14 year old Favour Lucky wins Nigeria's Next Super Model 2012

14 year old Favour Lucky wins Nigeria's Next Super Model 2012 

 

The teenager beat 22 other contestants to emerge the winner of the 2012 Nigeria's Next Super Model contest which held on Saturday 24th November at Oriental Hotel, Lagos. Not only did Favour get a mouth watering modeling contract, she also got a brand new Kia Rio. NNSM is organized yearly by Mrs Joan Okorodudu, owner of Isis Models.

 

How Jonathan and Obasanjo Fell Apart; Plus The Implications For Jonathan

How Jonathan and Obasanjo Fell Apart; Plus The Implications For Jonathan

 

In Abeokuta last Friday, governors, leaders of the National Assembly and political heavy weights gathered to lay the foundation stone of a mosque at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) complex. Even former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has had a bitter political battle with former President Obasanjo, attended the event and donated N5 million towards the project. 

Conspicuously absent was President Goodluck Jonathan. He was not there in person. He was not represented by any minister or presidential aide.

President Jonathan’s absence at an event that touches the heart of his benefactor is one of the manifestations of the divide between the two leaders. Obasanjo it was who influenced Jonathan’s political rise as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, through Governor, Vice President, Acting President, substantive President and Jonathan’s election as president in the 2011 elections. Though unspoken, the feud is now in the open, like a festering wound. 

AUDITIONS in Lagos for EbonyLife Xcite Africa

EbonyLife Xcite, a subsidiary of Media and Entertainment City Africa (MEC Africa), and leading media and entertainment platform has reached a Joint Venture Agreement and concession of Studio Tinapa and also signed a Channel Distribution Agreement with Multichoice to broadcast on the DSTV platform.

Talk show hostess, TV producer, Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist, Mo Abudu is the CEO of MEC Africa and has spent months assembling the best of Nigeria in broadcast and production amongst a team of international experts from the United States and South Africa.

In a bid to create original programming that cut across music, lifestyle, film, drama, talk, factual, comedy, magazine, reality and even sports to the sub-Saharan Africa region, EbonyLife will be holding auditions on December 3rd and 4th, at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, to recruit fresh talent consisting of actors, singers, comedians, and presenters.

Time: 8 am to 5 pm
Venue: Terra Kulture, Plot 1376 Tiamiyu Savage St, V.I.
NOTE: Bring along a 5" by 7" photo. Airbrushed pictures will NOT be accepted.

For enquiries, call IJ on 0818 493 5233, or visit www.XciteAfrica.com www.facebook.com/XciteAfrica www.twitter.com/XciteAfrica

"Yes/No", "Good Good Loving": Banky W keeps it R&B in the R&BW album

On Monday, Banky W released two more tracks from his forthcoming R&BW album. Currently, Banky W is about the most successful Nigerian artist in terms of the period of time between the release of his first single in Nigeria, to becoming a household name in the Nigerian music industry, and today, the boss of one of the top 3 record labels in Nigeria, E.M.E Records, home to another astronomically successful artist, Ayo "Wizkid" Balogun.

  Comedian AY Apologises To Tonto Dike 

Popular first class comedian, Ayo Makun also known as ‘AY’, tendered a public apology to Tonto Dike following the incident about the parody video.
AY recorded his daughter performing Tonto Dikeh’s new single ‘Get High’. The comedian had posted on video sharing site YouTube the one-minute plus clip of  Michelle Makun singing to the actress’ controversial song.


As at the time of report however, the video already had over 40,000 views, over 50likes and close to 10 dislikes.

 

Man Down: Rihanna Puts Chris Brown To Bed 

 
Chrianna is taking over  Instagram! Last night, Rihanna shocked her Instagram followers posting a picture of a shirtless Chris Brown laid out on a bed.
Not only do the tattoos match up, but Chris posted a picture of himself wearing a Bart Simpson jacket to Instagram earlier that night.

RiRi confirmed that it was Chris when she captioned the photo:
“Dis nigga……. #BartObsessed”
It’s not surprising that these two are hanging out this much, considering Rihanna was spotted earlier this week at Chris’ concerts in Berlin and then heading to his tour bus.
Even though it might be nobody’s business, it’s  obvious that these two got something going on.

 

Three Unilag Students Win Google App Development Contest 

Three University of Lagos (UNILAG) students, have won the Google Apps Developer Challenge for the Enterprise/Small Business Solutions category in sub-Saharan Africa.
The students: Bolutife Ogunsola, Michael Adeyeri and Willie Aniebiet, created the Form+ application software; an interface that creates application forms by just dragging and dropping components. The user can create forms – such as curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé submission forms for businesses and coursework submission page for lecturers.
Emeka Afigbo, Program Manager, Google, stated: “Our expectation is that this motivates more young Nigerian developers to develop apps that change the way we live in Nigeria and Africa at large.”
The winners were rewarded with Chromebooks and $20,000. They also won a grant worth $18,000 for their school’s department.

P Diddy's CIROC presents GOLDIE at Club Rouge, Uganda

Come November 30, Africa's top female recording artiste, Goldie Harvey will be hosted by Puff Daddy's Ciroc brand of
Vodka at the classy Club Rouge where she'll be officially releasing  the first hit amongst her "Naughty Singles"- "MILIKI".

Ugandan star rapper, and Channel O Music Awards Nominee, Navio who featured on MILIKI will be joining Goldie to entertain her teeming fans at Club Rouge in Kampala, Uganda.

Download & Listen to MILIKI

The sexy songstress has also been nominated in the forthcoming NMVA for the Best Use of Costume in her "Say My Name" video.  You can vote her, and all your other favourite Nigerian music videos via http://livebeats.net/

The Ghana Music Awards is also expecting the Golden one to grace their event,  where she will be presenting one of the most prestigious awards of the night; the best Movie Music Award. For Goldie, it seems to be a a non-stop race to conquer the African continent, as she's currently in South Africa shooting musical videos for the "Naughty Singles".

Watch out for the release of the second of her "Naughty Singles" titled Give It 2 Me" on Thursday, 29th of November. It features Nigeria's very own J Martins.

BREAKING NEWS: Strongman of Kwara Politics, Olusola Saraki, is Dead

The strongman of Kwara politics and Senate leader in the Second Republic, Dr. Olusola Saraki, is dead.


He died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at his Cameroon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, residence.

The immensely popular politician had been sick for a while.

His son, former Governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki departed Abuja for Lagos Wednesday morning to convey his father’s body to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, for burial in accordance with Islamic rites

The elder Saraki’s body will be interred at 4pm Wednesday in Ilorin

India Gets Ready For First Playboy Club By Year End

Playboy's iconic "bunnies" will make a demure Indian debut next month serving drinks at the brand's first club in the country, which will open despite a nationwide ban on the adult magazine.

PB Lifestyle, the Indian firm with rights to the Playboy brand, will launch the club in the holiday state of Goa in December -- the first of 120 clubs, hotels, fashion cafes and shops planned over the next ten years.

Sanjay Gupta, chief executive of PB Lifestyle, said the famous bunny costume of a skimpy corset with a fluffy rabbit tail and ears would be adapted to suit India's conservative values, and he stressed no nudity would be involved.

"Bunnies are an integral part of Playboy clubs," he told AFP. "For the obvious reasons of Indian morality and sensibilities, we can't follow the traditional costumes that Playboy bunnies are associated with."

The new outfits will be revealed at the club's launch at its 22,000-square-foot (2,050-square-metre) premises on Candolim beach in north Goa.

Playboy, along with a host of other foreign "adult" magazines, is not permitted in India owing to obscenity laws banning material deemed "lascivious or appealing to prurient interests".

Bollywood actress Sherlyn Chopra became the first Indian woman to pose naked for Playboy magazine this year, causing something of a stir in her home country.

"Super excited! It ain't about nudity... (it is) about introducing a lifestyle of fun (and) glamour," Chopra told AFP via her Twitter account after plans for the new club were revealed.

News Source: AFP

REVEALED - Obama Likely Won Re-Election Through Election Fraud

There were many factors that hurt Mitt Romney and favored Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. 

The Democrats portrayed Romney in the worst light possible; as a wealthy, out of touch millionaire who wanted to return women to the 1800's. The left wing media predictably did everything it could to perpetuate that false caricature. Obama's race was an advantage; voters of all persuasions, particularly minorities, still cannot get over the allure of the first black president. The 47% of Americans on welfare were predisposed to vote for the food stamp president over Romney, wanting the free goodies to keep on giving, despite the long-term unsustainability.

In spite of those odds, polls indicated that Romney was going to win the election. The economy is close to Great Depression era conditions, and unemployment is almost as high as when Obama entered office. Economic conditions became so dire after Obama took office it prompted the rise of an entire new movement, the Tea Party. Presidents rarely win reelection when the economy is in the tank.

So how did Romney lose a race that numerous reputable polls and pundits predicted would be an easy win, based on historical patterns? The most realistic explanation is voter fraud in a few swing states. According to the Columbus Dispatch, one out of every five registered voters in Ohio is ineligible to vote. In at least two counties in Ohio, the number of registered voters exceeded the number of eligible adults who are of voting age. In northwestern Ohio's Wood County, there are 109 registered voters for every 100 people eligible to vote. An additional 31 of Ohio's 88 counties have voter registration rates over 90%, which most voting experts regard as suspicious. Obama miraculously won 100% of the vote in 21 districts in Cleveland, and received over 99% of the vote where GOP inspectors were illegally removed.

The inflated numbers can't just reflect voters who have moved, because the average voting registration level nationwide is only 70%. The vast majority of voters over the 70% level are not voting because they want to, they are voting because someone is getting them to cast a vote, one way or another. Those 31 counties are most likely the largest counties in Ohio, representing a majority of Ohio voters. This means the number of votes cast above the 70% typical voter registration level easily tops 100,000, the margin Obama won Ohio by.

BOKO HARAM: OBJ Blames Jonathan

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, blamed the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan for allowing the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to grow into a monster that is now uncontrollable by his failure to act on a report submitted to the government.

The former president who spoke at a lecture delivered by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi to mark the 40th anniversary of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s call to ministry at the Word of Life Bible Church, Warri in Delta State, also tasked Nigerians to choose between a strong leader who might adopt unusual approach to tackle a problem or a weak leader who will leave the problem to fester.

Answering a question from a pastor from Borno State on how he could forge any form of unity with those who are perpetuating violence in the northern part of the country, Obasanjo went emotional, saying: “Boko Haram is an ill wind that blows nobody no good.”

He proceeded to narrate his experience when he went on a fact-finding mission to Borno State which was regarded as the base of Boko Haram.

He said: “They (Boko Haram) stated their grievances and I promised to relay them to the authorities in power, because that was the best I could do. I did report. But my fear at that time is still my fear till today. When you have a sore and fail to attend to it quickly, it festers and grows to become something else.

“Whichever way, you just have to attend to it. Don’t leave it unattended to. On two occasions I had to attend to the problem I faced at that time. I sent soldiers to a place and 19 of them were killed. If I had been allowed that to continue, I will not have authority to send security whether police, soldier and any force any where again. So, I had to nip it in the bud and that was the end of that particular problem,” he said.

He was, however, careful to admit that all problems might not require that kind of treatment. According to him, “if you say you don’t want a strong leader who can have all characteristics of leaders including God fearing, then have a weak leader and the rest of the problem is yours.”

He argued that “the beauty of democracy is that power rests in the people, and every elected person would seek your votes to come back; if you don’t want him, he won’t come back. He noted that people had been saying that he brought President Goodluck Jonathan but what they have failed to admit is that he didn’t give all the votes that brought the man to power.

The erstwhile president therefore charged Nigerians to stand up and take their destinies in their own hands, reminding them of a Yoruba adage, “if you say it the way it is, you will die; if you don’t say anything at all, you will die, why don’t you say it and die?”

Female Student wins MTN Aeroplane, opts for 64 Million Naira

A winner has eventually emerged in the MTN Ultimate Wonder Promo where a brand new Cessna 182T aeroplane was the star prize. This is notwithstanding the instruction by NCC that all promotions and lotteries by telecommunications companies be stopped with immediate effect.


According to an announcement on MTN Nigeria’s official Facebook page, Miss Ebube Essien-Garricks, 27, a student, won the prize.

Chief Marketing Officer, MTN, Mr. Larry Annetts, said the draw leading to the winner was interesting, credible and transparent.

 

He said, “When we came out with the promo, many doubted us but today we have an Ultimate winner who will go home with the promised Cessna 182T aeroplane. The take-home for us here is that MTN is committed towards enriching the lives of its consumers.

 

“When we say we will do something, you can be sure that we don’t renege on our promises. The can-do- spirit is forever guiding our paths in offering utmost satisfaction to our consumers and we are glad that today a Nigerian has been enriched and empowered with an aeroplane.”

Ebube who was notified of her winning, via a phone call immediately opted for the cash value of the plane, which is N64m.

 

She said, “I am short of words, there is no word to describe what I feel right now, it is almost as if it is a dream but I know that nothing can be more real than what I am feeling right now. This must be the best Christmas gift ever. It is truly wonderful.”

 

Speaking on the process leading to the selection of winners for the promo, the Assistant Director, Lagos zone of the NLRC, Mr. Obi Iriegbu, said had been transparent and credible.

 

“We started this journey together, ensuring that the consumers’ interests are protected and that the brand fulfils its promises. So far so good, it has been a credible and transparent process leading to the Ultimate winner of the aeroplane promised, from the beginning of the promo,” he stated

Countdown begins for Africa Cup hopefuls

Title favourites Ivory Coast are among 14 qualifiers for the 2013 Cup of Nations who begin preparations for the tournament by playing friendlies in Africa, Europe and North America this week.

Ghana and Cape Verde Islands get the ball rolling in Lisbon Tuesday followed by 15 fixtures Wednesday from Miami, who host Nigeria and Venezuela, to Johannesburg, where South Africa confront Cup of Nations title holders Zambia.
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Angola, Morocco, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Tunisia and Togo are qualifiers who will be in action.
That leaves Mali and Ethiopia as the only two of the 16 challengers for the Cup of Nations in South Africa between January 19 and February 10 who are not playing, according to fixtures released by world football governing body FIFA.
Ivory Coast tackle Austria in Linz minus injured Arsenal midfield flier Gervinho and a January warm-up against DR Congo is the only other friendly planned before facing Togo in the opening series of Africa Cup fixtures.
The title has eluded the Ivorian 'golden generation', led by Didier Drogba and including Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora and Boubacar Barry, since 2006 and South Africa is seen as the last-chance saloon for the ageing stars.
With a 53-place advantage in the world rankings, the Ivorians are expected to follow up an August draw in Russia by defeating the modest Austrians, even if the low night-time temperature will not be to the liking of the west Africans.
Ghana captain and leading scorer Asamoah Gyan misses the trip to the Portuguese capital after the death of his mother in an Accra road accident, and coach Kwesi Appiah plans to test some fringe players.
Among those called up are striker Abdul Warris, who has quit Swedish side Hacken for a five-year contract with Spartak Moscow, and teenage Inter Milan midfielder John Duncan.
Previously anonymous Cape Verde make their Cup of Nations debut next year and the Blue Sharks want to prove that a qualifying victory over four-time African champions Cameroon was not a flash in the pan.
Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi could make his debut for Nigeria at 31 -- 10 years after turning down another approach to switch allegiances having played for England at age-limit level.
Good form for Spanish La Liga side Levante has earned striker Obafemi Martins a recall with coach Stephen Keshi scanning a large talent pool as the Super Eagles seek a winning formula ahead of a tournament they last won 18 years ago.
Zambia bring the starting 11 from the 2012 final victory over Ivory Coast to Johannesburg for a clash with Cup of Nations hosts South Africa, a team getting used to life without retired captain and Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar.
Out-of-favour Collins Mbesuma and injured Jacob Mulenga missed the Libreville penalty shootout triumph in the final and the strikers could get a chance against Bafana Bafana (The Boys) to impress France-born coach Herve Renard.
Egypt miss South Africa having suffered a stunning qualifying loss to the Central African Republic and Georgia are one of many opponents as the Pharaohs prepare for 2014 World Cup eliminators next year.
Cameroon are in a similar situation after flopping against Cape Verde and record four-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto'o and Barcelona midfielder Alex Song are among those chosen for a Geneva friendly with Albania.
The pair do not get along with Eto'o from expensively assembled Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala telling reporters he is "one of the best players in the world and Song is not even among the best in Cameroon".

Orji Kalu Offers To Dialogue With Boko Haram

A former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has offered to dialogue with Boko Haram on behalf of the Federal Government.
Mr. Kalu made the offer following a purported proposal by the sect requesting a former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, to dialogue with government on its behalf. Mr. Buhari has since declined the role.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Emeka Obasi, Kalu said there was nothing wrong with the refusal of the offer by Buhari, adding that he was in a position to talk with the group for the return of peace to the country.

He said that having lived in the hotbed of Boko Haram activities, Maiduguri in Borno State and being a prominent South Easterner, which has been largely affected by the activities of the group, he was in a position to marry the feeling of the actors in the dialogue process.

Mr. Obasi quoted Kalu as saying: “General Buhari took a laudable step by opting out.
“For one who contested the 2011 presidential election, meeting with Boko Haram may be misconstrued because many believe that the group’s activities heightened after the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan.”

Mr. Kalu, who is also the protem leader of the nascent socio-cultural organisation, Njiko Igbo, added: “Ndigbo have suffered enough.

“Their businesses have been destroyed, lives lost. Nigeria is their country. I do not see why they cannot walk freely from Maiduguri to Mubi, from Borno to Bauchi. I lived in Maiduguri. I still own properties there. I know the terrain.

“We can sit down and dialogue on the condition that the group will cease all bombing activities in Nigeria. In the interest of peace, I think government should accept the peace move. Previously, they were almost faceless. Now, there is a window for peace. It is always good to jaw-jaw than to war-war. Both Islam and Christianity preach peace.

“A situation where going to serve God becomes a walk into bloodbath does not help our spiritual lives. No family prays to lose four, five members to bombs in a war that seems to set one religion against the other.”

Oshiomhole Takes Oath Of Office For Another Four Years

The re-elected Governor of Edo State,  Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole has taken his oath of office for another four years in office.
The crowd, Monday, in Benin went agog as the Governors’ second journey commenced when the  Chief Justice of Edo State administered the oath of office.
It would be recalled that the Governor was sworn in as Governor of the state in 2008, after   the Appeal Court declared him the authentic winner of the April 14, 2007 governorship election in the state which he contested with the Prof.Osarhiemen Osunbor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
And the people of  the state unanimously expressed their appreciation to his developmental strides by voting him back to office in the July 14, 2012 governorship election where he defeated the PDP candidate, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere with a large margin.

We Are Winning War Against Oil Theft, Illegal Bunkering In Niger Delta – JTF

The Joint Task Force (JTF) operating in the Niger Delta says it is recording successes in the war against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering in the region.
Brig.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Commander of the 2 Brigade and Sector 2 of the JTF, said this in Port Harcourt on Monday at the inauguration of six-block of component commanders’ residential quarters for senior officers of the task force.
The quarters were allocated to officers of the task force from the Navy, State Security Service, Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Buratai said the JTF, through its aggressive intelligence and commitment, had uncovered, arrested and prosecuted many illegal oil bunkering suspects and thieves in the Niger Delta.
“Since our assumption of responsibility of the (JTF) Pulo Shield, we have made tremendous progress in the anti-bunkering, illegal bunkering, anti-piracy operations and sundry crimes, especially pipeline vandalism and oil theft.
“The Brigade (Sector 2) has also moved into other directions in support of the civil police in anti-kidnappings, anti-armed robbery operations and we have made tremendous successes.
“We want to assure the good people of Rivers and Bayelsa that we are up to the task and facing such challenges squarely.”
Buratai said the newly-built accommodations would improve the functionality of the component commanders as well as reduce hotel bills and security challenge faced by the officers. NAN

Obasanjo: "The Danger Ahead Is Real and Potent, Revolution Coming"

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed fears that Nigeria will witness a revolution soon unless government takes urgent steps to check growing youth unemployment and poverty.

Speaking at the West African regional conference on youth employment in Dakar, Senegal at the weekend, Obasanjo said the danger posed by an army of unemployed youth in Nigeria can only be imagined.

"I'm afraid, and you know I am a General. When a General says he is afraid, that means the danger ahead is real and potent," he said.

Obasanjo added that despite what he called the imminent threat to Nigeria's nationhood "there is absence of serious, concrete, realistic, short and long term solution" to youth unemployment.
He made reference to the doctorate degree holders who applied for jobs as drivers at the Dangote Group, saying Nigerian youths have been patient enough and that this patience will soon reach its elastic limit.
According to the former president, youth unemployment rate which was 72% in 1999 when he took over power had been reduced to 52% by 2004 but that the rate rocketed to 71% by 2011.
Obasanjo left office in 2007, succeeded by Umaru Yar'Adua who died in 2010, and President Jonathan has been in office since then.
The former president lamented that the unemployment situation had given rise to the prevalence of social crimes being perpetrated by three categories of youth whom he identified as area boys, Yahoo boys and, recently, Blackberry boys
He told the diverse audience that in Nigeria people talk of growth without corresponding development, and that what is visible is increased poverty
Obasanjo said national leaders must create incentives that will encourage entrepreneurs to flourish and that special attention should be given to agriculture business as against mere farming.
He reiterated the need for easy access to land and micro credit, while advocating for a review of school curriculum to enable undergraduates spend additional one year to learn entrepreneurship.
At the sub-regional level, Obasanjo called for a review of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) to accommodate issues of youth unemployment and job creation.
The conference, which was sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the African Development Bank, was attended by top bankers from across Africa including the Managing Director of Nigeria's Bank of Industry, Ms. Evelyn Oputu.

Hold Political Office Holders Accountable, Obasanjo Tells Nigerians

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, took a swipe at political parties in Nigeria, saying many have no manifestoes to operate with. He also charged Nigerians to hold political office holders accountable to their party manifestoes.
Speaking at a Roundtable Conference on Party Politics in Nigeria and Lobbying the Lobbyist and the Legislature, organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies, NILS, in Abuja, Obasanjo said party manifestoes had suddenly become mere instruments for political campaign in Nigeria.

Obasanjo, who noted that these were normally thrown away by elected political leaders soon after they were elected, asked why political parties or elected officers should not be held accountable to their promises by the public.

He said: “I want to say that there are some areas where political parties need improvement. I am sure and I hope that the discussants and speakers would lay emphasis on these areas. One of them is the issue of manifestoes. What I have come to see and understand in Nigeria is that manifestoes are prepared for campaigns and after wards, they are thrown away.
“How then can we hold parties and their elected leaders to their promises and manifestoes? Or if they have no manifestoes, what do we hold them for?”
Discipline among political parties
Obasanjo stressed the need for discipline among political parties but warned that no human institution endured for long without discipline and urged politicians to acquire basic ingredients of party politics geared towards ensuring free, fair and transparent elections.
He said: “One point I would want to make is about service. We really see service in party politics. Senator David Mark has said that the only means of going into election in this country is through a political party.
“Political parties are vehicle through which one can participate in elections. What are the ingredients that must be there for political parties to participate the way they should and make elections what they should be— free, fair and transparent in such a way that the outcome would be fairly, generally accepted?”

Daniel, Kuye, Kashamu To Tackle Obasanjo In 2015

The crisis in the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party may linger as there are feelers that the party financier, Buruji Kashamu; Jubril Martins-Kuye; and former Governor Gbenga Daniel groups may not want to work with the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and members of his faction.

They alleged that Obasanjo cornered appointments and other benefits from the Federal Government for his Owu people without giving any chance to other PDP members.
A former State Secretary of the Party, Chief Adepeba Otemolu, also accused Obasanjo of secretly grooming a high ranking officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to contest the 2015 governorship of the state against the overall interest of the party members.
Otemolu said, “When it was time to nominate ministers, he (Obasanjo) singlehandedly brought Dr. Adesina as Minister of Agriculture and Ambassador Gbenga Ashiru as Foreign Affairs Minister. Again, when it was time to nominate a representative of Ogun State as commissioner in National Population Commission, he singlehanadedly brought a woman from his Owu town who is not even a PDP member.
“He did the same thing when he singlehandedly nominated Lola Abiola-Edewor for NDIC Board. He would ask party leaders to bring list of nominees only for him to discard it and compile his own.
“So, our position is, if he cannot better our lot, he should leave us the way we are. The ministries of agriculture and foreign affairs are two ministries that should benefit the party members and people of Ogun but the reverse has been the case.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the 2015 general elections, the party has mandated Daniel, Kashamu, and other chiefs to map out strategies for the return of the party to power in the state.
The PDP also charged Daniel and Kashamu to work with Senator Lekan Mustapha and a former member of the House of Representatives, Dave Salako, to ensure victory for the party in future elections in the state.
A leader of the party in Ogun East, Chief Agboola Alausa, announced this during a peace meeting in Ijebu – Ode on Sunday.
The party said the leaders should liaise with the former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Sarafa Isola, and others from Ogun Central and Ogun West senatorial districts to accomplish the victory of the PDP in the state as well as its return to power in 2015.
Alausa said, “With a united party and front, we’ll be able to push out the ACN and take over the reins of governance in Ogun State. So, towards this end, we have mandated our leaders, Prince Kashamu, OGD and others to map out the strategies to achieve this. They will give us the roadmap for returning to power in Ogun State come 2015.”

Prof. Rahamon Bello becomes the 11th Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG

The National Universities Commission on Sunday described the appointment of Prof. Rahamon Bello, as the 11th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos as a welcome development.

The Governing Council at its special meeting held on November 10 unanimously adopted the report of the selection board that Bello be appointed as the new vice-chancellor of the university.

 

The appointment, which is to take effect from November 12, is for a period of five years.

 

Bello, a professor of Chemical Engineering, had been acting as vice-chancellor of the university, since May 12, following the death of Prof. Adetokumbo Sofoluwe.

 

The Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the appointment of Bello was well deserved having worked closely with Sofoluwe, as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

 

According to him, it is expected that Bello will continue with the legacies laid by Sofoluwe in order to actualise the lofty dreams of the university’s mission and vision.

 

The NUC boss noted that the university had a vibrant governing council, headed by Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, and therefore, the choice of having Bello as the vice-chancellor was well thought out.

“Why I Left My Job At The Bank To Become Dangote’s Truck Driver”

Henry Pender is a graduate of Political Science from the University of Ibadan. Pender graduated in 2000 and has worked as a banker, yet he is among the about 100 graduates undergoing training to become truck drivers; or rather logistics assistants. Pender is also the class governor of this first batch of trainees.

“After my service, I had the privilege of being retained at the Rivers State Primary Education Board where I did my primary assignment.

I was with them for about a year before I joined the All States Trust Bank, which is now defunct. I worked with them for three years before I joined the Ecobank, from there I moved to the Oceanic Bank before joining Ecobank again after the acquisition of Oceanic Bank by Ecobank.

“I had to leave the banking industry when I married my colleague, because the human resource policy then did not allow spouses to work in the same office. I felt that my wife should stay behind while I as a man would look around for something to do. It wasn’t easy, because the job was not forthcoming as I thought. I attended a couple of interviews at different places, but I didn’t get what I was looking for.

“When this opportunity of becoming truck driver with Dangote presented itself, I applied with open mind. I felt that this is an opportunity for a new beginning to move into a new paradigm that is not explored. We have just begun the journey in the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT). I was pleasantly surprised when I came here to see people from different backgrounds and professions.

“We are all getting along very well. I am looking forward for an experience that would improve our larger society. Dangote has put something in place that would turn out to be a revolution in the transport industry in this country. I think this programme would eventually become a model that all organisations of international standard would adopt in no distance future.

“From personal point of view, I like driving. I have driven a lot since when I became a professional driver and I like travelling. But by coming here, I have been exposed to the academic side of driving. I feel that whatever I do as a graduate, there should be a level of expected difference from what a layman would do. I think the objective of employing graduates as drivers is for sanity to be restored on our highways. Most of us are victims of the recklessness of heavy truck drivers and this is what this initiative wants to address. We are being trained here to become complete gentlemen as drivers,” Pender said.

He explained that he has, essentially, decided to join the truck driving profession out of interest not for material reward.

“As at the time we had our interview, there was no mention of any material reward. It is now that we are hearing that after a successful driving for a certain period, or covering of certain mileage that one would own a truck or things like that. No such thing was mentioned; there was no mention of special incentives rather than we would be employed and paid salaries.

“What I would say lured me into joining the truck driving profession is the name Dangote that is known locally and internationally. I bet you that if it were some other companies that came up with this initiative, some of us may not be here but the mention of the name Dangote, one would know that there is quality; there is a personality behind it; there is international recognition; that is what lured most of us here beyond any other material gain.

“We only discovered the entrepreneurial incentive of this programme when we came here; when most of us have completed their registration. Being somebody who had the experience of the banking sector, I would quickly join Dangote, because I know I would have job security and we are enjoying ourselves here in the NITT as the pioneer batch of this training programme. I never knew there is an institute like the NITT in Nigeria. We are grateful to them for the knowledge they are impacting in us.

“I want to also use this medium to urge the youth of Nigeria to work hard. We have to make names for ourselves by working hard as it is not all of us who are children of the privileged, therefore we are here as part of our dignity of labour. I would rather stay here and do this work than apply for visa to go abroad and face all kinds of humiliation by washing toilets or driving taxi while I have a similar option here, which I would do with dignity and leave a good example for the upcoming ones,” Pender explained.

Source: Weekly Trust

ECOWAS agrees to Mali intervention force

West African leaders at an emergency summit have agreed on a 3,300-strong force to wrest control of northern Mali from
Islamist fighters, as fears grow over risks they pose to the region and beyond.

"We foresee 3,300 soldiers for a timeframe of one year," Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, the current ECOWAS chairman, told journalists on Sunday after the summit.

The troops would come primarily from ECOWAS, but possibly from countries outside the bloc as well, he said.

The summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja was aimed at setting out a blueprint for military force in Mali's north that would be transferred to the UN Security Council via the African Union.

Discussions also involved the potential training of 5,000 Malian troops, according to Ouattara.
Political crisis

Ouattara said he hoped UN Security Council approval could come in late November or early December, which would allow the force to be put in place days afterward.

"We have countries that are offering battalions, others companies," he said.

ECOWAS countries he named were Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo.

From outside of ECOWAS, "Chad could also participate. We have had contacts with other countries - Mauritania, South Africa."

The summit's final communique stressed that dialogue remained "the preferred option in the resolution of the political crisis in Mali."

"However, regarding the security situation, recourse to force may be indispensable in order to dismantle terrorist and transnational criminal networks that pose a threat to international peace and security," it said.

An ECOWAS source had said earlier that regional military chiefs were proposing a total of 5,500 troops, with some 3,200 from the West African bloc and the rest from elsewhere.
It was not clear whether heads of state had rejected the proposal or if the bloc would continue efforts to reach that level.
'Concretise their commitments'
Algeria, seen as important to any military operation, has been hesitant to get involved, preferring a negotiated solution.

While not a member of ECOWAS, Algeria is viewed as key due to its superior military capabilities, intelligence services and experience battling Islamist extremism, along with the long border it shares with Mali.

Representatives from countries outside ECOWAS were invited to Sunday's summit, including from Mauritania and Algeria, as well as South Africa and Morocco, which currently hold seats on the UN Security Council. Libya and Chad were also represented.

The final communique urged "member states to concretise their commitments to provide military and logistical contributions to the ECOWAS military efforts."

ECOWAS Commission President Kadre Desire Ouedraogo has said the bloc should pursue a dual approach of dialogue and military pressure.

The UN special envoy for the Sahel, Romano Prodi, a former prime minister of Italy and ex-president of the European Commission, has said every effort would be made to avoid military intervention.
However, some analysts have questioned whether a negotiated solution is possible with Islamists intent on establishing a theocratic state.
Mali rapidly imploded after a coup in Bamako in March allowed Tuareg desert nomads, who had relaunched a decades-old rebellion for independence, to seize the main towns in the north with the help of Islamist allies.

The secular separatists were quickly sidelined by the Islamists, who had little interest in their aspirations for an independent homeland and set about implementing their version of strict sharia law, meting out punishments including stonings and destroying World Heritage shrines.

Soccer-Chelsea duo to miss Nigeria friendly in Miami

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Chelsea's Victor Moses and Jon Obi Mikel have been excused from making a long midweek trip to Miami to play in Nigeria's friendly international against Venezuela in the American city on Wednesday.

The pair were initially called up by coach Stephen Keshi but after requesting time off to either deal with a personal issue and recover from a minor knock, they have been given permission to miss the match, Nigerian officials confirmed on Monday.

Chelsea, however, are likely to lose the players in January when Nigeria compete at the African Nations Cup finals in South Africa.

Stade Rennes defender Onyekachi Apam has also withdrawn from the squad because of injury. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by John O'Brien)

Total CEO confirms talks to sell assets in Nigeria

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The Chief Executive of French oil major Total said he would not deny a report that the firm was in talks to sell assets in Nigeria, worth about $2.4 billion, to China's Sinopec.

A Bloomberg report last week said Asia's largest refiner China's Sinopec was close to buying stakes in Nigerian onshore oil blocks from Total.

"Yes we are discussing with certain buyers about selling certain assets in Nigeria," said Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, declining to name the potential buyer or value of the deal but saying he would not deny the report.

"But it doesn't mean we are scared and intend to start some kind of walking out of Nigeria...Total is happy to develop its projects in Nigeria," he told reporters at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

Nigeria is Africa's largest crude oil exporter and oil companies operating there have long had to deal with attacks on their pipelines and staff, with the country's worst floods in 50 years seriously affecting their output over recent weeks.

The French group said in September it planned to sell assets worth between $15 billion and $20 billion in the period up to 2014 as part of a bolder approach to managing its business, which has seen it buy and sell assets more frequently.

Total declared force majeure in mid-October on gas supplies to Nigeria LNG's liquefaction plant, saying it had stopped oil and gas production on one onshore block 58, which was losing 90,000 bpd of oil equivalent, in which it has a 40 percent stake.

Total's head of upstream told reporters at the same press conference in Abu Dhabi that it was still to early to say when production might restart, with flooding still posing problems.

"The water is decreasing, but we still have some problems with the floods," Yves-Loius Darricare, Total's head of upstream, said. "I hope we will be able to restart production as soon as we can."

At least 363 people have been killed due to the floods since the start of July and 2.1 million people have been displaced, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

NEMA said last week the oil-producing Niger Delta region was still flooded but water levels were falling and the heaviest rains had passed as Nigeria enters its 6-month long dry season.

Martins thrilled goalscoring Levante form has earned Nigeria return

EXCLUSIVEBy Olanrewaju Ayodele

Levante forward Obafemi Martins has expressed his joy at being selected for the Nigeria squad again ahead of the upcoming friendly with Venezuela.

Four goals in the space of six La Liga league games this season has seen him earn a return to the Super Eagles set-up, having been left out of international selection for over a year due to poor form with Rubin Kazan.

Martins insists he is raring to go in their friendly on November 14 and looked ahead to the African Cup of Nations at the start of 2013, which has seen them drawn in Group C with Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and holders Zambia.

"I’m fully ready and I can’t wait to be part of the team," the attacker told Goal.com. "[The] Eagles [are] my first home.

"We will shock Zambia, they won the last Nations Cup, but Nigeria weren’t there. For Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, we shouldn’t underrate them at all. But I know Eagles will soon rule African football under [head coach Stephen] Keshi."
Martins revealed his time in Russia was fraught with difficulties and blamed his lack of goals on being played out of position, but the 28-year-old is thankful for another chance with the Nigerian team.
"It was hectic playing in Kazan, Russia," the ex-Newcastle and Birmingham City striker continued.
"I didn’t enjoy my playing time at the club due to some problems. The coach playing me in a wrong role, but everyone can see now that if you give me a starting role in the right position I will score.

"I’m happy to be back in the Eagles and I appreciate Keshi for giving me this opportunity and I promise I won’t let my fans down.

"I’m really thankful, what happened in Rubin Kazan, it’s an episode of my life I don’t want to go back to anymore."

Nigeria president under pressure to act on oil graft report

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is coming under increasing pressure to tackle government corruption after an oil probe released last week showing billions of dollars of lost state revenues sparked a political row.

Reuters exclusively reported details on October 24 of former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu's report on the oil sector, which showed Nigeria had lost tens of billions of dollars in cut-priced deals struck between government officials, the state-oil firm and multinational oil companies over the last decade.

It also found hundreds of millions of dollars of oil bonuses and royalties paid to government were missing.
Nigeria is one of the world's top crude oil exporters and a key supplier to the United States, China and India. It also holds the world's ninth largest gas reserves and one of its largest Liquefied Natural Gas export terminals.
The Ribadu committee report was presented to the Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who commissioned the probe, in August but it was not made public or sent to the president. Once it had been leaked Jonathan requested it be given to him.
Alison-Madueke told Reuters the leaked independent report was a draft, it contained mistakes and the government needed to give input. Two members of Ribadu's committee were then quoted in local newspapers dismissing findings in the probe.

But when Ribadu presented the report to Jonathan on Friday the probe chairman said the report would not be changed and that the deriding committee members were "compromised" after being given top jobs at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC), the biggest stakeholder in the industry they were investigating.

"Even though the chairman (Ribadu) said that committee members became board member of NNPC, that does not disqualify them from being members of committee ... There is nothing wrong in any of them been appointed," Jonathan said in reaction.

But his political opponents disagree.

"Both men should have resigned ... the moment they were given the plum jobs (at NNPC)," the Action Congress of Nigeria, a major opposition party, said in a statement on Sunday.

"The fact that they stayed on ... is the clearest indication yet that they were meant to play that exact role of spoilers."

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), part of the global EITI scheme aimed at improving transparency in commodity industries, added its voice to calls for government to take action and not bury graft reports.

"Had the remedial issues identified by the NEITI audit reports been dealt with ... some of the issues necessitating and identified by these probes would have since been dealt with," the agency said in a statement on Monday.
The agency found $9.8 billion of missing government revenue in its own audits of the oil sector for the period 1999-2008 and said there was "no sufficient effort to recover the funds."

Ribadu's probe was one of several set up after more than a week of nationwide strikes in January, which began as protests against the removal of petrol subsidies but morphed into a campaign against widespread corruption in the oil sector.

A parliamentary report in April found mismanagement and theft by top Nigerian officials involved in the corrupt fuel subsidy cost the country $6.8 billion.

Nigeria has arraigned some fuel marketers but has not taken action against government officials. Jonathan said the Ribadu report was not meant "to investigate anybody in government."

(Additional reporting and writing by Joe Brock; editing by James Jukwey)

West Brom striker Odemwingie makes Nigeria U-turn and will return to fight for a place

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has corrected media reports about the retirement of West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie from the national team.

In a release on Monday by Ben Alaiya, the media officer of the national team, Keshi said his interview about the frustrations experienced by Odemwingie under previous national team coaches had been misinterpreted.

Keshi's statement read: “What [Odemwingie] told me was that after fighting so hard to qualify Nigeria for the South Africa 2010 World Cup, he was dumped on the bench when the tournament proper started.

"He fears a repeat following the manner he was substituted in the [2013 Africa Cup of Nations] qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali [in February], which was under me.

“Well, I told him that if I had my way all the players who featured in that match should have been substituted but I had only three substitutions to make because we played poorly in the encounter.

“He told me he understands my position and that he is now ready to return to the national team fold. We actually spoke for over one hour on Sunday [November 4], so there is actually nothing amiss about [him].

"He has said he will join others to come and fight for a shirt and that is the new rule in the national team.”

Nigeria makes credit ratings debut, besting Greece

 

A train on a track at the building site of Abuja light rail project, central Nigeria, in September 2012. Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia, three of Africa's most dynamic economies, have received their first

Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia, three of Africa's most dynamic economies, received their first sovereign ratings from the Moody's agency on Wednesday, handily beating Greece in the creditworthiness stakes.

Predicting African governments would increasingly turn to markets to fund public programmes, Moody's gave Nigeria the highest rating of the trio, at Ba3, just under investment grade.
The ratings judge how likely a country is to default on its debt and go a long way toward determining a government's cost of borrowing.
Kenya and Zambia were both assessed a B1, or highly speculative grade.
But that was still a higher rate than those given to some debt-stricken European nations such as Cyprus (B3) and Greece (C).
Nigeria's rating was equal to that of Portugal.
"Moody's believes the continent's growth will be characterized by increasing utilisation of international capital market finance," Jacques Els of Moody's South Africa said.
Spurred by strong domestic demand, foreign investment and mineral wealth, Africa's economies are now among the fastest growing in the world.

Obama Wins 2012 Election: Why Your Taxes Are Going Up

When President Obama and the new Congress begin to tackle important legislation and federal policy in January, one of the key issues will be how to reform America's byzantine tax code.
Obama campaigned on a platform to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, declaring that millionaires and billionaires need to "pay their fair share." The president proposed the highly controversial "Buffett Rule," which would make sure those individuals earning more than $1 million a year would pay at least 30% of their income in federal taxes.

Related: Do the Rich Have a Moral Obligation to Pay Higher Taxes? Gov. Jerry Brown Says 'Yes'
The top individual tax rate is currently 35% but few U.S. households and individuals actually pay that much; various tax deductions and loopholes reduce one's tax burden.
According to the Obama campaign, the richest 400 taxpayers in 2008 (who each made more than $110 million that year) paid an average income tax rate of just 18%. In 2009 over 20,000 U.S. households with more than $1 million in income paid a federal tax rate of less than 15%.
Obama has vowed to raise the top income tax rate for individuals to 39.6% and let the Bush-era tax breaks end for the highest income earners. The majority of Americans — those who are lower to middle class — could also see a 2% tax increase if Congress allows the temporary payroll tax holiday to expire at the end of the year.

Related: Here's Why Your Taxes Are Going Up 2% Next Year: Just Explain It
Nearly half of voters support raising taxes on incomes over $250,000, according to Tuesday night's exit polls.
Len Burman, a professor of public affairs at Syracuse University and a co-founder of the bipartisan Tax Policy Center, believes hiking income rates is just one part of the equation to resolving the nation's budget woes.
"In the long term [Obama] is going to need to raise taxes on more than just the rich," Burman says in an interview with The Daily Ticker. "The budget problem isn't going to be solved without broader-based tax increases, preferably done in the context of tax reform and also serious entitlement reform. We're not going to be able to solve this on the tax side alone."
Burman, who recently co-wrote the new book "Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know," says tax rates do not need to be raised for any income group if Congress and the White House would agree on one simple change: raising the capital gains rate, i.e. the profits from the sale of an investment. Assets, such as stocks, art or real estate, that are held for at least a year are currently taxed at a special 15% rate; Obama wants to raise that to 20%.
"The problem with a low tax rate on capital gains is not that it allows Mitt Romney and Warren Buffett to pay very low taxes but that it creates this huge opportunity for tax sheltering," he notes. "There's a whole industry that's devoted to coming up with these schemes. [Raising capital gains rates] could make the tax system more progressive and allow for lower tax rates" and a reduction in the deficit.
Obama's tax proposal also targets the Alternative Minimum Tax, the Estate Tax and as well as many personal tax credits and itemized deductions. Obama would make permanent the 2007 AMT patch and index it for inflation. He would raise the estate tax to 45% from 35% on estates worth more than $3.5 million. He would lower the corporate tax rate to 28% from 35% and provide a refundable $3,000 credit per added employee for companies that expand their workforce. He would tax carried interest as ordinary income.

Related: Corporate Tax Loopholes=Corporate Socialism: Pulitzer Prize Winner David Cay Johnston
A divided Congress refused to compromise with Obama during his first term and could very well dismiss the president's tax reforms for the next four years. Republicans are loath to raise taxes by even a penny and Obama has said he would veto any budget bills that did not include tax increases. Neither party wants to raise taxes in a weak economy. But the options available for reducing the deficit and generating new revenue are few and far between.