Wednesday, April 06, 2016
Nigeria’s former senate president, David Mark, has been linked to some hidden assets in the ongoing Panama Papers that has revealed the assets of the rich and famous across the world.

Mark was associated with running eight offshore companies registered on the British Virgin Island. His ex-wife, Vikky Preye Mark, is also listed as owning shell accounts.
Mark who was re-elected for a fifth time to represent Benue South Constituency in the senate was named in files belonging to Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca.
The companies associated with Mark are: Sikera Overseas S.A, Colsan Enterprises Limited, Goldwin Transworld Limited, Hartland Estates Limited, Marlin Holdings Limited, Medley Holdings Limited, Quetta Properties Limited and Centenary Holdings Limited.
In the documents, Mark is repeatedly marked as a politically exposed person. At a point, the former Senate President sent documents, across to Mosseca Fonseca to prove that he was clean.
The businesses Mark is conducting with the companies could not be ascertained.
Online newspaper Premium Times quoted a previous investigation it conducted as showing that Mark’s estranged wife, Vikky Preye Mark, was also exposed as an operator of secret offshore accounts.
Mrs. Mark operated an account with the Swiss branch of HSBC, but with details made largely secret.
Although she was known within the bank as the beneficial owner of the account, she was largely identified with a secret code – 14312MP.
Mrs. Mark opened the account on December 18, 1989 and closed it on July 12, 1991. About that time, her husband, then a top ranking army officer, had served as military administrator of Niger State and minister of Communications.
Court papers during a messy divorce with his wife suggested that some of Mark’s children schooled in Switzerland, but it is not clear whether it was during that period that Mrs. Mark operated the HSBC account.
Mossack Fonseca, the firm representing Mark and others is reputed as one of the most secretive companies in the world, that has helped clients to register offshore entities, some of which are then used to launder money, evade tax and dodge sanctions.
Senate President Bukola Saraki’s wife, former Delta State Governor James Ibori, Saraki’s brother Laolu, his associates Obi Asika and Olufela Ibidapo, have also been named as running shell companies that are listed in what is known as the Panama Papers.
The global scandal claimed Iceland Prime Minister’s job yesterday following pressure from the citizens.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron, whose dad Ian was named, denied having anything to do with the Panama Papers. But the opposition Labour Party called for an independent inquiry.
The revelations are among the findings of a lengthy investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other global news organisations.

Wednesday, April 06, 2016
The nation’s electricity woes worsened on Tuesday as two additional power generating plants were shut down, bringing the total number of plants not generating any megawatts of electricity to 10.
The two shut plants are Shiroro Power Station in Niger State and Sapele II in Delta State, industry data obtained by our correspondent showed.
Shiroro, whose capacity was put at 600MW, was said to have seen its unit 411G1 tripped on emergency shutdown on the 86ES lockout relay; units 411G2 and 3 out for under water repair work; and unit 411G4 out on maintenance.
The Sapele II, built under the National Integrated Power Project, with its capacity put at 225MW, has four units. The GT1 was shut down for maintenance, GT3 out due to work by the Nigerian Gas Company at the gas station, while the GT2 and 4 units are out as a result of gas constraints.
Total national power generation stood at 2,774.2MW on Tuesday, down from 3,657.5MW on March 31. Generation from Egbin, the nation’s biggest power station, was limited to 415MW due to gas constraints, down from 1,085MW on March 15.
Shell’s Afam VI power plant generated the highest megawatts of electricity at 418MW as of 6am, the data showed.
The slide in power generation has worsened the blackout being experienced in many parts of the country as many consumers complained of outages lasting for hours on end.
The PUNCH had on Friday reported exclusively that eight of the nation’s power plants were completely idle on Thursday, with significant reduction in generation from others, including Egbin, which is located in Lagos.
The plants, which did not generate any megawatts of electricity included Sapele, Delta State, whose installed capacity was put at 240MW; Olorunsogo II in Ogun State, with a capacity of 625MW; Rivers IPP (180MW) and Trans-Amadi (75MW), both in Rivers State.
Others were Geregu I in Kogi; Afam IV & V in Rivers, and A.E.S and Asco, whose installed capacity were not given.
Sapele’s units were said to be shut due to gas constraints, tripping, maintenance and major overhaul, among other reasons.
The Rivers IPP’s unit GT1 was out due to gas constraints, while Trans-Amadi’s GT1 and 4 units were out due to line constraints; GT2 due to gas constraints and GT3 undergoing maintenance.
According to the data, there was no communication on A.E.S, while Asco’s unit GT1 was out due to a fire outbreak. Olorunsogo’s units GT1 to 4 and ST2 were shut due to gas constraints, and ST1 for maintenance.
Geregu’s three units were shut due to outage and to enable them to undergo a major overhaul and maintenance, while a unit of Afam IV & V had been de-commissioned and scrapped; four were out due to blade failure and two due to burnt generator transformer, among others.

Wednesday, April 06, 2016
A final year student of the Technical College, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Iseoluwa Omomowo, has disappeared while running an errand for his stepbrother’s wife in the Ebute-Meta area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the 28-year-old Ilaje, Ondo State indigene, had gone to withdraw N8,000 from a First Bank of Nigeria Automated Teller Machine on Saturday, but he did not return home.
It was gathered that by Monday, his cell phone had been switched off.
Our correspondent gathered that efforts by the family to locate his whereabouts had been abortive.
His stepbrother, Dr Omoteyinshe Oluwole, explained that the victim was the family’s last child, adding that he had been living with him for about five years.
Oluwole, a medical doctor, said he was in Sagamu, Ogun State, when Omomowo went missing.
He said, “He started living with me in 2011. He is a final year student of Electrical Department of the Technical College, Ikorodu.
“On that Saturday, I sent some money to my wife’s bank account. My wife asked him to withdraw N8,000 from the ATM.  After withdrawing the money, he was supposed to go to the Lagos Island to get a pair of trousers from my tailor.
“At exactly 12.28pm, she received an alert on her phone that the money had been withdrawn from the account.
“Around 4pm, my wife called me that she had yet to see my brother and she was going to the market and needed somebody to stay with our child. I called him on the telephone, but he didn’t pick his calls.”
Oluwole said when he called the tailor, he was told that his brother had yet to arrive.
“Around 6pm again, I called the tailor again, and he said he had not seen my brother. We called his cell phone repeatedly, but nobody picked the calls.
“At 9pm when he didn’t return home, we thought he had gone to watch football at a viewing centre. The police said we could not report until after 24 hours,” he added.
 A family friend and lawyer, Ige Asemudara, said the family had gone to different police stations, as well as prayer houses.
He said, “In one of the places we went to, we were told that he was abducted by some people and they would still release him.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said, “The case was reported to us on Sunday. We are investigating the matter.”

Wednesday, April 06, 2016
There was panic at Matogun, in the Lambe area of Ogun State on Tuesday after the police recovered corpses of two missing pupils from a church in the community, Christ Crusaders’ Deliverance Ministry.
The deceased – six-year-old Isaac Ayegbo, a primary 2 pupil, and Ayomide Innocent, 4, who was in Nursery 1 – were reportedly found inside the church’s vehicle after they were declared missing on Sunday.
The deceased’s parents are neigbours.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Ayomide’s mother, while travelling to the Republic of Benin on Friday, brought him to Isaac’s mother to look after him.
Our correspondent learnt that the children, after taking their lunch on Sunday, were playing outside Ayegbos’ residence, which was opposite the church, when they went missing.
Isaac’s father, Abiodun Ayegbo, was said to have reported the duo’s disappearance at the Agbado Police Division on the same day, but he was told to come back after 24 hours, which he did.
He said, “Ayomide was my friend’s son and he was brought to my wife when his mother travelled.
“She did not take him along because of his school because she would spend about six months there. They (Isaac and Ayomide) came back with my wife from church on Sunday and she gave them food.
“After eating, they went playing around the house. It was my grandmother who raised the alarm when she did not see them. I was told on the telephone to come home when they could not be found.
“I was called this morning (Tuesday) from the station and on getting there, the policemen took me to Christ Crusaders’ Deliverance Ministry, where their corpses were recovered.”
Our correspondent learnt that an angry mob would have set the church ablaze, but for the intervention of armed policemen deployed in the area.
Abiodun’s brother, Kunle Ayegbo, said he found the slippers Isaac wore on the day he went missing inside a car on the church premises, adding that about eight pairs of sandals were also found inside a bus, where their corpses were recovered.
He said the discovery made him sense that something had gone amiss and urged the police to thoroughly investigate the matter to unravel those responsible for the dastardly act.
“The police initially wanted to change the fact that the children were found dead on the church premises, but we stood our grounds. I took some pictures in the church but we were not allowed to take the picture of the children. I found Isaac’s slippers inside a car and about eight other sandals in a bus. I suspect foul play and want this case to be properly investigated and the culprits brought to book.
“Some boys in the community nearly set the church on fire. The policemen and I had to calm them down. We want justice on this matter,” he said.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Ayomide’s father, Nouanti Innocent, passed out when the news of his son’s death was broken to him and he had yet to regain consciousness as of Tuesday evening. His wife had yet to be informed of the incident.
A pastor at the headquarters of the church in the Akute area of the state, Mr. Yemi Adebisi, who spoke on behalf of the church, said the incident was still a mystery as there were guards manning the premises around the clock.
He said the remains of the children were discovered by some members of the church who wanted to sleep inside the bus before the commencement of a vigil.
He said, “The corpses were discovered around 11pm when some church members wanted to sleep inside the bus. We are having a five-day vigil. They alerted the pastor and he called me immediately. We have reported the matter to the police. The vehicle where the corpses were found belongs to the church and it has been out of order for years. People usually sleep inside it.
“There are guards who man  the place all day and all night. I can’t understand the mystery surrounding it. It was a strange occurrence and it has destabilised everybody. It is a major challenge to the church.”
The Ogun State Police spokesperson, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said the pastor of the church, Babatunde Olakunle, and a church worker, Adewale Babalola, had been arrested.
He said, “We recovered two corpses on the church premises and had been deposited in a mortuary for autopsy.
“We have commenced our investigation. The pastor of the church and a church worker were arrested.”

Monday, April 04, 2016
Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Antonio Conte as First Team Head Coach.

Conte, who is currently the manager of the Italy national side, has signed a three-year contract. He will begin work in London following his country’s participation in this summer’s Euro 2016 tournament.
The 46-year-old said: ‘I am very excited about the prospect of working at Chelsea Football Club. I am proud to be the coach of the national team of my country and only a role as attractive as manager of Chelsea could follow that.
'I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the club and the day-to-day challenge of competing in the Premier League.
'Chelsea and English football are watched wherever you go, the fans are passionate and my ambition is to have more success to follow the victories I enjoyed in Italy.
'I am happy we have made the announcement now so everything is clear and we can end the speculation. I will continue to focus on my job with the Italian national team and will reserve speaking about Chelsea again until after the Euros.’
Conte will be the fifth Italian to manage Chelsea, following on from Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo. In common with the first three of those names, he was formerly at Juventus, in his case as both a player and a manager.

Chelsea Director Marina Granovskaia said: ‘We are very pleased to have recruited one of the most highly regarded managers in world football and we are equally pleased to do so before the end of the current season. This aids our future planning.
‘I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Guus Hiddink, who has done a great job since he joined us in December.’
Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck added: ‘Antonio Conte has a record of consistent success in his career as a manager and as a player. We look forward to welcoming him to Stamford Bridge and are confident he will find all he needs to maintain that high standard of achievement.’



Monday, April 04, 2016
Yemi Alade - Mama Africa [Deluxe Album Cover Art]
Yemi Alade is one hard working woman!
Just when we thought she was going to take a break after the release of her sophomore album; “Mama Africa: The Diary of an Africa Woman”, the Effyzie music group act has shown her desire to conquer more territories with the planned release of the deluxe edition of the album on the 6th of April, 2016.
The revamped set features new songs, new producers and collaborations from South Africa’s diva Bucie and hip-hop star AKA.
She has added six new tracks (from track 16 to 21).
Yemi Alade - Mama Africa [Deluxe Album BackTracklist]
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