10/03/18

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has announced approval of a 90-day special window to register businesses at a reduced rate of N5,000 only from N10,000
Mr. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President in Abuja, said that Osinbajo made the announcement in Enugu.
Osinbajo, who was quoted as making the announcement at the launch of the 19th edition of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinics in Enugu, said the special window of 90 spanned from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
He said that the gesture was to further ease the process of registering MSMEs in the country.
“It was observed during some of the earlier editions of the MSMEs Clinics that a lot of MSMEs were finding it difficult to register their businesses as a result of cost.
“The practice since we began the MSMEs clinics is that most agencies offer price reductions, especially for registration, and all other pre-investment approvals, during the Clinics.
“So, I am pleased to announce that the Federal Government, through the Corporate Affairs Commission, has approved a special window of 90 days from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 to register businesses at a considerably reduced rate of N5,000 only, down from as much as N10,000 previously.’’
He said the action was taken to afford more MSMEs an opportunity to formalise their businesses.
Speaking on other initiatives by the Federal Government designed to consolidate the gains of the MSMEs Clinics, Osinbajo said that the Federal Government would be establishing shared facilities for MSMEs.
He said that the facilities would be based on a partnership between the Federal Government, interested States, Bank of Industry, NEXIM Bank, FIRS, NAFDAC, SON and interested private sector partners, as part of efforts at deepening the impact of the Clinics.
“The purpose of these shared facilities is to have a fully-equipped place with machinery and equipment required for various trades and businesses. MSMEs can then do their businesses at those locations at a reasonable cost.
“This way, MSMEs are spared the financial burden of having to buy their own equipment in order to be able to do business.
“Where possible, these shared facilities would have been pre-certified by relevant agencies, removing the need for MSMEs to pursue these certifications by themselves.’’
He also announced the Federal Government’s willingness to partner with State governments in establishing more One-Stop Shops, to further enhance business registration and facilitate seamless interaction between owners of small businesses and the relevant regulatory agencies.
The vice president said that the Federal Government was also aware that some States had gone on to set up ‘One-Stop Shops’ after the Clinics.
According to him, the One-Stop Shops will bring all the relevant agencies together in one place so as to enable the MSMEs access their services on an ongoing basis.
“The Federal Government is also willing to partner with your State Government to immediately set up one such place for the good use of MSMEs in Enugu State,” he said.
Osinbajo also said there were follow-up plans to ensure that all the finalists from the maiden edition of the MSMEs Awards were supported with publicity and media exposure, to enable them to reach even larger markets at home and abroad.
He said that the ongoing disbursement of collateral and interest-free loans given to petty traders under the GEEP TraderMoni programme would soon be launched in Enugu.
Earlier in his remarks, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state said the State government had already keyed into some of the social investment programmes initiated by the Federal Government.
Ugwuanyi promised that the state would continue to cooperate with all federal authorities to improve the well-being of the people.
The governor expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for inaugurating the National MSMEs Clinics in the state as it would greatly improve the lives of many youths, especially those seeking employment opportunities.
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All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole has dismissed fears that Tuesday’s governorship primary in Lagos State, which produced Babajide Sanwo-Olu as candidate, was controversial.
He said the party leadership was in control of the shadow election.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the former Edo State Governor said: “I told the President that the primaries held as planned and everything is being done to ensure there is no violence because democracy doesn’t flourish with violence.
“Nigerians must begin to learn how to differ in opinion and in choice without fighting; this is something people have to acquire over time.
“For me, I’m excited that if we can do it in Lagos, it can be done anywhere.
“Everything that is being done is done under the control, supervision and direction of the NWC.’’
In Lagos, the Clement Ebri Election Committee said the exercise did not receive its blessing because the conditions prescribed were not followed.
Party Chairman Tunde Balogun rejected the Committee’s verdict, saying the election was free and fair.
Leaders of the party, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Deputy Governor Idiat Adebule, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, commissioners, aspirant Babajide Sanwo-Olu and party members who turned out in large numbers, participated in the election.
But Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was in his hometown Epe for the primary, remained indoors.
Reporters who accompanied him to Epe were asked to leave for Lagos shortly before 11a.m.
Ebri said at about 4.30 pm when he addressed the media was just ready for the primary.
He said he had contacted the APC national secretariat for further directives.
“We are ready to give the state the most credible election. It is not our fault that this exercise took this long. In some states, primary has been moved to Thursday.
“We were waiting for the (Lagos State) party chairman to provide certain information that will enable us post people to the wards. We have two aspirants and we needed to be fair to both parties. The information we demanded for came in about an hour ago. And we had to struggle this period to balance the equation,” Ebri said, adding:
“We have five persons from the local organising committee and four for each ward. They will all go out to ensure the primary is conducted. We all understand the terrain in the state, especially as it concerns the traffic situation. So, the materials are available now and ready for deployment.
“The national secretariat advised us to use ballot papers and we came into Lagos with thousands of them. But during the stakeholders meeting, it became obvious that the state chapter of the party wasn’t ready for such primary. They claimed that there was no time to educate the members and others. And based on the submission made at the stakeholders meeting, some changes were made.
“And we were advised to conduct the open ballot in a manner that would be objective to all parties. And that is one of the adjustments we made to accommodate views of the stakeholders.
“We had a session with representatives of both aspirants here at about 8 am. And we asked that they should bring names of their representatives that would be used for the exercise. But the names didn’t arrive early from both parties.”
Ebri went on: “Because of the political tension in the state, we decided to be very careful, very methodical and very meticulous in doing it. As party men, peace is very important to us than victory; we want victory that will be celebrated by both parties; we want victory that will be credible; a victory that will be in line with the guidelines and extant rules and laws in this country. We are ready to go to the field and execute this in clinical fashion.
“Lagos is a flagship of APC and must continue to remain so for years to come and so in conducting anything that has to do with Lagos, we have to do it with a lot of circumspection and objectivity and it should be a showpiece for the rest of the country.
Displaying the result sheets, the Panel Chairman said it was “in impeccable condition and not one single sheet is missing and it is not possible for this committee to do any other thing than it has been instructed to do”.
“We have guidelines and we will stick to those guidelines to be sure that we are fair to both parties.”
Balogun insisted that the primary was devoid of violence and, therefore, credible.
He said the agents of the two parties were present at the wards where the election took place and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and election observers witnessed the exercise.
“The election took place simultaneously in all the 245 wards. Some of our members were visible in the local governments. For example our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was at Ikeja, his own ward.
“He took part in the election and we saw the results. The results have been signed by the agents of the two aspirants. Those results were credible because the INEC too were there and they all signed. We were all witnesses to the conduct of the election. There were no violence, no chaos; it was free, fair and transparent.”
Asked whether any member of the NWC panel members was there, he said: ‘’What I know is that I did not go round the wards. The venue I went to, I saw some observers apart from the agents and INEC. They were publicly conducted, constitutionally done and I think we will leave the rest for the people and the press . That is why we have to wait for the committee charged with the responsibility to announce the results. We are not to announce the results.
Some women from Shomolu/Bariga who protested at the Ikeja hotel where the panel members addressed the media, complained that they were not allowed to vote in their wards because they are known supporters of Governor Ambode.
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Denmark will ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2030, the government has announced
“Diesel and petrol cars in Denmark must be the past. The future is green,” Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said, according to Euractiv.
“In just 12 years, we will prohibit the sale of new diesel and petrol cars. And in 17 years, every new car in Denmark must be an electric car or other forms of zero-emissions car,” Rasmussen added.
The plan to ban internal combustion vehicles still needs parliamentary approval and will go up for a vote next week.
If passed, Denmark will be one of several countries that have committed to eliminating gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 25 years.
However, Denmark has been slow to adopt electric cars. Out of 2.5 million private cars on Danish roads, only 9,000 are electric vehicles.
Other countries that have set such a goal include Norway, which has a goal of 2025, as well as France, Netherlands and Ireland, which aim to ban those vehicles by 2030.
Israel plans to ban imports of gas-powered vehicles by 2030 and India has said it plans to ban gas-powered vehicles by 2030 if it’s economically feasible, Quartz reported.
Several major cities also hope to have a ban, including Athens, Madrid and Mexico City.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Ogun chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday complained about the “frustrating and unsatisfactory treatment” meted out to it by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party over the governorship primaries.
The Secretary to the state government (SSG), Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, expressed the position at a press conference in Abeokuta.
Adeoluwa who described himself as a stakeholder in the party said he addressed the conference on behalf of the party and all the good people of the state.
The SSG recalled how the party in the state had once adopted the direct mode of primaries and later changed to indirect mode because of non-availability of essential materials, such as an updated membership register and membership cards necessary for the direct mode.
He said the state chapter later reversed its decision and embraced the direct mode in conformity with the directive of the NWC of the party.
Adeoluwa noted that the NWC had continued to postpone the exercise which was originally scheduled for Saturday for the third time without official notice to the state party secretariat.
“For the third day running, the NWC has been rescheduling the governorship primaries and we have only been hearing this from the camp of one of the aspirants.
”On each occasion, we have mobilised our people, deployed facilities and arranged necessary logistics costing huge funds, time and energy to ensure a successful primary.
“Today, we have even shut down public primary and secondary schools when we thought it would finally hold since the Election Committee from Abuja arrived in Abeokuta on Monday.
” We were surprised that the exercise has also been postponed as one of the election committee members whom I spoke with said the committee was under instruction from the National Chairman to reschedule the primaries for Wednesday.
“The committee member also informed me that they had brought ballot papers for the governorship primaries,” he said.
Adeoluwa argued that the idea of using ballot papers for the conduct of direct primaries runs contrary to the party guidelines on primary elections..
“It appears there is a script being directed by the National Chairman and we have it on good authority that he is determined and desperate to force a particular aspirant on us,” he alleged.
He said the party would not participate in the primaries unless the NWC officially writes to the state chapter to affirm a date and explain why ballot papers should be used for the direct primaries.
Adeoluwa who pledged the support of the state for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 polls, urged him to call Oshiomhole to order.
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