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China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) will increase its venture in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, especially its offshore investments, to about $17 billion.Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Beijing-based Corporation, Yuan Guangyu, disclosed this during a visit to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja at the weekend, saying Nigeria was a key destination for the national oil firm.
CNOOC, one of the three big Chinese national oil entities, originally focuses on offshore upstream exploration and production, while the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) favours onshore upstream exploration and production. China Petrochemical Corporation Group, SINOPEC, the third of the tripod, focuses on refining and marketing.
Apart from over $14 billion, which Guangyu said the country has already invested in oil and gas sector in Nigeria, he disclosed that the group would stake additional $3 billion in its existing portfolio in the country’s offshore oil and gas operations.
Leading a team of CNOOC top executives to NNPC’s corporate headquarters, Guangyu called for common grounds of beneficial interest that could boost productivity of both countries’ oil firms.
Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, said the corporation was open to new investments and opportunities.Baru, who was represented by Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures Autonomous Business Unit of the NNPC, Victor Babatunde Adeniran, said the corporation would foster meaningful and mutually beneficial relations with credible entities like the CNOOC.

Jigawa State Governor, Mohammed Badaru, Kebbi State Governor/Chairman All Progressives Congress (APC)’s National Campaign Council for Ekiti State, Atiku Bagudu, Governor-Elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his wife, Bisi, and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, at Fayemi’s Isan Ekiti home, shortly after his declaration as winner of the governorship election… PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM
• PDP rejects outcome, vows to reclaim ‘stolen mandate’
• Tinubu lauds Fayemi, commends Eleka, Fayose for non-violence
• IGP Ibrahim Idris gives pass mark to police personnel, others
The Federal Government yesterday described the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election as a referendum on the performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, declaring: “Nigerians have given their verdict.”The keenly contested election had pitted APC contestant and former Minster of Solid Minerals Development Kayode Fayemi against Deputy Governor Olusola-Eleka.
Making the disclosure at a press conference in Lagos, Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the outcome was also a “death knell for fake news.” According to him, “Anyone who monitored the social media before and during the election would think it would be a landslide for the PDP. But the reality is different.”Mohammed, who thanked Ekiti people for ensuring the election was credible, accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of rigging the 2014 poll in the state.
He added: “They barred two serving governors from travelling to Ekiti to support their fellow governor. They willfully shut the Akure airport. We, leaders of then opposition APC, were forced to return to Lagos by road in the night. With the roles reversed in 2018, we did not pay the PDP back in its own coin, because of our strong belief in the rule of law. The rest is history.”
Buhari, earlier, commended the governor-elect and party supporters, urging them to be magnanimous in victory, as the incoming administration prepares to unfold a new lease of life for the people of Ekiti through purposeful and responsible governance.
In a statement through Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, Buhari urged the losers to be gallant in conceding defeat and use constitutional means to settle their grievances.He also appealed to stakeholders in Ekiti to work towards a successful transition to a new administration. “The people of Ekiti State have spoken loud and clear and democracy has won again,” he said.
APC National Leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu also congratulated Fayemi, saying the triumph opens a new chapter to the people of the state, who voted for a path different from the one they had trodden.
In a statement, ‘Ekiti Election: A Victory for the People’, which he personally signed, he expressed confidence that Fayemi would keep faith with the programmes and policies of the APC to improve the lives of Ekiti people. “I know Dr. Fayemi will establish an all-inclusive government that involves all stakeholders in his administration and in the governance of the state,” he said.
Tinubu praised Olusola-Eleka and Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose for putting up a determined contest without resorting to violence and urged them, “as prominent citizens and leaders of Ekiti, to move forward in that same spirit. Let there be an orderly transition from the outgoing to the incoming government.”He assured Fayose: “Fayemi is a man of integrity and his government will not be one of recrimination. It is a government of the people and as such will focus its attention on helping the people, not suppressing yesterday’s political opponents.”He also commended the people of Ekiti State for embracing peace and mutual respect for each other rather than “turning things upside down.”
The PDP however rejected the outcome of the election, alleging the results were “concocted” by the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.
It vowed: “Surely, this electoral banditry will not stand. The PDP is already collating all the infractions in this election and within the possible timeframe, we shall make our next step to reclaim our stolen mandate public.”
The party said it “rejects the falsified results and declaration” of Fayemi as winner. It described the election as “daylight robbery, a brazen subversion of the will of the people and direct assault on our democracy.”
It noted: “From authentic results flowing directly from the polling centres across the state, it is clear that the PDP candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, incontrovertibly won the election with a very comfortable margin over the APC candidate, only for INEC to allow the alteration of results at the collation centres.”
PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan told journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja: “The people of Ekiti State were pillaged, openly brutalised, confronted with the worst form of cruelty and intimidation from security agencies, and their mandate, which they freely gave to the PDP, was snatched at ‘gun point’ by enemies of democracy, who are parading themselves as icons of anti-corruption.”
“We have the detail of the discrepancies between the authentic results from the polling units and the false figures eventually announced by INEC. We know how APC conspired with INEC to bring in card reader machines belonging to Kogi, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo and Ogun into Ekiti to enable APC members from these states vote with ease.”
The PDP said it has details of how APC state governors and federal ministers allegedly diverted huge sums of money from their states and ministries “to bribe top officials of INEC, particularly, those in the ICT Department as well as security agencies”It noted: “There is no way our democracy can survive with an electoral process as witnessed in Ekiti State under President Muhammadu Buhari and the current INEC leadership. This bare-faced subversion of the will of the people is a clear recipe for crisis and we invite Nigerians and the international community to hold President Buhari, the APC, the INEC Chairman and heads of security agencies in Nigeria responsible should there be any breakdown of law and order in Ekiti State as a result of this election.
“This robbery of the franchise of Ekiti people is a horrible rape of our democracy and it is most uncharitable that it could happen under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the participation of the APC, who hugely benefitted from the credible electoral process midwifed by the PDP in 2015.”
The outcome of the election also drew criticism from Rivers State Governor and PDP stalwart Nyesom Wike who described it as political robbery.
He warned that the people of Rivers State were prepared to forestall a repeat of the scenario.At a thanksgiving service marking the end of his administration’s third year in Port Harcourt, Wike told the congregation: “Don’t be worried about what happened in Ekiti State. We are prepared. It will not happen here in Rivers State. I have never experienced that kind of robbery in politics. I told my colleagues, ‘Do not give them any chance.’ Most of them in APC are happy that they will repeat the same thing in Rivers State. We are waiting. Let your spirit not be down. Work hard and victory will be ours.”
Joined in part condemnation was pro-democracy group, YIAGA Africa, which decried vote-buying and voter-inducement. According to head of the group, Samson Itodo, the practice undermines political legitimacy and mocks the country’s democracy.
YIAGA however applauded the outcome, urging the losers to accept the results “because they reflect the votes cast.” It also commended INEC’s performance, urging it to address challenges such as card reader malfunction.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris lauded the commitment of police personnel and other security and safety agencies that participated in securing the election.
“The impressive performance of the police personnel to ensure law and order and a successful election is a clear testimony of the capability of the Nigeria Police Force in its renewed commitment to continue to adhere to international best practices in the conduct of elections in the country now and in the future,” he said in a statement by spokesman Jimoh Moshood.

NNPC
• They were struck with cutlasses
• We don’t use cutlass, says naval boss
Topline Security, a private guard firm engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to secure petroleum pipelines along the stretch of Atlas Cove has accused the Nigerian Navy of killing two of her personnel and abducting two others in the Ilashe area of Ogun State.
Speaking at a press conference at the weekend, coordinator of the firm, Chief Joshua Aminu, disclosed that the murdered personnel, identified as Bello Williams and Oluwasegun Olusanya, were killed in the line of duty.
Narrating how the duo were murdered, Aminu stated that on July11, 2018 at about 3:30p.m. some personnel of the Nigerian Navy stormed the Ilashe area in two speed boats and opened fire on his men. It was gathered that while the abducted security guards – Abayomi Ojugbele and Benedict Orme – sustained gunshot wounds, the deceased were slaughtered with a machete and buried in a shallow grave.
According to Aminu, “On the day of the incident, a pure water company had supplied my men with sachet water with a boat. So, they called me and I sent them to go and carry the bags of pure water to their tents. Our patrol team had gone to carry the bags when two speedboats of the Nigerian Navy stormed the area and started shooting sporadically.
“The guards ran for safety and I was immediately called and informed of the invasion. I called the officer in charge of the Navy base covering the area, Aminu Goni to inform him of the incident. I called him five times and he didn’t respond. I called the authorities of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to inform them of what had happened.
“Goni later called me and was telling me that a misunderstanding broke out between his personnel and my men. I told him that was why I was calling him earlier. I requested he go and rescue my men. Goni assured me the situation was under control that he is taking my men to the hospital. He even told me it was a mistake. “Later in the evening when I called him, he said my men were responding to treatment. I requested to come see them but he said they would be discharged the next day that there was no need.
“I called Goni again that evening and asked if the incident was truly a mistake because based on what I had seen, naval personnel shot at the windscreen and one of the bullet even went through the drivers seat. I also told him of how his men had punctured the four tyres of the patrol vehicle. Goni said I shouldn’t worry that he was coming to see me and that we would settle the matter amicably.”
The coordinator stated further that the authorities of the Nigeria Navy never opened up to the fact that they had murdered his personnel until a search conducted by him and some guards disclosed the gruesome murder. “Goni didn’t know that I have also gone out to investigate and found that he actually led the naval team that perpetrated the act.
“The next morning, I went round the area with my men to further examine the level of damage done. It was at this point that I found a tent that had the door open. Out of curiosity, I asked some of the men with me to find out who was in the tent. While searching the tent, we discovered a hole. Upon a close look we found the dead body of Williams (a.k.a. Awilo) in there. I insisted we search further. We then found a bag and cloths belonging to Olusanya. We also found his dead body, which was dragged to a corner of the tent.”
In his reaction, the FOC, Western Naval Command, Sylvanus Aba, who spoke with The Guardian via a telephone conversation confirmed the incident. He alleged the guards engage in criminal activities, especially pipeline vandalism.
In his words, “The persons killed were killed with machetes. What will the navy be doing with machetes. The fact is that these so-called guards engage in criminal activities. They claim they have not been paid for 15 months and they are still working. Why? Because they are siphoning fuel. They are committing all forms of atrocities. Two of their men are with us at the navy hospital because we want to use them to give evidence.”
On the agitation by the guards to bear arms, Aba said: “We had a meeting with the management of Topline security in Abuja and it was resolved by all that no arms should be carried by their operatives again. If they are saying they want to carry arms, we are insisting such arms should be licensed by the police.”NNPC spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, told The Guardian that he was not aware of the killing of pipeline security operatives. Ughamadu, who spoke in a telephone interview simply said: “I am not aware of what you are talking about”.
 
When The Guardian called the spokesman of Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Paul Osu, he said: “If you had done your findings, you should have known that PPMC do not have business with pipelines. We are not NNPC.”
“ I called Goni to inform him of what I had seen.  At this point I had to put it straight to him that based on my findings, that personnel of the Nigerian Navy had killed two of my men. He denied it saying my men were with him in the hospital. I told him I have seen their dead bodies.  He said that wasn’t possible saying, he would  come see things for himself.
“ I also called the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) in charge of the Western Naval Command, Lagos  Sylvanus Aba telling him what had happened and that the perpetrator had promised a comeback.  I reminded him of the agreement the Nigerian Navy had made to protect us while we discharge our duties.
“ To confirm my report, Aba sent some of his officers to come see things for themselves.  When they came,  walked round the scene they then concluded the boys would have been involved in pipeline vandalism and met their water loo in the act.
“This narrative angered my men so I instantly called the police attention to the murder. The police came pulled out the dead bodies and it was discovered that they were slaughtered with machetes.  They both had machete wounds all over them, “ he said.
Making a case for his personnel,  Aminu decried the act by the Naval operatives  saying it has become obvious that the lives of his personnel are no longer safe.  He maintained that their safety especially with the Nigeria Navy that had promised to protect them can no longer be guaranteed.
He said,  “ At this point,  it is obvious the navy has no good intentions for us.  They cannot protect us, instead they are fighting us.  So we have decided to stop working.  We have communicated to NNPC and they are yet to get back to us.
“To confirm the fact that the navy know what they are doing,  they have chosen not to allow us see our men in their hospital. Goni claimed the FOC said we shouldn’t come to see our men in the hospital.  Let me also remind you that early this  year,  they had also abducted four of our men (Aree Ibrahim,  Olayinka David,  Idowu Oni and Abayomi Williams)  who are still with them in Abuja.”
The coordinator stated frankly that if personnel from the security firm would have to return to their duty posts,  then they must be allowed to carry light arms to protect themselves  from the unknown.
“ If we must go back and continue our job of protecting pipelines,  then we must be allowed to protect ourselves by carrying light arms.  Other security agencies like the police have been very supportive but the Navy have made it clear they are not happy with what we are doing.  We do not have any ulterior motive,  we are only concerned and doing our best to protect our national interest by safeguarding Petroleum pipelines, “ he pointed out.

Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe (left); Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; Head of Operations, Guardian Digital, Lolade Nwanze; and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Guardian, Prof. Wale Omole, when The Guardian won the Best Newspaper Website of the Year in the Gold Category at the Nigeria Online Merit Award, in Lagos.  PHOTO: Ayodele Adeniran
Barely a week after it bagged two industry recognitions at the yearly Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) .ng media awards, your respected newspaper, at the weekend in Lagos, received another.
The Guardian won the Newspaper Website of the Year award in the gold category at the 2018 Nigeria Online Merit Award (NiOMA).According to the organisers, the newspaper, which is the flagship of the Nigerian media, has transformed the landscape both online and offline, pointing the way forward for other media houses.
They urged The Guardian to keep the fire burning and not relent its efforts in dictating the media space in the country.The award was received by Head of Digital Guardian, Lolade Nwanze, who ascribed the achievement to the drive by the management of the organisation to attain efficiency at all times.
The Guardian Publisher Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru and the Chairman Guardian Editorial Board Prof. Wale Omole were in attendance, adding colour to the event.The conference was themed, ‘Leveraging the Internet Revolution to Leapfrog Nigeria’s Development’.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State bagged the e-Governor of the Year; the Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, who doubled as the Guest Speaker of the occasion, got the ICT Icon of the Year; Best State Website of the Year went to Akwa Ibom, while State Innovative e-Project of the Year went to Abia.
The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) bagged the Best MDA Website of the Year. The Bank Website of the Year went to Fidelity Bank Plc. The Minister of the Year, according to NiOMA organisers, went to the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu.
NiOMA Secretary Sunny Okim noted that there have been many important discoveries which have changed the way things work in the world over the years, “but none of them can be compared with the Internet, which is changing the world in a very fast pace.”
Okim said the online world is changing the real world at breakneck speed and Nigerians are not left behind.According to him, those who are not online today may just discover in a few years to come that the world has left them behind. “It is this all-important role, which online has come to play in human life, that informed organising this event to fish out and recognise some individuals and organisations in the country whose online presence has impacted positively on the lives of the people.
He disclosed that in arriving at the list of nominees for recognition in various categories, the screening subcommittee, made up of professionals in various fields of endeavour, considered many aspects of websites including interactivity, traffic, design, best use of social media, currency, relevance and best use of pictures.

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor State of Osun.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has declared that the success recorded by his administration in the health sector would be difficult to surpass by any government.“Osun remains the only state nationwide that has promoted mass participation in healthy living as reflected in the number of health-related programmes institutionalised by government,” he added.
The governor made the remarks while leading thousands of residents on an endurance trek in Osogbo.The 9.5-kilometre exercise began from the Government House and terminated at Osogbo City Stadium.Aregbesola was in company of his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, members of the State Executive Council (SEC) among other notable personalities.
Addressing the participants, the governor said his administration had fulfilled its campaign promises of championing the well-being of the citizens through provision of free and effective healthcare delivery.He stated: “Osun remains the only state in Nigeria where hospitals were upgraded across all the federal constituencies at a time.”
Aregbesola identified regular endurance treks, weekly environmental sanitation, waterways’ dredging, procurement of refuse collection trucks and ambulances among others as some of the mechanisms deployed by his administration to achieve the milestones.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Chairman, Planning Committee of the programme, Dr. Surajudeen Bashir, said the event was put together to appreciate the “immense contributions of the Aregbesola administration.

Governor Ambode. Photo: Twitter/AkinwunmiAmbode
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday charged Lagos residents to be patient and support the ongoing construction of roads in major routes across the state.His appeal followed slow traffic along and around the routes of the construction works.
Speaking while inspecting the Airport road, Oshodi-Abule-Egba Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor and Ojokoro area, he appealed to residents to bear with the state government over the inconveniences being caused by the projects.
He, however, promised that all hands were on deck to deliver the projects on schedule.On the 13.5 kilometers Oshodi-Abule-Egba BRT corridor along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway designed with 14 bus stations and pedestrian bridges, Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Works, Adebowale Akinsanya, said although the construction was being delayed due to dense population along the axis, the project would be delivered in December 2018.
“This is a highly populated area but the contractor and the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) have been mandated to do everything possible to make life easier for road users. “The work during the day is being limited right now and a lot more would be done at night. The traffic is better and there is a lot of rehabilitation of existing roads going on and this will continue.”
“This is an ongoing exercise but we need the cooperation and support of the people to make it workable. It is just a matter of time, this will be done and there will be a big relief on this axis,” he said.
He added that as part of the phase two of the project, more pedestrian bridges would be constructed, especially between Abule-Egba and Sango Otta, bordering Lagos and Ogun states.“The phase one covers Oshodi to Abule-Egba, while phase two, which covers Abule-Egba to Old Toll Gate in Sango Otta will follow and the key thing is the care of pedestrians, which we are taking very seriously. “So, there will be a lot of pedestrian bridges between Abule-Egba and Otta. More pedestrian bridges are coming, which will be part of phase two of this project,” he stated.

The Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom has called on the Federal Government to immediately release the publisher of the Yenagoa, Bayelsa State-based Weekly Source newspaper, Jones Abiri. He was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on July 21, 2016 and has been detained without charge ever since.
The coalition, in a statement, said regardless of the offence, there was no justification for Abiri’s detention without trial.The release, which was endorsed by Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ); International Press Centre (IPC); Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ); Premium Times, The Cable, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL); Daily Trust, Order Paper, Paradigm Initiative, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), noted that Abiri’s continued detention without a court order constitutes a flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and an affront to the rule of law.
The coalition said: “On July 21, 2016, nine armed agents of the DSS arrested Mr. Abiri in front of his office in Yenogoa, during which they searched the office and confiscated various documents.
“The agency subsequently emailed a statement to Nigerian journalists on July 23, 2016 accusing Mr. Abiri of being the leader of the separatist group, Joint Revolutionary Council of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, and claimed that he had confessed to bombing oil pipelines, planning attacks on Abuja, sending threatening messages to international oil companies as well as being the mastermind of a hoax military coup against President Muhammadu Buhari.
“These allegations were shocking to friends and families of Mr. Abiri. They claim repeatedly that he has no connections to militancy in the Niger Delta.”The coalition noted that when the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) contacted the DSS in July and November of 2016, the officers who took the phone calls said they were not authorised to speak on the matter.
It also quoted NUJ president, Mr. Abdulwaheed Odusile, and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) as telling the CPJ on October 25, 2017 that: “We don’t know where he is and we don’t know what he has been charged for.”
The coalition maintained that it supports a fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja on behalf of Abiri by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), wherein he is contending that his (Abiri) being held in the custody of the DSS for about two years amounts to violation of his fundamental human rights.
Filed on July 4, 2018, the suit is praying the court to declare that the detention of the journalist in Abuja without access to his family members, friends and medical doctors “is illegal and unconstitutional.” It is also claiming N200 million in damages.The senior lawyer is hinging his claim on the argument that the detention “violates the applicant’s fundamental rights” guaranteed by Sections 34, 35 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as well as Articles 11 and 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

Rodria Laline
Texem UK has said there was an urgent need for unusual, strategic and agile leaders who would build resilience and develop enduring values with entrepreneurial culture that fosters high performance.
Besides, these leaders would be an embodiment of cutting competitive edge strategies in uncertain periods, aware of their leadership style, strengths and blind spots and effectively inspire diverse stakeholders and develop actionable frameworks.
Meanwhile, chief executives of top Nigerian companies have endorsed the trainings offered by Texem UK, describing them as worth the investments, particularly in strategy development, critical thinking and networking.
They said the urgency for these leaders stems from the turbulent times characterised by political uncertainty, increasing insecurity, rollercoaster aced product innovation, stiff competition, depressing customer income and increasing cost of operation.To this end, Texem UK has concluded plans to organise executive development programme to help senior executives develop leadership skills, targeted at imbuing competence among the participants.
Visiting Professor at Harvard, Insead and IESE, Rodria Laline, would deliver a paper on Developing and Leading High-Performance Organisations for Superlative Results on July 18 and 19, 2018 in Lagos.Laline, who is also Chair of Intrabond Capital, has been Chief Executive Officer of global research and development collaborations with IBM, ING, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment Corporation, Honeywell Bull, Elsevier Science, Oracle Corporation, Siemens and Philips.
She was Co-founder of the Global Chipcard Alliance and Board member of the Open Software Foundation and developed the intellectual property that is used on every ATM card globally, among others.
She said: “Participants are assured of geometric returns on investment through enhanced social capital, through networking with other impressive leaders and future partners, both during the executive development programme and after.“Furthermore, leaders will have the opportunity to challenge and debate with the faculties who have a wealth of applicable theoretical and practical leadership experience.”
Speaking, Chief Executive Officer of Communication Network Support Service Limited, Gbenga Adebayo, said: “I have enjoyed the training, particularly areas talking about how to turn around a business in a recession.
It’s been educative, informative and interactive. I recommend the programme to any executive who wants to turn around his business in time of crisis. Anyone who wants to meet people with experience should participate in the programme.”
Managing Director of Orbital and Oranges Nigeria Limited, Otunba Akinola Adegoke Awomodu, said: “If TEXEM continues this way, I will attend their future programmes. Because at this level, we need to be mentored and continue to train ourselves.”
Managing Director of ITB Nigeria Limited, Ramzi Chidiac, said: “We are learning a lot in terms of leading, especially now that the country is going through economic crisis. I congratulate TEXEM and I look forward to participating in future seminars in Nigeria.

Bisi Akande
The former interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, has expressed his feelings a year after the death of his wife, Mrs. Omowumi Akande, who died after a brief illness on July 11, 2017.
Akande said since the departure of his wife, he had been constantly feeling lonely, vulnerable and hopeless, describing her as a very caring soul mate that took care of him as a mother till her death.
Akande in his speech titled ‘My Life Without My Wife’ at a one year remembrance of his wife on Saturday, said he has never felt so empty and emotionally deserted.He said: “I became weak and I regretted having involved myself at all in the mirage of our tradition called marriage from the beginning. I did not bargain for my wife to die before me. I am noticing that since that night, I constantly felt lonely, vulnerable and hopeless.
“And since then, despite the constant kindness and support from my friends, associates and relatives, and even in spite of the intensive care and love that my children enthusiastically expressed, I have never felt as empty and as emotionally deserted as I am today.“Sometimes, I moved around my room in lonely soliloquy with the imaginary sentiment that my wife would suddenly answer me. At least, she has mot once joined me in any conversation nor in searching for my misplaced reading glasses, handkerchiefs and wristwatches in her usual way. She must have been busy preparing a place for me close to her in heaven.
“However, when I see the way our children had been celebrating her memory since she passed a year ago, death becomes very attractive to me. And I have been praying to die such a painless death and for my funeral to be as glorious as that of my wife.”
A primary health centre, located at Isedo 1, Ward 4, Ila-Orangun, was upgraded in honour of the late Akande by her children and prayers were also offered for her soul.Speaking on behalf of the children, former Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Temitope Ilori, said they were commemorating her first year remembrance by giving back to her roots through the project that would impact on the lives of all members of the community.Ilori said the upgraded health centre would promote healthy living in the community and reduce the burden of health care.

Oando Group Chief Executive Officer, Wale Tinubu
Shareholders lament effect of renewed conflict on stock market
The crisis rocking Oando Plc has assumed a new dimension as a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ordered its Chief Executive Officer, Wale Tinubu and his deputy, Mofe Boyo to pay $680 million debt (about N244.8b) to Gabriele Volpi’s Ansbury Investments Incorporated. In a statement yesterday, LCIA in its resolution on July 6, 2018 agreed that Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) and British Virgin Islands, which owns 55.96 per cent of Oando PLC was indebted to Ansbury Investment Incorporated with $600 million or N216 billion. 
Confirming the LCIA verdict, counsel to Ansbury Investment, Andrea Moja, said the Court also noted that another firm-Whitmore Asset Management Limited, owned by Tinubu and Boyo, was owing Ansbury Investment an additional $80m (or N28.8b), bringing Oando’s managers’ total indebtedness to Ansbury Investment to $680m. 
“The award has been communicated to the parties on July 9, 2018 and the key terms are as follows: The claim of Whitmore Asset Management Limited that the parties agreed to a binding Fourth Shareholders Agreement was rejected.
“The Court upheld the position that the third shareholders agreement is fully and legally binding between the parties as stated by Ansbury Investments Inc. The alleged agreement by which Whitmore Asset Management Limited was to hold 60 per cent Of Ocean And Oil Development Partners (BVI) Ltd is not binding on the parties.
“Given the above, Ansbury Investments will immediately submit an application to the LCIA in which it will be asked to charge Whitmore Asset Management Limited for the interests due and legal expenses,” the statement reads.Crises had erupted in Oando Plc in September 2017, when aggrieved shareholders of the company, who were concerned about its future in view of some unresolved corporate governance issues relating to its financials protested during the Group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
 
Leader of the shareholders, Clement Ebitimi, had accused Oando’s management of mismanagement, following allegations of infractions filed against it by Ansbury Incorporated and Dahiru Mangal on October 18, 2017.When the disagreement broke in 2017, Ansbury also petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May, accusing Oando of mismanagement, cooking of its books and high indebtedness.
Subsequently, the NSE, acting on a SEC directive, announced the suspension of trading in the shares of Oando Plc from October 20, 2017, followed with a forensic audit of the company amounting to N160m.Afterwards, Oando filed a court order restraining the suspension of its shares and accusing SEC of bias in the management of the crises, even as it noted that the penalties for alleged infraction far outweighed the offence.
 
When contacted, Oando said it was aware of the matter, adding that the company was still compiling its response.Meanwhile, capital market stakeholders wondered why the crises surfaced after both parties reached an agreement to renew their relationship, saying the renewed crises would ultimately have negative effects on the market.
Specifically, the Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA) said the warring parties should have reserved their ammunition till the final results from Oando’s stakeholders forensic-audit because of its international implications on the capital market and the Nigerian economy.President, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Adeniyi Adebisi, lamented that the crisis was coming at a time when political anxiety and insecurity have eroded investors’ confidence in the market.

Almajiri
The Mallam Aminu Kano International Foundation on Human Development yesterday said the six million Almajiris scattered over the states in the North pose a potential security threat to Nigeria.
Its president, Ibrahim Waiya, who gave the alert during an orientation programme for youth volunteers in Kano, regretted that of the nation’s 10 million out-of-school children according to statistics dished out by UNICEF, 60 per cent of them, amounting to six million, were in the northern region.
The social activist, while blaming government for shirking its primary duty of provision of functional and compulsory education for every child nationwide, lamented that the nation was wasting its potential human resources.
According to Waiya, “why the government is working effortless to scale up the fight against the Boko Haram sect and other emerging security challenges, the continued neglect of millions of idle children roaming the streets in the name of search for knowledge could raise an unimaginable threat to national security.”
He went on: “ A careful study will show you that Nigeria is only sitting on a time bomb with 10 million out-of-school children, 60 per cent of them in the North roaming the streets in the name of learning Islamic knowledge. It is a clear sign of danger waiting to happen.
“Nigeria is simply neglecting its resources. China, with about 1.2 billion population, is still doing credibly well in terms of human management and the economy. They are fast becoming an emerging economy in the world. Nigeria has no reason to lament about her population.”He disclosed that his foundation was partnering with DevProNet International to train 70 youth volunteers who are be posted to various communities in Kano to assist the Almajiris and other indigent children.
Waiya stated that community development was part of the foundation’s initiative geared at promoting the ideals and principles of the late northern political icon, Mallam Aminu Kano.“ So far, we have trained more than 2,000 women in partnership with the Kano State Agency for Mass Literacy on skill acquisition and elementary education. Many of those trained are today masters of their own trade. “We have also sponsored about 50 students to university in Edo State due to shortage of admissions in some of our universities in the North,” he added.