2013 Appropriation Bill: NUJ Expresses Concern Over Delay By Jonathan

The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has expressed worry over the delay by President Goodluck Jonathan in signing the 2013 appropriation act earlier passed by the National Assembly into law.

President Jonathan presented a N4.92 trillion 2013 budget to the National Assembly on October 10, 2012.
In what is a significant departure from the past, the National Assembly passed the budget before the end of last year.
But it is yet to be signed into law by the president two months after it was passed.
Addressing a news conference in Kaduna, the NUJ President; Mallam Mohammed Garba said the late passage of the budget will affect its proper implementation especially in addressing some critical sectors like power, health and education.
While appealing to both the executive and legislative arm of government to harmonise all the grey areas that are delaying the passage of the budget, Garba stressed the need of its passage before end of February.
On the amendment of the 1999 constitution, Garba commended speaker of the House of Representatives; Aminu Tambuwal for suspending the collation of the reports due to some perceived irregularities dictated so far and urged the National Assembly not to allow any interest to discredit the entire process.
He commended the four opposition political parties in the country for coming together to form a new political party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), which he said has shown the advancement of Nigeria in her democratic process and expressed optimism that the merger will be sustained by the parties ahead of 2015 elections
Naij

Hollywood Actress Insults Jay Z, Labels Him ‘Ugly Face’

Amanda Bynes recently came under fire after tweeting a photo of hip hop mogul Jay-Z and referring to him as “ugly.” The tweet has since been removed.
On Feb. 6, the troubled actress infuriated many of her 274,000 twitter followers after tweeting the photo directly to Jay-Z, alongside the photo caption “Ugly face.”

It is unclear why exactly the 26-year-old felt compelled to openly attack the rapper, however she eventually deleted the tweet.
InformationNigeria

Nancy Pelosi Bringing Gun Violence Survivor To State Of The Union

WASHINGTON -- A increasing number of House Democrats are bringing victims of gun violence as their guests to next week's State of the Union, with the list now including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Pelosi announced Friday that she plans to bring a little girl from Newtown, Conn. who was affected by the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, along with her mother, as her guests to President Barack Obama's annual address to the nation. The girl's name and the nature of her connection to the shootings were not immediately released. During a press event at the House Democratic retreat, Pelosi noted that lawmakers are usually allowed to bring only one guest, but an exception was made in this case because her guest is a child.
At the same event, Van Hollen announced that he plans to bring a woman named Carol Price as his guest to the president's address. He said that Price her lost her son to gun violence, and that his death led to the passage of legislation in Maryland requiring trigger locks on firearms.
News of their plans comes amid an effort by a group of House Democrats to get all lawmakers in their party to bring gun violence victims to the State of the Union, in an effort to keep up the pressure for new gun safety laws. Ten lawmakers were confirmed to participate in the effort earlier this week; that number is now up to 21.
In addition to Pelosi and Van Hollen, Democrats taking part in the effort include Reps. Jim Langevin (R.I.), Keith Ellison (Minn.), Carolyn McCarthy (N.Y.), David Cicilline (R.I.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Gloria Negrete McLeod (Calif.), Ed Perlmutter (Colo.), Janice Hahn (Calif.), Bobby Scott (Va.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), Elizabeth Esty (Conn.), Mike Thompson (Calif.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Diana DeGette (Colo.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) and Lujan Grisham (N.M.).
Schakowsky announced earlier Friday who her guest would be: Carolyn Murray, whose son Justin was fatally shot in November in Evanston, Ill. By mid-December, Murray had organized a gun buyback event and collected nearly 50 guns.
"I'm so grateful to welcome Carolyn Murray as my State of the Union guest this year. Ms. Murray has turned her pain into power through her tireless work against gun violence and she is truly making a difference in our community," Schakowsky said in a statement.
Murray said she is excited to attend the State of the Union in honor of her son.
"Too many young people have been killed by guns, and it must end," she said in a statement. "As the mother of a young victim, I'm committed to doing everything in my power to end gun violence. The time is now for Congress to act to save lives."
The State of the Union is next Tuesday, Feb. 12.
HuffingtonPost

PHOTOS: Pictures Of Actress Toyin Aimakhu And Niyi Johnson's Traditional Wedding

Actress Toyin Aimakhu and her man, Tinsel actor Adeniyi Johnson got married today at a registry on the Island.
The couple got engaged in December 2012 after dating for almost a year. Big congrats and happy married life to them!
Naij

PDP crisis: Govs, NASS members’ defection looms

•Photo: Some of PDP Governors :
Elders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) plan to wade into the protracted crisis of confidence that has pitched the National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur against Governors elected on the party’s platform, Daily Independent has gathered.
The planned intervention is said to be informed by the fear of “dire consequences that await the PDP” if the crisis was not resolved amicably in the face of current permutations in the opposition circles.
Coming on the heels of unconfirmed reports that some second term Governors whose tenures will lapse in 2015 are threatening to dump the party and join forces with the opposition parties that have already consummated a merger, the planned intervention was said to have been communicated to President Goodluck Jonathan who is the leader of the party before leaving the country for an overseas trip on Tuesday.
“We will not sit back and allow things go wrong this way; we fear that dire consequences await us as a party if things are allowed to go on like this,” a source, who was a key player in the politics of the Second Republic told Daily Independent on Thursday.
The proposed intervention will be without the “media hype that greeted such moves in the past,” the source said.
“A lot of things are happening within the polity and these things will adversely affect the PDP as a party. But the challenge we have is that not all those in positions of authority today are open to dialogue.
“There are stories that one of the Senators who wanted to dump his party for the PDP was dissuaded by his PDP colleagues who are aggrieved and are preparing to dump the party.
“Some of us are not surprised that the particular Senator was among those who sat to announce a new party that will challenge the PDP in 2015; something bad is looming that we need to avert before it breeds dire consequences for the PDP,” the elder statesman told Daily Independent.
He disclosed that a few elders of the party who are not alligned with any of the contending factions within the PDP have indicated their willingness to be part of the new mediation effort.
“Our effort is going to be selfless and devoid of the usual media hype that has greeted similar ones before now,” he said.
At Wednesday’s announcement of a new political party by opposition parties, a former Governor from the North who is now a Senator confided in Daily Independent that no fewer than six PDP Governors and an undisclosed number of National Assembly members of the party have indicated interest to join the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC).
“All they wanted was a new name that will be devoid of any attachment to the control of an individual; no fewer than six Governors of that troubled party (referring to the PDP) are in touch with us and shall make known their stand, you just wait and see.
“As for the national lawmakers, I cannot be categorical but quite a sizeable number will be on board too because they are fed up with the things that are going on in their party,” the Senator told our correspondent.
The ruling party at the centre has been mired in crisis in recent times.
First is the thrice-postponed election of the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) which had affected the relationship between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Jonathan.
Obasanjo, who had quit the BoT chairmanship last year, wanted his close friend and former National Chairman of the PDP, Ahmadu Ali, as a replacement but Jonathan preferred former Works Minister, Anthony Anenih, to return to his former position as chairman of BoT.
Similarly, Governors elected on the platform of the party had to reverse Tukur on the controversial sack of the Mijinjiwa Kauguma-led executive committee of the PDP in Adamawa State.
DailyIndependent

Race to become Fashola’s successor begins

By Wale Odunsi

The race for the successor of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), after the expiration of his tenure in 2015 has begun as politicians serving in different capacities at the federal and state levels have started showing interest.
Prominent among the aspirants are Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Senator Ganiyu Solomon, representing Lagos West Senatorial District; Senator Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East Senatorial District; the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji; and ex-Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire.
Other aspirants eyeing the seat include Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives; former Governor Bola Tinubu’s aide-de-camp, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal; past Accountant-General of the state, Mr. Akin Ambode and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye.
It was however gathered that the governorship position might be zoned to the Lagos East Senatorial Zone, bearing in mind that the incumbent governor hails from Lagos Central while his predecessor, Bola Tinubu is from Lagos West.
If the governorship slot is eventually zoned to Lagos East, as is being canvassed, the move will put paid to the governorship ambitions of Hamzat (Lagos West), Gbajabiamila (Lagos Central), Lawal (Lagos Central), Banire (Lagos West), and Solomon (Lagos West) as possible contenders, leaving Ashafa, Ambode and Ikuforiji, who is currently facing graft charges, in the race.

But in response to enquiries on contenders for the race, the state’s Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Oladele Ajomale, said the party’s leaders “are not talking about the governorship election yet,” stating that the party was yet to deliberate on such issue.”
The chairman, however, expressed strong opposition to the principle of zoning, noting that the principle “is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formula and not ACN’s. We do not believe in such ideas. We believe in picking the best.”
He said the next governor of the state could come from any part of the state, adding, “Our responsibility is to get the best and only the best will be good for the state.”
“Wherever the candidate comes from, it does not matter. It is only those that can perform that will emerge eventually.”
“It is not about zoning. Someone who cannot perform cannot govern the state. The state is too discriminatory for that. We always want the best. The only thing the state deserves is a quality candidate.”
“We cannot choose someone who will drag the party backwards. The next governor of the state must be someone who will shatter the records of the incumbent governor.”
“When the time comes, the right candidate will emerge. I have not seen anyone who is interested yet.”
On Solomon’s declaration to contest for the position, Ajomale explained that all qualified candidates “have the right to say what he or she want. But I am in the best position to tell the truth. The party is yet to decide who will be the next governor of the state. But when the time comes, we will do that.”
DailyPost

2015: I’m Prepared For The Presidency – Babangida

The book launch of former FCT Minister Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s ‘The Accidental Public Servant’ Thursday in Abuja, was a political gathering of sorts.
With the exception of apolitical Nigerians who were at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre venue of the public presentation of El-Rufai’s highly publicised memoirs, the rest were stalwarts of the opposition coalition party, the PDP and associates of the author.
Seizing the platform of the book launch, Governor of Niger State, Babangida Mu’azu Aliyu welcomed the formation of the All Progressives Congress and declared his readiness to run for Nigeria’s presidency in 2015 even though he is not ready to talk much on the issue.

“I am one of those in the PDP praying for the merger to work; it will rationalise Nigerian politics and put an end to riff-raffs and charlatans in government.
“People have been coming to me to ask me if I am interested in the Presidency and I said yes. I am prepared for The Presidency, I am not an accidental leader; I am prepared for the Presidency, but I won’t comment on when I will run” he said.
InformationNigeria