₦airaland Forum

This reminds me of the HND Student who went to return N20,000.00 he collected to the bank after discovering N3.9bn balance in his account.

I remember how some NLanders pilloried him for his integrity.

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'Who lodged N9.3bn into my bank account?'
Written by Taiwo Olanrewaju
Sunday, September 5, 2010

WHAT has remained a puzzle to Ade-yemi Durojaye, a Higher National Diploma (HND) 1 Student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, is the identity of the person who lodged N9,309,019,869.91k  into his savings account.

More puzzling, however, is the swift manner with which the money disappeared from his account without any trace of it in his statement of account.

According to the civil engineering student, he had a little over N3,000  in his account and was going home for the weekend on Friday, 13th August, 2010.

So, Durojaye went to the First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Ibadan Poly 4 branch, with the intention of cashing N2,000.

It was about 6.57 p.m., so, he had to use his Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card.

"I was perlexed when I printed out my receipt and saw the balance in my account. I became weak and tired. Nine billion, three hundred and nine million, nineteen thousand, eight hundred and sixty nine naira, ninety one kobo. How did this amount get into my account?" I wondered.

To authenticate the ATM's claim, he withdrew N20,000 from the amount. But on Saturday when he went to check his account again, the money had disappeared from his account.

He, however, went to report the incident to the manager of the bank, a woman, on Monday morning.

He declared his intention to return the N20,000 he withdrew from the amount. The bank manager gave her approval but collected the triplicate copy of the teller which Durojaye used to lodge the money into  his account.

Durojaye later collected his statement of account, which had no record of the over N9 billion in it.

Although it has the record of the N20,000 which he refunded, that had also disappeared from his account, leaving a balance of a little over N1,000.

When the Nigerian Tribune  visited the branch on Wednesday, the manager was said to be on leave while the Branch Operation Manager,  claimed ignorance of the incident and referred the Nigerian Tribune to the bank's head office in Lagos.

http://odili.net/news/source/2010/sep/5/624.html






https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-509971.0.html

We need to look at some of the "crowds of supporters" shown to us during the election campaigns in March and April again.

They might have been "foxed"

Sharp-Eyed Viewers Catch Fox's 'MasterChef' Faking a Huge Crowd
By Lindsay Robertson, The Set | Thursday, June 23, 2011, 10:55 AM

On Monday's episode of Fox's Gordon Ramsay-hosted cooking competition "MasterChef," the opening scene featured a shot of a huge crowd supposedly gathering to audition for the show, with a voice-over describing the "thousands" who lined up to try out. Yesterday, an eagle-eyed Reddit user noticed something weird about the crowd. Namely, the same people showed up multiple times in the same shot:

On the one hand: ooooh, you mean TV shows are messed with by photo editors? I thought everything was real!

On the other: it's fun when the internet catches a behemoth like Fox doctoring a crowd of hopefuls for one of their reality shows. To be fair, this probably happens all the time without anyone catching on, but when you watch the video, it actually is pretty shockingly noticeable. "Why are those two ladies in orange waving in exact unison? Oh, because they're the same person":

In a comment to Entertainment Weekly, Fox admitted the photo was changed and says they won't use that shot anymore. It doesn't really affect anything (thousands probably did audition) but it's a fun gotcha for a show that takes itself so very seriously.

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/sharpeyed-viewers-catch-master-chef-faking-a-huge-crowd--3229

ekt_bear:
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in an unprecedented act of generosity last week suggested names of what the party described as qualified persons the party said were qualified to serve as commissioners in the State. The seeming sincerity of the gesture was underlined by the fact that all the names suggested by the PDP for the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN government were indeed members of the ACN.

In his response, the State Acting Chairman of ACN, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi advised Chief Sunday Ojo-Williams to humbly forward his credentials to his office for consideration as a Commissioner in the cabinet of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. In an interview, Adelowo expressed deep understanding over the passion and ploy demonstrated by Ojo-Williams on the constitution of the new cabinet in Osun State.

Recalling that the PDP chairman had openly called for prayers over the commissioner issue, Adebiyi stated that “Ojo-Williams prayer over the issue is understandable. We shall be ready to consider his application purely on the basis of merit without political conditionality since it appears he has become obsessed about it all.”

Comical cat and mouse game!

Eko Ile,

I thought these were supposed to be updates on recent events.

Aren't these old pictures?

23 June 2011 Last updated at 14:15 GMT

Give public bailed-out banks shares says Nick Clegg

Peston: Bank casino capitalism for all
Lib Dem urges bank share giveaway
Proposals to give the public shares in part-nationalised banks RBS and Lloyds have been backed by Nick Clegg.

The idea is that individual taxpayers would benefit from any long-term gains when shares in the banks are sold.

The deputy prime minister said it was important British people were not overlooked after their money was used to keep the banking system alive.

The Treasury said all options would be considered but Labour dismissed it as a headline-grabbing exercise.

'Life-support machine'

Under the plan, the 45 million people on the electoral roll would be given free shares in the bailed-out banks, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

The shares would only have any value above a "floor price", equivalent to what the government paid for the holdings, so the Treasury could cover the cost of its investment.

That price is estimated at 74p per share for Lloyds and 51p for RBS.

HOW WOULD IT WORK?
About 75% of publicly-owned shares distributed to all British adults on the electoral roll - for free
Recipients get full rights of shareholder
When shares are sold, a fixed "floor price" goes to Treasury to return its investment
The shareholder, who could choose when to sell, would keep any profit

The idea for so-called people's shareholdings, first suggested in March, was developed by City firm Portman Capital with the support of the Lib Dems' Treasury Parliamentary Committee, chaired by backbencher Lib Dem Stephen Williams.

He argued that the mass distribution of the bank shares would be the fairest way of giving taxpayers a share of the rewards, of getting back the money the government paid out in 2008, and would help restore confidence in state-owned financial institutions.

Mr Clegg has written to Chancellor George Osborne in support of the proposal.

'Break even'

Speaking on a trip to Brazil, Mr Clegg said: "Psychologically it is immensely important that the British people feel they have not just been overlooked and ignored.

"Their money has been used to the tune of billions to keep the British banking system on a life-support machine and they have absolutely no say at all in what happens when normality is restored.

Continue reading the main story
Hugh Pym

Chief economics correspondent, BBC News

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it happens it would be the biggest exercise yet in "people's shareownership", putting the Thatcherite privatisations into the shade.

The sales of British Gas and other utilities created a new generation of 10 million shareholders in the late 1980s and early 90s.

But they had all made a conscious decision to buy.

The proposed scheme for Lloyds and RBS would give 45 million adults shares, many with no experience or knowledge of the Stock Market.

The fact that Nick Clegg has thrown his weight behind it is significant.

There has been no rubbishing by the Treasury who say they will "look at all options".

But there's no guarantee it will go further.

The chancellor ultimately will decide whether its workable and gives value for taxpayer.
"I think, in a sense, as a society we are condemned to take an interest in our banking system."

He said the scheme would give the Treasury an assurance that they would "break even" without allowing it "the freedom to grab the windfall if there is one".

Business Secretary Vince Cable said proposals were at a "preliminary" stage and it would be some years before the banks were in a position to be returned to the private sector.

But he said it would be a way for tax-payers to benefit after "saving" the banks.

Mr Cable, who has previously accused the banks of privatising their profits and socialising the losses, said the proposal would be one way of reversing that he said.

There have been suggestions the scheme could cost hundreds of millions to administer but Mr Williams, the MP who floated the idea, told the BBC he was convinced it would be cheaper than a conventional privatisation - which would see the Treasury charged "huge fees".

He added that people with "surplus cash" would be able to buy shares, but millions of citizens would miss out, despite having "felt the pain of contributing" to the bank bailout in the first place.

The idea has also been backed by the Conservative backbencher John Redwood, who told the BBC: "It is a great opportunity so that the taxpayers can be involved, the taxpayers could then it discipline the banks as their owners and shareholders and they can get something back when the banks have sorted themselves out."

Northern Rock

The Tory right winger asked Chancellor George Osborne about the idea in the Commons earlier in the week.

Mr Osborne told him was "always happy to discuss ideas" about disposing of the bank shares and the "good bank" in Northern Rock was going up for sale.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
The government needs to urgently explain what impact this proposal will have on the public finances”
End Quote
Ed Balls

Shadow Chancellor
But he added: "We want to exit from our shareholdings in RBS and Lloyds in due course, but we do not judge now to be the right time."

Ahead of last year's general election, Mr Osborne himself floated the idea of a "people's bonus plan", under which the public would have been offered discounted shares in state-owned banks.

The taxpayer owns 83% of RBS and 41% of Lloyds after the government invested about £65.8bn in 2008 at the height of the banking crisis.

A Treasury spokesman said: "While the question hasn't arisen at the moment, we've said we shall look at all options".

Labour dismissed the proposal as a headline-grabbing exercise by Mr Clegg that had not been properly thought through.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "The test for what happens to the nationalised banks must be the long-term best interests of the taxpayer not the short-term need to get headlines for Nick Clegg's overseas trip.

"The government needs to urgently explain what impact this proposal will have on the public finances, what the administration costs are estimated to be, how the scheme would work and what effect it would have on the balance sheets of the banks."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13884271

21 June 2011 Last updated at 12:02 GMT

Kenya's MPs ordered to pay higher taxes

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki (R) has a deal with MPs, exempting them from paying higher taxes

Kenya's tax office is demanding that MPs pay tax on their full salary and perks, accusing them of breaching the constitution by failing to do so.

The tax office also said it wanted payments to be back-dated to last August, when Kenya adopted a new constitution.

The arrears come to about $10,000 (£6,100) for each MP.

Kenya's MPs are among the highest paid in Africa, earning a total of about $9,300 a month.

The MPs pay tax on perks worth about $2,000, while the rest of their income is tax-free.

The BBC's Caroline Karobia in the capital, Nairobi, says the MPs have a gentleman's agreement with President Mwai Kibaki, exempting them from paying higher tax during the current parliamentary term.

'Legally compelled'

They intend to pay more tax after parliamentary elections next year, when their salaries will also go up, she says.

MPs voted last year to increase their after-tax annual salaries and perks to as high as $126,000 after the 2012 election.

Their decision sparked outrage, with critics accusing them of voting for salaries higher than their counterparts in the UK.

The MPs said they deserved higher salaries because they were over-worked, and were responsible for major decisions about the nation's economic and political well-being.

Our reporter says many Kenyans are waiting to see how MPs will now respond to the letter sent to them by the Kenya Revenue Authority, which are argues that the parliamentarians are legally compelled to pay tax on their total income.

The letter was sent after MPs ignored a recent plea by Kenya's tax chief, Michael Waweru, that higher taxes would boost the government's income, making more money available for poverty-alleviation programmes.

The average annual income in Kenya is about $730, while most of the population earns less than $1 a day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13857480

^^^

I'd been wondering about that too.

Not trying to justify the extra-judicial killing of the BH leader.

But when US took Osama out, I thought there would be a lot of hoopla by Nlanders who raised hell when the BH leader was killed.


BTW, I now understand why the likes of ACN have been asking the FG to negotiate wih BH.

I always knew there was more to the BH and negotiation issue than we the masses were being told.


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The ACN said the federal government should urgently engage those behind the worsening Boko Haram-led violence in dialogue, rather than place emphasis on the use of force, as a way of ending the violence.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party urged Jonathan to take the lead in engaging the Boko Haram sect, just like the late President Umaru Yar’Adua took charge of the amnesty programme for the Niger Delta militants, instead of leaving it to the Borno State governor.

It also advised the police to talk less and show more tact in dealing with the issue, saying it took only days after the Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim boasted that the days of the sect were numbered, for it to take the battle to the IGP’s doorsteps with the first-ever suicide bombing in Nigeria’s history.

The party urged the government not to be discouraged by the near impossible conditions for dialogue that have been reeled out by Boko Haram sect, saying dialogue will pay off in the end if those involved can stay the course and surmount the obstacles.

‘’Our stand is based on the fact that Boko Haram is a product of politics gone awry, as the former Borno State governor allegedly used the sect to further his political career only to dump it unceremoniously. The cold-blooded killing of its leader by the police was the last straw. This is just like how some governors in the Niger Delta allegedly helped to create the monster of militancy by arming youths for political ends. Thankfully, that militancy has now been largely curtailed through a political solution,’’ ACN said.

The party said Boko Haram has now evolved into a monster because of the dangerous mix of politics, religion, economy and international terrorism (alleged Al-Qaeda connection).


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/9918-how-to-tackle-bombing-boko-haram-threat-by-ex-ig-ehindero-acn-others.html

In 2009, the British tabloid News of the World leaked a video in which Harry refers to his South Asian army comrades using racist language. Worse, the video had been filmed by the prince himself three years earlier.

Touring a room while his friends doze, he describes one officer as "our little Paki friend Ahmed," employing a derogatory term for a Pakistani. Later, he spots a colleague wearing camouflage netting over his head and says, "It's Dan the Man , you look like a raghead."

Prince Harry's spokesman fended off claims of racism. "Prince Harry used the term raghead to mean Taliban or Iraqi insurgent," he said. As for Ahmed, the spokesman claimed that Paki was merely his nickname.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2076816_2076800_2076804,00.html #ixzz1Q5PiPrRD

The 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 killed 259 passengers and crew members; in addition, large sections of the plane crashed into homes in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 11 residents.

In 1993, as he was visiting the street where the victims on the ground died, the prince shocked locals by comparing their tragedy to problems at the royal estate. "People usually say that after a fire, it is water damage that is the worst," he said. "We are still trying to dry out Windsor Castle."



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2076816_2076800_2076801,00.html #ixzz1Q5PQTNcw

Swaziland: The madness of King Mswati III
Written by Annie Renard in Mbabane
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 10:36

While the Swazi king planned his jubilee, dissent was brewing via Facebook, resulting in an attempt to unseat the monarch


The North African-styled uprising designed to unseat Mswati on 12 April came from an unexpected quarter: the internet. Swaziland is more often seen as a traditionalist enclave than a hotbed of cyber-revolutionaries. However, its opposition in exile has become adept at using the internet to further its aims. Unsurprisingly, the police brutally shut down the brief attempt at an uprising.



Mswati has often dealt with unrest – his riot police beat and deported activists during the last round of protests in 2010. The difference this time is that the money has dried up, leaving the king vulnerable to scrutiny from the outside and dissent from within.



What rattled Swaziland’s elite more than the threat of an uprising was a Facebook page dedicated to publishing royal gossip. Writing under the name Gangada Masilela, the cyber-journalist responsible became public enemy number one.



Used to keeping the traditional press on a tight leash using ‘anti-terrorism’ legislation, Swazi authorities have found themselves at a loss when it comes to policing cyberspace. The organisation behind the ‘12 April Uprising’, the banned Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), says the gossip site is a part of its strategy to destabilise the government. Based at South Africa’s COSATU House, the SSN also claims to have sources inside the royal court that are feeding it information.



On 25 April, pomp and ceremony marked King Mswati’s ‘Silver Jubilee’, but never, in his quarter century on the throne, has the beleaguered monarch seen his kingdom so volatile. Swaziland’s main source of income, Southern African Customs Union receipts, slumped by 11% of GDP last year. Although the IMF and others had long warned Swazi leaders to plan for this eventuality, it appears that the government had no such plans. By the IMF’s estimates, the country has been accumulating arrears since last September. While months of state electricity bills went upaid, plunging schools and government offices into darkness, reports that army rations had run out prompted Mswati and the government to swing into action.



Civil society critics warned that the ‘Silver Jubilee’ would be in poor taste given that civil servants were being asked to accept a 4.5% wage cut. The IMF recommended that the government slash the state’s wage bill by 5% if Swaziland hoped to bring the deficit down to single figures and to be eligible for loans from the African Development Bank and the World Bank.



Finance minister Majozi Sithole’s admission that between E40m-80m ($6m-$12m) a month is vanishing from state coffers due to corruption, prompted unions to get out their calculators: at that rate the savings from salary cuts would be used up in under a year. Dismissing a 10% pay-cut for cabinet ministers as a publicity stunt, unions and civil society groups took to the streets to call on the government to resign.



Meanwhile, the tide is turning against Mswati in neighbouring South Africa, the country Swaziland depends upon economically. Both the African National Congress Youth League and Congress of South African Trade Unions threw their weight behind the opposition’s protests and are putting pressure on President Jacob Zuma to rein in his royal neighbour.



This article was first published in the May 2011 edition of The Africa Report


http://www.theafricareport.com/archives2/politics/5140250-swaziland-the-madness-of-king-mswati-iii.html

On Christmas Day 2000, 75-year-old pensioner Mary Halfpenny spent three hours making a flower display for the Queen Mother, then waited patiently outside a church on Sandringham Estate — one of the royal family's country homes — hoping to present it to her. The exchange never happened.

Instead, Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II's only daughter, grabbed the bouquet and huffed, "What a ridiculous thing to do!"

The incident left Halfpenny reeling. "It was a really hurtful thing to say," she told reporters. "I've made baskets of flowers for the Queen, and she has always said how nice they are."

And Anne's un-princesslike attitude didn't end there: she reportedly told her nieces, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to "get a move on" and discouraged them from accepting flowers from well-wishers.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2076816_2076800_2076802,00.html #ixzz1Q5N14J4d

In 2005, more than 50 journalists gathered at Klosters, a Swiss ski resort, for a photo call marking Prince Charles' imminent wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles. During the shoot, Charles couldn't hide his contempt. "I hate doing this , I hate these people," he muttered to his sons Harry and William, unaware that his microphone was picking up every word.

Asked by the BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell how he felt about his upcoming nuptials, Charles responded sarcastically, "I'm very glad you've heard of it, anyway." He then turned his head slightly toward Harry and whispered, "Bloody people. I can't bear that man. He's so awful, he really is."



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2076816_2076800_2076803,00.html #ixzz1Q5MgB7qs

Red mist for polygamist Swazi king as wife No 12 'caught in bed with his justice minister friend'
By Mail Foreign Service

Last updated at 7:48 PM on 3rd August 2010

In the strange landlocked African kingdom of Swaziland, subjects must ensure they do not dishonour their monarch.

That rule goes for King Mswati III’s 13 wives as well.

And, despite shunning monogamy himself, he was in no mood to tolerate claims that his 12th spouse may have also enjoyed sharing her love with more than one partner.

He was unhappier yet when the man said to be having an affair with his beauty queen bride Mswati Nothando Dube was none other than his own justice minister and friend Ndumiso Mamba.

Anger: King Mswati III put his wife Mswati Nothando Dube, 22, under house arrest

[b]So, after engineering a sting operation and allegedly catching the two in bed, his 22-year-old wife has now been placed under house arrest while her Mamba is in jail.

Of course, the king’s 1.2million subjects have been made aware of this salacious story by the country’s press.

Facing execution: Swazi justice minister Ndumiso Mamba was allegedly caught in bed with Miss Dube in a hotel room


Instead, journalists there have been told to focus on the honorary degree awarded to the monarch during his current visit to Taiwan.

However, this has not stopped reporters from neighbouring South Africa exposing the scandal.

If convicted of the rather odd-sounding charge of ‘trespassing into another man’s home’, married Mamba, who was once a close friend of the king, could be executed.

While Miss Dube, a mother of two who got engaged at 16 after taking part in the annual pageant of thousands of topless Swazi virgins, could be banished from the kingdom.

The two were arrested at the Royal Villas hotel in a town near Mbabane, the country capital.[/b]


As is the custom in the tribal state, the monarch’s mother, who shares his power and is known as the Indlovukazi, or Great She-Elephant, sent a delegation to Mamba’s village to press charges.

Political commentators told the Daily Telegraph the alleged affair was '’common knowledge’.

Miss Dube first caught the king's eye at the annual Reed Dance six years ago.

Inkhosikati LaDube, as she became known, bore him a daughter within a year and a son soon afterwards.

High chieftain: Mswati III rules as an absolute monarch and enjoys lavish parties

Pick of the nation: Some of the 50,000 young, half-unclothed Swazi women at the annual Reed Dance pageant where Miss Dube caught the king's eye six years ago

British-educated King Mswati III, who is also known as ‘ngweyama’ or the lion, has ruled Swaziland since 1986.

The country, which also borders Mozambique, has one of the highest Aids rates in the world, with an estimated 40 per cent of the population is HIV positive
Also, 70 per cent of the people live below the poverty line.

The king, who rules as an absolute monarch and appoints the prime minister and cabinet, enjoys many lavish parties and the trappings of luxury.

His birthday on April 19 is regularly celebrated in front of thousands in a stadium where expensive gifts are presented to him on behalf of his people.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1299884/Scandal-12th-wife-Swaziland-king-caught-married-lover.html#ixzz1Q5AhGcSb

Considering the fact that someone recently suggested a monarchy for Nigeria (https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-694757.0.html#msg8553749)


PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY TO THE LAST LINE.
-------------------------------------------------------


Prince Philip at 90: Relive the Blundering Royal's Most Embarrassing Missteps
By: William Lee Adams

REUTERS/POOL New

The Duke of Edinburgh, the man of a thousand gaffes, turns 90 today. As part of the birthday festivities, NewsFeed looks back at some of his biggest public blunders.
2009: "There's a lot of your family in tonight." After seeing business leader Atul Patel's name tag during a reception for 400 influential British Indians at Buckingham Palace.

2002: "So who's on drugs here? He looks as if he's on drugs." Singling out a 14-year old boy while addressing members of a Bangladeshi youth club.

2002: "Do you still throw spears at each other?" To William Brin, a successful Aboriginal businessman, during a visit to Brin's Aboriginal Cultural Park in Queensland, Australia.


2000: "It's a vast waste of space." Speaking to guests at a gala celebrating the opening of Britain's £18 million ($29 million) embassy in Berlin.

2000: "Get me a beer. I don't care what kind it is, just get me a beer!" After Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato offered him a selection of fine wines at a dinner in Rome.

1998: "You managed not to get eaten then?" Asking a British student about his trek through Papua New Guinea during an official visit.

1995: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?" To a Scottish driving instructor.

1994: "Aren't most of you descended from pirates?" To residents of the Cayman Islands during a tour of the Caribbean.

1993: "You can't have been here that long — you haven't got a pot belly." To a British tourist he met during a tour of Budapest.

1986: "If you stay here much longer, you will go home with slitty eyes." To a British exchange student during a visit to China.

1986: "If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it." Offering his assessment of the culinary habits of the Cantonese at a meeting of the World Wildlife Fund.

1984: "You are a woman, aren't you?" To an indiginous Kenyan woman who presented him with a gift during an official state visit.

1976: "We don't come here for our health. We can think of other ways of enjoying ourselves." To journalists in Canada.

1969: "We go into the red next year. I shall probably have to give up polo." On the Windsor family's finances.

1965: "It looks like the kind of thing my daughter would bring back from her school art lessons." After seeing an exhibition on Ethiopian art.

1956: "You look like you're ready for bed!" Speaking to the President of Nigeria, who was dressed in traditional robes, during a state visit,


Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/10/prince-philip-at-90-relive-the-blundering-royals-most-embarrassing-missteps/#ixzz1Q56TxoAu

Will Tinubu be there?

Such revolutions are easily hijacked by opportunists who have no real interest in the people's welfare.

Ask the Egyptians and Tunisians.

.

I wish the same could happen here.

California Legislators Lose Pay in Budget Jam

By VAUHINI VARA

California Controller John Chiang said Tuesday he would withhold legislators' pay for failing to meet a June 15 deadline for a balanced budget, dialing up pressure on Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers to close the state's remaining $9.6 billion deficit.

Mr. Chiang said a budget passed last week by state legislators and vetoed by Mr. Brown was short by $1.9 billion. Under the terms of an initiative passed last year by voters, legislators' pay is to be withheld for every day that they don't pass a balanced budget after the constitutional deadline of June 15.

"The numbers simply did not add up, and the legislature will forfeit their pay until a balanced budget is sent to the governor," Mr. Chiang said in a statement.

Lawmakers' monthly paycheck is due June 30. Pay will be withheld as of June 16 until a budget is passed.

The controller's move came amid a political impasse threatening to leave the nation's most populous state without a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. That could harm California's ability to pay bills and borrow money, potentially endangering the state's economic recovery.

The budget stalemate has placed California's credit rating is "at a crossroad," said Standard and Poor's analyst Gabriel Petek in a research note Tuesday. He added that a further delay could result in a cash crisis or the passage of a budget "that relies on as-yet unrealized sources of revenue, additional payment deferrals or legally questionable maneuvers."

California legislators were the highest paid in the U.S. as of last year, with an annual salary of $95,291, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That works out to a loss in salary of $261 a day. They will also lose a per diem of $142.

"The controller has made his determination," Mr. Brown said in a statement. "We should all work together to pass a solid budget."

The legislature can pass a budget with a simple majority, but raising taxes requires approval by two-thirds of legislators, which would require at least four Republican votes. Mr. Brown is still negotiating with a handful of Republicans to extend some tax increases scheduled to expire. When he failed to strike a deal by last week, Democratic legislators crafted and passed an alternate plan without the proposed tax-increase extensions.

While some legislators said they supported Mr. Chiang's move to withhold their pay, others opposed it. "I believe he was wrong," said State Assembly Speaker John Perez in a statement. He said the legislature passed a budget "reflecting all the options available to close the deficit without new revenues and without cuts so deep as to cost the state jobs and jeopardize our economic recovery."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070104576399973797850288.html

California Legislators Lose Pay in Budget Jam

By VAUHINI VARA

California Controller John Chiang said Tuesday he would withhold legislators' pay for failing to meet a June 15 deadline for a balanced budget, dialing up pressure on Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers to close the state's remaining $9.6 billion deficit.

Mr. Chiang said a budget passed last week by state legislators and vetoed by Mr. Brown was short by $1.9 billion. Under the terms of an initiative passed last year by voters, legislators' pay is to be withheld for every day that they don't pass a balanced budget after the constitutional deadline of June 15.

"The numbers simply did not add up, and the legislature will forfeit their pay until a balanced budget is sent to the governor," Mr. Chiang said in a statement.

Lawmakers' monthly paycheck is due June 30. Pay will be withheld as of June 16 until a budget is passed.

The controller's move came amid a political impasse threatening to leave the nation's most populous state without a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. That could harm California's ability to pay bills and borrow money, potentially endangering the state's economic recovery.

The budget stalemate has placed California's credit rating is "at a crossroad," said Standard and Poor's analyst Gabriel Petek in a research note Tuesday. He added that a further delay could result in a cash crisis or the passage of a budget "that relies on as-yet unrealized sources of revenue, additional payment deferrals or legally questionable maneuvers."

California legislators were the highest paid in the U.S. as of last year, with an annual salary of $95,291, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That works out to a loss in salary of $261 a day. They will also lose a per diem of $142.

"The controller has made his determination," Mr. Brown said in a statement. "We should all work together to pass a solid budget."

The legislature can pass a budget with a simple majority, but raising taxes requires approval by two-thirds of legislators, which would require at least four Republican votes. Mr. Brown is still negotiating with a handful of Republicans to extend some tax increases scheduled to expire. When he failed to strike a deal by last week, Democratic legislators crafted and passed an alternate plan without the proposed tax-increase extensions.

While some legislators said they supported Mr. Chiang's move to withhold their pay, others opposed it. "I believe he was wrong," said State Assembly Speaker John Perez in a statement. He said the legislature passed a budget "reflecting all the options available to close the deficit without new revenues and without cuts so deep as to cost the state jobs and jeopardize our economic recovery."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070104576399973797850288.html

Power generation from Egbin increases to1000mw
By Our Reporter 21/06/2011 00:00:00

Chief Executive of Egbin Thermal Station in Lagos, Mr Mike Uzoigwe, said power generation from the station has increased to about 1,000 mega watts.

Uzoigwe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that four out of the station’s six units were now working at full capacity due to adequate gas supply to the turbines.

He said power generation from the station dropped to 500 mega watts two weeks ago due to shortage of gas.

Uzoigwe said the fifth unit would be operating as soon as the station received gas supply yesterday.

He said he expected the country’s power generation to have increased because there had been enough gas supply to some power generating stations.

"We are sure that before the end of the week, we are going to hit 1, 200 mega watts because of the available gas supply.

"For now, Egbin power generation has bounced back to about 1,000 mega watts from about 500 mega watts it was in the last two weeks due to poor gas supply and low water level,’’ he said.

Uzoigwe said the station would reach its installed capacity of 1,320 before the end of fourth quarter of the year when the sixth unit, which is currently down, was fully repaired.


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/business/9947-power-generation-from-egbin-increases-to1000mw.html

‘Completion of Lekki-Epe Road not feasible this year’ .
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 00:43

THE expansion of the Lekki-Epe Expressway will not be completed this year, the Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC), financiers of the project, said yesterday.

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, the Managing Director of LCC, Mr. Opuiyo Oforiokuma, attributed the delay to certain significant changes introduced into the project lately by the Lagos State Government.

The changes, according to him, include the major redesign of parts of the carriageway alignment and other key features of the road.

“We now have to revisit and reconsider the timelines for completing the 49.5-kilometre expressway project. The road project reappraisal process is not yet complete. It is highly unlikely that we will be able to complete the project by the end of this year as previously envisaged.

“The various changes and how to deal with them are the subject of ongoing dialogue with the state government,” said Oforiokuma.

He, however, assured the public that the construction was progressing as the carriageway upgrade had already gone beyond Chevron Roundabout.

According to him, the six-lane carriageway, which is more than an asphalt surface, would last at least 30 years, when completed.

“We are in the process of constructing the new Falomo On-Ramp near Caverton Heliport on Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, which was commissioned in March 2011,” he said.

Oforiokuma said work has been completed on the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza and the new fully-electronic 22-lane toll plaza at the Oniru Estate, and that work is going on on another toll plaza near Chevron.

He said the company has been implementing a 24-hour complementary Incident Management Services that has assisted over 5,000 road users in distress situations.


http://www.compassnewspaper.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8494:-completion-of-lekki-epe-road-not-feasible-this-year&catid=37:general-news&Itemid=607

Very rapid movement through the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.

Can't help but think that her husband's "position" has a part to play.

oludashmi:
You only read and heard about so many things in Nigeria and already want to be a citizen. . . interesting
Pls come and be

Isn't that also true of many Nigerians who want to become American citizens?

Mr. Okanlawon,  the reason Musa could not was because the house of assembly was dominated by the NPN  who blocked his moves to appoint one.

As Governor he was stalemated by the Kaduna state house of assembly, which was dominated by NPN members. He was unable to form a cabinet since he refused to nominate NPN members and the House refused to ratify his candidates. Eventually the House impeached him in June 1981, making him the first Nigerian state governor ever to be impeached

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdulkadir_Balarabe_Musa


Who is blocking Aregbesola?

I weep for my country people!

Is this what unemployment and "unemployability" has done to us?

I feel so ashamed right now.

I remember a few years back when NB also showed us some of the "failed contestants" on Gulder Ultimate Search".  It was a pathetic site. We saw people who could not swim jumping into the swimming pool and then hanging on to the ledge waiting to be rescued.

When Oceanic Bank also announced its football talent show, we saw "old" men who were willing to do anything to be a part.

Anytime I see things like this, I get depressed.

I am now quite sure if I should direct my simmering anger on the organisers who show us these people after turning them down or to these "contestants" themselves who put themselves up for such a "show".

It is a sign of the "get rich quick" syndrome that has now taken deep root in our society.

Pathetic!

Furthermore, although some Yoruba and their interpreters speak of Orisha as once-powerful personalities who became gods, another reasonable way of speaking of their genesis on earth is to suppose that Orisha are ancestors who managed to tap and control certain natural energies with which they henceforth became associated. The ancestor who mastered fire and the mystery of metallurgic transformation became "Ogun." A rain-maker became "Shango." A woman who could control the River Niger's flood and direct the force of tornados became "Oya."

http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/festivals.html

Look what the rains brought in . . .

Caribbean: Seventh Annual Orisa Rain Festival
Posted on Wednesday, June 14 @ 08:39:30 EDT by admin

Trinidad and Tobago

In Yoruba tradition, as indeed in many other eastern and pre-western societies, the change of seasons is of tremendous importance and is a time for much jubilee and inner reflection. This is especially so during the time when the seasonal rain cycle begins and new life has a chance to assume physical vessels and roam the earth. Traditionally, in Yorubaland, Africa, the rainmaking rituals were some of the most formal ceremonies that were held there. The revered rainmaker would even call on the deities responsible for the rain to bless the earth during periods of extreme drought. This reverence and deep appreciation for the coming of the rainy season has been transplanted from the mainland, Africa, to Trinidad and Tobago and by extension, other nations of the west that have been directly influenced by African people and culture.

The Annual Rain Festival held at Shrine Gardens in Santa Cruz has attempted, and successfully so, to formally revive this ancient African tradition and has been doing so for the past seven years. The 7th Annual Rain Festival took place from Friday, 9th June, and was concluded on Sunday, 12th June, 2006. This three day festival was filled with many activities that highlighted many of the successes that Africans and African descended people have made in the world.

Friday, which was the formal opening of the festival, kicked off at moonrise and was introduced by the Master of Ceremonies, Awo Orunmilla Chief Akoda Babalawo Oluwole Abiomi Ifakunle Adetutu Alagbede. Essential to the opening, as it was throughout the three day festivity, was the prayer/libation by Awo Ifakunle. Also significant in the opening ceremony was the official welcome by Iya Sangowunmi, the Spiritual Head of the Ile Eko Sango/Osun Mil'Osa, and the blessing of Honorees: Oscar Pyle, Baba Sam Phills, Earl Lovelace, Ishmael 'Penco' Best, Lazaro Ros, Baba Falokun Fatunmbi and L' Antoinette Osun Ide Stein. Greetings were then given by the Nigerian High Commission and the feature address, "Preparation for Repatriation", was presented by Sis Eintou Pearl Springer. Also present to commence the opening of the Annual Rain Festival 2006 was the Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, the Honorable Joan Yullie Williams.


On Saturday, there were displays of art, craft, clothes, jewelry and books, all with African and African spiritual themes. Moreover, the audience was blessed by local entertainers such as Arshad "Ifaniyi" Salandy who delivered the Calypso entitled, "A Mother's Call", 'Disciple' who sang, "I Never Thought" and "Flags" and 'Composer' who sang, "Child Training" and "Head Tie". Another well received performer was Pearl Eintou Springer who recited the poems, "Ode to Oshun" and "Loving the Skin I'm In." The WITCO Desperadoes Steelband Orchestra and the Courts Sound Specialist Steelband Orchestra also moved the crowd with their beautiful melodies on pan.

During the course of the three day event there were performances by Drum Xplosion led by Oba Ofun Vereen and several dances by L'ACADCO Caribbean Dance Force choreographed by L'Antionette Osun Ide Stines. Also, there were various lectures that occurred several times throughout the festival educating guests about Yoruba spirituality.

Guests were blessed with Orisa Cuisine on Sunday, and witnessed the Maypole Dance by the Maracas Youth Group and a ceremony dedicated to Ogun, who was instrumental in the evolution of the African drums to the steelpan instrument. The close of the festival was ended with a final ritual to thank the Gods and the Ancestors for the past proceedings and to ask for further blessings for all the participants of the event.

This revival of the Rain Celebrations was done successfully by Iya Sangowunmi and members of the shrine at Shrine Gardens in Santa Cruz and shows that things lost can always be rediscovered through dedication and perseverance.


http://www.rastafarispeaks.com/community/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=216

johnie:
Earlier, the Emir of Dass, Alhaji Othman Usman, had ordered a three-day fast to seek divine intervention to lack of rainfall.

Alhaji Ishaiku Ismail, the Deputy Chief Imam of Dass, who led the others in the prayers at the Dass Eid-Ground on Sunday, urged them to seek Allah’s forgiveness for their wrong deeds.

He lso admonished them to desist from evil acts, blaming the persisting drought in the area on such acts.

I don't know about the traditional worshippers but being religious people, we often pray about things like this.

From a Filipino newspaper . . .


Ex-ambassador to Nigeria faces malversation
Monday, June 20, 2011

A FORMER ambassador to Nigeria is facing four counts of malversation for allegedly using $95,856 in funds meant to bring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) home for the fictional rental of hotel rooms and a helicopter.


According to a press statement, Acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro has ordered the filing of charges at the Sandiganbayan against Masaranga Umpa, former ambassador to Nigeria, over a complaint from the Department of Foreign Affairs that Assistance to National (ATN) Standby Funds he received were misused.


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The money, meant to assist Filipino seamen who were abducted and freed in 2007, was instead "paid to non-existing or highly irregular transactions as evidenced by fabricated documents."


Umpa presented documents of a supposed transaction with Wellington Hotel Limited in Warri Delta State, Nigeria, for six hotel rooms and meals for police escorts for OFWs due for repatriation. This was a claim disputed by hotel accountant Adeleke Osinuga, who said the documents were forged, the Office of the Ombudsman said.


"The Filipino seamen were turned over by the Nigerian authorities to former ambassador Umpa and then DFA Secretary Esteban Conejos Jr. in the afternoon of February 13, 2007 but the hotel bills indicated breakfast and lunch charges amounting to $1,565 which could have not been incurred because the seamen were turned over in the afternoon," a press statement from the Office of the Ombudsman said.


It was also found that hotel bills Umpa presented were not stamped "paid" and that charges were also billed after the OFWs had already left for the Philippines. The Office of the Ombudsman also noted that cash vouchers presented for liquidation were not signed by the regular administrative officer, either.


The Office of the Ombudsman also said that the police escorts had been billeted at another hotel altogether.


"The hotel never received any payment from the Philippine Embassy since the hotel never billeted such group, and that there were no guests registered as representatives of the embassy," it said.


Umpa also presented documents claiming the use of ATN to hire a helicopter and a van as transportation for the OFWs.


"No such transportation was used," the Office of the Ombudsman said.


"In the instant case, it is very clear that the respondent (Umpa) had been very negligent in his duty of counter-checking the supporting documents for the cash advances for several transactions which he, himself, was involved in," the Ombudsman's resolution read.


Under the Revised Penal Code, each count of malversation carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.


Malversation also carries a penalty of perpetual special disqualification from government "and a fine equal to the amount of the funds malversed or equal to the total value of the property embezzled." (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/06/20/ex-ambassador-nigeria-faces-malversation-162211