God, please give him the divine enablement, courage… Pastor Adeboye Prays for Jonathan

As it is already widely known, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday, attended the ongoing Holy Ghost congress at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian church of God (RCCG). According to the president he had attended the program in order “to give thanks” for the great works which God has been using the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to do by his continuous prayers for the country.
The president also seized the opportunity to ask for more prayers to avert the numerous challenges facing his administration.
And, on his part, Pastor Adeboye directed the mammoth crowd at the 15th Holy Ghost Congress of the church to pray to God to give the president wisdom, knowledge and courage to lead the nation aright, noting: “God should direct him so that the glory of Nigeria will be restored in his time… God, please give him the divine enablement, courage; Lord lead him (president) aright during his tenure, let the glory of Nigeria be restored. Even before we enter the year, let the tide turn around for good for Nigeria. God let him succeed maximally and let his tomorrow be bright.” And there was a resounding chorus of AMEN in the congregation.
InformationNigeria.org

Nollywood Absent As Enebeli Elebuwa’s Body Arrives Lagos

It’s disheartening how people write tributes and make promises shortly after a man’s death but are nowhere to be found just days after the death.
Many Nollywood acts, especially colleagues of the late veteran actor, Enebeli Elebuwa who had stuffed social networking sites with tributes and elegies since he passed away were conspicuously missing as the children and few members of Elebuwa’s family received the deceased actor’s body at about 3pm at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, while his remains were moved away in a make-shift Mercedes Benz Ambulance.
The family is expected to release burial arrangements soon.
InformationNigeria.org

AMCON Vows to Hold on to Capital Oil’s Assets

Mr. Mustafa Chike-obi, MD, AMCON


The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Mr. Mustafa Chike-obi Friday  in Lagos said that AMCON will hold on to the assets of Ifeanyi Uba’s troubled Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited despite a court ruling ordering it to vacate the premises of the oil company.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, vacated its earlier order granting AMCON immediate possession of properties belonging to Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited and its owner, Ifeanyi Uba.

But Chike-obi who spoke during the presentation of the corporation’s full year audited group results for the year ended December 31, 2011 said: "But we are still at the property and we intend to remain there until the Court of Appeal rules. So, if they want to delay, let them delay, but we are staying there. No matter how many obstacles are put on our way by the various obligors, AMCON would ensure that its debts are fully recovered.

"The judge made a surprising ruling which we have either appealed or we are going to appeal. He basically said we should go and talk to the guy (Ifeanyi Uba) and we have been talking to him for two years. He owes us for two years - N53 billion and interest has accumulated to N12 billion - and he hasn’t paid us a kobo and so I don’t know how much talk the judge wants us to do."

At the same forum, the 2011 financial statement showed that AMCON recorded a loss after tax of N2.37 trillion.
It also showed that the institution acquired N4.23 trillion Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs), while its total assets as at December 2011 stood at N1.88 trillion.

Explaining the loss recorded, Executive Director, Finance and Operations, AMCON, Mrs. Mofoluke Dosumu said: "The N2.37 trillion was spent in protecting depositors’ funds. N1.33 trillion was spent on the five banks that successfully had merger and acquisition arrangement and N762 billion was spent to fill the holes in the three banks wholly owned by AMCON.

"AMCON turned out to be larger than when it was set up. In terms of the protection of depositors’ funds in the intervened banks, it was 25 per cent larger than what was initially envisaged. In terms of the NPLs that we bought, it was four times larger. That showed you that what was declared as NPL initially on the books of banks, was not what we found when they started selling to us. We bought four times what we initially envisaged."

Continuing, Dosumu restated that the process that would lead to the sale of the three banks wholly owned by AMCON would commence next year, explaining that the financial advisers that were appointed earlier are to look at the operations of the banks and recommend optimum mode of disposal, methodology and optimum price at which to dispose the institutions.

She also disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria and Deposit Money Banks in the country have agreed to increase their yearly contribution to the AMCON Sinking Fund from 0.3 per cent (30 basis point) of total assets to 0.5 per cent (50 basis points) from this year.

The Sinking Fund is a Trust Fund established by the CBN and all DMBs in Nigeria last year in line with the resolution of the banking crisis. On an annual basis, the CBN contributes N50 billion and the banks agreed earlier to contribute 0.3 per cent of total assets in their books on an annual basis, over a period of 10 years.

A breakdown of the amount showed that the commercial banks would now make collective contributions of N100 billion to the Fund, from N60 billion earlier agreed.

She explained: "The Sinking Fund contributes about 65 per cent to the cost of resolution to AMCON. The funding model of AMCON is tested on an annual basis by both AMCON and the CBN.

"At the last testing of the funding model, the banks agreed to increase their contributions from 30 basis points to 50 basis points on an annual basis, just to ensure that the full cost of AMCON is resolved within the envisaged time frame."
ThisDay

The wild world of campus pimps

 by: GILBERT ALASA

Campus aristos negotiating with some pimps - their middlemen

Many undergraduates are smiling to the bank, courtesy of a booming business called “pimping” on campus. GILBERT ALASA (400-Level Foreign Languages, University of Benin) examines the new trend in campus prostitution.

They cruise about in posh cars while their colleagues cramp into rickety campus shuttles. They live large on campus even though the source of their wealth cannot be openly discussed. From the comfort of their off-campus hostels, they negotiate high-profile deals with powerful personalities while their mates sweat it out in stuffy libraries in school.

Welcome to the world of campus pimps and whores. From time immemorial, prostitution has been a thriving business. Even on campuses, it is big time business. Now, the trade has taken a new dimension. As the money-spinning business grows, so are the players increasing by the day. Among them is a network of middlemen known as pimps.

Campus pimps are socially-inclined students who explore their gregarious appeal as a tool for gathering female students to warm the beds of the well-heeled in the society.

CAMPUSLIFE investigations revealed that the pimps could be “party-riders” who keep tab of social events on campus or student-politicians who exploit their relationship with those in power. The big men could also be affluent private sector operators or cult heroes who entice their admirers with financial rewards.

Campuses are blessed with a sizeable number of young women, ready and willing to be night companions of these wealthy people, who may be politicians, top civil servants and business magnates. Campus pimps come in handy as intermediaries between the big men and their aristos – a parlance for student-prostitutes.

Among students of a federal university in the Southsouth, the story of four female students is still fresh. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that a member of a popular political party was in town for last-minute campaign during last year’s elections. In the evening, the weather was cold because of a downpour earlier in the day. To keep the guests warm, four female undergraduates were drafted to the politician and his three-man entourage. But one of the girls played a fast one on the men as she made away with the politician’s money. The story is being told till today on that campus.

In Edo State, campus pimps are regular faces at popular hang-outs in high-brow areas of Benin City. Such spots include Ritz Carlton, Hexagon, Debis Kitchen, Swallow, Time-out, Royal Marble, West View, Yak Hotel near the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi (AUCHI POLY) and Best Western.

When patronage is low, some of the girls take to stripteasing for a fee to cover operating costs incurred by the pimps. “You don’t expect me to fuel my car or burn up cash on taxi and phone calls organising babes without getting returns at the end. In fact, some of these yeye (stupid) girls want to be paid per night,” fumed a pimp who is a drop-out from a popular private university in Edo State.

Investigation revealed that many aristos now bypass pimps because of their haughtiness. In a chat on a social networking site, a pimp who uses Juiceman as username, found nothing offensive in his profession. Rather, he describes himself as a smart fellow who uses his social skills to make money.

“Clearly, I am not a robber, terrorist or Yahoo-yahoo boy (Internet fraudsters). I am not even close to most of the guys involved in bunkering or kidnapping. I am just a young man trying to key into the philosophy of using what I have to get what I want,” Juiceman wrote.

He is not alone in this attempt to rationalise has position. According to his counterpart, who is in the organising team of a popular annual show at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the pimp business is no vice as it only complements an existing social problem.

“For me, there is no justification for criticising what I do to see myself through school. I am neither the man who sleeps with the girls nor am I the girls who chose to sleep around. After all, these men are proud to steal from our collective treasury. So, we just have to squeeze them to reclaim our stolen fortunes,” he said.

For a beauty queen and 300-Level Insurance student of UNILAG, Violet Olisah, the pimps and the aristos are culpable. “The pimping mess should be utterly condemned. The pimp is as guilty as the promiscuous girls. Many destinies have been cut in their primes through the activities of these pimps. The act must be stopped.”

On profitability, the door swings both ways for the pimp and the sex-hawker. Most times, the pimp gets his compensation from the “client” and agrees to reimburse the girls after the sex romp. Other times, the “client” demands to personally remunerate the aristo while paying off the pimp straight-away.

But Oyewole Ajibade (not his real name), 200-Level Philosophy, Ekiti State University (EKSU), said the later-payment method often put the pimp at a disadvantage. “When a client pays you and the aristo separately, the pimp stands to lose. But when you are paid both your charges and that of the girl in question, you hold the edge of the knife as to how the spoil is shared. So, it is better that way,” Oyewole quipped.

A magazine exclusively reported the activities of a pimp, who organised two female students of a university in the Southwest for a former Minister. After an orgy sex romp in a five-star hotel in Abuja, the girls and the pimp were handsomely rewarded “for a job well-done.” This shows that politicians are culpable in the decadence.

In a chat with our correspondent, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Mr David Umoru, lamented the non-implementation of the extant law barring such trade. “Prostitution, as a social malady, has its effect on the society. Despite the fact that there are legal frameworks that bar the illicit trade, government and its agencies are paying lip service to stopping the trade.”

TheNation

Mikel may land in hot soup again!

…After blasting Benitez for playing Luiz in his position
•Tips Chelsea to crush Corinthians today
By Onyewuchi Nwachukwu
Nigerian international, John Mikel Obi, may be in for a showdown with Manager Rafael Benitez, after vehemently criticising the Spanish coach for playing David Luiz in his position in Chelsea’s World Club Cup’s semi-final game against Monterrey last Thursday. Mikel’s vituperations were at variance with the opinion of most fans of the club, who were impressed with Luiz’s attempt to play in defensive midfield as Chelsea beat Monterrey in the game.
The Super Eagles’ midfielder was not expecting to be playing alongside the Brazilian centre-back, but after Benitez sprung the surprise, he was not stunned to see Luiz rampaging forward from the start. “It was a bit of a shock to see David lining up there,” said Mikel as reported in The Guardian. “I said to him, as we got on to the pitch: ‘Where shall I play?’ “He said he’d play the holding role and that I should go forward. I said OK, but when the game started, I looked up and he was already up the end of the pitch.” Mikel did not think playing Luiz out of position should be a regular occurrence.
“David is a great player, but I don’t know if this is going to be a long-term thing,” said the Nigerian international. “I think he needs to play at the back. It was a good performance from him because he kept the ball well and played it well. But when it’s not your normal position, you sometimes lose something. “He is a great player and a strong character, who can only get better for this club.
He keeps going and doing his thing. Credit to him.” Both players have come in for criticism – Luiz because he plays with too much flair and attacking intent for a defender and Mikel, because fans complain he does not contribute enough going forward. Under Roberto Di Matteo, Mikel flourished, perhaps turning in his best performance for the club in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
Benitez is less keen on the midfielder and has played Spaniard Oriol Romeu in his stead recently. But the former Barcelona player picked up a serious knee injury against Sunderland penultimate Saturday and is out for several months while it is treated. Meanwhile, Mikel has predicted that Chelsea’s current form would help the team record a resounding victory against Brazil’s Corinthians to win the Club World Cup today.
The Blues will battle South American champions, Corinthians, in today’s final in Yokohama, Japan, and the Nigerian international midfielder revealed that his club have got the edge to beat the Brazilians to the trophy. Chelsea beat Monterrey of Mexico 3–1 in the semi-final, while Corinthians beat African champion, Al Ahly 1–0 to reach the final. –“We are here for business and that is to win the Club World Cup and write another history,” declared Mikel, who in May helped the London club win a first-ever UEFA Champions League at Bayern Munich.
“This is our first appearance in the competition and we are in the final. I am sure we will win the trophy by beating Corinthians. “They are South American champions and they are good but with our recent form, I am optimistic and believe we will beat them to lift the trophy.” After a tough start by new Manager, Rafael Benitez, ‘The Blues’ thrashed Danish champions, FC Nordsjaelland before they crushed Sunderland 3-1 in the English Premier League.
This will be Benitez third final. In 2005, he led Liverpool to lose 1-0 to another Brazilian club, Sao Paulo, but made amends in 2010, when his Inter Milan trounced African kings, TP Mazembe 3-0. After last season’s historic double, the Super Eagles’ star now wants to add another page to the history books. “I am happy to be in Japan with my team to compete in the Club World Cup. This is the first time Chelsea is playing in this competition and I hope to win it with them.
I am ready to contribute my quota to making another history here in Japan,” Mikel told MTNFootball.com Besides winning a first-ever Champions League trophy with Chelsea, Mikel has also won a league and FA Cup double with the London club. The Nigeria international is serving out a three-match ban in England, but that does not affect his participation in the Club World Cup.
TheSun

Overcoming the World

By Femi Aribisala
Pull Quote: In this world there will be power cuts.
Ask a Nigerian Christian how to improve the life of Nigerians, and he will give you a party-political manifesto. He will tell you about the need for non-stop electricity. He will talk about the need to curtail armed robbery and kidnapping. He will talk about the need to improve the medical facilities. But would such developments improve the life of Nigerians? Certainly not!
Jesus says: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). What does this abundant life entail? Is it a life abundant in electricity? If it were then the life Jesus promised has already arrived in Europe and America.
However, Jesus does not talk about obtaining electricity. Instead, he implies the overcoming of lack of electricity. Instead, he talks of having peace in spite of lacking the comforts of the world. Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). How can we overcome the world?
Overcoming power-cuts
In 2009, I tried my level best to overcome electrical power cuts at home. I have a 1991 diesel generator. But I was going bankrupt from buying diesel, and the generator kept breaking down. So I bought candles. But then I flew off the handle during a power cut when I discovered there were no matches in the house. Besides, candles don’t power the television, the fridge or the fan.
So I decided to supplement the generator by buying an inverter. But the effective use of an inverter depends on my having some hours of regular electricity to charge it; and PHCN just refused to cooperate. Even on the few occasions when there was electricity, the inverter did not charge because the current was too low. So I bought rechargeable lamps. But these were no different from candles. Besides, there was no electricity to charge them and, even when charged, they only work for a few hours.
So I bought a small petrol generator as a back-up to the diesel generator. But it soon stopped working because the engine oil for the diesel generator was mistakenly put in it. Then it broke down again because it was overloaded. And then there was the added factor of perennial fuel scarcity. In short, in 2009, nothing I did enabled me to overcome electrical power cuts. So what is the answer?
Prepare to fail
My frustration with power cuts became a living parable. The only answer I have left is the unassailable one Jesus provides as our Good Shepherd. In order for me to overcome power cuts, I have to come to terms with power cuts. I have to be able to survive without electrical power. To overcome power cuts, I have to be unaffected by power cuts. I have to live without electricity and make having electricity inconsequential.
Through the ransom of his life, Jesus prepares us for failure in this world. The Good Shepherd does not give us a blueprint for turning failure into success. Instead, he shows us how to overcome inevitable failure. Jesus overcame by disregarding the world and accepting God’s providence. He overcame by trusting implicitly and completely in God.
Jesus was confident God would ultimately vindicate him for any trouble he encounters in the world. He was certain if he allows himself to be killed, God would raise him from the dead.
Can we also trust God to that extent? Can we trust God to turn failure into success? Can we trust God to bring life out of death? Can we trust God to raise us from the dead? That is the challenge of the Christian faith; made easier because we have a fore-runner in Jesus Christ. John says: “We win the victory over the world by means of our faith.” (1 John 5:4).
Trusting God
Jesus trusted God and he was not put to shame. Therefore, we should also be able to do the same confidently. Job said in the crucible of his afflictions: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and he shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:25-27).
The challenge for those of us who would like to inherit the kingdom of God is to trust God so completely that we would not be bothered by having to abandon all hope of gaining this world. We have to reject this world in order to qualify for glory in heaven. We have to disdain this world. We have to despise this world. We have to make sure we do nothing that gives the impression that we want to gain this world as well as the world to come. We have to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that we only want to gain the kingdom of God. Jesus asks: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37).
Goodbye world
The writer of Hebrews says Abraham: “was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10). The same applies to that man who is born of God to overcome the world. When he gets to Rome and sees the Coliseum, he is not impressed. When he gets to Paris and sees the Eiffel Tower he disdains it. When he gets to New York and sees the World Trade Centre, he remembers Isaiah’s prophecy of: “the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.” (Isaiah 30:25).
Those who can see the kingdom of God know that: “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1). Therefore, if the devil were to take the truly born again Christian up on a high mountain and show him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, promising to give it to him if he would just worship him, he would follow the Good Shepherd in answering him: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Matthew 4:10).
A cliché is a cliché often because it is true. This world is not our home; we are just passing through. Nothing about it should be attractive to us. It is a world ruled by Satan. It is a world of sin. It is a world in rebellion and enmity against God. It is a world of death. Therefore, we only have one option concerning this world. We must overcome it. We must not be enticed by its vainglories. We must readily accept failure and defeat in this world.
In this world there will be power cuts. But be of good cheer. Jesus is the light of the world. In his light, we shall see light.
Vanguard

ACN, CPC, ANPP woo deregistered parties

by ALLWELL OKPI and LEKE BAIYEWU

ACN Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The major opposition parties in the country – the All Nigeria Peoples Party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, and the Congress for Progressive Change – have said they are ready to include the deregistered parties in their ongoing merger plan.

The merger, which is scheduled to emerge in 2013, is aimed at launching a formidable challenge against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the 2015 general elections.

The National Publicity Secretary, ACN, Lai Mohammed, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the deregistered parties, which wish to work against the PDP, would be welcomed to the merger.

He said, “Our doors are not closed to the parties that are progressives and are ready to push the PDP out of power in 2015. The condition is that they must be thoroughly convinced and ready to oust the PDP from political offices at the state and federal levels.”

Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary, ANPP, Emma Eneukwu, said the best option for the delisted parties was to join the established ones. He added that such would enhance the quality of the politics in the country.

He said, “We are ready to absolve them. Any deregistered party that shows interest in joining us is welcome. If any party is deregistered, the best option is to join another. We already have a committee in charge of consultancy and I am sure it is reaching out to them (the parties).

In the same vein, the National Publicity Secretary, CPC, Rotimi Fashakin, said the party was ready to accommodate the deregistered parties, but noted that it would only accept those that share similar ideologies with it.

 He said, “The good option for any political party in their shoes is to join the existing ones that have been tested and found to be viable. I am talking about parties of the progressives, not the kind of party system the Peoples Democratic Party has which is on its way out. The PDP is a party in its final days. We will definitely welcome such associations (parties). However, only those with similar objectives will be accommodated.”

Meanwhile, the banned parties are also exploring the possibility of registering as new parties.

Confirming this, the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Balarabe Musa, said, “We either go to court or seek registration of another political party. We are also likely to join forces with leading opposition parties to challenge the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, at the 2015 general election.

He said, “The parties have been meeting. We have met for some days now, and there would be more meetings on the way forward. And from the discussion so far, there is the possibility of the parties coming together to form an alliance. However, I believe the more effective way to tackle this problem brought by PDP is to join forces with a viable opposition party and that, in my opinion, is the ACN, either through a merger or a democratic electoral alliance.”

However, the National Chairman of the Fresh Democratic Party, Rev. Chris Okotie, told SUNDAY PUNCH that his party was bent on challenging INEC in court.

He said, “I won’t like you to create the impression that INEC has the final say in this matter, because to do that is to capitulate to INEC and to the hegemony of the PDP. This is a democracy and the rule of law has been established. The constitution governs the affairs of this nation. Our position at Fresh is to determine whether that which INEC has declared is constitutional. We are going to court to contest that in the interest of our democracy and for posterity.

“So we believe that within the democratic philosophy of this nation, INEC has gone beyond its powers. We believe the judiciary will rectify this anomaly. There is no way we are going to accept this conspiracy between the PDP and INEC.

Similarly, the National Chairman of the Progressive Action Congress, Charles Nwodo, said the delisted parties had agreed to continue with their court action against INEC.

“What we have decided is that we will continue with our court action against INEC to prove a point. According to the Constitution, INEC does not have the right to deregister political parties. And we are doing this for the sake of our democracy. The constitution states that we shall operate a multiple party system, so INEC cannot determine the number of parties in the country.”

Reacting to the possibility of re-registration by the affected parties, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said, “The constitution provides for the minimum requirements they must meet. Once they meet the conditions, the INEC has no choice but to register them.”

INEC’s Secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, had said INEC deregistered the 28 parties “in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).”

ThePunch