​Kemi Adeosun, Finance minister plays down recession fears

Nigeria’s finance minister on Thursday played down an International Monetary Fund forecast that the country’s growth would shrink this year, seeking to allay fears of recession in Africa ‘s top economy.

The IMF said on Tuesday it expected Nigeria’s economy to contract by 1.8 percent in 2016 after having forecast a 2.3-percent expansion in April.

But Kemi Adeosun said she was “not too worried ” about the prediction, as the world body monitors global trends and had also warned about the impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

“I don’t think we should panic. I think we need to be confident around what we are doing and where we are going,” she told a Senate committee hearing in Abuja.

“I remain extremely confident about Nigeria. The IMF has given their projection, which is that we may continue into negative territory. I’m not sure that what we are seeing suggests that.”

– Recession? Technically –

Nigeria — on paper Africa’s biggest economy — depends on oil sales for 70 percent of government revenue but that has been slashed by low prices worldwide in the last two years.

The situation has complicated the task for the government, which has complained of being left a “virtually empty ” treasury by the previous administration and the theft of vast sums of public money.

It has struggled to pay public sector wages, while the naira currency has weakened, foreign exchange dried up and investment stalled.

The National Bureau of Statistics said this week that inflation rose to 16.5 percent in June — the highest for nearly 11 years — with predictions it could reach 20 percent by the end of the year.

The central bank in May said recession was “imminent” after negative growth in the first quarter of this year. Figures for the second quarter are expected soon.

Asked whether Nigeria was already in recession, Adeosun replied: “Technically. If you go into two quarters of negative growth, technically you are in recession.

“But I don’t think we should dwell on definition. I think we should really dwell on where we are going ,” she added, predicting any recession would be “very short”.

“The policy that we have will ensure that we don’t go below where we need to go ,” she told senators.

– Right direction –

Adeosun said she was encouraged by agricultural output and that despite the high headline inflation year-on-year, the rate had slowed month-on-month.

“That tells you that things are moving in the right direction, ” she added.

Nigeria’s economic woes have been exacerbated by sabotage to oil and gas facilities in the oil-producing south by militants wanting self-determination for the delta region.

That and the forex shortage has hit fuel supplies, driving up costs of imported petrol, diesel and electricity.

But Adeosun said the government decision in May to effectively abandon the fuel subsidy on petrol, which saw prices go up 67 percent per litre, had helped cut government expenditure.

“If you look at what happened in the petroleum sector, before, we were subsidising around 45 million litres of fuel per day and now without subsidy, it has dropped to 26 million litres, ” she said.

“That tells you that all the smuggling that was going out of the country based on the subsidy that we were providing has stopped.

“These are real savings to the economy which we are now re-directing into the essential infrastructure that will keep the economy going .”

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​In Lagos State, Task force arrests 2 women using infants for alms begging

The Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development has rescued three babies and apprehended two women for using the less than a month old babies to beg for alms.

The Commissioner, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf , said that the babies were rescued on Thursday at Oyingbo area of the state.

She said that two women, Hadiza Nosiru and Salamotu Salisu , who were arrested in the process, were natives of Jigawa State.

Akinbile-Yussuf said that the infants were rescued during a routine operation carried out by the ministry’s Rescue Team.

She said that the women had been taken to Rehabilitation and Training Centre at Majidun, Ikorodu for shelter, while investigation was ongoing and possible legal action may be taken.

According to her, the infants were not the biological children of the accused but taken from their parents for use to raise alms for themselves.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that these women are not the biological mothers of the babies.

“The babies were given out to them by their parents who later get paid everyday on each baby,’’ she said.

Akinbile-Yussuf expressed disappointment at what she called the heartless practice of using newborn babies to beg.

She said the practice had denied the babies of proper care, breastfeeding and exposed them to hazards on the streets.

She called on members of the public to join hands with the state government in eradicating the menace.

“The ministry has observed that the incident has been a recurring issue among some female beggars in the state and we promise to pay deeper attention to the issue.

“Necessary legal actions will be taken against the parties involved to serve as deterrent to others and those planning to perpetuate any form of child abuse and inhuman act against innocent children.

“The state government will continue to intensify efforts to get rid of street begging in all areas of the state.

“And we urge individuals willing to show generosity to do so through established orphanages and rehabilitation homes in the state,’’ she said.

Speaking to journalists, one of the biological mothers of the infants, who was paraded at Alausa, Ikeja along with the three infants identified herself as one Tawa Aregbesola from Ibadan.

She also confessed that she had an agreement with one of the women arrest by the team.

Aregbesola said she gave out her baby for alms begging between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily on conditions that the sum of N1,000 or N1,500 be paid her as returns.

Aregbesola, who said she had four other children, claimed that she did not have an idea of where her baby was usually taken to for alms.

She also said she was not aware of the implications of her actions against the innocent new-born.

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• Source: Pulse

​WIJ 2016, ‘Where is investigative journalism in Nigeria?’, Abike Dabiri challenges journalists

She said despite it being tough, she encouraged female journalists to uphold the ethics of the profession at this year’s Women In Journalism conference.

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa has challenged female journalists maintain ethics of their profession.

The former member of the House of Representatives and other notable female journalists stressed the need for ethics and professionalism at this year’s Women In Journalism (WIJ) conference in Lagos on July 21, 2016.

The annual conference at Muson centre was themed “Stand Up for Ethics and Excellence”. It was attended by over 60 female journalists.

In the opening speech, Dabiri-Erewa asked “ where is investigative journalism in Nigeria?”

The former NTA journalist said it seemed as though this form of journalism was no longer being practiced and stories were written were poorly research.

She said despite it being tough, she encouraged female journalists to uphold the ethics of the profession.

“ I spent eight years investigating one case, but at the end of the day I felt fulfilled that I sorted the case.”

Meanwhile renowned journalist Bimbo Oloyede called on journalists to be responsible and efficient in the way they carried out their jobs.

“ People need to rely on you and you should make yourself dependable ”, she said.

“ As a journalist and a woman living in a developing country like Nigeria, you can’t afford to just write for the sake of writing .

“ You have to write so that change happens.”

Also present at the conference hosted by Kris Oro were veteran female journalists TW Magazine Publisher and broadcaster Adesuwa Onyenokwe, TV show host, Agatha Amata , Genevieve Magazine publisher Betty Irabor as well as President of the Nigerian Association of Women in Journalism, Mrs Ifeayinwa Omowole , CNN Nigeria bureau chief

Stephanie Busari , Thomson Reuters TV producer Sharon Ogunleye and Tolu Adeleru Balogun .

Dr Doyin Abiola , Amata, Irabor, Dame

Comfort Obi , Oloyede, Omowole, and Mrs Ibim Semenitari, were among those honoured for their work and contributions to journalism at the event.

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• Source: Pulse

​US Presidential Race, Trump accepts Republican nomination, vows to put “America first”

Donald Trump accused Democratic rivals

Hillary Clinton of a legacy of “death, destruction, terrorism and weakness” as

U.S . secretary of state and vowed to be tough on crime and illegal immigrants in a speech on Thursday accepting the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump’s 75-minute speech was designed to set the tone for the general election campaign against Clinton, an answer to Republicans who say the best way he can unify the divided party is to detail why the Democrat should not be elected on Nov. 8.

As the crowd chanted: “Lock her up” for her handling of U.S. foreign policy, Trump waved them off and said: “Let’s defeat her in November.” Thousands of supporters who were gathered in the convention hall roared their approval.

When it was over, Trump was joined on stage by family members as balloons cascaded from above and confetti blew around the arena.

A CNN snap poll of viewers of the speech said 57 percent had a “very positive reaction” to the address and 18 percent a somewhat positive reaction, while 24 percent said it had a negative effect.

Social media sentiment toward Trump based on tweets that mentioned his name was slightly more negative than positive shortly after his speech.

The acceptance speech by Trump, 70, closed out a four-day convention that underscored his struggle to heal fissures in the Republican Party over his anti-illegal-immigrant rhetoric and concerns about his temperament. The event was boycotted by many big-name establishment Republicans, such as 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and members of the Bush family that gave the party its last two presidents.

Trump presented a bleak view of America under siege from illegal immigrants, threatened by Islamic State militants, hindered by crumbling infrastructure and weakened by unfair trade deals and race-related violence.

Accusing illegal immigrants of taking jobs from American citizens and committing crimes, Trump vowed to build a “great border wall” against the border-crossers.

“We will stop it,” Trump said.

Trump took positions in conflict with traditional Republican policies. He said he would avoid multinational trade deals but instead pursue agreements with individual countries. He would renegotiate the NAFTA trade accord linking the United States, Canada and Mexico. He would penalize companies that outsource jobs and then export their foreign-made products back into the United States.

“We will never sign bad trade deals,” Trump thundered. “America first!”

The New York businessman, who has never held elected office, filled his speech with some of the bravado he used to win the Republican nomination over 16 rivals, punctuating his rhetorical points by waving an index finger.

“I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves,” Trump said. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.”

In his speech, Trump portrayed himself as a fresh alternative to traditional politicians, willing to consider new approaches to vexing problems and help working-class people who may feel abandoned.

Laying out his case against Clinton, he denounced nation-building policies that were actually put in place to some extent by George W. Bush, without mentioning by name the Republican president who launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump said policies pursued by Clinton in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria had made a bad situation worse. He blamed her for the rise of Islamic State militants and blasted her willingness to accept thousands of Syrian refugees.

“After 15 years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before. This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” Trump said.

Clinton senior adviser John Podesta dismissed the speech as painting “a dark picture of an America in decline ” and called it a reminder that Trump “is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be president of the United States.”

John Weaver, a senior adviser to Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich, a former presidential rival to Trump, said in a tweet that Trump had delivered the “saddest, darkest, most depressing acceptance speech in modern history.”

‘THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE’

Trump needed a strong performance on Thursday night to improve his chances of getting a boost in opinion polls as Democrats prepare for their own, more scripted convention next week in Philadelphia.

In a contest that pits two politicians viewed as unfavorable by large segments of the American people, Trump also accused Clinton, 68, of being the puppet of big business, elite media and major donors who want to preserve the current political system.

“That is why Hillary Clinton’s message is that things will never change. My message is that things have to change – and they have to change right now,” Trump said.

Trump said he would speedily address the violence that has dominated headlines, such as the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers earlier this month. He vowed to defeat “the barbarians of ISIS,” the acronym for Islamic State.

“I have a message for all of you: The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on Jan. 20, 2017, safety will be restored,”

Trump said. The next president takes office on Jan. 20.

CONVENTION DISCORD

The prevailing narrative at the Cleveland convention has not been about Trump’s positions, but dominated instead by the failure of he party’s various factions to unite behind Trump.

A series of distractions at the convention largely thwarted a bid by the Trump campaign to show him as a caring father and magnanimous business leader who would bring greater prosperity and safety to the United States.

But in the end, many of these points were made when Ivanka Trump, Trump’s daughter, introduced her father.

“I have seen him fight for his family. I have seen him fight for his employees. I have seen him fight for his company and now I am seeing him fight for our country,” she said.

Trump’s text of his speech, released by his campaign, included extensive footnotes to show where the material originated.

That was perhaps in reaction to the speech given on Monday night by Trump’s wife Melania, who was accused of plagiarism when she repeated lines from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama, Obama’s wife.

A staff writer for the Trump Organization later took responsibility for the misstep.

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• Source: Pulse

​Christine Lagarde, French court rules IMF’s chief must stand trial in Tapie case

France’s highest appeals court ruled on Friday that International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde must stand trial for her role in a 400 million euros ($440 million) payout in 2008 to businessman

Bernard Tapie .

She was French finance minister at the time.

The court rejected her appeal against a judge’s order in December for her to stand trial at the Cour de Justice de la Republique, a special court that tries ministers for crimes in office.

Her lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve expressed regret over the decision and said he was convinced that the trial would show she was innocent.

Lagarde is accused of negligence by improperly signing off on the decision to allow an extremely rare out-of-court arbitration in a dispute between Tapie, a supporter of conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy, and the state.

The arbitration judges later ruled in Tapie’s favour and ordered the state payout to him, but appeals courts have since thrown out the settlement decision.

A Paris appeals court has ordered Tapie to reimburse the state, but the colourful businessman has lodged an appeal, which is still pending.

The case goes back to when Tapie had sued the state for compensation after selling his stake in sports company Adidas to Credit Lyonnais in 1993. He claimed the bank had defrauded him after it later resold his stake for a much higher sum.

Despite the shadow of the case looming over her, Lagarde was appointed in January for a second five-year term as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

($1 = 0.9079 euros)

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• Source: Pulse

​How Romantic! 56 years later, this Nigerian couple still have the hots for each other

Victoria and Lucky Okoloko Ideh have been married for 56 years, having got married in Warri, 1960.

In an age where marriage breakups are gradually becoming a norm, there’s nothing more refreshing than seeing an old couple still in love and able to make each other laugh.

Filmmaker, Onye Ubanutu » chronicles the story of Victoria and Lucky Okoloko Ideh who have been married for 56 years, having wedded in Warri , 1960.

Narrating how they first met, Pa Lucky said they had each visited a club and he was captivated by the way Madam Victoria danced and shook her waist.

He thereafter followed her home and they started dating.

Speaking on what has kept them going, the couple who punctuated their narration with a good deal of banter and humour revealed that it is the love they have for each other, and their children which has kept them together.

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• Source: Pulse

​Prince George, Kensington Palace shares adorable photos of British prince as he clocks 3

Prince George of Cambridge and third in line to the throne is three years old today.

The little boy looks splendid in new photos released by Kensington Palace in honor of his third birthday.

The youngster’s adorable photos were taken at Amner Hall, Prince William and

Kate Middleton ‘s country home.

In the first picture, Prince George sits on a swing staring straight into the camera.

Decked in a light blue shirt with dark blue shorts, British’s royalty can be seen standing atop the swing which has “William and Catherine” etched into it in a other shot.

Dailymail reports the swing was a wedding present to the royal couple.

In the final shot, the happy birthday boy is seen on one knee feeding the family dog Lupo .

The Palace also released a statement on behalf of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

It reads: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share four new photographs of Prince George to mark his third birthday. They were taken by photographer Matt Porteous at their home in Norfolk in mid-July. The Duke and Duchess hope that people will enjoy seeing these new photographs. They would like to thank everyone for all the lovely messages they have received as Prince George celebrates his third birthday.”

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• Source: Pulse