By Mustapha Yauri

A group supporting the election campaign of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, says it is set to mobilise 15 million votes from the 120,000 polling units across Nigeria.

The Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) said it would ensure that Abubakar got the projected votes using members of the group, appointed as polling unit canvassers; and drawn from the 120, 000 polling booths across the country.

The Director General of NYM, Chief Ovat Ayabom, stated this on Monday in Abuja when he received campaign materials from the wife of PDP Presidential Candidate, Mrs Jamila Atiku Abubakar, through her manager, Mr Godwin Etim.

The materials included T-shirts, campaign fliers and posters for distribution to the National and State coordinators of NYM.

According Ayabom, the group has a very strong presence in all the polling units.

He said each of the 25 members in a polling unit, had been directed to evangelise, convince and ensure five persons voted for Abubakar on election day.

He said acting on the directive of the NYM Patron, Mrs Abubakar, 13 support groups had been collapsed into NYM for better performance and to ensure a wider campaign coverage and mobilisation.

The future looks very promising and will no doubt be in favour of Atiku, he noted.
In her response, the wife of the presidential hopeful, who was represented by Etim, thanked members of the NYM for their unflinching support for her husband.

She assured them that he would keep his promises to Nigerians; and would never forget those that supported him on his way to victory.

Mrs Abubakar urged the Director General of the group to ensure transparent and equitable distribution of the materials, pledging that more were on the way.

Source: NAN

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Madrid on Tuesday to appear in court for tax fraud charges dating back to his time with Real Madrid.

The date with the tax man may have weighed heavily in Ronaldos mind on Monday as he missed a penalty for Juventus, although the Italian league leaders eased past bottom club Chievo 3-0 to pull nine points clear on top of Serie A.

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo had sealed Juventuss first title of the season a record eighth Italian Super Cup trophy against AC Milan last Wednesday.

But the 33-year-old was off-form in the first league game after the three-week winter break.

The five-time Ballon dOr winner missed numerous chances to score with Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino denying him a 15th league goal this season from the spot after 53 minutes.

But Juventus eased past Chievo with Douglas Costa and Emre Can scoring in the first half and Daniele Rugani heading in a third six minutes from time.

Chievo started their season with a 3-2 defeat to Juventus in Verona but ended 2018 with their first win and would have been in front of Frosinone had they not been deducted three points for false accounting.

They had lost just one of the previous eight games holding Napoli, Lazio and Inter.

Brazilian winger Costa scored the first with an impressive solo run from midfield after 13 minutes for his first league goal of the season.

Ronaldos appearance in court may be a mere formalty as earlier reports said he had agreed to pay 16.7 million euros to the Spanish tax man as final settlement of his tax liablities.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Festus Keyamo on his 49birthday and commended him for having earned the highest place and esteem in the legal profession through his defence of the rights of ordinary Nigerians.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, said the president made the commendation in a message of congratulations which he personally signed and addressed to Keyamo on Monday.

Buhari thanked the Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council for bringing these qualities to bear on the ongoing campaign for elections.

The congratulatory message had the headline: Happy Birthday, Festus.

I write to heartily congratulate you on your 49th birthday, today.

The story of your life has always been to speak up for the masses of our country and at critical times in the life of our nation. You have also used law as an instrument to achieve these goals.

This has rightly earned you the highest place and esteem in your profession as Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

As you apply these qualities in helping to CHANGE this nation through our campaigns, I pray that God Almighty will continue to bless you and grant you long life and good health, the President said.

He wished Keyamo a Happy Birthday.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has sympathised with those that sustained injuries following the collapse of a pavilion at the massively-attended campaign rally in Maiduguri, Borno.

Tens of party men and women who wanted a vantage view of the speakers at the rally climbed on roofs of the pavilions, one of which came down crashing on other spectators.

A statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Monday, stated that the president, who expressed sadness over the incident, prayed for the quick recovery of the affected persons.

President Buhari said: I am shocked to hear about the many who suffered injury following the tragic incident at the stadium this afternoon in Maiduguri. May Allah heal all those that were injured.

I understand that the Borno State government, the Red Cross and other aid agencies are taking steps to help affected people. May Allah heal the injured, he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Buhari had on Monday launched his re-election bid in Maiduguri and Damaturu, Borno and Yobe states respectively, with a pledge to improve on the gains recorded in the security sector.

The President, who addressed mammoth crowd at both venues, assured the people of the two states that his re-election for a second term would provide him with the opportunity to build on his previous achievements.

According to him, only the people of Borno and Yobe states are in a better position to assess whether there are improvements in the security sector or not.

The president also pledged the commitment of his administration in building a robust economy that would provide employment opportunities for Nigerians

Source: NAN

The Federal Government said it has released N163 billion to the universities from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), but striking academics are stalling in calling off their strike.

Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, said this while addressing newsmen after a closed door reconciliatory meeting with leaders of Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the striking lecturers embarked on strike on Nov. 5, 2018, to press home their demands.

ASUU demands included some areas of understanding in the implementation of the Memorandum of Action agreed in 2017.

Some of these areas include shortfall in salaries of some Federal Universities workers and lecturers, earned allowances, revitalisation that were part of the 2009 agreement, among others.

According to Ngige, today we have agreed to fund revitalisation.

Government has released about N163 billion from TETFund account to universities.

So, we have gotten some substantial agreement in most of the areas of the agreement.

Most of the issues have being resolved, so they are going to go back to their members and present governments offer to their council, he said.

Ngige also said that the striking lecturers were not asking for N50 billion before they would call off the strike.

He, however, added that if the total amount of the unions demand was aggregated it would be more than the N50 billion as the government was paying in different compartments.

These are debts of 2009, owed by the past administration, that is 2009 to 2012, so it is not our own debt and we have been doing a lot to settle these debts.

So, we will be reconvening at the instance of ASUU. They said they want to go and consult with their members and they cannot call off the strike without consulting with their members, he said.

Earlier, the minister had said that President Muhammadu Buhari had mandated him to ensure that all issues concerning the ongoing strike in the university system were resolved.

The president has directed me to pass the night here until all issues that have kept our children away from schools are resolved and strike called off.

He has also directed me to impress upon you, the imperative of little sacrifice from all sides, knowing fully well that the revenue of the federation has dwindled from what it was before the present administration assumed office, he said.

Ngige further said President Buhari was greatly worried about the situation in the university system, hence his steady and holistic approach to tackling the rot through adequate funding.

Mr president told me to assure you of his determination to reposition our universities as he would do everything possible to cast the present challenges in our tertiary education to dustbin of history.

Also, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU President, said that there were still some grey areas in the proposal presented by the Federal Government.

He said the union would look at the grey areas and would get back to the government.

The most critical area is the revitalisation, because it is central to our work, as academics and unless that area is addressed our members will have issues with ongoing action.

We also did not ask for N50 billion, we are saying that the minimum we expect government to release in order to reactive the revitalisation fund is N50 billion.

So, the strike is still on, he said.

Source: NAN

If we fail to communicate, we fail to tell others our existence and our being. It doesn't really matter then whether we have the freedom of speech or not. Those of us who are good communicators are recognized and are generally appreciated for their ability in an unbiased environment.

In a biased environment, it is needed even more to avoid barriers and miscommunications that can be fatal for our professional lives and careers in particular. It is now known for a fact that top slots in any organization require effective communication skills. While technical skills or knowledge about our own area or subject takes us forward to a certain extent; effective communicators carry the clay and of course the dream job or the coveted promotion that everybody was eyeing for.

Organizations need leader to steer them -and the role of communication skills in leadership has been acknowledged universally. The most revered leaders in the human history are the ones with high level competency in communication. We all have certain leadership roles in our own domains. Teachers' role as leaders, who develop nations, are the celebrated ones, universally; just imagine a teacher who fails to communicate what they actually wanted to in any setting, but particularly in a classroom. It surely would be a great opportunity lost; to say the least.

The role of communication in relationships can hardly be over stressed.

It is an established fact that our quality of relationship is directly dependent on our quality of communication.

Our effective communication can enhance our understanding of people and people's understanding of ourselves, which in return allows our relations to flourish and prosper.

I have a question for you; Do you love your mother more than your father? The response would vary; though my experience has been that Moms tend to win this one particularly.

The reasons could be different but "expression of love and care" are the reasons mostly accounted for Moms being voted as the favorites, link this "expression of love and care" with communication. How well you have "communicated' your appreciation and love for your parents? More importantly let me ask you how do you or would you "communicate" your love to your parents or your loved ones? This question is meant to make you conscious and make you reflect on your personal communication styles that you "unknowingly" might be using to communicate and receive different responses from what you were expecting.

Consciousness helps to alter your communication style according to different communication situations.

When you communicate with your relations, It would increase what you know of your relationship with them. In my discussions, this question has always generated a lot of interest and varied responses. Honestly answer the above question on how well you have communicated your appreciation and love for your parents (for the simple reason that our parents love us) and you would know "why it's important to communicate" and for that you need to know about communication.

As teachers we consider ourselves "spiritual parents". As spiritual parents how well have we been able to communicate our care to our students and how? How can we better communicate with them is the focus. The better the communication, the better would be their understanding of you and resultantly of your subject. Try it! You will be amazed by the results.

Below is a list of Banks, financial institutions and money service providers in Nigeria.

ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK
ACCESS BANK PLC
AccessMobile
ACCION MICROFINANCE BANK
ADDOSSER MICROFINANCE BANK
AG MORTGAGE BANK PLC
AL-BARAKAH MICROFINANCE BANK
AMJU UNIQUE MICROFINANCE BANK
AMML MFB
ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS

Boctrust Microfinance Bank
BOWEN MICROFINANCE BANK
BRENT MORTGAGE BANK
CELLULANT
CEMCS MICROFINANCE BANK
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
ChamsMobile
CIT MICROFINANCE BANK
Citibank Nigeria LTD
CONSUMER MICROFINANCE BANK
CONTEC GLOBAL INFOTECH LIMITED (NOWNOW)
Coronation Merchant Bank
Covenant
CREDIT AFRIQUE MICROFINANCE BANK
DAYLIGHT MICROFINANCE BANK
DIAMOND BANK PLC
Eartholeum
ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC
EcoMobile
EKONDO MICROFINANCE BANK
EMPIRE TRUST BANK
eTranzact
FAST MICROFINANCE BANK
FBN Mortgages Limited
FBNMobile
FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited
FET
FFS MICROFINANCE BANK
FIDELITY BANK PLC
Fidelity Mobile
FidFund MFB
FINATRUST MICROFINANCE BANK
FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC
FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC
FIRST ROYAL MICROFINANCE BANK
FLUTTERWAVE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Fortis Microfinance Bank
FSDH MERCHANT BANK LIMIT
GATEWAY MORTGAGE BANK
GOWANS MFB
GREENBANK MICROFINANCE BANK
GTMobile
Haggai Mortgage Bank Limited
HASAL MICROFINANCE BANK
Hedonmark
HERITAGE BANK
HIGHSTREET MICROFINANCE BANK
IBILE MFB
IMPERIAL HOMES MORTGAGE BANK
INFINITY MICROFINANCE BANK
INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK
Innovectives Kesh
Intellifin
JAIZ BANK PLC
JUBILEE LIFE MORTGAGE BANK
KEYSTONE BANK
KongaPay
LAGOS BUILDING INVESTMENT COMPANY
MALACHY MICROFINANCE BANK
Microcred Microfinance Bank Nigeria Ltd
MICROVIS MICROFINANCE BANK
Mkudi
MONEY TRUST MICROFINANCE BANK
MoneyBox
MUTUAL TRUST MICROFINANCE BANK
NDIORAH MICROFINANCE BANK
New Prudential Bank
NIGERIA INTERBANK SETTLEMENT SYSTEM
NIP Virtual Bank
NOVA MERCHANT BANK LTD
NPF Microfinance Bank
OHAFIA MFB
OKPOGA MICROFINANCE BANK
Omoluabi Savings and Loans Plc
ONE FINANCE
PAGA
Page MFBank
PARALLEX MFB
Parkway-ReadyCash
PayAttitude Online
PAYCOM
PECANTRUST MICROFINANCE BANK
Personal Trust Microfinance Bank
PETRA MICROFINANCE BANK
PLATINUM MORTGAGE BANK
POLARIS BANK LTD (SKYE BANK PLC)
PROVIDUS BANK
RAHAMA MICROFINANCE BANK
RAND MERCHANT BANK
REGENT MFB
RELIANCE MICROFINANCE BANK
RICHWAY MICROFINANCE BANK
Safetrust Mortgage bank
SAGAMU MICROFINANCE BANK LTD
SEED CAPITAL MICROFINANCE BANK
STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC
STANBIC MOBILEMONEY
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK NIGERIA LTD
STERLING BANK PLC
Sterling Mobile
SunTrust Bank
TCF
TeasyMobile
TRIDENT MICROFINANCE BANK
TRUSTBOND MORTGAGE BANK
UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC
UNITY BANK PLC
Verite Microfinance Bank
VFD MICROFINANCE BANK
VISA MICROFINANCE BANK
Visual ICT 
VTNetworks
WEMA BANK PLC
WETLAND MFB
XSLNCE Microfinance Bank
YES MICROFINANCE BANK
ZENITH BANK PLC
ZenithMobile

The Nigerian Army on Sunday, said it had uncovered Boko Haram logistics supply syndicates among loggers and charcoal dealers in Borno.

Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu, the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

Biu was reacting to the ban imposed on the supply of firewood and charcoal in Borno.

He disclosed that intelligence report indicated that some dealers in Maiduguri were hiding under the guise of firewood trade to aid the insurgents.

“Some of them are errand boys of the Boko Haram insurgents, they hide food items, drugs, petrol and other items beneath their trucks, and supplied them to the terrorists.

“We also found out that some of them are running businesses on behalf of the Boko Haram insurgents.

“They go deep into the forest where ordinary people could not venture; to cut down trees, burn and produce charcoal.

“This could not be possible except they are in agreement with the insurgents.

“We arrested some of them and they made quite revealing testimonies, we shall fish them out to put an end to their nefarious activities,” he said.

Biu explained that the ban was temporarily designed to checkmate activities of criminal elements among the dealers and not to make life difficult for firewood and charcoal users.

He stated that the military had allowed suppliers from other states such as Oyo, Kano, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna to supply their goods under strict supervision of the command.

Biu called on the people to support the military and other security agencies to end insurgency as well as protect lives and property.

On his part, Malam Maidugu Ali, the Chairman, Borno chapter of the Firewood Sellers Association of Nigeria, expressed dismay over the development.

He expressed the association’s shock at the allegation by the military authorities.

Ali said the union had engaged members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to support the military in the screening of its members before allowing them entry into Maiduguri.

He also that the union had adopted measures to screen vehicles conveying firewood or charcoal to Maiduguri, to check suspicious activities among its members.

Maidugu disclosed that more than 60 members of the association were killed by the Boko Haram insurgents in the past 10 years.

“Three years ago; we also recorded an incident when the insurgents’ hijacked one of our trucks and used it for suicide bomb attack, both the driver and his boy were killed during the incident.

“We are also victims of insurgency; we are strict in the registration of new members, any prospective person must produce two sureties before he was enrolled and engage in firewood trade,” he said.

Maidugu noted that the measure was to monitor its members and guard against any infiltration by the Boko Haram insurgents.

He reiterated the readiness of the association to support the military in the counter insurgency campaign and peace restoration process in the state.

Source: NAN

Nigeria is targeting the exportation of more than 5, 760 tonnes of yam to different countries in 2019.

Prof.Simon Irtwange, the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export, said that the committee was unable to achieve 50 per cent of the same target in 2018.

Irtwange said that the existence of the 1986 Export Prohibition Act and logistics issues were hindering successful operations of yam exports in the country.

“We are still targeting 5,760 tonnes for exportation this year whichis the same target last year.

“We were unable to do up to 50 per cent of last year’s target because of some difficulties and logistics problem.

“We are trying to attack those issues very vigorously.

“We have written to the Ministers of Agriculture and Trade about the Export Prohibition Act to put pressure on the National Assembly to do Nigerian farmers this favour.

“We found out that some efforts have been done at the National Assembly but we do not know where the thing is currently hanging at the National Assembly.

The chairman noted that there were no cases of yam rejection at the international market in 2018.

“There was no rejection of our produce, the challenge we are having is that because there is an Export Prohibition Act in place especially in the United Kingdom.

“Once they see our yams there, they will say it is contraband because they are aware of the ban on export of yam out of Nigeria because our country prohibits it.

“So, it is even better to label our yams Ghana yam for it to be accepted in United Kingdom markets,’’.

Irtwange, also the President of Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, appealed to the government to provide incentive for farmers to produce sufficient yams across the country in 2019.

According to him, once there is an incentive for the farmer, they will go into large scale and a lot of farmers are doing that now.