The ban on the importation of vehicles older than 10 years has been lifted.
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the extension of the age limit of used vehicles that can be imported from 10 years to 15 years.
Also removed from the import prohibition list are toothpicks, furniture, textile fabrics, lace, embroidered fabrics and made up garments.
The directive is contained in November a memo signed by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga ...
Aganga said any vehicle that is manufactured 15 years ago is now free to enter the nation’s sea port for Customs clearance.
The memo reads: “This is to confirm the Mr President has granted approval for the underlisted products to be removed from the import prohibition list
The products are cassava, toothpicks, furniture, textile fabrics and articles thereof (African prints- (printed fabricks), lace and embroidered fabrics and made up garments.
“Furthermore, Mr President has approved an import duty rate of 10 per cent plus 10 per cent levy on Health and Energy drinks, such as Power Horse, Red Ginseng, which had been excluded from import prohibition and the extension of the age of used motor vehicles to be imported into the country from 10 to 15 years from the year of manufacture.”
Well known for DEFAMING his former pal ALiko Dangote during the Dangote Otedola Wars He even sponsored a Website dedicated to this purpose former www.factsnigeria.com and provided funded adverts on websites round nigeria .Now he has through our law courts detainded two persons for defamation ! READ ON AND BLOGGERS BEWARE YOUI COULD BE NEXT !
An Abuja Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday remanded two suspects to Kuje Maximum Prison for allegedly defaming the character of Femi Otedola, the executive chairman of African Petroleum (AP).
The suspects, Clement Aviomoh, suspended Executive Director of the company in charge of finance, information and technology, and Sunday Esan, were jointly accused of defamation of character after they published several reports in newspapers across the country in July and August accusing Mr. Otedola of milking AP for the past two years.
Police First Information Report (FIR) said Mr. Otedola had on October 19 2010, through a direct criminal complaint to the Chief Magistrate, Abuja, which was referred to the Inspector-General of Police for investigation, reported that the suspects had in July and August, cause to be published in many national newspapers, a defamatory publication which maligned his reputation and integrity.
"That in July and August 2010, you Aviomoh Clement (m) and Sunday Esan (m), while acting in concert and in furtherance of a common intention to defame, embarrass, and maliciously cause serious harm to the reputation of the Executive Chairman of African Petroleum, Mr. Femi Otedola, published in News Star of Monday 2 - Tuesday 3 August 2010 on page 10-13; Compass Newspaper of August 1 2010 on page 47; News of the People of August 16-23, 2010 edition on page 13-16; First Weekly Newspaper of August 15, 2010 on page 29-32; and on page 2-6 of a book with the caption: "How Otedola is killing AP".
"You published that Mr. Femi Otedola has been using his companies, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Company Limited, Platinum Fleet Limited, and Fineshade Energy Limited to sell products to African Petroleum at inflated prices," read a police report.
"[In] the said publication, which you know or had reasons to believe to be false, you portrayed Mr. Femi Otedola as a corrupt and fraudulent person. You thereby committed the above mentioned offences," the statement read...
Although the suspects, who were arraigned before Chief Magistrate, Hasfat Sadiq Toso, pleaded not guilty, they were, however, remanded in prison after their oral application for bail was refused.
Mkerewen Akpan, lawyer to the suspects, had moved an oral application asking the court to grant his clients bail. But in opposing the application for bail, the prosecution lawyer, Simon Lough, urged the court to refuse the application on the ground that no sufficient materials have been placed before the court by the suspects to enable the court exercise its discretion.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Toso agreed with Mr. Lough and adjourned the case until December 21 for hearing.
Market traders in Ghana will be banned from selling second-hand underwear from next February, trade regulators say.
According to the Ghana Standards Board, used pants - and other second-hand goods like handkerchiefs and mattresses - are unhygienic and could pose a health hazard...
The importation of these items was banned in 1994 but never implemented.
Some traders in a market in the capital, Accra, told the BBC they were unhappy the move might affect business.
The BBC's David Amanor in the city says there is a lot of consumer demand for second-hand clothing, often imported from Europe, as it is cheaper than locally produced items.
It is the same in many African countries. Stained goods
"Ghana is a third world country; we've been doing this all along, so why are they talking about a ban now?" Millicent, a trader in Kantamanto Market in central Accra, told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"The authorities should think again because our livelihoods are at stake."
Cynthia, another market trader, defended the business.
"Second-hand underwear and other clothes we sell here at Kantamanto Market are better quality than new undies in the stores," she said.
She admitted that some of the imported underwear was stained but said customers rummage through the piles and inspect goods before buying.
"No matter how poor the person is, they will not chose stained ones and we throw them away," she said.
One trader insisted that all the goods she sold had been disinfected.
Our reporter says second-hand clothing is often referred to as "obroni wewu", which literally translates as "white man's deads".
Some customers also seemed dismayed by the news of the forthcoming ban, he says.
"I've been wearing 'obroni wewu' all my life from infancy - all the clothes you see on me today from up to down are 'obroni wewu' - and I never fell sick because of used clothes," says Doris, a shopper at Kantamanto Market.
The Ghana Standards Board has re-iterated that it is not all used clothes that are banned.
It says an education campaign is under way to ensure that dealers in second-hand comply with the law before the ban comes into effect.
Read more…
Aisha, the estranged wife of former governor of Kogi State, Abubabakar Audu has lost her bid to retain a property at 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland, United States of America.
Aisha was the first lady of Kogi State when Audu was the governor.
A Circuit Court in Montgomery County, Mary-land, United States held that Gold Window, LLC, a company in which Audu is believed to have interest was the rightful owner of the property in dispute.
A copy of the judgment which was delivered on 18th November, 2010 was obtained by our correspondent.
The court held thus, "The plaintiff (Gold Window, LLC) is the lawful title owner of the real property located at 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854 and is entitled to immediate possession of said property."
The court further held that Aisha Audu (the defendant) was wrongfully in possession of the property.
"The defendant, and any of her guests, agents or anyone else acting in her behest, shall not remove, damage, alter, destroy or diminish any furnishings, appliances, rugs, vehicles, or other property from the home or grounds of the aforementioned real property," the court further ordered.
Audu, and his wife, Aisha, are currently entangled in a legal tussle in United States over allegations of domestic violence.
Aisha had approached the court for a final protective order and also filed a divorce suit.
Someone please remind me how many lawmakers are in the National Assembly ? Then remind me how many Nigerians are there .Also is this inclusive of kickbacks and Kickfronts ?
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon, Dimeji Bankole has faulted the statement credited to the Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that the National Assembly spends 25 per cent of the nation’s budget.
Bankole
The Speaker said only 2.5 per cent, which amounts to N100billion out of the N4.6trillion budget is allocated to the federal lawmakers.
Bankole stated this yesterday while addressing the staff and students of the University of Lagos, Akoka at a programme tagged “A day with an Icon.” While refuting the claims of Sanusi, the Speaker explained that the CBN, as at four years ago, received N200billion and wondered how the N100billion allotted to the National Assembly could translate to 25 per cent.
“I am assuming he was misquoted. I am praying that he was misquoted,” he said.
Bankole, a guest speaker at the occasion, also decried the rot in the country in his paper entitled, “The Challenges and Prospects of Transforming the Nigerian Democratic Polity.”
While acknowledging the progressive strides in the financial industry, Bankole also questioned the selective prosecution of a bank chief, leaving out others accused of the same offence.
“Well, maybe a former banking MD is being prosecuted. What about the rest? Why is it that the woman is the one that you have to even do first? What about the regulators, those who were in charge of making sure that that mess does not happen. What have we done to those ones? Anyway, that is another subject for another day,” he said.
Bankole recounted the woes of the nation and accused old stock leadership for plunging the country into a ditch.
He charged the youths to wake up from slumber and take advantage of their strength to redeem the country from the grip of visionless leaders.
“We have quite a few in strategic places in governance in Nigeria who have no business running our affairs. Demographic studies confirm that young people constitute about 70 per cent of Nigerian population, 72 per cent of the population of Nigeria is under 30 years old. Where are we? How equipped are we?” Bankole queried.
He said a frightening high percentage of Nigerian youths are totally disconnected from the society, as they live in unquiet desperation.
“They are alienated, they are annoyed. They are looking for visa to places like the United States, Europe, Asia, Thailand, walking through the deserts of Africa and dying. Go to places like Libya. It is this sense of alienation that led to the growth of Niger-Delta militancy. It is this that has led to the new wave of armed robbery and kidnapping.…Nigeria needs young men and women who will be imbued with the zeal and passion for national greatness. We need the youths working hand in hand with only mature and responsible adults, adults with vision, sense of purpose, urgency and patriotism that can rescue our present and chart a better future for all of us and our children,” he advised.
Read more…
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof Sheikh Abdulla, has said cocoa exportation worth $400 million accounts for 27 per cent of Nigeria income yearly. The minister, who said this yesterday in Abuja while receiving the report of the committee on Cocoa Production Association of Nigeria, COPAN, noted that if given the right atmosphere and necessary ingredients, cocoa exportation would generate more income to the country’s economy.
On 17th of August, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan instituted a committee on cocoa production, headed by the recently sacked Deputy Governor of Osun State, Erelu Olusola Obada, on how to improve cocoa production in the country. Abdulla promised to study the report and forward it to the President for more action capable of increasing both the production and importation of the product. “Our commitment to cocoa development in this ministry is far beyond pretence," he said. "We have come a long way and we will still continue to move forward for more of cocoa exportation. We are fully committed to this laudable goal and we will still try harder to achieve more by the grace of God.”
Dr. Chris Okafor, who stood in for Erelu Obada, while explaining parts of the committee’s findings to the minister and his lieutanants, attributed part of the challenges facing the production of cocoa in the country to lack of adequate finance and supply of products needed for the production. .. In his words: “In all, I can say categorically that cocoa production and exportation are some of the avenues for the country's income. In our findings, we have come to terms with the fact that there are two main challenges facing the production of cocoa in the country. One of them is lack of credit facility. Cocoa farmers don’t always have access to bank loans for improvement of their product and this has been one of the major problems facing the production of cocoa. Another one is supply of necessary products needed for the production of cocoa. Some of the farmers complained that since this year, they had not got fertilizer. All they have been doing is to produce without fertilizer, and this is a major setback for them and for the country also.”
He disclosed that investment on cocoa production in Nigeria is N45 billion and that more efforts should be made to increase the production. The Secretary of the committee, who is also the Managing Director of Cocoa Products (Ile-Oluji) Limited, Mr. Akin Olusuyi promised the committee’s readiness to assist the ministry whenever called upon to ensure that there is great increase in the production of cocoa in the country.
Residents of Otto-Ilogbo Community, in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos are alarmed by the murder of a pregnant woman in their area.
This follows the revelation by a 23-year-old lady, identified as Grace Orobo, that she connived with her boyfriend, one Okechukwu Eze, 28, to bury a pregnant woman in a swamp in the community. The victim, Glory Goodnews, from Oron in Akwa Ibom State, was living with her boyfriend, Mr Eze, a loader with one of the transportation companies at Ejigbo, a suburb of the city, for close to three years at Otto Ilogbo slum, when she suddenly disappeared in January. According to one of Ms Goodnew’s relatives, David Sambo Udoh, the victim confided in him that she was pregnant but her boyfriend, Mr Eze, told her to abort the pregnancy.
And the news came
According to residents, the victim disappeared from sight around January this year. News that she was allegedly murdered came out when Mr Eze’s new girlfriend, Ms Orobo, on Sunday, revealed to the victim’s relatives that she connived with Mr Eze to murder Ms Goodnews and later buried her in a swamp in the community, following her refusal to abort the pregnancy.
“Glory is from Akwa Ibom and I am from Akwa Ibom,” said Mr Udoh. “She comes from the same village my wife came from, Oron; so she is well known to us. She was living in an hotel at Orile, but Okechukwu brought her from the hotel to come and live with him at Otto Ilogbo. They have been living together for like three years now. Around January this year, Glory came to tell us that she was pregnant but her boyfriend, Okechukwu, said she will not use pregnancy to trap him to marry her because Okechukwu was also dating another girl called, Orobo. After a while, we did not see Glory again and I personally went to ask Okechukwu where Glory is, but he said he had sent her to his village in Anambra State to go and give birth there. Every time I see Okechukwu, I will ask him to give me Glory’s number so I can call her but he will give me fake numbers that will never reach her.
“When it was like nine months, and I knew she would have given birth, I asked Okechukwu again, but he told me that Glory gave birth to a boy and she will be coming to Lagos soon. But on Sunday, Orobo, Okechukwu’s other girlfriend came to our room and she was holding Glory’s picture. She told us that she want to reveal the secret; that Okechukwu has buried Glory with her pregnancy in the canal at Otto because Glory refused to abort the pregnancy. I went to meet Okechukwu but he was not around. Later in the night, around 10pm that Sunday, 28th of November, I saw Okechukwu coming back home and I held his shirt that he had killed Glory and buried her in the swamp. Okechukwu just keep saying ‘Please, I will tell you everything; I will tell you everything’. He said Glory was sick and she died in his hands so he did not want to alert anybody, that was why himself and his girlfriend, Orobo, went to bury Glory in the swamp at Otto Canal in the midnight. I was angry and I raised alarm and that was how the people in the community helped me to drag Okechukwu to the Denton Police Station.”...
Police take over case
The case was later transferred to the Iponri Police Division, where police officers have began investigation into the case. The Community Development Officer of Otto Ilogbo, Agbodemu Ishola Musbau, described the incident as unfortunate. “Glory is a very peace-loving person and she is very gentle,” he said. “I remember that I last saw her in January and later asked after her and they told me that she travelled to the east. Since then I have not heard anything from her until now that I got information that her boyfriend allegedly connived with a lady called Orobo to kill her and they threw her body into the swampy canal here in Otto. This community is peaceful and we will get to the root of the matter, and we will not condole murderers living with us and that is why we are raising the alarm about the death so that police can investigate it.”
“If Okechukwu is found guilty of the allegation then he will be made to face the penalty of his crime. His girlfriend, Orobo, who allegedly committed this crime with him, is at large but the police will arrest her and with our cooperation, she will be arrested soon. So that this will serve as a deterrent to criminally minded people not to take the laws into their hands.”
The friendly match scheduled to hold between Nigeria and Iran at the Azadi Stadium, Tehran, on Wednesday, has been cancelled.
The world football governing body, FIFA, has always tried to dissociate football from politics. But in the cancellation of the supposedly ‘friendly' match between Iran and Nigeria, issues of foreign affairs have definitely impinged on football.
Official sources from both sides have been reluctant to discuss the cancellation, but information on some websites and a member of the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed that indeed the friendly match will not take place.
Nigeria officials told a local website in Nigeria that the unavailability of key players for the Super Eagles due to injuries prompted the cancellation, but the decision has also been seen in the light of cooling diplomatic relations between both countries, based on the interception of a shipment of arms that originated from the Middle-East country that found its way to Nigeria.
A member of the new board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Deji Tinubu, head, marketing department, confirmed to Nextsports that the friendly match between the Nigeria national team against their Iranian counterparts has been called off.
In a terse text message, Mr. Tinubu said, "Unfortunately, friendly cancelled. The reason was because of technical issues beyond our control."
Musa Amadu, the NFF's acting secretary general, also told The Associated Press on Monday that the match in Tehran had been postponed because Nigeria's star footballers were going to be absent on account of injuries.
When asked if the decision was connected to the arms cache seizure in Lagos on October 12 at Apapa ports, Mr. Amadu, tellingly did not outrightly deny a connnection, but instead responded by saying, "it's for you to speculate."
When Nextsports got in touch with Mr. Amadu to try and have a more detailed chat on the issue, he declined to speak, citiing vital emergency issues that needed tending, adding, "Please call me back later."
Abbas Torabian, director of the International Relations Committee of Iran Football Federation, had said last week that there was no problem between both countries.
"Nigeria will travel to Iran with its big football stars. Nigeria's ban from international football has been lifted by FIFA and the Super Eagles have no problem to play Iran," Mr. Torabian had said.
Iran football coach, Afshin Ghotbi, also released a list of 26 players on Saturday night for the friendly match against Nigeria.
Nigeria has just appointed a new coach for the national team, Samson Siasia, and he was supposed to see the team he is inheriting in the Iran match under the tutelage of the interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen. But that opportunity is now gone and he will have to wait till December 1, when he officially resumes as the Eagles' gaffer.
The friendly match was also supposed to be part of Iran's preparation for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, to be hosted by Qatar in 2011. They lost to Brazil 3-0 in a friendly held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.
Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks says it has come under attack from a computer-hacking
operation, ahead of a release of secret US documents.
"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it said on its Twitter feed earlier.
It added that several newspapers will go ahead and publish the documents released to them by Wikileaks even if the site goes down.
The US state department has said the release will put many lives at risk.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has said the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
Wikileaks has said the release of classified messages sent by US embassies will be bigger than past releases on Afghanistan and Iraq.
The newspapers set to publish details of the US embassy cables include Spain's El Pais, France's Le Monde, Germany's Speigel,
the UK's Guardian and the New York Times.
The latest leak is expected to include documents covering US dealings and diplomats' confidential views of countries including
Australia, Britain, Canada, Israel, Russia and Turkey.
"The material that we are about to release covers essentially every major issue in every country in the world," Mr Assange told
reporters by video link on Sunday. ..
A journalist with Britain's Guardian newspaper said the files include an unflattering US assessment of UK PM David Cameron.
Simon Hoggart told the BBC: "There is going to be some embarrassment certainly for Gordon Brown but even more so for David
Cameron who was not very highly regarded by the Obama administration or
by the US ambassador here."
No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning,
an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an
earlier leak of classified US documents to Mr Assange's organisation.
'Illegally obtained'
The US government has written to Mr Assange, urging him not release the documents.
The letter from the US state department's legal adviser Harold Koh said the release of classified state department documents was
against US law and would put "countless" lives at risk.
Mr Assange is said to have asked which individuals would be put at risk by the leak and offered to negotiate over limited
redactions.
In response, Mr Koh demanded that Wikileaks return official documents to the US government.
"We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained US government classified
materials," he said in the letter.
Mr Koh's letter adds that the publication of the documents would endanger the lives of "countless" individuals - from journalists
to human rights activists and bloggers - and put US military operations
at risk.
Wikileaks earlier this week said that its next release of documents would be nearly seven times larger than the nearly 400,000
Pentagon documents relating to the Iraq war it published in October.
Wikileaks argues that the site's previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They included allegations of
torture by Iraqi forces and reports that suggested 15,000 additional
civilian deaths in Iraq.
Meet the Top 7 of Glo Naija Sings – Find Out Who Is On TOP & Decide Who will EXIT this week
The new season of Glo Naija Sings is heating up! Only 7 contestants are left in the competition and as the weeks go by, each contestant seems to be stepping up their game. The theme of Sunday’s show was ‘Favourite Bands’, so all the contestants chose one song by their favourite duo or group and performed for the Glo Naija Sings audience.
Before the performances began, the elimination took place – Shedrack was sent home as he had the lowest number of viewer votes last week.
The performances kicked off with Rasine. Rasine was rocking a pair of red leggings paired with a black and gold top with trimmings. She sang Westlife’s version of “You Raise Me Up”.
Up next were Da Brodas. The duo performed K-Ci & Jojo’s All My Life. Their performance was well received by the audience. Boma looked pretty in a knee-length draped blue dress and she sang “Stand Up For Love” by Destiny’s Child. Not sure if it was the song choice or Boma, but this was one of our favourites that night.
Casey went for classic RnB and performed Shai’s “If I Ever Fall In Love”. Peace delivered a serene performance of Boyz II Men’s hit song “On Bended Knee” while Najite picked up the tempo when she sang En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go” – her performance got the crowd quite excited as illustrated by one audience member’s comment – “Najite, your energy performance was just intact“. The audience comments on Glo Naija Sings deserve their own show!
Ekeng closed the show with his rendition of Lighthouse Family’s “High”. Ekeng is one of our favourites on Glo Naija Sings and this is one of our favourite songs, but the rearrangement of the track did not work well.
What were your thoughts on this episode?
View the videos, find out more about the final 7 and VOTE for your favorites below. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Peace Age: 24 Hometown: Umoji Biography: Peace has been singing since the age of 5, and entered Glo Naija Sings because the show is “a place for me to express what has been hidden in me for so many years”.
Peace – Boyz II Men – “On Bended Knee”
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Rasine Age: 17 Hometown: Abi Biography: She’s always loved singing, but started in earnest about 3 and a halfyears ago. When she is singing, Rasine really feels connected to the world.
Rasine – “Raise You Up” by Westlife
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Najite Age: 23 Hometown: Sapele Biography: She’s been singing from a young age and entered Glo Naija Sings becauseshe feels that she has something which the world has got to see and hear.
Najite – En Vogue – “What’s It Gonna Be?”
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Ekeng Age: 27 Hometown: Calabar Biography: Ekeng’s not sure when he started singing, but remembers his first stageperformance happening at the tender age of 9. When he’s on stage singing, he says it feels “like heaven”.
Ekeng – Lighthouse Family – “High”
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Da Brodas Age: 14 & 20 Hometown: Ibaji Biography: Jeff (14 yrs old) is the youngest finalist on Glo Naija Sings and willshare the stage with older brother Fred (20 yrs old), an undergraduate student at K.S.U.
Da Brodas – All My Life by K-Ci & JoJo
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Casey Age: 27 Hometown: Warri Biography: Casey is a student with a Diploma in Music from Nnamdi AzikiweUniversity. He is proud to be part of Glo Naija Sings because of the platform and opportunity it has given him.
Casey – Shai – “If I Ever Fall In Love”
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Boma Age: 22 Hometown: Bonny Biography: She started singing when she was a child and thinks that audiencesshould vote for her because she brings something fresh, new and exciting to the show.
Boma – Destiny’s Child – “Standing Up For Love”
___________________________________________________________________________________________ The Judges’ Comments
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Showtimes M-Net West: Sundays at 21:00 CAT (from 19 September until 5 December)
M-Net East: Sundays at 20:00 CAT (from 19 September until 5 December)
AFRICA MAGIC REPEATS Sundays at Midnight CAT Wednesdays at 22:30 CAT
MAGIC WORLD REPEATS Mondays and Thursdays at 19:00 CAT
NTA Saturday and Sunday at 21:00 CAT
Nigeria is CAT -1 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Remember: You are voting for the Glo Naija Sings contestant that you want to win! Voting opens after the Sunday night show and closes on Thursdays at Midnight in Nigeria (01.00 CAT).
Tune in next Sunday to see how your favourite fared, only on M-Net.
Each week, lucky voters (SMS Voters only) stand the chance to win a Blackberry Bold, an iPod Touch and 10 Glo subscribers will have their accounts recharged with 1000 Naira of airtime. Plus one lucky viewer that votes via SMS also stands the chance to win a Toyota Corolla from Glo at the end of the series, so vote now to get in line to win some fabulous prizes!
There are four ways you can vote:
Via the Website You can vote once per hour per registered email address. Voting on the website is free. Go to www.mnetafrica.com/naijasings
Via the Wapsite Type www.mnetafrica.com/naijasings into your mobile browser and start voting. You can vote once per hour and voting via Wap is free.
Via Mobile:
In Nigeria: Text just THE NUMBER that corresponds to your favourite contestant to 33364. NB: Mobile voting is exclusive to Glo subscribers and SMSes cost N50.
In the Benin Republic: Text just THE NUMBER that corresponds to your favourite contestant to 7099. NB: Mobile voting is exclusive to Glo subscribers and SMSes cost 150 CFA.
Outside Nigeria and Benin: Text just THE NUMBER that corresponds to your favourite contestant to +2783142100400. This is open to all networks – international SMS rates apply.
You can vote up to 100 times per mobile number during each voting period.
The dedicated numbers for each contestant: Boma – 1 Casey – 2 Da Brodas – 3 Ekeng – 4 Najite – 5 Peace – 8 Rasine – 9
Via MXit Open your mobile phone’s browser and type in m.mxit.com to download MXit for free. Then locate MXit on your phone under the applications or games section and register. Once in MXit, go to Tradepost>Entertainment>MNET and then add the Naija Sings Voting contact.
Voting on MXit is free and you can vote up to 10 times per voting period.........................................
Oct 26, 2010 – FEDDIE GIRL the international adventure/thriller detailing the experiences of an American teenager in a Nigerian (West Africa) boarding school has been presented two Best Books 2010 Finalist Awards sponsored by USA Book News.
USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE “BEST BOOKS 2010” AWARDS (BBA) on October 26, 2010. Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books. Awards were presented for titles published in 2010 and late 2009, and Feddie Girl by Nona David was honored emerged as Finalist in two categories. ..
Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Penguin/Putnum, Rodale, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Moody Publishers, American Cancer Society, Sourcebooks, Bernard Books Publishing & hundreds of independent houses.
FEDDIE GIRL - The recent double Award-Winning Finalist by author Nona David published in February of 2010 - Tells the tale of thirteen year old Carlotta Ikedi who didn't like attending her American schools, and gets into constant trouble leading to two expulsions as a result of her behavior. Seeking a solution to Carlotta's problems, her parents enroll her in a private girls school in Nigeria. Carlotta faces a culture shock unlike any that she has ever known, and faces the challenge of succeeding on her own in a strange environment. In this wonderful coming of age novel, author Nona David weaves a fine story of character, friendship, and triumph over adversity...
Nona David, the celebrated author of this Award-Winning novel, currently lives with her husband in Cincinnati Ohio. She has a passion for foreign cultures and zeal to visit new places, learn new languages, and experience new things. Her background, friends, and experiences in Nigeria, West Africa is the major influence for her debut novel, FEDDIE GIRL.
10,000 bootleg DVDs of 'Nollywood' Nigerian movies seized inBrooklyn
More than 10,000 bootleg DVDs of popular Nigerian movieshave been seized this week after complaints from "Nollywood" film execs aboutrampant piracy in Brooklyn.
The pirated DVDs were found at nine stores inthe borough, along with several high volume disc duplicators, said DistrictAttorney Charles Hynes.
"The sale of bootleg and counterfeit goodsdeprives the city and state of New York of millions of dollars in sales taxrevenue," Hynes said yesterday.
"And it deprives the artists who madethe movies of their well-deserved proceeds."
The Nigerian film industry,known globally as "Nollywood," is extremely prolific, second only to India'sBollywood in terms of the number of films made.
Most are straight to DVDor TV, but extremely popular throughout the African continent...
Thatpopularity has followed to the communities of immigrants from Africa in theUnited States, where they are legally sold in DVD form for $5 apiece while thefakes sell for $3 each.
Among the titles recovered in the sweep this pastweek are feature films like "Material Girl," "Mind Games," the "Governor's Gift"and "Stolen Will."
In line with the provision of the Islamic legal code, the Vice Chancellor of the Niger State government-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Professor Ibrahim Adamu Kolo, has outlawed hugging of female students in the university.
Kolo said that anyone caught "embracing or hugging" any female students would be severely dealt with.
The vice chancellor gave the order in Lapai, on Tuesday, while addressing a one-day enlarged re-orientation workshop organised by the institution for all its staff.
Describing hugging and embracing of female students as immoral, the vice chancellor said the management had decided to "forgive" those caught in the act but said those affected had been noted and would be closely watched by the authorities.
Kolo also warned staff of the university against leaking official secret as those that violated the law would be summarily sacked from the school...
He challenged staff and students to have a change of attitude in their approach to work and studies as all forms of idleness and laziness would not be tolerated.Read more…
Posted by 9jabook.com on October 22, 2010 at 11:30pm
AP
Rescued miner Carlos Mamani, from Bolivia, is surrounded by the press as he arrives at his home in Copiapo, Chile..
The leader of the 33 men rescued from a collapsed Chilean mine spoke to reporters for the first time late Thursday about how he kept them going in the 17 days before they were
found.
Luis Urzua, 54, who was foreman at the San Jose mine quickly imposed his authority after the cave-in on Aug. 5 left the men trapped deep underground.
A topographer by training, Don Lucho -- as his men called him -- mapped out the area where they were trapped, sorted the men into three eight-hour shifts and organized the rationing
of food -- two spoonfuls of tuna and half glass of milk every 48 hours.
It was those actions that kept the men alive until a rescue probe managed to reach them on Aug. 22 and the story of the men’s survival first flashed around the world.
But Urzua, the last man rescued from the mine on Wednesday night, said all he did was be straight with the men and lay out the options before them.
“You just have to speak the truth and believe in democracy,” he said. “Everything was voted on. We were 33 men, so 16 plus one was a majority.”
Another survivor Richard Villarroel, 26, told the Washington Post that Don Lucho constantly encouraged the group.
He said: “Every day, he told us to have strength. If they find us, they find us, if not, that’s that.” Villarroel feared in the days before the miners were found that he would never get to see his unborn child. “You just had to rough it. Every 24
hours eat a small piece of tuna. Nothing else. We got skinnier and
skinnier ... We were waiting for death.”
Villarroel was the 28th man winched up from the depths in Wednesday’s dramatic rescue, watched live on TV around the world. He said that on their meager rations and with only oil-tainted
water to drink they quickly lost weight and muscle mass as they waited
to be rescued.
But it was only after the rescue teams far above finally got through to them that they addressed the subject of cannibalism..
“At that moment, no one talked about it,” he said. “But once it was over, it became a topic of joking, but only once it was over, once they found us.”
The pictures of these two men, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Igwe Okwudili Onyejekwe bear a striking resemblance. Igwe Onyejekwe is the former Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Okwudili Onyejekwe a police officer, who lived in Abeokuta
around 1930s. He died in 1970.
Former presient Obasanjo has procurred a writer from Ghana to do a 50-page book on him and at the launching of the book bragged that he was "100%" from Owu-Egbaland in Ogun State. The question if not where Obasanjo think he comes
from but his real paternity..
Posted by 9jabook.com on October 24, 2010 at 7:30pm
A family of seven travelling in a Mitsubishi car which was damagedbeyond recognition were among the over 25 persons who died in a ghastly motor accident that occurred at Onyeama hills on the outskirts of Enugu on Wednesday .
Although the identities were yet to be ascertained as at the time of this report, sources confirmed that the seven occupants of the red Mitsubishi car with Enugu registration No. BD 371 UWN, were members of a family amongst them a man, his wife and five persons believed to be their children..
The accident, which involved multiple vehicles including two trailers also claimed the lives of all the occupants of an 18-seater commuter bus. Eye witness account reported that the accident was caused by a trailer being towed by another lorry and which lost control when the rope with which the trailer was tied to the towing vehicle cut.
The trailer, which hit other vehicles in the process ended up in a valley while the other vehicles involved ended up in a valley. The Onyeama hills, which is near the Onyeama Mines has become a nightmare for drivers and travellers as it has recorded accidents in which lives were lost.
As at Thursday morning when our reporter visited the scene of the accident ,bodies of some victims that were trapped were still being removed. While sympathizers wept uncontrollably at the scene of the accident ,so many lamented the government’s insensitivity to the condition of roads in the South -east, expressing fears of similar incidents during the christmas period .Read more…
Hilarious Bakassi, currently the Executive Assistant on Entertainment to Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim, wants to represent Ahiazu Mbaise Constituency in the State’s House of Assembly next year. Since making his intention public to friends and colleagues, Bakassi has been getting endorsements, supports and prayers from within and outside our shores. In a recent chat with us, at last Sunday’s premiere of Oby Edozieh’s movie, Save Our Souls, which he also anchored beautifully, the amiable entertainer, said he has the mandate of his people to represent them. He equally thanked governor Ohakim, for giving him the opportunity to work closely with him in the last one year, noting that the experience and exposure had been overwhelming..
“Sincerely, I believe I have what it takes to fully represent my people at the Imo State House of Assembly by 2011. Before taking this bold decision, I consulted widely with my people, especially my immediate family and got their approvals. And with the experience gathered over the last one year, while working with our great governor, Ohakim, I think and believe that I will represent my peoples interests well at the Assembly. I’m a through-bred son of Ahiazu Mbaise and this is the time to stand up and work for them with my whole heart,” he submitted.
As the Executive Assistant to the governor, Bakassi, had organized series of youth/community oriented shows and programmes for his beloved State. In fact, his yearly Ichu Afo, show has succeeded in changing the face of yuletide festivals in the whole State. And it’s equally a rallying point for both old and new generation entertainers from Imo State to meet and thrill indigenes with good music and rib cracking jokes, in a conducive and secured environment.
Meanwhile, some of Bakassi’s colleagues that spoke with us, unanimously agreed that his declaration was a step in the right direction, adding that it would spur other notable entertainers to take up the gauntlets and help change the society. They all wished him well and called on more of their colleagues to come out for elective offices in their respective States, ahead 2011. . Aside acting and being a renowned comedian/compere, Bakassi, whose wife and children are living permanently in Canada, is also a producer and founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria.Read more…
MEN of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Tuesday,
seized 13 container loads of arms and ammunition, at the Lagos Ports Complex. They were brought into the country allegedly to prosecute the 2011 general election.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Marvel Akpoyibo, heads of the State Security Service (SSS), Directorate of Military Intelligence, Naval Intelligence and other security chiefs were still at the port when Nigerian Tribune reporter left there at 7.46 p.m.
Impeccable sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the containers, which were off-loaded at the AP Moller Terminal, drew attention when the clearing agent reportedly pledged to pay any amount to have them transferred from the port to an off-dock terminal, preferring to have the containers screened outside the ports.
The containers, which the sources disclosed were shipped in from Iran, allegedly contained various sizes of grenades, rocket launchers, different types of bombs, assault rifles and heavy machine guns.
Nigerian Tribune further learnt that once the agent’s entreaties had failed, the report was communicated to relevant people, who decided to perform an on-the-spot evaluation, even as the importers reportedly went underground.
“We cannot quantify the contents yet. All we know for now is that they are concealed in tiles,” a source, pleading anonymity said, adding that nobody was going home from the port till today (Wednesday).
“When the Customs Public Relations Officer was contacted, he confirmed it, highlighting that the first container which was opened at about 6.00 p.m. was still being examined.
“As I am speaking right now with you, the first container is still being examined. We understand they are 13 in number. And the content of the first showed it had mortals, bullets and such related items,”Customs Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, said at 8.07 p.m.
Commenting on the development, spokesperson of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, an Assistant Director, confirmed that the bill of lading accompanying the containers listed their contents as building materials.
According to her, of the 13 containers, 12 were still to be examined as operatives were busy searching the first container which carried 24 different crates containing what were suspected to be explosives, including grenades, rocket launchers and ammunition of different capacities.
Mrs Ogar, however, said that investigations were still ongoing to establish more issues about the imports, adding that the country of origin could not be disclosed at press time because of bilateral concerns.
Posted by 9jabook.com on October 25, 2010 at 12:30am
"Through Heaven's Eyes"
Jethro:
A single thread in a tapestry- Though its color brightly shine- Can never see its purpose In the pattern of the grand design.
And the stone that sits on the very top Of the mountain's mighty face- Does it think it's more important Than the stones that form the base?
So how can you see what your life is worth Or where your value lies? You can never see through the eyes of man You must look at your life, Look at your life through heaven's eyes. Lai-la-lai.....
A lake of gold in the desert sand Is less than a cool fresh spring- And to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy Is greater than the richest king. If a man lose ev'rything he owns, Has he truly lost his worth? Or is it the beginning Of a new and brighter birth?
So how do you measure the worth of a man- In wealth or strength or size? In how much he gained or how much he gave? The answer will come, The answer will come to him who tries To look at his life through heaven's eyes.
And that's why we share all we have with you, Though there's little to be found. When all you've got is nothing, There's a lot to go around.
No life can escape being blown about By the winds of change and chance,
And though you never know all the steps, You must learn to join the dance- You must learn to join the dance.
Lai-la-lai...
So how do you judge what a man is worth? By what he builds or buys?
You can never see with your eyes on earth- Look through heaven's eyes. Look at your life, Look at your life, Look at your life through heaven's eyes! Read more…
Although economic issues seem to be the highest priority for most people as we lead up to the midterm elections, the debate over gay marriage is nonetheless hitting a turning point. Two recent polls were the first to find majority support for same-sex couples having marriage rights.
Gay marriage is legal in five states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire) and in Washington, D.C. But each of those states allowed the practice only after courts or legislatures stepped in. A popular vote on gay marriage has never resulted in legalizing the unions.
The battle for what pro-gay marriage activists call "marriage equality" has also made significant strides in court recently. In July, a judge in Massachusetts declared the Defense of Marriage Act, which Congress passed in 1996, unconstitutional. The act denies federal benefits to gay and lesbian couples that get married. Then in August, a federal judge in California ruled that a voter initiative called Proposition 8, which barred gay marriage in the state, also violated the Constitution..photolaff:George & Tony Bush now divorced
Both judges put a "stay" on their rulings, which is like putting them on hold. This means that gay married couples in Massachusetts don't receive legal benefits, and gay couples in California can't get married.
But marriage isn't the only area of gay rights where the courts have ruled in favor of gay activists lately. The debate over ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which forbids gays and lesbians from serving openly, has come to the fore in a few venues and even gotten the attention of pop star Lady Gaga.
Last month, a federal judge in California declared the military's policy unconstitutional and may order the military to stop enforcing it any day now. A few weeks later, a judge in Washington ruled that a lesbian who had been discharged from the Air Force Reserve must be reinstated because her dismissal violated her constitutional rights.
Any one of those court cases could wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sandwiched between the two "don't ask, don't tell" rulings was a Senate vote on repealing the policy. It was voted down, but not before singer Lady Gaga appeared at a rally in Maine, home to two moderate GOP senators whose votes Democrats were courting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he plans to bring the repeal vote again after the Nov. 2 elections. and a report on the effects of ending the policy is due to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Dec. 1.
Amid all this activity, Ask America has been collecting people's thoughts on the issue. As of Sunday morning, more than 17,000 responses had come in, and the vote was split 50-50.
The question generated more than 1,200 comments. Yahoo! user lamme, who voted in favor of gay marriage, said, "If you don't believe gay marriage is right, then don't have one. Leave the gays who wish to marry alone. Can someone explain how gay marriage hurts the straight community?"
User Jen, who voted "No," commented: "I will tell you why I care; because it is ruining the family unit and the downfall of our civilization. Men and women have separate, distinct roles in life...they should be upheld."
People on both sides of the issue expressed one other opinion that comes up fairly often in the debate: that the government should just stay out of the marriage business altogether.
"The Constitution does not define marriage. All unions should be civil unions. Marriage is a religious ceremony," Chet Askew, who voted "Yes," said.
Terry voted "No" but said, "Marriage is defined as between a man and a woman. Plus, government should not be involved in this process period."
Hilarious Bakassi, currently the Executive Assistant on Entertainment to Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim, wants to represent Ahiazu Mbaise Constituency in the State’s House of Assembly next year. Since making his intention public to friends and colleagues, Bakassi has been getting endorsements, supports and prayers from within and outside our shores. In a recent chat with us, at last Sunday’s premiere of Oby Edozieh’s movie, Save Our Souls, which he also anchored beautifully, the amiable entertainer, said he has the mandate of his people to represent them. He equally thanked governor Ohakim, for giving him the opportunity to work closely with him in the last one year, noting that the experience and exposure had been overwhelming..