LAGOS NIPR GOES DIGITAL, COMMENCES MEMBERSHIP AUDIT

The leadership of the Lagos NIPR, the flagship of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), today announced the commencement of its membership audit
aimed at evaluating and improving the Chapter’s effectiveness and governance processes.

The membership audit, involving the transfer of data from hardcopy to digital version and cloud including the search for members with incomplete bio-data will ensure that members are constantly engaged and connected with the Institute. The exercise will be linked to the Re-certification exercise & Master Class projects. This audit is first of its kind in the history of NIPR.

Speaking at the media briefing, Chairman, Lagos NIPR, Olusegun McMedal, said the audit will enable the Secretariat to update its membership record and offer advice on procedure for status upgrade. According to him, “The Executive Team realised that our Members are the Chapter’s greatest asset. Thus, this exercise is one of the cardinal focus of the present administration to nurture and protect membership in line of the vision to run a government of inclusion. The exercise will appreciably reduce paperwork and cost of operation in addition to ensuring prompt notification of meetings, events, subscription renewals & upgrades”.

“Updated data of members from the Membership Audit will form rich contents for the Chapter’s website which is currently being developed adding that it would also evolve into ePayment solutions and Online Membership Catalogue”, he enthused.

Members of Lagos NIPR are enjoined to visit the Chapter Secretariat at 19, Town Planning Way, Ilupeju or send email detailing their names, membership grade and date, date of birth, name and address of current employer, position held, contact numbers and email address to; audit@lagos-nipr.org or send SMS to 0802 067 3883. The Chapter’s website: www.lagos-nipr.org, is presently being developed with enhanced new features.

In attendance were two new Fellows of the Institute: Basil Agboarumi, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) and Revd. Abraham Oyebamiji, a former Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the Chapter. Also present were past chairmen of the Chapter, Nkechi Ali-Balogun and Jide Ologun including other senior members of the Institute.

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations is the umbrella body of professional Public Relations practitioners chartered to regulate as well as direct its development and the practice.

Nigerian Doctor, Bennet Ifekandu-Omalu Honored By American University For Discovering Brain Injury

Dr. Bennet Ifekandu Omalu, the man who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (or CTE) after he conducted autopsy on former NFL player Mike Webster was recently honored and he took to Twitter to announce that he has received a honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Xavier University in Louisiana in the United States, for massive contributions to science.

Bennet Omalu ‎wrote.....

'Got Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Xavier University of Louisiana today. I am deeply grateful and thankful'.

The school detailed his battles with the NFL which tried to discredit his earlier discoveries, Omalu’s refusal to back down, and finally gaining the attention of Hollywood’s Ridley Scott, who proceeded to work on a feature film telling Omalu’s stories with Will Smith starring as the doctor.

Last December, Concussion, the true life story of Omalu’s battles hit the cinemas, with hopes that it would draw attention to the link between the football head injuries and early onset of dementia that could lead to death, and more importantly, how this has continued to be a bone of contention within the NFL. Finally, in March, the NFL admitted that there’s link between football and brain damage.

Now, Omalu is gaining all the recognition he deserves, and as he said on Twitter, “Got Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Xavier University of Louisiana today,” he wrote, adding, “I am deeply grateful and thankful.”

IBRAHIM, ISIS FIGHTER SON OF JUSTICE USA KILLED IN SYRIA

Ibrahim Uwais, son of former Chief Justice Mohammed Uwais, died yesterday near Aleppo, Syria as the United States targeted members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in fierce airstrikes.

According to reports Ibrahim Uwais, who secretly traveled to Syria in February 2015 to join ISIS, was one of numerous Islamist terrorists who perished as US military aircraft bombarded known ISIS camps near the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

“Ibrahim died yesterday on the battlefield in Aleppo,” our source stated. He added that one of the two wives of the deceased currently trapped in Syria might notify the family of his death.

Ibrahim Uwais left Nigeria in 2015, telling close family members he was headed to Turkey to explore business opportunities. He took along his two wives and five kids. However, he slipped from Turkey into Syria with his entire family and joined the burgeoning army of volunteer fighters who travel from different parts of the world to enlist with ISIS, a group whose agenda is to carve out an Islamist caliphate.

FG MAY INCREASES FUEL PRICE TO N130

THE Federal Government may be considering increasing petrol price as part of efforts to resolve perennial fuel shortages.

If the plan sails through, government may also have to abandon its policy of fixing the pump price of petrol in order to allow independent marketers resume the importation of fuel to sell at profitable margins, sources at the Petroleum Product Pricing Resulated Agency (PPPRA) have said.

According to the sources, the resumption of products importation by marketers will be an indication that price regulation by government may no longer be feasible since the recent price modulation by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has failed to resolve the crises.

A credible source from the agency further stated that petrol may now be sold for N130 per litre. Already, fuel queues have resurfaced at most fuel stations in Abuja few days after disappearing.

This is even as fears have been expressed that the national budget could suffer a major cash flow setback as prices of crude shed $5 per barrel as at weekend while output dropped further due to attacks on Chevron facility by militants just before the budget was signed last week. Government estimates that it may be losing over $22.8 million daily as a result of the attack.

Sources revealed that after several meetings between oil sector regulators and independents, government last week gave marketers approval to source foreign exchange from the parallel market, which means that the price of petrol may top N130 per litre from the current modulated price set at N86.

However, petrol stations operated by the NNPC will continue to sell petrol at the current price of around N86 as government intends to continue to adjust prices at its stations under the modulation template it recently introduced, the sources further said.

It was also learnt that the Federal Government will not publicly announce this policy shift.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, has said Nigeria was considering privatising its refineries within the coming 12 months. The Minister said his team was working with oil majors on improving Nigeria’s four refineries.

Kachikwu was quoted in the April bulletin of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) report to have said discussions are ongoing on how to partner Chevron, Total and ENI.

According to the report, Nigeria has “seen a growing dependency on fuel imports as a result of the underperformance of its refining plants in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.”

Kachikwu was quoted by Reuters as saying that Nigeria wants to privatise the refineries within 12 months following the much-need maintenance work.

“We have gotten commitments from some of the majors. Agip has indicated interest to work with us on Port Harcourt, Chevron on Warri. We are talking to Total on Kaduna,” Kachikwu was quoted to have said.

FCMB CLOSES BRANCH, SACKS STAFFS

First City Monument Bank Limited (FCMB) recently started closing down some of its branches and reportedly sacked staff of those branches.
It was gatheredı that the branches affected were those formerly owned by Finbank, which was acquired by the bank.

It was gathered that the management of the bank resolved to rationalize some redundant and unviable branches of the acquired bank, especially where there were two or three branches in the same area because of the current state of the economy.
Sources said while some staff members of those branches were seconded to other branches, majority were relieved of their duties. It was also gathered that many of those who got the sack were those with issues.

MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING HIS WIFE, SURRENDERS TO POLICE... says "I didn't Kill Her"

Lekan Shonde the man who allegedly killed his wife and mother of his 2 children, Ronke Shonde in Lagos on Friday, has surrendered himself to the police earlier today  Monday May 9,2016

Giving his side of the story while in hiding. Shonde said over the phone line provided by his in-law, Bolatito, which was confirmed by the police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos. Mr. Shonde told Punch correspondent that his wife, Ronke provoked him on Thursday when she described how her lover slept with her in a hotel in Abuja on Thursday night.

Lekan, a depot worker in the Apapa area of Lagos State, said his wife of eight years changed after she allegedly started dating the general manager of a publishing company she worked for.
He said his late mother had warned him against marrying Ronke but he ignored his mother's warnings and still married Ronke, a decision he regrets.
He said the last time he beat his wife was three years ago after they had a disagreement, adding that he never touched her since then. He narrated...

“Since I married my wife eight years ago, she has never bought anything into the house. I gave her N5,000 on Saturdays and N3,000 on Tuesdays for soup. I also gave her money to make her hair.
“She was working with GTB as a marketer, but she got sacked three years ago. For that period, I was the one feeding her and taking responsibility for everything in the family. I would wash her pants, bathe the children and buy foodstuffs in the house. She later got a job with a publishing company owned by her uncle.

“But my wife changed sometime in March, when she started dating the general manger of a publishing company. My wife was going to the office from Monday to Sunday and she wasn’t going to church again, all because of this man. She called him ‘Eyitemi’ (My own).
“Last week Friday, she went to Abuja and came back on Monday. She never told me that the lover was there with her. I learnt later that the lover was there and they slept together in the same room for four days.

“When she came back, she didn’t know I was inside the house. She started talking with the man on the phone that he really had fun with him and I didn’t know how to make love. She again said her private parts were paining her.”
He said he confronted his late wife about the affair and she confirmed that she was indeed dating the other man.
He said he got angry and told his late wife to leave the house but she refused to leave.
He said that particular Thursday night, they had an argument over money. He said:

“It was around 9pm on Thursday. We had paid our nanny N20,000. Then we needed to pay our children’s teachers N30,000. I discovered she had taken N20,000 and when I asked her to return my money, she said she had spent it.
“I was angry because for the past three months, she didn’t allow me to have sex with her. I pushed her hand away from me on the staircase and I left her. She never tumbled or fell. In fact that night, I bought the food that we both ate because she said she didn’t want to cook.
“I didn’t know anything had happened to her until Friday when I saw her on the staircase. I thought she was still pretending. I just left her and walked away.”

When he was asked why he shut the gate against his children, he denied doing so, adding that it was his son who closed that gate after the he left the house. 
Lekan also denied taking his late wife's phone, he said he left it on the bed.
He said he didn't kill his wife and that he had no motive to do so, stating that he had bought her two cars and always provided everything she needed. 

He said, “Jide, her family’s second child lived with me for three to four years. Their eldest daughter, Bolatito, has lived with me too.
“Although I am not a saint, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. I am a responsible man. The problem with my wife was that she was temperamental. She shouted at me whenever she talked.
“I am a Lagos boy and I can be in this Lagos for the next 30 years and nobody would see me.”
The aunt of the victim, Bunmi, explained that the suspect, Lekan Shonde, has been threatening suicide, but that they don't want him to do so becaise their mother had forgiven him.

She said, “Mummy is very sad with this, but she has forgiven him and does not want him to commit suicide.”
A family source said that Lekan had always accused his late wife of extra-marital affairs and that the suspect had frequently abused her. Adding that the police had been involved on occasion. 

He said, “He always beat her because of his belief that she was into an extra-marital affair.
“The beating reduced a bit when the wife of her late brother who was one month pregnant before his death, moved into the house with them. She stayed for about eight months. She was like her saviour.”

Yekini Never Neglected His Mother – Lawyer

Jubril Mohamed, the lawyer to late Nigerian footballer, Rashidi Yekini, has said that his client never neglected his family, including his mother, while he was alive.

Mr. Mohammed said Yekini helped not only his family but also those he had no relationship with.
“Contrary to the widespread rumour trending on the social media where Rashidi Yekini’s mother Sikiratu Yekini is seen standing an impoverished woman hawking bread for survival, I have to come out strongly to condemn in strong terms the malicious attempt by the uninformed sets of people who are set to tarnish the good image of late Rashidi Yekini as a prodigal son who never took care of his family especially his mother,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr. Mohammed attached to his statement pictures of the house Yekini built for his mother before he died. He said the Nigerian legend’s mother had always been a petty trader even when her son was alive.

“This background building of Yekini`s mother picture trending online is actually a garage in the 4 flats built by my late client in Ijagbo few kilometre to Offa and about 9 kilometres away from his village, Ira. Even before the demise of Rashidi, the woman had always been in charge of the rent of the building which runs into to several hundreds of thousands of naira without Rashidi interfering.

“The Boy`s quarters at the back of the main building as at 2006 was around N48,000.00 each, while each 3 bedroom flat in the main building goes for about N80,000.00 each or more which brought her annual income from rent of the building to about half a million naira despite the fact that Rashidi was always sending pocket money to her and her siblings. Apart from this, Rashidi made sure he empowered his entire sibling by opening one of the best hairdressing saloon for his late sister, late Rofiat, who also died in 2014.”

“Even after the death of Rashidi, nobody, not even his two daughters have ever interfered on who takes the rent. Not even the ex-wives, on behalf of their respective daughters ever query the mother about the income from the building. I wonder how she is now starving. Two of her children are dead (Rashidi and Rofiat) leaving only Ismaila and Akeem. Ismaila is based in Kaduna with his family. While Hakeem is the only person living with her with his wife. How is she starving? Can an old woman exhaust over half a million on feeding alone in a year?”

The lawyer said he was not opposed to any further help for Yekini’s mother.

“I am not against any further assistance by any well meaning Nigerian to her but I owe my late client the duty to set the record straight and because of the negative reactions on social media especially through Sahara Reporter which portray Rashidi as an irresponsible son, who never cared about his family. I am seriously upset about the impression being created by the people who have read the unfortunate story. The gospel and uncontroverted truth is that Rashidi made adequate provision for his mother. The questions that we should be asking is how are his two daughters faring and who is responsible for their education and upkeep,” he said.

Yekini is Nigeria’s highest ever goal scorer and won the African footballer of the year in 1993. He was part of the Nigerian team that won the African Nations Cup in 1994 and scored Nigeria’s first ever goal at the World Cup that same year.