Corruption: Umar is frustrated — Presidency

*Says elite who benefited from NSA fighting back

The Presidency, last night, rebuffed allegations of selectiveness in the war against corruption made against Muhammadu Buhari’s administration by the erstwhile military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar, describing him as a frustrated man.
President Muhammadu Buhari
It also said it had become accustomed to a fight back by the elite class.
The Presidency in a statement by a Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Mallam Garba Shehu, also said none of the elite class fighting back had shown evidence of the selectiveness of the fight against corruption.
He further said President Buhari had not at any time interfered with the prosecution of corruption suspects, even as he said several of those fighting back had at one time or the other benefited from security votes from the office of the National Security Adviser. Mallam Garba was, however, quick to exclude Col. Umar from such beneficiaries.
Col. Umar (retd) had in a statement issued, weekend, flayed the Presidency for directing its anti-corruption war at only the opposition, saying the decision to ignore court orders to release erstwhile NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd(, is inexcusable.
He further said the Buhari administration had in its actions sought to humiliate former President Goodluck Jonathan who he, Umar, praised for his excellent democracy credentials.
Responding, yesterday, Shehu said: “By now, President Buhari’s administration is quite familiar with the barrage of verbal attacks that have accompanied the administration’s determined war against corruption.
“A number of Nigeria’s elite, uncomfortable with the disruption of business as usual, have fought viciously, usually via the media. However, this comment, coming from Colonel Umar, is highly disappointing, because he is not in a position to label accusations. He should, instead, allow others to do this.
“Curiously, despite the various accusations and media attacks, no one has so far come forth with any evidence of President Buhari’s selectiveness in the war against corruption.
“All the agencies involved are allowed freedom to carry out their responsibilities, without any interference whatsoever from the Presidency.
“If Colonel Umar or anyone else feels that they have any evidence to the contrary, they are encouraged to make this public.
“A number of Nigerian elite have over the years, benefitted from various forms of corruption, including monthly payouts from the office of previous National Security Advisers.
“Let me clarify that this is not in reference to Colonel Umar in particular.
“The Buhari’s administration has offended so many of our greedy elite by putting a stop to this, plugging many of the holes through which our country’s resources, belonging to each and every one of us, were looted by a few.
“Naturally, these elite are frustrated. But we shall not allow them to frustrate the war against corruption.
“The war against corruption is here to stay. As long as President Buhari is in power, Nigerians can be rest assured of that. It will not succumb to media attacks. It will not be deterred by false accusations. It will not be quenched by disgruntled elements.”

Source: Vanguard

Oyegun: Tinubu did not make me APC National Chairman

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, John Oyegun has said a National Leader of the party, Bola Tinubu was not responsible for his emergence as the ruling party’s National Chairman.
Oyegun made the remark in an interview with Vanguard while responding to a question that some people are alleging that he has not been fair to those who assisted him to emerge National Chairman of the party, especially, Bola Tinubu.
The APC Chairman insisted that everybody in the party and not a particular individual aided his emergence.
According to Oyegun, “Everybody assisted me to this position and I am grateful to all of them. The only thing is my personality and integrity; I don’t joke with these two things because they are the only currency that I have and I will defend them at any time.
“I don’t believe one particular person solely assisted me to this position, everybody assisted me and someday, the story of how I became chairman of APC will be told.
“You will then see that everybody did assist me to become National Chairman. This means that I am there for everybody. I don’t belong to any camp in the APC. I belong to all members of APC high and below.”

North Korea arrests U.S. professor Kim

North Korea has arrested a Korean-American professor for unknown reasons as he was planning to fly out of Pyongyang International Airport on Saturday morning.
Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, was teaching at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, a statement from the school said.
The detention comes amid a buildup of tension on the Korean Peninsula, with a North Korean newspaper saying Sunday that Pyongyang was ready to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier conducting drills in the region.
Kim is the third U.S. citizen in North Korean custody. The school said he was detained by authorities at the airport “after several weeks of service, teaching at PUST.”
“We understand this detention is related to an investigation into matters not connected in any way with the work of PUST,” the school said.
“We cannot comment on anything that Mr. Kim may be alleged to have done that is not related to his teaching work on the PUST campus.”
The statement said “life on campus and the teaching at PUST is continuing as normal” for the spring semester.
The detained American is a professor, the South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
The detention was also confirmed by Martina Aberg, deputy chief of mission at the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang.
The embassy represents U.S. interests in North Korea, since Washington and Pyongyang do not have direct diplomatic relations.
“He was prevented from getting on the flight out of Pyongyang,” Aberg said. “We don’t comment further than this.”
The U.S. State Department on Sunday said it was working on the case.
“We are aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea,” said a department official. “The protection of U.S. citizens is one of the Department’s highest priorities.”
The official said the United States would work with the Swedish Embassy on the matter, but did not provide further comment.
At least two other U.S. citizens are known to be in North Korean custody.
Otto Warmbier, 21, a student at the University of Virginia, was detained at Pyongyang airport on January 2 last year after visiting the country with a tour group.
He has since been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for allegedly removing a political sign from a hotel wall.
Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Korean origin, was arrested on October 2015.
Last year, North Korea sentenced him to 10 years of hard labour on espionage charges.

France’s presidential election: How the world reacted

Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen have emerged as winners of the first round presidential vote in France.
FRANCE LE PEN AND MACRON
The result clears the way for a straight two-way fight between the pair in a run-off on May 7, with opinion polls flagging Macron as favourite.
Here are some of the international reactions to Sunday’s vote:
– European Union –
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker congratulated the pro-EU Macron and wished him “good luck” in the run-off, Juncker’s spokesman tweeted.
“To see the flags of #France and the EU greet the result of @emmanuelmacron, it’s the hope and future of our generation,” tweeted EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s chief negotiator on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, hinted at concerns Le Pen could lead France away from the bloc.
“Patriot and European, I will put my trust in Emmanuel Macron on May 7. France must remain European,” the Frenchman tweeted.
– Russia –
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “respects” the result, and is “in favour of building good and mutually beneficial relations”.
Russia has appeared as a keen backer of Le Pen, who met President Vladimir Putin in a surprise visit to Moscow ahead of the vote.
– Germany –
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman wished Macron “all the best for the next two weeks”.
“It’s good that Emmanuel Macron was successful with his course for a strong EU and social market economy,” Steffen Seibert said in a tweet.
Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel expressed confidence that the 39-year-old would be France’s next president.
“I’m sure he will sweep away the far-right, rightwing populism and the anti-Europeans in the second round,” Social Democrat Gabriel said in a video posted on Twitter during a trip to Amman.
Writing on Twitter, he added: “I’m glad that @EmmanuelMacron is leading the field. He was the only truly pro-European candidate.”
– Austria –
The head of the Austrian far-right FPOe, Heinz-Christian Strache, congratulated Le Pen on her “historic success”.
“Europe’s patriotic spring can celebrate another success and step forward… The old established parties and their discredited representatives will gradually disappear into insignificance all across Europe. They have been ruining Europe for years!” he said on Facebook.
Strache said that because “established French parties” were backing Macron, it would be a “wonder” if Le Pen won the second round.
“But the system, like in Austria, is on the brink. It is just a question of time. More and more citizens have had enough of the system politicians responsible for the current disaster.”
– Britain –
Former Conservative finance minister George Osborne, recently appointed editor of London’s Evening Standard newspaper, hailed a good result for the centre.
“Congratulations to my friend @EmmanuelMacron. Proof you can win from the centre. At last, the chance for the leadership that France needs,” he tweeted.
– Denmark –
Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen expressed cautious optimism that former banker Macron would emerge victorious over Le Pen.
“Congratulations @EmmanuelMacron. We should await the final election, but Europe needs an openminded and reform oriented France => Good luck!”
– Norway –
Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, whose country is not a member of the European Union, tweeted: “We need more not less cooperation in #Europe.”
– The Netherlands –
Geert Wilders, Dutch MP and leader of the anti-Islam anti-immigrant Freedom Party, swung behind Le Pen, welcoming the result as a “bright day for patriots in France and elsewhere who want more national sovereignty and less EU and immigration.
“I have just sent her my sincere congratulations. Now on the way to a vigorous second round, I am hoping for a President Le Pen.”

Source: Vanguard

Lagos generated N436bn internal revenue in 2016 – commissioner

The Lagos State Government generated N436.3 billion internal revenue in 2016 from the N399.4 billion realised in 2015.
Governor Ambode of Lagos State
The state realised N7 billion from Land Use Charge (LUC) in 2016 against N6 billion in 2015.
Mr Akinyemi Ashade, the state Commissioner, Ministry of Finance, made the disclosure at the ministry’s 2017 Ministerial Press Briefing to mark Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode’s two years in office.
Ashade said that the increase was due to the introduction of innovative ideas and continued public sensitisation.
He said one of the innovations was the opening of more payment channels to cater for the large numbers of people that needed to pay the LUC.
Ashade reminded property owners that the LUC was an annual obligation to enable the state government carry out its obligations.
He also urged those aggrieved by the charges to use the Land Use Charge Assessment Appeal Tribunal to resolve issues rather than go to regular courts.
He said that the tribunal handled 500 cases and amicably resolved 195 with payments made immediately by the property owners.
Ashade said: ”Governor Akinwunmi Ambode provided a conducive, safe and secured enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
”We equally embarked on massive infrastructure development with strong patronage of indigenous contractors which helped to boost the state’s Gross Domestic Product, ” he said.
Ashade said that the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) alone generated N247.022 billion, representing 80 per cent of the estimate.
He said that LIRS was able to achieve this feat due to some strategic revenue reforms.
Ashade said that 420, 000 residents were included in the state’s tax net in 2016 to raise those in the tax net to over five million from 4.6 million in 2015.
He appealed to residents to pay their taxes to enable the government provide more laudable projects.

Credit: Vanguard

Oldest woman in the world found in Edo State (PHOTO)

A fresh claim has emerged challenging earlier report by the Guinness Book of Records, which had identified 116-year-old Italian, Emman Morano of Verbani as the oldest person on earth.
The new claims shows Madam Veronica Uloko in Edo State as the oldest.
Madam Uloko is 132 years of age and currently living in Iyamho community, Etsako clan, Edo State, the hometown of the outgoing Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.


With this, Mama Uloko is 16 years older than Morano who is believed to be the oldest woman living on earth.
Though blind and unable to walk, the centenarian wants God to take her life because of the agony she was undergoing over the loss of three of her seven children, especially the 73-year-old son that died in August, this year.
Speaking to Vanguard, one of her sons, Obanor, said that the death of Mama’s son affected her health, as she did not want to live while her children died.
On how she feels at 132 years old, she averred thus: “I am very happy that God gave me a long life, but since my son died, I have been praying to God to come and take my life. I cannot remain while my children are dying after getting old.”

Commenting on Oshiomhole’s government, she said: “Our people in Iyamho are not cowards and they live straight forward life, they do not cheat and they are very bold people and I think that is why God blesses us with long life and wisdom, including Oshiomhole, in Iyamho.”

Madam Uloko, who is excited by Oshimohole’s developmental strides in the state, said: “We are happy that only one man came to rescue us, not only our people, the entire Edo north and Edo state.

“God will bless Oshiomhole. When he was announced as the winner, I was dancing with one leg inside because I could not walk as an old woman.”
“I pray that Oshiomhole will get another big appointment when he leaves as governor. I thank Oshiomhole for what he has done for our people, when you come to our village, Iyamho; you will not recognize the place again, as people continue to tell me because I can no longer see. I have prayed for him and I will continue to pray for him because he made our people proud,” she added.

She went on: “Governor Oshiomhole’s mother came to greet me the other day and I was happy. My father was older than me, but I am not happy at all since my son died and I have been weeping since then. I can no longer see well, I use to see very well but I can no longer see well. I have seven children, but one died three months ago, while two died years ago. So I am not happy at all.
“I married at the age of 18 at Olueke. When I was at Olueke, I spent 12 years without a child. So my father advised me to leave the marriage since I could not have any issue with the man. So I came back to my father’s house and spent another four years before I met my husband that we had the four children together.

“In fact, before I got married to my second husband, he had nine children already with another woman. We are very happy to have longevity in our family. People in my father’s community, Iyamho, enjoy long life. My father was 87 years before he died; he was the oldest man in Afowa village before he died.

“I thank God for giving me long life and that is all I pray for people today, but I am no longer enjoying it due to the death of my son.”

4 Common Mistakes When Building Website

The fact is anyone can now build a professional website. Website builders like Six, Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, Blogger and others have made it all easy, even though you have no professional experience with web designing or coding, you can still easily sign up with these platforms and create your professional website.


All this said if you are building a website for the first time, you would still need to consider a few guidelines that you are sure not to be aware of, so we would be discussing the 4 Common mistakes when building website so you can avoid them when building your own website.


No Navigation: This is a common mistake in when building and it occurs when visitors visit your website and are not sure of where or how to find the information they need and find it tough to discover your previous contents. When links are hard to find, buttons are not visible or are placed in the wrong spot making them inaccessible to the visitor then you would be experiencing a lower bounce rate on your website as visitors won't be able to play around your webpage and would be largely restricted to the landing page. When designing your webpage from scratch there needs to be a logic, and a lot of common sense in how you organize your website navigation. As a web owner you would want your users to be able to find what they need on your page in as few clicks as possible and won't want to stress them when they are seeking or information. The best thing to do is to keep your header, footer and navigation bar consistent on each page and also have a search bar somewhere on the page so as to assist them, you would also need to make all your pages and post easily accessible to your site visitors.


A disorganized homepage: When building a website you should pay more attention to the design and layout of your homepage as this is usually the first thing your visitors see on your website. You have to use this opportunity to create a good impression of your website to your visitors and guarantee they would continue to browse it. If your are running an online business and your homepage is looking packed and flashy, your visitors who are potential customers might feel tempted to just walk away.You can actually offer a lot of great content on your website but display them in a simple and organized way. It is also advised that you don’t use too much text on your homepage, and if you want to use multiple images, going for a sliding gallery would also be more preferable.


Outdated contents: Everyone loves to be updated frequently even bots. So don’t give the impression that you just launched a site and left it there. You have to show the world that you are active. If your site is meant for business people won’t bother to get in touch with you if your site seems abandoned and if its a blog or news page it sure does need regular updating. Doing this also affects how you website ranks in search engines. The more recent your contents are, the more often is gets indexed by Google and other search engines so the best thing to do is, keep updating.


Launching without testing: It is true that most website builders like Wix gives you the power to build your website on your own without the help of a professional, but you still need to crosschecked yourself for broken links, spelling mistakes, alignment issues and other things that you might have over looked. You would need to go over the entire website by yourself, and it is good to also get another pair of eyes to browse through it and give you their thoughts before launching your webpage.

SOURCE : http://techblogtips.com/4-common-mistakes-building-website/