2013 Mode Men of the Year Awards: Olamide is the Musician of the Year

Mode Men Magazine, the organizers of the annual Mode Men “Men of the Year Awards”, has announced the winners of its 2013 edition.

The awards ceremony was scheduled to take place on Saturday 7th December 2013, but was later cancelled. A winners dinner ceremony will be held in January 2014.

Check out the list!

2013 Mode Men Magazine “Men of the Year” Awards
Sports Personality of the Year: Stephen Keshi Woman of the Year: Abiola Alabi Actor of the Year: Victor Olaotan Governor of the Year: Governor Godswill Akpabio Luxury Brand of the Year: Bond 9 Politician of the Year: Governor Rotimi Amaechi Radio Personality of the Year: Olisa Adibua TV Personality of the Year: Sulaiman Aledeh Business Man of the Year: Taiwo Afolabi Most Stylish of the Year: Gerald Azonobo Musician of the Year: Olamide Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Simdu Shagaya New Menswear Designer of the Year: Hunt Couture

Source:BellaNaija.com

'"AKWA IBOM STATE SPEAKER CARRIES MACE TO SOCIAL FUNCTION!"'

Engr IK-Eweka Egie wrote:

Sometimes, you just sit back and ask yourself, how on God's earth do we get this low? Why do we have these things happening to in our country? I was reading this story on a blog of "Secret Reporters", and it was like reading a fiction novel. If not for the pictures, I would have dismissed it? The report reads:
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"The House of Assembly members in Akwa Ibom State must truly be a body of jokers. The revered mace which symbolizes authority was spotted at a social event lying carelessly on a table which is meant to eat and drink. This is certainly how they do it in Akwa Ibom State, where the tin god governor can ask his aides to beat up any of the Honorable members who disagrees with him, as was done to Onofiok Luke, who is popularly known to be proud. Jokes currently going on is that following the level of impeachment of Speakers going on rampantly in Nigeria, the Akwa Ibom State speaker is scared and has resolved to be carrying the mace around to forestall such happening to him".
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A few years ago, we heard of a speaker in the North who goes about with mace in his car. He denied it, and there were no pictures then. The matter died; even though he was later impeached. Now, imagine if trouble start in that hall. The mace will, as usual, be used as Weapon of Mass Destruction. The sad part is that, the man seated in the center looks like former Governor, former Minister and PDP BOT member Don Etiebet, .


http:// secretsreporters .blogspot.com/ 2013/12/ madness-akwa-ibo m-state- speaker -carries.html

Barack Obama's Tribute to Nelson Mandela

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. To Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of states and government, past and present; distinguished guests -- it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life like no other. To the people of South Africa -- (applause) -- people of every race and walk of life -- the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and your hope found expression in his life. And your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.

It is hard to eulogize any man -- to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person -- their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul. How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.

Born during World War I, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised herding cattle and tutored by the elders of his Thembu tribe, Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century. Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement -- a movement that at its start had little prospect for success. Like Dr. King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed and the moral necessity of racial justice. He would endure a brutal imprisonment that began in the time of Kennedy and Khrushchev, and reached the final days of the Cold War. Emerging from prison, without the force of arms, he would -- like Abraham Lincoln -- hold his country together when it threatened to break apart. And like America’s Founding Fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations -- a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election, but by his willingness to step down from power after only one term.

Given the sweep of his life, the scope of his accomplishments, the adoration that he so rightly earned, it’s tempting I think to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men. But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. (Applause.) Instead, Madiba insisted on sharing with us his doubts and his fears; his miscalculations along with his victories. “I am not a saint,” he said, “unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection -- because he could be so full of good humor, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried -- that we loved him so. He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood -- a son and a husband, a father and a friend. And that’s why we learned so much from him, and that’s why we can learn from him still. For nothing he achieved was inevitable. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness, and persistence and faith. He tells us what is possible not just in the pages of history books, but in our own lives as well.

Mandela showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals. Perhaps Madiba was right that he inherited, “a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness” from his father. And we know he shared with millions of black and colored South Africans the anger born of, “a thousand slights, a thousand indignities, a thousand unremembered moments…a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people,” he said.

But like other early giants of the ANC -- the Sisulus and Tambos -- Madiba disciplined his anger and channeled his desire to fight into organization, and platforms, and strategies for action, so men and women could stand up for their God-given dignity. Moreover, he accepted the consequences of his actions, knowing that standing up to powerful interests and injustice carries a price. “I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I’ve cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and [with] equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” (Applause.)

Mandela taught us the power of action, but he also taught us the power of ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those who you agree with, but also those who you don’t agree with. He understood that ideas cannot be contained by prison walls, or extinguished by a sniper’s bullet. He turned his trial into an indictment of apartheid because of his eloquence and his passion, but also because of his training as an advocate. He used decades in prison to sharpen his arguments, but also to spread his thirst for knowledge to others in the movement. And he learned the language and the customs of his oppressor so that one day he might better convey to them how their own freedom depend upon his. (Applause.)

Mandela demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough. No matter how right, they must be chiseled into law and institutions. He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history. On core principles he was unyielding, which is why he could rebuff offers of unconditional release, reminding the Apartheid regime that “prisoners cannot enter into contracts.”

But as he showed in painstaking negotiations to transfer power and draft new laws, he was not afraid to compromise for the sake of a larger goal. And because he was not only a leader of a movement but a skillful politician, the Constitution that emerged was worthy of this multiracial democracy, true to his vision of laws that protect minority as well as majority rights, and the precious freedoms of every South African.

And finally, Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit. There is a word in South Africa -- Ubuntu -- (applause) -- a word that captures Mandela’s greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

We can never know how much of this sense was innate in him, or how much was shaped in a dark and solitary cell. But we remember the gestures, large and small -- introducing his jailers as honored guests at his inauguration; taking a pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS -- that revealed the depth of his empathy and his understanding. He not only embodied Ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves.

It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailer as well -- (applause) -- to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion and generosity and truth. He changed laws, but he also changed hearts.

For the people of South Africa, for those he inspired around the globe, Madiba’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate a heroic life. But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or our circumstance, we must ask: How well have I applied his lessons in my own life? It’s a question I ask myself, as a man and as a President.

We know that, like South Africa, the United States had to overcome centuries of racial subjugation. As was true here, it took sacrifice -- the sacrifice of countless people, known and unknown, to see the dawn of a new day. Michelle and I are beneficiaries of that struggle. (Applause.) But in America, and in South Africa, and in countries all around the globe, we cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not yet done.

The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality or universal franchise may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before, but they are no less important. For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger and disease. We still see run-down schools. We still see young people without prospects for the future. Around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs, and are still persecuted for what they look like, and how they worship, and who they love. That is happening today. (Applause.)

And so we, too, must act on behalf of justice. We, too, must act on behalf of peace. There are too many people who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality. There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people. (Applause.) And there are too many of us on the sidelines, comfortable in complacency or cynicism when our voices must be heard.

The questions we face today -- how to promote equality and justice; how to uphold freedom and human rights; how to end conflict and sectarian war -- these things do not have easy answers. But there were no easy answers in front of that child born in World War I. Nelson Mandela reminds us that it always seems impossible until it is done. South Africa shows that is true. South Africa shows we can change, that we can choose a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes. We can choose a world defined not by conflict, but by peace and justice and opportunity.

We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. But let me say to the young people of Africa and the young people around the world -- you, too, can make his life’s work your own. Over 30 years ago, while still a student, I learned of Nelson Mandela and the struggles taking place in this beautiful land, and it stirred something in me. It woke me up to my responsibilities to others and to myself, and it set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today. And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be a better man. (Applause.) He speaks to what’s best inside us.

After this great liberator is laid to rest, and when we have returned to our cities and villages and rejoined our daily routines, let us search for his strength. Let us search for his largeness of spirit somewhere inside of ourselves. And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, when our best-laid plans seem beyond our reach, let us think of Madiba and the words that brought him comfort within the four walls of his cell: “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

What a magnificent soul it was. We will miss him deeply. May God bless the memory of Nelson Mandela. May God bless the people of South Africa. (Applause.)

Obasanjo writes Jonathan, accuses president of lying, destroying Nigeria, promoting corruption

An apparently angry and frustrated ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has written what clearly competes as one of the most acerbic letters in modern history to President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him of ineptitude and of taking actions calculated at destroying Nigeria. “Nigeria is bleeding and the hemorrhage must be stopped,”

Mr. Obasanjo said in the 18-page letter dated December 2, 2013 and exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday. He said Mr. Jonathan has failed to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people, stem corruption, promote national unity and strengthen national security. He said in the letter titled “Before it is too late” that rather than take steps to advance Nigeria’s interest and up the standards of living of Nigerians, Mr. Jonathan had betrayed God and the Nigerian people that brought him to power, and has been pursuing selfish personal and political interests based on advice he receives from “self-centred aides”. In the detailed letter, dripping of anger , frustration and what appears a genuine concern to rescue a nation on the brink, Mr. Obasanjo lamented that Mr. Jonathan had become terribly divisive and clannish, destroying his own party, polarizing the country along regional and religious lines and ridiculing Nigeria in the comity of nations. Without mincing words, Mr. Obasanjo blamed Mr. Jonathan for the crises tearing the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, apart. He said apart from using party chairman Bamanga Tukur to cause multiple crises and divide the ranks of the party, the president’s failure to keep a promise he made not to seek a second term is also generating tension within the ruling party.

 “It would be unfair to continue to level full blames on the Chairman (Tukur) for all that goes wrong with the party,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “The chairman is playing the tune dictated by the paymaster (Jonathan). But the paymaster is acting for a definitive purpose for which deceit and deception seem to be the major ingredients. “Up till two months ago, Mr. President, you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in 2015. I quickly pointed out to you that the signs and the measures on the ground do not tally with your statement. You said the same to one other person who shared his observation with me. And only a fool would believe that statement you made to me judging by what is going on. I must say it is not ingenious. You may wish to pursue a more credible and more honorable path.” The former President said Mr. Jonathan told him before the 2011 election he would not seek a second term, and made the same promise to governors, party stakeholders and Nigerians. The president’s refusal to keep that promise cast him as a man without honour, Mr. Obasanjo said. Saying it would be “fatally morally flawed” for Mr. Jonathan to contest in 2015, Mr. Obasanjo added, “As a leader, two things you must cherish and hold dear among others are trust and honour both of which are important ingredients of character. I will want to see anyone in the Office of the Presidency of Nigeria as a man or woman who can be trusted, a person of honour in his words and character.” Mr. Obasanjo also accused Mr. Jonathan of anti-party conducts – supporting opposition parties’ candidates in governorship elections in Lagos, Ondo, Edo and Anambra states at the detriment of PDP’s own candidates –, and of pitting party members against one another. Saying the President had failed to address the underlying causes of the Boko Haram menace, Mr. Obasanjo urged Mr. Jonathan to adopt a carrot and stick approach in dealing with the insurgency explaining that “conventional military actions based on standard phases of military operations alone will not permanently and effectively deal with the issue of Boko Haram”.  Mr. Obasanjo also tackled Mr. Jonathan for allegedly being clannish. “For you to allow yourself to be “possessed”, so to say, to the exclusion of most of the rest of Nigerians as an “Ijaw man” is a mistake that should never have been allowed to happen. Yes, you have to be born in one part of Nigeria to be Nigerian if not naturalized but the Nigerian President must be above ethnic factionalism. And those who prop you up as of, and for ‘Ijaw nation’ are not your friends genuinely, not friends of Nigeria nor friends of ‘Ijaw nation’ they tout about. “To allow or tacitly encourage people of ‘Ijaw nation’ to throw insults on other Nigerians from other parts of the country and threaten fire and brimstone to protect your interest as an Ijaw man is myopic and your not openly quieting them is even more unfortunate. Two Ijaw men, ex-militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, and a former federal commissioner for information,    Edwin Clark, who carries himself around as the political godfather of the president, are known to talk down on people opposed to the president. Mr. Obasanjo also accused Mr. Jonathan of placing over 1000 Nigerians on political watch list and “training snipers and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his killers”. He wondered why the Presidency was providing assistance for a murderer to evade justice. “Presidential assistance for a murderer to evade justice and presidential delegation to welcome him home can only be in bad taste generally but particularly to the family of his victim,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “Assisting criminals to evade justice cannot be part of the job of the presidency. Or, as it is viwed in some quarters, is he being recruited to do for you what he had done for Abacha in the past? Hopefully, he should have learned his lesson. Let us continue to watch.” Mr. Obasanjo did not mention the name of the murderer he accused the President of protecting but he seems to be referring to Hamza Al-Mustapha, a former security aide to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, who is facing trial for allegedly masterminding the killing of Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Moshood Abiola, the winner of the annulled 1993 presidential election. Mr. Al-Mustapha was freed by the appeal court in July but the Lagos state government has since appealed the judgment at the Supreme Court. The former President also called on the National Assembly to rise up and take decisive action over the recent allegation in the country that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation failed to remit billions of dollars in proceeds of crude oil sales to the federation account. “This allegation will not fly away by non-action, cover-up, denial or bribing possible investigators,” Mr. Obasanjo told the President. “Please deal with this allegation transparently and let the truth be known. “The dramatis personae in this allegation and who they are working for will one day be public knowledge.

Those who know are watching if the National Assembly will not be accomplice in the heinous crime and naked grand corruption. May God grant you the grace for at least one effective corrective action against high corruption which seems to stink all around you in your government.” Mr. Obasanjo said he wrote the letter in the national interest, saying nothing, at this stage of his life, would prevent him from standing up for whatever he considers to be in the best interest of Nigeria, Africa and the world. He said he was ready for whatever backlash his letter would provoke from the presidency. “Knowing what happens around you most of which you know of and condone or deny, this letter will proke cacophony from hired and unhired attackers but I will maintain my serenity because by this letter, I have done my duty to you as I have always done, to your government, to the party, PDP, and to our country, Nigeria…,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “I have passed the stage of being flattered, intimidated, threatened, frightened, induced or bought… Death is the end of all human beings and may it come when God wills it to come.” The full letter is a must read. We will provide a copy for download soon. Source: Premium Times & The ReporterTimes

Jonathan, Allison-Madueke & Okonjo-Iweala Caught In The Act?

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and two of his top ministers may be attempting a cover-up on what clearly competes as Nigeria’s biggest fraud ever, involving the illegal diversion, or theft, of over N8trillion crude oil sales proceeds.
In a frantic and unusual memo to the president on September 25, 2013, Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi detailed how government-owned oil firm, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had systematically diverted N8trillion, being sales proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013.
CBN governor revealed that for all crude oil sales within the period, NNPC paid only 24 percent proceeds into the federation account, and diverted or stole the remaining 76 percent-totalling N8 trillion.
As the CBN calculated, the NNPC sold at least 594 million barrels of oil within the period, and should have paid N10.3 trillion (USD65.3 billion) into the federation account. But the corporation paid only N2.5 trillion (USD15.5 billion), Mr. Sanusi said, citing documentation from pre-shipment inspectors.
Unbelievable: The whereabouts of the huge balance is unknown...
The weight of the differential is clearer if evaluated against the fact that the tiny percentage remitted by the NNPC managed to finance the nation in that period, raising the question of how much the total would then have achieved for a country unable to pay its university lecturers who have been on strike for five months.
Put simply, for each barrel of oil sold, say at an average of USD100, the NNPC illegally cornered $74 into an unknown account and gave Nigeria only $26.
Mr. Sanusi said he was “constrained” to hint the president after observing the huge shortfalls for years. He accused the NNPC of breaching two key federal laws, and urged the president to act expeditiously by ordering sweeping investigation and prosecution of those found culpable.
Two months on, the president has refused to act on the damning memo delivered to him personally by the CBN governor. In fact, after receiving the letter, the president, presidency sources say, questioned Mr. Sanusi on why such letter should be prepared in the first place and sent to him.
PREMIUM TIMES can also confirm that finance minister and former World Bank chief, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is also aware of the CBN’s information and has done nothing about it; while petroleum minister, Alison Diezani-Madueke, implicated in several corruption probes in the past, is said to be fully in the know about the massive plunder of crude oil money by the NNPC.
President challenged on corruption
Details of the president’s failure to act on such a massive scale of misappropriation came amid an increasing criticism of Mr. Jonathan’s response to corruption, as several senior officials of his government, accused of stealing or wasting public funds, have been spared of indictment and prosecution.
The weightiest of such concerns came on Monday from the speaker of the House of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who publicly accused the president of consistently displaying a “body language” that encourages corruption.
Citing past scandals, the most recent being the N255 million armoured car fraud involving aviation minister, Stella Oduah, Mr. Tambuwal said the president’s penchant for duplicating committees to investigate corruption cases, rather than directing law enforcement agencies to probe them, showed Mr. Jonathan was less committed to curbing fraud.
“By the action of setting up different committees for straightforward cases, the president’s body language doesn’t tend to support the fight against corruption,” the speaker said at an event in Abuja.
Between 2011 and 2013, the House of Representatives has investigated the NNPC multiple times, and has in many cases found officials of the corporation wanting. But no one has been sanctioned by government.
In 2012, top management of the NNPC and the petroleum minister, Mrs. Madueke, who directly supervises the NNPC, were recommended for prosecution by the House in a shocking fuel subsidy probe. They accused officials have remained at their posts.
The CBN’s allegation is the most scathing yet for a corporation notorious for secrecy and corruption.
The diverted or stolen amount-N8 trillion between January 2012 and July 2013- is the nearly the equivalent of the total federal budgets for two years.
Put together, the sum can run the entire country for the period, build several new roads and railways, pay wages of millions of workers, cater for the nation’s teeming unemployed, build thousands of hospitals and schools, complete ongoing power projects, and on an urgent note, clear multiple times, all government financial obligations to university lecturers, whose ongoing strike has kept the universities shut for more than five months now.
More losses and the ECA
Even so, when compared with prevailing data from different government agencies, the figure admitted by the CBN is still lesser than what Nigeria should earn from oil sales.
While the bank said its computation, based on pre-shipment details, showed that Nigeria sold N10.3 trillion worth of oil in 19 months, PREMIUM TIMES’ analysis shows the government should rather realize N10.6 trillion in the first 10 months of 2013-Janaury to October-alone.
PREMIUM TIMES’s estimates is based on the government’s data of daily production average of 2.11 million barrels of crude, sold at an average price of $105.84 per barrel.
If multiplied and converted to naira, the government should have realized N10. 6 trillion in 10 months alone.
But in that period, total oil receipts data provided by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, claimed between January and October, the government made N5.8 trillion.
Also, our estimates show that the government has not only lied or misled Nigerians about its total receipts from oil sales, but is also deceitful about its earnings in the contentious Excess Crude Account.
The ECA holds the difference between the real market price for oil and the government’s projection in the national budget yearly.
For 2013, the government approved rate is $79 per barrel (called benchmark for oil price), meaning any raise in price at the international marker, will go into the ECA.
For most of the year, oil sold as much as $112 and $114 per barrel. At a conservative rate of $105 per barrel, the government should have realized $26 as difference per barrel for the Excess Crude Account.
Calculated at 2.11 million barrels per day, that should amount to $17.3 billion (about N2.695trillion) earned as excess crude revenue from crude oil exports as of October 2013.
But the government claims it generated only N986.6 billion in the Excess Crude Account.
No explanation
No government official could explain the huge gaps for the 2013 figures. The ministry of finance did not comment when contacted multiple times. Paul Nwabuiku, a spokesperson for the finance minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, promised a response but refused to give one several days after.
A spokesperson for the Central Bank of Nigeria, reacting to our findings (not Mr. Sanusi’s letter) said as the government’s banker, it could not provide the requested information, as it was unlawful for a banker to divulge details about its customer to a third party.
“We maintain a customer/banker relationship with the government in the execution of our mandate. We do not divulge such information to third parties,” Mr. Ugochukwu said on Thursday via a text message.
Controversy over Excess Crude Account
PREMIUM TIMES’s own evaluation of government oil earnings began well ahead of obtaining Mr. Sanusi’s letter to President Jonathan.
The review was prompted by the lingering controversy over the ECA between the finance minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala and the Rivers state governor, Chibuike Amaechi.
Mr. Amaechi had accused the government of depleting the account, usually shared between the federal, states and local governments.
The governor said $5 billion had gone missing from the account under Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s watch.
Defending the administration, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala accused the governor of “playing politics” on the matter, and said the outstanding $5 billion had been shared to states as monthly allocation and local governments, with Rivers State being one of the major beneficiaries.
The frustration of CBN governor
But in his letter, Mr. Sanusi said he had long been frustrated by the NNPC’s secrecy with oil sales, and that he raised concerns twice to the president as far back as 2010 about his observation that a huge chunk of sales proceeds were not remitted to government treasury.
He said the shortfall in revenue as a result of oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta was insignificant compared to the scale of money unaccounted for by the NNPC.
“Your excellency, you will recall that as far back as late 2010, I had verbally expressed deep concern about what appeared to be huge shortfalls in remittances to the federation account in spite of the strong recovery in oil prices,” the CBN governor wrote, indicating the losses extending years back far surpasses the N8 trillion of between 2012 and 2013.
There is no evidence the president acted on those concerns.
By 2012, he said the situation had gone worse that the government made more money from tax paid by oil companies than from actual sales of crude.
“This means, Your Excellency, that in this first seven months of the year, taxes accounted for 76 % of the total inflow from this sector, while NNPC crude oil proceeds accounted for 24%,” he said.
The CBN governor called for a thorough audit of all domiciliary accounts held by the NNPC outside of the CBN, and a probe of companies involved in oil lifting and oil swap.
“As banker to the federal government and Economic Adviser to the President,” he said, “I am obliged to draw the president’s attention to these serious issues of which you have most probably never been aware in this detail,” he said.
The Special Adviser to the President on Public Communications, Reuben Abati, was not available for comments. He did not answer several calls made to his telephone. He is believed to be travelling in South Africa with the president, who is attending the funeral of late South African President, Nelson Mandela.

Source: http://thegospelcity.blogspot.com/

Obama And His Wife Michelle Arrived Nelson Mandela Memorial Service

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (L), US President Barack Obama (C) and First Lady Michelle Obama attending the memorial service for late South African President Nelson Mandela at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg AFP PHOTO / SABC

US President Barack Obama received a huge ovation as he arrived an hour late Tuesday at an emotional memorial service for South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

Obama, scheduled to deliver a personal tribute at the event, was delayed as his motorcade struggled through the rain-soaked route to the Soweto World Cup stadium.

The memorial event was marred by heavy rainfall which began in the early morning.

Obama and his wife Michelle had arrived at Waterkloof air force base near Pretoria after a 16-hour flight on Air Force One from Washington.

They flew in with former president George W. Bush and his wife Laura, while two other former presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter travelled separately.

Flavour apologizes to Waconzy

OK, I promise this is the last you will hear of this matter...lol. Flavour has apologised to Waconzy for telling a fan that a collaboration with him, (Waconzy) will probably never happen.

Dr Sid's and Simi Osomo's introduction ceremony

 

 Awww, how sweet. See more photos after the cut...

                           Photography by Obi Somto, Jokotade Shonowo & Ademola Odusami

2face & Annie Idibia's Cute Daughter, Isabella, Clocks 5 Today!

"Happy bday to the most amazing kid ever liveth! Always smiling,always happy,no dull moments,extra energy,extremely brilliant n very compassionate for kid! Yaaaayyyyyyy my SunShine is 5 today!!" - Annie Idibia. Congrats, Isabella! Another picture after the break!

 

Former Miss Malaika 2006, Arrested

                                                                   Mr Versa & Hamamat 

A Ghanaian court has ordered the arrest of Miss Hamamat Montia, who won Miss Malaika in 2006 for failing to appear before it. Miss Hamamat was accused of stealing an unregistered Toyota Highlander 2008, from her ex-boyfriend, Versa Keskinen. Mr Versa claimed he made payment for the vehicle before travelling out of the country in a hurry for a business transaction. On getting back to the country, he was told that his girlfriend had already come for the vehicle. It was later gathered that, Miss Hamamat registered it in her name and all efforts to get the vehicle back proved abortive. The case was reported to the Police and she was charged to court.

OJB Looking Very Healthy Returns To Nigeria

 
After he got the money needed for his kidney transplant from Governor Rotimi Amaechi, popular producer OJB left for India for treatment. He is back after a successful kidney transplant, looking healthy. Congrats!

"Jeju Loveland" Called Sex Island In South Korea (18+ Only)

People love to visit the theme park, 'Love Land'. It is an outdoor sculpture park which opened in 2004 on Jeju Island in South Korea. The park is focused on a theme of sex, running sex education films, and featuring 140 sculptures representing humans in various sexual positions.More pictures after the cut ...viewers discretion is advised

APC to Jonathan: Stop threatening ASUU

After meeting for about five hours in Abuja, All Progressive Congress (APC)leaders issued yesterday a damming verdict on the state of the nation. The party scolded President Goodluck Jonathan for handling security and the Boko Haram insurgency with “political naivety”.

It urged the President to dust up the Lemu Panel’s Report and compensate victims of the insurgency. Besides, the party advised the President to show leadership by working with striking university lecturers instead of threatening them. It accused the Federal Government of using anti-graft agencies to persecute governors and perceived political enemies.

The party expressed regrets that the police had been turned into a wing of the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to deal with opponents. It said the deployment of the police for intimidation and coercion in some states is against the principle of federalism

The APC, which made its position known in a communiqué at the end of a strategic session at the Kano Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro District, Abuja, said Nigeria was becoming a neo-fascist state.

The session, which began at about 8.30pm on Tuesday, ended at about 12.20am yesterday.

In the communiqué, read by its National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, the APC leader said while corruption has remained endemic under the Jonathan’s administration, the government is compounding the situation with abuse of anti-graft agencies.

The party said: “Since the declaration of State of Emergency in key Northeastern states affected by the insurgency, life and property have been under severe attacks.

“A large number of residents have been displaced and forced to migrate to adjoining states or outside the country. These victims have been uprooted from their homes, families and jobs. They have lost hope in the ability of their country to protect them.

“Clearly the State of Emergency has failed. To make the matters worse, the elected governors and the other stakeholders of the areas are ignored and totally excluded by the Federal Government agencies.

“Never since the Nigerian Civil War has a major military establishment been so grounded as the onslaught on the military base in Maiduguri on December 2nd, 2013.

“This gradual deterioration of security and mounting civilian casualties are symptomatic of the failure of intelligence, political naivety and disconnect between the Jonathan administration and current realities of the Nigerian situation.”

The APC demanded compensation for victims of insurgency.

It said: “The issue of compensation should not be one of negotiation. The government must compensate victims. The Lemu Report with its template for an interim escape route provides the basis for constructive engagement.

“We urge the government to dust it up along relevant reports on Nigerian security to assist it in its strategy towards effective national security.”

On the university lecturers’ strike, the party said Nigerians should blame the Federal Government.

It urged President Jonathan’s administration to show leadership by working with the varsity lecturers to salvage the system.

Said the APC: “The protracted strike is not so much the fault of the lecturers but that of Jonathan administration to confront key issues of university education and administration today.

“The current impasse has paralysed tertiary education nationwide, compromised security by creating idle youth, potentially foreclosing prospects for a bright future.

“Now is the time for Jonathan administration to show leadership by working with university lecturers to find a lasting solution to the challenges confronting university education, in terms of funding, infrastructure, standards, welfare and administration.

“This is not the time for threats but partnerships and compromise because the youths are our best resources for tomorrow.

“As a political party, as parents and guardians, our heart goes out to millions of our youths who have been deprived their right to education for over half of an academic session through no fault of theirs.”

The APC accused the Federal Government of using anti-graft agencies to persecute governors and perceived political enemies. It said: “The abuse of public institutions by the Federal Government and the ruling party in persecuting perceived political enemies undermines the integrity of these institutions and subverts the rule of law.

“We have watched the trend in which selected governors and other top political figures are being victimised.

“This does not augur well for a civil relationship in our body politic. It emphasises revenge over fairness and breeds malice, rancour and distrust.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, we will wage a consistent and persistent war against corruption and plug wastages. Corruption under the current Federal Government is endemic and Nigeria’s rating has never been this bad.”

The party faulted how the Police had been turned into the “Rottweiler” of the Presidency and the ruling party.

“The Presidency and the ruling party have deployed the police against the highest principles of federalism,” the APC said, adding:

“Examples of Rivers and Abuja governors’ meeting at Kano Governor’s Lodge where even subordinate police officers act with impunity that has turned Nigeria into a neo-fascist state.

“This contradicts the very basis of democracy, violates the fundamental rights of citizens and elected officers who do not belong to the ruling party and perceived as enemies of the Presidency.” The APC restated its demand for the overhaul of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).

It said: “Less than six months to elections in Ekiti and Osun, with 2015 looming ahead, we are burdened with an INEC that has been de-robed in the public eye, unprepared, compromised and does not inspire faith in the electorate.

“The scale of electoral fraud witnessed in Delta and Anambra portends grave danger for our democracy. INEC needs an urgent and necessary overhaul.

“The APC calls for full implementation of Justice Muhammadu Uwais Report on electoral reforms. Rather than a selective approach, we demand a wholesale implementation of the recommendations submitted.

“The independence of INEC, the institution of full biometrics that can guarantee the protection of one man, one vote and the integrity of the election process are cornerstone of a credible electoral system.”

Some of the APC leaders at the session were former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former Borno State Governor Modu Ali Sheriff; former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva and former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu. National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed was there.

Others included Governors Ibikunle Amosun(Ogun); Rotimi Amaechi(Rivers); Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto); Kayode Fayemi(Ekiti); Murtala Nyako(Adamawa); Abdulfatai Ahmed(Kwara); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Babatunde Raji Fashola(Lagos); and Rabiu Kwankwanso(Kano).

House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal was seen at the lodge, but his mission was unclear at press time.

Kidnappers Seize NYSC Member, Demand N10m Ransom

The Lagos State Police Command has commenced investigation into the kidnap of a 29-year-old National Youth Service Corps member, Ayobami Jaiyeola.


Relatives of the victim told newsmen that she was last seen while leaving her elder sister's house at Dideolu Estate in the Oniru area of the state in the evening of Friday last week.

When our correspondent visited the victim's home on Wednesday, family and friends thronged the place to commiserate with her mother.

A relative of the victim, who craved anonymity, said Ayobami left her two phones and handbag behind in the house at the time of her kidnap.

He said the matter was initially reported as a case of missing person.

He said, "On Friday, she suddenly left the house and walked outside the main gate of the estate. We have not heard anything from her since then. Her phones were here so there was little we could do.
"We asked the security guards at the gate if they noticed anything, but they said they only saw her walking out and no vehicle was seen nearby.

"We reported the matter to the Maroko Police Division, as well as the state command headquarters."
It was learnt that following her disappearance, friends of the victim began sending messages on smartphones and the social media, begging members of the public to help search and provide details regarding Ayobami's whereabouts.

It was however learnt that on Wednesday afternoon, a man, who refused to identify himself, called the victim's elder sister on the telephone, demanding N10m as ransom.

The relative said, "We did not speak with Ayobami, but someone called with a private number demanding N10m.
"When we tried to ask further questions about the state of our daughter, the man terminated the call abruptly."

Our correspondent learnt that Ayobami's place of NYSC primary assignment is the Lagos State Ministry of Works, Alausa, Ikeja.

The victim, who graduated from the University of Maryland in the United States, was said to have returned to the country in January for  her youth service.

Some of her colleagues, who visited the family home on Wednesday, described her as a hardworking and responsible lady.

One of them, who identified himself simply as Gbade, said, "Ayobami serves in the same ministry as me. We are also part of the same Community Development Service known as Education and Enlightenment.

"We are here to show support and we believe that by God's grace, she will return safely to her family."

The victim's brother-in-law, Mr Bosun Ayinde, confirmed to our correspondent that kidnappers had contacted the family.

"We want Ayobami back safe and sound. We have not rested since she left and you can imagine what her mother is going through," he said.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the police had commenced investigation into the matter. 

 Source: NigerianEye

Amaechi, others did not leave PDP - Tukur

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on Wednesday said he was not aware of any member of the PDP defecting to another party.



Tukur said this while fielding questions from journalists after meeting behind closed doors with the PDP Senate caucus and the Central Working Committee of the party.

Aggrieved members of the PDP in the Senate such as Bukola Saraki, Shaaba Lafiaji, Wilson Ake, Danjuma Goje, Ali Ndume, Adamu Abdullahi, Magnus Abe, Hassan Barata, Jubrin Bindo and Aishat Al-Hassan, did not attend the meeting which lasted about four hours.

But Tukur said the meeting was silent on the reported issue of defection because it (meeting) was a family talk aimed at reviewing the activities of the party.

He said, “We did not talk about people who want to go or stay (defection) I came here because this is the first time I am coming to meet my family members; they are my members.”

Tukur explained that the need for the entrenchment of democracy, discipline and good governance formed the basis of his message to the senators during the meeting.

Asked if it was an earlier visit to the National Assembly by the defunct New PDP that informed his decision to meet the senators, he replied , “Of course not, this is PDP and there is no other PDP.”

Also asked whether he discussed the impact of the defection of five PDP governors to the All Progressives Congress, Tukur said, “Have they defected? they have not gone yet.”

The five governors are Rotimi Amechi (Rivers); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).

Tukur, had before journalists were excused from the meeting, explained that he was in the Senate to fraternise and exchange ideas with the PDP senators on how they could continue to work together as one family.

Tukur also acknowledged the challenges facing the party but said that they were surmountable “because PDP is one family working together towards achieving a common goal.”

The President of the Senate, David Mark, who led the PDP senators to the meeting,also admitted that the party was facing some challenges.

But he said that the party was capable of addressing the issues like a family matter.

Mark said, “We admit we have some challenges in the party . It is expected in a big party like PDP . It is not unusual. We are equal to the challenges as a party . Hopefully , we shall come out of the crisis stronger.”

He also assured the National Working Committee of the party that the PDP senators were united in one accord and working together to ensure that the transformation agenda was carried out to its logical conclusion .

The Senate leader, Senator Victor Ndoma -Egba, said, “We discussed issues affecting members of the PDP Senate Caucus and the national chairman listened attentively and responded and gave us words of reassurance.

“They are domestic issues; you don’t expect me to come and discuss domestic issues in public. They are issues that affect the members of the party in the Senate.”

Ndoma – Egba also said the issue of defection was not discussed at the meeting.

He said, “The issue of defection never came up and I can say it categorically that no senator has indicated that he is going anywhere. So, the issue never came up.”

On automatic ticket for senators in 2015, Ndoma-Egba said, “We discussed the provisions of the constitution and emphasised democracy.

“Our party is called Peoples Democratic Party and we reminded ourselves that we must be democratic at all times .We had a useful meeting with our national chairman.” 
Source: NigerianEye

Toke Makinwa & Her Boo, Maje Ayida Having Problems?

We sincerely hope it’s not true. Toke Makinwa’s boo, Maje Ayida took to twitter on Monday where he expressed his sadness over a certain love. And this morning he repeated almost the same. Check out all his tweets below.
We just hope all is well….#cuswedontwanttoreportanybreakup.

 More tweets below.

Today's tweets