Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Do not pray & fast over a man that isn't yours - Halima Abubakar
Jennifer Lawrence Tops Forbes 2016 List Of Highest-Paid Actresses With $46m [See Top 10]
Jennifer Lawrence, for the second year in a row, has been named the world’s highest-paid actress, notching $46 million pre-tax over 12 months – $13 million more than second-ranked Melissa McCarthy, who pocketed $33 million, according to Forbes Magazine, on Tuesday.
The earnings of the 26-year-old, while decreasing 11.5% from 2015, were bumped up by a deal in which she took a share of the $653.4m box office of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2,” as well as a big upfront fee for her forthcoming space adventure movie “Passengers,” Forbes said.
Second on the list is McCarthy, who reportedly raked eight-figure payday for Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot, having a 43.5% rise in her income.
McCarthy, who was the third highest-paid female actor last year, earned $10m more than in 2016 than in 2015.
Scarlett Johansson took third place in the 2016 list, dropping from second. Her $25m earnings are partly due to her returning role as Black Widow in Marvel’s Avengers films.
Johansson was recently named the US’s highest-grossing female film star of all time in a survey conducted by the industry analysis website Box Office Mojo.
The Top 5 was filled out by Jennifer Aniston ($21m) and Chinese star Fan Bingbing, the actor, producer and singer who topped Forbes’s China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Aniston, a regular in the Top 5, has seen her earnings increase by 27.3% in the last year.
The only new addition to the list is Bollywood star Deepika Padukone in 10th place, with $10 million (£7.6 million) earned over the past year.
The rest of the top 10 2016 highest-paid actresses are:
4. Jennifer Aniston – $21 million
5. Fan Bingbing – $17 million
6. Charlize Theron – $16.5 million
7. Amy Adams – $13.5 million
8. Julia Roberts – $12 million
9. Mila Kunis – $11 million
10. Deepika Padukone – $10 million
CBN bars 9 commercial banks from all foreign exchange transactions and operations
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has barred nine commercial banks from participating in all foreign exchange transactions and operations. According to the apex bank, the commercial banks were barred following their failure to remit into the Treasury Single Account the sum of $2.12 billion belonging to the nation’s oil corporation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The nine banks comprise of three tier-one lenders and another six tier-two deposit money banks. All the banks remain barred from foreign exchange operations until they fully remit the NNPC funds into government coffers via the Treasury Single Account.
Trump slams Clinton for ‘Third World’- style corruption
Donald Trump on Tuesday stepped up his attacks on Hillary Clinton, accusing her of “Third World”-style corruption over her family’s charitable foundation and calling her unfit to hold office. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are tightening their grips on the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. “It is a total embarrassment if our secretary of state can be bought or bribed or sold,” he told a rally in Austin, Texas after a damaging Associated Press report raised questions about whether donors to the Clinton Foundation paid cash for access to America’s top diplomat. “It’s a disgrace, this is a threat to the foundation of democracy,” said Trump. “This is what happens in Third World countries.” The Associated Press reported that more than half the people outside government who met Clinton while she was secretary of state donated money to the Clinton Foundation. “Hillary Clinton is totally unfit to hold public office. It is impossible to figure out where the Clinton Foundation ends and the State Department begins,” Trump said. “It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office, they sold access,” he said. “This is corruption and this is why I have called for a special prosecutor to look into this mess,” he said. The Associated Press reported that at least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had telephone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs. Those 85 donors contributed a combined $156 million, the AP said. The Associated Press said the meetings between Clinton and donors did not appear to violate legal agreements she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, signed before she joined the State Department. “But the frequency of the overlaps shows the intermingling of access and donations, and fuels perceptions that giving the foundation money was a price of admission for face time with Clinton,” the AP reported.
Bayern Munich Players & Coach Carlo Ancelotti All Smiles As They Get New Audi cars
 Ahead of the new German Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich players including Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery, Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski and so many others including new coach Carlo Ancelotti were in attendance as Audi presented new 2016 model sports cars to the playing and coaching staff of the German club. Bayern club sponsor, Audi, have provided every squad member with a new car since 2002, the year they became a shareholder with the German giants. Part of their contract stipulates they provide the squad with company cars with Bayern players picking up the latest Audi model on Monday afternoon. More photos below...            |
First Int’l cargo aircraft lands in Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu
According to Governor Ugwuanyi, the landing of cargo airplanes at the airport will help in the transportation of goods from all parts of the world to the South East region and also provide job opportunities for the people.
“Today we have gathered again to celebrate the first landing of cargo at this same airport, and which once more has happened courtesy of the Ethiopian Airlines. It will save costs, enhance convenience and safety in importation of goods apart from promoting employment and raising the international profile of the airport and the entire region”he said
N273bn Niger Delta funds missing, says report
Violation of contract award process, sleaze and other issues were responsible for the stunted growth of the Niger Delta, report has said.
The government of the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua created the Ministry of Niger Delta in 2008 to oversee the region’s development.
A ministerial technical audit committee on the contracts awarded by the ministry between 2009 and 2015 has said most of the contracts awarded in the oil-rich region had no impact on the people.
The committee’s report also revealed that only N427 billion, representing 60 per cent out of N700 billion, budgeted for the ministry during the period was disbursed.
Project worth over N273 billion for which had been paid for cannot be accounted for, says the report.
The ministry was created as a special purpose vehicle to facilitate the development of the region. The incumbent minister, Uguru Usani, is an indigene of the region.
The states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers. The committee was set up by Mr. Usani this year to evaluate and prioritise the projects embarked upon by the ministry in the nine Niger Delta states based on the availability of funds and overall impact on the living conditions of the benefitting communities. The report recommended the termination of six project while urging the refund of the amount collected on two others.
According to the report, all projects were to achieve the objective of enhancing socio-economic activities, human capital development and environmental protection of the region.
“Sadly, very insignificant numbers of projects have reached practical completion to provide the sense of belonging expected by Niger Deltans across board,” the committee said in the document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
“About 80% of the projects are either on-going, abandoned after payments, total abdication or refusal to deliver as in the case of Youth Capacity Building Programmes.
“The Federal Government well-intended intervention programme in the Niger Delta Region was poorly implemented six years after flag-off with serious consequences,” the report said.
The committee said it found out that the total cost of projects within the period was N700,538,741,691.30 excluding services (security, rent and facility management), adding that N446,421,385,864.41 was certified for payment but N423,172,256,347.84 was paid.
It said, “In other words, between 2009 and 2015, about 60% of contracts awarded were paid, but approximately 40% of work was practically achieved”.
While juxtaposing its finding from the project sites against fact retrieved from available documents domiciled in the departments that supervised the projects, the committee observed that there was violation of contract award process.
The report lamented that, “the way billions of naira are mentioned in construction projects value in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has become so banal that very soon, it is believed that they are likely to escalate to trillions of naira, even though the values do not appear realistic vis-à-vis the value added to the region through such contracts.”
It said right from the cycle of procurement planning to contract award, it noticed inconsistencies with the provisions of vital aspects of the Procurement Act.
Prominent amongst other issues of violation, it stated, were indiscriminate award of contract by initiating and benefiting departments without the leading and guiding role of the procurement department.
“Awards never took cognisance of availability of funds and annual appropriation provisions,” the committee said.
“The structure and content of some contract agreements were loose for checks and balances, indeed hardly protect the interest of the ministry in case of disputes.”
On delivery and capacity, the committee said the imminent picture of abandoned and uncompleted projects was as disturbing as the retinue of projects that extremely exceeded the dates of completion.
It said, “This manifestly, emanated from inconsistency in government annual budgetary provision and lack of capacity to deliver especially where funds released do not correspond with performance.
“Most contracts were awarded with specific dates of completion but were not captured in subsequent appropriations. This further exacerbated contractors’ poor performance and inability to achieve project objectives. Consequently, no capital project was completed within the stipulated time frame.”
The government of the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua created the Ministry of Niger Delta in 2008 to oversee the region’s development.
A ministerial technical audit committee on the contracts awarded by the ministry between 2009 and 2015 has said most of the contracts awarded in the oil-rich region had no impact on the people.
The committee’s report also revealed that only N427 billion, representing 60 per cent out of N700 billion, budgeted for the ministry during the period was disbursed.
Project worth over N273 billion for which had been paid for cannot be accounted for, says the report.
The ministry was created as a special purpose vehicle to facilitate the development of the region. The incumbent minister, Uguru Usani, is an indigene of the region.
The states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers. The committee was set up by Mr. Usani this year to evaluate and prioritise the projects embarked upon by the ministry in the nine Niger Delta states based on the availability of funds and overall impact on the living conditions of the benefitting communities. The report recommended the termination of six project while urging the refund of the amount collected on two others.
According to the report, all projects were to achieve the objective of enhancing socio-economic activities, human capital development and environmental protection of the region.
“Sadly, very insignificant numbers of projects have reached practical completion to provide the sense of belonging expected by Niger Deltans across board,” the committee said in the document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
“About 80% of the projects are either on-going, abandoned after payments, total abdication or refusal to deliver as in the case of Youth Capacity Building Programmes.
“The Federal Government well-intended intervention programme in the Niger Delta Region was poorly implemented six years after flag-off with serious consequences,” the report said.
The committee said it found out that the total cost of projects within the period was N700,538,741,691.30 excluding services (security, rent and facility management), adding that N446,421,385,864.41 was certified for payment but N423,172,256,347.84 was paid.
It said, “In other words, between 2009 and 2015, about 60% of contracts awarded were paid, but approximately 40% of work was practically achieved”.
While juxtaposing its finding from the project sites against fact retrieved from available documents domiciled in the departments that supervised the projects, the committee observed that there was violation of contract award process.
The report lamented that, “the way billions of naira are mentioned in construction projects value in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has become so banal that very soon, it is believed that they are likely to escalate to trillions of naira, even though the values do not appear realistic vis-à-vis the value added to the region through such contracts.”
It said right from the cycle of procurement planning to contract award, it noticed inconsistencies with the provisions of vital aspects of the Procurement Act.
Prominent amongst other issues of violation, it stated, were indiscriminate award of contract by initiating and benefiting departments without the leading and guiding role of the procurement department.
“Awards never took cognisance of availability of funds and annual appropriation provisions,” the committee said.
“The structure and content of some contract agreements were loose for checks and balances, indeed hardly protect the interest of the ministry in case of disputes.”
On delivery and capacity, the committee said the imminent picture of abandoned and uncompleted projects was as disturbing as the retinue of projects that extremely exceeded the dates of completion.
It said, “This manifestly, emanated from inconsistency in government annual budgetary provision and lack of capacity to deliver especially where funds released do not correspond with performance.
“Most contracts were awarded with specific dates of completion but were not captured in subsequent appropriations. This further exacerbated contractors’ poor performance and inability to achieve project objectives. Consequently, no capital project was completed within the stipulated time frame.”
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