One dies as herdsmen, vigilance group clash

A CLASH between Fulani herdsmen and a vigilance group has resulted in the death of one person along Warake Road in Owan East Local Council of Edo State.

The brawl, which occurred at the weekend, also led to the hospitalisation of a member of the group in a private hospital at Auchi, while one of the herdsmen was reportedly arrested.

The fight was said to have broken out when the group went in search of a missing woman who was believed to have been abducted by suspected marauding nomads .

It was learnt that the herdsmen were moving their victims from one point to another when the group was alerted.

The state Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, who confirmed the development, said his men recovered a locally made pistol from the scene of the incident.

It would be recalled that the Principal of Ivbiaro Secondary School, simply identified as Mr. Afekhai, was recently abducted in the area by men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

Delta okays N5b for roads, cancels Warri BRT project

Delta State Governor, Okowa

THE Delta State Executive Council has approved more than N5 billion for the construction of roads in the state just as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Warri has been terminated, the Commissioner for Works, Chief John Augoye, has disclosed.

He told reporters in Asaba that government had approved the dismantling of the BRT lanes to ease congestion in Warri and its environs.

Augoye was flanked by the Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah and his Water Resources counterpart, Chief Fidelis Tilije and that of Transport, Vincent Uduaghan among others.

According to Augoye, the dualisation of Sapele Road from Amukpe Roundabout would take N2.056 billion, while that of Nnebisi Road to Cable Point, Asaba would cost N1.076 billion.

Other road projects are....

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www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/11/delta-okays-n5b-for-roads-cancels-warri-brt-project/ 

Buhari now going solo

In my articles during the presidential campaign, I had wondered aloud whether a President Muhammadu Buhari would share power with the touted National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I also answered the question by saying that knowing the professional and cultural background of Buhari, and against the precedents of our political history, he would gradually relegate Tinubu to his proper place as just one of the big men in the ruling party, on assuming power.

Those who were expecting Buhari to “share power” with him in line the merger that produced the APC, I warned, should be prepared for a different ball game if Buhari became president. I even referred to the proverb: “those who dress up a masquerade are usually the first to be flogged by it”. I prognosticated that as soon as Buhari assumed power, his hordes of Arewa kinsmen who were hiding in the shadows while Tinubu and Rotimi Amaechi were rebranding him, supplying him with the propaganda fuel and profusely providing his campaign with endless funds, would emerge into the spotlight and claim the place of pride in his government.



President Muhammadu Buhari

I also added that Buhari would gradually recreate the ruling party after his own image, and as we approach 2019, it will look more like the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, than the APC which Tinubu helped him to build into a winning political platform. These are no “predictions” but merely the political punditry of a person who has monitored politics and power play in Nigeria for over two decades as a reporter, writer and .....

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 www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/buhari-now-going-solo/ 

Kogi: Constitutional crisis looms as Audu’s death divides lawyers

By Clifford Ndujihe, Charles Kumolu, Gbenga Oke & Omezia Ajayi
LAGOS—DIVISION was the lot of lawyers, yesterday, over how the country could proceed with the Kogi State governorship election following the death of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu.

With results from the 21 local councils of the state, Audu with 240,867 votes was on his way to a historic third electoral victory after six attempts as his closest challenger, Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 199,514 votes.

However, instead of being declared as the winner of the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced yesterday afternoon that the election was inconclusive, saying that there would be re-run polls in 59 polling units which have about 49,000 registered voters.

Audu died shortly after the announcement raising questions on how the exercise could be concluded because the the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act are silent on what should be done if a candidate dies while the election is on-going.

There should be fresh election – Braithwaite

Speaking on the issue yesterday, Second Republic politician and legal icon, Dr Tunji Braithwaite said the demise of Prince Audu calls for a fresh governorship election in Kogi.

His words: First, it is sad that Audu died. Our thoughts are with his family at this time. However, coming to mankind, life and activities must go on. If the front runner in an election drops dead, the next person with higher votes cannot automatically be declared winner.

‘’The deceased according, to INEC scored higher votes. Audu’s death calls for another election. The incumbent, Capt Idris Wada will continue as governor until another election. There must be another election.’’

Just another election  – Adegbuyi

Dr Braithwaite’s views were shared by Barr Bisi Adegbuyi, a stalwart of the Afenifere Renewal group, ARG.

‘’There is nothing other holding another election. APC should be allowed to present another candidate. Since the election has not been concluded, the deputy governorship candidate cannot take his place, he is not the candidate,’’ he said.

The re-run polls should be concluded  – Basorun

However, Chief Olorunfunmi Basorun, Second Republic politician and Secretary to the Lagos State Government under Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande, said the re-run polls in 59 polling units should be concluded and the winner declared by INEC.

Reason: ‘’It is the party that matters. The party sponsored the candidates. In 1999, when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was nominated as Vice presidential candidate, although the Adamawa governorship election had been concluded, the deputy governorship-elect, Boni Haruna, stepped in. So, the INEC should conduct the election in the remaining polling units and declare the winner.’’

Audu’s running mate should step in – Quakers

In his reaction, Mr Norris Quakers, SAN, said since the Nigerian Constitution did not envisage what has happened, it makes it tricky and dicey.

He however said, “In my thinking, if you read sections 36, 39 and 40 of the Electoral Act as amended, I think the Independent Electoral Commission will have to conduct elections in those areas where they are inconclusive. What the party that was affected needs to do is to allow the deputy governorship candidate run as its governorship candidate while a new deputy governorship candidate is picked”.

Ticket belongs to APC – Ngige

On his part, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, said:  ‘’There is no lacuna. In Adamawa, after Obasanjo picked Atiku, who had already won the governorship election in the state to be his running mate, the opposition led by Bala Takaya kicked against the decision to pick Haruna as a replacement for Audu. The opposition went to the Federal High Court to stop it and the matter dragged to the Supreme Court that it was right for Haruna, who was Abubakar’s running mate to become the governor. The opposition demanded for fresh election but that was rejected by the Supreme Court. ‘’However, this is a peculiar situation. What is happening now is a combination of a lot of issues. In Rotimi Amaechi’s case the court ruled that it was the party that owned the ticket. It also said that the party owned the votes. So, such a scenario may play up this time again. The situation we have at hand is called areccondite situation in law. And it will require a lot of interpretations. I foresee a very stormy and testing period for INEC. The judiciary will also be put on trial.

‘’In Amaechi’s case, he had no running mate but since the court had ruled that the party owned the ticket, Ikuru, who was Omehia’s deputy, became his deputy. In my opinion, I will say that the APC owns the ticket. INEC should go ahead with the elections and conclude it because the votes belong the the APC.’’

A source at the INEC headquarters in Abuja said yesterday: “Ordinarily, the commission would normally cancel the polls and fix another date for the election, but since an election has been conducted, INEC can give seven days to the party to announce another candidate before the conduct of the supplementary polls.”

Nigeria internet market to hit N1.1trn by 2017 – Alcatel Regional Director

Nick Imudia, Regional Director, Nigeria and Central Africa, Alcatel Onetouch, spoke to Princewill Ekwujuru  on the re-entry of Alcatel into the Nigerian market, its propositions, global position and new phone trends and other sundry issues. Excerpt.  

Market positioning and Nigerians expectation

Alcatel OneTouch is unexpected, down to earth, irreverent and colourful. We believe that what makes technology smart is what you can do with it rather than what it can do. Alcatel Onetouch is a global brand which has redefined the mobile mass market by making the latest mobile technologies accessible to everyone. It is the first to recognize the mass market’s needs and has since brought choice, variety and flexibility to customers – from operators to consumers.



Imudia

By combining its understanding of local insights and control of the end-to-end manufacturing process, Alcatel OneTouch delivers the best user experience with innovative, feature-rich and high performance mobile devices designed with simplicity in Alcatel OneTouch views the device as a hub, meaning that we consider complete home connectivity when we are designing and producing every product.

We are a global base with more than 100 offices in excess of 160 countries, seven    Research and Development,    R&D centres and carrier relationships in all regions around the world.

Alcatel OneTouch is a brand within TCL Communication, an international multicultural company which designs, develops, and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet devices. TCL Communication is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world.

Alcatel Onetouch produces everything from feature handsets to smartphones, modems and tablets, providing solutions to all your mobile communication needs.   It is the third Telecommunications company to partner with Google in developing the Android Operating System and one of the first to produce handsets that runs the Mozilla Firefox Operating System.

The Nigerian market entry

As the smartphone and tablet markets have grown, especially here in Nigeria we want to bring to the Nigerian market affordable, yet attractive and feature-rich devices in order to meet the needs of our customers.   We recognise that every mobile user needs and deserves a device that offers good performance, beautiful aesthetics and rich functionality. As such, we’ll strive to offer choice, variety and flexibility to consumers irrespective of their budget.

We also wanted to ensure that we had the correct infrastructure in place in order to get these devices into the hands of our customers.  We believe that we now have the correct mix to grow the brand and make an impact in the Nigerian market. Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding financial, service, communications, technology and entertainment sectors:

In tech/internet connectivity   in Nigeria has 38 percent population online, which is approximately 67.3million, 94 percent mobile phone penetration, 27 percent   smartphone penetration.  Not only will the internet be the fastest growth area for expenditure, but it will also be the largest market that will   worth US$5.6 billion in 2017, ahead of TV (US$1.1 billion) and sports (US$722 million).

It will be great   opportunity for Nigerian market to migrate from feature phone to smartphone and get access to the internet.

Marketing plans and communications

We have put down fundamental elements in place when launching new products into the market place.   This includes a focus on training of staff, a solid in-store presence with live/dummy devices, point of sale, promoters and the appointment of a field marketing team as well as a competent Advertising, PR and Social Media agency.

This will ensure a good customer experience at store level. Furthermore we have introduced an online purchasing arm which ties into the strategy that sees a large focus on online purchasing and a strong digital approach.  Once this solid foundation has been built, Alcatel OneTouch will embark on an Abov-the-Line, ATL campaign to build awareness with the consumer.

Global overview

Alcatel Onetouch ,one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone manufacturersis a global brand which has redefined the mobile mass market by making the latest mobile technologies accessible to everyone. It is the first to recognize the mass market’s needs and has since brought choice, variety and flexibility to customers – from operators to consumers.

By combining its understanding of local insights and control of the end-to-end manufacturing process, Alcatel OneTouch delivers the best user experience with innovative, feature-rich and high performance mobile devices designed with simplicity in Alcatel OneTouch views the device as a hub, meaning that we consider complete home connectivity when we are designing and producing every product. We are a global base with more than 100 offices in more than 160 countries, 7 R&D centers and carrier relationships in all regions around the world.

Alcatel OneTouch is a brand within TCL Communication, an international multicultural company which designs, develops, and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet devices. TCL Communication is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world.

Alcatel OneTouch produces everything from feature handsets to smartphones, modems and tablets, providing solutions to all your mobile communication needs.   It is the third Telecommunications company to partner with Google in developing the Android Operating System and one of the first to produce handsets that runs the Mozilla Firefox Operating System.

Alcatel OneTouch is one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands, which designs, manufactures and markets mobile and Internet products worldwide. The Group’s product portfolio is currently sold in more than 160 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific with Headquarters in Shenzhen, China, TCL Communication employs over 12,000 people

New innovation

Alcatel OneTouch is a global brand which has redefined the mobile mass market by making the latest mobile technologies accessible to everyone. It is the first to recognize the mass market’s needs and has since brought choice, variety and flexibility to customers – from operators to consumers. By combining its understanding of local insights and control of the end-to-end manufacturing process, Alcatel Onetouch delivers the best user experience with innovative, feature-rich and high performance mobile devices designed with simplicity in mind.

Alcatel OneTouch views the device as a hub, meaning that we consider complete home connectivity when we are designing and producing every product Alcatel OneTouch is focused on Nigeria and offering choice, variety and flexibility to consumers irrespective of their budget. We have the brand, the products, the price points and the distribution capabilities to grow aggressively in the years to come