Choosing between buying a car or renting an apartment

by Ugodre Obi-Chukwu

Ugodre Obi-Chukwu

Bode is faced with a decision on whether to buy a car or simply get an accommodation. He has been living with his parents for some time and thinks now is the best time for him to move. He also needs a car as commuting to work every day for him has been very stressful. He doesn’t know how long he can keep jumping buses and hitching rides. His dilemma is compounded by the fact that his two most immediate needs are mutually exclusive. He only has enough money to fund either and not both, or so he thought.

How often do we find ourselves in this situation; and rather than apply common sense, we let our emotions and subsequently indecision influence us to make wrong decisions. I believe there is a better way to handle this dilemma. Let’s explore some of them.

Which is absolutely more critical?

One of the most important things you must do is determine which one is absolutely more critical. If for example, you are squatting with friends or a relative and have been given a deadline to move out, then getting an accommodation is absolutely more crucial, especially if you do not have an alternative. You certainly can’t live in a car for too long. Looking at things this way helps you rank needs in order of priority. It also requires that you think less of your emotional attachment to either a car or an accommodation.

Opportunity cost

Understanding which of the two costs more if left undone is also a very good metric for easier decision making. For example, if you decide to pay for an accommodation, will it mean spending more on transportation and suffering a lot more in terms of inconvenience? Using Bode’s example above, he still stays with his parents and his reason for wanting to leave is probably because he needs his space and independence. Therefore, if it is more inconvenient for him to jump buses than for him to live with his parents; then, I’d rather he bought a car.

Which will be more difficult to get if you miss the opportunity?

There are some opportunities that are presented to us that when lost are hard to come by again. When faced with the dilemma of whether to get a house or a car, I suggest you also ask yourself, which will be easier to defer and you will still have the opportunity to buy or pay for. For example, you may get a house in a choice neighbourhood at a fairly good rent. It may even be that you just love the house. Not taking it now may mean not getting that opportunity again. It can also be that the car itself is coming at a very good price considering its market value, and not buying it now may mean the opportunity is lost forever. Understanding wants and scarcity this way helps you also make the right judgment call.

Which cost less?

You can’t be considering this decision without finding out the cost of taking either decision. The absolute cost and carrying cost of the two options are also very important to consider before taking that decision. If you buy a car as against renting a house, will you have the money to maintain it? If it is a house, are you now able to pay your light bills, water bills, maintain the house, furnish it and even afford the next due rent? This may all look very unnecessary considering the urge to just take a decision, but it is important to assess the cost implication of either options.

What are the substitutes?

Most things in life have natural substitutes. An alternative to buying a car, for example, may be to get a cheaper one, a lower model car or even a fairly used car. If avoiding public transportation is your ultimate goal; then, it hardly matters what sort of car you buy. Thinking this way broadens your mind and gives you a wide range of options to choose from. Same goes for a house too. You can decide to rent a two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartment. Or you can choose to live in a relatively cheaper neighbourhood. This all depends on the compelling reason for looking for an accommodation. I know some people who would rather live in a one-bedroom apartment just because they love the neighbourhood and rather than to move to a cheaper area even if it is a bigger apartment. Your principle will guide what is the right substitute.

Which one gives you peace of mind?

In making a decision, you also do not want to forgo buying a car, or renting a house; not buying it will constantly make you unhappy. That alone is a punishment, which you can end up suffering till you get what you want. Imagine not buying a car and every day you come back home late, tired, smelly and frowning. There is the likelihood that you will soon start to hate the house. Same for if you buy a car when what your heart really wants is an accommodation. This is also an important metric to consider even if it isn’t as crucial as the rest.

How have you performed when faced with two mutually exclusive decisions?

Send me an email or tweet at me @ugodre

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CAC goes tough on defaulting firms

by Agency Reporter

Companies and businesses that fail to comply with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act will soon face severe sanctions, according to the Corporate Affairs Commission.

The CAC said in a statement by its Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Churchill Williams, said it had set up a special enforcement committee, which had commenced the crackdown on such companies.

The special enforcement committee, according to the statement, has completed the first phase of the on-site examination exercise in the Federal Capital Territory and has visited various markets and shopping malls.

It has also held meetings with relevant organisations to sensitise members of the public on the post incorporation obligations of registered companies and the consequences of operating unregistered businesses.

The statement added, “A total of 474 companies were penalised for non-compliance during the exercise in the Federal Capital Territory. The next phase of the enforcement will be carried out in the 36 states of the Federation.

“Under the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, every company, business name and incorporated association/non-governmental organisation is required to file annual returns every year, which informs the commission of the status of a registered entity. Such defaulting companies face the risk of being struck off from the register of companies.”

Industrialisation: Entrepreneurs advocate services sector reforms

by Ifeanyi Onuba

The Nigeria Entrepreneurs Forum has called on the Federal Government to carry out comprehensive reforms in the services sector to drive the newly launched industrial revolution policy of the government.

The Vice President of the group, Mr. Austin Chigboku, stated this during a media briefing in Abuja to announce the three-day international conference on how to realise the potential of the services sector.

He said the need for the reforms became imperative owing to the importance of the sector in the area of job creation, poverty reduction and inclusive growth.

Such reforms, according to him, should cover value orientation, innovations in quality service delivery, operational training and standardisation, improved income to service providers, accessibility to operational funds and other enabling environment to promote the value of service.

Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the services sector was the highest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter, accounting for N8.181tn or 52.99 per cent.

The industry sector ranked second with a contribution of N4.22tn or 27.36 per cent, while agriculture constituted the smallest sector, representing N3.03tn or 19.65 per cent of GDP.

But Chigboku said that despite the huge contribution to the GDP, operators in the services sector were still experiencing challenge in securing funding.

He said, “Services clearly hold the key to more jobs in economies plagued by structural unemployment, especially as services generate jobs for low-skilled workers. Despite the great potential of the services industry to give jobs to many, it is extremely difficult to secure start-up capital, especially at the Small and Medium Enterprises level.

“Some of the challenges faced by the sector are poor operational orientation and training; poor remuneration for services rendered; absence of unifying regulations and standards; and near death of growth and investment in promising knowledge-based activities.”

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Power: Nigeria, others to get $5bn from W’Bank

by Ifeanyi Onuba

Nigeria

The World Bank Group on Wednesday announced the commitment of $5bn (N800bn) in new technical and financial support to energy projects in six African countries.

The countries, which have partnered the Power Africa initiative of the United States President, Barack Obama, are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Tanzania.

In a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja, the bank quoted the President of the group, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, to have said the new financial commitment was urgently needed to generate more electricity for the people of Africa.

The statement said that despite the fact that Africa possessed some of the world’s largest hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar potential as well as significant oil and natural gas reserves, 600 million of its population had no access to electricity.

He said, “We think that the US Power Africa initiative will play an extremely important role in achieving the goal of providing electricity for Africa.

“So, today, I’m very pleased to announce that the World Bank Group, following President Obama’s lead, will partner with Power Africa by committing $5bn in direct financing, investment guarantees, and advisory services for project preparation in Power Africa’s six initial partner countries, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania.

“The US government and the World Bank Group are working now on specific tasks and milestones, which could help to achieve one quarter of Power Africa’s goal of generating 10,000 megawatts of new power in sub-Saharan Africa.”

He added that the power crisis on the continent of Africa had forced families and communities to spend significant amounts of their income on costly and unhealthy forms of energy, such as diesel generators, or wood for indoor cooking fires.

The statement said while Africa, with a vast hydropower potential, used just eight per cent of its untapped water force, Western Europe was using 85 per cent of its available hydropower potential, which had contributed to its economic development and industrialisation.

It also quoted the bank’s Vice President for Africa, Makhtar Diop, as saying that the group was currently working with African leaders and other development partners to create power pools in the region.

Diop said, “Like Europe and the rest of the world, Africa deserves the same opportunity to exploit this green source of power to improve the lives and economic prospects of its people. Beyond building up power generators, they must be connected to the market, which calls for regional cooperation to build the transmission network.

“We are working with African leaders and their development partners to create power pools in Africa’s east, west, central and southern sub-regions.

“Those countries with abundant geothermal, gas, hydro, solar, and wind resources can feed their excess power supply into a common pool, while neighbouring states with less energy and generation capacity can benefit from this integrated approach to delivering electricity to their people.”

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Discos must pay consumers who buy transformers – NERC

by Okechukwu Nnodim

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday said the new regulation mandating the electricity distribution companies to repay individuals who invested in power network would stand despite oppositions from the Discos.

According to the commission, such investments can no longer be ignored as the new rule seeks to establish a process in which the government, individuals and communities can invest in the network and have such investments recovered.

The Chairman, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, said this in Abuja at a public consultation on the draft regulations on rate review and investment in electricity.

He said, “Many communities are making investments in the network; they provide transformers, pay fixed charges and complain of not getting the power. Now, we are saying if people make investments in the network, whether as individuals, communities or government, the Disco in that jurisdiction has the responsibility of repaying them or should find a way through energy credit to save them from double payments.

“Otherwise, it will be very wrong for them to make investments that they cannot recover, and they still pay the same amount of money for electricity supply as others. These regulations are critical to deal with the market and communities’ concern, and it will ensure that by the time we declare the Transitional Electricity Market in a couple of months, the market will be ready for all the features of a competitive electricity market in Nigeria.”

Amadi said when the rules were approved, they would stipulate “that the Discos must be able to take notice of all investments and they must be able to put them in their investments registers.”

This, he said, was to ensure that there was orderliness in investments in the sector, be it from the government or private individuals.

He also said, “Every investment must be accounted for and those that invest must have the sense that their investments are going to be repaid. If it is a Disco, the Disco will recover from us through tariff; and if it is an individual, the individual will have to recover.

“We are working on the process because some buy transformers without the approval of the Discos. There must be a process by which the Discos certify and agree to allow you to make that investment and they will certify and agree that they will find a way to compensate you for such investment.”

@punchng.com

Chinese demand rush for Australia homes to stay

by Agency Reporter

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
| credits: news.yahoo.com

Ausin Group (Finance) Pty, which offers property and mortgage broking in Australia to Chinese buyers, expects to sell two-thirds more homes and to double the amount of loans it arranges as demand from the mainland surges.

The company forecasts A$1.5bn ($1.4bn) in sales of new residential properties in the year ending June 30, compared with A$900m over the previous 12 months, Sydney-based Managing Director Joseph Zaja said in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday.

The value of mortgages the closely held company arranges through Australian banks is expected to climb to A$500 million in the 2015 calendar year, he said.

Ausin is benefiting from surging demand from China, where the housing market is faltering. Chinese purchasers overtook Americans to become the biggest buyers of real estate in Australia in the 12 months through June 2013, plowing A$5.9bn into commercial and residential property, a 42 percent increase from the previous 12 months.

“I don’t see the trend slowing down,” Zaja said. “It’s here to stay.”

Real estate is the biggest short-term risk to the Chinese economy, Markus Rodlauer, mission chief for China at the International Monetary Fund, said last week. Authorities are trying to avert a collapse of the real-estate market after data showed housing prices fell in 55 of 70 cities in June from May, the most since January 2011 when the government changed the way it compiles the statistics.

Chinese buy in Australia to educate their children and to live in a clean environment, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets economist Andrew Johnston wrote in a report today. Mitigating political and economic risk is also a higher priority for Chinese investors than returns, he said.

Ausin sources projects from local developers, including Stockland and Mirvac Group, marketing them in China where it has 11 offices and 280 staff, Zaja said. The average price of the properties Chinese buy in Australia is A$630,000, according to the company.

Developers including Lend Lease Group, Mirvac and Goodman Group will benefit from the surge in apartment projects resulting from the demand, according to CLSA.

When Zaja and a partner based on the mainland, whom he declined to identify, first set up Ausin in 2009, banks would only finance developments where less than 30 percent was sold to overseas buyers, he said.

“Now, that’s up to 100 percent in some cases,” he said. “The larger banks had the view that overseas buyers were a much higher risk than local buyers. But we’ve been able to provide them with statistics that less than 1.5 percent of all our purchasers cannot complete” their purchases.

Ausin last year began operating as a mortgage broker and now arranges home loans through local banks for about 93 per cent of its buyers, Zaja said.

The average borrowing is 70 percent of a property’s value, or about A$440,000, according to Ausin.

Ausin has a client who buys about 10 properties through the company every year, and now owns about 40, Zaja said. The client has been able to negotiate a better rate and a higher loan amount, he said.

The company, which also offers immigration services to Chinese wanting to move to Australia, is setting up a fund targeting those from the mainland applying for a Significant Investor Visa, he said. The visa allows foreigners investing at least A$5m in Australia to qualify for residency.

Chinese nationals accounted for 91 per cent of applications and 86 per cent of grantees as of the end of June, according to the office of the assistant minister for immigration and border protection.

UK house prices rise at fastest pace since 2006

by Agency Reporter

United Kingdom house prices rose the fastest in almost eight years in the three months through July, as the strengthening economy and increasing confidence bolstered demand, according to Halifax.

Values jumped 3.6 per cent compared with the previous three months to an average 186,322 pounds ($314,195), the Lloyds Banking Group Plc mortgage unit said in a statement today.

From June, prices rose 1.4 per cent, compared with the 0.4 per cent gain forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.

While the data suggests the boom in British property is continuing, other survey indicate that the market is cooling after stricter lending rules took effect.

Nationwide Building Society said last week that prices grew at the slowest pace since April, and Halifax said a growing number of people now think it’s the right time to sell.

There is “uncertainty over the true state of the housing market,” said Howard Archer, an economist at Global Insight.

It’s unclear whether the recent decline in housing activity will last or if it is “just a temporary development related to changing mortgage regulations,” he said.

Prices were up 10.2 per cent in the three months through July compared with the same period a year earlier, the biggest increase since September 2007, the Halifax report showed.

“Demand continues to be supported by a continuing economic recovery, growth in employment, improving consumer confidence and low mortgage rates,” said Stephen Noakes, mortgages director at Halifax.

Russian hackers loot 1.2 billion Internet records

by Agency Reporter

A gang of hackers in Russia has amassed 1.2 billion sets of looted user names and passwords, according to a US security company that said it’s the largest known cache of stolen personal information, Bloomberg reports.

The pilfered records, associated with about 500 million unique e-mail addresses, were discovered by Hold Security LLC, a Milwaukee-based company that sells information-security and risk-management services. The findings were based on seven months of research, though the company didn’t give a time period for the theft or name any websites that were hacked.

“We have been collecting information to help our customers stay more secure,” Alex Holden, the founder and chief information security officer of the company, said in a telephone interview. “We found that it was such a great impact to society that we decided to make a public statement.”

While the claim by Holden still has to be verified, the details and scope of the attack aren’t surprising, said JD Sherry, vice president for technology and solutions at security firm Trend Micro in the US.

“The Eastern European shadow economy is stocked with treasure troves of data as well as national security assets in the form of elite hackers,” Sherry said in an e-mail. “It is plausible that a single syndicate has cornered the market and compromised over a billion credentials over an extended period of time.”

The New York Times first reported the attack, saying the records were gathered from 420,000 websites including Fortune 500 companies.

Holden said in the interview that the hackers operated from central Russia near the border with Kazakhstan. He declined to provide exact details about their location or identities in order to not jeopardize potential law enforcement operations.

Data was extracted from the websites using a network of compromised computers known as a botnet, according to a statement from Hold Security. Not all stolen records were valid or current, the company said.

“With hundreds of thousands sites affected, the list includes many leaders in virtually all industries across the world, as well as a multitude of small or even personal websites,” the company said in the statement.

Cybercrime costs as much as $575bn a year and remains a growth industry with attacks on banks, retailers and energy companies that will worsen, according to a report published in June by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and sponsored by network security company McAfee Inc.

Jonathan seeks stiffer sanctions against B’Haram

by Olalekan Adetayo

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday in Washington DC, USA, made a case for more and effective international sanctions against the Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram as well as other groups involved in terrorism.

The President also sought similar fate for countries, organisations and individuals sponsoring terrorism in any part of the world.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,   Reuben Abati, the President made the call in a speech at the US-African Leaders Summit.

Jonathan was quoted as calling for more effective global action and implementation of all existing international protocols against terrorism and violent extremism.

He observed that some of the security problems being faced by Nigeria and other African countries were trans-national in scope and could not be resolved by any country acting alone.

He said that because terrorism, piracy and trans-national organised crimes had become global in scope, greater regional and international collaboration were needed to combat them.

Jonathn said, “Several African countries, including Nigeria, are now challenged by terrorism and violent extremism. For several countries in the continent, terrorism has become a real threat to social progress, peace and security.

“The violent and criminal activities of Boko Haram in my country have captured the world’s attention. This has been especially so since the terrorist group abducted some girls from their school dormitory in the North-Eastern Nigeria in April.

“Nigeria may be the epicentre of Boko Haram terrorist activities at the moment, but its affiliation with international terrorist networks, dramatically increases its capacity and reach beyond Nigeria’s borders.

“Nigeria is doing everything possible to combat Boko Haram and violent extremism. While we continue to enhance our intelligence and military capacities, we are, at the same time, working on political and socio-economic solutions. We are also building partnerships, both at the regional and international levels, to combat the threat posed by terrorism in our sub-region.

“In this enterprise, we are pleased to acknowledge the supportive role of the United States. The assistance that we continue to receive from the United States and our other international partners is proof indeed that partnership can multiply our strengths in addressing common challenges.

“We call for an effective international sanctions regime that would hold accountable any country, institutions and individual that finances terrorism in any part of the world. This inaugural Africa-US Summit must also call for effective action and implementation of all existing international protocols on this critical issue.

“Because terrorism, piracy and transnational organised crimes are global in scope, greater regional and international collaboration is required to combat them. We must act in concert.”

The statement said the President had conveyed the same message at a bilateral meeting with Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

He was quoted as saying at the meeting that Nigeria, the United States and the global community must work with greater synergy and unity of purpose to overcome Boko Haram and other terrorist groups.

At the meeting, which took place in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House, Biden reportedly described Nigeria as an “extremely important” ally of the United States.

He reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to working with Nigeria to overcome the Boko Haram insurgency, adding that his country was also willing to give Nigeria any assistance it might require to contain the more recent threat of Ebola.

Jonathan and Biden also discussed further joint cooperation to boost trade and investments, agricultural development and access to electricity in Nigeria.

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Increased crime in Abuja

by Agency Reporter

The heightened increase of armed robbery in Bwari and Kubwa areas in Abuja is becoming frightening. The criminals break into the homes of law abiding citizens who have worked for their earnings and cart away their valuables.

They are gutsy enough to introduce themselves as ‘armed robbers” It is not only their boldness that alarms one but the fact that they are never caught by the police. Statements are taken and pictures you pay for are taken from the crime scene but no justice for the trauma or loss obtained.

Imagine being robbed in your home which is located opposite a police station! People now sleep with one eye open due to the fear of being robbed; the worst is the fact that when alarm is raised in a compound, neighbours suddenly go deaf as they curl up in fear in their abode.

crI implore our security operatives especially the police to put a stop to the rise in crime in the aforementioned areas so as to restore the confidence of the populace in them.

Supreme Court workers, others resume work, judges continue vacation

by Ade Adesomoju

Activities resumed at the Supreme Court and other courts in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Monday, after the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria suspended its three weeks old strike on Friday.

The gates of the various courts in Abuja which had been kept under lock and key opened on Monday to usher in the judicial workers.

Our correspondent visited some of the courts on Monday and learnt that court activities such as filing of cases and other court processes  commenced immediately even as judges of the superior courts of records continued their vacation.

The superior courts of records are the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, States and FCT High Courts, the National Industrial Court, Customary Court of Appeal and the Sharia Court of Appeal.

The judges will resume at the beginning of the new legal year in September.

However with the suspension of the strike, judges who had been assigned as vacation judges would now resume duties.

President of JUSUN, Mr. Marwan Adamu, could not be reached through his phone for his comment on the development.

The judicial workers had on July 11 embarked on a strike demanding that a judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on the funding of the judiciary be complied with by the 36 state governments of the federation.

The judgment delivered by Justice Adeniyi Ademola on January 13, 2014 had ordered that the funds meant for the state judiciary should be deducted by the Accountant-General of the Federation directly for the allocation of the various state governments.

The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, had on Friday brokered a truce between the national leadership of the workers, stakeholders in the judicial sector, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and representatives of state Commissioners of Finance and the Accountant General.

In a memorandum of understanding signed by the various parties who attended the meeting in Abuja on Friday, the stakeholders promised to ensure that the workers’ demand was met within 45 days.

US trade deficit narrows as imports drop

by bbc

The US trade deficit fell in June after imports dropped 1.2 per cent from the previous month, the biggest fall in a year.
The Department of Commerce reported a deficit of $41.5bn in June, a seven per cent decline from May’s $44.7bn.
Imports fell by $2.9bn to $237.4bn, in part due to lower imports of consumer goods and cars. Imports of petroleum products also fell.
Exports of food and drink, vehicles and consumer goods helped to lift exports by 0.1 per cent to a record $195.9bn.
Growth in the US economy in the second quarter may have been stronger than initial US government estimates, the figures suggest.
Last week the Department of Commerce said the US economy grew at an annual rate of 4 per cent during the April-to-June period.
However, that rate included an estimate for the June trade deficit that was higher than Wednesday’s figure, economists said.
The trade deficit in petroleum products fell to $14.6bn, its lowest level in four years, helped by lower imports.
US imports of petroleum products have fallen every month since January.
Domestic shale oil and gas production has been booming in the US over the past few years, reducing the country’s reliance on imports.

Pistorius murder trial closing arguments to begin

by bbc

The murder trial of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is set to resume for closing arguments after months of courtroom evidence closely followed by domestic and world media.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel will be the first to make concluding comments. The defence is due to follow on Friday.
Mr Pistorius denies murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He says he mistook her for an intruder, but the prosecution says he deliberately shot her after a row.
Ms Steenkamp was killed at Mr Pistorius’ home in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, on 14 February last year.
BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says that Mr Nel will explain in detail why he believes he has proved that Mr Pistorius deliberately murdered his girlfriend.
Our correspondent says that the evidence of neighbours and forensic experts will be important – but the athlete’s own testimony is crucial.
The prosecution is convinced he gave conflicting accounts of how and why the double amputee shot Ms Steenkamp four times through his toilet door.
Judge Thokozile Masipa – a subdued presence so far – is now likely to intervene more and her questions could well provide hints about a future verdict.
Oscar Pistorius’s lawyer, Barry Roux, is expected to follow with his closing arguments on Friday.
Correspondents say the proceedings will be a final showdown between two of the country’s top legal minds.
Judge Masipa is expected to adjourn the trial after hearing the arguments to consider her ruling, a process that analysts say will take in between a week to a month.
There is no jury.
The defence will present a detailed timeline of events – and will seek to show that a disabled, panicking man convinced an intruder had broken into his home – made a terrible mistake.
If found guilty of murder, the 27-year-old, who went on trial on 3 March, could face life imprisonment.
If he is acquitted of that charge, the court will consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could – if convicted – receive about 15 years in prison.

Chinese workers evacuated from Libya

by bbc

China has evacuated almost 900 of its workers caught up in fighting in Libya, a Chinese official has told the BBC, leaving only a few dozen in Tripoli.
The Chinese are the latest in long list of overseas workers to leave Libya, including Americans, Britons, Egyptians, Filipinos and Pakistanis.
Libya has been gripped by violence involving militias that spearheaded the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Several hundred people have died in an upsurge of unrest.
Much of the fighting has between rival militia groups over the last month.
The fighting has been centred on the international airport in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Correspondents say that this is not the first time that China has evacuated its workers in Libya – during the Libyan civil war in 2011, China evacuated 35,860 nationals.
China on Wednesday thanked Greece for its help in evacuating nearly 80 of its nationals from Libya last week.

Dozens killed in Baghdad car bombs

by Aljazeera

At least 47 people were killed when two car bombs exploded in a Shia neighbourhood in the Iraqi capital, medical and security officials have said.
Police said the first attack on Wednesday evening was a double car bombing in a shopping area of Sadr City in the east of Baghdad.
Late on Wednesday, another car packed with explosives detonated in the nearby neighbourhood of Ur, also predominantly Shia.
Baghdad has been on edge since Sunni rebels led by the Islamic State group seized the northern city of Mosul in June and threatened the capital.
In a separate development, the Iraqi military on Wednesday dropped barrel bombs on a hospital in the city of Fallujah. At least five people were killed, according to some reports.
The use of barrel bombs – oil drums filled with explosives and scrap metal – is considered a war crime because the crude weapons kill indiscriminately.

U-20 World Cup: Falconets play 1-1 with Mexico

by nan

Falconets, Mexico draw 1-1 in their opening match at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada; England and South Korea also drew 1-1 in the other Group C match.

Liberia declares state of emergency over Ebola virus

by bbc

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declared a state of emergency as the country grapples with an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
Speaking on national television she said some civil liberties might have to be suspended.
The Ebola outbreak has also hit Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, killing more than 930 people.
World Health Organization experts are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss a response to the outbreak.
The two-day meeting will decide whether to declare a global health emergency.

B’Haram: We’re changing tactics, says Chief of Air Staff

by Godwin Isenyo

Boko Haram militants

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adeshola Amosun, said in Kaduna on Wednesday that the Nigerian Air Force is changing and updating its tactics in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East.

According to him, it will be through a review of operations and -re-training of its personnel.

While assuring Nigerians that in no distance time the military would dislodged the insurgents, Amosun said the military ha d made a significant progress in the war against the Boko Haram sect.       He said this shortly after the 43rd graduation ceremony of students from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna.

He said Nigerian Armed Force, especially the NAF was doing everything possible, including updating and changing its tactics as well as training its personnel.

The CAS noted with satisfaction the level of achievements of the Nigerian Air Force so far in tackling security challenges in the country.

Stressing the need for the training of its personnel, Amosun said any institution that is unable to train its manpower is doomed. He added that efforts were also being intensified to completely eradicate all forms of insurgency in the country.

He said with the graduation of 260 aerospace engineers, the new institute was part of the NAF contribution that would help address the national security challenges.

“What we are asking for now is the AFIT Bill before the National Assembly. When passed, it will help us to develop more technologies that will further help in the fight against insurgency in the country,” he said.

Earlier, the Senate President, Senator David Mark, who was guest of honour at the event, commended the giant strides of the AFIT. He said he was aware that the institute was willing and able to surpass its current achievements, given the necessary resources and legal backings.

The Senate President said, “I wish to assure you that the issues of resources and legal backing under the pending AFIT Bill at the National Assembly, is being given an utmost attention.”

@punchng.com

Ebola: South-West govs meet as Lagos matron dies

by Sesan Olufowobi, Sunday Aborisade, Success Nwogu, Olalekan Adetayo and Bukola Adebayo

• Health Services officials screening travellers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.. on Wednesday. Photo: Goke Famadewa.
| credits: Goke Famadewa

South-West governors on Wednesday rose from a meeting in Lagos and called on the Federal Government to   stop   the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Before that,   the Minsiter of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu and the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, announced at separate news conferences that the matron of the Lagos hospital where a Liberian-born American, Patrick Sawyer, was admitted, died on Tuesday afternoon.

The matron whose name was not given by   Chukwu,and   Idris,   was reported by the media on Wednesday to have shown the symptoms of the virus.

She was among the health workers that attended to Sawyer who died in the Lagos hospital on July 25 and officially, the first Nigerian casualty.

The matron had been quarantined alongside seven others at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Yaba, Lagos for close monitoring.

One of them, a female medical doctor, who also attended to Sawyer, had also contracted the disease.

About 59 people were reported to have had direct or primary contacts with the Liberian-American. Twenty seven others who had secondary contacts with the primary contacts had been traced.

Chukwu, while announcing the death of the Lagos matron   confirmed seven other Ebola cases, Idris called on religious groups in the state to stop all gatherings until a solution   to Ebola outbreak was found.

The South-West governors first met behind closed-doors   at the Lagos House, Ikeja, and later   with commissioners for Health in the zone.

In attendance were the host Governor,     Babatunde Fashola;   Olusegun Mimiko(Ondo);   Ibikunle Amosun(Ogun); Kayode Fayemi(Ekiti); and the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Moses Adeyemo.

They said the Federal Government must assist the states by ensuring that all the nation’s borders in the zone were effectively policed to ensure that Ebola virus did not get into their states.

Fashola, at a news conference said the meeting afforded them the opportunity to share experiences and seek collaborative efforts   to prevent the spread of the virus in the zone.

He said, “The meeting addressed issues of containment and the challenges of illegal borders.

“We also discussed possible support by the Federal Government and coordination among states. We feel that it is imperative that our collaboration suggests to us that Nigerians should not panic and that we would overcome this with the very best practices and collaboration.

“It is important therefore that advocacy must continue about what the risks are and the sources are.”

Amosun said Ogun State was overwhelmed and was short of manpower and material to effectively man its over 100 illegal borders   where foreigners enter the state with ease.

He said, “We are more prone and more at risk to Ebola virus and we have put all our security agencies and the respective medics at these illegal borders.

“But when you have in excess of 100, you and I know that the state doesn’t have the capacity to   man these borders.

Mimiko   said the onus lay on every Nigerian to ensure that foreigners did not have unfettered access into the country.

“Every Nigerian should know that those who aid and abet illegal entry into Nigeria now could be up to something that could be dangerous to the health of the country.”

Fayemi spoke on the possibility of Nigeria seeking the assistance of the United States   for ZMapp, an experimental drug for the treatment of the EVD.

He said, “The drug has not been certified as a cure for the disease; however, the Federal Government can try out its efficacy in a controlled centre.”

FG confirms seven Ebola cases

The Health minister, at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday,   said, “Nigeria has now recorded seven confirmed cases of EVD.

“The first one was the index case, which is the imported case from Liberia of which the victim(Sawyer) is now late.

“On August 5, 2014, the first known Nigerian to die of the EVD was recorded and this was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian.

“The other five cases are currently being treated at an isolation ward in Lagos.”

He   added that all the Nigerians diagnosed were primary contacts of the index case.

Chukwu also announced the appointment of Prof. O. Onajole of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital as the director, Communication and Community Mobilisation. for the EVD.

He   pledged to visit Lagos within the week, in company with his colleagues in the Ministry of Information, to assess the situation on the ground.

He added that the 24/7 Emergency Operations Centre   planned by the government would be fully functional by tomorrow (Thursday) . Dr. Faisal Shuaibu will be the Incident Manager of the centre.

Shuaibu was expected to   lead a six-member inter-agency team, drawn from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the US CDC, the WHO, UNICEF and the Bill and Medinda Gates Foundation to Lagos to complete the setting up of the centre.

Chukwu said the team would be joined by other personnel from the Lagos State Government,     federal hospitals in the state and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

He added, “We are embarking on recruiting additional health personnel to strengthen the team who are currently managing the situation in Lagos.

“We are making arrangements to procure isolation tents to quicken the pace of providing isolation wards in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

“We are also setting up a special team to provide counselling and psychosocial support to patients, identified contacts and their families.”

The minister reassured Nigerians that the government was working hard to ensure the containment of the outbreak.

Chukwu   later told State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, that he had requested the experimental drug being used to treat two   American missionary doctors infected with the virus in Liberia from the US Centre for Disease Control.

The minister, who also shed light on the isolation tents, said as of the time he was briefing journalists, he had yet to receive a response from the USCDC.

Chukwu   explained that the isolation tents would be used to cater for those who might be quarantined because of the virus.

This, he said, had become necessary because residents were raising objection to housing the patients close to them.

He put the cost of one isolation tent at about N20m.

“We have a national emergency. Indeed, everyone in the world is at risk. Nobody is immune. The Nigerian experience had alerted the world because every country is connected by flights,” the minister said.

The minister also said the government had decided to embark on mass recruitment of health personnel to strenghten the team managing the outbreak in Lagos.

He expressed the hope that the Nigeria Medical Association would soon call off its strike to join in the emergency service since government had met almost all their demands.

Chukwu warned members of the public to stop wearing gloves as a way of stopping the spread of the virus, saying such practice could further compound the situation.

He however advised them to avoid handshake as much as possible if they could afford it, describing the virus as both contagious and infectious.

He said the virus could also be contracted through the sharing of bedspreads, pillow cases and towels among other personal effects with infected persons.

Chukwu also said a website, www.ebolaalert.org, had been designed to offer information on the virus.

While disclosing the existence of a Twitter handle, @ebolaalert, the minister added that help could also be reached through a designated toll-free telephone line .

Ebola outbreak, national emergency –FG

The Federal Government also said on Wednesday     that the   Ebola outbreak   had become a matter of national emergency.

The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku;   made government’s position known while also briefing journalists on the outcome of the FEC meeting

Maku said the meeting was devoted to the measures being taken by government to deal with the outbreak of the virus.

He recalled that the council had set up a committee about two weeks ago to sensitise Nigerians to avoid unhealthy practices.

Lagos to offer life insurance cover to doctors, others

In Lagos,   Idris told journalists that the matron, who also contracted the EVD while participating in managing Sawyer died at about 2.06pm on Tuesday.

The commissioner added, ‘In all, eight people came in contact with Sawyer, comprising the dead matron, the doctor on admission at the IDH, the four new victims and two other people, whose medical test results are being awaited. Two of the four new victims are critically ill.”

Idris said that 27 people who came into   contact with those on admission at the IDH had as of Tuesday been traced.

When asked what government intended to do concerning the traced secondary contacts, he replied, “ We cannot isolate these 27 secondary contacts because they are not showing symptoms yet, they are just contacts.

“What we can do for now is to monitor them; take their blood samples for testing and check their temperature daily. If any one of them starts showing symptoms, then we will take him or her   to the hospital.”

He called on volunteers to help the state in tracing more secondary contacts and in managing the established cases since the situation was “a dire emergency.”

The   commissioner said the state was presently facing a shortage of   health workers needed to attend to those that had been infected and   more of those that might   be isolated for monitoring.

He disclosed that the government would   offer life insurance cover to those     who volunteered to work with experts monitoring and testing suspected Ebola cases.

Idris said, “We will provide   life insurance cover for any doctor, nurse and other experts that want to work with isolated patients.

“We need more hands, because we have moved from the stage of primary contacts to secondary contacts.We are tracing all the people that had contacts not just with Sawyer, but those that had contacts with the health workers and others that have died. We have identified 27 secondary contacts already and we are tracing the addresses of others.

“ it is a tedious task, because we will also be taking their blood samples for testing and we will be monitoring them.

“We are appealing to the doctors on strike to resume work and set aside their grievances. This situation is a dire emergency and our health professionals must recognise that.

“It will be morally unjustifiable for us to call for help from the international community if our own experts and doctors are not working.”

Idris added that the government would   evacuate tuberculosis patients at the IDH to another hospital to accommodate more suspected and isolated Ebola cases.

He said, “ The TB patients at Mainland hospital were protesting this(Wednesday) morning but we made them to understand that if they stayed there, they might be exposed to Ebola virus .

“If we need to evacuate any hospital to ensure that we contain this(Ebola) disease, we will do it. If we have to take suspected cases to LASUTH, we will do it. If we need to take decisions that will inconvenience     some people but beneficial to the larger population, we will do it because Ebola is a highly infectious disease.”

Religious groups advised to stop gatherings

The commissioner also advised religious groups in the state to stop all planned gatherings until a solution   to the Ebola outbreak was found.

Idris, who noted that such gatherings usually involved people from outside the country, said the advice was in public interest.

He said, “We are worried that a gathering of a large group of people would not be the best at this period. Those churches and Islamic associations that are planning large gatherings should stop for now.

“When we heard that there was a convention going on at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Ogun State, we went there to check.

“We were impressed with what was on the ground because of the outbreak. There were sanitisers everywhere, doctors and other health workers were on standby. The General Overseer(Pastor Enoch Adeboye) also took time to educate people on the virus and what could be done to prevent it.

“We also went to Synagogue church when we heard that they were planning a conference on Ebola. But the truth is that there was nothing like that. The founder(TB Joshua) told us that he was planning to travel out. He also promised to cooperate with the government.

“But the best thing is that any form of large gathering must stop for now.”

@punchng.com

No going back on Al-Makura’s impeachment –Nasarawa assembly

by Umar Muhammed

Nasarawa State governor, Umaru Al-Makura
| credits: feelfree.co

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has said that it will go ahead and impeach Governor Tanko Al-Makura.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Security, Baba Ibaku, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Lafia on Wednesday, said that there was no going back on the impeachment move against the governor.

He said the panel set up by the Chief Judge, Justice Umaru Dikko, to investigate the 16 counts against the governor, breached Section 188 Subsection (5) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

He, therefore, described the sitting of the panel as illegal.

Ibaku said that the lawmakers did not know whether there was any sitting of the panel on Tuesday or not.

The lawmaker stated, “As far as we are concerned, there is no seven-man panel that is investigating Governor Al-Makura, because we had earlier asked the state chief judge to disband the panel.

“We sent our legal team to appear before the panel yesterday (Tuesday) and we instructed them to simply tell the Chairman of the panel, Yusuf Usman, that we (the lawmakers) only appeared through our legal team to register our protest against the composition of the panel because the members of the panel are political office holders,” he stated.

He said, “We will go-ahead with our moves to impeach Governor Al-Makura and nothing will stop us to step down on our plans, no matter what it entails. We are going to file a case before the law court as soon as we finish our deliberation,”

“We will always sit in any part of the state to pass another resolution,”

On its part, the governor lauded the decision of the judicial panel.

Al-Makura, who gave the commendation in an interview with journalists in Lafia, described the outcome of the panel as a victory for democracy.

The governor said, “My victory is for the rule of law. I am sure the people of goodwill and the people of Nasarawa State, even without coming to the tribunal, know who the governor is and what he could do and what he can or not do. My vindication is for the good people of Nasarawa State.”

While dedicating the victory to the people of the state, he urged them to be on the right part of the law. He also commended the role played by the team of his legal experts.

But the Legal Adviser to the outlawed Ombatse Militia Group, Zachariah Allumaga, condemned the seven-man panel for dismissing the allegations against the governor.

According to him, Al-Makura has been using the instruments of state powers to the disservice of the people.

He said, “The governor has always, since his assumption of office, been the judge in his own case,” adding that the people of the state would oppose such moves by the governor.

Allumaga, who spoke in an interview with The PUNCH in Lafia, argued further that the state lawmakers were on course. However, he said they should go ahead with their actions in the spirit of the constitution.

He called on members of the state House of Assembly not to derail, adding that what happened at the panel was a child’s play.

The legal adviser of the Ombatse cult group faulted the state chief judge, whom he said had made himself to be used by a drowning governor.

Allumaga, who is also a former Magistrate in the state, said that Dikko has done a great havoc to Section 188 of the Constitution. He urged the state House of Assembly and the Nigerian Judicial Council to sanction him.

According to him, the CJ constituted a panel that had the governor’s cronies, card-carrying party members and government appointees.

@punchng.com

Why Ebola differs from other viruses

by Bukola Adebayo

Ebola differ

The Ebola Virus Disease is the enemy knocking at the door of many West African countries and its effects are fast spreading.

Unlike other viruses, such as the Hepatitis A, B,C, which can stay in the body fluids of an infected person for 15 years without any symptoms, the Ebola virus, which symptoms include bleeding from the mouth and anus, can kill its victims within days .

A professor of Epidemiology and Community Health Sci­ence, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Tanimola Akande, describes the Ebola virus, which is ravaging Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and has killed a nurse in Nigeria, as the biggest health challenge facing the sub region at present.

Akande says that its mode of transmission is a major reason why it is deadlier than most viruses.

He says, “That Ebola has no cure is not the reason why it is deadly.HIV also has no cure, yet it does not kill all its victims, if it is properly managed. Ebola is deadlier because it is easy to contract; it is in all the body fluids of an infected individual as its infection can be through saliva, blood, sweat, sperm, excreta, body tissue. It can also be contracted by touching the surface an infected person has touched.”

“Also, the natural host for Ebola is fruit bats, chimpanzees and other forest animals that many eat daily in different parts of the country. You can get it just by coming in contact with the blood of an infected animal. Any virus that can be contracted through food has the potential to wipe off many lives.”

The physician, who says that Ebola virus has very tricky symptoms, which often mimic that of common illness, such as malaria, dengue, lassa and typhoid fever, notes that many health workers may have already come in contact with an infected patient without knowing it.

He adds, “When a patient comes to your hospital and presents you with symptoms, such as fever, headache, general body pain, you are likely not to wear gloves or biohazards suits before treating the patient. That is the tricky part. You are infected before you know it is Ebola.”

To contain the transmission of the disease, Akande urges Nigerians to stop eating bush meat, as well as to wash their hands and fruits regularly before eating.

He also advises health workers to wear protective kits always while attending to their patients.

Akande states, “We have been talking about HIV/AIDS, but Ebola is deadlier than HIV/AIDS. People who have HIV live for years if they take their drugs but any contact with an infected Ebola person is almost a death sentence because the virus has no vaccines, and no drugs. The best one can get is only palliative management”.

Ebola is the nightmare virus. It is feared as the second coming of the plagues of the 1400s. Why is this one virus so much more deadly than other viruses? Simply put, experts list five reasons why everyone must watch out for this virus.

Low survival rates

The chance of survival is almost zero, especially in Africa. It kills 90 per cent of those infected with the virus. Death is certain if the patient starts bleeding. Bleeding, of course, is its “trademark”.

From a medical point, any one that contracts this disease should be isolated –to wait for death! It is sad! It kills faster than AIDS, and in an equally dramatic way. Because of its mode of transmission, you cannot bury dead patients in the usual way — patients, dead or alive, are absolutely avoided! Dead bodies are equally infectious.

It is almost incurable.

The problem is that there is no drug yet for treatment or vaccine for prevention. Four different viruses cause this disease. At least, we have some drugs for HIV/AIDS patients, to help them live longer and better. The treatment offered for Ebola Virus Disease is for the person to die better and more peacefully. The vaccines we have can only prevent monkeys and mice from the disease! Antivirals do not work.

It is highly contagious

HIV/AIDS requires blood transmission or intimate contact for transmission; this disease requires contact with body. Transmission is by coming in contact with body fluids from diarrhea, vomitting, and bleeding. Doctors and medical staff attending to the patients wear protective kits from head to toe, making them look like astronauts heading for the moon! HIV is highest among commercial sex workers and gays; the people with the highest risk of Ebola Viral Disease are medical workers, their families, and their friends. Hunters that encounter monkeys and bats, and marketers of bush-meats should be careful.

No definite way to protect yourself

There is ABC of HIV/AIDS prevention. There are ways of preventing malaria. But preventing Ebola Virus Disease is not specific or clear-cut. You are advised to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, avoid contact with infected people (and their secretions and blood), and avoid contact with objects contaminated by infected people. Prevention is by hygiene!

@punchng.com

Adeboye leads prayers for Chibok girls, Ebola

by Agency Reporter

Pastor Enoch Adeboye
| credits: File copy

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, on Tuesday led members of the church to offer prayers for the release of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in April.

Adeboye also offered prayers for a quick divine intervention in the Ebola Virus Disease ravaging the West Africa sub-region as the 2014 RCCG Annual Convention got under way in Mowe, Ogun State.

Nigeria announced its first Ebola death on Wedesday, naming the matron that treated the late Patrick Sawyerr on July 20 as the victim.

Adeboye charged the congregation to pray for the schoolgirls, who were kidnapped in the premises of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. Only about 51 of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped have escaped from their abductors.

Also, 28 children were delivered two days into the convention.

“Sixteen of the babies born are boys, while 12 are girls,” Adeboye said.

The theme of the convention, the 62nd in the series, is the ‘Holy Spirit.’ The weeklong event, which started on Monday, will end with the Farewell Service and ordination of pastors on Sunday.

The ordination of deacons, deaconesses and assistant pastors had been concluded, while the convocation of the Redeemed Christian Bible College held on Wednesday. Friday is the convention’s Holy Ghost Service.