‘They never return to their huts’ — Trump mocks Nigerians in US

President Donald Trump has tongue lashed countries with immigrants in the US, according to a New York Times report.

In a meeting he reportedly attended in June at the Oval Office, Trump was quoted to have said Nigerians refuse to “return to their huts” after seeing America.

He was also quoted to have said immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS”, while describing Afghanistan as a “haven of terrorists.”

Trump was said to be angered by the rising number of immigrants in the US despite his travel bans.

He described this as a mockery to his campaign pledge.

Earlier in the year, he had issued an executive order banning travellers from six Muslim-majority countries from gaining access to the US.

“More than 2,500 were from Afghanistan, a terrorist haven, the president complained,” officials in the meeting reportedly told New York Times.

“Haiti had sent 15,000 people. They all have AIDS.

“Forty thousand had come from Nigeria, Mr. Trump added. Once they had seen the United States, they would never ‘go back to their huts’ in Africa.”

The White House is said to have confirmed the meeting. It, however, denied that Trump used the words “AIDS” or “huts” in referring to people from any country. - Cable Nigeria

Archaic auditing methods costing Nigeria billions, says auditors

The Association of Forensic and Investigative Auditors (AFIA) has attributed the growing incidences  of undetected fraud in the country to archaic auditing methods.

President of the association, Dr (Mrs) Victoria Ayishetu Enape made the disclosure during a training and induction of new members in Abuja.

She specifically cited the case of the missing $20 billion during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to weak and outdated auditing methods which failed to detect the movement of such an amount of money.

To add salt to serious injury, she lamented that billions of Naira was spent to engage foreign auditors to track and investigate the missing money, a development which the country could have avoided if it had certified forensic and investigative auditors with modern tools of detecting fraud.

To bring Nigeria to the global standards, the Senate last week read out a proposed bill to set up the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors.

AFIA is the leading anti-fraud organisation and the premier provider of forensic and investigative audit training in the country.

The proposed Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors in Nigeria Bill which has scaled through first reading at the Senate aims to facilitate the transition from the traditional audit to forensic and investigative audit.

Forensic and investigative audit is a system that ensures objectivity and transparency in advanced audit. It will also engender investors trust and public confidence in the country’s accounting and financial reporting systems.

With the use of preventive forensic mechanisms, the occurrence of fraud and loss of public assets will be largely reduced.

The association is for accountants, auditors, lawyers, police and other security agencies, stock brokers, tax professionals, economists, judicial officers and court registrars, criminologists, computer specialists and bankers.

Dr Enape noted that with fraud costing entities an estimated 60% of their annual revenues, organisations lacking proactive fraud preventive measures were the most vulnerable.

She said that while the regulatory and internal controls measures in reporting requirements “help to lessen the possibilities for falsified activities to take place, history has shown that indigenous employees could manipulate even the best control systems for personal gain.”

She explained that forensic and investigative auditors were trained with advanced auditing knowledge which enables them to see and detect what Statutory Auditors cannot see.

The president called on the government to patronise indigenous forensic auditors to grow Nigeria by ensuring the speedy passage of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors in Nigeria Bill, which is currently at the Senate.

According to her, “our work is to prevent, detect and put in place some measures to stop the wrong from taking place in future, through the use of science and technology. This implies that after training of members they will be equipped with advanced audit skills that enables them find out who, what, where, why, when and how the wrong took place.”

She added that forensic and investigative auditors “will put together and implement the right systems and meaningful controls to prevent internal and external fraud from happening again,” she said.

The AFIA boss said that forensic auditors looked beyond figures in financial statement as they focus on investigating the inadequacies and shortcomings in the existing financial system and tackling them.

“In the past 10 years, the number of reported cases of fraud and corruption has continued to grow radically across regions. Compounding these are the challenges faced by the audit team and a general lack of the necessary skills set to collect right audit evidence so critical to criminal investigations.”

Enape said that if government desires to eradicate corruption and prevent fraud, then it must join hands with the association to make sure that the Forensic and Investigative Audit Bill is passed.

She said that the money that would be saved by blocking corruption leakages would be enough to take the country out of under-development, employ youths, build hospitals and roads for the people. - The Nation

Mega city : Fares increased at Lekki toll gate, Ikoyi link bridge

The Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) says from January 1, 2018, motorists using the toll gate at the Victoria Island end of the Lekki-Epe expressway and Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge would have to pay more money.

Currently, cars are levied N120, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) N150 and commercial buses N80 at the toll gate, while cars pay N250 and SUVs, N300 at the bridge.

At a press briefing in Lagos, Mohammed Hassan, managing director of LCC, said the charges were no longer sustainable as a result of the “current business realities and increasing cost of operation”.

Hassan said toll review was agreed on after series of engagements with the various stakeholders plying the Lekki Peninsula corridor.

“Since the commencement of tolling in December 2011, the toll tariffs had remained the same despite the continuous increase in the cost of operations to ensure that the toll plazas and the road infrastructure are well maintained,” he said.

“The toll review has also become necessary to enable the company meet its loan obligations to its local and foreign lenders, considering the fact that foreign exchange rates have continued to increase astronomically in the last couple of years.

“LCC cannot continue to operate or provide the services required from us if we do not review the toll tariffs”.

Reacting to the new toll review, Taofeek Oluwa, chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Eti-Osa local government, said members would support the arrangement provided the increase is not substantial.

“As long as LCC honours its agreement to peg commercial bus toll fare at N100 from the N80 we previously paid, we can confidently support LCC by assuring that our people will not suffer any increase in the fare paid to board commercial buses coming into or going out of the Lekki-Epe axis,” he said. - Cable Nigeria

Jose : Childish display blew 'easy' Leicester match

Man United put on a "childish" display in their 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City on Saturday, according to manager Jose Mourinho.

Harry Maguire scored a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser to dent United's fading title hopes, leaving them 13 points adrift of leaders Manchester City – the biggest Christmas margin between first and second in top-flight history.

The leveller, which cancelled out Juan Mata's earlier double, came with United defender Chris Smalling carrying an injury for the closing stages.

"We were punished by our mistakes. What more can I say?" Mourinho told Sky Sports.

"I would say it was childish loss of possession, so easy. And then you are punished in the end.

"At the end we showed no maturity. Because Smalling was in trouble, he comes out of the game, and they put Maguire as an extra man.

"The players on the pitch cannot react to that, analyse the game and make a quick adjustment.

"So I think childish in their box and childish in our box.

"We were punished at two points in an easy match to win."

United looked particularly exposed for the opener, when Jamie Vardy applied the finish after Riyad Mahrez had raced on to a long Wilfred Ndidi pass from deep.

"The midfield players didn't control the space between the lines, [Phil] Jones had to jump into an area that is not his and then the ball goes to the side and it is difficult to recover," added the Portuguese. 

"But the team was playing well and kept the composure and equalised before half-time and in the second half, as we all know, the result should be four, five or six, but the reality is that it's 2-2.

"Sometimes you make mistakes and you are not punished by that, but we were punished."

 Mourinho claimed afterwards that he felt the match at the King Power Stadium was an "easy" one to win and had said as much to his players at half-time, when the scores were locked at 1-1.- Goal

Legal action over whether the UK can reverse Brexit gets go ahead

Scotland's highest civil courts is to hear a legal action to establish whether the UK could reverse Brexit without needing agreement from Brussels.

The case has been raised by seven pro-Europe MPs, MEPs and MSPs from four parties in Scotland.

They want to ask the Court of Session in Edinburgh to refer the issue to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for a ruling on whether the UK can change its mind and halt the Article 50 process without the approval of the other 27 member states if voters decide the final deal is unacceptable.

The Scottish court could choose to throw out the argument, or agree to pass it on to the ECJ. A crowdfunding campaign to pay for the cross-party group’s legal costs has already passed its £50,000 target.  

It said in a recent statement that many experts believe the UK can choose to stay in the EU without permission, but the only way to be sure is for a court to decide what Article 50 means.

The statement added: “And because Article 50 must mean the same thing to everyone, a national court can’t give the answer.

“Only the specialist European Court in Luxembourg can interpret Article 50 definitively. So we will ask the Court of Session in Scotland to ‘refer’ it to Luxembourg. This is the only way to give our Parliament the best negotiating hand. To maximise its power if the right choice is to stick with what we have.”

The petition will now be served on the UK Government, which has 21 days to respond.

The signatories are Christine Jardine, a Lib Dem MP, the SNP MP Joanna Cherry, David Martin and Catherine Stihler, Scottish Labour MEPs, Andy Wightman and Ross Greer, both Scottish Green MSPs, and the SNP MEP, Alyn Smith.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said this week that any decision to abandon Brexit needed agreement from all 27 states.

But Jolyon Maugham QC, who is coordinating the legal action through his campaign group the Good Law Project, told the Guardian he believed there was a clear case for giving the UK parliament the right to unilaterally cancel Brexit.

The case also received a boost from Jean-Claude Piris, former head of the EU council’s legal service, who wrote on Twitter this week that Article 50 was based on the principle that withdrawing from the EU was a unilateral decision and nobody could force a state to leave.

In its response to an initial letter on the planned action, the UK Government denied it had formally supported M Barnier’s stance that the article 50 process could not be stopped unilaterally.

The office of the advocate general, the UK government’s Scottish law officer, said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the public position we do recognise having taken is that the stated and consistent position of the government has been, and is, that the UK’s notification under article 50 (2) will not be withdrawn. This is clearly long established and consistent and discloses no basis for legal challenge.” - The Telegraph

Man city boss feels sorry for title rivals

Pep Guardiola says he feels sorry for Manchester City's rivals but insists the Premier League title race is not yet over.

Manchester City are 11 points clear at the top of the table ahead of Saturday's game against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium and they looking to extend their record-breaking winning run to 17 matches.

Asked if he felt sympathy for the other teams in the top six he said: "Of course. Did you listen to me in the 18 months I have been here? Not a bad word have I said about my opponents.

"United and Chelsea are making enough points to be champions. Chelsea have played ten, won eight, drawn one and lost just one. Those are numbers to be champions.

"United are the same. They are having an amazing season. That is why I say it is not over.

"It is not over because one draw or loss could change things and we still aren't halfway through. I have a lot of respect for the others."

City's 16-match winning streak in the Premier League began with a 2-1 win at Bournemouth in August although they needed a 97th-minute winner from Raheem Sterling to take all three points.

Guardiola accepts the run will come to an end one day but he is hoping it will not be for a while yet. "We are going to fight to continue to be unbeaten," he added.

"That is going to happen, we will be beaten. But we are going to fight to be unbeaten.

"There is no doubt that about that because of the way we played at Leicester, the way we played against Tottenham and Swansea. The players showed me they are still hungry to win another game." - Sky Sports

UK reveals those responsible for education backwardness in Northern Nigeria

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Wednesday blamed northern leaders for their lack of commitment to the development of primary education in the region.

Dr. Mikhail Ibrahim, the Project Coordinator of Reading and Numeracy Activity (RANA) which is an imprint of DFID, made this known at a reading festival organised for primary school pupils on reading and numeracy activities in Gusau, Zamfara State.

He said: “due to the lack of commitment of northern leaders and support for basic education, the region has remained backward in education and this poses challenges for its development.

“It is in view of the need to redress the ugly trend that RANA initiated a three-year programme for using the mother tongue as the language of instruction in Primary 1-3 in Zamfara and Katsina States.”

According to Ibrahim, “the reading festival was designed for public primary schools with the goal of improving literacy and numeracy outcomes for learners, especially girls by developing Hausa language teaching and learning materials, build teacher capacity, mobilise communities as well as engage local government councils.” - Daily Post

Buhari xmas gift !!! Ibadan residents resort to trekking as litre of petrol sells between N150- N250

Some residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital have resorted to trekking, even at a long distance due to the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit also known as Petrol and the high rate of transport fares.

This is as a result of the nationwide scarcity of petrol which goes between N150 and 250 in some parts of the ancient city.

DAILY POST correspondent who went round the city on Thursday and Friday observed hundred of commuters trekking long distance due to scarcity of vehicles and commercial motorcycles in many parts of the city.

Many bus stops within the city are currently flooded with commuters who were stranded as they waited endlessly to no avail.

Transport fare that goes for N100 from Mokola to Ojoo is now between 200 and 250. The one from Gate to UI is now N150-N200 instead of N100. From Ajibode Junction to Ojoo is now N50 instead of N20. This applied to other areas visited by DAILY POST on Friday.

This according to some of them made those who can trek to resort to such in areas such as Ajibode, Apete, UI, Ojoo, Secretariat, Ogunpa, Dugbe and Mokola among oth

Many filling stations that were partially selling the product on Tuesday and Wednesday were under lock and key when our correspondent visited them on Thursday and Friday.

Those that were selling were doing so between 150 and 250.

A resident of Ologun-Eru told DAILY POST on Friday that some of the petrol stations selling the product in his area were selling between 150 and 185 per litre.

The scarcity has also afforded some youths in areas such as Mokola, Sabo and Ajibode to turn the situation in making brick business by selling 4-5 litres of Petrol at the rate of N1500- N3000 depending on the bargaining power of the prospective buyer.

A resident of Ajibode who begged not to be mentioned informed that he had spent many hours at a petrol station on Thursday to no avail but had to go out as early as 6.am to search for the product.

Another resident of Ibadan who spoke with DAILY POST noted that though the petrol is still sell at the normal price in his area, but it will take one about 5 hours before he can get the product.

He said, “They are still selling at the normal price of N140. But it is a very long queue, you will spend up to five hours before you get it.

“But those selling black market, they sell four litres for N1500.

A cross section of those who also spoke with our correspondent appealed to the government to find a lasting solution to the persistent problem. - Daily Post

Bloody clash averted as soldier slaps policeman at ATM terminal

A mild drama occurred at a commercial bank in Gusau, Sokoto, as a bloody clash was averted weekend after a soldier slapped policeman attached to the bank.

The scenario also led to gun shots forcing customers on queue and passers bye to scamper for safety.

The Nation Newspaper reports that an eyewitness said the incident occurred near the bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) when the soldier tried to evade the queue and other customers complained to security agents attached to the bank for intervention.

The witness said: “On coming to find out what was going on, the soldier slapped the policeman ‎who immediately alerted his colleagues.

“Within minutes, everywhere was tensed and gun shots rented the air which dispersed all of us away.

“Within minutes a sizeable number of policemen appeared at the scene and some military men including three military officers and a military policeman arrived the scene with vehicles to douse the tension and took the soldier away.”

Police IG : SARS personnel to undergo mental test

As part of measures to reform SARS, the Inspector General of Police  (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, yesterday disclosed that personnel of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad  (SARS) would undergo mental test.

He explained that the test is to ascertain their level of preparedness on the field which would reduce cases of extrajudicial killings.

The police chief, who also warned them not delve into civil matters, added that failure to comply with the new directives would attract adequate sanction.

The IG spoke yesterday in Abuja during a lecture with the field commanders of SARS from various parts of the country.

The police boss also said the Deputy Inspector General of Police  (DIG), Operations, would now lead SARS as the Strategic Commander.

On the mental test, Idris said: “As part of ways to reform SARS, psychometric test, training and continous assessment of operatives deployed to SARS to determine the suitability or otherwise of their role in keeping with acceptable standard operating procedure would be conducted”.

As a way to curtail their excesses, the police chief also said the personnel would now operate in official uniforms which would be clearly marked for easy identification.

Reading some Riot Act to the commanders, Idris said: “SARS operatives are prohibited from acting as bodyguards, delving into land matters, personal disputes, disputes, debt collection and matters that are considered civil.

“You are also prohibited from conducting stop and search on roads unless when necessary and you can only embark on operations only on the permission of the CP in charge of SARS, Deputy Commissioners and ACPs, Operations, in the commands they are answerable to.” - The Nation

Land of scammers !!! Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu, Bankole, Others Get 21 days To Forfeit Official Houses They Illegally Bought For Cheap

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, former Speaker of the House of Reps Dimeji Bankole, and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius Katsina-Alu, have been given 21 days to forfeit their residences to the federal government. 

The government, through the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property chaired by Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, issued the quit notice on Thursday to the three as well as former Deputy Speaker and current Senator Usman Bayero Nafada, sources said.

The Panel had in September issued a similar quit notice to former Senate President David Mark to which he had since filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja to quash all the steps taken to evict him and recover the house from him by the panel.

The panel said the five of them illegally acquired their then-official residences as their private properties.

Daily Trust recalls that former President Goodluck Jonathan had in November 2010 reportedly gave leave to the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, to “purchase” their official quarters.

“The Senate President’s residence was sold to David Mark for N748 million; Speaker, House of Representatives’ residence was sold to Hon Dimeji Bankole for N670 million; while Deputy Senate President residence was sold to Senator Ike Ekweremadu for N458 million.

“Deputy Speaker House of Representatives residence was sold to Senator Nafada for N348.5 million, and they were all sold without competitive bidding contrary to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act especially Section 15 thereof”, one of the sources said, adding that the residence of Justice Katsina-Alu was sold to him at N45million.

Another source said former President Jonathan had directed that the sale of the property should be gazetted in the Federal Government Gazette in his minute in a memo sent to him by the then minister of the FCT Senator Bala Muhammad dated 18 November 2010, but that was not done. 

“A gazette is a notice to the whole world of the position of the government on any issue and since there was a prevailing gazette that the house bought by the plaintiff (referring to David Mark) should not be sold under Government monetization policy, the Gazette would have superseded the previous one.

“So the previous gazette prevails since the sale was not gazetted. That alone has vitiated the sale. Secondly, the sale is against the public procurement Act which provides any contract for a good and service must be through competitive bidding. The sale was not through competitive bidding,” he said.

He added that the houses which were not ordinary houses but institutional houses to principal officers of the National Assembly and the Executive had no right in the first place to given order for the houses to be sold. - Daily Trust