Wednesday 31 August 2016

CBN lifts suspension on eight banks from FX Market

Following the plea made by the Body of Bank CEOs asking the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to lift the suspension of eight banks barred from participating in the foreign exchange market, the CBN lifted the ban Wednesday afternoon.

The CBN had suspended First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., Diamond Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Ltd., Fidelity Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Ltd., Sterling Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Ltd from the FX market last week Tuesday for failing to return Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company dollar deposits to the Treasury Singe Account (TSA) with the central bank.

A CEO of one of the affected banks confirmed Wednesday that they had received a circular from the central bank lifting the suspension, effectively immediately.

Since their suspension from the official FX market a week ago, the shares of the banks have taken a pummeling from investors uncertain about the fate of the banks. 

The naira has also come under increased pressure on the parallel market as customers of the eight banks turned to the informal market to fund their FX requirements.

-Thisday

4.58million Nigerians became jobless under Buhari, reveals NBS report

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the total number of Nigerians who became unemployed within the first and second quarter of 2016 now stands at 2.6 million.

According to the bureau, about 1.46 million Nigerians became unemployed in the third quarter of 2015, while another 518,102 became unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2015.

This brings the total freshly unemployed persons in the economy to a record high of 4,580,602, since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May 2015.

In its second quarter unemployment and underemployment report released on Wednesday, NBS said the country’s unemployment rate grew from 12.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to a record high of 13.3 percent in the second.

“During the reference period, the number of unemployed in the labour force increased by 1,158,700 persons, resulting in an increase in the national unemployment rate to 13.3% in Q2 2016 from 12.1 in Q1 2016, 10.4% in Q4 2015 from 9.9% in Q3 2015 and from 8.2% in Q2 2015,” NBS said.

“In view of this, there were a total of 26.06 million persons in the Nigerian labour force in Q2 2016, that were either unemployed or underemployed compared to compared to 24.5 million in Q1 2016 and 22.6 million in Q4 2015.”

The economically active population or working age population (persons within ages 15- 64) increased from 106million in Q1 2016 to 106.69 million in Q2 2016, the report added.

Underemployment in the economy was also on the rise, with 15.4 million Nigerians said to be underemployed.

“The number of underemployed in the labour force (those working but doing menial jobs not commensurate with their qualifications or those not engaged in full-time work and merely working for few hours) increased by 392,390 or 2.61%, resulting in an increase in the underemployment rate to 19.3 % (15.4million persons) in Q2 2016 from 19.1% (15,02 million persons) in Q1 2016, 18.7% (14.42 million persons) in Q4 2015, from 17.4% (13.2 million persons) in Q3 2015 and 18.3% (13.5 million persons) in Q2 2015.”

There were a total of 26.06 million persons in the Nigerian labour force in Q2 2016, that were either unemployed or underemployed compared to compared to 24.5 million in Q1 2016 and 22.6 million in Q4 2015.

-The Cable

Bloggers Union Gives 1st September Deadline For Full Compliance On Plagiarism

The Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria has given September 1st 2016 as the deadline for all bloggers in Nigeria to stop the practice of plagiarism .

This is contained in a statement pushed out by the union after its general meeting held in Lagos. The meeting presided over by its Acting National President, Mr. Chris Kehinde Nwandu advocates that bloggers should be seen to live above board in their practices.

To ensure full compliance with this directive, the union raised an 8 man ethics committee to among other things, monitor the ethical behavior among its members and to recommend adequate sanctions where necessary.

All members are expected by this directive, to adhere to the conventional practice of acknowledging and crediting sources of their materials. The union also enjoined other mass medium across the globe to adequately credit all sources of news materials lifted from pages of its members as well.  

According to it, the association is now out to bring some level of credibility and sanity to the practice of blogging in Nigeria and to give its practitioners their rightful place in the scheme of things.                                                    

It has also mapped out refresher programmes and continuous training to adequately equip its members with effective tools to discharge its duties as managers of information in a digital age.

Mark Zuckerberg goes out for morning jog on Ikoyi Bridge in Lagos with his Nigerian friends - PHOTO!

Mark Zuckerberg spotted with some Nigerian friends while jogging on Ikoyi Bridge on Wednesday Morning August 31 in Lagos, Nigeria.

The 32-year-old Facebook Co-Founder, who's currently in Nigeria, captioned the photo on his page,'' Quick run this morning across the Ikoyi Bridge with entrepreneurs in the Lagos Road Warriors running club. Best way to see a city!''

VIDEO: Falz - 'Chardonnay Music' ft. Chyn, Poe

Falz has released the music video for ''Chardonnay music'' single, off his sophomore album – ''Stories That Touch'' which he featured featuring Chyn and Poe.

Directed by Sesan Ogunro, the video features cameos from Vector, Osi Suave, DJ Sose, Isaac Geralds, Dorcas Shola Fapson and more.

Watch below!




Iyanya drops new music 'Yoga' featuring Victoria Kimani - Listen Now!

Superstar Iyanya continues life post -Triple MG with his third solo release since he left the label.

Iyanya teamed up with Chocolate City singer – Victoria Kimani with the prolific beat-smith DJ Coublon on the deck for this new single entitled ''Yoga''

Enjoy!




Chris Brown released on $250K bail after arrest

Chris Brown has been released from police custody after being arrested on Tuesday morning August 30 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

According to records from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, he was released on $250,000 bail today.

''Thanks to everyone for their support and well wishes. Chris is out and well. The allegations against him are demonstrably false #TeamBreezy,'' Chris' attorney, Mark Geragos tweeted Wednesday morning.

NFF’s withdrawal of Siasia’s official car ‘condemnable’ — Minister

Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has frowned at the treatment meted to Samson Siasia, the coach of the national under-23 football team, by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

Mr. Dalung, who was fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari , said NFF was unfair to him.

“NFF has not been fair to him. The withdrawal of Siasia’s official car by the NFF is condemnable,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the car was withdrawn by the NFF when Siasia was on official assignment in Rio Olympics.

The Minister said Siasia did not deserve to be treated that way as he was an asset to Nigeria who must be treated with respect and dignity.

“Siasia is an asset to Nigeria, but unfortunately we are a country where good people are like wheel barrows. They are only useful when they are needed.

“When he visited me on Monday I told him I heard that he has resigned and he said he had not, but that his contract has ended.

“Then I invited the General Secretary of NFF (Mohammed Sanusi), because there was this report I read that I directed that his car be withdrawn while he was away.

“He (Sanusi) confirmed that Siasia’s car was indeed withdrawn. I then sought to know why this would come up while the man was on a national assignment.

“I then told him (Sanusi) that this was unacceptable,’’ he said.

Dalung however expressed the hope that Siasia would put behind him all the issues surrounding him and the NFF, even as he lambasted the federation over its poor relationship with coaches.

“But, how I wish the coach will be able to overcome all the challenges which have surrounded the issue and focus himself to serving the country.

“I told him on Monday that there is no way we will not need him.

“For the NFF they need to put their house in order. This idea of throwing away your best and branding them with all sorts of allegations will not help to grow the sports industry.

“Every human being has his own shortcomings, but, he also has his good side.

“We must try to accommodate each other,’’ he said.

Dalung said Nigeria still needed Siasia ‎in its football development.

“Even if NFF will not re-engage him, the Federation should at least give him some peace of mind to enable him make his contributions in a personal capacity.’’

He said it would be sad to have someone like Siasia depart Nigeria for greener pastures abroad, just like many other athletes had done, and as witnessed during the Rio Olympics.

On the appointment of a new head coach for the Super Eagles, the minister said the NFF had not officially informed him of Gernot Rohr’s selection.

“We have a German-born coach but that is not official to me anyway, because I have only been reading about it online.

“But they will also present him officially when they have concluded all the arrangements of engaging him.

“However, I will continue to maintain that we need to develop our own.

“There is no better way of making progress than to develop our own indigenous coaches,’’ he added.

NAN

NFF’s withdrawal of Siasia’s official car 'condemnable' — Sport Minister Dalung

Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has frowned at the treatment meted to Samson Siasia, the coach of the national under-23 football team, by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

Mr. Dalung, who was fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari , said NFF was unfair to him.

“NFF has not been fair to him. The withdrawal of Siasia’s official car by the NFF is condemnable,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the car was withdrawn by the NFF when Siasia was on official assignment in Rio Olympics.

The Minister said Siasia did not deserve to be treated that way as he was an asset to Nigeria who must be treated with respect and dignity.

“Siasia is an asset to Nigeria, but unfortunately we are a country where good people are like wheel barrows. They are only useful when they are needed.

“When he visited me on Monday I told him I heard that he has resigned and he said he had not, but that his contract has ended.

“Then I invited the General Secretary of NFF (Mohammed Sanusi), because there was this report I read that I directed that his car be withdrawn while he was away.

“He (Sanusi) confirmed that Siasia’s car was indeed withdrawn. I then sought to know why this would come up while the man was on a national assignment.

“I then told him (Sanusi) that this was unacceptable,’’ he said.

Dalung however expressed the hope that Siasia would put behind him all the issues surrounding him and the NFF, even as he lambasted the federation over its poor relationship with coaches.

“But, how I wish the coach will be able to overcome all the challenges which have surrounded the issue and focus himself to serving the country.

“I told him on Monday that there is no way we will not need him.

“For the NFF they need to put their house in order. This idea of throwing away your best and branding them with all sorts of allegations will not help to grow the sports industry.

“Every human being has his own shortcomings, but, he also has his good side.

“We must try to accommodate each other,’’ he said.

Dalung said Nigeria still needed Siasia ‎in its football development.

“Even if NFF will not re-engage him, the Federation should at least give him some peace of mind to enable him make his contributions in a personal capacity.’’

He said it would be sad to have someone like Siasia depart Nigeria for greener pastures abroad, just like many other athletes had done, and as witnessed during the Rio Olympics.

On the appointment of a new head coach for the Super Eagles, the minister said the NFF had not officially informed him of Gernot Rohr’s selection.

“We have a German-born coach but that is not official to me anyway, because I have only been reading about it online.

“But they will also present him officially when they have concluded all the arrangements of engaging him.

“However, I will continue to maintain that we need to develop our own.

“There is no better way of making progress than to develop our own indigenous coaches,’’ he added.(NAN)

ASUU threatens nationwide strike over unpaid allowances, others

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike to press home its demands for the implementation of its 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.

The ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Olusoji Sowande, said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Lagos.

Mr. Sowande said that the union was planning to toe this part after several efforts to ensure that the government address the pending demands, proved abortive.

He said that the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on funding of state universities, breaches of the conditions of service and re -negotiation of the agreement, were still pending. ‎

The coordinator also mentioned other demands like the exclusion of Nigerian universities from Pension Management Company and non-release of NEEDS Assessment Intervention Fund.

He said that funding of state universities, earned academic allowance and renegotiation of the agreement were parts of the outstanding issues.

Mr. Sowande recalled that the union had embarked on strike in 2012 and 2013 as part of the efforts to make the government implement the agreement, adding that the issues remained unresolved.

He said that the 2009 agreement provided for a periodic review after every three years which had not been done.

“The review of the agreement should have been undertaken in 2012 and 2015 but that did not happen.‎

“The implication is that our union has shown enough patriotism and understanding on these matters in the last four years.

“We are perplexed and disappointed that both the Federal and State Governments are not responding to our consistent appeals to bring about genuine transformation in the education sector, ‘’ he said.

According to him, embarking on strike has never been a favourable choice as the Students and ASUU members have always suffered the pains more.

“It is unfortunate that the only language government appears to respect and listens to is that of industrial action like strike,’’ he said.

The don said that the National officers of the union had met with the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu on May 10 and tabled ten-point demand.

He said that the minister had promised that the issues would be resolved within two weeks but nothing had been done till now.

Mr. Sowande said that based on MOU signed in November 2013, “Nigerian universities requires N1.3 trillion to revitalise the system’’, adding that the government was already in arrears of N605 billion as at the third quarter of 2016.

He said that the government had refused to release N128 billion and N250 billion respectively for the earned academic allowance of three years after the MoU was signed.‎

“In order to forestall this avoidable crisis, we appeal to all genuinely progressive individuals and groups to prevail on both the Federal and State Governments to commence release of funds for the listed purposes.

“This is to arrest the brewing and potentially combustible situation in the Nigerian university system before it degenerated into a serious conflagration,’’ he said.

NAN

Governor Yahaya Bello Takes Development To A Higher Notch in Kogi

As the people of Kogi celebrate the 25th anniversary of the creation of the State, it has been a deluge of accolades for the governor of the State, AlhajiYahaya Bello for the rapid transformation that is taking place in the State under his watch.

In a statement issued in Abuja over the weekend, the Kogi Democratic Forum (KDF) strongly commended Governor Bello for the series of steps he has taken so far to give the State a new lease of life since his assumption of office in January this year.

The leader of the group, AlhajiOzigiOmeiza said that there is a paradigm shift in the political governance of the State which had resulted into an equitable and balanced distribution of appointments and development projects among the three geo-political and cultural groups in the State.

According to Omeiza, no part of the State was being left out in the scheme of things as all the on-going projects especially roads rehabilitation and other infrastructural facilities such as water schemes, schools, health care delivery and agriculture are being fairly distributed across the three Senatorial Zones of the State.

His words: “The emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello`s administration is providential. We are very grateful to God who brought him on board at this point in time to salvage our State from the grips of backwardness and forces of retrogression. He has been fair-minded in the way and manner he is distributing development projects in the State. No part of the Kogi is being left out in the scheme of things.”

He commended the governor for the massive rehabilitation of rural and urban roads going on in the State particularly, Lokoja, the State capital and the connecting roads to other strategic cities in the State.

Within the last eight months he has been on the political saddle, Governor Bello, according to the KDF, has redefined the parameters of governance and given increased and better attention to the welfare and security interests of the people which are the primary purpose of government as stipulated in Chapter 2, Section 14 (2b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Omeiza said that Bello has mobilized contractors back to all the abandoned critical road projects in the 21 Local Government Areas of the State under the preceding administration.

The KDF noted that the on-going remedial works on thestrategic roads in the State have brought a lot of relief to the people of Kogi and other commuters that must of necessity pass through Kogi to other parts of the country.

AlhajiOmeiza also observed that the anti-corruption programme of the governor was yielding results as he had taken bold steps to block all known areas of financial leakages in the economy of the State through the institutionalization of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which ensured that all revenues of the State are never diverted into secret or private accounts.

Omeiza and his group further commended the administration of Governor Bello for commissioning a staff audit of the State Civil Service with a view to weeding out ghost workers who have constituted a major drain on the lean resources of the State.

The staff verification exercise according to the group was hugely successful as about sixteen thousand ghost workers were identified and expunged from the payroll of the State. This, they noted, translated to a saving of a whopping N18 billion annually which would now be deployed to provide key infrastructure and other important amenities in the State.

The group also gave kudos to the governor for “the commendable progress he has made in the area of security”. This is evident in the strategic partnership he has forged with the nation`s military high command.

The partnership, according to Omeiza, has resulted into a high-level visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.TukurBuratai to Governor Bello in Lokoja where he pledged to deploy troops to critical roads in the State with a view to routing out kidnappers, armed robbers, cultists, bandits and other sundry criminals that have made lives unbearable for Kogi citizens and commuters especially on the dreaded Lokoja-Okene road.

Chris Brown arrested for Assault with deadly weapon

Chris Brown was on Tuesday morning August 30 arrested after a woman claimed he pointed a gun at her.

Los Angeles police say Chris was taken in for booking on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a lengthy search of his home.

Earlier that day, the 27-year-old singer took to his Instagram to share videos declaring his innocence and welcoming police to search his home with a warrant.

The woman in the middle of the controversy claims that she was hanging out at Chris' Los Angeles home and stopped to admire a piece of jewelry. Chris allegedly began freaking out and pulled out a gun and told the woman to get out of the home.

Tuesday 30 August 2016

CBN licenses 11 international money transfer operators

The Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday licensed 11 new international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to do business in the country’s foreign exchange market.

The spokesperson of the bank, Isaac Okorafor, said the licensing was in furtherance of CBN’s effort to liberalize the market and ensure liquidity by making foreign exchange more readily available to low end users.

The newly licensed IMTOs, who are to operate in Nigeria in line with the existing guidelines on international money transfer services (2014), include Trans-Fast Remittance LLC, Worldremit Limited, UAE Exchange Centre LLC, and Wari Limited,

Others include Homesend SCRL, and Small World Financial Services Group Limited, Weblink International Limited, Cashpot Limited, DT&T Corporation Limited, FIEM Group LLC DBA Ping Express and CP Express Limited.

Mr. Okorafor said the CBN restated its commitment to provide an enabling environment for international money transfer services in the country to participate in the market.

Early this month, the CBN warned Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to beware of the activities of some unlicensed IMTOs in the country.

The bank said the warning became necessary following reports of illegal activities of these unregistered operators, describing their modes of operation as detrimental to the country’s economy.

Insisting that all such operators were expected to be duly licensed, the CBN said this would not only protect both customers and the financial system, it would ensure the credibility of financial transactions.

Following the recent introduction of the new flexible FOREX policy, the CBN had also approved 16 commercial banks to participate in the market as primary dealers.

The primary dealers were expected to operate in the Inter-bank market in line with stipulated foreign exchange primary dealers (FXPD) guidelines.

Kerry’s visit: US Embassy opens dialogue with CAN

The United States Mission in Nigeria has opened communication with the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, towards clarifying allegations of religious and sectional partisanship in last week’s visit to Nigeria of the U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry.

The move came as the embassy, yesterday, affirmed that it did not disparage Christians in the meeting with religious leaders in Sokoto as it claimed that the secretary interacted with both Muslims and Christians during the engagement in Sokoto.

The mission’s assertion came upon mutterings of insensitivity on the part of the United States in publicly engaging the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the head of the Islamic Umma in Nigeria, without a corresponding interaction with the Christian community.

Responding to the issues raised, in an email to Vanguard, a spokesman at the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, Larry Socha said: “In Sokoto, Secretary Kerry met with both Christian and Muslim leaders to discuss religious tolerance and ways to counter violent extremism affecting all Nigerians.

''The Embassy is in communication with CAN to clarify the media reports and any misunderstandings. In addition to his meeting with Christian and Muslim leaders and the individuals you mentioned below, Secretary Kerry also met with FM Geoffrey Onyeama, U.S. exchange programme alumni, non-governmental anti-corruption activists, young Nigerian women at a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event, and others while in Nigeria.''

The Secretary General of CAN, Rev. Musa Asake, confirmed that the embassy had already opened communication with the Christian body and that an appointment with the CAN president would be made in the nearest future towards clarifying the issues involved.

Secretary Kerry has now visited Nigeria on three occasions; in January 2015 to Lagos, May 2015 to Abuja for the presidential inauguration, and August 2016 to Sokoto and Abuja. However, the failure of President Barrack Obama, the first African American president to pay a visit to Nigeria, the country with the world’s largest black population has continued to rankle among Nigerians of all faiths.

Vanguard 

We’re working with new attorney, U.S to repatriate N218.3b Abacha loot – AGF

Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami on Tuesday night cleared the air on the claim by a U.S-based Nigerian lawyer that he would frustrate the repatriation of N218.3 billion Abacha loot unless he was paid his legal fees.

Godson Nnaka, a Texas-based attorney, has already slammed a suit in the United State asking the court not to grant the huge cash to Nigeria unless he was paid 40 percent of the money, which he claimed he worked for based on a 2004 letter of authority, granted him by the Nigerian Government to scout for and recover the loot.

Nnaka also accused the AGF of demanding for 70 percent of the 40 percent due to him as a condition of revalidating his letter of authority to repatriate the cash, something he said he was not willing to oblige.

But Malami told Vanguard on the phone last night that Nnaka was trying to defraud Nigeria after because the money was almost being drawn down because of the strident effort of the Buhari administration.

 Malami, who described Nnaka’s claims as spurious, said that he did not have a valid authority letter asking him to scout for and recover Abacha loot for Nigeria and challenged him to produce the said letter, if he indeed had one.

 According to Malami, Nnaka was merely given a conditional offer letter by the former Attorney General of the Federation, Olujimi, to demonstrate his ability to track and recover any stolen money hidden away in the U.S by the Abacha family and he failed woefully to recover any amount since 2004.

''I want to put in on record that Nigeria never authorised him to locate repatriate Abacha loot. If he was given such an authorisation, Nigerians should ask him why he is asking me to revalidate his letter of authority,'' Malami said. ''Again after 14 years of the so-called letter of authority to repatriate money from the U.S, the man has not brought a dime but he is busy filing frivolous claims to block the federal government from recovering the Abacha loot.

''Now if Nnaka said that he had sighted and recovered Abacha loot, let him tell Nigerians which banks the money is being domiciled and how much he recovered,'' a furious Malami challenged Nnaka.

On the lawyer’s claim that the AGF demanded 70 percent bribe from him, Malami denied it, saying that those who know him, are aware that he neither demands nor collects bribes.
''Nothing can be far from the truth and I cannot bring down myself and high office to negotiate for gratification with a man who has no business to do with me or Nigeria. That is just the truth,'' the minister said.

All these stories he is fabricating came about because I refused to play along with him on the grounds that Nigeria does not pay anyone more than five percent for such services he said he rendered to the country.

In fact at a point, he threatened to disrupt President Buhari’s visit to the U.S and to deal with me if I fail to revalidate his authority letter; so I had to keep away from such a person, who in the first place is not licensed to practice law in Maryland where the Abacha loot case is taking place,'' Malami stated.

Asked how the money would be drawn down given the new twist by the lawyer, Malami said the Federal Government was working with the U.S. Government to repatriate the cash and that the case to resolve all the issues would be coming up in September this year.

Vanguard

SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM PRESIDENT BUHARI'S PARTICIPATION IN "TICAD 6" NAIROBI, KENYA

Tokyo International Conference on African Development, "TICAD 6" just ended in Nairobi, Kenya and in attendance were several African Presidents and Prime Ministers including our own Muhammadu Buhari and the co-convener of the conference, Shinzo Abe, the head of the Japanese government.

The TICAD seeks a win-win partnership between Japan and Africa. A key objective of the conference is to build up African ownership of its own vision of growth and development. 

In furtherance of this, Japan seeks to differ with the other players on the continent by placing emphasis on high quality infrastructure that do more than job creation by transferring technology through the training of youth and women.

The conference held every five years from the time it started in 1993 until the last one in 2003 when it was decided that it should be convened every three years instead. The one that just finished is significant in the sense that this was the first time it took place in Africa. They met in Japan all the time in the past. 

Another significant departure is the recognition of the role of the private sector in the economic take-off of the continent. In this respect, more than 100 Chief Executive Officers, CEOs from leading Japanese companies accompanied Prime Minister Abe. This is a clear indication that more and more Japanese companies are eying the African continent. A modest number of Nigerian business and state-owned enterprises were equally present. 

From its start, Prime Minister Abe made known the intention of Japan to spend 10 Billion Dollars in the next twelve months and overall USD 30 Billion over a three-year period on areas key to African economies, targeting infrastructural projects such as roads, energy, ports, hospitals and training institutions. The money will partly be disbursed through the African Development Bank, ADB.

At the end of the conference, a statement tagged "Nairobi Declaration" was issued. Among its highlights is the launching of "Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security for Africa, IFNA." This aims to bring African governments together to swiftly implement food and nutrition security policies and programs. There were important resolutions taken on economic diversification and industrialization; promotion of "resilient health system for quality of life" and measures for the promotion social stability and shared prosperity.

For Nigeria in particular, "TICAD 6" milestones include the important meeting between President Buhari and Prime Minister Abe, at which event problems militating against the inflow of Japanese investment into Nigeria were discussed and agreed upon.
Japanese companies had done a lot by way of investment in the past in Nigeria but there has noticeably been a drop in the last decade or two. Chiefly to blame is the problem of security, disguised in official discussions as "business environment."

President Buhari used this meeting effectively in giving assurances that the problem is being addressed. Boko Haram terrorism is nearly gone and sabotage in the Niger Delta will soon be ended preferably through dialogue and if not, by force of arms.

Coming into close personal contact for the second time, the two leaders discussed the issues of trade and investment, health, peace and development of the continent. In addition, they discussed issues in diplomacy and international relations.

President Buhari's statement at the Head of States' round table meeting with business leaders underscored the serious efforts government is making to improve Nigeria's notoriously bad business environment.

At this meeting, he announced the coming into place of a soon-to-be inaugurated "Presidential Enabling Business Council, PEBEC."

He described it as an inter-ministerial council to oversee the efforts of government to remove various bottlenecks that stifle business and economic activity to give way to the right enabling environment and investment climate in Nigeria. It will be powered by the government but will be private-sector driven.

According to its vision, the PEBEC will make Nigeria one of the most attractive business destinations in the world. It will start with the modest effort of moving the country up 20 points in the World Bank ranking in the ease of doing business in the first year, taking it into the top 100 at the end of the four-year mandate of the current administration.

A third takeaway is on the sidelines of the TICAD where the Nigerian government delegation met a good number of big Japanese enterprises. Collectively and individually, these businesses expressed their intention of either coming in newly or expanding their participation in Nigeria's private sector. The companies with varied interests in power, agriculture, automobile, motor cycles, textiles, financing and the service sector included the Honda Manufacturing (Nigeria) Limited, representing Honda Motor Co. Ltd; Japan Tobacco Inc., Marubeni Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Others included Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Toyota Tsusho (Nigeria) Ltd., an affiliate of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, West African Seasoning Co. Ltd., affiliate of Ajinomoto Co. Inc., and Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO.
At these meetings, they explored the scope for the incentive packages the Nigerian government will give them so as to deepen and expand their investments. These included export rebates, access to Foreign Exchange, land, interest rates, transparency in business regulation and favourable regulatory structure.
The fourth important takeaway is the formation of a new group KENSA made up of industry leaders on the continent, Kenya representing East Africa, Egypt for North Africa, South Africa for the South and Nigeria, from West Africa.

The four countries agreed to consolidate their quadrilateral grouping initiated at the 19th July UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) meeting and decided to expand business and trade between the four of them, inject impetus into the CFTA, the African Union-inspired free trade agreement among African countries and to coordinate their positions on trade and investment inside and outside Africa.

Fifth, Nigeria and Kenya seized the opportunity of the meeting of their leaders to not only strengthen bilateral relations but to follow up on the achievements of the State Visit to Nairobi by President Buhari earlier this year.

From the time of the visit, both countries have seen a growing impetus for trade and investment between them. Kenya which discovered oil lately is picking lessons from Nigeria's vast experience in oil and gas. Nigeria is learning from Kenyan experience in managing animal grazing. There are efforts on both sides to share experience and promote private sector participation in trade, cooperatives, micro finance, cotton farming and palm oil processing. 

Sixth, under the auspices of the Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council NIPC, several memoranda of understanding, MOUs were signed between Nigerian parties and their foreign counterparts. From many of these, investments and jobs will follow.

On the President's delegation were the Ministers of Agriculture, Health, Budget and National Planning, and Industry, Trade and Investment. 

There were also the National Security Adviser, NSA and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, NIA.

Members of the delegation expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the conference and the side engagements.

Garba Shehu, 
Senior Special Assistant to the President 
(Media and Publicity)

'This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa' - Mark Zuckerberg

Co-Founder of Facebook MarkZuckerberg visits Nigeria's leading technology hub, Co-Creation Hub Tuesday in Yaba, Lagos.

He said, "Next stop: Lagos! This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I'll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I'm excited to learn as much as I can. Our first stop is the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba. I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps. I'm looking forward to meeting more people here!"


Mark Zuckerberg in Nigeria, meets Rosemary at Facebook Express Wi-Fi stand she runs in Lagos

MarkZuckerberg on Tuesday afternoon visited Nigeria's leading technology hub, Co-Creation Hub in Yaba, Lagos.

"This is Rosemary Njoku. I just met Rosemary at the Facebook Express Wi-Fi stand she runs in Lagos," the 32-year-old co-founder of Facebook said on his official Facebook page few minutes ago. 

"Express Wi-Fi empowers entrepreneurs to build a business by providing their community with access to the internet. Facebook designed the technology, and local internet providers add the connectivity. Express Wi-Fi is part of our Internet.org initiative.

"Rosemary already had a business before she also started selling Express Wi-Fi as well, but she told me she now has 3,000 customers and makes much more money from Express Wi-Fi. She's a great example of how local entrepreneurs spread internet access around the world.

"This week, we're launching a satellite into space to enable more entrepreneurs across Africa to sell Express Wi-Fi and more people to access reliable internet. That means more connectivity and more opportunity for entrepreneurs like Rosemary everywhere."

This will be Zuckerberg's first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. 

MR. PRESIDENT: ACT NOW! WE WANT RESULTS

Today marks our third attempt at engaging with our democratically elected President, in the last eight (8) days. It is also sixteen days since the "Plea-For-Rescue" video was released by the terrorists, who still hold 218 of OUR ChibokGirls hostage, 869 days after the abduction on April 14, 2014. 

We are out again because no evidence of persuasive, deliberate and result- targeted action has been conveyed by our President and the Federal Government. 

We must as always however first acknowledge the courage and gallantry of our soldiers in the frontlines, the Multinational Joint Task Force, and the Civilian JTF, and urge them to remain resilient in the face of attacks as these. Their labour and sacrifice shall never be in vain. We acknowledge the return of thousands of our fellow citizens who were never confirmed by the Federal Government to be missing but have since been rescued by our military. 

We acknowledge that since our march of the 25th August 2016, a statement was made by Mr. President in far-away Kenya, on the side-lines of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI).  In the said statement as reported by the media, Mr. President suggested a willingness to swap our #ChibokGirls for Boko Haram fighters preferring that the terrorists engaged an international Non-Governmental Organization in the intermediation process if they so wish. His words as reported were, “[I]f they [the terrorists] do not want to talk to us directly, let them pick an internationally recognized Non-Governmental Organization, convince them that they are holding the girls and that they want Nigeria to release a number of Boko Haram leaders in detention, which they are supposed to know."

We fail to understand why our Federal Government is giving so much powers to determine process and first mover actions to the terrorists. We have always maintained that the President has the powers to assemble ALL RELEVANT INTELLIGENCE ASSETS required for determining the best action in terms of LOWEST RISK OPTION. Many countries with superior capabilities have indicated willingness to help our Government gather security and intelligence assets on this and other related North East challenges. We were therefore extremely shocked to read Mr. President state, that "[S]ome of the information about the division in Boko Haram is already in the press and I have read it in the papers about the conflict in their leadership". Are we right to conclude from that statement that our President merely relies on newspaper reports like the rest of the Nigerian public for information on such an important and monumental tragedy? This is a grave basis for concern to our movement. 

So, while we welcome the statement, we counter that it sounds too tentative and lacking of the conviction, decisiveness, strong ownership, and urgent actions required to #BringBackOurGirls. This tragedy must no longer be allowed to linger any further! It is time to act with the fiercest urgency and the authority that must lead this action is our President, Commander - in-Chief - of-the-Armed-Forces. 

We therefore restate our SPECIFIC DEMANDS to Mr President as follows: 
• That Mr. President must swiftly make a firm decision for their immediate rescue based on the three available options. 1. Military operation 2. Negotiation with the terrorists. 3. Combination of 1 and 2. Mr President, Act Now!
• That Mr. President must assess the wealth of information and state resources available to pursue a lowest risk option of these three.
• That Mr. President addresses Nigerians on his rescue plan and timelines of our #ChibokGirls.
• That Mr. President immediately constitutes a #ChibokGirls Rescue Operation Monitoring Team made up of representatives of Federal Government, parents of #ChibokGirls, KADA (the Chibok community), and #BringBackOurGirls. This multi-stakeholders platform should act as a transparent mechanism for feedback on evidence of Mr. President’s sustained action towards bringing back OUR #ChibokGirls.
• That Mr. President should immediately preside over National Emergency in the North East Conference to articulate a cohesive response plan to the Humanitarian Crisis and designate a "Special Envoy" responsible for the inter-agency collaborative work required, as well as mobilize the private sector, Nigerian public, and the international community.
• That Mr. President directs the Attorney-General and EFCC to set up Special Desk with the responsibility for fast-tracking the trials of the arms procurement fund and providing regular updates. We reject any suspension or termination of any of the trials without reaching a legal conclusion.
• That the Chief Justice of Nigeria prioritizes the trials of all counter-insurgency related corruption cases. Cases should be placed on fast-track with no long adjournments.

Mr. President, WE WANT ACTION AND RESULTS NOW!!!

We will monitor the response of Mr. President and continue to respond accordingly.

Our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens in the internally displaced persons’ camps in Nigeria and across the world. Their strong will and resolve, despite some of the most degrading conditions, continue to inspire hope. This is why it is criminal and utterly unacceptable that IDPs had to carry out a blockade of the highways in Borno State to press home their demand for better treatment. We cannot be a people that aggravates the suffering of its most vulnerable population. We must not allow this degenerate to situations where suffering citizens resort to self-justice.

Today, we join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day for the Disappeared/Missing Persons. We are delighted that the initiative of the Missing Persons Register which we the #BringBackOurGirls movement pioneered working with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) ready and is being launched today by the Federal Government under the auspices of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The identities of all those that have been rescued are very important, and this should be the first action of this register.

In the time since we were last here, two events have provided a unique opportunity to coalesce international support for rebuilding the North East of Nigeria. The partnership between Bono and Aliko Dangote, through the Make-Nigeria-Stronger campaign by One.org, has reportedly raised a hundred (100) million dollars to support the IDPs. And in his “End of Mission Statement” following a visit between the 23rd and 26th of August, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Mr. Chaloka Beyani stated that “the international community has a vital role to play in addressing and resolving the humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria”.

Mr. President, our friends are assembling, and we must seize this momentum to launch a deliberate, state-driven plan for mobilizing multi-stakeholder action towards successful reconstruction, rehabilitation, resettlement, and reintegration of our people. Thankfully, our movement's "Option’s Note for Rebuilding the North East", submitted to you in June, 2016, provides an excellent blueprint of what is required to deploy a Multi-Donor Trust Fund as a most viable option for pursuing the scale of work. Mr. President, the time to heed our call for a designated "Special Envoy" to lead this work is NOW!

We renew our demand for decisive action to #BringBackOurGirls and a deliberate and urgent response to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. This must be accompanied by swift investigation and prosecution of root causes, governance failures, and cases of diversion of food and other relief materials.

In conclusion, as Nigerians, and concerned citizens around the world, we join the parents in saying #NoMoreDelays.

Mr. President, NO MORE EXCUSES.
Mr. President, NO MORE PREVARICATIONS.
Mr. President, NO MORE ASSURANCES WITHOUT FOCUSED ACTION.
Mr. President, WE WANT ACTION AND RESULTS!
Mr. President, DECIDE NOW!
Mr. President, ACT NOW!
Mr. President, IT IS TIME TO BRING BACK OUR CHIBOK GIRLS AND ALL OTHER CITIZENS WHOSE IDENTITY WE DO NOT KNOW BUT ARE WITH THE TERRORISTS!

Above all, Mr. President, WE WANT ACTION AND RESULTS NOW!!!

Signed:
For and on behalf of #BringBackOurGirls 

AISHA YESUFU
OBY EZEKWESILI
30 August 2016

Rukky Sanda shares new bikini selfie on Instagram

Rukky Sanda just posted a very sexy photo of her in a bikini covering with a white dress by the pool.

''Sunday was so much fun... positive vibes...xx Good ppl...👌'' the actress captioned the photo.

Photos from Emem Song's babies' dedication in Lagos

Emem Song held her babies' dedication over the weekend in Lagos.

The Nollywood Filmmaker, who  gave birth to a set twins on the third week of May this year in America with her Cameroonian husband Misodi Akama, wrote a thank you message for the guests that honored her invitation to the occasion.

''Despite the heavy downpour yesterday in Lagos, you braved it and turned up at our babies' dedication. We don't have enough words to say thank you. God will meet everyone of you at the point of your needs,'' she said.

Those that attended include;

Rita Dominic, Ufuoma McDermott, Chioma Akpotha, Funnybone Julian, Susan Peters, Adesua Etomi, Beverly Naya , Nsikan Isaac, Emem Morgan, Maryamm Bassey, Uncle Olu Jacobs and Thelma Okoduwa...




Okon Lagos shares new cute photos on Instagram to celebrate birthday!

Ime Umoh aka Okon Lagos is celebrating is birthday today August 30.

The Comic actor posted several birthday messages along with cute photos of himself to mark his birthday. Read below!

''Family. Fame. Fortune and You my greatest friends and fans the world over! I wouldn't ask for more. That's who i am... A happy man and I gat God Almighty alone to thank. Happy birthday to me. 😊😊''

''Husband. Father. Actor. Proud Glo Ambassador. UDOM diehard. Chelsea Fan. It's my birthday and I'm Livin' La Vida 😀''

''Yes I'm buckled up, ready. Really hard to keep calm. It's my birthday on the 30th August... Just in a bit. #itsbeengodalltheway #okonlagos #iyammi #okonrepublic #birthdayloading''




We'll protect Foreign Investments in Nigeria, Buhari assures Japan PM Abe

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday night, strongly assured existing and prospective foreign investors that their investments in Nigeria will be fully secured and protected.

Speaking at a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the sidelines of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Nairobi, Kenya, President Buhari outlined several steps taken by his administration to secure the country and ease doing business in Nigeria.

He told the Japanese leader that with the defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists by the military, the attention of the administration is now focused on stopping the destruction of the country's economic assets by militants in the Niger Delta region.

He said the militants must dialogue with the Federal government or be dealt with in the same way like Boko Haram.

"We are talking to some of their leaders. We will deal with them as we dealt with Boko Haram if they refuse to talk to us.

“As a government, we know our responsibility, which is to secure the environment. It is clear to us that lenders won't fund projects in insecure environments.

“We realize that we have to secure the country before we can efficiently manage it," the President said.

President Buhari told the Japanese Prime Minister that security in the Gulf of Guinea, which is greatly affected by piracy and armed robbery at sea, was a priority for the Nigerian government.

‘‘We have provided funds to our Navy to buy new platforms, train and effectively organize the personnel to protect the area. We are looking forward to support from developed nations for satellite surveillance covering the Gulf,’’ the President said.

Recalling his audience with G7 leaders in Germany, which was attended by the Prime Minister, President Buhari thanked Japan for responding positively to the requests by Nigeria for the rehabilitation of victims of Boko Haram and rebuilding of infrastructure in the North Eastern part of the country.

The President however said there was still more to do on education, health and other infrastructure to ensure quick and voluntary return of displaced persons to their native communities.

On the United Nations Security Council reform, President Buhari agreed to work with Japan for the reforms, stressing that the case for a permanent seat for Africa on the Council was a moral one.

He equally expressed Nigeria's support for Japan in their bid for a UN resolution on the problems in East China and South China as well as the "uncontrolled nuclear tests by North Korea."

‘‘The UN system is sufficient for the resolutions of all disputes and no nation should be above the United Nations.

“This has to be made absolutely clear and I assure the Prime Minister that I will meet as many leaders as possible at the forthcoming UN General Assembly concerning the issues."

In his remarks, Prime Minister Abe congratulated President Buhari “for courageously tackling Boko Haram terrorism."

He said Nigeria and Japan must work together to improve the investment climate in view of the many Japanese companies wishing to invest in Nigeria.

He reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to rapid development in Nigeria through quality delivery of ongoing projects in the country, including Jebba hydro power scheme and the Lagos railway project.

Garba Shehu

TY Bello drops 'Land of Promise' new music - Listen Now!

Toyin Sokefun-Bello better known as TY Bello has released a brand new song ''Land Of Promise'' and you can listen to it right here!

The song was produced by Mela, mixed and mastered by Mr. Wols with background vocals by Nwando Omosebi, Abigail Bassey, Oshoboke Adejumoke and Awosika Olarewaju.

Akintayo Adeyemo was on the drums, Olasehinde Oluwasegun was on the guitar, George Ade-Alao was on the piano and Victor Sunday was on the keys.

''I finished writing this song on my travel to the destroyed parts of Northern Nigeria,'' the legendary photographer and singer said in a statement of her inspiration behind the track. ''I saw first-hand what it means to lose hope and how powerful and necessary hope is in moving forward. This song put hope on my lips and I hope it fires up the same in the heart of everyone that listens''.




Tony P's 'Marry You' Ft. SolidStar - Listen Now!

Afro Pop artiste Tony P teams up with Acheivas Music act SolidStar on this brand new Highlife track, Marry Me, produced by prolific producer, DJ Coublon. Marry You is set to be the next big love song with Guitar by Fiokee.

Enjoy!




Olubunmi Okogie writes open letter to Buhari: 'Nigerians dying of starvation'

The Emeritus Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Okogie has written an open letter to President Buhari appealing to the president to do something fast before all Nigerians will die of starvation.

Dear Mr. President,

Last year, when you assumed office, the chant of “Change”, your campaign slogan, ushered you into the Presidential Villa. Today, cries of “hunger” could be heard across the length and breadth of our vast country. Nigerians hunger, not only for food, but also for good leadership, for peace, security and justice. This letter is to appeal to you to do something fast, and, if you are already doing something, to redouble your effort.

May it not be written on the pages of history that Nigerians die of starvation under your watch. As President, you are chief servant of the nation. I therefore urge you to live up to the huge expectation of millions of Nigerians. A stitch in time saves nine.

The way forward

This is the second year of your administration. You and your party promised to lead the masses to the Promised Land. It is not an easy task to lead. But by campaigning for this office, you offered to take the enormous task of leadership upon yourself. Nigerians are waiting for you to fulfill the promises you made during the campaign. They voted you into office because of those promises.

The introduction of town hall meetings is a commendable idea. But in practice, you, not just your ministers, must converse with Nigerians. You are the President. You must be accountable to them. The buck stops on your desk. Even if your administration has no magic wand at least give some words of encouragement. On this same score, please instruct your ministers, and insist that they be sincere and polite at those town meetings. Their sophistry will neither serve you nor Nigerians.

Mr. President, if you want to leave a credible legacy come 2019, in all sincerity, please retool your administration. Change is desirable. But it must be a change for the better. Let this change be real. Change is not real when old things that we ought to discard refuse to pass away. You will need to take a critical look at your cabinet, at the policies and programmes of your administration, and at those who help you to formulate and execute them. You will need to take a critical look at the manner of appointments you have been making. It is true that commonsense dictates that you appoint men and women you can trust. But if most of the people you trust are from one section of the country and practice the same religion, then you and all of us are living in insecurity.

The Nigerian economy has never been in a state as terrible as this. You as President are like pilot of an aircraft flying in turbulence. Turbulent times bring the best or the worst out of a pilot. We can no longer blame the turbulence on past administrations. You know quite well that some of the officials of your administration served in previous dispensations. Blame for what we have been experiencing is in fact bipartisan in character. The entire political class needs to come together, irrespective of party differences, to acknowledge its collective guilt and to seek ways of saving the sinking ship that our country has become. This cannot be done if some officials of your administration demonise and alienate members of the opposition. If a large portion of the blame for the present situation is to be laid on the doorsteps of the entire political class, the search for solution must involve everyone. That is why no one should be alienated. All hands must be on deck.

This is the time to revitalise moribund industries, reinvigorate our agriculture, make our country tourist and investor friendly, and enable our young men and women to find fulfillment by contributing to the common good. None of these lofty goals can be achieved without good education. On this particular issue, recent appointments you have made in the education sector raise a question: have you really appointed the best?
Still on education, it is important that our universities be allowed to use their own criteria to admit students. It is a gross violation of the principles of federalism and academic freedom for the federal government to insist that only a federal parastatal can decide on who gains admission into our universities. It is the role of the university senate, not of government bureaucrats, to decide on who gets admitted and who is awarded a certificate.
The war on corruption

Mr. President, your desire to wage a war on corruption is just and noble. But a just war must be waged with just means. Those who have stolen the wealth of this country have broken the laws of our country. They must be treated according to the law and not outside the law, and the outcome of the judicial process must be respected by government. Even accused persons have rights. Where those rights are violated, we risk a descent to anarchy.

It is our candid opinion that corruption is not found in only one party. No political party in Nigeria has a monopoly of looters. That is why we need an EFCC that is thoroughly independent of the presidency, and an Attorney General without party affiliation working in partnership with various independent accounting institutes. This will ensure that we come up with an objective list of those who plundered our treasury.

Mr. President, pardon me if I sound like a gratuitous counselor. I owe you the truth and nothing but the truth. In my life as a public figure and a religious leader, I have offered my counsel, for whatever its worth, to quite a number of Presidents in this country. I do this because I desire that you succeed. For the success of the leader is the success of the citizens. If there is no solution to Nigeria’s problem there may be endless war.

You strike one town, you gain it, and you come again to regain it. Remember that you cannot put a crown on your head. It is the people who put it on you. Otherwise one day, you will get tired of it. Please listen to the legitimate cries of your fellow citizens.

Monday 29 August 2016

Samson Siasia visits sports minister Solomon Dalung - PHOTOS!

Samson Siasia shakes hands with the Youth and Sports Minister Solomon Dalung during a courtesy visit he paid to Dalung's office on Monday August 29 in Abuja.

The U-23 National team's coach was joined by his wife Eunice for the visit and at the meeting the minister disclosed to Siasia that he's charged the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, to pay him his outstanding salaries.

"Please pay him his five months' salaries,'' Dalung said. ''They said he has resigned but he just said that his contract expired after the Olympics. His contract expired but you are owing him 5 months' salaries and you have gone to employ a foreign coach and will pay him in dollars. It means you don't like yourselves and nobody will sympathize with you. Please spare me the stress of talking about this salary issue or going to war with you on it. Please pay him and other coaches their outstanding salaries.''

Also present at the meeting was the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Federation Dr Sanusi.

On Sanusi's part, he said, "We have held meetings and we are waiting for the money to drop. The money is already there in our account but we need to regularize the TSA procedures before we can claim the money. We are almost through with the process. Once that is concluded, we will pay them.''





Pregnant Blac Chyna poses nude for Paper Magazine cover - PHOTOS!

Blac Chyna strips down for the cover of Paper Magazine's September 2016 issue.

The 28-year-old pregnant model is expecting her first child with fiancé Rob Kardashian and she is due in the next few weeks.

Here's what she had to share with the mag:

On her new reality show: 

''I’m excited about fans getting to know me as a person and not as a thing or a face. I’m funny and smart, and they’ll see me as a mom with several businesses just keeping everything together. I’m looking forward to showing my relationship with Rob, our day to day, our struggles and what we’re dealing with, positive and negative. I hope when people think about Blac Chyna, they think of a mogul and entrepreneur, a mother and a badass bitch.''

On sharing photos of son King Cairo on Instagram: 

''I don’t mind sharing a funny video of him or some pictures with my followers, because I want to show everybody his greatness. He brightens up my whole day.''

On the gendered insults she receives: 

''Stripper, slut, ho, all these things people portray us as — we wanted to start a movement, because we’re tired of this double standard where a guy can f–k ten bitches and he’s the man. A woman does it and she’s a ho, she’s a slut. We wanted to push the barrier,to own it… You can say mean things about me, but it doesn’t matter, we’re still gonna do us… So what if I was a stripper?''

For more of the interview, visit www.papermag.com




Olga DIY, Obi Mikel stick their tongues out in new photo

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel's Russian girlfriend Olga DIY posted the photo of the two of them on Monday night along with the captioned, ''Classy as always, miss you already my pooh1 ❤️''

Rihanna's VMAs Video Vanguard Award Speech after Drake presented it - Watch Video

Rihanna received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award on stage at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards held at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night August 28 in New York.

The award was presented to her by her rumored boyfriend Drake last night onstage.

''My success is not my own. It's my family's. It's my fans'. It's my country's,''the 28-year-old singer said while giving a shout out to Barbados in her speech. She mentioned how she still has the same friends as she did back at home and they followed her to the states. Watch the full video HERE



MTV VMAs 2016 - Full Winners List!

The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards was held at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night August 28 in New York City.

Beyonce won the award for Video of the Year and Best Pop Video for her song “Formation,” Best Female Video for ''Hold Up,'' and she also picked up the award for Breakthrough Long Form Video for Lemonade.

Below is the full list of winners

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Adele – “Hello”
Beyoncé – “Formation” – WINNER
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
Kanye West – “Famous”

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Adele – “Hello”
Beyoncé – “Hold Up” – WINNER
Sia – “Cheap Thrills”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”
Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” (short version)

BEST MALE VIDEO
Drake – “Hotline Bling” – WINNER
Bryson Tiller – “Don’t”
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
Kanye West – “Famous”
The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”

BEST COLLABORATION
Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Freedom”
Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Work From Home” – WINNER
Ariana Grande ft. Lil Wayne – “Let Me Love You”
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” (short version)

BEST HIP HOP VIDEO
Drake – “Hotline Bling” – WINNER
Desiigner – “Panda”
Bryson Tiller – “Don’t”
Chance The Rapper featuring Saba – “Angels”
2 Chainz – “Watch Out”

BEST POP VIDEO
Adele – “Hello”
Beyoncé – “Formation” – WINNER
Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
Alessia Cara – “Wild Things”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”

SONG OF SUMMER
Fifth Harmony featuring Fetty Wap — “All In My Head” – WINNER
Drake — “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake — “Can’t Stop The Feeling”
Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber — “Cold Water”
Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna — “This Is What You Came For”
Sia — “Cheap Thrills”
The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey — “Closer”
Nick Jonas featuring Ty Dolla $ign — “Bacon”
Kent Jones — “Don’t Mind”
Selena Gomez — “Kill ‘Em With Kindness”

BEST ROCK VIDEO
All Time Low – “Missing You”
Coldplay – “Adventure Of A Lifetime”
Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato – “Irresistible”
twenty one pilots – “Heathens” – WINNER
Panic! At The Disco – “Victorious”

BEST ELECTRONIC VIDEO
Calvin Harris & Disciples – “How Deep Is Your Love” – WINNER
99 Souls ft. Destiny’s Child & Brandy – “The Girl Is Mine”
Mike Posner – “I Took A Pill In Ibiza”
Afrojack – “SummerThing!”
The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”

BREAKTHROUGH LONG FORM VIDEO
Florence + The Machine – The Odyssey
Beyoncé – Lemonade – WINNER
Justin Bieber – PURPOSE: The Movement
Chris Brown – Royalty
Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy

BEST NEW ARTIST Presented by Taco Bell
Bryson Tiller
Desiigner
Zara Larsson
Lukas Graham
DNCE – WINNER

BEST ART DIRECTION
Beyoncé – “Hold Up”
Production Designer: Jason Hougaard
Fergie – “M.I.L.F.”
Production Designer: Alexander Delgado
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
Production Designer: Jeremy MacFarlane
David Bowie – “Blackstar” – WINNER
Production Designer: Jan Houllevigue
Adele – “Hello”
Production Designer: Colombe Raby

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Beyoncé – “Formation” – WINNER
Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell – “WTF (Where They From)”
Beyoncé – “Sorry”
FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X”
Florence + The Machine – “Delilah”

BEST DIRECTION
Beyoncé – “Formation” – WINNER
Coldplay – “Up&Up”
Adele – “Hello”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Tame Impala – “The Less I Know The Better”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Beyoncé – “Formation” – WINNER
Adele – “Hello”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Alesso – “I Wanna Know”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”

BEST EDITING
Beyoncé – “Formation” – WINNER
Adele – “Hello”
Fergie – “M.I.L.F. $”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Coldplay – “Up&Up” – WINNER
FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X”
Adele – “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)”
The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
Zayn – “PILLOWTALK”

Sunday 28 August 2016

VIDEO: Ms Bodega – Watta Ft. Timaya & Young D

Afro Music is taking over the world gradually as International musicians are beginning to Adopt the amazing African sound into their music.

 International Artist Ms Bodega, a New Yorker of Israeli/Middle Eastern/Spanish descent Has Collaborate with Nigeria’s AfroBeat / Dancehall Nigerian Sensation Timaya and producer Young D with another World Music titled WATTA.

 Watta is an Afro-American  music which is already taking over the international airwaves gradually. The music was inspired by the late Afro music King Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s ‘Watta E no get Enemy Song’.

 The song is produced and recorded with Super Producer Young D in Nigeria and has a mix of African rhythms and melodies.

 The Video of Watta was shot in Nigeria by Unlimited L.A.

Enjoy!




Skales debuts 'Ajaga' music video ft. Timaya, Davido, GGB Dance Crew - Watch Now!

Skales gets the GGB Dance Crew to deliver a mind blowing dance performance to his latest hit "Ajaga" which features Timaya and Davido. Watch below!




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