FG Stops Issuing Licenses For New Vehicle Assembly Plants

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has declared that the Federal Government has suspended the issuance of licenses for now vehicle assembly plants.

The Director General of the Council, Mr Aminu Jalal made this known in a statement he issued on Friday.

He said the decision would help the Council consolidate the existing vehicle assembly operations and focus on developing local content.

Jalal noted that those investig in Original Equipment Manufacturing are not affected by the order as OEM licenses are still being issued.

“The major objective of the National Automotive Industry Development Plan is to bring back Completely Knocked Down (CKD) automotive assembly and develop local content.

“NADDC is investing over N5 billion to establish automotive test centres that will ensure that the vehicles and components meet international safety and environmental standards.“The response to the policy so far has exceeded our expectations. The current status of implementation of the policy is that 14 existing assembly plants started assembling new products (cars, SUV, buses, pick-up trucks) in 2014," he said.

He identified the 14 plants as Volkswagen of Nigeria (VON), Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, ANAMMCO, Leyland-Busan, NTM, Steyr, Nissan,  Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Shacman, MAN Diesel, and Ashok-Leyland.

The statement also disclosed that some other companies that have been licensed to manufacture automobiles are in the process of setting up their plants.

“Eleven new companies, including Century Auto (Toyota), TATA, Coscharis Auto(FORD, Joylong, Dongfeng) and Dana Motors (Renault) have been given bona-fide manufacturing status and are on track to start assembly operations this year.

“Our emphasis has now shifted to the development of automotive local content.

“Sites for automotive supplier parks in excess of 400 square hectares have been acquired across Nigeria and effort is ongoing to acquire more.”

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Reggae Icons Back Buhari's Anti Corruption Crusade

Some veteran reggae artists in Nigeria have lent their voices to President Buhari’s fight against corruption, promising to produce quality lyrics with enduring messages to support him.

The artists Ras Kimono, Orits Wiliki and Mandator Victor Eshiet were at the Lagos office of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN on Friday to express their support for Buhari.

According to Ras Kimono,
“We were the only voices and the governments were our enemies. We don’t take government as our enemies but we take them as people who take us for a ride.

“In fact, when I see these people gather themselves in Abuja and give themselves awards, they don’t remember that they are the people that we’ve been fighting for years?

“And they embrace themselves, they are happy saying I have served the nation,in what way? What we’ve done, we, Fela, what we’ve done in this country, and Majek, is a huge thing.

“But today, who are the people that are benefiting? We pounded South Africa with music, with everything, but today who are going to South Africa to shoot videos now?

“We are the foundation that started to preach and talk about corruption and take on the authorities, apart from Fela.’’

Kimono also lamented the poor quality of music currently dominating the nation's airwaves.

“Some of them are playing Dancehall, when you play Dancehall and DJ, you talk about anything; profanity goes, drink goes, you can sing any jargon, it goes.

“But when you are playing Reggae music, Reggae carries consciousness and the youth are afraid to even speak about consciousness.

“Because they are afraid when you’re speaking consciousness you don’t make money, you are enemy to the authorities.

“The youth of nowadays don’t wanna go through that, the youth of nowadays want money; they want all the good things of life.

“If we follow that suit, yeah we will be making money. Reggae musicians we don’t make money, but we are not complaining, we still are content, whatever God gives us, we give thanks.

“They want the good things; they want the fame, they want the drink, they want the women, everything on top gear,they want to live in highbrow places.

“We live in the ghetto; we live in the neighbourhood where we see things happening every day.

“Where you see that next door neighbour who doesn’t have N50 to buy a loaf of bread, so we can talk about it.

“Not that we don’t want to live in Ajah or Lekki, but we want to live and see what people are going through and sing about it.”

Orits Wiliki stressed the need to improve the quality of music in Nigeria and restore showmanship to performances.

His words ;
“And so we want to come out and say, now that things are going down, we want to take charge as the founding members to say no, children, this is the right way to go to mentor them in the art of showmanship.
“Rather than calling DJ track one, track two, you must get a band; you must at least practice to play one or two instruments to be able to call yourself a musician because that is the only reason why you can last long.

“If you are just a DJ track one, in one or two albums you are out and so we want to be able to teach them that when you come to live concert, people who come to live concert are looking for one thing, showmanship.”

Victor Eshiet asserted that reggae musicians started the fight against corruption. He called on Buhari's new ministers to justify their appointments.

The three reggae music icons are currently promoting their upcoming event tagged  “Africa Meets Reggae International World Music Festival’’, which will hold in Lagos from Nov. 27 - 28.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, over 30 artists from across the world will perform at the event.

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Goodluck Jonathan In Tears As He Mourns "Elder Brother" Alamieyeseigha

Former President Goodluck Jonathan broke down in tears on Friday as he visited the Yenagoa home of late ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha..

In an emotion laden voice, Jonathan pledged his indebtedness to the late Governor - General of Ijaw land without whom he said the world would not have known about him.

Jonathan said that by the death of Alamieyeseigha whom he served as Deputy Governor from 1999 to 2005, he had lost an elder brother.

His words ;
“It is sad. I directly worked as a deputy governor to Alamieyeseigha. I knew Alamieyeseigha during the UNCP days when we were working for him.

“I never knew I was going to be his deputy because that was not my interest then. From that time, the political evolution in the country and the state brought me to work with him.

“And from 1999, we have been together. He always took me as his younger brother. Our relationship was not that of a governor and a deputy but it was that of a younger brother and an elder brother.”

Jonathan was accompanied on the condolence visit by Bayelsa State Governor Mr. Seriake Dickson, his deputy, John Jonah, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Edmund Allison-Oguru and other government officials and elder statesmen.

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1 Suspect Arrested As Police Rescue 3 Abducted Kogi Polytechnic Students.

The Kogi State Police Command has rescued three students of the Kogi State Polytechnic who were abducted during an evening Christian fellowship program.

The State's Commissioner of Police, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu who paraded one of the Kidnappers before newsmen in Lokoja on Friday said that the students were rescued after three days in captivity.

He said that the students, Ayodele Ojo , Isaac Oaikhena and Sefiat Musa were rescued from the kidnappers’ hideout along Gadabiu-Kabba Junction Obajana road without paying a dime out of the N20 million ransom demanded for their release.

He said that one of the kidnappers, Ibrahim Jibo was arrested on Thursday when he came to collect the ransom money at a prearranged location and is already helping the police to trace his accomplices.

The students who were abducted on October 14th at the Osara campus of the Polytechnic said that the kidnappers started to maltreat them when the twenty million naira ransom they demanded was not forthcoming.

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I Won't Resign If I Fail To Defeat Boko Haram By December - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has once again restated his determination to defeat Boko Haram Islamist insurgents by December 2015.

Speaking with Aljazeera's Mehdi Hasan on their flagship current affairs program, "Up Front", President Buhari reiterated his belief that Boko Haram would be defeated by the end of the year.

He said ;
“As soon as the dry season comes, which is by the end of the year […] Boko Haram will virtually be out of their main stronghold and that will be the end of it [….] Attacks by Boko Haram on townships, on military installations, will certainly stop.”

When asked if he would resign if Boko Haram is not defeated by December, Buhari said that he would stay to fight on.

“I will be determined to stay and fight it out,” he said.

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Consumer Protection Council Carts Away Computers, Documents From DStv Office

Men of the Consumer Protection Council on Thursday raided the office of Dstv in furtherance of their investigation into subscribers complaints against the satellite television company.

The team was led by the Director of Legal Services, Mr Emmanuel Ataguba.

The CPC said that it launched its investigation into the activities of DStv following a barrage of complaints of customer rights violations.

It added that its action was in
accordance with Section 15 of its enabling law, which empowers it to “open and examine while on the premises, any container or package, which could help the course of its investigation as well as examine any book, document or other records found on the premises that may contain any information relevant to the enforcement of its Act.”

The CPC said that the allegations against DStv "include poor quality of service, such as incessant disruption of service without compensation, wrongful disconnection of service during subsisting subscriptions, decoder swap irregularities and poor redress mechanism and customer service."

Sources at DStv disclosed that the CPC officials left with laptop computers and vital documents belonging to the company.

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FG Probes Agencies Remitting Dollar Revenues In Naira

The Federal Government is presently investigating some of its agencies remitting the naira equivalents of what they earned in US dollars into the Federation Account.

The list of agencies under investigation include but not limited to Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC ; Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA  and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.

The agencies are accused of generating revenues in United States dollars and remitting same in naira to the Federal Government.

This was disclosed to newsmen by Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade at the end of the National Economic Council meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Prof Ayade said that the Central Bank of Nigeria was handling the investigation of the agencies.

His words ;
“A brief report of Federal Government of Nigeria dollar generating revenue agencies remitting in naira into the Federation Account was also given by the CBN governor. He said investigations are ongoing. Such agencies include but not limited to NNPC, NIMASA and NPA."

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