Friday 17 October 2014

Gov Rotimi Amaechi insults Nollywood practitioners to their faces, says they are products of circumstances

This would have been funny if it wasn't pathetic. According to a few Nollywood practitioners who were present at the Best of Nollywood Awards, which held last night in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, the governor of the state Rotimi Amaechi practically insulted Nollywood practitioners to their faces.

According to a breaking news report on Channels TV, the Nigerian government has reached a ceasefire agreement with Boko Hraram following today's meeting between government officials led by President Jonathan's principal private secretary, Amb. Tukur, Chadian government and reps of the sect group led by Danaldi Ahmadu.

To this end, the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, has directed all service chiefs to comply with the ceasefire agreement between Nigeria and Boko Haram in all areas of operations. Securing the release of the 219 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram was a major part of their discussions

Police get approval to recruit more personnel

Acting Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, says the police has gotten approval to recruit more personnel into the force. Abba, who made this known when he received the United Arab Emirate Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohmud Mohammed, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, said the recruitment process will soon begin.
He said some equipment bought by the Federal Government to enhance the capacity of the police in fighting crimes in line with modern technological developments have also been commissioned. Abba also received the Deputy Chief of Missions in the United States Embassy in Nigeria, Francis Bray.
Abba commended the U.S. for its collaboration and support for Nigeria. He said the relationship between the US and Nigeria can improve in terms of training of personnel on counter-terrorism.

We'll continue to prioritize youth issues - Jonathan assures

President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians his administration will continue to promote deliberate policies to accelerate youth development. The President, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, gave the assurance in Abuja at the 2014 International Youth Day with the theme; ''Youth and Mental Health''.
He said the government has put in place various programmes aimed at addressing the challenges facing the youth as well as to creating conditions for their inclusion in the development process. The president said Nigeria in collaboration with its international partners, is poised to elaborate on the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Framework to create more jobs for the youth.

Nigerian Navy applauds Anambra state government for checking insurgency,bunkering

The Nigerian Navy has applauded the Anambra state government’s plan to position mobile artillery on the River Niger to check insurgency and oil bunkering. The Commanding officer of the Naval Out-Post in Onitsha, Captain Mike Oamen said this while Governor Willie Obiano pledged to donate a high artillery gun-boat to the navy.
Oamen said the gun-boat will make Onitsha and its neighboring riverine communities safer. The commander adds that the days of using Onitsha and its environs as operation grounds for oil bunkering are over. Reports suggest the navy has taken over the task of restoring security, sanity, and night life in Onitsha and the neighboring riverine communities

Ebola: Nigeria ready to procure vaccines, Minister says

The National Council on Health has advised the Federal Ministry of Health to establish additional diagnostic laboratories to detect possible cases of the Ebola virus in the country. This was announced by the Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.
The council directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to conduct detailed mapping of locations, capacities and categorization of existing laboratories to scale up the plan.
The communiqué also directed the Federal Government to assist states in establishing isolation tents that will cater for at least 20 people. It said Federal and State Ministries of Health; and the Human Services Development Secretariat to provide sufficient incentives to health workers who participate in the management of the infected patients.

Wait, Is Ex-MBGN Anna Banner dating Flavour?

Most Beautiful in Nigeria 2013 Anna Banner Ebiere has been posting pics and writing sweet things about Flavour for a while now but I've ignored it until now because I thought they were 'just friends' and it was only 'attention seeking moves'. But there may be more going on between these two than we first thought. I asked an industry source who said they're not dating but maybe they are also clueless? Flavour welcomed a daughter with Sandra Okagbue last month and Anna used to date singer, Trafic. Are they together for real? Will find out!

Stephen Keshi's reaction when asked about his sack by the NFF

According to NTA News, this was former Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi's reaction when he was asked about his sack by the Nigeria Football Federation..

Asari Dokubo again! Shares another controversial write up...

Ex Niger Delta militant Asari Dokubo posted this on his Facebook page...

Lol. Donald Trump and Russell Brand attack each other on twitter

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump took to twitter yesterday to bash British comedian and actor Russell Brand after watching his appearance on 'Late Show with David Letterman'. Donald also called out Katy Perry for marrying such a 'loser' and a 'waste. If Donald thought Russell would take the insult lying down, he thought wrong. Russell came for him. See their tweets after the cut...

Pics: Taylor Swift & Amal Clooney keep wearing the same clothes

George Clooney's new wife Amal, 36, and US singer Taylor Swift, 24, have such similar styles. They have been spotted on at least two occasions rocking same outfit. The Oscar de la Renta pencil dress on the left was first won by Taylor in May 2014. Amal wore hers just two days ago, October 16th. The flowery Oscar de la Renta dress (right) was also first won by Taylor in June 2014, Amal wore hers in September. Question is, who wore it better?

"I pity myself" Buhari says after picking N27m APC presidential form

Speaking at the National Secretariat of the APC yesterday October16th, General Muhammadu Buhari who is running for president for the fourth time, said he felt sorry for himself after buying the APC nomination form for N27.5million

Buhari Crushes Goodluck Jonathan In Early 2015 Independent Survey

POLL, which conducted and counted the survey, does not accept repeat voting. During the 24 hours, 14314 people voted, with the result overwhelmingly in support of General Buhari, who at one point held an 80% support.

If the 2015 Nigeria presidential election were held today, General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress would crush the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, in a head-to-head contest by a whopping margin of 78% to 22, an unscientific online survey indicates.

Muhammadu BuhariThe survey, run through an independent third-party service called POLL, was open for 24 hours, starting on Wednesday afternoon after Buhari formally threw his hat into the presidential ring.

New Ekiti Governor Fayose To Appoint Special Adviser On Stomach Infrastructure

“Already, I am grooming your chicken for Christmas. I am getting your rice ready to do stomach infrastructure. When I defeated them, they said it was as a result of stomach infrastructure. How can an incumbent be saying that when he had the money, he had the power, he had the might but disconnected himself from the people. They are gone," Fayose said.

Newly-inaugurated Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, says he is so determined to put food on the tables of Ekiti State people that he intends to appoint a Special Adviser on Stomach Infrastructure.

See Who Made The List of Nigeria's Most Influential Women

1 Campus Mag, owned by entertainment and media entrepreneur Samuel Olatunji, just released its list of Nollywood’s Most Influential Women and guess who landed the spot of No. 1? Uche Jombo!

Icampus Mag coverhttp://www.icampusng.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/8th-edition.jpg

But what exactly categorizes one as influential. According to the post on the ICampus Mag website, "The criteria is based on the kind of money being generated in the industry, from investment, endorsement, volume of work (directly owned), popularity, brand value, and influence among the powers-that-be in politics, business and industry.”

ICampus Mag also states that the list is in no particular order.

Check out the full list below. Do you agree with it?
1. Uche Jombo
2. Genevieve Nnaji
3. Rita Dominic
4. Ini Edo
5. Mercy Johnson.
6. Blessing Effiong Egbe
7. Kate Henshaw
8. Omoni Oboli
9. Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
10. Emem Isong
11. Stephanie Linus

World Bank Head On Ebola: Put The Fire Out Where It's Raging

by NPR STAF

To stop the raging Ebola epidemic in West Africa, "we need to pay attention to where the fire is burning."

That means there is no "magic solution," Jim Yong Kim, the head of the World Bank, told NPR's Steve Inskeep during an interview onMorning Edition. So appointing an Ebola czar to monitor the international response isn't going to suddenly stop the outbreak.

Neither will closing the borders between U.S. and the three hardest-hit countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Twitter Is Suing The U.S. Over Free Speech (Its Own)

Twitter filed a lawsuit against the federal government this week over First Amendment rights, marking the latest round in a battle between tech companies and the government over how much they can reveal about government requests for their user information.

This debate began when Edward Snowden revealed information about the PRISM program, which suggested that the government was asking tech companies for private user information. Tech companies can report the number of requests they receive in broad terms. Twitter hopes to put users at ease by giving them more detail about the requests, but the government is keeping them quiet.

For the second night in a row, President Obama addressed the American public after meeting with his cabinet about Ebola.

Obama assured Americans that their federal government is taking "this very seriously at the highest level, including me."

"What remains true is this is not an airborne disease," Obama said. "It is not easy to catch. It's important to keep perspective in terms of how we handle this."

Although a Russian court is preparing to try Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko on war-related charges, it is Russian President Vladimir Putin who will decide her fate, said Savchenko's defense attorney, Russian human-rights lawyer Mark Feygin.

Savchenko, 33, a pilot and former paratrooper, was captured in June by Russian-backed rebels fighting government forces in the southeastern province of Luhansk. Russia has charged her in the deaths of two Russian journalists killed in fighting in Luhansk on June 17. Ukraine's government says Savchenko was illegally abducted to Russia and had demanded her release. Savchenko has told a Ukrainian consular officer she was hauled across the border in handcuffs, with a sack over her head, but Russia’s government says she fled into the country as a refugee.

Ebola: Death of Arriving Arik Passenger Triggered Cleaning Crew Strike At JFK Int’l Airport In New York

The death of a 63-year-old passenger on an inbound Arik Air flight caused an Ebola scare that led to a cleaning crew's refusal to clean the aircraft headed for Lagos yesterday.

One of Arik's A340 jets

The unnamed passenger reportedly died in his seat after vomiting several times, according to airport officials. However, officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who boarded the plane to remove the dead body, ruled out Ebola as the cause of death.

Bishop Oyedepo Banned From Entering The UK Over Church Corruption

The UK Home Office has banned flamboyant Nigerian pastor, Bishop David Oyedepo, from entering Britain, a British government source told SaharaReporters. Mr. Oyedepo is known as the general overseer of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, otherwise known as Winners Chapel. Headquartered in Ota, Ogun State, the church has branches in numerous parts of the world, including the UK and US.

Bishop David Oyedepo

According to the source, the ban arose from preliminary investigations by Britain’s Charity Commission that determined that monies donated to Bishop Oyedepo’s church for charitable purposes were funneled to Nigeria to fund the preacher’s flamboyant lifestyle.

Closure of Ekiti House of Assembly: APC's Plan B to frustrate Fayose's Govt

After failing to realise his ambition of becoming Ekiti State Acting Governor (hoping that Fayose's inauguration would not hold), Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dr Wale Omirin has ordered that Ekiti lawmakers should go on One Month Recess.

The Speaker claimed that the seven PDP members in the House were plotting to impeach him and for this, Ekiti must be hold to ransom.

For the avoidance doubt, there is no plan from the State Government to force the removal of the Speaker or anyone in the House of Assembly.

Most importantly, election and removal of the Speaker and other Principal Officers of the House of Assembly is the prerogative of the House Members, and not the duty of the Executive arm of government.

Arms purchase: Govt to pay back $1bn loan in 7 years

The Federal Government is expected to pay back the $1 billion loan to be collected for the purchase of security gadgets to combat Boko Haram in seven years. This was revealed on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday.

Chairman of the House committee on finance, Abdulmumin Jibrin, who made this revelation said during their interaction with various stakeholders on the matter, they discovered that the country would cough out about N30 billion annually for seven years to settle the debt.

As 2015 general elections draw closer, politicians seeking support from the electorates have been advised to pursue their interests with issue-based campaigns, by unveiling their workable manifesto to the people or showcasing their commitment towards the betterment of the electorates, as against relying on affirmative action disguised as non-existing zoning arrangement.

A chieftain of the All progressives Congress, APC and the Traditional Prime Minister of Umualumoke autonomous community in Okigwe local government area, Chief Patrick Mbanusi, who stated this recently while fielding questions from news men, maintained that it was against the tenets of democratic culture for contestable political offices to be freely allocated to those he described as ‘arm –chair politicians’ on a purported zoning nomenclature.

Chief Mbanusi, challenged aspiring politicians to embrace the competitiveness of democratic culture by coming clean, as well as marketing themselves properly before their people, adding that only woman or politicians with little or no electoral value always harp on affirmative action or unexisting zoning system to favour their aspirations.

Fiery Oil-Train Derailments Prompt Calls For Less Flammable Oil

A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment in Casselton, N.D., in this Dec. 30 photo. The fiery crash left an ominous cloud over the town and led some residents to evacuate.

Bruce Crummy/AP

Fiery Oil-Train Derailments Prompt Calls For Less Flammable Oil NDPR

Trains carrying oil from North Dakota pass through American towns daily — and sometimes they derail and explode. The oil industry is now under pressure to make the oil less volatile before shipping.

Pay tax for what? Bishop Oyedepo reacts to being named richest pastor in the world

Winners Chapel GO Bishop David Oyedepo who recently turned 60, has reacted to the Forbes List of World's Richest pastors where he was placed at No.1 with an estimated worth of about $150million.

Asked about Forbes' estimate of his fortune, Bishop Oyedepo told Reuters that he doesn't know how Forbes arrived at their figure but says he's blessed...

"For me, to have fortune means someone who has what he needs at any point in time. I don't see myself as having $150 million stacked up somewhere. Whatever way they found their figures, I am only able to say I am blessed by the Lord."

Asked if churches should pay tax considering how much they make, Bishop Oyedepo said;

"There is no single government input on this premises. We supply our water, we make our roads, then you ... say: 'Let's tax them'. For what?"

Malala, Malia & Sasha Obama make Time 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014 list

The world's youngest person to win the Nobel Prize, Malala Yousafzai, president Obama's two daughter's Malia and Sasha Obama make Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014 list. These teenagers, according to Time, were ranked based on 'social-media followings, cultural accolades, business acumen and more.'. See the full list below...

Monalisa Chinda Invests Over N90 million In Historic Talk Show

By Isaac Oladipupo

Multiple award-winning Nollywood actor and producer Monalisa Chinda is stepping in a whole new direction and set to hit our TV screens with what experts have described as ‘Africa’s most ingenious TV talk-show’.

Titled You & I with Monalisa and produced to global standards, the unconventional, thrilling and exciting talk-show is designed to address pressing and trending social issues in the most refreshing perspectives ever seen.

He lost 3-2 to Congo, 1-0 to a meek Sudanese side, drawing with South Africa and being at the bottom of Group A with a single point after three rounds of matches in the qualifying tournament for Morocco 2015, it looks like the Nigeria Football Federation is getting ready to replace Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi.

The NFF have said they won't make any hasty decisions on Keshi's future but will wait till the match tomorrow to know what step to take next. Sports analyst believe that if the Super Eagles fail to win the match tomorrow, then Keshi can as well kiss his job goodbye.

The NFF board will meet today and tomorrow after the match to determine where to go from here but there are strong indications that they are already looking for a replacement for the coach.

Meanwhile, Keshi has revealed that he has several countries waiting to hire him should he be sacked. Do you think Keshi should be replaced or left alone to continue...?

Big Brother Hotshots rep, Tayo Faniran welcomes son with girlfriend

Before he went into the Big Brother Africa House, Nigerian rep Tayo Faniran and his girlfriend were expecting their first child together. Tayo received the joyous news on the show yesterday during his diary session that his girlfriend had given birth to a baby boy (pictured right). The little bundle of joy has since been named Akintoye. Congrats to them.

Tayo tears up after finding out he'd just become a father...

New iPhones To Be Available In More Than 115 Countries By Year-end

By thewillnigeria.com

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said that its recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones will be available in more than 115 countries by the end of the year.

The iPhones will arrive in 36 additional countries and territories across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa by the end of this month, Apple said.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be made available in China, the world's biggest smartphone market, and India from Oct. 17.

Other countries where the phones will be launched include Israel, Czech Republic, Greenland, Poland, South Africa, Bahrain and Kuwait, making this the fastest rollout of iPhones, the company said.

Reuters had earlier reported that the iPhone 6 will be sold in China from Oct 17, after rigorous regulator scrutiny led to Apple reassuring the Chinese government that the smartphones did not have security “backdoors” through which U.S. agencies can access users' data.

REUTERS

Wall Street Hits Lowest Level In Five Months; S&P Breaks Support

By thewillnigeria.com

U.S. stocks fell on Monday to continue their recent decline, with the S&P 500 dropping to its lowest level since May on global growth concerns.

The benchmark S&P index had slumped 3.1 percent last week and Monday's losses pushed the index below both the 1,900 level and its 200-day moving average of around 1,905, seen as support points.

The declines were sparked last week by a cut in the global growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund and disappointing economic data in Europe.

Earnings season will pick up this week, with results expected from Dow components Intel (INTC.O), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), UnitedHealth (UNH.N), American Express (AXP.N) and General Electric (GE.N), as well as financials Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Citigroup (C.N), Bank of America (BAC.N) and Wells Fargo (WFC.N).

“The market is continuing to fall on technical weakness awaiting the earnings reports … the flood begins tomorrow,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

“The fact we broke 1,900 on the S&P, the 200-day moving average, if we don't close above there today, that means the trip to lower levels is more than probable at this point.”

Volume is expected to be muted on Monday in light of the U.S. Columbus Day holiday, which could create more volatility.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP.TO) has approached CSX Corp (CSX.N) about merging the two North American railroad operators to create a transcontinental carrier worth more than $60 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

CSX shares jumped 11.1 percent to $33.28, while U.S.-listed shares of Canadian Pacific (CP.N) rose 0.7 percent.

At 10:49am, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 60.13 points, or 0.36 percent, to 16,483.97, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 12.55 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,893.58 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 45.44 points, or 1.06 percent, to 4,230.79.

The largest percentage gainer on the S&P 500 was CSX while the largest percentage decliner was AutoNation (AN.N), down 6.2 percent.

The largest percentage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 was VimpelCom LTD (VIP.O), rising 3.3 percent, while the largest percentage decliner was Tesla Motors (TSLA.O), down 6.4 percent.

Among the most active stocks on the NYSE were Bank of America (BAC.N), unchanged at $16.48; Petrobras (PBR.N), up 8.64 percent to $16.97 and CSX.

On the Nasdaq, GT Advanced Tech (GTAT.O), down 48.0 percent to $0.42; and Apple (AAPL.O), off 0.4 percent to $100.30, were among the most actively traded.

Declining issues were outnumbering advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,695 to 1,174, for a 1.44-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,486 issues were falling and 1,005 advancing for a 1.48-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 3 new 52-week highs and 34 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 10 new highs and 227 new lows.