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Former  finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,  has announced she will be joining US investment bank Lazard’s sovereign advice division. She has also been appointed chair-elect of the board ofGavi, the Vaccine Alliance, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. The new portfolios follow her second stint as Nigeria’s finance minister, which ended in May after the Jonathan led government  was voted out of office.  “The two appointments I’m going to undertake embody a continuation of what I’ve tried to do in my career”, she said. “My work at Gavi will help me continue my work in strengthening institutions and building systems” to improve the health of children through immunisation, she said. At Lazard, she said, she would advise countries on structuring their finances and dealing with debt issues. Ms Okonjo-Iweala has spent the past three decades working on fiscal management and governance systems in Africa through 25 years at the World Bank, most recently as a managing director, and

Prof Patrick Okedinachi Utomi, has said that he is not in a hurry to go into government saying he can only do that when he is certain of such government and his role in it. Utomi stated this in an exclusive interview with Vanguard in Lagos while reacting to the news that his name was among those pencilled down by President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration and ratification as minister. According to the erudite Professor, a worthy son of Delta State,“I am reading it as you have read it in the papers. “My position is that citizenship has its obligations and duties. ‘Through the years, I have been a very passionate voice for change in the country. And it is purely based on principles, patriotic sense of where the country should be heading to. “Over the years, I have also had some invitations to serve in public lives. I have served in government long ago. One of the things that it did for me, fortunately, I was very young, I am good. I could pick up something quickly and stor

Prof Patrick Okedinachi Utomi, has said that he is not in a hurry to go into government saying he can only do that when he is certain of such government and his role in it. Utomi stated this in an exclusive interview with Vanguard in Lagos while reacting to the news that his name was among those pencilled down by President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration and ratification as minister. According to the erudite Professor, a worthy son of Delta State,“I am reading it as you have read it in the papers. “My position is that citizenship has its obligations and duties. ‘Through the years, I have been a very passionate voice for change in the country. And it is purely based on principles, patriotic sense of where the country should be heading to. “Over the years, I have also had some invitations to serve in public lives. I have served in government long ago. One of the things that it did for me, fortunately, I was very young, I am good. I could pick up something quickly and stor

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has warned his players not to let their standards drop as they prepare to begin their League Cup defence away to third-tier Walsall this week. Chelsea belatedly kickstarted their defence of the Premier League title with a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday, with Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at home to West Ham United allowing Mourinho’s side to close to within eight points of the summit. It came after a breezy 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League, but Mourinho knows that his side cannot afford to take risks against Walsall, who are flying high in League One. “I want to go match after match,” said the Portuguese, whose side beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in last season’s final. “Walsall is a cup game, a cup that we won and a cup that we don’t want to throw away. We want to try to win. Wednesday is one more difficult match.” Mourinho will shuffle his pack for Wednesday’s trip to the Bescot Stadium, with captain John Terry expected to re

CHANGE is everywhere now. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GEJ, has changed to President Muhammadu Buhari, PMB. The massive umbrella has been replaced with a common broom. The umbrella has been put away in the store where things of no immediate need are kept. But, the broom is everywhere sweeping, and even dirt swept under the carpet is being swept into the open. In the words of Chief Zebrudaya, the sweeping is now very “opendential”. The broom has only swept Nigeria for 100 days, though there is still much to be swept out, the zeal and determination of the sweeper ignites confidence that the country can be clean again. People are perplexed about how the umbrella people swept so much dirt under the carpet. Was this why the  Umbrella People wanted to remain in power forever; to keep its heap of rubbish away from public view? Thank heavens for change. The project to rule forever was suddenly truncated after only 16 years. Then entered change, from the Umbrella to the broom. Nige

The Accountant – General of the Federation, AGF, Alh. Ahmed Idris, has said that Deposit Money Banks do not have to panic over the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA, policy of the federal government. He spoke in a brief interview at a reception by the Ahmadu Bello University Faculty of Administration ’84 set in his honour in Abuja at the weekend. There have been concerns among the banks that the policy would lead to loss of business and jobs among workers in the sector. However, Alh. Idris said that rather than negatively affecting the banking sector, the TSA would allow the banks to focus on core banking activities and even generate profit in the interests of the economy. His words, “I don’t think this policy is expected to generate any panic or even loss of job. To the contrary, it will make the banks to focus more on core banking business and make profits”. On the guidelines of the policy, he said, “We are on course. It is a policy of government and I don

AREN’T you amused at this federal agency called Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB)? And the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for that matter? These two supposed anti-graft agencies can no longer hide the fact that they have become willing tools in the hands of politicians seeking to settle scores and consolidate their strong arm hold on power. The EFCC grabbed Mrs. Toyin Saraki who ceased to be a governor’s wife EIGHT years ago! This happened a couple of days after her husband, Dr. Bukola Saraki, defied the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and emerged as the head of the eighth National Assembly in cahoots with senators from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP); a political party which he used to govern Kwara State for eight years and later joined in flushing out of power. APC’s supreme leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, and his cat’s paw from the South West, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, felt humiliated and swore to settle his hash. Bukola Saraki Tinubu’s newspapers and