Tag Archives: Ahead

Recession: Tougher Times Ahead- Oyedepo

Posted on by
1

Founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said that Nigerians will experience harsher economic challenges.

He, thereby, enjoined them to draw closer to God in order to survive the impending tough economic climate.

Oyedepo said this on Tuesday during the opening session of the annual Shiloh programme of the church in Ota, Ogun State.

According to a statement from the church, the opening session was witnessed by over 2,000 delegates from 41 countries.

“It looks tough presently but it’s going to get tougher in the days to come. Obedience to the terms of covenant will put you in total command. When all your obedience is fulfilled, all opposition is brought down,” he said.

Alluding to the Bible, the clergy said that recession was not a new phenomenon, urging the audience to be committed to God to have exemptions.

“However, from scriptures, all the children of the covenant, who walk according to biblical truth will always enjoy exemptions from the gross darkness and evils plaguing the world,” he said.

Credit: punchng

Nigeria Records Increased Oil Output Ahead OPEC Production Cut Talks

Posted on by
Reply

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in September in Algiers to trim production but the accord still has to be finalised on November 30 in Vienna.

In its November monthly report, OPEC said that its 14 members pumped 33.64 million barrels a day (mb/d) in October, 236,000 barrels more than in September.

Saudi Arabia’s output fell 51,700 bpd to 10.5 mb/d but Iraq and Iran, the next biggest producers, registered increases, as did Libya and Nigeria, the report said.

Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch foe, in particular is keen to keep the taps open following the lifting of international sanctions under last year’s landmark nuclear deal.

The OPEC report chimed broadly with figures released Thursday by the International Energy Agency, which put cartel output at 33.8 mb/d.

The IEA said this was “well in excess” of the 32.5 mb/d to 33.0 mb/d range agreed by OPEC in September.

“This means that OPEC must agree to significant cuts in Vienna to turn its Algiers commitment into reality,” the IEA added.

The September agreement lifted oil prices but they remain hovering at around $45 per barrel.

On Friday late morning Brent North Sea was trading at $45.44 in London, down $0.40 from Thursday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $0.57 at $44.09 on the Nymex.

Credit: AFP

Reps Demand Details Of Buhari’s $26.96bn Loan Ahead Of Debate

Posted on by
8

There were indications on Sunday that Buhari’s $26.96bn loan request might not get a smooth passage in the House of Representatives

Findings by an eye witness showed that lawmakers were already querying the rationale for the “huge loan”, which they feared was a gradual return to the debt trap of yesteryears.

An official of the National Assembly said, “There will be serious legislative fireworks this week because we are not in ordinary times in Nigeria.

“Any loan that generations after today will continue to repay raises a lot of questions, and the person to provide the answers is Mr. President himself.”

It was gathered that some lawmakers in the House had, immediately the letter conveying the loan request to the House was read, queried the lack of details on how the government planned to spend the money.

A member stated, “$29.96bn is not N29bn. This is a huge amount of money. What do you want to do with it?

“It is not enough for you to write the parliament and say approve for agriculture and all that. Where are the details of the proposed expenditure? This loan request will not have an easy ride.”

House Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, admitted that members were worried that the President opted for a foreign loan at a time his administration had yet to account for the recovery it made as looted funds.

Ogor spoke more, “We have not seen the details of the loan. We will have to see the details and compare the proposal with the provisions of the Debt Management Office Act.

“There is so much money recovered from looted funds, Treasury Single Account.  How have we utilised the money?

“We are not going to approve any loan without first seeing the details; make comparison with our DMO Act and our foreign liabilities.”

Read More:

http://dailytimes.ng/reps-demand-details-buharis-26-96bn-loan-ahead-debate/

Tinubu’s Associates Set To Revive AD Ahead Of 2019 Election

Posted on by
1

Ahead of 2019 general elections, the moribund Alliance for Democracy (AD) may be the political haven for associates of embattled National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

It was gathered that except President Muhammadu Buhari and well-meaning stakeholders in the ruling party take concrete and genuine steps to placate the former Lagos State governor, his allies may ditch the party for the AD.

A party source revealed that Tinubu’s camp may have opened discussions with stakeholders of the platform that brought him to power in 1999.

The party source noted that the forthcoming Ondo State governorship election would be used to test the waters.

The rejection of the  recommendations of the three-member Election Appeal Committee chaired by Mrs. Helen Bendega, which called for cancellation of the poll that produced Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), and the submission of his name to INEC by the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was the cause of the cold war betweenTinubu and the latter.

Tinubu, while demanding for the resignation of Odigie-Oyegun, accused the former Edo State governor of treating with disdain the joint petition written by Chiefs Oke, Olusegun Abraham and Senator Ajayi Borrofice rejecting the outcome of the primary that produced Akeredolu.

While the national leader backed Abraham for the ticket, forces in the Presidency supported Akeredolu, who was president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).

Read More: sunnewsonline

Oil Edges Higher Ahead Of OPEC Meeting

Posted on by
1

Oil prices rose modestly in Asia on Monday ahead of a producers’ meeting this week that might agree to cap supplies.

But analysts warned that optimism should be tempered by experience of two years of gluts and disagreement among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

OPEC and Russia are slated to begin meeting later Monday on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algiers, looking for ways to stabilise prices that have been depressed since 2014.Pre-forum talks last week between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and member Iran were bleak, with neither willing to commit to freezing production, sending prices plunging more than 3.0 percent on Friday.

However, both major contracts rebounded on Monday after Algeria’s energy minister said all options were still on the table, said OANDA market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

“With OPEC meeting on the sidelines of International Energy Forum for the next three days, and with the first (US) presidential debate happening tomorrow morning Asia time, expect oil to move on comments that range from hope to reality,” he said.

At about 0740 GMT US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was up 29 cents at $44.77 while Brent crude gained 23 cents to $46.12.

Read More:

http://guardian.ng/news/oil-edges-higher-ahead-of-opec-meeting/

Japan Warns Over Pokemon Go Pitfalls Ahead Of Launch

Posted on by
1

Japan isn’t taking any chances when it comes to the safety of impatient fans awaiting the release of Pokemon Go in the country where the cutesy monsters were born.

Tokyo has issued a nine-point safety guide warning of dangers gamers could face, including heat stroke, online scams and dubious strangers.

Japan’s National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) has also advised fans to download a weather app so Pokemon hunts don’t land them — improbably — in the path of a tsunami or climate-related dangers.

Heat stroke is a constant worry this time of year so players should wear a hat, the guide advises, adding that parents should snap pictures of Pokemon-hunting kids for rescuers in case their young ones get lost.

“Dangerous places” should be avoided at all costs, and gamers should never meet up with someone who contacts them online because they could be a real-life monster, it cautions.

A caption featuring a pair of cartoon Wild West cowboys warns about robberies and other troubles that players elsewhere have recounted.

“There have been reports that players have gotten run over, fallen into water, gotten bitten by a snake or robbed,” it added.

The list is the latest in a slew of warnings issued worldwide since the hugely popular smartphone app was launched two weeks ago.

It has already been blamed for a wave of crimes, traffic violations and complaints in cities around the globe.

Credit: Guardian

Oil Drops In Cautious Trade Ahead Of OPEC

Posted on by
1

Oil prices dropped Wednesday, as traders trod cautiously before this week’s OPEC meeting in Vienna, and set aside upbeat Chinese data. The market has however rebounded strongly from January lows of under $30 per barrel, and last week topped $50 for the first time this year on production outages in Canada and Nigeria.

But oil has since retreated and remain at less than half of their 2014 peaks of over $100 because of chronic global oversupply. At about 1145 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in July weakened 64 cents to $48.46 per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery, a new contract, also fell 64 cents to $49.25 a barrel compared with Tuesday’s close. “Brent crude continues to be constrained by the $50 per barrel level ahead of tomorrow’s bi-annual OPEC meeting,” noted Inenco analyst Dorian Lucas.

The 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets on Thursday for its first meeting with Saudi Arabia’s new oil minister — a close ally of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been outspoken about not reducing oil production. The recent recovery in prices has eased pressure on the group to turn down the taps at this week’s gathering, analysts say. “This week’s OPEC meeting could be quite interesting, although with oil prices where they are, I would be very surprised if any plans to cut or freeze production are announced,” noted Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

OPEC, which pumps around a third of the world’s oil or some 30 million barrels every day, has historically responded to a fall in prices by cutting production. But in the current cycle producers led by kingpin Saudi Arabia have changed strategy, maintaining output even with lower prices in order to pressure US shale producers.

Credit: vanguardngr

Fuel Price Hike: NLC, TUC, To Go Ahead With Strike Despite Court Order

Posted on by
1

Despite an order of the National Industrial Court restraining the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress from going ahead with their planned strike to protest the hike in price of petrol, the strike will go ahead as planned on Wednesday, labour officials have said.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Peter Ozo-Eson, on Tuesday night told Premium Times that from all indications the strike would go on as planned.

On the meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, earlier convened to attempt to broker a last minute truce on the matter, Mr. Ozo-Eson said the meeting was yet to hold at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

“There was no resolution yet. We are just going for the meeting now. ,” the NLC scribe said on telephone interview. “We have been meeting on our own on matters that are important to us. It is clear the strike will go ahead as planned,” Mr. Ozo-Eson said on telephone on his way to the venue of the meeting.

He however assured that an official statement would be issued on the final position after what promises to be an all-night meeting.

The General Executive Secretary of Medical and Health Workers Union, north central, Richard Gbamwuan, in an interview with this newspaper, shortly after an emergency NEC meeting of the NLC held in Abuja on Tuesday, said that they were going ahead with the proposed strike.

“We have resolved to go ahead with the protest nationwide, as far as we are concerned, we are yet to be aware of any court injunction,” he said.

“And if there is any court injunction, we are just doing what federal government is fond of doing. The same Industrial court had stopped federal government from increasing electric tariff but till date federal government ignored us, they still went ahead, so we are embarking on the protest.”

Credit: PremiumTimes

PDP Screens Eight Candidates For Chairmanship Ahead Of NEC

Posted on by
1

The caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is screening eight candidates ahead of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

The NEC meeting is where a National Chairman for the party is expected to be ratified.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Olisa Metuh, told journalists that the caucus expanded the number of candidates from the initial four submitted by the governors for screening to eight.

According to him, the former Governor of Borno State, Mr Alimidu Sheriff and Mr Nuhu Ribadu have joined the race for the party’s national chairmanship.

Credit: ChannelsTv

Nigerian Police Deploys Bomb Detection Squad To Airports Ahead Of Christmas Celebration

Posted on by
1

The Nigerian Police Force has deployed its Bomb Detection Unit to help beef up security at various airports in the country ahead of the forthcoming Christmas celebration.

A statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by Yakubu Dati, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, said the deployment was part of the security and safety measures.

It said that the deployment of the police bomb detection unit to the airports was to complement the effort of FAAN’s security personnel at various security screening points to ensure a hitch-free celebration.

The statement quoted Mr. Dati as saying that necessary operational and security measures had been put in place at all the airports to ensure free flow of passengers and cargo during the yuletide.

“Passenger facilitation at all our airports has also been enhanced by the installation of more modern and bigger conveyor belts and metal walk-through detectors.

“The expansion and modernisation of all the airport terminals now provide better ambience and more space for restaurants at the terminals, as well as newly opened duty free shops,” Mr. Dati added.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Ministerial Appointee, Zainab Ahmed, Hands Over At NEITI Ahead Of Inauguration

Posted on by
Reply

The outgoing Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Zainab Ahmed, on Tuesday handed over the management of the agency to the Director of Communications of the agency, Ogbannaya Orji.

Mrs. Ahmed is one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees confirmed last week by the Senate.

In her valedictory speech Tuesday, Mrs. Ahmed described her appointment as not a personal recognition, but an acknowledgement of the importance of NEITI’s role in the country.

“The appointment is therefore a key achievement for all of us. It is one of the major impacts of EITI in Nigeria and a positive acknowledgement of the work we have all collectively done in the last five years,” Mrs. Ahmed noted

Credit: PremiumTimes

Ethiopia Frees 5 Bloggers, Journalists Ahead Of Obama’s Visit

Posted on by
4

Five bloggers and journalists held in Ethiopia for more than a year have been freed after the charges were dropped, their lawyer said Thursday, weeks before US President Barack Obama is due to visit the country.

In a separate case, journalist Reeyot Alemu, jailed in June 2011 after being found guilty of plotting a terrorist act, was released on Thursday, campaigners said.

Four others also arrested in April 2014 remain in jail, accused of planning attacks and collaborating with US-based opposition group Ginbot 7, labelled a terrorist organisation by Ethiopian authorities.

“They have suffered, their rights have been violated, but now we are happy,” defence lawyer Ameha Mekonnen told AFP after the five journalists and bloggers were released on Wednesday.

Ameha said the decision to drop the charges was unexpected.

“We are all surprised. The question is why did it take more than one year? We’ve been crying, shouting to the court, to the government,” he said.

The trial of the four remaining bloggers is due to resume on July 20.

Rights activists welcomed the releases but said more needed to be done.

“It’s very good news that six journalists and bloggers have been released, though they shouldn’t have been imprisoned in the first place,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy director for Africa at Human Rights Watch.

“The government should show this is only a first step toward releasing all political prisoners and opening up space for Ethiopians to voice dissent on a range of issues.”

Tom Rhodes from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the release, “a welcome turn of events in Ethiopia, where the number of journalists in prison has steadily increased in recent years”.

“We call on authorities to release the remaining Zone 9 bloggers and all the journalists in jail for their work, and to drop all charges against them,” Rhodes said in a statement Thursday.

Reeyot Alemu, who won a UN press freedom prize in 2013, was originally sentenced to 14 years, reduced to five years on appeal.

Credit: AFP

IG Orders Tight Security Nationwide Ahead Of Presidential Inauguration

Posted on by
1

The Police High Command urged members of the public to continue collaborating with officers and men of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to stamp out crimes, including terrorism.

The statement noted that the police had perfected strategies to prepare a safe and secure ground for hitch-free inauguration of new governments nationwide.

Meanwhile, the IG has warned policemen against involvement in land dispute, stressing that such cases should be referred to the court of law or for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

He frowned at the participation of police officers in land issues, which he said bred corruption, noting that land dispute is not a criminal matter that should be settled by policemen unless there is a criminal dimension to the case.

Arase at a meeting with Inspectors and the rank and file at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday, cautioned his men against carrying bags for VIPs, insisting that this is not part of their job schedule as security personnel.

Apparently reacting to reports of policemen carrying VIP bags and luggage, especially at the airport and at public functions, the IG who flayed such conduct, stated that any policeman, particularly men of the Special Protection Unit, caught degrading himself would be severely punished.

The IG announced that 36,599 rank and file would be promoted soon, adding that the police management is also working hard to improve the welfare of men of the Force.

Conservatives Ahead In British Election

Posted on by
1

Projections say Conservative party will win 316 seats, ahead of Labour with 239 seats and the SNP with 58 seats.Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party is on course to return to power in the UK, an exit poll has projected.

The exit poll, released as polls closed at 21:00 GMT on Thursday night, projected that the Conservative party would win 316 seats, with Labour winning 239, the Scottish National Party (SNP) winning 58 and the Liberal Democrats winning 10 seats.

Cameron said his Conservative party’s policies in the last government had been vindicated by the result. “Some people say there’s only one opinion poll that counts and that’s the one on election day, and I don’t think that’s ever been truer than tonight,” he said referring to polls that had put his party neck and neck with the opposition Labour Party.

“This has been a very strong night for the Conservative Party,” he added.

Labour leader Ed Miliband, speaking after he retained his Doncaster North seat, said he was “disappointed” in the result. “It’s clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour Party, we haven’t made the gains we wanted in England and Wales, and in Scotland we’ve seen a surge of nationalism,” he said.

“I am deeply sorry for what has happened,”

The right-wing UK Independence Party was projected to win two seats. If correct, the projections showed that the Conservatives would still be left short of the 326 seats required to form a majority government in parliament.

Senior Conservative lawmaker Michael Gove said the exit poll pointed to a clear win for his party. “If it is right, then it means the Conservatives have clearly won this election, and Labour has clearly lost it,” he told the BBC.

Read More: aljazeera