9JA VIBEZ HUB

Atiku Abubakar, former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
presidential candidate, has rebuked President Muhammadu
Buhari over the country’s rising debt profile.
Atiku, particularly questioned Buhari’s decision to borrow an
additional $29.6billion to finance infrastructure.
The former Vice President insisted that it was irresponsible
to borrow more money when the financial indicators are
flashing warning signs.
In an article he personally signed and issued on Tuesday,
Atiku said Nigeria was spending more money on debt
servicing than on capital projects.
The article reads in full below:
“The fact that Nigeria currently budgets more money for debt
servicing (₦2.7 trillion), than we do on capital expenditure
(₦2.4 trillion) is already an indicator that we have borrowed
more money than we can afford to borrow. And the thing is
that debt servicing is not debt repayment. Debt servicing just
means that we are paying the barest minimum allowable by
our creditors.
“And while spending 50% of our current revenue on debt
servicing, this administration wants to take further loans of
$29.6 billion! To say that this is irresponsible is itself an
understatement”, he wrote.
Atiku stated that Nigeria does not need to borrow as he
offered his campaign programme as panacea: he urges the
Buhari administration to re-engineer the NNPC and adopt
the NLNG model in its governance. The NNLG, a joint
venture, declares billions of dollars as profit every year, the
NNPC, he said, declares losses.
“The money the Muhammadu Buhari administration wants to
borrow to fund its Medium Term Expenditure Framework
(MTEF) could be acquired without sinking the nation into
further debt. All it requires is visionary leadership and
business acumen.
“In my economic blueprint, I said that rather than turn in
regular losses (which it has consistently been doing), the
best thing to do with the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation is to reform it. Of course, the administration’s
paid propagandists went into overdrive, accusing me of
planning to sell the NNPC to my friends. But just last week,
Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO, the most profitable company in the
world, took that route and almost broke the global stock
market with the most successful initial IPOs in world history,
bar none. Ironically, Saudi Aramco raised $29.4 billion via
this IPO. Just the amount this administration wants to
borrow,” he wrote.
The opposition politician did not just limit his intervention to
a mere rebuke of the Buhari administration as he also
appealed to Nigerian youths to write their senators to reject
the loan.
He called the power cabal behind the Buhari administration
a ‘ravenous cabal’.
“I call on Nigeria’s youth to identify the Senator representing
their senatorial zones and write to them, urging them to
vote against this request. Do this, because it is you and your
children that will pay back these loans that would be
squandered by this ravenous cabal who do not have the
word enough in their vocabulary”.
Now read his full article;
John Quincy Adams once said “there are two ways to
conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The
other is by debt.” He may have very well been referring to
Nigeria of the last three years.
Barely two weeks ago, I warned during my Founder’s Day
lecture at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, that
Nigeria had taken almost as much foreign debt in the last
three years, as she had taken in the thirty years before 2015
combined. Now that is frightening. And very true.
Frightening, not just because of the amount, but because
after such unprecedented borrowing, we have emerged as
the world headquarters for extreme poverty and the global
capital for out of school children. It begs the question: what
were the funds used for?
I have said it time and again. The business of government is
too serious to be left in the hands of politicians. We must all
ask questions because if they throw away the future, it is not
going to be their future they are throwing away, it will be all
our futures.
The fact that Nigeria currently budgets more money for debt
servicing (₦2.7 trillion), than we do on capital expenditure
(₦2.4 trillion) is already an indicator that we have borrowed
more money than we can afford to borrow. And the thing is
that debt servicing is not debt repayment. Debt servicing just
means that we are paying the barest minimum allowable by
our creditors.
And while spending 50% of our current revenue on debt
servicing, this administration wants to take further loans of
$29.6 billion! To say that this is irresponsible is itself an
understatement.
The fact that Nigeria currently budgets more money for debt
servicing (₦2.7 trillion), than we do on capital expenditure
(₦2.4 trillion) is already an indicator that we have borrowed
more money than we can afford to borrow. And the thing is
that debt servicing is not debt repayment. Debt servicing just
means that we are paying the barest minimum allowable by
our creditors.
As a businessman, one of the very first things I learnt is that
you do not take loans except you are expanding your
business. Even as an individual, when your income cannot
fund your lifestyle, you are challenged to grow your income,
not your borrowings.
Even if this administration borrows $1 trillion, it will never be
enough because their challenge is one of capacity. They are
not using the funds they already have wisely. They do not
need more debt. They need more intellectual capacity.
The money the Muhammadu Buhari administration wants to
borrow to fund its Medium Term Expenditure Framework
(MTEF) could be acquired without sinking the nation into
further debt. All it requires is visionary leadership and
business acumen.
In my economic blueprint, I said that rather than turn in
regular losses (which it has consistently been doing), the
best thing to do with the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation is to reform it. Of course, the administration’s
paid propagandists went into overdrive, accusing me of
planning to sell the NNPC to my friends. But just last week,
Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO, the most profitable company in the
world, took that route and almost broke the global stock
market with the most successful initial IPOs in world history,
bar none. Ironically, Saudi Aramco raised $29.4 billion via
this IPO. Just the amount this administration wants to
borrow.
Even if this administration borrows $1 trillion, it will never be
enough because their challenge is one of capacity. They are
not using the funds they already have wisely. They do not
need more debt. They need more intellectual capacity.
That could have been Nigeria’s story, but for our failure of
leadership. By reforming the NNPC, Nigeria can raise the
$29.6 billion the Buhari regime wants to borrow, and we will
raise the money without going into debt.
If we had taken that route, not only would we have attracted
Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria, but even better than
investment, we would have attracted confidence in our
economy, because it would have shown that we have a
thinking leadership.
Take the example of the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas
company. This is a joint venture between the Nigeria
government and the private sector. Yet, while the NLNG
declares very handsome profits, in billions of dollars every
year, the NNPC declares losses! This is proof that the NLNG
model works, and the NNPC model does not.
Moody’s, the world’s preeminent rating agency, has just
downgraded Nigeria. Ghana, a nation with only 15% of our
population, now attracts more Foreign Direct Investment
than Nigeria, and Rwanda, a country with less than 15% of
our mineral endowment, has an economy that is growing at
twice the rate of our economy. The problem is not revenue.
The challenge is not Nigerians. The issue is leadership.
Take the example of the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas
company. This is a joint venture between the Nigeria
government and the private sector. Yet, while the NLNG
declares very handsome profits, in billions of dollars every
year, the NNPC declares losses! This is proof that the NLNG
model works, and the NNPC model does not.
While there is scant information in the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework for what the loan would be used for,
I could not help but read a communication from the
Presidency to the effect that one of such projects would be
the digitalisation of the Nigerian Television Authority and
other similar projects.
Spending revenue on such projects would be foolish, but
spending loans in such a manner is nothing short of
foolhardy. The Nigerian government does not have a good
record of running businesses, and a public television
network is unlikely to yield the type of income that would
justify taking out loans to digitalise it. Besides, is that a
priority, when we have 12 million children out of school?
Like I said, capacity, not revenue, is the problem.
And in proof of this, I offer the example of how this
administration took delivery of $322 million Abacha loot in
2018 and claimed it shared it out to poor Nigerians, only to
obtain a $328 million loan from China, allegedly for ICT
development the very next month. How do you share out
$322 million and then borrow $328 million? Who does that?
At the risk of repeating myself, it is clear that no amount of
money, whether from revenue or borrowings, will be enough
for an administration that lacks capacity.
So, what must Nigeria do now? Rather than profligate
borrowing, what Nigeria needs to do is restore investor
confidence in our economy. Key to that is respecting the
independence of key institutions, such as the Judiciary and
the Central Bank of Nigeria. Both of these institutions are
now the captives of Buhari and his cabal, and though they
are loathe to admit it, they cannot take one step without
watching their backs.
Why are foreign investors leaving Nigeria for Ghana? The
answer is that Ghana, unlike Nigeria, has learnt how to
divorce key institutions from politics. The Ghanaian central
bank enjoys a degree of independence that our own CBN
can only dream of under the prevailing atmosphere. You will
not hear Ghana’s leaders give flippant interviews overseas
about their plans for the cedi, as Buhari has done in Europe
about the Naira. It rang alarm bells because it is not the job
of the executive to interfere in the role of the reserve bank.
Neither will you find Ghana’s leaders blatantly intimidating
the judiciary by obviously setting up judges and invading
courtrooms. Why would any investor come to Nigeria under
such prevailing circumstances? Their thought would be that
if they had industrial disputes, our courts, under this
administration, could not be counted on to deliver impartial
justice.
I was part of a team that paid off Nigeria’s entire foreign
debt. I, therefore, cannot sit and watch an administration
without vision squander our children’s future by taking and
wasting loans that they do not even have the capacity to
utilise properly.
Thank God for leaked memos that have exposed the lies this
regime has told Nigerians about unprecedented revenues in
the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation. Now, we know that Nigeria
is not poor because she is not making enough money. The
truth is that Nigeria is poor because she is not making the
right leadership decisions.
Thomas Jefferson said, “to preserve our independence, we
must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” Dear
citizens of our beloved nation, this is a call to heed.
President Olusegun Obasanjo and I paid off this nation’s
debt, and I will not stand idly by and watch while Nigeria is
plunged into second slavery by those who only know how to
reap where they have not sown.
Our youth must have something better to inherit from us
than unsustainable debt fuelled by insatiable greed. That is
why I call on the Senate of the National Assembly to show
loyalty to Nigeria and reconsider its decision with regards to
approving Buhari’s $29.6 billion loan request.
We need to pay heed to Benjamin Franklin’s advise that “he
that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing”. I call on Nigeria’s
youth to identify the Senator representing their senatorial
zones and write to them, urging them to vote against this
request. Do this, because it is you and your children that will
pay back these loans that would be squandered by this
ravenous cabal who do not have the word enough in their
vocabulary.

A Plateau High Court on Tuesday, fixed Dec. 23 for adoption
of final written addresses on the alleged N6.3 billion fraud
case against former Governor, Jonah Jang and his former
cashier in the cabinet office, Mr Yusuf Pam.
Jang and Pam are being prosecuted by EFCC over 12 Count
charge of alleged money laundering of the sum of N6.3
billion during his(Jang) eight-year tenure as Governor of
Plateau between 2007 and 2015.
Justice Daniel Longji, the presiding Judge of High Court 4,
made the pronouncement shortly after the hearing of the
case in which a mild drama unfolded.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that when the case came up
on Tuesday for continuation of hearing, Mr H.E. Ejega, EFCC
counsel, while expressing reasons why the defence counsel
including Chief Mike Ezokhome and Mr Edward Pwajok both
SANs, could not file their replies to final addresses of “No
case submissions”, described the activities of the defence
counsel as “very mischievous” and “unprofessional “.
“It’s true that we last adjourned today, Tuesday, Dec. 17
within which all parties would have filed their written
addresses having given the defendants 14 days and to the
prosecution, 10 days
“ But we want to hereby vent our disappointment on the style
of practice adopted by the defence, which is never known to
the practice of the law profession.

“Even though they filed their written addresses of No case
submission out of time, they chose to serve us of their
processes in the office of our client, the EFCC, instead of
Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) office, which is our address and so
denied us of the opportunity of being aware of the service
effected on Dec. 4.
“In fact, only yesterday, Monday, Dec. 16 that the EFCC
brought the processes to our notice and of course, we
couldn’t have replied them and filed ours before today,
Tuesday, Dec. 17.
“To further show the defendants intended mischief, we
found out that out of the blues there is an appeal in their
written addresses on our amended charges
“So My Lord, they can’t claim they weren’t aware of our
address which is public before this court but did it
deliberately to deny us of the opportunity to meet up with
the time of filing our addresses by serving our client, the
EFCC instead.
“By this constraint, we urge your Lordship to humbly give us
more time to enable us file our addresses with counting
starting from the day (Dec. 16) we were served, “ the
prosecution counsel pleaded.
Responding, Ezokhome, who was visibly angry with the
submission of the prosecution counsel, described the
submission of the counsel as “not only unprofessional and
unethical but grossly infamous.”
The SAN said it was the type of submission that the court
should never tolerate nor allow and should use strong
words to warn “never again should it repeat itself.”
“The prosecution counsel used strong and despicable
words, which are full of mischief and unprofessional and
provocative even with their glaring and abysmal failure to
meet up the ruling of this honourable court.
“My Lord, their game plan is simple, which I will urge your
Lordship not allow. Having seen their case has crumbled
before their very eyes, and having worsen it with their
amended charges, even when they know your Lordship has
only Dec. 31 to retire, they want to take the cheap and ugly
way out by seeing that the case starts afresh.
“We want to submit that it is actually the Prosecution that is
mischievous and whose style of practice is questionable
and highly unprofessional.
“Let’s take their claim that we filed our addresses out of
time, the best way they would have attacked us was to
come to your Lordship with a motion on notice that we filed
out of time through preliminary objections.
“They can’t sit down in their office and decide for the court
what is right and what is wrong. If you look at section 5(2)
of the interpretation Act of the Law of FRN (2004) as
amended, we filed our processes on Dec. 2, which if
calculated, we were not out of time from Nov. 19.
“Again, we served the EFCC office with our processes on
Dec. 4 because that is the address on the last document,
which is the amended charges, so where is our fault here
when the EFCC chose to only notify 12 days after?”, he said
queried.
According to Ezokhome, “there is even no evidence to show
that they were only notified yesterday, Dec. 16 but a tale no
one should take serious. My Lord shouldn’t believe such a
story.”
He urged the court to order the prosecution counsel to
apologise over the “foul language” he used and the “lies” he
told against/on the defense counsels.
“On their application for time to reply and file their
addresses, we wouldn’t say let them be denied, but they
should be given only two days to effect that so that your
Lordship will have the opportunity to give judgment on this
case, “ Ezokhome pleaded.
Also speaking, Mr Sunday Odey, lead Counsel to the 2nd
defendant, Pam, also relied on the submission of Ezokhome
and said “having violated the order of the court, the
prosecution shouldn’t have been heard at all but for justice
sake.”
Justice Longji, in his ruling, ordered the prosecution counsel
to apologise to the defense counsel and Ejega quickly
apologised with a promise it would not repeat itself.
The judge then gave the prosecution Thursday within which
to reply and file their final written address.
He adjourned the case to Dec. 23 for adoption of final
written addresses by all parties involved in the case.

                          Mrs. Folashade Jaji,

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Lagos
State Government has stressed the need for residents,
particularly the youths to celebrate in moderation in the
atmosphere of peace and love and shun all acts of
hooliganism and violence during Yuletide and beyond.
Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji,
gave the admonition over the weekend while flagging off a
sensitization rally, held in Lagos Island.
The week-long sensitization rally which had earlier been held
across other senatorial districts such as Epe, Badahry, Ikeja,is
tagged,” Lagosians, let’s celebrate peacefully and in harmony.”
Jaji, who spoke through, Mr. Lekan Bakare, Chairman of 57
Secretaries to Local Governments and Local Council
Development Areas, LCDA, otherwise, called Scribe 57, said
the sensitization became necessary to ensure safety of all
residents and visitors, particularly during festive period where
activities are at its peak.
She urged the youths thus, “At this Yuletide, say no to drugs,
don’t drink and drive, stay safe, shun violence, be positive, be
responsible, be security conscious Day in Day out.
“Avoid bad company and influence anytime, any day. See
something bad, report quickly to save precious lives.
Remember, the safe way is the best way.”
The SSG assured that government is, however, ready to
protect lives and properties of residents urging to call the toll
free emergency numbers of 112 and 767 in case of any ugly
development for security intervention. “Its everyone’s civic
responsibility to stay safe and secure.
She therefore, urged citizenry to support Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu led administration in achieving greater Lagos.
Speaking earlier, Secretary to the Local Government, Lagos
Island Local Government, Junaid Ladega Eko, assured that
there is no cause for alarm on safety of lives and property as
adequate security measures have been put on place to prevent
any threat to human lives and property.
He said that the council was already complementing the state
efforts as it had set up a security committee, comprising of
Nigeria Police, led by the Area Commander, to ensure safety
among communities during festive season and beyond.
He added that two notorious ring leaders of some groups who
had been terrorising the peace and tranquility in the area are
currently in police custody for prosecution over series of
murder cases believed they led during previous clashes in
Island.
“We are also engaging stakeholders to sensitize people at their
various communities on the need to maintain the peace. I can
assure you, there is no cause for the alarm in Lagos Island
during the period.
“I therefore, enjoin both Islanders and guests to be law abiding
and GI about their normal businesses as long as they
peaceful,”Ladega Eko stated.

Nigeria, through the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has started intensification of global
attention to the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove as a World
Heritage Site while pushing for UNESCO’s enlistment of similar
other sites in Nigeria. This was started on Tuesday 17
December 2019, when the minister made a tour of the Sacred
Grove, accompanied by the media and officials of the state
arts, culture and tourism ministries.
Addressing the media after touring the grove, the minister
said: “We have just concluded a tour of the Osun-Osogbo
Sacred Grove, one of Nigeria’s two world heritage sites. The
other is the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa State. You
will agree with me that this is indeed an extraordinary site,
worthy of its declaration as a world heritage site.”
The minister and his entourage also visited the Governor of
Osun State, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, in his office. In his
brief speech, the governor re-affirmed the huge potentials
tourism, driven mainly by arts, culture and sites such as Osun
Osogbo Sacred Grove, has for a country’s economy.
The minister said the purpose of the visit was to renew
national and global attention on Osun Osogbo Grove, and to
formally announce Nigeria’s plan to pursue the enlistment of
more sites as world heritage sites by UNESCO. “As you are
aware, Nigeria has many veritable sites that meet the
requirements of being declared World Heritage Sites. We are
taking immediate steps to first enlist the sites on the tentative
list, after which they can be inscribed as World Heritage Sites.”
The minster listed few of the sites whose enlistments are
being sought. They include the ancient Kano City Walls; The
Brazilian Baracoon Museum/Point of No Return in Badagry,
Lagos State, where slaves departed Nigeria to the Americas;
The forests in Oke-Igbo, Ile Oluji Axis of Ondo State, which
was the inspiration for D. O. Fagunwa’s book, ‘Igbo
Olodumare’; The Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria’s
largest national park, located in the eastern provinces of
Taraba and Adamawa, close to the border with Cameroon;
and the Ogbunike Caves in Anambra State, for its natural
significance.
The list, said Lai Mohammed, is endless. He revealed that last
month, the ministry successfully obtained court order
restraining persons encroaching on the Kano City Walls and
Associated Sites.
“A World Heritage Site,” said the minister, “is a landmark or
area which is selected by the UNESCO as having cultural,
historical, scientific or other form of significance, and is
legally protected by international treaties. Such sites are
judged important to the collective interests of humanity. They
are considered to be of ‘Outstanding Universal Value’.
“The World Heritage Site list is maintained by the international
World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 “states parties”.
“The fact that the General Assembly, comprising the entire 193
states parties, last month elected Nigeria into the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee is a positive development for our
quest to have more sites designated as World Heritage Sites.
And we shall use our presence on this committee to fight for
enlistment of many more sites from Nigeria into the World
Heritage list, because Nigeria is really blessed with a lot of
potential sites.
“In the meantime, we are planning a similar visit to the Sukur
Cultural Landscape. Fortunately for us, our gallant men and
women in uniform have succeeded in repelling the attempt by
the Boko Haram terrorists to destroy the Sukur Cultural
Landscape.
“Now that we are here, let me use the opportunity of this visit
to warn the land grabbers who are threatening the buffer zone
around the Osun-Osogbo Grove, which is also a national
monument. We will do whatever is possible within the law to
keep encroachers at bay.
The minister thanked the Government of Osun State for all it is
has done and is still doing to maintain the World Heritage Site.
“As you can see, the access road to the grove is well tarred
and the environment is kept clean and safe. Thank you also to
our guide today and to all those who are working here.”

The House of Representatives has directed the Committee on
Labour, Employment and Productivity to investigate the
activities of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) in
relation to the expenditure of ₦2.3 billion by its management.
This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion moved by
Rep. Francis Waive during the plenary presided over by the
Deputy Speaker of the house, Mr. Idris Wase on Tuesday.
The motion is titled “Need to Investigate the Activities of the
Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF)”.
Moving the motion, Waive recalled the report, in the Vanguard
Newspaper of Nov. 24, alleging a fraud of ₦2.3 billion against
the management of NSITF carried out without the
authorisation of its board or approval of the Ministry of Labour
and Employment.
The lawmaker added the transaction exceeded the spending
threshold of the management, according to the report.
He said the report also indicated that the management
allegedly awarded multi-million naira contracts for the
construction of office complexes of the NSITF in 12 states.
He added that “this is in addition to approving millions of naira
as duty tour allowances for trips, in contravention of a recent
directive from the Presidency banning such trips in order to
reduce wastage.
“At the end of August 2019, the sum of ₦2,294,161,925 had
allegedly been spent on staff trainings which were mostly not
approved by the board or the Ministry of Labour and
Employment, while many of the staff of the fund claimed that
they never attended any training, with a lot of infractions in
the process.”
The lawmaker expressed concern over the claim by the
management that it had spent billions of naira in settling
outstanding debts to contractors but details of such debts
were not provided to the board or the ministry.
He added that the claim raised suspicion about the
genuineness of the claimed debts and payments.
The house, however, said there was “an urgent need to
investigate the allegations to reposition the fund to deliver on
its mandate and also help in stamping out corrupt practices in
ministries, departments and agencies of government”
The lawmakers also directed the investigating committee to
report back in four weeks for further legislative action.

Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, has
reintroduced a bill seeking to establish the Nigeria
Peace Corps at the senate.
The bill was among six proposed laws introduced at the
upper legislative chamber on Tuesday.
The first reading of the peace corps bill was taken after
Nelson Ayewoh, clerk of the senate, read the short title
of it.
In February 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari refused
to sign the bill after the eighth assembly passed it in
2017.
The president expressed concern about funding for the
organisation.
Buhari said given the “scarce government resources”,
funding the organisation will be a financial burden on the
federal government.
The Peace Corps of Nigeria was embroiled in
controversies with other security organisations — the
police and the Department of State Services (DSS).
In 2017, the office of organisation in Abuja was sealed by
the police.

The House of Representatives have introduced a bill to
change the tenure of President, Governors to a single term
of 6years.
Sponsored by reps member John Dyegh of the All
Progressive Congress, the bill has passed through a first
reading and has been listed for a second reading by the
House.
The bill seeks to change the tenure of President from the
4years of two terms to a single term of 6years.
If passed, the will also change the tenure of members of the
National Assembly and States Houses of Assembly to
6years from the current 4years term.
The bill is coming at a time of rumours that the incumbent,
Muhamadu Buhari is seeking a third term.

Realme launched as an independent brand in May 2018,
and quickly became a reference in the second largest
market in the world – India. The brand has recently
arrived in Europe, and presents itself as a major opponent
of Xiaomi by offering a great cost-benefit on their
smartphones.
According to its CEO, Madhav Sheth, the company was
able to sell 15 million smartphones in 2019. Not content
with that, the goal for next year is ambitious: “We plan to
double that number by 2020.”
Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme
Realme is already fourth best-
selling manufacturer in India
Realme’s expectations are realistic. In the Indian market,
the young manufacturer is already the fourth best seller
with 15 .2% market share. It is only surpassed by Vivo (15.
2%), by Samsung ( . 9%) and by Xiaomi with 27 1%.
Realme eventually opted for a similar online strategy
Xiaomi’s, which eventually gave her this sudden growth.
According to Madhav Sheth, Realme is the seventh
fastest-growing smartphone maker in the world.
Although Realme is already one of the best-selling brands
in India, the young maker already has insole on the
European continent, and its official website already ships
directly to Portugal.
At the moment the big questions about Realme are only
about its ability to offer long term updates on their
devices. In recognition of its value for money, the
company is increasingly admiring.

A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced former military ruler
Pervez Musharraf to death on charges of high treason and
subverting the constitution.
Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and later ruled
as president, is expected to challenge the order.
“Pervez Musharraf has been found guilty of Article 6 for
violation of the constitution of Pakistan,” Reuters quotes a
government law officer Salman Nadeem.
The court analyzed complaints, records, arguments and
facts in the case and reached a majority verdict. Two of the
three judges gave the decision against Musharraf.
The charges were based on Musharraf’s imposition of a
state of emergency in 2007, when he was facing growing
opposition to his rule.
The former dictator arrested and sacked the country’s top
judges, including the chief justice, who challenged his
decision to remain head of the army while also being
president.
Musharraf also suspended all civil liberties, human rights
and democratic processes from November 2007 to February
2008.
Protests across the country forced him to resign in 2008 to
avoid impeachment.
Last month, Musharraf issued a video recording from a
hospital bed in Dubai in which he said he was not being
given a fair hearing in the case that was filed by the
government in 2013.
“I served the nation and made decisions for the betterment
of the country,” Musharraf said in the video clip.

However, the FG has only enforced the first phase of
35 per cent on used vehicles while it has fully
implemented the import tariff on brand new ones.
The over half a trillion Naira figure used in importing
used vehicles was gleaned from the foreign trade in
goods statistics published by the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS) recently. The vehicles came mainly
from the United States, Canada, Belgium, Germany
and Italy.
The trade statistics revealed that N148.28 billion was
spent importing used vehicles into the country in the
first quarter of 2019. The US was Nigeria’s main
importation hub, accounting for over 61% of the total
market share with about N90.8 billion spent on used
cars from the country alone. The balance of N58
billion was spent on vehicles from other countries.
Of the N148 billion, N117.46 billion was spent on
vehicles with 2,500cc cylinder capacity while the
remaining amount went to importing vehicles with
1,500cc cylinder capacity.
The trend was in no way different in Q2 2019 although
the value of importation rose to N177.34 billion.
The US dominated with N114.9 billion or 64.8% of the
total import value spent on importing Tokunbo vehicles
from the country. Italy followed with N6.3 billion,
Belgium had N4.1 billion spent on importing its used
vehicles while other countries shared the balance of
N52.04 billion between them.
N146.95 billion was spent on vehicles with 2,500cc
cylinder capacity in Q2 2019 while the remaining
N30.39 billion went to vehicles with 1,500cc cylinder
capacity.
The value of importation of used cars for Q3 2019
stood at N184.18 billion. The US again took the
biggest market share, accounting for N120.6 billion or
65.5% of the money spent on used vehicles. Italy took
N6.3 billion, Belgium N4.3 billion, Germany N3.9
billion and Canada N3.9 billion.
Other countries accounted for the balance of N35.18
billion.