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 Education › Between Driver’s License And Driving Licence by Dotng(op): 8:17am On May 30, 2017 |
Between driver’s license and driving licence The American culture is a powerful one. Whether it is its music, film, fashion or even socio-political tradition, it has a way of penetrating the world fast. Not fastly, though! The reality could apply to communication too. That is why when some people are faced with the options of choosing between ‘center’ and ‘centre’, ‘color’ and ‘colour’ as well as ‘defense’ and ‘defence’, they usually prefer the first. To them, ‘center’ is a trendier term than ‘centre’. But, as is usual with language, there is a rule. There is American English, and there is British English. Although the standard forms of both varieties are correct and mutually understandable in many respects, there are marked differences in the spellings of many words, in their vocabularies and even some grammatical structures. Now, when there is a difference in usages between both traditions, we are normally to adopt the British style. The reason is not because one is better than the other. (Indeed there are some authorities who say you can follow the American pattern – provided you can be consistent throughout your essay or story. What is bad, they note, is mixing color with honour and finalise with centralize.) The adoption of the British English is predicated on the accident of history, in the sense that it was the British who colonised us and bequeathed the English Language legacy to us. We simply inherited the British English as we did some other aspects of its life. Today, I want us to look at differences in spellings between American and British English and the need for us to stick to the latter. our or – or A major area of conflict between American English and British English manifests in words requiring –or or –our. Usually, when this conflicts arises, go for the –our spelling, because it is American English that often has –or. Examples include: American spelling – humor, honor, armor, behavior, color, flavor, savior and rumor. British spelling: humour, armour, behaviour, colour, flavour, saviour and rumour. American English: meter, centimeter, fiber, manoeuvre, louver and meager British English – metre, centimetre, fibre, manouevre, louvre and meagre s or z? American English – organize, criticize, emphasize, apologize, standardize, colonize, computerize, democratize, realize and popularize British English – organise, apologise, emphasise, apologise, standardise, colonise, computerise, democratise, realise and popularise. Single l or double l? When many verbs that end with an l change to the past tense, they remain single in the American English. But in British English, the l becomes double: American English: fuel – fueled, counsel – counseled, travel – traveled, quarrel – quarreled, channel – channelled, dial – dialed and model – modeled British English: fuel – fuelled, counsel – counselled, travel – travelled, quarrel- quarrelled, channel-channeled, dial-dialled; and model–modelled. Note that the same process is followed when the verbs change to the continuous tense. While American English has traveling, quarreling and fueling, the British versions are travelling, quarelling and fuelling. gue or g? American English – analog, dialog, monolog and catalog British English – analogue, dialogue, monologue and catalogue. Double m or single m? American English – kilogram, gram and program. British English – kilogramme, gramme and programme But note that there is a computer term called program in both the American and British English. ce or se? Another area where there is a major difference has to do with words that contain either ce or se. Often, in British English, when such words are nouns, they are spelt with c, but when they become verbs, the c changes to s. In American English, however, both the nouns and verbs flaunt s: American English – practice: They want to abolish the practice among women. (Noun) I want to practice very well towards the final match. (Verb) British English They want to abolish the practice among women. (Noun) I want to practise very well towards the final match. American English: He is practicing right now. British English: He is practising right now. This is the same way you should treat licence/license, just as American English has defense and pretense, but British has defence and pretence. This leads us to the question implied in the topic of this lesson – driver’s license or driving licence? In the first instance, in the phrase, driver’s license/driving licence, licence/license is a noun being qualified by driver’s/driving. So, in British English, the word you need is licence – not license that is a verb. The other question is: driver’s or driving? While the American English has driver’s license, the British uses driving licence. Therefore, that document that qualifies a person to drive a car or vehicle should be called a driving licence, as is accepted in the standard British English. Meanwhile, note that it is not in all cases that the differences in spellings occur between American English and British English. You need to read more to be sure of the other expressions that are affected. For instance, enter remains enter in both varieties. You won’t say because you want to obey the rule of British English you write entre instead of enter. Also, there is nothing like horrour (when you mean horror) just as there is naturally a difference between zip and sip. http://punchng.com/between-drivers-license-and-driving-licence/ 1 Like 1 Share |
| TV/Movies › Hackers Can Use Subtitles To Infect Your Devices by Dotng(op): 5:15pm On May 28, 2017 |
Hackers Can Use Subtitles to Infect Your Devices BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO MAY 25, 2017 10:44AM EST Researchers from security firm Check Point said 'hundreds of millions' of devices running media players such as VLC, Kodi, Popcorn Time, and Stremio are at risk. Enjoy watching foreign films? We have some bad news. Security researchers have discovered a new attack vector that could allow online miscreants to gain access to your PC, mobile device, and smart TV: malicious subtitles. Researchers from security firm Check Point said "hundreds of millions" of devices running VLC, Kodi, Popcorn Time, and Stremio — four of the most popular media players out there — are at risk. SecurityWatch"Malicious subtitles could be created and delivered to millions of devices automatically, bypassing security software and giving the attacker full control of the infected device and the data it holds," Check Point vulnerability research team leader Omri Herscovici said in a statement. He went on to say that the subtitle supply chain is "complex," with more than 25 different formats in use, all with unique features. "This fragmented ecosystem, along with limited security, means there are multiple vulnerabilities that could be exploited, making it a hugely attractive target for attackers," Herscovici said. Subtitles for films and TV shows are created by "a wide range of subtitle writers," who upload them to shared online repositories such as OpenSubtites.org, where the files are indexed and ranked, Check Point explained. Here's the problem: bad actors can manipulate the repositories' ranking algorithm, so that their malicious subtitles are automatically downloaded by media players. This would allow the attacker to "take complete control over the entire subtitle supply chain" with "little or no deliberate action on the part of the user." Check out Check Point's proof-of-concept video below demonstrating how an attacker could use malicious subtitles to take over your machine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYT_EGty_6A Check Point said it followed responsible disclosure guidelines and reported the bugs to the developers of the vulnerable media players. Some of the issues have already been fixed while others are still under investigation. "To protect themselves and minimize the risk of possible attacks, users should ensure they update their streaming players to the latest versions," Herscovici said. PopcornTime has released a new version, which corrects the problem; it can be downloaded here. The latest versions of Kodi, VLC, and Stemio are also officially fixed. RELATED Speakers Become Latest Threat to Your Digital Security Check Point said there is "reason to believe similar vulnerabilities exist in other media players as well." The company has not yet released full technical details of the flaws to give the developers more time to address the problem. Part of the issue, Check Point said, is that movie subtitles are often perceived as "nothing more than benign text files." "This means users, anti-virus software, and other security solutions vet them without trying to assess their real nature, leaving millions of users exposed to this risk," the company said. Check Point estimates that approximately 200 million video players and streamers currently run the vulnerable software, "making this one of the most widespread, easily accessed and zero-resistance vulnerability reported in recent years." http://www.pcmag.com/news/353891/hackers-can-use-subtitles-to-infect-your-devices |
| Politics › Re: Amaechi Shuns VIP Lounge Of Airport, Shares Ordinary Lounge With Others by Dotng: 9:35am On May 28, 2017 |
He is free to use whichever lounge he wants. The last time I was at the Abuja airport I saw him going to the VIP lounge probably because the regular lounge was filled with people. He is a free citizen and a Minister of the Federal Republic. Sycophancy will be if he is doing it for eye service. I know people who will never use the regular lounge under any circumstances. 3 Likes |
| Politics › Re: Abacha Summoned Me For Making A Female Chief Judge In Lagos –oyinlola by Dotng(op): 9:00am On May 27, 2017 |
joespiceman:Behold! The children of Nairaland. 8 Likes |
| Politics › Re: Abacha Summoned Me For Making A Female Chief Judge In Lagos –oyinlola by Dotng(op): 4:40am On May 27, 2017 |
CONT'D How about the issue of security as there were serious cases of armed robbery in Lagos at the time? Yes. Anywhere there are political crises, violent crimes would reign there too. Men of the underworld took advantage of the socio- political turbulence that came with the agitation against June 12 election annulment. So, security of lives and property became a serious problem. My administration came up with the idea of floating an effective, well-kitted, mobile security outfit code-named Operation Sweep. That was in 1995. Operation Sweep was a joint task force of all the armed forces and the police. It was an entirely new crime fighting idea. The operatives were out on patrol 24 hours. I was also out on patrol every night. With that, criminals were effectively swept out of Lagos as it became a danger zone for them to operate. A measure of the outfit’s effectiveness and success led virtually other states in the country to follow our footsteps by setting up similar outfits. My successor, Col. Buba Marwa, sustained the outfit and passed it on to Bola Tinubu in 1999. I am happy that although the name may have changed today in Lagos and in other states, the concept is still alive. How about the Lagos House in Abuja? It was started before I got there. I met it under construction but I finished and inauguration of the Lagos House in Abuja. We also did housing, in all the five divisions of Lagos State. This was carried out majorly by the Lagos State Development Corporation. Also, most local governments did their own low cost housing under the administration. We also learnt of the politics involved in your appointment of the first female Chief Judge in Nigeria, can you tell us the story? When Justice Ligali Ayorinde, who was the Chief Judge became terminally ill, I visited him on his sick bed at St. Nicholas Hospital and told him of the government’s plan to evacuate him abroad for better medical care. I also wanted him to suggest his successor in case he could not make it back. Justice Ayorinde wrote down the names of Justice Roselyn Omotosho and Justice Thomas and said either of them would do. After that visit, Ayorinde passed on while on medical evacuation to the United Kingdom. I wanted justice to prevail in filling the vacancy between the two justices. I wanted to be able to defend my selection at the end of the day, so the digging began. It was discovered that both candidates were called to the Bar same day but there had to be a separating factor. It was later discovered that the woman got to the Bench first. So, the papers of Roselyn Omotosho were processed to become the next Chief Judge. I had no idea I was making history with Omotosho. But some people were against the fact that a woman was to be made a CJ in Nigeria. Before her, no woman anywhere in the country had reached that height. I didn’t know that; I just believed that I was doing justice. Then, my enemies, because of that decision, cooked up bad stories that were taken to Gen. Abacha and he decided to remove me as administrator. However, I was lucky that as of that time, his kitchen cabinet was still intact and he was consulting and listening to them. He informed members of the kitchen cabinet, the likes of Generals Ishaya Bamaiyi, Patrick Aziza, Bashir Magashi, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, and some others that he was removing the boy in Lagos. They asked what my offence was. He told them the boy had been misbehaving, usurping his powers. They all vouched for me and persuaded him to give me the chance to explain myself and they prevailed. They even put their positions on the line, telling him that if he found me wanting, they should be relieved of their posts too. He was surprised at the support base I had among very senior officers. So, right from that meeting, Abacha summoned me to appear before him the next day which was a Sunday. Since I had been hinted that the major issue was the appointment of Omotosho as Chief Judge, I duplicated the relevant files and took the two files on the subject to the Villa. I was scheduled to see him by 3.30pm but I got to the villa at 3pm. Now, you would be lucky if you had an appointment with Gen. Abacha for 10am and you see him by 10pm. You may stay days and not be able to see him. But when I got there on that Sunday afternoon, I was told that he was waiting for me. I said no, that was impossible, I insisted I was there to see the Head of State and not Al-Mustapha. The BG (Bodyguard) laughed and told me to proceed, that the Commander -in- Chief was indeed, waiting for me. Then it dawned on me that I was in big trouble. I entered his office, saluted him and the first thing he asked me was, “why are you in uniform on a Sunday? Then I responded, calmly that, “Sir, I wouldn’t know which other assignment the Commander-in-Chief may have for me, that is why I came prepared to go anywhere.” I think my answer also got him, so he said, ‘sit down and then snapped at me: “What am I hearing about this CJ or no CJ?” The allegation was that I had usurped his powers. I said thank you sir and I gave him one of the prepared files, taking him through it page by page. I said: “this is how I started the process sir; when I made the recommendation, I wrote your office sir and this is your reply approving the step I had taken and the recommendation I had made. I followed the process of picking the senior between the two – who was called to the Bar first and then the Bench.” When Abacha saw everything with his own approval, he looked deeply at me and said: “Ola, go back and continue the good work.” Meanwhile, the news had been broadcast unofficially that I had been removed and would not be returning as governor from Abuja. As a matter of fact, somebody had been tipped to replace me and the person was already in Lagos. So, when I came back, the usual airport reception was not there because everyone was waiting for the news that would say, the military administrator of Lagos had been sacked. But nothing of such came. When I got to work on Monday, one of my commissioners came to ask, “Sir, are we still working or work has finished?” Then I told her that when I came to Lagos, both print and electronic media said that Oyinlola had been appointed MILAD and that they would say the same way if I was removed. So I asked them to wait till such happened. That was how I continued my work. That was one of the intrigues that I was able to survive. Kudirat Abiola was killed when you were in charge of Lagos State. What can you tell us about it that we do not know yet? The killing of Kudirat Abiola was an unfortunate incident I had to grapple with. I was opening the reconstructed Sura Market on Lagos Island – that was on June 4, 1996, when I got a call from the current Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu – he was a Commissioner of Police somewhere in the country then. He called me and said, “Excellency, have you heard that Kudirat Abiola has been shot?” I quickly rounded off the market event and headed for Ikeja. I called Ogundimu, the Commissioner for Health and he confirmed it. He said he was there at the hospital battling to see if they could save her life. It was Ogundimu who later gave me the news of her death. Then mischief makers took over. The next thing they said was that she was coming from my office in Ikeja and that after she left, I sent assassins after her. But I thank God, when eventually the person who shot her, Sergeant Rogers, was arrested and in the course of the trial, he told the story of how he did it, Oyinlola’s name did not feature once. Providence also made President Olusegun Obasanjo to institute the Oputa Panel and at the panel, nobody mentioned my name. You can imagine that kind of thing. I, who had never slapped my wife, so how would I have instigated people to take guns and pursue a woman? Those were the kinds of intrigues I faced in Lagos. It was something else. What kind of relationship did you have with your predecessors while in Lagos? Very cordial relationship. And I must say that they all assisted me one way or the other to weather the various storms I met in Lagos. For instance, when the state was preparing to hold the Junior World Cup in 1995, the anti-government coalition groups were making frantic efforts to ensure that the government lost the hosting right and that came in different forms. Because people did not work for over eight weeks due to the June 12 strike, refuse started piling up all over the city. It was totally embarrassing. So, I appealed to some notable stakeholders in the state, primarily Alhaji Lateef Jakande, to help appeal to the people that though indiscriminate dumping of refuse was meant to embarrass the government, the collateral damage, through health hazards, would know no bounds and the people would be at the receiving end. I was told that Jakande had faced something similar to that when he was governor and this old man came out, rolled out his team and they were there assisting me everywhere day and night. I am eternally grateful to him and to Alhaji Rafiu Jafojo, his deputy. The anti-government coalition keyed into the situation. The moment we cleared refuse from one place, their agents, using tippers at night, would go and dump refuse at the middle of the road somewhere else. When I realised that these people were deliberately doing these as acts of sabotage, I started going out on night patrol and I was able to confiscate some tippers dumping refuse on the main road. By the time I seized five of such vehicles and painted them in Lagos State colours, nobody was prepared to lose their tippers again. We were using the confiscated tippers to pack whatever the saboteurs dumped. Then that aspect of their operation stopped. It was a tough one. I had to do the unusual to make sure the unusual menace stopped. That was another challenge. http://punchng.com/abacha-summoned-me-for-making-a-female-chief-judge-in-lagos-oyinlola/ 5 Likes 1 Share
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| Politics › Abacha Summoned Me For Making A Female Chief Judge In Lagos –oyinlola by Dotng(op): 4:39am On May 27, 2017 |
Abacha summoned me for making a female chief judge in Lagos –Oyinlola Published May 27, 2017 A former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in this interview with a select number of journalists, speaks about his tenure and other issues. Gbenro Adeoye was there You were the Military Administrator of Lagos between December 1993 and August 1996, how did you get that appointment and what was the experience like? It was a military posting that came just immediately after I returned from an operational assignment as the Commander of the Nigerian Contingent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia from 1992 to the later part of 1993. When I got appointed, it came as a surprise and the bigger surprise was that I got it without any godfather. I was simply posted to Lagos State. How I was informed about it was even dramatic. My course mate, Col. Emmanuel Soda, was Military Assistant to Gen. Oladipo Diya, he got to know about (Gen. Sani) Abacha’s decision to make me Military Administrator of Lagos State but Diya told him that he (Diya) didn’t know me well. So Soda was trying frantically to locate me but I was busy playing golf at Ikoyi Club. Finally he got through to my brother, Toye, who told him I would be at the golf club. But I had left the golf club and was on my way elsewhere. As I was driving along, I became aware of a vehicle pursuing me at great speed and, having had an encounter with armed robbers few days earlier, I thought “here we go again!” At that speed, I cocked my rifle. Finally on the fly-over, I slowed down for whoever was pursuing me and primed myself for action, only to discover it was Toye’s car. We both parked, got down and I was told that Emma (Col. Soda) had been looking for me since morning. He added that Soda told him that Diya was in fact the one who wanted to see me. I thought that was serious and we turned back and went straight to Soda. Soda and I went together to meet Diya, who then told me of the appointment. I, there and then, pledged my loyalty. I proceeded to set up my cabinet after swearing-in formalities. As there was an idea of having civilian deputy administrators in states, I had hoped Senator Bola Tinubu would be made my deputy, so it was the two of us who started putting my cabinet together. He personally brought in Tajudeen Olusi and few others. Pacifying the Yoruba people of Lagos who were still feeling very aggrieved over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election was my first and most urgent task as Military Administrator of Lagos State. I met total anarchy. Workers were on strike; markets were closed. No one was working. The agitation for the actualisation of that election was at its peak. There was total breakdown of law and order and outright civil disobedience. Each time I drove out of Government House or the Governor’s Office, I could feel hostility along the way as if I was the one who personally annulled the election. But this didn’t worry me unduly and I could understand the depth of hatred for the armed forces. After some time, I decided that we could not just be sitting down in the office at Alausa, Ikeja. There was an urgent need to meet with the people. So, I decided that I must tour all the local governments. Having served in Lagos before, I knew the peculiarities of each area, which was what informed my decision to commence my tour from Mushin Local Government Area, which I believed constituted the bedrock of the anti-government sentiments then. I must mention that when I drew up the programme and announced that I would start from Mushin, my commissioners were not at ease at all. As a matter of fact, some whispered behind my back that this man who just got back from the war front was planning to get everyone killed. So, when those words filtered into my ears, I told them that no commissioner was under any compulsion to accompany me to Mushin. The only commissioner that accompanied me, if I am not mistaken, was Dr. Segun Ogundimu. Principally, he must have followed me because that was his area. I was received by the local government chairman, Bayo Oshiyemi. I was not surprised at the reception I got at Mushin. I was welcomed with a rain of stones. My boys wanted to react by firing back but I had to caution them. I told them that my life was not in danger and even if it was, I knew what to do. Of course as a Yoruba man, I knew if anyone was killed under my watch, my family would never get out of it. So, I warned the boys not to do anything. I could take care of myself. I then appealed to the people. I told them to at least listen to me first, even if they would kill me later. I assured them that I would convey their grievances to higher authorities if they could discuss with me. The people were taken aback by the way I spoke with them. A soldier appealing for understanding! They didn’t expect such words from a military officer who had only recently returned from war. They expected me to react to their provocation but when I did something that was unexpected, they dropped their stones and we went into a hall to discuss. I shared my experience in Somalia with them and the fact that though that country is a nation with one religion, Islam, nobody, throughout the time I stayed there, had the time to pray even once because it was all gunshots; there were gunshots every minute. They had no government and anarchy reigned supreme. I made them understand that if we did not deal with our grievances the right way, our condition could degenerate into what I saw in Somalia. I affirmed that the annulment was bad and unacceptable and asked them if they wanted to fight the rest of the country or go into meaningful dialogue. I also assured them that they would have my backing in whatever decision they made. By the time I was leaving Mushin, I was carried shoulder high and that became a propaganda point for the government. The event was broadcast by the Nigerian Television Authority and I was flooded with phone calls. Following up on the success of that visit, I took a tour to Lagos Island. In that place, as expected, most of my cars were damaged. A retired officer, Captain Carew, was the Chairman of Lagos Island Local Government at that time. I met with the elders and the same story I told in Mushin, I told them. I recall that on Lagos Island, there was this Chief Onilegbale, he must have been over 80 years old and he told us a proverb… “Ti a ba ni ki a lu keke, egbaafa; ta ba ni ka lu ya, egbaafa. Ki wa lo de t’aa kuku lu ya.” He meant that whichever way we approached the issue of June 12, the result would be the same and so would the price, so why not go to war? Again, I explained to the people that they had two alternatives, either to fight or to dialogue. They eventually agreed with me and chose dialogue. They sent me off with the sound of drums. I believed that the next most turbulent would be Yaba, so I took a tour there. Ironically, there was no record of violence against me in Yaba and there was no rowdy reception either. That was how I moved round the state and broke the ice. I was able to, at least, stabilise the polity and commence the programme of bringing peace to Lagos State. My joy is that I administered Lagos at the most turbulent period in the history of that state without firing a shot. Apart from that, what projects and programmes of your administration gave you joy? But at a point, you said you could not rehabilitate roads because there was no bitumen? The issue of bitumen was one interesting story. You know I got to Lagos in December 1993 and, as I said, government was maintaining roads and constructing new ones and bridges where necessary until sometime in late 1995, when we had issues with construction materials. That time, government projects were as a matter of policy majorly executed through direct labour. The Kaduna Refinery, which was the only refinery producing bitumen in the country, was sabotaged in the political crises of that period. The only option we had was to import the material. I asked for permission and for forex to import bitumen, which was the main component for building roads, but the Federal Government said no, I should go and source for forex from the black market. The exchange rate was N84 to a dollar at the black market known then as the autonomous market, while the official rate was N22 to a dollar. At the official rate, I would have been able to construct, as of that time, a kilometre for N4m, but if I had gone to the autonomous market, that would have cost four or five times the price. How would I do that and people would not accuse me of embezzling Lagos State funds? But the other states got forex from the Federal Government at the official rate… Yes. But Lagos was not given. I don’t know what the offence was. But I was in office to solve problems. So, I appealed to the people of the state. I asked if they knew any source through which we could get bitumen locally they should assist us. Nobody responded except Chief Lawal Solarin of Eterna Oil. Unfortunately, what he gave was insignificant to the enormity of the scope of work we had to do. However, I will continue to appreciate his good gesture because in that time of trouble, he was there for me. The only solution was to contract out the roads. So, I contracted the Victoria Island roads to HFP Construction Company; Lagos Island roads were contracted to Julius Berger; Western Avenue was given to Strabag and Mushin-Abeokuta Road was contracted to NW Limited. That was how I gave the major roads out to these grade one construction companies and they were carrying out the work satisfactorily until I left in August 1996. The inauguration of the roads was done by my successor. However, because of politics, nobody was able to say those were the steps I took. All they were saying was that I complained that there was no bitumen. I also made a mistake of not engaging the media enough. I thought I was on a military assignment and didn’t need to deliberately tell my stories. http://punchng.com/abacha-summoned-me-for-making-a-female-chief-judge-in-lagos-oyinlola/ 5 Likes 2 Shares |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 6:22pm On May 24, 2017 |
dljbd1:You are welcome. |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 3:13pm On May 24, 2017 |
John Wick Chapter 2. Available in WEB-DL format on fzmovies. 271MB |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 11:15pm On May 23, 2017 |
ak33n:I want to watch it again on a clearer format. What is your take on the audio and video of this link? |
| Politics › 10 Things We Learnt From The 2017 National Assembly Budget, By Budgit & Eieniger by Dotng(op): 1:31pm On May 22, 2017 |
10 things we learnt from the 2017 national assembly budget, by BudgIT & EiENigeria It’s over! The era of secrecy surrounding the details of budgetary allocations to the National Assembly is now well and truly over. The four-year-old advocacy for accountability in the spending of the legislature finally climaxed last week with the release of the National Assembly’s budget breakdown. As you might expect, there are a few interesting discoveries — it’s not for fun that this is the first such public release in eight whopping years. We’ve learnt many new things, but we’ll share just 10 with you. 1. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY GETS STATUTORY TRANSFERS One thing you should first realise is that the National Assembly gets statutory transfers. This means that to guarantee its independence, funds must be compulsorily released to it. These funds are not subject to revenue performance and there is hardly a history of National Assembly returning funds to the treasury. You can actually take the National Assembly budget as actual spending. Federal Audit recently indicted the National Assembly management for irregularities with the reconciliations and returns. However, no punishment has been given. 2. OVERHEAD OVER SALARY FOR NILS The National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS) has a personnel cost of N285.5m but runs an overhead that is four times the salary of its workforce. The agency plans to spend N489m — more than its personnel cost — on trainings, and another N250m on travels. Don’t forget that this same agency has only N285m earmarked for its personnel costs. The agency also plans to spend N237m on purchase of motor vehicles in 2017 and its permanent office is expected to gulp N2.42bn. Inexplicable! 3. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ‘CLEANERS’ ARE MILLIONAIRES The General Services of the National Assembly will cost N12.6bn, with National Assembly expected to spend N4bn on parliamentary conferences and bilateral meetings. This is more than the combined capital allocation for 10 federal universities. Engineering Maintenance services has an allocation of N1.13bn and there are layers of such in the budgets of House of Reps and Senate. A sum of N640m is appropriated for constitutional amendment, NASS Information Technology Connectivity will gulp N694m and Insurance of properties will cost N1.62bn. But here’s the most interesting part: cleaning services for the National Assembly will gulp N606m. Want to hit it big without really sweating it? Set up a cleaning company — and get contracted to the National Assembly. Easy! 4. PHOTOCOPYING MACHINES AREN’T THAT CHEAP National Assembly Office or Management has staff whose personnel cost is nearly equal that of a standard University or teaching hospital in Nigeria. A sum of N6.7bn was allocated for the management office personnel costs. Provision of vehicles is to cost N657m, that’s another 33 new cars in a year! Photocopying machines and “other office equipment” will cost N369m. Now you know — in case you didn’t — that photocopying machines, the original ones, are not as cheap as you must be thinking. Security equipment will costs N440m. The costs of travel and training for these agencies will cost over N2bn. Material and supplies and maintenance cost will gulp N1.59bn, N467m is meant for consulting fees and N471m is allocated for insurance premium. The sum of N451m meant for miscellaneous expenses includes refreshment meals, medical expenses and publicity. For a management office of the National Assembly, there is a total sum of N15bn — higher than the allocation for University of Ibadan. Staggering! 5. ‘MISCELLANEOUS’ HAS SUFFERED After the National Assembly Management planned N657m expenditure as shown above, the purchase of vehicles by the National Assembly Service Commission will gulp N224m. The same agency will spend N275m on travels and N206m for trainings. “Miscellaneous” expenses, which include direct teaching costs and medical expenses, will cost N278.6m. It will be good to mention that there is a functional National Assembly hospital and also a federal government-funded National Health Insurance Scheme. At this rate, even “Mr. Miscellaneous” must be surprised by his own versatility, that ubiquitous ability to surface whenever questionable expenses are being made. Abuse! 6. PROFESSORS MUST BE GETTING JEALOUS OF LEGISLATIVE AIDES Apart from the huge cost in the National Assembly Service Commission, legislative aides will spend N9.6bn, with N8.9bn being costs for salaries. Why will the entire aides that serve 469 lawmakers get paid more than all professors in a university? Professors must be jealous already! Any undergraduate out there mulling a career in the academia? Think twice, because legislative aides are some of the highest earners around. Incredulous! 7. PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE FILLED WITH GLUTTONS It’s hard to think any any different when the Public Accounts Committee will spend N262m, and the bulk of the funds goes to N89m for honorarium and — you heard right — Only plausible explanation for spending so much on food is that the committee members have a voracious appetite for food. The Public Accounts Committee that oversees the Office of the Auditor-General and usually headed by an opposition member has not considered the audit reports over the years and has not recommended sanctions. Of what benefit, then, is this huge expenditure to the country if the committee rarely considers audit reports submitted by the Auditor General of the Federation? Incomprehensible! 8. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TV IS WASTING AWAY The total allocation to the House of Representatives is N49bn but 10% of this is for personnel costs, showing compliance with the RMAFC-approved remuneration. The devil is in the overheads with N39.6bn allocation. This means it costs Nigeria N110m every year to service the House of Reps members. A bulk of the overheads goes to committees activities and investigative hearings to which N8.8bn was allocated. The lower chamber has another budget of N3.845bn for vehicles. Live coverages cost N1.55bn and welfare packages will gulp N398m. Meanwhile, there is a fully licensed and equipped National Assembly TV not being utilised; this huge cost on live coverage to gulp another N2.25bn can reduced by putting that TV to use. Suspicious! 9. WE’RE SERVING SENATORS, THEY’RE NOT SERVING US The Senate is no different. It has a budget of N2.76bn for vehicles and N1.247bn for purchase of security equipment. A sum of N10.9bn is allocated to legislative activities, N424m to photocopying machines and N1.27bn to legal services. The senate personnel line has a total cost of N1.86bn but N25bn for overheads costs. N25bn as overheads means it costs Nigerians N229m to service a senator annually. Gone are the days when leaders serve the people. Times have changed. These days, the people serve their leaders; and the Senate is one fine example. Pathetic! 10. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NOT YET LEADING BY EXAMPLE If efficiency will begin in government, the National Assembly has to show example as the highest organ of accountability. Why so much money for photocopiers, vehicles, insurance, legal services, travels and training? If National Assembly spends N7.7bn on cars at an average of N25m each, that’s 300 cars. Is National Assembly planning to do Uber car hire service? Why is the National Assembly spending ten times the budget of a university and a teaching hospital? Why do legislative aides earn more than the entire personnel cost of a university in Nigeria? Questions! https://www.thecable.ng/10-things-learnt-2017-national-assembly-budget-budgit-eienigeria |
| Politics › Presidential Assent Possible In Three Days If…, Says Ita Enang by Dotng(op): 5:03pm On May 19, 2017 |
Presidential assent possible in three days if…, says Ita Enang ON MAY 19, 20174:25 PMIN NEWSCOMMENTS By Levinus Nwabughiogu ABUJA- Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday formally received the 2017 budget passed by the National Assembly last week. The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Mr. Ita Enang in a closed door session presented the document to Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The budget first presented in December 2016 before the two chambers of the national assembly by the President had an estimate of N7.28 trillion but was raised to N7.44 trillion by the federal lawmakers. Details of the budget showed that N434.4 billion was appropriated for statutory transfers to the National Judicial Council (N100 billion); Niger Delta Development Commission (N64.02 billion); Universal Basic Education (N95.2 billion); National Assembly (N125 billion); Public Complaints Commission (N4 billion); INEC (N45 billion); and National Human Rights Commission (N1.2 billion). In a tweet, the Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande said that the Appropriation Bill would be subjected to consideration. “2017 Budget-Appropraitions Bill now officially received in the Acting President’s office & undergoing very prompt and diligent considerations”, he tweeted. Speaking to State House correspondents delivering the bill, Ita Enang gave indications that a presidential assent was possible within two or three days if the standard operation processes are completed instead of waiting for the statutory 30 days. “The budget as passed by the National Assembly has just been transmitted to the Acting President. I just delivered it. Let me use this opportunity to clarify an issue. The Acting President has the power to assent to the budget and he will assent to it when the processes are completed. “The Acting President has the power to assent to the budget. In February, he assented to 7 or 8 bills. Those that he didn’t agree with, he wrote the Senate and House of Representatives that he had withheld his assent from them. He has the power of the president to assent to it. “But the assent to the Appropriation Bill will be after the completion of the standard operation process. The bill has 30 days within which it will be assented to but the process can be completed within two or three days. “So, it is not possible to say it will be assented to in so, so and so day or in two or three days. It’s upon the completion of the process that it will be assented to by the president and the president here now is the acting president”, Enang said. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/presidential-assent-possible-three-days-says-ita-enang/ |
| Politics › BREAKING: Osinbajo Receives 2017 Budget From National Assembly by Dotng(op): 4:23pm On May 19, 2017 |
BREAKING: Osinbajo receives 2017 Budget from National Assembly Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja The Presidency on Friday confirmed that the National Assembly has formally transmitted the 2017 Appropriation Bill recently passed into law to the Executive. The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President, Mr. Laolu Akande, confirmed this on his Twitter handle, @Akandeoj. He said the document was formally received in the office of the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday. Akande added that the bill is currently undergoing diligent consideration by the Executive arm of government. “2017 Budget -Appropriations bill now officially received in the Acting President’s office and undergoing very prompt and diligent consideration,” he wrote. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had on Wednesday told reporters that upon receipt of the document, copies would be made available to ministers to compare what their ministries sent to the National Assembly and what was returned. He had told the reporters that a decision on who would sign the document between Osinbajo and President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently in London, the United Kingdom for medical consultation would be taken at the appropriate time. But Akande had stated that Osinbajo will sign the document once he is satisfied with what was transmitted back to the Executive from the National Assembly. http://punchng.com/breaking-osinbajo-receives-2017-budget-from-national-assembly/ |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 7:36pm On May 16, 2017 |
Please where can I download Guardians of the Galaxy 2 in HD or mkv format? |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Sites Can You Download Series For Free? by Dotng: 8:13pm On May 11, 2017 |
Please, can someone tell me where can I download West Wing series from? 1 Like |
| Politics › Re: National Intelligence Agency Claim Ownership Of $43M Found By EFCC by Dotng: 1:25pm On Apr 14, 2017 |
Marotzke:A so called safe house that will be invaded without immediate response is not a safe house. |
| Politics › Re: Senator Adeola Denies Ownership Of Discovered Billions In Osborne Tower by Dotng: 7:10pm On Apr 13, 2017 |
Season of denial.   |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 4:26pm On Apr 12, 2017 |
AvsGot007:What is the movie title? |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by Dotng: 5:24pm On Apr 11, 2017 |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by Dotng: 11:54am On Apr 11, 2017 |
snezBaba:Which series is TWD? |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 11:16pm On Apr 10, 2017 |
oyetpel:We may not have orderliness but respect is one thing that you can not remove from our way of life. Except for some Crude tribes among us that don't regard anything as sacred. |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 5:03am On Apr 10, 2017 |
SAMBHOSS:Thanks! |
| Politics › Re: Osinbajo, Malami, Magu, DSS Move To Save Anti-graft War by Dotng: 7:39pm On Apr 09, 2017 |
bendpolo:I believe he was referring to their backwardness in terms of intellectual capacity and skilled manpower. |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 10:58pm On Apr 08, 2017 |
SAMBHOSS:Which site are you using for the download? |
| Politics › London School Of Economics Debunks Dino Melaye's Degree Claim by Dotng(op): 8:20pm On Mar 23, 2017 |
London School Of Economics Debunks Dino Melaye's Degree Claimhttp://saharareporters.com/2017/03/23/london-school-economics-debunks-dino-melayes-degree-claim 13 Likes 3 Shares
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| Politics › Why North’ll Continue To Be Problem To Nigeria –balarabe Musa by Dotng(op): 6:56am On Mar 19, 2017 |
WHY NORTH’LL CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEM TO NIGERIA –BALARABE MUSA — 19th March 2017 … Says region can’t produce 100 engineers, but a local government in South can produce 1000 engineers From Noah Ebije, Kaduna GRANTING this interview was a Herculean task for the former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, not because he was not willing to talk, but because he admitted, “I am weak, health wise, I don’t think I can speak for very long, but let me try, as long as you will not drill me for too long.” Alhaji Musa also appeared not to be in a good mood last Tuesday morning when the correspondent went to his house, saying, “Apart from the fact that I am weak, I could not attend INEC meeting in Abuja because they gave only two days notice for the meeting, and I would have loved to attend the meeting myself, but I cannot. So I have asked the national secretary of my party to attend.” So with this situation, the former governor was not in his usual mood and as such the reporter could not stretch him much on burning national issues. Nevertheless, he managed to release an arsenal, saying, “North is the problem of Nigeria because the region is educationally backwards to be able to help in reconstruction of the country to achieve socio-economic greatness among comity of nations.” President Muhammadu Buhari returned to the country recently from London where he underwent medical treatment. He admitted that he had not been so sick in his life, but before now, the President’s handlers did not open up to Nigerians as to the true state of his health. What can you say about this? Well, the handling was very bad, very unexpected, they took Nigerians for granted when they should not because the health of the president affects everybody, every Nigerian, whatever any Nigerian feels, Buhari is president, and Nigerians future is linked to the president’s presence or absence. And therefore people should not be indifferent to the health of the president. And the president’s handlers must make sure that they keep on informing Nigerians about the true health of the president. When they said the president was not ill, unfortunately we did not hear about the true health of the President. This is not the first time, the same thing happened during the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua. But fortunately enough, the president has returned in a healthy condition. I said in a healthy condition because, seeing how the president came down from the aircraft, I was confident that his condition of health is not worse than all of us because he came down from the aircraft without being held and in a strong position. So as long as Nigerians are concerned, unless the president is hiding something medically, he has returned healthy and he is carrying out his responsibility. Hardly had the President returned to the country than Nigerians were told that he would soon go back to London for another round of medical attention. Do you think it is good for our politics, don’t you think our politics will suffer for the president’s periodical absence from Nigeria? No, certainly it is not good for our politics. But this can happen to anybody. We have all been in and out of hospital, so it is not unexpected, particularly when the president has greatest share of pressure. It is not unexpected of him to go back with the hope that his condition will be better than when he was released from the hospital, and what treatment he got after his return, and later he will stay there for the mean time. Away from Buhari’s ill health, Let’s talk about the last national conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan. As it is today, many Nigerians are yearning for the implementation of the report of that Confab, particularly, the restructuring of the country. But up till now President Buhari has not looked at the recommendations. What is your reaction to this? President Buhari is right, not to have approved the report of that confab because the national conference was not legitimate; it did not reflect the wishes of Nigerian people. It was Jonathan himself who dictatorially decided that we should have a national conference. It is he who appointed those who participated in the national conference; it is he who gave them the…, so that national conference has nothing to do with the aspirations of Nigerians, it has nothing to do with democracy, and it has to be dismissed. There may be aspects of it that are progressive. For instance, the call for restructuring. This is an incidental thing, and we should pursue it, but not as a result of the national conference. The confab should be dismissed because it is irrelevant. It has nothing to do with the aspirations of Nigerians, and it has nothing to do with the destiny of Nigerians. It has to do with the will of a president who wanted to continue in office. From what you have just said, you are in support of restructuring the country. How do you want Nigerians to pursue or go about the restructuring agenda? Well, in the first place, let’s determine what we mean by restructuring because at the moment now there are various meanings of restructuring. As far as I am concerned, I am in support of restructuring, particularly in two areas; in return to the arrangement of the First Republic, where we had regional governments which were viable, and we should return to that. The 36 states are not viable, and everybody now knows it, and it is not in the interest of the country to continue with it. Let us have six regions, the North-west, the North-east, the North-central, South-west, South-south and South-east. This is the way to transfer Nigeria into three regional governments, each with its own constitution and government. Let also be units and not the statutory states, let any financial allocation come directly from the Federal government to the regions. And let the regions establish as many local governments as they cope with them with regard to financial allocation with the centre. And in fact what they need from centre will be reduced. They will be viable like the former Eastern region, Northern region, the Western region, and even before the Mid western region, they were viable. They needed the Federal Government support just to ensure even development and national unity. But definitely, even without the Federal Government support, they could survive. This is not what we have now. The second restructure I want is that let us return to the situation before the military came in where the government played the leading role in the economy to ensure, equality, justice, dignity of the human person and progressive even development of the country. It is the major restructure, this is economic restructure. So we should have this political and economic restructures. There are other aspects of restructuring that we can tolerate as long as they keep Nigeria united as one nation and capable of equal development because as long as we have one region not having the equality to participate in the affairs of the country, we will not have unity, we will not have peace. For instance, at the moment now we have major problems which we must face and solve as a country. Free education development is central to any form of national development. At the moment now because of historical development, the North is 40 years behind the South in educational development. If this condition continues, there is no way we can have national unity, there is no way we can have even development, there is no way we can avoid the North being the problem of Nigeria. It is a fact, and we have to face it. If we have people like the Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello and so on, their contributions to development would have continued, we will not have problem of even development, particularly in the educational sector. Let’s not forget that because of the colonial policy, the North was left behind right from 1950. For instance, by the time I left school in 1951, there was no single secondary school in the North. And therefore, a northerner could not go straight to university. He had to go to the South, that was in 1943 when there were about 100 secondary schools in the South. And this disparity has continued up till today, and we are calling on Nigerian leaders to know that this is a threat to peace, to national unity and even development of the whole country. But Nigerian leaders, particularly, the present crop of leaders don’t listen to this. But they now have to listen because we want peace and progress, and there is no way we can we have peace and progress if a section of the country does not have equal rights to participate in the affairs of the country, and you can’t have the equal rights to participate in the affairs of your country if you have this disparity in educational development. I always give an example. Let us say the present government of APC, (just for the sake of mentioning the party) decides to go revolutionary, decides to face the problems of Nigeria in a revolutionary way, in a way that within a short time we can see Nigeria becoming one of the second largest economy in the world. This is possible, it is not a dream. Take the case of the Soviet Union in 1976, take the case of China in 1949, what are they now, they are the leading countries of the world. Nigeria can achieve this within a short period of time because Nigeria is large in every respect, and it has resources. Let us suppose, just for the sake of mentioning it, that if the present APC government decides to go and do what these other countries have done to bring them to this present position, if that happens, for instance, the role of the engineers will be very vital. Of course, the roles of doctors, administrators, educationists will be vital. But the roles of engineers will be more vital in the sense of changing. Let us suppose that that government because of the need to reconstruct the country, to rebuild the nation quickly, wants every one of the 36 States, including FCT, Abuja, to produce 1,000 engineers for the sake of achieving this rapid development, how many states in the North can produce 1,000 engineers instantly without deploying the state engineers to the central pool. Now, maybe, if they can, it is Kwara and Kogi states that can produce such number of engineers, but I don’t think they can. They can’t even produce 100 engineers. But let us take the South, in the South, even one local government can produce ,1000 engineers to the national pool. How can we expect equal development under this condition where there is an unequal role in the society? So let’s face the problem. And that is why we in the PRP who aimed to bring about new and equal Nigeria to its God-given status, advocate socialist reconstruction of Nigeria, starting with the leading role of the state in the economy to ensure peace, equality, justice, dignity of the human person and progressive, even development. If we adopt this, I can tell you that within the next 20 years, even less, Nigeria will be different from what it is today. It will be one of the most developed countries in the world because we have the people, we have the geographical area, and we have the resources. Sir, you spoke with passion and sincerity about the problems of the North, in this case, will you advise President Buhari to organise a national conference to replace that of former President Jonathan? I don’t think he can because, I mean, he is not in any way politically different from former president Jonathan. President Buhari won’t do a better job from Jonathan. Let us find ways and means of agreeing for the need of the relevant national conference, and let us decide how it should come about. You mean President Buhari is politically weak to organise a national confab? No, I am saying that President Buhari is not different from Jonathan because Buhari is the product of the wasteful system we have been having for so long since the beginning of Nigeria. So you can’t expect him to do better than Jonathan. Maybe marginally, but not importantly because, for instance, he may have the courtesy to say that Nigeria should decide whether there should be a national conference or not, what is the agenda of the confab, Nigerians should elect who should participate in the conference, and so on. If he does that, he will definitely be ahead of Jonathan. Sir, INEC has just released the time table for 2019 general election. What is your observation about the time table because Nigerians are saying is too early, and others are saying it is not too early? I think it is proper that INEC has released the time table now because that gives all political parties, at least two years, to prepare for the election. It also gives INEC itself sufficient time to ensure that the time table is followed to the letter, and to conduct free, fair and transparent election leading to a legitimate government. It will also give INEC the time to make sure that the government provides it with the money it requires to conduct the election. So I think the time table is quite good. The only thing is that INEC should know that they are in a privileged position with regards to telling political parties when to starting campaigning doesn’t hold, whatever the law says, whatever INEC says, election campaign should start from now since INEC has announced time table for the election, and INEC should tolerate it. Kaduna State SIECOM has proposed electronic voting for local government election, are you in support of e-voting system of election? I am in support of anything that can lead to legitimate election, leading to a legitimate government. But many of the stakeholders expressed the fear that the powers-that-be may use the machine to manipulate votes in their favour. How do you react to this? They can use anything to manipulate votes, but it is up to the political parties to organise themselves, and if necessary to unite and make sure that the election is free, fair and they participate equally. http://sunnewsonline.com/why-northll-continue-to-be-problem-to-nigeria-balarabe-musa/ 10 Likes 1 Share
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| Politics › Re: The Hausa Fulani, The Yoruba And The Slaughter In Ile Ife (1) By Fani-kayode by Dotng: 4:46pm On Mar 16, 2017 |
kolaish:If you are really Yoruba as you claim to be, you will understand that such a statement is made to bring you to the awareness that you are underperforming. I have read all your responses to what others have been trying to say to get your attention that something is wrong with your line of reasoning. Unfortunately, your responses have confirmed that you are a child. Your insistence that you are right is childish. Everyone is wrong, you are the right one.  |
| Politics › Re: The Hausa Fulani, The Yoruba And The Slaughter In Ile Ife (1) By Fani-kayode by Dotng: 4:24pm On Mar 16, 2017 |
kolaish:It is obvious that you are a child. You do not need emotions to be loud your sense of reasoning because your level of reasoning is too low to comprehend what is going on here. 1. There is no good reason enough to slap or beat somebody's wife. No man with his pride intact will ask decently why his wife was molested. From your submission it is either you are not married or you don't know your responsibilities as a husband. You dare not hold a hausa man's wife not to talk of slapping her. If you live to tell the story, you can consider yourself lucky. 2. I can also see you really don't have much information about the nature of the Hausa people. You are assuming that they play by rules that operate on your street or in your family. You need to move around the country. They would kill for any reason and at anytime and anywhere. You may decide to play the ostrich when dealing with them. You will only be numbered among the dead. 2 Likes |
| Politics › Re: Fashola’s Ministry Frustrating Us, Says Ambode by Dotng(op): 9:13am On Mar 09, 2017 |
TexasR:Take it easy bro. Whatever Ambode is doing today, Fashola laid the foundation for it. Not only did fashola lay a good foundation he has already started the superstructure for the future of Lagos. What is just happening is the personal beef they have for each other. |
| Politics › Fashola’s Ministry Frustrating Us, Says Ambode by Dotng(op): 4:21am On Mar 09, 2017 |
Fashola’s ministry frustrating us, says Ambodehttp://punchng.com/fasholas-ministry-frustrating-us-says-ambode/ 14 Likes 4 Shares
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| Literature › Re: Why Do People Dislike Reading Science Fiction? by Dotng: 8:20am On Feb 26, 2017 |
peacettw:I loved the concept of Ex-Machina. I have been trying to get movies of the same concept. Can you recommend some? |
| TV/Movies › Re: What Movie Are You Watching Now? by Dotng: 5:10pm On Feb 20, 2017 |
Can anyone suggest where I can download John Wick: Chapter 2? |
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