N32.8bn Police pension scam: EFCC arrests Dangabar for interfering with forfeited properties

Esai Dangabar, one of the six accused persons being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 16 criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust for their role in defrauding the Police Pension Office to the tune of N32.8 Billion naira (Thirty Two Billion, Eight Hundred Million Naira), was on Thursday December 13, 2012, arrested for interfering with the properties which the court had ordered forfeited to the federal government.

Among properties belonging to Esai which the court ordered forfeited to the federal government on interim basis pending the determination of the substantive suit are: Block of 3 Bedrooms flats at Gwarinpa (6 units), along EFAB Estate, Life Camp; a Block of Bedrooms flats (6 units) at Mabushi District, beside ministry of works; Estate of 4 Bedroom Duplexes (16 units), behind Wuye Modern Market, Abuja; a mini Estate at No.19, Ukpabi Asika Street, Asokoro, Abuja; 12 Units of 2 bedroom Flats at 1, Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Gudu District, Abuja; 5 Bedroom Duplexes 1, Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Gudu District, Abuja; 4 Bedroom Bungalows at 1, Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Gudu District, Abuja and 2 Bedroom flat at Zone C, Apo Resettlement, layout.

Others are: 5 Blocks of One bedroom flats at Zone C, Apo Resettlement layout, Abuja; Twin duplex of 5 bedroom & 3 rooms, 33, ML Wushishi BQ 1 Crescent, Utako, Abuja; 2 Blocks of 3 Bedroom flats, Area 3, Former NYSC Office, Abuja; 2 Bedroom , Area 2, Abuja, Behind Shopping , Complex , 3 Bedroom flats , 2 Goran village, along Adi Farms Limited, Abuja-Keffi Road; 180,000 Litres Storage Facility on a Land of about 5,000sqm, with Office Building, Workshop and 20 Loading Bay 1 Suleja, Niger State.

Vehicles belonging to Dangabar which have been ordered forfeited to the government pending the determination of the criminal charges against him were seven trucks with registration numbers XH 909 RSH; XH 910 RSH; XH 912 RSH; XH 908 RSH; XH 911; XH 913 RSH and XH 460 KUJ.
Dangabar's bank accounts forfeited to the government were: two Damule Nigeria Limited accounts with FCMB; Damule Nigeria Limited account with Main Street Bank; E. D. Laumara with Access Bank; three account numbers of Essai Dangabar Laumara's with Access Bank; Laumara E. Taure
account with Skye Bank; three of AMD Global Logistics account with Skye Bank. Two accounts of Future Logistics Limited with Skye bank. Three accounts of Marine Logistics & Leisure Integrated in Skye Bank.

Two Damule Nig Ltd accounts in Skye Bank. Companies belonging to Dangabar and five others, forfeited to the EFCC were Halas Investment Limited; At homes; Sy- A Global Services Limited; Jidag Technical Services Limited; Damule Nigeria Limited; Marine Logistics; AMD Global Logistics; Future Logistics Ltd; Jenago Services Limited; H Takano Nigeria Limited; Noni Anthony System
Limited; Saudauna Enterprise limited; Ulover International Resources Limited; Somadok Express; Kechis Water Bottling Company; Kechis Events Managers; Kechis Straw; Kechis Plastic Extrusion company; Geopet Petroleum Services Limited; Aina Farms: Otega Farms, Bannachi Global
Links and Comm. Co. Limited.

But Dangabar approached the Court of Appeal, Abuja division to challenge the order of the High Court to have his properties forfeited. The appeal court, in a unanimous ruling on July 24, 2012,
dismissed his application. In a ruling read by Justice Kolawole Bada, the Appeal Court resolved the three issues raised by Dangabar in favour of the EFCC. Two other justices who held the same view were Justices Bukar Chua and Husseini Mukhtar. The court ruled that the interim forfeiture order pending the hearing of the criminal charge preferred against him is provided for under the EFCC Act. "The court, having been given that power, the exercise of it has not taken away the accused right to fair hearing", the three justices reasoned.

The court further ruled that the provisions of Section 28 and 29 of the EFCC Act is validated by Section 44 (2) of the 1999 Constitution and is therefore constitutional. Additionally, the court ruled that the presumption of innocence cannot be interpreted to allow a suspect to retain the proceed of the alleged crime made against him.

Accordingly, the court ruled that Section 34 of the EFCC Act was substantially complied with by the lower court. He has again proceeded to the Supreme Court challenging the Appeal Court judgement.

Dangabar and his co travellers returned to the high court to challenge jurisdiction and prayed the court to quash the charges against them.

But on November 12, 2012, Justice Mohammed Talba of High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Gudu, Abuja dismissed the applications to quash charges as the judge said the applicants failed to supply relevant material before the court to warrant the quashing of the case against them. He also said that so far, based on the proof of evidence before the court, the prosecution has presented his case in such a way that a prima-facie has been established against them.

While the public has been warned to stay away from the aforementioned properties and other properties belonging to other accused being investigated by the EFCC, trial in the substantive case of Dangabar and others who were arraigned on May 28, 2012, comes up on January 28, 2013.

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Why You Can Never Truly Delete Your Email

Think that clicking "delete" will actually delete your email? Think again.

When a user "deletes" an email in the normal fashion, it becomes invisible to that user and is immediately a candidate to be overwritten. But until it is in fact overwritten, it exists. And it may persist longer on company servers. So, even if it is taken off your computer, it may still be available on the host's server.

Given that email-hosting companies are legally obliged to turn over user information to law enforcement and intelligence authorities with warrants—and these days even without them—the impossibility of being certain of a deletion means you must presume that any email you compose will be available remain accessible forever.

"I think the most important thing for people to understand that you can't really ever delete anything," Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Hanni Fakhoury told the Daily Dot.

"And when it comes to email, the provider may have a backup even if you delete it... (T)hat's why EFF is generally opposed to data retention policies, i.e., a government mandate for ISPs to keep digital records for specified periods of time."

You do have some options to make your email harder to access, but doing so also makes it harder to use.

In EFF's guide, "Don't be a Petraeus: A Tutorial on Anonymous Email Accounts," the organization notes: "The current state of anonymous communication tools is not perfect, but there here are some steps that, if followed rigorously, might have protected the Director of the CIA, the Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan, and their friends against such effortless intrusion into their private affairs."

The key words there are "rigorously" and "might."

By combining encryption, an anonymous Web-based email account set up through a Tor browser or Circumventor tool that makes your personal IP address impossible to clock, you may remain out of reach of the increasingly overzealous authorities. It is important to note, however, that whichever email service you use may retain copies of any emails you send. That, combined with contextual information (personal information on your age, profession, location, etc.) might be enough for an investigator to identify you.

EFF points out that Hushmail allows users to set up email accounts while using Tor. Others discourage or forbid it. However, Hushmail, which guarantees that not even Hushmail employees are capable of compromising your anonymity, has forked over user information with alacrity in the past.

Regardless of what kind of email setup you use, you are also encouraged to use "secure deletion" software, such as Eraser, or to take a number of steps that truly delete the file in question.

The problem is that even when an email is actually deleted, and even if no copy of it has been retained on a company server, there are still elements that indicate the prior presence of the email. "[E]ven if a file has been securely deleted," EFF warns, "its name will probably continue to exist for some time on your computer." For instance, in Microsoft Word, the title of a document will persist in the Recent Documents menu, even if the email itself has been deleted.

The logins themselves are typically retained as well.

"Webmail providers like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft retain login records (typically for more than a year) that reveal the particular IP addresses a consumer has logged in from," wrote the American Civil Liberties Union's Chris Soghoian.

Additionally, if there is any contact with that email by a computer whose IP address is visible, such as sharing an account with a recipient, that IP address can be the trail that unravels the whole conversation.

If you "give the account password to someone else who can then log in and view the message, obviously it doesn't matter if you disguised your IP address while visiting the site," Bennett Haselton of Peacefire told the Daily Dot. "The message is still sitting there and you've told someone else how to get it, so whoever they pass that info along to, will be able to access the message as well."

"The thing is, email security in and of itself is a myth," said Ian Lyons in a comment on the New School of Information Security blog. Unless every single best practice is followed to a T—and with large companies with less-than-tech savvy employees, that's nigh impossible—there will be breaches."

That's certainly something to consider the next time you pull up Gmail.


Curled from Mashable.

10 ways of investing in the Abuja Real Estate Market

A must read that encourages one to venture into the real estate business.

The time to invest in the Abuja Real Estate market is now. The opportunities are limitless. In fact I would like to say, "the land is green"! I am writing this article just for you. Presently, you may wonder how you can invest in the property market with what you earn at the moment. This article is written for two broad classes of people: (a) Those who have the money to invest but don't know how and (b) Those who don't have the money to invest and don't know how. I will attempt to solve the puzzle and present the opportunities available to you so that you can explore. Smile, relax and happy reading.

Ideas for Real Estate investment in Abuja

There are various ways you can invest in real estate in Abuja. I will only mention the ways that would not generate controversies. There are some of those methods of real estate investment that would ordinarily raise eyebrows for some people and which would make other individuals shout with excitement. This is because we have different value systems. So, I will avoid the grey areas of real estate investment and talk about the more generally acceptable forms.

1. Purchase and sell an undervalued property

The property market is very interesting. I see it as a game and nothing more. The property market is filled with individuals who want to dispose off their properties in a jiffy. Some of them want to dispose because of various reasons and at lower prices because of the emergency involved. In other instances, people want to sell land, or landed properties, at a lower price because they bought it at a much lower price etc. For example, a client needed a Jahi plot recently and he was willing to offer 16million naira but could not get the required land size. This same parcel of land could have been purchased for 9 million in 2009. You know the popular saying "buy low, sell high"? It is always true. Look for a property that is undervalued, purchase it and sell at the current market price and you would have made your profit and solved the problems of the seller for which he required money.

2. Purchase a property renovate it and put it up for sale

This is very simple. I know individuals who practice this real estate investment principle for a living. I mean they don't do anything else! The man looks for a property that is in a good location but dilapidated. He purchases it, repairs, renovates it and puts it up for sale. In certain instances he may decide to remodel the property before putting it back in the market for sale. He makes good profit from doing this. This is capital intensive, but it is good real estate business.

3. "Piece meal" sale of real estate

This can be done when a block of flats is bought and resold in units. Considering the fact that the cost of purchasing a block of flats is beyond the reach of many individuals, an investor could purchase the property and sell in units to individuals while making some good profits. So also, an individual may buy hectares of land in a good location, "fix" the lay out, and resell. (In whatever you do please check the legislation in force)

4. Cooperate investment in real estate

Having considered the first three options, it is important to talk about cooperative investment. This is a situation in which a couple of investors come together to invest in real estate. A group of individual or organizations could purchase a property and then decide to sell it to make profit from it. The idea is that funds could be pooled together for investment in real estate. The profits would be shared in accordance to the contribution or as agreed by the members prior to the investment.

5. The lease Option

With this option you may not be able to purchase a property because of the capital sum required. However, you can arrange a lease option with the owner of the property for a couple of years and then sub lease the property. Of course this is not yet very common in Nigeria. Please be informed that the sub-lease period should terminate before the lease expires. In this form of investment, the idea is that an individual could lease a property for as long as 5 to 10 years and then pays a lump sum for which the lessee then sub lets the property and makes his profit at the prevailing current rent obtainable from such property.

6. Buying and Holding Real Estate

This option is also a very common real estate investment practice where an individual builds or buys a property and then gives it out for rent. This is really a good investment but at the same time you would have to deal with repairs, liabilities, taxes, tenants etc. A simple way out is to give your property to a registered Estate Surveyor who can effectively manage your property and obtain current rent and keep the property in a good state of repairs. This has proved to be a good source of investment.

7. Religious Real Estate Investment

You can go to your pastor or the imam see if they could help their members' pool funds together to invest in real estate to better the lives of their members. For example, if a particular religious organization purchased a plot of land in kagini Abuja early last year…and sold it this year, it would be making a difference of about N3 million naira profit or more per plot (depending on the size)! Imagine how many beggars, widows; etc the profit would take care of! Imagine what difference the extra profit would make in the lives of the investors, particularly in these economic times? Form a cooperative society in church or mosque, pool the resources together and invest in real estate for the benefit of the members and humanity as a whole!

8. Farm lands and undeveloped areas

A dear old woman gave me an idea about 12 years ago; at that time she was 88-years-old. She advised me to buy farm lands at a young age. She said "in the course of time development will spread and more often than not the land use could be changed to residential purposes, then you would make profit form foresight" Believe me that is exactly what she did and even at her age she was still a multi millionaire. You could purchase farmlands and give it out for rent. What is bad in farming in it anyway? So also you could purchase undeveloped areas and keep for the same purpose.

9. Invest in commercial properties

For example you can buy a shop. Have you ever played the monopoly game? I once heard a multi millionaire in America when he was being interviewed saying, that the game of monopoly taught him basically all he knew about real estate and investment. Try to buy the game and see if you can make something out of it. I feel it is an "MBA" on its own. If you purchase a commercial property, you can do all that has been mentioned so far but one notable advantage is that it has little or no repairs to be carried out on it. If the shop is in a good location, you will get a great value for it if you have to flip it (sell it).

10. If you have the finances, go into real estate development.

You don't have to have 2 billion naira to do this. If all you can build is just a duplex or a bungalow in a good location, you can sell it and make your profit and repeat the same. After a while you would probably be able to build two properties at once, then five, then ten etc I know an individual who built a house and someone offered him about thrice the amount for it… that was how he got into real estate development and today has a massive estate in Abuja, I am sure you would know it if I mention the estate. If you don't have all the finances, call a couple of investors and professionals and start nurturing the idea. Think big but start small… Think future but start now…no matter how small.

Bonus idea: Cooperative Financing.

I call it a bonus idea because I want to discuss briefly on this. Please take for example 10 people who have 1million naira each came together to buy a property that is 10million naira in an estate in one of the satellite areas. They hold the property for about a year and then sell for say, 13 million naira. They would have made a profit of 3 million naira in addition to the rent collected from that property. Imagine if these 10 people could pool 3 million naira together they could buy 3 of such properties and use them as collateral to obtain loan from the bank and buy two more. They could sell some to offset the interest charges and all other formalities. However, look at the third option of them pooling 30 million naira together and then rather than paying for 3 properties or flats in a satellite area, they opt for mortgage facilities to pay for a property of about 150 million in Wuse II (at least I know some very good properties for that price). They may get a good rent that would pay up the interest rate, while the property continues to appreciate in value. It is also a great advantage that they may sell off the property to pay up the mortgage and walk away with their profit. They may even decide to spread the payment plan for the mortgage over the years and repeat same investments over and again. The opportunities are limitless…

There are many more ideas on the various ways of investing in real estate particularly in Abuja, as the opportunities are still "fresh and green". I would encourage you to work out a concrete plan on how you can get into real estate investment today. Plan towards it and work your plan. If you don't have enough financial resources, look at ways in which you can pool funds together. Make that phone call and share the idea with a friend you can trust. Be sure to get professional help before you part with your money.

Have a beautiful day and don't hesitate to call me if you have questions or objections. I will be waiting for your call today. Remember to put a smile on someone's face today. Let the world be a better place because you are here. Give me a call so we can rub minds together…

Apple announces official launch of iTunes Store in Nigeria

Apple today announced the launch of the iTunes Store in Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa, Nigeria and 52 additional countries featuring a selection of local and international music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels.

The iTunes Store features local artists including Elka in Russia, Sezen Aksu in Turkey, AR Rahman in India, Zahara in South Africa, PSquare in Nigeria, and international artists including The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Coldplay, and world-renowned classical musicians including Lang Lang, Yo Yo Ma and Yuja Wang. Customers can choose from over 20 million songs available to purchase and download on the iTunes Store.

Movie fans can choose from a wide selection of films available for rent or purchase from the iTunes Store, with many available in stunning HD, from major studios including 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as leading local distributors.* Movies are available today in Russia, Turkey, India and Indonesia, and will be available in select additional countries. The iTunes Store is now available in 119 countries.

Facebook Set Sights on Acquiring WhatsApp

If you see someone with a smartphone, there is a good chance that they might have WhatsApp installed. After all while the app itself might be a paid app (for iOS it requires an upfront payment), it allows users to send messages to friends and family all over the world for free, hold group conversations and exchange various media as long as an internet connection is available. Plus with a report by WhatsApp back in October of 2011 that they are serving 1 billion messages a day, it just seems like a recipe for monetization, and with Facebook having acquired Instagram not too long ago, could WhatsApp be next on their list?

This is according to anonymous sources who claims that Facebook and WhatsApp are currently in talks, with the possibility of an acquisition on the table. Of course with nothing concrete to prove this at the moment, we suggest you take it with a grain of salt for now. However as the folks at TechCrunch have noted, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg believes that the next big thing could be mobile, and with WhatsApp currently available in a variety of different countries, it could help with Facebook's expansion into emerging markets as well. The flipside is what will Facebook do with WhatsApp if they do acquire it?

While the app itself is paid, could Facebook be looking at a way to monetize it like they did with their social network website through ads? There aren't many people who appreciate the Facebook ads as it is, and the thought of ads invading our IMs, well, that probably won't sit well with many (including ourselves). Either way like we said earlier, we'll take this with a grain of salt for now, but what do you guys think? Should Facebook acquire WhatsApp, what use would Facebook have for the instant messaging app?

04. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. At first, only students from Hardvard could join the service, but overtime more users were allowed to join. Today, Facebook remains the leader in social networking, but most importantly, it is the top online identity provider as the overwhelming majority of Facebook users have registered using their real identities.


Culled from Ubergizmo

See the future, Increase sales in SME's.

Increasing sales in 2013 is likely one of the goals of every small business owner. But, as consumer buying habits and trends change from year to year, often times what worked last year will not work again the next year. This is especially true in today's world where technology has reshaped the marketplace drastically in only a few short years – plunging retailers headfirst into cyberspace, and then once there, quickly and constantly redefining the landscape in which potential customers inhabit. For small business owners to compete they must be able to "SEE" the future and embrace the new consumer landscape.

S = Social Media

The first step to seeing the future is to embrace social media. Small business owners should already be familiar with social media, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, to name a few, and should be taking advantage of the opportunities they provide to connect with potential customers. But, to be competitive in the foreseeable future, familiarity will not be enough. The fact is social media is a part of the everyday lives of the majority of the consumer base for nearly all types of small businesses. Thus, to not maximize your engagement with social media is to cut-off a major artery of potential sales to your business.

The trick, however, for those who have not mastered social media interaction, is to avoid the temptation to simply dip your toe in the shallow end and spread a little of your business over a lot of social media spaces. Instead, to be competitive, you must own your presence in those social media environments that will give your business the "most bang for your buck," so to speak. This means that the first step for small business owners to take on the road to owning their social media presence is to educate themselves about the business benefits of each available social media option and become an expert on how to put those benefits to work for their brand.

The best place to start is Doctoc's Online Business Courses. Docstoc has in depth courses for small business owners on dozens of topics, including social media. These courses are taught by experts and go far beyond simply introducing the student to the course topics. To take your first step toward owning your business's social media presence devote some time now by taking these courses – Social Media For Business, Facebook Pages For Business, LinkedIn Tutorial & Tools and Twitter For Small Business – and you will have your social media marketing machine running at full strength for all of 2013.

EE = E-commerce, Especially Mobile

There is no sense in denying it, e-commerce is a growing force that small businesses need to embrace to survive. And, if your business is not already offering an online purchasing option to its customers, you are at a major disadvantage. The fact is online e-commerce is already becoming old news because mobile e-commerce is already here. Moving into 2013 consumers expect that they can research, review and purchase any product on their computer or laptop, and by the end of 2013, that expectation will be firmly entrenched in their minds with regards to their smartphones and tablets. Thus, if your product is not already available online, and is not available on a mobile device in 2013, for many consumers, that product might as well not exist.

As shown here, "[a]ccording to the June 2012 Mobile Content Study by Magid Associates, tablet use by American consumers increased from zero to 34% in just the past two years. Moreover, Magid predicts that by the end of 2013 'the tablet audiences will more than double, from 40MM in 2011 to approximately 100 million'. This is in addition to an 'increase from approximately 100 million users in 2011 to 140 million users' of smartphones by the end of 2013. Another research study, this one from ABI Research, predicts that mobile-commerce will account for nearly a quarter of overall e-commerce market revenue by the end of 2017." We said it back in August, and we'll say it again now, "If you are … not optimized for mobile, you've been warned – the clock is ticking."

Fortunately, setting up an e-commerce website, and optimizing it for mobile, has never been easier. There are numerous easy-to-use options available for small business owners with any level of website building experience. Shopify, Volusion, and BigCommerce are a few of the most well-known options.

If you can SEE the future, increased sales in 2013 are sure to follow.

Fallout from the Presidential media chart.

Presidential Aide, Reuben Abati lied on major issues, Mr President implied:

The president put a dent on Mr. Abati, his official spokesman's credibility.
President Goodluck Jonathan, Sunday, contradicted presidential aides on three major issues that have affected the present administration.
During a media chat that lasted just under 2 hours, the president contradicted what his aides, particularly his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, said on the issue of power, the first lady's health, and security.
Power
On Wednesday, November 14, Mr. Abati released a press statement to the media on behalf of the president in which he said the president cancelled the transmission contract given to Manitoba.
"Mr. President has cancelled the Manitoba power contract with immediate effect," Mr. Abati said in the statement, a claim Mr. Jonathan has denied.
"Manitoba contract has not been revoked," the president said, explaining that his administration observed that the company "did not follow the law strictly," when it got the contract.
Manitoba Hydro, a Canadian state-owned firm, emerged the highest bidder, in April, to manage Nigeria's transmission network, under the Transmission Company of Nigeria, for three years. The company was initially expected to resume in September.
Instead of resuming, Mr. Abati announced that the contract has been cancelled. Mr. Jonathan has, however, said the contract was not cancelled but is being regularized as due process was not fully followed in the award.
Security
After reports emerged that a man claiming to be a spokesman for the dreaded Boko Haram made a call stating the group's willingness to negotiate with the Federal Government under some conditions, Mr. Abati again said the government was already having some form of discussion with the Boko Haram group.
On Sunday, August 26, Mr. Abati told State House correspondents that the government was in talks with the Boko Haram through "backroom channels."
"When government says it is already talking to Boko Haram, the form of that dialogue must be properly understood.
"The form of the dialogue is that backroom channels are being used to reach across with the sole objective of understanding what exactly the grievances of these persons are," Mr. Abati said.
Three months later, on Monday November 12, Mr. Abati again confirmed to Punch Newspapers that the government was in talks with the sect.
"I can confirm to you that talks are ongoing at the background. But the talks are not the kinds being envisaged by Nigerians," Mr. Abati said. "The ongoing talk is a back channel one in which those who know members of the group are talking with them on behalf of the government."
President Jonathan has dismissed Mr. Abati's claims.
"There is no dialogue between the Boko Haram and government," Mr. Jonathan said during the media chat.
"Boko Haram is still operating under cover, they wear masks, there is no face. They operate under cover. No dialogue that is going on anywhere," Mr. Jonathan said.
Patience's illness
The President also confirmed that the first lady, Patience Jonathan, was ill and treated abroad contrary to presidential aide's claims that she only travelled abroad to rest.
Ayo Osinlu, a media aide to Mrs. Jonathan, told journalists on September 3 that the first lady was not sick but travelled out of the country to take a "moment's rest."
"If you look at her itinerary in August, you would be wondering how she was able to accomplish that. In the course of this week, she will be back home. But remember, it all depends on her plans," Mr. Osinlu told Punch Newspapers.
Mr. Abati also denied the first lady's illness describing it as a rumour.
"(illness story) was a rumour and there is nothing like that," Mr. Abati said.
Mr. Jonathan has refuted the claims by both aides.
"She was ill, she received treatment," Mr. Jonathan said of his wife's trip to Germany.
"When she returned, she had to further recuperate," the president said while explaining the first lady's seeming absence from public glare since her arrival in the country on October 17.

Fallout from the Presidential media chart.

Presidential Aide, Reuben Abati lied on major issues, Mr President implied:

The president put a dent on Mr. Abati, his official spokesman's credibility.
President Goodluck Jonathan, Sunday, contradicted presidential aides on three major issues that have affected the present administration.
During a media chat that lasted just under 2 hours, the president contradicted what his aides, particularly his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, said on the issue of power, the first lady's health, and security.
Power
On Wednesday, November 14, Mr. Abati released a press statement to the media on behalf of the president in which he said the president cancelled the transmission contract given to Manitoba.
"Mr. President has cancelled the Manitoba power contract with immediate effect," Mr. Abati said in the statement, a claim Mr. Jonathan has denied.
"Manitoba contract has not been revoked," the president said, explaining that his administration observed that the company "did not follow the law strictly," when it got the contract.
Manitoba Hydro, a Canadian state-owned firm, emerged the highest bidder, in April, to manage Nigeria's transmission network, under the Transmission Company of Nigeria, for three years. The company was initially expected to resume in September.
Instead of resuming, Mr. Abati announced that the contract has been cancelled. Mr. Jonathan has, however, said the contract was not cancelled but is being regularized as due process was not fully followed in the award.
Security
After reports emerged that a man claiming to be a spokesman for the dreaded Boko Haram made a call stating the group's willingness to negotiate with the Federal Government under some conditions, Mr. Abati again said the government was already having some form of discussion with the Boko Haram group.
On Sunday, August 26, Mr. Abati told State House correspondents that the government was in talks with the Boko Haram through "backroom channels."
"When government says it is already talking to Boko Haram, the form of that dialogue must be properly understood.
"The form of the dialogue is that backroom channels are being used to reach across with the sole objective of understanding what exactly the grievances of these persons are," Mr. Abati said.
Three months later, on Monday November 12, Mr. Abati again confirmed to Punch Newspapers that the government was in talks with the sect.
"I can confirm to you that talks are ongoing at the background. But the talks are not the kinds being envisaged by Nigerians," Mr. Abati said. "The ongoing talk is a back channel one in which those who know members of the group are talking with them on behalf of the government."
President Jonathan has dismissed Mr. Abati's claims.
"There is no dialogue between the Boko Haram and government," Mr. Jonathan said during the media chat.
"Boko Haram is still operating under cover, they wear masks, there is no face. They operate under cover. No dialogue that is going on anywhere," Mr. Jonathan said.
Patience's illness
The President also confirmed that the first lady, Patience Jonathan, was ill and treated abroad contrary to presidential aide's claims that she only travelled abroad to rest.
Ayo Osinlu, a media aide to Mrs. Jonathan, told journalists on September 3 that the first lady was not sick but travelled out of the country to take a "moment's rest."
"If you look at her itinerary in August, you would be wondering how she was able to accomplish that. In the course of this week, she will be back home. But remember, it all depends on her plans," Mr. Osinlu told Punch Newspapers.
Mr. Abati also denied the first lady's illness describing it as a rumour.
"(illness story) was a rumour and there is nothing like that," Mr. Abati said.
Mr. Jonathan has refuted the claims by both aides.
"She was ill, she received treatment," Mr. Jonathan said of his wife's trip to Germany.
"When she returned, she had to further recuperate," the president said while explaining the first lady's seeming absence from public glare since her arrival in the country on October 17.

RIM earns security certification for its BlackBerry 10 devices ahead of 2013 launch

RIM announced that its upcoming BlackBerry 10 devices have received FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 certification ahead of its 2013 launch. RIM notes that this is the first time it received the certification before its devices were commercially available. The struggling Canadian manufacturer is bolstering its reputation as a secure platform and is hoping to convince government and enterprise users to wait for BlackBerry 10 devices instead of switching to the iPhone or Android.

"Achieving FIPS 140-2 certification means that BlackBerry 10 is ready to meet the strict security requirements of government agencies and enterprises at launch," said Michael K. Brown, Vice President, Security Product Management and Research at RIM. "What differentiates BlackBerry is that it integrates end-to-end security, and includes certified encryption algorithms for data at rest and data in transit. No other mobile solution has achieved the level of security accreditation that the BlackBerry solution has."

Making customers wait might be a difficult task as several US government agencies recently jumped ship or are planing to jump ship in the coming months. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that it would outfit its 17,000 employees with iPhones, while the U.S. Defense Department is looking at Android, iOS as well as BlackBerry devices for its lucrative smartphone contract.

[Via RIM]
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5 Reasons Why President Obama won re-election

As the World comes to the reality of the victory of incumbent President Obama in the November 6, Presidential election the Business News Global Political team have identified 5 reasons why he won.

First reason was his championing of the middle-class and low income earners interest at the economic front. From the debate to his campaigns he shared his philosophy that to build an economy, it is done from the middle to the other levels.

Stating that no additional tax burden will be put on the middle-class workers but rather the high-income earners to help tackle the deficit challenges of the economy, won the confidence of the middle and low class income earners.

Second is his remarkable bail out of the Auto Industry which saw major corporations like General Motors and Chrysler come back from dead to life, this great intervention that secured thousands of Jobs that would have been lost and that inspired the workers to go out and massively vote Obama in Michigan and Ohio.

Third in his Foreign Policy President Barack  Obama achieved the great  feat of  eliminating America's number one public enemy 'Osama Bin Laden' in Pakistan, without spending much and that remarkable feat went down into the records for him.

Fourth  the unfortunate political comment of his challenger Governor Mitt Romney at a fundraiser that '47% of Americans are victims of the government'  gave him the edge ahead of the elections.

Finally the Hurricane Sandy episode brought out a strong leader in President Obama  as his remarkable coordination of relief efforts for the displaced people and the prompt approval of express funds and aid to worst hit states,  gave him the maximum votes in New Jersey and New York.
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Microsoft Replacing Windows Live Messenger With Skype [REPORT]

Microsoft will retire its Windows Live Messenger chat service, shifting its focus instead to similar functionality in Skype, a new report says. The changeover could happen as early as this week.

Citing "several sources," The Verge reports Microsoft is planning to integrate Windows Live Messenger into Skype in the coming months and then retire Messenger.

On the back end, the merger of the two systems has been happening already. Skype now uses much of the Windows Live Messenger's systems to make and receive calls (the calls themselves, however, still use Skype's peer-to-peer system). Skype also uses Messenger's systems for about 80% of instant messages exchanged on the service, the report says a  merger is also in keeping with Microsoft's broader strategy of consolidating its services under a single Microsoft ID for users, and the streamlining of its services overall (retiring the Zune and Hotmail brands in favor of Xbox and Outlook, to name two examples). Microsoft just launched new Skype apps for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 as well as a new client for Windows 7 and Mac, making clear that Skype is the company's primary focus as a general consumer communication service.

When contacted by Mashable, representatives for Microsoft declined to comment on the report.

Will you miss Windows Live Messenger if Microsoft kills it? And would you be opposed to using Skype in lieu of it? Share your reactions in the comments.

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A Super-Quick Guide to Building a Website

The business of building your own website may seem a bit daunting, but we've outlined some of the key steps to make it a simpler, more streamlined process.

Getting Started
Whether you're starting a personal blog or designing a site to go along with a product or business, these tips are sure to help you through the task. Take on your piece of the Internet with our guide on everything from picking a platform, to copyrighting a domain name.

1. Choose a Platform
First and foremost, you should research and decide on an appropriate site platform. If you're writing a blog, then you may want to consider WordPress, OnSugar or Blogger. For a more universal platform, try free sites like Webs and Webnode.

2. Brainstorm Branding and Content
Before you launch your site, narrow down your vision. What are your goals? What would you like it to become as time goes on? Keeping your plans specific will help you develop a fitting name and relevant, related content.

3. Consider the Domain Name
When you're deciding on a URL, it's important to think about wording, spelling and length. Make sure to choose a domain that visitors will be able to remember, and pick a phrase that suits your material.

4. Look Into Trademark and Copyright Options
Educate yourself on the nature and purpose of copyright and trademark opportunities, then do a bit of research to see if it's something you may want to pursue. This is especially valuable if you're planning to share your own creative content, like stories or photography.

5. Browse Design Templates and Widgets
Search the web for different templates and add-ons you might like to use for your site. You'll find everything from creative, artistic design elements to functional tools like a search bar or an RSS feed.

Once You're Up and Running
After you've nailed down the basic setup and design of your website, dig deeper into tracking and developing your audience.

6. Sign Up for an Analytics Service
To understand what types of content work on your site, the people who make up your audience and who refers readers to your site, use a tool like Google Analytics or StatCounter.

7. Establish a Social Network Presence
Nowadays, it's a no-brainer: If you have a website, then you should have corresponding Facebook and Twitter accounts. As you decide on usernames, remember to be consistent across sites — you're creating a brand.

8. Decide What You'll Post and How Often
Develop an idea of what you'd like to include on your site, then decide on a posting schedule that works for you. Posting content at set days throughout the week will create a sense of routine for both you and your readers, who will gain a sense of what to expect and when.

9. Find an Audience
You want to make sure people are seeing all your hard work, right? Try to network online to gain readers. Identify other websites you admire or relate to and comment on their posts, initiate link relationships and build an active social media presence to help expand your readership. Depending on your goals, further down the blog life line you can consider advertising opportunities.
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Empire Music: “Get Low“ G-Cizzle Ft Rugged Man.

Introducing the brand new collaboration with Ruggedy baba by a new young sensation.
A single from Empire Records by G-Cizzle "Get Low" Ft Rugged Man.
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Viewpoint: Big data and big analytics means better business

Decision-making is the essence of management.

Careers and companies are built or buried by the judgments of a few, even a single individual. Decisions mould company strategy - which markets to enter or what products to develop, for example - and impact company resources.

Today, as the world globalises and the pace of change quickens, managers must make high-pressure decisions faster.

In fact, 74% of the global executives SAS recently surveyed with the Harvard Business Review stated they "feel under pressure to achieve results in less time than ever before".

Savvy managers turn to analysing data - on their customers, operations, risk and more - for guidance.

They are bringing ever-larger amounts of "big data" - from traditional databases as well as unstructured text from call-centre logs, social media and more - into their decision-making to achieve competitive insight.

Like the amount of data that organisations store, the value placed on data by firms has grown rapidly. According to new research by Dynamic Markets, for example, one in five of the UK's largest companies now quantify the value of corporate data on their balance sheets.

Better decisions

Today's mobile phone companies exemplify using analytics to drive decisions.

An emerging analytical concept in the industry is customer link analysis, which helps determine an individual customer's influence among his or her peers, friends and community.

Customer link analysis works by examining the type, length, frequency and timing of inbound and outbound calls.

By analysing the call data, phone companies can visualize social networks of callers to identify the most influential.

The companies can use this analytical insight to better target these influencers with focused marketing and retention efforts, making better decisions about which offers to make to which customers. Entire marketing budgets are now based on this type of analytical insight.

SAS recently examined the acceptance of analytical decision-making in businesses worldwide.

Working with the Harvard Business Review's analytic services team, we surveyed 700 senior executives for a study titled: The Evolution of Decision-Making: How Leading Organisations Are Adopting a Data-Driven Culture.

The findings show that acceptance of analytics has grown and is delivering tangible improvements. Almost three-quarters of respondents said their division or department relies on data to make decisions today; 40% percent felt that analytics have improved the importance and standing of their functional areas.

One group of respondents stood apart in its use of data to inform decisions. This group has integrated analytics across the whole company, and is characterised by:

A data-based decision-making culture.
Decision-making transparency.
Company-wide decision-making processes.
Emphasis on managerial insights as a supplement to data.
Continual refinement and testing of new ideas.
Eleven percent of the responding organisations have integrated analytics across the entire organisation, rather than using it ad-hoc.

What, why, how

Strikingly, among all the benefits of analytics, respondents most frequently cited faster decision-making.

"Analytics accelerates our decisions because everyone is now looking at the same reality," said Filippo Passerini, Procter & Gamble's chief information officer.

"Decisions come down to 'what,' 'why' and 'how'," he added.


It is a challenge, Paul Kent says, to balance data-drive decisions with traditional gut instinct
"Many organisations spent a lot of time debating the 'what' because different people had different data. Once everyone has the same version of truth, you can shift to the how—and you are able to do more and more, better and better."

While moving beyond instinct alone is definitely gaining acceptance, the research shows that significant challenges remain:

37% of respondents said their managers relied on "gut feeling" rather than data and analytics to make decisions.
44% think their organisations have little or no transparency into how key decisions are made.
One-third of respondents believe their companies lack the skills to derive the benefits of analytics.
A quarter have no formal decision-making processes.
Weighing quantitative insights against the experienced judgment of managers is difficult.

Skills shortage

Michael Pierce, customer service manager at Bosch Security Systems, says: "Personally, I run with analysis first, and during the research I will listen to my intuition. When my gut does not agree with my decisions - and all analytics show it is the correct one - I pay closer attention to the results."

Managers see that making the right decision in a timely manner is a matter of balancing data analysis with judgment and experience, not exclusively relying on one method over the other.

As the volume, variety and velocity of data increase, opportunities for firms that embed analytical insights into decision-making will continue to grow.

But so too will the challenges. There is a global analytics skills shortage, with too few students graduating with degrees in math, science and technology.

The effects are already being felt in the workplace: 52% of managers surveyed said they needed to re-train to be able to use analytics in their decision making. Furthermore, one-third of respondents couldn't find the right skills mix at all.

As companies compete globally and technological change accelerates, decision-making windows become ever smaller. Businesses need to instil a culture of data-driven decisions, supported by the people, processes and technology - especially analytics - to ensure success.

Otherwise, they'll be left merely guessing.

Paul Kent is the Vice President of Big Data at SAS, a leading business intelligence and analytics firm.
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Niger Delta Ministry Linked To N29bn Fraud

Alleged fictitious contracts totalling N29 billion in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, between 2010 and 2011, have been uncovered.

But the minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has denied any involvement in the alleged dirty deals.

The scam involved payments for phantom projects, over-budgeting and violation of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) guidelines for the award of government contracts.

According to official documents made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday by Anti-Corruption Network, a whistle-blowing organisation headquartered in Abuja, the award of these fake contracts, which had been ongoing, violated the BPP rules but were nevertheless fully paid for with the authority of Nigeria's Ministry of Finance.

Examples of such non-existent projects, which the group said have been exhaustively investigated and found to be fraudulent, are: contract for the canalization of Odoubou-Bololou creek project in Ogbaba- Gbene, Burutu LGA, at a cost of N1.259bn;  contract for land reclamation and shoreline protection at Ogbobagbene, for which the sum of N2.431bn was fraudulently paid; and the contract for canalization training of Foupolo-Bunu Ndoro creek project in Burutu  LGA for  which N2.370bn was paid even though the project did not exist.

According to a Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs document obtained yesterday by LEADERSHIP at the media briefing convened by Anti-Corruption Network, contract for land reclamatinon /shoreline protection project at Ogbobagbene, Burutu LGA, Delta State, under the watch of the ministry and awarded in 2010 at the cost of N5,813,743,373.92 was found to have been over-funded to the tune of N12,925,132,704.00.This was despite the cost-reduction review totalling N1,067,349,380.28 given by the BPP.

Briefing journalists yesterday, the executive secretary of the anti-corruption group, Otunba Dino Melaye, said over N29bn had been siphoned through a list of fictitious contracts by the ministry, adding that, also in 2010, a contract for land reclamation/ shoreline protection and canalization in the Niger Delta region, Batch 1, was awarded by the ministry to one Messrs Hanslum Construction Ltd and six others at the sum of N14,270,966,124.99.

"We are resolute to expose corruption at all levels. We are going to take this fight to the next level by not only exposing them but also going to court to challenge those who perpetrate it. In the Niger Delta Ministry, it is unfortunate that we have discovered three phantom projects. They are not just phantom but non-existent. We say that it is satanic, the collaboration between the Niger Delta Ministry and the Ministry of Finance in this scam," he said.

He noted that the anti-corruption network would send copies of the documents proving these scams to the presidency, the ministers of the affected ministries as well as the relevant anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC and the ICPC for further investigations. The move, he said, would be followed by a court action against the key players of the  fraud, adding that, as a whistleblower, he owed it a duty to the nation to uncover corrupt dealings wherever it was found.

Elder Orubebe has denied any knowledge of the alleged fraud of  N29billion meant for the contracts' funding in his office.

The minister, who described the allegation of embezzlement of public funds as very untrue, a fallacy and a miscounted one, said  via telephone that he was open to an investigation by "any authority".

Orubebe, who further described  the allegation as cheap blackmail by unrepentant liars and cheap popularity seekers, advised them go back and check their facts as the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy would never release funds without carrying out proper inspection of projects sites.

"The minister of finance and coordinating  minister of the economy cannot  allow that at all; there is no way the minister will approve funds for projects that are not on ground. Projects are inspected before the release of funds," he stated. "If we had done a fraud on such a massive scale, wouldn't they have found out? In 2010 and 2011 we carried out contracts according to the funds availed us and have lamented bitterly of shortfalls and there are just three allegations out of the hundreds of contracts."

Our papers are open to scrutiny. Every allegation they have made, we have countered. We have got the documents for everything. I have all the facts and figures to show the allegations are false," Orubebe told LEADERSHIP.

 

Jonathan wants Ribadu report  submitted Friday

Meanwhile, barely a week after the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force announced that it had discovered shady deals and crude oil theft in the petroleum industry, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday gave a marching order to the task force: it should present its report to him on Friday this week at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Jonathan also ordered two other committees set up by the federal government early this year on different aspects of the petroleum industry to submit their reports to him on the same Friday.

A statement issued by the special adviser to the president, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan's directive was in furtherance of "the administration's commitment to transparency, probity, and accountability in the petroleum sector".

 "President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that a comprehensive report of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force chaired by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu should be presented to him this week," he stated.

The statement made available to LEADERSHIP reads in part: "The Committee, which was set up in February 2012, was required to, among other tasks, determine and verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues (taxes and royalties, etc) due and payable to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and to take all necessary steps to collect all debts due and owed; to obtain agreements and enforce payment terms by all oil industry operators. 

 "The presentation of the Committee's report will take place on Friday, November 2, at 11am, at the State House, Abuja."

Abati noted that the president further directed "two other committees set up by the federal government earlier this year on different aspects of the country's petroleum industry to also present their reports" to him on Friday, November 2, 2012.

Similarly, the senior special assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, in a release made available to LEADERSHIP, said the president had not even seen nor received any copy of the Ribadu Committee report. He said what had been released to the media prematurely is a draft copy which will be subjected to clarifications and due process from the originating ministry before the official handing over to the presidency.

"President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should be commended for his personal resolve to fight institutionalized corruption in Nigeria. President Jonathan ordered the probe of the oil industry for the period of ten years (2002 - 2011) which also covers the tenure of his administration. No president in our history has gone this far and this explains why the rot in our system has persisted for so long.

"President Jonathan approved the appointment of a well-known anti-corruption crusader, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who ran against him at the presidential poll on the platform of the Action Congress  of Nigeria, ACN.

"It is also noteworthy that the secretary of the Committee, Mr. Supo Sasore, was a former attorney-general of Lagos State under an ACN government.

President Jonathan's unwavering and commendable determination to fight corruption is clearly demonstrated by his approval of the appointment of credible Nigerians, anti-corruption crusaders and members of the opposition party in the committee," Okupe said.

The president's aide said Jonathan was committed to exposing fraud at all levels including the oil sector as illustrated by the Aig Imokhuede committee on fuel subsidy.
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Fwd: Niger Delta Ministry Linked To N29bn Fraud

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Daniel Onche
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Subject: Niger Delta Ministry Linked To N29bn Fraud
To: onchedaniel@gmail.com


Alleged fictitious contracts totalling N29 billion in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, between 2010 and 2011, have been uncovered.

But the minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has denied any involvement in the alleged dirty deals.

The scam involved payments for phantom projects, over-budgeting and violation of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) guidelines for the award of government contracts.

According to official documents made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday by Anti-Corruption Network, a whistle-blowing organisation headquartered in Abuja, the award of these fake contracts, which had been ongoing, violated the BPP rules but were nevertheless fully paid for with the authority of Nigeria's Ministry of Finance.

Examples of such non-existent projects, which the group said have been exhaustively investigated and found to be fraudulent, are: contract for the canalization of Odoubou-Bololou creek project in Ogbaba- Gbene, Burutu LGA, at a cost of N1.259bn;  contract for land reclamation and shoreline protection at Ogbobagbene, for which the sum of N2.431bn was fraudulently paid; and the contract for canalization training of Foupolo-Bunu Ndoro creek project in Burutu  LGA for  which N2.370bn was paid even though the project did not exist.

According to a Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs document obtained yesterday by LEADERSHIP at the media briefing convened by Anti-Corruption Network, contract for land reclamatinon /shoreline protection project at Ogbobagbene, Burutu LGA, Delta State, under the watch of the ministry and awarded in 2010 at the cost of N5,813,743,373.92 was found to have been over-funded to the tune of N12,925,132,704.00.This was despite the cost-reduction review totalling N1,067,349,380.28 given by the BPP.

Briefing journalists yesterday, the executive secretary of the anti-corruption group, Otunba Dino Melaye, said over N29bn had been siphoned through a list of fictitious contracts by the ministry, adding that, also in 2010, a contract for land reclamation/ shoreline protection and canalization in the Niger Delta region, Batch 1, was awarded by the ministry to one Messrs Hanslum Construction Ltd and six others at the sum of N14,270,966,124.99.

"We are resolute to expose corruption at all levels. We are going to take this fight to the next level by not only exposing them but also going to court to challenge those who perpetrate it. In the Niger Delta Ministry, it is unfortunate that we have discovered three phantom projects. They are not just phantom but non-existent. We say that it is satanic, the collaboration between the Niger Delta Ministry and the Ministry of Finance in this scam," he said.

He noted that the anti-corruption network would send copies of the documents proving these scams to the presidency, the ministers of the affected ministries as well as the relevant anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC and the ICPC for further investigations. The move, he said, would be followed by a court action against the key players of the  fraud, adding that, as a whistleblower, he owed it a duty to the nation to uncover corrupt dealings wherever it was found.

Elder Orubebe has denied any knowledge of the alleged fraud of  N29billion meant for the contracts' funding in his office.

The minister, who described the allegation of embezzlement of public funds as very untrue, a fallacy and a miscounted one, said  via telephone that he was open to an investigation by "any authority".

Orubebe, who further described  the allegation as cheap blackmail by unrepentant liars and cheap popularity seekers, advised them go back and check their facts as the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy would never release funds without carrying out proper inspection of projects sites.

"The minister of finance and coordinating  minister of the economy cannot  allow that at all; there is no way the minister will approve funds for projects that are not on ground. Projects are inspected before the release of funds," he stated. "If we had done a fraud on such a massive scale, wouldn't they have found out? In 2010 and 2011 we carried out contracts according to the funds availed us and have lamented bitterly of shortfalls and there are just three allegations out of the hundreds of contracts."

Our papers are open to scrutiny. Every allegation they have made, we have countered. We have got the documents for everything. I have all the facts and figures to show the allegations are false," Orubebe told LEADERSHIP.

 

Jonathan wants Ribadu report  submitted Friday

Meanwhile, barely a week after the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force announced that it had discovered shady deals and crude oil theft in the petroleum industry, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday gave a marching order to the task force: it should present its report to him on Friday this week at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Jonathan also ordered two other committees set up by the federal government early this year on different aspects of the petroleum industry to submit their reports to him on the same Friday.

A statement issued by the special adviser to the president, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan's directive was in furtherance of "the administration's commitment to transparency, probity, and accountability in the petroleum sector".

 "President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that a comprehensive report of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force chaired by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu should be presented to him this week," he stated.

The statement made available to LEADERSHIP reads in part: "The Committee, which was set up in February 2012, was required to, among other tasks, determine and verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues (taxes and royalties, etc) due and payable to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and to take all necessary steps to collect all debts due and owed; to obtain agreements and enforce payment terms by all oil industry operators. 

 "The presentation of the Committee's report will take place on Friday, November 2, at 11am, at the State House, Abuja."

Abati noted that the president further directed "two other committees set up by the federal government earlier this year on different aspects of the country's petroleum industry to also present their reports" to him on Friday, November 2, 2012.

Similarly, the senior special assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, in a release made available to LEADERSHIP, said the president had not even seen nor received any copy of the Ribadu Committee report. He said what had been released to the media prematurely is a draft copy which will be subjected to clarifications and due process from the originating ministry before the official handing over to the presidency.

"President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should be commended for his personal resolve to fight institutionalized corruption in Nigeria. President Jonathan ordered the probe of the oil industry for the period of ten years (2002 - 2011) which also covers the tenure of his administration. No president in our history has gone this far and this explains why the rot in our system has persisted for so long.

"President Jonathan approved the appointment of a well-known anti-corruption crusader, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who ran against him at the presidential poll on the platform of the Action Congress  of Nigeria, ACN.

"It is also noteworthy that the secretary of the Committee, Mr. Supo Sasore, was a former attorney-general of Lagos State under an ACN government.

President Jonathan's unwavering and commendable determination to fight corruption is clearly demonstrated by his approval of the appointment of credible Nigerians, anti-corruption crusaders and members of the opposition party in the committee," Okupe said.

The president's aide said Jonathan was committed to exposing fraud at all levels including the oil sector as illustrated by the Aig Imokhuede committee on fuel subsidy.
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Pope names six new cardinals

VATICAN CITY, Oct 24 - Pope Benedict, putting his stamp on the future of the Roman Catholic Church, on Wednesday named six new cardinals from around the world to join the elite group of prelates who will one day choose his successor.

The six are from the United States, Lebanon, India, Nigeria, Colombia, and the Philippines. The ceremony, known as a consistory, will be held on November 24, the pope said in a surprise announcement at his weekly general audience.

The new cardinals are - Monsignor James Harvey, the American prefect of the pope's household; Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, Ruben Salazar Gomez; Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal.
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Fwd: "Convergence: features and benefits for African telecoms” is discussed with Mikhail Khomarov, VP of R&D of CBOSS

What is convergence? What benefits will a telecom operator acquire by using convergent solution? Mikhail Khomarov, VP of R&D CBOSS answers these and other questions.

What exactly do you mean under the convergence of BSS solutions? 
Convergence as we define it - is a principle of unification and standardization of solutions to complex problems. Complex BSS systems could be assembled from many components from different vendors, or they can be complex and with that manufactured by single vendor on the basis of a unified concept.

Convergence is a base concept of the CBOSS BSS solution and it consists of several elements, which we call multi-dimensional convergence:

- Account types: prepaid, postpaid and mixed (hybrid)
- Services: solution ensures that provisioning/removal of all types of services is done based on unified rules and not depending of the type of service networks/infrastructure
- Payments: any supported payment type could be used to cover any services regardless of networks/infrastructure
- Platform: all convergent solution components run on a unified hardware platform from one vendor
- Support: our customers enjoy one point responsibility, namely technical support for the entire solution, all its components and integrations between them, including hardware, system and application software – is provided by our company, so that our customers don't have to guess whom to talk to about any particular issue.

CBOSS convergent solution is an integrated and unified set of software and hardware components, used for automation of the telecom operator business processes, and provides real time billing, customer care, data charging (including PCRF), mediation, interconnect with dealers and partners, network control, analytical reporting, CRM, and some other components.

Why do you think convergent solutions will be demanded by African telecom operators? 
In a few words – convergence reduces IT costs while boosting usability and quality of the solution, and through that – subscriber satisfaction and operator ability to reduce time-to-market for new products and marketing initiatives. Market research shows that unified convergent solution can increase operator EBITDA by up to 4–5% a year.

African telecom market is very dynamic, shows rapid growth of subscribers, the necessity to cover new territories and tremendous demand for communication services, which makes the region attractive for many telecom operators.  At the same time, the market is already highly competitive and operators entering it have to make better offers to subscribers and, on top of that, must have lower costs. All these demands could be addressed by convergent BSS solutions.

The standard benefits of convergence – account type, payments, fix-mobile convergence, are well known and covered in the media. Let me briefly touch upon a less mentioned, but yet important aspect of a convergent solution from a single vendor – cost savings in the integration layer(s).

Convergence dictates that all components of a solution are integrated with each other. If the solution is assembled from several components from multiple vendors, it always runs the risk that some components will not work because of integration problems. In this case the operator has to, thoroughly test implementation of each component, code and/or configure the integration layer, thus spending money and resources.

In CBOSS convergent solution components are factory pre-integrated, the manufacturer is responsible for smooth inter-operation of components, testing, configuration, and implementation of the entire solution. This way the manufacturer distributes the cost of integrating components between many clients reducing the price per customer. And I did not even scratch the surface here, because we can talk about uniformity of BSS UIs, how it affects operator employee productivity, and if what is the cost of achieving such uniformity.

What operators will mostly benefit from use of convergent solutions?
Convergence is very efficient for start-ups and emerging operators. Moreover, a convergent solution has a shorter launching period due to pre-integration of its components and due to the fact that it's rolled out by a single vendor.

Mature operators would appreciate CBOSS High End solution scalability, where solution scales to tens of millions of subscribers simply by hardware upgrades, and high availability, which allows component upgrades and even hardware replacement without any interruption to the subscriber service.

Replication of the same standard convergent solution is also very beneficial for operators of a telecommunication group, as it will allow reduction of the total cost of implementation, ownership and promotes sharing of operational experience and best business practices among the telecom operators of the group.

What methods, do you think, should be applied by African operators for making their businesses more efficient?In the process of selecting BSS solutions, telecom operators should consider subscriber facing surfaces of the solution, as well as conformity to the operator and industry requirements. Operators should strive to use more customer-oriented and standardized solutions and products, and we are ready to help them make the most effective selections.

I can illustrate it by a case of our customer in the Central Africa. They required a new method of collecting payments from subscribers, as the number of payment methods was limited in the country. We suggested a solution enabling organization of network of subscribers, and dealers, who collected the money on their accounts. Then dealers inform their subscribers of the balance top up by USSD or SMS notifications.

Application of this method has given convenient payment method to subscribers and higher consumption of services to the operator, as subscribers can promptly top up balances for the ongoing use of mobile services.

Another way of raising business efficiency ih marketing campaigns and provide mobile service discounts, depending on bases to use solutions enabling reduction of costs by optimizing usage of the existing infrastructure – as an example I can mention a successful project implemented by CBOSS for a subsidiary of a global telecommunications group. In this project we helped the operator to launch station load, location of subscriber and time of the day, thus helping them to optimize network utilization without additional investments into infrastructure.

The key feature of this product is the discount calculation and call rating practically in real time with change of actual load on base station used for the subscriber's connection. The solution automatically regulates the demand-to-discount ratio; the higher demand is, the less the discount, thus reducing the traffic through the station, and vice versa. This principle can be used when the operator wants to reduce load on stations in the downtown and increase it on stations in sleeping suburbs.

What does CBOSS expect from participation in AfricaCom 2012?
We expect to meet interesting people, who are looking for robust yet economical BSS systems. We would like to inform them about CBOSS convergent, integrated, end-to-end solutions and show our experience and knowledge in implementing such solutions for our customers.
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written by Mikhail Khomarov, the Vice President of CBOSS.

Cred, Connections, Cash — The Workings of a Business Accelerator

Entrepreneurs tend to be stereotyped as headstrong individualists who think they know the best way to do everything. While confidence and determination may be necessary when launching a business, sometimes the most important thing an entrepreneur can do is to talk with others founders and get some advice from experienced CEOs. That's where a business accelerator can come in.

A business accelerator is an intensive, immersion experience in which an entrepreneur moves into a shared office space with other new founders for a period of time to work under the tutelage of advisors and experts to grow their business rapidly. In exchange for the expert mentoring, exposure to investors and cash investment that entrepreneurs get from the accelerator, the entrepreneur gives a portion of his or her company's equity to the partners of the program and for this reason is often called a "seed" or "venture" accelerator.
Accelerators are similar to business incubators, but the latter typically don't take equity in the companies, according to the National Business Incubation Association in Athens, Ohio. Accelerator investors often offers between $18,000 and $25,000 in funding in exchange for between 4 percent and 8 percent of each company.

Program

Giving away a piece of your company to accelerate growth can be a big decision. What can make this trade-off so attractive? To help answer that question, we spoke with several recent participants in the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Acceleratorin New York City. Here are five of the program's biggest benefits they described.

1. Networking. An accelerator can help you meet the kind of investors, advisors and other entrepreneurs who are interested in helping nurture startups. Consider Derek Webster, the CEO and founder of LocalBonus, a "shop local" credit-card rewards program. Webster had "big company" experience in the credit-card industry, but he didn't know the players in the NYC startup scene before participating in the accelerator, which takes an 8 percent equity stake in each founder's company.

At the end of the program's three months, says Webster, "I had a massive number of those one-one-one meetings, so that now I could turn to any one of those people and ask for help."

2. Decision-making practice. One common reason for failure as an entrepreneur is "death by indecision." Being in the accelerator really forces you to make decisions, because you are always meeting with program directors, mentors and investors, says Jonathon Ende, founder and CEO of Bizodo, an online-document builder and management system. At 29, Ende is already on his 15th startup, so he knows a bit about the momentum of getting a company off the ground. "Every week you are checking in with someone. You want to make progress," says Ende.

3. Founder camaraderie. Being around other founders all day every day is often comforting and educational. At the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, the CEOs had weekly meetings together, as did the chief technology officers. "When you are a new startup, there are all sorts of challenges that you face that are relatively common," Webster says and having an opportunity to talk through those problems was helpful.

For example, LocalBonus CTO Tim Saunders has 14 years' experience as a developer and so when fellow company founders were hiring technology developers, Saunders helped them interview and choose the most qualified candidates. "The day we all moved in felt like the first day of high school," says Webster. But "very quickly we realized there was more to be gained by helping each other out than anything else."

4. Testing assumptions. "It is very easy to drink your own Kool Aid, if you will. You believe you have the best idea and the way you have to do it is the best way," says Ende. But when you are constantly being forced to explain yourself, you end up re-evaluating your business on a regular basis. "Being able to question the assumptions that you have made, what people want, what you are building," says Ende, results in your business changing for the better.

5. Street cred. "The fact that you have already been through a filtering process" can give you — and your business — a leg up, says Webster. At ERA's demo day, LocalBonus founders met investors they otherwise don't think they would have had the opportunity to meet. Just to be in the program can be a mark of validation to the community of fellow entrepreneurs and investors.

Curled from; Young Entrepenuers.

Windows 8 Pro Now Available for Pre-Order

Windows 8 is just a couple of weeks away from arriving on store shelves, but if you want to be first in line, you can pre-order a copy of Windows 8 Pro now. The various Windows 8 machines that have been unveiled over the last few weeks are up for sale, too.

Windows 8 Pro, of course, is the "advanced" version of Windows 8, which includes device encryption and the ability to boot from a virtual hard drive, among other features (here's a full breakdown of Windows 8′s suite of products). Microsoft officially opened the doors on pre-orders via this blog post, and pre-ordering gets you an actual, physical DVD copy mailed to you, not just a download. It costs $69.99.

To get it, though, you'll have to go directly to retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy. Some Windows 8 devices are now up for pre-order, too. PCs and tablets from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Asus and Sony are now up for pre-order, with the actual machines shipping Oct. 26 or later.

Nokia launches solar charger

Nokia has declared its new portable solar charger in Nigeria. The New Nokia Portable Solar Charger, DC-40 now available in Nigeria, is an invention produced and promoted by Nokia to check the capability of solar charging as a substitute to mobile phone charging method.

Describing the new charger, Rafe Blandford, with Window Phones said, "The technical solution is a thin film panel, measuring 165mm x 237mm with a long cable and 2mm Nokia plug interface. Weighing only 93 grams, the solar charger is highly portable. The solution is incredibly simple and efficient. With one minute of charging, consumers will get approximately two minutes of talk time."

The solar charger can be best used in direct sunlight, four hours is the standard charging time for full charge on a 1000mAh. The solar panel can still be used indoors without direct sunlight but it will be most efficient if used outside.

According to Nokia, Nigeria and Kenya are the best places to test the technology because, according to World Bank reports, only 51 per cent of Nigerians and 16 percent of Kenyans had access to electricity between 2007 and 2011. In addition, Nigeria is the biggest market for Nokia in Africa.

According to James Rutherfoord, Vice President Nokia West Africa, "There are numerous advantages to this solution, including being able to service consumers outside of regular electricity supply, or those who need a quick charge on the go, however, perhaps the greatest benefit is the cost saving achieved by being able to harness the natural resource of the sun."

The DC-40 solar charger is available in Nigeria at retail outlets for N2, 560 only.

"Nokia prides itself on its ongoing sustainability programs to minimize power usage. This solar charger provides an extremely environmentally friendly solution that is free of CO2 emissions," Rutherfoord added.
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Samsung officially launches the Galaxy S III Mini with a 4-inch display, 1GHz processor

Samsung has been talking up the new Galaxy S III Mini smartphone this week, and now it has been officially unveiled at an event in Germany. Though the Galaxy S III Mini carries the vaunted Galaxy S III name and is said to be a competitive smaller device, in reality, it's just another mid-range smartphone like many others that Samsung has released in the past. As rumored, the device has a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 800 x 480 display, plus a dual-core 1GHz processor — not exactly the high-end specs that the original Galaxy S III contains.

The camera has also been downgraded, from eight megapixels on the Galaxy S III to five megapixels on the Galaxy S III mini, while the front-facing camera now only supports VGA resolution. Yet another surprising omission is the lack of LTE connectivity onboard. The phone's most redeeming quality is probably the fact that it comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, though that should be par for the course at this point. Overall, we're quite surprised to see the company sully its premiere Galaxy S III branding with this decidedly mid-range, heavily compromised handset — it's a relative to the Galaxy S III in name and appearance only.

Via CNET
Source Samsung
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Jonathan fires service chiefs

Ibrahim now chief of defence staff, Ihejirika retains post
• Ezeoba, Badeh head naval, air staff
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday made changes in the leadership of the military, appointing out-going Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Ibrahim is a member of Course 17 of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
The President also announced new Service Chiefs for the Navy and the Air Force, appointing Rear Admiral Dele Ezeoba, a member of Course 22 of the NDA as the new Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and Air Vice Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh as the new Chief of Air Staff (CAS).
In a surprise move, Jonathan re-appointed Lt.-Gen. Onyeabo Azubuike Ihejirika, member of Course 18 of the NDA, to his former position as Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
Ibrahim is from Kwara, Ihejirika is from Abia, Ezeoba (Delta) while Badeh is from Adamawa.
According to a statement by Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, “President Jonathan thanks the outgoing service chiefs for their meritorious and commendable service to the nation and wishes them well in their future endeavours.”
The appointments finally laid to rest the continuous speculations and campaigns in the media that have largely been driven by politics and personal interests. But in arriving at the appointments, Jonathan defied pundits who were rooting for different persons for the plum leadership of the military.
Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, the out-going CDS, left his position on account of formal retirement. Petinrin had applied to proceed on retirement after the two years of his office as CDS on September 8, 2010. Based on that, Jonathan granted him an extension, which expired yesterday.
For the out-going CAS, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar, he is a victim of the political power-play in which his geo-political zone would rather risk the position of Chief of Air Staff than losing the appointment of Minister of Defence, which has been allocated to them.
And despite his acknowledged achievements towards transforming the Air Force, he could not be appointed the CDS because the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), is from Sokoto State and the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, is from Zamfara. Air Marshal Umar is from Kano State, the same geo-political zone with Dasuki and Abubakar.
There has been a groundswell of opinion that since the position of CDS rotates among the three services - Army, Navy and the Air Force  - it is the time for the Navy as they have been short-changed since the return to democracy in May 1999.
Air Marshal Al-Amin Daggash handed over to Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi as the first naval officer to occupy the position. Admiral Ogohi handed over to Gen. Alexander Ogomudia, who handed over to two other Army Generals - Martin Luther Agwai and Owoye Andrew Azazi. Gen. Azazi then handed over to Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike. Air Chief Marshal Dike handed over to Air Chief Marshal Petinrin. So, it was essentially felt that the dearth of naval leadership of the Nigerian military should be corrected.
The new appointments came as a surprise as none of the new appointees featured in the public postulations in the run-up to the campaign for the positions. For one, Admiral Ibrahim stayed out of the fray as he was away on leave until his return to Nigeria about two weeks ago. For Gen. Ihejirika, it is a vote by the President for him to continue on a familiar terrain.
The appointments may mean that the feared massive retirements in the services is out of the question as it is only the Air Force that would have minor retirements at the top. This is because for the Army, Gen. Ihejirika retains his position. For the Navy, Admiral Ezeoba is directly next in seniority to Admiral Ibrahim. For the Nigerian Air Force, the attrition will only affect few officers, especially course mates of Air Marshal Umar whom the President retained at both Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force and Command Headquarters.
But the implication of the appointments in the military is that as much as there will not be noticeable attrition of very senior officers as in past appointments, there will be stagnation in ranks, especially for officers of brigadier-generals and their equivalents in the services who would face the problem of lack of vacancy for promotion and positions.
For Admiral Ezeoba, his trajectory in the Navy is historical as for a long time, he remained the only surviving member of Course 22 as most of his course-mates died in the Ejigbo, Lagos C-130 aircraft crash in September 1992.
Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, Ezeoba was the Chief of Administration, Defence Headquarters. Air Vice Marshal Badeh, who hails from Vimtim, Mubi North Local Council of Adamawa State, was until his appointment the Air Officer Commanding, Training Command, Kaduna.
The new CDS, Ibrahim, was born on June 15, 1955. A graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna and the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, he trained with the Royal and Indian navies. Vice Admiral Ibrahim is a navigation and direction specialist. He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). He was at the Royal College of Defence Studies, the United Kingdom (UK) as a member in 2002, where he, in addition obtained a Master’s degree from the Department of War Studies and Public Policy at the Kings College, University of London.
Admiral Ibrahim had tours of duty on Nigerian naval ships in various capacities and is decorated with the Command of Sea Badge for successful command at sea on various Nigerian naval ships.
He was a Directing Staff and a Chief Instructor at the Department of Maritime Warfare, Armed forces Command and Staff College, Jaji.  He was Secretary to the CNS before being appointed to command the naval operations base, Nigerian Naval Ship BEECROFT in 2001.
In 2003, Admiral Ibrahim served as Commander, Naval Task Group, Operation HARMONY in the Eastern Naval Command, Calabar, before he went to the National Defence College, Nigeria, as a Directing Staff later the same year. He left the National Defence College for the Naval Headquarters as Navy Secretary in August 2005. He returned to the College as Director, Curriculum and Programmes Development in May 2006.  It was from this appointment that he headed back to the Naval Headquarters as Chief of Administration and subsequently Chief of Training and Operations. In February 2009, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, the appointment he held till his elevation as the CNS on September 8, 2010. He was subsequently elevated to the position of CDS yesterday.
Vice Admiral Ibrahim is decorated with the Distinguished Service Star (DSS) and the Golden Jubilee Medal.
The hobbies of Ibrahim, who is happily married and has children, include jogging, reading and photography.