I Will Always Meet With My Ex Saidi Balogun Even If I Remarry - Fathia ‘Balogun’ Williams

Fathia Balogun Williams

Actress and mum, Fathia Williams has showered encomiums on her ex-husband and father of her children, actor, Saidi Balogun.

Speaking with TVC presenters during an online entertainment programme, the mum-of-two praised her ex as an amazing and hardworking father.

 

She also admitted that she is currently in a relationship with ‘someone’ and will likely get married soon but she still has a relationship with her Ex, Saidi Balogun, and that they will always connect.

 

“I will always meet my Ex, there is nowhere we want to go.

 

He is my kids father and colleagues, we always meet in the family house to discuss the kids, we meet on set, we always connect somewhere, amazing father, great talent, hardworking man”

 

When asked if he will allow her remarry, Faithia said:

 

“Sure, he won’t stop me from remarrying….he can’t stop me”

COVID-19: Ogun govt speaks on school reopening

The Government of Ogun State said it had set up a committee to look into the possibility of reopening schools in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines.

The committee will work in collaboration with the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Education.

The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, said this on Tuesday while addressing newsmen after assessing the COVID-19 compliance level of an amusement park in Ibafo area of the state.

Salako-Oyedele, however, maintained that schools, religious and tourism centres among others, will remain closed until government’s further directives.

“Governor Dapo Abiodun has set up a committee to work in collaboration with the Presidential Taskforce and the Federal Ministry of Education to look into the reopening of schools in compliance with Coronavirus safety measures,” she said.

The Deputy Governor urged stakeholders affected by the ban to begin to put COVID-19 related measures in place while awaiting the state government’s response.

Speaking, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said the government will not let its guard down on containing the spread of Coronavirus in the state, saying it has stepped up measures on ensuring quality healthcare system.

However, no date has been given for school resumption

Nobody should come into our country, go to our sites, exploit our minerals and go away with them — Lawan

President of the Senate Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said foreigners and anyone involved in the illegal mining of solid minerals in the country are engaging in criminal enterprise that undermines the sovereignty of the Nigerian State.

A statement from the office of the Senate President quoted Lawan as saying during the consideration of a Policy Reforms for the diversification of the economy that illegal miners should be declared criminals.

“It is our duty to have legislation either in form of amendment or new legislations to ensure that the solid minerals sector is supported.

“I want to agree also with Senator Rochas Okorocha, that we have people who come in from outside the country, who go into our mining sites and exploit our minerals without any due process.

“I think we should declare such people criminals, whether they are Chinese or anybody else, because this is going against our sovereignty.

“Nobody should come into our country, go to our sites, exploit our minerals and go away with them.

“We want to attract foreign direct investments, but we should have proper processing of every concern that wants to participate in this sector. What is happening is criminal and everywhere.

“It happens in the North Central part of Nigeria where we have a lot of solid minerals, probably in Zamfara, too.

“I think it is for us in government to ensure that this is stopped, that we attract people and process their requests.

“I want to agree with the committee that we should have ease of doing business in the solid minerals sector, even though we have a general law which the Vice President’s office is handling, but it is time we look at specifically, the area of solid minerals to see how we can make it much easier for investors to participate”, Lawan said.

According to the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparent Initiatives (NEITI), Nigeria lost $9 billion between 2014 to 2015 to illegal mining of gold and other mineral resources.

The Senate while adopting the recommendations of the Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines, Steel Development and Metallurgy as contained in its report, urged the Federal Government to collaborate with States and Local Governments and the Private Sector to invest in infrastructural development that will provide private investment in all areas of the sector.

The Senate also called for a review of the Government-to-Government agreement with the Government of Russia on the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company to ensure the production of liquid steel in the most realistic timeframe.

LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT, USAID SIGN LETTER OF COOPERATION TO DEVELOP ELECTRIFICATION PLAN

L-R: Chief of Party, (USAID) Power Africa-Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP), Mr. Tunde Gbajumo and Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olelere Odusote during the signing of a letter of Cooperation between Lagos State Government and (USAID) Power Africa-Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP) to develop electrification plan for Lagos on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

Lagos State Government and United States (U.S.) Agency for International Development (USAID) Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP) have signed a letter of Cooperation to develop electrification plan for Lagos.

The agreement was reached on Tuesday during a virtual signing event when the representatives of the Lagos State Government and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP) executed a Letter of Cooperation to formally launch the Lagos State Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) initiative.

L-R: Chief of Party, (USAID) Power Africa-Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP), Mr. Tunde Gbajumo and Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olelere Odusote during the signing of a letter of Cooperation between Lagos State Government and (USAID) Power Africa-Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP) to develop electrification plan for Lagos on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

The Lagos State Integrated Resource Plan, which will be developed in close coordination with PA-NPSP, will serve as a roadmap to guide the development and implementation of a comprehensive electrification strategy that is best suited to the long-term needs of Lagos State. The Integrated Resource Plan, when developed, will be an effective tool for improved planning and decision making towards accelerating successful investment in the electricity sector and ultimately increasing electricity accessibility and reliability in Lagos State.

Speaking during the virtual signing ceremony, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the Integrated Resource Plan is a priority initiative for the Lagos State Government.

“To improve access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, there is no better place to start than in Nigeria. The Integrated Resource Plan is a priority initiative for the Lagos State Government and it underpins our electricity strategy to ensure access and reliability to Lagos residents is a reality,” he said.  

Governor Sanwo-Olu also expressed the State’s gratitude to the Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Program for leading the initiative and also commended all the domestic stakeholders for providing support to ensure the Lagos Integrated Resource Plan becomes a reality and for their continuous support towards making Lagos greater. 

Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote, while opening the event, said the development is a significant milestone in the implementation plan of the Lagos State Government towards improving electricity access in the State.

Odusote while noting the importance of an energy plan for sustainable economic development stated that “It is impossible to have a sustainable economic plan without an energy plan. The objective of the Lagos State Government is to deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity to Lagos residents, a key enabler for the vision of making Lagos a 21st century economy. The Integrated Resource Plan will be a sustainable, long-term electrification plan for Lagos.”

In his remarks, USAID’s Mission Director, Mr. Stephen M. Haykin explained that, “Power Africa recognises the importance of reliable electricity supply to Nigeria’s present and future. From energy perspective, I can’t think of a better way to accelerate access to electricity than to actively partner with the Lagos State Government for the development of a robust Integrated Resource Plan. To this end, it is vital that we support this initiative, as it serves as a critical planning process to meet consumers’ needs for electricity services in a way that satisfies multiple objectives for resource use.” 

In support of the Integrated Resource Plan, PA-NPSP will provide an analysis and review of the power sector in Lagos State to develop a state-of-the-art planning mechanism that is best suited for the long-term electricity needs of the State’s residents, businesses, industries, and public/government premises such as hospitals and health clinics.

This roadmap will assist the Lagos State Government and the State’s energy stakeholders to predict power system requirements for the next 20 years, enabling the effective and efficient management of energy resources. 

At the signing ceremony, the deputy chief of party for PA-NPSP, Mr. Tunde Gbajumo, emphasised the importance of collaborating with relevant stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions.

He explained that PA-NPSP and the Lagos State Government will work closely with various stakeholders in the Lagos State power sector to develop the Integrated Resource Plan and have already formed a Study Team composed of gas suppliers, the two Lagos distribution companies, generation companies, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, the Rural Electrification Agency and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Gbajumo further said that, “The Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Program is excited to be part of this landmark event for the partnership between the Lagos State Government and USAID and hope that this event will serve as a further testament to the productive and sustainable growth of Nigeria’s energy sector.”

Other participants at the event included the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, General Manager, Lagos State Electricity Board as well as key representatives from Transmission Company of Nigeria, Rural Electrification Agency, Egbin Power PLC, Ikeja Electric PLC and Eko Electricity Distribution Company.

It will take another one week to reopen other airports — NCAA

It may take the next one week for all the remaining airports to reopen for commercial operations, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said.

The Director-General of the apex regulatory agency, Capt. Musa Nuhu who spoke Tuesday night at a webinar on the review of Aviation restart, however, said before the end of Wednesday, four more airports might be approved.

He said although all the other airports were expected to reopen on Tuesday as earlier announced by the Federal Government, it came with a caveat which was fulfilling the requirements for their reopening.

The DG said the NCAA inspectors were expected to visit some of the airports on Tuesday but they were stuck in Calabar, Cross River State due to bad weather.

He disclosed that Calabar, Benin, Yola and Kaduna airports might be approved on Wednesday while the inspection team would visit Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Ilorin on Thursday

According to him, it would be the turn of Akure and Ibadan on Friday. Nuhu also disclosed that some state-run airports like Gombe would also be inspected and approved for flights if they satisfied the requirements especially the public health protocols.

Six airports have been reopened for flights starting with Lagos and Abuja on Wednesday; followed by Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Maiduguri on Saturday.

The DG who briefed stakeholders on the industry restart during the virtual meeting said it has been so far, so good since the flights resumed.

He said the NCAA divided its inspection team into two to visit all the airports and assess their readiness for restarting, saying, “in order to do thorough jobs, we can’t do more than two airports in a day.”

“It will take one week to get all the airports open,” the DG said, advising airlines to contact the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on the status of any airport before they start selling tickets for the airport.

“Let’s proceed with caution. We should not misinform the public. Before you start advertising or arranging flights, contact FAAN to confirm which airports are open before selling tickets,” he added.

North still lagging behind in Education — Tambuwal

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwa

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has lamented that Northern part of Nigeria is still lagging behind in terms of education, underscoring the need for stakeholders in the region to address the situation.

He stated this when he received a delegation of the Committee of the Pro-Chancellors of Nigerian States’ Universities (CPCNSU) on a condolence visit over the death of the Pro-Chancellor of the Sokoto State University, Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadir at Government House, Sokoto.

He urged stakeholders to pool resources to rescue the zone from its backwardness in terms of education.

“We as leaders should provide them with basic education by creating the enabling environment and making provisions for necessary infrastructure, learning materials and personnel for the education of our younger ones

“This is our collective responsibility to see that our younger ones are educated, particularly those children that are out of school,” he said

Tambuwal lauded the contributions of the committee to the development of education in states and Nigeria in general.

The leader of the delegation of the Pro-Chancellors, Gen. Muhammad Magoro (rtd), noted that late Abdulkadir was a proactive member of the committee.

He described him as a patriot who was vast in many fields of human endeavour.

A Pastor in Ogun ‘rapes’ 10 year old girl

The Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 59-year-old pastor of Light Christian Church at Odeda, Ogun State, Oketokun Abiodun for allegedly defiling a ten-year-old girl (name withheld).

This is coming less than a week after a self – acclaimed pastor of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oluwakemi Oyebola was arrested for allegedly raping his own daughter and procuring abortion for her three times.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Police Spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi said the latest suspect was held following a report by the father of the victim who reported at Odeda police station.

He quoted the complainant to have reported that the suspect had sent his daughter to help him bring his key from his room.

In the process, the clergyman reportedly followed the victim into the room, “pushed her into the bed, covered her mouth with his hands and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.”

Oyeyemi said following receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer in charge Odeda division, Ajayi Williams detailed his detectives to the scene where the ‘randy pastor’ was promptly arrested.

“On interrogation, the pastor owned up to the commission of the crime and he is currently being detained at Odeda police station; while the victim has been taken to General hospital Odeda for medical attention,” he said.

Oyeyemi added that the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson had ordered the transfer of the suspect to Anti-human trafficking and child labour unit of the State criminal investigation and intelligence department for further investigation and prosecution.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW CBN POLICY OF Global Standing Instruction

The CBN yesterday released a new policy called GSI (Global Standing Instruction). The policy is a very welcome policy. Below, I try to summarize the major points of the policy. 

1. It applies to all financial institutions in the country.

2. If you take a loan in any bank (say GTB)  and you refuse to pay back, we would look for any other bank(s) in the country (say Access bank, and Sterling bank) where you have accounts and there is money, we would take the money from those accounts and pay GTB back. 

E.g you take 30k Loan from GTB and you fail to pay back. You have 10k in your Access bank account, 15k in your Sterling bank joint account with your wife and 8k in your child's First bank account that you help her manage (because she is still a minor). We would sweep the 15k in your Sterling bank joint account with your wife, sweep the 10k in your Access Bank, and take 5k out of the 8k you have in your child's First Bank account. We would send them all to GTB. The remaining 3k in your child's First Bank account  would not be touched. That's a promise. 

3. Even if its a joint account that your BVN is found on,  money would be moved from there!  

4. If we find out that you have an account that we should have moved money from but you have done Chua-Chua to not put your bvn on that account, then your BVN would be watchlisted. My brother, that is a major gbege!  You are finished!

5. Only the principal and interest would be swept from your other accounts. Penalty charges would not be included. CBN don tries for us o. 

6. If a bank wrongfully activates GSI on you (you have not defaulted on your loan and they go make the system sweep from your other accounts) , the bank would pay a fine of 500k sharply. No begging. 

7. If you complain about a wrongful activation of GSI on your accounts, and the bank claims you are wrong, you then decide to request for arbitration. If the arbiter rules that you are correct, then the bank pays a fine of 10M. No story! 

The GSI becomes effective from August 1st 2020.

This helps the system to fight serial loan defaulters and allows banks to more readily give out loans. As a matter of fact, a bank can now choose to give you a loan without you previously having an account with the bank. 

It's a new dawn in our country.