JTF Kill Two Boko Haram Suspects, Intercepts Eight Rocket Launchers

 The Joint Task Force (Operation Restore Order) has intercepted a Hilux Van stocked with high profile weapons including eight rocket propelled grenades and their accessories in Borno state.

A statement by the spokesman of Joint Task Force Lt. Col Sagir Musa said the interception of the weapons was made around 9:00pm on Monday the 30th of July 2012 at Daban Masara a border village between Nigeria and Chad in Mongono local government area of the state.

Musa said the weapons were hidden inside desert palm tree leaves including 10 rocket bombs, 10 rocket charges, two AK 47 riffles, 13 magazines with six rounds of 76 special ammunition and an ATM card.

He said the interception was based on intelligence report and that two suspected members of the Boko Haram sect accompanying the consignment were killed in an exchange of gun fire while one fled.

The Hilux Van according to the statement is with the registration number NGU 19 XA.

The spokesman appealed to the public to cooperate with security men by giving useful information that will help in ending the insurgency.

The Department of State Security Service (DSS), Multi National Joint Task force and other security agencies from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon constitute the task force.

http://www.channelstv.com/home

Gbenga Daniel: I'm Being Persecuted Like Jesus'

A former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, on Sunday said his trial can be compared to that of Jesus Christ who was persecuted for being compassionate.

Mr. Daniel made this statement at the 50th birthday anniversary of Sina Kawonise, the former commissioner of information and strategy during his administration held at conference hotel, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

According to the former governor, "his court trial remains the biggest probe in the history of the state and meant to persecute him for no just reason".

He likened his trial to that of Jesus Christ, Obafemi Awolowo and Abraham Adesanya.

"The question is this, why was Jesus christ crucified despite his good work, why was Obafemi Awolowo persecuted, why was Abraham Adesanya persecuted. It was only because they dare to correct the wrong in the society".

Mr. Daniel held that he has been falsely accused of being a ritualist, a murderer and a fraudster in order to crucify him.

"There is no offence they have not accused us of, we are facing the biggest probe in the history of this state,all in a way of persecution, but till date they have not establish the offences," he said.

He said he would remain unperturbed despite the trial adding that he would remain bold to embrace the truth at all time.

Mr. Daniel evaded the question of which party - Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) or the Peoples Party of Nigeria(PPN)- his supporters belong to in the current dispensation.

He simply said, "If there is no crisis there won't be solution, but with recent political unfolding events, solution is in sight."

During his tenure as governor, Mr. Daniel allegedly diverted funds and properties belonging to the state for private use.

He is currently on trial for corruption before an Ogun State High Court.

Access Bank Wins £653 Million Suit Against Erastus Aknigbola

Access bank PLC has won a £653 million fraud lawsuit in Britain against the former Chief Executive Officer of bailed-out Intercontinental Bank, Dr Erastus Akingbola.

 
Delivering the judgement in a London High Court on Tuesday, presiding judge, Justice Michael Burton, ruled comprehensively in the bank’s favour in respect of all aspects of its claims against Dr Akingbola.

In his ruling, Justice Burton said Dr Akingbola is responsible for directing the bank to buy its own shares at a loss of about N145 billion, siphoning money to companies controlled by him or his family and using Intercontinental funds to buy real estate in the UK.

According to the judgment, Dr Akingbola wrongfully caused the bank to acquire 3.7 billion of its own shares between 2007 and 2009, and that he directed about £68 million to a group of companies in which he had an interest in order to help them pay off “substantial debts.





Intercontinental was among eight lenders bailed out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2009 after a debt crisis caused in part by loans to speculators in equities.

The CBN had asked the UK to extradite Akingbola after the bailout, though he later returned voluntarily to Nigeria in July 2010 to face the criminal case.

A trial in that matter is still on-going.

Snoop Dogg becomes Snoop Lion, releases New Reggea CD soon

Snoop Dogg says he was "born again" during a visit to Jamaica in January, is changing his name to Snoop Lion and is ready to make music that his "kids and grandparents can listen to."
The artist known for gangster rap is releasing a reggae album called "Reincarnated" in the fall.


The West Coast rapper held a news conference in New York on Monday. Later he played five songs for a small crowd, including one called "No Guns Allowed." It features his daughter.

The album will be followed with a documentary of the same name. It features him making music and will include some personal elements of his life, a producer of the film said. It will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

source: Yahoo News

Happy Birthday Kanu Nwankwo @ 36years old

Happy birthday to Kanu Nwankwo, OON, as he turns 36years old today.(born 1 August 1976),

Ghanaian Super Star, Van Vicker is 35 today.

Happy birthday to Ghanaian screne superstar, Van Vicker as he turns 35years old today. Many happy returns.

Segun Arinze, Justus Esiri Robbed In London Hotel

News coming from London about two Nollywood icons, Segun Arinze and Justus Esiri is not palatable as we learnt that they were robbed in their London Hotel located in Surrey, United Kingdom some days ago.

Gist has it that the ugly incident allegedly happened at Teavelodge in Surrey, UK. The hotel had three keys shared among the clientele, the hotel manager and the female Polish cleaner who cleans the apartment.

The actors have been in London for a month now staging a theatre tour including 'The king must dance naked' and other stage plays. They have also been at the Nigeria House, Royal Theatre, Stratford, London.

On that fateful day, the actors reportedly went for their usual rehearsal. On their return, they noticed that their belongings had been tampered with. After doing a check, they discovered that some valuables have grown wings and flew away.

Segun reportedly lost his Ipad while Justus Esiri was unlucky as his international passport with various visas in it, his travelling documents, laptop, monies and several other valuables got missing.

Though the matter is said to have reported to the police, but no arrest has been made yet. We also learnt that the hotel had no CCTV cameras to capture the alleged robbery footage.

However, on Justus Esiri's lost passport, the Nigeria mission in the UK reportedly issued a new passport to him on self-recognition. This, as were gathered, was done based on his National Honours of Order of the Niger (OON) award.

Segun, Justus and other cast including Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Bimbo Akintola and others are expected back in Nigeria on Monday, August 6, 2012.


Wonderful!

GEJ Condemned For Appointing Aig-imoukhuede To Subsidy Verification Panel

Civil society groups condemn President Goodluck Jonathan for appointing the Access Bank boss to investigate himself.

Civil society groups have condemned President Goodluck Jonathan for appointing Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the Group Managing director of Access Bank, as chairman of the 15-man committee to verify and reconcile all claims made in the report of a Technical Committee set up to review fuel subsidy payments.

“That is an aberration, although it is common with this government,” said Olanrewaju Suraju, the head of a civil society group, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA).

A company owned by Mr. Imoukhuede, Ice Energy Petroleum Trading Limited, was indicted by the House of Representatives committee which probed the fuel subsidy payments. The company received $2,131,166.32 (N345.3 million) in hard currency in 2011, without importing or supplying any product, the House report stated.

Ice Energy had failed to either appear or submit documents to the House committee. Following the insistence by many Nigerians that the House report be implemented, the Federal Government set up the Technical committee headed by Mr. Imoukhuede and subsequently, the new 15-man committee.

It’s all condemnation

The HEDA boss questioned the propriety of Mr. Jonathan’s decision to appoint the Access bank boss saying “how can any rational human being, a PhD holder for that matter make such appointment.”

He described the appointment by Mr. Jonathan and other actions and statements of the President as steps that are taking Nigeria backward.

“We’ve never had it so bad in Nigeria. President Jonathan is taking Nigeria to the lowest level that we have ever had in this country,” Mr. Suraju said

The coordinator of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, believes that by appointing Mr. Imoukhuede to “investigate himself,” the President has shown that he is not interested in the outcome of the probe.

“Jonathan is not really interested in the probes being carried out. He does not want such probe to succeed,” Mr. Adeniran said.

The CACOL boss described Mr. Imoukhuede’s appointment as a characteristic behaviuor of the President Jonathan’s administration.

“It is the stock-trade of this government to surround itself with indicted persons,” Mr. Adeniran said. “Innocent people will not want to work with a government that is constituted through a fraudulent means.”

Imoukhuede’s presence discredits report

Lagos lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, believes that the presence of Mr. Imoukhuede on both the technical committee and the 15-man panel has already discredited whatever report emanates from them.

“The report is discredited. How can somebody who has been indicted, who has not cleared his name preside over something like that,” Mr. Ogunye stated.

The lawyer stated that by choosing the bank boss to chair the committee, Mr. Jonathan had shown his unwillingness to prosecute indicted officials and companies in the fuel subsidy scam. He said it called to question the credibility of people around the President.

“It appears this government is in short supply of credible people,” Mr. Ogunye said.

Source: http://premiumtimesng.com/business/5975-Jonathan-under-fire-for-appointing-Aig-Imoukhuede-subsidy-verification-panel.html

Gbenga Daniel: I'm Being Persecuted Like Jesus'

A former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, on Sunday said his trial can be compared to that of Jesus Christ who was persecuted for being compassionate.

Mr. Daniel made this statement at the 50th birthday anniversary of Sina Kawonise, the former commissioner of information and strategy during his administration held at conference hotel, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

According to the former governor, "his court trial remains the biggest probe in the history of the state and meant to persecute him for no just reason".

He likened his trial to that of Jesus Christ, Obafemi Awolowo and Abraham Adesanya.

"The question is this, why was Jesus christ crucified despite his good work, why was Obafemi Awolowo persecuted, why was Abraham Adesanya persecuted. It was only because they dare to correct the wrong in the society".

Mr. Daniel held that he has been falsely accused of being a ritualist, a murderer and a fraudster in order to crucify him.

"There is no offence they have not accused us of, we are facing the biggest probe in the history of this state,all in a way of persecution, but till date they have not establish the offences," he said.

He said he would remain unperturbed despite the trial adding that he would remain bold to embrace the truth at all time.

Mr. Daniel evaded the question of which party - Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) or the Peoples Party of Nigeria(PPN)- his supporters belong to in the current dispensation.

He simply said, "If there is no crisis there won't be solution, but with recent political unfolding events, solution is in sight."

During his tenure as governor, Mr. Daniel allegedly diverted funds and properties belonging to the state for private use.

He is currently on trial for corruption before an Ogun State High Court.

Kourtney Kardashian Welcomes Penelope Scotland Disick - Her New Baby Girl

After months of waiting, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick's baby girl has finally arrived! She is
Penelope Scotland Disick. Born on Sunday, July 8, weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces, who joins big brother Mason, 2years old.
The overjoyed parents welcome their precious angel Penelope Scotland Disick into their lives. "We are forever blessed. Mommy and baby are resting comfortably," Kardashian said

Senate Claims Otedola Has No Video-clip On $620,000 Bribe

Details of what transpired at the hearing of Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House of Representatives probing the Farouk Lawan and Femi Otedola $620,000 bribery saga emerged at the weekend as a member, Ibrahim Bello, spoke on the incident.

Bello claimed that contrary to media reports, Otedola told the panel that he had no knowledge of the video evidence in circulation when he appeared before the committee last week.

Bello, who represents Igabi Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, told journalists in Abuja that despite Otedola’s refusal to respond to questions on allegations of bribery against Lawan, disowned any video of his alleged exchange of money and discussion with Lawan, the suspended chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management.

Bello said: “He (Otedola) said that he did not give anybody any video of him giving Lawan bribe. He denied that. All he said was that he did not give anybody any video.”

He, however, insisted that the committee was on the right track in insisting that the hearing with Otedola be held in camera.

According to him, “we had this interactive session with Otedola last week and we insisted that he cannot decide how we do our job.

“When we asked him about the video-clip, Otedola told us to summon the media houses and ask them how they got it. He categorically denied the video-clip and said he never discussed anything with anybody. He is in our own record.

“ All Otedola said at the meeting was that Farouk Lawan lied four times and that’s all. What I am saying is on record and we have it. Nobody can come and bend our rules. We don’t have any business with Otedola. I asked Otedola before the chairman of the panel, who told him not to talk with us nor answer our questions? Apparently unknown to him, he was only a witness before us and we told him categorically that we have about 10 lawyers in the Ethics and Privileges Committee.

Man Caught Planting A Bomb In Jos

A 35 year old man was caught while trying to plant a bomb at an Islamic School in Bukuru, Jos South local government area of Plateau State.

The police moved in immediately to detonate the bomb. The police also defused another bomb planted in Congo Russia, central area of Jos city.

That brings to six the numbers of bombs planted at different locations in Jos and Riyom in the last thirty days. Besides, about three bomb factories have been discovered and detonated in Jos so far. In spite of that bombs are been discovered in Jos streets now and then.

Members of the community who got hold of the suspect in Bukuru alleged that there were five of them that went to the scene to plant the bomb but were able to grab one of them, while the other four escaped.

The source said, “We were vigilant because we heard rumour of that attacks were been plotted against this community, so at about 10pm Friday night, we saw people strange to us and we monitored their activities. We later discovered they were about planting an object, so we went after them and we were able to grab one which we handed over to security agencies”

At Congo Russia area of Jos North local government another explosion was averted following the discovery of an improvised explosive devise (IEDS) planted in the neighbourhood by suspected terrorist gang.

The Plateau State Police Command in a statement by the Public Relations Officer, DSP Abu Emmanuel, said at about 11pm on Thursday, there was a distress call from the Divisional Police Officer of Nassarawa Gwom about a strange container suspected to be a bomb planted in the area.

“We moved swiftly to the scene to discover it was a bomb and we immediately defused it.

The statement added that Commissioner of police in the state,

Dipo Ayeni appreciates and is highly delighted with the manner members of the public reacted to the incident and for notifying the police and called on them to sustain the tempo.

Source

Zenith, First Bank, GTBank, Four Others Make Top Global 1000 Banks

Nigeria's top nine banks that featured in the Banker's top global 1000 banks 2012 have a combined tier one capital of $11.699 billion as against the $11.332 billion they had in last year's top 1000 banks. This showed a slight improvement in the tier one capital of the Nigerian banks.

However, the combined tier one capital of the nine banks is this time around slightly above the $9.842 billion of Standard Group of South Africa, the biggest bank in Africa and the 112th in the world. Standard Group's tier one capital dropped from last year's figure of $12.6 billion to this year's $9.8 billion. This fact is contained in the 2012 edition of The Banker magazine top 1000 global banks, a publication of Financial Times of London.

The Banker in its benchmarking of the top 1000 global bank said that Zenith Bank PLC had, as at 2011 financial year, a total tier one capital of $2.398 billion as against the $2.405 billion of last year. This makes Zenith Bank the biggest bank in Nigeria, the 7th in Africa and the 322nd in the world. It is followed by the first generation bank, First Bank, with a total of $2.262 billion in 2011 as against its last year's figure of $2.221 billion shareholders' stake in the bank known as tier one capital. First Bank occupies the 2nd position in the Nigerian banking sector, 8th in Africa and 338th in the globe.

The third highly capitalised bank in Nigeria by the standard of Bank of International Settlement (BIS) is GTBank with a tier one capital of $1.478 billion as against the $1.362 billion of 2010 financial year. By tier one capital ranking, it is Nigeria's 3rd biggest, 11th in Africa and 455th in the world. Access Bank followed closely with a capital of $1.054 billion as against the $1.149 billion it had last year making it the 4th largest bank in Nigeria, 15th in Africa and 541st universally.

United Bank for Africa (UBA), one of the oldest banks in the country, as at the 2011 financial year end had $1.003 billion compared to the $1.037 billion capital in 2010 making it one of the internationally recognised strong banks in the country. It is by this classification, the 5th largest bank in Nigeria, 16th in Africa and 563rd in the world. Fidelity is next with $867 million as against the $904 million tier one capital the previous year, making it the 6th biggest bank in Nigeria, 17th in Africa and 618th in the world. First City Monument Bank followed closely with $683 million compared to the $854 million capital base it had a year before. It thus becomes the 7th largest bank, 22nd in Africa and 710th in the world. Skye Bank has $665 million compared to $695 million it had previously to feature as the 721st top banks in the world, 24th in Africa and 8th in Nigeria.

However, the Nigerian banks did not rank among the top five in Africa. Zenith which is the most capitalised bank in the country ranks 7th as against its last year's 6th position in the continent. The top three banks in Africa are all from South Africa. Standard Bank Group topped the Africa chart with a capital base of $9.842 billion and is in the 112th position globally. The second is the FirstRand Bank Holdings, South Africa with a capital base of $8.471 billion. The Needbank Group Limited, also of South Africa, came third in the top 25 banks in Africa with a capital of $5.123 billion.

Attjariwafabank of Morocco, an Islamic Bank, is fourth with a capital base of $2.786 billion. Investec of South Africa came 5th in The Banker ranking of the top 25 banks in Africa with a capital base of $2.519 billion. According to The Banker, two Nigerian banks featured in the capital adequacy ratio measurement. Fidelity Bank, The Banker said, has a capital to asset ratio of 28.8 per cent, making it the soundest bank in the country. The report also said that First City Monument Bank with capital to asset ratio of 23.89 made it to the 1000 soundest capital to asset ratio banks in the world.

According to The Banker, going by the Bank of International Settlement measure, Zenith was the only Nigerian bank that attained the 1000 soundest BIS ratio of 36.

Source

Sugar Scarcity Looms As Dangote Refinery Gutted

The country may be faced with severe shortage of sugar, as Dangote Sugar Refineries, holders of about 70 percent market share of the nation's sugar market at the weekend recorded a major fire incident at its plant at the Apapa ports, Lagos.

The 600,000 metric tonnes per annum capacity plant is part of the Dangote Sugar outfit, which supplies sugar to over 70 per cent on the sugar market in the country.

The fire, which started at the plant at about 7.00pm on Saturday evening at the bagging station of the refinery, paralysed activities at the factory forcing the company to put production activities on hold.
The management of the company in a statement released to THISDAY yesterday however assured Nigerians that production would resume at the plant within the week, stressing that the refinery was only partially affected by incident.

"Fire occurred at the Dangote Sugar Refinery refining plant. The fire, which started at the bagging station about 7pm, was successfully contained within 30 minutes with the combined efforts of the company, Nigerian Ports Authority, Lagos State and Federal Fire Service and others. The incident partially disturbed production activities," the company said.

Speaking on the incident, the company's Managing Director, Mr. Abdullahi Sule, revealed that there were no casualties or loss of life during the incident, adding that investigation has commenced to ascertain the cause of the fire and the extent of damage to the affected area of the company. He added that the company employs good manufacturing and best practices in all its operations and will continue to safeguard its human and material resources.

Sule also assured the company's numerous customers and other stakeholders that this will not affect supplies of the company products, as there was adequate stock to meet and surpass customers' needs.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201207090835.htm

Facebook To Launch Job Board

Usher’s Stepson, 11, Brain Dead After Jet Ski Accident

Usher‘s 11-year-old stepson Kyle Glover was struck by a jet ski while he was swimming near his Atlanta home. Usher, being a great stepdad, rushed to his side at the hospital as soon as he heard the news.

Kyle was floating on an inner tube on Lake Lanier when he was struck in the head, TMZ reports. He was unresponsive when he was taken from the water and rushed to Children’s Healthcare at Egelston Hospital in Atlanta. He was in critical condition.

Usher, 33, was so shocked by the news that he chartered a plane for his estranged wife Tameka Foster to rush to her son’s side. We think it’s so kind of him to do that, especially considering he’s locked in a nasty divorce battle with her.

Source:

Kola Abiola Turns 50!

 

Kola Abiola was 50 on the 1st of July. This is saying 50 happy cheers to the Prince of the family that shed

their blood that freedom may blossom in the land. Many happy returns.

Deji Abiola Freed of N35.5 Million Fraud Charges

 A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja Monday discharged and acquitted Deji Abiola, son of the late acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, of the N35.5 million theft charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Deji was discharged by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo after the EFCC decided to withdraw the case against him.

He was dragged before the court for allegedly stealing N35.5 million belonging to a Lagos-based printer, Mr Jide Jose under the pretext of helping the complainant import printing machines from Switzerland.

During Monday’s proceedings, EFCC prosecutor, Mr Omeiza Adebola informed the court that the prosecution was withdrawing its case against Abiola. Adebola said the prosecution was discontinuing the case because Abiola and Jose had resolved the matter out of court..

Nigerian Author, Rotimi Babatunde wins Caine 2012 price for African Writing

Nigerian author, Rotimi Babatunde has won the 2012 Caine prize for African writing with his book titled Bombay Republic.

With this feat Rotimi Babatunde join the league of young Nigerian writers that have won the coveted prize in recent years. The Caine prize which is the 13th in the series is one of Africa’s prestigious awards for literary excellence.

Rotimi was announced the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner held Monday evening at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The winner of the Caine Prize will be given the opportunity of taking up a month’s residence at Georgetown University, as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice.

Babatude will also be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September 2012 and events hosted by the Museum of African Art in New York in November 2012.

Congratulations!

President Goodluck Jonathan, Commissions Bullet Proof Vest Factory In Kaduna

President Goodluck Jonathan has commissioned the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), a company that will be manufacturing bullet proof vest for the military and other security agents.

The President at the commissioning in Kaduna, commended the Public Private Partnership (PPP) between DICON and MAROM-DOLPHIN Nigeria Limited which resulted in the domestic production of the bullet proof vests and other textile wares for security agencies in the country.

President Jonathan noted that the landmark event shows that the military establishment has effectively keyed into the federal government’s Local Content Policy which is aimed at building indigenous capacity in the petroleum and other sectors of the national economy.”

"The fact is, I'm gay," Copper Anderson

"The fact is, I'm gay," Anderson Cooper has confirmed what most people in the media world and New York.

"The fact is, I'm gay," Cooper wrote in an email to Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan. "Always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud." Sullivan, who is gay and is a longtime friend of Cooper's, had asked the CNN anchor for his reaction to a recent Entertainment Weekly story—"The New Art of Coming Out"—which was, in part, about the importance of gay celebrities coming out of the closet to combat America's bullying epidemic.


"Andrew, as you know, the issue you raise is one that I've thought about for years," Cooper responded. "Even though my job puts me in the public eye, I have tried to maintain some level of privacy in my life. Part of that has been for purely personal reasons. I think most people want some privacy for themselves and the people they are close to."

"But I've also wanted to retain some privacy for professional reasons," Cooper continued. "Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often found myself in some very dangerous places. For my safety and the safety of those I work with, I try to blend in as much as possible, and prefer to stick to my job of telling other people's stories, and not my own. I have found that sometimes the less an interview subject knows about me, the better I can safely and effectively do my job as a journalist. I've always believed that who a reporter votes for, what religion they are, who they love, should not be something they have to discuss publicly."

Cooper said he did not come out in his 2006 memoir, "Dispatches from the Edge," because the book was meant to be about war and not about his personal life. But his thinking has since changed: Recently, however, I've begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It's become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something—something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.


While it's the first time Cooper has been on the record about his sexuality, it's been an open secret in the media and gay communities for years. In 2007, for example, Out magazine put Cooper on its list of the 50 most powerful gays. In 2011, Cooper gave a winking nod to his homosexuality during a panel discussion with writers from The Onion.
And last month, Cooper was among the celebrities featured in a New York Observer cover story on "the glass closet." "In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted," Cooper—who says he's always been open with family and friends—added in his email. "Visibility is important, more important than preserving my reporter's shield of privacy."
Gay groups quickly applauded Cooper's courage. "Our members share his sentiment that as journalists, not activists, we have a significant role to play as advocates for fair and accurate coverage of the LGBT community in the mainstream media," David Steinberg, president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, said in a statement to Yahoo News. "We have worked hard to ensure that all journalists are comfortable being out in the newsroom and having it not be perceived as detrimental to their ability to do their job."

Cooper's announcement "helps us move 'what shouldn't matter' closer to 'what doesn't matter,'" actor Michael McKean tweeted. "Anderson Cooper wasn't in the closet," Tina Dupuy wrote on Twitter. "He was in the none-of-your-business." Not everyone, though, celebrated the manner of Cooper's announcement. Gawker Media chief Nick Denton, who is openly gay, tweeted: "Anderson Cooper: you seek 'visibility' and [yet] bury your coming-out announcement."

"Anderson Cooper would have come out of the closet sooner but being on CNN prevented him from accurately breaking a news story," joked Comedy Central's Indecision Twitter feed. While Cooper is certainly the most prominent news personality to announce he's gay, he isn't the first—even at CNN. Last year, weekend and daytime anchor Don Lemon came out of the closet in a memoir titled "Transparent."

I'd Get Married Again In December-Pastor Kris Okotie

It's no longer news that spiritual head of Household of God church and former presidential aspirant of Fresh Party, Pastor Kris Okotie and his pretty wife Stephanie have ended their four year-old fruitless marriage.

If the report reaching us is anything to go by, then Rev Chris Okotie has said again that come December, he's going to be married again because it's not good for the man to be alone, quoting God from the book of Genesis.

Pastor Kris and his wife Stephanie Henshaw have ended their marriage irreconcilably but another woman will be coming in shortly after her exit.

  He broke the news to his congregation and he also said he actually fell for her beauty. This is the second marriage the founder of Household of God will be ending in less than six years.

Sources in the church said the marriage has been having cracks in the past two years thinking that things would get better until the man of the centre of the drama finally broke the news.

If you remember, Pastor Okotie similarly dumped his first wife, Tyna after 17 years of marriage. The news of the break up came as a shock to many because it was higly celebrated. They had their honey moon in Dubai, London and France for some weeks.

During their wedding, Okotie claimed that his wife is still a virgin after two unsuccessful marriages and three children.

The 42 year-old Stephanie, on their wedding day told all and sundry said that God will give her a set of twins as first children to her husband.

Their first Sunday as husband and wife, Pastor Kris said that God has told him that they would be blessed with a set of twins soon. Four years after, the dream is not realised but the wedding is now collapsed.

Popular Yoruba Actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, alias Baba Ijesha set to wed Samsung big girl

The gist going round town is that popular Yoruba comic actor, Baba Ijesha is set to get married come Saturday, July 14, 2012.

The actor, whose real name is Olanrewaju Omiyinka, is said to be in love with a Samsung big girl. Reports say the lady is believed to be a manager at the top mobile phones and electronics giants.

We gathered that the road to being a married man would begin with a wedding introduction/engagement on July while the 'white' wedding would hold at a later date.

Baba Ijesha is a known name and face in the Yoruba film terrain.

He was recently asked in an interview about the identity of his bride and here is what he said;
Who is the lucky lady?

I don’t want to disclose that for now but very soon you will find out, but she’s definitely not into the entertainment industry. She is very quiet, reserved and hardworking. She is one of the managers of Samsung Company. Unlike me, she cherishes her private life.

Popular Fuji musician, Sunny T is dead.

The songwriter-performer, who became wildly known in the 90s as ‘omo nna to’n ko fuji (the Igbo man who plays Fuji – a predominantly Yoruba music), died this morning, according to his label boss Sarolaj, who spoke with NET.

Sarolaj (also known as Tunji Sarumi, who owns Eru Owa records, perhaps Nigeria’s most successful and enduring fuji label), says The late Sunny T performed in Epe on the outskirts of Lagos last Friday.

‘He was very Okay’, he told us over the phone. ‘He even performed on Friday and came home yesterday. He woke up around 4:30am today, he complained of cold, and asked to have some warm water to bathe with.’

‘He went into the bathroom, but came out without having his bath. The he sat on the bed ans started breathing hard’. Sarolaj said

We’re told he was rushed to the General hospital in Ikeja, Lagos, where doctors attended to him, before he passed on. ‘He was a young man who had been with me for decades. He release his first album with me and we are still working together. This is very sad and shocking’, Sarolaj tells us.

Sunny T Adesokan, is said to survived by his wife and kids. His last album ‘Capable, was released in August 2011.

May His soul rest in Peace, Amen

Otedola Sues Tambuwal, Lawan and Others For N250bn

The $620,000 bribery scandal involving a federal legislator, Farouk Lawan and businessman, Femi Otedola, has entered a new phase with Otedola asking a court to order Lawan and three others to pay him N250bn in damages.

The suit coincides with petitions to the Inspector-General of Police by Lawan’s lawyers demanding a face-to-face confrontation between the lawmaker and the businessman.

The amount, Otedola says, will compensate him for the loss of patronage he has suffered as a result of an alleged intimidation by the National Assembly.

Listed as defendants in the suit number FCT /3839/2012 and filed on June 28, 2012 at the Abuja High Court, are Lawan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; the National Assembly and its Clerk.

There had been a raging scandal in which Otedola, who is the Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas Limited, claimed that he paid $620,000 as bribe to Lawan, the suspended Chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee that probed the management of fuel subsidy regime in the country.

While Otedola said that he paid the bribe under pressure, Lawan claimed that he obtained the bribe in order to expose the businessman. The businessman’s company which had been removed from the list of subsidy thieves on the request of Lawan has, however, been re-listed by the House following the outbreak of the bribery scandal. Otedola, who is suing along with Zenon as the first plaintiff, said in his 28-paragraph statement of claim that the re-listing of Zenon on the list of indicted companies was an act of conspiracy.

He claimed that the alleged conspiracy by both Tambuwal and the National Assembly was calculated to embarrass him and his company.  In his statement of claim, Otedola states, “Notwithstanding the on-going Police investigations and the first defendant’s admission of receiving money from the second plaintiff, the second and fourth defendants conspired to relist the name of the first plaintiff to the list of indicted companies, to embarrass the plaintiffs and their corporate and business image.

“The plaintiffs shall contend at trial that the conspiracy by the second and fourth defendants (Tambuwal and the National Assembly respectively) to re-list the name of the first plaintiff on the list of companies indicted by the ad-hoc committee is without basis given that the committee’s finding was arrived at without proper verification of documents submitted by the plaintiffs to aid their enquiry.”


Source

International Freebies For All Female Entrepreneur

Goldman Sachs in partnership with Pan-African University is training and building capacity in our women.
Increasing numbers of women are becoming leaders/managers of their own businesses and many are actually still struggling to achieve success. It is becoming increasingly acknowledged that when a woman is empowered, she reinvests into her family, her environment, the nation and the world at large.

In Nigeria, opportunity has been thrown open to female entrepreneurs to build their capacity through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Scholarship Initiative in collaboration with the Pan-African University and over 200 female entrepreneurs have tapped into this great opportunity. Why not join the league of successful female entrepreneurs today? This is a chance to take your business to the next level!

Are you a female Entrepreneur?? Do you seek to tap into this opportunity to take your business to a greater level? Have you been in business for at least 6 months??? Then apply for the scholarship now!

Deadline for submission of the application form is June 25, 2012.  For more information send an email to aosinaike@pau.edu.ng or nojeme@pau.edu.ng

Please help broadcast , share this with our women. Thank you

Jaywon Juwonlo Celebrates birthday today

Kennis Music Multi-talented Artist, Jaywon Juwonlo, is celebrating his birthday today. 

This is wishing him many happy returns and more good music from him.  The party is taking place a prestigious club in Ikeja later tonight.

More on the this later

Relatives of crashed Dana Air To Receive N16m Per Victim

The management of Dana Air, is expected to pay not less than $100,000.00 as insurance claims for each of the 153 passengers who died during the incident. This is in line with the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The expected compensation regime is also in line with the the standard set by the ICAO, Montreal Convention, which a few years ago raised the compensation to $100,000.00 from the $10,000.00 stipulated by ICAO, according to the Warsaw Convention.

Also, DANA Air is expected to pay $250,000.00 respectively to the families of the two pilots, as compensation, while, the six crew members’ will each be paid $150,000.00 each.
However, the Government agency have begun DNA tests for the 148 Dana crash victims who are already being taken to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) morgue in Ikeja in order to allow their relatives to identify them.According to a Federal Road Safety Commission spokesman Jonas Agwu gave the details of the recovered bodies as males 88, females 48 and children 12.

He noted the recovery of bodies would continue today. The General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the DNA test is very important for victims who burnt beyond recongnitions.
He said the tests were being carried out at LASUTH.

The bodies were taken to the morgues at LASUTH and the Mainland General Hospital. An official said the identified bodies were tagged. Another FRSC official Mr. Fatai Adesina Bakare stated that, “We have also recovered a number of personal effects, like handbags, traveler’s bags, shoes, combs and cash.
“We have, for instance, an identity card of an employee of NNPC, and from his purse, we recovered some cash, and business cards, which have been lodged. We also recovered a woman’s a purse containing $114 and N4,000 cash.”

“We have created a desk where all those personal effects are been documented and officials who are in charge would do justice to them and ensure that it gets to family members of the victims safely.”

Source

Nigerians among Africa's Billionaires 2011

Aliko Dangote is worth $13.8 billion after making money from interests in sugar, flour milling, salt processing, textiles, real estate, oil, gas and cement. He is the richest person in Nigeria and is the 51st richest person in the world. His fortune grew 557% over the last year - growth that was sparked by listing Dangote Cement. This allowed his investments across Africa to be integrated with Benue Cement, and the company now constitutes a quarter of the Nigeria Stock Exchange's total market cap. He recently purchased a Bombardier aircraft as a birthday present for himself - it's worth $45 million.

Mike Adenuga is the second-richest person in Nigeria with a fortune of $2 billion. He is the 595th richest person in the world and made his money in telecommunications with Globacom, a carrier that has recently launched its 4G network. The company has also invested in the submarine cable connecting Nigeria to the world. His beginnings were small, as he started selling lace and Coca-Cola, but then he finally won a contract to build military barracks in the late 1980s. Adenuga also has a stake in the Equitorial Trust Bank, and is the chair of Conoil.

News: Nairobi Airport closed after airplane slide

News:  "At 03:36 hours today, an EgyptAir 849 plane carrying 123 passengers from Cairo upon landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport veered off the runway," the airports authority said.

"All passengers and crew were safely evacuated to the terminal building even as all emergencies operations at the airport, including fire and rescue, were activated immediately."

There were no casualties caused when an aircraft veered off the runway in Kenya's main airport in Nairobi. However, it forced flights to be diverted, officials said Wednesday.

The airport will be opened as soon as the obstacle is removed and the go-ahead is given by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority," the Kenya Airports Authority said in a statement.

Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport, is the biggest in the region and is the key hub for international flights, although the Kenyan capital has a second airport that handles several regional and domestic flights.

Planes were diverted to neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania as well as to Kenya's port city of Mombasa.
"Operations will resume to normal shortly, people should not panic," said aiport police official Joseph Ngisa. "There were no injuries at all, everyone was evacuated to safety."

The Darkest Day For My Family. - Prophetic Ugo Wems

Yesterday  (Sunday 3rd, June 2012), was the blackest day for my familly because we lost nine persons in the plane crash, my big sister Bikyisum mijyindadi ,my kid sister Memuna and her husband nd three kids and two of my nieces Ogechi and oluchi.

Bean Cake Maker alias Moin-Moin

This is the success story of the worls acclaimed Moin-Moin alias Bean Cake Maker, Mrs Ayodeji I am a trained Confidential Secretary with twenty years work experience.  My last place of work was Corona Primary school Ikoyi, where I worked for nine years.  I left Corona School with the intention of starting a Playgroup.  To actualize this, I enrolled in a six-month Montessori programme with Heritage Montessori in Lagos.  At the end of the programme however I realized much as I liked working with children, I was not so passionate about it.

In September 2007, things became quite challenging for me and I was almost getting to the point of frustration as a result of my inability to identify what I really wanted for myself.  The turnaround actually started when with my last One thousand Naira.  I went to the market and bought ingredients for moinmoin with the intent of preparing my family a meal.  Co-incidentally, my sister in-law paid my family a visit that night and had a taste. Immediately, she insisted that I must include moin-moin in her menu, and from there, friends, colleagues and other family members began to place orders and the requests just became endless!   I was amazed at how things began to take a turn though I really did not have any idea on how I could make my services available to the general public, especially bearing in mind that I had no financial weight at all.

Expectedly as mentioned earlier, my initial buyers were family members, close relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours.  Business was by way of referral and word of mouth.  Then it occurred to me to go back to my former place of employment to increase my customer base.  I would show up in my Peugeot car with warps of moin-moin in a cooler, stand at the gate and call old parents I knew by name in an attempt to sell them moin-moin.   It was indeed an experience. Having an initial network of familiar people was a factor in helping to at least sustain the business.  I hyped on the fact that most eateries sold moinmoin in tins, plastics or foils, and so I would let people know mine came in leaves, by this, the taste is preserved and more nutritious.  I was also able to insist on selling in dozens so this really helped my turnover.

No sooner had people started patronizing my moin-moin than they also began to request that I make other delicacies, such as variety of soups, stews, meals, etc, especially the very traditional ones.  I never turned down any order even though I didn’t really know how to make some of them.  For those I never knew how to make, I would go to the market with a pen and notebook and ask the sellers of the ingredients to teach me how to make the delicacy.  Then I would prepare a little portion of it, return to the same sellers who would taste it and award me marks.  Not until I receive a thumbs-up for my effort would I fill the customer’s order.

At this stage, I had gotten a name for my outfit and was in the process of registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission.  THE INITIAL N1000 HAD GROWN TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NAIRA!  I knew I needed to acquire business skills at this time to enable me take the business to the next level. I was fortunate enough to be admitted for a scholarship programme at the Lagos Business School under the Certificate in Entreprenural Management programme, sponsored by Goldman Sachs Inc. under the umbrella of the 10,000 Women Programme.   I went on the programme for a period of six months.  I could see from the first day I walked into class that I was surrounded by women just like me.  We all had the drive and the ambition, but had never had the opportunity to learn about business.  Through our courses, we learned the practical skills we needed, skills like accounting, people management and planning.

After completing the course, I saw the importance of having a formal accounting system, I established relationships with my suppliers and started having them deliever our supplies. This helped us better manage our cash flow.  Now we can cater for hundreds of people at the same time.

As a result of the profound success of the business, regardless of the unlikely beginning I had, the Goldman Sachs Group invited me to New York to share my success story at the Annual General Meeting on the 14th of April 2009.  Again in September 2009, I was invited by President Bill Clinton for the Clinton Global Initiative 2009.  This was because the initiative was as part of its programme for the year focusing attention on empowering women in developing countries.  I therefore had the rare privilege of sharing my success story with participants at the programme.

Thank God for the story so far! By the special grace of God, we have two outlets, one in Gbagada and the other in Ikoyi.  We place emphasis on the nutritional value of the meals we serve especially with the numerous health challenges people are faced with today.  We know that this is just the beginning and that is why we are committed to quality and excellent customer service

For more on our Internationally accalimed 'Moi-moin ( Bean Cake Maker). Stay tuned to Delight Tv

Pictures of Dana Air Crash Victims - Lost Anyone In The Crashed Dana Aircraft? We did ( pictures)

This is sending out our condolences to all who lost a father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, niece, aunty, cousin, grandfather, grandmother, wife or husband, in the ill-fated Dana Aircraft crash of Sunday, June 3rd, 2012. It was reported that 154 passengers where on board the aircraft.  May their souls rest in perfect peace.

To all Tremites Worldwide and members of Vision House, Abuja, accept our sympathy on the lose of Rev. Ayodeji and Rev. Mrs. Ngozi Cole.

Our condolences also to the family of Prophet Ugo Wems for the loss of 9 members of his family - His younger sister and her three kids, Mamuna Anyene, Kamsiyonna, Kayimarachi and Kayineochi Ayene

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• Website Designer,
• Graphic Designer
• Copy Writer
• Illustrator 

• Your location doesn't matter, join Promojack's creative team and work from the comfort of your home. Register to work as a freelance - http://promojack.com/careers

Single and ready to mingle this Easter

Are you Single and ready to mingle? Are you between the ages of 30 - 50years?

We are planning a networking party for this Easter.  Please send us your full names, email address and phone numbers to:
info@beventssolutions.com