THISISLAGOS MIDDAY NEWS UPDATE MARCH 20, 2018
‘Ambode means well for Lagosians on land charges’ (Punch)
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Communities and Communications, Akeem Sulaimon, on Monday said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode meant well for Lagosians, adding that money realised from the Land Use Charge was meant to build more infrastructure. Sulaimon said this while addressing members of community development associations at a stakeholders’ meeting in the Ikeja area of the state. He explained that the Ambode-led administration had been working to bring more development to the state, adding that to further build infrastructure, there was the need to review the Land Use Charge Law which had not been reviewed for the past 17 years. Read more
World Water Day: Water Corporation carries out free water tests in Lagos (Vanguard)
The Lagos Water Corporation on Tuesday said the Corporation would carry out three-Day water tests in its eight operational regions in Lagos State, to mark the 2018 World Water Day. Mrs Monsurat Banire, the Lagos Water Corporation’s Head of Quality Assurance, said this in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, Mr Rasaq Anifowoshe, in Lagos. Newsmen report that the theme for the 2018 World Water Day is entitled: ‘Nature for Water’. The theme explores how we can use nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century. Read more
‘7 not 18 died in Sunday’s Lagos-Ibadan road accident’ (Nation)
The Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said only seven persons died on Sunday, and not 18, in the road accident that occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The Sector Commander, Mr Clement Oladele, spoke after visiting some of the injured at Idera Hospital in Sagamu. Oladele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that seven, as against the 18 earlier reported in the media, died in the incident. The sector commander said FRSC would not increase or reduce the number of casualties because the agency holds treats the figures it gives out with utmost honesty. Read more
Dump fire: Lagos tells Olusosun residents to relocate (Punch)
The Lagos State Government on Monday asked residents living close to the dump at the Olusosun area, Ojota, to relocate in order to prevent health hazards associated with inhalation of smoke billowing from the dump. The dump had been on fire since Wednesday last week with thick black smoke billowing from it.The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Hakeem Dickson, gave the notice of relocation to the residents during a press conference on ‘Vision Zero’ in Ikeja. Read more
APC: Rivers’ Neighbourhood Watch different from Lagos’ (Nation)
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted Governor Nyesom Wike’s comparism of his admnistration’s Neighbourhood Watch to the one in Lagos State. It insisted that bearing arms by operatives of Rivers neighbourhood watch was illegal and contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. Rivers APC, yesterday in Port Harcourt, through its Publicity Secretary, Chief Chris Finebone, declared that the governor of the Niger Delta state must be called to order. Wike, while assenting to the neighbourhood watch bill last Thursday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, stated that Lagos State has similar agency. Read more
NBA vows to continue protest over Land Use Charge (Vanguard)
The Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has vowed to continue its protest against the increase in the Land Use Charge introduced by the Lagos State government. The promise was after the operatives of the Department of State Security(DSS)was allegedly paid an unscheduled visit to the branch chairman, Mr Adesina Ogunlana on the protest of the lawyers body against the Land Use Charge. Shortly after the alleged DSS’s visit, the branch at an emergency meeting rejected the reduction of the Land Use Charge by 50per cent done by the state government . Read more
Soyinka and Nigeria’s dinner with the devil (Vanguard)
Professor Wole Soyinka was keynote speaker at the maiden annual lecture of the Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism held in Lagos on March 15. Topic: “Rebuilding Trust in a Divided Nigeria: Can Nigeria be fixed?” The Nobel Laureate did not disappoint. His presentation titled “From Miyetti to Haiti: Notes from a Solidarity Visit” took us on a journey to Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Nigeria also, and other parts of the world, including the past and the present, raising questions along the line about the humanity of the average Nigerian – the leaders, the followers – his or her humanity or non-humanity, the possession of a sense of dignity, shame, decency, memory, common sense, or lack of it, in comparison with conditions elsewhere. Read more
FRC: Lagos, Osun, Cross River’s debts exceed revenues by over 480% (Punch)
The debt status of most states of the federation exceeds 50 per cent of their annual revenues. For 18 states, the debt profiles exceed their gross and net revenues by more than 200 per cent. Lagos, Osun and Cross River states record over 480 per cent debt to gross revenue. The Fiscal Responsibility Commission, which stated this in its 2016 Annual Report obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Monday, said the development was contrary to the guidelines of the Debt Management Office on debt sustainability. Read more
Nigerian lawyers to earn another $17m from Abacha loot (Vanguard)
Nigerian lawyers freshly engaged by the Federal Government to assist with the repatriation of $321 million stolen by Sani Abacha, former military ruler, will be paid $17 million (over N6 billion) for their services. This amount, according to online portal, TheCable, is nearly thrice what was already paid to Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini, for the same job which he was yet to complete before Nigeria mysteriously decided to engage the services of another set of lawyers. Read more
Tincan Island Customs targets N354 billion revenue in 2018 (Guardian)
The Nigeria Customs Service, Tin Can Island Port command, has unveiled its strategic plans to meet its revenue target of N354 billion in 2018. Controller of the command, Comptroller Muhammed Baba who made this commitment during his maiden media parley in Lagos, said it has collected about N62 billion so far this year. Baba said: “We shall block all revenue leakages to collect appropriate duties and meet our target of N354 billion. So far, till date, we have collected N62 billion,” He however noted that the command would soon harmonize its data base for all imported vehicles into the country.Baba said with the deployment of the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS 11) platform, the data base of all imported vehicles will be now be automated, thus making it possible for the various customs formation to have a uniform value on all imported vehicles. Read more
IG withdraws Policemen from VIPs, deploys 2,000 Personnel in 300 N’East Schools (ThisDay)
The Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of all policemen attached to very important persons (VIPs), political and public office holders in the country. He has also deployed no fewer than 2,000 armed policemen in schools in North-eastern Nigeria as part of the measures to enhance protection in public schools in the region where Boko Haram terrorists regularly abduct men, women and children for ransom or indoctrination into the Islamist sect. Read more
LASG seeks safety, standards in cinemas (Punch)
The Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board (LSFCB) has urged cinemas in the state to comply with safety measures and international standards. The LSFCB Executive Secretary, Mr. Dele Balogun, stated that some of the safety measures included, fire extinguishers, air conditioners and at least one entrance and one exit in every hall. He gave the advice during the inspection of cinemas to enforce compliance with the regulations governing the operations of cinemas in the state, a statement said on Monday. Read more
Breach of Contract: Record label slams Runtown N70m lawsuit (Vanguard)
For the second time in two years, Eric Many, the record label that signed Nigerian pop star, Douglas Jack Agu, a.k.a Runtown, has filed an injunction at a Federal High court sitting in Lagos, against the singer for breach of contract. The entertainment company served the rising pop singer a writ of summons a few days back with the Suit No: FHC/L/CS/267/2018. It also released a statement that partly reads, ‘Runtown has been deliberately breaching his contract with us (Eric Many) for a while and despite our many appeals to him he has refused to bulge. He went for a show in Las Vegas since January 13, 2018 and has since decided to withdraw all obligations of his contract. He has steadily been recording an album without the consent and approval of his record label.” Read more
Court adjourns Ibile Holdings, industrial estate case till May 10 (Nation)
An Igbosere High Court has adjourned until May 10 the continuation of hearing in the relocation of occupiers of premier industrial estate, Yaba and Ibile holdings. Justice Surajudeen Onigbanjo adjourned the matter after the lawyer to the third defendant, Ibile Holdings, requested for time to study the new document presented by lawyers to the occupiers of the industrial estate. Occupiers of the industrial estate in Sabo, Yaba, had sued Ibile Holdings and joined the Lagos State government as a co-defendant on the relocation notice given to them by the government to move to a new site in Ikorodu. The occupants claimed that the new estate had not been properly allocated to them. Read more
Nigeria was warned before Boko Haram abduction – Amnesty (Vanguard)
Nigeria’s military was on Tuesday accused of ignoring repeated warnings about the movements of Boko Haram fighters before they kidnapped 110 schoolgirls in the country’s restive northeast. The students — the youngest of whom is aged just 10 — were seized from the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19 in virtually identical circumstances to those in Chibok in 2014. Then, more than 200 schoolgirls were taken in an attack that brought sustained world attention on the Islamist insurgency and sparked a global campaign for their release. Read more
‘Yahoo boy’ gets 15 years (Nation)
A Lagos High Court in Igbosere has sentenced an Internet scammer, Demola Ajibade, to 15 years’ imprisonment for attempted robbery. Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya convicted Ajibade, 36, of attempting to rob his childhood friend, Charles Akpati, with a toy gun on February 7, 2014. The sentence, which takes effect from the date of his arrest in February 2014, was without an option of fine. Ajibade, from Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, but living in Festac Town, Lagos, was arraigned on June 24, 2014 on a one-count charge of attempted robbery. Read more
2018 FIFA WC: Eagles’ll play friendlies like World Cup —Onazi (Vanguard)
Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi has disclosed that the team will take friendlies matches against Poland and Serbia like they are World Cup games. The Eagles will play Poland on Friday in Wroclaw, Poland, while the game against Serbia will be played in London next week Tuesday. “Yes it’s a friendly match, but we don’t see it as friendly, every game is important for us as we start our World Cup build-up,” Onazi said. Read more
Poland vs Nigeria (UPDATE): 14 Eagles now in Wroclaw camp (Vanguard)
Recalled Torino midfielder, Joel Obi and seven other players joined this morning to complete the first half. Obi will have to give 110 percent if he hopes to make it into Gernot Rohr’s list for the party in Russia. Latest arrivals. Francis Uzoho, Elderson Echiejile, Stephen Eze, Joel Obi, Shehu Abdullahi, John Ogu, Moses Simon, Kenneth Omeruo. Read more
Spy poisoning: Russian diplomats prepare to leave UK (BBC)
Russian diplomats and their families are preparing to leave the UK after being expelled over the Salisbury spy attack. Removal vans and diplomatic cars have been arriving at the embassy in London. The UK expelled 23 diplomats after Prime Minister Theresa May said Russia was “culpable” for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Later on Tuesday, the Government will decide whether to impose further sanctions on Russia. Mrs May will chair a meeting of the National Security Council. Read more
Thousands on California coast ordered to leave ahead of possible mudslides (Reuters)
Authorities on southern California’s Pacific coast ordered thousands of residents to evacuate their homes on Tuesday to avoid possible mudslides caused by rain on hills denuded by wildfires of vegetation. Santa Barbara County residents who live near the site of the Thomas, Sherpa and Whittier fires last winter were told to leave by noon, county officials said in a statement. “We could experience localized flooding and road closures which are not isolated to the burn areas. The threat of rock falls, mud slides and debris flow is high,” said Rob Lewin, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management. Read more