Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog |
- IK Osakioduwa's True Talk Tuesday
- President Jonathan missed the point on missing N30trn - Charles Soludo
- Photo of the day
- Pics: Footballer Emmanuel Adebayor dances Shoki to Kiss Daniel's Woju
- Konga.comGiving up to 70% Discountfor TGIP
- Dear LIB readers: I last so long during sex and I am worried...
- 17 year old Kylie Jenner buys $2.7million home (see photos)
- Graphic pics from Kano blast + death toll in Potiskum blast now 22
- MUD boss, Onyinye Carter shares pre-wedding photos
- Meet the Top 5 finalists from Airtel Trace Music Star competition
- Photos: President Jonathan & wife attend Bayelsa women funeral
- Born-again confessors return certificates to WAEC! Hehe
- See what was found in Lagos cinema after 50 Shades of Grey movie ..lol
- New music: Shilekun Ayo by Integral
- Pres. Jonathan condemns Boko Haram's reversion to suicide bombing of soft targets
- Whitney, Bobby, drugs & death..and why their daughter never stood a chance, by former bodyguard
- Bash Ali arrested, charged to court for constituting public nuisance
- Tonto Dikeh's Mr X may be divorced...see tweets.
- House on the Rock hosts The African Praise Experience this Friday at The Rock Cathedral
- Lol. Who has seen this Kanye West video game featuring his wife?
- Check out this throwback photo of Charly Boy's wife, Lady Di
- Photo of the US Missionary worker kidnapped in Kogi yesterday
- Fayose: APC must apologise for lying to Nigerians on Buhari, says "Chatham House event was bought"
- More participants gear up for Canoe Detergent 'Colour Mix Contest'
- Kanu Nwankwo's wife Amara Kanu stuns in new photo
| IK Osakioduwa's True Talk Tuesday Posted: 24 Feb 2015 02:13 PM PST |
| President Jonathan missed the point on missing N30trn - Charles Soludo Posted: 24 Feb 2015 02:05 PM PST   "So you'll see that there is a lot of politicking about some of the serious issues. Not too long ago I read in one of the papers, I think Vanguard, that former chief economic adviser to President Obasanjo who also went to become a CBN governor… Soludo is a professor and first class material. Yes, making a first class in economics, he is a brilliant person. His secondary school records are fantastic. So by all standards he is a brilliant person. So the Vanguard wrote that he accused Ngozi; that N30 trillion was stolen under the watch of Ngozi in four years. Ngozi became a finance minister, let's say from 2011 till date. From that time till now, our annual budget is between N4.3 trillion and N4.9 trillion. So even if you put all together, it is about 18 plus trillion naira, & not 30 trillion. The budget for these four years is less than N20 trillion, but Soludo said that under Ngozi's watch they stole N30 trillion. This is in the papers, social media, stored in the clouds and will continue to be there. And when you type it in it will come out that during President Jonathan's time they stole N30 trillion. We asked Ngozi how her colleagues in the World Bank saw the accusation and she said they were laughing and couldn't believe it. There are certain things that you just cannot believe and if that is coming from somebody considered to be cerebral like Professor Soludo, then of course you know what the ordinary person would say. It is all political"President Jonathan said. Professor Soludo reacted to this interview by releasing an article this evening. See it below... My attention has been drawn this morning to an article entitled: "Jonathan Replies Soludo over "missing N30 trillion" claim"— extracting from Mr. President's interview as published by Thisday newspaper. ThisDay quoted Mr. President as saying that "Soludo said that under Ngozi's watch they stole N30 trillion" but that since the sum of the federal budget over the last four years was less than N30 trillion, such an amount could not have been "stolen". According to the President, "it is all political". I had earlier stated that I would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but since Mr. President has decided to join the fray, I am constrained to make a further brief clarification. For me, President Jonathan is a gentleman and a friend but I have a fundamental disagreement on his management of the economy. On the issues at stake, I believe that the pressures of office and the hectic electioneering campaigns have not allowed him time to read my articles or that his staff have not explained the contents to him hence he totally missed the point in his comments. For the avoidance of doubt, let me clarify as follows: 1. In my article entitled "Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Missing Trillions", I presented some rough calculations covering: oil theft, money that ought to accrue to stock of foreign reserves, unbudgeted oil subsidy payments, customs duty waivers, leakages through the self-financing government parastatals, unremitted sums by NNPC, etc. I concluded that section of my article by noting that: "I have a long list but let me wait for now. I do not want to talk about other 'black pots' that impinge on national security. My estimate, Madam, is that probably more than N30 trillion has either been stolen or lost or unaccounted for or simply mismanaged under your watchful eyes in the past four years". 2. It is evident that the monies I referred to are "off-budget". These are monies that did not make it to the budget. I find it funny that the Government deliberately avoided the issues raised above but instead has sought to divert attention by focusing on the "federal budget". Let me state for the record that I believe that the amount of resources that are either stolen from the economy or out-rightly mismanaged by government far exceeds the federal budget per annum. Ours is about a N100 trillion economy, and I will be shocked if the government pretends that it does not know that currently about 10% of the GDP falls into a 'black hole' on annual basis. We have not added figures based on counterfactual analysis such as the cost to the aggregate economy of bad or misguided economic policy. For example, in today's Thisday newspaper, a headline news reports that "Aliko Dangote, Africa's Richest Man, Loses $7.8 Billion as Naira, Stocks Plunge" while reporting that "In dollar terms, the devaluation has knocked more than $40 billion off the value of Nigeria's economy". Of course, most people predicted that oil prices would soon fall but we were caught unprepared, and today, the parallel market exchange rate is N225 to the dollar. Thus, the kind of analysis in today's Thisday is just one little example of the kind of collateral damages–'costs' or 'losses'– that mismanagement foists on the system. To repeat, my article did not focus on the federal budget: the mismanagement of the consumption budget and its unprecedented debt accumulation (with low value-for-money expenditures) are entirely different matters. 3. What I found particularly disconcerting as a Nigerian from the comments I read is the fixation to validation from the World Bank. According to Mr. President, "we asked the Minister how her colleagues at the World Bank saw the accusation". I shook my head in disbelief. It is instructive that no one asked what Nigerians thought or 'how Nigerians saw it' but rather what was important to government was the impression of the World Bank. If this is the mind-set of our leaders, then ordinary citizens have real cause to worry. Well, I have read several editorial comments of Nigerian media and they do not agree with the 'impression' of the World Bank official. I read a similar comment by a high government official stating that World Bank officials and CNN had told them that government was doing well and therefore who else could question them. But neither the World Bank nor CNN conducts comprehensive independent surveys on the economy— they comment based on the data they are given— and their subjective "opinions" cannot substitute for hard facts. The World Bank is not a statistical agency. I can provide a long list of countries that World Bank reports praised as 'star performers' and they slumped into deep crisis almost immediately after. Check out the World Bank and IMF reports on the US and other countries' economies shortly before the unprecedented global financial and economic crisis in fifty years (the Great Recession of 2008/09). Actually for many countries once they start getting such 'praises', then perceptive officials begin to worry. Nigeria is probably the only country where its government officials quote the World Bank while ignoring data from its own statistical agency! A serious concern is that while government relies on external validation (opinion) as 'proof' of its performance, it is selective in the process—accepting the positive ones and disparaging the negative ones. Our recent exchanges illustrate the point. In my first article (26th January): "Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond the Elections", I argued that "the economy seems to be on auto pilot, with confusion as to who is in charge, and government largely as a constraint. There are no big ideas, and it is difficult to see where economic policy is headed to. My thesis is that the Nigerian economy, if properly managed, should have been growing at an annual rate of about 12% given the oil boom, and poverty and unemployment should have fallen dramatically over the last five years". No one has credibly challenged the above, except what the Financial Times of London described as a "furious response by the Minister". But, the influential Economist Magazine of London and New York Times agreed with us. According to the Economist editorial (7th February, 2015): "… as Africa's biggest economy stages its most important election since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999, and perhaps since the civil war four decades ago, Nigerians must pick between the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, who has proved an utter failure, and the opposition leader, Muhammadu Buhari…. The single bright spot of his rule has been Nigeria's economy, one of the world's fastest-growing. Yet that is largely despite the government rather than because of it, and falling oil prices will temper the boom. The prosperity has not been broadly shared: under Mr Jonathan poverty has increased. Nigerians typically die eight years younger than their poorer neighbours in nearby Ghana". I gave the Government an "F" grade on economic management, and the Economist described its performance as "utter failure". The Economist also basically agreed with me that the re-basing of the economy and its observed 'growth' have nothing to do with government policy. Again, government has not credibly challenged the above or is the Economist's view also 'all political '? Government simply waved it off. My point is that if Government has to rely on the "impressions" of external bodies, then it should be consistent and comprehensive. 4. In conclusion, let me re-state that I firmly stand by my earlier statements. These are weighty statements which I weighed carefully before issuing. I appreciate that this is an election time and so attempts would be made to trivialize, or either play politics with, or divert attention from, them. In a serious society, we should have had a good debate on these matters as they could provide some of the building blocks in trying to pick the pieces after the elections. Part of our citizen duty in a democracy is to raise such issues and demand for answers. In the meantime, I grant that our leaders are busy with campaigns but these issues won't go away until we have a transparent resolution. Be assured that after the elections, we will be back with even more questions! |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:51 PM PST  |
| Pics: Footballer Emmanuel Adebayor dances Shoki to Kiss Daniel's Woju Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:42 PM PST |
| Konga.comGiving up to 70% Discountfor TGIP Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:29 PM PST  The big question now– How can you eat your cake and still have it? How can you meet all your needs, on your budget and still have enough to last till the next payday? Let Konga.combe your TGIPayday partner in getting up to 70% discountsoffthe regular retail pricesofthe high quality products you need. With Konga's TGIPayday, you'll be able to get your personal and household essentialsincludingMale and Female fashion pieces, phones, tablets, laptops and electronics with fast nationwide delivery. Konga's TGIPaydaykicks off on Wednesday the 25th of February - 4th of March. TGIPayday will continue while stocks last, so hurry and click here to get your own share of the sales. Remember, shopping on Konga saves you from the stress of visiting different stores;you can get virtuallyall you need onKonga's massive online marketplace –with over 200,000 items listed on the site and over 12,000 sellers registered on Konga.com. Take advantage of the TGIPayday to shop on Konga.com this month. Sign up to Konga.com newsletters to get daily updates on deals and discounts on Konga.com. |
| Dear LIB readers: I last so long during sex and I am worried... Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:22 PM PST  I feel I have a problem of ejaculating late. My girlfriend doesn't complain but I know it worries her. I'm feeling weird like when me and my friends take our girlfriends to hotels (something like that ) I always come out last and I feel awkward. Is it normal or I am just over reacting? |
| 17 year old Kylie Jenner buys $2.7million home (see photos) Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:04 PM PST  Sources tell TMZ, Kylie has inked a deal to buy this 4,900 square foot house in The Oaks, an exclusive gated community in Calabasas. The house - which is a block from Kourtney and Khloe -- has a sick home theater, a pool, 5 bedrooms, an awesome kitchen, and on and on. Kylie has made a lot of money on KUWTK. To give you an idea, we're told Scott Disick banks $4 million a season, so she's got the cash. We're told Kris Jenner is "helping her" with the purchase, but we're told it's Kylie loot." See the pics after the cut...                 |
| Graphic pics from Kano blast + death toll in Potiskum blast now 22 Posted: 24 Feb 2015 12:49 PM PST |
| MUD boss, Onyinye Carter shares pre-wedding photos Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:13 PM PST |
| Meet the Top 5 finalists from Airtel Trace Music Star competition Posted: 24 Feb 2015 12:26 PM PST  The top prize of 4 million naira plus a shot at getting a record deal with Universal Records is getting close for five (5) Nigerians, as the names of the top 5 finalists to battle it out for the Airtel Trace Music Star National Championship has just been announced. The competition, which was on for a number of weeks, saw numerous entries dial the special short-code 5678 from their airtel phones for a shot to become the next African music Superstar and also a chance at being mentored by an A-List American Musician.     Veteran broadcaster and entertainment industry expert OlisaAdibua, Ace Producer and Songwriter CobhamsAsuquo and multi award winning artiste Lara George oversaw the process of selecting the finalists for the National Championship. Concerning the choice of Judges for the selection of the five finalists, Sam Onyemelukwe, Managing Directorof TRACE Nigeria had this to say "We knew we were going to get lots of entries, so it was important we picked Judges who had the ear for good music and could pick up quality sound immediately without wasting time. We all know what Olisa has done for the Nigerian Music Industry, He is one of the founding fathers of the New-School we have today, CobhamsAsuquo and Lara George have the longevity and records that do not need buttressing. So we were sure they were going to pick the best. I assure you these finalists are the pick of the pack." The finalists; OkoteteEnajite (JITEY),TejiriOdjighoro (TEJIRI),OmotayoOtitiju (OMOTAYO), Pearl Awa-Agwu (PEARL),YetundeAdeyanju (YETUNDE) still need public votes to become the Nation Champion and represent Nigeria at the Pan-African Grande Finale where he/she will get to compete against representatives from 13 other African countries in Kenya in March, 2015. The National Finale holds on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the OceanView Restaurant, Victoria Island Lagos. SHORT CODES FOR VOTING 1 Send " JIT" to 5678 – For Enajite 2 Send " CHO" to 5678 – For Yetunde 3 Send " OMO" to 5678 - Omotayo 4 Send " TANY" to 5678 - Tejiri 5 Send "PEARL" to 5678 – Pearl |
| Photos: President Jonathan & wife attend Bayelsa women funeral Posted: 24 Feb 2015 12:17 PM PST |
| Born-again confessors return certificates to WAEC! Hehe Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:46 AM PST  |
| See what was found in Lagos cinema after 50 Shades of Grey movie ..lol Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:36 AM PST  |
| New music: Shilekun Ayo by Integral Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:27 AM PST  |
| Pres. Jonathan condemns Boko Haram's reversion to suicide bombing of soft targets Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:18 AM PST  Boko Haram reversion to suicide bombing of soft targets, act of desperate sect facing extinction President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan condemns the reversion by the terrorist group, Boko Haram to the callous bombing of soft targets in parts of Nigeria in the wake of the ongoing rapid recovery by gallant Nigerian troops and their multinational allies of areas formerly controlled by the sect. President Jonathan commiserates with all families who have lost loved ones in the bombings which continued today with attacks on Kano and Potiskum. The President shares the grief of all the bereaved families and is deeply saddened by the continued loss of many innocent lives at the hands of misguided and desperate fanatics who are now feeling the heat of the intense counter –insurgency operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President assures all Nigerians and the people of the North-Eastern states in particular that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram. President Jonathan further assures the people of Nigeria that the gallant, courageous and patriotic officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, supported with new platforms, equipment and logistics provided by the Federal Government will carry the ongoing operations against the terrorists through to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible time. He affirms that his administration will continue to take all necessary action to guarantee the success of ongoing military operations against the terrorist group and drastically reduce its ability to take and hold territory or recruit, groom and brainwash young persons to undertake suicide bombing attacks on soft targets. Reuben Abati Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) February 24, 2015 |
| Whitney, Bobby, drugs & death..and why their daughter never stood a chance, by former bodyguard Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:41 AM PST 
  Roberts today left. Roberts on a boat with the singer in Australia in 1988 right To many, her fate has seemed grimly predictable, but few have been more affected than one man who sits, watching, many hundreds of miles away from Bobbi Kristina's anxious family. For seven years of his life, Welshman David Roberts was a constant companion to Whitney, a minder, fixer, and wise counsel, too.   |
| Bash Ali arrested, charged to court for constituting public nuisance Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:03 AM PST  According to reports, the boxer and three other boxers had gone to the Nigerian Export Import Bank, NEXIM, in Abuja last week to demand for the sponsorship the bank was asked by president Jonathan to give to the Boxers Association for a Guinness Book of Record fight. When they didn't pay him attention, Bash Ali and the men allegedly created drama in front of the bank premises The management of the bank called in the police and accused the boxer and the others of threatening to bomb their bank building The four of them were arrested and charged before an Abuja based court for constituting public nuisance and threat to live. They were remanded at the SARS prison that day. When interrogated, the former Boxer accused the bank manager, one Mr Henry Orya of demanding a 10% commission from the $30 million US sponsorship fund the presidency allegedly instructed the bank to give the boxers as sponsorship. He denied the allegations that he threatened to bomb the bank premises. "I never said I will bomb their office. If any institution owned by government disobeys the order of Mr. President because of corruption, that institution should be closed down. That is what I said"he saidThe bank has denied they ever asked him for bribe, saying they didn't give him the sponsorship because they don't sponsor sports activities "NEXIM does not finance sports activities. Notwithstanding this explanation, Bash Ali did not relent but decided to adopt every means to extort the $1, 000,000. 00 from the Bank" the bank in a statement said.Bash Ali and the other three men are due to appear in court on March 4th when the case and his bail application will be heard |
| Tonto Dikeh's Mr X may be divorced...see tweets. Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:42 AM PST   Then someone also drew my attention to tweets by this man @larucheebam who claims he was at the wedding, also confirming that Tonto's man is divorced. Don't know what the truth is, all I know is that this back and forth is good for my business...lol. See the tweets after the cut...   |
| House on the Rock hosts The African Praise Experience this Friday at The Rock Cathedral Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:13 AM PST  BUS-STOPS MEETING POINTS 1. Ajegunle/Apapa – Wilma Bus-stop (Mobil Filling station) 2. Ketu – Ojota – Under the pedestrian bridge @Ojota 3. Oshodi – Oshodi (facing Mushin by the BRT Bus-stop) 4. FESTAC – Mile 2 Bus-stop 5. Yaba – BRT Bus-stop 6. Gbagada – Mobil Filling Station @ Gbagada 7. Surulere – National Stadium 8. Maryland – BRT Bus-stop @Maryland before Planet One 9. Ikeja – BRT Bus-stop facing the Ikeja Bridge 10. Egbeda – BRT station facing Egbeda bus-stop 11. Muson Center - In front of City Mall For More details, follow House on The Rock's The Experience on social media: Website: www.theexperiencelagos.com Facebook: The Experience Lagos Twitter: @TheExperienceLG Instagram: @theexperiencelagos      |
| Lol. Who has seen this Kanye West video game featuring his wife? Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:23 AM PST  |
| Check out this throwback photo of Charly Boy's wife, Lady Di Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:22 AM PST   |
| Photo of the US Missionary worker kidnapped in Kogi yesterday Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:58 AM PST  |
| Fayose: APC must apologise for lying to Nigerians on Buhari, says "Chatham House event was bought" Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:48 AM PST  Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) must apologise for lying to Nigerians on the health status of its presidential candidate, Major General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd), using pictures taken in Transcop Hilton, Abuja and claiming that the pictures were taken in London. Fayose said "it was interesting that the loquacious APC Spokesperson, Lai Mohammed could develop a cold feet and muscle pull in his mouth such that he suddenly realised that he could not join issues with Fayose." In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said; "The Chatham House one hour event scheduled for Thursday was paid for by the APC with the hope that Buhari will be well enough to appear in public briefly by Thursday. "The Event Contact person, Chris Vandome confirmed via phone call that the event was 'Jointly Sponsored' by the APC and Chatham House." The governor said; "Having lied so brazenly that Buhari granted interview in London, using pictures taken in Transcop Hilton, Abuja, it is obvious that the APC is a party of deceitful people that should not be taken seriously by Nigerians. "If APC ssys that today is Tuesday, Nigerians should check calender to be sure." He hailed Guardian newspaper for being honourable enough to publish an apology yesterday, on the false picture it used on Sunday, asking; "When is APC going to be humble enough to apologise to Nigerians?" "Hopefully, the APC expects to bombard Nigerians with pictures of Buhari's one hour appearance in Chatham House on Friday, using that to cover up the real reasons he travelled to the United Kingdom. "However, we expect them to publish pictures of Buhari's departure from the Abuja Airport, Buhari queuing at the Airport to board his flight as they claimed, Buhari being interviewed by journalists at the Airport, Buhari boarding his flight and waving at those who followed him to the Airport ans Buhari being welcomed at the Airport in London. "If actually Buhari travelled out of Nigeria under a normal condition, could he have passed through the Abuja Airport without any of the Aviation Journalists interviewing him? "So, those covering up Buhari's health issue should know that his paid appearance at Chatham House on Thursday will not do the PR they are expecting. Rather, it will raise further questions which they can only answer by saying the truth and apologising for the lies they told," the governor said. |
| More participants gear up for Canoe Detergent 'Colour Mix Contest' Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:38 AM PST  As we begin to countdown to reveal the top 10 participants of this contest, more participants have registered their participation in the on-going Canoe Detergent "Colour Mix Contest". The participants have registered by showing off their creative beautiful apparels on http://canoe-alivewithcolour specifically designed for the promotion exercise. This week brings an end to entries on http://canoe-alivewithcolour.pgtb.me/CWnth9as the top 10 contestants will be revealed on Monday 2ndMarch; 2015. The top 10 contestants will then be required to gather votes from families and friends as only 5 couples with the highest votes will emerge the winners of the contest and be rewarded with the goodie bags. For those who haven't uploaded their pictures yet, they should hurry to do so as uploading just takes seconds of their time. All they need do is to go to http://canoe-alivewithcolour.pgtb.me/CWnth9, upload a picture of themselves and their lovers (whoever) in creative colourfulattires and encourage their friends and families to like their pictures. Top 5 couples with the most likes will be rewarded with 2 cartons of Canoe Detergent 1kg, 2 lovely Da Viva fabrics, 2 bottles of St. Lauren Wine, a box of exquisite chocolate and an all-expense paid romantic dinner date at any choice restaurant in their city. Everybody can be a part of this unique moment by uploading creative colourful mix not restricted to traditional attires in which they are posing with loved ones on Canoe's Facebook page http://canoe-alivewithcolour.pgtb.me/CWnth9 Please visit http://canoelaundry.com/ or follow https://twitter.com/canoelaundryng and http://instagram.com/canoelaundryng# for more information. Partners are Da Viva and St Lauren nonalcoholic wine |
| Kanu Nwankwo's wife Amara Kanu stuns in new photo Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:33 AM PST   |
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