DESPITE expectations of better business environment in 2016, the reverse was the case for operators in the manufacturing sector of the economy.

The kind of agricultural potentials we have in Edo state is enough to create more than 200,000 jobs. The minimum of 200,000 jobs is just an estimate and that is what is going to happen

The problem we have is that charlatans and all sorts of people have hijacked leadership

South Africa-Nigeria bi-lateral relations are very good and encouraging. There are a number of Nigerians coming to South Africa for various activities and so do South Africans come to Nigeria to engage in various businesses and both citizens are assisting in growing the two countries’ economies, because both countries are two major economies in Africa. As you may be aware there are over 120 South African companies in Nigeria and all of these brands are doing well and it is an indication of the significance and importance of our bond.

OBJ parades himself as a saint and therefore should be ignored. You will recall that at the beginning of Buhari’s tenure in 2015, when I read that OBJ was sending a Blue Print on governance to Buhari, I raised an alarm and advised Buhari to avoid OBJ like leper and I said then and still maintain that, a Bini parable says, “How can a eunuch prepare sexual medicine for a brother of his that can attain a sexual erection occasionally?”. I advise Buhari to dine with OBJ with a long spoon if there is need to dine with him at all.

When most of the models that auditioned for the 2016 Miss Nigeria beauty pageant held at the Eko Convention Centre applied for selection, many of them joined the contest for the fame and alluring pleasure they would derive from the event. But for Chioma Stephanie Obiadi, the 40th Miss Nigeria, her goal was nothing else but to end the night with the crown of the most coveted pageant in the country.

Governor Samuel Ortom, in this interview, speaks on the farmers/herdsmen crisis in Benue State, the controversy dogging the selection of new first class chiefs, construction of a new cargo airport in the state inspite of the backlog of unpaid salaries, among other issues. Excerpts:

The Naira is officially a confused currency amongst others today, because nobody knows the actual exchange rate. One thing I want to state here emphatically is that at any time you have a dual exchange rate for any currency, it is an invitation to fraud. In Nigeria today, we have minimum of treble or quadruple exchange rates. It is very corruptible and fraudulent, it is very wrong.

The right and most suitable way out of the economic recession currently ravaging the Nigerian economy is formulation and implementation of economic policies that will strengthen the manufacturing sector and attract foreign investors both as Foreign Direct Investors (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI). I take this position because, the manufacturing sector is critical to every economy across the globe and Nigeria’s case is no different.

Professor Dickson Enuma Ozokwelu a world renowned expert in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is a fellow of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, AIChE and Nigerian Society for Chemical Engineers, NSChE, a licensed professional engineer in the State of Tennessee, USA, has a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA degree with concentration in Planning and Management.

A former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof Bola Akinterinwa, says the decision of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, to throw away his green card on January 20, 2017, when Donald Trump will be inaugurated the next US President, implies his (Soyinka) disavowal of racism, disorderliness, non-civilisation and the people who voted for Trump in the November 8 election. Excerpts of interview:

In university, Bryce Edem studied physics and other science-related courses. But while spending some years afterwards in the United Kingdom, he devoted more time to speaking to big audiences under the aegis of an international agency, TED, an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which was founded in New York in 1984 and has now spread to many parts of the world, including Calabar, the Cross Rivers State capital. Edem, who is the Licensee, Curator and Lead Organiser for TED Calabar, in this interview, explains how the group is influencing Nigerians to think big and positively even in difficult times that the nation has found itself.

From our own point of view, we remnants of Biafra are seeking judicial intervention or call it judicial translation, we want to know the stand of the judiciary over our claim that we have a right to answer any name that we feel and that the Federal Government has no right to deny us our human right to a name because we have a right to reject any name that the Federal Government might want to impose on us and that led to an unpleasant standoff position which we don’t want.

We are moving away from reliance on federation account, to more on self sustenance based on what we have. By the end of the year,

In a twist of events Nigeria’s indigenous multinational, Dangote  Group, bought back a subsidiary it had built and sold off. In this
interview, the Managing Director of one of the foremost flour, noodles and pasta producer, Dangote Flour Mills, Alh. Ahmed Yakassai, explained what happened, the results and impacts.