Lagos state Government says: No fresh case of Ebola in Lagos

The Lagos state government says no fresh case of Ebola virus has been discovered in the state or in any part of the country.According to the Special Adviser to the Lagos state Governor on Public Health, Dr (Mrs) Yewande Adeshina, all the 59 people who had direct or indirect contact with late Liberian Patrick Sawyer who died last Friday in Lagos from the virus, have been traced, tested and found to be hale and hearty and have not exhibited any unusual body temperature or any other symptoms of the dreaded virus.

 

In a related development, the state Commissioner for Information, Lateef Ibirogba advised residents to be wary of the activities of fraudsters who are making spurious claims about their ability to provide cure for the Ebola Virus, urging them to always contact health providers to report unusual feelings noticed as only medical solutions are known to be appropriate for the disease. He warned those making false claims of being able to cure the disease to desist from it or would be made to face the full wrath of the law once they are caught.

 

He reminded residents of the State to make use of the emergency phone numbers- 08023169485, 08033086660, 08033065303, 08055281442 and 08055329229 provided to contact health authorities in case anyone with observed symptoms of the Ebola disease is noticed.

Police explains the recent rise of female suicide bombers in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Police Force spokesperson Frank Mba has given an insight into the recent rise of female suicide bombers in Nigeria.Addressing newsmen at the National Information Center yesterday, Mr Mba said Boko Haram men now use women because they raise fewer suspicions.

"If you have been following the trends of terrorism worldwide, you will understand that use of female suicide bombers is actually not totally new. It is actually a new trend in our own part of the world. The reasons why established international terrorist organizations go for female suicide bombers is clear. The major reason is that women raise fewer suspicions, particularly with security layers, and so they take advantage of the fact that women raise fewer suspicion to try to indoctrinate and recruit female suicide bombers. The suspicion even becomes much lesser if the woman in question is a minor and that explains why. In addition to that is the fact that by rules of engagement that we are cultured to, male security operatives are not allowed to frisk or search females but we are equally developing counter terrorism strategies to deal with that.” he said

He disclosed that more female police officers will now be stationed on roads and other places where stop-and-search exercises are being carried out.

"Nigerians should prepare to see more female police officers, more female bomb disposal experts, more female DSS operatives, more female soldiers actually in combat operations and carrying out stop-and-search,” 

Jay Z fires shots at Drake

In his last interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Drake made a comment about Jay Z always using art references in his raps, which he described as corny.

"It's like Hov can't drop bars these days without at least four art references. I would love to collect art at some point, but I think the whole Rap/art world thing is getting kind of corny." Drake was quoted as saying

Well, over the weekend Jay Z fired back. On Saturday night rap enigma, Jay Electronica dropped a 'We Made It' freestyle ft. Jay Z where the rapper addressed Drake's smart mouth.

"Sorry Mrs. Drizzy for so much art talk/Silly me, rappin' 'bout s**t that I really bought/ While these rappers rap about guns that they ain't shot/ And a bunch of other silly s**t that they ain't got."! Jay Z raps on the track, Ouch!

Inside shots of Kim and Kanye's Vogue cover shoot revealed

In one adorable inside shot of Kim and Kanye's Vogue cover shoot, a shirtless Kanye West is seen cradling his naked daughter, while Kim places her hand over the little girl's bum bum.

Chris Brown ''Jail Is Terrible I Feel Like a Caged Animal'

Chris Brown says he's finally been scared straight -- because he learned pretty quickly ... jail sucks.

You'd think the photos of Rihanna's battered face would have left an impression ... on him.  But apparently it took a few days in solitary to shake Chris to the core.One source -- who recently spoke with Brown on the phone -- tells us, Chris says he feels like "a caged animal," calling it "the worst experience of my life." We're told Chris has been spending his time behind bars working out and writing music.  He's telling people on the phone, "I'll never f*** up again."Not particularly convincing.

Lucky for Chris ... he's rich enough to buy his way out of jail -- as we reported, he's negotiating to pay off his alleged assault victim in D.C. so the case goes away and the judge in the Rihanna case lets him loose ... to roam freely again.

Assemblies of God's Church suspends General Superintendent over alleged fraud

The General Superintendent of Assemblies of God Church, Rev. Paul Emeka, has been suspended from the church over allegations of misconduct, highhandedness and financial misappropriation in the administration of the church, National Mirror reports.

Speaking to newsmen in Owerri, Imo State, the acting General Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Chidi Okoroafor, disclosed that the decision to suspend the former GS was taken at the just concluded meeting of the General Committee held on Thursday March 6, 2014, in the Conference Hall of the National Secretariat, Enugu, after the committee had deliberated on the implications of his action on the image of the church worldwide.

 But ever since the authorities took the decision to suspend the GS, tension had continued to mount in the church as members were divided over the suspension. While some members on the side of the suspended General Superintendent felt that the authorities were highhanded in their action, others particularly the church authorities maintained that the church had degenerated to its lowest ebb since the administration of the suspended leader. In a letter dated March 6, 2014 titled “Re: Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka, former General Superintendent, Assemblies of God, Nigeria” and signed by Rev. Dr. John Ikoni, Rev. Dr. Chidi Okoroafor and Rev. Dr. Vincent Alaje; the General Secretary, Acting General Superintendent and General Treasurer respectively, they maintained that their decision to suspend the former GS was hinged on the constitution which the GS acted against by dragging the church to court without first bringing his grievances to both the General Committee and the Executive committee members.

The church also accused the former General Superintendent of being autocratic, and involved in financial mismanagement; abuse of power and “above all took the church to court which tantamount to tarnishing the image of the church and bringing it to public ridicule.” While calling on members of the church to stop relating with Rev. Paul Emeka as GS of the church, the committee maintained that he had “ ceased to function in any of the duties assigned to the Office of the General Superintendent in the Constitution and Bye- Laws of the General Council of Assemblies of God, Nigeria, with effect from Thursday March 6, 2014.” The committee warned: “ Should any administrative unit(s) or minister(s) or member(s) of Assemblies of God, Nigeria, relate with the former General Superintendent in any way that is contrary to the established practice for all such cases in Assemblies of God, Nigeria, such administrative unit(s) or minister(s) or member(s) would be doing so to their own detriment, and would attract commensurate disciplinary measure by the Executive Committee or the General Officers of Assemblies of God, Nigeria.”

In a swift reaction, the suspended General Superintendent, however, said that those allegations were targeted at discrediting him, adding that those who are championing the suspension issue are doing so because of their selfish and parochial interests. “Some leaders at the top of the hierarchy of the Assemblies of God who are championing this to achieve their political and leadership ambition may be happy now that they are serving their purpose, but they will be shamed,” the embattled cleric said.

Source: National Mirror

President Jonathan and the First Lady meet the Pope

President Jonathan, his wife Mama Peace and his entourage arrived the Vatican last night and met with the Pope this morning.

Afrocandy wants to have breast reduction surgery

Afrocandy tells Saturday Tribune that she is about to have breast reduction surgery because the heaviness of her boobs is causing her back pain...

"I have been having back pain lately, and when I went to my doctor for that, he said I was carrying load on my chest; that’s what’s causing it. Also, I can’t jog, run, jump rope or dance as I would like to without being conscious of the bouncing boobies. So, I wanna be able to do all that and be pain-free."she said

Wizkid and girlfriend Tania Omotayo have parted

According to a Punch report, Wizkid and his longtime girlfriend, Tania Omotayo have parted ways. I don't know how true this is, if I were in Nigeria, I would have been able to find out ASAP! Anyway, if it's not true, I'm sure either Wizkid or Tania will refute the story on social media. But will bring an update on this later.
 Punch report below:

Before now, sensational singer, Wizkid and his pretty babe, Tania Omotayo, used to be an item. But it seems things are no longer at ease between the young couple.

In fact, it looks like they have carried their ‘beef’ to the social media going by what they posted on their Instagram pages earlier in the week.

Tania had posted a picture with the caption, ‘just because you love somebody so much does not mean they are the right one for you.’

Soon after, the singer posted a picture where he itemised inscriptions, ‘single, married, in a relationship, it is complicated, in the studio.’ On the list, he marked ‘in the studio.’  In other words, telling his fans that he was neither single nor married and of course, not in any relationship.

For a while, there have been speculations that the couple were having problems as they have not been spotted together at events as frequently as they used to. Those who know claimed they have moved on with their lives. In fact, a source close to the couple confirmed to Saturday Beats that their relationship is over.

The source claimed the lovebirds went their separate ways last December. Although the reason for their split is still unknown, the source was doubtful whether either of them was in a relationship.

“They have split for a long time now. In fact, I think it was since December. I don’t know why they broke up and I don’t know if Wizkid is in another relationship but they are no more together,” the source said.

When Saturday Beats called the singers manager, Godwin Tom, to confirm the split, he did not pick his calls neither did he reply the text message sent to him.

Kim & Kanye covers Vogue USA

One of Kim's dreams has always been to be on the cover of Vogue USA but Vogue editor Anna Wintour didn't think Kim was 'right' for the cover...then enters Kanye who managed to convince Ms Wintour..and voila...it's finally happened, though she shares the April cover with her man.

 

Tinie Templah announces Wizkid as special guest on his UK tour

UK rapper Tinnie Tempah's UK tour begins March 30th at The O2 Arena in London and he took to Twitter today to announce that Wizkid will be a special guest.

Toke Makinwa, OC Ukeje & Seyi Shay cover Complete Fashion mag.

Media personality Toke Makinwa, actor OC Ukeje and singer Seyi Shay cover Complete Fashion magazine March issue where they are described as 'Trailblazers', while Kach, actress Beverly Naya, and music stars Sean Tizzle, Emma Nyra and B Red are described as 'The Ones To Watch' on the reverse cover of the magazine.

Karrueche Tran ''I Dumped Chris Brown Because He's a Man Whore''

Karrueche Tran didn't dump Chris Brown because of the girl he allegedly banged in rehab -- sources close to the model tell TMZ ... she dropped the hammer on their relationship because he refused to stop texting his army of jump offs.

There's been speculation that Karrueche pulled the plug when she found out he had hooked up with another girl in his facility at the beginning of March -- but we're told the break-up preceded that ... We're told Karrueche ended things after she visited Chris in rehab the month before.

Sources tell us ... Karrueche saw Chris' phone during her visit -- and it was filled with inappropriate texts from other girls. It was the last straw. We're told Karrueche was especially pissed because she'd been nothing but supportive to Chris throughout his ordeal, even going to court with him.We're told Karrueche wasn't even aware Chris had allegedly been getting down with girls in rehab until long after the break-up.

British grandmother claims semen is the best anti-aging product

A UK grandmother, Stella Ralfini, (pictured above) says her wrinkle-free face is all thanks to a semen therapy which she does on her face by applying semen from her lover after sexual intercourse.

Stella, 67, said she learnt the bizarre anti-aging method while in India studying a unique sexual therapy called Tantra. According to her, all you need is a lover with healthy sperm residue..

"All you need is a lover but if you don't have one you know what to do. All you need to do is just ten days or two weeks, you both should have a nice time and make sure he has a great time, and when your beautiful love making session is over, you are going to scoop this amazing sperm mask in your finger, apply it all over your face, leave it for fifteen minutes and then wash off. I know some of you are thinking "What is she saying?!" but we have to assume that your lover is a healthy clean man and eats wells.

Now which man put grandma Stella up to this? Funnily, she's not the only one who believes in this therapy. Actress Heather Locklear, 51, in a recent interview told a reporter that the secret to her youthful look was as a result of semen on face therapy.
 

UK Mirror reports that research has however proven Stella and Heather right in the usefulness of semen as an anti-aging substance. Research shows that the Human semen is rich in anti-oxidant, proteolytic proteins that helps to diminish aging lines on faces and helps to destroy dead layers on skin, revealing a more fresher skin layer.

The researcher must be a man.

Alex Okosi, Toolz, 8 others make list of the 10 Most Powerful People in Media

The YNaija list of 10 Most Powerful People in Media under the age of 40 has just been released and yeah, I made the list. These are people who have gone beyond their own careers and their own empires, and are influencing trends, leading on success, and driving people to action. 
From OAPs to moguls, these are the most powerful in Nigeria’s media space.
Alex Okosi
Okosi is the Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks Africa. As an executive, he made his mark by bringing by bringing the urban-music themed MTV Base music channel to Africa back in 2005. It was perfect timing; African music was at the cusp of a renaissance and the presence of MTV Base on the TV screens led to an explosion of quality visuals and great video content from artists. Okosi was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and his influence in entertainment circles is undeniable. Only recently, Nigerian radio OAPs were nominated for honours at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and they probably have Mr Okosi to thank for it.

Ayeni Adekunle
Ayeni the great started his career as a journalist working for the likes of Enconium and Vanguard but has evolved to become one of the most important media men this side of the Atlantic. His Black House Media group has worked with a range of important clients from Nigerian Idol and Nigerian Breweries to superstars D’banj and Ice Prince and he publishes Nigeria’s biggest entertainment website The NETng as well its weekly newspaper equivalent. In 2013, he convened the Nigerian entertainment conference that attracted the movers and shakers of the entertainment industry and business world, sparking dialogue and creating networking links.

Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi
No one has a presence on radio quite like Gbemi. Sweet, sassy and slighty tart, she has been working on the radio for over eight years and has quietly built a formidable fan base and listenership that has followed her from her days at Cool FM to her present gig at Beat FM where she hosts the Drive Time Show in the evening. A graduate of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, Gbemi has also risen through the ranks to become head of programming at Beat FM’s sister station Naija FM. She is currently working on her upcoming television show.

Linda Ikeji
Everybody visits Linda Ikeji’s all powerful blog. It’s futile trying to deny, the Alexa rankings state otherwise. The blog has become the one stop shop for gossip, heart to heart dialogue, the occasional political commentary and yes, breaking news. Even the federal government is not unaware of the power of her platform, tipping her as one of the media partners for its centenary celebrations. She may do battle with a celebrity or two, but even they would agree that the publicity she offers is pretty much unparalleled. She generates millions in advertising but still manages to retain that girl next door persona.

Maupe Ogun
The television presenter and co-host of Channels television’s must-watch breakfast magazine Sunrise daily may be the only woman in the room most of the time, but she has managed to come across as one of the smartest. And articulate. And fearless. Always compulsively watchable, with her probing and unflinching questions, many an unprepared guest have been known to shrivel under her piercing gaze. Educated at the University of Lagos and the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, Ogun participated in president Obama’s town hall meeting with young Africans.

Mfonobong Nsehe
Nsehe’s prolific work with Forbes magazine Africa and Ventures Africa has resulted in the eventual recognition of previously under the radar Folashade Alakija as one of the richest people on the planet. As a staff writer with Forbes Africa, Nsehe’s brief is to profile Africa’s success stories and chronicle the lives of its rich and famous. Shunning the hype and the gloss, the Akwa Ibom-born journalist and blogger goes in to uncover the real picture.

Tolu Ogunlesi
Tolu is a two-time winner of the CNN/Multichoice African journalist of the Year, most recently in 2013 when he won in the Economic and Business category for his reporting on Eko Atlantic City. Ogunlesi once worked as a features editor for the defunct NEXT newspapers and his writing has appeared in various international media like The Huffington Post, CNN, UK Guardian and The Economist. He runs a weekly column on The Punch, Nigeria’s most widely read newspaper.

Toolz
Tolu ‘Toolz’ Oniru may get plenty of notice for her stunning physique but she has proved there is more to her than meets the eye. Bodacious, beautiful and brainy, she has parlayed her OAP duties on Beat FM into a position of power, being able to fast track or stall careers with her choice of playlist. Her other gig on the Guaranty Trust Bank sponsored Ndani TV is about to commence its second season and the accolades pouring in for that stint thanks to the probing-yet-breezy comradarie she exudes while interviewing her guests. Those skills translate from the radio to the small screen and her performance on the debut season of the X-factor Nigeria is sure to net her next year’s deal. Is there anything that Toolz cannot fix?

Toyosi Ogunseye
Ogunseye became one of the youngest editors of a major newspaper when she was promoted to editor of the Sunday Punch. She may be tasked with preparing the weekly but she still finds time to churn out powerful features like her three-part piece on the impact of gases released by a steel company on an upscale estate in Lagos state which won her a second CNN/Multichoice African journalist of the Year trophy, this time in the Environment category.

Uche Pedro
The now married founder of BellaNaija, the most popular lifestyle/entertainment website in the country has overseen the growth of BellaNaija from a single girl’s blog to mentions by Oprah Winfrey, CNN and a permanent home on internet web traffic assessor Alexa’s top 40 listings. Quiet, unassuming and loath to step out in public glare, Uche Pedro wields a lot of power as her site has been known to dictate the latest fashion trends, attract advertising mega bucks and corner the market on wedding photography.

Lindsay Lohan's list of 36 celeb lovers includes Justin Timberlake, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher

Actress Lindsay Lohan has slept with 36 famous men. Yes 36! And she listed the names herself. 

While talking about men and sex with her friends on a drunken night at the Beverly Hills Hotel in LA on January 30 2013, Lindsay took a pen and paper and wrote down the names of well known men she's slept with. It was her conquest list. And when they were done talking about it, Lindsay forgot to burn the paper or at least chew it, instead she left it at the hotel and now we all know all the celebrity men she's allegedly been with. For a lady who's only 27, Lindsay has really been around. See some of the famous men she's allegedly been with below...

Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, Ashton Kutcher, Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, Adam Levine, Zac Efron, Joaquin Phoenix, Colin Farrell, James Franco, Wilmer Valderrama, Stavros Niarchos, Danny Cipriani, and many more. See the full list, exclusively obtained by In Touch Weekly.

This could be the missing Malaysian plane, Satellite image shows a plane above Thai jungle

12 days after Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 went missing, the mystery has still not been solved. This incident is unprecedented in aviation history. The latest update now is that a Taiwanese student is claiming to have found a satellite image which appears to show the missing passenger plane in the skies above a jungle. The authenticity of the photo has not been verified, and the region depicted in the image is unknown. The image was taken from a map search website currently being used by thousands of people in an attempt to search for the plane. 

Malaysian authorities have yet to respond to this new claim. Some days ago, some fishermen and villagers close to the southern border of Thailand said they saw 'bright light descending at high speed' and loud noise of a plane engine on the night the plane disappeared.

The reason behind Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez split

Last week rumors spread that Halle Berry and third husband actor Olivier Martinez may be headed for divorce. And now there are reports that the reason behind the split is Halle and Olivier Martinez' 6 month old son...

From Star Magazine

Friends say that the duo are leading increasingly separate lives because they can’t stop fighting. “They have had some extremely vicious arguments, and every small thing is causing issues,” a source says.

“Olivier thinks Halle is spending too much time working and trying to lose weight and not enough time on their baby. Halle is tired of Olivier telling her what to do.

Both of them are very hot tempered and stubborn.

'How to end corruption in Nigeria' - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks with CNN

Minister for Finance and Coordinator of the Economy Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was a guest on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS programme on Sunday where she acknowledged that there was corruption in Nigeria but said that the fight against corruption must involve every Nigerian...

"No one can fight corruption for Nigerians except Nigerians. Everyone has to be committed from the top to the bottom to fight it. In our country, we need to, coupled with – by all means pursue those who are corrupt, punish them, you know, make sure there’s no impunity.  But that has to be coupled with something which doesn’t get as much attention, which is building institutions.  It’s unglamorous; it’s work that takes time, but we have to do it.  We have to put it in place.” she said.

The Minister was also taken up by the presenter on Sanusi's suspension. He asked her why Sanusi was suspended after he discovered that monies had been siphoned from the NNPC account of which the Minister responded that Sanusi did not say monies were siphoned, he said money was unaccounted for. Full text of the Interview after the cut...

ZAKARIA:  Listen in to our conversation.  I began by asking her why the central banker was suspended for blowing the whistle.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER:  I believe that when you find problems, you should also find solutions.  I think the problem began the first time when he said that the amount that was – he never said it was stolen.  He said it was unaccounted for, was $49.8 billion.
And he wrote a letter to the president; he called me a couple of days after, to say I’ve written this letter.  And my first reaction was, that’s not possible.  We couldn’t be missing $50 billion as finance minister in this country.  We wouldn’t be able to function because that’s too high a hit.  Everybody would know it and feel it in the economy.

ZAKARIA:  There is some substantial gap.

OKONJO-IWEALA:  Oh, yes –

ZAKARIA:  Right?  I mean –

OKONJO-IWEALA:  No, we –

ZAKARIA:  – the World Bank, I think when you were one of the managing directors, issued a report on the Nigerian economy in which it said hundreds of billions of dollars over the past 30 or 40 years have been siphoned off.  And so this would be a perfect example of precisely this kind of siphoning off.

OKONJO-IWEALA:  No.  I think we should hold our horses a little bit.  Sanusi please ask him never said the money had been siphoned off.  He said it was unaccounted for.
And hold on.  There’s a difference, because when he alleged $49.8 billion – and this was looked at, it was found that some of that money had really been remitted to the tax agency directly and his people were not aware of it.
So $16 billion was immediately accounted for that, you know, they didn’t seem to know the accounting mode of the agency, so that’s what I’m saying.
But there has been – there’s no doubt that Nigerians feel suspicious of the oil sector, that it has been regarded as opaque over the years and this is not an issue, you know, whether it’s $10.8 billion, whether it’s $1, you know, we can’t afford to lose any money from the treasury.

ZAKARIA:  But then why fire the central banker, a respected central banker?

OKOJO-IWEALA:  You know, Fareed, what I would like to do is perhaps focus on the economy, because I don’t think I want to get into this issue of firing/not firing.  He’s still governor of the central bank.  He has been suspended.  He hasn’t been fired.
But I think we need to focus on the central issue, which is no one dollar should be lost from the treasury.  Any money that belongs to it must be remitted.  That’s what we’re insisting.
And the president, we pushed for – he has ordered one yesterday, that there should be a forensic audit to determine where these moneys, that what is unaccounted for, is it the $10.8 billion that we are saying from the accounts?
We’ve been working on this for two years.
And you know, is it $50 billion?  Is it $20 billion?  Is it $12 billion?  What is the amount?  We need to know for the sake of the Nigerian people and he has ordered that.  So we want it to be independent; we want it to be well done, so that we can lay it to rest.

ZAKARIA:  So how do we – how do you solve the problem of corruption?

You’ve been in government twice.  You have a reputation for being extremely honest.
What would you do, if you had a magic wand, if you were president, what would you do to get Nigeria to get this cancer out of its system?

OKOJO-IWEALA:  Well, you know, Fareed, you know with that, there are no easy answers.  But there’s one thing I want to say and repeat.  No one can fight corruption for Nigerians except Nigerians.  Everyone has to be committed from the top to the bottom to fight it.
And I think there are two key things that need to be done all along, and it’s not just in Nigeria.  It’s in many developing countries that you need to do this.
But in our country, you need to, coupled with – by all means pursue those who are corrupt, punish them, you know, make sure there’s no impunity.  But that has to be coupled with something which doesn’t get as much attention, which is building institutions.  It’s unglamorous; it’s work that takes time, but we have to do it.  We have to put it in place.

ZAKARIA:  I have to ask you a question that is not part of directly your portfolio, but it is your government.
Nigeria has always had laws banning homosexuality.  But you advanced a further law which criminalized it so that somebody who is gay would have to spend 14 years in prison.
You also have passed – the law says that people who are in some way promoting gay clubs or gay discussion would be imprisoned for 10 years.  This seems an assault on a minority’s rights.  It also seems an assault on free speech.
Why is Nigeria doing this?

OKOJO-IWEALA:  Well, let me say this, Fareed, that, you know, we’re here in the U.S.  And it took 40 to 50 years or more under conversation of, you know, the gay community to get where the U.S. is.
I think that, you know, we need a conversation in the country.  We need evolution.  Ninety-six percent of people support these laws, but I think we need to unpack the laws, for them to see, you know, between being a gay person and between same-sex marriage because the two are compounded in people’s minds and there’s a strong sentiment against same-sex marriage, just as you had here before.
And it’s still evolving.  I think it’s a question of conversation, discussion, evolution, education and engagement over time, just as happened in this country and in Europe.  It’s not something that happened overnight.  So I would say withhold judgment and let us work on this.
ZAKARIA:  Madam Finance Minister, pleasure to have you on.

OKOJO-IWEALA:  Thank you.
ZAKARIA:  And we will be back.
End.

Kanye West sentenced to 2 years probation, 250 hours community service

Kanye West has been sentenced to 2years probation and 250 hours community service after the attack on a photographer at Los Angeles Airport in 2013, E! News reports.

Kanye pled no contest to one count of misdemeanor battery yesterday in response to videographer Daniel Ramos lawsuit against him. Kanye attacked Ramos at LAX airport in August last year as the paparazzo tried to take photos of him

Minus the two year probation and community service, Kanye is also required to complete 24 sessions of a level-2 anger management program and he must turn himself in to the LAPD for a formal booking. Kanye agreed to all this to make the case disappear from his record.

Boko Haram kills 2, burn churches in Borno

Members of the Boko Haram sect last night around 10pm attacked the Pela Birni village of Hawul LGA of Borno state, killing at least 2 people and burning down churches and houses. Reports say the men came into the Christian dominated village with AK 47 rifles and other powerful explosives which they used to shoot people indiscriminately and also set homes and churches ablaze. Amongst the churches destroyed was the Church of the Brethren.

Chairman of Hawul Local Government Area, Dr. Andrew Usman Malgwi confirmed the incident and said he has informed the higher authorities

"Yes there was an attack in one of my village yesterday which led to wanton killings and destruction of property. We have communicated to relevant security agencies on the matter who have swung into action with a view to apprehend the perpetrators, we have also mobilized our people to ascertain the damage and assist the displaced Persons as an interim measure” he said.

President Jonathan summons Interior Minister, Immigration boss

President Jonathan this morning summoned the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro and the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, David Parradang, to explain last Saturday's unfortunate incident at the poorly organized NIS recruitment exercise where over ten people died during stampedes at various test centres..

The two ministers both arrived at the office of the Chief of Staff where they spent sometime before being invited into the President's office where they spent about 30mins. Both men declined to speak to reports on their discussion with the President when they came out. Hopefully, someone will explain to us why the government would ask jobless youths to pay N1,000 to write employment test.

'Female Baby Having Two Heads' Born In India

Conjoined twins were born at a hospital in northern India on Wednesday morning.
"Yes this report is perfectly true that we have delivered a female baby having two heads,” Dr. Ashish Sehgal, the CEO of Cygnus JK Hindu Hospital, told ABCNews.com in an email. “She is presently alive and healthy.”
Story continues below


The New York Daily News reports that the babies' mom, Urmila Sharma, couldn't afford an ultrasound and didn't know she was delivering conjoined twins.
"We only came to know she was carrying conjoined twins after an ultrasound two weeks ago but it was too late to do anything by then," Dr Shikha Malik, who delivered the baby, said.
According to the Daily Mail, the twins have "two heads, two necks and two spines," but just one body and their chances for survival are slim.
Sehgal told the Daily News that a “meticulous and challenging” surgery could be the key to saving the twins' life, but the procedure can't take place until they are in stable condition.

Sanusi Lamido responds to allegations of financial recklessness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Suspended CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi yesterday Sunday March 16th responded to allegations of financial recklessness leveled against him by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Federal Government. Find the full statement he released below...

I am compelled to make this public statement to address the various allegations levied against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and cited as the reasons for my suspension from office as the Governor of the CBN on the 19th of February 2014.

As a matter of record, the allegations were made in the following documents:

i. Briefing Note of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) dated 7th June 2013, Ref: PRES/188/T&I/89 to His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan [the Briefing Note];
ii. The Letter of Suspension dated 19th February 2014, which I received from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; and
iii. The petition dated 9th February 2014 by Mr Erastus Akingbola.

However, before I go into the above issues, let me reiterate for the records, the achievements of the CBN during my tenure as the Governor:

The Record

Firstly, let me state that I have been extremely fortunate to have had a solid and supportive team led by the Deputy Governors and supported by the Departmental Directors, as well as thousands of hardworking and dedicated staff who must be given the credit for all that the CBN has achieved. I would also like to acknowledge for the record, the foundation laid by my predecessor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, in a number of areas. The CBN Act, 2007, which he championed, established the CBN as a truly autonomous entity of the Federation, and made it possible for us to take the difficult decisions necessary for restoring and maintaining macroeconomic stability. The FSS 2020 and PSV 2020 documents provided the principal strategic roadmaps that led to many of the innovations in payment systems, non-interest banking, financial inclusion, the Asset Management Corporation, IFRS, Risk-based Supervision, and the like.

Indeed, it will be impossible for me to review almost five years of revolutionary change made possible by the work of thousands of employees in the CBN in collaboration with other Regulators, Banks and Other Financial Institutions and Government Ministries in this press statement. However, I will mention a few of the key highlights.

On monetary policy, the Bank has improved the institutional framework for policy-making. A properly constituted Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) with a clear mandate for maintaining stability has been established. The MPC has been supported by improvements in research, data and forecasting capacity, and we have also paid attention to clear communication of our objectives to the market. As a result, headline inflation has remained below 10 per cent since January 2013, from a peak of 15.1 percent and 13.9 percent in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Core inflation declined from 11.2 per cent in December 2009 to 7.9 percent in December 2013, while food inflation maintained a downward trend from 15.5 percent in December 2009 to 9.3 percent in December 2013. In addition to the conventional liquidity management products, the Bank approved financial products to manage liquidity in non-interest financial institutions. The CBN also promoted the formation of the financial Markets Dealers Quotations Over–the-Counter (FQDM OTC) Plc as a self-regulatory OTC operator.

In the area of safeguarding the value of the local currency and maintaining stability in the foreign exchange market for the overall sustenance of macroeconomic stability and growth, the CBN over the period has successfully maintained a stable exchange rate regime and a robust external reserve position conducive to sustainable growth and development.

On the Banking System, I was appointed Governor in the middle of a global financial crisis when the Nigerian banking system was on the verge of collapse. The Bank moved swiftly to remove the managing directors and executive directors of the banks where major corporate governance failures were discovered, provided liquidity support, pioneered the setting up of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to purchase non-performing loans, recapitalize the banks and pilot a process that led to mergers and acquisitions, as well as recapitalization of all the weak and failing banks. As a result, all financial soundness indicators – Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Liquidity and Profitability ratios – were normalized. As a result of the work by the Bank, not a single depositor or creditor lost money in any Nigerian bank during or after the financial crisis.

In addition to the quantitative measures, we broke up universal banks and encouraged the setting up of specialized banks (including the first Non – interest Bank in the Country’s history), pushed for the adoption of IFRS and Basel 3, enhanced risk-based supervision, issued Competency Guidelines for the staff in the banking industry, established a Consumer Protection Department and developed a Financial Inclusion Strategy and Roadmap, among others for the CBN.

The Bank implemented policies aimed at reducing the excessive use of cash in the system to ensure safety, improve efficiency and curb money laundering. The transformation of NIBSS, the insistence on interoperability of channels, encouragement of electronic banking, the licensing of Mobile Money Operators, the Agent Banking and tiered-KYC frameworks have all led to rapid growth in volume and value of non-cash transaction and enhanced financial inclusion.

The Bank has played its leadership role in ensuring industry compliance with environmental sustainability and governance standards, including a strong focus on women and the handicapped.

The CBN in the last five years has taken a leading role in providing long-term low-cost funding to priority sectors of the Nigerian economy in a bid to help in bringing to reality the Transformation Agenda of the government of your Excellency. We have provided these funds at single-digit interest rates to micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as to companies operating in the power, aviation, and agricultural sectors of the economy, and also to large industrial enterprises with potential for structural transformation.

The Bank has invested in human capital, improved staff welfare and attracted and retained specialized skills in the areas of Banking Supervision, Information Technology, Shared Services and Risk Management.

On Financial Performance, the Bank has in the last five years kept a lid on overheads and cost of currency management. As a result, the Bank has continued to produce sterling results and contributed substantially to the Federal Budget. In the five years, 2009 – 2013, the Bank contributed N376 billion to the Federal Budget as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).Based on 2012 financials alone, we paid N80 billion to the Ministry of Finance. On the basis of the 2013 results and at the request of the Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME), we paid N159 billion to the Ministry of Finance in February this year; the same month the audited accounts of the CBN were approved by the Committee of Governors (COG). Indeed, due to the precarious position of Government finances, the CBN in February 2014, upon the request of the CME, gave the Ministry a further ‘Advance IGR’ of N70 billion in anticipation of 2014 profits.

May I add that, in 2008, the year before my appointment, the CBN contributed N8 billion to the Federation Account. Although the Bank is not a profit-centre, in the first four years of my term, the Bank alone contributed 75 percent of the total IGR paid by MDAs leading to commendation by the House Committee on Finance at several Public Hearings.

Recognitions
As a result of these achievements of my colleagues and staff, we received numerous recognitions consistently throughout my tenure from highly-regarded publications. These awards are based on a competitive process where analysts and economists rank Central Bank Governors across regions and the globe.

In 2010, The Banker Magazine, a publication of Financial Times in London, named me Best Central Bank Governor in the World and Best in Africa. At the Annual World Bank/IMF Meetings, Emerging Markets, a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investor named me Best Central Bank Governor in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2009, 2010 and 2012. The African Banker Magazine named me Best Central Bank Governor in Africa, 2012. This is in addition to being named Forbes Africa Person of the year 2011 and listed by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, 2011.

I have always regarded these honours not as personal accolades, but as a tribute to our nation and the committed and resourceful women and men of CBN.
Response to the allegations in relation to my suspension
On Wednesday 10th March 2014, I submitted a Memorandumto His Excellency, Mr President, with supporting documentation,effectively addressing all the allegations contained in the FRCN Briefing Note, the Letter of Suspension and the Akingbola Petition.

Having submitted my response to the President, I am further compelled, following the recent press briefing and comments by the Senior Special Adviserto the President on Media, as well as numerous other references to the allegations in both local, international and online media, to put to the public my responses, in the interest of transparency, accountability and my responsibility to the Nigerian people.Let me also state that I saw the FRCN “Briefing Note” for the first time when it was attached to the suspension letter. At no time was this report sent to the CBN either by the President or the FRCN for comments or explanations. As for the Akingbola petition, it is a rehash of baseless allegations he has been making since 2010 which apparently he must have been asked to reproduce on February 9, ten days before the suspension. It is indeed strange that the CBN Governor can be suspended based on allegations written by a man who ran his bank into the ground and against whom judgement has been obtained in a London court, and who furthermore is facing criminal prosecution at home for offences including criminal Theft.

A careful examination of the allegations contained in the FRCN Briefing Note to Mr President, will show that each of the allegations could easily have been resolved by a simple request for clarification or more careful review. There is no doubt that if the CBN had received the Briefing Note, which was prepared in June 2013, all the misconceptions, misrepresentations and erroneous inferences contained therein would have been cleared.

I am publishing these responses to enable the general public see that each and every allegation levelled against the CBN under my leadership is false and unfounded, and that many of the allegations were malicious and fabricated, having been designed to mislead the President into believing that the Management of the Central Bank was guilty of misconduct and recklessness.
Having provided detailed explanations, backed by verifiable documents, it is my sincere wish that His Excellency, Mr President, in line with his adherence to fairness and justice, will apply the same rationale and rigour to other agencies of the Federal Government that have had serious allegations and queries levied against them, and prevail upon them to provide responses and explanations with the same level of clarity and transparency.

In closing, I would like to place on record the dogged professionalism and patriotism of the staff of the CBN. They have, over the years, conducted themselves very creditably, and discharged their duties with the highest integrity.

stampede at immigration employment tests venues across Nigeria

The Nigerian Immigration Service decided to conduct a test for 3,000 vacant positions and the number of Nigerian Youths that went to the various test locations was overwhelming! Above is a collage of the crowd at the respective venues of the Immigration Service Test carried out in stadiums across the country this morning.

The Abuja stadium which is to sit not more than 60,000 people had well over 80,000 youths and only one entrance to the stadium was opened for the applicants. It's being reported that at least six people died during a stampede at some of the venues of the poorly coordinated test. The dead are mostly from the Abuja venue. I hear a pregnant woman was among the deceased.

The dead applicants have been taken to the National Hospital Abuja morgue. May their souls rest in peace...Amen.
It's important to note that these applicants paid N1,000 registration fee and there were over 2 million applicants...you do the calculation, that's about N2billion. We need the Minister of Interior and Comptroller General of Immigration to address what happened today.