Again, DHQ alerts Nigerians on new B’Haram tactics terrorists

Again, DHQ alerts Nigerians on new B’Haram tactics terrorists

By Our Reporter  on December 22, 2015   National
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Defence Head Quarters (DHQ), yesterday alerted the public of yet another trick by Boko Haram  who now pretend to be in distress and cry for help to attract victims.
 The DHQ said members of the terrorist group who are now desperate, have devised some means where they use various tactics which include crying and feigning pains and shouting for help to attract sympathy from unsuspecting public.
 As soon as they get such help, according to the DHQ, “they would then detonate the Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which they usually conceal under their clothes.”
Acting Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Mohammed Rabe, who made this known in a statement issued in Abuja, linked the recent bombing in Damaturu, Yobe State in the same vein.
“Similarly, suicide bombers use monetary incentives and other inducements especially in crowded places to lure innocent citizens in order to cause colossal damage to both lives and property. Yola suicide incident is fresh in our memory,” he said.

Happening Now: President Buhari presents 2016 Budget

Happening Now: President Buhari presents 2016 Budget

By Our Reporter  on December 22, 2015   Breaking News, COVER, National.
President Muhammadu Buhari is presenting the 2016 national budget before a joint session of the National Assembly, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives today, December 22.
The National Assembly complex has been locked down by presidential guards ahead of the presentation.
There are strong indications that lawmakers are ready to ensure that the 2016 Appropriation Bill gets speedy consideration and is passed into law.
Once the budget is presented today by the president, the Senate and the House of Representatives will go to their various chambers to commence work.
The arrangement is to present the bill for first reading today and tomorrow, the lawmakers will formally adjourn sitting till next year, when the bill would be presented for second reading and passed.
Thereafter, it will be referred to the appropriate committees on Finance, Budget, National Planning and Appropriation among others, which would make the job easy.
At this point, ministers, heads of parastatals, departments and agencies of government would be invited to defend their budget.
The budget presentation by Buhari is coming on the heels of the approval of Medium Term Framework Expenditure (MTEF) by the National Assembly. The Senate approved the MTEF last Wednesday.
The Federal Executive Council yesterday approved the final draft of the 2016 budget with an unprecedented capital vote of N2 trillion.
The 6.07 trillion Naira budget proposal for 2016 was predicated on $38 per barrel oil benchmark; 197 Naira exchange rate.
It is an increase of about 40 per cent from the previous budget of 4.357 trillion Naira which was presented to the National Assembly in 2014 by former president, Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

N1.4trn fine: FG calls MTN’s bluff, says Dec 31 deadline subsists

N1.4trn fine: FG calls MTN’s bluff, says Dec 31 deadline subsists
 December 22, 2015 at 5:35 am in News 

By Prince Osuagwu, Emeka Aginam & Emmanuel Elebeke
LAGOS — The Federal Government, yesterday, said it would neither be cowed nor threatened by MTN’s court action against the N1.4trn fine which was later reduced to N780 billion, insisting that the telecommunications company risks another fine if it fails to pay on deadline.
Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, made the statement yesterday in reaction to the suit instituted by the telecom operator at a Lagos High Court, weekend.
The minister, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, however, admitted that MTN had the right to seek court’s interpretation if it feels unsatisfied with the action of the regulator but made it clear that nothing would stop the government from imposing additional fine on the operator, at the expiration of the deadline.
According to the minister, “it is the right of MTN to approach the court but there was an infraction, which MTN admitted to have committed before it pleaded for leniency that led to the reduction of the fine from N1.4 trillion to N780 billion and the subsequent December 31, 2015 deadline to  pay.
“If it has decided to go to court, it is still within the ambit of the law. I will not intervene, since they have gone to court, we will allow the court to decide if it is right for MTN to commit those infractions and breach the laws of the land.”
He, however, said that “it is unwise for MTN to go to court after the Federal Government had magnanimously reduced the fine. It will surely be fined for violating the rule at the expiration of the deadline, should it fail to pay the initial fine.”
Why we  are in court —MTN
Meanwhile, MTN, yesterday, also insisted that its action was induced by commitment and belief in the long term sustainability of its business.
According to the company’s Human Resources & Corporate Services Executive, Amina Oyagbola, “the N780 billion fine has potentially dire consequences for the company, its employees, partners, stakeholders as well as the entire Nigerian telecommunications industry.
Being a significant contributor in Nigeria, MTN has an obligation to protect the interests of its ecosystem of millions of Nigerians who are directly and indirectly affected by its business operations and continuity.
According to Oyagbola, “the decision to seek judicial determination was reached after careful consideration of all factors, including extensive attempts at a sustainable resolution. It is important to state that seeking judicial determination was a last resort. We hold the Nigerian Government, its national objectives, laws and regulations in the highest regard.”
She, however, added that notwithstanding the action, the company will continue to engage with the Nigerian authorities in an effort to reach an amicable resolution in the interest of all stakeholders.
The NCC sanctioned MTN for refusing to remove over 5.1 million unregistered telephone subscribers from its network.
The regulator fined the telecoms operator N1.04 trillion, but later reduced it by 25 per cent after the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, amid pressure and negotiations from the company’s parent body in South Africa.
The NCC also reviewed the deadline from November 16 to December 31, 2015.
Ahead of that date, the MTN Group, last Thursday, said in a statement from Johannesburg, South Africa, that it was taking legal action over the matter and subsequently filed the suit at the weekend, lining up about six Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs.
According to the firm, since its previous advice to its shareholders on December 4, 2015 that all factors relating to the sanctions were thoroughly and carefully considered, including a review of the circumstances that led to the fine and subsequent reduction by NCC, there were enough grounds upon which to challenge the fine in court.
Claiming to act on legal advice, MTN queried the manner the fine was imposed, describing it as “not in accordance with the NCC’s powers