak to some of the deportees were frustrated by security officers as one of the Policemen accosted the reporter and threatened to detain him but was prevailed upon by his boss who ordered the reporter to leave the scene.

Shocking ! What Gov. Wada of Kogi State did to Local Government Chairmen for Defecting to APC.

Gov. Idris Wada of Kogi, has faulted report that he sacked chairmen of local governments from office for defecting to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC), stressing that he only obey the order of the Appeal Court by reinstating them. 
“It is a lie that I sacked LGA Chairmen for defecting from the PDP. This story is not true. The LGA were removed by a Kotun-karfe court about 11 months ago. The party went to the court of appeal and the court ordered that they be returned. I only reinstated the LGA Chairmen as directed by the Appeal Court,” he said on his Twitter handle.

The level of pressure Gov. Ambode's decision about hijabs in secondary schools is generating.

The Conference of Islamic Organisations, CIO, has made a passionate plea to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state to allow Muslim girls wear hijab to schools.

The former Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola had banned the use of hijab in all Lagos public schools, forcing the muslim community to sue the state government over the issue.But when members of the CIO paid a courtesy visit on the Lagos Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. Abdullateef Abdulkareem on Tuesday in his office at the Government Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria they pleaded for a reserve of the order.

Coordinator, CIO, Alhaji Abdullahi Shuaib said one of the thing they demanded from Ambode before he became governor was to protect religious freedom, saying that all over the world, muslim women were distinct because of hijab they normally wore.
He said when hijab was outlawed in Lagos school, the freedom of the female Muslims was breached, saying that it was as if government was at war with the Muslim community.

“This issue is very critical and the Lagos State Government should look at it critically. Muslims have ways of life which cannot be taken away from them, which is to use hijab,” he said, adding that even in advanced countries, Muslims were not restricted from using hijab.
He appealed to the commissioner to prevail on the governor to allow Muslim girls wear hijab to school.
The Conference of Islamic Organisations, CIO, has made a passionate plea to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state to allow Muslim girls wear hijab to schools. The former Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola had banned the use of hijab in all Lagos public schools, forcing the muslim community to sue the state government over the issue. But when members of the CIO paid a courtesy visit on the Lagos Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. Abdullateef Abdulkareem on Tuesday in his office at the Government Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria they pleaded for a reserve of the order. Coordinator, CIO, Alhaji Abdullahi Shuaib said one of the thing they demanded from Ambode before he became governor was to protect religious freedom, saying that all over the world, muslim women were distinct because of hijab they normally wore. He said when hijab was outlawed in Lagos school, the freedom of the female Muslims was breached, saying that it was as if government was at war with the Muslim community. “This issue is very critical and the Lagos State Government should look at it critically. Muslims have ways of life which cannot be taken away from them, which is to use hijab,” he said, adding that even in advanced countries, Muslims were not restricted from using hijab. He appealed to the commissioner to prevail on the governor to allow Muslim girls wear hijab to school. Shuaib also called for Public Faith Participation (PFP) in the running of government by engaging Imams to help drive home government policy to the people using the pulpit, saying that the Imams were closer to the people and well placed to inform the people about the policies of government. He appealed to government to pay Imams honorarium so that they would have the feeling that they were part and parcel of government. Speaking, Abdulhakeem said he would present their demands to the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and urged them to furnish the state with database of their members which he said would be used for website while each member would be presented with a unique identification number. He called on faith-based organisations to generate employment by setting up business organisations that would create jobs while government would provide the enabling environment for them to thrive since it would be impossible for government to employ everybody. The commissioner charged to buy into the ‘adopt a school programme’ of the state government and take the lead in molding characters of Lagiosians. He said they could use their pulpit to teach members of the society to be law abiding and to desist from breaking traffic laws.
Shuaib also called for Public Faith Participation (PFP) in the running of government by engaging Imams to help drive home government policy to the people using the pulpit, saying that the Imams were closer to the people and well placed to inform the people about the policies of government.
He appealed to government to pay Imams honorarium so that they would have the feeling that they were part and parcel of government.
Speaking, Abdulhakeem said he would present their demands to the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and urged them to furnish the state with database of their members which he said would be used for website while each member would be presented with a unique identification number.

He called on faith-based organisations to generate employment by setting up business organisations that would create jobs while government would provide the enabling environment for them to thrive since it would be impossible for government to employ everybody.
The commissioner charged to buy into the ‘adopt a school programme’ of the state government and take the lead in molding characters of Lagiosians.
He said they could use their pulpit to teach members of the society to be law abiding and to desist from breaking traffic laws.The Conference of Islamic Organisations, CIO, has made a passionate plea to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state to allow Muslim girls wear hijab to schools. The former Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola had banned the use of hijab in all Lagos public schools, forcing the muslim community to sue the state government over the issue. But when members of the CIO paid a courtesy visit on the Lagos Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. Abdullateef Abdulkareem on Tuesday in his office at the Government Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria they pleaded for a reserve of the order. Coordinator, CIO, Alhaji Abdullahi Shuaib said one of the thing they demanded from Ambode before he became governor was to protect religious freedom, saying that all over the world, muslim women were distinct because of hijab they normally wore. He said when hijab was outlawed in Lagos school, the freedom of the female Muslims was breached, saying that it was as if government was at war with the Muslim community. “This issue is very critical and the Lagos State Government should look at it critically. Muslims have ways of life which cannot be taken away from them, which is to use hijab,” he said, adding that even in advanced countries, Muslims were not restricted from using hijab. He appealed to the commissioner to prevail on the governor to allow Muslim girls wear hijab to school. Shuaib also called for Public Faith Participation (PFP) in the running of government by engaging Imams to help drive home government policy to the people using the pulpit, saying that the Imams were closer to the people and well placed to inform the people about the policies of government. He appealed to government to pay Imams honorarium so that they would have the feeling that they were part and parcel of government. Speaking, Abdulhakeem said he would present their demands to the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and urged them to furnish the state with database of their members which he said would be used for website while each member would be presented with a unique identification number. He called on faith-based organisations to generate employment by setting up business organisations that would create jobs while government would provide the enabling environment for them to thrive since it would be impossible for government to employ everybody. The commissioner charged to buy into the ‘adopt a school programme’ of the state government and take the lead in molding characters of Lagiosians. He said they could use their pulpit to teach members of the society to be law abiding and to desist from breaking traffic laws.

The bad news Fayose has for Nigerians.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said with the continued downward trend in the price of crude oil in the international market, except by God’s intervention, Nigerians should brace for more challenges next year.

The Ekiti State House of Assembly also on Tuesday reviewed the 2015 operating budget and the tenure of regents in the state.
With the passage of the bill, regents in the state shall cease to enjoy government recognition after six months on the throne in their respective domains.
According to a statement by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Speaker, Stephen Gbadamosi, the 2015 Revised Appropriation Bill was aimed at re-allocating funds to projects that are of paramount importance to government
 
The governor, who spoke in Efon Alaaye during his sensitization tour of local governments in the state, said this year’s budget performed poorly because it was predicated on $68 per barrel, while it sold much lower than that.
Fayose, according to a statement on Tuesday in Ado Ekiti by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, opined that if the trend continued, there would be more financial challenges to cope with next year.

“This year’s budget did not meet expectations, especially in the area of capital expenditure because of the poor revenue coming in from oil sale in the international market. The oil now sells for less than $40 per barrel.
“Without being an economic expert, one can envisage a tough economic terrain next year. You know that I don’t hide things from you, the other day they said they have given out bail-out fund, I said it was not. It will amount to sheer deception for a leader to hide the true position of things from the people.
“We are heading for a serious financial challenge next year, as there seems to be little hope for the economy bouncing back. Our administration has always put our finances in the open for all to see. We are on this tour because we need to let you know what is happening. The power of the people is greater than the power of the leaders,” he said.