The late minister’s company, Festus Okotie-Eboh and Sons Limited, six of the deceased’s children and a firm, Maidaville Properties Limited, in 2009 sued Dangote Nig Ltd, along with Mrs. Alero Jadesimi (one of Okotie-Eboh’s daughters) and five others.

The plaintiffs are challenging the purported sale of the property at 15 Kingsway Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, to the company by Jadesimi.

The former minister’s children among the plaintiffs are Dr. Clara Akele, Mrs. Grace Oduro, Bawo, Emmanuel, Adolo and Lawrence (who are directors in the company).
Directing Dangote’s lawyer, Obiora Ejike, to advise his client to comply with her order, Justice Philips said, “You should tell your client to stop building. The court directed that you should maintain status quo, but your client proceeded to demolish the property. Now you are going ahead to rebuild. If the court has shown you respect, you should also show respect. Respect begets respect.

“Are you not aware that the court can give an order and all you have built will be demolished? This is my court. I will visit the wrath of the law on anybody, no matter who you are. I have the power to deal with the issue and I know what to do.”

Earlier, counsel for the parties had argued on which among the applications for contempt proceedings and that challenging the plaintiffs’ locus standi (right to sue) should be heard first.

Jadesimi’s counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, insisted that his application, challenging the plaintiffs’ locus standi should take precedence over the contempt proceedings instituted against Dangote Nigeria Ltd and Aliko Dangote.

Ejike also urged the court to stay proceedings on the grounds that his client had appealed an earlier order by the court.

He also said the processes of the contempt proceedings had yet to be served on his client.

Dennis Hennis, 52, who was revived from cardiac arrest before being airlifted for surgery to Cooper University Hospital inCamden, New Jersey, laughed off Dr. Michael Rosenbloom’s suggestion that he buy a lottery ticket.

“I’ve already won the lottery,” said Hennis of Vineland, New Jersey, in an interview.

“I got a new grandson on my birthday on March 23 and a week later I’m almost dead. Now we can celebrate birthdays together,” he said.

Hennis, a self-employed builder, was working with his son, age 28, on a neighbor’s roof on Saturday when his nail gun jammed and he tried to clear it, mistakenly pointing it toward him.

The powerful tool was built to fire 4-inch nails at 120 pounds per square inch (8.4 kg per square cm), said hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer.

“It was about a foot away and it went right into my chest, right into my heart,” Hennis recalled.

The nail pierced his right ventricle, which supplies blood to the lungs, and Hennis soon went into cardiac arrest.

Hennis, whose son called an ambulance, was rushed to a local hospital and revived but clearly needed immediate surgery at a trauma center like Cooper, nearly an hour’s drive away, Rosenbloom said.

“Imagine there is a nail in the heart and they have to do CPR. It turns a little puncture wound into a laceration,” the surgeon said.

Fog had grounded the medical helicopter but it suddenly lifted and Hennis was flown to Cooper and rushed into the operating room.

Hennis’ recovery from surgery has been remarkable and he was expected to be discharged in time to celebrate Easter with his family, including his third and newest grandchild.

Lagos state is a peculiar one with relation to doctors’ strikes. Public health care in the state has been brought to a halt a more than a few times when doctors and the government refused to reach a compromise with their grievances. Just last year, doctors in the state were at loggerheads with the state government over the latter’s refusal to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS). Government owned hospitals were shut down as doctors refused to treat patients. Many who depend on these hospitals had to revert to the higher priced private hospitals and for those who couldn’t afford it, their health suffered. Some deaths in times past have been blamed on the inactive government hospitals during emergency situations.

And just as residents of the state are in the mood of the Easter break, doctors in Lagos under the aegis of the Medical Guild have announced that they will be embarking on a 3-day warning strike from Wednesday 11th April to Friday 13th April, 2012. They claim the Lagos State Government has again failed to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS).

Vanguard News reports that the doctors have appealed to the people of Lagos to urge the state government to do the needful in order to prevent another crisis in the Health Sector, regretting that the State government has reneged in the agreement it earlier had with them.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos yesterday, Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote said the Medical Guild Congress at its Ordinary General Meeting, which held on April 3, resolved to go on the strike to press home its demands for the implementation of CONMESS and the downward review of excessive taxation, which the government imposed on the doctors. “During this period, all services will be withdrawn by our members,” said Odusote.

His words, “One year after the Lagos State Government entered into the agreements to implement CONMESS fully and do a downward review of the excessive tax regime, the Lagos State Government has refused to implement CONMESS.”

Furthermore, rather than a downward review of the excessive taxation, in October, 2011, he said the monthly tax paid by doctors was increased.

Odusote said members of the executives have held several meetings with the government, presented several documents and wrote several letters of appeal to resolve the outstanding issues in order to prevent a disruption in the industrial peace in the Health Sector.

He said if need be, in-patients in severe medical conditions during this period may be transferred to hospitals in neighbouring states.

Now that sounds really terrible. ‘In-patients’ in ‘severe medical conditions’ may be transferred to hospitals in ‘neighbouring states’! What will the condition of a patient in a severe medical condition be like after passing through the torturous journey to another state?

These doctors’ strikes in Lagos and indeed the entire country is one too many. Affordable health care is a responsibility of the government and should be provided to the citizens round the clock.

It is my sincere appeal, and that of millions of others that the government does the needful to avert this strike.

News Source: Vanguard News

So all you Davido peeps, homies, dudes, babes, pals, crews, buddies etc… you know what to do!

What do you think about the commercial?

Mike Adenuga, a Nigerian oil and telecoms tycoon, might be Africa’s new richest man.

In March this year, Forbes published its annual rankings of the world’s richest people. Mike Adenuga, who debuted on the list, was ranked as the second richest Nigerian, with a net worth of $2 billion, while Nigerian Aliko Dangote was valued at $13.8 billion.

But shortly after the list was published, controversy erupted in Nigerian media circles. Several Nigerian analysts and Adenuga’s staff refuted our valuation. I was bombarded with emails and messages requesting to know the criteria we used in valuing individuals’ wealth, and our rationale for valuing Adenuga so low.

In our annual Forbes rankings of the world’s richest, we prefer to be conservative in our estimates. We would rather be too low than too high. When working on the 2011 list of the world’s richest, a Forbes reporter tried to reach Dr. Adenuga’s representatives to verify his assets, but Adenuga, a chronically reclusive tycoon, did not respond. As a result, our valuation of the man was based solely on his stake in his telecom company Globacom Holding, which at the time was worth $2 billion.

However, fresh findings from a variety of sources including staff from some of his offices, the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission and analysis from professionals in the energy and telecom sectors indicate that the reclusive telecoms and energy tycoon is easily worth more than $2 billion, and depending upon who you talk to, could be richer than Aliko Dangote, last worth $13.8 billion.

Apart from his 74% stake in Conoil PLC, a Nigerian-listed oil marketing firm he founded (the stake is held through ConPetro Limited, a holding company he fully owns) and his holding in Equitorial Trust Bank, Adenuga owns 100% equity in all his other businesses. Of those, the major assets include Conoil Producing, Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil exploration and production company, which operates six producing oil blocks and holds a 25% stake in Joint Development Zone Block 4, an oil prospecting license which has proven reserves of close to 1 billion barrels of oil and close to a trillion cubic feet of gas.
According to sources at Conoil Producing, the company produces 100,000 barrels of oil per day – much more than any other indigenous exploration firm in the country. In April, Adenuga spent $650 million acquiring Shell’s stake in Oil Mining License (OML) 30, Shell’s most profitable onshore oil block in Nigeria, which is located in the western swamps of the Niger Delta. Adenuga currently controls total equity of Conoil Producing, which analysts estimate could be worth as much as $10 billion. (My calculations are not yet final.)

Among his other assets: mobile telecom firms Globacom Holding and Globacom West Africa, two distinct companies with a combined subscriber base in excess of 30 million people and operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Benin. Adenuga also single-handedly owns Globacom – at least on paper.

Adenuga also owns equity in Equitorial Trust Bank, one of the few privately-held commercial banks in the country. I haven’t been able to establish Adenuga’s stake in the bank, or its market value. However, Equitorial Trust Bank is one of Nigeria’s less popular banks, so I reckon it won’t be worth so much. The man also owns extensive real estate holdings in some of Nigeria’s most expensive neighborhoods, including the Mike Adenuga Towers, a landmark building in Victoria Island, Lagos. He also owns property in Banana Island – Nigeria’s most expensive neighborhood – and several other properties in Abuja, London, the U.S and Dubai.

Tracking down Adenuga’s net worth is tough work, involving intensive research, series of meetings, conversations and consultations with analysts, journalists, and Adenuga employees. The man himself continually refuses to talk. Speculations are rife in Nigeria that Adenuga might be a front for Nigeria’s former military president, Ibrahim Babangida. So in a real sense, Adenuga might not own it all. However, Adenuga’s people have denied a business relationship between their boss and the former Nigerian ruler.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a lengthy conversation with Chief Dele Momodu, one of Africa’s most legendary publishers, a former Nigerian presidential candidate, and a protégé of billionaire Mike Adenuga. I was doing research for one of our Forbes lists, and I was seeking his insight into the wealth of some of Nigeria’s richest people. Speaking on Adenuga, he said: “No one in Africa is as rich as Mike Adenuga.”

Dr SID debuted at number four for the Week of April 6 to April 14, 2012.

The former Trybes Records star released his debut album ‘Turning Point‘ in 2010.

Other Nigerians that have been featured in the Next Big Sound 25 category include Chocolate City acts M.I and Jesse Jagz and R&B giant Darey

Government’s reaction came against the backdrop of last weekend’s declaration by British Deputy High Commissioner to the country, Mr. Giles Lever, that Nigeria had no legal rights to ban the British carriers over fare disparity.

Reacting through her Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Joe Obi, Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, said the issue at stake had nothing to do with legality or illegality, stressing that what was on the table was the need for all foreign airlines to restructure their fares to reflect the BASA their countries had with Nigeria.

She said the British government would know whether Nigeria had the powers to sanction British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways on the expiration of the 30-day ultimatum on April 25, 2012.

The minister said: “We don’t want to join issues with the British government; we are dealing with the airlines and have given a 30- day deadline. It will be in their own interest to either come for negotiation before the expiration of the ultimatum or face the repercussion.

“At the end of the deadline, if they remain adamant, they will know whether or not we have powers to do what we are doing. There is nothing in the Bilateral Services Agreement that says Nigerians should pay more than passengers from other countries in West Africa.”

The genesis

The disagreement over fare disparity between the Federal Government and Britain triggered off in the last quarter of last year, following the denial of slot allocations to Arik Air on its Abuja-London operation at Heathrow Airport in London.

Consequently, government threatened to ban British Airways operations into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as a retaliatory measure and also called for immediate dismantling of unfair fare structure to bring to par fares charged in Nigeria to those in other West African countries, especially Ghana where fares are relatively lower, and this prompted the intervention of the British government which called for a negotiation.

At the negotiation, representatives of the British government begged for an extension of time to enable them conduct an independent study of the fare regime in Nigeria, compared to the fare structure in other countries of the region and promised to get back to the federal government on December 31, 2011.

The 30-day ultimatum

However, government got no word from its British counterpart, prompting the Minister of Aviation to issue the 30-day ultimatum to all foreign airlines, especially BA and Virgin Atlantic Airways, to dismantle their current fare structure in Nigeria to reflect equity with other countries in the region or face a ban.

Issuing the ultimatum March 25, 2012, Aviation Minister, Princess Oduah, lamented that the British government had adopted delayed tactics to wear out the issue at stake, to the extent that the British carriers would carry on business as usual, based on the offending fare structure.

Stakeholders declare support

So far, some professional bodies in the country and stakeholders in the aviation sector have declared their avowed support for government over its determination to enthrone a fare structure for air travellers in Nigeria by the foreign airlines.

Only last week, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, offered free legal services to government in cases of litigation or review of treaties and bilateral agreements signed with other countries.

NBA President, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, when he led a delegation recently to the minister in her office in Abuja, condemned the disparity in the fares charged passengers travelling from Nigeria to the UK and those travelling from Accra, Ghana.

He commended the effort of the minister to stop the unfair treatment of Nigerians by foreign airlines.

The NBA boss insisted that any investor who did not treat Nigerians with respect and dignity would be shown the way out.

The two arms of the National Assembly have also voiced their opposition to the unfair fare structure of the foreign airlines, vowing to ensure that the British carriers, particularly, were sanctioned should they fail to review their fares.

Vanguard Nigeria

The mother of two daughters who dons a sleeveless blue Tracy Reese dress with a short V-neck and ruching talks about motherhood, healthy living and of course, the President.

The Huffington Post have posted excerpts from the publication:

On raising Sasha and Malia

‘Barack and I feel that our greatest responsibility is to raise two productive, respectful, kind empathetic young women’.

On counteracting negative depictions of women in pop culture for the girls

‘My husband talks to our girls about how he expects men in their lives to treat them, and he offers examples by how he treats me and how he treats them’.

On the President dealing with his daily grind

‘He functions better every day when he gets his workout in. It clears his mind–it gets him ready. I don’t think there’s anybody who can imagine just what that man deals with over the course of a 24-hour period. He is able to do it because he is mentally and physically sharp, so it’s a necessity’.