Nigerian born American creative entrepreneurDunnie Onasanyapopularly known asMissDunnieOon Instagram but nowMrs Dunnie OHafter her marriage to husbandIbrahim Hasan. The couple welcomed their first child daughterZion Oloriin September 2015.
Dunnie and Hasan often gave us #CoupleGoalswhen they were dating and after getting married but now, our hearts belong to little baby Zion and her adorable pictures with her mum, #MotherDaughterGoals! Our favourite ones are when they wear matching outfits, super cute.
Drake’s last minute album name change almost had us thinking the album would not be out todaybut it is! The singer-rapper has released his fourth studio album titled ‘Views’.
The album is Drake’s tour through the city that made him and it’s a contrast to the off-the-cuff brilliance of recent mixtapes.
The Managing Director of the World Bank Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has commended the economic policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration which borders on security and stability, job creation and poverty eradication, and war against corruption.
Breaking News: Unknown gunmen abduct Senator Iyabo Anisulowo
ABEOKUTA - A former Minister of state for Education, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo was on Wednesday kidnapped by armed men alongside her security aide along Igbogila road in Yewa North local government area of Ogun state. Anisulowo, who was a Senator between 2003 and 2007, represented Ogun West Senatorial District at the National Assembly was reportedly abducted while she was returning from her farm.
The victim reportedly celebrated her 70th birthday, some weeks back in Ilaro, the headquarters of Yewaland and was being rumoured to be nursing ambition of governorship in 2019. Confirming the incident, the Ogun state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the Command got a report that Aniisulowo was kidnapped this evening by armed men. He said, "Yes. We have the report that the senator was kidnapped this evening by some
The Senate President Bukola Saraki, for
fear of being mobbed by angry protesters outside the main gate of the
National Assembly, abandoned his plans to enter through it. Other
senators, it was also learned, removed their official or customized
license plates before passing by the protesters.
Saraki, Other Senators Avoid Main NASS Gate As #OccupyNASS Protests Grow In Number #OccupyNASS
protesters began their protest on Monday shutting down the NASS complex
and bringing virtually all legislative activities to a halt. The
placard carrying protesters refused to allow anybody to gain entry into
the complex; the senators and representatives who tried to pass by the
demonstrates were stalled by the melee. These developments forced Mr. Saraki and his loyalists to enter through the Villa Gate as an alternative route.
The hundreds of youths joining the protest have vowed not back down on their agitation or demands. We also gathered that some senators, particularly those who accompanied Mr.
Saraki to the Code of Conduct of Tribunal (CCT), where he is facing
corruption charges, removed their number plates to avoid being singled
out by the demonstrators. As the rally entered its second day today the protesters continued with their agitation and public demands.
Canopies
were mounted to provide shade for the protesters and also brought life
to the show by inviting a DJ to maintain enthusiasm of the crowd. Some
of the Muslim protesters were also seen observing their prayers near the
protest site. Since the Senate allocated SUVs it purchased for
select members, at the rate of N35mllion each, some of the beneficiaries
have not dared to bring the jeep out for use, some protesters noted.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade
Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have jointly proposed and presented
N56,000 as the new minimum wage to the Federal Government as against the
present N18,000. The NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
Wabba
said that both the NLC and the TUC made the formal demand on the
proposed national minimum wage to the Federal Government on Tuesday.
“I
can say now authoritatively that as of yesterday( Tuesday) we made a
formal proposal to the Federal Government of N56,000 to be the new
minimum wage.
“The demand has been submitted officially to
government and we hope that the tripartite system to look at the review
will actually be put set up to look at it.
“Our argument is that,
yes, it is true that the economy is not doing well, but the law stated
that wages for workers must be review after every five years.
“So,
the issue must be looked into by the Federal Government and workers
should not be seen as sleeping on their rights, ”he said.
Wabba
recalled that the last review of the national minimum wage was done in
2011 and that the setting up of a tripartite committee to review the
newly proposed national minimum wage was long overdue.
He said it was imperative that government should set up the tripartite committee for the review of the new minimum wage.
Wabba
said this was the only way the representatives of unions and government
would fashion out the negotiation process at a round table.
According
to him, the logic behind the new minimum wage is to ensure that no
worker earns below what can sustain him or her for a period of 30 days.
“You
also know that when we negotiated the N18, 000 minimum wage, the value
in terms of exchange rate at that time was almost at N110 to the dollar.
“But
as at today, the value of the naira to the dollar has been reduced; and
there are the issues of inflation and purchasing power, among others to
contend with.
“So, it also about the law of the review of the
wage, the law envisaged that within a circle of five years, there must
be a review, ”Wabba said.
Wabba called on the Government to
ensure that the issue of the national minimum wage was urgently taken on
board as way of fighting corruption in the country.
He said that
if employers failed to cater for their workers’ welfare adequately, it
would be difficult for such an employer to fight corruption.
The
NLC president said that workers needed to be empowered financially to
have the purchasing power to buy what they would need to survive.
“If
manufacturers are producing and nobody is buying, the economy will be
at a standstill because people lack the purchasing power to buy.
“So,
these are some of the issues we will be pushing forward at the
negotiation table and there must be a tripartite committee to look at
the challenges, ”he said.
But for Mother Luck, a woman and a passenger in her Toyota Camry car would have died Wednesday as she smashed her car against the wall of a building in Ibadan while trying to avoid crushing a motorcyclist that hit her car.
The woman, simply identified as Alhaja, who had just left her home, which was about 500 meters from the scene, negotiated a bend to connect the main road leading to Bodija Market and the University of Ibadan, when the incident happened.
Having broken through the fence of the house, the car fell on its hood, although the driver and a young passenger in it were not injured. The car suffered extensive damage due to broken blocks of the fence that fell on its wind shield.
Narrating their ordeal, the passenger in the car told our correspondent that: “We just left home and as Alhaja was joining the main road, the okada (commercial motorcycle) rider hit our car with a bang. He fell in front of the car and in a bid not to run the car over him and possibly kill him, Alhaja maneuvered the car away from the man and in the process, plunged into the house.
“I was shocked because we must have slid down seven feet with broken blocks smashing the windows and the windshield. We were rescued by passersby but before we climb out, the okada rider had escaped. He must have realised that he was guilty before taking the decision to run away,” she added.
One of the occupants of the house said the owner of the car was a neighbor and that when a policeman approached the scene, he told him that it was a matter that would be amicably settled since there was no one injured in the house.
So many Nigerian celebrities including Banky W, Funke Akindele and Tiwa Savage, gathered in Lagos at the recently held Nigerian Entertainment Conference 2016 to share some of their wealth of experience.
In his speech, Banky W said that the structure of the music business in Nigeria needs a lot of fixing while sharing his thoughts on ‘Content Marketing: The Power of Music, Comedy& More.’
The singer said, “I think that the structure of the music business in general needs a lot of fixing in Nigeria. We all need to come together and fix the structure. Everybody in the industry values change.
“Yes the artiste records but the producers should also get money on the back-end. They should be getting royalties for every of their music that is played. I always like to use 9ice’sGongo Aso album as example. In my opinion, it’s one of the best albums that have ever come out of Nigeria in our history. I think the producer that worked on it, ID Cabasa, should be getting royalty from the album. His children’s children should be paid from every song he has produced.”
Akindele deliberated on ‘Economy of Talent: Using the Entertainment Industry to Rebuild Nigeria,’ and urged Nigerian celebrities to work harder.
“I believe structure matters a lot. How many celebrities have lawyers, good managers, and offices? Do we have websites? How big are we online? How are we imparting on people’s lives? What can they see us giving back to the society? In all, I just want us to work harder and together as a team. We all have talent and we should come together and also help the up and coming ones. Do not wait for the government. When you work hard and you are good at what you do, people will look for you,” she said.
While speaking on difficulties many Nigerian artistes go through in order to promote their content, the Eminado singer and Mavin first lady, Tiwa Savage, said, “I was in the UK recently. They have people called, music pluggers. These people are professionals who help artistes plug their songs on radio and also ensure that the songs get enough airplay. But here in Nigeria, we artistes have to take our CDs to radio stations ourselves. We tend to build relationships with OAPs and DJs. We always ensure that we send messages to them on their birthdays because many of us believe that if we don’t do that, they might not play our songs.”
Other panelists that spoke at the event include, Kemi Adetiba, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Bovi, Falz, Timi Dakolo and TY Bello.
Not just a few believed that controversial actress cum singer, Tonto Dike, wasn’t going to last as a member of D’Banj’s DB Records. And truly, she didn’t prove them wrong as the babe was allegedly kicked out of the record label.
Even as many alleged D’banj kicked her out of his record label because she wasn’t bringing in any money to the company, the artiste has debunked the story while explaining what led to Tonto’s exit.
He said, “I had a meeting with my team last year and I told everyone of them, my producers, songwriters and artistes that this year, they have to go and work harder than they have ever done in the past years. I advised them to sit up and I even included myself even though I am their boss. That is why you would notice that I am not using my in-house producers, I am branching out to get producers from around the country.
“For instance, I never met the producer of the song,Emergency, before we did the song. Even the song that I am about to release now which features Oskido and some other South African artistes was done by a Nigerian that I had never met before.
“I made up my mind that I was not going to do things the same way we used to do them anymore; there is no way we keep doing the same thing and expect to produce different results. We are all talented and I believe that all the artistes I took under my wings are very talented. Tonto Dikeh can stand alone because she is very talented, they are all big brands and from their looks, you know they have great talents. All I did was to tell them that we should look for ways to make things work better. Also, when a woman is married, it is a different ball game. I have not seen her since the marriage and of course, now she has a child. She has been out of the country and I would say to you that the last thing she said to me was that she wanted to work on her foundation. I believe when she comes back, she would take some decisions.”
The singer used the opportunity to express his disdain with the constant questions Nigerians ask him concerning when he would tie the knot. He promised that anytime he is asked the question, he would affirm that he is now a married man.
“Who said I am not married? I would tell you the truth, I am not married but if I am, nobody would hear about it. It is going to be a very quiet wedding because I am tired of people asking me that question. It is my personal life and it is not going to change my music or brand. I am not going to get married just because people want me to, neither would I do it just to enter another phase of my life just like some of my colleagues have done. They make it seem as if once you are married you have retired. But that should not be the case. Marriage would not change anything about me and whenever it happens, nobody would hear about it, there would only be speculations. My wife would not be seeking for fame because the one I have is already enough for all my family members. When I get married, it would be a very quiet one. Who knows, it might have already happened.”
Former Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been in the United States since last week, canceled a scheduled keynote speech at the Africa Peace Awards Dinner organized by the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution at the California State University, Sacramento in order to avoid embarrassment, Sahara Reporters has learned.
Mr. Jonathan’s former Special Assistant on New Media, Reno Omokri, spoke on his behalf, explaining that the former President had taken ill.
Sahara Reporters has however learned that Mr. Jonathan, who has been travelling across the US to associate himself with international NGOs, feigned his illness to avoid embarrassment by protests planned against him. It will be recalled that Mr. Jonathan, while in Newark, New Jersey, met with a human trafficking NGO and made remarks at the Mayor’s office.
One local California newspaper, The Sacramento Bee, confirmed the details of the speech, noting, “Mr. Jonathan’s appearance had stirred controversy because of Nigeria’s anti-gay law, which punishes not only gay marriage but public support of it.”
Mr. Jonathan has been under pressure since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested his cousin, Robert Azibaola, in connection with allegations over an oil pipeline job estimated at over $40 million.
The commission has been following leads between those corruption allegations and his cousin, Mr. Jonathan.
The Peoples Democratic Party said on Friday that it had yet to recover from the fight that made former President Olusegun Obasanjo tear his membership card.
It, however, blamed its former National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who it alleged empowered Sen. Buruji Kashamu to spite the former President.
It said that the party had yet to recover from the repercussions of the action of the former chairman.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Ibrahim Jalo, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Friday, also warned that the party must not make the same mistake it made in the past by denying the South-West the opportunity of producing the next national chairman of the party.
Jalo said those who misled former President Goodluck Jonathan into jettisoning the zoning system in the party emboldened Buruji, an action which he said worked against the PDP in the South-West.
He said for the party to succeed in 2019, the South-West region must not be treated with levity, adding that there were capable hands in the zone who he said, could lead the party to success during the next general elections.
Jalo said it was wrong for Buruji to be speaking for the members of the party in the zone, which he described as the foundation of civilisation in the country.
He said, “We were deceived into fighting Obasanjo, a well respected man in Nigeria and outside the country.
“It was our former chairman, Tukur, who (did that) because he thought he could cut him to size by empowering Buruji. It was the biggest mistake we ever made in the party.
“Tukur thought he could use Buruji to reduce the influence of Obasanjo, who was fighting that the party must obey the zoning formula in our party’s constitution.
“But people believed that we should go ahead with the impunity as sold by the few powerful men in our party. At the end of the day, Obasanjo had the last laugh while the party found itself in opposition today.”
Jalo said the party would also be treading a dangerous path if Buruji and his group were not checkmated in their determination to deny the South-West the opportunity of producing the next chairman of the party.
He said it was wrong for the current National Chairman of the party, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, to envisage that he could continue in office after the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt on May 21.
He said, “The North has produced seven national chairmen for the party. PDP isn’t meant for the North alone.
“Solomon Lar, Audu Ogbeh, Bernabas Gemade, Ahmadu Ali, Tukur, Adamu Mu’azu and Sheriff are all from the North. Other zones have all produced the national chairman as well.
“But the South-West has yet to produce the national chairman. It is their turn and we must not deny them this opportunity.
“We need to curry the favour of the zone, because that’s where we need votes in 2019. The North is for the PDP and what the people there are expecting is the presidency and not the office of the PDP National Chairman.
“Former Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu started with only one state, which is Lagos but he later took over the entire South-West and now he’s controlling the entire country.”
Jalo listed the likes of Sen. Bode Olajumoke, Chief Bode George, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and Chief Shuaib Oyedokun as possible candidates for the office.
The Lagos Police command through its PRO, Dolapo Badmos, has explained how the recent fight between pop star Wizkid and blogger, Linda Ikeji was resolved.
Linda Ikeji had reported a case of ‘threat to her life’ by Wizkid to the police commissioner, Fatai Owoseni following his statement on social media that he’ll send his 16 year old cousin to beat her up.
The case was eventually resolved on April 18, 2016 at the commissioner’s office as both parties agreed to settle out of court.
The Lagos police PRO, Badmos said that ‘although Wizkid’s allegation was criminal in nature, it was resolved through Alternative Dispute resolution (ADR). They agreed to resolve the matter out of court after Wizkid said he did not mean to threaten her life, rather it was an emotional outburst, with no motive to harm her’.
She further stated that the decision to settle the matter was not because of their status in the society but due to genuine commitment by the parties to resolve the matter.
She explained that ADR is a standard practice in the world applied to resolve crisis due to the high rate of conflict all over the world.
The Nigerian Army on Saturday prevented another suicide bomb attack on Ummarari in Borno after intercepting a suspected bomber on his way to the community.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in Maiduguri. “Troops of 7 Division Garrison, Forward Operation Base (FOB), on Saturday averted yet another suicide bombing catastrophe on Ummarari community by suspected Boko Haram terrorist at about 7 a.m.
“The suicide bomber was intercepted by the vigilant troops and the Civilian JTF while attempting to enter the village to detonate his dangerous cargo on innocent persons in the community,” the statement said. It said that the suspect was forced to detonate his explosives after he was halted by security agents and members of the Civilian JTF.
“The suicide bomber detonated the strapped Improvised Explosive Device (IED) vest on his body, thus killing himself instantly when he was forced to halt, based on suspicion that he was carrying suicide bombing material. “Thankfully, there was no any other casualty other than the suspected suicide bomber.
“Troops and the Civilian JTF at the village, are now combing the surrounding area to forestall further attacks and clear the environment of likely remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hibernating,” it said.
Celebrities are no longer taking the backseat when their fans get disrespectful and that’s what happened when a fan tried to bash Waje when she posted a photo of herself. Singer, Waje shared the photo below and a fan left her a comment with a blunder. The singer kicked back without further ado and gave him a dose of his own medicine.
All is now set for the conduct of the LGA election in the 18 LGA’s of Ondo state. In addition the state government has declared a restriction of movement from 7am – 4pm tomorrow Saturday 23rd April 2016 For tomorrow election. Only PVC and voters registers from INEC will be used, while there will be no need for the use of electronic card reader. It will however be noted that APC who had earlier opted out of the election had there case stopping the conduct of the election throw out at Akure high court yesterday 21st April 2016 for lack of jurisdiction. In addition 6000 police officer from ondo state with addition of 500 from osun nd oyo state. 2 ACP in each 3 senatorial district, with at least 1 police officer in each 2009 Polling units. Also in every police station will be stand-bye police officer. This election however is said by many as a test-run to the forth-coming governorship election coming-up by November, 2016. More updates coming…………
As my Lagos bound commercial flight charged out on takeoff roll on Runway-26 at Enugu airport, my heart jumped out of my mouth as a sudden shock jolted the airplane fuselage when the landing gears hit the macadamized portion of the runway; a shoddy construction job embarrassingly delivered by PW construction company less than six years ago. This frightening jolt immediately left a bad taste in my mouth as I ruminated on the circuitous route and rigmaroles the people of South East encountered to get the airport see the light of the day both in terms of the resurfacing and extension of the runway and the actualization of its international airport status.
I stand to be contradicted to say that PW sabotaged the airport and the people of the South East. This is more so, as I recall the synergy and support put together amongst the Federal government and States government of the South East; Federal legislators as well as Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) when that runway extension and resurfacing took effect back in 2010. The tumultuous goodwill and support PW enjoyed, as it was granted every extension it requested in terms of time, and was granted every contract variation it requested to guarantee a good and thorough job that should measure to international standard. The runway design handed over to PW was based on International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard. Therefore, this level of runway structure could rightly have been constructed in any country of the world under the standard of ICAO. But an alarm was set off in my head as I considered that this runway actually and realistically failed under 95 days of active landing impacts.
The standard in Enugu runway design means it could have been at London Heathrow or Dallas Fort Worth International airport, or any other ICAO country international airport for that matter. For instance, each of the seven runways at Dallas Fort Wort (DFW) handles impact average of 336 landing per day, which translates to 10,080 landing impact per month or 120,960 for one year.
Enugu airport runway between 2010 and 2015 recorded average of 15 landing per day. Therefore, 450 landing impact per month. From 2010 when the runway was resurfaced to 2015, was just six years, that is 72 months. At 450 landing per month, Enugu airport recorded just about 32,000 landing impact before it failed. If we divide 32,000 landing impact at Enugu with about 336 landing impact per day that obtains at Dallas DFW, for instance, we will have 95 days of landing impact. This means that if Enugu airport runway was subjected to the volume of use as obtained on one of the runways at DFW, it actually failed at 95 days of landing impact.
If one considers the economic hardship, stress and risk the South East suffered and encountered during the almost one year Enugu airport closed for the resurfacing and extension of the runway in 2010; one cannot but pity our society and South Easterners in particular. Elsewhere, PW and its “airport runway engineers” would have had their engineering licenses and certificates revoked and be possibly sent to prison with the contract amount returned to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.
When one considers the embarrassment, the distraction of business that will happen to the Airlines and ancillary services, both local and international, when the runway will be closed again for repair – God knows how many years that will take with the present economic problem in Nigeria – the pains of this kind of sabotage hits hard in the face.
PW has been around in this country for so long. It has also delivered numerous jobs around the nation, so I know there is more to this shoddy job than meet the eye. But time will tell. In view of this, I hereby recommend inta alia: (a) That PW should be stripped of every contract that has to do with airports and runways in Nigeria. (b) That PW be made to fix the runway without charging additional dime to FAAN or FGN. And PW be made to show proof of all funds needed for the job so as to avoid senseless delay on the remedy job. (c) That PW be made to issue a 25 year guarantee on the runway on completion of the repair. It will also maintain the runway for the next 25 years without charging a dime to FAAN or FGN. (d) To compel it to pay full attention on the runway, PW must halt all its ongoing construction job throughout Nigeria until the runway is repaired and recommissioned.
The current horrible situation of Enugu airport runway readily brings to mind one of the embarrassing challenges of our national infrastructure development. Most times we are challenged to question whether our roads are basically poorly constructed as a result of poor technical competence on the part of the contractors, or that like the Chinese variegated product standards, the quality and standard of products you demand and pay for is what will be produced are handed to you. In other words, that the quality of job they deliver is proportional to the amount of money they are paid.
In our probing perplexities, we at times also wonder if the national embarrassment of our road infrastructure could be a case of our natural indifference to maintenance culture. Put it differently, could the reason for the mind boggling failure of our road infrastructure that most times happens even before the commissioning, be blamed on the fact that our road maintenance agencies do not follow up immediately until a greater portion of the roads are dilapidated? These reasoning “excuses” have been dismissed with the wave of the hand by those who opine that when you travel on highways around the world, you don’t see road maintenance agencies patching up the roads, as you travel. And in those countries, roads hardly fail before they are commissioned for public use – a deplorable situation very common in our dear country. On cost comparison, Nigeria pays more than 200% the value of runway construction cost when compared with other ICAO countries of the world.
Presently, in Enugu, airport personnel use putty to fill up the macadamized portions of the runway before each landing of any heavy aircraft at the airport. This is totally unacceptable, government should rise up to the challenge and arrest the culprits and compel them to remedy this blatant fraud committed against the Nigerian nation; the people of the South East and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria. Our attempt at holding people accountable to their actions and to bring sanity and sanctity, dignity and respect to our common wealth in our nation will be a long shoot if full and commensurate penalties are not meted out to the culprits to serve as a deterrent to other contractors and their likes in our new and evolving Nigeria.
• Nnaji, the Managing Director/CEO of OAS Helicopters, writes from Lagos
The Community Development Service (CDS) group of the
National Youth Corps Service (NYCS) members serving with the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), recently embarked on an
anti-corruption sensitisation rally in Abuja tagged “say no to
corruption”. The group says the rally was held to enlighten the public on the effects of corruption to the country, ENE OSANG reports.
Speaking
exclusively to Cloud9zone the group’s President Emmanuel Itunu, a
graduate of industrial chemistry from Osun state university, said they
were moved to sensitize the public, as many have misunderstood the
current administration’s zeal to sanitise the country. According to
Itunu, it was disappointing for Nigerians to see the ongoing probe of
corrupt government officials as witch-hunt or a way of oppressing the
opposition.
“Basically, this is the first anti corruption rally
we will be doing as a CDS group and the reason we did this is because we
the youths represents the government, we are serving corp members and
we also represent the EFCC because we are in EFCC CDS group. “We took
it as a responsibility to make the world know that the fight against
corruption is not a fight against opposition but about Nigeria because
if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us. “We are not
just talking about corruption in the government sector but in all areas
of our lives for instance, if a medical student through some dubious
means graduates with flying colours with marks he did not merit and is
inducted into the profession, when such graduate go to the hospital and
cannot deliver it is the people that will suffer lives would be lost in
such graduate hands and then this can Jeopardise the medical institution
and generally corruption in the academic sector.
He expressed
dismay that some government officials embezzled monies meant to protect
lives and properties in the country, noting that corruption has been
seen as normal which shouldn’t be so. “Talking about corruption in
government; when money is earmarked for a project and it is embezzled,
it is high level of corruption so we shouldn’t see government as
silencing the opposition. “When abnormal things becomes a normal
thing and someone is trying to bring it back to normal and people start
complaining then we are all in great problem,” he said. “The previous
government wasn’t sabotaged, a government who said stealing is not
corruption is not sabotaged. People got tired of corruption, they wanted
change and voted for it and the election was one of the transparent
elections we have ever had in Nigeria.
“We are so inpatient, yes
there is no light, fuel, water and other basic needs but the government
is working things out. A government who is barely one year in office
cannot solve the problem of sixteen years immediately. The change we
clamour for must take some systematic measures, and I believe this
government is going through systematic change which I know will be
permanent. Things will get better I know,” he assured. On the probe
of former Security Adviser to the former President Goodluck Jonathan
administration Colonel Sambo Dasuki, Itunu lamented the way the Nigerian
judiciary is handling the case, saying ‘the judiciary is not helping
matter’. “This can’t happen in Egypt or countries like China. If such
huge amount of money is embezzled in these countries you will be hanged
right away and nothing like human rights issues. That tells the youth
that such corruption won’t be tolerated but here in Nigeria the
judiciary is known for prolonging cases, lingering on it to the point
that people are even tired about everything,” he said.
“How can
money meant for buying arms to protect lives and properties of citizens
be diverted into political campaigns and personal use? I mean this is
disheartening and personally I think all those linked to this arms deal
shouldn’t be bailed but jailed. Somebody steal 1billion Naira and is
bailed for 500million, you are making corruption lucrative, the judicial
system should help us kill corruption instead of making it lucrative
because it only tells youth to steal and make profit.” Itunu assured
of continuity in holding such rally, stressing that the public must
constantly be reminded on the need to kill corruption, saying ‘if you
don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill you’.
“We will
handover this to the upcoming corp members and they will in turn hand
over to those coming after them but our main objective is impacting
positively on the lives of society especially younger folks through
sensitization and enlightenment. “I urge all of us to join the
government fight corruption and be of help to your neighbour because
when you shine your light on one person, indirectly you are shinning
your light to the whole world.”
Secretary of the group Aliyu
Ibrahim Adamu, a graduate of Civil Engineering from the Bayelro
University Kano, said the rally was inspired by the new level of
corruption in the country and the dimension it has taken, saying it is
pertinent that citizens support the government on the fight against
corruption. “From the general point of view people see the fight
against corruption as partisan but we the youths are supposed to be
united in uplifting the nation. No matter who is involved in corruption
should be prosecuted, we shouldn’t see it as a witch-hunt,” he said. “We
are also out here today to call upon the judiciary to act right because
they are not doing their best. We see many senior advocates going
against what the government is doing.
“We are aware many corrupt
cases with many Senior Advocates backing the offenders, and this is like
casting a black light on the judicial system. He further decried that government is deviating from its campaign promises to youths, even as he is hopeful for positive change. “I
would like this administration to keep to those campaign promises to
the youths because if they don’t it means they are not different from
the past administrations. “We are expecting many things from
government because we are tired of hearing promises. We are tired of
there will be light, there will be fuel or there will be jobs, we want
to see actions.
“I want to appeal to government to include youths
in governance. The way youth is defined in Nigeria is really annoying,
somebody who is above 45 years calling themselves youths. Government
should have programmes that youths alone will participate so that if the
youths can participate in programmes that will impact positively on
their lives it will be better for them,” he suggested. Receiving the
corp members the EFCC Deputy Unit Head for Enlightenment and
Re-orientation Mrs. Nwanyima okanu, lauded the corp members for holding
such sensitization rally. Expressing satisfaction that Nigeria youth
are beginning to understand their role and function is the structure of
Nigeria, she assured of engaging the youths more in EFCC projects
especially the forthcoming Clean Hand Project.
The actress and businesswoman gave two lucky
winners dresses she wore to the AMVCA and her
movie premiere this year
She wrote;
So I have made up my mind to give out this two amazing pieces that blew me away ... Two designs created by the best Nigerian designers I Hv ever worked with .. I know I can't wear it again and I would
luv to see someone else rock it.. Yes it was worn by me .. A very riske design but amazing.. I would be happy to get the designers to fit it to ur size..
#onlyinterestedpeeps.. The most nominated two people gets it.
Checkout the outfits below(side note)..She is a
stunner!
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu, is not an anti-corruption ambassador of the
agency.
The EFCC, therefore, urged members of the public to disregard the report stating otherwise.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said in a
statement that the EFCC National Assembly Liaison Officer, Suleiman
Bakari, went beyond his assignment by decorating Ekweremadu.
He said as an anti-corruption agency that could arrest any individual
found wanting, the EFCC could never name anyone as its ambassador.
The statement read in part, “The attention of the EFCC has been drawn
to some reports in the print and online media, on April 20, 2016
claiming that the anti-graft agency has decorated the Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu, as “Anti-Corruption Ambassador”.
“According to a statement issued to the Press by the Special Adviser
to the Deputy Senate President, Uche Anichukwu, the purported
decoration, was carried out by the EFCC National Assembly Liaison
Officer, Suleiman Bakari who was quoted to have said: ‘On behalf of my
acting chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu and the entire management and
staff of the EFCC, decorate you as an Anti-Corruption Ambassador and
formally present this frame, as a token of our appreciation to your
person and office, and as a symbol of the institutional partnership
between the EFCC and the National Assembly’.
“The EFCC totally dissociates itself from the purported action of
Sulaiman Bakari as he acted entirely on his own. He clearly acted
outside his brief as a liaison officer as the management of the
Commission at no time mandated him to decorate Ekweremadu or any officer
of the National Assembly as Anti-Corruption Ambassador.
“The statutory mandate of the EFCC is the investigation and
prosecution of all economic and financial crimes cases, which does not
include the decoration of individuals as anti- corruption ambassadors.
The Commission is not in the habit of awarding titles to individuals.
And those enamoured of titles, knows the quarters to approach for such
honours, not the EFCC.
“Members of the public and stakeholders in the fight against corruption are enjoined to disregard the so-called decoration.”
The world’s biggest oil producers have failed to reach agreement at a
meeting aimed at freezing output and reassuring markets that a recent
recovery in prices could be sustained.
Sunday’s talks in Qatar’s capital saw the Organisation of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – and, unusually, other producers –
trying to agree that average daily crude oil production in the coming
months would not exceed levels recorded in January.
Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed Saleh al-Sada said – after six hours
of negotiations that consultations would continue between the parties
until an OPEC meeting in June.
“All participating countries will consult among themselves and with others,” he said.
Oman’s Oil Minister Mohammed al-Rumhy said one reason a deal could not be reached was that not all OPEC members were present.
“Until this morning we thought there would be a deal. We didn’t know Iran wasn’t coming,” he told Al Jazeera.
Rafael Nadal needed nearly three hours
to defeat Gael Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 on Sunday and win a record ninth
title at the Monte Carlo Masters, AFP reports.
The Spaniard claimed his first trophy in the Principality since 2012 as he played in his 100th final and tenth in Monte Carlo.
Nadal’s win pulled him level with ATP leader Novak Djokovic on 28 trophies at the Masters 1000 level.
Nadal improved to 12-2 over Monfils as he won a first Masters honour since Madrid in May, 2014.
Nadal and Monfils were both plagued by
unforced errors in the tight contest, with the winner striking 36 while
Monfils made more than 50.
The match was also riddled with 34 break points, with Nadal converting on eight of 21 while Monfils managed five of 13.
“It’s great to win a Masters title again,” Nadal said.
“I had a tough season last years. but I’ve had better preparation this year, even with a tough start to the season.
“I hope this week will help me a lot,” the Spaniard said as he prepared to move onto his home clay of Barcelona next week.
Nadal now owns 68 titles and will carry
on in the run-up to the French Open with renewed confidence; Monfils
can take small consolation after winning his first-ever set against
Nadal on clay.
The opening set took almost an hour and a
quarter and set the stage for the second, which at one point featured
three consecutive breaks of serve out to 4-4.
Monfils moved into winning position with a break for 6-5 and kept the struggle alive as he won the set for one apiece.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Group Managing Director/CEO, FCMB, Ladi Balogun
Uncertainties in the Nigerian
economy have had a telling effect on many sectors, with five of the 22
banks in the country losing N54bn from their previous year’s profits in
the 2015 financial year, OYETUNJI ABIOYE writes
Bad loans, naira volatility and other
economic headwinds have made Ecobank International Incorporated, Union
Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, Wema Bank Plc and Fidelity
Bank Plc to post a combined 80 per cent decline in their annual profits.
The annual financial statements of the banks posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange have revealed.
The 2015 financial results of the five
banks released in March this year showed that the profit before tax
tumbled by 69 per cent to N77.65bn from N131.19bn in 2014.
Similarly, the combined profit after tax
of the five banks fell from N107.279bn in 2014 to N59.73bn in 2015,
indicating a decline of 79.59 per cent.
The N53.54bn fall in profit was
attributed by many of the banks’ chief executive officers to high
impairment charges on bad loans, foreign exchange volatility and other
challenges facing the economy following the significant drop in the
nation’s oil revenue due to the sharp fall in oil prices.
The economic crisis facing the country
has affected the banking industry significantly. Out of the 15 banks
quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, 10 have released their 2015
annual financial statements as of the March 31, 2016 regulatory deadline
set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the submission of the
statements.
Of the 10 banks that released their
results, five posted sharp decline in profits, a major departure from
the consistent rise in profits posted by almost all the banks in the
country after the 2010 banking crisis.
The reports on the NSE website showed
that Ecobank posted a PBT of N40bn in the 2015 financial year; Union
Bank, N18.1bn; FCMB, N2.5bn; Fidelity Bank, N14bn; and Wema Bank,
N3.046bn.
However, the five other banks that
released their 2015 annual reports in March this year outperformed the
market, posting increases in both their profit before tax and profit
after tax.
This is despite the huge provisions for bad loans that most of them made in the 2015 financial year.
These are Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Access Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.
Sterling Bank’s PBT rose from N10.7bn in
the previous year to N11bn in 2015, while its PAT rose from N9bn to
N10.3bn; UBA’s PBT rose from N42.4bn to N50.8bn, while its PAT rose from
N40bn to N47.6bn; and Zenith Bank’s PBT rose from N107bn to N115bn,
while the PAT increased from N92.5bn to N98bn.
GTBank’s PBT rose from N120.7bn to
N116.4bn, while its PAT moved up from N94.4bn to N99.4bn; and Access
Bank’s PBT rose from N46.1bn to N65.2bn, while its PAT increased from
N39.9bn to N58.9bn.
The five remaining banks out of the 15
listed on the NSE, which have yet to file their 2015 financial reports
are; First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Skye Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc,
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and Unity Bank Plc.
They have filed notices of delay in
filing their 2015 annual reports, stating various reasons. They are
expected to release the results before May ending.
Already, Skye Bank Plc and First Bank of
Nigeria Limited have issued profit warnings ahead of the release of
their results. They said high impairment charges due to non-performing
loans would lead to major decline in their profits.
“The management of Skye Bank Plc wishes
to intimate its shareholders and investor community of anticipated
material decline in its profits for the full year ended December 31,
2015 compared with that of 2014. The expected decline in performance is
attributable to management’s decision to recognise increased impairment
on loans to sectors severely affected by the prevailing economic
headwinds, which are yet to abate, especially the lull in the oil and
gas and real estate sectors,” Skye Bank said in a profit warning issued
on March 22.
Similarly, First Bank, in its profit
warning to investors on February 23, said, “Earnings for the 2015
financial year will be materially below that of the prior year. This is
as a result of the recognition of impairment charges on some specific
accounts resulting from a reassessment of the loan portfolio within our
commercial banking business.”
The notice, signed by the Company
Secretary, Mr. Tijjani Borodo, added, “This reassessment was driven by
the challenging macro-economic environment, coupled with fiscal and
monetary headwinds, which have resulted in marked reduction in domestic
output.”
High provisions for bad loans, often
referred to as impairment charges, were a major part of the financial
results of the 22 banks in the country due to the challenges facing the
economy.
For instance, Ecobank’s impairment
losses on financial assets rose by 137 per cent from N44.4bn in 2014 to
N105bn in 2015, while FCMB moved from a nil impairment loss in 2014 to
N690m in the last financial year. The FCMB Group’s net impairment losses
equally rose from N10.6bn to N15bn.
Sterling Bank’s impairment losses rose
from N7.4bn in 2014 to N8.2bn in 2015. Furthermore, GTBank had its net
impairments moving from N7.1bn in 2014 to N12.4bn in 2015. Access Bank
also had its impairment increased from N10.6bn to N13.3bn in the same
period.
Commenting on the 2015 financial result,
the Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said,
“The PBT declined by 9.6 per cent largely due to two critical factors:
the 17.1 per cent increase in total expenses due to strategic
investments and cost incurred in 2015 to position the business for
further growth in line with our aspirations.
“The increase in impairments, due to a
more prudent approach adopted with respect to a special regulatory
provision, which was charged directly to the profit and loss, was
responsible for the decline in profit.”
Economic analyst and Chief Executive
Officer, HighCap Securities, Mr. David Adonri, said the decline in
profits was traceable to ineffective risk management practice in some of
the banks and low activities in 2015 due to the political transition,
among other variables.
He said, “When a major sector of the
economy like the banking industry is having a major decline in profit,
it has major impact on the economy. The banks are exposed to so many
sectors of the economy with many of them being overexposed to the oil
and gas sector; most of them have had their fingers burnt and have had
to make major provisions for bad loans.
“This tells on their risk management activities, differentiating between those who posted increase and decrease in profits.”
The bad loans in the banking industry
rose sharply by 78.8 per cent to N649.63bn in 2015, indicating severe
deterioration in the quality of the loan portfolio of the 22 banks, a
CBN staff report presented to the Monetary Policy Committee revealed.
The report revealed general increase in
bad/non-performing loans among the 22 Deposit Money Banks in the
country. This was despite the 30 per cent decline in new loans granted
by banks in 2015 to N5.78tn.
According to the report, 18 out the 22
banks recorded increase in bad loans. Furthermore, the number of banks
that exceeded the regulatory limit of five per cent for the ratio of bad
loans to total loans rose from three in 2014 to eight in 2015, with
three banks exceeding 10 per cent.
The report revealed that the ratio of
bad loans for the industry relative to total loans rose to 4.88 per
cent, which is 0.22 per cent less than the regulatory limit of five per
cent.
The sharp increase in bad loans,
according to the report, was due to a host of external and internal
factors. These include low and volatile oil prices; uncertainty about
severe fiscal imbalance at the sub-national level of government; weak
output growth; and eroding investor confidence.
Hello sweetness! Do you really understand how much joy and
happiness you bring to my world? I just have to let you know how lucky
of a man I am to have you in my life. Words can hardly express how much
you truly mean to me, but allow me to try anyway. I love you more than
any man could ever love a woman! So overjoyed that I'm the one who gets
to put that pretty smile on your face. You are super-sexy and indeed a
most attractive and vivacious lady! I treasure the idea of you and I
spending quality time together in any situation. It delights my
imagination to no end, at the mere thought of you in my arms, holding
you so close and expressing my appreciation for this love most special
we share. I would do anything with you, for you or to you that
strengthens our bond and brings us closer!
Fellows, if you're not
expressing these sentiments to the gift GOD blessed you with, (your wife
or significant-other), then you are definitely sowing the seeds of
neglect! This is a very slippery slope you're embarking on! No woman
likes to be ignored nor forgotten, 2 cardinal sins! There's no easier
path to the dog-house than this! Simplicity brothers! Communicate with
her! LISTEN first, then acknowledge your understanding of each
conversation you have with her, where there are no ambiguities and
nothing lost in the translation! Do everything you can to stay on the
same page with her. The element of surprise in every aspect of all good
things, is the hand your lady fans with! Take her somewhere safe that
you both have never been, and engage in activities you've never
experienced before. This will definitely pacify your quest for adventure
together!
Hold her hand in public so that your display of
affection lets her know, that you are extremely proud and happy to be
with her! Surprise her with flowers on occasion, or have your own
private picnic on a beautiful day! Take an impromptu trip or join her in
any of her very pleasurable endeavors-then you're all the way in there!
Dinner and a movie will most certainly solidify that bond you both hold
so dear. Gaze into those beautiful eyes, then ever so meaningfully tell
her that you love her! Next, you will want to share with her the most
tender and passionate of kisses! When you make love with her, ignite and
excite all her senses, and be sure to send her mind and body on an
odyssey that leaves her wondering where she's been! Let her know with
absolute certainty that you are most attentive to her wants and needs,
also into the very core of her being like DNA! Make it a deliberate
point in showing her that she is thee priority above all, except OUR
HEAVENLY FATHER & HIS ONE AND ONLY SON JESUS CHRIST!
Elementary
my dear brothers! All she needs to know, and that you need to show, is
that you care in ALL aspects of your relationship! Just in case you
haven't figured it out yet, the smallest things usually make the biggest
difference in life, and even more-so where your lady is concerned!!!!
The simple things!
Ladies, did I miss anything?
As a band or as a solo artist, eventually you have to start
thinking about making a demo CD for A&R reps, producers, production
companies, and record labels to help market, fund, and traffic your
music.
Getting someone in the music industry to take the time to
listen to your demo is not an easy task. Most demos are tossed in the
garbage before they are even opened and if they are listened to, even if
you only put three songs on the CD, most people in the music industry
won't even bother listening to the whole thing. Don't take it
personally; it's the music industry.
But if you do have something
special and you are ready to put together a demo CD in the attempt to
get the attention of the music industry, there are some things you need
to know to be successful in this venture. Put Together a Couple of Great Tracks
First,
you have to take some time and decide which songs are your best songs
that will grab the attention of someone who might want to invest some
time in you. Three to five songs are all you really need. Special Track Structure for a Demo
To
improve your chances of having more than one song listened to you
should set your demo CD up like this: take 30 seconds of each song and
put those clips as your first three to five tracks. Next, create another
three to five tracks of the same songs at their original lengths and
put them at the end of the CD. This will help when someone important
listens to the CD, they will hear just a little preview of each song and
they can quickly move on to the next one. When and if they do hear
something they like they can go forward to the track that contains the
whole length of the song for more. Important: Make
sure that you label the CD cases with the information that tells the
person who will be listening to the CD that the track structure is set
up in this special way to avoid confusions.
Also, make sure that
all artist names or the band's name are on the CD insert or cover along
with each member of the band and their responsibilities. Press Kit
The
ideal of a press kit is to essentially tell whoever picks up your CD to
listen to it, who you and or your band are, what your accomplishments
are, where you have performed, and any proof of a local, Internet,
national and international fan base that you have acquired throughout
time under the bands or artist name.
You may also want to have
some live performances recorded at a venue you frequent or in the studio
where you record. Yes, it would make more of an impact to have a live
performance at a venue, but you can still do some really cool stuff in a
studio with a camera.
In this press kit you also want to include a
bio - make sure to include what ambitions and intent you yourself or
your band has along with any other info that can help you or your band
standout. Make Contact
Take some time and
network with people who are involved in the music industry - ask
questions and make connections. The idea here is to find places you can
send your demo CD to that are worth your while. My first demo CD I sent
out, I made the mistake of sending it out to every place that was or
maybe wasn't excepting demos, and to this day I wonder just how many
demos I sent out that never made it out of the package before finding
its way to the trash can. I'm going to assume out of probably 150 demos I
sent out, only about 2 percent of them made it into a CD player, that's
a lot of wasted time.
The best way to avoid wasting your time
sending out demos to places or to people who won't listen to it is to
make your music solicited. Sounds tough right? It's not, a lot of bigger
record companies do not accept non-solicited music, but all you have to
do is talk to someone and get them to agree to listen to your music,
and then you can send it to the address of which they give you and label
it "Attention: corresponding name" and now you're solicited. This will
help you and the company or person you send it to. A three-minute phone
call will give you an exact address to send your demo to so it won't end
up in the wrong hands and then tossed in the garbage. Get Some Representation
Let's
say you have exhausted all of your connections and the Internet is a
well ran dry of possibilities. You can always look to hire professionals
to help you get your music in the hands of the right people. Yes, it
can be expensive, yes it can seem like they're doing nothing more than
what you can do, but the difference is that they probably have
connections that you would never be able to get your hands on, that's
their job. The question you have to ask yourself or your band is "will
it be worth the money?"
There will be a risk, let's face it, no
one wants to think that they aren't good enough and no one should have
to. But in this case, if you or your band still needs more practice and
more experience, you should wait on spending the money on professional
help until you and or your band can utilize it in the most efficient
way.
You have to look at like this, if you are paying someone to
help you and they know that you're not ready for this type of move yet,
that person you are paying will not tell you because they want your
money. Even worse, they will not give you or your band the time and the
effort you are paying for, basically, because it won't be in their best
interest for their career to promote your music to other professionals
when they know it's not ready to be promoted.
But if you feel you
are ready and you have an awesome press kit, bio and demo, and you're
ready for the big boys but your connection just aren't powerful enough
to get your music noticed, this could be money well spent. Keep in Touch
Let's
say you have made some contacts and you have some people who are
willing to give your music a listen. There is nothing wrong with a
follow-up phone call. Let's say you sent your music and the person or
company has received it but has not taken the time to listen to it yet.
This phone call could light the fire under someone to open the CD and
give it some time, especially if you come off as someone who might just
call ever week until someone does listen to it. You may also help
yourself by calling if someone has listened to the CD and is on the
fence about it. A phone call could show them the ambition that they want
to see from an artist, and that might sway them in the right direction
about what they want to do about the situation in general. A Couple Last Things You Can Do
This
is not a must, but it will help you look more professional: Get your
music copyrighted. This won't only make you look more professional but
will also protect your music when you're sending it out to different
places.
You can also help yourself and your band by using art work
in the form of a label or a symbol that can be associated with the band
or you as an artist. Again, this is not a must, but anything that can
help market your name is just one more thing to add to your press kit
and can help your chances of success.
One last thing that should
be noted is that this is a process, making it big overnight will be like
hitting the lotto. So unless you're feeling that lucky, get ready for
the long hall.
So many Nigerian celebrities including Banky W, Funke Akindele and Tiwa Savage, gathered in Lagos at the recently held Nigerian Entertainment Conference 2016 to share some of their wealth of experience.
Hello sweetness! Do you really understand how much joy and
happiness you bring to my world? I just have to let you know how lucky
of a man I am to have you in my life. Words can hardly express how much
you truly mean to me, but allow me to try anyway. I love you more than
any man could ever love a woman! So overjoyed that I'm the one who gets
to put that pretty smile on your face. You are super-sexy and indeed a
most attractive and vivacious lady! I treasure the idea of you and I
spending quality time together in any situation. It delights my
imagination to no end, at the mere thought of you in my arms, holding
you so close and expressing my appreciation for this love most special
we share. I would do anything with you, for you or to you that
strengthens our bond and brings us closer!
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