Fiscal Cliff Agreement Passes Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed legislation to block the impact of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that make up the fiscal cliff.
The vote was an overwhelming 89-8 and came well after midnight on New Year's Day.
A House vote is expected before Wednesday.
The White House-backed legislation would prevent middle-class taxes from rising, and raise rates on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.
It also blocks spending cuts for two months, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, prevents a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevents a spike in milk prices.
A last-minute addition would also prevent a $900 pay raise for members of Congress from taking effect in March.
HuffingtonPost

Tension In Enugu As Chime Fails To Return

There was anxiety in Enugu State on Monday as the lingering absence of Governor Sullivan Chime entered the New Year with his whereabouts still shrouded in secrecy.

Chime had handed over power to his deputy  Sunday Onyebuchi before leaving the country on September 19 for a six-week vacation in the United States.
One hundred and three days later, the governor has not returned to the state and the state government has maintained silence over his whereabouts.
However, it is reported that the governor is being hospitalised in India.
The PUNCH recalls that on December 15, the day that Kaduna State Governor, Patrick Yakowa and Gen. Andrew Azazi, died in a helicopter crash alongside four other persons, there were rumours that Chime had died in an Indian hospital.
However, the state government debunked the claim.
Last weekend, there were reports that the governor would return to the state on December 31, but as at 4pm on Monday,  journalists, who converged on the Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu left when the last flight for the day landed without the governor on board.
When our correspondent visited the Government House, Enugu, the place looked deserted, except for the office of Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, who is seen as the de facto governor of the state.
However, there was a  notice at the manifest inviting all political appointees and elected office-holders for a meeting at the governor’s Udi hometown by 8pm.
Contrary to initial feelers that the meeting was summoned to discuss latest developments in the state, a source, who pleaded anonymity, said it was the usual New Year vigil and nothing more.
He said, “If you have been conversant with events here, you will know that the governor usually invites appointees and elective office-holders to keep New Year vigil with him in his house since he became governor in 2007.
“The notice of meeting you saw is in line with this tradition. There is nothing special about it.”
Naij

Aturu Demands Disclosure Of Sanusi’s Salary

A demand for the disclosure of the salary, allowances and other entitlements enjoyed by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was, yesterday, submitted to the bank under the Freedom of Information Act.
Leading civil right activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu made the request in a letter to the CBN governor made available to Vanguard, yesterday.
Aturu’s demand is on behalf of a lawyer, Anthony Itedjere and according to Mr. Aturu was made to determine if the incumbent governor, Sanusi is one of the public officials guzzling public funds.
Letter to CBN
Mr. Aturu in the letter dated December 31, 2012 is also demanding how much and at what cost it takes for the CBN governor to travel within and outside Nigeria and whether he also uses chartered aircraft for his travels.
Mr. Aturu whilst also demanding the number of drivers attached to the CBN governor said he would go to court to compel the bank to provide the information should the bank fail to supply the information within the required seven days as provided in the Freedom of Information Act.

“We believe that the CBN governor is one of those preaching for transparency and public accountability and that is why we are starting with him, so we want to know if his office is one of those guzzling public too much money,” Aturu told Vanguard last night.

“We are starting with the CBN governor because he is one of those that have been very vocal on the cost of governance and we are going to do it for many other offices and it is part of our action to enthrone public accountability,” Aturu further disclosed.
The letter requesting the information read thus:
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING RECURRENT EXPENDITURE (S) ON YOU AND YOUR OFFICE PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 1, 3 AND 4 OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2011
Compliments of the Season!
We are solicitors to Anthony Itedjere Esq., a Nigerian citizen and solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on whose behalf and instruction we write this letter.
Our client is interested in certain information which is in possession and or custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (hereinafter referred to as ‘the bank’) and your office. Kindly provide the information to the best of your knowledge in the interest of transparency and openness which you have been advertised as championing.
Request
You are hereby specifically requested to make available to our client or grant to him access to:
1. The Central Bank Act provides that your salary, fee, wages or other remuneration or allowances shall be stipulated from time to time by the Board subject to the approval of the President.
a. How much is your total remuneration (that is salary plus allowances) per month?
b. Do you charge the Bank or the Federal Government of Nigeria any fee outside your monthly remuneration? If so, state any such fee you have received since becoming the Governor of the bank.
c. Do you travel business class or economy within Nigeria?
d. Do you travel first class, business class or economy when travelling out of Nigeria?
e. Have you ever used chartered plane for any of your travels within and outside Nigeria?
f. If your answer to 1e above is in the affirmative, kindly list all such instances specifying the dates, the airline(s), the cost and the duration of the charter?
g. Does the Bank own an aircraft? If so, what is the cost of the craft and the cost of its servicing and maintenance?
h. How many drivers are attached to your office by the bank?
i. How many cleaners are attached to your office by the bank?
j. How many drivers are attached to your house by the bank?
k. How many cleaners are attached to your house by the bank?
l. How much is your monthly imprest?
m. When you travel within Nigeria, how much is your allowance?
n. When you travel outside Nigeria, how much is your allowance?
o. When last did you spend your personal money on purchasing fuel since you became the Governor of the bank?
However, if you think that another agency of the Government has greater interest in the information requested for, you are obliged under Section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 to transfer this request to the other agency within 3 days, howbeit not later than 7 days of receiving this request.
Our client shall pay the necessary fees for the information. Be notified that if you fail to provide the above information within the period stipulated by law we shall proceed against you in accordance with the provisions of the law.
We have no doubt that you will accede to this very friendly request.
Accept the renewed assurances of our very high regards.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Bamidele Aturu Esq.
Naij

Hillary Clinton Progressing After Blood Clot In Head, Expected To Fully Recover: Doctor

BY JOSH LEDERMAN & MATTHEW LEE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors treating Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for a blood clot say the clot formed in her head but they stress that they are confident she will make a full recovery.
In an update Monday on Clinton's condition, her doctors say the blood clot did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage. The clot is located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear.
Clinton's doctors say that to help dissolve the clot, they are treating her with blood thinners. They say she will be released once the medication dose has been established.
In their update, the doctors say the 65-year-old secretary of state is making excellent progress and is in good spirits.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a second day at a New York hospital on Monday, under observation for a blood clot, stemming from a concussion she sustained while battling a stomach virus.

The illness has kept her out of the public view since Dec. 7, and has started to raise a host of questions as her team keeps typically tightlipped about the details: Where is the clot located? How severe is her condition? How soon will she recover? And, as Democrats are privately if not publicly speculating, how might her illness affect a decision about running for president in 2016?
Aides disclosed the blood clot Sunday, with her spokesman, Phillipe Reines, issuing a statement that said: "Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion." He had no immediate update Monday on her condition, raising the question of whether she will return to work before she steps down as secretary of state.
After decades in politics, Clinton, 65, says she plans to spend the next year resting. She has long insisted she had no intention of mounting a second campaign for the White House four years from now. But the door is not entirely closed, and she would almost certainly emerge as the Democrat to beat if she decided to give in to calls by Democratic fans and run again.
Her age – and thereby health – would likely be a factor under consideration, given that Clinton would be 69 when sworn in, if she were elected in 2016. That might become even more of an issue in the early jockeying for 2016 if what started as a bad stomach bug becomes a prolonged, public bout with more serious infirmity.
Not that Democrats are willing to talk openly about the political implications of a long illness, choosing to keep any discussions about her condition behind closed doors. Publicly, Democrats reject the notion that a blood clot could hinder her political prospects.
"Some of those concerns could be borderline sexist," said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist who worked for Clinton when she was a senator. "Dick Cheney had significant heart problems when he was vice president, and people joked about it. He took the time he needed to get better, and it wasn't a problem."
It isn't uncommon for presidential candidates' health – and age – to be an issue. Both in 2000 and 2008, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had to rebut concerns he was too old to be commander in chief or that his skin cancer could resurface.
Two decades after Clinton became the first lady, signs of her popularity – and her political strength – are ubiquitous.
Obama had barely declared victory in November when Democrats started zealously plugging Clinton as their strongest White House contender four years from now, should she choose to take that leap.
"Wouldn't that be exciting," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi declared in December. "I hope she goes – why wouldn't she?"
Even Republicans concede that were she to run, Clinton would be a force to be reckoned with.
"Trying to win that will be truly the Super Bowl," former House Speaker and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said in December. "The Republican Party today is incapable of competing at that level."
Americans admire Clinton more than any other woman in the world, according to a Gallup poll released Monday – the 17th time in 20 years that Clinton has claimed that title. And a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 57 percent of Americans would support Clinton as a candidate for president in 2016, with just 37 percent opposed. Meanwhile, websites have already cropped up hawking "Clinton 2016" mugs and tote bags.
Clinton returned to the U.S. from a trip to Europe, then fell ill with a stomach virus in early December that left her severely dehydrated and forced her to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East. Until then, she had cancelled only two scheduled overseas trips, one to Europe after breaking her elbow in June 2009 and one to Asia after the February 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Her condition worsened when she fainted, fell and suffered a concussion while at home alone in mid-December as she recovered from the virus. It was announced on Dec. 13.
Reines, her spokesman, said her doctors discovered the clot Sunday while performing a follow-up exam on the concussion. He said she was being treated with anti-coagulants and would remain at New York-Presbyterian Hospital until at least Tuesday so doctors can monitor the medication.
This isn't the first time Clinton has suffered a blood clot. In 1998, midway through her husband's second term as president, Clinton was in New York fundraising for the midterm elections when a swollen right foot led her doctor to diagnose a clot in her knee requiring immediate treatment.
Medical experts said the seriousness of a blood clot diagnosis varies widely based on where it is located.
Clots in the legs are a common risk after someone has been bedridden, as Clinton may have been for a time after her concussion in December. Those are "no big deal" and are treated with blood thinners, said Dr. Gholam Motamedi, a neurologist at Georgetown University Medical Center who is not involved in Clinton's care.
But a clot in a lung or the brain is more serious. Lung clots, called pulmonary embolisms, can be deadly, and a clot in the brain can cause a stroke, Motamedi said.
Last Thursday, before the blood clot was discovered, Reines said that Clinton expected to return to work this week after the New Year holiday.
Beyond talk of future politics, Clinton's three-week absence from the State Department has raised eyebrows among some conservative commentators who questioned the seriousness of Clinton's ailment after she cancelled planned Dec. 20 testimony before Congress on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Clinton had been due to discuss with lawmakers a scathing report on the attack she had commissioned that found serious failures of leadership and management in two State Department bureaus were to blame for insufficient security at the facility. Clinton took responsibility for the incident before the report was released, but she was not blamed. Four officials cited in the report have either resigned or been reassigned.
HuffingtonPost

Man Arraigned For Renting 2 Rooms To 50 People At The Same Time

An estate agent and a landlord’s son have been arraigned before an Ejigbo Magistrate’s court for allegedly conspiring and renting a bedroom and sitting room apartment at 9 Olorunwa Street Shasha, Lagos to 50 prospective tenants at the same time.
36-year old Adedoyin Agboola was arrested and charged for deceiving the prospective tenants to give him N10 million on the pretence of renting out the apartment to them.
According to him, he contacted his friend, who is a developer, to build the apartment on certain conditions, but was not aware he collected such amount from the victims.
Agboola claimed he only knew about the incident when the victims came to his house and started fighting over the apartment.
“When I tried to contact my friend who developed the place, I discovered he had fled,” Agboola said.
His aged mother, Mrs Maria Adedoyin also alleged that the developer of the house, whom she identified as Tolu Johnson, betrayed the family by defrauding the people.
Agboola was charged with a 70-count felony, obtaining under false pretence and stealing under sections 409, 278 and 312 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011. Presiding Magistrate, Mrs M B Folami ordered that the matter be transferred to Lagos High Court, Ikeja for trial.
InformationNigeria

2011 elections: Some of the murdered NYSC members were PDP agents – CPC

Rotimi Fashakin

A leading opposition party in the country, the Congress for Progressive Change has said that some of the National Youth Service Corps members who died in the violence that erupted after the 2011 elections, worked for the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party.
Spokesman of the party, Rotimi Fasakin, made the allegation in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.
He said contrary to reports, not all the corps members killed in the post-election carnage were actually university graduates.
The bloody violence which broke out after the results of the presidential polls were announced, spread across some Northern states.
At least 50 people including nine serving NYSC members were murdered.
The deceased corps members include: Adewunmi Seun (Ekiti), Teidi Tosin
(Kogi), Adowei Elliot (Bayelsa), Okpokiri Obinna (Abia), Gbenjo Ayotunde (Osun), Ukeoma Chibuzor (Imo), Nwazema Chukwuonyerem (Imo), Adeniji Jehleel (Osun) and Akonyi Sule (Kogi).
The interview quoted Fashakin as saying that “some so called (NYSC) members were murdered, but in actual fact some of these people are IT consultants”.
To buttress the party’s claim, the spokesman said the CPC traced one the victims through his Facebook page and found out that “he graduated from UNN in 2006 where he studied computer science and is also a manager at a computer firm in Lagos.”
In the meantime, the PDP is yet to react to the damning allegation.
Calls put through to its spokesman, Olisa Metuh, to get his party’s position on the matter was not answered.
DailyPost

Davido and manager Asa Asika part ways

Davido, Asa Asika and Sina Rambo

What can be described as the perfect combination of music artiste and manager has finally been broken apart – pop star David ‘Davido’ Adeleke and his popular manager Asa Asika have parted ways.
NET investigations reveal that the pair severed ties on December 28 – a day after Davido performed at D’banj’s Koko Concert.
The former partners are yet to release any official statement but we hear ‘a lot of water have passed under the bridge’ and reconciliation might not happen.
Sources in Davido’s camp told our reporter today, that dropping Asa was ‘an executive decision’; saying many stakeholders believe someone ‘more matured’ should handle Davido who’s a top five act, and one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing pop stars.
Asa who turned 22 in August 2012, met up with Davido, 20, in 2010.
Since his 2010 debut, Davido’s career has recorded amazing success. But he has also been plagued with controversy. ‘HKN feel he should have stronger management’, a rep from the label told NET.
But other sources claiming to know ‘the true story behind the break up’ say it’s more than what HKN is letting out. Multiple sources tell us financial disagreements have come up more than once and that could be one of the major reasons Asa was shown the way out.
A few hours ago, a blogger Adesoji Adesumo wrote about the breakup, giving entirely different reasons. He alleges that Davido and Asa finally parted ways after the latter couldn’t come up with a N2m balance from a show. Adejumo says Davido assaulted Asa leaving him with bruises and cuts. This could not be immediately confirmed from both Davido’s team and Asa whose phone is currently switched off.
Asa Asika played a key role in building Davido’s career; and before Davido released his first single, he was already positioned in the entertainment industry. Thanks to tutelage from big uncle Obi Asika and cousin Naeto C, Asa was equipped to work with an unknown Davido who returned from the US back in 2010, until they recorded remarkable success.
We learn that Davido and his label HKN are now looking for a new manager and the likely candidate to fill that position might be Shank’s manager ‘Yemi Energy’. Insiders say no decisions have been made though.
Asa Asika could not be reached as his mobile phone was switched off and he was yet to reply our E-mails as at the time of this report.
DailyPost