Monday, January 10, 2011

The situation

Eleweomo's Murder: Senate Leader charged with murder...remanded till Jan 14

Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, is to remain in prison custody till January 14, a Chief Magistrate Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, has ordered. Folarin is alleged to have masterminded the murder of the factional chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) chairman in the state, Alhaji Latif Salako aka Eleweomo.

He was charged along with four other political associates who were quizzed by the Oyo State Police Command yesterday and subsequently detained.

Folarin who lost some of his men during the fracas, was guest of the Oyo State Police Command on Monday , where he was questioned over his alleged involvement in the murder of Eleweomo.

The command had threatened to declare Folarin wanted by Tuesday if he failed to show up after he had been invited to answer some questions on the death of the NURTW chieftain.

Eleweomo was murdered in cold blood Thursday last week at IDC Primary School, Olunloyo in Ona Ara Local Government, and venue of the local government congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when his loyalist and those of Folarin clashed.

Folarin had talked tough at the weekend as he expressed lack of confidence in the ability of the state police chief, Baba Adisa Bolanta, to handle the case owing to alleged bias and partisanship. Also at the command were Senator Lekan Balogun, the arrowhead of the anti-Akala forces; Chief Alli Oyedeji, Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli and two former key aides of the immediate past governor of the state, Rasidi Ladoja , Ayo Adeseun , Wole Oyelese and Yekeen Adeojo.

Beckham improves goalscoring form......

David and Victoria Beckham Expecting Fourth Child!

David Beckham is well on his way to having his very own family soccer team.

The Beckham's reps have confirmed People's report that the soccer star and his wife are expecting their fourth child this summer.

The new little Beckham will join brothers Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 5. David, 35, and Victoria, 36, have been married for 11 years.

"David and Victoria Beckham are delighted to confirm they are expecting their fourth child in the summer," said their rep in a statement. "Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are very excited about the arrival of their new brother or sister."

Congrats, you two! We're sure the new addition will be just as adorable as the previous three.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New year surprise

Thieves have stolen the contents of up to 140 safety deposit boxes from an Argentine bank after digging a 30-metre-long tunnel complete with lights and ventilation from a neighbouring building.
Authorities said three thieves entered a Banco Provincia branch in the Buenos Aires district of Belgrano on New Year's Eve when it was closed and spent the weekend opening and emptying between 130 and 140 of the branch's 1,408 boxes.
The robbery was not discovered until the bank opened Monday.
Bank executives didn't say how much the thieves got away with because clients are not obliged to tell authorities what was in their safety deposit boxes.
The thieves rented a building next to the bank in June and spent months digging the tunnel, which emerged in an area where safety deposit boxes are located, prosecutor Martin Niklison said.
The tunnel had lights, ventilation and reinforcement.
“It was a really impressive job,” Niklison said, adding that officials had not ruled out that the thieves had an accomplice on the bank's staff.
Anti-seismic alarms sounded various times but police couldn't get into the bank to check out their cause, the prosecutor said.
Hundreds of bank clients gathered in front of the state bank on Monday to demand their savings and blocked a nearby street to protest the slow pace at which authorities were confirming whose boxes had been robbed.
“The message we want to give (clients) is that we are going to protect their interests after this incident,” Banco Provincia Vice President Gustavo Marangoni told channel C5N.

Exciting times

Here's a Happy new year to you!!! last year was highly eventful and this year promises to be no different with news making the rounds already. my intuition which never leads me astray, tells me the theme of this year would be 'year of the underdog'. if you check out events that led up to the new year, it would be glaring that the status quo that's been in place is gradually wearing off.
The victory of the judiciary in nigeria by overturning more than one ruling of the election petition's tribunal in favor of the opposition, the emergence of an 'underdog' as our 14th commander in chief, africa's hosting the world cup, spain dubbed 'perennial underachievers', i can go on but i guess y'all know the rest of the story.
WELCOME TO THE YEAR OF THE UNDERDOG

Fela! On Broadway

It is quite disturbing to note that no Nigerian was allotted a relevant role on the project that is supposed to celebrate the life of our own FELA!

The curtain was drawn on Fela!, the widely acclaimed Broadway musical inspired by the life, music and activism of Afrobeat maestro Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Last night’s finale played to a packed house of ecstatic spectators.
It was a rousing, throbbing and highly emotional end to the run of one of the most gripping musicals ever produced on Broadway. Among those who saw the closing show was Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, who is also a cousin of Fela Kuti. Mr. Soyinka attended the event with numerous members of his family. Also in attendance was acclaimed producer and filmmaker Spike Lee.
The high-energy show did not disappoint last night as Kevin Mambo, a Zimbabwean actor, played the lead role as "Fela."
Mr. Mambo turned on a mesmerizing performance for the audience with his quick, witty and sometimes bracing performance, even though it was clear that perhaps a bruising rehearsal had broken his voice. He not only held the crowd spellbound, he broke down and wept profusely towards the end of the show.
Top American singer and actress Patricia Louise Holte, popularly known as Patti Labelle, had a commanding presence as she movingly played Funmilayo, Fela’s mother.
The audience was very much a part of the closing show. They were invited to a dance routine that involved vigorous butt shaking to a "number’s" dance as Mr. Mambo called out the numbers.

2011 Budget: Atiku faults Jonathan

a letter by presidential aspirant of pdp to current president pointing to the ills in the proposed 2011 budget. this leaves a big question mark on the ability of this man GOODLUCK jonathan, to steer us to the promised land of economic bliss. copied from www.pointblanknews.com

FORMER Vice President and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has again warned that the nation is going broke and that the 2011 Budget as proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan can only destroy the economy.

In an 11-page letter he sent to President Jonathan, the former vice president argued that a budget “predicated on consumption without corresponding investments in critical infrastructure is a recipe for economic disaster.”
Abubakar wrote: “At a time of unprecedented oil boom, you have presented Nigeria with a budget of consumption for consumption; a budget of debt accumulation to imperil the future; a budget that is rich in rhetoric and pedestrian initiatives but lacking in any bold step to lay the foundation for Nigeria’s next 50 years or even 20 years.”
Also, lending its voice to the public outcry against the remuneration of federal legislators, the organised private sector at the weekend submitted that Nigeria runs “the most expensive, unproductive government in the world.”
Consequently, President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (NACCIMA), Herbert Ajayi, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, said the economy would continue to wallow in its current parlous state until there was drastic reduction in overhead cost, especially in the cost of governance.
Also, reviewing the economy in 2010 and projecting into 2011, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said the nation experienced a mixed grill economic outlook.
In a statement by its President, Otunba Femi Deru, the chamber said, the Nigerian economy in 2010 remained largely a trading and primary products economy with marginal activities in production.
According to him, overall Goss Domestic Product (GDP) growth, which was estimated at 7.8 per cent turned out a mirage in the face of parlous infrastructure, which engendered high unemployment rate and sundry effects.
“Overall GDP growth rate was estimated at 7.8 per cent, which is by all standards a good score for the economy. The concern, however, is about the poor transmission of this apparent good performance to the real economy through improved productivity, job creation, increased production and better value addition.”
Ajayi stressed the need for the government to reduce the number of political office holders and cut down on their salaries as most political offices have little or no direct impact on governance.
He said efforts should be geared towards building infrastructure, adding that “it can no longer be business as usual as positive changes from the locust years of the recent past signpost a sustainable and dynamic growth of our economy.”
The NACCIMA president noted that the take home pay of public office holder was enough to pay 60 graduates at the N18,000 minimum wage rate.
While affirming that the recent report by World Economic Forum, which marked Nigeria low was authentic, Ajayi said rather than debunk it, government should strive to address the anomalies in the current budget.
The PDP presidential aspirant warned that excessive borrowings that had allegedly “marked the Jonathan administration as indicated in Budget 2011is in negation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, has the potentials of returning Nigeria to a regime of debt overhang and making nonsense all the gains of the negotiated cancellation of the nation’s debts.
Abubakar added: “I almost wept for Nigeria after reading your 2011 budget, which is your first budget as President of Nigeria. In simple terms, it signals your vision for Nigeria and how you intend to govern. For effect, you proudly announced that this is the first budget of the National Implementation Plan (NIP) for Vision 20:20:20. The rest of the world must be laughing at us. For a summary, you proposed a total expenditure of N4.22 trillion to be financed by a revenue estimate of N2.83 trillion, leaving a total deficit (new borrowing) of N1.4 trillion.
“Mr. President, you plan to borrow 33% of the entire budget, or 3.62% of GDP which is higher than the 3% stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Your total debt service is N542 billion (which is higher than your total capital spending on power, roads, health and education put together). Your total recurrent expenditure (including debt service) is N3.023 trillion, meaning that with a revenue of N2.83 trillion, your government plans to borrow money to finance recurrent expenditure even if capital budget is zero.
“Your recurrent budget is 107% of total revenue. Put differently, your capital budget is N1 trillion whereas your deficit or planned borrowing is N1.4 trillion, meaning that even with a zero capital budget you plan to borrow about N400 billion to add to revenue to finance CONSUMPTION. Mr. President, no one needs to be an economist to appreciate that this is a disaster.”
Atiku wrote: “Mr. President, let me draw your attention to the simple meaning of your budget: not one kobo of our oil revenue (at a time of oil boom) is being spent on power and infrastructure. Rather, you plan to spend the entire oil revenue on consumption, and even borrow to consume. Every KOBO of capital budget is to be borrowed. If you continue to borrow at the average interest rate of 14% by the 2012 budget, your borrowing in 2011 will add another N196 billion to debt service payment (and hence by 2012 debt service might be in excess of N738 billion),” he said.

“At the rate you are going, by 2015, debt service payment will be in excess of N1 trillion. If oil price drops below $50, it is evident that Government will not be able to service its debt without austerity measures. Is this what you plan for this country?”