FG reopens 3rd Mainland Bridge today

The Federal Government will today (Tuesday) reopen the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, one week ahead of the scheduled delivery date of November 6, 2012. The government had partially closed the bridge on July 7 to enable the contractor, Messrs Boroni Prono and Company Limited, to replace eight expansion joints on the bridge for a contract… [Read More...]

Fears of reprisals paralyse Kaduna

As Kaduna sought to recover from the suicide bombing of St. Rita Catholic Church, the fear of reprisals and anxiety paralysed social and economic activities in the city. Our correspondent who went round the city said traders refused to open shops while buyers stayed away from markets. Eight worshippers were killed and over 100 injured… [Read More...]

Ribadu report: Presidency denies cover-up

The Presidency, on Monday, denied reports that the leakage of the report of the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force compelled it to direct that the report should be submitted on Friday.

It also refuted the claim that the draft of the report was submitted a month ago, saying there was no attempt at cover-up.

The task force, which probed oil and gas transactions between 2002 and 2012, was said to have uncovered widespread corruption and abuse of processes in the sector.

The report which uncovered high level corruption in the management of the oil sector was last week published by an international news agency, Reuters.

The 146-page confidential report, according to the international news agency, stated that Ministers of Petroleum Resources between 2008 and 2011 handed out seven discretionary oil licences. It said out of the deal, a total of $183m (N28.73bn) in signature bonuses paid by oil companies to the federation was missing

Three of the oil licences were said to have been awarded during the tenure of the current minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who took up her position in 2010.

However, Alison-Madueke described it as a “draft” and not the final report.

The Presidency described the published document as suspicious, adding the normal procedure was for the committee to submit its report to the authority that constituted it.

It said Jonathan had yet to get the report formally, adding that those who leaked it planned to embarrass the Federal Government.

The situation led to speculations that the Presidency might be planning to cover up the report.

In a statement on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the President was set to receive the report on Friday.

But Abati who featured in a radio breakfast programme, Fact File, on RayPower 100.5FM, on Monday denied the insinuation of a cover-up and said that those behind the report were playing politics with the issue.

“It is very obvious that people are trying to politicise such a thing that does not require politics. What the government is trying to do is to raise the level of integrity and accountability in a particular sector. Our position is that people should focus on that objective and not play politics with it,” he said.

Abati accused those alleging a cover-up of ignorance.

He  said, “There is no cover-up. I can tell you that categorically. You will recall that when this particular committee was set up in February, there were two other committees that were also set up to look at the different aspects of the petroleum sector.

“The position of the Federal Government at the time, which is still its position now, is to ensure transparency, probity and accountability in that critical sector. That was why independent persons were brought in to look at different aspects, including petroleum revenue over a period and to give appropriate report to government.

“Those who are saying there is a cover-up clearly do not know what they are talking about. When you set up a committee, when it finishes its work, it is expected to submit its report to the appropriate authority.

“The committee was set up based on a presidential order. When the report is ready, it will go to the appropriate authority as I pointed out in an interview with The PUNCH.”

Meanwhile, Abati in a statement on Monday said the President had directed Ribadu to submit the report to him on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

In a separate statement, Abati said two other committees set up by the Federal Government earlier this year on different aspects of the country’s petroleum industry would also present their reports to Jonathan on the same day

He said the directive to Ribadu to present the report on Friday was in furtherance of the present administration’s commitment to transparency, probity, and accountability in the petroleum sector.

The Committee, which was set up in February 2012, was required to, among other tasks, determine and verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues (taxes and royalties, etc,) due and payable to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and to take all necessary steps to collect all debts due and owed; to obtain agreements and enforce payment terms by all oil industry operators.

The presentation of the Committee’s report will take place at the Presidential Villa at 11am.

One of the two other committees was established to design a new corporate governance code for ensuring full transparency, good governance and global best practices in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other oil industry parastatals. It had Mr. Dotun Sulaiman as its chairman. The committee headed by Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu was charged with the responsibility of conducting a high-level assessment of the nation’s refineries and recommending ways of improving their efficiency and commercial viability.

Jonathan will receive the two reports at the Presidential Villa immediately after the presentation of Ribadu’s report.

Aki & Pawpaw Inspire Delta Flood Victims (Photos)

Aki & Pawpaw Inspire Delta Flood Victims (Photos)

Oct 30, 2012 - Aki & Pawpaw Inspire Delta Flood Victims (Photos)
Nollywood actors Chinedu Ikedieze aka Aki and his movie pal, Osita Iheme aka Pawpaw on Monday visited victims of flood ravaged Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria.




The actors employed their comic skills to inspire thousands of Flood victims in Delta yesterday.
They encouraged them not to give up hope and that Delta State Government will do everything possible to make them live a healthy life.
Aki & Pawpaw additionally appealed to notable Delta indigines and corporate bodies to support the government in order to cope with the flood devastation.
The actors, who made the call during a tour of some rehabilitation camps in Asaba, stated that they were moved at the plight of the victims and decided to support the state government to bring relief to victims.
They also commended the state government for the structures and facilities put in place for the victims, the passion and dedication displayed by the governor, urging other affected states to emulate what is happening in Delta.

President Jonathan Asked By Mark Zuckergerg To Quit Facebook - Video 27/07/2012 13:59:00 // Headlines Email to a friend Print version Plain text 3 Comments Article Rating:3.43 | Read: 719 Read more: President Goodluck Jonathan, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg President Jonathan Asked By Mark ZuckeVIDEO: CEO & Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has

The CEO & Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has asked Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan to move his Facebook fanpage to either Myspace or Friendster, despite having over 700,000 fans on the world’s most popular social network.

In the video released recently, The President was seen in his office at the Villa opening his facebookpage only to discover about 32,000 curses placed on his wall.

Mr President: “Na-wa-ooo…why are these people just swearing curse on my page na?”

Mr President Contd: “Mark, my good friend”, but was cut short by an angry Mark Zuckerberg on the other half of the screen.

Mark Zuckerberg: “Sir, sir, I need you to move your page off Facebook, demanded Zuckerberg,“You can take it to Myspace,

Friendster…anywhere dude, just move it bro!”

Mr President: “But why?”

Mark Zuckerberg: “Like dude, the heavy curses on your page are melting our servers mehn! I don’t know what you did to piss those people off, but it’s totally uncool, bro.”

Mr President: “But, I like Facebook”

 VERY FUNNY

You can watch the full video above:

Actress Tonto Dike earns most abused Nigerian actress award

The heavy flow of negative reactions to two singles released by Tonto Dikeh has earned her the ‘award’ of the most abused Nigerian actress on social media by a magazine, News of the People. Tonto is on the magazine cover this week.
Just like Omotola and Genevieve, two nollywood stars who tried music before her, Tonto was not given a breathing space by many people including her fans who thought she should not waste her time as there is no future for her in that line.
Itz Ova and Hi, her two singles got massive download from various music sites because of the publicity  but most people think that the Rivers State born actress should forget it.A music lover, Kunle Hassan told niyitabiti.net at Headies 2012 that “It is laughable if people like Tonto think they can use their female power or their popularity in the acting world as a prerequisite for doing good music”
The only single released by Genevieve gave her a heartbreak and she decided to turn away  because people told her point black to leave music for those who have the talent.
Omotola has a never say no spirit. Despite negative reaction in some quarters that she is not a good musician, she has been doing her best to get music lovers to see her just the way they see and love American pop star, Beyonce.
niyitabiti.net gathered that Omotola made cool money selling tickets for one million naira and below at her album launch.She has also performed at various events. At the baby christening for the son of Nicholas Okoye, a multimillionaire businessman some years ago, Omotola performed there. Guests included Billionaires such as Femi Otedola,Aliko Dangote,Jim Ovia and others.

Kaduna church bombing sparks reprisals

KADUNA –  (AFP) – A suspected suicide attacker slammed a car bomb into a church during services on Sunday in the city of Kaduna, killing two other people and sparking reprisal attacks by Christians.
Christian youths took to the streets with machetes and sticks afterward, targeting people they believed to be Muslims as anger again boiled over due to the repeated church bombings in recent months, an AFP correspondent reported.
A vehicle for rescue workers was attacked in the ensuing violence, but there was no indication that rescuers were wounded.
“At least three people are confirmed dead,” a rescue official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to give out figures. He was speaking of the toll from the suicide bombing.
He added later that the toll included the suspected attacker and that there were a number of injuries.
The strong blast that saw the attacker ram what residents said was an SUV into St. Rita church shook the neighbourhood and led to the reprisals in the city previously hit by violence blamed on Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.
The rescue source said the attacker had sought to drive into the church, but seemed to have hit a barrier. Others in the area said the bomber continued to drive after hitting the church wall and made his way inside the church premises.
“All of a sudden it drove on high speed and rammed into the church wall, forcing its way into the church premises,” said witness Samuel Emmanuel.
“Initially I thought the driver had lost control of the vehicle. Suddenly there was a huge explosion as the car reached the church building. It was dust, fire and smoke all over.”
A spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said it had received reports of a bomb blast in the area of a Catholic church and rushed rescuers to the scene.
“They were talking about a bomb explosion,” said Yushau Shuaib of the reports, while adding that his agency was however seeking to confirm details.
“A number of casualties evacuated to hospitals. The incident was suspected to be triggered by a suicide bomber in a car …”
He said later that a rescue vehicle had been attacked in the violence afterward, but no workers were wounded.
An AFP correspondent said mobs were yelling “why the church?” and some were carrying weapons, including machetes. Local elders were seeking to restore calm.
Residents had earlier spoken of clashes having broken out between Christian and Muslim residents.
The explosion occurred in the Malali area of the city. Kaduna, a major city in Nigeria’s north, has been previously hit by attacks blamed on Boko Haram.
The attack came after Friday’s Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, but it was not clear if there was any link.
In June, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for three suicide attacks on churches in Kaduna state, where the city of Kaduna is located, which led to deadly rioting. Dozens of people were killed in the violence.
Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria has led to more than 2,800 deaths since 2009. While Muslims have often been its victims, it has in recent months specifically targeted churches.
President Goodluck Jonathan has said the group is seeking to incite a religious crisis in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
Kaduna is a large city in the north and with a sizable Christian population.
Nigerians have grown increasingly frustrated with security forces’ inability to stop Boko Haram attacks, and there have been warnings of more reprisals if the violence continued.
Some Evangelical church leaders have said Christians may be forced to defend themselves if something is not done to address the violence.