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Manufacturers are crying that cost of production keeps rising. The development, which assumed ascendancy in the last six weeks, has been traced to, amongst other factors, the continuous fall in oil prices in the international spot market, and the slide in the foreign exchange rate of the naira, when compared against the dollar and other hard currencies. The fear among stakeholders in the Organised Private Sector (OPS), some of who spoke in confidence, is that the unfolding development snowballs into a major economic crisis, if no steps are taken urgently to stem the tide. Besides the falling oil prices on which the nation relies for over 85 per cent of its federally revenue, an official of one of the special interest groups pointed out, the devaluation of the naira and the non-inclusion of raw material inputs in sourcing foreign exchange from the bi-weekly Royal Dutch Auction System (RDAS), have grave implications for manufacturing, which depend on inputs from overseas. The of...

A 50- year- old man, Sunday Okoro, was on Wednesday remanded in prison custody by a Shomolu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos over an alleged attempt to murder one Dele Olukayode. The Magistrate, Mrs B.O. Osunsanmi, ordered that the accused should be remanded in prison custody, until he secures his bail either through the High Court or on the advice of the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The prosecutor, Mr Thomas Muhammed, had earlier told the court that the defendant allegedly poured a liquid substance suspected to be a petrochemical, on the complainant and set him ablaze after an argument. Muhammed said the action of the defendant endangered the life of the complainant, who he said, was currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Lagos. He said that the offence was committed on December 11 at about 10.30 a.m. at No. 56, Jagunmolu Street, Bariga in Lagos, stressing that the offence contravened Section 228 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The p...

Nigerians got some bad news yesterday – more taxes are coming. It is all to shore up the shortfall, Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said yesterday. “We’ve tried to broaden the tax-base,” the minister told reporters shortly after laying the budget before the House of Representatives. She said the Federal Government had also “closed many loopholes and leakages”. The Minister, who also laid the budget proposal before senators, added that the economy would be driven mainly by the non-oil sector, considering the global oil price slide. “We’ve speeded up audit, we’ve closed some exemptions all of these will bring additional revenues into the coffers,” she said. The 2015-2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) presented to the National Assembly shows that Federal Government’s net revenue projection from non- oil sector is N2.075 trillion after costs and deductions for 2015. Net oil revenue was put at N3.955 trillion after ...

Yemi Osinbajo, frontline teacher, preacher, lawyer and administrator, is All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate, it was announced yesterday. Osinbajo, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former attorney general and commissioner for Justice in Lagos, emerged through a meticulous process, Gen. Buhari said in Abuja, adding that he picked a man of unimpeachable integrity to assist him in rescuing Nigeria. Also yesterday, APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu spoke of his being offered the job, which he declined in the interest of the party and as a patriot. Gen. Buhari, who spoke while presenting Osinbajo to Nigerians at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, described his running mate as a friend of the less- privileged. He said: “The challenging process of rescuing our country and changing Nigeria for good has commenced. One of the first decisions that I have to make is the choice of the vice-presiden...

Former governor of Kwara State Senator Bukola Saraki has hailed the sacrifice and contribution of former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to the development of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and democracy in Nigeria. Dr. Saraki, a chieftain of the APC, welcomed the emergence of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as the running mate of the presidential candidate of APC, General Muhammadu Buhari. Saraki, in an electronic mail, said: “The emergence of Professor Yemi Osinbajo – a Professor of law; a well-ranked academic; a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN); and a committed pastor of unquestionable integrity from South-West Nigeria further attests to the commitment of the All Progressives Congress to fairness and equality. “Most importantly, I would like to commend the National Leader of our party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the sacrifice and contribution to the development of APC and democracy in Nigeria. No doubt, from his precedents as a forward-thinking Governor of Lagos State, a...

Fifty-four of the 59 soldiers standing trial for mutiny and conspiracy to commit mutiny have bagged the death sentence. They are to face the firing squad having been found guilty of the offences. The General Court Martial, which has been sitting since October, however, discharged and acquitted five of the soldiers. Delivering the judgment at the Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja Wednesday night, chairman of the GCM, Major General Musa Yusuf, said the soldiers reserved the right to appeal the verdict at a higher authority. The 59 soldiers were among the troops engaged in counter insurgency operations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, where the Boko Haram insurgents have taken over a number of Nigerian towns and villages in Northeastern Nigeria. The soldiers were accused of refusing lawful orders to fight, an offence the military authorities described as conspiracy and mutiny. The first batch of soldiers that were tried for mutiny also bagged the death sentence for shooting at their...

Governo Rabiu Kwankwaso Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State has called on the federal government to tackle the insurgency in the country. Kwankwaso, who is also an All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, made the call on Wednesday when he visited Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State in Ibadan. He described last week bomb blast at the Central Mosque, Kano, as unfortunate. “The federal government must brace up to tackle the insurgents, who are attacking and killing innocent Nigerians everyday,” he said. The governor, who said that his administration had beendoing a lot to tackle insecurity, stressed the need for more concerted efforts to defeat the insurgents. “When I was sworn in 2011, I did a lot to support security inthe state. “You know security is not only about police, State Security Service (SSS) and other agencies, but there is job, food and health security too,’’ he said. He promised that if voted as the president of the country in 2015, he wou...

Akinwunmi Ambode, the candidate handpicked by All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, Bola Tinubu, has won the Lagos State gubernatorial primary. As many as 10 of the candidates vying for the opportunity left the venue angrily, and it is unclear if the large-scale disaffection that compelled them to take that action will precipitate further crisis within the APC in Lagos that might lead to the party losing the key state. Although, the primary elections had just been officially concluded with vote counting starting about now, Mr. Ambode is projected to win with a landslide. Ambode’s victory did not come as a big surprise because he had been anointed by the APC leader. A source told Abiolainfo yesterday that Ambode attended a candidate meeting and bragged that he had already won and that today’s primaries would be a mere formality. The victory of Ambode over Supo Shashore, a candidate preferred by the current governor, Babatunde Fashola, re-asserts Mr. Tinubu firm control of the st...

It was a defeat of the power of evil secrecy Thursday as security agents arrested a suspected female suicide bomber who would have blown up the General Shuwa Memorial Hospital, Maiduguri and killed the health workers and the patients they labour hard to treat. The suspected bomber, a fairly old woman, who was said to have been confronted first by the hospital’s security guards, was arrested after it was discovered that she hid an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in a food flask she was carrying. According to the hospital authorities, the suspected terrorist disguised as a relation of a female patient who had come to present food at the maternity ward. But when she was stopped at the gate to open the two food flasks she was carrying before she could be allowed to proceed to the ward, she refused to open one of the flasks. One of the hospital’s security guards narrated the story to journalists: “When she was asked to open the other flask, she refused, swearing that she will not open...

Over the years, many points of view have been put forward as to what causes one person to be attracted to another. These have come from scientists, relationship experts and everyone in between. And while some of these views can sound accurate and as though they reflect reality, it doesn't mean this is actually the case. Women are said to go for one thing and men for another and one doesn't need to look very far to see there are always exceptions. Nevertheless, if one matches up with what is classed as attractive everything could be fine but if they don't, it could make them believe that they are therefore 'unattractive'. The first person is likely to end up feeling good about themselves and the second person could end up feeling hopeless. Physical Appearances While it is possible for one to change their behaviour or how they come across to others, the same can't always be said about their appearance. And as it is one's appearance that is often said to...