BMW shuts three factories in China amid coronavirus outbreak

BMW, on Thursday, said it was closing three of its factories in the Chinese city of Shenyang, where it employs around 18,000 people and manufactures half a million vehicles every year, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to a BMW spokesman in Munich, the one-week holiday for Chinese New Year has been extended by another week until Feb. 9.

The spokesman added that only office workers in Shenyang would return to work from Monday, though they would be working from home.

“We cannot say exactly what will happen beyond Feb. 9,’’ the spokesman said.

Lekan Abdul, others charged to court by EFCC over 350M fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday arraigned a businessman, one Olalekan Abdul the former Managing Director of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd and a former Executive Director of the Punch Newspaper, Azubike Ishekwene over an alleged N350m fraud.

The duo was charged alongside one Morakinyo Bolanle (now at large) before Justice Mojisola Dada of an Ikeja Special Offences Court, Lagos

Abdul and Ishekwene were both charged with forgery, use of false document and making documents without authority, while Abdul and Morakinyo, are facing charges of forgery and making documents without authority.

Abdul solely faced charges of forgery, use of false document, obtaining money by false pretences and falsification of books and account documents.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to Mr Mohammed Idris, the Prosecutor for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdul, Ishekwene,Adewole and Bolanle Morakinyo (now at large) conspired to commit forgery on April 6, 2018.

“The defendants sometimes in 2018 knowingly forged a document titled: ‘Account Opening Document’ dated April 9, 2018, which they purported that it was issued by Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd.

“Abdul and Ishekwene on April 6, 2018, knowingly forged a document titled ‘Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd’ dated April 6, 2018 which they purported was issued by the company.

On April 6, 2018 Abdul and Ishekwene fraudulently presented the forged Board Resolution to Stanbic IBTC Bank as genuine. Abdul and Morakinyo had also on April 6, 2018 forged the Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd.

According to the EFCC prosecutor, on Dec. 14, 2010, Abdul forged the Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd. and presented it to Wema Bank Plc as genuine.

“Armed with the false documents, Abdul had on Dec. 14, 2010 obtained a credit facility of N350 million from Wema Bank Plc by falsely representing to them that the Board Resolution was genuine,” Idris said.

The anti-graft agency said that Abdul had also forged the Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd. on Sept. 27, 2010 in Lagos and had used the document to open an account with Keystone Bank (formerly Bank PHB).

“Abdul had sometime in 2015, being a Director of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd. falsified the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the company and presented it to the Corporate Affairs Commission as genuine.

On Nov. 19, 2011 in Lagos, Abdul forged a document titled ‘Extract of Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd’ which he purported was issued by the company,” the EFCC prosecutor said.

NAN reports that the offences contravened Sections 335(2), 363, 364, 365, 370 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

Following the arraignment of the defendants, Idris requesting for a trial date, asked the court to remand the defendants in the correctional facility.

Responding, the defence counsel to Abdul and Yinka Adewole, Mr Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), requested that Abdul be granted bail by the court.

Olumide-Fusika said that the third defendant,Yinka Adewole, was not on the run as asserted by the EFCC, but was rather, out of the country.

The first defendant (Abdul) has been on administrative bail of the EFCC since 2018, and anytime he was invited to their office and never failed to honour their invitation.

“The interest at this stage is to ensure that the defendant comes for trial.

“We plea that he drops his international passport, and if we can have a trial date for Friday, we will bring him to court. I undertake to also bring Yinka Adewole to court,” he pleaded.

Also, Mr Muiz Banire (SAN), Defence Counsel to Ishekwene in his submission, asked the court to grant the former Executive Director of Punch Newspapers bail because the correctional facilities are congested.

“The maximum capacity of the prison is 800 as at today it is 3000,” Banire said.Acceding to the requests of the defence counsel, Justice Mojisola Dada, granted bail to the defendants.

“Due to the personal plea of the defence counsel on their attendance in court and the forfeiture of their international passports, temporary bail has been granted therein for the hearing of the bail application.

“The case is adjourned to Friday Jan. 31,” the judge ruled.

Insecurity: Calls For Service Chiefs Sack Misplaced - Olowu

...Says Nigerian Security Situation Calls For Holistic Appraisal

Olowu of Kuta, Osun State, His Royal majesty Oba Adekunle Oyelude Makama, Tegbosin 11, has counseled the National Assembly and Nigerians calling for the sack of the service chiefs to have a rethink.

The monarch says the Nigerian security situation call for holistic appraisal instead of quick fix which we have embarked on to tackle the Insurgency.

Oluwu in a statement issued by his Media Office on Thursday said the call seemed to be hasty and transferred aggression to the service chiefs who have sacrificed a lot to defend the territorial integrity and the internal security of the country.

The revered monarch who maintained that though the security of the country needs to be overhauled for optimum performance, he said people should know that the military alone is not to be blamed for the lapses, how far have we pursued Political options.

He, however, advised that stampeding the service chiefs out will not be the best way to appreciate their efforts.

Oba Makama said; “ The Senate and House of Representatives motions that the service chiefs should resign or be sacked is not the best way to appreciate their efforts. The danger inherent in such motions is that it will not only demoralized the officers and men who would feel let down by such decision, those coming to take over from them may be reluctant since it is the same military considering the monumental impact the present military leadership has made towards professionalism in the Army that we're not talking of, I think when dealing with the issue of security, we should be circumspect so as not to jeopardize the success we have achieved bearing in mind that fighting insurgents is not a conventional warfare. Again, what’s the budget of the defense this year? How will a military fighting insurgents, fighting armed banditry, kidnapping and other several operations within the country cope with such meager budget? What’s the role of the DSS, NSDC, Police, Immigration, Customs in a situation like this?” are they equipped to compliment the military gains in the war fronts,He asked.

Olowu said it is crystal clear that our military is overstretch and to support the military in fighting the insurgents vis a vis Political options Should be our Collective responsibility.

He also counseled that once a military clears an area and rid it of Boko Haram elements, the onus is on the police and NSDC and other security agents to occupy the area to secure it.

He is also of the opinion that the Sambisa Forest ought to have been developed and used for extended mechanized farming once the military clears it instead of leaving it fallow for the insurgents to return and occupy the place, our De- Radicalisation policy should be Reviewed.

“ I think we need to do a critical appraisal of the insurgents with the view of proffering lasting solution that will be in the interest of all and sundry. Like the Borno Governor remarked two days ago that many of the elected public officials do not want to hear the truth. I think we need to tell ourselves the blunt truth, instead of resorting to fire brigade approach of treating the symptoms, instead of holistic treatment of the issues “ . He added.

Shall we fold our arms and let Abdulrasaq destroy the legacies of Saraki in Kwara?

Since the inauguration of Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq as Kwara state Governor, not much positive news have emerged from his side. It is obvious that for the remaining three years, the Governor may not be able to pull such strings like Seyi Makinde of Oyo state.

The reason is not far-fetched. He has began some sort of witch-hunting against his perceived political enemies, particularly, the Saraki dynasty. He is hell bent on a revenge following his loss at the five consecutive times he contested the governorship of the state.

To further his level of witch-hunting, the Kwara state government on Thursday commenced the demolition of the late Olusola Saraki’s accestral political home, Ile Arúgbó, in Ilorin.

To show the level of desperation, security operatives dispersed protesters who kept vigil to prevent the demolition. It was reported that the Government on Wednesday around 2am tried to demolish the structure but it was met with a protest as people around gathered to pursue them away.

Although AbdulRazaq had earlier announced the decision to revoke the late Olusola Saraki’s property owing to alleged illegality in its acquisition, it seemed he has forgotten the living legacies of Olusola Saraki and his family in the state.

He said the land was originally designated for the construction of a secretariat and parking lot of the civil service clinic, but that it was unlawfully allocated to a private firm — Asa Investments Limited — without any record of payment to the state government.

The claim by the present government that the land will be used to serve as the new secretariat is ridiculous because same government claimed to have injected 250million towards the completion of a new secretariat started by the immediate past government of Abdul Fatai Ahmed.

However, all the appeal and warnings by elder statesmen including the former senate president fell on the deaf ears of AbdulRazaq.

Bukola Saraki countered this statement, saying his late father lawfully acquired the land from the state government.

The political intention of AbdulRazaq has made him forget the philanthropic acts of the late peace loving and kind Olusola Saraki. The deceased empowered thousands and gave meaning to the lives of many through different organizations and schemes.

This fierce antagonism shows that the only ambition of AbdulRazaq is to plunge the state into destruction and erode the legacies of her heroes. Kwarans should not support his hidden agenda!

How Minister of State, (Power), Goddy Jedy Agba Saved Nigeria From Total Blackout

Not a few Nigerians were taken aback, when the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) declared a general strike on Wednesday 11th December, 2019 and threw the country into a total blackout.

The workers embarked on the strike action following crisis in the power sector at the expiration of the 21 days issued by the union.

However, the swift initiative of  Minister of State (Power), Mr. Goddy Jedy Agba in extensively engaging the stakeholders in the sector including those from the Ministry of Power, Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, leadership of NUEE and others.

The meeting addressed several issues that led to the suspension of the strike action by the electricity workers, who resumed duty after 24 hours of the exercise.

The communique issued at the end of the meeting was jointly signed by the Honourable Minister of State (Power),  Mr. Goddy Jedy Agba (OFR), Director General, BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh, President (NUEE), Comrade Engr. Martin Uzoegwu, General Secretary (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, and a representative of the Federal  Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Hosea Akayi Musa, JP..

On the non-payment of over 2000 disengaged PHCN staff, the Director General of BPE confirmed that over N360 Billion had been paid and that the verification of 600 staff processed and forwarded to Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) for payment, while 200 could not be verified.

On the issue of 16-month underpayment of severance benefit as well as the 7.5% Pension component, DG BPE acknowledged that this was pending and promised that modalities would be worked out on the payment.

On ownership of the schools, the DG gave his words that anytime they provided documentary evidence providing ownership of the school, the process of handing over would commence accordingly.

Director General, BPE promised to obtain the Condition of Service (COE) from the GenCos and DisCos within a week and hand them over to the Honourable Minister of State (Power).

The Honourable Minister of Power (State) promised to visit the GenCos in company of the Managing Director of NELMCO along with some officials of the union to see things for himself and resolve the issue of unionization in the GenCos and the non-remittance of the deducted check-off dues.

The meeting resolved that DisCos/GenCos be advised to negotiate with their bankers to ensure sufficient cash flow to enable them pay salaries as at when due.

The Director General -BPE promised to intervene on the non-remittance of Contributory Pension to PFA, especially for Kaduna, Kano and Jos.

The meeting also resolved that the DisCos could be advised to stop casualization of workers where or exists.

On the issue of harassment by security personnel, the Honourable Minister of State (Power) informed that he was not aware of the incident, apologised and promised that such an unfortunate incident would not occur again.

The meeting also resolved that all staff who participated in the Industrial action would not be victimised in any way.

Director  General-BPE explained that the pre-retirement training was processed, but that there was no cash backing to carry out the training.

On 10% equity, the Director General BPE explained that the percentage share had not been worked out because the 40% was yet to be determined and that until then staff could access their own share.

It was generally agreed by watchers of events that the move by the Minister of State (Power), Mr. Goddy Jedy Agba averted what would have led to a setback for the economy of the county at this time that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to restore the nation's economy and a led ding festive season.

This has further increased the belief of people in many quarters that Mr. Goddy Jedy Agba is a round peg in a round hole as the Minister of State (Power) at this crucial time of the nation.

Oniru Stool: Aremo Adesegun Oniru Is Our Next King - Chiefs, Baales

To dispel the murmurs and rumours in the media and around Lagos metropolis surrounding the ancient Oniru stool of Iruland, the respected chiefs and baales of the kingdom have in one accord chosen Aremo Adesegun Oniru as the next king.

The Odofin of Iruland, Chief Saliu Abisogun, made this disclosure when the stakeholders hosted members of the press to finally lay the issue to rest.

Chief Abisogun, who spoke on behalf of the royal blood and chiefs of Iruland, stated that the stool which was formally recognised in 1994 after more than 200years of robust history has only been sat on by one king, the late Oba Abiodun Idowu Oniru.

"Our recently translated king, Oba Abiodun Idowu Oniru was the first king to ascend the throne and ruled for 25years prosperous years," he declared.

The chief also made know that after the former king translated, it became imperative to ensure the next in line is a prince, who is endowed with the capacity to provide needed leadership in consolidating the achievements of departed king.

"In order to ensure continued progress and unhindered development, we, the chiefs and baales of Iruland have resolved to back the nomination of Aremo Adesegun Oniru as the next Oniru of Iruland," he declared.

He said that Aremo Adesegun has also played a major role in the tremendous achievements recorded in Iruland under the deceased monarch.

"It was Aremo Adesegun Oniru that assisted in ensuring unprecedented infrastructural development in Iruland. He brought the whole family of Oniru together as one united force in the absence of which it would have been near impossible to make any visible progress in the land."

Chief Abisogun stated that the indigenes cant afford to truncate these progress and peace being enjoyed in Iruland by allowing some elements with foreign vassal interests to hijack the kingdom.

"That the late Oba was the father of Aremo Adesegun Oniru is not a sound argument to prevent the ascension of this noble son of the land as the prince can legitimately succeed his father if the development and peace of our land is of any meaning to all," he argued.

The chief, however, didnt forget to indicate that the principal members of Oniru family and all relevant chiefs have resolved to back Aremo Adesegun to ascend the throne of his father.

While appreciating the efforts of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Lagos state governor, Babajide SanwoOlu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, in their interests in the progress of the kingdom, Chief Abisogun enjoined all true sons of Iruland to sheath their swords and allow peace to reign by joining the chosen prince in ensuring the Iruland continues to develop.

Ruling Houses, Community Leaders Choose Adesegun As Next Oniru of Iruland

There appears to have been a breakthrough in the search for the next Oniru of Iruland in Lagos State as the heads of Akiogun Ruling House, community leaders, elders and youths of Iruland have picked a former Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure Development in the state, Prince Aremo Adesegun Abiodun Oniru, as the next Oniru of Iruland.

Heads of Akiogun Ruling House, community leaders (baales) of some settlements in Iruland, including Baale of Ilabare, Chief Ahmed Basorun, Baales of Oko Kuku, Ipewun, Osolu, Alakoto, Mosafejo, Falomo, Abule Ode amongst others unanimously agreed that Prince Adesegun Oniru should be installed as the next Oniru of Iruland.

Others, including women, youths and several residents of the area, who were present at the venue of the declaration lent their voices to the choice of Prince Adesegun Oniru, son of the late Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abiodun Oniru, who died in September, 2019, as the next Oba of Iruland.

This declaration was, however, preceded by a traditional rite, where kolanuts were thrown on the floor as a sign of approval or rejection.

The traditional rite was declared positive in favour of Prince Adesegun Oniru as the kolanuts turned to the positive side, an indication that his tenure as Oba would be peaceful and favourable to the town.

Prince Adesegun Oniru, an engineer and administrator was born on March 11, 1965.

He attended Kafy Cross School, Lagos, St. Berriaden Private School, Ibara, Abeokuta, Hall School, Sussex, England, and Stafford House Tutorial College, England.

Adesegun Oniru also attended Waltham Forest College, U.K in 1989 and University of Westminster, U.K in 1991.

He was the Managing Director of Lagos State Waterfront and Tourism Development Corporation between 2003 and 2005, and Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure to Lagos State Governor in 2005.

He served as the Commissioner for Housing in Lagos State and later Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure Development in the state between 2007 and 2011.

It would be recalled that there had been disagreements amongst the various ruling houses in Iruland shortly after the demise of Oba Abiodun Oniru.

Just last week, a ruling house in the area, Abisogun Family described a report in a section of the media that the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to ex-governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, Mr. Hakeem Ajasa, had been picked as the next Oniru of Iruland in Lagos State as fake news.

According to the family, the selection of Ajasa, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) as the next Oniru of Iruland, must have been via a kangaroo election and thus not known to the entire family.

The family said in a public notice titled: “Fake News By A Section of Abisogun Ruling House” that the “public and all interested parties are put on notice of the kangaroo selection of a person unknown to the entire Oniru Family to rule over their land and fill the currently vacant Oniru Chieftaincy stool.”

The family, who described themselves as Cheated Members of Abisogun Ruling House, alleged in the notice that was released to the media on Friday that from time immemorial, no member of any royal family could imposes himself on the community.