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FG Rejects Plans By MultiChoice To Sack Workers

The Federal Government on Monday said it would not tolerate any move by South African company, Multi­Choice, to lay off Nigerian workers in its employ under any guise.

This followed a meeting between the management of the National Broadcast­ing Commission (NBC) and the management of Multi­Choice on Monday.

The commission had summoned MultiChoice over the planned increase on some DStv and GOtv packages which takes effect from today despite a similar increase three months ago.

According to Multi­Choice, in a message to sub­scribers, DSTV Premium would move from N16, 200 to N18,400; Compact Plus from N10,925 to N12,400; Compact from 6,975 to 7,900, and for users of GOtv Max, they would have to pay the sum of N3,600 from 3,280.

The latest increase comes amid a subsisting order of the House of Representa­tives seeking a stay of action on the earlier hike which the company blamed on the Federal Government’s 2.5 percent increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from five to 7.5 percent.

John Ugbe, the Chief Ex­ecutive Officer of the com­pany, said the decision to in­crease the prices was made after a careful consideration of the market and a review of its business operations.

He noted that the com­pany reviewed its prices while considering financial impacts, including inflation, increased content and oper­ational costs, so they could continue to survive as a business and bring quality entertainment to custom­ers.

He said: “To arrive at the decision to adjust prices, we took into account many fac­tors, including the impact on the customer, current inflation, which stands at 12.82 percent, the highest in 27 months, content costs and efficiencies within the company.

“Only the prices of some of the bouquets have been reviewed upwards while the lower bouquets have been left untouched.”

The planned increase, which did not go down well with many Nigerians, had prompted the NBC to sum­mon the management of MultiChoice and Startimes, which also increased its tar­iff in August, to a meeting yesterday.

Speaking exclusively with Daily Independent on what transpired at the meeting yesterday, Arm­strong Idachaba, the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), said the manage­ment of the MultiChoice cited currency devaluation and inflation rate as some of the reasons that necessitat­ed the increase.

He also said the compa­ny said it might be forced to sack Nigerian workers in its employ, a development the Nigerian government vehe­mently kicked against.

According to Idachaba, “They said they are com­mitted to keeping their business in Nigeria but are affected by currency devalu­ation and inflation rate.

“They said their fears are that they may lay off Nige­rians in their employment if they have to remain in business.

“They gave examples of other companies that are folding up because of eco­nomic challenges.

“At the end of the day, we told them that no matter the excuse they have, we are not going to tolerate any loss of jobs. We frown heavily at any attempt to lay off Ni­gerians because of these excuses.

“Secondly, we are not tolerating any unnecessary price hike. We asked them how they intend to do the increase and they said they wanted to start with the Pre­mium and then move gradu­ally to the other packages.”

NLC, Ortom To Lawmakers: Don’t Resurrect Water Resources Bill

ORGANISED Labour and Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Monday opposed Federal Government’s plan to pass the National Water Resources Bill into law.

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) urged the National Assembly not to ambush Nigerians by secretly passing the Bill, which it said the public had rejected in 2018.

In a statement, titled: Do Not Ambush Nigerians, by its President, Ayuba Wabba, the NLC said it joined “patriotic voices across the country in calling on the leadership of the National Assembly not to resurrect or cause to be passed into law the Water Bill because of the danger it portends to national unity”.

It added: “Information in the public domain has it that the National Assembly leadership is working surreptitiously with vested interests outside the Assembly anxious to pass the Bill without due legislative process.

“Although the National Assembly is constitutionally vested with law-making, we warn against the National Assembly ambushing Nigerians…”

Ortom urged the National Assembly to reject the Bill, which seeks to give the Federal Government, through its agencies, the power to control all water sources – surface and underground – as well as river banks.

Whoever is corrupt shouldn’t escape punishment, Ganduje tells anti-graft body

Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has urged the state’s Public Complaint and Anti Corruption Commission not to compromise in the fight against corruption no matter who is involved.

Mr Ganduje said this while on a visit to the commission’s office in Kano on Saturday.

According to him, the Federal Government cannot fight corruption alone, hence the replication of the anti-graft agency at the state and local government levels.

He said: “Whosoever falls into the commission’s trap should face the consequence. I will have nothing to do with it. I will not interfere with any case whosoever might be involved.

“With the way corruption is fighting back and the fight against corruption being an agenda of President Muhammad Buhari, the federal government cannot fight it alone.

“It needs domestication in the states and the local governments to succeed,” the governor said.

In his address of welcome, the Chairman of the commission, Muhyi Magaji, commended Mr Ganduje’s determination to fight corruption in the state.

“It is your will and support that has made this anti-graft agency among the best in the country.

“We have set benchmarks in the country and are being emulated by other states,” he said.

The commission recently recovered N310,000 meant for Imams that participated in a special prayer against COVID-19 and insecurity, from an aide to the governor.

In 2018, Mr Ganduje was seen in a video, collecting cash in dollars from a contractor in the state.

The Kano governor later secured a court injunction to stop the probe.

Mr Ganduje, who as governor enjoys immunity from prosecution, won a re-election last year despite the bribery scandal. (NAN)

Genius: This is why you should bury used tea bags in your garden!

Some people have a true green thumb and love to spend their afternoons working in the garden. Are you one of those people? Then this tip is a great one for you. We usually throw out our used tea bags immediately after we’ve made our tea. That’s a total waste, though, because a used tea bag can make a big difference for your garden. Here are a couple of reasons why!

A used tea bag can make miracles happen in your garden.

Seedlings

It can be a bit of a challenge to grow a couple of different seedlings in your garden. The reason for this is that most seedlings never even germinate, despite all of the love and hard work you put into them. Now, luckily, we’ve found a perfect solution for this. This is a very easy way to turn your garden into a true plant paradise. All you need to do is bury a used tea bag in the soil.

Nutrients

By putting a tea bag into the earth in your garden, you’re providing it with extra nutrition. Tea leaves contain tannin and nutrients, and they are a natural fertiliser for the soil. The tea bag itself is usually fabricated from the fibres from the abaca plant (this is a type of banana plant). The tea will very easily dissolve in the earth and it will create a good and healthy environment for your flowers and plants to grow.

Vermin

Another thing the tea bags do is keeping vermin at a distance. Used tea bags, but coffee grounds as well, help to make sure vermin stay away from your beloved plants and flowers. The smell of the tea or the coffee is unpleasant to the creatures that want to eat up your plants. It will chase them away and your plants will be safe!

used tea bags

Compost heap

Another smart thing to do is to add a used tea bag to your compost heap. Tea contains a ton of acids that will speed up the disintegration process of the compost. That means that you’ll be able to make use of the compost a lot quicker than you would otherwise. Your garden will be very happy with that and then so will you!

Water

You can also bury used tea bags in the earth close to the roots of your plants and flowers as well. This will help your flowers and plants to retain more water than they normally would and that means they will be a lot healthier and happier!

Weeds

Nobody likes weeds growing in their garden. Luckily, our good friend the used tea bag presents the perfect solution for this as well. The tea bags will actually keep the weeds away. Bury a used tea bag in the earth and you’ll be making it much more difficult for the weeds to grow alongside your happy, healthy flowers and plants.

used tea bags

Germinating

A used tea bag can make the growth process of little seedlings in your garden much easier. We’ve got the perfect little trick and all you need is used tea bags, seeds, a plastic planter and water. Germinate the seedlings in the planter like you would do normally, but also add the tea bags to the soil. You will be speeding up the process massively! When the seedlings have germinated, you can easily transfer them to a bigger planter or just put them directly in your garden.

Neighbourhood cats

We love cats, but we’re a little less fond of them when they’re walking all over our garden. There’s an easy and animal-friendly way to keep them out, though! Tea bags or some coffee grounds will do the trick for you because cats detest the smell of those things. Sprinkle some coffee grounds or some used tea over the soil in your garden to prevent cats from peeing and pooping all over it. Bonus tip: you can also do this with the indoor plants in your home to keep your own cats away from those. Just add some coffee grounds or used tea to the planters inside.

Worms

Attracting worms to your garden might sound like something you want to avoid, but it isn’t. These slippery little dudes are very good for your garden, actually! Worms eat tea leaves and when they’ve digested those and, well, added them back to the earth, they’ll be even more useful. They will contain more nutrients, making your garden super fertile.

Here’s a helpful video on the topic! https://www.houseandgarden.co/garden/used-tea-bags/

I look forward to when Nigeria will reward hard work – Nigerian born Justice Minister in Canadian Province

It has been said that stolen and abused opportunities flourish in countries with weak administrative and governance institutions where people largely rely on sub-optimal indices such as family ties, ethnic affiliation, kinship linkage, friendship, race, gender and religious links in the creation, allocation and distribution of values. Nigeria today ranks top as words like inclusiveness, competence and meritocracy have vanished.

This axiom calls to mind the recent appointment of a Nigerian as Minister of Justice in a province of far away Canada.

Kaycee Madu, the Nigerian-born lawyer andnewly appointed Minister of Justice and Solicitor-General of Alberta, Canada, Kaycee Madu, says he looks forward to the day Nigeria will become a place where hard work and merit are rewarded.

Madu recently became the first African to be appointed minister of justice in the Canadian province after his previous role as minister for municipal affairs.

His appointment was described as one that would bring the needed perspective and change in the justice system.

In a tweet on Sunday evening, Madu thanked Nigerians who celebrated his appointment.

“Thank you for all the support and prayers coming from Nigeria and Nigerians in the diaspora,” he said.

“I look forward to the day when Nigeria and Africa become places where hard work and merit are rewarded. Chukwu Gozie!”

Tweet


Kaycee Madu@KayceeMaduYEGThank you for all the support and prayers coming from Nigeria and Nigerians in the Diaspora. I look forward to the day when Nigeria and Africa become places where hard work and merit are rewarded. Chukwu Gozie! #ableg#cdnpoli9:13 PM · Aug 30, 2020

Cheta Nwanze wrote an interesting piece in The Guardian Newspaper of 27th June, 2018. Here are excerpts:

“… Tribalism is basic human nature. People will always identify with that with which they are familiar.

There is nothing we can do about that. What we can do something about, is the fallout of how we handle this critical form of self-identification.

A decent example is this – our erstwhile colonial master, the United Kingdom, is essentially a country made up of four great tribes – the English, the Irish, the Scots and the Welsh.

I lived there for a bit, and it was during my time there that I learned that many English look down on the Welsh as “sheep shaggers”.

In fact, the ‘constituent nations’ of the UK have spilt more blood settling their own internal squabbles than we have spilt in Nigeria.

But that did not prevent them from building what was arguably the greatest empire the world has ever seen.

We have been constantly inundated with the gospel that we are an inherently flawed country because of our diversity; that tribalism is the root cause of our national woes; that we are, as one commentator put it, “a cacophony of tribal singers.”

In a country with an estimated 170 million people and up to 500 different ethnic groups, it is near impossible for us to achieve consensus on anything of political, economic or social significance. The reality could not be further from this fantasy.

Nigerians need to understand that we will always have differences, and these differences will on occasion lead to friction and open conflict.

The important lesson to keep close to heart is to form the ability to put these differences aside and build a nation.

What more than a century of amalgamation and nearly sixty years of Independence has shown is that we are so far failing at it.”

Use a ball of aluminum foil to eliminate static in the dryer


By Taylor Martin

Static cling is not only a death sentence for sock pairs, it’s annoying to constantly have to peel your clothes apart as you fold and hang them.

It’s even worse to show up at school or work and have to pull a sock out from the inside of your pant leg and shove it in your bag before anyone sees. (Yes, that happened. Twice.)

Dryer sheets are an obvious answer to combat static buildup in the dryer. But is there another solution? Of course there is. Aluminum foil.

How to make aluminum dryer balls

As you would imagine, making a ball out of aluminum isn’t difficult, but there are some general specifications and things to know or keep in mind.

aluminum-foil-balls.jpg
Taylor Martin/CNET

Depending on the size of the load, you will need two or three foil balls. Use approximately three or four square feet (0.279 to 0.377 square meters) of aluminum foil for each ball, compressing it as tightly as you can with your hands and making sure to press down any pieces that may snag on clothing or undo the ball.

Each ball should be between two and three inches (5.08 and 7.62 centimeters) in diameter. Make a few of these and toss them in the dryer with your wet clothes.

Why it works

As clothes tumble around and rub against one another in the dryer, they exchange electrons. One piece becomes positively charged while the other comes away with a negative charge.

When the dryer stops, all the clothes fall to the bottom of the drum and some of the negatively charged clothes will stick to the positively charged clothes. This is the dreaded static cling. And it only gets worse with cooler, drier air (e.g., winter).

Throwing a few balls of aluminum in the dryer will fight this. The foil balls both discharge any static buildup that the clothes may experience and help keep the clothes separated, which should speed up the drying process.

Pros

  • Aluminum dryer balls are insanely cheap — about 15 cents for all three balls.
  • They are extremely efficient at eliminating static while drying.
  • You can continue using the same dryer balls for months. If they ever begin to fall apart, toss them and crumple up some more foil.
  • If you care about what chemicals dryer sheets are putting in your clothes, aluminum foil balls are an entirely chemical-free option.

Cons

  • Unscented. Aluminum dryer balls will not provide your clothes with the floral scents you’re used to with dryer sheets.
  • Aluminum foil will also fail to soften the clothes like a dryer sheet would. Some people prefer to add vinegar to the rinse cycle in the washing machine as a fabric softener.
  • Aluminum foil will also make your otherwise low-hum dry cycle noisy.

This house had been empty since the 1950s and what was found inside… Simply phenomenal!

The medicine cabinet

You can clearly see it’s been a long time since the stuff inside of this cabinet has last been used or touched. And what happened to that box on the bottom shelf? Mice? In any case, it’s fun to see what these people used back in the day. Fun detail: most of the brands found inside the cabinet still exist nowadays. That’s pretty cool, right?

Shaving supplies

Even the shaving supplies used by the man of the house are still intact. We love the old school look of this picture! We wouldn’t recommend using that razor, though…

Old perfume

The urban explored also found a collection of very old perfume. We wonder what these smell like! We also wonder why these people left all of their things behind. What happened in this house? Why has no one come in here since the 1950s? It’s a true mystery!

Book room

Upstairs, every room was filled with piles and piles of books. There are books on addiction, Jesus, and war as well as a ton of old newspapers and magazines. What a collection! Have all those books been read, do you think? Why did they collect them? We’ve got so many questions!

Letters

They also found handwritten letters. Unfortunately, we have no clue about the contents of the letters. We’d love to know what’s in them! They look super interesting…

Bedroom

The state in which this bedroom was found is very impressive. The photographer said that making a picture was almost a mission impossible due to all the stacks of books. We love the look of this room! And that bed… It looks so comfy!

Piano

The piano was a little dusty when they found it. This room looks a little crowded but we like it nonetheless. There’s something about the atmosphere that has hooked us! It’s like we’ve gone back in time.

Display cabinet

This display cabinet accommodates little china cats, glasses, and floral teacups. How lovely that all of those china figures have survived all of these years! They look so cute! We wonder what will happen to them…

Living room

This room had decayed the worst. It features a red couch, two plush chairs as well as other pieces of furniture. An acoustic guitar remains in its case on the coffee table, together with an old record player and a stack of vinyl records.

Gramophone

The nearly antique early-20th-century gramophone remains in a corner in the living room along with replacement needles and wipes to clean the records. We’re sure collectors would absolutely dig this!

Packaging

Coolest thing ever: all the products were still in their original packaging. We love it! It’s so amazing that a house like this exists!

Kitchen

This is the stove with a bunch of kitchen supplies. We have to admit the stove does look pretty gross. Are those 50-year-old food scraps? Yikes…

Bathroom

The dressing table in the bathroom displayed outdated toiletries. Inside the drawers, a box stuffed with hats, jewellery and photo albums was found. We do wonder why the dressing table was placed here in the bathroom, though. It looks a little out of place there next to the bathtub.

It’s amazing that such a house actually existed all this time without anybody knowing about it! It’s like a true time capsule and we love it!

Young Boy’s Front Yard Tribute to Chadwick Boseman Is Perfect

By Isabella Bridie DeLeo

In light of Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing due to colon cancer, one young boy named Kian paid a heartfelt tribute to the pioneering Black Panther star. In the viral photo, Kian folds his arms over his chest in Boseman’s “Wakanda Forever” pose, next to a collection of Avengers action figures and a display of flowers. Kian’s father, King Westbrook, wrote in a Twitter post, “Kian wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of his heart for all the loving and kind words given to him for this post. When he found out about Chadwicks passing, he was heart broken. But he knows death is a part for being human, and wanted to cope with losing his hero this way.” He added, “My son’s mother @leswestbrk was the one who helped Kian create this beautiful memorial, and took the picture. I just posted it on here to show my son’s love for Black Panther and Chadwick Boseman. She did a great job #MOMHELPINGSONHONORHISHERO!”

There have been lots of touching tributes to Boseman and his incredible work and legacy, but Kian’s memorial stands out for its earnestness and simplicity. Even Hugh Jackson, Wolverine himself, recognized Kian’s efforts, writing, “Hi Kian. There’s been many tributes for Chadwick – none as special as yours! It’s the perfect way to send off a superhero. He was a leader on the big screen and in real life. I’m sure you’re going to be make him and your Dad very proud in your lifetime to come. HJ #Wakanda4Ever.” Ultimately, Kian’s tribute is a remarkable memorial for a remarkable actor and man who bravely fought cancer over the past few years—while also being an icon for kids and parents both.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/young-boys-front-yard-tribute-194452123.html

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Abuja DisCo Hikes Tariff

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) this morning announced that it has increased the price of electricity to its costumers.

It, however, did not disclose how much customers will henceforth pay per unit.

In a text message sent to customers at shortly after midnight of September 1, AEDC said “Dear Customer, to serve you better, please be informed that from Tuesday, 1st September 2020, a new tariff called the Service Reflective Tariff, which comes with an adjustment in tariff based on hours of supply, will be implemented.

“We pledge our commitment to improving service to our esteemed customers.”

Maersk Suspends Peak Season Surcharge After Protest By Shippers’ Council

Maersk, an international shipping line, has directed its commercial department in Nigeria to stop applying the peak season surcharge (PSS) from Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

The directive was issued in a letter signed by Lara Lana, managing director of Maersk Nigeria, and addressed to Hassan Bello, executive secretary/ CEO of the Nigerian Shipper’s Council (NSC).

“Our principals in our head office have informed us of your letter with subject reference increase in PSS,” the letter read.

“Maersk Line has instructed its commercial department to stop applying the PSS from September 1, 2020.

“This is in response to protests by the NSC which recently convened a meeting of the OPS to deliberate on the astronomical PSS imposed by shipping lines calling in Nigeria.

“The Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC), subsequently backed NSC calls for immediate suspension of the PSS calling it a violation of previous UASC/European Community Ship-owners’ Association (ECSA) agreement requiring prior, mutual and reasonable notification of UASC and Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) by individual shipping companies before any such imposition of a new tariff, surcharges or increase in transport cost.

“We would like to thank you for the supporting document you shared, shedding light on the meeting between the ECSA and UASC.”

The international shipping liners had planned to place over $1000 surcharge on twenty-foot (20ft) and forty-foot (40ft) containers coming into Nigeria ports, this is a 400 percent increase from the previous $200 freight charged during peak period.

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