STB-NEWS-Be fair in the fight against corruption, Anyanwu tells Buhari click to read more

 ASABA—Senator Chris Anyanwu has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to be fair in his fight against corruption.
Anyanwu, the chairperson of Spectrum Broadcast Nigeria Limited, owners of Hot FM chain of radio stations, stated this in a chat with newsmen shortly before the commissioning of Hot FM 96.5 station in Asaba. She said: “I think the idea of anti-corruption is very good. I think we got a little bit too extreme in our carelessness, in our practices, so there is need to apply breaks on what we do in the system.” On the radio station, Anyanwu said that besides Asaba being an expanding city with a lot of potentials and a major player in the Niger Delta and Nigerian economic development, the management of Hot FM was contributing to the development goals of Delta State Government by providing employment to its indigence. She said that the station would give its audience clear, concise and credible news as well as best entertainment, informative, interactive and engaging program. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who spoke while commissioning the station, said: “Radio remains the most effective medium of mass communication in societies where sustainable development is paramount.”

STB-NEWS:Niger Delta crisis: Solution lies in dialogue not troops deployment —IYC click to read full story

Yenagoa—The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, worldwide, yesterday faulted the Federal Government’s decision to deploy more troops in the Niger Delta to protect oil installations, saying that the move would not stop oil theft, kidnapping and pipeline vandalism.
Spokesman of IYC, Eric Omare, in a statement in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said that the solution to the problem lies in the constructive engagement of the people of the region. He said: “From our experience of attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, sending more troops to the region will not solve the problem. It is common knowledge that incidents of oil theft, kidnapping and attacks on oil pipelines have been on the increase despite the presence of military men around oil installations and communities in the Niger Delta region. “The IYC has always maintained that in some cases, security agents, contractors and even multi-national oil company workers are involved in these illegalities going on in the Niger Delta region. “The Federal Government cannot claim ignorance of this fact with the security apparatus at its disposal. Instead of sending more troops who would come and commit more inconveniences to the people of the region such as intimidation, harassment of innocent villagers and unnecessary arrests, we call for quality intelligence gathering on the role of oil companies’ workers, contractors and security agents on the attacks on oil facilities. “Ultimately, the solution to the problem of attacks on oil facilities lies in constructively engaging the people and communities of the Niger Delta where oil facilities are located.”

STB-NEWS:I agree with those who say the economy is bad, Soyinka tells Buhari click and read full story

ABUJA— Apparently worried by the continuous decline in the nation’s economy, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to convene an emergency economic conference for experts to brainstorm on the way forward and future of the economy.
The Nobel laureate made the call when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja. According to Soyinka, the conference became necessary to enable experts diagnose the problems currently facing the country and make necessary recommendations for government to get the economy out of the woods. He said: “I agree with those who say the economy is bad. It is obvious and it is so bad. I think the Presidency should call an emergency economic conference where experts will be enlightened. “We really need an emergency economic conference, bringing experts together to march the nation forward. I think the economy is not encouraging. Quite frankly, I think most economists will agree with this.” Don’t wait to see a bonanza economy While urging Nigerians to be patient with the present administration, the Nobel laureate urged them not to expect an end to the present hardship as it would linger for a long time. “Don’t wait to see a bonanza economy in the next few months to a year. Recovery is going to take time. But at the same time, we have to rely on the objective analysis of experts to tell the government when it gets bad, which might compound the problem and ultimately left the people as victims. “At the beginning, this cabinet had no Culture but had Information ministry. We had to scream, before the Ministry of Culture later came,” Soyinka said. Cautions on human rights abuse Asked to rate the performance of Buhari’s administration, he said though it might be too early to assess the administration’s performance, it would be right for the government to recognize the provisions of the law and constitution of the land to avoid violation of the fundamental human rights of people. He said: “My attitude to the performance of the present administration is that the rule of the law should be followed. I belong to any government which is very patient to getting results. I have a very clear idea of governance tempo. “If that goal is attained by constitutional means, if nothing else, it would have moved this nation forward. “The tempo of motion, for me is very reasonable. For me, I would say more than reasonable. But on the human right side, we have to watch very carefully to see if that can be achieved without forfeiting the fundamental human rights of people, which form the basis we derive from citizenship. “I will say, while the human right is respected, governance should move on, which I believe most Nigerians approve. “What is going on now is an exposure of open robbery in their faces, while the government should damn the consequences of its action, with ethical rigor without minding whose ox is gored. “Government, for me, is a very complicated matter and there is a lot of debris to be cleared. Maybe, we need to be a little bit more patient to see what the administration will do.

STB-NEWS:Naira depreciates further to N385/$, N505/£ in parallel market click to read more

The naira on Wednesday depreciated further to N385 per dollar in the parallel market as demand for foreign exchange intensified in the market. This implies the naira has depreciated by N60 against the dollar this week in the parallel market, when compared with the closing exchange rate of N325 per dollar Friday last week. The currency however remained stable at the official inter-bank foreign exchange market as the inter-bank rate closed N199.34. Thus the gap between the inter-bank and parallel market rates widened to N185.66 per dollar from N127.53 Friday last week. STB NEWS investigation also reveals that the naira depreciated against the British Pounds to N505 per pounds in the parallel market implying N65 depreciation

STB-NEWS:Anita finally divorces Oyakhilome

Lawyers to Anita, the former wife of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, the founder of Christ Embassy, have said that she had finalized her divorce to the preacher, adding that she was no longer a part of, or involved in, the church, also known as Believers LoveWorld Inc. Anita Ebhodaghe, formerly Anita Oyakhilome, a pioneer member of Christ Embassy, where she rose to become a pastor, got married to Oyakhilome in 1991, and have two daughters. A statement by her solicitors, Attwaters Jameson Hill, said the divorce was finalized on February 8 and hinted that she had dropped Oyahkilome from her name, while also severing all ties with the church. The statement, published on the United Kingdom-based law firm’s website reads: “We have been requested by Anita