Babatunde Fashola tells FG to bring down the price of fuel.

As the global oil prices slid further downward, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, asked the Federal Government to review downward the pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS,  from N97 per litre in the country in tandem with the slump in world oil price. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, had last Friday, on its website pegged the oil price at $66.27 per barrel. Fashola who blasted FG for its reluctance to adjust the pump price of   PMS, made the remarks while addressing hundreds of youths at the  Lagos State and After School  Graduation Development Centre,  AGDC, IGNITE Employability Project 5, Ikeja. He lamented that Nigerians were not receiving fair treatment from the central government like others in oil producing nation. Fashola said, “Now we should be enjoying cheap fuel if the price of oil has dropped globally. Even as we import the product, a major component has reduced in price and while this has reduced, the pump price of fuel in the country still remains the same. “Then something is wrong. If the price increases in the country when the price of oil goes up globally, then it should also reduce when the price of oil drops. “I understand that I am not an economist; they (Federal Government) are the economists. But I have some logic and common sense to ask critical questions. For instance, if one buy flour at N10 per kilogram, and the bread was sold at N1 per loaf. If the price of flour drops, the price of the bread should also change,” Fashola added. The governor, therefore, urged President Goodluck Jonathan led administration to follow the footstep of other countries that have reduced the pump price of oil products for their citizens. Fashola noted that the oil sector of the country had not been improved to address challenges confronting the nation especially unemployment, saying “The economy is not doing well. Some of you (audience) are compelled to try to survive through whatever means.” On how the oil sector would have addressed the unemployment challenges, he said. “If we are trying to build refinery with Dangote in Lekki Free Zone, LTZ, in Epe; and the construction alone would require 8, 000 workers. It means that they must get to work and back. So there is need for transportation service, there is need for food and other services during work and post construction. “So if we stop importing fuel, and start building refineries and doing other things right the economy will lift. If you build a gas grid for the country and rough estimate indicated that investing $5 billion, many businesses will began to get gas and some of the power installation can also convert to gas and others, there would be sudden positive effect on the country’s economy.

23 year old Nigerian student stabs his brother to death in Ghana.

23 year old Nigerian student Mustapha Musa Osmanu, studying Information Communication Technology (ICT) at Sikkims Manipal University, Accra, has been arrested by the Ghanian police for stabbing two of his brothers at their home in Accra Newtown on Friday November 28th. One of them died instantly.

Confessing to the crime, Musa said he was under the influence of drugs when he stabbed his brothers. He said a night before the attack, he'd taken 20 doses of Diazpam 5gm tablets, to enable him study.

"I admit committing the act. I regret my action and I even wanted to commit suicide after the act but Jamiru took the knife from me. I was out of control after taking the drug. I regret having taken the drugs which enables me study for more than five hours a day…” he said 

On the day of the attack, Osmanu had sneaked into their kitchen around 3.30pm, picked a knife and first stabbed Jamiru Osman, 23, in the chest before stabbing Nazifi Osman Mohammed, 27, in the chest and the stomach, leading to his death.

Nazifi, the oldest among the three brothers was pronounced dead on arrival at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. The other brother is now in a stable condition at the same hospital.

Speaking on the incident, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Christian Tetteh Yohuno said on November 29th, the day after the attack, Musa went to the police station to report, claiming that he and his brothers had been attacked by armed robbers. His claim was later refuted by Jamiru who survived the attack.

He revealed that it was Musa who attacked them while they were sleeping that fateful day. "Jamiru narrated that after seeing the intestines of Nazifi gushing out and blood flowing from his stomach, he immediately had to pretend he did not see the one who stabbed them after he was asked by suspect whether he saw something. The victim said if he had said yes, Musa Osmanu would have killed him instantly which was why he said he did not know the one who stabbed them,” DCOP Yohuno said.

Police believe that Musa Osmanu committed the act when he learned that the victims had been given about $4,000 from their elder brother to pay their school fees, a claim Osmanu has denied. "I did not commit the offense because of the money ”

According to him, Musa is expected to be charged to court soon for murder.

Lagos State APC Governorship Candidate ''Akinwunmi Ambode'' Releases His CV.

The APC Governorship aspirant of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode released his CV for his critics during his acceptance speech. See his impressive resume below...

• I was born on the 14th of June,1963 at Epe General Hospital, Epe, Lagos State.

• I had my Primary School at St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Meta, and Lagos. Passed the National Common Entrance in Primary 5 and gained admission into Federal Government College, Warri.

• Recorded the second best result in the entire West Africa in the Higher School

Certificate Examinations in the Social Sciences in 1981.

• Graduated with honours in Accounting from the University of Lagos at 21.

• I started my public service career at Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (now LAWMA) as Accountant Grade II in November 1985.

• At 24, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant and completed my Masters Degree programme in Accounting from University of Lagos, specializing in Financial Management.

• Worked in the Local Government Service for 10years and was at various times council Treasurer in Alimosho, Shomolu, Mushin and Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Councils.

• In 1998, my commitment to public service earned me the award of the US Fullbright Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, in Boston University, Massachusetts, USA on Public Leadership with emphasis on Finance and Accounting.

• I was appointed acting Auditor-General for Local Government in 2000 and became the youngest ever Auditor-General for Local Government in Lagos State.

• I was appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance in January 2005 and in February, 2006, was given the additional responsibility of Accountant-General of Lagos State.

• I was the youngest Permanent Secretary in service and only the second person to hold both positions of Permanent Secretary and Accountant-General at the same time.

• Under my watch, the State Treasury Office revolutionized the way Lagos State finances were raised, budgeted, managed and planned resulting in the state’s budget performing at an average of 85% annually.

• I ensured payment of civil service staff salaries before the end of the month, payment of running cost by 1st week of each month and introduced end of the year

package and special/specific welfare for staff.

• I launched the e-payment platform for the monthly staff salaries

• I renovated the State Treasury Office, created a conducive working environment, introduced a corporate dress code and provided laptops for all Directors

• I Introduced prompt payment of gratuity and pension arrears of the State Universal

Basic Education Board and Local Government old pensioners. 

• I introduced regular technical meetings with the Directors of Accounts in all MDAs, facilitated the sponsorship, by the State Governor, of over 1000 accountants to the Annual accountants' Conference in Abuja and initiated the annual retreat for Heads of Accountants as well as Local and International training for staff.

• I co-organised the first ever National Tax Retreat in association with the Joint Tax

Board/Federal Inland Revenue Service in 2005.

• I chaired the Technical Committee that produced the Lagos State Economic

Empowerment Development Strategy (SEEDS) document.

• I led the audit teams as the Auditor-General in the office of Auditor-General for Local Government to clear and publish the arrears of statutory audits of 1995 to 2004 within 12months.

• I am a scholar, accountant, administrator, an astute leader with strong emotional intelligence, i am an alumnus of Wharton Business School and also attended courses at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield, England; the Institute of Management

Development, Lausanne, Switzerland; INSEAD, Singapore and the Harvard Kennedy

School of Government, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

• I retired voluntarily from public service in August, 2012; the first ever recorded voluntary retirement by a Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Public Service.

• I established Brandsmiths Consulting Limited in 2012 and the company is today consulting for Federal, State and Local Governments on the transition to the new International Public Service Accounting System and other financial advisory services.

• I am a stickler for high performance and my decisions are never based on race, gender or religion.

Photos: Strangest Scenes Of Nature.. How Snake Devoured Crocodile.

Top 10 Most Sexiest & Cutest Girls In Arab Countries.

Jenna Lee Dewan

Jenna was born in Hartford, Connecticut on December 3, 1980. A skilled dancer, the 5’3” brunette edged her way up the entertainment industry ladder until she was working withbig name stars and even appearing in videos. With fiery green eyes and a fun, flirtatious personality, it was only a matter of time before she caught the eye of filmproducers and moved away from dancing and into more traditional acting roles. Of course, there is no telling if the move away from dancing is permanent. Jenna Lee Dewan born to Darryll Dewan and Nancy Lee Bursch Smith. Jenna’s parents divorced when Jenna was young and her mother remarried to Claude Brooks Smith.

She starred as the title character in the 2005 horror film Tamara playing an unpopular highschool student who is picked on by classmates, dies, is buried by her classmates, thencomes back to seek revenge. Other films that Dewan has appeared in include Waterborne(2005), Take the Lead, Step Up, and The Grudge 2 2006. Prior to starring in film, she was a dancer, working for various famous performers suchas Justin Timberlake, ‘N Sync, Sean Combs, Ricky Martin, Billy Crawford, and Janet Jackson in both live performances and music videos.

Karima Adebibe

Karima Adebibe was born in London, England in 1985. She is working as an actress and atopmodel. She was working as a sales assistant at the clothing store TopShop. Karima was born in eastern London 1985, her father is Moroccan and her mother is Irish. She was raised in her father’s homeland Morocco until she was in the age of 7, when they returned to London’s Bethnal Green, where she still lives. She used to work as a salesassistant at the clothing store TopShop. In February 2006, she was officially announcedas the new model for Lara Croft in the popular video game series Tomb Raider. Her firstrole in a major movie was when she played the minor role of a “Sacrificial Maiden” inthe movie “Alien Vs Predator”.

Haifa Wehbe

Haifa Wehbe was born in a small farming town near Southern Lebanon. She grew up listening to jazz and R&B. She became a model at a very young age and won the title of  “Miss South Lebanon” at age sixteen. Wehbe’s next distinction came in 1995 when she was runner up for Miss Lebanon. It was shortly discovered that she was married and had a daughter named Zeinab (Zaza). Her title was thus revoked. By 1996, she had recovered from the scandal and continued to model. She was seen on over 100 magazine covers. In 2006, she was on People Magazine’s 50 most beautiful people list.

May Hariri

Described as the most beautiful woman in Lebanon, known for her jovial and witty spirit, she radiates a constant positive energy with her cheerful personality. Equipped with a unique vocal ability, a team of professionals, lots of support from many in the music industry and her natural charm, May Hariri has finally launched her career as an arab Pop Artist.

Nadine Njeim

Nadine is Miss World Lebanon 2007. Nadine lives in Beirut, she took a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and believes the habits of focus and perseverance she acquired will help her achieve her ambition to build her own business. She has served as a paramedic in the Lebanese Red Cross and was a member of the scouts for 5 years. Nadine likes extreme sports and swimming. In her spare time she also enjoys reading, singing jazz and listening to Oriental, Blues and Lounge music. She enjoys all kinds of food, and has travelled to: Mexico, Cyprus, Australia and the Ivory Coast. Her motto: “Live every day as if it were your last”.

Valerie Domínguez Tarud

Valerie is a cousin to pop star Shakira, and is of Lebanese and Syrian descent. Valerie Domínguez Tarud in Barranquilla, Colombia. was Miss Colombia 2005-2006 and competed at Los Angeles, United States to participate in Miss Universe 2006. Valerie is also widely recognized thanks to her television appearances, and made her debut as Marianne Sajir in “Hasta que la plata nos separe.” She also started to enter the Colombian film industry, in the role of Manuela for the film called, “Esto huele mal” by Jorge Ali Triana. It was fairly light in Colombia for the participation of the beautiful actress.  She’s now in the television drama El Último Matrimonio Feliz. Valerie has a jewelry store in Barranquilla, which exhibits her designs. She will soon open another store in Bogotá.

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah was born Rania Al Yassin on August 31, 1970, to a notable Jordanian family of Palestinian origin. Queen Rania married then Prince Abdullah bin Al Hussein on June 10, 1993. They have four children: HRH Prince Hussein, born June 28, 1994; HRH Princess Iman, born September 27, 1996; HRH Princess Salma, born September 26, 2000, and HRH Prince Hashem, born January 30, 2005.After her marriage to then Prince Abdullah, Queen Rania channeled her energies behind initiatives that aim to improve the livelihood of Jordanians from various sectors of society.

Leila Bekhti

Leïla Bekhti (born 1984) is a French Algerian film and television actress.

Hoda Fadel

Lebanese super Model. Hoda Fadel is an Arabic-Lebanese model who is strikingly beautiful because, I think, of her deliciously attractive skin tone and Cleopatra eyes and long, slim legs that are out of this world.

Yamila Diaz-Rahi

A super model native to Argentina with Lebanese and Spanish roots, never really thought about becoming a model, much less a super model. Yamila’s life changed one day when a modeling agency spotted her in Buenos Aires where she was actually a student of economics. After that, Yamila Diaz Jumped on a plane to Milan to start her modeling career.

World powers and Iran hold talks in Vienna as IAEA head says country has yet to explain suspected atomic-bomb research

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes such as electricity generation [Reuters]

Iran and six world powers are trying to reach a nuclear deal in the Austrian capital Vienna, with just four days left to reach a deal. Experts say the talks have reached a crucial point as Iran and the P5+1 - the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany - began the final round of talks on Tuesday. The key sticking points are the scale of Iran's uranium enrichment, and the timetable for lifting Western sanctions against the country. In a new development, the head of the UN nuclear agency IAEA said on Thursday that Iran had yet to explain suspected atomic-bomb research. Yukiya Amano made it clear that the IAEA was far from satisfied, saying it was not in a position to provide "credible assurance" that Iran had no undeclared nuclear material and activities. Iran denies any intention of seeking atomic weapons, saying its nuclear programme is aimed at generating electricity. Iran and the P5+1 group reached an interim deal last November to halt the country's nuclear programmes in exchange for an easing of some sanctions. But after failing to narrow down gaps on key issues during six-month negotiations for a comprehensive deal, Iran and the P5+1 agreed in July to extend the nuclear talks for another four months until November 24. The US is pushing for agreement on at least the outline of a future accord and, to this end, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, will attend the talks in Vienna on Friday. The accord is intended to set limits on Iran's atomic activities in return for an end to international sanctions that have seriously hurt its oil-dependent economy. No explanations As one of the conditions, Western officials say Iran must stop blocking the IAEA investigation into allegations that Iran may have worked on designing a nuclear-armed missile, although some experts feel this should not be a deal-breaker. "Iran has not provided any explanations that enable the agency to clarify the outstanding practical measures," Amano told the UN agency's 35-nation board of governors on Thursday. He was referring to information Iran was supposed to have given the IAEA by late August concerning allegations of explosives tests and other activity that could indicate preparations for developing nuclear bombs. "I call upon Iran to increase its cooperation with the agency and to provide timely access to all relevant information, documentation, sites, material and personnel," Amano said. While the P5+1 want Iran to scale back its uranium enrichment programme - and thereby lengthen the timeline for any covert bid to assemble nuclear arms - the IAEA is investigating allegations of past research on designing an actual bomb. "The agency is ready to accelerate resolution of all outstanding issues," Amano said. He would present an assessment to the IAEA board "once the agency has established an understanding of the whole picture concerning issues with possible military dimensions" in Iran. Jen Psaki, the State Department spokesperson, said Kerry would be going to Vienna from Paris to "check in" on the talks.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

NFF accepts blame for Nigeria exit

Nations Cup 2015: NFF accepts blame for Nigeria exit

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has said it accepts the blame for the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

The African champions finished third in Group A following Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with visiting South Africa in Uyo.
NFF president Amaju Pinnick said it was a time for sober reflection rather than looking for scapegoats.

“The NFF takes full responsibility for what has happened,” he said.

“It is a tragedy for us to come so near and yet fail to reach the finals.”

Nigeria suffered a troubled qualification campaign where they not only struggled with form on the pitch but also were affected by deep divisions in the NFF, while coach Stephen Keshi was in and out of the job.

Yet the team’s victory over Congo on Saturday put their fate in their own hands and a win against already-qualified South Africa at home would have sealed their place in the finals.

“We made so much effort and sacrifice in Congo to achieve the victory we needed there on Saturday and really had no business bungling it here,” added Pinnick.

“However, our commitment is to build a sustainable football culture in the country and nothing has changed.
“This is a disappointment but for us, we gave it our best shot and supported the team fully.”

Pinnick, who had sanctioned the appointment of a foreign coach before a presidential order led to Keshi’s return, said Wednesday’s failure could turn out to be blessing in disguise.

“This has happened but we believe it will work together for us to toil hard and achieve a renaissance that will take Nigeria football to much higher heights than it has ever been,” Pinnick’s statement continued.

Under-fire caretaker coach Keshi admits his players underestimated the South Africans, who have never beaten Nigeria in a competitive fixture since 1993.

“Maybe we took South Africa for granted and we paid dearly for this.” said Keshi.

Hull City striker Sone Aluko, who scored both of Nigeria’s goals, said the whole team was devastated.

“I am disappointed, everybody is disappointed,” he said. “We did not get the result we wanted and we now have to pick ourselves up as a team.

Update: How Miss Honduras 2014 was killed by her sister's boyfriend

The boyfriend of Sofia Trinidad, the older sister of 19 year old 2014 Miss Honduras, Maria Jose Alvarado, has been identified as the killer of the beauty queen and her sister.

Plutarco Ruiz (pictured right) admitted to gunning down Sofia, 23, after flying into a rage after seeing her dance with another man at his birthday party, where the girls were last seen alive and then turned the gun on Maria because she was a witness to the murder of her sister. Three other men have been arrested in connection with the murders.

After he killed the women, he and his accomplices buried them near a riverbank close to where the party was held.

Ruiz took police to where he buried the bodies in the mountainous region near the border with Guatemala. He told police that they dumped the bodies in graves to speed up decomposition.

Nigerian Super Chicken Crashes Out.

How sad our own super eagle losses out of next year african cup competition.

Nigerian Tycoons Lead Africa's 50 Richest To Gains In 2014

Reported by Zina Moukheiber and Mfonobong Nsehe, with additional reporting from FORBES AFRICA, Christopher Helman, Chase Peterson-Withorn and Katia Savchuk. Edited by Kerry A. Dolan with Abram Brown and Luisa Kroll

For the first time in the four years that FORBES has been tracking Africa’s richest, Nigeria bests South Africa. At the top yet again is cement tycoon Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, joined on the list of Africa’s 50 Richest by 12 other countrymen.  In comparison South Africa claims 11 spots, down from 14 a year ago. Nigeria is showing its strength, having earned commendations for its efforts to snuff out Ebola in the country, which Dangote helped fund — and despite a recent drop in oil prices.\

There are three new billionaires on the list: Orji Uzor Kalu of Nigeria, Tony Elumelu of Nigeria and King Mohammed VI of Morocco.  Three billionaires on last year’s list are no longer members of the 10-figure club: Vimal Shah of Kenya is off the list, replaced by his father Bhimji Depar Shah at a lower net worth. Abdulsamad Rabiu of Nigeria dropped below $1 billion due to ceased operations at his cement company in Nigeria. And South African mining mogul Desmond Sacco dropped to a net worth of $680 million, down from $1.4 billion last year, because of a sharp decline in the share price of his mining firm Assore Group. The net result: the number of billionaires on the list stayed steady with 2013 at 27.

For the full list, see www.forbes.com/africa-billionaires

Africa’s 50 richest are, as a whole, wealthier than a year ago. Their combined net worth of $110.7 billion is 6.7% more than in November 2013. The minimum net worth needed to join this elite group rose to $510 million, up from $400 million a year ago.

Behind Aliko Dangote at number one with a fortune of $21.6 billion, comes South African luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert, number two for the second year in a row, worth an estimated $7.3 billion. His Compagnie Financiere Richemont has a stable of luxury brands including Cartier, Montblanc and fashion house Azzedine Alaia.

Six newcomers join the list of richest Africans, including the above mentioned new billionaires, as well as Ali Wakrim of Morocco and Ahmed Ezz of Egypt. Mohamed Bensalah of Morocco rejoins the list after dropping off in 2013. Seven members of the 2013 list fell off: Vimal Shah of Kenya (as mentioned earlier, his father Bhimji replaced him), Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Raymond Ackerman of South Africa, Sani Bello of Nigeria, Adrian Gore of South Africa, Shafik Gabr of Egypt, and Alami Lazraq of Morocco.

The oldest person on the list is 85 – both Miloud Chaabi of Morocco and Onsi Sawiris of Egypt share that age. The youngest is Mohammed “Mo” Dewji of Tanzania, age 39. The number of women on the list is two, unchanged from a year ago. Thirty-five of the fortunes were self made; two were inherited and the remaining 13 were inherited but are being expanded. The average net worth of each list member is $2.2 billion, compared to $2.1 billion a year ago.