China's fattest man loses 14 stone in just two years

He had a mountain to climb, but China's fattest man has managed to lose 14 stone. Just two years ago, Liang Yong tipped the scales at a whopping 35 stone. His extreme obesity led to serious ill-health and his eventual hospitalisation.

At ease: Yong, from Dazu in Chongqing province, was born 'heavy', according to his father

Then 31, Yong was so heavy that doctors were forced to transport him around the hospital on the back of a trailer.But he now weighs 'just' 21 stone thanks to a healthy diet and regular exercise.

On the move: Yong was so heavy that doctors were forced to transport him around on the back of a trailer

Getting in shape: Yong now weighs 'just' 21 stone thanks to a healthy diet and regular exercise

Diet: Liang Yong shows off his new figure to the cameras after losing 14 stone in two years

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Mursi sworn in as Egyptian president

Mohammed Mursi has been sworn in as Egypt's first civilian, democratically elected president at a historic ceremony in Cairo.

Hours after the ceremony, he was saluted by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, leader of the military council which is handing over power.

Mr Mursi has promised to restore the parliament dissolved by the military.

In a speech at Cairo University, the Muslim Brotherhood politician said the army must respect the people's will.

He will have to sort out a very difficult relationship with an entrenched military, regional analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says.

The regime of former President Hosni Mubarak is still largely intact and many in it will not work with the new president, he adds.

Overthrown in February last year after mass pro-democracy demonstrations, Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment at the beginning of this month for failing to prevent the killing of protesters by the security forces.

Egypt, the biggest Arab nation, is a key US ally in the region, as well as one of the few states in the Arab world to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

Parliament was dissolved by Field Marshal Tantawi's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), which assumed legislative powers under a controversial "interim constitutional declaration".

But on Saturday Scaf handed over power to Mr Mursi after a military parade at the Hykestep military base on the outskirts of Cairo.

"We have fulfilled our promise which we made before God and the people," Field Marshal Tantawi said at the hand-over ceremony.

"We now have an elected president, who assumed Egypt's rule through a free and direct vote reflecting the will of Egyptians."

The field marshal, who saluted Mr Mursi and shook hands with him several times, decorated the new president with the Shield of the Armed Forces, the country's highest honour.

In his speech earlier at Cairo University, Mr Mursi said: "The army is now returning to its original role, protecting the nation and its borders."

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RIM(Blackberry) may be looking to Microsoft for a lifeline

There’s a new battle of Waterloo going on, and this time it’s not in Belgium. Canada’s long-time technology standard bearer, RIM, is fighting for survival amidst dismal sales and waning consumer interest. 

With the release of BlackBerry 10 and the accompanying new hardware now pushed back to early 2013 — a full year later than it was originally promised — things don’t look good.

With an uneasy board feeling the ever-increasing heat (surely at Robot Devil levels now) from investors, RIM is now feeling the pressure to consider all possible options to right the ship. On that list: getting into bed with Microsoft.

The relationship could take a number of forms, of course. There’s no doubt that Microsoft would love to acquire a good chunk of RIM’s patent portfolio. Doing so would further protect Windows Phone and give Microsoft additional ammunition in its ongoing licensing “skirmishes” with Android OEMs. Another option would be a Nokia-style collaboration. RIM’s board is reportedly not too keen on giving up the amount of control they’d be required to if Microsoft were to buy a stake in the company and kick in for R&D and marketing expenses.

And don’t forget about Windows Phone 8. RIM could stop developing their own mobile OS, thereby allowing more time and effort to be devoted to higher-margin enterprise products and services.

Would that really be a good idea, though? With an uncertain future and no new OS for at least six months, it’s hard to imagine that competing against HTC and Samsung with Windows Phone 8 would really be any harder than competing with them using an OS that most of the western world has already lost interest in.

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CPC sanctions Shoprite for displaying expired products

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has sanctioned Shoprite, a South African major departmental store in Nigeria, for displaying expired products in some of its outlets in Lagos. It also commended Nigerian consumers for getting more proactive and cautious in their purchases.

CPC, in the course of the surveillance and enforcement operation, said that it discovered that the departmental store displayed expired products and in-house packaged edible products without expiry dates, pointing out that the affected range of products included pastries, chicken, cheese, pepper, vegetables, and sea foods.

The agency has subsequently removed all the affected products, stating that, given the seriousness of the offence and the dangers it posed to undiscerning consumers, punitive actions were being taken against the departmental store, even though its management expressed deep regrets over the development, claiming it was a mistake.

To forestall a similar occurrence in other major retail shops, CPC has invited the management of major departmental shops from across the country to a meeting with a view to making its position and commitment on consumer protection known to them and to encourage them to self-regulate.

Meanwhile, Ify Umenyi, Director General of the Council, has commended Nigerian consumers for their increased visible rejection of actions and situations capable of undermining their consumer rights, saying recent interactions in the social media on the action of the departmental store and that of a mobile network provider, which wiped away consumers’ credits in phones were good examples that must be maintained.

Umenyi enjoined consumers to realise that the prime position of being the king in the market-place would only be realistic when at all times they speak out whenever their rights are being trampled upon, assuring that CPC would always be a reliable platform to seek redress.

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Reps give Dana ultimatum on payment of compensation

The management of Dana Airline has been given seven days to pay part of the compensation fee to families of the Dana air crash victims. The resolution which was reached on Thursday was raised by Yakub Abiodun under matters of National importance.

The airline was asked to pay 30% of the amount of the compensation, as stipulated by the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, simply known as the Montreal Convention.

The lawmakers also directed all other airlines who had plane crashes in the past to comply with the laws by paying the 30 per cent of the required compensation, or in full where investigations had been concluded. Lawmakers agreed that if the house of assembly did not act in compelling the airline it would amount to irresponsibility on their part.

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Zamfara loses N62bn to illegal mining every year

Zamfara loses over N62 billion annually to illegal mining in the two local government areas of Anka and Bukkuyum, says the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, the Project Director of Centre,disclosed this on Friday in Gusau while presenting a paper titled “Lead Poisoning: Zamfara Experience''.

The lecture was organised to mark the commencement of the Medical Week of the state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).

He explained that the death of underage children was traced to lead poisoning resulting from illegal mining activities.

According to him, this was the discovery of a team of experts from the centre, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Zamfara state Ministry of Health and `Medecins Sans Frontieres', an international NGO.

He said that an estimated 10 tonnes of gold was dug annually, while women, many of whom were nursing mothers, were seen carrying their babies to the mining sites and exposing themselves and the children to lead poisoning, resulting to early deaths.

Between 2010 to 2011, more than 400 children under five years lost their lives as a result of lead poisoning, he said.

He said that toward the end of last year, illegal mining activities resumed in the affected areas with many residents using fine lead contaminated powder as cosmetic.

He further said that the team of experts also realised that people in the affected areas, drank lead contaminated water from wells and streams.

“Only borehole water is seen as safe and there were no boreholes sunk.''

The director said that if the state and Federal Governments could harness and invest in the gold deposits in the area, Zamfara would be the richest state in the federation.

He, therefore, advised the state government to invest in controlled mining, agriculture and education.

The acting governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala, who attended the event, expressed the government’s preparedness to partner with organisations toward finding lasting solution to the lead-induced infections in the state.

NAN also reports that the state’s annual budget usually falls between N65 billion and N68 billion, which is a little above what is generated by the illegal miner’s untaxed benefits

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Oil bunkering leader arrested

Security operatives, on Friday, arrested  General Cairo, the leader of a network of crude oil thieves in the Niger Delta responsible for several pipeline bombings against oil majors including Shell and ENI. 

Nigeria is the world's eighth biggest exporter of crude oil but thieves siphon off around a fifth of its output by drilling into pipelines, blasting them open or diverting crude at loading stations, sometimes with the connivance of security forces.

The operations, called bunkering, cost Nigeria's government nearly a fifth of its revenue each year, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said. It is also a major cause of oil spills that often wreck the delta's wetlands environment.

The Nigerian military paraded Seiyifa Gbereke, or General Cairo as he was nicknamed, in front of the media, where he confessed to the crimes. There was no independent confirmation of his story told in captivity.

"He led a gang of eight to destroy Agip pipelines and Shell ones around various communities," in the Niger Delta, security forces spokesman for Yenagoa state Lieutenant Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu told journalists.

The delta is a region of swamps and labyrinthine creeks at the heart of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry that has for decades been plagued by insecurity.

An amnesty in 2009 sharply reduced militancy but criminal gangs tapping oil pipelines is a growing problem.

Royal Dutch Shell estimates that bunkering siphons at least 150,000 barrels of oil per day from Nigeria's production.

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Food, fuel price falls ease Kenya inflation

Falling food and fuel prices helped bring down Kenya's year-on-year inflation rate more than expected in June, easing pressure on the central bank to keep its monetary policy tight.Kenyan consumer prices fell 0.77 percent in June, pushing the year-on-year rate to 10.05 percent from 12.22 percent in May, its lowest level since March 2011, data showed.

The consensus forecast in a Reuters survey of 11 analysts was for the rate in east Africa's largest economy to slow to 11.50 percent. "Whilst the CBS (Central Bank of Kenya) was reluctant to cut rates earlier - they focused on the strength of credit demand in April, and the turn in core inflation - we feel they should be somewhat more reassured by this outcome," said Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered bank.

"Inflation is more definitively on a downtrend, and with the gap between the central bank rate (18 percent) and inflation (10 percent and falling), we think there is an even stronger case to start the easing cycle now." The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said food and non-alcoholic prices fell 1.91 percent in June, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel costs slipped 0.20 percent.

On a year-on-year basis, the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which makes up 36.04 percent of the total basket of goods and services used to measure inflation, rose 10.53 percent compared with a rise of 14.58 percent in May.

In June last year, the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose 22.52 percent year-on-year. "While this is the most volatile category in the CPI, we now have stronger indications that food prices are finally coming down after the sharp increases over the past year," said Mark Bohlund, senior economist for sub-Saharan Africa at IHS Global Insight.

"However, price growth in non-food prices was also slightly lower than our forecast for a 0.4 percent month-on-month expansion." However, some economic analysts said the fall in inflation was still insufficient to push the Monetary Policy Committee to cut rates at the next meeting on July 10. "While these data are encouraging, on their own they are unlikely to be sufficient to tilt the MPC into a cut at the next meeting," Leon Myburgh, sub-Saharan Africa strategist at Citibank.

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Police uncover ritualists' shrine in Ogun

The Ogun police command said on Tuesday in Abeokuta that it has uncovered a shrine belonging to ritualists and fraudsters in Iganke, a boundary town with Lagos States.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who accompanied the police on the raid, reports that the shrine, located deep in a forest was filled with charms and other scary objects.

The Ogun Police Commissioner, Mr Ikemefuna Okoye, who supervised the operation, told newsmen later that his men had been on the lookout for shrines and others places where evils were perpetrated.

He said the arrest of two members of the group in Abeokuta led to the discovery of the shrine, and attributed the breakthrough to the cooperation and collaboration with various communities in the area.

Okoye said, ``One of them tried to dupe someone of huge amount of money, but through intelligent gathering we got to hear about it.

``We immediately swung into action and arrested two members of the syndicate, who brought us to this place where they do all kind of things, including rituals and fraud.

``Our investigation department is working tirelessly to get to know more about the activities of these people, and take necessary actions.'' 

The commissioner further said that the two suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation into the matter was concluded.

While thanking members of the various communities for the cooperation extended to the force, he charged anyone with useful information to supply such to the command.

``I can assure you that the identity of anyone, who volunteered information that will help us uncover men of the underworld will be highly shielded,’’ he said.

NAN recalls that the discovery was the second in three months after a similar shrine was discovered in April at Mosinimi in the Shagamu Local Government Area of Ogun. 

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Concerns mount as 134 million Nigerians pay rent

Concerns are mounting over the statistic that 80 percent of Nigerians, representing 134 million persons, of the 167 million population live in rented accommodations.This is typical of city life, where one person owns a block of 10 flats, with each flat accommodating at least six persons, meaning that there are about 60 people tied to a landlord.

Analysts say that because Nigerians are most times not able to own houses of their own, they live as tenants.In some more developed countries, implementation of housing policies aimed at helping the vulnerable, enables such group to own their own homes.

Johnson Chukwuma, an estate manager, who gave this statistic in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos, noted that because there are no form of mortgages in Nigeria, people don’t have the capacity to buy, and so, have to rent.

The Nigerian Housing Policy of 1991 entitles, among other things, every adult Nigerian to a decent residential accommodation at affordable price and it is its non-implementation that has kept home ownership in the country at this abysmal level.

The non-implementation of the policy is also responsible for the low success rate of the contributory National Housing Fund (NHF) and even the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) as government organs set up to increase housing stock and home-ownership.

“If therefore this 80 percent tenants had access to mortgages, things would be better and the quality of life would be much improved. For quality of life alone, something just has to be done about mortgage because there are many people who have capacity to buy but are renting”, he lamented.

Nigeria has a very disturbing housing situation with only 10.7 million housing stock; Ten percent home-ownership level; about 5.5 percent annual urbanisation rate, and a staggering 16 million housing units deficit.

Chukwuma laments further that Nigeria is the only country where a home seeker may have about N5 million, an equivalent of $35,000, yet he cannot present it as down payment for a decent accommodation, explaining that “this is because something that you can call middle class property starts from N20 million”.

Timothy Nubi, a professor at the Faculty of Environment Sciences, University of Lagos, gave further insight into the nation’s pathetic housing situation.

According to him, about N12 trillion is required to finance the housing deficit. Nubi added that housing in Nigeria is estimated to be 2.3 per 1,000 inhabitants, with over 70 percent of the population lacking decent quality urban life.

Nubi whose views were contained in a paper he presented at a forum organised by the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) also disclosed that more than seven cities in Nigeria have populations above one million, lamenting that the country has lacked real estate -backed capital market instruments and significant social housing and new town development initiatives for several decades.

Emeka Eleh, president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), agrees, insisting that social housing is critical, but has to involve government.

Eleh, who spoke in an interview with journalists in Lagos, argued that “if government is talking about housing for all, there is no way it will not have a social housing component”.

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA), he noted, was established to provide social housing, pointing out that the authority should be seen to be performing that function. “You cannot achieve an equitable society without providing for those who don’t have; those who lack the basic things they should have”, he said.

He further said that his institution supports social housing, disclosing that they were in Abuja for the public hearing to support the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development’s bill on social housing.

According to him, even though the housing sector is better driven by the private sector, government still has to enable equitable distribution of housing, to ensure that the vast majority are properly housed, stressing that there has to be an element of social housing that is encouraged by government “because this is what is done all over the world. In India, for instance, there are the Council Flats with all manner of social housing components”.

Eleh noted that there were many ways in which government could enhance access to housing, explaining that it could do that by giving people land titles without charging too much money; providing mortgages; providing infrastructure, so that developers don’t have to spend money on that.

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Nine injured in another late night explosion

Yet to be identified assailants detonated an explosive device in an uncompleted building in Bayan Gari at Tudun Wadan dan Iya in Bauchi State injuring nine people around 10pm on Sunday.

There were hotels and brothels in the area where the blast occurred and it is a popular relaxation spot for many.

Bauchi State Police Commissioner Mohammed confirmed the incident to Daily Trust in a telephone interview that “some hoodlum’s detonated explosives in an uncompleted building in Bayan Gari. Nine people were injured and we have taken all the injured people to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital”

A security source in Bauchi state said “all the injured people were not affected by the blast they were injured when they heard the blast. They panicked and were injured in the resulting stampede. There was nobody in the building where the blast occured but it is a place we raid often for Indian hemp smokers."

An eye witnesses who spoke to Daily Trust said “the blast occurred near a hotel where we were dancing. We heard a loud sound explosion and the blast shattered  the glasses of our cars. We all panicked before soldiers came to our rescue. I counted at least 10 injured people. We were all trapped but God saved us."

On Friday, an explosive device was detonated near a popular night club in Abuja close to midnight. 

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British soldier killed after he is 'swept away' during training on Austrian rafting trip

A British soldier has died in a rafting accident during training in Austria after reportedly being swept away when his boat capsized.Austrian police said the 22-year-old man was one of a group of British Army servicemen based in Germany who went on the trip.

They believe eight people set off on the raft from Landeck in Tirol, western Austria, yesterday.Eyewitnesses said the man, who has not been named but was with 2 Logistic Support Regiment, lost his grip on the boat after it capsized and he and his colleagues tried to upright it.

But the water current was reported to be too strong and he was swept downstream, according to the Austrian Times.

Investigators are expected to look at whether the raft trip should have gone ahead due to the torrential rain that has fallen in Austria in recent days.A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence today confirmed the man's death.

He told MailOnline: 'It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence can confirm the death of a serving soldier from 2 Logistic Support Regiment (2 LSR) yesterday.'The circumstances of the soldier’s death are being investigated by the Austrian police and we are supporting them with the work.'

The spokesman said the trip was organised as an 'adventurous training' activity, which is provided to all armed forces personnel.

The Austrian Times reported that the man was recovered from the water but attempts to resuscitate him failed.

His boat was the last of three that set off and was reportedly 'hit by a huge wave shortly before it turned over'.

According to the British Army website, soldiers from 2 LSR have in recent years been deployed to countries including Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Kenya and the Falkland Islands.

In January this year, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, presented personnel from 2 LSR with campaign medals following their return from a 'demanding' tour in Afghanistan.

Princess Anne, who is the Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Logistic Corps, presented medals to 2 LSR during a ceremony at Princess Royal Barracks in northern Germany.

During their tour, between March and November 2011, soldiers were deployed across the volatile Helmand Province in support of Germany-based 20th Armoured Brigade.

They provided transport and communications expertise and worked with the Afghan National Army to prepare them to take over security for the country.

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Customs intercept poultry foods worth over N15m

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ have  intercepted about 2,590 cartons of different poultry foods with a Duty Paid value (DPV) of over N15 million.

Dan Ugo, controller of the unit, while taking some representatives osf the Nigerian Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) round the destruction site revealed that the command captured made use of intelligence based information to capture the smugglers and got hold of the contraband goods.

According to him, the urgent need to protect local farmers and create jobs for Nigerian youths informed the latest seizure, thus, “the unit is determined to enforce full compliance with the headquarters’ directive on zero tolerance for the importation of poultry products”.

He assured Nigerians that the unit will ensure the sustenance of the campaign aimed at suppressing smuggling to its barest minimum. He further advised importers of the poultry foods to venture into more reasonable enterprise in order to avoid financial losses from that may arise from seizure.

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Cassava bread and diabetes

Available evidence does not support the erroneous belief that cassava bread is not healthy for consumption. Some people have even linked cassava bread with diabetes. This clarification becomes necessary against the backdrop of the purported rejection by the House of Representatives of a bill seeking to mandate bakers to make cassava flour part of the ingredients for making bread. I was wondering why the House would take such decision, knowing that Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava, added with the fact that the produce, which has the potential to earn thousands of Nigerians significant income, is not fully exploited.

Diabetes is a global disease and, at present, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has substantial data on it. It is noteworthy that Nigeria is not one of the countries with high prevalence, and not even among the top ten countries that will record high prevalence by 2030, according to a research report conducted by Sarah Wild, Gojka Rojlic, et al (2004), which was administered on WHO member countries. India, China, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Japan, Philippines and Egypt are countries that, by 2030, will have between 7 million and 79 million people diagnosed as having diabetes. Coincidentally, these countries are the leading wheat producers in the world.

Another medical indicator which is now being used to dissuade people from embracing cassava bread is the Glycemic Index (GI). The GI measures how much each gram of available carbohydrate raises a person’s glucose level following the consumption of the food, and it is measured in 100. GI low range falls within 55 and below, medium within 56 and 69, while 70 and above represents the high GI range.

According to the rumour making the rounds, which though has been dispelled by Akinwunmi Adesina, the minister of Agriculture and Rural development, cassava has a very high GI, meaning cassava bread consumption exposes the consumer to the risk of diabetes. However, from available facts, the GI of cassava is moderate, which does not constitute danger to consumers; and cassava flour has a GI of 59.34, which puts it in the medium GI range. On the other hand, white bread, most white rice, corn flakes, cereals, glucose, maltose and white potato are classified as having very high GI, according to Wikipedia, while yam flour was found by a group of researchers from the University of Ibadan to have a GI of 49.81.

Furthermore, it is instructive that cassava bread is a staple food in Central and South America, where it is popularly known as Pão de Queijo in Brazil, Pan de Yuca in Ecuador, Pan de Bono in Colombia, and Ereba in Belize.

As a country with high number of poor people, cassava offers the nation a way out of poverty if it is optimally utilised. At present, not much value is being added to cassava, which explains why Nigeria does not earn much foreign exchange from it. Many people heaved a sigh of relief when the Agric minister rolled out his transformation programme to include the production of cassava flour and subsequent inclusion of same in bread making.

There is no doubt that those who have controlled the flour market in Nigeria might not like the idea that a new set of businessmen will challenge their authority by introducing a product that will reduce their market share. And with the way the bill was purportedly rejected, it is clear that some very powerful people do not want the cassava bread project to see the light of the day. Hence, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture needs to be ahead of these forces if truly the project is important to it. That is why Nigerians must be constantly orientated so as not to kill this brilliant idea.

Nigerians are the ones that consume cassava, including cassava flour. Therefore, they should be the focus of the orientation programme of the federal government. In this regard, I will suggest a three-phase orientation programme. The FG should focus on the supply and demand sides in the form of town hall meetings, starting with those in Lagos, Benue, Kano and Port Harcourt. It should, as a matter of urgency, design a sample production plan that will practically show huge disparity between the cost per unit of producing cassava and that of producing wheat bread of the same quantity. The supply side involves the farmers that produce cassava flour, who should be educated on the need to embrace the highest hygienic practices; while the demand side relates to the bakers, their distributors and consumers. By so doing, the bakers will rest assured that the cassava project aims to enhance their profitability.

This becomes even more necessary now that an increase in fuel price and the new electricity tariff regime will impact negatively on the ability of the bakers to make profit. Since not all the costs incurred by firms can be transferred to the final consumers, especially as many Nigerians are very poor, there is the need to cut the cost of input, and cassava flour provides a better way of doing this.

The next thing is to mount rigorous campaigns on the radio and television, while the last stage is to conduct a field research with a view to gathering new set of information that will help government sustain the project. Eventually, passing the cassava bill will only be a thing of formality.

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Jonathan’s Brazil trip, abdication of duty — Reps

Members of the House of Representatives yesterday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for travelling to Brazil for the United Nations conference on climate change when hundreds of Nigerians are being killed and maimed in several cities, saying he abdicated his duty.

The members stated this while debating a motion sponsored by Rep Yakubu Barde (PDP, Kaduna) who came under matters of urgent national importance over the Sunday bombings of three churches in Kaduna State and the reprisal attacks that followed.

The legislators unanimously voted summoning President Jonathan to come back home from Brazil. The House resolution invited the President and the security chiefs to address the House at a closed-door session on the insecurity situation in the country.

Representative Emma-nuel Jime (PDP, Benue) said: “There is an abdication of responsibility on the part of the President. So far what we have is a statement by his spokesman to say that he is too engaged with state issues than to talk about Boko Haram,” Rep. Jime added.

Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN, Lagos) also criticised the President for contravening the oath of office he swore on May 29th 2011 by travelling “to far away to Brazil to engage in climate conference when a state capital is under siege for hours.”

“We must begin to look elsewhere for solution, drastic situations calls for drastic measures. We have power of oversights not only on the National Security Adviser but also on the President himself”, the Minority Leader said.

In her submission, Rep. Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas (ACN, Lagos), said if the President knows that he can’t handle the situation ‘he should step down’. “We should issue marching order to the President in view of the security situation,” she said.

Rep. Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba) said:  “Is Mr. President scared? Is the IGP scared? Are there some people that cannot be arrested? If the President knows who is behind Boko Haram he should go after them otherwise nobody should come and tell us that they are on top of the situation”.

“Ali Modu Sheriff is today walking the street of Nigeria, Jonathan must now demonstrate that he has the will power to handle it, he can no longer be telling us that this is a phenomenon. He said even in his cabinet there are Boko Haram symphatisers but it means that he is the only person who has the custody of information about their sponsors,” Jime said.

Speaking shortly after the motion was passed, Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal lamented that he was quoted out of context when he issued statement on the Sunday bomb blast and reprisal attacks in Kaduna state through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam saying, “my stance has always been known on issue of terrorism; I have always spoken against the perpetrators, therefore I crave the indulgence of those desperately looking for what to use to smear my name to please leave me alone”.

Although no date was set for the appearance of the President before the House, this would be the first time that the House has summoned the President since assuming office in February 2010 after he was declared Acting President by a resolution of the both chambers of the National Assembly.

Meanwhile three opposition parties; Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) also condemned the President Jonathan for embarking on the Brazil trip while Yobe and Kaduna States when dozens of Nigerians wee being killed and maimed. ACN said it is a sign of incompetence and confused leadership.

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Two million litres of fake diesel found in Lagos

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it discovered vessels laden with two million litres of adulterated diesel in an illegal jetty in Lagos.


 The department discovered the product during a raid on the jetty on Monday.  According to a statement from the agency, some of the suspects arrested during the raid have been handed over to the police for prosecution.


  It expressed concern over the unwholesome practice, saying diesel consumers should source and purchase the product from only reputable retail outlets duly accredited by DPR.

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Pension scam: N273 billion looted in 6 years - Disband task force, prosecute officials — Senate committee

From 2005 to 2011, top government officials in charge of pension funds in the country stole N273.9 billion, the report of the recent investigation into the alleged mismanagement of the funds by a Senate panel has revealed.

A copy of the report, obtained yesterday by our correspondent, shows that out of the total sum of N1.025 trillion received as pension funds by the various pension offices and boards within the period, only N751.4 billion was expended, with N273.9 billion looted.

According to the report, out of the N213.3 billion pension funds received by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, only N154.6 billion was disbursed; while the Military Pension Board disbursed only N294bn out of the N317.6bn it received.

The report also reveals that the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office paid only N57.4bn out of the N85.2bn released to it; the Department of State Service Pension Office, N9.4bn out of N34.7bn; and the Police Pension Office, N88.2bn out of N131.4bn.

The report further shows that within the period under review, out of the N176.4bn received by other parastatals as pension funds, only N100.6bn was expended; while only N46.9bn was spent out of the N55.8bn released for the payment of retirees of universities across the nation.

In the report, the Senator Aloysious Etok-led Senate Joint Committee on Public Service and Establishment and States and Local Government Administration observed what it described as ‘syndicated and institutionalised corruption, fraud and embezzlement in the management of pension funds in the country’.

This was made possible, according to the committee, because of beneficial collusion and conspiracy by government officials.

The committee recommended, among other things, that the chairman of the Pension Task Team, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina and all members of the team be arrested and prosecuted by the police for “the crimes of embezzlement, fraud, misappropriation, misapplication, illegal virements, contract splitting, award of contracts to non-existing companies, outright stealing of police pension funds, among others”.

It also recommended that the team be immediately disbanded “as its continued existence and usurpation of statutory functions and violation of extant laws is illegal, as also recommended by the two former Heads of Service, Chief Steve Oronsanye and Prof. Adedapo Afolabi as well as the incumbent, Alhaji Isa Bello Sali”.

The crimes committed by Maina’s team, according to the committee, include: illegal contract splitting and award to the tune of N1.8bn; spending N1.6bn as running cost of the police pension instead of N80 million appropriated; spending N830.8 million purportedly for the payment of June 2010 pension using cheques instead of e-payment system; dubious enrolment of pensioners into the payroll, 49,395; spending N234 million on the already 90 percent completed biometric capturing with no files, data and documents from the pension department; spending N17 million on the biometric verification of less than 30 pensioners in Diaspora without recourse to the Nigerian Embassy/High Commission responsible for such.

The committee also noted that 5.01 million workers, in both public and private sectors, had so far been registered by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) under the new contributory pension scheme, with a total of N2.45 trillion pension assets as of last December.

It added that a total of N604.27 billion had been credited into the contributory pension accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria out of which N449.35 billion was remitted into the Retirement Savings Account of the federal employees with the various pension funds administrators.

Senate President David Mark said the report would be debated today.

Our correspondent reports that it took the committee about four months to conclude the investigation.

In a bid to put an end to the plight of pensioners in the country, the Senate late last year mandated the committee to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the perceived mismanagement of pension funds in the country. The committee began the process of the investigation in February with a visit to the headquarters of the various geo-political zones.

At the series of public hearings held in Abuja between February and May, the committee invited various stakeholders including former and serving chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri and Ibrahim Lamorde,  as well as former Heads of Civil Service of the Federation, Professor Adedapo Afolabi, Chief Steve Oronsanye and the incumbent, Alhaji Sani Bello Sali. The management of the Pension Reform Task Force, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, officials of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Auditor-General of the Federation also appeared at the hearings.

Daily Trust recalled that the investigation first attracted attention of the public in March with the discovery that over N26 billion meant for the payment of police retirees was traced to six commercial banks where it was domiciled. Perhaps, more shocking was the revelation that the Pension Reform Taskforce opened 70 bank accounts to allegedly siphon pension funds and transferred same to the various banks without the authorization of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

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Arik Air passes second IOSA certification

Arik Air has scaled through the second audit of the Operational Safety Audit of the International Air Transport Association (IOSA) just as the airline said its airplanes are fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment that makes the aircraft to land with recourse to instrument landing system at airports.

The airline explained that with GPS, the aircraft in its fleet can land at zero visibility at any airport in the country.

IOSA is the benchmark for global safety management in airlines and all IATA members are registered and must remain registered in order to maintain IATA membership.

Presently, two domestic airlines; Arik Air and Air Nigeria are the only airlines on IOSA register.

Speaking with journalists during a facility tour of the airline headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, the Senior Vice President, Operations, Arik Air, Rob Thomas, at the airline Operational Control Centre (OCC), where all it flights are tracked, disclosed that Arik Air airplanes can land with zero visibility, adding that however, the airline does not take off when there is adverse weather report or when there is zero visibility based on the safety ground.

The minimum approved visibility by Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is 1,200.

He added that the GPS in Arik Air airplanes had been integrated into Auto Pilot System (APS) and Flight Management System (FMS), adding that these differentiate the new generation aircraft from the older ones.

Thomas stated that OCC in Arik Air could be comparable to the one in Emirates, adding that with this equipment, it is easier to track the airline’s aircraft, those delayed, gives the airline current global weather report, indicate when an aircraft is due for maintenance, where it will be maintained among others.

He stated that maintenance checks such as A and B are done at the airline’s maintenance hangar by Lufthansa Techniks but was quick to add that major maintenance such as C and D are done abroad.

He disclosed that the airline passed the second IOSA programme and that it was done three weeks ago.

This is coming just as experts are asking the Federal Government to make it compulsory for domestic airlines to belong to IATA, which would make the airlines go through IOSA following the Dana MD 83 aircraft crash which occurred on June 3, 2012, killing 153 passengers, six crew on board and six persons on the ground.

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8 filling stations face sanctions over adulterated products

Mobil Filling Station in Osisioma and Dan Dollars Filling Station on Ikot Ekpene road are among the eight filling stations in Aba to be penalised by the Abia State Ministry of Petroleum and Solid Minerals for allegedly selling adulterated diesel to the public.

Officials of the ministry, whose duty it is to ensure that sanity reigns in the sector, found the eight filling stations culpable.

Don Ubani, commissioner for Petroleum and Solid Minerals, who confirmed this in a telephone interview with CityFile, revealed that adequate punishment would be meted out to the culprits to serve as deterrent to other marketers.

“They would be punished to stop others from engaging in illegal activities. We won’t allow such people to sabotage our efforts to ensure sanity in the system,” he affirmed.

Simple Nwankpa, chairman, Aba depot re-activation committee, affirmed that the Aba chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) frowns at such illegal activities, noting that the body at different forums had warned its members not to involve themselves in product adulteration.

He, however, attributed the development to the inactivity of the Aba depot, noting that such practices would be completely eliminated as soon as the depot resumes operation.

“The Aba depot is still under rehabilitation and so, our members source products from different places and sometimes buy adulterated products from wrong sources,” he noted.

The Aba depot was cut-off from supply of petroleum products by the PPMC in 2006, due to the activities of vandals.

Source:Businessdayonline

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