Once in a while we have a genius artist comes on to the scene. Adeyemi Osofisan in conjunction with Elder Ogunbanjo and the National gallery of art , Abeokuta ,Ogun state , will be holding an art exhibition on the 8th,9th, 10th and 11th day of July 2015. It promises art connoisseurs a treasure of new Art Collections fit for the highest artistic tastes in the industry.
The National Gallery of art (NGA) Abeokuta, in Ogun state has its headquarters in Abuja. It is one of the three outstations located in the Southwest part of the country while the two other are sited in Lagos and Osogbo respectively. The gallery is under the supervision of the present Curator and head of station,  who is also an artist. This organization has tremendously promoted, and positively influenced artists within and outside Abeokuta by exhibiting their works thereby exposing them and marketing them to the world. The annual Children's day exhibition is an educative talent hunt which discovers upcoming young artist in the primary and secondary schools, who go home with gifts and awards. The gallery accommodates standard works of art for sales exhibition ranging from paintings, sculpture, textile, graphics and other works of art. 

iROKOPartners, brainchild of this British -Nigerian national, is believed to be worth $30 million at the moment.

Jason Njoku, 31, launched out into the business world very early in life. Njoku, who describes himself as the hardest working man you ever met, belligerent, dynamic, and focused, grew up in a working class area in South East London and went to a comprehensive school. He was the fi rst person in his family to ever attend a university. He graduated with a degree in Chemistry from the University of Manchester in 2005.

His ambition was to become self reliant and in search of fulfi lment, he tried his hands on not a few businesses which include among others blog network, publishing, a T-shirt company and web design venture. But he failed to make impact in all these and the reason for these failures is simple- he lacked the necessary experience as an aspiring entrepreneur to run a viable business and on the other hand, he failed to hit the target. Njoku shared his own personal story about failure, mistakes and success. “I spent good three years making every mistake there was to make about how to run a business”, he said. “I ran out of friends who would lend me money. I was forced to stop”.

Attend Adeyemi Osofisan's Art Exhibition at the National gallery of Art ,Abeokuta,Ogun state ,Nigeria, on the 8th,9th, 10th and 11th day of July 2015

Once in a while we have a genius artist comes on to the scene. Adeyemi Osofisan in conjunction with Elder Ogunbanjo and the National gallery of art , Abeokuta ,Ogun state , will be holding an art exhibition on the 8th,9th, 10th and 11th day of July 2015. It promises art connoisseurs a treasure of new Art Collections fit for the highest artistic tastes in the industry.
The National Gallery of art (NGA) Abeokuta, in Ogun state has its headquarters in Abuja. It is one of the three outstations located in the Southwest part of the country while the two other are sited in Lagos and Osogbo respectively. The gallery is under the supervision of the present Curator and head of station,  who is also an artist. This organization has tremendously promoted, and positively influenced artists within and outside Abeokuta by exhibiting their works thereby exposing them and marketing them to the world. The annual Children's day exhibition is an educative talent hunt which discovers upcoming young artist in the primary and secondary schools, who go home with gifts and awards. The gallery accommodates standard works of art for sales exhibition ranging from paintings, sculpture, textile, graphics and other works of art. 

N8BN SCAM: CASH ASSISTANT HAS N134M IN ONE ACCOUNT, SAYS EFCC

N8BN SCAM: CASH ASSISTANT HAS N134M IN ONE ACCOUNT, SAYS EFCC
Hearing in the Central Bank of Nigeria N8bn mutilated currency fraud suit continued at the Federal High Court, Ibadan on Wednesday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission told the court that one of the accused persons, Mr. Ayodeji Alase, had N134m in one of his bank accounts.
The EFCC told the trial judge, Justice A.O. Faaji, that Alase, a primary six certificate holder, started work at First Bank as a guard before he was promoted to the position of a cash assistant.
The lead prosecution counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacob (SAN), also told the court that the accused had property worth hundreds of millions of naira.
Alase, according to the anti-graft agency, has a duplex at Oluyole Estate in Ibadan, a shopping complex, a warehouse at Podo, a fenced plot at Dugbe, a block of four flats at Apeye, two plots of land and five-bedroom flat in other parts of the state capital.
He was alleged to have a credit balance of N132m in one of his bank accounts.
The commission also alleged that Alase possessed a block of five-bedroom flat at Apete area of Ibadan and a supermarket at New Garage, Apata area of Ibadan.
Other accused persons, including Olaniran Adeola, Ayodele Adeyemi, Isiaq Akano and others were also said to own property in South Africa, filling stations, cement shops, schools, supermarkets, exotic cars and buildings in several locations in Nigeria.
One of the accused, Mrs. Afolabi Olunike, was alleged to be the owner of a duplex, several plots of land, a storey building and another three acres of land.
Earlier during the hearing, Alase had delayed court proceedings when he claimed not to understand English Language when charges were read to him. But Jacob rose to fault his claim, alleging that although Alase was employed as a guard, he rose to become a cash assistant in First Bank Plc.
Justice Faaji later ruled that an interpreter should be provided for Alase to ease communication between the court and the accused. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Wednesday, cases were heard before Justice Faaji in batches with the first set of accused persons slammed with a 28-count charge.
They are Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Adeola, Toogun Phillip, Ayodele Adeyemi, Isiaq Akano, Oyebamiji Akeem, Alase, Ajiwe Adegoke and Idowu Oguntade, who is still at large.
Three officials of the CBN were among the accused, while others were from Wema Bank Plc and First Bank Plc.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi, told the court that the accused persons were charged with a 28-count charge which included forgery of documents, conspiracy and stealing.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons were charged with intent to defraud and conspiracy to commit an offence punishable under the Nigerian law.
They were also accused of sharing among themselves mutilated currency meant to be destroyed and destroying and defacing some boxes used to move the currency from one bank to the other. They all pleaded not guilty to all the charges and despite efforts of the counsel to the accused persons to secure bail for them through oral application, Justice Faaji ruled that they should be remanded in prisons pending further hearing.
The case was adjourned to June 8, 2015 for hearing of the bail application.
-Punch

FG owes Construction Firms N500bn- Federation Of Construction Industry

Construction companies in the country claimed that the federal government is owing them N500 billion. President, Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), Mr Solomon Ogunbusola, said that  the nation’s construction sector of the economy was comatose due to the failure of the federal government and some state governments to pay construction firms for projects they have completed.

He noted that as a result of the debts, some of them may soon close business and disengage their employees.

“The Federal Ministry of Works alone is owing our members N500 billion and one company is owed over N70 billion. The records are there. We are now retrenching our workers. We are merely opening the offices because we want to remain in office, hoping that the incoming administration will be a better one for us. We cannot keep quiet or hide any longer.

All construction companies in Nigeria are being owed huge sums of money amounting to over N500 billion. We all being owed and to further stoke our grievances the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is urging banks to publish the names of our members who took loans from the banks and are being owed for projects that they had long completed as chronic debtors.

The name of the government that owed the construction companies should also be published. Let the banks publish the names of our members along with that of the Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and area councils owing us as chronic debtors. It is because they could not pay our members that they, in turn, could not pay the banks,” he stated.

APC LAWMAKERS' SALARIES HAVE BEEN PAID- EKITI STATE GOVT.

EKITI State government and the 19 All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmakers were yesterday engaged in a war of words over media report that the embargo placed by the state governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose on the salaries and allowances of the legislators had been lifted.
Apparently irked by the development, the lawmakers in a statement accused the government of sponsoring the report.

The government described as falsehood the lawmakers’ position, adding that the legislators duly acknowledged their payments last week.
But the aggrieved APC lawmakers in a statement by the Media Adviser to the Speaker, Mr. Wole Olujobi, said the report was mischievous and lacking the basic tenet of journalism.

The statement reads: ‘’It is shocking that those behind the media report chose not to believe us but overzealously believed the purported sources that thrive in falsehood, lies and propaganda while working for the government. The reporter in one breath said his investigation revealed that the lawmakers had been paid, yet he reported that both Fayose and the lawmakers did not confirm the report as they refused to talk to him. If this were the case, then who were the sources that confirmed to the reporter that the lawmakers had been paid?

“To make matters worse, contrary to the reporter’s claim that we did not talk to him, we told him that we have not been paid. Apart from getting this fact from us, the speaker’s media aide told him the same and so we are surprised that the reporter is claiming that he received no information from us.

“In fact, as at Saturday night, the alerts we received from our bank were deficit alerts and so we wonder where the reporter got his story. It is unfortunate that just because the reporter wanted to file an exclusive report for his paper, he went ahead to report this falsehood motivated by blackmail.’’

Salary and favour
“Let us even agree without conceding that we were paid our lawful entitlements, what favour does the governor do to us by that after illegally cutting short our tenure by seven months and putting us in harrowing inconveniences in addition to his brazen rape on the constitution of Nigeria? Must payment of our legal entitlements prevent us from defending the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which we swore to protect?

“Where are the indications of payment when embargo is placed on our accounts by the governor? Even those who should know in government are wondering where the reporter got his story because there is never any payment to the lawmakers. This is irresponsible journalism at its worst and it is unfortunate.’’

Governments position
However, the government in a statement issued yesterday by the State Commissioner forFINANCE, Chief Toyin Ojo said: “We would have remained silent in deference to the agreement reached at the last Monday meeting in Akure that all parties should maintain silence on the outcome of the meeting, especially because the lawmakers said they do not want their leaders to know the outcome of the meeting.

“However, since the lawmakers have chosen not to abide by this agreement by first issuing press statement to deny and reveal what was discussed in the meeting, and now going to the press to say that they have not received any payment, the government does not have any other option than to tell the public the truth and set the records straight.

“The government is by this press statement putting the records straight since the money paid to the lawmakers belong to Ekiti people.

Payments made in cheques

“The payment was made in cheques because the lawmakers pleaded that their accounts should not be credited directly so as to avoid the banks from making deductions for loans taken from the banks.

“Saying that they have not been paid is quite unfortunate and unbecoming of honourable members of the State House of Assembly and this is sad.

“We will want to keep our fingers crossed and we wish to caution the lawmakers to adhere strictly to the spirit of the agreements. Governor Fayose’s good gesture, aimed at ensuring peace in the State should not be abused.”

EFCC APPREHENDS 6 CBN OFFICIALS AND 16 OTHER BANKERS OVER 8BN NAIRA FRAUD

Six top officials of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and 16 other workers of commercial banks in the country have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for a mega scam involving N8 billion.

The suspects were picked up by operatives of the anti-graft agency for stealing and putting into circulation defaced and mutilated Nigerian currency notes to the tune of N8 billion meant for destruction.

All the suspects have already been taken into EFCC custody preparatory to their arraignment at the Federal High Court, Ibadan, tomorrow. The trial will run till June 4 in a bid to speed up the prosecution of the suspects by the court.

A statement signed by the Head of Media of the EFCC, Mr. WilsonUwujaren, gave the names of the suspects as: Patience Okoro Eye (Abuja), Afolabi Olufemi (Lagos), Kolawole Babalola (Ibadan), Olaniran Muniru Adeola (Ibadan), Fatai Yusuf, Adekunle (Head, Security, CBN (Ibadan) and Ilori Adekunle Sunday (Akure).

Burned old newspapers in place of defaced Naira notes

The 16 suspects, who colluded with the CBN officials to commit the fraud, are officials drawn from Zenith Bank, FCMB, Wema Bank, Access Bank, FirstBank, Skye Bank, Ecobank and Sterling Bank.

The officials helped themselves with the mutilated N8 billion cash and burned old newspapers in place of the defaced Naira notes, thereby making a mockery of the CBN rule relating to such money.

But the suspects ran out of luck when one of the bank officials petitioned the EFCC, alleging on November 3, 2014 that over N6,575,549, 370 was cornered and discreetly recycled by light-fingered top executives of the CBN at the Ibadan branch.

The suspects, who were members of the Briquetting Panel, which handles the destruction of defaced notes from commercial banks, decided to play a fast one on the nation and smile to their banks but ran into a trouble yesterday.

In banking parlance, Briquetting is disintegration and destruction of counted and audited dirty notes. By this practice, depositor banks usually take mutilated notes to the CBN in exchange for fresh notes equivalent of the amount deposited.

What Briquetting panel discovered

But while carrying out the assignment, the team was alleged to have found one of the currency boxes filled only with old newspapers rather than 20 bundles of N1000 notes.

A similar case, according to investigation, had been discovered on September 22, 2014 when a box that was supposed to contain N500 notes to the tune of N5 billion was filled with old newspapers.

But unlike in the past, the latest fraud could not be swept under the carpet, as a member of the Briquetting Panel from the Osogbo branch blew the lid on the illicit deal.

In a statement, the informant stated that the exercise was designed to last between August 4 and 8, 2014. The 35-year-old whistle blower, however, stated that she discovered a strange ‘sight’ while opening the third box on the second day of the exercise.

She added that she confronted the other members of the panel, including Eye, Head, Briquetting Panel; Treasury Assistant; Coordinator and Head, Security, CBN, Ibadan, they merely assured her that they would look into it but did nothing about it months after.

She said she later found out that Eye not only maintained sealed lips over the matter but omitted it from her report.

A five count charge awaits the suspects as they prepare to face the wrath of the law.

Surveillance system in currency operations

CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Muazu, could not be reached for comments but a senior official of the apex bank, who confirmed this development, however said it was the end result of a whistle blow from CBN in November last year when the incident occurred.

He told Vanguard that the apex bank had installed a strong surveillance system in its currency operations that could detect every unwholesome transaction but some of its staff went to undermine the system in collusion with officials of some banks. In the process, an alarm system was triggered off which led to the apprehension of the culprits and they were handed over to EFCC for investigations and prosecution.

Courtesy;The Vanguard

$100m Proposed Cancer Treatment Center

This project is proposed to offer the latest in Cancer treatment in Africa and is currently being proposed for Ogun state as a location. It will provide hospital inpatient and outpatient services to the upper crust of the society. It will have singe rooms,double rooms suites with kitchenettes and apartments for relatives. provision has been made for staff housing (senior,junior and management ),Primary school,secondary school,a 3 star hotel,world class stadium and a wellness center for healthy lifestyle training. the wellness center will offer full body analytical equipment for international football teams to do their check ups and medicals. A full scale diagnostic center to deliver first class cancer treatment ,radiological services , mammograms, and state of the art nuclear treatment. there are two helipads and an artificial lake is included for therapeautic purposes. This Project is currently in the production drawing stage and also under review by the client. Our service on this project is purely architectural in nature