Freight forwarders (NAGAFF) Threatened legal Action If Hamid Ali Wears Uniform

Freight forwarders under the aegis of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has threatened to seek legal option if the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Alli (Rtd) bows to pressure from the Senate and appears in Customs uniform.
According to a statement dated March 20 and signed by the association’s management, the association stated that Col. Alli is not in a position to assume the character of an officer of the service as stated under Section 10 of CEMA Cap C 45 of 2004 as amended.
“The ongoing controversy involving the Comptroller-General of Customs Rtd. Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali and the Nigerian Senate is avoidable because the Presidential mandate was specific and unambiguous.  The CGC was directed to reform, restructure and enhance revenue collection duty of the service.
“The time frame is within four years of the administration’s tenure or less under the circumstance because he is neither a commissioned Customs officer nor a Sole Administrator in a democratic government.  He is not in a position to assume the character of an officer of the service as stated under Section 10 of CEMA Cap C 45 of 2004 as amended.
“To be a proper officer of the Nigeria Customs you must be properly appointed in line with the Civil Service Rules. You must undergo a mandatory training programme and issued with a service number.  These are conditions that must exist before the question of character can be alluded to.  Since we know that Ali’s appointment is a political appointment that was made by Mr President in line with Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, for him to go and carry-out a specific mandate of restructuring, reforming and enhance the revenue collection of the Nigeria Customs Service.  To us he was only sent to the Nigeria Customs Service for a special assignment.  He is by this appointment not a career Customs officer that should be made to wear the uniform.
“Ali is correct for not wearing the Customs uniform and equally Mr President was right for not appointing him as a Sole Administrator in a democratic government.  As an Association which believes in the sanctity of the law, especially court ruling, if Ali wears the Customs uniform, NAGAFF may approach the court to stop him from an act of unlawful assumption of character of an officer of the Service.
“Our locus shall be drawn from Section 154 of CEMA Cap C45 of 2004 as amended, The real issue before the stakeholders is to examine and determine whether Ali is doing his job as directed by Mr President to reform, restructure and enhance revenue collection duty of the service.


Related Story:  Hamid Alli dared NASS, arrived at plenary in Mufty... http://eupdateng.blogspot.com/2017/03/breaking-hamid-alli-dared-nass-arrived.html?spref=tw …

Nigeria naira at six-month high on black market

Nigeria's central bank sold the dollar at a weaker rate on Wednesday, traders say, in an effort to boost liquidity on the official market and narrow the naira's spread at the black market.
The central bank has been intervening on the official market to try to narrow the currency spread with the black market rate, which was 520 to the dollar a month ago.
The bank sold $1.5 million on Wednesday at 307.75, weaker than the 307.50 it intervened previous session. It has weakened the currency by 0.6 percent in the past two weeks.
On the black market, the naira gained 4.9 percent to a seven-month high of 410 per dollar as individuals rush to sell the U.S. currency.
"The regular intervention by the central bank has increased liquidity in the official market. The new policy has also eliminated spurious demand for the dollar," Aminu Gwadabe, the head of Nigeria's exchange bureaus, told Reuters.
Speculators betting on a naira fall "are taking a risk and will lose," central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday. He added that he expects the black market rates to narrow further.
On Wednesday, the cost of insuring Nigerian debt against default fell to its lowest since December 2016, with five-year credit default swaps dropping to 603 bps, down 9 bps from Tuesday's close, according to data from IHS Markit.
"We see the naira stabilising around 380-400 to the dollar, but the central bank must review the multiplicity of rates to restore confidence in the market," Gwadabe said.
In February the bank devalued the naira for private individuals, saying it will sell dollars to them at 375 per dollar, a 20 percent margin from the official rate and half the premium obtained at the black market.
The move has left the West African nation with at least five exchange rates - the official one, a rate for Muslim pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia, the one for school fees abroad and a retail rate set by licensed exchange bureaus at 399.

France Election: Macron Projected to Win First Round Of Presidential Election

Centrist Emmanuel Macron is projected to come out on top in the first round of France's presidential election next month ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen before going on to win in a runoff, a Harris Interactive poll showed on Thursday.
Macron was seen winning 26 percent of the vote in the April 23 first round followed by Le Pen on 25 percent, according to the poll for France Televisions.
Both scores were unchanged from the last time the poll was carried out two weeks ago, even though it was carried out after the two traded barbs in a televised debate on Monday involving all the main candidates.
Conservative candidate Francois Fillon saw his score slip to 18 percent of the first round vote from 20 percent as he struggles to limit the damage from a series of financial scandals.
Meanwhile, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon saw his share of the vote rise to 13.5 percent, surpassing for the first time the score for the ruling Socialists candidate Benoit Hamon at 12.5 percent.
Macron was seen winning the presidency by beating Le Pen in the May 7 runoff with 65 percent of the vote to 35 percent for the National Front leader, unchanged from two weeks ago.
The poll was conducted on March 21-22 among 6,383 voters.

Breaking: Hamid Alli dared NASS, arrived at plenary in mufty

THE Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, rtd has arrived the National Assembly without wearing the complete Customs Uniform as directed by the Senate where he would appear before the Senators at the Chambers soon.
Ali who arrived at around 9.30 am, went straight to the office of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki.

He was led to the office by the Senoir Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters(Senate), Senator Ita Enang. Ali who dressed in white Cafta, white cap and black shoes to match, went to Enang’s office at 10.36am shortly after Ekweremadu and other principal officers entered the chambers. In his address, there is the insignia of EFCC and that of Customs. Enang also dressed in white. shunned the invitation by the Senate that he should appear before it yesterday in complete Uniform to explain the agency’s earlier planned policy on duty on vehicles and other recent acts of the Customs. It would be recalled that the Senate yesterday mandated the NCS boss to appear before it today at 10am and explain why he has refused to honour the invitation of the upper chambers to come and explain his action on the implementation of the controversial policy The decision of the Senate yesterday followed a motion by Senator George Sekibo, PDP, Rivers East who relied on Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria( as amended) and seconded by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu. According to the Senate, the action taken could have been avoided if each institution has respect for the other and that it is an indication that no body is above the law., just as it stressed that government was not about making money, but about the welfare of the people, adding that the Upper chambers must move against anyone or institution that tries to rubbish the Upper chambers as an institution. It would be recalled that for shunning the directives of the Senate that the Customs should suspend the proposed vehicle duty ultimatum due to begin on April 12, the Senate had on Tuesday openly declared war by summoning the Comptroller -General to appear before it yesterday.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/breaking-customs-comptroller-general-ali-enters-nass-without-customs-uniform/

He was led to the office by the Senoir Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters(Senate), Senator Ita Enang.
Ali who dressed in white Cafta, white cap and black shoes to match, went to Enang’s office at 10.36am shortly after Ekweremadu and other principal officers entered the chambers. In his address, there is the insignia of EFCC and that of Customs.
Enang also dressed in white. shunned the invitation by the Senate that he should appear before it yesterday in complete Uniform to explain the agency’s earlier planned policy on duty on vehicles and other recent acts of the Customs.
It would be recalled that the Senate yesterday mandated the NCS boss to appear before it today at 10am and explain why he has refused to honour the invitation of the upper chambers to come and explain his action on the implementation of the controversial policy
The decision of the Senate yesterday followed a motion by Senator George Sekibo, PDP, Rivers East who relied on Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria( as amended) and seconded by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
According to the Senate, the action taken could have been avoided if each institution has respect for the other and that it is an indication that no body is above the law., just as it stressed that government was not about making money, but about the welfare of the people, adding that the Upper chambers must move against anyone or institution that tries to rubbish the Upper chambers as an institution.
It would be recalled that for shunning the directives of the Senate that the Customs should suspend the proposed vehicle duty ultimatum due to begin on April 12, the Senate had on Tuesday openly declared war by summoning the Comptroller -General to appear before it yesterday.



Related Story:

Nigeria Customs bowed to pressure suspends Payment of Import Duties on Old Vehicle http://eupdateng.blogspot.com/2017/03/nigeria-customs-bowed-to-pressure.html?spref=tw …

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Magu's Rejection: Falana faults NASS & SSS, offers legal options for Presidency

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has described the  rejection of the nomination of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, as a ridicule to the office of the President.
Falana said in a statement on Wednesday that the Senate’s rejection of Magu on the basis of a security report compiled by the State Security Service “is the height of official ridicule of the office of the President.”
He said, “It is high time the State Security Service  was restrained by President Buhari from sabotaging the fight against corruption by the federal government.”
He said the Senate’s proceedings during which Magu was hurriedly screened was illegal as some persons either being prosecuted or investigated particiated in the proceedings.
He said, “With respect to the Senate the confirmation hearing hurriedly conducted today is illegal in every material particular.
“The participation of many senators who are either under investigation or being prosecuted by the EFCC has vitiated the entire proceedings of the Senate on ground of conflict of interest. It is also a contravention of the Rules of the Senate which stipulates that matters which are sub judice shall not be discussed by the Senate.”
He said there were three options open to Buhari as far as the EFCC chairman was concerned.
Falana said, “However, notwithstanding the rejection of the nomination of Mr. Magu by the Senate the options open to President are clear and straight forward. They are as follows:
“1. Mr. Magu’s nomination may be re-presented to the Senate if and when the Federal Government decides to put its house in order
“2. Alternatively,  the President may allow Mr. Magu to remain the Acting Chairman of the EFCC since he was  appointed in that capacity pursuant to section 171 of the Constitution.
“3. But if the President is not satisfied with Mr. Magu’s performance he is at liberty to appoint another person whose nomination will be forwarded to the Senate in accordance with section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act, 2004.
“In the light of the foregoing, President Buhari is enjoined to ensure that the fight against corruption is not derailed by highly placed corrupt elements who have enlisted the support of fifth columnists and reactionary forces in the government.”

Nigeria Customs bowed to pressure suspends Payment of Import Duties on Old Vehicle

The Nigeria Customs Service on Wednesday announced the suspension of the implementation of the payment of import duties on old vehicles.

The suspension is in compliance with an earlier directive by the Senate that the policy, which has generated controversies, should be suspended.

A statement by the Acting Public Relations Officer, NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, stated that suspension of the policy would remain until the service got the support of the lawmakers in carrying out the exercise.

The statement read in part,  “Following the unnecessary tension generated as a result of the misconception and misrepresentation of the Nigeria Customs Service’s planned motor duty payment, the leadership of the National Assembly and the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) met with a view to resolving the impasse.

“They both agreed that the proposed motor duty payment, though in line with the provision of the Customs and Excise Management Act Cap C.45, LFN 2004 should be put on hold while the Senate Committee on Customs and Excise interfaces with the NCS for further discussions.

“While payment of duty on vehicles or indeed any dutiable imported item remains a civic responsibility of every patriotic Nigerian, the NCS management has directed that the exercise be put on hold, while expressing readiness to engage the Senate committee on further discussions to bring them on board to understand the importance of the exercise to national security and economy.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria has called for the reduction in the duty levies and tariffs on imported vehicles.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the AMDON President, Bola Adedoyin, noted that the current levies and duties being paid on imported vehicles had made such vehicles too expensive for Nigerians.

He said, “We wish to inform the public that what we should be clamouring for is a general consensus for the reduction of duty tariff and levies, which is not the making of the Nigeria Customs Service, but rather an unpopular policy of the National Automotive Development Council tagged the automotive policy.

“This policy is what brought us to this position we are now. All in an effort to make imported fairly-used vehicles, popularly called Tokunbo, unaffordable, thereby forcing Nigerians to patronise the unaffordable assembled vehicles in Nigeria.”

He added the move by NCS to collaborate with Federal Inland Revenue Service among other agencies on enforcement of the Vehicle Identification Number would eventually block the registration of all vehicles on whose duties were not paid in the near future.

“AMDON is working on automation of all members to eventually interface with the NCS so that potential vehicles buyers will have the opportunity to verify the authenticity of duty payment before purchase, which will be through the AMDON automated verification stickers,” Adedoyin added.

Credit: [ PunchNG]

CAF Election: 70year old Issa Hayatou Faces rare challenge

Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou will face a rare challenge on Thursday as he stands for an eighth term at the helm of the African game when CAF hold their Congress in the Ethiopian capital.
Ahmad, a Madagascan government minister who uses a single name, will contest Thursday's vote and is only the third challenger Hayatou has faced since he became CAF president in 1988.
The other opponents Armando Machado of Angola in 2000 and Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana in 2004 were roundly beaten but Ahmad is the first to have received expressions of support from among CAF member countries, including the grouping of 14 southern African countries (COSAFA) and Nigeria.
Hayatou and his opponent have waged a lively election campaign over the last two months, featuring an unusually high number of public pronouncements for a process that is traditionally played out behind closed doors.
The 70-year-old Hayatou, who also serves as FIFA’s senior vice president and is from Cameroon, promises continuity while Ahmad says it is time for change.
“Basically, what we all want is a change in leadership, in the system, and in how we manage the Confederation," he said in an interview.
"We live in a time of transformation. The majority of federation presidents have changed. There are many more young people than before.”
The Madagascar Football Federation president said he was confident of support, even though only COSAFA and Nigeria have so far gone public.
“Others won’t say it publicly. I know that and I respect their position."
The election for the CAF president is followed by elections for seven of the 15 places on the organisation’s executive committee.
Then there will be a tightly run contest for Africa’s seven places on the new-look FIFA Council, the all powerful cabinet that runs the world game

Photos & Videos Of President Muhammadu Buhari's Arrival on the 10th of March

While in UK, Buhari and Most Reverend and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The President Of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was away from Official duties for 50 days due to medical challenges.
Two weeks after his departure to the UK, foremost Leaders in the opposition party speculated that President Buhari was reportedly dead in a London hospital. Nigerians were quick to believe in the rumours owing to the fact that a similar occurrence took place in 2010 when the then late Yaradua was presumed dead but his aides rebuffed the news. The then Yaradua's aides were able to keep the factual information from the over 170million Nigerians for months.
Against this background millions of Nigerians refused to believe that President Buhari was alive even afte his arrival on the 10th of March, 2017. Many still believed in the opposition information that the President was dead.
We were in Kaduna on Friday 10th March when Buhari arrived and we can empirically announce here that President Buhari surely and physically arrived the country at exactly 7,41am.

Below are some photographs taken from the Kaduna Airforce Base strip.

President Buhari on Arrival to Nigeria in Kaduna

Buhari's first touch on Nigeria soil after 50 days of medical vacation in London

VP Osinbanjo welcoming President Buhari at the Aso Rock Helipad

aso rock

wife of the President and grand child of Mr. President shortly after his arrival at the Villa

Wife of the President Aisha Buhari welcoming Mr. President while VP and wife looks on

President Buhari greeting Governors shortly before an official meeting

President Buhari addressing the Governors at the Villa

Jumaat prayers at the Villa with Senate President

Video

https://twitter.com/d_problemsolver/status/840145825418305538


Related Story: President Buhari arrives Nigeria Friday Morning 10th March at Kaduna Airport... http://eupdateng.blogspot.com/2017/03/president-buhari-arrives-nigeria-400am.html?spref=tw …

President Buhari arrives Nigeria Friday 10th at Kaduna Airport

President Muhammadu Buhari will arrive the country Friday, 51 days after he left the country on a medical vacation.

Owing to the closure of the Abuja airport, his plane was scheduled to land at the Kaduna airport in the wee hours of Friday, following which he was to be flown by helicopter to the President Villa, Abuja.

The sources also revealed that the president might address the nation Friday after his long absence, in order to quell any concerns over his capacity to govern.
The news of his return Friday was broken last night in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina.

Adesina recalled that the president left the shores of the country on January 19 for a vacation, during which he was scheduled to undergo routine medical check-ups.
He said the scheduled vacation was however extended due to the advice by his doctors that he undergoes further medical tests.

According to him, the president expressed gratitude to the generality of Nigerians in all parts of the country and beyond who supported him in their prayers and good wishes while he was away.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to return to the country tomorrow, Friday March 10, 2017. The President left the country on January 19, 2017 for a vacation, during which he had routine medical check-ups.

“The holiday was extended based on doctors’ recommendation for further tests and rest.
“President Buhari expresses appreciation to teeming Nigerians from across the country and beyond, who had prayed fervently for him and also sent their good wishes,” the statement said.

Earlier Thursday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev. Justin Welby, had paid a visit to Buhari in Abuja House, London where the president had resided throughout his medical vacation.

The president, who announced Welby’s visit on his Facebook page, said he was pleased to receive the archbishop, whom he described as his friend.
“Very pleased to welcome my friend, the Most Rev. Hon. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury,” the president had said.

Other than his doctors, Welby was possibly the first non-Nigerian citizen to visit the president in London since January 19 when he left the country.

Last month, the president was visited by numerous Nigerians including two leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande.
He had earlier been visited by the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and Senator Daisy Danjuma.

He was also visited on February 23 by a National Assembly team led by Senate President Bukola Saraki. Also in the team was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan.

The visit was made days after both Saraki and Dogara had disclosed that they had telephone conversations with Buhari.
While Saraki said he called Buhari, Dogara said the president had called him and discussed issues affecting the welfare of Nigerians with him.

The president left the country on January 19, 2017, four days earlier than scheduled, stating that he would return on February 6 to resume duty.
But on February 5, the presidency announced the extension of his vacation indefinitely, saying the president was waiting for the results of the medical tests and needed to be certified okay by his doctors before leaving London.

Since then, speculations have been rife over the president’s health.
Indeed, even before the presidency informed the public of the extension of Buhari’s vacation, there were rumours that he had died in the UK.
All these proved to be untrue after the presidency released proof of life photographs of the president and his visitors.

Source: [ThisdayNG]

Church Should Consider Allowing Married Men to Be Priests - Pope Francis

Pope Francis says the Roman Catholic Church should start considering whether to let married men serve as priests in order to address a shortage of clergy, especially in remote areas.
In an interview with Germany's Die Zeit magazine, Francis said: "We must think about whether viri probati [married men of proven religious faith] are a possibility. Then we have to decide what tasks they can take on — for example, in remote communities."
Francis said allowing would-be priests to decide whether they wanted to remain celibate was not something he favored, but he suggested that was an issue for further discussion.
Many Roman Catholics believe that opening a new path to ordination for married men would help address the shortage of clergy in many parts of the world. Certain limited exceptions to the law of celibacy exist: The Vatican accepts married priests in Eastern Rite sects of the church, and it also has recognized married members of the Anglican or Episcopal churches who convert to Catholicism as valid priests.
The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, whose members serve in American parishes, welcomed the pope's thoughts as expressed in the article published Thursday.
In his first major interview with a German publication, Francis also was asked whether he ever doubted the existence of God, even briefly. "I, too, know moments of emptiness," he responded.
The pope noted that such periods of crisis enable spiritual growth, and he added that he would think any believer who does not experience such moments of doubt has an "infantile" religious faith.
Francis spoke out strongly against the rise of populism in the West, as he has in the past. "Populism is evil and and ends badly, as the past century showed," Die Zeit quoted him as saying, in an apparent reference to fascism and Soviet communism.


Source: [VOAAfrica]

Fadumo Dayib, Somali Female Presidential Hopeful defies critics and threats

Casting her bright yellow scarf over her golden Somali "dirac" gown, Fadumo Dayib speaks in a hushed tone.
But as the first woman to run for president in Somalia, she means to be heard.
"The more I get threats, the more I get insults ... the more I'm convinced that I'm doing the right thing," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at a conference in London.
Dayib knows about hardship. She was born in a refugee camp in Kenya, and her mother lost 11 of her siblings - all to preventable diseases. Her family and millions of others were forced back to Somalia, before they fled civil war to Finland.
She learnt to read and write only as a teenager and now boasts degrees from Harvard University and the University of Helsinki.
After a long international career in public health, Dayib decided to enter the Somali political fray in 2014, ruffling feathers as she did so.
"They really know that if I were to come into office I would make a change," said Dayib, who has received death threats and ridicule from critics in Somalia and among the diaspora.
A fragile country shattered by more than two decades of conflict, Somalia is grappling with huge issues from famine and drought to al Shabaab militants.
Dayib did not succeed in her quest to win the presidency. She dropped out of the race, and Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed, a dual U.S.-Somali citizen and former prime minister, was elected president on Feb 8., in a process in which around 14,000 clan elders and traditional leaders chose lawmakers, who then selected the president.
The new president has yet to confirm his cabinet.
"I'm not in it," Dayib said, despite rumours that she may be appointed to a leading role, such as foreign minister.
She said there had been progress in the acceptance of women in Somalia's male-dominated politics.
"Initially there was a lot of resistance and a lot of negativity but now even when I see Somalis on the street the first thing they do is call me 'madam president' - from being laughed at in 2014," said Dayib. "We've come a long way."
Despite quitting the presidential race, citing bribery and corruption pressures, Dayib thinks that simply declaring her candidacy instigated a movement among Somali women, who are engaging with politics and demanding rights.
Somalia has nearly hit its ambitious 30 percent quota for female representation in parliament, with 28 percent of lawmakers now women, said Dayib.
The trend is rapidly spreading across Africa too, she said.
"African women have always had informal leadership," she said, adding that now women were seeking formal recognition of their roles.
"African women don't talk, they act."
Exuding a quiet confidence, Dayib is focused on the future.
"I'm going to run, I'm going to be in politics and I'm going to be even more vocal than I have been," she said.
"I'm here to stay."




Source: [ReuterAfrica]

BITCOIN: Crypto Currency Organizes Seminar In Zaria, Kaduna State

 

 

Bitcoin is gradually becoming the new Digital Money, against all odds the new currency is sweeping minefields and its here in Nigeria.
Coordinators of 'Crypto Currency' is organizing a seminar in Zaria, Kaduna State as a medium of awareness and sensitization. The seminar is expected to hold in the ancient city of Zaria, on Saturday 4th March.
for more info call the cell phone numbers on the above banner.